(A/N: I know this chappy is short, but my computer is acting really weird
and shutting down with no apparent reason, so I want to get this posted
before it starts doing it's crazy thing again!
Thanks for all your reviews, I love all of them, love them love them! I'll try and get the next chapter out as soon as I think of what's gonna happen next! Suggestions and comments are appreciated!
Oh yeah, everyone that reviews while signed in, I just wanna say that I go to your profiles and I glance at your stories, so if you recommend any of your stories, tell me in the review!
Jahnay!)
Chapter Sixteen: Waterfall
The woods had never been as gloomy as it was that night. The dark cloud that had merely loomed over the moon now covered the entire night sky, and the branches of the trees were as still as death. But there were many things moving on the ground, pinpricks of wand light indicating where they were. Some were hunting-others being hunted.
Draco knew his Father was resilient and would have woken up by now and that all the men he had would be swarming the woods in search for them. He wondered if Lucius had thought they had left already, through the Floo Network, but knew Lucius would investigate the room and remember that they had knocked the Floo Powder off the mantle during their struggle. Looking from side to side, Draco often fancied he saw movement not too far away from them, but it seemed they were safe for the moment.
Draco was in the lead, followed closely behind by Ginny, then Sam and Cort. Ginny had tried to make small talk with the other two prisoners, but Draco had hushed them up quick, warning that their voices would carry in the woods and give them away. It felt like suicide trying to rescue the rest, but he knew Ginny would keep her word and stay here until everyone was safe-even if it meant risking her own life.
They had walked up and down the entire wood, going from one dungeon to the next, rescuing the students. There were Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, all of different ages. But the one thing they had in common were parents with high rank in the Ministry. Most of them seemed okay, but a few of the younger ones were very pale and looked as if they would keel over. Ginny instructed the strongest to stand on either side of the weak ones in case they fainted.
"Alright," Ginny whispered to Draco once they emptied the last dungeon. "Now what?"
"You're asking me?" Draco hissed. "I thought this was your rescue mission."
"Draco, this is no time to act like a spoiled brat!"
Draco rolled his eyes, "I know of only one more way out, but it's very dangerous, and I've never done it before." By now everyone in the group was listening. "The stream ends on the east side of the woods, and drops of a cliff into a waterfall. My Father, when enchanting this place, couldn't place a charm on the water to prevent people from coming or going, and the charm stops at the waterfall."
"But-"
"But you have to jump."
"What?" One of the older boys said. "Jump? Are you kidding me?"
"Jump?" A young girl whispered. "But won't we die?"
"Yeah, how do we know he's not working for dear old Dad?" Another student interjected, causing the rest of the kids to put their opinions in, making quite a din.
"Everybody!" Ginny said as loudly as she dared. "Please, keep it quiet and let me speak." The conversations stopped. "Draco risked his life more than once tonight for our sakes, and it would be considerate to remember that. I for one trust him and will do anything he says."
Ginny looked at Draco, but it was hard to detect his emotion for the single wandlight barely cast any light on his face. Ginny took the silence to mean a sign of consent from the rest.
"Right, we'll follow you then."
Draco turned around and headed towards the stream.
~*~*~
"Master, we have not found them yet." A very skinny man with a sickly complexion said as he came up to Lucius.
"Well then I suggest you look again!" Lucius roared, pushing the man so hard he fell onto his back.
"But, sir, we believe-we believe that your son is with them."
Lucius stared down at the man, "What makes you think that?"
"He's emptied all the dungeons, and no one would know where they all are." The man flinched, thinking Malfoy would deal him another violent blow for this news as well, but he slowly opened his eyes when he felt no such physical contact.
"The waterfall-" Lucius hissed. "They're headed towards the waterfall! Quick! Gather all the men and meet me there!"
Lucius watched as the slim man ran out into the woods, then looked in the direction where the only weakness of his magic was. If it was true, then Draco had betrayed him. Lucius would not suffer a son, who betrayed his own blood, to live another day on this earth.
~*~*~
The anticipation was like an invisible field that surrounded the students. They had found the stream and were following it due east for about ten minutes when they first heard the rush of falling water. The sound grew louder and louder, and their pace quickened and their hope increased.
