Hey all, bet ya never thought I'd update this huh? Yeah well concidering its one of my favourite story's your wrong. And i did. Just not a whole lot. I know it's short but this is the hardest story to write! I think this my first fan fic accually, either way it must be finished, in fact i thinki lied, i think this is the first fan fic i did that got reviews. Either way, please review this. And I own nothing!
A wash of colour burst across the sky, tiny clouds dotted here and there: shadows marring its beauty. Adriana lay still on her back, laid out across the never ending meadow, watching the patterns in the sky weave into one another, creating pictures across the sky. She could have watched it all night, forever if possible, but all good things came to an end, and she knew that soon, so would this.
Faine had gone off to Tom, well that was where she figured she would go. In truth she could be anywhere. Her cell was back up, she hadn't bothered to check really, but the slight glimmer in the air told her that Faine had placed it back on when she left.
As darkness closed in her small eyes began to flutter closed. It was such a peaceful world, no sound except a song bird singing a lullaby to her, maybe staying here with Faine isn't to bad, was her last thought before she fell into slumber.
As the foreboding chill of a winters night closed in, and the nocturnal creatures crept out from their homes ready for the hunt, two teenagers stumbled along the winding path that led through the dense foliage of the forest. Unlike before when the ground ivy crept silently, seeming so innocent in its path, it now twisted in cruel knots, the rotting carcass in its grasp perfuming the air to an unbearable stench.
So with breathing hard and laboured, and bodies scratched and bloodied, the duo trudged onwards, not pausing for love nor money. Determination glinted in their eyes, either to survive or find their common goal was unknown to them, as with each step they took another slither of hope faded away.
"I've heard of this place." Ginny whispered in fear of alerting something to her presence, and she had heard of this place; her elder brothers had told her many story's at night of lost travellers who stumbled upon this seemingly blissful clearing. It seemed as though the trees parted for them, a pool of water to quench your thirst lay in the centre, surrounded by pink and blue flowers, and lush green grass. Even a seat lay to one side, large enough for three large men to sit comfortably.
"What is it?" Draco whispered in return, his lips brushing her ear ever so slightly as he did. Ignoring the flush that threatened to settle up on her face, Ginny turned to him, noses almost touching.
"The lovers dream. One drink from the pool and all your emotions become ten fold. Hate, anger, desperation, love." Draco stared into Ginny's eyes, not sure what she was telling him. He could control his emotions, well around most people; Ginny seemed to open up doors to all his emotions all at once. "Then the flowers, their scent confused the mind, places disturbing images into your brain until your life feels like a nightmare. If you don't wind up killing yourself and who you are with, you'll die of insanity. Once you enter the clearing you cant leave. The bench, it holds all to it, you are drawn to it. Draco we must go around."
Draco nodded, and took Ginny's hand as he led them slowly around the clearing. His mind was reeling, the pull from the clearing was strong, but so was his will. He knew that on a normal day his thirst and desperation would give in, but with Adie missing there wasn't a chance in hell he was stopping. The hesitant steps behind him and the slight tension in his arm told that Ginny too was facing her own internal battles, little did he know that they had nothing to do with the clearing.
Just grit your teeth Ginny. Just holding your hand. Butterfies go away, not needed, turn back into racoons, shit I meant cocoons, cocoons. Yeah, cocoons. I'm even saying stupid things in my head, I haven't even entered the damn clearing and I'm going insane. Plus I don't fancy Draco. Well not much. Ok maybe a little, but Adies in danger, and he's just a friend. Granted a gorges one, but a friend… oh dang it, maybe this clearing is effecting my emotions. That or I'm seriously wacked. Hmm, what a cute little whatchmacallit, aww look, its cleaning its, eugh, can it really lick there?
"How big is this thing?" Ginny glanced around her as Draco interrupted her musing: it seemed as though they hadn't moved at all from the clearings point of view.
"Maybe we should turn back and find another way through." Ginny offered, Fred and George hadn't mentioned the clearing not letting you go around it, although she was a little hazy on how they knew about it in the first place.
"Um, sure, Ginny, does the floor seem, I don't know, different?" Draco frowned and turned to look inquisitively at Ginny. Glancing down he noted that the floor looked the same as before, it just for some reason felt different; he just couldn't quite place why.
"Don't think so," Ginny shrugged, and proceeded to stamp, "Seem's alright to me. Maybe it's just over heARGH!" As Ginny approached where Draco was standing the forest floor seemed to give way, and in a tangle of logs, leaves and limbs they went crashing through the under growth.
Ginny smashed through the thick layer of ice covering the water below them, making the mistake of screaming as white hot pain shot through her leg, before she knew it the pain was all over, tiny needles seemed to be pricking her skin from every angel, until gradually she became numb. She wasn't sure if it was because of the amount of pain or the lack of oxygen, but she welcomed it and exhaustion took over her limp body as she blacked out.
