Draco opened his eyes and they were met with the morning sunlight shining through one of the curtains in his room. He squinted a bit as it hit his face and blinked his eyes a few times to adjust them. He thought back to the horrid nightmare he had last night and how real it all felt. He let out a soft sigh and then turned his face away from the sunlight and followed it to the other side of his bed where he saw her. Ginny was fast asleep in his bed beside him and her fiery red hair was being illuminated by the rays of sunlight. He couldn't take her eyes off her until he felt something warm in his hand and looked down to see her holding it. He just stared at it for a moment and tried to think back to last night when Ginny made her way into his bed. He sat up and pulled his hand away, making her stir in her sleep and start to wake up.

She gave a quick yawn and stretched out across the bed and opened her eyes to see him looking at her.

"I told you to sleep on the couch," he snapped.

"Sorry, you were having a nightmare or something last night so I..." she trailed off when she saw he was uncomfortable with the fact that she witnessed one of his nightmares...again. "Uh, anyway, thanks for letting me crash here, I really-OH SHIT! I HAVE TO GET TO WORK!" she quickly yelled, jumping out of bed and grabbing her clothes from last night.

She quickly ran towards the door and then stopped to turn and look at him. "I'll be back later, maybe you can try and look through your file today?" she suggested to him.

He just looked at her for a moment and then gave a small nod. She gave him a small smile and then a quick wave goodbye before she Apparated home for a quick shower and a change of clothes.

Ginny made it a point to change back into her dress before she got back home and then walked into the kitchen of the Burrow to see everyone's eyes on her. Her mum and dad were at the table and to her surprise Percy and George. She saw her parents give a snicker and she rolled her eyes as she walked past them to make her way upstairs.

"I see your date went well with William?" Molly asked.

"I know what you guys are thinking and that's not what happened. I just spent the night out and NO, it wasn't with William," she snapped.

"Then where were you?" her mum asked; this time some concern in her voice.

"Mum, it's nothing like that, please don't push this," she said, running her fingers through her hair wildly in frustration.

She watched her mum exchange a look with her father and then she nodded.

Ginny went to walk away when Percy called out to her. "Hey, Gin, no hello?" he asked, pretending to be hurt by her lack of acknowledgment.

She just looked at him, "Hello," she said sarcastically and then her eyes drifted to George, who locked eyes with her. Her heart felt like it was going to burst into a billion pieces as she thought back to the hurt look on his face that day in Harry's office. "Hey, George," she said quickly with a wave hello. "I'm late for work," she mumbled before quickly exiting the kitchen.

Ginny was running at this point through the Ministry to get to work even though she was already late. She quickly opened the office door and took a seat in front of Harry's desk without even looking at him and started to apologize.

"I'm sorry I was late, I overslept and I tried to get here as soon as I could, but-" She stopped speaking when she noticed it wasn't Harry sitting behind the desk but Cho instead. "Oh, where is Harry?"

"Well, good morning, Ginny, Harry won't be in today, unfortunately," she said with a small smile.

"Oh...do you know why?" She was hoping it wasn't because of the conversation they had last night.

"I'm not really sure," she shrugged.

Ginny gave a hard sigh and then just sat there in silence, while she listened to Cho flip through the files on the desk. Ginny watched her for a moment and for some reason she just grew more annoyed by her just being there. She quickly got up and headed to the door.

"Where are you off to, Ginny?" she asked curiously.

"I'll be right back, I need to talk to Will- uh Mr. Chamberlain," she cleared her throat and then made her way into the hall.

She quickly walked a few doors down and gave a quick hard knock before she heard someone call out to come in. She walked into his office to see him sitting behind his desk with his face buried in a file.

"Hey, Will, can I talk to you for a moment?" she asked, walking closer to his desk.

"Oh, Ginny, yes of course; please sit down," he said as he closed the file and put it in his desk drawer and then walked around it to pull the chair out for her.

"Uh, thanks," she mumbled.

"So, what is it that you wish to speak to me about?" he asked, taking a seat once more behind his desk.

"Do you know why Harry isn't here today?"

He looked at her for a moment and then down at his desk with a smirk, "And here I thought you might have wanted to discuss our date last night," he said with some amusement as he looked at her again.

