First I would like to apologise for not updating this story in well over a year. The fact is college is getting more and more demanding and I simply do not have the time to sit down and write like I used to. Now that summer is here, and I'm finally more available I will try to resume my fictions.
Though I already have read Half Blood Prince, and was inspired to continue writing because of it, there will be no spoilers whatsoever in this fiction, about both that book and Order of the Phoenix. If you don't remember this fiction was started well before OotP and is set as if the last two book have not happened.
If the chapter doesn't seem as good as the others its because I'm a bit out of practice at writing and I will need some time to get back at were I was.
I once again apologise for the delay. Yours truly Kitty D.
Chapter 11- An unexpected protection.
So peaceful, so calm, she hadn't felt that protected since she had left her mother's arms. The pillow was soft under her cheeks, and it seemed to move with her with every breath she took, as though they were in perfect harmony. The air was fresh but not cold, and the wind was singing her to sleep.
At that moment the world was perfect.
But then it was disturbed by voices. Voices that did not fit in this peaceful moment. They were loud and scared and did not make any sense. But she refused to leave this quiet place. It was all she ever wanted for a very long time.
How could this have happened? She was sure that whatever precautions Dumbledore had set, would be enough to prevent this kind of thing from happening. It was a good thing she had asked Nearly Headless Nick to watch over the Gryffindors for a wile, or it would be morning before anyone had noticed the girl was gone.
She, Dumbledore and professor Snape were following the faint footprints on the ground leading them finally to a small clearing.
McGonagall suppressed a gasp of surprise. The scene in front of her was one of the strangest things she had ever seen and one of the most beautiful. Yet it was obvious that Miss Weasley wasn't in any danger.
Miss Weasley was lying on the ground, sleeping with her head resting on an unicorn's back. There were several unicorns around them, either sleeping peacefully or strolling around.
When the headmaster tried to reach Miss Weasley, several unicorns stood up immediately and threatened him with their horns. They wouldn't let him come near her.
'Minerva, could you please try to reach Miss Weasley?'
She took a tentative step forward, waiting for the unicorns to come and back her off too, but they didn't seem to mind her. Maybe because she was a woman?
She easily reached Miss Weasley and gently woke her up. The look of surprise on her face when she looked around made it obvious she didn't know how she got there.
'Come along, Miss Weasley. We should get back to the castle.'-she said, making an effort to get the girl up on her feet. She seemed rather calm despite the situation.
'What happened? The last thing I remember was going to bed...'
Minerva looked at Dumbledore with a disappointed face. It was obvious that whatever precautions the Headmaster had taken, they were not enough.
'Come now Miss Weasley, we will figure this out once we get back inside.'-said McGonagall in a soft voice. She knew that the girl was in a lot of trouble if not even the headmaster could protect her. More severe precautions would have to be taken for both the girl's protection as well as the other students. She might even have to leave Hogwarts….
Ginny was sitting on a bed in the hospital wing, drinking some tea that Madam Pomfrey had given her. Dumbledore, McGonagall and professor Snape were in Madam Pomfrey's office talking in low voices, Snape's voice being the loudest in the room. Ginny knew for a fact that they were deciding what they would be doing about her problem. Her parents had been firecalled and were on their way to Hogwarts. Ginny was shaking at the prospect of telling everything to her mother.Why Dumbledore had not yet told her mother what Ginny had told him, she didn't know.
She sipped some more of her tea and looked around. The hospital wing was empty, there had been no Quidditch games as of late, which usually filled the ward, and most injuries that appeared here were easily treated, so there was a silence that unnerved her. Dumbledore had no doubt casted a silencing spell on the office so that Ginny couldn't hear what they were saying.
She pulled her nightgown closely around her. She was sure they were going to send her away. If Dumbledore couldn't protect her then Voldemort's control over her would grow, and next thing she knew she could start hurting students again.
It was a nightmare. It was her first year all over again. Would he never leave her in peace?
And yet as she though about it a wicked voice sounded in her mind.
'But you liked being kissed.'
Ginny blushed and got angry with herself. What a stupid thought to have, of course she didn't like it.
Who would like it to have Voldemort grabbing and kissing you by force? Even if her skin exploded with a thousand different sensations, her body getting closer to his, her mouth kissing him back...; oh for Merlin's sake she had liked it! She just had to admit to herself that there was something powerful between them.
But she was not afraid. She didn't understand why, but her fear of him seemed to be subsiding ever since that kiss. The fear she had now was to be sent away from Hogwarts. What place could possibly be safer then her school? She though about what had happened... The unicorns saving her was very strange, and something that not even Dumbledore could explain, but he seemed very interested in it. He also seemed interested in the way Voldemort had used to get that close to Hogwarts, even if he had come through the grounds. Ginny wondered if it had anything to do with that small ball that he had used in the ministry to open a portal.
She was lost in thought when the doors opened with a bang and a very troubled looking witch came flying in her direction.
Ginny sheeshd and waited for the sermon to come.
He was standing in a vast chamber, surrounded by his most trusted Death Eaters. Though the chamber usually was dark, today it was exceptionally well lit, with several warm fires that came from the mouth of snake statues. Behind him was the statue of the great Salazar Slytherin. How fitting that they should be married here, in the place were they were bonded by the soul in the first place. His Death Eaters were all looking at the door, waiting for her to come.
The doors opened and the figure of a young girl in a beautiful green dress entered. Her face was obscured by a veil, a veil that he couldn't wait to remove so that he could kiss her lips. Slowly she walked towards him, the eye off every Death Eater was on her, as if they were mesmerized by her. There was no fear of her running away. She was his, she had accepted that, and with this bond both their powers would make the wizard world tremble.
