Hello! Welcome to my domain. I'm Fayt. - Wave Thanks for deciding to give my story a chance- it's my first; I'm not sure how long it will be, 'cause I'm still writing it, but i've got a lot of ideas, so it should be fairly long. I'll try not to make you wait too long between updates, but I don't much computer time, so even typing it up is tricky. I can guarentee that updates will get more frequent after Febuary, when my computer comes (we just moved, as you know if you read my bio;I recamend you check it for updates on it, asI will often tell when I plan to update, or if I'm having trouble with something, and think it will take longer to write). If you have any suggestions for something (pairings, ect.), please do mention them- I'm always willignto listen and consider them.

On with the show!!!!

Ginny crept cautiously through the Forbidden Forest, the occasional beam of sunlight that pierced the foliage turning her hair into a mass of red-gold flames. She knew she wasn't supposed to be in the forest (it was called the "Forbidden Forest" for a reason), and that it was especially forbidden right now, what with Serius Black on the loose and possibly in the area. But, having perfected the art of eavesdropping over the years, she knew he wasn't really a danger to anyone but her brother's ex-rat. Besides, while escaping from the noise and chaos that was Gryffindor tower by taking a walk through the grounds, she had seen a flash of iridescent white that could only be a unicorn, going into the forest. Who knew when she'd get a chance to see a wild unicorn again? The forest didn't scare her; eavesdropped tales of centaurs and giant spiders simply made her aware and cautious, and careful to keep track of the direction of the school. And the thought of being caught certainly didn't worry her; she was a Weasley, after all, and Weasley's had a special way with rules- for the most part, they ignored them (Percy was an exception, and something of a black sheep).

And so here she was, 15 minutes or so later, creeping through the wood, eyes straining for a glimpse of white and clumps of poison ivy. It was hard to tell how late it was, as the trees blocked most of the sky, and Ginny had forgotten her watch (a common thing with her- she didn't like it much, so she tended to leave it in her trunk as often as possible). She did know, however, that she did not want to be in the forest at night, and that she wanted to be at the end of year feast that evening, celebrating what Fred and George (jokingly), and these days Ron (seriously), referred to as "surviving another year at Hogwarts."

Just then, though, her thoughts were interrupted by another flash of white close ahead, disappearing into some bushes, and all her sensible thoughts of getting out of the forest before she encountered those giant spiders went right out of her head.

She tiptoed quietly over, hoping that the unicorn was there, and praying she wouldn't startle it if it was. Parting the bushes, she saw it. The unicorn was sitting under a tree, by a stream that ran into a pool in the center of the clearing. It was like a painting, or a scene from a faery tale- the sunlight filtering through the trees, the unicorn waiting for it's maiden by a magic pool. Ginny stood, transfixed; she felt that if she breathed, or moved, she would break some kind of spell.

But then the spell was broken by the unicorn itself, as it suddenly whinnied loudly, startling the birds and other wildlife all around. She couldn't be sure, having never before encountered a unicorn, but to Ginny the cry sounded like one of pain. The very idea that this beautiful creature could be hurt made her forget all about her shyness of approaching a wild creature (even unicorns could be dangerous, if startled or angered), and she left her hiding place. She knew better than to run, but walked as quickly as she dared, trying to project an aura of calm so as no to scare it. As she got closer, it became clear that the unicorn was a female, and that she was indeed in pain. You could see it in her eyes.

"What's wrong, girl?" Ginny asked in a soothing voice, kneeling by the poor beast. She held out her hand near it's nose. She may never have been this close to a unicorn before, but she did live in the country, and as a result did know quite a bit about horses. There was a horse farm near the Burrow, and Ginny had spent many afternoons and weekends there, riding and helping to care for the horses, when her brothers had been away at Hogwarts. The owner had had no children of his own, and had welcomed the strange little red-head from the even stranger family of neighbors.

Now, as the unicorn sniffed her hand, she thanked Mr. Thomas for all the times he had taught her and let her help with the sick horses, rather than shunting her to the side as many would have. She quickly checked it over, and was almost certain she knew what was wrong, but before she could check her hunch, she heard a twig snap somewhere to her right.

Draco Malfoy strolled aimlessly through the forbidden forest. Well, not completely aimlessly- he was trying to avoid his fellow Slytherins, specifically Crabbe and Goyle. They only hung out with him-follow me around he thought, annoyed- because their fathers knew his. And heaven forbid that either of them try to think for themselves enough to pick their own friends. Of course, that was assuming that either the fathers or the sons had enough brain power to think, which both he and his father seriously doubted.

He continued along this train of thought, savoring the rare chance to not have to hide his feelings from everyone- it was, after all, forbidden for a Malfoy to be even remotely sentimental in the presence of others- and simply let himself indulge in a little self-pity, for a few minutes longer. Then he was interrupted by what sounded like a horse whinnying . The sound was close, and, for lack of anything better to do- missing dinner wouldn't really bother him that much- he decided to investigate.

Heading in the direction of the sound, he came to a solid looking wall of bushes and trees. He would have turned around, or gone another direction, but then he heard a voice.

"What's wrong, girl?"

