Disclaimer - We do not own Harry Potter. Please don't sue us for writing this fic. We're not making any money.
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CHAPTER ELEVEN – In Which There Is Bad Feelings Galore
******
Not bothering to answer Harry's question, Ron shot up the stairs and banged raucously on the dormitory door. "Open up, Ginny! Is Yvette in there?"
Several moments later, he was back at the foot of the stairs. "She's not here."
Hermione stared at the panicking boy. "What does it matter? So, she's not in her room..."
Ron shrugged worriedly. "The door wasn't locked and I found this on the floor." He pulled a crumpled bit of parchment from his pocket and handed it to Harry, who eyed the lump quizzically and unfolded it.
"Meet me at the Transfiguration Room at midnight, Love, Ron."
Hermione's jaw dropped. "You snogged in McGonagall's class room at midnight?? I swear you get turned on by the oddest things."
"I didn't write that!!" Ron said, his blue eyes wide. "We would never snog in the Transfiguration room. Who would…?" His sentence trailed off, his eyes glazed over as if contemplating the idea.
"Right…."
"Wait! I'm serious, Hermione. I think something's wrong! I didn't write that note."
"You think?" A voice marked with telltale sarcasm floated from behind the portrait entrance. "You Gryffindors are thicker than I thought."
Ron groaned, his eyes traveling regretfully towards the common room entrance. "Open up Fat-Lady. Periwinkle."
"If you say so..." The dubious portrait slowly swung open.
"What the hell is going on?" Harry's glare moved from Ron to Draco, then back again. "What's he doing here?"
"Show some respect, Potter. I'm doing you the favor of coming to your little hell house to enlighten you."
"With what?"
"Yeah, Malfoy. Get your head out of your arse and get on with it." Ron's foot tapped impatiently on the soft common room carpet. "We're waiting."
Draco leaned on the rose brick wall beside the portrait threshold. "Shut up, Weasley. All you really need to know is that, both Yvette Delacour and Ginny have been taken to Malfoy Manor."
"Your manor...What kind of game are you playing?"
He shrugged. "Wasting time, Weasley. I just told you your girlfriend and sister are in the clutches of a mad man and you're still arguing over details. "
"Details?!? It's your bloody dungeons and your lunatic father that's holding them. How can we trust what you say?"
His eyes narrowed to silvery slits. "Fine, don't listen to me. Keep running circles searching for them. They'll be dead before you realize your stupidity." He kicked angrily at the portrait back. "Let me out, you stupid Gryffindor."
The fat lady squealed angrily and shifted aside. They stared in surprise as Draco stalked out.
Hermione looked worriedly at her two best friends. "What do we do now?"
*******
Ginny evaluated her situation once more: she was blind and cold. Her throat was raw from pointless screaming and she was hungry, having not eaten since morning. She would have fished for the few biscuits and a lock-picking kit in her ugly green coat, but there she was - hands and feet bound to a stone wall. She pounded her head against the jagged rocky surface behind her.
Lucius Malfoy told her everything - solved every riddle that plagued her mind the past few months. She had been so quick to believe his words and now, all she could think of was that Draco Malfoy didn't love her. The slimy prat was only out to save his own stupid, superficial life. She bit her lip angrily. She had told him she loved him. And she had, still did. Chocking back a sob she squeezed her useless eyes shut. All those evenings spent together - his crooked smile, his charm, his words, his kisses - it was all to save the bloody Malfoys from some bloody curse.
To Ginny, the faerie who dances in my life.
How could she have been so stupid? He was a Malfoy and she was a Weasley. She was nothing but an over-freckled, over-blushing, muggle-loving, red-haired Weasley. He could never really love her. And now that he managed to deceive her accordingly, she was going to be killed. She was going to die at sixteen in the hands of his father. On top of all that, she had a scratch on her nose. Life couldn't get any worse. She didn't know who Clarence Weatherby was, but she was sure she hated him.
And Yvette - her best friend - was just another deception in the trap. She kicked at the wall, both feet still bound together. A loose pebble bounced across the floor and she followed its progression with alert ears.
"Well, you seem to have gotten comfortable."
Ginny stared up at the direction of his voice, too blind and drained to muster a glare.
"It's almost a shame to move you." Lucius leaned casually against the cell door, his pose eerily reminiscent of Draco's own. "Come. The ceremony will commence immediately."
