A special thanks to all reviewers! Your comments are all very important to me! I am quite sorry that this update took such a long time. If you have any comments or ideas, please feel free to email me! I would love to hear from you.
Charmed
By Terra Rose
Chapter Nine
A few weeks later…
Dearest Diary,
If I could write on paper how I feel at this very moment, there would never be enough parchment to contain my emotions. He has captured my heart with his deep gray eyes…he has stirred my soul with his soft whispers of love. My Draco…I could utter it a million times and not tire of hearing his name escape my lips. I feel like running to the far reaches of the world and shouting for joy. I could dance on the stars, glide across the heavens, and fall asleep in the clouds thinking of my love. I am writing this now so that if years from now, I should ever forget what love feels like... I can read this and remember. Remember being in love with Draco.
Ginny's pen faltered when a pair of soft cool hands covered her eyes.
"Guess Who..." A husky voice whispered into her ear before revealing that it was he, the very Slytherin that had enamored her heart. He stood before her with a sweet grin on his lips, his sleek hair falling into his azure eyes. Her startled expression transformed quickly into a bright smile as she took his hands into her own.
"Draco." She whispered softly, giving him a delicate kiss on the cheek. Blushing, he seated himself next to her and entwined his fingers with hers gently. They sat for a few moments in silence enjoying each other's company in the quiet courtyard. Draco tugged at Ginny's hair playfully before taking a small box out of his cloak pocket.
"I have something for you." He stated, placing the parcel in her hands. She looked at him questioningly but began to open the present when he beckoned her to do so. The petite box was black with a silver bow tied about it. She carefully untied the ribbon and opened the box to reveal a silver necklace. The charm was enchanting; a fiery heart adorned with rubies and amber intertwined by an emerald serpent.
"It was my Grandmother's. I wanted you to have it," he explained, caressing her cheek softly. Ginny gazed at the gift in disbelief, her cheeks becoming flushed. It was such a moving gesture that she felt tears forming in her eyes. Draco noticed this immediately, having been around Ginny when she was crying on several occasions.
"Ginny, Darling. Are you alright?" He asked, taking hold of her chin gently when a tear finally spilt from her eye and strolled down her soft cheek.
"I'm so sorry…It is just that I can't accept this. It is far too precious a gift to be given to me." She explained, handing him the box. He grinned at this and took the necklace out of the box.
"Is that the only problem? This is for you, my love. Although…it is not exquisite enough for you. There is not a gift I could give you that is precious enough to express how I care for you." He said this as he moved her carmine curls aside and placed the necklace about her neck. He kissed her collarbone sweetly after fastening the charm and fixing her hair. She touched Draco's cheek tenderly, remembering times when they had been enemies. It made her laugh to think of herself and Draco squabbling in the corridor over trivial matters, when sometime later they would be in love with each other. Just as the two of them where about to kiss, McGonagall interrupted. She seemed very flustered and quite annoyed as she sauntered out into the courtyard, her black scholarly cloak flapping behind her.
"Mr. Malfoy, I am sorry to interrupt, but I must ask that you come with me immediately."
"My son has been instructed to associate with this Weasley child! What sort of school is this anyways!" A shrill feminine voice sounded from within the headmaster's office. Draco heard the familiar sound of his mother's voice as he and McGonagall approached the door. He knew it was her immediately when they entered the room for her perfume filled the air so strongly that he felt as though they had entered a gas chamber.
"Draco, Darling!" Narcissa Malfoy stood up and embraced her son. Startled by the display of affection, Draco awkwardly hugged her back. Narcissa was, as always, dressed elegantly in a navy blue designer robe with her extravagant dragon hide heels and matching purse; her pale blond hair was done in an intricate French bun. Her very demeanor screamed snobby pureblood.
"Mum…what are you doing here?" Draco inquired with a scowl, sitting in one of thechairs in front of the headmaster's desk. It was not in his parent's nature to ever come to visit him. She leered at him with her painted red lips and took out a letter from within her purse.
"I was just recently informed that the Headmaster has been forcing you to spend your spare time with that dreadful Weasley girl." She announced in an even more shrill tone as she dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief dramatically. Draco was about to interject on Ginny's behalf when Dumbledore began to speak.
"Mrs. Malfoy, I offered mentoring a younger student to your son as an option for punishment. He was to be expelled otherwise, according to School policy." Dumbledore explained this calmly from behind his desk with a sincere smile. Draco looked up at the wise old man and thought for certain the Headmaster had winked at him. Narcissa scoffed at the statement before throwing her handkerchief into the air.
