Growing Old Together

Looking down at the gravestone, tears flowed down her cheeks. He had sworn to her that they would grow old together. That much came true, but there was no stopping the pain. She knew that this was coming. There was no denying it. Death was only the next greatest adventure...

"Ginny, we're gonna see the world!" Draco said as they danced together in her apartment. "We're going to grow old together. No one will be able to separate us." Ginny just laughed. Draco always made silly promises.

"That means you're going to have to marry me," Ginny told him, teasingly. Draco stopped dancing for a moment and looked deep into her eyes.

"That, my dear, is exactly what I plan on doing."

"Are you asking me to marry you?" she asked him.

"What? You don't want to marry me?" Draco questioned.

"Of course I do, honey. It's just..." Ginny started.

"It's just...what?"

"Well, everything seems to be happening so fast."

"We love each other, baby. I want....No, I need to spend the rest of my life with you. We're meant to be together. I can feel it in my bones."

"You're right. I don't know why I had such crazy thoughts. Let's get married!"

"When?"

"How about now?"

"I love it when you're spontaneous."

They had eloped that day. Only in their early twenties but so full of love. Ginny and Draco knew nothing could separate them. Not even death. Or so Ginny thought. Draco's death made everything different. She was alone in the world. He had promised that he'd never leave her.

"Draco, you will come back, won't you?" Ginny asked as Draco prepared to leave for a business trip in Greece.

"Of course I will. Why wouldn't I?" Draco said, teasingly.

"Well, what if you find a prettier, younger girl? One that could give you everything?"

"I've already found that girl." A look of horror spread across Ginny's face. "And that's you." Draco told her with a smile on his face. She hit him playfully, and he gathered her in his arms. "I'll never leave you, Ginny-love. You're the only one out there for me. Only you can fulfill all my needs."

More tears poured down her face as she remembered things from the past years. They'd married when she was just 21. Before Draco died, they'd been together 89 years. He left her a frail 110-year-old. For once, Ginny wished that she were a Muggle. That way, she wouldn't have to live that long. She could die soon and get out of this awful world. Without Draco, what was the point in living? Draco knew he was going to die, and he knew that Ginny would want to be with him.

"Ginny-love, you have to promise that once I'm gone, you won't follow me," Draco said two days before he died.

"But honey, I couldn't go on without you," Ginny told him stubbornly.

"Yes, you can. I know you better than anyone else. It's no where near your time to go. You still have to see Ana give birth to our great-grandchild. You have to see Oliver get married. You know he'll ask Diane to marry him any day now. You still have to see so many things."

"So do you! You can't leave me. You promised." Draco sighed. She still remembered his promise. She remembered all his promises.

"It's my time to go. Nothing can change that. Plus, I'll be there when important things happen."

His memory would haunt her until the day she died. Ginny knew Draco had been right about her having to see all those things. Whenever something monumental would happen, Ginny could feel Draco's presence in the room. She could feel him there with her. She wished she could feel him with her all the time. Even three years after his death, Ginny still longed for him. Nothing was the same. Nothing would ever be the same. She placed the Easter lilies on top of the gravestone, looking at it for awhile.

"Come on, Gin. Let's go," Ron said.

"I'll be there in second. I just have to say goodbye," Ginny told Ron. "Draco, it's been three long years since you died. I've been living with Ron. I couldn't keep living in that big, old house by myself. I gave it to Oliver and Diane. Diane already gave birth to two beautiful girls. Penelope and Molly. They're so precious. You would have loved them. Ana gave birth to a boy. Jacob'll be turning three soon. He reminds me of you in so many ways. He inherited your smirk and your smoldering gray eyes. He's so adorable. Draco, this is the last time I'll be able to visit. The doctor told me that my health is withering away slowly. I won't be able to even get out of bed soon. I've been dying ever since you passed away, Draco. I'll be with you soon. I waited like you told me to. I've waited so patiently for my time to leave this awful world behind. Finally, it'll come. We'll be together for eternity. Just like it was always supposed to be." With that, Ginny left the graveyard for the last time.

Two weeks later, Ginny Malfoy died with a smile on her face. They placed her body next to Draco's. Their gravestone read:

Here lies Draco and Ginny Malfoy

Together Forever