Title: The Sides of Fear (27/?)
Author: Azeroth
Author E-mail:
mrlindberg3h@yahoo.com
Category: Mystery, Drama, Action/Adventure, Romance
Keywords: Harry, Ginny, Voldemort, Chalice
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: For all four books
Summary: Harry begins his fifth year at Hogwarts with a female Defense
Against the Dark Arts teacher, feelings of guilt for Cedric Diggory's death, and
looking for someone to share his emotions with. Voldemort has steadily begun to
build his reign of terror as a sense of urgency and vigilance goes through
Hogwarts and the rest of the wizarding world.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and
owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury
Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is
being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Apologies and humble groveling by myself can be found at the end of this chapter in the A/N.
The Sides of Fear
Chapter 27
The Valentine's Day Ball
As Valentine's Day crept closer the students of Hogwarts became less and less interested in their classes. Professor Flitwick was trying to go over some of the material covered so far at Hogwarts in order to prepare them for the O.W.L.s. Everyone was busy talking to their neighbour or just staring into empty space. Not even Hermione was paying attention. Harry noticed she was very careful not to look at Ron. Every now and then Ron would glance at Hermione, but quickly look away. It was a bit strange having his two best friends acting this way, but it was also amusing to a certain extent. There had been moments when Harry could not bear to watch them as he felt a sting of envy. However, it quickly passed and he was truly happy that they finally admitted how they felt about each other.
Harry twirled his wand in his hand and looked at it closely trying to find something amusing or captivating about it. No such luck. For a moment he turned his attention to Professor Flitwick whose eyes were wide as saucers.
"And all you have to do after that is..." he stopped short hoping for an answer from someone. He looked around the classroom desperately searching for a raised hand. "Miss Granger."
Hermione jumped a bit as Flitwick's voice had stirred her out of her dreamlike state of mind. "I...I'm sorry Professor. I wasn't paying attention," she said with embarrassment. All eyes turned on her with amazement as she said this and Professor Flitwick let out a huge sigh and flung his wand over his shoulder.
"Well, I suppose there's no use keeping you here any longer. Your minds are obviously somewhere else. You're all dismissed."
For the first time since class had begun everyone sprang to life and hurried out through the door eager to get ready for the Ball. Harry and Ron were putting their books back in their bags while Hermione walked up to Professor Flitwick.
"I'm sorry Professor. I promise it will never happen again," she said with her head lowered.
He just smiled at her. "Oh, don't worry Miss Granger. You are by far my best student in here and if you are unable to pay attention to me, then I must be doing all of you a disservice." He cleared his throat before continuing. "It's a shame your studying habits aren't rubbing off on a few others," he said loud enough for Harry and Ron to hear making Hermione blush. He leaned in closer to Hermione. "I heard that you and Mr. Weasley are going to the Ball. He finally caught on eh?" he said giving Hermione, who felt her face heat up, a wink.
"You three have a wonderful time at the Ball." He turned his eyes on Ron. "I'll be keeping a close eye on you Mr. Weasley. I don't want you corrupting my best student in my teaching career here at Hogwarts," he said giving Hermione a wink again.
When the door closed behind them Ron turned to Hermione. "What did he mean by that?"
"Nothing," said Hermione, blushing once more, as the three of them walked briskly through the busy corridors. It seemed like everyone had been excused from their final class of the day as they rushed to their respective dormitories to get ready for the Valentine's Day Ball.
***
The girls in the Gryffindor fourth year dormitory were busy trying to get their hair done properly and getting into their dresses. Ginny was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom when there was a knock at the door.
"What are you doing in there? There are more of us who need to get in there you know," yelled Melinda, one of Ginny's room mates. Ginny sighed and took one last look at herself.
"A real knock-out," said the mirror making Ginny blush. She finally opened up the door and let the rest of the girls take their turn. She sat down on her bed clasping her hands. She knew she should be happy knowing that a boy had asked her to the Ball and he had even given her a dress. She knew there were many girls who would have given half a leg to be in Ginny's place tonight. She had to admit that Entwhistle was attractive, but she would have gladly traded with anyone if she could have gotten her wish.
