Chapter Three – The Awakening
One month later…
Blaise avoided Draco for a couple of days after their conversation at the Great Hall, but it didn't take long for things to go back to normal. He knew his friend's character well and there was no use trying to change him.
Having had short talks with Blaise every once in a while, Ginny decided the guy was alright, for a Slytherin, and that as long as she kept him at some distance, there was nothing wrong with speaking to him.
She and Malfoy had a couple of encounters but it meant nothing to her, she'd just say something cold about his father and walk away.
The mere mention of his father had Draco agitated in seconds, and she never hesitated to use it for her advantage. It was one of the things she'd learnt from Riddle. Using people's weakness was a good weapon. The other thing was being cold and indifferent.
Everything went well until one beautiful Sunday.
Walking by herself down in the dungeons, having nothing else to do, Ginny waited for her Potions class to start. She was the only Gryffindor Severus Snape respected. When she showed no fear at his cold behavior towards everyone who wasn't in Slytherin, she had surprised him and they've had an unspoken agreement of something like truce ever since.
She kind of liked the dungeons, maybe because it was always quiet there, and no one tried to begin meaningless conversations with her.
However, that particular day, things didn't work out quite as she'd planned. The halls were not deserted, as she had hoped them to be.
"Well well, the Weasel came to visit us?" Draco drawled silkily, stepping out of the shadows.
Ginny turned to look at him, sighing. "Malfoy, I'm not in the mood. Run along, now."
Of course it had the reversed effect on the boy. Pushing himself off the wall he's been leaning against, he sauntered towards her.
"What is it, Weasley? did Potter leave you all by yourself again?"
'Oh, this is getting old,' Ginny thought. "Why, Malfoy, are you interested? Sorry, I don't do ferrets."
Malfoy laughed coldly. "I don't touch dirt, little girl, haven't I told you this for many times? I'm not desperate."
Ginny looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, it means your father is desperate, then. He is probably raping some poor innocent girl as we speak."
'Got him again,' she thought, noticing the change in his eyes, which turned into slits, a cold glint appearing in them. She turned to leave but this time he had a comment.
"My father doesn't touch the likes of you, but I bet yours enjoys every second of it. I bet he even pays for the Mudbloods to sleep with him. Hmm, this must be where all your money disappears to."
Ginny froze. How dare he insult her family?
As she turned to face him once again, she felt a wave of dizziness pass through her and swayed. Suddenly, everything around her became clearer than usual, she became hyper aware of every whisper of a sound around them. They stood alone in the dimly lit hall, but Ginny heard rustle around her, like the walls were whispering.
Draco saw something pass through her eyes, making the colors in them shift like fire. It seemed like for the first time since the year began, he'd finally touched a nerve. 'Good, let's see what she's like when she's angry,' he thought. Nasty smirk in place, he added, "Bet your mother is a lousy lay."
What he saw then was fascinating. A soft golden glow appeared around her, shimmering light that seemed to be emanating from her body. Her hair rose around her like a halo of, like the wind played with it, only there was no wind. Her eyes became pure golden color, blazing at him.
"Don't talk about my mother and father like that, you filthy Death Eater." Her voice was deeper and she spoke calmly, each word coming out coldly and slashing the air like knives.
Draco couldn't move his legs, he felt rooted to the spot, as shock ran through him. What happened to the little Weasley girl and where did that creature come from? He reached for his wand blindly, without taking his eyes off of her.
He almost succeeded to pull it out when she waved her hand at him and suddenly he was thrown against a wall.
Ginny had never felt such fury. She felt it flow freely through her body now, actually felt the heat of it. How dare he talk about her parents like that! The question was repeating itself in her head, not leaving space for reason.
For the first time in her life she let the anger take over and it felt amazing. Seeing Malfoy's fear and hurting him was amazing.
"Ginevra!"
