Cast Away

~* Sorry, there is no Draco/Ginny in this chapter, but this is still an important chapter to the main plot. *~

Chapter 11 ~ Abandoned

Phillip had most certainly distanced himself from Maria, taking Drew with him. Drew was none too pleased with this, because it meant that he wouldn't be able to see Julia and Cassandra, who stuck with Maria like glue. Ginny noticed this more than she would have if she hadn't spoken to Maria last week in the hospital wing.

Ginny and Sigma walked the long walk to Professor Trelawney's tower for Divination, a class they had with Maria and Julia. Maria sat down immediately, looking like she would throw up any moment. Ginny looked over at Sigma, carefully studying her features. Sigma looked paler than usual, her hair showing some signs of blonde regrowth, something that Ginny had never seen on her friend. Sigma normally took pride in her appearance, not letting regrowth peek through. There were circles under her eyes signalling sleep deprivation, and the black slither in her left eye had grown until it nearly reached her pupil.

'Sigma, are you okay?' Ginny asked after Divination. Sigma had hardly said anything, and she usually would question Professor Trelawney to no end in Divination.

'I'm fine, Ginny.' Sigma replied in a raspy voice. She would say nothing more. They walked to their next class, double Potions. All the Gryffindors were in this class.

'Today, you will be learning how to make abortion potions,' Snape began. Maria choked. Snape glared at her. 'The instructions are on the board, I expect that certain students should pay extreme attention to get it right,' He said that last part to Maria, and some Slytherins looked at her and sniggered.

'The whole school must know by now.' Ginny whispered to Sigma, who said nothing. Ginny looked away from Sigma, scanning the dungeon. Phillip was sitting in the far corner with Drew, Colin Creevey and the other Gryffindor fifth year, Alistair Boyle. Ginny knew that Colin and Alistair were always together, off on some adventure, and they were hardly ever around. Ginny felt someone staring at her, and she turned around to see Maria, a look on her face plainly said, Get me out of here.

~***~

Ginny sat by herself in the Gryffindor common room, completing her essay about abortion potions. She knew Snape had set this task because of Maria. Dumbledore must have been informed about Maria's situation.

Sigma was no where to be found. Ginny assumed she was off with Hermione, but then she saw Ron, Harry and Hermione walk into the common room, busily talking about something.

'Hermione, have you seen Sigma?' Ginny called out across the common room. Hermione looked thoughtful.

'Actually, I did see her when we were on our way back from Quidditch practice… she was headed towards the Forbidden Forrest.' Hermione said, before falling back into her conversation with Ron and Harry.

'The Forbidden Forrest? Hermione, why didn't you stop her?' Ginny said, interrupting Hermione's conversation.

'Excuse me Ginny, but I am in a private conversation with Harry and Ron, incase you haven't noticed,' Hermione said bitterly, and turned her back on Ginny.

Ginny was hurt from this, but she decided Sigma needed her. So she ran out of the common room, through the portrait and down the stairs to the Entrance Hall. Ginny sprinted across the grounds, ignoring Hagrid's call, and she slipped into the Forbidden Forrest.

Ginny had never been in the Forrest herself, but she had heard Harry and Ron talk about it a lot. She had heard a great deal about giant spiders, werewolves, centaurs and unicorns. Ginny didn't like spiders, and she most certainly didn't want to run in with a werewolf either. She walked through the Forrest, her presence going un-noticed. For that she was thankful, however, Ginny hadn't seen Sigma yet.

As she walked deeper into the Forrest, Ginny began to get scared. She looked to her right and saw a streak of black go past. Ginny froze, her heart beating quite fast. She spun around, only to see the same streak of black. Her eyes widened at the sight, the black streak was coming towards her. Ginny began to back away, but the figure disappeared. She stopped, confused, when something grabbed her shoulder from behind. Ginny jumped with shock and fear as she turned to face her attacker, a cloaked figure, face unseen. It withdrew it's hand from Ginny's shoulder, and she panicked as it drew the hood to reveal itself.

