Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
Chapter 16:
Miss communicating
Minerva McGonagall stood impatiently before the stone gargoyle that hid the passage to the headmaster's office. The black sole of her right shoe beat a steady tattoo against the stone floor, and it echoed down the maddeningly empty corridors. Arms crossed over her stomach, she shifted her shoulders uneasily, glancing from the hideous stone statue at her back to the lifeless halls before her.
Really! She had sent a couple elves off at least ten minutes ago – how long could it possibly take them to retrieve a couple of students?
Minerva's eyes darted once to the gargoyle as the circumstances under which those two students were being summoned to the headmaster's office rose in her mind. Could it really be that – she had to force herself to even think these next words – that Sybill had been… right?
She had initially dismissed the matter of the… crossing stars, or whatever nonsense after it had been brought up in the faculty meeting, as was her first instinct with all issues that the Divination teacher brought up. The topic probably would have left her mind completely of Albus hadn't taken it so seriously. It was true that the man had a rather nasty tendency to indulge his peers – particularly ones as delusional as Trelawney – but he had looked so… grave.
The memory of that particular faculty meeting came to her suddenly.
"If the circumstances that Sybill has related to us are indeed coming to pass here at Hogwarts – or anywhere else for that matter – there is little we can do outside of informing the pair involved…We must try to make them as comfortable as possible for the duration of this event; however, if they do not reside in this area, we can not even do that…"
If Minerva knew one thing about Gryffindors – and she knew quite a bit, being head of Gryffindor and one herself – it was that they hated being helpless. It seemed that was just how Albus felt about this situation. That in itself told her that he was taking it seriously. And if she wanted any more evidence she need only think back about a half hour…
She never thought she'd see the day! Why, she'd almost thought she was dreaming when she'd walked in on those two. A Malfoy and a Weasley, one of her precious Gryffindors and a Slytherin, bantering like friends. Good friends – no, more than that…
Just how long had that been going on?
Minerva frowned suddenly as a thought occurred to her. Ginny was apparently… close… with Draco now. Perhaps they had met on the way to the headmaster's and…?
She shook her head to dispel the notion. That couldn't be it. No matter her taste in companions, she trusted Ginny Weasley. If they were late, it was for a good reason. Not that that made it any more excusable.
Her eyes slid once more to the stone gargoyle. She knew it was ridiculous, but she had always hated that thing. It was just plain… creepy.
Thankfully the sound of voices reached Minerva's ears and as they became clearer she realized that her two errant students had decided to show up at last.
"…supposed to follow the house elf! Why else would she send them?" That was Ginny, her voice more amused than irritated.
"I don't know, I just wanted to get rid of the damn thing," Draco said almost sullenly as they came into view. His hands were hidden within his pockets, his shoulders hunched a bit in a defensive posture. Minerva was hard-pressed not to raise an eyebrow at this – Draco Malfoy, cowed by the youngest Weasley.
Why had she never seen this before? They clashed in so many ways – their status, their families, their beliefs, even their hair for Merlin's sake! – that it made a strange sort of sense for them to end up together whether it lasted or not. Watching them, the way they stood together as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Minerva was inclined to believe that it would. But they were young yet. And who was she to judge, anyway?
"Sorry we're late, professor," Ginny said as they approached, looking properly abashed. In contrast Draco looked high and mighty as usual.
"It's quite alright, Miss Weasley. Just don't let it happen again."
"Yes, professor."
Minerva turned to the gargoyle and recited the password, "Drooble's Best Bubblegum." She took a place on one of the steps as they rose out of the ground. Draco and Ginny followed her lead, Draco teasing Ginny for her polite behavior in a hushed voice on the way up.
When she opened the door and stepped into the headmaster's office three pairs of eyes turned to greet her. Molly Weasley and Narcissa Malfoy had taken chairs before Dumbledore's desk, which was occupied by Dumbledore himself. They simply nodded to her in greeting. Severus, who stood to the right of the desk and was, like she for Ginny, there as Draco's head of house, hadn't even batted an eye at her entrance, but that was to be expected.
Draco and Ginny followed her in, standing awkwardly before those present. The headmaster greeted them with a smile before swiftly conjuring a couple more chairs.
Albus twinkled at the small assembly. "Now that we're all here –"
"Wait! What about Dad?" Ginny asked suddenly. Her mother placed a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Not to worry dear, he got held up at the ministry; I'll explain to him once I return home."
