When The World Ends. D/G, K/M. 11/11. R.
Title: When The World Ends
Author: Eustacia Vye
Author's e-mail: eustacia_vye28@hotmail.com
Rating: R. OMG, I didn't actually write smut...
Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Ginny Weasley, Katie Bell/Marcus Flint.
Disclaimer: The characters here do not originally belong to me, but to JKR, Raincoast, Scholastic and their teams of lawyers. This version of the characters is all mine, though.
Spoilers/Warnings: This takes place during DH (minus the Epilogue of Doom). Also, this fits "undercover: having to participate in illegal / hurtful activity" prompt on my
hc_bingo card.
Summary: Ginny is tired of being pushed into the background as if nothing she endured counted for anything. It turns out, Katie feels the same way. They plan on making a difference in the war, even if no one takes them seriously.
Prior chapters:
One - Shadows On Our Own
Two - Forming Alliances
Three - Knowing The Names of Things
Four - In The Shadow Of Flames
Five - Through Ashes
Six - Broken Images
Seven - Finding an Equilibrium
Eight - Faces In The Firelight
Nine - Innocence Lost
Ten - The Beginning of The End
I wish my heart was as cold as the morning dew
But it's as warm as saxophones
And honey in the sun for you
I've been spending half the year
In a plane going up and down
You've been seeing other people from a nearby town
Been obsessing and getting depressed about us
Excess baggage and other stupid band stuff
I wish my heart was cold
But it's warmer than before
I wish my heart was as cold as the morning dew
But it's as warm as saxophones in
And honey in the sun for you
Camera Obscura, "Honey In The Sun"
Marcus ducked the severing curse thrown his way and continued moving toward the dorms. He had told Montague he was going to see if the students were all right. What were they thinking, starting a battle here? It was bound to kill innocent pureblooded children, and that was supposed to be the whole point of this.
He caught sight of the burned flesh of his left arm, and pressed his lips together grimly. What was supposed to be often wasn't.
His heart nearly stopped when he saw Katie dueling with a Death Eater. Marcus didn't know the fellow that well, just that he often worked with Rowle. Without thinking, Marcus sent a vicious hex at that particular bastard when Katie's footing slipped on debris. He couldn't even breathe. Was she hurt? Had that bastard harmed her?
Katie was fine, just a single lock of hair falling out of her hair band. "Katie," he murmured, grasping hold of her arms. Before she could even reply, Marcus pulled her in close and breathed in the scent of her. Merlin, if anything had happened...
"You big softie," she chuckled, smiling against his chest. "I'm fine."
Marcus pressed a kiss against the top of her head. "I just needed to be sure."
Katie grinned and gave him a playful push. "Go, do whatever it is you should be doing."
"I was going to check the dorms."
"McGonagall evacuated all the younger years," Katie said, squeezing his arm. "I sealed the tunnel after them myself."
"And you're still here why?" Marcus cried, towering over her in shock. "Get out of here!"
"I could say the same of you!"
There was the sound of stones shifting behind him, but Marcus didn't connect it to anything right away. She pushed him back suddenly, her eyes wide. As Marcus stumbled over the debris behind him, Katie pointed her wand at him. "Ennervate!"
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Marcus fell backward. Already conscious, the spell burned along his synapses. He was hyper-alert now, every sense burning with intensity. He could hear every last nuance of sound around him, smell the scent of everything around him. The dig of the broken stones behind his back when he fell was painful, and he could feel the skin split along his palm as it sliced across a jagged piece of marble. He saw everything around him in painstaking detail, and it overwhelmed him to the point that he felt immobilized.
And he saw Katie, shining from the inside out like a silver beacon. The scar lines were glowing with a ferocity he had never seen before, growing wide and ever brighter. It was almost as if her skin was splitting apart at these seams, as if she was made up of liquid silver.
The largest crack was right over her chest, right over her heart.
He understood then, as the details seemed to slot into place. She had been hurt too badly and had lost too much to say anything to him. She needed to be strong, needed to be fierce. She needed to become something more than the tool Draco Malfoy had made her out to be in her seventh year, something more than the helpless girl caught in a web of deceit. She had to overcome her fears of being helpless, to move past the feeling that she was useless. She couldn't stand to have anyone know her weakness.
And it was him.
She loved him, even if she had never said the words. She had shown him at least a hundred different ways, trusted him and had done her best to keep him safe.
Right now, as she battled against Thorfin Rowle, Katie had to know that Marcus wasn't going to come between them, that he wasn't going to sacrifice himself to save her. She knew him well enough by now to know that he would seriously consider it, or would cast an Unforgivable to save her life if he had to. Even Aurors with good reason were questioned closely for casting any of the Unforgivables, and Katie loathed them. She would never use them if she could help it, and she would try her best to keep him from using them as well.
The heightened awareness dimmed just enough for it to not be painful by the time Katie had Rowle trussed up like a Christmas goose. The man was still breathing, a large gash on the side of his head as he lay on the floor unconscious.
Marcus watched Katie approach him, her skin glowing silver and her hair a dark halo around her head. He had never seen her look more beautiful.
"They can't know," she was saying, and he could hear her staccato heartbeat beneath her words, the push of her breath and the rustle of her blouse as she moved to reach out for him. "You can't let them know I'm important to you. You can't let them know you've changes sides."
He pulled her down on top of him, the blood on his palm smearing across her arm. He could smell the coppery tang of it, could see the contrast of the drying red against the black of her uniform blouse. "You are important. No matter what happens, you are important to me. I love you, Katie Bell. If anything happened to you, there would be no point to going on."
He saw the flush in her cheeks, the way her lips parted and eyes dilated. He pulled her down into a desperate kiss, his tongue sliding into her mouth. He loved her, he couldn't lose her. He'd lost everything else in his life, he refused to lose the one good thing he had left. She'd known, but she hadn't really known. They'd never spoken of it aloud, and Marcus didn't expect her to be ready to say it in return. He could be the brave one in this. Slytherins were self serving at times, but they weren't cowards.
