Author's Note: ::sniff:: I'm so proud of this chappie! It's 11 pages long in word and 20 in html peoples! Yea! So this is for all of those who wanted longer chapters. I'm very tired now because this took so long to write. Special thanks to my sister for helping me out.
Thank you all for waiting, and here's chapter 4!
Chapter 4: The Tlaron Falcon
Ginny moved out onto the balcony towards the spot in which Draco previously stood. Leaning against the stone railing, Ginny had a full view of the grounds including the forbidden forest, most of the castle, the quidditch pitch, and the glittering lake that bathed in the sunlight. A few second years were playing in it splashing around and throwing water on each other while the giant squid along with other creatures that resided within the water's depths emerged every now and then to play with them. It was a perfect picture of innocence. On the faces of the children, smiles played and laughter so loud and bright could be heard throughout the castle grounds no matter how far that person stood from them. Naturally, Ginny could hear them and their fun.
Of course, she was jealous of the second years, not surprisingly. The last time she was as happy and free - loving as they were was five and a half years ago before everything that had ruined her life began to happen. Back then, Ginny was free. She played in the yard behind her bulky house in the forest and by the side of a pond that took up almost half of the acreage on the lot in which her house stood. Her parents used to jokingly call her "The Animal Queen" because whenever she would enter the forest or play in the pond, the creatures (luckily only the kind ones) would come out and spend the rest of the day with her until she had to go in for dinner. In the forest when she was younger, Ginny was untamed. She could run so fast that her speed almost matched that of a stag's and was able to find her friends with a sixth sense that directed her right to them even in the night when she felt the most attuned to her instincts and her senses. Without proper eyesight since the blackness enveloped everything, Ginny's other senses emerged especially her "Animal Spirit." During the dark, Ginny's eyes did not direct her - her feelings and instincts did.
Nevertheless, one night, Ginny's parents did not find their daughter in her room and desperately tried to locate her.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
*~*Flashback*~*
An almost-eleven-year-old Ginny sat in her cozy room one chilly evening with the windows open, for her parents could not pay the "Wizard Air" bill, and the company shut off their supply of magic air conditioning (MAC). Without knowing any spell to fix the problem temporarily, which is extremely odd one might say for two very talented wizards, her parents told their daughter, the only child left in the house, to open her window for the night.
While Ginny sat on her bed that was covered with red sheets in her yellow room, an extremely strong wind, ten times stronger than the others before it, entered through her window. Something was wrong; something was out of place. Ginny jumped out of her bed and ran to the window just in time to hear a shrill cry from one of the magical birds in the forest that spanned from her house to Hogsmeade. Crawling out of her second story window and climbing down the green vines that scaled that side of the house, she sprinted through the forest for about three minutes at a speed that made the leaves in the trees shake. Ginny came upon a scene that she never imagined that she would see. For a ten-year-old girl, noticing a shot and killed Tlaron Falcon is quite a frightening and traumatic experience since the closest thing that would make an innocent child angry or mad is if their sibling stole their doll. So seeing a brutally murdered creature greatly harrowed the child.
Tlaron Falcons are interesting animals, for their origins are unknown and there are no historical references to them in any of the existing books in the Wizarding World. The Tlaron, a solely nocturnal animal, hunts in the night taking down creatures as big as deer although its frame is the size of a falcon. Surrounding the creature is a mystery paralleling its hidden past because for some strange reason, when one looks straight into the eyes of the bird, that person (depending on their personality) will either see all of his faults, turning him mad, or see the wonder of life. There is a tale among an ancient enclave of Celts that the bird came from the heavens to bring life to those who have none. However, no common wizard or witch believes this. To them, it is just a story.
Slowly, Ginny approached the animal and bent down to smooth its gold, brown, and iridescent green feathers. Its gray eyes were closed, and blood poured from a wound in the middle of its chest. The first thought that came to Ginny's head was how could someone do such a thing? Why are there people out there who kill? However, not many ten-year-olds know that in the world, there are people who love to prey on things smaller than they are. She grew up in a decade where there were no signs of Voldemort, no feeling of unease in the air. In her house, there was always an essence of happiness and joy, but when Ginny came out into the forest this night and found one of her beloved creatures dead, all exuberance vanished from her to be replaced by anger. Looking up from where she was bent, Ginny's eyes flashed a strange shade of purple when she saw fresh shoe imprints on the ground in front of her leading away from the deceased falcon. Twigs were scattered everywhere as if someone was in a rush to get away from the area. The little girl rose, and her mystique changed. It was no longer happy but enraged and powerful. The anger started low in her feet, climbed up her legs, through her stomach and chest, and entered her throat where she let out a piercing scream that could be heard for miles.
