(( Oy.... well, you didn't react like I thought you would.... ^^;; not
necessarily a good thing, but still..... glad you like it! Time to update
my disclaimer - I don't own any of them except for Polaire, and it's not
only a name, it's a condition ;-) But nevermind about that..... Read and
review - say you still love me, even though my writing sucks.... Oh yeah,
the thing about Harry is... well.... Difficult to explain...but I don't
like him much, so I'm thinking he might get stuck in some... err...
unfortunate situation in the near future...*evil grin* Carry on.))
About five minutes and at least seven staircases later, Ginny Weasley leaned against the wall and rubbed her face with her sleeve. Feeling foolish for running away and angry with herself for getting so upset, she sighed and closed her eyes. After last night, she didn't know what to think, how to act, what to say... and seeing him, acting as if nothing had happened.... With that Girl.... A frown creased her forehead as she thought of Her. Who the hell was she, anyway? Obviously no good, since she'd been sorted into Slytherin.
Ginny started at the thought, looking around guiltily as though the empty corridor could hear her thoughts. She couldn't think like that now. Still.... She had been raised around the feeling of distrust towards Slytherins.... That they were dangerous, dishonorable, untrustworthy, vicious..... all of that had been shattered when she had connected with Draco. But, maybe it wasn't all a lie.... she knew Draco came off that way -certainly acted that way- some times.... but not around her. The other Slytherins, maybe.... but not Draco.
But that Girl... who did She think She was, draping Herself all over him like that? The blood rushed to her face in anger as she thought back on it. Suddenly she sighed, drained of energy. It was just too much to worry about right now. She looked around, aware of her surroundings for the first time. She was in a part of the school she didn't recognize.
'Great,' she thought to herself, walking back the way she came. 'Now I'm lost and probably late for my classes, too.....' She had been neglecting her studies lately, and she hoped she wouldn't be too far behind once she got around to it. Fortunately, the fact that classes were cancelled meant Ginny had plenty of time to study (this particular fact had slipped her mind for the time being, unfortunately) .... if she could find her way back. Growing alarmed, she hurried around the corner and realized she had no idea where she was. Desperately she tried to find a staircase but ended up back where she started.
~
After reading an 'important letter' from his 'father' (which was really just old parchment with some scribbled notes on it), Draco managed to lose Polaire in a crowd of admiring boys. ((For her, not him. ^^ Just making that clear)) He walked down to the lake and sat staring lazily into the water until a particularly chilly blast of wind sent him hurrying indoors. Unsure of where to go, he wandered around until he unded up outside the Slytherin portrait hole. After a minute's debate with himself he climbed in, deciding he might as well catch up on some sleep, if nothing else. He knew he couldn't go looking for Ginny - that'd be a pretty stupid thing to do, with the Potter Patrol looking for him and Polaire constantly attached to his arm. Even though he wanted to, he knew it was foolish.
Sighing he flopped down on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. Pretty soon he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear anyone come in until they sat down on his bed next to him.
"Hey!" he cried, sitting up. "Who do you think you are, coming in here and - oh" he stopped himself, seeing Polaire staring at him curiously.
"Is something ze matter, Draco?" she asked, concern in her eyes. He eyed her for a moment, taking in her delicate-boned face, surrounded by straight black hair. Long black lashes framed pale violet eyes set over a straight nose and rosy cheeks. She had a slim build, and she was also rather pale, her skin a smooth ivory color, looking as soft and delicate as the rest of her. Quite a comparison to the wild locks of a certain Miss Ginny Weasley, whose fiery eyes and golden skin were neither calm nor delicate. Draco smiled and shook his head, amused by his own thoughts.
"No, nothing at all," he replied, pushing Ginny's image to the back of his mind. He would deal with those thoughts later.
~
Ron was frantic. After leaving the Great Hall, he, Harry, and Hermione had all went back to the Gryffindor Common Room, expecting to find Ginny there. Surprised, they sent Hermione up to look for her in the bedrooms. When she came down empty handed, Ron had started to panic.
"Look, I'm sure she's just taking a walk somewhere.... no need to get upset, she'll be back soon," Hermione had comforted him.
But an hour had passed, and still no sign of his little sister.
