Unofficial Portkey Archive

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.

A/N: Thanks to my beta, Aliya.

Chapter 18

The rest of January and all of February flew by in the blink of an eye. Gryffindor went on to win the Quidditch Cup against Slytherin, and Pansy received detention for a month for jinxing another student unconscious. Draco and Ginny enjoyed their time of peace before Lucius decided to strike. They sat together at every meal and spent almost all of their free time together or IMing each other. A few more rumors about them flew around, but wre squashed before they reached their full potential.
It was already the second week in March, and Lucius had said that he would take action at the end of February. Draco became more nervous with every passing day, but that, of course, was the point. Lucius wanted to build up anxiety, maybe even lull them into a false sense of security. The latter seemed to be happening to Ginny, and Draco was worried about her. She was either really optimistic or she really believed that Lucius wasn't going to do anything. Draco knew that he would make his move eventually.

*~*~*~*

Two days later, Lucius made his first move. Draco got back from classes, and Lucifer was sitting on his bed, waiting for him. Draco took the letter off of the bird's leg, and then it flew away. It never stayed long.
The letter said:

Draco,
You have not complied with the Dark Lord's, and my, requests. We have even been generous to give you extra time, but now your time is up. I will have to take action. This is your last chance to comply. If you have decided to cooperate, tell me so in your reply, if not, then good riddance. If you don't cooperate, you will regret it. Well, I have warned you. Make the correct choice.
Sincerely,
Lucius Malfoy
P.S. The Weasley will be the first to go.

Draco glared at the letter. He knew it would come eventually, and here it was. Now all he could do was hope that he hadn't contacted Ginny too. He would tell her, but he wouldn't show her the letter. He would give her the softened version. Even if Ginny was a strong persona and a powerful witch, she could make some very impulsive decisions based on emotions.
He made his way quickly towards the Gryffindor Common Room. When he arrived, he found Ginny's friend, Shannon, and asked her where Ginny was. "Oh, she's in her room. I'll get her for you," Shannon answered, looking surprised at the tone of his voice. It was so much warmer than she would have thought him capable of.
"Thanks," Draco replied.
Shannon left Draco standing there as she rushed to get Ginny. A few minutes later, she reappeared, Ginny in tow. "Hi, Draco," she greeted cheerfully.
"Hey, Gin," he replied, kissing her on the top of the head. "Is there anywhere we could talk in private?"
"Yeah. Follow me," she answered.
Draco obeyed willingly as she led him to the Room of Requirement. "I didn't want to say where we were going. Ron is always bugging my friends to see if they knew where we are. He wants to make sure I don't do anything that `I'll regret,' " she explained as they entered.
Draco nodded in understanding as they sat down on one of the couches scattered around the room. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Ginny asked after awhile. Draco had been staring at her intently, and it was beginning to feel unnerving. He had been trying to determine if Lucius had sent her anything or not.
"I got a letter from my father today," he began.
Ginny gasped. That's not what she had expected. She wasn't sure what she had expected, but it hadn't been that. "What did he say?" she asked nervously, fearing the answer.
"That it's my last chance to cooperate. If I don't, they'll set their plan into action. I still don't know what they have in store for us," Draco answered, trying to break it to her gently. He put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "You didn't really believe that he was just bluffing, did you?"
He felt her shake her head that was currently resting on his shoulder. "No," she said sadly, her voice cracking slightly. "But I was hoping that he would just let it be." She sniffled.
"It's going to be fine," Draco whispered soothingly, but in his heart he knew that it might not be. He just hated seeing her cry, especially when it was his fault that she was crying in the first place. "I'm sorry."
"Whatever for?" Ginny asked in surprise.
"For dragging you into this thing with my father. I didn't mean to. If I would have known it was someone as wonderful as you that I was talking to online, I wouldn't have kept talking. I never wanted to fall in love with you. I knew it would only cause pain and heartache," Draco explained tearfully. He wasn't going to cry. He wasn't. Ginny needed comfort, not tears.
"I'm sorry that you feel that way. I thought our relationship was more than pain and heartache. That's why we didn't break up when Lucius first started threatening us. I guess I was wrong," Ginny replied bitterly.
Draco looked taken aback at her response and instantly was contrite. "I didn't mean it that way," he said helplessly.
"Then how did you mean it?" she asked coldly.
"I meant that I never wanted to cause you any pain," Draco tried again to explain desperately.
Ginny heard the desperation in his voice, and her face softened. "Hey, I'm sorry. I'm just stressed and upset about this, okay? We both are," she apologized.
"It's okay, but if we're going to get through this, we're going to have to stick together. Lucius is probably hoping that we'll fight about it and break up," Draco said.
Ginny nodded in agreement as she leaned into kiss him. They kissed for a few minutes before Ginny broke away. "When are you going to reply to your father's owl?" she asked pointedly.
"Right now," Draco replied, taking the hint. He picked up the quill and parchment that had magically appeared when the need arose. He dipped the quill into the ink that had also magically appeared and wrote one word on the parchment.
Never.
He signed it simply Draco. "Want to come to the Owlery with me to deliver this?" he asked Ginny.
She shrugged. "Sure," she said.
Draco smiled as he took her hand and led her out of the Room of Requirement.