Earlier, Molly Weasley was climbing up the stairs to her daughter's bedroom to kiss her goodnight. Being the kind and loving person that she is, Mrs. Weasley gently rapped on Ginny's door to tell her that she was coming in. There was no answer, so Ginny's mom slowly opened the door to see her daughter's bed empty and the sheets thrown on the floor. Of course, Molly knew where Ginny went - the forest where she constantly played with her friends. Fear entered the middle-aged woman's mind because normally her daughter would only play in the forest during the day, but now it was night and who knew what could be lurking in there?
"Arthur! ARTHUR!!!"
Running up the stairs quickly after hearing his wife's desperate shout, Arthur Weasley came to Molly's side in Ginny's room.
"Arthur! Ginny's not here! I think she went into the forest."
"But, why?"
"I don't know. We need to find her - who knows what could happen!"
"Okay, okay… just calm down, Molly. I'm sure that she's fine."
At that moment, Ginny's scream could be heard. Mistaking it for an outcry of fear and danger, Molly Weasley quickly located it and apparated to the spot where her daughter was with Arthur right behind her.
Before Ginny could sprint off, Molly grabbed her little girl and held the squirming and screaming child tightly so that she could not run. Ginny's anger was at one of its highest peaks. The girl's body shook, and her hands were balled into tight fists. All that she wanted to do was follow those footsteps to the murderer and rip him or her to shreds. Yet, Ginny knew that her mother would never let go of her; instead, Ginny relaxed in her mother's arms and began to cry for the Tlaron, for the life that was so harshly taken away, and for the person that killed the bird. She hoped that he would always remember the horror that he did.
Ginny never wanted to go back to the forest again.
*~* End Flashback*~*
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Ginny blinked a few times until her focus came back onto the children playing in the pond with the giant squid. She hoped that they would one day understand that there are people in this world that kill for fun and that are mean and rude and that not everything is set in stone.
Turning away from the glittering, blue pond, the cheerful children, and the clear sky, Ginny walked back to the Gryffindor Tower. When she opened the door to the common room, Harry and Hermione were yet again snogging on the couch, not to Ginny's surprise.
Goody.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Draco had a very eventful day. He made fun of three third year Hufflepuffs, made a Ravenclaw cry, and got four fifth year Gryffindors in trouble, but time passes and eventually dinner came.
Draco could not decide whether to arrive fashionably late again. Throwing on a pair of black pants and a loose, green shirt that had "I'm Too Sexy for My Shirt" written on it in small dark green letters across his chest, Draco walked into the Great Hall slightly early and cautiously looked for any signs of Blaise or Pansy. He really did not want to have them feeling him up again. Even at the thought of it, Draco shivered. Therefore, instead of sitting where he normally did, Draco sat on the windowsill directly behind the Slytherin table. Hopefully, Blaise and Pansy would take the hint that he didn't want to be bothered.
They did not, and if anything, they figured that he only wanted them more because he was sitting by himself. Like a pair of mind-controlled zombies, Pansy and Blaise started clawing at Draco and shouting his name loud enough that even the Gryffindors, including the trio and Ginny, at the other side of the dining hall could hear. And, again, Draco sprinted out of the room to hide between the curtains of his bed although he knew that Pansy and Blaise would still crack through the strong wards that he put up around his room specifically for them. The next time he would leave would be later that night for Weasley.
He did not exactly know why he decided that he was going to tell that girl about the accident, which, now that he thought about it, was not exactly an accident. Deep inside of Draco, something compelled him to divulge all of his secrets to Ginny. It was quite strange, actually, as if that part of himself wanted to make her feel better and to take all of her troubles away. Ignoring the thought, Draco simply dismissed it and decided that he was thinking too much about it. Besides, he didn't care … right?
Wrong. When Draco turned around on the balcony earlier that day and looked straight into Ginny's eyes, he felt something inside of him turn on its axis. His eyes softened and scanned her face, noticing that although she was a Gryffindor (and by Draco's standards, Gryffindors are stupid), she was exquisitely beautiful… whoa! That did not just happen. Ah, but it did. And as much as Draco tried to deny it, he knew that he found Ginny pretty.
