a/n: let's see, it's 3.25.02 right now. if by 3.28.02 i don't have at
least sixty reviews, the next chap doesn't come out. yes, i'm greedy, i
know. but what's an author to do if she doesn't get a pat on the back for
her work? but that doesn't mean go and have the same person review many
times. that will just make me cancel the writing of the story altogether.
so if you haven't reviewed every chapter and are worried about this, then
review them all. and don't be mad at me. i just want some recognition.
HAPPY REVIEWING!
IF YOU DIDN'T READ WHAT'S ABOVE, THEN YOU'D BETTER DO IT IF YOU WANT THIS STORY TO CONTINUE!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Do you think your brothers will ever gert to know or like me?" Draco asked Ginny as he stood in front of the stove, cooking some pasta for dinner. "Not that I care or anything."
"Honestly? They'll probably keep you under close watch, but they might surprise us and make an attempt at friendship one day. Maybe."
Ginny reached over and grabbed her glass of iced tea. She dranbk it noisly, causing Draco to turn around and give her a look. She smiled sweetly at him and finished off the glass, slamming it down on the table.
Draco turned back to his pasta which was now boiling over the rim of the pot. He grabbed two pot holders and gripped the sides, draining the water into the sink a few feet away. Ginny stood up and moved to the cabinet, grabbing a jar of italian tomato sauce that a friend of hers who lived across the hall had given her. She dug around and found a small pan and turned the back burner of the stove on, warming the sauce until it was hot and bubbling.
"Mum owled me this afternoon," Ginny said as she turned the fire off and walked over, wrapping her arms around Draco's waist from behind. He smiled to himself, but pretended to be annoyed, trying his best to shake her off. "I told her to come by tonight. I hope that's alright."
Draco turned around and lifted Ginny up onto the counter next to them. He stood in front of her, pressed up against the counter and in between her legs (a/n: yeah, that doesn't sound too good, but you get the idea).
"You know, that completely ruins my plans for you tonight," Draco said with a smirk.
"You always have plans for me, but I don't think Mum stopping by tonight will interfere with -those- plans."
"I should bloody well hope not," Draco said as he kissed her lips roughly. He pulled back and wrapped a curl of her red hair around his finger. "Just one question."
"What's that?"
"Did you ever tell your mother that I moved in with you? That I live here now?"
"No, I believe that she left that part out," Mrs. Weasley said as she stood leaning against a wall in the kitchen. Draco jumped and Ginny looked away, a bright blush creeping up onto her face.
"Hello, Ginny dear," Molly said as she took a seat at the kitchen table.
Draco slowly moved away from Ginny and walked back to the stove, taking the pasta and the sauce, pouring them in dishes and setting them quietly on the table. He helped Ginny to get off of the counter. Ginny took a seat on one side of the table while Draco pulled three plates out of the cabinet.
Draco went and took the last remaining seat at the small table, and that was between the two Weasley women.
Ginny was the first to take a large scoop of pasta and pour it on her plate. Draco followed suit, and Molly was last. They ate in an uncomfortable silence for a while. It was killing Ginny and she had to break it.
"How are my brothers'" Ginny asked.
Molly smiled, happy that her daugher had broken the silence. It was beginning to tear at her nerves as well. "They're good. I know it's only been a few days since the last time you all were over, but Charlie stopped by."
Ginny smiled and Molly continued. "He was right happy, he was. Something about an albino dragon. A hatchling, only a few days old. Pearly white scales and green eyes to match. Rare, he says."
"I didn't think that there was such a thing," Draco said as he joined in on the conversation. "I thought they were only myth."
"So did everyone else. He thought he was going to have a heart attack when he saw it." Molly's eyes turned sad. "But he said that the poor thing was gone the next morning. Someone took it in the night."
"The stories all say that the white dragon has great power. It's no wonder that it was taken. I'm surprised they didn't have that thing locked in a cage guarded with a hundred wizards," Draco added.
"Maybe they'll find it," Ginny added hopefully. "If it does have power, hopefully it won't fall into the wrong hands."
