Stealing Him Back

Prologue

The Perfect Storm

~*~~*~~*~

"Is that a storm?" Harry asked as he stood at the bow of the yacht and looked out on the threatening horizon. The mini party going on behind him didn't seem to be paying any attention. "You guys!" he turned and yelled to them. "I think we should turn back!"

Ron got up and raised his glass. "Harry, sit your arse down and stop ruining the celebration. We," he began gesturing to the four people sitting down around him and steadied himself with the small waves that moved the boat up and down, "all came out here to stop you from moping, which you've only been doing since the war ended three weeks ago-."

"Hear, hear!" the rest of them chorused.

Ron levelled his hands among them to signal them to quieten down because he wasn't finished. "Now, don't get me wrong. We all know that we probably lost more than we saved but that doesn't mean that we can't celebrate those that we did and the generations that will come from them. I mean - even though I hate to admit the fact that Malfoy and Zabini are actually not all that bad people, besides the fact that they are actually still arses in hindsight-."

"Hear - Hey!" they said once they actually listened to what he said.

Ron continued regardless. "Even though, Malfoy is dating my sister and will probably be dating her for a while." He grimaced before continuing. "I am head over heels for this Gryffindor right here," he said holding up Hermione's hand, "and I'm here with probably the only five people I can call my family since all the others are dead. It's quite sad really."

"Oh, well thanks, Weasley," Draco said sarcastically. Ron laughed and knocked bottles with him anyway.

"Tell me I would be saying this a few years ago and I would've punched you."

He nodded in return. "And I you, Weasley."

Ron shook his head and looked again at Harry as he sat down. "But that doesn't mean I have the right to go around pointing out invisible storms to get out of enjoying myself in the slightest. Now sit, Potter," he commanded with a soft smile.

"Spoken like a true drunk man," Blaise commented laughing.

Harry took one last look out to the ocean and sighed. It did look pretty far away. It would probably be over by the time they reached it. "Well, maybe I am making too much out of it." The latter cheered again and welcomed him as he rejoined the group.

They all sat in silence for a while just enjoying each other's company and feeling the soft breeze and slight rocking of the ocean waves.

"So what are we going to do now?" Blaise asked the group. Since the middle of the war had begun they had stuck together. Ron, who despite his previous feelings, found an unusual friend in the one person he would have killed first if he had the chance and Draco felt pretty much the same. They had all ended up together when The Slytherins who had gone to the front to give the first wave of the attack were shot down from behind.

From their own side.

Blaise, who in the charge had fallen, was being helped up by Draco when it happened. When they had seen their friends falling around them they were both stunned and appalled. After that, they could not stand on the same side as those backstabbers. After everything they had done, put up with ridicule, put up with being shunned and pretending it didn't hurt. Giving up on feelings they knew could never work out because it was impossible.

Well, not anymore.

They had gone to Dumbledore, who in the end had perished with the rest of them. He had sent them both to the same area of Potter and Co. who, in the beginning, had wanted nothing to do with them. Until Ron got into a bit of bother and neither Harry, Hermione nor Ginny were there to help him out.

Draco, however, was. From then on they had called a truce if only for those moments, but it had lasted a lot longer than they had originally thought. After all it had been three years now.

"I don't know," Hermione answered. "There is no ministry, no workplaces, no schools, and we've already finished our NEWTs anyway."

"Erm, ahem?"

"Well, except for Ginny there."

"All I have to say is," Draco began. "Thank Merlin they came when we had to do those damn astronomy charts. They have perfect timing, I must say." They all laughed.

"Well no offence everyone," Blaise started and they turned to him, "but I don't think they're gonna matter anymore, do you? I mean - all any business that is still there to begin with - all they're gonna need to know is that you're still alive." They continued laughing until they had to clutch their stomachs.

"I'm thinking of leaving England," Harry said.

"Yeah, where to, mate?" Ron asked.

"I don't know. Just... get away," he said looking up at him, "you know?" They all nodded.

"Get lost?" Draco said faintly looking at the floor.

Harry's gaze snapped to him and he smiled. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

Draco looked up at him and looked him in the eye. "I think pretty much everyone here and everyone-." He turned around to stick a thumb back at the faint outline of land. "-back there," he continued turning back to him, "feels the same way, Potter. You're not alone, you know. There's always someone who feels the same way, if not worse."

"I guess. I gotta start opening my eyes, huh?"

"Try closing them," he said looking at Ginny sitting next to him curled up under his arm. "You tend to see things much clearer with them closed." Ginny looked up to kiss him.

"Hey! Hey! None of that in front of me!" Ron called from the other side of Hermione.

Ginny laughed. "Well get use to it, Ron. He's going to be around a lot longer."

Draco smiled. "You promise?"

She shook her head. "I swear." She kissed him then, holding the sides of his face in her hands. Ron rolled his eyes but stopped when Hermione nudged him and he smiled at her.

Harry looked at all his friends, old and new and both expected and unexpected. He smiled at them. They finally seemed happy just to be together and alone, something they had not been in a while, including the happy part. He was shook from his thoughts when the boat went over a particularly high wave. He frowned and looked at the rest of them. They didn't seem to have noticed. He looked out to the water around them. It was getting rough out there. He was about to say something when a roll of thunder sounded around them.

