A Lighter Shade of Black
Blood on My Hands
…
So a day when you've lost yourself completely
Could be a night when your life ends
Such a heart that will lead you to deceiving
All the pain held in your
Hands are shaking cold
Your hands are mine to hold
- All-American Rejects "Move Along"
…
Ginevra sighed, laying her head on the pillow behind her. She had only walked for a while and she was already exhausted.
On the way back from Hogsmeade, the girls had told Nicole everything that was going on with Gin after Draco took Katie back to his apartment to change and get her things. The redhead had quietly asked them not to mention anything to Draco, not until she was sure it was extremely serious.
"I just don't want him to worry if it's nothing." she said, "I mean, why should he? I could totally find something before my next, what, two visions?"
The other three looked at each other with concern before Laura stepped up and sat next to Gin.
"Gin-girl, are you sure this is the right thing?" she asked quietly, her eyes on the floor, "This is serious, no matter how much you just want to forget about it, it's serious. What if… What if something happens and you… y-you-"
"No!" she snapped, "It won't happen."
"But-"
"It won't happen." she whispered, "Not to me."
The others only stared down at their shoes. The silence didn't last for long.
"Gin?"
"Yeah, Cole?"
"I think I know someone who could help you, if she'll come around."
"Why doesn't she remember yet?"
"Give her time, darling."
The man wrapped his arms around his wife.
"Give her time."
"I don't think I can wait. She still thinks we didn't want her!"
Draco held Katie's hand as he carried her things back up to the castle. It was very tiring, all this running around. All he felt like doing right now was laying down in a bed and going to sleep for a day or two.
"Draco!" Katie squealed, "Draco look!"
Draco snapped his eyes open when he realized they had closed and looked to where his half-sibling was pointing. Shit. He let her hand go and crouched down to her eye-level.
"Katie, I want you to do something for me, okay?"
"O-Okay, Draco."
"I want you to run." he whispered, "Run as fast as you can and find your mummy and your aunties and tell them Draco needs help. Run as fast as you can and don't look back."
Katie nodded her head and gave him a look that was too old an expression for her young face.
"Go!"
Draco pushed her towards the castle and whipped out his wand. Death Eaters, he thought cynically, how lovely.
"Hello, gents." he said casually, "Stop by for a spot of tea?"
Draco suddenly felt very wake and sober.
Katie knew there was something wrong. Something about the men in black cloaks didn't set right with her for some reason.
"You should've listened to me, Kathleen." Helga whispered as Katie raced past the doorway where she stood.
"MUMMY!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, before she collapsed to the floor with a huff.
Nicole, Laura and T.J. had just stepped out of the hospital wing so Gin could rest when they heard something that horrified all three of them.
"MUMMY!"
"Katie." Nicole breathed, her eyes widening even more in fear.
She took off in a dead run for the entrance hall, Laura and T.J. following behind. Nicole slid to the floor on her knees, pulling Katie into her arms, chest heaving.
"Mummy…" she whispered, panting, "Drake's-in-trouble…town-black cloaks-help!"
Nicole petted the girl's hair down and scooped her up in her arms. She looked at the other two. "Go help, Malfoy fight them off. I'll be down soon."
Taylor and Laura ran off to Hogsmeade as Nicole ran up to the infirmary… and Gin stepped out into the light, eyes narrowed and fists clenched.
Closing her eyes, Ginevra disappeared with a snap.
From the outside, it would seem that Draco Malfoy was not having any trouble at all, but handling the Death Eaters very well on his own. Of course, T.J. and Laura knew better than to just by the outside.
"You take the left, I'll go right." T.J. whispered.
"Your left or mine?"
"Does it matter?"
"Not really." Laura shrugged, charging to the left of the crowd with her holly wand out in front.
T.J. rolled her dark eyes and whistled to the right. Several glaring face turned towards her petite figure.
"'Lo all! Who's up first?" she grinned, eyes twinkling dangerously.
She ran forward, screaming hexes and curses all the way.
Draco glanced around quickly, glad to see his sister had come through in her efforts to gather up reinforcements. He slammed his elbow into the nose of a man he recognized as Vincent Crabbe and stupefied the one in front of him.
This was really getting to be a tiring afternoon.
Silently, Draco wondered where the two girls had learned to duel so well… I certainly wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of either wand. He remembered that time in fourth year when Ginny had slapped him with that bat-boogeys hex.
Beautiful wand work. Bloody brill-
Draco was pulled out of his thoughts by the Crutacious sent into his spine.
(Sorry for the 1st person POV, but I couldn't write it any other way!)
