Disclaimer: Uh, I don't own any HP stuff, don't know why you'd think I would.


Who Opened the Dragon's Heart?

Chapter Eight


Draco Malfoy was enjoying his Saturday lunch when a black owl with red tipped wings dropped a letter onto his lap. The black owl was quite rare and was known only in the Wizarding Community, one of these was almost near impossible to find. They had an amazing carrying ability, said to be able to carry a small child if their gripping was right. Damn fast little buggers too. The owl then flew off and dropped letters at a few spots at the Gryffindor table. Draco glanced down at his lap and picked up the letter. On the envelope 3 words were written in a flourish. Privatus! Evolvo laxus. Private? Open later? Draco thought to himself in confusion. I wonder what this is all about. Draco hurriedly finished his lunch and then walked out of the Great Hall. As soon as the Great Hall doors closed he immediately opened his letter.

Mr. Malfoy,

I would be much obliged if you would meet with me in my office at One o'clock this afternoon. My apologies if this interferes with any of your previous plans.

Headmaster Dumbledore

You're lucky, Dumbledore, thought Draco, the Slytherin Quidditch team doesn't practice nearly as much as they used to. Draco glanced up at the clock just outside the Great Hall entrance. "Hmm, quarter to one. What should I do in that short amount of time?" Draco thought out loud.

"Well, Malfoy," Ginny suggested to the blonde statue in front of her, "you could always go jump off the South Tower, I know most of the school would thank their lucky stars for such a thing."

Draco jumped at the sound of Ginny's voice and quickly turned around. Dejectedly Draco saw the look of hurt lingering on Ginny's face. Hurt hidden anger, lots of anger. It was obvious that she had not forgotten the hurtful things that Draco had spewed at her last night. "Gin, why don't we sit down and talk."

"Where do you want us to sit exactly?" Ginny replied gesturing to the non-existent benches.

Draco then motioned up the steps. "Well there are some benches up on the balcony area. Ginny, I'd really like to talk to you."

"Oh, all right Malfoy. But if you insult me or my family, I swear to God I will hex you from here until kingdom come," Ginny threatened as she and Draco ascended the popular stairs.

They both headed for the most discreet bench. Fortunately the bench that was cleverly covered by a decorative tree was free of any snogging couples. "So, Malfoy," Ginny started as they both sat on the bench, "what did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to apologize about all the things I said last night," Draco came out quickly. "The things that I said were completely uncalled for, and most certainly not deserved." Draco paused, giving time for the words to be processed by Ginny.

"Malfoy? Are you seriously apologizing to me?" Ginny asked, quite in shock.

"Yeah, I believe I am. And if I remember correctly, we agreed not to call each other by our last names anymore."

"Sorry, Draco. I figured that our truce was off. Why exactly are you apologizing?"

"I did a lot of thinking after you left. All of the things I said were completely hurtful and 100 percent undeserved. I should not have let my anger for Lucius be lashed out at you."

"Wow, Draco," Ginny whispered. "I'm quite shocked. I never would have expected you to apologize, and especially to me, I am a Weasley after all." There was a slight pause while Ginny considered her next question in her head. Should I ask him? It might shut him off cold again. And he actually apologized for all he said last night. Do I want to risk taking 5 steps back just to take 2 steps forward? The battle continued in Ginny's head for a little bit before she broke the silence. "Draco?"

"Yea?"

"Would you like to talk about your father?" Ginny whispered resting her hand on Draco's arm. Draco glanced down at where Ginny's hand lay on his arm. "Oh, I'm sorry," Ginny said as she started to remove her hand.

"Nah, it's ok, Gin," Draco replied quickly enough that Ginny didn't fully remove her hand. "About my father though," Draco continued as a clock chimed in the background. "Shoot, I have to go meet someone. I'd really like to talk to you about my father, though. I'll send an owl to you when I'm done with my meeting. Will that be all right?"

