Disclaimer:
JK Rowling owns all characters.
The Map
"Draco. Draco, wake up."
He opened his eyes slowly to find Ginny's face hovering over him. She shook his shoulder one last time to make sure that he was totally awake and waved something in his face.
"What?" he demanded, irritated that she had
woken him from a dead sleep.
"Look," she said, pulling herself into a
sitting position on his bed, her legs tucked under her. "Look at this."
With the light from her wand, Draco inspected
the parchment she held. It appeared to be a map, drawn in silvery blue ink that
was shimmering even in the dull light. At first glance it looked just like a
jumble of lines, but as he searched closer he found that it actually was
leading to something. The lines started at the bottom left, weaved all over the
page, crossed over each other, and ended in the top right corner along with a
huge blob of dark red. It looked like someone had accidentally blotted the
paper with blood or some other red substance.
"What's this for?" Draco snapped, ready to go
back to bed.
"I think this is the map to the Blood Skull,"
Ginny whispered, her brown eyes wide with excitement. "I've been looking at it
for the past hour. Look, see that red blob? That must mean that's where the
skull is!"
Draco tore his dubious gaze from hers and
glanced back at the parchment. "So where is this?" he asked, pointing at the
bottom left corner that read Begin. "Where are we supposed to be begin?"
Ginny's eyebrows frowned along with her
mouth. "I'm not sure."
"Ginny, this is just a big mass of lines,"
Draco told her impatiently. "I guess I can see how you would think it's
a map, but it isn't. There are no labels or anything. These lines could be
anything – roads, flight paths, a row of trees . . . not to mention that red
circle just looks like someone got pricked by a rather large sharp object and
their blood dripped on the parchment."
"In a perfect circle?" Ginny cried. "Draco, I
have the strongest feeling this is what will take us to the Blood Skull. I just
know it will."
"How? And how did you even get this?" He
gestured at the paper.
"I had a dream," she said, her eyes growing
serious. "It was really odd – and when I woke up, I woke up with this in my
hand. And you want to know the weird part?"
"Ginny, all dreams are weird," he pointed
out.
"I actually touched this exact same parchment
in the dream," she said, ignoring his comment. "And then I woke up instantly
with it."
Draco stared at her, searching her face. She
wouldn't be lying, but could it be that she thought something that hadn't
really happened?
"There were people in my dream, too," she
rushed on, eager to share. "Godric Gryffindor and Helga Hufflepuff. They helped
me find this map. They showed me the way."
"Really?" Draco arched an eyebrow. "And where
was Rowena Ravenclaw while they were 'showing you the way?'"
Ginny frowned. "You're mocking me. You don't
believe me."
"Did you expect I would, Ginny? I believe
that perhaps you might have had this dream with Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, but
I don't think you could've woken up with this 'map' suddenly in your hand when
you had touched it in your dream. And even if you did, and I stress if,
then there is no way it's the map to the Blood Skull. It's buried deep under
the earth somewhere – if experts haven't found it, how should we with an
unlabeled map?"
She rubbed her bare arms as if she was
suddenly cold. Staring out the window with an unreadable expression, she said
softly, "It's the map. I know it is. The labels must be hidden somehow. It can
only be accessed with magic."
"How the hell do you know?"
She snapped her head to look at him, eyes
flaring. "I just do, all right? Damnit, Draco, remind me never to wake
you in the middle of the night when we're married."
Then she seemed to realize what she had said
and flushed, he could even see it in the ill lighting. Draco was slightly
stunned – he had never known how much she thought about marrying him.
She went on, trying hurriedly to cover up her
embarrassment. "Harry has a map that you can only see when you chant a special
phrase. I think that's the case with this one. Some sort of magic . . ." she
trailed off, appearing to be deep in thought though her cheeks were still a
deep red.
"You think about it. I'm going to bed," he
said, shifting back into a lying position.
But he couldn't go back to sleep. She did not
leave but she turned off her wandlight. He felt bad about snapping at her, and
he wanted to hold her. Every nerve ending was sizzling because she was so near.
His fingers itched to grab her and pull her into his arms and kiss her hard.
After about a half hour, he heard her sigh
and he tensed, afraid she was going to leave. Instead he felt her turn so she
could look down at him. Even though his eyes were closed he could feel her
staring at him. It took all his strength to keep his eyelids shut.
Her fingers gently brushed across his cheek, and
then combed through his hair, brushing loose strands off his forehead. She
sighed again and then leaned her mouth right down next to his ear. Her breath
on his neck, giving him chills, she whispered very quietly, "I love you, even
if you are an asshole."
He reached out and grabbed her, causing her
to cry out from surprise. But when she saw his grin as he pulled her down on
top of him, she began laughing. He cut her off by planting his lips on hers and
she immediately responded, kissing him back furiously. Her arms flew to his
head, slipping around his neck and gripping him as if he was going to suddenly
be ripped from her. His own hands went around her back, underneath the T-shirt
that was too large for her, and stroked along her flesh, feeling her trembling against
him. How did she manage to have the effect on him that she did? When he was
kissing her, holding her, nothing else mattered. The only thing that slightly
worried him in the back of his mind was that she would stop and leave him
alone, cold once more.
