A/N: Thanks to: VirtualFaerie (I'm so sorry about the name thing! Really, I am! I chose the name very randomly – so please forgive me. I cannot believe this story would remind you in any way of Hemingway, and I'm confused but incredibly flattered because he happens to be, in my opinion, one of the greatest writers who ever lived. I've never read 'AFTA', but I will!) , hpangel, cherries, jhlseaz (Your first review made me laugh … a lot. Yes, Draco is dim! And so is Lord Voldemort!), Ewok, NiMiBabe, m.white, Demented Fairy (Actually, in my honest opinion, the movie blew. If anything, it's the book that is worth your time.), Diana (I'm so sorry for the delay … so happy to hear you like my story!), DmalfoysMistress (I highly recommend the book. I'm glad you're considering reading it!), stormyfire, AdaRen (*laughs* … there's a name I'm familiar with! Thanks for putting me on your favorites list – I truly appreciate that), NeoSeredipity
Chapter 5: Snails and Sinister AffectionsThe Minister of Magic was in disarray.
How? How had the Death Eaters discovered Incolumisa?
Cornelius Fudge hastily climbed the winding staircase that would lead to Dumbledore's office. He burst through the oak doors, making a dramatic entrance with his purple cloak billowing behind him and what was left of his wispy hair dancing atop his head.
Dumbledore was hardly startled. He was unsmiling, and seemed to look a good deal more sage and ancient than he had the last time Fudge saw him.
" D-Dumbledore!" Fudge cried. " Have you received my owls?"
" Yes," the headmaster replied, standing from his chair. " All seventeen of them."
Fudge twisted the bowler hat in his hands, rotating its rim and bending it with his pudgy fingers. " How did he find out?"
Dumbledore shook his head. " Cornelius. The question is not how he found out. The island has been discovered. It is too late and unnecessary to ponder such a thing."
Fawkes, perched upon his stand, let out a quavering note, to which Fudge reacted with a heavy sigh. " What – what do we do now?" he asked dubiously.
Dumbledore pursed his lips together. " We must figure out how to make the island safe again."
Fudge stopped twisting his bowler hat. He faced Dumbledore, shooting him a nervous expression. " Come, Dumbledore! You-Know-Who has probably killed its inhabitants by now!" Fudge's voice was unsteady, and rang out nervously into the tense air.
The headmaster shook his head again. " We mustn't make such presumptions," he said sharply. " We must take action as quickly as we can."
* * * * *
Not at all desiring to even approach close to the general vicinity of Ginny Weasley, Draco spent the night at the Death Eaters' lodge – the modest and empty one they had taken at the bottom of the hill.
He awoke from the large sofa the next morning, and heard the hung-over groans of the older Death Eaters from the outside deck and kitchen area. Many of them had taken to gathering here to stay up late into the night with their whisky and mulled mead, playing games and falling asleep in their drunken state. Draco hated the terrible din he had to sleep through the previous night, but he had thought about the alternative, and preferred to stay at the lodge than go back up the hill and suffer the wrath of Ginny's terrible temper.
Draco kicked off his covers, straightened his hair, and passed the kitchen without glancing inside.
As he walked around the unfamiliar lodge, looking for the bathroom, he couldn't help noticing the atmosphere of the house. He sensed a hint of something – a bit of a feeling that had taken up the house prior to the Death Eaters' invasion. The walls were unadorned, but within them was a spirit that had not left. He saw a vase of nearly wilting flowers on the table in the dining room, and a cupboard filled with very simple china. Nothing was elaborate, or strikingly beautiful, but each item of the household held its own simple charm, as though everything held certain significance. He headed towards the staircase, and passed a fairly large bookshelf. This part of the house seemed uninhibited by any Death Eaters. Draco stopped and let his still tired eyes roam over the titles of each book spine. The shelf was possibly the largest item he'd seen in the house, and every inch of it was filled. He didn't stop there for long, and continued up the carpeted steps.
He reached the upstairs landing, still searching for a bathroom. He opened to first door on his right, caught a quick glance inside, and immediately shut the door with a snap.
He let out a long breath.
It wasn't the bathroom.
In fact, Draco had seen something he had not wanted to see. Trying to forget, he stepped away from the door. Try as he did, he simply could not erase the image of that room.