Draco ran his hands through his silver hair and sat on his bed with one elbow on a bent knee. (A/N: *drrrroooolllll* ::wipes mouth:: err… sorry… back to the story!)
Maybe deciding to tell Ginny wasn't such a great idea after all. But, I feel like I owe her. Draco heaved a large sigh, massaging his temples. I wonder what I'm getting myself into.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ginny remained at the Gryffindor table after Draco yet again ran out of the dining hall like a frightened cat. She swore that she could see his eye twitch when Pansy and Blaise came over although she was extremely far away. Next to Ginny sat her best friend Branden, who was complaining about the Christmas decorations that the school puts up every year, for he was Jewish, and this year Hanukkah came late with the eighth day on Christmas Eve. (A/N: I'm Jewish! Happy Hanukkah! This is my time now to complain about the lack of Hanukkah decorations at Hogwarts …::smiles evilly::)
"You would think that they could be nice enough to put some Menorahs in the windows, you know?" Jumping out of his seat and standing on the table, Branden shouted, "I demand Menorahs!"
Not surprisingly, everyone except a few students from each table, who stood up and cheered, just stared with confused expressions.
Before something could start from Branden's protest, Ginny grabbed the tall brown-haired, blue eyed boy and pushed him back into his seat.
"Sit, boy. Dinner now … protest later." (A/N: Inuyasha rocks!)
Although he was pushing against Ginny, she was able to keep him in his seat with a simple binding charm that glued his cute ass to the chair. It was positively known around the school that there existed a one to ten list of all of the drool-worthy guys in Hogwarts. Located comfortably at number one was none other than Draco Malfoy, number two Harry Potter, who knew about the list and was quite upset when he learned that he was behind his enemy, and number three Branden Rogala.
Ginny was still extremely surprised when, during her third year, he had become friends with her although she was, and still is, an isolated and shy person. Branden, on the other hand, was extremely popular even with a couple Slytherins, which included Draco. But Branden was nicer than Ginny originally believed him to be, and he never gave up on trying to befriend her no matter how many times she ignored him and walked away when they first met. Branden was a very determined person, and whenever he had his mind set on something, he would get it. With his wicked sense of humor, he could break Ginny out of her shell when he was around. However, even after three years of friendship, Ginny still could never see herself with him. He just was not her type in that way.
After dessert, Ginny broke the charm that glued her friend to his seat.
"You know, Ginny, because of that, my ass is going to feel numb for awhile. How can I get girls with it when I can't even feel it?!"
"You have your ways," replied Ginny trying to suppress a laugh, which came out anyway. It was also known that Branden liked to flirt … a lot. It didn't matter if the girl looked like a house elf. If she was a girl, than he didn't care. Flirting for him consisted of cheesy pick-up lines, conspicuously showing his rear off (it is cute), and giving roses to passing females. In all, he was a hopeless romantic at heart.
"But it will be one less, and what am I going to do without it? Hold on, I have to see if it still works." Branden walked over to an unsuspecting Ravenclaw and sat on their table directly in front of her, beginning a conversation with the fifth year just to see if she glimpsed at his ass. She did, and he walked backed to his seat next to Ginny with a triumphant smile on his face.
"Behold the Ass King!"
"Well… um… Ass King, there's a piece of cake on your butt." Indeed there was, for when Branden sat down on the Ravenclaw table, he accidentally sat on a piece of iced vanilla cake, which was nicely smeared all over that area of his pants.
"Well, Ginny, would you like to lick it off?"
"I think I'll decline, but if you ask any other female here, I'm sure she'll be happy to do so."
With that, Branden ran off to flirt with one of the Hufflepuffs.
Soon, the plates as well as the food on all of the tables disappeared, signaling the end of dinner at exactly 8:30 p.m. Ginny rose from her wood chair and began the walk back to the common room when she remembered her "date" with Malfoy to meet at the Astronomy Tower at eleven 'o clock. Sprinting to her prefect room at the top of the tower, Ginny began rummaging through her clothes for something to wear.
Wait a minute, why am I even looking? Even better, why do I even care?
Ginny stopped right in her tracks and started to back away from her closet to face the mirror in front of her dresser. She decided against wearing anything nice for Malfoy because she could care less for that prat.