"Sure, Draco. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye, Gin." Hurriedly Draco rushed to Dumbledore's office. "Whatchamacallit," Draco rushed out as he approached the gargoyle. "Hurry it up!" Draco spoke to the slowly ascending spiral staircase. Draco sprinted up the stairs as soon as they stopped and was soon in the headmaster's office. Glancing around he saw that there were 4 chairs around Dumbledore's desk and 3 of them were occupied by the Dream Team.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore proclaimed when he saw Draco. "Thank you for being able to join us this afternoon."

"Yea, no problem," Draco replied hesitantly as he settled into the leftover chair.

"Malfoy?" Both Ron and Harry exclaimed. Hermione looked at Draco in awe.

"Headmaster, how in the world is Draco Malfoy, a member of the Order?" Ron asked in great confusion.

"Ah, yes. I did forget to mention the newest member to the three of you, didn't I?" Dumbledore spoke. "Dreadfully sorry about that. May I explain to them your circumstances, Mr. Malfoy?"

"If you wish, Headmaster," Malfoy pondered. "Just the basics, though."

"Naturally," Dumbledore replied, knowing that Draco had every reason to keep his personal life personal. "Having Snape as a spy just isn't enough. He is unfortunately unable to hear many comments that students make, and he also does not have Lucius Malfoy as a Father."

"Lucky," Draco muttered under his breath.

"Fortunately though," Dumbledore continued, covering Draco's comment, "Young Mr. Malfoy here does not favor the Dark Arts as heavily as Senior Mr. Malfoy. He has most willingly agreed to become a spy for the Order."

"You don't think he'll turn around and be a snitch for the others?" Ron sneered. "I certainly wouldn't trust him."

"Ronald Weasley, if you knew all the particulars you most certainly would not be making that statement."

"Yeah, so stuff your trap, you stupid red head," Draco scowled at Ron.

"I can see that this meeting certainly will not be going anywhere. Maybe we'll try this again in 2 months?" Dumbledore asked. "Meanwhile I'd like for you all to keep up what you've been doing." Dumbledore then left to go into a separate room of his office.

"I can't believe Dumbledore trusts slime like you to be a member of the Order," Ron snapped.

"Sod off, Weasel. Because apparently the 3 of you weren't doing a good enough job and he needed someone who can actually get things done," snarled Draco. "If you don't mind I have to be leaving. I have an important meeting that I must be part of."

"What else could we expect," Harry said, finally coming into this argument. "You come in late, and you leave early."

"Well, I do recall Dumbledore dismissing us, so I'm not leaving early. As for being late, well I had to finish having my way with Weasley's little sister. Your sister really is quite a delight to bonk. A real fiesty girl in the sack, ya know. Potter, I can't believe you chose the nasty mudblood over the little vixen that I enjoy screwing. But as I was saying. I must be off."

"You're a little prat Malfoy!" Hermione exclaimed at Malfoy's mudblood comment.

"I swear to God, Malfoy. If you ever touch my sister I will certainly see to it that you can't have one ounce of pleasure ever again!" Ron exclaimed as Harry tried to hold him back. "I most certainly don't trust you, and if anything happens to a member of the Order I'm blaming you!"

"Whatever, Weasley, whatever," Draco replied as he sauntered down the stairs. As soon as he reached the main floor he rushed off the owlery, prepared to send Ginny a note.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Tap. Tap tap. Tappity tap tap.

Ginny quickly rushed to her dorm window and let in Draco's magnificent hawk.

"Well aren't you just a princely bird," Ginny cooed to the stunning black hawk. Draco's hawk certainly gave Harry's white owl a run for it s money. The hawk's wings shone in their splendid blackness, and the ever alert eyes stared at Ginny in extreme curiosity. "I bet you want me to take the message tied to your leg." The hawk quickly bobbed his head twice, almost as an answer to Ginny's question.

Ginny-

Meet me at the Quidditch Pitch.

Draco M.

"Short, simple and to the point," Ginny thought aloud. "Definitely a Malfoy type note." Quickly Ginny grabbed her heavy cloak as it was quite chilly outside and went to go meet Draco.

