Chapter 9 – Defence by Offence
The day dawned bright and crisp, early frost covering the ground and crystallising on the window frames.
The list of who had made the Gryffindor quidditch team had been promptly posted on the common room wall, Ron sitting smugly next to it purely to show Hermione that we could do things quite efficiently when the mood took him.
Ginny was pleasantly surprised to find that both she and Persephone had made the team as chasers, along with a fifth year, Lydia Redstone.
Seamus and Dean had both the brains and the brawn to function effectively as Beaters, with Ron as Goalkeeper and Harry as Seeker, the Gryffindor team was shaping up to be quite a force to be reckoned with. Practise had been scheduled for every Monday and Thursday after school.
Ginny walked behind the trio, listening to Ron and Hermione's good natured bickering. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood these days, like his or her worries and fears simply dissolved during the day. Even Hermione didn't seem to be pushing as hard for their incoming NEWTs (eight or so months away) as she had done in the past.
Ginny turned to find that Persephone was nowhere in sight, so decided to wait for her. Everywhere she went these days either Harry or Hermione were there, it was quite disconcerting, almost as if they were following her. But why would they follow me? She asked herself. She shook it off as her imagination, the head girl and the Boy Who Lived had better things to do than follow their best friends little sister.
Ron and Hermione sat opposite each other at the Gryffindor table, Hermione scolding him between mouthfuls and Ron retorted without bothering to wait to swallow first. Hermione wrinkled her nose distastefully.
Harry watched the proceedings, a small, knowing smile on his face.
"You, can't taste yellow, Ron," Hermione declared acerbically.
"Can too, bananas taste very yellow!"
"Lemons are yellow too, but they don't taste the same," remarked the head girl sarcastically.
"Yes," agreed Ron, "I think they may have been confused to their colour. They taste more orangey."
Hermione rolled her eyes in surrender. He really was hopeless.
"First quidditch practise on Monday, Harry?" Ron asked after a pause.
"Yup," agreed Harry, his eyes watching Persephone and Ginny at the other end of the table curiously. Since she had spoken shortly to him that breakfast a while ago she had avoided him like the plague. It was making his and Hermione's job very difficult.
"Is that ALL you guys think about?" scoffed Hermione, "Sport and food?"
"No," asserted Ron, "we think about girls and sex too."
His eyes suddenly widened as he realised what he had just said. All the girls within hearing distance turned rather pink and busied themselves with their food, Hermione included, all the boys chuckled.
Hermione made a mental note not to ask that question ever again.
# # #
Ginny's dream was as vivid as ever. Exquiseta was nowhere to be seen so Ginny concluded that she probably wasn't asleep or was having a dreamless slumber.
Every night since she'd been taught how to dream-apparate she had practised conscientiously. The small valley had become her playground; almost effortlessly she could project herself onto the adjoining hill, down to the stream, beneath a towering oak tree and back again. Ginny had found that the fairy had a very playful nature and so they had made a game out of it, appearing and disappearing across the rolling hills to their hearts content.
Tonight she was feeling adventurous; she looked as far as she could across the dips and vales, and spied a weeping willow standing proudly on a rise in the distance.
Closing her eyes tightly, she mentally repeated to herself I'm not moving, the world around me is…
On a strange level of awareness she felt the weaves around her unravel and then reform in a different pattern. Ginny opened her eyes to find the Willow branches tangling in her hair and a wide, flat expanse of land stretching out before arching into mountain-like peaks. Water glittered under the rays of the summer sun, dipping and sparkling in unison.
The land was foreign to her, but on some level she faintly felt a glimpse of recognition. Looking to her left over emerald forest she focused on a tiny stretch of mountaintop, the world moves, not me.
