WARNING: explicit sexual content ahead.
Chapter 4:
Draco had taken to sneaking into Ginny's dorm each evening, holding her close as she slept. She and Blaise were currently not on the greatest of terms, and even Draco couldn't completely understand why Blaise refused to see things from Ginny's point of view.
This evening, they were in another place altogether though. He ran his fingers down her back, feeling her warmth through the shirt of her uniform. They had had a pretty stressful day, as Ginny had finally had her meeting with McGonagall after missing the first one almost a week prior due to not feeling well, and then having to deal with Blaise.
They had walked with trepidation up the Headmistress' staircase, noticing all that had changed since Dumbledore had died. Draco felt a sinking feeling at that, he had never fully divulged to Ginny his exact role in that, even with knowing how close the two had been.
It was honestly on account of two factors that he had not told her. The first was that he had been warned by McGonagall and the Order to keep his role quiet in return for their protection. The second, was simply that he feared Ginny's response.
Draco sat in the large leather chair, holding Ginny's hand as she slowly sank down in the chair beside him, and they awaited the Headmistress' arrival.
"Thank you for coming with me, Draco…" Ginny glanced at him, squeezing his fingers tightly, her eyes showing her level of nervousness about this meeting. She was dreading it.
"I couldn't exactly let you come alone now, could I?" He tried smirking in return, but had to instead settle for a taut smile.
"Mr. Malfoy, Miss. Weasley, I must say I am a bit surprised to see the two of you together in front of my desk." Minerva McGonagall swept in, her bespectacled eyes taking in the Slytherin and the Gryffindor.
Ginny just nodded mutely, Draco gave no outward reaction to the woman who, for all intents and purposes, had saved his life the previous July.
"Now, I understand from Madame Pomfrey, that there is a bit of a situation." She sat down at her desk, staring at them as she poured herself a cup of tea.
Relaxing back with the fine, china mug, Minerva went on, "I am incredibly disappointed in your lack of precautions, and I need to know what you intend to do."
"Well, I…" Ginny's voice trailed off, and she glanced at Draco, needing his strength, visibly wilting under the Headmistress' disapproval, and censure.
Draco's broad shoulders tightened noticeably, and when he spoke, his voice was cold, "I believe, Headmistress, that this is not really that much of your concern."
"It is," She glared at him, sipping her tea in a calm manner at odds with the tone of her voice, and her words, "as Miss. Weasley is still underage. I need to notify her parents, as technically she is still under their authority."
"What?" Ginny stood up quickly, placing her hands on the edge of the large wooden surface that separated them, "You can't do that!"
"I have to. They have a right to know. And quite frankly, Ginny, if you were not ready for the consequences, you were not ready for the deed that brought you here." McGonagall frowned, and placed her tea cup on the saucer.
"But I don't even know what I want to do yet! It's my body!" Ginny shook with rage, and fear, and could do nothing more except smack the table, and turn away, crossing her arms against her chest, hugging herself tightly.
Draco quickly stood up, not wanting to see Ginny this upset, "Professor, this is also my baby, and I am of age. Does that mean nothing?"
"No." Her answer was short, blunt, "Ginevra Weasley is still under her parent's protection, and they actually have a say in what options she has. I must inform them, and then they may act as they see fit."
"This is not fair." Ginny choked out, turning to give Draco a pleading look, a look that said 'please do something'. He had never felt so hopeless.
They had managed to leave after getting a promise from their reluctant Headmistress that she would wait for two weeks to tell Molly and Arthur, and the pair had taken refuge in the Room of Requirement, which had transformed itself into a duplicate of Blaise's room.
They still lay there, in the exact image of a room where they had always felt so safe, and loved, Ginny crying silent tears against Draco's chest. He didn't really have any idea what to do, what to say, so he simply held her.
They had been quietly talking about her options, going over what each would entail, how they felt about it all, but for the last ten minutes, they had both fallen silent as of some unspoken accord.
