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Disclaimer: I own NOTHING!
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(A/N: Ahhh! More quotes! Big shocker eh?
"The world is full of unfinished novels sitting in desk drawers, where the first twenty pages started out good. True creative confidence can only be found if the idea is put to the test and stretches the individual to the utmost." ~ The Mystic Tarot, on the Third Of Wands
I really liked this one, too:
"We need conflict in our lives in order to create…there is a mysterious relationship between the workings of the creative imagination and the presence of healthy conflict in our lives."
Guess that explains why I'm so desperate to write after enduring the endless chaos of my family. ::snorts::
BTW – many thanks to you guys for your reviews and your e-mails! ::dances excitedly with idiotic grin on her face:: Let me know if this is going in a good direction or not – your opinions do matter!
The bits about Clairvoyance potion are from Llewellyn's Magical Herbalism.)
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5. Harbinger
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" – are you even alive in there?"
Ginny was ready to take a swing at her Mum – it couldn't possibly be time to wake up yet. Her head was fuzzy, and there was absolutely no way she was moving from her bed until at least noon.
"Go 'way – 'still dark out," she mumbled, dragging her blankets closer to her chin.
"Ginny, wake up! You're going to miss classes! And the only reason it's still 'dark out' is because you're buried under about twenty pillows you stubborn berk!"
Ginny dragged her eyes open – they felt glued shut and gritty.
She must have crying in her sleep again –
'Poor Harry…'
"Classes?" Ginny threw the pillows off her head, and sat up so quickly she knocked her head into the person's standing above her. "Owww!" And then – "Ron? Ron, it's you!"
"Ow! Bloody hell!" Ron backed off from her, rubbing his reddening nose with a scowl. "Yeah, it's me – who'd you think it was? And yes, classes – you hadn't been out of school that bloody long, had you? No? Well, then, you'd better get cracking!"
Ginny stared up at her older brother in awe as the night previous events returned to her in full clarity.
"Classes?" Ginny groaned. Fifth year, fifth year…her mind raced as she tried to remember the curriculum. Oh, what did it matter anyway? She'd still have to put up with Snape – and the O.W.L.'s.
"Not the O.W.L.'s!" Ginny hurried to bury herself in her blankets again. Lord, the O.W.L.'s were coming up – it was inconceivable that she'd have to endure them again! "I can't deal with this right now, Ron – not after everything that happened last night!"
She really just wanted to lie around all day and cry over Harry.
It was the one thing she was good at.
"Yeah, well, you shoulda' thought of that before you made that wish," Ron said gruffly above her. "Don't forget, you've got N.E.W.T.'s coming up in a pair of years too, if you think the O.W.L.'s are bad! Now come on, up with you! You'll barely make breakfast as it is, and you're making me miss it as well, if you hadn't noticed!"
Ginny sat up with a tortured moan, and looked at her brother through bleary, barely open eyes. "I'm heartbroken – Ron I don't think you understand – I can't make it through an extra two and a half terms of school – it's downright vicious, and - hey! You're not supposed to be in here anyway!" She said accusatorily. "This is a girls dorm!"
"Well it's empty now, ain't it? Hermione was busy – " a slight flush stained Ron's cheeks at this, and Ginny couldn't suppress a snicker – "and I knew you wouldn't get up without a bit of prodding. We figured you'd be knackered, and having a bit of a lie-in –"
"Fine, I'm up, I'm up." Ginny grumbled as she dug her way out of her cozy nest and shivered as her bare toes touched the floor. The coldness of late winter was a bit of a shock to her system after having suffered through the long hot days of June. "But I'm not happy about it! God, it's positively baltic in here – "
"I'll wait for you outside."
"Go on down to breakfast – you don't have to wait on me," Ginny said, shivering. Where were her blasted robes? "I haven't been out of school so long I've forgotten the way!"
" But I believe you have forgotten just how many people around here are disliking you at the moment, Gin – believe me, you want me to wait outside!" Ron grinned at her lopsidedly.
"No one bothered me before," she said thoughtfully, frowning, thinking back on her turbulent fifth year. Of course, there'd been Draco – and then Harry had smoothed things after they'd become a couple -
Ron crossed his arms and cocked his head to one side. "Now why do you suppose that is? Me 'an Harry wouldn't let 'em, that's why! You didn't even know, did you? Well, come on then! I'm so hungry I'm about to gnaw my own leg!"
Ginny stared after her brother speechlessly. She'd thought Ron had hated her guts when she'd been wandering around after Malfoy –
"Hurry up, will ya', Gin! Geez, girls…"
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The day couldn't get any worse – she'd found herself again seated next to a silent Draco at breakfast - Harry had barely spoken a word to her, and that had hurt more than she wanted to think about.
The entire great hall that morning had been staring and whispering comments behind their hands…
And now…it was nightmarish, cruel – fate had to be paying her back for her wish. It was unfathomable that she was once again back in the clutches of – Professor Snape!
Ginny eyed the Potions Professor warily as he paced at the head of the room. Draco had again surprised her by not saying a word about the evening before when he'd lowered himself into the seat beside her.
