Forever Yours

A/N- Here it is, the next chapter. I apologise in advance for the lack of action. It was a pretty dull chapter to write and that's why their characters are weak as well. I'll make it up to you guys in the next chapter, which is with my beta right now. Anyways hope it's bearable!

Chapter 13

Ginny woke up early in the morning and stretched in her bed. She yawned, gazing around at her new room.

For so long, she had the smallest, cramped up room that was barely bigger than a closet. But ever since her older brothers had moved out, there was tons more room.

Fred and George still lived there when they weren't working in London at their shop. They were often using their extra money (to Mrs. Weasley's annoyance) to fix up the house.

So a few rooms were still there for when Bill, Charlie and Ron came to visit, but since they didn't live there anymore, she got the biggest room, which had been Bill's.

It wasn't much of an improvement, but it was something.

The ceiling, for one thing, was actually straight. There were three large windows that faced the front of the house and one that faced the side. Her bed was still the same one she had had when she had been younger. Her dresser, as well, was the one she had magically painted herself when she had been eleven.

Ginny sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. She got up and stood in front of the mirror, staring at herself.

Over the past five years, Ginny's unruly hair had somewhat tamed itself. Instead of being 'Weasley red,' it had changed to a rich red, with gold and brown highlighting it.

Her chocolate brown eyes were still the same, except they seemed more prominent on her heart shaped face now that she had lost some weight.

There was no denying it, Ginny thought, as she looked at herself. She was a woman now. Her body had grown nicely, making her seem curvier. But over the last year when she had been with her mother, she had hardly eaten because of the worry, and had she'd shed a lot of weight, something her brothers had scolded her for when she had seen them again.

There was something today, but Ginny couldn't remember what it was. Something was supposed to happen today? She couldn't remember.

Sighing, she opened the drawers to her dresser, grabbing her clothes and then walking off to the shower.

Ten minutes later, she came back into her room. Since today was hardly going to be a special day, she wore her favourite pair of jeans, the one with a hole at her knee. Her t-shirt was an old, battered one with the Weird Sisters on the front.

Ginny brushed through her mane of curly hair, tying it back. She then quietly made her way downstairs.

It was still early and no doubt, her parents would still be sleeping, as well as Fred and George, who had stayed over.

But the morning time was Ginny's favourite. She loved getting up before everyone else. This was the time she did a lot of her work, because there was no one around to bother her. The silence was also an added bonus.

So she bounded outside to the garden, planning on sitting down on a bench with her favourite book.

"Surprise!"

Ginny jumped, looking in the garden as she came down the stairs of the patio.

There they were. Her whole family was standing there with a chocolate cake in front of them, with balloons and presents and mini fireworks (compliments of Fred and George).

The cake read something. She leaned forward to read it. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, it read.

Oops. It was her birthday. Her twenty-first birthday, to be more precise. She had, of course, forgotten. But it wasn't her fault.

"Oh," she managed to say.

"Well, say something," her mother said, beaming at her.

Ginny hated surprises. She never knew how to act. She could just feel her cheeks beginning to redden.

"Thank you?" she tried.

Hermione laughed, coming forward to hug her. "I knew you'd be shocked."

Ginny tried to smile, hugging her sister-in-law back. "You have no idea."

Ron laughed at seeing her expression. "Go on, Athena, give your Aunt a kiss."

Athena, Ron and Hermione's two-year-old daughter, ran up to Ginny and hugged her leg.

Ginny smiled at her niece and picked her up, hugging her. She had, of course, picked the name for her. She had had a good laugh when Hermione had taken her suggestion and named her daughter the name that Ginny used for Hermione when talking to the Prince.

"Come on now," her mum called, "have some cake."

Her mum had started to cut the cake, but Ginny was at her side in a second. "Mum, let me do it."

"Nonsense," she said, gently pushing her daughter away. "You've spoiled me too much, Gin. Let me take care of you a bit."

So Ginny smiled. Her mum was, of course, still stubborn. That was probably what helped her with her cancer.

She stood off to the side, watching her mum cut the cake into equal pieces, putting them into plates.

"Where's Fleur?" Ginny asked, noticing that her other sister-in-law wasn't there.

Bill smiled apologetically. "She went to France to visit her mum. She took Henry with her. She said she was sorry she couldn't come."

Ginny sat Athena down in her lap. "Are you sad Henry's not here?"

