Okay, well let me start out by saying that I'm very sorry about the long wait. I ran into one of the most stubborn bits of writer's block I've ever seen, and boy let me tell you that this bugger did not want me to get away alive! No matter how much I poked him and told him to go away, he just wouldn't listen. And I actually have a logical reason for the writer's block. You see, there is just so much that I wanted to put in this chapter, but I didn't know where exactly to put it. There was so much that it just boggled my brain. But I'm fine now, and I got everything in. Now, I have lots of author notes on this chapter. Most are at the end though, because they deal with stuff that went in the chapter. So please bear with me, and please read the notes.

Alright, so I'll just tell you now that there's a bit more angst in this chapter than normal. Not much, but I'm just letting you know. Also, Ginny and Hermione (mostly Hermione) act a bit more girly in this chapter than usual.

Another little note that you MIGHT WANT TO KNOW BEFORE READING THE CHAPTER is that "Reina" is pronounced as (ree-nah). (ree) rhymes with "tree" and the (nah) is like the last syllable in "banana." Reina is introduced in this chapter. And if any of you want to know how anything else in this story is pronounced, then just ask in a review and I'll tell you.

One last thing. Since it's been so long since I've updated, you might want to read the last chapter again, or at least the last few paragraphs so you know where I left off. Just a suggestion.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with Harry Potter, though I do own all 4 movies.

Chapter 22: Only Time Will Tell

Draco's room had never felt lonelier before in his life. Forrest green curtains hid the seventh year boy from his sleeping dorm mates. The dark room held no hints of friendly moonlight that night. Nothing moved. Nothing elicited any sound whatsoever.

Nothing at all.

Indeed, if one were to look upon the still form of Draco Malfoy lying atop his bed, he would appear dead to the world.

That was not the case, however.

Draco Malfoy was actually wide awake. His arms, folded behind his neck, elevated his head slightly off the pillow. Each leg was stretched out before him, spread wide for comfort. His cool gray eyes stared straight forward, resting on a tattered thread that hung from the top of his curtain. The thread wasn't interesting or captivating in the least, but Draco's mind wasn't paying attention to it anyway. It wasn't even in his room.

It was still down in the tunnel, reliving every moment, every terrifying feeling that his life was about to end, every neck hair standing on end, every drop of water that clung to his face, every chatter of his teeth, every goose bump raised from his skin like bas-relief, every desperate gulp to seek air, every ragged cough once it was found…

Flashback

Water. Everywhere. That was the only thing Draco was conscious of. Water filled his mouth, his eyes, his nose, his ears; he couldn't figure out where he was or what had happened. Draco moved his arms only to find that they were moving much slower than normal. Why was that? Oh, yes, the water. But why was there water? So many questions yet there seemed to be no answer.

Then a burning sensation filled his lungs; they felt like they were on fire. But how could there be fire and water at the same time? It made no sense. Draco looked about but with all the water in his eyes, he couldn't figure out where he was.

You're drowning.

That realization hit him before the logic of how he came to be in this situation did. He flailed his arms, trying to find the surface. But which way was up? How could he be sure? Each way looked the same to him.

His mind functioning so much slower than usual was no doubt thanks to the water. Draco sluggishly started pushing his way in one direction; it wouldn't matter if it was the wrong way; he doubted he'd make it there to find out.

As he got closer, though, Draco saw that it was indeed the right way, that the surface lay just above him. He could see lights above. But then the lights blurred together and suddenly, each way seemed bright. Which way was up, again? Which way held life? Draco blinked slowly, wishing that the water would get out of his eyes, wishing that the feeling wouldn't make him so nauseous; but then, nausea wouldn't really matter if he was dead.

And then the recognition that he was indeed dying punched him in the stomach, giving him an extra boost of energy.

I will not die, thought Draco. I will not die.

He swam a little farther up, pumping his legs as hard as he could. They barely moved.

I will not die.

The water's surface shined, beckoning him to come closer, teasing him…

I will not die.

Draco thought that his whole brain had turned to liquid given how much good it was doing him. Just a little closer and he'd be free.

You'll never be free, a haunting voice echoed through his mind. Never…

I will not die! Thought Draco fiercely as his head broke the surface. Air rushed into his mouth and sought passage down his throat, only to be denied by the water that blocked it. The air disappointedly flowed back out of his mouth, followed by the obtrusive water which left most willingly.

Draco spat water out of his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut as water beaded down his hair and onto his face. Though they felt like lead, his arms kept him afloat. Draco opened his mouth as wide as he could and welcomed the familiar feel of oxygen traveling down his throat, easing the burning away. Then the coughing came. Barks hoarsely escaped his throat and his chest which was still lacking sufficient oxygen, still constricting with the effort of breathing. Draco switched back and forth between gasping for air and coughing, sending the air straight back out. He brought one arm up and numbly brushed the water out of his eyes. With sight came recognition. With recognition came remembrance. A whirlwind of memories stormed through Draco's head, almost making him dizzy again.

The tunnel.

The stone.

The switching passageways.

The cavern.

Ginny.

Climbing up the overhang.

The monster.

A flash of red light.

His name being shouted.

Water.

Darkness.

Draco glanced around anxiously. He was in the middle of the lake and right before him was the shore. He dog-paddled to it, still trying to fully rid himself of the fuzziness. What had the thing been and why had it been there? And where was Ginny?

The answer to the latter became clear as he stumbled ashore. Ginny was lying face-up on the ground half a dozen feet from the overhang, one hand holding her forehead and the other lying at her side. Only semi-conscious, her eyes were slightly glazed and her chest was rising and falling with rapidity. She must've fallen, Draco thought.

He dropped to his knees and bent over her. When a few drops of water splashed onto Ginny's face, her eyes jumped to Draco. She blinked once and then squeezed her eyes shut tight, grimacing as she put her other hand to her head.

"My head," she moaned quietly, rolling slightly away from Draco. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him.

"We have to get out of here," he said more roughly than he had intended.

"But what about that -"

"Don't worry about that now," he said, pulling her into a sitting position. Pain flashed across her face and Draco momentarily wondered if perhaps she was injured more seriously than one major headache, but that pain was gone before he could think twice about it. Ginny struggled to get to her feet, not seeming to notice that Draco was steadying her. She eyed his sopping wet clothes and seemed like she wanted to ask if he was alright, but their rivalry came between them and wouldn't allow her to.

Draco, once he was sure she wasn't going to fall over on him, took his hands off her shoulders and stepped past her, heading towards the incline out of the cavern. Ginny followed him silently. Obviously she didn't want to go back to whatever kind of monster they had just faced. Normally, Draco wouldn't accept defeat so quietly. However, he felt that two wizards who were both physically drained wouldn't stand much of a chance when they couldn't do much better even when they were perfectly fine. They'd have to form a plan before coming back. A mighty good one too.

The climb back up the rocky hill had been surreal for Draco. At times he was only aware of his side-ache and others he could only hear Ginny panting behind him. The time seemed to pass agonizingly slowly, each step taking more and more effort. Before he could quite yet comprehend it, however, they were both standing back at the top. Draco closed his eyes heavily before stepping out of the dark tunnel and into the familiar passageway. Looking to his left, he saw only a stone wall where he knew there was another tunnel. The stone in the ground was still firmly in place; he picked it up.

In contrast, the rest of the journey out of the tunnels passed quickly. He vaguely remembered the wind and humming as the passageways had changed back, the determined steps that brought him back into the castle, and the way in which he had looked at Ginny before he started off to the Slytherin common rooms. Draco was about to turn to the right and Ginny to the left. She paused and looked at him and once again and Draco recognized the look of somebody wanting to say something yet holding back. He had opened his mouth to tell her to ask whatever she wanted to but shut it, thinking of the possible situations that conversation might entail. It would be better to avoid those.

So instead, Draco turned and walked away, wishing his watery shoes would stop squelching against the floor.

End Flashback

Draco sighed and closed his eyes. He had changed into green and silver pajamas upon getting back to his room; he left his clothes lying in a soaking mass on the floor.

Tonight did not go as planned, he thought wearily. But then what had he expected? Draco didn't know what had been down in the tunnel, but whatever it was, he hadn't been expecting that. What that thing possibly could have been was beyond Draco. I wonder if Snape knows about it, Draco thought. Or even Dumbledore. The possibility of telling them was soon discarded. No, that would cause too many problems, arouse too many questions. It would be better if nobody knew about his and Ginny's midnight rendezvous. In fact, it would probably be better if he and Ginny stopped altogether.

The question of why he was even putting up with the littlest weasel crossed his mind. Why was he still accepting Ginny's help? If her annoying jabber and constant antagonism could be considered help, that is. Draco could figure out who the kidnapper was by himself.

So why was Ginny there?

