Title: Voyage of the Pages

Rated: PG-13

Draco walked down the dark corridor of his nearly empty manor. Ever since that Potter boy come back into the magical world things have been difficult for his family. Though, of course, he never spoke of those things out loud. After what happened at the end of his fifth year of Hogwarts Draco was nearly homeless. His father was in Azakaban, and all of the money that the Malfoy family once had was nearly gone. There was only one thing that was keeping him going, and that was finishing the job his father never got to end. The job that included handing Harry Potter over to the dark lord.

Draco walked into the room at the end of the corridor and closed the door tightly behind him. Draco looked over the room silently; on the floor was a soft hearth rug, which lay near the fire place. Facing the fire place was one of his fathers large arm chares. Draco saw a hand tapping impatiently on the arm of the chair.

"Your Late." said the cold and intolerant voice. Draco pushed a few stray pieces of blond hair out of his face.

"Well, the book you asked me to get wasn't exactly easy to find." Draco said, trying to bite back a small bit a fear that was hidden in his voice.

"Lateness is never tolerated from me, you of all people should know this Draco, but this time I will let it slide. Where is the book? Produce it for me!" Yelled the cold and harsh voice again.

Draco smirked and pulled a book from behind him. You could tell that the book had been centuries old, the leather cover was fading, and chunks from the corners had been taken out. The only way you could distinguish what the book was, was the faded gold lettering on the cover. Draco handed it to the dark lord. The Dark lord smirked, flashing his yellow, decaying teeth at Draco. "Great." He said "I trust you know what to do now then?" He asked skeptically. Draco nodded and grabbed the book back from Voldemort. "I know exactly what to do." At that Draco turned to leave.

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"Come on Ron! You're not running fast enough! You'll never catch me at this rate!" Yelled Hermione, Her curls bouncing in the breeze behind her. In her hand was Ron's broom.

"Hermione! Give it back, no fair!" Yelled Ron, advancing on Hermione. His ginger hair was started to grow out long, nearly hiding his eyes. He leapt up, and attempted to grab the broom out of Hermione's tight grip, but instead just caused him and Hermione to tumble on the ground.

Ron fell on top of Hermione as she fell flat on her back. "Ooof, Ron, get off of me!" Sobbed Hermione in-between giggles. "You're crushing my body!" Ron looked down at her simple face, and grinned. Her cheeks were rosy from running in the chilly, end of summer air, and her chest was heaving up and down from becoming out of breath. Her curly, untamed hair was lying all over the grass under her. To Ron, she was a picture of beauty, No women could obtain her natural looks. No matter how much she objected, Ron believed she was one of the most beautiful girls in Hogwarts.

"Ron? Hello? RON!" Screamed Hermione and shoved her hands into his chest to push him off. "Oy! Hermione! That hurt!" Yelled Ron, rubbing the area where she pushed him. "Well, you deserved it; you looked dumbstruck for a moment. What has gotten into you?" Asked Hermione pointedly. Ron looked back at her gruffly, and became ashamed of himself. "Sorry, it was nothing..." He mumbled as he grabbed his broom stick and started to walk back to the borrow. "Wait, come back Ron!" Yelled Hermione, Confused. But Ron was already back to the borrow. She shrugged her shoulders in disappointment and followed after him.

Harry lay on his cot in the Weasly house, contemplating his actions for the year. He honestly considered not going to school anymore, but that would mean having to stay with the Dursly's all year long, and although they had merely pretended that he no longer existed, he couldn't stand one more day of yelling at the top of his lungs at his uncle and not even getting a response. The Weasly's had invited him to come a lot sooner then they normally would have. He was thankful for this, but all he really wanted to do is be by himself. Not even the twins could make him laugh anymore. The prospect of him either becoming a killer, or being killed himself was weighing heavily on his soul. He didn't know how much longer he could take it. Part of him wanted to scream, another wanted him to just end it now. Harry turned his body around and shoved his face in his pillow. "Why me? What is so important about me? I'm not any stronger then a normal wizard my age? Then why me?" He muffled into his pillow.

