~Chapter Two~
She was in a cloud, a fuzzy place. She just wanted to rest, but there were voices nagging at her, telling her to wake up. The clouds were fading away to be replaced with stone floors, like the one she was laying on. Wait a minute, lying on? It all came back to her, the detention, Harry clutching his scar, and the unbearable pain. She moaned in remembrance.
"Ginny?" she heard a voice calling her name, Harry's voice? "Ginny wake up!" yes that was Harry's voice.
Ginny tentatively opened her eyes. She was lying on the cold ground of the storeroom that she was just sweeping. Dazed, she looked around and saw Harry sitting at her side. There was redness on his forehead, as if his scar had bled.
"What happened?" she muttered.
"Well, I heard you scream and when I looked over, you had fainted."
"How long?" Ginny asked.
"Only a couple of minutes, Snape hasn't had time to notice anything amiss," Harry replied.
"On the contrary Potter, I have," a smooth cold voice cut in.
Immediately, Harry stood up. "Er…Professor," he said, obviously at a loss of words.
Snape's eyes swiftly appraised the situation. "What has happened in here? I don't take well to people hatching plots to get themselves out of detention."
"It was nothing Professor," Ginny answered, knowing that Harry didn't like people to know about his connection to Voldemort, though she suspected Snape already knew. Harry spent a lot of time in the dungeons last year as she recalled. Ginny attempted to stand up only to find, to her dismay, that her legs were incapable of supporting her. She glared at her legs in disgust. "I was feeling a bit dizzy and merely laid down to take a quick rest to regain some energy. Harry was worried and came over to see how I was. That's all Professor I swear. Sorry to disturb you," Ginny said, finishing her explanation.
"Of course, but that doesn't explain the scream of pain that I heard a few minutes ago, and how Potter came to have blood on his forehead. I don't take well to being lied to Miss Weasley," Snape replied.
Ginny gave a frantic look to Harry. There was no way they were going to get out of this one. Suddenly, a yell came from inside the Potions room.
"Professor Snape where are you? SNAPE!"
Snape, obviously recognizing the voice, rushed into the other room. Harry helped Ginny to her feet and supported her as they followed Snape into the other room. There, in the doorway of the Potions Classroom, stood Blaise Zabini supporting an unconscious Draco Malfoy.
"What happened?" Snape asked Blaise as he walked over to her to help settle Draco on a nearby table.
"It was another attack Professor, we couldn't find his potion in time. This one came on too fast." Blaise explained.
"And how are you okay Zabini?" Snape asked.
"I always keep my potion on hand, no matter what. I'm more susceptible to these things than Draco is. It must have been a bad one to put him in this kind of shape…"
A noise from the other side of the room drew Blaise's attention away from her head of house. Ginny was trying to make her way to the other side of the room, using tables and chairs to support her while Harry was trying desperately to draw Ginny back into the room from which they came. Harry looked up and met Blaise's eyes. Finding that they had been discovered, Harry reluctantly let Ginny go. There was no point in hiding now.
"What are they doing here Professor?" Blaise asked Snape.
Snape glanced back to where Harry still stood, "They had detention tonight."
"Oh."
Meanwhile, Ginny had finally reached Draco's side. She had noticed from the other side of the room that Draco had been bleeding and had come to check out just how much. She gasped in shock when she saw how bad a condition he was in. Automatically she reached for her wand before realizing that it wasn't there. She glanced up to find Snape's cold penetrating glare on her.
"Normally he doesn't pass out like this," Blaise was saying quietly to Snape. "We can't take him to Pomfrey, too many unwanted questions. Do you think that we can get a potion down his throat when he is unconscious? I didn't want to try it in the common room…" Blaise noticed that Snape's attention was no longer on her, but focused on the Weasley girl sitting next to Draco. Her eyes narrowed in speculation.
"Miss Weasley," Snape started. "I do believe you were taking some healing classes on the side last year with Madam Pomfrey, am I correct?"
"Yes sir," Ginny replied.
"Do you think you could heal Mr. Malfoy?" Snape continued.
"I could."
"But…" Blaise interrupted, knowing that there was a condition from the tone in Ginny's voice.
"I will heal Malfoy if I am told what is going on."
"Done," Snape said and handed Ginny her wand. "You would have found out anyway I am sure, from the Headmaster."
Ginny nodded and proceeded to heal the scraps and cuts that she could see along his arms and on his face. While doing this, she noticed that the blood coming from many of these wounds appeared to be black. Oh sure, some of it was the normal red color, but most was black. She stored this information away for further contemplation.
"I am going to have to remove his shirt and pants in order to find and heal the rest of his injuries," Ginny said in a demanding tone.
"Of course," Snape replied.
