(A/N: Thanks you guys for all the wonderful reviews!! This fic is gonna be a short one, but I'm one of those impatient people who needs to see the story have an ending...i can't go on and on and on forever!
I do, however, plan to start an epoch...well, I've already started it but no one reads it. The Prophecy is about Godric and Salazar and their story, and then I was going to write a Seventh Year fic incorporating things from my other fic...oh well. 'nough of my rambling!)
Chapter Four
The weeks went by pretty much the same way as they had been. Ginny followed Hannah around like a lost puppy, and received peels of giggles from her friends in return. Whenever she'd be studying in the library Ginny would be there to help out--all in the name of Draco. It was on one of these occasions that we find Ginny and Hannah in the library, alone.
"Where are all your friends?" Ginny asked, sitting down next to Hannah.
"Oh, they're doing other things." Hannah smiled and twirled a bit of blonde hair on her finger.
"Well, should we start with Transfiguration or--"
"Actually..." Hannah drew the word out as if thinking of what to say next. "There's this book I wanted to get, but it's too high for me...would you mind getting it for me?"
"Sure." Ginny stood up and followed Hannah into the maze of bookshelves. They passed section after section, and Ginny began to wonder if Hannah was lost.
"It's that dark green one." She finally said, pointing towards a book on the second to highest shelf.
"Hmm...lemmi get my wand." Ginny turned to walk back towards her book bag, but a hand held her back.
"Actually...I didn't really want the book." Hannah whispered, pulling Ginny closer to her.
"Ahem, I don't think that--well, Hannah you know that, um..." Ginny saw the look in Hannah's eyes and it was the same look she saw in Crookshank's eyes before he leapt on an insect, then devoured it.
"John, shh, we're all...alone." Hannah ran her hand up Ginny's arm but Ginny instantly backed away.
"Hannah! Stop this!" Even though Hannah made no movement she still had that look. "My friend, Draco, likes you...I can't do this!."
"But I don't like Draco!" She yelled, then said, "I like you."
"But--Hannah, listen, you don't even know me...you're not yourself."
"Of course I'm myself and I do know you! Do you think you could tell me all that beautiful poetry and not mean it?"
"It was all from Draco!" Ginny exclaimed.
Hannah's eyes lost that predator glimmer, and she looked down at her hands. "So there can be nothing?"
"No...I'm sorry."
"Please!" Hannah flung herself at Ginny, and Ginny truly felt sorry for the poor girl.
"Look, I've gotta go!" Ginny ran away from the lovesick girl and grabbed her things off the table and left the library.
She ran all the way until she reached her dorm then fell onto her bed. "Ugh, what a day!." She yelled.
"What happened to you?" A voice startled Ginny. She looked up and saw Draco.
"Nothing...isn't there a meeting tonight?"
"Yeah." Draco sat on the edge of Ginny's bed, causing a warm shiver to run down her spine. "Did you get any prank ideas?"
"I was kind of busy stalking a girl...you?" Ginny laughed.
"No." Draco looked at his watch. "Another three hours 'till midnight."
They both killed time by talking about their families. Ginny did most of the asking and learned a lot about Draco.
"Yeah, Dad became a Death Eater his seventh year. My Mum tried to stop him, but he claimed he was serving the good of all Wizards. All the while I was growing up I was taught that Voldemort was the good guy, and that everyone else was the bad guy. Until--" Draco stopped, casting his eyes to the floor.
"You don't have to say unless you want to." Ginny said.
Draco looked as if he were brushing away a tear but then quickly looked up. "My Dad took me to a Muggle neighborhood one day. We stopped outside of a house and I could see that inside there was a family, eating at the dinner table. We walked in and I watched as--I watched as my Father and the others...torture then kill the Muggles." Now Draco broke out into full-blown sobs. "There was a little boy about my age and I saw the look of horror on his face. He was hiding under the table, but his cries gave him away...his face still haunts my dreams."
Ginny put an arm around Draco's shoulders.
"I know what everyone thinks. They think I'm going to become a Death Eater just like my dear old Dad. I will not! I only go around school pretending to be so against Muggles so my Dad won't suspect. As soon as I graduate I'm out of here!"
