Chapter Two
'Oh great, just what I needed,' Ginny thought exasperatedly before opening her eyes. She turned her head slowly and glared at the boy standing in the entrance.
"Is that the best you have?" she asked calmly, unfazed by both his 'nickname' for her and his coldness. He was just like her, cold and uncaring. Only she was smart enough to hide it.
Draco Malfoy didn't expect the little Weasley girl to answer him, but he didn't show his surprise and just chuckled instead.
"Oh look, Blaise. The weasel can talk!" He exclaimed as he entered the compartment with another Slytherin, Blaise Zabini, following him.
"That's an improvement indeed," replied Blaise, but his tone was teasing and not cold.
Ginny smirked at Blaise. He wasn't a threat. Malfoy was.
"What happened to your other goons, Malfoy? Caught their brains and ran away from your disgusting face?" she remarked coldly.
Draco glared at her, angered because she wasn't reacting as he'd expected her to.
"Shut up, Weasel, or I'll shut you up," he snarled. He expected her to run away in tears or something like that, but instead she started to laugh in his face. Blaise chuckled a little as well, adding to Draco's anger.
After she calmed down she looked at him with dancing hazel eyes. "Oh will you now?" she asked as she smirked. After holding his gaze for a moment longer, she turned back to the window, dismissing him.
Blaise looked at Draco with a glint in his eyes, waiting for him to say something. Apparently Draco was wordless at that moment, so Blaise took over.
"Why don't you go and look for your friends, little girl?" he asked softly.
She turned to him with a smile. He didn't like her smile one bit.
"Oh, but Zabini, I was here first. So why don't you get your ugly face out of here before something unpleasant happens?"
Draco was about to say something but Blaise held his hand up and changed tactics smoothly.
"Relax, honey, it was an offer, nothing else. We can all stay here, there's plenty of room."
She thought about it for a moment, eyes impassive, and then said, "Fine, but do shut up."
He chuckled and nodded.
Draco started to argue but Blaise said it was their only option, so he calmed down.
Ginny went back to staring out of the window for a couple more minutes, and then gave up on it. Stretching on the bench and ignoring the two guys sitting in front of her, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
Minutes passed but she couldn't fall asleep, not when Malfoy was in the same room. He was dangerous, and she'd known it from the moment she first saw him.
That didn't mean she was going to let him torment her. Never mind that she didn't care about anything so nothing he said could hurt her, she could answer right back with the same force. She'd never let the stupid Death-Eater-to-be get to her. Still, sleep never came, and she let her thoughts wander.
Minutes passed, and when she didn't open her eyes, her 'company' must've thought she fell asleep because they started talking in hushed voices. Not even trying to, she heard every word.
"Why didn't you just throw her out, Zabini?" Draco hissed.
"What are you so pissed about mate? She's alright," Blaise said calmly while looking at her calm face. She was faking sleep perfectly so he didn't notice it.
"She's a stupid Muggle-lover! I don't want this dirt in the same room with me!" Draco said coldly and she had to control herself in order to stop the smirk from showing. 'Well that's too bad Drake' she thought.
"Never mind that, she is good to look at don't you think?" Blaise asked with a hint of humor evident in his voice.
"She's nothing special Zabini, if I wanted her she would've been on her knees in front of me as we speak." Draco answered arrogantly and in spite of herself, Ginny felt her blood boil.
'I'll be damned if I fall in front of a Death Eater.' She swore to herself.
"Whatever, mate, she has something in her. I can't place my finger on it, but she's definitely not like your whores," Blaise said, surprising Ginny.
"With a bit of training she could be," Draco said and closed his eyes, wordlessly ending the conversation.
'Bastard,' she thought and then closed her mind so no voices came in.
The rest of the ride went as usual. She relaxed a little and fell asleep for real, her sub consciousness telling her it's safe as long as Blaise is there too.
Some hours later, when the train stopped, Draco stood and turned around to look at Blaise.
"You coming, Blaise?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'll just wake her up," Blaise said and stood up too, straightening his robes.
"Whatever, mate. Try not to touch her though; you never know what the dirt touched." With that said, Draco shot one last look at the sleeping girl and left.
Blaise shook his head, sighing. Sometimes Draco behaved just like his father and it just wasn't right. He stood by Ginny and shook her softly.
"Hey, Weasley, wake up."
Warm hazel eyes opened slowly and hardened as they focused on him.
'Such shame, she has beautiful eyes,' Blaise thought, before he stepped back.