Melinda came out of the bathroom looking stunning as usual, and she came over to Ginny's bed and sat down.
"What's the matter Ginny? You look like you're going to the Ball with a troll, and as far as I know Entwhistle is far from a troll," she grinned wickedly.
"I was just thinking..."
"Oh come off it Ginny. Neil's a nice guy and you shouldn't let a certain someone ruin that for you. Besides, I thought you were never ever going to think about him that way again," she said raising an eyebrow.
Ginny sighed heavily. "I remember what I said. You're right. I will have a good time tonight no matter what," she said with a smile.
"That's the spirit. Now come on. Let's get down there and give the boys something to drool over," Melinda said jumping up from the bed so forcefully it almost made her fall.
I will have a good time tonight; I will have a good time tonight. Ginny repeated to herself as she followed her friends out the door and down to the common room.
***
Ron was standing in front of a mirror brushing some lint off his dress robe. The twins had surprisingly enough not bought Ron a maroon dress robe, but opted for a scarlet dress robe with a few touches of black. Ron surveyed himself once more before biting his lip and turning around to face Harry.
"Harry, does this look all right?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes Ron. You look all right."
"Just all right?" he said with a worried look.
"Ron?"
"Yeah?"
"It's just Hermione you know," he said slightly amused.
"No, I mean...yes...but...you know...now she's...well..." Harry looked at Ron with a smile on his face. "She's a....a...girl," sputtered Ron.
"You mean your...girlfriend?" teased Harry.
Ron flushed beet red. "She's not my...girlfriend. She's a friend and she just so happens to be a..a..girl."
"Oh...all right. I'll make sure to tell Hermione you're just friends."
Ron looked like he was torn between the fury of Hermione and the teasing from his best friend.
"Oh please Ron. Just stop it. I won't tell her. Besides, the only thing I'd tell her would be how head-over-heels in love with her you are."
"I never said I was in love with her," he protested. "I just...like her company that's all."
"Yeah, Dobby told me all about how he found the two of you in a broom closet," laughed Harry.
"He told you what? Well that only happened that one time..."
"Dobby never said a word," laughed Harry, "but you've told me plenty."
Harry did not know whether Ron's face turned blazing red again because of embarrassment or anger.
"Don't you dare say anything to Fred and George," hissed Ron, but there was a hint of pleading in his threatening voice.
"Don't worry, I won't say a word. That is...unless you corrupt the best student Hogwarts has ever seen," he chuckled.
"Shut up Harry!" growled Ron.
"Let's just get downstairs quickly. I'm supposed to meet Cho outside the Great Hall."
Harry took one final look in the mirror trying to flatten his hair, but it was as defiant as ever, sticking up in the most inconceivable fashion. He was used to it by now and in a way it reminded him of his father. He paused for a moment before walking downstairs into the now empty common room. They were among the last people to get ready for the Ball and Harry and Ron settled down on the sofa facing the fireplace.
Ron was cracking his knuckles as well as nervously twisting his hands.
"Do you reckon she...they already went down?" he asked Harry.
"I don't think so. Remember last year how long it took Hermione to get ready? Not to mention every other girl for that matter. She'll be down any minute..."
Harry was interrupted by the sound of people descending the stairs. Both of them turned around and they were both rendered speechless for different reasons altogether.
Hermione was the first to descend down the stairs. She was wearing a black dress robe and the material reminded Harry of what she had worn the previous year to the Yule Ball. Her hair was done up in a French twist that was adorned by a silver jeweled stick pin. The dress had a flowing motion and it almost seemed like she was floating across the floor as she closed the gap between herself and Ron.
Ron on the other hand was standing in the middle of the room, his lower jaw looking ready to hit the floor. His eyes were bulging out of their sockets as he tried to regain control of his mouth. The sudden limpness of Ron's jaw reminded Harry of his experience with Lockhart in his second year. Ron blinked several times before he managed to say something.