Just then the clock struck twelve, and Ginny could feel a tingling sensation in her scalp. She could feel her hair begin to grow!
"Oh, crap!" She exclaimed.
"What?" Draco was about to look up but Ginny pushed him towards the floor.
Ginny rushed to her trunk and downed a vial just in time. Draco looked up with a puzzled look on his face.
"What's that?" He asked, seeing the empty bottle in her hands.
"This? Um, this is...medicine!"
"For what?"
"Um, well...it's for my, er...acne!" Nice save, Ginny thought.
"Oh, so is that why you have such a clear complexion?"
"Um, yeah...let's go then."
The group gathered as usual and they began discussing the Winter Ball.
"Two weeks!" Lucas yelled. "Draco, what are we going to do?"
Draco gave them all a very evil grin, then produced a small vial of a clear potion. "Veritiserum."
The others stared, open-eyed. That truth potion was the hardest to make and the most effective.
Draco continued. "We'll spike the punch, then watch as everyone tells their true feelings. I know some people around this school who keep a lot of juicy truths from us. This prank will certainly be remembered."
"Yes! Another brilliant plan from our brilliant leader!" Zabini cheered.
"This causes for a little bit of a celebration." Lucas said while taking off his cloak, then his shoes and shirt and pants and...you know.
He ran towards the freezing cold lake and jumped in. The others immediately followed, all except Ginny. She walked to the waters edged and watched as the others were skinny-dipping.
"Come on, Macabee!" Crabbe yelled. "Afraid?"
"No!" Somehow, Ginny didn't like being thought more afraid of something than Crabbe.
"Then join us!" Lucas called
"Nah, I think I'll sit this one out...a bit cold outside, don't you think?" Ginny said, sitting on a near by log.
"I think someone needs some persuading!" All of them came after Ginny, and she closed her eyes.
They began taking her robe off, but seeing as that was a difficult task because Ginny put up a good fight, they ended up just throwing her in, clothes and all. The water was freezing! Like a billion tiny little needles pricking your skin. She began to shiver violently.
"Are you alright?" Draco asked, coming up to her.
"N-n-no...I-I'm fre-fre-fre-freezing!" Ginny meant it to sound angry, but having the shivers was a crutch.
"Ok guys!" Draco yelled at the others. "I think it's time we went back in."
The others moaned and cried, but in the end they all put their things back on and headed up to their dorms. Ginny was taking a hot shower, but not before making sure the stall to her shower was locked. Even though the shower was burning hot, she couldn't get the chills out of her.
"Macabee?" Draco's voice echoed in the bathroom.
Ginny turned around quickly. "Um, I'm busy!" Ginny made sure the lock was secure just in time. Draco tried to open the door.
"Hey, I brought you something. It'll warm you up."
"Just hand it over the door." Ginny suggested, wishing he would just leave.
"Ok," A bottle of some liquid was handed to her. "Just drink it."
Ginny drank it, and instantly felt a burning sensation run through her veins, warming her very toes. "Wow! Thanks!" She handed back the empty bottle.
"Macabee, can I ask you something?" Draco questioned.
"Sure." Ginny wished he'd hurry up so she could finish her shower.
Draco paused. "Um, never mind...it's nothing."
She could hear his footsteps retreat, then the bathroom door open and close.
~*~*~
The next morning at breakfast the Slytherin's were laughing over last nights events. The only silent one was Draco, who merely stared at his food. The swishing noise of the post owls overhead caused everyone to look up. Packages fell out of the skies into the hands of the students and were ferociously ripped open. Ginny didn't expect to be getting any mail at all, but rather she received two letters. The first one was addressed from The Macabees and the second had no return address.
"Dear John," The first began. "I hope you school year is going well. May you achieve your endeavors you had set out to achieve. I left something with the Headmaster to give to you, so go to his office and retrieve it. Love, Your Parents."
Ginny wanted to laugh. Didn't these people know that in order to pull off a plausible letter you had to make it sound as if it wasn't from a businessman? Parents just didn't write to their children like that...at least Ginny's didn't.
Ginny opened the second one, and couldn't make out the handwriting but quickly guessed the identity at once.