When Marcus ended the kiss slowly, Katie opened her mouth to speak. He covered her lips with his fingertips, tracing them. "Go off and save the world, Katie. Don't you dare die. You have to come back to me."
Katie's eyes were bright and shining, and she blinked furiously as she clasped his hand tightly in hers. "I promise," she whispered, voice cracking.
He had to trust in her, just as she had to trust in him. She was a shining beacon of silver, and Marcus let her go.
***
Ginny and Draco were separated outside of the castle. The fighting was a bit more diffuse out in the courtyards, but that didn't mean it was any less deadly. Somehow, she knew that Draco would make it. The Death Eaters wouldn't kill him, and Order members would never kill a student. As Bellatrix had shown, the Death Eaters weren't above killing students that got in their way or to make a point.
She ducked out of the way of explosions and did her best to contain some of the damage or hex the Death Eaters she encountered. It took a moment before she twigged to the fact that something was a bit off about them.
They were running away from the castle.
"What's happened?" she called out to an unfamiliar Order member. The woman shrugged, and continued with her work to contain the Death Eaters fleeing the scene before they remembered that they could apparate off of the school grounds.
Ginny pushed her way into the castle, looking about for someone who might know what was going on. That was when she realized that the fighting had stopped for the most part, and the dust was literally starting to settle from that last explosion.
Voldemort was lying on the ground, dead. Harry was still standing.
She didn't know how he did it, but she didn't care. Seeing Voldemort's corpse was more than enough proof that things were over. Oh, there would be clean up, still. She wasn't so naïve to think that everything would automatically be happily ever after. She knew there was still work to do, and that she would need that law enforcement training now more than ever.
Katie was safe, blood on her temple and on her sleeves, but she seemed all right. She was cradled in Marcus Flint's arms, and they were whispering to each other softly.
Molly Weasley swept Ginny up into her arms, and they sought out the rest of the family. If Ginny kept craning her neck about, it wasn't remarked upon. Everyone was doing it, everyone was trying to figure out who had lived and who had died. It was such a tangled mess, it seemed impossible that it would be sorted out.
She didn't see any pale blonde hair, however, and her gut was starting to churn. They had been separated outside, so perhaps he was outside. He might not have realized she returned to the thick of things. He might still be outside.
But he knew her, too. He knew she wouldn't be able to stay away for long.
Finally, she caught a glimpse of pale blonde hair in Draco's exact shade. Narcissa Malfoy was sweeping Draco into her arms, painful relief etched across her patrician features. Ginny understood the feeling, and pulled herself away from her family to dash across the remnants of the Great Hall. She ignored her mother calling after her, ignored Ron's shouting.
Draco looked up as he pulled away from his mother, and his face broke out into an exultant grin. He had been worried about her, too.
Without thinking of the consequences, Ginny launched herself at him and snogged him as if the world was ending and tomorrow would never come. Draco's arms were tight around her, holding on as if he was never going to let go. That would be fine if that was true. She didn't want him letting to. She didn't want him going anywhere.
There would be time for explanations, for explaining away his behavior and trying to get probation or a commuted sentence for him. There would be a way for her to help him, to use whatever influence she had to help Draco avoid a lifetime in Azkaban. He didn't deserve that kind of punishment. He had done awful things, but he wasn't a monster. He didn't deserve to be treated like one.
"We'll figure something out," Ginny told him, grasping hold of his arm. "I know we can do something about this."
He gave her a soft smile and cupped her face in his hands. "You were always an optimist."
"Someone has to be."
Ron was looking thunderous, and Draco didn't fancy getting his other eye blackened. "They're looking for you."
"I know," Ginny said, smiling at Draco. "I found them. I found where I want to be, too."
"It won't be easy," he murmured, stroking her face. His parents had moved off to the side, giving them a modicum of privacy. It wasn't about to last long, the way Ron looked. "Our families hate each other, this whole thing... I'm probably going to Azkaban."
"I'll do something," Ginny promised him. "I'll figure something out." She covered his hand with hers and leaned into his touch. "Nothing worth having is easy. I know that now."
Draco looked as if he wanted to say something, but he leaned forward and kissed her. "Whatever happens, remember I love you. I tried to stay out of things, but I don't think it's going to be enough."
There were inquests, of course. There were statements taken and information gathered, bodies counted and blame ready to be assigned. The early days after the battle were chaotic, and some Death Eaters that survived the battle still managed to escape detection. Aurors and Order of the Phoenix members were busy. While Azkaban no longer held Dementors, it was still a dreary place to be housed while the government sorted things out.
Ginny didn't want to think about how bad it must be for Draco, to be staying in a tiny cell at Azkaban. His parents and some of his friends were there, but they weren't housed together. He had nothing to do but stare at the walls, contemplate his memories and wonder when he was getting out, if at all.
Her family thought she was out of her mind, of course. Ron had been the worst, accusing her of being under an Imperius curse. Her mother had blanched at Ginny's "Why do you think his aunt hated me so much?" taunt at Ron, a reminder of just how close they had all come to losing Ginny in the battle. It didn't matter that her family had wanted her out of the way, that she was supposed to have been protected the whole time. And honestly, it hurt that Harry had never once asked if she was all right afterward. He never once came to see her, but would discuss things with Ron and Hermione for hours.
Ginny understood what that meant. She knew what her place in his life was at that point.
She met Katie in the seaside village she now called home. It was a lovely spring day, and Ginny sat across from her in an outdoor café. "You look good," Ginny remarked, meaning it. The curse scars were all but invisible, and Katie just seemed happier somehow. When Ginny had approached Katie at the Burrow almost a year ago, Katie had seemed to be a seething ball of anger. It was almost as if she had come to some kind of an understanding about things, as if she had finally come to terms with what had happened to her.
