Hide Away

Hide Away

Chapter 20-The End

I walked swiftly but silently down the corridor. The dance was over and people had gone into their cabins for the night.

My head swum with images and thoughts, that I thought it was going to burst any second.

I had cracked the case. I only had to go to Gabrielle's cabin to figure it out.

Her name was what had made me crack the case. When I had written her name down and my pen had run out of ink, I had actually written down Elle Dela, the name of the girl who Orlando had gone out with but had dumped because he saw her kissing someone else.

But then I remembered that the girl Orlando had been engaged to had had blond hair and blue eyes and had been a famous French actress. I then remembered what Felicia told me about her. That she was a famous French actress and really had blond hair and blue eyes.

Orlando had told me that his fiancée had been so gorgeous that men's heads used to turn when she walked by. This reminded me of what happened when Gabrielle walked by. She had a hold on Draco that was unexplainable.

Gabrielle was part Veela and used her powers to play with people.

Even if she was Veela and had been engaged to Orlando, what did that have to with the murder of Orlando's wife, you ask? Well she must have been jealous and angry that she had been left for someone who wasn't even Veela. She was jealous enough to want to kill the girl she had been left for.

So she made a plan and followed them on their honeymoon. She had another advantage, other than being part Veela. She was also a witch and had magic powers.

When I was in second year, I had heard Ron talking with Harry and Hermione about a Potion they had made that made them transform into Crabbe and Goyle. I remember Ron saying that the drink had tasted so horribly because of the hairs they added.

I asked Ron about it later and he told me what it was. He didn't tell me how to make it, just that you had to take the person's hair who you wanted to transform into.

When the doctor had done the autopsy, he had said that there had been three hairs missing from Ella's head. I had thought nothing of it then, but now I knew that Gabrielle had cut off Ella's hair to make a Polyjuice potion.

But that didn't make much sense either. Why would she want to transform into Ella, when she was going to kill her?

I thought for a minute, while I made my way down the corridor and then thought about the timing of the murder.

Of course! Gabrielle had transformed into Ella and had gone outside at the time when Ella was dead. It was to throw us off the trail and to make us confused.

She had killed Ella and then had took the Polyjuice Potion to transform into her, and then went outside where she was sure someone would see her and tell us.

I marvelled at the complexity of it all. Everything since the beginning had been planned.

No wonder Gabrielle was always distracting Draco. She wanted his mind to be on her so that he wouldn't notice much.

Evan had also been distracting me and making me feel uncomfortable. It was all a ploy so that I would notice anything and my mind would be on other things.

They both had created jealousy and feelings of distrust among us.

I reached Gabrielle's room. I had no idea how I was going to inside and listen to their conversation. I was sure Evan and Gabrielle would have put some charms on the door.

Suddenly I had an idea. I walked slowly back to the front of the boat and a few minutes came back in a cart.

I had told one of the women who worked in the kitchen that a woman by the name of Gabrielle was terribly hungry and wanted a whole variety of snacks. The woman had so many things to carry that she took a cart out and rolled it down the corridor. I snuck under the cart and sat on the shelf, as the woman rolled it down the hall.

She knocked on the door and Gabrielle came out. She was wearing a black nightgown with a robe on top. Her nightgown was tight and revealed her breasts. Her lingerie was even sexier than mine! I thought.

The woman and Gabrielle started talking, with Gabrielle confused.

I didn't listen to the conversation. I snuck out from the cart and since I had an Invisibility Cloak, they couldn't see me, and I went into her room.

Just as I had known, Evan was there as well. He was sitting in a chair with his legs spread apart.

I found a spot to stand, where I was sure they wouldn't come. In a far corner I stood, waiting and watching.

Gabrielle closed the door soon after.

"Who was it?" asked Evan.

Gabrielle threw her robe off, onto the bed and said, "I don't know. Some woman who said she brought what I wanted, when I hadn't ordered anything. But I got rid of her."

He nodded and she sat down in his lap, her long, lean legs hanging over the side of the chair.

"You're beautiful," he told her.

She laughed. "Are you sure you're not in love with Joanne? I heard your conversation with her the other day, how you were telling her that you loved her and how much you regretted she was married."

He sneered. "That bitch? No way." They started kissing then and doing some other things I don't feel like mentioning here...

I sighed in exasperation. I did not come here to watch them snog!

I felt a sharp pain in my heart then. Draco and I had been snogging too, but I had suddenly left.

