Chapter 25

Spark

Ginny went into the bedroom and closed the door gently behind her. The bedroom was even more luxurious than the main room. The crackling of the fire was a comforting sound to her. She sat down on the edge of the bed and studied the photograph in her hand that she took from the mantle. It was a picture of her holding Ian and Draco was sitting on the bed with her kissing her on the cheek. The room didn't look like the infirmary at Hogwarts; it looked more like a bed room. The tears burned her eyes as she stared at the moving photograph. Wiping the tears from her eyes and cheeks, Ginny then placed the photo on the bedside table.

The clock on the night stand read eleven thirty. She new this was going to be a very long night indeed. The seconds were passing like minutes and the minutes like hours. How could she possibly sleep with so much going on in and out of her head? She placed her head in her hands and stared at the floor.

She couldn't just sit there and there was a good chance she wasn't gong to sleep. Ginny stood and began to pace around the room looking for anything that might trigger her memories, bring them to the front of her mind, something- anything that would let her glimpse into her past.

There were pictures and paintings on the walls some still and some were waving. She inspected each closely, for some spark of recognition. As she walked around the room her thoughts were straying to her son. She felt the hour would not be soon enough to hold him in her arms, this time not as his godmother or a caretaker, but his mother. How would he take this entire drama; how do explain to a four year old child that the woman he thinks is his godmother is actually his mother? She would worry about that later, all she wanted at the moment was to get him and take him as far away from the sick twisted mind that had him. If one hair on his head was out of place Lucius Malfoy may as well dig his grave, maybe he should do that anyway. What kind of man takes a child to punish his son? A truly sick and cruel one.

Ginny's thoughts were dancing back and forth in her mind. She looked at the pictures that were scattered about the room. There were some of Ian and Draco, Ian and Sandra, Ian and Narcissa. It made her heart ache to see the ones of her and Ian that should be there, missing from the collection. He did look a lot like Draco, but he had a softer look to him, warmth came from his eyes. Unlike Draco's that had formed coldness due to all the years of enduring his father. Although there was something that changed in his eyes when he was playing with or holding Ian in the photographs, they were happy and full of life. It was the same look he had in his eyes the days she had observed them playing together in the park or at the manor.

She turned to the clock to see only ten minutes had passed, making it ten minutes to midnight. A shower would help her relax she thought. She opened the top drawer to find something to put on, she found a pair of pajamas, they were flannel, red and gold plaid bottoms and the shirt was cotton long sleeve red trimmed in gold, they were ladies pajamas. She looked at them closely and found a monogram at the bottom of each sleeve; one side sported a large G with a lion; the other side had her initials on them. Why would a pair of her pajamas be here, she had never been here to her knowledge, or had she? There was so much that she could not recall now that she really thought about it.

What could have been so bad that they both would have decided it best that she be the one with all her memories of her son removed? She wasn't the one with the psychopath father. Sure Ron had his fits of rage and would probably continue to have them from time to time. Though she could have imagined him five years ago taking this news, probably much worse than he was now. She continued to rummage around in this drawer it seemed to all be clothes that belonged to her, she found undergarments, casual clothes, jeans, t-shirts, and the drawer defiantly held more than it looked like it would.

She went into the bathroom and took what felt like and hour shower, only to find after she finished and dressed only thirty minutes had passed. Now twelve thirty, she still had too much on her mind to sleep. She looked around the bathroom as she combed her hair and thought about it being as big as her bedroom back at The Burrow.

The Burrow; her parents and the rest of her family she thought as she brushed her teeth. How were her mom and dad going to take this, she was sure Ron had already told them, but what if they already knew. She bet one of them knew, though Dumbledore said they did not, but he doesn't know everything.

Dumbledore; how could he have overlooked all this when he was telling her about the prophecy? Did he not think that her having a child with Draco would count for anything, if she ever found out? Surely he knew that it couldn't stay hidden away forever. What made him think that Harry would even want to be the man in the prophecy?

Harry; what did she feel about Harry, now? There were so many things on that subject that she did not know if she wanted to know; ever. Why did he leave her behind as McGonagall put it? Why did she turn to Draco, if she did indeed turn to him, maybe it was him that turned to her? She was sure that the answers she would get on her relationship with Draco might clear a lot of things up. Would it matter though, she would still feel the same about her son if her were Harry's. But the fact was that he was not; did she want him to be?

She sat back down on the bed picking up the picture for her, Draco and Ian. She looked as happy as he did, it would have seemed they had a good relationship. But what kind of relationship was it, were they an escape for each other for something else? Did they truly love each other?

