Disclaimer: Not mine

A.N.: Soz about the long time of no updating. Exams and stuff, very stressful. It's over now so updates should be quicker. We're nearing the end.

III

Time To Go
III

"What the bloody hell is that?" Draco cried, jumping back.

"It's Fawkes!" Ginny shouted. Her heart, which was already pounding due to the arrival of Tom, felt like it was going to burst.

"It's a phoenix!" He cried, pointing.

"I know, he's Dumbledore's." Ginny explained, moving forward slowly, holding her hand out.

"It could be any phoenix." Draco warned her, "Seriously, put your hand down."

"Do not Worry, Virginia." Tom assured her, "I know Dumbledore's bird, that's him."

Ginny's hand trembled for a moment, dropping an inch. Her eyes darted over to the half there person, and she felt a twinge of fear in her heart.

"What is it, Virginia, don't you trust me?" He asked, innocently.

"I don't trust you." She whispered, "But I know that's Fawkes." And with that she walked over to the golden bird.

He had landed on the table, and was sitting there expectantly. Mapp had remained seated, and was looking at the bird with a great deal of interest.

"He is good." Mapp told the approaching girl, "Has travelled much time to see you. He knows you."

"I know you too Fawkes." She said, stroking the bird's head, "You saved my life when I was just a little girl."

Fawkes looked her in the eye, understanding shining in the pools of blackness. Then he looked over to the end of the table, where Tom said, regarding the bird with dislike. Fawkes' eyes narrowed, and it gave out an overwhelming squawk, and glowed faintly orange.

"He can see Tom." Ginny told Mapp and Draco. Mapp nodded, but Draco shook his head.

"This is bad, this is...bad." He repeated.

"Why?" She asked, looking confused, "Fawkes will help us. He helped Harry save me when I was in the Chamber of Secrets."

"He's Dumbledore's bird." Draco explained, "He'll help Dumbledore find us. Then it's a quick trip to the Dementors for you, and a one way ticket into my Father's grasps for me. Sound fun?"

"What can we do, then?" Ginny asked, "Kill him? Make sure he never has the chance to return to Dumbledore? Don't be stupid."

"Then we'll have to keep him with us." The blond boy said finally, "He can't be allowed to go back to Dumbledore, so he'll have to stay with us."

Fawkes regarded Ginny carefully. If he understood the conversation, he made no sign of it, but his dark eyes did keep on flickering back to Tom.

"He doesn't like me." Tom commented.

"Not surprising." She snapped.

"What?" Draco asked.

"Not you, Tom." Ginny explained.

"What did he say?"

"It doesn't matter." She was growing more and more frustrated with this situation.

"I want to know." Draco insisted.

"Forget it!" She shouted finally, "This is all getting too...too much! Mapp, you can understand Fawkes?"

"Not by words." The Elf explained, "But some things shine through. Like understanding."

"Can he understand us?" Ginny asked.

"Same. Like understanding, but different." Mapp told her.

"Will he stay with us?"

"He came to protect you, stay with you." Mapp nodded, "He will not attempt escape."

"That's good." Ginny nodded, "So Malfoy, no trying to kill Fawkes. Tom, get back in my head."

"No." He replied, lazily looking at his nails, "I like having a body."

"Fine, but don't speak." She sighed. "Mapp, is Ginni ok?"

"Ginni sleeps." Mapp assured her, "But the Auveray must be told about the phoenix."

"Malfoy-?" Ginny asked.

"No, he doesn't like me." Draco said quickly.

"And you're no bloody use." She said, glaring at Tom.

"Hey!" Draco said, offended.

"I'm not saying a word." Tom told her.

"Yes, that's right." She nodded.

"I'm not useless." Draco sulked.

"What? Oh, not you Malfoy!" Ginny assured him, "I was talking to Tom."

"Well don't, it's getting confusing." He told her, "Now, shouldn't you get going? The Auveray needs to be informed about our guest."