Draco was walking alongside Ginny and he would occasionally take sidelong glances down at her face. The wand light illuminated her face and he could see a small smile where once there was a frown. He'd seen her smile many times at school as he was walking in the halls, but never had she looked more resplendent than tonight. The energy that was coming from her was electric as well. He was all too aware of her presence, the way she moved her legs and arms, the steady rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. He noticed that she had a habit of pushing her hair behind her ears, and he nearly smiled after counting that she had done it ten times in the last five minutes.
The sound had finally reached its loudest point, and just behind the next few trees the edge of a very tall cliff protruded in the night sky. The students all clamored to the edge to look down at the huge valley below. One kid pointed out the small lights that looked to be no more than twenty miles away, which was obviously a town of some sort.
"Why can't we just climb down the cliff wall?" One boy asked.
"Go ahead, try." Draco raised an eyebrow.
Everyone held their breath as the daring kid took one long stare at Draco, then went nearer to the edge. He was bending down on his hands and knees so that he could swing his feet out under him first, but just as he was pushing his foot over the cliff he screamed in pain and it took two more kids to pull him away from the cliff before he stopped.
"Draco!" Ginny exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell him what would happen?"
Ginny didn't wait for a reply but went to the boy's aid.
"It was like sharp knives cutting from the inside out." The boy could barely say through his deep intakes of breath.
A few of the girls glared at Draco while the boys looked like they were ready to pummel him.
"Oh no," A small first year cried. "We're prisoners twice over!"
"Don't worry," Ginny said. "We're going to escape twice over as well." Ginny got back off the ground then headed towards Draco. "Ok, what do we do first?"
"Well," Draco said. "You get in the water and jump."
"Hmm," Ginny peered over the ledge. "It looks about fifteen-maybe twenty-feet. Nothing that will kill us. I think we've all had terrible falls like this, especially us that play Quidditch."
A few of the kids nodded their heads, filling everyone with a little more hope. Draco instructed everyone to line up so they would go one at a time. It wouldn't do for all of them to jump at once and fall on top of each other on their way down, probably drowning in the process. It was decided that after one kid jumped, they would wait two minutes before the next one would go.
The water was icy cold causing cold shivers to coarse up and down everyone's spine as they entered the river. The first student took a deep breath, plugged their nose with her thumb and forefinger, then took the jump. Those daring enough to get close to the waters edge couldn't see a single thing or hear even a splash. The seconds went by slowly as someone kept time with their watch. After two minutes the next kid jumped, everyone hoping and praying that they had made it safely. One by one the students all jumped until only Draco and Ginny remained.
Ginny demanded to go first, which wasn't fine at all with Draco. He watched as she waded in the water towards the edge, at the same time trying to fight off the current pushing her. If she were going to go over it would be on her terms. Closer and closer she got until Draco couldn't keep quiet any more.
"Wait!" Draco yelled, rushing towards her.
Ginny turned around with a confused expression on her face. "What is it?"
"I don't think you should jump."
"Draco, this is no time to act macho and go first! Just let me jump!"
"No!" Draco reached out and grabbed her by her forearm.
"Let go!" Ginny tried to pry his fingers off of her, but the water made his skin and her skin slippery.
"Ginny, I don't even know if anyone can survive the jump-we should find another way out."
"What?" She said incredulously. "You mean to say you let all those people jump, only to tell me now that you doubt any of them survived?"
Draco nodded his head.
"I can't believe this! I'm going any way!"
"No, please-you must stay!"
Ginny looked into his eyes and felt a sudden case of déjà vu, as if he had said those words to her before, in another time. . . another place. . .
"Draco, I'm going to jump." She said calmly. "Nothing will happen to me-or to you."
"But-but-" Draco had never been known to be speechless. Throughout his whole life he always had an answer for everything and a smart remark for any comment. But right now he couldn't find the words that could describe this horrible fear of losing her. He couldn't put into words what his feelings were-he couldn't even explain it to himself. So, throwing all caution to the wind, he decided action would indeed speak louder than words in this case.
Draco brought his hand up behind Ginny's head, entwining his fingers in her wet hair. He brought his head closer to hers while gently bringing her own head towards himself. And then, when their lips met, it was as if nothing else in the world mattered. As if their entire lives had led up to this single moment, this kiss, which sent warm rivers of sunshine up and down Ginny's body, this is what she had wanted all along, only she didn't know it. Draco also felt the heat rise up within him and the feel of her lips trembling, but ready for more. He would have given anything to let this moment last forever.
