Getting Personal

CHAPTER 24

Ginny never did finish her seventh year at Hogwarts, but special arrangements were made for her to take her N.E.W.T.s, and she did well on them, considering the circumstances.

All of her brothers made it safely back from the final battle, and started getting married and reproducing at an astounding rate. By the following summer, Ginny had two nieces, a nephew, and two more on the way. Hermione and Harry were engaged, but still no date was set. Lupin and Tonks and Moody had made it back, but Snape hadn't. Draco told her how he gave his life for Dumbledore, revealing his loyalties for the Headmaster to Tom, breaking Tom's focus long enough for the Order to get the upper hand.

The story of the final battle was told so many different times that there were about 200 versions flying around, and Draco preferred not to talk too much about it, so what Ginny knew she had pieced together herself.

Draco had destroyed his father and several other Death Eaters, and Neville Longbottom had finally gotten his revenge by ending Bellatrix's life. Harry and eventually Dumbledore battled Tom until the very end, when Harry used his wand to stab Tom's snake Nagi through the head, since Nagi was bent on ending Draco's life. Unknown to them until that moment, Nagi's life force was connected with Tom's, and as Nagi's extinguished, Tom died as well.

Percy, Lupin, Fred, Draco, Mundungus, Harry, and several others ended up in the hospital for quite some time, but everyone made full recoveries, or at least as full as could be expected.

As it turned out, Harry was quite reluctant to let go of his new spot as Auror, and Hermione still pushed S.P.E.W., but Draco was taken on by the Chudley Canons, and Ginny's entire family always supported him, if not out of pacification for Ginny, than out of respect for Ron, and his favorite team.

Ginny's first trip outside Harry's house, with the exception of the Hogwarts Express, was to St. Mungo's to see Draco, when the Order returned from the final battle.

"Draco?" she whispered, pushing the door open. "Are you awake?"

"Gin?" she heard him answer.

The room was still dark, but she felt her way across the floor and to the side of his bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Better now," he replied.

"Yeah?"

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, since . . . he's gone."

She heard him suck in a deep breath. "I'm sorry I acted like such a bloody prat."

"It, it's okay. I understand."

"It's not okay. Not at all."

"It really is. I just want, I just want us to be . . . okay again."

"Just okay?" he asked seriously.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could see a faint smile lining his lips. "No. I want us to be together."

"So do I."

She released a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding. "I was so worried about you."

"Nothing to worry about," he answered, his voice arrogant, as if he couldn't believe she would doubt him. "I did it for you, so I had to come back." He patted the edge of his hospital bed. "Come here."

She eased down beside him. "I do love you. You know that, right?"

There was a pause before he answered, his voice gruffer than normal. "Yes."

"I'm sorry I did that. I'm sorry I put you through so much-"

"Shh, shh." He reached up and put a finger to her lips. "I know you are. You already told me. And I'm sorry for not believing you, sorry for throwing you out of my room."

Ginny let out a nervous giggle. "I guess I deserved it though."

"No, you didn't." He struggled to sit up.

"What are you doing?"

He didn't answer, put propped himself on his elbows and placed a kiss on her lips. "Got any plans for tonight?"

"I might be able to cancel them if you have a better offer," she teased.

"Stay here."

"What will happen when your Healer finds me?"

"They won't bother me till the morning," he whispered in her ear, pulling her down to him.

When Draco was released, his mother came to see him at the house he shared with Harry. "I don't want to know what you had to do," she told him firmly, "but I do love you. I am proud of you for taking the right road, not the easy road."

Draco eyed her for a moment. "Are you?"

"I am."

Narcissa sold the Manor and moved into a lovely, and of course enormous, house on the outskirts of London and urged Draco and Ginny to visit her regularly. She returned Draco the key to his father's vault and advised him to make wise investments.

Technically, Ginny lived with Fred and Angelina, who had a large, luxurious flat close to Diagon Alley and right next door to George and Alicia in one of the fanciest parts of wizarding London, but she spent most of her free time with Draco. She worked part time in their store, while the twins created a partnership with the company Draco had inherited and cleaned up, in order to go international. Ginny went to all of Draco's games, and went spring tryouts came, she became the back up Chaser for the Chudley Canons. They celebrated by going to dinner, where Draco handed her a heavy black box, inside of which was the largest diamond she had ever seen.

"Will you?" he asked, his eyes sparkling.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" She nearly threw herself across the table at him.

"Thank the gods," he teased. "I think Harry and Hermione might need a little space of their own!"

The wedding and honeymoon were in the fall, during the few weeks between one Quidditch season ending and training beginning for the next season. It was more lavish and extravagant that she needed or even wanted, but it made Draco happy, and it made their mum's happy, so she obliged.

Sometimes, more often than she preferred, Draco woke up in a cold sweat, nightmares haunting his sleep. Of course, Ginny reasoned with herself, he had killed his father, and evil or not, it was his father. Those kinds of damages were not easily forgotten.

Their mum's kept after them to produce grandchildren, but she just wasn't ready. She wasn't ready to share Draco or to give up her spot on the Canon's, which had been undefeated since Draco had joined. She liked having Draco all to herself. There was no more sneaking into his room, no worrying about what gossiping students would say, no paranoia over her parents or the Order walking in on them, no more hiding. She liked the freedom, and selfish or not, she wasn't about to give it up.

No, she loved her life.

But no matter how good things got, Tom's memory never let her take advantage of how lucky she was. His memory lurked in the very darkest corners of her heart and mind, waiting until she was low before striking and reminding her that she was his. She fought him of course, and he couldn't hurt her, but he was there. It was like having a shadow of a memory tucked away; something that was just on the very tip of her tongue, but the words didn't come, so she could forget about it. His body may have died, but Ginny would never outlive his memory.

She never told Draco about it, about Tom lurking, waiting. She didn't have to. Draco's kisses could melt all her fears, and his touch lit her skin on fire as passionately as it did the night she first gave herself to him. Tom may have taken up residence in the darkest corner of her being, but Draco had the rest of her.

Ginny had been afraid that there would be some sort of rift between them resulting from the time they had spent apart and the things that had happened then, but as far as she could tell, there were none. In fact, things - at least some things - were better than they had been. Especially the sex. She could come to Draco any time of the day or night and he always wanted her. Once she'd heard a friend of her mum's saying that as she got older, the sex was better, just less often. Ginny was quite convinced she didn't have to worry about the second part.

One night she woke, thirsty, and when she returned to their bed, the way Draco was sleeping caught her attention. He was sprawled out, taking up the majority of their large bed, the blanket down around his waist. Ginny quietly set her glass down and stripped off her nightgown and knickers. She leaned across the bed and gently lifted the blankets and then crawled until she was sitting right next to Draco. Carefully she eased his boxers over his hips and down to his knees, freezing each time he stirred.

"Gin," Draco mumbled, still mostly asleep. "Don't stop."

She had no intentions of stopping, admiring the way he looked against their black sheets with his almost too long pale hair and smooth skin.

His breath hissed into her ears when he came, and she crossed her legs over his back, savoring the feeling of their bodies joined together.

"I love you Gin," he whispered sleepily. "I do."

"I love you too," she answered holding him closer.

THE END

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This story has had quite a few scenes edited or deleted for rating content. If you are of age, email me at Draco_ginny_ship@yahoo.com & I'll send you links to the unedited versions.

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