(A/N: I finally updated! OMG, it's a miracle! C'est un miracle! I was
busy doing other things, which I know is now excuse, but hey, it's the only
one I got! I think y'all will enjoy this!
Salut!)
Chapter Seventeen: Father vs. Son
The water was needle pricking cold and as dark as velvet. The sky was still covered in clouds making it near impossible to see the dark shadowing lump floating down the river, coming from the direction of the falls.
The water embraced Draco in its ice cold arms, lapping over his body, entering his throat and lungs. He tried to move his arms, but they were paralyzed. The water was slowly numbing him from any feeling, except that of coldness itself. He'd been here before, he knew, in the water and the darkness, but he did not survive that time. He wondered if he'd survive this time before blacking out.
"Look!" One of the students yelled, pointing towards the lump.
Three of them entered the river, fighting the currents to get to the lump before it went flying past them. They grabbed hold of it with much difficulty and slowly carried it back to shore. The lump was separate into two people; Ginny and Draco. Both looked as if they were dead, their complexion pale and clammy. Upon closer inspection they realized that Draco was breathing.
"What happened?" He asked, sitting up, trying to fight back the headache.
"What do you mean, 'what happened?'" Someone yelled, bending down towards Draco. "We waited for you two then panicked when we saw lights up there on the cliff. We thought you were caught! We sent a few of us to try and climb the cliff, but that blasted enchantment won't let anyone get more than six feet up! How about you tell us what happened?"
Draco brought his hand to his head, trying to massage the pain out of his mind. The memories were slowly coming back to him. Him and Ginny were up there and he-he kissed her and-Then Lucius came! Draco quickly looked around, as if the man himself would appear suddenly and take his life. Then his eyes fell on Ginny.
"Ginny!" He yelled, shaking her by the arm. "Ginny, please, oh please wake up!"
"Some one bring her around." A voice said.
"We don't have our wands!"
"Here's Ginny's wand!"
"Don't!" A rather stern voice commanded. "I think it's best if she stays the way she is. She has some pretty bad injuries and if we wake her up it'll just make it worse for her."
"Is she even alive?"
Someone bent down to investigate while another person gently pried Draco off of Ginny's arm. It was confirmed; Ginny was alive, but barely. The group demanded to know what happened up there, but Draco refused to tell anyone until they were on their way out of there. Draco took Ginny's wand and levitated her so she floated alongside him as they walked. While they went through the forest, always staying close to the river, Draco related the incident up on the cliff and warned that just because they had no floo powder and that apparating inside the enchantment was impossible, didn't mean that Lucius wouldn't have a back up plan. He guessed that within twenty minutes they would start being hunted.
A few of the younger kids were scared by this news and one of the seventh years glared at Draco. "You could have left out the details about what they would do to us if we're caught."
"Excuse me, although you Hufflepuffs think ignorance is bliss, I believe knowledge is power. If we know-and I mean everyone knows-then we can better understand the consequences of foolish actions we might otherwise make."
They all walked in silence, occasionally looked behind them to make sure they weren't being followed. Their muscles, which had been unused for over a month, were aching terribly from the strain, but no one even dared ask to take a rest. One look at Draco's face and they knew he would not be so generous. He kept assuring them by saying the village was just a few more miles up ahead, and that once they reached it they could somehow contact a Ministry Official.
"How?" Someone asked, bewildered.
"Telephone." Draco stated.
"What's that?" More than one person asked.
Draco rolled his eyes. "It's a Muggle device used to contact other people from great distances."
"How?"
"I don't know how!" He shouted, irritated with all the questions. "Now save your breath!"
"If he hates Muggles so much," A girl in the back whispered to the boy next to her, "Then how come he knows so much about them?"
"I don't know," the boy shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe he doesn't hate Muggles."
~*~*~
Lucius was seething. His son, his own flesh and blood, and betrayed him and his family name. He felt himself completely justified if he did away with the Malfoy heir, but not just yet. He felt himself hurt and he wanted to see Draco hurt before his life was ended.
"What's taking so long?" Lucuis shouted at the men.