Worried, they searched the first couple floors, expecting to find Ginny in a bathroom, or with some of her friends. But no one had seen her anywhere. They stopped back at Gryffindor to see if anyone had spotted her, but to no avail. They informed Fred and George she was missing, and they, along with a few other Gryffindors, volunteered to help look for her.
A few hours later, they were all back in the Common Room, stumped.
Ron paced the floor like a trapped tiger. Harry kept looking around the room, as though she were liable to pop up at any moment. Hermione was working on keeping their nerves calm.
"You know what, I'm sure she got lost...... she looked pretty upset, she probably wasn't looking where she was going and headed up on the wrong stair case or something....."
Ron just grunted and sat down in a chair. Suddenly he sprang up again.
"If that twit's done something to my sister, I swear, I'll kill him!" he raged. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, alarmed.
"You know, I'm sure M- He had nothing to do with this," Hermione hastily replied. Ron just glared.
"We'll find her, don't worry. Why don't you go lie down or something?" she regretted saying this as soon as the words came out of her mouth.
"Lie down? You want me to go and have a little nap while my sister's missing with a depraved lunatic after her??" he cried. People started to turn and look at them. Harry shook his head.
"That's not what she means... but you should calm down... its not like he'd try anything on her...."
As reassuring as his words were supposed to be, they had the opposite effect on Ron. His eyes grew larger and his face redder.
"You don't think... he would?" he choked out. Hermione hit Harry and patted Ron on the arm.
"Of course not, Ron..... he's not that dense," But Ron didn't seem to buy it.
"If it'll make you feel better, why don't we go look again for her? Maybe someone's seen her..." Hermione suggested. Ron nodded.
"Yeah... yeah, let's do that."
~
Groaning in frustration, Ginny smacked her hand against the wall. At least she had stopped going in circles, but now she was more hopelessly lost that she used to be. She slumped down against the wall, putting her face in her hands. Ran had probably had a heart attack once or twice by now.... she felt sort of bad for putting him through this.... but then again, if he trusted her to take care of herself, he wouldn't always be so stressed.
She sighed and decided that for a while she would just give in. She leaned back against the wall and looked at the portrait hanging opposite her. It showed a cat sleeping lazily in an apple tree, tail hanging down and waving in the wind. She smiled, feeling comforted by that picture. She shut her eyes and wished she were in that meadow, surrounded by Nature and away from all the troubles she had....
She opened her eyes and she was in the meadow, with the exact same tree and cat. She looked around in wonder and laughed as she saw herself though what appeared to be a giant window, sleeping against the wall. She reached up and stroked the cat's tail, feeling it's soft fur against her skin. She wandered around in the sunshine, feeling warm and content.... until suddenly she was aware of another presence beside her. She looked around, but saw nothing. Confused, she kept walking. A little while later, she felt a touch on her arm. She whirled around, and saw just a flash of movement behind a tree.
She walked up to the tree and put her hand on it, feeling the warm bark. She peered around the tree, but nothing was there. She felt a soft breath on her neck and she spun around wildly, met by only blue sky and green grass. Soft laughter echoed throughout the fields, a pleasant sound that made shivers run up her back just hearing it.
'Come, Ginny.....Play with me' the voice laughed. She ran towards it, but she couldn't find it. Upset, she walked over to a flower and was about to pick it when she felt a soft touch on her cheek. She turned around so fast she lost her balance, but a strong arm circled her waist and caught her. She found herself looking into a pair of ice blue eyes, filled with such loving and tenderness it took her breath away.
'Play with me, Ginny,' he whispered, his words mingling with her own, ragged breath. He leaned forward and pressed his lips softly to hers, pulling her closer to him. She was shaking so bad that if he had let go she would have fallen right to the ground. But he didn't let go. He held her there, close to his body, kissing her tenderly, in that sun-filled, cloudless valley. He ran his hand through her hair, pressing their lips closer together, intensifying the kiss.
All of a sudden, he disappeared, and Ginny sunk into a disheveled heap on the ground. Slowly she started to regain feeling in her body, and she broke down into tears. When she opened her eyes again, she was sitting on the floor of the corridor, staring at the picture of the meadow; only now, the cat was awake and staring back at her tear-stained face.
~
"What did you do to her??"
