A/N: I am pleased to inform you that I have actually sat down and wrote out
the plot of this story. ^_^ Before I had just been writing aimlessly,
hoping my current thoughts would lead this fic someplace good, but now I
have a little structure to work with. Hope you enjoy this installment of,
Water and Ashes. Hehe.
Thanks are at the bottom. I promise.
~*~
"Well students, for your very first task this wonderful morning," Dumbledore had a twinkle in his eye as he looked out at the rain pounding outside the main cabin, where they were all sitting, "You will be asked to do something fairly difficult."
They had all been woken up by a magical alarm clock that splashed water in all of their faces at daybreak. After trudging over to the main cabin, getting entirely soaked along the way, they were eating a breakfast of toast and jam by the fire while listening to their Headmaster speak.
Ginny and Blaise were sitting closest to the fire, as their cabin was farthest away and were the wettest out of the group. One rule here on this field trip that had been established was, no magic for simple tasks. They were forced to dry themselves the natural way.
"Each of you will be given a letter, though the contents are of no importance. All you need to know is that there is a curse on it, meaning it will explode into a huge magical fire that can only be put out by the creator of the envelope, which in this case is myself. As you will find in your adult life, these can be a huge threat to unsuspecting wizards and witches, and are, sadly, often used." Dumbledore's explanation seemed to frighten a few of the students.
Hermione was smiling and nodding, clearly stating that she had indeed read about these letters before.
"KabooMail can only be distinguished from other mail by one small feature. You will first need to figure out what that feature is, and then learn how to dispose of the letter, before it explodes." He instructed further.
Hermione raised her hand intently. "But sir, what if we don't know how to dispose of it already? How are we supposed to find out how on our own?"
A few gasps circulated the room, at the prospect of Hermione not knowing something. She rolled her eyes at this, pretending, unsuccessfully, to ignore her peers.
"Aha, good question Miss Granger," McGonagall interrupted. She then motioned toward the other side of the cabin, to a single door that was in the middle of the wall. "In that room, you will find books containing every curse, counter curse, hex, jinx, and spell that exists. However, we are not here to spoon feed you magic lessons, we are here to prepare you for far more dangerous tasks than Hogwarts alone can. You should be able to find everything you need on your own, we are only here to put out the fires if they go off before you were ready." She winked cryptically.
"Remember, students. We don't give you an exact time limit for a reason; they will all go off at different times. Because in the magical world, you need to learn to expect what is unexpected." With these last words, the teachers handed out letters of all different shapes, colors, and sizes to the students, in no particular order.
Ginny grasped hers gingerly between two fingers; it was rather small and a lime green color. Draco's, on the other side of the room, was bulky and dark brown. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hermione almost immediately point her wand at the envelope and say quietly and intently, "Paperius Scannium!"
Thankful to not have to waste time searching for the first spell, Ginny pointed her wand at her own envelope, muttered the spell, and watched as the green paper started to react. There seemed to be a picture of an explosion, right on the front of the envelope. It issued a small siren-like sound, identical to the one that had come from Hermione's only seconds before.
Snape raised his eyebrows at the two girls, clearly impressed. Ginny smiled meekly, hoping no one would catch on that she had cheated. Hermione seemed to know, and cast her a disapproving glance, before turning around with an air of superiority and walking into the other room by herself. Harry stared hopelessly after her, probably hoping that she would have helped him out some.
Looking at the envelope once more, Ginny wondered how to stop it from blowing up in her hands. She figured the only way to find out was by going into the back room library, but she really didn't want to follow Hermione. Deciding to press her luck, she waited a few moments.
Blaise was still fumbling around, trying to figure out how to decipher whether or not a letter was dangerous. "How did you know what to do?" Blaise asked her inquisitively. Frustrated, she pointed her wand at the letter and cried, "Are you going to catch me on fire or what?!"
Ginny laughed lightly at her friend's desperation, and then shrugged. "I uh, read it before somewhere, I don't really remember where." She then dropped her voice a few volumes. "Just say 'Paperius Scannium', it'll show you whether or not it's KabooMail."