"John, I'm sorry about the little incident in the library. I should have known you're one of those guys who gets girls fawning over them all the time. Once again, I'm sorry. But I do know you felt something too. I could see it in your eyes! Will you consider going to the Winter Ball with me? With Love, Hannah Abbott."
Ginny's eyes widened, then she searched her mates to make sure they hadn't seen the letter. She began crumpling it up and was about to stuff it in her school bag when a hand reached out for it.
"What's this?" Draco asked amusedly. "A little love note?" Draco unwrinkled the paper and read it. His face turned a violent shade of red. "What the heck is this?" He yelled, shoving the paper in Ginny's general direction. "What does this mean?"
Any person who could read and had sense could have told him what it meant, but the meaning of the letter isn't exactly what he was after. He was after the meaning behind the letter.
"Well?" When Ginny didn't answer, Draco stood.
"Um...well, I think that--"
"Don't you tell me what you think! I should have known." Draco said the last sentence to himself. "Of course you were trying to steal her away. Trying to prove yourself as a man or something? Well fine, go ahead and take her to the Ball. I don't care!" Draco stormed out of the room leaving many eyes on Ginny.
"Breakfast didn't agree with him." Ginny rubbed her stomach and everyone returned to their own breakfast with trepidation.
Ginny didn't think things could get any worse...that was until she was called to the Headmaster's office. She had only been there once before, and then it was under less agreeable circumstances. This time, though, she felt she had it worse.
"Hello Ginny." Dumbledore greeted her with a twinkle in his eye. "The Ministry wants to know if you've procured any information so far."
Ginny briefly thought of the prank that was going to be pulled during the Winter Ball, but actually wanted to see it pull through. She shook her head.
"This is very disappointing." Dumbledore said.
"Headmaster, the Snakes are just a club. I think the depth of their evil goes only as far as...spiking the punch." There, Ginny gave him a hint and if he didn't catch on it wasn't her fault.
"Ginny, I want you to understand something." Dumbledore leaned in closer. "The Snakes were started by Voldemort himself." Ginny flinched at the name. "It was supposed to be a training for future followers...but I suppose over the years it's reached a juvenile level." Dumbledore leaned back in his chair.
"May I go?" Ginny asked, and Dumbledore nodded. As she left she thought she heard humming coming from his office, but didn't give it a second thought.
Ginny was walking down the halls to her next class when a herd of giggling girls passed her. From out of the crowd a very familiar blonde appeared.
"John, did you get my letter?" Hannah asked, blue eyes sparkling.
"Um, yeah." Ginny thought of Draco's reaction, but didn't care any more. "I'd love to take you to the Ball. I'll meet you at the Hufflepuff entrance at eight."
As even more giggling came from the group Ginny thought if she had ever sounded thus. Gosh, girls were annoying! She vowed then and there that once she was back to herself she'd never giggle again.
Class wasn't much of a relief either. Draco was partnered with her during potions and it seemed that all his fury that was usually aimed towards Harry and Ron was now directed towards her. She endured it and refused to take his goad. Once Potions was finished she had ingredients galore on her person and if not for the fact that Draco really needed to get excellent N.E.W.T.'s, she would have received bad marks that day for badly made potion.
Dinner was silent also, and it seemed The Snakes had noticed.
"What's bothering you?" Lucas asked Draco.
"Nothing." Draco replied, pushing some peas across his plate with his fork.
"John?" Lucas implored.
"Nothing." Ginny responded.
"Come on!" Zabini hissed. "What is wrong with you two? Only girls sulk!"
Ginny's head shot up and was about to retort but then realized in their eyes she wasn't a girl. "Just leave me alone." Ginny got up from the table and headed towards the dorm.
It wasn't until she was in the common room that she noticed someone was following her. She turned around and was about to take all her anger out on a forgetful first year when she met Draco's cold stare. At no other point in time since she arrived at Hogwarts did she wish more than ever she had said no to the mission. Draco looked as if he could kill her.
"W--what do you want?" Ginny asked, standing her ground.
Draco clenched and unclenched his fists. For a moment Ginny thought he would hit her and she braced herself for the blow but instead he simply walked right passed her. She watched his retreating back climb the stairs to the dorms, then exhaled the air she had held. She flopped down on a couch and warmed herself by the fire. It was safer to wait for the others before entering the dorms, she thought.
