Disclaimer: They're still not mine

Okay: This chapter is rated R. This one is dark, but I'll make it up to you all next time and keep the next one a little lighter.

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IS DARK AND VIOLENT. Please read on an empty stomach.
Notes to my reviewers will be at the bottom.

THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO LISA WHO FOUND MY FIRST CHAPTER. I owe you big time.


I'm sorry about the attitude
I need to give with I'm with you
But no one else will take this shit from me
And I'm so terrified of no one else but me
I'm here all the time
I won't go away…

Hey… It's me
Yeah well I can't get myself to go away
Hey…well it's me
And I can't get myself to go away
Oh God I shouldn't feel this No

(Long Day: Matchbox 20)




"And you're sure you'll be alright in time for History?" asked Ron as he stood over Harry's bed.

Harry nodded. "I'm just a bit under the weather, Ron. You all go on to breakfast and I'll be fine by class time."

Ron looked him over one more time then left with Seamus and the others. Harry waited until he could no longer hear their chatter in the common room before he climbed out of bed and dressed quickly. Of course he wasn't really sick at all, but he couldn't think of any other excuse to skip breakfast and he knew that Ginny would. She often skipped breakfast and since he had seen her at the last morning meal it was a sure bet that she wouldn't eat today.

He waited a few more minutes and then descended into the common room. Sure enough she was there, in one of the long sofas. She had Persephone in her lap and she was studying Transfigurations. She didn't see him as he came in and Harry walked up behind her and said, "Morning, Gin."

Ginny jumped slightly, surprised. "Harry!? Give a warning will you?" she muttered. She shook herself out and then settled back to her reading. To her discomfort he sat down next to her.

"Don't you want to eat breakfast, Harry?" she said hopefully.
"Don't YOU want to eat?" he asked.
Ginny looked back down in her book. "I'm not hungry."
"Neither am I," he said.

When she didn't reply, Harry kept quiet but leaned back in the chair and began to drum his fingers on the arm of the seat.

Finally Ginny looked up from the book, exasperated. "Harry what do you want? Can't you see I'm trying to study?"

Harry cringed at her words. Suddenly defensive he said, "Look would it bloody kill you to talk to me? Is it so wrong for me to worry? For me to care?"

Ginny leaned back against the chair resignedly and inhaled deeply. She was being unreasonable, she knew and he hadn't done anything to bother her. She didn't know why he made her so jittery.
"Alright, fine. What do you want to talk about?"

Harry chewed on his lip. What did he want to talk about? He had a couple of ideas, but judging by the look on her face, now was not the time to demand why she insisted on not seeing what a demon from Hell Draco Malfoy was. He didn't want to make her upset, just show how concerned he was.

"Ginny," he said suddenly "Why don't you eat more? You skip breakfast half the week and you pick at lunch and dinner."

Ginny looked surprised."Harry I'm small. I never ate much, ever. Remember I'm not a Quiditch player, I don't need any extra energy."

"I know," he conceded "But still you should be careful. You're not--- like, starving yourself are you?"

Ginny slammed her book shut angrily. "Damn it Harry THIS is why I don't talk to you! What gives you the nerve---"

"I'm sorry! Ginny please don't leave! I never know what to say to you… I always have it planned out in my head but when ever I sit down with you it gets completely confused and I say something stupid… Please, please don't be mad."

When Ginny looked up and it struck Harry how terribly tired she seemed. "Harry, do you even know what you want from me?" she asked

Harry gave her a pleading puppy dog look. "I want you to be safe. I want you to be happy, the way you used to be… the way I remember you."

To his surprise her face become very cool. "The way you remember me? The way I used to be? How would you even know? You didn't notice me at all for years and years! Oh that's not true… there were those painfully embarrassing moments when I'm sure my presence must have been the biggest nuisance of your life. The valentine card in second year… and I never did see the get well card I sent you the year after. Everyone else's cards were there except mine I noticed. Not to mention the loads of Christmas cards, Easter cards, SAINT PATRCK DAY cards I sent, none of which you so much as acknowledged I gave you. Harry you avoided me like a dementor! I can count on my hands the number of times we actually had a conversation… On the other I can't begin to add up the occasions the conversation would go dead quiet if I walked into a room. Did you think I didn't notice!? Or did you think I was just stupid!?"