Blaise nodded and grinned, saying the words just as Ginny's had. The explosion erupted on her envelope, same as Ginny's, and then disappeared.
"Shall we go figure out how to dispose of this thing?" Blaise asked, treating the letter as though it were something more like a dead rat or mouse that she was holding by it's tail.
The younger girl was about to oblige, when a loud boom coming from behind them interrupted her. The two girls turned around in time to see a very surprised Parvati covered in black soot, and a magical pink fire engulfing the area around her.
"Now everyone, don't panic. A magical fire wont actually burn anything, it's just very bothersome and can hurt extremely badly if you get stuck in it for too long a period of time." With a swish of his wrist, Dumbledore put out the fire that had erupted from Parvati's letter. "This was a perfect example of the unwanted unexpected. Thank you for being the victim, Miss Patil. I hope the rest of you will take this into consideration and, shall I say, quicken your actions."
After moving to the library and finding a huge bound book about extinguishing curses and pouring over it for fifteen minutes, Blaise happened upon something that could possibly help them.
"Listen to this, Ginny," she said, grabbing her friend's attention. "The most common way to extinguish a curse is to imagine its origin, think about it, and then say 'Reacto Dissembrio'. Do you think this could work?"
"Only one way to find out!" Ginny snatched up her wand, while pointing it at the waiting letter. She imagined Dumbledore's smiling face and sight twinkle in his eye, and said intently, "Reacto Dissembrio!"
She opened her eyes moments later, not realizing she had closed them, and saw Blaise sighing. "It didn't work." She said pointedly.
Then Ginny got an idea. "Wait a minute. I pictured Dumbledore smiling and happy...maybe I have to imagine him actually wanting to curse me to counter the curse itself."
Trying again, she pictured Dumbledore, hunched over, with a wicked glance in his eye, carefully cursing a letter. The image made her giggle, and she barely managed to mumble "Reacto...Dissem...sembrio!" through her laughter.
Again, nothing happened. This time Blaise rolled her eyes, however. "Ginny! You have to be serious to make it work! Oh, never mind, I'll give it a try."
She closed her eyes, and pictured Dumbledore wanting to curse her. Wanting to curse her because her parents had been Death Eaters. And wanting to curse her because she, too, would have been a Death Eater, had they been alive now. The image was so strong and powerful that when she cried "Reacto Dissembrio!" she felt the magic shoot out of her wand into the letter. It went up in flames and crumbled to a pile of ash.
A breath of relief was let out as she glanced proudly at her pile of burned letter.
"FIRST ONE DONE!" the ashes screamed, unexpectedly.
Moments later, Dumbledore ran in, eyeing Blaise with mild interest. "Nice job, Miss Zabini, very nice job. Congratulations, you have successfully completed the first task. You will-"
He was cut off as Ginny's letter exploded in her hands, engulfing her in neon green flames; a perfect match to her had been envelope. "Bloody Hell!" she cried, before clapping her hand over her mouth, embarrassed to have sworn in front of her Headmaster.
Dumbledore smirked, and said, "Excuse me," to Blaise.
She was starting to feel a little bit lightheaded, but was granted relief when their Headmaster put out the flames. "Good try, Miss Weasley, maybe tomorrow you'll have better luck."
-
Later that evening, the students were allowed free time to do as they pleased, though had to stay in their respective cabins.
Because of this, Blaise and Ginny were each passing time on their laptops and listening to music. It had been a pretty long day, and even though Blaise was in a good mood for being the first the figure out the letter task, that didn't mean she was in an especially talkative mood.
Ginny was busy passing her time by chatting with Draco on her computer, one of her favorite pastimes. Second only to seeing him in person.
She never bothered to go into the chat rooms anymore, she limited herself to private chatting only.
Firefly: I miss you.
IceyGaze: Funny how we're only one room away from each other.
Firefly: I know, but you should be right here with me.
IceyGaze: I don't think Potter would approve of me sneaking into your bedroom.
