Note: The section of italic text is a dream sequence. :)
Chapter 12: Deception
Draco roared in a quivering voice. "GET THEM OFF MY FACE!" His normally velvet-like voice now cut the air bitterly.
Ginny smirked. Serves him right, she thought to herself. But when Draco suddenly fell to his knees, she began to worry.
"Draco, it's no big deal. They're just—"
Draco was on his hands and knees now and he was having a coughing fit. He occasionally tried to swipe the squirming creatures off his face, but they would be stuck to his face until somebody undid the spell.
Ginny yelled. "Finite Incantatem!" She gasped when Draco began wheezing.
The tiny beasts vanished from Draco's face. He was panting hard and his left hand clutched at his heart as he tried to steady his breathing.
Thinking the wheezing sounded familiar, Ginny kneeled next to Draco and put a hand on his shoulder. "Draco… do you have asthma?"
Draco stopped breathing for a couple seconds and looked up at Ginny with a bewildered expression on his face. He moved out from under Ginny's hand and leaned on the wall. His legs were bent and his arms rested on his knees at the elbow. He stared at the ceiling and just when Ginny was about to say something, he looked at her. "You're such an idiot." He smirked.
"What?" Ginny exclaimed, flabbergasted.
"You are," Draco said. "You nearly killed me just now and the first thing you ask me afterward is if I have asthma? Which, by the way," he clarified, "I don't."
Ginny had been startled at the whole situation that had just occurred and she finally recollected herself. "Well, what was with all that coughing and wheezing?" She was confused now. She'd performed the Bat Bogey hex on her brothers before and the hex had never affected either of them in that way. It was a prank type of spell— it wasn't supposed to kill the victim!
Draco exhaled. "I don't know why it affected me in that way." He thought for a second and said, "Maybe because I'm part vampire or something."
"But vampires can turn into bats," Ginny said.
"No, that's what the kiddy stories say," Draco said, rolling his eyes.
Ginny crossed her arms over her chest. "I wish you had died," she muttered softly.
Not softly enough, however, since she immediately regretted saying it when she saw the drastic change of expressions on Draco's face.
"Dr—"
"I'm afraid of bugs and stuff, alright? Now shut your trap and don't talk to me," Draco spat.
"Draco," Ginny started again, "What I said… I really didn't mean it—"
"I told you to shut up," Draco said emotionlessly.
"Why don't you?" A seductive, cold voice said.
Ginny and Draco turned around. It was the life-size form of Professor Dumbledore.
* * *
The trio was in the boys' dormitory at Gryffindor tower. Harry was resting on an over-sized armchair, Ron sat on the edge of his bed, elbows digging into his thighs as he attempted to pull his hair out and Hermione sat down next to him, placing a comforting hand on his back. "Ron, I'm sure Ginny's fine. She can take care of herself."
Ron had been looking at the floor, but he lifted his head and turned to look at his friend. "I know she can take care of herself, but how can she be fine, Hermione? She's in Malfoy Manor!"
Hermione stared at Ron. He was one to wear his heart on his sleeve and when he was angry or frustrated, he usually yelled and screamed, but now he simply sat very still whilst looking very confused, lost, and frightened all at once. His words were very soft and his voice was deep. "Ron—"
"We have to go get her," Ron interrupted Hermione.
"What?" "You and Harry came to get me. We could use the same route to get back to Malfoy Manor. Hell, we need to get Malfoy out of there too. I don't care if it makes him angry, but even he doesn't deserve to stay in a place like that." Ron said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, but—" Hermione shifted and now faced Ron.
"But what, Hermione?" Ron said, turning to look at her. "I'm going to get Ginny, and you two can come with me if you want. And if you don't mind, I'm taking some of your money to hitch a ride at the Floo Hut."
Ron quickly stood up and was about to walk to the door when he felt Hermione tug at his sleeve. "Wait."
"For what?"
"For me," Hermione said.
The two stared at one another for a bit, Hermione's hand still clutching Ron's sleeve and Ron's eyes gazing deep into Hermione's brown eyes.
"What about Harry?" Ron broke the awkward silence.
Hermione looked back at the armchair where Harry had fallen asleep. He was tired. Without a moment's hesitation, she said, "Leave him."
* * *
"I mean, why don't you?" Professor Dumbledore repeated, now with his usual raspy voice.
Perplexed, Ginny said, "Professor?"
Dumbledore threw his head back and gave a guffaw so loud that it shook the ground beneath Ginny's feet. "You two simply look edible in that box! So small and cute!" He said, in the first high-pitched voice now.
Cute, Ginny thought bluntly. She knew Dumbledore was weird, but he had just called Draco and herself 'cute'. He also had more than a frog in his throat.
"Professor, really, are you—?"
"What do you want with us, Blaise?" Draco interrupted, clearly annoyed.
Startled at what Draco had said, Ginny turned to look at Professor Dumbledore. A faint popping sound filled the air and Blaise Zabini now stood where the form of Professor Dumbledore had been standing. Blaise wore a long, frilly, and complicated dress with a neck much too low and a waist much too tight. The dress was green and black, the color combination Blaise was almost never seen without.
After she had completely transformed back into herself, Blaise put her fore finger to her lips and thought aloud, "I really should work on disguising the voice. Mmm… note to self, I guess!"
"What do you want, Blaise?" Draco said again loudly, this time placing spaces between each word.
"Oh yeah!" Blaise giggled. "Forgot! Time to execute the plan!" She said in a singsong voice, somehow turning 'plan' into a twelve-syllable word. "And lucky for me that the two people I need are already here." Blaise couldn't help but smirk now. "They're here and nicely shrunk, waiting for me in a box!"
"The plan—?" Draco began to ask, but Ginny interrupted him.
"I've got it!" Ginny got back on her feet, waved her wand hand in the air and bellowed, "Collapsoendium Revioso!"
The walls of glass surrounding the two Hogwarts students collapsed and disappeared into thin air. As soon as the glass walls vanished, both Draco and Ginny returned to their normal sizes. Now Ginny conveniently placed herself between Blaise and Draco and directed a stunning curse at Blaise, but Ginny gasped when she saw Blaise sneer just before the spell hit her. With lightning speed, Blaise withdrew a pitch-black feather from the depths of her bosom. Ginny's spell hit the feather and just as the feather was destroyed, Ginny heard a thud behind her.
Draco had keeled over! She immediately knelt down to tend to the half vampire. It appeared that he'd been stunned! But there was no way that could've happened, Ginny thought. I pointed that curse at Blaise!
"Pretty cool, eh?" Blaise questioned, a twisted grin resting on her face.
Ginny looked from Draco to Blaise, not sure of what to do. "What did you do to him?" She finally stuttered.