Harry was too shocked to reply to her statement. He had never realized, never dreamed that all that time he could have actually hurt her…

Ginny disregarded his silence. In a calmer voice she said, "Look, none of it matters in the slightest any more. I dealt with all this a long time ago…it doesn't bother me now. I have other things to worry about. But don't you ever dare claim to have some sort of prior knowledge about me or how I felt, because you don't."

For a moment Harry was quiet. How could he have been so callous to her? "Ginny, I'm so sorry…"

"WILL YOU STOP SAYING THAT! I told you it doesn't matter."
"But Ginny… Dear Merlin, Ginny was I the reason you started-started--you know--?"

Just for a moment Ginny understood the kind of rage Draco carried around.. the sort that made you want to turn around and suffocate someone, without warning.

When she spoke her voice was so cold and so angry it made Harry start. "You arrogant bastard. Is your head so SWOLLEN that you really think the world---think MY WORLD revolves around YOU?!"

Harry cringed-- again. "Oh, damn… No that's not what I meant! I mean… I… why does it always end up like this!!! Ginny, Malfoy was right about one thing… I just don't understand. I mean I don't understand why you feel so… I don't know. WHY do you do --- what you do?"

Ginny's eyes narrowed, "Are you asking why I cut up my body when I'm down Harry?"

She noticed with grim satisfaction how he shrank away from her in a sort of painful recoil at her words. Ignoring his discomfort she pushed on, "Well I'll tell you why Harry, though it won't make the slightest difference… I'm tired. Tired of not knowing who I am and when I DO know, the reality is so ugly... I'm tired of being smothered and lost… but most of all I'm tired of being tired."

Harry shook his head, "But Gin, you're surrounded by people who love you--- who want you to protect you---"

Ginny threw her hands up in frustration. He just didn't get it. "You think I don't know that!? You think I don't know how much they love me… Course never mind that none of them really know me at all and if they DID know me that love would be seriously jeopardized, but that aside; you know what I hate the most? The hand-me-downs. No Harry don't give me that look, I'm not talking about clothes, books, shoes or wands. I mean hand-me-down experiences. I hate having to hear about everyone else's episodes, their lives, their adventures and have to live them vicariously from my poor pitiful existence. I despise the fact that I'm expected to learn from everybody else's mistakes and never make any of my own."

Harry buried his head in his hands. "So is that the reason for this--- thing---with Malfoy?"

Ginny felt her jaw tighten. "Harry," she said "You will never even begin to understand that. Just leave it alone."

But Harry jerked his head up defiantly, "Bloody right I don't understand!! He takes pleasure in torturing everyTHING around him and you seem completely blind to what he does!"

Ginny scowled at Harry angrily. "Why do you always think I'm so blind and stupid? Do you know I find it offensive? I'm serious. I see exactly what Draco does. The difference is I understand it, which is something you NEVER will."

"I can understand you being angry, hurt even depressed. But why… when you have a family who loves you and people who care about you, do you turn to that--- that---"

"Bastard? Asshole? Mean cruel vicious murdering man-eating fire-breathing Dragon? It's the biggest joke of all isn't it? I'm surrounded by dragon slayers, all there to protect me… and in the end I still ended up on the edge of a cliff and who saved me? The dragon did."

Harry just stared at her silently… once again, not having a clue what to say and knowing whatever he did say would be wrong. Ginny watched him a for moment, but seeing that he had no retaliation to make she stood up and went to her dorm.

Harry watched her go with no protest. For the first time since this whole mess had begun he seriously wondered if he was completely beaten down. Was he really that clueless as to the depths hidden in the small body of Virginia Weasly? Did he really have no place with her at all?
Well whatever they both said, he knew that he couldn't stand by silently and watch her get hurt like this. He wouldn't try cornering her again… but sometime he was going to find the way to help her. Even if he didn't know what he was looking for.


Ginny felt her stomach congeal into a tight knot… what a wretched way to start the morning. She had Transfigurations first period and she was already strained. She pushed down her discomfort and began to prepare her books. She could tell it was going to be a long day.

Transfiguration went fine enough… Ginny was always good at the subject. She could visualize exactly what she wanted her object to become and the magic would just flow through her. Today she tried to brush aside her shifty mood and concentrate on her spells; after all it was still early in the morning… it could still turn out to be a good day…

The class ended without incident and she stood up to go to her Arithmancy class, but just as she left, Professor McGonagal came to the door and stopped her.