Firefly: And I care why? What's he doing over there, anyway?
IceyGaze: He's playing with that ruddy owl, but I know he's curious about what I'm up to.
Firefly: I don't care, Ice. Just come over.
IceyGaze: Don't you want to be able to tell everyone yourself, calmly, not just spring it on them suddenly? It might go over better.
Firefly: Well, yes. But let's tell them soon, ok? I hate all this secrecy.
IceyGaze: Ok.
Firefly: Seriously? I mean, it doesn't really bother me that much...I was just being difficult because I am bored.
IceyGaze: I know it means a lot to you. And YOU mean a lot to me. So if you want people to know, then let's tell them.
Firefly: Since when are you all noble and Gryffindor-like? Where is the Ice I fell in love with?
IceyGaze: Oh, you want him back?
Firefly: [thinks] Cold and sexy...Sweet and kind...wow, that's a tough choice.
IceyGaze: [grin]
Firefly: Well anyway, that's all fine and good, but what about your father?
IceyGaze: [sigh] Honestly, Fire? I'm probably going to get disowned by the end of this year anyway, since I refuse to become a Death Eater. So, one more reason for him to hate me really wont matter, will it?
Firefly: Well, if you're sure...Don't exile yourself from your family for me, though.
IceyGaze: I'd rather be with you, than my family.
Ginny smiled goofily at the monitor. She loved how Draco could make her feel like she was melting at the exact same time that she felt engulfed in flames. Even though it sounds painful, it's an incredibly wonderful feeling, nothing like being incinerated by KabooMail.
Firefly: So, it's official? We're letting the world know?
IceyGaze: I guess so. Want to start on Potter? [grin]
However, Ginny never got to reply. The front door to their adjoining cabins burst open, and Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape all poured in from outside. They all had very grave and somber expressions on their faces. Ginny was the first to run out into the entranceway, and see her dripping wet professors standing there awkwardly.
"What on earth...what's going on?" she asked, surprised and confused.
Snape pushed passed her roughly, entering the boys' room. "I need to speak with Mr. Malfoy. Step aside."
She rubbed her shoulder where he'd bumped into her, and followed him inside anyway. Draco was still at his computer, waiting for Ginny to reply, she assumed. He looked up in alarm, snapping the laptop shut immediately.
"Er...Hello Professor...what's going on here?" He eyed Ginny, as though questioning if she'd wanted to tell the teachers of their relationship for some strange reason. She shook her head, showing him that she was just as confused as he.
Dumbledore and McGonagall stood in the doorway, prepared to let Snape say whatever they'd come to tell Draco. She noticed that the two adults looked a little less sad than they were trying to come off as.
"Now, Draco, sit down a moment. I have something very...difficult to tell you." Snape's voice was strangely soft, very different than they'd ever heard their potions master speak before.
Draco's eyes widened a bit, not sure he wanted to hear what Snape was about to say.
He put a hand on Draco's shoulder, and spoke. "This evening, your mother came home from a small party with a few of her, er, friends. When she came inside the house a few hours ago, she found...well...she found your father on the ground of the parlor," he paused for a moment, "dead."
Draco gasped, and gained eye contact with Ginny. He motioned for her to come over by him, and Ginny happily obliged, looping her arm in his and sitting down on the bed beside him.
"Honestly, Miss Weasley, I don't think Draco wants to be bothered right now." Snape interjected.
Dumbledore suddenly spoke up. "Perhaps Mr. Malfoy enjoys the young girl's company, Severus. "
The young couple looked thankfully to their Headmaster, and Snape scowled. "Well, anyway, I'm sorry this came as a such a shock." His voice had gained back its icy edge. "We don't know how or why it was caused, but there will be a funeral in a couple of days. Your training here will be put on hold so that you can attend."
The Professors could all tell that Draco needed a bit of alone time, and left shortly after. And for once, Harry respected Draco and left the room as well.
Rubbing her hand gently on his back, Ginny spoke to Draco after a few minutes. "Are you all right?" Her words were soothing, rather than intrusive.