Draco and Ginny sprang apart surprised by the loud sound cracking through the previous serenity. Suddenly a lightning bolt struck the mast of the yacht and the force of it broke the mast in two slamming down just where Draco and Ginny had been sitting.

Water from sudden harsh waves washed them down as the two slid apart and out of the way. When Draco looked up, blinking the extremely cold and salty water out of his face to find her again, she wasn't there. He steadied himself with his grip on Blaise who had caught him in time but when he looked over the broken mast, expecting Ginny to be in Hermione's arms as he had been in Blaise's, all he saw was Hermione in Ron's.

Ginny wasn't there.

Dread, shock and blind panic filled his senses as he looked around irrationally, calling her name. He even looked under the thin wood of the mast in case he had missed her somewhere but she wasn't there either. It wasn't until then he had the bright idea to look overboard.

There she was, flapping around and opening her mouth as if she were yelling even though she probably knew they couldn't hear her due to the majestic thunder roaring around them.

"Ginny!" he yelled again but in a worthy direction.

The others sensed the purposeful tone in his voice and turned just in time to see him jump overboard and into the rough Atlantic Ocean.

"Draco, no!" Hermione yelled predicting the whole scene.

He swam. He swam faster and with more strength he never even knew he possessed.

The water was cold - freezing - and by the time he reached her after what seemed like an eternity and a granted prayer from god, his arms were stiff and numb with cold. He panted heavily and it took all he had to kick his legs to stop himself from sinking.

"You c-came after m-me," Ginny said shivering and wrapped her arms around him. She was bare-armed and frozen solid, the benefits of falling into the Atlantic he was betting.

"Here," he said pulling away from her a little and feeling the cold water circulate between them and wishing he hadn't. He suppressed a violent shiver and reached down to pull on the cord to inflate her jacket. None of them wanted to use magic on this celebration as enough had caused too many lives to perish. Right now, as the jacket stayed flat and deflated, he was regretting joining in on that unanimous decision. He should have listened to Potter. He stopped and thought.

Well, there's something I never thought I'd say.

"It won't. That's why it isn't done yet," she said spitting out water from her mouth and coughing out the water than had gotten to her throat. "Why haven't you inflated yours yet?" she frowned.

"Of course," he said looking at her jacket with disdain. He was panting hard and so was she, which meant they had absolutely no strength to blow it up themselves. "Okay, take it off." He was kicking hard to keep her up as she began unclipping and unbuckling the jacket at the sides. She hadn't thought twice about him avoiding the question and when she slid it off, he threw it away from them so it wouldn't get in the way. "I need you to kick really hard for a few seconds. Can you do that for me?"

She trembled and nodded getting a concentrated face that told him she had started already. He let go of her and waited until he was sure she wouldn't sink and then started undoing his own belt. He fumbled every now and then because he couldn't feel his fingers. The plastic kept slipping because he couldn't get a good grip on them, but eventually he did undo them scraping his thumb with his nails but couldn't feel it anyway so it didn't matter. He would have shrugged if his shoulders weren't so heavy.

He slid it onto her shoulders and redid the fasteners with a surprising ease, considering how long it took to take it off, and pulled on the cord. The jacket inflated until only her face was visible and he laughed coughing out water when it went down the wrong hole.

They stayed there, not having to kick as much because of the life jacket and were grateful for the reprieve as it was a lot of hard work to keep themselves above water. The waves passing them rose and fell pushing them up and then letting them fall. It would have been peaceful if the water had been warmer. They couldn't even feel their legs anymore and their fingers were beginning to bite them.

In the distance, Draco could see the yacht slowly turning around and mentally tried to speed them up. Nothing could live in this water, it was impossible that anything could be this cold blooded.

Ginny involuntarily shivered and Draco looked at her knowing there was nothing he could do. "I'm s-so c-cold," she said. Her lips had turned blue and her teeth chattered violently. Her hair, all wet and stringy, was almost stiff enough to snap off. He was sure he was seeing frost on them. She choked out the water that was splashing on them harshly and coughed hard. "Why does it have to be so cold?" she asked huskily.

He shook his head not knowing what to say. Such a simple question, 'Why was the Ocean so cold?' and it probably had a very simple answer but he didn't know right now and even if there was a logical explanation he didn't have the mental capacity to come up with it at the moment. The water rose up again and plastered them mercilessly and he kicked harder as the jacket didn't seem to be working very well. He felt so heavy and he looked down to see nothing holding onto him. He felt Ginny shiver violently again and squeezed her tight to keep her as warm as possible. He then started taking off his jumper.

Ginny frowned. "What are you doing? Put that back on."

He ignored her and continued his struggle in trying to stay above water and peeling the wet layer of wool off of his back. As it slid off his head the cold hit him full force and he winced at its intensity. Is this how she's feeling? Shit. He rolled it until he could see the hole for his head and then put it over her

"S-stick your arms through."

"You're crazy."

