Crash And Burn
Author's Note: Well, seeing as how it's taken almost a week and a half to update this, probably more, once again an explanation. I moved into my own place and couldn't get the DSL hooked up til today! And what library doesn't have a computer hooked up to the Internet! Anywho, the long awaited Halloween Dance!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Colin paced nervously in the shadows, waiting for Cho and Draco to come. Cho had owled him this morning, telling him she had a plan on how to capture Harry and Ginny. She said that she could assure him that Ginny would choose him and Harry would choose her, thus ending his misery. Yet as he sat and waited, he thought about it. In effect all he really wanted was for Ginny to be happy. He didn't want anything to happen to her. True, he resented the fact that she chose Harry over him after all they'd been through together. Still, he wanted her as a friend. Better that than nothing at all like it had been lately. It was almost driving him to madness. ~But now that I'm in league with those two what am I going to do? I can't get out of this anymore. The price you pay for making deals with the devil~ He continued pacing, waiting to hear the fall of the footsteps that would signal the approach of the deadly duo. Sure enough, he could hear their voices echoing down the hall.
"If everything goes according to plan, and neither of you two screw this up, we'll all be held in his Darkness's high graces," said Cho, an evil smile spreading from ear to ear.
"But if this doesn't go right we'll all be dead," said Draco.
"That's why this thing better go according to plan. If I catch a feel that either one of you are trying to get out of this I'll personally torture you until you're begging for death and leave you to the wolves in the forest," said Cho, growling as she rounded on Draco, pinning him on the wall.
"Watch who you're talking to Chang. I was chosen first by Voldemort. You're just some lackey who has to prove themselves like everyone else. I will be succeeding him, not you," said Draco. "And if you so much as threaten me again, I'll send you to the dungeons alone to rot. One more word out of line from you and you'll see how easy this will be without me."
Cho growled at his back. ~Without me he'll never succeed as Voldemort's heir. Perhaps I should teach him a lesson. It may get me in the better graces of his Darkness as well.~ Cho walked up to Draco smugly as he was about to round the corner to talk to Colin. "Fine then. Go on. We won't need you to do this plan. We'll see how this pans out without you. Once I succeed I'll be able to tell the Dark Lord that you were too afraid to carry through, that you had a soft heart for the two of them. You'll be out of the way and I'll be the next in line. So go on. Leave. Give Colin your talisman and go."
Draco turned to Cho, the anger burning in him. ~Very well Chang. If that's how you want it. I'll give him a talisman. Too bad it won't be the right one. You'll never succeed. Not while I'm around.~ Draco smirked. "So the student feels that the teacher needs to learn a lesson? Fine then. Give me a moment to have a word with Colin…alone. I'll explain my part in the play to him, give him the talisman, and sit back, waiting for you to screw up. You've crossed the wrong line Chang. Never mess with a Malfoy." He rounded the corner, finding Colin listening intently to what was going on.
Colin turned, startled when Draco finally came to him. He used a silencing charm for the area around them and began. "Look Draco, at first I wanted revenge. I wanted payback to Harry for stealing Ginny and to Ginny for leaving me. But honestly, right now I just want to see her happy and if marrying Harry is what she wants, fine. I'll just have to be her friend. So if you need to kill me or something go on ahead. It'll be better than betraying her."
Draco's eyes widened. He never thought that Colin would go back on what he said. "Fine then. You must act this out properly. I switched Cho's talisman so that it will take the two of them to a basement in Slytherin. My talisman has no Port Key attached to it. Acting as though you're truly sorry will not be a problem as I've just seen, but try to make it apparent to Cho that you're still going along with the plan. She has a black heart that one. She'll attempt to kill in front of the whole school if necessary. We must ensure this does not happen. Can you do this? Can you act this way?"
"Of course I can. But Draco, why? Why are you trying to help them? You of all people are known as the one most hating towards them. I would've thought that you would want this as much as Cho," said Colin, a bewildered look on his face.
"Those two are the only ones who can stop both my father and Lord Voldemort. I've never been one of them. It's an image I'm forced to project so my father believes that I'm a Death Eater. This," he said, revealing his forearm, "is a muggle tattoo, same as Professor Snape has. It's as fake as anything but undetectable to the Dark Lord as he shuns all things muggle. Here," he said, handing him an envelope. "Try to get this to Ginny or Harry before the time comes. They must know what to expect. If they don't even my trick won't be enough to fool Cho long enough to rescue him."