He dropped his head a bit, allowing it to rest on her shoulder. He'd comforted her before, now it was her turn to return the favor. "I...think so. I mean, I hate the stupid bastard, but he IS my father, all the same."
"I'm so sorry," was all she said in reply.
He looked up at her with a hint of a smile. "Don't be. In any case, he just made our problem easier. He can't disown me if he's not alive, can he?"
"I'm surprised you can joke about it already. Doesn't it even hurt a little bit? If any one of my family members died..." she let her voice trail off.
Draco looked her square in the eye. "Ginny, your family is nice, caring, warm, fuzzy; everything mine isn't. My father has been ruining my life since I was born, and now I have a chance to actually live by my own standards. No one forcing me to be a Death Eater, no one beating me when I come home on holiday. Why would I be sad?"
Biting her lip, she replied. "Well, I don't suppose I have an answer."
All he could muster was a sigh. "Do you want to come to the funeral?"
This caused her had to whip around in surprise. "Excuse me?"
She caught a glimpse of his signature smirk. "It's brilliant! The perfect way to show everyone that we're together. Come to the funeral, and help me celebrate my father's death!" he was nearly laughing now, an odd sight for the present mood.
Turning the idea over in her head, Ginny soon smirked as well. "You know, that IS a brilliant idea..."
His jaw suddenly dropped.
"What? What!" Ginny looked at him, suddenly feeling very self conscious.
"Damn you're sexy when you smirk..."
~*~
A/N: Longest chapter yet, and they only get better from here on. ^_^ Thanks for everyone who stuck with me, I appreciate everyone who reviews because my fans have dropped greatly and reviews are what make me keep writing.
THANK YOUS go out to loyal readers and significant reviews-
Serizze- Heh, glad you still like it, love ya too! Is this out soon enough for you? (not that I am scared of your wrath or anything...lol)
Silver Essence- teehee you're a great reviewer, thanks for sticking with me. There's only one way to know if you're right...keep reading!
picklesniper- Glad to hear you didn't delete my story from your to-read list, hope you like where the plot is going.
Katina Wellson- I love keeping you all in suspense. Sorry, not giving anything away. By the way, what does KUTGW mean? Am I just being blonde or what?
goobersprinkle- well, I didn't want to get shot so I hurried and put this chapter out. ^_^ hm...nice straightjacket, is it new? Teehee
dReAmIn Of ShInHwA 2NiTe- thanks for the review, hope all your writing is going ok. Hope I helped a little bit?
Suzuki700- just keep writing and someday people will discover you! I'll come read our fics sometime, just remind me or else I will forget.
DreamofTF- ooh good, glad to hear I've still got it. Glad you're still here too, I sort of get attached to my reviewers sometimes.
La Bella Yu-gi-oh- yay, thanks for joining my group! Read to find out!
twinsofthesky- sorry you don't really like that idea, guess you'll have to read to find out. Thanks for all the reviews, though! This is a special shoutout to you, since you reviewed so much! **SPECIAL SHOUOUT**
Caz- yeah, the bus was a bit awkward. Thanks for reviewing!
Silver lips- hm...guess we'll see what couple is what in the end, eh? Glad you still like it. By the way...I missed the glitter, glad it's back!
kneh13- heh, I didn't use you idea for the bus, but it came in handy for the cabins. Was this soon enough for you?
kellyanne- yay! I still have loyal readers! Woohoo!
phoenixtears13 - nice change of address, thanks for the review.
Writing*-*Wonder- heh, I enjoyed your song, lol. Sorry Blaise is so violent, you may want to have that bump on your head checked out, hehe.
frananddragon- yeah.about that. Sorry I took so long. Hehe, glad you like all of the pairings. Or else, you don't like them but are still very excited nonetheless? Anyway, thanks for being loyal and all that.
Luinthoron- Thanks for the review and being loyal, I look getting reviews from familiar pennames. ^_^
Yami's Girl Forever - Only one way to find out who Harry ends up with, if anyone. By the way, reviews from crazy people are my favorite kind! Keep reviewing, please!