Athena nodded. Henry and she were best friends, which was odd considering their mothers didn't get along that well.

Since Henry was part Veela, he was a very handsome little boy already. He had light blond hair, like his mother, and bright blue eyes, like his father.

Even though Athena was not part Veela, she was still a pretty, young girl. Her brown hair was straight and her eyes were brown. She basically looked like a mini version of Hermione.

"Time for presents," said Fred, plopping a bag in front of her. "Go on, Gin, open them up."

Ginny opened the one bag and screamed when several firecrackers exploded, bouncing off the rickety fence at the edge of the corner.

Fred and George were laughing, but they were the only ones.

"Fred, George! That was not funny!" shouted their mother.

"Oh relax, Molly," said their father. "It was only a joke. Boys, behave yourselves."

The twins grinned at her and then gave her the real gift, which consisted of some new books and lots of sweets.

Bill and Fleur had gotten her some beautiful blue crystal jewellery. Ron and Hermione had gotten Ginny some new formal work robes, as well as some dress robes.

Finally, her father came up to her and said, "We're so proud of you, Ginny. Your brothers and I are so proud that you took care of your mother like that for a year. You shouldered so much of the responsibility, like you've always done."

Ginny began to blush again, when hearing her father compliment her. "It was nothing, Dad."

"It was, Ginny," her mother spoke up, with tears in her eyes. "You've always been there for us, for your family. We think it's time you lived your own life now."

Mr. Weasley then produced a key from his pocket. He put it into her hand. "For you, Ginny. Your own flat at the heart of London."

Ginny stared at him with her mouth open. She couldn't believe what her father had said. "You're...you're serious?"

He nodded, smiling at her.

Ginny's heart began to beat faster. Her own flat? She would live on her own for once. The thought was a bit terrifying, but exciting at the same time.

"When can I go?" she asked.

George chuckled. "So eager to leave?"

"No, that's not what I meant," said Ginny, realising the implications of her words and not wanting to hurt her family. "I just meant..."

Arthur put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "We understand, Gin. As soon as you want."

Ginny grinned, already planning on packing her things.

***

One week later

"Oof," said Ginny, slipping and setting the box roughly down on the floor.

She had moved in that morning and had been opening her boxes and magically transporting her things to the right places. It had taken her seven hours to get everything done, but now it was complete.

The flat was medium sized, perfect for Ginny, who liked to have a little extra space. There was a small kitchen off to the left, with a small breakfast area. The living room was perfect for two small sofas and a few tables and laps. The bedroom was large; the main attraction to the flat and had a large window that faced the Thames.

Ginny loved it already. Now that she had unpacked everything, as well as her new furniture, it truly felt like home.

Her mum had baked her some muffins when she had come an hour earlier. She had loved how Ginny had decorated it.

Her brothers had laughed when they had seen that one wall of her bedroom was lined with a bookshelf filled with books, but she paid them no attention.

As Ginny stared around her flat, there was a pecking at the window.

She got up and opened it, smiling when she saw the familiar owl. She let him in, took off the letter, and let him have a drink of water before letting him fly off.

The letter was, of course, from the Prince. Seeing the Prince's block writing on the outside of the envelope just made Ginny smile.

Her friendship with the Prince had blossomed into something more over the years, but she had no idea what it was. He knew all her secrets and offered her advice. He joked with her when she needed comfort and was serious when she was depressed.

When she had started the assignment assigned by Professor McGonagall five years ago, she had no idea that she would become best friends with the person whom she hated writing to.

Strange as it was, they were best friends. Ginny knew that it was strange to spend such a large portion of her time writing to a person she never met, as well as fantasizing what it would be like to meet him.

She also knew that her family, along with Hermione, would think it strange that she was still writing to him. They wouldn't understand the strength of their connection and the sincerity of it. This was why she hid it from them.

Whenever Hermione and Ron reminisced about the assignment that had brought them together, Ginny would change the topic, not wanting them to ask whom her pen pal had ended up being. Hermione had once brought on the topic when Ginny had graduated, but she was sure that Hermione would have long since forgotten because of the multiple areas her attention needed to be.

Still, she could never be too safe. Whenever letters for her had arrived at the Burrow when her parents had been in the room, she had lied about who it had been. She had said it was a subscription she had taken out for a teen magazine, because of the frequency of it.

She hated lying to her parents, but she had to if she wanted to keep the Prince a secret.