Again she experienced the familiar unravelling and entwining of the vibrant world around her, and almost instantly felt cool wind and warm stone beneath her feet. Ginny observed the surroundings from her now high-up viewpoint. To her right, tendrils of mist curled and twisted beneath the imposing mountains, creating a feeling of foreboding even in the heat of the summer. To her left, a lake stretched away from her, reflections making it seem larger than it really was. In the very far distance she could see a castle looming. The first place she'd seen that hadn't been entirely natural.
She decided to take a closer look, reminds me of Hogwarts.
The immediate world began to come undone in readiness for the re-weaving as the terrain moved around her. Unlike earlier times though something became evidently wrong, almost like Resumbria was blocking her. Ginny opened her eyes to find something like a vortex swirling furiously around her, but bizarrely soundless. Quite suddenly she felt solid ground roll beneath her feet as she was physically spat out into icy air.
Ginny glanced around fearfully. She appeared to be in deep forest, she wasn't sure though because it was inky black, above her she could see clouds rolling and avalanching – blocking the moon. It was nighttime… but in Resumbria it's never nighttime.
The implication of this terrified her; she glanced down quickly and was met with her pink flannel pyjamas. This isn't a dream, this is real.
She scrambled hurriedly to her feet darting glances around her eerie setting, creaking trees met her eyes in every direction. I'm in the Forbidden Forest. Ginny tried to suppress this voice, but she couldn't shake the truth in it. Panic began to clench her heart in its tight grip and her breaths came short and sharp. How did I get here?
Unseen creatures skittered through the undergrowth; Ginny's terror began to grow, like a drug spreading through her veins. She backed away slowly, not sure what she was backing from or even into. Her bare heel hit damp rock causing her to jump in alarm, as she turned to look the moon escaped from beneath a cloud throwing dusky rays across the clearing. Ginny found a boulder in front of her, glistening with moisture in the moonlight, she sighed trying desperately to calm herself, I need to get back to the castle.
She became aware of the sound of slithering in the surrounding impenetrable darkness, like the sound of cloth creeping over dead leaves. Her blood began to freeze, sending a shiver down her spine. Abruptly the sound stopped and Ginny could about discern a figure in the trees directly in front of her. It horribly reminded her of a person, watching her.
The silhouette edged into the clearing, the moonlight depicting its features bit by bit. It didn't 'walk' as of such, more floated, although it was difficult to tell as a heavy black robe slid along the ground preventing any part of the creature from being seen. As the dappled moonlight danced across its face Ginny's breath lodged in her throat.
Lank black hair, barely perceptible against the dark robe, fell to its waist, framing a paper white face. The eyes were black with evil and death; they dominated its human-like face, but the pupils were glazed and sightless, a milky covering across the irises but they were directed unswervingly at Ginny's face. She thought she was going to throw up.
Out of the trees adjacent to the banshee more appeared, the same unseeing eyes directed at Ginny. Coldness washed over her in waves, blending with the fear, she was scared to the point where she couldn't move. Fight or flight…
With this final thought she turned and belted away from the banshees. Branches whipped her face and legs and stones ground painfully into her bare feet, but with the adrenalin coursing through her veins she barely even registered this, concentrating instead on getting as far away as physically possible from the deathly fairies.
# # #
Draco awoke, his breathing heavy. Ginny. Her fear was tangible and he felt a second hand version of it causing his hands to shake. She needs help. She needs my help.
In a flash he was out of bed and dressed as fast as was physically possible. Taking an extra jumper in case it should be needed he quickly left the Slytherin hovel. The sense of urgency increased once he was outside on the castle grounds; there was a strange feeling in the air tonight.
Without hesitation he began to run towards the Forbidden Forest, he could pinpoint Ginny almost unwaveringly. Except she was moving quite fast, he hoped that was through choice and not because she had been captured.
He sprinted noiselessly through the forest, his dark robes blending into the darkness; anyone watching would have easily mistaken him for shadowed moonbeam.
They would also have discerned a second spectral figure silently tailing him.
# # #
A hidden tree root caught around Ginny's foot sending her flying across the dense forest floor. She rolled onto her back, panting quickly, still jumpy on adrenalin.