"No," Blaise corrected automatically, "what did you do to him?"
Draco began to stir and finally blinked his eyes open. Draco was about to get up again, but Ginny casually placed a hand on his shoulder, telling him to stay down. Blaise hadn't noticed.
Draco was still angry at Ginny for the last comment. He wasn't sure why though. After all, his father freely spoke of how he wished Draco was dead. In fact, his father had told him things much worse than what Ginny Weasley had said and even so, Ginny had said what she'd said out of anger. She probably didn't even mean it. A person like her could never mean something like that… but his father meant what he said. He always meant what he said.
But why did he care so much when this stupid redhead had told him something he'd heard a million times? Draco made a point to overlook the incident.
"What do you mean what did I do to him?" Draco heard Ginny say.
Draco almost smiled. Weasley was actually kind of cool… in a stupid way of course, he reminded himself. The way she stood there, talking back to Blaise Zabini like that… the way she was protecting him— wait a minute! Why was she protecting him?! It was supposed to be the other way around!
"The feather, silly girl! Your spell hit the black feather!" Blaise explained.
"So?"
"Must I lay everything out for you?" Blaise didn't wait for an answer. She produced two more feathers from inside her dress, but this time, one was like the first black one and the other was pure white. "Like the colors? I chose 'em myself. Draco is the black, the usual tortured soul, y'know? And you're white, being virgin-like and anti-evil and everything. Whatever I or anyone else does to the feather also happens to the person it corresponds to. Perfect, isn't it?"
Ginny stared aghast at the insanity Blaise was presenting to her.
"Right then," Blaise continued, seeing Ginny didn't have anything to say. "On with the demonstration! I'll use Draco's feather again!"
"No! Don't!" Ginny exclaimed, rushing to get to her feet and stop Blaise from harming Draco.
Zabini turned to discover Ginny was about to fire off another spell at her.
"Or maybe we'll start with the white feather! CRUCIO!"
All at once, the white feather disappeared, Ginny shrieked, collapsing to her knees as she hugged herself and Draco immediately sprung up from his prone position.
Draco glanced at Ginny's tear-streaked face. Blaise's wand was still in the same place in the air, so the spell was still affecting the youngest Weasley. But if Blaise was using all her energy to conduct the spell, Draco had a good chance of hitting her with a dark curse.
He purposely forgot about what happened last time he had used magic in his current state.
Ginny fell onto the floor now, breathing heavily and sobbing softly.
Draco grabbed his wand, not caring about his own physical condition and prepared to fire the curse at Blaise.
But he couldn't, for he too had fallen onto the floor. Somebody was behind him. Draco, weak from whatever spell had blasted him, tried to turn to see who it was, but was unable to since he lost consciousness within seconds, Ginny's whimpering following him into the darkness.
* * *
"That was easy!" Barty Crouch scoffed. "I knocked him out with petrificus totalus? Looks like he's more than ready for the plan to commence." He grinned to himself and then addressed Blaise. "Miss Zabini, where would you like me to deliver these to?" Crouch was referring to the still forms of Draco and Ginny.
"Don't bother yourself over that. I'll take care of them. Especially him," Blaise said, her voice dripping with a macabre kind of glee.
Crouch looked at Draco and back at Blaise and the crazy expression on her face. It scared him, but he nodded and left the room silently.
* * *
Darkness.
Draco was dreaming again. The funny thing was, he knew he was dreaming, yet he couldn't will himself to wake up.
He was standing and was in the same pitch-black darkness that he was once in before. He remembered the two redheaded vixens and as if his memory had come to life, in the blink of an eye, one of them stood before him.
She was adorned in all white robes and the edges of her frame seemed to glow. The angelic colors on her fair skin and her flaming red hair both seemed to penetrate the darkness. Draco noted she was barefooted as she began to walk closer to him
"Do you not bleed?" She asked.
It didn't take long for Draco to remember it was the last thing the red-haired woman had asked him. "Do I not bleed?" Draco questioned, quite befuddled. The girl looked on, her face telling him she was waiting for an answer. "Well," Draco stuttered, "I'm not bleeding now, but, er, yes, I can bleed, if that was what you wanted to know." Draco began to back away now—the woman was approaching him, her strange, misty gaze exploring the likes of him the whole while.
Draco looked down and realized he could not see the ground. Then he looked at the vixen's feet—she was gliding! More like floating, really.
In her float-like manner, she quickly made three circles around Draco, examining him carefully as she did this, and then resumed her original position before him. "Do you not bleed?" She asked again, more intensely.
"What—what do you mean do I not bleed?" Draco asked, shoving his hands into his pockets as it was a nervous habit.
And for the first time, the red-haired woman made some sense when she answered Draco's question. "There is no warmth beneath your skin, child. Everybody has a face that they hold inside. It awakes when you close your eyes. It watches when you lie. It laughs when you cry. It sees everything. Yet you walk about, pretending that nothing's wrong when you actually walk about like you're paranoid—looking over your back every spare moment that no one's watching." Draco stared at her puzzled. She continued. "But someone is watching. Someone is always watching. The face inside is watching you, Draco." As she said this, her voice pitch began changing to a familiar sound. He'd heard this voice before.
Draco snapped back to attention. "Listen up—" He mouthed wordlessly for a moment. "Wait, what's your name?" He whacked himself internally. He was acting rather stupidly in his own dream.
"Rain," the girl answered.
"Right. Listen here, Rain! I have no idea what you're babbling on about over here and I most certainly don't have any faces beneath my skin," he said, mocking her voice at the last bit.
And now she laughed, startling Draco considerably. "Of course you don't have real faces inside you!"
Some dream this is turning out to be, Draco thought to himself.
"But you're doing it again," Rain continued. And within the blink of an eye, she transported from in front of Draco to behind him. Rain whispered into his ear now, causing him to stiffen and his eyes to widen. "You can't hide the fact. You're being watched. In your world, you are the deception." Draco turned now to look at her, but as he did so, Rain was in front of him again. "And being the deception of the world," she continued, "you mustn't allow the world to deceive you."
"But—" Draco had wanted ask something else. However, Rain suddenly disappeared and the red-haired woman who had emitted the evil aura in his previous dream now stood where Rain had stood before. She wore the same style of robes as Rain had, only hers were pitch black. She would've blended in perfectly with the equally dark area surrounding her, but her red hair seemed to pierce the darkness in the vicinity.
Draco only saw her for a second though. The woman zoomed through the air and her hands grabbed Draco's shirt collar and she gave a tug. This all too simple movement made the scene before Draco whirl about and his eyes suddenly snapped open.
Draco sat up abruptly. He remembered getting knocked out and after taking in the milieu, he determined that he hadn't been moved during the time that he had been unconscious. And instantly, he remembered Ginny. She'd saved him… what had happened to her?