_
LEAVE REVIEWS OR GET EATEN! ^____^ (remember... the authoress loves nice long reviews...)
Thanks are at the bottom. I promise.
~*~
"Well students, for your very first task this wonderful morning," Dumbledore had a twinkle in his eye as he looked out at the rain pounding outside the main cabin, where they were all sitting, "You will be asked to do something fairly difficult."
They had all been woken up by a magical alarm clock that splashed water in all of their faces at daybreak. After trudging over to the main cabin, getting entirely soaked along the way, they were eating a breakfast of toast and jam by the fire while listening to their Headmaster speak.
Ginny and Blaise were sitting closest to the fire, as their cabin was farthest away and were the wettest out of the group. One rule here on this field trip that had been established was, no magic for simple tasks. They were forced to dry themselves the natural way.
"Each of you will be given a letter, though the contents are of no importance. All you need to know is that there is a curse on it, meaning it will explode into a huge magical fire that can only be put out by the creator of the envelope, which in this case is myself. As you will find in your adult life, these can be a huge threat to unsuspecting wizards and witches, and are, sadly, often used." Dumbledore's explanation seemed to frighten a few of the students.
Hermione was smiling and nodding, clearly stating that she had indeed read about these letters before.
"KabooMail can only be distinguished from other mail by one small feature. You will first need to figure out what that feature is, and then learn how to dispose of the letter, before it explodes." He instructed further.
Hermione raised her hand intently. "But sir, what if we don't know how to dispose of it already? How are we supposed to find out how on our own?"
A few gasps circulated the room, at the prospect of Hermione not knowing something. She rolled her eyes at this, pretending, unsuccessfully, to ignore her peers.
"Aha, good question Miss Granger," McGonagall interrupted. She then motioned toward the other side of the cabin, to a single door that was in the middle of the wall. "In that room, you will find books containing every curse, counter curse, hex, jinx, and spell that exists. However, we are not here to spoon feed you magic lessons, we are here to prepare you for far more dangerous tasks than Hogwarts alone can. You should be able to find everything you need on your own, we are only here to put out the fires if they go off before you were ready." She winked cryptically.
"Remember, students. We don't give you an exact time limit for a reason; they will all go off at different times. Because in the magical world, you need to learn to expect what is unexpected." With these last words, the teachers handed out letters of all different shapes, colors, and sizes to the students, in no particular order.
Ginny grasped hers gingerly between two fingers; it was rather small and a lime green color. Draco's, on the other side of the room, was bulky and dark brown. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hermione almost immediately point her wand at the envelope and say quietly and intently, "Paperius Scannium!"
Thankful to not have to waste time searching for the first spell, Ginny pointed her wand at her own envelope, muttered the spell, and watched as the green paper started to react. There seemed to be a picture of an explosion, right on the front of the envelope. It issued a small siren-like sound, identical to the one that had come from Hermione's only seconds before.
Snape raised his eyebrows at the two girls, clearly impressed. Ginny smiled meekly, hoping no one would catch on that she had cheated. Hermione seemed to know, and cast her a disapproving glance, before turning around with an air of superiority and walking into the other room by herself. Harry stared hopelessly after her, probably hoping that she would have helped him out some.
Looking at the envelope once more, Ginny wondered how to stop it from blowing up in her hands. She figured the only way to find out was by going into the back room library, but she really didn't want to follow Hermione. Deciding to press her luck, she waited a few moments.
Blaise was still fumbling around, trying to figure out how to decipher whether or not a letter was dangerous. "How did you know what to do?" Blaise asked her inquisitively. Frustrated, she pointed her wand at the letter and cried, "Are you going to catch me on fire or what?!"
Ginny laughed lightly at her friend's desperation, and then shrugged. "I uh, read it before somewhere, I don't really remember where." She then dropped her voice a few volumes. "Just say 'Paperius Scannium', it'll show you whether or not it's KabooMail."
Blaise nodded and grinned, saying the words just as Ginny's had. The explosion erupted on her envelope, same as Ginny's, and then disappeared.
