♥ "Amends " for jessicakmalfoy ♥
Title: Amends
Rating: PG
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: None
Author's Notes: Thanks to C for the editing help. I played a little loose with the events of Ginny’s 6th year, but I hope that the effect is not too jarring. The story may not be as bittersweet and dark as you had requested, but I did manage to incorporate all of your requests. Enjoy!
Summary: Ginny makes a number of discoveries during her 6th year at Hogwarts. Will it be too late for her and Draco?
Amends
“What are you waiting for?”
Anticipation gleamed in Alecto Carrow’s small, piggish eyes. Flecks of spittle dotted her chin and her teeth were bared in a hungry grin that strongly reminded Ginny of a dog eying a particularly juicy steak.
Panic coiled along her insides but Ginny continued to stare straight ahead, grimly ignoring the sly smiles and mocking whispers that flowed around her like crackling leaves being blown about by an autumn wind. Her attention was centered on a figure just to the side. Beneath Draco’s familiar, haughty sneer, his face was stark white. His eyes reflected his panic and Ginny wondered why no one else noticed it.
He finally stepped forward, moving to her side to stand behind her. Ginny felt him lift her thick hair off her neck as he leaned in close to her ear. Despite herself, Ginny shrank back, her reaction earning snickers from the mob surrounding her.
“Embrace the pain. It’s the only way to survive,” he whispered, his breath warm on her skin, before drawing away.
Ginny barely had time to decipher his words when the pain hit her and her world burst in a flash of white light.
+++++
Ginny had made a tactical error, an utterly stupid one at that. And now she was paying for it. Even with the obstacles she’d set up behind her, Amycus Carrow continued to trail her and it was only a matter of time before he finally caught up to her.
As Ginny careened around the corner, a door ahead of her opened into the hallway, and a figure stepped directly into her path. She tried to swerve to the side to avoid a collision but unfortunately the person had the same idea. She shut her eyes and braced for impact.
“Fu-”
The rest of Draco’s words escaped in a whoosh as Ginny crashed into him and knocked him to the ground. Confusion flashed in his eyes, followed swiftly by a knowing smirk that twisted his lips. Before he could say anything, a faint bellow down the hall revealed that Carrow was getting closer.
The smirk quickly disappeared, replaced by a frown. Draco hauled her to her feet and began pulling her down the hallway.
“Let me go-”
“Do you want to get caught?” he hissed back at her. Pausing in front of a tapestry, he pointed his wand at it, revealing a broom closet behind the faded cloth. He quickly pushed her inside. “Be quiet,” he snapped before closing the door and plunging her in darkness.
Ginny resisted the urge to light her wand and instead, inched closer until she could place her ear against the door. The faint sound of conversation managed to seep through it though Ginny couldn’t make out much.
“…doing here…”
“…none of your business…”
“…failure like your father…”
After a few seconds of silence, the door creaked open and Ginny stumbled out into the hall. In one swift move, she had her wand out and pointed directly at Draco.
“Make a move and I’ll burn holes through your fancy robes.”
His eyes narrowed as he stepped back from her. “Fine, don’t thank me for saving your pathetic arse.”
Frustration, coupled with embarrassment at owing her escape to a Malfoy bubbled up inside her. “I wasn’t going to,” she declared heatedly.
Draco rolled his eyes. “Oh, ungracious as well as stupid. A winning combination. No wonder your side is doing so well.”
Silence stretched between them, marked by their harsh breathing. Finally she sighed and mumbled a very unenthusiastic “thanks.”
“Being poor must make one stingy with gratitude,” he said scornfully as he brushed by her and headed for the moving staircase.
Ginny resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him. Just before he reached the doorway, she called out. “Why did you help me?”
Draco paused but did not turn around. His shoulders rose and fell in a careless shrug. “I’ve discovered that Carrows are more irritating than red-headed Weasleys,” he said before he stepped on the landing and was whisked away from her sight.
+++++
After a week of spying, Ginny soon discovered that she wasn’t the only lucky recipient of Malfoy’s one-man rebellion against the Carrows. Crouched between a pillar and the wall, Ginny watched as Malfoy taunted a pair of fourth-year Hufflepuffs before sending them back to their dorm.
