Chapter Eight – Down the Rabbit Hole
Ginny felt dizzy as she spun around and around, she closed her eyes and suddenly it stopped. After a moment of stillness passed, noting with panic there was a heavy weight resting on her, she opened her eyes and found herself on the floor with Draco on top of her. Her hazel eyes grew wide.
Draco shook his head to clear it after the vertigo and then looked down at the girl lying beneath him. She looked good lying there with her red hair sprawled on the floor.
"Get OFF me, Malfoy!" she hissed and pushed him by the shoulders. He didn't move.
"But, Weasley, you know you like the feeling. And I kind of like this position," he said, grinning down at her. Then, he slowly stood up, brushing dust off his pants. Ginny huffed angrily and then stood up too.
She looked around her and whispered a strangled, "Oh my."
Draco looked around too and finally noticed their surroundings.
They were standing in the middle of a big room, the living room to be exact, with a huge white rug under them. The floor was wooden- and so were the walls. They were in a big cabin. There was a sofa, made of black leather and a glassed coffee table with a big candle in the middle. One huge TV on the wall in front of the sofa and a bookshelf by the TV; on the other walls was paintings and a telephone hanging by the door. On their right was the entrance door and on their left was a hallway.
"I think we should go and explore a little," Ginny said softly, forgetting their fight for the moment.
Having no biting answer for her, Draco silently agreed.
There was a door connecting the living room with a big kitchen. He was surprised to see all kinds of Muggle things in it. He shook his head; Too much new things on one day.
Ginny noticed the move and said, "You'll get used to it."
He looked at her for a long moment and then said seriously, "I don't think so."
Next they went to the hallway. The first room they went in was a bedroom.
"This one's mine," Draco stated.
"Whatever."
The bedroom was too big for her anyway. A double bed, canopied, stood at the far wall, a window to its right, and a closet stood to its left. Next to the wall closest to their right stood a mahogany desk with a chair next to it and a lamp on it.
The opposite room was another bedroom, smaller and more fitting for Ginny. There was a smaller canopy bed. Otherwise, the room was furnished like the other one.
Ginny entered, opened the windows and let out a surprised gasp. The view was amazing! A huge lake shining from the sunlight with flowers around it, there was a forest behind the lake and farther west was a road that probably led to some town close by.
She was too busy watching the view to hear Draco approaching her from behind. Something in this house made him forget she was a filthy Weasley and instead he saw a beautiful young woman that was illuminated by the golden sunlight. Something pulled him to her. Coming closer, he put one hand on the wall beside her head and his head above her shoulder. His hot breath caressing her neck as he said, "The old man really did it this time."
Ginny stiffened. His closeness sent shivers up her spine and that was an unwelcome feeling. She forced herself to relax and murmured, "Yeah."
'Get away from him, he's a Malfoy! Your enemy!' Ginny thought when she felt him stepping closer. "Malfoy, you should go," she said softly and felt him stiffen too.
She didn't need to turn around to see his eyebrow lift sardonically when he said, "Oh do I, Weaselette?" and then he pressed his body closer to her back, nuzzling her neck.
"Malfoy, go!" Ginny hissed in a low voice, not understanding the reactions she was getting.
He laughed coldly. "Yeah, I think I'll go take a long shower and get your stinky smell off," he said nastily and left without another word.
Ginny closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the glass of the window. Why did she felt so disoriented and upset when he left the room feeling nothing at all? Where was her coolness?
When that thought did nothing to calm her nerves Ginny took her wand and went to the middle of the room. She inspected the room, concentrated and said, "Accio Morgana's mirror."
At first nothing happened and then the wall she was looking at started shaking and a big golden mirror appeared on it. Ginny smiled to herself and went to it. "Mirror mirror on the wall, show me Morgana or I'll make you fall." Seconds later a sweet laugh filled the room and Morgana's gorgeous face appeared in the mirror.
"Hello Ginevra. What an interesting way you choose to summon me," she said and Ginny smiled.
"One must feel like a witch every now and then don't you think?" the redhead asked and Morgana nodded in agreement.
"Indeed. So Ginevra, do you like your new house?" the Goddess asked and watched as Ginny's eyes clouded. Morgana saw what happened between Draco and Ginny earlier and she was actually pleased. Everything was going by her plan.
Ginny was silent for a moment and then said "The house is beautiful and so is the view, but I wish it wasn't Malfoy here with me."
Morgana nodded slowly and then said, "I'm sorry, Ginevra, but it must be this way. He's on the run too, you must understand it."
Ginny nodded. "I understand it, but it doesn't mean I have to like it."
"You have no choice, darling. Now, I have a couple of things I want to tell you both so would you please go and call Draco," Morgana said and Ginny shook her head.
"No, I won't do it. I don't want anything to do with him right now."
Morgana lifted an eyebrow. "And why is that?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Ginny said calmly and Morgana smiled.
