Uncompromising

by The Boudicca

"We will be avenged. Our people will be avenged. Our power will return in my daughter, the next Lady will rise. Once betrayed, she shall awaken. Twice betrayed, she will avenge. Thrice betrayed, all will fear her and love her as she reigns. The power to save or damn will rest in her hands." Ginny is Slytherin and powerful with a prophecy guiding her. GW&DM GW&HP GW&TR R/R Pls

3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Float and Freeze

My mother decided that I do not exist.

I sat, emotionless and cold at the end of the table, and she simply passed over me. Ron openly picked fights with me and no one said anything. Fred and George buried themselves in their concoctions, their schemes. Percy was insufferable; stuck up his new boss's arse. I became the overlooked, the invisible. Once again, I was screaming in silence and no one even noticed. I was no longer in deep agony; instead a fine river of rage ran through my veins. I was angry. So angry. When I awoke, blood pounded in my ears. When Ron sneered at me, I heard my knuckles pop and crack as my fingers formed into fists. Percy talked about cauldron bottom thickness and my eyes squinted into a glare. The only thing that kept me sane were my letters with Draco. I wrote him everyday and everyday he dutifully replied.

When Mum and Dad lovingly offered to have Harry stay for the summer, Ron crowed and the fury bubbled up my throat and I growled darkly. Fred and George tried to make me laugh by getting Harry's fat cousin to eat a toffee that made his tongue grow almost to the size of an elephant's trunk. They nearly fell over themselves telling me about it in the kitchen. They expected soft, girly giggles; instead they got a dark cackle. Ron glared at me and hissed and then my hand twitched and the lights flashed on and off. Rage rumbled and rolled within me and the hot air inside of me slowly poured out through my teeth. I was literally steaming. I took a step towards Ron, but Harry stepped in between us.

"Ginny." He nodded at me. He looked pale and there were bags under his eyes.

"Harry." I said, no longer the blushing girl who couldn't meet his eye. He seemed to deflate with this realization.

"Are you excited for the World Cup?" Hermione chimed in, desperate to ease the tension in the room.

"Don't bother, Hermione." Ron sneered, "Snakes opinions don't matter."

"RON!" Hermione, Harry, Fred, and George all turned in his direction, shock on their faces and accusations in their tone. They waited for me to say something, but my silence hung heavy in the air like a prison sentence.

I could feel my anger boiling, threatening to overflow. I tried to tamp it down, biting the inside of my cheek to the point of drawing blood. It didn't help. Fury was quickly engulfing me, my control slipping away. My hand twitched and a nearby cabinet teetered and fell sharply to the ground; the crash devastating in the silent room. Ron yelped in fear. Hermione, Fred, and George jumped. Harry turned his head back to me, an uncertain accusation heavy in his emerald eyes.

No one was hurt, but they could have been. I needed to get myself under control. I side stepped the chaos around me as everyone attempted to right the cabinet and determine what happened and escaped into the outdoors. I could've hurt him. I could've hurt them. It would've been so easy. I shook with that realization. I needed to calm the fire inside of me, I needed control.

I walked into my woods and meandered, letting my mind wander while my feet take me where they would. Suddenly, I found myself waist deep in a stream. The water pulled and pushed at me, pulled at my very soul. It seemed to cool the anger boiling in my heart, lowering it to a small simmer. "Ginevra" the waves seemed to whisper at me. I trusted their voice and I let the river carry me away in its current. I washed ashore on a small island, a beautiful woman sat at a loom on the shore. Her hair fell in small braids framing her face and she was wrapped in silks, the soft blue shades pooling around her willowy figure. She shone with an inner light at her work. She tilted her head to meet my eyes and I was overcome with the lustrous power within them.

"Ginevra," She greeted me, leaving her loom and walking to my side. "I have been waiting for you, my Lady."

She offered me her hand and I took it without hesitation. Images flashed before my eyes, and I let them pull me under. This woman, ignored by her indifferent family. Her awakening to power, her inability to control it, her biggest regret, her banishment. The cold men who came to her door, who took what wasn't theirs, who hurt her. Her betrayal turning her skin into armor, her very body tuning into others inherent truths and moods. Serving a meal to a room full of lost, demanding soldiers who did not have pure intentions, laughing as they all turned into the swine they were around her. Falling in love with a man and begging him not to leave her protection, her devotion. Her desolation upon his leaving and eventual understanding that one cannot interfere with the course destiny has set for another.

The wave of images ended, my vision cleared, and I found myself looking into the clear blue eyes of the woman in front of me. "Circe." I named her.

"You have come far and overcome much, but there is still much you must do. I know of your pain, I know of your anger. They took everything from me and, once I had rebuilt it, they took it again. Like me, they will give you no peace, so you must make it yourself. You have regained your stability, but now you must regain your control." Her hand moved to the small of my back and she gestured towards the river, "Strength is in a stone, my lady, but strength is also in the river. It is fluid, soft and harsh, freezing and boiling, life giving and life taking in turn. It is a journey in and of itself." As she spoke she twisted her fingers and the water obeyed her command. Waves gently lapped at my feet, a small whirlpool opened sucking everything towards it with surprising force, a roll of water destroyed a log in its path, the air itself became heavier with the weight of her words.

Circe bent to the river and pulled out a small glass bottle. She filled the bottle to the brim with the water from the river and capped it. "This will give you strength and aide you in your control." She shook the bottle dry and the water droplets crystalized as they flew away from the bottle. Circe caught some of the droplets in her hand and brought it towards me. "These will give you insight." In her hand laid a series of small crystals and I reached out my hand to touch them. Immediately, they wound their way around the setting of the ring I had received from Hypatia. The ring still sat with a black stone in the center, with the crystals surrounding it like diamonds. The crystals seemed to elevate the simple stone, making the ring look refined and elegant.

I took the potion bottle in my hand and looked up to thank her. Suddenly, I saw her emotions, her innermost truths, as clearly as if she had written it in the sand at our feet. I saw the navy of her sadness in life, the deep green of her confidence and strength. I could also see the bright yellow of her joy and the royal blue of her inspiration in meeting me. I gasped and the colors around her faded, but the knowledge, the insight I had gained, would never fade. She smiled kindly at me, "Our time is brief, but I am here to help you, to guide you. You are not alone. You matter, my Lady." The waves at my feet pulled me back into the water and the current pulled me away sharply. Circe waved her goodbye, turned, and sat at her loom. With that, she began to fade into a small dot in the horizon as the current pushed me back into my reality.

I blinked and was back, sitting in the still waters of the stream of the woods behind the Burrow. My weight of the bottle and my altered ring sat comfortably on my hand. I felt reinvigorated by my journey and laid back, floating on top the water. Let the water soothe me, let it heal me.

When I came back to the Burrow, thoroughly drenched but serene, water dropping from my hair in fat droplets onto the floor, my Mother paused. Her eyes widened at the sight of me and a weird, muted sound came from her throat. With Circe's gift, I could see she was conflicted. The space between us had turned into a canyon over the past year and I watched the colors of her plethora of emotions play out around her. Had I been one of her boys, one of her Gryffindors, she would not hesitate to scold me and then quickly wrap me in a blanket to dry. She still had that desire, that instinct to do the same for me. But, she remembered that I was not a Gryffindor, I wasn't one of her boys, and she no longer knew how much, if at all, I was hers. She set her jaw and decided to do nothing, to ignore me entirely. She turned away, not saying a single word, and went back to her knitting.

I nodded in acknowledgement of her indifference. It hurt me more than it should, and I felt anger once again simmering in my core. I was 13. I needed my mother's love. I needed my mother. But all I got was distance and uncertainty. I stormed past her to my room. We had to be up early tomorrow to get to the World Cup, and I needed as much time as possible to calm myself again before spending a full day with Ron. I looked at the bottle and decided to see what Circe meant when she said it would give me strength. Throwing caution to the wind, I took a swig and a soothing coolness spread throughout my body. My simmering turned tepid immediately. I took another swig and the coolness within me seemed to harden, to freeze around me. It was glorious. I couldn't feel my anger, I couldn't feel my pain. I was frozen and floating in the river of absence.

The next morning came far too soon. Inspired by Circe, I put on a flowing cornflower blue dress, a quick transfiguration turning the fabric from dull, hand-me-down cotton, to smooth, luxurious silk. I had grown since I had last worn the dress, so I had to make some alterations to the bust and waist. When I looked in the mirror, I was surprised to see a young woman, and not a child staring back at me. My body was still developing, but I had some curves, the beginnings of an hourglass shape, and I was nearing 5'6". My eyes were an almond shape and practically all gold, with small shots of chocolate brown around the outside of my iris. My lips were plump and a soft pink. I could no longer find the ginger color of my childhood hair, instead my hair was a deep crimson, corkscrewing in thick waves down to the small of my back. I was objectively beautiful and it shocked me.

A knock at the door startled me out of my self review. "Five minutes until we need to leave, Ginny." My Dad whispered through the door. He was hoping to keep our departure quiet enough that we wouldn't wake those who could sleep in; an attempt that quickly failed when he went to give Ron his five-minute warning. I could hear Ron and Harry's panicked shuffle through the floors as they woke up late and attempted to ready themselves. I grabbed my wand, shrinking my parchment and bottle, my gifts as I thought of them, and sliding them into my pocket, and then I headed downstairs.

Fred and George were also downstairs waiting. They pulled me aside before we left.

"We're sorry about what happened yesterday." Fred said.

"And we've spoken to little Ronnikens about how he spoke to you." George said.

"So I wouldn't expect him to say anything else like that again…" Fred continued.

"Or else." George interrupted, his threat implicit in his tone.

"It's fine," I sighed. "He's said worse before and I'm sure he'll say worse again."

"What do you mean he's said worse?" George asked at the same time Fred said "He's said worse than that to you?" They both looked at each other, clearly uncomfortable but unsure in how to respond to that information.

"You just stick with us and don't worry your pretty little head." Fred pinched my cheek in a teasing way. I dodged George's corresponding cheek pinch and couldn't help the small smile that graced my face.

We all followed Dad to our designated port key spot. I walked between Fred and George, each taking turns trying to make me laugh while ignoring Ron's glowering. Cedric and Amos Diggory were waiting for us by an old shoe. Being from Ottery St Catchpole, I had known the Diggory's my whole life. I hadn't spoken to Cedric in years, but we were friendly enough, especially considering he was more of a friend to the twins than he ever was to me. He smiled as he caught Fred and George's eye and walked over to us as Amos fawned over Harry. I noticed Hermione's blush as Cedric walked past and Harry seemed to notice too. I could tell he was doing his best to keep one eye on Cedric while still being polite to Amos.

