Sapient Stars

If I fall

Draco turned to follow Harry to the stairwell when his robes snagged on a sharp stone. He tried to pull himself free, but lost his balance and tumbled over the side. Then he was falling. Free falling was unlike anything Draco had experienced before. It wasn't like flying on a broom. Then, you always knew you had support or a lifeline of sorts. And it wasn't like falling off a broom during a Quidditch match at school; you always knew one of the teachers would stop you. Yet with this, Draco almost felt free.

He would have enjoyed this feeling before Harry had shown up and talked him out of it. Now he was frightened out of his mind. He wanted to see Ginny again, but he still had things he wanted to do first; Draco had to make her proud of him. Now he wouldn't get the chance. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, and braced himself for the impact of the fall.

Surely it won't hurt too much and maybe I'll live through it, he thought rather optimistically.

Draco felt the icy wind rushing past him, and he knew that the ground, or one of the many scattered headstones, was soon to come.

If I fall (down)

"No, Draco!" Harry screamed. He had to save him. They were such close friends now, to his surprise, and Harry didn't know what he would do if he died. He had seen too much death in his short life, and he desperately didn't want to see anymore.

Harry raced over to the ledge of the roof, his wand already in hand. He pointed it at Draco's falling body and yelled, "Impedimenta!"

At the end of the world

So it is true, Draco thought as he saw his life flash before his eyes. It was nothing new, really, since his life always flashed before his eyes like this. Anytime he would think about Ginny he would see the memories they had shared. This time was different though, as it was all about him and not completely about her.

Draco saw his mother. He was six and had gotten his first broom. Needless to say, Narcissa was beside herself with worry. He took his new broom out the second he got it, and flew around the manor. He was very high in the air when he scanned the ground below for his mother. He saw her and the look of panic on her face, but it was too late before he turned and saw the reason for her expression: he was two feet away from a tree. Then everything went black with the pain that flooded his vision.

The next thing he knew, he woke up in his bed with a pounding headache. His mother was sitting next to him patting a warm, damp cloth on his head.

"Draco, you worried me sick. It looks like you're going to be okay, though. I just don't know what I would have done if you had died. Looking at me when you should have been watching where you were going. Oh, my son," she said, and shook her head as she continued to fuss over him.

"I'm really sorry, mum. I didn't mean to worry you," Draco started, but she hushed him.

He was going to miss her so much. Narcissa was distant and seemed apathetic at times, but when it came down to it, she loved him unconditionally. Her image faded away, and he soon found himself in the library at the manor.

Draco then saw his father. He looked over at Lucius who was standing next to him, and saw that he was wearing his Death Eater's mask. Then he knew where he was; he was about to meet Voldemort for the first time. Draco reached up and touched his own face and realized he was wearing a mask as well.

Lucius had wanted him to follow in his footsteps and become a Death Eater like he was. His father told him earlier that evening that this night signified the beginning of his career. The Death Eaters fell silent beside him when Voldemort Apparated into the room. Draco could feel his malefic presence as soon as he appeared in the library. It was almost overwhelming.

He felt his father's hand painfully grasping his arm. Draco was sure he had drawn blood. He knew it was a warning to do exactly as he said and to not embarrass him. His father never cared about him. He only cared about himself and how Draco made him look.

Draco wasn't upset that, presently, his father was serving a life term in Azkaban, having escaped sometime after his graduation, and was caught the day before the last battle at Hogwarts. Though, Draco never thought that he would die before Lucius, especially with all the people that wanted his father dead.

Voldemort came closer to Draco, slowly gliding over to him. A flash of bravery swept over him and he looked into the Dark Lord's wicked, red eyes. It was then that Draco realized he didn't want this. One look straight into Voldemort's eyes had done it. There was nothing held inside them but hatred and power, which Draco would have welcomed before Ginny had come into his life. She had brought her unfailing compassion, her contagious laughter, and her loving spirit, and filled Draco's heart so completely with it that now he knew he would not become like his father. If it was the last thing he did, he would not end up like him.

Then, he was distracted from the Voldemort and his thoughts of rebellion when he noticed a little girl standing behind the Dark Lord. The manor's library dissolved around him, and he found himself in Flourish and Blott's looking at a beautiful red head.
This was the first time that Draco ever saw Ginny. She never looked so beautiful, so innocent as she was standing amid the bookshelves thumbing through a book. There were smudges of soot on her face from traveling by floo, and her tattered robes were covered in the dusty grayness as well.

