NOTE FROM HJORDIS: News from the wizarding world: Evil Slytherin Child has
been banned from the computer by her parents! *Gasp* Never fear, though; I,
Hjordis, have written this entire chapter for you, and will continue to co-
write and edit anything ESC thinks up. And if you want to read anything
else I've written (*cough* blatant advertising *cough*), you can check out
my author page.
A/N: Our bad: Draco is a Prefect (great big shocker, considering how Daddy owns half the wizarding world) in case anyone was curious how he and Ginny were doing it without anybody noticing.
~*~
Draco looked at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep. He never slept when he thought about Ginny.
Rolling over in bed, he looked at his Ginny. Her flaming red hair was a mess. Delicately he smoothed down her rumpled locks, his lungs thick. The moment he thought of Ginny, it became harder to breathe.
Ginny was a babe, all right. At first Draco was out for her sweet face and the fact she was easy. But now he saw her differently. She was intelligent; she was passionate; she would do anything for the people she loved.; and she tasted like peppermint humbugs.
The boy glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Damn," he muttered. "Ginny. Ginny!"
"Mmm," she mumbled.
"It's six-thirty. You better get back to your dorm."
She rolled over. "OK." She kissed him gently. The world slowed to a standstill; every nerve in both of their bodies tingled. "See you later?"
"Of course," he answered automatically. She stood up, pulling her nightgown. Ginny gathered up her clothes and gave him a quick smile as she left his room.
He sighed. There was something about her. He couldn't help it, but he thought that he was-*can't believe I'm even thinking this*- falling in love with her.
Draco snorted. *Father'll love that, * he thought. In the Malfoy household, love came third to power and ambition. His father would never stand for the idea of a Malfoy and a Weasley. Draco could just imagine what his father would say.
*"She's a Weasley, Draco! Almost a Mudblood. Master won't be happy to hear about this. Her father's a Muggle Lover, her brother is best friends with Potter-"
"But I care about her, Dad."
"She's just a girl!"*
*Yeah*, thought Draco. *Just a girl. *
~*~
Ginny ate her cornflakes quickly. She was eager to get out of the Great Hall- she wanted to go see Draco before classes began.
"Hey, Gin, what's the rush?" Dawn wanted to know, taking a bite of toast.
"Nothing. I just want to get to class early." It was a lie. Seemed like everything she said lately was a lie. "I'll be in the library." "I'm going to see the Professor about the test." "Nothing is going on between me and Draco." Ginny eyed her innocent friends. They wouldn't understand what it was like, to be with a man. To share your soul with another person.
Over at the Slytherin table, Draco was mid-conversation with Crabbe and Goyle, but his eyes were on Ginny. One of his eyes twitched; she smiled at the subtle wink he had reserved just for her.
Was she falling in love with him? She frowned; what couldn't she love? He was handsome; rich; powerful; strong. Ginny felt safe with him; when she wasn't with him, like now, she felt cold and isolated.
The bell rang and she headed into the hallway without another word to her friends. They'd probably be angry. Ginny didn't care; they weren't Draco, which made them not a priority.
Draco spotted her behind him, walking slowly enough not to be noticed. "Your dorm or mine?" she whispered seductively.
"Always mine," he answered.
"Quite the aggressor," Ginny retorted quietly. "After lunch?"
"Meet you by the library." She hurried off to her next class. Ginny grinned. The confidence she'd spent the last months pretending was finally coming naturally.
~*~
Draco watched her hurry off. Suddenly strong arms pressed him against the wall. Ron Weasley stared at him angrily.
"What's the matter, Weasley?"
"You and Ginny," he snapped. "I don't know what you and she are doing, but I don't like you teasing her."
"Teasing me?" replied Draco, astonished. "Seems your sister's the one who's being a tease."
Ron flushed a deep red and slammed Draco into the wall again. "You hurt her, I'll kick your ass. You understand?" His grip on the Slytherin's robes tightened. Weasley was a few inches taller than Draco, but didn't have the muscle. Nevertheless, Draco wasn't in the mood for a fight.
"Fine," Draco agreed. Ron reluctantly let go of him, and ran to catch up with Harry and Hermione. Draco adjusted his robes and gathered his books. Unlike Ginny, lying had always come easy to him.
~*~
Snow began to fall, blanketing Hogwarts. It was a sign; the month was December, almost time for Christmas.
"We could have the place to ourselves," Ginny said to Draco one evening, lying beside him in bed. "You and me."
He smiled sadly. "As much as I'd like that," he told her quietly, "Father wants me home for Christmas."
Ginny lay back on her pillow, trying to hide her disappointment. "Oh. Then I guess I'll just go home with Ron for the holiday." She bit her lip; the Burrow was the last place she wanted to be. The dream she'd had before the start of term- the one when her father died- was in her head almost every night. She feared that meant it would come true soon.
Draco watched as her expression became hazy, and her thoughts drifted to something else. "Ginny?" he inquired. "Are you all right?"
She blinked. "Yes," she answered quickly. "Of course."
"Liar." Concern lined his pale face, and his icy eyes softened. "What's wrong?"
She sniffed and wiped her eyes; she didn't want to start bawling right here, in Draco's bed. "You see, I've been having this dream," she began, trying not to choke on her own words. "My father is attacked by Death Eaters in his office at the Ministry- they kill him."