*~*~*~*

After they had arrived at the Owlery and sent an owl off with the reply, it was already passed dinner. "I better be getting back," Ginny said regretfully. "Ron will start freaking if I don't."
"Alright, I'll walk you back," Draco replied, taking her hand.
Ginny nodded, and they left the Owlery. When they arrived at Gryffindor tower, Ginny gave Draco a kiss good-bye and entered. She was surprised to see when she entered that no one was waiting for her. Ron was almost always there, and when he wasn't, he had someone in his place.
Looking around the Common Room, there wasn't that many people at all. That's when she remembered that the Gryffindor, third year and up, had gotten permission from McGonagall and Dumbledore to go to Hogsmeade. It was to celebrate winning the Quidditch Cup. Mentally smacking herself, Ginny rushed out of the Tower and out the castle doors. She was relieved to see that there were still carriages there to go to the village in. Dumbledore had told them that he was putting an Age Line around the carriages so the younger students couldn't sneak in. Boarding a carriage, she prayed that her friends would still be there when she arrived, and that she would be able to find them. Granted, Hogsmeade wasn't all that big, but it was easy to miss them. Like they would come out of a store, and two minutes later, she would go in. Or, they would be ready to go already. We had to be back at the castle by nine because the younger students had an earlier curfew, and it would be easier to have everyone having to be back by the same time.
By this time, Ginny's carriage had arrived at her destination, and she got out. Deciding that her best bet was to go to the Three Broomsticks first. That's when she realized that she hadn't brought any money. Groaning in frustration, she went to look for her brother maybe he would have some money to lend her. As soon as she entered the pub she knew her brothers were there. Yep, that's right brothers. She saw three very drunk red-heads attempting to serenade an equally drunk Lavender Brown. It was a funny, but embarrassing sight. If it hadn't been her brothers, she would find it funnier. As she approached them, Ginny could see Harry and Hermione watching, totally sober, from a nearby table with amused expressions on their faces.
"Hey, Ginny," Harry greeted with a smile.
"Hi you guys," she responded happily.
"Where have you been?" Hermione asked, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.
"I was with Draco, and I forgot all about this trip," Ginny answered, ignoring Harry's smug smirk, as if he had known everything that she'd done with Draco. Not that they'd done anything all that exciting, but still, it was a little unnerving.
"How did they get so drunk?" she asked Harry and Hermione.
The twins must have heard her because they came over to answer. "It's our newest gag. It's our Drunk in a Drink butterbeer. It comes in Firewhiskey too. We also made Sobriety in a Sip, but it doesn't seem to work," George slurred through his drunken stupor. Both of the twins burst out laughing at the fact that their sobriety potion didn't work, and that they were now stuck drunk for awhile.
Ginny rolled her yes as she turned back to Harry and Hermione. "Why are the twins here?" she asked curiously.
"They were here setting up their new shop when they spotted us. They decided they wanted to try their new products, and Ron was all to happy help them. Especially because they gave him the Firewhisky kind and didn't tell him that it would get him drunk with one sip," Harry explained.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "And how did they rope Lavender into all of this?" she asked, shaking her head.
"Well, they switched her butterbeer with one of their gag ones," Hermione replied disapprovingly.
"They are going to get into trouble with the Ministry one of these days. How do they make that stuff anyway?" Ginny wondered aloud.
"They charm the bottles to fit more liquid than usual and add insane amounts of pure alcohol. I must say I'm impressed. They had to make sure that the drink didn't taste strange. They had to add the original drink, the butterbeer or the Firewhiskey, to make it taste the same, but they had to figure out how much alcohol they could add to a bottle of butterbeer or Firewhiskey before the taste changes. They really are quite clever," Hermione praised.
