I know this will break all of your poor little hearts but deep breath I'mnotJ.K.Rowling! Well now that that ahs been said we will all feel much better about my honesty! Don't we?
Well enjoy Chapter 20!
Ginny stood waiting outside the library entrance for Pansy to show up.
Pansy arrived promptly five minutes late as she was apt to do.
"You have got to get Gillyweed," Pansy snapped stomping past.
"How am I supposed to get that?" Ginny asked indignantly trying to catch up to the tall blonde girl, "It is very expensive and I can not afford it."
"I do not care if you have to steal it so long as I get it," Pansy said harshly jerking a book off the shelf and plopping down in a chair in the corner.
"What do you need it for?" Ginny asked staring at Pansy.
"If it is any of your business I am needing it for a trade. The person I am trading with needs Gillyweed so I need to provide that to get what I want," Pansy snapped rudely, "Now if you do not mind I need to finish my History of Magic essay."
Draco walked up and knocked on the door to Professor Snape's office.
Snape answered almost instantly. He looked displeased to see the boy standing there.
"Yes Mr. Malfoy," he said stepping back to let the boy into his office.
"You are allowed to call me by my name Godfather," Draco said sitting on the edge of Professor Snape's desk.
Snape sneered at Draco and slammed the door.
"What do you want Draco?" Snape asked walking around to the other side of his desk and sitting in a black leather arm chair, "and it is Professor Snape at school boy."
"I was wondering if you would give me permission to go to Hogsmeade to visit the bookshop?" Draco asked standing up and looking at the jars of different things.
"Draco," Snape growled, "You come and disturb me at nine thirty in the morning to ask if you can go to a bookshop?"
Draco turned and nodded.
Snape glared. The boy was impossibly annoying.
Draco set a piece of parchment in front of Snape and stared at him expectantly.
"So I am expected to cater to all your foolish whims?" Snape asked lifting the parchment toward a candle and bending close.
Snape groaned and took a pair of reading glasses from an inside pocket of his robes and put them on.
Draco was far from surprised. He had seen his godfather wearing them at 12 Grimauld place though he had known enough to leave the room before his godfather noticed him there.
"Draco one word of this to anyone and I'll make your life hell," Snape said reaching forward and grabbing a raven feather quill and dipping it into black ink. "Stop by the apothecary and buy some Dragon blood I need for a potion I am brewing."
Snape dug into his desk drawer and pulled out a small bag that contained three galleons, 11 sickles, and nine knuts.
"This should more than cover it," Snape said tossing Draco the pouch.
Draco slipped the pouch into his pocket as Snape signed the slip of parchment and shoved it at Draco as well.
"Now get out of my sight. I need that ingredient by three this afternoon, so you better be back by then," Snape said picking up another piece of parchment and reading it.
"Thank you godfather," Draco said and left hurriedly so he did not risk upsetting his godfather.
Draco grabbed his cloak from his room and slipped out the secret exit and entrance to the Slytherin common room.
Draco practically ran to Hogsmeade. His first stop was the apothecary for his godfather so he did not forget to get the dragon blood.
Draco sat down on a bench outside the bookshop to wait for the owner to come and open it. He could barely contain his enthusiasm.
"Hello Draco," the owner of the bookshop called as he trudged through the snow to the front door of his shop. "I did not know you all were visiting Hogsmeade this weekend."
"Oh no, the rest of the students have either gone home for the holidays or do not have permission. Professor Snape gave me permission to come to the bookshop if I agreed to get him an ingredient he needs for a potion," Draco answered as he stood and stretched like a cat.
"Looking for anything in particular?" the clerk said as he stood on the other side of the counter.
"Yes," Draco answered and listed the two books.
The shopkeeper opened a drawer and began to flip through the cards and he pulled two out.
As he pulled them out a copy of the book came soaring toward the counter. They landed neatly in front of the man and he tapped them once each to remove security spells.
Draco pulled out his money and paid for them. He then left the store.
Draco took his time walking up to 'Three Broomsticks' and slipped inside quietly so as not to attract any unwanted attention.
"Hey Draco, what is your pleasure?" Madam Rosemerta greeted him warmly.
"Butterbeer please," Draco said leaning forward on his elbows.
She winked at him before turning around and whipping a bottle off the shelf. She slid it to him.
Draco opened the bottle and took a huge swig. It warmed him right up from his toes to his nose.
Draco just sipped the rest down slowly watching all the other customers enter and leave. He did not pay them much mind however as he was thinking on how he would gain Ginny's forgiveness.
It was several hours till he glanced up at the clock again. One thirty. Draco sighed and downed the last of his butterbeer.
Draco dropped three sickles onto the counter and left. He trudged through the snow figuring out the last few details of his plan.
He got it all worked out by the time he passed the lake.
He would get into the Gryffindor common room and Granger could help him get everything set up. He had order two hundred and fifty carnations, 50 pink, red, white, peppermint, and purple.
The rest of the presents save his drawing and the picture he would get from Creevey would be down under the tree waiting for her when she came down. He could hardly wait. He hoped she would forgive him.