******
Yvette slowly opened her eyes, and stared across the richly decorated space. She hadn't been asleep, but still faked grogginess beneath the man's looming shadow.
"It's about time you woke up, half-breed. You are about to witness something amazing."
She glared at the newest of the many guards who watched her every move. Hunched over and hooded, it was impossible to distinguish him from the rest. She was forced to sit at the room's end, beside the large, ornate throne in an uncomfortable, mahogany chair. As a child, she speculated about the room's purpose, arriving at the conclusion that it had been a throne room during the days that the Malfoys were royalty. Draco had told her the Malfoys were still considered royalty, but she hadn't believed him. Her stomach twisted angrily from the haunting familiarity of her surroundings - each chair and candle was positioned at the exact same angle from years before. The only change was the absence of carpet from the sleek stone floor in light of the approaching ceremony. In its place, the hooded guards had crafted a strange pattern of ancient runes, ivy vines, encircled with goblets of thick, red liquid. Large torches provided the only lighting for the room. The curtain had been drawn, shutting out the full moon. They moved her here hours ago and her worries and past demons seemed to intensify with each minute. Not wanting to appear frightened in front of the scrutinizing guards, she feigned sleep.
She sat up straight as the double doors slammed open across the room. Lucius Malfoy entered, followed by slouching, robed men shuffling behind him. She folded her arms and watched his entourage make their way into their places in the dark, beautiful ritual. They formed a semi-circle behind the strange pattern and faced the throne. As the figures scattered, she could see the struggling girl held by two guards behind Lucius. It was Ginny - Ginny was there. Yvette set her jaw and ignored the lump rising in her throat.
"Virginia," Lucius sneered, his eyes fixed on Yvette's own. "Do you know who's here?"
Ginny pursed her lips and glared ahead, refusing to answer.
"Ginny?" Yvette stood up. Her brow furrowed. "It's me, Ginny, can't you see me?"
Her best friend narrowed her empty, still eyes and did not say anything.
"Ginny," she cried. "It's Yvette. Please answer me." Panicked and frustrated, she rushed toward her, only to be held back by guards. Lucius was pointing his wand at Ginny's heart, daring her friend to struggle against their hold.
"Ginny…," she trailed off.
Lucius smirked. "Don't you think she knows, Yvette? I've told her everything."
"Don't believe a word he says! It's all lies –"
"Is it?" he interrupted her. "Why didn't you tell her, dear niece? About your Malfoy father…your whore of a mother. Doesn't your best friend deserve to know your secrets?"
"Ginny, I –"
"I've told her everything – about how you and my son plotted for years to bring her here to die to save the valuable pureblood lineage of the Malfoys. A job, well done…I must commend you on your success, Yvette. Tonight, after Weasley is done away with, we will christen both you and Draco as Death Eaters."
"You – ," Yvette stopped as Lucius neared his wand to Ginny's chest.
"Don't deny it." He waved his free arm to signal the start of the ceremony. "The masquerade is over now, Yvette Malfoy."
*********
Draco banged in annoyance against the Slytherin Cat portrait, jumping into its now familiar mouth. With his trusty broom was in one hand, he mounted it swiftly and sped through Hogsmede. He arrived at the south end of the forest in record time and dismounted when the trees were too thick for flying. His frustrations increased as he angrily stalked past tree after tree, deeper and deeper in to the forest.
Upon arriving in a clearing, an owl appeared and dropped a package and adjoining letter at his feet. Draco snatched up the letter quickly and broke the seal.
Here is a port key to the Mansion. The ceremony awaits your presence. Do not keep us waiting.
Lucius Malfoy
Draco let the letter drop and it soon burst into the usual green flames. He began unwrapping the package, when a hand grabbed his.
"You're not going anywhere without us."
The blonde boy smiled slowly and turned. "Knew you couldn't keep your nose out of this."
************
"It is a waste of magic to keep you blinded any longer," Lucius said. "Opticus Helaus."
Ginny clenched her eyes shut as an orb of energy began to grow from the centers of her eyes. Tears slipped from the corners of her quivering eyelids and she slowly opened them when the pain stopped. Even the dim light of the candles in the room hurt.