'Sigma?' Ginny felt the relief wash over her like warm water as she saw her friend's face immerge from within the cloak. Sigma's hair looked bad, the black was a dull colour instead of shiney, and it looked tangled as if she hadn't brushed it in weeks, and the blonde regrowth was getting worse. The black in her left eye had taken over her pupil, almost leaving her whole eye black, even the white in her eye had started to turn black. The bags under her eyes steadily started to look like bruises, and her right eye was bloodshot.

'What are you doing here, Ginny?' Sigma asked in a hoarse voice.

'Sigma, you look terrible!'

'Answer my question, why are you in the Forbidden Forrest?'

'I was looking for you, I was worried about you Sigma.' Ginny told her.

'What's there to worry about?' Sigma asked.

'Have you seen yourself in a mirror lately? You look terrible, and you haven't dyed your hair for far too long.' Ginny said. Sigma scowled.

'It doesn't matter anymore, Ginny, nothing matters anymore.'

'Why not?' Ginny pushed.

'You wouldn't understand even if I told you.' Sigma said stubbornly.

'Tell me, Sigma, aren't I your best friend anymore? You can trust me with your life.' Ginny said sadly. Sigma just looked at her, and disappeared in a streak of black. 'Great, now what?' Ginny yelled to the trees as if expecting a response.

~***~

Hermione watched from her seat in the common room as Sigma walked in through the portrait, alone. She creased her brow, wondering where Ginny was.

'Sigma,' Hermione called out. When Sigma didn't reply and kept walking towards the girls staircase, Hermione jumped up and grabbed Sigma by the arm, swinging her around to face Hermione. At the sight of Sigma's appearance, Hermione gasped. 'What's going on with you, Sigma?' She asked, sincerely concerned.

'Nothing, I'm fine.' Replied Sigma. Hermione narrowed her eyes.

'You will tell me what is bothering you, or I will go to the Headmaster.' Hermione threatened. She believed she was doing the right thing by Sigma, but the small girl quickly angered, her right eye flashing as the black grew in her left eye.

'I do not have to take orders from you, Granger,' Sigma bellowed, her hair whipping out behind her. Hermione could swear there was a blackness around the air as Sigma spoke. Everyone who was in the Gryffindor common room had paused what they were doing to see what was going on with Sigma and Hermione. Ron came over cautiously, not wanting to upset Sigma while she looked like that.

'Sigma,' Ron said in a soothing voice, 'Where is Ginny?' Sigma's hair settled back to it's matted tangles, and her right eye went dull once more.

'She's in the Forbidden Forrest,'

'What?'

'Excuse me?'

'You left my sister in the Forbidden Forrest, all alone?' Ron cried, looking to see who the other people who spoke were, Hermione and Harry.

'I'll get my cloak,' Harry said, and disappeared up the boys stairs.

'She was asking too many questions,' Sigma responded to the looks she was getting from Hermione and Ron. 'I'm tired, don't you dare try to question me,' and with that, Sigma followed Harry's lead, disappearing up the girls stairs.

~***~

'Ouch, do you have to stand so close?' Ron grumbled as Hermione stood on his foot for the fifth time. They were headed towards the Forbidden Forrest under Harry's invisibility cloak, when Harry spotted Hagrid, dragging someone unconscious from the Forrest.

'Hagrid!' Harry called out, slipping from the cloak and running towards Hagrid.

''Arry? What are yer doin' out 'ere at this time o' night?' Hagrid brushed some twigs from his beard and placed the figure on the soft grass.

'Ginny!' Harry cried, Hermione and Ron immediately stepped out from the cloak and knelt beside Ginny.

'She found Grawp,' Hagrid explained. Ron looked at him wide eyed.

'What happened?'

'Well, she had wandered into Aragog's home, but ran in the other direction when she saw a spider, Grawpy found her.' Hagrid beamed.

'How did she come to be unconscious?' Harry asked, pacing back and forward beside Ginny's still form, occasionally stopping to check if she stirred.