"Ms. Weasly would you please step inside for a moment? I would like to have a word with you."

Ginny felt her heart rate speed up. Was she in trouble? What did McGonagal want?

Professor McGonagal sat down at her desk and motioned for Ginny to do the same.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I wanted you," she began in her grave Scottish voice. "Let me reassure you that you are not technically in any trouble…yet. The fact is that some of your other teachers have come to me concerning certain…changes they feel have happened in your performance."

Ginny swallowed nervously. She was sure Snape had complained to McGonagol about her poor Potions grades…just what she needed. But Professor McGonagol continued, "Unlike most students who seem to average out evenly to a certain standard, you have very drastic shifts that make it difficult to cast you with a certain strain of students. You are, I'm glad to say, excellent in my class. Professor Flitwick tells me your charms work is above standard and you seem to excel in both Astronomy and Arithmancy. On the other hand I have been told you are on the verge of failing Potions, and you never even seem to attend Professor Trelawny's class or Professor Binns for that matter. I understand that many people find Muggle Studies to be rather boring but if you chose it as one of your electives, ATTENDING the class doesn't seem like too much to ask, does it?"

She looked up to see Ginny staring blankly out the window. For a moment McGonagol thought perhaps Ginny was not bothering to pay attention to her, but at that moment Ginny turned her head around and looked her in the face.

"I'll try and improve my standard," she said with so little feeling that the professor raised a skeptical eyebrow. Because of this she ended up saying rather coldly, "You'll have to if you intend to pass this year."

Ginny winced at the words, but the professor was not done yet. "That is not all I'm worried about. You have shown signs this year of having a severe lack of attention; to be said plainly even in the classes you excel in, you don't seem mentally present at all. Ginny," here Professor McGonagol leaned forward slightly "are you sure everything is alright? Are things going fine at home or do you have some problem that we need to discuss?"

Ginny stiffened at the professor's words. She had no idea that her teachers noticed her at all and certainly not to the extent of deducting that she might have some sort of personal problem. She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry and tried to sound nonchalant in her answer.

"I'm fine Professor," she said forcing the tremor out of her voice. "I've… had some trouble sleeping lately and it may be effecting my work. I'll get it taken care of it, I promise."

"If there is any problem, you know you can come to any of the staff here in the strictest confidence," said McGonagal in earnest.

"Of course," Ginny lied, smiling thinly. The Professor looked her over once more as if still unconvinced that she had resolved anything with this conversation. But Ginny continued to smile and she could think of nothing more to keep her with so she dismissed her with a wave of her hand.

Ginny fled the room quickly… trying to erase the look Professor McGonagal had given her. 'Why do these things happen to me?' she thought bitterly 'Because you're lagging in your classes and you can't keep an emotional grip on yourself even for show,' her mind retorted acidly. It was sick she thought, that her problems were so obvious she had her teachers worrying. Couldn't she even keep up a decent appearance!? No she was incapable of even that basic function. She felt her self-disgust rise like bile in her throat, but swallowed it down. She had a class and she wouldn't let her weaknesses show through ever again. Putting on a painfully fake smile she made her way to Arithmancy, forcing herself to ignore her twitching hands and trying not to feel the all consuming darkness that seemed to rock inside her just beneath the brittle surface.

She had been trying hard to be calm, light and inconspicuous. She forced herself to pay attention in Professor Binns's class and she had no problems in Herbology. At lunch she made herself eat heartily even though she wasn't really that hungry and she even engaged in some conversations with the other students. Some of them were so carefree and easy… and just plain happy. Had she ever been like that? Of course she had at some time… a time so far away it was hazy. Ever since she had started Hogwarts things had seemed to slide together in a long spiraling funnel. She shook the thought away and tried to concentrate on what Colin was talking about, something to do with his new double click speed digital camera. At the moment he was explaining what digital meant to the other students. Why was it so easy for them to find priorities in cameras, clothes and makeup? Why was it so hard for her to do the same? They were laughing at a joke. She laughed as well trying to sound genuine even though the sound of her voice grated against her own ears. It shouldn't be this difficult, she thought angrily. When had it become such an effort to be normal?


