In the Shadows: a Tale of Silver and Gold (in seven parts)
Part II: Unraveling the Floo Network
"Are you feeling alright? Better?" Ron pushed another piece of hamsteak towards Ginny. "You should probably eat some more."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Ron. And I'm not hungry." Ginny shoved the plate back as Harry, Hermione, and the rest of the sixth year Gryffindors looked on, amused.
"You need to get your strength back."
"I have my strength back. Nothing happened!"
Ron frowned, but said nothing more. Hermione, true to her word, had not revealed to Ron or Harry what really happened in the Forbidden Forest. All they knew is that she'd "saved" Malfoy from something, and that was what had him beholden to her.
Of course, Ron had wanted to take full advantage of that, but Ginny refused. Beyond having to explain the truth, she also didn't want to upset Malfoy any more than he already was. There was really no telling what he might do when her back was turned.
She glanced over at the Slytherin table; Malfoy was nowhere to be found. Hermione, who'd followed her gaze, shrugged.
"Come on…Charms is about to start." Harry looked put off, but he, Hermione and Ron gathered their books. "Take care, Ginny. And watch yourself. Don't do anything too difficult, alright? I'll check on you around lunch?"
Ginny sighed. "I will be FINE."
"Come on," Harry said, catching Ginny's wearied expression and shoving Ron gently in the back. "We don't want to be late."
By lunch, Ginny was puzzled. She knew she'd have to be on the lookout for Malfoy, but the problem was, he wasn't anywhere to be looked after.
"He wasn't in Charms," Hermione told her at the table. "I overheard Pansy mention something to Professor Flitwick about his not feeling well."
"Do you think he really needed to go to the hospital wing?"
"I suppose so. She also said Draco had come back with a bandage wrapped around his head."
"What?! Madam Pomfrey can heal cuts instantly. Why would he have his head wrapped?"
"This isn't the first time he's done this, you know. He seems to enjoy the sympathy."
"No…there's more to this, I'm certain of it. He's up to something."
Harry and Ron arrived at that moment, and they couldn't discuss anymore, especially since Ron spent most of lunch checking her pulse and watching her eat.
By mid-afternoon, Ginny was completely out of sorts. Malfoy wouldn't have kept to the dormitories this long, and she'd even gone to the Hospital wing to check and make sure he wasn't there. But he was nowhere to be found. When she'd tried to press one of the Slytherins about where he'd gone to, the girl (a first year) merely squeaked that it wasn't any of her business and to be on her way.
Ginny had given her detention for being smart to a prefect.
A First year! To a PREFECT!!
The rest of the day went little better. In Potions, she'd been attempting a boil remover when one of the Slytherin students mentioned something about Draco's being 'in dire straits' and 'unable to come out of his room at all.' She'd been so caught up in their conversation she'd misread the ingredient list and spent a half-hour after Potions cleaning up the exploded, pustule covered contents of her cauldron, with Professor Snape muttering something about 'Weasley's and explosions.'
Then, at Quidditch practice, something she normally was completely focused on, she missed half a dozen goals—without Ron playing Keeper—at which point Harry (on Ron's insistence) decided she needed to 'allow the alternates time to practice.'
And when she happened upon two fourth years snogging in one of the abandoned classrooms later that afternoon, she had scolded them, promised points would be deducted from their respective Houses, given them detention, and sent them on their way—then realized she didn't know who they were or to which Houses they belonged!
Malfoy has me entirely confused. If this keeps up, I'm going to go mental by sunset!
She decided that worrying would accomplish nothing. If Malfoy said anything, she'd deal with it then.
At which point, he finally appeared. Ginny was returning to the Great Hall for dinner, when she caught a gleam of silver hair (poking through a swath of bandages) slipping up the main staircase. A wash of mottled confusion and, strangely enough, relief, washed through her. But if he was out of bed, then…
I knew it!! He IS up to something…
Shouldering her bag, she tiptoed after him, following as discreetly as she could. Thankfully, a few Sneak Spells helped her out a bit.
Too bad he didn't think of those for himself yesterday…
His first stop was the Owlery, and the great eagle owl that belonged to the Malfoy family. He paused there only for a moment; tore open the small, rolled parchment attached to the owl's leg, and smiled.
She slid into the shadows as he walked past her, discarding the parchment into a potted plant nearby.
Twit…who would be so careless?
The note read: "It's Ready. Divination."
Ginny followed him as he headed to the staircase. He had to be going to the Divination classroom. Otherwise, there would be no reason for Malfoy to be sneaking in the upper reaches of the castle after hours.
She made her way up to the Divination Tower slowly, giving him time to move ahead. When she reached the classroom's trap door, she found that he'd somehow managed to pull down the ladder and climb inside.
It had been almost a year since Madam Trelawney had been removed from her position as Professor of Divination and replaced with Firenze, the Centaur. Rumor had it Dumbledore had kept her around, but her delicate nature, frazzled by the punishment inflicted by Professor Umbridge, had made her unable to take up classes again. But she maintained her home in the Divination Tower, only going out from time to time.
This must have been one of them.
The fire in the normally hazy Tower had been snuffed out, and the misty, perfumed smell that typically shrouded the room was gone. Madam Trelawney's teacups were all in a row, however, and her puff cushions, settees and large armchairs neatly cleaned and arranged, as though she were expecting a class tomorrow.
Draco (bandages conveniently removed) had made his way to the tiny Divination fireplace, discarding the dried herbs that hung there with a distasteful grimace, and grinning as he withdrew a small pouch from beneath his robes. He pulled on the strings with delicate fingers, allowing a thin, sparkling substance to slip into his palm.
Floo Powder…
"MINISTRY OF…"
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?"
Malfoy jumped as Ginny slipped out of the shadows, flinging the Floo powder across the fireplace. It exploded in a burst of bright green flame.
For the first time in his life, Draco Malfoy actually appeared speechless. He stared at her in complete surprise.
"Wha…what are you doing here?"
"I should ask you the same question, Malfoy! What are you doing up here—with Floo powder? You know that the Floo circuits won't lead into or out of the school unless you have special permission."
Draco's surprised expression faded back into his customary sneer. "Which as a matter of fact I have, Weasley. And where I'm off to is none of your concern."
She planted her hands on her hips. "If it concerns Hagrid, Harry, Hermione or anyone else I know, it does."
"What if I told you it doesn't?"
"Then I'd know you were lying and I'd go to Professor Snape. I bet he'd not be to pleased to find you're sneaking out of school grounds, even if you are his favorite."
"Professor Snape would not be as concerned as you might think."
"Fine…Dumbledore then!"
"Go and tell him!" Draco turned to face her, the simmering green flames casting a haunting shadow across his pale face. "Then he'd have to face up to the fact that Hagrid has a giant hidden in the Forbidden Forest! If nothing else, it would get that great lump dismissed."
Ginny hesitated, her foot tapping wildly.
"And what about your friends? Granger will lose her Prefect position. And Potter will bear the guilt of having disappointed two of his friends. Not to mention your brother…"
"Then why not just go ahead and go to Snape in the first place? You'd get everything you wanted accomplished. Why sneak about?"
It was Draco's turn to hesitate.
Realization dawned on Ginny. "You don't want him to know…any of it. What, are you afraid I'm going to tell them you tried to save me?"
"I…I didn't save you!"
"Yes, yes you did!" she pointed a finger at him. "YOU tried to protect me when I fell." "I did not!"
"Even so, you did save me. You prevented me from being really badly hurt. And you don't want the others to know you did that, do you?"
Draco gritted his teeth, his gray eyes going wide. "Even if I did, it doesn't matter now. I might not be able to get after Potter or Granger, but that oaf Hagrid and his giant are going to be tossed out of Hogwarts once and for all!" He turned back to the fire, seizing another handful of Floo Powder.
"Ministry of Magic Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures, Beast…"
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Ginny cried, tossing her bag aside and leaping for him.
"…Di...vee-arhg…ree…uh…rmm--let go, Weasley!"
She seized at his arm, forcing him to throw the entire handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace. As they struggled, the flames rose to an astonishing height, bursting out of the tiny hearth in an explosion of green, engulfing them completely. With an flurry of shouts, they were pulled inside the grating, and disappeared.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! I CAN'T BLOODY BELIEVE THIS!"
Harry frowned as Ron paced the length of the Gryffindor common room, and turned to Hermione, who was watching their friend worriedly over her mountain of books. Ron had already chased away most of the Gryffindor students, threatening detention to anyone who appeared cheeky, interrupted his train of thought with their writing, or dared get in the way of his pacing (despite his having paced in places where it was nearly impossible to pace.) Those remaining appeared as though they might pull out their wands should he make any sudden, dangerous moves.
"Where could she have gone?" Hermione whispered to Harry, as two more first years abandoned their attempts at studying and bolted from the room beneath Ron's dark and terrifying gaze.
"I haven't the foggiest."
"THE SECOND NIGHT IN A ROW! WHAT IS SHE THINKING? HAS SHE GONE MAD?"
The portrait hole flipped open, and Neville Longbottom came in, looking perturbed.
"Ginny wasn't in the library. And do you want to know something odd? Luna said she saw Ginny trailing Malfoy to the Owlery sometime this afternoon. On top of that, Malfoy wasn't at dinner. And that the Slytherins haven't seen him."
Ron stopped pacing. "MALFOY?"
Harry gripped Ron's shoulders as he charged towards Neville. "Calm down, Ron. Neville, did Luna know why Ginny was following Malfoy?"
Neville, who had been staring at Ron with a pale face, shook his head slowly. "Luna just said she saw them heading up the hallway. First Malfoy, then Ginny. After that, she didn't know where they disappeared to. It was kind of hard to get that out of her, actually…she started talking about the moon-calves that had appeared on the terrace."
"But isn't Malfoy supposed to be laid up?"
"That's what Pansy said."
"MALFOY?" Ron repeated, splotchy red patches blossoming across his face.
