A/N: Thank you again to all my reviewers, and thank you also for being so patient with the progress of this story! I've had so much to do with university and I've finally got some time to continue with it now. Please also bear in mind that I have just read The Order of the Phoenix, and wrote this quite some time before, so it may not fit fully with the real story. I have tried to add subtle comments suggesting to Book 5, but I do not think there are any real spoilers.

Another Chance

By Spirit Of Euphoria
Chapter 3

"You're kidding."
Ron Weasley stared at his little sister, his jaw wide open in unflattering disbelief.
"Just leave it, Ron," she said coolly. "It's detention, it was going to happen and I've done well to avoid it for six years."
"But.but." Ron appeared to be lost for words. "That's not fair," he finished, lamely.
"And you think life is?" retorted Ginny. "Just leave it. And don't tell anybody. Don't even tell Harry or Hermione."
"Oh, but they're." began Ron, then broke off as Ginny shot him a glare. "Okay, I won't tell them."
"Good."
"Don't know why you want to keep it so quiet." he said, after a pause.
"Can't you leave anything alone?" she exclaimed, turning and walking off in the opposite direction.
"What?" yelled Ron indignantly after her, but gave up as she turned the corner and disappeared from view.

Ginny was fuming as she stalked down the corridor. Why did everybody have to be so inquisitive all of a sudden? Wasn't it bad enough that she had to spend the evening with Snape, disembowelling toads, that Ron had to make it worse by broadcasting it through Gryffindor House? She was surprised he hadn't stolen Lee Jordan's magical megaphone and announced it to the entire student body.
"Special announcement to all Hogwarts students; Ginny Weasley has detention with Professor Snape."
Oh, yes. She could just imagine it now.

The clock struck half past seven in the common room, and Ginny glanced up at it in despair. Half an hour until her detention with Snape and her stomach felt no better for it.
Oh, and there they were, she thought bitterly. The dream team huddled up in their usual corner together, giggling over Gobstones or some other childish malarkey. Were they bothered that she was sitting alone, staring out of the window? Bothered that she'd been a little preoccupied of late?
She couldn't sit here any longer, she decided. The constant chatter and giggling was driving her mad. Besides, Colin Creevey would be coming in soon and that was something she just wasn't up to at all.
She got up and left the common room, nobody acknowledging her absence at all. Just a microcosm of the situation that was her life.
Anyway, you never knew. Snape might let her off a little if she turned up early. He might think it showed willing.
Wasn't that a pig flying past the window?
On the other hand, he might let her get the detention out of the way, and she wouldn't have to return at midnight like every other student who served detention with him.
She wandered lazily down the stairs, being careful to watch out for the crafty bottom stair that gave way unexpectedly beneath one's feet. The corridors were deserted after dinner that night, for which she was thankful; she didn't think she was up to sneers from the Slytherins, or sympathy from the Hufflepuffs. No, better to get this out of the way with as little fuss as possible.
And yet, how wrong she was.