Draco stood up and cleared their empty plates away. He walked back over to the table and leaned down, kissing Ginny on the cheek. "I'll be back in a while," he said as he walked around the corner. They heard the front door open and close and he was gone.
"How long had you been standing there?" Ginny asked her mother.
"Long enough."
"What all did you hear?"
"More than I probably should have. Why didn't you tell me that Draco was living with you?"
"I was going to, I really was, but I don't know what stopped me."
Molly frowned and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Does he treat you alright?"
"He treats me like an angel. I jsut wish everyone could look past his father and see him for what he is; a kind, handsome, loving man."
"Do you love him?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
Ginny twirled her necklace around her finger. She looked thoughtful for a moment. "With all my heart," she answered softly.
Molly looked pleased. "Well then I'm happy."
"I would be happier if the guys would give him a chance. They only know what the knew of him in school. But he's changed, Mum. He's not the same as he was."
Molly nodded in agreement. "How did you manage to get your hands on him?" Molly asked after a minute or two of silence.
"I found him drunk in the Leaky Cauldron one afternoon," Ginny said. Her mother looked startled, but she continued anyway. "By the looks of him I could tell that he had gotten in a pretty good row with someone. I didn't ask any question, and just brought him home with me. Turned out it was his father that had done the damage."
"Lucius Malfoy was a cruel, evil man," Molly said with force. "It's a good thing you got Draco away from him."
"Oh, Draco went back home after I nursed his hangover the next morning. But not without putting up with a fight from me."
"You should have chained him to the bed."
"I threatened him. But in the end he left, and it wasn't long after that that he kept coming back. And the rest is pretty obvious," Ginny said with a small smile.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
His wand. It had been a while since he had touched it. Years in fact. And now he had the drawer that it was secretly kept in open, and his hadn was poised over it, wanting nothing more than to make magic. But he couldn't.
He picked up the wand anyway and held it in his right hand. He smiled at the familiar feel. The sleek handle and the long, eleven inch length. He jumped when he heard a loud pop from behind him. It was the sound of someone apparating.
"Be careful with that thing. You wouldn't want to use it," the man said as he took a step forward. "I told you I'd be back."
"What do you want?" Harry said sharply.
"Oh, nothing really. Just popped in for a check up. The Dark Lord like me to do that, you know."
Harry looked at him sharply. He didn't like to be taunted, especially with threats from Voldemort's death eaters. And that's what he presumed this man was.
Both of them turned as they heard the front door open. Harrry tried to swallow as the knot in his throat began to rise. A thin layer of sweat formed on his forehead.
"Harry?" Hermione's voice called from the living room.
"Well well, who could that be?" The man said as he walked out of the room to go and inspect. Harry ran out of the room after him with his wand still in his hand.
Hermione stopped where she stood when she saw a man walk out of Harry's study. She had never seen him before, but instantly knew that he was not a good person. Fear crept into her as he walked over to look at her.
"Not bad, I say," the man said as he ran a hand over Hermione's hair. "Is this the one that you gave it up for?"
Harry just stared at him blankly, not answering anything.
"I thought so," the man said as he ran a hand down the length of her arm. She shuddered at the touch. "What's wrong, Love? I just want to have a little fun."
Harry stepped forward to pull him off of Hermione, but it backfired and in one quick motion the man had Hermione held against his chest, one arm around her throat. The other reached down inside his pocket and pulled out a short wand.
"Don't even think about it, Potter. You can't do anything to me. I've got you -and- her in check."
"Let her go," Harry said through clenched teeth. "Let her go now."
"Oh, come on, I just want to have a little fun with her. What say you, Love?" The man brought his face down to plant a disgusting kiss on her cheek. A tear ran out of the corner of her eye.
"Fuck you," she said strongly.
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea." The man reached up and tore at Hermione's shirt. She screamed, but it didn't do any good. The man threw Hermione down on the floor and began to attack her.
Harry didn't hesitate to run over and jump on the man, tearing him away from Hermione. The man didn't look happy, and shot a punch into the jaw that was still healing from the last time he had hit it. Harry ducked and as the man lurched forward, Harry brought his leg up to kick him in the stomach.