She huffed loudly looked at the clock to see it was only twelve forty-five. She looked back to the pictures on the night stand; there was a picture of Sandra and Ian. He looked to be about two years old; they were on a beach making a sand castle. Then she thought if I am Ian's mother then who really was Sandra? She had always suspected that Sandra was Ian's mother even though Draco insisted she wasn't. She looked again at another picture that was on the night stand of Ian and Narcissa. She looked so happy holding him in her arms. She had a haunting exquisiteness to her; she was almost too beautiful.

Narcissa; why did she put on such a farce of killing her self? Lucius was sure the answer to that. Could the man in her dream on the train and the Room of requirement be Lucius? And the woman in her vision was that Luna holding Ian or was it the woman they met at the Reptile House.

Luna; another strange one, she would really need to look Luna in the eye when she talked to her. Other than Harry she really could not see what interest she had in her or Ian. Or what reason she would have sorting with the likes of Lucius. It just didn't make sense. What would setting the house on fire accomplish, and why didn't they just kill Draco, why leave him alive unless Lucius is cooking up one hell of a scheme. Which he probably was, but why?

She flung her self back on the bed and closed her eyes; she could smell him on the sheets; the crisp smell of freshly fallen snow in the woods. It was embedded in the fabric; she had definitely smelled it before. She couldn't help but think this was a place that he stayed often. She tried to remember the last weeks, days and recent events and things that were out of place to her. But at least now all the déjà vu she had been having made more sense now, or it made some sense.

How did Glenn a desk clerk in a muggle hotel know so much about Draco? And who was Nicholas Black? Ginny sat up looked at the clock once more it was now one o'clock. She still had a while until she could hold her son. She walked to the doors and put her ear up to it. She could hear the music still playing, but she could hear Draco's heart beating he had not gone to the bedroom. He was still lying on the couch; awake.

Gently, Ginny opened the door and walked to the sofa where he was lying. The music continued softly from the radio as she spoke.

"Who is Nicholas Black?" she asked him softly.

"He is my brother, he died when he was born," he answered her with out falter.

"Who is Glenn, downstairs?" she said once again no change in her voice putting both hands palm down leaning into the couch arm.

Again with no vacillating in his voice, "He is a member from the original Order. Dumbledore asked him to keep an eye on things when we stay here."

"Who exactly is Sandra and what is she to you?" she said looking him directly in the eyes her voice still filled with need of knowing.

She saw a light smile cross his lips, he sat up to look at her closer.

"She is my older sister." He looked her directly in the eyes.

There was so much he wanted to tell her, but he could not, as he told Potter, take a chance in upsetting her. He wanted their son back as much as she did. But he already told Dumbledore and his mother that he would tell her whatever she asked.

He could tell by her silence this was not what she was expecting to hear. He just watched her closely for her reactions. He knew no rest would be gotten that evening, and he would much rather answer her and think about Ian than all the other things that were going through his head before she entered the room.

"I see," she said, her voice dry. She then turned and walked back in the direction of the bedroom. He watched her silently wishing she wouldn't leave him. She was about to open the door to return to her domain when she stopped and turned back around.

"Ginny?" Draco got up from the sofa and walked closer to her. The look on her face told him that there was another questing pressing her desperately for an answer. "What is it?"

She shook her head and turned back to the door opening it.

"Nothing, it can wait," her voice was lonely.

"You can ask me anything you want to," Draco said now standing in the bedroom door. "I promise I will answer you to best of my knowledge."

She was now sitting on the settee at the foot of the four poster bed, looking at his reflection in the large mirror on the dressing table. He could see the anticipation of a question that was on the tip of her tongue. She sucked in her bottom lip and looked down at her feet.

"There is one thing," she stood and turned to face him.

"What?" he breathed deeply.

"Why me?"

"What do you mean why me?" Draco asked, feeling pretty sure of the question that would follow.

"Out of all the girls at Hogwarts, all the connections your family had, why me?" She was now fidgeting with her finger nails staring at the floor again. "Did we even love each other, or were we some badly brewed potion that eventually blew up." Tears were now streaming down her face. She sniffed and wiped her tears with the back of her hand and looked back up at him. "Did we love each other?" her voice was thick with emotion.

After talking with Narcissa, Harry, Ron and Hermione decided they should go to the Manor to see if there was anything that survived the fire that might hold a clue as to what was going on; what Lucius was up to. Harry had a lot he was thinking about. As he looked at Ron and Hermione he could tell they had a lot on their minds as well. Once they got to Hogsmeade station them apperated to the Malfoy Manor. Harry told them to try to re- appear somewhere behind the house out in the grounds if he remembered correctly there was a lake about a half a mile from the house.

