Title: Ginny from the Block
Chapter Ten
Disclaimer: Still don't own them…
Note: SO SORRY it took me so long to update this time. I have had a really bad couple weeks. School and changing jobs and getting a new car. Things are pretty much settling down now so I should be okay. I'll try not to take as long in the future. Hope you continue to enjoy the story and THANK YOU for all your reviews!
Chapter Summary: Quidditch trials, deciphering a vision, and a late night adventure for Ginny and Dawn…
Feedback: Comments are at the bottom this chapter, but THANKS again to everyone who reviewed! You guys definitely keep me going!
And on to the story…
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Chapter Ten: Nosy Friends and Nosier Enemies
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Location: Quidditch Pitch
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Date: August 25th, 2003 (Monday)
Time: 5:40 p.m.
The wind flew through her hair and around her body as she jerked her broom down and to the side. Ginny caught a brief glimpse of beautiful blue clear sky, but didn't really have time to appreciate it as she leaned in closer to her broom clutching the quaffle tightly to her chest and shot toward the goal. Her eyes flickered quickly to her left and she saw it.
It was beautiful, the perfect set…
Ginny fought a savage grin for just that split second before she snapped the quaffle hard over to her fellow Chasers. Dare reached for the ball in a feint, but then let it pass and Ginny held her breath as the next few moments played out.
Dawn jerked her broom up and grabbed the quaffle from mid-air. She drew back, positioned, and shot the ball towards the top open hoop in one graceful motion.
Then all three Chasers froze in anticipation. In what must have only been a few seconds, but it spread out to feel like years, the quaffle sliced through the air towards the open circle goal.
A small smile started to tug at Ginny's lips and suddenly with a whap the ball froze, right in Chris' hands. The blonde Keeper shot them a wicked smirk. "DE-nied!" She tossed the ball teasingly from hand to hand. "You're good, but you ain't THAT good."
"She enjoys playing that position WAY too much." Dawn snorted as she shared a grin with Ginny and Dare. "Shouldn't she be worried about her nails or something?"
"They're charmed not to break." Chris jumped in cheerfully as she flew to meet them leaving her post. Her blue eyes glowed with respect when they landed on Dawn. "Looking good, Summers. You've got my vote. You're definitely the best one that's tried out."
Dawn shot her a look of patent disbelief. "I've yet to get one past you."
"So?" Chris' smile turned decidedly smug. "Took Gin two weeks to get one by me." She shot the other Chaser hopefuls a slightly disgust sneer. "Those didn't even come close."
"OKAY! THAT'S ENOUGH! COME BACK DOWN!" Hunter's voice boomed over the pitch from his position hovering with the other hopefuls and Langford down about ten feet off the ground. Ginny, Dawn, Chris, and Dare waved their ascent before flying smoothly down to join them.
Hunter gave everyone a moment to calm down before slipping on his Captain's mask and facing the group of hopefuls. "You've all done a really good job today, and I want to thank you for trying out. Remember that there are only two open spots so you shouldn't feel bad if you don't get one. The voting will take place here soon, and the two new members of the Sunstone quidditch team will be informed later tonight." He paused, to glance around the group. "I guess that's it. Head for dinner and we'll see you all later."
The hopefuls began to chatter and disperse. Ginny and the rest of the returning players hung back as they started to leave. Dawn shot Ginny a pleading look, but Ginny just shook her head at the other girl. Dawn rolled her eyes and followed the other students off the pitch.
When they were finally alone, Hunter turned serious eyes on his teammates. "Well?"
Ginny's first reaction was to throw in Dawn's name as the best Chaser, but she bit her tongue. She truly did believe Dawn was the best they'd seen, but she could be just a little biased.
Chris snorted as she seemed to read Ginny's expression. The blonde Keeper shot Hunter a grin. "Dawn's our Chaser. I know we all wanted her to get it, so now we're second guessing ourselves, but she was the best one out there by far."
Hunter frowned as he thought that over. He looked to Dare. "What do you think?"
"I think I might be biased." He smirked. "We all are."
Then, as if that statement turned on a light bulb in all of them, four heads snapped to look questioningly at Langford.
The Hawkthorne Beater just rolled his eyes. "Now you're asking me? God, you Whitehorns really are all annoyingly fucking noble, aren't you?" The looks turned to glares and he sighed. "Summers was the best. She's fast, has the reflexes, and works well with McKinney and Weasley. Give the girl her position."
"Dawn it is." Hunter nodded and the group sighed in relief. He focused back on Langford. "What about our Beater? That's your area of expertise."
