Chapter 1
Room #17

Day one.

“Never again,” Fifteen year old Ginny Weasley muttered stepping off the plane. That muggle contraption was a monster! Almost as bad as the Knight Bus! Ginny shuddered. All that bouncing, and wobbling and, and…

Oh well, at least she was away from Harry, Hermione, her family and the Order in general. This summer she would be spending in San Francisco, California at a convention for exceptional wizards and witches. The day after she’d gotten home from Hogwarts, she’d gotten a letter inviting her to the convention! For free! Ron had been so jealous! Ginny grinned at the memory. She had been somewhat surprised that Hermione had not been invited, but then it turned out that since there were so many exceptional students, they had to chose one hundred students randomly. That didn’t make Hermione any less upset though.

Now where was that bus? Ginny looked around. She was supposed to get onto bus 53, which would take her to the place where the convention was being held, Kneazle’s Cave. Damn it, where was that bus? Spotting a cute guy, Ginny decided to ask him. If she was going to spend the whole summer abroad, then she better get to flirting!

“Excuse me,” she began, batting her eyelashes, “I was wondering, could you tell me where bus 53 comes in at?”

He looked up at her strangely. “Right here, miss.”

Ginny looked up, and, true enough, there was a sign saying ‘Bus #53’ right in front of her. The guy cautiously walked away from her.

Leaning on her trunk, Ginny sighed. Well, that hadn’t worked. Hopefully, that was not an indication of the rest of her summer. Hopefully.
~
Ginny walked towards the counter where a strict looking woman sat. She had long black hair and brown eyes, and was wearing ordinary muggle clothes. She looked only about a few years older than Ginny, herself. There was something different about her, though Ginny couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“Er, hello, my name is Ginny Weasley,” she said nervously.

The woman looked up and smiled, suddenly seeming not so strict. “Your from Hogwarts, right?”

Ginny nodded.

“Alright, just a second, honey,” she said and walked into a room farther behind her.

Ginny took this opportunity to look around. Kneazle’s Cave looked very muggle like. It looked nothing like the Leaky Cauldron. Kneazle’s Cave looked much more modern, the walls were painted a light beige color, and had a abstract paintings on the walls with some comfy looking couches along the walls. It looked very much like a Muggle hotel. All in all, Ginny thought, it was a nice change from what she was used to.

“There’s been a slight problem with the rooming, Ginny,” the woman said coming back into the lobby.

Ginny’s stomach sank horribly. Oh no, they were sending her home! She swallowed as the woman continued.

“Would you mind rooming with a boy from your school?”

Ginny let out a shaky breath. They weren’t sending her home! Then the woman’s question registered in her mind. Ginny grinned, after living with six brothers, living with one boy would be a piece of cake!

“The room is very big, so you probably won’t be in each other’s way,” the witch explained.

“It’s fine,” Ginny assured her with a smile.

The woman gave a smile, and handed Ginny a key, “You are in room seventeen, Ginny.”
~
Walking down the hall, Ginny wondered, what boy she’d be rooming with? Stupid! Why hadn’t she asked who? Did she know him? Was he a Gryffindor? Hopefully he wasn’t younger than her!

Here she was. The room she’d be spending the entire summer living in. Ginny looked at the gold number ‘17’ right above the knocker. Slowly, she opened the door. The red head looked around. No one was here yet. With a fresh wave of excitement, she began to explore the room. When the witch at the front desk had said the room was big, she wasn’t kidding! It was more like an apartment than a room! The walls were painted the same beige as the lobby was, with a dark burgundy carpet, that looked so soft, you just wanted to take your shoes off and walk on it.

Currently, she was in a small living room, which held a loveseat, a small armchair, a muggle television and a small table. Dropping her things on the small loveseat, Ginny walked into the dining/kitchen area, dragging her trunk behind her. There was a small round table with four chairs, a bar with two, a sink and an oven. The was also a big white rectangular thing that looked very muggle. Cautiously, Ginny walked closer to it. It was split in two, as if there were two doors. She opened the left one, and a gust of cold air rushed out at her. Ginny thought she remembered Hermione describing something like this thing. A person put food in there to keep it cold, it was called a regrigertator, or something like that. On the counter, next to the regrigertator, there was a small rectangular… thing. It had numbers on it, and it also said things like, ‘popcorn’ and ‘pizza’ on it. Ginny made a mental note to ask somebody about it.

She walked down the tiny corridor and opened a door. It was the bathroom. It had a bathtub/shower taking up about a third of the small bathroom, a counter with two sinks and one big mirror took up the other side, with a plain white toilet next to it. Okay, Ginny thought. Showers were going to be a problem, she just hoped her roommate was neat. She closed the door, and opened the one right across from it, obviously the bedroom. There were two twin beds with white sheets and blue comforters. A small closet, two sets of drawers, and a mirror. Ginny dropped her trunk on the bed nearest the window and the closet. Sighing happily, she went back into the living room for the rest of her things.

As she passed the door, Ginny heard a key turn the lock. She stopped. Oh Merlin! He was here!

“Hi, I’m Gin-” her voice cut off as the guy turned around. A startled, gray eyed blond looked at her.

“Weasley?”

“Malfoy?”

The two stood, staring at each other in disbelief.

“This has got to be some cruel joke,” Ginny concluded. “What the hell are you doing here, Malfoy?”

“I could ask you the same,” Malfoy sneered. Ginny stormed right past him. Hearing that he wasn’t following her, she spun on her heel and glared at him.

“Well?” Ginny snapped.

Malfoy look very confused. If she hadn’t been so angry, she would have laughed. “Where are you going?”

“To straighten this out,” Ginny glared, and stomped off. This time, Malfoy followed her. Merlin help her, she was not going to let Malfoy ruin her summer!

Chapter 2
Draco Malfoy

Still day one.

“I’m sorry Ginevra, but you agreed to it. There are no more free rooms,” The witch at the front desk said sternly, “unless you choose to go home, that is.”

Ginny’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“No?” the woman asked innocently. “Alright then.” With that she turned around and went into the room behind her.

Ginny stood there, glaring at the witch. I take back what I thought earlier, Ginny thought. You are so not nice! After regaining her senses, the red head spun around, glared at Malfoy and stomped off in a huff.

She could not believe her luck! She had finally gotten away from her family for a summer, to get stuck with no one else, but Malfoy! Oh! She’d just love to rip his perfectly blond hair right out of his perfectly arrogant oh-so-self-centered head!

“Weasley! Wait!” Malfoy yelled as he ran to catch up with Ginny.

“What do you want, Malfoy?” Ginny spat. “You’ve already ruined my whole bloody summer!”

“Just listen to me, will you?” he asked, roughly grabbing her wrist. Ginny turned around to glare at him some more. “Maybe, maybe,”

“Maybe what?” Ginny snapped venomously.

Malfoy glared back at her. “Maybe this could work,”

“Maybe it could,” Ginny answered, “when hell freezes over!” She wrenched out of Malfoy’s grasp and walked on. Unluckily for her, Malfoy didn’t give up that easily. He jogged after her.

“Listen, I don’t fancy going back to London, and we really have no choice.” He said seriously. Ginny stopped. It seemed that she had never heard Malfoy speak without sneering.

“I’m not going back to London,” she protested. She looked up at him. Merlin! He was so tall!

“I wish you would, but seeing as you are not, we really have no choice.”

“So I have to spend the next eight weeks with you?” Ginny shook her head. “Wonderful, just wonderful.”

“Believe me, Weasley. I’m not dancing for joy,” Malfoy sneered.

“Yeah,” Ginny said. Malfoy, no, Draco, she corrected herself mentally. If she was going to spend two months with him, she could at least think of him by his first name.

“So, um, do you want to go back to the apartment?” he asked cautiously.

Ginny shrugged. “Why not?”

The walk to their apartment from the lobby was spent in silence, both Ginny and Draco lost in their own thoughts. Reaching the door, Ginny stopped. The gold 17 glinted merrily at them, as though mocking Ginny’s unfortunate luck. The red head scowled at the door.

“Do you have a key?” she asked.

“Erm, yeah, I do,” Draco rummaged in his pocket and took out the little gold key and opened the door. He stepped back to let Ginny in first. Still angry, she didn’t notice the kind gesture.

“I’m going to bed, it’s late,” she announced heading towards the bedroom. She opened her trunk and began digging through it, trying to find her nightshirt.

“Aha!” Ginny exclaimed holding up a long black t-shirt that had a picture of crown on the back and ‘Drama Queen’ written on it in pink letters.

“That’s what you sleep in?” came Draco’s voice from the doorway.

“What’s wrong with it?” Ginny asked spinning around.

Draco shrugged. “It’s just all the girls I know sleep in lacy lingerie,”

Ginny made a face. “A, you would not find me dead in something like that. B, get that mental image out of your head and C, quit looking at me like that,”

What happened next made Ginny wonder how she didn’t go into permanent shock.

Draco laughed.

Not his usual sneering laugh either. A real, full out, ha-ha-ha laugh. Ginny stood there and blinked several times, wondering exactly what she had said.

“I have a feeling living with you is going to be interesting,” Draco chuckled.

Is he drunk? Ginny thought. She watched as he took of his jacked and got into his bed. Yep, definitely drunk. “Um, aren’t you going to change?” she asked.

Draco opened an eye. “What for?”

Ginny shook her head. “Never mind,” She went into the bathroom to change. Coming out, she looked over at Draco, who was already asleep. He was right, living here was going to be an interesting experience. The thought that her family and the Order would never approve of this gave her a thrill. For some reason she had always wanted something to happen, about which her family would never know of, but if they did, they would certainly not approve of. Well, here was her wish come true, and Merlin help her if she was going to let it pass by. Climbing into bed, she decided she would do everything in her power to befriend Draco. With a wicked grin, she turned out the lights.

Chapter 3
The Warriors

Day two.

“Just five more minutes,” Ginny mumbled, feeling around for her alarm clock. She opened one bleary eye to see what time it was. The alarm clock read, ‘Get up you lazy bum! Don’t want to be late for the convention!’ Remembering where she was, Ginny jumped out of bed. A fresh wave of excitement rolled over her. She looked over at Draco who was still asleep. For the next eight weeks, one of the first things she would see in the morning when she woke up would be his face, Ginny thought wryly. She made her way to the bathroom, gathering her things along the way.

A quick shower and drying charm later, Ginny came out of the bathroom. She had been expecting Draco to be impatiently waiting for the bathroom to free up, so she was incredibly surprised to find the Draco was still sleeping! It was eight thirty and the convention was at nine!

“Malfoy,” Ginny hissed, “Malfoy, get up!” She was reluctant to touch him.

Draco just turned over and mumbled, “No more dancing jelly doughnuts,”

Ginny filed this information in the back of her mind. “Malfoy get up! The convention starts in half an hour!”

No response.

“Malfoy, Celestina Warbeck is running naked outside.”

Still no response.

“Funny, worked on my brothers,” Ginny commented, reminiscing. Well, if waking him up gently wouldn’t work, then… Ginny grinned wickedly and ran into the bathroom. Moments later she came back out with a bucket full of ice cold water. This is going to be fun, she thought wickedly, tiptoeing over to Draco’s bed. She gingerly tipped the bucket.

“Aaaahhh!” Draco should out of bed like a rocket. Turning, he saw Ginny standing there with the bucket. His eyes blazed.

“Uh oh,” she murmured.

“What the bloody hell was that for?” Draco yelled.

Ginny, not one who would take to being yelled at well, yelled right back. “To wake you up! The convention starts in less than half an hour!”

Draco glared at her, as he gathered some clean clothes.

“I could’ve gotten up myself,” he muttered walking into the bathroom.

Ginny gave an exasperated sigh, “Boys!” They always seemed to want to have the last word.
~
Ginny and Draco walked into a large room where the orientation would take place. There were a bunch of chairs standing before a small stage. Taking a seat, Ginny looked around. There was nothing all that special about the room. Ivory walls and a dark green carpet. She looked over at Draco, how was studying the room critically.

“Sickle for your thoughts?” she asked.

Draco looked at her, surprised. He seemed to have forgotten that she was there. “I thought that there’d be more people,”

Looking around, Ginny noticed that there were only about a dozen people there. Puzzled as to why, she turned back to Draco.

“I did, too.”

Ginny looked around again. She had just opened her mouth to comment that some of the people looked like they weren’t in school anymore, when the woman from the front desk got up on stage. Draco shushed her, and turned his attention to the witch. Giving Draco a last glare for his unfair shushing, she did too.

“Welcome,” the woman began. “I bet you are all wondering why you were chosen to come here.” There were a few murmurs from the people.

The witch gave a laugh. I really need to learn her name, Ginny thought.

“Well, I’m going to tell you, but first, I will tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Kiara Melstrimlen, but I am also known as the Wildcat. My body is twenty six years old, but my soul is many centuries old.”

Silence greeted this statement.

“Is she nutters?” Ginny asked in a whisper. Draco shushed her again, he looked as though he was trying to puzzle through something.

“I know that sounds ridiculous, and I probably sound insane,” she looked pointedly at Ginny, who blushed. “But I assure you all. I am completely sane. I am a part of a group of protectors. We are called the Warriors. The Warriors are a group of just that, warriors, that are sworn to protect the world. Both magic and muggle worlds. Many centuries ago, in the time of King Arthur, a group of wizards decided that they needed a group of people to protect them. To fight off the demons other wizards summoned. To protect the world in times of peril. And to keep the demons from interfering with the battles between Light and Dark. There were ten wizards and witches, each picked an animal, one animal which they would kill. They would then use a spell to transfer that animal’s soul into themselves. That would give them the strength and power they would need to fight off demons and other wizards. They called themselves the Warriors.”

What she was saying was complete and utter nonsense, but Ginny couldn’t help but believe her. Something was telling her that this was true, and that it was important.

“They soon realized that they would soon be gone, and that the world would be left unprotected. So they created me. The eleventh Warrior, the soul of a human and a wildcat combined. Until the world was threatened or in peril, I would be hidden in catacomb, deep underground, in the form of a wildcat. Then, when something threatened to destroy the peace the first Warriors worked so hard to establish, I would be awoken. I would then seek out ten others, those who were chosen. I must then find those people, inform them, train them, and send them out to fight. When all are ready, I am released into my catacomb, where I wait till the world comes to peril again.”

“Well, my job is partly completed. The ten of you in here are the chosen ones. You are the next Warriors. Destiny is calling. You have no choice, to be a Warrior or not. You were chosen at birth, now you must fulfill that destiny. You may not tell anyone of this, not your friends, not your family. Until the final battles, no one will know. No one must know. It could endanger your life. All of you know that the peace of our world is being threatened, and you know by whom. Lord Voldemort knows of the Warriors, he knows they exist, and he knows they have been called. If he gets wind of who they are, you are as good as dead. Why? Well, because he wants the demons on his side, and this time around the Warriors are placed in the position to protect the Light.”

A ringing silence fell over the room.

“I know this is a shock, to some maybe a good shock, to others a terrible one. Some of you may not even believe me, but you must. The fate of this world lies partly in your hands. There is still a lot more you must know, but I need to know if you are ready to hear it. Should I continue?”

The answer was silence.

Kiara smiled weakly. “I’ll take that as a yes. The training of a Warrior is intense, and very hard. But it must be, you need to be able to fight off the strongest of demons with your bare hands. You will learn how to fight with your body, weapons and your mind. I will be truthful, the life expectancy of a Warrior is short. Most do not live through the final battles of war. I will give you some time to think this over tonight, but by tomorrow morning I need to know if you think you are up to the life of a Warrior. But, remember, an ancient power lies within you. You are strong, you are powerful and you are few. Please, think carefully about this. Are there any small questions?”

A young woman with short brown hair raised her hand.

“Yes?”

“What are the ten animals?”

Kiara smiled again. “I’m glad that you asked. In order of highest to lowest rank, there is the Dragon and the Phoenix, the Basilisk and the Unicorn, the Wolf and the Raven, the Snake and the Tigress, and the Lion and the Panther.” She looked around with critical eyes.

“I know this is a lot and it sounds pretty surreal, but go back to your rooms and think it over.”

Ginny sat there, her head buzzing. She’d always wanted something to distinguish herself from the rest of her family, and now here it was. The thing was, that this sounded like some big joke. Something to get her hopes up and then bring them back to earth with a heart wrenching crash. And why her? Why little Ginny Weasley? Why not Harry, Ron or Hermione? Or the rest of her family? Why not them? This was the sort of thing that happened to them. Also, why was Draco here? Wasn’t he supposed be a Death Eater in-training? Speak, er, think, of the devil, was he talking to her?

“Weasley.”

“Huh?” she asked, blinking.

“Are you just going to sit here all day?” he asked with a slight trace of a sneer.

Ginny glanced up at him. “Go ahead, I need to ask her something,”

Draco shrugged and walked away. Getting up, Ginny made her way over to Kiara.

“Um, excuse me…” she began feebly. Damn, she thought. How the bloody hell can I be a ‘Warrior’ if even my voice is weak?

Kiara turned around. “Yes, Ginny?”

“I, um, I was w-wondering, that is, is it…” Ginny stuttered.

“No, Ginny, there hasn’t been a mistake,” the Wildcat said giving Ginny a warm smile. “You underestimate yourself.”

The redhead smiled sheepishly. “But why isn’t Harry Potter a Warrior?”

“Because he is one of the Light. His destiny is to fight the Dark, not the demons.”

“Oh, well, er, thank you,” Ginny managed, heading for the door.

“Oh, Ginny?”

She turned around, looking back at Kiara.

“I’d like you and Draco to both consider this very carefully.”

Ginny nodded and left. So, now she knew why Harry and the others weren’t picked. She remembered what Kiara had said in her speech about the Dark and the Light. The Order were the ones of the Light and Voldemort and his Death Eaters were the ones of the Dark. So, nobody in the Order were Warriors because they are part of the Light, the ones the Warriors protect, Ginny reasoned through. How Draco fit into all of this was a mystery to her, and what did the Wildcat mean when she said to consider this carefully? Well, whatever it meant, Ginny knew she was staying no matter what. Oh the look on Ron’s face when she told him! Ha! Ginny’s face fell. Oh, right, she wasn’t allowed to tell.

Damn it.
~
“What took you so long?” Draco asked as Ginny came through the door. He was lying on his back on the couch, tossing the remote control up and then catching it. He hadn’t so much as looked at her.

“I had to ask Kiara something,” she explained sitting down in the chair beside the couch. “So what do you think?”

“About what?”

“About the whole Warrior thing.”

“Oh, well, live and see, right?”

Ginny nodded, knowing she wasn’t going to get more out of him than that. She looked up at him, still tossing and catching the remote. No time like the present, right?

“Erm, Malfoy?”

“Hmm?”

“Why, um, well, Kiara said that the Warriors fight against the Dark, and I don’t mean to be rude, but you’re, well…” she trailed off hopelessly.

“Evil?” he asked, sitting up.

“Yeah,” she answered quietly, avoiding his eyes.

“I don’t know what I am anymore.”

“Did something happen?”

“Well, you could say that.”

Ginny was silent. She was curious to know what had happened, but at the same time didn’t want to get on his bad side. Which she probably was on anyway.

“Maybe it’s because I don’t want to follow in my father’s footsteps,” Draco said, more to himself than to Ginny.

Ginny looked up at him startled. “So you don’t agree with You-Know-Who?”

Draco looked at her, although he didn’t seem to be really seeing her.

“I don’t know.”

“No man’s land?” Ginny suggested.

Draco gave a dry laugh. “Yeah, that’s about right,”

“When you figure out, would you tell me?” she asked, startled by her own question.

Draco looked at her for an intense moment, as though unsure of what he was seeing.

“If you want.”

The two fell into silence again. It wasn’t an awkward silence, though. It was somewhat comforting actually, Ginny mused, leaning back in the soft chair. She looked up at Draco once more, to find him looking at her. She looked away quickly.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Let the Games Begin
Chapter 4

Week two.

Ginny and Draco were going to be late. Very late. Neither of them had actually gotten up when they were supposed to. Or go to sleep when they were supposed to. If they had, they would have avoided their current situation.

As Ginny rushed into the kitchen, she looked at the clock on the stove which read 8:56AM. Their first ‘class’ started at nine. Well, at least she was dressed. She stuffed a doughnut into her mouth. Mmm, sweet chocolatey goodness.

Running back to her room, Ginny ran straight into Draco.

“Watch it, Weaslette.”

Ginny looked up at him. A half-dressed, wet haired, chest still glinting with water from his shower Draco Malfoy glared at her. Ginny’s momentarily stunned brain began to work again. She shook her head and glared back at him.

“Um na da un sul alf tressed!”

Draco raised an eyebrow. “Was that even in English?”

Ginny swallowed her doughnut before continuing. “For your information, yes it was. I said I’m not the one still half dressed!” She bit off of the second doughnut in her hand.

“I am astounded by the amount of food you can shove into your stomach on a daily basis,” Draco commented, pushing past her.

Ginny glared at his retreating back. Oh! She could just strangle him sometimes! Besides that first day, he’d been quite like himself most of the time. Sneering, sarcastic and a right git! He and Ginny were always bickering. It’d been too good to be true, she assumed.

Not waiting for said git, she hurried out of the apartment. Today was exactly a week since they’d arrived in San Francisco. She had spent an entire week living within a twenty foot radius of Draco Malfoy. What a story to tell the grandchildren, Ginny snorted. Even though living with Draco was no picnic, it was heaven compared to their training.

The Wildcat had not been kidding when she said that the training was hard. They stuck to a rigorous schedule. Nine until noon, they practiced hand to hand combat. Then, they had an hour of lunch. One till four, they had weapon skills training, a quick shower and then five until eight, they had a lesson on the different types of things they might end up fighting against and a short lesson on mind stability. Meditation in short.

If that wasn’t enough, they then came back and practiced the hand to hand combat they had learned earlier that day to keep from forgetting it, and to keep from pulling their muscles the next day. Finally, they got to pass out on their beds.

All in all, it was exhausting.

Ginny wasn’t complaining though. Not only was she now able to defend herself from creeps, she had also lost all traces of the baby fat she once had. She was a girl, after all, and that sort of thing did not go unnoticed by any member of the female gender. Well, maybe a few.

“Wait up!” she heard Draco call. Turing around, she saw him jogging toward her.

“Can’t wait to get beat up?” he asked with a smirk.

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Oh yes, just dying with anticipation. You?”

“Completely ecstatic,” he replied.

Ginny opened the door to the gym with a smirk on her lips. Okay, well, maybe they did bicker for fun sometimes, but you could hardly call them friends. Could you?

“Nice of you to join us,” Kiara commented to the sniggers of the other Warriors-to-be.

“We, er, overslept,” Draco muttered. The Wildcat was probably the only person in San Francisco that Draco would listen to, Ginny observed.

“Well, you two will have to pair up then. We’re pairing up girl-guy today.”

“Why?” Ginny asked surprised. They had always paired up with members of the same gender.

“Well, when you receive your full powers, you will be partnered male-female, so its best to start now,” the Wildcat explained.

“When will we get out full powers? And what do you mean by full?” asked an American witch named Sage, who was the same age as Ginny.

“We are getting completely off topic, but if you want to know…” Kiara trailed off.

There were shouts of encouragement from her students.

“Alright then. I meant to tell you this when you completed your training, but since you seem so persistent, I’ll explain. Now, at this point in time, you only have enough of your Warrior powers to learn all of the things I am teaching you. Just enough strength, just enough agility, just enough mind power. Then, when I feel that you are ready and your protection is needed, I will release your powers. All of your powers are stored within my body, so that when I release them, that force will kill me.”

There were gasps from some of the girls.

“But you will no longer have any need for me. When you receive your full powers, you will know.”

“How?” asked Draco curiously.

The Wildcat raised her eyebrows. “Trust me, you’ll know. Now, we’ve wasted enough time. Pair up.”

Ginny faced Draco, both standing in the fighting stance.

“Begin!”

The two began to spar. A light, no stress, warm up spar.

“I wonder what our animals will be,” Ginny commented ducking one of Draco’s punches.

“You’ll probably be the Tigress,” Draco teased, blocking one of Ginny’s spinning kicks.

“Hey!” She hurled an extra strong kick at her roommate. Draco spun away just in time, chuckling.

“Well you’re probably going to be the Snake,” Ginny retorted, ducking and swiping her leg under Draco’s feet at the same time.

“Hit me where it hurts why don’t you?” He replied sarcastically.

“Oh I will,” she said with a smirk to rival Draco’s. She aimed a strategically placed kick below the belt at him. He managed to roll away just in time.

“Okay, that’s it, Red. You’re going down.”

Draco ran towards her and picker her up by the waist and slung her over his shoulder.

“Malfoy!” Ginny yelled in surprise.

“Draco! Put Ginny down!” Kiara commanded, laughing. The rest of the Warriors stopped to look at the spectacle.

“Yes! Exactly what she said!” Ginny pleaded.

“Why should I?” Draco asked her.

“Because I know where you live!” She retorted feebly. Draco snorted and gingerly set Ginny on her feet. Before Draco knew what was happening, she kicked him in the back of the knees, making his legs collapse under him.

“Hey!” Draco protested, now sitting on the floor. Ginny simply stuck out her tongue at him before she walked away.

Draco shook his head. “Women.”

~
Ginny plopped down at a table in their small cafeteria, if you could even call it that. With a tired sigh, she opened her bottle of water. It was noon, only eight more hours of torture to go. Lovely, she thought. Just lovely.

“Jesus tap dancing Christ on a popsicle!” Sage ranted, sitting down across from Ginny. “I want to kill her. Oh my God! Can you believe that?! Fucking jumps! Jumps!”

As she continued to rant, Draco and Sage’s friend, David, also American, both sat down at the table. The four, and only, teenagers had become fast friends.

“Jesus tap dancing Christ?” Draco asked, shaking his head.

“On a popsicle,” Sage affirmed, then shook her head. “God, I’m not even Christian.”

The other three laughed. Sage said things like that a lot. At first, it had shocked both Ginny and Draco, but by now they were used to it. The thing about the Warriors was, was that they were all quite different. From each other, and from probably the rest of the world too, Ginny thought. Things would be so different once she was back at Hogwarts. To her great amazement, Ginny found that she liked it here more than Hogwarts. Admittedly, Hogwarts was like a second home to her, which nothing could ever replace, but still. Being here was much more fun. She was brought back to reality by a hand waving in front of her face.

“Huh? What’d you say?” she asked, blinking around confused.

Draco chuckled. “You looked like you were on a different planet there. Mind sharing?”

“Nah, nothing’s new on Pluto,” Ginny joked, shrugging. “Seriously though, I was just thinking how different it’s going to be when school starts up again.”

David gave a grim smile. “I know what you mean.”

Sage nodded her agreement. “It’ll be so weird, knowing something that no one else does.”

“You’re used to that though, aren’t you Weasley?” Draco asked. Ginny thought she heard a slight trace of bitterness in his voice. Sage and David had seemed quite confused by why Draco and Ginny never called each other by first names, but then shrugged it off as a “British thing.”

She frowned. “Not true. I almost never knew what was going on. Harry, Ron and Hermione are the ones that always snooped everything out. I’m just the ‘little sister,’ remember?”

“You’re trying to say the Golden Trio never told you anything?”

“I wish! If I asked, they’d always say ‘you’re too young, Ginny.’ Or something stupid like that.”

“I find that incredibly hard to believe,” Draco concluded shaking his head.

Sage and David had been following this exchange with interest. Neither Ginny nor Draco ever said anything much about their lives. There seemed to be some underlying history between the two that was hard for the others to figure out.

“You- I- just. Ugh!” Ginny sputtered. “I’ll see you all later.”

Angrily she dumped her tray in the trash can. Draco was so unfair! What did he know about her life, anyway? He was just so aggravating!

Seven more weeks left, Ginny thought heading down the hall.

“Merlin, help me.”

The Project
Chapter 5

Week four.

The Warriors spilled into the makeshift classroom, all talking animatedly. Well, most of them. Ginny tiredly rubbed her temples as she sat down at the first desk she came to. Not only had she had a pounding headache all day, but while they were sparing in hand-to-hand combat, Draco had twisted her ankle and it was still throbbing painfully. Last time something like that had happened, she was eleven and she’d tripped and fallen down the stairs at the Burrow. She had been hobbling for a week. Draco had apologized, but Ginny was still mad at him. She got out her notes on the Roken demons, which they were currently studying. Ginny had not had any idea that there were so many different types of demons. Or other… things. She shook her head, there was no reason to worsen her headache.

“Alright,” the Wildcat began, making her way to the front of the room. “Today, you should finish up with all your assignments concerning the Roken demons and then I’ll tell you about a little, project, you’re going to be doing.”

“What sort of project?” asked Italian girl, Juliana. Ginny envied her. She was very pretty with her long, straight, brownish black hair and flawless freckle-less skin. All the guys were always flirting with her. Not to mention that she was also very good at just about everything the Warriors had to do. She’d probably get one of the top ranks. Phoenix, probably, Ginny thought bitterly. She was shaken out of her thoughts by someone tapping her on the shoulder. She turned around to see Draco sitting behind her. When did he get there?

“What do you want?” she hissed.

“What did she just say?” Draco asked, unfazed by her curtness.

“Something about a project,” she whispered, and turned back around.

“Finish up your work, then I’ll tell you more about this project,” the Wildcat was saying. Her eyes flicked over to Ginny and Draco for a portion of a second. “And if you have any questions, ask me, not the person beside you.”

Damn, Ginny thought. How does she do that? She bent down over her notes and began working on the assignment: How to stop a Roken demon if you are left weaponless.

“Psst. Weasley,” Draco whispered.

Ginny’s pen stopped moving.

“Weasley.”

She gritted her teeth and started writing again, but couldn’t seem to keep one thought strung together.

“Weasley.”

Ginny blatantly ignored him.

“Weasel!”

He wasn’t giving up, was he? She wanted to turn around and slap him, but she was going to be stronger than that. Just then, a piece of folded paper landed on her desk. She knew she shouldn’t open it, but curiosity won. Just what was so urgent?

Why won’t you answer me?

Ginny took her pen and scribbled a reply.

Because I want to be left alone.

No sooner had she started back on her assignment, when the piece of paper sailed over her head.

Oh. Well, I just wanted to know if you’re up to some sparing after class.

Ginny’s temper flared. That was the burning issue? And how in the world did he think she could spar? She could barely walk!

My ankle is twisted, if you happen to remember. You might not, so let me remind you- YOU’RE THE ONE WHO TWISTED IT!!!

As she sent the note back, she took a deep breath. She knew she was overreacting over nothing, but she didn’t care. Her ankle hurt! The note came floating back.

I already apologized, but I take it you didn’t hear. Besides it was just a question, no need to get crabby.

Ginny decided to not dignify that with a response. She refolded the note and put it in the back pocket of her jeans.

“Alright,” the Wildcat said, getting back up in front of the Warriors. “Pass ‘em up.”
Ginny sadly looked down at her half finished essay. Sighing, she passed it up. Draco was so distracting!

“Now, I bet you all are ready to know about this project,”

“Does it involve writing?” asked Roby, a twenty year old wizard from Canada.

Kiara grinned and hopped up on a desk. “No, no writing. You see, you’ve been here nearly four weeks now. You’ve become accustomed to your powers-”

“We have powers?” Sage asked, abandoning her doodling. There were some laughs from the others.

“Yes, Sage, you have powers. Not a lot, but you do.”

“I don’t feel any different,” David commented.

“That’s because you’ve always had those powers-”

“But you just said we’ve gotten used to them,” Sage interrupted once again, looking completely mystified.

“Will you let me finish a sentence?” Kiara asked. Sage smiled sheepishly. “You’ve always had those powers, they were given to you when you were Chosen. They’ve just remained dormant until recently. When you accepted being Warriors, the powers were activated. But because you had them all your life, you didn’t even realize anything was different.”

There was a collective ‘oh’ of understanding.

“So, the project?” Draco reminded.

“Oh, right. Well, because you’ve been here for a while and have been training, its time to check the amount of Warrior powers each of you have. The way we’ll do that, is, tomorrow, instead of training, you will each summon a demon and then fight it. The spell you will be reading is constructed so that the demon that you summon, will be the highest level ranking demon that you can fight and remain alive.”

Ginny gulped. Summoning demons? Fighting them? Remain alive? She did not like the sound of this.

“Um, Wildcat, how will I…?” Ginny asked, uncertain.

“I’m sure your ankle will heal by tomorrow,” Kiara assured her. Ginny highly doubted this, but did not question her.

“On that note. See you tomorrow, and get a good night’s sleep,” the Wildcat dismissed them.

Walking out, everyone was talking. Some, scared. Some, excited, confident that they would get a high score.

“Scared?” Draco asked, coming up beside Ginny. She looked up at him and realized her anger had evaporated.

“Are you scared?” she asked.

“Hell yeah,” he answered.

Ginny managed a weak smile. “Me too.”

“Freak!” Sage exclaimed, coming up beside them. David was with her, looking none too happy. “There is no way in hell I am summoning a demon!”

“You do realize we had no choice, right?” Draco asked her.

David sighed. “Draco’s right.”

“Let’s just hope we all make it out in one piece,” Ginny commented, grimly. For some reason, this was scaring her much more than it should have. She was not looking forward to the next day.

Demons and Dilemmas- Part I
Chapter 6

Still week four.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Ginny’s hand slammed down on the annoying pick thing that disturbed her sleep daily. She didn’t even like pink! As she made to get up, her hand knocked over the alarm clock which feel to the ground with a resounding crash. Damn, Ginny thought. It’s still in one piece. She looked over at Draco to see if he had woken up, but, as she had expected, he hadn’t. That boy could sleep through a tornado, not to mention the racket she’d made a couple of days ago. Ginny grinned at the memory of it.

She and Draco had just come back after an exhausting day of training. Draco had collapsed on his bed, while Ginny went to take a shower. He’d asked her to wake him up when she was done, because he was prone to falling asleep when he was tired. So, she’d gotten in the shower and was washing her hair, when the shampoo bottle fell. She bent down to pick it up, and as she was getting back up, she lost her balance and knocked into the shower caddy, causing the soap to fall off of its rack. As she teetered, trying to regain her balance, she stepped on the soap and caused the inevitable. She slipped and fell down, bringing everything down with her. By everything, she meant everything. Shampoo, conditioner, soap, razors. Amazingly, as she’d fallen, the blue and green striped shower curtain got wrapped around her body and came down along with everything else. When she’d finally gotten out of the shower, Draco was lying on his bed fast asleep. The people two rooms down the hall had heard the noise, while Draco had slept through it.

Ginny shook her head. Really now, she needed to be serious. Today was big day, no time for jokes. Not to mention clumsiness. If she was clumsy, or sloppy fighting her demon, it could very possibly cost her her life. She got up, stretched and went over to the closet. She picked out a pair of comfy, old, slightly ripped, jeans and a lavender baby tee that had a pale green heart in the center. Her old and trusty clothes. She also picked out a set of dark brown dragon hide boots with very small heels, that Charlie had gotten her for her birthday last year. She hated fighting in sneakers. Boots were much more comfortable for her. After finding a pair of socks, she went into the bathroom to change.

Truth be told, she was nervous. And scared. The outcome of today would seriously affect which animal she would get, or rank, as Kiara put it. Ginny knew being a Warrior was a big enough thing to make everyone realize she wasn’t a baby anymore, but being the highest ranking female Warrior would be so much more satisfying. She snorted. Phoenix. Yeah, right. That would take a miracle.

Putting her hair up in a high ponytail, she went back to the bedroom. Draco was awake and already dressed. He’d also picked out a pair of jeans, which he’d become very fond of, and a dark green tee shirt. He left his hair free to fall where it may. And it still looked perfect! Ginny thought grumpily. Lucky bastard. He was sitting on his neatly made bed, tugging on his black Armani dragon hide boots. Ginny rolled her eyes. How Malfoy like.

“Morning,” Draco said, not looking up at her.

“Morning,” Ginny said, rolling her eyes again. She began walking towards the door, thinking about coffee.

“Are you ready for today’s event?” he asked, standing up and stretching.

“No,” she snorted, turning around. “Ready or not, here it comes though, right?”

Draco chuckled, walking towards her. “Too true, Weaslette.”

Ginny flashed him a grin and went into the kitchen.

“Do you want some coffee?” she asked, getting out a couple of mugs.

“You read my mind,” Draco said, opening the refrigerator. At that moment, the door to the hall opened and Sage came storming in.

“No way in hell!” she declared, as she went into the kitchen. Ginny laughed and shook her head.

Sage Graham was not your average person. She was wild and crazy and would say everything and anything she thought. She didn’t give a damn what people thought. If she didn’t like you, she’d tell you, and Ginny admired that in her. She was originally from Phoenix, Arizona and went to The Salem Magical Academy, as did David. David was a lot like Sage, but slightly more calm. Both had an interesting “hardcore ” style, as Ginny had heard them called before.

Today, Sage was wearing a pair of tight blue jean that had song lyrics written on them in a variety of colors, with a bright yellow “Mars Volta” band tee. Her wavy, dark brown hair fell loose to her shoulders, like it almost always did. Her gray eyes were rimmed with much black eyeliner and turquoise and green eyeshadow.

David came trailing in behind her, looking exasperated. He was wearing a pair of jeans, and a dark red shirt that had “Volcom” written on it in black letters. His black hair was spiked, as it always was.

“Ginny,” David sighed. “Talk to her. Please!” He collapsed into a kitchen chair, beside Draco. The two immediately lapsed into conversation.

“Nervous?” Ginny asked Sage, handing her a cup of strong coffee.

“More like scared out of my mind,” the brunette said, taking the cup. “I mean, how am I supposed to summon a demon? I am failing practically all of my classes at Salem. Why are even supposed to? Isn’t it like, against the law? Dark magic and all, you know.”

Ginny nodded, a sinking feeling settling in her stomach. “Fight the demon, yeah, sure, I’m nervous. But it doesn’t scare me. Using dark magic is what scares me.” She closed her eyes, remembering the diary. Don’t think about it Ginny, she chided herself. Not today.

“It’s not necessarily always dark magic,” Draco commented, jarring Ginny from her thoughts.

“What do you mean?” she asked. If there was a way to summon a demon without dark magic, than she was all for it.

“There are some demon summoning spells which don’t involve dark magic. Wandless magic, I think. Muggles call it Wiccan. And anyway, I doubt the Wildcat would make us use dark magic. The Warriors protect the Light, after all.” Draco explained.

“And Sage,” David said. “When you agreed to become a Warrior, you knew you’d have to fight demons. It’s what the Warriors do. You can’t sneak around it. It’s part of your destiny.”

“I still don’t wanna do it,” Sage grumbled, downing the last of her coffee.

“Want to or not, we’ve got to go, or we’ll be late,” Ginny pointed out, looking at the clock.

The four teenagers finished their breakfasts and head out the door. Ginny was the last one out. As she reached into her pocket for her key, she realized she’d left it inside.

“Malfoy, do you have your key?” she called.

Draco turned around, shaking his head. “No. Just leave it, its not like somebody’s going to break in.”

Ginny shrugged. “Okay.”

They chatted on their way to the gym, where the ‘project’ was going to take place. They reached the gym a few minutes later. Draco and David entered first and Ginny and Sage nearly ran into them.

“Um, this is going to sound really stupid, but, why’d you stop?” Sage asked. Both Draco and David were staring at the room with wide eyes. The two girls pushed through them, into the room. Ginny’s jaw dropped. Now she knew why the guys were staring.

The room had been completely transformed. Instead of the small, cramped room with gym mats on the floor and various weapons hung on the walls, there was a very large and spacious room the size of a small Quidditch stadium. Or a basketball court, in Muggle terms.

The floor was wooden and highly polished with a large white pentagram drawn in the center, which everyone was avoiding. The ceiling was about two stories up, and the walls were painted a light ivory. There was a well hidden door in the far left corner of the room, farthest from the entrance. Ginny supposed that the door must lead to the large glass window high up on the left hand wall.

“Looks like we’re going to be watching,” David said noticing where Ginny was looking.

Sage groaned. “Wonderful. Abso-freaking-lutely wonderful.”

“Y’all are kinda blockin’ the door,” said a male voice, with a strong southern accent behind them.

“Oh, sorry,” Ginny said. The four of them moved into the room, letting Juliana and Texas native, Ryan Anderson, through.

“Impressive, ain’t it?” Ryan asked no one in particular.

Ginny looked over at him. He was a twenty year old Texan who was handsome in a rugged kind of way. Juliana, who was nineteen, had stuck to him like glue. First, she’d been after Draco, but after finding out that he was three years younger than her, she started chasing after Ryan. They made a picture perfect couple. Tall, slim, dark haired vixen with the rugged, handsome, southern cowboy.

It made Ginny sick.

“Well, it is different,” Draco commented.

There was an awkward silence before Juliana said, “Come on, Ryan, lets go.”

She led him away from them like a little puppy on leash.

“I don’t like them,” Ginny muttered.

“I know,” Sage agreed. “He’s- no, never mind. Shut up, Sage.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. Sage had a habit of telling herself to shut up.

“No, go ahead,” David urged. “What were you going to say?”

“He’s got man boobs,” she finished. The other three looked at her, then at each other.
“What! He does!”

~

The ten Warriors-in-training stood in a semi-circle around the Wildcat, who had just come in. Her brown hair was pulled into a neat bun at the base of her neck, and she was wearing a long sleeved brown shirt with jeans which were tucked into brown leather boots. It was obvious that she was dressed to fight.

“Each of you will, in turn, step into the center of the pentagram, and say this spell,” Kiara said, holding up a piece of paper. “The demon will appear, and you will fight. If something unexpected happens, and your life is in danger, I will step in. So, there’s not need to be nervous.”

There were some snorts to this statement.

Kiara smiled, and shook her head. “The rest of you will be in the room behind that window. You’ll go by alphabetical order. Ryan, you’re first.”

He nodded, looking a bit less confident than he had when he came in.

“The rest of you, go on up through that door.”

The other nine turned towards the side door.

“Oh, Ginny,” Kiara said suddenly.

Ginny turned around, while the others continued. “Yes?”

“How’s your ankle?”

“Ankle?” Ginny asked surprised. “What about my- Oh! Right, my ankle.”

She lifted her foot. In truth, she’d forget all about yesterday’s incident. She moved her ankle, expecting to feel a sharp stab of pain.

Nothing.

“It’s fine,” she said with wide eyes. “How did- it’s- how-”

Ginny shook her head. “I’m confused.”

The Wildcat smiled. “Warriors heal much faster than most people. Well, I just wanted to make sure you could fight, so, go on now.”

Ginny nodded and jogged up to the waiting room, as she was beginning to think of it.

It was a plain enough room. The walls were painted a light ivory, with nothing much on them. It had a round kitchen looking table, a few plastic white chairs, a green, red and yellow striped loveseat, a refrigerator and bottled water. The carpet underfoot was a dark green, same as the loveseat.

Ginny quietly padded over to the large window. It was about three feet high and five feet long. Down below, Kiara was explaining the spell to Ryan. He nodded and stepped into the pentagram. The Wildcat went over to the door and stood there, watching. Ginny watched Ryan say something, she couldn’t hear what he said, but it was obviously a spell. Wandless, just like Draco had said.

There was a flash of blue-green light and a tall, scaly looking… thing appeared. Ginny couldn’t come up with anything else to describe it. It looked like a cross between a bald bird and a lizard. Very unattractive. It launched itself at Ryan, who rolled away. Ginny turned away from the window. She would have enough chances to watch the fights. She pushed her way through the others, who she hadn’t even noticed come up. She saw Draco lounging on the loveseat. On closer inspection, she noticed coming closer to him, he was meditating. She sat down quietly next to him. His eyes shot open. That boy had the best hearing of anyone she knew, Ginny thought. He always heard her.

“So,” Draco asked quietly. “What’s going on?”

Ginny shrugged. “I don’t know, I stopped watching.”

“Too much stress?” he smirked.

She yawned. “More like not enough sleep.”

“Then take a nap,” Draco suggested, as though it were the plainest solution in the world.

“Can I?” she asked surprised. In truth, the thought hadn’t occurred to her.

He shrugged. “We’re probably going to be sitting here for a while, you especially. So, why not?”

Ginny yawned again. “I think I’ll just close my eyes for a bit, and if I fall asleep, you wake me up, alright?”

“Sure thing,” Draco nodded.

Ginny curled up on her half of the loveseat as Draco went back to meditating, and closed her eyes. This was going to be a long wait.

~

A hand was shaking her shoulder. Ginny groaned and tried to swat it away, to no avail.

“Weasley,” Draco said. “Come on, Sage is down there.”

Ginny sat up, blinking the sleep from her eyes. I must have fallen asleep, she thought. She got up off of the loveseat and walked over to the window.

Sage was standing in the center of the pentagram, feet spread apart, her shoulders set, looking for all the world like a Warrior. With a shimmer a demon appeared. This one looked like a human, a man, to be exact. That meant it must be a higher level demon. More powerful and more dangerous. He was clothed in leather looking rags with a black longbow on his back. He raised his hand and a ball of fire appeared. Before he could throw it, however, Sage lashed out with her leg, kicking him in the chest causing his fireball to go out. The battle began.

Ginny watched with wide eyes as they kicked, punched, rolled, fell. She’d had no idea Sage was that strong. Finally, Sage pulled a long knife out of her waistband and plunged it into the demon’s heart. With a scream, he vanished.

Oh no. Ginny thought, her heart beginning to race. We were supposed to bring weapons. She hadn’t thought of it. Oh no. A loud cheer brought Ginny out of her thoughts.

Sage had come into the room, looking exhausted, but with a huge grin plastered on her face. She’d done well and she knew it.

She thanked the people congratulating her, then said. “Nick, the Wildcat said the you’re next.”

Russian Nicholas Shamankov, 18, nodded, his thick black hair falling into his eyes.

“Alright,” he said, and exited out the door.

Sage walked up to Ginny, still grinning. “So, how’d I do?”

“You did great!” David exclaimed.

“Yeah, great,” Ginny echoed

Sage squealed and launched herself in a hug at David.

“Sage!” he gasped. “I can’t breath!”

She let go of him, still beaming. Ginny smiled at her friend, but inside the sinking feeling grew.

~

“Draco, Kiara says you’re next,” Juliana purred, coming up behind Draco. The four teenagers were seated around one of the tables, chatting. They turned around to look at Juliana. She had her trademark smile on her face, but it seemed quite forced. Ginny didn’t wonder why. She’d just gotten back from her fight. Her clothes were rumpled and she looked tired.

Draco looked at her, then nodded. Juliana walked over to Ryan, as Draco got up. His eyes were shinning with determination. He wants to prove himself just as much as I do, Ginny realized. Draco turned away and started walking. She bit her lip.

“Good luck,” she said softly.

Draco looked back at her. “Thanks.”

~

Ginny stood by the window, watching Draco summon his demon. She was worried about him. Funny really, a Weasley worried about a Malfoy. She watched as, with a flash, a man-demon appeared.

He looked, Ginny thought, like a Viking. Long, tangled blond hair and beard, clothed in metal and leather, tall as a bear, black hammer in his hand and all. This was a demon you did not want to mess with. The head of the hammer itself was as big as a grown man’s fist.

Unlike the other Warriors, Draco did not wait for the demon to attack him. He attacked the demon. He leapt at the demon, knocking it off of it’s feet. The demon gave a roar, his eyes glowed red and he grew another two feet. The hammer doubled in size.

Uh oh, Ginny thought. The demon launched itself at Draco, swinging its hammer wildly. Draco ducked just in time, the demon let go of the hammer, which then rammed into the concrete wall. Where the hammer hit, a three foot long chunk of concrete came off of the wall. If it had landed on someone, that someone would be flat as a pancake.