Draco Malfoy, who had, up until this point, been minding his own -boring- business, was now surrounded by three anrgy Gryffindors - one of whom's hair was almost the exact shade as his face. As amusing as Draco found this, his lips curled into a sneer.
"I'm sure I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about," he replied mockingly, returning his eyes to the page of the book they'd been boring holes into for the past hour or so. He'd finally lost Polaire in a crowd of admiring 5th years and was hiding out in the library, assuming that, with the amount of brains she had in her head, she didn't know and wouldn't care to learn where the library was. He'd been practically sleeping until Ron had started yelling at him.
"What have you done with my sister?!" Ron persisted, taking a step towards the table. Draco raised his eyebrow, not making the connection.
"Your sister.....?" His eyes grew round as his mind worked. "Ginny? Why? Did something happen?"
Ron's face grew redder, if at all possible.
"Don't call her that! And don't act like you don't know!" he spat. Draco stood up and regarded Ron cooly, though his mind was working frantically. Had something happened? Was she hurt? Why..... well, it was obvious why they thought he had anything to do with it. If they only knew... he sighed inwardly, wondering how such a perfect being could be in any way related to such ignorant insignificant little twits.
"I don't know anything about the whereabouts of Virginia," he repeated, an emphasis on her name just to make Ron boil, "And just what kind of big brother are you, to lose her like that? Such good protectors..... a Weasle, a Show-Off, and a Mudblood," he added with a small glare at Hermione. He barely stepped out of the way in time as Ron and Harry lunged at him, but he was expecting it. 'Good,' he thought, egging them on by laughing. 'See if I can't get some information on what happened...' The best thing for him to do probably would have been to ask, but it was no fun that way.
"So what happened? She slip out of the leash? Unlock her cage?" They missed him only by inches this time, as he dodged around a book shelf. "Poor Ronnie can't keep her protected enough? Little Potter's sheild failing? The Mudblood's spells not working anymore? Can't say I'm surprised..." This time they did catch him, getting into a brief but violent scuffle until he managed to scramble away.
Panting, they stood on opposite sides of the table, glaring at each other. Draco flashed a quick smile.
"What, you're not going to tell me?"
Ron started to move forward again, and Draco was ready to dash away, but Hermione held him back.
"Yeah, Malfoy - She left because of you. Ran out practically in tears, seeing you fawn all over that Polaire the way you were. I hope you're happy. Now she's lost somewhere in Hogwarts, and there's a lot worse things that could happen to her besides getting her heart broken by a pompus jerk like you!" Hermione cried, her face red. Draco just stared at her. He had suspected that was why she left, but nothing to that degree. Hermione seemed embarassed by what she had let out of her mouth, but she glared back at him anyway. Harry just looked at her amazed. Now he knew she knew more than she was letting on.
Finally Hermione, after growing extremely uncomfortable, broke the silence. "Well, are you going to say something or just stand there and look at me all day?" Draco blinked.... then turned around and walked out of the library. The three stared at him until his back turned the corner. They sat around the table, thinking. Ron's mind was filled to the brim red.... blind rage churned back and forth. Harry tried to work out what it was Hermione was hiding, and what Draco really had to do with the disappearance of Ginny.... And Hermione..... Hermione was wondering, in a small part of her mind, if Draco's expression had changed.... he almost looked..... worried. Worried.... and sad.
They sat, lost in their individual thoughts for quite a while, until some giggly first years passed through, giving a quick glance at Harry and giggling louder. Then Hermione stodd up and looked at Harry and Ron.
"Well.... I suppose we should look some more"
And so they walked out the same way they'd come in, but with a new view of the problem. If it wasn't Draco..... what could have happened to her?
