Chapter 37: Sacrifices
Ginny dove forward, her mind lost in the rush of adrenaline that overwhelmed her senses. She couldn’t see, she couldn’t think. The only thing that was registering in her mind was that there had been a wand pointed to his head, and now, the sound of a spell cast. She pushed past the reaching arms of the Aurors around her, seeking to hold her back and she ignored the sound of her brother screaming her name. She reached her hands out and threw herself forward, pushing Draco sideways, the force of the impact sending them both sprawling to the ground.
She hard landed on the ground, and she groaned loudly, rolling with the impact onto her back. Her body was screaming in protest; her fall earlier that night added to the physical strain that she’d been under lately was compounding into a stiffness that was protesting her movements. The world seemed to swirl before her eyes, and she felt an aftershock of pain flash through her head, causing her to cry out in pain. Groaning, she clutched her head and felt the stickiness of dried blood on her forehead: reminding her of the abrasion she’d earned earlier when she tripped. She took a few deep breaths to clear her mind and exorcise the pain.
As her vision cleared, she found herself looking into a pair of gray eyes, staring down at her. She smiled slightly but then winced as her split lip began to burn from the movement. She felt gentle fingers brushing her hair away from her face, caressing the side of her cheek. Even as the pain throbbed in her head, giving her the telltale signs of a concussion, she felt it ease away with the brush of his fingers, as he moved his hand downwards to cup her cheek.
As she focused more, she was taken aback by the fierce look in his eyes. She could hear a rumble of voices in the background, their words melding together to form a murmur that made it impossible to make out exactly what was being said. All that she could focus on entirely were the silvery-gray eyes glaring down at her.
“What did you think you were doing?” he asked, his voice gruff and curt. She blinked in surprised.
“His wand was pointed straight at your head. He was going to curse you! ” she answered, frowning. The answer was so obvious, wasn’t it? Before she could fully figure out why he was angry with her, his hands were pulling her up into a sitting position, wrapping around her and gathering her into a tight hug. She could feel her magic stirring at his closeness, and she could again hear the steady hum of his heartbeat once again. She could feel his breath warm against her neck.
“Don’t ever do anything like that again. Not for me. Never for me,” he was whispering fiercely, as his arms tightened around her, to reassure himself that she was safe.
* * * * *
“He Disapparated! He’s gone!” Harry shouted, as pandemonium among the Aurors broke out.
“Where do you think he would have gone?” Hermione shouted over the din as the other Aurors were quickly shouting orders to each other.
“Can we cast a Locating Spell on him?” Ron asked, pulling Hermione and Harry away from the group so that they could assess the situation better, out of the center of the noise.
“It won’t work. According to Ministry records, he died on December 17th, six years ago. We won’t be able to find him,” Hermione said, shaking her head. Harry looked deep in thought, his green eyes flashing as his mind jumped into action.
“There are new spells in place to protect the unicorns, so he wouldn’t go back to the center of the maze. His plans are now ruined, because there is nothing he can do, now that Danika is gone, and he’s lost his control over Ginny,” Harry said.
“Where would he go? What do you think he’s going to do?” Ron asked, his eyes wide with worry. They flicked momentarily to the sight of Draco and Ginny on the ground, and it was apparent that he was worried about the role his sister had played in the night’s events. “Do you think he might come after Ginny again?”
“If not Ginny, then definitely Draco. He has a fairly large grudge against him,” Hermione said, knowingly.
“I can’t believe that this was all about Salazar Slytherin. We should send some people to investigate the Guatemalan Ministry – to see if there are anymore Dark wizards that we should be worried about there,” Ron said.
“Yeah. We should do that after we find Neville. But first things first, we should get Ginny back to England and away from the unicorns so that she can’t be used against them anymore,” Harry said decisively.
* * * *
“Easy there, Virginia. I don’t like the looks of that bump on your head,” Vincent Malfoy said, as he helped Ginny to her feet, after Draco finally released her. Ginny stood still for a moment, waiting for the world to stop sitting. She wanted nothing more than to have a shower and crawl into bed and sleep for a week. She was exhausted, and her head was absolutely throbbing, and her split lip was stinging.
She could also do with a good cry, a luxury she hadn’t allowed herself since the fateful night she’d thought that Neville Longbottom had died to save her life.
Shaking off that thought, she surveyed the scene before her and noted how lost the Aurors looked, as they were scouting the area for the missing Dark wizard. She spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione in a huddle, no doubt plotting a way to find Neville and stop his evil plot together. She felt a strong arm wrap around her waist, and a pair of soft lips pressing against the back of her neck, and she found herself more than happy to leave the heroics to her older brother and his friends.
Until a sudden groan filled her ears, and the arm around her waist dropped away. Ginny turned, and gasped as she saw Draco crumple to the ground, gasping in pain. She crouched down to him, grasping his hand, searching for the cause of his pain.
“The…the sanctuary…” he was gasping. “He’s…the unicorns…he’s killing them!”