"But it's just a dream, Ginny-"
"No, Draco, I don't think it is!" Ginny blushed, embarrassed she'd lost her temper with him. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "In Divination, my homework is always correct. All the predictions I make- they come true. Sometimes I dream things and they happen."
Draco paused, contemplating what she had told him. Seers were rare, but it wasn't completely unthinkable that Ginny actually had premonitions.
*He's been quiet too long*, Ginny realized. That wasn't good. That meant something was wrong. She continued to bite her lip; the coppery taste of blood entered her mouth. Her eyes welled up- *don't cry, don't cry*, she ordered herself to no avail- and began to sob. All the unspoken feelings, the guilt, the sadness, the fear snowballed out of her in liquid form.
Draco watched her cry for a moment. *What do I do now? * he wondered. *What do you do when someone was crying? * Her shoulders shook wildly. He draped his arms around her, holding her close to his chest. "It'll be OK," he assured her over and over again, although he wasn't sure if that was true. Her shudders stopped, and her tears followed. Slowly they both fell asleep.
~*~
Ginny gave Hogwarts one last forlorn look as she boarded the train. Packing her luggage away in one of the train compartments, she went to join Ron in his section.
She found him staring out the window, waving at Harry and Hermione as the train whizzed past them. "They're staying behind?" Ginny said, surprised.
Ron shot her a look. "No, Gin, they're going home by broomstick. What do you think?"
"Sorry," Ginny snapped back huffily. Ron let out a deep breath, not looking quite as angered as before.
"I'm sorry, Gin. I-"
"It's all right," she told him, calmer. "I know what's it like to have feelings for someone and they're not interested." *At least I DID, * she thought. Ron nodded and turned back to the window.
There was a crashing sound from the door. The train lurched, and Draco had been thrown into the door. Unhurt, he pushed himself off the glass. He looked over at Ron, who wasn't paying attention, and mouthed, Wanna go somewhere private?
"I have to go to the bathroom," Ginny said suddenly, leaping up. "I'll be back in a few minutes." She left the compartment and headed towards the luggage car.
Just as she nearly reached the car, she heard someone call out her name. "Ginny!" She winced; that was Dawn's voice. The girl spun around, to find both her friends running towards her.
"Hey, Gin. Whatcha doin'?" Nicole asked between bites of a Pumpkin Pasty.
"Wanna sit with us?" inquired Dawn.
Ginny gave them a fake, friendly smile. "Actually, I'm not feeling so well. Too much sausage at breakfast." She pressed her hands to her stomach. "I'm probably going to be in the bathroom the whole time."
"Oh," Dawn said, looking concerned. "Do you need anything?"
"No thanks," Ginny said. "See you later!" She quickly walked through the train compartment.
"Isn't the bathroom the other way?" wondered Nicole, licking her fingers clean.
~*~
Draco smiled as her heard footsteps. As Ginny walked through the door, he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Gotcha," Draco whispered in her ear. She laughed as he began to lightly tickle her.
"That tickles!" she cried, resting her back on his chest. She flipped around and pressed him voraciously against the wall. Their mouths locked, and they quickly lost control of themselves.
Draco gasped for air, although he wasn't sure he wanted or needed it; Ginny was his oxygen. He sat her down on a flower-patterned trunk, pulling off her blouse. She started ripped off his tie and began to unbutton his shirt.
Ginny ran her hands across his bare chest and her attention on his lips. As she closed her eyes, a miniature motion picture filled her mind. For once, not the Death Eaters. ~ Two vials containing blood. They were equally poured into one bowl, and stirred with a silver spoon. Ginny opened her mouth, and let the plasma fusion pour down her throat as a snake- tongued face was etched painfully onto her arm. ~
"Draco," she exhaled as he started working on the hooks of her bra.
"What?"
"I- saw something-" His hands were everywhere at once; his mouth was licking her neck.
"What?" he asked breathlessly, pulling back. Ginny, out of breath, shook her head. They were going to be apart for six days; she didn't want to spend her last hours with him crying.
"Nothing," she told him. He looked suspicious.
"Gin-" He was cut off swiftly when she started kissing him again, and she continued to work on his belt buckle. Neither one of them noticed that a certain red-haired boy was at the door, watching with enraged eyes.
~*~
"You were the bathroom for a while," Ron said suspiciously as Ginny came back into the compartment. He cocked an eyebrow. "For an hour."
"Guess I shouldn't have eaten the sausage this morning," she replied with a quick laugh. Ron raised an eyebrow, and turned back to the window, where King's Cross was starting to come into view.
"We should get ready to go," he told her. "I'll get our things." She nodded as he left the compartment. Ginny slipped her hands into her pockets, and found an object in her right jean pocket. Pulling the object out, she located a silver-and-green wrapped package. Excitedly she opened it up.
"Draco," she sighed to herself, holding up the bracelet. It was silver and looped around her arm like a coil. The bracelet was shaped like a snake, with emerald studs for eyes, and a tongue made of fine miniature rubies. Slowly she slipped it on, and pulled the sleeve of her blouse over it, so Ron wouldn't notice. Putting her hand back in her pocket, she discovered a slip of paper.