That question annoyed, intrigued, and embarrassed him all at the same time. If other people found out about him and Ginny, Draco would never live it down. Though he would never admit it, Draco sometimes found her presence comforting, if only to let him know he wasn't completely alone. Repulsing thought though it was, it was true. That scared Draco.

I'm not going soft, Draco thought firmly. I'm still king of Hogwarts.


Ginny took slow steps back towards the Gryffindor house. The events of the past hour would not allow her to go much faster. First off, her head was pounding from where she had hit it on the ground; she was surprised that the fall hadn't knocked her out, or even killed her. Instead she was left with a massive bump on her right scalp. Something that had relieved the pain, however, had been the sight of Draco bending over her. The fact that he was still alive was certainly cause for relief. She had still been worried over the creature atop of rocks but Draco had pulled her out of the cavern before she could ask much about it. The desire to face it again was not great, in any case. Ginny was glad they had left. She'd much rather never go down there again if she could help it.

She put her hand to her forehead as she came to a stop in front of the Fat Lady. What was the password again? Oh, yes, Mugwormp's root. She tapped the snoring portrait.

"Mmm?" mumbled the Fat Lady. "Somebody there? Oh…password?" she asked, barely opening her eyes.

"Mugwormp's root," replied Ginny quietly. The portrait swung forward and Ginny entered into the common room.

She was just making her way around one of the couches and heading for the staircase when somebody asked "Ginny?"

Ginny froze and turned around only to come face to face with Hermione. The older girl had her wand in one hand and half of a burnt piece of parchment in another. Ginny plastered a casual look on her face and smiled slightly at Hermione.

"Hey, Hermione," she said. "What are you still doing up?"

"I might ask the same of you," Hermione frowned, sitting back on the couch. She was clearly exhausted. Ginny looked around and saw no traces of Harry, Ron, or any other person. "So what were you doing out? You know it's against the rules since it's past curfew and everything."

Ginny swallowed, trying to hide her nerves. "I was just at the library looking…for some more information on my…report that's…due," she finished rather lamely. Hermione looked doubtfully at her for a moment before turning away. "You're not going to turn me in, are you Hermione?" Ginny asked. Worry settled in the pit of her stomach before Hermione turned an affronted look towards Ginny.

"Of course I wouldn't, Ginny," Hermione stated. "You know I wouldn't do that."

"Yeah, I know," said a very relieved Ginny, settling back more comfortably in the couch.

"When did you leave?" Hermione puzzled. "I've been down here for hours and I haven't seen anybody else."

"Oh," said Ginny. "Well, I came down around midnight and you and Ron and Harry seemed busy so I didn't bother you." A shadow seemed to pass over Hermione's face at the mention of the two boys, but it was gone before Ginny could look again.

"You've been in the library for two hours?" Hermione asked, disbelievingly, motioning to the clock on the wall; it was almost two in the morning. Ginny didn't know she'd been gone that long; some of her nerves returned.

"Well, you know," Ginny said, "time flies when you're studying." This brightened Hermione's face.

"Yes it does," the Head Girl beamed.

"So, what are you still doing up?" asked Ginny, stifling a yawn. Hermione's face darkened again quickly.

"Harry finished his essay an hour ago but he stayed to help me with Ron's. After messing up ten essays and leaving them crumpled on the table, giving me a headache, and spilling a bottle of ink all over the floor, Ron finished his essay," Hermione sighed. "So then he was cleaning up and throwing his ruined essays in the fire, but he grabbed the wrong one and threw his completed essay in on accident." Hermione closed her eyes as if warding off a bad memory. Opening them, she continued, "Then he realized what he did and in a fit of panic, started shooting water out of his wand on the fire to put it out." Hermione shook her head. "He managed to put the fire out but then was too distraught to take his essay out of it."

"So where are they?" asked Ginny, looking around again. Hermione smiled, rolling her eyes ever so slightly.

"After working for hours with Ron on that stupid essay," she began, "I wasn't much more pleased than him to see it literally go up in flames. So I started yelling at Ron about his always botching things and…I don't know…" Hermione trailed off with a shrug. "I guess I must've looked a bit…demented while I was yelling because he and Harry were absolutely terrified as they ran up the boys' staircase to get away from me," she finished with another smile. "I suppose I was rather upset. I mean to just spend hours and hours working on something only to mess it all up by doing something as careless as to throw it into the fire. Honestly, it's beyond me how those two -"

"Hermione," Ginny interrupted, trying to calm Hermione who was rapidly becoming angrier at the memory. Hermione sent an apologetic look to Ginny and sighed again.

"I'm sorry, Ginny," she said quietly. "I guess I'm just tired."

I'll second that, thought Ginny. "So did you get the essay back?" Ginny continued out loud. Hermione held up the tattered remains of a piece of parchment and Ginny grimaced. Ron would not be very happy.

"Yes, but I don't know if I can do anything for it," Hermione said sadly. "Well, anything short of re-writing it. I mean, I helped him on all of it so I basically know all that it said."

"Don't do that, Hermione," Ginny said softly but firmly. "There's no use working yourself silly over it."

"I know that," Hermione sighed, "but I feel like it. I don't want Ron getting in any more trouble with Snape." Ginny looked sadly at her friend. "But you go to bed," Hermione continued, waving towards the girls' staircase and standing up. "There's no sense in the both of us losing sleep."

Ginny, though reluctant to leave Hermione, very much desired to go to bed. It had been a long day. "Are you sure you'll be okay?" she asked.

"Of course I will," Hermione said, waving her hand non-chalantly. "I'll be fine; I always am."

"Okay," Ginny said quietly, walking towards the stairs. She paused with her foot on the bottom step and turned back to look at Hermione who was now resting in a chair at a table. "They don't deserve you, you know," she said quietly; Hermione looked up. "Harry and Ron, they don't appreciate you much. Or at least they don't show it."

"I know," sighed Hermione. "But I love them and I can't help it." She shrugged. "I suppose that's what friends do, right? Help each other?" It was a rhetorical question but Ginny nodded anyway.

"Yeah, it is," she said quietly. "Goodnight, Hermione," she said, turning up the stairs.

"Goodnight," she heard Hermione call after her.


Ginny groaned as her alarm clock woke her up at seven 'o clock. Given how sore and tired her body was from the day before, Ginny didn't think it humanly possible to get out of bed. Ignoring her instinct to stay in bed and suffer whatever punishment came from it, she sat up slowly. She waited for the blood rush to her head to settle before getting out of bed and scuffling her way towards the bathroom.

After a quick shower, Ginny magically dried her hair and changed into her clothes. Then she started down the staircase. She stopped when she reached the bottom.

Hermione was still partially in her chair, her head resting on her folded elbows on the table. Various books, ink bottles, and pieces of parchment were scattered around her brown hair and Ginny could see that her eyes were moving under the lids, showing that she was not sleeping peacefully. Only a few second years were over in the corner; obviously that had been afraid to wake her.

Ginny walked over to Hermione and nudged her shoulder carefully. "Hermione," she called gently. "Hermione, wake up." Hermione blinked and looked up at Ginny. She seemed confused for a moment about why she was in the common room, but then recognition dawned in her eyes and she sat up.

"What time is it?" she asked, sleep still heavy in her voice. She started ruffling through the parchment that littered the table.

"It's almost seven thirty," Ginny replied. "Were you down here the whole night?" Hermione nodded as she grabbed a paper and held it up.

"I finished it though," she yawned. "Ron's essay. I was able to remember everything so it wasn't like I was doing it for him. I was just re-writing it." She pinched the bridge of her nose as she held the essay up.

Just then, Ginny heard footsteps pounding down the staircase. A mop of red hair came into view as Ron, shortly followed by Harry, came down the stairs. Immediately after spotting Hermione, Ron eagerly walked over to her and snatched the essay from her hand.

"Oh, good, you saved it," Ron said, eyeing his paper. "So it wasn't a total loss." He didn't seem to notice that it wasn't his handwriting on the paper. "Come on, Harry, let's go before anything else happens to my paper."

Ginny stared open-mouthed at her brother as he dragged Harry towards the portrait hole. She was about to call after them to come back so that they could pay Hermione her due respect, but Hermione put a hand on Ginny's arm and shook her head. "Don't, Ginny," she sighed.

"But don't you just want to smack him?" Ginny asked incredulously. "He didn't even say thank you!"

"What does it matter," Hermione said wearily. "I did that for him because I didn't want him to fail. I didn't do it so that he'd get down on his knees and kiss my feet with gratitude." Hermione stood and stretched.

"He still could have said thank you," murmured Ginny as she helped Hermione clean up the mess on the table. Hermione just shrugged and tossed the spoiled parchment into the fire.