Inside the letter, the message was short and sweet.

It read:

Dear Chariot of Light,

By the time you receive this, you'll be moved in. I know this is probably the time you're beginning to feel lonely, so I thought I should gloat, er...comfort you.

According to the bets we placed, you won't feel lonely until a week later. But remember, I bet you'll want to go back home after two days. I changed it from one day to two. I realised it's not fair for me to have such little faith in your willpower.

I'm still positive I'll win. Remember- I like the double chocolate chip muffins.

Prince of Darkness

Ginny laughed after finishing reading the letter. Oh, that Prince. Over the years, he had come to know her so well, predicting her mood before she even felt it, countering it.

Tomorrow she would start work again. It had been so long since she had worked, because of her Mum's cancer. But tomorrow, she would start a new post at the Ministry, as an Auror.

She would have to spend six months as an apprentice before she was hired permanently for the job. This meant working with someone closely, but not being a full-fledged partner. The new Auror job was a partnered job, but before she was hired, she would have to prove her skills by job shadowing.

Tomorrow would be a big day, she knew. So she decided to call it an early night because she was bushed.

She changed into her cotton pyjamas, picked out one of her feel good books and then snuggled up in bed.

After reading for an hour, Ginny's eyes began to close and she turned off the light. She was asleep within five minutes.

The next morning, Ginny woke up late.

"Shit!" she cursed when she saw the time on her clock. It was eight o'clock. She was supposed to be at the office at eight fifteen.

Great, just great, she thought. It was her first day and she was going to be late.

Ginny ran to the loo, took a quick shower, and then magically dried her red curls. Then she stuffed her arms into a collar shirt and then pulled her formal robes over her head.

She then hobbled to the kitchen, grabbing a muffin and a bottle of water. She gulped the muffin down and downed it with the water, choking on it halfway through. It took her ten minutes trying to do the Heimlich manoeuvre on herself before realising that she had magic. She performed a spell so she could breathe easier.

She then grabbed her briefcase, her wand, and pulled on her shoes. She ran to the telephone booth closest to her house and squeezed into it, before dialling the number for the Ministry.

The booth sucked Ginny in, spitting her out just as the clock ticked eight fourteen.

"Yes!" she cheered. One minute left to find the Cure Breaker's office.

She ran in the direction her dad had pointed out to her before. She briskly walked into the bustling office, stopping outside of her boss' desk and said, "I'm here, sir."

Zacharias Smith looked up from his paperwork to give her a dirty look. "You're late, Weasley."

Ginny thrust her watch under Smith's nose. "My watch says it's eight fifteen, I'm on time."

He rolled his eyes. "My watch says eight sixteen. You're late...on the first day."

Ginny bit her lip back in retort. It was only because she wanted to help the Wizarding Community that she was working for the git Smith. She still remembered how annoyed Harry had gotten after talking to him and hearing the twins wanting to kill him by painful means.

"I'm sorry, sir," she said instead, keeping her eyes down.

"Apologise to your partner here, who's been waiting for you," spat Smith.

Ginny felt someone walk up behind her even before she had turned out. Slowly, she turned around to see her partner.

The man stood tall in front of her, his cool grey eyes upon hers.

Ginny felt her blood boil when she stared upon the man's face, hate etched in her brow. This was the man that almost killed Dumbledore and then returned back to school, pretending none of it had happened.

Draco Malfoy. His name sat on her tongue, bitter and salty at the same time.

The last time she had seen him was at Ron's graduation, when their class had graduated. Harry was supposed to graduate with that class, was the thought on Ginny's mind when she saw the slimy git walk across the stage to receive his Wizarding Degree.

After that, he had disappeared, going off to do whatever slimy things slimy Malfoys go off to do.

It had been five years since she had last seen him. She had no idea what he had been up to, nor had she cared.

She hated him and that was all that mattered.

Even within her hate-filled stupor, she admitted that he was okay looking. Wait, that was a lie. He was more than okay looking...he was handsome.

He had a strong jaw line, big eyes with dark lashes and dark eyebrows lining them. His hair was still blond, although not platinum anymore. He stood a few feet taller than she did. He was easily six feet, while she barely hit five feet three inches.

He was wearing black formal robes that appeared to be made of silk. Even through his robes, she could see his muscular chest and feel his muscles contract when he saw her.

She stared back into his face and then the reality of the situation came back to her.

"Partner?" she spat.