I felt bad for just leaving him like that, even though I knew now that he had some feelings for me too. But I had to solve this case, not so that everyone knew I had solved it, but so that I would know that I had solved it.

I wanted to prove to the weak and pessimistic part of me, that I was someone and that I had accomplished something. I felt that I had wasted five years of my life not doing anything at all and didn't want to spend the rest of my doing nothing either.

All along, I had been waiting for things to happen to me, but I realized it didn't work that way. You weren't supposed to wait for things to happen to you, you were supposed to go out and take what you could, and make the best of it.

But now was not the time to dwell on my own life and my mistakes. I had to pay attention if I wanted to solve the case.

They were through kissing now and were talking.

"Did they ask you for a drink as well?" Evan asked Gabrielle.

"Yeah, but thanks to you, I knew what they were up to with the Veritaserum," she said, smiling.

"You should have seen what I did to Joanne," said Evan, laughing. "I made her sit on my lap and pour the drink down my mouth."

She laughed. "I'm so glad we're done this stupid charade. Now that Ella's gone, Orlando will come running back to me, but I'll tell him that his times gone now and that I've moved on." She started kissing Evan again.

This was great information, but I had forgotten to bring something to record it with. I would get the information but wouldn't be able to have any proof for it. I felt like kicking myself for my stupidity and screamed inwardly.

A sound must have escaped my lips because Gabrielle stopped kissing and said, "Did you hear that?"

She got up of his lap and grabbed her wand. Evan looked confused as to why Gabrielle had stopped kissing her.

"What?"

"There was a sound," she said, pointing her wand around. She shot a stunning spell right at me and I was frozen to the spot. I was silent now so she said, "Never mind, I must be hearing things."

They stopped talking now and just snogging, until Gabrielle said, "I'm tired. Let's go to bed."

They got up and Gabrielle went to put her wand on her dresser, which was behind me.

She bumped into me and said, "Ow! What in bloody hell?"

I put her hands out and touched my shoulder. I stood transfixed to the spot, unable to do anything. I was so scared but couldn't think of anything to do.

"Evan" she hissed. "There's someone here."

She found the bottom of the cloak and pulled it off, to reveal a very terrified me.

She stared at me with an open mouth and then her lips curled into a sneer. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Evan looked at me with loathing. "What are you doing here?"

I didn't know what to say and was frozen to the spot.

Gabrielle muttered the counter curse and I fell to the ground.

They both sneered at me and I got up. I couldn't think of anything to do. They wouldn't let me go; I knew that for sure.

Gabrielle shook back her long brown hair. "So you know that we killed Ella, do you?"

I gulped. "Really? You killed Ella? That's so...bad."

They laughed at me.

"You are such a bad liar, Ginny," said Evan.

Gabrielle surveyed me and then said to Evan. "What do you think we should do with her?"

He shrugged. "Throw her overboard?"

She laughed. "I don't have time for you now. Evan, take her to the bottom of the boat and leave her there for now. I need my beauty sleep."

Evan grabbed my arm and closed his eyes, ready to apparate. But I didn't want to go anywhere with him, so I blocked my mind. I remembered what Draco had told me. If someone was touching you, and they didn't want to apparate and you did, then they couldn't.

Evan knew what was happening. He slapping me with his left hand and I screamed, watching blood pour out of my nose.

"Bitch!" he screamed at me as I cried in pain. "If you don't come with me, then it'll be worse for you."

I unblocked my mind and willed myself to apparate with him. There was a pop and in a second we arrived.

I looked around and Evan pushed me to the floor. We were in the baggage area of the boat. It was way below the main floors, I could tell because the windows showed murky waters instead of the dark sky. There were suitcases and boxes piled all around the small room.

Cords shot out of Evan's wand and he tied me up with them. He tied my against a pole that was going from ceiling to ground. He made sure my arms were behind my back and tied it tightly around my back.

He checked my Invisibility Cloak for any wand, and when he didn't find one, he draped it around me to hide me from anyone who came in looking for me.

"I always told Gabrielle you were too smart for your own good," he whispered to me, his foul breath filling my nose.

"You were always prying around and noticing the smallest of things," he said, his face very close to mine. He had put the cloak over me, but hadn't lowered it over my face yet. "These very traits have gotten you into this mess."

I stared back at him, unblinkingly, showing him that I wasn't afraid of him.

"But we were smarter than you," he continued. "We outsmarted your traits with ours and tomorrow we are going to leave this boat and you are going to stay here and rot forever."

