- Chapter Four: The Answer -
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Her eyes widened furthermore, her gentle, soft cinnamon colored eyes dripping the very epitome of fear. Her voice was a soft, scratchy whisper that seemed to pound back in her head.
"..Percy?"
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Percy Weasley's eyes narrowed into thin slits. Taking advantage of her surprise, he stepped closer, raising his wand. He could see Hermione trembling slightly. The color had completely left her, and her eyes were wide, brimmed with fear and red-rimmed from her previous outburst of tears. However, this girl prooved to be quick with her mind. Her hand shot out, knocking his wand a small distance away, under a table.
Both sprang under the table, their hands reaching blindly for the wand. Hermione's reason being that she knew Percy couldn't hurt her wandless. She was too quick for that, and Auror training had taught her self-defense. Percy needed the wand to put a Memory Charm on her, and then to stun her while he killed Draco. It was a drastic plan, but he knew that it would have worked. If it weren't for that meddling Hermione. Stupid girl.
Hermione smacked him from under the table, using whatever strength she had. In doing so, she hit her elbow. She cried out, but he remained quiet. Percy was temporarily held back, wincing and scowling. He had not said a single thing to her. Hermione violent dipped herself forward, throwing down two chairs that blocked her path. It.. was.. only.. a.. few.. inches.. away.
Percy grabbed her foot, growling. He shot forward, their breathing the only noise that filled the air. Hermione attempted to push forward again, but Percy was too quick. He slapped her, it could be heard like the sharp cackle of a gun. His wiry frame shot out, reaching for it. Hermione pinned him down, biting, smacking, pulling hair, whatever she could do. It was rather elementary, but she knew how sensitive Percy was. He sputtered and shook her off. Her head hit the leg of a chair. Groaning, he smacked her and kicked her in the ribs. She heard the crack of something. Pain exploded and ran in waves through her body. She thought she would die, right then. A deep but dazzling darkness spread over her, and she could do nothing but plummet into the alluring depths of it.
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"Lets go, Gin. It might be getting dark soon," Harry said. Ginny nodded and pushed her chair back, breathing in deeply. "Thanks, Harry. For walking with me. It was fun," Ginny mumbled, in a hurry. Though he could not quite catch her mumbled tone, he grinned, bashfully as ever. "Aw, Gin. No problem. We'll do it again. Say, make it a weekly thing, or something." Ginny could feel a smile creeping on to her face. "That would be wonderful." she breathed. They continued to walk in a companionable silence. For all of ten minutes.
"Harry." breathed Ginny. Her head began to pound. She felt clammy. "Harry." she whispered, again. Just minutes ago they had been sitting calmly, talking and eating and smiling. "Harry!" she repeated, though there was no need. He shuffled to his feet, staring at the girl who had grown increasingly paler in the last minute. "Gin?" he asked, awkwardly. "Harry!" she hissed. "Ginny, calm down. What--" Ginny's eyes fluttered to a close. "I feel sick." she muttered. Harry put an arm a bit nervously around her. "Lets Apparate." he suggested.
Apparating with a pop, Ginny closed her eyes and braced herself as a wave of nausea took over her. "Take. Me. To. The. Library." He nodded. Pushing her upstairs, neither were prepared for what they saw.
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The library was in complete disarray. Chairs were knocked to the ground. Nearby the librarian's desk was Draco, all color washed from his skin, drops of his blood pooled around him, and his hair a mangled, bloody mess.
Percy was presumably standing over something, wand pointed down at it. Ginny collapsed at the sight of her brother. Especially since she saw the Dark Mark on the arm where his shirt sleeve was ripped. "Gi--" Harry shut up. Percy had not acknowledged Ginny's fall or their silent entrance.
Whipping out his wand, he swiftly murmured, "Expelliarmus!" towards Percy. The redhead turned to Harry, a sneer on his face, though he was disarmed. "..And the hero saves the day." he snarled. "Don't you think that I know wandless magic?" he reddened slightly. In the next two seconds, the bookshelf that Harry had adjusted himself against shocked itself upwards, the books flying, and the shelf hitting the ground in a roar. Percy's eyes were filled with wrath, narrowed into mere slits. Harry's lips thinned as his mind was in a temporary freeze. His knowledge of magic had lost him.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry shot out. He watched grimly as Percy's arms and legs were bound to his body tightly. For a moment he stared at Percy's lifeless form before running to Hermione's side. "Enervate," he whispered. He watched as Hermione groaned. She was still considerably paler. Harry pushed her up. "Harry!" she whispered frantically. "You have to go get somebody! Percy, he's a De--" Harry cut in to push her closer and wipe away a stray curl from her forehead. "I know. Come on. We have to get some help."