Draco watched her during lunch. He had Pansy sitting next to him, flirting outrageously and he goaded her into picking on Ginny so he would have an excuse to keep his eyes on his little red head. She seemed happy today he thought at first, which was good. He hadn't had much time alone with her since they had fought over Neville and he wanted to make sure she was okay. It was good to see her smile…

But then he heard her laugh. It wasn't as if she never laughed, but there was a tone in her voice that just rang an alarm in his head. It reminded him too much of the Yule Ball. Automatically he saw the play she was putting on for the people around her. Damn. That was such a bad sign…but his hands were tied for today, he'd have to seek her out later.



All that day she felt like she was fighting a losing battle against herself. It was just so hard for her to fit in with all her other classmates that she could feel her nerves strain and her chest tighten… like her body was fighting against her as well. By the end of the day she was exhausted and she still had two class left… Double Potions no less.

As she was exchanging classes, she stopped to put on her gloves. She always wore gloves in Snape's class because he tended to look at peoples' hands when he went by to check on their work. Preoccupied with her task she felt herself collide into someone in the corridor.

"Oh, I'm so sorry I--- oh it's you, Ron!" she exclaimed, smiling when she realized her victim was none other than her older brother "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I?" she asked

Ron laughed. "You couldn't if you tried Ginny winny. To tiny to hurt the Giant. Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

She grimaced sourly. "Double Potions," she said "Two classes with Snape…torture."
Ron nodded "Don't I know it. Listen, I heard you got called in by McGonagal. Is everything okay?"

Ginny shifted her feet uneasily. "Yeah…she just wants me to pick up some of my marks… History, Potions… no biggies"

"Okay… I could get Hermione to sit with you if you like. So what were you trying to do when you so ceremoniously greeted me with that charming collision?"

Ginny grinned, "Just putting on my gloves."
"Oh here Ginny winny, let me."

Ginny tried to protest, but Ron was feeling big brotherish and insisted. Pulling up her sleeves smiling, the first thing he saw was a netting of week old scabs. His grin faded like a mirage and his eyebrows drew together carefully in a look of concern.
"Ginny, love, where did you get these ugly things from?" he asked, his eyes not leaving her trembling hands.

Ginny choked on her words carelessly surprised at her own voice when she said, "Oh, I got them cut up in Herbology a few days ago with some thorny plants… forgot what she called them… and Persephone and I got a bit carried away with a little clawing fight we had. No big deal."

She wasn't sure if Ron was listening to her. His face was creased with unease and he brought her hands up closer to look at them. Startled Ginny grabbed her hand away covering her trepidation with a nervous laugh. Reaching up to ruffle her brother's hair she said, "Oh come on now, Ron, no need for you to get all worried over nothing." Ron looked down at her and felt himself smile at her infectious grin. Ruffling her hair in turn he said, "Whatever Gin, but do take care, will you? If you got hurt or something, Charlie'd have my head." Then he shoed her off to Potions.

But when she turned the corner his smile disappeared and the frown returned with more intensity. It wouldn't have mattered really if he hadn't just been with Colin, who had been complaining to him and Harry about how boring the last few classes of Herbology had been seeing as they had been studying fungi for two weeks.


As she entered the Potions dungeon, Ginny felt her stress level tighten. Her run in with Ron had badly shaken her and she was--once again-- tired beyond measure.
'This is the worse condition in the world to take Potions in,' she thought bitterly. She could feel herself tensing under the strain. But now she knew was not the time to focus on her problems, so she shoved them down in the back of her mind and tried to concentrate on Snape's scathing words. Gnats wings, frogs' blood, fungi found in the scales of sea serpents… the ingredients flowed through her mind hazily and she tried to focus and concentrate.

They were working silently on the newest brew Snape had concocted, something thick, green and smelly. Ginny tilted the bottle of frog's blood slowly so as not to get too much in her potion…
"The color of this broth is wrong Ms. Weasly!" Snape barked sharply behind her. He startled her so much that she dropped the bottle which shattered on the table. Snape bellowed angrily, "Can you not make a simple potion without disaster following? Five points from Gryffindor! Though you are generally a poor student, this term you have dropped to a standard so low, even Mr. Longbottom seems to have more potential!"

Ginny visually cringed under the verbal abuse he lashed out. She felt her eyes smarting as she watched her hands flinching and flexing as though beyond her control.

