Author's Note: So I know I said Monday. I forgot until now (sorry) but here is chapter 22. Read, Review, & Enjoy!
On board the Iceberg Maiden, Draco had decided to take a walk to meet the rising sun. Ginny was still asleep after they had made love a second time the night before. Having been on the ship since yesterday, he decided he needed fresh air to help him think before the ship arrived at its destination. Draco leaned against a railing as he watched the ship pass through the waters. This trip to Norway was going to be tasking on his mind and body. Durmstrang was in the grip of Voldemort and he was not a bit surprised. The school did, after all, teach dark arts to its students. To make matters worse, he had to put his talent for deception to its test by testing Viktor Krum to see which side he was on. The smell of warm chocolate filled his nostrils. He turned to see Audun walking up to him with two large mugs in his hands.
"Thought you could use something to warm the blood," Audun said, handing one of the mugs to Draco.
Draco took the mug and took a sip. "Hot chocolate," he said, savoring the taste.
"Made from the finest chocolate in Sweden," Audun said, "It's exported to us and we export it to further countries."
Draco took a big swig, enjoying the smooth taste. "Back at the port, you said McGonagall told you about us," Draco began, "How do you know McGonagall?"
"Dear boy," Audun began, "You of all people should know that magical people live in as many places in the world as, how do you say, muggles. McGonagall knew me from long ago."
Draco nodded as he looked out to horizon. "Then you know the mission myself and Ginny are on?" he asked.
"I know you are to meet someone in Fredrikstad and go to Durmstrang," Audun replied, "Bad business, if you ask me."
"Why do you say that?" Draco asked.
"People talk," Audun said, "News makes its way to the masses. Death Eaters in control of Durmstrang. Very bad business, Death Eaters."
"Did you attend Durmstrang?" Draco asked.
Audun nodded. "I called Durmstrang home for seven years," he said, "And it's teachings I stuck to for a long time."
"All of them?" Draco asked.
Audun turned to Draco and rolled up the sleeve of his sweater, revealing a faded Dark Mark. Draco took a deep breath and let it out, looking Audun dead in the eyes. Audun stared back at Draco as he took another swig from his mug and rolled the sleeve back down.
"You're a Death Eater?" Draco asked.
"Former Death Eater," Audun said, "After Voldemort's downfall, I decided a change was in order and I became a man of the sea. McGonagall and I met on the battlefield. We both left with a mutual respect, which is why she trusted me to take you to Fredrikstad."
"What's it like?" Draco asked, "To be a true Death Eater?"
"Power beyond imagining," Audun said, "But at a terrible price. Such power beyond limits and you must be subservient to a madman like Voldemort. I spend my life now on the seas because often times the raging thunder of a storm and the hard crash of the waves against my boat is all that can keep the nightmares at bay. I've done a great deal of injustices. Helping you on your mission is a way to paying back what I owe. Even if just a small portion."
"Were you told of any other portion of my mission?" Draco asked.
"Yes," Audun replied, "I was. I can only tell you to be careful. This is a dangerous game you'll be playing and if you make a wrong choice, it'll mean the end of you. And of her." Draco stared down at the passing water. "Enjoy the hot chocolate," Audun said as he turned to walk away, "And think about what I said."
Draco watched Audun walk around the corner, the mission given to him by Mad-Eye passing through his head. "I don't think I can do this," Draco thought.
Ginny had just woken up from her nap, a smile on her face. She couldn't believe she lost her virginity. She was feeling a lot of things, but mostly a feeling of content. After all, she did love Draco and having her first time with Draco definitely cemented their love for each other. She stood in front of the vanity mirror, brushing her hair when she started to hear a buzzing sound. Ginny looked around for the source and found it was coming from her suitcase. She opened it up and saw that her orb was glowing. She picked it up and held it in her hand as it sucked her into a vision.
Ginny was on a battlefield. All around her, people she knew and didn't know were fighting Death Eaters. She looked around for her friends and saw Harry being attacked by Jason and Draco.
"Draco?" Ginny shouted, "How could you?"
Draco turned his head to Ginny and started walking towards her. Ginny raised her wand to Draco. "Stay back!" she shouted.
"What are you going to do, Ginny?" Draco asked, "You going to kill me?"
"I will if I have to!" Ginny remarked.
"But Ginny," Draco said with an evil grin, "I love you."
Ginny froze in her tracks, unsure of what to do. Suddenly Ron appeared by her side. "Kill him, Ginny," he said, "Before he kills you."
Tears in her eyes, Ginny aimed her wand at Draco. Suddenly, Lucious Malfoy appeared behind Draco. "Times up," he said as he aimed his wand at Ginny.
Then the world burned white.
Ginny awoke in a fright on the floor, gasping for air. Draco was knelt beside her.
"Ginny," Draco said, panicked, "Are you okay?"
Ginny scrambled away from Draco and sat in a corner, frightened and still gasping for breath. "What did you do to me?" she shouted.