It was strangely cold that night; Ginny was glad of her cloak and the minimalistic heat from the flaming torches upon the walls.
Presently, she arrived outside Snape's classroom, and tapped softly on the door, trying to calm her writhing stomach.
"Come," called a cold voice, somewhat lazily.
Ginny stepped cautiously into the familiar dungeons, and noticed a fire in the grate, projecting dancing shadows onto the dank walls. Snape was sitting behind his desk, regarding Ginny with cold disdain.
"Evening, Miss Weasley," he said, curtly, and consulted his watch. "You needn't think that turning up early will let you off the hook, either."
Ginny sighed. No surprise there.
"What do you want me to do, then?" she asked, levelly.
Snape turned to her, his fingers steepled together. "Well.I surmised that as you liked the darkness and the great outdoors so much, you could accompany me in the Forbidden Forest tonight."
He ignored Ginny's almost inaudible gasp of fright, thriving upon the fear he instilled into her, and continued in the same casual manner.
"I have several potion ingredients to obtain, and some can only be picked at the full moon."
"But.but." Ginny didn't know how to protest, or why she even dared to protest.
"What is it, Miss Weasley?" he said, irritably. "You may be sure that there are no werewolves or other beasts in the Forest. After all," he added, with a cruel smile, "Professor Lupin is no longer here."
Ginny felt a red-hot flame of anger rise inside her, and couldn't ignore it.
"Isn't that a little careless, taking me into the Forbidden Forest with the threat of the Dark over this school?" she said, her arms folded. "Not forgetting the gracious welcome we received from the Centaurs."
"I do not appreciate your sarcasm, Weasley," he snarled. "Be thankful I am accompanying you this time, and not as one of Potter's little hair- brained schemes."
Ginny gave up, but made her dislike of Snape very clear.
"I don't have my cloak," she managed to reply, at last. "I'll be cold."
Muttering savagely about unprepared, naïve Gryffindors, he crossed the room to his office and emerged with a cloak of his own, and threw it inconsiderately into Ginny's lap as he swept past her. She fingered the thick material of the cloak gently, before wrapping it shyly around her shoulders.
"Well, come on, girl," he said, with a bite of impatience. "We haven't got all night."
Ginny got up from her chair, the hem of Professor Snape's cloak just touching the floor as she followed him obediently.
She noticed how fast he walked; she practically had to run just to keep up with him. She felt extremely small and insignificant next to him, and was glad of the fact that he was using the back corridors. She didn't think she could stand Draco Malfoy sneering at her with his thugs. "Hurry up," he snarled, as they reached the castle door. "Now is not the time for dawdling, Miss Weasley."
"Sorry," she said, out of breath. She'd only been five steps behind him.
They moved outside, and Ginny shivered as the cold night air wrapped around her and clung to her body. She pulled Snape's cloak around herself more tightly, feeling vulnerable and scared.
No words were spoken between the two as they made their way silently towards the Forbidden Forest. Ginny's nerves were stretched to the limit as noises alien to her ears startled her from time to time. The musky smell of the undergrowth filled her nostrils, carried by the surprisingly warm night air.
Snape said nothing as they trudged over branches and dead leaves, pushing bits of undergrowth out of their way. Ginny noticed that, if nothing else, at least Snape had some gentlemanly decorum; he held branches away from her, rather than letting them slap back into her face. Strange, she thought idly. Maybe he was nice, or at least had been in his younger days.
A crack sounding from behind made Ginny jump and impulsively grasp hold of Professor Snape's arm.
"Get off me, you silly girl," he snarled, shaking his arm free of her. "I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be brave, and not turn into gibbering wrecks at the slightest sign of danger."
"But Professor." she began.
"Come now, Miss Weasley," he said, through gritted teeth. "I wouldn't have brought you in here if there was any danger. For one, I am not in the habit of risking my own life."
"I might have known you'd only think of yourself," muttered Ginny, under her breath. He turned to her.
"What did you say?" he asked, in a dangerously soft voice. Ginny stared at him, unable to speak, intimidated by his dark eyes that glinted ominously.
"Nothing." she faltered, looking down at the floor. He made an impatient noise under his breath and continued to walk.
Ginny still didn't feel comfortable. Her keen ears picked up the slightest movement in the undergrowth, the footfalls that she wondered whether they belonged to her.or something else.What if it was that giant? Or something worse?
Then an eerie silence descended like a thick velvet curtain around her, seeming to smother atmospheric interference. She blinked, wondering if Professor Snape felt it too.was it an enchanted patch in the Forest?
She whirled round, trying to find the source of the silence and screamed.
A tall, hooded figure advanced upon her, a rotting hand outstretching from beneath its robes, a terrible noise emanating from its throat.clutching at her, pulling her closer until she could feel the edges of her consciousness slipping away from her. Ginny had the feeling of being plunged into deep, freezing water, that flooded her nose, her mouth, her lungs.she gasped, feeling as if she was drowning. Come to me, Ginny.I see good things for you, if you do as I say.Clever girl.my apprentice of the night, the dark.
Screams echoing, reverberating around cold walls closing in on her.something slithering around her ankles, and a dark haired teenager, coaxing and persuasive, so charming.
You are like no other.Lord Voldemort will reward you.your soul will be mine.Sweet, innocent Virginia.
Desperate screams echoing in her mind, reverberating painfully in her ears.
It's right, Ginny.rid the school of the filth.release the Basilisk.kill.rip.tear.
Ginny gasped again, trying to draw air.help, somebody please help.
Then, the screams and the soft, persuasive voice grew quieter, as if being called from a distance now. The cold became more tolerable, and Ginny was able to draw breath at last.
As if through a light haze, she saw the outline of a huge silver bird.was it an eagle? It was so large, and was chasing that.that thing away, swooping upon it, making it fade away into the distance.
The last thing Ginny saw before she surrendered to unconsciousness was Professor Snape, reaching out to touch the silver eagle before it shimmered into thin air.