Hello again. I just have to take a moment right now to truly appreciate that I have 14 reviews. Can you believe
it? 14! You guys are all fantastic and you have made me feel so much better about this little endeavor of
mine. SO thank you to...kaze, Annie Christopher, QueenOfTheRogue, Belladonna, The Golden Goose, Viola, fyrechild,
Darcel (again!) and Krista of StarTress . If I could, I would send you all cookies.
Hmm, what else? Oh yes, the lullaby that appears in this chapter belongs to Sir Arnold Bax and is called (appropriately
enough) A Celtic Lullaby.
I tried to make this chapter a little bit longer. hopefully the quality won't suffer from the quantity. I think that's about
all. Please let me know if I'm still doing ok as it would be much appreciated.
Disclaimer: Don't own them or the song.
Here we go...
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Breathing heavily, Ginny finally slumped against the corridor wall.
She was exhausted after her long, frantic flight from the Great Hall and wanted
nothing more than to curl up into a little ball and hide from everyone
forever.
"What could you have possibly been thinking, Virginia Weasley?" she berated herself.
"Draco Malfoy is not a person you want to make enemies with, now is he?"
She honestly had no clear idea what had possessed her to glare up at Malfoy the way she had.
All she knew was that she felt a long repressed emotion building up inside of her until it came pouring
out of her eyes and on to the Slytherin table.
Molly Weasley had often commented on Ginny's lack of the infamous Weasley temper and was of the
opinion that when she finally did burst, it was going to be an explosion that rocked the ages. Ginny didn't want to
rock anything and she certainly didn't want to lose her temper. That was how people identified
Ron and she had cultivated her ability to pass unnoticed because that was what defined her. Fred and George were the trouble makers,
Percy was the brainy one, Bill was the
"cool" guy and Charlie was the successful adult. Ron had just barely managed to carve out a
distinguishing characteristic for himself and if Ginny were to lose her temper...well, they would
both lose everything they had worked for. So when she felt that white hot rage inside her heart
it was such an unfamiliar feeling that she let it build, unchecked. It was only when she saw the
same emotion mirrored in those terrifying grey eyes that she realized what she had been doing and fled
in panic.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Damn!" Draco Malfoy cursed his bad luck and all things Weasley.
He had lost her again. After she had made her ungraceful and utterly confusing exit from the
Great Hall he had hesitated only a moment before muttering a nonsense excuse to his table mates and
leaping up to follow her. Unfortunately, she was astonishingly fast for such a tiny thing and Draco
had found himself hard pressed to keep up with her. He had had to jog swiftly
through the passages and even still, when he turned the last corner she had vanished into thin air. That had inspired
the fit of cursing and now he stood stock still, listening for all he was worth.
There! Coming faintly from around the next corner he could hear shuffling and a heavy breathing...
"That must be the sneaky little Weasel now." he thought as he ghosted silently to the source of the
sound.
Peering around the corner, he was gratified with the sight of the small red head already cowering
and seemingly spent. He quickly ducked out of sight as he stifled a most unbecoming eager giggle.
This was going to be too perfect. He was still determined to ruin her morning after she had ruined his night
and he had some particularly nasty ideas planned as he stepped into view, trademark sneer plastered
all over his pale face.
She was gone again.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If it hadn't been for her still heightened adrenaline level, she probably wouldn't have heard the
strangled laughter coming from around the corner. As it was, she did hear it and immediately panicked, leaping to
her feet and pressing her back even harder against the cold stone wall. To her immense surprise and simultaneous
fear, the wall gave way behind her and she was tumbling down, down into darkness.
When the black spots that always seemed to accompany a blow to the head
finally cleared from her vision, Ginny's jaw dropped in awe. Before her stood one of the most elegant rooms she had ever been in.
Vaulted ceilings that made echoes from the slightest of whispers arched gracefully over a black marble floor that was lit with pools
of soft light. But it
wasn't the loftiness of the room that caused the sense of wonder in her heart, it was the presence of every musical
instrument ever created that caused her head to spin and her wits to leave her.