She looked up for a moment in surprise when no protest came forth before gently removing Draco's shirt and pants, leaving him in his boxers. She forced herself to deal with the situation at hand and so spent no time admiring his body, though she would have liked to. Once all the scrapes and bruises were taken care of, Ginny gently dressed him again and sat back in her chair exhausted. "He should wake in an hour or so, but he's going to be dizzy, he lost a lot of blood," she said.
Snape nodded in confirmation that he'd heard what Ginny said and placed a levitating spell on Draco. Noting the curious glances from three different faces, albeit Zabini's was well hidden behind a mask of indifference, Snape told them that they were all going to see Headmaster Dumbledore.
Ginny sighed, for she knew that there was no chance that her legs would support her for that kind of journey, not after the fainting ordeal and then using more energy to heal Malfoy, but she attempted to get up anyway. Immediately she felt herself supported and looked to find the familiar figure of Harry. He was putting her arm around his shoulder in order to help her to Dumbledore's office. When he saw that she was looking at him, he grinned at her, causing her to grin back. This was by far a more interesting detention then they had bargained for. Plus they were getting out of cleaning that room…
"Canary Creams," Snape muttered to the statue of the gargoyle. They had finally reached their goal, Dumbledore's office. Ginny and Harry both snickered at the password while Snape settled for glaring at their amusement. They stepped onto the moving staircase and soon found themselves in front of Dumbledore's office door.
"Come in," said a voice inside, before they had even thought to knock. They entered. "I have been expecting you," Dumbledore said by way of a greeting.
"Does anything surprise this guy?" Harry muttered to Ginny and received a grin from Dumbledore who had heard the question.
"Now what seems to be the problem?" Dumbledore asked the group as a whole.
Before answering, Snape placed the still unconscious Draco onto one of the seats scattered around the office. Dumbledore glanced at Draco and then looked to Snape. "Another attack?" he asked Snape.
"Yes, but this time it seems to have a larger effect," Snape answered.
Dumbledore, who had just been pondering the presence of Harry and Ginny in his office, returned his attention to Snape with a start. "How so?" he asked.
Snape nodded to Harry and Ginny. While the attention had not been on them, Harry had helped the weakened Ginny into a chair, across the room from where Draco was. Harry himself stood near it in case Ginny was in need of assistance again. There was still a slight trace of blood on Harry's forehead. Dumbledore's keen, though old, eyes took in all of this with merely a glance. His gaze seemed to linger on Harry's forehead and slowly seemed to understand the situation a bit more clearly.
"So it is time," he said softly.
Harry looked up in curiosity. "What time is it Headmaster?" he asked.
Dumbledore looked at Harry. "There is another prophecy that not many know of. It is as old as this school and very important to the safety of the Wizarding World. When it was first uttered, nobody knew what it was about or when it would take effect. Soon they figured it was just nonsense and slowly it has been forgotten. What I am talking about is, of course, the Raven's prophecy."
Everyone in the office was riveted to Dumbledore's story. It is not often that they see Dumbledore so serious. Even Blaise had trouble maintaining her usual cool and reserved mask as she leaned forward in interest. Nobody noticed Draco stirring.
"Now the Raven's prophecy is so named because it was delivered by none other than Rowena Ravenclaw herself. She knew the importance of this prophecy and has ensured its survival throughout the centuries, though even she didn't know the time in which this prophecy would be needed. Throughout the many years since the founding of Hogwarts, the prophecy has been carefully handed down from one Headmaster to the next, meaning of course that it was hidden in an obscure part of their office. It took me at least 5 years of searching in order to find it. It is very fortunate that I remained curious about the mysteries of this office or it would still be lost." Here Dumbledore seemed to sink into memories, perhaps reliving the day in which he had finally found the prophecy.
Curiosity seemed to plague the rest in the room, except of course Snape, and the now wide-awake Draco who had heard it before, the prophecy that is, not the story.
"What does it say?" Ginny said into the silence.
Dumbledore was startled back into the present by the breaking of the silence. "What does it say? Well I would assume that you all would have found it by now. Only those who know about the prophecy, as you now do, can see it hanging on the wall over there," Dumbledore vaguely pointed to the wall beside Ginny's chair. "I spelled it myself," Dumbledore said proudly, as if expecting praise. Nobody moved for a second. "Well go on read it!" Dumbledore encouraged.
Blaise, Harry and Ginny slowly made their way over to the wall and found the prophecy. Here is what it said:
Far gone into the future,
My eyes have searched and found
An evil we have never seen
Yet away we shrink and bound.
For power shall this evil have,
And use it wrongly he will
The world shall weep in misery
While he continues to kill
And he will live when others die
Though mistake will be its cause
The world will rejoice in evil gone
But alas, they celebrate a pause.
For only he can kill himself
True evil knows no other
And so it seems there is no hope
For where is there another?
Search my friend long and hard
And eventually you will find
The four who must, in time be one
The blood, soul, power and mind.