"J-just do it, Ginny." She complied but still watched him warily. "Don't worry," he swallowed, "they're turning the boat, see?" Ginny tried to turn but couldn't due to the large amount of inflated plastic and now extra layer of wool. He laughed again and this time she joined him.

They waited a little longer in the waves that had were turning a little harsher with every minute that passed and pushing them down as well as bringing them above level to see everything around them. The sky was a lot darker than it was when they had left port in the late afternoon.

Then Draco felt something hard rub against his back. When he looked up, he saw the railings of the yacht looking down on him.

"Give me a hand will you, Ginny?" Ron called above them.

Ginny, who had near passed out from cold and fatigue, raised a pale hand but couldn't reach. Draco had to help, though it wasn't much good because he was just as knocked out. The waves then lifted them higher and gave Ron enough of a grip to pull her up. Harry and Blaise had to help him when he began to slip on the wet deck.

Draco managed to get one hand to hold onto the lowest railing when the wave had lifted them and was now just floating near it and knowing he couldn't hold onto it anymore so he tried lifting a leg to put on the ledge.

His foot slipped and he lost his grip because he didn't have enough strength to keep his hand on the metal. He began to fall but was suddenly caught. He had enough sense to look up and blink out the salt water from his eyes that had now turned red because of the sting and saw Ron going through extraordinary pains to keep him from falling back into the cold water.

Ron had a good grasp on him and started to pull him up when he suddenly looked out and up and froze. "Harry! Blaise! Leave her and get your arses over here right now!" he yelled.

Hermione waved them off and they rushed to Ron's side looking up nearly ninety degrees at the wave headed their way.

"We've got to get him up."

"Holy mother of Christ," Harry said in awe.

"Will you help me get him up?!" Ron called to them both.

"It's going to tip us over, Ron," Blaise said unnecessarily.

"I don't care. We still have to get him over. Help me!" They tried to grab a hold of Draco's other arm but they could only reach the hand that Ron had. Instead they went for his shirt and pulled at it. "By help I mean you too, Malfoy!" Ron screamed at him. "You're not exactly light!"

"I can't... too - tired," he said relaxing his grip on Ron's hand. His eyes began to close as his whole body turned in Ron's grip so his back was against the side of the yacht.

"Malfoy! I'll be damned if I let you drop out on my baby sister. She's the only family I have and with you gone I'll never hear the end of it. Now wake up, Draco, and help me!"

Draco opened his eyes. He saw the wave coming toward them. He knew that even if he did help, which wouldn't help much at all, they still wouldn't make it in time. He looked up at the three men above him and of all of them Harry was the one that caught his eye.

"Malfoy, I did not survive numerous murder attempts and three crucios to be killed by water! Now give me your hand, you arsehole, and get up here!"

He lifted his arm and felt for the ledge he had tried to climb up on before but Harry got it anyway. He summoned all the strength he had left to get closer to them on the railing. The harsh wind made his hands bite even worse and he was trembling violently when he finally got to stand on the ledge. He stopped then and looked at them seeing the shadow of the wave dawning over the boat. He noticed them all look up and felt the boat leaning and said something that made Ron snap his gaze to him.

"Malfoy, what are you waiting for, get over here."

Everything seemed to go silent as the yacht creaked and leaned to one side. Draco put his hands on the railing hoping that he had a good grip with his feet and looked them all in the eye keeping a view of Ginny sitting down with Hermione behind them all. He closed his eyes and felt a prickle behind them but knew it would show because he was soaked to the bone anyway. The three of them looked at him with a frown but only Harry had the sense to see deeper into Malfoy's delay. His forehead smoothed and he began to shake his head to protest.

"Tell Ginny I'm sorry."

Draco then pushed them all back and they lost their balanced falling over and sliding a little more than usual due to the wet deck. He managed to turn around and look up at the wave and took a deep breath before holding out his hand. When the water touched his palm he said, "Requieto!"

Suddenly the wave began to fall, flattening as all of them watched it rain down heavily hitting everything hard like bricks against pavement. Harry, who knew how stressful it was on a body and how tiring it was to use wandless magic looked directly at Draco who was watching Ginny and letting his eyes close as if he were falling asleep. He knew that Draco was passing out as most people who aren't use to using wandless magic did.

And he knew that Draco wanted her to be the last thing he saw.

Harry slid to a standing position despite the heavy water bathing him and pushing him down and made a bee-line for Draco, who was still standing on the outside of the yacht railing and slowly letting go. He had almost reached him when a boulder of water smashed into both of them making Harry fall to the ground. He hit it with a thud and felt a sharp pain in his chest. He heard a shrill scream and tried to turn back but his rib had cracked, he knew the feeling by heart by now. There was no mistaking the owner of the voice however. It was Ginny's.

This only meant one thing.

The ocean calmed and he heard footsteps approaching him rapidly. The first set ran straight toward the railing. Another set walked after her and the final two stopped by his side to help her up. He could hear Ginny's distressed calls over his groans of pain and then heard another thud as she fell to the deck crying. He looked up to confirm his thoughts. Draco wasn't holding onto the railing. He had fallen into the water and hadn't come back up for air.

Draco was gone.