"Don't forget," said Hermione, changing the subject, "we're going to Hogsmede next week to pick out dresses"

"Oh. Right." Ginny said. In truth, she had forgotten about getting a dress. She wasn't sure that she'd be able to afford something nice. She really wanted to buy a new broom because the school ones were unmanageable, but she also knew that she needed to look nice for the ball. I'll figure something out, Ginny thought resignedly.

Together the two of them finished cleaning up from the night before and headed down to breakfast. Ron and Harry were already busy eating and Ginny promptly took to ignoring them, still upset over Ron's pig-headed treatment of Hermione. Hermione anxiously looked over at the Ravenclaw table and smiled when her eyes landed on the form of a young man who was busy chatting with another boy next to him. Ginny saw him glance out of the corner of his eyes towards the Gryffindor table and saw a smile form on his face. Instead of sitting at the Gryffindor table, Hermione started pulling Ginny with her towards the Ravenclaw table.

"Come on, Ginny," Hermione said. "I'll introduce you to Ewan." Ginny followed Hermione, eager to meet her friend's date for the ball. As she walked across the hall, she glanced backward and saw Harry and Ron watching them. She could practically hear Ron's indignant voice at not being invited over either, and she grinned.

In fact, she was still grinning when they arrived at the Ravenclaw table; Ewan had been watching them the whole time. He stood and said, while smiling at Hermione, "Hello."

"Hi," Hermione said, smiling back at him. "Ewan, this is Ginny. Ginny, Ewan." Hermione motioned with her hands as she introduced them. Ewan stuck out his hand for Ginny to shake and she did likewise. She noticed that Ewan had a firm yet gentle handshake. His eyes, as Hermione had stated in Ginny's dorm, were an incredible shade of blue, somewhere between an azure and sky blue.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ginny," he said. "Hermione's told me a lot about you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Ginny replied. "And trust me when I say that Hermione's told me even more about you."

Hermione glanced at Ewan and blushed. He moved some of his straight brown hair out of his face and motioned towards their table. "You want to eat with us this morning?" he asked. Hermione nodded and looked at Ginny, who agreed. Hermione sat down next to Ewan and Ginny took a seat across from them, sitting next to one of her classmates, Luna Lovegood.

The rest of breakfast passed with pleasant conversation between Ewan, Hermione, and Ginny, with the occasional comment from Luna. Ginny appreciated the chance to get to know Ewan better and soon saw why Hermione admired him so. He was much more of a gentleman than Ron and even more than Harry, he was pleasant to talk to, and he thought there was more to the world than just Quidditch. Overall Ginny quite enjoyed her morning.


Another week went by and excitement for the upcoming ball grew. Ginny's week passed with no drama in her classes and the change pleased her. In fact, she had hardly even seen Draco let alone talk to him. She wasn't sure if she was happy about this or not. She wasn't very keen on going back down into the tunnel but leaving that thing down there disturbed her. She considered telling the teachers about it but wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to let on that she'd been with Draco Malfoy.

That Saturday morning, Ginny woke early and excited. Students were allowed to go to Hogsmede today and Ginny and Hermione had plans to go shopping. There were several things that Ginny needed, including a dress for the ball. Christmas was in littler over a week though, and presents needed to be bought. She had been saving money for Christmas gifts all year, knowing that prices were bound to have risen in a year's time.

Ginny traipsed down the stairs and found the common room bustling with activity. Many first and second years were gathered in the corner and watching the older students, who were getting ready to go to Hogsmede, with envy. Some of the older students who were not planning on going to Hogsmede were sitting and talking, trying to hear each other over the loud voices of the others.

Spotting Harry, Hermione, and Ron standing near the window, Ginny walked over to them.

"Good morning, Ginny," Hermione said brightly.

"Good morning, Hermione, Ron, Harry," Ginny nodded at them. "Where's everybody else?"

"Seamus and Dean are coming with," Harry said. "We're all going to walk to Hogsmede, and then you girls can go do your thing," he motioned with his hands, "and we guys will do ours."

Ginny smiled and shook her head. At that moment, Seamus and Dean came down the stairs and walked over to them.

"Morning, all," Dean grinned. "Are we ready? We want to get there before the rest of the crowd."

"I think so," Ron said. "Hermione, where's this boyfriend of yours?"

"I told you, he's not my boyfriend," Hermione said irritably. Yet, Ginny silently added. "Ewan is going to meet us downstairs and he's coming with us."

As the group of six exited the Gryffindor Tower and headed down the many flights of stairs, Ginny and Seamus fell back behind the others.

"So how are you doing," Seamus asked.

"Fine," answered Ginny. "I don't think it will take me and Hermione very long," Ginny answered.

"Good," said Seamus quietly. They fell silent as they walked side-by-side down the hallway. Seamus's hand casually slipped around Ginny's and she smiled at him. As they walked hand-in-hand down the hallway, Ginny spotted Draco standing next to Crabbe and Goyle; he was watching her and Seamus intently. Ginny swallowed and looked away, unnerved by his staring.

As they entered the Great Hall, Ginny saw Ewan walk over to them and Ginny waved. He smiled back at her as he approached.

"Hey, Hermione," he said. Hermione smiled at him and then motioned to the rest of her friends. "Ewan, these are my friends Harry, Ron, Dean, and Seamus. You already met Ginny." Ewan nodded at each of the boys and they all murmured various greetings. Hermione was watching them all anxiously. Ginny knew that Hermione wanted Ewan and her friends to get along, and she could only hope for the same. She saw Harry and Ron looking Ewan over as if inspecting him to see if he was good enough for Hermione.

"Well, we better move on, then," Hermione said, her hands clasped together before her nervously. "We don't want to waste time."

The seven students now made their way through the crowds towards the doors that led out of Hogwarts. Once they were outside and past Filch, the group seemed to relax a bit and Dean even started a conversation with Ewan about what classes the latter was taking. Ginny was glad he was trying to include him, was glad for Hermione's sake.


Draco sighed irritably as he, Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy all made their way into Hogsmede. Several factors contributed to Draco's foul mood. The first and foremost factor was everybody else's cheerfulness. There was nothing more that a grumpy person hated than happy one. I suppose it's all the excitement for Christmas, Draco thought.

Another thing bothering him was Pansy Parkinson, who insisted on following them into Hogsmede. Accepting the fact that Draco practically had no other choice in the matter, he had very reluctantly agreed to go to the ball with Pansy. That had caused Pansy to jump up and throw her arms around Draco, professing her love for him. He had pushed her away in disgust and said he was only going to please his father; Pansy had ignored this comment and only run upstairs to show Draco the costumes she had picked out for them. Simply put, what she had picked out for Draco was mortifying. A light brown dress robe that was covered in bird feathers, complete with a mask with a black beak on it. Draco wouldn't be caught dead wearing that costume, so his first order of business in Hogsmede was to pick out something else. He could, of course, just wear one of the many dress robes that he already had, but then there'd be no fun in that. Draco had plenty of money and he loved to spend it.

One more thing that bothered him was seeing Seamus Finnigan holding Ginny Weasley's hand. He had heard overheard Pansy and a couple of her friends saying that they were now dating. Draco didn't quite know what to think of the idea of them going out, but what could he do about it? He certainly wasn't going to fuss about it; that would mean that he actually cared, something a Malfoy definitely didn't do.

So now the four of them were walking in a constricted silence down the path towards Hogsmede. Draco, in the lead, could hear Crabbe and Goyle lumbering behind. He almost felt a moment's pity for the two of them; it must be hard for them to walk on the snow-covered path. But then, they were the ones who chose to eat themselves silly every meal. Draco couldn't help it if they were fat. The paths had, however, mostly been cleared free of snow. Most likely Hagrid or Filch had been assigned that task.

The Hogsmede shops soon came into view. The snowy roofs and smoke coming out of the chimneys made the buildings look like a gingerbread village. Many students were walking past them, laughing and throwing snowballs heartily at each other, caught up in the holiday spirit. Draco grimaced and looked for the nearest shop. Pansy came to his side and laced her arm with his. Draco shook her off.

"Alright, Pansy, I let you come this far with us," Draco said, "but now you leave. I have stuff to do."

"Ah, Drakie-poo, do I have to?" Pansy simpered, fingering Draco's sleeve. "I'd much rather stay here with you." She pressed herself closer to his side.

"Yes, you do have to go and no, I'd much rather you leave," Draco said, not caring that he sounded like a grouch. Pansy simply patted his shoulder and left. He saw her meet up with a bunch of her Slytherin friends and walk off, chatting loudly. He rolled his eyes and turned the other way, heading down the road.

On his right were a few shops that had advertisements hanging in the windows. A few shops were aimed towards young children, and many different toys were displayed in the windows. On the left were bookshops, restaurants, and other supply stores. He passed all of these, a destination already picked out. Armand's was the best men's clothing store in all of Hogsmede. The owner of the store, John Armand, was a respectable, pure-blood wizard who did not tolerate mudbloods or blood traitors. Expensive as Armand's clothing was, it was worth it. The latest styles were sure to be found there and Draco was sure he would be the best-dressed person at the ball.

