A/N: Big shoutout to cuddlebear992 for giving me loads of inspiration with this story! The prologue and the chapter are wrapped up in one because I wanted to make the chapter longer. The prologue is in first person because I don't want you guys to figure out who it is, so I mention no name... :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry potter and never will :(
Normal. Thinking. SHOUTING
The Dragon and the Lion
Prologue:
I was heading down to the kitchen when a house elf informed me that Father requested my precence in his office. As usual, his 'requesting' meant that if I didn't show up, I would be in a world of pain.
Five minutes later, I knocked the door to his entrance.
"Come in," My father's voice quite calmly said. I understood instantly by the tone of his voice that something was difficult for him.
I entered and sat in front of my father's desk waiting for him to speak.
"You know, that I am in the Dark Lord's inside circle, don't you?" He said after a moment.
I nodded suspiciously, wondering what that would have to do with me.
"And I presume you also know that I expect nothing but complete loyalty from my son to the Dark Lord?
Again I nodded, and what he was talking about made a bit more sense to me. We had discussed my initiation before, but this was the first time he brought it up in a two weeks.
"Son, two weeks ago you turned seventeen. It is time to prove your loyalty to the Dark Lord. He would like you to prove your loyalty, by completing a very important task before you can become an official member of the Dark Lord's inner circle."
"So what's my task?" I asked. I was almost positive I could complete
"Do you know Ginny Weasley?"
I thought for a moment, trying to give that name a face, "Yes I do. She's the youngest child of those blood traitors. Also the only girl in their entire family, I believe,"
Father smiled, "Oh, but you forgot something about the blood traitourous witch,"
I cocked my head to the side.
"She, was the heir of Slytherin. She opened the Chamber in her first year,"
Oh so that was what I had missed, "So what does she have to do with my initiation?"
Dear Daddy laughed cruelly, "If you remember, the silly Weasley girl got possessed by a memory of the Dark Lord. That memory resided in a diary of the Dark Lord when he was sixteen. He put a lot of magic in that diary, so that the person who got attatched to the diary would get possessed. To posses the girl, he transfered an inkling of his magic. Maybe a bit more than an inkling, but you get the basic idea. For example, the memory gave her the power to be capable of Parseltongue. When that wretched Potter boy destroyed the diary, the memory faded. But the magic that it transfered to the girl, didn't. It is now like the magic of a seven year old. Maybe she was faced with a snake over the years, and she spoke to it without realizing it. This magic also causes a bond between her and the Dark Lord. He was informed of this bond when Barty Crouch Jr. told him to locate Gilderoy Lockhart and see who the heir of Slytherin was. The Dark Lord, naturally, was surprised that the diary had been destroyed with him realizing it. Now, he is well informed about the bond between him and the girl. He has a reason to believe that Dumbledore also knows of this connection. It could be used to help Potter to destroy your Lord. Your mission is to torture and kill the Weasley girl before the end of next year. If you kill her before this year, you will be rewarded genourously. Do you have any questions regarding your mission?"
"If they already know about the connection, then wouldn't they be using it against us already?" I asked.
"Dear boy, these powers have yet to develop properly. We believe that these powers will be completely under her control by the end of her seventh year. If she has knowledge of a fully grown wizard on most of the subjects taught in your school, then she may be able to have these powers under her control by the end of this school year. Which is why it would be preferable for you to kill her by the end of this year, as this is your last year with her."
I nodded my understanding. "I will not fail you, Father,"
"You better not,"
I let myself out of his office and released a sigh. Then I made my way to my chambers. This would take a lot of planning...
CHAPTER 1. BACK AT HOGGY WARTY HOGWARTS.
"Gin, are you going to sit with us?" Ron asked Ginny on September 1st as they entered the train with Harry and Hermione.
"No, I told Luna I'd join her," Ginny said with an apologetic smile and shrug.
Ron gave a glad nod and he and Hermione made their way to find an empty compartment.
"Are you sure you don't want to join us Ginny? I mean there isn't much time left until 11:00. It would take time to find her," Harry said, looking hopeful.