She took a few hesitating steps forward, lifting a slim hand to reverently caress first a grand piano, then a cello
and a violin. Unconcsiously, she began to hum a tune that often came to her mind when she was particularly happy or content.
She remembered it from when she was very young, from nights when her mother had looked right at her and Ginny had
felt nothing but comfort as the sweet melody sprang from Molly Weasley's lips. But before she had hummed the third
note of the first bar, every instrument in the room began to play softly along, jumping into action as though some
orchestra of ghosts had met for one final concerto especially for her. Delighted, Ginny raised her voice and began to
sing the words that she knew so well.
Lennavanmo Lennavanmo who is it swinging you to and fro
With a long low swing and a sweet low croon
loving words of a mother's rune
Lennavanmo Lennavanmo who is it swinging you to and fro.
I am thinking it is an Angel fair
The Angel that looks on the gulf from the lowest stair.
And swings the green world upward by its leagues of sunshine hair
Lennavanmo Lennavanmo who swingeth you and the Angel to and fro.
It is he whose faintest thought is a world afar
It is He whose wish is a seven-mooned leaping star
It is He Lennavanmo to whom you and I and all things flow
Lennavanmo Lennavanmo
It is only a little wee lass that you are
Eilidh mo chree
When the last word faded from the air, Ginny took a deep breath and realized that, for the first time in a long
time, she felt genuinely happy. She had loved to sing when she was a child, but the singing talent had always
belonged to her mother and it had interfered with her own defining silence, so she had eventually given it up. This was the
first time in years and years that she had lifted her voice in song and she found that she had forgotten the inner contentment
that it brought. This contentment had lasted all of three seconds before she heard a sardonic voice say from behind her:
"Well, well, well. Who would've guessed that the littlest Weasel would also have the biggest voice?"
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Draco let out another string of creative curses when he found his plans ruined again. How on earth had she
managed to slip away this time? She had been right there less than ten seconds ago! Angry and frustrated, he strode
over to the section of wall he had seen her leaning against last and kicked it with all of his Quidditch playing strength.
Unfortunately for him, the strength of his blow created a great amount of momentum and, as he wasn't prepared for
the wall giving away beneath his foot, he found himself flying at a great velocity through the unknown darkness.
................................................................................................................................
'What is that sound?'
The thought rose up to him from a surrounding darkness. It was beautiful, like he'd always imagined faerie voices would sound when he was
younger and still believed in faeries. The blackness paled to grey and suddenly he could make out the
words that the clear voice was singing...it was the same lullaby his mother had sung to him when he was a very small boy! The same lullaby
that had soothed a child tortured by nightmares and comforted his troubles. For a moment he was disoriented,
and the world spun from a vision of his room as it had appeared years ago to a large hall with a hard, cool floor. Then the
grey ness evaporated entirely and Draco found himself lying on his back and suffering from a splitting headache. Muttering
an oath, he sat up gingerly holding a hand to his head and as he moved, he realized that one part of his dream had remained. The
sweet voice was still reverberating through the high ceilings. His interest piqued, Draco stood with still more muffled expletives and
took several cautious steps around a giant bass drum. His mind reeled as he saw a red haired siren, mouth open and face suffused with warmth,
pouring her heart out into the surrounding space. He felt a sense of wonder rise up into his throat and, surprised and confused, stamped it out
with more effort than was strictly necessary. He had a sneer fixed firmly on his face and a cutting line ready when the last note died.
"Well, well, well. Who would've guessed that the littlest Weasel would also have the biggest voice?"
......................................................................................................................................................
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
......................................................................................................................................................
Sorry, bit of a cliffhanger there. I'll try to update as soon as I can, but my weekend is looking a little packed. Expect the next
installment to appear no later than late Monday. I promise, it'll be worth it. I'm done with chapters of strictly character development, next
chapter look for pure Ginny/Draco interaction. Should be fun, no? And soon after that we'll have appearances by fellow Gryffindors and Slytherins
alike, so never fear. Ok, that's all.
it? 14! You guys are all fantastic and you have made me feel so much better about this little endeavor of
mine. SO thank you to...kaze, Annie Christopher, QueenOfTheRogue, Belladonna, The Golden Goose, Viola, fyrechild,
Darcel (again!) and Krista of StarTress . If I could, I would send you all cookies.