Though they did not realize it, both of their thoughts were on Blaise. Ginny, after feeling abandoned by him and his attitude, was now angry. If anything, his reaction was causing her to feel more reckless, more willing to go through with Pomfrey's potion, but she was trying to suppress that instinct. The issue was not black and white to her, as he seemed to think, though Draco seemed to understand that a little bit more, which she was grateful for.
"What are we going to do…" Ginny spoke quietly, disturbing the silence, feeling blotchy, tired, and out of sorts. Draco tightened his arms around her in response, not really needing to say anything.
Despite what he had said to McGonagall, he had no idea if the baby was his or Blaise's, as Ginny had no idea, and he was surprised at how little he cared. The important thing was Ginny right now… She needed him more than Blaise.
He couldn't really figure out what he felt about her pregnancy in general. It was not the best news he had ever heard… He knew that Ginny was ambitious, and he definitely wanted more time alone with her and Blaise after school, and then he wanted bonding, marriage, and then babies, in that order. Feeling a little silly that it was the order in which things were happening that upset him, Draco leaned down to kiss Ginny.
He lingered on her lips, feeling the wetness there from the tears she had shed. Slowly kissing his way across her cheek, he delicately brushed his lips across her eyelid. She lifted her face to his, staring into his eyes for a long moment, blue meeting silver, trying not to worry at that precise moment what she was going to do about the biggest decision in her life.
Draco slowly moved over her, pushing her gently onto her back as he did so, kissing her deeply. Ginny sighed at the depth of her feelings, giving herself wholeheartedly up to his kiss, feeling his lips slant over hers again and again, wanting to be closer.
"Draco…" She murmured between kisses, her hands entwining in his short, silvery locks, "I love you."
"Love you too, Gin." He smiled down at her, gazing at her with the tenderness she had come to expect, but which was still so out of character for him.
Ginny pushed at his shoulder until he reluctantly fell away to lie on his back, surprised for a moment until she slipped to cover him, grinning slightly as she stared down at him. Draco propped his arms behind his head, smirking up at her.
"I have you at my mercy…" Ginny spoke with relish. She had found her diversion, all right, though she missed Blaise more than she cared to admit.
"And what are you going to do with me?" His voice was lower than usual, husky with desire, as he stared into her face intently. She simply smirked back in response, loving that he was completely under her control… for the moment.
Straddling his slim hips with her knees, Ginny leaned forward to trace her fingers over his lips, watching as his eyes darkened. She stared at her own pale fingers as he slowly opened his full lips, allowing her entry.
Ginny shuddered as he slid his tongue around the tip of her finger in the most shockingly erotic way. Pulling her hand free before he could entice her to end this in the quickest way possible, she shook her head at him slightly, "Naughty."
"I try."
Placing her lips against the side of his throat, she bit into the pale skin delicately, licking the slight wound as Draco growled deep in his throat. Grinning against his skin, Ginny did it again, harder, which wrung a loud moan from the man beneath her.
"Love, I am about this close to rolling you over and just sinking into you." He gasped out, trying to speak around the incredible things she was doing to the side of his neck. The wicked redhead that was sitting on his, merely smiled up at him before continuing on blithely with what she had been doing.
Suddenly though, she stopped, staring down at him in shock. He immediately sat up, concern clear on his pale features, "Love?"
"Draco… I don't know if I can… I didn't ask Madame Pomfrey about that." Ginny crawled off him, sitting with her legs folded under her, looking so incredibly vulnerable, and young at that moment, that Draco could do little more than wrap his arms around her, trying to ignore the frustration that was now coursing through him.
"Don't worry, Gin, it'll be ok."
--
Luna Lovegood, despite all intents and purposes, was a creature of habit. She was organized to within an inch of her life, and liked it that way. Her habits were deeply ingrained after almost six years at Hogwarts.
Waking up promptly at seven in the morning, she hopped out of bed to take a nice, leisurely shower before her roommates could wake up.