Then he remembered that her first year hadn't happened yet, and she wasn't pained by Tom's memory at this moment. He held no power over her now. Draco made up his mind, and swiftly walked over to her. He stopped in front of her, and she looked up at him with a genuinely happy smile. Of course, Ginny was always smiling about something, but Draco found that if he looked hard enough he could see that she was masking something. Riddle's painful memory had always lingered with her, except at this particular point in time.

"I'm sorry for all of the mean things I'm going to say to you throughout the next several years, and I'm sorry if I ever make you cry. Just remember that I really do love you," Draco told her sincerely, and she seemed confused. Nevertheless, Draco looked into her eyes and smiled, happy that he could see no wall separating her pain from the present.

His world almost felt whole again as he stood there looking at her. He leaned down and kissed her gently on her soft lips. Ginny was surprised at first, but didn't pull away. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and ran them up through his hair like she always did. Draco's hands found their way to her hair, and he twirled her silky, scarlet curls around his fingers.

Suddenly, her curls started to feel heavier and rough, almost like wood. He opened his eyes, and saw that he was twirling his wand in his hand, and that he was on the Hogwarts Express standing in Harry's compartment. Crabbe and Goyle were beside him, and Harry and Ron faced him.

Draco looked at Harry, and realized that this was when he had first offered his friendship to him and he had turned him down. Harry looked as if he was waiting for Draco to say something. Deciding what he had to do, Draco spoke and once again offered his friendship to Harry, but this time he rephrased his words. He offered his friendship only out of friendship, and not because he was better than the others. Though deep inside he heard his father's voice screaming at him for his kind words toward the Boy Who Lived.

The feeling of rebellion and freedom overwhelmed him as Harry looked pleased and shook Draco's extended hand. Ron smiled at him too, a little reluctant at first, but still shook his hand. After Crabbe and Goyle had shaken hands with Harry and Ron, the scene dissolved yet again.

Then he found himself standing in front of the Great Hall. He looked around him, and saw his classmates. They were all eleven years old again, and he figured they were about to be sorted.

Just then, Professor McGonagall came out of the heavy doors and started to lead them inside. Draco followed behind Harry and Ron, and saw the Sorting Hat sitting on top of a stool. One by one the students were sorted. Crabbe and Goyle in Slytherin, Hermione in Gryffindor, Neville in Gryffindor, Harry in Gryffindor, and soon it was Draco's turn. He slowly walked up to the hat, thinking about what house he would want to be in now, but he couldn't think of any particular one in which he would fit. He sat on the stool, and could hear the hat's voice after it was placed on his head.

"Hmm, you know very much for your age. Are you sure you're only eleven years old?" the hat asked.
"Um, yes and no. I don't know, but what difference does it make? Aren't you going to sort me anyway?" Draco asked, getting a little confused.

"Yes, yes, it's makes no difference. Well, let's see what's inside your head. Hmm . . . you seem to be quite arrogant, but at the same time, modest. Very cunning, but foolish at times. Lots of bravery in you, but you're also a coward. Well, I think we'll put you in . . . Slytherin!" the hat finished as he shouted out Salazar's house.

Draco looked to Harry and Ron and shrugged his shoulders, only they didn't look at him in disgust or even dislike. They merely shrugged their shoulders too and smiled his way.

They accepted him for what he was, what he would always be. Draco would always be arrogant, he would always be cunning, and he would always be cold. Nothing would change that, but now he was other things as well. He was braver now, he was modest at times, and he was human. He wasn't the unfeeling monster everyone used to think he was. He was a good man, as Ginny had put it, and for the first time he believed it too.

He looked over, and saw Dumbledore smiling at him from his podium. The twinkle in his eyes glistened as he looked at his former student who had lived up to the expectations he had of him. Draco felt that now, and only now, did he deserve the man's trust and faith.

Draco smiled back at him, apology in his eyes for the mistakes he had made in his sixth year, then turned around to take his seat. But there were no seats, the students were gone, and when he turned back around Dumbledore was gone too. Soon, he couldn't see anything at all except the forbidding blackness that was surrounding him.

Or the last thing I see

He strained his eyes to try to see anything at all when he noticed a soft, yellowish light flickering into his vision. It almost hurt to look at, but he found that he couldn't look away as it was getting brighter. Then he saw her. Ginny.