Hmm, what else? Oh yes, the lullaby that appears in this chapter belongs to Sir Arnold Bax and is called (appropriately
enough) A Celtic Lullaby.
I tried to make this chapter a little bit longer. hopefully the quality won't suffer from the quantity. I think that's about
all. Please let me know if I'm still doing ok as it would be much appreciated.
Disclaimer: Don't own them or the song.
Here we go...
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Breathing heavily, Ginny finally slumped against the corridor wall.
She was exhausted after her long, frantic flight from the Great Hall and wanted
nothing more than to curl up into a little ball and hide from everyone
forever.
"What could you have possibly been thinking, Virginia Weasley?" she berated herself.
"Draco Malfoy is not a person you want to make enemies with, now is he?"
She honestly had no clear idea what had possessed her to glare up at Malfoy the way she had.
All she knew was that she felt a long repressed emotion building up inside of her until it came pouring
out of her eyes and on to the Slytherin table.
Molly Weasley had often commented on Ginny's lack of the infamous Weasley temper and was of the
opinion that when she finally did burst, it was going to be an explosion that rocked the ages. Ginny didn't want to
rock anything and she certainly didn't want to lose her temper. That was how people identified
Ron and she had cultivated her ability to pass unnoticed because that was what defined her. Fred and George were the trouble makers,
Percy was the brainy one, Bill was the
"cool" guy and Charlie was the successful adult. Ron had just barely managed to carve out a
distinguishing characteristic for himself and if Ginny were to lose her temper...well, they would
both lose everything they had worked for. So when she felt that white hot rage inside her heart
it was such an unfamiliar feeling that she let it build, unchecked. It was only when she saw the
same emotion mirrored in those terrifying grey eyes that she realized what she had been doing and fled
in panic.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Damn!" Draco Malfoy cursed his bad luck and all things Weasley.
He had lost her again. After she had made her ungraceful and utterly confusing exit from the
Great Hall he had hesitated only a moment before muttering a nonsense excuse to his table mates and
leaping up to follow her. Unfortunately, she was astonishingly fast for such a tiny thing and Draco
had found himself hard pressed to keep up with her. He had had to jog swiftly
through the passages and even still, when he turned the last corner she had vanished into thin air. That had inspired
the fit of cursing and now he stood stock still, listening for all he was worth.
There! Coming faintly from around the next corner he could hear shuffling and a heavy breathing...
"That must be the sneaky little Weasel now." he thought as he ghosted silently to the source of the
sound.
Peering around the corner, he was gratified with the sight of the small red head already cowering
and seemingly spent. He quickly ducked out of sight as he stifled a most unbecoming eager giggle.
This was going to be too perfect. He was still determined to ruin her morning after she had ruined his night
and he had some particularly nasty ideas planned as he stepped into view, trademark sneer plastered
all over his pale face.
She was gone again.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If it hadn't been for her still heightened adrenaline level, she probably wouldn't have heard the
strangled laughter coming from around the corner. As it was, she did hear it and immediately panicked, leaping to
her feet and pressing her back even harder against the cold stone wall. To her immense surprise and simultaneous
fear, the wall gave way behind her and she was tumbling down, down into darkness.
When the black spots that always seemed to accompany a blow to the head
finally cleared from her vision, Ginny's jaw dropped in awe. Before her stood one of the most elegant rooms she had ever been in.
Vaulted ceilings that made echoes from the slightest of whispers arched gracefully over a black marble floor that was lit with pools
of soft light. But it
wasn't the loftiness of the room that caused the sense of wonder in her heart, it was the presence of every musical
instrument ever created that caused her head to spin and her wits to leave her.