Thinking back on it, Ginny had finally stopped having nightmares months ago. Her last one had been the night before she and Draco blasted the stone face of Slytherin and the outline of the basilisk down in the Chamber of Secrets. It had stopped being something for her to be afraid of, and just something else that had happened when she was younger. Perhaps Katie saw the locket damage the same way.
"I'm entering the program," Katie said with a pleased smile. It faltered after a moment. "They gave all of us survivors passing marks. That was possibly the kindest thing to do. I would have told them where to shove it if they still wanted me to write an exam."
Ginny laughed. "I would love tickets to that."
"They're awarding certificates to the ones that didn't make it," Katie said, stirring some sugar into her tea. "I didn't know them very well, and we certainly never were friends, but I'm still sorry it happened. Most of them probably weren't all that bad."
"I don't think anyone is, if you know them well enough," Ginny murmured.
"I suppose you're right," Katie agreed, nodding. She sipped at her tea, then smiled at Ginny. "So. You and Draco Malfoy."
"You and Marcus Flint," Ginny replied, smiling at Katie expectantly. "How did that happen?"
"I saved his life," Katie said simply. Ginny could tell there was more of a story behind it than what she was willing to say. "We understand what it's like, but it's more than that. It's not just losing a home and family and everything we knew. It's... I can't really explain. But somehow things don't hurt as much when he's around."
Ginny gave Katie a warm smile. "I'm glad you have that. You deserve it."
"Thanks." Katie looked at Ginny. "So what are you going to do with Draco?"
She gave Katie a wry smile. "I'm going to try to save his life, I think."
"Talk to Kingsley and Tacklethorpe if you can. They're the most likely to actually listen to reason and not get carried away. They know shades of gray exist."
"Thanks. I'll do that," Ginny said. She rubbed the edge of her saucer with the edge of her thumbnail. "How is it really? The program, I mean? Is it what you thought it would be? Is it worth all of this that we've gone through?"
Katie paused before simply saying "Of course it is!" Ginny deserved a true answer, whatever it was. "The past year made everything harder, you know. It's not accurate. The world doesn't end every year, you know."
"Almost," Ginny said with a grin.
"Almost," Katie agreed, remembering what it was like at Hogwarts. "And what happened to me before I started... I could've done the year differently. I could've been different if I joined, but with what happened my seventh year, I was already trying to prove I was tough enough to be there. I was trying to prove that it wouldn't hold me back. I didn't need anyone and I didn't need their help to pass through, and I certainly didn't need any of them as friends. I certainly didn't care if they liked me or not."
Ginny watched her look down at her teacup, looking at it wistfully. "I'd do it over again if I could," Katie murmured. "If I could go back knowing what I know now? I'd appreciate it more. I'd spend more time with my Mum and Dad." She looked up at Ginny. "The hardest part of it wasn't the program. It wasn't the classes, it wasn't the practicals, it wasn't writing the exams. The hardest part of it was me. I couldn't deal with what happened to me, and I snapped at everybody. I made it so much worse for myself, I think."
"You have Marcus," Ginny pointed out when Katie fell silent.
She smiled. "Yeah. He's a wonderful bonus."
"What do you mean?"
"What's the point in having someone love you if you don't love yourself?"
Ginny frowned. "But..."
"If you're going to join up in the program, and if you're going to try to fight to get Draco out of prison, do it because it makes you happy. Do it because you're a whole person who wants him there, not because you think somehow you're going to be whole. It doesn't work that way."
"Oh. But I know who I am. It's just the rest of the world that doesn't."
"Why don't they?"
"Because..." Because they wouldn't like me. Ginny looked up at Katie. "It would break my Mum's heart to know I still remember the Dark Lord living inside my head. She would look at me and always wonder if he was still talking through me, of I'm in control."
"Does Draco know about that?"
"Yeah, he does. And he doesn't care about what happened my first year, and he never once questioned me if it was me talking or not."
"Why do you think that is?"
"He trusts that's done and over with."
"So? Why wouldn't your Mum think that? It's been years since it happened."
"Five years," Ginny agreed. "You've met my Mum."
"Everyone in Gryffindor has met your Mum," Katie said with a wry smile.
They both laughed, and after a moment, Ginny looked at Katie. "I should talk to her."
Katie nodded. "You should. You'll do whatever it is that you want to do easily. It's figuring out what you really want to do that's the hard part."
Ginny nodded and stood. "I should go talk to her. And Kingsley." Draco had been in Azkaban for a few weeks. It was time that he got out of there.
Just because the war was over didn't mean she could stop doing what needed to be done.
***
Talking to Molly Weasley was easier and harder than Ginny expected it to be. Molly had been eager to talk about what had happened in the Battle of Hogwarts, as they were calling it now. She hadn't been pleased to see Ginny snogging Draco Malfoy, and Ginny hadn't been willing to talk about it before.
"He understands things about me that you don't," Ginny murmured softly. She didn't want this to be seen as teenage petulance; her mother chalked up most things she said as being too young or being a teenager. Ginny had felt marginalized within her family for far too long, but wasn't about to ruin this opportunity.
Molly had seemed hurt by that. "What can't you discuss with me? You can tell me anything."
"I still speak Parselmouth," Ginny said bluntly. "I still remember the Chamber, the dreams, the things I did when possessed. I remember everything."
Molly had gone white with the first statement, and bewildered by the rest. "But you said..."
"I lied," Ginny murmured softly, her hands clenched in her lap. "You wanted so much for it to be true, and so much for me to be normal. I didn't want to hurt you by letting you know I was still a freak. But that's what he knows that you don't. He understands what it's like, and he doesn't blame me for it. He doesn't think I'm some kind of monster."
