Sapient Stars

And all the smiles that are ever ever . . .

"What is it, Draco?" she asked when she saw the panicked look on his face.

"Oh, nothing, nothing, love. Just relax. Hermione is standing guard, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Where's Ron?"

"He's helping some Aurors protect Harry. Don't worry. He's fine."

"Good. How's the battle going?"

"In our favor, I think. I can't see Harry anywhere. Wait - there he is."

"What's he doing?" she said concerned.

"Fighting Voldemort. Harry's advancing on him. Voldemort looks a little weak. His spells don't seem very strong. The plan must be working," Draco said.

Once Harry had wiped out all of Voldemort's Horcruxes, it left the Dark Lord practically powerless. Harry destroyed five of them without the Dark Lord's knowledge, but he had felt it when he destroyed the sixth Horcrux, Godric Gryffindor's sword. When he had destroyed it, Voldemort knew Harry was coming for him next.

They had received a letter from the Dark Lord himself the following day telling them that the final battle would take place at Hogwarts seven days from then. It gave them time to prepare and to make an attack strategy. The Aurors would take out every Death Eater they could, and would protect Harry so he didn't use too much of his power until the time to fight Voldemort came.

Draco saw Voldemort fall to the ground, and Harry walked toward him slowly with a look of absolute hatred on his face. Then he heard it.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Harry cried out in a tone more menacing than Draco had ever heard from the boy who lived.

At that moment, all the sounds on the battlefield stopped as everyone looked at Harry and the bright green flares that shot from his wand. Sable, sinister flames erupted from the Dark Lord's body as the ground began to shake noticeably. The flames shot high into the air, then soon vanished into the sullen sky.

Voldemort's corpse was adust and beyond recognition as it laid at Harry's feet. The surviving Death Eaters were stunned: some lowered their wands, some turned them on themselves, and some cried out in rage and attempted to continue the fight. Aurors quickly overtook them and the battle was soon over. The Dark Lord was dead and everyone was finally free from his terror. Almost everyone.

Ever . . .

Draco felt her tense up in his arms and she let out an alarming scream. Everyone seemed to hear her and some came rushing over. He held her tighter as people began crowding around them.

"Draco, " she said in a small, raspy voice.

"Yes, love?"

"I don't think I'm going to make it," she said as tears fell from her eyes onto his shirt.

"No, don't say that. You're going to be fine. The battle's over and someone will heal you soon."

"No, they can't heal me. I know it somehow. I think it's because Voldemort is dead. Tom and I were always connected, and I think he plans to take me with him."

"No, you're wrong. He can't hurt you now, and he is definitely not taking you with him! I won't let him!" Draco said, becoming frantic.

"Love, I don't think you can stop him. This is very powerful magic, I just - I just -" she tried to say, but stopped because her breath became short.

"No! SOMEONE HELP HER!" Draco yelled as he looked around.

Just then, Severus Snape stepped through the crowd yelling at people to move as he knelt down next to the couple. He muttered spells unintelligibly for a minute or so before he spoke.

"I'm sorry, but nothing can be done. She and Voldemort did have a connection, and I fear that it is not broken in his death. And since she is already badly hurt . . ." Severus stopped, looking oddly regretful. He looked back down at her, "You were a very talented student, and I must say, I am quite proud of what you did after graduating. You made more strong healing potions for the Order than I could have by myself. You helped a great deal and I thank you."

"Thank you, Professor. That means a lot to me," she said softly.

Severus walked around to Draco, and whispered in his ear to say his goodbyes while there was still time. No longer able to keep back his tears, Draco looked up at his former Potions Professor. Severus put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a meaningful look. Then he went through the crowd and out of sight.

Get the feeling that you're never all alone

The wind was picking up, and being ninety-two feet in the air on the central tower of Sweetheart Abbey didn't help any. Draco had left the manor earlier in such a frenzy that he had forgotten his cloak, and regretted it now since it was turning out to be a frigid night.

He remembered another night in which he was in such a hurry to leave his manor that he had failed to grab his cloak. It was also the night that he was beaten within an inch of his life. His father had found out about her. Lucius screamed at Draco in a way he never had before. Draco didn't deny any of it since he knew it would come out someday. He planned to spend the rest of his life with her, and he didn't care who knew about them anymore.

After his father had finished ruthlessly hitting him and had said he was disowning him, he ran outside the manor and grabbed his broom. He flew all night to the Burrow, and when he reached Ottery St. Catchpole he was numb from the cruel wind. Draco flew up beside her window and rapped lightly on the glass. He saw her face abruptly appear at the window, and saw it relax from alarmed to delighted, then back to alarmed when she saw his bruised face. She quickly let him inside, then went to lock her door. She sat him on her bed, and he fell back against her headboard.

"What happened? Are you all right?" she asked with concern. No one had ever been very concerned about his well-being before, and he was still a little surprised by how much she was.

