Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the characters.
Chapter TwentyAt Last
They'd been walking for about an hour, Ginny slightly behind Draco, lost in her own thoughts. She went up to absently tug on the chain that held his ring around her neck, and realized it wasn't there.
She stopped, her stomach dropping. It took Draco a moment to notice she still wasn't walking and stopped as well, twisting around to see what was wrong.
"What is it?" he asked, sounding exasperated.
"The ring," she breathed. He obviously didn't hear her, so she said louder, "Oh, Draco, the ring. The ring you gave me. I left it back at that house."
He sighed, his shoulders sagging. "Ginny, we can't go back and get it. By now that woman will be murderous. If we go back it'll be like asking to be killed."
Ginny hurried to his side. "I won't go without it."
"You have to. Might I remind you we have school in two days? If we go back we'll never get out of this maze by then."
"I don't care. Draco, that ring means a lot to me."
"We can't. I'm not going back there. And I'm not letting you go. Come on, when we get back I'll buy you a thousand rings, all right? We're just not going back."
He was annoyed, and began walking again. Ginny knew she couldn't argue. His mind was set. Oh, how come I didn't notice earlier? she wondered, frustrated nearly to tears. Now Draco's mad at me.
The air suddenly seemed a lot chillier, and the breeze gave her goose flesh.
"Are you coming?" he snapped, stopping once again to shout at her over his shoulder.
Rubbing her arms, she scurried to catch up with him. She struggled to keep up with his long strides, nearly jogging to stay by his side.
"What does the map say?" His voice was slightly softer, but it covered his emotions well and Ginny couldn't tell what he was thinking. She took the map from her pocket and thrust it at him.
"It doesn't say anything," she said, somewhat sulkily. "It's a map. It doesn't talk."
When she met his eyes, she saw him staring at her with an amused half-smile, before he quickly looked down at the parchment in his hands. His expression sobered instantly. "Look," he said, holding it out for her to see while they continued to walk. "We're almost there."
To Ginny's great relief, he was right. The end of the maze was about two inches from where they were (according to the map proportions), which meant only a few more turns and they would reach the skull.
Now that they were minutes away, Ginny began to feel nervous and even a little frightened. What's guarding the Blood Skull? she wondered. Something has to be. It can't be the most sacred piece of . . . of skull in the wizarding world and not have some sort of troll guarding it, or hex surrounding it.
They turned the final corner and Draco stopped short, sticking out his arm to block her and causing her to stop as well. About two yards ahead was the Blood Skull, floating in midair around waist-height. Ginny started at it for a long moment, feeling both relieved for finding it and nervous about the prospect of using it against Salazar Slytherin.
It was the size of a regular human skull, and shaped like one, complete with the grinning teeth and empty eye sockets. But it was made of smooth, dark red crystal.
"How do we know if it's safe to take it or not?" Ginny whispered to Draco. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to speak softly, but she did.
"We don't," he replied grimly, lowering his arm. He tore his eyes from the skull and reached for his wand, looking around as if trying to detect some sort of danger. "But I have an idea. My dad taught me a spell that will show if this area is hexed or not. Stand back for a second."
Ginny took a few steps back, watching carefully. Draco raised his wand and muttered, "Ralima hexious."
For a long moment, nothing happened. Ginny was about to open her mouth and say it must be safe when suddenly, the air just in front of Draco wavered. Large, water-like ripples filled the entire space in front of him, sort of like a wall.
Ginny stared at it as Draco returned to her side, watching as the ripples got bigger and then finally disappeared altogether. Then, without moving her gaze, she asked, "What does that mean?"
"That means it's hexed," he replied. "And from the color of the ripples it's protected by a several hexes."
"The color? There was no color!" said Ginny.
"Exactly. When there are over fifteen spells on one area, then there's no color in the ripples. Trust me, Ginny, I know all about this," he added sarcastically.
"Fifteen spells?" she repeated. "Fifteen?"
Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yes. And I'm guessing most of them are ancient ones that aren't used anymore. Meaning that I can't disarm them because I never learned how."
"But – but –" Ginny sputtered. "What can we do if we can't get by?"