It was a gross oversimplification of their relationship over the past year, but it was easier to explain that way. Molly seemed to soften a fraction, though she was somewhat confused as well. "I don't think you're a monster. You're my daughter. This doesn't change that." Molly hesitantly touched Ginny's hands. "If you remember everything, then you understand why I want to protect you. Why I don't want you having anything to do with them."
Ginny looked at her mother sadly. "Feelings like that got us into this war in the first place. Us against them, that we're the only right ones." She gently pulled her hands out from beneath her mother's. "I'm not eleven anymore. I know what's hiding in the dark. You have to trust that I can see it, that I know what to do about it."
"Ginny..."
"I spoke with Kingsley Shacklebolt about Draco, what he tried to do. I have to think it'll help him somehow. I can't leave him in Azkaban. No matter what else he'd done, it's not something that he should be imprisoned for the rest of his life for."
Molly heaved a sigh. "I really don't think you should get involved. You've done quite enough already, Ginny. Leave it to everyone else."
"No, Mum. I haven't done enough. I was pushed aside and told to wait, and everyone thinks I'm far too young for everything that happened. But they didn't have those same kind of scruples. What do you think I'd've done if you and Dad were threatened? Anyone else in the family? What do you think they did to him? Their own side?" Ginny shook her head. "If I sit back and do nothing, I'm no better than the Death Eaters."
Nearly in tears, Molly reached out and touched Ginny's face. "When did this happen? When did my baby girl grow up? You're not supposed to want to fight this. You're not supposed to do anything but go to school and date boys and then get married. You're not supposed to help fix the world's problems."
Ginny gave her mother a watery smile. "I'm your daughter. I'm just like you and Dad. I have to fix it. I can't just leave it broken. What kind of person does that make me?"
Molly dried her eyes and turned away. "Your father has a meeting with Shacklebolt at the Ministry today. I'm supposed to be there as well. I'd best get ready. We'll talk about this again."
Ginny didn't suppose she would be let off easy, but gave her mother a parting hug. They didn't hate each other, and her mother didn't yell at her for all the disappointment Ginny had caused. It was a start, at least. Molly couldn't help but be overprotective.
Getting to see Draco was difficult. He was let out of prison in late August and given five years of probation plus time served for his part in Death Eaters attacking Hogwarts. Ginny had come forward, and she had been surprised by the handful of other students that had as well. He initially returned the owls she sent, unopened, but she wasn't about to tolerate that. She apparated directly to Malfoy Manor and knocked on the front door. She was shown into a front parlor by a very obsequious house elf, and sat with her back ramrod straight. Draco would see her, even if she had to run through this entire Manor to find him.
But he came to her, hands shoved awkwardly into his pockets. "Hullo, Ginevra," he murmured.
A thousand different things flooded her mind, but Ginny was at a loss as to which one fit. She stood and crossed the room, standing at its threshold in front of Draco. She grasped his arms and kissed him hard on the mouth, pouring her frustration and love and longing into it.
"I missed you," she said finally. She looked into his shocked eyes. "Don't believe anyone that ever tells you differently."
"I thought once you came to your senses, you'd realize this was a terrible idea." He was trying to hide behind sarcasm, she realized. He was giving her an exit route if she wanted it.
But she didn't.
"What's terrible is your saying this is over before it even begins."
Draco went into the parlor and stood by the fireplace, staring at the ash for a long time. "It won't be easy," he began in a low tone. "I've been accepted to do the seventh year over again. We'll be in the same classes, surrounded by everyone that knows the truth about me." He looked up at her in concern. "They won't show you any mercy."
"I'm not asking for that. I'm asking for what's real."
There was a look of stark pain on Draco's face. "I was in Azkaban, Ginny. I'm still carrying around the Dark Mark and everyone knows it. I'm the traitor to those people. I'm the one they'll hate, and they'll hate you for being with me." Ginny silently walked forward and then took his hand in hers. "I'd rather you hated me now, than when you realize how hard it's going to be."
"I'm not going to run away now," Ginny murmured, "not when things have just gotten started. I want this to play out. I want this to work. My life is better with you in it." She smiled up at him, a genuine one he hadn't seen in months. "None of those people matter, really. The important ones will understand in time."
"You're so sure about that," Draco mused. "Knowing me might ruin your chances of being that Rune Hunter you wanted to be."
"With a family like mine," she began with a soft smile, "I can be anything I want to be."
Draco pulled away from her slightly. "With a family like mine, I can't."
Ginny pulled him back toward her. "You can. If you want to. Maybe if you wanted to be part of my family. With me, I mean."
"I can't imagine they would be thrilled with the prospect."
No, they wouldn't be. "I'll get around them." She held onto him tightly. "School is starting soon. Everything gets to begin again, Draco. The war is over, and the world hasn't ended. You can start over with me, and it can be what we wanted it to be."
Ginny could tell it was tempting by the way he hesitated, the way he still wanted to do right by her by rejecting her now. "Ginny, I don't think it will work that way," he said finally.
"Neither of us know the future," she said softly. "But that's the future I want. I want it with you in it, with the two of us going to school and then the law enforcement program together. I want it to be real, to be everything we talked about."
"I'm not saying no, exactly," Draco murmured, pulling back to cup her face in his hands. His gaze was earnest and painful to look at. "I'm not saying yes, either. If this happens, if we're in the same classes together and this happens, it should go slowly. It should be as if we're starting all over again, with no history between us."
"It's a start," Ginny allowed. She remembered Katie's words, What's the point in having someone love you if you don't love yourself? and thought perhaps he wasn't ready yet. He had been through a lot as well. The war ending didn't magically make things disappear. It just meant the foreboding was gone and the hard work had to begin.
She wasn't afraid of that in the slightest.
Linking hands with Draco, she smiled at him. Whatever happened next, whatever they decided to do with their relationship, she was ready.
This new world that was going to be built was going to be wonderful. She was sure of it.