~~~~
((Oy........ I am REALLY lazy.... and for that I apologize... but, hey, there's nothing I really can do about it, can I? It's in my blood. Well.... maybe not... but I'm pretty comfortable with it. ANYWAY. I've been inspired by some wonderful piece of art on DeviantArt.... although my writing changes yet again (you can probably tell where.... I think half this chapter is not-so-sucky, and the last half is major-sucky because I am WAY out of touch with my writing skills. My plot's kind of warped, too. I origionally had one, but I forgot it. THEN, it kind of went on withoutr a definate plot.... just fluff, mainly. Then I decided to give it a plot, and now, even though that plot's still kind of there, it's shifted again.So... if you're a little lost and wondering why this is getting so out of hand anf.... dumb... well... I'm lost too. I'd stop writing altogether, but then people would yell at me, so..... on I go))
About five minutes and at least seven staircases later, Ginny Weasley leaned against the wall and rubbed her face with her sleeve. Feeling foolish for running away and angry with herself for getting so upset, she sighed and closed her eyes. After last night, she didn't know what to think, how to act, what to say... and seeing him, acting as if nothing had happened.... With that Girl.... A frown creased her forehead as she thought of Her. Who the hell was she, anyway? Obviously no good, since she'd been sorted into Slytherin.
Ginny started at the thought, looking around guiltily as though the empty corridor could hear her thoughts. She couldn't think like that now. Still.... She had been raised around the feeling of distrust towards Slytherins.... That they were dangerous, dishonorable, untrustworthy, vicious..... all of that had been shattered when she had connected with Draco. But, maybe it wasn't all a lie.... she knew Draco came off that way -certainly acted that way- some times.... but not around her. The other Slytherins, maybe.... but not Draco.
But that Girl... who did She think She was, draping Herself all over him like that? The blood rushed to her face in anger as she thought back on it. Suddenly she sighed, drained of energy. It was just too much to worry about right now. She looked around, aware of her surroundings for the first time. She was in a part of the school she didn't recognize.
'Great,' she thought to herself, walking back the way she came. 'Now I'm lost and probably late for my classes, too.....' She had been neglecting her studies lately, and she hoped she wouldn't be too far behind once she got around to it. Fortunately, the fact that classes were cancelled meant Ginny had plenty of time to study (this particular fact had slipped her mind for the time being, unfortunately) .... if she could find her way back. Growing alarmed, she hurried around the corner and realized she had no idea where she was. Desperately she tried to find a staircase but ended up back where she started.
~
After reading an 'important letter' from his 'father' (which was really just old parchment with some scribbled notes on it), Draco managed to lose Polaire in a crowd of admiring boys. ((For her, not him. ^^ Just making that clear)) He walked down to the lake and sat staring lazily into the water until a particularly chilly blast of wind sent him hurrying indoors. Unsure of where to go, he wandered around until he unded up outside the Slytherin portrait hole. After a minute's debate with himself he climbed in, deciding he might as well catch up on some sleep, if nothing else. He knew he couldn't go looking for Ginny - that'd be a pretty stupid thing to do, with the Potter Patrol looking for him and Polaire constantly attached to his arm. Even though he wanted to, he knew it was foolish.
Sighing he flopped down on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. Pretty soon he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear anyone come in until they sat down on his bed next to him.
"Hey!" he cried, sitting up. "Who do you think you are, coming in here and - oh" he stopped himself, seeing Polaire staring at him curiously.
"Is something ze matter, Draco?" she asked, concern in her eyes. He eyed her for a moment, taking in her delicate-boned face, surrounded by straight black hair. Long black lashes framed pale violet eyes set over a straight nose and rosy cheeks. She had a slim build, and she was also rather pale, her skin a smooth ivory color, looking as soft and delicate as the rest of her. Quite a comparison to the wild locks of a certain Miss Ginny Weasley, whose fiery eyes and golden skin were neither calm nor delicate. Draco smiled and shook his head, amused by his own thoughts.
"No, nothing at all," he replied, pushing Ginny's image to the back of his mind. He would deal with those thoughts later.
~
Ron was frantic. After leaving the Great Hall, he, Harry, and Hermione had all went back to the Gryffindor Common Room, expecting to find Ginny there. Surprised, they sent Hermione up to look for her in the bedrooms. When she came down empty handed, Ron had started to panic.
"Look, I'm sure she's just taking a walk somewhere.... no need to get upset, she'll be back soon," Hermione had comforted him.
But an hour had passed, and still no sign of his little sister.
Worried, they searched the first couple floors, expecting to find Ginny in a bathroom, or with some of her friends. But no one had seen her anywhere. They stopped back at Gryffindor to see if anyone had spotted her, but to no avail. They informed Fred and George she was missing, and they, along with a few other Gryffindors, volunteered to help look for her.