The Warriors watching gasped. They thought Draco was as good as dead. Even the Wildcat seemed tense down below. She looked ready to leap in at any given moment. Draco himself, however, looked quite calm. He had also somehow acquired a sword. He was taking large, exaggerated swings. The demon swatted him away, and went to dislodge it’s hammer. Draco followed, still swinging.

“Is he trying to get himself killed?” Ginny heard someone behind her say.

No, she realized. He was trying to distract the demon. It would get cocky, and let it’s guard down. It was brilliant.

Just then, the demon had gotten his hammer free. He turned to Draco, hammer raised, ready squash the thing that had taken him away from his meal. Draco swung the sword at the demon’s hammer arm. The demon had gotten over confident, and moved his arm away too slowly.

The sword cut deep into the demon’s wrist, red blood spraying everywhere. The demon let out a howl of pain and let go of the hammer. Draco tried to get away, but the edge of the hammer hit his right shoulder.

Draco staggered backwards a few steps, hand flying to his collarbone. With what looked like to be the last of his strength, he threw his sword at the demon’s chest. With one last roar, he vanished in flames.

Kiara rushed up to Draco, and Ginny let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

“Calm down, chick,” Sage said. “He’s fine.”

Ginny gave her a sheepish smile. “Did I look that worried?”

Sage grinned evilly. “Only because you’re crushing on him.”

The redhead gasped. “I am not!”
Sage was saved a retort by the door opening, and Draco and Kiara walking in. Draco’s hand was still on his collarbone, blood seeping through his fingers. His face was gleaming with sweat, but he seemed quite pleased with himself.

“Alright,” Kiara said to Draco. “Just sit down. It should start healing any minute now.”

“The battles will be temporarily delayed, as I clean up the gym,” she explained to the others. “Just stay here, I’ll come get the next person when I’m through.”

The Wildcat turned on her heel and walked out of the waiting room.

A crowd gathered around Draco, all talking animatedly. Ginny cautiously walked over with Sage. Draco sat there, looking kind of surprised at all the people gathered around. He spotted Ginny and raised his eyebrows.

Ginny smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Draco shook his head and turned back to the others.

“Denial,” Sage whispered in her ear.

Ginny swatted at her friend, who laughed.

Out of the four of them- Draco, David, Ginny and Sage- the only one who had not had her battle yet, was Ginny.

She just hoped luck was with her.



To Be Continued…

Chapter 7
Demons and Dilemmas- Part II

Still week four.

Ginny, Draco, David and Sage were all seated around one of the white plastic tables in the waiting room. Nobody was talking much. Watching battle after battle after battle will do that to a person. A dull, sleepy stupor had fallen over the inhabitants of the waiting room, especially the four teenagers.

Sage sat with her head propped up on her hand, blowing a piece of her wavy dark brown hair out of her face for amusement, David had his head down on his folded arms, asleep and snoring. Draco was leaning back in his chair, staring into space and holding a towel to his shoulder wound. Ginny was leaning against the table twirling a lime green straw between her fingers, lost in thought.

The Wildcat had come and gone. Three more people had been called out and Ginny was next. An odd calm had settled over her, but Ginny suspected that it was just the short calm between two panics. With a sigh, she twirled the straw into the air. Draco caught it deftly in his left hand.

“Quit,” he demanded.

“Okay,” Ginny said.

“You’re awfully agreeable,” Sage commented drowsily.

Ginny shrugged.

“Scared?” Draco asked.

“Not really,” Ginny commented.

Sage snorted. “That’s a hell of a lot better than I was feeling,”

“Well, I was scared, but…” Ginny trailed off, uncertain how to voice what she was feeling.

“But what?” Draco asked.

“Well, what’s coming will come, right? No use worrying and stressing over something that might not happen,” Ginny explained. “Did that make any sense?”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Draco shook his head at Sage. “I think it makes sense. Truth be told, I didn’t think you were that clever, Weaslette,” he smirked.

Ginny shot him a sardonic smile. Lately she had noticed that Draco had taken to calling her ‘Weaslette.’ It was rather weird. Ginny shook her head, as if trying to shake the thought out of her head.

“I don’t get what you said,” Sage said. “But, my brain like sort of died on me just now, so I really don’t count.”

“Thanks,” Ginny said, then paused. “I think.”

Draco shook his head again, smirking a little. “You have a weapon, don’t you?”

Ginny froze. Oh no! In the sleepy, teasing air of the moment, she’d completely forgotten that she needed some sort of a weapon.

“Oh, shit,” she swore.

Sage’s eyes went wide. “You didn’t bring a weapon?”

“I didn’t think to!” Ginny answered shrilly. Now she was beginning to panic. Where in the world could she get a weapon now?

“Borrow Draco’s or Sage’s,” David grumbled.

Ginny could have kicked herself. Of course! She’d had the same thought earlier. What was wrong with her today? She was acting like the little girl she was always trying not to be. Weapon first, berating later, she decided.

“Can I?” she asked, turning pleading eyes on Draco.

“Sure,” he answered, drawing a dagger like knife from his belt. “I can’t believe you didn’t think to bring a knife or something. How were you planning to kill the demon? By talking it’s ears off?”

“I’m beating myself up enough about it without you, alright?” she said harshly, taking the knife.

“Sorry,” Draco said, not sounding sorry at all, but sounding quite annoyed.

Ginny glared at him, and was about to utter a very witty comment, when the door swung open.

“Ginny,” the boy in the doorway, Roby Virkos panted. “You’re up.”

Her throat suddenly went dry. This was it. Her chance to prove herself. Nodding, she stood up.

“Good luck,” Jack said.

“Thanks,” Ginny managed to croak out. She was at the door when Draco called after her.

“Hey!”

She turned around and glared at him. “What?”

“Good luck,” Draco wished her, smiling slightly. “And don’t lose my knife.”

Ginny’s anger melted away a bit. This was as close to an apology as she’d get from him. A small smile made its way onto her face. “I’ll try not to,”

With that she made her way out of the waiting room and into the magically expanded gym.

Kiara greeted her with a warm smile. “Are you ready?”

Ginny shook her head. “No. But give me the spell anyway,”

“Here,” the Wildcat said chuckling. “Just step into the middle of the pentagram and say the spell. Don’t worry about the parchment getting torn up or catching on fire, just focus on the demon.”

Ginny nodded wordlessly. Catching on fire? She hoped her demon didn’t possess fire powers.

“Alright, good luck,” the older woman handed Ginny the parchment.

With a deep breath, the red head walked into the pentagram. A thousand thoughts were running through her head. What sort of demon would she get? How strong would it be? How would she fight it? What if the spell didn’t work?

Don’t panic, Ginny thought to herself. Just read the spell and don’t panic. She shook out the piece of parchment and began to read.

“In this hour
I call upon the First Ones
The powerful first Warriors,
Lend me your strength
And your power.
Bring me a demon
Which I may fight.
Strong enough to be a challenge,
Weak enough for me to manage.
Come to me,
I summon thee,”

A sudden wind began to blow in the room, wiping Ginny’s hair around her face. She stubbornly tucked the lose strands behind her ears. With a rush, all the wind began to swirl in a spot about six feet away from her, and formed into a dark gray funnel. Ginny’s heart began to hammer in her chest, but she stood braced against the wind.

The funnel dropped away revealing a crow.
Ginny blinked. A crow? A crow? Surely it must be an illusion, a mirage or a glamour of some sort. She blinked again.

No. It was a crow. Black, shiny feathers and all. To add insult to injury, it was cawing.

Ginny could have cried.

An eight foot tall fire breathing demon she could have handled, but not this. This was just too much. She couldn’t even summon a demon, how then was she supposed to-

Ginny’s thoughts were cut off as the crow began to twist and turn. The crow began to grow, and as it grew it’s feathers dropped away. Wings turned into arms, the beak turned into a nose and the crow began to take on human shape. Female human shape.

Ginny watched with wide eyes as black hair grew out of the crow’s head, stopping when it reached its (her?) waist. Extremely long black nails grew from the forming fingers. The eyes remained that pure black color, like pools of ink, without a single speck of white. As the body grew, clothes formed. A long black and very ripped dress.

The demon shook out her hair. “Look what we have here. A little witch,” she smiled revealing very pointy teeth. “How sweet.”

Ginny’s hands trembled with fear. “I’m not little.”

The demon woman looked Ginny in the eyes. “Oh, but you are little witch. You summoned me here. Do you actually think you can vanquish me?”

“I-I-I-” Ginny stuttered seeming glued to where she was standing.

“You what?” the demon walked closer to Ginny. “Are you going to say a little rhyme and make me disappear? Are you going to throw a little potion at me?”

She walked closer, Ginny tried to back away, but realized she really was stuck to the floor. The demon put a long finger under Ginny’s chin and raised it. “Or are you just going to gut me like a fish?”

Her hand encircled Ginny’s neck, cutting off her air supply. Ginny sputtered and choked. No! How could this be? She couldn’t let this demon win.

“You won’t little witch, you won’t. Your nature is too Dark.”

Ginny’s eyes widened. No! She thought. I’m not evil, I’m not evil, I’m not! She lifted up her left leg and kicked out hard. The demon was kicked into the air and landed six feet away with a loud thump.

“I struck a nerve, did I?” the demon snarled and launched herself at Ginny. Ginny was knocked backwards into the wall with a loud crack. A sharp pain shot through her chest as she came in contact with the wall. The demon’s hand encircled her neck, a black fire crackling around it. Ginny’s vision began to blur. No, she thought resolutely.

She drew Draco’s knife and took a blind stab at the demon.

“Ah!” the demon cried, stepping back and clutching at her wrist. Ginny took the opportunity to get away from the wall and face the demon woman.

“You can’t vanquish me, little witch,” the demon said.

“Shut up,” Ginny hissed, getting angry. She wasn’t evil, she wasn’t.

“You are one of the Dark, just like me,” the demon walked up to Ginny, who backed away. How dare she? How dare that vile creature says that I am anything like her? Ginny thought panicked and angry.

“Shut up. I am nothing like you.”

The demon smiled. “Oh, but you are. You act innocent and Light, but in the depths of your heart the Darkness grows,”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up! Just shut up!” Ginny yelled, losing her control. “I’m not evil! I’m not! I can’t be!”

The demon’s smile grew. “You think the diary was an accident? Do you think that it just happened to fall into your hands?”

Ginny staggered backwards. How could she know about the diary? How?

“Oh, you were picked. Out of all the students at Hogwarts, you were picked,” the demon chuckled. “Why, you ask? Because you are Dark. You are evil, as mortals call it.”

That was the last straw. Ginny leaped at the demon with all the hate and anger boiling in her veins. She pinned the demon up against the wall and held the quivering knife centimeters from her neck.

“When you kill someone, it leaves a dark stain on your soul,” the demon said, still smiling.

“That’s not true,” Ginny breathed raggedly.

“Human or demon,” the woman demon continued. “It doesn’t matter. You are still forever damned.”

“Shut up!”

“Maybe you are not completely Dark yet, but you will be. You will drown in Darkness.”

“Shut the hell up!” Ginny yelled.

“You are evil, Ginevra Weasley.”

Ginny plunged the knife into the demon’s throat. The demon looked at her and laughed before vanishing in flames.

A ringing silence fell around her. Ginny looked over at Kiara and saw the rest of the Warriors standing there, watching her with wide eyes. She looked down at the knife in her hands, smeared with demon blood.

She suddenly felt sick.

Ginny dropped the knife and ran out of the gym.

She ran as fast as her aching legs and chest would let her.

What have I done? She thought despairingly. That demon was right! I am evil. I killed.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she kept running. She was Dark, she was. She was evil and she’d killed. She was no better than Bellatrix Lestrange.

Ginny burst through the door to room #17. It was a good thing she hadn’t locked it. She collapsed on the loveseat, covered her face with her hands and let the tears flow.

She knew that crying was weak and didn’t do a thing of good, but neither did she. Do any good, that is. She was evil. The demon was right, she was Dark. She didn’t deserve to live.

“Harry should have just left me in the Chamber,” she sobbed out loud.

“No, he shouldn’t have,” came a voice from the doorway.

Ginny looked up and was astonished to see Draco standing there. She tried her best to look mad. “Go away,”

Draco shook his head. “I don’t think so,”

“Go.”

“Tell me why you ran out, and then I’ll go,” Draco bargained.

The last of Ginny’s strength drained away and the tears began to flow freely once more. She was ashamed to cry in front of Draco, but was far too tired to care very much.

“Please, just leave me alone,” she begged.

Draco closed the door and crossed over to the loveseat.
“What? Was the demon too strong?” he asked sitting down.

“No,” Ginny answered, wiping her tears away.

“Then what? Why’d you run out?” Draco demanded.

“Because I’m evil!” Ginny yelled. Why wouldn’t he just leave?

Draco’s eyes widened in surprise. “What?”

“I’m evil! I’m part of the Dark!” she half sobbed, half yelled.

“Who in Merlin’s name gave you that idea?” he asked.

“The demon,” Ginny explained, sobbing. “The demon said I was Dark, she said I was damned.”

“Why would you believe a demon?” Draco asked, obviously trying to be gentle.

“Because- because-” Ginny broke down in tears once more. Like just about every guy on the planet, Draco looked horrified at having to deal with a crying girl.

“Don’t cry, Weaslette. Please don’t cry,” Draco practically begged.

“The demon,” she sobbed. “The demon knew everything! She knew my name, she knew about the diary, she knew everything!”

Draco looked fairly shocked when she’d mentioned the diary. “I’m really sorry about the diary. I had nothing to do with it, just so you know,”

“I guessed, but that still doesn’t change the fact that I’m evil,” Ginny continued, trying to stop another bout of tears. She failed miserably. Not only did she start crying again, but launched herself at Draco, crying into his shoulder.

He stiffened at her touch, but relaxed in a moment.

“You’re not evil,” he said, tentatively wrapping his arms around her. “If anyone of us is, it’s me.”

“Then how’d the demon know about the diary? Why did she keep saying that I was Dark?” Ginny sobbed, throwing all reason out the window.

“Because she was trying to psyche you out,” Draco explained quietly. “The diary, I’m guessing she could have read your mind or something,”

“So, I’m not evil?” Ginny asked pulling away a little. She felt like a little child, but she didn’t care anymore.

Draco chuckled a little. “No, you’re not evil, Ginny,”

Ginny’s eyes went wide. “You-you just called me by my name,”

“And?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“But-” Ginny began, then shook her head. “This day has been too crazy,”

Draco tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. “Tell me about it. Must be something in the stars,”

Draco seemed to realize what he was doing, and snatched his hand away. Ginny, also seeming to just notice their position, awkwardly disentangled herself from him.

“Erm, do you want to watch TV or something?” Draco asked.

“Sure,” Ginny answered. “Wait, what about the others?”

“I think they can wait till tomorrow,” Draco said.

Ginny nodded. “Yeah, they can,”

Draco picked up the remote. “So, erm, what do you want to watch?”

“Beverly Hills 90210?” Ginny asked hopefully. Draco hated that show, but Ginny loved it.

Draco rolled his eyes. “Alright, but just today though,”

Ginny grinned at him, and settled back on the loveseat as Draco flipped through the channels trying to find her favorite show.

I just fought and killed a demon, hugged Draco Malfoy, cried in his shoulder and now he’s agreed to watch a television show that he hates, Ginny thought. She looked at him for a bit, studying his face.

He seemed to realize she was looking at him. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Ginny shook her head, smiling. “Nothing,”

Draco gave a her a look, then turned back to the TV.

Yes, there must be something in the stars today.

Girls Night In
Chapter 8

Still week four.

Ginny stretched languidly on the loveseat, flipping through the channels on the TV. Finally, she was alone. After all the hype and craziness of the day before, and the bustle of that morning, Ginny had had no chance to be by herself.

She was still pretty shaken up by yesterday’s events, but slightly more collected than she had been that morning.

After a very odd evening with Draco, the two had showed up for classes/training as usual the next day. Everyone congratulated Ginny on how well she had fought and how she was definitely going to get a top rank. That had made Ginny feel a little bit better, but the thing that really made her happy was that instead of pretending Ginny hadn’t run out of the gym in a panic, instead of pretending they weren’t curious, like all the people back home would have done, the Warriors-to-be questioned her.

Why? Her friends had asked. What had happened? Why did she run?

Just as Ginny had finished explaining that the demon had played with her mind, the Wildcat had come in.

“Sit down everyone, and listen up,” Kiara had said. “Since I know how exhausted you all must feel after yesterday, today is going to be a free day. Just lounge about, regain your strength and get some sleep. You’ll need it for tomorrow.”

A murmur went through the ten.

Kiara smiled. “We’ll be doing a bit of real demon hunting. After seeing each one of you fight yesterday, I have to say that you’re ready. You have almost become the Warriors. So go, have fun.”

They had all filed out of the room, most making plans for a day out on the town. Ginny, however, had made a beeline for her room.

Now she’d been lying on the couch watching TV for several hours, only getting up to eat occasionally. Draco was, well, she didn’t know where Draco was. She hadn’t seen him since that morning, and it was now…Ginny craned her neck to see the clock that was practically behind her. Who in their right mind would hang a clock on a wall which the person would not be facing? Ah, it was now almost four o’clock.

Suddenly the door opened and Sage burst in. She was wearing a pair of black very ripped up sweatpants and light blue concert shirt. Her hair fell lose around her and her make up was red today. Black eyeliner, red eyeshadow and blue mascara.

“Hey Ginger!”

Ginny sat up. “A, never call me that again for as long as you live, and B, why are you here?”

“To cheer you up, of course,” came a new voice. Ginny’s eyes widened when she saw who it was.

“Juliana?”

“No, it’s the Easter bunny,” Juliana said setting down a couple of bags on the coffee table. Her long dark hair was put up in a pony tail and she was wearing a red baby tee with a black rose on it and a pair of black gym shorts. She sat down on the chair beside Ginny and smiled. She was wearing a red lip gloss and her eyes were rimmed with a bit of black eyeliner.

“Remote. Pillow. Move. Sit,” Sage ordered.

“What?” Ginny asked confused. She was still shocked from their sudden arrival.

“Your remote and your pillow need to move so I can sit,” Sage explained.

Ginny blinked. “Oh, right.”

She moved the offending items, still staring like a deer caught in headlights.

Juliana shook her head. “I told you we should have warned her, Sage. I think we put her into a permanent state of shock.”

“Nonsense,” Sage said waving her hand dismissivly. She turned to Ginny. “The others will be here in a few minutes.”

Ginny turned to look at her, eyes wide. “Others?”

“Yeah, Maria and Alexis,” Juliana explained.

“I hate to sound stupid,” Ginny said. “But, why?”

Juliana beamed at this. “We’ve decided that we deserve a girl’s night in. A little sleepover with ice cream, makeovers and all the trimmings. A little spoiling never hurt anybody.”

“But what about Mal-” Ginny was cut off mid sentence by Sage throwing a pillow at her head.

“What was that for?” the redhead asked shrilly.

“You need to call Draco by his first name,” Sage ordered.

Ginny opened her mouth then shut it, then opened it again. “I can’t.”

“Of course you can!” came a new voice from the doorway. Maria and Alexis entered the room, both carrying sleeping bags. Ginny hadn’t really talked to them before, preferring to stick with just Sage, but she had met them.

Both girls were extraordinarily beautiful. Maria was Spanish and looked very exotic. She had a dancer’s thin and tall body, caramel colored eyes and light brown curly hair. Today she was wearing a pair of short white cloth shorts and a blue spaghetti strap top, while her hair was left to cascade down her back.

Alexis was your all American girl. She had bright blue eyes framed by the longest lashes you had ever seen. Her hair was almost as light blond as Draco’s and was always just as perfectly straight. She was wearing a pair of dark blue sweatpants with a tight white baby tee, and her hair was pulled back into her trademark braid.

Well, Ginny thought. At least I’m not over-dressed. She looked down at her own black and red sweatpants and white spaghetti strap shirt.

“Yeah,” Alexis agreed. “Just say it,”

Ginny shook her head, on the defensive. “I can’t.”

“You can,” Sage said. “But you won’t.”

Juliana shot Sage a glare. “Why can’t you, Ginny?”

Ginny looked at them all. “Because I can’t!”

“Come on,” Maria urged. “Just say it, Dr-aaaa-co.”

Ginny shook her head stubbornly.

Sage got a tub of cookie dough ice cream out of the bags Juliana had brought. Cookie dough, Ginny’s favorite.

“Say it or the ice cream gets it!”

Ginny’s eyes widened. “No!”

“Yeah, no need to get violent,” Alexis added, looking slightly hurt.

“Please say it,” Juliana pleaded. “Say it and we can begin the sleepover.”

Ginny felt four pairs of eyes boring into her. Not a very pleasant feeling, and they did not seem to be giving up. She gave a defeated sigh. “Fine.”

“Yes!” Alexis exclaimed.

Ginny took a big breath. Really, why was this so hard? And why did it feel like such an important thing? Oh just say it and get it over with, she chided herself. She closed her eyes.

“Draco.”

There were four shouts of joy. Ginny opened her eyes to find the other Warrior girls jumping around and high-fiving each other.

“The lot of you are crazy,” she decided.

Maria gave her a look. “Oh please, you’re the one who wouldn’t say the guy’s name!”

Ginny shot her a look back. “Seriously though, why all this?”

Alexis shrugged and bit into a cookie. “We thought you needed to be cheered up,”

“You got all of this for me?” Ginny asked incredulously.

Juliana smiled at her. “What are friends for?”

Friends. The thought echoed in Ginny’s mind. She had never really thought of the Warrior girls, besides Sage, as being her friends. But, she guessed they would have to be. From what the Wildcat had said, they’d be with each other till death.

“Till death do us part,” Ginny muttered. She shook her head, as if to get rid of the morbid thought, and joined the party.

~

It was now eleven o’clock at night and the girls were assembled in the living room in their respective sleeping bags.

They had done the eating bit of a sleepover, the make up bit, again the eating bit, and now they were half way through the talking bit.

“Say,” Ginny asked suddenly. “I forgot to ask, but how did you get Ma- Draco to, not, well, be here?”

Maria grinned wickedly. “I told him of our plans to invade and told him he was welcome to stay, but he said he’d rather stick something sharp in his ear than stay here. He’s camping out at David’s. I think all the guys are.”

Ginny shook her head. “Why am I not surprised?”

The others laughed.

“Ooh!” Sage suddenly exclaimed.

“What?” Alexis asked.

“I have just had an idea that is the most brilliant of brilliant, the most marvelous of marvelous, the mos-”

“Tell us already!” Juliana urged.

Sage grinned. “I propose that we invite the guys over her for a game of Truth or Dare.”

Four pairs of eyes lit up. Alexis jumped up and grabbed the phone. The other girls exchanged glances and tried to hide their laughter.

“Hey David! We were just wondering if you guys want to come over for a bit, we’ve got some left over pizza and stuff. Mmhmm…..right…..that’s fine…..cool, so we’ll see you in a bit. Bye!”

She put down the receiver and punched the air. “Oh, this is gonna be fun!”

“You didn’t tell them about the Truth or Dare,” Juliana pointed out.

Alexis raised a perfectly done blond eyebrow. “Are you kidding me? Guys run and hide when they hear the words ‘Truth or Dare.’”

At that moment the doorbell rang, and Maria ran up and opened the door.

“Hey guys!”

The five Warrior guys came into the room. Maria quickly closed and locked the door behind them, grinning wickedly at the other girls.

Ginny had only then noticed how good looking all of the guys were. All in all, she would have had to say they were the five best looking guys she had ever seen. They were all very athletically built and their faces ranged from Draco’s almost beautiful fallen-angel face, to Ryan’s ruggedly handsome one.

Draco caught Ginny looking at him, and shot her a grin. Ginny gulped. I did not just think that Draco’s good looking, she thought. Well, I mean, he is but- no! Ginny stop!

“Where’s the food?” Roby asked, looking around. He had a square face with very strong jaw line and dark, almost chocolate colored hair that was always gelled.

“Food’s in the kitchen,” Sage said.

As they began to move towards the kitchen, Alexis jumped up and blocked their way.

“Not so fast. Food later, first how about a game of Truth or Dare?” she smiled at them.

Five identical looks of horror greeted this statement. Ginny, Maria, Juliana and Sage burst out laughing.

Ryan’s eyes began to flit to the exits. All of which were blocked by the girls.

“Do we have to?” David asked meekly.

Sage grinned evilly. “Oh, you have to.”

After much complaining everyone had settled down and had either a look of amusement or pain on their face, depending on what gender you were. They had seated themselves in a circle, boy-girl-boy-girl, on Alexis’ orders. It was Maria, Nick, Sage, David, Alexis, Roby, Ginny, Draco, Juliana and Ryan.

“You first, Nick,” Alexis beamed. Nick looked like someone was asking him to eat a live cockroach.

“Truth or dare?”

And so the game began.

After a few revealing truths, ridiculous dares, such as drinking out of a toilet bowl like a dog, and many looks of horror, came Draco’s turn.

“Draco,” Sage said, something twinkling in her eyes. “Truth or dare?”

Draco seemed to think on it a moment, then spoke.

“Dare.”

A decidedly evil grin made its way onto Sage’s face. “I dare you, to kiss Ginny. And not a kiss you give your grams either. A full on, what do you English people call it? Oh, right. Snog.”

Ginny’s jaw dropped and her eyes opened to the size of saucers. She blinked.

“What are you looking at me for? Do it!”

Ginny turned to Draco and gave him an apologetic look. He just grinned at her, oddly quiet. They turned around to face each other, and Draco lowered his mouth onto hers.

Now, Ginny had been kissed before. She’d snogged more than a few boys, Michael Corner and Dean Thomas included. This, however, this was something much different. Unlike Michael and Dean, who had fumbled quite a bit, Draco knew what he was doing. Not only that, but Ginny got the proper sensations one is supposed get when being kissed. Weak knees (even though she wasn’t standing up), the world seeming to not exist, time slowing down, the whole to do. Just as soon as it had began it was over.

Draco pulled away, and Ginny opened her eyes, slightly dazed. She realized that the girls were shouting and the guys were catcalling. She turned away, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

What the hell was that? She thought. She couldn’t be falling for Draco, she just couldn’t. They had to work together, for Merlin’s sake. Imagine if they had gotten together, then broke up. That would be sufficiently awkward. Ginny was brought out of her reverie by Maria speaking to her.

“Ginny, truth or dare?”

Deciding to be on the safe side, Ginny said truth.

“What was the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you concerning a guy?”

Ginny snorted. This was easy enough. “In my first year, on Valentine’s day-”

Draco coughed trying to keep his laughter in.

“Shut up!” Ginny ordered, then continued. “In my first year on Valentine’s day, I sent Harry a singing valentine.”

The others burst into laughter. Draco was howling at the memory. Even Ginny had to chuckle.

“You sent Harry Potter a singing valentine?” Juliana asked through her laughter.

“I was young and stupid,” the redhead protested.

“Oh, definitely stupid,” Draco agreed.

Ginny threw a pillow at him, and it caught him right in the throat. Truth or dare soon evolved into a very vicious pillow fight.

At about two in the morning, Juliana decided it was time to kick the guys out. After sending them away with pizza and left over ice cream, the girls got into their sleeping bags.

“So,” Alexis began, looking at Ginny. “How was it?”

“How was what?”

“Kissing Draco!” Sage exclaimed.

Ginny shrugged. “It was a dare! What do you expect?”

“He likes you,” Juliana sang.

“Listen,” Ginny demanded. “We are purely platonic friends.”

Four very dubious looks greeted this statement.

“Platonic,” Sage drawled. “Yeah, right.”

“Good night!” Ginny said, covering her head with a blanket.

Honestly! She and Draco were just friends. That’s the only thing they could be.

Chapter 9
To Kill or Not to Kill?

Ginny and the rest of the girls came into the gym talking animated. Alexis was telling a story about how her six year old brother, Andrew, had locked himself in his room and then tried to climb out the window of his second floor bedroom.

“So, I’m in my room, right? Just talking on the phone and all the sudden I hear this thump, thump, thump, bang, bang, bang, ‘OW! OW! OW!’ and I run outside and there he is hanging from the porch roof with a bird’s nest on his head!”

The five girls erupted into hysterical laughter.

“I swear! It looked like something from a cartoon or something!” Alexis proclaimed.

“Oookay,” Ryan said, looking very confused.

“What in the world are you yakking about?” Nick asked, clearly not seeing the humor.

Maria waved his question aside. “You had to hear it from the beginning.”

Ginny fought down hysterical giggles as she spoke. “Reminds me of the time my twin brothers, Fred and George chased my other brother, Ron, out the-”

“How many brothers do you have?” David asked incredulously.

Ginny shook her head. “Too many.”

“Let’s see,” Draco began, ignoring Ginny’s glare. “There’s the one with the Dragons, the treasure hunter, the one with the stick up his arse, the two identical ones, and Weasel King.”

Juliana had been keeping count. “Six? You have six brothers?”

“I thought one was bad,” Alexis said laughing.

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Ignore Draco. There’s Charlie, Bill, Percy, Fred and George and Ron.” She turned to Draco. “I’m wondering how you know what all my brothers do. We’re supposed to be the scum of the earth, remember?”

A strange look flitted onto Draco’s face. Could it have been hurt? Ginny couldn’t tell, because as quickly as it had come, it was gone.

“You’d be surprised at the things I know, Weaslette,” he said and tweaked her nose.

Ginny scowled at him, but he only smirked back at her.

“Good morning all,” Kiara said coming into the room, a big black duffle bag slung over her shoulder. She was wearing a pair of dark jeans, brown leather boots, and a black t-shirt. Her brown hair fell down her back in tangled waves. She looked distinctly tired, as though she hadn’t gotten any sleep. There were dark circles under her eyes and all in all she looked a bit ill.

“Morning,” they all chorused.

She looked at them suspiciously. “Who are you and what have you done with my Warriors?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Roby asked feigning hurt.

“It means, you all are getting along and my Warriors do not get along. Especially these two,” she indicated to Draco and Ginny who were standing next to each other.

“We had a bonding night,” Alexis said by way of explanation.

“Yeah,” Sage added. “Truth or Dare forms very close relationships.” She tried to intertwine her fingers together, didn’t work, tried again, didn’t work, tried-

“Oh, forget it,” she sighed.

The Wildcat laughed. “Well, about time! You lot were driving me crazy,” Then she turned serious. “You’ll need to get along tonight.”

Everyone immediately stopped messing around. The Wildcat sat down on a pile of mats and the Warriors drew closer.

“Tonight, we go demon hunting. I’m putting you into pairs, and I will assign you a part of the Hillcrest Cemetery to patrol. I’ve heard through the grape vine, that there will be a demonic gathering there tonight that we will need to stop at all costs. The demons aren’t very strong, lower level ones actually. Still, you’ll need all your strength and wits about you. When I dismiss you, I want you and your partner to pick your weapons, potions and so on. Get ready. Now, first we have Roby and Maria, Alexis and Ryan, then Nick and Juli, David, you and Sage, and Ginny with Draco. I’ll be out there, but only if things get out of hand, alright?”

There were affirmative nods to this.

“Are you alright, Kiara?” Maria asked, looking concerned.

The Wildcat raised her eyebrows. “Why do you ask?”

Maria shrugged. “You look a little tired, is all.” Tired was an understatement, Ginny thought.

Kiara sighed. “I just released a bit more of your powers and the ritual was a bit draining.”

“You have us more powers for tonight, right?” Draco asked, furrowing his brow.

“Yes,” Kiara said nodding. “Enough about me though, shoo, go, get ready.”

The almost Warriors left the gym in silence, all lost in their own thoughts.

Draco and Ginny made their way back to their rooms, now cleaned up after last night.

“Do you think she’s gonna die soon?” Ginny asked gently.

Draco looked at her. His silver eyes always seemed to penetrate right into her. As though he could read her mind. Would he see what she was really trying to ask?

“She wouldn’t send us out there if she didn’t think we were ready,” he said.

Ginny nodded.

Of course he saw.

~

DING. DING. DING. DING. DING. DING. DING. DING. DING. DING. DING.

Eleven o’clock, Ginny concluded, counting the dings of the clock tower. She and Draco had been patrolling a section of the cemetery for two very uneventful hours. Two very uneventful and silent hours. Ginny swung her arm and caught her crossbow on her jeans.

Muttering curses under her breath, she stopped to fix her jeans. Draco had also stopped and was watching her.

“Ugh,” Ginny muttered, getting more hopelessly tangled. She fussed with it for a few more seconds.

“Aha!” she exclaimed, sliding the crossbow away from her body.

Draco shook his head, obviously amused. Ginny decided not to comment, and they kept walking. They’d agreed, after much arguing that Ginny was better with the crossbow, and there fore more qualified to shoot any demons they may come across. Ginny scowled. Draco had a nasty habit of trying to take on everything himself, leaving her with nothing to do.

“So,” she began, trying to start a conversation. “Nice weather we’re having.”

Draco raised his eyebrows at her.

“Maybe not,” she decided looking away.

“Weaslette, you amuse me.”

“Nice to know,” Ginny said sarcastically. Draco chuckled and they walked on in silence.

They were just passing by the abnormally large tombstone of Mary Catherine Danes (December 22nd 1888- August 31 1934 “Beloved Sister, Mother and Aunt”) for the fifth time when Draco spoke up.

“Ginny?” he asked suddenly, making her jump.

“What?” she asked, try to return to the state of sleepy calm she’d been in a moment previous. Although that probably wasn’t a very good state to be in if a demon attacked, she mused.

“Do you-”

Suddenly he grabbed her upper arm and dragged her behind Mary.

“What the-” she hissed, but Draco shushed her. He pointed to her left; Ginny peeked out from behind the tombstone just a bit.

Walking on the path perpendicular to the one they had just been on, were two demons. Both of whom, seemed quite upset about something.

“So what’s this gathering Roku was talking about?” the one on the left muttered.

“All I see’s a bunch of dead humans,” the other grumbled.

Ginny was so mesmerized that she hadn’t heard Draco move, so imagine her shock when she felt Draco’s lips brushing her ear.

“After they pass, we’ll jump out,” he whispered. “You should the one on the right, I’ll get the other.”

Ginny only nodded in reply.

The two grumbling goons passed them and Draco silently got out from behind the tombstone, and not looking at her, motioned for Ginny to follow him. He looked at the demons, then looked back at her, and nodded.

Ginny silently raised her crossbow and aimed it at the demon’s back. Later she would marvel at the calm that had sized her in that moment.

She closed one eye and put her finger on the trigger. She aligned the arrow with the demon’s back, right where his heart would be on the other side. Steadily she pulled the trigger. She saw, as though in slow motion, how the arrow launched from the bow and flew. Flew, straight into the demon’s heart. In a burst of fire, the demon vanished.

Ginny had made her first real vanquish.

The now vanquished demon’s companion whirled around.

“Hi,” Draco smirked.

The demon’s face contorted and with an angry yell he launched himself at Draco. Draco dogged easily. The demon screamed something in a foreign language into the night air.

No sooner had he and Draco resumed the fight, more demons appeared. Five more to be exact. All identical to the first two. They saw Draco fighting with their fellow, and then they saw Ginny. With cries of rage, the five demons threw themselves at her.

Soon she was showered by punches and blows, she beat them off as best she could, but she was outnumbered. Dropping her crossbow, Ginny got into a fighting stance. She was just about to punch the demon in front of her, when he suddenly fell over. Ginny leapt to the side to avoid being crushed and saw one of Draco’s knives lodged in its back.

“ARE YOU CRAZY?” she bellowed. “That could have gone straight through into me!”

“I had to take that chance!” Draco yelled, punching the demon attacking him in the nose.

The demons, as it turned out, were stupider than they were strong. As Ginny had yelled at Draco, they had just stepped back and watched. Ginny grabbed her crossbow (with magically refilling arrows) and aimed.

One down, four to go.

Ginny lost herself in the battle. The sounds, the sights, the sensations. All of it felt so familiar. As though she had been doing this for eternity, as though she had been born to do this. A long time ago a fire had burned within her, but it had gone out. Now it was lit again, and she‘d be damned if she let it go out.

She ducked a demon’s punch and swept her leg under his feet, knocking him to the ground. She picked up his athame and plunged it into his chest. Ginny staggered back, a little off balance, and watched the demon vanish in flame.

The night sounded strange to her ears now. It wasn’t noise, no. It was the lack of noise. Ginny looked around for Draco. Or anybody.

The cemetery was silent, nothing stirred and Ginny was alone.

Had they…? No, they couldn’t have. Draco was too smart, too strong. But, still, anything could have happened.

The sick feeling of panic began to seep through her. Then, out of the silence Ginny saw, in the corner of her eye, something fly at her from the right. A burst of fire soared over head as she was knocked to the ground. The wind was knocked out of her before she could even react.

Ginny’s mind was faster than her body. She realized that whoever, whatever, had just knocked her down, had saved her life. She turned her head to see who, or what, had saved her.
Silver storm clouds stared back.

Draco got up and extended a hand to her quickly.

“Come on,” he said, and pulled her to her feet.

Two more demons (where had they come from) flew at them.

Ginny ducked and dodged, punched and kicked. She was careful not to get too lost in the battle this time around though. She spun and pinned one of the demons against Mary Danes’ headstone, her knife quivering at his throat.

“Where are the rest?” she asked.

The demon shook his head. Ginny pressed the knife closer to his neck.

“I don’t know!” he gasped.
“You don’t know?” Ginny asked, momentarily stupefied. She’d been expecting a rude answer or at least a protest. The demon’s eyes widened as he looked over her shoulder.

Ginny spun around, and the demon kicked her to the ground. He used her shocked state as an opportunity to shimmer away. Ginny lay on her stomach on the ground, stunned that he had tricked her so easily.

The sounds of battle died away, and Draco came up to her. He extended his hand to her. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Ginny took the offered hand, ashamed and embarrassed.

“We did pretty good,” he said.

Ginny stared incredulously at him. “ Good? Good? I was tricked! Tricked! And by the oldest trick in the book, no less!”

“You were caught up in the moment?” Draco offered.

Ginny raised her eyebrows. “That was a perfect opportunity to mock me, but instead you offer me an excuse? I hate to quote Kiara, but who are you and what have you done with Draco?”

“I’m in a generous mood,” he shrugged.

Ginny picked up her knife off the ground and brushed the dust of on the leg of her jeans.

“Shall we?” Draco asked, motioning to the path.

“Why not?” Ginny sighed.

“Never answer a question with a question,” Draco said smirking.

Ginny rolled her eyes. “That’s so stupid. Why can’t you answer a question with a question?”

Draco shrugged, hands in his pockets. “Beats me.”

~

DING. DING. DING. DING. The clock tower of the cemetery chimed four in the morning as Ginny and Draco crashed into their apartment.

“I won!” Ginny crowed, raising her arms, palms open to the sky, and then immediately collapsing into a chair.

Since nothing else exciting happened, they had deiced to race from the cemetery to their apartments, which was quite far indeed. The prize was first one to take a shower. Speaking of which, Ginny thought getting up.

“You cheated,” Draco panted, leaning on the couch.

“I did not!” she protested, hands on hips.

“Maybe you didn’t ,“Draco shrugged and shot for the bathroom.

Ginny’s mouth fell open.

“You rat!” she yelled.

“I’d prefer snake!” he shouted through the door.

Ginny shook her head, not believing that she had been tricked twice in one night. How? She marveled. I though I was smarter than that. Looking towards the kitchen, she decided to snake on something while she waiting for Draco to be done. Well, actually she’d have time to eat a three course meal before Draco was done, but that wasn’t the point.

Ginny took a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream out of the fridge, muttering about snakes, rats and ferrets.

Really, she thought. He takes more time in the shower than Lavender and Pravati. Ginny shook her head thinking of the two. She wondered what they would say if they knew that she was currently living with Draco Malfoy under one roof. Ginny snickered at the thought. She’d always wanted to prove herself to them, well, not just to them, but to everyone. Here was her chance, and she couldn’t tell a soul.

“Just my luck,” she muttered. Finally, when the chance comes along when she can prove to everyone that she’s not a little girl, she has to stay quiet. Ginny sometimes wanted to cry at the injustice of it all. It really wasn’t fair. Why did some people have everything, and others either nothing or the bare minimum?

Ginny’s thoughts strayed to Draco. She wondered what Hogwarts would be like this coming year. It’d be so odd having been so close to him this summer, and then having to pretend to be mortal enemies again. Well, close might not be the right word to use. Where they close? Sure they’d spent a lot of time together and befriended each other, but were they close? There had been the kiss… Ginny’s mind trailed off. She smiled a little at the memory of the previous night. She shook herself. Really now, it was just a stupid little game of Truth or Dare. It didn’t mean that he liked her like that. Ginny stubbornly extinguished the little flare of hope within her. She could like him like that, she just couldn’t. Be he was quite good looking.

Ginny shook herself again. Shut up brain, she thought.

“Your turn,” Draco said, coming into the kitchen and shocking Ginny out of her thoughts.

Ginny looked at him. He was wearing a pair of black pajama pants and a white t-shirt. His we hair was slicked back except for a little piece that fell into his eyes.

“And I was just starting on dessert. Too bad you missed the first two courses. They were absolutely delicious,” Ginny said, surprised at her own daring.

Draco chuckled, getting a plastic spoon out of a drawer. “I see the Weaslette has been spending too much time around me.”

Ginny raised her eyebrows as he sat down across from her. “What is that supposed to mean? And don’t you even think about eating my ice cream.”

He ignored her and stole the pint from her.

“Hey!”

“What? It’s not like you could eat all of it,” Draco paused. “Well, you could, but I won’t let you. Don’t want to mess up that perfect figure you now have, do you?”

Ginny pursed her lips, arms crossed on the table in front of her. “I don’t know whether to be offended or flattered.”

Draco chuckled. “Make what you will of my comment.”

“Goodnight, Draco,” Ginny said pointedly, getting up and heading towards the bathroom.

“Night, Gin,” he called.

Ginny turned around and look at him with a puzzled expression on her face.

“What?” Draco asked.

Ginny shook her head. “Nothing.”

She turned back around, a smile on her face.

He’d called her ‘Gin.’ Nobody had called her that in years, seeing as she’d hated it when she was younger. Now, however, she liked the sound of it.

Especially coming from Draco.

Chapter 10
Of Quips and Fangs

Ginny ran out of the bathroom, hair sopping wet and clothes disheveled. Damn Draco, she thought, pulling on her boots.

“Hurry up!” Draco yelled from the kitchen.

“I’m going as fast as I can!” Ginny yelled back. She finally got on her left dragon hide boot. Nearly all of the Warriors had gone to bed at near six in the morning and Kiara was insisting on having class as usual. Well, classes started at eight and it was currently 8:12. Ginny was willing to bet her Warrior powers (that she didn’t even have yet) that nobody was there yet. Amazingly enough, Draco had actually woken her up, not the other way around, and now he was being incredibly bossy. Seeing as nobody was probably there yet, she did not see why she had to rush. Stupid Draco.

Ginny jogged into the kitchen in search of a brush. Draco was standing there, leaning on the counter; cool as anything, sipping coffee. Ginny glared at him.

“Have you seen my brush?”

Draco pointed to the table. Ginny ran over and picked her brush up and started tearing at her hair.

“Now I know why your hair looks the way it does,” Draco commented.

Ginny glared at him. “Aren’t we supposed to be hurrying?”

“Nobody’s even there yet,” Draco answered nonchalantly.

Ginny wheeled around to face him, eyes narrowed.

“What?” Draco asked.

“You mean to tell me, that I nearly had a heart attack getting out of bed, fell in the shower and got dressed like a maniac for no reason?” Ginny demanded.

Draco smirked. “You forgot that your shirt is inside out.”

Ginny let out an angry noise. “I hate you sometimes! Now, turn around!”

He raised his eyebrows. “Why?”

“So I can change my shirt,” Ginny stated.

“You could go into another room.”

The redhead glared at him. “Turn.”

Draco put up his hands in mock defeat and turned towards the cabinets.

Ginny angrily pulled off her black shirt and turned it right.

Draco chuckled.

“What?” Ginny asked, pulling on her shirt.

“I’m wondering what would happen were we to be paired up when we get our ranks,”

“You can turn around,” Ginny said. “And I don’t think Kiara is crazy enough to that. We’d end up killing each other.”

Draco picked up the keys to the apartment as Ginny picked up a bagel, and the two headed out.

“It’s not Kiara’s pick,” Draco said, locking the door.

Ginny looked up at him curiously. “Well then, whose pick is it?”

“The Fates, I think.”

“Oh.”

Ginny took a bite of her bagel as she thought about this. The Fates. The Fates rarely dealt with humans. By many, it was considered a blessing and curse to have interaction with the Fates. She wondered what her mother would say if she knew that her daughter’s fate was being meddled with by the Fates. What if they did put her and Draco together? It’d be interesting to say the least.

“What would you do if the Fates did pair us up?” she asked.

“Well, we’d be stuck for life, then wouldn’t we?” he asked.

“Weren’t you the one who told me to never answer a question with a question?” Ginny smirked.

“Yes,” Draco answered, also smirking. “And I see you didn’t follow my advice.”

Ginny’s mouth dropped open. He- he. . . She snapped her jaw shut, and then sighed defeatedly.

“If I wasn’t so damn sleepy, I’d kill you,” she proclaimed.

Draco raised an eyebrow. “You really must be tired.”

“You don’t say?” she drawled sarcastically, pushing in the door to the gym. Draco laughed and followed her in.

“Ah, you’re the first to arrive,” Kiara said jauntily as they entered.

Ginny gave the woman a murderous look. “Only because Draco over here forced me to get up.”

The Wildcat laughed.

“Kiara,” Draco began, looking slightly pissed off for the first time that morning. Before, he’d been slightly amused. At Ginny’s expense, of course.

“Yes?”

There was hint of laughter in her voice.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but you know how late we were all up, right?”

She nodded, her eyes sparkling. Ginny was struck by how beautiful this woman was. She was smart, strong and beautiful. Old as dirt, perhaps, and not really human, but that didn’t matter when you looked like a twenty year old supermodel. Why can’t I be like that? Ginny wondered. Well, besides the old as dirt and not really human part.

“So then,” Draco continued. “Why the hell did you make us come to training at eight in the bloody morning?”

Ginny had to suppress a grin. So he was just as tired as she was. Ha. Serves him right.

Kiara’s grin widened. “For a very good reason. When you’ll be back at school, you’ll get news of demonic activity and you’ll have to sneak out late at night to vanquish the demons. You’ll get back in at around five in the morning completely exhausted and then have to get up in a couple of hours to go to class.”

Ginny smirked. Ha.

“Both of you.”

Ginny’s smirk fled. Draco chuckled as the redhead shot him a glare.

“So, even if we’re not paired together we still have to work with each other?”

The Wildcat’s eyes glittered with a knowledge and mirth unknown to the two Warriors. “I trust you won’t kill each other.”

Ginny had just opened her mouth to explain that yes, they would kill each other, when Alexis and Nick walked in.

“I hate you, Kiara,” Alexis grumbled, then yawned.

“Agreed,” Nick said, rubbing his forehead.

“Now, now,” Kiara placated. “There’s a very good reason for all of this. When everyone gets in here, I’ll explain.”

“Well, while we’re waiting, I’ll catch up on my many hours of lost sleep.”

With that the blond girl lay down on the mat covered floor, folded her arm under her head and closed her eyes. Kiara, Draco, Ginny and Nick all stared at her.

“Stop staring at me,” she muttered.

They looked away quickly.

Nick muttered something about Alexis and mental illness. Ginny yawned. Ali had the right idea. She walked over to a stack of practice mats.

“Taking a nap?” Draco asked, smirking.

Ginny glared at him. “No, I’m just sitting down, but if I do fall asleep I blame you.”

~

Half an hour later they were still waiting for four people. Sage, David, Maria and Roby.

About twenty minutes ago, Draco had sat down beside Ginny. The other Warriors were now sitting or lying in different areas of the room. Or sleeping in Ali’s case.