There was something else though, something darker. "As long as time goes on you will forever be separated, spending eternity longing.but never having." The words echoed around Draco's mind. And then he felt as if they were being watched.
The kiss ended sooner than either of the two wanted it to, but Draco quickly turned his head away just in time to see a group of tall men, silhouetted in the darkness, just yards away. They were getting closer by the second, and Draco and Ginny were in plain view.
"There!" Someone yelled, and suddenly the sky was alight with curses being hurtled their way. Some of them sizzled as they hit the water, others hitting bushes on the other side, causing them to light on fire, only making the two easier targets.
Draco began pushing Ginny towards the waters edge, knowing she would have a better chance with the twenty-foot drop, than with Lucius and his thugs. The curses kept pelting their way, the men getting closer and closer until Draco and Ginny could see their faces. Lucius looked down at them and for a split second saw a look of shock cross his face, but it cleared so fast. He rose his wand and pointed it at them.
"Go, Ginny! Now!" Draco yelled.
"I'm not leaving you." Ginny hung on tight to his arm.
"So, my son not only betrays me, but is in alliance with my worst enemy?" Lucius' cold voice was malevolently louder than the din. "Well, I was just going to kill you, but now I'm really angry. Death would be too quick-too easy for you."
Draco held his breath, prepared for the Cruciatus Curse, but wasn't prepared for what would happen next. In one quick movement Lucius pointed his wand at Ginny and yelled an inaudible curse, and suddenly Draco could no longer feel Ginny's small fingers clamped tightly around his arm. He looked down and saw that Ginny was floating face up in the water, her features pale, her dark hair haloing her face.
A terrible pain was wrenching at Draco's heart, and he feared the worst. "So this is how we'll be separated in this life." Draco said to himself. His pain was turned quickly to anger and he moved as if he had had his next movements planned from the very start.
He grabbed the wand that was still clutched in Ginny's other hand and began shouting curses, pointing at one robed figure after the other. His aim was true, and nearly all of them fell to the ground. The others were trying to help their comrades, but Lucius never took his eyes, or his wand, off of his son. The curses shot back and forth as Draco slowly made his way to the waters edge.
"I'll kill you!" He shouted. "I'll not rest until I see your corpse rotting in front of my eyes!" And with that Draco leapt off the edge, Ginny clutched in his arms, down, down, down to the darkness below.
Thanks for all your reviews, I love all of them, love them love them! I'll try and get the next chapter out as soon as I think of what's gonna happen next! Suggestions and comments are appreciated!
Oh yeah, everyone that reviews while signed in, I just wanna say that I go to your profiles and I glance at your stories, so if you recommend any of your stories, tell me in the review!
Jahnay!)
Chapter Sixteen: Waterfall
The woods had never been as gloomy as it was that night. The dark cloud that had merely loomed over the moon now covered the entire night sky, and the branches of the trees were as still as death. But there were many things moving on the ground, pinpricks of wand light indicating where they were. Some were hunting-others being hunted.
Draco knew his Father was resilient and would have woken up by now and that all the men he had would be swarming the woods in search for them. He wondered if Lucius had thought they had left already, through the Floo Network, but knew Lucius would investigate the room and remember that they had knocked the Floo Powder off the mantle during their struggle. Looking from side to side, Draco often fancied he saw movement not too far away from them, but it seemed they were safe for the moment.
Draco was in the lead, followed closely behind by Ginny, then Sam and Cort. Ginny had tried to make small talk with the other two prisoners, but Draco had hushed them up quick, warning that their voices would carry in the woods and give them away. It felt like suicide trying to rescue the rest, but he knew Ginny would keep her word and stay here until everyone was safe-even if it meant risking her own life.
They had walked up and down the entire wood, going from one dungeon to the next, rescuing the students. There were Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, all of different ages. But the one thing they had in common were parents with high rank in the Ministry. Most of them seemed okay, but a few of the younger ones were very pale and looked as if they would keel over. Ginny instructed the strongest to stand on either side of the weak ones in case they fainted.
"Alright," Ginny whispered to Draco once they emptied the last dungeon. "Now what?"
"You're asking me?" Draco hissed. "I thought this was your rescue mission."
"Draco, this is no time to act like a spoiled brat!"
Draco rolled his eyes, "I know of only one more way out, but it's very dangerous, and I've never done it before." By now everyone in the group was listening. "The stream ends on the east side of the woods, and drops of a cliff into a waterfall. My Father, when enchanting this place, couldn't place a charm on the water to prevent people from coming or going, and the charm stops at the waterfall."