Langford shrugged thoughtfully. "I'd say we can narrow it down to Morgan and Stanford. They're both good flyers, but I'm leaning towards Morgan."
"I think I am too." Dare nodded with a slight frown. "I can't put my finger on it, but…"
"He's in it for the game, for the team." Ginny spoke up calmly. "Stanford was more just wanting to hit things and look good. Morgan worked with Langford. He was looking for tips and ways to improve even during his trial." Everyone turned to look at her a little taken aback. Ginny shrugged awkwardly. "What? My twin brothers were Beaters for Gryffindor."
"Okay then." Hunter cut through the silence and both Chris and Dare snorted. "So, we've got Dawn as Chaser and David Morgan as Beater. Anything else?" The group looked around at each other and then shook their heads no. Hunter nodded. "Let's go eat dinner. We'll break the good news there."
The group slowly lowered to the ground and stepped off their brooms. They spun in the direction of the Hogwarts main building and started the long walk back towards the Great Hall and food.
Dare suddenly jogged in front of the rest of the group before spinning to face them dramatically. A mischievous grin curved his lips. "I dare someone to tell Dawn she didn't get it. I'll even pay you ten knuts to do it." The group just stared at him in disbelief. His face fell. "No takers? Oh, come on! Please?"
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Location: Great Hall
Date: August 25th, 2003 (Monday)
Time: 6:10 p.m.
"You're in."
"YES!" Dawn's scream echoed across the almost completely full Great Hall full of students. Dinner was just getting under way, and many heads snapped around at the outburst. She ignored them completely as she jumped to her feet. "YES! YES! YES BABY!"
The Sunstone Quidditch team watched as Dawn began to dance joyfully around doing the cabbage patch, the butterfly, and any other hokey dance she decided would fit in with her happy dance.
"That's four yeses." Dare spoke up smugly and held out his hand to Langford. "At ten knuts every yes over three, I believe you owe me ten knuts."
"Well, we all know you need them." Langford sneered at Dare. "And she didn't say 'yes', she said 'yes baby'."
Dare just continued to smile as he cut his eyes to Ginny, Chris, and Hunter. "And the judges say?"
The three just smirked. "Pay up."
Langford growled as he pulled the coins from his pocket and shoved them towards Dare. The dark-haired boy just blew Langford a mocking kiss over his newly liberated money.
"Yeeesssss!" Dawn called out again. This time she dove at Ginny and pulled her into the happy dance. "Yes, yes, yes! Yes, yes, yes!"
Dare turned back to look at Langford with a lifted brow. Langford's eyes narrowed menacingly. "No way in hell." To which Dare just shot him a pouty sigh.
Clearing his throat and throwing his own smirk Langford's way, Hunter turned to scan the Sunstone table. He got about ten people down one side before spotting a familiar head. "Morgan!"
Hunter's captain voice carried over the crowd and David Morgan's head spun in their direction. A hopeful excited expression played across his face. "Yeah?"
"You're in." Hunter smiled at the former Buckwood. "Practice starts Wednesday at 4:15 p.m."
"YES!" Here they went again. Morgan jumped to his feet and pumped his fist in the air. The students around him laughed, clapped him on the back, and voiced their congratulations.
Ginny noticed that many of the Hogwarts' students at other tables were still watching them curiously. She couldn't really blame them. After Dawn's little performance and now Morgan was still hopping around ecstatically, they had to wonder what the hell was going on. Ginny smiled at them and called out. "Quidditch trials!" Nods of understanding rippled through the hall and attention went back to their food.
"Okay," Dawn grabbed Ginny and pulled her to a group of empty seats on their table for some privacy. With one last look to make sure that Chris, Hunter, and Dare were not within hearing distance, Dawn turned on her best friend. "So, I completely forgot to ask earlier, but what was the vision? Doom and gloom hit Hogwarts?"
Ginny smirked as something occurred to her. "Do you know you're the first person to actually ask me what the vision was?" She paused. "Anyway, Dawnie, I'm afraid we've got vamps. It was you and I in the infirmary tonight. We were looking at a body. I'm assuming it was the first casualty Dumbledore brought to our attention earlier. Malfoy surprised us from behind and then a vampire attacked."
"So was Malfoy the vamp, the body the vamp, or are we looking at a bloodsucking party crasher?"
"Don't know." Ginny admitted as she reached up to rub her eyes. She tried again to replay the vision in her head, but sighed in frustration when the vampire's face just wouldn't come. "I just, I didn't get it, I'm afraid. I was pulled out too soon."
