Malfoy returned to his dormitory the next morning, red eyed and with a headache from dehydration. Crabbe and Goyle knew better than to ask where he had spent the night, or what he had been doing. They were silent during breakfast, and Crabbe kept his goblet full of pumpkin juice. Malfoy nearly fell asleep during his charms class, having stayed awake the entire night. At noon, he decided to forego lunch and take nap instead. He was met on the grand staircase by Ginny Weasly.
"What the bloody hell have you done, Malfoy?" She asked with fire in her eyes.
Malfoy sighed. "I can only tell you some. Ask too many questions and I'll have to modify your memory, or else make an unbreakable vow."
She held his gaze for a long moment before answering. What she saw in his eyes, his sadness, his tiredness, convinced her that she could trust him. For now.
"Fine." She turned on her heel and they found a section of corridor that was somewhat quiet. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.
Malfoy ran a hand through his hair. "You must have noticed, she doesn't remember me at all. Not as... what we were."
"Uh-huh." She signaled for him to keep going.
"She got too close." He said. "I can't tell you what, but she got to close to it, and erasing her memories... erasing me was the only way to protect her. Either someone would have found her out and done her in, or she would stick her neck out for me and get herself killed."
Ginny gasped.
"You understand that you can never tell her. She has to forget that we ever... She can't remember me as anything more than a bothersome classmate."
Ginny nodded. "I won't tell her."
Malfoy pointed a finger at her. "I'm trusting you. The spell was effective, but I had to only take the pieces I'm in. It's very weak, and if you merely hint at anything, it could break. Do you understand?"
She nodded. "I promise to keep it a secret." Her face softened, looking concerned. "But... you still love her, don't you?"
Malfoy looked away. "It doesn't matter."
"There's always a choice you know." She said quietly. "Everyone has a choice. It's just easier for some than others. Circumstances can be dreadful, but in the end, you do get to decide your future." She tried to smile at him. "I hope you choose love, Malfoy. Whatever that means to you."
He grimaced and turned away. "I did choose love." He said. "I took myself away from her because I would have gotten her killed." He looked at Ginny. "Please, watch out for her in my stead. I hate to ask a girl, but you're the only one I can trust."
Ginny shook her head. "Hermione has loads of people watching out for her. Don't worry too much. She has lots of love. You, on the other hand..." She reached out to his shoulder. "Watch out for yourself. She'll never know how much, but you dying would hurt her."
Malfoy nodded. "I know."
Ginny looked around awkwardly. "Well I have class so..."
"Yeah, yeah..." Malfoy inhaled deeply. "I should go too."
She nodded and headed down the corridor. Malfoy straightened his robes and headed down to his bed. He had a long week ahead of him.