It was soft, female, and vaguely familiar. Parting the leaves and branches, his eyes met a sight unlike anything he'd ever seen.

The late afternoon sunlight gave the clearing before him a golden tone, and the air seemed to sparkle. Almost perfectly positioned under a large sunbeam, was a unicorn and a girl. Though unicorns are among the most beautiful creatures in the world, it was the girl Draco could not tear his eyes from. Her long, red hair shone with golden highlights, and it shone all the more brightly in contrast with her black robe. Her red lips and long, dark lashes stood out starkly from her pale skin, completing the image of a medieval lady, the kind pictured in tapestries and paintings with a unicorn's head in their lap.

In his entrancement, he forgot himself, and took a step into the clearing, half thinking to see if the image were a mirage of some kind. His eyes otherwise occupied, he failed to notice the branch until the crack woke him from his daydream.

Ginny looked up, startled. Her surprise was even greater when she realized who it was.

What is he doing here? She thought. Of all the crazy things she could ever think of happening, meeting Draco Malfoy in a clearing of the Forbidden Forest, with a sick unicorn resting it's head in her lap, was one she'd never have thought of in her wildest dreams.

Their eyes met, icy blue and chocolate brown, and the question each had been thinking was forgotten. Time seemed to slow, the air become thicker, as the two were lost in the depths of each other's eyes. (AN: don't you just love it when that happens ? -)

Who knows how long it would have taken them to break the gaze, if the unicorn hadn't decided to whinny again, and bring them back to the present. Ginny hurriedly continued her examination of the poor creature, trying to clear her head and focus.

Draco, also trying to snap out of whatever had just happened, stayed where he was for a moment longer, watching her.

"What's wrong with it?" he asked after a moment. He had used it to compose himself, and make a decision. Though it went against everything he had ever been taught- showing compassion around a Weasley, or anyone else, for that matter, could be dangerous- he strode quickly through the clearing to where Ginny and the unicorn sat.

Ginny looked startled, but quickly pushed the feeling down. There would be time later to think about the strangeness of all this; right then, the unicorn mattered more.

"I think she's going into labor," she answered. "But I think something's wrong."

"How do you know?" He didn't sound condescending, just curious. Again Ginny had to push down the urge to question this odd behavior of Malfoy's.

"There's a horse farm near my home. I used to spend a lot of time there, when my brothers were all away at Hogwarts." Why was she telling him all this? " I'm working purely on the assumption that unicorns are atomically the same as horses."

"Oh" was all he said. He looked thoughtful. Then: "I'll help, if I can. Just tell me what to do, seeing as I know nothing about this kind of thing." He knew he would have to think of something to explain this all away later, but he had always had a thing for magical creatures (he was named after one, after all), and he couldn't bring himself to walk away from one that needed help. Despite his image, it just wasn't in his nature to do something like that.

Ginny stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out if he was for real, or if this was just some weird joke of his (hey, who can blame her- this is Draco Malfoy we're talking about here). But he looked as if he meant it, and, because she wasn't 100 sure what was wrong with the unicorn yet, she couldn't afford to turn down the offer. Not if it might cost an innocent creature it's life.

"Just hold her head still, will you?" said Ginny, her previously mistrusting look softening slightly.

Feeling as though his soul had just been searched, and found adequate, he did as she asked.

Ginny gently felt the unicorns belly. As far as she could tell, the baby was fine.

"I don't think there's much we can do." She said finally. "I can't be sure, because I don't really know much about unicorns, but I'm almost positive that the foal is just really big, and she's just having trouble because of it's size." She sighed. "All we can really do is wait and see what happens, and hope nothing really is wrong." Looking at Draco, she added, "you should get comfortable. This could take awhile."

He just nodded, and settled himself for the wait, the unicorn's head still in his lap. While he sat, he tried despretly to think of what he should say when this was all over, and Ginny would have time to think to ask why he was helping her with the unicorn.

"If that paniced look in your eyes is you trying to figure out a good answer in case I ask about your sudden personality change," Draco looked at Ginny sharply; she was starring right at him, and smiled at his surprise, "don't worry. I'm not planning to ask, nor am I planning to tell anyone. I'm just going to be thankful it happened now, when it could be needed." Her eyes were sincere, and Draco honestly didn't know what to say.

It turned out he didn't have to say anything, though, because the unicorn whinnied again. As Draco and Ginny watched, breathlessly hoping everything would be alright, the unicorn gave birth to a shining silver foal.

Ginny was there the moment it was out, checking it over. Draco simply stared at it.

Finally, Ginny announced, " It's a perfectly healthy male unicorn!" she smiled at Draco, who was still sitting where he had been, though the unicorn had gotten up and was washing her baby. He had the oddest look on his face.

"Is something wrong?" asked Ginny.

"The unicorn," he said. "It's silver."

"So?" said Ginny.

"So, it's not supposed to be. Baby unicorns are meant to be gold when they're born. I've never heard of one being born silver."

