Hey, wha¡¯sup! First of all, I would like to thank all my reviewers – your comments and suggestions have meant so much to me. I would also like to apologize to all my fans that have been waiting for this chapter, life was bitching with me and I just couldn¡¯t find the time to write this chapter out until now. Anewayz, bless you all for being patient with me. This will be a fairly short chapter, but please enjoy it all the same.

R & R Please!!

*blows kisses*

Drowning Hearts, Flooding Tears

Chapter 3: Aftershocks

A strong hand pounded on the hard, wooden door of the small hut that was Hagrid¡¯s home. But the hut only looked small, for once the two of them were ushered inside by the half-giant that was their teacher and beloved friend, they soon found comfort in the cozy interiors that had fiery shadows dancing all over their stone walls.

The minute Harry sat down on one of the ancient, sagging couches that Hagrid seemed to have had for centuries, he was tackled by a mass of furry, black, yelping puppies. Ginny reached over and picked up one that was nibbling on Harry¡¯s ear and petted it.

¡°Looks like they quite like you, ¡®Arry,¡± Hagrid barked with laughter as Harry struggled underneath the pile of puppies. More than a month ago, Hagrid had traveled to Diagon Alley to get Fang a present for his way-too-old birthday¡¦and what he returned with was a whole litter of puppies. Surely they were not his, he had not fathered any one of them, but Fang seemed quite fond of each fuzzy black ball as if they truly were his own.

Harry, pulling a squirming mongrel from his face, demanded, ¡°Just how many of these things do you have Hagrid?¡±

Hagrid grinned, the corners of his eyes crinkling good naturally, ¡° ¡®Tis just ten of them, ¡®Arry.¡±

¡°Well, get them off of me!¡± Harry seemed quite desperate. Hagrid stomped over to him and proceeded to remove the waddling mass of black pups from his pupil¡¯s body. In the mist of all the yelping puppies, the shouts from Harry, and the roaring laughter from Hagrid, Ginny remained quite. Fang, seeming to know that the little red haired mistress needed more company than the little pup in her arms could give, strode over and licked her hand. The contact broke Ginny out of her trance-like state, and shaking her head in despair, she walked over to the two struggling men and began plucking pups off of Harry.

But even this delightful act didn¡¯t distract her. About a year ago, when she was arriving at Hogwarts to start a new year, she had felt a shadow of dread grow inside her consciousness. It had hit her full force when she had gotten out of her carriage, right after Hermione had gotten off. It took her a while to locate the source of the ¡®force¡¯, but she couldn¡¯t find it¡¦and the pain had continued to rip through her body with destructive force.

She remembered how she had had to go to Madam Pomfrey¡¯s office, where, with much hesitation – she had explained her problem – Professor Dumbledore had been called. Once he had arrived, he put a charm spell on her, letting her doze off while he and Madam Pomfrey conducted¡¦something on her. Later, when she awoke, Dumbledore told her that she had the ability to sense the future – weather they be good of bad. Of course she will not be able to know _what_ they may be, but she would be warned nonetheless.

And so, for the past year, she had been able to foretell the outcome of many things, the conclusion of which she drew from her ¡®feelings¡¯. She had never been wrong. There was the time when Ron had¡¦well, had thoughts about ditching a class, and when he proceeded with his little plan and snuck into the greenhouse with Harry, the two of them got sick with Pufferblow Feet, an unfortunate case since Pufferblow Feet was a sickness that prevented it¡¯s host from walking for three weeks. All the while giving them rashes and making their legs twitch uncontrollably. And the time that Hagrid had left for Diagon Alley about a month ago, she had known that he would return with more – uh, company – than he had left with. But she had still been surprised for she had no way of knowing that it would¡¯ve been a whole litter of puppies.

Ginny had always been able to tell, in almost any kind of situation, the outcome of a certain event as long as she had the ¡®feeling¡¯. Yet, not all of her feelings had been positive, or humorous in one way or another. There was one she knew was a _true_ warning. This one she knew was no joke. The warning was constantly with her, still to fulfill its message it so foretold. She knew it was to happen on an autumn¡¯s early evening, just before the sun set¡¦

She was confused, for that pain was haunting her now, ever since she had met Hermione at the Quidditch field. She had long since learned that her ¡°sixth sense¡± as Muggles called it, warned her about things to come – both good and bad. And this was definitely bad. Real bad. She just hoped that it didn¡¯t have to do with Hermione. But the pain wouldn¡¯t leave, no matter how hard she tried to will it away – and she had the strong urge to find her¡¦before it was too late.

