Alright, I'm back yet again for the third chapter. Once again, I'd like to thank every single person who read and reviewed my story; you guys are simply amazing, and I wouldn't be writing this without you. Your comments are wonderful, and so are your suggestions. Oh, yeah, if I don't capitalize something that needs to be capitalized or make a grammar mistake and you catch it, feel free to comment on that. Any kinds of reviews are welcome, so are flames. But constructive flames are better.
Disclaimer: Once again, nope, Harry Potter doesn't belong to me, and neither do the characters in this story, except for Lark Piston, Leah Trout, and another character that will appear in this chapter.
Analyze This
Unlike the previous morning, Ginny woke up refreshed and well rested. The only thing that marred her outlook on the day was her "counseling session" in the afternoon. Getting out from under her covers and laying spread eagle on top of them she thought about what would happen. 'Will there be some old, balding witch with huge glasses wanting to know our innermost fears?' she thought. 'Or maybe it'll be a wizard who will try and hypnotize us to see why we hate each other so much.' She suddenly pictured Draco sitting on the floor in some old woman's arms, shaking with sobs saying, "I guess it all s-started when Angus died. I c-can still remember Mummy and D-Daddy saying that h-he went to the big chew t-toy in the sky…" she laughed out loud at the thought. As if Draco Malfoy would talk about missing his dead dog! That is if he ever had one…Shaking her head, Ginny got a malicious glint in her brown eyes. 'This is going to be a great opportunity to get some dirt on Malfoy!' She sighed merrily and bounced out of the bed, red hair falling in her face. Then she stood suddenly still. 'I can get revenge on Lark for what she did yesterday morning!' Tomorrow she'd have an A.M. Quidditch practice and wouldn't be able to return the favor.
Creeping stealthily toward Lark's bed she got into a spy persona. Her pajama top was a forest green tank top and she was wearing black hand-me-down pajama pants. Standing over Lark, Ginny barely suppressed a laugh. Though her friend seemed to be the definition of 'morning person', she didn't look that way right now. Lark's whole body was curled up under the covers, hiding everything except for random strands of black hair on the pillow. Grabbing the pillow from under Lark's head, Ginny then pulled the covers off her body and began singing a Muggle fast-food song she heard on the 'telly-vitchen'
"HI THERE MISTER MORNING, MY FAVORITE TIME OF DAY, RISE AND SHINE IT'S HAPPY TIME, LET'S GET ON OUR WAY!" Ginny skipped back and forth around Lark's bed while singing the jingle, ignoring the death glares she was getting. Lark's luxurious raven hair was tousled and sticking up, and her hazel eyes were barely focused.
"VIRGINIA!" Lark shouted.
Laughing hysterically at her friend's expression, Ginny ran to the dormitory bathroom and locked the door. Tuesdays were now her favorite day of the week.
Half an hour – and half a million apologies later, the sixth year trio entered the Great Hall for breakfast.
"I still can't believe you did that, Ginny," Lark said. "Don't you dare laugh, Colin!" she warned. He tried to put on his most serious face although he saw hints of a smile at Lark's mouth. All seemed to be in much better spirits than yesterday; it was almost as if nothing had happened.
"Hssss!"
Well, except for that. There were still a few mesmerized looked in Ginny's direction, but for the most part they had dissipated. However the Slytherins were unrelenting in hissing at Ginny everywhere she went. Giving them as threatening a look as possible, Ginny ignored them.
Sitting down next to Colin, she waved at Ron, Harry, and Hermione. Ron waved absently back at Ginny and resumed arguing with Hermione about something. If it had been three years ago, Ginny would have been alight with curiosity to know what the argument was about. But since her third year, the older trio had taken steps toward getting to know the youngest Weasley. At first she knew it was just because they didn't want her finding another confidant in some evil being, however, as they continued to acknowledge her presence, it actually seemed as if they wanted her company. While she didn't make the Trio a quartet, a fact she was now seldom bitter about, having them want to talk to her was a big thumbs up. Anyway, she had her own friends now.
Harry grinned at Ginny. The small action, which used to throw her into an apoplectic fit, was greeted with only another small wave. Harry sat silently waiting for the argument to pass; he knew better than to interrupt it.
"It's only a little tiff. Something about the thickness of a galleon." Harry smiled while the rest listened to him disbelievingly. "Ronnie here then brilliantly told Hermione that he would know more about it than she would because 'after all, she's only a Muggle'," he said imitating Ron's comment. "Unluckily Hermione reminded him that she's at the top of every class."