"Ced!" Greeted George. "Good to see you, mate." Said Fred.

"Fred. George." Cedric greeted them both. "And who is this lovely young lady?" he asked, his most charming smile on his face.

The twins and I laughed, confident that he was joking. He didn't join in on our laughter. In fact, he just looked more confused than before.

"Cedric… you seriously don't recognize me?" I asked. After an uncomfortable moment of silence, I finally answered his questions. "It's me, Ginevra. The girl who used to play Babbity Rabitty with the three of you…"

"Ginny!" Cedric sounded truly shocked. "Sorry, you look different – I mean – you've grown up – I mean you just, well, you look good." His cheeks blushed slightly. Fred and George narrowed their eyes in suspicion. Harry, who had been eavesdropping the entire time, raised his eyebrows up past his hairline.

I laughed again, "It's good to see you too, Ced. Are you excited for the game?" I asked.

"I would rather be playing than watching, but I'm very excited to see Ireland take home the gold!" He said

"So, you aren't a Krum fanatic like Ron?" I asked, smiling as Fred and George began to tease Ron over his love of Krum. Cedric shot me a grateful smile for changing the subject.

The World Cup campsite was chaotic. Most wizards and witches were walking around in robes and doing magic in the open. Still, Dad insisted on setting up the muggle way and I found myself chatting with Cedric for another hour or so. He was very attentive and charming, but every so often, I'd catch him looking at me with a surprising heat in his eye, a red passion.

Before I knew it, it was time for the game. We walked up an ungodly number of stairs to the penthouse box. I was surprised that we had seats in any box, much less the Minister's Box. Immediately upon entering, Draco spotted me and walked over. Harry and Ron were furious at the sight of him. He had grown over the break and was practically 6 feet tall now.

"Ginevra! You look radiant." He bent over to press a kiss on my cheek. Ron and Harry sputtered indignantly. Draco smirked in their direction. Harry growled low in his throat in return. "Mr. Weasley," he turned towards my Dad, "I was hoping you would permit Ginevra to sit with some of her classmates during the game. We have reserved her a seat right over there." He said, pointing towards the left side of the box.

"Ginny can sit wherever she would like to." My dad responded stiffly. Suddenly his eyes flared up with hatred. Lucius spotted us and was walking up behind Draco.

"Good Lord, Arthur. How did you manage to get these tickets? Surely, your house didn't fetch that much…" Lucius sneered. My Dad's face flushed and anger began simmering in the pit of my stomach on his behalf. I grasped onto the ice the potion had left in my veins from yesterday.

"Mr. Malfoy," my voice was a calm, cool stream, guiding his focus away from my dad and onto me. "I'd heard the unfortunate news that you lost your seat on the Board of Governors, and after all the money you had to spend to get it in the first place. It must be reassuring that your money can still buy you some things, even if it is just tickets to a Quidditch game." My tone was ice; dry and freezing. Lucius seethed and my Dad stood behind me proudly. I held Lucius's eye as he fumed. I did not shrink from the challenge or flush in anger as my Gryffindor family would have. His gaze turned calculating and Draco intervened, his concern and affection for me coloring briefly in front of my eyes.

"Ginevra," Draco said, taking my hand and putting it in the crook of his arm, "Let's find our seats." He nodded at his father and walked me towards an elegant looking blonde in the opposite corner. He paused in front of the tall, beautiful woman, "Mother," he said, "This is Ginevra Weasley, a third year Slytherin. Ginevra, this is Narcissa Black Malfoy, my mother."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Malfoy." I extended my hand in her direction. Slowly, she sized me up, starting at my feet and working her way up to look me in the eyes. Like her husband, she held a challenge in her eyes, but Circe's insight told me it was not malicious, but based out of care for her son. A small smile graced my lips on this realization and it seemed to be the deciding factor as she accepted my gesture and shook my hand.

"Ginevra." She nodded and dropped my hand. "Draco has mentioned you in several of his letters. It is nice to put a face to a name." she said. "Take your seats, the game is about to begin." I felt her eyes follow me to my seat and return to me several times throughout the match.

I suppose the game was interesting enough. I managed to discreetly take another sip from my bottle and spent the majority of the game freezing.

After the game, Draco escorted me back to my family. "I will see you back at school." He said and tucked some hair behind my ear. His hand paused, cupping my cheek before falling to his side. "You really do look beautiful." He muttered. I smiled and caught his hand, threading my fingers through his and squeezing his hand in an assuring manner. He shot a quick sneer at Harry and Ron and returned to his mother, who had watched our entire interaction with equal parts curiosity and concern. Lucius also had seen everything, but his eyes showed mostly disapproval.

The celebrations after the game lasted late into the night and Hermione and I had only just gotten to sleep when Dad sprinted into the room telling us to get up quickly.

"What do you think it is?" I asked.

"More celebrating, probably." Hermione sighed. Then the first scream pierced the air. The groggy, sleep deprived fog fled my brain, making me instantly alert. I opened my palm and my jumper flew from across the room. I threw it on, grabbed my wand, and slipped on my shoes and hurried Hermione to do the same. She looked befuddled at the situation and at my display of wandless magic. I could see her rationalizing away what she thought she saw, but it was slowing her down.

"Come on, Hermione. We need to move now." I urged her into the main tent. She immediately went to Harry and Ron's side.

"Fred, George, take your sister, Harry, Ron, and Hermione and get them away from here." My Dad ordered. The twins nodded seriously. "Keep them safe." He emphasized. "Charlie, Percy, and I are going to go help the Ministry." And like that he, Charlie, and Percy ran into the battle.

My heart leapt into my throat. I didn't want my Dad to go. I didn't want them to be in danger. Even though no one had said it, I knew in my bones this had to do with Tom. I couldn't lose anymore to him. I shifted my gaze to the twins and the Trio. I needed to keep them safe. Fred and George told us to stick together and stay with them. There was no humor in their tone or in their eyes and that alone broke my heart.

As soon as we stepped out of the tent, it was bedlam. People ran in every direction, some were fleeing, some were fighting. Screams filled the air from every direction. There were small fires that had started in several areas of the campsite, but none of it was as bad as what we saw next. A group of marching wizards, moving as a military unit, wearing dark, dark black robes and silver masks to hide their faces. Death Eaters. Cowards. Above them floated the muggle family who owned the campsite. They were screaming in terror and the Death Eaters were laughing gleefully at their fear.

One of the Death Eaters must have spotted us, a group of Weasleys, a muggleborn, and Harry Potter, because suddenly a bright red curse flew towards us. Hermione screamed. I stepped in front of her and used my wand to direct the slicing curse towards our tent, which it ripped in half. Without thinking, I volleyed back, sending hexes and curses, some from my wand, others as a beam of light directly from my palm, at the Death Eaters at a maddening speed. Bat Bogeys plagued the some of the Death Eaters, others were thrown away from their group and towards the Ministry wards by a quick blasting hex. But their depleted numbers were not stopping them, the group continued to trudge towards us. I could feel the remaining ice in my veins, grounding me, keeping me centered as I used more and more complicated magic to protect our group. It was when I put up a wandless shield around us all that the twins decided we had to move.

"GINNY! Let's go!" screamed the twins. We grabbed each other's hands and tried to snake through the crowd and into the woods. It was too chaotic. Somehow, we were separated from the Trio, by the time I had gotten Fred and George's attention to tell them, we couldn't find them. We tried to run back towards the fray, thinking we might spot them, but right at that time, a crowd ran in between us and I was separated from Fred and George.

I was alone and in the open. Fire surrounded me. The Death Eaters marched forward, blasting a tent out of their way. There was nowhere for me to hide. These men, Tom's men, rushed towards me menacingly. A few had spotted me and they began marching in my direction. Above them, the muggle family still screamed and bobbed about in the air. One of the Death Eaters had charmed music to play and was moving them around as if in a mock waltz.

Let's Dance.

Fear, anger, and a deep hatred flooded me and I desperately tried to regain the ice in my veins, but it had melted. In fact, I was boiling over. But, the usual chaos of this hate did not deter me, in fact I felt fueled by my bubbling anger. So, I let the current direct me and I threw my hands up in the air and cried out one word, "NO."

The sky opened. Fat, speeding bullets of rain dropped to the ground in sheets, instantly putting out the fires and drenching everyone. The storm shook up the Death Eaters. They separated into several smaller groups. One of the muggles had escaped his floating prison and was in the process of running away. The Ministry took advantage of the separation and started to break the group up even further.

A group of five Death Eaters continued to come towards me. Let them come. I thought darkly. I mimicked the way Circe had moved her fingers, desperately hoping this would work. The water on the ground began to gather in a pool in front of me and slowly, I was able to whip it into a small whirlpool, moving at a deadly speed. Three of the Death Eaters could not resist the force of the water; they were pulled under and sucked across the field, spinning in the whirlpool. Two continued towards me. I did not move, a sneer on my face as they advanced. One tried to yell something at me, but I could not hear it over the whipping winds. Then, the other raised his wand, I could not see his face through his mask, but I saw his intent clear as day. He aimed to kill me. I hissed and pointed at the wizard and instantaneously, a bolt of lightning struck the man. He screamed and fell to the ground. He didn't get up. The other Death Eater looked at me, clearly shocked and apparated away.

My eyes stayed locked on the fallen Death Eater. Had I just killed someone? Had I just murdered someone? It was wrong. I was wrong. Fear and panic spread through my body, paralyzing me. Without my focus, the storm began to lessen, the whirlpool spitting the Death Eaters out towards the ministry and dying away to a tepid pool.

Suddenly, Cedric, Fred, and George were next to me. Fred had his hands on my shoulders and was physically shaking me out of my stupor. "Ginny! Are you okay? Are you hurt? What's wrong?" George had his wand out, ready to heal me or curse anyone who approached.

"Is he dead?" I whispered, my eyes drawn to the fallen Death Eater.

"Who?" Fred screamed.

But Cedric had understood. "Cover me!" he shouted at George and ran forward, through the now calm pool and towards the body. George watching his surroundings, poised to attack, while Fred moved behind me, watching the rear. Cedric took off the wizard's mask and seemingly felt for a pulse. He ran back towards us.

