Made For Each Other

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Nor deem the irrevocable past

As wholly wasted, wholly vain

If, rising on it's wrecked, at last

To something nobler, we attain

He ne'er is crowned

With immortality, who fears to follow?

When airy voices lead.

John Keats.

It has been seven months since Voldemort was defeated, thanks to Harry Potter, who fulfilled his birth prophecy. In Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts, he was falsely lured to the Department of Mysteries to save his godfather, Sirius Black. Death Eaters were all over the place, but they couldn't get the prophecy, and it was smashed in the process of escaping. Luckily, Dumbledore already knew the prophecy, and passed it on to Harry.

After leaving the Department of Mysteries, Voldemort wasn't happy with the Death Eaters, including Lucius Malfoy, Nott Avery, and many more. Bellatrix Lestrange had blamed Lucius that he distracted the children on purpose and delayed them with useless talking that allowed Harry and his friends to escape, and gave the Aurors time to show up.

Voldemort was furious with all of them. He had been working on his plans since Harry's first year of school and after a whole year's effort he had managed to finally bait Harry to the Department of Mysteries and for what?

"A huge failure."

He was squirming and feigning violently. Even in his normal mood he was not very presentable and bearable to look at but in anger. His snake-like face was incontestably putrid. Then, he made the biggest mistake of his perished life; he punished his loyal Death Eaters, including Lucius Malfoy. Some of them he tortured, and, let's just say, they were never the same again. The ministry had declared Lucius dead, but what really happened to him few people know about.

After that night, in the Department of Mysteries, every single witch and wizard in the Wizarding world knew that the Dark Lord was back. Now they had seen Voldemort with their own eyes and they believed Harry. Voldemort had vanished...again, but everyone knew he wasn't dead; he'd be back. Eventually Voldemort's sabotage to the Death Eaters and falsity of the followers was certain; Voldemort was recruiting greater numbers of Death Eaters than ever before. People were joining his ranks for many reasons: fear, ambition, to save their families and friends. He was planning to punish them and kill them all, including their families. Nobody wanted to take that risk, so some of them countered him and join Dumbledore's side if he promised to save their families, which he did.

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Since the war was over, Ginny had started studying about werewolves. During the war, she had learned some facts about werewolves, and thought that there was a possible cure for werewolf's bite, so she wanted to try her luck. Hermione helped her with research and Snape provided her books from the school library and whatever additional information she needed.

All the time when school was open both Ginny and Hermione's undivided attention for books, notes, and parchments drove the boys, Harry and Ron, of course, crazy. The pair of girls asked the boys to help them, if they wished to. Ron was appalled and declared that the girls have gone mad, asking them for more work let alone their schoolwork, detentions, Quidditch and Prefects duties.

The girls didn't mind their company, but with their lack of seriousness, they thought it would be a good idea to spare them from their research. During the vacation, Ginny was mostly found in her dad's garage, which she had turned into a lab. Now, it seemed to resemble Snape's office. One corner was full of different ingredients, herbs, caldrons, jars full of intricate materials and other potion properties. After a long period of time and research (with the help of Snape and Hermione), she thought it was time to try her quasi-talent.

She made different potions and gave them to Snape to check them out. Snape, in his spare time, worked for the hospital lab.

FLASH BACK

One day she went to the hospital to give potions to Snape. The receptionist told her that he was in the Magical Maladies and Injuries wards, and waiting for her in a private room. Confused, Ginny wondered who would be in the private room, and, nonetheless, in the Magical Maladies and Injuries wards. Anticipating what she would find, she reached the level of Magical Maladies and Injuries wards, and walked curiously through the room, which the receptionist had told about her earlier.

She knocked on the door; Snape opened it and welcomed her in. It was a small room with a couch and two chairs.

The waiting room, she thought to herself. There was a large glass window, which was connected to the patient's room. After saying hello to each other, Ginny peeked into the other room with curiosity. For a while she felt that she had forgotten the ability of breathing; her blood drained from her face.

"It's... It's...but... how? He, he is Lucius, but... How? He's dead." She shook her head unbelievingly, babbling with confusion. She turned to Snape, who was now standing beside her, looking at the person on the bed in the room, and shook his head. "No, Ginerva. He wasn't dead; Dumbledore faked his death to save his perished life from the Dark Lord."

He told her with an emotionless face, "The Dark Lord had thought that he was dead when he tortured Lucius, but he didn't die. What remained of him was not any good for Voldemort and he was left in the dark forest to die. The Dark Lord ordered his followers to kill him and leave him in the dark forest, but they just left him there. They thought no one would look for him in the forest and that wild animals would finish him off eventually," he sighed. "But when Headmaster received the letter from Narcissa, we found him in the Forbidden Forest. He was almost dead and would have died if we hadn't gotten there when we did. No one else knew about it, and Dumbledore kept him safe somewhere. When they had brought him to St. Mungo's, he was not in a good condition at all. Most of his bones were broken, which showed the obvious use of the Cruciatus curse, and he also had lost plenty of blood. They had admitted him in the Magical Maladies and Injuries wards. His visible injuries were healed, but his internal injuries and most likely his mental condition is not good, though medi-wizards and witches can't treat him as a mental case, because his mind is still working properly. According to the doctors, mentally he is awake and listening to every word anyone is saying around him. He will be able to remember the voices of the people and what they said when he awakes, but some of his sensitive nerves are still damaged, which control anyone's movement with his mind. So, visibly he is sleeping and mentally, he is awake. Since then I was taking care of him in my spare time."