"Now, listen, Ron," said Hermione, rising and placing a hand on Ron's arm. "I'm sure she's fine. We don't know she's with Malfoy."
Her calm tone seemed to have an effect on him, and Harry released his friend for a moment. "I think we should go have a look around the Owlery. Perhaps it will give us a clue as to where she's been."
"Not you," Hermione said, as Ron immediately whirled for the portrait hole. "You'll just get upset and attract attention. I can go out after hours, and I'll just explain to anyone coming by that I was taking Harry to the hospital wing because his scar hurt."
"But…"
"It's no good, mate. Hermione's right." Harry pushed Ron gently into a nearby armchair. "Besides…Ginny has to have someone here waiting for her when she comes back, right?"
After a moment, Ron nodded, then turned to the group of students gathered around the hearth. "His scar hurt. Got that?"
The students nodded, wide-eyed, in unison.
Harry turned to Neville and sighed. "Keep an eye on him?"
"Alright."
"Let's go then," he said to Hermione as they walked out the door, glancing over his shoulder at Ron's periodically twitching form. "The sooner we figure this out, the better."
Draco shot out of the fireplace, his robes covered in dust, ash, and some kind of dark green slime that had been present near the bottom of the shaft—something of which he had no desire to find out the origin.
Weasley had landed beside him, covered in soot, and coughing from the cloud of smoke that had emerged with them. He cast about, searching the surroundings, most of which were shrouded in darkness.
"Lumos."
The area around the fireplace looked old, and dusty, and was crawling with strange vines.
This certainly doesn't look like the Ministry of Magic…
As if mirroring his thoughts, Weasley turned to him and heaved a frustrated sigh. "Now where have you got us to?"
He looked at her in disbelief. "Don't start, Weasley…I had nothing to do with this. You were the one who followed me."
"Well, we're here now…and I'd really like to know where here is."
She stared at him. Draco crossed his arms and lifted his chin.
She clenched her fists in anger. "Alright, fine! Just…just give me that Floo powder. I'm going back to Hogwarts."
"I don't believe so. If you want to find a way back to Hogwarts, then do your best. But this is mine, and I'm using it to get back when I'm finished here."
Weasley pursed her lips and stared at him. "Is this going to turn into what it was yesterday?" "No, because this time, I'll be petrifying you."
She threw up her hands. "Then I'd really rather put that off until we get back to Hogwarts? If you don't mind? I don't know where we are, I'd very much like to find out before I end up in serious trouble, and I since it appears you've not ended up in your desired destination, either, it seems safe to say that neither of us has time to bother with arguments or dueling right now."
Draco pursed his lips, thinking. In one aspect, she was right. And he'd really rather not suffer the hassle of another duel. Especially one he might lose.
Still, her attitude was exactly what he disliked about the entire Weasley family. "Who says I've not ended up where I wanted? I believe I've gotten exactly where I wanted to go—the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Creatures—beast division."
"Beast division? Why would we be there?"
"For that giant, you half-wit."
Weasley flushed red. "For your information, Malfoy, a giant is considered a being, not a beast, and would be taken care of under the Being division."
"Not in my book."
With that, he turned and strode off, marching through the small door to the right of the hearth.
To his relief, she followed him out without pulling out her wand. "You're lucky I'm not really in the mood to fight you today," she said, taking in the surroundings. They had come out of a small stone cabin, into what looked like a smaller, less foreboding version of the Forbidden Forest. "And this certainly doesn't look like any Division in the Ministry of Magic I've ever seen."
"And you would know how?"
"Because my father works for the Ministry, you prat."
"Oh, right…that high-level job of his. What does he do again? Fix Muggle toilets?"
"One of these days, I swear…"
She didn't have a chance to finish her threat. Something behind them had made her pause. The air around them was cool, but pitch black beyond the small circle of light emitted by Draco's wand.
And filled with the sounds of low, heavy breathing.
Ginny turned to glance behind her. "Ummm…what part of the Beast Division did we end up in, exactly?" "Is there more than one part?"
"Of course. Every division has many sec…tions…" she slid up a bit closer to him as something to her right shifted in the shadows. "But you just said 'beast division' so we should have come down the main floo…right?"
Draco tried to think of exactly what he'd said. He'd been struggling with Weasley at the time…
"The Beast Division has…what other areas?"
"There's the Complaints office, the Sightings office, the Care and Capture facilities…but they're all offices…like Dad's. Nothing like this…"
"Anything else?"
"The Vivarium…"
"The what?"
"I don't know exactly what it is. Only that Dad's mentioned it once or…" She paused as two shadows soared above them, blotting out the light. Draco craned his neck, taking in the huge, domed ceiling that rose above them. Near its apex, a swarm of bat-like creatures were circling slowly, rotating towards them.
He turned to her wide-eyed. "What exactly do they keep in this 'vivarium?'"
"I told you, I'm not sure…only that Dad told Fred and George one time that if they ever wanted to visit, they should be prepared to come out looking less than identical…"
"I think," Draco flipped around suddenly as another shadow moved, just beyond the circle of light emitted by his wand. "…I think we should probably get back to Hogwarts. I can always come back later."
Ginny made a face, but nodded, still keeping close to him.
They marched backwards, away from the moving shadows, towards the small stone cabin, and the dirt path from which they'd come. Draco whirled around to take the last length of the hill, and stopped dead.
Settled on the ground before them, blocking their way, was a huge, furry beast, its lion's body curled in front of the doorway, a great, spine-tipped tail whipping softly beside it. Within the folds of the great mane, Draco could make out what appeared to be a human face…
The creature tilted its face to the side, watching them, tail flicking.
Ginny grasped his shoulder, shaking him. "A manticore. It's a manticore!"
"Quite right," the creature replied with a smile.
Harry stroked Hedwig softly, glancing about as Hermione scoured the Owlery one last time. They had searched for over fifteen minutes, looking for any sign that might lead to Ginny's whereabouts, but found nothing. Harry had even tried approaching the Malfoy's gray eagle-owl, but had his hand pecked so severely that Hermione had to wrap it in her handkerchief.
"Nothing. We have absolutely no idea where she might have gone."
"We're doing no good hanging about here. We might as well get back to the Common Room. Ron will be worried."
"I just wish Ginny had told me what she was doing, following Malfoy up here. I know she was afraid he might go against his word, but she also told me that he'd promised he would not say anything to anyone. Not even the Slytherins."
"And you and Ginny believed him?"
"Of course not! But Ginny had enough against him to almost assure he wouldn't say anything…"
Harry eyed her suspiciously, but decided not to press her.
They'd almost made their way back to the Common Room when a bright burst of light exploded in their path, startling Harry into a statue of arms—which shoved him rather rudely back with a stream of impolite, if unnecessary, curses.
Hermione, who'd skittered behind a drapery, peeped out at the small figure that was standing in front of them, hands clasped in apology.
"DOBBY!"
"Mister Harry Potter sir, Miss Prefect, Dobby is sorry to have startled you. He will not wear his second-favorite socks tonight. But Dobby has important information for Mister Harry Potter to hear."
"How are you, Dobby? And how is Winky?"
"Winky is very bad, Miss, Winky is missing her master still, even though the great Dumbledore has explained to Winky that her master was a bad man. We all fear for Winky, Miss."
"And the other House Elves…are they enjoying their freedom?"
Dobby glanced over at Harry with trepidation; Hermione still did not know that it was Dobby who'd been taking her carefully knitted hats and scarves.
"Dobby," Harry said, interrupting before Dobby was forced to answer, "what is this information you wanted me to hear?"
"Dobby has been told what you are looking for, sir, and Dobby believes he can help Mister Harry Potter to find it."
"Ginny?"
"The Miss Prefect Weezy, sir, and the…the…" Dobby gulped. "The former Master's son, sir. The Young Master Draco."
"Please don't call him that, Dobby," Hermione chided. "You're no longer in service to the Malfoys."
"Dobby knows, miss. But after many years of serving a master, it is difficult."
"Well, it should not be…you no longer have to feel obligated to anyone, especially not…"
"Hermione," Harry sighed. "Dobby, what do you know about Ginny and Malfoy?"
"Sir, one of the upper level House Elves saw them arguing in the room of the Divinations, sir. In front of the fireplace, sir. And then, there was a great burst of Green, and smoke, and the Young Master and Miss Weezy were then gone, sir."
Hermione looked puzzled for a moment. "It sounds like the Floo network. But that isn't possible! No student can access the Floo network from a classroom."
"The House Elf also found this, miss, in the room."
He snapped his fingers, and Ginny's bookbag appeared next to him. "Miss Weezy left it behind her, sir."
"Do you have any idea where they might have gone, Dobby?" asked Harry.
"No, sir, Dobby does not, and the House Elf could not hear what they were arguing about. I am sorry, sir, that Dobby could not help you or you friend Weezy any further tonight."
"Thank you, Dobby…you've been more than helpful."
"Dobby thanks you, Mister Harry Potter sir, every single day. For saving Dobby."
Harry blushed. "You don't have to, Dobby."
"Good night, sir, miss. And good luck in finding your Miss Weezy sir. And the Young Master, if you should so wish it."
With a small pop! he disappeared.
"I wouldn't wish it," muttered Harry. "But I suppose we'll have to…"
"Or maybe not." Hermione, who'd been searching through Ginny's bag, held up a small piece of paper:
It's ready. Divination.
"This looks small enough to come by owl, doesn't it?"
Harry watched her, puzzled, as she began to pace back and forth. "She followed him up to the Owlery and saw him get this message. Somehow, he must have dropped it behind him, so she knew to go to the Divination room. She followed him."
"But why? What does "it's ready" mean?"
Hermione snapped her fingers. "It has to be the Floo network. Dobby said that the House Elf saw a flash of bright green light. We all know that there are green flames when the Floo network is activated."
"But it's like you said…no student can use the Floo network to get outside of Hogwarts unless they are using a specially observed fireplace. And there are none like that in the classrooms."