Merry Christmas
Draco
It didn't say much, but that was all that was needed.
~*~
"Home sweet home," Mr. Weasley said with a smile as their car pulled up in the driveway at Ottery St. Catchpole. Ginny smiled to herself as she watched snowflakes envelop the Burrow in white.
"Ron! Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as her children burst through the kitchen door. She was at the stove, seasoning an enormous goose. Fred, George, and Percy were at the kitchen table, drinking tea. The red-haired woman bustled to the door, hugging her children. "Merry Christmas!"
"Christmas Eve," corrected Percy, but no one paid any attention to him. Ron hauled his and Ginny's things up the stairs while his sister poured herself a cup of tea. She didn't notice Ron signal to their father to walk with him upstairs.
"I haven't gotten any letters from you for a while," Mrs. Weasley told her daughter, looking slightly stern. "Any problems?"
"Just been really busy," lied Ginny. "How have things been here? How's Dad?"
"Fine," Mrs. Weasley said, looking startled by the question. "Busy at work, of course." Ron and Mr. Weasley came downstairs, both looking rather adamant. "Now that we're all here, let's eat."
~*~
"Draco?" The blonde boy looked up from his beef barley at his mother. She sat to his left, all the way at the other side of the table. Her face was one of concern. "You've barely touched your soup."
"Are you ill?" Lucius wished to know. Draco shook his head as he turned to his father.
"Just not hungry, I suppose." He gazed around the dining room. The fireplace crackled in the corner, which was garnished with holly and ivy. A large pine, decorated in silver and green trimmings, sat in the corner of the room, the star on top brushing the ceiling. The dining table was laid out with several courses, with house elves coming to refill the dishes every time someone took a serving. However, the festivities seemed empty to Draco. He looked at his father, who he noticed was eyeing him distrustfully. Mr. Malfoy had been doing so since he came home earlier that day.
"Narcissa?" Lucius said suddenly, lifting his icy eyes off his son momentarily. "May I speak with our son alone?"
She nodded; the woman was used to not being included in father-son discussions. She stood and left the dining hall, closing the door so swiftly Draco jumped at the bang. Lucius waved his hands, and the house elves scurried away. Draco felt anxiety creep into his chest.
Lucius smiled heartlessly at his son. "How are you, son?"
"Fine," Draco said, feeling very apprehensive.
"How's school?" Lucius asked, sipping his wine.
"Fine."
"Quidditch?"
"Fine."
"Virginia Weasley?"
"Fine- wait, come again?"
"What? You thought I didn't know?" Lucius replied coldly, placing his wineglass back on the table. "That you've been sleeping with Arthur Weasley's daughter!" Draco was silent. "Say something, damn you!"
"I figured you'd find out eventually," Draco muttered. Lucius narrowed his eyes.
"Are you daft, son, or just careless? If the Master found out-"
"You're always afraid he'll find out everything!" Draco cut off his father briskly. "We might upset him, or anger him! I don't care anymore!"
"How dare you." Lucius's hands shook with cold fury. He seemed to notice how much emotion he was showing, and calmed down. "You can have any girl you wish, son. But you take Virginia Weasley?"
"She's her own person. I can't say that for some people," snapped Draco.
"This girl has had a strong effect on you." Mr. Malfoy bared a dangerous smile. "I'll have to have her killed."
Draco put his hand to his neck to check his pulse; he thought his heart stopped. "What?"
"She's obviously a bad influence on you. How can you become a Death Eater when you're in love with a Gryffindor?" He made the house name sound like an obscene word. "Don't worry, we'll make it look like an accident."
"You can't!" Draco said, trying to suppress the panic in his voice.
"Why not?"
"Because- because she's a Seer!" The second Draco said that, he wished he hadn't. Lucius's brows rose almost off his forehead, and he leaned forward in his chair.
"What did you say?"
"She sees the future. I've seen her. The predictions she makes in Divination come true. She-" Draco lowered his head and murmured, "she's seen things, and they've come true."
There was a long pause. "That's very different," Lucius said finally. "Master will be pleased to learn of this." He stood. "Good work, son. If you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to."
"Thank you," muttered Draco, a sinking feeling in his stomach telling him he had just made a huge mistake.
~*~
Draco and Ginny- she could feel him, holding her, touching her, even when he wasn't there. His warm lips were on her cold skin. She wanted to feel him.
"Do you want to hold the sword?"
"What?" gasped Ginny, coming out of her daydream. Fred held a tiny sword on a looped string.
"Will you hold this for me?" She nodded, and took the ornament as Fred slipped a tiny flute onto a Christmas tree branch, where it promptly began to play, "The Holly and the Ivy."
"Are you all right, Ginny?" Percy wished to know, studying his sister from the top of the tree where he placed the star.
"She's fine," George assured their older brother, who was hanging a blossoming rose near the bottom of the tree. "Too much schoolwork, and not enough holiday cheer'll do that to you."
Ginny smiled distantly, wrapping her arms around herself. If she closed her eyes, she could pretend that her own arms were Draco's.
Mrs. Weasley entered the living room, smiling at the lopsided, overly decorated pine. "Lovely work, children," she said, ignoring the faces Percy, Fred, and George made at being called children. Glancing at the clock, their mother declared, "Time for bed."
