Chapter 4 – Surprise and Mystery

A moment later, the Slytherin trio was back from the dungeon. Blaise parted from them to join his Herbology class outside the castle, while Draco and Pansy made their way to the Charm classroom. N.E.W.T.s level classes were taught to students from all houses at the same time, for there were few who managed to attain the grades required. The fact that many parents had retired their kids from Hogwarts also reduced the groups seize. Concerning the grades, they had made an exception with Draco, taking account of his fifth year's results instead of his sixth year's. The previous year, he had been too busy trying to survive and not get his parents killed to worry about anything else. I guess it was bonded to buy me some sympathy, he thought wryly. Of course, some people were going to argue about that.

As soon as he entered the room, Hogwarts' number one wannabe hero, namely Harry Potter, was in his face.

"I don't care that they think it's ok for you to come back here. Like you were some bloody repentant sinner! I know who you are, Malfoy! I know what you are!" the Gryffindor blasted in a low hushed tone.

Draco snorted rudely, an ugly smile drawn upon his aristocratic face. "You don't know shit, Pothead!"

The Boy Wonder was about to retort something, but Miss Know-it-all Granger stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down, Harry. You don't need any more trouble. He isn't worth it anyway" she said, giving Draco a disdainful look.

Pansy rolled her eyes in annoyance at the bushy-haired girl's attitude. Harry started to turn around.

Draco sneered. "Yeah, go ahead, Scarface. Do as the brainy one said. Like a good obedient puppy". He knew he was taunting him, but the git made it so damn easy. Pansy was smirking at his side. God, to irritate the hell out of them really was entertaining!

Potter looked ready to assault him, but Flitwick chose that moment to gather his class attention.

"Now, young ladies and young men, take your seat and we shall begin".

The dark-haired Gryffindor threw him a last infuriated look, to which Draco responded with his own neutral arrogant face. Potter finally turned away half-dragged by the Granger girl. They went to sit beside the Weasel King who had been too busy arguing with Pavarti to join Potter's little crusade against him. The two Slytherins went to the other side of the room, where Daphne and Theodore were sitting. Draco caught Theo staring at him. Again, Draco had the uneasy feeling he was being watched by the young wizard. He scowled at him.

"Got a problem, Nott?" he asked moodily.

"None" Theo answered, half smiling.

"Better keep it that way, then" Draco retorted, and he sat.

The rest of the class was relatively eventless except for the death glares the blond Slytherin received from his long time's enemy. But then, Draco had expected nothing else from any holier-than-thou Gryffindor, least of all Potter. Flitwick started with a short theoretical lecture before he left his high skilled student to their practical exercises.

The Charms class ended three hours later. Since Draco didn't want to give the Gryffindor the time to have another go at him, he and Pansy lost no time and went straight to the dungeon to put away their books before lunch. They thought they would meet Blaise in the common room, but the young man was nowhere in sight. Not overly alarmed about the flirty Slytherin absence, they directed themselves to the Great Hall. But Blaise wasn't there either. Pansy looked questionably at Draco.

"Where do you reckon that idiot went? It's not like him to skip a meal."

Draco shrugged. "I bet he'll turn up any minute."

He did not. When they stood to get ready for their Potions class, the black-haired Slytherin still hadn't showed up. More and more concerned over their friend, they walked the way to the Potion's classroom but made a hook to the Slyhterin common room again to make sure Blaise hadn't return. They arrived in class a few minutes before the bell rang and found their missing friend tranquilly eating a sandwich. He coolly smiled at them while they approached. Pansy gaped at him disbelieving.

"Where the hell were you? Draco and I have waited for you."

"Aww! Concerned over my safety, were you? How touching! This is so cute, Pansy!" and he brought her in a big bear hug until she could barely breathe. Pansy struggled furiously to free herself from the iron clutch.

"Stop it, you annoying git!"

That made Draco and Blaise laugh. The later let his of captive go, amused at her exasperated expression. Still, Draco reiterated her question. To his great surprise, the boy looked slightly embarrassed.

"Well, you see, I've been a little side-tracked on my way back." He was rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I came across the Patil girl and… hum… I kind of tried to ask an advance on our Hogmeade's date."

Draco was startled. Was he dreaming or was The Blaise Zabini blushing? As for Pansy, she looked outraged.