"But-"
"But you have to jump."
"What?" One of the older boys said. "Jump? Are you kidding me?"
"Jump?" A young girl whispered. "But won't we die?"
"Yeah, how do we know he's not working for dear old Dad?" Another student interjected, causing the rest of the kids to put their opinions in, making quite a din.
"Everybody!" Ginny said as loudly as she dared. "Please, keep it quiet and let me speak." The conversations stopped. "Draco risked his life more than once tonight for our sakes, and it would be considerate to remember that. I for one trust him and will do anything he says."
Ginny looked at Draco, but it was hard to detect his emotion for the single wandlight barely cast any light on his face. Ginny took the silence to mean a sign of consent from the rest.
"Right, we'll follow you then."
Draco turned around and headed towards the stream.
~*~*~
"Master, we have not found them yet." A very skinny man with a sickly complexion said as he came up to Lucius.
"Well then I suggest you look again!" Lucius roared, pushing the man so hard he fell onto his back.
"But, sir, we believe-we believe that your son is with them."
Lucius stared down at the man, "What makes you think that?"
"He's emptied all the dungeons, and no one would know where they all are." The man flinched, thinking Malfoy would deal him another violent blow for this news as well, but he slowly opened his eyes when he felt no such physical contact.
"The waterfall-" Lucius hissed. "They're headed towards the waterfall! Quick! Gather all the men and meet me there!"
Lucius watched as the slim man ran out into the woods, then looked in the direction where the only weakness of his magic was. If it was true, then Draco had betrayed him. Lucius would not suffer a son, who betrayed his own blood, to live another day on this earth.
~*~*~
The anticipation was like an invisible field that surrounded the students. They had found the stream and were following it due east for about ten minutes when they first heard the rush of falling water. The sound grew louder and louder, and their pace quickened and their hope increased.
Draco was walking alongside Ginny and he would occasionally take sidelong glances down at her face. The wand light illuminated her face and he could see a small smile where once there was a frown. He'd seen her smile many times at school as he was walking in the halls, but never had she looked more resplendent than tonight. The energy that was coming from her was electric as well. He was all too aware of her presence, the way she moved her legs and arms, the steady rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. He noticed that she had a habit of pushing her hair behind her ears, and he nearly smiled after counting that she had done it ten times in the last five minutes.
The sound had finally reached its loudest point, and just behind the next few trees the edge of a very tall cliff protruded in the night sky. The students all clamored to the edge to look down at the huge valley below. One kid pointed out the small lights that looked to be no more than twenty miles away, which was obviously a town of some sort.
"Why can't we just climb down the cliff wall?" One boy asked.
"Go ahead, try." Draco raised an eyebrow.
Everyone held their breath as the daring kid took one long stare at Draco, then went nearer to the edge. He was bending down on his hands and knees so that he could swing his feet out under him first, but just as he was pushing his foot over the cliff he screamed in pain and it took two more kids to pull him away from the cliff before he stopped.
"Draco!" Ginny exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell him what would happen?"
Ginny didn't wait for a reply but went to the boy's aid.
"It was like sharp knives cutting from the inside out." The boy could barely say through his deep intakes of breath.
A few of the girls glared at Draco while the boys looked like they were ready to pummel him.
"Oh no," A small first year cried. "We're prisoners twice over!"
"Don't worry," Ginny said. "We're going to escape twice over as well." Ginny got back off the ground then headed towards Draco. "Ok, what do we do first?"
"Well," Draco said. "You get in the water and jump."
"Hmm," Ginny peered over the ledge. "It looks about fifteen-maybe twenty-feet. Nothing that will kill us. I think we've all had terrible falls like this, especially us that play Quidditch."
A few of the kids nodded their heads, filling everyone with a little more hope. Draco instructed everyone to line up so they would go one at a time. It wouldn't do for all of them to jump at once and fall on top of each other on their way down, probably drowning in the process. It was decided that after one kid jumped, they would wait two minutes before the next one would go.
The water was icy cold causing cold shivers to coarse up and down everyone's spine as they entered the river. The first student took a deep breath, plugged their nose with her thumb and forefinger, then took the jump. Those daring enough to get close to the waters edge couldn't see a single thing or hear even a splash. The seconds went by slowly as someone kept time with their watch. After two minutes the next kid jumped, everyone hoping and praying that they had made it safely. One by one the students all jumped until only Draco and Ginny remained.