Breathing in the fresh rose scent of her specially-made body wash that her father sent four times a year, Luna ran the sponge down her leg. Noticing how the golden tan she had acquired in the Caribbean during her Christmas holidays, she grinned remembering her dad's fruitless search for snorf-blasts.
Toweling her long, pale hair, Luna made her way back to her room, where she had laid out her uniform for the day on top of the chest beside her bed.
Glancing around as she quickly donned her clothing, Luna noticed how her roommates were still all asleep, and she swallowed the feeling of loneliness that seemed to settle on her more and more.
Blaise and Ginny were her only two real friends, and they were both so wrapped up in their own issues, that she felt a little abandoned. Scooping up her bag where she had left it on the edge of her bed, she noticed that her favourite quill was missing… again.
Luna sighed, knowing that it would show up mysteriously in a few days time, and made her way to the library where she studied for the next couple of hours until breakfast in the Great Hall.
Hogwarts had never really felt like 'home' to Luna. She missed her father, she missed her room, her house… Her roommates were civil when they wanted something from her, cruel the rest of the time, and they thought nothing of stealing and borrowing her possessions whenever the idea struck them.
Finding her favourite deserted classroom, Luna set about her studying. School did not come easily to her, it never had. She had learned early on that she needed to do twice the work in order to get the grades, but it was worth it to her.
Going through her charms homework, she wrinkled her brow, concentrating on the correct wand techniques for the essay Flitwick had assigned her class, figuring that she would need at least a foot more before it would be acceptable.
Luna finished her essay, and started in on her transfigurations homework, only to stop as she realized that breakfast should be starting, according to her rumbling stomache. She carefully repacked her shoulder bag, making sure to place the items in the order that she liked…. Charms book on the bottom because it was at the end of the day, a flask of water at the side for when she got thirsty in potions, her quills in their protective case (minus the one that was 'missing') to the left of her arithmancy text for easy access.
This was her busy school day, what with arithmancy right after breakfast, and she tended to be a teacher's aide to Hagrid during her lunch hour, stopping to only quickly nibble at a sandwich.
Almost asleep by the time supper rolled around around, Luna ate her food quickly, trying to ignore the comments and jibes from her fellow Ravenclaws.
--
It was a large room, understated elegance seemingly entrenched through each surface, each material. The walls were a sky blue, a fire roaring in the great fireplace, and a deep carpet covered the hardwood floors more for touch and sight, rather than warmth.
Windows made up one wall, looking out over a vast garden, covered by still white snow, undisturbed except for several animal prints that made it clear that this was a home to many.
The enormous bed was angled toward the windows, as well as the fire, and was a sea of sapphire and white fabrics, luxuriously soft. In the corner, a small children's playpen stood, toys littered around the large sofa that graced the wall.
A little girl with black curls framing a face, plump cheeks pink with excitement and sleep came running through the double doors, forgetting all that she had been taught about knocking first. She stood staring at the large bed which contained her parents with exasperation plain on her features.
"Da!" With that exclamation, she made her way to the side to pull at her Father's larger hand, "Wake up!"
Blearily, Ginny looked around, awakened by the small voice, and looked over Draco's still form to see her daughter doing her best to awaken the entire household.
"Emmy…" The little girl looked up to meet her mother's bright eyes, a pout across her cupid's bow mouth.
"Mum, he won't wake up, and he promised."
Ginny chuckled lightly, before reaching over to poke Blaise in the back of the shoulder, "Hey you, stop pretending you're asleep."
"Argh." Blaise pushed himself up onto his elbows, shaking his hair out of his eyes, "Emmy, darling, we've talked about this. No waking Daddy before nine. It just isn't healthy."
"Da!" She threw herself at him, forcing him to roll onto his back, and catch her before she bounced off his shoulder. Holding her tight, Blaise breathed in her little-girl scent of vanilla, and crayons, before cuddling her into the slight space between him and Draco.