"Damn." Dawn growled. "Now what do we do? We can't let it go and leave a vamp running around school, but for all we know the end of that vision was Mr. Pulse-challenged having an all-you-can-eat Ginny and Dawn buffet!"
"I suppose we could go to Dumbledore for help or some such." Ginny shrugged thoughtfully. "Or we could get him to contact Buffy as she wished."
Dawn shot her a telling glare. "If Buffy finds out there are vamps here this soon, she'll probably drag me home by my fashionably-streaked hair." She snorted in disgust. "You know how over-protective she is."
Ginny smirked. "Must have something to do with that 'Hell-god out to kill you' rubbish a few years ago. Can't imagine why she isn't over that yet."
"Okay, point to Ginny, but I still don't want to go back to Sunnydale."
"Well, like it or not, if this isn't an isolated incident then we're going to need help." Ginny reasoned. "One vamp we can handle, but if there are more then Hogwarts simply is not prepared for this type of fight. Dark Wizards we can do, but vamps are not the Gryffindor Trio and company forte."
"We'll at least need someone capable on patrol at night." Dawn agreed with obvious reluctance. "We could try to do it, but what if we get in over our heads? If the vamps don't finish us off, Buffy and Spike will."
The two girls then started to brainstorm with possible ideas. Could Buffy come over to help anyway? She had a full-time job at the high school now, and she couldn't just come to live in England on no notice. Was there anyone else to call? Possibly Spike? Could they drag the vampire away from his Slayer for long enough to thwart Moldy's latest evil scheme? Maybe Willow? She was a witch, so fitting in shouldn't be a problem.
"Alright, let's slow down a moment." Ginny finally brought an end to the brainstorming session, and paused to let her mind catch up with her mouth. They needed a real plan. Something not too terribly drastic, but still taking the necessary precautions. At this point they didn't really know what they were up against. Maybe they should test the waters a bit first. She bit her lip and looked back to Dawn. "What if we just go check it out tonight alone? For all we know the vision was off, or I didn't see it correctly because of my abrupt exit. Then, if we do hit vamp, we'll head immediately to Dumbledore. We can all decide what to do from there."
"Sounds workable." Dawn nodded. "That way we don't call in Buffy unless we know she's needed. Hopefully it's just a false alarm."
"Hopefully what's just a false alarm?" Chris' too-perky-for-belief voice sounded from over their shoulders. Both girls groaned as she continued. "I know our little resident Nancy Drews aren't at it again without us, are they?"
Dawn spun to face the blonde Keeper, Hunter, and Dare. "I take offense at any phrase towards me including the name Dru. If you must make unwarranted pop-culture references just call me Thelma."
Ginny frowned. "I thought Willow was Thelma?"
"She officially gave up the role with the whole 'ending the world' phase." Dawn explained.
"Oh, okay." Ginny nodded. "Does that make me Daphne? Cause I'm pretty sure Xander's Shaggy." She paused thoughtfully. "I suppose Spike could be Scooby, but he does have blonde hair so let's not rule out Fred…"
"Now you've taken the reference entirely too far." Dawn frowned.
"Buffy might make a decent Daphne," Ginny mused. "If she didn't suck so much at the whole 'damsel in distress' thing."
"TOO FAR!" Dawn reiterated. She looked back to Chris, Hunter, and Dare. "You were saying?"
"What are you up to?" Chris asked pointedly. She wasn't about to let them banter their way off topic.
"Nothing!" "Who us?" Ginny and Dawn answered at once.
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Location: Sunstone Dorms
Date: August 25th, 2003 (Monday)
Time: 10:05 p.m.
"We're going to get caught." Dawn spoke in a doomed whisper. "We're going to get caught, and they're going to follow us, and they're going to get themselves killed!"
Rolling her eyes, Ginny spun around in the darkened hallway to look at her best friend. "We can always just head back to bed, Dawn. Is that what you want?" They'd only just left their dormroom after all. The door to safety was only a short fifteen feet away from them. If they wanted to back out now was the time, point of no return and all that.
Dawn glared at her darkly. "You know we can't do that. We can't leave a vampire to run around Hogwarts and attack helpless students. We have to kill it, again."
"Then stop your infernal whining and come on!" Ginny hissed. "With you yammering we're sure to be heard and subsequently followed by our nosy older friends."
"Sorry, coming." Pulling herself together and resolved to the inevitable, Dawn clutched her wand tightly in one hand, a stake tightly in the other, and followed Ginny down the hallway and steps leading to the Sunstone common room.