III

Ron felt a scream rising up in his throat. He swallowed it. It had become a usual feeling since he had returned home from Poltrick. He, Harry and Hermione sat at the Weasleys kitchen table while Mrs Weasley made dinner. The scream rose again, and once again he swallowed it. All he wanted to do was tell his mother and father and brothers that Ginny was alive, that she was ok, almost.

"Are you ok Ron?" Mrs Weasley asked, "You look a little green."

"Russian food didn't agree with me." He managed. Harry and Hermione nodded, their lips tight.

"Well, they do have some strange meals." She agreed, "Oh Harry, I spoke to Remus while you were gone, he wanted to know whether you'd like to see his new house tomorrow."

"I'm not sure-" Harry began, but Ron cut him off.

"Don't worry about it." He said, "Go with Lupin."

"But..." Harry trailed off.

"We have plenty of time to talk." Ron told him, "It hasn't...sunk in...yet. I need a little while."

"Hm? Noginski had that much of an impression on you?" Mrs Weasley asked, "Well, he is an amazing man. He and Arthur used to be quite close, you know?"

They said nothing. Hermione excused herself from the table and went up to their room. Harry and Ron gave her ten minutes before following. When they got into the room she was pretending to be asleep, and they said nothing as they climbed into their beds.

III

When Ginny finally returned from her meeting with the Auveray, she found Draco asleep, and Fawkes sitting inside their hut. With nothing else to do, she went to sleep as well.

When she awoke, Draco was already up; he was sitting down, looking through his bag.

"Morning Malfoy." She mumbled, sitting up.

"Morning." He said back, not looking at her.

"Do you want to know what the Auveray said?" Ginny asked.

"No." Draco replied, "I really don't care what he had to say."

"He said that Fawkes' arrival was a good thing." She said anyway, "he said that Fawkes would protect us in ways that the Elves couldn't."

"Yeah, they'll have a bit of trouble protecting us if we're not here." Draco agreed.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"What did he have to say about our dear Tommy?" He asked, ignoring her question.

"What do you mean, 'if we're not here'?" Ginny pressed, "Explain."

"We're leaving. Now about Riddle?"

"We are not leaving!" She exclaimed, "We have nowhere to go."

"I'd really like to know about what the Auver-arse had to say about Riddle." Draco snapped sarcastically, "We can discuss where we're going after."

"He said that Tom was just as powerless as usual, and that although it'll be annoying, I'll have to put up with it because he can't fix it." She explained, "And we're not going anywhere."

"We can't stay here." He told her, "We're supposed to be untraceable, but somehow that bird managed to find us. I'm not sure what that says to you, but to me it says we've been here too long."

"But we can't just leave!" She ran a hand through her messy hair, "Draco, we have nowhere to go. And we can't leave Mapp."

"Mapp isn't on the run from Death Eaters, the other Elves can look after her." He stood up, looking at her, "And as for having nowhere to go? Well, that doesn't matter, because we have to go somewhere. Or do you want to be stuck with Riddle for the rest of your life?"

"You know I don't." She snapped.

"Do I?" Draco asked, "Even when I couldn't hear you talking to him, I always knew. We'd be sitting together, and you'd be really happy, and I'd know you were talking to him. So maybe you do want to be stuck with him for the rest of your life."

"He's a murderer!" She shouted, her eyes filling with tears, "He almost killed me! How can you say that..."

"Because you're in love with him." He told her, "You're in love with him."

"And why does that bother you?" She asked angrily.

"Because you're not in love with me!" He shouted.

"You're not in love with me either!"

"That's because I don't know how!" His cheeks were flushed pink, "I don't know how to fall in love! But you do. I know that you're capable of falling in love, but you don't love me."

"But that's not my fault!" Her eyes looked into his pleadingly, and she took a step towards him, "Malfoy...I fell in love with Tom, and I almost died because of it. So forgive me for not falling for any boy who's nice to me. Not that you're ever really nice to me for that matter."