"Right! But Malfoy got this—" she held up the piece of paper, "—right before he went to the classrooms. If we've assumed correctly, then he's sent a notice to someone to open up a Floo conduit to one of the classrooms. The Divination classroom—he knew Trelawney probably wouldn't be there."
"But…to do that you'd have to know someone at the Ministry—I doubt Malfoy goes about cavorting with Floo Network Department heads."
"No…but his father did…which means his mother did. And having an aunt like Bellatrix Lestrange loose probably helps a bit…"
She clapped a hand over her mouth. "I'm such an…oh, Harry…I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…"
"It's alright, Hermione," he said, and turned down the hall, trying to ignore her expression. "Let's just get back to Gryffindor."
He no longer felt the rush of anger, or bitterness, at the mention of Bellatrix Lestrange. Even the rage had somewhat disappeared, though he would always hold a part of that hatred in him for all of Voldemort's servants. All he felt now was an emptiness—an incredible sadness, at the thought of Sirius gone…no longer here to help him, or give him advice, or make him laugh with stories of his parents.
It was like losing his family all over again, every time he thought about it.
Which he tried very hard not to do.
Hermione remained still for a moment, then shuffled quickly to his side. "Harry…"
"It's alright."
"I know. But if ever it isn't…"
He glanced over at her face, her eyes shining with tears. It had taken a long time to finally understand that his friends, though incapable of feeling what he felt, suffered almost as much as he did—just in different ways. He was glad, now, that she felt sympathy for him. He didn't feel quite so alone. "What should we tell Ron…about Ginny?"
She frowned for a moment at his avoiding the subject, but shook her head. "I don't think we should tell him what we suspect. Let's put off Gryffindor for just a moment and go take a look at the Divination classroom to see if we can find anything else. Then, we'll decide."
A search of the hearth in Madam Trelawney's classroom turned up exactly what Harry knew Hermione suspected they would find…a liberal amount of Floo powder, tossed haphazardly about, and a set of discarded bandages, which Malfoy must have used on his head
"So they have gone off school grounds…but where? Why would Malfoy sneak about like this? All he'd have to do is tell someone what happened with Grawp!"
Harry shook his head, glancing about the now empty classroom. And shuddered. "Maybe he didn't want to say anything—then he'd have to admit that he made a promise to Ginny."
"What about going to Dumbledore? Or Snape?"
"I'm not sure," Harry shrugged. "None of this makes sense to me. It seems like an awful lot of trouble just to get us caught."
"Would he be afraid that Dumbledore wouldn't believe him?"
"No." Harry stood. "He knows Dumbledore is more liberally minded than other wizards, but I think he also knows Dumbledore would listen to anyone—even Malfoy. But if he told Dumbledore about us and Grawp…"
He stopped, gazing through one of the gauzy curtains at the Forbidden Forest.
"Not us. Grawp."
"What do you mean?"
"Draco must be beholden to Ginny for some reason, and if he tells on us, then she'll go after him in a way he doesn't want to deal with. But he doesn't have to tell on us to tell about Grawp."
Hermione's eyes grew round again. "He's going to report Hagrid! Oh goodness, if he even mentions the word "giant" the Ministry of Magic will be here in a moment's notice! Hagrid will be sent to Azkaban again!" "But where would he go? Who would he choose to tell?"
"He could tell anyone! Someone at the Daily Prophet, anyone at M.O.M…all he'd have to do is find someone with some kind of authority and there would be an investigation immediately! A wild giant in England would certainly get the wizarding authorities interested—especially since Hagrid has a prior record…you know, Buckbeak and all."
Harry plopped into one of the overstuffed armchairs. "So what do we do now? He could be anywhere."
Hermione poked at the fireplace with her wand, and tossed some of the discarded Floo Powder onto it. "Gryffindor."
The powder sparkled, but didn't emit any kind of flame.
"This one's been disconnected. It was probably only opened for a short while. But all Malfoy'd have to do is go back to his home and get it re-opened again…maybe even get the one in Slytherin opened, like…" she stopped.
Harry frowned. "Like Sirius did in Gryffindor."
He turned away from her saddened face. "We'd better go down and tell Ron what's happened." He rose.
"What about Ginny?"
"There is nothing we can do, for now, until we find out where they've gone."
Hermione started to protest, but he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm as worried about Ginny as you, but we have to hope that she'll be able to handle Malfoy. If she doesn't, then Hagrid might well end up like Malfoy's father, and Grawp will most certainly be destroyed. We have to trust in Ginny—and have faith that she's capable of taking care of herself."
"Do something!" Weasley muttered, shying behind him.
Draco's hand trembled as he pulled out his wand. "Like what? Any suggestions?"
"I wish Harry and Hermione were here."
"They couldn't even stop a giant! What makes you think they can stop a creature that is supposedly unenchantable?"
"Is unenchantable," replied the manticore, rising slowly. "There is no spell that can harm me. I'm undefeatable."
It circled around them, taking in their black robes and crests. "Hmmm…Hogwarts students. You should have know that, given your ages. Or are you not doing so well in classes?"
"We're prefects, I'll thank you to know. And I received almost all O's on my O.W.L.S's."
"That's good. At least they'll remember you for something."
"What exactly does that mean?"
"Well, you are prefects, after all. What do you think it means?"
Weasley began to tremble as the manticore passed behind them, a wicked grin on its face.
"Are you giving out on me now, Weasley?" Draco hissed, craning his neck to keep focus on the manticore and trying as best he could to steady his wand.
She shook her head, eyes on the beast's furry form, and slowly reached for her wand.
"That will do you no good. As we've discussed before—I'm unenchantable. You might as well give up quickly. It will make death easier for you."
Draco sneered at it. "Death should never be easy. Not if you're determined to live."
Weasley stopped trembling, and stared at him for a moment. The manticore chuckled. "You must be a Slytherin, then. And you," he motioned to Weasley with his tail, "given that you're trying to be brave—are most certainly a Gryffindor. Odd, that you should be together." "It wasn't by choice," she huffed.
"Everything is by choice, whether you like or dislike the outcome. You might not have decided all of what was going to occur—but you chose your own fate, for better or worse. For worse, it would appear."
"Perhaps…" Draco had been staring at the dim specks of light shining from the sheltered dome above. "And perhaps its just a matter of design. No one chooses to make the sun set. Or, to rise, for that matter." He glanced over at Ginny knowingly, who caught his meaning, and shut her eyes.
He closed his eyes, raising his wand in the air. "Lumos solem!"
The dome exploded with a brightness equivalent to that of the noon-day sun. Around them, the creatures screamed in fright; padded footsteps, hooves, and wings storming through the habitat in reaction to the immense brilliance.
The manticore screeched, and Draco took the opportunity to snatch up Ginny's hand and begin a haphazard run through the complex. The light blurred his vision, and he could not see where he was going—only that he was running away from the manticore.
They stumbled across rocks, using a semi-sight to avoid trees and branches, and splashing across what felt like a tiny brook. Twice he slipped on some unseen substance, but Ginny had pulled him to his feet and pushed him forward.
The light began to fade as their vision cleared; they were in a deeper part of the Vivarium now, surrounded by craggy cliff faces and mossy, brown bogs.
"Do you think that manticore followed us?" whispered Ginny.
"If his eyes are like a human's, hopefully not. He'll be seeing spots for a week."
"Still…don't you think it would be safer to get someplace where it can't reach us?"
"What would be safer would be to find a way out."
"I know that. But I don't exactly see a doorway around here."
"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed!"
"Shut up, Malfoy! I wasn't the one who got us flooed in here in the first place!"
"Well I certainly didn't intend to say "Vivarium", so I think I can safely say that you helped out a bit!"
"You pea-brained, half-witted…"
"Prat?" he sneered. "You've already mentioned that. Can't you be more creative?"
She froze, glaring at him, her fists clenched by her sides. "You are the most infuriating, ungracious, evil little git I've ever known!"
With that, she turned and started to march away.
Draco watched her in confusion. "Just a minute…where are you going?"
"To find a way out. On MY OWN!"
"You're going to get yourself killed."
"So?" she turned her head, but continued marching. "Why should you care?"
He stuttered for a moment. "I…I don't care. But two wands are better than one, and I want to get out of here completely intact…as, I believe, do you."
"Enough to consider helping out a Malfoy? I thank you, but NO. I'll take my chances on my own."
"Do you think I want to be associated in any way with a Weasley? But if we don't work together, chances are neither of us will survive this. Do you think your mother will care as much about your working with a Malfoy as dying in this cage?"
She didn't stop.
"Bloody Hell!" Draco yelled. "I need your help—I can't do this by myself."
She paused mid-stride.
"And you are a pretty good witch. For a Weasley."
"And you're not a bad wizard," she turned back around, crossing her arms. "For a Malfoy, you're actually somewhat smart.
"But…if we are going to work together in this," she came up to him until they were toe-to-toe, "then I want a promise from you. I won't say anything about what happened in the Forbidden Forest—or here, if we make it out—if you promise not to say anything about Grawp. To anyone."
He clenched his teeth.
"Promise me.
"Malfoy…"
"Fine. Agreed. Can we get on with this business, then? The sooner we get out of here, and I away from you, the better."
"Agreed—on counts one and two." She held up her wand. "But for now, a truce."
He narrowed his eyes, but crossed his wand with hers. "Truce."
Harry was certain they'd spend half the night trying to pacify Ron, but to his surprise, his friend listened to their story with relative calm. He remained in one of the empty common room's armchairs until Hermione had finished.
"That's all we can suspect, for now. They've gone somewhere, but we haven't the foggiest as to where that might be."
"But we do know that Ginny can take care of herself. She'll be fine, mate, I'm sure."
"It's no good," said Ron, rising. "We have to go after her."
Hermione turned to Harry. They'd expected he'd say something like this—after the ranting. "I wish we could, Ron, but we just can't. We wouldn't even begin to know where to look."
"Well, we have to try, don't we? We can leave Ginny all by herself—especially not with Malfoy! There's no telling what he might try and do."