Cedric solemnly said, "He's dead." The air left my lungs. I couldn't breathe. Panic gripped at me. I was going to be sick. Cedric grabbed me, "Breathe, Ginny. Breathe."

"We need to get out of here." George called. Fred and Cedric nodded. George stood at the front, Fred had one arm around me, pushing me towards the woods, the other hand held his wand at the ready, and Cedric protected our rear. We moved towards the canopy of trees, Fred whispering soothing nonsense in my ear. Once we were alone, hidden among the forest, we stopped moving. Everyone was shaking with adrenaline and terror.

Cedric leaned over to catch his breath, "What was that?" he asked, looking up at me.

"What do you mean, 'What was that?'" George asked. "We saw what happened."

"I don't know how we got so lucky." Fred said. He paced in front of me and explained, "Once the storm started, we found Cedric and came to find you. And we saw you there with five of them coming towards you."

"And we couldn't see your wand." George said. My wand was, in fact, in my pocket. I hadn't thought to use it, I realized in shock. George continued, "So, we tried to run to get you, and I don't know who was casting curses,"

"But someone must have been looking out for you, because that whirlpool opened in front of you, which was crazy." Fred interrupted.

"And then we saw the lightening hit that guy. When we got to you, you were just standing there." George ended. There was a pause as they waited for me to contribute my version of events, but I said nothing.

"That was some powerful magic." Cedric said, his eyes serious, his tone heavy with an unspoken accusation.

George must have picked up on the accusation as well. "She didn't do it. She didn't have her wand." He glared at Cedric.

"You saw what happened. She didn't even say anything, much less curse anyone. She's not a killer." Fred replied angrily. His sentence rattled around my brain. She's not a killer. Not a killer.

Cedric, whose eyes were still locked on mine, said "Of course, she didn't. I'm just saying, it was very powerful magic." Fred and George nodded, accepting his excuse.

"Who was it?" I uttered, fine tremors still wracking my body. Fred and George whipped around to face me. "Who died?" I clarified.

"I think his name was Gibbon. I met him at the Ministry before." Cedric replied.

I began to cry, thick tears running down my cheeks.

"Ginny, don't cry." George rushed to me and held me in his arms, cutting Cedric and my eye contact. "I know it was scary, but it's over now." Fred ran a hand up and down my back.

Suddenly another scream rang out. Fred, George, and Cedric immediately stood around me, prepared to attack. But no attack came. I saw what the others didn't. A ghostly green skull, with a snake coming out of its mouth.

"Please, no." I whispered in horror, tears still pouring down my face. In the silence, it was loud enough for Fred, George, and Cedric to hear and they turned to me. They followed my gaze and gasped at the atrocious sight. Any questions they had for me disappeared as they watched the snake sliding in and out of the skull's mouth.

I sank to the ground, buried my hands in soil, and hung my head, crying softly. No one spoke. The boys waited around me, wands at the ready until we heard a shout in a familiar voice. "Weasleys!" Dad was calling. "Fred! George! Ginny!" I could hear Amos behind him, calling for Cedric. They were looking for us. George ran to get them while Fred and Cedric stayed behind with me. George must have filled them in on what he'd seen, because when Dad arrived, he grabbed Fred in a tight hug and then dropped to the ground. "Come on, GinBean." He lifted my chin with his fingers and looked into my eyes, drowning in despair. "Let's go home."

The pain was brutal. I was a killer. I was a monster. Fred and George told everyone who would listen about the seemingly kismet lightning strike. Some unknowable force was punishing a bad man. They tried to explain my shock, saying they weren't sorry Gibbon died, they were just sorry I had to see it. The whole situation just made me hate myself even more.

My Dad tried to talk to me about what happened, tried to get me to open up, but his hands were full with the Harry situation. In my opinion, anyone who thought Harry Potter had cast Morsmorde was an idiot, but that boy was a magnet for trouble. Ron stormed around the house, demanding someone help Harry. Meanwhile, Harry looked at me guiltily, as if he had caused the entire attack. I could see he felt incredibly guilty about getting separated from us. In his mind, none of this would have happened if he had been there to help me. I couldn't correct or comfort him, my body and mind still paralyzed in revulsion of my actions. My mother bobbed about, fretting over what had happened, and what could have happened, to her family. She fawned over Harry, Hermione, and all her boys, but she noticeably skipped me.

I couldn't handle it. I spent the rest of my break locked in my room, pouring more and more potion down my throat until I was frozen through. I was made of ice and I felt nothing. That is how I started my third year of Hogwarts.

As soon as we got on the train, I found an empty compartment. It took Draco and Theo 15 minutes to find me. Immediately, Draco pulled me into his arms. "I was worried." He muttered into my hair. I leaned against his chest, but said nothing. He let me go and pulled back to stare into my face. "Ginevra, what is it?" I said nothing. Theo came from around Draco and moved my face to look at him. He looked at me piercingly, but it had no affect.

I said nothing, and while both boys were disturbed, they did not push me. They chatted about the upcoming Triwizard Tournament, hoping to surprise me with the news, but nothing cracked my icy exterior.

I sat through the Sorting Ceremony and Opening Feast in between Draco and Theo, barely eating or drinking. Harry was staring at me throughout the feast, his eyes filled with guilt and pain, but he wasn't the only one staring. Boys from every year and every House were shooting me interested looks ever since I got on the train. Draco and Theo were not pleased about it at all. In fact, Draco was furious about it and he spent a good portion of the feast glaring down those who looked at me and another good portion of the feast making it clear to everyone that I was "his." He kept his arm around my waist throughout the entire feast and would lean in very close whenever he could to whisper something in my ear in what looked like an intimate gesture. Theo scowled at everyone, me included. When I looked closer at Theo,I saw green and twisting envy, his stare locked on Draco's arm on my waist. This realization made me flush, and I determined to not "look" at Theo as much to respect his privacy. All of the touching was slightly annoying, but all I had to do was look down the table at Warrington and Flint, both of whom were eyeing me with a mix of lust and hate, to know that Draco was just doing his best to help me. So, I smiled softly whenever he whispered in my ear and tried to be unmoved by the obvious battle of testosterone around me. The feast passed by in a blur, Dumbledore making his usual comments before announcing the details for the Tournament.

Before I knew it, I was standing, Draco's arm around my waist possessively and Theo standing by my open side and we left the Great Hall, but we didn't get very far.

"Ms. Weasley." Snape drawled. I turned and walked towards him. Draco and Theo waiting behind me.

"Ms. Weasley, after your performance in Advanced Charms last year, Professor Flitwick has petitioned me to allow you in my Advanced Potions class this year. I also understand you will be taking Advanced Herbology. I am willing to allow you to join my class, assuming that you understand that I will not accept incompetence or failure of any kind." He sneered down his nose at me. I nodded my understanding. Once again, I felt him peer into my mind, but ice is hard to crack, and at this point, I was made of it. I turned my head away from him and he nodded, in his own way of apologizing. "I will see you in the advanced class." He turned, cloak flying, and stalked down the corridor. I caught up with both Draco and Theo, but apparently, I was very popular.

"Ginny! Hey, Ginny! Wait up!" someone called, chasing us down the hallway. Draco huffed in annoyance. Cedric Diggory jogged up to us.

"Gin," he said, "I just wanted to see how you're doing since, well, since you know."

"Since what?" Draco practically snarled. Cedric looked around and gestured for me to follow him into an empty room. Theo and Draco followed him, dragging me along with them. Once inside the room, Theo automatically put a silencing charm on the room. Cedric looked at him appraisingly before deciding to say what he came to say.

"Ginny, I just wanted to know if you're okay. You seemed really… upset after the attack and when I tried to check in on you afterwards the twins said that you weren't available."

Draco's head whipped to stare at me as I looked steadily at the floor and anchored myself in my precious ice.

"You were at the attack?" Theo asked Cedric. Cedric nodded.

"You were at the attack with Ginevra?" Draco asked, prompting him to get to the point.

"Yeah – it was crazy. We saw this guy, Gibbon, get struck by lightning and he died." Cedric said. He looked up at me with the same question in his eyes as before. Draco and Theo also turned to look at me. I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at the floor, my hair falling around my face.

"Diggory," Draco said, turning to face Cedric, "Ginevra's fine. Thank you for your concern. I'm sure you can catch up later." Draco dismissed him with a gesture of his hand.

"I think Ginny can speak for herself." Cedric said, clearly offended on my behalf.

"Of course, she can, she just doesn't have to." Draco sneered back as Theo started to push Cedric out of the room.

Cedric struggled against Theo, "Fine, I get it. I'm going." He said as he brushed Theo's hands off of him, "Ginny, I'll talk to you later." He looked at me pointedly and left the room. Theo closed the door firmly behind him.

"I think this is a conversation better had in your room, Ginevra." Draco said. Theo nodded, and then we left. Once we made it back to my room, with the same modified furniture I had transfigured last year, Theo cast another silencing charm. I sat down on the side of my king-sized bed. Theo sat on the divan and Draco began pacing in front of me.

"My father was there as well." He started, shooting us both a quick glare insisting we not ask the obvious question. Neither Theo or I said anything and Draco continued. "He said that they saw a girl in a blue dress do some impressive magic, calling in what felt like a monsoon. He swears that he then saw her suck them into a whirlpool and struck Gibbon with lightning. He said that she did all this without a wand." He paused to bring attention to this last distinction. "He said they didn't get a good look at who it was, because of the night and the storm, but she caused the only casualty the Death Eater's suffered. He said they are looking for her." He paused again and stopped pacing.

"Ginevra." He turned to look at me. "Please tell me what I'm thinking is wrong." Theo stood up to stand besides Draco. Draco then walked over and sat beside me on the bed. He placed my face in his hands and had me look in his eyes. Silver met gold and the air felt heavy. "Tell me it wasn't you." He begged.

This time, it wasn't anger that melted through my ice, it was what I saw in Draco's eyes. I saw his deep affection for me, his attraction to me, but in the moment, all I could see was his concern. Seeing something that wasn't a challenge, wasn't indifference, wasn't ignorance, wasn't hate for me gave me the strength I needed to be willing to feel again.

I leaned into his palm, still cupping my face, and sighed. Unshed tears filled my eyes and I whimpered out, "I didn't mean to." My voice broke half way through the sentence and before I knew it, I was sobbing into Draco's shoulder.

"Oh, Ginevra." Draco said, immediately wrapping his arms around me. Theo sat on my other side and grabbed my hand.