That's right. Well… a little gloss wouldn't hurt.
Delicately applying her sheer, shiny gloss to her lips, Ginny pulled her face slightly away from the mirror to examine her handy-work. She decided that her face was fine, but her hair was so frizzy that if she stuck a comb in it, it would stay. Although Ginny kept trying to tell herself that she didn't give about her appearance for Malfoy, she reluctantly applied a smoothing charm to her curls making them more shiny and sleek than wild and untamed.
By the time Ginny finished, it neared 10:30, and since she did not have an invisibility cloak, it would take a while to make her way to the Astronomy Tower. After all, Filch and Mrs. Norris were precise when searching the hallways for out-of-bed students. Walking carefully down the staircase, Ginny entered the common room to find no one there to her relief. She quietly opened the door to see that the Fat Lady was sleeping, as usual.
At night, despite its welcoming and bright presence, Hogwarts was spooky. From the lanterns and a-flame columns on the walls, shadows danced everywhere with some from the large trees outside. Ginny wrapped her arms around herself out of fear and because of the chill wind from the night air that crawled through the halls with a cool draft. In front of her, she could see her breath forming a clear cloud, and her eyes darted here and there for any signs of that scary old man and his disheveled cat. Strolling through the dark halls, Ginny arrived at the staircase that spiraled up to the Astronomy Tower. She slowly climbed the limestone stairs that seemed to span forever and finally arrived onto the floor of the tower to find no sign of Draco anywhere. Ginny checked her watch and noticed that it was 11:05. Slightly ticked off because he was late, Ginny moved over to one of the telescopes that was mounted on one of the balconies in the tower. She put her eye to the lens and the first star that she saw in the sky was the North Star despite the cloudy night that would signal the first snow of winter. Moving slightly back from the telescope, Ginny raised her face upwards to see the gray clouds that, with the darkness of night, looked almost black in color.
"Beautiful night, isn't it?"
Ginny slowly turned around to come face to face with Draco Malfoy, the silver-haired, gray-eyed seventh year. In the moonlight, he shined with an ephemeral glow although deep within his eyes, Ginny could see through him to the harrowed person within. Eyes speak a thousand words, and by looking straight into them, someone can see the deepest secrets of that human's soul.
"For someone who likes overcast skies and freezing air, I guess it would be."
A slight smile creeped across his face.
Hmm… she does have a sense of humor.
Despite her best efforts to ignore the thought, Ginny found his smile to be endearing.
Maybe he can be nice.
"It does make your hair look less like its on fire, you know?"
Ginny furrowed her eyebrows and glared at Draco with a face that if looks could kill, Draco would be squirming on the floor in excruciating pain.
Okay, maybe not.
"By any chance does the word "polite" exist in your vocabulary?"
"Let me check … nope. But I still have thousands of girls salivating over me."
"Hmm … right. Well, since I find you obnoxious, that would make one less."
"You shouldn't be so sure of yourself, Weasley. You might find yourself as one of them later."
"Doubt it."
Draco moved over to where Ginny was standing on the balcony, placing his hands on the banister and gazing out onto the grounds. The two stood there for what seemed forever in comfortable silence.
He was nervous about telling Ginny his secret, for, after all, he did keep it to himself for five and a half years without any trouble. Yet, when Draco caught Ginny that night, he felt as if he should tell her. Yet, of course, he was still apprehensive.
"So… Weasley… um… how's school? Is Scar-Face still ignoring you?"
Ginny looked up into Draco's face and skimmed it taking in his perfectly wispy, thick silver hair, his stormy gray eyes, and his chiseled features.
"You're neglecting the reason why I came here, Malfoy."
"Right. Well, what do you want me to say?"
"You should be the one telling me."
"You know, you're very commanding when you want to be."
"That's what my brothers say."
"So…"
"…so."
Another span of silence came, but this time it was not comfortable. Draco kept shifting from foot to foot, and Ginny kept staring into his eyes waiting for an explanation for how he caught her that night.
"Malfoy, I'm not going to wait any longer. Either you tell me, or I'm leaving." As Ginny began to walk away, Draco started to whisper. She could faintly hear his voice, for his face was turned downwards, and her back was to him.
"It happened five and a half years ago over Christmas Break during my first year."
Turning her head to Draco, Ginny glided back to where he was. She swiveled her face to gaze directly into his eyes.