"Shall we go figure out how to dispose of this thing?" Blaise asked, treating the letter as though it were something more like a dead rat or mouse that she was holding by it's tail.
The younger girl was about to oblige, when a loud boom coming from behind them interrupted her. The two girls turned around in time to see a very surprised Parvati covered in black soot, and a magical pink fire engulfing the area around her.
"Now everyone, don't panic. A magical fire wont actually burn anything, it's just very bothersome and can hurt extremely badly if you get stuck in it for too long a period of time." With a swish of his wrist, Dumbledore put out the fire that had erupted from Parvati's letter. "This was a perfect example of the unwanted unexpected. Thank you for being the victim, Miss Patil. I hope the rest of you will take this into consideration and, shall I say, quicken your actions."
After moving to the library and finding a huge bound book about extinguishing curses and pouring over it for fifteen minutes, Blaise happened upon something that could possibly help them.
"Listen to this, Ginny," she said, grabbing her friend's attention. "The most common way to extinguish a curse is to imagine its origin, think about it, and then say 'Reacto Dissembrio'. Do you think this could work?"
"Only one way to find out!" Ginny snatched up her wand, while pointing it at the waiting letter. She imagined Dumbledore's smiling face and sight twinkle in his eye, and said intently, "Reacto Dissembrio!"
She opened her eyes moments later, not realizing she had closed them, and saw Blaise sighing. "It didn't work." She said pointedly.
Then Ginny got an idea. "Wait a minute. I pictured Dumbledore smiling and happy...maybe I have to imagine him actually wanting to curse me to counter the curse itself."
Trying again, she pictured Dumbledore, hunched over, with a wicked glance in his eye, carefully cursing a letter. The image made her giggle, and she barely managed to mumble "Reacto...Dissem...sembrio!" through her laughter.
Again, nothing happened. This time Blaise rolled her eyes, however. "Ginny! You have to be serious to make it work! Oh, never mind, I'll give it a try."
She closed her eyes, and pictured Dumbledore wanting to curse her. Wanting to curse her because her parents had been Death Eaters. And wanting to curse her because she, too, would have been a Death Eater, had they been alive now. The image was so strong and powerful that when she cried "Reacto Dissembrio!" she felt the magic shoot out of her wand into the letter. It went up in flames and crumbled to a pile of ash.
A breath of relief was let out as she glanced proudly at her pile of burned letter.
"FIRST ONE DONE!" the ashes screamed, unexpectedly.
Moments later, Dumbledore ran in, eyeing Blaise with mild interest. "Nice job, Miss Zabini, very nice job. Congratulations, you have successfully completed the first task. You will-"
He was cut off as Ginny's letter exploded in her hands, engulfing her in neon green flames; a perfect match to her had been envelope. "Bloody Hell!" she cried, before clapping her hand over her mouth, embarrassed to have sworn in front of her Headmaster.
Dumbledore smirked, and said, "Excuse me," to Blaise.
She was starting to feel a little bit lightheaded, but was granted relief when their Headmaster put out the flames. "Good try, Miss Weasley, maybe tomorrow you'll have better luck."
-
Later that evening, the students were allowed free time to do as they pleased, though had to stay in their respective cabins.
Because of this, Blaise and Ginny were each passing time on their laptops and listening to music. It had been a pretty long day, and even though Blaise was in a good mood for being the first the figure out the letter task, that didn't mean she was in an especially talkative mood.
Ginny was busy passing her time by chatting with Draco on her computer, one of her favorite pastimes. Second only to seeing him in person.
She never bothered to go into the chat rooms anymore, she limited herself to private chatting only.
Firefly: I miss you.
IceyGaze: Funny how we're only one room away from each other.
Firefly: I know, but you should be right here with me.
IceyGaze: I don't think Potter would approve of me sneaking into your bedroom.
Firefly: And I care why? What's he doing over there, anyway?
IceyGaze: He's playing with that ruddy owl, but I know he's curious about what I'm up to.