"It's only ten thirty!" argued Fred.
"Santa Claus won't come if you're still awake," Mrs. Weasley reminded him. Ginny rolled her eyes as her brothers trotted upstairs. She stood, prepared to follow them, but her mother grabbed her before she could. "Sit down for a minute, Ginny."
"Why?" Her question went unanswered as her father and Ron entered the living room. All three looked grave.
"Ginny," Ron began, swallowing hard, "on the train I saw you. With Draco."
Time seemed to freeze for a moment. Ginny blinked. "What?"
"You know what," Mrs. Weasley told her in a tone that cut more than a thousand knives. "You and Draco Malfoy!"
"He's no good, Ginny," Mr. Weasley explained to her, talking to her as if she was a toddler. "He comes from a family of dark wizards-"
"But he's not evil!" she burst out. "He's different!"
"Just what he wants you to think," Ron muttered.
Ginny stared at her parents and brother in disbelief. "Are you even listening to yourselves? Draco isn't evil. He- he cares about me. He loves me."
"Ginny, it's just a game to him-" Mrs. Weasley tried to tell her severely.
"You don't even know what you're talking about!" Ginny cried, feeling tears form in the back of her eyes. "He loves me and I love him."
Mr. Weasley rubbed his eyes mournfully, his fifty-odd years on Earth showing on his face. "Ginny, he's a Malfoy. He's not to be trusted. His father nearly had you killed three years ago!"
"That was Lucius," the girl shot back. "Not Draco. He'd never hurt me."
Mr. Weasley stared at his daughter. "You can never see him again."
There was a long pause, which was broken sharply by Ginny when she started to speak. "No," she told her father, in a voice too calm and controlled. "I don't give a damn what you think about him. I'm not going to stop seeing him." Her brown eyes filled with a deep hatred then, one that made her mother step back in surprise. "And I'd like to see you try and stop me."
Her eyes locked with her father's, each pair burning with unexpressed violence and rage. Several tense seconds went by until her father broke their gaze, went to the closet, and grabbed his coat.
"Arthur-" Mrs. Weasley tried to stop him, but he slammed the front door shut with a bang. Ginny ran upstairs to her bedroom.
~*~
Christmas morning at the Malfoy household was the same every year; the house elves scrambled dozens of eggs, fried pounds of bacon, and flipped a stack of pancakes a meter high. But this year was different; the Malfoys had a houseguest.
Draco had never met Voldemort before. He had been only about thirteen months old when Voldemort's power had been destroyed. Since then, he'd only heard stories about the magnificence of the Dark Lord.
But knowing of him was nothing like seeing him. As Draco took a bite of pancakes, his father Apparated into the dining room, accompanied by a tall, younger-looking fellow. He was deathly pale, with red snake-slit eyes. His hands, long and deadly like tarantulas, were rubbing together eagerly, as if he'd just struck gold.
Behind him, Draco heard his mother drop to the floor. He turned, and found her kneeling before his father's guest. Draco did the same.
"Rise, Draco," ordered the Dark Lord. Draco stood, his eyes on his feet. A cool hand cupped his chin, and his face was lifted to meet Voldemort's, who was three feet taller than himself. Draco swallowed his food, hoping his fear would go away with it. The smile on Voldemort's face gave him chills.
"You have always wished to be a Death Eater, have you not?"
"Yes," he answered instantly. His father stood behind his Master, his eyes never leaving his son.
"You will serve me faithfully?"
"Yes."
"Will you be willing to give up your life?"
Draco swallowed again. "Yes."
Voldemort released him quickly. "You told your father Virginia Weasley is a Seer. Is this correct?"
"Yes." Draco wanted to lie. He wanted to say, "No, leave Ginny alone!" However, there was something about this man that made him tell the truth.
"Excellent," the Dark Lord said. He turned to Lucius. "Your son is honest. He will be a powerful asset- just like his lover." Lucius nodded, apparently satisfied.
"When you return to school," Voldemort said, turning back to Draco, "you will convince Virginia to join us. Become a Death Eater."
"She-" Draco coughed, choking on his own words. "She may not want to."
"Oh, she will," Voldemort replied confidently. "When she loses her father, she'll be lost and directionless. She'll need somewhere to turn."
Draco's eyes widened. "Loses her fa-" Lucius and Voldemort disappeared from the dining room.
~*~
"You have to come out one day, Ginny," Ron said, banging on Ginny's door. She was cuddled in a fetal position on her bed. "I want to give you my present."
"Go to hell, Ron!" she shouted. She heard him sigh.
"I'm sorry, Gin," he told her. "But I had to tell them. It was for your-"
The door opened abruptly. Ginny's face, pink and blotchy with anger and tears, appeared.
"It wasn't for my own good," she explained. "Just because Hermione will never like you as anything more than a friend, doesn't mean you have to take it out on me! I hope-" She took in a deep breath, and dropped to her knees.
"Ginny? Ginny!" Ron knelt beside his sister. Her breathing was fast and shallow.
"No- please don't!" she cried. Her head was split in two. On one side she saw she was in the hallway with her brother, crumbled on the floor. On the other, she saw three Death Eaters come towards her, wands raised. They said their spell, and green light hurtled towards her. She screamed in pain; the glass in her bedroom window cracked. There was nothing but darkness, and she opened her eyes.