The forest directly surrounding her seemed empty; although it was difficult to tell as in many places the trees were an impenetrable inky black. She couldn't hear anything, no nocturnal animals, no slithering cloth, nothing. Ginny tried to calm her frantic breathing; she wished desperately that she had advanced to the stage where she could manipulate reality with her powers.
In her slightly less panicked state, she became alert to an awareness of someone closing in on her. Draco.
"No, Draco, please…" she appealed softly to the darkness. It would be bad enough if the banshees got her, but if they killed Draco it would be twice as terrible.
As the immediate rush of adrenalin receded, she felt the various bruises and scratches covering her aching body. It would be easy simply to just lie here and let the darkness close in and take her, but the fire in her heart still burned, so Ginny pulled herself wearily to her feet, lifting her chin to face the menacing forest rebelliously.
The shadows began to shift and coalesce, alerting Ginny to the presence of the death spirits again. The fear bubbled up through her again; proof of mortality was difficult to look in the face without fear.
A twig broke behind her and she spun to find herself staring into Draco's unfathomable grey orbs.
"Lumos," he whispered. His wand tip lit spreading light across him and Ginny. The banshees made no further approach but neither did they back away. "Pretty pickle you got yourself into here Weasley," his tone completely defied the fact that he was in the middle of the Forbidden Forest in the wee hours of the morning just because she couldn't look after herself.
His wand spattered and went out, as though blown by an invisible wind. The banshees slowly began to close in. Draco turned to find them in a ring behind him as well. No escape. We're going to die. At least I'll go down fighting.
"STUPEFY," he yelled at the nearest creature, sending it flying into the forest.
"Oh, yeah, that was a good idea," Ginny muttered superciliously.
The banshee next to the one that had been blasted began to scream in rage and warning. Ginny and Draco clamped their hands firmly over their ears, vainly attempting to keep the terrifying wailing from their ears. Then the Slytherin had an idea.
"Defenamore," he mumbled, a familiar silver bubble erupting from his wand to encase the two of them.
I have to learn that spell, Ginny thought absently to herself.
They could no longer the screaming, and the banshees could not enter the bubble. So it was a stalemate for a bit. However maintaining the bubble took a lot of happy memories and good thoughts, which Draco had very few of indeed.
"We're going to die," announced Ginny matter-of-factly. Draco could see the terror shining in her eyes though, there's still so much to live for.
What he did next he would always claim was the result of impending death and disaster. Sliding his arm that wasn't holding the wand around her waist he brought her body close against his.
Ginny's eyes questioned him, what was he doing? Draco himself didn't know, but he did know that he wasn't about to die without having someone remember him.
Bringing his lips very close to hers he almost forgot the awaiting banshees, her smell was intoxicating, like the scent of summer on a soft breeze. He paused, gauging her reaction. Well she wasn't running, but then she technically has nowhere to run to. Without more ado he pressed his lips to hers, feeling her stiffen in his arms.
There was a moment's pause where both parties were unsure of what to do next. Then Ginny melted into his embrace, tilting her head upwards to give him better access to her mouth. The kiss began feather light, acting to comfort one another simply by their presences light, but gradually became more demanding. Draco held her closer, liking the way her body felt against his. Kissing the redhead was unimaginably different from kissing Pansy; she had been coy but arrogant at the same time, like kissing superficial plastic. Ginny gave an unintentional air that beneath the smooth and calm surface there was a bubbling fire waiting to be unlocked. And Draco badly wanted to be the one to unlock it.
A disturbance broke them apart. Draco looked through the shimmering walls finding the last person imaginable blasting banshees away from them.
A/n: sorry for the slight cliffhanger guys! but I promise i will post the next chapter a.s.a.p!
Thank you mell8 and ginnyharry for your reviews, much appreciated! as
long as people are still enjoying it i am still happy to write :)
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