The time seemed to slow down as the man brought his wand up to point it at Harry. He opened his mouth to say a spell, but Harry beat him to it, yelling 'Expelliarmus' loudly and clearly as the man's wand flew out of his hand.
Immediately knowing what he did, Harry dropped both wands and turned to see the look on Hermione's face. It was one of pure shock. And when he turned to look at the man he had used the spell on, he saw that he was already up and running toward Hermione. Harry blocked his path, but then there was the sound of several pops and Harry turned to see many men in matching black robes grabbing Hermione, aparating away with her.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Perfect," the man in the black hooded robes said. He walked around a large glass cage staring intently at the center prize. A rare albino dragon. "I trust you had no trouble getting it here?"
The dragon let out a small puff of smoke through its nostrils. Its green eyes opened and stared back at the two men conversing outside of its cage. It opened its wings and tried to move them some, but being so young it couldn't do much more than sway them a little. THis pleased the man in the black.
The dragon's keeper, a man with long, flowing red hair responded in kind, "No, none at all, My Lord."
"Good. Will you be staying to help care for it until the time comes?"
"I'm afraid I have to be getting back. They'll wonder where I've gone to, My Lord." He turned to walk out of the door. He threw a glance over his shoulder at the man in the black. "But I'll send someone to watch it."
And with that he left the room, shutting the door behind him.
A servant entered through the same door mooments later. He bowed at the hooded man and said quietly, "He performed a spell My Lord."
"I know he did. And the girl?"
"She has been brought here and is now currently in a holding cell down the hall."
"Good. Make sure she is guarded at all times. We wouldn't want anyone showing up to take her away, now would we?"
"No, My Lord."
"That is all."
The servant turned and left the room. Voldemort turned back to the glass dragon cage. The baby albino inside had closed his eyes and was apparently sleeping peacefully.
His plan was falling into place quickly. Although a little sooner than he had expected. But things would work out all the same within due time. And then he would be rid of Harry Potter and have the wizarding world in his grasp.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
END CHAP NINE
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
READ THIS! VERY IMPORTANT!
a/n: so i wasn't very happy with the ending of this chapter. i had to rewrite the end paragraph seven times, but nothing fit. It jsut doesn't make me happy. but anyway...thanks to all of you who have reviewed this story. it's much appreciated.
IF YOU DIDN'T READ WHAT'S ABOVE, THEN YOU'D BETTER DO IT IF YOU WANT THIS STORY TO CONTINUE!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Do you think your brothers will ever gert to know or like me?" Draco asked Ginny as he stood in front of the stove, cooking some pasta for dinner. "Not that I care or anything."
"Honestly? They'll probably keep you under close watch, but they might surprise us and make an attempt at friendship one day. Maybe."
Ginny reached over and grabbed her glass of iced tea. She dranbk it noisly, causing Draco to turn around and give her a look. She smiled sweetly at him and finished off the glass, slamming it down on the table.
Draco turned back to his pasta which was now boiling over the rim of the pot. He grabbed two pot holders and gripped the sides, draining the water into the sink a few feet away. Ginny stood up and moved to the cabinet, grabbing a jar of italian tomato sauce that a friend of hers who lived across the hall had given her. She dug around and found a small pan and turned the back burner of the stove on, warming the sauce until it was hot and bubbling.
"Mum owled me this afternoon," Ginny said as she turned the fire off and walked over, wrapping her arms around Draco's waist from behind. He smiled to himself, but pretended to be annoyed, trying his best to shake her off. "I told her to come by tonight. I hope that's alright."
Draco turned around and lifted Ginny up onto the counter next to them. He stood in front of her, pressed up against the counter and in between her legs (a/n: yeah, that doesn't sound too good, but you get the idea).
"You know, that completely ruins my plans for you tonight," Draco said with a smirk.
"You always have plans for me, but I don't think Mum stopping by tonight will interfere with -those- plans."
"I should bloody well hope not," Draco said as he kissed her lips roughly. He pulled back and wrapped a curl of her red hair around his finger. "Just one question."
"What's that?"
"Did you ever tell your mother that I moved in with you? That I live here now?"
