Forever Yours

A/R- this was a lot faster than I thought it was going to be up, but you guys begged and I delivered. So here is chapter 24! The second last chapter. Well, the third last... Big thanks to my superb beta Elisabeth for doing this one so quickly! It's all thanks to her that you guys get to read this so quick. So: the meeting! The thing that everyone has been waiting for since the beginning of the story. At last, it's here. So I won't keep you, enjoy it and don't forget to cry...jokes.

Chapter 24

The next day dawned clear and bright, but by midday, it had turned dark and it was raining.

When Ginny saw the rain pouring down, she thought, That's it; it's an omen this is not supposed to work.

The house (Mrs Weasley's house) was bustling with activity. Hermione and Fleur were running after their kids while everyone else tried to get ready and got their gifts ready.

In all this hustle and bustle, Ginny felt oddly calm.

In just a few hours, she would meet her Prince. She could hardly sit still because of her excitement.

"You're excited," noted Mrs Weasley when she saw Ginny move again, this time to the kitchen where Hermione was feeing Athena.

"I'm just nervous," she said. And she was. She was nervous about her engagement and what was going to happen after she met the Prince and told Blaise that she couldn't marry him. She was also nervous about seeing Prince for the first time and what he would think about her.

This made her twist gold chain around and around. She was glad that she wouldn't be wearing her engagement ring when she met him. He might get the wrong message then.

Finally, after several hours of waiting, Ginny went and got dressed in her brown dress, and her mum and Fleur helped her with her makeup.

They left their house at five forty five and reached there at five forty six.

Ginny was immediately ushered upstairs to have her hair and makeup retouched.

Since Blaise's family had some traditions, she wasn't allowed to see the to-be-groom until they were to be engaged.

Hermione found the custom a tad old fashioned, but Ginny was glad for it. Because now she would be free to leave without Blaise coming after her.

After she got her makeup and hair touched up, Ginny told the makeup artist and her sister-in-laws to leave. She had to wait until later to come down, so she told everyone to leave at six fifteen.

After she had assured everyone that she was happy waiting by herself in the comfortable upper room, they all left.

She looked pretty enough to be the fiancée of Blaise Zabini, one of the most wanted bachelors in the whole Wizarding Community.

She was wearing the brown silk dress that reached her ankles. It had a fitted bodice and then it flowed out. The sleeves were short and ruffled, and the neckline didn't go down too deep. Along the bodice, there was gold beadwork that brought out the gold in her thick, wavy hair that was pinned back in a pretty bun.

Her eyes were more noticeable today because of the eyeliner, and her eyelashes were much longer. Her lips were a nude colour, and her cheeks were brushed lightly with pink blush.

But there was something missing.

If someone glanced at her quickly, they wouldn't notice the thin gold chain that touched her neck but disappeared down her bodice.

Gently, Ginny pulled it out until the green ring sat in between the fitted bodice.

Now she was ready. She rifled through her clutch and found the black rose that he had sent to her that night in sixth year.

She had magically preserved it and had saved it all these years. Seeing it again, she felt like she was in sixth year again. So much younger and more carefree.

With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and Disapparated.

She appeared inside of Tower Bridge and gasped when she saw the view from where she stood. The bridge was wide from inside, and from both sides, a different view could be seen of the London skyline. The sides of the bridge itself had lights on it, but none inside of it. The lights from outside, though, created an eerie glow inside the actual bridge.

The sky was dark and cloud free now as it touched the water of the Thames River. Buildings lined the waterfront and lights brightened the whole skyline.

It was breathtaking, the sight. It just made her heart tighten within her chest as she remembered why she was there.

The beauty of the waterfront made her even more excited as she began to walk the length of the bridge, looking for a sign of a person.

There was nobody there because it was past closing time. There were no guards either pacing the corridor because the only way someone could get in was from the doors down five floors, which was heavily guarded.

So she began to skip as she walked down the corridor, admiring the beautiful skyline before her.

Suddenly she heard footsteps. She stopped immediately and looked around, but there was nobody there.

She was just imagining it, probably. Her watch said that it was six thirty now, so he should be coming soon.