"Ron…we…we just don't know how! We tried…Harry and I tried to think of everything we might be able to do, or where we might be able to go."
"Oh you did, did you? You two certainly can put your heads together when it counts."
Hermione looked as though she'd been slapped.
"That was unfair and unnecessary. Hermione is just trying to help. And she's right, you know. We did try and think of everything. But what we came up with always ended with someone finding out about Hagrid and Grawp."
"Then maybe we have no other choice! This is my sister we're talking about!"
"And Grawp is Hagrid's brother," said Hermione coolly.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. Other than you think that Ginny's life is worth more than Grawp's. We don't even know if Ginny is in danger. But if someone discovers Grawp, then he will most certainly be killed."
"But he's a giant."
"So?" Hermione rose from her armchair. "Why does that make him amount to less than Ginny?"
"Because…" Ron said, rising to face her, "Ginny is my sister. And she's been with me my whole life, and she's human!"
"And that makes Grawp's relationship with Hagrid worth nothing at all?"
"That's ENOUGH!" Harry cried, glaring at the both of them. "Arguing amongst ourselves isn't going to get Ginny back, or protect Grawp. What's more important here is trying to save as many as we can, not who's most important. For now," he turned to Ron, "we don't know that Ginny's in danger. But we know that Grawp is. However," he glanced over at Hermione, "that doesn't mean we don't go about trying to find Ginny as soon as possible."
"And how do we go about doing that?"
"We'll use our connections." Harry said. "That's our safest road, for now. Does your family still have their family clock on the wall at the Burrow?"
Ron looked at him confusedly. "Yes…"
"Then write out a note for Hedwig to give to Fred and George. They'll understand about the situation. We'll have them visit your Mum tomorrow for breakfast, and check the clock. If Ginny and Malfoy are anywhere in the wizarding world, that clock should give us a good idea as to where."
"Okay." Ron moved to one of the tables and began scribbling.
"We won't tell Dumbledore about Malfoy and Ginny until they've been gone for at least a day. And we won't mention Grawp unless we absolutely have to."
"And what happens if we have to?" asked Hermione.
"Then we have to. We have no choice. But believe me," he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We'll do the best we can before we get to that point. We'll search all of London, if we must."
Ron returned with a short note, addressed to Fred and George's Joke Shop in Diagon Alley. Harry handed it to Hermione. "Take it to the Owlery, and tell Hedwig to be quick." She nodded.
"Don't worry, mate. Everything will be fine. Just try and stay calm. Ginny's gotten out of dangerous situations before. And Malfoy's no different."
"I know," said Ron, watching as a stoic Hermione left through the portrait hole. "I just hope Malfoy realizes the trouble he's going to be in if he lays even a finger on her. If anything happens to her, I swear…"
"Nothing is going to happen to her. Let's just wait and see what Fred and George have to say. Now come on. We'll have to think of a good reason why your sister isn't in class tomorrow."
"Whoever designed this should talk to Fred and George. He could give them a few pointers on how to create a realistic swamp," Ginny remarked, pushing through the muck and trying to keep her robes out of the dark brown slime.
So far, they'd not had anymore life-threatening encounters. Twice, Draco had had to zap a hinkypunk as it had fluttered in their faces, and Ginny had her shot at a grindylow who'd sunk his long claws into Draco's robe, but nothing else threatened to tear them apart or drag them under the thick, ooze filled swamps.
The land in front of them was growing firmer; the few Dugbogs they saw were floating in a small group away from what appeared to be a shoreline. Draco breathed a sigh of relief as the scenery became more of an open grass plain, sparsely covered with trees.
"How big is this place?"
Ginny shrugged. "Like I said, my dad didn't say anything about it."
Draco could still see the domed ceiling high above, but the darkness that had covered them before was slowly dissipating in favor of a sunrise-like coloring to the sky. They'd been walking forever, or so it seemed.
"Are those…mountains?"
He followed to where she was pointing; in the distance, it did appear that snow-capped mountains rose over the savannah. She was gazing around in wonder. "This place has to be enchanted. There must be every habitat known to man in here."
"This is ridiculous. We are never going to find our way out of here."
"I'm sure there is more than one house in this place. How else would the wizards be able to get in and out?"
"They can apparate, genius."
"Not all of them can. Some people failed that test, you know. What I'm surprised at is that no one has noticed we're here. Surely they've got people monitoring this place."
"Where should we go from here, then?"
Ginny glanced from side to side. "There's a jungle over there…" she pointed to the right, "and what looks like a lake and trees over to the left."
From somewhere within the jungle, a thick, heady roar echoed. In its wake, leaves shriveled brown, withered, and fell to the ground, leaving an open path.
"Nundu…" Ginny whispered.
"I think we should probably go this way," said Draco, clasping her shoulder and pushing her to the left.
By the time they'd reached the lakeshore, they'd seen three runespoor, a diricawl right before it disappeared, and run away from something that looked suspiciously like a Quintaped, though Draco had assured Ginny that they were pinioned on the northern Isle of Drear.
"At least we'll have something interesting to talk about in Care of Magical creatures!" she mused.
"The only thing that would interest that half-wit professor would be the nundu. He'd probably come over and try to keep it as a pet!"
"Why do you hate Hagrid so much? I know he's a half-giant and all…but he's really a nice guy."
Draco stared at her. "Why?"
"Yes, why?"
"Because! He does everything that Potter wants him to do. Everything. He favors Potter and the Gryffindors above everybody else."
"So, Snape does that with the Slytherins."
"And do you like Snape?"
Ginny thought for a moment. "Not particularly."
"There you are, then."
They'd walked onto a sandy shoreline. Ahead of them, a small cabin rose in the distance, nestled in a patch of trees.
Finally…a way out.
"Why?"
Draco stopped, turning to face Ginny, who'd paused a few feet behind him. "Why what?"
"I mean really—why didn't you tell someone about Grawp when you first went back? You didn't have to keep my promise. You knew I wouldn't hold up to it…at least not the attack part. And no one would believe that you'd saved me, even if you did. So why go through all of this trouble, just to report Grawp?"
Draco was silent for a moment. She watched him, truly interested, this time, in what he had to say. "It wasn't that I was afraid of you…it was…having the others know that I had been alone…with you. Been defeated by you…by a Weasley. I didn't want them to know that. Potter is one thing. Your family is an entirely different matter. So I didn't tell them. Or Snape."
"But why would it matter so much?" She came towards him, arms crossed. "The Slytherins hate Harry and Hermione. And my family. They wouldn't care about our being stuck together as much as the chance to get us all into trouble. Including Hagrid."
"I know that. But my family would care. My father would care. And one of the Slytherins would be sure to let them know, even if I didn't. And I'd never be forgiven."
"Does your family hate us that much? That they'd cause you to risk your life—or your position at Hogwarts—just to avoid associating with the Weasleys?"
He looked over at her. "Yes."
She looked slightly ruffled for a moment. "So what? You aren't defined by your family—or your father."
"Oh, of course I'm not…just like you aren't defined by your family—Weasley."
She laughed. "Maybe in your eyes, but I don't think so. I may be a Weasley, but I'm Ginny Weasley first and foremost. I make sure people know that. Why do you think Ron has such a hard time? He doesn't quite understand, yet, that he can be something other than what he feels he owes to his family. We might all look the same, but we're all different. Just like you are not your father."
"I'm exactly like my father. And I'm proud of that."
"Really? Exactly like him? Have you murdered anybody, then?"
Draco stared at her in shock. "No."
"Then you are not your father. Not yet. Even if you wished it on someone, you've not actually killed a living person. You haven't become him. Hopefully you won't be."
"But I want to be…just like him." He rose to his full height. "It would be an honor." "No. It wouldn't. It would be a damn shame. For your sake, Draco Malfoy, I hope that never happens."
He gaped at her as she marched past him, down the edge of the lake. A whirl of confused thoughts flitted through his mind.
It would be a damn shame…
His heart had lightened, somewhat, when she'd told him he wasn't his father. And that she didn't want him to be. No one else had ever told him that.
But she's a Weasley!
Up ahead, the tiny cabin bordered a small glade of trees, which extended into an old-growth forest beyond. The door was shuttered tight, but Ginny had managed to pry it open with a few well-placed spells.
As Draco had suspected, there was a fireplace inside.
Ginny moved eagerly inside. "I hope it works."
Draco came up beside her, and pulled the pouch out of his robes. He passed it back and forth in his hands as she watched him, her smile at finding the exit slowly fading.
"Give me the Floo Powder, Malfoy."
She's a WEASLEY.
"I don't think so. We're doing things my way, this time." He dangled the bag in front of her. There was a struggle within himself as he watched her eyes, flashing anger, then betrayal.
He swallowed, and tried to remember how he'd felt the night before, prostrate on his knees, screaming at the nighttime shadows. "What were the terms of our agreement again?"
"Give it to me!" Ginny cried, trying to snatch the Floo powder out of Malfoy's hand. "They're the same as they always were."
"I don't think so. Unless you want to remain here in this place, trying to find a door."
Ginny's face flushed as red as her hair, and she reached up the length of him, trying to snatch at the powder he held just out of her reach (with some difficulty, since she was almost as tall as he was). "If I have to hex you, Malfoy, I swear I will!"
"I'd like to see you try!"
"Me, too."
They stopped mid-struggle, turning to the voice in the doorway.
In the shadow of the frame, a large, furry shape was crouched in attack position, a human-like face peering at them beneath darkly narrowed eyebrows.
"Let's try this again, shall we?"
Without another word, the manticore sprang.
***Uh oh! What are Draco and Ginny going to do to get out of this one? The next adventure promises a visit to Malfoy Manor and the return of one of the vilest and most despised characters in the Harry Potter canon—along with some more of the trio, trying to figure this out! Will Draco and Ginny be able to get back to Hogwarts intact??***
Thanks so much to Spinn, frodobaggins07, Vix17, seekerpeeker, lady of scarlet darkness, Jonah, and Joya, (and those of you off network) for reviewing my first chapter. Your reviews really kept me on a writing streak!
