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.”
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.”
To Be Continued.
Warriorlily is the author of 3 other stories.
This story is a favorite of 66 members. Members who liked Call to Destiny also liked 1160 other stories.
This story is a favorite of 66 members. Members who liked Call to Destiny also liked 1160 other stories.
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