Yvette sat on a plush rug near the head of the room, facing the strange design on the floor. Ginny, herself was kneeling in the middle of the structure, with the assembled death eaters behind her. She could feel magical restraints holding her in place and forcing her to remain placid. The invisible bonds were too tight for her to struggle and so she stared at her best friend, face wiped blank of emotion. In truth, she wasn't angry with Yvette, not really. It was her own fault that she was so easily deceived. In one ironic synapse, she realized the people she had opened herself completely to had all deceived her. There weren't that many - just Yvette and Tom Riddle. They both seemed to understand her so well. They didn't care that she had flaming, red hair, too many freckles, too little sickles, and an eccentric muggle-obsessed father. They didn't care about the superficial qualities that made up her outside - only the pieces of her soul from the inside that she dared share with them. Tom comforted the lonely eleven-year-old girl who felt lost in the shuffle of seven children in a crooked house. He comprehended her emotions better than her own mother or the boy she loved ever would. Yvette had seemed to understand too. Ginny bit her lip. She should have seen it coming. No one wanted to befriend the girl who opened the Chamber of Secrets? Who would? Nobody, except the enemy.
Out of nowhere, Yvette Delacour showed up at Hogwarts, smiling at her shyly and asking where Transfiguration was. She was popular enough, as all the boys flocked to her and all the girls wanted to be her. Perfect, immaculate Yvette Malfoy. Ginny's heart clenched. How could she have been so stupid? All those years...all those secrets and dumb, girly hopes and dreams. How Yvette must have laughed at the gullible Weasley girl. Was she laughing now?
Lucius stood by Yvette's side, his long hair tied at the base of his neck. Ginny expected him to be staring at her with gloating menace, but instead he watched the massive double doors that enclosed the ceremony in the windowless room. He was waiting for someone, she realized.
The sound of boots clicking on the stone hall outside echoed in her ears, the noise becoming louder and louder. As the immense door swung open, the figure appeared.
Ginny's heart began to pound, and she quieted it ruthlessly, upset at its betrayal of any rationality that still lingered in her thoughts. Her heart still believed that this boy would save her - he who she had grown to care about, even love. Draco stepped forward, looking as faultless as ever. Everything beneath her chest tightened and clenched till even her mind acknowledged the pain her soul felt. The Death Eater's restraints could not keep the tears from glazing over her eyes and she looked down before he could catch her gaze.
"Good evening, father," she heard him say. "I'm here as you requested." It was the same voice that comforted her, the same voice that told her he cared. It was all a lie – one huge, bloody lie to save the bloody Malfoys from hell.
"Very good, Draco. Your fiancée was getting bored without you."
She looked up and his eyes were on her. She tried to catch a slimmer of the warmth in them, the same warmth from when water sprites danced before him in the art gallery. It was all gone as if it was never there at all. Like she imagined the kisses in the alley, the mindball, the glass dragon...
To Ginny, the faerie who dances in my life.
It was never real. And this was the end now. This was real. Her thoughts suddenly flashed to her brother – poor Ron. He was just as deceived as she was. He liked Yvette, he really did. She inhaled shakily. In her first year, she nearly killed because she trusted Tom Riddle's diary. She lost control of herself when scribbling in that dark, little book. He told her what she wanted to hear and let her feel what she wanted to feel. She opened the Chamber of Secrets almost destroying hundreds of lives, because she foolishly succumbed to trust. Sometimes, years later, she would lie in the dark and think about that night - about how everything could have ended right then because of her gullibility. She was so vulnerable, she realized, spilling her secrets to him. Bit by bit, he snatched her soul away until she had no grasp on her own thoughts. After he revealed his true self, she stared into the pitch-black cave ceiling and wondered why it couldn't have been someone else who found a leather diary in their potion's textbook. She wondered what would have happened if she never opened it.
Hello Ginny.
It was so innocent. If she hadn't been so stupid as to trust, she would have never been so fragmented. She would have never so desperately needed Yvette's friendship or Draco's love. They seemed to understand, even when her own family didn't. Her savior in Hogwart's secret chamber had been Harry, but Harry didn't care about her anymore than someone vaguely felt pity for beggars. He had Hermione now, and they would live happily ever after. That had been her life – struggling to be noticed by parents in a crowd of seven children, by Harry Potter behind his best friends, and now, struggling to be loved by someone too cold-hearted to care.
