Chapter 27

Ron made his way into the darkened Common Room wearing an old pair of jogging pants he'd thrown on. Going over to the huge fireplace, he settled down on the hearth rug. He picked up the fire poker and stirred the dying fire, then set it aside, watching the glowing embers.

"What are you doing in here?"

Ron's head jerked around. He clutched his chest and gave a sigh of relief as he made out Pansy's form in the near darkness. As his heart rate calmed, he looked at her, puzzled. She was curled up on the couch with a blanket over her. "I could ask the same."

She sighed. "What happened?" She asked sadly.

He furrowed his brow. "Nothing." He said, turning back to the fire and drawing his legs up, wrapping his arms loosely around them.

She came over, pulling the blanket around her like a cloak and sat beside him, looking at him imploringly. "What happened?" She asked again softly.

He sighed. "He... he let me..." He dropped his eyes, a bit embarrassed to talk about it aloud, even with her.

"And... what? You didn't like it?" She asked, puzzled.

"No... I did!" He said, looking over at her quickly, then dropping his eyes again, "It was the most amazing thing I think I've ever felt... oh.. um... no offense..." He said sheepishly, blushing as he realized he was belittling his experiences with her.

She grinned, "None taken."

He sighed, looking back at the fire. "I'm just... I'm afraid I might have hurt him... I mean I've never done it like that before..."

She tilted her head slightly, "Might have? Did he say you hurt him?"

"No."

"Did he sound like you were hurting him?"

"No..."

"Then why do you think you hurt him?"

He blushed, staring studiously at a small scorch mark on the stone before him. "He... I think he cried... his cheeks were wet..."

"Oh..." She said softly. She put her hand on his arm and squeezed it reassuringly, "That's not that uncommon. It doesn't mean you hurt him."

He looked over at her, puzzled. "Does he always do that then?"

She grinned. "I don't know... That was his first time."

Ron looked at her wide eyed, struck dumb for a moment. "What?" He finally managed.

She chuckled, then leaned her head against his shoulder. "His very last little shred of innocence. I mean obviously he's shagged boys before, but he's never even thought about letting any other boy do that to him. Just between you and me, I don't think he's ever trusted anyone enough before... It's just safer when he's the one in control... you know? He told me he was planning on letting you do that tonight... that's why I gave you two some privacy. As much as I would have loved to watch that, I just felt it was too... personal... I mean he didn't ask me to leave or anything, but I knew he'd be uncomfortable with anyone else there... he has this thing about showing any kind of vulnerability... he always has to seem impervious to everything... I think it's one of those things his father ingrained in him growing up. He may have hated the bastard, but he can never seem to completely escape his influence..." She shook her head sadly, then a little smile flitted across her lips as she looked up at him, "He's shown more attachment to you than he ever has for anyone else... even me. I think he always wants to make it seem like no one really matters to him... like they were just another shag... that way, if they leave him he can act like he doesn't care..."

"So... you think he really cares about me?" Ron asked, still feeling a bit stunned.

She grinned at him. "I can't say what Blaise does or doesn't feel... I don't think anyone but Blaise could tell you that... if he'll ever admit it that is. I'm just telling you what I see."

He gave her a little smile, his heart beating strangely. "I... think I'm going back to bed..." He said, blushing slightly.

She patted his arm. "You do that. Wouldn't want Blaise to wake up to an empty bed. Probably been years since that last happened!" She said with an evil grin. "See you in the morning. And just remember, I get to be there next time!"

He grinned and got up, heading back to the room.

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Ginny sighed, watching the condensation from her breath drift lazily away as she walked down towards the water. She knew she shouldn't be outside... knew it was dangerous... but she had her wand, and she just couldn't handle being cooped up in the house and watched over constantly. She knew they all meant well... just wanted to protect her... but most her life she had been overlooked... and she had been just fine with that. She couldn't handle having people around her every single minute! Sometimes she just needed some time to herself... some time to think and just try to work things out in her head.

She strolled down the slight hill, the crunching of the dry leaves under her feet sounding loud in the hush of night. When she got down to the water's edge she sat down, huddling in her warm cloak and staring out over the water, watching the moonlight glint off its surface. She let out a sigh, resting her chin on her drawn up knees. Things had just gotten so turned upside down... it felt like her world would never be the same.

She tensed, her eyes instantly shooting wide as she heard something behind her. She darted her eyes around, searching the shadows, but there didn't appear to be anything there. After a minute of fruitless searching, she sighed again and settled back down, staring over the water once more. She'd been so tense lately... she hadn't had been able to get herself to let down her guard since... that night... She hugged herself tighter with one arm, reaching up and twisting a bit of her long copper hair around her finger absent-mindedly, trying to force her mind away from that dark path. She wouldn't let it occupy her every waking moment... she couldn't let it.

Her head whipped around as she heard something again. She let out a strangled cry of fear and surprise as she dropped down flat, seeing something springing at her. It flew over her, landing on the other side and turning to face her. She couldn't make out what it was, as the dark of night seemed to cling to it, but it's eyes were pure venom.

