Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. It is all Rowling's work.
A/N: Yep, I've decided to continue the story!
Chapter One: The One
He felt the weight of her sad gaze before she had even said the words.
"Yes I do. So I guess this is goodbye."
Glancing down at her, the words that she had uttered had torn his heart in two. However, he knew what was about to ensue was inevitable. Unfortunately, it was the only choice. Heart clenching, he could not stop the impending tears that were threatening to drop. He only managed to articulate one word.
"Virginia?"
"What?" He heard her quiet reply. He saw her eyes widen a fraction when she glimpsed the drying tear on his face. Unable to speak anymore, he opted to touch her face lightly. When he felt the softness, he could not help himself, and bent down to kiss her. He lost himself in the fervent passion, but only for a moment. Restraining himself, Draco staggered back away from her.
Feeling as if he must say something else before he left, he promised, "I will always love you."
It was a promise he felt he could hold true to. Nevertheless, he did not prepare himself for the most affecting and heartrending vision. He experienced true grief as he apparated.
The last sight he saw of her was the figure of a young woman looking at him helplessly, and so sad that her gaze was glassy and unfocused.
Gasping for breath, Draco Malfoy heaved himself upwards. Sweat was clinging onto his face. Breathing deeply, he attempted to retain his equilibrium.
"Draco, honey, are you alright?" A woman's soft hand eased over his brow. The other hand rested on Draco's shoulder, supporting him upright.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a nightmare. Go to sleep," He replied. He let himself be lowered back to his bed. The woman brushed her fingers across his bare chest as she settled down as well.
Waiting until the woman's breathing eased, Draco swung himself up from the bed. Flinging on a green silk robe, he entered the bathroom. He flicked on the light-switch. The bathroom was styled in high-quality marble, with a huge Jacuzzi tub and mirrors that surrounded the whole room. Smiling dryly to himself, he wondered why he had ever decided to have such a bathroom. Then, he remembered Alyssa's incessant begging, imploring him to order for such an impressive bathroom. Of course, he hadn't complained once, for he remembered the comfort that the tub provided, especially after the tiring work at the Ministry of Magic.
Thinking wistfully to himself, he wondered if Ginny ever had experienced such luxury in a bathroom. Immediately, he smacked himself on the head on the inside. He questioned himself as to why he still thought about her. Two years had passed, and he had heard of no news about her. At least no news that were interesting enough to make the Daily Prophet, anyway.
Sighing, Draco peered at the mirror in front of the sink. He winced. He looked like hell. Dark circles encompassed the area around his eyes, and his cheek had such sunken looks to them that it seemed incredibly pallid. Again, he wondered how he was going to work tomorrow. Lately, work had become extremely arduous. He usually stayed in office long after everybody else had left, as working in the Department of Mysteries was no easy task.
He turned on the faucet, and splashed some water onto his face. Looking into the mirror again, he grimaced. Not only was his face colorless and pasty, it was also blotchy on the forehead from the excessive sweating. Draco frowned at his reflection.
Assessing himself in the mirror once more, Draco decided to return to bed. Climbing back into the lavish silk bed he shared with his wife, he gazed fondly at her sleeping form. Although he was reluctant to marry her, he found that his parents' choice wasn't so bad. She wasn't hard to tolerate after all. She was not who he expected to be, needless to say. Lucius and Narcissa had been so persistent in his marriage to her that he had finally given in. However, he was surprised when he discovered her animosity towards him. He just didn't expect her to oppose to the marriage as well. He had always thought everybody wanted to be related to the Malfoys. Well, perhaps Alyssa's parents did, since they coerced her into this marriage that lacked love.
It was not until two months after their marriage that they started to talk to each other on sociable terms. Still, their conversations were still cool and remote. Nearly a year ago, sixth months after their marriage, they began to get along, having a relationship close to friendship, but closer to equal partnership, especially when it dealt with business ventures. And it was only four months ago, that they started to share an intimate relationship. It was then, that Draco had became a frequent receiver of nightmares.
It wasn't nightmares, per se, but sweet memories of him and Ginny, as they often pervaded his mind. He and Ginny having a cute picnic out on the courtyards of Hogwarts, their thoughtful study dates that were more than just studying, and of course, their appealing yet forbidden meetings in school closets and tall, impersonal towers. It was lately, that he started having dreams of their breakup, and less and less of sweet and happy memories.
He ascribed his dreams to be the result of his guilt that had started surfacing when he felt he was finally getting over their breakups. At least, he no longer appeared at work depressed and quiet, and instead became outgoing and talkative. He didn't doubt it was contributed by the addition of Alyssa and the intimacy she had brought with her into his life. After all, women often had that effect on men.
Nevertheless, a particular woman had never left his mind. Ginny Weasley might not invade his psyche in the day, but at night, she occupied every bit of his mentality. It was driving Draco crazy. Just when he had thought he was getting over their breakup, she started nagging on his conscience again. And every time she did, he felt his heart break a little more, and he felt his soul die a little more. He knew he could not continue like this. He loved her so much that even time and a different woman could not make him forget her.