As the pale, expressionless boy strode to his father, the assembled Death Eaters scattered into a series of frenzied actions. Three walked nimbly through the complex ritual design and surrounded Ginny, carefully painting red paste across her palms and forehead. The rest positioned themselves besides the goblets of red liquid surrounding the sand pattern and faced the throne of the ceremony, occupied by Lucius. Draco and Yvette were at his sides.
With a wave of his hand, the symphony of spells began, each one carefully orchestrated by Lucius. The spells intensified into a crescendo of power and murmurs, swarming around Ginny in waves of fire and ice. The crimson paste on her body became streams of lava and hail, swirling into thousands of glowing, infinitesimal swords. They stabbed into her blood, painfully desecrating every cell in her body.
Her bronze hair flew out around her, whipped by an invisible wind. The grains of sand rose into luminescent orbs and the painted lettering on the stone floor shone brightly. The chanting remained steady and as the three Death Eaters stepped back from Ginny, a faint outline of a form began to materialize. Their Dark Lord would soon reclaim his young girl from years before.
Ginny's eyes hadn't moved from Draco's since the start of the ceremony, and she remained expressionless, as if untouched by it all. His fists clenched and unclenched by his father's side. One of his hands slipped into his robe pocket, fingering the almost forgotten mindball.
"Ginny, just hang on. Help is on the way."
She didn't respond to his silent words, but didn't look away.
"Listen Ginny, my father is a liar. Yvette is my cousin, the daughter of my uncle. He was disowned when he married her mother. She wasn't willingly part of any plan to hurt you. Please believe me Ginny…She's innocent."
Ginny's eyes narrowed and her lips tightened. The spell was digging harder into her now, and she couldn't hold it off much longer.
"What about you, Draco? Are you innocent?"
"I –"
The doors that had recently revealed Draco now opened for a very different group. Lucius' eyes narrowed and he poised his wand for an attack. "Continue the ceremony!" he shouted angrily at the Death Eaters. "Well…if it isn't the Boy Who Lived. I should have known that you'd -"
"NOW!" Ginny heard Harry hiss to Ron. The duo stormed in, aiming their wands at the two nearest Death Eaters.
"Stupefy!" The chanting faltered as the men fell and others drew their wands.
"Don't stop!" snapped Lucius angrily. "The Dark Lord is nearly strong enough to finish off the curse." Nevertheless, their job had already been accomplished. A smoky form appeared like steam condensing in the air, outlined in faint red and containing two burning vermilion circles, presumably eyes. A sinister voice from the ethereal, yet all too substantial figure continued the chant. Wisps of silvery tendrils reached towards Ginny, mingling with strands of her hair. She gasped, closed her eyes and arched backwards as it entered her mouth. When she opened them, they were gleaming red, staring blankly at the ceiling. Voldemort was about to possess her once more.
"Ginny!" Yvette burst out of her seat, heedless of Lucius' wand digging into her throat.
"Sit down, you foolish girl. I've won now."
Furious, Ron directed his wand to Lucius. "Stupefy!"
"Protego," the older Malfoy countered and the spell bounced back dangerously to Ron. Luckily, Harry dragged him out of the way.
"Well?" he addressed the Death Eaters. "Attack them!"
Ginny squeezed her eyes shut, trying her best to repel the malicious form from entering her. Draco's voice boomed in her head and she vaguely noticed Harry and Ron fervently fighting the robed figures.
"Hang on Weasley! I'm sorry it had to happen like this. Oh, Ginny…"
He felt Yvette clutching his arm. "Do something, Draco. Why are you standing back?"
He looked into her grey eyes and flashed back to the last time she stared at him with such intensity. He hadn't helped Vianne Delacour that day, because he was too wrapped in selfish fear. He saw the same urgent plea now and shook his head almost sadly. "Yvette -"
"Don't you see it, Draco? She is like my mother...an outsider kind enough to love a Malfoy. My father was brave enough to love her back...but you. You are a coward."
He felt his insides flare up in anger, but said nothing. Her looked at Ginny: her eyes were rolled to the back of her head, her hands balled in tight fists. Potter and Weasley were doing surprisingly well, stunning several Death Eaters, but were faltering rapidly. Weasley's left arm hung limply at his side as if broken and Potter couldn't stand up straight due to a blow to his stomach. Draco panicked, unwilling to fight for either side.
