A Lighter Shade of Black
Gryffindor Tactics
It was the next afternoon when the others had brought her lunch up to her that Ginevra told them about her vision-dream. They had all looked ghostly at the mention of the torture of Draco. They sat in silence as Gin stood and approached her trunk across the room.
"What are you doing, Gin?" Laura asked.
"I'm getting ready." she whispered.
The redheaded witch had a fiery aura around her and they could all see she was quite serious. She was shoving and piling things into a backpack at her side. Not things like clothes or jewelry; the teen had a spell book and a few unidentifiable things already inside. She looked so regal and poised that, at the moment, anyone could have mistaken her for a bohemian warrior readying herself for battle.
"Gin, babe, you're scaring me." T.J. said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Look, I know this is the stupidest thing I've done yet, but I'm not just going to let him die by Voldemort's hand." she said.
She swung the bag up onto the bed and snatched up a small pile of clothes from the trunk.
"I'll be back after my shower."
When the door shut behind her the other three looked as though they hadn't seen sun in days.
"What are we going to do?" Laura asked, "She's serious about finding Drake, we can't let her go alone!"
"But we can't all go with her."
Nicole looked up from her hands and into the others' eyes.
"I'll go." she said, "I have a reason to."
"But you have a reason to stay, too!" Laura said, "Remember? Katie?"
"I know, but you just don't understand." Cole said, a picture of Goyle flashing in her mind.
"Wait, wait!" T.J. snapped, "How can we even be sure only two teenage witches will defeat the Dark Lord?"
"Taylor, you know as good as I do that Gin has enough power inside her to kill him three times over." Laura said, "But, the only thing is, it all has to be triggered into revealing itself."
"Strong emotional stress?" Cole suggested, gesturing to a picture of Draco at Gin's bedside.
"Good point."
There was a moment of silence as they gathered their thoughts.
"I'm going." Cole stated, her tone final.
"But-"
"No buts, I'm going." she snapped, "You two stay here with Kate. When we're close, I'll contact you; then you send in reinforcements. Send being the keyword, you guys have to stay here. Send the Dream Team, Bill, Charlie, and the twins. No doubt, they'll send the Order."
Nicole let out a shaky breath and sat on the bed in her room.
She was scared. She was so scared for all her friends and newly found family. But she was mostly scared for Ginevra… What if something went wrong when she was up against Voldemort and using her deep power? What if she got hurt?
What if-
Shut up!
That cruel little voice in the back of her mind had almost said something she knew was so possible that it was scary. It was the deepest fear of all.
Nicole clicked her wand holster onto her belt and fastened up her knee-high dragon-hide boots. She wasn't even sure what had made her volunteer for the mission, besides the idea of beating Gregory Goyle to a bloody pulp. She wanted to protect her friends and family… and especially her daughter.
Their so-called battle plan was a half-baked idea off the top of her head and she was fully willing to admit that it might not work. But by Merlin's wand, she was going to protect everything that mattered by any and all means.
Even if it meant risking her neck.
That night, around ten o'clock, Nicole had met George in the study on the second landing whilst her friends went down to the garden. She hugged him to her small frame tightly and pulled away to look into his ocean-blue eyes.
"I'm leaving." she whispered.
"Where?"
"With your sister to save Draco Malfoy from Voldemort."
"What?" he whispered frantically.
"You asked."
"Why?"
"She loves him and I have... unfinished business."
He nodded, letting go his hold on her arms and stepping back.
"Goyle." he muttered.
"Yes."
She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck again and he hugged her to him.
"A kiss goodbye?" he requested, the twinkle in his eyes gone.
"It's not goodbye, George." she murmured, pulling his nose to touch her own, "It's wish me luck and I'll see you soon, babe."
He pressed his mouth down over hers and kissed her in a way that clearly told her he was afraid.
The two teenagers stepped into their room at the Leaky Cauldron without the intent to sleep. As Ginevra snapped the locks of the door shut, Nicole laid out a map on the small table in the corner. She pulled out a crystal on the end of a cord and opened to Gin's marked page in the spell book.
Scrying had never been one of her strong points at the Institution, but she could always try. This was for Draco, after all.
"Ready, love?"
The redhead only nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat.
Nicole handed her the crystal and told her to concentrate on Draco as hard as she could. Gin held it over the map and waited for her friend to begin. Cole exhaled deeply before she began.
"Dear Fates above us,
And possibly below,
We request your guide,
Please point us where to go!
Our will is strong
Our might is high
We must find her love
And go where evil lies
The impurity of earth
The evil from beyond
Fates help us
We will find them before the crimson dawn…"
The girls never noticed the next morning, as they charged into Gregory Goyle's flat, that the lines of the horizon were tinged with crimson. The crimson that would be the blood spilled on that night.
End Chapter