My notes: This is something I just threw together at one in the morning... Please, take pity on me!

Oh, and don't forget to review! Reviewers get cookies.

I really wish these chapters were longer, but I find it oddly difficult to just add filler.

Anyway, here it is! My first chapter of a (hopefully epic) romance!

Ginny, 11:15 pm

I dodged curses frantically. Apparently, my first raid for the Order of the Phoenix wasn't going as well as I had hoped.

A bolt of green light flew past, and I ducked right before the killing curse could hit me. Don't get separated, I remembered Bill telling me. No matter what. I shot a bat- bogey curse at a Death Eater dueling with Kingsley nearby, and he fell to the ground, writhing in revulsion.

This, unfortunately, seemed to catch the eye of another masked fighter. He turned toward me, stalking through the crowd. I shot a stunner at him, but he easily dodged. Damn, I thought. Now what?

I backed away quickly, aiming several spells at him, but none hit their mark.

"Feisty little girl," He hissed at me, and I could hear him perfectly even through the din of the battle. "You must be a Weasley. Gives me even more reason to kill you. But not quickly, oh, no. I'll cruciate you until you're begging for death."

I vaguely wondered how he knew I was a Weasley, because I had the hood of my long black cloak pulled up to immerse my face in shadows. My long, signature, bright red hair was poking out a bit at the ends, I supposed. He continued to back me up into an alley, secluded from the main battle. He raised his wand and aimed.

"Crucio!" I dodged, the Unforgivable curse barely missing me. I took this as my cue to leave, and sprinted away, Bill's warning ringing in my ears. The unknown Death Eater ran along behind me, laughing unpleasantly. "Crucio! Crucio!" He shouted, and I managed to dart away from those curses as well.

I began to breathe heavily. I was relatively fit from my years of Quidditch, but it was nearly impossible to sprint at full speed for this long. "Stupefy!" I sent the spell over my shoulder, but I could still hear his footsteps behind me.

"Nice try, girly!" He yelled at me, now laughing maniacally. To be honest, the sounds he was now making were the only thing that had truly scared me this entire night.

I skidded to a halt, the end of the alleyway suddenly appearing before me. I turned around to face him, trapped. My hood had fallen off. There was no protecting my identity any more.

"I've got you now! Crucio!" The Death Eater yelled at me. Suddenly, I was engulfed in pain. There was nothing that could ever compare to this. I dropped to my knees, the hard cobblestones digging into the skin through my robes. My entire body was screaming at me, but I refused to make any noise of pain. I would not give this vile creature his satisfaction. I collapsed onto all fours, then rolled over onto my side, silent. Out of the corner of my eye I saw another cloaked figure hurrying toward us. It was nobody I knew.

"Still won't scream?" the Death Eater snarled at me. "Crucio!"

The pain doubled. Surely I would die from this. Nobody could ever survive this much agony. I writhed on the cold, hard, ground, feeling as though there were dull, white-hot knives piercing me, acid being poured over my ravaged form.

The cloaked person was now drawing closer. With a sinking heart, I saw it was another Death Eater. He was here to finish me off. Please, I thought, just end it now. I tried to ask this of the newcomer with my eyes before they drifted shut. I was resigned. I was going to die.

Draco, 11:15 pm

Draco hated this, and his father knew it. He hated being forced to kill, to take the lives of people who didn't deserve it. They were only fighting for their freedom.

Indirectly avoiding his father's orders, he usually stunned instead of killed. It was more humane, and he couldn't bear to see the light go out of a person's eyes. he knew it was his fault as they would stare somewhat accusingly at him, falling back to rest with glassy orbs open. Every time he killed, he would stay in his room for several days, not eating, not talking.

Draco dodged a spell, turned to see its caster. Before he could catch anyone, though, a flash of red caught his eye. It's the Weasley girl, he thought in wonder, watching as she spun and darted gracefully. Draco couldn't believe that her mother could ever agree to this. How could any mother agree to let her only daughter go on an almost certain suicide mission like this?

Suddenly, he felt a great need to protect this girl. It didn't repulse him as it once would have. He had changed. The words, "Mudblood" and "Blood Traitor" no longer meant anything to him. He reluctantly turned his attention away from her, ducking a stunning spell. He could still see her, and suddenly Dolohov was shooting a Cruciatus curse at her. No, Draco thought frantically, I can't let her be tortured like this. He very nearly leaped forward to stop him, but caught himself just in time. Nobody knows that you don't want to kill these people! They'll kill you for treachery!

Ginny turned tail and ran down the alleyway. Dolohov lumbered after her. Draco knew what he intended, and anger shot through him at his actions. Why couldn't he just leave her? She was only, what? Seventeen?

He knew he couldn't leave him to torture her, so he left the main battle and ran through the alleyway adjacent to the one they were currently running down. Draco caught glimpses of her sprinting, and realized that he had never seen anyone run so fast, or so awe-inspiringly, her red hair whipping behind her, the cloak flowing like a pair of onyx wings.

He saw her stumble to a halt at the end of the alleyway, turn towards Dolohov. Then he saw her tumble to her knees. No, please, he thought, don't kill her! Not yet! She fell onto her side, facing him, and as he drew closer, he realized that she was making no noise. No moans, no screams. Brave girl. Admiration shot through him, followed immediately by a wash of fury as she arched her back, the agony multiplying as Dolohov cast the curse again.

It suddenly occurred to Draco that he had no idea why he wanted to protect Ginny Weasley. he couldn't explain it, he just felt protective toward her. He ran ever closer, and could see her open eyes. First, they held hope, but that vanished when she saw his mask. She thought he was just another Death Eater. Draco looked into her eyes again, and what he saw in them startled him. The strong, dark brown eyes now held desperation, begging for death. She had given up.

Dolohov turned toward Draco, laughing. "Oh, good, Draco, you've come to join in the fun!"

Draco laughed forcibly, and came up behind him, whispering, "Stupefy." He crumpled to the ground, and Draco sent another spell at him. "Incarcerous." His unconscious form was now tied up in ropes, in case he managed to wake up.

He turned to Ginny, ripping off his mask. Her eyes snapped open and she crawled back when she saw him. Her gaze was still filled with agony, aftereffects of the curse. He hated seeing her strong-willed, stubborn body humbled like this. "Ginny," he whispered to her, "Can you hear me? Can you stand up?" She nodded.

"Malfoy," she stated somewhat weakly, and her tone held reproach and gratefulness, an odd mixture. He half expected for her voice to be ragged and croaky, but then realized that it wouldn't be, as she hadn't been screaming. That was difficult, not to scream when the Cruciatus curse hit you. But now, her voice was smooth, and almost enchanting. He mentally slapped himself. Snap out of it. Now isn't the time to be fantasizing about your former enemy's little sister.

"Come over here." Draco pulled her behind a building. She could stand, but her back was still hunched over with pain.

"W-why-?" Ginny began, but Draco cut her off.

"Honestly, I don't know why. I just had to." He tucked a loosed strand of silky red hair behind her ear, pulled her hood back up to cover it. She looked mysterious,with her face cast into shadows, and maybe even… sexy? No! Why am I thinking this? Shut up! He berated himself. They stared at each other for a few seconds.

"Thank you," Ginny finally said, "But it sounds like the fighting is over and it would be very hard to explain if Bill came across us while sending out a full-blown search party for me."

Draco nodded. He had been just about to say the same thing, but he caught the worry in her voice. She didn't even know if her brother Bill was alive. "Go," he whispered to her. Something about her rendered him unable to speak in a full voice. She stretched up onto her tiptoes and softly kissed him on the cheek. Then she was gone.

Draco sighed. What have I gotten myself into now?