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It was dusk. Nobody had slept yet. Draco and Ginny were in the hospital, Draco for his broken jaw and arm, Ginny for the odd cold she had come down with. Harry and Hermione (after being scolded for not staying in the hospital as well) had left after Ginny, through her stuffy nose and constant dizziness insisted that both of them get some sleep. The worst thing was that tomorrow the both of them would have to go to work. It was a nightmare.
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Two months had passed since The Incident. Ginny shoved herself deeper into her shell. First Ron, now Percy. She shuffled wearily into the office, buzzing with the usual morning business. It had been nearly two and a half years since the War had started, and half a year since the death of Voldermort. The Wizarding world shakily began to resume normality, though everybody feared an unnamed fear. They constantly looked over their shoulders for unknown shadows, or for a dark, faceless figure to follow them. It seemed as if things were normal. Ginny's purpose of this visit was to get Hermione, so she could take her shopping. School had already started, but Ginny still needed some supplies. She let her feet guide her to The Ministry Library, where Hermione and Draco usually were. She stared at the ground, void of emotion.
Ginny, head bent walked a long corridor. She seemed to be lost in her own world. Staring at the ground, her customary black robes seemed to have swallowed up her ever thinning figure. The past years had been tough on her, obviously. Another figure with a mop of undeniably familiar jet black hair was walking from the opposite direction. "Gin?" he called out, softly. Her head snapped up. She let her warm brown eyes fall on Harry's face. "Good morning, Harry," she whispered, barely audible. "What're you doing up here, now?" Ginny fell into step with him. "Hermione and I were supposed to go shopping today." Harry raised a brow. "Really? Hermione can't step out. The potion backfired, she needs to keep questioning." He informed her. Ginny sighed. "That's just great." she muttered, bitterly. Harry frowned faintly at her disappointment. "I know what you need for seventh year. But didn't you get the list?" Ginny shrugged. "I forgot to buy a certain book. I don't like going outside alone anymore." Harry found this slightly weird, until she interrupted his train of thought with, "Harry, I need somebody with me. What if I start bawling in the streets, or something? I bet everybody here thinks I must be a mini Death Eater or something!" she spat.
Harry began to snicker, until Ginny weakly beat his arm with her balled fist. "Your horrible, your miserable prat. Why are you laughing!?" she burst, angrily. Her cheeks were flushed. Harry was still grinning slightly. "Because, Gin. A mini death eater." He began to snicker again. "Mini death eater. Merlin.. I needed that." Ginny frowned. "Well, anyways. I have to go now." she muttered, with whatever dignity she could muster. Harry glanced at the watch. "I'll meet you outside of Flourish and Botts at lunch break."
Ginny nodded. "See you then, Harry."
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Hermione stared at Draco. "Malfoy, why won't you speak to me? Its only for your good. You have to tell me what happened. Out with it." her voice was shrill. She was downright annoyed.
"No. Nobody needs to know."
"Yes, they do! You stubborn git, tell me!"
In a maddeningly calm voice, he smirked. "Tsk tsk, manners, Granger."
Hermione lapsed into silence. Maybe the reason he didn't want to tell was because he didn't want to recount his father's death, over and over again. Maybe he didn't want to tell because he had made such a stupid mistake. He helped Harry by accident. His face curled up in disgust. He helped with the killing the Dark Lord by accident. How stupid was that? He turned to her. She was staring at him with dark intensity.
"I didn't kill him." he informed her quietly. "Ron died a hero's death."
Malfoy turned away to stare at the window. Hermione let a silent tear slide down her cheek. It still hurt.
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A/N:
Any ideas for the story? Any suggestions? I'd love to hear them.
Read and Review! I live on reviews -- so you better have some more because writing for nobody sucks.