"You..." he said in a high-pitched voice that almost made Harry laugh. Ron cleared his throat, his ears bright red. "You look...you...you're..." Harry let out a muffled laugh through his hand. Ron shot him a deadly glare before turning back to look at Hermione. "You look...fantastic."
"Thank you," Hermione said smiling back at him as her cheeks turned slightly pink. She had lowered her eyes now, but looked up again. "You look very nice too," she said in a very unsure un-Hermione like way.
It was Ron's turn to feel his cheeks heat up as a lopsided grin formed on his face. Harry let out another snort of laughter. This time however, both Hermione and Ron looked at him with narrowed eyes. This only made Harry laugh even more.
"What's so funny?" asked Ron a bit annoyed.
Harry was about to respond when he heard a girl's voice coming from the top of the stairs. A dark-haired fourth year girl came bounding down the stairs laughing heartily. He recognized her as one of Ginny's friends, and as his gaze went from the bottom of the staircase to the top once again his eyes went wide.
At first he only saw a sleek, flowing amount of silver fabric, but as his eyes wandered from the bottom of the dress to the top he could feel his mouth go dry and his breathing become uneven. At first he was not sure it could be, but it was Ginny. Her red hair was done up with a few strands of hair slightly curled around her face and neck line. The silver dress seemed to have a life of its own as it gently swayed with every step as Ginny walked down the stairs.
"Oh Ginny, you look wonderful," exclaimed Hermione snapping Harry out of his frozen state of mind. Ron was looking at him rather curiously and Harry quickly looked away careful not to look at Ginny again.
"Ron, don't you think she looks wonderful?" asked Hermione.
Ron shrugged his shoulders. "Considering it was from that twit, she looks all right I suppose." Hermione scowled at him and Ginny pulled a face.
"Since you obviously don't have an objective opinion I'll ask someone who has. Harry? What do you think about Ginny?"
"Sheelonais," he said still looking away feeling himself blush.
"What's that? I couldn't quite hear you," said Hermione with an amused voice.
"Isedsheelonais."
"Harry, you're not making any sense," replied Hermione, but her voice was telling Harry she had made sense of it all already.
He lifted his eyes from the interesting spot on the floor he had been studying and he tried to concentrate on looking straight at Hermione. "I said...she looks nice," he said feeling like he had managed to say it sounding very calm.
"Thanks Harry," said Ginny smiling and blushing at the same time.
"You're welcome. I mean, you look beautiful Ginny." As soon as he had said that he closed his eyes wishing to be swallowed up by the floor. He wished he could just Apparate to the other side of the Earth, but he seriously doubted he would be able to concentrate on anything except Ginny.
When he opened up his eyes he could see that Ginny's face had turned a brilliant shade of red, while Hermione was smiling at him with that same annoying smile he had seen at Madam Malkin's. He made a mental note to remind himself to never talk to Hermione again. Ron on the other hand looked dumbstruck. Before Ron had a chance to react Hermione had grabbed his hand and pulled him through the portrait hole still wearing a confused expression.
All of a sudden Harry and Ginny were left alone as Melinda rushed out as well saying something about meeting her date by the entrance. Harry cleared his throat.
"Ehrm...I...we...downstairs...go...for us...waiting," he stumbled out wanting to hit himself over the head for sounding like an idiot again. Ginny just nodded and followed Harry out through the portrait hole and down the many flights of stairs. Harry looked straight ahead and almost tripped as he missed a step. Meanwhile Ginny was looking straight down and continued to do so as they reached the corridors. She was about to walk into a suit of armor when Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side making her stumble into his arms. Her face was buried in his chest and Harry froze up feeling panic start to set in.