Ginny dove forward, her mind lost in the rush of adrenaline that overwhelmed her senses. She couldn’t see, she couldn’t think. The only thing that was registering in her mind was that there had been a wand pointed to his head, and now, the sound of a spell cast. She pushed past the reaching arms of the Aurors around her, seeking to hold her back and she ignored the sound of her brother screaming her name. She reached her hands out and threw herself forward, pushing Draco sideways, the force of the impact sending them both sprawling to the ground.
She hard landed on the ground, and she groaned loudly, rolling with the impact onto her back. Her body was screaming in protest; her fall earlier that night added to the physical strain that she’d been under lately was compounding into a stiffness that was protesting her movements. The world seemed to swirl before her eyes, and she felt an aftershock of pain flash through her head, causing her to cry out in pain. Groaning, she clutched her head and felt the stickiness of dried blood on her forehead: reminding her of the abrasion she’d earned earlier when she tripped. She took a few deep breaths to clear her mind and exorcise the pain.
As her vision cleared, she found herself looking into a pair of gray eyes, staring down at her. She smiled slightly but then winced as her split lip began to burn from the movement. She felt gentle fingers brushing her hair away from her face, caressing the side of her cheek. Even as the pain throbbed in her head, giving her the telltale signs of a concussion, she felt it ease away with the brush of his fingers, as he moved his hand downwards to cup her cheek.
As she focused more, she was taken aback by the fierce look in his eyes. She could hear a rumble of voices in the background, their words melding together to form a murmur that made it impossible to make out exactly what was being said. All that she could focus on entirely were the silvery-gray eyes glaring down at her.
“What did you think you were doing?” he asked, his voice gruff and curt. She blinked in surprised.
“His wand was pointed straight at your head. He was going to curse you! ” she answered, frowning. The answer was so obvious, wasn’t it? Before she could fully figure out why he was angry with her, his hands were pulling her up into a sitting position, wrapping around her and gathering her into a tight hug. She could feel her magic stirring at his closeness, and she could again hear the steady hum of his heartbeat once again. She could feel his breath warm against her neck.
“Don’t ever do anything like that again. Not for me. Never for me,” he was whispering fiercely, as his arms tightened around her, to reassure himself that she was safe.
* * * * *
“He Disapparated! He’s gone!” Harry shouted, as pandemonium among the Aurors broke out.
“Where do you think he would have gone?” Hermione shouted over the din as the other Aurors were quickly shouting orders to each other.
“Can we cast a Locating Spell on him?” Ron asked, pulling Hermione and Harry away from the group so that they could assess the situation better, out of the center of the noise.
“It won’t work. According to Ministry records, he died on December 17th, six years ago. We won’t be able to find him,” Hermione said, shaking her head. Harry looked deep in thought, his green eyes flashing as his mind jumped into action.
“There are new spells in place to protect the unicorns, so he wouldn’t go back to the center of the maze. His plans are now ruined, because there is nothing he can do, now that Danika is gone, and he’s lost his control over Ginny,” Harry said.
“Where would he go? What do you think he’s going to do?” Ron asked, his eyes wide with worry. They flicked momentarily to the sight of Draco and Ginny on the ground, and it was apparent that he was worried about the role his sister had played in the night’s events. “Do you think he might come after Ginny again?”
“If not Ginny, then definitely Draco. He has a fairly large grudge against him,” Hermione said, knowingly.
“I can’t believe that this was all about Salazar Slytherin. We should send some people to investigate the Guatemalan Ministry – to see if there are anymore Dark wizards that we should be worried about there,” Ron said.
“Yeah. We should do that after we find Neville. But first things first, we should get Ginny back to England and away from the unicorns so that she can’t be used against them anymore,” Harry said decisively.
* * * *
“Easy there, Virginia. I don’t like the looks of that bump on your head,” Vincent Malfoy said, as he helped Ginny to her feet, after Draco finally released her. Ginny stood still for a moment, waiting for the world to stop sitting. She wanted nothing more than to have a shower and crawl into bed and sleep for a week. She was exhausted, and her head was absolutely throbbing, and her split lip was stinging.
She could also do with a good cry, a luxury she hadn’t allowed herself since the fateful night she’d thought that Neville Longbottom had died to save her life.
Shaking off that thought, she surveyed the scene before her and noted how lost the Aurors looked, as they were scouting the area for the missing Dark wizard. She spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione in a huddle, no doubt plotting a way to find Neville and stop his evil plot together. She felt a strong arm wrap around her waist, and a pair of soft lips pressing against the back of her neck, and she found herself more than happy to leave the heroics to her older brother and his friends.
Until a sudden groan filled her ears, and the arm around her waist dropped away. Ginny turned, and gasped as she saw Draco crumple to the ground, gasping in pain. She crouched down to him, grasping his hand, searching for the cause of his pain.
“The…the sanctuary…” he was gasping. “He’s…the unicorns…he’s killing them!”
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