III. Search and Discovery
*flashback continued. Sorry this flashback takes up a few chapters but it's important!!*
"Hey Ginny!" I looked behind me and saw Hermione Granger, closely followed by Harry and Ron.
"Oh, hi Hermione!" I replied. They sat down in the armchairs next to mine in the noisy and crowded Gryffindor common room.
"Are you going to supper with us?" she inquired.
"No, I've got a lot of studying to do for O.W.L.S." I lied.
"Good for you!" she beamed. "If you keep up the studying you will get excellent marks!"
"Would you like for me to stay here and help you study?" Harry asked.
"No!" I shouted. "I mean, no, it's alright. I think I'll be fine by myself. I might be at dinner later. You guys go along," I said, calmer.
"Alright, we'll see you later," said Hermione.
The three of them walked out of the common room. A few minutes later, after the common room was clear, I left. As I made my way down to the entrance hall, I could hear the voices of hundreds of people talking and enjoying the company of their friends. I thought to myself, this is stupid. Just go to dinner. You aren't going to find anything. You don't even know what you're supposed to be looking for! But instead of turning into the Great Hall, I went down a dimly lit corridor. I still had a gut feeling that something exciting was going to happen.
As I continued down the hallway, I saw the portrait of the bowl of fruit, where the kitchens are hidden. I could hear the thousands of house elves preparing dinner. Up ahead, the corridor turned left. As I turned the corridor, I ran into the one person I had least expected to see. Draco Malfoy.
"Weasley! Watch where you're going! Wait, what the hell are you doing down here?" he demanded.
"That's a question I was about to ask you." I told him.
"I have prefect duty. You still haven't answered my question."
"Sorry Malfoy, but it's none of your business what I'm doing here," I said.
"Well I might just have to report you for being down here," he said sharply.
"You can't do that!" I said. "It's not after hours and even if you did I would set another bat-boogey hex on you again. Remember how fun that was?"
The smirk disappeared from his face. "Ok. If I promise not to bother you, can you at least tell me why you are down here?" he asked.
"Fine," I said. "I'm looking for the secret meeting place of Genevive Gryffindor and Decius Slytherin. You know, the children of Gryffindor and Slytherin. Well they met in a secret room somewhere down here and I have this gut feeling that it exists and so I'm trying to find it."
He burst out in laughter. "You actually believe that something like that actually exists? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!"
"Well I think it does! I'm going to prove you wrong Malfoy!" I yelled at him.
"You know what, I'm going to go along with you to see if you find your special room," he said.
"Fine! Let's go!" I said defensively.
We walked down the hallways, looking at the portraits and seeing if they had any secret connection to Gryffindor or Slytherin. The corridors twisted and turned so many times, we had no clue as to where we were anymore. After about an hour, we reached a dead end.
Malfoy turned to me with a huge grin on his face. "What did I tell you, Weasley? It was just some stupid myth."
As I was about to respond, I noticed the portrait to the left of him. There was a beautiful woman with flaming red hair and dressed in crimson and gold robes sitting at a desk next to a balcony that overlooked the lake. With his hand on her shoulder was a tall man with pale blond hair who wore silver and dark green robes.
I stared at it for a moment and then turned to Draco. "It's them," I whispered.
He looked at the portrait and said faintly, "You're right, it is. It's here. I can feel it too."
"Why aren't they moving like a normal portrait?" I asked him.
"I don't know," he said. "Maybe so no one would ever find out. But how do we get in?"
I thought about it for a minute. "Well, they probably had some secret password. Something only the two of them knew. I mean, they were the ones in love."
At that moment, the portrait creaked open. "I guess love was the key after all," he said smiling. "Let's go in." He went in first so I followed him. Inside the portrait was a dark room. On the perimeter of the walls were shelves full of ancient-looking books and strange magical artifacts. A few feet from the entrance were some steps that led down to a level which contained a wooden desk just like the one seen in the portrait. There were two couches, one ruby red one, the other emerald green, on either side of the stairs. The windows were covered by black curtains and there was a set of French doors that led out to a balcony.
"This is incredible," I said in amazement. Draco just stood there with a look of astonishment on his face. I went down the steps and opened the doors.
The night was warm but there was a slight breeze coming from the grounds. The smell of roses and honeysuckle permeated the air. The edge of the stone balcony was covered in beautiful red roses. The view was spectacular. The Black Lake was sparkling in the light from the full moon and the stars up above. You could see the mountains and the Forbidden Forest towering in the distance.
I stood there in amazement, gazing at the stars. Draco came up beside me and looked out into the distance. The moonlight illuminated him in a silvery glow. In the pit of my stomach, I got this feeling, like butterflies were fluttering, when I looked at him. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" I said breathlessly.
He said nothing. He slowly turned his head to look at me. His ice blue eyes stared into mine. He finally said, "Ginny…" and leaned his head towards mine. His lips gently pressed against mine. As he moved away, I stared at him in disbelief.
Then I ran.
*flashback ends*
