A/N: Back again and doing my best to stay atop the story. Funny thing is, I have about a million other things I ought to be doing. Clearly my innate urge to procrastinate is really helping out 'Disturbances.'

Again, I own the plot, some words/"spells," and Lucy, and perhaps some of the personality variations in characters not owned by me. Said characters belong to the genius that is J. K. Rowling, as does the setting.

Chapter 29

A slow, dreamy smile had spread across Luna's face upon hearing her name. "Hello, Ginevra." She paused, ceasing to run her fingers over the stones lining the corridor walls.

"Really, Luna, you can call me Ginny," Ginny said, thinking of how hearing "Ginevra" always gave her the feeling that she was about to get into trouble.

"Did you know, " Luna continued as though she hadn't heard Ginny's insertion, "that you're named for a muggle queen?"

Ginny quirked an eyebrow. "Well, yeah, I think my dad mentioned something about that. She was associated with Merlin. Only her name was…was something like Gwiniv…er…"

"Guinevere. It means 'fair one' you know. My father is looking into the possibility that Merlin might actually be an ancestor of He Who Must Not Be Named. He happened to mention that name."

"Oh. That's…really interesting, Luna." Ginny wasn't entirely sure what to make of the information. As far as she knew, Merlin was not known for having procreated. This was clearly another of Mr. Lovegood's conspiracy theories.

"Merlin saved Guinevere's life, you know. It sets a very interesting precedent."

"Mm. Listen, Luna, d'you want to get some dinner? I'm starving."

"Yes, all right." Still walking as though in a dream, Luna drifted along next to Ginny all the way to the Great Hall.

As Ginny and Luna parted ways to go to their separate tables, Draco Malfoy rammed into Ginny from the side in what was quickly becoming his modus operandi.

"Oh, excuuuuse me, Weasley," he drawled in his usual snide, unpleasant, tone. Then, in a hiss, he spoke again, "Get my message?"

Ginny, who had put a hand out to steady herself, pretended that she hadn't heard him and continued on her way to the Gryffindor table, where she plunked down next to Dean, leaving a nonplussed Malfoy standing awkwardly in the middle of the Great Hall.

"What is his problem?" Dean griped, staring angrily at the blond boy, having seen the whole exchange from his seat at the table.

"He's Malfoy," Ginny replied, "he is the problem." She helped herself to a slice of roast beef.

Dean found her response to be uproariously funny and took great pleasure in repeating it to Seamus and Neville, who were sitting nearby. Ginny took the opportunity to think.

She didn't get very far. "Ginny! Why did you run off like that? From the portrait hole, I mean." Ginny looked up to see Harry climbing onto the bench beside her. Ron hovered nearby, wearing the displeased expression on his face that he'd been wearing around his sister since he'd walked in on her and Malfoy in the classroom.

"I didn't. I just remembered that I'd told Luna I'd walk with her to dinner." Harry looked skeptical. Ron looked like a lump. "Really Harry, that's all it was."

"Who'd you run into, then?" Ron piped up, accusation palpable in his voice. Obviously Harry had told him about his conversation in the corridor with Ginny.

Ginny sighed. "Blaise Zabini. He just waylaid me and acted a total prat. It wasn't anything important." She shrugged, taking a sip from her goblet.

"Zabini?" Ron looked incredulous. "What's he up to?" He stared at Ginny.

"I thought he stuck to himself," Harry added.

Ginny shrugged again. "How should I know? I've never had anything to do with him before. He's your partner in potions." Ginny looked pointedly at her brother as though to suggest that if anyone ought to know anything about Zabini, it would be Ron.

"It isn't like I talk to the git," Ron retorted before taking a mouthful of potato.

"Well, I don't either." Ginny put down her fork. Ron mumbled something unintelligible, potato visible in his mouth, but didn't press the matter any further.

Harry, who'd been looking between the siblings with some interest, spoke-up, "So…tonight, right?"

"Right!" Ron perked-up instantly.

"Absolutely. Why don't we all go check on the potion together and then go to Hermione?" Ginny felt that sticking together as a group would most lend itself to keeping her out of any sort of trouble.

"That sounds like an excellent idea, Gin." Harry smiled. "We really ought to take a look at the book Lucy gave me, too. I really wish we had Hermione here to help us with the counter-curse, but I guess if we did, we wouldn't be needing the counter in the first place." He scrunched his mouth to the side, making a wry expression.

"Yeah." Ron deflated.

Ginny glanced between the two boys. "Cheer up, you two. We'll have Hermione back with us before the sun rises." And then, she added silently, we'll really be able to make headway on what the heck is going on this term.

"Hi!" Lucy sat down next to Ron, who promptly turned a light shade of pink as he often did when any attractive girl came particularly near to him.

"Hi, Lucy." Ginny gave the blond girl a friendly smile, but looked at her closely for any signs of… Of what? Of deception?

Harry also approached the newcomer warily. "How are you, Lucy?"

"I'm fine. Much better than I have been lately. I'm really glad I remembered…you know."