Part II: Unraveling the Floo Network
"Are you feeling alright? Better?" Ron pushed another piece of hamsteak towards Ginny. "You should probably eat some more."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Ron. And I'm not hungry." Ginny shoved the plate back as Harry, Hermione, and the rest of the sixth year Gryffindors looked on, amused.
"You need to get your strength back."
"I have my strength back. Nothing happened!"
Ron frowned, but said nothing more. Hermione, true to her word, had not revealed to Ron or Harry what really happened in the Forbidden Forest. All they knew is that she'd "saved" Malfoy from something, and that was what had him beholden to her.
Of course, Ron had wanted to take full advantage of that, but Ginny refused. Beyond having to explain the truth, she also didn't want to upset Malfoy any more than he already was. There was really no telling what he might do when her back was turned.
She glanced over at the Slytherin table; Malfoy was nowhere to be found. Hermione, who'd followed her gaze, shrugged.
"Come on…Charms is about to start." Harry looked put off, but he, Hermione and Ron gathered their books. "Take care, Ginny. And watch yourself. Don't do anything too difficult, alright? I'll check on you around lunch?"
Ginny sighed. "I will be FINE."
"Come on," Harry said, catching Ginny's wearied expression and shoving Ron gently in the back. "We don't want to be late."
By lunch, Ginny was puzzled. She knew she'd have to be on the lookout for Malfoy, but the problem was, he wasn't anywhere to be looked after.
"He wasn't in Charms," Hermione told her at the table. "I overheard Pansy mention something to Professor Flitwick about his not feeling well."
"Do you think he really needed to go to the hospital wing?"
"I suppose so. She also said Draco had come back with a bandage wrapped around his head."
"What?! Madam Pomfrey can heal cuts instantly. Why would he have his head wrapped?"
"This isn't the first time he's done this, you know. He seems to enjoy the sympathy."
"No…there's more to this, I'm certain of it. He's up to something."
Harry and Ron arrived at that moment, and they couldn't discuss anymore, especially since Ron spent most of lunch checking her pulse and watching her eat.
By mid-afternoon, Ginny was completely out of sorts. Malfoy wouldn't have kept to the dormitories this long, and she'd even gone to the Hospital wing to check and make sure he wasn't there. But he was nowhere to be found. When she'd tried to press one of the Slytherins about where he'd gone to, the girl (a first year) merely squeaked that it wasn't any of her business and to be on her way.
Ginny had given her detention for being smart to a prefect.
A First year! To a PREFECT!!
The rest of the day went little better. In Potions, she'd been attempting a boil remover when one of the Slytherin students mentioned something about Draco's being 'in dire straits' and 'unable to come out of his room at all.' She'd been so caught up in their conversation she'd misread the ingredient list and spent a half-hour after Potions cleaning up the exploded, pustule covered contents of her cauldron, with Professor Snape muttering something about 'Weasley's and explosions.'
Then, at Quidditch practice, something she normally was completely focused on, she missed half a dozen goals—without Ron playing Keeper—at which point Harry (on Ron's insistence) decided she needed to 'allow the alternates time to practice.'
And when she happened upon two fourth years snogging in one of the abandoned classrooms later that afternoon, she had scolded them, promised points would be deducted from their respective Houses, given them detention, and sent them on their way—then realized she didn't know who they were or to which Houses they belonged!
Malfoy has me entirely confused. If this keeps up, I'm going to go mental by sunset!
She decided that worrying would accomplish nothing. If Malfoy said anything, she'd deal with it then.
At which point, he finally appeared. Ginny was returning to the Great Hall for dinner, when she caught a gleam of silver hair (poking through a swath of bandages) slipping up the main staircase. A wash of mottled confusion and, strangely enough, relief, washed through her. But if he was out of bed, then…
I knew it!! He IS up to something…
Shouldering her bag, she tiptoed after him, following as discreetly as she could. Thankfully, a few Sneak Spells helped her out a bit.
Too bad he didn't think of those for himself yesterday…
His first stop was the Owlery, and the great eagle owl that belonged to the Malfoy family. He paused there only for a moment; tore open the small, rolled parchment attached to the owl's leg, and smiled.
She slid into the shadows as he walked past her, discarding the parchment into a potted plant nearby.
Twit…who would be so careless?
The note read: "It's Ready. Divination."
Ginny followed him as he headed to the staircase. He had to be going to the Divination classroom. Otherwise, there would be no reason for Malfoy to be sneaking in the upper reaches of the castle after hours.
She made her way up to the Divination Tower slowly, giving him time to move ahead. When she reached the classroom's trap door, she found that he'd somehow managed to pull down the ladder and climb inside.
It had been almost a year since Madam Trelawney had been removed from her position as Professor of Divination and replaced with Firenze, the Centaur. Rumor had it Dumbledore had kept her around, but her delicate nature, frazzled by the punishment inflicted by Professor Umbridge, had made her unable to take up classes again. But she maintained her home in the Divination Tower, only going out from time to time.
This must have been one of them.
The fire in the normally hazy Tower had been snuffed out, and the misty, perfumed smell that typically shrouded the room was gone. Madam Trelawney's teacups were all in a row, however, and her puff cushions, settees and large armchairs neatly cleaned and arranged, as though she were expecting a class tomorrow.
Draco (bandages conveniently removed) had made his way to the tiny Divination fireplace, discarding the dried herbs that hung there with a distasteful grimace, and grinning as he withdrew a small pouch from beneath his robes. He pulled on the strings with delicate fingers, allowing a thin, sparkling substance to slip into his palm.
Floo Powder…
"MINISTRY OF…"
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?"
Malfoy jumped as Ginny slipped out of the shadows, flinging the Floo powder across the fireplace. It exploded in a burst of bright green flame.
For the first time in his life, Draco Malfoy actually appeared speechless. He stared at her in complete surprise.
"Wha…what are you doing here?"
"I should ask you the same question, Malfoy! What are you doing up here—with Floo powder? You know that the Floo circuits won't lead into or out of the school unless you have special permission."
Draco's surprised expression faded back into his customary sneer. "Which as a matter of fact I have, Weasley. And where I'm off to is none of your concern."
She planted her hands on her hips. "If it concerns Hagrid, Harry, Hermione or anyone else I know, it does."
"What if I told you it doesn't?"
"Then I'd know you were lying and I'd go to Professor Snape. I bet he'd not be to pleased to find you're sneaking out of school grounds, even if you are his favorite."
"Professor Snape would not be as concerned as you might think."
"Fine…Dumbledore then!"
"Go and tell him!" Draco turned to face her, the simmering green flames casting a haunting shadow across his pale face. "Then he'd have to face up to the fact that Hagrid has a giant hidden in the Forbidden Forest! If nothing else, it would get that great lump dismissed."
Ginny hesitated, her foot tapping wildly.
"And what about your friends? Granger will lose her Prefect position. And Potter will bear the guilt of having disappointed two of his friends. Not to mention your brother…"
"Then why not just go ahead and go to Snape in the first place? You'd get everything you wanted accomplished. Why sneak about?"
It was Draco's turn to hesitate.
Realization dawned on Ginny. "You don't want him to know…any of it. What, are you afraid I'm going to tell them you tried to save me?"
"I…I didn't save you!"
"Yes, yes you did!" she pointed a finger at him. "YOU tried to protect me when I fell." "I did not!"
"Even so, you did save me. You prevented me from being really badly hurt. And you don't want the others to know you did that, do you?"
Draco gritted his teeth, his gray eyes going wide. "Even if I did, it doesn't matter now. I might not be able to get after Potter or Granger, but that oaf Hagrid and his giant are going to be tossed out of Hogwarts once and for all!" He turned back to the fire, seizing another handful of Floo Powder.
"Ministry of Magic Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures, Beast…"
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Ginny cried, tossing her bag aside and leaping for him.
"…Di...vee-arhg…ree…uh…rmm--let go, Weasley!"
She seized at his arm, forcing him to throw the entire handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace. As they struggled, the flames rose to an astonishing height, bursting out of the tiny hearth in an explosion of green, engulfing them completely. With an flurry of shouts, they were pulled inside the grating, and disappeared.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! I CAN'T BLOODY BELIEVE THIS!"
Harry frowned as Ron paced the length of the Gryffindor common room, and turned to Hermione, who was watching their friend worriedly over her mountain of books. Ron had already chased away most of the Gryffindor students, threatening detention to anyone who appeared cheeky, interrupted his train of thought with their writing, or dared get in the way of his pacing (despite his having paced in places where it was nearly impossible to pace.) Those remaining appeared as though they might pull out their wands should he make any sudden, dangerous moves.
"Where could she have gone?" Hermione whispered to Harry, as two more first years abandoned their attempts at studying and bolted from the room beneath Ron's dark and terrifying gaze.
"I haven't the foggiest."
"THE SECOND NIGHT IN A ROW! WHAT IS SHE THINKING? HAS SHE GONE MAD?"
The portrait hole flipped open, and Neville Longbottom came in, looking perturbed.
"Ginny wasn't in the library. And do you want to know something odd? Luna said she saw Ginny trailing Malfoy to the Owlery sometime this afternoon. On top of that, Malfoy wasn't at dinner. And that the Slytherins haven't seen him."
Ron stopped pacing. "MALFOY?"
Harry gripped Ron's shoulders as he charged towards Neville. "Calm down, Ron. Neville, did Luna know why Ginny was following Malfoy?"
Neville, who had been staring at Ron with a pale face, shook his head slowly. "Luna just said she saw them heading up the hallway. First Malfoy, then Ginny. After that, she didn't know where they disappeared to. It was kind of hard to get that out of her, actually…she started talking about the moon-calves that had appeared on the terrace."
"But isn't Malfoy supposed to be laid up?"
"That's what Pansy said."
"MALFOY?" Ron repeated, splotchy red patches blossoming across his face.
"Now, listen, Ron," said Hermione, rising and placing a hand on Ron's arm. "I'm sure she's fine. We don't know she's with Malfoy."