Ginny suspected that Juli too was dozing on Ryan’s shoulder. Ginny herself would have dozed off but she didn’t want to end up leaning on Draco, since she was still mad at him.

Everyone was so sleepy and tired. Besides Kiara, who was reading a book, although she too had sat down. The air of the room was sleepy and quite peaceful. Nobody was talking. It sort of reminded Ginny of the ‘project’ that had taken place in this very room. It was hard for her to believe that it was only a few days ago. The sleepy sort of silence then in the waiting/watching room was a bit similar to the one right now, except with a couple major differences.

For one, then everyone had been tense and freaked out, today everyone was calm and relaxed. Then too, they had all been strangers to one another. Today, they were all comfortable with each other. It had always amazed Ginny that such things could happen in the space of a couple of days.

A big sign of them being so at easy was the way they were dressed. During the ‘project’ they had all dressed to intimidate one another, consciously or not. Today, however, everyone was dressed in the closest things to pajamas. Actually, she thought, Ali was wearing pajama bottoms. Everyone else, that is, was wearing sweat pants and t-shirts. Well, besides Draco.

The girls had their hair up in ponytails and braids, and none of them had make-up on. The guys especially looked like bums. Well, besides Draco. He always seemed to stand out, didn’t he? Well, he looked like a bum dressed in designer clothes. Ha, a designer bum.

Ginny snorted at this.

“What?” Draco asked. He was sitting with his legs drawn up to his chest and arms resting on his knees.

“Nothing,” Ginny said, shaking her head. “Just thinking about how much I hate you today.”

Draco chuckled quietly. “Just think, we could still be sleeping.”

Ginny looked over at him, and then punched him. Hard.

“Ow!” Draco yelped, rubbing his arm.

“Serves you right,” the redhead muttered.

“Hey, you guys?” Ali asked sleepily, lifting her head and opening an eye. “Could you keep it down? I’m tryin’ to sleep.”

With a huge yawn, she settled back down onto her arm.

Ginny and Draco exchanged amused glances, which caused them both to laugh.

“Shh!” Ginny hissed hitting him on the arm again, but still laughing quietly herself.

“Lay off the arm, would you?” Draco asked, laughter ebbing away.

“Why should I?”

“Well, I may actually need my left arm, say when we get back to school?”

Ginny was about to quip with the “don’t answer a question with a question,” but remembering her results from last time, she thought better of it.

“Wait a second, you’re left handed?”

Draco looked over at her, eyebrows raised. “Yes, I am.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Oh, Weaslette,” he mock sighed, leaning his head back against the stack of mats behind them. “There are so many things about me you don’t know.”

Ginny ignored the sarcasm. “Like what?”

Draco looked at her with a look of surprise on his face. “Like what?”

She nodded, turning around so that she was facing Draco, but still leaning on the mats sideways. “Yeah, like what?”

The phrase “like what” was starting to sound funny to Ginny.

Draco seemed taken aback. “Why do you care?”

Now it was Ginny’s turn to look surprised.

“Because I’ve been living with you for nearly five weeks and know barely anything about you.”

“I still don’t understand.”

Ginny flapped her hand. “Just tell me something about you that I don’t know.”

Draco leaned his head back again. “Alright, but give me a minute.”

Ginny brought her legs up to her chest, hugging her knees and putting her head down on them. She looked at Draco as he pondered her request. Funny, that he would find such a simple question so hard.

“Well, my birthday is January twenty third,” he said.

“Really?” she asked, straightening up. “Mine’s August twenty third.”

Draco chuckled. “Well that’s surprising.”

Ginny counted quickly in her head. “So, you’re exactly a year and six months older than me.”

“I am, aren’t I?” he said, looking at her. Suddenly he got a gleam in his eyes.

“Alright, now you tell me something about you that I don’t know.”

Ginny furrowed her brow. What did he not know about her that she wouldn’t mind him knowing?

“Okay, well, I’ve always been able to beat Ron when we used to wrestle as kids. But now that I think about it, it makes sense,” she said, smiling slightly.

Draco smirked. “That’s all well and good, but tell me something about you that isn’t so obvious,”

“Wait a second, didn’t I start this conversation?” she asked. How did he always manage to turn the tables on her?

“Yes, you did start the conversation, and now I am continuing it. Now, give me an answer.”

“Fine, but you have to tell me something like that too,” she bargained.

Draco nodded. “Deal.”

Why did he want to know? Ginny thought. The word blackmail came to mind, but maybe there was something else to it, too. Maybe he was interested to find something out about her. Ginny dismissed this thought as quickly as it came. No, this was Draco she was talking, well, thinking, about here. She suddenly realized he was still waiting for an answer. Quickly, she thought.

“When I was little, whenever it would rain at the Burrow, I used to sneak through the backdoor and take a walk in the rain,” Ginny said. “Mum never caught me, and none of my brothers knew, and I didn’t want them to. It was just a little bit of time for me to get away from everything, you know? The rain was just so soothing. And Ottery St. Catchpole is so beautiful when it’s raining. Nobody’d be about, and it’d just be me outside, all alone.”

She smiled at the memory.

“I remember the summer before I started Hogwarts, it was just drizzling but I decided one last walk in the rain was in order, so I snuck out while Mum was fussing over Harry. I’d gotten about five meters away from the house when it suddenly started pouring. I mean, I was soaked through and through in a couple minutes. But it was so fun I ran towards the creek nearby and just ran around like a complete lunatic in the pouring rain.”

Ginny realized she was rambling. “I’m sorry, I’m rambling.”
She looked down at her boot covered feet.

“Sounds nice,” Draco said.

Ginny looked up. “Really? No jokes?”

He shook his head, a slight smile on his face. “Nope, not one.”

She put her head on her knees again. “So, what about you?”

“When I was younger,” Draco began tilting his head back against the mats. “I used to sneak out of Malfoy Manor and go to the stables, get my horse, and ride out in the rain.”

Ginny lifted her head again. “No way.”

“No way what?” he asked looking at her.

“You and I cannot have something in common, it’s too bizarre.”

Draco smirked. “Hell is freezing over as we speak.”

Ginny laughed. “I can’t believe it. You seriously…? Rain?”

Draco looked over at her, an amused look in his eyes. “What about rain?”

“I can’t picture you in the rain, I just can’t.”

“I like the rain. It makes for a nice escape, as you seem to know,” Draco said shrugging.

“I can’t believe you and I have something in common,” Ginny said shaking her head. “Something so weird too.”

Draco leaned his head back against the mats again. “I don’t know who you’re calling weird, Weaslette. I certainly don’t fit into that category.”

Ginny snorted. “Oh, right. So sorry, Your Highness.”

“That’s much better.”

Ginny rolled her eyes.

Suddenly the door to the gym opened up. All the Warriors-to-be looked up. Sage and David walked in. Sage for some odd reason had her hand over her mouth and David looked like he was trying not to laugh.

“About time,” Kiara commented, and then frowned. “Sage, what’s wrong?”

“Long story,” she mumbled, coming over to where Ginny and Draco were sitting.

Sage plopped down beside Ginny, looking at the red haired girl with a very pitiful expression.

“What happened?” Ginny asked cautiously.

David chuckled as he sat down, forming a circle. “Oh, it’s a long story.”

Sage took her hand off of her mouth, revealing huge vampire fangs in place of where her canine teeth should have been.

Ginny’s eyes widened. “Sweet Merlin.”

“Bloody hell, what did you do, Graham?” Draco asked looking as surprised as Ginny felt.

“Does aren’t, real, are they?” she asked.

Sage shook her head. “No, they’re plastic.”

“Can you take them off?”

Sage shook her head again.

“I’m amazed she doesn’t have a speech impediment,” David chuckled.

The brunette girl shot him a murderous glare.

“What- how- huh?” Ginny asked feeling very confused.

“Well, last night, when we got back I was looking for my pajama pants in one of my drawers, when I found these fangs,” Sage began explaining. “They’re professional Muggle movie fangs that I paid like twenty bucks for last Halloween, but then I lost them. So, I decided to put on the mold and then wear them today and stuff. Well, you’re supposed to glue them on, and then take them off five minutes later, or else they’ll get stuck for a while.”

“How long did you leave them on for?” Ginny asked slowly.

“Erm,” Sage said. “I kind of fell asleep before I could take them off.”

Draco burst out laughing. “Brilliant Sage, simply brilliant.”

David grinned. “That’s what I said.”

“It’s not funny!” Sage protested, giving them all a very good look at her fangs.

Ginny snorted, trying to keep from laughing.

Sage looked over at her and began laughing too. A very pitiful laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.

“Only you Sage, only you,” Ginny choked out.

“How long will they stay on, again?” David asked, looking very amused.

“A month.”

“A month?” Ginny asked incredulously.

“Yeah, but you can buy this special stuff to get them off,” Sage explained.

“And are you going to buy it?” Draco asked.

Sage looked at him as though he had just said the most ridiculous thing in the world. “Psh! I’m not spending twenty bucks on some crap solution. Besides, I’m kind of attached to them now.”

“Literally or figuratively?” Draco asked.

Sage thought about it. “Both.”

Ginny laughed.

A day here was never boring. Not with Sage around.

Not to mention Draco.

Week: 8

Days till departure from San Francisco: 1

~

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Ginny slammed her hand down onto her alarm clock, groaning. She turned over in bed, pulling the pillow over her face. Why? Why did everything start so early? Nothing should start until at least noon.

Suddenly something stirred in Ginny’s mind. She pulled the pillow off of her face, wide awake. She jumped out of bed, grinning.

As she’d expected, Draco was still sleeping. This not fazing her in the least, she grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt out of her trunk and headed towards the bathroom.

There were two reasons for Ginny’s euphoric state that morning. One, today was the day they received their rankings. Ginny had no idea how, but today she’d really become one of the Warriors. She had to fight the urge to jump up and down and laugh giddily at this thought. Finally, something she’d been waiting for for so long. Until about eight weeks ago, she didn’t know exactly what she’d been waiting for, but she’d been waiting and now here it was. Her part in the war.

Reason number two was that today was August 23rd. Also known as Ginny’s birthday. Today she was sixteen years old. One more year till she was of age.

Ginny took a look in the mirror. She didn’t feel any different. Or look any different, she noted sulkily. Why was it that she always expected to wake up the morning of her birthday and look beautiful? She sighed. Nope, not any different. Same pale skin, same insanely large amount of freckles, same straight, fiery red hair that would never cooperate. Same muddy brown eyes, same long, thin nose.

Ginny stuck her tongue out at herself. Actually, her nose was the only part of her face that she really did like. It wasn’t too long like Ron’s, but not too short either. If you looked closely at her nose, you could sort of see the constellation of Andromeda. She’d told that to her brothers once, and they’d said that she could probably find any constellation on her nose. Ginny made a face. Brothers were vile sometimes.

Shaking her head, she decided to take a shower. On such an important day as today, she wanted to at least smell nice.

~

When Ginny got out of the shower, Draco was leaning on the wall next to the bathroom door, head tilted back and eyes closed.

Ginny grinned. “Good morning.”

Draco opened his eyes and looked at her, scowling. “What’s bloody good about it?”

“It’s my birthday,”

His mouth curved up into a smirk.

“And?”

Ginny’s jaw dropped.

“Hey!”

She made a swipe at him, but he dodged her swing and closed the door to the bathroom behind himself.

Damn it, she thought. She could never hit him. Ah well, today nobody could bring her off of her cloud. Not even Draco.

As she made her way into the kitchen, she saw the door knob on the front door shaking. Puzzled, she went over to the door and opened it.

Sage, Alexis, Julianna and Maria fell into the apartment.

“Happy birthday!” Alexis shouted, enveloping Ginny in a bear hug.

“Thanks,” Ginny said, a little shocked, it wasn’t everyday you opened the front door and got ambushed by four very hyper girls.

“Cake!” Sage shouted.

“Erm, sorry Saysay, but no cake,” Ginny informed her, disentangling herself from Ali.

Sage looked at her, eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

“No cake?” she asked softly, in a little kid’s voice.

Ginny shook her head, trying not to laugh. “No cake.”

Sage hung her head. “No cake.”

“Oh, who cares about cake?” Maria said. “Today is Ginny’s birthday and we get our ranks. Who needs cake?”

Sage looked outraged. “I need cake!”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Can we get off the subject of cake?”

“Did you say cake?” Roby asked coming into the apartment, David, Ryan and Nick right behind him.

The redhead put her head in her hands. “There is no cake, okay? Everybody got that? No cake.”

“What about cake?” Draco asked, coming into the room.

Ginny made an angry noise.

“Happy birthday, Ginny,” Nick wished her.

She smiled at him, running a hand through her hair. “Thanks.”

Julianna clapped her hands together. “Now, what are we waiting around for? I want to get our ranks!”

There was an affirmative chorus from the others.

“Then get out the hell out of here!” Draco said, with a slight grin.

Alexis stuck her tongue out at him.

“You coming Gin?” asked Sage.

Ginny nodded. “I just want to get something to eat, go on without me.”

As the other Warriors ambled out into the hall and away, Ginny walked into the kitchen, where Draco was. She couldn’t help but grin. The Warriors were amazing. Ginny couldn’t imagine life without them. Or Draco, for that matter. He handed her a bagel.

Ginny took it and sighed.

“What?” Draco asked, biting into his bagel.

She gave him a rather pitiful look. “I miss my mum’s cooking.”

He chuckled. “Living off generic food for eight weeks is bloody awful.”

“Tell me about it,” Ginny said rolling her eyes.

Draco grabbed the key off the counter. “Let’s go?”

Ginny nodded, shoving the rest of the bagel into her mouth. “Lets.”

He shook his head, making his blond hair fall into his eyes. “I am still astounded by the amount of food you can eat.”

Ginny shrugged, following him out the door. “It’s a gift.”

Draco chuckled, and they set off down the corridor in relative silence. Birthdays always made Ginny think about the past year. As she looked at Draco walking beside her, she smiled. What a year it’d been. A year ago, she would have never imagined that she’d ever have a civilized conversation with Draco Malfoy, let alone be friends with him. She conveniently forgot the Truth or Dare kiss. Forget it ever happened, she told herself forcefully.

A year ago she’d still been a child, today; she was one of the Warriors.

Well, almost.

Without even realizing it, they’d gotten to the gym.

“Ready?” Draco asked her, his hand on the door.

“No, but go ahead anyway.”

He opened the door. “After you, milady.”

Ginny walked into the gym, Draco following right behind her. As she got her first look of the gym, her jaw dropped.

The gym had been transformed into the large room again, although with a few significant differences from last time.

In the center of the floor, there was a very large, white, pentacle, about 10 meters in diameter. At each point of the star inside stood a tall, dark candelabrum which was each holding two thick, white candles. What looked to be animals wound around the stem of the candelabrum, but Ginny couldn’t be sure. They kept moving, so it was impossible to tell what they were. They made her skin crawl, though. The ten candles were the only sources of light in the whole room, casting eerie shadows along the walls and the floor.

Ginny shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. She wished she’d brought a jacket, but not because it was cold. She wanted an extra layer of protection between her skin and the magic that was in this room.

In the center of the pentacle stood Kiara. She was wearing a long, black robe with the hood up, casting her face into shadow. There were silver designs on the robe that seemed to moving around. It gave Ginny the creeps.

“Join the others,” she said to Ginny and Draco.

They walked over to base of the pentacle, where the other eight were huddled up into a group facing the Wildcat.

Sage gave Ginny a look.

“This is awesome,” she whispered into Ginny’s ear.

Ginny rolled her eyes. Trust Sage to find this fascinating. She looked over at the pentacle, and saw that the white outline of it seemed to be withering, too. A little chill went up her spine. In all reality, this was freaking her out. It all just seemed, so… so… Dark. She looked back at Draco, who was standing behind her with David.

Ginny supposed the look on her face must have been a very pitiable one, because Draco put his hand on her shoulder.

“You’ll be fine, Weaslette,” he whispered.

She gave him a weak smile and turned back to face the front, Draco’s hand still on her shoulder. It calmed her a little bit. Just a bit though. There were now what seemed to be a hundred butterflies in her stomach. Ginny took a deep breath. This is what she had been training for and waiting for this whole summer, she couldn’t turn tail and run now.

As Ginny watched, Kiara raised her arms above her head, chanting in what seemed to be a mix of Old English, Latin and the Old Language. A deafening wind started howling through the room, whipping Ginny’s hair around her face. Suddenly, a large beam of light shot through the ceiling and enveloped the Wildcat.

The girls gasped, and Draco’s hold on her shoulder tightened for a second. The Warriors-to-be all moved closer together, out of what seemed to be pure instinct. Ginny cast a glance around at the others. Juli was clutching onto Ryan as if he was the last thing left in the world, David had his hands around Sage’s waist, holding her close. Alexis had grasped Nick’s hand and Maria had backed up into Roby’s arms. How had they all paired off like this? The thought flitted through her mind. Who they had trained with, they now sought protection from. Ginny shuddered, not dwelling long on the thought. A ceremony like this, although awe inspiring, was terrifying.

A magick had filled the room. An old and powerful one. Ancient, in all reality. If the one before had chilled Ginny’s skin, this one chilled her to the bone. She’d never been near such magic. It was a magick of the oldest sort, one that witches and wizards of today were incapable of handling. She didn’t wonder why. It was too powerful. It could easily kill the person using it.

The beam seemed to linger for a second longer and then disappeared all together. The Wildcat now seemed to be glowing. Ginny drew in a shuddering breath.

“Sage, come forth.”

Kiara’s voice was odd, seemingly to be masculine and feminine, high and low, pleasant and terrifying all at the same time. Ginny shrunk back, not wanting to have to go anywhere near that pentacle.

Sage shot Ginny a glance. She was scared, Ginny could see. For the first time since she’d known Sage, Ginny saw that she was scared.

The other girl managed a weak smile, and stepped forward. She looked oddly out of place in the room, with her bright blue jeans, purple and black shirt and blond, black and brown hair.

Ginny watched her slowly walk towards Kiara. She was shaking, Ginny saw. As she stepped into the center, Kiara spoke in that same unearthly voice.

“Extend your left arm.”

The brunette girl did so, looking unsure. Kiara took her hand and turned it so that her wrist was laid bare. She touched one glowing finger to the center of Sage’s wrist and chanted a spell.

“Inde nunc donec
Infinitas spinx mutus
Regnum insum te.”

A beam of light struck Sage just as it had done to Kiara moments before. Ginny looked closely at the beam of light. There seemed to be something in it, or as part of it, she couldn’t tell. Just as quickly as it had struck, it disappeared, but the moment before it did something extraordinary happened.

Where Sage’s body should have been, for a moment, just a moment, there stood a sphinx. Then, it was Sage again.

Ginny gasped.

Sage was the Sphinx.

The Wildcat said something to her, and Sage walked over to one of the points of the pentacle. Her usually grinning and joking friend looked serious for once.

And then it hit her.

This was real. After she did this she was bound. Forever. Suddenly the butterflies turned into chimaeras. Big, angry chimaeras. Once she did this she would be bound forever, there would be no turning back. She could get hurt. Hell! She could die! Ginny’s breath suddenly stated coming short.

Draco leaned forward as the Wildcat called David.

“Ginny, are you alright?”

She turned around and clasped his arm. “No. No I’m not. Draco, I’m scared.”

Ginny didn’t care what he thought of her at this moment. She was scared to death, and everything seemed so surreal, and she was about to burst into tears. He seemed to be the only real thing there right then. She didn’t care if she thought she was a wimp, or if he thought she was a coward. She just didn’t care.

For a moment, he looked surprised and more than a little confused, and then, to her great surprise, he wrapped his arms around her. Tears started to roll down her face.

“I’m so scared, Draco. I don’t belong here,” she sobbed into his shoulder.

“Yes, you do,” he said, trying to calm her. At this point she was much too petrified to realize how odd this behavior was for him.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

“It’s alright,” he muttered. “You’ll be fine.”

Somewhere in the distance she heard Nick get called.

“Draco, this is forever. I’m so scared, I don’t want to die.”

“You won’t,” he placated her. “Ginny, you’ll be alright.”

The wind suddenly picked up and Ginny shut her eyes, shaking. Draco tightened the circle of his arms. “Shh. It’s okay, you’re alright.”

Ginny looked up at him and her panic started to seep away a little. Draco would be there, she realized. He’d be bound forever just as she would, so he’d be there. She trusted him. She didn’t know why, but she did. She let out a shuddering breath.

“Are you alright now?” he asked, wiping a tear off of her cheek.

She nodded, still shaking a little. “Can I just stay right here for a minute?”

“Of course,” he said.

Ginny rested her head on his chest, breathing deeply. Draco was right here, everything would be fine. Her shaking stopped, and her heart rate slowed.

She didn’t want to be called. She wanted to stay just like she was right then forever. But the Fates seemed to have a dark sense of humor.

“Ginevra, come forth.”

Ginny pulled away from Draco, eyes wide.

“You can do this, Ginny,” he told her and she realized that the wall behind his eyes wasn’t there. It hadn’t been for a while. She’d gotten behind the mask he showed to the world without even realizing it. This was who Draco really was; this was the person she had begun to consider her friend. She trusted him. “You’re stronger than you think.”

She nodded.

“Go,” he told her.

Ginny spared one last glance at him before stepping forward. A myriad of emotions seemed to be running through her. Fright, panic, awe, and something she couldn’t quite name. This was it. This was the fulcrum on which the rest of her life turned. But she wasn’t afraid anymore. Draco would be there. He wouldn’t let her die.

She saw that David stood beside Sage in one of the points of the pentacle, and Alexis beside Nick in one right beside them. With a deep breath she stepped into the center.

The world stopped.

Everything seemed to be blocked out inside the pentacle. She couldn’t see the others, but she could feel their presence. All that she could see was Kiara, glowing.

“Extend your left arm,” she said.

Ginny did so calmly, to her own amazement. Seconds before she had been sobbing into Draco’s shirt, and now she was calm as can be. She would have shaken her head in the pure confusion of it all, but felt that it was inappropriate in the current situation.

Kiara touched a finger to Ginny’s exposed wrist and the beam of light descended upon her.

“Inde nunc donec
Infinitas phoenix mutus
Regnum insum te.”

Everything seemed to go in slow motion at that point. A wind raged inside the column. All she could see was white light. Pure white light. She tilted her head up, her hair flying up around her head. Then she saw something descend from above. The something seemed to be flying in a circular pattern around the column. When it was about two meters above her head, she saw what it was.

It was a phoenix.

She gasped as the phoenix flew lower until it was level with her eyes. The phoenix seemed to be looking at her face. No, it was looking at her eyes.

Ginny closed her eyes and a rush of memories overtook her.

The memories weren’t her own, she realized, but those of the Phoenixes that came before. There were battles and wars, and yet there was laughter and love. She saw the souls of all the others, albeit in different faces, but it was still the same people. She saw Sage, Alexis, David, Juli, Nick, Roby, Ryan, Maria.

Draco.

No wonder she felt so close to them. She’d known them since the beginning of time. She just hadn’t remembered.

She opened her eyes and the beam of light disappeared. The phoenix looked at her, turned into a beam of light, and shot into her left wrist.

A picture of a majestic phoenix bloomed on her wrist and glowed with the same pure white light.

Ginny looked up at Kiara who nodded. Without being told what to do, she knew. She walked into the point of the pentagram on the other side of Sage and David. She turned around just as the Wildcat called Draco.

He walked up, looking as confident as ever. He extended his arm and Kiara touched one of her glowing fingers to his wrist.

“Inde nunc donec
Infinitas draco mutus
Regnum insum te.”

The beam of light descended upon him and this time Ginny could see what it was inside the white light. It was a dragon.

Somehow, she wasn’t surprised. And somehow, she knew why she felt so attached to him. The Phoenix and the Dragon seemed to have history from what she could tell by the memories she’d glimpsed. What the history was, she didn’t know. She did know, however, that she was now forever bound to him, and the thought didn’t scare her at all.

The light disappeared and a silver dragon stood where Draco was, only for a moment though. The Wildcat nodded at him, and he walked towards Ginny, joining her in the point of the pentagram, standing on the other side of the candelabrum.

All the rest were called and dubbed in the same way. As Maria joined Roby in the last unoccupied point, Kiara lowered her hood.

“Place your left palm over your right,” she instructed them, her voice still as unearthly as it had been.

Ginny did so, seeing that the phoenix on her wrist was still glowing. The candles came floating off the candelabrums towards their hands. They stopped and hovered a few centimeters above their palms.

Ginny cast a glance at Draco. He looked so serious, yet oddly calm. Well, maybe not too oddly seeing as Ginny herself, who had been in hysterics moments earlier, was calm. Maybe it was because, in a way, they’d done this before. Turning her attention back to the ceremony, she wondered distantly if any of the other Phoenixes had had panic attacks and were comforted by the Dragons.

Kiara raised her arms above her head once more.

“First Warriors send down
Thy powers and bind your
Kind once more.
Bound they all shall be,
From now until eternity.”

A beam of white light shot from Ginny’s wrist, stinging terribly. She saw that the same had happened to all the others. The ten beams of light joined above the Wildcat’s head, forming a dome.

“Bound they all shall be,
From now until eternity.”

Another unearthly light spread from Kiara’s palms and into the web of beams above her. The light, which seemed to be every color at once, wound along the beams of white light and shot into the wrists of the ten Warriors.

A fire ripped through Ginny’s body. A painful, burning fire that consumed her.

She’d never experienced pain like this before, and it seemed as though she was burning from the inside out. Her body, her soul, her very essence, all burning. Another, stronger ripple of fire went through her. She screamed. She was burning, she would always be burning. It felt as though it would never end. And then, it did.

Ginny opened her eyes and saw that she was sitting on floor of the gym, hands on the floor. The candles were back on the candelabrum and extinguished, although the witchlights were now on. She turned around and saw that Draco, too was sitting on the floor. He was staring at the ground, breathing hard.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

He looked at her without really seeming to see her. “I’m not sure.”

She nodded, looking around at the others. They all seemed to be in much the same state, but they all looked to be alright.

“The Wildcat,” she whispered, realization finally hitting her.

Draco had gotten to his feet.

“What about her?” he asked.

Ginny looked up at him. “She’s gone.”

Draco scanned the room, a frown creasing his face.

“She said the force of giving us our powers would kill her,” he recounted. Ginny nodded.

He shook his head and looked down at her, still sitting on the floor.

“Can you get up?”

“I don’t know,” she said. He extended his hand to her and Ginny saw on his wrist the image of a silver dragon. When she was on her feet, she looked down at her own wrist. There was the image of a phoenix, just like it was before, although now it wasn’t glowing. This was the mark of the Warriors, she realized. In a frightening way, it made her think of the Dark Mark.

Draco took her hand, running his thumb over the picture of the phoenix, and sending chills down her spine.

“We’re the Warriors, now.”

Ginny looked up at him. “Yeah, we are.”

The others slowly drifted over to them, everyone seeming to be in a state of shock. Everyone seemed so serious and solemn.

“So you’re Phoenix, now,” Sage said, softly, but grinning a little. “I should have known.”

“Seeing as the two of y’all are in charge now and gonna have to work with each other, make us a promise, alright?” Ryan asked.

Draco raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Don’t kill each other.”

They all laughed a little uneasily.

Maria looked around the room, and sighed. “What do we do now?”

“Pack?” Nick suggested.

The others looked at him.

“He’s right,” Alexis sighed. “Kiara’s gone, and we’re leaving tomorrow.”

There were murmurs of agreement. Ginny bit her lip. She didn’t want to leave. This place and these people had become so familiar to her. Well, maybe become wasn’t the right word, she thought, and then shook her head. This was going to be so confusing now.

“What are we gonna do with the room?” Juli asked, looking around.

“I have a feeling the room is going to take care of itself,” Draco said.

And indeed, as they all exited out into the hall, the door to the gym disappeared altogether. The ten Warriors just stood there, staring at the door in silence.

“Anybody else have the feeling that the hotel’s gonna do the same thing?” Sage asked.

Ginny chuckled with the others.

“Yeah, I do,” she said.

Ali suddenly looked over at her, the gleam returning to her eyes a bit. “Let’s all pack and then I say we throw a party in honor of, well, this. And in honor of Miss Fe’s birthday.”

Ginny looked at her, eyebrows raised. “Fe?”

The blond girl grinned. “Yeah, as in short for Phoenix.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. Now Ali was going to call her that.

“So, what do you guys say?”

“Hear, hear!” David shouted.

“Hear, hear!” chorused the others. They seemed to be regaining their usual personalities.

Ali nodded. “Alright then, it’s settled. After we all pack, party in Draco and Ginny’s room.”

“Wait, why our room?” Draco asked.

Sage shook her head. “Silly little man.”

“Just accept it and move on,” Ginny advised him, placing her hand on his arm.

The Warriors continued on, still chatting.

“Stop!” Maria ordered, as they got down to the end of the hall.

They all came to a halt, looking at Maria.

“What is it?” Roby asked brow furrowed.

Maria looked very solemn. “Look back. There’s a good chance we’ll never be here again.”

Ginny turned around, looking down the hallway. Everything was going to change. Everything already was changing. For better or for worse, she didn’t know.

“Let’s go,” Juli said softly, turning around.

Ginny swiped at her eyes before turning around and following the others.

~ Two Hours Later ~

Ginny had been packing for the past two hours and was now nearly packed. Okay, maybe that was lie, she thought looking at the mountain of clothes on her bed. She was sitting by the foot of her bed packing her things. Nope. There was no maybe about it. She was still in the same unpacked state she’d been in two hours ago, not for lack of trying though.

“Catch,” Draco said from the doorway.

Ginny turned her body around and caught the green apple he had thrown to her.

“An apple?” she asked, looking from him to the apple dubiously. He was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame.

“It’s good for you,” he said. Ginny shrugged and took a bit of the apple, the sweet yet sour juice squirted into her mouth. Draco looked over at her bed and raised his eyebrows. “Still not packed?”

Ginny looked back at her bed and sighed. “No. I swear, I think my things have multiplied, or reproduced, or something! I did not come here with so much…stuff!”

Draco raised an eyebrow. “Reproduced?”

She shook her head, setting the apple down on her History of Magic textbook. “Nevermind.”

“I still don’t know why it’s taken you so long,” he drawled a few second later.

Ginny, who had been in the midst of folding a shirt, looked up and glared at him.

“Some of us, who don’t happen to be seventeen yet, can’t use magic to make our things pack for us.”

Draco chuckled, and got his wand out of the back pocket of his jeans. “Move aside, Red.”

Ginny did so, watching him. He muttered a spell and all of her things jumped into her trunk, folding themselves as they did so and when all was in the trunk, the lid snapped shut.

“Thanks,” she muttered as he walked into the room.

He shrugged, putting his wand back into his pocket and sitting down on his bed. “No problem.” He set his apple down on the bedside table.

Ginny turned around so that she could face him. She felt that a thank you was in order for what had happened that morning.

“Listen, Draco. Thank you for…what you did this morning. I really owe you,” she said, looking at the floor as she did so. “I just sort of panicked. I don’t know why, I just did.”

“Well, you’re welcome,” Draco said, somewhat awkwardly.

Ginny looked up at him. He looked at her for a second before turning away. Ginny couldn’t help but grin. She’d managed to make Draco Malfoy uncomfortable. She didn’t think it was even possible. He looked back at her and saw her grinning.

“What?” he asked irritably.

She just shook her head, grinning. “Nothing.”

Draco shot her one last skeptical look before standing up.

“The others should be here soon,” he said.

Ginny nodded. “Okay.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? ‘Okay?’”

“Well, what do you want me to say? Get the cannons ready?”

He crossed the room, shaking his head.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Ginny asked.

He turned around in the doorway, a looking a little confused. “What?”

Ginny pointed to the half eaten apple on the dresser.

Draco laughed.

“Oh, that. I thought you meant…” he shook his head. “Nevermind.”

Ginny watched him, eyebrows raised. This was a side of Draco she hadn’t seen before and she was finding it a little disturbing.

He turned back towards the door and then paused. “Ginny?”

“Hmm?”

He looked back at her. “Happy birthday.”

Chapter 12
The Journey Home

Ginny walked out of Kneazle’s Cave into the blinding sunlight outside.

“Mamma Mia,” breathed Juliana behind her. “It’s so hot!”

Ginny noticed that David and Sage were already outside, standing by their trunks and wearing sweatshirts.

“Are the two of you bloody insane?” asked a very cranky Draco, obviously noticing the same thing. Sage and David cast him a matching pair of dark looks. The effect was slightly ruined by Sage yawning hugely. Draco snickered.

The Warriors were all slowly creeping outside, waiting for the bus that would take them to the airport and from there to their various homes. Ginny and Draco were the only two headed for the same destination; London. She wheeled her trunk over to Sage and David, grinning at them broadly.

“Sleepy?” she asked as Sage yawned again.

“I went to bed at six in the morning,” she muttered, smoothing down her bangs. Ginny glanced up at the clock on the outside of the hotel. It read 8:12 a.m. The bus was coming in eight minutes. Looking around, she saw that all ten of them had assembled, standing around their assorted luggage. Everyone looked like they would much rather be in bed. Ginny smirked.

No wonder, she thought. Last night, the Warriors had partied until three in the morning. Well, at first the party had just been the lot of them watching an old movie called, ironically enough, “The Wizard of Oz.” As they watched the movie, they had chowed down on pizza, Chinese food, chips, and ice cream. Around ten, after the movie had ended, Roby had turned on the radio and a party had been born. Ginny had spent nearly five hours dancing and singing like a lunatic. She’d even danced with Draco, who, unsurprisingly, was a great dancer.

The girls had all gotten extremely hyper from the amount of caffeine and sugar that had been consumed. They had sang, loudly and badly, and danced, crazily and uncoordinated. Actually, not the whole party had been crazy. She had found out some interesting things about her fellow Warriors.

Roby, it turned out, was an extremely good musician; he played the guitar and sang. Very well. She’d learned Juli loved to dip sour cream and onion chips into chocolate ice cream, which was, in her opinion, a little disgusting. Apparently, Nick’s parents were good friends with Viktor Krum’s parents, and the two had known each other since childhood even though one was Bulgarian and the other Russian. When Ginny had asked him if he had ever heard of Hermione Granger he had laughed and said, mimicking Viktor’s speech, “Of course I’ve heard of Herm-own-ninny.”

They had had a good time. Almost as though they’d known each other for years and not only a few weeks.

“It’s okay though,” Sage said brightly, jarring Ginny out of her thoughts. “I’m gonna sleep on the plane so the jet lag’s not too bad.”

“Sage?” David asked, hesitantly.

“Yes?”

“You live in the same time zone.”

They all stared at Sage in silence until Ryan burst out laughing. The others soon followed.

Sage hung her head looking hilariously sad.

“Shut up,” she muttered darkly, only adding to Ginny’s laughter.

Everyone had just calmed down enough to have coherent conversations, when Alexis began singing. It seemed an encore of the previous night was in order.

“We’re off to see the Wizard!” she sang loudly. She skipped up to Ginny and Sage, linked arms with them and forced them to skip with her. She didn’t actually do anything to force them, but it was either skip, or get dragged along behind her. As Ali struck up the chorus for the second time, Ginny and Sage joined in.

“We’re off to see the Wizard!
The wonderful Wizard of Oz!
Because, because, because, because, because!
Of all the wonderful things he does!
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!”

The three completed the chorus, tripped over a bag and went sprawling on the ground. Ginny laughed as she landed on her butt. While Alexis had landed flat on her stomach, Sage had tripped, done a sort of roll and landed a few feet away from them, sitting up.

The other seven started laughing again.

“Are you alright?” Maria asked through her laughter.

“Nah, we’re fine,” Ali shrugged, brushing the dust off of her denim shorts.

Ginny couldn’t help laughing. “Sage? Are you getting up?”

Sage looked at her, seeming a little confused. “Perhaps…”

Ginny looked over at Draco, who was shaking his head and laughing.

“You find my clumsiness amusing?” she asked him, hands on her hips and grinning.

“Very,” he retorted, picking up his bag and walking right past her onto the bus that had just arrived.

The ten clambered onto the bus laughing and chatting. The poor bus driver looked a little frightened of them. Ginny couldn’t imagine why.

She sat with Sage in the back. After a decisive game of rock-paper-scissors, Ginny happily plopped down in the window seat. Ah, how she loved the window seat. Draco and David sat in front of them, laughing about something. Probably the earlier fall, the redhead mused.

The bus took off down the road. Ginny looked out the window, watching Kneazle’s Cave until it disappeared. Literally. Ginny gasped. Just as they’d predicted, the moment they’d left the premises, the hotel had disappeared as though it had never even existed.

“Did you see that?” she asked no one in particular.

“Yeah,” Sage sighed beside her. “It’s kind of sad, isn’t it?”

Ginny nodded, still looking out the window. “Yeah, it is.”

Amidst all that morning’s joy, she still felt a little melancholy. It was like the end of some grand adventure, one that she didn’t want to end. She didn’t particularly like the idea of going back to normal life. For the past two months it seemed like she’d been in a sort of limbo. Ginny pouted. She liked limbo.

Beside her Sage had started singing a song that was remotely familiar.

“What is that?” Ginny asked.

There was loud groan from the seat in front of her and David hoisted himself up above the seat.

“It’s her psychotic version of ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends,’” he explained. “Please don’t get her started. I’ve had to listen to it all morning. If I hear one more thing about infection, I’m gonna hurl.”

“Infection?” Draco asked, copying David.

David shook his head. “You don’t wanna know. Just don’t get her started.”

Sage laughed maniacally. “Too late!”

“Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Male pandas till the end, why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t your mama die and kosher bacon be fried?”

As she sang, with much feeling, she narrated the lyrics with her hands, her brown, black and blond ponytail swaying in time with the rhythm.

“Does kosher bacon even exist?” Draco interrupted.

Sage stopped and looked down sadly.

“No,” she said in a little girl’s soft, high pitched voice.

Ginny grinned. “Somebody’s hungry.”

The other girl gasped over-dramatically and grabbed Ginny’s shoulders. “Oh my god! How did you know?”

“Too close!” the red haired witch squeaked.

Sage looked at her wide eyed for a few more moments before sitting back and starting a new chorus as though the past couple of minutes hadn’t even happened.

Ginny looked back at the guys, eyebrows raised and grinning. David chuckled, running a hand through his spiky green and black hair.

“And I have to spend the rest of the year with her…”

Draco snorted. “I can sympathize.”

Ginny narrowed her eyes at him. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Take a wild guess,” he smirked.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

“Oh mature,” David snorted.

“I never said I was,” she shot back. Satisfied, she settled back in her seat and stared out the window. Draco and David sat down again, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like ‘women.’ Next to her, Sage was still singing.

“Gonna smother you in butter,
Croissants are like no other!
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?”

~

The ten Warriors had stuck together all through baggage drop-off and security checks, but now it was time to go their separate ways. It seemed that nobody wanted to be the first to leave, so they all just stood around in a large huddle in the terminal, getting some odd stares from the Muggles.

“Well,” Maria said softly. “This is it.”

Maria seemed to always be the one who brought them back to reality.

There were some low murmurs of agreement, but nobody made a move to say goodbye.

Suddenly, Ali flung her arms around Sage’s neck.

“I’m gonna miss you!” she cried.

Sage had jumped at first, but then hugged the blond girl back.

“Aw, I’m gonna miss you, too.”

That had seemed to spur them all to start their goodbye’s. The girls hugged everyone fiercely, the guys not resisting their public displays of affection. Nick even kissed Ginny on the cheek. Juli hugged her tightly, and when she pulled away, Ginny saw that the slightly older witch had tears in her eyes.

“I should go,” Juliana said to them all. “My plane’s leaving soon.”

“Yeah, mine too,” Roby sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, his guitar case in the other.

Indeed at that moment the intercom blared announcing that flight 762 to Rome and flight 356-B to Montreal were now boarding.

“Stay in touch, dude,” David said shaking Draco’s hand.

“You too, mate.”

Ginny hugged Sage, tears filling her eyes. The two had become such close friends, Ginny couldn’t imagine that they wouldn’t see each other for Merlin only knew how long.

“See you, Says.”

“I’m gonna miss you, Gin,” the gray eyed witch said, then pulled away, tears in her eyes but grinning wickedly.

“Be sure to owl me when you screw Draco,” she whispered with a wink.

Ginny’s jaw dropped and she seemed to choke on the air itself. “Excuse me?”

Sage laughed and hugged her stunned friend one last time. “You like him, don’t deny it.”

Slowly, they all started to walk away, nobody wanting to. After one last hug from Ryan, Ginny and Draco were the only two left, their flight leaving in about an hour.

“Let’s go?” she asked him.

He nodded, and together they set off towards their gate in a comfortable silence. Ginny was glad for it, because she was feeling slightly choked up. She’d gotten so close to the other Warriors, it was hard to imagine life without them. Without Sage’s random comments and David’s chameleon-like hair. Seriously, she was beginning to wonder if he was a Metamorphmagus. She’d miss Ali’s hyperactivity, Nick’s subtle sweetness, Juli’s purely female arrogance, which was actually quite funny once you got to know her. Ryan’s severely southern accent, Maria’s down to earth attitude and Roby’s calming presence would all be very missed.

She heard Draco chuckle lightly beside her.

“What’s so funny?”

He looked over at her, his eyes silver with mirth. “You, Ali and Sage tripping.”

Ginny grinned. “Were we really that horrible?”

“The dancing; yes. The singing; no.”

The redhead raised her eyebrows. “We weren’t dancing, we were skipping. And you thought our singing was good?”

“Not good, per say, but not bad. You actually have a nice voice.”

Ginny stopped, surprised. Was he…complimenting her?

“Really?” she asked. This was so unlike Draco, it was almost frightening.

He stopped a couple paces in front of her and looked back, smirking. “Oddly enough.”

“Hey!” she squealed, caught up to him and hit him hard on the arm.

“What is it with you and my arm?” he asked, wincing and rubbing the offended limb.

Ginny looked at him, with a smirk to match his own infamous one. “You deserved it.”

Draco actually laughed, and to her utter surprise, put his arm around her waist.

“Let’s go Weaslette, or our plane is going to leave without us.”

~

An hour later, Ginny and Draco were making their way through the aisles of seats on the airplane, looking for their seats.

“Here’s my seat,” the redhead announced, looking at the little sign above the seat. 47 A/B. She glanced down at her ticket. Yep, here it was, Seat 47 B.

Draco groaned behind her. “I can’t bloody believe this.”

“What?” Ginny asked, depositing her bag in her seat. Draco showed her his ticket. Seat 47 A it read. Ginny grinned wickedly at him.

Draco sighed. “Move out of the way.”

Ginny bit her lip, not moving an inch.

“Draco?” she asked quietly.

“Hmm?” he said looking up. Upon seeing her face his eyes widened.

“No!” he exclaimed.

“Please?”

“No!”

“Please?”

“No!”

“Please?”

“For Merlin’s sake, no!”

“Pretty please with a cherry on top?”

“No!” Draco protested. “I am not giving you the window seat!”

Ginny stuck out her bottom lip just a little, putting the most innocent expression on her face and making the puppy eyes that always got her exactly what she wanted from her brothers. She watched Draco’s face go from determined, to uncertain, to resigned, all within a matter of seconds.

“Fine,” he grumbled.

A broad grin spread over Ginny’s face.

“Thank you!” she exclaimed, and hugged Draco. As he tensed at her touch, Ginny realized what she was doing and sprung away.

“Sorry,” she muttered and moved into her seat.

Draco put his bag up into the overhead compartment, not saying anything. Ginny got up again to put up her own bag, but he took it from her and put it up.

“Thanks,” she muttered, still a little embarrassed.

“No problem,” he said and sat down beside her.

~ 4 Hours Later ~

Ginny sat back in her seat, sighing. The flight so far had been nothing but boredom and trying (and failing) to get to sleep. There were still five hours to go. She sighed, and turned towards the window. They were currently flying over a sea of clouds, all fluffy and white with the sun shinning on them, casting golden shadows. It was quite breathtaking.

About an hour ago, she’d woken up from a fitful, restless sleep. She looked out the window and thought for a moment that the clouds were in fact icebergs and that they were flying over a frozen bit of the Atlantic. She’d been quite convinced of it for about thirty seconds, before noticing that the ‘icebergs’ actually looked like cotton candy.

At that moment, the plane turned and Ginny got an eyeful of bright, piercing sunlight. Making a face, she looked over at the seat next to her, which was thankfully not bright. Actually, the seat beside her was currently empty. They had just eaten ‘dinner,’ as the air service called it, and Draco had decided to go to the bathroom, leaving her alone. Before he’d gone though, he’d ranted for a full ten minutes about disgusting lavatories and filthy Muggles, which then turned into a rant about not being flown first class, or at least business class before Ginny had shooed him away.

Ginny grinned. She guessed some things would never change.

The airplane stewardess rolled up her cart, pots of tea and coffee perched precariously on it.

“Miss, would you like some coffee or tea?”

“Coffee’d be nice,” Ginny smiled.

The stewardess poured Ginny a cup of steaming hot coffee.

“Milk or sugar?”

“Both, please.”

The stewardess passed her the steaming cup.

As Ginny took a sip, the stewardess spoke again.

“And your husband?”

Ginny choked and sputtered, the hot coffee burning her mouth and throat. She set the cup down, eyes wide.

“No, no, no. You see, he’s not- we’re not- I…” Ginny trailed off not even being able to finish the sentence.

“Oh, I’m sorry, you just looked- nevermind,” the stewardess shook her head. “Your boyfriend, then?”

Ginny shook her head, still looked at the stewardess, shocked.

“Oh. I’m so sorry. Do you know if he would like something?”

The poor air hostess looked at a loss of what to do.

“Um…”

“Coffee. Yeah, coffee. Definitely. He’s coffee, yeah. Definitely coffee,” she rambled.

The stewardess quickly poured the cup, set it down and took off as fast as the cart would let her.

Ginny stared at her coffee. Why in Merlin’s name did she think Draco was her… her… She shook her head. No way in hell. For Merlin’s sake! She was only sixteen! How old did she look?

“How’d I get coffee?” Draco asked, interrupting her thoughts.

“Stewardess,” Ginny said as offhandedly as she could.

“Oh,” he said, sitting down and taking a sip. He grimaced. “This is disgusting.”

Ginny smirked at him, and looked back out the window, staring at the clouds and trying to forget the earlier incident. This was nice. You couldn’t fly this high up on a broomstick. She’d never seen the clouds like that before. They were so beautiful.

“You know what just struck me?”

“Lightning?” Draco answered cheekily.

She scowled at him. “No, not lightning. I rather like flying in aeroplanes.”

Draco shook his head. “You are insane, Weaslette.”

“Occasionally,” she shrugged, making Draco laugh.

~

The two newly christened Warriors passed into baggage claim at London Heathrow Airport, Ginny laughing hysterically and Draco looking quite horrified.

As they had been standing in line at passport control, a woman who looked to be around sixty years old had started flirting shamelessly with Draco. From her accent, Ginny could tell she was from New York. He’d nodded and tried to ignore the woman as much as possible, Ginny sniggering by his side. As a window opened up, the old woman had winked at Draco.

“See ya, sweetheart,” she said edging closer. Draco had suddenly gone rigid, and watched the woman go up to the window, looking horrified.

Ginny snickered.

“I can’t believe she pinched my butt,” Draco muttered darkly.

That only set Ginny off into hysterics once more.

“Think it’s funny, do you?” he asked.

The redhead looked at him helplessly, trying to contain her gales of laughter. “You had your laugh at me today- or yesterday- or whenever it was! Now it’s my turn.”

Draco had cast a dark look at her, but didn’t say anything more.

Ginny finally got herself under control by the time they got to the luggage carousel. Soon their trunks had arrived. Too soon for her liking. Draco hoisted first his trunk, then hers off the carousel.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she said.

