A/N: This is a landmark chapter! It's the first one to be entirely handwritten in school. Fascinating, huh? I wrote it all in my awesome little black book that my friend gave me last year. I know that none of you really care…but I do. So there. :-P Enjoy.
Chapter 12 ~ Complications
Ginny joined Harry, Ron, and Hermione at the Gryffindor table for dinner that evening, stoically ignoring the odd glances she continually received from her former peers. Before the food appeared, Professor Dumbledore rose from his place among the teachers, his eyes twinkling with high good humor.
"My good friends, I have both sad and happy news for you tonight. So let us hear the sad so that we might move on to being happy!" He beamed about as scattered applause greeted his words.
"Our four Hogwarts house ghosts have been with us for time out of memory, but one of them has seen fit to leave us. Nearly Headless Nick has, at long last, been accepted to the Headless Hunt," Dumbledore bestowed a small smile on Harry as he said this and the four friends dissolved in laughter.
"...Now Gryffindor is in need of a new house representative," Ginny steadfastly ignored the knowing looks she received. "The new ghost is one which none of you have ever met," Dumbledore sent a warning glance at the three living Gryffindors, "and so I must introduce her to you all now. It gives me great pleasure to present Gryffindor's 'angel,' Miss Liandra Trevoy!"
Heads all over the huge room turned upward as Liandra swooped through the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall. There were exclamations of delight as her silvery wings beat the air. She came to rest beside Dumbledore and he shot an amused smile at her before continuing.
"Dost thou, Liandra Trevoy, swear, by binding oath, that thou shalt protect and assist the students of Gryffindor with any and all of thy powers?"
"I do so solemnly and bindingly swear," Liandra said firmly. "I would give my life, were it within my power to give." As she said this, she looked Ginny squarely in the eyes, making it clear that she felt she owed Ginny a great debt. Ginny smiled at Liandra, trying to convey without words that there was no debt, but the other girl didn't seem convinced.
~*~
The evening passed in a blur of celebration as Ginny showed Liandra around, introducing her to the students of Gryffindor House. They were all eager to meet her and Ginny eventually left Liandra in the midst of a group of admiring second years and sought Harry out. She found him, along with Ron and Hermione, working on a transfiguration essay in a corner of the common room. Peering over his shoulder, Ginny spied the title, "Transforming Giraffes to Umbrella Stands and Vice Versa." Ron and Hermione sat very close together on a couch, apparently working upon the same essay between fits of giggling and whispers. Ginny noticed that both of their essays were significantly shorter than Harry's, and then smiled as Hermione whispered something to Ron. He grabbed her hand, quickly removing the quill from her grasp, and brought the hand to his lips. Hermione smiled radiantly until she realized that her homework wasn't getting done and attempted to take her hand back. Ron held on, laughing, until she managed to extricate her hand. Then a similar battle took place over Hermione's quill. By the time Hermione managed to get a hold of her quill, she was lying halfway across Ron's lap. Harry and Ginny exchanged a sardonic glance. Ron wasn't as clueless as he sometimes seemed.
"If I can distract you two lovebirds for just a second, I'd like to remind you that we're supposed to meet a certain someone tonight," Ginny said softly. Suddenly she had the undivided attention of everyone within their group. A cloud of silence descended on the corner, making the rest of the room seem abnormally loud.
"I had actually forgotten. I'm so sorry, Ginny," Hermione said, looking appalled. Ginny smiled ruefully.
"It's ok, Hermione. You've got a lot on your mind lately," Ginny glanced at Ron. "Keeping her on her toes, are you, big brother?"
"My goal in life," he replied and then dodged as Hermione mimed a blow at him.
"Well, the fact remains that our meeting is tonight," Harry said, and the lack of surprise on his face indicated that he, at least, had not forgotten. "Hopefully, our contact will have some more information for us and we can get moving on this." His impatience fairly radiated from him and Ginny's eagerness even surpassed it. To live again…to feel the ground beneath her feet and wind on her face…it seemed a dream of unsurpassed loveliness. Better still, she would be able to feel Harry's arms around her.
"He better have found something good," she said, hope and belligerence mixed in her voice.
"Yes," Ron agreed in a growl. He obviously still didn't want to cooperate with their old enemy.
"It's only until we've got Ginny back," Hermione said soothingly. "Then we can drop him like an old shoe."
"Drop him in the lake, more like," Ron muttered darkly. "Him and his father both."
"Ron, he's really not as bad as you think," Ginny said suddenly. "Draco, I mean, not his father," she clarified with a shudder.