Draco smiled at her sleepily, leaning down to kiss her forehead, "Hi lovey, why are you awake so early?"
She pouted at him, looking so much like Ginny in that moment that Draco blinked in surprise, "We were going to go on the new Nimbus today. Da promised!"
"Huh…" Draco looked into Emmy's eyes, Ginny's eyes, and knew he was a goner. Their daughter had him completely wrapped around her little finger. "We will. Give us a little bit to wake up, ok?"
"Mummy?" A tremulous little voice sounded from the still-open doorway, alerting the three adults to the presence of a small child. Ginny sat up to smile, motioning the little boy forward.
"Hi Rhys…" She cuddled him into her arms, smiling as Draco turned over to kiss his cheek, watching the light catch on the bright blonde curls that graced their son's head, so similar to his own.
Emmy, pouting at the distraction, reached over and sharply tugged on said curls, causing her younger brother to cry out, and Blaise to scold her sternly.
Looking over the large bed where his family lay, Blaise smiled, kissing the top of Emmy's head with distraction, despite having lectured her not a moment earlier. These were the types of moments he lived for.
So different from his own childhood, he had taken great pains to ensure that Emmy and Rhys have as normal, as idyllic lives as possible. He knew that Ginny and Draco felt the same, and there was such love in their household.
Leaning over, he brushed a gentle kiss across Draco's lips, moaning lightly as he felt his tongue slide out to meet his own. Grinning down into Draco's smirking face, Blaise climbed out of the bed, intent on getting the children fed, and dressed.
Ginny, Rhys still attached to her like a limpet, also climbed out of bed, smiling as she shifted him around to pull on her silk robe over her nightdress.
Rhys was almost upon his third birthday, and he was still very much his mummy's good little boy, whereas his sister was nearing a lordly eight, and while clung to her mother at moments, was becoming more and more of her own self, finding that her daddies tended to let her get away with much more mischief.
Pulling a t-shirt over his head, Blaise turned to see Emmy trying to drag Draco out of bed by tugging on his hand. It was not working out quite as she had hoped, and she was biting her pouty lower lip between her small white teeth, concentrating hard, while lecturing him sternly that he had "promised".
Draco sighed melodramatically, finally allowing her to have her way, and he stood up, reaching over to pull Ginny and Rhys to him with one arm, kissing them both on the forehead.
"Who wants eggy bread?" Blaise asked brightly, gaining the attention of the two kids quickly with the offer. Emmy squealed, racing forward, the oversized shirt she had worn to bed flying out behind her, to grab a none-too-gentle hold on his hand. Rhys held his arms out with a big grin across his little face, his bright blue eyes sparkling, leaned away from Ginny who held him out to Blaise's waiting arm.
With his children pressed close against him, secure, Blaise felt his heart swell, so incredibly happy. This was how it should be. This was what he had dreamed about for so many years, growing up with his mother, who's version of 'love' was so skewed, that he still had nightmares.
So happy…..
Blaise woke up slowly, the dream releasing him slowly from the tendrils of sleep. He looked around, expecting to still be in that peaceful room, still with Ginny and Draco. Throat contracting painfully when he thought of the two children, he sighed deeply.
Ginny pregnancy, and the ensuing fight, had been weighing on his mind heavily. He honestly could not understand her thoughts. How many times had Savvy Zabini thrown it in his face that he was an accident, that only his father's influence had kept him from meeting that fate?
Pulling himself out of bed, he half-heartedly wondered if this kind of dreaming was better or worse than his dreams of his own childhood… his dreams of being helpless against his mother's cruel and twisted actions.
Suddenly, a knock sounded at his door, and Blaise pulled a hand wearily through his thick hair as he made his way to answer it.
Luna grinned up at him, radishes swinging from her earlobes, a tray balanced precariously between her arm and hip, her other hand raised as if to knock again. Slowly, she lowered it, as she took in his pale appearance.
"Well, you look like a nargle had his way with you." She remarked lightly, her big, pale blue eyes narrowing as she gazed up at him.