She looked at him with confusion, but he understood and answered her unasked question. "Some of the staff has gone lost or dead in the war so I'm volunteering. They are asking for more volunteers; with the lack of nurses it's difficult for them to take care of all the long-term patients."

Both of them stood there in silence and watched. After a week, she told her mum and dad that she wanted to volunteer at the hospital. They permitted her to volunteer. She told that she wanted to do it for Lucius, although she knew that none of her family wanted her to volunteer for Lucius Malfoy. Draco and Narcissa were a total different story. They had proven their loyalty in the war, but Lucius was evil; he had caused so much havoc in everybody's life, especially to her. She almost died in her first year, because of Tom Riddle's diary and the Chamber of Secrets. However, nobody said anything to her about it.

They all knew she had made up her mind already. They couldn't change it. Ron, on the other hand, was her brother, never letting her go. At the dinner table, he asked Ginny for the last time why she was doing that for Malfoy. Unfortunately, that was Ginny's last straw, which he had just broken.

"I' m not doing this for anyone and I'm not doing this especially FOR Malfoy and you NEVER, EVER SAY THAT AGAIN RON, I DON'T LIKE HIM." She was so angry and furious with Ron; she didn't eat dinner that night, even after he said sorry to her after a long lecture from their mum.

They all understood how she was feeling and why she was doing it; to secure herself, to make a difference in the world, to be a better person than him, who had killed her once. Well, almost killed her!

"You are my brave girl! I know you want to do it, and I am so proud of you; it's not easy to help someone who used to be our enemy. You are a true Gryffindor, but you know it's a big responsibility, even if he is Lucius and is helpless right now."

"I am a Gryffindor, Dad, and I like challenges. If you are worried that I cannot handle the situation, I will not take it personally. Besides, no one will ever find out that it was me, because I already told Professor Snape to change my identity in papers. Only my family and the doctors will know about me. His family and others will not know that it was me who was volunteering, so don't worry at all."

He smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "No! Of course not! I always have faith in you; we all do, and I know you would never do a thing to degrade us. We are all proud of you."

"Thanks, Dad, for your support and faith in me. I will never let you down," she replied, delighted at her father's response.

END OF FLASHBACK

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She was doing her job with passion and devotion. Everyone was happy with her in the hospital. She always carried an aura around her that caused no one to ever taken her for granted, even though she was a teenage girl. Every person respected her and her work. Her opinions mattered to them. She was very happy with her life and was proud that she finally had achieved what she wanted.

"An identity."

She entered the dimly lighted room. The room was big and there was a bed in the center of the room. A big blue couch was placed beside the wall on the right side of the bed, as well as a big table in front of the couch. Also, there was a comfy seat to the left of the bed, and three more chairs beside the door for visitors. Two big windows were covered with vivid blue curtains. One window wasn't open; however, it was connected to the waiting room.

The walls were dully white washed and there was a painting on the wall just above the couch, which showed the scene of a vast green plain ground and a blue sky. In the middle of the green ground, there was a tree, which stood alone, just like the man who lay on the hospital bed. Ginny liked the painting very much; she thought that painting suited the person who had occupied that room for the last nine months very well. The only sounds in the room were the soft bells that were coming from Ginny's anklet when she moved around, and the steady breathing of the person lying on the bed.

She slowly walked to the bed and took a brief look at the person who occupied the bed. His pale face, pointy nose and silver blond hair, and his lean body, which seemed like it almost, disappeared under the covers. He looked like an angel, she secretly thought, if only he just could be as angelic as he looks. She learned that with experience, and already has given the credit to Draco being a Malfoy. People always respect them, for whatever reason it is. Even if he was in a comma, still anybody could feel that intimidating aura around him. Nevertheless, she was used to it by now. She changed the flowers from the vase, which she brought with her. She always brought flowers when she came to visit. Ginny headed over to the windows to open the curtains. As soon as she got the stubborn curtains to open, sunlight spilled into the dimly lit room. She put on her bronze-rimmed glasses and picked up Lucius Malfoy's medical record chart from the bedside table.

She turned on her heels when she heard a knock on the door. A middle-aged medi-wizard in hospital robes and a file in his hands entered the room. His nameplate read, "Mr. Simon Jade." "Hello, Miss Weasley," he whispered softly. "Oh, hello Mr. Jade, good morning,"

Ginny answered him with a welcoming smile on her face.