The End.
Author: Eustacia Vye
Author's e-mail: eustacia_vye28@hotmail.com
Rating: R. OMG, I didn't actually write smut...
Pairing: Draco Malfoy/Ginny Weasley, Katie Bell/Marcus Flint.
Disclaimer: The characters here do not originally belong to me, but to JKR, Raincoast, Scholastic and their teams of lawyers. This version of the characters is all mine, though.
Spoilers/Warnings: This takes place during DH (minus the Epilogue of Doom). Also, this fits "undercover: having to participate in illegal / hurtful activity" prompt on my
hc_bingo card.
Summary: Ginny is tired of being pushed into the background as if nothing she endured counted for anything. It turns out, Katie feels the same way. They plan on making a difference in the war, even if no one takes them seriously.
Prior chapters:
One - Shadows On Our Own
Two - Forming Alliances
Three - Knowing The Names of Things
Four - In The Shadow Of Flames
Five - Through Ashes
Six - Broken Images
Seven - Finding an Equilibrium
Eight - Faces In The Firelight
Nine - Innocence Lost
Ten - The Beginning of The End
I wish my heart was as cold as the morning dew
But it's as warm as saxophones
And honey in the sun for you
I've been spending half the year
In a plane going up and down
You've been seeing other people from a nearby town
Been obsessing and getting depressed about us
Excess baggage and other stupid band stuff
I wish my heart was cold
But it's warmer than before
I wish my heart was as cold as the morning dew
But it's as warm as saxophones in
And honey in the sun for you
Camera Obscura, "Honey In The Sun"
Marcus ducked the severing curse thrown his way and continued moving toward the dorms. He had told Montague he was going to see if the students were all right. What were they thinking, starting a battle here? It was bound to kill innocent pureblooded children, and that was supposed to be the whole point of this.
He caught sight of the burned flesh of his left arm, and pressed his lips together grimly. What was supposed to be often wasn't.
His heart nearly stopped when he saw Katie dueling with a Death Eater. Marcus didn't know the fellow that well, just that he often worked with Rowle. Without thinking, Marcus sent a vicious hex at that particular bastard when Katie's footing slipped on debris. He couldn't even breathe. Was she hurt? Had that bastard harmed her?
Katie was fine, just a single lock of hair falling out of her hair band. "Katie," he murmured, grasping hold of her arms. Before she could even reply, Marcus pulled her in close and breathed in the scent of her. Merlin, if anything had happened...
"You big softie," she chuckled, smiling against his chest. "I'm fine."
Marcus pressed a kiss against the top of her head. "I just needed to be sure."
Katie grinned and gave him a playful push. "Go, do whatever it is you should be doing."
"I was going to check the dorms."
"McGonagall evacuated all the younger years," Katie said, squeezing his arm. "I sealed the tunnel after them myself."
"And you're still here why?" Marcus cried, towering over her in shock. "Get out of here!"
"I could say the same of you!"
There was the sound of stones shifting behind him, but Marcus didn't connect it to anything right away. She pushed him back suddenly, her eyes wide. As Marcus stumbled over the debris behind him, Katie pointed her wand at him. "Ennervate!"
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Marcus fell backward. Already conscious, the spell burned along his synapses. He was hyper-alert now, every sense burning with intensity. He could hear every last nuance of sound around him, smell the scent of everything around him. The dig of the broken stones behind his back when he fell was painful, and he could feel the skin split along his palm as it sliced across a jagged piece of marble. He saw everything around him in painstaking detail, and it overwhelmed him to the point that he felt immobilized.
And he saw Katie, shining from the inside out like a silver beacon. The scar lines were glowing with a ferocity he had never seen before, growing wide and ever brighter. It was almost as if her skin was splitting apart at these seams, as if she was made up of liquid silver.
The largest crack was right over her chest, right over her heart.
He understood then, as the details seemed to slot into place. She had been hurt too badly and had lost too much to say anything to him. She needed to be strong, needed to be fierce. She needed to become something more than the tool Draco Malfoy had made her out to be in her seventh year, something more than the helpless girl caught in a web of deceit. She had to overcome her fears of being helpless, to move past the feeling that she was useless. She couldn't stand to have anyone know her weakness.
And it was him.
She loved him, even if she had never said the words. She had shown him at least a hundred different ways, trusted him and had done her best to keep him safe.
Right now, as she battled against Thorfin Rowle, Katie had to know that Marcus wasn't going to come between them, that he wasn't going to sacrifice himself to save her. She knew him well enough by now to know that he would seriously consider it, or would cast an Unforgivable to save her life if he had to. Even Aurors with good reason were questioned closely for casting any of the Unforgivables, and Katie loathed them. She would never use them if she could help it, and she would try her best to keep him from using them as well.
The heightened awareness dimmed just enough for it to not be painful by the time Katie had Rowle trussed up like a Christmas goose. The man was still breathing, a large gash on the side of his head as he lay on the floor unconscious.
Marcus watched Katie approach him, her skin glowing silver and her hair a dark halo around her head. He had never seen her look more beautiful.
"They can't know," she was saying, and he could hear her staccato heartbeat beneath her words, the push of her breath and the rustle of her blouse as she moved to reach out for him. "You can't let them know I'm important to you. You can't let them know you've changes sides."
He pulled her down on top of him, the blood on his palm smearing across her arm. He could smell the coppery tang of it, could see the contrast of the drying red against the black of her uniform blouse. "You are important. No matter what happens, you are important to me. I love you, Katie Bell. If anything happened to you, there would be no point to going on."
He saw the flush in her cheeks, the way her lips parted and eyes dilated. He pulled her down into a desperate kiss, his tongue sliding into her mouth. He loved her, he couldn't lose her. He'd lost everything else in his life, he refused to lose the one good thing he had left. She'd known, but she hadn't really known. They'd never spoken of it aloud, and Marcus didn't expect her to be ready to say it in return. He could be the brave one in this. Slytherins were self serving at times, but they weren't cowards.