When they reached the bottom of the steps, Ginny peeked her head silently around the corner. She sighed in disgust as she spotted Chris, Hunter, and Dare playing poker directly in line with the portrait hole exit. How were they supposed to get by the damn Seventh Years?
"We're screwed." Dawn muttered.
Ginny reluctantly nodded. "What we need is an Invisibility Cloak. There's no way they won't see us. We'll never get out of here."
"Get out of where?"
The whisper behind them had both girls spinning to see Brad Langford leaned up against the wall next to them. Ginny started to snap at him, but then an idea popped into her mind.
"Langford," Dawn hissed. "Why don't you…"
"Shut up, Dawn." Ginny cut her friend off. She looked to the Hawkthorne and raised a challenging brow. "Langford, how would you like to earn twenty knuts?"
"Ginny!" Dawn's eyes widened as she began to realize what her best friend had planned.
Ginny just waved her off. She centered her concentration on Langford. "Well?"
Langford glared at her suspiciously. "For what?"
"Oh, you just have to go in there and tell Hunter, Chris, and Dare that you thought Dawn and I were doing something suspicious in the bathroom." She told him calmly. "If you can get them to go up to the bathroom through the other hallway, I'll pay you twenty knuts."
He stopped a moment to think it over. Reaching up, Langford ran his hand through his messy black hair and Ginny could practically see the wheels in that sneaky Hawkthorne brain turning. Finally he looked back to Ginny. "Why do you want the Dream Team out of the way?"
"Why do you care?" Ginny shot back.
"Good point." He shrugged ruefully. "Will it affect quidditch?"
"Only if we get caught." Dawn jumped in. "You're help might ensure that we don't."
A moment's more contemplation and Langford sighed. "Fine, but you get caught and suspended from play I'll kill you myself."
"You won't have to." Ginny told him perkily. "My brother, his friends, our friends, and her sister," she hooked a thumb to Dawn, "will fight for the honor."
Rolling his eyes, Langford walked past them. "Just give me a minute and you'll be clear." He strutted lazily into the Sunstone common room and towards the group of three Seventh Years.
"I can not believe you enlisted the help of Brad Langford." Dawn muttered under her breath. "We just made a deal with the dark side."
Ginny shrugged unconcerned. "Buffy teamed up with evil Spike on numerous occasions. It's for the greater good."
"Okay, Nikita, let's just hope it works."
Three minutes later, Ginny was shaking her head in awe as Hunter, Chris, and Dare moved quickly towards the hallway on the other side of the common room. "Damn, I'm good. When in sneaky mode, always employ a Hawkthorne."
"Yeah, yeah." Dawn smirked.
She pushed past Ginny and turned the corner. Ginny followed directly behind her and they made their way over to Langford. Ginny reached in her pocket and pulled out the coins. She emptied them into Langford's open hand and grinned. "Worth every knut."
"Just don't get fucking caught." Langford growled at them menacingly before turning to head back up the steps. On second thought he called back over his shoulder. "Or killed!"
"Aww, Langford!" Dawn cooed. "Didn't know you cared." Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, he didn't hear her.
That over, the girls now turned their attention back seriously to what lay before them. This was no joking matter and they both knew it. They might have fun and pull pranks and play the goofs, but when it came to patrolling they'd learned from the best and Buffy made sure they understood that vampires were not a game. They were both armed with their wands, a stake each, a bottle of holy water hidden in their robes, and as a last resort the cross necklaces around their throats.
Making sure to be quiet and covert, the two girls headed for the portrait hole. They both glanced back one more time to make sure the coast was clear and their friends couldn't follow. No matter what Hunter, Chris, and Dare believed they were not prepared to join this battle. Maybe with time and training, but at the moment they were right where they belonged, safely tucked away in the Sunstone dorms.
No Seventh Years were in sight, so Ginny crawled quickly through the hole in the wall and Dawn followed suit. The painting before the hole swung open to grant them exit, then swung back closed as their feet hit the ground. Ginny turned to smile at the young boy on his quidditch broom in the painting. "Thanks."
He looked about fifteen years old with blonde hair and rosy red cheeks. His entire face blushed crimson at the sound of her voice. "N…no problem. Just do be careful. Would hate for you two ladies to get caught out after curfew. Automatic deduction of house points, that."
"Getting caught is definitely not in the plans." Dawn grinned at him and he blushed even brighter. She chuckled. "We'll see you in a few."