Colin nodded, knowing what he must do. He took the silencing charm off the air around them. "Bloody brilliant plan Draco if I do say so myself. Those two fools will never stand a chance. The Dark Lord shall be most pleased with our progress." He winked as he passed Draco to meet with Cho. "Shall we my dear," he asked, holding out his arm.
Cho smiled. "Of course my dear. At least you have a morsel of intelligence." The two headed down the stairs, one hell bent on destroying Harry and Ginny and one hell bent on stopping her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ginny, are you almost ready," Harry called up the stairs, pacing impatiently at the bottom of the girls' staircase. As predicted, Ron and Harry waited and sat around talking in their room for a couple hours after the girls ran up the stairs. Harry was wearing the robes Merlin had given Ginny to give him. The brilliant purple shimmered, an iridescence running freely throughout the fabric. Glistening white Celtic symbols decorated the cape, complimenting Ginny's new robes magnificently. He smiled, thinking of the reaction her parents and Ron and Hermione had given her yesterday. If that was any indication, she would be the belle of the ball.
"Coming Harry," she called. The clicking of her glass slippers could be heard, followed by the clicking of Hermione's heels hitting the stone floor. The two girls appeared at the top of the staircase soon, pausing for dramatic effect. Ginny looked breathtaking in her gown. Harry still couldn't get over how well it fit her. The way it showed her curves, the way it accented her hair and showed off her eyes. Could this dress have been as beautiful on anyone else? Harry doubted so.
Ron, meanwhile, literally had to grab hold of the railing when he saw Hermione. She was wearing midnight blue robes, a shimmer put into them with a clever charm both Ginny and her found in a wardrobe book in the Library. She had on a mask of faux peacock feather and had transfigured one of her school robes to look like the fan that trails a peacock. All in all, she looked as stunning as Ginny, at least in Ron's eyes. He gulped as she came down the stairs to him.
"Gee….um….Hermione….wow," he said, both breathless and speechless.
Hermione blushed a deep red. "Thanks Ron. Well everyone, shall we?" The other three nodded and the two couples headed down to the Great Hall, ready for their grand entrance. They'd planned on being the last couple there. After all, why shouldn't they be? They were the two most popular couples in the whole of Hogwarts. Why not?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The entrance had been as they expected. Everyone in the hall froze as the two couples entered together. After a moment's pause, however, the whole of the hall, minus the Slytherins of course, erupted into a loud cheer. The girls all ran up to Ginny, admiring her costume and asking who she was playing. Harry got looks of envy from most of the boys when he told them who he was. The few who remembered the Merling and Lady Epona legends realized what they were doing and told them it was a wonderful idea.
Soon Celestina Warbeck was entertaining them, keeping the whole of the hall jumping. The walls were all charmed to resemble the outside, the ceiling charmed to have flashes of lightning racing across it. Hagrid's engorged pumpkins lit up the ceiling, various designs carved to allow out the lights to shine. A buffet type table was set up along one of the walls with a few of the tables set up to allow people to sit and eat should the feel the need. After a good hour Harry and Ginny sat down at one of them after grabbing some punch and were immediately joined by Colin.
"Hi guys," said Colin sheepishly. "Look, I know I've been a royal ass about everything and I'm really really sorry about it. I don't want to lose either of you as friends and Ginny, if you feel that way about Harry then all I ask is to keep your friendship. Will you forgive me?"
Ginny looked to Harry with a smile. Harry smiled back at her and nodded his head. She turned to Colin and gave him a hug. "Oh Colin, after all the years we've been friends how could I not forgive you!"
Colin smiled as he hugged her, the first time he'd been genuinely happy in a long while. He suddenly turned serious though and looked at the both of them with extreme gravity. "You guys, I have to tell you something, and please, don't say anything until the end. It originally started out as a revenge thing but I rethought it and now I have to do something….anything to protect you two."
"What Colin? What is it," asked Harry.
"Well, Cho approached me after she saw me storming down the hallway, asking for my help in capturing you two. This was right after I had seen you propose to her and I was, to put it blunty, pissed. I agreed right away. She wanted to have me dance with Ginny and her act as though she was extremely sorry and dance with you. She would bump into me and that would signal the two of us to take the Port Keys and they'd take us to the Riddle home where Voldemort is. I don't want you two to get hurt or to go there and neither does a certain ghost you two may have heard from. They keys we have will take us to an underground chamber here. It's the only modification we could make at the last minute. I'm so sorry about this. I can't alert Dumbledore, though, cause she'll know what I'm up to and knowing her and the powers Voldemort has handed her she'll Port Key us to the Riddle home somehow anyway. Please, please be safe. We need to act it out or she'll know and you'll be in more danger than you are now."