Ginny demanded to go first, which wasn't fine at all with Draco. He watched as she waded in the water towards the edge, at the same time trying to fight off the current pushing her. If she were going to go over it would be on her terms. Closer and closer she got until Draco couldn't keep quiet any more.
"Wait!" Draco yelled, rushing towards her.
Ginny turned around with a confused expression on her face. "What is it?"
"I don't think you should jump."
"Draco, this is no time to act macho and go first! Just let me jump!"
"No!" Draco reached out and grabbed her by her forearm.
"Let go!" Ginny tried to pry his fingers off of her, but the water made his skin and her skin slippery.
"Ginny, I don't even know if anyone can survive the jump-we should find another way out."
"What?" She said incredulously. "You mean to say you let all those people jump, only to tell me now that you doubt any of them survived?"
Draco nodded his head.
"I can't believe this! I'm going any way!"
"No, please-you must stay!"
Ginny looked into his eyes and felt a sudden case of déjà vu, as if he had said those words to her before, in another time. . . another place. . .
"Draco, I'm going to jump." She said calmly. "Nothing will happen to me-or to you."
"But-but-" Draco had never been known to be speechless. Throughout his whole life he always had an answer for everything and a smart remark for any comment. But right now he couldn't find the words that could describe this horrible fear of losing her. He couldn't put into words what his feelings were-he couldn't even explain it to himself. So, throwing all caution to the wind, he decided action would indeed speak louder than words in this case.
Draco brought his hand up behind Ginny's head, entwining his fingers in her wet hair. He brought his head closer to hers while gently bringing her own head towards himself. And then, when their lips met, it was as if nothing else in the world mattered. As if their entire lives had led up to this single moment, this kiss, which sent warm rivers of sunshine up and down Ginny's body, this is what she had wanted all along, only she didn't know it. Draco also felt the heat rise up within him and the feel of her lips trembling, but ready for more. He would have given anything to let this moment last forever.
There was something else though, something darker. "As long as time goes on you will forever be separated, spending eternity longing.but never having." The words echoed around Draco's mind. And then he felt as if they were being watched.
The kiss ended sooner than either of the two wanted it to, but Draco quickly turned his head away just in time to see a group of tall men, silhouetted in the darkness, just yards away. They were getting closer by the second, and Draco and Ginny were in plain view.
"There!" Someone yelled, and suddenly the sky was alight with curses being hurtled their way. Some of them sizzled as they hit the water, others hitting bushes on the other side, causing them to light on fire, only making the two easier targets.
Draco began pushing Ginny towards the waters edge, knowing she would have a better chance with the twenty-foot drop, than with Lucius and his thugs. The curses kept pelting their way, the men getting closer and closer until Draco and Ginny could see their faces. Lucius looked down at them and for a split second saw a look of shock cross his face, but it cleared so fast. He rose his wand and pointed it at them.
"Go, Ginny! Now!" Draco yelled.
"I'm not leaving you." Ginny hung on tight to his arm.
"So, my son not only betrays me, but is in alliance with my worst enemy?" Lucius' cold voice was malevolently louder than the din. "Well, I was just going to kill you, but now I'm really angry. Death would be too quick-too easy for you."
Draco held his breath, prepared for the Cruciatus Curse, but wasn't prepared for what would happen next. In one quick movement Lucius pointed his wand at Ginny and yelled an inaudible curse, and suddenly Draco could no longer feel Ginny's small fingers clamped tightly around his arm. He looked down and saw that Ginny was floating face up in the water, her features pale, her dark hair haloing her face.
A terrible pain was wrenching at Draco's heart, and he feared the worst. "So this is how we'll be separated in this life." Draco said to himself. His pain was turned quickly to anger and he moved as if he had had his next movements planned from the very start.
He grabbed the wand that was still clutched in Ginny's other hand and began shouting curses, pointing at one robed figure after the other. His aim was true, and nearly all of them fell to the ground. The others were trying to help their comrades, but Lucius never took his eyes, or his wand, off of his son. The curses shot back and forth as Draco slowly made his way to the waters edge.
"I'll kill you!" He shouted. "I'll not rest until I see your corpse rotting in front of my eyes!" And with that Draco leapt off the edge, Ginny clutched in his arms, down, down, down to the darkness below.