Snape was still yelling, "I'll have no silly sniveling in my class. Ms. Weasly you will go to my office and take the door to the left of my herbal cabinet. In the cellar you will find another bottle of frog's blood, bring it and do NOT expose it to light, or it's properties will be ruined. BE QUICK!"

Ginny felt someone touch her shoulder in an effort to comfort her, but all she wanted was to be out of that room as quickly as she possibly could. As she fled she could feel her control slipping through her fingers and that black tide that she fought so hard against welling up against her will inside. Self hatred burned acidly in her throat as she thought, "Oh yes, me. Stupid, clumsy me, with no control over anything around me… going no where, losing my way…" she didn't even know what she was thinking anymore. Finding the door to the cellar she swung it open and stumbled inside. The darkness was thick and tangible and enclosed around her as she let the door swing shut behind her. She leaned wearily against the cold wall, drowning in the mental throbbing of her head. She wanted to cut so badly it made her hands shake and her breathing labored.

'Not now,' she told herself. 'Wait until later, after class when you can go some where…' but she didn't want to wait. She could feel her blade tucked in the bottom of her shoe, mocking her feeble efforts of resistance. Just a little… just to stop the throbbing… But if she started now she wouldn't stop. She'd knew herself well enough to know that cutting at this point would lead to a bloody uncontrolled mess. Snape might notice. But she didn't care… mentally she battled her wills and finally she decided to wait. If she started cutting she didn't know how long she would end up on the cellar floor and if someone came looking for her it would be disastrous.
Wait..
Less than an hour and class would be over…
Wait…

She stood erect slowly and began to walk across the cellar. It was deeper than it looked and incredibly dark. As she walked passed what at first looked like a bump on the wall in the darkness, it lit with an eerie blue flame that cast a dank silvery light on everything. She paused for a moment to let her eyes adjust to the change in light and then moved on. The light was purposely feeble and the room seemed to grow mustier as she moved deeper in.

The path turned suddenly and Ginny turned with it; then she started.
There was someone there.
A small figure of a girl most likely, with her back towards Ginny, was crouched near the cupboard containing rows of bottles and jars. For a moment Ginny froze; she hadn't expected to see anyone down here. Then for no explainable reason she felt very very afraid.
"E-excuse me," she whispered.

Very slowly the figured raised, her tattered and rotting dress tearing as she moved. Her hair was longish and of an unclear color in the dark but seemed some sort of red or brown. She was small… incredibly tiny and her bones jutted out wretchedly through her poor arraignment, her dead hair hanging limply down her back. Ginny felt all the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and her skin felt cold and clammy… something was wrong here… something was wrong with this girl.

Abruptly with out warning the figure turned to face her and Ginny screamed. Or she opened her mouth to scream but no sound escaped as she felt soul-shattering fear grip her like a vice.
Ginny was staring at herself.
Herself in her worst nightmares.

She was a skeleton with yellow sickly skin stretched across her bones like cheap leather. Long dead limp hair. Soulless sunken eyes. And an expression of such horrific penetrating pain that Ginny knew she was staring at her own soul. But those weren't what terrified her.
By far the worst part was the bleeding.
The thing was bleeding everywhere.

For every scratch Ginny had ever inflicted on herself that creature's skin was split and pouring out blood, staining her clothing, her body and the floor. The cloth she was garbed in was so thin that it was all to clear the slashes on her chest, over her stomach and across her breasts. Arms, legs, hands, fingers all bleeding red.

Suddenly the expression the on the creature's face changed from blaring pain to ferocious anger. Raising her clawed bony hand she pointed her index finger accusingly at Ginny, and advancing towards her she screeched in a thin brittle voice, "You! YOU DID THIS TO ME!"

Now Ginny screamed out loud in petrifying terror. She wanted to flee, get as far away from this thing, from herself, as she could but… she couldn't move, couldn't breathe….

"What is going on here!" some one bellowed. Out of nowhere Snape was in the room raging. When the figure saw him, it instantaneously morphed into the shape of a towering man with black hair that looked almost like Harry but whose face was contorted with rage. The thin brittle voice that had threatened Ginny became deep and thundered, "SNAPE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY WIFE! AND TO MY SON!"

For a moment Snape looked taken aback and his already pale face turned the ashy white of death. But then understanding came over him and with a flicked of his wand he muttered 'ridiculous' turning to Ginny before he even saw what became of the boggart.