"Sir, all the brooms have been broken except this one and there's no more Floo powder." A man held up Draco's broom.
"Well, then I will go alone. Wait here." Lucius took the broom then stepped out of the building.
Looking up he could see the dark ominous clouds hanging over him. It would most likely rain before sunrise, but that did not matter. He knew Draco would be leading those pathetic kids to that Muggle village down the river. He didn't even care about the rest, as long as he had Draco and the Weasley girl, he could forget about his other hostages.
Lucius mounted the broom, then kicked off into the night air and followed the path of the river.
~*~*~
The lights from the town were slowly beginning to be seen through the trees, which were already beginning to become scarce. Bird calls rose up in the air, foretelling the sunrise that wasn't too far off. Everyone was glad that their long, tiring and rather frightful journey was finally going to come to an end. Everyone but Draco.
It was odd, he thought, that they hadn't been caught. He had retrieved Ginny's wand and was no gripping it tightly, expecting to use it in the near future. It just wasn't like his Father to give up and forget about it. Draco knew that if Lucius wasn't on his way at the moment, he was most likely cursing everyone in sight and demanding to be shown a way out of the enchanted wood. As Draco was furrowing his brows together, thinking these thoughts, a dark shadow passed over the group of kids, followed by a loud swishing noise.
"Look out!" Someone yelled, but it was too late.
There, standing in front of Draco a few yards away, was Lucius Malfoy holding a broom in one hand and a wand in the other. His lip was curled at seeing his son walking alongside the floating figure of Ginny Weasley. Draco narrowed his eyes at his Father, and slowly stepped to the side, shielding Ginny from his Father.
"So," Lucius whispered, "You've chosen to fight against the Dark Lord? To fight for Muggles?"
Draco didn't respond.
"Answer me!" Lucius shouted, then pointed his wand at Draco.
A bright red light sparkled from the tip of Lucius wand and then it zoomed towards Draco. He lifted his own wand and used the counter curse, causing the red light to sizzle and fade away. The rest of the students started running away, ducking for cover behind a bush or a fallen tree. Lights from both sides zoomed through the air, missing their targets and instead hitting trees or fading into the night sky.
"What'd you do to her?" Draco shouted as he flung a curse at his Father.
"I tried to kill her." He growled, dodging the curse and sending one of his own in return.
"Well it didn't work." Draco sounded almost triumphant, as if the failed murder of Ginny Weasley meant the whole war was over.
"It seems that a curses power diminishes somewhat in water," Lucius paused to block a curse. "But I'd be very much surprised if that girl lived to see morning."
Draco gritted his teeth and lunged at his Father. He didn't care about wands anymore, or that the one he was holding was dropped to the ground. All he wanted to do was hurt the man he once called Father. To use his own hands, to feel himself pound the flesh that was his own as well. Lucius had not expected that at all, and was caught off guard. The were both on the ground, Draco on top and pounding at intervals Lucius' head and ribs. Once the man regained his wits he squirmed and struggled and finally was able to get out from beneath his son.
There they stood, Father and son. Lucius had his wand pointed directly at Draco's chest, and Draco was wandless.
"After I kill you," He whispered. "I'll finish her."
"No you won't!" A man shouted not too far away.
Both of them turned towards the voice and saw Arthur Weasley, backed by at least a dozen Aurors, all pointing their wands at Lucius. Before they could get to the two Malfoys Lucius had disapparated, leaving Draco alone.
What happened next passed by in a blur. All Draco could think about was Ginny, and he rushed towards her side, letting everyone else fend for themselves. The students came out from their hiding places and began yelling at the top of their lungs, each one trying to be heard over the other to tell what had happened.
".We were kidnapped and taken to this wood-"
".I was so hungry and they gave us horrible food that smelled and tasted like-"
".It was cold and only Phillip was there. He tried to get out once but then they hurt him-"
".And then Ginny and Draco came and they had the keys. At first I didn't trust Draco, but-"
".There was this waterfall and we all jumped, but when Ginny didn't come, were scared-"
".And Lucius tried to kill Ginny, but Draco fought him. Blood brilliant fight-"
"Everyone, quiet!" One of the Aurors yelled.