'Must'a been from shock,' Hagrid guessed.

'Poor Ginny, I wonder how long Sigma left her out there by herself,' Hermione said.

'We should get her into the hospital wing,' Ron suggested, lifting his sister carefully. 'Thank you for finding her Hagrid,' Ron gave a quick smile, and the three headed back to the castle.

~***~

Ginny woke to find herself, once again, in the Hospital Wing. Her eyes were fuzzy, and the last thing she could remember was seeing a large spider in the Forbidden Forrest. She had no idea how she'd gotten back. Looking around, she saw one small get well card, and a bunch of yellow flowers in a vase too large for the contents.

'Ginny, you're awake!' Ginny looked around to see who had spoken, and she saw Maria, lying in the bed next to hers.

'Hello Maria, what are you in here for?'

'I'm having some baby problems,' Maria said.

'Oh, what's wrong with it?'

'Nothing, but it's getting very powerful, meaning that sometimes it upsets my body.' Maria explained.

'Okay, do you know if it's a boy or girl?' Ginny asked.

'I don't want to know, but I do…' Maria said.

'You do want to know, but you don't want to know?' Ginny asked, confused.

'No, I don't want to know if it's a boy or a girl, but I do know what it is.' Maria told her.

'How do you know?' Ginny asked.

'Madam Pomfrey told me that my baby is an Elemental, and only girls can be Elementals.' Maria said.

'An Elemental? Maria, they are really rare,' Ginny said in awe.

'Which is why I have decided to give her up,' Maria said sadly.

'You're having an abortion?' Ginny cried.

'No, I'm going to have my baby, then give her to a foster home.' Maria told her.

'Why? That would be depriving her of knowing her parents, which is wrong.' Ginny said.

'You ask why… I am still a kid, this baby is a powerful one, and I don't have the strength to take care of her while I am this age.' Maria explained.

'I thought you wanted to keep your baby.'

'I do, more than anything,' Maria sighed. 'I just can't. I've thought this through, and I think it's for the best. The child would have a lousy life if I raised her, so I'm going to give her up so that she may have a lovely life.'

Ginny said nothing, she didn't know that Maria could be that considerate. On the other hand, Ginny was glad about her decision to wait until marriage, that way she would never be put in Maria's position.

~***~

Ginny had been out of the Hospital Wing for three hours, and was already wondering where Sigma was. She decided to wait until night when Sigma came into the dorms. Sigma was hardly seen around, she didn't go to meals, she regularly skipped classes, apart from Divination, and was hardly around in the Gryffindor common room anymore. It was rare for her to be seen.

As nightfall came to pass, Ginny found herself sitting in the girls dorms alone. Maria was still in the Hospital Wing, and Ginny assumed that Julia and Cassandra were with her. Ginny lay in her bed with the curtains pulled closed. She heard a small click, signalling that the door had been opened. Footsteps could be heard rummaging around the room, so Ginny peeked out of a small gap in the curtains where they met at the corner.

Sigma was rummaging through her trunk, she obviously thought the room was empty. Ginny slid out of her bed and crept to the door. She clicked it shut. Sigma snapped her head up from her trunk.

'So, Ginny, what are you doing in here?' Sigma asked, as if it was not Ginny's right to be in the room.

'You always seem to ask me that when I'm in the same place you are.' Ginny frowned, and began to wonder if Sigma even liked her anymore.

'It seems like you're following me,' Sigma said carelessly, and Ginny fumed.

'That's an unfair prediction!'

'I am a seer, I know what goes on Ginny, don't play dumb with me.' Sigma said. As she spoke, Ginny noticed that her whole left eye, including the white part, was deathly black, making it look hollow.

'What is going on with your eye?' Ginny dared to ask. 'Can you see from it?' Sigma looked directly at her, and Ginny could feel Sigma searching her mind. 'Get out of my head!' Ginny finally screamed, unable to take it anymore.

