A/N: This is Chapter Four of The Hogwarts Express. I do hope that you have fun reading it, because I love writing it!! And I'm extremely sorry for taking so long. For that, you get a very long chapter. (2,300 words, or 6 Microsoft Word pages)
If any of you would like me to e-mail you when I get a new chapter up, please, please, please leave your e-mail address (or sign in if you're a member) AND TELL ME THAT YOU WANT THE E-MAIL.
Pairing: Ginny/Draco, Hermione/Severus
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Um… I don't own it?
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Ginny bit the inside of her cheek—nasty habit, that—while looking around the room. Everyone was quiet. No one dared to make a sound. No one had spoken since Auror Rovenwood had finished reading the Death Eaters' demands. That had been about two minutes earlier. Everyone was staring into space, every few seconds sneaking glances at each other—although Ginny seemed to be the most popular 'other' at the moment.
She sighed quietly. Why would no one accept that she had grown up? She wasn't a little girl anymore. For the Gods' sakes, she had apprenticed everywhere from Paris to Venice to Tokyo, gotten trained in self-defense while in the latter, and developed a sophisticated taste for wine—if she did say so herself—while in the former. And while in Venice… She smiled inwardly. It truly was a romantic city, to say the least.
She had dined with Italians, stayed out late partying with the Parisians, learned with the Japanese…
Then again, who would believe that the youngest Weasley was so sophisticated? Wasn't sophistication a matter of money? Money? Weasley? The two just didn't mix. Well, her father had gotten a pay-raise after the war, and her brothers were eager to help their only sister and youngest sibling make something of herself… And staying with relatives most of the time definitely helped lower costs.
Who said it was bad to be a Weasley? Great-Aunt Marie was in Paris—she was an artist—Cousin Helena worked for the Italian Ministry, Grandmother Tiana lived in Tokyo with her second husband, who worked for the Japanese Aurors…
And many, many more. She had relatives in Russia, Greece, Germany, Norway, Morocco, South Africa, Cambodia, Thailand, Denmark… And even more if she went on to third cousins. There was a very large family reunion every ten years, at which there were so many Weasleys that getting to it was almost as bad as the Quidditch World Cup match!
But no one really knew. Oh, she had told people about it, but she knew that they probably had no idea how much she had changed since the end of her sixth year. Because that was the time from which most people remembered her.
When she was Harry Potter's girlfriend.
Virginia Ann Weasley smiled at her reflection. She was Harry Potter's girlfriend. "It just goes to show that if you work hard enough for something, you can get it!" she whispered to herself. She had returned from her fourth year at Hogwarts determined to win Harry's heart. And she had won it. After four years of worshipping him from afar, she was finally able to let her love for him be known.
It had started out innocently enough, with an invitation to Hogsmeade in October of her fifth year. But it had taken off from there after they had enjoyed themselves immensely the entire afternoon. He had invited her to the Yule Ball—which Dumbledore had made an official part of the school year after her third year—and they had now been going out for more than a year.
The only cloud on her otherwise bright day was Draco Malfoy. The git really did not know when to stop. He'd taunted her relentlessly ever since she's started going out with Harry. It had almost been as if he'd forgotten about her before that. But when she and Harry had started going out… Well, for the last year, he had poured on the comments about her family, Harry, what had happened in her first year…
Ginny shivered involuntarily. She had never truly come to grips with the incident with Tom Riddle's diary. It had destroyed her trust for quite a long time, making her cling to her affection for Harry all the more. He—and her family, of course—was the only person she had been able to trust for so long… Until her third year at least. Neville was a nice boy, he really was, and she trusted him … just not with her life. She knew that he would forget his head if it wasn't screwed on.
She laughed at the image of Neville's body running around without his head, before taking one last look in the mirror. Her light blue robes—truthfully the periwinkle ones Hermione had worn to the first Yule Ball—clung quite well to her figure, and she had let Parvati Patil put her hair up. She sighed contentedly. Yes, it was nice to look nice, wasn't it?
"Pretty is as pretty does," her mother's voice echoed in her mind. She shook her head, determined to enjoy the day.
Ginny walked out of the sixth-years dorm and down the staircase, smiling when she saw Harry. He grinned at her and offered her his arm, which she accepted shyly. After all this time, she was still slightly skittish around her boyfriend. She really didn't know why, but it was probably also why she'd always hesitated before sleeping with him. They hadn't slept together yet, even though they'd been going out for more than a year. Ginny felt that she was more than ready, and wanted to, but something was holding her back; something kept her from doing it.