"My father forced me to go on one of his hunting expeditions on a freezing night when a heavy snow started to fall despite my protests. I'm not one for killing animals, and I'm also not one for running around in a blizzard.
"Anyway, my dad had made a portkey that would take us into the heart of the forest behind our house. We found ourselves in the mist of all of these trees and left the portkey next to this extremely large one. My father grabbed my shoulder and told me to follow him…."
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
*~*Flashback*~*
"Father, please let go. You're hurting me."
"Shut up, Draco. Pain is life. Get used to it."
"Yes, father," whispered Draco, lowering his eyes to the ground.
"Now, come. You must learn how to hunt. Who knows? Maybe one day your scrawny and despicable self will shoot down Potter."
"But, why can't I just use my wand?"
"A real man uses a gun although it's a muggle artifact. It's much more … cruel."
"Yes, father."
Trudging through the forest in the deep, white snow that was as white and pure as a unicorn, Lucius used his wand to locate any animal within the area. It found a bird sitting on a log a few yards away (A/N: I'm American, so I'm using our measuring system.) Resting on a fallen tree, the two found a unique looking creature with green, brown, and gold feathers licking its plumage after having eaten a rabbit whose carcass lied about ten feet to the east.
"Shoot it, Draco. Now."
"But, father … I … I … can't."
Lucius became slightly angered by his son's refusal to follow his instructions and decided to use some force to get his son to murder the bird. Taking his gun out of his pocket, Lucius pointed it at Draco's head and moved his finger over to the trigger.
"Boy, you do as I say because if you don't, I will shoot you. I can always have another son."
"Father… father, please!"
Lucius turned off the safety on the gun and pressed the nozzle even harder onto his son's silver-haired head.
"I mean it, Draco."
Draco looked into his father's eyes and saw mischief, evil, and a hint of fun flickering across them. Draco began to cry.
"Shut up, boy!"
A loud thunk could be heard, for Lucius hit his son over his head with the pistol leaving a gash that blood spilled out from. Resuming its position next to his head, Lucius continued to press the gun against his son's visage.
"NOW!!!!!!"
Crying hysterically now, Draco hesitantly raised the gun, pointing it at the bird, and fired one shot that hit the creature in the chest, which let out a shrill call that could probably reach the heavens.
"Good, son. We can return to the mansion now."
"Can… can I have two minutes alone father to … um… examine my kill?"
Lucius smiled evilly with a smirk ten times worse than Draco's.
"Of course."
Lucius began to walk back to where he dropped the portkey near the large tree leaving his son to stare at the bird. Draco slowly approached it with tears still streaming down his face. He didn't want to kill it, but his father had a gun to his head and knowing Lucius, he would have killed his son even though he was his father's heir. Any Malfoy that had a foible that would cause the family problems was no Malfoy at all. Killing that despicable person would be better than letting him or her continue to embarrass the family name.
Draco, small and scrawny at twelve years old (A/N: I'm making his birthday November 17), stared down at the creature that he brutally murdered with the gun that his gloved hand still held. His eyes moved from the pistol to the bird, from the bird to the pistol, and he began to cry again. Yet, when his focus returned to the bird, it started to move its wings slightly and faintly open its eyes to stare directly at the boy. Draco stared back, and before he could run away from it, the creature swiftly moved its large wing to touch Draco's leg. Time seemed to slow down, and his vision went blurry although he could still see the bird. Now, the creature's eyes were completely open and looked directly into Draco's. As it did, the bird's power, essence, or whatever one might call it started to leave the animal, travel through its wing, and enter Draco's leg where it then spread throughout. Around the boy's body there was a bluish cloud of mist that quickly sank into his skin producing strong winds that whipped Draco's hair and clothes this way and that and rustled the leaves in the trees. However, as fleetly as it came, the wind died out and before totally expiring, the Tlaron Falcon moved its wing away from Draco, blinked its eyes, and nodded its head.
Draco stood frozen on the spot and frantically started to look around his surroundings to make sure that no one, especially his father, noticed what just happened. Staring up into the sky, Draco saw a full moon whose light glowed everywhere in the forest.
That's when he heard quick footsteps that sounded something like sprinting.