"Oh...uh...I-"

"It's alright, Ginny, I'm just messing with you. Mr. Potter is working out of the office today... it was a last minute decision," he explained.

Ginny didn't say anything she just nodded and then started to get up. "Alright, well thanks," she mumbled while she headed for the door.

"Is that all?" He asked her, folding his hands and leaning his elbows on the desk.

She just rolled her eyes before she turned around to face him again and then started to get annoyed. He obviously wanted to talk about how their date went last night and to talk about his stiff and unsatisfying kiss. She suddenly walked back over to the seat and plopped down angrily and folded her arms and just glared at him.

"The date was fine last night, you're a very charming guy, but your kiss was very underwhelming, which therefore makes me think, "gee, if this guy's kisses are just as stiff and polite as he is, then I can only imagine how the sex is," and then your apartment was so damn tidy I was afraid to even sit on the damn couch and yeah I thought I would like the whole romantic thing and charm and all that shit but it turns out... I can't fuckin stand it. Not to mention, now you're sitting here waiting for feedback on the whole thing which is so fuckin lame I can't even begin to tell you. I also realize that I've just said all of this to you, and I really couldn't care less if your feelings were hurt because it's the damn truth and I'm sorry if it's blunt, but I just can't pretend to be ok with it anymore," she finally finished with a long sigh and then slouched down in her chair as she caught her breath.

She looked across the desk at him and he was just looking at her with a wide smirk spread across his face and he started laughing. Ginny couldn't help but start to laugh as well until it started to die down and he just smiled at her.

"You are very... unique, Ginny."

"Uh, thanks?" she giggled. "Guess, I'll get back to work," she said as she got up and headed to the door.

"Alright, I'll bring lunch by around noon," he said casually as he pulled his file back out and started looking through it again.

"Oh...ok," she said with a slight smirk and then left his office.

Ginny tried her best to finish out the rest of her workday without strangling Cho. She couldn't help but be completely annoyed with everything she did and said. She was quite relieved when lunch time came and she left the office, which finally gave Ginny an opportunity to grab her file. She quickly made her way to the file cabinet and performed the charm to release the protective barrier and opened her file to see that it was completely empty.

"What?" she mumbled to herself.

She quickly checked the next draw to see if it was put somewhere else but she still found nothing. She quickly ran over to the pile of papers in the corner of the office where she had found her medical papers and still found nothing.

"DAMMIT!" she yelled out, slamming her hands on the desk.

"Having a bad day I take it?" came Will's voice as he opened the door.

Ginny didn't say anything, she just took a seat at the desk and watched Will bring over a bag full of lunch for them.

"Here you are," he said, handing her the bag.

"Thanks," she said before pulling out a sandwich.

"So what has you so angry?"

"Oh, it's nothing, I just misplaced something and it was important and now I can't find it," she said, shrugging it off so he wouldn't ask questions.

"What was it? Maybe I can help?" he suggested.

"I doubt it," she sighed.

They were both quiet for a moment.

"So, are you looking forward to tomorrow?" he asked.

"Tomorrow?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, it is your brother's wedding isn't it?" he said with a chuckle.

"Oh, yeah, I can't believe I forgot."

"Your mother invited me tomorrow, I hope that's alright?"

"What? She did?" Ginny asked, trying to sound calm but deep down inside she was livid with her mother right now.

"I can tell you're surprised by that new piece of info. If you'd like I won't go."

"Oh, no, it's fine, of course, you should come," she said with a forced smile.

"Wonderful, just make sure you save a dance for me," he said with a charming smile.

She just gave him a small nod with a slight smile as she thought about the conversation she had planned for her mother when she got home.

"MUM! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING INVITING WILL TO THE WEDDING TOMORROW?" she yelled out as she stormed into the kitchen after work, throwing her bag down on the chair and plopping in a chair.

"Well, hello to you too, dear," she said, ignoring Ginny's outburst.

"Seriously, Mum, why would you do that before asking me?"

"Oh, Ginny, calm down...your father and I thought it was a nice gesture regardless if you were dating him or not," she shrugged.

"We are not dating, but now, thanks to you, he's going to be up my arse the whole time," she let out a frustrated growl.