Draco delivered the dragon blood and went to the library.
Ginny could not believe she was outside Professor Snape's office hiding in the shadows holding the map she had nicked from Harry. She waited behind a statue waiting for Snape to leave his office for his private chambers.
It was going on ten thirty by the time he exited his office and walked to his private chambers.
Ginny watched acutely as he set all the wards.
She watched him move along and enter a chamber. She waited till Snape had stopped moving for fifteen minutes before creeping to the door.
A pair of grey eyes watched her from under their invisibility cloak and rolled as they saw what the girl was foolishly doing.
She broke through the wards. She was in.
The grey eyes rolled. This would get exciting. What was his silly redhead doing he questioned to himself but followed her into the office.
'Where's gillyweed?' Ginny wondered silently to herself as she looked over all the bottles on the shelf.
Gillyweed. Gillyweed. Ginny lifted her hand and was almost touching the labels as she read over them.
Moth wings, unicorn hoof dust, powdered dragon claws...the list went on and still no sign of gillyweed.
"Gillyweed," Ginny mumbled, almost sounding panicked.
The grey eyes rolled again for the second time in the space of five minutes. Pathetic!
"WHOSE in my OFFICE?" the angry voice of their dreaded potions master roared as he stormed down the hall.
Ginny started to cast a spell of invisibility.
A hand reached out and jerked her under a cloak. Another hand clamped over her mouth.
"Keep perfectly quiet," a male voice hissed so soft and so close to her ear that no one else could have possibly heard it.
A very pissed off Professor Snape stalked into his office. His black eyes glinted furiously as he glared about his office for the intruder.
"I know someone is in here," Snape growled stomping about wand out ready to curse whoever he found.
"Please Master Snape, no one is here but Dobby, sir," the tiny elf said poking his head around the corner of the desk.
"Why are you hiding?" Snape asked a little softer and his eyes were not glinting half as menacingly as when he had though someone was breaking and entering his office.
"Master frightened Dobby sir," he said staring down at his red socks that had gold snakes on them.
"If you were only doing your job, what have you to be frightened of?" Snape asked staring intently down at the elf, suspicion marked in his eyes.
"Dobby was brief remind of," he took a deep breath to steady himself, "bad dark wizard master Malfoy."
Dobby trembled at his daring before running to the bookshelf and giving a funny squeal and beginning to bang his head against it.
"Dobby, Stop at once," Snape ordered.
The little elf stopped clutching his head tightly. He whimpered pitifully.
Snape rolled his eyes, "You needn't punish yourself for speaking ill of Malfoy senior."
"Yes Master Snape," Dobby whimpered sitting on the ground.
"See that my office is locked when you leave," Snape said turning on his heel and leaving.
As soon as Dobby with his sensitive little elf ears heard the wall close that hid Snape's chambers he turned and looked right at where the two sat huddled hidden by the invisibility cloak.
"Come out Master and Miss," Dobby said sounding very stern and most upset.
Ginny felt the cloak fall to the floor and the hand released her mouth.
"Master Draco and Miss Wheezy shouldn't trespass in Master Severus Snape's office," Dobby said and his lips were pulled thin and caused Ginny to think of her own head of house.
Ginny spun when she heard the elf say Draco and she was face to face with him.
"Draco," she whispered looking into a pair of upset and rather angry grey eyes.
He saved her.
"My godfather has spells on his office that let him know if someone has performed a spell and what wand it came from," Draco said bending down and gathering his invisibility cloak. "You need gillyweed?"
"Yes I need it and it is expensive," Ginny said staring down.
Draco and Ginny heard a little cough and turned to see Dobby looking rather embarrassed.
"What do you need it for?" Draco asked taking a step closer to her.
"I can not tell you," Ginny whispered sadly. "I'm sorry."
"Why can't you tell me?" Draco asked reaching out and taking her hand and rubbing his thumb against it.
"I have made a deal with Pansy. If I do four tasks for her then she will help me win back the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me," Ginny said stepping into Draco's arms and breathing in his smell and enjoying the warmth.
Draco stiffened. Well it had to be him...surely.
"I am so sorry Draco," Ginny sobbed and wrapped her arms around his torso, "Please; so sorry. These last weeks without you have been the worst ever, worse than when Riddle possessed me. I miss you so much."
Ginny sobbed against him for a while and Draco awkardly tried to comfort her.
Draco gently pushed her back a few minutes later. Ginny gasped and tried to get back to the warmth he provided.
"Top shelf, fifth row from the left, second back behind the powdered unicorn horn," Draco told her tossing the invisibility cloak over himself and leaving. "No spells." Draco's voice called back to her from the doorway.
Ginny pointed her wand at it. No spells, the words rang out and Ginny stuffed her wand into her pocket and walked over and took a chair and climbed up on it and got what she needed putting the jar back exactly where she found it and moving the chair back to where it belonged.
She put the slimy gillyweed in her pocket grimacing.
Dobby watched quite please with how well everything was working out for them. His plan was going along splendidly.
Please review! Seriously I start school tomorrow and I might not even have time to type until Saturday.