“Consider it a last grace,” he smirked, setting her trunk on a trolley.

“Thanks,” she said, looking up at him.

Draco stood only a couple feet in front of her, a small smirk on his lips.

“So this is it, Weaslette,” he said.

“Draco?”

“Hmm?”

“Call me Ginny,” she told him, with a small smile.

Draco got the point, and nodded.

“It’s been an interesting summer,” he mused, running a hand through his hair.

Ginny snorted. Talk about an understatement. “Yeah, it has.”

They just stood and looked at each other for a few moments, neither knowing quite what to say. What did you say to someone who three months ago was your arch enemy and now was- did she dare say- a friend?

Ginny felt a pair of eyes on her, and looked to the side, Draco following her gaze. The stewardess from earlier was standing a few meters away, scrutinizing them. Seeing them seeing her, she quickly looked the other way and walked off.

Ginny tried and failed to repress a giggle.

“What was all that about?” Draco asked, puzzled.

The redhead shook her head. “Nothing.”

Draco looked at her suspiciously for a moment.

“I really ought to go,” he said, running a hand through his hair again, making a few strands stand on end. Ginny giggled. Draco looked at her, a little confused. She pointed to his hair and he smoothed it down, looking annoyed.

“I do not like aeroplanes,” he muttered.

Ginny smiled at him, feeling a little melancholy. “I should go.”

He nodded. Suddenly, Ginny stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder. She stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek.

“Take care of yourself, Draco,” she said, stepping back.

“You too,” he answered.

With a last smile at Draco, Ginny wheeled her trolley around and walked purposefully towards the double doors through which she would finally leave this fantastic adventure she’d been on.

She didn’t see Draco watching her intently. Nor did she him sigh and mumble. “What in Merlin’s name are you doing to me, Weaslette?”

Chapter 13
Return to Hogwarts

Ginny kissed her mother and father good-bye and clambered onto the Hogwarts Express. Thankfully, the first compartment that she came to was empty. With a sigh, she sat down. What a week, she thought, blowing a stray piece of hair out of her face. It was good to have a moment alone to herself.

When only her mother and father had greeted her at London Heathrow, she’d assumed that her week would be quiet and calm, that she’d have a chance to gather her thoughts, relax and so on. Her father would constantly be at work, her mum in the kitchen, occasionally swooping down on her. Ron, Harry and Hermione would be absorbed in something or other, only occasionally bothering to notice her.

Hogwarts, year six, lesson one- never assume.

When the mother, father and daughter had arrived at the Burrow, Ginny’s assumptions had been shot multiple times, kicked around some and then stomped on by a herd of wild bulls. The herd of wild bulls known as her brothers.

All but one of them.

Not only were Harry, Hermione and Ron there, but so were Fred, George, Bill, Fleur and Charlie with his new (but apparently serious) girlfriend, Julia. Apparently, her return from the States was to be a celebrated occasion, including a “Welcome Home” bash and the whole lot of them staying at the Burrow for the week. While Molly Weasley had been thrilled about having a full-to-bursting house, her daughter wasn’t.

Okay, so she’d been expecting questions about her trip, but figured that if she just gave out standard answers and acted as though the whole thing had been extremely boring, they’d just leave her alone.

Hogwarts, year six, lesson two- family is extremely persistent.

She was asked everything from ‘how was the trip’ to ‘did any of the professors smell?’ Each question was asked multiple times, and try as she did to give the most mundane of answers- they kept on! Not only that, but she’d nearly had a heart attack when her father had been levitating her trunk in. Bill had asked him a question, Arthur Weasley had turned around to answer, and Ginny’s trunk had fallen, the contents of it going everywhere. Not only did that including her clothes and underthings, which was mortifying enough, but her newly acquired weaponry as well. Thankfully though only one of her knives had fallen out and she’d been able to snatch it up before anyone saw. She’d been sure her heart would never return to its normal rhythm.

All week she hadn’t had a moment to herself. Not that she didn’t appreciate what her family had done, she did, and she loved them all dearly- even annoying Fleur at times- but their timing was terrible. Then again, how were they supposed to know how draining the past weeks had been for her?

Ginny shook her head and sunk lower in her seat, staring at the rumbling floor of the compartment. It was a rich burgundy color with some sort of intertwining gold pattern. Interesting, she’d never really noticed the carpet of the Express before. She yawned widely.

For some completely unknown reason, the moment she’d gotten home she felt ridiculously drained. Weak, even. At first she’d attributed it to Mr. Jetlag deciding to become her best friend, but soon realized that time difference had nothing to do with it. She supposed it must be some odd sort of side effect of getting her full Warrior powers. Ah, the Warriors. How she missed them all already.

At that moment the compartment door slid open, interrupting her thoughts.

“Hey,” Harry said, with a lopsided grin. “Mind if I join you?”

Yes, she did mind, but sadly he was too sweet to turn down.

She managed a smile. “No, not at all.”

She looked him over, almost critically. Was this really the same boy that she’d had a slight crush on five years ago? Okay, so that was a lie- hopeless crush. No, that didn’t quite fit either. Obsession! There we go, obsession. Was he really the same boy that she’d been obsessed with five years ago?

He was much taller now- her head only reaching his chin, but his hair was still just as unmanageable and wild as it always had been. And his eyes- although now they were often serious and always sparkled with a deep emerald determination, they currently danced with mischief. Ginny suddenly realized that she knew the Boy Who Lived much better than she’d thought. Well, alright, maybe that wasn’t so surprising. They had dated for a bit the year before, but had mutually broken up a few weeks before term ended, much to her mother’s dismay. Harry claimed that she was too much of a sister to him. Ginny felt much the same, but had still been a little disappointed. She’d imagined that dating Harry Potter, her obsession of many years, would be like a fairy tale come true. In reality though, it’d been awkward and strange. Rather anticlimactic, really.

“Shouldn’t you be at the Prefects’ meeting?” Harry asked, interrupting her thoughts once more. Why were people so damn adamant to talk to her lately? Then the question registered in her mind, and Ginny couldn’t stop the smirk that crossed her features.

“Yes, I should.” She’d been made a prefect last year.

“Now it really is everyone in the family!” Molly Weasley had crooned.

Harry chuckled. “And why aren’t you?”

“Because I’ve heard our dearest Head Girl’s speech a million and one times. If I hear it once more, I’m going to start reciting it in my sleep!” Hermione Granger had, of course, been given the title of Head Girl. Ginny continued. “If I hear one more thing about ‘making her reign count’ I am going to go mad.”

Harry chuckled again. “Trust Hermione to take being Head Girl as seriously as though she’d just been crowned Queen.”

Ginny laughed. “I wonder who the Head Boy is, though.”

“I don’t really care,” the raven haired wizard shrugged. “Just as long as it’s not Malfoy.”

Ginny’s heart skipped a beat. This was the first time anyone had brought up Draco and she had the sudden urge to defend him.

“I dunno,” she said carefully. “Even if he were, I think Hermione could keep him in check.”

“Keep who in check?” asked Neville Longbottom coming into the compartment.

The three greeted each other and Harry briefed Neville on what’d they’d been discussing. Neville, who was just as forgetful as always, and just as round faced, had gained some confidence over the past year. Around fellow Gryffindors, anyway.

Neville gave a shudder as he sat down beside Ginny. “I hope Malfoy’s not Head Boy. He’ll be a holy terror.”

More like unholy terror, Ginny thought with some amusement.

“How was your trip?” Neville asked her.

“Huh?” she asked, confused. “Oh! The trip. Nothing special really. Dreadfully boring.”

At that moment the compartment door crashed open and Ron stormed in, face as red as his hair. Ginny sighed heavily. So much for peace and quiet.

“What’s up?” Harry asked.

“Malfoy,” Ron growled.

“What about him?” Ginny asked curiously. The meeting surely couldn’t be over yet. They’d barely been on the train fifteen minutes.

“Malfoy,” her brother ground out. “Is the fucking Head Boy.”

Harry’s jaw clenched. “Perfect. Last thing we need is a Death Eater as Head Boy.”

Ginny really did bite her tongue to keep from blurting out. How dare they call Draco a Death Eater! They had no right!

“Malfoy is Head Boy in name alone,” Hermione declared, coming in.

With a certain degree of annoyance, Ginny realized that her compartment had now become theirs. Wonderful. Abso-bloody-lutely wonderful. If she wanted peace and quiet, she was going to have to leave sooner or later. Great.

“What do you mean?” Neville asked quietly.

“I mean,” answered the brunette huffily. “That Malfoy is not going to be doing anything. It’s a perfect plan. I want to accomplish a lot this year, and Malfoy won’t want to do anything. I don’t trust him with the Heads work, so I’m going to be doing it all anyway. It’s all really just a big inconvenience to him, so he can just sit around as a figure, or whatnot. He won’t be getting in my way, and he won’t have to do anything. It’s a win-win situation.”

Ginny restrained a snort. How little she understood Draco. He’d catch on to what she was trying to do within a couple of days. He’d figure it out and then do everything in his power to make her plan go awry.

“Really! What was Dumbledore thinking?” Hermione huffed, sitting down beside Harry. “At least he’s not making us share a common room.”

The redhead’s ears pricked up. “What do you mean?”

Hermione settled back and sighed. Ginny had recognized this to mean that she was about to launch into an explanation of something that she reckoned should be common knowledge, but apparently only she knew. “The Head Boy and Girl always have private rooms that adjoin to a common room that they share. It’s been done that way for quite a while now. But this year, I get my own rooms on one side of the castle and Malfoy has his own on the other side of the castle.”

Ginny saw Ron’s eyebrows go up, a look of delight briefly lighting up his features, and repressed a snort.

“So,” Ginny pressed on. “You each have your own private rooms?”

The brunette nodded. “Yes, exactly.”

Ginny nodded. This was good. She and Draco would have to practice hand-to-hand combat occasionally and she really hadn’t fancied using the Room of Requirement. Now though, they could practice in his rooms. Hopefully. She’d thought about practicing in her rooms, but they were much too small. Ginny smiled faintly as she pictured her rooms. She was thankful that she didn’t share a dormitory with the other girls in her year. Since her second year she had had her own rooms just down the hall from Gryffindor tower. The only good thing that had come from that damn diary.

She’d been fine that summer, but when she returned to Hogwarts she had started having horrible nightmares. At least twice a week she would wake up screaming. Madame Pomfrey had tried giving her a Dreamless Sleep potion, but it had only worked for a week. The nightmares returned with renewed force. The other girls started to complain, and Professor McGonagall had given the red head her own rooms. Now, four years later and nightmare free, she still had the rooms. She hadn’t requested to go back to the dorm simply because she couldn’t stand the other Gryffindor girls in her year. And anyway, who would give up their own private rooms?

Ginny frowned. Sweet Circe, why was everyone interesting at least a year older than her? Besides Sage, of course. Suddenly there was a hand waving in front of her face. The red head swiped at it annoyed.

“What?” she snapped.

“For the millionth time,” Ron grumbled, looking annoyed. “Do you have a quill?”

Ginny restrained a growl. They had come into her compartment acting as if it was their own, ignored her, and then had the gall to be annoyed with her?

She stood up quickly. “No, as a matter of fact, I don’t.”

“Where are you going?” Harry asked her, looking bemused.

“For a walk,” she said, before slamming the compartment door behind her.

“Wonder what’s got her knickers in a twist,” she distinctly heard Ron say.

With a last growl, she began to stalk down the corridor. To her great displeasure, the corridor was quite crowded with people- some of which stopped to chat with her. Ginny tried to smile and be pleasant. After all, they hadn’t done anything to her. It was the Golden Trio plus Neville on her nerves. Okay, so Neville really hadn’t done anything, he was just there. But sweet Merlin! She hated being the bloody tag-along!

She was nearly at the end of the train when she saw a couple (two fifth year Ravenclaws) snogging unabashedly. Ginny made a face as they broke apart, a string of spit connecting their mouths.

“Ginny!”

The Phoenix looked between the two Ravenclaws (and over the spit string) and saw Colin Creevey jogging towards her. Ginny opened her mouth to warn him of the spit string, but before she’d had the chance to make a sound, Colin ran right through it.

Hogwarts, year six, lesson three- beware of spit strings.

She cringed and saw Colin’s expression change from one of delight to surprise to disgust all in about a second. The two Ravenclaws started laughing, and fell into the open compartment behind them.

“Are you alright?” Ginny asked, cautious not to get too close.

Looking thoroughly disgusted, Colin wiped off the saliva running down his face.

“It’s in my eye,” he muttered, trying not to move his lips too much, a drop of spit dangerously near his mouth.

Trying hard not to laugh, Ginny pulled out her wand. “Scourgify.”

“Thanks,” Colin muttered, grimacing.

The red head couldn’t restrain the snort of laughter that escaped her.

“Sorry,” she choked out.

Colin gave her a wry smile. “I guess that’s kind of funny.”

That only set Ginny off into a bout of giggles. So maybe she’d been wrong about everyone interesting being older than her.

Colin suddenly glanced at his watch. “Listen, Ginny, I’ve got to go.”

She nodded, still giggling. “Sure.”

“We’ll talk later?”

“Of course.”

“And uh- don’t mention this to anyone, okay?” Colin asked, hopefully.

Ginny laughed. “No problem.”

She watched Colin continue on his way, and nearly jumped when she heard a voice from behind.

“Did I really just see Creevey run into a string of saliva?”

Ginny spun around and found herself face to face with the new Head Boy. He smirked at her and pulled her into the compartment he was leaning out of.

“Yes, you did,” she answered.

“Pity nobody had a camera,” Draco drawled.

Ginny gave him a look and walked around him to sit down. Draco sat down across from her. They just stared at each other for a few odd moments. Ginny noted that he was already in his school uniform, the Head Boy badge gleaming on his chest. Suddenly, the silence seemed awkward.

“How were the rest of your hols?”

“Why weren’t you at the meeting?”

The two questions were asked at exactly the same time. Ginny looked at Draco sheepishly. Taking her silence as a signal, he repeated his question.

“Why weren’t you at the meeting?”

The red head rolled her eyes. “Because I’ve heard Hermione’s speech a million and one times.”

Draco raised an eyebrow, the mood lightening in the small compartment. “And what if I had had a speech?”

Ginny raised an eyebrow in answer. “Did you have a speech?”

The Dragon shook his head, a wicked grin on his lips. “I’m afraid you’ll never know. Now, if you had been at the meeting in the first place, you would have known.”

“I could just ask Hermione,” the red haired witch scoffed. “Or any other Prefect. Ha, Malfoy! Your plan has a hole in it!”

“Fine, you win this one,” Draco chuckled. “You will be at the next meeting though?”

“What? Missed me?” she teased.

“Never,” he shot back. “Just wondering how many Weasleys I’m going to get to order around.”

Ginny grinned at him. “You missed me. And none, Hermione won’t let you.”

Draco scoffed at this. “Let her try.”

“What are you doing here anyway?” Ginny asked him, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees.

“Avoiding Pansy,” Draco said with a shudder.

Ginny couldn’t help the grin that crossed her face. “And I’m better company?”

“Simply because you’re easier to get a rise out of,” the blond wizard said with an obnoxious smirk.

Ginny gasped. “I resent that comment!”

Draco leaned back, linking his hands behind his head. “Currently you resemble that comment.”

Ginny gaped at him wordlessly trying, and failing, to come up with a cutting comeback.

“Miss me, Red?”

Closing her mouth with a snap, Ginny realized she had.

~

Ginny jumped off the train happily following the Trio, Neville and Colin. The reason for her improved mood was that she’d spent the better part of the train ride talking (and trading insults) with Draco. They’d put a Silencing Charm on the door and locked it, as an extra safety measure. Not that anyone was looking for them.

Draco had told her he often split off from the group of Slytherins to be alone, and Ginny’s company had assumed that she was with Luna. Truth was, she had no idea where Luna was. She was actually starting to get a bit worried. Luna was almost her only girl friend at Hogwarts. Sure there was Hermione, but still. Hermione had Harry and Ron.

As the Gryffindors neared the carriages, Ginny wasn’t all too surprised to find that she could see the thestrals. After all, she’d seen death that summer. Maybe not human death, but death nonetheless.

“Those things are disturbing,” Harry muttered in front of her.

“The thestrals?” she asked.

Harry turned around. “Yeah. Be glad you can’t see them.”

Ginny looked over at the thestrals pulling the carriage the Gryffindors were getting into. Their skeletal bodies, white eyes and leathery wings struck her the most. They weren’t disturbing. So they weren’t the most beautiful things she’d every seen, but still. They almost had a sort of demonic beauty about them. She had the sudden urge to go over and pet one of them. She shook herself. Where did that come from? Shaking her head, she climbed into the carriage.

A few minutes later the carriage came to an abrupt halt, prompting the Gryffindors to climb out. Standing just outside the castle, Ginny looked up and marveled at its size. It was so big! Even after coming here for five years, she still felt like a first year every September first. With a small smile, she followed Colin inside.

Almost immediately she heard Professor McGonagall’s voice.

“Miss Weasley!”

Ginny spun around so fast that she nearly fell over. The Deputy Headmistress was striding towards her, best robes billowing around her. Instantly, the red head backtracked the day, trying to think of what she’d done wrong. Had someone found out that she’d been with Draco? No, that was ridiculous. Nobody had seen them.

“Don’t look so frightened, Miss Weasley,” McGonagall said. “You’re not in trouble.”

Somehow, this didn’t make Ginny feel any better.

“Follow me.”

With a shrug at the confused Trio, she followed McGonagall. After a couple minutes of silent but fast-paced walking, they arrived at the Transfiguration professor’s office.

Upon entering the office, Ginny saw that someone else was already there.

It was a girl who looked to about Ginny’s own age. She’d never seen her before, yet she was wearing a Gryffindor uniform. She was quite slender and had pin-straight black hair that hung down to the small of her back. She had sharp, delicate features and pale blue eyes which seemed to be taking in Ginny just as she was taking in the new girl.

Professor McGonagall closed the door behind them and swept over to her desk. “Miss Weasley, this is Cassie Jones. Miss Jones is a transfer student from Salem Academy of Magic. She is a sixth year and has been pre-sorted into Gryffindor. The two of you will be sharing a dormitory. We have expanded your current rooms Miss Weasley, and they will act as your dormitory.”

Ginny’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. McGonagall was not one to beat around the bush. Or maybe she just wants to get to the feast, the red head thought with some humor.

The professor in question tapped her foot. “Well?”

Ginny realized she was expecting an answer. “Um. Okay…”

She nodded curtly. “I trust you will show Miss Jones around the school. You may both go.”

Ginny caught the other girl’s eye and they both scurried out of the office. Once out in the hall, Cassie let out a breath.

“Sweet Jesus! Is she always that scary?” the new girl spoke with an American accent.

Ginny couldn’t help but grin. “Usually.”

Cassie’s eyes widened. “You’re joking.”

“No, I’m not.”

A slightly distraught expression settled onto Cassie’s features. “If you tell me she’s the nice teacher I’m going to run for the exit like, now.”

The red head laughed. “Do you even know where the exit is?”

The new girl’s eyes darted around their surroundings.

“Crap.”

Ginny grinned and motioned for Cassie to follow her. She was a very pretty girl, and judging by first glance Ginny’d assumed she was an airhead. So far though, Cassie was proving to be interesting.

She suddenly stuck out her hand. “I’m Cassie.”

Ginny shook her hand. “Ginny Weasley.”

“Weasley?” she asked surprised.

Ginny nodded, suddenly suspicious.

“Your family wouldn’t happen to own Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, would it?” the raven haired girl asked hopefully.

Ginny laughed out loud. “My brothers, Fred and George, do.”

Cassie grinned wickedly. “Sweet.”

“And to answer your earlier question, no. McGonagall is possibly the scariest professor here. Besides Snape, but he’s just nasty.”

Cassie rolled her eyes. “Wonderful.”

The two girls had walked into the Entrance Hall, and Ginny was surprised to see that students were still pouring in.

“So, uh,” the new girl began. “What exactly do those two scary doors lead to?”

Ginny saw her pointing to the doors of the Great Hall, which were actually thrown open. “The start of year feast.”

Cassie’s eyebrows shot up.

“Feast?” she asked eagerly. Ginny couldn’t help but laugh at the delighted expression on the girl’s face.

“Yes, feast. And the food is amazing.”

“Oh thank God! I’m starving!”

The two walked into the Great Hall, navigating towards the Gryffindor table. Ginny pointed out to Cassie the different tables and told her a little about each house. If they were going to be living together, she could at least be friendly. And who said they couldn’t grow to be friends?

“Ooh,” Cassie suddenly cooed. “Who’s the hot blond dude at the Slytherin table?”

Ginny knew who the new girl was referring to before she even followed Cassie’s gaze. Draco Malfoy was sitting at the Slytherin table, chatting animatedly with Blaise Zabini.

“That’s Draco Malfoy,” she explained, trying to keep her voice devoid of any emotion. “But I wouldn’t set my sights on him.”

Cassie looked over at her as they continued their progress. “Why? Girlfriend?”

Ginny had the horrible feeling of having her insides drenched in ice water at the thought of Draco with a girlfriend. She shook off the feeling. “No. There’s just a lot of… animosity between the Gryffindors and Slytherins.”

The new girl looked a little put out. “So all Slytherin guys are off-limits?”

Ginny couldn’t help but laugh at her facial expression. “Pretty much.”

“Well that’s stupid,” Cassie huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, looking for all the world like a five year old.

Ginny laughed again, but couldn’t help privately agreeing. They’d reached the Gryffindor table and she motioned for Cassie to sit beside her. Ginny had sat down beside Hermione who was sitting beside Ron and across from Harry. Further down the table were the sixth and seventh year Gryffindors. Colin, Lavender, Parvati, Seamus, Dean, Neville and a few others. Ginny cast a glance at Cassie who nodded at her, seeming to be a bit nervous. Ginny cleared her throat, and everyone turned to look at first her, then at the new girl sitting beside her. Cassie seemed to shrink from the stares directed at her.

“This is Cassie Jones,” Ginny announced. “She’s transferred from Salem Academy.”

That seemed to trigger a round of introductions and questions. Cassie smiled and talked animatedly with everyone. Some even moved down the table to sit closer to her. Ginny was, once again, ignored. Wonderful, she thought. For a tiny, and admittedly stupid, moment she’d thought maybe she’d have a new friend. Cassie was just like the other airheads in her year. In the back of her mind she knew she was being extremely unfair and that Cassie had been nothing but nice to her, but she wasn’t feeling very charitable at the moment. Today was just not her day.

Suddenly the new girl elbowed Ginny in the ribs. She suppressed a yelp and looked at Cassie furiously. The raven haired girl looked frazzled.

“Help me!” she mouthed and Ginny nearly laughed. Perhaps Cassie was alright. The new girl’s saving actually came in the form of the sorting. After the sorting hat had sang its song (once again of warning) and the first years had taken their seats, Professor Dumbledore stood up.

“Welcome all,” the Headmaster began. “I would like to welcome back our returning students, welcome in our first years and a new sixth year.”

A murmur went through the students who had not yet met Cassie, and the Gryffindors beamed with pride at having the transfer in their house. Casting a glance the object of everyone’s attention, Ginny had to repress a laugh. Cassie looked like she wanted to evaporate on the spot.

“This year we welcome a transfer student from Salem Academy of Magic,” Dumbledore continued, smiling. “Would Miss Jones please stand?”

Hesitantly, Cassie stood up at her seat. The Gryffindors burst into roaring applause, making her stare in incredulity at them. Ginny distinctly heard someone mutter “Gryffindor’s got all the good people.”

Apparently she wasn’t the only one, because the Great Hall broke into laughter. Dumbledore chuckled along with the other professors. Only the Slytherins looked unimpressed. Ginny did, however, see a look of mild amusement cross Draco’s face before turning cold again. Dumbledore nodded at Cassie to sit down and the blue eyed girl all but fell down into her seat.

“How long is this going to go on for?” she whispered to Ginny as Dumbledore continued his speech.

“What is?” Ginny asked.

“This whole me thing.”

The red head gave a small snort of laughter. “A couple of weeks.”

Cassie stared at her in disbelief. “Does nothing else interesting every happen around here?”

Ginny flashed her friend a bright smile. Funny, a moment ago she’d been the new girl, and now she was her friend. “Plenty. You’re just the current news.”

Cassie grumbled at that. Further conversation was halted by Professor Dumbledore sitting down and the food appearing. Casting a glance at the head table, Ginny supposed that the speech was shorter this year because there were no new professors to announce. Last year, Professor Snape had been appointed Defense Against the Dark Arts professor (much to most everyone’s horror) and Professor Slughorn had taken over as Potions professor. The only plus of Snape being the Defense professor was that everyone assumed he’d be gone by the start of the next year.

However, Professor Snape remained alive and well all throughout last school year. By the end of term, the student body had become divided. Half said Snape would be back next year while the other half said he’d die over the summer. Bets had even taken place over whether or not Snape would return. Sadly, he did.

Shaking her head, Ginny filled up her plate. To her astonishment, she saw Cassie had already piled up a plate full of food and was nearly half done. Casting a glance at her brother she saw that not even he had attacked his food with such ferociousness, and that was saying something.

Cassie caught her staring. “What? I’m hungry!”

Ginny laughed a little as she poured herself a goblet of pumpkin juice. Feeling a pair of eyes on her, she looked up. Draco was looking straight at her, a goblet in his own hand. With an almost imperceptible nod, he raised his goblet to her in a silent toast. She did the same, watching him watching her over the rim of her goblet.

Something told her this was going to be an interesting year.

Chapter 14
Cassie Jones


BRRRING! BRRRING! BRRRING!

A terrible, horrible, obnoxious, loud, annoying ringing hit Ginny’s eardrums, interrupting her peaceful slumber. The redhead groaned and pulled the covers over her head and curled up into a ball.

“Go away,” she mumbled, but the ringing only seemed to get louder. Angrily she threw off the covers and glared at the alarm clock causing the racket.

“I’m up,” she growled at it and stalked to the bathroom- only to find it occupied.

She let out a strangled cry and plopped down in front of the bathroom door. Perfect, she thought. Just the perfect way to start out the new school year. This was why she’d never liked the idea or the actual sharing of a room with someone else. Bathrooms were a pain to share. She’d always had to share everything. Coming to Hogwarts every year and having her own room, her own bathroom, her own everything had always been a sort of bliss for her. She sulkily picked some lint off of her pink flannel pajama pants. That bliss was over.

Suddenly the door she was sitting in front of swung open and a pair of small, pale feet with blue toenails came into view. Ginny looked up into the questioning gaze of her dormmate. She was wearing a blue spaghetti strap shirt and pair of purple pajama pants with blue bunnies on them. Her black hair was up in a sloppy bun at the top of her head and she looked much too awake for Ginny’s taste.

“Why… are you on the floor?” Cassie asked slowly.

Ginny picked herself up off said floor and gave her a look.

“Ah,” Cassie said with understanding. She moved out of the way and bowed Ginny into the bathroom.

The red head tried to smile at the new girl’s kindness, but it really turned out as more of a grimace. “Thanks.”

Cassie grinned. “No problem.”

Ginny gestured vaguely at the bathroom behind her. “I guess I’m gonna, you know, take a shower.”

“Good idea,” Cassie agreed, nodding, and looking as though she wanted to laugh.

“Not funny,” Ginny said shaking her head.

“Yeah funny.”

~

Fifteen minutes later Ginny was freshly showered and slightly more awake. She walked through the empty bedroom to the door and shut it. The rooms she’d lived in since her second year actually consisted of two large rooms and a bathroom.

If one were to exit Gryffindor tower and take a left at the Fat Lady, turned the corner and walked straight they would end up at a portrait of an insanely giggly nymph. Behind the nymph lay a short tunnel and then The Rooms. The first room was a sort of miniature common room. There was a fireplace, a small caramel sofa and a large, overstuffed armchair, which Ginny absolutely adored. There was a circular window and opposite it stood a mahogany desk, which was usually littered with parchment and quills.

By the window there was a door. The door led to Ginny’s beloved bedroom. It used to house her four poster bed, identical to the ones in Gryffindor tower, a small vanity and a dresser. Now however; the rooms had been expanded and another identical bed had appeared. Ginny had taken the bed nearest the window and dresser, while Cassie’s was by the vanity and bathroom.

After slipping on her shoes, Ginny crossed the room to the vanity and took a look in the mirror. She grimaced. Although her hair was straight, it was still a frizzy mess. One would think straight hair would be easy to manage. Not so. She resignedly reached for a small brown hair tie and put her hair up in a ponytail. After lining her eyes with a bit of brown eyeliner, she studied her reflection for a moment. A pale, freckle dappled face stared back at her. Her eyes had circles underneath them, her hair was a frizzy mess, and to top it all off, there was a spot coming in on her chin. Don’t I look stunning, she thought dryly.

Shaking her head, she went for the door, grabbing her bag on the way out. Not the vision of beauty she’d hoped to be on her first day back, but it was as good as it was going to get.

She was a little surprised to find Cassie sitting on the sofa, looking a little anxious.

“You’re still here,” Ginny said stupidly.

The raven haired girl raised her eyebrows. “Yeah. I kinda don’t know my way around.”

Ginny shook her head. “I’m sorry, I forgot. I don’t think I’m awake yet.”

Cassie stood up and swung her bag onto her shoulder. “Lucky you. I was so nervous, I woke up two hours before my alarm clock rang. I am normally not a morning person.”

The two girls headed out the portrait hole and down towards the Great Hall.

“Hogwarts is great,” Ginny said. “You’ll get used to it.”

Cassie made a dismissive motion with her hand. “It’s not that I’m worried about, I’m sure I’ll get used to the place soon. I just don’t think I’m ever gonna be able to find my way around!”

Ginny laughed, remembering thinking the same thing in her first year. She looked up at a painting they were passing and shuddered. It was a painting of a giant snake, wrapped around an old oak tree. The snake moved its head, its tongue darting out and in. The painting just screamed Darkness. How fitting.

“Talk about ominous,” Cassie muttered, following Ginny’s gaze.

She glanced over at her. “Really.”

~

By lunch, Ginny had forgotten all about the painting, and was thoroughly exhausted. She gratefully fell down into a seat at the Gryffindor table, Cassie collapsing beside her. The two girls had identical class schedules, which they had been quite pleased about. Cassie, so that she couldn’t get lost and Ginny, so that she’d have someone besides Colin in her classes. They’d just returned from Arithmancy, and Ginny was once again wondering why on earth she bothered with it.

“Tough morning?” Harry asked. The Trio had just arrived in the Great Hall and were taking seats across from the two sixth years.

Cassie, who had pushed away her plate and had her head resting on her folded arms, raised her eyebrows in answer.

“Where’d you lot come from?” Ginny asked.

“Double Potions,” Ron said with a shudder.

Hermione shot him a glance, before turning back to Ginny. “Slughorn’s nicer than Snape, of course, but it’s still dreadful.”

Ron’s eyebrows shot up. “But you’re good at Potions.”

“Just because I’m good at it, Ronald, doesn’t mean I like it.”

Ginny looked over at Cassie, who was looking thoroughly amused.

“And, uh,” Cassie began, smirking. “How long have you two been married?”

Ginny burst out laughing and Harry choked on the pumpkin juice he’d been drinking. Ron and Hermione stared at Cassie with shocked faces. She sat up and put her hands up in defeat, grinning.

“Sorry, but that was just too easy. No harm meant.”

Ron looked sheepish and Hermione looked indignant.

“We do not sound like, like…”

Ginny grinned.

“Hermione, you know I love you and you’re like a sister to me-” both Harry and Cassie snorted at this. Ginny’s grin widened and she continued. “But the two of you do sound like a married couple sometimes.”

“I didn’t mean to offend anyone,” Cassie said, looking a little uneasy.

“You didn’t,” Ron said, hurriedly. Ron was head over heels for Hermione, and Ginny thought he always would be, but he could never upset a pretty face.

Hermione shook her head. “Can we just change the topic. Please?”

Ginny restrained a grin. She didn’t think she’d ever seen Hermione so uncomfortable before.

“What’s so horrible about Potions, anyway?” Cassie suddenly asked.

“It’s Potions,” Ron stated, as though she’d just asked the world’s stupidest question. He took a bite out of the sandwich he was holding.

“Exactly. I love Potions.”

The noise level at the Gryffindor table dropped considerably. Ron’s jaw too had dropped, and a half-chewed sandwich was visible.

Cassie looked apprehensively around.

“You love Potions?” Ginny asked her dormmate incredulously.

“What’s wrong with Potions?” Cassie asked defensively.

“It’s Potions,” Ron repeated, swallowing his sandwich.

“So what?”

“It’s Potions.”

“Am I speaking a different language here?” Cassie exclaimed, looking exasperated.

“Welcome to my world,” Hermione said dryly.

The staring Gryffindors began to return to their previous conversations, and the noise level made its way up again.

Cassie ‘humphed’ and looked at Ginny, seemingly peeved. “What is the big deal?”

Ginny shook her head, still a little shocked. How could anyone even like Potions? “It’s a long story.”

“When does our next class start?” Cassie asked. Ginny started at the sudden change of topic but checked her schedule, nonetheless.

“Twenty minutes from now. Why?”

“Okay,” Cassie said, sounding decisive. “We’ve got time. Tell me the long story.”

Her suddenly demanding attitude irked Ginny a little. Who was she to give commands? She bit her tongue and decided to answer as pleasantly as she could.

“Sure,” she leaned towards Cassie. “You see the professor on the end there?”

Cassie followed Ginny’s gaze and made a face. “You mean the one that looks like a vampire?”

Ginny gave an involuntary snort. “Yeah, him.”

Cassie suddenly closed her eyes, lips pursed. “He teaches Potions, doesn’t he?”

A grin spread over the red head’s features. Cassie was quicker than she’d thought. “Taught.”

Cassie opened her eyes and furrowed her brow in a silent question.

“Slughorn, the fat one on the other end, is teaching Potions now. Snape’s teaching Defense.”

The blue eyed witch gave her a look. “Why does that make me nervous?”

Ginny gave her a bright smile. “Don’t worry. It makes everybody nervous.”

Cassie rolled her eyes, but grinned. “Great. Okay, but besides the fact that he just looks unpleasant- what else?”

“What do you mean?” Ginny asked, confused by her question.

“I mean, you couldn’t all just have hated Potions because he looks like a vampire. At Salem, we had Professor Hawely as our Potions teacher, and he was little woo-hoo, but nobody hated Potions with a passion.”

Ginny raised an eyebrow. “‘Woo-hoo?’”

Cassie waved her hand dismissivly. “You haven’t heard the worst of it. Explain, please.”

She grinned. “Okay, fine. Snape’s also head of Slytherin House, and he hates Gryffindors. You’ll find that out soon enough. He’s constantly docking points and giving out detentions for Merlin only knows what.”

Cassie gave an ‘ah’ of understanding. “The whole Gryff- Slyth again, right? Wait a sec. Dock points? Points for what?”

Ginny raised her eyebrows. “For your own safety, never say ‘Gryff’ or ‘Slyth’ again.”

Cassie laughed. “No problem.”

“About the points, though. There are two year long competitions. The Quidditch Cup, which speaks for itself, and the House Cup. Both are competitions between the Houses. You get points all through the year to win the House Cup. Professors give out points for good behavior, right answers in class and so on.”

Cassie furrowed her brow. “That’s kinda stupid, though. Doesn’t that just create division between the Houses?”

Ginny raised her eyebrows once again. It was amazing how clear an outsider’s perspective was. She shrugged. “I guess it does.”

She cast a sideways glance a certain blond Slytherin.

“Secret crush?” Cassie asked, making Ginny jump.

“What?”

Cassie grinned. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell.”

Ginny shook her head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Fine,” the raven haired witch sighed. She studied Draco for a moment. “He’s really hot, though. Besides the whole Slyth- Slytherin thing- what’s stopping you?”

Ginny gave her an incredulous look. “I do not fancy him, if that’s what you’re implying.”

Ron’s head snapped up. “Who do you fancy, Ginny?”

Ginny gave an exasperated sigh. “No one!”

Happy with her answer, her brother turned back to his conversation with Harry. Hermione gave her a pitying smile, knowing the aggravation that was Ronald Weasley. Ginny turned back to Cassie.

“I don’t,” she stated stubbornly.

Cassie grinned like a Cheshire Cat. “Okay.”

“I don’t,” the red head muttered, stabbing her salad. She paused. How did she get a salad? She stared at it suspiciously for a moment before remembering that Fred and George were nowhere near. She speared a cherry tomato and brought it to her mouth. She chewed cautiously for a moment and when nothing unusual happened, continued to happily munch on the salad. For all that she loved junk food, a nice salad was appreciated every now and then.

Ginny looked up a few moments later, and her gaze drifted to the Slytherin table. Draco was sitting there, listening to something Pansy Parkinson was saying. He had his elbow on the table and his chin resting on his hand looking bored. His whole demeanor said ‘I’ve got so many other, better, things to do, but I’m stuck here. Oh, how I suffer.’ She had to restrain a smirk. How Draco-like.

His eyes suddenly flicked over to her and she froze. The eyes staring at her were not the same ones she had seen that summer. Or even last night, for that matter. The eyes she’d known had been silver and glittered with a cool amusement. Usually at her expense. Now… she shivered. The eyes she looked into were hollow and dead. Draco’s eyes were the color of stone- and held just about as much warmth. Ginny shivered involuntarily and broke away from his cold stare.

What the hell?

She flicked her eyes back towards Draco, but he was focused on Pansy again. Ginny frowned feeling more confused than shocked now, the conversation with Cassie forgotten. What the hell?

~ Next Day ~

“This is the Owlery,” Ginny announced, leading Cassie inside.

Lunch had ended about half an hour ago and the two girls had the next period free. Cassie had requested a tour around the school and Ginny, who hadn’t been wanting to go back to their rooms and do homework, agreed. They were on the fourth floor when she’d been struck by the idea to owl Draco. They needed to set up a day to meet up and practice, but mostly she was still concerned about the way he’d looked at her yesterday. She’d made a beeline for the Owlery, Cassie following behind.

She was already headed for one of the school owls when Cassie appeared in the doorway. “Urgent message?”

Ginny shot her a grin and took out a piece of parchment and a quill. “The fate of the world rests in my hands.”

Cassie laughed and crossed to the Owlery window. Ginny smiled as she wrote her short message. The fate of the world actually rested in the hands of the Light. If they succeeded or not depended on the Warriors keeping them alive and safe. So, in a way, the fate of the world did rest in her hands. Huh.

She looked down at her short note.

Draco,

We should set up a time and place.
All’s well?

She puzzled about how to sign it. Signing with her name would be stupid, not to mention dangerous. She settled with just signing it ‘G.’

The way Draco had looked at her yesterday had worried her. And scared her a bit. She’d expected him to become more closed off and colder once they returned to Hogwarts, if simply for keeping their covers. She just hadn’t been expecting it to happen in one night. Something odd had happened. She couldn’t be sure of what. Actually, she had no idea of what it could be, but the more she thought about it, the more it worried her. Maybe she was just overreacting. Yes, that was probably the case.

“Wow,” Cassie breathed from the tower window. “The view’s amazing.”

Ginny looked up and glanced out the window. The view from the Owlery was indeed amazing. It was a perfect autumn day. The sky was clear, cloudless and a cool, light blue color. The forest stood as a silent, dark, slightly swaying mass. The lake, which was just visible from the Owlery, was a glossy black sheet, an occasional ripple disturbing the serene surface.

Ginny smiled. Leaving the owl and the note for now, she crossed to the window. Cassie moved over to allow her room. The two girls leaned out the Owlery window in a comfortable, tranquil silence.

The grounds were already littered with fiery, golden leaves. In a couple of weeks, the trees would be completely bare. Winter would come early that year.

Ginny let out a contented sigh. Hogwarts was too beautiful for words. Each season had its own captivating beauty, but autumn was Ginny’s favorite. She felt as though she matched it, in a way. Silly, she knew, but a girl was allowed those silly thoughts every once in a while.

“Salem is nothing like this,” Cassie said softly, her voice filled with awe.

“What do you mean?” Ginny asked, still staring out at the grounds.

“Salem is so plain, so boring, compared to this place. Just scenery wise. I always thought it was okay, but, god. This place is just- wow.”

Ginny gave a little laugh. “Yeah, it is.”

“I mean, my mom told me it was gorgeous, but, you know. Hearing about it and actually seeing it are two totally different things.”

“Your mum went here?” Ginny asked, turning around to look at her.

Cassie turned around, looking shocked. “I said that?”

Ginny raised her eyebrows quizzically. “You just did.”

Cassie shook her head. “Sorry. I just had one of those moments where you think something and say it aloud, but don’t really realize you said it out loud, you know? Yeah, my mom did go here.”

Ginny laughed at Cassie’s explanation and crossed back to the owl. She seemed so light hearted. Not in a vapid, stupid way as a lot of people were, but in a simply ‘no use stressing about it’ kind of way. She actually reminded Ginny a bit of Ali. She tied the note for Draco to the owl’s leg and watched it take off.

“Hey, Cassie?”

“Hmm?” she asked, turning to face Ginny, her black hair swishing behind her.

“Did you know anyone at Salem named Alexis Brite? Or Sage Graham?”

Cassie’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “Yeah. Sage was in my year, and Alexis was a year above. Why? You know ‘em?”

Ginny nodded and motioned for Cassie to follow her out of the Owlery.

“Yes, I do,” she paused, then decided it couldn’t do any harm. “I met them at a convention in San Francisco this summer.”

“Cool,” Cassie said, appreciatively. “I’ve never been to San Fran, but I do know a song about it.”

Ginny raised her eyebrows. “There’s a song about San Francisco?”

Cassie’s jaw dropped. “You spent the summer in San Francisco and you don’t know the song?”

“No,” Ginny said, laughing at Cassie’s shock.

“Oh, come on. You had to have heard it!”

“How’s it go?”

Cassie cleared her throat dramatically.

“If you’re going
to San Francisco,
be sure to wear
some flowers
in your hair.”

Ginny shook her head. “Sorry.”

Cassie sighed. “I have much to teach you.”

“About what?”

She shrugged. “I dunno. Just felt like the right thing to say.”

Ginny laughed and the two girls continued on their way. It was nice to have someone in her year to laugh with. This year really did seem to be looking up.

~

The next morning at breakfast, an owl landed in front of Ginny. Cassie shot her a quizzical look.

“Fate of the world?”

Ginny laughed. “Possibly.”

She untied the note from the owl and it took off. She unfurled the note and read it:

G,

You’re mad. It’s impossible.
In all fairness, it’s quite stupid.
Don’t bother replying, you’ll just waste my time.

D

Ginny stared dumbly at the note. She reread it several times, but still couldn’t seem to understand it.

“You okay, Ginny?” Cassie asked.

She looked up, feeling as though she’d just been slapped.

“I’m fine,” she lied.

She looked over at the Slytherin table. Draco wasn’t there. She looked around the Great Hall, feeling very numb. What the hell had happened? She looked back at the note and read it again, not believing the few short sentences.

She balled up the parchment and stuck it in her bag, still numb. She was sure of it now. Something was terribly wrong. Two days ago, she’d sat on the train and laughed with Draco, and now he was telling her to not waste his time. Oh yes, something was very wrong.

Chapter 15
Confrontation: A


Wednesday, September 24th found Ginny Weasley wandering the fifth floor corridor on Prefect’s duty. Quite aimlessly too, she thought. It was the beginning of the school year for Merlin’s sake! Nobody was fool enough to be causing any mayhem so soon into term. Especially with the current…situation, in the wizarding world.

Ginny sighed. This was probably the most subdued term Hogwarts had seen in a very long time. The war was taking its toll on everyone even now. The students still acted as though everything was as it should be, but Ginny had seen some of the older students looking over their shoulders every once in a while. The younger students were more afraid than paranoid. Most of the poor first years seemed to be constantly nervous. Class sizes too, had shrunk. It wasn’t overwhelmingly obvious, but Hogwarts was quieter, emptier and more solemn. Every other day there seemed to be news of a death or of Voldemort wrecking havoc. As though that wasn’t enough…

About a week ago, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had left. Not as in packed up their things and took off, but as in just suddenly weren’t there. Ginny’d been quite surprised, and a little resentful, about them leaving without even telling her, but it’d been nothing compared to the effect their departure had had on the school. Suddenly the Golden Trio was gone, off to fight in the war. No one had actual conformation of it, but it was obvious. Not only had the Trio left, but so had Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall was now Headmistress in all but title. It left Hogwarts unbalanced and a little shaken at first, but things were beginning to get normal. Well, as normal as they would.

Ginny hadn’t been included in any Order meetings (not that she ever would be,) but she was sure that they had gone to find Horcruxes. She wasn’t sure, but it was the most probable scenario. Not that she had the faintest clue of what Horcruxes were, mind you, but she had her way of finding things out. All she knew was that they were dangerous and had something to do with defeating Voldemort. She’d seen the state of Dumbledore’s hand at the beginning of her fifth year, and if that wasn’t from hunting Horcruxes, then she was a Hufflepuff.

The school had begun to show unwavering faith in Harry. He’d pull through for them, some would say. Don’t worry, everything will turn out fine. The Trio’s absence did leave a hold of sorts, but the fact that something was actually being done, and by people they trusted, was enough reassurance to temporarily fill that hole. Ginny did worry, though. Not only for her brother, Hermione, Harry and Dumbledore, but for those dying daily. It was the deaths reported in the Daily Prophet that worried her the most. She didn’t personally know anyone who had died, so it wasn’t the people that she was worried about. She frowned. That sounded just a touch too unsympathetic. She shook her head, red hair flopping down in front of her face. It was the way they died that disturbed her. The reports claimed “a new, sadistic Dark curse” to be the culprit, but this “curse” seemed to be getting more demonic with every passing death. No, the deaths being reported were too demonic in nature to be mere paranoia on her part. One man had reportedly died of being “burnt through.” More like had a demonic fireball go through him. Demons were on the loose and killing.

And yet, she still had not spoken with Draco.

Ginny stopped her pacing and closed her eyes for a moment. Draco was becoming a source of constant frustration for her. After she’d received his frigid note, she had tried, and failed quite admirably, to observe him. To see why he’d reacted so to her message. However, Draco was making it quite impossible. He was never in the same place as she was, and if he was, he was not only surrounded by his Slytherin court, but students were also milling everywhere. A confrontation was impossible. She’d tried to seek him out after meal times, but the bastard was never there! Not for more than a few minutes at least. Hell, she’d never even seen him at breakfast. She’d tried to owl him again, but it was pointless. He didn’t even acknowledge her existence. Draco was doing a superb job of avoiding her, and she didn’t even know why.

She let out a frustrated growl. Damn you, Draco, she thought, resuming her patrol of the corridor. She’d been just about to turn around and pace back down the corridor when she heard a noise from the adjacent corridor. She stopped in her tracks. Was somebody really stupid enough to be wandering the halls after curfew? She considered her options for a moment. She could just continue her patrolling, ignore the culprit, and go back to her dorm and be asleep in half an hour. After all, it wasn’t her corridor. Or, she could catch the culprit and vent her frustration on some brave, and admittedly stupid, third year. She decided on the latter option.

Ginny turned on her heel and walked into the adjacent hallway. It was really very dark. The torches on the walls weren’t lit and she couldn’t see a thing. She reached for her wand while walking boldly down the corridor in complete darkness. Quite a bad idea, really.

Her next bold stride brought her crashing into something very solid. She let out an ‘oof’ as she fell backwards and tried to maintain her balance.

“Lumos,” muttered the solid thing she’d bumped into. The small light bloomed between them and Ginny found herself looking into the face of none other than Draco Malfoy.

Ginny’s eyes went wide and she sucked in a breath. Draco just stared at her, looking as surprised as she was probably ever going to see him.