As I watched Draco writhe and scream in pain on the ground, I could feel something boiling up inside me. Something that didn't seem as scary as it once had.
Power.
I glanced into a near-by store window quickly and was shocked to see my eyes a dark coal black. Ignoring it, I walked forward into the crowd, which all parted, save the one person who had hexed my love.
I crouched beside him, flicking my hand at the woman standing there with the wand. The piece of wood flew one way as her body hit the wall of a building with a thud.
"Draco." I whispered, waving a hand over his face.
His ice-blue eyes snapped opened and he jumped when he saw me. "Stay here." I murmured.
I stood and turned to the crowd once more. My brow arched involuntarily while a smirk spread across my face.
"Play nice, luvies."
I flung my arms out at them and smirked once more as they all slumped to the ground. I distinctly heard a pop, but ignored it… Until I noticed the other half of the people gone, except for about five of them.
Laura and T.J. were handling the four of them as the last one started to run. I don't know what came over me then… It was like there was someone else running after him, someone else grabbing the back of his robes and throwing him on the ground.
Someone else making him hit his head on that rock.
I felt so numb. It tingled all through my body and settled in my stomach with a churning feeling. My lungs wouldn't take in air and my eyes were wide in shock. I could feel myself kneeling beside his body, lifting the head off of the rock, covering my hands in crimson. I gently pulled the cloak away from his face and the shock tingled through my body once…
"Terry?"
Laura and T.J. tucked their wands away and turned to see Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall finally arriving.
"I think you're a little bit late on the entrance, Professors." Laura grinned.
"Yeah, just a little." T.J. said, holding her fingers an inch apart for emphasis.
Snape rolled his eyes and the other two started looking over the bodies.
"You two-"
"Four." T.J. stressed.
"Gin and Malfoy."
"Yes, well, you four sure handled this lot quickly."
"Us three only handled a couple." Laura interjected.
"Gin did those over there." T.J. pointed to the collapsed group near the Shrieking Shack.
"I see…" he murmured, "And where is Miss Weasley?"
They both shrugged.
"Well. Go to the infirmary now." he said, "And take Mr. Malfoy with you."
I looked down into his mint-green eyes, life slowly fading away. They were opened wide in awe and his mouth was set in a grim line. I didn't realize the tears falling down until one landed on the former Ravenclaw's pale cheek.
I wanted to scream. In horror, anguish, fear, pain, guilt, remorse… who knows what… All I knew was that I wanted to scream until my lungs burst.
I reached out and used my index and middle fingers to close the eyes that betrayed us. He had been our friend! He was Nicole's study partner! Why? Why did he do this to us?
I crossed my arms and laid my head on them, sobbing into his robes.
I killed him.
I killed him.
The four had successfully made it back to the castle when Snape found Ginevra crying on Terry Boot's chest. At the moment, T.J. and Laura were talking with Draco in the Gryffindor common room whilst Cole tucked Katie into bed. She had heard about it all already.
"Did you see her eyes?" Draco whispered, too shocked to speak.
"That cold, coal black… Like she wasn't even there." Laura said.
T.J. didn't say a word. The truth was, she had heard about that kind of thing at her old school. When powerful sorcerers had touched the darkness before and they were upset and had their magicks flowing, their eyes tended to take on another color. This showed that they were not in control of the magic force in them.
Draco was getting worried, they hadn't heard a word from Ginevra since she had gotten into the shower. She had barely said anything by the time she was back at the castle, either.
Nicole came down the stairs leading to the guest quarters just as Draco stood. "I'm gonna go check on Ginny."
"Okay."
15 Minutes Earlier...
Ginevra removed her robes and tossed them into the corner by her bed. She grabbed an old Quidditch jersey of Bill's and carried it into the bathroom. She locked the door and ran a warm bath in the tub.
As she waited, Gin looked into the mirror. She wasn't quite sure what she was looking at anymore… She wasn't little Ginny Weasley, she wasn't Ginevra Molly Weasley, she couldn't be. She wasn't a doll or a pawn or a teenager… She couldn't be.
None of them had power.
Today she had changed… But, maybe it wasn't just today. Ever since that spell… since she got the news about her condition… she wasn't herself anymore.
"Damn you!" she screamed, slamming her fist into the looking glass.
She was glad she'd thought to put that silencing charm on the room. In case she screamed like she had so desperately wanted to earlier…
"You've got blood on your hands now."
The naked woman looked up at the shattered mirror, who had said those words meaning her own blood, now flowing freely from her knuckles and wrist. She turned the water off and climbed into the tub quickly.
"More than you know."
End Chapter