Aware that Crabbe and Goyle had become distracted by a chocolate shop a while back, Draco stepped onto the wooden walkway and pushed open the glass door to Armand's; the tinkling of a bell above the door greeted him.


"How about this one, Hermione?" Ginny asked, pointing to a dark green dress. They had been in All-Occasion Dresses for over an hour now, trying to find the perfect dress. As far as Ginny knew, this was the only store in Hogsmede that had dresses that would work for a masquerade ball. She also figured that at least half the girls in Hogwarts were now in this store shopping for dresses. Though the store was large and packed full of dresses, almost every free space was occupied by girls, some Ginny didn't even recognize from school. They'd be lucky to get a dress at all if they didn't hurry up.

Hermione put down the black dress she had been fingering and came over to Ginny, looking at the forest-green dress. "I don't know," the Head Girl said. "I don't really like the green." She turned the dress around and her eyes widened. "Two-hundred galleons? They must be crazy," she muttered, putting the dress back. Ginny sighed and looked around. Most of the dresses in the store were at least seventy-five galleons, and those were the ones on sale. Even the cheap ones were too expensive for Ginny.

"Maybe going to the ball isn't such a good idea," Ginny said softly. Hermione turned back to her, a concerned look on her face.

"Ginny Weasley, why not?" she asked, astonished. "I thought you liked Seamus."

"I do," Ginny said. "Don't get me wrong; I like him. But…I – oh come on, Hermione, look at the prices of these dresses. I can't afford anything like this." She put her hand on a dress rack and looked at the floor. "I just came in here to help you pick out a dress," she mumbled. "I can't shop here…I don't have enough money."

"Oh, Ginny," Hermione said, "don't worry about the money. I can help you pay for it, and if not me, then I'm sure Harry wouldn't mind –"

"Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed. "I'd never ask Harry for money. I'd rather go to the ball naked…" she shook her head, trying to imagine how the conversation of her asking Harry for money would go. She didn't like the image of it in her mind. "I appreciate the offer, Hermione, I really do," Ginny said. "But you know I could never accept it."

Hermione looked like she wanted to say more on the subject but merely nodded her head. "Besides," Ginny added, "you can't go spending money on me." She walked past Hermione to possibly the one rack of dresses they hadn't yet looked over and picked out a butter-yellow dress, holding it up in front of Hermione. "You have to look extra special for your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend, Ginny," Hermione said, though she couldn't hide a smile. She looked at the dress carefully before putting it back. "I don't like that color either," Hermione said.

"Hermione, you're a witch, you can just change the color," Ginny said.

"Well I don't like the style then," Hermione grinned, moving on. Ginny shook her head, still unused to seeing this girly side of Hermione. "Let's try the other side of the store, shall we?"

Braving the crowd of desperate girls all trying to find the perfect dress, Ginny and Hermione fought their way to the back of the store where there were fewer people. The salesladies were going crazy, frantically running back and forth between girls, rushing dresses here and there, and ringing up girls who had managed to find a dress to buy. Ginny and Hermione casually looked at different dresses on the racks. There were dresses of every style, color, size, and material. There was gold, black, red, blue, purple, pink, white, green; there were low necks, high necks, ruffles, lace, full skirts, strapless; there were patterned, plain, striped, polka-dotted, barely there, and covering everything-type dresses. Ginny's mind spun with all the possibilities and options.

"Ginny, can – can I ask you something?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"Sure," Ginny absentmindedly said, peering at the dresses.

"Where were you last week?" Hermione asked, now looking intently at Ginny. Ginny's eyes snapped up and locked with Hermione's.

"Last week?" Ginny asked, now nervous herself. "Last week I was here at Hogwarts, remember Hermione? I do go to school here."

"Not like that," Hermione said. "When you came in really late from the library that one night last week and I was mad at the boys, where were you, really?"

Ginny turned and looked at the dresses, trying to think of a suitable answer. "I was at the library," she replied quietly, her back still turned towards Hermione.

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked. "Because, well…forget it." Hermione sighed, turning around to look at dresses again.

Breaking the awkward silence, Ginny walked around to face Hermione. "Because what?" What were you going to say?" Though Ginny wasn't quite sure she wanted to know, she still asked.

"Well," Hermione hesitated, "well you remember back in your first year…what happened then…with the Chamber of Secrets. And then there's all these disappearances now and I know that you couldn't have been in the library that night because of the new lock spell placed on it and I just don't want you to get hurt again, Ginny," Hermione finished quickly, staring anxiously into her friend's eyes.

Ginny, torn between hurt at Hermione's accusation and nervous at being caught, stared back. "How can you say something like that, Hermione?" she asked quietly. "You know I'd never do anything like this."

"I know you wouldn't, Ginny," Hermione said, a pleading note in her voice, "but I don't want the same thing to happen as the Chamber of Secrets. I don't want you to…" she lowered her voice as the others around them continued their shopping, "be used like that again."

Ginny sighed. "I know you didn't mean anything by asking," Ginny said, "but I can't tell you where I was." Hermione frowned at her questioningly and Ginny hurried on. "Believe when I say that nothing is wrong and that I'm fine, but I can't tell you right now."

"Will you eventually tell me?" Hermione asked, still doubtful. "Or if it gets bad, you'll tell me, right?"

"Definitely," Ginny said, relieved that she didn't have to answer Hermione's initial question. "Really, Hermione, don't worry about it. Everything will be alright; trust me." After a moment, Hermione nodded.

"You know I trust you," Hermione said, grinning. "You're just lucky I didn't happen to ask you when you were still wearing that charmed bracelet that Malfoy gave you; then you would have had to answer me whether you wanted to or not."

Ginny shuddered as she thought of how horribly wrong that could go. She had almost forgotten about the bracelet; the memory of it brought back a bittersweet feeling. The starry bracelet had truly been beautiful, but the reason it had been given to her was anything but. She was brought back to her senses by a gasp from Hermione.

"Look at this one, Ginny," Hermione said, reaching for a crimson colored dress. She pulled it off the rack and held it before her, a smile breaking out. Ginny peered over Hermione's shoulders at the dress. The bodice was a deep red with tiny pink flowers on it. Since the flowers were a lighter shade than the red, they weren't immediately noticeable. What was noticeable, however, was the way that they glittered when the light shone on them. The neckline swooped in a low V while thin straps supported the dress off of a padded hanger. Just under the bodice, several layers of red tulle hung down to the floor, covering a matching underskirt. Around the waist was a pink silk sash that hung down the left side of the dress.

Hermione's eyes traveled up and down the dress, an expression of longing in them.

"Is that the dress?" Ginny asked quietly.

"This is the dress," Hermione replied.


Draco satisfactorily walked out of Armand's an hour later with a package tucked under one arm. To his luck, John Armand had been in the store that day and had personally greeted him. Though his father was friends with Armand, the latter wasn't a Death Eater. The owner of the store had let Draco into his office and had offered him a fire whiskey, which Draco had accepted. To his even greater pleasure, Armand had presented an array of masquerade masks once the subject of why Draco was buying a robe came up. When Draco had questioned the middle-aged man why he had masks in his office, he had shrugged it off by saying that they were left-over from another occasion. He had given Draco the pick of the lot, saying he could have it free of charge, as a favor for his father. Draco had selected a simple black mask with red trim, satisfied that the mask would match his robe without alteration. The less he had to trifle with things of fashion, the better.

He walked down the pathway, wondering what had become of Crabbe and Goyle. They were no doubt at some restaurant or pub right about now stuffing their faces. Either that or they were lost. The thought of Crabbe and Goyle lost in Hogsmede was slightly humorous, but that made Draco remember the time he and Ginny had gotten lost in the snowstorm. That was definitely not something he wanted a repeat of.

What now? Draco thought. He didn't have anything else he necessarily needed to buy, but it was always fun spending money; it reminded others just who exactly he was, someone they never could be, someone they could only dream of.

Draco, ignoring the happy faces of those across the street and the frightened ones of those moving away from him, continued walking by the many shops. He could get something to eat; The Three Broomsticks was always good. Everyone will be there, though, he thought. Even when Christmas wasn't looming before them, that pub was packed to the brim with people. The only other pub in Hogsmede was the Hog's Head, and that wasn't anywhere Draco wanted to go. It wasn't that he was afraid of that place; who in their right mind would dare harm Draco Malfoy, the son of Voldemort's right-hand man? No, the only reason he wanted to avoid that place was because it was too dirty for his liking. Draco Malfoy could do better than that.

