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!
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.
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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!
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