"Balderdash is what I call this situation…rubbish! Absolute rubbish!" She exclaimed this in a not so shrill growl causing her neat bun to come undone. McGonagall rolled her eyes from her position by the door, and Dumbledore continued to smile at the clearly perturbed woman. Narcissa brushed a few hairs out of her face and recollected herself; she took in a deep breath and then proceeded to smile at the headmaster insincerely.
"Headmaster, I am quite sorry but I simply cannot allow my son to be involved with…those kinds of people. It is just not done. He has a name and reputation to protect. The Malfoy name is far too precious to us to be blemished by an association with…well, impoverished people." She said the last part in a whisper as though it would make it less impolite if it was not spoken loudly. "Perhaps he could mentor a Slytherin underclassman. I am acquainted with several mothers who have first year Slytherins…" She rambled on for a few more moments about pureblood and how social standing was everything nowadays. Dumbledore nodded politely, even offering her a lemon drop which she declined with a sneer.
"I am sorry to hear that you do not approve of the mentoring. They were making such progress. But I certainly do not want to cause family problems. Draco has more than fulfilled his duties as mentor and I will not ask him to involve himself with Ms. Weasley any longer." He said all of this knowing that it would not help to argue with the woman any longer; he had dealt with his share of Pureblooded snobs. Narcissa smiled charmingly and clapped her gloved hands together in victory.
"Splendid! Then there is no issue to further discuss." Narcissa began to gather her belongings when Draco stood up defiantly.
"Headmaster, I believe that I should continue to mentor Ginny. She has made such a difference in my life and I feel that it would detrimental to both of us to discontinue our meetings." Draco looked the headmaster in the eye, desperate to prevent losing his valuable time with Ginny. Narcissa became quite angry at Draco's boldness, and after picking her expensive dragon hide purse up off the carpet, she yanked her son roughly by the collar out of the room.
"Good Day to you, Headmaster!" She called out in her shrill voice as they departed from the room in a rush.
"Walk me to the front hall, Draco. I want to have a word with you." She commanded, taking out a small compact to powder her nose.
As they walked together towards the front entrance, his mother sighed angrily. Draco glanced at her nonchalantly and noticed something odd on her arm. At first he thought nothing of it until he realized what it was: the dark mark of You-Know-Who. Now he had lost both of his parents to the most evil individual known to the wizarding world, Lord Voldemort.
Later in the day, Ginny found herself in Transfiguration unable to concentrate on the lesson once again. McGonagall was at the front of the class demonstrating the proper procedure to alter simple physical features. It had been a lesson plan that Ginny had been looking forward to for several weeks, yet she had not heard a single word of the lecture. While McGonagall proceeded to change her own hair color with a flick of the wrist and a simple incantation, Ginny's thoughts dwelt on the small slip of parchment Draco had handed her earlier between classes in the corridor.
Meet me in the library by the restricted section before dinner.
It was not the note itself that had Ginny's mind occupied, but the horrid expression Draco had on his face when he slipped the parchment into her hand. She had never before seen him look so distraught, his beautiful eyes opaque and looking like murky puddles of gray. He had uttered her name in the softest whisper before continuing to his own class. His voice still echoed in her mind, its melancholy sounding like a bell. She carefully touched the charm around her neck, the emeralds from the serpent cool against her finger. It reminded her of something she had seen before yet she could not place where. She put her thoughts aside quickly when the bell rang and it was time to meet Draco in the library. She swiftly gathered her belongings, hearing the students murmuring something about McGonagall being a blonde, and dashed out the room as fast as her feet would carry her. She reached the doors of the library and slipped inside quickly. Madame Pince looked up from her desk when Ginny entered and greeted her warmly.
"Good Evening, Madame Pince. I am just here to find a book before Dinner." Ginny explained falsely, hoping to buy Draco and herself a few minutes to talk. Madame Pince nodded with a proud smile and went back to her work. Ginny's feet carried her down the transfiguration isle and towards the restricted section where she spotted Draco standing there patiently waiting for her. He looked up as she walked towards him and he smiled weakly. She raced forward and embraced him, wrapping her arms around him tightly.
"Draco, I was so worried when you gave me that note. What's going on?" She asked, taking his hands in her own. He looked at her for a moment with a sad expression painted on his face.
"Ginny, darling. I am so sorry that I have to do this but… I can't see you anymore." He choked the last part out, turning away from her. Ginny stood for a few minutes trying to understand what he had just said.