Silence filled around them.
"Now listen. We are taking you all to St. Mungos where you will be examined and retained for at least twenty four hours. We will call your parents and if everything checks out, then you'll be able to go home."
One by one, small groups of kids used Port-keys to get to St. Mungos, each group accompanied by an Auror or two. Everyone passed by Draco, who was still on the ground by Ginny, sitting next to Arthur. He was checking her pulse and looking as if he too would keel over, his face was so pale.
"I tried to save her." Draco muttered, fighting back the tears.
"You did you best, son." Arthur said, then watched as Draco took Ginny's hand in his own.
"I tried to warn her, to shake her off of me-but deep down inside I wanted her near me. I didn't know what that feeling was inside of me whenever I was with her, but I know now." Draco choked back a sob. "I love her-sir-and now she's gone."
Draco placed his other hand over hers, and bent down towards her face. He removed one of his hands and placed it underneath her head and brought it off the ground a few inches. He stared at the features of her face, trying to memorize the exact way her nose pointed up and the pattern of freckles across her cheeks. Even though her eyes were closed, he could still see the deep brown and the drowning depth of them. Then he closed his eyes and brushed his lips over hers.
Something wasn't right. There was water. Draco pulled away and saw that water was spewing out of her mouth, and now she was breathing, though very shallow breaths. Draco's own heart began to beat faster as he saw her eyes open and stare into his for a moment, before they closed again.
"Sir!" Draco yelled, catching Arthur's attention who had left to leave Draco a moment. "She's alive!"
~*~*~
There was darkness and Ginny was floating in it. She wasn't alone, though. Images passed her by, some very fast, only blurs-others slowly, taking their time. Voices could be heard and sounds, but Ginny couldn't piece any of them together. For some reason she was very calm and not worried at all.
She saw Draco playing Quidditch. Then another scene of herself when she was younger, picking apples with her Mother. More scenes flashed by, and it took a moment to realize they were all of her life. Random snatches of time that would have seemed insignificant only months ago, but now caused tears to blossom in her eyes. She tried reaching out and touching one of the scenes, but as her fingers pressed on the image it began to sputter, causing a ripple effect.
A sudden feeling of being pulled came over Ginny. The images went by much faster now. She wanted to stay and look at them all, but they were fading away and she was being pulled from them.
Now she could hear more voices, but they were much further away and gargled. They slowly came into focus and she recognized her Father's voice! And then Draco's! She wanted to say something, anything, but she couldn't. She was choking! She opened her eyes and stared into Draco's silvery orbs, then felt exhaustion overwhelm her once again.
~*~*~
Whispering voices were nearby as Ginny came around again. She could smell freshly laundered linen and a faint odor she couldn't quite place. Her mouth was dry and she had a slight headache. She opened her eyes and saw a group of people at the foot of her bed, but it wasn't hers, and she wasn't in her room.
"Where am I?" She questioned.
The group of people immediately stopped talking and rushed to her side. Someone called for a Medi-Wizard. She recognized the faces of her family; Molly, Arthur, Bill, the twins. Then a short, squat man with a round face entered the picture. He thrust a cup in her hands and demanded she drink it right away. The stuff was disgusting, and went down her dry throat very slowly. It left an awful taste in her mouth, but she felt more awake and the headache was gone.
"Can I have some water?" She asked.
A cup of water was presented to her and she drank it greedily. She tried recalling the last time she had a cool cup of water, and suddenly the memories came flooding back. She had been kidnapped and taken away to an enchanted wood! She tried escaping and nearly got caught, more than once. Draco was there!
"Where's Draco? The others, did they make it?" She began asking questions one right after the other, not waiting for an answer.
The looks on everyone faces were the same, as if they had anticipated this.
"Ginny, you need your rest, and then we'll answer all your questions."
"How long have I been out? At least tell me that."
"Three days." Arthur said.
"Three days? Don't you think that's rest enough?"