He laughed and pulled the fabric down on my face so that he couldn't see me anymore.

He shut the lights of the room and disapparated, leaving me in the darkness alone.

As soon as he left, I tried to think about what had just happened to me. Being as dim witted as I was, I had left my wand in the cabin and come to meet dangerous wizards who had bound me and thrown me to rot in some dungeon. This didn't look so good.

I started to cry, thinking of how helpless and alone I was. I couldn't think of any way I would be able to get out of here or anyone who could save me.

I tried sending a message to Draco. 343 I dialed.

Number out of service, said the woman with a plugged nose.

I sobbed, finally admitting defeat. I knew that if Draco wasn't there and Gabrielle and Evan had left me, that there was no one else who cared to know where I was.

Trying to think positively, I stopped crying. Crying was not going to get me anywhere. It was only going to make me feel worse about myself and give me a big fat headache.

I evaluated the situation. I couldn't scream, because there was no one close enough to hear me. I screamed for a few minutes, but all that came was a headache from listening to myself screaming.

Option number two was Draco, but it wasn't an option at all, because he wasn't there.

The only thing I could do was, try to free myself. I saw this as an impossible task, but tried anyways.

I rubbed against the pole but that didn't work. An image suddenly flashed in my brain.

When I had been little, my gram on my mom's side used to visit us at the Burrow. We used to get really rowdy when she was around, from the excitement, and she used to get angry with us for making so much noise and running around.

So she would make us sit on this old trunk of Dad's in the storage room. The others would run outside, but Ron and me used to get caught by her and have to listen to her lecture on their behalf. So she would take old scarves of Mum's and tie our hands with them and tell us that we had a time out.

It sounds cruel but it really wasn't. The scarves weren't tied that tight, only tight so that the little hands of seven-year-old Ron and six year old me couldn't get out of them.

But I would wiggle my hands out of Gram's elaborate ties and knots and help Ron with his and then we would slip away, before Gram would come back.

I took a deep breath now, and tried to remember how I used to do it. I knew I could do it if I really tried, because I had done something similar for so long. Of course this was harder because it was behind my back, but I figured I could still do it.

Thankfully, I hadn't forgotten everything I had learned over the years. When Evan had been tying me tightly to the pole, I had swelled my chest and spread my feet and hands apart a bit, so now that I had a bit of room to work with.

It took my about an hour, but I finally got my left hand out. Great, my left hand was out, but how was I going to maneuver my left hand around, when I was right handed?

It took me a good two hours I think, to get my right hand out. First the cloth of my Invisibility Cloak kept getting stuck in the rope and then I realized I had spent twenty minutes tightening the ropes instead of loosening it.

After I got my hands out, I was able to wiggle and undo the ones on my feet and around my body.

When I was finally done, I was frustrated and very grouchy. I had been tied for almost four hours now and I was hungry and smelly.

I really didn't care about the last part, but I didn't know I was going to prove that it was Gabrielle and Evan who did it.

I knew I had to go tell Draco, but I didn't even know where in the boat I was. I would probably have to walk pass Gabrielle and Evan's room and they would probably be on the lookout.

I took a few breaths to calm myself. I sat down on my cloak so I could lean against the wall and think.

I was still wearing the pretty red gown from last night, but it had ripped and frayed while Evan pushed me to the ground and I stumbled in Gabrielle's room.

My curly red hair was limp and hung loosely down my back.

I screamed as I sat down. I had sat down on something hard.

I got up and lifted up my cloak, to find some sort of black contraption.

Picking it up, I suddenly remembered Draco telling me about it.

"This, Weasley, is a tape recorder. If you press the record button, it will record anything within a certain range," he said.

He then continued to tell me that he was putting one in the pocket of the cloak and had set it so that it would record everything on a never-ending tape.

I gasped. Maybe this would solve my problem. Maybe this little device had recorded everything.

I fumbled with it for a few seconds and then found the play button. Pressing it, I swore a few times at muggle technology. I don't know why dad was so fascinated with it.

Pushing that all aside, I strained to listen. I turned the volume up and then heard Aisha talking with her mother.

I forwarded the tape and then stopped. Playing it again, I heard Draco telling me to respect myself first if I wanted to respect myself.

I stopped it and went forward again. I stopped and played again.

At first I heard nothing, so I turned the volume up to maximum. It sounded like cloth rubbing on cloth. I heard a few moans and sounds like someone was...kissing.