“Draco,” Ginny said, taking a step towards him, not really thinking of what she was going to say. She was just glad to finally be able to talk to him. What a relief.

Draco, however, stepped back, his cold mask slipping back into place.

“What do you want, Weasley?” he sneered.

Ginny’s jaw dropped a little, and she looked up at him, confusion etched onto her face.

“What do you mean?” she asked. Draco just shouldered past her.

“Draco!”

He turned around and sneered at her. “I am not wasting my time answering your questions, Weasley. And don’t think you can report me for being out after hours- I’m Head Boy, in case you forgot.”

With that, he stalked away, taking the light with him.

Ginny stood in the dark corridor for a few moments in perfect shock. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. He’d acted so cold. As though he didn’t even know her. As though the summer hadn’t happened. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so numb before. Draco had just… he’d… her paralyzed mind couldn’t even think straight. What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he acting so strange? Sweet Merlin! He acted as though she was a complete stranger to him! Hadn’t he comforted her during the powers ceremony only a month ago?

Suddenly she realized she was standing all alone in a dark corridor. She shook her head and headed for her dorm. Fuck Prefect duty, she had more important things to worry about.

~

The next morning, Ginny and Cassie trudged down to the Great Hall, both half asleep and leaning on each other for support.

Ginny had spent the better part of the night tossing and turning in her four poster bed. All because of Draco. She couldn’t believe that she’d lost sleep over the selfish bastard. Yes, that was what he now was to her. A selfish, incorrigible bastard. She’d spent hours last night replaying their short meeting and getting nowhere. Finally, around four in the morning, she came up with a solution to her predicament. It was fairly simple, too- let him be. If he wanted to throw his destiny, his future, that summer, and her out the window- then so be it. It was his life, he could do with it as he pleased. She was not going to chase after him and beg him to talk to her. She was too proud for that. If he did eventually pull his head out of his arse, he could find her. With this decision, she had fallen into a fitful slumber, only to be woken up two hours later by her alarm clock.

Cassie, Ginny had learned over the past couple of weeks, was horrible about getting up in the mornings. For the past week, Ginny had been dragging her American dormmate out of bed. Literally. She had to practically force her to go to bed, too. Once she woke up though, she was a ray of blasted sunshine. She was annoyingly chipper once she woke up, but never failed to make Ginny laugh. Actually, she was beginning to really like having the American girl around.

“Ugh,” groaned the subject of Ginny’s thoughts as they half walked, half crawled through the Entrance Hall. “Next time I decide to stay up to do homework, hit me over the head with something really heavy, okay?”

Ginny gave a sleep giggle. “M’kay.”

The girls plopped into the first seats they came to, dropping their bags unceremoniously onto the floor. The Gryffindor table just had to be furthest away, didn’t it?

Cassie’s face immediatly lit up at the sight of chocolate chip pancakes.

“I love food,” she breathed, loading her plate with an impossible amount of pancakes. Ginny couldn’t help but laugh at the delighted expression on her friend’s face as she dug in. Her mother would be ecstatic to have Cassie over for dinner one day. She put a couple of pancakes on her own plate, not feeling too hungry. That really did say something about her current mood. She was a Weasley and Weasleys always ate more than any normal human being could. Except possibly Cassie. The one thing she did need was coffee. Which, of course, was gone. Damn it. The one day she really needed coffee, and it was gone. Ginny sighed, resigning herself to go down to the kitchens later for some of the rejuvenating liquid.

She looked up and found her gaze drawn to the Slytherin table. The Slytherin court was all there, all except their prince. Ginny set her jaw, determined. If Draco wanted to throw everything away, then fine. She was not going to trouble and worry herself about it. If he wanted to be a bastard, then by all means. She’d decided it last night and she was sticking to her decision. He could throw his destiny out the window for all she cared.

She picked up an abandoned Prophet and flipped it over to the front page, wanting to read while she ate. One, it helped pass the time, and two, it’d keep her mind off certain persons.

Have you ever had one of those moments when you decide something, feeling determined that nothing in the world could cause you to change your mind? That no matter what, you’re sticking to your decision? And then, all of the sudden, something hits you like a sledgehammer and forces you not only to abandon your decision but to do the complete opposite?

Yes, well, that was the state of Ginevra Molly Weasley’s current world.

“Oh my god,” Cassie breathed, breaking away from her pancakes and staring at the overturned Daily Prophet.

“CREATURES ATTACK BRIGHTON- HUNDREDS DEAD”

Underneath the blaring, shocking headline was a picture equally horrific. Half the front page was taken up by a large picture of Brighton- burning. Muggles and wizards alike were running through the burning city in panic. Demons- horrible, grotesque, gleeful, demons were chasing after the people, hurling everything from swords to fireballs. She could almost hear the screams of terror. Dead bodies, burning ones, and random limbs littered the streets- blood was everywhere.

Ginny felt sick. She recognized the demons that ran by on the page- every last one of them. She knew what they were, she knew what they could do. Most importantly, she knew how to stop them. Hundreds dead, the words swam before her eyes. Hundreds dead. Hundreds of innocent people, hundreds of people of the Light. The Light that was under her protection. She felt bile rise up in her throat.

“I’ll be right back,” she said tightly, before getting up, grabbing her bag, and all but running out of the Great Hall.

She ran into the first lavatory she came to, closed and locked the door, and sunk back against it. Her breathing was heavy and her eyes prickled with tears. Those people, those hundreds of innocent people, could have lived. Their lives had rested in the hands of the Warriors- her hands. She had let those people die all because she was too wrapped up in her own stubbornness, her own stupid immaturity. She’d been feeling too proud to confront Draco and because of her fucking pride hundreds of innocent people had died!

Tears of anger slid down her face. She couldn’t believe her own selfishness. She was a Warrior, she was meant to protect the Light. Oh, sure, she’d thought about it a lot these past couple of weeks. Every time she felt slighted, or bested by someone, she thought about being Phoenix. She slid down the door until she hit the floor. She wasn’t a Warrior so that she could feel good about herself! She had responsibilities to take care of and she’d ignored them as thoroughly as Draco had ignored her. People had died because of her. She could have stopped it, she easily could have stopped it.

She wasn’t foolish enough to say she was as bad as those demons, but she could have stopped it. Easily. If she and Draco had just collaborated and put their bleeding prides aside… Draco! How dare he!

He had let those people die, too. He had let hundreds of innocent people died just because he felt like being a bastard! How dare he! If he'd gotten his head out of his arse, none of this would have happened! Ginny angrily threw her head back against the door, not really feeling the pain as her head hit the wood. Draco could go to hell, but she was not going to let his selfishness kill innocent people.

Foolishly, she had thought that it was just between the two of them. It had nothing to do with them! It had to do with thousands of innocent people that they were supposed to keep alive! And they had failed. Failed.

Slowly, the dramatic emotions drained out of her. However, anger was left. Anger at herself for being so stupid, but mostly anger at Draco. She picked herself up and went to one of the sinks. Her eyes were puffy and red in the mirror, and her face was blotchy. Wet strings of hair stuck to her chin, all in all creating a very becoming look.

She snorted. He was being a bastard, and she knew that he knew it. He knew he had let hundreds get murdered. Sadly though, the blond git didn’t seem to have a conscience. She turned on the faucet and splashed her face with cold water, a sort of calm settling over her. She looked back in the mirror, jaw set.

She was going to be his conscience.

~

Ginny entered the Charms classroom just as the bell rang. She slid into the seat next to Cassie, the blue eyed girl casting her a questioning look.

“Where were you?” Cassie whispered as Flitwick began the day’s lesson.

Ginny shook her head. “It’s not important.”

Cassie looked as though she was going to press the issue, but was interrupted.

“Miss Jones!” squeaked Professor Flitwick. “Miss Weasley! Please pay attention- this is a very delicate charm.”

Cassie cast her one more furtive look before turning to face the tiny Charms professor. Ginny sat back, grateful for the interruption. Cassie was insanely curious, not to mention persistent. Explaining away her absence would not be easy, but she could deal with that later. Right now, she had a plan to come up with.

~

By three in the afternoon- six hours later- the only female Weasley was still clueless on how to get Draco alone.

She was sitting in the library, books and parchment scattered about her, trying to balance a quill on her nose. It was much harder than it looked. As the quill fell on the table for the umpteenth time, she heaved a sigh. She wasn’t getting anything done today. No schoolwork, no homework, no Draco-stalking.

She’d left Cassie in their dorm somewhere around an hour ago, under the guise of going to the library to do homework. Thankfully though, Cassie hadn’t wanted to join her. She had just asked for directions to the kitchens. Ginny snorted, picking up her quill. She thought she ate a lot. Cassie could give even her brothers a run for their money. She placed the quill carefully on her nose, and let her gaze flick up to the windows, trying not to go cross-eyed. Her quill fell off almost instantly, but it didn’t even register.

Heading out of the castle, alone, was Draco. Ginny stood up quickly, knocking her chair to the ground. She didn’t even bother picking it up or gathering her things before running out of the library.

“No running in the library!” Madame Pince screeched after her.

She ran faster than she could ever remember running. Down the halls, into the Entrance Hall, down the steps and across the grounds. She stopped, searching for a head of blond hair. Damn it! She could not have just acted like a complete lunatic, and possibly gotten detention, just to find the Draco wasn’t- there! Turned away form her, and walking along the edge of the forest, unseen from the castle, was Draco. Perfect. She could confront him and no one would see.

She ran down a small hill towards him. “Draco!”

His head immediatly snapped up. She was too far away to see his facial expression, but she was sure it wasn’t a pleasant one. She was only a couple of meters away when he turned away. Oh no, he was not walking away this time.

“Draco!” Ginny ran after him. He didn’t turn around, so she grabbed his arm.

“What do you want?” he snarled. Ginny started at this sudden reaction.

“What is your problem?”

He sneered at her. “Currently, you.”

Draco pushed past her, but Ginny grabbed at his arm again, glaring daggers. “Don’t you dare walk away from me, Draco.”

He turned towards her again, his ugly sneer in place. “I do what I like, Weasley.”

“What is your bloody problem?” she asked again, raising her voice.

“Go away.” His tone was threatening and equal in volume to her own.

“No! I will not ‘go away!’ What is wrong with you?”

“If you won’t go away, then I will!” Draco yelled, and pushed past her once again. Again, she grabbed his arm. He whirled around to face her. “What do you want?”

“I want to know what your bloody PROBLEM IS!” Ginny let the anger from this morning spill over into her voice. He was not just going to walk away.

Draco, too was angry. There were pink spots on his cheeks and his eyes were nearly black with fury. “YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT MY PROBLEM IS, GINNY?”

“YES I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOUR FUCKING PROBLEM IS!”

“YOU!”

The force with which he yelled that made her step back.

“Wh-what?” she stammered.

Draco stepped towards her, menacingly close. “You are my bloody problem, Ginny.”

He was practically snarling. She’d never seen him so mad before; and to have all that anger directed at her was frightening. “I-I don’t know what-“

“You know perfectly well what I mean!”

Her temper flared at his insistence. “Actually, I don’t!”

He glared at her for a moment, stepped back and started walking away. She ran around him, skidding to a stop in front of him.

“WHAT?” he yelled.

“Why have you been avoiding me?” Ginny could feel her cheeks getting flushed with temper and knew she must look ridiculous, but was too angry to care. She was getting her answers, she didn’t care how, but she was getting them.

“I haven’t been avoiding you.” He shouldered past her. She let out a growl of frustration. When would he learn that he wasn’t getting away until he answered her questions?

“Bollocks! Draco, we’re Warriors! We have to work together! That doesn’t exactly work if you run away from me every time you see me!”

He turned around, the pink on his cheeks more pronounced. She knew that would get to him. “I have never ‘run away’ from anything in my life- let alone you.”

“Well what do you call what happened last night?”

“I was in a hurry!”

“The hell you were!”

“FINE! YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY I WAS AVOIDING YOU?” Draco was becoming disheveled.

“YES I BLOODY WELL DO!”

He strode up to her and grabbed her wrist, squeezing it almost painfully. When he spoke, it was in a low hiss. “I am always being watched, Ginny. Always. Since term started, all of the Dark Lord’s Death Eaters-to-be were watching me, under his orders. See, for a whole summer, I was gone. No one knew where to, no one knew why. He wants to know where I was, what I was doing and how it could help or hurt him. If I met, or even communicated with you, it would have gotten back to the Dark Lord. He can’t find out who we are. Kiara was right, he does know about the Warriors, and he wants to know who they are. I know hundreds of people died in Brighton, but it had to happen. The Dark Lord was sending too many demons; we both would have died.”

“You knew Brighton was going to get attacked?” Ginny whispered, stunned. “And you just let us sit here and do nothing? You let hundreds of people die just to save your own neck?”

“Are you stupid or just deaf? Didn’t you hear me? We both would have died.”

“Draco! People died!”

Draco dropped her wrist, turning away from her and letting out a frustrated growl. “You don’t get it! The odds were impossible! We both would have died! Either those hundred people died or the thousands who still could die!”

“Not ‘hundred’ Draco! Hundreds!” Her temper was flaring up again. Who was he to make decisions for her?

“You know the Prophet always exaggerates things!”

“Not something as important as that!” She knew she was lying.

Draco threw up his hands in frustration. “You are so bloody stubborn!”

“Yes, well you’re a bastard! How could you let so many innocent people die?”

“We both would have died!”

“You- you-” Ginny couldn’t even speak, she was so furious. “You ferret!”

“Weasel!”

“Bastard!”

She stood, glaring at Draco, chest heaving, anger pumping through her veins. He was glaring back at her, face flushed. Suddenly, he strode towards her, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her towards him before crushing his lips to hers.

For the second time in twenty four hours, Ginny was stunned beyond thought. Draco was kissing her. Draco was kissing her. Draco was kissing her. Draco was kissing her. His hands found her hips and steered her closer to him, the distance between their bodies becoming nonexistent. He was kissing her fiercely, all the anger and emotion of their argument now translated into the kiss. She’d just leaned in, when he pulled away.

“What are you doing?” she asked, breathless and confused.

If it hadn’t been for the current situation, she would have laughed at the expression on Draco’s face. He looked surprised, confused and angry all at once.

“I have to go,” he muttered, turning away.

Ginny stared dumbly. “What?”

He didn’t answer her question. In fact, he began jogging away. Ginny’s shock began to dissipate, replaced by confusion. He’d just kissed her and then left.

“Draco!” she called.

No reply. She jogged after him.

“Draco!”

Too late. He was already inside the castle.

She fell back, staring at the castle but not quite seeing it. What the hell was going on? He’d just kissed her and left. He’d kissed her. Ginny couldn’t quite believe it. She wasn’t going to lie to herself, she’d had a few fantasies about him kissing her. She’d just never imagined it would happen, or under such circumstances. What was going on? Alright, so she now know why he’d been avoiding her, but she still had nothing more to go on. This was going nowhere. She was no further now than she was when she’d started yelling at him. Except now, she was even more confused. Where they going to meet? Was he going to avoid her again? Why the hell had he run off like that?

Why had he kissed her?

Back to the kiss…Ginny let out a growl and dropped to the leaf strewn ground. He’d kissed her, for reasons unbeknownst to anyone but him, and then took off!

She was back to square one. Again, she had to figure out or wait for an opportunity to get him alone and confront him.

Wonderful. Abso-bloody-lutely wonderful.

Chapter 16
Confrontation: B

One Week Later

Ginny Weasley sat in her N.E.W.T. level History of Magic class, wondering for the umpteenth time just how in Merlin’s name she had gotten in. Ah well, she sighed, laying her head down on the desk. At least she now had a class she could sleep through. She stared at the window just centimeters from her face and watched the October rain lash against the glass. She loved rain. If she hadn’t been stuck inside N.E.W.T. level History of Magic, there was a good chance that she would’ve been outside. She considered this for a moment. No, that was lie. It was too cold outside. Suddenly something, or rather someone, was poking her arm.

“Hmm?” she hummed. Cassie poked harder.

Ginny yelped, sitting up and glaring at her dormmate. A few half-asleep students sent glares her way, before returning to their slumber.

“What?” she hissed. “I was almost asleep!”

“How was I supposed to know that?” the blue eyed girl grumbled.

Ginny shook her head. “Mind explaining why you decided to suddenly abuse my arm?”

Cassie looked a bit confused for a moment. “Huh? Oh! Oh yeah. What do we have due in Potions today?”

“Um,” Ginny thought back, trying to remember the assignment. “Oh, that essay. Why?”

Cassie furrowed her brow. “What essay?”

Ginny almost grinned. Truth be told, Cassie was hopeless in everything but Potions. No wonder she liked it so much.

“The essay Slughorn assigned two weeks ago.”

Cassie groaned and let her head hit the desk with a loud ‘thump.’ Some more students sent glares their way.

“You forgot.”

“Of course I did!” She suddenly sat up straight, hair mussed and eyes lit. “Wait, isn’t Slughorn leaving today?”

Ginny nodded, resting her head again. “He’s going to that International Conference thing. How he can just leave at a time like this is beyond me. But how is that going to help you?”

Cassie put her elbow on the desk, propping up her head. “Ah, you see my red haired friend, he’s probably going to be in such a rush trying to leave, that he’s going to forget all about the assignment. And maybe he’s not really leaving for some conference.”

“I doubt he’s going to forget about the essay,” Ginny said. “And what do you mean he might not be leaving for some conference?”

Cassie shrugged. “Maybe he’s going to help with the War.”

The word ‘war’ had now become capitalized in everyone’s mind and speech.

Ginny frowned. “I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“He just doesn’t seem the type.”

“Well, are he and Dumbledore friends?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Well,” Cassie continued. “What do you know about him?”

Cassie’s intense questioning was beginning to make Ginny feel uncomfortable.

“Not much, really,” she admitted.

The dark haired girl nodded wisely. “Then get to know more about someone before judging them.”

She paused, nodded again, and lay her head down on the desk. Ginny looked at her for another moment before turning back to the frightfully interesting window. Cassie’s unusual show of seriousness had made her more than a little uncomfortable. She really rather preferred Cassie’s usual hyperactivity and nonsensical chatter. She did have a point though; maybe she had been too quick to judge Slughorn. Ginny had finally gotten comfortable on the hard, cold desk, when of course, the bell rang.

She groaned, but nonetheless got up and began to pack her things. Cassie stood by the desk waiting for her, looking for all the world like a puppy. A black Labrador, she mused. She grinned as they swept out of the room.

“What’s so funny?” Cassie asked.

Ginny shook her head. “Nothing.”

Cassie shrugged. “Slughorn’s leaving right at the beginning of class, right?”

“Mmhmm,” Ginny affirmed. “He’s going to have some seventh year looking after the class while he’s gone.”

Cassie sniggered. “Wonder what poor soul he’s going to leave us to.”

The two Gryffindor girls walked into the Potions dungeon and took their usual seats in the front just as the bell rang. Ginny sat down and dropped her overweight bag on the ground. She was convinced that her books were growing heavier with every passing hour. Possibly stealing food off her plate at meal times.

She looked up at Professor Slughorn, who seemed quite apprehensive. The rotund professor kept bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet and his eyes were darting everywhere. Odd behavior for the Potions professor. Ginny looked over at her dormmate with raised eyebrows. Cassie shrugged in response.

“Good morning,” he said, his voice forcedly jovial. “As you all know, I will be leaving in just a few minutes. Just as soon as my temporary replacement arrives. I’m leaving you in the hands a very capable seventh year student.”

At that moment, the door to the dungeon cracked open and all the sixth years swiveled around in their seats to see their victim.

“Ah, here he is now.”

The door swung open fully, revealing the person in the doorway. Ginny’s breath caught in her chest. A few other students seemed genuinely surprised and disappointed. This was no victim. Rather, they were now the victims.

“Mr. Malfoy will be taking my place for the next couple of weeks. I have left a potion for you to brew each day I’m gone. Mr. Malfoy will collect and store the potions at the end of each day until I return.”

During Slughorn’s speech, Draco had swept up to the front of the room, smirking at the class. The thing about N.E.W.T. classes, was that there were students from all four houses. Upon gauging the situation, the Slytherins looked delighted, while the others looked quite horrified.

“Well,” Slughorn said, sounding quite decisive. “I’ll be off then.”

As he made his way out the door, Cassie looked over at Ginny triumphantly.

“Yessss! I knew he’d forget!” she whispered happily.

“Oh, yes,” Slughorn said, poking his head back into the room. “I’d nearly forgotten. Please hand in your essays to Mr. Malfoy.”

The crestfallen look on Cassie’s face was enough to shake Ginny out of her shock and make her laugh. She dug her essay out of her bag and inadvertently looked directly at Draco. Her gaze seemed to be fixed on him.

One week. It’d been one week since she’d spoken with him. Another week in which demons were running rampant and the Warriors were sitting around idly. Well, at least the supposed co-leaders. The most horrible thing about it all, was that she hadn’t even tried to track him down. It was too exhausting. She’d dissected and analyzed every word of their encounter that she could remember, and had come up empty handed and confused. She’d confronted Draco seeking answers and got even more questions. She’d begun to feel as though she were trying to untie the Gordian knot, but apparently, she wasn’t the one to rule all Asia.

A sharp tap on the back brought her back to reality. She turned around and accepted the essays that Anthony Goldstein passed to her. Once all the essays were passed up, Draco muttered a spell, and the essays went zooming into a back room. He pocketed his wand patiently, and when he was assured that all eyes were on him, he crossed to Slughorn’s desk. He sat down in the leather chair and propped his feet up on the desk.

“Well, what are you lot staring at?” he sneered. “Get to work!”

A flutter of activity erupted in the room, as cauldrons, equipment and ingredients were being pulled out. Draco surveyed the room, obviously pleased with himself. Haughty ferret, Ginny thought vehemently.

“Geez,” Cassie said, coming back to their table with an armload of potions ingredients. Ginny looked over at her, surprised. She hadn’t even realized Cassie had left.

“What?”

Cassie raised her eyebrows and nodded at Draco. “If looks could kill…”

“He’s a sleazy bastard,” the red head spat by way of explanation. She shook her head, trying to clear it of homicidal thoughts.

Cassie gave a small laugh, and the two girls quickly got to work. In all truth, Cassie was brilliant at Potions. She was usually quite absent minded and easily distracted (she claimed to have ADD, whatever that was,) but when it came to Potions, she was really quite brilliant. She’d quickly risen to become one of Slughorn’s favorite students. Ginny herself wasn’t too bad at Potions, either. Of course, she’d never be as good as Hermione or Cassie, but years of cooking with Molly Weasley had left its mark on her. Pity it didn’t actually apply to edible things.

Within a couple of minutes, their cauldron was simmering and the two were engrossed in the task at hand. Ginny’d even forgotten about Draco in the rhythmic chopping of the potions ingredients. Sadly though, all good things must come to a rather abrupt end.

Her first indication that the Malfoy heir had gotten bored watching them was a sudden chill in the atmosphere. Not that it hadn’t been chilly before. She looked over to her left and saw Draco at the Hufflepuff table. The two Hufflepuffs looked murderous.

“That is supposed to be a potion?” Draco sneered.

“It’s not done, Malfoy,” spat the braver of the two.

“Yes, you’ve managed to ruin it before you’d even started,” he drawled.

With one last scornful look at the Hufflepuffs’ potion, Draco turned on his heel and swept to the Slytherin table.

How Snape-like, Ginny thought dryly. If they managed to live through the War, Draco had a job as a Potions professor lined up for him. He could frighten and insult a whole new generation of young witches and wizards, just as Snape did. Then again, seeing as how things were going, neither of them would probably participate in the War, let alone die in it.

She sighed and added some more ingredients to the potion. What she wouldn’t have given to find out just how the Potions lesson was going to end…

“Ginny,” Cassie called from the other side of the cauldron.

“Hmm?”

“Could you make a note that the snail shells need to be added in before the lizard tails and not after?”

“Sure.”

She put down her knife and picked up a quill. She’d just dipped it in an ink pot when it was snatched out of her hand. Gritting her teeth, she looked up.

“Malfoy.”

“Weasley.”

Cassie’s head jerked up like an animal scenting danger.

“What do you want, Malfoy?” Ginny asked, trying to keep her temper under control.

“Simply checking on everyone’s potions. After all, as Slughorn’s replacement, I’m supposed to be supervising the class,” he glanced down at her textbook. “I knew your family was dirt poor, Weasley, but couldn’t they afford to buy you some common sense, at least? I’ll lend you some for free; follow the textbook. Snail shells are added after the lizard tails.”

Ginny was shaking with fury. Usually his jibes at her family didn’t even phase her, but for the last couple of months, nothing concerning Draco went the way it ‘usually’ went. How dare he! How fucking dare he!

“Temporary replacement, Malfoy. And even with all your family’s money, I see you never did get any decency. What, did your parents keep buying you some, but your wretched soul kept rejecting it?”

The look Draco fixed her with was enough to chill bone marrow. A year ago, what she said would have been sneered at and ignored. Now though, she had crossed the line. She felt a guilt nibbling at her stomach, but pushed it aside. If he was allowed to act as though the summer never happened, then so was she!

“Here’s some common sense for you, Malfoy,” Cassie said, her voice frighteningly icy. “Get away from our table before we cause you great bodily harm.”

Draco raised one pale eyebrow. “Tsk, tsk, Jones. Is this how you speak to all your professors? I knew Americans were lacking manners, but I didn’t think it was to such an extent.”

Ginny saw Cassie’s eyes blaze. The raven haired witch opened her mouth to say something, then shut it quickly, as though she’d changed her mind.

“You know what, Malfoy? I’m generally a very accepting person and when I heard a load of crap about you when I got here, I passed it off as normal school gossip. But, I was wrong. Stay locked in your freaking ivory tower and don’t bother the rest of us in the real world.”

“Twenty points from Gryffindor,” Draco snarled, before swirling back to the desk.

Ginny gaped at him. “You can’t do that!”

“I can and I will, Weasley. I don’t think Slughorn would appreciate his replacement being spoken to in that tone of voice,” Draco sat back down in the chair and glared around the room. “Back to work!”

The similarities between him and Snape were frightening. The rest of the class had been watching their verbal battle, spellbound. At Draco’s words, a flutter of activity broke out in the room again and everyone began trying to salvage their potions.

Ginny looked down at her textbook, hair falling in a curtain around her face and tears clouding her vision. It was not supposed to be like this. When they came back from San Francisco everything was supposed to be simpler. She had a part, a role, in the War now. She had powers and could actually do something. She’d thought she had a partner, maybe even a friend. Apparently, though, it was all faulty thinking. All Draco had done was cause her grief and headaches. She bit her lip, trying to stem the flow of tears. She knew what she was going to do. She was going to stay after everyone had left and talk to Draco. Or at least tell him that if he wanted to keep acting the way he was, then fine. She would get into contact with the others and try to keep an eye out for demonic activity. How was a mystery, but she’d figure it out eventually. Draco could let hundreds of die and feel perfectly fine, but she was different. She would fulfill her responsibilities as a Warrior, with or without Draco. A couple of tears fell out of her eyes and hit the text. Those would be the last tears she shed because of him.

She felt a soft hand on her shoulder.

“You okay, Ginny?” Cassie asked gently.

Ginny nodded, looking up and hoping she didn’t look as though she’d been crying. “I’m fine.”

Cassie gave her a reassuring smile and turned to bottle their perfect potion (snail shells added before lizard tails.) She took it up to Slughorn’s desk, where the other potions had been turned in. Draco sat there, feet propped up on the desk and scowling. Cassie set down the potion, then swiped at Draco’s feet, knocking them off the desk.

“I don’t think Slughorn would appreciate your paws being on his desk,” she said with a frightening smile.

Ginny was genuinely surprised. Who knew Cassie had such a mean streak? The normally happy, bubbly girl could apparently spit acid when offended.

“Asshole,” Cassie muttered darkly, packing up her things.

Ginny couldn’t help but laugh at her vehemence. Cassie looked up, a corner of her mouth twitching upward.

“Seriously. Somebody that horrible should not be that good looking,” she muttered quietly.

The red head managed to restrain a snort, albeit with some difficulty. Hopefully, in about ten minutes, she would be free of that horrible ferret. If only the bell would ring.

As though hearing her thoughts, it did. The class began to file out the door, muttering about the lesson’s events. Cassie looked over at her unmoving dormmate.

“You’re planning something, aren’t you?”

Ginny nodded.

“I should leave, shouldn’t I?”

Another nod.

“Okay. See ya!”

With that, Cassie swept out of the dungeon, leaving only
Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley. A volatile combination, really. Ginny took out her wand and quietly muttered the most complex locking and silencing charms she knew, directing them at the door.

Draco finally seemed to notice her presence. He looked up at her, then at the closed door.

“What do you want, Weasley?”

Ginny took a deep breath and let it out. “I want to know whether or not I should keep wasting my time.”

“What are you on about?” Draco stood up and walked around the desk.

Staying calm was surprisingly easy. She’d exhausted herself earlier. She had no energy left for an all out shouting match. Just as well, this way she could get her point across.

“Draco, being a Warrior means having to actually care about other people. Innocent people. It means having to care whether they live or die. I need to know…” she trailed off, then shook her head. “No, I don’t need to know. It’s staring me right in the face.”

Draco looked at her, bewildered. “What in Merlin’s name are you on about? What do you need to know?”

Ginny shook her head and hoisted her bag onto her shoulder. “Nevermind. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“What? Sweet Salazar, Weasley. Explain what it is that you’re talking about.” Draco was seeming to become quite frustrated with her.

She looked him straight in the eye, feeling as though everything inside of her had turned to lead, for some odd reason. “Nevermind. I’ll see you next week, Malfoy.”

She turned to go, but a hand on her wrist stopped her. She turned around to find Draco only a couple of feet away, looking bewildered and serious.

“Ginny, what did you start saying?”

He was persistent, she’d give him that.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Draco dropped her wrist. “Yes it bloody well does!”

Calm was starting to seep out the window.

“Why do you suddenly care?”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Ginny dropped her bag on the ground and threw up her hands in frustration. “You don’t care, Draco! You don’t care about anybody but yourself!”

Draco looked at her, incredulously. “Where the hell is this coming from?”

“It’s coming from my past month’s frustration! Do you know how bleeding confused I was, Draco? For a month you just ignored me! I just suddenly didn’t exist! We spoke on the train and then suddenly you’re like ice! Not a letter or anything!”

Calm was definitely gone.

“I told you, I couldn’t communicate with you! The Dark Lord would have found out, then you, I, and the rest of us would all be dead!” Draco was pacing in circles, dark robes flying out behind him, looking frustrated.

“Like you care about anybody but yourself! I was going to ask you if I should wait for you to get your head out of your arse, or go ahead and start demon hunting alone, but I didn’t realize that you will NEVER get your head out of your arse! And what the hell do you mean ‘couldn’t?’ What’s changed?”

“You want to go demon hunting alone? What are you? SUICIDAL?”

“I’M SICK OF THIS, DRACO! I’M SICK OF CONSTANTLY WORRYING MYSELF ABOUT YOU AND I’M SICK OF NEVER BEING CERTAIN OF ANYTHING! I DO KNOW THAT I’M A WARRIOR AND I DON’T JUST WANT TO SIT AROUND DOING NOTHING WHILE INNOCENT PEOPLE DIE!”

Ginny knew her face was as red as her hair, making her look quite comical. Draco wasn’t that well off either; his face was flushed with color and his hair had become quite tousled from running his hand through it every few seconds. He stared at her, eyes nearly black with anger.

“Brighton had to happen! We both would have died!”

“You still could have told me!”

“I wasn’t about to let you commit suicide!”

“What the bloody hell are you talking about?”

“You would have insisted we go, and once you decided something, nobody can change your bloody mind! I would have gone with you and we would have been in over our heads! Ginny, you would have GOTTEN KILLED!”

Ginny stared at him, not quite believing her ears. “You didn’t tell me about Brighton, because you thought I’d get killed?”

“What did you think?”

Their voices had returned to normal volumes, but their breathing hadn’t. Ginny felt as though she’d just run a marathon, and was beginning to feel quite foolish.

“I-I…”

“Ginny, I’m not the monster you make me out to be.”

That stung. She had been making him out to be a monster. True he wasn’t the kindest person in the world, but he never compromised his beliefs. If he thought something was right, then he would stick with it no matter what. Usually, he was right.

“I- I’m sorry.”
Draco nodded, as though the matter was settled. “And I could have handled the situation better.”

No, Ginny thought. You are in the wrong this time, Draco Malfoy and you are apologizing.

“Draco, I may have thought wrong about you, but you had me going mad for weeks. You sure as hell could have handled the situation better! There were thousands of ways you could have given me at least some clue as to what was going on. In the hallway, when I was on Prefect’s duty, for example! You are at fault here, and I want an apology.”

“I’m not going to apologize!” Draco sounded scandalized.

“Fine, then.” Her voice was ice.

“Goodbye, Draco.”

She picked up her bag. She stood at the door, getting her wand out with shaking hands. Surely he wasn’t going to just let her walk out like that. Then again, this was Draco. He never acted as she expected him to. She finally heard footsteps behind her and turned around. Draco stood less than half a meter away, looking irritated.

“I’m sorry, alright?”

Ginny nodded, feeling butterflies in her stomach. She’d gotten her apology. Now what?

“We, uh, we should set up a time to meet. T-t-to practice.” She stood fidgeting with her wand, eyes downcast.

“Your dormitory’s not an option is it?”

She shook her head, looking up.

Draco ran a hand through his hair again, looking around the room. After a few moments he turned back to her.

“Do you know where the alcove off the fourth floor corridor is?”

She nodded. The fourth floor corridor was the only one with an alcove. Quite odd, actually.

“On the left wall, there’s a suit of armor,” Draco continued. “You shake his right hand and tell him the password.”

Ginny raised her eyebrows, trying to keep the amused expression off her face.

Draco rolled his eyes. “Go ahead, laugh. Dumbledore, the old fool, probably thought it a great joke.”

Ginny let the snort escape her, but covered her mouth with her hand. When she felt composed, she looked up.

“So, you shake the suit of armor’s right hand,” she
grinned. “And tell him the password. Got it.”

“You know,” Draco observed. “You are really dreadful at trying not to laugh.”

“The password is hilarious, too, isn’t it?” Ginny was grinning from ear to ear.

Draco sighed. “It’s ‘cauliflower.’”

Ginny doubled over with laughter. Dumbledore’s creativity had to be praised.

“When I figure out how to change it…” Draco was glowering.

After a few more moments, the red head composed herself.

“A time and date might not be a bad idea,” she suggested.

“Right,” Draco seemed to consider this for a moment. “Tomorrow?”

Ginny started. “Tomorrow?”

“You have plans?”

“N-no,” she stuttered. “It’s just that…For weeks you didn’t even notice me and now…”

She shook her head, serious again. “What’s changed, Draco?”

Draco shook his head. “Suddenly my whereabouts this summer have lost their priority. I don’t know what’s happened. I’m waiting to hear from my father.”

Ginny nodded. She knew she’d be treading on dangerous ground, but couldn’t let the opportunity slip.

“You still could have met with me. Or at the least, told me what was going on.”

Draco threw up his hands in agitation. “I handled the situation like a pillock, happy?”

“You don’t have to raise your voice at me!”

“Well when you’re done being thick I’ll stop!”

“Thick? Thick? YOU didn’t tell ME what the hell was going
ON!”

“Sweet Merlin, Ginny! I’ve explained that to you five times!”

“What? So, I’m just supposed to pretend that the past month didn’t happen? That everything is peachy-bloody-keen?”

Draco made a noise that sounded remarkably like a growl.
He stalked up until he was practically nose to nose with her.

“I’ve apologized, Ginny, not something I do very often, and I even agreed to meet with you. What more do you fucking WANT?”

“I want to know why the hell you kissed me!”

The words were out of her mouth before she even thought about them. Draco stepped back, shocked.

“That’s not important.”

I said it, might as well get an answer, Ginny thought.

“Yes it is! I want to know why you kissed me and then ran
away!”

“I did not run away!”

“Yes you did! Draco, I want an answer and I’m not going away or shutting up until I do!”

“Fine!”

“Fine!”

They stood, breathing heavily and glaring at each other. Suddenly, Ginny’s eyes inexplicably filled with tears. She tried helplessly to bite them back, but somehow that only made it worse. The anger drained out of Draco’s face to be replaced with something akin to horror. She bent her head and swiped at her eyes.

“Damn,” she muttered.

“Ginny…”

She turned towards the door, fumbling with her wand. She tried to make some sound come out of her mouth, but apparently she’d lost control of her body. She heard
Draco’s footsteps drawn nearer to her.

“Gin…”

She whipped around, to find that Draco was only a few centimeters away. The height difference between them wasn’t great, but at such a close distance, she had to tilt her head up some to see his face.

“What?” she asked, tears still cascading down her face.

“Ginny, I-I’m sorry. Please don’t cry.”

Sweet Merlin. Shed a few tears and a bloke will say anything it takes for the tears to stop. For the first time, she saw Draco look uncertain. He seemed to be at a complete loss of what to do.

“I’m not-”

“Crying? Unless I am sorely mistaken in my definition of the term- I’d say you are.”

She bent her head so that her hair fell around her face in a curtain. Long hair was such a blessing. However, a finger under her chin forced her to look up. Draco was looking down at her, searchingly. Why, oh why, couldn’t she stop crying? She must have looked awful- red puffy eyes, nose worthy of St. Nicolas, and black streaks down her face from her running make-up.

While she was on that train of thought, Draco leaned down so that his lips brushed hers. It was so soft she’d barely felt it. He straightened up for a moment, searching her face again. Apparently, he found what he was looking for, because he bent down and kissed her again. Harder this time. His other hand found her waist and steered her closer, while her own arms wound around his neck. For the second time in a week, Draco was kissing her. This time, though, it wasn’t a fleeting, angry kiss. It was…tender, in a way.

Just as she was starting to get into the kiss, Draco pulled back. She’d been afraid that he would run off again, but he actually didn’t even remove his hands from her waist. Her hands slid down from around his neck and found a resting place on his chest. Funnily enough, she didn’t feel awkward in the least. She looked up, to find that Draco was smirking.

“Why did you do that?” she asked. Thank all things holy that the question didn’t come out accusatory.

Draco raised his eyebrows. “Do what?”

“Kiss me.”

Much to Ginny’s surprise (and delight,) he leaned down and kissed her again. He pulled away after a few moments, smirking wickedly. She considered repeating her earlier question, but instead just fixed Draco with a questioning look.

“You said ‘kiss me,’” he explained.

Ginny’s mouth fell open in shock. That little…He’d tricked her!

“You tricked me.”

“Well observed.”

She gaped at him for a few moments, not knowing quite where to start. She needed answers and he was distracting her. For all she knew, he could disappear in a minute or two. Ginny didn’t even notice his hand move until it was wiping away a stray tear on her cheek. The strangely intimate gesture shocked her back to reality.

She took a deep breath, which really turned into a shuddering one.

“Draco…”

“I don’t know, alright?” There was agitation in his voice, but she didn’t know if it was directed at her or at himself.

“You don’t know…” she trailed off.

“I don’t know what in Salazar’s name possessed me to kiss you last week.”

“Oh.”

The conversation was going nowhere. “What about just now?”

Somewhere out there, a psychologist was quite happy with the two of them. Getting all the issues out in the open and such.

Draco raised his eyebrows. “You are really stubborn, you know that?”

“I’ve been told. And don’t avoid the question.”

He shrugged. “I was overcome with the sudden urge to kiss you.”

Trust Draco to put something so simple in such a flowery sentence. Inside, she was screaming for joy. She let a tiny smile escape.

“So, basically you wanted to?”

“If you choose to phrase it that way.” Draco seemed annoyed.

She couldn’t help but grin. He’d never admit it outright, but maybe this was going somewhere after all.

“We still need to set up a time to meet tomorrow,” she remembered.

“You are very determined.”

“Well observed,” she shot back, using Draco’s own words.

“Later,” he said, decisively.

“Later?”

Draco nodded, smirking. “Right now, I’m overcome with the
sudden urge to kiss you again.”

Ginny grinned as she met his lips. She’d gotten all her questions answered, a meeting set up, and was currently being snogged by the one and only, Draco Malfoy. If a month of going mad ended up with that, then sweet Merlin, it was worth it.

Currently, the only thing she wanted to do was enjoy the fruits of her labor. Everything else could be put off until tomorrow.

********************

A/N: Okay, before I forget, I’m not sure what year Anthony Goldstein is in, but he just popped into my head, so there.

Big, big, big thanks to all my reviewers! You guys really have no idea what your reviews mean to me. They make me very, very happy and motivate me to update. See? It’s a win-win situation for me and you.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It’s my longest one so far (over 5,000 words!) and I’m really proud of it. I know the sudden, hem, change in Draco and Ginny’s relationship is a bit rushed, but I have my reasons for it. Ginny thinks life’s taken a turn for the better, but… Poor Ginny. –grins evilly-

Soon, my faithful readers, soon. Alright, I’m having too much fun with this, so I’m going to wrap it up.

Big thanks to all who reviewed, and I’d love to hear (rather, read) your thoughts about this chapter.

Chapter 17
Letters and Memories

Ginny opened her eyes and stretched out languidly on her four poster bed, smiling. Why in Merlin’s name was she so happy? She frowned, trying to remember. Suddenly, the events of the day before came rushing back. The red head smiled again. That was it; Draco.

The shouting, the arguing, the crying, the snogging. Her efforts to extract Draco Malfoy from her life had ended up with the two of them snogging in the Potions dungeon. She snorted. Trust that to happen to her.

Evidently, Draco’s whereabouts during the summer had lost importance. Something else, something big, must be occupying the Dark Lord’s mind. Ginny frowned. That couldn’t be good. A sudden shot of panic went through her. What if it was about Ron and them? Sweet Merlin! What if he’d captured them? No, she thought, trying to placate herself. They wouldn’t have let themselves get captured, Dumbledore would make sure of that. She forced her thoughts from the Trio and back to Draco.

So, she’d yelled at him. What happened after that? Oh, right. He yelled at her. Quite a pair they made. Then…then she’d started crying. He’d come up to her and kissed her. She smiled again, remembering the kiss. After that, there’d been even more kissing. Until she remembered that Cassie was probably waiting for her. Then, she’d run out and agreed to meet Draco at eight o’clock in the Head Boy rooms. Ginny suddenly frowned. Something didn’t seem right. Yesterday, she thought she had all the answers, but now…

Was there something going on between them? Well, yes, of course. But what? Or was she the only one who thought that? Was the snogging now going to be a frequent occurrence? What were they now? What did Draco think of all this?

Ginny swore, sitting up. How had she been so stupid? She’d gotten distracted by Draco’s wonderful, sweet kisses. She hadn’t even realized she’d gotten more questions! She was meeting him at eight tonight and she had no idea how she was supposed to act! Ginny groaned, putting her head in her hands. Great, another shouting match. Really, if shouting were an Olympic sport (and she did know what the Olympics were, thank you very much) she and Draco would take the gold. Then probably shout about who got to keep it.

Shit. This really wasn’t good. How was it that the more she interacted with Draco, the more complicated life became? She sighed. She’d once heard somebody say something along the lines of ‘morning is wiser than evening.’ No kidding. Last night, she’d thought her problems were fixed and gone. Morning, however, proved that her problems had only multiplied.

Ginny glanced over at her clock, sighing again. 8:15 a.m. Wonderful. Simply brilliant. The one day she had to sleep in, and she woke up early. Lovely. Resigning herself to another week of sleep deprivation, she got up and headed for the bathroom.

~

One hot, long shower and a change of clothes later, Ginny headed into the common room she and Cassie shared. To her great surprise, the American girl was sitting on the couch, reading.

“You’re up early,” Ginny commented.

Cassie looked up, surprised. “Hey. Yeah, I know. I hate not getting any sleep all week and on the weekends you wake up early.”

Ginny grinned and sat down in the armchair, legs crisscrossed. “What are you reading?”

Cassie shook her head. “Nothing interesting.”

“Oh, come on, I want to see.”

Cassie pulled the book off her lap and held it up so that Ginny could see. The red head’s stomach plummeted as though she’d just fallen off her broom. Everything You Never Wanted To Know About Demons.

“Demons?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

Cassie nodded, placing the book back in her lap.

“Mhmm. They’ve been causing so much crap lately, and Snape never teaches us anything about them. I mean, I’ve never really heard much about them until recently.”

Ginny nodded, trying to keep calm. “Me neither.”

Well, not a complete lie. July counted as recently.

“So, you wanna go grab some breakfast?” Cassie said lightly.

“Sure.”

The two girls set off for the Great Hall, Cassie chatting animatedly about something. Ginny wasn’t paying too much attention, her mind preoccupied with Cassie’s reading material. If Cassie wanted to know more about demons, then so would other students. Eventually, someone would unearth something about the Warriors. That couldn’t bode will for her.

She and Cassie had just sat down at the Gryffindor table, when the post arrived. Ginny went on eating her omelet, not really paying much attention to the owls zooming everywhere. That was until one landed in her plate. She started and nearly scrambled backwards, before realizing that the missile which had landed in her eggs was Pigwidgeon.

“Pig!”

Cassie stared at the tiny owl jumping through the omelet.

“Um, Ginny? That’s an owl.”

“No, no. It’s Pigwidgeon, my brother’s owl. Pig is short for Pigwidgeon.”

“Where the crap did he get the name ‘Pigwidgeon?’”

“He didn’t. I named him.” Ginny had grabbed hold of the owl and was untying a tightly furled note attached to his leg. “Hold still, Pig!”

“I just remembered why I’m glad I’m an only child,” Cassie commented.

Ginny shot her a look, before finally getting the parchment off Pig’s leg. With a few nibbles at her now ruined omelet, he took off. With shaking hands, she unfurled the parchment. It’d been nearly a month since she’d seen and heard from Ron.

Hey Ginny,

This feels wrong, writing you. Anyhow, I’m sorry we had to leave without telling you. I bet you’re pissed about that.

Harry and Hermione say hi. We’re all fine. Brilliant, actually. It feels great to be actually doing something to help with the War. We’ll be coming back soon, so don’t do anything stupid until I’m back. Not that you would anyway; you’re pretty sensible. Spent too much time with Hermione, I suppose. We’ll talk when I get back.

Don’t worry, we’re all fine. See you soon.

-Ron

Ginny bit her lip, feeling tears behind her eyes. She’d been so preoccupied with Draco that she hadn’t realized just how much she missed her brother. Thank all the gods above that he was alright. Hermione and Harry, too. She loved them all terribly. Harry was another big brother to her, and Hermione was practically her sister. If Ron wasn’t thick about it for too much longer, they might actually become sisters-in-law. She didn’t think she could handle it if something happened to them. The scary bit was, that they were in a war. In the front lines, too. Something could easily happen to them.

“Ginny?”

She looked up at Cassie, startled. She’d forgotten she was there.

“You okay?”

She nodded. “I’m fine.”

Her voice was choked from unshed tears.

Cassie gave her a sad smile.

“It’s scary when your family’s not safe,” she said, gauging the situation accurately.

Ginny nodded again, swiping at her nose. Sweet Merlin, she’d become such a watering pot lately.

“It is.”

After a minute or so of silence, Cassie spoke up again.

“Are they okay?”

“They’re fine. Brilliant, actually, according to Ron.” Ginny was looking at Cassie, thankful that the new girl wasn’t intrusive when it really mattered.

Cassie smiled. “He seems really nice. They all do, actually.”

The red head nodded again. She hadn’t realized just how little Cassie knew Hogwarts and its inhabitants. She’d been around during everything, Cassie had just been dropped in the middle of it.

“They are. You should really get to know them.”

“I want to.”

Cassie looked down at her half-eaten blueberry muffin, then back at Ginny. “You wanna go take a walk?”

Ginny smiled. “That’d be nice.”