Shit. was Draco's only thought as he fell down what seemed like a shallow well, only without the well part, and the bucket with the string part, and the fact that it was in the middle of the freaking forbidden forest, but other than that it seemed like a shallow well. He now knew what seemed so strange, it had felt as though he were walking over a feeble trap door: there were many in the manor so he was used to the feeling. If only he had figured it out before Ginny came over, obviously the weight of two had collapsed it.
He hit the water a moment after Ginny, gritting his teeth as he fell into the freezing cold water. The first thing he did when he entered was start swimming up, luckily most of the ice had been broken, so that wasn't a problem. Once out the water he began to gasp for his much needed air, getting only muggy stale air instead of the fresh air he craved. Not only that but the water stank like the pits of a swamp; he wasn't sure how much longer he could smell it without gagging.
Looking around Draco noticed a tunnel leading both left and right; he couldn't reach the start of the sides that they fell down so that wasn't an option. They would have to go down one of the tunnels, but which one? "Ginny, wh…. Um Ginny?" Oh fuck, where'd she go. Draco began to panic, although he had looked around the hole they were in, it hadn't occurred to him that Ginny wasn't there. With a sigh he held his nose and ducked down once more beneath the surface.
After only a moment of searching he saw her, a Ginny shaped object was suspended in the centre of the underground swamp- Draco decided to call it this given that it could never be a stream or river. Taking her body into his arms, Draco swam back up to the surface before balancing her head on his, carrying her as he would his sister.
He needed to get to dry land, the situation had just gotten more serious. Glancing back up to Ginny he took in her pale wet face, noting that there was a slight green tinge to it, even her lips were starting to turn blue. Red hair fell in dirty rags around her face, and her once new clothes were now clinging to her body, covered in dirty smelly bog water.
He decided that he would head right, as that was the way they had been heading anyway, so being careful not to knock Ginny's head as it would fall in the water, he set off as fast as he could. The tunnel's roof was getting lower as he went along, soon his mucky blonde hair was scraping the mildew from the stones, and the light from the opening had dwindled into nothing. He found himself walking blindly through the water, trying not to scream each time a rat or something worst slithered past his legs. It was gruelling work, breaking through the ice with his left had as his right held Ginny into place, it was only a matter of time until his body too gave in to the cold waters.
The further he got the thicker the ice, cuts lashed across his arms as he continued to smash thought the offending material with little care of the damage to his flesh. All he cared about now was getting Ginny to safety. A strange tingling sensation ran up his spine before he sighed in relief as the water began to lose its stench and depth, and just as fast as the ice had gotten thicker it became thinner until he was simply walking through a knee depth luke warm brook.
Rays of light danced around him and Ginny, giving him a hope that he all but lost. A couple minuets later and he found himself walking out of the tunnel and into the bright sunshine of what seemed like a spring morning. Birds were singing in the trees, upon dew covered grass creatures frolicked, the sky was a fresh blue with only a couple of puffy white colours marring its perfection.
Draco shook his head at the contrast to him, covered head to toe in stinking bog water, his clothes ripped and torn, his hair now parading a light green shine, and the skin on his arms looked as though it had been through a cheese grater. Not that Ginny looked any better, in face she looked decidedly worse.
With great care he climbed up the side of the brook and laid her down up on the grass, tilting her chin up he gently opened her mouth and after brushing the stray strands of hair from her face he placed his lips over her's and blew. For so long Draco had wished to kiss Ginny, he had wanted to feel her lips on his, and yet here he was giving her the kiss of life and the only feeling he felt was a thick coating of dread.
Disorientated Ginny found that she couldn't breath, so spluttering she did the only thing she could think of, and began to cough violently until she was spewing her guts up onto the grass. Funny that, seenas her last memory was plunging into ice cold water.
"Draco?" She whispered as she wiped a hand over her mouth.
"here." A voice replied from just above her, turning her head slightly she saw a filthy blood stained face smiling at her.
"Thank God," Draco stiffened as Ginny launched herself into his arms and clung onto him for dear life, but after a moment he hugged her back. "Where are we?" she asked, her face but mere inches from his, it was so close that Draco could feel her breath on his face. Ginny was still snuggled deep within his embrace as they sat on the grass trying to soak up the morning sun.
"No idea." Draco murmured, "But you stink." Ginny scowled and smacked him lightly on the arm as he began to smirk.
"That is not funny." she hissed, "Come on, we'll get clean in the brook."
They stood together, mainly because Ginny's leg wouldn't support her; she wasn't sure what she had done to it, but it was possible that she had fractured it. Hobbling they headed back to the water, and Draco placed Ginny back down besides it before cupping it into his hands and scrubbing his face.