Ginny took a quick glance around to remember exactly where they were on the Fourth Floor. She was still getting used to the new dorms. She nodded as she figured out which way was which and looked back at the boy in the painting. "Oh, by the way, if three Seventh Years happen to come out soon asking where we went…"
"You were never here." The boy nodded sincerely.
"You're a sweetie." Dawn winked at him. Then she turned and followed Ginny towards the entrance to the Grand Staircase. She chuckled under her breath as they got some distance from the painting. "Isn't he just so cute? Too bad he's just a painting."
"I have no comment." Ginny snorted.
She motioned for Dawn to be quiet as they rounded another dark corner. Ginny looked ahead of them to make sure the coast was clear. The dark shadows hung on the walls of Hogwarts like drapes and only the low flicker of candles lit their path. It could look pretty ominous to most, but to Ginny it also felt like coming home. How many nights had she snuck out of her common room to explore or raid the kitchens? Yes, it was good to be back at Hogwarts.
When nothing moved in the stretch of hallway before them, Ginny walked cautiously on. She did, however, hold her wand at the ready just in case. She wasn't afraid and didn't sense any danger, but the last year had taught her to always be prepared.
They continued on down the empty walkway with only the sound of their light footsteps and breathing as company. Their silence seemed to amplify everything else. Ginny could hear the occasional flicker from the flame of a passing candle, the drip of some unknown water in the distance, the hum of ever-present magic in the air of the school itself. She'd never truly noticed or appreciated this before; it was like experiencing every little thing for the very first time.
It was this, if nothing else, that showed Ginny just how much she had changed. She didn't view things with the eyes of a child anymore, but with the eyes of a young woman with some actual experience of life. She was a young woman ready to embrace the life before her with open arms, ready to drink in every sound and sight and smell, even if she knew that not all those sounds, sights, and smells would be pleasant.
A couple of turns later, Ginny looked up to see the entrance to the Grand Staircase. She sighed and motioned for Dawn to follow closely behind her. Generally teachers on patrol avoided the staircase and patrolled the actual floors, so this leg of the trip should be relatively easy. Filch and Mrs. Norris were always an issue, but a small one.
They made it through the archway to the staircase and Ginny glanced once up and down just in case. Everything looked fine, so she waved to Dawn behind her and slowly started down the steps towards the second floor. Several of the paintings spoke to them as they passed, but Ginny just nodded and kept moving. She didn't have time to play nice tonight, besides hanging about was pushing their luck.
Ginny hopped the last stepped and paused on the third floor landing. She moved cautiously on to the next stairs, but then rolled her eyes as she felt them jerk. Somehow she'd known the staircase would choose now to move. She glanced back just quick enough to see Dawn jump from the landing onto the moving steps. Ginny's breath caught in her throat as Dawn fought for balance. She grabbed her best friend's arm and jerked her up safely against the railing.
"Are you nutters?" Ginny hissed. "What if you'd fallen?"
Dawn rolled her eyes. "I didn't fall. Besides, I had no way of finding you if I got left behind and I'm not letting you face this alone."
"I could have found you, you great git!" Ginny growled and shook Dawn roughly as the staircase finally pulled to a rest at its new location. "Don't you EVER do anything that foolish again or I'll contact Buffy myself!"
"Fine." Dawn threw up her hands in surrender, as she seemed to realize exactly how much she'd shaken Ginny up with her stupid stunt. "I just…I'm sorry."
Ginny just growled in frustration and turned away from her friend in disgust. She forced herself to plant one foot in front of the other and continue down the now stable stairs. Dawn followed her silently and Ginny thanked god for small miracles. She could not deal with talking to the other girl at the moment. She was too furious.
Once she finally reached the second floor landing, Ginny peered around the archway and inside. Thankfully the infirmary was one of the first doors on the floor and wouldn't require maneuvering down countless hallways to reach it. Ginny could just spot it through the dim light from where she stood. After holding completely still and silent for a few moments to check for patrolling teachers, Ginny moved forward into the seemingly empty hallway. She kept very close to the wall and crept towards the infirmary doors.
The muffled sound of footsteps behind her told Ginny that Dawn still followed, not that she cared all that much at the moment. She still wanted to whomp her best friend good for that stupid staircase stunt. Who the hell did Dawn think she was? Supergirl?
A small creak sounded from across the hallway and Ginny froze. Her head snapped to Dawn and the other girl shrugged. They both searched the semi-darkness across from them for any movement. Ginny pulled her stake hand up to the ready.