"Oh, I hardly doubt that, especially since the Malfoys accepted our invite to the wedding, so Draco will be coming and you'll have to entertain all our guests, dear," she simply said.

"They did?" Ginny asked, a smile forming on her face.

Molly looked at her and gave a small smirk. "I see you're pleased with that outcome?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, just because it will look good for dad," she shrugged.

"Mmhmm, now go wash up, I'll fix you a small snack before dinner," she said waving her off upstairs.

"Oh, actually, I have to be somewhere," she said, getting ready to leave the kitchen.

"Well hold on now, where are you going?" Molly asked.

"Mum, it's just a friend's house."

"Will you be home for dinner at least?" she looked at her daughter with hopeful eyes.

"Uh, maybe."

Molly just gave a small nod. "Very well, go get changed, dear," she gestured for Ginny to head upstairs before giving a sad sigh.

Ginny gave a quick knock on Draco's bedroom door before opening it up and seeing he wasn't in there. She heard him in the bathroom and decided to just wait for him on the couch. She had noticed his file was sitting out on his bed so she assumed he must have finally gone through some of it.

She walked up to the bathroom door and lightly knocked, "Hey, I'm here," she called out.

The door suddenly whipped open to reveal a shirtless Draco, "I know, Weasley...the wards, remember?" he said slipping a shirt on.

She quickly spared a glance at his bare chest before he covered it with a shirt and then looked at him. "It could have been your parents," she said smugly.

"Well, I doubt that since they aren't here right now," he said, walking over to the couch. "Did you get your file today?"

She was quiet and then just gave a defeated sigh. "No, it wasn't there, I couldn't find it anywhere."

He could tell she was disappointed in not being able to retrieve the file still and yet here he was with his AND Blaise's. "I'm sure it will turn up," he said, trying to make her feel better, although he wasn't sure why he cared to make her feel better. Perhaps he just felt he owed her something for her help with getting his hands on his files.

"Harry wasn't in the office either, Will said he was working in the field today... maybe he took it with him?" she suggested.

"Could be, but why would he need that? Unless he's working on something that has to do with your case."

"Anyway, I heard your parents accepted the invite. Do you need some help picking out something to wear?"

"Are you serious? Me? Need help?" he scoffed, before walking over to his closet and opening it up. "You tell me," he said, letting her look inside his massive closet and seeing a ridiculous assortment of suits and everything to go with them.

"Wow, this is intense," she said, walking into it. "Is this supposed to indicate that you don't need help because I would have trouble deciding which one to wear," she joked.

He just shook his head. "I think if anyone will need help it's going to be your brother, is he wearing his Yule Ball robes for the ceremony?"

They both started laughing.

"Damn, I hope not," Ginny giggled. "Sooo, I see you've managed to get your file out of the drawer, did you happen to go through it at all?"

"Not quite," he mumbled. "I guess it needs to happen eventually, just bring it over here and let's get this over with already," he decided.

She just looked at him for a moment before walking over to get his file off the bed. She grabbed it with one hand and started walking over when the vial containing Draco's memories fell out and onto the floor. Before Ginny could stop herself, she accidentally stepped on it and slipped to the floor. Her eyes grew wide when she realized what had happened and she immediately turned her gaze to Draco.

"No" he whispered, "No, no, no, no, no." he kept saying over and over as he ran over to the vial.

"Draco, I'm so sorry, I-" she stopped when there was a sudden cloud of smoke that engulfed the both of them and she closed her eyes as it hit her, not sure of what to expect.

When she opened them again, she wasn't in Draco's bedroom, but standing in the middle of a small street surrounded by a few buildings. She immediately knew she was dragged into his memory of one of the darkest days she knew it to be for him. She ran to his side as she saw the look of fear and panic on his face as he backed up against one of the walls of the buildings and slumped to the ground.

"Draco, I am so sorry...Draco? Hey, look at me? It's going to be fine, just...just don't look and cover your ears or something until it's over," she said, desperately trying to help him not relive whatever it was that she was about to witness.

He suddenly just looked at her with a slight sneer as tears had already swelled in his eyes...and then his eyes traveled to over her shoulder and she heard voices behind her. She turned to see Draco and a woman walking hand in hand down the street together; they were talking and laughing and were quite affectionate towards each other. The woman had dark hair and was quite beautiful and Draco looked...happy, his smile was genuine and his features soft as he kissed the woman before him.