"Mum always told them if they applied themselves to school as much as they did to their pranks, they would be top of their class. She's right too. If they didn't have brains they would never be able to come up with the pranks or be able to actually make them," Ginny agreed. "Dumbledore probably won't be very happy with Ron and Lavender."
"I'm way ahead of you," Hermione replied. "I went and bought some real sobriety potion from the Apothecary."
Ginny smiled. Hermione was always one step ahead of the rest of the world, and sometimes it could be a curse or a blessing. Sometimes that trail could get on Ginny's nerves immensely, but other times, like this one, she was happy that Hermione always knew the best course of action.
An hour passed with Harry, Hermione, and Ginny making idle chit chat about various things. Ginny asked how Harry and Hermione's relationship was going, and they asked about her and Draco. Ginny had been half tempted to tell them about Lucius's letter, but thought better of it. She didn't want them to worry, and she was having a good time just catching up with them. It seemed like Ginny barely had time to talk with them anymore, she was so busy with Draco, and they didn't have much time either. They were busy with each other and Ron.
By this time, it was almost nine o'clock, and Harry went to drag Ron and Lavender back to Hogwarts. They walked back to where the carriages were waiting, and Hermione gave Ron and Lavender the sobriety potions. They were sober in seconds.
Ron, Lavender, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny all piled into one carriage. They were all silent for a few minutes before Lavender asked curiously, "so, I know you went to the ball with Draco Malfoy. Are you two still dating?"
"Yeah, we are," Ginny answered happily.
"I never would have thought that you would last this long. I'm impressed. How did you get together, anyway?" Lavender inquired.
"We met through an online chat room," Ginny replied simply. She didn't feel like explaining everything.
Lavender nodded. "So," she said impishly. "is he good in bed?"
Ginny blushed deeply as she stammered, "Well, uh, erm, we haven't, er, we haven't exactly done it yet."
Lavender looked taken aback. "You mean that you mean you're dating Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin hottie for almost three months, and you haven't had a go at him yet?" she demanded suspiciously.
"That's what I said," Ginny answered.
Lavender still looked skeptical, but didn't say anything. "I heard he's a really good kisser, is it true?" she asked.
Ginny smiled as she answered, "Oh, yeah. He is an incredible kisser." She giggled.
Lavender giggled along with her. "He certainly has a nice body, doesn't he?" Lavender mused.
"I can't argue with you there," Ginny replied. "He had the hardest abs I have ever seen. And his skin is so smooth."
"As much as I'm enjoying this, do we really have to hear every single detail of Malfoy's body?" Ron snapped in disgust.
"Sorry," Ginny apologized sheepishly. She was actually kind of glad Ron had stopped her. She'd probably sounded like some babbling idiot.
They rode the rest of the way back to the castle in silence. When they arrived, they all exited and slowly made their way toward Gryffindor Tower. They didn't have to rush, fifth, sixth, and seventh years' curfew wasn't until ten. They had a later curfew so that they could spend more time studying in the library, but not many students used it for that. Not until final exams began approaching at least.
They arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady, and Lavender gave her the password. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Lavender stayed in the Common Room to play Exploding Snap. Well, Lavender, Ron, and Harry were playing, Hermione was reading. Ginny decided that she'd go up to her dormitory and write a letter to her parents. She hadn't seen them since Christmas and was beginning to miss them. That was her original plan at least. Her plans changed, however, when she saw her room.
All of Ginny's clothes were strew about the room. All of her books were ripped up and thrown onto the floor. All of her pictures of her friends and family were ripped up and scattered around the room like confetti. Her bed was a mess. One of the posts was cracked, and the canopy was torn. Wondering what on earth was going on, she walked over to her night stand. There was a picture of her ripped up into little pieces with a note next to it. She picked up the note and read it.

