Chapter Nine:
(A/N. Well I'm almost back. Man that feels weird saying that! Do you see the effort I make for you reviewers? I hope you are appreciating that effort! LOL. Anyway this chapter is about their second detention and some strange things they discover…READ AND REVIEW!)
Ginny stalked back to the Gryffindor common room. They had managed to finish the storage room on time, despite Draco's numerous complaints. Ginny reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and snapped out the password. The portrait glared at her accusingly but swung on her hinges anyway. Ginny walked in and started for the stairs, ignoring the strange looks that people shot at her for her dusty, grimy appearance. She rushed into her room, intent on taking a shower. She spotted Seamus and Melissa on the bed and they looked up as she strode in. Melissa opened her mouth to speak but Ginny stopped her by raising a dainty hand.
"Don't say anything. I'm going to take a shower. You two can keep snogging for all I care." She said quickly. She gathered her things and some clean clothes and went into the bathroom. She turned on the shower, took of her clothes, and stepped in. She sighed in contentment as the warm water beat down on her. She took her wash cloth and scrubbed at her skin turning it pink in an effort to remove the dirt. She squirted some shampoo into her hand and started to work on her hair. She started to hum and stopped suddenly when she realized what she was humming. Sympathy for the Devil. Blast it! Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
The next day Ginny worked in the library, doing her homework and studying for her retake in Transfiguration. At lunch, she went down to the kitchens to eat a light meal alone. There she spent the rest of her afternoon reading by the hearth and talking quietly with Dobby. At 7:45, Ginny trudged back to the entrance hall. Draco was already there, talking to Snape. Ginny sighed and walked up to them.
"You're late, Miss Weasley." Snape snapped and Ginny looked at the Potions professor disbelievingly. She was about to protest but she decided she was better off letting it be. "You will serving detention down in the school's warehouse. I will give you a list of supplies you need to find. Follow me." Snape said and walked away after handing Draco the list. Instead of going down to the dungeons as Ginny had expected, Snape walked to the side of the marble staircase. A painting depicting a large tavern full of people swung open revealing a long staircase that spiralled down.
"How's that sympathy coming along?" Draco whispered as they walked down the dimly lit stairs.
"Get lost, Malfoy." She snapped and she swore she could feel his smirk if not see it in the dark.
"Oh but I can't leave a beautiful maiden all alone…you are a maiden…right?" Draco taunted and Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Wouldn't you like to know." She retorted hoping her voice didn't sound too coy and flirtatious.
"Actually I would. You know there are lots of bets on who you'll bed first. You know loss of innocence and all that." He said into her ear.
"Ugh! You are the most irritating, arrogant prat in the whole world!" She hissed angrily wishing she could do more than insult him. Maybe a nice knew in the groin…
"That's a preposterous statement, Weasley." He said arrogantly. She frowned in bewilderment.
"Why?"
"Well, have you met everyone in the world?" He asked and she growled in frustration and anger. Their banter had distracted Ginny enough that she hadn't realized that they had reached the bottom of the stairs. They were standing in a small hallway lined with five doors on each side. Snape was standing in front of the last of the doors on the right. The two students hurried to join him. Snape pulled out a key from his pocket and unlocked the door, stepping in and lighting the torches in the room with a wave of his wand. A long room with a high ceiling stretched out before them. It looked like a library but there were boxes and jars on the shelves instead of books.
"I will see you both a midnight." Snape said and left when they had both given him their wands. Draco wandered around ahead of Ginny, peering at the jars in mild interest.
"Rip that list in half and let's get to work." Ginny said and Draco nodded, handing her half of the parchment. Maybe an hour later, as Ginny was standing on a stool looking for wortsdust powder, Draco's voice rang out.
"Oi! Look at this!" He called. Ginny sighed and glanced around her looking for the best way to get down.
"This better be good, Draco." She snapped as she found a route and walked toward his voice. When she reached him, he was standing in a far corner and raising a pale eyebrow at her.
"Draco?" He asked. Her heartbeat quickened as she realized her slip. She shrugged carelessly hoping her face wasn't bright red.
"That's your name isn't it?" She demanded. He stared at her a second longer before shrugging and turning around.
"I found a door." He stated. Ginny stepped to the side and looked at the door. It was small, coming to Draco's elbow and Ginny's shoulder. She reached out and touched the oak of the door, her fingers coming away with dust and cobwebs.
"Wow, a door." Ginny mocked. Draco glared at her and she smiled innocently. He rolled his eyes.
"Read the inscription, Weasley." He snapped. She turned and looked at the small plaque. She wiped away the dust so she could read.
"Here be m…." Ginny read squinting at the faded lettering. She reached over and tested the golden doorknob. It was locked. She looked up at Draco and raised an eyebrow.
"What?" Draco snapped. She shrugged and looked back at the golden plaque and the indecipherable word.
"You called me back here because…" She said waiting for him to finish the sentence. He scowled at her.
"Oh don't tell me you're not curious." He challenged. She shrugged again crossing her arms over her small chest.
"Sure. It's locked though, and let me remind you we don't have our wands." She said impertinently. Draco reached over, turned the knob and banged his body against it. The door swung open with a groan.
"Oh, look. I tripped and it just opened." Draco said sarcastically, flashing her his trademark smirk. He started to duck down but stopped when Ginny didn't move. "You coming?" Ginny reached back and grabbed a torch off the wall. Draco took the torch from her hand and went in before she could protest. Narrowing her eyes, Ginny waited a second then crouched down and went in after the Slytherin boy. The passage was small and made of stone. The walls were covered with slim and Ginny swallowed hard as memories from her second year came flooding back. The tunnel ended and Ginny stepped out into a large room. The floor was wooden here too and obviously hadn't been used in years. Draco was walking around the side of the room lighting the numerous torches on the wall. Ginny stepped forward looking around curiously. The walls were covered with weapons of all sorts and she noticed that the floor in the middle of the room was hallow, echoing softly as her boots clicked on the floor. As she stood in the middle of the square room the floorboards creaked warningly. Ginny turned to go back but tripped, landing hard. The sudden weight was too much for the old word and the floor gave way. Ginny shrieked as she went down with it, her hands going up as they struggled for a handhold. Her fall was cut short and Ginny slowly opened her tightly clenched eyes and looked up. Draco had caught one of her wrists with his hands; she reached up with her free hand and clutched his wrist.
"Are you alright?" He wheezed and she could see that holding her up in such an awkward angle was a strain. The boards groaned and Draco looked down and Ginny could see real fear in his crystalline eyes. Ginny gasped as the boards broke and they both went tumbling down into the darkness.