The walls had been half-colored, as though somebody had stopped painting the soft sky-blue color and left abruptly. The walls were, like the rest of the house, devoid of any personal photographs. Draco shook his head. The thing that had been most disturbing to see was the small empty baby crib placed in the middle of the room. Where had the baby gone? Had the Death Eaters –
Draco let out another long breath. If there really had been a baby in it at one time, he didn't want to even imagine where it had gone. The others had told Draco the lodge had been empty when they moved in. But how was he to believe people who lied and deceived for a living?
He spun around on the landing and went through another door. This one was a bigger bedroom, and this time, Draco was not greeted by a baby crib, but by a large, neatly made bed. It was obvious the Death Eaters had avoided this part of the house. Nothing seemed to have been soiled. Perhaps the others had neglected coming here as Draco had because of a bedroom's personal nature. For once, Draco was realizing that the lodge had been somebody else's home, and that a whole different and seemingly undisturbed life had been living here prior to them.
Draco walked forward into the bedroom, and spotted a door next to the wardrobe leading to a small bathroom. He hurriedly approached it, trying to ignore his surroundings – the bed, the small lampshades on the polished wooden nightstands, and the candles on the windowsill.
He passed the dresser and his eye caught something small and moving. He turned, looked, and immediately wished he had not.
There it was in front of him – like a grisly neon sign. Only it was a small photograph. Waving right at him was a couple, both red in the face and grinning. By their attire, it was obviously their wedding day. The sun behind then glinted merrily, its rays reaching out at the happy newly-weds.
Draco was sickened by the cheerfulness of it, and the shock it gave him. He fled from the room as fast as he could, trying as much as he could to erase Ron and Hermione's happy faces from his memory.
* * * * *
" He makes me so mad! I mean, of all Death Eaters, why did we get stuck with this arrogant, self-loving, idiotic - ,"
Meow.
Crookshanks lay on the coffee table in front of the sofa, befuddled by Ginny, who for the last ten minutes had been complaining about Draco – to a cat.
" He's driving me nuts. Before him, when Harry was around, I was perfectly fine! And now look at me! I'm – I'm –,"
" – talking to a cat?"
Hermione was leaning on the doorframe of the office, where she had been sleeping every night. She rubbed her eyes and half smiled at Ginny, who turned scarlet
" Ginny, I've told you before and I hate to say it again but – there's nothing we can do."
Ginny sat back on the sofa. " I know. I was complaining to Crookshanks because I knew she couldn't tell me that."
Hermione patted her friend on the head and went into the kitchen area. She then stopped in at the stove and frowned.
" We have no food."
Ginny turned towards her friend. " What?"
" No food," said Hermione, absently. She frowned even more deeply. " I mean, usually, the market is open … but …"
Ginny stood from the sofa. " What are we gonna do?" She thought of Draco and suddenly wished to see him – so she could give him a good hard punch in the face. The Death Eaters had ruined the peace, committed murder, created havoc, and taken away the food.
" It's alright for now, I reckon," said Hermione slowly. " We still have the peach tree. We'll just – eat from there. I'll go get some …"
"No." Ginny stepped over the back of the sofa and ran to the door, obstructing Hermione's way. " You aren't going outside, Hermione." Ginny glanced out the window and looked out onto their front yard. " In fact, I think you should stay away from the windows too."
Hermione said nothing, so Ginny took it as acceptance. "Lock the door," she added quickly. Without grabbing her shoes, she stepped outside barefoot and approached the tree.
It had been a while since she picked the peaches. Most of them usually hung rather low on the branches, but because they had recently been eating them more excessively, she found none ripe enough that were within reach from where she stood.
Shielding her eyes from the sun, she looked up higher in the branches and spotted many towards the top.
Without a second thought, Ginny stepped up and placed her toe in a large knot on the tree. It had really been years since she last climbed one – back at the Burrow where she had raced her brothers to the top. Nostalgia began to creep up on her as she slowly climbed to grab a thick branch, and she recalled these times as though they were yesterday. Ron's excited shouts permeated her memory, and she was suddenly reminded of how she'd never reached the top as fast as her brothers had, and remembered reaching out to grab their hands from the top branches, and waiting to be pulled up and join them.
As she neared the top, no tanned freckly hands reached down to help her. She simply grasped the nearest branch for support, digging her nails painfully into the hard bark in an effort to not fall to the ground.
Draco had run from the lodge quickly, and headed up the hill, knowing an encounter with Ginny was inevitable anyway. He refused to let her get to him. He certainly didn't want Ginny to think he was afraid of her. Draco refused to give the girl such satisfaction – for he most definitely was not afraid of her in any way.