"I can't believe you proposed, I didn't think you had it in you," the woman teased as she admired the new ring on her finger.

"Yeah, well... let's just say you made it quite easy for me to become used to the idea," he responded as he hugged her to him.

"Aww, how romantic," came a young man's voice a few feet away.

Ginny didn't even notice him or the group of people that suddenly appeared around them.

"Fuck off," Draco said, as he took the woman's hand and started walking away with her.

Ginny had trouble keeping up with everything that unfolded suddenly before her eyes. As Draco tried to leave, one of the men threw a binding charm at both of them and quickly grabbed the woman and then Draco. Ginny watched him try to break free of the curse, but then her attention went to the young woman who had been backhanded hard and fell to the floor.

"LEAVE HER THE FUCK ALONE!" Draco yelled out as he suddenly broke free of the curse and went running to her side.

Before he could make it there he was hit with a Cruciatus curse which brought him to his knees and he screamed out in pain. They had done the same to the woman whose screams filled the streets around them and had Draco trying to crawl to her side. One of the men kicked him hard in the face, making him flip over to his back.

"I'm going to make sure that you get what you deserve, Draco Malfoy, I want to make sure you have NOTHING, left to live for," the man said as he pulled a knife from his pocket.

Ginny recognized the knife from the picture that had fallen out of the file the first day she brought it to Draco. She also wasn't sure, but the man that was standing over Draco looked familiar and she noticed a few other faces that were the same people from that day in Hogsmeade.

The man walked over to the woman, who was being continually put under the Cruciatus curse and wrapped his hand around her throat and threw her hard against the wall. Draco tried to get up, but every time he did or attempted to reach for his wand he was kicked, punched or tortured with a curse. He spit out a mouthful of blood and tried to scream out to the woman he loved, but received a hard kick to his ribs.

"DRACO!" the woman screamed.

Draco somehow managed to get up from the ground and went to reach for his wand when it was gone. He pulled one of the men away from her and started punching him repeatedly until he was hit with a spell that slammed him against the wall, causing him to fall to the ground.

"This should help you stay still," one man said as he took a dagger and plunged it into Draco's leg, making him scream out in pain. "You're going to want to sit down for this," another man said as he walked over to the woman.

He took the knife and stabbed the woman right in the stomach.

"NOOOO!" Draco screamed in rage.

Ginny started to run forward to help, forgetting that she was in a memory for a moment. She felt someone grab her arm behind her as she continued to watch in horror at the scene that played out.

The woman fell to the floor and the men around them just watched her try to crawl away to Draco.

"Dr...Draco" she choked out, through the blood running from her mouth.

He had managed to reach out to caress her face as her body trembled before him. "Hey, it's going to be ok," he said in a soft voice to make her that less scared. "Astoria, look at me, you're fine ok? We're fine," he kept reassuring her even though he knew they were far from it.

She nodded through her tears and then felt her someone grab her roughly by her hair and pull her to her knees.

"NO! STOP IT, PLEASE STOP! IT'S ME YOU WANT JUST LEAVE HER ALONE! WHAT DO YOU WANT? PLEASE, I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING YOU WANT!" Draco cried out as three men held him back from getting to her.

One of the men, who seemed to be leading the entire group, walked over to him until he was only inches away from his face. "Can you bring people back from the dead?"

Draco just slumped his head in response.

"Yeah, I didn't think so, BUT you're going to wish you could after this," the man said before he walked over to Astoria with his knife and grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head back.

"DRACO!" she screamed out as the man swiftly brought the blade up and slit her throat.

"NOOOO! ASTORIA!" he screamed out.

All the men suddenly Apparated away and just left Draco and his lifeless fiancée in the middle of the street. He crawled to her body and pulled her into his lap and just sobbed uncontrollably against her chest. He shook her body a bit in an attempt to wake her up and still there was nothing but silence. He screamed in rage until his face was red and couldn't breathe anymore.

"No...no, please wake up, PLEASE!" he screamed as he stroked her hair and then gently cupped her bloody face in his hands.

He was covered in her blood, his body shook with shock and rage and he just buried his face in the crook of her neck and pulled her body tightly to his and just sobbed.