"You're telling me you kept us waiting because you were too busy pawing some Gryffindor chick? I can't believe…" She stopped and looked at her raven-haired friend in astonishment. "Wait. It can't be. Did you actually say tried?" He shrugged and looked away. That was answer enough. The girl grinned broadly. "You've been turned down? Now, that's the best news I've heard in a long time!" She laughed. "You know, Pavarti Patil just earned herself many points in my book."

Then, Blaise's face changed as if he just remembered something.

"I almost forgot! You will never guess what!" but he never got to finish his thought.

Professor Slughorn, Potion Master and new Slytherin Head of House, entered the classroom.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen." He greeted them with his usual enthusiasm. "Everybody, settle down and open your book to chapter 1. We will start…"

He was interrupted when someone knocked at the door. At first, Slughorn frowned at the disruption but went to open the door. When he recognized the person who had just disturbed his class, he looked astonished and then delighted as a radiant smile appeared on his face. The professor motioned the visitor in. The whole class gasped, Draco among them. Ginevra Weasley entered the room.

"That's what I was going to tell you about. She was in my Herbology class this morning," Blaise whispered in his friend's ear.

Draco kept his gaze on the freckled girl. She looked a little uncertain as she searched for a place to sit. Slughorn seemed to understand her discomfort.

"You can pair up with Miss Parkinson. I'm sure she won't mind. Will you, dear?" He questioned the older girl.

"Of course not, Professor" she mumbled between clenched teeth.

Pansy moved to the table in front of Draco and Blaise's. Ginny looked a little intimidated. However, Draco had to give her credit, for she regained her composure quite fast. She started to walk toward her designed place. Draco saw Slughorn shake his head fondly at the small Gryffindor's back and say "Such an outstanding little woman". Once she sat beside Pansy, Ginny turned to the other girl and acknowledged her with a brief nod.

"Parkinson."

Pansy mirrored the gesture.

"Weasley."

Then, Slughorn started his lecture about N.E.W.T.s and how exacting he was going to be with them. But Draco wasn't listening. He kept staring at the long red mane in front of him. In his defence, the bright hair was quite eye-catching. The young man felt mesmerized by the endless shades of red her hair melted together. How soft the wavy locks looked. He could just picture how it would feel to dive his fingers through it while he'd… He slapped himself mentally. Wow! His train of thoughts was scary.

When he recovered his ability to think straight, he realized he wasn't the only one who didn't listen to Professor Slughorn's monologue about N.E.W.T.s' importance. The Weasley girl kept throwing gazes in Potter and Granger's direction. He couldn't see her face, but the look she received from both of them was disturbing. The Mudblood's expression was clearly disapproving, but Potter looked down right betrayed. What would their precious little Ginny have done to justify such look? Surely it couldn't just be the fact that she was sitting among Slytherins. She hadn't even chosen to. The girl in front of him finally settled her eyes on her textbook with a sigh that sounded resigned.

Slughorn finally began to explain the procedure of the day's potion. Half an hour later, the students stood up to collect the ingredients from the front table. As they started to settle everything for the assignment, the young redhead turned to her partner.

"Listen, Parkinson. I know I'm not at the same level as you yet. You're more experienced than I am at brewing potions. However, I know my way around components preparation. Consequently, it would be best if for a couple of weeks you were in charge of the brewing itself and I take care of the ingredients. I'll eventually catch up. That, I can guaranty." She looked at the older girl straight in the eyes.

"Whatever you say, Weasley" Pansy responded, shrugging.

Despite her bored attitude, Draco knew his fellow Slytherin was quite impress at the Gryffindor admitting her deficiency. He, for one, would never have. Like any good Slytherin, he would sooner die than confess having a flaw of any sort.

While he and Blaise went on with their own cauldron, Draco kept gliding glances at the other table. Surprisingly, the girls seemed to do quite fine. They barely talked to each other during the whole process, though. Ginny prepared the ingredients efficiently and handed them to Pansy before she even had to ask. The younger girl took in everything her partner did, memorizing the techniques. In fact, the both of them appeared to be a very proficient team.

At some point, there was nothing left to do except to stir it clockwise at a stable pace and make sure the temperature stayed constant. Draco used that time to interrogate the little lion.

"So, Weasley, care to tell us how come you've got seventh year classes? I know it isn't because you're that smart."

She ignored the implied insult and answered without taking her eyes off her bubbling mixture. "The odds are that I won't be here next year. I wanted to at least finish my schooling." The bitterness in her last statement was almost painful to hear and made the three Slytherins look up at her.