Moving his hair out of his eyes, Draco looked straight ahead and a pathetic, crumpled heap lay before him. Ginny's red hair was sprawled about her back and hung limply over her shoulders. The only movement from her was the periodic rising of her back. Otherwise, she was completely motionless.
Draco made a mad dash to where Ginny lay. When he reached her, he gently grasped her shoulders and turned her onto her back, moving her hair out of her face at the same time. She looked deathly pale. Her face was still glimmering from the tears she had cried. Good, Draco thought. Means I haven't been knocked out for too long.
"Ginny!" Draco was about to shake her by the shoulders, but then he scrunched up his nose. He hadn't ever really called Ginny Weasley by her first name. It was weird. But then again, calling all seven Weasleys by their last name was somewhat weird, too, not to mention confusing. He shook his head, his platinum strands of hair elegantly blowing through the air as he did this. "Ginny!" He continued, desperately trying to rouse her. "Ginny! Please, wake up!" Draco didn't know what was going on at his house, but he knew he didn't need to be here anymore and that most certainly meant a Weasley didn't need to be here either.
"Ginny!" Draco almost yelled. He winced at his loud voice, but immediately breathed a sigh of relief as Ginny's eyes began fluttering open. Regaining his reputed behavior, he smirked. "Stop fluttering those lashes at me, Weasley. What would Potter say?"
"I don't like Harry anymore," Ginny muttered. "And what was wrong with calling me Ginny?" She asked as she sat up with unnoticed help from Draco.
"Nothing was—" Draco started to say, but Ginny suddenly sat up straight and gazed directly into his eyes.
"Draco Malfoy," Ginny said.
"Er… yeah?" Draco said, cocking an eyebrow.
"Draco Malfoy, I love you." Ginny said, in a funny tinny voice.
Draco simply mouthed wordlessly and when he tried to say something, it came out as an awkward choking sound.
Ginny sat completely still and ignored this outburst from Draco. "I love you, Draco Malfoy, and I want you to love me, too."
Draco opened his mouth to say something but scratched the back of his head instead. "Uhm…" He stuttered. What the hell was wrong with her? "You know, the Cruciatus curse has varied effects and… uh…" Draco mumbled.
"I looked for you everywhere," Ginny continued, unfazed. "I wondered when I'd find you. But now I'm finished searching. I've found my soulmate. Only you can truly love me." Ginny slid across the floor and lay her head on Draco's should. She wrapped her arms around him and continued, softly whispering into his ear. "There were times when I dreamed. There were those nights I could not sleep. Why?" Ginny paused. "I knew that somewhere out there, you were waiting for me." And now she blew into his ear.
Draco felt an unknown shiver run through his body. He was feeling snug and warm all of the sudden—he felt something he'd never felt before. What was happening? Now he felt his own arm, almost unwillingly, drape itself across Ginny's slender shoulders. He pulled her closer.
"Ginny…"
"There were whispers I heard," she continued. "There were the clouds, Draco… the clouds you always hid behind. The clouds whispered to me. They always cried. They cried for us. But now… now that you're with me…" Ginny looked up as though she could see the sky right through the ceiling. "It's not raining anymore."
Draco felt Ginny's dainty fingers softly grasp his chin and turn his head towards her. They looked into one another's eyes now. Ginny peeked up at his face through her seemingly vulnerable eyes and Draco stared at Ginny through a thin curtain of silver hair, an aghast and astounded look flooding his countenance all the while.
"I'm finally yours and you're finally mine," Ginny whispered. She moved her face closer to his. "Every time the seasons change, we'll be together," she said even softer. She came closer. "The sun shall rise for us at the dawn of every new day. I will love you and you will want me." They were nose-to-nose and when she spoke, her voice was barely audible, but Draco had no time to think, for they weren't nose-to-nose much longer— they were mouth-to-mouth. He gasped when their lips touched, but soon he'd slowly closed his eyes and began melting into the kiss.
Somehow, the kiss felt right. It just felt right. He felt Ginny's fingers crawling up his back. He let her. His fingers ran through Ginny's hair. She let him.
And suddenly, Draco saw the face of the dark and evil vixen from his dreams. Her face flashed across the backs of his eyelids and Rain's words echoed loudly in his mind: You are the deception of this world. You mustn't let the world deceive you.
Draco's eyes flew open immediately and he pushed Ginny away rather violently. But when he saw Ginny, he was instantly on his feet.
He had been snogging Blaise Zabini!
She quickly composed herself and got to her feet as well. She was quite out of breath. "I'm upset to say that you and I never did that." She began smoothing her dress out—a nervous habit.
"BLAISE! WHAT'VE YOU DONE WITH HER?"
"With whom?"
"YOU BLOODY DAMN WELL KNOW WHO I'M TALKING ABOUT! WHERE'S GINNY? WHERE IS GINNY WEASLEY?"
Blaise smirked and snapped her fingers and the wall before them began to turn around. Ginny was secured by her wrists, legs, waist, and neck on the other side of the wall. Her arms made a v-shape and were shackled above her and her legs would've hung limp had they not been shackled below her. A large metal band secured her waist and a smaller metal band went around her neck, generously leaving an ounce of space for breathing ease. The last two bands were probably there so the Cruciatus curse would be more painful since she wouldn't be able to arch her back if it were applied again, Draco noted.
His thoughts were interrupted by Blaise's sudden giggling fit. Draco didn't even need to say anything. He simply glared.
"You're so easy!" Blaise explained. "You lovesick bast—"
Draco instinctively pointed his wand at Blaise's heart. He trembled slightly. "Avada— aaaaaaargh!"
He never had a chance to finish the incantation. Someone had twisted his right arm behind his back and had a hold of his left arm in such a way that the wand bearing half a death curse was pointed at Draco's neck. "You were saying?" A voice hissed above him.
Draco looked up. His father. Lucius Malfoy was the one restraining him—the one who held Draco's life in his hands. "Father." Draco stated, his way of admitting defeat.
"Son," Lucius said in such a manner that it almost sounded like a question.
Father and son stared at one another before Blaise interrupted them again. "Now Draco! You know perfectly well you're not supposed to use magic while you're so weak!" Draco grimaced at the tone Blaise used when saying 'weak'.
Normally, Draco would try to hide his true feelings from his father. He was a rock in front of his father. Nothing would penetrate him. But Draco took a quick glance at Lucius Malfoy and shook his head internally. The man restraining him was no longer his real father. Father's did not do insane things like this to their sons. A father would never hurt his children—his only son.
Through gritted teeth, Draco growled, "Let Ginny go! She's got nothing to do with this!"
"She's obviously got something to do with you!" Blaise said, further annoying Draco by puckering her lips. "After a kiss like that, she's definitely got a lot to do with you and therefore, a lot to do with this."