"It will be okay." Draco soothed, running his hand down my head, smoothing my hair in a comforting gesture.

"I'm a murderer." I sobbed.

"No, you're a survivor. It was you or him." Draco insisted.

"They're looking for you." Theo said, squeezing my hand possessively.

"I will fix this. No one will find out." Draco said, glaring at Theo.

"He will come for her anyway." Theo muttered. I drew a shuddering gasp when he said that and Draco hissed, pulling me closer into his embrace.

"What? You both know I'm right." Theo said. He shrugged, kissed my hand, and said, "I'm sorry you had to go through that. But Draco's right, it was either you or him. And I'm glad that you're still here." He then turned and left the room.

Draco glared after him. He turned and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "It will be okay, Ginevra. I will make it okay." He muttered. When he left me, I crawled into the shower and cried underneath the steam. Then, I drank two solid gulps from Circe's bottle and felt the glorious absence of pain again.

We did not discuss it again. Instead, Draco and Theo allowed me to deal with what happened however I wanted. They both found ways to say they were available should I want to discuss it, but I did not, and they did not push me to. Draco must have scared off Cedric as well, because he didn't try to talk to be about the attack again, despite the fact that we were now in the same advanced potions class.

Classes were not very challenging, with the exception of advanced potions. Madame Sprout in advanced herbology was very impressed with my skills and bragged to others that I had a green thumb. Moody put on quite a show of murdering spiders in his DADA classes. He was practically gleeful putting students under the imperius curse until I threw off the curse almost immediately. It made me miss Remus deeply. I caught Moody sizing me up and leering at me several times throughout the rest of class. I could see something wrong in him, wrong like me, but even more so. He was not stable. After much internal debate, I wrote a letter to Dumbledore and sent it by Morrigan. I had carefully written that while I could not explain exactly what was wrong, something was wrong with Moody. He was not safe for students to be around. Then I apologized, explaining that even if I was incorrect in my assessment, I felt it my duty to express my concern, especially after the events of my first year. Dumbledore wrote back a kind but dismissive response, thanking me, but assuring me that Moody was fine and he was watching. I scowled at the response and sent both letters to Remus, hoping he could get through to the Headmaster. My duty done, I spent about a month floating in frozen absence and doing my best to ignore the leers and stares that seemed to follow me from every direction.

The delegates from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons arrived and the whole school had a bee in their bonnet about it, except for me. Had Snape not made me attend, I would've spent the welcome ceremony brewing potions in the advanced lab. If nothing else, I was somewhat pleased to see the arrival of the Beauxbaton students with some veela among their population, purely because it meant less male attention for me. Draco was excited to see some friends of his family from Durmstrang and was initially excited to show me off. "Vlad, this is Ginevra Weasley, a third year in my house." He said, arm tucked possessively around my waist, just to make it perfectly clear to everyone that I was taken. Vlad, apparently, did not understand or care to understand Draco's possessive gesture as he approached and kissed my hand. He looked up into my eyes and said something in Russian in a deep voice. I could see the lust bloom above him in passionate reds as he looked me up and down. I, being frozen, had no reaction. Draco; however, was far from amused. Which led to the argument we were having the night the Champions were chosen. We sat at the Slytherin table, which was currently overflowing with Durmstrang students.

"Look Ginevra," Draco whispered into my ear, "Just let me kiss you after the Champions are announced. I'll make a great show of it, and you won't have to deal with any one thinking they have a chance with you." His breath tickled my neck and his words sparked a small flutter in my stomach.

"Draco," I sighed. I turned to look at him, our faces mere centimeters apart, "I haven't changed my mind. I don't want my first kiss to be in front of everyone, or for it to be a 'great show' for that matter."

"Well, if that's the case, I am happy to do it privately first if you'd prefer." He grinned cheekily at me, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. I rolled my eyes but couldn't help the laugh that spilled out of my lips.

Theo's head snapped up from his homework to look at me and Draco grinned as if he had caught the golden snitch.

"I missed that sound." Draco said, quickly kissing my cheek before turning back to his dinner. I hadn't realized that I hadn't laughed in so long, but when I thought about it, I realized he was right. I couldn't remember laughing since before the attack at the World Cup.

I caught Theo's crystal eyes and he nodded reassuringly at me, smiling in encouragement, before returning to his essay. I felt a sudden wave of affection for him and Draco, my only two friends. I smiled at both of them, before putting out one hand towards Theo, "Give it here." I said, gesturing to his essay.

"Oh, thank Merlin." Theo breathed in relief and handed his essay over.

"Don't thank Merlin, he's not the one correcting your essay." I grumbled as I looked over his arithmancy problems. "You used the Chaldean method here, it's supposed to be the Agrippan method." I said, underlining his error, and quickly scratching out the correct formula next to his error. "Here." I said, handing it back.

"I'm glad things are getting back to normal." Draco said, smiling at me and then growling a warning to the ever present male stares.

Then, Dumbledore called for our attention. It was time to draw the names from the Goblet of Fire. We started with Durmstrang, and I clapped politely as Victor Krum was chosen, the Durmstrang students at our table hooting and hollering for their classmate. Beauxbatons went next, and Fleur Delacour, a beautiful part veela, was chosen. She flipped her glossy hair over her shoulder as she went to stand beside Madame Maxine and several boys audibly sighed. I, once again, clapped politely. Finally, it was Hogwarts turn. Warrington had made quite a show of submitting his name in the Goblet and I desperately hoped he wouldn't be chosen. But it wasn't Carl's name that Dumbledore called out, it was Cedric Diggory. I turned to watch him accept a clap on the back or excited hug from approximately every Hufflepuff on his walk towards Dumbledore. He seemed excited and confident, but I could see how nervous he was internally. I clapped as he disappeared into the back room with the other champions and turned to Draco when the goblet jumped to life again.

"Oh no." I said, in a small voice filled with dread. No matter what happens next, I knew in my bones it would not be good. I watched a small piece of singed paper fly through the air until Dumbledore caught it.

The entire Great Hall was silent. "Harry Potter." Dumbledore read out. Gasps rang out throughout the room, but my eyes found him immediately. He was sitting with Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table, he looked utterly shocked. Hermione pushed him forward and he stumbled. He shakily walked to the front of the room and into the side door in complete silence. While I had to use my insight to see Cedric's nerves, I didn't have to use any gifts to see Harry's. His fear, his shock, was etched across his face.

As soon as the door closed, the entire Hall erupted with noise. Draco was fuming, "How did he do it? How did he get past the age line?" He seethed.

"Draco," I sighed quietly, "He didn't, obviously."

"Oh please!" Draco huffed. "You think Mr. Famous could stand to not be the center of attention for one year? Of course, he did it."

I shook my head. "Did you see his face? Someone is trying to kill him. I know it."

"Someone is always trying to kill him." Draco sneered. "As long as we stay far enough away from him, I don't rightly care anymore."

"I owe him a life debt." I muttered.

Draco groaned, his head falling into his hand in frustration. "You've got to be kidding me!" Several Slytherins and a few Durmstrang students turned to see what we were discussing, this being the most talkative I had been all year.

"We'll talk about this later." I said, ending the discussion.

I felt the foreboding deep in my stomach. Somehow, I knew it tied back to Tom; it always did.

Time seemed to move quickly, and before I knew it the first task was less than a week away. Cedric had never been more popular while Harry had never been so isolated. I watched as Ron publicly feuded with Harry. Hermione was his only friend. I should have been furious on Harry's behalf, but I was too frozen to feel any particular way about it. Draco annoyed me with his Potter Stinks badges but whenever I told him he was acting like a child he replied that he was 14 and was allowed, expected, and even encouraged to be childish at this time in his life. I rolled my eyes and stopped discussing it with him, but refused to wear one of those stupid badges. Then, it seems, fate intervened.

I was using the advanced potions lab during my free period, when my classmates we're in charms, when a tall, burly redhead ran into the room, clutching his arm and yelling for Snape.

"Charlie?" I asked.

"Ginny?" He replied, seeing me. "Where's Snape? I need some dragon-fire resistant burn cream now." I could see the singed pieces around where he clutched his arm.

I walked out behind my bench and came around to him. "Let me see." I said, my hands on my hips.

"Maybe we should wait for Snape..." He said uncertainly quickly followed by a hiss of pain.

"Well, if you'd like to wait for him to return, take a seat. If you'd like for me to help you now, you'll have to show me."

He sighed and lifted his hand. It was a massive second-degree burn, the skin bubbling grotesquely on his arm, but I was unflappable; frozen solid. I directed him to sit and summoned a quick pain-relieving potion next to him. He downed it quickly and I waited for the pain reliever to kick in. I suggested that he not look while I worked on his arm, and he gratefully turned his head.

"So, Ginny, what are you doing in the advanced potions lab?" he asked while I cast a spell that quickly cleaned the wound.

"I take advanced potions." I said, drawing a quick healing ruin with my wand over his arm.

"But you're in third year!" he countered.

"Yes, but I took advanced charms last year and Professor Snape seemed to think me capable." I said as I walked over to my cauldron.

"You took advanced charms as a second year?" Charlie asked, surprised.

"Yes, I did." I said, as I quickly and methodically chopped ingredients. "What are you doing here, Charlie? I would've thought they'd have plenty of burn cream in Romania." I said, casting a quick spell over the bubbling cauldron.

"I'm here to help the Ministry with something for the Tournament." He paused, "I mean... I'm here to see family." He said, looking at me sheepishly.

"So, the first task is dragons?" I said. He flushed and grumbled. "Interesting." I quickly bottled my concoction and walked it over to Charlie. "Now, I will put this on for you now, but you must reapply in two hours exactly. Do you understand?" I asked.

"Yes." He sighed as I spread the cream across his burn. He hissed in relief. "Oh, that's good. What is that?" he asked.

"It's not the exact cream you were looking for, time was of the essence so I used something I've been working on." I said. "It will heal the affected burn and save any nerves that may have been damaged, but you have to reapply it in two hours or it's a moot point." I explained.

"Well, it's marvelous." Charlie exclaimed.

Then Snape walked into the room and came to a sudden halt. "Weasleys, what is this?" he hissed.

"Just a burn, Professor." I replied, already cleaning up my supplies.

"And what did you treat it with?" he glared at Charlie's arm, which was slightly glowing under the cream.

"A modified dragon-fire repellent cream." I said.