"Do to you?" Draco asked, "Ginny, I came in here and found you on the floor. You were unconscious and not breathing. Ginny, I thought you were dead."
Ginny froze, unsure of Draco's words. She then saw that she was still clutching her orb. It turned red as it message echoed in Ginny's mind.
"At the time of the Red Dawn, she who controls the element of wind will be put to the test. When her eyes can deceive, she must trust her heart to choose who to kill and who spare. For a choice, once made, cannot be un-made."
The message disappeared and Ginny's pulse finally slowed down. Draco sat crouched where he was, a look of concern on his face. "Ginny," Draco said, "Are you okay?"
Ginny relaxed and slumped against the wall. "I had the worst nightmare," she said, "Hold me."
Draco crawled over to Ginny and wrapped his arms around her. "It was just a dream," he said, "Dreams can't hurt you."
Draco held Ginny close. The ship would be arriving at Fredrikstad soon.
A few hours later, there was a knock at their door. Draco opened it up to see Audun. "I just wanted to inform you that the ship has arrived at Fredrikstad," he said.
"Thank you," Draco said.
Draco turned to Ginny, who was finishing up packing and put his arms around her, holding her close. "Are you sure everything's okay?" he asked, "You haven't really been yourself since you had the dream."
"It was just a really awful dream," Ginny said, "I'll be fine."
Ginny turned around and kissed Draco before they left their room. As they walked off the boat, they saw Viktor Krum standing next to a carriage.
"Good day," Krum said, greeting Draco and Ginny.
"Good to see you," Draco said, "Let's not waste time, shall we?"
"I agree," Krum said, opening the door to the carriage.
Draco and Ginny stepped in, followed by Krum, who muttered to the driver and then closed the door. "We're not actually going to Durmstrang, are we?" Ginny asked.
"Of course not," Krum replied, "We will be stopping in Stockholm, which is not far from it, though. We will be staying in at a hotel under false names and will be on nightly spy missions to Durmstrang to check for possible prisoners and to gather information on the Death Eaters that will hopefully prove successful in the coming battle."
Draco nodded and looked out the window as they continued their ride across the border into Sweden.
Aboard the Lady of the Sea, Ron and Alice were touring the ship. "This ship is amazing," Alice said, "I can't believe we're taking passage on a cruise ship as part of our mission."
"I think it's because we're also technically on our honeymoon," Ron said, putting an arm around Alice's waist.
"Why, Mister Weasley," Alice said, "If you're hinting at what I think you're hinting at, we had sex this morning."
"Why can't we have sex again?" Ron asked.
"Because I'd like to actually see this ship," Alice said, "We won't be on it for much longer."
"Sure we will," Ron said, "The ship won't arrive until tomorrow."
Alice turned to Ron and planted a long kiss on him. "Then tomorrow we'll have lots of sex," she said, "How about that?"
Ron grinned and continued walking with Alice. As they rounded a corner, Alice began to get dizzy. She stumbled a bit, but Ron held her up until he, too, began to grow dizzy. Almost on instinct, they stumbled back to their room where they saw their orbs glowing. Alice reached out for hers, but lost consciousness and fell against the bed, knocking her orb off the bed and causing it to roll into her hands. Ron reached out for his orb and got a firm grip on his as he collapsed on the floor next to Alice as they were both sucked into visions.
Alice found herself standing atop a cliff. She peered over the edge and saw a never-ending darkness below. Alice stepped to the edge as she heard Jason's voice whisper from below, "It's the only way."
"I trust you," Alice said as she held out her arms and jumped from the cliff, plunging down.
As she fell, she could hear the whisperings of her friends, but couldn't make out anything they were saying, except for a few select words. Liar. Betrayer. Murderer. Before Alice could even understand why she heard those words, the darkness overcame her. That's when the world burned white.
Ron found himself on a hill. Death Eaters were everywhere and Ron was picking them off with the Bow of Flame. Suddenly, a circle of Death Eaters approached him and removed their mask to reveal his friends.
"No," Ron whispered, "It can't be." Ron aimed his bow at his friends.
"Ron," Alice said, approaching Ron, "You have to kill us."
"I can't do that," Ron said, shaking.
"If you don't kill us," Alice said, tears streaming down her face, "We will kill you."
Ron, tears of his own forming, aimed the bow at Alice, pulled back, and released. Suddenly, the world burned white.
Both Alice and Ron awoke from their visions, both frightened and confused. Alice looked down at her orb as it glowed red, its message echoing in her mind.
"At the time of the Red Dawn, she who possesses the spirit of the Badger will find that to combat evil, one must shed their fear of it. For only when one accepts evil can one learn to cast evil out. When the guile of treachery falls on your friends, see through to who they are to lift it. You are the key."
Ron held his orb up to eye level as it glowed red. He closed his eyes as the orb's message entered his thoughts.
"At the time of the Red Dawn, he who controls the element of Fire will be forced to make heartbreaking decisions. But be warned, these decisions must not be made lightly, for the wrong choice, even one made from the heart, could lead to destruction. Allow the wisdom of the eternal flame to light your way through the darkness."