His skin always seemed cool when he wasn't
touching her, but as soon as he was with Ginny, it rapidly warmed to the point where
he felt like he should be sweating. But it wasn't unpleasant – it was the exact
opposite. Now he knew he loved her, didn't doubt it a bit, and began to have
wild thoughts of marriage himself.
Much to his dismay, Ginny pulled her lips
from his and placed her hands on his chest, pushing herself into a sitting
position. "Stop," she whispered, now straddling his waist, staring down at him.
"If we don't then we'll go too far."
Far? Who cares?! Draco's mind screamed. But
he forced himself not to show it and replied thickly, "You're right."
She smiled gently and lay down on top of him,
sliding her arms under his back. Resting her cheek on his chest, she said a bit
breathlessly, "I'll just lay here for a little while."
Draco smiled, glad she couldn't see, and
wrapped his fingers in her hair. In moments they were both asleep.
Ginny woke up the next morning, disoriented. She wasn't in her bed –
where was she?
And then she remembered the night before. Lifting her head she found she was sprawled on her stomach, one leg thrown over Draco's, arms lying neatly under her body. Draco lay inches away from her on his back, face turned towards her. His breathing was slow and even, showing that he was still fast asleep.
Ginny lifted her leg off him and sat up, both
arms asleep from being pinned underneath her for so long. Glancing at the Muggle
clock on the wall, she found it was nearly nine.
Damn. Mum might've come into my room to find
it empty already, she thought, cursing under her breath. With one final look at Draco,
she grabbed the map that had fallen to the floor and fled the room.
Out in the hallway she paused and listened.
Downstairs came the voices of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and her mother and none of
them seemed more angry or frustrated than usual. So at least they still thought
she was in her room, or else they would've checked Draco's and found her
sleeping next to him.
Her stomach fluttered at the thought of what
her mother might think if she had seen them.
She hurried back into her room. Not hungry
for breakfast yet, and not ready to go downstairs without the fear of blushing,
she sat down in the square of sunlight from the window on the floor. She
inspected the map in the sun, hoping to find something she might've missed the
night before.
After ten minutes of holding the map inches
from her face, looking so close she was sure she would've seen fingerprints if
she'd been searching for them, she sighed in frustration. She leaned away from
it and stretched, her back aching from leaning over so far.
She stood up and let the parchment flutter to
the floor. Then someone knocked.
Ginny opened the door to find Harry. He smiled
uncertainly at her. "Hi."
She smiled back. "Hi."
"Um, there's breakfast downstairs," he said,
pointing in the general direction as if she didn't know where the kitchen was.
She smiled wider at his nervousness, remembering when it had been her
stuttering like an idiot when he was around.
"Thanks. I'll be down in a minute."
"Sure."
Ginny started to shut the door and Harry
turned away, but spun back at the last minute and put a hand out to stop the
door from closing. "Wait," he said.
She pulled it open, staring expectantly, yet
dreading what he was going to say. They hadn't spoken much about what had
happened when they'd been kidnapped together, and she had hoped it would remain
unmentioned
He stood there for a moment, his mouth open
and preparing to talk. But no words seemed to come. Finally, he smiled and
sighed at the same time. "I guess I should start by saying we need to talk."
"Hmm." She didn't know what else to say.
"Look, Ginny –"
He cut off when he saw her eyes move over his
shoulder. Draco had emerged from the room and was walking by, staring at them
warily. When Harry turned, he half-grinned, half-smirked at them nonchalantly
and waved.
"Coming to breakfast, Ginny?" Draco asked her
pleasantly.
Ginny nodded, glad for the distraction but
feeling sort of bad because Harry looked crushed. She slid by him and joined
Draco and they went down to eat.
Fifteen minutes later, Ginny came back
upstairs to get dressed. She planned on taking a shower, and while she ran
around trying to find a decent outfit so she could get dressed in the bathroom
after she bathed, her eyes rested on the map on the floor.
It was lying facedown, but there was black
lettering on the back. Curious, Ginny approached it and crouched beside it.
Those words definitely hadn't been on there the night before – she'd checked
every inch of it thoroughly.
Across the back, in huge black letters, was: LYON
HOW EEKS GODO OF THE LOBOD LULKS HALLS NIFD TI.
"Lyon how eeks godo of the lobod lulks halls nifd ti?" said Ginny indecorously. "What the hell does that mean?"
She flipped the map over, hoping perhaps
those were the words that would label the lines. But it remained just as mind
boggling as it had been before. Ginny shrieked in frustration and tilted her
head back. "How am I supposed to find the stupid skull?!" she screamed at the
ceiling.