"No, I believe that she left that part out," Mrs. Weasley said as she stood leaning against a wall in the kitchen. Draco jumped and Ginny looked away, a bright blush creeping up onto her face.
"Hello, Ginny dear," Molly said as she took a seat at the kitchen table.
Draco slowly moved away from Ginny and walked back to the stove, taking the pasta and the sauce, pouring them in dishes and setting them quietly on the table. He helped Ginny to get off of the counter. Ginny took a seat on one side of the table while Draco pulled three plates out of the cabinet.
Draco went and took the last remaining seat at the small table, and that was between the two Weasley women.
Ginny was the first to take a large scoop of pasta and pour it on her plate. Draco followed suit, and Molly was last. They ate in an uncomfortable silence for a while. It was killing Ginny and she had to break it.
"How are my brothers'" Ginny asked.
Molly smiled, happy that her daugher had broken the silence. It was beginning to tear at her nerves as well. "They're good. I know it's only been a few days since the last time you all were over, but Charlie stopped by."
Ginny smiled and Molly continued. "He was right happy, he was. Something about an albino dragon. A hatchling, only a few days old. Pearly white scales and green eyes to match. Rare, he says."
"I didn't think that there was such a thing," Draco said as he joined in on the conversation. "I thought they were only myth."
"So did everyone else. He thought he was going to have a heart attack when he saw it." Molly's eyes turned sad. "But he said that the poor thing was gone the next morning. Someone took it in the night."
"The stories all say that the white dragon has great power. It's no wonder that it was taken. I'm surprised they didn't have that thing locked in a cage guarded with a hundred wizards," Draco added.
"Maybe they'll find it," Ginny added hopefully. "If it does have power, hopefully it won't fall into the wrong hands."
Draco stood up and cleared their empty plates away. He walked back over to the table and leaned down, kissing Ginny on the cheek. "I'll be back in a while," he said as he walked around the corner. They heard the front door open and close and he was gone.
"How long had you been standing there?" Ginny asked her mother.
"Long enough."
"What all did you hear?"
"More than I probably should have. Why didn't you tell me that Draco was living with you?"
"I was going to, I really was, but I don't know what stopped me."
Molly frowned and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Does he treat you alright?"
"He treats me like an angel. I jsut wish everyone could look past his father and see him for what he is; a kind, handsome, loving man."
"Do you love him?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
Ginny twirled her necklace around her finger. She looked thoughtful for a moment. "With all my heart," she answered softly.
Molly looked pleased. "Well then I'm happy."
"I would be happier if the guys would give him a chance. They only know what the knew of him in school. But he's changed, Mum. He's not the same as he was."
Molly nodded in agreement. "How did you manage to get your hands on him?" Molly asked after a minute or two of silence.
"I found him drunk in the Leaky Cauldron one afternoon," Ginny said. Her mother looked startled, but she continued anyway. "By the looks of him I could tell that he had gotten in a pretty good row with someone. I didn't ask any question, and just brought him home with me. Turned out it was his father that had done the damage."
"Lucius Malfoy was a cruel, evil man," Molly said with force. "It's a good thing you got Draco away from him."
"Oh, Draco went back home after I nursed his hangover the next morning. But not without putting up with a fight from me."
"You should have chained him to the bed."
"I threatened him. But in the end he left, and it wasn't long after that that he kept coming back. And the rest is pretty obvious," Ginny said with a small smile.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
His wand. It had been a while since he had touched it. Years in fact. And now he had the drawer that it was secretly kept in open, and his hadn was poised over it, wanting nothing more than to make magic. But he couldn't.
He picked up the wand anyway and held it in his right hand. He smiled at the familiar feel. The sleek handle and the long, eleven inch length. He jumped when he heard a loud pop from behind him. It was the sound of someone apparating.
"Be careful with that thing. You wouldn't want to use it," the man said as he took a step forward. "I told you I'd be back."
"What do you want?" Harry said sharply.
"Oh, nothing really. Just popped in for a check up. The Dark Lord like me to do that, you know."
