Chapter 7: A Rather Informative Sleep-Over

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, just my own creative thoughts.

Ginny awoke with the smell of coffee passing by her nose and finally settling on one of her sides, she wasn't able to tell which just yet. She mumbled something groggily as she opened her eyes and sat up. Focusing her vision she realized she wasn't in Hogwarts. In fact, it became quite clear where she was and what had happened to lead her here when she recognized Amadeus leaning on the bedpost of his bed staring right back at her in his usual sensual manner. She preferred not to think about everything right away – asking reality to be polite and not bring her memories completely back into focus as much as it gave focus on the incredibly perceptible way his body language spoke of sex. She shifted to her right, rather ineptly from her now distracted mental state, but managed to see the source of the delicious aroma; he had brought her a tea cup of coffee. How lovely. Her suppressed memories whispered in the back of her head that she would need it.

Amadeus watched her mental battle with an abundance of amusement, "So I found the perfect way to wake you up."

"I'm sure my mother would die to know it," she paused at the thought: or maybe not, as Ginny did not know which had awoken her more, the coffee or the sight of such a sexually alluring male, "I'm quite temperamental in the mornings."

"You're always temperamental."

"No, that's just the way am I am with you. You bring it out in me."

He pouted, "So you were nicer to Potter than to me?"

She cringed at how suddenly memories started to link together: Harry – Voldemort – Death Eaters – Hogsmade – Amadeus with the dark mark on his forearm. The look she gave him next communicated that friendliness was over.

He sighed, "Will you let me explain or will this be one of your more melo-dramatic moments?"

"Oh, perfect way to start Amadeus. Yes, insult me on top of everything else."

He groaned. She was obviously intent on making this difficult, "I joined when I was really young."

"Ah," Ginny replied sarcastically. "Youth. Yes, that explains everything."

He glared at her dangerously. "You don't know anything about my life so refrain from judging it, will you?" his voice was more like a command than a plea.

"Well, this situation certainly proves that, now doesn't it?"

"Will you shut up already? I'm actually bothering to tell you, I could just leave it at that, throw you out into the chaos outside and never attempt at making anything close to amends after that. Would you prefer that we be on amicable grounds or would you rather me force you into exposing your neck? It wouldn't be pleasant."

The warning worked, she merely arched her eyebrows critically and sipped her coffee; but he could sense enough of her emotions that she was very much afraid. Good, let it be that way. She'll be more likely to listen, he thought frustrated with the state she put him in.

Sitting down in front of her on the bed he started: "I've gotten used to it now, but when I was younger, which was when Voldemort really pushed for vampire support, I craved to be acknowledged, respected and recognized by wizarding – kind, who had been everything but to me and my family. He was the first wizard to give me that, Ginevra, you have to understand. You would be surprised how your kind turns around on us when they discover they've been interacting with such a creature below them. Voldemort saw I had promise and offered a future where vampires would have so much freedom! He promised us free reign on muggles, mudbloods, and even some half-bloods! That's not something that occurs every millennium; not to us."

Ginevra followed his every word, mesmerized by her first real look into the life of Amadeus. He was a man of such secrets and such deceptive turmoil. The way he referred to vampires was sharp – there was so much she just did not know and probably never would. Ginny noted how he referred to his age as well. Just how old was he? She would have to wait to ask him these things; it did not seem the right moment.

He sighed and lay down on the bed starting to feel uncomfortable about revealing so much to her. "Mind you, I don't enjoy doing his bidding. It has its benefits; however as many before me, I am very much trapped in the Dark Lord's service."

Ginevra examined his left forearm, which was exposed by his rolled up sleeves, from a distance. Amadeus noticed and gave her a questioning look. She huffed indignantly at being caught, "Well…well I just-. Oh, I always wondered about the inconvenience of the dark mark, especially on a beach or something. It's not like people would wear robes at the beach so, you'd really stick out wouldn't you? And if you don't go to the beach in the summer, it is kinda weird." She rambled nervously.