Ginny on the other hand decided that she wanted to be clean, completely clean, so to the complete surprise and embarrassment of Draco, she stripped to her underwear and slipping into the water where she proceeded to wash herself and her clothes. "Draco look, we need to get clean so lets pretend were five and bath in our underwear. Ok?"
Nodding dumbly Draco stripped down to his boxers and joined her in the water, averting his eyes to anything that wasn't Ginny. It took them half an hour to clean their clothes to a respectable cleanliness, so once that was done they were laid out on the grass to dry. "Oh for Goodness sake Draco!" Ginny sighed, grabbing his chin and making him face her, "Its like a bikini, you have seen girls in bikinis before right?"
"Yeah. But um, I know that isn't a bikini." Rolling her eyes Ginny decided to ignore Draco, and proceeded to wash her hair.
Two hours later and they emerged clean and happy. So after a moment of mimicking their clothes, and lying in the cool air to dry off, they got back changed feeling much more refreshed, but no less hungry.
"Draco, not to spoil this really cool place or anything, but,"
"But it was winter when we left. Yeah I know. I'm trying to forget that." Ginny nodded, deciding that it was a good policy if they were to ever find Adriana.
Placing one arm around her waist Draco lifted Ginny to her feet and they set off slowly towards a small village in the distance. It seemed like a quaint little place, around ten thatched roofs dotted the area, and the mistakable chapel of a church rose up in the centre.
It didn't take too long to get there, although with Ginny's constant wining about how the floor hurt made it seem to Draco much longer. He wouldn't mind if it was because she had a sore leg, no, it was because she had lost her shoes and was now bare foot.
When they arrived at the village people were milling around everywhere, selling everything from fur, to food, to flowers. Children were racing through the streets, laughing and screaming with joy. A few people looked over curiously at Draco and Ginny before continuing with what they were doing, until a rather tall young lady came over to greet them.
"Good day travellers. I am Lady Parsh, the mayor. What brings you here?" Ginny looked the lady up and down; she looked slightly young to be a mayor, but looks can be deceiving. The strange thing to Ginny was that the lady was looking upon them as adults, not as teenagers, which seemed a little bizarre as she was used to people treating her like a child, seen as she looked like on most of the time.
"I am Lord Wesfoy, and this is my wife, Lady Wesfoy, we are searching for our daughter whom was taken from us. You haven't seen anything suspicious have you?" Ginny stared up at Draco in disbelief, she was his wife? And they had a daughter? Well at least the lady seemed to buy their story.
"Oh dear, what a tragedy. Come, you need to see the care'er, your leg looks rather sore. We shall feed you up and send you on your way, alas we can be of no help, this town see's few strangers. In fact the last strangers I saw were thirty years ago."
Draco and Ginny followed the lady wordlessly, both pondering her curious response, thirty years ago? She barley looked twenty.
Faine sat by side of Adriana's cell, a slight smile playing on her lips. The child was playing helplessly into their hands. How she loved children; they were such credulous little things. Pink and blue stares twinkled down upon them, creating such a sweet innocent picture. Brushing the stray hair from Adriana's face Faine lifted her into her arms and disappeared.
Replies to my reviews. Even though you reviewd about a year ago Ah well.
CoolMilena- i know i know, still short, but hey... i get away with it seen as i updated right? Thanks for your review! Means so much. Wipes a tear from my eye.
Padfootedmoony- now who said they were closer to finding her? Tee hee. They are in complelty differant worlds ha ha ha. If you didnt guess sorry, but i wrote that the world adie was in was nothing but animals, and Draco and Gin are in a world with people. Thank you for your reivew. Hey did you know Faine is my best mate? I told her i would put her in a story, she loves me... Not that i see her any more, i might kill her off, her face would be funny if i told her. Anyway, thanks for the reivew, glad you like it. well until you read the new chapter, which is sorta short.
Supergirljen: mmm yeah. Well you had to wither on the floor for a while, are you alight? I hope this is ok for you? Even if its short. About the feeky deeky thing, well i couldnt use it, seen as i dont know what the dark fam is... Ah well, thanks for your idea anyway, and for your review.
Roko feind jess, um whatever n bla bla bla-get a shorter name! Dang it!- Tee hee, i know, i like evil people like faine, Reminds me of Glory in Buffy. It was what i was going for, but using Faines characteristics. My mate Faine. And the plot would go down the drain. Well a dirtyer one than its going down now.
Padfootfan- thanks for your reivew. Hey yall waited longer than a year! ooops... But hey, updatyness? Good ya? I'm on a mish to update all my story's that havent been updated. Well as many as possible. The readers of my story seperated are gonna kill me though, i said i'd update after ten reviews, i wanted time dang it! Not reviews, it was a stalling process. Ah well.
Another big thanks to my reiviewers. And a please review to everyone else. Take care xx chicklepea