There was nothing there, or at least nothing they could see. Ginny briefly considered that the Gryffindor Trio might be camped out under Harry's invisibility cloak but dismissed the thought. Her brother would have thrown the cloak off and confronted her the moment he recognized her. Ron was not known for holding his temper.
Then something else occurred to Ginny. Malfoy. Okay, he'd been occurring to her a lot lately, but this time there was an actual point and not just fantasizing about snog sessions that would never happen. What if Malfoy was out there in the darkness somewhere? He'd surprised them in the vision. What if he was following them? How could he be following them?
"Let's go." Dawn told her in a harsh whisper. "We can't stand here all night. We'll get caught."
"You're lucky we aren't scraping you off the Grand Staircase floor!" Ginny hissed back. "Don't talk to me!"
"Ginny…"
Dawn began but Ginny just cut her off with a jerking wave of her hand. She turned her back on Dawn and again started creeping towards the infirmary doors. Her Weasley temper was very on edge at the moment and this wasn't the place for a verbal sparring session.
When Ginny's hand slipped around the knob to the infirmary doors she barely heard Dawn's whispered 'Bout time' sound from behind her. She turned the knob sharply to the right and then carefully pushed open the door to keep any sound from ringing out. Moving the knob back up, Ginny slipped her hand silently from it and held the door open sideways to let Dawn pass through. She followed quickly and closed the door again as quietly as possible.
"Okay, so far so good." Dawn sighed. "Do you remember where the body was?" Ginny cut angry eyes back the other girl, but Dawn just rolled her eyes. "I screwed up, I get that Gin. Could you please chill for now? You can beat my a** over it later. At the moment there's a vamp waiting for that pleasure."
Closing her eyes, Ginny slowly let most of her anger flow out of her. Dawn was right. This wasn't the time. She did, however, tuck a tidy amount of anger away for later when they did have time. Ginny wasn't known as a pit bull for nothing. This wasn't over.
With her eyes still closed, Ginny pulled at what she could remember of the vision. When they snapped back open, Ginny raised a hand and pointed towards the dark end of the infirmary. There were rows of beds leading into the darkness and Ginny knew that the last one held a body, the body of a boy about her age, a boy that would never wake back up…or at least not with a pulse.
Taking a deep breath, Dawn started to walk forward and Ginny caught up to walk beside her. As they left the dimly lit portion of the large room and the darkness began to close in, Ginny instinctively pulled up her wand and whispered. "Lumos." Green light buzzed from the wand's tip and radiated a few feet around them. It wasn't much, but it would have to do for the moment. They couldn't risk any brighter spells drawing attention to them. Dawn did, however, pull up her wand and use the same spell. The two working together made it a little easier.
Walking side by side silently together, Ginny couldn't help but feel that familiar camaraderie pour over her. She and Dawn were a team, partners and best friends, always there for each other. Even in this nerve-wracking situation it made Ginny feel warm inside to know that. She wasn't alone anymore and she never would be again.
A shiver ran down Ginny's spine as they finally reached the bed. A large white sheet was pulled up over the bulky shape that could only be a body. The air around them was cold and sterile. Ginny thought she might choke on it.
Looking to Dawn, Ginny noticed the brunette's eyes were shadowed with memories of other times and other bodies. They'd both seen a lot together over the last year and Dawn had seen much before that, but this time there was no Buffy to run to for help. This time it seemed so much more real.
Fighting back her nerves, Ginny reached out and took the sheet lightly in her hand. She gritted her teeth and pulled the fabric back. Her eyes flickered up to the face of the boy, the same face from her vision. Ginny knew that there really hadn't been much question before of the vision's reality, but this confirmed it.
"Same boy?" Dawn's harsh whisper broke the silence and Ginny could only bring herself to nod. Dawn's breath expelled and she reached out tensely to turn the boy's head and reveal his neck. Two holes marred the ashen skin and both girls fought instinctive grief at the waste of life and that they couldn't have done anything to stop it.
"What killed him?"
Twin gasps echoed through the air at those three words and both girls spun around with wands and stakes drawn to face a surprisingly grave Malfoy. He held his hands up in surrender, though he still grasped his wand in one. When they backed down slightly, he nodded towards the bed. "What got him? Avada Kedavra?"
Ginny shook her head jerkily. "No, uh, he's the one Dumbledore mentioned."
"Moldywart's using dark creatures." Dawn jumped in just in case Malfoy hadn't heard Dumbledore's speech at lunch.
Malfoy nodded thoughtfully. Then he seemed to notice something, the stakes in their hands. He lifted questioning brows. "Vampires or some strange colonial fashion statement?"