Arthur and Molly eyed each other, then looked at the Medi-Wizard.
"She is still in a fragile state and any shocking news will only put her back. I am against it."
"Dear, rest up, take a nap. We'll wake you in a few hours." Molly said, bending down to kiss her cheek.
Ginny watched as they all left her, closing the curtains behind them. She felt denied the truth. Something happened, something outrageous, and they weren't going to tell her! She tried getting comfortable in bed, but the mattress was too lumpy and the sheets too starched. She tried flinging them off of her, but she was tucked very tightly beneath them.
Finally deciding that escape wasn't going to happen, she resolved to study her surroundings. The little cubicle was dark and blocked off by tall white curtains. There was a table next to her with a pitcher of water and a couple of glasses, along with get well cards and flowers. On the other side she was hooked up to some monitoring machines that bleeped and hummed. The sound of the curtain being pulled away startled her, and she quickly closed her eyes, in case someone came to check if she were following orders and getting her rest.
Footsteps clicked on the tiled floor, getting closer and closer. She could hear the person breathing as they stood directly above her. She wanted to see who it was. If it was one of the twins, they would probably ignore the 'rules' and tell her everything, especially if there was anything horrific. She felt the person take her hand and squeeze gently. Ginny chanced a quick peek and was shocked at who it was.
"Draco?"
Upon hearing Ginny address him, Draco jumped, startled, causing himself to trip over the table and fall on the floor. Ginny inched to the edge of her bed and saw the young man sitting on the floor, rubbing at his thigh.
"I'm so sorry." Ginny said, trying to suppress a giggle.
"They told me you were sleeping." She said, getting up.
"Here, sit down." Ginny scooted over, giving him plenty of room. "When I heard you come in I thought it was one of them, so I faked sleep. I'm sorry I startled you."
Draco sat down gingerly, and it was then that Ginny noticed the cuts and bruises on his face.
"What happened?" She brought her hand to his face to trace a very bad cut on his cheek.
Draco brought his own hand up and held Ginny's hand to his face, closing his eyes. "I fought my Father."
Ginny now understood what this all meant. While he was leading her out of the woods she didn't think much of the consequences on Draco's part, but now it hit her. Draco had betrayed his Father and the Dark Lord. He had given up everything he had to save her-nearly paying with his life. Even though he did survive, now he had no home, no money, nothing!
"It was nothing." Draco said, following her train of thought. "And it was well worth it, just to do this." Draco leaned in and gently kissed her lips, lingering there in the bliss.
Ginny brought her hands around Draco's neck, pulling him closer to her. She nearly laughed when she heard the heart monitor beeping faster and faster. Draco also smiled as he depend the kiss.
"I may be wrong, but I don't think this is what they meant by getting rest." A laughing voice was heard.
Ginny and Draco turned to see Fred and George standing near the curtain opening.
"Come on, loverboy, give the girl some rest. She ain't going anywhere."
Draco gave her one last kiss, then stood up and followed the twins out of the cubicle, leaving Ginny with pleasant dreams.
(For Those Who Have Seen "Pirates of the Carribean"
Ok, I just have a little side note on the movie but perhaps no one was thinking of. In the movie the Pirates are cursed because of stolen goods. The curse makes them half living. When the moonlight falls on them they're seen as skeletal creatures, and only until every piece of stolen gold is replaced, along with blood from all the thieves, the curse will remain.
Well, as we all know, the pirates were after Boot Straps (AKA William Turner Sr.) blood, but they had dumped him into a deep, dark part of the ocean for an earlier offense, therefore leaving them bloodless and unable to fulfill the needs to lift the curse. Then they find out Boot Strap had a son, so they try to get his blood. In the end the needs are fulfilled and the pirates are freed from the curse. Here's where my thought comes in.
The pirates can walk underwater and not die, so that means Boot Straps must have lived after being dropped into the deep, dark part of the ocean. So for eight years or more, Boot Strap has been stranded in the ocean, unable to know what's going on, probably going crazy, and then, all of a sudden, the curse is lifted and he what? Drowns? Or did he find a way out of his predicament before that time and is somewhere, not alive? Hmm....what are your thoughts?