"We can't do anything," Draco snapped suddenly, fixing his eyes on her. He was angry and Ginny actually flinched at his sharp tone. "We can't go back because we'll have to walk by that nuthouse again, and even if we did manage to get by unnoticed, there's no guarantee there's a way out."
With a sinking stomach, Ginny realized there was no way out. No way out backwards, no way out forwards. They were stuck.
"Can't…" She trailed off, blinking back helpless tears. "…can't you try to disarm the hexes?" Her voice was trembling and she felt like a child, but she couldn't help how choked up she was.
Draco's expression was hard to read, but his eyes had clearly darkened several shades, showing he was furious. Whether it was at her she didn't know, and she didn't want to know.
"I can't," he said simply.
Not can't. Won't, Ginny thought bitterly. Then she forced it from her mind. Getting annoyed at Draco would not help their situation in the least. Now she felt awkward, and wiped her eyes quickly.
"Maybe the map'll help us," she said, sniffing, and holding her hand out for Draco to give it to her.
He handed it to her with a smirk, his gaze back on the invisible wall of spells. "The map tells us how to get here," he said. "Not how to get past hexes."
Ginny searched the map desperately for anything that would help them. But it remained the same as always, just a jumble of lines and the two dots in the very top right corner, placed near the red circle.
Tears threatened to spill over as she flipped it over several times, checking the blank back for something. But there was nothing, nothing . . .
Something caught her eye, and hastily she wiped them dry. On the back of the map something black was starting to form. Her heart soared when she realized it was words, forming one letter at a time.
"Draco!" she whispered urgently, not daring to take her eyes off the parchment. "Look…"
He walked up behind her and began reading over her shoulder. It took nearly a full minute for the short message to complete, but when it did, Ginny felt the need to read it out loud.
"You have found the Blood Skull," she said, slightly breathless. "Only who seek good of the Blood Skull would have found it. If you abuse this great privilege, you shall be cursed and die a horribly painful death."
"That's cheerful," Draco quipped. "But how does it help?"
Ginny frowned, the excitement starting to fade. "I don't know…" Then she felt something in her hand, the one that was by her side and not holding the map. Glancing down, she gasped.
She lifted her arm for Draco to see, and he, too, sucked in a quiet breath when he saw that her fingers were wrapped around a quill.
"I guess we're supposed to sign it," she said, a bit dazed.
"Sign what?"
"The map," she replied, shooting him a look of disbelief over her shoulder. "Sign what . . . what else is there to sign? Honestly, and you call yourself a Slytherin."
"All right, smart ass, no need for comments," he snapped, and she could tell he was sneering.
"Turn around," she said, turning herself to face him. He obeyed and she used his back for support as she signed her name the blank area underneath the message. After he did the same, he handed the quill back to her, but before she could take it, it vanished into the air.
Ginny let out a little noise of surprise, and than an instant later the map disappeared from her hand as well. She glanced at Draco, who looked almost panicked, and reached for his hand for comfort.
He wove his fingers into hers, giving her a reassuring squeeze. Then his eyes traveled from her face to behind her, and the expression he had caused her to turn her head to see what he was staring at.
In the same area where it had happened before, the air was rippling. Ginny spun around and pressed her back against Draco, gripping his hand. A moment later, the whole space shone in a bright ice blue light, blinding them for a moment.
But a moment later, Ginny blinked, and everything was back to normal. "What happened?" she whispered to Draco.
Releasing her hand, he stepped forward, squinting at the hexed spot. "I don't know," he replied, slightly distracted. "Maybe that means it's not cursed anymore."
He started to walk towards it, but Ginny reached out and grabbed his arm. "Don't," she pleaded. "You don't know for certain. Do that spell thing again to make sure first."
Sighing exasperatedly, he reached for his wand. "Ralima hexious," he said dully for the second time.
They waited for something to happen for nearly two minutes, but the air remained clear. Finally, Ginny let out a breath and said, "I think that means it's gone."
He glanced at her with a half-smirk. "Only one way to find out."
And he stepped through. Nothing happened. He was close enough to reach out and touch the skull, and still he was fine.
Ginny hurried to his side. They both stared down at the Blood Skull, both too afraid to touch it. Ginny slipped her hand into his again, but he barely noticed. After another moment, she whispered, "Are we just going to gape or are we going to grab it?"