The voice brought her back to reality and she turned around and saw Blaise standing a behind her, looking from her to Draco with fear and worry in his eyes. Something about his look shook her from the haze. She didn't want him to be scared of her.
"Please calm down," he said softly and began to walk towards her, taking careful, slow steps.
"He, the bastard -" she started but Blaise hurried towards her and took her hand.
"I know Gin, but you should stop before you lose all your strength," he murmured soothingly and she felt the anger slowly fade. When it passed, she felt drained and closed her eyes. Blaise caught her in his arms as she fainted.
"What is the meaning of this, Mr. Zabini?" Snape roared as he rounded the corner, on the way to his class.
Blaise, who put Ginny beside the unconscious Draco and was sitting in front of them, turned to look at his Head of House and shook his head.
"I don't know, Sir. She seemed to lose control of her powers. I have never seen anything like that before."
'I should report this to Albus,' Snape thought and nodded.
"Alright, Mr. Zabini, please carry Mss. Weasley to the Hospital Wing while I wake Mr. Malfoy."
Blaise nodded and gently picking the girl up headed to the Hospital Wing.
Snape waited until Blaise disappeared from view, and went to take a look at Draco.
"The girl really did it this time," he murmured with a hint of admiration. Clearing his throat he reached out to his robe to find his wand.
"Ennervate,"
Draco's grey eyes opened slowly. Seeing the Potions Master standing in front of him, he tried to stand up, but a strong pain in his chest stopped him.
"Holly Circle," he muttered with annoyance.
Snape had a strong urge to chuckle but kept it to himself. "What happened here, Mr. Malfoy?" he asked instead.
Draco shook his head in order to try to clear his thoughts and then cursed silently.
"That damned bitch! Where did that power come from?" he muttered to himself but unfortunately Snape heard it too.
"I won't accept this language in my House, Mr. Malfoy. Do tell me exactly what happened between you and Ms. Weasley?"
Draco took a deep breath, released it slowly and tried to explain.
"I was standing in the hall, waiting for Zabini, when I saw Miss. Weasley," he said her name with a sneer, "walking alone in the halls. I asked her what was she doing in the dungeons at this hour, and she started getting angry out of the blue." He left out the 'little' detail of why she started to get angry and Snape noticed it.
"Did you do something to make her upset?" the Potions Master asked with a raised eyebrow.
Draco wasn't a Slytherin for nothing so he put on an innocent look on and said, "I said nothing bad, she just lost it," he lied.
Snape spotted the lie but chose to say nothing about it. "Alright, Mr. Malfoy, if that's all I think you should go to the Hospital Wing and get checked for injuries. Ms. Weasley got you pretty bad."
He turned around and walked away, not seeing the evil glint in Draco's eye.
Draco flashed a cold smile and thought, 'And I will get her in return. No one messes with a Malfoy and walks away from it without a scratch.'
He stood up, supporting himself on the wall when the hall moved around him. With another curse, he slowly made his way to the Hospital Wing, his whole body aching.
Ginny woke up three hours later, and opened her eyes tiredly. Only a month had passed since the beginning of the year and already she was in the Hospital Wing?
"What the hell happened?" she asked herself and a fit of coughing overtook her. A second later Madam Pompfrey rushed in with a glass of water and handed it to her. Ginny drank it and mumbled, 'Thanks,' but the nurse has already rushed, the curtain around Ginny's bed swishing closed behind her.
"She woke up, Albus." Ginny heard the nurse saying.
"Very well, can I talk to her?" asked the kind voice of Albus Dumbledore. The nurse must've approved because seconds later Ginny heard the curtains being pushed and opened her eyes to look into the blue eyes of the Headmaster.
Dumbledore smiled warmly at her and set down on a chair by her bed.
"How are you, Miss Weasley?" he asked softly.
"I feel like hell, Headmaster, and please call me Ginny," she said and coughed softly again.
Dumbledore accio-ed another glass of water, and handed it to her.