He was almost startled to look up and see a pale leg dangling from peach tree – and he could only surmise who that leg belonged to and what it was doing up there.
Draco quietly approached the tree, close enough to see and hear her, but far enough to escape from her easily. He watched silently as Ginny hoisted herself from one branch to the next. He almost caught himself enjoying watching her struggle.
Ginny was not in the shadows of the tree, protected by leaves that moved in the slight breeze, fanning her gently. She reached for the first ripe peach she saw, picked it, and dropped it to the ground – or rather threw it.
It narrowly missed Draco's head, and he tilted sideways as it flew at him and hit the ground with much force. He wanted to tell her she would ruin them that way, but he dared not speak in case she were to fall when she spotted him, or deliberately throw some peaches at him.
He watched as she picked more and let them fall to the grass, denting their delicate shapes.
Draco saw in the corner of his eye a figure coming down from the other side of the hill. He was obviously a Death Eater, but certainly didn't look the part. His robes were tattered at the hem, as though he'd stepped on them one too many times. Dust was specked all over his robes, his hair, and his face.
Though almost unrecognizable in his state, Draco squinted in the sun and saw it was Amory Cortez – the man Draco had seen kill Richard.
A sharp cry above him interrupted Draco, and he looked up abruptly to see something much larger than a peach falling from the high branch.
Out of reflex, he reached out and Ginny fell into his arms briefly, before he toppled backward from the impact and they fell to the ground together.
Draco landed hard on his back, and felt Ginny roll onto his stomach. He groaned as he felt her try to push herself up by pressing on his body.
" Wha –,"
Ginny rolled over again and sat up, feeling dazed looking around then spotting Draco.
He coughed loudly, gasping for the air that had been knocked out of him, and sat up as well.
" You –," Ginny started. She was breathing hard. " What are you doing?"
Draco narrowed his eyes. " What the hell do you mean? I just saved your life and you ask me what I'm doing? Geez, Weasley."
Ginny pursed her lips together and glared. " Don't be so proud. You didn't –,"
But suddenly, Draco let out a soft curse. He watched as Amory drew nearer, and although he seemed preoccupied, there was no doubt a young girl with bright red hair would catch his attention. Draco grabbed Ginny by the arm hastily and pulled her up.
" Ow!" she screeched. " Now what are you doing?"
" Shut up!"
He pulled her with all his force towards the door of the cottage. " Go! Open the door!" he hissed hurriedly, turning around to see Amory coming closer.
" I – I can't." Ginny rattled the knob, stunned by Draco's sudden haste. " Locked."
Draco let out a soft grunt of frustration. " Alright, come on then. Go back up the tree."
" What? Why?"
Draco took out his wand from his pocket, and muttered, "Wingardium Leviosa."
Ginny's feet left the ground. She opened her mouth but no words came out as she levitated upwards back into the hidden depths of the treetop.
Not wanting to face Amory, Draco made his way up the trunk as well. No charm could make a wizard leave the ground himself, but Draco was rather capable of tree-climbing. He stuck the tip of his foot into a knot and hoisted himself. Being taller than Ginny, he grabbed the lowest branch easily and brought himself up.
" What is this about?" Ginny hissed from above Draco. He reached up to the branch she was sitting on and lifted himself to sit beside her.
He pointed down below, and Ginny followed his gaze to the street, where Amory was slowly coming closer and closer. Had the two of them still been on the ground, he would have spotted them. But hidden within the depths of the peach tree, and being on a higher eye level, Amory's eyes avoided them easily. He trudged onward, and passed their cottage, his heavy feet scuffing the dirt on the road as he walked.
Draco turned back to Ginny, and he saw a look of revulsion on her face he'd hardly seen before. Her eyes were narrowed at Amory, and he saw her quietly dig her nails into the branch she was sitting on.
" I'm not like him," Draco blurted out before he could even stop himself.
He'd surprised himself by saying so. Ginny's gaze left Amory and turned towards Draco. She seemed to be concentrating hard, as though she was studying his face and looking at him for the first time.
" Prove it," she said quietly – almost in a whisper. Her eyes were still narrowed.
Something boiled within Draco. " You think if he was in my place he would've spared Granger?"
Ginny felt her breath catch in her chest. She recalled that day again – when she stood in her own kitchen, terrified of the figure hidden behind the expressionless white mask. It hadn't mattered to her whether the person behind it was a robber, a killer, or somebody's grandmother.