It was like the dream he had every morning since the day she died. She was smiling at him, but this time he didn't reach for her. He just looked at her, from the top of her cinnamon hair to the bottom of her feet, which were so ticklish that his nose had never been quite the same after they had broken it. Draco brought his eyes back up to her face and began to cry uncontrollably.
"I'm so sorry, Ginny. I know that I've been stupid and selfish. I'm just so, so sorry! Please forgive me. I promise I'll never do anything that'll make you upset with me again. I promise . . ." he stopped. Draco noticed that she wasn't saying anything, so he looked up at her. Silent tears were flowing down her face.

She's so dazzlingly beautiful when she cries, he thought. Draco, of course, never wanted to see her cry. But the times that she did, he thought that he had never seen anything so taking.
"Don't you ever do that again, Draco," Ginny said, and he couldn't hold himself back any longer.

He grabbed her as fast as he could, like he was daring the Gods to stop him from holding her. Draco wrapped his arms tightly around Ginny's waist, and felt as if he could never let go. She was so warm, and felt the same way that he remembered. He felt her gripping his shirt, and he knew that she did not want to let go either. But she did, only slightly though.

"I told you I'd wait for you," Ginny said as she ran her hand across his cheek.

"I know. I'm so sorry," Draco said, and he felt his words stop in his throat. Just looking at her again, holding her again, rendered him speechless.

"It's okay. I forgive you, love," she said as she leaned in, and slowly brought her lips up to his. Closer . . . closer. . . .

"DRACO!"

What the hell? he thought. He opened his eyes, and saw that he had Harry's face in his hands, and was trying to kiss him.

"Oh, Gods!" Draco said as he released Harry, and quickly backed away from him on his hands.

He was on the ground and he was alive! He hadn't died and he seemed to be perfectly fine. Nothing terrible had happened to him, except for the fact that he almost kissed Harry. Other than that, he was okay.

"I'm . . . alive?" Draco asked, still in shock.

"Yeah, you gave me quite a scare there. Both when you fell and just now when you tried to kiss me. What got into you?"

"My robes got caught, and I tripped . . . and I saw Ginny. I was about to kiss her, but then I heard you yell my name, and I saw you and . . . not Ginny. Oh, that was strange," Draco said, and he shook his head, trying to clear his mind.
"I'll say. For a moment there I thought you had completely lost it. You are okay, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Did you stop me from hitting the ground?"

"No, Crookshanks saw you falling, and he saved you. Of course it was me," Harry said laconically.
"Still sarcastic as ever, I see. Help me up, will you?" Draco asked. He felt a bit weak from shock and didn't trust his legs just yet.

"All right, but if you try to kiss me again, I'll throw you off that tower myself," Harry joked as he helped Draco to his feet.

"You wish, Potter. I thought you were Ginny, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah. Come on, let's get out of here."

"Yes, let's go," Draco said, and they walked away from Sweetheart Abbey.

Draco was sad that he was leaving, but happy that he had come. He had learned a lot about himself here, and for the first time in a year he felt that he could take on the world. And that was exactly what Draco planned on doing.

You are

They were flying extremely fast through the biting wind. Draco had started it, as soon as he leapt on his broom he took off. Harry took the hint and matched his speed. Draco finally felt at peace with the world and it felt wonderful. He didn't think he could ever feel like this again.

Draco tilted his head back and gazed at the sapient stars. He didn't feel vengeful toward them anymore. They only made him think of Ginny, of what she was: Beautiful, passionate, intelligent, stubborn, warm, sensitive, compassionate, strong. He could go on and on.

"You are . . . always going to be with me, Gin," Draco said into the wind as he exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding.

He felt as if a great weight had been taken off his shoulders and that now he could finally breathe again. Draco looked back at Harry, who seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, and called out to him.

"Come on, from the way you're flying no one would've thought you always beat me to the Snitch."

"Ah, you know I don't fly that much anymore," Harry said when he caught up to him.

"I know. Hey, I never asked, why did you stop?"
"I don't know. It just became too childish, I suppose. Everyone was dying, and battles were being fought. I just didn't see how I could fly like I used to after that."

"Well, we all have our ways of trying to forget. Flying is one, drinking is another, and-"

"Jumping off a tower is the last?" Harry finished for Draco.

Draco laughed. "Yeah. I guess none of them are really good for forgetting. Flying was always just fun, you know? It was so exhilarating. You really should start back up."