"Well, I expect it has something to do with the fact that you both share the same wand core, or you both come from similar backgrounds, don't you think?" Said a familiar female voice. "I mean Harry; if you don't stop sulking about you'll ruin the rest of your summer, including mine." Said Ginny in a harsh, motherly tone. "Why do you keep insisting on me getting out of the house?" asked Harry turning his body around and looking into her intense green eyes. Her curly, wild, sunset red hair framed her ivory face, and a few red freckles were scattered around her nose. She didn't have a lot like Ron did, just enough to add character. Her mouth was tender, and full.

Harry knew it was wrong, but every time he saw Ginny he longed to touch her. Not in the brotherly way that he normally did, but more intimately. He wanted to dig his hands into her silky red hair. Right now the sunlight hit it perfectly, making it look like there were bits of purple in the vivid red. He wanted to kiss every freckle on her face. Touch her creamy skin. But he always kept these feelings silent. He didn't want to hurt Ginny. He was still afraid of hurting himself. Ginny's voice pulled him out of his revere.

"Well Harry, I was hoping that we could hang out this summer. You guys don't have much longer left at Hogwarts, and I don't know… I just wanted to spend some time with you…" Said Ginny, blushing. Harry looked up at her and smiled. One of the first smiles he had in a while. There was something vulnerable about her that reminded him of himself when he was chasing after Cho.

"Okay then. What do you want to do?" Asked Harry, cocking his head to the left and looking into Ginny's eyes. "Well… Ron was going to play Quidditch in the field, and I was hoping that you would teach me some new seeker techniques. I'm really interested in learning something new." Said Ginny turning, if possible, even redder.

"Sure, let me go grab my Firebolt and I'll be right out." Harry said, standing up and towering over Ginny. Harry never really noticed how pretty she was. The shape of her almond eyes, the fullness, and curve of her lips. She was truly something to look at. Harry shook the though of any kind of relationship with Ginny out of his head and headed to his chest to retrieve his broom. "Okay, let's go then." Said Harry, forcing a small smile on his face and following after Ginny.

The night before heading back to Hogwarts, Ginny rolled around in her bed. Ever since what happened at the end of last year, she kept having horrible nightmares. Nightmares that controlled her as she slept. Tonight wasn't any different. She couldn't shake the nightmares that were controlling her as she slept. First she dreamt about what happened last year in the Ministry of Magic, running from all of the death eaters, watching Harry fight for his life. Then seeing the spear shatter, showing a ghostly, somewhat familiar person come out of it. That dream changed to Voldemort killing Harry right in front of her. Then that changed to her family dying.

She sat up on her bed, in a cold sweat, and looked around her dark room. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness somewhat fast, allowing her to see the objects in her room. Hermione was asleep on the cot on the floor, and everything in her room was in its place. She still felt too un-nerved to go back to sleep, so she decided to go downstairs and get a glass of water. She stood up and started to tip-toe her way out of her room so she wouldn't wake up Hermione.

She headed down into the kitchen. She wasn't aware of the small candle that was lit, or the person sitting at the table drinking a small glass of pumpkin juice. She grabbed a cup from the cupboard and filled it with the well water from the faucet. It wasn't until after she took a sip that she realized that there was someone else in the kitchen. She let out a small scream and dropped the glass to the floor. The glass shattered into many small pieces and water went everywhere, and soaked the bottom of her night gown.

Harry lunged and put his hand over Ginny's mouth. "Shhh, you'll wake everyone up." He whispered into her ear. Ginny let out a slow sigh once she realized that the stranger was only Harry. Her fine eyebrows knitted themselves into one fine line as she looked at Harry. "What are you doing up at this time?" Asked Ginny sternly. Harry grinned at her. "I could ask you the same thing." He said wryly. "Well I… I…" Ginny hung her head. "I had a nightmare. I have them every night." Said Ginny, her face turning a violent shade of red.