I gasped and immediately turned red, realizing what I was listening to. I looked up to see if anyone was watching me, and then stopped the tape.

I stopped it again and played. I heard Evan's voice. "Your beautiful," he told Gabrielle.

Perfect! Ha! I laughed to myself manically for a few minutes, so happy that I had evidence.

Then I stopped abruptly. How was I going to be able to actually make people on the boat listen to this? I wanted to play it on the main intercom so that everyone would know who killed Ella and how much they had lied.

I then remembered that when I had toured the boat, the captain had showed me an intercom that had a tape or CD player so that he could play music or say an announcement.

That was fine and dandy, but how was I going to get there? I tried to disapparate, but of course Evan (or maybe it was Gabrielle) had put a spell on the room, which would block people from apparating or disapparating.

I went to the door and tried to open it, but of course it was locked. I knew Evan wasn't that stupid. I kicked it but it still wouldn't budge.

Frustrated, I lay down on my cloak and drifted off to sleep.

A few hours later, I woke up by a sudden sound. There was a voice on the intercom.

It was the captain. "Attention all passengers. Due to the tragic events of the night before last, the boat will be stopping in an hour. Please gather your belongings and gather in the dining hall for breakfast. Thank you."

I jumped up. It was already morning? Sure enough, when I glanced outside, the bright sun lighted the sky with puffy white clouds drifting lazily by.

I started panicking and pacing. I had no idea how to get out of here. I was actually starting to get worried now.

I scanned the room frantically, wishing for an idea to drop out of the sky.

Suddenly, something caught my eye. I blinked and looked again.

In the far corner of the room, well concealed by paint, was a trapdoor.

An idea hit me and I got to work.

It took me about ten minutes to get my idea into place. Then I tried to reach for the handle of the trapdoor.

Of course I was too short. Muttering curses at all my short ancestors, I pushed a suitcase over and got up on it. It wasn't enough, so I grabbed another big one and pushed it on top of that one.

After I had used all the strength that my non-working out muscles had to offer, I jumped on top of the two suitcases and reached the handle easily.

I pulled it down with all my might and screamed as I fell back down from the impact. A box from the room above had come collapsing down upon me. For the first time ever, I had moved out of the way so that it didn't crush me entirely, but my skirt was stuck.

I pulled it out, causing it to rip, but I wasn't concerned with that right now. It had ripped so that it was a slit going up my left leg, stopping mid thigh.

I grabbed my cloak and jumped on top of the box, which was on top of the two suitcases. I heaved myself up, struggling, but finally got up. I leaned down and grabbed the door and pulled it up. I slid another box on top of it and looked around.

I was in a broom cupboard on the back of the boat. There were mops, brooms and other cleaning things lying around.

Slipping on my cloak, I pushed the window open. It looked as if it hadn't been opened in years, but I finally got it.

I slipped through the window, onto the balcony that went all around the boat.

Making sure that I was well covered, I started running down towards the captain's cabin, which was on the other side of the boat.

As I started to run across the balcony, I banged into an invisible wall.

I screamed loudly and got up.

I tried to get past the wall, but it was impossible.

One of the doors of the bedroom opened.

Gabrielle Delacour smirked at me.

I looked down and saw that my cloak was on the ground. I scrambled to get it, but she was faster.

"Accio cloak!" she said. The cloak flew to her outstretched hand.

My heart sank. This was it. There was no getting past her now.

She smirked and threw the cloak inside the bedroom.

"Evan didn't believe you would make your way out of there," she said. "He didn't think you that smart. But I, I knew you weren't going to give up just that easily. Now Ginny, What do you say? What don't we finish this once and for all now?"

I straightened up. I still had the tape tucked with me, so maybe I had a chance to get away.

I pushed my bangs out of my face and said, "Sure. Why not? But I don't have a wand, so it's not a fair fight."

She laughed. "Not a fair fight? Who in bloody hell cares if it's a fair fight? That's the only advantage I have over you."

"Then you're not really beating me fairly," I said, trying to keep her talking and trying to keep her from using her wand on me. "You are only winning because you have a wand."

I cursed myself for not having a wand, but there was nothing I could do about it now. I couldn't just stand here and whine.

She laughed again. "Ginny, Ginny, Ginny. You have much to learn about the ways of life." She was wearing white pants with a pretty pink top, and I was wearing a red ball gown that was ripped in several areas. I looked like a tramp, trying to fight, while she looked like a model getting ready for combat. She shot a curse at me, but I dodged it.