Blaise smiled slightly, stepping back from the doorframe, silently admitting her.
"I didn't see you at lunch or dinner, so I brought you something to eat." She carefully set the tray down on his desk, and turned to again watch him.
"Thank you, but I don't know if I'm hungry." He sat down in his armchair, his long form drooping uncharacteristically. Luna shrugged, taking a seat beside him, "Suit yourself. I brought some very delicious things, and I don't mind seconds."
She slowly bit into the edge of the shepherd's pie she had brought, making sure to hum in pleasure around it, making sure he could tell just how flaky the crust was, just how juicy the meat inside… and it worked. He swiped it from her hands, shooting her a dark look, "That wasn't fair."
"No." She agreed, sitting back to watch him devour the rest of the pie, as well as the pumpkin juice, and the lemon tart.
Blaise finally sat back with a satisfied look, brushing his lips with the napkin that rested beside the plate, and glanced at her, wondering at her silence. Luna was not the loudest of girls, to be sure, but she never stayed silent for this long unless she was plotting… She really did have the most patience of anyone he had ever met for that sort of thing.
"Why have you been hiding?" He jumped slightly at her quiet voice, looking away.
"I haven't been hiding."
"Liar." She smiled softly around the insult, "You've been hiding and brooding by the looks of things. You know what I say about that… you're too pretty to be thinking so hard."
Blaise laughed reluctantly, shaking his head. Her humour did come out at the oddest of times.
"So…" She trailed off, watching him out of the corner of her eyes, "What are you thinking about so intently?"
He sighed, folding his hands over his flat stomache, staring into the fireplace. Briefly, he wondered where his wand was to light it, but he had more important things to think about, "Ginny's pregnant."
Luna's only response was to raise a pale golden eyebrow, prompting him to elaborate, "We have no idea if me or Draco are the father, but that's not really important in the scheme of things. Luna, she might take that abortive potion. She might kill the baby."
"How far along is she?" Luna asked softly, now staring at him, though he refused to look her way.
"About 3 months now."
"How long have you known?"
"A couple of weeks."
"Is that why you, Ginny, and Draco are on the outs?"
"You knew?" He glanced up at her in surprise, his navy eyes dark.
She nodded, "You're not as subtle as you'd like to think." Luna thought hard on the situation, turning over the options in her mind, choosing her words carefully, being able to tell just how upset Blaise was about this, "So… Ginny's not keen to be a mum."
"I think she wants to be a mother." He shot her a dark look, "She's just… well, she thinks we're all too young."
"But you're not." Luna expanded, her blue eyes shuddered, "I mean, you and Draco are more than financially stable, so that would help. And why would Ginny need to go to school? I bet she wants to be a stay-at-home mum."
"There is no way she wants that." Blaise argued hotly, "She has ambitions, and she's smart. She's going to do whatever she wants."
"Ok…" Luna's voice trailed off, "But I bet she wants to be like her mum though, right? I mean, her mum had her oldest brother barely out of Hogwarts, and she's quite content."
"No!" Blaise was starting to get truly angry at Luna, staring at her like he'd never seen her before, "She thinks her mum missed out on a lot by having him that young. She doesn't want to be like her mum!"
"Hmm…." Luna appraised him calculatingly, "Well, that's what will happen if she has this baby at sixteen."
"What?" Shocked, he could only stare at her, "What the hell are you talking about?"
"You know full well what I'm talking about." Luna sat back, twirling a long lock of pale hair between her fingers, "If she has the baby, she'll have to leave school. And without the education, what kind of future does she have?"
"But we would help!"
"How?"
"Well, we'd support her…"
"But you just said she wouldn't want that."
"That's not what I meant!" Blaise was getting frustrated, and he stood up to pace in front of the two chairs, glaring at her. "Look, Luna, you wouldn't understand about this. You don't know."
