Disclaimer: Sort of getting tired of typing this up… you very well know that the characters and setting belongs to J.K Rowling. Anything you might recognize that might've come from anywhere else, I don't own it either! Ok? Good!

Author's Notes: I'm really sorry for not updating sooner! I just started college and the work was overwhelming so I wasn't able to find time to continue writing. I want to apologize about the last chapter's cliffy too! I know everybody hates those but please bear with me on this one.

Chapter 16: The Awakening of the Seiryuu

"Geez Hermione, how many more books are you going to borrow?" Ron complained as Hermione put another book on an already increasing pile that he was carrying for her. The brown haired girl ignored him and continued to read through the titles of the books on the top shelf.

"Ron, get me that one." She pointed at the thick black book. He groaned but nevertheless reached to get the book she wanted while balancing the other heavy books on his right hand. As soon as he got his hands on the damn book, Hermione grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the nearest unoccupied table.

"Why do you need these books for anyway?" Ron said as he massage the aching muscles of his arm. Carrying those six enormous books for her was no joke.

"I just have to look up something." She made herself comfortable by sitting on the chair beside where he stood. She grabbed the book that was on the top of the stack.

"Look up something??"

"Yes, Ron. It's for the essay that Professor Flitwick assigned." She gave him a rather nasty glare. "Urgh! Ron! He just gave it yesterday! I can't believe that you've forgotten already!" Leave it to Hermione to still worry about her grades at a time like this.

"Oh that!" Ron said. They were assigned to write an essay about a charmed object that had been an important part of the wizarding world's history. Ron scratched the back of his head on this. Seriously, the essay was not due until next month. Why rush? It wasn't his fault that he forgot about it either. How could he remember such insignificant things when his mind was on his sister? He didn't like how things were going. Stupid bracelets and their hidden powers. Made it even harder to beat Malfoy to a bloody pulp. Not only did those bracelet gave him some inhumane strength but also made some stupid connection between him and Ginny! The fact that his youngest sibling was fraternizing with Malfoy and he couldn't do anything about it was aggravating him.

Harry was getting involved too. He was not that oblivious to his best friend's feelings towards his sister. Just when things were developing between Harry and Ginny, Malfoy showed up getting in between them. If there was someone fit to be with his baby sister, it was Harry not bloody Malfoy.

Sighing, Ron took the seat opposite Hermione and opened the book closest to him. 'Might as well start while Hermione was doing it.' he thought. He sat there skimming the book's contents. He smirked. He knew he would end up copying most of her work anyway. To do that, he had to at least pretend that he accomplished something by reading.

He was browsing through his second book when he caught sight of Sephire and Damian sitting on a table almost hidden behind the tall bookshelves. After the bad break up they had, he would think he'd feel a bit jealous after seeing her together with one of her ex-boyfriends. Surprisingly, he didn't feel anything at all.

Honestly, how could she say that he was cheating on her? Everyone knew he was not a babe magnet. Far from it, actually. He tried saving the relationship but Sephire wouldn't listen. She said some stupid crap about him liking someone else and she just couldn't take it anymore. Liking someone else? If he liked someone else, wouldn't he be the first one to know and not her?

Grumbling about girls and their insecurities, he turned to the next page. A picture captured his attention on the next page. His eyes grew wide upon seeing the image.

"Her… Herm…Hermione!" he stuttered.

"What is it now, Ron?!" she snapped mildly irritated. Ron shoved the rest of the books aside and placed the book he was holding in front of her. He pointed at the picture in the middle of the page.

"Look!"

There in the middle of the page was a picture of Ginny or someone who appeared to look like her. She was sitting down while someone was standing next to her. The person looked a lot like Malfoy. The fact that the two people appeared to be Ginny and Malfoy was not the only thing that was surprising. What was hanging on Ginny's neck also had their attention.

Hermione grabbed the book from Ron's hands and read what was written about the picture. Ron didn't even know that someone was capable of reading that fast. After a minute or so, Hermione grabbed his hand dragging him out of the library as the books lay forgotten. They didn't even notice that they were holding hands as they both ran to the Gryffindor Common Room in search of one Ginevra Weasley.

He looked at the girl lying in his arms unconscious. The things that had happened barely registered in his mind. He remembered being thrown aside by the white tiger hitting one of the four pillars. When the tiger was about the attack Ginny, the Suzaku's eyes lit up and she was surrounded by a bright red glow which somehow cause her to fall unconscious. This seemed to have driven the white tiger away for the time being so he took the opportunity to grab hold of her and ran like there was no tomorrow. He was surprise that he had the energy to run that fast while holding Ginny in his arms.

They took refuge under the roots of one of the forbidden forest's massive trees. They have to hide for now. They would definitely be caught if he continued running. If they were a good distance from the castle, he would risk it but seeing that they took about twenty minutes flying at incredible speeds, they would have to be miles away from Hogwarts. Blaise was still at the ceremonial grounds. He needed to save him but how?