Her calm tone seemed to have an effect on him, and Harry released his friend for a moment. "I think we should go have a look around the Owlery. Perhaps it will give us a clue as to where she's been."
"Not you," Hermione said, as Ron immediately whirled for the portrait hole. "You'll just get upset and attract attention. I can go out after hours, and I'll just explain to anyone coming by that I was taking Harry to the hospital wing because his scar hurt."
"But…"
"It's no good, mate. Hermione's right." Harry pushed Ron gently into a nearby armchair. "Besides…Ginny has to have someone here waiting for her when she comes back, right?"
After a moment, Ron nodded, then turned to the group of students gathered around the hearth. "His scar hurt. Got that?"
The students nodded, wide-eyed, in unison.
Harry turned to Neville and sighed. "Keep an eye on him?"
"Alright."
"Let's go then," he said to Hermione as they walked out the door, glancing over his shoulder at Ron's periodically twitching form. "The sooner we figure this out, the better."
Draco shot out of the fireplace, his robes covered in dust, ash, and some kind of dark green slime that had been present near the bottom of the shaft—something of which he had no desire to find out the origin.
Weasley had landed beside him, covered in soot, and coughing from the cloud of smoke that had emerged with them. He cast about, searching the surroundings, most of which were shrouded in darkness.
"Lumos."
The area around the fireplace looked old, and dusty, and was crawling with strange vines.
This certainly doesn't look like the Ministry of Magic…
As if mirroring his thoughts, Weasley turned to him and heaved a frustrated sigh. "Now where have you got us to?"
He looked at her in disbelief. "Don't start, Weasley…I had nothing to do with this. You were the one who followed me."
"Well, we're here now…and I'd really like to know where here is."
She stared at him. Draco crossed his arms and lifted his chin.
She clenched her fists in anger. "Alright, fine! Just…just give me that Floo powder. I'm going back to Hogwarts."
"I don't believe so. If you want to find a way back to Hogwarts, then do your best. But this is mine, and I'm using it to get back when I'm finished here."
Weasley pursed her lips and stared at him. "Is this going to turn into what it was yesterday?" "No, because this time, I'll be petrifying you."
She threw up her hands. "Then I'd really rather put that off until we get back to Hogwarts? If you don't mind? I don't know where we are, I'd very much like to find out before I end up in serious trouble, and I since it appears you've not ended up in your desired destination, either, it seems safe to say that neither of us has time to bother with arguments or dueling right now."
Draco pursed his lips, thinking. In one aspect, she was right. And he'd really rather not suffer the hassle of another duel. Especially one he might lose.
Still, her attitude was exactly what he disliked about the entire Weasley family. "Who says I've not ended up where I wanted? I believe I've gotten exactly where I wanted to go—the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Creatures—beast division."
"Beast division? Why would we be there?"
"For that giant, you half-wit."
Weasley flushed red. "For your information, Malfoy, a giant is considered a being, not a beast, and would be taken care of under the Being division."
"Not in my book."
With that, he turned and strode off, marching through the small door to the right of the hearth.
To his relief, she followed him out without pulling out her wand. "You're lucky I'm not really in the mood to fight you today," she said, taking in the surroundings. They had come out of a small stone cabin, into what looked like a smaller, less foreboding version of the Forbidden Forest. "And this certainly doesn't look like any Division in the Ministry of Magic I've ever seen."
"And you would know how?"
"Because my father works for the Ministry, you prat."
"Oh, right…that high-level job of his. What does he do again? Fix Muggle toilets?"
"One of these days, I swear…"
She didn't have a chance to finish her threat. Something behind them had made her pause. The air around them was cool, but pitch black beyond the small circle of light emitted by Draco's wand.
And filled with the sounds of low, heavy breathing.
Ginny turned to glance behind her. "Ummm…what part of the Beast Division did we end up in, exactly?" "Is there more than one part?"
"Of course. Every division has many sec…tions…" she slid up a bit closer to him as something to her right shifted in the shadows. "But you just said 'beast division' so we should have come down the main floo…right?"
Draco tried to think of exactly what he'd said. He'd been struggling with Weasley at the time…
"The Beast Division has…what other areas?"
"There's the Complaints office, the Sightings office, the Care and Capture facilities…but they're all offices…like Dad's. Nothing like this…"
"Anything else?"
"The Vivarium…"
"The what?"
"I don't know exactly what it is. Only that Dad's mentioned it once or…" She paused as two shadows soared above them, blotting out the light. Draco craned his neck, taking in the huge, domed ceiling that rose above them. Near its apex, a swarm of bat-like creatures were circling slowly, rotating towards them.
He turned to her wide-eyed. "What exactly do they keep in this 'vivarium?'"
"I told you, I'm not sure…only that Dad told Fred and George one time that if they ever wanted to visit, they should be prepared to come out looking less than identical…"
"I think," Draco flipped around suddenly as another shadow moved, just beyond the circle of light emitted by his wand. "…I think we should probably get back to Hogwarts. I can always come back later."
Ginny made a face, but nodded, still keeping close to him.
They marched backwards, away from the moving shadows, towards the small stone cabin, and the dirt path from which they'd come. Draco whirled around to take the last length of the hill, and stopped dead.
Settled on the ground before them, blocking their way, was a huge, furry beast, its lion's body curled in front of the doorway, a great, spine-tipped tail whipping softly beside it. Within the folds of the great mane, Draco could make out what appeared to be a human face…
The creature tilted its face to the side, watching them, tail flicking.
Ginny grasped his shoulder, shaking him. "A manticore. It's a manticore!"
"Quite right," the creature replied with a smile.
Harry stroked Hedwig softly, glancing about as Hermione scoured the Owlery one last time. They had searched for over fifteen minutes, looking for any sign that might lead to Ginny's whereabouts, but found nothing. Harry had even tried approaching the Malfoy's gray eagle-owl, but had his hand pecked so severely that Hermione had to wrap it in her handkerchief.
"Nothing. We have absolutely no idea where she might have gone."
"We're doing no good hanging about here. We might as well get back to the Common Room. Ron will be worried."
"I just wish Ginny had told me what she was doing, following Malfoy up here. I know she was afraid he might go against his word, but she also told me that he'd promised he would not say anything to anyone. Not even the Slytherins."
"And you and Ginny believed him?"
"Of course not! But Ginny had enough against him to almost assure he wouldn't say anything…"
Harry eyed her suspiciously, but decided not to press her.
They'd almost made their way back to the Common Room when a bright burst of light exploded in their path, startling Harry into a statue of arms—which shoved him rather rudely back with a stream of impolite, if unnecessary, curses.
Hermione, who'd skittered behind a drapery, peeped out at the small figure that was standing in front of them, hands clasped in apology.
"DOBBY!"
"Mister Harry Potter sir, Miss Prefect, Dobby is sorry to have startled you. He will not wear his second-favorite socks tonight. But Dobby has important information for Mister Harry Potter to hear."
"How are you, Dobby? And how is Winky?"
"Winky is very bad, Miss, Winky is missing her master still, even though the great Dumbledore has explained to Winky that her master was a bad man. We all fear for Winky, Miss."
"And the other House Elves…are they enjoying their freedom?"
Dobby glanced over at Harry with trepidation; Hermione still did not know that it was Dobby who'd been taking her carefully knitted hats and scarves.
"Dobby," Harry said, interrupting before Dobby was forced to answer, "what is this information you wanted me to hear?"
"Dobby has been told what you are looking for, sir, and Dobby believes he can help Mister Harry Potter to find it."
"Ginny?"
"The Miss Prefect Weezy, sir, and the…the…" Dobby gulped. "The former Master's son, sir. The Young Master Draco."
"Please don't call him that, Dobby," Hermione chided. "You're no longer in service to the Malfoys."
"Dobby knows, miss. But after many years of serving a master, it is difficult."
"Well, it should not be…you no longer have to feel obligated to anyone, especially not…"
"Hermione," Harry sighed. "Dobby, what do you know about Ginny and Malfoy?"
"Sir, one of the upper level House Elves saw them arguing in the room of the Divinations, sir. In front of the fireplace, sir. And then, there was a great burst of Green, and smoke, and the Young Master and Miss Weezy were then gone, sir."
Hermione looked puzzled for a moment. "It sounds like the Floo network. But that isn't possible! No student can access the Floo network from a classroom."
"The House Elf also found this, miss, in the room."
He snapped his fingers, and Ginny's bookbag appeared next to him. "Miss Weezy left it behind her, sir."
"Do you have any idea where they might have gone, Dobby?" asked Harry.
"No, sir, Dobby does not, and the House Elf could not hear what they were arguing about. I am sorry, sir, that Dobby could not help you or you friend Weezy any further tonight."
"Thank you, Dobby…you've been more than helpful."
"Dobby thanks you, Mister Harry Potter sir, every single day. For saving Dobby."
Harry blushed. "You don't have to, Dobby."
"Good night, sir, miss. And good luck in finding your Miss Weezy sir. And the Young Master, if you should so wish it."
With a small pop! he disappeared.
"I wouldn't wish it," muttered Harry. "But I suppose we'll have to…"
"Or maybe not." Hermione, who'd been searching through Ginny's bag, held up a small piece of paper:
It's ready. Divination.
"This looks small enough to come by owl, doesn't it?"
Harry watched her, puzzled, as she began to pace back and forth. "She followed him up to the Owlery and saw him get this message. Somehow, he must have dropped it behind him, so she knew to go to the Divination room. She followed him."
"But why? What does "it's ready" mean?"
Hermione snapped her fingers. "It has to be the Floo network. Dobby said that the House Elf saw a flash of bright green light. We all know that there are green flames when the Floo network is activated."
"But it's like you said…no student can use the Floo network to get outside of Hogwarts unless they are using a specially observed fireplace. And there are none like that in the classrooms."
