AN: Hrm, the author's note on the prologue was a bit cracked out. God, I hate the new editing system, it's so very troublesome! Argh. Anyways, thank you to princessdza, Dear Me, and Blackzgurl4eva for reviewing the previous enstallment! It was very much appreciated! Speaking of enstallments, this one used to be a considerable amount longer, but it felt like it had ended in the wrong place to me, so I just put the rest of it into the second chapter. Which means... that I'll be doing some more editing and refining before I post the next few bits. Sorry! I'll try my best to be speedy! Please, continue reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in the Harry Potter series, nor do I own the plot, the brilliant mind that fabricated that grand adventure would be JK Rowling.


Before Eternity Dies

Chapter One: Familiar Eyes


The first sensation she felt as she woke was decidedly unpleasant. Wet and warm, and slightly sticky? It felt almost like - there it was again! Against her cheek, along her jaw line, and down into the juncture between her neck and shoulders. What was it? It felt so familiar...

And as suddenly as it had appeared, the strange sensation was gone and replaced with another - one that she could identify immediately. Hands. Strong, masculine hands. Feeling a light caress on her left forearm, she allowed her eyelids to flutter open and reveal the man who had so rudely interrupted her afternoon nap. She gazed up into his deep eyes of coal and absently wondered who he was. Hadn't she been alone before? Yes, she remembered. She had been alone, but not entirely - she was in the forest, surrounded by unassuming nature, living with the deer in their well hidden beds of soft brush. This forest was her home. So what was he doing here?

The strange man moved closer to her face, eyes looking at her intensely, eyes so filled with... emotion? Emotion, could it be? It seemed as if - did he... recognize her? No, no, that was no feasible explanation, she had been the only human in the forest for as long as she could remember - hadn't she? Oh, she was utterly confused.

"Ginny..." The man rasped, "I can't believe... You- You're," He stopped, seeming overwhelmed. Delicate little drops of moisture began to wind their way down his handsome features and he turned his head away. Oh, my.

Tears. She knew those, the one thing familiar to her in this peculiar situation. She had cried them herself during long nights in the brush, not knowing why, but knowing that she just felt empty, as if something had ripped the wings off of her back and denied her the freedom of flight. The wolves committed the same act against countless creatures, she had seen them - she cried then, too.

At the moment, all she knew was that whoever this beautiful man was, he was in pain - something she understood with dazzling clarity. With little thought, her hand reached out to comfort him, threading through his silky black hair. He turned to look at her again, to gaze at her for the second time, his dark eyes flashing with an emotion she could not place.

She continued to stroke his long hair, idly wrapping a few strands around her index finger. As he continued to stare at her, she examined him. He seemed so familiar, the slightly musky scent of him, the full lips, which she could picture smiling full and carefree. She was continually drawn back to his eyes which, she noticed, were framed by lashes almost longer than her own. He was pretty for a man.

But, did he know her? He certainly thought he did, with the way he was - no, it just wasn't - Oh, but she felt as if she knew him. Something was swelling up inside of her, rushing to every nerve, and exploding in a thousand different sensations. She bit her lip. She felt compelled to run from him, just as she felt compelled to embrace him like a lover. Her lips itched to smile, while her eyes begged for tears. Her heart wanted to love him, just as desperately as it wanted to hate him.

"Ginny," Her eyes refocused on his face, he looked concerned. "Are you alright? You're acting, ah," He stuttered as her fingertips brushed his cheekbone.

Was he speaking to her? He had said that name before... Ginny - was that her name?

"Do you," He paused, removing her hand from his tresses and holding on to it tightly. Lovingly almost. She again felt as if she should rush into his arms; something told her they would be pleasantly warm. "Do you know where you are?"

"The forest." Her voice sounded strange, and her throat felt odd. Tight and itchy. She realized abstractly that she couldn't ever remember using her voice before; the animals had always spoken to her in movements, and she had replied in kind. "Home."

"Home? Ginny, do you... remember anything? Molly? Arthur?" She looked at him blankly, even as her heart jumped in her chest. Why was she reacting this way?

"How about Bill or Charlie?" She continued to blink at him silently, gripping onto his hand a bit tighter. She felt very out of control, the same sweep of sensation she had felt before was ripping through her, as if it was trying to break through to the surface.

"Percy? Fred and George? Ron?" When she did not reply, he sighed, brushing hair out of his eyes, and he leaned back, sitting on his haunches. "I guess the only thing I can do for now is get you out of here."

Her eyes widened as he grasped her about the waist and began to lift her from her resting place.

"What are you doing?" She gasped, "Let me down!"

She was suddenly filled with a wild, animal terror, and when it became obvious that her captor had no intention of heeding her request, she began frantically clawing and biting every piece of his flesh she could find. Soon, perhaps moments afterwards, she was dropped back down onto the ground. The man was now standing over her, and she felt the desperate urge to flee - he was enormous at full height. She was as awed by the sight of him as she was cowed.

"I had hoped this wouldn't be necessary," He spoke, withdrawing a slender piece of wood from his pocket. "Ginny, I'm sorry. Stupefy!"

She had but a moment to think before a flash of red encompassed her senses, and all she could manage to digest was that she had heard that word before. Somewhere far away. Somewhere with... stone walls... And for some reason, it all seemed like magic.


AN: Once again, I apologize for the short chapter. Thanks for reading! Please review!

PS! I am available to beta read, if anyone is interested! Just email me!