She screamed in fury and came after me. I kept dodging her.

"Hey Gabrielle," said Evan, coming outside now. "What's going on?"

"Leave Evan!" she screamed.

"I'll help you!" he said, hurrying forward.

I lurched forward, knocking him out. In his hand was his wand, so I grabbed it.

I jumped over him and shouted the disarming spell. I hadn't spent an entire year in the DA for nothing.

Her wand flew out of her hand and she cursed. I used this as a chance to get away.

Since the wall was blocking me and she was standing in front of the invisible wall, I turned on my heel and ran the other way to get to the captain's cabin.

It only gave me a few second getaway. Within a few seconds, she was on my tail, shouting curses.

I tripped on my own two feet and fell flat on my face.

I got up and she screamed, "Why not face me, Ginny?! Because you are a coward, for running away and not facing me!"

That did it. No one called me a coward.

I turned around and shot a few spells at her. She had much too fast reflexes though and kept dodging them.

"Don't you dare call me a coward!" I said, cursing her. This was caught her off guard as her brown hair caught fire.

I yelled triumphantly and kept shooting more and more curses at her. I finally got her with a freezing spell and she was stuck in the same spot.

I couldn't help but say a few last words now.

"I am not a coward, you bitch! You are the coward for sneaking in the middle of the night to kill a harmless person! You and your beloved Evan are going to go to Azkaban! And soon, everyone on this boat is going to hear that you murdered Ella!" I screamed, waving the tape in front of her. "The Illuminators will be here soon and will take you back to France to Phlegm!" I knew I was talking nonsense, but I didn't care.

Before I could waste any more time, I turned around and made my way to the cabin. I only had a little way to go, so I ran as fast as I could.

Something hit me on the back and I toppled over. I felt someone's foot push into my back and I heard Evan laugh.

"You thought you could get away after that long speech?" he asked me, cackling like the evil wizard he was.

"Ginny!' came a voice to my right.

I moved my head slightly to the right, without getting up and saw Draco.

My heart fluttered and I couldn't help but feel hopeful. Maybe I was saved?

Evan cackled again. "Not so fast, pretty boy." I could tell that he his wand pointed at Draco.

Draco looked unfazed at all. He acted like he got threatened every day.

I felt tears well up in my eyes as Evan's foot dug deeper in my back.

"You filthy piece of vermin," I managed to choke out, "you'll never get away from this."

"Won't I?" he asked, laughing. "You'll regret the day you crossed paths with Evander and Gabrielle."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I glanced over at Draco. His eyes seemed to be glued to Evan, drinking in every word he was saying. I sighed and then looked at him again.

His hands were at his side, but on his left hand, his fingers were counting off.

Five, four, three, two, one...

Draco shot a curse at Evan and because he had been so engrossed in talking, he was unprepared for the curse that sent him flying.

I jumped up, but at that exact second Gabrielle came out of nowhere and scooped up Evan's wand, as well as hers.

I had already started running towards the cabin, but I stopped to turn around.

Curses were flying every which way, past Draco.

I was undecided. I didn't know if I should stop to help.

Draco, who was in a body bind by Evan who had decided he wanted to physically kill Draco rather than use his wand, said, "Go Ginny!"

I hesitated only for a second and then went running.

"The Illuminators are coming soon, Draco!" I said, before I ran off.

Gabrielle decided she would rather chase me, than to watch the two guys fight, so she came running after me.

She threw a few curses after me, but I dodged them. I ran into the captain's cabin and locked the door and pushed a chair in front of the door.

The captain was getting ready to stop the boat. He liked frightened to see me there.

Before he could question me or demand me to leave, Gabrielle magically forced the door open.

She cursed the captain as I quickly slipped the tape into the intercom and turned on the volume.

I then turned around to see Gabrielle looking murderous. The cabin was small, so I was lucky to dodge a few curses.

I kicked her on the nose and blood poured down her pink top. I used this opportunity to grab her fallen wand and to snap it in two.

I had broken it because I didn't want her to have a chance to get it back from me.

She sobbed. "You bitch! How dare you?!"

I punched her and pushed her up against the wall. I pushed her down and pushed my weight on top of hers, so she couldn't get up.

I had one advantage against her now. I was a bit chubby, while she was fragile and thin.

The tape played loud and clear, so that everyone could hear. I heard gasps and cries of disbelief throughout.