"Modified?" Snape glowered. "You, stupid girl. You could've permanently maimed your own brother." He said, rushing over to the cauldron and analyzing my station. "You exchanged the blast ended skrewt shells for bowtruckle tears? But that would affect the-" he started.

"Which is why I added the-" I interrupted.

"Naturally. But how did that affect the-"

"It affects the viscosity, but not the outcome." I answered. "This version just takes significantly less time to brew, Sir." I said.

Snape nodded. "Submit a sample to me and we shall see how it measures up." He scowled. He then turned on his heel and left the lab.

Charlie looked at me as if he'd never seen me before. "Did you just speak Snape?" he asked, his eyes wide. It had been a good day. Not only did Charlie let slip the task, but proved myself to not be an incompetent failure to Snape. I tried to force a small smile, but it felt foreign on my frozen face.

I left the potions lab for the library and saw Harry and Hermione, clearly panicking in an attempt to prepare for the first task. Harry saved my life, maybe I could help save his. I walked over to his and Hermione's table and waited for one of them to notice me.

"Ginny?" Harry asked.

"Dragons." I whispered, "The task is dragons." Hermione gasped. Harry paled. "Don't ask me how I know, I just do." I said. I waited until Harry nodded in understanding before I turned away.

"Ginny," Harry called out, I paused. "Thank you."

I turned to look at him over my shoulder, "Be careful, Harry." and then I left the library.

Now that I had told Harry, my thoughts turned to Cedric. He had helped me the night of the World Cup; now I would help him.

It was harder to get the more popular Hogwarts Champion alone, but when he saw me waiting outside his class, he waved his friends on without him. He shot me a questioning glance and slid his hands in his pockets. I quickly looked to see who might overhear us, before whispering, "Dragons. The first task is dragons."

"Are you sure?" Cedric replied. I nodded. He loudly inhaled, paused, before just as loudly exhaling. "Dragons. Okay. Dragons. Thank you." He said. I nodded and walked away. He watched me as I moved down the corridor and disappeared towards the dungeons.

The task itself was terrifying to witness. I sat in the stands, next to Draco and Theo, and watched each Champion try to capture their egg. I felt like my stomach was in my throat throughout the entirety of Cedric's attempt. He transfigured a rock into a dog to distract the dragon, but it didn't quite work. In the end, he had to blind the dragon to get this egg. The crowd roared with their approval. Harry's attempt, well, Harry's attempt was breathtaking. The boy can fly. He ended up winning the task. Draco was incredibly frustrated, but I could only feel a little, and I chose to be grateful that I wasn't forced to watch Harry's execution.

After the task, Harry's fortunes changed. Suddenly, he was Hogwart's golden boy again. He and Ron had made up and the Potter Stinks badges made less and less of an appearance around the school. Draco still wore his proudly to every meal. The next big excitement was the Yule Ball. As soon as the ball had been announced, Draco had informed me that we would go together. Afterall, I had agreed to be his. Now that the first task was over, the whole school became obsessed with who was taking whom to the event. I was asked by a surprising number of people. Four Slytherins, a several Durmstrang students, two Ravenclaws, three Gryffindors; Dean, Neville, and Colin, the boy I had petrified in my first year, but most surprisingly, Cedric. He had cornered me after advanced potions one day.

"Ginny! Wait up!" he called after me. I waited for him in the hallway and once he caught up, we began to walk towards the Great Hall.

"Ced." I said in way of a greeting. "Congratulations on the first task."

"I only did so well because I had help." He said, grinning at me. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I need to appropriately thank you for your help." He said, putting his hands in his pockets. "Would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?" he asked.

I paused, "Aren't you dating someone? That Ravenclaw, Cho?" I asked him, thoroughly confused.

"Technically yes, but I don't think that is going to last for much longer." he answered, "And I would much rather spend the evening thanking you. I'm a very good dancer and I've been told that I'm enjoyable company." He smiled cheekily.

I gave him a forced small smile, "I already have a date for the night, but thank you for the offer." I said.

"Oh, of course." He nodded, slightly dejected. "Well, save me a dance."

Christmas morning arrived. I didn't receive a Weasley sweater, but my Dad wrote me a letter and my Mum sent a box of cookies. They were Ron's favorites, but I was pleasantly surprised to receive anything from her. Draco gave me a beautiful pair of drop earrings, each holding an alarmingly large sapphire. Theo gave me a series of books on Celtic mythology. Surprisingly, I received a neatly wrapped, luxurious set of robes from Narcissa Malfoy. The note attached did not offer much explanation as to why she got me a gift in the first place and Draco was not able to provide one either. But the robes were beautiful and I could not detect any curses placed on them, so I quickly wrote Narcissa a brief thank you letter and sent it off with Morrigan. There wasn't a lot of time for me to ponder intentions behind the gift as I needed to get ready for the Ball.

My mother had sent me some pink dress robes, covered in bits and pieces of lace. I had been playing around with the fabric all week, trying to determine what I would transfigure my robes to look like. Draco's earrings had given me the inspiration I had searched for.

Sapphire blue silk hugged my form, spun tightly against my curves before flowing out around my knees. The dress had a modest front, but the two thin straps ran parallel to reveal a completely open back. A simple piling charm pulled my hair up, a few curly tendrils falling down my back and framing my face. I wore Draco's sapphire earrings and my ring. I darkened my lashes and painted my lips crimson, to match my hair. I held my potion bottle in my hand, but in the end, decided to thaw tonight, and left it in my room.

When I met Draco downstairs, looking handsome in his black robes trimmed in velvet, he inhaled sharply and came to press a kiss to my cheek, "You look ravishing." He looked deeply into my eyes and I felt a flutter in my stomach. I was suddenly worried I would blush.

The Great Hall had been transformed into a stunning ballroom and when Draco and I entered, people turned to stare. Students ogled us, and both Karakoff and Moody leered at me as if I were a piece of meat as I passed. It made me uncomfortable, but Draco seemed unphased. He directed us to our seats and we ate a modest meal and made polite conversation with the Slytherins and Durmstrang students around us. We watched as the champions took to the floor. Fleur spun her besotted date around the room. Krum stared at Hermione as if she were the most gorgeous woman in the world. Cedric smiled politely as he waltzed with Cho. Harry looked incredibly uncomfortable, holding on to one of the Patil twins tightly. Then, all students were invited to dance.

Draco gracefully extended his hand and drew me to the floor. He held me close in his arms and together we glided across the floor. Besides almost being run over by Fred, who was tangoing with his delighted date, we seemed to flow seamlessly throughout the other couples. He led expertly, using small gestures to let me know when he would turn me or when I should spin.

When the song changed, we stopped our trek across the floor and began rotating slowly in one spot. He held me close, my arms around his neck and one of his hands on my hip while the other was splayed on the small of my back. I don't know if it was intentional, but his fingers were tapping the rhythm of the song against my bare back. The tapping sent ripples throughout my body, warmth spreading down to curl my toes. When I looked into his eyes, silver met gold and my breath hitched. I could see the passion, the lust, and the affection, pouring from his eyes. As if pulled by a magnetic force, I felt my lips inching towards his, my face angling to match his, my center of gravity adjusting as I stood on tiptoe to be closer to him. Suddenly, I was yanked away from Draco's arms and pulled strongly off of the dance floor.

Ron.

His hand held tight on my forearm and he pulled me towards the back of the Great Hall. "Absolutely unacceptable." He was loudly muttering to himself, his nostrils flaring. "Dressing like that and acting like that with Malfoy of all people?" He continued. I turned to see Draco furiously following us, but doing his best not to cause a scene, and Harry quietly following Draco.

I took a deep breath, I was far too thawed to deal with this. I thought of my potions bottle, safe on my vanity, and could've cursed my stupidity. I tried to grab a hold of the remaining ice in my veins, begging to stay frozen, removed, controlled.

Ron had finished dragging me into the back corner of the room and dropped my arm. I rubbed at the mark already forming on my pale skin while he paced back and forth, looking at me with an odd mixture of disgust and protectiveness.

"Weasel." Draco had finally caught up to us.

"Ferret." Ron spat.

Draco saw me massaging my arm and shot me a questioning glance. I nodded that I was alright then tilted my head to warn him of Harry's approach. Draco turned to see, his eyes narrowing into slits. Ron seemed even more annoyed watching our nonverbal communication. By the time Harry slid into place beside Ron, Draco had an evil glint in his eye.

"What seems to be the problem now, Weasley?" Draco sneered.

"You putting your filthy hands on my sister is the problem." Ron growled "You turning her into nothing more than a Slytherin floozy." He turned to look at me. "Look at you! For Merlin's sake, cover yourself! Harry, give me your robe." He gestured for Harry to strip off his dress robe and give it to me.

I closed my eyes and gripped my fists tightly, desperately holding on to the frozen bits of myself. I stepped away from them and leaned against the wall, the stones rough against my back, as I tried with terrible success to appear unaffected by Ron's words. But everyone could feel the rapidly rising tension surrounding us; the air was thick with it.

Draco intervened before Harry actually shed his robe, stepping between me and the two Gryfindors. "First of all, I will put my hands wherever I want, especially when it comes to my girlfriend." His statement hung heavy, the tension becoming palpably thick, as Ron and Harry processed what had been, up until this moment, meaningfully left unsaid. "Second of all, I dare say Ginevra's not the one who isn't dressed appropriately." He looked at Ron's tattered dress robes and his lace collar purposefully. Ron flushed.

Freeze. Please, freeze. I was desperately holding onto any absence, any numbness, that I could. I held onto my ice and willed it to turn me into a statue.

"As if she would ever be your girlfriend." Harry's voice was fierce, his tone dark.

"Jealous, Potter?" Draco's sneer has practically taken on a life of its own. "Really fucked that one up, didn't you?"

Harry paled and his eyes flashed an alarming shade of green. His wand hand twitched.

"Shut your mouth, Malfoy." he growled.

"It must be so hard for you to see her with me." Malfoy continued mockingly.

Harry went for his wand, Ron and Draco immediately whipping out their wands as well. The air was suffocatingly thick. They stood tensely, waiting to see who would cast the first curse.

I was physically frozen against the wall, but could not stop my eyes from darting back and forth between the three boys. Then, I saw him, my salvation; a hooked nose and greasy hair strided forward with a look of determination on his face. His eyes were locked on us in the back corner.

I willed some warmth into my vocal chords. "Snape." My voice was rough, but it cut sharply through the silence. Draco, Harry, and Ron twisted to confirm my warning. Draco slid his wand back into his robe, sneering confidently while Harry and Ron quickly hid their wands and assessed how to escape.

