When Everything Breaks

CHAPTER NINE - TRIAL AND ERROR

Ropes flew from the wand in Draco's hand, and Ginny jumped back as they wound around the three Deatheaters at her feet.

"Come with me Ginny," Draco said. He held out his hand to her and she stared at it.

"How can I trust you?" she asked.

"I didn't lead them here."

"Then how did they find us? This location is a secret, Draco."

"The Dark mark," he said. When she opened her mouth to ask, he continued. "It works as a homing device, I heard a rumour about it once a long time ago but I never really believed it. It's how Voldemort tracks us, how we're linked to him." She looked up into his eyes, eyes she had looked at a thousand times but never seen. Like shadows and mist.

"Where to?" she asked.

"The battle has started," he replied simply.

***

The battle had started of course, and it was going exactly as Voldemort planned. As Harry stepped cautiously round the corner of the Alley, Voldemort smiled at him and his hollow red eyes glowed.

"So, it has come to this at last," he said slowly.

"So it has," Harry replied sullenly, raising his wand. He had been preparing for this moment his whole life, and still he felt unprepared. He knew it would soon be all over, one way or the other, and he saw the minutes stretching out in front of him. He remembered all the times he had smiled, had laughed, had cried. How cliché, he thought, my life flashing before my eyes.

"Avada Kedavra!" Harry saw the green light, but he had been expecting something different. Too confident, Voldemort had been the one not prepared. Harry had created a deflection for Avada Kedavra long ago, and yet had never actually expected to use it.

"Declino Caducus," Harry called, with a slight arc of his wand. Green light hit his orange stream and bounced back with a thunderous crash.

***

Draco cried out in pain, and gripped his burning forearm. He fell to his knees, and Ginny knew it was over. Voldemort was dead, and for good this time.

The Dark mark on Draco's arm glowed and faded slowly, leaving nothing but an arcing scar.

***

The celebration following Harry's triumph lasted three days; Ginny didn't see much of anyone during that time. It gave her time to think; her happiness depended on it. She thought she could choose between her childhood sweetheart and her silver knight, but her three days grace had not granted her the decision she expected.

"Why so glum?" Lupin asked as he sat beside her.

"Is there really going to be a trial, and everything?" she asked.

"I'm sure they'll be lenient on him, Ginny."

"But Harry is saying he wants him put into Azkaban."

"Harry's not on the Board." Ginny laughed lightly.

"But he does have considerable influence," she replied.

"I wouldn't worry about that, the Board will be fair." Lupin touched her hand softly and stood to leave.

"Do you know who is on the Board?" she asked.

"That's confidential information, but have faith Ginny. What he has done isn't worth nothing."

"I know," she said. But she didn't, and she still found it hard to smile despite the festivities and excitement in the air.

***

Draco read quietly over the letter he had been sent. Even on the twentieth read, he was filled with dread over its contents.

Dear Mr Malfoy

This letter is in regard to the extent of your involvement in recent events concerning the war. Due to your attachment to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, you are required to participate in a trial of your peers to determine relative guilt, such of which is scheduled for the 17th of this month. Attendance is mandatory, and accompaniment is prohibited.

Yours

Hermione Granger

Board of Illegal Magic

Draco walked the length of his apartment restlessly, leaving the letter discarded on the kitchen table.

He looked out his bedroom window into the deserted Alley, and looked back on his actions since Hogwarts. His complacent obedience and unreluctant involvement. There were few Deatheaters that were not immediately arrested or already dead, and fewer that were still considered dangerous. And he was one of the very few who had a slim chance of walking free after his trial.

His thoughts were interrupted by a small knock on his door. He looked towards the sound and did nothing. The knocking became more insistent.

***

"Where's Ginny?" Harry asked. Lupin avoided looking at him and scratched absently at the base of his neck. Harry waited. "Where's Ginny?" he asked again.

"She went for a walk," Lupin said slowly.

"And I don't need help to guess where to," Harry replied angrily. Lupin smiled warily and sighed.

"I think it's best to just let her go, there's nothing you can do."

"Like Hell there's nothing I can do!" Harry stalked away, earning a few worried stares from those gathered close by, but not caring.

***

Draco opened the door reluctantly, expecting to see Snape and being surprised by Ginny smiling up at him from the shadowy hallway.

"Ginny," he said stupidly.

"Hello Draco."