Ginny felt something wet on her face and realized it was her own tears, something she hadn't spilled in years. She saw the memory start to fade as Aurors had started to show up and soon once more she was standing in Draco's room. She quickly wiped her face clean of any emotion and then she looked at who had grabbed her arm and it was Draco. She turned to look at him and he was sitting on the floor with his head down, his elbows resting on his knees. She wasn't sure what to say, but she could only imagine what he was feeling right now. She was waiting for him to go off on her for dropping the vial in the first place, but nothing ever came.

"Draco?" she whispered, as she got on her knees and sat in front of him. She felt her heart sink as she watched his body try to hold back the overwhelming emotion he was feeling.

"Just get out of here," he choked out as his voice broke from emotion.

She quickly made her way to his door and went to leave when she stopped and just looked at him. She had no idea what Draco had lost from these people; how much heartache they caused him. How he suffered all these years and then to kill Blaise in front of him too, and almost his mother...Ginny knew he must have felt guilty for it all. She knew he probably felt the most guilty for not being able to get to Astoria in time that night.

She also thought about their recent intimate encounters together and she felt guilty for initiating something like that with him. If she had known about his past, she probably would never have taken things to that level. Then she wondered if he felt guilty for that also and maybe he was mad at her for letting it seem so easy to just screw anyone. She was so confused about how to act around him now and what to say.

After a few more moments of deep thought, she closed the bedroom door and walked back over and sat on the floor beside him. She just rested her head on his shoulder and grabbed his hand and laced her fingers with his.

"I'm so sorry, Draco," she whispered and then just sat with him while he tried to fight back the tears he inevitably shed.

They sat there for about an hour in silence and she didn't dare ask him anything about what she saw, she knew he didn't even want her knowing about Astoria or anything in his file. She just decided to change the subject entirely and pulled her locked fingers away from his. She got up from the floor and put her hand out for him to take.

"Come on, my mum wants me home for dinner tonight... why don't you come over?" she suggested.

He wanted nothing more than to forget what he had just witnessed again, and attempted to try and pretend he didn't just watch Astoria be murdered again. He looked up at her and then to her outstretched hand. "So, you sat here for this long probably wondering what to do or say to make me feel better and when you realize there is nothing you can do or say you decided to come out with that?" he snapped.

She just gave a small laugh and then they just looked at each for a few moments before he gave a small smirk and finally grabbed her outstretched hand to pull himself up off the floor.

"So, what do you say?" she asked.

"Yeah, I don't think so, I'll just stay here," he said, walking over to the broken vial and waved his wand to repair it.

He muttered a small spell to copy the memory once more from his mind and placed it back inside the vial. He just held it in his hands for a moment just staring at it swirl about inside the tiny tube.

Ginny gently took it from him and placed it in the file and put it back in the drawer near the couch. "Come on, let's get out of here for a bit," she said, reaching her hand out for him to take her back to the Burrow.

He looked at her hand once more and then reluctantly took it and Apparated to the backyard of the Burrow.

Once they arrived at the Burrow, Ginny turned around to see the setting sun in the distance and then looked at Draco. She grabbed his arm and led him up the steps and into the back door before his mind could start wandering back to the horrid memories they just watched.

"Oh, Ginny, dear, you're back for dinner, very good," Molly said, as she looked up to see her standing there with Draco. "Oh, Draco, I didn't realize you were joining us," she said with a nervous smile.

"Is that ok, Mum, it's just Draco, his parents are out for the evening," she explained.

Suddenly, Molly's expression turned to one of relief. "Oh, thank heavens, of course you could stay, Draco, forgive me, but it's those bloody parents of yours that just rub me the wrong way," she went on.

"Pft, how do you think I feel, I have to live with them," he drawled, as Molly patted his arm lightly as she realized he had it worse than she did.

"Oh, Ginny... Hermione, Ron, and Harry are joining us this evening for a little pre-wedding celebration," she said with a smile. "Oh, and Bill and Charlie will be here tonight for the wedding tomorrow."

"Yippee," she responded sarcastically as she took a seat at the table with Draco.