"Oh…"
Albus cleared his throat. "If I may continue…?" Red-faced, Ginny muttered an apology. "No need for that, Miss Weasley. Now, there is a small I matter that needs to be discussed…"
The more Albus spoke, the more amazed Minerva became. If it could successfully bind a Weasley to a Malfoy, perhaps there was something to Divination after all…
Draco wasn't quite sure what to make of anything at the moment. It was as if the world had been turned upside down while he had been out and now every last vestige of reason had been scattered beyond his reach. Put simply things were just plain… weird.
He had slept for a day, Dumbledore was acting nuttier than usual, people actually believed Trelawney's rubbish – people that mattered, not twits like Brown and Patil – his mother didn't mind that he was apparently destined to be with a Weasley, and… he was apparently destined to be with a Weasley.
Apparently.
He wondered what Ginny thought of all this… her mother had only looked slightly horrified, so that was probably a good sign – but then so had his own mother, and he didn't know what sort of sign that was supposed to be…
"It's your life, Draco, not mine. Your father might have considered this a curse, but I believe it will prove to be a blessing…"
He took that to mean she was going to stay out of his business as usual.
She hadn't said much more to him. Narcissa always was a woman of few words. Merlin knew his father would have had much more to say, but the man was in prison now so his opinion was null and void. And that was a good thing, as far as Draco was concerned. Lucius would only muck things up further.
He had gotten off lucky with his mother. Molly Weasley had been a little less understanding… No, she wasn't totally scandalized – though her expression just after the ball was dropped had been priceless – but she had directed more than one stern glance in his direction. He didn't know whether to feel threatened or annoyed.
If there was one thing he did know, however, it was that he didn't believe a word of that garbage Dumbledore had been spouting. Well… actually it was more like he didn't want to believe because it was rather hard not to. It certainly would explain a few things…
The strange coincidences could be tossed off as twists of fate, the 'illness' over the holidays could have been a result of stretching the ties between his physical body and Ginny's, and even the sleeplessness could be explained away as the longing of his astral body for its 'other half.' But it sure sounded like a load to him.
Ultimately it didn't matter whether he believed or not. He still felt the same about Ginny, and if he was fated do to that then… what was the difference? If anything it would probably result in less death threats from overprotective brothers since he and Ginny now had a legitimate reason to be around each other. All the better.
He didn't really care if it was real. The fact was, everyone else did and he was going to have to rearrange his life around this so-called fated occurrence whether he liked it or not. And that was another thing…
Draco slammed his trunk shut, immensely satisfied with the way the crash of the lids bounced around his chambers.
Packing was always such a bother.
Ginny wiped her brow with the back of her hand as the clasps on her trunk snapped shut. There. She had finished packing. Now all she had to do was wait for Professor McGonagall to tell her where to go. Glancing around the empty dorm Ginny decided the best place to do that would be in the common room. She made her way down the stairs, leaving the massive trunk behind for a house elf to pick up later.
As she settled into a cozy armchair by the fire she took note of the calm that had settled over her since leaving Dumbledore's office. It was the calm before the storm. She would probably break into hysterics later when it all came crashing down on her, but for now it all seemed like some sort of dream, too far away to be real. That was fine with her because she wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation anyway.
So, Draco was supposed to be her… soul mate, of sorts? Ginny wasn't exactly sure she understood it all. She got the gist of it, though. She and Draco were literally meant to be.
On one hand explaining him to Ron would be a whole lot easier. Her hot-tempered brother probably wouldn't have been able to wrap his mind around the fact that Draco could be a likeable person. But with this new development, she could rattle off many reasons why Ron shouldn't interfere… and she would have Dumbledore to back her up if he didn't believe – which brought her to the other hand.
Did she believe it? And if she did, did that make her feelings somehow less real?
Ginny frowned into the fire as the calm began to ebb.
"Ginny!"
She looked up at the sound of her name to find Ron, Harry, and Hermione rushing towards her.
"We went to the hospital wing to check on you," Ron said by way of explanation, "but Madame Pomfrey told us you'd already been released. I can't believe how quickly you got out of there! Are you sure you're alright? Do you even know what happened? Was it the same thing that got Malfoy?"
Ginny blinked at the surge of questions, not sure what to answer first or if she should answer at all.
"Ron, don't overwhelm her!" Hermione reprimanded. "She just got out of the hospital wing."