When Marcus ended the kiss slowly, Katie opened her mouth to speak. He covered her lips with his fingertips, tracing them. "Go off and save the world, Katie. Don't you dare die. You have to come back to me."
Katie's eyes were bright and shining, and she blinked furiously as she clasped his hand tightly in hers. "I promise," she whispered, voice cracking.
He had to trust in her, just as she had to trust in him. She was a shining beacon of silver, and Marcus let her go.
***
Ginny and Draco were separated outside of the castle. The fighting was a bit more diffuse out in the courtyards, but that didn't mean it was any less deadly. Somehow, she knew that Draco would make it. The Death Eaters wouldn't kill him, and Order members would never kill a student. As Bellatrix had shown, the Death Eaters weren't above killing students that got in their way or to make a point.
She ducked out of the way of explosions and did her best to contain some of the damage or hex the Death Eaters she encountered. It took a moment before she twigged to the fact that something was a bit off about them.
They were running away from the castle.
"What's happened?" she called out to an unfamiliar Order member. The woman shrugged, and continued with her work to contain the Death Eaters fleeing the scene before they remembered that they could apparate off of the school grounds.
Ginny pushed her way into the castle, looking about for someone who might know what was going on. That was when she realized that the fighting had stopped for the most part, and the dust was literally starting to settle from that last explosion.
Voldemort was lying on the ground, dead. Harry was still standing.
She didn't know how he did it, but she didn't care. Seeing Voldemort's corpse was more than enough proof that things were over. Oh, there would be clean up, still. She wasn't so naïve to think that everything would automatically be happily ever after. She knew there was still work to do, and that she would need that law enforcement training now more than ever.
Katie was safe, blood on her temple and on her sleeves, but she seemed all right. She was cradled in Marcus Flint's arms, and they were whispering to each other softly.
Molly Weasley swept Ginny up into her arms, and they sought out the rest of the family. If Ginny kept craning her neck about, it wasn't remarked upon. Everyone was doing it, everyone was trying to figure out who had lived and who had died. It was such a tangled mess, it seemed impossible that it would be sorted out.
She didn't see any pale blonde hair, however, and her gut was starting to churn. They had been separated outside, so perhaps he was outside. He might not have realized she returned to the thick of things. He might still be outside.
But he knew her, too. He knew she wouldn't be able to stay away for long.
Finally, she caught a glimpse of pale blonde hair in Draco's exact shade. Narcissa Malfoy was sweeping Draco into her arms, painful relief etched across her patrician features. Ginny understood the feeling, and pulled herself away from her family to dash across the remnants of the Great Hall. She ignored her mother calling after her, ignored Ron's shouting.
Draco looked up as he pulled away from his mother, and his face broke out into an exultant grin. He had been worried about her, too.
Without thinking of the consequences, Ginny launched herself at him and snogged him as if the world was ending and tomorrow would never come. Draco's arms were tight around her, holding on as if he was never going to let go. That would be fine if that was true. She didn't want him letting to. She didn't want him going anywhere.
There would be time for explanations, for explaining away his behavior and trying to get probation or a commuted sentence for him. There would be a way for her to help him, to use whatever influence she had to help Draco avoid a lifetime in Azkaban. He didn't deserve that kind of punishment. He had done awful things, but he wasn't a monster. He didn't deserve to be treated like one.
"We'll figure something out," Ginny told him, grasping hold of his arm. "I know we can do something about this."
He gave her a soft smile and cupped her face in his hands. "You were always an optimist."
"Someone has to be."
Ron was looking thunderous, and Draco didn't fancy getting his other eye blackened. "They're looking for you."
"I know," Ginny said, smiling at Draco. "I found them. I found where I want to be, too."
"It won't be easy," he murmured, stroking her face. His parents had moved off to the side, giving them a modicum of privacy. It wasn't about to last long, the way Ron looked. "Our families hate each other, this whole thing... I'm probably going to Azkaban."
"I'll do something," Ginny promised him. "I'll figure something out." She covered his hand with hers and leaned into his touch. "Nothing worth having is easy. I know that now."
Draco looked as if he wanted to say something, but he leaned forward and kissed her. "Whatever happens, remember I love you. I tried to stay out of things, but I don't think it's going to be enough."
There were inquests, of course. There were statements taken and information gathered, bodies counted and blame ready to be assigned. The early days after the battle were chaotic, and some Death Eaters that survived the battle still managed to escape detection. Aurors and Order of the Phoenix members were busy. While Azkaban no longer held Dementors, it was still a dreary place to be housed while the government sorted things out.
Ginny didn't want to think about how bad it must be for Draco, to be staying in a tiny cell at Azkaban. His parents and some of his friends were there, but they weren't housed together. He had nothing to do but stare at the walls, contemplate his memories and wonder when he was getting out, if at all.
Her family thought she was out of her mind, of course. Ron had been the worst, accusing her of being under an Imperius curse. Her mother had blanched at Ginny's "Why do you think his aunt hated me so much?" taunt at Ron, a reminder of just how close they had all come to losing Ginny in the battle. It didn't matter that her family had wanted her out of the way, that she was supposed to have been protected the whole time. And honestly, it hurt that Harry had never once asked if she was all right afterward. He never once came to see her, but would discuss things with Ron and Hermione for hours.
Ginny understood what that meant. She knew what her place in his life was at that point.
She met Katie in the seaside village she now called home. It was a lovely spring day, and Ginny sat across from her in an outdoor café. "You look good," Ginny remarked, meaning it. The curse scars were all but invisible, and Katie just seemed happier somehow. When Ginny had approached Katie at the Burrow almost a year ago, Katie had seemed to be a seething ball of anger. It was almost as if she had come to some kind of an understanding about things, as if she had finally come to terms with what had happened to her.
