A/N… Thank you very much to those who reviewed! I really do appreciate all the feedback you guys give me, and hope that you like this story.

Thanks

-Leuca

Magical Mysticism

"Come on, Gin! You're going to miss the Portkey!" Bill Weasley hollered at his sister through the door. She had been getting ready in her room for nearly an hour, and they weren't going to make if Ginny took any longer.

"Hold your dragons, Bill. I'm just combing my hair."

"What's the use of doing your hair right before you Portkey, anyway? All it does is get messed up."

"Fine, I'm done." Ginny said, stepping out of the bathroom. "Lets go!" She really was anxious to get out of the house, and go. Anything to get her out of here. Ginny grabbed hold of the edge of an old newspaper, and waited for about 10 seconds, before whooshing off to her new life.

When she and Bill got their bearings, Ginny looked around Bill's apartment. It was really, well, feminine. The living room, which they were standing in, was done in a light maroon color, that clashed horribly with the Weasley hair. No wonder Ron hated the color so much! Still, the room was pretty, and she gave Bill a questioning look.

"I wasn't the one who designed it. Maureen did, before she left." Maureen was Bill's old girlfriend, who had lived with him for a while, before deciding to go back to a wizarding university to study ancient runes.

"oh… Well, it looks nice, anyway."

"Thanks, Gin. Here's your room." Pointing down a short hallway, and too the right, Bill directed her to her new room.

"Thanks, Bill. I'm going to go unpack."

"All right, sis. While you do that, I'm going to run outside and pick up some lunch. I'll be back in a few minutes." With a *pop* that signaled apparation, Bill was gone. Ginny pushed open the door to her room, and was pleasantly surprised by what she saw.

Green and black seemed to be the color scheme, along with dragons. Ginny smiled, remembering that Charlie had stayed with Bill awhile back. This was clearly the room that he'd stayed in. And, it was nice. Green was Ginny's favorite color. Not that she could tell anyone that, anyway. It was a "Slytherin" color, and thus unfit, to her family's eyes anyway.

The Sorting hat had wanted her to be a Slytherin. She'd never told anyone, that, though it was the truth. But she, being shy, naïve Ginny, had asked, no- begged the hat to put her in Gryffindor. She couldn't imagine being the only Weasley to be in Slytherin.

Her family would have killed her. Ginny could just imagine the look on Molly Weasley's face as she received news that her only daughter, sentenced to a life of servitude, cleaning up after her family, but beloved nonetheless, was in the house famous for such evil beings like Grindalwald, Salazar himself, and You-Know-Who.

Thinking of all that quickly, Ginny had decided to ask to be a Gryffindor. The hat had done something peculiar, then. It had told her that one day she'd regret her decision. And, thinking back on it from Egypt now, Ginny did regret it, and she wished that she had been a bit more brave, and been able to face her rightful house.

Oh well, that was in the past. It was time for Ginny to start thinking about where she was now, not five years ago.

So Ginny unpacked, hanging her worn-out dirty black robes in the closet, and placing her Muggle clothes in the drawers. Before she knew it, Bill was back with some supper, and yelled at her to come join him in the kitchen. While eating, Bill talked a little bit about the neighborhood they lived in.

"We're mostly wizards here. There are a few odd Muggles, but they know about wizardry already. Mostly squibs, and such. Tomorrow I was thinking about bringing you to work with me, just to show you around, and introduce you to a few people. Then, you can decide what you want to do during the days. I think there is a Quidditch team around here you might try to join."

Ginny was floored. So much to do, and things to see. And tomorrow, she would even get to go into those old Egyptian temples, that had the curses placed on them. This was going to be awesome. Away from everyone's perfect, precious Potter, and her brother, and the stuck-up Muggle-born. So what if she was loads smarter than everyone else? The sorting hat should have put her in Ravenclaw then, if she was so bloody intelligent.

"That sounds great, Bill. I can't wait!" Finishing her meal, Ginny pushed her plate forward. "I'm full, though. I think I'm going to go get settled in, okay?"