He waited three seconds after the students had disappeared around the corner before addressing her. “A Gryffindor skulking around in the shadows? I thought you and your friends preferred the open combat mode of attack.”
Ginny disengaged from the shadow of a doorframe and stalked forward. “I think it’s always valuable to know a little bit about the enemy’s tactics.”
“Is that so?” Draco leaned back against the wall and studied her. “Maybe you need a little more training then, judging by your near miss the other night.”
Ginny felt a flash of annoyance. “Fuck off Malfoy,” she replied in a tone dripping with fake syrupy sweetness. “And I mean that in the nicest possible way.”
Rather than replying, Draco pushed off the wall and began walking away from her. With his long legs, it took Ginny a few seconds to catch up to him.
“So why didn’t you fill your quota tonight?”
He continued to walk briskly. “Huh?”
“You know, turn in ten students and get an extra fifteen minutes of torture time?”
Draco abruptly stopped, nearly causing her to run into his back. He spun around, a frown on his face. “Do you think this is funny?”
Ginny smiled bitterly. “Oh yeah, very funny, Malfoy. We absolutely enjoy being hauled in front of the Carrows. Or your friends for that matter.”
Sighing deeply, Draco glanced away and stared out the window, where a clear, star-filled night hinted at another cold morning. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I didn’t think it would be this bad,” he said slowly, his voice dropping to a near whisper.
Ginny’s eyes narrowed. The Ministry in shambles, teachers and students either dead or missing, and he was sorry? “You should’ve thought of that before you joined the Death Eaters,” she snapped.
To her surprise, he didn’t have a ready retort for her. Instead, he flinched and looked down at his arm, absently running his thumb over the inside of his wrist. “I was only trying to protect my family,” he finally said. The touch of regret in his voice only fueled her anger.
“How lovely for you. At least you get to see yours. I haven’t seen mine since term started and I don’t even know if-”
Ginny held her hand to her mouth. She couldn’t go there, not if she wanted to stay sane. Swallowing back the sob stuck in her throat, she spun around and rushed away.
In doing so, she missed the stricken look on Draco’s face.
+++++
Almost being caught didn’t stop Ginny from flouting the curfew rules. This night was no different. She’d been sitting on a window ledge, watching a spider track his prey across a vast web when a quiet rustle interrupted her.
“Go away, Malfoy.”
When Draco didn’t move, she followed that up with a menacing glare thrown in his direction. Seemingly unimpressed, Draco simply wandered over to the neighboring ledge and sat down.
Ginny rolled her eyes and proceeded to ignore him. After a few minutes of wondering when the spider was finally going to pounce, she caught a small bit of movement at the corner of her eye.
“Here.”
Ginny looked around and saw that he was holding out a plainly-wrapped package to her.
“Go on, take it,” he said as he shoved it into her hands. Puzzled, Ginny turned over the package and examined it closely.
“It’s not anything dangerous.” When she made no move to rip the wrappings off, Draco sighed. “Just open it, okay?”
After glancing suspiciously at him, Ginny began to unwrap it. She breathed in sharply at the sight of the familiar Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes logo. She’d uncovered a box of one of the earlier versions of Lose Your Marbles, before Fred figured out how to make the marbles return to their container after a few days.
“They’re classified as contraband, which made it difficult to track them down. It took some time but I finally managed to.”
Ginny shook her head and stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. “Why?”
“I told you, it wasn’t my intention to make life miserable for everyone at Hogwarts.” He stood up and shoved his hands into his pocket. “If something as small as this makes you happy…” His lips twisted in a wry smile as his voice trailed off.
Ginny looked down and ran her fingers slowly over the logo. When she finally looked up, ready to thank him, Draco had already disappeared.
+++++
The pain stopped as suddenly as it had started. It took a moment before she registered the sound of wailing over the screams that echoed inside her head. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Ginny lifted her head and saw the Carrows, along with their minions, bent over in pain and clutching their left arms. Draco was in a similar state, although fear had replaced the panic in his eyes.
“The Dark Lord comes!” Alecto Carrow screeched triumphantly. “We must prepare to greet him. Malfoy!” She pointed at Draco. “Stay here and guard this one. I am sure our Lord will be most pleased to see her.”