"Forget it Weasley, it doesn't matter." He shrugged bitterly, "I'm leaving, and I'm going back to England. You can come with me, or you can stay with the Elves. But the Elves won't help you get rid of Riddle."

"Malfoy..." Ginny reached out to take his hand, but he pulled away. She lowered her hand, but spoke on regardless; "Of course I'll come with you. I love Tom, and I know you hate me for it, but I do want to get rid of him."

"Then pack your bags and get ready to leave." He walked out of their hut, and Ginny was left with only Fawkes. Fawkes, and Tom.

"Don't worry little bird." Tom whispered, smiling, "He doesn't hate you for loving me, or at least not nearly as much as I do."

When Ginny finished crying, she packed her bags, never looking at the dark haired boy.

III

Harry left early in the morning. Lupin had bought a new house, which, he had told Harry, he could use any time he liked.

"You sure you don't want me to stay?" He asked Ron quietly before he left.

"I'm sure." Ron promised, "I need a bit of time."

"I'll be back tonight." Harry told him, "If you want to talk then, we can. We have to talk about it soon, we have to find them."

"I know." The red haired boy nodded, "Tonight, I swear. Have fun today, you might not ever have to go back to the Dursleys."

"I can wish." Harry grinned, and they parted.

Hermione was sitting on Ron's bed when he returned to his room. She had said her goodbyes to Harry before Ron.

"Is he gone?" She asked quietly.

"Just left." Ron told her.

"You're angry at me."

"Yes."

"I wanted to tell you!" She burst out; "I wanted to tell you so badly it hurt! But I couldn't do that to you, if I was wrong..."

"You're never wrong." He snapped, "You know that. Every theory, every idea you've had since you were eleven years old has been almost perfect."

"Almost perfect wasn't good enough, I had to know for sure." She pleaded, "What if I'd told you, and been wrong? If I told you Ginny might have been alive and it turned out that she was just as dead as Neville, or Cedric Diggory? Would you have forgiven me?"

"Yes." Ron told her, "Because at least I'd have known that I could trust you. I'd have known that you'd tell me something I had a right to know. But instead you told Harry."

"I had to-"

"You told Harry!" Ron was shaking with anger, his hands clenched into fists, "You told Harry! My best friend!"

"He's my best friend too!" She shouted back, "Or did you think I was all yours now seeing as we're going out?"

"I thought that being in relationship meant that we were honest with each other." He replied, "But now...What else are you keeping from me?"

"I'm not keeping anything else from you." Hermione whispered.

"I wouldn't know if you were lying though." Ron pointed out, "I didn't even once realise that you knew something and weren't telling us. So I really wouldn't be able to tell if you had a million other secrets, secrets as big as the one about Ginny. I can't trust you at all."

"But I don't." She promised, pleading desperately, "I haven't got any other secrets Ron, please believe me. I know I should have told you, but I was so scared that I'd just end up hurting you."

"Maybe it would have been ok." He told her, sitting down next to her. He seemed much calmer; "Maybe it would have been ok, if you hadn't told anybody. But you told Harry. How long have you two been talking about this behind my back?"

"I told him five minutes before you found out, I swear." She told him, "I needed someone else to know, or I wouldn't have been able to get it out of Noginski. It was Harry or Blaise, and I chose Harry."

"How long did you know that the Vessel was Ginny?" Ron asked.

"A few weeks." She told him.

"And you kept it from me." He shook his head, "All that time. I really...I really care about you, you know? You were there for me when I really needed you."

"Ron..." Her voice was fearful.

"But maybe...maybe I'm over needing you now. I still care for you, and I don't ever want us to stop being close, but I think-"

"No!" She exclaimed, "No, that's not fair! I kept it from you to protect you! You can't break up with me over that! I'm not over needing you yet! I really need you!"

