Title: Among The Masses

Author: Call me Katrina!

Rating: PG for stuff later on

Summary: The war between good and evil rages on in the far lands of the Greenlake Plains. After setting off from their home to join the war, both Ginny and Draco must get along to even reach the battlefields. When tragedy strikes, who will perish and who will live on?

Disclaimer: Ok, I do NOT own anything in this story except for the plot and some of the words I made up to use for spells, lol.

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Chapter 1- I'll Miss You

Mum and Dad,

I'm so sorry to leave you like this, but I can't sit here while everyone I know is either dead or still fighting. I'm off to join the war, because I know what it's like to have Voldemort (stop gasping, mum!) in your head. He will never win. I know I'm only 19, but I can handle myself. I love you, and I'll be home soon. I'll miss everyone, and goodbye.

Your Daughter,
Ginny

She reread the note and nodded grimly in satisfaction. Placing it gently on the table, Ginny looked around the kitchen fondly before walking out of the house, possibly forever.

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Calculating gray eyes peered out from behind a thick tree trunk, searching for any signs of movement. Seeing none, Draco Malfoy emerged into the light of

his wand and looked behind him. There lay Malfoy Manor, the place he hated the most. Its gleaming windows seemed to watch him from afar, urging him to run away from it. He didn't need to be asked twice; besides, he had more important things to attend to.

Draco sped down the path that led to the front gates. He extinguished the light at the tip of his wand and muttered "Sureptius". The gates swung open without a sound and he creeped out just as silently. He hoisted his bag over his shoulder and started walking without looking back. He was going to fight for the good side; He knew there would be a time to face his father, but did he care? No.

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The small red headed figure stood out in the middle of the road, lugging her baggage along. Stopping abruptly, Ginny dropped her bags and slapped her forehead, scolding herself for not thinking clearly. Digging in her pocket for her wand, she suddenly spied a pair of eyes staring at her through some bushes on the other side of the road. She stood stock still, trying to remain calm and not alarm whoever or whatever it was that was watching her. After a few moments of this, a rustling from the brush was heard and a small kitten came cautiously out of the branches. Her fur was white with gray spots, but the spots were tiger striped. Ginny sighed in intense relief and then fished into her other pocket, taking out a piece of bread and some cheese she packed for the road.

"Come here, little poppet, hungry?" Ginny cooed, and the kitten came

running at the sight of food. Sniffing it warily, the cat finally took the cheese into it's mouth and ate it quickly, the same with the bread. Ginny grinned and then returned to looking for her wand. When she found it, she held it out with her right hand and a loud bang was heard. The kitten cowered behind her legs as it looked up at the gigantic purple bus in front of them. Ginny picked the cat up and held her tightly as the door swung open, revealing a bucktoothed teenager with bad acne.

"'Ello there, welcome to the Knight Bus! May we help you with your bags?" the boy inquired, but stepped off and grabbed her bags before she could even reply. Shrugging, Ginny was about to let the kitten down and set her on her way, but the cat clung to her and didn't want to leave. Smiling to herself, she climbed the steps and lay down on one of the beds that littered the floor. The driver swiftly cranked on the gas and they raced down the road. The beds banged around

constantly, but Ginny didn't mind too much, she had worse things to worry about. She was off to join the war against the Dark Lord, Voldemort. Many of her friends had perished trying to fight the masses of Death Eaters that were slowly taking over in Northern England. The one person she regretted losing most was the

famous Harry Potter. She had heard about the prophecy, concerning him and Lord Voldemort. Either Harry had to die, or Voldemort, and Harry got killed in the first battle. While Ginny was pondering this, the pimpled boy came up to her and

offered her a cup of hot chocolate.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have the money to pay for it..." she replied somewhat bitterly. The boy sat on the edge of her bed and smiled.

"Well, tell you what, you can 'ave yours for free. I think you're pretty." He said quietly and blushed as red as his hair. She turned scarlet as well and accepted the cocoa from him. She sipped on it gingerly, the chocolate too hot yet to drink. The bus continued to jerk the beds around, and Ginny distinctly heard loud thumps from the floor upstairs on the double-decker. The teenager stood up and went up the stairs to see if everyone above was ok. She sat there and stroked the little kitten mewing in her lap, contemplating what she was about to do. In a short while, the boy returned and again sat on her bed.

"Where ya goin'? And what's your name?" he asked and then gripped the sides of the bed as the bus dodged an apartment building. Ginny sighed, laid back and continued to pet the cat.

"I'm Ginny Weasley, and I'm going to Hogwarts." She said firmly, as though daring him to question her. It was common knowledge that the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was the base of operation for the war. The boy's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything about it. He got up once more and walked to the front of the bus, looking back with a sad look upon his face.

"'ey Ern, the little lady wants to go to Hogwarts." He said and turned back towards her. The man said something to the boy quietly and then the boy nodded, walking back to Ginny. She looked up at him curiously and held the kitten closer to her.

"We're gonna make a stop really quick, then we're off to 'Ogwarts. I'm Stan, Stan Shunpike, by the way. 'Ey, what's the cat's name, anyway?" he asked and grinned politely, though still obviously troubled about her going into the war. Ginny pondered for a moment, for she hadn't even thought of that yet.

"Her name is Poppet." She replied, stroking the cat's soft fur. The kitten purred at her touch and sniffed at her robes. The bus suddenly halted, throwing

the both of them violently to the floor. The doors squeaked open and in walked a blonde haired stranger hauling a lot of luggage. His cold silver eyes locked onto the red head sprawled on the floor, his smile turning into a sneer.

"Weasley."

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He was astonished to see the young girl, especially on the floor with another boy nearly on top of her. They both straightened up in a hurry and Ginny glared at him. She had every right to be, he was never kind to her. He never needed to be, he was a Malfoy. But then he just remembered that by leaving, he'd be cast out of the family. He better get used to that.

"And hello to you, Malfoy." She replied curtly. Draco shrugged her off and chose a bed on the opposite side of the bus and plopped down. He made sure that when he walked, his money jingled in his pocket. She was aware of this, he could tell by the murderous look on her face. Stan walked over and offered the cup of hot chocolate, but Draco refused, taking out his own flagon of pumpkin juice. Stan rolled his eyes.

"So where are you goin'?" he asked, leaning against the wall as the bus made a sharp left turn. Draco zipped up his luggage and looked at the girl across the way, petting a kitten in her arms.

"I'm going to Hogwarts." He said snidely, taking another sip from the pumpkin juice. Stan raised an eyebrow and then turned to talk to the driver again. A yelp sounded from Ginny, and she nearly dropped her hot chocolate. Her long russet curls swung as she glowered at Draco, but she promptly turned her head away again, visibly startled. Draco laughed to himself. So, she was going to try to join the war as well, how perfectly peachy. What a long hard adventure this was going to be... ?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?

@~A/N~@: 'ELLO EVERYONE!!! And how goes it? I'm good, this is a story that's been in the works for awhile, but I finally just sat down and worked on it some more. The plot shall thicken, my friends!!! ^.^ So please, in the meantime, review, I wanna know what you people think and if I should continue the fic. Well, love you all! @~Katrina~@