Chapter Six: Return To The Present
"What's wrong with her?"
"I don't know," A short pause. "She's been asleep all day."
"What did she do?"
Another short pause. "Nothing."
The voices came in and out of Ginny's hearing before she realized they were talking about her. She opened her eyes and saw two figures standing near her bed, but they were blurred. She closed her eyes tightly and moved slightly in bed, then opened them again.
"Ginny, are you awake?" Lisa was kneeling in front of her and next to her was Ron.
Ginny's eye brows furrowed in confusion. Why was her brother in her dorm? And why were they both acting as if she were sick or something. All she wanted to do was go back to sleep.
"Whussamatter?" She asked groggily.
"You've been asleep all day and I tried to wake you up but nothing worked so I went to get Ron and I brought him up here and he couldn't even wake you up and—"
Ron interrupted Lisa's run on sentence, "Gin, are you feeling well?"
Ginny searched within herself. Something did seem wrong, but she couldn't quite remember it. She was different somehow, she had changed. "I think so," She finally said.
Ron stood up, "Lisa, it's just a bad case of teen laziness. I remember sleeping entire days away…it's normal." Ron sounded relieved and before leaving, he patted Ginny on the head.
The expression on Lisa's face didn't change from worry, though.
"Do you remember anything at all?" She asked, still kneeling next to Ginny.
"What are you talking about?" But something was coming back to Ginny. Memories of something…
"Ginny, yesterday we stole a mirror from Trelawney's to look—"
"At my past lives!" Ginny's eyes widened as she shot up into a sitting position. "The mirror, get it away from me!" Ginny screamed, then began to back away from an unseen foe, crawling over her sheets, her hair getting tangled in the struggle.
"Gin!" Lisa crawled onto the bed and grabbed Ginny's arms. "Gin, it's gone. I took it back when…when you fainted."
Ginny stopped her scrambling and pushed the hair out of her eyes. "It's gone?" But it really wasn't gone, not for Ginny. The images came back fresh in her mind and it was horrible, more so than before.
"I'm so sorry, Gin," Lisa began, tears coming into her eyes. "I had no idea it would affect you like that…I wasn't thinking."
"It was horrible." Ginny started. "So very horrible…"
Lisa embraced Ginny, letting the emotions vent. Lisa didn't ask Ginny what happened. She was afraid that Ginny would close up and refuse to speak to anyone, so she let Ginny take her time. After a few minutes Lisa suggested they go down to the Great Hall to eat dinner and Ginny consented and got dressed.
The castle halls seemed foreign to Ginny. It felt like she had been gone for years and now that she was back she couldn't remember things from her present. The Great Hall was brightly lit and students were talking loudly about their Hogsmeade visit and the coming winter. The tables were piled with food and drink and all in all, it looked like the picture perfect setting for a happy life. And that's what Ginny had had, but now her innocent mind was filled with horrific images of the past.
The Gryffindors didn't seem to notice that Lisa and Ginny were both very quiet. Life went on, obviously. Ginny barely ate two bites, she just stared at her plate. Lisa would take sidelong glances at her best friend between bites, wondering what must have happened to make her like this.
Abruptly, Ginny stood up. "I'm going to go do some work." Ginny said.
Lisa got up to go with her but Ginny said she needed to do this alone. Lisa watched as Ginny left the Great Hall, then let her eyes fall back on the empty seat next to her.
~*~*~
"It wasn't real." Ginny said to herself as she was walking down the long corridors. "The mirror did something funny, I fainted, then had all these crazy dreams."
She had a hard time convincing herself, though. The images appeared when she was dreaming and she'd cry out in the night, trying to get away from the sad faces of her past lives. But the worst part was when she saw Draco. He was so much like the men she had loved; the hair, the stature, the skin. If she didn't know what a jerk Draco was, she'd have attempted to get to know him better, to see if he was capable of becoming those men from her past lives.
Draco's attitude hadn't changed one bit. Ginny naively thought that he would have been through what she had, but he was untouched by the deep emotions that now conquered Ginny. He would glare at her forcing her to stare at her feet as she passed him in the halls. She would walk the other way when she saw him coming towards her and made sure she was always in a group of other Gryffindors.
All of her careful planning in not coming in contact with Draco lasted for quiet a while, but she knew one of these days he'd catch her, and it came almost too sudden.
~*~*~
"What are you thinking?" Lisa asked, watching Ginny stare at a spot on the wall.
"Huh?" Ginny shook herself from her trance, and looked at her friend. "Nothing."
Ginny returned her attention to a scroll of parchment she had been writing an essay on, but she couldn't get the thought out of her head. What if I did make it up? She questioned herself. What if I had heard those stories before and I just dreamed of them when I fainted? There was only one way she was going to solve this mystery.