She scrambled to her feet, nearly tripping on her cloak as she stepped on it. It was blocking her way back, so she sprinted in the other direction as fast as her legs would carry her, running parallel to the water's edge.

She could hear it crashing through the twigs and leaves behind her on all fours. It wasn't gaining on her, but she got the definite impression it could if it wanted to... it was just playing with her... its arrogance scared her even more. She struggled to pull out her wand, then clutched it tightly, but she didn't have enough of a lead to turn and cast before it would be on her yet. She pressed her legs to go faster even though her side was already burning from the effort. She ran past the area where they usually pushed the boats in, the depression it left in the shore leaving a thin layer of water over the layer of rocks they'd put down to provide a firm surface to launch the boats from. She plunged through it heedlessly, the water too shallow to slow her much.

She turned her head, darting a glance back as she heard a skidding sound. The dark figure had skidded to a stop. As she watched, it darted around the edge of the water. Hope sprang in her chest. It didn't like water! She glanced at the shore as she ran. There was too much shallow water leading in... the drag of the water would greatly slow her and it might brave shallow water if it thought she was about to escape.

Her eyes fixed on the small ramshackle pier and she made for it, putting every last ounce of strength into it. If she could make it to the pier she could jump out into deep water and swim away. She was a good swimmer and could probably stay afloat until dawn if she had to. She was sure they would notice her gone as soon as they woke and go looking for her.

As soon as her feet hit the first plank of the pier she heard a horrid screech of rage. It had obviously figured out her plan. It's speed instantly doubled. As she reached the end of the pier it had caught up. She was jerked back as it nabbed her trailing cloak. She spun as best she could, bringing up her wand and screaming the strongest spell she knew with the last of her breath. Her wand exploded straight into its face, illuminating it for one horrifying second. It let out a shriek of rage and pain, a huge hand with unnaturally long talons snapping around. She felt it slice through her abdomen like butter, bringing a wrenching agony unlike anything she'd ever felt. The night seemed to spin around her as she fell back, her body going numb. Vaguely she saw the moon rippling wildly above her, slowly fading into darkness...

"GINNY!"

Ginny blinked her eyes open as she was shaken roughly, her throat on fire as she heard her own screams echoing loudly around the room. Her voice fell away as she let out a sob, grabbing ahold of Draco and burying her face in his shoulder, shaking. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, rocking her gently and pressing his cheek against the top of her head.

She heard the door burst open and he looked up. She heard him reassuring his worried housemates that it was only a nightmare, but her mind was still blazing with the memory of it. How could that have just been a dream? Her dreams had never hurt her before... well... at least not the ones Tom hadn't given her. She mentally shied from those awful memories, pressing closer to Draco, even though she could barely breath she was so close already.

By the time she became fully aware of her surroundings again, the room was silent except for her breathing, which was still ragged from sobbing. Draco was rubbing his hand over her back reassuringly. "You ok?" He asked softly.

She drew a shuddering breath, then smacked his shoulder. "No thanks to you and my bloody mum!" She said in an aching voice.

"What?" He asked in shock. That had definitely not been the answer he expected.

She drew away from him, sitting up and rubbing the tears off her face, then scrubbing her fingers irritably through her long tousled copper hair. "All that bloody talk about me being some bloody dead girl, that's what!"

He sat up, looking over at her in concern. "What happened in the dream?"

She looked away, giving a pained sound, then dropped her eyes to her lap. "This blood thing was chasing me... and... and I almost got away and..." She shuddered, drawing her legs up and hugging herself tightly. "I tried to get it with my wand... I saw it's face...." Her voice locked up as tears poured down her cheeks again. When she regained her voice, it was strained, "It... it was the most horrific thing I'd ever seen... it... it lashed at me with these huge claws..." She shuddered, trying to force the image from her mind. "It felt like it ripped me in half!"

Draco shifted over, wrapping his arms around her again, ignoring her attempts to squirm away. "It's ok Ginny... it was just a dream..." He said soothingly.

She sniffled, looking up at him. "Are you sure?"

"They... said she drown." He said as delicately as he could. "Your family may not have believed that was all that it was, but I'm sure they wouldn't have even thought of declaring her death a drowning if she was torn in half." He said with a little reassuring smile.

She sighed, snuggling closer to him as her body lost a little bit of it's tension. He held her for a few more minutes, then released her, shifting over and grabbing a bottle and a small cup off the bedside table. "Here." He said, measuring some out. "You need to get some rest... This is a draught for dreamless sleep. Pomfrey gave me about a case of it." He said with a rueful smirk.

Ginny gave him a little flash of a smile and accepted it. He made sure she drank it all before taking the glass back and setting it aside, then took her back into his arms and held her as she quickly drifted off to sleep.

Draco lay there for a long time, unable to sleep himself. He couldn't help but wonder...

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A/N - Sorry if this was a little shorter than normal, but the next bit was too long to fit in this chapter (and I'm not done with it, so you woulda had to probably wait just as long to read it anyway! Hope this will tide you over.) Oh, and sorry if I have more errors now... I usually read them over like half a dozen times before posting, but I just don't have enough time for that now that you're caught up.