Ginny ran down the hall after Draco, who burst into the library. It was empty and should have been locked, but wasn't. Strange. Now was no time to question though. Draco began flipping quickly through a book.
"Draco? What are you looking for?" Ginny asked, breathless.
"The Elixirs of Life and Death. There's gotta be something we missed, I know it!" Draco exclaimed. Now was not the time to be doing some random research, either. Ginny had to have missed something. Finally, Draco gave a triumphant yell and thrust an article at Ginny. "Look."
"The Elixir of Death is never far from the Elixir of Life. The magical properties of the water nearest the Stone will thus be the waters of the river Styx. This can be very dangerous as anyone with the Elixir of Life in their possession who accidentally comes in contact with this water will immediately die. The water will be harmless to anyone else, despite the claims it will instantly kill anyone as its source of power is the river Styx."
"Draco! The last place the stone was was... Here! That means that the waters must be, too!"
"I know. What I don't understand is how Voldemort got the stone. I'm willing to bet it was never removed from the school grounds, but how did he get on them? Now let's think. I don't suppose regular water in the school would be it. No, this would be different, but nearby," Draco said, frowning. Ginny's eyes lit up.
"Draco, the lake!" Draco hugged her.
"Gin, you're a genius!" He threw down the book and ran from the room, with Ginny at his heels. They skidded to a halt as one of the prefects saw them.
"What are you two doing? You're supposed to be in your dorms, get going!" He told them. "Now! This is no time for fooling, I said, get to your dorms." Ginny punched him, hard. Draco managed to catch him and lower him gently to the ground, then gaped at Ginny.
"I'm sorry, I just hate it when they go on power trips, and besides, this is important!" She exclaimed, dashing off towards the main entrance. Ginny just hoped they'd be able to get outside. She was not surprised to find it locked. Pounding on the door in frustration just warranted a look from Draco.
"Come on, there's other ways out!" He led her to a statue, behind which was a door onto the grounds. Very nice, Ginny thought. She was amazed no one except that prefect had seen them.
The pair hurried towards the lake. It was dark out now, and Ginny stumbled in her heels. Draco caught her as he had done to the prefect earlier, only he didn't lower Ginny to the ground, he helped her back up. Ginny mumbled her thanks and pressed on. Soon they came to the shore of the surprisingly still lake.
"How do we know if this is it?" Ginny asked. Draco looked thoughtful. "There's got to be something, a spell maybe? I am not running back to the library to look!"
"No need, Gin. Look, you can tell there's something different about this lake. Feel the wind? How come the surface isn't moving, then?" Draco picked up a leaf then, and transfigured it into a vial. He took some water from the lake and capped the vial.
"Now what?" Ginny asked. They froze as a voice spoke behind them.
"Now you both go to Dumbledore," Severus Snape told them quietly as he ushered them in front of him. Draco had put the vial in his pocket and motioned to Ginny to keep quiet; he knew what he was doing.
"You may leave, Severus," Dumbledore said, as soon as Ginny and Draco were safely inside his office. Grudgingly, Snape obliged. "Now, what were the two of you doing outside by the lake now? Hmm? And why did I have a prefect tell me that you punched him in the face, Miss Weasley?" The two offenders looked down but remained silent.
"We're sorry, sir," Draco mumbled. Dumbledore looked sternly at him.
"I still want an answer, Mister Malfoy." Ginny looked like she might panic, so Draco blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Uh, well, you see... Ginny and I are dating and we wanted to make sure the other one was okay because we couldn't find each other in the Great Hall and we always meet by the lake so it was the first place we went!" He mumbled in one breath. Ginny and Dumbledore both looked at him in shock, though Ginny hid hers quickly.
"Is that so, Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore asked. Ginny nodded, inching ever so slowly closer to her 'boyfriend.' "Well, then why didn't you go to the Ball together?"
"You see, Professor, no one knows about us, and we wanted to keep it that way, because you know, we're from different houses, so they wouldn't really approve, and I wanted to help raise money for Saint Mungo's by having that raffle," Ginny told him. Draco smiled appreciatively at her. She lied better than he thought she could. "We really are sorry, sir."
"Very well. You may go, but report directly to your dormitories. And, Miss Weasley, next time, in your concern for Draco, please be a little more careful with your peers, hmm?" Ginny flushed and nodded as she and Draco left the office.