Amadeus's reaction was utter bewilderment, "What on earth are you speaking of?"

She crossed her arms stubbornly, "Oh never mind. It's not like you'd ever go to a beach anyways. Probably too much sun – you'd be too afraid you would die from the heat or light, for that matter."

Sitting up, he stared at her.

"What?" she demanded sharply.

Gaining a softer look in his eyes he asked: "Are you alright now?"

Understanding the depth of the question she shrugged playing with the empty tea cup sitting on the dark blue bed sheets that she still sat under. "I don't know. It's still very…"

"Frightening?"

"Among other things, yes. But, you must have known that Weasley's were very much involved in fighting Voldemort, then why did you-"

"This has nothing to do with my being a Death Eater."

Ginny flinched at such a blatant declaration of the newfound truth; it was apparent she had not yet made full amends with it. "But surely-"

"No. Voldemort is no longer as important to me as he was. And he knows that. But, serving him is still a means to an end."

The end he spoke of was obvious to Ginny: helping raise the status of vampires and having perfect opportunities to feast on human blood often. But she was still unsatisfied. "Then what does that make me? Am I your means to a stay out of vampire hunters' way, or your means to an easy bite to drink?"

Amadeus smiled enigmatically at this, "No," he replied enjoying her irritated expression in turn. She did not like to be left in the dark about things. Looking at his watch he was reminded of Ginny's stay with him being possibly problematic to explain to her parents not to mention their little Order of the Eagle or whatever it was. "You may want to think about showing up at home at some point or going back to school for that matter."

"Oh! Yes! What time is it?"

"Eleven o'clock in the morning."

She groaned and slid down into the bed lazily. "But, it's only Sunday…" her voice trailed off muffled by the pillow. "It's so bothersome to go to school." She breathed.

He positioned himself beside her on the bed, "It's your choice to go."

"I suppose. But, I'd prefer to have my N.E.W.T.'s done before I leave school." Ginny felt a little concern in her stomach at the fact that she was in bed with Amadeus. She cleared her throat, "Did I make you sleep on the couch last night?"

He smiled, "No. I slept right here."

She paled, "Oh."

"I know where your mind is going, Ginevra. Do you feel sore between your legs?"

She blushed intensely now, "No!" she exclaimed in the pure shock of the idea. "Should I?"

The vampire laughed, "No, that's exactly why you shouldn't. You should feel rather special. It is not every day that I let a woman simply sleep in my bed, particularly if I am in it too. You are quite lucky."

Ginny gulped and hummed uncomfortably. "Really, Amadeus, you have a way of making me feel special indeed." A silent moment passed between them, and then Ginny finally had the courage to ask, "What about Fenrir? Is he dead?"

Amadeus hesitated to respond, "No. He has new scars from your fire curse, but Malfoy found his arm and Voldemort re-attached it."

Ginny's expression was of sheer disappointment and then terror. "Then, he's probably going to want-"

"Revenge. Yes. He's very determined to get it." He stated flatly – masking his real emotional involvement in the issue. Fenrir was his arch enemy and foremost rival outside his race. The werewolf's bite held a particular distaste in Amadeus's mouth for he did not know how his body would react if he were ever bitten. He simply wouldn't let it occur, but how could he get rid of the blasted beast before it managed to get to Ginevra?

He saw her shiver – a shiver of dread. Wordlessly, he pulled her to his chest wrapping her in his arms. She barely protested, which was astonishing for them both. Ginevra had been intensely afraid that his touch would be impossible to support after his Death Eater identity revealed and the image of his being covered in victims' blood so planted firmly in her memory of the night before. However, it was not an obstacle to her feeling very much safe and, honestly, cared for. Such a gesture surely could not be misinterpreted and Ginny felt secure in the assumption that Amadeus had every intention of protecting her – she was so sure of this that it stunned her. Where did she get such assurance? She realized she had sensed it. Perhaps she was more in tune with the vampire's feelings than she let herself believe – that mysterious legitimacy came up in her mind. It could also possibly be the bond Amadeus mentioned from time to time.