"We arrived; I thought I should wake you," he said, one corner of his mouth reluctantly lifting into a smile.
Ginny sat up slowly, and passed a hand over her face. Was the guy actually trying to be civil? Why?
In the end, she just nodded at him. "Thanks, Zabini, I appreciate it," she said softly, getting up.
Blaise smiled. "I'm sorry about Draco - I think you are a nice one," he said with a wink.
Ginny decided a cynical reply was fitting so she chuckled, "Gee, Zabini, you're too sweet. And by the by, don't worry about me and Malfoy. I'm a big girl and I can handle him."
They exited the train before parting ways. Not in the mood for conversations, especially after the incident on the train, Ginny found herself an empty carriage, and giving a petting stroke to the Thestrals at its front, climbed inside and enjoyed the silent ride. When it was over, she joined the large group of students on their way to the Great Hall for the Opening Feast.
She watched from the corner of her eyes as Blaise, together with Draco, headed to the Slytherin table. Ginny shook her head and went to join her friends. Dumbledore sent strange looks towards her throughout the feast, and, not really caring what it was about, she shook it off.
Blaise, too, glanced at her every once in a while. It amused her greatly, so she smirked at him, deciding that it might be interesting to see what the boy was up to.
"Zabini, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Draco whispered fiercely after watching Blaise send looks towards Weasley again and again throughout the feast.
"What do you mean, mate?" Blaise asked innocently while looking at Ginny. She must have felt him looking, because she looked up from her plate, her gaze on him instead. Then, she gestured at Draco and made a face, making Blaise chuckle.
"This! You are flirting with that Gryffindor filth!" Draco spat angrily, making Blaise sigh.
"Draco, what is wrong with you, man? We're just joking with each other."
"If you want her in your bed, just offer some money and she'll jump right in. There's no need for playing around," Draco snarled nastily.
Blaise dropped his fork onto the plate and looked at Draco with a frown. "What the hell happened to you, Draco? She did nothing to you, so stop talking about her like that!"
Draco raised his eyebrows, smirk in place. "What happened to me? I believe I should be asking you the same question. I've had some time to think things over on our vacation. Father is right. Gryffindors are all stupid, dirty Muggle lovers who you shouldn't even look at,"
Blaise looked at him with disapproval. "I think it's bull."
"Well then, it's good that no one asked for your opinion," Draco answered coldly.
"Alright, Draco," Blaise said very slowly, reminding Draco that the angrier Blaise was on the inside, the calmer he looked on the outside. "If my opinion isn't wanted, I don't see any reason to continue this conversation." With that, he stood up and left the hall.
Draco didn't try to stop him; he just turned back to his food.
Having watched the whole thing as she sat on the other side of the hall, Ginny looked at Draco Malfoy, ignoring the chatter going on around her.
'Stupid boy, he pushes even his friends away,' she thought. Done with her food, she stood up and went to the dorms.
Albus Dumbledore sat on a soft armchair in his office. He was looking out of the window at the young children playing by the lake, all first and second years, with a sad expression. The war was approaching fast, too fast.
"Albus," a soft feminine whisper sounded suddenly in the room and Albus took a deep breath. Something was telling him that this call was bad news.
He let that breath out slowly, stood up and approached the mirror that hung on one of the walls of the office.
"Activar."
At first nothing happened, but soon the mirror's surface started swirling and a woman with black hair and eyes appeared in it.
"Rowena," Albus stated softly. The woman smiled warmly at him.
"My dear Albus, long time no see." Her voice was musical and calming, and he almost relaxed but caught himself in time. The Goddess never contacted him unless it was something important.
"Is there any news?" he asked her and the smile disappeared from her face when he did.
"The war is getting closer. He has already regained almost all of his power and is going to strike again soon," she fell silent then, apparently thinking something over, and then asked him, "Do you know who The One is?"
Albus nodded, "Ginevra Weasley. The change she went through is now more noticeable than before. I sensed the power in her since the moment she walked into the Great Hall."
Rowena nodded in agreement, "Indeed. As my sister foresaw, the girl is very strong, but she isn't strong enough yet. Someone must train her in the Dark Arts."
Albus hesitated and then asked, "Are you certain about the boy?"
Rowena's expression was grim. "He isn't on our side yet, but unpleasant events are approaching and they will bring him to us."
Albus looked out at the children laughing and running outside the castle, and sighed heavily. So much weight would soon rest on those young souls. "I wish things were easier."
Rowena smiled softly. "So do I, my dear Albus. So do I."