Weasley-
Stay away from Draco, or you will be worse off than your picture. I would advise you take heed to my warning. Christina didn't, and look what happened to her.
It wasn't signed, but Ginny knew right away who it was from. Lucius Malfoy. Scowling, she stepped over some of her clothes and exited the room. She would get Draco, and then they would go talk to Dumbledore. She didn't know how, but she was pretty sure he could help.
When she arrived at the entrance to the Slytherin dungeons, Ginny uttered the password and entered. Many of the Slytherins scowled or glared at her, others simply ignored her, but there was one in particular who glared more intensely than the rest. It was a sixth year girl. A prefect. It was Pansy Parkinson. Ginny knew that Pansy was willing her dead with her eyes, but she didn't care. Ginny was on a mission, and wasn't going to be easily deterred.
Pansy however wasn't aware of that. "What are you doing here, Weasley?" she sneered.
Ginny glared at her and tried to push past, but Pansy merely stepped in front of her again. "What do you want, Parkinson?" Ginny ground out.
"I want you to answer my question," Pansy answered.
"I'm here to see Draco," Ginny replied as calmly as she could. "Happy now?"
"You do realize that you only have twenty minutes until curfew," Pansy said.
"Yes, I realize that, now would you move?" Ginny snapped.
"Temper, temper," Pansy clucked her tongue in disapproval. "What does Draco see in you? Obnoxious orange hair, ugly freckles all over you face, a wretched temper." Pansy shook her head. "He must be going through some sort of odd faze."
Before Ginny had a chance to retort, Draco appeared at the top of the staircase leading to the dormitories. "Harassing my girlfriend again, Parkinson?" Draco drawled coldly.
Pansy visibly paled. "Of course not, Draco," she said sweetly.
"Really? What were you doing then?" Draco asked, narrowing his eyes.
"I was just telling her how lucky she was to be dating you, and that it didn't surprise me at all because she's so pretty," Pansy lied uneasily.
Draco raised his eyebrow skeptically, but didn't reply. Instead, he turned towards Ginny. "Are you here to see me?" he asked.
Ginny nodded and motioned for him to follow her out of the Slytherin Common Room. When they were outside, Ginny told Draco what happened with her room and showed him the note. "We have to go to Dumbledore for help," she said firmly.
"Ginny, we can't go to Dumbledore with this," Draco protested. "We have to deal with this ourselves. What could he do anyway?"
"Come on, Draco. I'm sure there's something he could do. He's one of the most powerful wizards of all time," Ginny argued.
"Just because he's powerful doesn't mean that he can help us," Draco retorted.
"We can't do this on our own. We need someone's help, and who better than Dumbledore?" Ginny pointed out. "Please, Draco."
Seeing the fear and desperation in her eyes, he relented. "Alright, fine," he agreed. He knew she was right. They did need someone's help. One of them wouldn't survive otherwise. Plus, Dumbledore had known what to do when Christina was attacked, even if Lucius found some way around his precautions.
They made their way to Dumbledore's office quickly. They didn't want to be caught by Filch or a teacher, even if they could say they were patrolling the halls for students out of bed. They were both Prefects, but it would take too long to explain. Time they didn't have. They had no idea when Lucius would strike again. It could be any time.