Ron and Hermione stared at her with wide eyes and open mouths, but Harry looked at her with a strange kind of understanding.
"How can you say that?" Ron burst out. "After all the things he's said about us?"
"Y'know, Ron, maybe we should give him another chance. He is helping us," Harry pointed out. Now Ron and Hermione's incredulous looks were directed at Harry.
"You can say that after all the things he's said about you? After all the time's he's called 'Mione a mudblood?" Ron said, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
"And all the insulting things he's said about the Weasleys?" Hermione added.
"Everybody deserves a second chance," Ginny replied weakly, her conviction seeming a bit silly in the light of the opposition of her brother and best friend.
"Everybody does," Harry agreed firmly. Ginny felt her resolve strengthening. "We've never really known him. Of course, he never gave us a real chance to know him, but now he is and we should take it."
"Why?" Ron asked, revulsion in his voice. "Why would we want to know him?"
"He'll surprise you," Ginny said confidently. "But if you're too closed-minded to give someone a second chance, then at least keep your mouth closed and don't alienate him from our cause. Agreed?" she asked, looking between Ron and Hermione, who both wore rebellious scowls.
"Fine," Ron finally said grudgingly and Hermione nodded her agreement a moment after. "We'll be civil to the twit." Harry and Ginny exchanged wry glances.
"I say that you and I should be the ones to do all the talking tonight," Ginny said inan ironic undertone to Harry. He stifled a snort of laughter as the other two glared. Then all four of them dissolved in merriment and all quarrels were mended.
~*~
That night, a breeze drifted through the halls of Hogwarts, wafting from Gryffindor tower down into the deepest dungeon and into the lair of the Slytherins. Waiting in the Slytherin common room was Draco Malfoy, a strangely enigmatic look upon his face. His calm façade cracked as soon as the four Gryffindors appeared.
"Sit down," he said abruptly. As they moved to obey, Harry noticed that Draco's garments were much less ostentatious than before. He wore only his black school robes over a black turtleneck and pants and had no jewelry.
"Got anything new for us?" Harry inquired. He was aching to know any information which would speed the day of Ginny's resurrection.
"We've got more problems than even I thought," Draco replied. "Lucius's protections go beyond what I had known. Even if you can kill the demon bodyguards, you won't be able to touch a hair on his head."
Harry growled in frustration. "Why? What spell is he using?" Harry knew he looked murderous at this development and tried to moderate his expression so that Draco would not think it was directed at him. Ron didn't bother, and Draco quailed when he caught Ron's gaze.
"It's some sort of mirror spell," Draco said hurriedly. "It reflects any spell intended to Lucius back on the caster. So if you tried to Avada Kedavra him, all you'd accomplish would be to kill yourself."
"As if we'd try that in the first place!" Ron said harshly, his face red with anger. Hermione had her lips pressed tightly together, as if to hold in all the words she couldn't say.
"I – I was just using it as an example," Draco stammered. "That's what the spell is there to protect from, you see?" He seemed shocked by their show of hostility after Harry's careful neutrality. Then, in an abrupt shift of mood, Draco became angry.
"Listen, I'm not in this to insult you or get back at you or do anything to you. I really don't give a damn about you! I'm just doing this to get back at Lucius and none of you have anything to do with it! So stop being so bloody sensitive," he finished obnoxiously, glaring at Ron and Hermione, making it clear that every word was meant for them. They both simply stared at him, surprised, but the expressions of hostility had gone from their faces. That seemed to satisfy Draco, for her turned back to Harry.
"I don't know how you're going to get past the mirror spell," he said frankly. "It even affects physical attacks, causing weapons to bounce off in a mirror image of the attack. You could skewer yourself if you're not careful."
"Ron muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "I'll skewer you if you're not careful." Draco's head swiveled to glare at him with fiery anger and Harry elbowed Ron in the side to remind him of his promise. But Ron wasn't paying attention to Harry. His gaze was riveted to Draco's. Ron's eyes widened at that stare and he sank back in his seat as if shocked and cowed by the sheer power of Draco's anger. Hermione looked at Ron in shock and bewilderment, but said nothing. She was holding to the agreement of civility.
"As I was saying," Draco said, irritation still clear in his voice, turning away from Ron to Harry. But he was interrupted again by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. All of them froze, as if that would make them less visible. Who would be walking around after midnight?
That question was answered as Pansy Parkinson appeared on the stairs from the girls' dormitory. She was dressed in a pink silk nightdress and a metallic silver bathrobe which was arranged to show off her very meager charms.