Salut!)
Chapter Seventeen: Father vs. Son
The water was needle pricking cold and as dark as velvet. The sky was still covered in clouds making it near impossible to see the dark shadowing lump floating down the river, coming from the direction of the falls.
The water embraced Draco in its ice cold arms, lapping over his body, entering his throat and lungs. He tried to move his arms, but they were paralyzed. The water was slowly numbing him from any feeling, except that of coldness itself. He'd been here before, he knew, in the water and the darkness, but he did not survive that time. He wondered if he'd survive this time before blacking out.
"Look!" One of the students yelled, pointing towards the lump.
Three of them entered the river, fighting the currents to get to the lump before it went flying past them. They grabbed hold of it with much difficulty and slowly carried it back to shore. The lump was separate into two people; Ginny and Draco. Both looked as if they were dead, their complexion pale and clammy. Upon closer inspection they realized that Draco was breathing.
"What happened?" He asked, sitting up, trying to fight back the headache.
"What do you mean, 'what happened?'" Someone yelled, bending down towards Draco. "We waited for you two then panicked when we saw lights up there on the cliff. We thought you were caught! We sent a few of us to try and climb the cliff, but that blasted enchantment won't let anyone get more than six feet up! How about you tell us what happened?"
Draco brought his hand to his head, trying to massage the pain out of his mind. The memories were slowly coming back to him. Him and Ginny were up there and he-he kissed her and-Then Lucius came! Draco quickly looked around, as if the man himself would appear suddenly and take his life. Then his eyes fell on Ginny.
"Ginny!" He yelled, shaking her by the arm. "Ginny, please, oh please wake up!"
"Some one bring her around." A voice said.
"We don't have our wands!"
"Here's Ginny's wand!"
"Don't!" A rather stern voice commanded. "I think it's best if she stays the way she is. She has some pretty bad injuries and if we wake her up it'll just make it worse for her."
"Is she even alive?"
Someone bent down to investigate while another person gently pried Draco off of Ginny's arm. It was confirmed; Ginny was alive, but barely. The group demanded to know what happened up there, but Draco refused to tell anyone until they were on their way out of there. Draco took Ginny's wand and levitated her so she floated alongside him as they walked. While they went through the forest, always staying close to the river, Draco related the incident up on the cliff and warned that just because they had no floo powder and that apparating inside the enchantment was impossible, didn't mean that Lucius wouldn't have a back up plan. He guessed that within twenty minutes they would start being hunted.
A few of the younger kids were scared by this news and one of the seventh years glared at Draco. "You could have left out the details about what they would do to us if we're caught."
"Excuse me, although you Hufflepuffs think ignorance is bliss, I believe knowledge is power. If we know-and I mean everyone knows-then we can better understand the consequences of foolish actions we might otherwise make."
They all walked in silence, occasionally looked behind them to make sure they weren't being followed. Their muscles, which had been unused for over a month, were aching terribly from the strain, but no one even dared ask to take a rest. One look at Draco's face and they knew he would not be so generous. He kept assuring them by saying the village was just a few more miles up ahead, and that once they reached it they could somehow contact a Ministry Official.
"How?" Someone asked, bewildered.
"Telephone." Draco stated.
"What's that?" More than one person asked.
Draco rolled his eyes. "It's a Muggle device used to contact other people from great distances."
"How?"
"I don't know how!" He shouted, irritated with all the questions. "Now save your breath!"
"If he hates Muggles so much," A girl in the back whispered to the boy next to her, "Then how come he knows so much about them?"
"I don't know," the boy shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe he doesn't hate Muggles."
~*~*~
Lucius was seething. His son, his own flesh and blood, and betrayed him and his family name. He felt himself completely justified if he did away with the Malfoy heir, but not just yet. He felt himself hurt and he wanted to see Draco hurt before his life was ended.
"What's taking so long?" Lucuis shouted at the men.
"Sir, all the brooms have been broken except this one and there's no more Floo powder." A man held up Draco's broom.
