Author's Note:

Thank you all very, very much for your reviews.  It's great to get such positive feedback, particularly on a board that offers the sheer volume of stories that this one does. 

Disclaimer:  Neither the plot nor the characters are mine.  The combination is, though.   

Part Three:

The moment their feet re-materialized on solid ground, Draco loosened his grip on Ginny's waist and stepped away from her.  This proved to be a mistake, at least from her perspective- without the support of his arm, Ginny half-sat, half-collapsed on the stone floor, her limbs trembling and her head dropping onto her knees.  She had never traveled by Portkey before, and if the trip she had just experienced was typical, she devoutly hoped she would never do so again.  She hadn't felt so nauseous in ages, not since that incident with the twins and the Christmas pudding-

The girl looked a bit green around the gills, Draco thought, his mouth twisting slightly with distaste.  Hoping he would be spared an introduction to the contents of her stomach, he cast a swift look around them.  They appeared to be in some sort of entranceway.  The room was made entirely out of stone- walls, floor, ceiling- and was empty except for some torches, which magically sprang to life at their entrance, a remarkably beautiful Oriental rug, and a pair of elaborately carved doors.  He could hear nothing but the girl's unsteady breathing. 

It was silent, elegant, and cold as a tomb.  He felt right at home. 

Something was going to have to be done about the girl, though.  And, damn it, he'd forgotten her name again.  Draco stretched out an expensively booted foot and delicately prodded her in the side.  "Eh, Weasley- you all right?"

For a moment, it seemed as though she wasn't going to respond.  But eventually, not bothering to lift her head, Ginny managed a faint "Fine."

"Good.  You're not going to be sick, I trust?  Because if you are, I imagine that one of these doors probably leads outside-"

"I'm not going to be sick on your bloody carpet, Malfoy."  Her voice sounded a bit steadier, which was a relief to both of them- Ginny was thankful to be spared the indignity of being violently ill in front of a Malfoy, and Draco because he had no intention of cleaning up after a Weasley.  When she finally raised her face from her skinny knees, he noted that her pale skin had lost its greenish tinge.  She raised her gaze to his, her eyes wide and dark.  Her voice sounded a little rusty, as though she didn't use it much.  "Where am I?"

No point in lying to her.  Not at the moment, at any rate.  "France- about two hundred kilometers from the coast."   

"Why?"

This was a bit trickier.  "I- there was a bit of a misunderstanding.  I felt that it would be… prudent of me to disappear from Hogwarts for a few days."

She shook her head.  "No.  I meant, why did I have to-"

"You didn't have to do anything," Draco interrupted, irritation clear in his voice, "At least, not until you chose to stick your freckled nose into other people's correspondence.  Look, I invited your roommate to accompany me on this little jaunt, but you seemed to have other ideas.  I confess, I utterly fail to understand why you interfered, but one thing remains clear: this is entirely your own fault."

"I see."  And she did see.  Ginny, who was always scrupulously honest with herself, could accept that the disastrous situation in which she now found herself was her fault.  This did not, however, make Draco any less of a bastard.  "And when can we- I- go back?" 

For the first time, Draco's air of perfect assurance faltered.  "To be painfully honest, I'm not certain.  I left Goyle a note, asking him to owl me when the situation which, er, inspired my departure was resolved."

Ginny, still dazed, blurted out the first thing that sprang to mind.  "Goyle can read?"

A tiny smile tugged at the corner of Draco's mouth.  "Yes.  Look, Weasley- I don't want you here any more than you want to be here, but I'm afraid we're both up the proverbial creek.  We can stay out of each other's way.  It'll only be for a few days."

Biting her lip, the girl stared up at him.  "…you'll keep away from me?  You promise?"

Draco felt vaguely affronted.  Girls did not typically demand that he stay away from them.  Quite the opposite, actually.  On the other hand, this was a Weasley, and they were all barking mad.  He rolled his eyes.  "I swear."

She seemed to pick up on his annoyance.  "I don't mean to be rude, it's just… you know, the better to keep from killing one another."  The slight redhead stood up, one hand pressed against the stone wall for balance.  "Um, where can I sleep?"

Still a trifle irritated, Draco moved briskly toward the doors.  "We'll find you something.  There should be plenty of bedrooms here, although I can't promise much in the way of furniture.  Come along, we'll go and look." 

****

Ginny lay in the ancient four-poster, wide-awake.  With a fine disregard for the dangers of tempting fate, she decided that her life could not possibly get any worse.  She was stuck somewhere in France with Draco Malfoy, prat extraordinaire, with no wand, no way to communicate with anyone, and no immediate prospects for getting home. 

Worst of all, she had very little confidence that anyone would even notice her absence.  Ginny had made every effort to fade into the crowd since her disastrous first year, hoping against hope that nobody outside her family circle would ever connect her with Salazar Slytherin.  She had no close friends.  Ron, Hermione, and Harry were clearly involved in another crisis- stalking around the castle for the past few weeks, ignoring everyone else and talking in urgent whispers- so they were out.  In fact, unless one of her teachers noticed that she was absent, which wouldn't happen until Monday at the earliest- or if Letty connected her with the disappearance of her second-best school robes- Ginny was dismally certain that no one would notice if she never appeared at Hogwarts again.

On that cheerful note, she decided to indulge in a hearty bout of tears, and eventually managed to cry herself to sleep.

TBC