"I don't see why they're always arguing," said Seamus, sliding next to Lark holding the plate of toast. He passed it around the table. "I mean, the whole school knows that they'd rather be doing something far more productive with their mouths," he said loudly, grinning. This was greeted with uproarious laughter from the rest of the group. Hermione who had been yelling at Ron stopped mid-sentence and flushed deeply. Ron's face soon rivaled that of his hair and he glared at Seamus while throwing a piece of toast at him, making everyone laugh even more. Thus ended the lovers' quarrel.
After breakfast, Ginny, Colin and Lark headed for Charms with Flitwick. After that, the group had Potions, in which Snape was as mean to Ginny as he could possibly be without receiving a reprimand from the Headmaster. He would appear suddenly at her shoulder, and look on her potion, which almost made her spill it on herself, once. 'Slimy git,' she thought to herself. If she spilled the potion on herself, it would have disastrous results. The recipient of Searing Potion would gradually get hotter and hotter until they felt as if they were in the middle of the Sahara Desert with no water to speak of. In the end the person's brain would overheat, causing them to go brain dead, and then their body to shut down. This process would happen over a period of fifteen minutes; quite a long time to suffer. The students of course would not be trying the potions themselves. If mixed with the Glacier Potion that Snape provided them with (which had the opposite effects and caused the recipient to get fatal frostbite), the combination would be a clear substance that appeared to be water. When swallowed, the drinker would only feel a sudden rush of warmth that would ebb away. Snape tried the mixed potions to make sure that some student who couldn't make the potion didn't try to replace it with water. Fortunately, Ginny's potion had been perfect, which even surprised her, as Potions was not her strong point. She was more of a Charms and Transfiguration student. Colin gave her a smile and thumbs up.
"Your potion must be marvelous, Mr. Creevey, as you have the time to converse with another student in my class." Snape then went over to Colin, who was now frowning, and tried his. "It's far too runny," he said, which was ridiculous. It was supposed to be like water. "Five points from Gryffindor. Next time concentrate on your work." He walked away. Colin made a rude gesture at his back while Lark hid a smile behind her hand, Snape headed for her next.
When Colin, Lark, and Ginny left the dungeon, they encountered a huge crowd of Slytherin females who hissed simultaneously when they saw Ginny. Spying the ringleader, Pansy Parkinson of course, Ginny snapped at them having finally lost patience.
"Don't you people have anything better to do than stalk me and hiss at me? I mean, I'm pissed at Malfoy, but you don't see me walking around and roaring at every Slytherin I see, do you?"
Stepping forward Pansy said, "You shouldn't have hit him, Weasley, if you weren't prepared to fight back and face the consequences."
Ginny gasped and her eyes widened in mock wonder. "Wow, Parkinson! That was a big word! Keep this up and you won't have to be Malfoy's cheerleader and call girl for the rest of your life. Good for you, Pans'!" Colin, Lark, and the rest of the Gryffindors erupted into laughter at the pug faced seventh year.
Pansy blushed and jumped forward while Ginny sprang back, trying to stay calm. She tried to keep a brave front and not let herself be intimidated, but inside she was scared. This newfound bravery was wonderful, but it seemed to get her into more trouble than she was accustomed to. A hand restrained the fuming Pansy.
"Well, Weasley, you just can't keep your mouth shut, can you? I would have thought that even your underbred parents would have taught you to stay in your place and keep quiet."
Ginny remained silent, she didn't want to get into another fight because she'd have to see him later.
Draco walked around Pansy to stand in front of Ginny. "Cat got your tongue, Weasel? You can try and act brave like your dear friend Potty, but I know that inside you're just a poor, scared, wench with hand-me-down clothes trying to play with the big-kids on the playground. When will you get it into your head, girl? They don't want you around." He stepped closer to her. "And one day, when you're all alone like you were on the stairs that time, you'll see what happens to the runt who tries to be what they're not. They're crushed."
Colin pulled Ginny back from Malfoy's steely glare.
"C'mon Gin, we don't have time for this, we've got Defense Against the Dark Arts." She didn't move. He tugged on her robes a little harder. "Come on now, Ginny. That's enough."
Eyeing the Slytherins one last time, Ginny walked away in between her friends in a huff.
He'd gotten her frightened and said the last word, again.
After a quick lunch, Ginny snuck away from her friends. She didn't feel like being bombarded with questions about 'that time on the stairs'. She hadn't told them since she didn't want to worry them any further. She also didn't feel like being asked if she was 'going to be okay' a thousand times. Ron had tried to teach her some new hexes, and now she wondered if she should have learned them. Walking out of the Great Hall, Ginny realized that she had no idea where to go and decided that waiting by the statue of the gargoyle that opened up Dumbledore's office was the best solution. Standing there for a few minutes, she scanned the halls looking for someone who would tell her where to go. Suddenly she felt a sharp tap on her shoulder. Springing around to face her attacker, she laughed when she saw what it was – an owl. On closer inspection, she noticed that the owl was an unusual one. Its body had beautiful caramel colored feathers (which was strange enough, most owls were usually white, gray, or black), and the head had black feathers. The eyes were brown, and around its neck, but no where else on its body, there were golden feathers. The owl hooted in apology to startling her and then screeched to get Ginny to notice the parchment it held in it's talons. Opening it up, Ginny read:
Ms. Virginia Weasley,
As I did not want your brother following you, I did not give you instructions concerning the location of your counseling yesterday. I know that he must have been most curious and desired to attend, but I don't think that his presence would be very…productive. – Ginny smiled at this. It seemed like this person had her brother accurately assessed. She continued reading.