When they arrived in front of the gargoyles guarding Dumbledore's office, Draco gave the password, and they went up the stairs that were revealed. They soon arrived in front of the door that led to his office, and Ginny knocked on the door. A muffled beckon came from inside.
Draco and Ginny entered and sat down in front of Dumbledore's desk. "Is there something you wanted?" Dumbledore asked, eyes twinkling behind his half moon spectacles.
"Yes," Ginny began. "Lucius Malfoy is trying to kill me."
Dumbledore's eyes widened slightly at her bluntness. "Is this true?" he asked, looking directly at Draco.
He nodded. "He trashed Ginny's room and left a threatening note behind," Draco replied.
"Why would he want to kill Miss Weasley?" Dumbledore inquired. He was speaking to Draco once again.
"He wants me to become a Death Eater, but I refuse to be one. Now he's hurting anyone close to me to get me to agree," Draco explained. "That's pretty much only Ginny."
"You say you don't want to be a Death Eater?" Dumbledore repeated. At Draco's nod he continued, "A wise choice. You did the right thing by coming to me. I'll put up extra protection around the castle to keep strangers out. I want you to inform me if anything else happens. My protection will keep strangers out, but if Lucius is determined enough, he'll find a way in. If he begins physically abusing either of you while you're here, I may have to put you into hiding."
Both Draco and Ginny nodded in understanding. "Thank you, Headmaster," Ginny answered.
Dumbledore nodded in acknowledgment. "It is my job to protect my students, but you two, you two are special. Going against an age old feud that should have been put to an end years ago, and risking your lives to be together. That is very admirable of you both, and I will do everything in my power to make sure your efforts are not in vain. You may go, if that's all," he dismissed. "If anyone stops you in corridors, tell them you've come from seeing me."
They both nodded and began back down the spiraled staircase. "I told you he could help," Ginny boasted.
"Yes, so you were right. I'm glad I listened to you," Draco replied honestly.
Ginny smiled at him. "Now everything will be fine. Lucius won't be able to hurt us anymore, he won't kill me, you won't have to be a Death Eater, and we'll live happily ever after," she said.
"I don't quite think it will work that way," Draco answered uncertainly.
"And why not?" Ginny demanded.
"Because Lucius is determined for me to take his place when he dies or gets too old to do the job. Even Dumbledore said he couldn't promise anything. You have to stay alert," Draco warned.
"You worry too much," she replied, shaking her head.
"No, I'm being logical. Lucius is powerful, and he can do almost anything he sets his mind to, or at least give it his best shot. You have to be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you. Tell Dumbledore or me if you see anything suspicious or something else happens," Draco commanded. "Will you at least promise me that?"
"Alright, I promise," Ginny agreed. "on one condition. You're not going to go looking for trouble. You're not going to provoke your father, and you're not going to attack him unless he attacks you first."
"I promise," Draco consented hesitantly. "Well, this is where we part.
Ginny nodded and leaned in for a kiss. Draco eagerly complied. After kissing for a few moments, Ginny broke away. "Good night, Draco," she whispered, tenderly brushing a stray hair off of his face.
"Good night," he replied, softly giving her a kiss on the forehead. Then they went their separate ways, Ginny to Gryffindor Tower, Draco to the Slytherin Dungeons.

