A/N: Here's the next installment of "Threads of Silver"… I hope that you all enjoy it! I want to thank everyone who has reviewed this story so far… especially those who have been loyally following the story. Be sure to check out my other story "Phantasmagoria", if you are interested! Anyway, I hope that you all like this chapter… and as I always request… I ask all who read this to remember that this is my first ever fanfic so please be kind! Read, review and most importantly… ENJOY!
All things Harry Potter belong to the wonderful JK Rowling… :-)
Chapter 11: Spells and Parchment
Dumbledore led Ron, Harry and Hermione back into his office. The trio took a seat while Dumbledore rummaged around his cabinets looking for something.
Ron whispered to Harry, "Wonder what he's looking for… we're wasting time… Malfoy's probably brought Ginny to You-Know-Who by now!"
Harry's face was cold. Anger was welling inside of him. He hated to admit it, but he was fairly certain that Dumbledore, and not Ron, was right… that Draco Malfoy was indeed protecting Ginny. It upset him greatly to admit this and he knew that he never would do so aloud to either Ron or Hermione. What bothered him the most was that he was also certain that Ginny was glad that it was Malfoy who was protecting her and not him, even though he was the one destined to bring about Voldemort's downfall. Flashes of how relieved she looked when Malfoy told him to his face that he was taking her to Hogsmeade… the fact that he had to blackmail her into going on a simple date with him. He knew that he had waited too long and that it was now too late… this realization made him feel even more miserable, especially since Ron was ecstatic when he finally told him how he felt about Ginny. And Ron seemed even happier about it because he was sure that Ginny's new attitude and attire would scare him away. On the contrary!!
Hermione looked over at the two, "Ron… it's not Malfoy we need to worry about. It's Zabini. The sooner you get that through your thick skull, the better our chances of helping her."
Ron scowled, "But 'Mione, you know how Malfoy is. He calls you a mudblood and he's always making fun of me, Ginny and my family. And here you are defending him."
Hermione heaved a sigh, "Ron, if Dumbledore says that he's protecting Ginny… then, we must face the fact that he is indeed protecting her… no matter how much we don't like the idea."
Ron narrowed his eyes and grimaced, "I guess… but I still don't trust the little ferret!"
Harry rolled his eyes as Ron and Hermione bickered back and forth. All he could do was think about how Ginny would go so far as to go out with Malfoy in order to avoid him. Did she really like him?
"Ah, here it is!" Dumbledore exclaimed. He held up a piece of parchment with Draco's name scripted on it.
"And how…" Ron began, "is that supposed to help us find my sister?"
"My dear Mr. Weasley, this piece of parchment is enchanted. Every single student here at Hogwarts has a similar piece of parchment in their file," his blue eyes twinkled. "All I need to do is ask the piece of parchment as to the whereabouts of the student whose name appears on the paper and their location is instantly revealed."
Hermione gasped.
Ron scowled yet again and muttered under his breath, "No wonder the professors always seem to know where we are… can never get away with anything!"
Dumbledore smiled, "Parchment, where is Mr. Draco Malfoy?"
Suddenly, Draco's name disappeared and the words 'Wilson Family Crypt' appeared.
"A crypt? He's brought her to a bloody crypt?"
"Ron, stop over-reacting!!" Hermione shouted forgetting that they were all in the presence of Professor Dumbledore. She blushed suddenly, "Sorry professor."
"It's quite all right, Miss Granger." The old man paused and tucked away the piece of parchment in one of the many pockets of his robes. "I suggest that we head to Hogsmeade. There is a cemetery just outside the village and if I'm not mistaken, the Wilson Family Crypt is located there."
***
Blaise Zabini was wandering the Hogwarts' school grounds… his lips turned in a frown. The three hours were just about up and he was getting impatient. He knew that the more time that passed, the more difficult it would be to find Draco and the Weasley girl. He desperately wanted to find them since it would mean him being initiated as a Death-Eater a whole term sooner than originally expected.
Suddenly, he mused over the fact that things turned out the way they did. At first, he wanted a bit of fun with the red-haired girl. After things went horribly wrong, he decided to just revel in the fact that he ruined her. Then, once Draco got in the way, he turned things towards his own advantage in gaining favor with the dark forces. Now, he was on his way to being marked. He was pleased at how he was able to use each circumstance to help himself in some sort of way. Just like a Slytherin…
Finally, the three hours were up. He took out the compass that Lucius Malfoy had sent to him secretly by owl… it was a Malfoy family heirloom. Only Malfoys that had become Death-Eaters were bound to the compass. It was a means of finding one another during desperate times. As a means of protection, however, the compass could only locate a single Malfoy every three hours… just in case it fell into the wrong hands.
Blaise looked at the compass, eyes wild, and spoke, "Draco Malfoy."