I do, however, plan to start an epoch...well, I've already started it but no one reads it. The Prophecy is about Godric and Salazar and their story, and then I was going to write a Seventh Year fic incorporating things from my other fic...oh well. 'nough of my rambling!)
Chapter Four
The weeks went by pretty much the same way as they had been. Ginny followed Hannah around like a lost puppy, and received peels of giggles from her friends in return. Whenever she'd be studying in the library Ginny would be there to help out--all in the name of Draco. It was on one of these occasions that we find Ginny and Hannah in the library, alone.
"Where are all your friends?" Ginny asked, sitting down next to Hannah.
"Oh, they're doing other things." Hannah smiled and twirled a bit of blonde hair on her finger.
"Well, should we start with Transfiguration or--"
"Actually..." Hannah drew the word out as if thinking of what to say next. "There's this book I wanted to get, but it's too high for me...would you mind getting it for me?"
"Sure." Ginny stood up and followed Hannah into the maze of bookshelves. They passed section after section, and Ginny began to wonder if Hannah was lost.
"It's that dark green one." She finally said, pointing towards a book on the second to highest shelf.
"Hmm...lemmi get my wand." Ginny turned to walk back towards her book bag, but a hand held her back.
"Actually...I didn't really want the book." Hannah whispered, pulling Ginny closer to her.
"Ahem, I don't think that--well, Hannah you know that, um..." Ginny saw the look in Hannah's eyes and it was the same look she saw in Crookshank's eyes before he leapt on an insect, then devoured it.
"John, shh, we're all...alone." Hannah ran her hand up Ginny's arm but Ginny instantly backed away.
"Hannah! Stop this!" Even though Hannah made no movement she still had that look. "My friend, Draco, likes you...I can't do this!."
"But I don't like Draco!" She yelled, then said, "I like you."
"But--Hannah, listen, you don't even know me...you're not yourself."
"Of course I'm myself and I do know you! Do you think you could tell me all that beautiful poetry and not mean it?"
"It was all from Draco!" Ginny exclaimed.
Hannah's eyes lost that predator glimmer, and she looked down at her hands. "So there can be nothing?"
"No...I'm sorry."
"Please!" Hannah flung herself at Ginny, and Ginny truly felt sorry for the poor girl.
"Look, I've gotta go!" Ginny ran away from the lovesick girl and grabbed her things off the table and left the library.
She ran all the way until she reached her dorm then fell onto her bed. "Ugh, what a day!." She yelled.
"What happened to you?" A voice startled Ginny. She looked up and saw Draco.
"Nothing...isn't there a meeting tonight?"
"Yeah." Draco sat on the edge of Ginny's bed, causing a warm shiver to run down her spine. "Did you get any prank ideas?"
"I was kind of busy stalking a girl...you?" Ginny laughed.
"No." Draco looked at his watch. "Another three hours 'till midnight."
They both killed time by talking about their families. Ginny did most of the asking and learned a lot about Draco.
"Yeah, Dad became a Death Eater his seventh year. My Mum tried to stop him, but he claimed he was serving the good of all Wizards. All the while I was growing up I was taught that Voldemort was the good guy, and that everyone else was the bad guy. Until--" Draco stopped, casting his eyes to the floor.
"You don't have to say unless you want to." Ginny said.
Draco looked as if he were brushing away a tear but then quickly looked up. "My Dad took me to a Muggle neighborhood one day. We stopped outside of a house and I could see that inside there was a family, eating at the dinner table. We walked in and I watched as--I watched as my Father and the others...torture then kill the Muggles." Now Draco broke out into full-blown sobs. "There was a little boy about my age and I saw the look of horror on his face. He was hiding under the table, but his cries gave him away...his face still haunts my dreams."
Ginny put an arm around Draco's shoulders.
"I know what everyone thinks. They think I'm going to become a Death Eater just like my dear old Dad. I will not! I only go around school pretending to be so against Muggles so my Dad won't suspect. As soon as I graduate I'm out of here!"
Just then the clock struck twelve, and Ginny could feel a tingling sensation in her scalp. She could feel her hair begin to grow!