"I'll get it," he said, dropping her hand. "I seriously doubt anything will happen, considering that blue light probably got ride of any curses on it."
Still, he made no attempt to get the skull.
Ginny had an urge to giggle. Trying to suppress her laughter, she nudged him. "Go on," she urged.
He glanced at her. "I don't see anything amusing about this." But his smirk was clearly amused, and he returned his attention back to the skull. "All right, I'm getting it."
In a flash he'd leaned forward and plucked the Blood Skull from the air with both hands. Ginny squeezed her eyes shut and Draco flinched, both preparing for something terrible to happen. But several moments passed, and there was only silence.
Ginny opened her eyes and looked down at the crystal skull in his hands. She reached out and brushed the top with her fingertips. It was cool and smooth to her touch, and seemed to weigh nothing. Glancing up at Draco she saw him grinning at her, and her own mouth melted into a smile. "What?" she asked.
"Imagining how much this costs, aren't you?" he taunted. Funny how that comment would've pissed her off beyond reason had he said it two months ago. But now it only caused her to smile in disbelief and poke him in the ribs.
"Shut up, Draco," she said, and then something brown caused her to turn her attention to the shrubbery walls. "What is that…oh, look!"
He twisted his head to where she was pointing. A rounded door had appeared amongst the leaves, clearly marking the way out. When he returned his face to her he was grinning, a smile that reached his eyes, and handed the skull to her.
"Hold this," he said jokingly, and hurried over to the door. Ginny was right behind him, so relieved she couldn't stop smiling.
Draco stuck out his arm to stop her from rushing out. "Hold on," he said importantly. "This doorway could be hexed."
It took Ginny a moment to realize he was kidding, and she pushed him out of the way. "Draco, you're not funny at all," she scolded, grinning, and gave the Blood Skull back to him. Then she twisted the knob and pushed the heavy wooden door open.
"Come on," she said, reaching back for his hand.
She pulled him through the doorway, and when she turned back to slam the door behind them, to her great shock there was nothing there. It was just open field, like it'd been before the maze had erupted from the ground.
Ginny and Draco stared, amazed, at the empty space for a long while, still holding hands, the skull tucked under Draco's other arm. It's really gone, she thought, surprised. It was like it never existed.
When she finally managed to tear her gaze from it, she turned and saw something lying on the ground a few feet away. She approached it and cried out. "Draco, it's your broom!" she said triumphantly, bending down and holding it up.
"This is the spot where we entered the maze," he said, looking a bit confused. "But if the map was correct in direction, we had traveled northeast the whole time. There's no way we could end up back here."
"Who cares?" Ginny demanded wildly. "We made it out alive and with the skull!"
She returned to his side and planted a firm and brief kiss on his lips before pulling away and mounting the broom. "Come on, I'm starving. Let's get home."
Draco got on in front of her, put the skull between them, and pushed off into the air. The sunlight was rapidly melting away. "I'm not all that eager to get back," he said to her over his shoulder. "You're family will only kill me for allowing you to go out on this suicide mission."
"Suicide? Last time I checked we're still alive," she said. But she felt a pang as she remembered the Locator Ring, and knew that if she hadn't dragged Draco into it then she would still have it.
At least we've got a way to defeat Slytherin, she thought, trying to look on the bright side. Though we only have two days to do it.
"We'll need to get started right away on the skull," she said, tightening her arms around his waist and resting her chin on his shoulder. "We only have tomorrow before we go back to Hogwarts."
"Don't you reckon it'll take a bit longer than a day? I mean, do you even know how to get it to suck Slytherin's spirit from him?"
"No clue. We can ask Hermione."
"Even Granger can't do it in one day," Draco said. "Face it, Ginny, we'll have to give it to –"
He was cut off when something black and bulky zoomed directly in front of their broom, causing Draco to jerk to the side. Ginny let out a surprised shriek and grabbed a handful of his shirt. "What was that?" she cried.
"I don't know!" he snapped quickly and irritably, looking around for it. It seemed to have disappeared into the darkness.