-Kiran-
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Her eyes widened furthermore, her gentle, soft cinnamon colored eyes dripping the very epitome of fear. Her voice was a soft, scratchy whisper that seemed to pound back in her head.
"..Percy?"
----------
Percy Weasley's eyes narrowed into thin slits. Taking advantage of her surprise, he stepped closer, raising his wand. He could see Hermione trembling slightly. The color had completely left her, and her eyes were wide, brimmed with fear and red-rimmed from her previous outburst of tears. However, this girl prooved to be quick with her mind. Her hand shot out, knocking his wand a small distance away, under a table.
Both sprang under the table, their hands reaching blindly for the wand. Hermione's reason being that she knew Percy couldn't hurt her wandless. She was too quick for that, and Auror training had taught her self-defense. Percy needed the wand to put a Memory Charm on her, and then to stun her while he killed Draco. It was a drastic plan, but he knew that it would have worked. If it weren't for that meddling Hermione. Stupid girl.
Hermione smacked him from under the table, using whatever strength she had. In doing so, she hit her elbow. She cried out, but he remained quiet. Percy was temporarily held back, wincing and scowling. He had not said a single thing to her. Hermione violent dipped herself forward, throwing down two chairs that blocked her path. It.. was.. only.. a.. few.. inches.. away.
Percy grabbed her foot, growling. He shot forward, their breathing the only noise that filled the air. Hermione attempted to push forward again, but Percy was too quick. He slapped her, it could be heard like the sharp cackle of a gun. His wiry frame shot out, reaching for it. Hermione pinned him down, biting, smacking, pulling hair, whatever she could do. It was rather elementary, but she knew how sensitive Percy was. He sputtered and shook her off. Her head hit the leg of a chair. Groaning, he smacked her and kicked her in the ribs. She heard the crack of something. Pain exploded and ran in waves through her body. She thought she would die, right then. A deep but dazzling darkness spread over her, and she could do nothing but plummet into the alluring depths of it.
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"Lets go, Gin. It might be getting dark soon," Harry said. Ginny nodded and pushed her chair back, breathing in deeply. "Thanks, Harry. For walking with me. It was fun," Ginny mumbled, in a hurry. Though he could not quite catch her mumbled tone, he grinned, bashfully as ever. "Aw, Gin. No problem. We'll do it again. Say, make it a weekly thing, or something." Ginny could feel a smile creeping on to her face. "That would be wonderful." she breathed. They continued to walk in a companionable silence. For all of ten minutes.
"Harry." breathed Ginny. Her head began to pound. She felt clammy. "Harry." she whispered, again. Just minutes ago they had been sitting calmly, talking and eating and smiling. "Harry!" she repeated, though there was no need. He shuffled to his feet, staring at the girl who had grown increasingly paler in the last minute. "Gin?" he asked, awkwardly. "Harry!" she hissed. "Ginny, calm down. What--" Ginny's eyes fluttered to a close. "I feel sick." she muttered. Harry put an arm a bit nervously around her. "Lets Apparate." he suggested.
Apparating with a pop, Ginny closed her eyes and braced herself as a wave of nausea took over her. "Take. Me. To. The. Library." He nodded. Pushing her upstairs, neither were prepared for what they saw.
----------
The library was in complete disarray. Chairs were knocked to the ground. Nearby the librarian's desk was Draco, all color washed from his skin, drops of his blood pooled around him, and his hair a mangled, bloody mess.
Percy was presumably standing over something, wand pointed down at it. Ginny collapsed at the sight of her brother. Especially since she saw the Dark Mark on the arm where his shirt sleeve was ripped. "Gi--" Harry shut up. Percy had not acknowledged Ginny's fall or their silent entrance.
Whipping out his wand, he swiftly murmured, "Expelliarmus!" towards Percy. The redhead turned to Harry, a sneer on his face, though he was disarmed. "..And the hero saves the day." he snarled. "Don't you think that I know wandless magic?" he reddened slightly. In the next two seconds, the bookshelf that Harry had adjusted himself against shocked itself upwards, the books flying, and the shelf hitting the ground in a roar. Percy's eyes were filled with wrath, narrowed into mere slits. Harry's lips thinned as his mind was in a temporary freeze. His knowledge of magic had lost him.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry shot out. He watched grimly as Percy's arms and legs were bound to his body tightly. For a moment he stared at Percy's lifeless form before running to Hermione's side. "Enervate," he whispered. He watched as Hermione groaned. She was still considerably paler. Harry pushed her up. "Harry!" she whispered frantically. "You have to go get somebody! Percy, he's a De--" Harry cut in to push her closer and wipe away a stray curl from her forehead. "I know. Come on. We have to get some help."