"Well, then I will go alone. Wait here." Lucius took the broom then stepped out of the building.
Looking up he could see the dark ominous clouds hanging over him. It would most likely rain before sunrise, but that did not matter. He knew Draco would be leading those pathetic kids to that Muggle village down the river. He didn't even care about the rest, as long as he had Draco and the Weasley girl, he could forget about his other hostages.
Lucius mounted the broom, then kicked off into the night air and followed the path of the river.
~*~*~
The lights from the town were slowly beginning to be seen through the trees, which were already beginning to become scarce. Bird calls rose up in the air, foretelling the sunrise that wasn't too far off. Everyone was glad that their long, tiring and rather frightful journey was finally going to come to an end. Everyone but Draco.
It was odd, he thought, that they hadn't been caught. He had retrieved Ginny's wand and was no gripping it tightly, expecting to use it in the near future. It just wasn't like his Father to give up and forget about it. Draco knew that if Lucius wasn't on his way at the moment, he was most likely cursing everyone in sight and demanding to be shown a way out of the enchanted wood. As Draco was furrowing his brows together, thinking these thoughts, a dark shadow passed over the group of kids, followed by a loud swishing noise.
"Look out!" Someone yelled, but it was too late.
There, standing in front of Draco a few yards away, was Lucius Malfoy holding a broom in one hand and a wand in the other. His lip was curled at seeing his son walking alongside the floating figure of Ginny Weasley. Draco narrowed his eyes at his Father, and slowly stepped to the side, shielding Ginny from his Father.
"So," Lucius whispered, "You've chosen to fight against the Dark Lord? To fight for Muggles?"
Draco didn't respond.
"Answer me!" Lucius shouted, then pointed his wand at Draco.
A bright red light sparkled from the tip of Lucius wand and then it zoomed towards Draco. He lifted his own wand and used the counter curse, causing the red light to sizzle and fade away. The rest of the students started running away, ducking for cover behind a bush or a fallen tree. Lights from both sides zoomed through the air, missing their targets and instead hitting trees or fading into the night sky.
"What'd you do to her?" Draco shouted as he flung a curse at his Father.
"I tried to kill her." He growled, dodging the curse and sending one of his own in return.
"Well it didn't work." Draco sounded almost triumphant, as if the failed murder of Ginny Weasley meant the whole war was over.
"It seems that a curses power diminishes somewhat in water," Lucius paused to block a curse. "But I'd be very much surprised if that girl lived to see morning."
Draco gritted his teeth and lunged at his Father. He didn't care about wands anymore, or that the one he was holding was dropped to the ground. All he wanted to do was hurt the man he once called Father. To use his own hands, to feel himself pound the flesh that was his own as well. Lucius had not expected that at all, and was caught off guard. The were both on the ground, Draco on top and pounding at intervals Lucius' head and ribs. Once the man regained his wits he squirmed and struggled and finally was able to get out from beneath his son.
There they stood, Father and son. Lucius had his wand pointed directly at Draco's chest, and Draco was wandless.
"After I kill you," He whispered. "I'll finish her."
"No you won't!" A man shouted not too far away.
Both of them turned towards the voice and saw Arthur Weasley, backed by at least a dozen Aurors, all pointing their wands at Lucius. Before they could get to the two Malfoys Lucius had disapparated, leaving Draco alone.
What happened next passed by in a blur. All Draco could think about was Ginny, and he rushed towards her side, letting everyone else fend for themselves. The students came out from their hiding places and began yelling at the top of their lungs, each one trying to be heard over the other to tell what had happened.
".We were kidnapped and taken to this wood-"
".I was so hungry and they gave us horrible food that smelled and tasted like-"
".It was cold and only Phillip was there. He tried to get out once but then they hurt him-"
".And then Ginny and Draco came and they had the keys. At first I didn't trust Draco, but-"
".There was this waterfall and we all jumped, but when Ginny didn't come, were scared-"
".And Lucius tried to kill Ginny, but Draco fought him. Blood brilliant fight-"
"Everyone, quiet!" One of the Aurors yelled.