If you follow Lourna – she assumed that this was the owl – she will lead you to the room where you need to be. Don't worry about Mr. Malfoy, - she snorted- he has also received directions.
Good luck,
Professor Dumbledore
Suddenly the owl took flight. 'It sure is smart,' Ginny thought. 'It knew that I finished reading the note.' She ran after the animal. It took her down a passage she had never seen before, occasionally hooting whenever she was confused. Finally, after going down a staircase, Ginny saw a door a few paces ahead. The owl hooted impatiently. "Calm down!" she said. Walking up and turning the knob, Ginny entered a large room with many large windows letting in the sunlight. Green, gauzy curtains flapped around the front of the windows, they were open. Walking over to them and looking out, she saw that the room faced the lake. There were black leather couches pushed up against the perimeter of the cream colored walls, and one large recliner. Save for the small table with a lamp in the center of it, a chair pulling up to the table, and a clock on the wall, the room was empty of any other furniture. Plopping down loudly on one of the couches, Ginny closed her eyes and savored the feel of the soft leather. There was nothing close to this quality in her house. Unexpectedly a door opened in a far corner of the room and her eyes snapped open; she hadn't noticed the door when she entered the room. Out of it walked the last person she wanted to see.
"Well, Weasel, it took you long enough to get here."
She closed her eyes so that she wouldn't have to look at Malfoy's face. It wasn't an unpleasant one. Not by a long shot. It was just that his eyes were so cold, and frightening. She had to be brave.
"I guess it's just that I was trying to avoid being around you for as long as possible."
He smirked. He was about to open his mouth and make another comment when the owl hooted loudly. Why was it still there? Completely out of blue, it's feathers began to ruffle violently, and it's skin started shifting oddly. Ginny shrieked and even Malfoy looked alarmed, what the hell was going on? The owl began to grow to the size of a small dog, then Hermione's pet cat Crookshanks. The lower feathers formed into cloth, the caramel feathers became skin and more cloth, and the head feathers became wavy hair. When the transformation was complete, there stood before them a very pretty, tall woman with wavy black hair in a knot at the bottom of her head. She was wearing black and caramel colored robes; the owl was no where to be seen.
"Huh?" Ginny said.
The woman laughed, at her neck a gold linked necklace shook. In the back of Ginny's mind it registered that those must be the golden feathers.
"I'm sorry to have startled you," the woman said in a rich, lightly accented voice. Reaching a hand out to Ginny she said, "I'm Lourna Martin. You must be Ginny. I'll be your counselor."
Ginny shook her hand in a daze. All she could think to say was, "Oh."
She had never seen an Animagus transform except for Professor McGonagall, but then it had been very quick. Watching Professor Martin made her queasy.
Greeting Draco - who shook her hand a little too long - she made sure that it was him and then gestured for them to sit. The two students briefly looked at each other with distaste before walking to opposite ends of the room and sitting on the sofas.
Once again the woman laughed. Sitting down on the recliner she began, "I see that the Headmaster did not inform you that your counselor would be an Animagus, or even who it would be." Draco and Ginny shook their heads. "But at least that's now out of the way. Oh, right, you can call me Professor Martin.
When I was watching you two, as an owl, I saw that you really do have some…problems." Ginny wondered about the reason for her hesitation; that they had problems was evident. "Today's session will just be an introduction to what you guys will be doing. For starters, I know that neither of you wants to be here, and that's why your counseling will last only as long as it is needed. Meaning that once you two start getting along, or at least respecting each other, you won't need to come here anymore."
"It'll never happen!" Draco and Ginny said together. They glanced at each other; he sneered and she looked away.
"It seems like you two are already have an 'agree to disagree' kind of relationship going on," the professor said.
"I have no relationship with that freckled monster over there," Draco said nastily.