"Okay let's grab hands so we can try to end up in the same place," Harry said as he took one of Hermione's hands and Ron took the other.

CRACK! CRACK! SPLASH!

"Oh man why does it have to be me?" Ron said as he walked up to the lakes edge. "Already me and this place aren't getting along." He huffed as he mumbled a drying charm to dry out his clothes and shoes.

Harry looked at his watch.

"Its one fifteen, so we have several hours before first light." He looked at Ron and Hermione. "Okay let's get on our invisibility cloak."

They took out their cloaks and put them on. They did not need their wands for light, the clouds had cleared and an almost full moon shone brightly in the sky. Harry looked at the moon and his mind immediately thought of Remus. Harry led the way and the other two followed his path of trampled snow. He didn't know what they were expecting to find here or if they would find anything at all. There so much that was still unclear, and with Narcissa showing up, that made it even more confusing. She seemed to think that the relationship Draco and Ginny had was a serious loving one. That was one he was still not sure about. He still had doubt in his mind about Malfoy, but he guessed he always would. Maybe it was true what Ginny had said to him earlier in the room of requirement, she might have still chosen Malfoy even if he had told her his feelings about her. Feelings for Ginny, or were they feelings for Luna or both? Tonks was right he had dug him self in a hole he couldn't get out of, not by himself anyway.

They continued to walk through the snow Harry could not see the Manor or its remains yet. Harry did love Ginny and he loved Luna and he had loved them both for a very long time. He was going to have to make a decision. He felt like Ginny hit the nail on the head when she told him that she felt like he, they both were doing something that was expected of them, not because they wanted too. He was beginning to give himself a headache, thinking so much. He still had that nagging question why did she turn to Malfoy. He knew it was partially because he had basically disappeared from her life. Was it because she was trying to get back at him, or was it more than that? No if it were to get back at him he would have known before now, maybe he did see and chose not to acknowledge the signs feeling too guilty that it were his fault. He saw the manor coming into view. He was trying to unravel where all of this went wrong. Was it even wrong, he would think more on it later?

They got closer to what was left of the Manor; it was still smoking a bit. He turned to Ron and Hermione.

"Careful we might be being watched," he spoke from underneath the cloak. "Anything that might have a clue, what that is I have not idea."

As they pilfered through the soot and the ash, Hermione sneezed a few times. She found a few loose photographs, some parched parchment, and a few more items. Ron also found some photographs, a few pieces of odd jewelry and a soot laden cloak, with singe marks on it. There was no upstairs any more, only the four walls and a few partition walls were left standing. Harry was rummaging around what used to be the room beneath the main bedroom. He moved some smoldering boards and burnt his finger on one. Underneath the smoking board was a curio box. It looked to be made of mahogany wood. It had roses carved in it. It had been untouched by the flames, though still very warm to the touch, the box was easily sixteen or 18 inches long by about ten or twelve inches in width, the depth looked to be about eight inches. There was a set of Initials on it. Harry dusted the ashes from the top of the box he saw the initials GWM. Who was that he thought for a second continuing to look at the intricate carving of the roses that were all over the box? He went to where Ron was pilfering through some barely recognizable glassware.

"Ron, did Ginny have a box like this?" he carefully held it out from under his cloak.

Ron took the box and inspected it closely. "If she did I don't remember it," Ron said handing the box to Hermione.

She looked at it closely. "There is an inscription on it: Love Binds, Love is the Blood of Life." She stood there inspecting the box closer. "Hey I have seen this box before," she said in a sort of confusing manner.

"Yeah probably when you saw the picture," Ron said sarcastically to Hermione trying to keep their voices low.

"No, I saw it someplace else, not her," she said still looking at the box and trying to think hard. "No she had it when I saw it, Ginny; but I can't remember exactly where it was," Hermione said as she tried to unlock it. But the latch would not budge.

- - - - - -

Hermione continued to inspect the intricate carvings on the box; it was so beautiful and elegant. The roses were carved all the way around it; intertwined in the roses were snakes, she just could not get over the detail. On the top was a single rose with a broken leaf and a snake that wrapped around the length of the thorn stem. The snake's eyes were small diamonds that caught what little light shone through the dark house; it made Hermione feel like they were watching her. In the left hand bottom corner were the initials G.W.M. in the silvery metal the latch was made of, very hard. She looked at the latch closely, there was no lock through it so why would it not open. She was so taken by the thoughts of where she had seen it she didn't even hear Harry and Ron speaking to her. Where had she seen this box, she knew Ginny had it in her possession when she saw it. This was about to drive her crazy. She ran her finger the length of the stem, it felt just like she were touching a real stem with thorns.