Oh well, he must deal with it. He was married to a wonderful woman who could help him with his job. Even though he could not divulge to her the risky missions he was assigned from the Department of Mysteries, he was often aided by her during important business conferences.
Looking at the clock, Draco thought, Damn. It was 3:45. He burrowed deeper under his green silk sheets, trying to find a comfortable spot to fall asleep in.
Tomorrow would be a long day.
*~*~*~*~*
9:00 AM. Department of Mysteries. Ministry of Magic.
Draco stood annoyed in front of his boss' desk. Bir Ohannes was a sarcastic and tough man. He had been head of the department for decades. Bir was always strict to his employees. Draco smiled. Then again, so was he. So much for letting the pot call the kettle black.
"What do you want, Ohannes? I've been waiting here since 8:30, when you requested me, and you've still haven't gotten off that damn muggle contraption," Draco asked, exasperated.
Bir shot him an evil glare. Conversing on the phone for another few minutes, he finally said, "Okay, thank you Mr. Kevore. I will call you back." He hung up the phone. He looked at Draco. "Damn, young people are so impatient these days."
Draco snorted. "Of course I was. There's no way I'm waiting here for thirty minutes for no reason. You'd better give me a reason as to why I was standing here for so long."
Bir smiled indulgently. "Why, I was just giving you an assignment, when this very important call had interrupted our meeting."
"Yeah, yeah. Sure, let's get on with it."
"All right." Bir's tone turned serious. "You know the faction that appeared after Voldemort's fall? The one that Nott and Flint are heading? Usually they are too gutless to actually carry out any sort of a, ah let's say, a diabolical plan. But lately I've been getting reports on how they have been asking around, targeting specific people, for this."
Taking a thick tome out of a drawer underneath his desk, Bir thrust it at Draco. The Book of the Eye, Draco read on the cover.
"You know what this is?" Bir questioned Draco.
"I have no idea," he replied.
"Hmph, I've guessed as much," Bir grunted. "Young people these days have no sort of knowledge. Anyway, there is only about three of these books left in existence. It is written by Rowena Ravenclaw and several other people, most particularly, Seers. It tells of their prophecies and other matters concerning divination. Very boring, I tell you, since I actually tried to read it once. But, one passage was about the conversion of muggles into mindless puppets that could perform magic."
Interested, Draco arched his eyebrow. "All right, so how is it done? It had never been done before," he pointed out.
"Basically, to summarize it, this is a passage that deals with a vision a particular seer had foreseen. The Seer wrote down the prophecy. It goes like this," Bir said. He recited,
"The folk of non-magical blood shall transpose,
When the blood of the One is overran and emptied.
The flaming deceiver, the seventh in the family
Of the greatest consanguinity, shall wilt.
Enchanted will the quotidian bodies be, and used,
For the purpose of avarice and superlative power."
Slightly stunned and very intrigued, Draco ran the lines of the prophecy through in his head again. Having dealt with numerous predictions before, Draco was not a stranger to vague wordings. Suddenly, with an abrupt and unexpected epiphany, Draco blurted out, "The flaming deceiver refers to a red weasel, right?"
[A/N: Just a side note, when one is called a weasel in an insult, it usually means that the "weasel" is a liar. Not that Ginny is a liar or anything...but it's to make the prophecy vague.]
Bir nodded slowly.
Before Bir had spoken another word, Draco deducted, "The prophecy talks about the Weasleys! The seventh child...Ginny Weasley!"
A little surprised by Draco's accurate supposition, Bir remarked, "Damn, we should have had you when we were trying to discover who was the One. That was amazingly fast. It took us a month to determine what you have just done in a few minutes." Looking slightly aggrieved, Bir said, "What a waste of time."
Paradoxically, what Bir did not know what the thought of Ginny Weasley
had been in Draco's mind when Bir had narrated the prophecy. It was no wonder how Draco came to this
conclusion so swiftly.
However, by this time, Draco was no longer paying attention to Bir's words. He was frantic with worry.
"...Do...do Nott and Flint know this? What are we going to do? What about Ginny?"
"Relax! Geez, slow down! No, of course not. Nott and Flint do not know this. And what do you think we are going to do? We are going to prevent Ginny Weasley from dying! What about her? Well, for one thing, she's still living and breathing, so there's no risk of the end of the existence of magical people." Shooting a curious look at Draco, Bir wondered how the façade of Draco Malfoy was broken so quickly. Things like this have always happened before, and Draco had not even lost one shred of composure.
He resumed, "Anyways, this is why I have called you to my office. I need you to guard her, Draco. This is beyond the capabilities of the Aurors. Only the agents of the Department of Mysteries can handle this. I want you, Draco, to protect her from the faction."
The blond-haired man had never been so flustered in his life.
~~~~~~~~~~
Feedback is always welcome! *hint, hint*
Thanks to all who reviewed!