As she walked slowly down the bridge, she had no idea that someone was watching her.

***

Draco Malfoy stood behind an old suit of armour and watched the girl walk down the length of the bridge. In his hands was Mario, the teddy bear.

He didn't know if it was a guard or if it was Chariot. He couldn't tell from the lack of light.

He slowly moved down and peered at her. No, it was definitely not a guard.

The girl was wearing a dress, a dark brown one that swished around as she walked.

As he looked closer, he noticed a black rose in her hand. It was Chariot, the girl he had been wanting to meet for six years.

Slowly, he began to move away from the suit of armour when she turned her face in his direction, peering into the darkness.

Draco's breath stopped when he noticed a green ring on a necklace on her neck. He didn't have a chance to look at her face when she turned back around and continued to walk.

The girl seemed familiar, however. He had seen her somewhere before.

He walked behind her slowly and watched as she turned to look left and right at the sight of the skyline.

Her profile was visible to him, but still he couldn't tell who she was.

She seemed to sense someone because she fully turned around this time and said, "Is someone there?"

Draco blinked as he looked upon the girl's face and his heart stopped.

Ginny Weasley. Ginny Weasley was Chariot. Ginny was Chariot of Light.

For a second, he just stared at her, without blinking.

Sure enough, it was her.

Even through the dim glow of lamps from outside, her fiery red hair was still visible. She was wearing a brown dress...a fancy dress, one that should be worn to a party.

Her engagement party! She was engaged to Blaise. Blaise was his best friend. The girl he loved more than anyone was engaged to his best friend.

At that second, his whole world seemed to come crashing down. This couldn't be. No, this was a dream.

But it wasn't. It couldn't be.

Ginny turned back around, after being satisfied that no one was there. She decided to sit down and wait on a bench beside the window.

Draco's heart seemed to come back, and now it was beating furiously against his chest.

Chariot of Light was Ginny. Chariot was the girl he loved more than anything. Ginny was the girl he loved more than anything.

She still had his ring, the ring he had sent to her six years ago, the ring that had belonged to his mother at one point. She kept it safe around her neck at all times.

But she wasn't his. She belonged to Blaise, his best friend.

Did he want to take her away from him? The answer came even before he had thought the question.

No. He could never take away his best friend's girl. Never.

Girls came and went, but friends were forever. Especially his best friend, who had taken him in after his parents had died. He couldn't even think about hurting Blaise and his family like this by taking away the girl that would make their family complete.

So with a heavy heart, he made up his mind. He would let Blaise have her.

He was willing to sacrifice his love, his happiness, his friendship, everything for Blaise.

Ginny had no idea that her secret pen pal was watching her from the shadows. She was getting impatient, though. She would have to leave in five minutes if she didn't want to arouse any suspicion at the party.

She hoped he would come soon. She was giddy with the prospect of seeing him.

Her heart beat wildly against her chest, and she fiddled with her gold chain as she waited. The black rose lay in her lap, and she had unpreserved it with her magic, so it became living again.

But suddenly the petals had begun to fall and they lay forlornly on her lap as she waited. She hoped the rest wouldn't fall off before he came.

And so she waited. While she sat, she looked straight ahead at the London skyline. The sky was completely black now, and a few stars glittered high above.

Every now and then, she glanced left and right, wondering when Prince was going to show up.

Again, she heard footsteps but again it was no one.

That was strange, she thought. She looked to the left, but there was no one there. She looked to the right, and there was no one there as well.

As she looked to the right, something caught her eye.

Beside her, on the bench, sat Mario the teddy bear.

Ginny stopped breathing at that second. He was the same bear she had sewn for the first time and sent to the Prince. It was multicoloured, had two uneven eyes, and a wonky ear stitched on. It was tiny, and one of his feet was falling off.

That meant that....

She stared at the teddy bear, understanding filling her heart.

Prince...he had come. He had seen her and didn't like what he had seen. So he had decided to leave.

She closed her eyes, biting the inside of her lip. He had come. He had been so close to her. But she wasn't what he wanted...

A sob wracked her body without her even realising it, and Draco had to turn around because he couldn't bear her pain.

He knew she would understand what it meant and she did. He just didn't imagine it would be this painful.