"Now what?" Ginny hissed. "We can't exactly just go off to find Voldemort. And now we have to pretend we're dating!" She looked at Draco, who was staring at her intently. They began walking together away from the office and were about to go in opposite directions to their own common rooms when Draco finally spoke.
"Gin, why do we have to pretend?" Draco asked softly. Giving her a kiss on the cheek, he hurried away to the Slytherin common room, leaving Ginny to stare at his retreating back.
Ginny took off her heels and ran for Gryffindor tower, needed to be alone with her thoughts. Too much had just happened. Harry was dead and Draco wanted to date her, and Voldemort had the Elixir of Life... But they had the Elixir of Death. There was something oddly balanced about the entire situation that caused Ginny's stomach to knot.
The next morning's Daily Prophet was all over the Hogwarts Yule Ball. Thousands were in mourning over Potter's death, and there was a trend towards paranoia gripping the wizarding populace. No one felt safe, not even at Hogwarts. Ginny and Draco met casually in the back of the library. She didn't mention what had been said last night. Instead, Ginny plopped down in a chair and looked at Draco expectantly, waiting for him to speak.
"Gin, we need to find Voldemort. I sent an owl to Father, but I'm afraid it'll be too late by the time he replies. We need to act. We're the only ones who know that he had possession of the Elixir of Life; everyone, including Fudge, thinks it was destroyed!"
"Well, what about your Father? Can't he tell them the truth?" Draco shook his head.
"No one would believe him. Dumbledore swore it had been destroyed. I don't understand it though, surely he knew it hadn't been," Draco said. "Even though the Ministry knows he's only posing as a DeathEater, they're very stubborn. They wouldn't believe that at all."
"So you mean, it's just us? Draco, Harry fought the Dark Lord how often, and couldn't win. For the last six years, he stood up to Voldemort, and now he's lost. What makes you think we can do this and come out alive?" Ginny said.
"Harry didn't have an entire file on the goings-on of DeathEaters at Hogwarts and the surrounding areas, did he? It's a long shot, Gin, but we've still got to try this. We're the only hope we've got," Draco said, sighing. "We need to find Voldemort."
"Draco? What are you looking for?" Ginny asked, breathless.
"The Elixirs of Life and Death. There's gotta be something we missed, I know it!" Draco exclaimed. Now was not the time to be doing some random research, either. Ginny had to have missed something. Finally, Draco gave a triumphant yell and thrust an article at Ginny. "Look."
"The Elixir of Death is never far from the Elixir of Life. The magical properties of the water nearest the Stone will thus be the waters of the river Styx. This can be very dangerous as anyone with the Elixir of Life in their possession who accidentally comes in contact with this water will immediately die. The water will be harmless to anyone else, despite the claims it will instantly kill anyone as its source of power is the river Styx."
"Draco! The last place the stone was was... Here! That means that the waters must be, too!"
"I know. What I don't understand is how Voldemort got the stone. I'm willing to bet it was never removed from the school grounds, but how did he get on them? Now let's think. I don't suppose regular water in the school would be it. No, this would be different, but nearby," Draco said, frowning. Ginny's eyes lit up.
"Draco, the lake!" Draco hugged her.
"Gin, you're a genius!" He threw down the book and ran from the room, with Ginny at his heels. They skidded to a halt as one of the prefects saw them.
"What are you two doing? You're supposed to be in your dorms, get going!" He told them. "Now! This is no time for fooling, I said, get to your dorms." Ginny punched him, hard. Draco managed to catch him and lower him gently to the ground, then gaped at Ginny.
"I'm sorry, I just hate it when they go on power trips, and besides, this is important!" She exclaimed, dashing off towards the main entrance. Ginny just hoped they'd be able to get outside. She was not surprised to find it locked. Pounding on the door in frustration just warranted a look from Draco.
"Come on, there's other ways out!" He led her to a statue, behind which was a door onto the grounds. Very nice, Ginny thought. She was amazed no one except that prefect had seen them.
The pair hurried towards the lake. It was dark out now, and Ginny stumbled in her heels. Draco caught her as he had done to the prefect earlier, only he didn't lower Ginny to the ground, he helped her back up. Ginny mumbled her thanks and pressed on. Soon they came to the shore of the surprisingly still lake.