She took a few hesitating steps forward, lifting a slim hand to reverently caress first a grand piano, then a cello
and a violin. Unconcsiously, she began to hum a tune that often came to her mind when she was particularly happy or content.
She remembered it from when she was very young, from nights when her mother had looked right at her and Ginny had
felt nothing but comfort as the sweet melody sprang from Molly Weasley's lips. But before she had hummed the third
note of the first bar, every instrument in the room began to play softly along, jumping into action as though some
orchestra of ghosts had met for one final concerto especially for her. Delighted, Ginny raised her voice and began to
sing the words that she knew so well.
Lennavanmo Lennavanmo who is it swinging you to and fro
With a long low swing and a sweet low croon
loving words of a mother's rune
Lennavanmo Lennavanmo who is it swinging you to and fro.
I am thinking it is an Angel fair
The Angel that looks on the gulf from the lowest stair.
And swings the green world upward by its leagues of sunshine hair
Lennavanmo Lennavanmo who swingeth you and the Angel to and fro.
It is he whose faintest thought is a world afar
It is He whose wish is a seven-mooned leaping star
It is He Lennavanmo to whom you and I and all things flow
Lennavanmo Lennavanmo
It is only a little wee lass that you are
Eilidh mo chree
When the last word faded from the air, Ginny took a deep breath and realized that, for the first time in a long
time, she felt genuinely happy. She had loved to sing when she was a child, but the singing talent had always
belonged to her mother and it had interfered with her own defining silence, so she had eventually given it up. This was the
first time in years and years that she had lifted her voice in song and she found that she had forgotten the inner contentment
that it brought. This contentment had lasted all of three seconds before she heard a sardonic voice say from behind her:
"Well, well, well. Who would've guessed that the littlest Weasel would also have the biggest voice?"
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Draco let out another string of creative curses when he found his plans ruined again. How on earth had she
managed to slip away this time? She had been right there less than ten seconds ago! Angry and frustrated, he strode
over to the section of wall he had seen her leaning against last and kicked it with all of his Quidditch playing strength.
Unfortunately for him, the strength of his blow created a great amount of momentum and, as he wasn't prepared for
the wall giving away beneath his foot, he found himself flying at a great velocity through the unknown darkness.
................................................................................................................................
'What is that sound?'
The thought rose up to him from a surrounding darkness. It was beautiful, like he'd always imagined faerie voices would sound when he was
younger and still believed in faeries. The blackness paled to grey and suddenly he could make out the
words that the clear voice was singing...it was the same lullaby his mother had sung to him when he was a very small boy! The same lullaby
that had soothed a child tortured by nightmares and comforted his troubles. For a moment he was disoriented,
and the world spun from a vision of his room as it had appeared years ago to a large hall with a hard, cool floor. Then the
grey ness evaporated entirely and Draco found himself lying on his back and suffering from a splitting headache. Muttering
an oath, he sat up gingerly holding a hand to his head and as he moved, he realized that one part of his dream had remained. The
sweet voice was still reverberating through the high ceilings. His interest piqued, Draco stood with still more muffled expletives and
took several cautious steps around a giant bass drum. His mind reeled as he saw a red haired siren, mouth open and face suffused with warmth,
pouring her heart out into the surrounding space. He felt a sense of wonder rise up into his throat and, surprised and confused, stamped it out
with more effort than was strictly necessary. He had a sneer fixed firmly on his face and a cutting line ready when the last note died.
"Well, well, well. Who would've guessed that the littlest Weasel would also have the biggest voice?"
......................................................................................................................................................
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
......................................................................................................................................................
Sorry, bit of a cliffhanger there. I'll try to update as soon as I can, but my weekend is looking a little packed. Expect the next
installment to appear no later than late Monday. I promise, it'll be worth it. I'm done with chapters of strictly character development, next
chapter look for pure Ginny/Draco interaction. Should be fun, no? And soon after that we'll have appearances by fellow Gryffindors and Slytherins
alike, so never fear. Ok, that's all.