“Let’s go then.”

The two girls abandoned their breakfasts, heading out of the Great Hall.

“Let’s not go outside, it’s cold,” Cassie said with a shudder.

Ginny raised her eyebrows in surprise. “It’s not that cold.”

“I grew up in South Carolina, give me a break.”

“South Carolina?” Ginny asked, surprised. She realized she had no clue as to where Cassie was from. Or really anything about her.

“Yep, it’s a bit north of Florida,” she sighed, looking nostalgic. “Good old Myrtle Beach.”

Ginny’s eyebrows shot up. “Beach?”

Cassie grinned at her. “Yeah. I got to grow up at the beach.”

“Wicked. I’ve only gone to the beach a couple of times. And it was always cold.”

Cassie laughed. “Nah. I mean, Myrtle Beach isn’t exactly tropical weather, but it snows like, maybe once every five years.”

Ginny’s jaw dropped.

“I’m not kidding.”

“That’s…” she trailed off, uncertain of how to finish. Snow was a constant in her life. She didn’t what she’d do if there was a winter without snow.

“Freaky?” Cassie supplied grinning.

“A bit.”

“The cool part is, when it does snow, the whole city shuts down. Nobody goes to work, school is closed, everybody just stays home and enjoys the snow day.”

Ginny laughed, not quite believing her ears. “That’s unbelievable.”

Cassie grinned. “Nah, I love it.”

Ginny looked closely at her dormmate’s face as the two climbed a set of stairs. “You miss the States.”

Cassie looked over at her and shrugged, a sad smile in place. “Yeah. Of course. I mean, wouldn’t you miss England if you had to transfer to Salem? Or Beauxbatons?”

“Of course,” Ginny frowned. “But why did you have to transfer?”

“The usual story. My mom got a job here.”

“What about your dad?”

“He passed away.”

“Oh,” Ginny said stupidly. “I’m so sorry.”

Cassie made a dismissive motion with her hand. “It’s okay. I never really knew him.”

Ginny looked at her inquisitively. Cassie just waved her hand and rolled her eyes.

“It’s a long and really boring story. Tell me some about your family.”

“Um, well, I have six brothers.”

Cassie’s jaw dropped and she stopped in her tracks.

“Six?”

Ginny laughed, remembering a very similar conversation that took place in San Francisco. “Yes, six.”

“Wow.” A pause. “That’s a lot.”

Ginny laughed again. “It is. I love them all dearly, though.”

The two girls resumed their walk, winding through the second floor hallways.

“Big families are cool,” Cassie said.

“And loud,” Ginny commented, remembering her last week at home.

Cassie snorted. “Believe me, small families can be loud, too.”

Ginny laughed at that. She wondered what it was that Cassie was remembering.

They continued their walk through the corridors, the conversation flowing smoothly. They’d spent over a month living in the same dormitory, but had virtually known nothing about the other.

Ginny found out that she and the dark haired beauty had a lot more in common than she’d thought. For one, both girls loved Muggle music and spent about twenty minutes discussing the summer’s popular songs. That spurred a discussion about television and various shows. Cassie shared about her childhood in Myrtle Beach, and Ginny recounted tales of her family in Ottery St. Catchpole. Neither could cook and Cassie had spent many a meal in restaurants and fast food places, as her mother was hopeless cook. They compared their radically different families. All in all, it was a Saturday afternoon well spent.

When Ginny finally set off for the Head Boy’s rooms, making an excuse to Cassie, she felt calm. Even if everything with Draco was about to blow up in her face, she now had a real friend in the American girl. It was just a pity that she couldn’t tell Cassie about the Warriors and Draco.

~

Ginny nervously stepped inside the fourth floor alcove, glancing around at the portraits adorning the walls. They all stared at her openly. The red head scowled. Portraits had no shame whatsoever. She caught sight of the suit of armor and walked over to it, purposefully. The portraits began to whisper amongst themselves, but Ginny ignored them.

She took the armor’s cold, metal hand in her own and shook it. She had a sudden image of Draco doing the same and had to suppress a fit of giggles.

“Password,” the suit of armor said in possibly the lowest baritone Ginny had ever heard.

“Um, cauliflower.”

Another fit of giggles threatened to break forth. Thankfully, though, the suit of armor nodded and moved to the side, revealing a small passageway. Ginny nodded to him in thanks and stepped inside. A few short steps later, she was standing at a door. Nervously, she knocked.

No answer.

She stood there for a few moments, wondering if he’d forgotten about her. A little peeved, she knocked again. Still nothing. She gently pushed on the door, to find that it wasn’t locked. Her eyebrows drew together and she pushed the door open.

It opened up to a common room very much like her own. A black, leather sofa stood in the center of the room. Beside it, stood a matching armchair which was currently housing a stack of books. There was a desk on her left hand wall and a bookshelf stacked full of books. On the opposite wall was a fireplace and a door which obviously led to Draco’s bedroom.

“Draco?”

“Out here, Red.”

Her eyes landed on the window opposite her. It was a square window, about three feet high and wide, and it was open. Draco’s voice was coming from outside.

Even more confused, she crossed to the window and looked out. There, standing on the roof of a jutting window below, clad in jeans, a dark shirt and a black dragon hide jacket, was Draco.

“What are you doing?” Ginny asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

Draco glanced down at the ground (which was four stories below them) and then at her. He extended his hand, obviously meaning for her to take it. Ginny stared at his hand and then at his face before shaking her head.

“No.”

“Come on, Red. We don’t have eternity.”

Biting her lip and inwardly cursing Draco, she took his hand. Thank Merlin she’d worn jeans. After a few moments, she was standing on the tiny roof with Draco, clutching onto his hand. He moved a little to the side, so that she could see why they were up there. A short drop from the window they were standing on, was a step. After it, were more steps that wound down the castle’s side until they reached the ground. Ginny gasped and grabbed onto Draco’s shirt, screwing her eyes shut. She had not agreed to that.

“Ginny, what are you doing?”

“I’m afraid of heights.”

She knew how ridiculous that must sound coming from her. The bemused tone in Draco’s voice confirmed it.

“You play Quidditch and you said you like aeroplanes.”

“In Quidditch I can control the broom and aeroplanes are big,” she explained, chancing to open her eyes. Thank all things holy that she was facing the castle.

“I still don’t understand.”

He may not have understood, but his arms had wrapped around her, making her feel less likely to fall. She chanced a look up at his face.

“When I was four, I was coming downstairs for lunch, and some pillock friend of Charlie’s bumped into me and I fell down the stairs headfirst. Every since then I’ve been afraid of falling off stairs or being high up with nothing to keep me from falling.”

Draco’s face was unreadable, but his hold on her tightened. “This is the only way we can get to Hogsmead unseen.”

Ginny opened her mouth, but Draco shook his head.

“The Honeyduke’s passage won’t work.”

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Cemetery just outside of Hogsmead. There’s a back road to it. Which these steps just happen to lead to.”

She let the slight irritation in his voice slide. He’d felt smug about finding this route and she’d ruined it. “I don’t have anything with me.”

Draco smirked. “I know, so I brought extra.”

His smirk faded to be replaced with a look of…concern?

Ginny shook her head. “I’ll do it, just don’t let go of me.”

“I’m going to have to in order to get down.”

She nodded and took a tentative step towards the castle. When she saw that she was pretty stable, she let go of Draco. He released his hold on her, but didn’t move away until she had the castle wall at her back.

She nodded at him, hoping she didn’t look too terrified. Well, that was actually a bit of a lost cause. A couple of seconds ago she’d been clutching at him as though he was her only link left to life. They were really going to have to find another way out of the castle. And when had ‘let’s meet’ turn into ‘let’s go demon hunting?’ She’d ask Draco about that when she was safely on the ground. Speaking of which, where had the steps come from? She’d never seen them before.

He sat down on the small roof’s edge and dropped down to the step below. The steps were maybe about two feet long and one foot wide. Made of very rickety looking wood. Knowing Hogwarts, though, they could probably withstand a hurricane.

“Sit and then drop down,” Draco said.

The look on her face must have been one of pure terror, because Draco stepped closer to where she was and extended his hand.

“I won’t let you fall, Weaslette.”

Ginny took a deep breath. “I hate you, Draco.”

Draco smirked. “If I had a Galleon for every time I heard that.”

“You’d be an even more obnoxious bastard.”

The banter had helped her forget about her fear of falling and she’d managed to safely drop down to the step below.

“Hey, my parents were married,” Draco said, feigning hurt. He stepped down to the next step and offered her his hand.

Ginny took it. “Doesn’t make you any less obnoxious.”

“I’m hurt, Red. Your stunning wit cuts me to the quick.”

“Funny, Malfoy. Very funny.”

He shrugged. “I thought it was.”

“That’s my line.”

“Since when?”

“Since San Francisco.”

In such a fashion, they made their way down the side of the castle. They finally reached the ground, Ginny gratefully stepping onto the solid earth.

Draco shook his head. “I never knew that you were afraid of…”

He trailed off, uncertain as how to phrase it. Ginny didn’t blame him. She didn’t know what exactly it was that she was afraid of, either. She shrugged it off.

“It’s alright. We just need to find another way to get out of the castle.”

They headed down the path leading to Hogsmead. Draco gave a snort of laughter.

“As much as I enjoy our witty banter, I may run out of material if I have to keep you preoccupied like that often.”

Ginny gave a fake gasp. “Draco Malfoy run out of wit?”

“Who ever would have thought?”

Ginny grinned. This was what she liked about Draco. His wit and sarcasm. It amused her more than Fred and George’s antics ever had. She hated not knowing where she stood with him and feeling awkward. This easy, flowing banter was what she liked.

“Enlighten me as to why we’re out here,” she said, remembering.

Draco raised his eyebrows. “I thought you’d want to go out on a patrol.”

“It’s fine, I just…” she trailed off, watching Draco getting something out of his sleeve. “What’s that?”

“An athame,” Draco answered, handing it to her. “I found it in one of Malfoy Manor’s old storerooms.”

Ginny drew her hand back.

“Don’t worry, its not cursed.”

She gave him a skeptical look, but took the athame anyway. “Fine, but if I suddenly end up covered in green boils, I’m blaming you.”

Draco raised an eyebrow, looking thoroughly amused. “Green boils?”

“One of Fred and George’s new products,” she said dismissively. She held up the athame, and a beam of moonlight struck it. Ginny gasped softly. She’d never thought a knife could be beautiful, but this one was. The blade was about six inches long and doubled edged, each edge shaped in waves. There were two green stones, knowing the Malfoy’s probably emeralds, in the center of the blade. The hilt was just big enough for her hand to wrap around it perfectly. It seemed to be made of glass, a light cinnamon colored substance swirling around inside, two more emeralds incrusted down the center.

“Wow,” she breathed.

“I knew you’d like it,” Draco said smugly. Ginny looked up at him. He was smirking and looking very smug indeed.

“You’re giving it to me?” she asked, not quite understanding.

“Of course I’m giving it to you, Red.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. The hilt won’t break, so don’t be afraid to use it.”

Ginny smiled warmly at him. “Really, Draco. Thank you. It’s gorgeous.”

She slipped her new athame into her belt and they continued on their progress to Hogsmead.

A few minutes later they were in a very old and very creepy cemetery. Half the headstones were either broken or so old that the inscriptions couldn’t be read. Some that were visible were written in odd symbols and runes. There were a few trees scattered here and there. Most were either dried and withering, or bent over into frightening shapes, branches looking capable of ensnaring unsuspecting victims. The full moon hanging in the clear sky did nothing to help the mood.

“This place is welcoming,” Draco commented dryly.

Ginny shuddered. “I think you’re only supposed to be here if you’re dead.”

Draco chuckled. “I suppose we should just walk around.”

“For how long?” Ginny asked. “Most demonic activity starts right before dawn.”

“It’s half past nine now,” Draco said, checking his watch.

“So we just patrol until dawn?”

Draco caught the distinctly unhappy look on her face. “For as long as we can, I suppose.”

Ginny remembered the day after their first patrol at the Hillcrest cemetery in San Francisco. She and Draco had been complaining about not getting any sleep. The Wildcat had told them to get used to it. Ginny looked over at Draco just as he looked over at her. He was remembering the same thing.

“Kiara never said that this was going to be easy,” Draco said.

“Meh.” Ginny made a face.

~ 4 Hours Later ~

Ginny yawned hugely. They had been patrolling around the stupid cemetery for four hours now and no sign of anything. Living or dead. She doubted if there were even bugs. And dawn was still four hours off. She yawned again in pure despair. She heard Draco snigger from somewhere to her left.

“Shut up,” she growled.

Draco’s sniggers just got louder. Ginny shot him a sulky look.

“Why aren’t you tired?” she asked, grumpily.

Draco shrugged. “I never get more than a couple hours sleep usually, so this isn’t that different.”

“Liar. I lived with you for eight weeks- you sleep like a log.”

“And you snore," she added as an afterthought.

Draco looked highly offended. “I do not snore!”

Ginny patted his arm kindly. “Of course you don’t.”

“I do not.”

“Maybe if you say it enough times, it’ll come true.”

Draco glared at her. “I do not snore, and I don’t sleep ‘like a log,’ as you so eloquently put it.”

Ginny raised her eyebrows in perfect imitation of him. “Draco, we’d get back from training and you’d be asleep in seconds. And I could barely get you to wake up in the mornings.”

“That’s true,” Draco said. Ginny opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off. “I’d fall asleep, then wake up about an hour later. By the time I finally did get back to sleep, it was near seven in the morning.”

Ginny’s jaw closed with a snap. “I…never knew that.”

“Of course you didn’t.” He sounded quite amused.

Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “But- that’s horrible.”

Draco shrugged it off. “I’m used to it.”

He checked his watch, then looked back at her. “You want to go back?”

Ginny looked around the eerie cemetery, noting its emptiness.

“Why not?”

“Don’t answer a question with a question,” Draco said smirking.

Ginny grinned and shook her head as they headed towards the road.

“We started that during that patrol,” she commented.

Draco nodded. “I remember.”

They walked on in silence for a few minutes. Questions about the day before kept nagging at Ginny. They’d just reestablished whatever had been between them in San Francisco. She didn’t want to ruin it, but knew that she needed her answers. The comfort of their current situation and the nagging want for answers battled inside of her until they reached the steps they’d taken down. Now she could see that they extended far above the fourth floor, to the top of the west tower.

“I never knew these steps existed,” she said, stopping and looking up at the castle.

“Me neither. Not until the start of this term, anyway.” Draco was standing beside her, hands in his pockets, looking up at the castle. A slight breeze was making his light hair fly up some, now that it wasn’t constantly slicked back. Good thing he didn’t know what an impressive sight he made. Ginny smiled. She knew that what she was seeing would stay in her memory for a long time to come. Draco must have felt her stare, because he looked over at her. Catching sight of her smile, the corners of his own mouth twitched up. Why did people do that?

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

Ginny shook her head, her smile broadening. “Nothing.”

No, now was definitely not the time to bring up her questions. She crossed to the steps, but stopped when she didn’t hear Draco following her. She looked back, confused. Draco was still standing just as he’d been, watching her with an amused expression on his face.

“What?” she asked.

“Whatever happened to your fear of falling?”

Ginny waved her hand dismissively. “Going up stairs isn’t the problem.”

Draco walked towards her, eyebrows raised. “So you’re only afraid of walking down stairs?”

She nodded, feeling quite pathetic. “Pretty much.”

Shaking his head, Draco joined her on the stairs and they made their way to the fourth floor. Going up the stairs wasn’t as frightening as going down, but it still had its element of terror. Who wouldn’t be afraid to fall of a flight of stairs going up the side of a several story high castle? She was on the step above Draco, sticking as close as she could to the wall.

They finally got to the tiny window that jutted out just beneath Draco’s window. When Ginny was finally on the step beside it, she frowned. The roof of it was at her waist, but the side facing her had a latch by the window pane.

“Draco look at this.”

Draco stopped on the step below and peered at where she was pointing.

“It’s a door,” he said, sounding puzzled. Ginny looked over at him.

“Should we open it?” Her excited tone of voice made Draco raise his eyebrows.

“Curiosity killed the cat, you know,” he said, smirking.

“Yes, well, I’m not a cat.”

Draco grinned. “Fair point.”

He reached over and deftly undid the latch. Ginny moved down to the step Draco was on, so that the door could fully swing open. When it did, it revealed nothing but darkness. Draco turned to her grinning.

“Ladies first.”

Ginny scowled at him, but went ahead anyway. If there was something in there that decided to eat her, she’d come back as a ghost and haunt Draco. Happy with her plan, she carefully slid down until her feet came to rest on something. She pushed herself in and dropped to the ground with a thud, sending up a cloud of dust. Coughing, she reached for her wand.

“Lumos.” A small light blossomed at the tip of her wand, lighting up what appeared to be an old library.

She heard Draco drop down through the window’s hidden door. He murmured the light spell and came to stand behind her. He put his hand on the small of her back, in an almost protective manner. Ginny forcibly switched her thoughts from Draco to surveying the room.

It was rectangular and small, half the size of her common room. The two longer walls were covered by bookshelves bursting with old, dusty books. There was sofa pressed up against the bookshelves to her right. It was coated with so much dust that it was impossible to tell the color.

“Wonder when the last time somebody was in here,” Ginny whispered.

“Centuries, probably,” Draco muttered.

They stood in silence for a few moments, simply staring around the small room. Who knew such a tiny room could be so entrancing?

“It was probably a personal library,” Draco said, moving away from her and towards the bookshelves.

“Hermione would love to get in here.”

Draco chuckled. “I bet Granger would.”

Ginny suddenly yawned, and remembered her lack of sleep. Draco cast her an almost sympathetic glance.

“Let’s go Red, we can explore this place some other time.”

“Promise?” she asked. The room had been practically locked away from time. Who knew what secrets it held?

“I promise,” Draco said, chuckling.

He crossed to the door and turned the knob. The knob didn’t budge. Ginny walked over to him, brow furrowed. Draco tried the door again and got the same results.

“Alohamora.”

Still nothing.

“Bloody hell,” Draco muttered. Ginny was really not liking the looks of this. Maybe there was a reason why the room had been locked. Draco stepped back, looking determinedly at the door.

“What are you planning on doing?” Ginny asked, cautiously.

Draco looked over at her, eyebrows raised. “Breaking down the door.”

Ginny bit her lip. She had brothers. Six of them. She’d seen them all try to break down a door at one point or another. None had succeeded. And Draco was of a much lighter build than Charlie.

Draco launched himself at the door, ramming his shoulder into it. The door flew open with a click. Draco’s momentum carried him out into the hallway, but he stopped as gracefully as only he could.

Ginny’s mouth was hanging open in obvious surprise as she joined him in the hallway, pocketing her wand. Draco was looking smugger than ever.

“What?” he asked, grinning.

“I have seen everyone of my brothers try to do that. Try, being the keyword.” She knew she’d regret flattering his ego later.

Draco stepped towards her, still grinning. “Ah, Weaslette. You forget who I am.”

Ginny’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Suddenly realization hit her.

“The Dragon,” she said, smiling. Of course. How could she have forgotten?

Draco’s grin had turned into his trademark smirk. He took another step closer to her, so that they were only a few centimeters apart.

“Exactly,” he muttered, before stealing her lips in a kiss.

Ginny could have said she was surprised, but she wasn’t. She’d been waiting for that moment all night. Her hands rested on his chest as he nipped at her bottom lip. She opened her mouth, letting him deepen the kiss. One of his hands was on her hip, the other tangled in her hair. She kissed him back, not caring how much it could screw up everything. Sweet Merlin, were his kisses distracting.

Finally, when air became a necessity, they broke apart.

“Monday, then?” Draco asked, almost breathless.

Ginny nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

“Eleven?”

She nodded again. “Your dorm?”

Draco nodded and kissed her swiftly. He stepped back, eyes dark as a storm cloud.

“See you then, Ginny.”

She watched him go, mind replaying the wonderful kiss. Her hands drifted up to brush her kiss-swollen lips. She’d gotten both the banter and the kiss, tonight. Why did they feel so disconnected?

~

Hey Gin-Gin,

What’s up? Sorry I haven’t written you in so long. School’s horrible. You should really get a computer and internet. We could talk more, then. Holy shit! That reminds me. I had the freakiest dream last night.

I was in this hallway, right? And there was this coffin, just there. So stupid dream me opens it. This horrible vampire comes out in the old-movie kind of way; all creepy and shit. So, I run away from him and there’s this door and I open it, but he’s right behind me. For some screwed up reason I was now in a room with a pool. And there were little kids in the pool.
Thousands and thousands of little kids! So, I decide to run into the water because for some reason I think vampires can’t go in water.

So the vampire turns into a shark as well, I’m talking utterly scary shark. Oh my god, like, five million rows of teeth, and beady black eyes.

And the children, the children were pissing in the pool and giggling!

So, I like, started running, because amazingly the water was like only four feet deep. But it was a huge pool, and somehow the twelve foot long, eight foot high sharks were gliding effortlessly in the four feet of water. Mouths open, flexing their teeth and shit.

So I get out of the pool finally, and the vampire shark spoke all gurggly and said “NEVER SAGE” and flopped out of the pool and turned back into a vampire.

At this point I was running, and the vampire ran and fell, but got a hold of my leg. And I tried to run faster and he was smiling and was morphing back into the really scary vampire and bit my leg. I could FEEL him sucking my blood. Then he fell off and went back into the water…

Okay, I got really off topic. Besides that horrible dream, I’m fine. So is David. I never really see Ali. How are you? Screw Draco yet? Write soon!

Love you,

Say-Say.

*******************
A/N: Yay! I finally figured out the html codes on this thing!

Anywhoozles, I’m seriously hoping everyone reading this is now laughing themselves silly. That dream is one my friend Sage actually did write a note to me about; most of the words are her own so credit to her for the funny.

This chapter: Ginny’s fear of going downstairs is actually a fear of mine. Same story- some idiot knocked me down a flight of stairs when I was four. Cassie’s story about whole cities shutting down in South Carolina when it snows are true; just ask anyone who lives in the South. The “morning wiser than evening” quote early in the chapter is actually a Russian proverb that I personally think is very true.

Anyway, thanks to all who review- I love you all. Really, I do. This chapter was up so soon because of a) reviews and b) spring break. I’m not sure when I’ll get the next chapter up, but bear with me. It will come!

Chapter 18
Homecoming

Ginny was comfortably curled up in the arm chair of her common room, trying to do her homework. Trying, being the keyword. The wind howling outside wasn’t letting her concentrate on one thought at a time, much less Transfiguration homework. She felt restless. A sparring session with Draco would have been just the thing to relieve her antsy mood, but alas, he had Quidditch practice. How anyone could fly in that wind was beyond her. She stared at her Transfiguration text trying to reason whether a sparring or a snogging session would best relieve her mood.

The library that they’d stumbled upon a few days ago had turned out to be the perfect place to spar. They’d considered the Room of Requirement, but too many people knew about it. In the library they were unlikely to be found. They’d pushed the couch under the window/trapdoor and hidden a pair of old school brooms behind it. A quick escape for patrolling.

Really, it was all just too convenient. She had a sneaking suspicion that Dumbledore might have had something to do with it. He always knew everything that was going on. Why shouldn’t he know about she and Draco being Warriors?

It was nice, though. She and Draco would meet up, alternately to spar and patrol. Either way, it would end with a healthy snog, leaving them both breathless. After trying, to no avail, to figure out what exactly their snogging meant, she realized it was just too much of a hassle. There never could, and never would, be anything between them. They were just friends…with benefits.

A piece of paper sticking out of the textbook caught her eye. Ginny pulled it out and recognized it as the letter Sage had sent her. She really ought to reply and maybe write some of the others. She'd gotten the sweetest letter from Maria just that morning.

“I’m bored,” Cassie announced suddenly.

Ginny looked up. Cassie had been laying in front of the fireplace, wrapped in a blanket and writing something. The crackling fire cast odd shadows on her face and gave her hair a fiery glint.

“Nice to know,” Ginny said with a grin.

“Let’s go to Gryffindor Tower,” Cassie suggested.

Ginny made a face. The last thing she wanted to do right now was get up. True, she was restless, but somehow the thought of being in the overly loud common room wasn’t that appealing.

“Oh, come on!” Cassie persisted, sitting up and shrugging off the blanket around her shoulders. “It’ll be fun. More interesting than sitting in here.”

“But I’m doing homework,” the redhead protested weakly.

Cassie gave her a dubious look before whining, “Come on. I don’t wanna go by myself.”

Ginny sighed. “Fine.”

Cassie let out a squeak and jumped up. She bounced over to Ginny and literally pulled her out of the armchair. Ginny couldn’t help laughing. Cassie’s enthusiasm was contagious. The American girl laughed too, and the girls stumbled out of their dormitory and into the hallway.

“What’s the rush?” Ginny asked, still laughing.

Cassie shrugged. “I dunno, I just want to do something! There’s something exciting in the air!”

They stopped in front of the Fat Lady, who eyed them suspiciously. “Password?”

“Kimono,” Cassie supplied giddily.

The portrait had barely closed behind them when Ginny’s ears were assaulted by noise.

A crowd of people stood gathered in the center of the common room, talking loudly and animatedly. Music was playing, alcohol was out, and people were dancing. It looked quite as though Gryffindor had just won the Quidditch cup, or something equally celebratory.

“What’s going on?” Cassie yelled over the noise.

“No idea!”

Suddenly, the crowd parted and Ginny could see the cause of the celebration. Looking quite bashful, but very pleased with themselves, stood Ron, Harry, and Hermione.

Ron caught sight of her and grinned. He wrestled through the crowd and took up his little sister in a bear hug. Ginny hugged him back just as tightly, her shock dissipating. They were back! Sweet Merlin, they were back!

“It’s so good to see you, Gin,” Ron said, letting go of his sister.

“Good to see you, too, Ron.” Ginny caught sight of Hermione and gave the older girl a hug. She returned it enthusiastically.

“How have you been, Ginny? Keeping up with your grades?”

Ginny laughed. Trust that to be the first thing out of Hermione’s mouth. “I’ve been fine, Hermione. And my grades are fine, too.”

Harry had managed to make his way over to them. Ginny grinned at him and gave him a quick hug.

“I can’t believe you lot are back!” she exclaimed. “Where in Merlin’s name were you?”

Hermione shook her head and Ron nodded pointedly towards Cassie. Ginny looked over at her dormmate. In all truth, she’d forgotten that she was there. Cassie stood with her arms crossed over her chest, chin up, and a faint, flickering smile on her lips. If it was possible to look simultaneously defensive and amused, then Cassie was it.

Hermione smiled at the American girl pleasantly. “Hello, Cassie.”

Cassie nodded. “Hey.”

An awkward silence stretched between the group. Harry looked especially uncomfortable. Ginny looked from face to face, mind trying to come up with a way to end the silence. Suddenly, Cassie grinned and dropped her arms.

“Sorry, usually I’m more talkative. I’m just not quite sure what to say to a bunch of people who just disappeared for a month. Not to mention probably wanna keep their reasons secret. So why bother asking why they left?”

The Trio looked as shocked as Ginny felt. Would having a conversation with Cassie ever be quite, well…normal? Seamus Finnegan suddenly popped up at Ginny’s elbow, grinning from ear to ear.

“Would m’lady care to dance?” Seamus asked, bowing to Ginny.

She looked back at the Trio and Cassie. They seemed fine…

Cassie grinned at her. “Go, dance!”

Ginny turned to Seamus with a small smile.

“Sure, why not?”

Seamus took her hand and nearly dragged her to towards the dancing couples. Ginny laughed.

“None of your dirty tricks, Seamus!” Ron called after them. “That’s my sister!”

Ginny laughed again as Seamus shook his head.

“That brother of yours never seems to trust me.”

“With good reason,” Ginny grinned.

As she danced with Seamus, Ginny thought about how nice the evening was. It was a good thing Cassie had dragged her out. She’d said there was something exciting in the air. The redhead grinned. Apparently, Cassie had a sixth sense about these things. It was nice, though. For everyone in Gryffindor Tower, it was just a party. And they were just teenagers. There was no war, no constant deaths. Just one evening of pure fun. At a time like this, surely they were allowed that?

Ginny looked around the room as she was dancing. Her gaze landed on a table on the other side of the room. Sitting at one end was Cassie, motioning wildly with her hands, explaining something animatedly. Harry sat across from her, looking very amused and laughing occasionally. The matchmaker in Ginny leapt at this. She shook her head. No, she would do nothing of the sort. She looked away and found Hermione and Ron sitting on a sofa, talking. Hermione suddenly reached up and hit Ron’s arm, looking irritated. Ron rubbed his arm and mumbled something, causing Hermione to laugh. Ginny smiled. It was about time that they’d gotten their act together.

“Lovebirds, everywhere,” Seamus muttered good naturedly.

“Find your lovebird?” she asked teasingly.

Seamus pouted. “I thought I was dancing with her.”

Ginny laughed. Merlin, she’d forgotten how funny Seamus was. Actually, she’d forgotten how fun Gryffindor Tower could be. She really ought to leave her rooms more often. She resolved to spend more time in the Tower and enjoy the evening. A night like this was rare.

~

The next morning, Ginny was searching the shared common room, trying to find her shoes. She heard a door click closed and looked up. Cassie had just come into the common room. She was wearing her school uniform and pulling her long, dark hair into a plait, with a hair tie held in her teeth.

“Hey,” Ginny greeted.

Cassie made a noise in reply then took the hair tie out of her teeth. “Hey.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Have you seen my shoes?”

“Yeah, they’re by the couch.”

Cassie slipped on her own shoes, before surveying the room, curiously.

“Hey, have you-”

“Desk chair,” Ginny answered.

Cassie made for said furniture and gratefully lifted her bag. Hefting it onto her shoulder, she made a face. “God, I swear- this thing is pregnant.”

Ginny laughed and picked up her own bag. “Mine is just fat.”

Cassie grinned and the two headed out.

They hadn’t actually had much chance to talk. Last night they’d gotten in late, and wanted nothing more than to collapse on their respective beds. In the morning, they were both too tired to make much conversation. Thank Merlin she had decided to abstain from the Butterbeer and Firewhiskey.

“Last night was fun,” Ginny commented.

Cassie nodded, smiling. “Yeah, it was.”

A moment of silence stretched between them.

“So,” the redhead began. “I saw you talking to Harry.”

Cassie looked over at her, eyebrows raised, expression much too innocent. “And?”

Ginny narrowed her eyes. “You know what.”

The American girl shrugged. “Well, he is nice.”

“Aha!”

Cassie laughed. “You’re nuts. I don’t like him like that. Not yet, anyway.”

Ginny’s eyebrows shot up. Cassie laughed.

“Hey, I’m not ruling out the possibility of me possibly liking him sometime in the possible future.”

This time it was Ginny’s turn to laugh.

Cassie grinned. “Shush. And anyway, what about you? Dancing the night away with Seamus?”

“So?”

“Oh come on! He likes you.”

Ginny looked over at her, curiously. “You think?”

“Not ‘think.’ Know, Miss Weasley.”

Ginny grinned. “Really?”

Cassie rolled her eyes. “Yes! What is this, Twenty Questions? And I have a feeling he’s gonna make another move on you. He doesn’t seem like the kinda guy to wait around to ask a girl out.”

The American girl came to a sudden halt, eyes widening in something resembling fear.

“What is it?” Ginny asked, concerned.

“What day is it?” Cassie’s voice was a thin squeak.

“The tenth, why?” Now she was really getting nervous.

If possible, Cassie’s eyes went even wider.

“Holy shit! Madame Pince is gonna skin me alive! My book is like three days late!”

Ginny nearly laughed. “What book?”

“The one on demons. Mind if I go return it?”

“Sure, go on.”

Cassie turned around, paused, and turned back around. Ginny raised an eyebrow in query.

“If I’m not back by Defense, come looking for me, okay?”

Ginny laughed. “Go!”

Cassie nodded and tore down the hall to the library.

Shaking her head and chuckling, Ginny continued her now-solitary walk to the Great Hall. Cassie was absolutely mad. In every sense of the word. Seamus had no interest in her, whatsoever. Remembering their conversation last night, though, made her stop.

Okay, so maybe Seamus did have an interest in her. Would that be so bad? After all, he was a nice bloke. Charming, funny, good-looking, kind. Loads of girls fancied him. Would it be so bad if he did ask her out? Ron might object to it at first, (of course he would- Seamus wasn’t Harry) but he would come around soon enough. Would it really be so bad? No, no it wouldn’t. She might even say yes.

Then, of course, there was Draco. Since all the Seamus talk had started, he’d been like an annoying little twitch in the back of her mind. Draco. Really, though, what about him? She’d already established that nothing could or would ever be between them. So they snogged. So what? Snogging wasn’t a commitment. To Draco it was probably just a fringe benefit of the Warrior thing. Now he really did have no interest in her.

Ginny frowned. Why was he kissing her? It couldn’t be just pure physical attraction. Draco went after the best and most beautiful. She was…cute, but a far cry from beautiful. He’d said he’d ‘been overcome with the sudden urge to kiss her.’ But why?

She let out a rather frustrated sigh. This was insane. Draco’s meaningless kisses would not stand in her way of a potential relationship with Seamus. Once she did start seeing him though, she’d have to put a stop to all this snogging business. She couldn’t go around kissing Draco Malfoy behind her boyfriend’s back. She shook her head. She was getting far too ahead of herself. This was all Cassie’s fault. All her talk of Seamus and fancying. Seamus probably wasn’t even interested in her.

~ Lunch ~

Ginny and Cassie were seated at the Gryffindor table, munching on various food when Ron came up.

“What’s up your arse?” Ginny greeted.

Ron sat down across from her, glaring. “Snape.”

“Yes, well, some of us don’t get to take a month long vacation from school,” Ginny pointed out.

Cassie sighed dreamily. “Ah, vacation.”

“What a foreign, foreign, thing,” Ginny continued, keeping with Cassie’s dreamy tone.

“You know, I can almost see it! Almost, but it was so, so long ago. I barely remember what it is. Is? Was? Does it even exist anymore?”

Ginny opened her mouth to continue, but Ron chucked an apple at her.

“I came over here to tell you something, not listen to your bloody theatrics.”

Cassie pouted. “But I thought our theatrics were good.”

Ginny laughed. “Fine. What it is, brother o’mine?”

“Mum wants us home for a family dinner tonight. Everyone’s going to be there. We should be back by lunch tomorrow.”

Ginny nodded. She’d been expecting her mother to want a family dinner when the Trio showed up. Wait a second…

“Everyone?”

Ron nodded. “Everyone.”

So the Order would be there, too. Ginny nodded again.

“What time are we leaving?”

“Be in McGonagall’s office at six. Harry and Hermione are coming, too.”

Ginny resisted the temptation to roll her eyes. Of course Harry and Hermione were coming, too. With a final nod, Ron left. Ginny stabbed at the mashed potatoes she’d been eating. She didn’t feel very hungry anymore. Shouldn’t a family dinner be causing her joy?

“You don’t seem too happy,” Cassie commented quietly.

Ginny looked up at her. “That obvious?”

Cassie shrugged. “A bit.”

“I don’t know,” Ginny said returning the shrug. “I just…don’t. At least Mum will probably bake a fabulous dessert.”

Cassie’s eyes lit up. “Dessert?”

Ginny laughed. “I’ll bring you some back, alright?”

“You better!”

~

The Trio plus one stood nervously in Professor McGonagall’s office.

“Something about just being in here makes you feel like you’ve done something wrong, doesn’t it?” Ron asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Stop being ridiculous, Ronald.”

Ginny snickered. She loved seeing Ron told off.

“I’m not being ridiculous!”

“Yes you are.”

“How in-“

Ron’s indignant reply was cut off by Professor McGonagall herself. She swept into her office and headed straight for the fireplace.

“Now, I won’t keep you lot long,” she said, getting a small jar from the mantle. “Floo back into my office and then head straight for your dormitories. No wandering, understood?”

The four nodded.

“Good. I trust you all know how to use the Floo.”

More nods.

“Miss Weasley, you first.”

Always her. Ginny stepped up and took a pinch of Floo Powder out of the jar McGonagall was holding. She threw it into the flames and watched them turn a dark emerald color before stepping in.

“The Burrow!”

One nauseating Floo trip later, she was stumbling into the Burrow’s living room. Coughing and blinking soot from her eyes, she wasn’t able to stave off her mother’s attack.

“Ginny! Oh, it’s so good to have you home!” Molly Weasley crooned, embracing her daughter tightly.

Ginny coughed and sputtered. “Good to see you, too, Mum.”

At that moment (thank all the gods) Ron came stumbling out of the fireplace, and Molly’s attention was diverted for the time being. Ginny righted herself and brushed the remaining soot off. She made for a mirror and checked her appearance. So this was what she’d look like in fifty years. She bent over and beat the ash out of her hair, returning it to its normal brassy state.

“Having fun, sis?”

Ginny turned around to see Fred and George hanging out of the kitchen, grinning.

“Yes, great fun.”

They came around and embraced her good naturedly.

“How’s the old Hoggy-Warty?” Fred asked.

Ginny raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. “Same old, same old. Cassie’s pretty interesting, though.”

“Who?”

“Cassie. She’s a transfer from the States.”

The twins leaned in, eager for more.

“What’s she look like?” George asked.

“She’s in my year.”

“So?” They asked in unison.

Ginny rolled her eyes and shrugged past them.

“Perverts,” she muttered.

Within minutes the whole of the Weasley family, plus Harry and Hermione, were seated in the Burrow’s living room, talking about random things and waiting for the Order to arrive. There would be an Order meeting once they arrived, followed by a gigantic dinner for all.

“How’s school, Ginny?” Arthur asked.

“Same as ever, Dad,” she answered with a smile.

He nodded and went back to another conversation. Ginny sat perched on the edge of a sofa, swishing a straw around an empty glass of pumpkin juice. She was always a listener, not a participator in the conversations. Then everybody said she was quiet. Well, really! How did they expect her to participate in a conversation when all she was ever asked was ‘How’s school?’ She shook her head.

“Hey, Ginny?”

Her head jerked up, to see Bill’s attention directed towards her. “Hmm?”

“Out of curiosity; what’s Malfoy like, now that his father’s in Azkaban?”

Everyone paused in their conversations and looked over at her. Merlin, her family knew the questions to ask, didn’t they? How was Malfoy? Hmm… sarcastic, annoying, gorgeous? A right pillock, but great fighter and snogger?

“Well, I don’t really see him much. He’s not in my year.” Merlin, the lies came off her tongue like silk. When had she become such a liar? Ah right, since she’d started hanging around Draco.

“Still, you must see him sometime. Does he give you any grief?” Bill’s last question was serious. Everyone knew how Draco loved to antagonize Ron. Which was still very true.

Did Draco give her any grief? Yes and no. He’d stopped with the verbal assaults. Well, not really. Now they were more of just playful banter. Then again, she’d spent the first month of term going mad because of his silence and now she was going mad because of their encounters. Merlin, Draco was going to drive her to St. Mungo’s at this rate.

“Not more than usual.”

Well, that wasn’t a complete lie.

Bill nodded, satisfied with her answer.

“He has been a bit less obnoxious than usual,” Hermione piped up.

“No he hasn’t,” Ron said, looking over at her with confusion.

Hermione gave him a look. “Think about it, Ronald. Has he said anything to you since we got back?”

Ron opened and closed his mouth several times. Ginny smirked. Her brother: the great, redheaded goldfish.

“She does have a point,” Harry said, looking surprised.

Ron frowned. “That can’t be good. He’s probably plotting something.”

Harry nodded in agreement, while Hermione and Ginny rolled their eyes.

Thankfully, there was a knock at the door, signaling the arrival of the Order. Seriousness settled over the Burrow like a blanket as the Order took their places in the living room. Ginny was sent out into the kitchen with orders to stay put and not even try to eavesdrop. She left without a fight, but making it very clear that she was miffed. She hoped that ice was radiating off of her.

She sat down at the kitchen table and drummed her fingers on the table for a bit, before getting bored. Smirking, she reached into her boot and retrieved the small dagger that Draco had given her. It fit perfectly in her boot and she’d even been able to make a small sheath for it and attach it inside. Having a weapon always within reach was comforting to her. Sure her wand was a weapon, but a knife was a good second. Everyone was afraid of knives. She flipped it up in the air and caught it deftly. She soon made a game of it, seeing how high up she could throw it and still catch it. She’d just caught it after a spectacularly high throw when the kitchen door opened. Ginny froze, her back to the door. Shit, shit, oh, shitty, shit, shit. After a moment of pure panic, she shoved it down her sleeve and spun around.

“Tonks! What are you doing in here? Shouldn’t you be…er, out there?”

Tonks eyed her strangely, before crossing to the glasses cupboard. “Just getting a drink. Stuck in here, then?”

Ginny rolled her eyes, willing her heart rate to climb down a few hundred beats. This Warrior thing was going to kill her, be it murder by demon or heart attack.

“Yes. I’m stuck in here.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, fine.”

Tonks raised a skeptical eyebrow, but left the kitchen without further comment.

Ginny sighed and removed the knife from her sleeve and put it back in its boot sheath. Okay, no more of that. She’d just check what was for dinner. She got up and crossed to the oven, from which baking smells were wafting. She opened it just a crack and smiled. Strawberry shortcake. Life was good.

She’d just swiped a tomato from the salad, when the sounds of a meeting adjourned reached her. The kitchen door opened and Molly Weasley came in, shouting out orders. Ginny smiled and got out of her way. As smothering as she could be, Ginny adored her mother. She was lucky to have her and she knew it.

The meal soon got underway, and talk of current affairs began. Percy, who had apparently reconciled with the elder Weasleys, rolled his eyes when Charlie asked him how things at the Ministry were.

“Terrible. These demons are wrecking absolute havoc. Brighton’s got absolutely everyone terrified. I really wish we could do more about it.”

Ginny nearly choked on her chicken. Why was everyone so bloody interested in demons all of the sudden? Every time they were brought up, she had a near heart attack. There was a lot of head shaking and sighing at Percy’s comments.

“That was terrible, what happened at Brighton,” Molly tutted.

Ginny felt her stomach sink horribly. She and Draco could have stopped that, if only…

“Can’t the Ministry find any Wiccas?” asked Professor Lupin.

Percy frowned. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“Wiccas. They deal with demons all the time. Their magic, Wiccan magic, might be able to help.”

Ginny remembered the spells and rituals at San Francisco. Professor Lupin was right. They’d all been Wiccan spells and rituals. She frowned. Wiccas would help, but so would the stupid Warriors if they’d all just stop being so thick. Herself included.

“You may have something there, Remus,” Moody growled. “Know any Wiccas we could ask?”

“I’m afraid not, Alastor,” Lupin said, frowning.

“How did you know about Wiccas?” Tonks asked.

“An old girlfriend of Sirius’s was a Wicca.”

Ginny smiled, and watched as most everyone else did at the thought of Sirius. That made her smile widen. She hadn’t known Sirius all that well, but she was certain that this was how he had wanted to be remembered. He would’ve been glad to see them all smiling.

Moody chuckled, which was quite scary. “I should have known.”

The conversation slowly began to flow to more common topics, and all too soon the dinner was over. Ginny asked her mother for an extra piece of the shortcake to take to school with her.

“Of course, dear.” Molly wrapped up two insanely large pieces and handed them to her.
Ginny furrowed her brow.

“One for that new girl you’re sharing a dorm with, dear. She does like cake, doesn’t she?” Molly looked very worried at the thought that someone might not like cake.

Ginny grinned. “Yeah, Mum. Cassie loves cake.”

Molly smiled. “Perfect, then.”

“Ginny, come on!” Ron called from the living room.

Ginny gave her mother a peck on the cheek before heading out into the living room. Harry and Hermione had already Flooed out and Ron was impatiently waiting for her. He shoved the jar of Floo Powder at her.

“Be careful and don’t get into trouble!” Molly called.

“Yes, Mum,” the youngest Weasleys mumbled in unison.

Ginny threw the Floo Powder in the flames and stepped in, shouting out her destination. Almost instantly, she was stumbling out into Professor McGonagall’s office. Her foot caught on an uneven stone and she pitched forward. Harry caught her mid-fall.

“Careful there, Ginny,” he said, grinning.

She righted herself and thanked him, feeling foolish. Today was definitely not her day.

Ron Flooed in and the four made their way out, chatting amongst themselves. Well, they chatted. Ginny sulked. She didn’t even fancy Harry anymore, hadn’t for a while, and still managed to make a fool of herself around him. Lovely. They reached the Fat Lady soon enough and the Trio made their way inside while Ginny continued on her lonely way. What an uneventful day. She hated boring days. Well, alright, she’d nearly had a coronary a few times, but that was besides the point.

“Ginny! Hey, Ginny, wait up!”

Ginny stopped and turned around. Seamus was jogging down the hall towards her. She raised her eyebrows, wondering what this was about. He stopped a couple of feet in front of her and grinned.

“Have fun at your family dinner?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, loads. I even come bearing food.”

She indicated to her cake parcel.

“That for Cassie?”

“How’d you know?”

Seamus laughed. “I’ve seen her eat. She could give Ron a run for his money!”

Ginny couldn’t help but laugh. It was nice to laugh with a guy and not just trade insults. “I know what you mean.”

They were silent for a couple seconds. Seamus stuck his hands in his pockets and looked up at her with a rather lopsided grin.

“Hey, Ginny, you know we’ve got that Hogsmeade weekend coming up?”

She nodded, willing her heart not to jump up in hope.

“You want to go with me?” Seamus looked almost comically hopeful.

Ginny bit her lip. “On a date?”

“Of course on a date!”

He was grinning from ear to ear and it was infectious.

Ginny smiled. “Sure.”

Seamus swooped her a bow and took her hand. “I will see you tomorrow, then, fair lady.”

He kissed her hand making her giggle and pranced off the way he came.