"And I needed you to tell me the truth, I needed you to tell me that Ginny was alive and well, and you let me down." Ron didn't look at her when he said this, his eyes were fixed on his hands, "We were friends before, we still can be."

"Ron, I love you." She whispered, tears flowing down her cheeks, "I don't think I can be just friends with you."

"But I can't be anything more." He explained.

"Ron, do you love me?" Hermione asked. He said nothing, still looking at his hands, "Tell me you don't love me then."

"No." Ron shook his head; "I won't lie to you. I won't keep things from you. I do love you. But you don't love me. Because if you did, you wouldn't have kept this from me."

"I kept it from you because I love you." She explained, but her voice was defeated, "Ron, you mean more to me than anything in the world, I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Help me find Ginny?" He asked.

"Of course." They sat in silence. Ron's body felt numb, a small part of him couldn't believe what he'd just done. Hermione also felt nothing, but not out of numbness. She felt nothing because there was nothing. Without Ron there to fill her with joy, anger, pride and love, she was empty and alone.

III

Transformed into her disguise, Ginny hugged Mapp, and kissed baby Ginni on the forehead.

"I'll come back and visit." She promised, "But Malfoy's right, we do have to go."

"I understand Friend Ginni." Mapp assured her, "But still I fear for you. Be safe, stay with Friend Draco, he protects you."

"Yeah, I guess he does." Ginny nodded, "And we have Fawkes now, although god knows what we're going to do with him. Phoenixes aren't very inconspicuous."

"Be safe Friend Ginni." Mapp urged her.

"I will." She hugged the Elf one last time "Be safe Friend Mapp."

They parted, and Draco and Ginny began the walk to the nearest town.

"Is his Royal Arsiness around?" Draco asked a little way into the journey.

"No, he's not around, I don't think he can leave my mind if we're outside." She explained, her voice slightly clipped, "Something about rooms."

The rest of the journey was silent, and the arrived in the small wizarding community of the town. Ginny quickly checked the Floo Hub, and found a letter waiting for her.

"Who's it from?" Draco asked.

"Aidan, of course." She replied, but actually it wasn't 'of course'. Both teenagers had forgotten about him, "He's invited us to a Christmas party. Do you want to go?"

"When you say 'us' you mean 'you', right?" He said.

"Slightly." She admitted.

"Then I'll go, only because it'll annoy Lynch." Draco agreed. Then his eyes widened, and he looked around, "Be back in one second."

Ginny watched Draco run to a small stall that was selling Wizarding trinkets. He returned, and shoved a small model of a phoenix into her hands, "Happy birthday Weasley."

"You actually remembered?" She asked, astonished. She had actually forgotten herself.

"Of course." Ginny smiled, and kissed him lightly on the lips. It felt nice to be able to do that again.

"Who do you prefer out of me, Riddle and Lynch?" Draco asked in between kisses.

"Hadn't really though about it." She replied.

"Well, think about it now." He said.

"Ok, but it'll take a while." Ginny told him.

"I'll ask you again later." He assured her.

"You'll forget."

III

Thanks to...

Red-Devil15: Not so much going on in the chapter. Just a few big things.

Silver-Night2: And is my story any good? I'd still like a new name.

Moose: No! Blaise is such a girl's name. Grrr. Oh well, I guess this fic is AU. Does that mean I can make my characters do whatever I want?

Damia - Queen of the Gypsi's: Thanks for the advice. Plenty of Hermione in the Chapter!

Kittybro: I hope they do too, but they're getting out of control!

Magic Crystal Rose: Hope this answers some of your question! If not...you'll have to wait to find out.

AquariusNight: Thanks for the praise! feels really proud And thanks for the advice on the name. I may actually do that. If I can be bothered. I'm truly lazy.

Taika: More shocks abound this chapter! Will Ron and Hermione ever get back together? Will Draco and Ginny ever fall in love? Will I ever finish this fic?

Readingfreak742: And after you say that I take forever to update. I hope you haven't lost interest!

Keep on reviewing!