Ginny quickly backed away giving Harry a muffled "thanks" before they continued down the corridors, Harry looking up at the ceiling and Ginny, her head even closer to the ground than before. When they reached the entrance to the Great Hall they could see Cho and Entwhistle looking a bit uneasy. However, when they saw their respective dates their faces lit up considerably. Entwhistle in his dark royal dress robe was smiling and it made Harry want to trade places with one of the twins for the upcoming rematch with Ravenclaw.
What am I thinking? he thought to himself as he turned his attention to the smiling Cho.
Cho was wearing a sky blue dress that complimented her black shining hair and sparkling dark eyes. The sight of her made Harry's heart beat a little faster again as she walked up to him with a beaming smile.
"You look...incredible," he said with a soft smile. Cho actually blushed, which Harry thought was strange. Everyone knew how beautiful she was and he was sure she had heard much better compliments than what he had just given her. Nonetheless she was blushing and smiling very sweetly at him.
"You look very handsome Harry," she said looking straight into his emerald green eyes.
"Uh...shall we?" he asked holding out his arm.
She slid her arm through his and they walked over to where Ron and Hermione were sitting. There were two seats across from Harry that were still vacant and to his dismay Ginny and Entwhistle came over to their table and sat down. It was going to be an unforgettable evening.
***
Malfoy Manor was dimly lit and in the living room the dying fireplace shed a soft orange glow on the sleeping body of Narcissa Malfoy. She had fallen asleep on the divan with a glass leaning against her stomach. The nearly empty carafe was evidence of a large amount of wine having been consumed. She stirred restlessly in her sleep.
She was back in her old room where she had last lived with her father. There was a strange hypnotic green shade to everything around her. She looked down and there was a green mist creeping along the floor making it impossible to see where she was putting her feet. She heard voices coming from downstairs.
Her mind was racing, but her body seemed to move in slow-motion. She stumbled over something that was beneath the mist, but managed to keep her balance. The voices grew louder.
"I told you to answer me!" the voice echoed. The light was no longer green, but had turned dark red.
She tugged at her wand as she stumbled down the stairs. She felt herself fly back into the wall. Laughter rang out through the house. It was all too clear to her now. Her body froze up as it had so many times in her dreams. She could hear the beat of her heart pounding in her head. Her fathers screams echoed through the room and Narcissa tried desperately to regain control of her arms and hands to cover her ears. A shadow passed over here and the face of her brother was only a few inches away from hers. He let out another laugh as he let his knife play across her face. He stood up and walked out the door, but his voice trailed behind like a feint whisper.
"I'll be watching you....I'll be watching you...I'll be watching you..."
Narcissa woke up in cold-sweat and she was relieved to find herself still in Malfoy Manor on the divan she had fallen asleep on. She searched for her glass and quickly found it. Her hands were trembling as she slowly filled her glass with what remained in the carafe. The two crystal pieces were hitting each other as she finally emptied the carafe. She put the glass to her mouth and gulped down half of its contents. Her breathing was starting to become more even and her hands were not shaking as much.
"Narcissa?"
The sudden voice made Narcissa lose her grip on her glass and it fell, hitting the floor and shattering into a thousand pieces. She stopped breathing, too afraid to look back, too afraid of what she feared the most would be right in front of her.
"Narcissa, it's only I."
She turned around and her husband was standing in the doorway looking downcast. For a brief moment Narcissa felt the compassion and love she had once had for Lucius. For the first time in many years he looked like the man she had fallen in love with. No longer so sure of himself and it almost looked like he was showing emotion. She rose from the divan and began walking over to where he was standing, albeit on unsteady legs.
"What's the matter Lucius?" she said with a tender voice.
Lucius looked at her face and traced one finger along her jaw line. He took her hand in his. "You are quite beautiful. I see why I wanted you. I see why I did what I had to do." He withdrew his finger tentatively.
"What happened?" she said clasping his hand. It had felt welcome before, but now it was behaving like it had for so many years. Withdrawn and cold. She let go of his hand.
He turned his back on her and it looked like he was going to walk out the door, but he stopped short of the door. He slowly turned around, his wand outstretched pointing towards Narcissa. "I'm sorry, but it is His will. I have reaped the benefits and now I must pay the price."