"How do we know if this is it?" Ginny asked. Draco looked thoughtful. "There's got to be something, a spell maybe? I am not running back to the library to look!"
"No need, Gin. Look, you can tell there's something different about this lake. Feel the wind? How come the surface isn't moving, then?" Draco picked up a leaf then, and transfigured it into a vial. He took some water from the lake and capped the vial.
"Now what?" Ginny asked. They froze as a voice spoke behind them.
"Now you both go to Dumbledore," Severus Snape told them quietly as he ushered them in front of him. Draco had put the vial in his pocket and motioned to Ginny to keep quiet; he knew what he was doing.
"You may leave, Severus," Dumbledore said, as soon as Ginny and Draco were safely inside his office. Grudgingly, Snape obliged. "Now, what were the two of you doing outside by the lake now? Hmm? And why did I have a prefect tell me that you punched him in the face, Miss Weasley?" The two offenders looked down but remained silent.
"We're sorry, sir," Draco mumbled. Dumbledore looked sternly at him.
"I still want an answer, Mister Malfoy." Ginny looked like she might panic, so Draco blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Uh, well, you see... Ginny and I are dating and we wanted to make sure the other one was okay because we couldn't find each other in the Great Hall and we always meet by the lake so it was the first place we went!" He mumbled in one breath. Ginny and Dumbledore both looked at him in shock, though Ginny hid hers quickly.
"Is that so, Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore asked. Ginny nodded, inching ever so slowly closer to her 'boyfriend.' "Well, then why didn't you go to the Ball together?"
"You see, Professor, no one knows about us, and we wanted to keep it that way, because you know, we're from different houses, so they wouldn't really approve, and I wanted to help raise money for Saint Mungo's by having that raffle," Ginny told him. Draco smiled appreciatively at her. She lied better than he thought she could. "We really are sorry, sir."
"Very well. You may go, but report directly to your dormitories. And, Miss Weasley, next time, in your concern for Draco, please be a little more careful with your peers, hmm?" Ginny flushed and nodded as she and Draco left the office.
"Now what?" Ginny hissed. "We can't exactly just go off to find Voldemort. And now we have to pretend we're dating!" She looked at Draco, who was staring at her intently. They began walking together away from the office and were about to go in opposite directions to their own common rooms when Draco finally spoke.
"Gin, why do we have to pretend?" Draco asked softly. Giving her a kiss on the cheek, he hurried away to the Slytherin common room, leaving Ginny to stare at his retreating back.
Ginny took off her heels and ran for Gryffindor tower, needed to be alone with her thoughts. Too much had just happened. Harry was dead and Draco wanted to date her, and Voldemort had the Elixir of Life... But they had the Elixir of Death. There was something oddly balanced about the entire situation that caused Ginny's stomach to knot.
The next morning's Daily Prophet was all over the Hogwarts Yule Ball. Thousands were in mourning over Potter's death, and there was a trend towards paranoia gripping the wizarding populace. No one felt safe, not even at Hogwarts. Ginny and Draco met casually in the back of the library. She didn't mention what had been said last night. Instead, Ginny plopped down in a chair and looked at Draco expectantly, waiting for him to speak.
"Gin, we need to find Voldemort. I sent an owl to Father, but I'm afraid it'll be too late by the time he replies. We need to act. We're the only ones who know that he had possession of the Elixir of Life; everyone, including Fudge, thinks it was destroyed!"
"Well, what about your Father? Can't he tell them the truth?" Draco shook his head.
"No one would believe him. Dumbledore swore it had been destroyed. I don't understand it though, surely he knew it hadn't been," Draco said. "Even though the Ministry knows he's only posing as a DeathEater, they're very stubborn. They wouldn't believe that at all."
"So you mean, it's just us? Draco, Harry fought the Dark Lord how often, and couldn't win. For the last six years, he stood up to Voldemort, and now he's lost. What makes you think we can do this and come out alive?" Ginny said.
"Harry didn't have an entire file on the goings-on of DeathEaters at Hogwarts and the surrounding areas, did he? It's a long shot, Gin, but we've still got to try this. We're the only hope we've got," Draco said, sighing. "We need to find Voldemort."