"Ouch!" she cried softly, sticking her finger into her mouth.

"What. What happened?" Harry said poking his head under Hermione's cloak, followed by Ron's head.

"The thorn stuck me," she said as she pulled her pricked finger in her mouth.

They all stared down at the box in Hermione's hand.

"It's cursed," Ron said abruptly nodding his head, so sure of his statement.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders.

Ron spoke again, "Can we go, now? I think we have found enough don't you Harry?"

Hermione could see that Harry still wanted to look around, but he reluctantly gave in to their requests to leave. He offered to hold the box, but Hermione kept in her clutches for the journey back to the lake. They walked in silence once more back to the lake. Hermione kept stealing glances at the box trying to keep her eyes on the path in front of her. She knew she had seen this box before, it just kept nagging her. She kept reliving memories of things that she and Ginny had done over the last five or six years trying to pick up on every little detail to catch a glimpse of where the box had been when she saw it. She was just about to give up on the thought when they reached the lake and she stopped suddenly.

"I remember now." As she pulled the cloak from the top of her head so that she looked like she had no body. Harry and Ron did the same and spoke at the same time.

"Remember what?" their voices combined in harmony.

"The box, when I saw it." She had a look of disapproval on her face. "She was putting something in it."

"Where were you?" Harry asked looking at her impatiently.

"She was in her room at Hogwarts?" Hermione was still trying to remember every detail about seeing Ginny and the box she held in her hands.

"Hermione lets get back to the castle and we'll talk about it more," Ron said putting his hand on top of her head.

She bit her bottom lip and nodded her head quickly in an agreeing manner. Holding the box tightly Hermione was the first to apperate back to Hogsmeade Station. She was already walking towards the school when Harry and Ron appeared at the station. Hermione was walking so quickly that Ron and Harry had to sprint to catch up to her. Hermione was still trying to remember exactly when and where she saw Ginny with the box.

The night was silent, except for the wind whistling through the trees. Holding the box still so very tightly, Hermione felt what ever was in it could tell them a lot about what was going on. She held it so tightly her hands felt a little numb. They finally made their way through the front door and down to the room of requirement.

Hermione was the first in the room it had not changed much from the last time she was in it. Sitting down on a pillow she sat the box in front of her. Taking the cloak and laying it beside her she was soon joined by Harry and Ron on the floor. Once the box was in proper lighting it was very black wood, still dusty from the ashes. Hermione needed something to dust it off with but it needed to be very gentle. A painters brush appeared beside her, it looked like a cosmetic brush to her. No one had said anything thus far; Harry and Ron were sorting through all the tings they had found in the ruins. Hermione began to gently dust the box with the brush. She quickly looked at her watch it was now two thirty in the morning. She took a deep breath and went back to gently dusting the box. Finally getting all the dust off she was able to see the detail was more than she could have imagined.

"Harry this wood is not mahogany, mahogany wood is red. This is more like ebony," she said while still looking at the box.

Harry and Ron abandoned their project to join Hermione's.

"Oh, I can see that now. Ebony is very rare and very expensive is it not?" Ron asked Hermione as he crossed his legs.

"Very," she answered him quickly as she reached down to touch the box again.

Ron grabbed her hand quickly before she made contact. "Do you think you should? I mean by what happened earlier?" He gave her a cautious look.

"I just won't rub it as hard, okay," she answered him rolling her eyes.

Taking her finger and touching the detail of the rose she was careful not to touch the thorns; she put a finger on the snake and it flickered it tongue. Quickly drawing her finger back she looked at Harry and Ron with wide eyes.

"I think we should leave it be Hermione. I mean it's obvious that Draco has it cursed," Harry said shifting his eyes between Hermione and Ron.

"It's not cursed its protected." Hermione was now rolling her eyes at Harry.

"Protected? From what?" Harry questioned.

"Not from what, from whom." Hermione was getting frustrated with their constant questioning. "I swear Harry; I thought you were an Auror." She looked at him with a very tired look.

"Really Hermione, that was a bit harsh," Ron said as he put a hand on her knee.

"Whatever, you two just don't want to face all the facts here and to be honest it is really getting on my nerves." She huffed as she got up and walked to the window.

Nobody spoke for the reminder of the night. They all eventually fell asleep looking through things that they had found, but each of them would steal a glance at each other and the box.