"What are you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing here? I came to see you." Ginny took a step forward into the doorway; she could smell the mix of sweat and musk on Draco's skin. They stared at each other and Ginny grew impatient.

"Are you going to ask me in?"

"Oh, yeah. Come in," Draco replied, stepping aside awkwardly.

Suddenly G was standing so close he could feel her breath on his neck, and he couldn't stop himself. He leant down and pressed his lips to hers; she kissed him back greedily. She could feel his hand at the small of her back, pulling her closer, and she responded with pulling hands of her own. At his clothes and his hair. And then he was pulling away from her.

"Ginny, we can't do this." She blinked.

"What?"

"We can't." He disentangled her hands from his messed hair and let them drop.

"Don't you want me?" she asked feebly.

"Yes. Oh God, yes. But we can't. Let's not forget what's going on," he replied.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm about to be tried for murder. I could go to Azkaban for the rest of my life. And it might be better if we wait for people to get used to us being together."

"What should we do then?" she asked, stepping away from him and the attraction of his body.

"I was thinking of packing, you can help me if you want..." he said hopefully.

"Are you going somewhere?" He gawped at her.

"Um, Ginny," he said softly. She shook her head violently.

"You're not going to Azkaban."

"That's generally the punishment for murder Gin," Draco said, carefully not looking at her face.

"Are you really guilty?"

"Does it matter?" he asked.

"It matters to me," she replied. He looked at her then; she smiled warmly and took his hands. He opened his mouth to answer her, but closed it again when he realised he couldn't lie to her.

"Technically, no. But there were times I could've done something and I didn't. Nothing in this world is ever black and white Ginny. It wasn't my wand, but it easily could have been."

"Well then, why did you save me?" Draco shrugged, and led Ginny through into his living room.

"I don't know, I had been thinking for a long time about leaving. It just seemed like a cowardly thing to do, to take the one thing Potter loves in this world and destroy it." Ginny sat heavily in a chair and watched Draco as he rearranged some half filled boxes so he too could sit.

"I don't think he ever loved me," she said sadly.

"I'm pretty sure he did, I saw the two of you when you were in sixth year. It was sickening." Ginny laughed and Draco scowled.

"Well, maybe he thought he did," Ginny said slowly.

"Do you love him?" Draco asked seriously, catching Ginny by surprise.

"I don't know anymore. I guess I did once, but he was always just the safe option."

"Potter, safe? If you say so." Draco got up and walked to the other side of the room. "I got the letter this morning," he said to the window.

"What letter?" Ginny asked in confusion.

"The one telling me when my trial date is. I didn't know Granger was so good with words."

"Oh, when is it?" He turned and looked at her, and wished that she didn't care.

"The seventeenth. And I don't want you there."

"Too bad, I work in the building and you can't stop me. Wait a minute, did you say Granger?"

"Yes, I didn't know she was even on the Board. Thought she'd be an auror or something."

"She is. Hermione, I love you!"

"What?" Draco asked angrily.

"Don't you see? She's acting as Head," Ginny answered with mounting excitement.

"Great, she'll fry me for sure."

"No Draco, she's been the one standing up for you. She'll be completely fair!" Ginny advanced on him. "This is perfect." She threw her arms around him. Draco embraced her back, but he couldn't share her enthusiasm. He could remember all the things he had done to Hermione at Hogwarts, and all the reasons why he should be put in prison.

***

Hermione nervously held the file in her hands, trying not to let it shake. She had originally done this for Ginny, but she wasn't sure she was up for the task. She couldn't even bring herself to open the file and look at its contents. She sighed loudly.

"Is something wrong, Miss Granger?"

"No, I just..." She paused. "I'm just nervous, that's all."

"There's nothing to be nervous about. I know this isn't a straight forward black and white case, but we all have faith you'll make the right decision in the end."

"The right decision. I don't think I know what that means any more." Her took a deep shaky breath and was glad Johnston didn't know just how much of this case was a grey area for her. Johnston smiled at her rather cryptic comment and left her office. She opened the file before her.

***

Ginny laughed and Draco smiled wryly in reply.

"What are you laughing about now, Weasley?" he asked. Ginny held up a three-year-old jumper that he had never worn.

"What do you want me to do with this?" she asked, stifling her giggles.

"Incinerate it."

***

Lupin watched as Harry stomped back down the wide staircase and headed towards the doors. He briefly thought of going after him, but thought better of it when Harry turned and gave him a stony glare. Let him make his own mistakes, L thought restrainedly.