Suddenly there was a pop. I looked up and saw three Illuminators standing before me.

One of them helped me up, one stopped the boat and another put a body-binding spell on Gabrielle.

I got up and took a deep breath. The three Illuminators smiled at me and one told me that I had a great job.

"We have caught the other criminal," said one of them. "So these two will be reporting to the Ministry soon."

"Non! Merci!" screamed Gabrielle, reverting to French.

They placed a silencing charm on her and I grinned.

"Thanks," I said.

One nodded and said, "We arrived just as this er...tape played. Could you assist us in taking it out so it can be used as evidence?"

I smiled and helped them take it out.

"We will be having an official hearing for the two criminals," said one. "Do you need to go to St. Mungos for anything?" he asked, looking at all my bruises and my dirty gown.

I blushed a bit. "No thanks, I am really fine."

"You will be contacted by the Ministry for a special award and you will also need to testify against them," said the woman.

I nodded. "Thank you so much for coming to help me, but why did it take so long for you to come?"

The woman glanced at the man. "There was an odd man that turned up suddenly, claiming that he was George Weasley."

I gasped and grasped her collar. "What did he say?"

The woman took my hands off her collar. "Nothing, we were trying to interrogate him, when we received your call and had to leave."

"I want to speak to him," I said. "Please, I think he is my brother."

"That can be arranged," said the man. "We are going to first clean up this boat and modify a few memories. It would be best if you would step off the boat now, as it has stopped."

"What about Draco?" I asked. They all glanced at each other, surprised I knew their boss by name.

"He is issuing instructions to the rest of the team, on the dock," said the woman.

I nodded and opened the door, leaving.

I walked down the hall quickly, my heart racing. George was alive?

Pushing the door open, I blinked into the sunlight. Standing down on the dock was a bunch of people, some from the actually boat ride, several Illuminators and reports from the prophet.

I scanned the crowd, looking for Draco. I found him talking to a bunch of reporters.

"Draco!" I called.

He looked up, finally noticing me and he actually grinned.

I raced down the gangplank that connected the doors of the boat to the dock. I suddenly tripped on my ripped gown.

I heard people laughing, but I just got right up and ran down, right into Draco's arms.

Hugging him tightly, I felt his arms on my back. Then I heard whistles and laughter, so I pulled away, embarrassed.

He pulled away at the same time, embarrassed as well.

I was gasping for air, so I smiled and looked at the ground.

"Congratulations on the case," he said, sticking his hand out.

I looked up. "Oh, right. Thanks, you too," I said uncomfortably, shaking his hand.

He smirked at me and wouldn't let go. He pulled me closer and then kissed me.

I heard hoots and screeches in the background, but I didn't care. I kissed him back and then pulled away.

I stared at Draco, surprised.

He smirked at me as millions of bulbs went off and temporarily blinded me.

"What?" he asked me. "Don't tell me you never knew I loved you, Weasley?"

I gaped at me, unable to speak.

He laughed and I heard someone in the background say, "Propose!"

The next thing I knew, Draco pulled out a box from his pocket and opening it to reveal the most beautiful sapphire ring.

I gasped and couldn't believe my eyes. It wasn't as extravagant as the fake ring, which had been encrusted in diamonds; it was a simple sapphire with smaller sapphires around it. But it was so much more beautiful because it was simple and it was real, unlike the fake ornate one. It expressed how much Draco really loved me, because it was small and simple as I was. It showed me that he understood whom I was and therefore hadn't tried to impress me with something expensive and fake.

"I would get down on one knee, but as Evan broke my leg, I can't really bend," he said, grinning. "Ginny, will you marry me?"

Tears welled up in my eyes. Images flashed through my eyes. Images of me being rejected by my family when I was younger, Ron teasing me, Harry not liking me, finding out Dad, Bill, Charlie had died, making out with Draco under a tree, all my friends getting upset at me for the lies I had told about Draco and me, Mum getting upset at me, finding out Fred had died, seeing Mum's dead body, finding out I have diabetes, living alone in sorrow, falling over with a bookshelf on top of me, tears of frustration and hope, Draco carrying me in his arms and now this. They all mixed together until they fused into one image...sadness.

I pushed Draco's hand that held the ring away and instead...leaned up to kiss him.

He kissed me back and my heart swelled with emotion that I thought it would burst. I had finally found what I wanted. I hadn't wanted a fake relationship, new fancy clothes, beautiful jewels or anything else. I had found what I had wanted, and that was for someone to truly love me.

