Fire and Ice

Lost Property

"A word, Malfoy." Snape drawled as the class began to leave.

Sighing, Draco stepped away from his Potions table and glanced towards the door longingly. He was miserable, grouchy and tired. All he wanted to do was lie down. Slowly, he walked to Snape's ominous desk.

"I assume you've already figured out why I've moved you to the front of the class?" Snape asked shortly.

Draco nodded slightly. A pregnant pause followed, while Draco realised that Snape wanted a verbal response.

"To keep me away from her," Draco said in a slightly strangled voice. Embarrassed, he coughed and allowed his cool mask to envelop his features. He stood taller.

"No." Draco's face betrayed no emotions, but inwards, he staggered.

"Why, then?" He replied, in a offhand tone. Can Snape hear my desperation?

"To keep her away from you." Snape allowed that to sink in. "It would jeopardize your new mission."

"What mission?" Draco began breathing slightly heavier than normal.

Snape rubbed his eyes, a vulnerable action. "I told the Dark Lord that you are now working for him. He-" Snape ignored Draco's sudden exhale of breath with a dismissive hand gesture, "-told me to tell you that you made a wise decision, and has a plan for you very soon. Involving your dueling...talents. Am I clear?"

Draco nodded numbly.

Snape gave Draco an almost sympathetic look.

"It had to be done. Sooner or later your father would ask the Dark Lord... It had to happen sooner or later. You know this."

"Yes, Sir," Draco replied stiffly, his mind rushing. I can't belive this. I can't do this. Images of him doing the Dark Lord's bidding flashed past Draco's eyes. As his world crumbled at his feet, a spark of hope lit up his broken planet. "Can I..." His voice faded.

"That'll be all," Snape dismissed in a louder voice, turning away. Draco ran his hand through his hair in silent agitation. He walked out of the door.

Before he shut it behind him, he looked back to his Potions Master, who'd just cleared his throat. Facing away from Draco, Snape looked almost like a Dementor, with his black cloak and shadowy presence. Snape nodded slightly at the blank wall.

A grin broke across Draco's face before he rushed through the corridor, to Gryffindoor tower.

***

Ginny was crying.

After silencing her bed, closing her curtains and ensuring her privacy, Ginny'd snuggled up in bed under the masses of quilts and blankets, dreaming of a warm, sunny field, filled with people who didn't know them, where Ginny and Draco could walk around, holding hands, kissing and just be a couple, without the fear of being caught or judged. Or killed.

Unwittingly, Ginny stretched out her legs, all the way to the end of the bed. She frowned when her feet touched a rough fabric, and used her toes to bring the fabric to her hands, where she brought the fabric out to examine.

Her breath came out in a choked huff as she caught sight of one of Draco's tee-shirts.

That's why she was crying.

And that's how Draco found her sleeping on the edge of her bed, her face buried in a shirt he'd thought he'd lost.

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he half-heartedly pulled at the fabric. Ginny's hands clenched around it reflexively as her eyes flew open.

"Draco!" She whispered.

"I've been looking for that," Draco started, nodding at his shirt balled up in her hands.

"I've been looking for you," Ginny murmured back, as her lips met his.