"Dinner, isn't quite ready yet, but there are plenty of biscuits to keep you content until then," Molly said, as she placed a big basket full of warm biscuits on the table. "Oh, and here why don't you two get to work on getting some cookies on this baking sheet," she directed them as she passed a big bowl of cookie dough to Ginny for them to scoop out some cookies.

Draco leaned forward towards Ginny so Molly wouldn't hear him. "Well, Weasley, I've definitely got my mind on something else now, I'm thinking, gee, how the fuck did I get stuck baking cookies with you and having dinner with your entire bloody family," he snapped at her angrily.

"Sorry, I didn't realize everyone would be here, does it really matter?" she asked, placing a perfectly shaped cookie down on the pan.

"Nah, I really don't give a shit...like this?" he asked her, holding up a rather big ball of dough.

Ginny just started laughing.

"Oh my, that is one big cookie, here," came Molly's voice as she reached over Draco's shoulders and ripped half of the dough from his hands and threw it back in the bowl. "Like this," she said, grabbing his hands and showing him how to roll the dough to form a perfect circle.

"Ugh, Mum, he doesn't like to be touched," Ginny moaned out.

"Well, too damn bad, he's got to know how to make a proper cookie," she snapped at them both before walking back to the stove.

"Wow, your mum's a bit aggressive...now I see where you get it from," he said with a smirk.

Ginny flicked a piece of cookie dough off her finger that flew on his cheek. "Oh, sorry," she giggled, before leaning forward and using her thumb to wipe it off. "I was trying to aim for your hair," she teased.

Draco took the whole ball of dough he had been rolling and went to throw it at her when Mrs. Weasley quickly grabbed it from him.

"No wasting food in this house," she said, taking the dough and placing it neatly on the baking sheet.

Just then Arthur and Harry had walked into the kitchen.

"Hello my darlings," said Arthur from the doorway. "Ah, Draco, good to see you," he said, before walking over to Molly and giving her a quick kiss.

"Hey, Dad," she said and then her eyes fell on Harry, who had his hand bandaged up. "Hey, Harry, what happened to you?" she asked.

"Hey, Gin...Draco," he said with a hard sigh before taking a seat across from them. "It's nothing, I just hurt it while I was working out of the office today," he said, waving his hand to show it was no big deal.

Ginny locked eyes with him for a moment before she gave a small nod and then turned back to see how Draco was handling the cookie dough.

"Finished...see... they're perfect," Draco said, pushing the pan towards Ginny.

She started laughing. "Um...close enough, Dad, could you-"

"I'll fix them," he chuckled before taking the cookie sheet and resizing the large balls of cookie dough.

Harry couldn't help but watch the way Ginny interacted with Draco, they seemed quite comfortable around each other and had no problem holding a conversation. At one point he even saw Ginny take a bite of a biscuit and hand the rest of it to Draco, who didn't seem to mind her bite mark in it before he took one too. He could tell she had been at Draco's house a lot more than she was telling him or her parents about. It didn't bother him that she and Draco were friends and hung out, but he also knew how dangerous it was to get involved in any of the Malfoys lives.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Ron and Hermione arrived.

"THERE THEY ARE!" Mrs. Weasley squealed in delight at the sight of them. "Come on now everyone, sit down, dinner is just about ready," she gestured for them to take a seat at the table.

They both took a seat at the table and Hermione sat beside Draco. "Hi, Draco, how have you been?" she asked with a small smile.

He looked at her for a second to make sure she was indeed talking to him and he just gave a shrug. "Just peachy," he said with a slight sneer.

Hermione just gave him another tight smile and then turned her attention to Ginny. "So how was your date with Will last night?" she asked like a giddy school girl.

"That guy is a bloody wanker," Ron chimed in suddenly.

"Yeah, he is," Harry and Draco agreed in unison.

"Oh, shut up, you guys are just jealous because he's good looking and charming," Ginny snapped.

"That's bullshit, you were just bitching last night about him being too gentle and not aggressive enough," Draco mocked her from their conversation last night.

Ginny quickly locked eyes with Harry at Draco's comment about her talking to him last night about Chamberlain which meant Harry knew she went to Draco's after he had kissed her.

"What's wrong with gentle and charming?" Hermione asked Ginny.

"Well, apparently that's not your type either," Ginny answered as her eyes fell on Ron.

Hermione gave a small giggle.