Draco raised an elegant eyebrow at her. "What? Caught some lethal disease, Weasley? I certainly hope your brother gets it too."

She snorted. "I bet you do!" She finally levelled her gaze to his. "By the way, tell me, do Ron and I look that much alike?"

Blaise gave her a hot once-over. "Oh no, baby, you don't!"

"Well, maybe you should stop calling us the same then."

Draco rolled his eyes. "All right… pixie."

She actually smiled at him. "Now, that's kind of cute." She looked back at her cauldron. "I think it's time to vial it. What do you say, Parkinson?"

The older girl examined the dark forest green potion before she agreed. While they carefully took a sample of their work, professor Slughorn walked up to their table.

"You are already finished with the assignment?" The girls nodded and handed the vial to the Potion Master. "Hmm. I'll have to test it properly, but that looks like a job well done to me!" He smiled warmly at them. "Quite an inspiration I had to team these young ladies with one another. But I've always had a sixth sense to draw talents together" he added looking pleased with himself.

A few minutes later, the class was dismissed and the students stood to leave the classroom. Just as Ginny was about to walk through the door Potter passed by her and rudely bumped into her shoulder, spilling her things to the floor in the process. Granger went after him. Shaking her head, Ginny kneeled on the floor and started to collect her stuff while the rest of the class passed her by to exit. Without even thinking, Draco crouched to pick up a scroll that had rolled in his direction. He walked and handed it to her. To say she looked surprised was very much an understatement.

She opened her mouth to say something but then closed it. Finally, she said a simple "Thanks" and went.

"What has got into the git? As far as I can remember, Potter's little crew has always treated the Weasley girl like glass, and now they treat her like shit. It doesn't make sense" Pansy said at his side while they were going back to Slytherin common room.

Blaise shrugged. "Potter's an idiot. That's nothing new."

Pansy gave him a look. "Please! We all know there's something up with that lot. And after what we saw in there, I'd bet anything it's connected to Ginevra Weasley."

The trio went through the portrait and entered their common room. They didn't bother to put away their books and went straight for the seats by the fireplace. Pansy and Blaise took place on a couch while Draco let himself fall in one of the cosy armchairs stretching his long legs before him.

"What do you reckon is going on?" he asked her.

"Hard to tell," she sighed. "Well, obviously she did something her bunch disapproves of."

The blond Slytherin snorted. "Disapprove? Come on, Pansy! You saw Pothead's face and what he did. I'd say he does more than disapprove."

"I think there's a lot of dissension among the little Griffins," Theodore said taking a seat in front of Draco. Daphne followed and sat on the chair's arm next to him.

Draco still didn't know what to make of the solitary Slytherin. He raised an eyebrow at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Remember this morning, in Charms? Weasley was arguing rather animatedly with Pavarti Patil."

That was true. Draco hadn't made much of it at the time, but now that he thought about it… It didn't make much more sense, but it brought a new dimension to the mystery.

"There's also the fact that the Ginevra has skipped a year" Daphne reminded them. "First time I hear of such thing. Surely if it was standard procedure Granger would have seized the occasion by now. I mean, the little Weasley is smart, but there are other smart people around here and I don't see them skipping a year."

"She said it's because she won't be coming back next year" Draco said, remembering her dour tone.

That got the Slytherins thinking, but none of them had the beginning of an answer as to why Ginny wouldn't complete her schooling in due time.

Looking in front of him at Theo and Daphne, Draco wondered. He esteemed the two Slytherins, but could he trust them? Daphne's family had no connection to the Dark Side, but Theo… Theodore's father was a known Death Eater, but Draco knew nothing of the boy's allegiance. Just like Draco he had experienced the general pressure to formally and officially choose a side, and just like him he had managed to delay the unavoidable. Draco knew for a fact that many Slytherins didn't want to become Death Eaters. Voldemort's grand crusade against muggles and muggle-born wizards didn't appeal to most of the young generation. Unfortunately, for many like Draco, there was no choice to be made. As angry as the Dark Lord may be with Lucius, he would never give up on Malfoy's money and relations. Thus, he would never give up on the Malfoy heir. What about Nott? Could it be that Theodore was in the same situation as he? Somehow, Draco couldn't picture Theo as a Death Eater. The young man was simply too independent to fit the frame. Again, he wondered. Could he trust Daphne and Theodore? Maybe. Maybe not. For now, he reserved his judgment.