*~*~*~*

Later that day, we took an airplane and went back to London. Draco held my hand the whole way, and only let go once, to scratch his broken leg.

As soon as we got back, we gave a testimony against Gabrielle and Evan, with proof of the tape.

Then, I met with the man claiming to be George. It turned out that it was George.

I shrieked with such joy that people on the seventh floor of the Ministry heard me, while we were on the second.

I hugged him joyously and he told me his story. It turned out that some Death Eaters had dumped him in a place called New Zealand where there were no wizards left and had also stolen his wand. He was in the muggle hospital for three years because he was in a coma. Then he struggled to return to normal life and found his way back.

I was so happy to have him back, that I took him to Ron and Hermione's, while Draco stayed to sort out a few things with the Ministry.

Hermione even invited Neville and Medea there as we sat there listening to his story.

We planned a party for his welcome back on the weekend and then I announced that I was engaged.

No one was able to believe it. They all were so happy and Hermione even said, "I knew it."

I laughed and told her she did not. Everyone was viewing me differently, I realized. They could see that I was bubbling with joy and I told them my tale of how I had conquered Gabrielle and Evan.

I even laughed when Ron started to glance at Harry and Hermione smacked him, when I mentioned Gabrielle's name.

The week after George's party, we had an engagement party.

Of course, the whole wizarding news already knew that we were getting married as our pictures appeared in the Prophet for a week after.

Three months later, we got married.

Draco stopped teasing me a bit. He still loved to have go's at me, but it was all right with me now. I was ok with everything now.

I moved from my flat into his mansion and brought Snowflake with me, whom Draco was allergic to. Not deathly allergic, just allergic that he would start sneezing and his face would go red.

I used it as a punishment for him. Whenever I would get mad at him, I would send Snowflake after him and laugh as he sneezed his head off.

Our wedding though, was the best day of my life. The same day, Luna and Hermione rushed out of the church as we were getting married, only to announce a few hours later that they had both given birth to girls.

After that, I was always smiling, always laughing. I realized that if you waited for something to happen, then nothing ever would happen. You had to go and seize the opportunity yourself, otherwise you would never get another one.

I found out that Draco had loved me back in sixth year, but like me, he had pushed me out of his thoughts when his mother died.

On the first day, when I met him in the office, he fell in love with me again when I fell over with the books on top of me. I found that he teased me and bothered me; because it was the way he showed he loved me.

He would be mean to me because he was also confused about his own feelings and didn't know how to sort them out.

The day before we had left for our journey in Egypt, he had bought the ring then, hoping I loved him back.

My family finally found out that I had diabetes, because I stopped trying to hide it. The truth was, I stopped hiding lots of things now. If I were unhappy, I would show that I was sad. Or if I were happy, I would smile and laugh.

Just like I had changed when Fred had died, I changed when Draco married me. I became happier and more positive.

I stopped feeling depressed and sorry for myself. I realized part of the problem was that my job was not something I liked.

I quit my job at the Ministry and found something I had wanted to do forever. I started writing books.

A few months after our wedding, I realized I loved writing, just as I loved reading. I wrote many books and several became best sellers. They brought in a lot of money, but it wasn't the money I cared about. Writing them made me feel happy and made me laugh, so I continued doing it.

I stopped distancing myself from people now, because I knew who I was now and what my dreams and ambitions were. Before, when I was around other people, I would feel uncertain because I was unsure of what it was I wanted to do. But now when I was around people, I knew what I wanted and what I dreamed of, so I wasn't bothered about what other people felt.

Draco's love kept me true to myself, and my silly nature kept him in love with me. I started believing in myself and what I could do after my first book was published.

After hearing what had happened to me in his absence, George had told me that I should have been happier after our family had died. Not because they had died, but because they would have wanted me to be happy and to keep living for his sake.

It was them who had died, and yet I was the one who walked around like a corpse.

It was all right if you made mistakes, and fell down while walking, but you can't stay on the floor forever, you have to just dust yourself off and get up again, continuing as if you had never stopped.

Two years later, Draco became Minister for Magic, while I continued to write my books.

So in laughter and love, we all lived happily ever after...well not really, but you know how it is!

So, I, Ginny Molly Weasley, came back from my depression and stopped acting like a lifeless corpse, and started walking around with a big smile on my face, because I wanted the world to know that I was alive- and I was happy to be alive!