"This isn't over." Harry glowered before he and Ron darted back into the crowd, quickly disappearing behind the swirling dresses and robes. Snape stopped, scowled, and then with a flick of his cloak, retreated to the teacher's table. My eyes stayed on his retreating form.

I felt Draco's hand on my arm and my eyes snapped towards him. He pulled back his hand quickly. He looked steadily into my eyes and I could tell that my unfeeling mask did not fool him. "A stroll, shall we?"

I tried to pry my back away from the wall, but the frozen feeling I fought so hard to hold onto originally now wouldn't leave. My muscles were taut and tensed. My breathing quickened and I could feel my heartbeat picking up speed. I could feel the panic surround me. Slytherin Floozy. Murderer. Doll. I had willed myself to be a statute and now I couldn't escape.

I felt a warmth on the small of my back. His fingernails dragged a little against my skin as he flattened his hand, the small circle of his palm pressing into my skin. That small bit of warmth spread, loosening my muscles, before pooling in my stomach. Between the freedom returning to my limbs and Draco's hand's gentle, guiding pressure, I found myself able to break free from the wall. We walked from the Great Hall, appearing cold and unruffled to any who chose to look, and unfortunately, people chose to look. I felt the weight of thousands of eyes on me. A particular pair of green eyes tracked me all the way out of the ballroom, his stare heavy on my shoulders.

I focused on breathing, on keeping control, on staying just frozen enough to overflow with pain. My fingernails formed deep crescent moons in my hand and I trusted Draco in guiding me to safety. I didn't notice my surroundings until he removed his hand, it's absence making me feel fairly hollow. When I looked up, we were alone in a garden, surrounded by jasmine, the stars, and silence. The heavily perfumed air was sweet and I inhaled deeply, feeling more in control now that I had escaped the hall, the stares, his stare.

"Ginevra," his voice was steadying. "Are you okay?"

I crossed my arms over my chest protectively. "I don't want to talk about it." I said, staring at the ground, my voice heavy with emotion.

He stood in front of me, his stare so strong, so serious, I could practically feel its heat as his eyes roamed my face. His fingers lifted my chin and our eyes met. "Ginevra." he sighed, my name sounding like a prayer from his lips.

Suddenly, I was very aware of how close we were to each other, our bodies merely inches apart. My arms uncrossed and my hands found themselves pressed lightly against his chest, whether to push him away or pull him closer, I wasn't quite sure. His eyes darkened from their normal silver to a deep, stormy gray and my eyes flicked down to his lips before quickly returning to his thundercloud gaze.

I didn't feel the burning, boiling heat I expected. Instead, I felt a gentle, refreshing warmth starting in my core and unfurling quickly across the rest of my body. My face flushed and my stomach clenched as it seemed to roll appealingly. I inched closer, closing the small space between Draco and I. He was solid and firm, warm and inviting. I found myself, once again, rising onto my toes and angling my face towards his. His hand moved from my chin to the back of my head, his fingers threading through my hair, while his other found its place on my lower back, pulling my bottom half closer to him than I thought possible. It was the skin on skin contact that drew a small gasp from my lips as the pleasing warmth in my core intensified. He leaned down, pressing his lips into mine. They were solid and soft, very different from the ghostly kisses Tom had pressed against my face, and after a second of indecision, I kissed him back. My hand found its way to the back of his neck, pulling his lips closer to mine while my fingers wound through the fine hairs there, my other hand clenched into a fist on his chest, balling up his robe as I pulled him closer, pressing my chest into his. Suddenly, his tongue slid across my bottom lip, asking for permission. I opened my mouth and Draco deepened the kiss, our tongues dancing and tasting the other. He tasted of mint, cooling and refreshing, and a small sigh escaped me. He groaned in response and his arms tightened around me. His hand started to move across my back, exploring my open skin. I felt warmth radiating from me and the jasmine around us unfurled its petals, earning its night blooming title, the stars shined brighter than before, the night itself seemed to darken to an inky onyx. I felt alight with his warmth, alight with his kiss, alight with him.

"It's happening again, like before." A deep russian accent carried through the air. Draco and I jumped away from each other, immediately returning those crucial inches between us. The space seemed to restore our control, bring us back to ourselves. Draco ran his hands through his hair and righted his robes. I pressed my hands to my burning cheeks and looked around to find who had caught us. "Soon, neither you or anyone else will be able to deny it!"

"Igor, I don't see a reason to discuss it." I knew that voice, cruel and dismissive, that was Snape. Draco and I locked eyes, knowing that it would not do for either of us to be caught by Snape.

"It's a sign, Severus. You know it is." Their voices were carrying through the garden, but our small alcove kept us hidden from them. I stared at Draco, hoping he could understand the look in my eye, begging for him to stay still, to stay silent.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Really? Then if you don't mind rolling up your sleeve?" a cold chuckle echoed through the gardens. "You don't fool me, Severus. You are scared."

"I have nothing to be scared of, Igor." I could practically hear Snape's scowl. "Can you say the same?"

Then we heard one of them stomp away from us, back to the castle. We waited in silence for another five minutes, just to be safe, before returning to the castle ourselves. We stayed silent until we reached the Common Room. Draco had a small half smile on his lips as he looked at me and I smiled back genuinely. I leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Happy Christmas, Draco."

I went up to my room and looked at myself in the mirror. My hair was mused and my lips were swollen, but my eyes were troubled. My thoughts returned to Ron's cruel words, to Snape's mysterious conversation, to Draco's hands and lips. I flushed again. I picked up my bottle and took a large gulp. I sighed with relief. Finally, sweet, glorious nothing.

Somehow, a story of Draco and Harry dueling over "my honor" at the Ball broke out around the school. Draco and I hadn't discussed the events from that night, neither the fight or our kiss, but it didn't stop him from constantly parading me and our relationship in front of the Gryffindors and sneering viciously at Harry. I hated being the center of attention, but I did my best to ignore everyone and everything. I relied on my potion and revelled in being absent, being frozen, being the Ice Queen of Slytherin. Classes picked back up and gave me something to focus on. Once again, I was on track to be top of my class, even in advanced potions and herbology, and was starting to understand the furious glances that Ravenclaws occasionally sent me. I was cold but focused, and had already discussed taking advanced arithmancy, advanced runes, and advanced transfiguration with McGonagall next year. Things would have continued smoothly had it not been for the second task.

"Hi Ginny." Cedric caught me as I cleaned up my station after Potions.

"Cedric." I said in acknowledgement but didn't stop bottling the remaining ingredients in front of me.

"I have a bit of a favor to ask you." Cedric waited, expecting some reaction from me, but reactions don't come easily when you're frozen through. "You helped me with the first task, and I was hoping you could help me with the second as well."

"I don't know anything about the second task." I interrupted blandly, cleaning my silver knife with a soft cloth before placing it in its case.

"I know," Cedric started, "but I thought you may be able to help me with my clue. I'm at my wits end with the thing." he smiled at me charmingly, "For old Babbity-Rabbity's sake?"

I paused but did not smile back. "Fine. What's the clue?" Cedric seemed slightly put out by my lack of enthusiasm, but he nonetheless put a silencing charm around my potions table and pulled the golden egg out of his bag.

It was larger and heavier than I expected as I took it out of his hands and placed it on the table next to my cauldron. I looked at every angle and found no writing. There was a clasp at the top and when I opened it, the sides fell open, held at the bottom by a thin membrane. An inner glow flickered oddly from the membrane, like viewing sunshine while still underwater, and a loud screeching sound pierced the air. The sound startled me and my eyes widened for a second, before I scowled at the egg. I furrowed my brow and instantly the egg snapped shut and reclasped itself. Cedric's eyebrows jumped up in surprise but he said nothing. I burrowed in my bag and pulled out my parchment, Hypatia's gift, steeled myself, and reopened the egg.

Immediately, words appeared on my parchment.

"Mermish:

Come seek us where our voices sound,

We cannot sing above the ground,

And while you're searching ponder this;

We've taken what you'll sorely miss,

An hour long you'll have to look,

And to recover what we took,

But past an hour, the prospect's black,

Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."

"Of course." I muttered and rolled up my parchment, sliding it back into my bag. I should've known as soon as I'd seen the membrane. I snapped the egg shut.

"Of course?" His eyes had followed my actions, but he did not see anything on my parchment and was now practically mad with curiosity. "What are you thinking?"

"You'll need to listen to the message underwater to understand it. And you'll need to determine how to breathe underwater while you find whatever they take." I swung my bag over my shoulder and stood to leave.

"What? That's it?" Cedric asked.

"That's what you'll need to do. I trust you can decipher the rest once you're underwater." I said dismissively. He was blocking my path and I waited for him to move, but he stayed where he was. So I went to move around him.

"What's wrong with you?" His words halted my steps in place. "I've known you your whole life and you've never been like this." I whipped my head sharply in his direction and scowled. "Remember when we talked at the World Cup? We smiled, we laughed, and you were - you were you. Now, you're just cold, this inhuman thing. And I get it, I saw what happened at the World Cup, and I said nothing about what I saw." There was that ever present implication in his tone, reminding me that he knew what I could do without a wand, reminding me that he knew I was a killer. "I thought you would get better, but every time I talk to you, you're worse." his words flew out of him, emotions overflowing from his mouth. I could see his concern clearly in his face. It stung harder than his words.

"It's none of your business." I said coldly and turned to leave the room.

"I just want to help. You're losing yourself." he called after me. I didn't stop.

Freaking Cedric. It wasn't any of his business. And he had no right to say any of those things to me. I wish he just ignored me like last year. And I definitely wouldn't help him with any more Tasks. His words stayed with me, pulling at my subconscious like taffy, putting me in a fowl mood under my icy exterior. My mood didn't lighten when I received a summons to Dumbledore's office late in the night before the second task.

I stood in a room with Dumbledore, Madame Maxine, Karkaroff, Snape, McGonagall, Hermione, Cho, and a blonde girl named Gabrielle. We had all been told what I already knew, that each champion would have something taken from them and would have an hour to retrieve it from the merpeople. "So, with your permission," Dumbledore said, "We will put you to sleep and the Chief of the Merpeople will take you to his colony in the Black Lake. I can assure you that you will all be perfectly safe and will remember nothing of your time with the Merpeople."

Hermione, Cho, and Gabrielle all gulped, then one at a time they nodded their assent to Dumbledore. It was my turn to agree.