Nobody else saw Harry leave the festivities, and he was glad. He was fuming and he couldn't quite understand why.

***

Ginny and Draco looked at each other with the same quizzical expression, the knock on the door sounded again.

"Who could that be?" Ginny asked.

"Dementors?" Draco asked sarcastically.

"Don't be silly, they wouldn't knock." Ginny stood and looked at Draco, he shrugged. She walked down the short hall to the front door and opened it with mock caution.

"I knew you'd be here," Harry said. Ginny stared in silence.

"What do you want Potter?" Draco asked, placing a hand on Ginny's waist.

"I'm here to see Ginny, not you, Malfoy."

"Well, seeing as this is my house, you'll have to see me wont you." Harry chuckled.

"This wont be your house for long."

"And why not?"

"Because you'll be living in Azkaban."

"In your dreams, Potter."

Ginny watched them, all but raising their wands to each other, and a battle raged inside her. Not of good and evil, but of green and grey and of Gryffindor and Slytherin. What could she do? She had to choose. Which one would save her this time?

"Stop it, stop it both of you!" Ginny called. Harry and Draco both looked at her alarmed, like they had forgotten she was even there.

"What's the matter?" Draco asked. H looked around at him with a murderous expression.

"Come on Ginny, we're going," he said, his hand outstretched.

"I'm not going anywhere with you Harry, you're being an ass." Draco chuckled at her comment and she glared at him. "And you're not much better!" He winked at her and she softened. Too bad Harry was never this charming, she thought.

"Things don't change Ginny, people don't change," Harry said.

"Everything changes," she replied sadly. She felt as though she was ripping her family apart, and maybe Harry was the easy answer. But she couldn't, she wouldn't make anymore sacrifices. "I love him Harry. I don't love you anymore." She turned away. It was over.

***

Hermione turned the last page of the file and her skin crawled. She knew she had to look at the Malfoy case objectively, for everyone's sake, but how could she? How could she when all she could think of was the many times he had called her 'Mudblood'? And the sneers, the hexes he was so prone to throw at her for no reason.

She glanced up suddenly to a slight knock on her door and smiled as Luna looked in on her dreamily.

"Are you ready to come home?" she asked.

"Yes." Hermione paused and scratched her head. "I guess."

"Bad day?" Luna asked.

"You could say that, yes." Luna smiled crookedly and Hermione wondered, and not for the first time, what was going through her mind.

As she got up to follow Luna out the door, she snatched up the file in one final desperate motion. She had to make herself fully fluent with this file, whether she liked it or not.

***

"What do you mean you love him? You don't even know him!" Harry spat. Ginny did not look back; she walked away from her childhood love, into the unknown.

"I don't know you either, Harry," she said quietly.

"I think you'd better leave now, Potter," Draco said, without a hint of the triumph and smugness he felt.

"This isn't over," Harry replied.

"Oh, I think it is."

"I'll see that you're thrown into Azkaban."

"Good luck with that." And with that Draco shut the door on Harry, and on their past.

Draco was too fascinated by those three words to worry about what Harry thought he could do to him. He followed Ginny into the living room and sat quietly beside her. She did not look up from her fidgeting hands and he did not know what to say. Only one person had ever told him that they loved him, and his mother was known to lie.

"Did you mean that?" he asked cautiously.

"I thought girls were always supposed to fall in love with the man that rescues them," Ginny replied, with an ironic little laugh.

"But I'm not the hero Ginny, I didn't defeat anybody."

"You defeated yourself Draco, and that's the hardest thing to do." Draco looked sideways at her, confused by her cryptic comment, but nodded nonetheless.

***

Harry seethed, what was Ginny playing at. Was she doing this to get back at him? He refused to believe she actually meant what she said, which was his biggest mistake. It could've saved him a lot of frustration if he had just accepted that he'd blown his one chance with Ginny. Hell, he'd blown seven chances if he was being completely honest with himself.

He walked slowly through Knockturn Alley and into Diagon Alley. He didn't know where to go or what to do now. His brain screamed at him from several different directions. Indecipherable thoughts ran around in his head.

***

Ron was already home from the party at Grimauld Place when Luna and Hermione arrived there, and was sorting through some of the boxes they still had left to unpack.

"Hey, you two. Good day at work?" he asked as they sat down. Luna smiled.