"Oh, crap!" She exclaimed.
"What?" Draco was about to look up but Ginny pushed him towards the floor.
Ginny rushed to her trunk and downed a vial just in time. Draco looked up with a puzzled look on his face.
"What's that?" He asked, seeing the empty bottle in her hands.
"This? Um, this is...medicine!"
"For what?"
"Um, well...it's for my, er...acne!" Nice save, Ginny thought.
"Oh, so is that why you have such a clear complexion?"
"Um, yeah...let's go then."
The group gathered as usual and they began discussing the Winter Ball.
"Two weeks!" Lucas yelled. "Draco, what are we going to do?"
Draco gave them all a very evil grin, then produced a small vial of a clear potion. "Veritiserum."
The others stared, open-eyed. That truth potion was the hardest to make and the most effective.
Draco continued. "We'll spike the punch, then watch as everyone tells their true feelings. I know some people around this school who keep a lot of juicy truths from us. This prank will certainly be remembered."
"Yes! Another brilliant plan from our brilliant leader!" Zabini cheered.
"This causes for a little bit of a celebration." Lucas said while taking off his cloak, then his shoes and shirt and pants and...you know.
He ran towards the freezing cold lake and jumped in. The others immediately followed, all except Ginny. She walked to the waters edged and watched as the others were skinny-dipping.
"Come on, Macabee!" Crabbe yelled. "Afraid?"
"No!" Somehow, Ginny didn't like being thought more afraid of something than Crabbe.
"Then join us!" Lucas called
"Nah, I think I'll sit this one out...a bit cold outside, don't you think?" Ginny said, sitting on a near by log.
"I think someone needs some persuading!" All of them came after Ginny, and she closed her eyes.
They began taking her robe off, but seeing as that was a difficult task because Ginny put up a good fight, they ended up just throwing her in, clothes and all. The water was freezing! Like a billion tiny little needles pricking your skin. She began to shiver violently.
"Are you alright?" Draco asked, coming up to her.
"N-n-no...I-I'm fre-fre-fre-freezing!" Ginny meant it to sound angry, but having the shivers was a crutch.
"Ok guys!" Draco yelled at the others. "I think it's time we went back in."
The others moaned and cried, but in the end they all put their things back on and headed up to their dorms. Ginny was taking a hot shower, but not before making sure the stall to her shower was locked. Even though the shower was burning hot, she couldn't get the chills out of her.
"Macabee?" Draco's voice echoed in the bathroom.
Ginny turned around quickly. "Um, I'm busy!" Ginny made sure the lock was secure just in time. Draco tried to open the door.
"Hey, I brought you something. It'll warm you up."
"Just hand it over the door." Ginny suggested, wishing he would just leave.
"Ok," A bottle of some liquid was handed to her. "Just drink it."
Ginny drank it, and instantly felt a burning sensation run through her veins, warming her very toes. "Wow! Thanks!" She handed back the empty bottle.
"Macabee, can I ask you something?" Draco questioned.
"Sure." Ginny wished he'd hurry up so she could finish her shower.
Draco paused. "Um, never mind...it's nothing."
She could hear his footsteps retreat, then the bathroom door open and close.
~*~*~
The next morning at breakfast the Slytherin's were laughing over last nights events. The only silent one was Draco, who merely stared at his food. The swishing noise of the post owls overhead caused everyone to look up. Packages fell out of the skies into the hands of the students and were ferociously ripped open. Ginny didn't expect to be getting any mail at all, but rather she received two letters. The first one was addressed from The Macabees and the second had no return address.
"Dear John," The first began. "I hope you school year is going well. May you achieve your endeavors you had set out to achieve. I left something with the Headmaster to give to you, so go to his office and retrieve it. Love, Your Parents."
Ginny wanted to laugh. Didn't these people know that in order to pull off a plausible letter you had to make it sound as if it wasn't from a businessman? Parents just didn't write to their children like that...at least Ginny's didn't.
Ginny opened the second one, and couldn't make out the handwriting but quickly guessed the identity at once.
"John, I'm sorry about the little incident in the library. I should have known you're one of those guys who gets girls fawning over them all the time. Once again, I'm sorry. But I do know you felt something too. I could see it in your eyes! Will you consider going to the Winter Ball with me? With Love, Hannah Abbott."