"Today, class, at the request of Professor Trelawney, we will be brewing some Divinatory 'Clairvoyance' potions," Snape sneered in thinly veiled disgust. Obviously he hadn't been given much of a choice in the matter.
Ginny was surprised. She didn't recall having done Clairvoyance potions on that day in the past. She stared at Snape, uneasy – she wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not that the things were already being affected by her new choices.
"Now, as we covered the uses of Clairvoyance potions some time ago, and you lot have no doubt forgotten them since, " the man snapped, " I want you all, with the obvious exception of Mr. Malfoy, to turn to page eight hundred and ninety-seven in your texts, and read that section before we begin."
Ginny barely kept an annoyed frown from darkening her brow, and lugged her potions text from her backpack. She set it on the table with a huff, frowning at it incredulously. Had the thing always been that bloody heavy? And thick – god, she could brain a person with it if she could've managed to lift it to lob it!
She became aware of someone staring at her, and she turned her head to catch Draco eyeing her in amusement. Whereas before, she would have been immediately suspicious of his attention, and felt forced to say something biting, she found herself grinning at him stupidly.
The gift of her honest, open smile seemed to throw him, and he frowned a bit, blinking several times before he cleared his throat, and stood in what seemed a very hasty manner to Ginny, to help Snape begin setting out necessary ingredients.
She watched him for a moment in bemusement before focusing her eyes on her text with difficulty.
Clairvoyance Brews – The inhalation of vapors rising from specific ingredients boiled within spring water in a cauldron in hopes of entering a psychic state in which to call out predictions.
Well, that definitely sounded like something Professor Trelawney would spend her time doing, Ginny mused as her eyes skimmed the page.
Spring water, Mugwort, bay laurel leaves, cinquefoil -It all seemed simple enough. Ginny looked back up at Draco and caught him watching her again – unbelievably he quickly dropped his eyes.
She shook her head. Draco Malfoy – acting shy?
The world was definitely coming to an ugly end.
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Ginny looked at the bubbling cauldron before her and wrinkled her nose.
Who would want to inhale that?
All that kept the potion from being complete was the addition of the cinquefoil.
She was busy checking the flame below the cauldron as Draco prepared the last ingredient – when she straightened to look at him, she shook her head and took the leaves from him as he began crushing them.
"They're far more effective if you leave them whole," she told him in an absent murmur, and dropped them into the steaming cauldron. "Crushing them halves their potency,"
Draco crossed his arms and gave her a slight glare, and she remembered she was supposed to be a year behind him.
"Sorry", she whispered in quick apology. She was going to have to be more careful about what she said.
Draco looked like he very much wanted to say something cutting, but that was just when their professor chose to start speaking.
"Well, well – I cannot tell you all how impressed I am that everyone of you managed to boil something without making it explode in our faces," Snape drawled before them. "Now, I suppose we must test them for effectiveness…well, what are you all waiting for? One breathes, one takes notes on the results for future reference! Is it that hard? Get to it!"
Ginny rolled her eyes and then snuck a look at Draco, who still hadn't said a word – she figured it had to be some kind of personal record for him, not to have insulted anyone in such a long amount of time.
"Er – "
"I'll take the notes," Draco announced arrogantly.
Ginny shrugged. "So it's okay for me to have my brain melted if this isn't right? It has been a while since I attempted any kind of potion you know."
"Don't be a stupid bint – of course it's right. I helped you make it didn't I?"
She looked at him condescendingly and then shrugged. "All right – but don't laugh if I start mumbling about stupid things,"
The look he gave her suggested that it was clearly too late for that..
Ginny leaned over the cauldron hesitantly, her awareness of Draco hovering just over her shoulder, and very, very near, making her extremely nervous.
"Well, go on then – we haven't got all day," he said impatiently.
Ginny sighed and then closed her eyes and took several cautious deep breaths.
At first she thought that nothing was going to happen – but then she became very relaxed, very drowsy, calm and peaceful.
Note any pictures and symbols, she recalled reading. There wasn't much of anything at first – just a black blankness that stretched out, certainly nothing even vaguely prophetic –
That was when she saw it – the large black dog. At first she thought it was just Sirius, but as the vision became clearer, she felt her heart stop – no, it was –
"That's a – a –"
"What is it, Ginny?" Draco's voice sounded as if it were coming across a very great distance.
"- a Grim." She managed to keep her voice low, and even, so as to not draw attention, but the sight of the Grim had her senses reeling. Ginny felt her eyes pop open in panic as she tried desperately to escape the vision, but she couldn't see anything but the blackness, and the Grim, stalking her – no, not her, something else, something – no someone.
For a sickening moment she thought of Harry, but it wasn't him. The person the Grim was shadowing was – Draco.
She gasped and took a step backward, shaking her head in wild denial. The thought that she'd come this far, saved Harry, only to lose Draco, staggered her.
What was happening?! "Ginny?"She heard several surprised shrieks as she stumbled against the desks behind her and then everything went completely dark.
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TBC