" You're all the same to me," she told him acidly, " and you always will be."
Draco blinked. Wordlessly, he climbed down onto a lower branch, then jumped down to the ground.
Ginny quickly followed, and fell seconds later. She watched as he started up the road where they had seen Amory come from and walked alone, facing the large mountains in the distance and heading towards them without a glance backwards.
* * * * *
Draco did not return until the blue sky had taken on an orange hue. A pink tinge spread across the horizon, beautifying a deadly atmosphere.
Inside the cottage, Hermione continued to work on her blanket – now at a furious rate – while Ginny sat at the kitchen table, deep in thought.
The front door opened and Draco walked in, looking rather apathetic. He avoided Ginny, who in turn dared not glance at him.
Hermione set down her needles. " We have no food," she told him blatantly. Her voice was steady and strong.
Draco simply raised an eyebrow at her. " So?"
Hermione narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. " So we're going to get some."
Ginny snapped out of her trance-like state and looked at Hermione quizzically. " What? How?"
Hermione did not answer. " Go get your shoes," she said firmly, " and a bucket and fishing net."
Questionably, Ginny did as she was told. Draco removed his cloak and let it fall onto a kitchen chair. He then pulled it out and sat down.
" You're coming with us," said Hermione, glaring pointedly at Draco. " It's your fault we haven't got a bite to eat."
" You can't make me," he replied, sneering.
Hermione pulled out her wand from behind her back. With a quick Accio, she had Draco's wand in her other hand. " Yes I can."
Moments later, Hermione was leading the way up the street as Ginny and Draco followed.
Ginny, who was holding the fishing net and bucket in her hands, shouted, " Slow down, Hermione!"
Hermione was moving very quickly towards the end of the street. They continued down a curb on the hillside and nearer to the foot of the mountains, where water from the top was trickling down smoothly and forming a small river.
The sky was slowly growing darker, making it harder to see. The lack of light was giving everything around them a dark blue hue, and the mountains towering over them were starting to become massive silhouettes against the darkening sky.
Ginny heard the water flow get faster as Hermione led them along the side of the river. Suddenly, she said, " Give me the net, please."
Ginny obliged and handed it to her wordlessly. She cast a glance toward Draco beside her, who looked back and her and frowned slightly.
They watched silently as Hermione approached the side of the river. She reached out into the water with the net and stayed this way – very still.
Suddenly, there was a splashing sound in the water. " Gotcha!" Hermione exclaimed. She withdrew the net from the water and inside it was a very tiny fish about the size of Ginny's palm, jumping around and fighting for breath.
Draco scoffed. " That'll hardly feed one person."
Hermione ignored him and dropped the fish into the bucket that had been set beside her. " I'll be at this for a while, I suppose." She looked up at Draco with a sinister expression. " You two should go collect something else to eat."
" Like what?" Draco asked, looking rather unpleasant. His wand was still in Hermione's pocket.
" I dunno. Berries. Herbs. Snails … whatever's around."
Ginny almost gagged at the thought of eating snails. Draco seemed rather horrified as well, but neither said anything, knowing Hermione was not in her best mood at this moment. Hunger affects pregnant women much more strongly than regular people …
Draco turned with Ginny and they headed away from the river where Hermione was still fishing.
" Well, I reckon the berries and herbs would be around here," Ginny said, indicating the large bushes in front of her. " And the snails would be … I guess beneath them."
" I'm not eating snails," said Draco in disgust.
Ginny rolled her eyes in the dark. " I'm not fond of them either," she retorted firmly, " but we might not have much choice. A lot of these berries are poisonous." She pointed out the small red ones. " You can't eat these."
Ginny went down on all fours and crawled between the bushes, searching for some hidden edible berries within them. Draco went around to a bush nearby and mimicked her without enthusiasm.
The sky was growing increasingly darker and neither of them had a wand with them. It was starting to get harder to see the berries. Luckily, the moon was not hidden by clouds that night, and illuminated against the river, making that general area a bit brighter. Ginny could see Draco a little ahead of her, pulling berries out of the tiny crevices within the bush leaves. He looked completely wrong down on all fours and crawling through the thick bushes – and she smiled slightly, finally being able to catch him when he wasn't so complacent and dignified.
The process was rather slow, and ten silent minutes passed and both had only collected a total of eight berries – five for Ginny, three for Draco.
" It looks like we'll be eating snails tonight," said Ginny with a heavy sigh. She looked up at Draco to see the side of his mouth twitch. She let out a small chuckle and looked down at the very few berries in her hand.