As the weeks went by, Draco realized most of the student body, including his own housemates, thought he already was a Death Eater. For a time, he duelled on denying it or not and decided not to. Nor did he confirm it anyway. First, he knew most of them wouldn't even believe a word he says. Second, it kept everybody at a distance, and Draco was all for that. Some Slytherins, Pritchard among them, had tried to get corroboration out of him, but the seventh year prefect had long become a master at verbal tap dance. So far, so good.

One person he seemed unable to get rid of was Cassandra Wilkes. It became clear that the small Slytherin's new goal in life was to worship the ground he walked on. The girl kept coming to him for advices and every time he opened his mouth she seemed to drink his words like they were something holy. It amused Blaise and Pansy (and all the Slytherins for that matter) to no end. Draco had waited to be annoyed by her constant adulation, but it never came. In fact, it was the opposite. Cassie was growing on him a little more every day.

He'd been right the first time he'd met her. After a week or so, her timidity had been but a memory. The tiny first year was sharp-minded and incredibly cunning. Draco had witnessed her hexing Graham Pritchard's butt and then giving the best innocent face a Slytherin had ever muster. Thinking about it, he still felt proud in a big-brother kind of way.

It seemed Draco had recently developed a weakness for petite females because Cassie wasn't the only one who grew on him. He now had the hardest time associating Ginevra Weasley with the bunch of Gryffindors he had come to scorn. The fact that the Golden Trio had rejected her to a certain extent had probably contributed to that change in perception. The more he observed her, the more she became her own person in his eyes. Someone not only smart, but hard-working. He had seen her countless times studying on her own in the library to catch up with the other seventh year students. He even saw her fall asleep on her books once.

The unnatural attraction he felt toward Ginny kept growing, and so did the mystery that surrounded the young woman. During the night patrols that preceded Halloween, he and Pansy found light coming from one of the ground classroom. They first thought they would find a couple of horny teenagers, but what they discovered was a little more singular. They looked in the divination classroom that had been converted into a piece of wilderness to accommodate Firenze. The quadruped professor was there, but he was not alone. They could hear a woman talk to him, and even though they couldn't see her, the voice was unmistakably Ginevra's. She sounded miserable.

"Isn't there a way to be free of it, Firenze? Am I so utterly helpless before the Fates? Do I have any freewill left?"

The centaur gave a sad gentle smile to the girl, an expression he rarely directed toward humans.

"You will always keep your freewill, little one. It is a thing even the gods would never interfere with. But some destinies are not so easily ignored. You can try to fight against it, but there is no saying what dismay might come from your resistance. The greatest the path, the narrowest the edge to walk on."

They fell silent for a moment. Ginny's voice came soft as a sigh, barely audible.

"I feel the pull, but I can't help fighting it. It goes against so much of what I think… what I thought. What if he doesn't come around? I know he will fight it too. I can't exactly blame him."

"The issue depends on how well you will deal with your own struggles, a leanbh."

Ginevra sighed heavily.

"I was afraid you'd say that."

"I am deeply sorry I cannot lessen your burden." He paused. "You should seek some rest now. Your energy is running low."

"Yeah, I should rest. Do you mind if I stay here for the night? I like it here." She did sound tired.

The centaur's handsome feature lightened.

"Gwendolyn's protégées will always be welcomed in my home."

"Thank you" she responded, and it was scarcely a whisper.

The light went out in the classroom. It was the prefects' cue to move. As they walked down the corridor, Draco's mind ran full speed trying to sort out what they had just witnessed. They stayed silent until they were on their way back to the dungeon. When they entered the Slytherin common room it was empty and dark, the only light came from the embers in the fireplace. Before the stairs that led to the dormitories, they paused and looked at each other.

"Well, that was weird" Pansy finally said. Draco made a face. "Alright. That was way past weird! What do you think it was all about?"

Draco let out a tired sigh, rubbing a hand on his forehead.

"It was all very vague. They were talking about destiny, the Fates… It sounded an awful lot like Trelawney's jabber to me. Except that I'd sooner believe Firenze's word than Trelawney's. I don't know." He stopped to think about what he'd heard. "She said something about someone who may not come around. That he would fight this… whatever she's upset about. It may be about Potter. They broke up last year, and no one really knows why. I mean, the two of them were bonded to end up together. She's been lovesick with Potter since day one." He didn't know why, but thinking about how Ginny and Potter had been all over each other last year made something ache in his chest. "She may think he won't come around because they aren't on the best of terms at the moment. And this whole destiny crap, it made me think of the prophecy."