Just then, his eyes fell to mysterious disturbances upon the sand. Even while he watched, fresh footsteps traveled around Ginny. He blinked curiously and made his toward the invisible phenomenon. Immediately, the markings ceased to appear. His brow furrowed and he lifted his wand threateningly.
Amidst all the chaotic yells emitting from the Death Eaters, Potter, and Weasley, he heard a faint "Stupefy" from beside Ginny. He immediately ducked and the spell hit Lucius squarely in the chest. As his father keeled over from the impact, he launched himself forward at the formless spell-caster.
"Oof!" He landed atop a solid figure and from beneath him appeared Hermione Granger's head. "Mudblood?" he sneered, pinning her solidly to the ground.
Yvette gasped. "No, Draco, don't!" she cried, but Lucius was quickly recovering at her side, screaming at orders at his fellow Deatheaters.
But as his wand no longer rested on Yvette's throat and she sprung up, tackling him from behind. "Not this time, uncle," she gritted out. He fired curses blindly, vainly attempting to toss her off his back. Like her mother, her veela nails dug into his skin and held on tight.
His cries of anguish mingled with the shouting of curses reached Ginny's ears, but none of it really mattered.
"Hello, Ginny." Tom slowly crept into her, sapping her strength to increase his own. The sensation of him torturously seeped through her mind and she was helpless to stop him.
"Draco?" she whispered. "Draco, are you there?"
He did not answer. Instead, he had rolled off Hermione and hurriedly filled her in on details of the spell.
"Voldemort's spirit was summoned and by possessing Ginny, he can suck away her soul. This would break the Weatherby curse, while also gaining a body for himself. If you perform a wingardium leviosa for all the components of the spell, it would disrupt Voldemort's form and concentration. Then I could Avada Kedevra him. It wont kill him since he isn't in corporal form, but it would dissipate what has gathered of him."
She stared at him as if appraising his trustworthiness.
"So, what'll it be, Granger? There's nothing to loose."
She nodded reluctantly and waved her wand over the carefully laid out ritual pattern.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
The chaos stilled in amazement as a gust of wind clattered all the candles, lamps, and goblets of blood towards a vague point in the air. The sand rose, losing its artful pattern while the golden lamps knocked with the multitude of objects. The moment seemed to be frozen in time – Death Eaters closing in on Harry and Ron, Yvette and Lucius in their struggle, and at the center of it all, Hermoine, Draco, and Ginny. He raised his arms and focused straight at the burning red orbs.
"Avada Kedevra!" Green light filled the eyes of everyone present, causing many to shield their faces with their arms. Through it all a horrible, high-pitched scream consumed the cool, eerie air. A whirlwind of sand and blood splattered wildly against stone walls and the chandeliered ceiling raining down as the scream and light faded. The pandemonium stilled, all that was left of the ceremony was Ginny crumbling to the ground, arms breaking free from any binds that held them. She lay flat on her back, Draco still holding his wand, pointing numbly at the empty spot in front of her.
"I never thought! My own son!"
Enraged, Lucius threw Yvette to the ground and she landed frighteningly still and silent. He stormed over to Draco, grabbed him by the collar, shook him, and threw him on the floor away from Ginny. He stared blankly back at his father and gave no struggle to his brutality.
"Remember what I said to you Draco when you last defied me?"
He looked up stonily at Lucius. "Of course, father."
"Don't call me that! I am NOT your father! A child of mine would never be a weakling…a traitor."
Silence filled the room. Even Harry and Ron stood still among the Death Eaters and watched the scene.
"Then, maybe I don't want to be your son," Draco said slowly. "That would put an end to the curse too, wouldn't it? If you disowned me."
"I don't want to disown you, Draco," he sneered. "What would people say? There you are again – always thinking about yourself. Do you realize how long I've planned for this? The Dark Lord will not be pleased." He waved an arm at the Death Eaters and they immediately seized Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "No…I won't disown you. It would be better if you died in some tragic accident. The headlines will read 'Draco Malfoy Fell From Broom When Escaping Hogwarts' …. after committing the murders of several of your peers.
