When Everything Breaks

CHAPTER EIGHT - LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD

"You're really not worth her effort Malfoy," Harry spat. Draco watched him, disinterested, and the smaller red-headed figure behind him.

"Harry please," Ginny pleaded. She placed her hand on his arm, hoping she still had some influence on his compassion.

"Ginny I don't know what he's done to you, but we'll find out and fix it," he replied dismissively.

"He's done nothing, I am perfectly fine." More figures advanced down the hall, towards where the two of them were standing in conference.

"How is he?" Dumbledore asked as he reached them.

"Still alive," Harry replied.

"And I bet you wish I wasn't," Draco said bitterly.

"Stop it, all of you," Ginny said loudly, stepping forward and into the room where Draco was standing passively.

Mr Weasley followed her into the small room and held out his hand. Draco stared at it bewildered.

"I want to say thank you." Draco looked up at his solemn face as he slowly shook his hand. A man who, a year ago, he never would have believed could make him happy with his acceptance. He looked to Ginny, and she smiled shyly.

"Perhaps you two should wait upstairs, we need to speak to Mr Malfoy alone," Dumbledore said, conjuring a chair for himself with a wave of his wand.

"Yes Sir," Ginny replied. She turned and followed Harry as he slumped angrily back down the hall and into the kitchen.

Dumbledore sat and looked wearily at Draco.

"You have been given Veritaserum," he informed him. Draco looked scathingly at the drink Potter had given him earlier and laughed.

"Potter's doing, I presume?"
"Yes, but can you really blame his caution?" Mr Weasley asked.

"No," Draco replied. "I deserve it all."

"Tell us what happened, from the beginning," Dumbledore instructed.

The Veritaserum ensured Draco told them the truth, it took little over three hours and by the end of it Draco was again exhausted.

"We will leave you to rest Mr Malfoy, a meal will be sent for you later." Dumbledore waved his hand and a bed appeared in the corner. Draco watched it greedily as Dumbledore and Mr Weasley left the room and headed back to the kitchen. Draco didn't even stop to remove his shoes.

***

Harry looked up as Mr Weasley Dumbledore returned to the kitchen.

"You just left him down there alone?" he asked angrily.

"Harry, he's not going anywhere. You need to put aside childhood differences," Dumbledore replied.

"Childhood differences? He's a murderer!"

"You have no proof of that, Harry," Mr Weasley said loudly. Harry hmphed in reply.

***

Draco thrashed in his sleep, he dreamt of the Hogwarts express but all the compartments were empty. He searched as the train sped on, and found nothing but dead air.

***

"Ginny dear, why don't you try and get some rest?" Mrs Weasley asked for the third time.

"I'd rather not," Ginny replied.

"Why? So you can go and take him his dinner when he finally wakes up?" Harry asked loudly.

"No," she snapped. "So you don't do anything you shouldn't." Dumbledore cast Harry a weary look and he turned to look out the window dejectedly.

And so they waited, Harry and Ginny both saying very little and many a glance being sent their way by worried parents and guardians.

"Well, what shall we do about the boy?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"Kill him?" Harry whispered irritably.

"Someone should take him some dinner," Dumbledore replied, looking at Ginny pointedly.

"All right, I get the message. I'll go," she said.

"No you will not," Harry interjected.

"Shut up Harry, you're driving me nuts!" Ginny shouted.

"I am looking out for you, I would think that you would be grateful," he answered angrily. Everyone else in the room stepped back from the estranged lovers as the heat between them rose.

"Grateful? Grateful?" Ginny laughed harshly. "You're condemning the man who saved my life. I think he's more than redeemed himself for anything that you think he may have done."

"You're kidding yourself if you think he did this for you, he's a selfish, self-serving, evil man Ginny, and it would take a lot for him to redeem himself."

"Selfish? Self-serving? That description sounds more like you than a man who risked his life to save me, who put himself in danger just for me, and let himself get arrested just to protect me."

"Don't be so naive, the slimy weasel probably came here to act as a spy." Ginny stared at him, she had never wanted to hurt someone so much as she did now. She opened her mouth to reply but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"That's enough you two." She looked up and her father smiled down at her.

"I'll take his dinner now then," Ginny said quietly and Harry groaned.

She walked silently down the hall, with her tray of soup and toast and chocolate frogs. Draco looked up as she entered, flashing her a brief and unconscious smile.

"I've brought you your dinner," she said.

"Thanks." He looked at the tray as she handed it to him and blushed. Ginny noticed how his eyes appeared blue as his cheeks flushed. "I haven't had a chocolate frog since Hogwarts," he said.

"I'll eat them, I'm starving," she replied.

"I didn't say I didn't want them," he said, holding the tray possessively. "But I will share." It was her turn to blush, but as she sat down beside him on the rumpled bed he missed her rosy cheeks. He handed her one of the chocolate frogs and she began to eat it quietly.