With a mocking laugh, Carrow exited the room, followed by the rest of the Death Eaters.
Holding his finger to his lips, Draco moved quietly to the open door and listened closely. Then he motioned for Ginny to come closer.
“This is our chance,” he said in an urgent whisper. “They’ll be too busy with preparations for the Dark Lord’s attack. We can sneak out through the kitchens.” He continued speaking in a rushed tone, oblivious to Ginny’s widening eyes. “I know how to open the barriers and we can Disapparate as soon as we’re off the grounds. There’s so much going on, it’ll take them a while to track us-”
“Draco, I can’t go with you,” Ginny interrupted gently.
Confusion flickered across his face. “I thought you wanted to escape.” He snatched up her hands and Ginny nearly winced at the tightness of his grip. “Forget them, Ginny. Forget them all and come away with me.”
“I can’t go with you,” she repeated in a steady voice even though she could feel a small part of her breaking apart.
“Why not?” When she didn’t answer, Draco’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Potter’s coming, isn’t he?”
Denial swiftly rose to her lips but Ginny found that she couldn’t lie to him. She settled for ambiguity.
“I have to be here. I can’t just walk away from my family and my friends.”
Draco continued to gaze into her eyes for the answer. Finally he sighed and nodded in acceptance. He squeezed her hand and then let her go “You take care of yourself, Ginny.”
She took a deep breath. “In case I never see you again…”
Reaching out and wrapping her fingers around his shirt, Ginny dragged him closer and pressed her mouth against his. Underneath her fingertips, his body was coiled and tight, as if he were ready to break free of her. Just as she began to pull away, Draco suddenly crushed her to him. His mouth slanted hungrily across hers, coaxing her lips open. With a small moan, Ginny melted into his embrace and for a few precious moments, all thoughts of Harry, Voldemort, or her family melted away.
+++++
After the battle (which was over much more quickly than she’d imagined), Ginny was swept up into her mother’s arms.
“You’re alright, you’re alright,” Mrs. Weasley repeated in between sobs. Behind her, Mr. Weasley smiled through the tears in his eyes as he watched his family reunited.
A throat cleared behind them. Gently freeing herself from her mother’s tight embrace, Ginny turned around and saw Kingsley Shacklebolt, a grim expression on his tired face, looking at her father. “All the Death Eaters have been accounted for, except the Malfoys.”
“They’re gone?” Mr. Weasley looked concerned. “Did anyone see them leave?”
“No one seems to know where they are.”
“Hmm….let’s focus on getting things sorted out here before we organize a search for them. Shame they got away though,” Mr. Weasley said as everyone around Ginny nodded in agreement. She dropped her head, letting her hair hide her face, and remained silent.
Later, after the celebrations had died down, Ginny slipped upstairs to her room and pulled out a small box from underneath her pillow. As she held it in her hands, she pondered Draco’s last words to her before they broke apart and headed off in different directions.
Never is an awfully long time.
Original Prompt:
Briefly describe what you'd like to receive in your fic: i would like something that is set at hogwarts and portrays D&G in a believable light. Draco is kind of a jerk, controlling, snobby, etc but he loves ginny. ginny is a fighter, puts her family and friends first, and is firm on what she believes in, but she loves draco. i don't know why or how it works, that's up to you. but you can forget all about that stupid epilogue
The tone/mood of the fic: I want it to be bittersweet. Not really angsty (i associate that with too much eyeliner and too tight pants and that modern mullet hairdo the kids are sporting these days! LOL) but bittersweet and on the darker side.
An element/line of dialogue/object you would specifically like in your fic: during the last exchange there was a GORGEOUS peter pan style fic that i could never stop thinking about and because of that, here is what i'm asking for: the line "Forget them Ginny. Forget them all." the line: "Come away with me." and the line "Never is an awfully long time." (if the word "never" doesn't work in that last line, feel free to use "forever". i like that too.) they don't have to be used all together, i'd just like to see all three of them at some point in the story.
Preferred rating of the the fic you want: any
Canon or AU? canon
Deal Breakers: don't kill off draco or ginny. NO harry/ginny (unless you have to mention that they broke up at dumbledore's funeral) and NO harry/hermione. BLECH! oh and draco and ginny cannot be cheating on each other!