She stopped just beside him, and he heard her gentle voice underneath the veil.
'Tom...'
'Ginny, I've been waiting for this for a very long time.'- he said wile removing her veil.
With a shock he looked at her face! Or better, his face. Harry Potter was in front of him, not Ginny, and with horror Voldemort saw him close his eyes and give him a kiss on the cheek.
Voldemort took two steps back, dumbstruck by this event. Then behind him came a laugh that he recognised immediately.
Ginny was standing there, laughing merrily at what she had seen. His face flushed with anger, but when he turned around to kill the boy, Dumbledore was standing there instead of him.
Voldemort woke up suddenly, cursing loudly, wile he tried to disentangle himself from the sheets. He got up and washed his face in a silver basin standing next to his bed.
'Stupid dream.'- he said as he dried his face on a cloth.
He went back to bed, grabbed the pillow that was beside his and putting it to his face he took a deep breath. Her smell was almost gone. He was surprised it had lasted that long. He placed the pillow back to it's place and put an arm around it, pretending it to be Ginny.
Ginny... Had she really been in his dream, or was it just his mind playing tricks on him again? He hoped that this time it was just his mind. The thought of her seeing that stupid dream made him uneasy. He had not expected the potion to work in this way. He had tried so hard to strengthen their connection that he feared he had gone too far. The potion had not been used for centuries so it had been hard to find out what the side effects were. It was obvious now that the potion didn't only work one way. She could enter his mind as easily as he could enter hers, the only difference being that she had no idea what was happening and thus had little control over it.
Nevertheless, she had entered his mind and seen things about his past. Things that he wouldn't mind sharing with her when they were truly together. After all, they were one, and just like she couldn't hide anything from him, it would be hard to hide his past from her. When would they be together at last? It seemed that every little effort he made to bring her to him was useless. Something always happened; it was as if the universe itself was against them. If only she would stop fighting him. If she could get over her fear of him, then she would see that their bond was unbreakable.
But how? How could he gain more control over her without using the potion? If he used it one more time, the effects could be devastating. He felt it in the forest, that her body was weak compared to what it was in the summer, and he saw how pale she was. The paleness only added to her beauty, he thought, but it was a clear sign that the potion was taking its toll on her. So he just had to make the best of the connection he had.
The small silver snake, which had been Ginny's necklace, came zooming from the corner of the bed and entangled in his fingers. He petted the snake's head even though he knew it wasn't a real snake, but it had been on her neck and so he couldn't help to be fond of it.
He smiled to himself. How he had loved being a snake, and entering her bed. It had been easy entering the grounds as an animal, for the wards were prepared mostly to prevent magical attacks. Just like they were prepared to prevent anyone from entering a student's mind. There was no way for him to get into her mind now, not unless he wanted to risk getting near the school again. And on top of it all, those stupid unicorns had defended her. Why in Merlin's name they did that was beyond him. He dared Dumbledore to figure that one out. If they had not interfered the other night with his affairs, he would have had Ginny in his bed with him now, instead of wishing that she would enter his dreams.
And then with a jolt it hit him! If Ginny could enter his dreams, even with the extra wards Dumbledore had set, then the old fool had forgotten something. There was no way in, but there was a way out.
Smiling he grabbed her pillow once more and held it against him, wile delicious thoughts of how he could turn that to his advantage made him grin.
Ginny was in the back of her Arithmancy class thinking about last nights dream. What a silly thing to dream off... It had been funny though, when she told Hermione about it she had fallen off the bed laughing. Ginny wondered for a moment if the dream could have been a result of Voldemorts interference with her dreams. But why would he show her such a thing? Besides with Snapes new finding she was quite sure she was protected against that.
Snape had come up with a very strange solution to her problem. Though no one knew what was being used by Voldemort to enter her dreams, Snape had found a protection against it. Ginny reached in to her robes and grabbed the little locket that was dangling around her neck. Inside it was a very small vial with a silvery potion that, according to Snape, would prevent any attack on her mind.
It was very strange to Ginny that any potion could have a use without being drunk. But she was happy nonetheless, with this she was allowed to stay in Hogwarts without any fear of Voldemort possessing her and making her attack her friends, or of making her wonder into the Forbidden Forest again.
Patricia leaned towards her wile professor Vector had her back turned to the class.
'I heard that Phillip Montagne of Ravenclaw wanted to ask you to go to Hogsmeade with him, on the next Hogsmeade weekend.'
'I'm not sure I'm going, I'm a bit behind on my homework.'-Ginny lied. She wasn't too keen on lying to her friend but she didn't know if it was a good idea to get out of the school.
'Oh don't be silly, he is so cute. You've got to go.'
Ginny shrugged, she really didn't care about it at the moment. Somehow she had little interest in going out with guys right now; she supposed it was because off Voldemorts kiss. Blushing at the memory of it, she shook her head and turned her attention to class. She most certainly didn't want to daydream about that kiss.
She was happy for now, glad that things had returned to some level of normality. Though it had been hard to face her parents and explain to them what had happened she felt free and relaxed. Everything was fine and would be perfect if she could just forget about that wonderful kiss...
Well that's it, I hoped you liked it.
Thank you Phoenix for beta reading this, and for you support.
I could use the help of a second beta, if anyone would like to volunteer. All I ask is that it's someone over 18 so that it may read my other story Rose of the Court as well.
Thank you, Kitty D.