Ginny was too tense to be hurt by his sharp words, and her eyes searched the black horizon for the creature. Suddenly, it appeared directly next to them, as if from nowhere. Ginny gasped, and Draco began to turn the broom to the left, away from it.
But there was another on their other side. It took her a moment to realize they were people; people in black and riding on broomsticks. They were dressed like Death Eaters, but she had a feeling that Salazar Slytherin was their lord.
Draco began to dip downwards, only to find that two had appeared below them. Ginny glanced over her shoulder and saw that they were totally surrounded, even in the back, and said into Draco's ear, "Up!"
It was the only way they could go. As they climbed higher, so did the people around them. They were like shadows on every side – no matter what Draco tried to do they would not shake off.
"Damnit!" Draco swore softly. "I can't get away from them!"
"We have to!" Ginny replied frantically. The guy on their right was flying so close to them Ginny's leg brushed against his.
The man released his grip on his broom and reached over, dropping his hands onto the skull between them. He began to remove it. "Ginny, grab it!" Draco ordered.
Ginny reached out and grabbed it firmly, her hands on the top and bottom while the man's were on the sides. He had a firm grasp, and her palms were sweaty, and she could feel it beginning to slip. He began to pull his broom away, knowing he had the advantage and would be able to slide it from her fingers with a bit more strength.
"No!" Ginny squealed, trying to draw the skull to her chest. Her heart pounded, she glancing down she could only see dark forms of trees. She knew very well they were high up, and if she fell off the broom she wouldn't live very long . . .
The man was pulling away rapidly, going higher, and he had the better grip. She couldn't bring it closer to her, so her arms were outstretched high above her head, and she was leaning dangerously far to the side.
"Ginny, let go!" Draco said, noticing how far she was leaning.
She had to let go. It slipped from her grasp.
But it had been the only thing holding her up, her clutch on the skull. Before she could quickly return her hold to the broomstick she lost her balance and fell off the side.
"Ginny!"
The men that had been flying below them must've moved out of the way, because Ginny never hit them.
The feeling of falling through the air, knowing that nothing would stop her for another few hundred feet, was terrifying. She opened her mouth and let out a short scream, but then her breath caught in her throat. She was falling head first, her hair whipping around her face, making it impossible to see anything.
This is it, she thought. I've come all this way just to die from falling off a broom.
All her brothers loved broomsticks. Her mother would probably never let them ride one again after this.
Ginny wasn't sure why she was thinking of her family in her final moments. Maybe it was because she loved them most in the world. But she loved Draco, too, and when she remembered him, his face flashed in her mind.
He'll blame himself. He was the one who ordered me to grab it, then told me to let go. He'll blame himself for my death –
Suddenly, something seized her ankle, abruptly ending her fall. Ginny let out a short scream of surprise, hanging by her ankle, and turned her head to look at the ground. The treetops were only feet below her.
Then she looked upward, her chin on her chest. She expected to see Draco holding her, but it wasn't. It was one of the men who had surrounded their broomstick. A hood shadowed his face, as usual, and she couldn't see who it was. But she had a feeling the only reason he'd saved her was because Slytherin wanted her alive.
He didn't bother hauling her up on his broom; instead, he began to fly down to the ground still holding her with one arm. He's got a lot of strength, Ginny thought, feeling the blood rush to her head. I'm no feather.
When he landed he wasn't gentle about setting her down. She fell on her stomach roughly, but she was so thankful to be back on solid ground she didn't care. If she hadn't been in so much danger she would've kissed the grass.
But then she was jerked to her feet, and in an instant her wrists were bound tightly by Muggle rope. Her wand was taken from her, and all the while she searched for Draco. She saw him, standing a few feet away, already tied up.
He looked concerned, but when her eyes met his he hardened his features.
Why is he so afraid to let his feelings known? she wondered, forcing a smile for him.
"Are you okay?" he mouthed.
She nodded, and then someone stepped between them, blocking their view of each other. Strong hands lifted her up onto the front of the broom, and the person got on behind her, kicking off into the air. The ground rapidly grew further below, so Ginny forced any thoughts of jumping off from her mind.
After all, she had more to worry about. She was now officially in Slytherin's clutches.
* * *