Smith nodded without even looking up. "Yes, you will shadow him for six months. You have your first assignment, go now."

But Ginny refused to move. She crossed her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes at Malfoy, who stared back at her, unblinkingly.

"No," she said. "I refuse to work with him."

Smith finally looked up. "Refuse to work? Only your first day on the job and already issuing commands, Weasley? I only issued you this employment because I owed your father a favour."

Ginny felt her cheeks redden. Shit. She glanced at Malfoy and saw his lips twitch. He was laughing at her!

She was going to be professional. She needed this job, and so she would force herself to behave even though she felt like stabbing Smith or Malfoy, possibly both.

"Fine then," she said.

"Good," said Smith, ignoring her again. "Off you go."

Seething, Ginny walked away, past Malfoy to who knows where.

"Where are you going?" he called after her. Even his voice was more manly and deep.

Ginny stopped in her tracks. She had no idea where she was going. She just wanted to get away from him.

"Obviously away from you," she muttered.

He walked up to her and stood in front of her, surveying her. "Unfortunately, you won't be able to do that. We're temporary partners for six months."

"Unfortunately doesn't even cover it," she said, her eyes still narrowed. She hated this. She hated him! Why? Why did this happen to her? She would have even liked to work with Smith himself, anyone but Malfoy.

He ignored her comment altogether. "Your office is over there."

He led her to a cubicle off to the side, near one of the big offices.

Ginny stared at it. "My office? This is not an office."

He shrugged. "You have to start somewhere."

"And where's your office?" she asked him, already knowing the answer.

He smirked and gestured to the big office behind him.

"And how much did you have to pay to get that office, Malfoy?" she asked.

The smirk was wiped off his face. "I worked for it for three years."

Ginny stared at his hard face. "What if I told you that I don't believe you?"

Malfoy smiled. "Then I would tell you too bad. I still have my office and you still have...yours."

She tried to think of something witty to say to shut up the git, but she couldn't think of anything.

When she didn't say anything, he spoke, "Cat got your tongue?"

Ginny just stared at him, imagining that he was a puddle in front of her eyes. He was melting from her hate-filled glare.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. He just stared back at her.

"So..." Ginny tried, "you work for Smith now?"

He raised an eyebrow. "No. He's not my boss."

"Then?"

"He's my co-worker. He's just part of a different section, the one that hires," he answered. "Our first assignment is to research some well known Death Eaters to familiarize you...ourselves with it. I picked something easy to start off with, so you can cope."

She narrowed her eyes. "I can cope plenty, Malfoy. You had just better be worried about yourself."

Malfoy smirked. "Why? Planning on stabbing me with a quill?"

That was the exact image that had been playing in her head: taking the quill on the desk and stabbing him with it.

She could just feel her face reddening. "Let's just make this as painless as possible."

He continued to smirk as he followed her out the door of the office.

People were bustling through the corridors of the Ministry, coming and going. Several of them called to Malfoy, greeting him warmly.

Ginny hadn't thought that possible. Strangely, the wizarding world had forgiven Malfoy, whereas she would never.

"Hey, Draco!" called a voice behind them, as they started to walk down the stairs to the Ministry Archives.

Sighing, Ginny stopped and waited to see who was calling Malfoy.

Walking briskly towards them was Blaise Zabini, Draco Malfoy's best friend. He had grown slightly taller than Draco. He had high cheekbones and slanting eyes still, although his face was slightly more oval than before. He also had a muscular build.

Malfoy stopped and turned. "Yes, Blaise?"

"Hey," he said, "I was just wondering if you were coming to the house tonight. Mum'll be pleased. I can invite Sonia too," he added, waggling his eyebrows.

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "For whose benefit? Mine or yours?"

Blaise grinned. "Both."

"I'm working, Blaise. Couldn't you have asked me later?"

Blaise shrugged and then noticed Ginny a few steps below Malfoy, waiting patiently. "Who's the chick?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "That's my partner. Ginny Weasley."

Ginny glared at him. Meanwhile, Blaise smiled pleasantly. "Miss Weasley. It has been too long."

He took her hand and kissed it, ignoring the shocked look on Ginny's face. Who was the last guy who had kissed her hand? No one. No one had ever done than to her before, other than cousin Rupert, but he didn't count. He was only seven years old.

Ginny was taken aback. "You remember me?"