"You can't see me anymore? I don't understand, Draco." She stuttered, feeling tears forming in her eyes.
"There is nothing to understand…I just can't-" he stopped talking, fearing that he might break down. There were so many emotions that he was experiencing and it became overwhelming. She noticed this hesitation and began to realize that there was more to the story than meets the eye.
"No. I don't believe you. Please tell me what is the matter." She pleaded while touching his face gently. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, his pained expression disappearing. Then he nodded, knowing that she deserved to be aware of the truth.
"Earlier, when McGonagall came to get me in the courtyard, it was because my mother was in Dumbledore's office. My mother does not want me to associate with you any longer. She had Dumbledore discontinue our meetings. She has forbidden me to speak to you." Draco explained, brushing his hair out of his eyes.
"Oh, I guess I do understand. You are embarrassed of me because my family is poor." She turned away from him and glanced down at the dreadful brown shoes she was wearing; she compared her footwear to Draco's shiny black shoes and felt ashamed.
"No! It isn't anything like that. I am just very afraid, Ginny." He exclaimed, encircling his arms around her protectively.
"Afraid? What are you afraid of?" She inquired looking up into his eyes with a puzzled expression.
"Of…You-know-who. He sent my mother to beckon me to join his death eaters after graduation. He sent my own mother to threaten me." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Pansy owled my mother a few days ago and told her that you and I have been spending a lot of time together. Dumbledore told her about the whole mentoring situation and she made a scene about how different our families are. But the truth is, she says that your parents are too close to Dumbledore and that I must stay away from you. God, Ginny. This is getting too serious for me to handle. I cannot put you in that kind of danger. If You-know-Who finds out about us…he'll use you to get to me. If anything happened to you…I would kill the person who was responsible and anyone that got in the way." He shuddered with anger, knowing at that moment that he would do anything in his power to protect Ginny. Ginny remained in his warm embrace, dwelling on his words.
"Your mum is afraid that Dumbledore will find out about You-know-who's plans to have you join his death eaters? She thinks that Dumbledore will attempt to persuade you against joining. She doesn't know that you don't need to be persuaded. " She speculated in a soft voice and he nodded his head sadly.
"So now you understand why we can't be together. I wish that it didn't have to be this way but I have to protect you." He whispered despondently.
"But no one knows that we are together. We could simply keep it that way…and just continue to meet every night." She offered hopefully but he shook his head in despair.
"My mother put an end to that. Dumbledore is not having me mentor you any longer. We have no place to go to be together. And Mother has all of the Slytherins watching me closely." After he spoke, an idea popped into her head. There was a place that they could go. The magical room they had used to hold meetings for Dumbledore's Army. When Umbridge had been the Headmaster, they were forced to meet in secret. But now that she was gone, they had no need for secrecy. Dumbledore allowed them to meet in an empty classroom. Perhaps it was time to put the Room of Requirement to use.
"I know a place we can meet. We will just have to keep everything a secret."
She pulled the silky dress onto her shoulders, and rearranged her pearls. The girls bustled into the room with white garden roses to put in her auburn hair. She touched each of them affectionately with gloved hands; her angels all had golden hair like his. Her cheeks flushed when he called her name from the door and the girls shooed him away.
"Honestly, Papa! You have been married for years and you are still are always dying to see Mum." The eldest replied as she positioned herself by the door.
"I want to see her…my beautiful wife! The love of my life!" He shouted, banging on the door loudly and frightening the house elves. The girls giggled when she was finally ready and the door slowly opened. He would be wearing a black suit, his hair brushed neatly, and a white rose fastened to his collar. She shivered thinking of his handsome smile and the touch of his hand on her face. She turned around from the vanity to see him, her only true love, only to be greeted by the grinning face of Tom Marvolo Riddle.
Ginny awoke in sobs as she had so many times before. Her roommates had become so accustomed to Ginny's nightmares that they didn't even stir from their slumber. Ginny clutched her blankets and cried quietly into her coverlet. She remembered when she was younger, whenever a nightmare awoke her; Charlie always came into her room. He would investigate each crevice of the room for possible monsters before tucking back her into her covers. "I'll stay with you and scare away any monsters that dare come in here, ok Gin-Gin?" He would say as he fetched her teddy bear from the floor and positioned himself by the door in the old rocking chair. She wished more than anything that he was there with her now to frighten away her worst nightmare of all.