Ginny giggled and continued her way back to her dorm. Maybe the day wasn’t so boring, after all. Next Saturday she’d be going to Hogsmeade with Seamus on a date. She grinned. Who cared about Draco? She might actually have a budding relationship with Seamus and he was not going to get in the way.

~~~~~~~~~

A/N: I know, I know, long time no chappy. Please don't hurt me. I've posted two just for that reason...

And yes, I also know it’s a boring chapter, but it was necessary. There’s a lot of important stuff in this chapter that I had to include. I promise the next chapter will be more interesting.

Last chapter, I got a lot of stuff about why did Draco say something about being the Dragon when he knocked down the door, and here’s my answer. I don’t really know if this was clear in the past chapters (which I do plan on rewriting once the whole fic is done) but part of the Warriors’ powers includes strength. Think Buffy, if you will, but that really wasn’t my original inspiration. Demons are strong, so are they. I hope that made sense. If you have any other questions, just leave ‘em in a review and I’ll try to answer.

Big, big, thanks to all my reviewers. Really, you have no idea how happy your reviews make me. I know I say that every time, but what they really do.

As always- I hope you enjoyed the chapter and reviews are always appreciated!

Chapter 19
Kiss and Miss

Ginny opened her eyes and stretched out languidly on her desk. Ah, History of Magic always let her have a nice, long nap. She sat up and looked out the window. It was a perfect autumn day. The sky was clear, the air was crisp and cool, the ground was littered with multicolored leaves, and the nearly barren trees swayed lightly in the wind.

She smiled. It was a perfect day. And tomorrow would be an even more perfect day. Why? Well, because tomorrow was the first Hogsmeade visit of the year and she would be going with Seamus Finnegan. Ginny grinned. A date, a real date. It was about bloody time! She rested her elbow on the desk and continued to stare out the window. She wondered if Draco would be there.

Ginny blinked. Where on earth had that come from? She didn’t care if Draco was there or not. She’d be on a date, after all. He probably would be, though. With some Slytherin tart hanging off his arm. Not that she cared.

Ginny shook her head. She needed a distraction. She turned around in her seat and grinned. Cassie was lying on the desk, one arm stretched out, the other curled in towards her, head half hanging off the desk, mouth open, and snoring softly. Ginny held back a giggle. Where was Colin’s camera when you needed it?

She reached over and poked Cassie’s side. The American girl groaned.

“Five more minutes, Mom. Just five more…”

Ginny’s grin widened and she poked Cassie again. Cassie lifted her outstretched arm and swatted in Ginny’s direction.

“Just five more minutes.”

“Cassie, I’m not your mum, and you’re in History of Magic.”

The dark haired witch sat up, blinking. Her hair was plastered to one side of her head and she looked distinctly confused. “Huh?”

“Good morning,” Ginny chirped.

Cassie rubbed her head. “Why the crap did you wake me up?”

Ginny shrugged. “I was bored.”

Cassie glared at her rather half-heartedly before sighing.

“How much time do we have left in here?”

Ginny checked her watch. “Not long. A few minutes.”

Cassie nodded and lay her head back down, but peered at Ginny curiously. “You okay?”

Ginny blinked, taken aback. “Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Cassie shrugged. “Dunno. You just look preoccupied.”

Ginny shook her head. “I’m fine.”

“Thank god this is the last day that rat is teaching Potions,” Cassie said, scowling.

“Ferret.”

“Huh?”

“Ferret, not rat.”

“What’s the difference?”

“In my third year, when Dr-Malfoy was even more of an arse-”

“That’s impossible,” Cassie stated.

Ginny grinned and nodded. “Believe me, it is. But let me finish. When Malfoy was even more of an arse, our Defense professor then, Professor Moody- well, he wasn’t really Moody, it was Barty Crouch Jr. under Polyjuice, but that’s beside the point.”

Cassie’s eyebrows were in serious danger of disappearing into her hairline. “This place is insane.”

“Yeah, it is. But, as I was saying- Professor Moody, or Barty Crouch Jr., really did not like Malfoy and really did like Harry. Malfoy was being his usual self-” Cassie snorted then, and Ginny grinned. “I forget what happened, I wasn’t actually there, but I do know that he was saying something really nasty to Harry, and Moody overheard. He really didn’t like it, and so he transfigured Malfoy into a ferret.”

Cassie’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. “No!”

Ginny nodded, grinning. Right then, the bell rang. The girls packed up their things and headed for the dungeons, Cassie still exclaiming about Draco Malfoy- Ferret. They entered the dungeon, laughing. Usually enough, Draco was actually in the dungeon before the class started.

“Just what is so funny, Weasley?” he sneered from Slughorn’s desk.

Ginny and Cassie exchanged glances and quickly hid their grins.

“Nothing, Malfoy,” Ginny said, flashing him a brilliant smile. “Absolutely nothing.”

She made her way towards her usual table and set up her things. The class soon got under way and potions were soon brewing. Draco mostly sat at the desk, reading, (feet propped up, much to Cassie’s annoyance) and occasionally making some scathing comment that ended up salvaging the victim’s potion. Ginny briefly thought that Draco would make a surprisingly good teacher, before dismissing it as a stupid notion.

As the bell rang and everyone headed for the door, the subject of Ginny’s thoughts spoke up.

“Weasley, come here.”

Ginny and Cassie looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Ginny waved for her to go on.

“What do you want, Malfoy?”

“What do you think I want?” Draco sneered before muttering a spell to close and lock the door.

“How am I supposed to know what you want?” She cast a silencing charm on the door and watched as Draco went around the desk. She dropped her bag on the floor.

“Seriously, Draco. What’s going on?”

“Thank me,” he smirked.

Ginny raised her eyebrows. “What for?”

Draco stepped closer to her and she eyed him nervously. Seamus, think about Seamus. Draco’s smirk never faltered, and his eyes never left her face as his hand sought hers. All thoughts of everything left her as he stepped even closer. She felt breathless. How the hell did he do that? She let him take her hand and draw her to his chest. Seemingly of their own accord, her fingers intertwined with his. What was she doing? This was Draco.

“I happen to know,” Draco began, slowly. He seemed completely unaffected by their proximity. He briefly looked down at their clasped hands, then looked up at her again. “I happen to know, that there is going to be a demonic gathering in Hogsmeade tonight.”

Ginny remembered that they’d be patrolling tonight and tried to regain some semblance of speech. Merlin, she couldn’t even think when he was like that.

“How-how do you know that?” Her throat felt dry.

“I have my sources.”

Ginny looked up at his smirking face and said the first thing that came to mind.

“The amazing, bouncing ferret has sources?”

Draco scowled and she grinned, her head feeling clearer.

“Funny. Very funny, Red.”

Ginny’s grin widened. “I’m sorry, but it was funny.”

Draco leaned down and kissed her softly. “And your singing Valentine wasn’t?”

“I can’t believe you remember that,” she said, shaking her head.

Draco smirked again. “Well I do and I find it just as funny as you find the ferret incident.”

He leaned down and kissed her again. Ginny responded before she could think better of it. Oh hell, she couldn’t have stopped him if she wanted to. Which she didn’t. She cursed herself mentally and pulled back a little.

“We really ought to stop.” She didn’t know if she meant currently or in general.

Draco nodded. “Three, then?”

Ginny nodded and disentangled herself from him rather regretfully. She could have kicked herself. This was ridiculous. She was dating Seamus for Merlin’s sake!

She picked her bag off the floor, and feeling Draco’s eyes on her, looked up.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” That was the second time she’d given that answer in less than an hour.

Draco raised an eyebrow. “No you’re not.”

“Well if you know me so well, then why bother asking, O Great One?” she snapped. Not only did he turn her to jelly, but he set her on edge as well.

Her hackles went up, and apparently, so did Draco’s.

“You know, Red, that is exactly why I am never nice. You try to be courteous, and get your head bitten off in the process. If you prefer me to insult you, then bloody fine by me.”

Ginny’s eyes were blazing. “Fine!”

“Fine!”

Letting out a strangled cry, she spun on her heel and stalked out of the dungeon.

Evidently the gods were looking out for others, because Ginny did not meet a single soul on her angry stalk through the castle. Halfway to Gryffindor tower, she realized she didn’t want to speak with anyone. She made a sharp turn at the next corridor she came to and collided with possibly the last person she wanted to see.

Seamus.

“Ginny! Are you alright?” he asked, looking rather surprised.

The red head barely restrained her temper at being asked that same question. Again.

“Yes, I’m fine, Seamus.”

“Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” he said, shrugging apologetically.

Ginny made an effort to smile at him. After all, it wasn’t his fault she was ready to spout fire.

“No, it was my fault. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“Where are you going?”

“Oh, um…” In truth she had no idea. “The library.”

Perfect.

Seamus looked surprised. “The library?”

“Yes, you know, the place where the books live,” she said rather irritably. Seamus’ look of surprise changed to one of confusion. It irritated her further. Draco- prat that he was- would have gotten it.

Seamus shook his head, grinning. “You are one of a kind, Ginny Weasley. We’re still on for tomorrow, then?”

It was her turn to look confused. “What? Oh! Oh, tomorrow. Yes, of course.”

Seamus grinned. “Great!”

Ginny nodded, not sure of what to say. Seamus nodded, too, and they stood there, nodding. The silence became awkward and a bit ridiculous before he stepped forward- towards her. Ginny realized with acute horror that he was going to kiss her. No! No this was all wrong! This was supposed to happen tomorrow, in a romantic setting, when she wasn’t fuming about Draco. The kiss was supposed to be mind blowing and give her the courage to stop whatever it was that was going on between her and Draco. No, no, no, no, no!

Sadly though, Seamus was deaf to her internal monologue. He put a hand, rather awkwardly, on her waist and leaned in.

The moment his lips touched hers, Ginny knew that there would never be anything between them.

She’d been expecting fireworks, weak knees, and incoherent thought. But, as she stood in the middle of the hallway, getting snogged by Seamus Finnegan, she saw no fireworks. Her thoughts were still together and her knees felt perfectly fine. No, she thought, rather despairingly. No.

The kiss was supposed to be mind blowing and explosive! In reality, it was awkward and uncomfortable. His lips didn’t seem right with hers and his kiss was sloppy. Seamus’ hands were gripping her waist rather uncomfortably. She tried to move to a more comfortable position, but he didn’t seem to get the hint. Draco would never have been so thick. He would’ve had his arms around her waist and his kiss would’ve been so much…better.

Ginny realized with a start that here she was, getting snogged by one of the most sought after boys in Hogwarts, and all she could think of was Draco Malfoy.

She broke away from Seamus and staggered backwards. He looked at her, bewildered. Ginny was sure she didn’t look much better.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“About what?” Seamus asked, uncomprehending.

Ginny shook her head, feeling more confused by the second. “I can’t, I’m sorry.”

She turned on her heel and ran. Seamus followed her to the end of the hall.

“Ginny!”

She shook her head and ran on. She ran until her legs felt like they were going to give way. She stopped and slumped against a wall, breathing heavily.

She couldn’t do it.

She couldn’t snog Seamus and she couldn’t get Draco out of her head. She slid down the wall and put her head in her hands. She liked Seamus. He was good looking, funny, and sweet. So different from Draco, and she liked that. But she couldn’t kiss him. She couldn’t kiss him because he wasn’t Draco.

Draco infuriated her and drove her mad on a daily basis, but she couldn’t snog Seamus because he wasn’t infuriating and maddening and constantly smirking that damned smirk. She threw her head back and welcomed the dull pain that accompanied the collision with the wall.

Draco had no interest in her whatsoever, but Seamus did. Seamus had shown an interest in her and she couldn’t bloody kiss him because of some ridiculous prat to whom she meant nothing!

Life had been so simple before Draco.

She took a moment to survey her surroundings. To her horror, she found herself sitting not a meter away form the door that led to the little library. She groaned. Someone up there really did not like her. Right then, she wanted nothing more than to go somewhere where no one would find her or bother her. The library was perfect- if not for the fact that it had strong connections to a certain Slytherin.

Hearing footsteps, she turned her head towards the sound of the noise.

She shot up.

Turning the corner was the Golden Trio. Oh, someone up there really did not like her. She ran to the door of the library and pulled it open. She ran in and shut it as quickly and quietly as she could.

She leaned back against the cool wood and let out a breath. This was ridiculous! She looked around the small room, breathing deeply. There was some dusty late afternoon light filtering in through the escape window, shining on the old covers of the books. Draco had warned her not to touch the books. Something about spells and enchantments. She considered picking one off the shelf just to spite him. After all, she had just ruined the beginning of a perfectly good relationship thanks to him. Her eyes landed on the small eggplant colored sofa under the window. Really, all she wanted to do was lie down. She dropped her bag right by the door and made her way over to the couch.

It was dusty and old, but that really did not matter. She lay down gratefully and draped an arm over her face. Stupid Draco, he always seemed to land her in a mess…

~

Feeling something touch her forehead, Ginny’s eyes fluttered open. To her great surprise, she found herself looking at none other than the devil incarnate himself. Well, according to the majority of Gryffindor, anyway. She sat up and Draco, who had apparently been crouching by the sofa, stood up.

“What was that?” she asked, feeling her forehead. She could have sworn something had just touched her.

Draco raised an eyebrow. “What was what?”

Ginny shook her head. “Never mind. What time is it?”

“Quarter till three.”

Ginny gaped at him. “In the morning?”

“No, in the evening,” Draco drawled.

“I fell asleep! Shit, I can’t believe I fell asleep!”

Draco looked highly amused and Ginny glared at him.

“This is not funny! I’m going to get all sorts of odd questions tomorrow!”

“From who? Jones?”

Ginny’s mouth closed with a snap. He had a point. No one besides Cassie would have noticed that she was missing.

“Oh.”

Draco nodded. “Let’s go then?”

“What? In my school uniform?” she snapped.

Draco was, as always, impassive. “Would you rather go and change?”

Ginny’s glare intensified. He knew she couldn’t possibly go back to her dorm. Letting out a strangled cry, she stalked over to the hidden brooms. Draco followed behind her, wordlessly. Ginny could feel him smirking.

She was still royally pissed off from earlier and now that he was being a complete arse just added fuel to the fire. She retrieved one of the old school brooms that they’d ‘borrowed,’ opened the escape window, and flew out, not caring whether Draco followed her or not.

He did.

She flew hard and fast, trying to get as far away from Draco as possible. It took mere minutes to get to the cemetery, and when Ginny hit the ground, she was already storming away.

“Where, exactly, do you plan on going?” Draco drawled from above.

“Leave! Me! Alone!” Ginny yelled, not bothering to look up.

Draco swooped down in front of her, startling her to a stop. Not for long, however. She glowered at him and turned on her heel. She didn’t care where she went, she just wanted to get away. Draco, evidently, had a different idea.

He reached out and grabbed her by the upper arm and turned her around.

“Let me go,” she growled.

Draco was unfazed. “No. You’ve been short with me since this afternoon and I want to know why.”

“Go to hell!” Ginny yelled, incensed. It was his fault that she’d ruined a perfectly good relationship and now he was demanding something of her? Well, if he thought that was how it was going to be, then the ferret had another thing coming.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Draco was starting to sound rather angry.

Ginny threw off his hand and glared at him. “Oh, I’m fine! Just abso-bloody-lutely perfect! Besides the fact that I just ruined the beginnings of possibly my last relationship thanks to you!”

Draco seemed taken aback by her outburst. “What?”

“That’s right!” Ginny was yelling now. “Seamus asked me to Hogsmeade and I agreed! But when he kissed me- I couldn’t kiss him back! All because of you!”

At the mention of Seamus, Draco’s eyes had narrowed dangerously, but Ginny was too angry to notice.

“Seamus was actually interested in me! In me! Can you believe that? Somebody was actually interested in little Ginny Weasley!” Her voice was filled with venom, towards him or herself, she didn’t know. “But I couldn’t even kiss him! He was interested in me and I couldn’t even kiss him!”

“Let me get this straight,” Draco said calmly and slowly, shocking Ginny into silence. “Finnegan asked you to Hogsmeade and you agreed.”

She nodded.

“Then the bloody Irish kissed you?”

Ginny just then registered the fact that Draco was keeping his voice level with a great amount of effort. His eyes were glittering and dark. They made Ginny think of oncoming storm clouds, dark and frightening, but fascinating all the same. She crossed her arms over her chest, defensively. He might be rather frightening when he was angry, but she was determined to stand her own.

“And?” she said.

Draco’s calm broke.

“What the fuck do you mean ‘and?’ That wanker tried to kiss you!”

“Correction- he did kiss me.”

“Well then, even better! Now I have a legitimate reason to kill Finnegan.”

Ginny threw up her hands in exasperation. “What the hell, Draco? Why are you acting like this? What is with the sudden desire to kill Seamus?”

“Because that bloody Irish kissed you!”

Ginny crossed her arms over her chest again, temper rising.

“We never exactly said we were exclusive. Hell! We never said we were anything! Just one day you suddenly decided ‘hey, why not snog Ginny?’ You have no right to be acting like- like you’re my boyfriend or something! I get enough of the overprotective shit from my family- I don’t need it from you, too! Especially when you have no right!”

Draco strode forward and grabbed one of her wrists, seething. Ginny wildly wondered how all their arguments came to nearly the same end.

“I have every right,” he growled. “You are mine, Ginny Weasley, and I don’t want Finnegan laying a single finger on you. I may not be your ‘boyfriend,’ but think about it. Do you really want me to be?”

He paused and Ginny opened her mouth, but nothing came out. His words had stunned her. Paralyzed her completely. He searched her face, then nodded, his eyes hardening.

“I didn’t think so. But as long as this- whatever it is that exists between us- is going on, I will kill any bloke who decides he can lay a finger on you. I will run him through with biggest sword I can find and then dump him in Myrtle’s toilet, so that he’ll be tortured in the afterlife.”

She didn’t know whether she should have been angry at his possessiveness, or to be flattered by it. Either way, Ginny had the sudden urge to kiss him.

She gave in to the impulse, reached up, and brought his lips down to hers. Draco seemed surprised for a moment, but only a moment. His arms wound around her waist and pulled her flush against him. Sweet Circe, this was what a kiss was supposed to be like. She could handle the sneaking around and everything else that came with the Warrior package, if only she could have Draco, too.

Suddenly, Ginny found herself flying backwards and colliding painfully with a twisted, old tree. Staggering up, she saw that Draco, too, had been knocked back and looked around wildly for the source of the interruption.

It didn’t take long for her eyes to land on a rather dazed and angry looking demon. He looked human--old, tattered robes, pale skin, arms, legs, etc. The only things really identifying him as a demon was the glowing tattoo emblazoned on his bald head, and the suspicious looking sword he was carrying.

The demon glared in the direction from which he had flown for a moment, before he was sent flying back again. Ginny’s jaw dropped. It seemed that some unseen force kept pushing him back.

Her eyes then slid over to where Draco was, drawing a knife out of his sleeve. Draco caught her eye and she nodded.

The same moment that the knife embedded itself in the demon’s flesh, a small bottle came sailing though the air and fell at the demon’s feet. In a burst of flame, he was gone.

Ginny ran up to Draco, bewildered.

“What the fuck is going on?” he asked, apparently no more in on the situation than she was.

She shook her head wordlessly. This was insane. Where had that force come from?

Draco stepped up behind her and put a hand on the small of her back, in an almost protective gesture. They stood like that in silence for a few moments, looking around the cemetery.

“Draco, what-”

“Shh…”

He nodded towards a dark figure jogging up the hill towards them.

Ginny’s eyes widened.

It couldn’t be…
~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Dun, dun, dun…

Alright, I know how much everyone hates cliffys, but this one was just begging to be written. I’ll try and get the next chapter up ASAP, so that the suspense does not kill anyone. And so that none of you kill me. Hehe...

Chapter 20
Revelations

~
“Draco, what-”

“Shh…”

He nodded towards a dark figure jogging up the hill towards them.

Ginny’s eyes widened.

It couldn’t be…
~

Ginny blinked several times. It couldn’t be.

Her eyes were playing tricks on her. Yes, that was it.

As the figure got closer, Ginny could tell that it- she- was angry. The voice became clearer moments later and Ginny’s heart sank.

She knew that voice.

“Who the hell do you think you are? I had that demon! He was mine!” There was a pause, and then, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, anyway? That was a demon!”

Draco leaned down. “Is that…”

Ginny swallowed and nodded. “I think so.”

At that moment, over the crest of the hell, appeared a very irate Cassie Jones, still mid-rant.

Her dark hair was loose and a few stray pieces were flying in the wind. She was wearing a pair of dark Muggle jeans, a black shirt, and a dark jacket. Her eyes landed on the stunned pair and she froze.

“Holy shit.”

The trio gazed, stunned, at each other for a few moments before Cassie shook her head and made her way over to Ginny and Draco. Ginny’s head was spinning. What was Cassie doing in the cemetery? How did she know about demons? Hell, how had she vanquished the demon just seconds before?

“Ginny?” Cassie asked.

“Cassie?”

“Ah, you two know each other?” Draco drawled.

Ginny looked back at him in incredulity. However, it was Cassie who voiced her thoughts.

“You have the gall to be an ass now?”

“It’s a gift,” Draco said, not sounding amused.

Ginny focused her attention back on Cassie and tried to make some semblance of all the questions floating through her mind. She settled on the big, glaring one.

“What are you doing here?” the redhead asked.

Cassie crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrows. “I could ask you the same question.”

“How about you tell us what we want to know, then we tell you what you want to know?” Draco offered, surprising Ginny. She looked back at him curiously, but he only nodded, his eyes never leaving Cassie.

The American girl shrugged, seeming nonchalant.

“Sure.”

The speed of the events taking place around her seemed to disorient Ginny. She shook her head, trying to remember what sanity felt like. Apparently, though, fate had a rather warped sense of humor.

“You’re Warriors, aren’t you?”

Ginny looked to Draco for support, feeling winded. Draco, however, was cool as ice.

Like always.

It was actually starting to get somewhat annoying.

Ginny turned back to Cassie, who actually grinned upon seeing her stunned face.

“Who else would be out in a cemetery in the middle of the night with weapons?”

Ginny suddenly realized that both she and Draco were carrying knives.

The redhead shook her head. “Well what are you doing here? And how do you know about the Warriors?”

Cassie shrugged again.

“I’m a Wicca,” she said simply.

Somehow, Ginny felt like she should have been expecting that. Draco snorted behind her.

“That’s ridiculous, Jones. I’ve seen you use a wand. Wiccas can’t use wands.”

Ginny turned to Draco. “How do-”

Draco looked down at her, taking his eyes off Cassie for the first time since she’d appeared.

“I read,” he sneered, before turning back to Cassie.

Ouch.

Ginny looked at him for a moment longer, before turning back to Cassie as well. She tried not to think about how Draco managed to go from hot to cold- no, frigid- in mere seconds. Cassie, who was apparently a Wicca, was what she needed to focus on.

Cassie seemed to have been waiting for their attention to turn back to her, and she was smiling slightly.

“My mom is a Wicca and my dad was a wizard,” she explained. “That makes me both a Wicca and a witch.”

Ginny looked at Draco, eyes hard. “May I speak now or has Thou Royal Scholar deemed me too stupid to ask my own questions?”

Draco seemed taken aback for a moment, before his cold mask slipped back into its well worn place. “Do what you like.”

Feeling her temper rise, the redhead turned to Cassie. The other girl seemed to have been watching their exchange with interest.

Ginny tried to gather her thoughts before speaking.

“So, um, how much do you know about demons?”

Again, Cassie shrugged. “A lot, actually. See, Wiccas are always around and they’re the ones who usually keep demons in check. The Warriors are only summoned when things in the world start getting hairy.”

Ginny nodded, unsure of what to say next.

“Any more questions for me?” Cassie asked pleasantly. She seemed unaffected by the situation.

Ginny shook her head as Draco drawled, “For now.”

“Alright, then. Who of the Warriors are you?” Cassie asked, her chipper attitude gone. Her face was set and determined and her light eyes seemed to be extinguished of their sparkle.

“I’m the Dragon,” Draco said, a hint of pride creeping into his voice.

“Phoenix,” Ginny answered simply.

Cassie nodded, not surprised. “The Warriors were called this summer then?”

Ginny nodded and saw Draco do the same. She was really beginning to feel as though she were being interrogated.

“And you guys come out here every night and watch for demons?” Cassie had her head cocked to one side and was looking thoughtful.

“Not every night,” Ginny shrugged.

Cassie grinned suddenly. “Well, if you came for the demon horde that was supposed to meet here tonight, you’re too late. They’ve already come and been vanquished.”

“How did you know about the gathering here?” Draco asked, angrily.

Ginny sniggered. He’d been looking forward to breaking up the little meeting. Served him right, acting the way he was.

“I’ve got sources.”

She turned on her heel and started down the hill.

“See you back at the dorm, Ginny!” she called over her shoulder.

Ginny smiled mirthlessly and started back towards her borrowed broom.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Draco asked.

Ginny shrugged. “She said the demons were gone. I’m going back to the castle.”

Draco was livid. “You can’t do that!”

Ginny turned to face him, jaw set and eyes cold.

“I can and I am. Goodnight, Draco.”

“Ginny, you can’t-”

But she was already in the air. She let out a deep breath, rather enjoying the cold of the night. She heard a sudden crash below her and looked down, bewildered. She saw Draco standing by an old headstone, glaring up at her. The headstone was crumbling in one spot and Draco’s left knuckles were bleeding. The git had punched the headstone. Ginny closed her eyes and made a beeline for the castle.

She would deal with Draco later. Right now all she wanted was to change out of her school uniform and have a real conversation with Cassie.

~
The red head entered the dormitory quietly, letting the giggling portrait close behind her. She immediately saw Cassie sitting on the couch, reading a magazine. The American girl looked up and smiled at her.

“Hey Miss Phoenix,” she said, smiling and putting the magazine aside.

Ginny exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Apparently Cassie harbored no hard feelings.

“Hey yourself, Miss Wicca,” she answered, making her way to the armchair.

Cassie grinned and rearranged herself on the couch, settling down to what promised to be an interesting conversation.

“So…” Ginny began, unsure of how to begin.

Cassie took that as her cue to launch into questioning. “So you really are one of the Warriors, huh? And with Malfoy?”

Ginny nodded, rolling her eyes at the last part. “Sad, isn’t it?”

“A little unnerving, yes. Aren’t the Malfoy’s supposed to be super evil? And completely in line with Voldemort?”

Ginny’s eyebrows shot up and Cassie’s bravery. The brunette apparently realized her friend’s surprise and rolled her eyes.

“Oh, please. I refuse to call the guy ‘You-Know-Who.’ It’s dumb to be afraid of a stupid name.”

Ginny nodded her consensus as Cassie continued.

“Anyway, back to Malfoy. Everyone around here makes it seem like he’s already Voldemort’s most trusted and loyal guy, even though he’s still in school. I’ve even heard people claiming to have seen the Dark Mark on his arm.”

“What!” Ginny squawked. “That’s ridiculous! Draco’s not a Death Eater! I know everyone thinks he is, but did you really hear someone say they saw his Dark Mark?”

Cassie nodded, eyebrows raised. “You seem pretty protective of him.”

Ginny blushed at the insinuation and shook her head. “Nothing like that. I just, I’m surprised, is all. People tell the worst lies.”

“Yeah,” Cassie nodded. “But, you can imagine how surprised I was after hearing that and then realizing he was a Warrior.”

“That reminds me. How did you know? The fact that we had knives didn’t mean anything.”

Cassie shrugged, a rather mischievous smile playing on her lips. “Lucky guess.”

Ginny raised her eyebrows, although she wasn’t surprised. She’d thought it be something of the sort.

“What if we’d said that we weren’t and what the hell were the Warriors?”

“I would’ve said never mind, what the crap are you doing here?”

Ginny laughed.

“So, you and Malfoy are friends?” Cassie asked.

Ginny thought before answering. Were they friends? Were they really friends? Were they something less? Something more? After a moment she shook her head.

“I have no idea.”

Cassie nodded and Ginny took the opportunity to ask her own questions.

“Why didn’t you ever say you were a Wicca?”

Cassie gave the redhead a look. “Seriously, Ginny. Did you even know what a Wicca was before you became a Warrior?”

“Fair enough,” Ginny agreed. “Still, one of our old Defense professors, Professor Lupin, knew. He actually mentioned something about getting Wiccas to help with the demon issue at that family dinner I went to not long ago.”

Cassie’s eyebrows nearly disappeared into her hair line. “You’re related to one of your old teachers?”

Ginny shook her head, laughing. “No, I’m not. Professor Lupin is a family friend. If he and Tonks ever get married though, we will be distantly related.”

Cassie’s eyebrows stayed where they were.

“Never mind.”

The two sat in silence for a bit, before Ginny was struck with an idea.

“Cassie, you don’t know any other Wiccas, do you?”

The American girl looked at her curiously for a bit, before shaking her head.

“Forget it. When my mom got transferred here this summer, she tried to round up some Wiccas to help with the demon thing. She didn’t find a lot, and the ones she did find didn’t want anything to do with the wizarding world, or its wars.”

“Your mum was trying to help?”

Cassie looked confused for a moment before giving an ‘oh’ of understand.

“See, Wiccas have always considered themselves more Muggle than witch. Why, I have no clue. But my mom’s like me- half witch, half Wicca. So, she’s always been part of the wizarding world.”

Ginny nodded, taking in the new information. Wiccas could help get rid of the demon problem completely, but they wouldn’t because they didn’t see it as their problem. Lovely. She made a mental note to relate all of this to Draco later. Remembering how she left things and the mending she’d have to do tomorrow made her grimace.

“What?” Cassie asked.

Ginny shook her head, not wanting to get into Draco right then. “Nothing. So, um, I know Wiccas have lots of different powers-“

“You want to know what I can do.”

Ginny nodded, laughing at the knowing look on Cassie’s face.

“Watch,” she instructed.

She looked down at her magazine and made a brisk motion her hand. The magazine zoomed off and hit the wall, falling to the floor.

Ginny gasped. “You were doing that to that demon!”

Cassie nodded. “Yep. It’s pretty funny, watching their faces when they suddenly realize they’re flying.”

Ginny laughed. “You’re a sadist.”

“Hey!” Cassie said, feigning hurt.

The two girls laughed before falling into silence once again.

“It’s a little weird though. The Wicca and the Warrior: dorm mates,” Cassie said.

Ginny rolled her eyes. “I get the felling that Dumbledore had something to with this.”

“No kidding. That guy seems to know everything. Pretty creepy, really.”

Ginny started to laugh but was interrupted by a yawn. Cassie, who’d been watching her, yawned, too. They started laughing again.

“God, I hate that,” Cassie muttered.

Ginny agreed. “I think I’m going to go to bed.”

Cassie nodded. “Yeah, it’s late.”

Ginny got up and made her way for the door, but Cassie stopped her. The American girl stepped in front of her, looking suddenly uneasy.

“You won’t tell anyone, right?” she asked, fidgeting.

Ginny was taken aback. “Of course not. Why would I?”

Cassie smiled and shrugged. “Just checking.”

Ginny wasn’t thoroughly convinced with the answer and would’ve pressed the matter, if she hadn’t been so tired. Cassie suddenly stuck out her hand.

“Our secrets are safe with each other,” she said.

Ginny grinned and took Cassie’s hand, but hesitated a moment before shaking on it.

“And Draco’s,” the redhead added.

Cassie nodded and the girls shook. Ginny had just been about to start for the bedroom again, when Cassie spoke up again.

“You like him.”

Ginny turned around. “What?”

Cassie’s slow spreading grin was reminding Ginny horribly of Fred and George.

“You like him. I knew you weren’t telling me everything from the first day I saw him, but now I know what. You really like him.”

Ginny opened and closed her mouth finally settling for shaking her head. “I’m really tired, Cassie. All I want is to go to bed. Can we talk tomorrow?”

Cassie beamed. “And you’re not denying it! Okay, sorry. Sure. We will talk about it tomorrow.”

Ginny couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Cassie’s exuberant expression.

“Goodnight, Cassie.”

“’Night, Ginny.”

Chapter 21
Of Quaffles and Quivers

Ginny nervously paced the Gryffindor team’s Quidditch locker room, wondering what the hell had made her so antsy.

After Dumbledore’s and the Trio’s initial disappearance, the Quidditch Cup had unofficially been canceled, but thanks to their reappearance less than a month ago, the Cup was reinstated.

Of course the first match of the postponed season was Gryffindor versus Slytherin.

Of course.

A heavy hand descended on Ginny’s shoulder, causing her to look up at Harry’s concerned face. The Boy Who Lived had been Quidditch captain since the year before.

“Are you alright, Ginny?”

She shook her head. “I’m fine, Harry.”

He looked unconvinced. “It’s not like you to be nervous before a game. Is everything alright?”

Ginny smiled at him, touched by his concern. “Yes, everything’s fine. I just didn’t get much sleep last night.”

Well, not a complete lie. Merlin, she’d turned into such a liar since the summer.

“Alright, then,” Harry said, nodding. “Get ready; we’re going out in a couple of minutes.”

Ginny nodded.

Harry made his way over to the rest of the team and Ginny took the opportunity to shake her nerves off.

Really, what was with her? It was just a Quidditch game, after all. Yes, it would be the first time she’d be facing Draco in the air as not archenemies, but really! They wouldn’t even have anything to do with each other, her being a Chaser and him a Seeker.

After Cassie’s startling revelation and their argument, things were still tense between the two Warriors. Ginny nearly snorted out loud. When were things not tense between them?

It’d actually only been a week, but it felt like ages. She’d tried to bring the subject up on their one patrol (last night,) but Draco was adamant to act like Cassie showing up at the cemetery and announcing that she was a Wicca had never happened.
Frustrating bastard.

He was holding a grudge against her, and she was doing the same. She knew it was a petty and stupid argument, and technically she was in the wrong for overreacting. She just couldn’t bring herself to apologize to Draco. He never seemed to feel in the wrong, so why should she? She realized she was beginning to sink to his level, but trying to stay above it was just too tiring. She was beginning to constantly feel exhausted, simply by trying to figure out ways to either a) avoid conflict with Draco, or b) repair the damage an unavoided conflict had caused.

Ginny sighed, running a hand through her tangled hair and deciding to put it up.

She was glad to have Cassie as an ally, though. The two girls had grown rather close in the past few days. Having a shared secret could do that, Ginny guessed. They’d shared some stories that they couldn’t share before, and a whole field of new conversation topics had come up. Cassie had inquired about the situation between her and Draco a few times, but dropped the subject after seeing Ginny’s unwillingness to talk. Ginny had a plan though.

First, she was going to somehow fix her and Draco’s idiotic argument without actually apologizing. Tricky, but not impossible. Then, she was going to convince Draco to let Cassie go on patrols with them. That would take a while, but she was determined to do so.

Alright, so it wasn’t a plan, but a radical idea.

Still.

“Let’s go!” Harry yelled, startling Ginny.

She picked up her broom and the Gryffindor team poured out onto the field to tremulous applause.

Ginny saw that the Slytherin team was already out and headed for the center of the pitch, lead by Draco. So, he was captain. She hadn’t known, but wasn’t surprised. She noticed that Draco had dropped the ‘bigger is better’ motto of the previous Slytherin Quidditch captains, and even noticed a couple girls on the team.

“Captains shake hands!” Madame Hooch yelled over the roar.

Draco and Harry approached each other. They shook hands stiffly, never breaking eye contact. Loathing radiated off of them. Ginny had the sudden urge to laugh. Stepping back towards his team, Draco locked eyes with her for a moment. Not long enough to be able to discern any emotion, though.

“Mount your brooms!”

Simultaneously, the whistle blew and the Quaffle was released.

The game had begun.

Within moments, the game was already heated. Ginny darted to and fro, waiting for the Quaffle to come to her. How could she have forgotten what a rush Quidditch was? She flew past some fifth year Slytherin girl and caught the Quaffle Demelza Robins threw her.

She flew like a demon, no pun intended, toward the goalposts.

“Weasley in possession of the Quaffle!” yelled Blaise Zabini, the new, and oddly unbiased, announcer. “Body of a goddess, I say!”

Ginny grinned as she heard McGonagall try to get the microphone away from Zabini. Flattered as she was, she focused back on the game. The Slytherin Chasers were behind her and their Keeper in front. She feigned right and watched as the Quaffle sailed through the left hoop.

There was a tremendous roar and Ginny grinned.

“Weasley scores! Twenty nil to Gryffindor!” Zabini had the microphone again. “Slytherin now in possession of the Quaffle!”

Soon the two teams were tied- 120 to 120. Ginny had to admit that Draco picked a good team. Nearly as good as the Gryffindor team.

Nearly.

She scored once more to applause followed by a complete hush. Ginny spun around abruptly to see Harry streaking towards her.

“Potter’s seen the Snitch! Malfoy, you arse, come on!”

Seemingly out of nowhere, Draco cut in front of Harry, to cries from the stands. There were joyous screams from the Slytherins, and from the other houses, outraged cries of “Foul!”

Silence slowly encased the pitch as everyone’s attention drew back to the two Seekers.

Neither had moved.

Until, that was, Draco slipped sideways off his broom, eyes closed.

An arrow’s fletching was sticking out of his shoulder, the arrowhead out of his back.

Ginny’s breath left her in a rush. She felt paralyzed, unable to move, breath, or think.

Later it turned out that Snape and Dumbledore had saved the Slytherin prince from crashing to the ground, while the students poured out onto the field. Ginny landed in a daze, trying to process what had just happened. An arm wrapped around her shoulders and Ginny found herself looking into Cassie’s concerned blue eyes. Thank Merlin Cassie knows.

The raven haired girl guided Ginny out of the crowd and into the castle.

“It was a demon,” Ginny croaked weakly as they started up the stairs.

Cassie nodded, looking grim. “I know. Come on, we can talk in our dorm.”

Ginny nodded and let Cassie lead her over to their dormitory.

Once inside, she sat down in the armchair, her mind worlds away.

“I don’t understand,” she said softly as Cassie took her customary seat on the sofa.

The Wicca shook her head. “Neither do I. No one knows you’re Warriors, do they?”

“Besides you? No.” They had taken their vows of secrecy seriously. In fact Ginny hadn’t actually told Cassie they were Warriors. She guessed it on her own.

“Maybe someone figured it out, like you did?” She knew it was feeble, but she was desperate for an explanation.

Again, Cassie shook her head. “I really don’t think so. Like I said, I’d only guessed. And I knew about the Warriors. I don’t think anyone here has even heard of them. Same as Wiccas.

“And for someone to know about the Warriors, have figured out who the leaders of the pack are, had connections with demons, and have the power to order an assassination at a school during a Quidditch game? I don’t think so.”

Ginny nodded. It did sound far fetched. She thought over what Cassie just said and wave of nausea hit her.

“Assassination?”

Cassie, looking up, shrugged helplessly.

“I know it sounds horrible, but that’s the only way I can see it.”

“You really think someone was trying to-” Ginny’s voice caught.

“Kill him?” Cassie supplied softly.

The redhead nodded, feeling sicker with every passing minute.

“I’m sorry, Ginny, really I am. I just can’t think of any other explanation.”

Ginny doubted she’d ever seen anyone look more sincere.

Cassie sighed and stood up.

“Come on. You go take a shower, because frankly you stink,” Cassie said, trying to inject some humor into the situation. Ginny smiled weakly. “And then we’ll grab some lunch, ‘kay?”

The American girl extended a hand, which Ginny took.

“Okay.”

She was almost at the bedroom door when a thought occurred to her.

“Cassie?”

The Wicca turned around, dark hair flying over her shoulder. “Huh?”

“Thanks,” Ginny said with a small smile.

Cassie shook her head, smiling sadly. “Don’t thank me. I haven’t done anything.”

Ginny shrugged. “Still.”

“Go take a shower would you? You stink.”

Ginny smiled and ducked into the bedroom, trying to keep Draco out of her mind for the time being.

~

Heading down to the Great Hall had been eerie, to say the least.

“Holy crap,” Cassie muttered by the third floor. “It’s like a freaking ghost town.”

Ginny only nodded, wondering if they’d missed something.

Soon though, it was evident where everyone was.

The Great Hall was packed with students and teachers alike, the din deafening.

“Ah, crisis averted,” Cassis muttered darkly. Ginny couldn’t help but smile a little. It was good to have someone to share a secret with.

“Ginny!” Ron called out, apparently spotting his sister.

She smiled at him weakly. “Hey, Ron.”

“Where were you?” he asked, the overprotective big brother once again.

Both Ginny and Cassie rolled their eyes.

“Taking a shower, Ron.”

He seemed satisfied with the answer.

“So,” Seamus asked from Ginny’s left. “What do you lovely ladies think of our recent drama?”

Seamus had apparently handled Ginny’s abrupt rejection well. He’d, abruptly, gone on acting as though nothing had ever happened, leaving the air clear for them to remain friends.

Cassie said something to him that Ginny didn’t hear. She didn’t care. Her attention was drawn to the Slytherin table, where the sixth and seventh years sat in a huddle. They were all leaning in towards each other and discussing in low voices, looks of worry and concern etched onto their faces. For the first time in her life, Ginny’s heart went out to them, and in an odd way, wished she were with them.

Pansy Parkinson looked near tears and Zabini was sitting stock still, staring into space, brow furrowed. The others around them didn’t look much better.

“I’ve never seen them look so…worried,” Lavender commented, startling Ginny out of her thoughts. Apparently, she’d followed Ginny’s gaze. The seventh year girl looked at her expectantly, waiting for Ginny to say something.

Finding her throat dry, Ginny just nodded. She noticed a small group of sixth and seventh years had gathered around, all talking.

Zacharias Smith snorted. “Well, what do you want? Their Prince of Darkness is gone.”

A shot of wild panic went through Ginny.

“What! He’s dead?”

“Not yet,” Ron muttered darkly, not noticing Ginny’s expression.

Her heart began to beat rapidly in her chest. A touch on her hand made her look in Cassie’s direction. Hold on, said the silent message.

“What do you guys know?” Cassie asked nonchalantly.

“I heard someone say that the arrow that hit Malfoy was covered in some sort of lethal poison,” Colin said, as others nodded, having heard the same thing.

“Poison?” Cassie asked, her brow furrowed.

Pravati nodded. “Yeah. I heard Madame Pomfrey telling Professor Sprout. All the teachers look really worried.”

“They say Malfoy’s going to die before the day is out,” Neville said, looking rather less excited than the rest of the mob.

Ginny’s head spun. Please stop, she thought. Please, please, please stop.

“Actually,” Hermione said, frowning. “By all logic, Malfoy should already be dead.”

“What do you mean?” Ginny asked, surprising herself.

“He’s in a coma,” Harry told her, looking rather troubled.

Ron apparently saw this, too. “What’s wrong, mate? You can’t be worried about that ferret.”

Harry shook his head. “Later, Ron.”

Coma, dead, arrow, poison, dying.

Malfoy’s going to die.

Draco’s dying.

Dying.

Draco.

Ginny felt the world spin and she clutched onto Cassie’s arm.

“Oh crap!” Cassie exclaimed. “I totally forgot! Ginny, could you please, please, please help me with that Charms essay we’ve got due Monday?”

A few people chuckled at Cassie’s predictability and Hermione began telling her off.

“Cassie, you really ought to make-”

“Sure, Cassie.”

Cassie gushed her thanks as she pulled Ginny out of the Great Hall. Once they were a safe distance away, Cassie stopped and Ginny collapsed against a wall, sucking in great lungfuls of air.

Cassie watched her carefully as the redhead tried not to shake. The urge to cry was overwhelming, but her eyes felt dry as the desert. Ginny couldn’t remember ever feeling so helpless and hurt.

“Gin-”

“I’m fine,” she lied.

“Like hell you are. Come on, we’re going back to the dormitory.”

Cassie grabbed her elbow and pulled her up. Ginny let Cassie lead her back to their dormitory, wishing fervently that the day had been just a nightmare, that she’d wake up any moment and everything would be fine.

However, that wasn’t meant to be. Fate seemed to have a very twisted sense of humor, indeed.

~

Ginger!

What’s up my beautiful, red haired friend? Haha, I nearly wrote Friday instead of friend. Sorry, I’m feeling a little insane right now. Just downed about a gallon of Dr. Pepper. Hey, do you guys have Dr. Pepper in England? Just wondering. I’ve never been outside the US, so I have no idea.

Sage might have already told you, but we’ve been patrolling a lot. It’s pretty fun actually. We’ve only run into demons a few times, but still.
I got a letter from Nick not too long ago. He says he’s in Moscow and there were a ton of demons in a club he went to. Weird, huh? He’s a nice guy. Too bad he’s so far away.

That’s sad, really. We all got so close during the summer and now we’re all spread out all over the world. Well, Sage, David, and I do see a lot of each other, but still. You and Draco are all the way in England, at Hogwarts. Roby’s in Toronto, doing god only knows what. Ryan’s in Texas, working in his dad’s firm, Maria’s in some tiny town in Spain that I can never seem to remember the name of, managing her parent’s flower shop. Juli…I actually have no idea what Juli is doing, but I know she’s in Italy and she’s kept in touch with Ryan. And Nick’s in Moscow.

When are we going to see each other? It’s a bit weird, don’t you think? We’re brought together for a summer, “Oh, there’s a big bad war going on you have to protect these people and fight these demons. You might even die.” And now nothing?
I mean, I’ve heard about things like what happened in Brighton about a month ago, but still.

When are we going to be called? When are we going to be needed? It doesn’t really feel like we have a purpose, you know? It felt so different in San Francisco. Like we meant something, like we had a destiny.

Oh my god, Ginny, I feel like crying right now. Do you know what I mean?

When are we gonna hear our call to destiny? Are we ever? I feel like something was started, set into motion, and then just cut off halfway.

Maybe that’s just the sugar talking, I don’t know. I miss you, girl. And I miss Draco, too. You haven’t killed each other yet, have you?

Oh well.
Love you, miss you,
Ali

XOXO

Chapter 22
‘Til Death Do You Part

~

Hello Ginny,

It’s Julianna, if you hadn’t realized.

I know I haven’t written; I’m not much of a writer. I hope you don’t think I’ve decided to just forget everything we were told in San Francisco, because I haven’t. I’ve been practicing everyday.

I want to be ready, when the time comes.

It will, Ginny, it will. I know it doesn’t feel like it now, but its coming. I know it is.
I’m worried, actually.

I recently dug out my old Tarot cards and decided to do a reading. For some reason Draco came to me. The cards I got frightened me. No, not Death. The Death card is actually rather good sometimes. No, it wasn’t death. It’s too difficult to put in a letter what I saw, but it scared me.

Is he alright? Are you alright?

You can deny it all you like, Ginny. You “have a thing for him,” as Ali put it. I hope everything is alright, with you, with him, between the both of you. As much as you fight, I hope you remember one thing.

You are the Phoenix and the Dragon. You are the leaders of the Warriors. You have to be united, so that the Warriors can be united behind you. Ginny, think! You have a responsibility. You can’t let a stupid argument be the thing that lets the demons and this Voldemort win. You need to put aside your differences and work together. Like it or not, you’re a team. And a damn good one. You’re stuck with each other until either this war ends, or one of you dies, gods forbid. ‘Til death do you part. You might as well be married to each other for the duration of this war.

Just be careful and don’t do anything stupid. Same goes for Draco.

Sincerely,
Julianna

~

“Well that’s reassuring,” Cassie said dryly, handing Ginny back the letter.

The two girls were sitting on Ginny’s bed, both looking grim.

It’d been four days. Four days since the Quidditch game. Four days since the arrow hit Draco. Four days of worry.

The last rumor Ginny had heard stated that Draco was still holding on, still in a coma, still somewhere between life and death.

The day after the Quidditch game, Ginny had seen Narcissa Malfoy walking out of the infirmary with Professor Snape, wiping tears from her eyes. Something had seized Ginny and she made a beeline for the two adults.

“Miss Weasley, move out of the way,” Snape had sneered upon seeing her.

Ginny ignored him and turned to Draco’s mother.

“I’m sorry about what happened, Mrs. Malfoy.”

It was amazing the calm and detachment that had settled over her. It’d scared her at first, but she realized that her choices were either being practically a shell of a human, or a watering pot.

Narcissa looked at her, seeming surprised. “Weasley? You’re Arthur Weasley’s daughter?”

“Yes.”

Narcissa nodded. “Thank you.”

Ginny ducked past them and hurried to the library, where she collapsed at a table, feeling as though she’d run the length of the Quidditch field.

The redhead shook her head, returning to the present.

Cassie was still sitting at the foot of the bed, staring down at Juli’s letter. It’d come that morning during breakfast. Ginny had untied the parchment from the owl’s leg and had turned several shades of white only a few seconds later. She’d grabbed Cassie’s arm and had all but dragged the Wicca back to their dormitory.