"I'M PLENTY CHARMING!" Ron yelled angrily.

"Yeah, and I'm good looking," Harry chimed in.

"UGH, why is this conversation turning out to be all about Will?" Ginny growled in frustration.

"Now, now, everyone you are all charming, good looking and gentle. Now let's start eating," Mrs. Weasley interrupted them all as she placed a big plate of chicken on the table.

Once Mrs. Weasley served the rest of the food, everyone forgot about William and started talking about the wedding the next day. Halfway through dinner, Charlie and Bill arrived and joined them at the dinner and the conversation shifted to what they had been up to since they were last home.

After dinner, everyone had spread out and started to talk amongst themselves as Mrs. Weasley got dessert ready. Ginny was talking to Draco out on the porch while they watched Ron, Bill and Charlie get an unofficial game of Quidditch going. Ginny's eyes fell on Draco while he just simply watched her brothers and how he seemed to just be enjoying the fresh air. She smiled to herself as she continued to watch him, but then her mind went back to the memories she had witnessed just hours earlier. She wanted to ask him so many questions, but she didn't dare try to bring it up...not anytime soon anyway.

"Hey, Draco, can I have a word with you for a moment?" came Harry's voice as he approached him and Ginny.

Ginny locked eyes with Harry for a moment and then with Draco, "I guess I'll go see if Mum needs help with dessert," she said, before walking back inside.

"What do you want, Potter?" Draco asked, sounding irritated with him.

"Draco...do you know who Gregory Pines is?" Harry asked him.

Draco felt a lump form in his throat and finally managed to swallow it before he glared at Harry. "No," he drawled.

Harry just glared back, "You sure about that?"

"I'm pretty fuckin positive, why are you asking me?" he snapped.

"Because he was found dead the other day, looked as though there was a bit of a struggle that went on there," he said, looking at the blond.

"Well, that's unfortunate, why the hell should I care?" he asked angrily.

"I thought it was interesting since Gregory Pines was a person of interest in a particular case."

"Unless that case is the one I want you to reopen, then I'm done with this conversation," he said, starting to walk away.

"I should tell you that we are doing a full scan for prints, evidence of any kind-"

"What the fuck are you getting at, Potter?" Draco said through clenched teeth as he walked back over to Harry.

"I think you know that Gregory Pines was a suspect in your case and I think you went there looking for him."

"Fuck off, Potter, how the hell would I know any of that?"

Harry took a step closer to him, "I know you might not believe this, but I'm trying to save your arse, Draco," he quietly said. "I know that something is going to come back where it points to you, so if there's anything else you want to tell me...now is your chance," Harry warned him before he started to head back inside.

"WAIT!" Draco called out to stop him. "Before you start scraping up shit, there's something you should know."

Harry turned around to look at him, "And what's that?"

"I'm not the only one who was there," he said with a sneer.

Harry took a step closer to him, "Who the hell else was there with you?"

Draco's eyes just traveled over his shoulder and landed on Ginny through the kitchen window.

Harry followed his gaze and his eyes went wide, "No," he whispered to himself. "Ginny? Ginny was there? Why the FUCK is she anywhere near these people, Draco?" he said as he grew livid by the news.

"She's the one who pushed us to even go, she doesn't exactly do what she's told," he snapped.

"Why the hell would she do that?"

"Because... she knows that these people know who she is," Draco explained. "That day in Hogsmeade she knew something was up."

Draco watched the color drain from Harry's face, he was sure that there was a lot more to Ginny and these people than he thought there was.

"Potter, why the hell is there a case file on Ginny?" he asked suddenly.

Harry looked completely panicked by the mention of it. "What? How do you-"

"She found it... how the hell do you think we found out about Pines, why the hell do you think she suddenly wanted to work in your office?" Draco went on, not sure why he was telling him all of this and he knew Ginny would surely kill him once she found out.

"Did she see-"

"No, she hasn't seen anything in it yet, but she knows how to get it," he paused for a moment as he watched Harry take in the news. He thought for a moment that Harry was going to break down into tears and it made him want to know even more now about what was in that file. "Harry, what the fuck is in there?"

Harry just shook his head. "You have your case file then? I need it back, TONIGHT! And I will take care of the Gregory Pines situation, but the next time you get involved in this case again or you drag Ginny into it...I'll take you to Azkaban myself."