If he had thought she was going to sit there and cry, he was wrong. Ginny just closed her eyes after a minute and then Disapparated while Draco just stared after her in the darkness.

For six years, he had written to her. He had told her everything, his hopes, his dreams, his fears, his pet peeves, everything.

For almost one year, they had worked side by side and they hadn't known...

He had known, though. Deep down inside, a part of him had gathered all the things she had told him and had known it was her, but the rest of him had been blind. Blind to the girl whom he saw every day and not realising that she was the one he loved.

The ring he had given to her had always been on that thin gold chain he always spied through the ruffles of her robes. She wore it always.

Suddenly everything fell into place. Everything made sense now. Who else had that many brothers other than her? Who else had a Greek Goddess' name, other than her best friend, Hermione Granger? Who else had lost someone so important to the war? No one but her!

And who else but him had set her up with their best friend? Only him. Just him.

She could've been his, but he had set her up with his best friend, thinking it best for her, when she had been waiting for him.

Everything she had said before suddenly made sense. Her favourite colour was green, her worst fear was the dark, her worst memory was being locked in a cellar under the stairs, her birthday was August 11^{th, she loved snow, and he was madly in love with her.}

^{Eventually he had to go to the party, so he closed his eyes and Apparated there.}

^{He appeared in his study, the same room he had taken pictures of her in.}

^{Faintly, he heard his name being called so he rushed downstairs.}

^{"Hey mate, where'd you go?" Blaise asked him once he saw his best friend. "Ginny's about to come down, I need my ring."}

^{Numbly, Draco fished into his pocket, brought out the bright blue box, and handed it to him.}

^{The orchestra had begun playing as Ginny entered the room.}

^{Draco's breath caught in his chest as he stared at her.}

^{She had always been pretty to him, but now she was beautiful. Her eyes were downcast, and his heart clenched when he remembered that it was because of him she was in so much pain.}

^{She seemed to float to the centre of the room where there were two chairs set up and where everyone waited for her.}

^{Draco stood beside Blaise and watched in awe as she walked up to them and as her brown dress that matched her eyes flowed this way and that.}

^{Ginny finally raised her eyes and smiled at Blaise and at his parents.}

^{Her smile was fake, but it seemed real enough for everyone else.}

^{As he stared at her, his heart clenched again. To think she could have been his... To think that she had loved him...at one point.}

^{He shook his head and snapped himself out of it as he watched Blaise slip the glittery diamond ring on her finger.}

^{She tried to look happy but he knew that she was in pain and was trying not to cry.}

^{But she hated diamonds, he remembered. It was much too shiny for her.}

^{Everyone clapped when the ring was placed on her finger, and then it was Blaise's turn.}

^{Blaise put the ring on her finger, and everyone clapped again.}

^{Draco might have clapped, but he didn't remember anything. He just kept staring at her.}

^{The emerald ring he had given her was once again hidden underneath her bodice, and only the thin gold chain could be seen.}

^{After that, everyone wanted pictures taken together.}

^{They were of course wizarding pictures and not Muggle pictures, like they had taken once upon a time.}

^{That had been the day they had danced together upstairs in his study room, when he had asked her to pose for him.}

^{She had looked more beautiful that day than he had ever seen her. Simple was when she looked her best. Makeup didn't suit her because she didn't like to wear it.}

^{After the pictures, everyone came up to the happy couple and began congratulating them.}

^{Ginny tried to smile and look happy, but he could tell her mind was a million miles away.}

^{Finally, it was his turn.}

^{"Congratulations mate," he said, shaking Blaise's hand and hugging him.}

^{Blaise grinned and hugged him back. "Thanks mate. Hello Mrs. Smith, how are you?"}

^{Draco moved on to Ginny, and he heaved a sigh when he came to her.}

^{"Congratulations," he said quietly.}

^{Her eyes flickered to his face as she finally registered what was happening. She seemed so far away when she said faintly, "Thanks."}

^{He stared into her sad brown eyes before moving away.}

^{The room was suddenly too hot for him. There were too many people there, and they were all jostling him to get a good view of the couple.}