"First and foremost, the name calling will end when I am present!" she said. Her eyes were very serious, as if she dared him to speak again. Draco reddened. Ginny doubted that he was used to being ordered around and vowed to treasure the moment. She continued, "Professor McGonagall was reluctant to agree to this next part of the counseling, but I feel that you two aren't going to always be watched, so you need to spend time alone. After this session and the one tomorrow, you two will be alone. Not even I will be here." She noticed Ginny's skeptical look and smiled. "I mean it. I won't be spying on you two from some minute hole in the wall. I am however going to check back in with you two after about five sessions of being alone, and I surmise that the interaction you two have together will speak for itself and indicate how much progress you've made. As for today and tomorrow, I will be 'interviewing' each of you to see how you feel about one another. Today Draco will go, and tomorrow, Ginny, you will go. Any questions?" Professor Martin sat back in her seat.
"Well, what will I be doing while you're talking to Malfoy?" Ginny asked.
"You'll be listening to what he says, however, you cannot comment on it."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Great," she said sarcastically.
Professor Martin called Draco to sit at the table and talk with her, but Ginny had plenty of time to listen to him insult her. She went to see what the door that Draco walked out of led to. Turning the door knob, she laughed silently. It was just a bathroom. 'What was I expecting, a portal leading to Voldemort's secret hideout?' Ginny was much like Harry in that she had no problem calling 'You-know-who' by his proper name. Since meeting his younger self, Ginny felt that she almost had a right to. Flipping her hair out of her face she sat back on the sofa and listened to the professor talk to Draco.
"Why don't I like her?" he asked.
"That is what I said, is it not?" Professor Martin said
"Yes, it is. Anyway, it's not just her; it's her whole Mudblood loving family."
"The name calling, Mr. Malfoy…"
"I mean Muggle," he drawled. Ginny knew that once they were alone he would revert back to his disgusting way of talking about non-magic folk.
"And why is that, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Well, why not?" he said, sounding honestly surprised. "Just look at the girl. She allows herself to walk out of her room looking like a house elf and then expects me to respect her? I don't have respect to spare for lost causes that go chasing after idiots who don't want them anyway. Everyone knows that Potter doesn't care a whit for Freckles over there, that is everyone except for Freckles."
"I'll have you know, Malfoy, that I haven't been chasing after Harry for years! Years! And if I was it wouldn't be any of your business anyway!" said Ginny, rising.
"You make it my business, Weasley, when I have to watch you throw yourself at him in the hallways. It's just plain sick making. You want my respect? Try getting some for yourself. I can understand that it'll be hard though."
"If you're too blind and dumb to see that we're just friends, that's not my problem. You've got your own, after all."
Malfoy yelled and stood up. "And what the hell would you know about my problems!?!"
"I'll start with the fact that you're the male whore of Hogwarts! What's wrong, Drakie?" she said feigning sad. "Did Daddy not love you enough when you were young and so you have to sleep with every girl that will have you to get some affection?"
Draco, now livid with rage knocked over the table and whipped out his wand.
"Finis Gravisum!"
Professor Martin also took hers out just in time to cast a shield over Ginny to protect her from Draco's curse.
Ginny trembled uncontrollably within the shield while tears ran from her wide eyes. She stumbled across that curse once when she was shelving books in the library. Since she was a favorite of Madame Pince, she had been allowed to work in the Restricted Section. That curse would have closed her windpipes, causing asphyxiation. He could have killed her.
"THAT IS ENOUGH FROM THE BOTH OF YOU!"
Draco's chest was rising up and down, his hair was wild and his arm was still in the air. Lowering, he hissed, "This is a joke! I would gladly have taken detention for the completion of the year instead of this crap. I will not tolerate some low class, sorry excuse for a witch to disrespect me." He began walking toward the door.
"Mr. Malfoy, the session has not ended! You may not leave!" Professor Martin shouted at him.
"I don't care!" he yelled. "Take it up with the head of my house." He walked out of the door, slamming it. The clock fell off the wall.
Professor Martin ran over to Ginny and took off the shield.
"Are you alright, Ms. Weasley?"
Ginny struggled to compose herself. "I-I'm fine."
They were both silent for a full ten minutes.
"That is why I did not want you to say anything. This, to be honest, has been a disaster."
"I-I'm sorry."
"We will still have the session tomorrow, but for now, I'll walk you back to your Common Room. That was quite a scare."
"I know, I...I'm sorry Professor Martin." Ginny couldn't believe that Draco Malfoy had almost cursed her.
"It's alright. Let's go."
Ginny went straight to her bed and lay down. The professor had been carrying a bit of chocolate and gave it to her.
"It should help your nerves. See you tomorrow, same time, and same place?" she asked.
"Sure," Ginny said.
But as she lay there she thought that that was the last place she wanted to be. She reckoned that she had gone too far.
She had just made the feud between them personal.
REVIEWS!!!!!! Please, everyone who has just finished this story MUST send me a review! Alright, alright, you don't have to, but I'd love it if you did. This was a tough chapter to do, but I liked writing it and I want to know what you think!
Until the next installment,
I'm FemmeDraconis, signing off!