"I got it," Hermione replied simply. She knew Ron would know what she was referring to, they had spoken of little else than her application to act as Head to the Board of Illegal Magic during the Malfoy trial.

"I thought you might. I can't believe you're doing this Hermione, it's against everything you stand for."

"I don't want to go over this again Ron, the only thing I stand for is fairness and Draco Malfoy deserves his share."

"So you're just going to let him off? And why? Because of Ginny's little crush?"

"I hardly think..." she trailed off.

"You're fighting again," Luna said unnecessarily.

"Shake?" Ron asked, extending his hand.

"Alright, and let's agree not to mention this again. Ever," Hermione replied as she took his offered hand.

"Agreed."

"Good. What's for dinner?" Luna asked. Ron rolled his eyes at Hermione; he too often wondered what was going through Luna's mind.

***

Three weeks later life had returned to normal. Hangovers had passed; shock and disbelief had dissipated. Hermione sat at her desk with her head in her hands, the clock ticked. Nine o-clock approached and she couldn't do a damn thing about it. She looked again at her desk calendar; it was definitely the seventeenth. She bit her lip.

***

Draco rolled over and draped an arm over Ginny's sleeping form. She mumbled in her sleep, and he opened his eyes. He looked at Ginny's bedside clock.

"Shit," he said loudly. Ginny mumbled again in her sleep. He shook her lightly. "Ginny, you're late for work."

"I'll call in sick," she replied groggily.

"Today's the seventeenth," he said. Her eyes shot open. They both got up and dressed silently.

***

Harry paced Arthur Weasley's office, waiting for him to arrive, his teeth grinding louder with every moment that passed.

"Harry," Mr Weasley exclaimed, out of breath and flustered. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you going to tell the Board?" Harry asked.

"Nothing Harry, I'm not a witness," Mr Weasley replied, quickly retrieving his clean dark robes from the cupboard in the corner.

"You're on the trial list," Harry stated.

"How do you know that?"

"Never mind how I know." Mr Weasley looked hard at Harry, his eyes were strangely shielded and his countenance had stiffened.

"I'm on the trial list because I'm on the Board Harry," he said out of pity. Disclosure was highly forbidden.

"But you're not a Board member," Harry said in confusion.

"No, but they do still grant special permission."

"You asked? You asked to be on the Board?"

"You have to learn to let her go, Harry," Mr Weasley replied. Harry didn't bother to answer, just walked quickly from the office and towards his own desk. Mr Weasley rushed out the door behind him and headed towards the basement.

***

Ginny hesitated at the doorway to her apartment and Draco pulled her into his arms

"It'll be okay Gin," Draco said.

"What if it isn't?" she asked in reply.

"I..." Draco hesitated. "I love you Ginny." Ginny smiled, and her worries were clouded by his confession. "We'd better go," Draco mumbled.

***

Hermione took a deep breath and pulled the basement door open. She clutched the file to her chest as she took her seat and looked around. People smiled back at her, she cleared her throat but said nothing. Then she realised an important element of the trial was missing.

"Where's Draco Malfoy?" she asked, mildly pointing towards the empty seat in the centre of the room.

"He's running late," Mr Weasley replied as he too entered the room. "Ginny called, said they slept in and they're on their way." Hermione still blanched whenever anyone mentioned Ginny in connection with Draco Malfoy, she just hadn't got used to the idea yet. And she hoped that she could, for Ginny's sake, because it seemed that Ron and Harry never would.

"Alright, well..." Her stammered uncertainly. "Does anyone have any opening comments then?" she asked after taking a deep calming breath.

"I'm confused as to why he was not immediately arrested and convicted," an aged wizard asked. "If he was with You-Know-Who right up until the end?"

"First of all, I don't see why we can't all call him Voldemort." There were several sudden gasps and a few affirmations at Hermione's statement. "And second, he was not arrested because he is no longer a threat. I believe he has given sufficient reason for the Board to doubt his malevolence," she finished. Arthur Weasley smiled, proud of his surrogate daughter, and nodded encouragingly to her.

***

Ginny was reluctant to release Draco, to let him walk into the basement room without her. He had reminded her three times on their way there that she could not enter until she was called to testify, but she still would not let go of his hand.

"You have to let go Ginny," he said for the second time.

"Who knew I'd fall for you, after all you've done," Ginny said suddenly.

"You're not going to say that in your statement are you Gin, it doesn't sound good."