"Dad's dead," she told Ron softly, and began to sob.
A/N: Our bad: Draco is a Prefect (great big shocker, considering how Daddy owns half the wizarding world) in case anyone was curious how he and Ginny were doing it without anybody noticing.
~*~
Draco looked at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep. He never slept when he thought about Ginny.
Rolling over in bed, he looked at his Ginny. Her flaming red hair was a mess. Delicately he smoothed down her rumpled locks, his lungs thick. The moment he thought of Ginny, it became harder to breathe.
Ginny was a babe, all right. At first Draco was out for her sweet face and the fact she was easy. But now he saw her differently. She was intelligent; she was passionate; she would do anything for the people she loved.; and she tasted like peppermint humbugs.
The boy glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Damn," he muttered. "Ginny. Ginny!"
"Mmm," she mumbled.
"It's six-thirty. You better get back to your dorm."
She rolled over. "OK." She kissed him gently. The world slowed to a standstill; every nerve in both of their bodies tingled. "See you later?"
"Of course," he answered automatically. She stood up, pulling her nightgown. Ginny gathered up her clothes and gave him a quick smile as she left his room.
He sighed. There was something about her. He couldn't help it, but he thought that he was-*can't believe I'm even thinking this*- falling in love with her.
Draco snorted. *Father'll love that, * he thought. In the Malfoy household, love came third to power and ambition. His father would never stand for the idea of a Malfoy and a Weasley. Draco could just imagine what his father would say.
*"She's a Weasley, Draco! Almost a Mudblood. Master won't be happy to hear about this. Her father's a Muggle Lover, her brother is best friends with Potter-"
"But I care about her, Dad."
"She's just a girl!"*
*Yeah*, thought Draco. *Just a girl. *
~*~
Ginny ate her cornflakes quickly. She was eager to get out of the Great Hall- she wanted to go see Draco before classes began.
"Hey, Gin, what's the rush?" Dawn wanted to know, taking a bite of toast.
"Nothing. I just want to get to class early." It was a lie. Seemed like everything she said lately was a lie. "I'll be in the library." "I'm going to see the Professor about the test." "Nothing is going on between me and Draco." Ginny eyed her innocent friends. They wouldn't understand what it was like, to be with a man. To share your soul with another person.
Over at the Slytherin table, Draco was mid-conversation with Crabbe and Goyle, but his eyes were on Ginny. One of his eyes twitched; she smiled at the subtle wink he had reserved just for her.
Was she falling in love with him? She frowned; what couldn't she love? He was handsome; rich; powerful; strong. Ginny felt safe with him; when she wasn't with him, like now, she felt cold and isolated.
The bell rang and she headed into the hallway without another word to her friends. They'd probably be angry. Ginny didn't care; they weren't Draco, which made them not a priority.
Draco spotted her behind him, walking slowly enough not to be noticed. "Your dorm or mine?" she whispered seductively.
"Always mine," he answered.
"Quite the aggressor," Ginny retorted quietly. "After lunch?"
"Meet you by the library." She hurried off to her next class. Ginny grinned. The confidence she'd spent the last months pretending was finally coming naturally.
~*~
Draco watched her hurry off. Suddenly strong arms pressed him against the wall. Ron Weasley stared at him angrily.
"What's the matter, Weasley?"
"You and Ginny," he snapped. "I don't know what you and she are doing, but I don't like you teasing her."
"Teasing me?" replied Draco, astonished. "Seems your sister's the one who's being a tease."
Ron flushed a deep red and slammed Draco into the wall again. "You hurt her, I'll kick your ass. You understand?" His grip on the Slytherin's robes tightened. Weasley was a few inches taller than Draco, but didn't have the muscle. Nevertheless, Draco wasn't in the mood for a fight.
"Fine," Draco agreed. Ron reluctantly let go of him, and ran to catch up with Harry and Hermione. Draco adjusted his robes and gathered his books. Unlike Ginny, lying had always come easy to him.
~*~
Snow began to fall, blanketing Hogwarts. It was a sign; the month was December, almost time for Christmas.
"We could have the place to ourselves," Ginny said to Draco one evening, lying beside him in bed. "You and me."
He smiled sadly. "As much as I'd like that," he told her quietly, "Father wants me home for Christmas."
Ginny lay back on her pillow, trying to hide her disappointment. "Oh. Then I guess I'll just go home with Ron for the holiday." She bit her lip; the Burrow was the last place she wanted to be. The dream she'd had before the start of term- the one when her father died- was in her head almost every night. She feared that meant it would come true soon.
Draco watched as her expression became hazy, and her thoughts drifted to something else. "Ginny?" he inquired. "Are you all right?"
She blinked. "Yes," she answered quickly. "Of course."
"Liar." Concern lined his pale face, and his icy eyes softened. "What's wrong?"
She sniffed and wiped her eyes; she didn't want to start bawling right here, in Draco's bed. "You see, I've been having this dream," she began, trying not to choke on her own words. "My father is attacked by Death Eaters in his office at the Ministry- they kill him."
