The New Year

The New Year - Chapter Three

Ginny didn't know how long she stayed on the balcony, staring at the ghost of Draco's retreating figure; all she knew was that by the time Harry came out and found her, her skin was ice-cold.

"Ginny," he said, walking towards her. His simple black robes fluttered softly in the light breeze. "What have you been doing out here all night? The party's in there, you know." He offered her a glass of red wine, which she took half-heartedly.

"Thanks," she said, raising the glass and wetting her lips. The last thing she needed was to get drunk now - who knew what sort of secrets she'd start spilling out?

Harry put one hand over hers and lightly ran his fingers over her arm, all the while taking long swigs from his brandy glass. He didn't seem to notice her current melancholy mood, but then, when did he ever?

"The party's breaking up now," Harry said, staring off into space. "Charlie and Percy have headed home with their clans, and I think your parents are just about ready to leave as well. Most of the high profile guests are heading off too - the lobby is absolutely packed with photographers."

"That's nice," Ginny said absently.

"Are you bored?" Harry finally noticed something was up and looked at her sympathetically. "You always did hate these fancy galas. We'll go home too, okay, just as soon as those damned photographers leave."

"How many ARE there?" said Ginny, setting her glass on the ground and walking over towards the balcony's ornate glass doors, trying to peer through the ballroom into the lobby. The door slipped open a crack, and the noise from the journalist's cries, though muted, was still coming strong. Annoyed, she slammed the door shut. "Do they even have lives of their OWN?" Ginny snapped irritably. She wanted to leave.

Harry just laughed and gulped down the last of his brandy. "They're particularly rabid tonight," he said. "Malfoy showed up here tonight. He milled around for about ten minutes, disappeared somewhere, then was seen storming out the doors a little while afterwards. His first time home in four years, and he didn't give a single reporter a picture of a quote. I'll bet a whole bunch of them get fired by their editors tomorrow."

Ginny didn't say anything. She was the reason Draco had gone storming out.

Harry slowly left his position at the edge of the balcony and joined Ginny, taking her in his arms and pressing his face against hers. His cheek felt cold next to her skin. "I don't see how he'd dare to show his face around here, even if the Ministry did find him to be innocent."

She didn't reply. "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but I think Dumbeldore was mistaken in vouching for Malfoy," Harry trailed off in a whisper, almost as if he were talking to himself.

"Don't!" the word came booming out of nowhere, shattering the tranquil atmosphere. It took Ginny a moment to realize that it had come from her mouth. "He's innocent. I know he is." She wrenched herself from his arms and stalked to the edge of the balcony.

"What?" demanded Harry. He looked at Ginny as if an ostrich head had grown out of her shoulder and it was now doing all the thinking for her. "Ginny, are you mad?"

Breathing heavily, Ginny shook her head emphatically. "He couldn't have. He couldn't have," she repeated to herself, wrapping her arms around herself. "He couldn't. Could he?" She looked at Harry. "I...I don't know what to think."

Harry sighed. "Ginny, I thought you got over this. Draco betrayed you. He betrayed your trust and told Voldermort where your family was hiding. You're lucky they still managed to get out of there alive!"

"He COULDN'T have!" Ginny screamed, pushing herself away from the balcony and away from Harry. Seeing Draco again had reawakened it all. Four years worth of doubts, four years worth of nightmares, fours years worth of nagging little "what if you were wrong?"s had penetrated her mind and were now racing around at a hundred miles an hour, colliding into each other and exploding. "I admit it! I told him where they were! But he couldn't have passed that on, he couldn't, he wouldn't do that to me, to us..." With a sob, she broke down and collapsed onto the floor, crying.

With a sigh, Harry knelt beside her and gently began stroking her hair. "Gin, the evidence was all there," he said gently. "You were at the trial. You saw it for yourself. It's criminal that he got off, but your family is still safe. Look at me, honey," he said, gently tilting her face towards his. "Malfoy's in your past, you got that?"

He let his thumb wander over her face, brushing away her tears.

She sniffed. "The past..." she repeated dully.

He nodded. "The past. It's all over. No more Voldermort. No more war. No more Malfoy. It's all the past. But me..." Leaning towards her, he planted a gentle kiss on her lips. "I'm the future. I'm your future."

Her sobs quietly diminishing, she allowed him to hold her, slowly rocking her in his arms as if she was a child. Her body was still, but her mind was racing. After four long years, Draco was finally back in England, and looking to her for explanations. How could she provide them if she didn't know what she was feeling herself?