The silence was all consuming, Ginny could hear Draco chewing his soup-soaked toast.
"He cheated on me," she said suddenly.

"What?" Draco coughed.

"Harry. He cheated on me. More than once," she repeated.

"Like I've always said, Potter is an idiot." Ginny laughed and swallowed the last of her chocolate frog.

"Have you ever cheated on anyone?" she asked. Draco put the tray aside and turned to face her. He noticed the darkness in her eyes, a black within the brown.

"I guess I have, yes," he replied, not knowing whether his honesty was due to the lingering effects of the Veritaserum he had been given or because of something else.

"Can you tell me why?" He sat silent for a few minutes, not knowing how to answer.

"I don't know why, it's just something I did."

"Oh." She looked up at him and he felt himself leaning towards her. She blinked and a few tears fell. Tears for Potter, Draco thought, he's not worth it. Strangely, the same thing that Harry had said about him not three hours ago. Draco reached up and wiped the moisture away, his hand lingered on her cheek and she covered it with her own.

"You'd never cheat on me," she whispered.

"No," he replied, and their lips met.

He slipped his hand into her hair and she moved closer to him. He tasted vaguely of the pumpkin soup her mother had made. Suddenly she pulled away and his hand dropped into her lap.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't," she said, standing up abruptly.

***

Harry paced the all but deserted kitchen, waiting for Ginny to return and wondering what was taking her so long. He put his hand on the doorknob just as it opened and a confused red-head flew into his arms.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Nothing." She pushed past him.

"Ginny." He grabbed her arm as she fled and she spun around to face him. He leaned down and kissed her quickly, and was mildly surprised that she didn't push him away.

Ginny was so lost, she let him slip his arms around her waist and pull her to him. So many images were flashing through her mind, she was beginning to feel dizzy. The look on her brother's face whenever she walked into a room hand-in-hand with Harry; How Harry's clothes had blended with hers in their closet; the way that Draco's eyes faded to blue when he smiled; and her father shaking his hand in the dark basement.

***

Draco wondered what he had done. He paced; he did not hear the second set of footfalls entering the basement.

"I hope you've seen enough of Ginny, because she won't be coming near you again," Harry said to his back. Draco spun around and sneered at him, too blinded by contempt to realise they were alone for the first time and he was effectively at Harry's limited mercy.

"I wasn't aware you were her keeper, Potter," he replied.

"You never were the bright one." Harry shifted his wand in his hand.

"What do you want Potter?"

"I want to see you thrown to the Dementors."

"Really? Well, it's not up to you is it?" Draco kept his emotionless stare fixed on Harry, he had no doubt that he deserved to be thrown to the Dementors but he also knew he was entitled to a trial and that Harry was not on the Board of Illegal Magic.

"I'll make it up to me," Harry replied, holding his wand tighter.

"What are you going to do Potter, kill me?"

"I'm just going to make sure you never see Ginny again." Harry raised his wand.

"Go ahead and try," Draco replied. "When are you going to realise that the world isn't going to worship at your feet just because you want it to?" Harry suddenly laughed bitterly.

"Colloportus," he shouted. The open room in front of him seemed to collapse on itself, in a mist of dust and mortar the room was closed off and Draco was trapped. The silence was deafening, a quiet hum began in Draco's ears.

The silence around them wasn't to last long however, as plans were now being strategically formulated to follow the locator charm imbedded in the dark mark on Draco's arm. A small detail that few knew about, and even fewer knew how to remove.

Draco scratched at the mild pain in his arm. The dark mark glowed beneath his shirt sleeve and he watched it curiously.

***

Harry was almost smiling when he returned to the kitchen. Almost. He hadn't liked the way Ginny had pushed him away. His Ginny. Three pairs of eyes looked up at him as he entered, but none belonged to Ginny.

"Where's Ginny?" he asked.

"She's gone for a lie down," Mrs Weasley replied with a triumphant smile.

"Oh," he said, hoping he didn't sound too disappointed. "Good," he added for good measure.

Harry sat and everyone looked at him expectantly. He thought frantically of an excuse for what he had just done, assuming they somehow knew, ashamed of his impulsivity and bitter irritability. He provoked me, he thought. Dismissing the idea when he realised Draco had no wand and was no threat to him. He tried to escape, he reasoned. He threatened Ginny, he tried. Each one sounded as improbable as the last. Harry sighed.

"What?" he asked.

"How's Draco doing?" Lupin ventured.

"He left," Harry replied quickly.

"What?" Dumbledore asked, standing.

"He left."

"You just let him leave?" Mr Weasley asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah."

"And he just left?" Lupin asked.

"Yeah," Harry repeated.

"And he didn't ask for his wand or anything?" Mr Weasley asked.