That quip snapped Ginny from her daze. What was her problem? She'd known he was going to show up. Instinctively she glanced at his arm. Malfoy must have noticed because his lips curved bitterly as he raised his robe to show clear unmarred skin. Ginny grimaced when she met his gaze. "Sorry, uh…"
"Had to check." Malfoy finished for her. "I understand."
"If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't checking to see if you had the actual mark, but if it was blinking."
"Loads." He drawled lazily. Then his eyes sharpened. "Was that it? Just looking at the body and my arm? Was that the vision?"
Ginny rolled her eyes in disbelief. "My own brother doesn't even remember to ask what the vision was about, and Draco Malfoy does?" She snorted and glared at the ceiling as if it held answers to the unfathomable questions of life. "When did I enter the Twilight Zone?" Her head snapped back down and she looked to Malfoy. "No, that wasn't it. Come to think of it…" She turned concerned eyes on Dawn.
Both girls snapped to the defensive immediately. They raised their wands and were about to scan the room when a growl erupted from behind them. Ginny squeaked and spun her head around, but jerked to a hold when she noticed Dawn was now being held off the ground by a hand around her throat.
"Well," Dawn's eyes flickered to Ginny's as she fought to speak and get loose at the same time. "One… question… answered."
"Bloody Fucking Hell!" Malfoy's stunned voice was completely ignored by both girls and the newly risen vampire.
Ginny might have nodded or replied in some way had the vampire not backhanded her hard across the face with his free hand and sent her flying across the room and into the cold hard floor. Her breath was knocked out of her and she wheezed for air.
"GINNY!"
She couldn't tell if that had been Malfoy or Dawn, but she thought it might have been both. In a hysterical way, Ginny found it almost funny that Malfoy might actually be worried about her. But Ginny quickly pushed those insane thoughts aside and pulled on her training and experience from the last year. Forcing the pain in her back and neck away, Ginny pulled herself to her feet and scanned the room.
Dawn was still held suspended by the former victim. The vampire was now holding Dawn directly before him as a shield against Malfoy. Malfoy's eyes were jerking from them to Ginny and back again stunned and obviously not knowing what to do.
Ginny reached for her wand, and found it gone. Her eyes scanned the darkness knowing her Lumos spell must have went out when the wand left her hand. She barely spotted it a few feet to the left of the vampire and her best friend. She debated diving for it, but the pain in her back had her pushing that thought aside. It was time to take things to the next level.
Forcing her fear and nerves away, Ginny reached deep within herself and found her focus. She found her power. Pulling at the magic that resided within her, Ginny threw out her hand towards the piece of wood. "WAND!"
A moment later the wand sliced through the air and landed perfectly in her open palm. Her fingers wrapped snugly around it and she snapped hand and wand to the ready.
Ginny ignored Malfoy's shocked breath from a few feet away and focused all her energy, her power, her magic on Dawn. "Dawn." She spoke calmly both aloud and through the mental connection she just formed. Dawn's eyes snapped around to meet Ginny's. Ginny could feel the fear and panic her friend projected, as well as the relief Dawn had received at knowing Ginny was okay.
"Dawn, calm down." Ginny told her soothingly as she fought her own panic and pain. "We can do this. You know we can." Forcing herself to project more confidence then she actually possessed, Ginny kept her eyes locked with Dawn's. "We can do this."
Ginny noticed the second that ingrained determination sparked in Dawn's eyes. She felt the fear, panic, and pain shoved aside as anger and strength took their place. Dawn nodded slightly at Ginny and then froze completely in the vampire's grasp.
The vampire paused momentarily taken aback as his shield and prey stopped struggling against him and it was all Dawn needed. She jerked her head straight back into the vampire's face crushing his nose. The newly risen vampire didn't have the experience to ride out the pain; he jerked back and howled as he dropped Dawn to the floor.
The quick-minded brunette immediately dove as far as she could to the side and her eyes snapped back to Ginny. "CLEAR!"
Dawn's loud call unlocked Ginny's frozen pose. She snapped the wand and called on her magic. "INCENDIO!" Orange sparks shot from the end of her wand and struck the vampire square in the chest. The former Hogwarts student only had time to look up in realization of that word before he burst into flames. His howls of pain echoed through the stunned room for only a few brief moments before he exploded into dust and disappeared as if he had never existed at all.