"Perhaps this is a different breed of unicorn, or something," said Ginny, though now she too looked perplexed. Then she shook her head. "It doesn't matter. It's perfectly healthy, and that's all I care about. That, and the fact it's getting dark. As nice as it would be to sit here and discuss unicorns and they're coloring, I'd really rather get out of the forest before we meet those giant spiders Ron and Harry say live in here."

The mention of her brother and The-Boy-Who-Lived suddenly brought Draco back to himself, an reminded him who he was talking to. He quickly removed all emotion from his eyes and replaced his confused expression with his customary smirk.

"Scared of a few spiders, Weaslette?" he sneered.

Ginny looked at him for a moment, her face unreadable. Then she said"Only when they're eight feet tall and like to eat people. I'm told you I wasn't going to ask why you were so nice, and offered to help. The point is that you did, and for that, I thank you." Draco blinked. Whatever reaction he had expected to his sudden mood change, it certainly wasn't this. "Listen, I don't want anyone but us to know about this, just in case they get the urge to come and see a silver unicorn foal for themselves. Promise me you won't tell anyone." She looked into his eyes. "Please?"

Draco looked at her for a moment. Here was a girl who he'd always been mean to, even reduced to tears on several occaisions, and she was asking him to help her protect a magical creature. He could tell from the look in her eyes she was counting on him to agree. He wasn't sure how to respond- instinct told him to say something mean, and make her sweat it out, wondering if he'd tell. But he found he didn't want to do that to her- that he couldn't do that to her.

He nodded his agreement. She smiled at him, the slight crease on her brow disappearing. "Thank you," was all she said.

" Now we can split up here, or we can walk back to the edge of the forest together…"

He didn't let her finish. It had occurred to him that being nice to her might make her think they could be friends. He couldn't let her think that.

"Why would I want to spend any more time than I have to in the company of a Weasley." He used his most scathing tone.

"Fine. That's all you have to say. See you around." And with that she turned and walked out of the clearing. Draco was sure he saw a rather hurt expression in her eyes.

After one last look at the unicorns, Draco did the same.

That night, after getting into bed, Ginny finally let herself think about everything that had happened that day. Her last thought before she drifted off to sleep was I wonder what he was doing in the forest, anyway…?

Ginny looked around the clearing.

"How did I get here?"

She whirled. "Malfoy!?"

It was indeed Malfoy. He was wearing a strange sort of outfit: a loose , leaf green tunic and green breeches with a wide, brown leather belt and matching brown leather lace-up boots that came to just above his ankle. It was only then that she realized that she, too, was wearing different clothes- a leaf-green dress with a short, full skirt, covered in strange, embroidered symbols, and boots like Draco's, only hers were almost to her knee, and had a little bit of a heel.

"Weasley!? What's going on here?"

"I don't know. The last thing I remember is going to sleep."

"Me, too," said Draco looking bewildered, but not panicking. "Which means this must be a dream. The question is, whose?"

"I don't know. It doesn't really feel like a dream, though. It seems too…real," said Ginny, staring wide-eyed at their surroundings.

That's because it is.

Both Draco and Ginny jumped.

"Who said that?" said Ginny, instinctively moving closer to Draco.(AN: aww, how cute! - Tee-hee.)

I did. A very large unicorn with a golden horn sudden stepped out from the trees. I am the God of the unicorns. It was my son you helped to be born this afternoon.

"Oh, but we didn't really do anything-" started Ginny.

But you would have, if it had been needed. You both stayed in case you there was a chance you could help, even though neither of you knew anything about unicorn births. And after my son was born, neither of you told anyone about him, lest they disturb him and his mother. So, as a thank you-

Draco interrupted. " Ginny's right," he said, not even thinking about the fact he had just called her 'Ginny'. "We didn't do anything. There's no need to thank us."

Ginny nodded her agreement. Neither of them had yet noticed that they were standing very close to each other, or that Ginny was still holding the sleeve of Draco's robe, which she had grabbed during the initial scare of the unknown voice.

The God merely laughed. But I want to thank you. It is not often that I have a child; only once a millennium or so do I find a mate both worthy and able to bear the son of a God. So, if you won't except my thanks, except the gift of a doting father to the midwives of his child.

Draco and Ginny exchanged a look at the term 'midwives.' Ginny looked pleased, and, after she saw the expression of wry amusement on Draco's face at being called a 'midwife,' like she was going to laugh. Then they both suddenly realized how close they were standing, and quickly jumped apart. The God simply watched, his eyes twinkling with suppressed laughter.

I'm not really planning to give you a choice in the matter. It's already been done. From now on, whenever you go to sleep, you will end up here. What you do is up to you, but whatever it is, when you wake up in the morning, you will both remember it, and feel as if you have had a deep, peaceful night's sleep. The rules here are different from those of the conscious world. I will try to find someone to come and watch over you, until you get the hang of things. Blessed be.

And with that, he was gone, leaving the two former enemies to think about his gift, and what they were going to do now that they had been 'blessed.'

So, what do you think? I know that whole unicorn thing is a little odd, but then,so am I, soI guess a little oddness is inevitable. Please review- I'll give you a hug!! cajoling tone Evne if you flame me- i respect you're rigth to do that, and love you for bothering to take the time. -