"Of course," he answered, ignoring Draco's look of extreme boredom. "How could I forget?" He, of course, didn't remember everything. He had forgotten that they had gone out on a date in his seventh year, but he did remember her being the youngest Weasley, the family that Draco hated and whom, as being a Pureblood, Blaise had hated as well.

Draco raised an eyebrow at Blaise. "Miss Weasley, we do have a job to do."

"Of course," she said. "It was nice meeting you."

"Likewise," Blaise said. "Draco, if you're not there by six, Mum will kill you. I warned you."

Malfoy shook his head and continued down the stairs.

"If that's how you treat your friends, I wouldn't want to see how you treat your parents," commented Ginny. She felt bad for Blaise. Blaise was trying to talk to Malfoy, but Malfoy, being the git he was, couldn't even spare his supposed best friend a minute of his day.

"My parents are dead," he said shortly, looking at her with cold eyes.

"I know that," she scoffed. "I'm just saying, he's your friend and you couldn't be bothered to speak to him."

They were walking down the corridor, a few doors away from the Archives.

"You don't know anything," he said softly, and then changed the topic entirely. "We're here to research the Death Eaters that we will be pursuing, and we need to stay on topic."

Ginny nodded, following him. He stopped in front of a door, produced his wand and muttered some spells.

The door swung open.

Ginny walked in, following Malfoy.

The room was filled with books, piled high. There were a few tables in the centre with parchment and quills.

Malfoy led her to a table and they sat down. He handed her a list with ten names of Death Eaters.

"These ten are our responsibility," he explained. "We have to find them within the month and have them behind bars. Think of it as a challenge."

Ginny poked her finger at the list. "So we've got to research Macnair first?"

"That's what it says on the list, Weasley, if you can read," he said, without looking up from his pile of books.

She glared at him. Professional. She needed to be professional. Calm. Collected. Cool. Fuming, she picked a book and began thumbing through it to find the right person.

They sat there for who knows how long. By the eighth person, her eyes were closing as she took notes.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, Malfoy asked her, "Are you done?"

Ginny's head snapped up. "No, I'm on Lestrange."

"I'm done," he said, smugly.

"Of course you must be very pleased to see all your father's friends on this list," she snapped.

He sighed. "They're not my friends."

"Really? I was under the distinct impression that you all were buddies, with....with Voldemort. I'm surprised to see you here actually. You're working against your friends."

"Because you think I'm a Death Eater?"

"Obviously," she spat. She was shaking with rage. How dare he just act so cool and calm about the whole thing, as if it was a small petty matter?

Malfoy was silent for a minute. When he looked up, there was pain and anguish in his eyes, as well as anger.

"Let me tell you something, Weasley," he started, slowly, "I was never a Death Eater, so you can just forget your preconceived notions, because there's so much you don't know. You don't know anything."

Ginny stared back at him, wanting to slug him. He had never been a Death Eater? That was a laugh. His glare was so menacing that she flinched when his eyes met hers again. Finally, she stared back, trying to match his look with hers.

"Let me tell you something, Malfoy," she stated, "we both know that we'd rather work with someone else, but for some bloody reason, we're stuck together. So I'll thank you to keep out of my face and I'll keep out of yours. It's a well known fact that I hate you and you hate me."

He mumbled something softly and Ginny said, "What? What did you say?"

His cool grey eyes met hers. "I beg to differ."

"You beg to differ?" Ginny repeated, her hair coming down from her bun. She was sweating in this warm room and Malfoy, the git, was making things difficult for her. "What? You think I'm harbouring a secret love for you?" The moment she said it, she regretted it. She bit her lip, wanting to take the words back.

A feral grin replaced his scowl. "Not quite so dramatic. But I don't hate you," he said after a pause.

Ginny blinked. "You don't?"

He just grinned at her. "You're free to leave now. Tomorrow is when we'll start locating these Death Eaters."

Ginny got up from the table in a daze. She hastily grabbed her purse, Malfoy's words repeating in her mind.

"Oh, and Weasley?" he called after her, as she was turning the doorknob on the door.

She turned around to face him. He was still sitting exactly where he had been, at the table, except he was leaning back now.

She waited.

"Don't be late," he said, his face blank.

Ginny nodded slowly and made her way out of the room, ready to go home and mull things over.

A/N- Horrible eh? I know, it's bad, but hopefully the next chapter can remedy it. There'll be more fights when they start to work together. It should be fun!