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It was dusk. Nobody had slept yet. Draco and Ginny were in the hospital, Draco for his broken jaw and arm, Ginny for the odd cold she had come down with. Harry and Hermione (after being scolded for not staying in the hospital as well) had left after Ginny, through her stuffy nose and constant dizziness insisted that both of them get some sleep. The worst thing was that tomorrow the both of them would have to go to work. It was a nightmare.
----------
Two months had passed since The Incident. Ginny shoved herself deeper into her shell. First Ron, now Percy. She shuffled wearily into the office, buzzing with the usual morning business. It had been nearly two and a half years since the War had started, and half a year since the death of Voldermort. The Wizarding world shakily began to resume normality, though everybody feared an unnamed fear. They constantly looked over their shoulders for unknown shadows, or for a dark, faceless figure to follow them. It seemed as if things were normal. Ginny's purpose of this visit was to get Hermione, so she could take her shopping. School had already started, but Ginny still needed some supplies. She let her feet guide her to The Ministry Library, where Hermione and Draco usually were. She stared at the ground, void of emotion.
Ginny, head bent walked a long corridor. She seemed to be lost in her own world. Staring at the ground, her customary black robes seemed to have swallowed up her ever thinning figure. The past years had been tough on her, obviously. Another figure with a mop of undeniably familiar jet black hair was walking from the opposite direction. "Gin?" he called out, softly. Her head snapped up. She let her warm brown eyes fall on Harry's face. "Good morning, Harry," she whispered, barely audible. "What're you doing up here, now?" Ginny fell into step with him. "Hermione and I were supposed to go shopping today." Harry raised a brow. "Really? Hermione can't step out. The potion backfired, she needs to keep questioning." He informed her. Ginny sighed. "That's just great." she muttered, bitterly. Harry frowned faintly at her disappointment. "I know what you need for seventh year. But didn't you get the list?" Ginny shrugged. "I forgot to buy a certain book. I don't like going outside alone anymore." Harry found this slightly weird, until she interrupted his train of thought with, "Harry, I need somebody with me. What if I start bawling in the streets, or something? I bet everybody here thinks I must be a mini Death Eater or something!" she spat.
Harry began to snicker, until Ginny weakly beat his arm with her balled fist. "Your horrible, your miserable prat. Why are you laughing!?" she burst, angrily. Her cheeks were flushed. Harry was still grinning slightly. "Because, Gin. A mini death eater." He began to snicker again. "Mini death eater. Merlin.. I needed that." Ginny frowned. "Well, anyways. I have to go now." she muttered, with whatever dignity she could muster. Harry glanced at the watch. "I'll meet you outside of Flourish and Botts at lunch break."
Ginny nodded. "See you then, Harry."
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Hermione stared at Draco. "Malfoy, why won't you speak to me? Its only for your good. You have to tell me what happened. Out with it." her voice was shrill. She was downright annoyed.
"No. Nobody needs to know."
"Yes, they do! You stubborn git, tell me!"
In a maddeningly calm voice, he smirked. "Tsk tsk, manners, Granger."
Hermione lapsed into silence. Maybe the reason he didn't want to tell was because he didn't want to recount his father's death, over and over again. Maybe he didn't want to tell because he had made such a stupid mistake. He helped Harry by accident. His face curled up in disgust. He helped with the killing the Dark Lord by accident. How stupid was that? He turned to her. She was staring at him with dark intensity.
"I didn't kill him." he informed her quietly. "Ron died a hero's death."
Malfoy turned away to stare at the window. Hermione let a silent tear slide down her cheek. It still hurt.
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A/N:
Any ideas for the story? Any suggestions? I'd love to hear them.
Read and Review! I live on reviews -- so you better have some more because writing for nobody sucks.
-Kiran-
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