"My father found out about us."

"Oh, no! What happened?"

"He disowned me and said I was lucky that he didn't kill me."

"Draco, I'm so sorry. I knew Lucius was a terrible person - sorry, but he is - I just didn't think he would actually hit you."

"I guess I've always expected it. I knew he would be furious when he found out about us. I just didn't think he would take it this far."

"Oh, this is all my fault."

"Yeah," he joked, "but I did sort of deserve it. I finally told him off tonight. It felt so good, and I've been wanting to do it for years. He's just mad right now. He'll calm down in a few days."

"Yeah, or in a few of years. Let me get something to heal your cuts," she said as she walked into her bathroom.

She came out a few seconds later with a potion. She sat next to him and tipped the yellow potion bottle onto a cloth.
"This might sting a little," she said as she touched the cloth to his face.

"Ow. What is that stuff?" Draco said, wincing in pain.

"Murtlap Essence. It'll heal your wounds," she said as she continued to dab his face gently, "You know, I'm not really worth this," she finished softly.

"What? Of course you're worth it," he said as he pulled her hands from his face and took them in his. He looked her straight in her eyes and sighed before he went on. "If I had to be beaten every day by my father for the rest of my life just to be with you, it would still be worth it."

"You're too good to me," she said, blushing from his admission.

"I know," he replied, a small smirk on his lips.

After everyone found out about their relationship, Draco determined that he was much more capable of dealing with everyone's reactions because of this night. He knew she would be there for him, and she knew he would always be there for her. They felt invincible, if even for a short while.

"Draco, please stop crying. You'll be all right. You've always been so strong. I know you helped me hold myself together over these hard years. I don't know what I would have done without you, my drop-dead gorgeous husband," she said with a tender smile. Though, as she saw his troubled reaction to her previous words, she quickly added, "Oh, that was a bad play on words. Sorry."

And she laughed. At a time like this she could still laugh. He couldn't resist, and laughed with her.

"Only you would laugh when you're dying," Draco said, and felt warm tears slide down his cheeks again.

"Draco, we will see each other again. You know we will. I love you more than I could say, and you've loved me more than I thought anyone ever could," she said as she pulled his lips to hers once more.

He kissed her softly, but at the same time, with all the pain he felt in his heart. He never wanted the kiss to end, but he had more that he wanted to say to her.

"No. Don't - please! I can't go on without you. I'm only strong because of you. I can't. . . . No, I can't," he said, but the words stopped in his throat.

"Shh, love, you'll be fine. We'll see each other again. Just . . . think of me whenever you hear laughter, or when you look at the stars, our stars, and know that I'm always going to be with you. Always," she said as she gently ran her hands through his hair.
Draco noticed that her face was paling by the second. He felt his pulse quicken and his head fill with anxiety.

"I loved you from the first second I saw you. I loved you," he said as he stroked her cheek with his hand.

"That's a lie, my dear. You hated me the first second you saw me," she said with his contagious smirk.

"No. The first time I saw you I didn't know who you were. I thought you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, and I knew you would be mine one day. Even after I found out that you were a Weasley, that thought never left the back of my mind. I didn't tell anyone about it, mostly out of fear of being killed, especially by my father and your brothers, but you were definitely worth the risk. I know that I'm not the easiest person to put up with, and I couldn't understand it why you stayed with me after the things I've said to you, but you did. I don't love anything in this world more than I love you, and I don't think I would have ever loved anything at all if it hadn't been for you. You changed my life, and I won't ever be the same . . . Ah, you've ruined me, woman," Draco said affectionately.

"I know, but you love me for it -" she cut off as she started shaking slightly. She wrinkled her nose up, just as she always did when she thought he did something cute, but this time it was from pain.

And I remember now
At the top of my lungs in my arms she dies

"Draco -" she said as she was gasping for breath, "Tell my family I love them, and your mum, and Harry, and Hermione and -" he cut her off by placing a finger on her lips.

"I know, I will. I love you so much," he said, but couldn't speak anymore when he felt her slowly going limp.

"I love you so much too, Draco. I'll . . . I'll wait for you -" she said as she gripped his robes as tight as she could, trying to hold on to him. He ran a finger over her supple lips, up her porcelain cheek, and then to her vibrant scarlet hair. He twirled one of her silky curls around his finger and looked into her amber eyes.

Draco couldn't explain what he saw in them; it was so much. He saw her unending love for him, the happy memories she had with him, and her inexplicable sadness because she had to leave him. But over everything, he saw her spirit. Her warm, loving, compassionate spirit. The same spirit that pushed him to be better than he though he could be. The same spirit that was always patient with him no matter how difficult he was. The same spirit that fought with all her heart for everything she believed in.

She brought her lips to his ear, and whispered something to him that no one else could hear. He pulled away, and looked at her in shock, then started to cry quietly.

"Then the battle broke out, and I didn't have a chance. I'm so sorry . . . Draco. . . ."