As Ginny turned onto the path to the Pitch she looked up into the sky and saw a tiny speck gliding through the air. Even though he loses to Harry every Quidditch game, he really is a superb flier, Ginny thought.

When Ginny finally made it to the stands she decided to just sit and watch Draco fly. Ginny was always amazed by how witches and wizards turned flying into a real art. Ginny herself didn't suck, but she certainly wasn't amazing. After watching Draco for about 20 minutes, he seemed to have finally realized that Ginny was sitting in the stands and he flew down to meet her.

"Draco," Ginny exclaimed as he touched a firm surface. "You really are quite an amazing flier! And your broom is absolutely gorgeous!" She reached out to touch the shiny smooth cherry broomstick.

"Don't touch it, Weasley," Draco barked, "this broom is worth more than your life is."

"Hey!" Ginny cried out as Draco's words sunk it.

"Oh, geez," Draco apologized when he realized what he said. "I'm terribly sorry, I thought I would have been in a better mood after flying, but I guess it didn't work too well."

"Why'd your mood change after we parted?" Ginny questioned.

"I ran into the Dream Team and things just didn't go well. Oh well, I'm over it. Let's move on."

"We don't have to talk about your father just yet. I know I had promised only a few days ago that I wouldn't ask you anything personal but, I just felt that it might have helped you with any problems you're having."

"You're right, Gin. It probably would help."

There was a long pause as they both stared around the Pitch, sometimes glancing at the only other person around. Draco caught Ginny staring admirably at his broom.

"It's a Nimbus Extreme, ya know," Draco bragged.

"An Extreme?" Ginny exclaimed. "Didn't those just come out just before school started up?"

"Yea, it was my school gift for the year."

"They're supposed to having amazing speed and agility. It's said you barely have to even finish your thought before it does it."

"Quite true. This baby has proved to be quite a blessing on the field," Draco boasted. There was a slight pause. "Would you like to give it a try?" Draco asked hesitantly.

"Are you serious?" Ginny asked, her voice full of excitement. "That would be absolutely amazing! I'd love to!"

"Alright then," Draco said as he started to hover the broom again. "Hop on."

Cautiously Ginny settled in front of Draco on the amazing craft. "Are you comfortable, Ginny?" Draco asked.

"Yup."

"Okay, here we go," Draco spoke as the broom rose over the guard rail and onto the Quidditch field. "What do you want to do first?"

"Fly up as high as you can!" Ginny exclaimed. Ever since Ginny was a little girl she loved being up high and looking down at all the specks from above.

"Hold on tight." Climb up high, Draco spoke to the broom.

Slowly the broom began to ascend. "Can't we go a bit faster?" Ginny asked.

"All right." Faster, if you please. Quickly the broom began to accelerate and soon they were higher than Draco had ever been. Stop now, broom. "Don't you think it's just a bit cold up here?" Draco questioned.

"No, I find it absolutely marvelous," Ginny replied with energy. One look at Ginny's face confirmed what she said. Her face was all aglow, enjoying the view of Hogwarts from way up high. "Can you do a few laps around the Pitch? And then do a spiral down helix?"

"Sure," Draco replied as he gave the information to his broom. Time to sit back and enjoy the view, Draco thought to himself. The landscape of Hogwarts really was quite magnificent at sunset, it was a view that Draco never really got to enjoy. Slowly but surely the broom began its descent. After a few rotations the broom started to gain quite a bit of speed. There was a slight possibility that Ginny could fall off so Draco quickly put his arms around her and grabbed the broomstick handle in front of her. Ginny looked back at him. "Just to be on the safe side," Draco quickly added with a smile.

"All right then," Ginny replied, "How about we make this sweet broom go even faster?"

"Fine by me," Draco answered. How about a bit of speed, broom? Quickly the broom spun down towards the ground even faster than before. Instinctively Draco tightened his grip on Ginny.

"This is absolutely amazing!" Ginny shouted, trying to be heard over the rushing wind.