Thinking back on it, Ginny had finally stopped having nightmares months ago. Her last one had been the night before she and Draco blasted the stone face of Slytherin and the outline of the basilisk down in the Chamber of Secrets. It had stopped being something for her to be afraid of, and just something else that had happened when she was younger. Perhaps Katie saw the locket damage the same way.
"I'm entering the program," Katie said with a pleased smile. It faltered after a moment. "They gave all of us survivors passing marks. That was possibly the kindest thing to do. I would have told them where to shove it if they still wanted me to write an exam."
Ginny laughed. "I would love tickets to that."
"They're awarding certificates to the ones that didn't make it," Katie said, stirring some sugar into her tea. "I didn't know them very well, and we certainly never were friends, but I'm still sorry it happened. Most of them probably weren't all that bad."
"I don't think anyone is, if you know them well enough," Ginny murmured.
"I suppose you're right," Katie agreed, nodding. She sipped at her tea, then smiled at Ginny. "So. You and Draco Malfoy."
"You and Marcus Flint," Ginny replied, smiling at Katie expectantly. "How did that happen?"
"I saved his life," Katie said simply. Ginny could tell there was more of a story behind it than what she was willing to say. "We understand what it's like, but it's more than that. It's not just losing a home and family and everything we knew. It's... I can't really explain. But somehow things don't hurt as much when he's around."
Ginny gave Katie a warm smile. "I'm glad you have that. You deserve it."
"Thanks." Katie looked at Ginny. "So what are you going to do with Draco?"
She gave Katie a wry smile. "I'm going to try to save his life, I think."
"Talk to Kingsley and Tacklethorpe if you can. They're the most likely to actually listen to reason and not get carried away. They know shades of gray exist."
"Thanks. I'll do that," Ginny said. She rubbed the edge of her saucer with the edge of her thumbnail. "How is it really? The program, I mean? Is it what you thought it would be? Is it worth all of this that we've gone through?"
Katie paused before simply saying "Of course it is!" Ginny deserved a true answer, whatever it was. "The past year made everything harder, you know. It's not accurate. The world doesn't end every year, you know."
"Almost," Ginny said with a grin.
"Almost," Katie agreed, remembering what it was like at Hogwarts. "And what happened to me before I started... I could've done the year differently. I could've been different if I joined, but with what happened my seventh year, I was already trying to prove I was tough enough to be there. I was trying to prove that it wouldn't hold me back. I didn't need anyone and I didn't need their help to pass through, and I certainly didn't need any of them as friends. I certainly didn't care if they liked me or not."
Ginny watched her look down at her teacup, looking at it wistfully. "I'd do it over again if I could," Katie murmured. "If I could go back knowing what I know now? I'd appreciate it more. I'd spend more time with my Mum and Dad." She looked up at Ginny. "The hardest part of it wasn't the program. It wasn't the classes, it wasn't the practicals, it wasn't writing the exams. The hardest part of it was me. I couldn't deal with what happened to me, and I snapped at everybody. I made it so much worse for myself, I think."
"You have Marcus," Ginny pointed out when Katie fell silent.
She smiled. "Yeah. He's a wonderful bonus."
"What do you mean?"
"What's the point in having someone love you if you don't love yourself?"
Ginny frowned. "But..."
"If you're going to join up in the program, and if you're going to try to fight to get Draco out of prison, do it because it makes you happy. Do it because you're a whole person who wants him there, not because you think somehow you're going to be whole. It doesn't work that way."
"Oh. But I know who I am. It's just the rest of the world that doesn't."
"Why don't they?"
"Because..." Because they wouldn't like me. Ginny looked up at Katie. "It would break my Mum's heart to know I still remember the Dark Lord living inside my head. She would look at me and always wonder if he was still talking through me, of I'm in control."
"Does Draco know about that?"
"Yeah, he does. And he doesn't care about what happened my first year, and he never once questioned me if it was me talking or not."
"Why do you think that is?"
"He trusts that's done and over with."
"So? Why wouldn't your Mum think that? It's been years since it happened."
"Five years," Ginny agreed. "You've met my Mum."
"Everyone in Gryffindor has met your Mum," Katie said with a wry smile.
They both laughed, and after a moment, Ginny looked at Katie. "I should talk to her."
Katie nodded. "You should. You'll do whatever it is that you want to do easily. It's figuring out what you really want to do that's the hard part."
Ginny nodded and stood. "I should go talk to her. And Kingsley." Draco had been in Azkaban for a few weeks. It was time that he got out of there.
Just because the war was over didn't mean she could stop doing what needed to be done.
***
Talking to Molly Weasley was easier and harder than Ginny expected it to be. Molly had been eager to talk about what had happened in the Battle of Hogwarts, as they were calling it now. She hadn't been pleased to see Ginny snogging Draco Malfoy, and Ginny hadn't been willing to talk about it before.
"He understands things about me that you don't," Ginny murmured softly. She didn't want this to be seen as teenage petulance; her mother chalked up most things she said as being too young or being a teenager. Ginny had felt marginalized within her family for far too long, but wasn't about to ruin this opportunity.
Molly had seemed hurt by that. "What can't you discuss with me? You can tell me anything."
"I still speak Parselmouth," Ginny said bluntly. "I still remember the Chamber, the dreams, the things I did when possessed. I remember everything."
Molly had gone white with the first statement, and bewildered by the rest. "But you said..."
"I lied," Ginny murmured softly, her hands clenched in her lap. "You wanted so much for it to be true, and so much for me to be normal. I didn't want to hurt you by letting you know I was still a freak. But that's what he knows that you don't. He understands what it's like, and he doesn't blame me for it. He doesn't think I'm some kind of monster."