"I wish I had killed him." She muttered under her breath stubbornly.

"With that spell you used, you very well could have slashed his torso in half," Amadeus explained.

"You saw that?" she looked up.

He grinned, "I had felt your presence since you ran into the village. It was an interesting spell you used. I haven't seen that used for a long time."

"Yes, it was in a book called 'Forgotten Curses of the Past: An Archive Not to be Ignored'. It's really a handy book in these troubled times." She smirked, "By the way, Amadeus, how old are you exactly?"

His grip on her waist tightened with his temper, "Don't push your luck, Ginevra."

She merely laughed in his face, just daring him to act on his warning.

Upon her arrival back at Hogwarts a little past noon, she found her parents waiting for her in the most nervous state she'd ever seen them. McGonagall let the family have a private moment and left her to her fate in the empty Head-Mistress's office.

"Do you know how long we've been waiting? Do you know what your absence has put us through?" Molly Weasley began in her famous piercing voice.

Ginny gritted her teeth through her mother's lecture and father's frequent outbursts.

"Hogsmade was utter chaos when the Order members were scrambled together!"

"Not to mention the fire consumed a quarter of the poor village, Molly, dear."

Ginny almost forgot herself, realizing that she was responsible for the damage, but still held onto the air of ignorance. Fred and George would be proud, she thought smiling to herself.

Finally, they had said all they had wished so she started to explain. "Mum, Dad, as you can see I am whole and safe."

"Yes, but that's not the point-" Molly was hushed by her husband who seemed to have acquired composure before her.

"Dear, I think Ginny is trying to explain to us what happened. I think we should listen."

"Yes, thank-you Father. What I was about to say was that I am safe and all that, so you don't have to worry. And that if you are wondering about where I spent the night and how I managed to get out safely, well, it's all thanks to a friend of mine who pulled me in through side-along-apparation. I spent the night there because I was too afraid to try to find my way back home. Who knew where else the Death Eaters were attacking? And," foreseeing her mother's cause for opening her mouth to interrupt, "I could not owl because my friend's was out on an errand already and had not returned even in the morning, besides it very could have been intercepted," she lied through her teeth but calmly enough that her parents seemed to be satisfied.

"Well," Molly was almost speechless in relief, "Well. We simply must invite this friend of yours over for dinner this summer, as long as she'll be in the country. Too many families plan to escape England stupidly thinking the war won't spread, of course."

Ginny only registered the first part of her mother's words; Amadeus, she wanted Amadeus over for dinner. This was an unplanned complication. "Mum, I don't know about dinner."

"We owe her our gratitude! It sounds like she saved your life, Ginny." Arther chimed in.

"Em," Ginny cleared her throat, "Well, Mum, Dad, for one thing, this friend of mine is a he." Instantly, protectiveness was evident on her parents' faces. She did not let them interrupt her, however. "And for the second, I don't think he'll want to come." Realizing this was not enough to convince them, "He's a sort of recluse you see, it would make him awfully uncomfortable." She blurted out without seriously considering it.

"Nonsense Ginny, he must come!" her mother insisted.

Arthur turned to his daughter much paler than he had been a moment ago, "Did you stay the night there Ginny?"

The implied message was as preposterous as it was embarrassingly invasive to her, "Dad! Was I supposed to risk my life after he had just saved it for the sake of propriety? And no! You can rest easy he didn't 'try' anything." She grumbled unhappily at having to defend Amadeus and her own respectability in the eyes of her family. "You'd think we still lived in the Middle Ages." She added.

"You know that your Father and I understand the temptations of youth. We were young ourselves you know. We do not mean to invade your privacy, Ginny, dear. It is simply our reflex. Now, Arthur, I think we should leave Ginny to herself. She's had quite a weekend is probably very tired." Molly said calmly and kissed her daughter on the forehead before leading her husband back to the fireplace to floo back home.