DISCLAIMER: THE BOOK BELONGS TO J. I HAVE ONLY BORROWED BOTH CHARACTERS AND PLOTLINE.

CHAPTER 38

Occlumency had become easier, they were able to block Snape's vicious onslughts everytime with more and more ease, and they had finally progressed to learning Legilimency a few weeks ago. Harry had given it his all so as to forget about Dragon Tamers and evil diaries. As it were he had too many things on his plate, his defense practice with Draco had been laughable at the best, and he was slowly starting to get discouraged.

Luckily for Draco, his nightmares that had been induced by Occlumency were now under control. There were still a few nights that he found difficult to sleep during, but he had not needed the dreamless potion to get through them.

That morning they were coming back from early morning Quidditch practice and were discussing the places where Draco needed to improve when Darren came running to Harry with a pale and frightened visage "There has been another attack" he said panting and coming to a halt in front of them

"Who" Harry exchanging shocked looks with Draco.

"Percy, Penelope and the Grey lady, they were found in an empty corridor…" and Darren suddenly stopped talking and blushed red "they were um…found petrified while hugging each other" he said coughing loudly "and they were looking shocked through the Grey Lady as if they had spotted something terrifying. The only weird thing was there were long lines of spiders running near their bodies as if they were escaping something."

Harry cleared his throat and asked "So where are they now?"

"The hospital wing, it had been um…really hard se…separating them, all the Weasley's are there with them right now."

Harry told Darren that they'd come with him to see Percy and dragged Draco with him. No way were any of them going to venture the corridors alone right then.

Draco walking beside Harry gave him a tiny smirk "Percy and Penelope huh?"

Harry honestly tried to keep a straight face but lost the battle.

On reaching the Hospital they saw only Hermione, Ron and couple of Ravenclaws, looking at the prone bodies of their friends and family. Percy and Penelope looked very strange almost humorously so with their arms frozen in extended positions as if they were hugging the air in front of them.

"Where are Fred and George?" Harry asked looking around.

"They were thrown out by Madame Pomphrey because they had been quite a disturbance to the in patients. When they had been assured that Percy would make a full recovery with the mandrakes potion, they lost all decorum and pulled out cameras and took photos of him. They said it was better than catching Percy with pants down in public and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity" she said brusquely.

Draco couldn't help but laugh a little when he heard that, when Ron's angry voice came from the corner of the room "What the hell is he doing here? He's a bloody Slytherin, none of them should have the guts to show their faces in public again" looking a Draco with fury he spat "Snake!" and turned away.

Draco stiffened but didn't take the bait, it was stupid to fight in ward and a Madame Pomphrey on the war path was frankly terrifying. What Weasley had said was so unfair it seemed he had the support of all the others in the room, Hermione, Darren and Harry were looking angrily at the red head.

"I'm going to leave" Draco said quietly and told Harry that he didn't need to accompany him when Harry followed; "I'll be careful" he said and left.

The whole day had been rotten for him after that, he had had a terrible headache and was hungry as he had missed breakfast and they weren't allowed outside their dorms. In the evening his father had called and told him to come home till the attacks had completely stopped and he had had to fight with him to make him understand that it was okay. By the time it was bed time his head was throbbing and he was feeling irritable.

Climbing into bed he lay down and closed his eyes, falling into a slightly disturbed sleep. He was having a mildly unpleasant dream, when it went completely blank; almost pitch black and his mind became sharply focused. He saw an image form inside his head and seeing the horror of it he consciously tried escaping from its grasp and woke up sweating profusely and breathing heavily.

The next morning he dragged Harry off to the Astronomy tower and holding on to the edge of a table, his knuckles white he said "I had a vision."

Harry gasped and sat down "Wha…what did you see?" he asked "Was it Darren again?"

"No," Draco said shaking his head "it was Ginevera Weasley."

"Ginny Weasley" Harry repeated, looking worried "What did you see about her Dray?"

"I saw her wounded and bleeding," and then he shuddered closing his eyes and remembering "I saw a gigantic snake coiled around her slowly tightening its coils around her body, squeezing the life out of her and when I looked into the snake's huge yellow eyes, it was like I had died in the dream, I got so afraid I woke up."

Listening to the vision Harry became afraid himself, what kind of trouble was Ginny in? Was it time to involve a teacher? But they had nothing concrete to say, if they said that Ginny was in trouble because of Draco's dream, they'd be scorned at.

During breakfast he walked over to the Gryffindor table and called Neville out. "Neville have you noticed that Ginny has been acting very strangely for a long time?"

Neville nodded, "Yeah, for almost a year now."

"Has she been doing anything noticeably different, not emotions and stuff but like an obsessive behavior, disappearing for long hours, or acting bipolar?"

Neville thought for a moment and nodded "Yes," he said "she has a diary that she keeps writing in, like all the time, if people talk to her while she's doing it she gets almost murderously angry. She carries it around with her as it were a talisman of some sort."

"A diary?" Harry repeated thoughtfully, why did that ring a bell. "Does it have anything special on it, like any writing or anything?"

"It looks like an ordinary, plain, black colored diary Harry."

Harry nodded and suddenly remembered a black book that Ginny had been writing in assiduously on the train while coming to Hogwarts, and then he had an epiphany of sorts. He thumped Neville on the shoulder and said "Nev, I need you to do something for me."

Neville gulped and nodded "I need you see to see if there is a name written inside it,"

"What name Harry?"

"Tom Marvolo Riddle."

Neville look confused and then nodded again "It's not going to be easy Harry. That book is her treasure but I promise you, I'll try."

Harry thanked him and went back to his seat.