Rating: PG
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: None
Author's Notes: Thanks to C for the editing help. I played a little loose with the events of Ginny’s 6th year, but I hope that the effect is not too jarring. The story may not be as bittersweet and dark as you had requested, but I did manage to incorporate all of your requests. Enjoy!
Summary: Ginny makes a number of discoveries during her 6th year at Hogwarts. Will it be too late for her and Draco?
Amends
“What are you waiting for?”
Anticipation gleamed in Alecto Carrow’s small, piggish eyes. Flecks of spittle dotted her chin and her teeth were bared in a hungry grin that strongly reminded Ginny of a dog eying a particularly juicy steak.
Panic coiled along her insides but Ginny continued to stare straight ahead, grimly ignoring the sly smiles and mocking whispers that flowed around her like crackling leaves being blown about by an autumn wind. Her attention was centered on a figure just to the side. Beneath Draco’s familiar, haughty sneer, his face was stark white. His eyes reflected his panic and Ginny wondered why no one else noticed it.
He finally stepped forward, moving to her side to stand behind her. Ginny felt him lift her thick hair off her neck as he leaned in close to her ear. Despite herself, Ginny shrank back, her reaction earning snickers from the mob surrounding her.
“Embrace the pain. It’s the only way to survive,” he whispered, his breath warm on her skin, before drawing away.
Ginny barely had time to decipher his words when the pain hit her and her world burst in a flash of white light.
+++++
Ginny had made a tactical error, an utterly stupid one at that. And now she was paying for it. Even with the obstacles she’d set up behind her, Amycus Carrow continued to trail her and it was only a matter of time before he finally caught up to her.
As Ginny careened around the corner, a door ahead of her opened into the hallway, and a figure stepped directly into her path. She tried to swerve to the side to avoid a collision but unfortunately the person had the same idea. She shut her eyes and braced for impact.
“Fu-”
The rest of Draco’s words escaped in a whoosh as Ginny crashed into him and knocked him to the ground. Confusion flashed in his eyes, followed swiftly by a knowing smirk that twisted his lips. Before he could say anything, a faint bellow down the hall revealed that Carrow was getting closer.
The smirk quickly disappeared, replaced by a frown. Draco hauled her to her feet and began pulling her down the hallway.
“Let me go-”
“Do you want to get caught?” he hissed back at her. Pausing in front of a tapestry, he pointed his wand at it, revealing a broom closet behind the faded cloth. He quickly pushed her inside. “Be quiet,” he snapped before closing the door and plunging her in darkness.
Ginny resisted the urge to light her wand and instead, inched closer until she could place her ear against the door. The faint sound of conversation managed to seep through it though Ginny couldn’t make out much.
“…doing here…”
“…none of your business…”
“…failure like your father…”
After a few seconds of silence, the door creaked open and Ginny stumbled out into the hall. In one swift move, she had her wand out and pointed directly at Draco.
“Make a move and I’ll burn holes through your fancy robes.”
His eyes narrowed as he stepped back from her. “Fine, don’t thank me for saving your pathetic arse.”
Frustration, coupled with embarrassment at owing her escape to a Malfoy bubbled up inside her. “I wasn’t going to,” she declared heatedly.
Draco rolled his eyes. “Oh, ungracious as well as stupid. A winning combination. No wonder your side is doing so well.”
Silence stretched between them, marked by their harsh breathing. Finally she sighed and mumbled a very unenthusiastic “thanks.”
“Being poor must make one stingy with gratitude,” he said scornfully as he brushed by her and headed for the moving staircase.
Ginny resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him. Just before he reached the doorway, she called out. “Why did you help me?”
Draco paused but did not turn around. His shoulders rose and fell in a careless shrug. “I’ve discovered that Carrows are more irritating than red-headed Weasleys,” he said before he stepped on the landing and was whisked away from her sight.
+++++
After a week of spying, Ginny soon discovered that she wasn’t the only lucky recipient of Malfoy’s one-man rebellion against the Carrows. Crouched between a pillar and the wall, Ginny watched as Malfoy taunted a pair of fourth-year Hufflepuffs before sending them back to their dorm.