Harry walked over to her. He had the urgent need to comfort her. Though, the thought of that changed quickly when he felt a sharp pain on the bottom of his foot. He looked down to realize that he had stepped a piece of the shattered glass from Ginny's fallen cup. Ginny looked down and saw the crimson of blood mixed with the puddle of water that was on the floor. She stepped over the pieces of glass and helped Harry to the chair. "Ginny, don't worry about it, it doesn't hurt. I can take care of it." Said Harry as he reached down to move her hand. Ginny swiped away his hand and grabbed a dishcloth from on top of the counter and looked into Harry's green eyes.

"No, I'll take care of it. Hold on a second, this is going to hurt." Said Ginny as she pulled the glass that was stuck in his foot out. Harry's face pulled together in agony. "Well, thanks for being gentle." He said sardonically. Ginny's gaze met his as she looked at him sternly. "You never told me why you were down here." She said as she started dressing the puncture on his foot. She stood up and grabbed a potion from the cupboard. "I will if you tell me what that is first." Said Harry as he eyed the bottle suspiciously. Ginny grinned and she held up the bottle "Mum has liberal amounts of this stuff. It's to help heal minor cuts or scrapes. She's needed this ever since the twins were born. We go though at least 4 bottles every few months. Harry let out a low laugh and Ginny lowered herself back down to the floor to put it on his foot.

"Okay, now this is going to sting for a moment." Ginny said as she spread the potion over the small puncture on his foot. She was right. It stung, badly, but then his skin fused itself back together and there was no longer any sign of the small hole that the glass had put there. Harry raised his eyebrows in wonder as he stood on his foot experimentally. No pain. He grinned and he looked back at Ginny. "You know, you should consider becoming a healer." Ginny smiled and took this as a sign of thanks. Then she went back to address the matter at hand.

"Harry, is there something wrong, why were you down here?" She asked once again. Harry let out a sigh of aggravation and looked back at her. "I don't like to sleep. I'm afraid of seeing something that I shouldn't. I don't want to cause anyone any more trouble. Like last time…" Harry's throat felt tight. Thoughts of Sirius filled his mind once again.

He would be dammed if he let Ginny see him cry. He looked away fast. He soon became aware of the small person who had wrapped her arms around his body. Awkwardly he put his arms around her back. He lowered his head to the top of her hair. He breathed in. Her fragrance was enough to drive him mad. It was a mixture of vanilla and roses. Before he could breathe the sent in again she moved her head back and looked up into his eyes. She put her hand on the side of his face and moved her face closer to his. Suddenly he lost every negative thought he had. She fitted her lips over his; this kiss was soft, slow, and utterly consuming. Harry wrapped his arms around her lower back as Ginny lifted her other hand to his face. Harry thought it was a halfhearted gesture to push him away, so he angled his head and kissed her harder. If Ginny had any thought of resisting him, the thought soon disappeared. His tongue ventured inside her mouth, teasing, stroking. Ginny thought wildly of how he tasted of pumpkin juice and some masculine essence that lured her own tongue to respond timidly. The feathery touch seemed to excite him. Breathing deeply, he twisted his mouth over hers in long, searching kisses, each one more tender and intimate then the last.

Suddenly there was a noise from the other side of the kitchen. Both of them pulled apart fast. Ginny licked her swollen, moist lips and looked over at the amused sight of her older brother George. His eyebrow was raised and he looked from Harry, to Ginny, and back over to Harry. Noticing his sister's face turning into a violet shade of red that went all of the way to her hairline he smirked and turned around, only leaving them with one comment.

"I saw nothing."

The next morning went in a blur. Everyone was rushing to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything. The twins hugged everyone and headed to their shop. Harry was sure that George winked at him before he dissaperiated. Everyone piled their stuff into two taxies and headed off to London. Harry sat in the first taxi with Mr. Weasley, and Ron. Mr. Weasley kept making comments about how the weather was supposed to worsen, or how this was sure to be an interesting year. Harry smirked and mumbled to himself. "Yeah… very interesting." Ron raised his eyebrow in question, and thought it better to not even ask.