Draco looked up at the sky and noticed that it was starting to snow lightly, the white flakes falling freely from the grey sky. There was still sufficient snow on the ground from when it had snowed last, which had been only days ago. If the snow kept falling regularly as it had been, there'd be snow even at Malfoy Manor, which was farther south than Hogwarts. The ball was in one week and already the school had been preparing for it. With Christmas just three days after the ball, Draco had little time to prepare for the upcoming meeting with Voldemort. A weight seemed to drop in Draco's stomach at the thought of having to meet the Dark Lord. What was he going to do? He was sure that Voldemort wasn't spending Christmas dinner with them to spread holiday cheer and go caroling. The thought of Voldemort caroling was amusing, but even that wasn't enough to lighten Draco's mood, because he knew the real reason for Voldemort's visiting them.

Voldemort was visiting them to see if Draco was prepared to become a Death Eater upon graduation.

Draco frowned. What point was there to life if right after school he was to become something evil, something every wizard feared? What point was there to even being born? He thought of his mother then. She must've thought these things so many times in the seventeen years she had been a prisoner in her own mind, where the only solace had been in hoping that one day her son would save her. What she must've gone through was mind-boggling to even imagine.

The one thing Narcissa Malfoy wanted was for her son to stand up to Voldemort and Lucius, to become something more than they were. That's what she thought life was. I can give her that, at least, Draco thought. I can show her what life is. I can make up for her seventeen years of silence by being as strong as I can be.

I can be strong for the both of us.

Walking down the streets of Hogsmede, his feet crunching in the snow, Draco tried to push aside the thought he was doomed before he even began.


Ginny stood outside All-Occasion Dresses, watching Hermione walk down the street towards The Three Broomsticks. Hermione turned once and looked back at Ginny, but Ginny just smiled at her and waved her hand. Hermione waved slowly and continued walking, the box containing her dress clutched in her hands. Ginny smiled at the memory of how Hermione had simply glowed when she purchased the red and pink dress. Lucky for Hermione that the dress had been on sale; no wonder it was in the back. One thing that Ginny wondered was why a dress of that beauty was on sale, but no matter. Hermione was happy. The only thing the girl needed now was a mask, which they had been unable to find.

Now the thing for Ginny to do was find a dress for herself. Hermione had insisted upon accompanying Ginny and helping her find a dress, but Ginny refused. She also had Christmas gifts to buy, and nobody could help her with those.

Ginny bit her lip and wondered where she should go next. There were so many things she needed to buy; she didn't know if she had enough money. She usually saved whatever money she came across for Christmas, but this year there were extra things to buy. Christmas gifts should be the first thing she bought, but Ginny desperately wanted to find a dress. With so many girls out to get one, she'd need to move fast if she was to find a decent one.

Ginny took off down the street, still wondering exactly where she was going. The only known dress store in Hogsmede was the one she had just come from. But there just has to be somewhere else, thought Ginny. She'd already looked over every dress in All-Occasion Dresses; there was nothing she could afford there.

The sky, Ginny noticed, had started leaking tiny flakes of snow. "Let's just hope this doesn't end up like last time," she mumbled under her breath, pulling her cloak tighter around her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of pink and she halted, turning to her left.

In one of the shop windows, sticking up from behind a sparkly gold scarf, was a pink feather. The pink ostrich feather was the same shade as the sash that went on Hermione's dress.

Slightly curious, Ginny turned back and entered through the rough wooden door that didn't seem to quite fit the doorway. A strong odor of cinnamon immediately hit Ginny's nose, making her head spin. Since the room was dimly lit – only a few candles on various tables were lit – Ginny's eyes took a while to adjust. When they did, however, she turned back to the window where she had seen the pink feather. Various objects were randomly placed in the display, stone carvings, decorative boxes, clothes, jewelry, and a few other objects that Ginny couldn't quite name; all she knew was that they were glittery and most likely breakable. Her eyes were drawn to what she now saw was a mask stuffed behind a gold scarf, which was draped over a tiny heart-shaped box. Ginny pulled the scarf away and grabbed the delicate mask in her hands.

The mask was ivory in color with dark pink glitter swirling around the eye-holes. On the right side of the mask, a light pink ostrich plume was fastened, among several smaller, darker feathers. What caught Ginny's eye, however, was the large rose tucked within the feathers. The beautiful shades of pink on the flower blended beautifully with the ivory of the mask. Soft pink ribbons hung gently from the back of the mask, awaiting use.

Hermione will love this, thought Ginny. She turned the mask over to see if it had a price, but saw none.

"It's lovely, isn't it?" came a voice from behind Ginny. The girl whirled about, her heart pounding. She sighed when she saw a middle-aged woman barely taller than Ginny standing there.

"Yes, it is," Ginny replied. The lady smiled back at her, revealing crooked, yet white, teeth. Ginny eyed the ostentatious outfit that the woman wore. A blood-red shirt covered her petite form, falling slightly off the shoulders. A dark purple skirt was tied firmly around her waist; the many layers of the skirt hung down to her black, high-heeled boots. Strands of black hair framed her face; the rest of the hair was hidden behind a white, ruby-encrusted bandana. Large golden hoops hung from her ears; Ginny was surprised that her ears hadn't already torn from the weight of the hoops. She reminded Ginny of the gypsies she used to read stories of when she was little.

"Forgive me," the woman smiled. "My name is Miss Reina." She held out a hand for Ginny to shake and the young girl noticed that several rings of various shapes, sizes, and colors rested on her fingers.

Ginny took the jewel-laden hand and replied, "My name is Ginny."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ginny," Reina replied. "I see you've found one of our masks."

"Yes," said Ginny, looking back at the mask in her hands. "How much is it?"

Miss Reina seemed to consider the mask for a moment before answering, "Two galleons, I think."

"That's all?" Ginny asked, her eyes widening. "Isn't that a little…cheap?"

"Well would you rather pay more?" Reina asked, her eyebrow lifting.

"No," Ginny hastily added. "I just thought that something this beautiful would cost a fortune." Reina nodded and motioned for the mask, which Ginny handed to her.

"It comes from Italy, you know," said Reina. "One of our patrons who was unable to sell it himself brought it to me. When it sold he was to get part of the profit. However, he died a few years ago and since then the mask has sat in that window collecting dust, waiting for someone to purchase it," Reina trailed off. Ginny noticed that the lady spoke with a strong American accent; rarely anybody in England did.

"Excuse me, but you're not from around here, are you?" Ginny asked, trying not to appear too nosy.

"No," Reina smiled faintly. "I moved here from America shortly after I started going to Rosings, one of the school for witches and wizards in America. I've lived here since then."

"So you're a witch?" Ginny asked, her curiosity perking.

"Oh dear, no," laughed Reina. "Don't flatter me, sugar." She was quiet for a moment as she eyed Ginny as if contemplating whether she should say anything else. She continued though. "My parents were pureblood wizards so naturally they were proud when I got my acceptance letter from Rosings, but after four months into my first year, I still hadn't shown any signs of magic," Reina trailed off sadly, and Ginny felt a burst of pity for the woman. She could tell where this story was going. "My parents tried to ignore my lack of magical abilities, blaming the school for…what was it they said…" Reina wrinkled her brow, trying to remember. "Ah, they said that the school was incapable of properly teaching a young witch with such potential such as me in the art of witchcraft and that the school was not worthy of their patronage."

Ginny stared at Miss Reina, who then gave another laugh at the girl's expression. "That's exactly what I thought, chicky," Reina chuckled, sending the hoop earrings into a flutter. "But, my parents refused to accept anything other than my being a witch, so they moved me and my brother here to England and enrolled us immediately in Hogwarts. Well, needless to say, I didn't do much better here than there. I hadn't been back in school two months before they released me. The school, that is. My parents were devastated."

"So, you were – you are – a…" Ginny stumbled, not wanting to seem rude.

"A squib, yes," Reina nodded. "You don't have to feel sorry, honey," Reina smiled, starting towards the back of the store. "The life of a witch never quite suited me, I think. I'm quite happy with my life."

"So then you stayed here?" Ginny asked, following Miss Reina. "Why didn't you go back to America?" They passed a table filled with iron-wrought statues of various animals, some that Ginny had never heard of before. The light grew dimmer as they went to the back of the store, no doubt towards the register.

"Well," Reina considered the question. "Actually, I don't know why we stayed," she shrugged. "My parents must've liked England better, I suppose. When I was eighteen I opened this store and I've been working here for thirty years now."

"Wow," Ginny replied. "So your parents must've gotten over your being a squib then, right?"

Miss Reina paused for a moment and turned her head slightly to the side, as if evaluating how she should answer. "Not exactly," she said in a wry voice laced with sadness before starting forwards again. Ginny kept quiet, wondering if she had asked one too many questions.