^{So he decided to go upstairs. He went to the room where they had danced before and threw his jacket to the ground.}

^{He loosened his tie and sat in his chair. Before he knew it, tears were brimming his eyes.}

^{But he wouldn't cry. This was the happiest day in so many people's lives. What right did he have to cry?}

^{He buried his face in his arms and closed his eyes, wishing with all his heart that the floor would swallow him up.}

^{Why? Why did Ginny have to be Chariot? Why not any other girl? A girl that wasn't already engaged...?}

^{But she hadn't been engaged when they started writing to one another. She had just been Ginny. His Ginny.}

^{He had given her up, and he needed to accept that. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to get over her when he saw everywhere with Blaise.}

^{His breath caught in his throat when he thought of that. Their relationship wouldn't end. He would always watch their marriage from the sidelines.}

^{Ginny would eventually forget about him and love Blaise, and he would continue to watch her forever, with his best friend.}

^{Suddenly every memory they had shared flashed before his eyes.}

^{Their first mission...her climbing through the tiny window...her yelling at him about trust...her bravery when they caught Borgin...laughing with her...}

^{All their other missions flashed through his head...sitting in a dumpster...flying to Scotland on his broom, with her holding onto him...}

^{But not all their good times were missions. Most of their good times were outside of work... She often came to his house for work, and they always ended up goofing off...having a snowball fight with her...flying through the clouds...dancing with her in this very room after telling her to take off her shoes...taking dozens of pictures of her...strolling through Diagon Alley...eating ice cream...so many memories.}

^{And their most recent one, their fight. When she had accused him of setting her up with Blaise and then she had stormed out.}

^{That had been the end of their friendship, and maybe it was for the best now. If they were still friends now...he didn't know how he could bear it.}

^{After several hours, the party ended, and he slowly drifted to the door and hugged Blaise and his parents goodbye.}

^{Then he went to his dark and lonely house.}

^{The first thing he did when he got home was go upstairs to his bedroom and lit its fireplace.}

^{Draco then sat on his bed and opened his side drawer where hundreds of letters set.}

^{They were all in order. The first one started from September 1st, 1997 and the last was dated June 13, 2003 when all she had written was Yes to meeting him at Tower Bridge.}

^{Six years worth of letters set in his hands. Six years worth of memories, dreams, hopes, fears, thoughts, jokes and friendship.}

^{No more would she write to him. No more would he be able to randomly pick a piece of parchment and write to her whenever he wanted. No more thinking every night about what she looked like. No more dreaming of meeting her. No more anything.}

^{Her writing had started off messy and childlike, but as the years progressed, it became more mature and neat. It still remained thin and slanted, though.}

^{With a sigh, he picked up the thick bundle and walked across the room.}

^{He stared at the red flames and then threw the bundle of letters in it. Quickly, the flames devoured them, and soon there was nothing left of them but ashes and...memories, thousands of memories.}

^{With a heavy heart he lay down on his bed and closed his eyes, crying his heart out, unaware that some miles away someone else was doing the exact same.}

A/N- did you cry? Lol...I made my beta cry when she was reading it. So he saw her and she didn't see him. And now he's given her up. Isn't it sad? Anyways thanks to everybody who reviewed the last chapter, which was yesterday. Lol, I still can't believe how fast this is...it seems like yesterday I was writing the A/N for the last chapter....oh wait, it was yesterday. :P I've noticed more new people reviewing so thanks very much! Soooo many people reviewed the last chapter and truly guys, it really makes my day when I read your reviews. So thanks to: Joeyperson, Cymry, ablondwitch, angel of joy, Mooly123, katalyst159 , Threequidd, alleine, Moony and Prongs, Rainrose, Kitt, IC04, luvsharrypotter, queentazo, freedomflyer, Orgullosaox, DaniheartsRupert, free2express, lazybug24, and everyone else! Hugs and kisses to everyone who reviews! <3 ! Next chapter: the wedding. And soon my goodbye notes, but there still is a little bit more time for that. Anywho, please review and make me happy!! :) P.S- Edward is hot! Much hotter than Draco, if anyone knows who I'm talking about. Twilight is by Stephenie Meyer by the way.