Firefly: I don't care, Ice. Just come over.
IceyGaze: Don't you want to be able to tell everyone yourself, calmly, not just spring it on them suddenly? It might go over better.
Firefly: Well, yes. But let's tell them soon, ok? I hate all this secrecy.
IceyGaze: Ok.
Firefly: Seriously? I mean, it doesn't really bother me that much...I was just being difficult because I am bored.
IceyGaze: I know it means a lot to you. And YOU mean a lot to me. So if you want people to know, then let's tell them.
Firefly: Since when are you all noble and Gryffindor-like? Where is the Ice I fell in love with?
IceyGaze: Oh, you want him back?
Firefly: [thinks] Cold and sexy...Sweet and kind...wow, that's a tough choice.
IceyGaze: [grin]
Firefly: Well anyway, that's all fine and good, but what about your father?
IceyGaze: [sigh] Honestly, Fire? I'm probably going to get disowned by the end of this year anyway, since I refuse to become a Death Eater. So, one more reason for him to hate me really wont matter, will it?
Firefly: Well, if you're sure...Don't exile yourself from your family for me, though.
IceyGaze: I'd rather be with you, than my family.
Ginny smiled goofily at the monitor. She loved how Draco could make her feel like she was melting at the exact same time that she felt engulfed in flames. Even though it sounds painful, it's an incredibly wonderful feeling, nothing like being incinerated by KabooMail.
Firefly: So, it's official? We're letting the world know?
IceyGaze: I guess so. Want to start on Potter? [grin]
However, Ginny never got to reply. The front door to their adjoining cabins burst open, and Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape all poured in from outside. They all had very grave and somber expressions on their faces. Ginny was the first to run out into the entranceway, and see her dripping wet professors standing there awkwardly.
"What on earth...what's going on?" she asked, surprised and confused.
Snape pushed passed her roughly, entering the boys' room. "I need to speak with Mr. Malfoy. Step aside."
She rubbed her shoulder where he'd bumped into her, and followed him inside anyway. Draco was still at his computer, waiting for Ginny to reply, she assumed. He looked up in alarm, snapping the laptop shut immediately.
"Er...Hello Professor...what's going on here?" He eyed Ginny, as though questioning if she'd wanted to tell the teachers of their relationship for some strange reason. She shook her head, showing him that she was just as confused as he.
Dumbledore and McGonagall stood in the doorway, prepared to let Snape say whatever they'd come to tell Draco. She noticed that the two adults looked a little less sad than they were trying to come off as.
"Now, Draco, sit down a moment. I have something very...difficult to tell you." Snape's voice was strangely soft, very different than they'd ever heard their potions master speak before.
Draco's eyes widened a bit, not sure he wanted to hear what Snape was about to say.
He put a hand on Draco's shoulder, and spoke. "This evening, your mother came home from a small party with a few of her, er, friends. When she came inside the house a few hours ago, she found...well...she found your father on the ground of the parlor," he paused for a moment, "dead."
Draco gasped, and gained eye contact with Ginny. He motioned for her to come over by him, and Ginny happily obliged, looping her arm in his and sitting down on the bed beside him.
"Honestly, Miss Weasley, I don't think Draco wants to be bothered right now." Snape interjected.
Dumbledore suddenly spoke up. "Perhaps Mr. Malfoy enjoys the young girl's company, Severus. "
The young couple looked thankfully to their Headmaster, and Snape scowled. "Well, anyway, I'm sorry this came as a such a shock." His voice had gained back its icy edge. "We don't know how or why it was caused, but there will be a funeral in a couple of days. Your training here will be put on hold so that you can attend."
The Professors could all tell that Draco needed a bit of alone time, and left shortly after. And for once, Harry respected Draco and left the room as well.
Rubbing her hand gently on his back, Ginny spoke to Draco after a few minutes. "Are you all right?" Her words were soothing, rather than intrusive.
He dropped his head a bit, allowing it to rest on her shoulder. He'd comforted her before, now it was her turn to return the favor. "I...think so. I mean, I hate the stupid bastard, but he IS my father, all the same."