“Is there any way you can get in touch with her soon?” Cassie asked, chewing on her lip. “Ask her what she saw in the Tarot cards?”

Ginny shook her head. “I don’t even know if she’s connected to the Floo Network. And it’s not safe. The Floo is always being watched.”

“Oh, and this is safe?” Cassie waved the letter over her head. “A letter like this could be the reason Draco’s almost dead.”

Ginny shot Cassie a withering glare. “Don’t.”

Cassie sighed. “Ginny, I’m sorry, but he should have come out of the coma by now.”

“I know, Cassie. Please, I don’t want to think about it.”

The American girl frowned, but handed Ginny back the letter.

“We’re gonna be late for Defense,” Ginny said, changing the subject.

Cassie nodded and got up, grabbing her bag. “Let’s go.”

The two girls made their way out of the dormitory in silence.

As much as Cassie was trying to help, it irked Ginny. Cassie was determined to figure out the situation. Who had shot Draco, who ordered the assassination, how they had found out, and most importantly, why? All Ginny wanted to do, was to forget about what had happened, just pretend it never had.

She felt as though she were in a suspended animation. The whole world going on around her, but unable to do anything but watch with detached interest. She was surprised by her lack of emotion. She hadn’t shed a single tear, hadn’t even felt like crying besides that first day. She’d barely slept, barely eaten. She’d thought about going to see Draco, but unlike Harry, she didn’t have an Invisibility Cloak, and would surely get caught.

If she’d had it her way, Ginny would have gladly crawled into bed and slipped into a coma herself. Or, better yet, gotten a Time Turner and stopped Draco from leaving his dormitory that day. Sadly, though, life was not that simple.

She’d gone on getting up each morning, going to class, listening to her housemates discuss Draco, speculating on what had happened.

The Trio had unexpectedly drawn back into their secrecy mode. Sitting apart from everyone at meals, conversing in whispers, and so forth.

It annoyed Ginny to no end.

After another impossibly long Double Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, where she lost twenty points for failing to looking interested enough in Snape’s lecture, Ginny was almost glad to get into the Great Hall for lunch.

The first thing she noticed was the level of chatter.

Ginny and Cassie exchanged surprised glances, before something nearly behind them caught Ginny’s attention. She spun around so fast it ought to have caused whiplash.

The Slytherin table was loud with chatter and laughter. Parkinson was gossiping with some other seventh year, both grinning stupidly. Crabbe and Goyle were arm wrestling with vigor, and Zabini was singing something to a giggling Bulstrode.

Ginny’s heart leapt. The first real emotion she’d felt in days. She all but ran to the Gryffindor table.

“What’s going on?” she blurted out, scanning the chattering table.

Seamus saw her eager face and chuckled. “Never took you as one for gossip, Miss Ginny.”

“Seamus, don’t tease.”

“Alright, alright.”

By now they had attracted the attention of the whole table. Seamus gave a sigh of long suffering.

“Malfoy woke up. Sorry you asked now?”

Ginny tried to keep her elation from showing on her face.

“Oh. Right. So, um, when did he wake up?”

This time Pravati spoke up. “This morning. But this is what’s strange; I heard Madame Pomfrey talking to Professor McGonagall, and they said that Malfoy didn’t have any of the poison left in his body. As though nothing had ever happened.”

Lavender nodded enthusiastically. “I heard that Malfoy was so well when he woke up, that Professor Dumbledore let him leave the infirmary. He’s excused from classes for a week, but doesn’t have to stay in the hospital wing!”

“Bet Madame Pomfrey wasn’t happy about that,” Colin muttered.

Ginny laughed, drawing some stares. She didn’t care.

Draco was alright! He was alive! Oh, sweet Circe, Draco was fine!

Conversation resumed at the Gryffindor table and Ginny took the opportunity to drag Cassie out of the Great Hall for the second time that day. Safely out of sight and earshot, Ginny turned to Cassie, who was watching her with barely concealed amusement.

“He’s alright!” Ginny breathed and hugged Cassie. The Wicca laughed and hugged her back.

“Well what are you waiting for?” Cassie asked, stepping back. “Go!”

Ginny looked at her, confused. “Go? Go where?”

“To Draco!”

Ginny sobered. “I can’t.”

Cassie gave her a Look.

“You’ve spent the past four days like a freaking zombie because of him. I don’t care what you say, Ginny. He means a lot to you, and you need to go and see him. Especially if he’s as alright as-” Cassie paused, flapping her hand in the air. “That girl-”

“Lavender?”

“Whatever. You need to go see him and that’s that.”

Ginny bit her lip. “You think?”

“I know.”

~

Somehow, at nearly nine in the evening, Ginny found herself in the fourth floor alcove, cursing Cassie and her stupid ideas. She was trying to stare down a suit of armor and remember a password, all while portraits whispered all around. Really, they had no shame.

“Wondered if she was going to show up,” one snooty woman whispered.

“If? I thought she’d be here hours ago!” A fat nobleman answered.

Shut up! Ginny thought. She reached for the suit of armor’s hand.

“Cauliflower,” she said softly.

The suit of armor stepped to the side and bowed her in.

Walking in, she wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans, wishing she’d worn something other than jeans and an old black sweater. She reached up to knock on the door and realized that her hand was shaking.

She knocked three times.

“Blaise, when I told you to fuck off I meant it!”

The door swung open and Draco’s look of irritation changed to one of surprise.

“Ginny.”

She stared at him, willing herself to say something, anything, but not being able to. She just stared and took in his paler than normal skin, tousled hair, and the bandage on his shoulder.

Cruelly, her mind replayed the instant when she saw him falling off his broom.

“Draco,” she sobbed, before pitching herself into his arms.

Draco seemed taken aback for a moment, but then wrapped his arms around her, one hand cradling the back of her head, embrace as strong and comforting as always.

“You’re alright,” she whispered pitifully, four days worth of tears breaking free. “You’re okay.”

“I didn’t know you cared,” Draco drawled softly.

“Of course I care, you great pillock!” she cried, swiping at her eyes and trying to pull away. Draco didn’t let her. She fell back onto his chest, sobbing again. He took a step back, taking her with him, and shut the door behind them.

Softly, Ginny felt him kiss the top of her head, and the gesture made her heart melt.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Ginny looked up, bewildered enough to stop crying. “What?”

Draco pushed a piece of hair behind her ear, seeming to think on his answer.

“I’m sorry for being a complete arse,” he said with a slight smirk.

Ginny blinked at him, still surprised at his uncharacteristic behavior.

“Forgive me?”

She swallowed back another bout of tears.

“Forgiven. And I’m sorry for overreacting. It was a stupid argument, and I was being a complete idiot, and-”

Draco cut her off with a kiss. Soft and sweet, and much too brief.

“Forgiven,” he said, pulling back.

On impulse, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him. Draco responded immediately, but didn’t deepen the kiss. It was a long, lazy kiss, neither seeming to want to end it. Ginny had the rather wild thought that if she were given a choice to spend eternity in some version of paradise, or to spend it exactly as she was then, she would have chosen the latter without a second thought.

Finally, when air became a necessity, they broke apart. Draco was smirking at her, as per usual, and it made Ginny’s heart leap. Her gaze landed on his bandaged shoulder and she gingerly trailed her fingers over it.

“Does it hurt?” she asked after a moment.

Draco snorted. “Considering that I had a gaping hole in my shoulder for three days- no.”

“I’m sorry,” Ginny said again, looking up at him.

“It’s Potter who should be apologizing,” Draco muttered darkly.

Ginny’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Draco looked down at her, surprised. “That arrow was meant for Potter.”

Ginny’s jaw dropped.

“But it was a demonic arrow.”

Draco nodded. “The Dark Lord is working with demons now, Ginny. What better way to try and get rid of Potter than by ordering some low class demon to try and assassinate him?”

Assassinate.

The same words Cassie had used. She and Draco were obviously better at this than she was.

Ginny gasped and could almost hear the click as the pieces of the puzzle came together. Draco flying out of nowhere, Harry’s worried look, the Trio’s new secrecy.

“You saw the arrow coming,” Ginny said softly. “And you flew in front of it so that it hit you instead of Harry?”

Draco scowled. “Stop making it sound bloody heroic.”

“Draco, you saved Harry’s life! He wouldn’t have had a chance if the arrow hit him.”

Draco Malfoy, supposed Death Eater, had saved the life of Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived.

“Can we please change the subject?” he asked, still scowling.

A smile broke out onto Ginny’s face. “Deny it all you like, Draco. There might actually be a decent human being in you.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Stop, you’re making me sick.”

“Fine then,” Ginny said, rolling her own eyes. “Why were you telling Zabini to fuck off when I knocked?”

“He’s been by here three times already, complaining of how bored he was while I was in the hospital wing.”

Ginny grinned. “I’m guessing that never saying anything outright is a Slytherin thing?”

“No,” Draco answered, with a rather wicked gleam in his eyes. “That’s a female thing. Never saying anything outright to do with feelings is a Slytherin thing.”

Ginny lightly swatted at his uninjured arm. “Very funny.”

Draco grinned and kissed her again. A short, sweet kiss, but intoxicating nonetheless. When they pulled apart, Ginny saw Draco grimace. For the first time since she’d seen him, she stepped out of the circle of his arms.

“I should go,” she said quietly.

“What? Why?”

“It’s nearly curfew and,” she hesitated, knowing Draco wouldn’t like what she was about to say. “You’re still hurt.”

Draco scowled. “I’m perfectly fine and to hell with curfew. You still haven’t told me about Jones.”

Ginny was taken aback. “Haven’t told you? You never gave me the chance.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ginny realized it was a mistake. What she’d said was bound to spark another argument. They’d just smoothed over a previous argument, and there she went, starting another. Sweet Merlin, why couldn’t they get along? She saw Draco’s eyes flash, but he didn’t say anything. He stepped back a few steps and sat down on the black sofa, looking exasperated.

“Do you think it’s possible for us to have a normal conversation?” Draco asked a few moments later. His voice was calm and he actually looked amused.

Ginny shook her head, too drained to be shocked by his strange behavior. “I don’t think so.”

Draco chuckled and motioned for her to sit by him. Ginny hesitated.

“It’s nearly curfew,” she said.

“Bloody hell, Ginny. Since when have you cared about curfew?” Draco was looking irritated.

He had a point.

She went and sat down beside him, looking up expectantly. “Well?”

Draco smirked rather wickedly at her. Ginny narrowed her eyes, expecting the worst.

To her surprise, Draco wrapped one arm around her waist and lay back on the sofa, taking her with him. In a few short seconds, she was lying on her side between him and couch, one hand on his chest, feeling surprisingly comfortable. She gingerly rested her head on his uninjured shoulder.

“Now,” Draco began. Ginny could hear the smirk in his voice. “Tell me what a celebrity I’ve become over the past few days.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “You’re a pompous arse, you know that?”

“Yes.”

She rolled her eyes again, but couldn’t help grinning. She knew she’d regret it later, but she went ahead and told him how he’d been the subject of nonstop conversation for nearly five days. Then, somehow, the conversation turned to Cassie. Draco seemed glad to have more information on demons, but rather irked that someone now knew their secret.

“Draco, we know her secret, too.”

There was a pause.

“Fine.”

He sounded resigned more than anything.

Ginny shifted a bit, finding a more comfortable spot for her head. She closed her eyes, trying to relieve the stinging aftermath of crying. How was it that one moment they seemed so close and then the next they were arguing? It was exhausting really. If they could always just be like they were right then, she might just fall in love with him.

Ginny’s eyes flew open, the thought shocking her.

“What’s wrong?”

She looked up at Draco’s concerned face.

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head. “Nothing.”

Draco didn’t look convinced, but dropped the subject. Ginny lay her head back down on his shoulder, trying to figure out just how such an insane thought had gotten in her head. Fall in love? With Draco Malfoy? It was insane.

But it was too late. The realization hit Ginny like a Bludger to the stomach.

She was falling in love with Draco.

Chapter 23
Parrots and Purple Parchment

Consciousness seeped slowly into Ginny’s mind, leaving her unsurprised when she finally opened her eyes.

She was still lying on Draco’s couch, in between him and the back of the sofa. Actually, much in the same position that she’d fallen asleep in. The only difference was that now Draco’s arm was around her shoulders, not her waist.

She yawned and took in what she could see of Draco’s room. Her line of sight was rather limited in her current position. She could see a bookshelf in the corner of her eye. That, and the door leading out of the dormitory, which was only a few feet away. There was something different about the room as well…

Ginny realized that she’d never seen Draco’s room lit by anything other than torches. Now, however, morning sunlight was streaming into the room from a window that she couldn’t see.

She sat bold upright.

Morning sunlight?

Bloody hell! What time was it?

“Good morning.”

Ginny looked down at Draco. He had his left arm, the uninjured one that had just been around her shoulders, tucked under his head, and was looking fairly amused.

“What time is it?” Ginny blurted.

Draco frowned, but he sat up and looked behind the sofa.

“Eight seventeen,” he said.

Ginny, too, looked back at the clock, suddenly reminded of their room in San Francisco. She scowled slightly. Was the whole putting-a-clock-behind-the-couch bit some sort of conspiracy or something?

“What’s wrong?” Draco asked, apparently noticing her expression.

Ginny shook her head. “Nothing. I just- Merlin! I can’t believe I fell asleep!”

She slumped back against the sofa, scowling.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” she asked grumpily. Then she realized that maybe he hadn’t had the chance to. Oops.

Draco, however, smirked at her. Ginny’s heart flipped over, suddenly remembering her late-night realization.

“You looked too --” he paused. “Harmless, to wake up.”

Ginny raised an eyebrow in question. Just because she knew that she was falling in love with Draco didn’t mean that he had to as well.

“Are you implying that I’m scary?”

Draco got up and extended a hand to her. Ginny took it, still waiting for an answer.

“Luv, your temper could make a demon cry.”

The redhead shook her head, trying to keep the smile off her face. She felt oddly flattered. Not to mention that he’d just called her ‘luv.’ That was a first.

“Arse,” she muttered good-naturedly.

Draco grinned and wrapped his arms around her waist. Ginny let him draw her to him, and then wrapped her own arms around his neck. She pulled him down towards her, their lips brushing softly. Draco nipped at her bottom lip, deepening the kiss.

After what seemed like a blissful eternity, Ginny finally pulled back breathless. Draco’s hands came up to cup her face, his eyes searching for something.

“Don’t go,” he said.

Ginny felt her heart melt.

“I can’t,” she said, mentally cursing everything from school to Merlin. “It’s Friday and I have classes. I’ve already skived too much, and it’s only November.”

Draco nodded, as though he’d been expecting her answer.

“What about tonight?”

More melting.

And mental cursing.

“Prefect duty.”

Draco scowled. “What complete pillock gave you Prefect’s duty on a Friday night?”

Ginny couldn’t have suppressed the grin that broke out onto her face if she’d tried.

“You did.”

Draco’s scowl deepened enough to make her laugh.

“There is nothing funny about this,” he muttered, although he was starting to grin. “I am hurt and in pain and need your company.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “You need me about as much as you need Dragon Pox.”

Draco pouted.

Ginny was beginning to realize that he did that when he wasn’t getting his way.

She cut him off before he could say anything to convince her to skive class.

“How about I skive Prefect duty, you cover for me later, and I come here after dinner.”

“Before,” Draco bargained.

“I have to eat!”

“You can eat here.”

Ginny sighed, secretly feeling that she’d gotten the better part of the deal. “Fine,” she said.

Draco pulled her towards him once more, smirking. He kissed her deeply before letting her go.

Ginny reluctantly disentangled herself from Draco and made for the exit. At the door she turned around, to see him watching her.

She smiled.

“I’ll be back.”

~

Ginny couldn’t stop grinning all the way back to her dormitory.

He had wanted her to stay! He’d really wanted her to stay. He’d put so much energy into trying to convince her, and had actually been grinning when she left.

There was, of course, the question of why he’d wanted her to stay, but right then, she didn’t care. He’d wanted her to stay, and that was that.

She was falling in love with him.

She was falling in love with Draco Malfoy. Prat of all prats, arse beyond belief, stubborn to no end, Draco Malfoy. If her brothers knew….Well, she was a humane person. Her brothers would never know.

“Lime,” she said to the giggling portrait that was the entrance to her dormitory.

The portrait swung open and Ginny collided with something coming her way. Or rather, someone.

She fell back with an “Oof.”

“You know,” Cassie said, rubbing her forehead and wincing. “When I said ‘Go see him,’ I didn’t mean ‘Stay the night.’”

Ginny blushed to the roots of her hair, realizing what it must have seemed like to Cassie.
“I- we didn’t- I mean- I fell asleep, okay!”

Cassie nodded, a wicked gleam in her eyes. “Sure you did.”

Ginny glared at the Wicca, causing Cassie to laugh.

“Okay, okay, I believe you!” the dark haired girl laughed. “Still, if I was in your shoes, I wouldn’t have slept if I’d stayed the night.”

“Cassie!”

Cassie just laughed-- like a hyena in a school uniform.

Ginny scowled. “I’m going to go change.”

Cassie followed her back into the dormitory.

“Don’t worry. I’ll wait. You can tell me about what did happen on our way to breakfast.”

~

Fifteen minutes later, the two girls made their way out of their dormitory.

Cassie had, thankfully, calmed down, and Ginny’s good mood was back.

“I’ll tell you after class, alright?” the redhead said.

Cassie frowned. “History of Magic.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

She shook her head, marveling at the amount of bargaining she’d already had to do. And it wasn’t even nine yet!

Entering the Great Hall, the two girls took their seats across from the Trio, who didn’t look unhappy to see them.

“Morning!” Cassie chirped.

Ron and Harry gave her questioning looks, both half asleep. Hermione merely raised her eyebrows. She looked rather irritated, impatiently tapping her fingers on the table, and glancing up at the ceiling with a frown.

Cassie seemed put-out by their lack of response.

“Oh, how am I? I’m fine, thanks for asking,” Cassie said exaggeratedly, reaching for the orange juice. “And how are you?”

Harry chuckled. “Morning, Cassie.”

The raven-haired girl nodded, satisfied. “Thank you.”

Ginny rolled her eyes, and a silence slowly fell over the group, only interrupted by Hermione’s tapping.

“For the love of Merlin, Hermione, quit it!” Ron said, grabbing her hand.

The brunette scowled at him.

“What’s going on?” Ginny asked, picking up a bagel.

“Professor Lupin is supposed to send me a book on demonology,” Hermione explained, tapping once more.

Ginny and Cassie exchanged a look.

“Demonology?” Cassie asked.

Hermione nodded. “They’re becoming increasingly problematic. The chances of attacks keep growing. I’d want to be prepared if I were to ever meet a demon.”

Ginny vividly remembered the time she’d seen Cassie reading a book on demons. Cassie had told her something eerily similar.

Before either of the sixth year girls could reply, the commotion of the morning post arriving began.

“Finally!” Hermione exclaimed.

Ginny looked up and was shocked enough to drop her bagel. She wasn’t the only one, though. Most of the inhabitants of the Great Hall were staring at the arriving birds. Well, one in particular.

Ron’s jaw dropped. “What the-”

Amid the black, brown, and white owls was a big red, green, and blue macaw.

The giant parrot was making a beeline for them.

A few people jumped out of the bird’s giant wingspan, giving it a clear landing spot in Cassie’s plate.

Ginny, along with several others, turned to stare at her. For once, the American girl looked sheepish.

Cassie gave a feeble shrug. “My mom thinks owls are boring.”

Ginny laughed out loud. She was in a good mood, and somehow Cassie owning a giant tropical bird was not very surprising.

Hermione looked rather put-out since her book had not arrived.

She frowned. “But I was sure that Professor Lupin said-”

“What in the buggering hell...?”

Ginny and Cassie turned around as the Trio looked up. To Ginny’s surprise, Fred and George were standing not two feet away from them, staring open mouthed at the macaw. George was carrying a rather old, thick, leather bound book.

Their staring seemed to be Cassie’s breaking point.

“It’s a PARROT, okay!” she exclaimed, standing up. “Has NO ONE here EVER seen a parrot? It’s a bird! A colorful BIRD!”

She turned to the rather surprised-looking macaw. “No offense, Polly.”

Fred and George exchanged surprised, grinning, looks.

Ginny tugged on Cassie’s wrist. “Cas, sit.”

Noticing that she had once again attracted the attention of the whole hall, Cassie fell back down into her seat.

“So you’re Cassie,” Fred said, grinning.

Cassie narrowed her eyes, still looking rather unhappy.

“Maybe.”

“Fred, don’t scare her and give me my book,” Hermione demanded.

George handed her the tattered book. “Professor Lupin thought it’d be better if we delivered it.”

Hermione nodded. “Thank you.”

“What else are you doing here?” Ron asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

“We’re seeing about opening up a Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes in Hogsmeade,” Fred explained.

Cassie, who had been in the midst of untying a piece of purple parchment from Polly’s leg, gave a sudden gasp of acknowledgment. When the group turned to look at her, she shook her head.

“Never mind, ignore me.”

“That’s your bird?” George asked, peering at it with interest. Polly, if it were possible, seemed to be scowling at him.

“Uh huh,” Cassie said. She tore a piece off Ginny’s bagel and gave it to Polly.

“Hey!” the redhead protested.

“What? You weren’t going to eat it anyway.”

The bird took the bagel and flew off, startling a few second years in the process.

Ginny shook her head and looked up at the twins. “How long do you lot plan on staying?”

George shrugged, hands in his pockets. “Couple days.”

“Why?” Fred asked, eyes gleaming wickedly. “Don’t want us to find out about your new boyfriend?”

Ginny stared. “What?”

Ron sat up, eyes wide. “What boyfriend?”

“I don’t have a-”

At that moment, just a few seats down, Pravati gasped loudly. “Look! Malfoy’s back.”

Ginny pinched the bridge of her nose and sank lower in her seat. Perfect. She could hear Cassie’s stifled laughter and kicked her under the table.

“What?” Cassie whispered, eyes dancing with mirth. “He’s got perfect timing.”

“You’re a sadist, that’s what.”

Fred and George turned back to them, looking rather irked.

“We heard about that,” Fred said grimly.

Ginny sat up, brow furrowed. “What’d you hear?”

“That somebody shot Malfoy,” George answered shrugging.

Ron scowled. “They couldn’t finish him off could they?”

Oddly enough, the twins weren’t sharing in Ron’s irritation.

“The Order thinks demons were responsible,” Fred said, so quietly Ginny had to strain to hear.

The two sixth years exchanged surprised looks, Cassie’s letter lying on the table forgotten.

The Trio leaned in, looking surprised.

“Demons?” Hermione whispered. “That doesn’t make sense.”

Ron looked puzzled. “Why would demons want to kill a Death Eater?”

Harry shook his head. Ginny realized that he’d been too quite since the arrival of the post.

“I don’t think that arrow was meant for Malfoy,” he said quietly.

Ron and Hermione turned to stare at him. Cassie did as well. “What?”

The twins nodded.

“Malfoy,” George whispered confidentially. “Got in the way.”

Harry looked grim. “The question is whether he did that intentionally or not.”

Hermione looked aghast. “You don’t think--”

“--that Malfoy’s on our side?”

Ron’s freckles stood out in stark contrast as he shook his head. “That’s impossible.”

“What?” Ginny asked sharply. “That he could have changed?”

She was defending Draco without even realizing it.

Damn it.

Surprisingly, Cassie was backing her.

“For gods’ sakes!” she exclaimed. “Why are you people so against giving second chances?”

The twins shared a shocked look. The Trio looked equally shocked. Ginny guessed that they’d forgotten that Cassie was there.

Cassie rolled her eyes. “I’m not gonna tell anyone, geez. I just think it’s horrible how close-minded you guys are. I mean, people change. And besides that, people shouldn’t be judged on what their parents did, or their last name. ‘The son is not the father’, or however that saying goes. You shouldn’t judge based on that. It’s just not fair.”

Ginny had to keep herself from hugging Cassie. Yes! Yes! Exactly, she thought.

Ron and Harry looked a little stunned, while Hermione was looking at Cassie with something that could be described as new admiration. The twins seemed uneasy.

“We should get going,” George said.

Fred nodded, trying to look jovial. “Hogsmeade isn’t –”

“Miss Jones.”

The group turned towards the sound of Professor McGonagall’s voice, all looking wary.

Professor McGonagall sighed a sigh of long suffering. “None of you are in trouble, although I’m sure you are used to it by now. Miss Jones I would just like to speak with you.”

Cassie still looked a little worried. “Erm, okay.”

“Now.”

“Oh!” Cassie jumped up and grabbed her bag.

She gave Ginny a shrug and followed after Professor McGonagall.

In short order, Fred and George said their goodbyes, leaving only Ginny and the Trio. Hermione’s nose was in her new book and Harry and Ron were discussing Quidditch within moments. Ginny, however, didn’t feel like joining in. She felt a little lonely without Cassie.

Her eyes drifted towards the Slytherin table where Draco was receiving one hell of a welcome back. She thought it was rather unfair that he got to skip classes on account of his wound, but had the right to wander the castle. She made a note to herself to tell him that later. The redhead couldn’t help but smile at the thought of their upcoming meeting.

She turned back to her table, where her eyes landed on a scroll of purple parchment. Cassie’s letter. Ginny picked it up, thinking to give it to Cassie later. The parchment unfurled in her hand and Ginny’s brow furrowed. After looking over her shoulder for any sign of the American girl, Ginny spread the parchment out on her lap.

Cassie,

My darling daughter, how are you? Alright, sorry. I just had to write that. My mother, your grams, always used to begin her letters like that to me.

I’m sorry I haven’t had much chance to write, but this war is hell. Literally.

How is everything, though? I hope you’re loving Hogwarts as much as I did. I had so much fun there. I still wish we’d gone back England when you were old enough to start school. And I’m sorry that we had to leave so suddenly now, but you understand. And, maybe its better that we left England in the first place.

Anyway, I hope you’re having fun. Even in times like these you still need to have fun. What’s the point of being young and beautiful (like we both are!) and not have fun? Hogwarts was a blast for me. I hope you’re having as good a time as I did.

Just…please no more turning textbooks into giant pink hamsters, alright? I know Professor Johnson was a sleaze, and I think you were in the right for doing what you did, but I couldn’t exactly say that to your headmistress, could I? Then again, Professor Dumbledore is still headmaster, and I hear Snape is teaching…

Only if you have a good reason, okay? And make it something imaginative. No giant animals, that’s the oldest one in the book. Sorry, kid, but it is.

Alright, I should be finishing this up. I’m staying with an old friend of mine from school for the time being, and he’s bugging me to hurry with my stupid parrot. Polly doesn’t look too happy.

Be careful, alright? Have fun, but be careful. We’re walking on thin ice here, Cassiopeia. A little extra caution wouldn’t hurt. Try to keep the recklessness to a minimum, okay?

Love you,

Mum

Ginny’s eyebrows drew together in confusion.

Something wasn’t quite right.

Chapter 24
Death and Dookiebritches

Ginny's head jerked up as the door to the History of Magic classroom swung open. Just as she'd thought, Cassie was entering the classroom, looking rather sheepish. The few groggy sixth years in the room looked up, but fell back asleep almost instantaneously.

"Miss Jobs, do you have a note?" Binns asked in his characteristic drone.

Cassie handed him a small piece of parchment and quickly made for her desk in the back beside Ginny. Catching the redhead's accusatory look, Cassie shrugged and mouthed 'sorry.' Ginny waited for Binns to get back to the Goblin Revolution (not Rebellion, Revolution) of 1665, before bombarding Cassie with questions.

"What took so long?" Ginny half-whispered, half-hissed.

When Cassie spoke, her voice had taken on a serious note that Ginny had rarely heard.

"McGonagall took me to Dumbledore. It's...kinda hard to explain," Cassie gave her a meaningful glance before looking away. "He started saying something about responsibility and Hogsmeade. And you guys."

Ginny's eyebrows could not possibly have climbed any higher. Dumbledore had called Cassie into his office to talk demons, if she was deciphering Cassie's words correctly.

"Dumbledore knows then?" the redhead asked quietly.

Cassie nodded. "I'm not surprised, though. He knows my mom."

An guilty shiver went down Ginny's spine.

"Oh."

Since Cassie's revelation about her Wicca identity, Ginny had felt closer to Cassie than she had even felt to Hermione, although the Warrior girls were still closer to her. Now, though, an entire ocean could have been separating them.

Cassie was, in the meantime, rifling through her bag.

She turned towards Ginny with her usual open smile. “Hey, you didn’t see if I left my letter did you?”

Ginny paused for only a moment.

“No. No, I haven’t.”

~

“Draco!”

Ginny burst into the Head Boy’s sitting room, not caring whether or not the whole of Slytherin was in there. Draco would kill her, but she was beyond caring.

“Draco!”

He appeared out of his bedroom, fully dressed, and looking more surprised than angry.

“Are you insane?” he asked in a tone that would have been perfectly at home if he had asked her if she wanted a cup of tea. Earl Grey, thank you.

“What?” Ginny spat. “You hadn’t noticed?”

This signaled to Draco that something was off.

“What’s wrong?”

Ginny’s energy seeped out of her and she collapsed on the couch, putting her head in her hands. Draco came and sat down beside her, waiting patiently for her to speak.

Finally, she looked up at him.

“Cassie is hiding something big.”

Of all the possible reactions Ginny could have imagined, (one of which included Draco taking her into his arms and saying something noble and good and completely out of character) she had not been expecting him to laugh.

Which he did.

Ginny stared at him in incredulity.

“What, pray tell, is so funny?”

Draco slowly clamed down and looked at her with an “I-can’t-believe-you-don’t-find-this-incredibly-funny” sort of look.

“What?” Ginny asked sulkily.

Draco tried, and failed miserably, to contain his smirk.

“It’s taken you this long to realize that?”

Ginny glared at him, but her heart wasn’t in it.

“I thought she was hiding something, but then the Wicca bit came up and I figured that was it. But now…”

She shrugged, still uncertain about whether or not to show Draco the letter. She looked up and saw him frowning slightly.

“Tell me exactly what happened.”

She did.

“…And I think Cassie wants our help tonight in Hogsmead, or Dumbledore told her to get our help. I don’t know.”

Draco, whose frown kept deepening with her tale, was looking very troubled. Ginny briefly recalled a time, only a couple of months ago, when he would have rather been caught dead than looking like that in front of her. She smiled briefly.

“Were those her exact words?”

Ginny shook her head. “No, I left before we could talk.”

Draco gave her a questioning look, and she blushed.

“As an excuse to get away, I told Cassie that I was worried about you and really needed to see you.”

Draco smirked. “Of course you did.”

Ginny rolled her eyes, but remained silent when Draco didn’t say anything more. She sank deeply into her own troubled thoughts before his voice shook her out of them.

“If Cassie asks for our help, agree.”

Ginny looked up at him in surprise. “But what if it’s a trap?”

“We’ll have to take that chance then.” He scowled. “Not to mention that I don’t want a repetition of you yelling at me again for not risking our lives in a completely suicidal situation.”

“What?” Ginny asked sweetly, secretly delighted. “Does my yelling scare you?”

Draco stood up. “Of course not. It’s just bloody annoying.”

He offered her his hand.

Ginny scowled and stood up, not taking the proffered hand. He smirked.

“Any more ideas?”

“You agree with my first one?” Draco seemed surprised.

Ginny shrugged. “We don’t have much of a choice.”

Draco nodded. “Good. Then if Cassie asks, agree. Then owl me the first chance you get.”

“There’s got to be a faster way to communicate,” Ginny complained, frowning.

“We’ll try to think of one, but in the meantime, if no one’s in the Owlery, use my owl.”

Ginny had the sudden image of the majestic, beautiful, menacing Malfoy eagle owl pecking her to shreds. Slowly and painfully.

Her uneasiness must have showed on her face, because Draco snorted.

“He won’t hurt you.”

“Why can’t I just use a school owl?”

“Because someone could easily intercept a school owl. Malfoy owls are only loyal to their masters.”

“So it is going to pick me to shreds.”

He rolled his eyes. “Stop being so bloody dramatic.”

Ginny gave him a dubious look. “Fine. So, agree to Cassie’s supposed plan, owl you, if I don’t get maimed by your owl first, then what?”

“We will meet in the library we found at whatever time you decide on.”

Ginny nodded, rather liking the authoritative, decisive Draco. “And if it’s a trap?”

“Then we try to get away alive.” Her questions were staring to irritate him, she could tell.

“And if she doesn’t say anything?”

“Bloody hell! Then nothing happens!”

Ginny couldn’t resist asking one more question. “And what’s your owl’s name?”

“Ginny…” he said warningly.

She started laughing, knowing that she was probably digging her own, very deep, grave.

By the time her hysterics subsided, Draco looked only mildly disgruntled.

“I’m glad you find that so funny.”

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, grinning impishly. “But making you angry is such good fun.”

Draco raised his eyebrows and wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her to him.

“Just wait,” he said. “I’ll get my revenge.”

He placed a long, lingering kiss on her lips, so sweet that when he pulled away a disgruntled mewl escaped Ginny’s lips.

Draco smirked with satisfaction when Ginny scowled at him. An idea suddenly occurred to her and she reached up and brought his smirking face down towards hers. Draco seemed surprised, much to Ginny’s delight.

Feeling him getting into the kiss, she pulled away a little. Two could play his game.

“I should go,” she said, not being able to restrain her smirk.

Draco narrowed his eyes.

“Bloody tease,” he muttered before nipping her lip and pulling completely away.

Ginny smiled at him and turned toward the exit.

“Ginny?”

She looked back at him.

“The owl’s name is Alexander.”

Ginny shot him one last smile before climbing through the tunnel.

~

When she got back to the dormitory, Cassie was sitting on the couch, writing something and eating a plate of some sort of noodles.

“What is that?” Ginny asked.

Cassie looked up, golden noodles hanging out of her mouth. Ginny grinned.

The Wicca rolled her eyes and swallowed her food.

“It’s Chinese food.”

Ginny raised her eyebrows in surprise. “How did you get the house-elves to make Chinese take away?”

Cassie waggled her eyebrows ridiculously. “I have ways. Ooh! That reminds me. Some psychotic, half naked owl is flying around the bathroom. I think it’s for you.”

“Oh! That’s from Sage.”

She’d been expecting an owl from Sage for some time now.

Ginny jogged into the bathroom, where, indeed, there was a rather featherless owl sitting on the sink. The bird was naked aside from a few tail feathers, and it’s large, amber eyes had a slightly crazed look in them, if that were possible for an owl. The redhead sighed and shook her head. Sage’s unfortunate owl was not only named “Dookiebritches,” but was also half mad. Ginny watched the poor bird lift up his wing, grab hold of one of the growing feathers underneath, pull the feather out, screech, then drop it before repeating the whole process all over again.

Cassie came into the bathroom looking rather puzzled. “What was that noise?”

“Sage’s owl is de-feathering himself.”

“Oh.”

The two watched the oddly fascinating spectacle for a few moments before Cassie spoke again.

“Shouldn’t we stop him?”

Ginny shook her head fiercely, vividly recalling the last time she tried to stop Dookiebritches from pulling out his feathers.

“Bad idea.”

Cassie nodded.

Ginny cautiously made her way towards the crazy owl. Dookiebritches looked up at her, eyes wild, before sticking out his leg with the parchment on it and looking to the side in a rather offended manner.

“I really wish I’d known Sage better,” Cassie said wistfully from behind.

Ginny took the parchment cautiously and ducked quickly when Dookiebritches took off in mad flight a moment later.

“I’m not sure if that’s always a good thing,” Ginny commented.

The two girls watched the insane owl fly around their dormitory in circles several times then fly out the window and dive for the ground.

Ginny and Cassie went back to their sitting room. Ginny fell down into her armchair and uncrumpled Sage’s letter.

Hey Ginny,

A tragedy has befallen me, friend.

I have fleas.

Don’t laugh, I do. I’m not sure how I got them, but they’re here. I think they live in the floorboards under my bed or in the clothes pile at the foot of my bed (where I keep everything I need). But, you see, my bed is the only safe place from them. For some reason I think they can’t jump that high …they can’t, can they?

I feel dirty and scared for my life. Last night I sat on my bed and used my leg for bait, letting those bastards jump on. Just as I lured them into a false sense of security, I massively sprayed them with flea-death chemicals!

David, Ali, and I got some weird letters this morning about meeting with some Professor Dumbleroar or something tomorrow night. I remember you saying something about him. Your Headmaster, right?

Ooh! Itchy, itchy flea.

I hate fleas. But yeah, I’ll owl you tomorrow after the meeting and tell you what happened.

So how’s life? I heard something happened to Draco. Is he okay? Please tell me you’ve screwed him by now. And what’s the deal with this Cassie girl? Something sounds fishy about her. I don’t remember any Cassie Jones ever being in our year. Although, I think there was a Cassiopeia, or something like that.

Holy shit, there’s a flea on my desk. They’re stalking me! Ginny help, I’m gonna die!

Love you,
-SAGE -

Ginny snorted before tossing the letter in the fireplace.

Cassie looked up at her, eyebrows raised. “Anything new?”

“Sage has fleas.”

Ginny was sure as hell that telling Cassie about Dumbledore meeting with the Warriors was a bad idea.

The Wicca looked at her, seeming a little confused. “How can…never mind.”

She shook her head. “How’s Draco by the way?”

Ginny’s stomach dropped into her feet, but she smiled as pleasantly as she could.

“He’s good. He says we could actually go patrolling tonight.”

Cassie nodded, looking serious once more. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees.

“Yeah, about that,” the Wicca looked up, eyes pleading. “I need your help Ginny. Yours and Draco’s.”

“What’s going on?”

“Dumbledore told me that something big is going to happen in Hogsmeade tonight. He wouldn’t tell me what, just said I might want some help.”

Ginny nodded. So far everything was going just as Draco had predicted.

“Of course we’ll help, Cassie.”

Cassie buried her face in her hands. “I’m scared, Ginny. Really scared.”

That caught her off guard. “What do you mean? You’ve faced demons before.”

“Not like this. Not like what I’m afraid tonight is going to be like,” Cassie sighed. “I’ve only faced one or two demons at a time. The way Dumbledore made this out to be, it sounds bad. Really bad.”

Ginny instinctively went over to Cassie and sat by her, trying to comfort her friend. Either all of Ginny’s suspicions were simple paranoia, or Cassie was a superb actress. At the moment though, the dark haired witch looked near tears.

“I don’t like this,” Cassie muttered. “I don’t like war, I don’t like fighting. I don’t like worrying. I wish this war would just be over.”

Ginny put a comforting hand on Cassie’s shoulder, feeling conflicted. Why was everything so hard? She wished the war would be over just so that she could stop lying and sneaking around.

“Yeah, I know.”

~

It was near one in the morning when the three of them finally got to Hogsmeade’s cemetery. Having forgone brooms, the walk took nearly twenty minutes.

Draco had been quiet the whole time, while Cassie was rather sullen. Ginny kept nervously glancing from one to the other, not knowing whether to keep with the silence or start up a conversation.

Draco finally spoke when they passed through the gates of the old cemetery.

“So where is this horde of demons?”

Cassie looked around, searching the abandoned cemetery. “Not here yet. I guess we wait.”

Ginny bit her lip, wondering why she wasn’t feeling as nervous as she ought to be.

“So we wait,” Draco muttered.

Cassie perched on the edge of a headstone, sending a small smile Ginny’s way. The redhead returned it before heading closer to Draco. He looked at her, eyebrows raised. She shrugged and sat down on the grave marker beside him. The cold November wind seemed to be blowing from the ground, lifting both Ginny and Cassie’s hair up, making Cassie at least, look like some mystical creature of Dark beauty. A small stab of jealousy went through the redhead, just as she felt Draco’s eyes on her.

She turned towards him. “What?”

Draco smirked and shook his head. “Nothing.”

Ginny scowled, and turned away from him, ending the last conversation of the evening.

It was over an hour later that the first sounds of activity reached their ears.

Draco signaled them to be quiet and made his way for a rather large oak a few feet from them. The girls hopped off the headstones and followed him.

From the oak, they could see a large gathering of demons, maybe twenty in all. They were all garbed in very tattered robes and some sort of leather. None had hair on their heads, even the females, but instead a very elaborate black tattoo of some sort was drawn on the backs of their skulls. They were walking around a section of graves, muttering amongst themselves.

“Jarmin demons,” Cassie whispered. “There was couple of them doing something here when we met that one time.”

Both Ginny and Draco looked at her quizzically.

“They’re not very powerful magic wise, but they’re really strong. It’s said they can crush a human skull with one hand. They usually work as bodyguards or something in the demonic world, but they’ve been trying to rise to the top as their own clan lately.”

Ginny gulped. Crush a human skull with one hand? That didn’t sound good.

“What are we going to do?” Ginny whispered to Draco.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure-”

One of the demons’ heads snapped up, eyes narrowed and focused in their direction. “What was that?”

“What was what?” said the one beside him, this one obviously female.

“There’s something behind those-”

The demon never got to finish his sentence however, because at that moment Cassie made a rather complicated motion with her hand and the demon flew sideways and knocked into his female companion.

Draco tugged on Ginny’s arm, and the two ran towards the demons.

“Catch!” Cassie yelled and threw them each a small, dark blue bag. Ginny caught hers, feeling several small vials in the bag. Potions.

After that, there was no more time to think.

A female grabbed Ginny around the middle, nearly squeezing all the air out of the redhead. Ginny wasted no time in grabbing the dagger out of her waistband and plunging it into the demon’s side. The demon disappeared in a puff of dust.

Ginny whipped around just in time to see another demon, this time male, coming straight for her. She kicked out and caught him in the stomach. Doubled over, he didn’t see the potion vial heading for him.

“Wiccas!” someone screamed, causing even more of an uproar.

“Ginny!”

The redhead turned towards the sound of the voice. A giant demon had grabbed hold of Cassie’s arms with one hand, and was forming a small ball of fire in his other.

“Ginny! Help!”

Not even thinking, she threw one of the vials in Cassie’s direction. The demon exploded and Cassie fell forward onto her hands and knees, breathing heavily. Ginny rushed up to her.

“Are you okay?”

Cassie nodded, looking up at her with a rather forced smile. “Just peachy. But I think your boyfriend needs help.”

Indeed, Ginny saw a cluster of four or five demons surrounding Draco. She looked at Cassie and the Wicca nodded, an unspoken plan formed. Ginny ran towards Draco, lashing out at any demon she could reach, and narrowly avoiding several demons Cassie had sent flying.

Somehow, she found herself back to back with Draco, a circle of demons around them. She could hear the sounds of combat not too far away, figuring Cassie was fighting her own battle.

“Back away,” Draco growled at the demons, dagger held in front of him.

Ginny prayed to whatever gods that were listening to get out alive, her heart thumping wildly in her chest.

One of the larger demons started laughing. “What are you going to do if we don’t?”

“Stupid mortals,” another spat, just before being turned into dust.

Several vials of purple liquid soared over their heads and landed near the demons, vanquishing all but one of them. Draco took off immediately and was soon engaged in a fight with one of the more vicious looking females.

Ginny stood, confused for several moments, watching Draco and Cassie fighting around her.

Unexpectedly, a huge hand reached forward and closed around her throat.

Ginny’s air supply was immediately cut off and she began choking. The hand lifted her up off her feet as though she were nothing more than a rag doll. She looked down at the demon’s angry eyes, seeing murder in them. She tried to pry the fingers from her neck, but it was useless, her vision was already starting to blur. Determined that the demon’s face not be the last thing she saw, she forced herself to look up, her gaze focused on the crescent moon as the world began to turn black.

~

She was standing at one end of giant hall.

The hall was roughly the size of the Great Hall, but made entirely of white marble. There was no magic ceiling, but just a high, stone roof. The walls were bare of anything, and yet the hall still seemed lit. There was no furniture, aside from a large marble throne directly in front of her at the other end of the hall.

Oddly enough, as far as the throne was away from her, Ginny could make out the woman sitting on it perfectly. She looked young, with long black hair that reached the middle of her back. Her eyes were dark, nearly black in color. She was wearing what looked to be a suit of armor shrunk to fit her like a second skin. She was playing with something in her hands. A small hourglass it seemed to be, filled with black sand.

“Welcome, Phoenix. Long time no see.”

Her voice was soft and feminine, somehow, not matching her appearance.

“Who are you?” Ginny asked. She new she ought to be afraid, but fright seemed to be a feeling so far away, that she just couldn’t summon it.

The woman smiled. A beautiful, breath taking smile that would undoubtedly stop men in their tracks.

“Don’t recognize me, do you?”

She stood up and walked towards Ginny, her boots clicking on the floor, the sound echoing throughout the vast hall.

“I’m Death.”

Ginny’s eyes widened, but still did not feel frightened.

“I’m dead?”

Death chuckled and shook her head. “No, not yet.”

“Then why am I here?”

By then, Death had reached Ginny and was standing less than a meter away. She shrugged. “I don’t know why you’re here. You summoned me.”

Now Ginny was feeling thoroughly confused.

“I don’t remember doing that.”

Death shrugged again. “Maybe you want to ask me something?”

“I can ask you something?”

“If you like.”

“How did you know who I am?” Ginny asked.

“You are the Phoenix. You need no other identification.”

“Oh.”

Ginny thought for a moment before posing her next question. She didn’t feel as though there was a need to rush.

“Am I dead?” she asked again.

Death shook her head. “No, you’re not.”

“Could you tell me when I’m going to die?”

“I could,” Death said, looking thoughtful. “But it would plague you for the rest of your life.”

Ginny nodded. “You really don’t know why I’m here?”

“Haven’t a clue.”

“Oh.”

They stood in silence for a moment until Ginny felt a sudden tug on her body.

“What the…?”

Death smiled and shook her head. “He never could leave you for more than a few hours.”

Ginny opened her mouth to ask just what the hell she was talking about, when her eyes flew open and she was staring up at Draco’s face.

Draco startled and jumped back.

“You’re awake.”

Ginny propped herself up on her elbows, feeling more than a little confused.

She was in Draco’s bedroom, lying on his bed, with a rather conflicted looking Draco standing over her.

Hadn’t she just been talking to Death?

She shook her head. “What happened?”

“You nearly died, that’s what happened,” Draco answered, scowling.

Before Ginny could say anything, though, Cassie’s head popped in the doorway.

“Hey! You’re awake!”

Draco scowled at Cassie, obviously not happy with her. Cassie, oblivious, went into the room and hugged Ginny, who was in the middle of trying to sit up.

“Listen, I’d love to stay, but I’ve got a vanquishing potion brewing in our dorm that I really ought to check on.”

“Who’s keeping you?” Draco muttered.

Cassie beamed at Ginny. “See you later, then.”

The redhead watched Cassie leave, bewildered. Cassie stopped at the doorway and winked at her, leaving Ginny even more confused.

“I don’t see why you insist on associating with her,” Draco said.

Ginny looked up at him, surprised. “Because she needs our help and we need hers.”

Draco didn’t comment, still looking rather hacked off.

Ginny swung her legs over the edge of the bed, feeling rather disappointed for some reason. Still, at least she wasn’t dead.

“Where are you going?” Draco asked suddenly. He seemed startled.

She looked at him, eyebrows raised. “Back to my dorm.”

“Why?”

Ginny sighed, her hands on her hips. “Draco, are you purposefully being stupid or what?”

Draco scowled at her. “I’m not being stupid, I just don’t like Jones.”

“Too bad.”

Ginny made her way for the door, but Draco grabbed her hand.

“Wait, Ginny...”

She turned around looking at him with exasperation. How in Merlin’s name did she end up falling in love with him?

“I’m waiting, Draco.”

“How do you feel?”

She certainly hadn’t been expecting that.

“Um, fine, I guess…”

“Bloody hell,” he muttered, before pulling her to him and crushing his lips to hers.

Ginny was surprised to say the least, but she returned the kiss in moments. She stepped back until her back hit the wall. Draco’s hands were everywhere; her hair, her back, sliding under her shirt.

Suddenly, he pulled away.

“Bloody hell, you scared me,” he whispered, one hand cupping her face.

Ginny looked up at him, puzzled. “You were worried about me?”

Draco scowled, seeming to have realized his slip.

“I meant that if you died I’d have to go patrolling alone.”

“Uh huh.” Ginny nodded, trying not to grin.

“Stop that. I was only worried for purely selfish reasons.”

Ginny grinned openly. “Sure you were.”

She snaked her hand around his neck and pulled his head down towards hers. Draco dropped all protests and kissed her back fiercely.

After what seemed like mere moments, Draco pulled away, staring at her intently.

“Stay here.”

Ginny’s eyebrows shot up. “Stay here?”

“Not like that, although I wouldn’t mind.” Draco smirked. “Just stay here for the night.”

Ginny opened her mouth to protest, but suddenly remembered her vision (dream?) about Death.

A slow smile crept onto her features.

“Of course.”