"This?" Draco asked.
"The plan," Lucius Malfoy hissed. "I reckon it's time you knew. We're reviving the Dark Lord."
"Again," came a dull voice. It belonged to Tom Riddle. He wore his old Slytherin house attire and a nasty smirk that revealed two sharp vampire fangs. Riddle licked his lips and ran his hand through his hair. "Before you ask, yes—all of our plans are to revive the Dark Lord—me."
"Talk about originality," Draco muttered.
His father pulled up on his arm, causing him to wince and bite his tongue.
"You are in no position to disgrace us, Draco." Lucius said.
Really, now? I hadn't the slightest idea! Is what Draco had wanted to say next, but he wanted to keep his right arm in working condition, so he held back his wisecracks just this once.
There was an awkward silence. Everyone took turns glaring at Draco and the whole situation might've been comical if it were occurring in a movie, but it wasn't. This was real life.
Draco suddenly sighed, causing everyone to look at him. "What do you need Gin—" He quickly corrected himself. "Why do you need the Weasley girl? She's not our type."
"Neither are you," Riddle answered. "You were, but are no longer."
"I was?" Draco inquired, halfway confused. "What do you mean I'm no longer your type? It's not like I'm parading around in crimson and gold!"
"Ha!" Blaise scoffed. "Not in, dear. With." She clarified by flinging her head towards the girl on the wall.
"I haven't gone with her anywhere because I wanted to," Draco said. "I also never wanted to be held prisoner in my own home." He added bitterly.
"Nonetheless, the facts remain," his father added. "You had many opportunities to eliminate that Gryffindor scum, yet you went about your own business. You acted like it was perfectly acceptable for that kind of trash to walk alongside you, breathing the same air as you and accessing the same things as you. It is obvious that you do not care for the elite status that I and those around you represent. Therefore, your soul shall be disposed of."
Draco stared up at his father in disbelief.
"It will make me proud to have the Dark Lord himself walking the Earth once again in a body I created." Lucius grinned smugly.
"You still haven't told me what part she plays in all this." Draco said, trying to change the subject somewhat.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Blaise giggled.
Draco simply stared back.
"Bait." She explained in one simple word.
"Bait?" Draco inquired, furrowing his brows.
"It worked rather nicely, too," Blaise said, licking her lips.
Getting the gist of what Blaise was trying to say, Draco's temper flared. "How dare you use her to entice me? I will not stand this kind of mockery!"
"And what do you plan to do?" Tom Riddle asked, smirking haughtily.
"It wasn't mockery," Blaise added in quietly, a sudden change of tone evident in her voice. Everyone turned to look at her. "Sure, I transfigured into her for a short while, but I did utter her true feelings." Draco stared at her, silent confusion flooding his face. "Somewhere deep within her heart, she really does love you." Blaise cast her eyes away from Draco. She almost looked sad for a split second, but she quickly wiped all emotion off her face.
"Well, isn't that sweet?" Riddle interrupted malignantly. "Lucius, if you'll please?"
"It would be my pleasure," Mr. Malfoy said. He let go of Draco's left arm and snapped his fingers. Draco blinked and when he opened his eyes again, he saw Ginny's motionless form hanging on the wall across from him. He looked at his arms and they were shackled! He tried to look at his waist and legs, but the metal ring across his neck prevented him from doing so. He presumed he was in the same position as Ginny.
Draco looked down and everyone was leaving the room, apparently quite proud of what they'd done to him.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME?" Draco hollered, suddenly. "WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH US?" He suddenly noticed he was sweating excessively. Then again, it would've been strange if he felt comfortable in the position he was in.
The group led by Riddle froze and his father was the first to turn around. "It really doesn't matter what you want to know right now. You won't exist anymore soon." He thought for a second and added, "Neither will she." Lucius nodded in Ginny's direction. "All your questions will be answered soon enough, I suppose. But for now, I recommend you get some rest!"
"Even though you'll be resting for a while after the plan is executed." Riddle added in with a guffaw.
With that, they proceeded in leaving through the only door to the room. Blaise was the last to leave, and as Draco glared at the retreating group, he noted a foreign glint in her eyes when she looked at him one last time. He'd never seen it there before, but even as the door vanished as Blaise stepped over its threshold, it was like the look in Blaise's eyes remained in the room.
Draco stared at the ground in silence for a while. He thought about many things. He thought about how his father abandoned him. He thought about what might happen to him. He wondered where his mother was at a time like this and if she was alright. He hadn't heard from her since school had started that year. He even wondered what Harry Potter was doing. Then he thought about all the trivial things he'd ever wished for or wanted. He thought about how he'd always wished with all his might to one-day beat Harry Potter at Quidditch. He thought about all the stupid pranks he had played on Harry and his friends and then about all the stupider pranks that ended up backfiring. If he could, he would've kicked himself now. None of that stuff mattered now. Nothing in his life mattered—
He looked up. Ginny had begun to stir. Seconds later, she opened her eyes and frantically looked around. He didn't say anything. He thought it would be best to let her get the panic out of her system naturally. Finally, she looked across the room and into Draco's eyes. And with a sharp intake of breath, Draco saw something.
Blaise's eyes.
Author's Note: Oh my goodness! *falls over* I just stubbed my toe! >_that much! Yeah… so I tried to get the whole D/G thing rolling, but… er… yeah… maybe that'll kinda pick up…. soon… *twiddling thumbs* Oh yeah! R/Hr kinda started! *hides from Erika* 'Kay! That's all! Man! My author's note section thingers are getting retardeder and retardeder! *giggles* Sorry! ^^;
Kudos and M&Ms (Credits): I was inspired by Linkin Park's Papercut whilst writing Draco's dream sequence. So all that stuff about having a 'face beneath your skin' and stuff are from that song. Also, when Blaise was doing all that 'fake' lovey-dovey stuff, a lot of her lines came from Akcent's Soulmate. It's a pretty song… *smiles*
Juse the facts: The spell Ginny uses: Collapsoendium Revioso does not exist (just in case that threw anyone for a loop). I just needed a nifty spell… so I made it up. Lameness on my part, I know, but hey, something like it might exist! So there. *sweatdrop*
Chapter 13: Draco/Ginny rocks, doesn't it? Mmf. Too bad not much of the D/G action is in the next chapter though! You'll basically be finding out what's up with all the other characters. It's kinda like a refresher so you're not totally surprised and stuff when random characters seem to pop up out of nowhere. :) Er, yay?
Yay! Reviews, reviews, reviews! Thanks to Goldengirl2, Lily_Among_the_Thorns_89, Eiko, Maureen, and Jonah for reviewing that last chapter! Yall're the bomb-diggity! ^_~ Keep it up!