"Good morning to you, too. Ruby, the receptionist, informed me of your presence, and Severus Snape will be here in a minute. I wanted to discuss the medical condition of Mr. Lucius Malfoy with you two. Mrs. Malfoy and her son Draco Malfoy will also be here." He whispered to her while taking the record from her hands and pointed at the door to go outside with him.

Once they were out side the room, Ginny asked him hysterically, "What? His family will be here, but Ruby told me they would come in the afternoon, that's why I came at this time, what if they find out who I am, or what if they just walked in before Professor Snape got here? What will they think about me being here?"

"Relax, my child," Jade chuckled at her bewilderment, "they will come during the afternoon, so don't worry. Your identity is safe, as ever as it will be." Dr. Jade walked into the connected room. "Oh, thank God, you scared me." She took a long breath of relief. There was another knock at the door.

The door opened, and in walked Severus Snape, dressed in his usual black robes, stern face, and oily hair. "Hello, Miss Weasley. Hello, Jade." Snape curtly nodded to both of them. Both of them mirrored his actions. Snape watched from the window of the connected room to Lucius' room for a while before moving across the room and sitting down. "Ok, here is the condition of Mr. Malfoy since he arrived." Mr. Jade shuffled some papers from the file and gave them to Snape and Ginny, together they took them and studied it in a quick movement in silence.

"Well! This is good, isn't it? I mean, from the last three months, his mental condition and some of the body movements are good sign... Right?" Ginny asked both of the males while taking off her glasses. Snape looked at her and nodded his head to indicate his agreement, "This is good, Ginerva, actually, at this progress he will be up no more than... what? Three or four months, but as we know, it's a comma and we can't say anything is definite. It can be any time or no time. Let's just hope and pray for the best, am I right, Jade?"

Snape turned to Mr. Jade who was listening and nodding his head in agreement, "Absolutely right, but his mental condition is good due to your new potion and I have suggested some exercises, hopefully they will help." Both of them seemed happy about the progress in Lucius's condition.

"Since this process is done, I wanted to ask Miss Weasley, will you continue to volunteer? I know that your school is starting and that is also a tough job by itself and it's also your important year at school, so if you stop coming and drop it I'll understand it perfectly." While filing his papers, Jade waited for her answer. Ginny was thinking along the same lines, she didn't want to leave the volunteer work in the middle, best to stay with her progress. She was very happy that the potion she was making with Professor Snape was having some positive reaction in Lucius' health, and he was rapidly recovering, not to mention that he was the enemy.

She didn't think of that when she had first started to volunteer for him; frankly, that just doesn't matter any more for any of them. That was the most important question she was thinking about, how was she going to carry on while dealing with her studies and other stuff. "Yes! You can leave the rest here and we can take care of it. If we need your help, we'll know where to reach you."

Snape shrugged his shoulder, with a suggestion. "No! I can come with you, Professor, you told me before that you have to come here twice a month, right?" Snape nodded in agreement. "So I will come with you," she said firmly in a "now that's a solution" way.

Snape thought momentarily and answered them, "That wouldn't be so difficult, we can do that. I don't think the Headmaster would mind, but we had better ask him first. I will let you know what Dumbledore has decided."

A wave of relief washed over Ginny. "Ok, it's done now! I will see both of you in a month or so." Mr. Jade shook hands with both of them and left the room. "So! How is your summer going, Ginerva?" Snape asked her; the facade he was holding up of a dominating military officer gone. His demeanor was completely changed now, and he had a gentle smile on his face, which was foreign to any other person who knew him.

Well, maybe not for Draco, because Snape was his godfather, after all. However, on the other hand, for a Gryffindor, this amount of affection nobody would believe. With Ginny, Snape's affection was a very peculiar matter! She was the only one who has been able to achieve that kind of affection from a Slytherin, and a Slytherin head of house at that. Snape loved her like a daughter and she liked him as an uncle, but that was the private matter, and nobody knew about it. They didn't show any sign of their friendship in public or at school. They were always the same in the crowd with each other, as other students to the teacher, and he with her, like all of the other students. Very little people knew about their friendship with each other as for the same number of people who knew about her volunteering and her extra magical powers. "Very good indeed!" A smile crept on her face and lit up her eyes.

"How 'bout you, Professor?" She handed him a potion sample pouch, which she had brought with her. "Hmm... not bad; actually, this is the first time in my life I feel free, I have no fear and no regrets." A calm and relaxed expression came over his face. You didn't have to look closely to see it. The emotion on his face was plainly clear, like a warrior coming back from a long war. He had never looked this peaceful before. He took the pouch from her hand and slightly weighed it in his right palm and stood up. Ginny knew what was he talking about, independence from a crazed evil wizard and having a big ugly painful mark on your arm, not to mention control by that mark. Also, being freed from having to play a double roll in the war as a mole, and risking your life and living with the fear of every moment and every breath of your life would be a great thing. "I'm happy for you." She leaned over and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. He looked up at her gratefully and nodded. She stood up with him. The pair of them stepped out of the room and headed towards the fireplace to go to Diagon Alley.