"But it's just a dream, Ginny-"
"No, Draco, I don't think it is!" Ginny blushed, embarrassed she'd lost her temper with him. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "In Divination, my homework is always correct. All the predictions I make- they come true. Sometimes I dream things and they happen."
Draco paused, contemplating what she had told him. Seers were rare, but it wasn't completely unthinkable that Ginny actually had premonitions.
*He's been quiet too long*, Ginny realized. That wasn't good. That meant something was wrong. She continued to bite her lip; the coppery taste of blood entered her mouth. Her eyes welled up- *don't cry, don't cry*, she ordered herself to no avail- and began to sob. All the unspoken feelings, the guilt, the sadness, the fear snowballed out of her in liquid form.
Draco watched her cry for a moment. *What do I do now? * he wondered. *What do you do when someone was crying? * Her shoulders shook wildly. He draped his arms around her, holding her close to his chest. "It'll be OK," he assured her over and over again, although he wasn't sure if that was true. Her shudders stopped, and her tears followed. Slowly they both fell asleep.
~*~
Ginny gave Hogwarts one last forlorn look as she boarded the train. Packing her luggage away in one of the train compartments, she went to join Ron in his section.
She found him staring out the window, waving at Harry and Hermione as the train whizzed past them. "They're staying behind?" Ginny said, surprised.
Ron shot her a look. "No, Gin, they're going home by broomstick. What do you think?"
"Sorry," Ginny snapped back huffily. Ron let out a deep breath, not looking quite as angered as before.
"I'm sorry, Gin. I-"
"It's all right," she told him, calmer. "I know what's it like to have feelings for someone and they're not interested." *At least I DID, * she thought. Ron nodded and turned back to the window.
There was a crashing sound from the door. The train lurched, and Draco had been thrown into the door. Unhurt, he pushed himself off the glass. He looked over at Ron, who wasn't paying attention, and mouthed, Wanna go somewhere private?
"I have to go to the bathroom," Ginny said suddenly, leaping up. "I'll be back in a few minutes." She left the compartment and headed towards the luggage car.
Just as she nearly reached the car, she heard someone call out her name. "Ginny!" She winced; that was Dawn's voice. The girl spun around, to find both her friends running towards her.
"Hey, Gin. Whatcha doin'?" Nicole asked between bites of a Pumpkin Pasty.
"Wanna sit with us?" inquired Dawn.
Ginny gave them a fake, friendly smile. "Actually, I'm not feeling so well. Too much sausage at breakfast." She pressed her hands to her stomach. "I'm probably going to be in the bathroom the whole time."
"Oh," Dawn said, looking concerned. "Do you need anything?"
"No thanks," Ginny said. "See you later!" She quickly walked through the train compartment.
"Isn't the bathroom the other way?" wondered Nicole, licking her fingers clean.
~*~
Draco smiled as her heard footsteps. As Ginny walked through the door, he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Gotcha," Draco whispered in her ear. She laughed as he began to lightly tickle her.
"That tickles!" she cried, resting her back on his chest. She flipped around and pressed him voraciously against the wall. Their mouths locked, and they quickly lost control of themselves.
Draco gasped for air, although he wasn't sure he wanted or needed it; Ginny was his oxygen. He sat her down on a flower-patterned trunk, pulling off her blouse. She started ripped off his tie and began to unbutton his shirt.
Ginny ran her hands across his bare chest and her attention on his lips. As she closed her eyes, a miniature motion picture filled her mind. For once, not the Death Eaters. ~ Two vials containing blood. They were equally poured into one bowl, and stirred with a silver spoon. Ginny opened her mouth, and let the plasma fusion pour down her throat as a snake- tongued face was etched painfully onto her arm. ~
"Draco," she exhaled as he started working on the hooks of her bra.
"What?"
"I- saw something-" His hands were everywhere at once; his mouth was licking her neck.
"What?" he asked breathlessly, pulling back. Ginny, out of breath, shook her head. They were going to be apart for six days; she didn't want to spend her last hours with him crying.
"Nothing," she told him. He looked suspicious.
"Gin-" He was cut off swiftly when she started kissing him again, and she continued to work on his belt buckle. Neither one of them noticed that a certain red-haired boy was at the door, watching with enraged eyes.
~*~
"You were the bathroom for a while," Ron said suspiciously as Ginny came back into the compartment. He cocked an eyebrow. "For an hour."
"Guess I shouldn't have eaten the sausage this morning," she replied with a quick laugh. Ron raised an eyebrow, and turned back to the window, where King's Cross was starting to come into view.
"We should get ready to go," he told her. "I'll get our things." She nodded as he left the compartment. Ginny slipped her hands into her pockets, and found an object in her right jean pocket. Pulling the object out, she located a silver-and-green wrapped package. Excitedly she opened it up.
"Draco," she sighed to herself, holding up the bracelet. It was silver and looped around her arm like a coil. The bracelet was shaped like a snake, with emerald studs for eyes, and a tongue made of fine miniature rubies. Slowly she slipped it on, and pulled the sleeve of her blouse over it, so Ron wouldn't notice. Putting her hand back in her pocket, she discovered a slip of paper.
Merry Christmas
Draco
It didn't say much, but that was all that was needed.