A few hours later, they were all back in the Common Room, stumped.
Ron paced the floor like a trapped tiger. Harry kept looking around the room, as though she were liable to pop up at any moment. Hermione was working on keeping their nerves calm.
"You know what, I'm sure she got lost...... she looked pretty upset, she probably wasn't looking where she was going and headed up on the wrong stair case or something....."
Ron just grunted and sat down in a chair. Suddenly he sprang up again.
"If that twit's done something to my sister, I swear, I'll kill him!" he raged. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, alarmed.
"You know, I'm sure M- He had nothing to do with this," Hermione hastily replied. Ron just glared.
"We'll find her, don't worry. Why don't you go lie down or something?" she regretted saying this as soon as the words came out of her mouth.
"Lie down? You want me to go and have a little nap while my sister's missing with a depraved lunatic after her??" he cried. People started to turn and look at them. Harry shook his head.
"That's not what she means... but you should calm down... its not like he'd try anything on her...."
As reassuring as his words were supposed to be, they had the opposite effect on Ron. His eyes grew larger and his face redder.
"You don't think... he would?" he choked out. Hermione hit Harry and patted Ron on the arm.
"Of course not, Ron..... he's not that dense," But Ron didn't seem to buy it.
"If it'll make you feel better, why don't we go look again for her? Maybe someone's seen her..." Hermione suggested. Ron nodded.
"Yeah... yeah, let's do that."
~
Groaning in frustration, Ginny smacked her hand against the wall. At least she had stopped going in circles, but now she was more hopelessly lost that she used to be. She slumped down against the wall, putting her face in her hands. Ran had probably had a heart attack once or twice by now.... she felt sort of bad for putting him through this.... but then again, if he trusted her to take care of herself, he wouldn't always be so stressed.
She sighed and decided that for a while she would just give in. She leaned back against the wall and looked at the portrait hanging opposite her. It showed a cat sleeping lazily in an apple tree, tail hanging down and waving in the wind. She smiled, feeling comforted by that picture. She shut her eyes and wished she were in that meadow, surrounded by Nature and away from all the troubles she had....
She opened her eyes and she was in the meadow, with the exact same tree and cat. She looked around in wonder and laughed as she saw herself though what appeared to be a giant window, sleeping against the wall. She reached up and stroked the cat's tail, feeling it's soft fur against her skin. She wandered around in the sunshine, feeling warm and content.... until suddenly she was aware of another presence beside her. She looked around, but saw nothing. Confused, she kept walking. A little while later, she felt a touch on her arm. She whirled around, and saw just a flash of movement behind a tree.
She walked up to the tree and put her hand on it, feeling the warm bark. She peered around the tree, but nothing was there. She felt a soft breath on her neck and she spun around wildly, met by only blue sky and green grass. Soft laughter echoed throughout the fields, a pleasant sound that made shivers run up her back just hearing it.
'Come, Ginny.....Play with me' the voice laughed. She ran towards it, but she couldn't find it. Upset, she walked over to a flower and was about to pick it when she felt a soft touch on her cheek. She turned around so fast she lost her balance, but a strong arm circled her waist and caught her. She found herself looking into a pair of ice blue eyes, filled with such loving and tenderness it took her breath away.
'Play with me, Ginny,' he whispered, his words mingling with her own, ragged breath. He leaned forward and pressed his lips softly to hers, pulling her closer to him. She was shaking so bad that if he had let go she would have fallen right to the ground. But he didn't let go. He held her there, close to his body, kissing her tenderly, in that sun-filled, cloudless valley. He ran his hand through her hair, pressing their lips closer together, intensifying the kiss.
All of a sudden, he disappeared, and Ginny sunk into a disheveled heap on the ground. Slowly she started to regain feeling in her body, and she broke down into tears. When she opened her eyes again, she was sitting on the floor of the corridor, staring at the picture of the meadow; only now, the cat was awake and staring back at her tear-stained face.
~
"What did you do to her??"
Draco Malfoy, who had, up until this point, been minding his own -boring- business, was now surrounded by three anrgy Gryffindors - one of whom's hair was almost the exact shade as his face. As amusing as Draco found this, his lips curled into a sneer.