"Ms. Weasely," he hissed acidly "if as a sixth year student you cannot even identify a boggart, you do not deserve to be in this school."

With that Ginny snapped.

Now she was running, pushing passed Snape ignoring and not hearing him as he called after her. She fled his office and the dungeons and headed blindly for the sanctuary of pain in much the same fashion as she had on Christmas morning.

It no longer mattered where she was going as long as it was away from everything she knew. Part of her wanted to go to Draco's room and wait for him to batter her out of despair but she had already pushed down too much that day to wait. She wanted---needed---to be away from everything, everyone … so she lost herself in the twisting halls of Hogwarts.

She stumbled blindly into a room, any room, one she didn't know. In two seconds her knife was in her hands and cutting madly over her skin.

'Slick silver sliding like silk on my skin…'
Her mind was lost and she didn't care. Her arms were red and sticky but it wasn't enough. Cut cut cut, deeper longer wider gashes that wouldn't heal, that would scar. Pain welled up and swallowed her whole, but it still wasn't enough. Not enough to erase the sight of her worst fear standing bloody in front of her. She was tearing away at her robes exposing more flesh to be shredded.

'I hate you I hate you I hate you I hate you…' she thought furiously gutting something new with each word. Her weakness blared in her face in the form of the old scars and her fears screamed at her from the new. Why why why did it have to be this way? 'Because you are what you are,' she thought back sick and angry and blinded by tears. When had she remembered how to cry? Draco had taught her. But he hadn't taught her how to stop cutting or how to control it.

A movement caught her eye. Was someone there? 'Dear Lord not a again,' she thought panicking. Standing up trembling, she looked to see what her eyes had caught in a flash. No, there was no one there, and no boggart waiting to show her deepest ugliest self again.

It was much worse.

It was a mirror.

For a moment Ginny just stared at herself, ragged and ugly, covered in blood, holding her blade in her hands as though she was afraid someone would attack her. She looked at herself and felt real fear for herself… from herself.

"I hate you," she said to her reflection.
"I HATE you!"
"I. HATE. YOU!" she screamed watching herself cut the words in red letters across her chest in a sort of dazed desperation. But she couldn't cut herself out of the mirror, or cut out the pain, or cut out all the ugliness that she thought had consumed her. In disgust she threw down her knife with it's winking fairy handle and threw herself at the mirror smearing the surface with blood. She pounded her fists against it again and again and again until it finally gave away with a sigh and a snap and shattered all around her.

Then she let herself sink to the floor in a bed of broken glass.





There. It's done. This is the worst I promise… the story goes up hill from here. Sort of. Next chapter is… better. I think. I hate writing this story. It's so draining. Oh by the way, I am not trying to indicate AT ALL that Ginny has an eating problem. That was just Harry's insecurity jumping up. Okay : First off I'm SORRY about all the mistakes. I'm gonna go over the next two chapters really well and try and improve them. That's why this took so long to upload I wanted to try and weed out as many mistakes as possible. I DO speak English, I'm an American, but see it's hard to find your own mistakes in something you've written.
Riverwinde, I especially apologize to you. I'll try and work harder.

To Davesmom, you are writing a brilliant story, one I truly envy. I would love to give my Ginny the strength yours possess. I knew I had the school wrong and I meant to go back I check it but I forgot. I love advice and criticism, so nobody be afraid to tell me I'm off my rocker. I quite understand that I am.

Lisa: YOU SAVED MY LIFE!!!! You got me first chapter which I thought I had really lost for good. This ones for you. And thanx for the pictures… they're really cute.

Soraya: I appreciate what you said about cutting in 'Silver Scars' but there are different types of cutting. As in when I'm just really down I cut quietly and very controlled… and as I at least write Ginny's cutting scenes from experience, I'm not glazing anything I promise.

darker child: your reviews me a lot to me… cutting is such an empty feeling… and one that you need so badly…. Just know that even in the worst of times, you are never truly alone. There are those who understand

justme: It will end on a positive note I promise. Maybe not a 'And they lived happily ever after' but nobody is going to die.

Jubilee: A question… are you an X-men fan? Just asking because of the name… X-men are one of my many addictions

LilyAyl: It will go up down and around before the end. I'm glad you like Draco, he is such a difficult character to write... Next chapter will see a lot of him.

THANX to everyone for putting up with me.