She did not have time to react and she felt herself falling to the floor and finally sink into the green darkness once again.
***
"I'm sorry Cho," muttered Harry as he pulled out the chair for her to sit down. "I didn't mean to step on your foot...twice. I'm just a horrid dancer."
Cho smiled at him. "It's fine. Besides, I don't mind sitting down for a bit. I need to catch my breath."
Harry's mouth was starting to feel dry and he asked Cho if she would like something to drink. He left the table to go get some pumpkin juice and when he came back Entwhistle was standing by Cho looking straight at Harry.
"Harry, you don't mind if I have one dance with Cho do you? It's tradition that I dance with all of my teammates," he said giving Harry that same sickening smile.
"I don't mind," replied Harry, deep down wanting to wipe that smirk of Entwhistle's face.
"Are you sure?" asked Cho. Harry nodded and Cho and Entwhistle left the table.
Harry sat down with the two glasses of pumpkin juice and when he looked across the table he saw Ginny sitting there. He had not even noticed here. He had been too focused on that twit Entwhistle.
"You thirsty?" he asked holding out one of the glasses.
Ginny looked at him surprised, but stretched out her hand to grab the glass. A spark flew out between their hands and Ginny withdrew her hand quickly.
"Static electricity," said Harry offering the glass to Ginny once more. She smiled feebly as she took the glass.
"Well, well...Chang finally found out you weren't living up to your name Potter?" Malfoy was standing by the table with Pansy Parkinson.
"Go away Malfoy," growled Harry.
"She finally realised only powerful purebloods are worthy company."
"I guess that's why she's not here with you then," Harry shot back.
Malfoy's eyes flashed with anger, but his eyes turned to Ginny. "I suppose that's why that poor excuse for a witch is sitting here with you. A Weasel. Not worth the Knut it cost to clothe them," smirked Malfoy. Ginny's face turned red.
"Take that back Malfoy, or else..."
"Or what? You're going to make me regret it? Like you did when I caught the Snitch?"
"I'll..."
"C'mon Draco, let's go dance," pleaded Pansy pulling at his arm, but Malfoy snapped it away from her.
"No, I've had enough of Potter thinking he's worth something. He's nothing. Soon all those who are on the wrong side will suffer. Not even treacherous purebloods will be spared." He shot Ginny another glance. "You'd better watch out Potter. Your time has come."
Malfoy turned on his heels and walked away briskly with Pansy trying to catch up to him.
Harry looked over at Ginny again and she was looking down at her dress. He was about to say something to try to cheer her up when Ron and Hermione came back from the dance floor.
"What are you two looking so glum for?" frowned Ron.
"Oh, it was..."
"It was nothing," interrupted Ginny looking straight at Harry with determination.
Ron looked from Ginny to Harry and back again, then shrugged his shoulders and sat down.
"Where did Cho go?"
"She's dancing with Entwhistle," said Harry flatly.
"That's great. That means he's not with Gi...I mean...that gives me the chance to dance with my favorite sister for the first time since I was five," said Ron with a disarming smile.
"Not really," said Ginny with a mischievous smile. "I remember after your third year when you asked me to teach you how to dance because there was this beautiful Gryff..."
Ron put his hand over her mouth and dragged her out of her chair and out on the floor. His cheeks were pink and Ginny was smiling back at Hermione.
"Well, I suppose that leaves us then," said Hermione standing up. Harry looked at her outstretched hand questioningly. Hermione sighed heavily before taking his hand and pulling him out on the floor much the same fashion Ron had with Ginny.
As Harry and Hermione danced Cho and Entwhistle fell into his vision. She was smiling at him and it looked like he was laughing. Harry felt a sudden urge to walk over to Entwhistle and let him know Cho was his date. As suddenly as they had appeared they vanished behind the rest of the dancing couples.