It was a cold night and Ginny had forgotten her cloak. She made her way down the stairways and corridors until she came to the library. Madame Pince was seated at her desk, deeply engrossed in a novel, when Ginny entered. She looked up, then resumed her reading. Ginny never made any problems while in the library. There were a few other people doing some studying who didn't even bother looking up—Ginny preferred it that way.
She went directly to the book catalog and pointed her wand towards the drawers, while saying, "Ancient Egyptian History." A few drawers shot open and about two dozen cards floated out, allowing Ginny to catch them. Ginny flipped through the cards, pulling out three total. She put the rest of the cards back then headed towards the shelves with the books she wanted. Once she got the books she set them down in a secluded part of the library and began going through them, all the while saying, "It was a figment of my imagination. I dreamt all of it, it's not real." Until she opened to a certain page. Her heart stopped as she read the passage, then slammed the book shut.
"No," She moaned. But it was there, in black and white. Anukaya's—her—life. "Ok, so maybe I had heard about her before and incorporated her in my dream." But she some how doubted that.
She went back to the card catalog and searched for the subjects of the other lives she had dreamed of. Each and every one was found in books, their stories told for all to see. Her story, her lives, her mistakes and love. She ran her hands through her hair and rested her head on the table and began to cry.
"What's the matter?" A malicious voice asked, startling Ginny to look up. "Suddenly found out your too dim-witted to learn anything?"
Ginny's eyes began to water as she saw Draco come towards her. He was so much like Kai and Paco and all the others. He looked exactly the same; the same blonde hair, the same facial features, the same physique. It hurt Ginny to see him and know that he hated her. It tore her up inside.
"He's none of them." She whispered to herself.
"What's that?" He spat.
Ginny tightened her eyes shut and clinched her fists. "He's not them, he's someone else."
"Look, Weasley, if you're going to talk to yourself you should be sent to St. Mungo's."
"Draco, why are you like this to me?" Ginny asked.
Draco was startled, but soon regained his indifferent composure. "What would you have me be?"
Ginny bit her bottom lip to prevent the answer she wanted to shout out. She could taste the metallic flavor of blood in her mouth before she couldn't take it any more and she rushed past him and out the library.
Draco watched her retreating back, then kicked the table in front of him. He had no idea why he was like that to her. He just had these sudden impulses to hurt her and humiliate her, like he was avenging himself. He had justified once that he was getting back at Ron through his sister, but tonight he realized it wasn't that at all. Looking down on the table was a book opened halfway through. At the top of the page was the title, Muggle Life, vol. 6; Mysterious Happenings at the Turn of the Century. He skimmed the page until he came to a Muggle picture of a young man wearing a suit. It was in black and white, but that didn't stop Draco from looking at it wide eyed.
"What is this?"
Draco ran his hand over the picture, noting the all too familiar features, for they were his. He read the article;
"One mystery that has never been solved happened in late summer on a ship crossing the Atlantic, which set sale from Liverpool, England, and docked in New York with three less passengers.
"Phillip Donovan, the son of a wealthy lord in England, Gustave Morreau, and Hellen Richards disappeared the night before the ship docked. No one knows for sure what had happened, but it was supposed at the time that they fell to their deaths. The railing on the port side was broken, but that was their only clue. Many said it was a plot to kill the wealthy young bachelor that went awry. Phillip and Hellen had been seen previously to have become intimate—"
Draco stopped reading and slammed the book shut. He didn't know why Ginny was looking at this…perhaps she wasn't even reading this article. He had almost reasoned with himself that it was just a coincidence that this man happened to resemble him, when his eyes rested on another book that opened to a full-page portrait of another man that looked like him. The clothes looked extremely old, resembling those which Nearly Headless Nick wore. He leaned in closer to get a better look, then shied away.
"Crap, it's me!"
But wait--of course it wasn't him. He was here…and he can't be here and there at the same time. Draco backed away from the table, then ran out of the library.
~*~*~
Ginny knew Draco was staring at her. She could feel his gaze bore into her back, forcing her to turn around. She forced her mind on the conversation that was being said and looked intent upon the food on her plate. When her friends got up she got up, walking past the Slytherin table, keeping her eyes away from Draco. Ginny was thankful that now breakfast was over she could continue her day without worrying about Draco. That was when the strap of her bag broke.
"No!" Ginny screamed as notes fell out and an ink bottle bust open.
Ginny looked up and saw her group of friends hadn't noticed her dilemma, they were walking further away from her down the corridor. She hurriedly began shoving papers in her bag and was prepared to use a cleaning spell on the ink when she felt a cold shiver down her back. Before she could turn around she felt him come up behind her.
"You can't run from me forever." He whispered into her ear as he grabbed her wrist, tightening his grip.