~*~
"Home sweet home," Mr. Weasley said with a smile as their car pulled up in the driveway at Ottery St. Catchpole. Ginny smiled to herself as she watched snowflakes envelop the Burrow in white.
"Ron! Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as her children burst through the kitchen door. She was at the stove, seasoning an enormous goose. Fred, George, and Percy were at the kitchen table, drinking tea. The red-haired woman bustled to the door, hugging her children. "Merry Christmas!"
"Christmas Eve," corrected Percy, but no one paid any attention to him. Ron hauled his and Ginny's things up the stairs while his sister poured herself a cup of tea. She didn't notice Ron signal to their father to walk with him upstairs.
"I haven't gotten any letters from you for a while," Mrs. Weasley told her daughter, looking slightly stern. "Any problems?"
"Just been really busy," lied Ginny. "How have things been here? How's Dad?"
"Fine," Mrs. Weasley said, looking startled by the question. "Busy at work, of course." Ron and Mr. Weasley came downstairs, both looking rather adamant. "Now that we're all here, let's eat."
~*~
"Draco?" The blonde boy looked up from his beef barley at his mother. She sat to his left, all the way at the other side of the table. Her face was one of concern. "You've barely touched your soup."
"Are you ill?" Lucius wished to know. Draco shook his head as he turned to his father.
"Just not hungry, I suppose." He gazed around the dining room. The fireplace crackled in the corner, which was garnished with holly and ivy. A large pine, decorated in silver and green trimmings, sat in the corner of the room, the star on top brushing the ceiling. The dining table was laid out with several courses, with house elves coming to refill the dishes every time someone took a serving. However, the festivities seemed empty to Draco. He looked at his father, who he noticed was eyeing him distrustfully. Mr. Malfoy had been doing so since he came home earlier that day.
"Narcissa?" Lucius said suddenly, lifting his icy eyes off his son momentarily. "May I speak with our son alone?"
She nodded; the woman was used to not being included in father-son discussions. She stood and left the dining hall, closing the door so swiftly Draco jumped at the bang. Lucius waved his hands, and the house elves scurried away. Draco felt anxiety creep into his chest.
Lucius smiled heartlessly at his son. "How are you, son?"
"Fine," Draco said, feeling very apprehensive.
"How's school?" Lucius asked, sipping his wine.
"Fine."
"Quidditch?"
"Fine."
"Virginia Weasley?"
"Fine- wait, come again?"
"What? You thought I didn't know?" Lucius replied coldly, placing his wineglass back on the table. "That you've been sleeping with Arthur Weasley's daughter!" Draco was silent. "Say something, damn you!"
"I figured you'd find out eventually," Draco muttered. Lucius narrowed his eyes.
"Are you daft, son, or just careless? If the Master found out-"
"You're always afraid he'll find out everything!" Draco cut off his father briskly. "We might upset him, or anger him! I don't care anymore!"
"How dare you." Lucius's hands shook with cold fury. He seemed to notice how much emotion he was showing, and calmed down. "You can have any girl you wish, son. But you take Virginia Weasley?"
"She's her own person. I can't say that for some people," snapped Draco.
"This girl has had a strong effect on you." Mr. Malfoy bared a dangerous smile. "I'll have to have her killed."
Draco put his hand to his neck to check his pulse; he thought his heart stopped. "What?"
"She's obviously a bad influence on you. How can you become a Death Eater when you're in love with a Gryffindor?" He made the house name sound like an obscene word. "Don't worry, we'll make it look like an accident."
"You can't!" Draco said, trying to suppress the panic in his voice.
"Why not?"
"Because- because she's a Seer!" The second Draco said that, he wished he hadn't. Lucius's brows rose almost off his forehead, and he leaned forward in his chair.
"What did you say?"
"She sees the future. I've seen her. The predictions she makes in Divination come true. She-" Draco lowered his head and murmured, "she's seen things, and they've come true."
There was a long pause. "That's very different," Lucius said finally. "Master will be pleased to learn of this." He stood. "Good work, son. If you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to."
"Thank you," muttered Draco, a sinking feeling in his stomach telling him he had just made a huge mistake.
~*~
Draco and Ginny- she could feel him, holding her, touching her, even when he wasn't there. His warm lips were on her cold skin. She wanted to feel him.
"Do you want to hold the sword?"
"What?" gasped Ginny, coming out of her daydream. Fred held a tiny sword on a looped string.
"Will you hold this for me?" She nodded, and took the ornament as Fred slipped a tiny flute onto a Christmas tree branch, where it promptly began to play, "The Holly and the Ivy."
"Are you all right, Ginny?" Percy wished to know, studying his sister from the top of the tree where he placed the star.
"She's fine," George assured their older brother, who was hanging a blossoming rose near the bottom of the tree. "Too much schoolwork, and not enough holiday cheer'll do that to you."
Ginny smiled distantly, wrapping her arms around herself. If she closed her eyes, she could pretend that her own arms were Draco's.
Mrs. Weasley entered the living room, smiling at the lopsided, overly decorated pine. "Lovely work, children," she said, ignoring the faces Percy, Fred, and George made at being called children. Glancing at the clock, their mother declared, "Time for bed."
"It's only ten thirty!" argued Fred.