Chapter 12: Deception
Draco roared in a quivering voice. "GET THEM OFF MY FACE!" His normally velvet-like voice now cut the air bitterly.
Ginny smirked. Serves him right, she thought to herself. But when Draco suddenly fell to his knees, she began to worry.
"Draco, it's no big deal. They're just—"
Draco was on his hands and knees now and he was having a coughing fit. He occasionally tried to swipe the squirming creatures off his face, but they would be stuck to his face until somebody undid the spell.
Ginny yelled. "Finite Incantatem!" She gasped when Draco began wheezing.
The tiny beasts vanished from Draco's face. He was panting hard and his left hand clutched at his heart as he tried to steady his breathing.
Thinking the wheezing sounded familiar, Ginny kneeled next to Draco and put a hand on his shoulder. "Draco… do you have asthma?"
Draco stopped breathing for a couple seconds and looked up at Ginny with a bewildered expression on his face. He moved out from under Ginny's hand and leaned on the wall. His legs were bent and his arms rested on his knees at the elbow. He stared at the ceiling and just when Ginny was about to say something, he looked at her. "You're such an idiot." He smirked.
"What?" Ginny exclaimed, flabbergasted.
"You are," Draco said. "You nearly killed me just now and the first thing you ask me afterward is if I have asthma? Which, by the way," he clarified, "I don't."
Ginny had been startled at the whole situation that had just occurred and she finally recollected herself. "Well, what was with all that coughing and wheezing?" She was confused now. She'd performed the Bat Bogey hex on her brothers before and the hex had never affected either of them in that way. It was a prank type of spell— it wasn't supposed to kill the victim!
Draco exhaled. "I don't know why it affected me in that way." He thought for a second and said, "Maybe because I'm part vampire or something."
"But vampires can turn into bats," Ginny said.
"No, that's what the kiddy stories say," Draco said, rolling his eyes.
Ginny crossed her arms over her chest. "I wish you had died," she muttered softly.
Not softly enough, however, since she immediately regretted saying it when she saw the drastic change of expressions on Draco's face.
"Dr—"
"I'm afraid of bugs and stuff, alright? Now shut your trap and don't talk to me," Draco spat.
"Draco," Ginny started again, "What I said… I really didn't mean it—"
"I told you to shut up," Draco said emotionlessly.
"Why don't you?" A seductive, cold voice said.
Ginny and Draco turned around. It was the life-size form of Professor Dumbledore.
The trio was in the boys' dormitory at Gryffindor tower. Harry was resting on an over-sized armchair, Ron sat on the edge of his bed, elbows digging into his thighs as he attempted to pull his hair out and Hermione sat down next to him, placing a comforting hand on his back. "Ron, I'm sure Ginny's fine. She can take care of herself."
Ron had been looking at the floor, but he lifted his head and turned to look at his friend. "I know she can take care of herself, but how can she be fine, Hermione? She's in Malfoy Manor!"
Hermione stared at Ron. He was one to wear his heart on his sleeve and when he was angry or frustrated, he usually yelled and screamed, but now he simply sat very still whilst looking very confused, lost, and frightened all at once. His words were very soft and his voice was deep. "Ron—"
"We have to go get her," Ron interrupted Hermione.
"What?" "You and Harry came to get me. We could use the same route to get back to Malfoy Manor. Hell, we need to get Malfoy out of there too. I don't care if it makes him angry, but even he doesn't deserve to stay in a place like that." Ron said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, but—" Hermione shifted and now faced Ron.
"But what, Hermione?" Ron said, turning to look at her. "I'm going to get Ginny, and you two can come with me if you want. And if you don't mind, I'm taking some of your money to hitch a ride at the Floo Hut."
Ron quickly stood up and was about to walk to the door when he felt Hermione tug at his sleeve. "Wait."
"For what?"
"For me," Hermione said.
The two stared at one another for a bit, Hermione's hand still clutching Ron's sleeve and Ron's eyes gazing deep into Hermione's brown eyes.
"What about Harry?" Ron broke the awkward silence.
Hermione looked back at the armchair where Harry had fallen asleep. He was tired. Without a moment's hesitation, she said, "Leave him."
"I mean, why don't you?" Professor Dumbledore repeated, now with his usual raspy voice.
Perplexed, Ginny said, "Professor?"
Dumbledore threw his head back and gave a guffaw so loud that it shook the ground beneath Ginny's feet. "You two simply look edible in that box! So small and cute!" He said, in the first high-pitched voice now.
Cute, Ginny thought bluntly. She knew Dumbledore was weird, but he had just called Draco and herself 'cute'. He also had more than a frog in his throat.
"Professor, really, are you—?"
"What do you want with us, Blaise?" Draco interrupted, clearly annoyed.
Startled at what Draco had said, Ginny turned to look at Professor Dumbledore. A faint popping sound filled the air and Blaise Zabini now stood where the form of Professor Dumbledore had been standing. Blaise wore a long, frilly, and complicated dress with a neck much too low and a waist much too tight. The dress was green and black, the color combination Blaise was almost never seen without.
After she had completely transformed back into herself, Blaise put her fore finger to her lips and thought aloud, "I really should work on disguising the voice. Mmm… note to self, I guess!"
"What do you want, Blaise?" Draco said again loudly, this time placing spaces between each word.
"Oh yeah!" Blaise giggled. "Forgot! Time to execute the plan!" She said in a singsong voice, somehow turning 'plan' into a twelve-syllable word. "And lucky for me that the two people I need are already here." Blaise couldn't help but smirk now. "They're here and nicely shrunk, waiting for me in a box!"
"The plan—?" Draco began to ask, but Ginny interrupted him.
"I've got it!" Ginny got back on her feet, waved her wand hand in the air and bellowed, "Collapsoendium Revioso!"
The walls of glass surrounding the two Hogwarts students collapsed and disappeared into thin air. As soon as the glass walls vanished, both Draco and Ginny returned to their normal sizes. Now Ginny conveniently placed herself between Blaise and Draco and directed a stunning curse at Blaise, but Ginny gasped when she saw Blaise sneer just before the spell hit her. With lightning speed, Blaise withdrew a pitch-black feather from the depths of her bosom. Ginny's spell hit the feather and just as the feather was destroyed, Ginny heard a thud behind her.
Draco had keeled over! She immediately knelt down to tend to the half vampire. It appeared that he'd been stunned! But there was no way that could've happened, Ginny thought. I pointed that curse at Blaise!
"Pretty cool, eh?" Blaise questioned, a twisted grin resting on her face.
Ginny looked from Draco to Blaise, not sure of what to do. "What did you do to him?" She finally stuttered.
"No," Blaise corrected automatically, "what did you do to him?"