"Yeah, so are we!" Ron seemed to forget himself for a moment and gave Lucy a chummy pat on the back before hurriedly withdrawing his hand and flushing still darker.

"Have you got any idea about what you're going to do?" Harry looked closely at Lucy, but she looked sincere and benign. He couldn't be sure though.

Playing it safe, Harry responded with a vague answer. "No. We'd like to try to fix her up ourselves, but we don't know when yet, and the counter-curse looks pretty difficult."

Lucy nodded genially. "Let me know when you plan something, will you? I'd like to be there." She glanced at her watch. "Oh! I have a meeting. I've got to be going," and, after snatching up a roll and flashing a last smile, Lucy hurried from the Great Hall.

She was not, however, unobserved. Ginny happened to notice Malfoy's eyes following the girl very closely as she disappeared through the doorway before turning to his right to address something that Crabbe had said. Something stupid, judging from the look on Malfoy's pointed features.

"Did you see that?" hissed Harry.

"What?" Ron looked inquisitive.

"How Malfoy watched her leave? Yeah. I noticed," Ginny replied.

"There's something between those two and we need to find out what it is."

"Yeah, all right, but how?" Ron was sending a nasty look in the direction of the Slytherin table, clearly envisioning all of the things they could do to Malfoy to make him spill the beans.

"I suppose we'll just have to be very observant, since fraternization with the enemy is a no no." Ginny couldn't help herself. Ron whipped his head around, but Ginny was wearing an innocent expression and seemed to have nothing else to say.

"Right in one," Harry was oblivious to the tension that had just flared up between his two friends, "Where Malfoy is concerned, nothing is predictable…or believable."

888888

Draco, for his part, was closely watching the three Gryffindors with their heads together. He was positive that he knew what they were talking about, and he was equally as positive that he didn't like it. Far too much was riding on the plan for anyone to try to destroy it. Granger had tried, and look where it had gotten her. Draco snorted. Stupid Mudblood. He knew that the Memorium potion was nearly done, but that would be taken care of in due time.

"I don't think she's going to do it." A low voice to his left pulled Draco from his thoughts.

"What?" Draco hadn't the faintest idea as to what it was talking about.

"Weasley. I don't think she's going to listen to your message," Blaise Zabini repeated himself.

Draco frowned. If Weasley was any other girl he'd be nearly finished already. Damn that redhead temper of hers. "If she doesn't, I'll think of something. Or my father will."

Blaise nodded, and then, smirking, "Well, when you're done with her, do you mind if…?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, the ghost of a smirk playing about his lips.

"Blaise, do whatever you want!" Draco snapped as he stood up abruptly, blaming his sudden irritation on the fact that once again, what seemed to be a well-laid plan was in-trouble yet again.

"Draco, what—" Blaise looked surprised.

"Don't worry about it. I need to go back to the common room to write another letter." White-blond hair glinting, Draco strode from the Great Hall, already thinking about what he was going to put into his letter.

Blaise stared after his friend and shook his head, then looked over at the Gryffindor table where Ginny Weasley was laughing at something either Potter or her brother had said. Whether her family was full of blood-traitors or not, she really wasn't half-bad looking. Blaise wasn't as particular about staying in-house or even as "pure" when it came to his women as was Malfoy. But then again, Blaise didn't see them as anything much more than something with which to have fun and move on from.

888888

Ginny, Harry, and Ron were huddled around the counter-curse book in the Gryffindor common room, eagerly scanning the pages that addressed Soulus Evaporatus. There were five. It was a whole lot of information and Harry was beginning to wonder if they'd manage it okay. If only brains like Hermione's were available for hire. He had no doubt that her brain would know what to make of the five pages. Ginny, Harry noticed, was still attacking the information with vigor, but Ron lay on his stomach, staring at the book with a hopeless expression on his face.

"How are we supposed to do this?" Ron grumped. Leave it to him to be the whiny one, Ginny thought, rolling her eyes.

"We read it, Ronald. Then we read it again and work out what's going on and what's got to be done." Ginny couldn't keep the edge out of her voice as she looked up from the book to answer her brother.

"No need to get hostile and patronizing!" Ron looked highly affronted.

"Maybe if you didn't always complain about everything before it's even been attemp—"

"All right!" Both Ron and Ginny jumped at the sound of Harry's voice. "This really isn't the time to fight. We've got to concentrate on getting Hermione out of the Hospital Wing."

Ginny shot a glare at Ron, who was refusing to look at her, "You're right Harry. It was silly of us."

"Yeah, silly," Ron echoed, though he still sounded grumpy. Then he added, "We'd better clean-up after ourselves…Madam Pomfrey won't like the chalk all over the Hospital Wing floor."

A/N: Hokay! Chapter done and more to come! I hope you are all enjoying it, and if you are it'd be amazing if you'd drop me a line (review) and let me know what you're thinking so far. Heck, if you don't like it, let me know that too. Any feedback is always MORE than appreciated. :o) And any old readers? If you're still there, let me know.