Ginny shook a bit at the thought of the chamber. She had a feeling that it would be something like the Chamber of Secrets, if not the Chamber of Secrets itself and she didn't like being there. Not one bit. She turned to Harry. "Well, I hate to say it, but I know if it comes down to it what will happen. The gods know I don't want to do that again but…."
Harry put his arm around her and gave her a hug. "Don't worry hun. I don't think it'll come down to it. Remember, we still haven't figured out what I can do yet," he grimaced.
"What you can do? You mean that what she told me about Ginny was actually true," Colin asked, confusion and hurt coming into his eyes.
Ginny nodded solemnly. "I'm assuming you mean the prophecy and what happened with the Death Eaters in Hogsmeade on that weekend." She saw a tiny nod from him. "I'm guilty of that. I didn't know what I was doing at that time, didn't know it was something inside me. It comes out only when we're in immediate danger. I can take the few out that I did but until Yule's Night I can't take them all. We, Harry and I, need to make it until Yule's Night. If we do make it Voldemort will be gone and everyone will be safe. Colin, if anything happens…."
"I know. Don't worry. Now, if you see me with Cho, please don't take offense. I'm going to try to stay on her side, monitor what she's going to do. I'll also keep in direct contact with the Slytherin Ghost. You'll know everything that's going on. With Cho, though, be prepared for everything. If you two don't have your wands you better call them to you. You might need them." Colin stood up then and went over to Cho, cutting in on her and the guy she was dancing with. Harry and Ginny got up again and went over near them, thanking the gods that they'd remembered to bring their wands, and started dancing. Harry noticed that Cho was grinning devilishly over at him.
"Alright everyone. This is a special song that goes out to the newly engaged Ginny and Harry!" Celestina Warbuck then started singing "Truly Madly Deeply" by Savage Garden. Everyone grabbed a partner. Even Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall could be seen dancing in the corner, McGonagall blushing a bit. Soon Cho directed Colin over to them, stopping to tap Harry's shoulder.
"Harry, I just wanted you to know that I'm really very sorry about how I've been acting. I should be happy for you two, not bitter. Will you forgive me," she asked, batting her eyes. Ginny rolled hers but knew this was part of the plan and kept her mouth shut.
"Yes Cho. I'm not one to hold a grudge, even after all you've done." Harry smiled a fake smile at her.
"Then may I have the next dance," she asked. I'm just reeling this poor sucker in. How the hell did I ever like this guy? He's spineless.
"Sure," he said, getting back to dancing with Ginny. Cho and Colin twirled off, Cho giggling like a madwoman. Soon the song ended and everyone applauded. Another slow song came right after that one and Cho went over to Harry while Ginny went over to Colin and the two couples started dancing. Everyone was whispering about this. How could Harry be dancing with Cho after what she had done? And how could Ginny be dancing with Colin? He must be in league with Cho. He showed up with her! Everyone went on dancing though, ignoring the two couples, pretending it wasn't happening. Soon Cho directed Harry over by Colin and Ginny. Harry saw her brush up against Colin's shoulder, the signal to grab their Port Keys and be off. Their hands were halfways to their throats to grab their necklaces when Draco came bursting through the doors.
"WAIT," he bellowed, causing everyone to stop. It was in vain however.
"Did you honestly think I wouldn't figure you out Draco? That I didn't know what you were doing? That I'd leave something as important as this to one such as you, a veritable spy? Never. The Dark Lord shall know what you have done," she announced, grabbing on to Harry's arm and grabbing her Port Key. Soon the two disappeared.
Colin didn't grab onto his Port Key however. He muttered a spell and it floated off, landing on a cake and they watched as it disappeared as well. "Draco, what happened?"
"Not here. Come on," he said, running off towards the door. Ginny and Colin followed, leaving the rest of the hall speechless.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You know, I think we're getting the shaft. Your common room is beautiful. Very exquisite," said Draco, marveling at the Gryffindor Common Room's décor.
"Thanks, but we can admire the scenery later. What the hell just happened in there," Ginny asked, the worry evident in her voice.
"I'm assuming Colin explained the plan to you. Well, originally I was to be the one with her but we realized that there was a snowball's chance in hell that you'd ever agree to dance with me after the wretch I've been all these years to you and your family. So Cho decided it would be better if Colin went with. He was one of your older friends and she figured you would forgive him, which you did. I, meanwhile went back to my room and found two necklaces on my bed, the ones that I had changed the destination on the Port Key for. And this note," he added, handing it over to them. The other two read on:
Draco,
Did you think I wouldn't figure out that you were not truly loyal to the Dark Lord? It wasn't that hard to figure out. I've seen the way you stare at the rest of the Gryffindors. The rest of Slytherin stares with hatred in their eyes. You stare with want, with jealousy. In truth you want to be one of them don't you? Well you had better go join them then. After the Dark Lord hears of this you'll never be allowed to set foot on the Riddle property. Good luck living traitor. It won't be long.