Ron and Alice sat in silence for what seemed like ages when Alice crawled over to Ron and curled up next to him. "Please hold me," she said. Ron put his arms around her and held her as they both fell asleep.
Aboard the Rising Dragon, Harry had left his room to explore the ship. Cho was asleep when he got out of the shower and had slept through the night, so they never did get to talk. Harry watched as the ship cut through the water. Harry walked along the deck when he ran into Choukichi.
"Hello, Harry," Choukichi said.
"Hello," Harry said, "How far along are we?"
"Just passing the southern tip of Africa," Choukichi replied.
"That's impossible," Harry said, "We've only been at sea for a day."
"Nothing is impossible for a sorcerer," Choukichi said, "Through magic, we have ways of taming the seas and using them to propel our ship faster. I'd say we have two more days until we reach Okinawa."
"Brilliant," Harry remarked.
Cho opened her eyes and yawned. She had had such a good night of sleep that she almost had forgotten that her and Harry still needed to talk about things. After all, Harry had promised her. Cho sat up and rubbed her eyes as the door to her cabin opened. Harry walked in, carrying a pot and two cups.
"Care for some tea?" he asked.
Cho nodded as she stretched. Harry set the tray down on the nightstand next to their bed. He sat on the edge of the bed and poured tea into both cups. Harry handed one of the cups to Cho.
"I promised we'd talk," Harry said, "So let's talk."
Cho took a deep breath. "It's no secret that things between us aren't going well," she said.
"No shit," Harry said, "Why did you deceive me?"
"About what?" Cho asked.
"About Cedric," Harry replied, "About the fact that you still love him and just because he's dead, you came to me."
"Harry, I fell in love with Cedric first," Cho said, "And yes, after he died, I fell for you. Why do you feel so threatened by someone who's dead?"
"Do I feel threatened by Cedric?" Harry asked, "Hell no. What's bothering me is that I don't think you love me as much as you say you do."
"How can you say that?" Cho asked.
"I talked to Professor Lupin and found out about the faculty code of conduct," Harry replied, causing Cho to fall silent, "You lied to me about the things you could and couldn't do as part of the staff. You lied to me because you didn't want to spend time with me."
"Harry, I didn't tell you because I didn't think you'd understand," Cho said.
"What wouldn't I understand?" Harry asked.
"I'm not ready to get married," Cho blurted out.
Harry grew silent. He didn't know what to say or even think. He didn't even know if Cho still loved him. Not that he deserved her. Harry reflected inwardly on his behavior and didn't like what he saw.
"Why couldn't you just tell me?" Harry asked.
"I was afraid," Cho replied, "I do love you and I wasn't sure how you'd react. Everyone else seems to be getting engaged and I knew it wouldn't be long before you asked me and I didn't want to hurt you by saying no."
"I guess we've both done each other wrong," Harry said, "It'll take some time to mend things between us. But I'm willing to try."
"So am I," Cho replied. Harry reached out and took Cho's hand, entwining his fingers with hers.
They sat close together, saying nothing and holding each other in silence. The time to heal had begun.
Aboard the Madame of Good Fortune, Jason had ventured to the furthest end of the ship. He had purchased a pack of cigarettes and was leaning up against the railway, having his third cigarette. He hadn't smoked since he was fifteen and while he still found the taste of them atrocious, even the menthol flavored ones, the small amount of light-headedness he got from smoking took the edge off.
He was scared. Scared of what was happening. His power was progressing beyond his control and his dark side had erupted violently. On top of that, he was afraid that he was losing Hermione. The stress was enough to cause him to start smoking again. Jason had just finished his cigarette and was about to light up another when turned around and saw Hermione walking up to him. Jason didn't make any attempt to hide the cigarettes. It was far too late for that.
"What are you doing with these?" Hermione asked.
"I needed to take the edge off," Jason said, putting the pack away.
"Since when did you smoke?" Hermione asked.
"Since I was fifteen," Jason replied, "I quit after about a year and hoped to stay quit. Recent events have put a great deal of stress on me."
"Care to talk about it?" Hermione asked.
Jason sighed and sat down on the deck, leaning against the railing. "I opted to go to Dragonfire because I had unfinished business in that part of the world," he said, "When my parents died, Alice, Bobby, and myself, went to live with our grandparents. When Alice and I were eleven and accepted into Dragonfire, I had a fight with our grandparents and Alice, Bobby, and I left and never returned."
"What was the fight about?" Hermione asked.
"Truth be told, it was so long ago I don't even remember," Jason replied, "With Bobby's death, my slowly unraveling mind, and the war, I've decided that I'm done holding grudges."
Hermione sat down next to him and put her head on his shoulder. "You know I'm always here for you," she said.
Jason smiled and kissed Hermione's forehead. "I thank Merlin each day for that," he said.
A/N: So that's chapter 22. I'll put up chapter 23 in about two weeks, once I've written some more and gotten a few reviews for these last two chapters.