High tailing out of the area from fright of both what just happened and the approaching sound, Draco ran back to where the portkey and his father were. Once they returned to Malfoy Mansion, the twelve-year-old boy ran up to his room and threw up in the toilet in his bathroom. Looking into the glass doors that surrounded the shower, Draco saw his pupils begin to change shape to look exactly like the falcon's; they were not spherical anymore but instead looked like a stretched out oval. His nails began to morph, too, becoming more like pointed claws. Draco's body mutated, for it was no longer solely his but a mix of both a bird and a boy.
*~*End Flashback*~*
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
"So, that's what I am, Weasley, and ever since that day, on a full moon and some nights before and after it, I become this hybrid creature. I mean, I am myself when it happens. I still have control over my mind and body and still look relatively the same with the exception of my eyes and nails. Oh, and I can fly, too."
After telling Ginny his story, which took about a half an hour to explain, he expected the girl to at least feel some sympathy for him. What he got was the exact opposite.
Ginny's face was shadowed behind her hair which started falling around her visage in thick ringlets, and that old anger that she felt five and a half years ago started to rise again starting at her feet and climbing up through her body.
"It was you, wasn't it?" she whispered in a voice that sounded quiet yet enraged and menacing.
"What do you mean it was me?"
"You killed the bird. It was you who killed that Tlaron Falcon five and a half years ago."
"How would you know? You weren't there. You were at home in your shack."
"Don't you EVER insult my home or my family," yelled the girl whose anger started to emanate off her and rise into the air. Strangely Draco felt somewhat frightened. He started to move slowly away from her. "And I was there."
"Wha… how!?"
"That's not important at the moment."
"Listen, I couldn't stop from shooting the bird, Weasley."
Ginny, whose eyes went from a light blue to a deep blue/purple, raised her head to look at Draco, and now, both of them were shouting.
"Yes, you could have! You could have resisted from killing it! All you had to do was run from your father."
"He had a fucking gun to my head, and trust me, he would have pulled the trigger! All I am to him is a toy that he can wave around in peoples' faces and then discard when he is tired of it…. It was my life over the bird's. What would you have done if you had to choose?!"
Ginny lowered her gaze.
What would I have done? I would have sacrificed myself for the life of that falcon.
However, when Ginny started to put herself in the situation of having such a brutal and abusive father and a gun to her head, she realized that she would have done the exact same thing as Draco. As much as she had tried to deny it, Ginny would have killed the bird for the sake of her life, too.
"Your father isn't like mine, Weasley. In fact, he's the exact opposite. He is cruel and aggressive while your dad is everything that I wish mine would be."
Draco moved closer to Ginny a little warily at first for fear that she would explode again.
"Listen, Malfoy… I'm sorry about yelling at you earlier for killing the bird. You're right. It was your life over the falcon's. And about having your accidental powers, let's just say that it makes you a little more interesting."
"As if I wasn't before?"
"Nope."
"My self-esteem just shot up ten points, you know?" replied Draco with his usual sarcastic tone.
The two teenagers looked at each other in silence until Ginny averted her gaze to her hand where she felt a drop of water land on it. Draco turned his head to stare, too, and at the same time, both of them looked up towards the gray sky just as the first snow of the season began to fall with the two standing directly under it. It was a perfect scene with the snow falling into their hair, on the balcony, and over the grounds. The Christmas lights in the trees were illuminated, and in the sky, a full moon hung. They both turned their heads to look at the other, and before either of them knew what they were doing, Draco and Ginny began to lean closer.
But, then, Ginny's mind started to run again, telling her that one, Malfoy was less than a foot away from her and two, that if she didn't stop herself now, she wouldn't be able to.
"I… I have to go. It's almost one."
Draco also noticed his proximity to her and quickly pulled his head away.
"Right. You should go back to your common room then."
"Aren't you going to go to yours?"
"No. On the week of a full moon, I can never sleep. It's a kickback."
"Oh … well, goodnight then."
"Goodnight, Weasley."
Ginny began to walk away when a thought entered her mind. She should say something about him saving her that night.
"Malfoy?"
The silver haired boy turned his head to look at Ginny who was standing in the doorway that opened up to the balcony.
"Yea, Weasley?"
"Thanks for rescuing me, and … call me Ginny."
Before Draco could say something, she walked out of the tower and began the long trip back to her room.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Author's Note: Yea! I hope you liked the chapter because I really tried hard. This is my first time writing a story. I am so sick of writing essays that I needed to do this. So please review, but, of course, don't flame. I just might have to hurt you if you do.