"I know the compartment Luna would be in. We have an arrangement,"
"You could bring Luna to our compartment,"
"No, thanks Harry. I want to talk to Luna all the way. You know, tell her about the summer. But if you're there, I would feel guilty about talking too loudly and disturbing you," Ginny flashed him a warm smile.
Harry nodded glumly and left to find Ron and Hermione. Playing hard to get is really worth it GInny thought with a smile.
Ginny headed in the opposite direction and looked at her watch. It read 10:57. Three minutes? I have to find Luna fast!
Ginny started to run, not looking where she was going. Suddenly she collided into something hard and was sent tumbling over.
From her position on the ground, she looked up at who she crashed into.
Man... That boy is good looking! He definately gives Harry a run for his looks That amazing jawline, those pouty lips that were currently curled into a sneer, a very good looking nose, mercury depths for eyes that you could get lost in and not get out, soft platinum blonde hai- wait what? Platinum blonde hair? Silver eyes? Sneering lips?
"Watch where you're going Weaselette," The oh-so good looking Malfoy said and then walked away.
Ginny picked herself off the ground and shook her head to get out of her daze. I cannot believe I thought MALFOY was good looking! I must've been in shock from crashing into him. Because Malfoy is nothing but a vile, evil little cockroach.
She made her way towards the last compartment, where she was sure Luna would be in. And sure enough, there Luna was, reading the latest edition of the Quibbler upside down.
Ginny sat down beside her (and not a moment too soon, because as soon as she sat, the train gave a mighty lurch and was on it's way) and said, "Hey Luna. How was your summer? Did you go looking for... wacky spruts again?"
"Hey Gin. My summer was great," Luna started in her dreamy voice, "Daddy and I didn't look for Wacky Spruts! They're in Brazil. Daddy and I went searching for Wrack Spurts. I nearly got one, but the tricky thing got away. You didn't encounter any Wrack Spurts did you? They are attracted to red hair,"
Ginny gave a big smile and hugged her so suddenly that Luna was pushed onto the sofa completely by the force of her attack. "No Luna, I was perfectly safe,"
"That's good. So, how's the 'hard to get' thing going with Harry?" Luna asked, putting The Quibbler away.
Ginny's eyes lit up, "Great! It's really working! I think he likes me now! He asked me to sit with him on the train..." Ginny trailed off, thinking of her sudden encouter with Malfoy. It showed her what she had missed by fawning over Harry and how much the other boys in Hogwarts had grown,"
"But..." Luna said, following her friend's train of thought.
"I bumped into Malfoy on the way here, and he actually isn't that bad looking. Makes me wonder how many of the boys' tranformations I missed. Also makes my crush for Harry almost vanish. I know, I dated a few boys, but that was to make Harry jealous,"
"Finally!" Luna exclaimed.
"What?"
"Your litte crush on Harry was getting a bit annoying, and it was obvious to everyone that he would take a LOT of time for him to like you back. So if you finally started to notice other boys, it means your annoying crush on Harry is coming to an end!"
Ginny's pout turned into an evil smile as she held up her hands and said, " Tickle time," she waggled her fingers.
Luna gave a small shreik and tried to get as far as she could from Ginny, but Ginny cornered her and a tickle fest broke out.
Some people wonder if the compartments in the train are sound proof. That is proven wrong because Luna and Ginny's peals of laughter could be heard all the way in conductor's cabin.
-xXx-
Ginny and Luna entered the Great Hall with smiles on their faces.
"Bye Ginny! Don't eat the Eye Weedlers. They make their homes in potatoes and wait for a human to eat them so that they can infect the human's body and devour it inside out. Not a pretty sight," Luna said cheerily while waving.
Ginny held back a giggle, "Bye Luna," Sometimes she wondered if Luna made up the strange creatures just to get laughs.
She headed towards the Gryffindor table and sat down beside Hermione.
"Hey Hermy Wormy!"
"First, DO NOT call me that, second, why are you in such a good mood?" Hermione said with a slightly annoyed yet amused smile.