Harry looked at him sharply. He didn't like to be taunted, especially with threats from Voldemort's death eaters. And that's what he presumed this man was.
Both of them turned as they heard the front door open. Harrry tried to swallow as the knot in his throat began to rise. A thin layer of sweat formed on his forehead.
"Harry?" Hermione's voice called from the living room.
"Well well, who could that be?" The man said as he walked out of the room to go and inspect. Harry ran out of the room after him with his wand still in his hand.
Hermione stopped where she stood when she saw a man walk out of Harry's study. She had never seen him before, but instantly knew that he was not a good person. Fear crept into her as he walked over to look at her.
"Not bad, I say," the man said as he ran a hand over Hermione's hair. "Is this the one that you gave it up for?"
Harry just stared at him blankly, not answering anything.
"I thought so," the man said as he ran a hand down the length of her arm. She shuddered at the touch. "What's wrong, Love? I just want to have a little fun."
Harry stepped forward to pull him off of Hermione, but it backfired and in one quick motion the man had Hermione held against his chest, one arm around her throat. The other reached down inside his pocket and pulled out a short wand.
"Don't even think about it, Potter. You can't do anything to me. I've got you -and- her in check."
"Let her go," Harry said through clenched teeth. "Let her go now."
"Oh, come on, I just want to have a little fun with her. What say you, Love?" The man brought his face down to plant a disgusting kiss on her cheek. A tear ran out of the corner of her eye.
"Fuck you," she said strongly.
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea." The man reached up and tore at Hermione's shirt. She screamed, but it didn't do any good. The man threw Hermione down on the floor and began to attack her.
Harry didn't hesitate to run over and jump on the man, tearing him away from Hermione. The man didn't look happy, and shot a punch into the jaw that was still healing from the last time he had hit it. Harry ducked and as the man lurched forward, Harry brought his leg up to kick him in the stomach.
The time seemed to slow down as the man brought his wand up to point it at Harry. He opened his mouth to say a spell, but Harry beat him to it, yelling 'Expelliarmus' loudly and clearly as the man's wand flew out of his hand.
Immediately knowing what he did, Harry dropped both wands and turned to see the look on Hermione's face. It was one of pure shock. And when he turned to look at the man he had used the spell on, he saw that he was already up and running toward Hermione. Harry blocked his path, but then there was the sound of several pops and Harry turned to see many men in matching black robes grabbing Hermione, aparating away with her.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Perfect," the man in the black hooded robes said. He walked around a large glass cage staring intently at the center prize. A rare albino dragon. "I trust you had no trouble getting it here?"
The dragon let out a small puff of smoke through its nostrils. Its green eyes opened and stared back at the two men conversing outside of its cage. It opened its wings and tried to move them some, but being so young it couldn't do much more than sway them a little. THis pleased the man in the black.
The dragon's keeper, a man with long, flowing red hair responded in kind, "No, none at all, My Lord."
"Good. Will you be staying to help care for it until the time comes?"
"I'm afraid I have to be getting back. They'll wonder where I've gone to, My Lord." He turned to walk out of the door. He threw a glance over his shoulder at the man in the black. "But I'll send someone to watch it."
And with that he left the room, shutting the door behind him.
A servant entered through the same door mooments later. He bowed at the hooded man and said quietly, "He performed a spell My Lord."
"I know he did. And the girl?"
"She has been brought here and is now currently in a holding cell down the hall."
"Good. Make sure she is guarded at all times. We wouldn't want anyone showing up to take her away, now would we?"
"No, My Lord."
"That is all."
The servant turned and left the room. Voldemort turned back to the glass dragon cage. The baby albino inside had closed his eyes and was apparently sleeping peacefully.
His plan was falling into place quickly. Although a little sooner than he had expected. But things would work out all the same within due time. And then he would be rid of Harry Potter and have the wizarding world in his grasp.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
END CHAP NINE
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
READ THIS! VERY IMPORTANT!
a/n: so i wasn't very happy with the ending of this chapter. i had to rewrite the end paragraph seven times, but nothing fit. It jsut doesn't make me happy. but anyway...thanks to all of you who have reviewed this story. it's much appreciated.