Ron and Ginny came bounding through the crowd laughing as they seemed to be reliving childhood memories. Harry watched them with wonder spending most of his time resting his eyes on Ginny. She was quite beautiful and the dress accentuated her beauty.
"Ow!"
"Oh...sorry Hermione," Harry said apologetically.
"I'm fine. Let's continue dancing," said Hermione and she leaned in close to Harry making him feel slightly uncomfortable. "That was really nice of you," she whispered.
"What are you talking about?"
"You might've fooled the rest of them, but you didn't think you would fool me, did you?
"I don't know what..."
"The dress Harry. I know you gave Ginny the dress."
Harry stopped dancing, but only for a second. Then he continued as if there had been no interruption.
"I thought I'd seen it before, but I just thought I was imagining things. Then the strange note," continued Hermione, "I didn't think Entwhistle would buy her something like that."
"And why not?" asked Harry with a hint of uneasiness in his voice.
"It doesn't seem right somehow. Then all of sudden I remembered where I'd seen the dress before." Hermione stopped dancing and looked straight at Harry. "At Madam Malkin's when we went shopping for school supplies. I know I didn't buy it. I know Ginny didn't buy it. I know Ron didn't buy it. That leaves only one other person," she said leaning in to continue dancing. "You," she whispered.
"I didn't give it to her."
"Harry, you don't have to pretend. I haven't told anyone if that's what you're worried about. It was rather clever of you though. N.E. Neil Entwhistle. Or was it perhaps a clue as in...Nikos Etolopolus?"
"Hermione..."
"I promise I won't say anything Harry. Your secret's safe with me."
"But Hermione, you don't understand. I..."
"Excuse me."
Harry whirled his head around only to find Ron frowning at him.
"Looked like you two were having a very private moment. Didn't mean to interrupt," he said sounding much the opposite.
Harry looked at him with an amused look. "Come off it Ron. I know you two love each other, so why would I even try?" Ron and Hermione both turned crimson.
"Did I hear the word love," crowed Fred, who was dragging around Angelina.
"Our ickle Ronniekins is growing up," sniffed George.
It was difficult to distinguish Ron's face from his hair, and Hermione was steadily growing redder by every passing moment. Fred pursed his lips.
"I wuv you Hermown-ninny."
"And I wuv you too Wonald," replied George in a girlish voice.
"Shut up you gits," growled Ron pushing past them and walking out of the Great Hall.
"You two are so immature," sighed Angelina shaking her head. George smiled at her and left to go outside with Alicia.
"Aren't we though? But that's why you're my little pumpkincake, isn't it?" smiled Fred as he flung Angelina around and disappeared onto the dance floor.
"I should go after him. I'm sorry Harry but you're just going to have to find someone else to dance with," winked Hermione. She leaned forward again. "Dance with her," she whispered before running after Ron.
Harry was afraid to look at Ginny but somehow he managed to lift his hand up.
"Eh...would you...like to...you know...dance? I mean, I'd understand if you didn't want to since you're here with Entwhistle, but I just thought it would be nice to dance. I understand though. You don't want to. We can just sit down and..." Harry said this very quickly.
"I'd love to," Ginny said smiling. Her cheeks were flushed, and Harry felt his body tingle.
He put out his hand and she took it as he led them out to dance. Right at that moment the music changed and the Weird Sisters were playing a slow song. Harry was glad since it meant he would have more time to react if he was about to step on her toes. He was standing right in front of Ginny and he wearily closed the distance between them. He did not want to get too close so he left what looked like an invisible barrier between him and Ginny as they danced for the first time.
***
Ginny found herself enjoying the evening in Neil's company and she had barely noticed that Harry was sitting at the same table. That was until Cho had stolen her date for a dance. Then Malfoy had come over and she thought he had ruined the rest of the evening for her.
It had been rather sweet of Ron to ask her to dance even though his ulterior motive was clearly to get her away from Entwhistle. The two of them used to dance all the time before Ron went off to Hogwarts. He really changed after that. He had promised to write to her often, but in time the letters faded into just the random letter to their mother.