"Right! But Malfoy got this—" she held up the piece of paper, "—right before he went to the classrooms. If we've assumed correctly, then he's sent a notice to someone to open up a Floo conduit to one of the classrooms. The Divination classroom—he knew Trelawney probably wouldn't be there."
"But…to do that you'd have to know someone at the Ministry—I doubt Malfoy goes about cavorting with Floo Network Department heads."
"No…but his father did…which means his mother did. And having an aunt like Bellatrix Lestrange loose probably helps a bit…"
She clapped a hand over her mouth. "I'm such an…oh, Harry…I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…"
"It's alright, Hermione," he said, and turned down the hall, trying to ignore her expression. "Let's just get back to Gryffindor."
He no longer felt the rush of anger, or bitterness, at the mention of Bellatrix Lestrange. Even the rage had somewhat disappeared, though he would always hold a part of that hatred in him for all of Voldemort's servants. All he felt now was an emptiness—an incredible sadness, at the thought of Sirius gone…no longer here to help him, or give him advice, or make him laugh with stories of his parents.
It was like losing his family all over again, every time he thought about it.
Which he tried very hard not to do.
Hermione remained still for a moment, then shuffled quickly to his side. "Harry…"
"It's alright."
"I know. But if ever it isn't…"
He glanced over at her face, her eyes shining with tears. It had taken a long time to finally understand that his friends, though incapable of feeling what he felt, suffered almost as much as he did—just in different ways. He was glad, now, that she felt sympathy for him. He didn't feel quite so alone. "What should we tell Ron…about Ginny?"
She frowned for a moment at his avoiding the subject, but shook her head. "I don't think we should tell him what we suspect. Let's put off Gryffindor for just a moment and go take a look at the Divination classroom to see if we can find anything else. Then, we'll decide."
A search of the hearth in Madam Trelawney's classroom turned up exactly what Harry knew Hermione suspected they would find…a liberal amount of Floo powder, tossed haphazardly about, and a set of discarded bandages, which Malfoy must have used on his head
"So they have gone off school grounds…but where? Why would Malfoy sneak about like this? All he'd have to do is tell someone what happened with Grawp!"
Harry shook his head, glancing about the now empty classroom. And shuddered. "Maybe he didn't want to say anything—then he'd have to admit that he made a promise to Ginny."
"What about going to Dumbledore? Or Snape?"
"I'm not sure," Harry shrugged. "None of this makes sense to me. It seems like an awful lot of trouble just to get us caught."
"Would he be afraid that Dumbledore wouldn't believe him?"
"No." Harry stood. "He knows Dumbledore is more liberally minded than other wizards, but I think he also knows Dumbledore would listen to anyone—even Malfoy. But if he told Dumbledore about us and Grawp…"
He stopped, gazing through one of the gauzy curtains at the Forbidden Forest.
"Not us. Grawp."
"What do you mean?"
"Draco must be beholden to Ginny for some reason, and if he tells on us, then she'll go after him in a way he doesn't want to deal with. But he doesn't have to tell on us to tell about Grawp."
Hermione's eyes grew round again. "He's going to report Hagrid! Oh goodness, if he even mentions the word "giant" the Ministry of Magic will be here in a moment's notice! Hagrid will be sent to Azkaban again!" "But where would he go? Who would he choose to tell?"
"He could tell anyone! Someone at the Daily Prophet, anyone at M.O.M…all he'd have to do is find someone with some kind of authority and there would be an investigation immediately! A wild giant in England would certainly get the wizarding authorities interested—especially since Hagrid has a prior record…you know, Buckbeak and all."
Harry plopped into one of the overstuffed armchairs. "So what do we do now? He could be anywhere."
Hermione poked at the fireplace with her wand, and tossed some of the discarded Floo Powder onto it. "Gryffindor."
The powder sparkled, but didn't emit any kind of flame.
"This one's been disconnected. It was probably only opened for a short while. But all Malfoy'd have to do is go back to his home and get it re-opened again…maybe even get the one in Slytherin opened, like…" she stopped.
Harry frowned. "Like Sirius did in Gryffindor."
He turned away from her saddened face. "We'd better go down and tell Ron what's happened." He rose.
"What about Ginny?"
"There is nothing we can do, for now, until we find out where they've gone."
Hermione started to protest, but he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm as worried about Ginny as you, but we have to hope that she'll be able to handle Malfoy. If she doesn't, then Hagrid might well end up like Malfoy's father, and Grawp will most certainly be destroyed. We have to trust in Ginny—and have faith that she's capable of taking care of herself."
"Do something!" Weasley muttered, shying behind him.
Draco's hand trembled as he pulled out his wand. "Like what? Any suggestions?"
"I wish Harry and Hermione were here."
"They couldn't even stop a giant! What makes you think they can stop a creature that is supposedly unenchantable?"
"Is unenchantable," replied the manticore, rising slowly. "There is no spell that can harm me. I'm undefeatable."
It circled around them, taking in their black robes and crests. "Hmmm…Hogwarts students. You should have know that, given your ages. Or are you not doing so well in classes?"
"We're prefects, I'll thank you to know. And I received almost all O's on my O.W.L.S's."
"That's good. At least they'll remember you for something."
"What exactly does that mean?"
"Well, you are prefects, after all. What do you think it means?"
Weasley began to tremble as the manticore passed behind them, a wicked grin on its face.
"Are you giving out on me now, Weasley?" Draco hissed, craning his neck to keep focus on the manticore and trying as best he could to steady his wand.
She shook her head, eyes on the beast's furry form, and slowly reached for her wand.
"That will do you no good. As we've discussed before—I'm unenchantable. You might as well give up quickly. It will make death easier for you."
Draco sneered at it. "Death should never be easy. Not if you're determined to live."
Weasley stopped trembling, and stared at him for a moment. The manticore chuckled. "You must be a Slytherin, then. And you," he motioned to Weasley with his tail, "given that you're trying to be brave—are most certainly a Gryffindor. Odd, that you should be together." "It wasn't by choice," she huffed.
"Everything is by choice, whether you like or dislike the outcome. You might not have decided all of what was going to occur—but you chose your own fate, for better or worse. For worse, it would appear."
"Perhaps…" Draco had been staring at the dim specks of light shining from the sheltered dome above. "And perhaps its just a matter of design. No one chooses to make the sun set. Or, to rise, for that matter." He glanced over at Ginny knowingly, who caught his meaning, and shut her eyes.
He closed his eyes, raising his wand in the air. "Lumos solem!"
The dome exploded with a brightness equivalent to that of the noon-day sun. Around them, the creatures screamed in fright; padded footsteps, hooves, and wings storming through the habitat in reaction to the immense brilliance.
The manticore screeched, and Draco took the opportunity to snatch up Ginny's hand and begin a haphazard run through the complex. The light blurred his vision, and he could not see where he was going—only that he was running away from the manticore.
They stumbled across rocks, using a semi-sight to avoid trees and branches, and splashing across what felt like a tiny brook. Twice he slipped on some unseen substance, but Ginny had pulled him to his feet and pushed him forward.
The light began to fade as their vision cleared; they were in a deeper part of the Vivarium now, surrounded by craggy cliff faces and mossy, brown bogs.
"Do you think that manticore followed us?" whispered Ginny.
"If his eyes are like a human's, hopefully not. He'll be seeing spots for a week."
"Still…don't you think it would be safer to get someplace where it can't reach us?"
"What would be safer would be to find a way out."
"I know that. But I don't exactly see a doorway around here."
"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed!"
"Shut up, Malfoy! I wasn't the one who got us flooed in here in the first place!"
"Well I certainly didn't intend to say "Vivarium", so I think I can safely say that you helped out a bit!"
"You pea-brained, half-witted…"
"Prat?" he sneered. "You've already mentioned that. Can't you be more creative?"
She froze, glaring at him, her fists clenched by her sides. "You are the most infuriating, ungracious, evil little git I've ever known!"
With that, she turned and started to march away.
Draco watched her in confusion. "Just a minute…where are you going?"
"To find a way out. On MY OWN!"
"You're going to get yourself killed."
"So?" she turned her head, but continued marching. "Why should you care?"
He stuttered for a moment. "I…I don't care. But two wands are better than one, and I want to get out of here completely intact…as, I believe, do you."
"Enough to consider helping out a Malfoy? I thank you, but NO. I'll take my chances on my own."
"Do you think I want to be associated in any way with a Weasley? But if we don't work together, chances are neither of us will survive this. Do you think your mother will care as much about your working with a Malfoy as dying in this cage?"
She didn't stop.
"Bloody Hell!" Draco yelled. "I need your help—I can't do this by myself."
She paused mid-stride.
"And you are a pretty good witch. For a Weasley."
"And you're not a bad wizard," she turned back around, crossing her arms. "For a Malfoy, you're actually somewhat smart.
"But…if we are going to work together in this," she came up to him until they were toe-to-toe, "then I want a promise from you. I won't say anything about what happened in the Forbidden Forest—or here, if we make it out—if you promise not to say anything about Grawp. To anyone."
He clenched his teeth.
"Promise me.
"Malfoy…"
"Fine. Agreed. Can we get on with this business, then? The sooner we get out of here, and I away from you, the better."
"Agreed—on counts one and two." She held up her wand. "But for now, a truce."
He narrowed his eyes, but crossed his wand with hers. "Truce."
Harry was certain they'd spend half the night trying to pacify Ron, but to his surprise, his friend listened to their story with relative calm. He remained in one of the empty common room's armchairs until Hermione had finished.
"That's all we can suspect, for now. They've gone somewhere, but we haven't the foggiest as to where that might be."
"But we do know that Ginny can take care of herself. She'll be fine, mate, I'm sure."
"It's no good," said Ron, rising. "We have to go after her."
Hermione turned to Harry. They'd expected he'd say something like this—after the ranting. "I wish we could, Ron, but we just can't. We wouldn't even begin to know where to look."
"Well, we have to try, don't we? We can leave Ginny all by herself—especially not with Malfoy! There's no telling what he might try and do."
"Ron…we…we just don't know how! We tried…Harry and I tried to think of everything we might be able to do, or where we might be able to go."