"Sure, Gin. I'm going to be in my room, reading. I'll see you tomorrow morning, though."

"'Night, Bill."

"Good-night Gin."

So Ginny went back to her room, and finished putting her things away by hand. She thought for the thousandth time that summer about how easy it would have been with her wand, but that was life.

Speaking of her wand, she'd have to find a place here that sold them. By saving up her pocket money for months, she had enough to buy a good, decent, new wand, that wasn't some old hand-me-down. Her final thoughts as she drifted to sleep were filled with ideas of what she could do tomorrow.

****************************************************

Draco Salazar Malfoy was, at that moment, lying in a room much like the one Ginny was in. Sure, it was more expensively decorated, with jewels, and real golden thread hanging, but the colors were pretty much the same. Draco wasn't, however, drifting off into the dream world quite as easily as Ginny was.

His thoughts were lingering on the pain that had haunted him for days. The pain that was branded onto his arm. It had only been a few days ago when he had received the fierce skull and snake symbol on his upper left arm, the bright red eyes staring up into his fierce, stormy gray ones. Yet whenever he looked at it, despite the amount of pain it caused him, he smirked.

Because he knew that, he was among one of the most powerful people in the world. He was high in the ranks of Death Eater's, only a few short days after his initiation on his 16th birthday. He was to be the Dark Lord's heir, and take over, should Voldemort be hurt or killed in any way. That way, there would always be a Dark power to fight. The noble work of Salazar Slytherin, for whom after Draco was named, was always to be continued.

Draco hated Muggles, and Mudbloods, had been taught to hate them, enjoyed hating them. Why should the more powerful and feared wizard be forced to hide himself from them? To not be able to walk down a busy street, and perform magic? It was the birthright of all pureblooded wizards, and to have to cower behind secret alleys and doors an insult to those who were born with magic.

This was why he was continuing the work. Not for Voldemort, whom he detested. He wasn't even a pureblood, the hypocrite. Draco was in this for the opportunity to be free, and not to have Mudbloods ruining the world for the purebloods. Voldemort was just another on the Dark side. There was greater evil before him, and there would be after him.

In fact, so over-feared was the Dark Lord, that many even thought that he'd come up with the Dark Mark on his own. No, Voldemort wasn't that creative. It was originally the symbol on the Malfoy crest, a thousand years ago, before Merlin's time. That was another reason to hate the Dark Lord. Lucius, Draco's father, descended from the first truly dark wizards, who had begun this noble crusade for freedom, was the subject to a Mudblood. The irony never failed to escape Draco. Why, his father should be commanding a Tom Riddle, and not the other way around.

When Draco took over, things would be different. Very different. He would be the greatest, most feared, most powerful wizard ever to be known. His powers and name would touch everyone, far surpassing the legend set by Voldemort. If people were afraid to say the name of the current Dark Lord, when Draco came to power, there would be those afraid not to say it.

Draco Salazar Malfoy would fear no one. All others would be sniveling cowards around him, including the old fool, Dumbledore. Curse him for opening the school to those half-muggles. He should be the one spending time in Azkaban, after all, it was for the good of the wizarding world that the Dark side existed at all.

Draco tossed onto his side, finally able to sleep. Where Ginny Weasley was asleep, dreaming about all the things to do in Egypt, away from her shackles at the Burrow, Draco Malfoy, lying in his bed at the Malfoy Manor, was able to rest, the thoughts of a free wizarding world, unhidden from the Muggles, held deeply inside his platinum blonde head.

And, miles away, on a quiet street titled Privet Drive, a sixteen year old boy named Harry Potter lay awake, thinking about escaping from the prison the Dursleys had set up for him, and fleeing to the Burrow.

So, tell me what you think! I really like this story, and I hope to continue it. Also, as I usually spend a lot of time reading others stories, if you want me to read and review yours, leave a note in your review to the story, and I'd be happy to check it out!!! Once again, thank you to those who reviewed. I really enjoy your input!

-Leuca