She shook her head slightly, pushing the thoughts from her mind. Not now.
Ginny sighed, wondering what had brought on that memory. It wasn't as though it had any real significance. Well, other than the fact that it had been at that ball that Draco had … she gulped … kissed her.
***
Draco watched Ginny, amazed at how fast her facial expressions were changing. A corner of his mouth quirked up in amusement, and he wondered what she was thinking about.
He could tell that Ginny had changed since the last time he had seen her… And that had been almost two years earlier, at her graduation ceremony. After that, she had disappeared. And she had changed. Yes, she had definitely changed, but he couldn't pinpoint it. He couldn't point to something and say "This is what changed." He knew there was something. But that was all he knew.
Rovenwood cleared his throat, and everyone's head jerked to the front of the room, waiting tensely for him to speak. "Alright, everyone, we need to figure out what to do."
Someone—Draco suspected Hermione, but he wasn't pointing fingers—groaned in frustration.
Rovenwood narrowed his eyes but didn't reprimand the groaner, choosing instead to continue. "Now, obviously, we cannot grant these demands that the Death Eaters are making. Perhaps section one, but that would be it. There is no way that the Ministry will allow us to free dozens of convicted Death Eaters, even if the result is the death of hundreds of innocent children."
Draco shuddered. No, they wouldn't. Because the result would be catastrophes of even worse magnitude. The few for the many… Draco shook his head. It was an excuse used too often.
"So…" Rovenwood trailed off, looking at each person in turn. "Any ideas?"
Pansy raised her hand, and Rovenwood nodded to her. "Well, we could get invisibility cloaks, ride on brooms, and infiltrate the train."
Rovenwood sighed, but could think of nothing wrong with it.
Draco gave Pansy a small smile. She smiled in return, knowing that her 'plan' really wasn't all that great. However, it was the best they had come up with, and it was nearing two o'clock. They only had one hour before the Death Eaters started to kill the children…
***
Andrew Salinse touched down on the roof of the train softly, trying his best to keep his footing on the wobbly contraption. He shook his head, thinking of how often he had ridden in the train when he had been a student. Andrew felt more than saw Pansy touch down beside him. Both of them had invisibility cloaks on, protecting them from being seen by the lookouts stationed on the train.
They'd ridden along the sides of the train, checking all the compartments before finding one that was empty. The second guard slowly climbed down the side of the train, thanking the Gods for their training. Opening the window with a simple charm and slipping inside, they tiptoed to the door, careful to keep the cloaks fully covering their bodies.
Suddenly the door was blown open, knocking their cloaks askew, and a Death Eater stepped inside. Before they had time to react, there was a flash of green light, and Andrew was dead. The Death Eater pulled its cloak down, and Pansy gaped at her mother, who smiled at her.
"Why, Pansy, dear, whatever is the matter?" She asked, frowning. She then pouted prettily. "Oh, dearest Pansy, you haven't been hanging around any half-bloods, have you? You know that you're better than they are?" Cordelia Parkinson then tilted her head, keeping her wand trained on her youngest daughter. "Oh, no, wait; I forgot. You're married to one, aren't you?"
Pansy finally got over her shock and glared at her mother, raising her wand.
Cordelia clucked her tongue and shook her head slowly. "No, no, my dear, we can't have that." She moved her wand to point at the ceiling and suddenly… there was no ceiling. She glared at Pansy. "Get up there!"
Pansy quickly obeyed her mother, the demanding tone overriding any willpower she might have had left.
Cordelia followed the younger witch up to the top of the train, and began backing her off to the edge of the roof. "Well, my dear, aren't you going to beg?"
Pansy glared at her, the willpower coming back in waves. "Never! I hate you! I always have! The only reason I ever told you I loved you was because you would have hurt me! I saw what you did to Louisa!"
Cordelia brought her hand back and slapped Pansy. The twenty-year-old witch's head snapped back, before she glared at the woman she had called her mother. "You will beg!"
"No!" And with that, she jumped off the edge of the train…
…right into the arms of her husband.
"Harry!" she sobbed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Oh, Gods, I thought I was dead!"