Ginny's eyes widened, then she searched her mates to make sure they hadn't seen the letter. She began crumpling it up and was about to stuff it in her school bag when a hand reached out for it.
"What's this?" Draco asked amusedly. "A little love note?" Draco unwrinkled the paper and read it. His face turned a violent shade of red. "What the heck is this?" He yelled, shoving the paper in Ginny's general direction. "What does this mean?"
Any person who could read and had sense could have told him what it meant, but the meaning of the letter isn't exactly what he was after. He was after the meaning behind the letter.
"Well?" When Ginny didn't answer, Draco stood.
"Um...well, I think that--"
"Don't you tell me what you think! I should have known." Draco said the last sentence to himself. "Of course you were trying to steal her away. Trying to prove yourself as a man or something? Well fine, go ahead and take her to the Ball. I don't care!" Draco stormed out of the room leaving many eyes on Ginny.
"Breakfast didn't agree with him." Ginny rubbed her stomach and everyone returned to their own breakfast with trepidation.
Ginny didn't think things could get any worse...that was until she was called to the Headmaster's office. She had only been there once before, and then it was under less agreeable circumstances. This time, though, she felt she had it worse.
"Hello Ginny." Dumbledore greeted her with a twinkle in his eye. "The Ministry wants to know if you've procured any information so far."
Ginny briefly thought of the prank that was going to be pulled during the Winter Ball, but actually wanted to see it pull through. She shook her head.
"This is very disappointing." Dumbledore said.
"Headmaster, the Snakes are just a club. I think the depth of their evil goes only as far as...spiking the punch." There, Ginny gave him a hint and if he didn't catch on it wasn't her fault.
"Ginny, I want you to understand something." Dumbledore leaned in closer. "The Snakes were started by Voldemort himself." Ginny flinched at the name. "It was supposed to be a training for future followers...but I suppose over the years it's reached a juvenile level." Dumbledore leaned back in his chair.
"May I go?" Ginny asked, and Dumbledore nodded. As she left she thought she heard humming coming from his office, but didn't give it a second thought.
Ginny was walking down the halls to her next class when a herd of giggling girls passed her. From out of the crowd a very familiar blonde appeared.
"John, did you get my letter?" Hannah asked, blue eyes sparkling.
"Um, yeah." Ginny thought of Draco's reaction, but didn't care any more. "I'd love to take you to the Ball. I'll meet you at the Hufflepuff entrance at eight."
As even more giggling came from the group Ginny thought if she had ever sounded thus. Gosh, girls were annoying! She vowed then and there that once she was back to herself she'd never giggle again.
Class wasn't much of a relief either. Draco was partnered with her during potions and it seemed that all his fury that was usually aimed towards Harry and Ron was now directed towards her. She endured it and refused to take his goad. Once Potions was finished she had ingredients galore on her person and if not for the fact that Draco really needed to get excellent N.E.W.T.'s, she would have received bad marks that day for badly made potion.
Dinner was silent also, and it seemed The Snakes had noticed.
"What's bothering you?" Lucas asked Draco.
"Nothing." Draco replied, pushing some peas across his plate with his fork.
"John?" Lucas implored.
"Nothing." Ginny responded.
"Come on!" Zabini hissed. "What is wrong with you two? Only girls sulk!"
Ginny's head shot up and was about to retort but then realized in their eyes she wasn't a girl. "Just leave me alone." Ginny got up from the table and headed towards the dorm.
It wasn't until she was in the common room that she noticed someone was following her. She turned around and was about to take all her anger out on a forgetful first year when she met Draco's cold stare. At no other point in time since she arrived at Hogwarts did she wish more than ever she had said no to the mission. Draco looked as if he could kill her.
"W--what do you want?" Ginny asked, standing her ground.
Draco clenched and unclenched his fists. For a moment Ginny thought he would hit her and she braced herself for the blow but instead he simply walked right passed her. She watched his retreating back climb the stairs to the dorms, then exhaled the air she had held. She flopped down on a couch and warmed herself by the fire. It was safer to wait for the others before entering the dorms, she thought.