Dancing with her brother had made her forget all about Malfoy and everything had been going along nicely until the twins had made Ron run out of the Great Hall. Right before Hermione had left to go after Ron she had leaned in close to Harry and whatever she said made him blush. Ginny felt a pang of jealousy seeing how close Harry and Hermione were. Why could everyone else talk to Harry except for her?
Harry was looking rather uncomfortable as Hermione retreated out the door to find Ron, but all of a sudden he had started talking very fast, stumbling over words.
"Eh...would you...like to...you know...dance? I mean, I'd understand if you didn't want to since you're here with Entwhistle, but I just thought it would be nice to dance. I understand though. You don't want to. We can just sit down and..."
Ginny was barely able to understand that he was asking her to dance with him, and even less able to formulate an answer in her mind. Somehow her brain was working on its own as she had no recollection of ever forming the sentence "I'd love to" in her mind. She had wanted to hit herself for using the word "love", but Harry had apparently not noticed. Maybe she was making a big deal out of nothing.
They were standing out on the dance floor as the music changed to a slow song, and Ginny felt slightly embarrassed as she thought Harry might want to have this dance with Cho instead.
"I think Neil and Cho are finished," said Ginny. Harry just looked at her so she continued. "You probably want to have this dance with her," she said with downcast eyes.
"No, I asked you to dance..."
"You don't have to do it just because of that," she mumbled.
"I was going to say that I asked you to dance with me because I want to dance with you. Not Cho," his cheeks turned pink.
Ginny looked up and she remembered gazing into his eyes and losing track of all sense of time. For a brief moment all that existed were the two of them, and they seemed to float out on the dance floor. The Great Hall was empty and the only thing present was the flowing music to which they moved. It was just the way she had imagined it so many times. She was finally dancing with Harry. She closed her eyes wishing it would never end. Slowly the music faded and they came to a stop. She could hear voices, and she moved in close to Harry. His body stiffened as she put her arms around him.
"Ginny, we should go back," he whispered.
She heard her voice of reason, but paid no heed. She buried her face in his chest letting all the pain flow through her eyes. She mumbled something that Harry was unable to make out.
"What's wrong Ginny? What did you say?" he asked no longer uncomfortable, but worried.
She swallowed hard before looking straight at him, tears running down her cheeks. She had been too afraid once, but not anymore. There was no use holding it in any longer, no use trying to hide or deny it. Bill's voice echoed in her head once more. Take a chance Ginny.
"I..." she choked on her words as fear rapidly crept into her heart. "I...I..." She could not turn back now. She could never turn back. "I..."
"What Ginny?" asked Harry looking very concerned.
"I...I love you," she whispered. "I love you Harry. I always have and I always will." She was taking short breaths and Harry's face went blank. "I love you," she whispered one last time before turning around and running out of the Great Hall, the sinking feeling of defeat and release rushing through her body as the stinging tears ran down her face.
The look on his face had said it all, and Ginny knew that nothing would ever be the same again.
***
Green flames roared up in the fireplace as Viktor Krum's face appeared.
"Professor Dumbledore, are you there?"
"Yes Mr. Krum. I suspect you must have some troubling news."
"Yes. There has been a massive amount of illegal Apparations crossing borders. So far ve have been able to identify the country of destination and a few exact locations."
"When did they begin?"
"The first reported case vas two days ago. According to Fl...Miss Delacour the French Ministry has also had reports of increased activity among suspected supporters of the Dark Lord. Their intelligence unit has also confirmed the country of destination."
"And what exactly is the destination?" asked Dumbledore, knowing in his heart what the answer would be.
"England, sir," replied Viktor. "I'm sorry, but I need to get back to vork. Ve are trying our best to pinpoint the location, but it is difficult. Vards have been set in place, and it appears they have made several Apparations in England in order to mislead us. The Ministry of Magic is not cooperating vith us, and it is obvious people in high places are trying to keep information from us."