It was a gross oversimplification of their relationship over the past year, but it was easier to explain that way. Molly seemed to soften a fraction, though she was somewhat confused as well. "I don't think you're a monster. You're my daughter. This doesn't change that." Molly hesitantly touched Ginny's hands. "If you remember everything, then you understand why I want to protect you. Why I don't want you having anything to do with them."
Ginny looked at her mother sadly. "Feelings like that got us into this war in the first place. Us against them, that we're the only right ones." She gently pulled her hands out from beneath her mother's. "I'm not eleven anymore. I know what's hiding in the dark. You have to trust that I can see it, that I know what to do about it."
"Ginny..."
"I spoke with Kingsley Shacklebolt about Draco, what he tried to do. I have to think it'll help him somehow. I can't leave him in Azkaban. No matter what else he'd done, it's not something that he should be imprisoned for the rest of his life for."
Molly heaved a sigh. "I really don't think you should get involved. You've done quite enough already, Ginny. Leave it to everyone else."
"No, Mum. I haven't done enough. I was pushed aside and told to wait, and everyone thinks I'm far too young for everything that happened. But they didn't have those same kind of scruples. What do you think I'd've done if you and Dad were threatened? Anyone else in the family? What do you think they did to him? Their own side?" Ginny shook her head. "If I sit back and do nothing, I'm no better than the Death Eaters."
Nearly in tears, Molly reached out and touched Ginny's face. "When did this happen? When did my baby girl grow up? You're not supposed to want to fight this. You're not supposed to do anything but go to school and date boys and then get married. You're not supposed to help fix the world's problems."
Ginny gave her mother a watery smile. "I'm your daughter. I'm just like you and Dad. I have to fix it. I can't just leave it broken. What kind of person does that make me?"
Molly dried her eyes and turned away. "Your father has a meeting with Shacklebolt at the Ministry today. I'm supposed to be there as well. I'd best get ready. We'll talk about this again."
Ginny didn't suppose she would be let off easy, but gave her mother a parting hug. They didn't hate each other, and her mother didn't yell at her for all the disappointment Ginny had caused. It was a start, at least. Molly couldn't help but be overprotective.
Getting to see Draco was difficult. He was let out of prison in late August and given five years of probation plus time served for his part in Death Eaters attacking Hogwarts. Ginny had come forward, and she had been surprised by the handful of other students that had as well. He initially returned the owls she sent, unopened, but she wasn't about to tolerate that. She apparated directly to Malfoy Manor and knocked on the front door. She was shown into a front parlor by a very obsequious house elf, and sat with her back ramrod straight. Draco would see her, even if she had to run through this entire Manor to find him.
But he came to her, hands shoved awkwardly into his pockets. "Hullo, Ginevra," he murmured.
A thousand different things flooded her mind, but Ginny was at a loss as to which one fit. She stood and crossed the room, standing at its threshold in front of Draco. She grasped his arms and kissed him hard on the mouth, pouring her frustration and love and longing into it.
"I missed you," she said finally. She looked into his shocked eyes. "Don't believe anyone that ever tells you differently."
"I thought once you came to your senses, you'd realize this was a terrible idea." He was trying to hide behind sarcasm, she realized. He was giving her an exit route if she wanted it.
But she didn't.
"What's terrible is your saying this is over before it even begins."
Draco went into the parlor and stood by the fireplace, staring at the ash for a long time. "It won't be easy," he began in a low tone. "I've been accepted to do the seventh year over again. We'll be in the same classes, surrounded by everyone that knows the truth about me." He looked up at her in concern. "They won't show you any mercy."
"I'm not asking for that. I'm asking for what's real."
There was a look of stark pain on Draco's face. "I was in Azkaban, Ginny. I'm still carrying around the Dark Mark and everyone knows it. I'm the traitor to those people. I'm the one they'll hate, and they'll hate you for being with me." Ginny silently walked forward and then took his hand in hers. "I'd rather you hated me now, than when you realize how hard it's going to be."
"I'm not going to run away now," Ginny murmured, "not when things have just gotten started. I want this to play out. I want this to work. My life is better with you in it." She smiled up at him, a genuine one he hadn't seen in months. "None of those people matter, really. The important ones will understand in time."
"You're so sure about that," Draco mused. "Knowing me might ruin your chances of being that Rune Hunter you wanted to be."
"With a family like mine," she began with a soft smile, "I can be anything I want to be."
Draco pulled away from her slightly. "With a family like mine, I can't."
Ginny pulled him back toward her. "You can. If you want to. Maybe if you wanted to be part of my family. With me, I mean."
"I can't imagine they would be thrilled with the prospect."
No, they wouldn't be. "I'll get around them." She held onto him tightly. "School is starting soon. Everything gets to begin again, Draco. The war is over, and the world hasn't ended. You can start over with me, and it can be what we wanted it to be."
Ginny could tell it was tempting by the way he hesitated, the way he still wanted to do right by her by rejecting her now. "Ginny, I don't think it will work that way," he said finally.
"Neither of us know the future," she said softly. "But that's the future I want. I want it with you in it, with the two of us going to school and then the law enforcement program together. I want it to be real, to be everything we talked about."
"I'm not saying no, exactly," Draco murmured, pulling back to cup her face in his hands. His gaze was earnest and painful to look at. "I'm not saying yes, either. If this happens, if we're in the same classes together and this happens, it should go slowly. It should be as if we're starting all over again, with no history between us."
"It's a start," Ginny allowed. She remembered Katie's words, What's the point in having someone love you if you don't love yourself? and thought perhaps he wasn't ready yet. He had been through a lot as well. The war ending didn't magically make things disappear. It just meant the foreboding was gone and the hard work had to begin.
She wasn't afraid of that in the slightest.
Linking hands with Draco, she smiled at him. Whatever happened next, whatever they decided to do with their relationship, she was ready.
This new world that was going to be built was going to be wonderful. She was sure of it.
The End.