"You could have had it all, Draco. The family fortune, the power, the place at the Dark Lord's right-hand side. But instead, you chose…her?" Lucius waved his hand lividly at Ginny's body. "A Weasley? What were you thinking? You bring disgrace to the Malfoy name."
Draco's hands clenched as anger flared up within him. "Disgrace the family name? My whole life, I've only done what you've asked of me father. My entire existence has been spent in your servitude. Everything I've ever done has been for you. Just this once I did what was right for me and not what you -,"
"Don't give me that shit, boy. You only think about yourself. What about your mother? Forgot about her, have you?"
"My mother is too far gone to love anymore. You drove her to that point. You're a pitiful man, Lucius. You've destroyed anyone who's ever cared about you. I don't care if saving this girl botches up another plan for Voldemort, causes you a terminal disease, or even kills me. I'm sick of doing your chores for you, because I know I could end up just like you someday. And that very thought frightens me more than death."
Lucius' cheeks held two blotches of angry red. "Whatever you say, son. I'll be glad to grant you your final wish." He raised his wand, shaking in rage. "Avada Kedrava."
As the green light shot out of his wand, a figure dashed in front of Draco and seized his wand. "PROTEGO!"
The shield glowed and Lucius's eyes widened as the curse rebounded. Within a split second, the swords of intense emerald light blasted back at him forcefully. He gasped when he spell hit him, but stood in place determinedly. Through the brilliant light, his eyes locked with his son's.
"Don't look away, Draco," he whispered hoarsely. "Take care of your mother. Tell her…tell her I'm sorry."
For the second time that day, the jade rays faded and all that remained behind them was the corpse of Lucius Malfoy. Ginny lowered the wand and wordlessly handed it back to Draco. He took it shakily, the warmth of her hands still on it. He walked over to the fallen body of his father and bent down. Lucius' unblinking gray eyes, common to every Malfoy stared up at him vacantly, reflecting his own. Draco swept his eyelids closed, his father's soft eyelashes brushing surreally against his palm. He then rose and turned to the stunned onlookers. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had managed to free themselves from the Death Eaters. They looked at him and he glared back, despising the utter pity shining through their gazes. His father's colleagues had all lowered their wands, unsure of what to do next. The Dark Lord had been banished and their leader was now dead. Hesitantly, Hermione whispered something to Harry and Ron. They spun around to face the handful of Death Eaters left.
"Immobivinias!" they cried and immediately, the hooded, blood and sand dusted figures were suspended by enchanted ropes to the chandelier.
"Just until aurors can come," Hermione said quietly.
Draco nodded numbly. "You better get the hell out of my house. There are some things about the Manor and its master that I'm sure none of you are prepared to find out."
The trio stared at each other and nodded. Noiselessly, they turned and strode out of the double doors. Ginny still stood by his side, unwilling to leave. Instead, she made her way to Yvette's crumpled body, relieved to find a weak heartbeat. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "Oh, Yvette, I'm so sorry." Weakly, Yvette opened her eyes and lifted her hand to Ginny's cheek.
"For what?" she smiled warmly.
"For doubting you."
Draco gazed at them silently. Everything had changed now. His father was gone. And she had killed him.
*****
The End
*****
Wanna read a really funny convo that me and mig had?
CoCoNuTcUrLz:
hey!!
Sellene 3: i just recorrected fic
CoCoNuTcUrLz: i was thinking what if they cast that like bounce back charm?
Sellene 3: but why?
CoCoNuTcUrLz: so voldemort would bounce back!
CoCoNuTcUrLz: :D
Sellene 3: ...
CoCoNuTcUrLz: outta ginny?
Sellene 3: ...
Sellene 3: i dont think it really works like that
Sellene 3: hahahaha ^_~
CoCoNuTcUrLz: *cries*
CoCoNuTcUrLz: y not!!
Sellene 3: its like reflecting spells that u throw at someone
Sellene 3: like if i was all "avada kedrava!"
Sellene 3: and u were all "protego!"
Sellene 3: it would bounce back
Sellene 3: and kill me
Sellene 3: =(
Sellene 3: :/
CoCoNuTcUrLz: awwww
CoCoNuTcUrLz: they could cast the killing curse!
CoCoNuTcUrLz: avanda kedrava!
Sellene 3: to kill ginny?
Sellene 3: or at the smoke thing
Sellene 3: ?