His friend raised both eyebrows at him.

"You mean that nonsense about Potter defeating the Dark Lord? This is rubbish! He is only a seventeen years old boy, and a very average one at that. You really think that prophecy is true?"

He gave her a steady look.

"Believe me, Pansy. I know it is a true prophecy. This bloody prediction is what got my father into trouble for breaking in the Ministry. The freaking thing is the reason why I was brought into last year's hell."

He could read the shock on Pansy's face. Draco hadn't talk to anyone of what had been going on since the end of fifth year when his father had been arrested after the Ministry's fiasco. Blaise and Pansy knew his father had been captured by Aurors in the Ministry, but not exactly what had happened that night. They also knew Voldemort had appointed him with a mission last year, but not why. They knew nothing of the fright he'd felt and was still feeling. Looking at his childhood friend's concerned face, Draco realized just how much he'd kept from them and how much they must have resented it. In one of his rare emotional moment, he pulled her into his arms and hugged her. "I'm sorry" he whispered in her hair. She hugged him back a little tighter and Draco heard her sniff. They stayed in that comfortable embrace for a little while, until Pansy pulled back. She raised her tearful eyes to his.

"We'll talk about it some other time. Now you need your rest, Draco." He looked away but she seized his chin so he would face her again. "I'm not kidding! I know you don't sleep well, Blaise told me. He said you were having nightmares. Why didn't you tell us about them?"

Draco sighed.

"It's stupid. They aren't even nightmares. At least, I don't think so. You remember on our first night back at school. I told you I had a dream that felt strange, a dream I couldn't remember." She nodded. "I've been having those dreams ever since. Every morning I wake up exhausted from dreams I have no memory of. It's driving me mad."

Pansy seemed to think about it for a second.

"Blaise also told me you had trouble finding sleep." She didn't ask anything but looked at him expectantly.

Draco cringed. Can't Blaise keep anything for himself? That was true though. Falling asleep was just as much an issue as his energy-sucking dreams. But for an entirely different reason. When he laid down at night, he just couldn't put his mind off Ginny Weasley. As if he wasn't already daydreaming enough about her. He knew it was turning to obsession, and it scared him. However, he was so not about to confessing that to Pansy. He was barely admitting it to himself.

"I have a lot on my mind" he simply said, and it was true. "Don't worry. I've been through a lot worse than sleeping troubles and survived. Now, we both should go to sleep."

She seemed a little suspicious, but she smiled before she took the staircase toward the girls' dormitories.

Draco climbed up the stairs and entered the room he shared with Blaise. His roommate was already fast asleep. Careful not to wake his friend, the young man took off his clothes, got in his pyjamas and slid between the sheets. Laying there, in the dark, he kept replaying the conversation they'd overheard earlier in his mind. Even though he didn't know exactly what they had been talking about, when Ginny had spoken her fear of losing her freewill, he had felt a moment of perfect understanding.

For some time now, he was very well acquainted with the sentiment of being a tool for anyone to use. His sixth year had dispelled any romantic delusion he might have had about the Dark Lord and his cause. What burden did the little red Gryffindor carry to sound so dejected? The sorrow in her voice had cut right through him. He didn't understand his sudden empathy where she was concerned. What was it about her that could touch him so? He could deny it all he wanted, but he felt drawn to her. Unhealthily so. If his father was to ever hear of it… he didn't even want to think about Lucius' possible reaction.

Last summer, when his father had come home for a couple days, Draco had unleashed his rage on him and Lucius had reacted accordingly. Hadn't it been for Narcissa, they could have killed each other. Not that he really wanted his father dead, but it had been the first time he'd seen him since the fatidic night of Dumbledore's death. Draco had grown so angry during the year. Angry over his helplessness. When his father had crossed the doorstep, he'd been blinded by his own wrath. His mother had had to knock them both unconscious. From then on, they'd ignored each other as much as possible. The fact that Lucius couldn't stay at the same place too long for fear of alerting the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had helped. He had actually felt bad to be relieved by his father's absence when his mother resented it so much.

For the nth time, he wondered how Lucius and he could ever close the gap that now lay between them. Draco started to think that maybe it was irrevocable. On that sad thought, he slipped in a slumber he knew wouldn't be restful.