"But enough of my boring story," Miss Reina stated, smiling again. "So what are you going to do with this mask?"

"Oh, well it's not for me," Ginny replied, glad that the woman wasn't mad at her. "It's for a friend." When they reached the back of the store, they stopped at an old wooden desk that had red candles lit all over it. An ink bottle and several brightly-colored quills were laying in one corner atop a stack of white stationary with pink roses faintly applied to the background.

"Well who's it for then?" Reina asked, looking at Ginny.

"It's for a friend," Ginny replied, nodding. "Hogwarts is having a masquerade ball in one week, for Christmas, and she needed a dress. We just found a gorgeous dress but not a mask. When I was walking past your store I saw the mask in the window and stopped in."

"I see," Reina said, sitting at the chair behind her desk. "And where is your friend?"

"We split up after buying the dress," Ginny said. "I had some other shopping to do." Ginny reached into her robe pocket and pulled out two gold galleons, handing them to Reina, who promptly took them with a nod of her head.

"Thank you, sugar," she smiled. Ginny smiled back. Miss Reina seemed like a pleasant woman. "Now what about you?" she asked.

"Me?" Ginny replied. "What about me?"

"Well what kind of dress did you get?" The owner of the shop asked.

Ginny blushed, looking away. How to reply? "Well, I don't have one yet," she said. "I couldn't find one."

"You couldn't find a dress?" Reina asked, genuinely surprised. "Have you tried All-Occasion Dresses just down the road? They have all sorts of dresses there; I'm sure you could find one."

"We've been there," Ginny mumbled, shifting her feet. "That's where we found my friend, Hermione's, dress."

"Well if you've been there then surely you would've – oh! Oh, I see…" Miss Reina trailed off, a sympathetic look on her face. "Well it's alright, honey," she said. "Don't fret."

"What?" Ginny asked nervously. "What's alright?"

"Not being able to afford anything in All-Occasion's," Reina replied. "I've never been a big shopper there myself. All those dresses are too frilly and silly for me," she said, waving her hand through the air. "I prefer my dresses, when I wear them, to be much simpler than those."

Ginny stared open-mouthed at the woman before her. "But – but how did you know -"

"I know lots of things," Miss Reina smiled. "And believe me, being poor has never hindered my lifestyle. I've found that those who prefer rich things have never been much more than that. Material possessions and trifling with things they should just stay out of…" she trailed off again, looking at her desk. Through her shock, Ginny thought she saw a flash of anger pass over Reina's face; it was replaced by the familiar peaceful look though. "Those who think they can save the world are usually the ones that get beaten by it."

Ginny merely nodded dumbly, still trying to piece together everything that had happened. She had walked into a store expecting to buy a mask for Hermione and instead found a woman who was…

"Are you psychic?" Ginny asked abruptly. Reina closed her eyes for a minute before nodding her head slowly. Ginny took a sharp breath, trying to figure out what to think. Is she really psychic? Ginny wondered. Immediately her thoughts jumped to Sybill Trelawney. She's more crazy than psychic, thought Ginny.

Miss Reina chuckled slightly. "I can assure you that Sybill Trelawney is psychic, though barely," she said. Ginny stared again, wondering about this peculiar lady. "I can sometimes read minds, but only if I wish to. I merely wanted to know what your reaction to my being psychic was," Reina said softly.

Ginny was silent for a moment. Then she opened her mouth and asked incredulously, "So Trelawney really is psychic?" Reina laughed out loud and Ginny grinned.

"She's had her fair share psychic moments in life," Reina admitted, "but all that astrology and tea-cup stuff is just talk, utter nonsense."

"I've never been partial to her myself," added Ginny. "Neither has my brother. Did you go to school with her?"

Miss Reina nodded, eyeing Ginny. "We were in the same year during my time at Hogwarts; I couldn't stand her." Reina looked as if she had just spotted a particularly nasty bug. "Always going on and on about how her great-great-grandmother was a famous Seer and that she had inherited 'the gift', as she liked to call it. Honestly, sometimes I just felt like hitting that silly twit, would've knocked some sense into her, maybe," she paused thoughtfully. "But then again, maybe it wouldn't have. Some people never change, no matter how much time they're given.

Ginny nodded slightly. "So, you know what's going to happen, then?" she asked, unsure if she should. "I mean to say, you know the future?"

"A bit," Reina sighed. "People sometimes say knowing the future is either a blessing or a curse. Though I hate to be pessimistic, I'm inclined to believe that it's a curse," she smiled sadly. "I often wonder why God chose this for me, but then who am I to question it?"

"God?" Ginny asked, raising her eyebrow, disbelievingly. "You really think any of this has to do with God?"

"And you think it doesn't?" Reina asked, a smile playing on her lips. "What would this world be if it weren't for God's plan for us? There must be something more than just random chance that put us here on earth. Where would the world be today if all man thought was that he could change his own destiny when really he's riding shotgun and God has the wheel?"

Ginny shrugged. "I don't know," was the only reply she had. "It seems to me that if God really existed, he wouldn't let any of this bad stuff happen to us. Seems to me like God, if he exists, is the cruel kid with a magnifying glass and we're the ants."

"Well," Reina sighed, "the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh. Some ants are probably best left out of anthill if all they want to do is eat the other ants, eh?" She sighed again. "But that's enough preaching from me, today. I'm not used to this stuff." She reached up to her bandana and felt to make sure it was still in place. Ginny cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"But you really can see into the future?" Ginny asked abruptly, almost desperately. When she received a questioning glance from Miss Reina, she stopped. The disappearances at Hogwarts still on her mind. If she could just figure out who had taken those kids, everything would work out. In the back of her mind, Ginny knew that it wasn't that simple, but part of her wanted to believe it was. She wondered how to phrase the question though, asking if Reina could tell her who took them. Before she got a chance, though, Reina spoke again.

"Honey, I can't see everything," she said sympathetically. "Only certain things are shown to me. It's like…" she trailed off, a bit of frustration showing on her face as she tried to figure out how to say it. "It's like...the Floo network. While in transit, other destinations are visible, but barely. They rush past in a blur and nothing clear is perceptible. But occasionally," she went on, looking Ginny straight in the eye, "something so dramatic, terrifying, humorous, or special flies by that it sticks in your mind. Those are the impressions that last, and that's the best that I can describe where and how I get my visions."

"Oh," said Ginny, trying to hide her disappointment. She picked up the mask from the desk, figuring it was her cue to leave. "Well, thank you, for the mask, and…for sharing your story with me." She turned and was about to walk towards the door when Miss Reina called out.

"Wait, Ginny," she said. Ginny turned around and looked at the brightly-colored woman, looking at her with slight expectancy in her eyes.

"You still need a dress, right?" she asked, the familiar playfulness returning to her demeanor. When Ginny nodded, Reina motioned with her finger. "Follow me," she said.

Ginny returned to the desk and placed Hermione's mask on it, her own curiosity peaked. She followed Miss Reina to the left side of the store and into the corner, where an iron set of steps spiraled straight up through an opening in the brown ceiling. Ginny watched Reina's purple skirt swish as she hurried up, her boots clanking against the stairs.

When the two women emerged through the hole in the ceiling, Ginny found herself in a pleasant room that smelled faintly of vanilla. There was a small bed in the far corner with a shiny gold comforter over it; a mostly-empty nightstand stood next to the bed. On the other wall were stacked several trunks and boxes that looked as if they had spent the majority of their time in the bottom of the ocean, so rusted were they. Straight across from Ginny was a half-moon window that overlooked Hogsmede below. A gold curtain was hung over the window, matching the bed. To her left, Ginny saw a birdcage hanging from the ceiling with a snow-white owl much like Hedwig sleeping inside. Ginny actually did a double-take to see if the owl was Hedwig, but it wasn't.

"That's a beautiful owl," Ginny said, pointing to the bird.

"Her name's Ivy, and she's been my constant companion for about eleven years now," Reina said, eyeing her owl. Then she stepped over to the wall containing the many chests and started shoving them aside.

"Give me a hand there, girly," Reina huffed, struggling to pull one rusted trunk off of another. Ginny hurried to her side and grabbed the rough handle on one side of the trunk and pushed. With a loud clunk, the chest landed on the wooden floor and Reina let out her breath as she turned to the chest that had been under it. Ginny watched the woman bend down on her knees and pull the lighter trunk towards her. With a creak, she lifted the top, sending clusters of dust spiraling through the air. With bated breath, Ginny watched as Reina gently pulled out folds and folds of light green tissue paper. When the green was gone, Ginny's eye caught on a piece of dark blue fabric.

