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.”
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