Silence filled around them.
"Now listen. We are taking you all to St. Mungos where you will be examined and retained for at least twenty four hours. We will call your parents and if everything checks out, then you'll be able to go home."
One by one, small groups of kids used Port-keys to get to St. Mungos, each group accompanied by an Auror or two. Everyone passed by Draco, who was still on the ground by Ginny, sitting next to Arthur. He was checking her pulse and looking as if he too would keel over, his face was so pale.
"I tried to save her." Draco muttered, fighting back the tears.
"You did you best, son." Arthur said, then watched as Draco took Ginny's hand in his own.
"I tried to warn her, to shake her off of me-but deep down inside I wanted her near me. I didn't know what that feeling was inside of me whenever I was with her, but I know now." Draco choked back a sob. "I love her-sir-and now she's gone."
Draco placed his other hand over hers, and bent down towards her face. He removed one of his hands and placed it underneath her head and brought it off the ground a few inches. He stared at the features of her face, trying to memorize the exact way her nose pointed up and the pattern of freckles across her cheeks. Even though her eyes were closed, he could still see the deep brown and the drowning depth of them. Then he closed his eyes and brushed his lips over hers.
Something wasn't right. There was water. Draco pulled away and saw that water was spewing out of her mouth, and now she was breathing, though very shallow breaths. Draco's own heart began to beat faster as he saw her eyes open and stare into his for a moment, before they closed again.
"Sir!" Draco yelled, catching Arthur's attention who had left to leave Draco a moment. "She's alive!"
~*~*~
There was darkness and Ginny was floating in it. She wasn't alone, though. Images passed her by, some very fast, only blurs-others slowly, taking their time. Voices could be heard and sounds, but Ginny couldn't piece any of them together. For some reason she was very calm and not worried at all.
She saw Draco playing Quidditch. Then another scene of herself when she was younger, picking apples with her Mother. More scenes flashed by, and it took a moment to realize they were all of her life. Random snatches of time that would have seemed insignificant only months ago, but now caused tears to blossom in her eyes. She tried reaching out and touching one of the scenes, but as her fingers pressed on the image it began to sputter, causing a ripple effect.
A sudden feeling of being pulled came over Ginny. The images went by much faster now. She wanted to stay and look at them all, but they were fading away and she was being pulled from them.
Now she could hear more voices, but they were much further away and gargled. They slowly came into focus and she recognized her Father's voice! And then Draco's! She wanted to say something, anything, but she couldn't. She was choking! She opened her eyes and stared into Draco's silvery orbs, then felt exhaustion overwhelm her once again.
~*~*~
Whispering voices were nearby as Ginny came around again. She could smell freshly laundered linen and a faint odor she couldn't quite place. Her mouth was dry and she had a slight headache. She opened her eyes and saw a group of people at the foot of her bed, but it wasn't hers, and she wasn't in her room.
"Where am I?" She questioned.
The group of people immediately stopped talking and rushed to her side. Someone called for a Medi-Wizard. She recognized the faces of her family; Molly, Arthur, Bill, the twins. Then a short, squat man with a round face entered the picture. He thrust a cup in her hands and demanded she drink it right away. The stuff was disgusting, and went down her dry throat very slowly. It left an awful taste in her mouth, but she felt more awake and the headache was gone.
"Can I have some water?" She asked.
A cup of water was presented to her and she drank it greedily. She tried recalling the last time she had a cool cup of water, and suddenly the memories came flooding back. She had been kidnapped and taken away to an enchanted wood! She tried escaping and nearly got caught, more than once. Draco was there!
"Where's Draco? The others, did they make it?" She began asking questions one right after the other, not waiting for an answer.
The looks on everyone faces were the same, as if they had anticipated this.
"Ginny, you need your rest, and then we'll answer all your questions."
"How long have I been out? At least tell me that."
"Three days." Arthur said.
"Three days? Don't you think that's rest enough?"
Arthur and Molly eyed each other, then looked at the Medi-Wizard.