"Draco," she twittered, seeing him first. "I thought I heard your darling voice! What are you doing up at this time of night?" She fluttered her eyelashes at him…and then became very still as she noticed the other occupants of the common room. "What, what are you doing here? Get out! Get out!"
Before her voice could rise to unprecedented heights of shrillness, Draco whipped out his wand and calmly said, "Petrificus Mentalis." Pansy crumpled to the floor in a limp heap.
"A modification of the body-bind curse," Draco said idly as they all looked at Pansy's inert form. "It affects the mind rather than the body, locking it in stasis except for functions like breathing, which are left to continue as usual. She'll wake up in time for breakfast." He then pointed his wand at Pansy and murmured "Obliviate."
Draco turned to Hermione and said, "Bring her up to her room and put her in bed. It's up that stairway, sixth door, third bed on the left."
"You seem very well acquainted with her sleeping arrangements," Ginny pointed out in amusement.
"Every male in Slytherin knows where she sleeps. She makes sure to tell each and every one of us – repeatedly, so that we won't forget. How many of them actually follow her directions, I don't know, nor am I even remotely curious," Draco replied, looking down on Pansy with amused condescension and a tinge of disgust.
Hermione snorted with similar disgust and condescension, but with none of the amusement. She gave the silver bathrobe a look which suggested that it might attack her, and then hauled the girl up the stairs and out of sight. They waited in silence until Hermione returned. Her nose was wrinkled in disdain.
"Let's get on with this," was all she said.
"As I was say8ing," Draco said again, exasperation clear in his voice, "the mirror spell requires careful consideration. I, myself, have been thinking extensively on it, but haven't been able to come up with a solution."
His candid admission of ignorance seemed to touch Hermione. The stiff expression melted off of her face. Harry realized that it must have been Draco's superior attitude which irked her so. Hermione's competitive nature must have shouted at her to prove her superiority every time she saw the arrogant Slytherin.
"What about 'Finite Incantatem'?" Hermione asked Draco. "Or am I correct in assuming that would also be reflected before it had a chance to work?"
"That would also be reflected," Draco confirmed, now giving all of his attention to Hermione, as she was the one most likely to solve their dilemma.
"So casting a spell actually on the mirror is impossible and casting a spell through it is impossible…so that leaves casting a spell around it," Hermione muttered, as if to herself. Then she said to Draco, "How is this mirror spell cast, d'you know? Can you teach it to me?" Draco looked thoughtful.
"I don't know the spell at the moment, but I think I know where I can find it. If you come back tomorrow, I should be able to show you then." He paused to think again. "It'd probably be better if you came alone. One student out of bed is less likely to cause a stir than three."
Ron, predictably, exploded. Hermione clapped a hand over his mouth, and, when it became clear that a mere hand wouldn't silence him, she kissed him firmly. He shut up.
Hermione turned calmly toward Draco as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Harry and Draco were stifling chuckles while Ginny was full-out laughing. Ron glared at his little sister, then slouched down in his seat to glare at Draco.
"Of course I'll come. It makes perfect sense," Hermione said, glaring at Ron on the emphasis.
"Oh, grow up, Ron," Ginny said as he threatened to explode again. "Hermione can take care of herself and has nothing to fear from Draco anyway. But, regardless, I'll be with her, so you don't have to worry. If the slightest thing goes wrong, I'll tell you, and you can charge down here to play Knight in Shining Armor. Don't hold you're breath though," she finished, giggling.
"Well, I think we've accomplished everything we can tonight. I suggest we all get some rest." Harry said.
"I second that motion," Draco said, propping his head up on one hand. "I'm about to fall asleep as I sit."
They all stood up and said their goodbyes. Hermione promised to return the next night for her lesson on the mirror spell and Harry couldn't help noticing that she said farewell to Draco much more cordially than she'd said hello.
A/N: Until next time…I've already got the 13th chapter started, so with any luck it won't take too long to get it out. Oops…I've noticed that whenever I promise a chapter will be out soon, I always have to put it off for some reason. Ack, like the history essay I have to write for next week or the other homework I should be doing right now. Oygh. But it will be out eventually. Promise.
Ah, yes, I'm sorry for the confusion with the tenth and eleventh chapters. It was very complicated, very confusing, and I still have no idea what went wrong. So if it happens again, I won't know how to fix it. Again. Joy of joys.
Bessorla: Well, I'm glad I saved your life…so where's the next chapter, eh? I'm looking forward to it.
Veldan: Don't worry, my friend, this one is going to be going on for a very long time, from the looks of it. And to think, when I started it, all it was was a simple little romance…my baby's all grown up! *sniff* Well, at least teenaged. Not quite grown up yet. Hehehe….