Draco began to stir and finally blinked his eyes open. Draco was about to get up again, but Ginny casually placed a hand on his shoulder, telling him to stay down. Blaise hadn't noticed.
Draco was still angry at Ginny for the last comment. He wasn't sure why though. After all, his father freely spoke of how he wished Draco was dead. In fact, his father had told him things much worse than what Ginny Weasley had said and even so, Ginny had said what she'd said out of anger. She probably didn't even mean it. A person like her could never mean something like that… but his father meant what he said. He always meant what he said.
But why did he care so much when this stupid redhead had told him something he'd heard a million times? Draco made a point to overlook the incident.
"What do you mean what did I do to him?" Draco heard Ginny say.
Draco almost smiled. Weasley was actually kind of cool… in a stupid way of course, he reminded himself. The way she stood there, talking back to Blaise Zabini like that… the way she was protecting him— wait a minute! Why was she protecting him?! It was supposed to be the other way around!
"The feather, silly girl! Your spell hit the black feather!" Blaise explained.
"So?"
"Must I lay everything out for you?" Blaise didn't wait for an answer. She produced two more feathers from inside her dress, but this time, one was like the first black one and the other was pure white. "Like the colors? I chose 'em myself. Draco is the black, the usual tortured soul, y'know? And you're white, being virgin-like and anti-evil and everything. Whatever I or anyone else does to the feather also happens to the person it corresponds to. Perfect, isn't it?"
Ginny stared aghast at the insanity Blaise was presenting to her.
"Right then," Blaise continued, seeing Ginny didn't have anything to say. "On with the demonstration! I'll use Draco's feather again!"
"No! Don't!" Ginny exclaimed, rushing to get to her feet and stop Blaise from harming Draco.
Zabini turned to discover Ginny was about to fire off another spell at her.
"Or maybe we'll start with the white feather! CRUCIO!"
All at once, the white feather disappeared, Ginny shrieked, collapsing to her knees as she hugged herself and Draco immediately sprung up from his prone position.
Draco glanced at Ginny's tear-streaked face. Blaise's wand was still in the same place in the air, so the spell was still affecting the youngest Weasley. But if Blaise was using all her energy to conduct the spell, Draco had a good chance of hitting her with a dark curse.
He purposely forgot about what happened last time he had used magic in his current state.
Ginny fell onto the floor now, breathing heavily and sobbing softly.
Draco grabbed his wand, not caring about his own physical condition and prepared to fire the curse at Blaise.
But he couldn't, for he too had fallen onto the floor. Somebody was behind him. Draco, weak from whatever spell had blasted him, tried to turn to see who it was, but was unable to since he lost consciousness within seconds, Ginny's whimpering following him into the darkness.
"That was easy!" Barty Crouch scoffed. "I knocked him out with petrificus totalus? Looks like he's more than ready for the plan to commence." He grinned to himself and then addressed Blaise. "Miss Zabini, where would you like me to deliver these to?" Crouch was referring to the still forms of Draco and Ginny.
"Don't bother yourself over that. I'll take care of them. Especially him," Blaise said, her voice dripping with a macabre kind of glee.
Crouch looked at Draco and back at Blaise and the crazy expression on her face. It scared him, but he nodded and left the room silently.
Darkness.
Draco was dreaming again. The funny thing was, he knew he was dreaming, yet he couldn't will himself to wake up.
He was standing and was in the same pitch-black darkness that he was once in before. He remembered the two redheaded vixens and as if his memory had come to life, in the blink of an eye, one of them stood before him.
She was adorned in all white robes and the edges of her frame seemed to glow. The angelic colors on her fair skin and her flaming red hair both seemed to penetrate the darkness. Draco noted she was barefooted as she began to walk closer to him
"Do you not bleed?" She asked.
It didn't take long for Draco to remember it was the last thing the red-haired woman had asked him. "Do I not bleed?" Draco questioned, quite befuddled. The girl looked on, her face telling him she was waiting for an answer. "Well," Draco stuttered, "I'm not bleeding now, but, er, yes, I can bleed, if that was what you wanted to know." Draco began to back away now—the woman was approaching him, her strange, misty gaze exploring the likes of him the whole while.
Draco looked down and realized he could not see the ground. Then he looked at the vixen's feet—she was gliding! More like floating, really.
In her float-like manner, she quickly made three circles around Draco, examining him carefully as she did this, and then resumed her original position before him. "Do you not bleed?" She asked again, more intensely.
"What—what do you mean do I not bleed?" Draco asked, shoving his hands into his pockets as it was a nervous habit.
And for the first time, the red-haired woman made some sense when she answered Draco's question. "There is no warmth beneath your skin, child. Everybody has a face that they hold inside. It awakes when you close your eyes. It watches when you lie. It laughs when you cry. It sees everything. Yet you walk about, pretending that nothing's wrong when you actually walk about like you're paranoid—looking over your back every spare moment that no one's watching." Draco stared at her puzzled. She continued. "But someone is watching. Someone is always watching. The face inside is watching you, Draco." As she said this, her voice pitch began changing to a familiar sound. He'd heard this voice before.
Draco snapped back to attention. "Listen up—" He mouthed wordlessly for a moment. "Wait, what's your name?" He whacked himself internally. He was acting rather stupidly in his own dream.
"Rain," the girl answered.
"Right. Listen here, Rain! I have no idea what you're babbling on about over here and I most certainly don't have any faces beneath my skin," he said, mocking her voice at the last bit.
And now she laughed, startling Draco considerably. "Of course you don't have real faces inside you!"
Some dream this is turning out to be, Draco thought to himself.
"But you're doing it again," Rain continued. And within the blink of an eye, she transported from in front of Draco to behind him. Rain whispered into his ear now, causing him to stiffen and his eyes to widen. "You can't hide the fact. You're being watched. In your world, you are the deception." Draco turned now to look at her, but as he did so, Rain was in front of him again. "And being the deception of the world," she continued, "you mustn't allow the world to deceive you."
"But—" Draco had wanted ask something else. However, Rain suddenly disappeared and the red-haired woman who had emitted the evil aura in his previous dream now stood where Rain had stood before. She wore the same style of robes as Rain had, only hers were pitch black. She would've blended in perfectly with the equally dark area surrounding her, but her red hair seemed to pierce the darkness in the vicinity.
Draco only saw her for a second though. The woman zoomed through the air and her hands grabbed Draco's shirt collar and she gave a tug. This all too simple movement made the scene before Draco whirl about and his eyes suddenly snapped open.
Draco sat up abruptly. He remembered getting knocked out and after taking in the milieu, he determined that he hadn't been moved during the time that he had been unconscious. And instantly, he remembered Ginny. She'd saved him… what had happened to her?