"Well… I am sixteen, and a girl." She grinned at him slightly, "And I have been sexually active, despite all appearances to the contrary."
"Really?" He stopped, and stared at her in astonishment, "With who?"
"Not that important in the current conversation, is it?"
"Huh." He turned away, but had to stare at her again, "Who?"
"Oliver Wood."
"Oh." He knew he looked like a twit in that moment, but he really couldn't seem to close his mouth. Blaise was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that the almost frighteningly innocent Luna Lovegood had boinked the former Gryffindor Quidditch captain, "Really?"
"Yes, really."
"When?"
"None of your business."
"Huh." Blaise stared at her a moment longer before his thoughts wandered back to Ginny… Draco… their baby. Gods, his dream had seemed so incredibly real… and right.
Luna listened intently as he outlined the dream for her, nodding as he paused for breath, taking in how he lingered over describing the two children, on the happiness in his voice, and she watched him sadly.
"Blaise, may I ask you something?"
"Sure." He looked at her with apprehension. This couldn't be a good thing.
"How much is your past holding you back from looking to the future? Just because now might not be the right time, for either you, or Draco, or Ginny, doesn't mean that it won't happen in the future."
Blaise looked at her, and slowly shook his head, "Luna, you just don't understand."
--
Emily lit the candle in the middle of her and Charlie's small dining room table with a flick of her wand, and stood back with a self-satisfied smile to take in her handy work. She had put a lot of effort in this romantic dinner.
Charlie followed his nose into the room, looking through the open plan rooms to the kitchen where a roast was sizzling in the stove, dishes floating back and forth between the counter and table.
Appreciatively, his gaze turned toward his girlfriend, and his bright brown eyes widened as he took in the small black dress that hugged her generous curves, her rich mahogany hair shining in the candlelight.
Emily caught her breath as she realized Charlie had entered the room, and smile tremulously at him. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders hugging her, "Is there a special occasion that I don't know about?"
"No." Emily stepped back to flick her wand over at the stove, the roast falling apart in perfect slices, "Can't a girl do something nice for her perfect boyfriend?"
"Sure, I'll drink to that." He grinned easily, slightly confused, but willing to go with it. She passed him a glass of deep red wine, the colour a few shades darker than his hair, and clinked her own against it before taking a sip. Charlie followed suit, and then seated himself at the table.
They were both silent as they served themselves, Charlie closing his eyes as he chewed on the succulent meat. Emily never cooked… she really didn't like to, but he loved home-cooking, so generally he did it. Still, there was nothing better than someone else cooking for you, as his mum had taught him from a very young age.
Slowly, the meal died down, and Charlie realized that they had said all of ten things to each other, and half of that was something along the lines of "Please pass the…".
"We have that Ministry function tomorrow night, Charlie." Emily broke the silence almost desperately.
He nodded, swallowing the bite he had taken before answering, "I remember. We'll leave at around six, right?"
"Right."
Uncomfortable silence settled again.
Charlie cleared his throat, "So, how was your day?"
She shot him a quick look that he couldn't define, before smiling brightly, "Fine."
"Good."
The rest of the meal was spent in quiet contemplation of their plates, the silence awkward and tense.
Emily sighed, and stood up to pile her dishes on the counter. "I think I'm going to head to bed."
Charlie stared in shock as she left, not quite sure what was going on. Following her to the bedroom, he crossed his arms over his broad chest and leaned against the doorframe, watching as she got undressed.
"Emily," His voice brought her up short, and she turned to him as he continued, "What is going on?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean… why won't you talk to me? Why do you turn away?"
"I didn't realize I was." His eyebrows rose at the sound of irritation that had made it's way into her voice.
"Come on." He walked over to her, trying to ignore the way that she stiffened as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. "What's going on?"
"Honestly Charlie, why does everything have something to do with you?" She pulled away from him, going to pull back the sheets on the bed, placing the wand on the small table beside it.
"That's not what I said." He was honestly bewildered.