"Oh you did, did you? You two certainly can put your heads together when it counts."
Hermione looked as though she'd been slapped.
"That was unfair and unnecessary. Hermione is just trying to help. And she's right, you know. We did try and think of everything. But what we came up with always ended with someone finding out about Hagrid and Grawp."
"Then maybe we have no other choice! This is my sister we're talking about!"
"And Grawp is Hagrid's brother," said Hermione coolly.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. Other than you think that Ginny's life is worth more than Grawp's. We don't even know if Ginny is in danger. But if someone discovers Grawp, then he will most certainly be killed."
"But he's a giant."
"So?" Hermione rose from her armchair. "Why does that make him amount to less than Ginny?"
"Because…" Ron said, rising to face her, "Ginny is my sister. And she's been with me my whole life, and she's human!"
"And that makes Grawp's relationship with Hagrid worth nothing at all?"
"That's ENOUGH!" Harry cried, glaring at the both of them. "Arguing amongst ourselves isn't going to get Ginny back, or protect Grawp. What's more important here is trying to save as many as we can, not who's most important. For now," he turned to Ron, "we don't know that Ginny's in danger. But we know that Grawp is. However," he glanced over at Hermione, "that doesn't mean we don't go about trying to find Ginny as soon as possible."
"And how do we go about doing that?"
"We'll use our connections." Harry said. "That's our safest road, for now. Does your family still have their family clock on the wall at the Burrow?"
Ron looked at him confusedly. "Yes…"
"Then write out a note for Hedwig to give to Fred and George. They'll understand about the situation. We'll have them visit your Mum tomorrow for breakfast, and check the clock. If Ginny and Malfoy are anywhere in the wizarding world, that clock should give us a good idea as to where."
"Okay." Ron moved to one of the tables and began scribbling.
"We won't tell Dumbledore about Malfoy and Ginny until they've been gone for at least a day. And we won't mention Grawp unless we absolutely have to."
"And what happens if we have to?" asked Hermione.
"Then we have to. We have no choice. But believe me," he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We'll do the best we can before we get to that point. We'll search all of London, if we must."
Ron returned with a short note, addressed to Fred and George's Joke Shop in Diagon Alley. Harry handed it to Hermione. "Take it to the Owlery, and tell Hedwig to be quick." She nodded.
"Don't worry, mate. Everything will be fine. Just try and stay calm. Ginny's gotten out of dangerous situations before. And Malfoy's no different."
"I know," said Ron, watching as a stoic Hermione left through the portrait hole. "I just hope Malfoy realizes the trouble he's going to be in if he lays even a finger on her. If anything happens to her, I swear…"
"Nothing is going to happen to her. Let's just wait and see what Fred and George have to say. Now come on. We'll have to think of a good reason why your sister isn't in class tomorrow."
"Whoever designed this should talk to Fred and George. He could give them a few pointers on how to create a realistic swamp," Ginny remarked, pushing through the muck and trying to keep her robes out of the dark brown slime.
So far, they'd not had anymore life-threatening encounters. Twice, Draco had had to zap a hinkypunk as it had fluttered in their faces, and Ginny had her shot at a grindylow who'd sunk his long claws into Draco's robe, but nothing else threatened to tear them apart or drag them under the thick, ooze filled swamps.
The land in front of them was growing firmer; the few Dugbogs they saw were floating in a small group away from what appeared to be a shoreline. Draco breathed a sigh of relief as the scenery became more of an open grass plain, sparsely covered with trees.
"How big is this place?"
Ginny shrugged. "Like I said, my dad didn't say anything about it."
Draco could still see the domed ceiling high above, but the darkness that had covered them before was slowly dissipating in favor of a sunrise-like coloring to the sky. They'd been walking forever, or so it seemed.
"Are those…mountains?"
He followed to where she was pointing; in the distance, it did appear that snow-capped mountains rose over the savannah. She was gazing around in wonder. "This place has to be enchanted. There must be every habitat known to man in here."
"This is ridiculous. We are never going to find our way out of here."
"I'm sure there is more than one house in this place. How else would the wizards be able to get in and out?"
"They can apparate, genius."
"Not all of them can. Some people failed that test, you know. What I'm surprised at is that no one has noticed we're here. Surely they've got people monitoring this place."
"Where should we go from here, then?"
Ginny glanced from side to side. "There's a jungle over there…" she pointed to the right, "and what looks like a lake and trees over to the left."
From somewhere within the jungle, a thick, heady roar echoed. In its wake, leaves shriveled brown, withered, and fell to the ground, leaving an open path.
"Nundu…" Ginny whispered.
"I think we should probably go this way," said Draco, clasping her shoulder and pushing her to the left.
By the time they'd reached the lakeshore, they'd seen three runespoor, a diricawl right before it disappeared, and run away from something that looked suspiciously like a Quintaped, though Draco had assured Ginny that they were pinioned on the northern Isle of Drear.
"At least we'll have something interesting to talk about in Care of Magical creatures!" she mused.
"The only thing that would interest that half-wit professor would be the nundu. He'd probably come over and try to keep it as a pet!"
"Why do you hate Hagrid so much? I know he's a half-giant and all…but he's really a nice guy."
Draco stared at her. "Why?"
"Yes, why?"
"Because! He does everything that Potter wants him to do. Everything. He favors Potter and the Gryffindors above everybody else."
"So, Snape does that with the Slytherins."
"And do you like Snape?"
Ginny thought for a moment. "Not particularly."
"There you are, then."
They'd walked onto a sandy shoreline. Ahead of them, a small cabin rose in the distance, nestled in a patch of trees.
Finally…a way out.
"Why?"
Draco stopped, turning to face Ginny, who'd paused a few feet behind him. "Why what?"
"I mean really—why didn't you tell someone about Grawp when you first went back? You didn't have to keep my promise. You knew I wouldn't hold up to it…at least not the attack part. And no one would believe that you'd saved me, even if you did. So why go through all of this trouble, just to report Grawp?"
Draco was silent for a moment. She watched him, truly interested, this time, in what he had to say. "It wasn't that I was afraid of you…it was…having the others know that I had been alone…with you. Been defeated by you…by a Weasley. I didn't want them to know that. Potter is one thing. Your family is an entirely different matter. So I didn't tell them. Or Snape."
"But why would it matter so much?" She came towards him, arms crossed. "The Slytherins hate Harry and Hermione. And my family. They wouldn't care about our being stuck together as much as the chance to get us all into trouble. Including Hagrid."
"I know that. But my family would care. My father would care. And one of the Slytherins would be sure to let them know, even if I didn't. And I'd never be forgiven."
"Does your family hate us that much? That they'd cause you to risk your life—or your position at Hogwarts—just to avoid associating with the Weasleys?"
He looked over at her. "Yes."
She looked slightly ruffled for a moment. "So what? You aren't defined by your family—or your father."
"Oh, of course I'm not…just like you aren't defined by your family—Weasley."
She laughed. "Maybe in your eyes, but I don't think so. I may be a Weasley, but I'm Ginny Weasley first and foremost. I make sure people know that. Why do you think Ron has such a hard time? He doesn't quite understand, yet, that he can be something other than what he feels he owes to his family. We might all look the same, but we're all different. Just like you are not your father."
"I'm exactly like my father. And I'm proud of that."
"Really? Exactly like him? Have you murdered anybody, then?"
Draco stared at her in shock. "No."
"Then you are not your father. Not yet. Even if you wished it on someone, you've not actually killed a living person. You haven't become him. Hopefully you won't be."
"But I want to be…just like him." He rose to his full height. "It would be an honor." "No. It wouldn't. It would be a damn shame. For your sake, Draco Malfoy, I hope that never happens."
He gaped at her as she marched past him, down the edge of the lake. A whirl of confused thoughts flitted through his mind.
It would be a damn shame…
His heart had lightened, somewhat, when she'd told him he wasn't his father. And that she didn't want him to be. No one else had ever told him that.
But she's a Weasley!
Up ahead, the tiny cabin bordered a small glade of trees, which extended into an old-growth forest beyond. The door was shuttered tight, but Ginny had managed to pry it open with a few well-placed spells.
As Draco had suspected, there was a fireplace inside.
Ginny moved eagerly inside. "I hope it works."
Draco came up beside her, and pulled the pouch out of his robes. He passed it back and forth in his hands as she watched him, her smile at finding the exit slowly fading.
"Give me the Floo Powder, Malfoy."
She's a WEASLEY.
"I don't think so. We're doing things my way, this time." He dangled the bag in front of her. There was a struggle within himself as he watched her eyes, flashing anger, then betrayal.
He swallowed, and tried to remember how he'd felt the night before, prostrate on his knees, screaming at the nighttime shadows. "What were the terms of our agreement again?"
"Give it to me!" Ginny cried, trying to snatch the Floo powder out of Malfoy's hand. "They're the same as they always were."
"I don't think so. Unless you want to remain here in this place, trying to find a door."
Ginny's face flushed as red as her hair, and she reached up the length of him, trying to snatch at the powder he held just out of her reach (with some difficulty, since she was almost as tall as he was). "If I have to hex you, Malfoy, I swear I will!"
"I'd like to see you try!"
"Me, too."
They stopped mid-struggle, turning to the voice in the doorway.
In the shadow of the frame, a large, furry shape was crouched in attack position, a human-like face peering at them beneath darkly narrowed eyebrows.
"Let's try this again, shall we?"
Without another word, the manticore sprang.
***Uh oh! What are Draco and Ginny going to do to get out of this one? The next adventure promises a visit to Malfoy Manor and the return of one of the vilest and most despised characters in the Harry Potter canon—along with some more of the trio, trying to figure this out! Will Draco and Ginny be able to get back to Hogwarts intact??***
Thanks so much to Spinn, frodobaggins07, Vix17, seekerpeeker, lady of scarlet darkness, Jonah, and Joya, (and those of you off network) for reviewing my first chapter. Your reviews really kept me on a writing streak!