Then it hit her, and she blacked out¡¦

~ ¡Ä ~ ¡Ä ~ ¡Ä ~ ¡Ä ~

Colin Creevey yawned as he slowly strode through the maze of corridors. He had been shooting a film for Madam Hooch on the basis of flying with a broom for first years. It was truly time consuming work, one which Colin did not enjoy doing. Sure, he liked anything that had to do with photography – starting from taking pictures with cameras, to shooting short films – but the work was just getting too much for him. Madam Hooch had promised the project would only take two weeks at the most, but it had already been three months, and Colin was just getting sick of it.

Damn first years!

He turned the corner from the library, making his way to the dorm rooms, when he abruptly crashed into a tall, blonde figure. The figure cursed quite loudly, but the words sounded less threatening than it was naturally supposed to. Colin stopped, took a good look at Draco – who was grinning.

¡°What¡¯s gotten into you, Malfoy?¡±

¡°Not something you¡¯d understand, Creevey,¡± he said as a fresh grin broke his face, leering at Colin.

Tilting his head sideways, Colin looked straight into those hard gray eyes, with which he was level with. Colin was as tall as Draco now, and could almost compete with the famous Slytherin. ¡°Now, how can you possibly know what I can understand, and what I can¡¯t? Try me, Malfoy, I might just prove more comprehendible than I look.¡±

Draco smiled a genuine smile. The sight was so coldly beautiful, that Colin wished he¡¯d brought his camera with him, which was beside his nightstand – he¡¯d left it because he was using the school¡¯s filming equipment instead of his own. Draco, sensing the younger blonde¡¯s stares, quite unexpectedly, found himself looking at the boy with such fondness that even he was surprised. Surely, he couldn¡¯t be in that good a mood could he? After what had taken place a few minutes ago, could a guy feel that good? Probably, that was the only explanation he could come up with. For the first time in his life, he decided it would be ¡®ok¡¯ to have a bit more fun¡¦

Colin gasped as long, pale fingers suddenly touched his neck and trailed down his chest. Through bewildered, soft blue eyes, he looked at Draco. The other boy was¡¦well, he looked different. Then, in a voice that Colin could only describe as sensual, Draco told him the ordeal that he had just went through, all in exquisite detail, and all the while trailing his hands over Colin¡¯s body.

Colin breathed a silent sigh of relief when Draco finally finished his story.

¡°Colin, do you know what it feels like? To be with someone you had dreamed about for so long?¡±

He shook his head, no. How could he possibly, he had never felt love for anyone, it was all just an act. Even his admiration for Harry didn¡¯t go as deep as Draco meant. His past forbade such feelings¡¦ Draco smiled, ¡°You know, Colin, a guy like you could still get a chance. If you¡¯re interested, just go into that room, the one right there and see if you want a taste of what I just had. Believe me, this is the greatest feeling in the world¡¦¡±

And with that, Draco left. Still stunned at the level of intimacy that had been flowing between them, Colin had to take a few minutes to calm his racing heart. Once his mind and body had calmed, Colin decided to go to the room that Draco had indicated. Not to do what Draco had suggested, definitely not, but to go and find the girl – and in some small way – comfort the broken spirit that now will dwell in her. He sympathized with her; he knew what it felt like¡¦to be¡¦taken.

He reached the room, opened the door, and swore his heart stopped beating. The sight he saw was so¡¦painful. It brought back unwanted memories, memories he had long since tried to lock away, but which assaulted his dreams in the dark of night¡¦Memories he didn¡¯t want to face again, didn¡¯t want to see in any other soul, wanted to lock away in a box and throw away the key. But, now, here was a soul who needed the help that only he could give¡¦and he would, oh, would he ever. If only he could see who she was¡¦

Wait, is that¡¦is that who it seemed to be? Colin¡¯s heart stopped again, a greater terror and pain rocking through the very core of his being. Fearfully, he walked to her side, and with more effort than even he could¡¯ve imagined possible, whispered the one name that had ever meant anything to him.

¡°Hermione¡¦?¡±

- Fin- This chapter seems to leave more questions than answers, doesn¡¯t it? Well, for those of you who are wondering, Colin will have quite a bit to play in this story. I¡¯ve always felt a little sorry for him since not much people seem to like him or include him in their stories, so I decided to give him a considerable part in this fic of mine. I do hope he¡¯ll live up to the part. BTW, I have a favor to ask, I¡¯m planning to include a new character, one of my very own, but I need a name for him. Yes, it¡¯s a him. He¡¯s going to be a shape shifter – but more info on him later¡¦He might not necessarily be in this fic though¡¦Just send me a list of your three fav male names and I¡¯ll try to pick the best out of the lot. Anewayz, thanks for reading, and please, review! : )