"Sir?" I asked. "Why am I here?"

"Deed you not hear what ze Headmaster said?" Gabrielle asked snobbishly.

"I heard him," I sneered at her, "but I am not something that any of the champions will 'sorely miss'." I turned back to Dumbledore, "I think there's been a mistake, Sir. Perhaps your letter went to the wrong Weasley."

"There's been no mistake, Ms. Weasley. Mr. Potter will be the one to rescue you." He seemed to understand the deadpan look in my eye, "Occasionally, even Headmaster's hear Hogwarts gossip." His eyes twinkled. My scowl deepened and I shifted uncomfortably.

"I want to meet the Chief before I agree to anything." Snape audibly huffed at my refusal. Hermione and Cho seemed aghast at my brazen attitude towards the Headmaster. I looked Dumbledore in the eye as I explained, "I do not trust lightly. I'd prefer to be awake and in control of my body throughout." His eyes widened in acknowledgement at the subtle reference to my time with Tom. "If it is required, I insist upon meeting the Chief of the Merpeople first."

"Of course, my dear." The Headmaster nodded at me kindly.

We trudged down to the Black Lake, the morning light just beginning to appear on the horizon. It was bitterly cold outside, but I was used to the cold at this point. The other girls allowed Dumbledore to cast a spell over them and waited unconscious at the edge of the lake.

"Now, Ms. Weasley, you must remain silent while I discuss with the Chief. Merpeople are very easily offended." Dumbledore instructed as we splashed into the lake, the water frigid against my legs. We walked until my hips were just underwater, the girls floating behind us, and waited for the Chief to appear.

His head surfaced first, then his arms and his chest. He was grey skinned and had long green hair with an accompanying beard. He wore a collection of teeth and pebbles wrapped around his neck in an artful way and carried an impressive spear. Dumbledore greeted him in mermish. The Chief of the Merpeople turned his head towards me and my eyes met his. Yellow met gold and we locked on to each other. I could see he was a noble leader, proud and determined, harsh but just. He seemed to read me as well, and silently, he raised his hand to me. Dumbledore audibly gasped, but I maintained eye contact with the Chief and commanded the water to push me closer to him. I glided towards him and gently took his offered hand. It was slightly slimy, but firm and strong. We both nodded to each other, before he dipped his head low in a bow. I returned the gesture. Suddenly, I could hear his colony's voices rising from the water as they sang a welcoming song. I smiled softly in gratitude.

The Chief turned to Dumbledore and began to speak. Already, I found myself able to comprehend what he was saying, despite it sounding like mere shrieking.

"We will not take her this way." The Chief said in a deep but harsh voice. "Should she choose to, we will take her with us, but as an equal, not a hostage."

"But -" Dumbledore started, but the Chief interrupted him and turned to me.

"You are welcome whenever you would like. But we will not dishonor you this way, Lady."

I nodded in understanding and, throwing caution to the wind, tried to reply to the Chief in Mermish. "I understand. Thank you for your kind words and offer. I shall not forget them." The Chief nodded and turned back to an astonished Dumbledore explaining that he would be back in one hour to pick up the last tribute. Then, he kissed my hand, released it, and sunk slowly into the water.

I watched him go sadly. "You should've chosen a different Weasley." I said wryly to Dumbledore, ignoring his amazed and suspicious looks, and began my walk back to land, back to the castle, back to the dungeons.

I would've slept through the task had Draco not woken me, and I barely stayed awake throughout the hour as we sat by the lake, waiting for anything to happen. My head rested on Draco's shoulder, his arm around my waist was delightfully warm, and Theo was bundled up on my other side. But I could not sleep, because throughout the entire hour, I felt Dumbeldore's eyes on me. I watched Cedric and Cho surface, then Hermione and Krum, and then a beaten Fleur, sobbing hysterically. Harry surfaced after the hour, Ron and Gabrielle in his grip and was immediately embraced by a grateful Fleur. Cheers reverberated around the stands as it was announced that Harry and Cedric were tied, but I stayed silent. My hand curled around Draco's arm and I pulled him closer to whisper that I wanted to leave. He and Theo graciously escorted me away from the task, Dumbledore's eyes burning a hole in my back as we walked back towards the castle.

Dumbledore sent me a letter requesting my presence for tea later that week, clearly wanting to pepper me with questions. I attended but refused both tea and crumpet and sat, unreadable and unbreakable, as I politely answered every question asked of me. I felt Dumbledore attempt to use legilimency on me, but like Snape earlier that year, was unsuccessful in breaking through the thick ice that protected me. Dumbledore excused me, clearly bothered by his unsuccessful attempt to uncover my secrets and more suspicious of me than ever before.

Classes continued and I continued to work hard and excel academically, while doing my best to ignore the petty drama occuring around me. Draco was deeply annoyed that Harry was tied with Cedric for first place in the Tournament, but seemed to find a lot of joy in flaunting our relationship around Harry. He would catch Harry's eye in the hallway, then lean in towards me, whispering something in my ear, before pulling me against him. My cheeks would flush, and Draco would give me a satisfied smile, clearly remembering our kiss, and then Harry would intervene, pulling Draco away from me. They would have a small shouting match, hurling insults, and the occasional curse, at each other before someone called a teacher. I would roll my eyes at the ordeal and lean against the wall, silently waiting for the skirmish to be over, before Draco inevitably joined me again and we continued on our way. After about the fifth skirmish, I pulled Draco aside and told him that this was deeply annoying to me. Draco grinned sheepishly and said he'd try to control himself around the Pot-head Git.

But that wasn't the only thing that bothered me. The feeling of foreboding plagued me, making me feel slightly nauseous at all times. I couldn't sleep and had to try desperately to focus on anything. Everything screamed danger at my subconscious and it was driving me crazy. Finally, I'd had enough, and I slipped out of the dungeon and into the forest as the clock ticked towards the witching hour. I entered the holy circle of trees and found a dead log to set ablaze. As the power of the witching hour flowed over me, I wandlessly conjured a blade and cut my palm. I held my hand above the flames, letting the droplets of my blood fall, sizzling as they made contact with the heat. Confident that I had given my offering, I coated my runes in my blood and cast them through the flames.

I pulled at the water in the air around me, gathering it into actual droplets and dropping it onto the fire, quickly putting it out. Then, I sat in the moonlight and analyzed my ruins, their placement, and the stars in the sky. I translated carefully, taking time to cross reference my books and parchment with my hypotheses. Finally, I had to acknowledge what the ruins were telling me, what I had subconsciously known. Death was coming for a child, and in return for this payment, he would be given physical form once more. This understanding, the comprehension of this inevitability, pressed down on my psyche and I felt my heart break. Death was coming immediately, but it would not stop. Tom would return and we will have no peace. My spine slackened, curling in on itself as I cried. Unseen by all but the stars, I mourned.

I returned to the castle and wrote another letter to Dumbledore. Once again, I expressed that I could not explain why, but I felt it my duty to tell him that someone under his care would die soon, most likely in the Third Task. This time, Dumbledore did not send me a dismissive response, instead he asked that I visit him in his office immediately.

"Lemon drop?" Dumbledore offered, pointing at the dish on the corner of his desk. I politely declined. A house elf appeared with a loud pop behind me and bustled forward, setting out an elaborate china tea set and pouring both myself and the Headmaster a cup. I smiled softly at the elf and she bowed deeply in response before disappearing with another pop.

"Ms. Weasley," Dumbledore began, pulling his cup closer to him, his smile slightly condescending. "I must admit your letter troubled me. Claiming that someone will soon perish is not something I take lightly. Tell me, what makes you think this is the case?" He took a sip from his tea and his eyes met mine over the rim of his cup. His eyes were piercingly blue and I drew strength from my ring, the earth straightening my spine and cool water rushing through me, keeping me calm, confident, and collected.

Ignoring the tea in front of me, I crossed my legs and looked at the Headmaster as if he were a peer, not one of the most formidable wizards of all time, before responding. "I have felt it and I have seen it. It is supposed to be inevitable, but perhaps, you may be able to stop it."

"You have seen it?" Dumbledore's patronizing smile fell away to reveal a deeply serious face.

"Not in the way you are thinking, Headmaster." I said. "I used the Olde Ways and saw through blaze and blood."

Dumbledore nodded seriously. "What more can you tell me?"
"No more than what you already suspect." I said, tilting my head and looking at him curiously, suddenly I understood that he already knew this. His flush confirmed my suspicions. "What are you doing to stop it?"

His silence hung heavily in the air.

"You know what is coming, you know a child will die. You know he will return. What are you doing to stop it?" I asked again, my voice coloring with accusation and anger.

"Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention, Ms. Weasley." Dumbledore said, dismissing me. I leaned towards him, my eyes two pools pulling his attention towards me.

"End this foolish Tournament. Prepare yourself for what we both know is coming. No one needs to die." I begged him. He turned his head away and I scoffed in disgust before rising from my chair, leveling him with my own piercing gaze, and departing.

Dumbledore did not end the tournament and before I knew it, the Third Task arrived. I knew in my bones that this day would end with death and dreaded having to witness it. Draco and Theo practically had to drag me to our seats. Mum and Bill were here to support Harry and were seated with the Champion's families and Percy was still acting as a judge in Crouch's place. I carefully avoided them and they made no effort to find me. The Quidditch Pitch had been transformed into a giant maze and I watched with growing dread as Harry and Cedric, followed shortly by the other two Champions, entered the maze. Red sparks shot into the sky, and Fleur was carried out unconscious. Red sparks again, this time for Krum. My heart hammered in my chest. Where were Harry and Cedric? "Please, don't take them." I muttered under my breath. Theo looked at me oddly, but Draco was already celebrating Hogwarts inevitable win and didn't hear me. I watched as the Professors began pacing anxiously alongside the edges of the maze. Something was wrong. Snape stalked up to Dumbledore; he was deathly pale and one hand clutched at his arm as he muttered something to the Headmaster. Dumbledore's head turned and he made eye contact with me in the stands. He nodded and I began my descent to the field, ignoring Draco and Theo's demands for me to stay where I was. I was nearing the judges and families waiting at the edge of the maze when Snape appeared besides me. He glowered down at me, "What do you know?" I stayed silent and he curled one hand around my arm as he began to walk me towards Dumbledore.