"I'm sure I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about," he replied mockingly, returning his eyes to the page of the book they'd been boring holes into for the past hour or so. He'd finally lost Polaire in a crowd of admiring 5th years and was hiding out in the library, assuming that, with the amount of brains she had in her head, she didn't know and wouldn't care to learn where the library was. He'd been practically sleeping until Ron had started yelling at him.
"What have you done with my sister?!" Ron persisted, taking a step towards the table. Draco raised his eyebrow, not making the connection.
"Your sister.....?" His eyes grew round as his mind worked. "Ginny? Why? Did something happen?"
Ron's face grew redder, if at all possible.
"Don't call her that! And don't act like you don't know!" he spat. Draco stood up and regarded Ron cooly, though his mind was working frantically. Had something happened? Was she hurt? Why..... well, it was obvious why they thought he had anything to do with it. If they only knew... he sighed inwardly, wondering how such a perfect being could be in any way related to such ignorant insignificant little twits.
"I don't know anything about the whereabouts of Virginia," he repeated, an emphasis on her name just to make Ron boil, "And just what kind of big brother are you, to lose her like that? Such good protectors..... a Weasle, a Show-Off, and a Mudblood," he added with a small glare at Hermione. He barely stepped out of the way in time as Ron and Harry lunged at him, but he was expecting it. 'Good,' he thought, egging them on by laughing. 'See if I can't get some information on what happened...' The best thing for him to do probably would have been to ask, but it was no fun that way.
"So what happened? She slip out of the leash? Unlock her cage?" They missed him only by inches this time, as he dodged around a book shelf. "Poor Ronnie can't keep her protected enough? Little Potter's sheild failing? The Mudblood's spells not working anymore? Can't say I'm surprised..." This time they did catch him, getting into a brief but violent scuffle until he managed to scramble away.
Panting, they stood on opposite sides of the table, glaring at each other. Draco flashed a quick smile.
"What, you're not going to tell me?"
Ron started to move forward again, and Draco was ready to dash away, but Hermione held him back.
"Yeah, Malfoy - She left because of you. Ran out practically in tears, seeing you fawn all over that Polaire the way you were. I hope you're happy. Now she's lost somewhere in Hogwarts, and there's a lot worse things that could happen to her besides getting her heart broken by a pompus jerk like you!" Hermione cried, her face red. Draco just stared at her. He had suspected that was why she left, but nothing to that degree. Hermione seemed embarassed by what she had let out of her mouth, but she glared back at him anyway. Harry just looked at her amazed. Now he knew she knew more than she was letting on.
Finally Hermione, after growing extremely uncomfortable, broke the silence. "Well, are you going to say something or just stand there and look at me all day?" Draco blinked.... then turned around and walked out of the library. The three stared at him until his back turned the corner. They sat around the table, thinking. Ron's mind was filled to the brim red.... blind rage churned back and forth. Harry tried to work out what it was Hermione was hiding, and what Draco really had to do with the disappearance of Ginny.... And Hermione..... Hermione was wondering, in a small part of her mind, if Draco's expression had changed.... he almost looked..... worried. Worried.... and sad.
They sat, lost in their individual thoughts for quite a while, until some giggly first years passed through, giving a quick glance at Harry and giggling louder. Then Hermione stodd up and looked at Harry and Ron.
"Well.... I suppose we should look some more"
And so they walked out the same way they'd come in, but with a new view of the problem. If it wasn't Draco..... what could have happened to her?
~~~~
((Oy........ I am REALLY lazy.... and for that I apologize... but, hey, there's nothing I really can do about it, can I? It's in my blood. Well.... maybe not... but I'm pretty comfortable with it. ANYWAY. I've been inspired by some wonderful piece of art on DeviantArt.... although my writing changes yet again (you can probably tell where.... I think half this chapter is not-so-sucky, and the last half is major-sucky because I am WAY out of touch with my writing skills. My plot's kind of warped, too. I origionally had one, but I forgot it. THEN, it kind of went on withoutr a definate plot.... just fluff, mainly. Then I decided to give it a plot, and now, even though that plot's still kind of there, it's shifted again.So... if you're a little lost and wondering why this is getting so out of hand anf.... dumb... well... I'm lost too. I'd stop writing altogether, but then people would yell at me, so..... on I go))