"As you wish, then you may call me Dumbledore and not Headmaster. It makes me feel old." His joke rewarded him with Ginny's soft smile.
"Okay," she agreed.
After a moment of silence Dumbledore's expression became serious. "Ginny, can you please tell me what happened in the dungeons today?" he asked calmly. She sensed he wasn't showing his real emotions but was too tired to care.
"Malfoy caught me unawares by the Potions classroom while I was waiting for the class to begin, and he said things about my family. At first I tried to walk away but he continued and I couldn't control myself anymore. I had to make him stop. I'm not sorry for it, but I'm sorry for giving you problems."
Ginny put her head down in shame. She should have controlled her anger.
Albus took her hand and patted it reassuringly. "It's not entirely your fault, young lady. I believe you had your reasons for getting upset."
Ginny shook her head. "But I never lost control of my magic before. Blaise looked at me like I'm a freak!"
Albus smiled sadly. "You are a very special young lady, Ginny, and your powers are not common at all.
I cannot reveal everything, but you should know your powers are very important and you must learn how to control them and use them wisely."
Ginny looked at him for a moment and saw that asking about his sources won't bring her any good, so she asked something else instead.
"And how will I learn that?" she asked calmly, not showing her interest.
Dumbledore must've relaxed because he was smiling his usual gentle smile again. "You will start Legilimency classes with Professor Snape, twice a week and that will be all for now.
This year is going to be difficult for all of us, but we must stay strong and united. You have to concentrate on your other classes and try to do your best. Try to not let anyone get to you, because if you lose control again you might hurt someone really bad," the Headmaster finished with a sigh.
"My mistake won't repeat itself," she said calmly. 'I will not let the mistake of letting Malfoy get to me happen again,' she added to herself.
Albus didn't get her double meaning and smiled too.
"You may have this day off classes. Professor Snape will be here in a minute and you two shall discuss the Legilimency lessons," Dumbledore said and stood up.
"Wait, can you please not tell my brother and his friends what happened? I don't want to hear questions," she said quickly and Albus nodded.
"I won't Miss Weasley, and remember, the accident and this talk never happened."
Ginny smiled sweetly. "What talk Headmaster?"
"Get well soon, Miss. Weasley."
Ginny closed her eyes, and tried to relax. Her curtains were open and she didn't need to open her eyes to see who entered, his aura said it all.
"Professor Snape," she stated calmly before he said anything.
Severus allowed a small curve of his lips. He didn't need to ask her how she knew it was him. She was a very special young woman. One of the very few people who'd managed to pass his guards and gain his approval.
"Hello, Miss. Weasley. How are you?" His voice wasn't menacing or cold, but soft. He only allowed himself to use this voice with her. Ginevra may be a young girl but great wisdom was evident in her hazel eyes.
Those hazel eyes opened slowly and a soft, real, smile formed on her somewhat pale lips.
"I've known better days, Professor." Here, the sad memories were evident in her eyes, and the slight waver of her voice betrayed fake calmness.
"Once you learn to control it, everything will be alright," he said soothingly, well as soothing as Severus Snape could sound.
She laughed humorously. "Such positive thinking, Professor, where is the evil Potions Master I've learnt to like?"
"Will you be alright?" he asked.
"I am always alright," Ginny told him calmly, but he heard the bitterness in her voice.
"It will be alright in the end, Ginevra."
"Yeah, faith is what keeps us alive isn't it?"
There was that wisdom again, she didn't deserve to have such a sad life. She had every right to be happy, didn't deserve to be touched by evil and get her innocence taken at such young age, Snape thought.
"It is," he agreed softly, memories of his own ruined childhood surfacing. Ginny saw his sadness in those black eyes and took his hand in hers, saying nothing. Severus looked at her for a moment and then put his other hand over hers.
And so they sat the 'evil' potions master and the innocent little Weasley girl. Two misunderstood and underestimated souls, waiting for the salvation that may never come.