"Why?"
"It just seems tragic that the youngest Seeker in a century at Hogwarts doesn't fly anymore. Why don't we have a game when we get to the Burrow? Fred, Ron, and Charlie can join. Come on, what do you say?"

"Yeah, that would be fun," Harry said, and they flew the rest of the way to the Burrow in silence. Each lost in their own thoughts of what was and what could be.

Never coming home

It was nearing nine o'clock when Draco and Harry reached the Burrow. The house was lit up, and they could see silhouettes of a few people standing outside as they walked up to the house. As they got closer the noise coming from inside grew louder. It seemed that they weren't too late and that the party was in full swing.

Draco and Harry were greeted by a very riotous crowd. At the very sight of Draco, Fred ran over and tackled him to the ground. Charlie soon came over, pulled his overly excited brother off Draco, and shook his hand.

Charlie led Draco and Harry into the house where they were rushed by Molly, and squashed with hugs. Harry was quickly pulled into conversation with a tipsy Ron as soon as they came through the door. Draco saw that everyone was there. He was greeted by many people all at once; Arthur, Lupin, Tonks, a very pregnant Hermione, Minerva McGonagall, Fleur, Angelina, Narcissa, and even Snape was there.

After the crowd around him dispersed a little Draco was attacked a small child. He grabbed onto Draco's legs, and almost made him fall to the floor. This was Fred's little boy, of course. Draco remembered hearing that Fred had two children; one was born a year and a half ago, and the other was just three months old. The older one, who had a hold of Draco's legs, was named George in memory of his late uncle. The other was in his mum, Angelina's arms, who was sitting at the kitchen table.

Draco walked over to Angelina, who immediately gave him the newborn. She said she needed to rest her arms, and that it was about time that he met his niece.

Everyone still considered Draco part of the family. Fred still thought of him as his brother, so his child was naturally Draco's niece. Fred also said he wouldn't have it any other way and not to argue about it. Not that Draco would have argued about it anyway; he loved the Weasleys as much as his own family, if not more.

Draco looked down at the tiny infant, whom they had named Ginevra, and she was beautiful just like her namesake. She had their same spiraling, red hair and he couldn't resist touching it. Angelina soon came back and took little Ginny from him, telling him to go and mingle.

Two hours, one Quidditch game, and four glasses of elderflower wine later, Draco slipped away from the crowd to Ginny's old room. He opened the light blue door, and walked inside. He looked around at his wife's childhood room as he walked over and sat on her bed. He leaned against the headboard, and let out a sigh as he looked over the familiar room.

Ginny's bedroom was simple: A cedar wardrobe stood against the wall next to the door; across from that was her bed that was covered with a flowery bedspread; a small window next to her bed with curtains matching her coverlet; and a small desk on the wall next to the window. The room was painted a light blue, but was hardly seen over the many posters and pictures hanging along the walls.

Looking around the room, he saw one of their wedding photos. The fading sunlight made the sandstone of Sweetheart Abbey seem vividly red, and they both were teeming with embarrassing, mushy smiles.

Next to that was her graduation photo. She was throwing her witch's hat in the air with a wide grin on her face.

Beside that was one of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They were standing on Platform Nine and Three Quarters, waving. Draco thought that it must have been taken at the beginning of his seventh year.

Then he saw one that was taken at Christmas two years ago. His mum had come to the Burrow that year, and Molly had just given Draco his Christmas sweater. Draco didn't think it was too horrid. She had done it in black and it had a light green 'D' in the middle. Ginny had prodded him to wear it as soon as he opened it, and the picture showed him sitting between Narcissa and Molly with Ginny on his lap. He forced a miserable smile, which no one noticed since Ginny was smiling enough for both of them. She took too much pleasure out of his embarrassment that day, which she apologized for later, but said it was fun nonetheless.

Looking away from the photos, Draco got up and moved over to the window. The night had gotten significantly darker, but the stars still shown brightly. He thought about what had happened earlier that night as he gazed at the calm sky. He had decided to change for Ginny's sake. He wouldn't isolate himself anymore, and he would move on.
"I'll always be thinking about you, Gin, and I'm not going to disappoint you anymore. We will see each other again. It might not be for a very long time, but we will. I love you, Ginny," Draco said to the omniscient stars.

He then turned and left the room, not looking back, but closing the door gently behind him.