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A/n The next two chapters (or so) will have Ginny, Lanie, and Liberty's POV. After that, the rest will all take off in Ginny's POV and the plot will develop a lot more. Until then, please be patient. ThanksJ

A glimmer through the darkness

Part 3: the dark spot

Lanie swore she had to be walking around in circles. She couldn't get out of the dark spot in the forest. Every time she switched directions, she kept getting deeper into the darkness. What was worse, it was close to nightfall and not only would she probably have to stay in the Dark Spot, but she would also have to sleep on an empty stomach. There was no edible vegetation in the Dark Spot. The only plants and trees that grew there were either poisonous, or harmful in some other way (Some of the trees would rather eat animals than have animals eat them, including humans).

She also knew there would be no water around the Dark Spot. She had heard stories that the plants and animals that live in the dark spot don't need water to survive. Not even a slight morning dew would grace its presence in the Dark Spot. If she did not get out of there by tomorrow, she will be as well as dead.

She picked a spot that wasn't quite so laden in weeds. The feeling of the cold ground made her gasp; grass did not grow in the Dark Spot. She wrapped her blanket around her tight as to keep any of the creepy crawlers away from her. She covered up her face and tried her best to fall asleep.

Lanie must have gotten to sleep to some point or another because she woke up at the crack of dawn to some strange noises in the distance. When she opened her eyes, she noticed all sorts of little bugs crawling around her blanket, and some bit holes in the blanket and were biting her, hard. She quickly jumped up and ran in the opposite direction of the noise. She didn't know what it was, or what kinds of bugs were biting her, but she wasn't going to wait and find out. She had to find a way out of the dark spot soon. She hadn't heard the buzzing noise for almost twenty-four hours now, and she now wished she would because that may be the only way she could be saved.

"I bought new dress robes for the Yule Ball this year," Kimberly told Ginny on their way to Transfiguration the next day.

"We're having another Yule Ball this year," Ginny asked. She didn't mind having another ball, but she had the same dress robes since her third year. She wished she had the money for new robes.

"You didn't know? Well, I guess I only know because Shelby told me this summer."

"Must be nice to have sources," Ginny teased.

They walked toward the classroom. Ginny couldn't help but notice that everyone seemed to be staring at her. It all started during breakfast when she caught a couple third year Hufflepuff boys glaring over at her and Harry. Stranger yet, her friend Bridgett walked up to her and patted her on the shoulder saying, "it'll all work out Gin," in a comforting voice and walked back to her usual table. The day just kept getting weirder and weirder. Just as Ginny was about to walk in she was interrupted by a low feminine voice shouting, "hey Weasley."

She turned to find the last person she would expect to be calling her; Pansy Parkenson. Ginny barely knew Pansy, and she was surprised Pansy even knew who she was. As Ginny turned to look at her across the hall, she was motioning for Ginny to come over there. "Save me a seat, will you," she asked Kimberly.

"You mean you're going to actually talk to her?"

"I just want to know what she wants."

"Okay."

Ginny walked over to Pansy, wondering all along if it was a mistake to even listen to Pansy. "What do you want?"

"You're Potter's girl, right?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because if you are, I need to talk to you now."

Ginny sighed, the last thing she wanted to do was talk to Draco Malfoy's girlfriend. "If you can't tell Pansy, I need to get to class. I don't have time to listen to whatever nonsense you want to feed me."

"It's important Weasley." Pansy looked serious. Ginny could tell by her facial expressions that she was not just kidding around.

"I'll talk to you tonight. Eight o'clock in the library."

"Make it eight-thirty."

"Fine," Ginny agreed in an aggravated tone.

"Fine," Pansy sneered, walking away down the hall.

Ginny turned back around and slipped into her seat just in time for the class period to start. "What did she want," Kimberly asked as Ginny sat down next to her.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

"She has to be in there," Liberty said, pointed to the area of the map labeled 'Dark Spot.' "We have been walking all around the dark spot for hours, and we haven't found any other trace of her besides the tracks leading into the dark spot."

She knew however that if Lanie was in the Dark Spot, it was useless. The map would not work in the Dark Spot, nor would most of their magic. The Dark Spot was a famous place for dark magic. Many believe that You-Know-Who's hideout is somewhere in the Dark Spot. If Lanie was in there, chances are she would not be coming back out.

"That's it, we have to go in after her," Remus said, putting away the map and heading towards Lanie's trail in the thinning grass.

"You're crazy! We'll all get killed," Liberty told him. "Sirius, talk some sense into him."

"Well…actually, I think we should go in. She'll die in there alone."

"And we'll die going in to save her. Not to mention she may already be dead."

"But what if she's still alive, and we could've saved her, but we didn't. We need to save her if she can possibly be saved," Remus said.

Lanie took one last look at Sirius, but she could tell it would be of no use. "Alright," she said. "But, we should at least make some kind of trail, or marking so we can find our way back out. The map is not going to work in the Dark Spot." Sirius reached into his knapsack to pull out a handful of berries that they were saving up in case they ever ran out of food. Lanie took them and started to spread them down their path. She was careful to step on them to make sure the juice stained the grass around them. That way, if the birds ate the berries, the stains would still be present.

They were going into the Dark Spot.