"I'm so sorry," was all she said in reply.
He looked up at her with a hint of a smile. "Don't be. In any case, he just made our problem easier. He can't disown me if he's not alive, can he?"
"I'm surprised you can joke about it already. Doesn't it even hurt a little bit? If any one of my family members died..." she let her voice trail off.
Draco looked her square in the eye. "Ginny, your family is nice, caring, warm, fuzzy; everything mine isn't. My father has been ruining my life since I was born, and now I have a chance to actually live by my own standards. No one forcing me to be a Death Eater, no one beating me when I come home on holiday. Why would I be sad?"
Biting her lip, she replied. "Well, I don't suppose I have an answer."
All he could muster was a sigh. "Do you want to come to the funeral?"
This caused her had to whip around in surprise. "Excuse me?"
She caught a glimpse of his signature smirk. "It's brilliant! The perfect way to show everyone that we're together. Come to the funeral, and help me celebrate my father's death!" he was nearly laughing now, an odd sight for the present mood.
Turning the idea over in her head, Ginny soon smirked as well. "You know, that IS a brilliant idea..."
His jaw suddenly dropped.
"What? What!" Ginny looked at him, suddenly feeling very self conscious.
"Damn you're sexy when you smirk..."
~*~
A/N: Longest chapter yet, and they only get better from here on. ^_^ Thanks for everyone who stuck with me, I appreciate everyone who reviews because my fans have dropped greatly and reviews are what make me keep writing.
THANK YOUS go out to loyal readers and significant reviews-
Serizze- Heh, glad you still like it, love ya too! Is this out soon enough for you? (not that I am scared of your wrath or anything...lol)
Silver Essence- teehee you're a great reviewer, thanks for sticking with me. There's only one way to know if you're right...keep reading!
picklesniper- Glad to hear you didn't delete my story from your to-read list, hope you like where the plot is going.
Katina Wellson- I love keeping you all in suspense. Sorry, not giving anything away. By the way, what does KUTGW mean? Am I just being blonde or what?
goobersprinkle- well, I didn't want to get shot so I hurried and put this chapter out. ^_^ hm...nice straightjacket, is it new? Teehee
dReAmIn Of ShInHwA 2NiTe- thanks for the review, hope all your writing is going ok. Hope I helped a little bit?
Suzuki700- just keep writing and someday people will discover you! I'll come read our fics sometime, just remind me or else I will forget.
DreamofTF- ooh good, glad to hear I've still got it. Glad you're still here too, I sort of get attached to my reviewers sometimes.
La Bella Yu-gi-oh- yay, thanks for joining my group! Read to find out!
twinsofthesky- sorry you don't really like that idea, guess you'll have to read to find out. Thanks for all the reviews, though! This is a special shoutout to you, since you reviewed so much! **SPECIAL SHOUOUT**
Caz- yeah, the bus was a bit awkward. Thanks for reviewing!
Silver lips- hm...guess we'll see what couple is what in the end, eh? Glad you still like it. By the way...I missed the glitter, glad it's back!
kneh13- heh, I didn't use you idea for the bus, but it came in handy for the cabins. Was this soon enough for you?
kellyanne- yay! I still have loyal readers! Woohoo!
phoenixtears13 - nice change of address, thanks for the review.
Writing*-*Wonder- heh, I enjoyed your song, lol. Sorry Blaise is so violent, you may want to have that bump on your head checked out, hehe.
frananddragon- yeah.about that. Sorry I took so long. Hehe, glad you like all of the pairings. Or else, you don't like them but are still very excited nonetheless? Anyway, thanks for being loyal and all that.
Luinthoron- Thanks for the review and being loyal, I look getting reviews from familiar pennames. ^_^
Yami's Girl Forever - Only one way to find out who Harry ends up with, if anyone. By the way, reviews from crazy people are my favorite kind! Keep reviewing, please!
_
LEAVE REVIEWS OR GET EATEN! ^____^ (remember... the authoress loves nice long reviews...)