They had reached Kings Cross and everyone started toward platforms 9 and 10. When Mrs. Weasley was sure that no muggle was looking, she would hiss for someone to run into the barrier. Once everyone was safely on platform 9 and ¾ Harry noticed a rush of everyone trying to get onto the Hogwarts express. He saw students hugging their parent's goodbye, and the rush of people trying to make sure they remembered everything for school. Harry received a hug from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and walked onto the train with Ron, Hermione and Ginny. They all leaned out of the window and waved goodbye as the train started to speed away.

The four of them dragged their trunks until they found an empty compartment on the last carriage. They piled their stuff on the luggage racks and sat down in the seats. Hermione sat with Crookshanks on her lap and petted the cat idly. Soon after everyone became settled Neville and Luna joined them in their compartment. Ron looked up and noticed that Neville was slightly agitated. When they heard Luna's voice they soon discovered why.

Ron rolled his eyes as he heard her dreamy voice enter the compartment. "Father and I had an excellent holiday. We finally got to see a REAL Umgubular Slashkilter!" Luna said took a step in the compartment and shut the door. She stored her trunk next to Neville's on luggage rack, and sat in the only available seat.

Neville was a very clumsy wizard in Harry, Ron and Hermione's year. He wasn't good at anything, except Herbology. But last year he became very good at Defense against the dark arts due to being in the D.A (Short for Dumbledore's Army). He also helped Harry at the end of last year when they all went to the Department of Mysteries and found out that it was really a trap for Harry. Luna, on the other hand, was a Ravenclaw in Ginny's year. She had long curly blond hair, and wide eyes. She was also in the D.A, and with them in the Department of Mysteries. Everyone called her 'Loony' Lovegood because of her far out beliefs in strange things, due to her father being the writer of a magazine called "The Quibbler" Everyone knew that the magazine was full of rubbish, but because of that magazine, it helped everyone believe in Harry's innocence last year when everyone thought him to be a liar.

Neville grinned and pulled a wand out of his robes "Look at my new wand! Redwood, ten inches, with a unicorn hair in the core. Gran was real pleased that I fought so hard. Or even was able to do a spell that could help me for that matter… anyway, she said this new wand was a gift! I thought I would be in trouble but she was more happy then angry! She even hugged me!" Said Neville, full of enthusiasm.

"Too bad she couldn't buy you one that does spells for you. A wand is useless when the wizard who uses it can't actually do the spells." Said a cold voice from the doorway.

"Oh bug off Malfoy." Growled Ron, with his hand clenched to his wand. Hermione rolled her eyes and placed her hand on the hand that Ron held his wand in. "Ron, don't give him the satisfaction," Said Hermione giving Draco a sideways glance "he isn't worth it."

"Yeah, listen to you girlfriend Weasel, don't want to get yourself into another situation that you can't get yourself out of, now do you." Said Draco, with his eyes gleaming.

Ron pushed off Hermione's hand and started to blush a deep red. "She's not my girlfriend! And I don't know what your planning Malfoy, but whatever it is, we can handle it!" Yelled Ron as he got up to close the door in Draco's face. Draco put his hand up and stopped Ron short.

"Sure you can Weasel," said Malfoy sardonically "I'll see myself out thanks, The mud blood is starting to smell." Said Malfoy as he looked at Hermione and then he turned around and left.

"Ron! Don't let him get to you! He's doing it on purpose. Your mother said…" Said Hermione before Ron interrupted her. "I don't care what my mother said! I won't have him intrude on us this year. Not after…" Ron looked over at Harry and then decided it was best not to finish his sentence.

His thoughts were interrupted as Luna's voice came out in awe.

"Oh, look! I found a book on the floor! It looks quite old." Luna held up a book that had an old leather cover, and faded cold lettering on the cover. "I wonder what it's about…"

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End of chapter 1, sorry to leave you guys hanging, I guess you'll have to wait until I finish chapter 2 to find out what happens