Time to be spontaneous, Drake, Draco thought to himself. He quickly tightened his grip on Ginny even more. 3 corkscrews in a row, alright? Draco commanded the broom. When the broom was about 10 feet off the ground it quickly did 3 corkscrews consecutively. Ginny squealed in delight. Excellent choice, mate! Draco boasted to himself. Draco slowed down the broom so that was soon hovering. "So, Ginny. Would you like a chance at the controls?" Draco asked.

"Me, be in control? Are you sure you want me to?"

"Sure, why not. I doubt you'll hurt it. Let me quickly tell it to listen to you." All right, broom, after this command, I want you to listen to Ginny's voice. Do whatever she wants you to. "There you go, it's all yours."

"Wicked!" Ginny exclaimed. Okay, broom. How about we do a few hillies and then round it about, followed by a figure eight ascending? Almost instantly the broom started to do as Ginny commanded. The next 30 minutes continued on with Ginny making command after command. Soon the two of them realized that dusk was setting in and the weather was quite chilly.

"We should probably head in," Draco suggested.

"All right," Ginny said, agreeing but also wishing she could ride Draco's broom just a bit longer (A/N: hehe, wouldn't we all love to ride Draco's broom longer? :-D). Slowly but surely the broom reached the ground and hovered tamely over the sod. Draco quickly hopped off the broom and held out his arm for Ginny's dismount. "Why thank you ever so much for that enjoyable ride on your flying contraption," Ginny haughtily exclaimed as she curtseyed for Draco.

"Don't bother to mention it, Miss Weasley," Draco replied as he bowed to her, "It was absolutely enjoyable for me as well." They then caught each other's eyes and started laughing.

Draco then caught sight of Ginny shivering. "Yikes," Draco pointed out, "you're shivering Ginny. You need to get inside."

"Oh, all right," Ginny replied glumly as she turned to the path that led back up to the school. Draco quickly walked up beside her and put his arm around her, just to keep her warm of course.

"Some broom, eh Ginny?" Draco asked.

"Quite a broom. It's absolutely marvelous," Ginny exclaimed as she praised Draco's broom. "It moves so fluidly, even as it goes at high speeds. It was able to make even me look half way decent."

"Oh, come now, Ginny. I've seen you fly, you're not too horrible. It doesn't help that you're on a ratty old school broom most of the time."

"You really think I'm good at it?" Ginny asked in shock.

"I never said good. Just not horrible," Draco added with a smirk.

"Ah, noted."

Amazingly they had already reached the doors to Hogwarts. As soon as they entered the doors they'd have to go their separate ways, dungeons and tower, a Slytherin and a Gryffindor, a Malfoy and a Weasley. Draco slowly opened the huge door, holding it for Ginny.

"Well, Draco," Gin said, "this afternoon went rather well, don't you think?"

"Yea," Draco agreed. "It was quite enjoyable, it's a shame that it's over."

"I'll see you after supper though."

"Indeed you will," Draco agreed as he remembered that they still had to work on their project. "See you then," he called off as he went to the left, and Ginny headed off to the right.

A/N: WOW! I think that one went rather well, don't you? And all of that was typed in just 2 and a half hours! I am so proud of my self! I really hope you guys enjoyed it.

Now I know Draco seems a bit out of character since he all of a sudden apologizes for all those things he said, but hey, maybe he got a slight conscience in those 12 hours. Review please! I love reviews!!

Thank you's:


DusktilDawn: I really enjoyed writing that part of the story to, I thought I had been neglecting the Dream Team a little bit and they needed a small part in that chapter. Would you believe all that Zanzibar stuff is true? Talk about crazy.


Super Witch of Slytherin: I really hope this is another great chapter added to the story. Thanks so much for review!!


Ginny23: hmm, Ginny and Draco kissing just isn't going to work for me. I'm definitely going to have to kill one of them off before the big moment can take place! Muah hehehe

Antipodean Opaleye: sorry! I went against what you wanted and made him nicer, I'm sorry!! But maybe it's for the better that he's nice...

Branmuffinpower: Large words are real fun. I just love my thesaurus :-D sorry 'bout the grossness. I'll try to lessen it