Miss Reina, with trembling hands, lifted the blue fabric out of the trunk, and stood as she did so. Looking down in wonder, she held up against herself a midnight blue silk dress. Ginny's breath caught in her throat as she took in the beauty of the dress. Straps thinner even than Hermione's dress were attached to the bodice, which dipped ever so slightly near the chest. The silk hung limply all the way to the floor, not flaring out as Hermione's dress had. From the hem of the dress rose tiny, almost indecipherable, trails of shimmering gold ivy, coming to a rest about two feet from the bottom of the dress.

Reina took one look at the tiny "O" Ginny's mouth was making and smiled warmly. Looking back down at the dress held up to herself, she affectionally smoothed the front of it.

"This was the dress I wore to my brother's wedding a little over thirty years ago," she said, "when I was just seventeen." Reina laughed quietly. "Back then the dress fit better than it does now. Parts of me may have aged well, but others haven't," she picked at her middle for emphasis. A smile replaced Ginny's surprised look.

"You're not fat," she said firmly, and the oddity of her saying something like that to a woman who that morning had only been a stranger hit her and she fought back a peal of laughter. "Blimely, if I age as well as you have, I'll be content."

"Why thank you, darling," Miss Reina said, nodding at the younger girl. "But I'm afraid that I no longer have a use for this dress, and I sure would hate to see something this fine go to waste."

"Oh no," Ginny said, her eyes widening as she backed away. "I can't accept that." She shook her head as if to make her point.

"Yes you will," Reina said knowingly. "You can't go to the ball dressed in any ordinary robe. This dress is perfect, and you look to be about the same size I was then."

Ginny looked at the dress longingly, wishing that she could accept it. Deep down she wanted to, but her pride wouldn't allow it. Years of trying to hide the fact that she was poor and years of trying not to let people pay for her belongings and years of wanting the little things she knew she could never afford blocked any chance of her accepting that dress. But oh, how she wanted it.

Miss Reina saw the longing in her eyes and understood where Ginny's obstinacy came from. "Look, Ginny," she continued gently, "if I had a cat or a dog or some other pet that I just couldn't keep, and it would die if nobody took it, you'd take it, wouldn't you? You couldn't just let that animal die." Ginny nodded, so Reina continued. "Well, think of this dress as that animal. There's no way this dress will ever fit on me again, and I have nobody else to give it to. You have to take it, otherwise…the dress will die, figuratively speaking."

Ginny bit her lip, her eyes never leaving the dress. I can't, she thought. I just can't…

"I had always planned on saving this dress for a daughter to wear one day," Reina said, "but…I never had one." Ginny looked up then and saw the tears shimmering in Reina's eyes. "Please, Ginny," she said, gazing at Ginny. "This dress is a masterpiece; it was made to be seen, not trapped in a box for all eternity."

"But -" began Ginny.

"No 'buts' about it," Reina said firmly. "You're taking it."

Ginny sighed and looked at the beautiful dress in Reina's hands. In her heart, she knew she was giving in, and she both hated and loved herself for it. "Alright," Ginny said, and she couldn't stop the smile from gracing her face, "but I'm paying for it."

Again, Reina denied her. "You'll take it without paying me one Knut. That's final. Don't fight me, Ginny," she grinned. "I'll just win in the end."

"But I can't take it for free," Ginny said almost desperately. "I just can't…"

"But nonsense," Reina said. "What good would it do me if I charged you money? You're the one doing me a favor by taking the dress. You'll ease a lady's mind by taking this dress. I'd like to know it's going to a girl who really needs it. And you, Ginny, need it."

I also want it, thought Ginny. "Well…" she hesitated.

"Good!" Reina cheered happily. "It's settled then. And that's not all that comes with the dress," she stated, carefully laying the dress on her bed. Ginny watched wondrously as Reina bent back towards the chest again and dug around through some more of the green tissue paper.

"I know they're in here somewhere," Reina muttered, still fishing around. "Aha! Here they are." She pulled out two long white gloves. Gold ivy like the gold on the dress trailed up the arm of each glove lovingly, caressing the snow white of the glove. Reina held them out to Ginny. "Try them on, try them on," she exclaimed giddily.

Smiling, Ginny removed her robe and rolled the sleeves of her shirt up. She gasped quietly when she slipped on the soft gloves; she had expected them to be too big or too small but they fit perfectly, almost as if they had been made for her. They ended just below the bend of her elbow.

"See? What did I tell you, sugar," Reina said happily. "This will work perfectly." Ginny had similar sentiments.

"Are you sure about -" Ginny started.

"Positive," Reina said resolutely. "And you said this was a masquerade ball, correct?" Ginny nodded. "Good," Reina said. "Follow me. Oh, and bring the dress."

Ginny carefully pulled the delicate gloves off of her fingers and replaced her robe. Then she went to the bed and for the first time held the dress that was now, unbelievably, hers.

"Come on, girly!" shouted Reina from downstairs. Ginny had been so enamored by the dress that she hadn't noticed the woman leave the room. She folded the dress over one arm and placed the gloves over it and then took one last look around the room. Ivy was still asleep in her cage, oblivious to what had just happened in her room.

Aware that she would probably never see this room again, Ginny descended the spiral stairs back to the shop below, breathing in the familiar cinnamon scent. Miss Reina was now frantically moving about the store, opening various drawers only to shut them moments later when she couldn't find what she was looking for. She tore over to a cabinet hanging on the wall and ripped open the door. A few items were flung carelessly aside as Reina searched for something. She cursed when she didn't find it and slammed the door shut. She stood for a moment, hands on hips, a look of concentration on her face. Suddenly, a look of remembrance popped onto her face and she rushed past Ginny to a large chest of drawers and stood on her tip-toes to reach the top drawer. Reina felt around with her hand for a moment, unable to see into the drawer; the tip of her tongue was poking out of the corner of her mouth in concentration. Then triumph cascaded over her face and she leaned back, holding in her hand a mask.

Ginny, her mind still reeling with the day's turn of events, watched surreally as Reina approached her, calm once again. "No outfit for a masquerade ball would be complete without a mask," she said. "And I just happen to have one that matches your outfit perfectly." When she reached Ginny, Reina held out the mask. Struggling not to drop everything she was already holding, Ginny grabbed the mask. The pure white mask was slimmer than Hermione's but in the same basic shape. Although much simpler than Hermione's, Ginny thought she liked it even better. Where Hermione's had flowers and feathers, Ginny's had no ornament other than gold glitter – in the same gold ivy pattern as the dress and gloves – fashionably surrounding one of the eyes of the mask. Two white ribbons were attached to the mask to be used to tie around the wearer's head.

"Was this made to go with the dress?" Ginny asked.

Reina shook her head. "No, but ever since that mask was brought in, I've always thought it would go with it perfectly."

"It does," Ginny agreed, holding the mask to the dress and gloves. "It's perfect."

"Yes," Reina said, smiling. "It's perfect."

The woman stepped away back towards her desk where Hermione's mask was waiting patiently. Still eyeing Ginny, who was admiring her new possessions, she reached behind her desk and grabbed some bags and a box. She carefully placed Hermione's mask in the bag and motioned for Ginny to come over to her.

Ginny, still in awe of both this woman's generosity and the beauty of the mask, handed the latter to Miss Reina. The mask was then placed with Hermione's in the dark red bag. Reina pulled the lid of the box off and gently folded the dress and placed it in the box. Atop the dress were laid the gloves. Reina took one last long, loving look at the dress and gloves that had been so dear to her and then, with a resolute sigh, placed several sheets of white tissue paper over the items.

"You said you wore that to your brother's wedding?" Ginny asked, trying to strike up another conversation.

"Yes," Reina said. She paused for a moment, as if reliving something. Then she placed the lid back on the box and taped it shut.

"Where's your brother now?" Ginny asked. "Is he still in England, or did he move back to America?"

"He's dead," said Reina. Her voice sounded as if the words were foreign to her and a pained look crossed her face.

"I'm sorry," Ginny said, mentally slapping herself for asking in the first place. Way to ruin a brilliant day, Ginny, she told herself.

"Don't be," Reina replied. "That was years ago." She handed the box and bag to Ginny, who took them, still guilty that she had caused Miss Reina pain. "You enjoy these things, okay?" she said, smiling sadly.

"I'll take good care of them," Ginny said, swallowing the lump in her throat. Why did she suddenly feel like she was saying goodbye forever to a good friend?

"I know you will, sugar," Reina said. "Now you get out of here," she said, playfully shoving Ginny towards the door. "You've been here nearly an hour already. Your friends are bound to be setting out a search party soon."

"An hour?" Ginny asked, truly surprised. "I didn't realize how much time had gone by."

"Well, it flies, you see," Reina said smiling. "Time, that is. If you're not careful," she snapped her fingers, "It'll pass you right by."

Ginny thought for a moment and then nodded. "I suppose it does," she said. She walked past the many tables and stands, heading for the door. She turned around when she reached the door and looked at Reina. "I can't thank you enough for all of this," she said, lifting her packages up for reference. "I – I mean – it was…just…thanks," she grinned.