"Luna and I had a tickle fight. I didn't realize how much I missed her. And her craziness,"
"Yes, I heard your laughs," Hermione said disdainfully.
The door opened and Professor McGonnagall came in followed by a colony of tiny nervous first years. Professor McGonnagall walked to where the sorting hat and a stool was and picked a parchment.
"Abercombie, Evan" She called out loudly.
A small boy with curly light brown hair walked up to the stool nervously. He sat as if he was unsure of what to do and Professor McGonnagall put the sorting hat on his head.
"Ravenclaw!" It shouted out after a moment. Relief litterally flooded the boy's young face.
After the sorting (Ginny clapped loudly at each of the 14 students that entered Gryffindor), Professor Dumbledore gave a small speech and clapped his hands twice. Instantly the four tables were filled wonderful foods and the room was washed in delicious aromas.
Ginny was just about to purposely shovel down her mashed potatoes when Professor McGonnagal made her way towards Ginny and said lightly, "Miss. Weasley, please meet me in the staff room after you are finished your dinner. Bring Miss Lovegood,"
Ginny automatically nodded, not even comprehending the teacher's words.
Once Professor McGonnagall had left it dawned on Ginny was she had said, and instantly a pool of worry was formed in the pit of her stomach.
She finished her dinner quickly and dashed to the Ravenclaw table. She Luna's free hand, the other inspecting a carrot, and pulled Luna outside the Great Hall.
"What is it Ginny? I was making sure that carrot wasn't infected," Luna said dreamily.
"Luna, Professor McGonnagall wanted to see us both after dinner. I think it's abou the tickle fight," Ginny said quickly.
Luna's expression quickly turned to a worried one and both the girls hurried to the staffroom.
Ginny knocked and the Professor's voice told them to enter.
"Professor, are we in trouble? If it's about the tickle fight-" Ginny started.
"No, Miss. Weasley, it's not about your incredibly loud laughs. I am going to offer you both a huge oppurtunity. Of course, you are welcome to decline if you wish."
"Miss. Lovegood, Miss Weasley, in some subjects, your grades are above the mark. It would be a waste to ignore your talents. So I am offering you both a chance to attend two seventh year classes. Naturally, you both will have tutors so that you can keep up. Fall back and you will be moved back into sixth year. Miss. Weasley your subjects are Charms and Potions. Miss. Lovegood, your subjects are Charms and Transfiguration. Any questions?"
"But why us? Why not Hermione?" A dumbstruck Ginny asked.
"Miss. Granger was offered a bump up in her fourth, fifth and sixth year. But she declined all the time. Says that she doesn't want to show off. Such a waste..."
"Who are our tutors?" Luna asked
"Well, your tutors are the best in their year and from a different house. A different house because of Inter House Unity and so that it's not all fun and games. For Transfiguration, Miss. Lovegood, Miss Granger will be your tutor. For Charms, both of you will be tutored by Blaise Zabini and for potions, Miss Weasley, you will be tutored by Draco Malfoy,"
Ginny's jaw hit the floor. Zabini, she could stand, Malfoy, NO WAY.
"But Professor! Draco Malfoy! He can't tutor me! One of us will be dead by the end of the year!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Miss Weasley. I will not tolerate that tone. Mr. Malfoy has acheived the best scores in Potions for the last two years. This is a big oppurtunity. If you do this, next year you will be taught special subjects, which could be exceedingly useful. You have your choice,"
Ginny turned to Luna, "Luna?"
"I want to do it Ginny. You're not going to let some family rivalry get in the way of your entire future are you? Think about it. If we do this, a dozen options are available."
Ginny sighed. Luna was right. "I'll do it Professor."
"That's good. Now, come to me tomorrow morning for your timetables. Off to bed both of you!"
Once in her dorm, Ginny sighed again. Was this really worth it?
A/N: I hope you liked it! :) Feed my metephorical starving five year I adopted! He eats reviews. If you want to know his name, REVIEW!
Title may change in the future. My pen name won't