I know what you're thinking, I can see it when I see you. I am beyond help. As for my eye, the black represents my mental and physical struggle. The more I try to be normal, the blacker it becomes, making me even more of a freak. I can see from it, but the world is seen to me in flames. My right eye sees as you do, but it too will soon become black. I sense that your worry decreases as I continue to shunt you out. I am no longer myself, and I fear that I will harm you if I keep you close. I do not want to bring you, or anyone else to harm, that is why I am avoiding everyone as much as possible. I fear I may do something that I would not have control over. My temper has reached it's end, I no longer am in control of my actions. For that I am sorry. The only thing keeping me sane is my mind, explaining why I can speak freely to you this way. Before I disappear, I would just like you to know that I meant none of this. Just know that I am sorry. Have a great life, our paths may cross sooner than you think.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Serpent of Light ~ I'll see if I can get around to seeing that movie! Thank you for your nice review, we now know most of what is going on in Sigma's head, but will have to wait for a while before we find out what she's doing, and where she's going. As for Malfoy, I want him in character as much as possible! I hate OOC Malfoy! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

atrueslytherin ~ I do try to update as soon as I can, I hope it's not too frustrating. I hope you liked this chapter, it is the longest chapter in this fiction so far, hopefully they will progressively get longer. Thank you for reading and reviewing!

rose petal ~ Hehehe, I will give hints if people ask for them! I have most of the story formulated in my head, so it should all turn out the way I want it to. I hope the last part explained about the blackness in Sigma's eye. She's struggling with herself, not wanting to be who she is. Also, it explained why she's distanced herself from Ginny. Oh, and Sigma doesn't really care about Draco at the moment, she's basically having a nervous breakdown, and trying to shut out her visions. I hope that helped! Did you like this chapter? Thank you for reading and reviewing.

the counter ~ If you are only reading my fiction to lie about the amount of romances on one page, please don't, it's rather annoying.

VoiCeZWiThiN ~ Yes, Maria should have listened to Ginny, but she got herself into this mess, and she's trying to clean it up, as you read in this chapter. I agree that abortion is murder, which is mainly why I made Maria so against it. I'm sorry that Draco didn't show up in this chapter, but it was an important chapter all the same. I hope you liked it.

Miss Raynbow ~ Lol, pun excused! Yes, it is an important part of Sigma's "Transaction". No, Sigma will not fall in with Draco, just thought I'd say it bluntly! Thanks for guessing all the same. I hope you liked this chapter!

purfectchild ~ Yes, it does make you feel bad for Maria… oh yes, Draco is planning something! You never know the outcome quite yet, I still don't have that completely worked out myself, but I assure you, it will be unexpected. About Sigma having visions, she's not having them all the time, she couldn't see where Maria was at the Quidditch game, remember? I hope you liked this chapter.

Kelei ~ I appreciate your support with my fiction! Fluff will not play much of a role in this fiction for a very long time, obstacles must be overcome before Ginny and Draco even think about getting together! Sorry if that's not what you would like, I'll put in some parts where Draco tries to seduce Ginny, okay? Thank you for reading and reviewing, I hope you liked this chapter!

Tigeress61290 ~ Hehehe, I just finished watching my Lord of the Rings Dvd's, gotta love Gollem! Don't worry, I'll keep giving you chapters! I hope you liked this chapter!

kura52 ~ I'm kind of glad someone expected Maria to get pregnant! Yes, she was quite an idiot for not listening to Ginny, but she didn't think that Sigma really had a premonition about it, she just thought Ginny was trying to wreck her fun. Well, she's decided to give up her baby, but her mind may change… Draco deserved to be hit in the back with a bludger! He's in character in my story, therefore he deserved pain! (even though I love Malfoy!) I hope you liked this chapter too!

HarryzBabe ~ Don't worry, I'm easily confused! I'm glad the chapter helped your questions about Maria, and if you have any more questions about my story I will be glad to help them get answered (either in an authors note to you, or in the chapter itself). Questions help me add answers into chapters, so by all means, keep them coming!