The new heir,
Cho Chang
Ginny looked up at Draco, shaking beyond all belief. "So she took him to the Riddle home then," she said, the tears beginning to fall. Draco nodded, laying a hand on her shoulder. He was new to the comforting business and wasn't sure how to handle it. Colin nodded to him, seeing his discomfort. He went over to her and hugged Ginny, letting her cry on his shoulder.
Soon she was done crying however. "Alright then. Obviously you two know of the prophecy and know what truly happened at the field."
"And may I say it was a bloody brilliant display of magic Ginny. You don't know how many times I've silently thanked you for that," said Draco, attempting a smile.
"Thanks Draco. We need to go rescue Harry. There's not a chance in hell I won't try and I'll go alone if I have to but I would prefer that you two came with me. Draco knows where in the hell we need to go and Colin probably knows the true location of where they would be. If Cho would trick you once she would do it again," she added, noticing the look on Draco's face.
Just then Hermione and Ron came bursting through the door, along with the rest of Gryffindor. Everyone stopped cold when they saw Draco there.
"What's HE doing here," hissed Ron, his face already becoming red with anger.
"If all of you, barring Hermione and Ron, would please go up to your respective rooms, all will be revealed in the morning. Right now we need the time," announced Ginny. Reluctantly the rest of Gryffindor went their respective ways, still casting wary glances that a Slytherin was in their common room.
Once everyone else was gone, Ron and Hermione sat down together on a couch by them. Ron immediately started in.
"Could someone please explain to me what in the bloody hell just went on down there," he growled, still staring Draco down.
"Here," said Draco, handing the two of them the note. "Now you shall here what started it all. From the beginning."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So you went against the Dark Lord's wishes, changed the Port Keys, and got screwed by that bitch," said Hermione, still reading the note.
Draco nodded. "I've never been loyal. The Dark Mark on my arm is a spell, a rather complicated one I might add. Professor Snape helped me remove it and let me tell you, it's more painful than getting it. Then I went searching through all sorts of books and found that I could charm the same shape to do the same things the Dark Mark used to do yet not have the blasted thing. I've been undercover in Slytherin since my second year. I just needed to keep up appearances. I'm sorry for all that I've put you guys through all these years at school. I really didn't mean all of it."
Hermione was the first to stand up. "We forgive you Draco. Welcome to Gryffindor."
Ron was next. He held out his hand to him. "I'm not saying I can totally forgive you for what you've done over the years, but I can try. Welcome to Gryffindor mate," he said, shaking Draco's hand firmly.
"Yes, I do believe congratulations are in order," came a voice from the portrait hole. The five of them turned and saw Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall standing in the doorway.
Draco nodded, getting up and going over to the pair. "Thank you sir."
"Welcome to Gryffindor Draco," said Professor McGonagall. She cracked one of her rare smiles too. "I never did think you were as bad as you made yourself appear."
"Well then, now that congratulations are finished shall we all sit down and figure out what just happened," he asked, going to sit in one of the empty chairs by the fire. Professor McGonagall went and sat next to him in the other empty chair.
"Oh, and Draco," said Professor Dumbledore, reaching into his coat and pulling something out of a rather large pocket. "I do believe someone belongs to you." He handed the shocked Draco his old kashya, the very one Draco had sent to him the summer before second year. "I was wondering when you'd be able to come for the little guy. Always knew you'd come around."
Draco smiled from ear to ear as the excited kashya bounded over to him, jumping on his lap and licking him all over his face. Draco was laughing and crying all as the same time, the two things forbidden in Slytherin house. The others watched this unfold, the Gryffindors flabbergasted that he could actually laugh and cry, and Dumbledore and McGonagall in amused silence. Finally Draco got the kashya to calm down a bit and looked up to Dumbledore. "Thank you sir! I never did know what happened to him! And I've missed him so much."
"Can I pet him," asked Hermione. Draco nodded, handing the excited kashya over to her. Hermione pet him and looked him over. "You know, kashya aren't typical to this region. They can be found in--"
"HERMIONE," everyone groaned loudly. A moment of silence was heard and everyone started laughing, even Hermione and the professors as the blush crept up in her face.