Then, in a moment, Harry and Cedric appeared at the maze's entrance, clutching the TriWizard's Cup. Cedric lay prone with Harry heaving with deep breaths curled above him. "No." I muttered, my voice deep with dread. I shifted myself in Snape's grip, looking directly into his eyes, "Stop them." I demanded. But it was too late, the band was playing and a crowd rushed towards the Champions. The first scream pierced the air. Snape made to run forward, his grip still firm on my forearm. "The body..." I started before one look from Snape cut me off.

Snape and I glided through the crowd, two snakes easily parting the group of lions and badgers. Harry sat, crying and bleeding over Cedric's body. Ron and Hermione were trying to coax Harry into letting go of Cedric's arm, but Harry was animalistic in his panic and his pain. He projected it so hard that I felt it through my own dread. I walked towards Harry, and Snape stopped me short. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked through his teeth.

"Let me go." I commanded, looking him in the eye as if I were his Queen and not his student. Surprisingly, he immediately released me and stepped back, looking confused at his own actions. I glided forward, graciously falling to my knees besides Harry and Cedric. I looked at Cedric's body. He was my childhood friend, a kind man, a good man, and yet, he wasn't a man, he was still a child. He was dead at the hands of a monster. A tear fell down my face and dropped onto his chin, shimmering in the firelight. You're losing yourself. Those were the last words he spoke to me. I reached forward and drew my hand over his open, petrified eyes to close them. With his eyes closed, he looked like he was sleeping peacefully, not like a cold lifeless body. Hurt caught in my throat. This wasn't right, this was more than wrong. This was a tragedy. I would not, could not abide this. Tom would pay for this, I would make sure of that.

I pried my eyes away from Cedric to see Harry, imperious to all of those around him desperately trying to help him. "Harry," my voice cut through the chaos around and inside of him and his head raised to look at me. Emerald met gold. He let out a howl of sorrow and released Cedric's arm from his grip while throwing himself into my arms. His head fell in my lap, his arms surrounded me and he sobbed into my lap.

"He's back. He killed him." Harry croaked.

"I know." I said, stroking his hair gently. Dumbledore appeared beside Harry.

I looked up at the Headmaster, my glare heavy with accusation. Dumbledore looked away from my gaze guiltily. But then, Amos appeared, looking for Cedric, and the world seemed to silence except for a father's anguished screams for his son. Dumbledore tried to comfort the grieving man and Moody approached Harry, putting one hand on his arm. He muttered something to Harry and began to drag him away. Once again, the deep foreboding welled up in me. I didn't trust Moody. I grabbed Harry's hand and was pulled along, away from the grieving family and students, away from the Professors and Dumbledore, away from safety.

Moody seemed to notice that I was tagging along halfway up to the castle and pulled us off of the path, through the brush, and into a small clearing near the Black Lake. "Ms. Weasley," he growled, "Go back to the pitch."

"No." Harry and I answered at the same time. Harry looked at me with a surprised but grateful look in his eyes and squeezed my hand. My eyes never left Moodys.

"We should return to Dumbledore now." I said, my wand hand hovering above my pocket.

Moody glared and sneered, his features twisting in disgust by my response. I saw it again. The wrongness, the look in his eye that screamed murderer. I tightened my hold on Harry and yanked his still bleeding arm, pulling him from Moody's grasp and drawing him behind me.

"What is-" Harry started but was interrupted by Moody pulling his wand and leveling it at me. To his surprise, I did not look at all concerned. In fact, I looked past his wand and sneered confidently into his eyes. "Professor." I said mockingly.

Moody struck first, "Crucio!" he cast, the unforgivable coming at me quickly. I wasn't concerned. I'd survived Tom's cruciatus curse, and there was no way the man before me could cast something as powerfully as Tom. I moved to throw up a shield but before I could, I was pushed to the ground. Harry dove in front of me and began spasming and screaming. I was shocked, but that was quickly overtaken by anger, especially when I looked up to see the psychotic, pleased gleam in Moody's eye. He cackled as Harry screamed, his wand leveled on me.

I closed my eyes and breathed, feeling the lake respond to my call. The water gathered into a large wave, climbing higher and higher behind Moody. I opened my eyes when I could feel the power of the wave, the crest filled with my fury. I hissed and released it. The wave flew forward with crushing power. It flattened Moody and pulled him back towards the lake. His wand yanked from his hand and floated to my feet. The curse over, Harry lay still next to me, utterly spent. Moody, trapped in the wave, screamed and sputtered, trying to gasp for air, as it pulled him into the lake. I stood and snapped my fingers. Weeds from the lake sprung forward wrapping themselves around Moody until he was surrounded, floundering to stay afloat in the water. "Accio." I muttered and Moody flew out of the lake towards me.

"You bitch." He said, but a weed quickly covered his mouth. I raised my hand and shot a red beam out of my palm. It slammed into Moody, hurtling him away from me and into a nearby tree. The weeds quickly adapted and wrapped Moody around the thick trunk. Confident that there was nothing Moody could do now, I sunk next to Harry. Both of our clothes were soaking wet, but otherwise we remained unharmed from the wave that had demolished Moody. He was pale, bleeding, and shaking from the aftershocks of the curse. I couldn't believe that he had taken the cruciatus curse for me, after everything he must have been through. I scooped up some of the lake water beside me. "Life giving and life taking in turn…" I muttered, recalling Circe's words to me. I focused on the water cupped in my palm and saw it glow slightly.

"Harry," I called, pulling his shoulder so he was leaning in my lap. "Drink this." I placed my hand at his mouth, the water just touching his lips. He sipped obediently. "There you go, Harry. Finish it all." I coaxed. Harry gulped down the water, grasping at my hand, and I watched his color return and his bleeding wound stitch itself back together. The water coursed through him, healing nerve endings, giving strength, bringing life back into his eyes.

Harry shot up from my lap, his eyes alert. He grabbed his wand and seemed to calm once he saw Moody trapped against the tree. "Ginny!" He turned, grasping my forearm tightly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Harry." I said, pulling myself up and wiping my hands against my soaking cloak.

"I don't understand. Why would Moody attack you? Is he under the imperius?" He thought aloud.

"No. There's something wrong with him. He's been wrong all year." I muttered. Just then, Moody began to struggle against his bindings. His hair changed color, his leg grew back, his false eye popped off his head as a healthy one grew back. "He isn't Moody at all." I finished.

Harry raised his wand and shot red sparks into the air, calling for help as if he were still in the maze. Not-Moody struggled futilely against his binds. "Who is he?" He asked. I shrugged. We stayed silent, each lost in our own train of thought, until we heard the calls of Professors trying to find us.

"We're here!" Harry shouted, turning towards the sound. My eyes stayed on the fake Moody, my wand feeling heavy in my hand. I knew he was wrong, I'd known all year, and now Cedric was dead. This man played a role in that. He caused that. I began to walk towards him, curses I shouldn't know slithering in my mouth, feeling heavy on my tongue. Not-Moody must've seen my murderous glare and because he began to squirm against his bindings with renewed vigor, his calls for help muffled against the weeds blocking his mouth. It would be so easy to get vengeance for Cedric, so easy to end this fraud. I raised my wand.

"Ginny." Harry rested his hand on my arm, gently pushing it down. "Don't. He doesn't deserve it." But what I heard from Harry's mouth were Cedric's words, "You're losing yourself." I looked into Harry's eyes and saw the same anger in mine, but he was right. I nodded and turned from the bound man, crossing towards the lake and sitting in the mud. I wouldn't kill him just because he deserved it, I wasn't a murderer. A weight I had not noticed lifted off of my shoulders upon his realization. I had killed, but I wasn't a murderer. Harry stood behind me, protectively, until Snape found us through the brush.

"They're here!" he called. Dumbledore ran into the area, grabbing Harry by the shoulders. Snape levelled his wand on the fake Moody, his eyes widening in recognition.

"Who is he?" I asked Snape. Snape didn't answer. Dumbledore insisted Harry and I go to the Hospital Wing with him, he would explain everything later. I wanted to return to the Dungeons, to Draco and Theo, to shower and put on dry clothes and take several gulps from my potion. You're losing yourself. Cedric's voice echoed throughout my head. No, I wouldn't freeze tonight. I would face this head on, no matter how painful. Harry refused to let go of my hand until I was laying in a hospital bed next to him.

I learned later that I was right, it had never been Moody. It was a Death Eater named Crouch, one of the men who had driven the Longbottoms insane with the cruciatus curse. Fudge had brought in a Dementor to deliver a kiss and kill him. Dumbledore was furious at the information now lost to our side. Fudge, a coward, buried his head in the sand and refused to believe Harry's story. Refused to believe that Tom was back.

When Dumbledore asked what had happened between us and Crouch by the lake, I said nothing. Harry spoke for me, explaining what he saw to the best of his ability. He didn't know much, just that he had dived in front of me and somehow, when he was struggling under the curse, I had bested Crouch and then helped him. Dumbledore asked about my letters, how had I known something was wrong with fake Moody at the beginning of the year? I stayed silent, my eyes filled to the brim with accusations and sorrow. I could tell Dumbledore had more questions for me, but Harry was adamant that I had saved him from Not-Moody and insisted I be allowed to leave with him. Dumbledore's eyes followed me as we left for the Great Hall, covered in black for Cedric's memorial. I nodded at Harry before joining Draco and Theo at the Slytherin table. Harry stared at me throughout the closing feast, his eyes mournful, but hopeful. Draco put his arm around me, pulling me close against him, and sneered at Harry viciously. It had been a few days of minimal potion and I missed the frozen absence desperately, but I thought of Cedric and steadied myself. I would not lose myself. I would honor Cedric the only way I knew how, by drowning in my emotions. I felt like an exposed nerve, everything was heightened and raw, especially my grief. I struggled not to cry at Dumbledore's speech about Cedric and raised one shaky hand to toast to his memory. Draco shot me a confused look, but held me tight in his arms.

On the train, I clutched Draco as if he were a life preserver, practically sitting in his lap so that I could bury my face in his shoulder. Theo looked at me oddly before leaving us alone in our compartment. Draco held onto me just as tightly, tangling his hand in my hair and occasionally muttering soft nonsense into my hairline. I found it soothing. When I looked up at him, my eyes were filled with unshed tears. Draco lovingly brushed my cheek with his thumb and pressed a gentle kiss on my lips. "It will pass quickly." he promised. "We will be back together in no time." I nodded my understanding. All too soon, we arrived at the train station, and I pried myself away from Draco and walked towards my family, submerged and sinking in my emotions.