Moving his hair out of his eyes, Draco looked straight ahead and a pathetic, crumpled heap lay before him. Ginny's red hair was sprawled about her back and hung limply over her shoulders. The only movement from her was the periodic rising of her back. Otherwise, she was completely motionless.
Draco made a mad dash to where Ginny lay. When he reached her, he gently grasped her shoulders and turned her onto her back, moving her hair out of her face at the same time. She looked deathly pale. Her face was still glimmering from the tears she had cried. Good, Draco thought. Means I haven't been knocked out for too long.
"Ginny!" Draco was about to shake her by the shoulders, but then he scrunched up his nose. He hadn't ever really called Ginny Weasley by her first name. It was weird. But then again, calling all seven Weasleys by their last name was somewhat weird, too, not to mention confusing. He shook his head, his platinum strands of hair elegantly blowing through the air as he did this. "Ginny!" He continued, desperately trying to rouse her. "Ginny! Please, wake up!" Draco didn't know what was going on at his house, but he knew he didn't need to be here anymore and that most certainly meant a Weasley didn't need to be here either.
"Ginny!" Draco almost yelled. He winced at his loud voice, but immediately breathed a sigh of relief as Ginny's eyes began fluttering open. Regaining his reputed behavior, he smirked. "Stop fluttering those lashes at me, Weasley. What would Potter say?"
"I don't like Harry anymore," Ginny muttered. "And what was wrong with calling me Ginny?" She asked as she sat up with unnoticed help from Draco.
"Nothing was—" Draco started to say, but Ginny suddenly sat up straight and gazed directly into his eyes.
"Draco Malfoy," Ginny said.
"Er… yeah?" Draco said, cocking an eyebrow.
"Draco Malfoy, I love you." Ginny said, in a funny tinny voice.
Draco simply mouthed wordlessly and when he tried to say something, it came out as an awkward choking sound.
Ginny sat completely still and ignored this outburst from Draco. "I love you, Draco Malfoy, and I want you to love me, too."
Draco opened his mouth to say something but scratched the back of his head instead. "Uhm…" He stuttered. What the hell was wrong with her? "You know, the Cruciatus curse has varied effects and… uh…" Draco mumbled.
"I looked for you everywhere," Ginny continued, unfazed. "I wondered when I'd find you. But now I'm finished searching. I've found my soulmate. Only you can truly love me." Ginny slid across the floor and lay her head on Draco's should. She wrapped her arms around him and continued, softly whispering into his ear. "There were times when I dreamed. There were those nights I could not sleep. Why?" Ginny paused. "I knew that somewhere out there, you were waiting for me." And now she blew into his ear.
Draco felt an unknown shiver run through his body. He was feeling snug and warm all of the sudden—he felt something he'd never felt before. What was happening? Now he felt his own arm, almost unwillingly, drape itself across Ginny's slender shoulders. He pulled her closer.
"Ginny…"
"There were whispers I heard," she continued. "There were the clouds, Draco… the clouds you always hid behind. The clouds whispered to me. They always cried. They cried for us. But now… now that you're with me…" Ginny looked up as though she could see the sky right through the ceiling. "It's not raining anymore."
Draco felt Ginny's dainty fingers softly grasp his chin and turn his head towards her. They looked into one another's eyes now. Ginny peeked up at his face through her seemingly vulnerable eyes and Draco stared at Ginny through a thin curtain of silver hair, an aghast and astounded look flooding his countenance all the while.
"I'm finally yours and you're finally mine," Ginny whispered. She moved her face closer to his. "Every time the seasons change, we'll be together," she said even softer. She came closer. "The sun shall rise for us at the dawn of every new day. I will love you and you will want me." They were nose-to-nose and when she spoke, her voice was barely audible, but Draco had no time to think, for they weren't nose-to-nose much longer— they were mouth-to-mouth. He gasped when their lips touched, but soon he'd slowly closed his eyes and began melting into the kiss.
Somehow, the kiss felt right. It just felt right. He felt Ginny's fingers crawling up his back. He let her. His fingers ran through Ginny's hair. She let him.
And suddenly, Draco saw the face of the dark and evil vixen from his dreams. Her face flashed across the backs of his eyelids and Rain's words echoed loudly in his mind: You are the deception of this world. You mustn't let the world deceive you.
Draco's eyes flew open immediately and he pushed Ginny away rather violently. But when he saw Ginny, he was instantly on his feet.
He had been snogging Blaise Zabini!
She quickly composed herself and got to her feet as well. She was quite out of breath. "I'm upset to say that you and I never did that." She began smoothing her dress out—a nervous habit.
"BLAISE! WHAT'VE YOU DONE WITH HER?"
"With whom?"
"YOU BLOODY DAMN WELL KNOW WHO I'M TALKING ABOUT! WHERE'S GINNY? WHERE IS GINNY WEASLEY?"
Blaise smirked and snapped her fingers and the wall before them began to turn around. Ginny was secured by her wrists, legs, waist, and neck on the other side of the wall. Her arms made a v-shape and were shackled above her and her legs would've hung limp had they not been shackled below her. A large metal band secured her waist and a smaller metal band went around her neck, generously leaving an ounce of space for breathing ease. The last two bands were probably there so the Cruciatus curse would be more painful since she wouldn't be able to arch her back if it were applied again, Draco noted.
His thoughts were interrupted by Blaise's sudden giggling fit. Draco didn't even need to say anything. He simply glared.
"You're so easy!" Blaise explained. "You lovesick bast—"
Draco instinctively pointed his wand at Blaise's heart. He trembled slightly. "Avada— aaaaaaargh!"
He never had a chance to finish the incantation. Someone had twisted his right arm behind his back and had a hold of his left arm in such a way that the wand bearing half a death curse was pointed at Draco's neck. "You were saying?" A voice hissed above him.
Draco looked up. His father. Lucius Malfoy was the one restraining him—the one who held Draco's life in his hands. "Father." Draco stated, his way of admitting defeat.
"Son," Lucius said in such a manner that it almost sounded like a question.
Father and son stared at one another before Blaise interrupted them again. "Now Draco! You know perfectly well you're not supposed to use magic while you're so weak!" Draco grimaced at the tone Blaise used when saying 'weak'.
Normally, Draco would try to hide his true feelings from his father. He was a rock in front of his father. Nothing would penetrate him. But Draco took a quick glance at Lucius Malfoy and shook his head internally. The man restraining him was no longer his real father. Father's did not do insane things like this to their sons. A father would never hurt his children—his only son.
Through gritted teeth, Draco growled, "Let Ginny go! She's got nothing to do with this!"
"She's obviously got something to do with you!" Blaise said, further annoying Draco by puckering her lips. "After a kiss like that, she's definitely got a lot to do with you and therefore, a lot to do with this."