Miss Reina leaned back against her desk and waved at her. "You come back and see me sometime, alright, girly?"

"Definitely," Ginny nodded. She smiled one last time at Reina and opened the door. A blast of arctic air greeted her and flurries of snow fluttered in her face. As the door softly closed behind her, Ginny turned and looked once more at the store. The wind blew strands of hair into her face but Ginny ignored them.

After a moment she pulled her gaze away and started slowly down the snow-covered street.


Almost an hour later, Ginny was approaching The Three Broomsticks, even more packages in her arms. She was now very cold from running all over Hogsmede to find the gifts she wanted for her friends, but she had in the end found them. Her cheeks tinged pink from cold, she balanced the bags and boxes in her arms and hurried down the street; the snow was still falling steadily though gently. No doubt everybody else was wondering where she was.

Oh well, thought Ginny. The only thing I need to worry about now is keeping them from peeking in these bags. Then a thought struck Ginny. She set her items down on the ground and pulled out her wand. With a few simple words, she shrank all her possessions to the size of a few galleons. Satisfied, Ginny placed the shrunken objects into her pockets and continued on merrily.

She was almost to The Three Broomsticks when she saw figures in the distance approaching her.

"There you are, Ginny!" Ron exclaimed. "We were just looking for you. Where have you been? Do you know how long you've been gone?"

"Oh Ron," Ginny said, watching her brother, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ewan, Seamus, and Dean around them. "Step out of big-brother mode for a minute; I'm fine. I just had a lot of stuff to get."

"A lot of stuff?" Hermione asked. "Where is it?"

"In here," Ginny patted her pocket. "I shrunk it."

"Ok, now that we found her, come on," said Dean, starting down another street. "We have to get there before everyone else does."

Ginny followed questioningly as everybody excitedly followed after Dean.

"It's a raffle, Dean," said Harry. "It doesn't matter when you get there to submit yourself as long as you do it before it's over."

"Yeah, well, you can never be too sure," Dean shrugged.

"Where are we going, guys?" Ginny asked.

"To Quidditch Supply Plus," Seamus said from Ginny's left. "They're having a drawing for a Nimbus 2001," he explained. "People have been going by all day submitting their names."

"They're giving away a free Nimbus 2001?" Ginny asked incredulously, and everybody nodded. She suddenly remembered the broom she had just lost, and hope filled her. She had been lucky so far today; perhaps she would be again.

"What's with all the free stuff today," she uttered under her breath.

"What's that?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing," Ginny said. She didn't know why, but she didn't want anybody to know about how her dress just yet. She'd tell Hermione about it that night when they were alone.

The sounds of a large crowd were soon heard and Ginny saw throngs of people clustered around the only Quidditch store in Hogsmede, Quidditch Supply Plus. Many kids and adults were there, filling out small slips of paper with the necessary information.

"We've already submitted our names," Ron said, pointing to himself, Seamus, and Dean. Ginny could understand why Harry didn't enter the contest; he already had a great broom. Hermione had told her that Ewan didn't play Quidditch, and Hermione rarely ever got on a broom, so she knew why they hadn't.

"But you're the one who really needs the broom, Ginny," Seamus said. "So go ahead; we'll wait here."

Grinning, Ginny pushed herself through the people hovering about the shop until she saw a small table filled with a large metal box with a tiny opening at the top. Several quills and bottles of ink were scattered atop forms. Ginny picked one up and glanced at it. All it asked for was name, age, and residence. She wrote, in the respective blanks, Ginny Weasley, 16, and Gryffindor Tower, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Satisfied, she folded the parchment in half twice and slipped it in the box. Aware of how crowded the store was, she elbowed her way towards the entrance. As she was nearing the open door, she saw a familiar blonde head bobbing through the crowd. Ginny stopped walking and watched Draco amble through the crowd; his eyes had yet to notice Ginny. That soon changed though, when he was mere steps away from her. He paused and looked at her, then around them, almost as if he were afraid of anybody seeing them together. It was the first time they had come face to face since a week ago down in the tunnel. Ginny shifted her feet nervously.

"Trying to get a free broom, are we?" Draco finally said, his usual smugness returning to his voice.

"Oh, and I suppose you're just here to spread holiday cheer," Ginny said sarcastically, relieved that they were acting normal.

"Whatever, Weasley," Draco shrugged. "I never pass up an opportunity for something free."

"In other words, you're cheap," Ginny said happily. Draco darkened.

"I never said that and you know it," Draco snarled.

"You implied it," Ginny stated innocently.

Draco turned away. "Whatever," he repeated, glancing at Ginny out of the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, well, good luck trying to win that broom," Ginny said, feigning concern. "Hundreds of people have already entered and I'm sure lots more will too by the end of the day."

"I can just feel the optimism radiating off of you," Draco remarked sarcastically. "I'll take my chances," he said, pretending to reassure her. "Don't worry about me."

"I -" Ginny closed her mouth. She had been about to say I never do but that was too cold for her to say to anybody, even Draco Malfoy. Besides, that comment wasn't entirely true. There were times when she would worry about him. For instance, back in the tunnel when Draco had been drowning and there was nothing she could do, Ginny couldn't force back the worry she'd felt for him. Afterwards, she had tried to deny that what she'd felt was worry, but deep down she knew it for what it was. "I – I…" Ginny tried to cover her mistake. "Whatever, Malfoy," she frowned as she pushed past him. She could feel him turn and watch her as she walked away.

In another moment, she was out of the store and surrounded by her friends.

"Did you do it?" Harry asked, and Ginny nodded.

"Good," Ron said. "People have till a few days before Christmas and they announce the winner on the day everybody leaves to go home for Christmas."

"That late?" Ginny asked. That wouldn't give much time for the winner of the broom to claim it. But no matter. It wasn't her broom to dictate when it was given away.

"Well, I don't know about you guys," started Ron, "but all this shopping has made me hungry."

"What shopping?" Hermione snorted. "You didn't do anything."

Ron stopped patting his stomach as everybody laughed. "Yeah, well, you know, I'm just feeling sympathy hunger," Ron shrugged. "Because you girls have been shopping all morning, so it's only natural that, uh…I feel for you," he finished lamely, which only made everybody laugh harder. Ginny rolled her eyes. Though some things changed over time, she doubted that Ron ever would; she found herself wishing that he wouldn't.

She suddenly thought back to Miss Reina. The lady, now her friend, Ginny supposed, had said that time passed in the blink of an eye. Ginny walked down the street, watching her friends and brother around her enjoying each other's company; and when she thought back to where she had been at the beginning of the year and where she was now, she knew that she couldn't agree more.

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Please read all my comments! I tried putting a little DG interaction there at the end, because there wasn't much in here and I know how much ya'll love it. I wrote the end of this tonight while I was watching American Idol (go Taylor!) so that may be why the momentum fizzled out a bit, but hopefully it was good enough.

Alright so in this chapter, I dropped hints and clues all over the place about what's going to happen in the future. That's part of why it took so long to get this chapter out, because I was being careful. I'll congratulate you if you figure any of them out, though I'll never tell you if you're right or wrong.

BIG REQUEST: I want to ask you guys a favor. I want to ask you to not be too angry if I decide to change the title of the story. At first I liked the one it has now, but I've thought of a better one. I would like to rename it This Is Who You Are. And I promise that my reason for changing it will become crystal clear as the story progresses, probably more toward the end of the story. But I would like it if you'd review and let me know what you think. The main thing keeping me from changing it is I don't want readers to not know I change it and then never find my story again. So if I change it, I'll give a couple warnings in advance about it in the next few chapters to let you know. Please tell me in a review!

Another thing with the dresses and masks (more so the dresses) of Hermione and Ginny. I know I used some words describing them that probably aren't really used in the wizarding world (such as tulle) but there was just no other way for me to describe them. So just go with me, ok? Also, I have pictures of what I based their dresses and masks off of. I already had a basic picture in my mind of what I wanted it all to look like (especially with Ginny) but I still looked on the internet for reference. I'll post a link to those pictures in the chapter that contains the ball. Only thing is, I know won't show links. So, at the bottom of this chapter, I'm going to try a few practice ones to Google to see if it works in different ways. Just me practicing, though, so just ignore them.

I told you I had lots of author notes this time around. Probably since this chapter is longer than any I've ever done before! It's 31 pages on Word and 13,973 words. So you see, I wasn't just sitting around for almost a month. I was actually writing! And I like how the beginning of this chapter turned out, but I don't really like the middle sections. I was worried that this chapter wouldn't turn out well at all, but I'm content with it. Hopefully ya'll are too. Please review and let me know about the title!

Lauren

And the practice links to ttp / www. google. com/

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