"Right, right," Ron waved her off, "but, Gin, why didn't you go back to class?"
"H-how'd you know that I didn't?" she stuttered. Ff he knew that, how much else did he know?
"Madame Pomfrey told us you were released at the same time as Malfoy," supplied Harry, "and since the same thing seemed to have happened to you two and he didn't show up for classes either…"
"Oh…"
Ron's gaze became reflective – well, about as reflective as Ron got anyway. "Say, weren't you and Malfoy taken in to the hospital wing at the same time too?"
"Well," Ginny faltered, "I wasn't exactly conscious at the time, but Madame Pomfrey seemed to think we had been out of it for the same amount of time."
"Did she tell you what happened to the both of you?" Hermione put in, apparently no longer worried about overwhelming Ginny. "It was the same thing wasn't it?"
Ginny paused before answering. She knew where this was headed – she'd known as soon as the trio had set foot inside the common room. Whether it happened sooner or later she wasn't going to escape this conversation without explaining to them about Draco and her apparent fate and… and everything.
It had been inevitable from the very start, since even before she had known the cause of all those coincidences, but still she found herself clinging to her little secret. Things were deceptively simple the way they were now. She liked it that way, which was why it made sense that things would have to change.
"Actually, Madame Pomfrey didn't tell us," said Ginny. She swallowed and forged ahead. "Professor Dumbledore did…"
There was a general confusion amongst the trio, as all three of them tried to ask what she meant at the same time. It was Harry who eventually received the honor.
"What do you mean? Why Dumbledore?"
With that, Ginny launched into an explanation, repeating as much of Dumbledore's speech as she could remember. She told them about the stars, about her sleeplessness. She told them she had passed out from a combination of exhaustion and being too far from her 'other half,' and how that was also the reason for her supposed sickness over the holidays. She told them about the coincidences, the movements of heaven, and the workings of fate – and she managed it all without once mentioning Draco's name. Harry and Hermione looked enlightened anyway. Ron… perhaps a little less so…
"So who's the lucky bloke?" Ron asked afterwards, clearly amused. Then an odd expression stole across his face. "Oh, wait…"
Ginny cut in before the epiphany could continue. "The long and short of it is, Draco and I seem to be meant for each other – which is just fine because we've been dating since the winter holidays."
And the cat was out of the bag at last. It was kind of a relief.
Hermione smiled as if she had just been proven right. Harry looked a bit shocked, and not in the pleasant way. Ron began to turn red, and by the look on his face Ginny didn't doubt he was seeing it too.
"Gin! I don't believe this!" Ron burst out after a pregnant pause.
"I do," Hermione chimed in. "I knew there was something going on."
"Hermione!" Ron sounded scandalized. "You knew!? And you didn't tell us? You're supposed to be on our side!"
Ginny breathed a sigh, relieved that she was no longer the primary target now that Hermione had also been drawn into the line of fire. Unfortunately the reprieve didn't last long. In fact it ended shortly after Harry interrupted Ron and Hermione's bickering, wondering out loud at the fact that he had seen Ginny in Slytherin robes the very same day that Malfoy had missed his morning classes.
The attention was all on her now, and Ginny couldn't help but envision all the different ways she might make The Boy Who Lived into The Boy Who Wasn't Living Any Longer.
Chaos ensued.
Harry and Hermione had to work together to restrain Ron, who seemed intent on going after Draco right there and then – and Ginny thought that Harry was looking a bit wistfully in the direction of the common room door, as if he too wouldn't mind spilling a little Malfoy blood. Belatedly she realized that she too had joined in the effort to hold Ron back, and that she was shouting at the top of her lungs trying to convince him that it wasn't how it sounded, and that they were attracting a lot of stares from the other occupants of the common room.
Over all, things could have gone a lot smoother.
Suddenly Professor McGonagall swept into the room, and the commotion stopped beneath her iron gaze. Inside Ginny's mind, however, the commotion had just grown louder as she remembered that she still had to explain to them that she was leaving her dorm in favor of rooming with Draco so they could both get some sleep.
Not that anyone would believe that now.
A/N: Argh… I've been busy lately, and lazy, and pretty uninspired. But I'll continue, don't worry. I know I'm skipping out on replying to the reviews this time, but if I did that it would take even longer to get this chapter up. Sorry! I know you've all been asking for quicker updates and longer chapters, but I don't think it's going to happen…. I'll try my best. See you next time.