"Shh," Harry comforted her, zooming away from the Express, holding his wife of one year tightly within his arms. "I almost didn't make it in time, Pansy."
"I didn't think you would be here at all," she whispered into his ear.
"I know," he said quietly. "And I almost wasn't. As soon as I found out about the Express I went straight to the Auror Office, but they wouldn't let me in! I'm Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, and they wouldn't let me in!" He said, smiling.
Pansy laughed, tears streaming from her eyes at the same time. "You've got to learn, Harry, that fame isn't everything."
Harry laughed, hugging her closer. "Gods, as soon as I found out where you were, I came after you."
"Harry," Pansy started, suddenly sober, "you shouldn't be interfering in Auror Missions. You could have seriously messed this up."
Harry sighed. "I know, and I was completely ready to let you handle it. But then I found out from Draco that there was a charm on the roof. They found out about it only minutes after you and Salinse left. The Death Eaters knew the second you touched down, sweetheart. That is when I came after you."
Pansy buried her face in his neck, smiling to herself. He always had to be the hero, didn't he? Not that she was complaining; not this time at least.
***
Ginny sat on the edge of her seat, waiting for an update on the second guard. It was almost 2:45. They had only fifteen minutes left before a child would die. And it was all because of her, wasn't it? She didn't understand it at all, didn't understand why they wanted her, but she knew that she was the cause.
"Auror Parkinson!" Rovenwood said loudly, standing up. Pansy walked through the door, Harry on her heels. Ginny's heart lifted at the sight of Harry's wife, extremely grateful that she was alive. "Where is Auror Salinse?"
Pansy's back stiffened and she said without emotion, "Dead, sir."
Rovenwood nodded. He had probably accepted it as soon as he had seen Pansy alone—well, besides Harry, that is.
Hermione spoke up. "Auror Rovenwood, are there really any other options?"
Rovenwood looked at her, not saying a word. He spoke softly, "No, there aren't. The seventh guard and I will continue looking over the paperwork and trying to decipher any weaknesses… but right now, all of those children are going to die."
Hermione nodded, her back becoming stiff and her eyes cold. Ginny saw Severus slip his hand into his wife's, and Ginny sighed. She stood up, heading to the door.
"Professor Weasley?" Rovenwood questioned.
"I'm going to the water closet, Auror Rovenwood," Ginny said quietly.
Rovenwood nodded.
Everyone accepted her lie, understanding that she needed some time alone.
Or at least believing that to be the reason. They had no idea how very wrong they were…
I know that it's been said before,
Known before,
Done before.
The greater good,
For the greater good,
My life…
Is nothing when compared.
If the sacrifice of one,
Can save many,
Where is the sacrifice?
For the greater good,
Always for the greater good,
My life…
Is nothing when compared.
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A/N: I hope you got that last part, 'cause I'm not going to explain it to you. And I know it's a crappy poem/lyric-y thing. I don't care. Oh, and I hope you all enjoyed learning more about what happened between the time that Ginny graduated and now. I might have more about that time, but we'll see. It all depends.
LadyRhiyana: Yes, as you can tell from this chapter I am definitely making more of the 'one life for five hundred' thing. And actually Ginny doesn't know that Draco has feelings for her. Rovenwood is really the one that does.
SAngel: I will. :)
SarahSenior04: Don't worry, I'll put you on the list. ^^ And I'll check out your story if I have time; I'm kind of busy right now.
poseur: I'm glad you like it, and you'll definitely get the updates.
Witch am I: I want to see, too! And I agree with you; the only word to describe the entire situation is CRAP.
momma-dar: I'm glad you think it's easy to read; that usually means that you want to read more, lol.
Wind and Ashes: I know what you mean about not being sure that you want to read something; it happens to me all the time. And the funniest thing is that more than half the time those stories turn out to be the ones that are the best. Then again, there's also the times when I find that I was completely justified not to read it…
tulzdavampslayer: Don't worry about it; I'm still confused about what their relationship was as well. Hmm. Maybe I should have figured that out before I started this story. Okay then, when I figure it out, I'll tell you!
FTCWriter: I don't mind when you ask questions; in fact, I love it. It helps me get a different perspective on the story, and helps me write it better. And as for whether Ginny is going to find out soon… Well, I imagine she'll find out pretty soon. Maybe next chapter? We'll see. It all depends…
Jade Stellar: I hate him, too… And I will send you an e-mail, don't worry.