CoCoNuTcUrLz: hmm
CoCoNuTcUrLz: the smoke thing?
Sellene 3: but part of its in her!
CoCoNuTcUrLz: well maybe it'll kill the parts in her?
Sellene 3: sure!
Sellene 3: go for it
Sellene 3: or...
Sellene 3: haha
Sellene 3: they could do...accio voldemort and voldemort could come flying at
them
Sellene 3: then they could do avada kedrava
Sellene 3: ^_^
Sorry this update took so long. See…okay here are our excuses. I had this huge choir concert thing that took lots of rehearsals and stuff. And Mig had dance performances and stuff. And we both had a whole bunch of tae kwon do stuff to worry about. And then we're both taking algebra ii and physiology honors which are hard classes u know! And then I went to Disneyland for Spring Break, then Disneyland again for choir stuff. When I came back…there was a whole bunch of work to make up. Then we had psat's testing and finals…lots of stuff to worry about here. Then…come summer, we're updating! See? Not THAT bad right? Sure it took about 4 or 5 months…but we're still alive! ^_^
Alrite…u guys..the next chapter is the Winter Ball. I guess the entire fic boils down to the DG interaction next chapter, so please stay tuned and read cuz we've been looking forward to writing it for so long. Thank you for reading Antithetical and perhaps, reviewing? ^_^ Individual thank-you's are below.
RubberDucki – yay! so nice of u to say we're original, especially since one of our first reviewers (ever) said we weren't. chopin – oof, I luv ur fics! Yes..the pansy thing was a random thing that I (sellene) did. Glad u liked. Gusha – u must solemnly swear, eh? Hehhe..well, here it is. stay tuned for the epilogue. yam - hope mig e-mailed u to save u from death with our update! ^_^ Karen – glad u enjoyed. Marie – one of ur favorite fics? We're sooo flattered! We really are! ^_^ pixie – no…it's not over. The sequel…umm, just ignore it. We were gonna write one, but too lazy now. Probably gonna do an original story next. Damnzdevil – yeah…we really have to work on hardening draco up (no pun intended ^_~). Thx for ur support! Druidess – wow..we're ur first signed review? Sooo honored! We're actually one of the ORIGINAL curse stories…so yes…^_^ hehe Vanessa – yeah…H/Hr is just kinda conveniently there. Sorry. Yam – yup! Now that it's summer, we're trying to update more. but that's what we said last summer too -__-' /\/\1| - yes, we're very happy. Gonna bug u soon again ^_^ RosieLady – yeah…thanx for ur constructive criticism. Sincerely appreciate it. It's true…we do tend to jump around a lot. I guess it's just part of our writing style. Hopefully, as we mature as writers, the choppiness will cease to exist. Dragon Faerie – hehe..thx for ur support. Luv ur sn! ^_^ KeeperOfTheMoon – updated ^_~ Mags – hey girl! Hehe..naw, it's not that draco didn't care about Yvette back then, it's that he was too scared to help. He's friendly to her because she was kind to him back at the manor, and he also feels bad for letting bad things happen to her mommy. Hope that wasn't too confusing…^_~ myobgirly – yay! at least one person thought last chapter was depressing. Was what we were going for. ^_^ Dizzy Flower – thanx for saying we're talented. Hehhe Anin – Yeah…ur not the first person to say that we're a big choppy. It's something we're trying to improve one. Thanx for ur imput! ^_^ yam (again?) – guess what? This isn't the last chapter..the next one will be the epilogue…full of DG*ness Jennifer Kay – hahaha..take our sn and stalk us? Stayed tuned for the epilogue which will have TONS of DG interaction. Hope u'll like. Yeah…fight that writer's block! demented weesil – heh…luv ur name. Update not exactly quickishlike..but close, no? frananddragon – yeah…last chapter was kinda boring. we could barely stand reading it over to correct typos. Hehe…hope this one is a bit better. NiMiBabe – thx! We will…I think ^_^ Alianorie – Yeah..this is what happened. Poor Ginny, no? Sigh…Oh well. Dgness next chapter. Verena Gruen – ooh, we luv u Verena! Such a faithfull reader! ^_^ thx for reading! Jenn – hehhee..you'll find out next chapter. ^_~ sabacat – thx! Here's more! hehe BTW, u were the first reviewer for last chapter…so congrats! hehhe