Whether darkness or light shall triumph
The end is not mine to know
Remember always the value of life,
Those who forget are the foe
Know this, as surely as the dawn brings sun
Only the four can bring down the one
After reading the prophecy, the three fell silent, pondering its meaning. It was Ginny who first began to understand it.
"It's talking about now isn't it? The period of time that is happening right now."
"Yes, Miss Weasley, it is," Dumbledore replied.
"Yes, I understand it. It's talking about Voldemort, and how Harry delayed his rise to power, but everyone thought that he defeated him. And then it tells us the true way that Voldemort can be defeated. Through his own blood, power, mind, and," here she paused. "Soul," she finished.
"Ah, I see Virginia has figured out her part in the prophecy," Dumbledore said in praise.
"Aye, and I think I understand everyone else's," she answered.
"Well, then I suppose you should be the one to tell us then," Dumbledore prompted.
"Sure I suppose. It's all pretty simple once you think about it and I'm sure you have all figured it out by now. Harry is obviously the power that is mentioned in the prophecy, since through that scar on his forehead he has inherited some of Voldemort's abilities such as the parseltongue. Malfoy…" Ginny had just then glanced over to wear Draco had been set earlier and was shocked to find him awake. Her pause alerted the others to Draco's consciousness.
"Ah, you're awake," Dumbledore said pleased. "I hope that this attack hasn't injured you any. You are feeling better?"
"Yes," Draco replied. "I'm just a little dizzy. What sort of story did you give Madam Pomfrey?"
"Madam Pomfrey? Why would we have to give her a story?" Dumbledore asked in confusion.
"You mean you didn't take me there?" Draco asked, the only indication he was surprised by this turn of events was a slight widening of his eyes.
"No, of course not, Miss Weasley over there healed you. Now if you please Virginia, continue with the explanation," Dumbledore said.
"Right, Malfoy is the blood, though I am not sure by what events. I know he is because I noticed that the blood that he bled during the attack was black instead of the usual red, a sure sign of evilness that is being contained in order to avoid contaminating other parts. I assume that it wouldn't be contained if it was Malfoy's blood and not someone else's. I…I am the soul. Which leaves Zabini to be the mind if I am correct in assuming that we are the four?"
"Yes, you are," Dumbledore affirmed.
"May I direct a question to Miss Weasley, Headmaster?"
"Of course you may Draco. I am sure Miss Weasley will answer it if she is comfortable doing so," Dumbledore answered as Ginny nodded her head in agreement.
"She seemed to elaborate on Potter's condition as well as mine, but was suspiciously silent on her own. How did she end up in the possession of a piece of Voldemort's soul?"
"Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore asked after a long pause during which Ginny had said nothing. "You don't have to explain if you don't want to."
"No, Headmaster. I might as well get it over with. If we're going to have to work together on something this important, they deserve to know my part in this whole thing is. You might remember my first year with the basilisk and the Chamber of Secrets," Ginny began and continued at their nods. "What you may not know is that I am the one who opened the chamber…" Ginny proceeded to tell them about her experience with the diary of Tom Riddle, who is now known as Voldemort, and how a piece of his soul was entrapped in that diary. She then told them how, through her entries in the diary, Riddle slowly gained control over her and eventually placed his soul in her in order to use her life force to live. "Harry came down the chamber when they found out I was missing and destroyed the diary, cutting off Riddle's soul from his plan, which was encrypted into the diary. Without something to guide it, the soul was useless and has remained trapped inside me," Ginny finished. She was afraid to look at the others, afraid to see their reaction to the nightmare in her life.
"Well, it's getting late; why don't we all meet again some other time in order to sort out a plan?" Dumbledore said.
Everyone agreed. Ginny practically sprinted out of there when they were finally dismissed. All she wanted to do was to get to her bed and try to forget about that horrible time in her first year. In her rush, she didn't see the curious eyes that followed her out. She didn't see them, but someone else did.
"Malfoy, may I have a word," Harry said as they were leaving.
"No," Draco said, and continued on his way to the dungeons, careful not to move too fast.
"Fine ferret, be like that. Just don't pry into her business," Harry spat.
"And what business is that?" Draco asked, stopping to glance back at Harry.
"Look, don't bring that up okay. She'll be really touchy if you, especially you, do, understand? I know that you're curious about it, but just don't."
"What are you talking about Potter?" Draco drawled.
"Don't you know anything ferret? It was your father who gave her that blasted diary," Harry said and turned to walk away, leaving a stunned Draco behind him.
* * * *
A/N: Here's Chap 2! Hope you enjoy it! ~Irish
PS. I can assure you that updates in the future may not be as fast as they are right now, its just I have so much time to write during winter break and I'm trying to get as much of this story done while I have so many ideas for it!