And then, she was gone. In the blink of an eye she was gone. It was like a fire that the unsparing sky had suddenly rained on. He felt her grip on him loosened, and her lifeless hand fall into his lap. At that moment, he felt his heart torn into grating pieces, and his world broke as easily as sugar glass.

She dies

"NO, GINNY!" Draco yelled out into the empty cavernous valley surrounding the abbey. That was the first time he had said her name since she died. He tried not to even think of it because it hurt too much. Saying her name only brought back the memories he had of each and every time he had said it before.

The first time at Hogwarts. He was walking down a corridor with his head down, lost in thought, when he turned a corner and collided with Ginny. They fell backward and Draco, inadvertently, pinned her against a wall.

"Ow," Ginny said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Oh. Sorry, Ginny," Draco unconsciously said. She just stared at him, shocked that he said her first name, and more so that he said he was sorry.

"I mean - Weasley. I mean - I'm not sorry. Oh, sod off," he said, then quickly walked away, feeling profoundly embarrassed.

The first time they made love. They astonished themselves by waiting several months before they slept together, and it made all of the waiting worth it. They knew each other then, and that they wanted a serious relationship together. It meant so much to both of them.

Draco was kissing her earlobe as they were laying outside on a blanket entangled with each other under their damning stars. Ginny's hand slowly traversed the skin on the back of his neck, then up through his soft, white-blonde hair.

"Ginny," he whispered longingly in her ear.

"Yes?" she said as she pulled away slightly.

"I . . . I love you."
She didn't respond, only pressed her lips against his, and muttered his name over and over.

At their wedding. Ginny's hair was pulled partially up, and a few stray curls framed her face. She wore little makeup, as she always did, but had a glow about her that radiated through the entire abbey. Her dress was simple: she wore a strapless, white satin gown with very little silver embroidery at the top, and the back dipped just below her shoulder blades. Draco thought that her brilliant hair against the gown made her look completely stunning. He had her hands in his as they were pronounced husband and wife. Ginny had grabbed him around his neck and pulled him into an intense kiss without warning. Apparently, it was a shocking display of public affection to some in the crowd. As the gasps died down, Draco pulled away from her and leaned his forehead against hers.

"Ginny?"

"Yes?"

"Nothing," he said slowly with a smirk.

She laughed. "Draco?"

"Yes?" he replied arrogantly, one eyebrow raised.

"I love you."

"Of course you do. How could you not?"

"I couldn't," she said sincerely as she gazed into his ardent grey eyes. She tucked her arm into his, and they turned to face their family and friends, and walk down the aisle together.

And when she died. He had screamed her name as he cursed the sapient stars above while sobbing deliriously. The people around him cried out in surprise as they witnessed Draco Malfoy coming apart at his once-thought-emotionless seams.

Her mum was suddenly on the ground next to her daughter, stroking her hair and crying neurotically with Draco. Arthur had made it to the front of the cluster, and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Ginny, putting his face in his hands. Ron was being forcibly held back by Harry, who was quite broken up himself. Draco was surprised that he had the strength to hold back Ron, who was wildly hitting him on his chest and arms. Harry quickly took him by the shoulders and shook him hard. Ron looked at Harry, then fell to the ground in silent, convulsant tears.

Draco knew that Ginny and Harry had a relationship at one point, but she made it clear to Draco that it was over, and had been over for a long time. After things in the Wizarding world became more serious, he hadn't felt much jealousy for Harry. Draco knew the daunting task that he had to do, and felt more pity for him than anything else.

At the end of the world

Draco didn't remember being dragged away from Ginny, and he didn't remember how he made it back to the castle that night. To his surprise, it was Harry who pried him off his wife. He dragged him away to the school, put him in a bedroom, and stayed with him most of the night. Draco practically broke everything in that bedroom, hitting Harry more than once with flying objects.

Finally, after his rage subsided, he told Harry he could leave, and that he would be all right. Harry ignored his statement and made himself more comfortable in a chair. They didn't talk about Ginny's death that night. Harry had offered, but Draco couldn't bring himself to admit that she was dead. After a couple hours of awkward silence, Harry excused himself to go check on the rest of the family.

Draco was shocked at Harry's recent behavior toward him. For the past couple of years after Harry learned about his and Ginny's relationship, he had been standoffish toward them both. Harry would leave a room whenever either would come in, or practically ignore them all together. In Harry's defense, he hadn't been rude either, just not exactly friendly. That night, Harry had been trying to console Draco and was being very kind to him. Draco didn't know what to think, but from that point on they were friends.

Draco stood up on the tower and peered over the ledge. "Merlin, this is going to hurt. But hopefully only for a second, then I'll be with her again and nothing will hurt anymore."

Just then, he heard light footsteps coming from the stairwell. He turned, wand ready, and waited for whoever it was to come out onto the roof. Of course, it was who he was afraid it would be.