No doubt that the Byakko heir was the person they were up against. The white tiger that attacked them was definitely the Byakko. He never read or heard anything about tigers living in the forbidden forest. Mostly magical beast reside there, not that the tiger that they saw wasn't magical.

He sighed. He had to come up with a plan fast. Seeking help was not one of the options. Even if he decided to do so, he couldn't leave Ginny behind nor could he bring her along. The only idea that seemed plausible would be Ginny waking up and summoning the Suzaku to fight. Spells from their wands didn't have any effect on the tiger so fighting the tiger with any of the other three summons might be the only thing that could work. If he could only summon the Seiryuu then there would a pretty good chance of rescuing Blaise.

"Draco?" He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts that he didn't know that she already woke up. "Where are we?" she asked as she sat up not at all noticing that she was safely cradled in his arms seconds ago.

"Hiding," he whispered.

"Oh!" That was when Ginny seemed to remember what happened a few hours before. "Blaise? Where's Blaise?," She got his answer when she saw him looking down averting his eyes from her. "We've got to go back!"

"Ginny, we can't just go back without a plan."

"We can't stand here doing nothing either! He could be in real danger right now!" she exclaimed standing up. Draco grabbed her hand before she could get anywhere.

"As much as I would like to barge in there and save his ass, we can't do that. It's stupid. Have you forgotten what we were up against?" Ginny's silent reply told him that she just remembered that none of their spells were working against the tiger that attacked them.

"What are we going to do then?" she said dejectedly as she lowered herself beside him.

"The Suzaku. Aside from the time that you rescued your brother, were you able to summon it?" She shook her head. "Damn!" How could he get his hopes up too high? He shouldn't have expected her to actually summon the fucking bird to save his best friend.

"What do we do now?" she said as she shivered from the cold air surrounding the forest.

"I'm trying to think of something. You are the only one that was able to summon the legendary creature from the bracelet. I haven't done so and neither has Blaise." he told her before taking off his robes and handing it to her. She gave him a confused look. "You still seemed cold."

"Um… thanks! Wouldn't you be cold as well?" she said as she wrapped herself with it looking away slightly embarrassed.

"I cast a warming spell around us so I'll be alright." he shifted his position so as to have just a little distance between them. He realized that moments before, he was sitting too close to her. She didn't seem to mind but he was getting a bit uneasy having her in such proximity. It was enough that he had held her so close a while ago. If he didn't put some space, things would turn out quite embarrassing for him.

They sat there in silence for a couple of moments both thinking of other possibilities that they could save the Genbu heir. Because both Blaise and Draco weren't able fully summoned their respective legendary creatures yet, the protection that their bracelets provided was less than what the Suzaku gave Ginny. If the Byakko decided to attack him, he was virtually left defenseless.

Too preoccupied, they didn't hear the footsteps moving closer to their location. It wasn't until a spell missed Draco by mere centimeters that they realized that they had been found. If he didn't look at Ginny at that exact moment, the spell would've definitely hit him. Draco's hand quickly made its way to his pocket to grab his wand. His other arm moved protectively around Ginny's waist as he scanned the surroundings looking for their attacker.

Right in front of them, a swirling white light suddenly emerged. The intensity of it slowly increased and before they knew it, a white tiger appeared before them. It let out a loud growl before looking directly at them. At that instant, Draco felt something that he rarely did: Fear. The only occasion that he was afraid was when he met the dark lord for the very first time. He didn't like the idea that his life could easily be taken away with a flick of a wand.

He felt so hopeless. At the very least, curses coming from the tip of his own wand still had an effect to whomever wanted to be the receiving end of it. Somehow, he could protect himself if he wanted to. None of those spells were working right now. Not only is his life on the line but also Ginny's. With that thought in mind, he only grew more nervous as he brought Ginny even more closer to him.

The tiger advanced towards their direction until it was a mere ten feet away from them. He could feel Ginny holding onto him tightly before a loud raucous laughter was heard nearby. A cloaked figure was spotted standing on the lower branches of one of the trees closest to them. A sinister smile was on the person's lips.

"Do you honestly think that you could simply hide from me?" the cloaked figure said. The person was without a doubt male. He had his wand already out pointed directly at them. On his other arm, one of the four bracelets was found with its eyes glowing in bright white light. Not only that but his body was also glowing similar to what the bracelet was emitting. He jumped down and landed safely beside the white tiger. Stroking its fur, he continued, "The bracelets are all connected you know. I could sense if you are close by."

Draco couldn't take that feeling anymore. He hated it. It gave him the impression that his life could be on someone else's hands. He'd rather kill himself than to continue to feel this way. He would go insane.

Without thinking, he sent a Cruciatus Curse towards the cloaked figure. The spell seemed to bounced off the person as well just like when they were casting charms to hold back the tiger. The same dreaded feeling washed over him tenfold.