Draco just looked at him and nodded, as much as he couldn't stand Harry, he knew that he helped him out a lot during these past few years. He worked on his case for a few years before he finally called it quits for whatever reason, but it seemed he must have been looking into again now. He wasn't even sure why Harry was covering all this mess up for him, why he wasn't reporting him to the Ministry about his case file being stolen. He knew it was mostly because it would fall on Ginny as well and he knew Harry wouldn't let that happen to her.

"I never meant for her to get involved in any of this...I wouldn't wish that on anyone," Draco said softly. "Please don't tell her I told you all of this."

Harry just looked at him, why would he care if Ginny knew that he told him everything? Apparently, it was important to him what Ginny thought of him, which made him question exactly what was going on between them.

"You guys finished yet? Dessert is ready," came Ginny's voice from the doorway.

"Actually, I think I'm going to head home," Draco said, turning to leave.

"Wait, why? Don't you want to stay for some cake?" Ginny suggested as she walked up to him.

He looked at the disappointment on her face and then he glanced up at Harry and then back to her. "I just... I just better be going," he said softly as he started walking away.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow at the wedding, right?" she called out to him.

He turned to her with a small smirk. "Yeah, sure," he said before Apparating back to home.

Ginny turned around and looked at Harry, "Did you say something to him to make him leave?" she asked angrily.

"I don't think so, but there's not much you can say that doesn't make him mad," Harry sighed.

She took a seat on the porch steps and then Harry joined her, "I thought you were going inside for dessert?" he asked her.

"I don't really want any," she shrugged.

They were both quiet for a little while.

"Harry, can we talk about that kiss last night-"

"It's fine, Gin, it was my fault, I shouldn't have done that. I just got lost in the moment," he explained.

"Do you still have feelings for me?" she asked him; she could tell he was a little uncomfortable with her direct questioning.

"Honestly, Ginny, I don't think the love I had for you and still have will ever go away, but I think it's safe to say that what we used to have is over," he said softly as he looked at her.

She just gave him a small smile and then rested her head on his shoulder. "Harry...I know about Astoria," she said suddenly.

He looked at her. "Draco told you about her?"

Ginny didn't want to say she knew about her from the vial of memories she stole from his office so she just nodded. "Earlier tonight...it was awful...why don't I remember reading this is the Daily Prophet?"

"Because the Malfoys didn't want to be the center of the media again; after Astoria's murder..." He trailed off as he thought back to the night. "I was the first one on the scene that night...it was...something I don't think I've ever seen before...not in a long time anyway. Draco...he was just...gone."

Ginny listened to every word he spoke, she hadn't realized how involved Harry was in Draco's case and what he had to witness that night. She heard his voice fill with emotion as he spoke about that night.

"I think he would have held her forever if we hadn't forced him to let her go. Lucius and Narcissa didn't know how to help him...there was no way to help him, all he wanted was revenge and honestly...I wanted it for him. I made that case my top priority every damn day and gathered everything I could about it and then one night...Blaise was murdered because of it. Narcissa was almost killed and then..." he stopped and looked at her.

"What?" she asked in a whisper.

He just shook his head. "Things just started to get too dangerous and too complicated. The same night they murdered Astoria, the house that he and Astoria had just moved into was burned to the ground. These people were everywhere...I still don't know how they managed to be ten steps ahead of me. Every time I thought I had a lead it ended up getting somebody killed or hurt...or worse," he said the last part in a whisper.

He hadn't realized how much he was saying and he quickly changed the subject. "Anyway...it was nice of you to invite him here tonight...I think he needed it," he looked at her with a smile.

"I wasn't sure what else to say after finding something like that out," she shrugged.

"He must really trust you if he told you about something so personal," he said, looking at her for a few moments. He watched her become lost in deep thought. "Ginny, are you falling in love with Draco Malfoy?" he teased her.

She punched him hard in the arm, "Hell no, I mean he's different and I like that, I guess," she shrugged, looking at the grass.

"So you LIKE Draco?" he asked with a smirk, giving her a light nudge with his leg.

She just furrowed her eyebrows at his comment as the realization hit her. "Yeah...I guess I do."