He waited three seconds after the students had disappeared around the corner before addressing her. “A Gryffindor skulking around in the shadows? I thought you and your friends preferred the open combat mode of attack.”
Ginny disengaged from the shadow of a doorframe and stalked forward. “I think it’s always valuable to know a little bit about the enemy’s tactics.”
“Is that so?” Draco leaned back against the wall and studied her. “Maybe you need a little more training then, judging by your near miss the other night.”
Ginny felt a flash of annoyance. “Fuck off Malfoy,” she replied in a tone dripping with fake syrupy sweetness. “And I mean that in the nicest possible way.”
Rather than replying, Draco pushed off the wall and began walking away from her. With his long legs, it took Ginny a few seconds to catch up to him.
“So why didn’t you fill your quota tonight?”
He continued to walk briskly. “Huh?”
“You know, turn in ten students and get an extra fifteen minutes of torture time?”
Draco abruptly stopped, nearly causing her to run into his back. He spun around, a frown on his face. “Do you think this is funny?”
Ginny smiled bitterly. “Oh yeah, very funny, Malfoy. We absolutely enjoy being hauled in front of the Carrows. Or your friends for that matter.”
Sighing deeply, Draco glanced away and stared out the window, where a clear, star-filled night hinted at another cold morning. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I didn’t think it would be this bad,” he said slowly, his voice dropping to a near whisper.
Ginny’s eyes narrowed. The Ministry in shambles, teachers and students either dead or missing, and he was sorry? “You should’ve thought of that before you joined the Death Eaters,” she snapped.
To her surprise, he didn’t have a ready retort for her. Instead, he flinched and looked down at his arm, absently running his thumb over the inside of his wrist. “I was only trying to protect my family,” he finally said. The touch of regret in his voice only fueled her anger.
“How lovely for you. At least you get to see yours. I haven’t seen mine since term started and I don’t even know if-”
Ginny held her hand to her mouth. She couldn’t go there, not if she wanted to stay sane. Swallowing back the sob stuck in her throat, she spun around and rushed away.
In doing so, she missed the stricken look on Draco’s face.
+++++
Almost being caught didn’t stop Ginny from flouting the curfew rules. This night was no different. She’d been sitting on a window ledge, watching a spider track his prey across a vast web when a quiet rustle interrupted her.
“Go away, Malfoy.”
When Draco didn’t move, she followed that up with a menacing glare thrown in his direction. Seemingly unimpressed, Draco simply wandered over to the neighboring ledge and sat down.
Ginny rolled her eyes and proceeded to ignore him. After a few minutes of wondering when the spider was finally going to pounce, she caught a small bit of movement at the corner of her eye.
“Here.”
Ginny looked around and saw that he was holding out a plainly-wrapped package to her.
“Go on, take it,” he said as he shoved it into her hands. Puzzled, Ginny turned over the package and examined it closely.
“It’s not anything dangerous.” When she made no move to rip the wrappings off, Draco sighed. “Just open it, okay?”
After glancing suspiciously at him, Ginny began to unwrap it. She breathed in sharply at the sight of the familiar Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes logo. She’d uncovered a box of one of the earlier versions of Lose Your Marbles, before Fred figured out how to make the marbles return to their container after a few days.
“They’re classified as contraband, which made it difficult to track them down. It took some time but I finally managed to.”
Ginny shook her head and stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. “Why?”
“I told you, it wasn’t my intention to make life miserable for everyone at Hogwarts.” He stood up and shoved his hands into his pocket. “If something as small as this makes you happy…” His lips twisted in a wry smile as his voice trailed off.
Ginny looked down and ran her fingers slowly over the logo. When she finally looked up, ready to thank him, Draco had already disappeared.
+++++
The pain stopped as suddenly as it had started. It took a moment before she registered the sound of wailing over the screams that echoed inside her head. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Ginny lifted her head and saw the Carrows, along with their minions, bent over in pain and clutching their left arms. Draco was in a similar state, although fear had replaced the panic in his eyes.
“The Dark Lord comes!” Alecto Carrow screeched triumphantly. “We must prepare to greet him. Malfoy!” She pointed at Draco. “Stay here and guard this one. I am sure our Lord will be most pleased to see her.”