"Nope." Mr Weasley opened his mouth to challenge Harry's apparent vagueness, but a loud crash from the next room made them all jump in alarm.

Tonks poked her disheveled head around the door into the kitchen and the three that had remained sitting stood expectantly. Something about the look on her face told them that Draco and his sudden disappearance was the least of their worries.

"Diagon Alley, and we need everyone you can pick up on the way," she said, and was gone again with a pop.

***

Draco heard the commotion from above him, and wondered what was going on. The heat in his arm intensified and he vaguely wondered about a rumour he had heard once about the mark. He looked at it, glowing ominously.

"Oh God, they know where I am," he said aloud. He looked around, for some way out. But there was none. There was silence upstairs, and it was almost worse than the frantic noise there had been a moment ago. He cursed Harry under his breath.

***

Ginny rolled over in her sleep, she dreamt she was drowning and nobody would save her. Why did she always need saving? She hated it. First there was her brothers, always trying to watch out for her and take care of her. Then there was Harry, who always treated her like a china doll. Like she would break if he let go. Well she wasn't going to break, and she wasn't going to drown.

She woke with a start and sat up. There was a crash from downstairs and she looked around the darkened room suspiciously. Suddenly there were too many shadows in the room, and they all seemed to be moving.

***

Draco pounded on the door Harry had created; hoping someone would hear him in the house. Hoping there was still someone in the house. He heard a crash and a scream.

"Ginny?" He listened, and she screamed again. This time he was certain it was Ginny. Where is the Boy-Who-Lived now? Draco thought icily.

***

Ginny screamed, something inanimate jumped at her in the dark. She walked quietly through the dead house; anxiously wondering where everyone had gone and why they had all left her alone. She heard voices as she descended the stairs and hurried ahead. Dismissing her increasing feeling of dread, she pushed the kitchen door open and stepped through.

***

Draco couldn't wait any longer, he knew he had to do something. Time to show them what you're made of, he thought. He knew what he had to do, he had to master a skill he never could before. Wandless magic.

***

They didn't even try to grab her, she stood transfixed. How had they found it? How had they found Grimmauld Place?

"Well well, we came for Draco but she'll do nicely," one of them said as they removed their masks. She recognised two of the faces from Hogwarts, the third was a mystery.

"The master will be very pleased." Ginny finally gained back the use of her legs, and with a silent curse to Draco for leading them here she ran back through the kitchen door.

***

Draco tried to focus his mind on only Ginny and how she had felt in his arms.

"Reducto," he said as he held his outstretched arms towards Harry's makeshift door. Nothing happened.

"Reducto," he shouted again, louder this time hoping that it would make a difference. Still nothing happened. Ginny screamed again.

"Reducto!" The wall crumbled.

He climbed quickly out over the rubble, coughing against the dust and debre. He didn't even stop to think before he run up the hall towards the kitchen.

***

Ginny pressed herself back into the wall, hoping that if she pushed hard enough that it would swallow her. The unfamiliar Deatheater leaned towards her with a sneer.

"Quite pretty, isn't she?" he asked.

"Indeed," the other drawled. "Now, if you're finished Jackson, we can do what we came here for and find Draco Malfoy."

"It's too late, I've found you," Draco said from the doorway. Ginny looked up at him in alarm, a mixture of relief and anger on her face.

"That just saves us the trouble, Malfoy," Jackson replied.

"What do you want?" Draco asked.

"It's not what we want, it's what we have," the third said, stepping forward.

"All right, what do you think you have?" Draco corrected.

"We have a traitor." Jackson paused and turned his attention to Ginny. "And bait."

***

Harry dodged an airborne hex, thrown in his direction from some unknown wizard. He saw chaos all around him, and through it all a growing shadow. And he knew this was it. The end.

***

Ginny felt her wand press into her back, she had forgotten it was there. Tucked into her back pocket. While two of the three Deatheaters were focused on Draco, and the third watched her clumsily, she reached slowly to her pocket and gripped her wand.

***

Harry dodged another hex as he advanced through the battlefield. Searching for where he knew he had to be. He was walking towards something he had been waiting his whole life for.

***

Ginny contemplated her options, it was three against one. And who knew now which side Draco would be on. She caught his eye, but the silent communication did nothing to give her confidence. She wondered if she could disarm all three of them with one incantation, like she had seen Harry do once. It seemed she had no choice but to try.

She slowly withdrew her wand from behind her, as her guard turned his back, and pointed it at the small huddle the Deatheaters had formed. They were playing right into her hands, why hadn't they searched her?

"Expelliarmus!" she called. Three wands flew across the room and three angry faces turned to her. One of them laughed, but Ginny's mind was elsewhere. She saw behind them as Draco picked up the expelled wands. Please let him be on my side, she thought wildly. A shiver ran through her body as he pointed a wand at her.