Ginny's heart began to race within her chest. The blood was pounding in her head and fear began to take over. The pain in her wrist wasn't as strong as it should have been, for her every thought was bent on trying to get away.
"Ow!" Ginny screamed, finally feeling the sharp pain shoot up her arm. "What are you trying to do, break my arm?"
"I want some answers!"
Ginny quickly turned around, hoping that she would startle Draco into letting her go, but his grip was ever tighter.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Ginny reached her other hand towards Draco's fingers, trying to pry him off of her.
"Listen!" Draco grabbed her other hand and gave her a quick shake. "What were you doing in the library last night?" Silence. "Answer me!"
"Homework!" Ginny shouted, wincing in pain.
"Tell me the truth now." Ginny closed her eyes, willing him to leave. "You were in the library, doing I don't know what, but it had to do with me."
Ginny's eyes opened wide, How did he know that?
"So it's true." Draco smiled. "Don't look at me as if I'm reading your mind. Even a three year old could read your face like a book. But I don't know what you wanted. Why?"
Before Draco could force another answer out of her they heard foot steps coming towards them. Other students were coming out of the Great Hall to get to their first classes. Draco released his hold on Ginny's arm and she began to rub the sore spot.
"We'll meet again, Weasley, and you'll tell me everything." Draco walked away from her as if they had just had friendly little chat.
Ginny fell to the floor, forcing back the flood gate. She picked her things up off the ground and headed towards her first class.
~*~*~
The day ended and found Ginny sitting alone by the common room fire. Students were getting geared up for the Holiday Seasons, McGonogall had come around that day and took the names down of those students who'd be staying. Her and Ron were going to be staying at Hogwarts, partly because the house would be full to brimming with all the relatives visiting, and partly because they wanted to keep Harry company. But Ginny's thoughts were far from the Holidays.
Ginny looked up at all the faces around her. They looked so happy and so content, like nothing could tarnish their joy. Even Harry, who had been through far worse than she, seemed to be having a great time. Why was this affecting her so much? Her eyes rested on Lisa. More than once she had wanted to tell Lisa everything, but she couldn't find the courage. Lisa would believe her, but she didn't want to be asked a thousand questions and have to go through things more than once. But tonight Ginny gave way to her impulse.
"Lisa!" Ginny called. "Could you come here a minute?"
Lisa excused herself from a conversation with Dean and walked over to Ginny, sitting next to her. "What is it?"
Ginny took a deep breath, "I'm ready to tell you what happened."
Lisa's expression grew serious and she nodded her head.
Ginny related everything that had happened, every detail she could remember. When she was finally finished it felt like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She should have known that sharing her troubles with her best friend would help.
"Wow," Lisa finally said. "And Draco looked like all the other boys?" Ginny nodded her head. "Gin, I know you probably don't want to hear this, but I think Draco and you—that is—you're destined for each other."
Ginny moaned, "Please don't say that."
"No, Ginny, I really believe that's it."
"But he hates me! Look what he did to me today!" Ginny raised her arms and showed the red marks that were left over from earlier.
"You said your last life he died before you could confess your love…before you could tell him you really loved him, contradicting that other guy. He called you a temptress…a traitor." Lisa paused. "Ginny, Draco carried those feelings into this life and he's taking his revenge, so to speak."
"No, no, no!" Ginny cried. "It can't be!"
Lisa looked sadly at her friend. It felt horrible not being able to do something about this, to watch someone you care about go through a tough trial.
"What am I going to do?" Ginny asked.
"You have to tell him," Lisa said.
"Yeah, how? 'Draco, I know you hate me and want to see me writhing on the floor in pain, but we're meant to be lovers, so let's put away these bad feelings snog in the nearest empty class room.' I'm sure he'd go for that."
"I don't know what to tell you Gin."
Ginny breathed deeply, then got up from the couch. She walked out of the common room into a cold corridor. She paced back and forth outside the portrait of the Fat Lady, then began to walk away. She knew Draco would be lurking somewhere, trying to take his anger out on someone else since Ginny wasn't around. Well, Ginny was going to make herself available. For better or worse, she was seeking him out.
He wasn't in the Great Hall, nor was he down by the dungeons. She had thought about checking the Quidditch Pitch, but it was snowing outside, and no person in their right mind would venture out of doors. The library was her last resort, and if he wasn't in there she was going to give up.
Only a few seventh years were in the library, trying to get a hard start on their studies and be prepared for their N.E.W.T.'s. Ginny searched the many nooks and sitting areas of the library before she came across the boy she was looking for. He was seated at a round table, a few books opened around him, a quill in his hand. His back was towards her, so he didn't notice as she walked up behind him. He was running his finger down a column in one of the books and was just beginning to write something down on a piece of parchment when Ginny made her presence known.
"Ahem," She cleared her throat. "I'm reading to tell you everything."