"Santa Claus won't come if you're still awake," Mrs. Weasley reminded him. Ginny rolled her eyes as her brothers trotted upstairs. She stood, prepared to follow them, but her mother grabbed her before she could. "Sit down for a minute, Ginny."
"Why?" Her question went unanswered as her father and Ron entered the living room. All three looked grave.
"Ginny," Ron began, swallowing hard, "on the train I saw you. With Draco."
Time seemed to freeze for a moment. Ginny blinked. "What?"
"You know what," Mrs. Weasley told her in a tone that cut more than a thousand knives. "You and Draco Malfoy!"
"He's no good, Ginny," Mr. Weasley explained to her, talking to her as if she was a toddler. "He comes from a family of dark wizards-"
"But he's not evil!" she burst out. "He's different!"
"Just what he wants you to think," Ron muttered.
Ginny stared at her parents and brother in disbelief. "Are you even listening to yourselves? Draco isn't evil. He- he cares about me. He loves me."
"Ginny, it's just a game to him-" Mrs. Weasley tried to tell her severely.
"You don't even know what you're talking about!" Ginny cried, feeling tears form in the back of her eyes. "He loves me and I love him."
Mr. Weasley rubbed his eyes mournfully, his fifty-odd years on Earth showing on his face. "Ginny, he's a Malfoy. He's not to be trusted. His father nearly had you killed three years ago!"
"That was Lucius," the girl shot back. "Not Draco. He'd never hurt me."
Mr. Weasley stared at his daughter. "You can never see him again."
There was a long pause, which was broken sharply by Ginny when she started to speak. "No," she told her father, in a voice too calm and controlled. "I don't give a damn what you think about him. I'm not going to stop seeing him." Her brown eyes filled with a deep hatred then, one that made her mother step back in surprise. "And I'd like to see you try and stop me."
Her eyes locked with her father's, each pair burning with unexpressed violence and rage. Several tense seconds went by until her father broke their gaze, went to the closet, and grabbed his coat.
"Arthur-" Mrs. Weasley tried to stop him, but he slammed the front door shut with a bang. Ginny ran upstairs to her bedroom.
~*~
Christmas morning at the Malfoy household was the same every year; the house elves scrambled dozens of eggs, fried pounds of bacon, and flipped a stack of pancakes a meter high. But this year was different; the Malfoys had a houseguest.
Draco had never met Voldemort before. He had been only about thirteen months old when Voldemort's power had been destroyed. Since then, he'd only heard stories about the magnificence of the Dark Lord.
But knowing of him was nothing like seeing him. As Draco took a bite of pancakes, his father Apparated into the dining room, accompanied by a tall, younger-looking fellow. He was deathly pale, with red snake-slit eyes. His hands, long and deadly like tarantulas, were rubbing together eagerly, as if he'd just struck gold.
Behind him, Draco heard his mother drop to the floor. He turned, and found her kneeling before his father's guest. Draco did the same.
"Rise, Draco," ordered the Dark Lord. Draco stood, his eyes on his feet. A cool hand cupped his chin, and his face was lifted to meet Voldemort's, who was three feet taller than himself. Draco swallowed his food, hoping his fear would go away with it. The smile on Voldemort's face gave him chills.
"You have always wished to be a Death Eater, have you not?"
"Yes," he answered instantly. His father stood behind his Master, his eyes never leaving his son.
"You will serve me faithfully?"
"Yes."
"Will you be willing to give up your life?"
Draco swallowed again. "Yes."
Voldemort released him quickly. "You told your father Virginia Weasley is a Seer. Is this correct?"
"Yes." Draco wanted to lie. He wanted to say, "No, leave Ginny alone!" However, there was something about this man that made him tell the truth.
"Excellent," the Dark Lord said. He turned to Lucius. "Your son is honest. He will be a powerful asset- just like his lover." Lucius nodded, apparently satisfied.
"When you return to school," Voldemort said, turning back to Draco, "you will convince Virginia to join us. Become a Death Eater."
"She-" Draco coughed, choking on his own words. "She may not want to."
"Oh, she will," Voldemort replied confidently. "When she loses her father, she'll be lost and directionless. She'll need somewhere to turn."
Draco's eyes widened. "Loses her fa-" Lucius and Voldemort disappeared from the dining room.
~*~
"You have to come out one day, Ginny," Ron said, banging on Ginny's door. She was cuddled in a fetal position on her bed. "I want to give you my present."
"Go to hell, Ron!" she shouted. She heard him sigh.
"I'm sorry, Gin," he told her. "But I had to tell them. It was for your-"
The door opened abruptly. Ginny's face, pink and blotchy with anger and tears, appeared.
"It wasn't for my own good," she explained. "Just because Hermione will never like you as anything more than a friend, doesn't mean you have to take it out on me! I hope-" She took in a deep breath, and dropped to her knees.
"Ginny? Ginny!" Ron knelt beside his sister. Her breathing was fast and shallow.
"No- please don't!" she cried. Her head was split in two. On one side she saw she was in the hallway with her brother, crumbled on the floor. On the other, she saw three Death Eaters come towards her, wands raised. They said their spell, and green light hurtled towards her. She screamed in pain; the glass in her bedroom window cracked. There was nothing but darkness, and she opened her eyes.
"Dad's dead," she told Ron softly, and began to sob.