"Thank you. I will let you get back to work now," sighed Dumbledore as Viktor's face disappeared with the green flames. Dumbledore rubbed his chin then looked over his spectacles at someone sitting in the shadows. "The time has come. You know what you must do," he said gravely. "It is dangerous and I can not force you."
"I will do what is necessary. Is everything ready?"
Dumbledore nodded gravely. "I wish you luck. The future of the wizarding world depends on you now." The man rose out of his seat and left the Headmaster's office.
Walking through the corridors careful to avoid any contact with students, the man made his way down the spiraling stairs and finally reaching his destination in the lower parts of Hogwarts. The corridor seemed to lead to a dead-end, but when he reached the wall he brandished his wand. With a simple gesture and a murmur of a spell the wall gave way to an opening leading into a hidden room.
As he stepped past the wall it closed behind him leaving him in complete darkness.
"Lumos." His wand flickered for a moment before light washed over the room and his dragon boots. Another man was sitting at a table, and there was the unmistakable form of a person lying on the floor covered by a blanket. There was no turning back now, and he only wished his mother would not kill him when she found out.
~~~~~
A/N: Ok, so where do I start? Let's start with all the good things ^_^ First off I would like to thank Mary and Michelle who helped me get some ideas for dress robes and colors and so forth. I'm a guy...what more can I say? Secondly I would like to thank Neko for the fanart I received. You can view it by clicking right...here (http://azeroth_fics.tripod.com/fanart.jpg). Not here, but there *points* Anyway, the scene is when Harry, Ron, and Ginny go down to the lake. I like it and besides...it makes my ego grow to the size of a walnut. It used to be a ketchup packet from McDonalds.
Ok...now down to the groveling part. I'm really sorry that I haven't updated for..er..well..a long time, but things have been a little...crazy to say the least. My life has basically been turned upside down, sideways, backwards...you get the picture. Writing was the last thing on my mind. Things should stabilize fairly soon, but after that the future is uncertain. I know what it's like to sit and wait for someone to finish their chapters and I swore to myself that I'd post one chapter every two weeks. Yeah...so again..I'm really really sorry *grovels at everyone's feet* Now to the next part. I told someone that this chapter would be twice as long as the others. As you might have noticed it's not. Part of it is time-based as I'm leaving to go to Europe for three weeks, but mostly because it just ended up being too long. I feel the chapters are a good length as they are and I guess that just means there will be an extra chapter in the end. I will try to write when I'm on vacation, but I can't make any promises. My parents have an oooooooold computer and let's just say you can't even fit a new operating system on the hard drive. You can barely run Tetris ^_^
So now I've given special thanks and also groveled. Now is the time when I say thank you to everyone that reviewed chapter 26 and I would also like to thank everyone that didn't kill me ^_^ If you really want to thank someone for this chapter finally being posted it should be Mary. She gave me some extra inspiration and also threatened to kick my butt. So thanks to all of you who kindly reviewed and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
P.S. I'm not making a promise here since that came back to bite me in the buttocks last time, but I'll really try to post or at least have a chapter ready to post when I get back from vacation.
The BIG Thank-You-For-Being-So-Patient-Even-Though-You-Wanted-To-Strangle-Me-List:
Mary, Michelle, Neko, Elisa Azure, Conlan, Tiah, Autistic, LivelyRach, Sirius, Harry's Gift, CactusKitty, Michaela, Nosgoroth, Sara, Cherie, Lilbluangel25, Joyce, Sassy (three thanks to you ^_^), Maye, Stephanie, Alan, Starr Ryder, LoreLai, Slytherin Dark Lord, harrylover, SilverWolf, Professor Rich, pria, rachelle, miranda, takari4ever7, Nessie, toastedpaco, Dark Soul #7, Esperanza, Blue Roses, Abba, and priya.
Thank you so much and I hope all of you have a great holiday. I will check my mail and such from Sweden, and who knows...maybe I'll post a chapter. That'll be a first for me, posting a chapter from my "true" country.