"Of course not." She laughed hollowly. "I just have one question, it wasn't you who kidnapped me was it?" Draco put his hand on her cheek.

"No, I was told to. But I, I don't know. I just couldn't."

"You couldn't?"

"Don't you sometimes feel it when something big is coming? I'd been waiting for something to happen for so long, and I knew you were it."

"Make sure you say that when you get in there." She looked at her wristwatch and it flashed YOU"RE VERY LATE at her in bright neon letters. "You'd better go in." She let go of his hand and pushed him lightly towards the door. He gave her one last look before turning the handle.

***

Hermione looked up as Draco entered, and she wasn't the only one. Draco met twelve sets of expectant eyes and he swallowed audibly.

"Good morning Mr Malfoy, please take your seat," Hermione said, sounding a lot stronger than she felt.

"Thank you," he said, sitting down. "I'm sorry for the delay in my arrival." Hermione smiled slightly, or rather, the corners of her mouth twitched in what could be interpreted as a smile considering the stress she was under.

"Right." Her cleared her throat again. "Mr Turpin, could you please read the charges for Mr Malfoy." Mr Turpin, a youngish wizard who had been on the Board not three weeks prior to the anti-climactic end of the war, stood and scratched his neck.

"Charges laid are as follows: multiple counts of Murder; Practice of the Dark Arts; and Kidnapping." Mr Turpin looked to Hermione and she nodded. Draco couldn't believe how relaxed he felt, even in spite of his queasy stomach and sweaty hands.

***

Ginny paced in front of her desk and waited, Shelly glanced up from the papers she was working on to watch her in amusement.

"Is he really worth all this bother?" she asked. Ginny didn't hesitate with her answer.

"Yes." Shelly looked disbelieving.

"Are you sure?"

"Why? Too cliché?"

"Definitely. It's very Superman and Lois Lane," Shelly said with a smile.

"Who?"

"Never--" She was cut off by an alarm, sounding from Ginny's pocket. "Is that you being summoned?" she asked. Ginny exhaled loudly and pulled the screaming object from her pocket.

"Yeah, it is."

"Well, good luck." Ginny gave her a weak smile as she slowly walked from the room. She was so preoccupied that she didn't notice the memo flying at her until it hit her in the cheek and fell to the floor. She bent to pick it up and knew suddenly that it was from Harry. And sure enough, when she unfolded the parchment, written inside in Harry's familiar scribble were the words Don't do it Ginny. I love you, don't do it. She looked around and saw Shelly still watching her, she ripped up the memo and dropped it into a hungry wastepaper basket on her way to the lifts.

***

The third witness had been summoned and Hermione took a few deep breaths to calm herself. The trial had gone mediocre so far, and she hoped the last two witnesses would paint a better picture than the first. While Draco had given reasonable testimony, and the Veritaserum had ensured his complete honesty, Ollivander's testimony that his wand was clean hadn't had the effect on the other Board members that she had expected.

When he heard the click of the door closing, Draco tried to squirm around in his chair to see who had entered the room behind him, but he realised from the look on Arthur Weasley's face that it must be Ginny. He held his breath.

"Please state your full name," Hermione said. Draco looked at Ginny the best he could out of the corner of his eye; she looked a weird mix of confident and scared all at the same time.

"Genevra Molly Weasley," Ginny replied carefully.

"And what is your relationship to the accused?" Hermione asked.

"I..." Ginny hesitated as she realised that she didn't have any idea what her relationship to Draco was. "Well, we live together at the moment."

"How long have you been living together?"

"Three weeks." Ginny had no idea where Hermione was going with these questions, but she was sure it was somewhere.

"Do you love him?" she asked. Arthur Weasley stared hard at his daughter and Hermione clasped her hands tightly in her lap.

"Yes I do."

"Isn't three weeks a bit quick to decide that you love someone?" Ginny, surprised by the question, was silent for a few minutes and Hermione waited patiently.

"Yes it is, but I've known Draco since I was eleven," she replied, trying not to sound condescending. Trying to have faith that Hermione knew why she was asking these questions, when they sounded so ridiculous to her.

"But you did not love him when you were eleven, you didn't even like him," Hermione said evenly.

"No, in fact I'd be more inclined to say that I hated him when I was eleven."

"Then what happened, Miss Weasley? What happened between then and now that made you have such a dramatic change of heart?"