"Charlie, you're driving me mad right now. I don't want to talk." She angrily stalked off into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.
Charlie stood stalk still in the middle of the bedroom, wondering what the hell had just happened.
--
Parvati slanted a look at her sister as they walked around the almost-frozen lake, the giant squid sending chunks of ice across the frozen surface negligently.
"So, how is George?"
"He's fine." Padma looked away, trying to remember if Slughorn had said the essay on veritaserum was due on the next Monday, or Tuesday.
"Fine?" Parvati chuckled lightly, "Just fine?"
"Yes," came the irritated response, "just fine."
"You can do better than that!"
"Let me ask you, Parv, why do we always have to talk about guys?"
"It beats the hell out of talking about school."
"What about politics? Death Eaters? The state of the environment?"
"Nope," Parvati shook her head, "Stop stalling, and answer the question."
"Glad to know your priorities are in the right place." Padma sighed, tugging her winter hat on tighter to cover her ears, "George is great. He and Fred are looking at expanding into France, so they're really busy. Uhm… I don't know what else you're looking for."
"Ok…" Parvati grinned at her, "Maybe something that is a little more relevant towards your relationship with him. Have you two… you know…"
"No, I don't." Padma slanted her an amused look as Parvati blushed slightly.
"Yes you do."
"No, so sorry."
"Fine!" She yelped, "Has he shagged you senseless yet?"
Padma laughed over her choice of words, "No, I don't think I'm ready for that yet."
"What does Mr. Weasley think about that?"
"We haven't really discussed it."
"Oh, that's healthy."
"Of course."
"When are you going to see him?"
"Hopefully this weekend, but he might be in Paris on business."
Hearing Lavender calling out, both the Patils looked up toward the school to see her making her way to them.
"Hey Lav." Parvati greeted warmly, laughing as she took in Lavenders over-the-top bright pink coat.
"I wish it was summer so badly! I'm frozen." She complained as she finally caught up with them. "Plus, Seamus was telling me that the Chudley Cannons finally got Wood as a Chaser, and they actually have a shot at the Cup this year!"
"Huh." Padma really didn't have any interest in the sport, and being surrounded by those who did could get slightly… frustrating.
They continued walking, talking about various Quidditch games, and the players, Parvati not as knowledgeable as Lavender, but still interested.
Making their way back into the castle, they were stopped by Dean Thomas, who had a slightly wild look in his eyes, "Dementors attacked the Ministry!"
"What?" Padma looked at him in shock, unable to do much else. "Is everyone alright? What happened?"
"McGonagall just came to the tower to tell us. They are now completely out of Ministry control. She said, that it appears that they were simply testing the wards and defences of the building, and did little actual damage. A few people are being treated for shock, but nothing major."
"Good Gods…" Parvati breathed, winding a strand of her long dark hair around her fingers, "Now that's truly frightening."
"These attacks are getting more and more in the open," Padma remarked, her brow wrinkling as she thought about it.
"It is a little worrisome." Her twin added.
Dean nodded, "Tell me about it. I have no idea where the Golden Trio is, but Gods, I hope they're doing something to end it."
"Hopefully." Padma felt so removed from the wizarding world here in Hogwarts. It was as if they were in their own universe, where the outside world just did not have as great an affect. Honestly, it was a little disconcerting.
George had told her about the Order of the Phoenix, the resistance movement that most of his family was involved with, and she desperately wished she could do more to help, but she was really unable to do nothing from Hogwarts. She had never before counted down the days to graduation like she did now.
A/N: Ah, I hope you all enjoy this. I'M GOING TO SEE THE NEWEST MOVIE TONIGHT, AND I AM SO EXCITED!! I needed to get this chapter out before I went to that.
Thank you to all that reviewed previously, I really appreciated your thoughts. Yeah, something is going on with Emily and Charlie. It will come out next chapter. And Luna is going to be a major character from here on in… I have some interesting things in store for her.
Let me know what you think of this chapter!!!