The arrow spun around and around and then a picture of a grave appeared on the compass face. Once the picture faded, the arrow pointed in the direction that he needed to travel and a small voice said, "Wilson Family Crypt… just outside the village of Hogsmeade, England."
Blaise smiled and quickly mounted his broom. He pushed off the ground and began his flight to the cemetery.
***
Inside the crypt, both Ginny and Draco were relaxing a bit and eating a snack. Ginny was content to nibble on some bread that Draco had packed away while he ate some apples that he had picked the other day when he went to look for some food.
Draco looked over at the girl, "Something doesn't feel right. I can't explain it… I feel like we should move again. I have this weird feeling like someone knows we're here."
Ginny just looked at him for a moment, "But I thought you said that only you knew about this place… well, the secret entrance at least."
"Yes, that's true. But something is telling me that someone knows we're here. The Death-Eaters have strange ways of finding those that they are pursuing… I think we're in danger."
"You are in danger," came a familiar drawl. Blaise Zabini. Somehow, he had entered the crypt without either Draco or Ginny noticing.
Draco pointed his wand at the dark-haired boy. But Blaise had grabbed Ginny in a choke hold.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Unless you want to see her die," Blaise's lips curled into an evil grin.
Draco hesitated and Ginny muffled a shout, "No Draco… don't!!"
But Draco could not put the girl in anymore danger and lowered his wand.
"That's better… I knew that you would see reason. Now, you can either do this the easy way or the hard way."
Draco arched an eyebrow, "And what, may I ask, are we supposed to do?"
"Well, you two are to come with me to Malfoy Manor. Your father awaits the both of you. He will instruct you as to what you both need to do."
Ginny shivered, she knew what was to happen. Draco would be punished for helping her and she would be killed so that The Dark Lord could come back to full power.
"I'll go back with you, but the girl stays here," Draco stated with an air of nobility in his voice. It was obvious that he was used to getting what he asked for, with the exception of when it came to his father.
"Oh… those are your demands are they?" Blaise laughed. "I think that it is I who has the advantage here. Not you." The boy laughed again and then quickly composed himself, "No… my instructions were clear. You are both to be brought to Malfoy Manor."
Draco lunged at Blaise, but the dark-haired boy was too quick, "Petrificus Totalus!"
Draco's entire body went stiff and he fell down, hard, onto the ground. Ginny screamed and Blaise held her so tightly now that it hurt.
"I guess you both want it to be done the hard way," Blaise sighed. "Very well."
The black-haired Slytherin suddenly released Ginny and she ran towards Draco. The boy pointed his wand and shouted, "Immobilis!"
Ginny collapsed to the ground, her whole body had gone limp and she could not move.
Blaise walked over to the two and smirked. He began to kick Draco in the ribs. The blond boy's eyes expressed the pain that he was feeling from each and every kick. Ginny's eyes welled with tears and she let out sobs as she witnessed the act of violence.
Finally, Blaise turned to Ginny, "Well now… what do we have here… a little weasel… a pretty little weasel."
Ginny's eyes widened with fear and panic. Draco's eyes too widened, but with rage and anger.
"I suppose that you are not going to fight me if I come near you." The boy turned Ginny over so that she was lying on her back, her body completely motionless. "I heard from Goyle that you were a good lay… nice and tight!"
The tears flowed from Ginny's eyes.
"Perhaps I ought to give you a try. After all, that was a part of my original plan… to tear apart your insides thrust after thrust!"
Blaise ripped open Ginny's shirt and squeezed her breasts to the point where they bruised. Draco's eyes were wild with fury, as soon as the curse wore off, he would kill Blaise Zabini. The dark-haired boy bit the red-head's neck leaving several red and purple marks along her milky white skin.
Just as he was about to have his way with her, he heard a noise from outside, "Damn!" he shouted. At that moment, he grasped a hold of Draco and Ginny and pulled out an object from his pocket. A portkey! As soon as he touched it, the three vanished.
***
The crypt door opened and Ron ran down the spiraling staircase. Harry, Hermione and Dumbledore were close behind.
The four looked around the room in awe. It most definitely looked as if Draco and Ginny should be there. Their belongings were strewn around the crypt and there was food laid out. But Draco and Ginny were nowhere to be found.
Dumbledore frowned and pulled out the piece of parchment, "Parchment, where is Mr. Draco Malfoy?"
The words 'Malfoy Manor' suddenly appeared.
"What is it?" Ron inquired with fear in his voice.
"They've been captured!" Dumbledore exclaimed.
Hermione's eyes filled with tears and she flung herself onto a shocked Ron who just hugged her and patted her back. Harry remained expressionless… not sure of what to think.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The pace is definitely picking up… well, at least I hope it is!! Anyway, in the next chapter we get to witness more evil behavior by Blaise Zabini… as well as by Lucius Malfoy! Blaise got pretty nasty in this chapter… but he gets even nastier in the following chapters. Also… I know that there wasn't any Draco/Ginny interaction, but there will be in the next chapter! I promise you! And if I get lots of reviews… I might just post the next chapter sooner!!