"Amazing, isn't it?" the person gave him a smirk. "I can't believe you chose him over me, Ginevra. Look at how pathetic he is. Can't even summon his own creature." After saying those worlds, a shot of white light erupted from his wand and it hit Draco on the chest. The impact almost caused him to break through the thick roots of the enormous tree they were hiding in when his body collided with them.

"Draco!!" Ginny yelled as she ran towards him crying. Blood was trickling down his forehead and arms. She held his bleeding body in her arms before asking, "What do you want?! What do you want from us?!"

"You. I want you, Ginevra" he replied. "I had been waiting for this very moment to return only to see you and him together again."

"Who are you?"

"Don't you recognize my voice anymore?" he took off his hood and Ginny saw his familiar face.

"You." she whispered. The guy only responded with a smile.

"It's been awhile, Ginevra. How was Harry Potter's head injury?"

"Michael…"

Draco slowly opened his eyes only to see that the guy who he heard Ginny called Michael made his way towards their direction. He desperately wanted to shield Ginny of whatever this Michael guy planned on doing. Unfortunately, not one single part of his body could move. It seemed as if he was hit by some sort of Binding Curse and the impact was so great that he felt every bone in his body was broken.

Michael grabbed her by the arms and forcefully pulled her up to him making Draco's body land on the ground with a soft thud. Ginny desperately tried to pull her arms free from his grasp.

"Let go of me!!!" she screamed hitting him with her other arm so as he would loosen his grip on her hand. It would appear as though he was not being affected by any of her hits at all. He only smirked at her failed attempts. She looked back at Draco's direction and saw his pained expression. More tears flowed down her face as she continued to struggle against Michael's hold.

He raised his other arm to reveal the Byakko with its eyes still glowing. The tiger right behind them immediately ran in Draco's direction hitting him with its paw. Draco's body flew to the next tree causing more blood to come down his face.

"Draco!!! Stop! Don't hurt him!!" she pleaded as tears continued to fall down her face.

"Come and follow me quietly or I'll let my friend, the Byakko, kill your dear Draco," he told her as he continued to pull her along with him. She allowed herself to be dragged all the while looking at Draco's bloodied form.

"Gi… Gin.." he tried calling out her name but every part of him was hurting not to mention that he was still under the Binding Curse. Michael, of course, heard him. As if he wanted to aggravate him more, Michael used his free hand to tilt her face to meet his. Her expression turned into utter revulsion as soon as his lips touched hers.

Something inside him snapped when he saw the scene before him. This Michael guy sure had guts to actually kiss Ginny. His Ginny. Michael had made a really bad move by doing that because the Seiryuu's eyes just started glowing.

"A key?" Harry's eyes was full of confusion.

"Yes, Harry! The necklace that you gave her acts as a key to initiate the ritual!" Hermione almost screamed. She and Ron had been looking for Ginny everywhere before they spotted Harry walking back to the Common Room.

"What ritual are you talking about?" He asked.

"In case at least one of the four heirs weren't able to summon their legendary creature, a ritual could be performed to awaken them," Ron answered. Hermione told him what it was for while searching for the youngest Weasley.

"Where's Ginny, Harry? We have to tell her this! If she's wearing the necklace right now, she could be in danger if someone knows about the bracelets!"

He hesitated at first but soon gave in and said, "She told me that Malfoy wanted to meet up with her today."

"Malfoy? Where?!" Hermione and Ron asked in unison.

"Near the lake."

Hermione immediately ran desperate to find Ginny with Ron and Harry following close behind. She had to tell Ginny about this right away. She had a bad feeling about this. If Ginny was wearing the necklace that Harry gave her, she could be in real danger. She's with Malfoy too. Zabini might be there as well since he and Malfoy were almost inseparable these days. Three of the four heirs. Not a lot of people chose to go outside in this frigid weather so it would be a good opportunity if someone was thinking of something.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!!!" Draco yelled his voice in a dangerous tone. The light coming from the Seiryuu was glowing quite noticeably now. He didn't know what was happening to him then but he could feel the spell on him breaking and the pain slowly ebbing away.

After breaking the kiss, Michael looked at his current state and gave him a smile. Draco was now standing up his body surrounded by a radiant blue light. Soon the blue light increased with such intensity that the tree next to him was reduced into splinters. The light surrounding him slowly began to take the form of the blue dragon.

"So the Seiryuu decided to come out and play after all."

Author's Notes: hides I know! I know! It's another cliffy! Please don't kill me! Sigh… well… another chapter done. It's been a year since I last update! SORRY!!! I already explained the reason for not uploading sooner. For those who are eager to know what'll happen afterwards… next chapter… it's the Seiryuu vs. the Byakko… and we'll get a glimpse of Michael's past. If you haven't figured it out already… Michael's also possessed by his ancestor.