"This?" Draco asked.
"The plan," Lucius Malfoy hissed. "I reckon it's time you knew. We're reviving the Dark Lord."
"Again," came a dull voice. It belonged to Tom Riddle. He wore his old Slytherin house attire and a nasty smirk that revealed two sharp vampire fangs. Riddle licked his lips and ran his hand through his hair. "Before you ask, yes—all of our plans are to revive the Dark Lord—me."
"Talk about originality," Draco muttered.
His father pulled up on his arm, causing him to wince and bite his tongue.
"You are in no position to disgrace us, Draco." Lucius said.
Really, now? I hadn't the slightest idea! Is what Draco had wanted to say next, but he wanted to keep his right arm in working condition, so he held back his wisecracks just this once.
There was an awkward silence. Everyone took turns glaring at Draco and the whole situation might've been comical if it were occurring in a movie, but it wasn't. This was real life.
Draco suddenly sighed, causing everyone to look at him. "What do you need Gin—" He quickly corrected himself. "Why do you need the Weasley girl? She's not our type."
"Neither are you," Riddle answered. "You were, but are no longer."
"I was?" Draco inquired, halfway confused. "What do you mean I'm no longer your type? It's not like I'm parading around in crimson and gold!"
"Ha!" Blaise scoffed. "Not in, dear. With." She clarified by flinging her head towards the girl on the wall.
"I haven't gone with her anywhere because I wanted to," Draco said. "I also never wanted to be held prisoner in my own home." He added bitterly.
"Nonetheless, the facts remain," his father added. "You had many opportunities to eliminate that Gryffindor scum, yet you went about your own business. You acted like it was perfectly acceptable for that kind of trash to walk alongside you, breathing the same air as you and accessing the same things as you. It is obvious that you do not care for the elite status that I and those around you represent. Therefore, your soul shall be disposed of."
Draco stared up at his father in disbelief.
"It will make me proud to have the Dark Lord himself walking the Earth once again in a body I created." Lucius grinned smugly.
"You still haven't told me what part she plays in all this." Draco said, trying to change the subject somewhat.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Blaise giggled.
Draco simply stared back.
"Bait." She explained in one simple word.
"Bait?" Draco inquired, furrowing his brows.
"It worked rather nicely, too," Blaise said, licking her lips.
Getting the gist of what Blaise was trying to say, Draco's temper flared. "How dare you use her to entice me? I will not stand this kind of mockery!"
"And what do you plan to do?" Tom Riddle asked, smirking haughtily.
"It wasn't mockery," Blaise added in quietly, a sudden change of tone evident in her voice. Everyone turned to look at her. "Sure, I transfigured into her for a short while, but I did utter her true feelings." Draco stared at her, silent confusion flooding his face. "Somewhere deep within her heart, she really does love you." Blaise cast her eyes away from Draco. She almost looked sad for a split second, but she quickly wiped all emotion off her face.
"Well, isn't that sweet?" Riddle interrupted malignantly. "Lucius, if you'll please?"
"It would be my pleasure," Mr. Malfoy said. He let go of Draco's left arm and snapped his fingers. Draco blinked and when he opened his eyes again, he saw Ginny's motionless form hanging on the wall across from him. He looked at his arms and they were shackled! He tried to look at his waist and legs, but the metal ring across his neck prevented him from doing so. He presumed he was in the same position as Ginny.
Draco looked down and everyone was leaving the room, apparently quite proud of what they'd done to him.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME?" Draco hollered, suddenly. "WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH US?" He suddenly noticed he was sweating excessively. Then again, it would've been strange if he felt comfortable in the position he was in.
The group led by Riddle froze and his father was the first to turn around. "It really doesn't matter what you want to know right now. You won't exist anymore soon." He thought for a second and added, "Neither will she." Lucius nodded in Ginny's direction. "All your questions will be answered soon enough, I suppose. But for now, I recommend you get some rest!"
"Even though you'll be resting for a while after the plan is executed." Riddle added in with a guffaw.
With that, they proceeded in leaving through the only door to the room. Blaise was the last to leave, and as Draco glared at the retreating group, he noted a foreign glint in her eyes when she looked at him one last time. He'd never seen it there before, but even as the door vanished as Blaise stepped over its threshold, it was like the look in Blaise's eyes remained in the room.
Draco stared at the ground in silence for a while. He thought about many things. He thought about how his father abandoned him. He thought about what might happen to him. He wondered where his mother was at a time like this and if she was alright. He hadn't heard from her since school had started that year. He even wondered what Harry Potter was doing. Then he thought about all the trivial things he'd ever wished for or wanted. He thought about how he'd always wished with all his might to one-day beat Harry Potter at Quidditch. He thought about all the stupid pranks he had played on Harry and his friends and then about all the stupider pranks that ended up backfiring. If he could, he would've kicked himself now. None of that stuff mattered now. Nothing in his life mattered—
He looked up. Ginny had begun to stir. Seconds later, she opened her eyes and frantically looked around. He didn't say anything. He thought it would be best to let her get the panic out of her system naturally. Finally, she looked across the room and into Draco's eyes. And with a sharp intake of breath, Draco saw something.
Blaise's eyes.
Author's Note: Oh my goodness! *falls over* I just stubbed my toe! >_that much! Yeah… so I tried to get the whole D/G thing rolling, but… er… yeah… maybe that'll kinda pick up…. soon… *twiddling thumbs* Oh yeah! R/Hr kinda started! *hides from Erika* 'Kay! That's all! Man! My author's note section thingers are getting retardeder and retardeder! *giggles* Sorry! ^^;
Kudos and M&Ms (Credits): I was inspired by Linkin Park's Papercut whilst writing Draco's dream sequence. So all that stuff about having a 'face beneath your skin' and stuff are from that song. Also, when Blaise was doing all that 'fake' lovey-dovey stuff, a lot of her lines came from Akcent's Soulmate. It's a pretty song… *smiles*
Juse the facts: The spell Ginny uses: Collapsoendium Revioso does not exist (just in case that threw anyone for a loop). I just needed a nifty spell… so I made it up. Lameness on my part, I know, but hey, something like it might exist! So there. *sweatdrop*
Chapter 13: Draco/Ginny rocks, doesn't it? Mmf. Too bad not much of the D/G action is in the next chapter though! You'll basically be finding out what's up with all the other characters. It's kinda like a refresher so you're not totally surprised and stuff when random characters seem to pop up out of nowhere. :) Er, yay?
Yay! Reviews, reviews, reviews! Thanks to Goldengirl2, Lily_Among_the_Thorns_89, Eiko, Maureen, and Jonah for reviewing that last chapter! Yall're the bomb-diggity! ^_~ Keep it up!