"As you wish, but if you won't call him, I will."
"Fine," Ginny muttered.
Morgana smiled again and closed her eyes. A moment later, Draco entered the room. He didn't even look at her, just went to stand by her side and looked at Morgana.
"Yes?" he asked gruffly.
Morgana opened her eyes and looked at him calmly. "Yes, Morgana" she instructed and Ginny suppressed a chuckle at the look of his face.
He was silent for a moment and then bit off, "Yes, Morgana?"
She nodded in approval. "Good, I need to talk to you both about a couple of things.
First, about the house, it's yours to use until decided otherwise. You'll have endless supplies of food and Muggle money, but use it wisely. There is a Muggle town close by if you go by that road near the house, it's a fifteen minutes' walk or so. You'll find everything you need there.
"I will provide you with all the big things you'll need. Do you have something you need right now?" she asked and before Ginny could think of something Draco said, "Yes, we'll need a workout room."
Morgana nodded, "Good, Draco." She closed her eyes, opened them for a moment and said, "Done." She then turned to Ginny and asked, "Anything you think is necessary?"
Ginny thought about it for a moment and then said clearly in Celtic, "I need a knife."
Draco knew it was Celtic but he didn't understand the language so he stayed silent and listened to her calm voice. She was talking fluently and he was secretly impressed.
Morgana lifted an eyebrow, "Oh, what for?"
Ginny considered telling the truth – she didn't want to stay unprotected when living with a Death-Eater alone in the house- but decided against it and just said, "You never know when evil strikes."
Morgana was silent for a moment and then said, "Fine, but don't use it without real need. Where do you want me to place it?"
"Under my pillow," Ginny answered and Morgana closed her eyes and after a moment said, "Done."
"Alright, everything you need for your exercise just think about it and it'll be there," she said in English and continued, "Ginevra you know how to contact me."
Ginny nodded.
"Is it all?" Draco asked and Morgana shook her head. "No, there's something else that is extremely important. Use magic only when you're alone, and never outside of this house. Ministry of Magic is the least of our worries right now, and they can cause much trouble, and we don't want that. Are we clear on that?"
Both nodded and Morgana disappeared.
Ginny cleared her throat and turned to Draco.
"When do we start practicing?"
"Tomorrow, you'll need strength to fight me." So saying, he turned and left the room.
She told herself to relax. She was going to live with him for Merlin knows how long so she should get used to be close to him and to see him shirtless.
Ginny went to her closet, pulled out a long button-up shirt that was Ron's once, clear underwear and a towel and went to the bathroom.
After the shower, Ginny went to sit in the middle of the bed cross-legged and closed her eyes getting ready to meditate. She did it every night before sleep to calm her nerves.
She took a couple of deep breaths and exhaled it slowly, until her body begun to hum and she felt the light spreading through her body, covering her skin with invisible threads of fire and levitating her hair until it floated in the air behind her back.
Ginny continued breathing slowly and started chanting. The sounds and words came to her from the Upper World and while she didn't know the meaning, she felt the calming effect it had on her body and spirit. She chanted until her hair became black, with only strands of her natural color, and as she opened her eyes they became golden.
Even though she was looking straight forward she saw nothing- not the walls, furnishes or the entire room- she only saw light. Soon her whole body levitated in the air above the bed.
When Draco finished his shower, he dried his hair with the towel, put his boxers and a long sleeved shirt on and got under the blanket. He closed his eyes but couldn't fall asleep. Every time he closed his eyes he saw his mother screaming and it didn't stop until he opened them.
Finally he cursed and got up.
'Maybe a hot drink will help,' he thought and padded toward the living room. On his way he heard a strange sound coming from the girl Weasel's room and lifted an eyebrow.
'What the hell was the girl doing singing in the middle of the night?' he asked himself and changed directions. The door to her room was open and he when he looked into the room he jumped back fast. She was levitating above the bed sitting cross-legged and singing. But her eyes have been looking straight at him. He thought she saw him, was sure she did, but when he heard she continued singing without saying a word to him he peeked in again.
Indeed she was looking toward him, but she wasn't seeing him. Her eyes were glowing softly with golden color and her hair was black, almost the same as the sheets.
He took her in with his eyes slowly and then his eyes landed on her long legs. She had pale skin, and with the black hair she looked like some sort of a dark angel.
But unlike something from the darkness, she was glowing with golden light, like a goddess that fell from heaven. 'She is a goddess,' Draco thought, mesmerized by her beauty. Her voice was like soft velvet caressing his skin and he shivered, but not from the cold.
'Damn it! She's just a stupid Weasley. Those nightmares are making me see things,' Draco though furiously, but he remained standing by the door- unable to take his eyes off of her, until she closed her eyes and started floating back down onto the sheets. Then he shook his head softly and padded silently toward his first-planned destination- the kitchen. But even as he fell asleep, instead of the nightmares, an image of the floating goddess remained in his mind.