" I've spotted more snails than berries," Draco stated, frowning. " See, look. There goes one now."
Ginny looked up to see one inching along. Her stomach growled softly, and suddenly, even that slimy little creature seemed edible. Her hunger was certainly starting to hinder her senses.
She began to crawl towards it when –
" Ow."
She felt something snag her hair and tug at her roots.
Draco glanced towards her.
Ginny reached up her free hand, and felt her elbow scratch against sharp branches at her side. In the semi-darkness, it was difficult to see around her, and she was unsure how to lift her arm in her tight spot.
" Just crawl forward and pull your head away," said Draco lazily, a hint of agitation in his voice.
" Right, and just rip the hair out of my head, right?" His presence was certainly not helping her situation and she suddenly wanted nothing more than to be anywhere but where she was now. " Can you help me?"
Saying the latter took much strength and teeth gritting.
Draco did not move right away. " Why should I?" he asked as coldly as he could. " Would you help me if that happened?"
" Yes," Ginny lied.
Draco scoffed. " Maybe I'll just leave you here like this. Serves you right."
Ginny grew angrier. " Serves me right? I'm just an innocent victim! If it wasn't for you, I'd be living perfectly fine in my cottage! Alone!"
Alone. Without Harry. She could hardly imagine what he'd say if he saw her bickering with Draco like this.
Draco did not retort. He spoke again, but this time he was quieter and more serious. " I'll help you, Weasley. But you have to tell me first that we're not all the same."
This time, Ginny scoffed. She recalled their conversation from that morning in the peach tree. " I won't tell a lie," she stated stubbornly.
" So … I'll just leave you here then?" She saw Draco start to back out of the bushes.
" See? There!" Ginny exclaimed, " You are all the same. Any stupid Death Eater would just leave me like this! So stop trying to tell me you're any different!"
Ginny looked up to see Draco glaring at her with a particularly vindictive expression on his face, making her feel almost sure he would hurt her.
He didn't. Instead, he spoke again. " You think everybody's either good or evil, don't you? Well you know how we found out about this island? Snape told us. You know, your former Potions teacher. He's a spy for us."
Ginny opened her mouth but nothing came out. She could feel her hands pressing against the earth and her shoulder beginning to hurt.
She knew Snape was a spy. Harry had once told her so. And she had since then assumed he was a spy for their side, not the Dark side. Snape had benefited Dumbledore greatly. He had aided them in as many ways possible – but it turns out he'd been doing the same for the other side …
" Alright," she said, feeling partially defeated. " You're – not …"
Hesitantly, Draco crawled forward. " Not what?"
She sensed him draw nearer and grew slightly nervous.
" Not – all the same."
"You'd better mean that Weasley."
Ginny swallowed hard. He was very close now. Being in the dark and entrapped in such a confined place made it difficult to trust Draco.
" You know what? I don't," she stated bravely.
Draco stopped moving and glared at her – his face no more than three inches away from hers.
" Like I've said before …" Her vocals seemed to catch in her throat and she spoke very quietly – almost a whisper, "prove it."
She didn't even see him move forward. The tip of her nose suddenly caressed his shoulder and she felt the soft fabric of his shirt on her face as he reached up to entangle her hair.
She found herself feeling tense and considerably uncomfortable.
He was moving his fingers diligently, and she felt his arm moving above her, trying to extricate her hair from the branch. She squirmed, now feeling slightly uneasy. "Stay still," he demanded quietly.
Ginny saw another snail inch along about a foot away. She waited patiently, and began to feel her hair loosen.
Draco removed the strands from the branch slowly, all the while squinting to see. Leave it to this girl to do something so clumsy, he thought annoyingly. But something in him had to admit he preferred her to be this way. At least she was acting civilized. He found on the rare occasions she wasn't stomping her foot and screaming at him, she was a normal girl who was just trying to resist what she's been brought up to fight. Very much like himself …
Ginny's hair came loose completely, but Draco could not get away fast enough. He crawled backward slowly, feeling his hands partially sink into the cold earth beneath his palms. Ginny stayed where she was.
" That doesn't prove anything," she found herself saying, more to herself than to him. But as she crawled onward to get herself out of the bushes, she knew that was not true – that the simple gestures of pulling her hair out of a branch and even levitating her into a peach tree were just two of the many things that made Draco Malfoy different from the other Death Eaters.
* * * * *