Hollow silence hung in the air as the three remaining students looked at each other. Now that the danger had passed, Ginny felt her power slipping back to its resting place. It took her strength, adrenaline, and numbness with it. Pain wracked her body again as it remembered being slammed into the floor. A slightly pained, slightly hysterical grin curved her lips as Ginny turned her eyes back to Malfoy. "THAT was the vision."
The world around her faded to black as exhaustion and pain won the battle raging within her battered body. She didn't even notice as she slumped towards the floor, nor did she feel the strong arms that caught her safely before she could hit. Her mind was already slipping away seeking the rest it so desperately needed, but somehow she knew that she was safe, that she was protected, and that everything would be alright.
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End of Chapter
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Well? Hope you liked it! I'd love any suggestions or comments you can throw my way! Replies keep the old muse going…hehehe…
Hope to hear from some of you soon!
PLEASE R&R!!!
Catch you later,
Jade Elise
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FEEDBACK:
ashley, Trixi Hellfire, babytigercub14, Alexi Maree, adrienne, and Firefly: Thanks so much! I LOVE reviews and they just make writing a story much more fun for me. I'm glad you're enjoying the story and I hope you continue to! I'm certainly having a blast writing it.
Evil Slytherin Child: Well, I think Draco might be a little upset when Ginny kicks his butt because she has been in training for the last year. We'll just have to see…hehehe…that might put a little snag in their budding relationship…lol
butterfly kisses: Ginny says Dawn should call him Mini-Spike because he looks and acts like Spike and because he walks the line between good and evil. Although Draco isn't by any means a NICE person, he isn't evil. It was just talking about those shades of gray…lol
l88er-az: Glad you like the story. I'm trying to stay true to HP and BTVS especially with the humor. I think the comic relief is a big part of both and you just can't leave that out completely.
Anyanka: Yeah, I'm having much fun with Dawn and Creepy Guy. I can just SO see her driving him up the wall with her perkiness. As for Spike…I'm really not decided. I've read a couple of Spike/Willow fics that I like but I've read some with Spike/Buffy that I like as well. The reason I put in Draco calling Ginny "Red" was because it was one more thing in the "Like Spike" category. Hope you like the next chapter!
MelissaAdams: LOL, I know all about escaping life through reading. I'm glad you think my story is good enough to give you that. Hope you continue to feel that way. Also glad you like how Dawn is going. I am having so much fun with her! And, of course, you gotta love Draco and Ginny…hehehe
Adie: I completely sympathize with your PC problems…LOL I have certainly wanted to kick my own on occasion. Hope you keep enjoying the story!
Jill: My Buffy-fan friends and I call them "Evil Bunnies". We have joined Anya in her campaign against those evil fluffballs and are convinced they have inhabited the Internet just to drive us nuts! I have to agree about the shades of gray. I actually tend to like characters better when they aren't squeaky clean and pure. It makes them much more interesting in my opinion. I LOVED the HP books and I'm sure I will continue to, but I do believe that just because the hero doesn't like someone does not mean they are evil. Nice and Good don't always go hand in hand. That is one reason that I really hope that Draco doesn't ultimately end up evil in the books…it would just be so typical.
shanm: I think I can safely promise you at least one Ginny/Draco sparring session…hehehe…probably in their Friday Advanced Training class.
Coru: Well, the Quidditch team has been picked so you can just read whether she made it or not. I am undecided on whether they'll beat all the Hogwarts teams cause Harry is just wicked lucky at catching the Snitch and I don't know if even Hunter can beat him. We'll just have to see what happens. I love playing around with Dawn and Snape. I just think their personalities are destined to clash. At this point she is so perky she almost scares him…lol.
sciphy: I haven't been able to focus that much on Dawn's lovelife with how tense Ginny's is getting, but we'll get there. I've got plans…lol. And almost every female student in Hogwarts is going to be crushing on Sirius…hehehe
Auroralexis: Thanks much! Staying true to the characters is a big priority for me and I'm having a blast with Dawn.
virgin-of-the-rose-blossom: I think you'll see some of our favorite blonde vampire before too long…hope you keep reading.
Shattered Destiny: Wow, I'm glad you like it. This is my first G/D fic and I was kinda nervous about it and whether I could pull it off. Thanks again.
pandora666: Well, I think Ginny definitely needs to kick some ass. She spent long enough quiet and invisible damn it!…lol
CrazyAboutDraco: Well, I hate your story is in French or I'd check it out. I love fanfiction…hehehe. Thanks for the review!
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NEXT CHAPTER:
Ginny, Dawn, and Draco have some explaining to do. A panel of professors is called in and secrets are revealed! Hope you keep reading!