With a mocking laugh, Carrow exited the room, followed by the rest of the Death Eaters.
Holding his finger to his lips, Draco moved quietly to the open door and listened closely. Then he motioned for Ginny to come closer.
“This is our chance,” he said in an urgent whisper. “They’ll be too busy with preparations for the Dark Lord’s attack. We can sneak out through the kitchens.” He continued speaking in a rushed tone, oblivious to Ginny’s widening eyes. “I know how to open the barriers and we can Disapparate as soon as we’re off the grounds. There’s so much going on, it’ll take them a while to track us-”
“Draco, I can’t go with you,” Ginny interrupted gently.
Confusion flickered across his face. “I thought you wanted to escape.” He snatched up her hands and Ginny nearly winced at the tightness of his grip. “Forget them, Ginny. Forget them all and come away with me.”
“I can’t go with you,” she repeated in a steady voice even though she could feel a small part of her breaking apart.
“Why not?” When she didn’t answer, Draco’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Potter’s coming, isn’t he?”
Denial swiftly rose to her lips but Ginny found that she couldn’t lie to him. She settled for ambiguity.
“I have to be here. I can’t just walk away from my family and my friends.”
Draco continued to gaze into her eyes for the answer. Finally he sighed and nodded in acceptance. He squeezed her hand and then let her go “You take care of yourself, Ginny.”
She took a deep breath. “In case I never see you again…”
Reaching out and wrapping her fingers around his shirt, Ginny dragged him closer and pressed her mouth against his. Underneath her fingertips, his body was coiled and tight, as if he were ready to break free of her. Just as she began to pull away, Draco suddenly crushed her to him. His mouth slanted hungrily across hers, coaxing her lips open. With a small moan, Ginny melted into his embrace and for a few precious moments, all thoughts of Harry, Voldemort, or her family melted away.
+++++
After the battle (which was over much more quickly than she’d imagined), Ginny was swept up into her mother’s arms.
“You’re alright, you’re alright,” Mrs. Weasley repeated in between sobs. Behind her, Mr. Weasley smiled through the tears in his eyes as he watched his family reunited.
A throat cleared behind them. Gently freeing herself from her mother’s tight embrace, Ginny turned around and saw Kingsley Shacklebolt, a grim expression on his tired face, looking at her father. “All the Death Eaters have been accounted for, except the Malfoys.”
“They’re gone?” Mr. Weasley looked concerned. “Did anyone see them leave?”
“No one seems to know where they are.”
“Hmm….let’s focus on getting things sorted out here before we organize a search for them. Shame they got away though,” Mr. Weasley said as everyone around Ginny nodded in agreement. She dropped her head, letting her hair hide her face, and remained silent.
Later, after the celebrations had died down, Ginny slipped upstairs to her room and pulled out a small box from underneath her pillow. As she held it in her hands, she pondered Draco’s last words to her before they broke apart and headed off in different directions.
Never is an awfully long time.
Original Prompt:
Briefly describe what you'd like to receive in your fic: i would like something that is set at hogwarts and portrays D&G in a believable light. Draco is kind of a jerk, controlling, snobby, etc but he loves ginny. ginny is a fighter, puts her family and friends first, and is firm on what she believes in, but she loves draco. i don't know why or how it works, that's up to you. but you can forget all about that stupid epilogue
The tone/mood of the fic: I want it to be bittersweet. Not really angsty (i associate that with too much eyeliner and too tight pants and that modern mullet hairdo the kids are sporting these days! LOL) but bittersweet and on the darker side.
An element/line of dialogue/object you would specifically like in your fic: during the last exchange there was a GORGEOUS peter pan style fic that i could never stop thinking about and because of that, here is what i'm asking for: the line "Forget them Ginny. Forget them all." the line: "Come away with me." and the line "Never is an awfully long time." (if the word "never" doesn't work in that last line, feel free to use "forever". i like that too.) they don't have to be used all together, i'd just like to see all three of them at some point in the story.
Preferred rating of the the fic you want: any
Canon or AU? canon
Deal Breakers: don't kill off draco or ginny. NO harry/ginny (unless you have to mention that they broke up at dumbledore's funeral) and NO harry/hermione. BLECH! oh and draco and ginny cannot be cheating on each other!