Angry and flustered, she grabbed the first
shirt and jeans that her hands found and stormed into the bathroom. While in
the shower, she vigorously, and rather violently, washed her hair, muttering to
herself.
"They give me a useless map. How am I
supposed to use it? Draco's right – I'll never be able to figure out how to
work it. It's definitely the right map, but I don't know how the bloody hell to
use it. This so stupid. I'm so angry I'm talking to myself in the
shower."
She forced herself to shut up and keep her
thoughts in her head.
When she came out of the bathroom, dressed
and her hair still somewhat wet, she found Draco was standing right outside the
door. She stopped when she saw him. His eyebrow was arched in amusement.
"Talking to yourself, were you?"
"You were standing out there the whole time?"
Ginny cried.
He grinned. "I was debating whether to come
in and take a shower with you or not. Then when I heard you talking, I was
afraid you were already taking a shower with someone else. And then I realized
you were talking to yourself, so then I thought you were going crazy and
decided just to wait out here."
Ginny couldn't help but laugh. Then she
sobered when she remembered the map. "I was just frustrated. Come and look at
what I found."
She took his hand and led him back into her
room. He came behind her and looked over her shoulder while she held the
parchment up so she could see.
"Lyon how eeks godo of the lobod lulks halls
nifd ti?" Draco read in a tone similar to what hers had been.
"I don't know what it means," Ginny whined,
trying to ignore his hands that had slid around her waist from behind. He
pulled her back against him. "It's really annoying me."
"Mmm, your hair smells good," he said,
sticking his face down into her hair and inhaling deeply.
"Draco."
"Ginny." He imitated her stern tone.
"Can you concentrate, please?" she asked,
jerking from his grip. She didn't turn to him, afraid he would see the smile
she was trying to smother.
"I am."
"On the map, not me."
"But the map doesn't excite me as much as you
do," he said innocently.
Ginny flushed, but rolled her eyes. "Please.
I know this is the map to the Blood Skull. We have to figure out how to work
it."
Draco dropped onto the bed. "Gin, can't we
leave this Blood Skull deal to the Ministry? If anyone could find the skull, it
would be them, not us."
"But we have a map," Ginny insisted,
sitting beside him.
"A totally useless map. Not to mention it
could be the map of a city in China for all we know. There's no way to prove
that it would lead us to the Blood Skull."
"It is the right map," she replied
stubbornly, "but you do have a point. It is useless without labels."
Draco draped his arm around her shoulders.
She allowed her head to drop against his own shoulder, sighing and lowering the
parchment in her lap. "I want to find the Blood Skull soon. The sooner we do
it, the less lives Slytherin will take."
"But I have a feeling Slytherin is going to
be like most people who want to take over the world," Draco said in a hard
tone. "Like Voldemort – he'll want followers. I'm sure he has dozens by now,
don't you think? If we kill him, we'll still have his comrades to get rid of."
"They wouldn't have his power," Ginny
reminded him. "After he's gone they won't keep trying to take over the world."
"You can only guess."
"Be a little optimistic, Draco," Ginny cried,
leaning away so she could meet his eyes. "All that matters at the moment is
getting the Blood Skull so we can get rid of Slytherin's spirit. After that he'll
just be your father again and he'll be able to be confined in Azkaban. The
Ministry will be able to deal with Slytherin's followers. Everything will work
out – I promise."
"You forget – we go back to school in three
days."
"Oh damn, you're right. I did forget."
"If this map is anything like other maps,
then it will take us maybe a day to get to where we want if we start where it
says begin," Draco said, pointing to it. "Then we'll have two days to do what?
To lure Slytherin here? What if he kills you for real this time?"
"If we find the skull we'll give it to the
Ministry," Ginny said, frowning. "They can do that while we go back to school."
Draco stared at her for a long time before
replying. Finally, he shrugged. "Fine. If you can figure out what –" He paused
to lean over and read the map again. "-what lyon how eeks godo of the lobod halls
lulks nifd ti means, and can get the map to be labeled, then I promise I'll
help you find the skull."
Ginny beamed and kissed his cheek. "Thanks,
Draco. Now, why don't you go get dressed?" Her voice sounded innocent enough,
but she secretly wanted him back in leather again. She had gotten so used to it
that it was odd to see him in anything else, even pajamas.
He gave her a half grin and left the room.
A/N: I hope to get chapter seventeen out soon – the weekends coming,
but my cousins are coming and its my parents anniversary so I might not be able
to :( The next chapter Hermione helps out and Ginny and Draco go off to the
find the Blood Skull, just so you know what's comin'.
Real quick thanks to: w&m_law, Archer, Amanda Mancini, summer_thyme,
PepperJackCandy, Draco's Lil Angel (yes, he's still at Hogwarts, he's a seventh
year), sOmEoNeSpEcIaL (I've heard of British people called Georgia – why not
Virginia, too? Lol), Hermione M. Granger, and Zoemma.
Review please!! Thanx!