"Harry Potter happened. What I thought was love turned out to be nothing, and then I took a chance. Draco saved me from more than that dank cell in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor." She looked up and saw her father smile slowly, how quickly they accepted Draco into their lives. All but Ron, who wouldn't forgive Harry but refused to acknowledge Draco.

"Do you trust the accused?" Hermione asked. Her final question for Ginny, and probably the most important.

"With my life," Ginny replied, her eyes darting sideways. She could see the straight set of Draco's clenched jaw.

"Thank you Miss Weasley, you may wait outside if you wish." Ginny nodded, gave Draco one last glance, and walked quietly out of the room.

A hooded figure approached her in the corridor, and for a moment she thought it was Harry. There was something familiar about the shape of its body and the way it sauntered towards her. Ginny watched as it approached the trial-room door and then turned back to look at her. A sliver of bright red hair slipped from beneath the hood and Ginny saw the reflection of the halogen lights in the figure's blue-grey eyes. Before Ginny could react, the girl had disappeared through the door, but she knew those eyes. She would've recognised her cousin anywhere. Funny though, Ginny thought that she was dead. But then again, most people she had known thought that she was dead. Sometimes even she thought she was dead, trapped in a never-ending nightmare.

Cordelia walked in and took her place, removing the hood as she walked and watched by curious eyes. And why shouldn't they be curious? This was her third trial, apart from her own in which she was cleared of all charges, and she hoped it would be her last. This one was special however, this one she actually wanted the accused to go free.

Draco turned as best he could and saw, out of the corner of his eye, as Cordelia removed the hood. He remembered her; it was a face he couldn't forget. A face that could've got him killed and that he often saw in his dreams.

"Please state your full name," Hermione said, breaking the heavy silence.

"Cordelia Jane Weasley," she replied. Draco snorted, and it sliced through the air like a razor. He remembered thinking when they met, how she looked like part of that expansive Weasley family. Pale and red-haired, but a darkness seemed to shroud her.

"What is your relationship to the accused?" Hermione asked, glancing quickly at Draco and back.

"We met about a year ago." Had it really been a year, Draco wondered, have I been stagnant for that long? "When I was still a Deatheater, we were friends."

"You were friends?" Hermione asked disbelieving. Like Deatheaters didn't have friends.

"Yes, I know it sound ridiculous. In a place full of people willing to kill you to get ahead, we were friends. But Draco was different to the rest."

"In what way was Draco different?"

"He treated me like a person, as apposed to an object. He didn't care about Voldemort and, while he voiced his hatred of Harry Potter more than once, I don't think he ever had any intention of actual malice. A victim of folly, he made a mistake when he joined the Deatheaters, just like I did." Cordelia looked up briefly and noticed just how young Hermione was, a year younger than her at least.

"When did you leave the Deatheaters?"

"About eight months ago."

"And how did you do it?"

"I went with Draco to a raid, we staged an argument, he made it look like he used the killing curse on me; the others there barely even blinked." Hermione's heart rate increased as she realised that Draco was going to go free, and surprisingly, it was exactly what she wanted.

"Have you spoken to him since?"

"Yes, once or twice."

"And did he ever say he wanted to leave too?" Hermione hardly thought she even needed to ask her final question.

"Yes, a few times."

"Thank you Miss Weasley, you're now free to go." Cordelia smiled and left the room. Mr Weasley stared after her, almost tempted to follow and stop her from leaving. But he couldn't, and she did.

Cordelia walked slowly from the room and found Ginny pacing in the hall.

"God, we all thought you were dead," Ginny said sadly.

"I know," Cordelia replied.

"Where've you been? Where are you living?" Ginny had so many questions she wanted to ask, but she could see Cordelia edging away from her.

"I can't tell you Ginny, I'm sorry."

"But why?" Ginny asked bewildered.

"This is why!" Cordelia replied, pulling the sleeve of her robes and revealing the faded Dark mark beneath. "I did something awful Ginny, and I can never take it back." She turned and walked away, her heels clicking loudly on the polished floor. Ginny took a step towards her retreating back but stopped when the door opening behind her caught her attention.

"Well?" she asked impatiently. He didn't reply, simply handed her the broken shards of his wand. "Is that all?" she asked.

"That's all," he replied with a relieved smile. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him roughly on the lips. "I guess I'll just have to learn to live as a..." He swallowed. "Muggle." Ginny smiled widely.

"It's okay Draco; I'll take care of you."

"Don't want your hand this time I'll save myself

Maybe I'll wake up for once"