Before I forget… the whole term of "Malfoy Manor" of course was originally thought up by reiko, author of Serpent's Bride… I really liked the term so I am using it in my story. But, I didn't want anyone thinking that I came up with the term on my own… I always like to give credit where credit is due!! :-)
dragonsprincess ~ Well… now you know who finds them… so the question is… will they survive the wrath of Lucius Malfoy and the Death-Eaters??!! The next few chapters will revolve around all of that… I hope that it comes out ok!! :-) There will also be some more 'good stuff'!! Anyway, I promise you that I'll finish reading your story soon… so far, it seems pretty good… interesting to make Harry a Slytherin!! :-) Please continue to read and review!!
Anime10473 ~ Thanks so very much for the compliments… I kind of am partial to the D/G scene from chap 10 myself (heehee)… Sorry that there wasn't any in this chapter… but just wait until the next one!! Well, it was indeed Blaise who found them (and he's getting more evil as the story progresses)… but will Dumbledore and crew ever find them??? Please keep on reading and reviewing!!
sweetstar3 ~ Draco is definitely romantic, mon amie romantique (I studied quite a bit of French)! And there will be more D/G interactions in the next chapter… alors, j'espere que tu voudras le chapitre prochaine (translation – therefore, I hope that you will like the next chapter)!! Hahaha… I love French!! :-) Anyway, I'm glad that you are still liking my story… please continue to read and of course review!
Silver Dragon Myst ~ Hey there… I'm so glad you like my story… and hopefully my e-mail to you helped explain what possibilities are in store. We shall see if you guessed correctly or not!! :-) Please keep reading and reviewing… and thanks for the compliments!
Stheno ~ First and foremost… thank you thank you for adding me to your "favorite authors" list!! Yes… another lover of sap!! Not tree blood!! Hahaha!! Anyway, your compliments are very encouraging… I try very very hard to make sure that there are as few grammatical mistakes as possible… and I'm thrilled that you like my plot, etc. It makes me so very happy to know that there are people out there who really really like what I write. As for Blaise… hopefully his comeback in this chapter will satisfy you… there is still more to come with him as well! Continue to read and review!!
dracomio ~ Yes… sappy and sweet… and possible wedding bells ringing in the air! :-) I'm glad that you like the way my story is going… continue to read and review!
Lady Bug ~ Hmmm… did I hear you mention that you think someone might die??? Hmmm… you'll definitely have to continue reading to find out about that! Anyway, thanks for the compliments and keep on reading and reviewing! Remember… more D/G interaction next chapter!! :-)
HPFreekGirl ~ Hey Nat… One word… Wow!! I am so excited to know that my story could spark such emotion in the reader… that really makes me feel great about this story!! Please continue to read and review!
dukerbrown ~ I'm glad you are enjoying my story… continue to read and review!
Greeny ~ Rachel!! Hey there sweets!! That last D/G scene in chapter 10 wasn't totally necessary… but I so totally wanted it there! I'm very partial to it actually… for personal reasons!! Hahaha!! Anyway, there is more to come concerning Blaise… as for Ron and Hermione… well, there will be innuendoes to say the very least!! Again, all your wonderful words and compliments are greatly cherished by me… thanks for all your encouragement!! I hope you liked this chapter too! Keep reading and reviewing!
Cameron ~ Everything will pick up for you… I'm sure of it!! Yes, you are right though… a bit sudden… but that's how I wanted it… I really am such a sappy romantic (and sometimes it is really drippy and sticky sweet… can't help it!). :-) Anyway, I'm glad that you like the story… hope you liked this chapter too! Keep reading and reviewing!!
da-lil-one114 ~ I'm glad that you are continuing to like my story… be sure to continue to read and definitely review!!
mashimaro ~ The ending is getting closer… there will be 5 more postings before it's finished!! Continue to read and review!
evieteen ~ Thanks for your compliments… they make me smile! Keep on reading and reviewing!
Ang3l666 ~ Weddings… *sigh*… You'll have to wait and see what comes of that… don't think that I've forgotten Draco's words to Ginny!! Sorry to not have any D/G action in this chapter… but just wait until the next one! :-) I hope that you will like it! Continue to read and review!
GinnyDracoFan ~ I'm glad you still like… continue to read and review!
cute-crazy-chick1 ~ Thanks for the compliments… please continue to read and review!
A special thanks is extended to Stheno for adding me to her "favorite authors" list (*many hugs*)!
Again I'd like to re-iterate… I hope that everyone will continue to enjoy what I write… Also remember that more and longer reviews means that I'll be more likely to post another chapter quickly!!! :-)