"She is still in a fragile state and any shocking news will only put her back. I am against it."
"Dear, rest up, take a nap. We'll wake you in a few hours." Molly said, bending down to kiss her cheek.
Ginny watched as they all left her, closing the curtains behind them. She felt denied the truth. Something happened, something outrageous, and they weren't going to tell her! She tried getting comfortable in bed, but the mattress was too lumpy and the sheets too starched. She tried flinging them off of her, but she was tucked very tightly beneath them.
Finally deciding that escape wasn't going to happen, she resolved to study her surroundings. The little cubicle was dark and blocked off by tall white curtains. There was a table next to her with a pitcher of water and a couple of glasses, along with get well cards and flowers. On the other side she was hooked up to some monitoring machines that bleeped and hummed. The sound of the curtain being pulled away startled her, and she quickly closed her eyes, in case someone came to check if she were following orders and getting her rest.
Footsteps clicked on the tiled floor, getting closer and closer. She could hear the person breathing as they stood directly above her. She wanted to see who it was. If it was one of the twins, they would probably ignore the 'rules' and tell her everything, especially if there was anything horrific. She felt the person take her hand and squeeze gently. Ginny chanced a quick peek and was shocked at who it was.
"Draco?"
Upon hearing Ginny address him, Draco jumped, startled, causing himself to trip over the table and fall on the floor. Ginny inched to the edge of her bed and saw the young man sitting on the floor, rubbing at his thigh.
"I'm so sorry." Ginny said, trying to suppress a giggle.
"They told me you were sleeping." She said, getting up.
"Here, sit down." Ginny scooted over, giving him plenty of room. "When I heard you come in I thought it was one of them, so I faked sleep. I'm sorry I startled you."
Draco sat down gingerly, and it was then that Ginny noticed the cuts and bruises on his face.
"What happened?" She brought her hand to his face to trace a very bad cut on his cheek.
Draco brought his own hand up and held Ginny's hand to his face, closing his eyes. "I fought my Father."
Ginny now understood what this all meant. While he was leading her out of the woods she didn't think much of the consequences on Draco's part, but now it hit her. Draco had betrayed his Father and the Dark Lord. He had given up everything he had to save her-nearly paying with his life. Even though he did survive, now he had no home, no money, nothing!
"It was nothing." Draco said, following her train of thought. "And it was well worth it, just to do this." Draco leaned in and gently kissed her lips, lingering there in the bliss.
Ginny brought her hands around Draco's neck, pulling him closer to her. She nearly laughed when she heard the heart monitor beeping faster and faster. Draco also smiled as he depend the kiss.
"I may be wrong, but I don't think this is what they meant by getting rest." A laughing voice was heard.
Ginny and Draco turned to see Fred and George standing near the curtain opening.
"Come on, loverboy, give the girl some rest. She ain't going anywhere."
Draco gave her one last kiss, then stood up and followed the twins out of the cubicle, leaving Ginny with pleasant dreams.
(For Those Who Have Seen "Pirates of the Carribean"
Ok, I just have a little side note on the movie but perhaps no one was thinking of. In the movie the Pirates are cursed because of stolen goods. The curse makes them half living. When the moonlight falls on them they're seen as skeletal creatures, and only until every piece of stolen gold is replaced, along with blood from all the thieves, the curse will remain.
Well, as we all know, the pirates were after Boot Straps (AKA William Turner Sr.) blood, but they had dumped him into a deep, dark part of the ocean for an earlier offense, therefore leaving them bloodless and unable to fulfill the needs to lift the curse. Then they find out Boot Strap had a son, so they try to get his blood. In the end the needs are fulfilled and the pirates are freed from the curse. Here's where my thought comes in.
The pirates can walk underwater and not die, so that means Boot Straps must have lived after being dropped into the deep, dark part of the ocean. So for eight years or more, Boot Strap has been stranded in the ocean, unable to know what's going on, probably going crazy, and then, all of a sudden, the curse is lifted and he what? Drowns? Or did he find a way out of his predicament before that time and is somewhere, not alive? Hmm....what are your thoughts?