*~*~*~*

The next morning, Ginny was woken up by someone shaking her frantically. It was Shannon. "What do you want?" Ginny snapped sleepily.
Shannon merely motioned around the room. Ginny's stuff was all over the room. At first, this didn't come as a surprise of her. It had happened yesterday. That's when she remembered that when she'd come back the night before, the room had been fine. Lucius had already struck again! She sat bolt upright in bed and looked at her night stand. Sure enough there was another ripped up picture and a note. This time it wasn't her picture however, it was Ron's.

Weasley-
Have you not learned your lesson? Stay away from my son or I will be forced to take physical action, and not only against you. Your brother will also be targeted and his death will be on your head. That is before I kill you also. Every time you go against my wishes, someone else close to you will be added to my hit list. Now, I will forget this ever happened if you stay away from my son. By the way, I know you went to your crackpot of a Headmaster. I don't care. He can't stop me, so be forewarned, I will attack again soon. Beware. My son WILL be a Death Eater, with or without his consent.
Lucius Malfoy

Wow, lucky me, he actually signed it this time, Ginny thought sardonically. She picked up the piece of parchment and jumped out of bed. She decided that she wouldn't tell Draco yet. She'd tell Dumbledore first and see what he said.
Rushing towards his office, Ginny got many odd stares. She knew she must look a fright, straight out of bed, bur she didn't care. All she cared about was getting to Dumbledore. She soon arrived in front of the gargoyles in front of his office. She said the password, and they sprang apart, revealing the staircase. She ascended them as she had last night with Draco and stopped in front of his office door. She knocked and then entered when Dumbledore called from within. "Ah, miss Weasley," he greeted her when she entered. Then he motioned her to sit in the chair she had last night.
"Hello, Headmaster," she replied.
"I presume you're here for more than a chat," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling.
"Yes. When I woke up this morning, my part of the room was torn apart, and I found this note on my night stand," Ginny answered, handing Dumbledore the note.
He read it, and his face screwed up in concentration. "Has he hurt you in anyway?" the Headmaster inquired.
"No, but he somehow has either me or Draco or both under some kind of surveillance. You read in the note, he knew that we came here and that we were together," Ginny pointed out.
"Yes, I see that," Dumbledore said pensively. "The wards that I am putting around the castle will not be in full effect until later today. I would advise you to stay away from Mr. Malfoy until that time. They should be ready after dinner, but until that time, you are still in danger. Staying away from Mr. Malfoy, for today at least, will buy us some time. Do you understand?"
Ginny nodded. "I understand," she answered.
"Can you get Mr. Potter to deliver the message to stay away to Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yeah," she replied.
"Good, now, you may go get ready for class. If you are late, give this to your professor," the Headmaster commanded, handing her a piece of parchment saying that he had detained her.
Ginny left Dumbledore's office feeling worse than she had when she'd gone in. Even Dumbledore told her it would be best to stay away from Draco. Maybe we should just call it quits with our relationship, she thought sadly. I'll have to talk to him.

*~*~*~*

Draco was miserable. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. He'd been too worried about Ginny. He couldn't wait to see her to reassure himself that she was fine. That's why when he got to breakfast and she wasn't there, he panicked. She'll be here, he reassured himself. Ten minutes later, Harry came over with a grim look on his face, and Draco panicked again.
"I have a message from Ginny," Harry announced monotonously.
"What is it?" Draco asked eagerly.
"She said that you're supposed to stay away from her until after dinner because he struck again. I don't know what that means, but she said you would. Anyway, she also told me to tell you that she's fine, and she talked to Dumbledore. He told her what to do," Harry relayed, and then he was gone, leaving a stunned Draco in his wake.
Draco thought worriedly about Harry's words. Lucius had struck again. She had said that she was fine so that meant that he hadn't physically hurt her, but Draco was still worried. Maybe it isn't worth it, he thought sadly. It's not worth Ginny's life. I'll talk to her later, he resolved and then turned to his breakfast although he wasn't very hungry suddenly.

*~*~*~*

Ginny stood in her room wiping tears out of her eyes. She'd given Harry the message, and she could only imagine Draco's reaction. He wouldn't be happy, but he would still respect her wishes. Later that day, she was going to talk to him, and see if he felt it might be better if they just broke up. It would probably save more than one life.
Sighing, Ginny finished getting read and headed towards her first class of the day. It was double Potions, and she was only a few minutes late, but she brought the parchment that Dumbledore had given her. When she arrived at the classroom, she took a deep breath and entered. Snape didn't look happy with her, but also didn't look as mad as she would have expected. "I'm sorry I'm late, Professor," she said contritely. "I was talking to the Headmaster." She handed him the parchment, and then she took her seat next to Shannon.
Professor Snape nodded and continued with his lesson. Ginny settled in for another typical Potions class.

*~*~*~*

Draco sat at dinner, barely touching his food. He was too nervous about talking to Ginny. He didn't know what he was going to say exactly, and he also wasn't sure how she would react. He hoped she wouldn't make it too hard for him to do this. He wasn't sure he could do it if she cried.
Dinner was soon over, and Draco walked over to the Gryffindor table where Ginny was beginning to stand up. "Can I talk to you, Ginny?" Draco asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, actually, I wanted to talk to you too," she replied.
Draco nodded and led her to the lake. They both sat down and looked up at the starry sky. "Ginny," Draco began hesitantly. "I think we should break up for awhile."

A/N: Don't forget to review! You know you want to! For those of you who were wondering, this is almost the end. There are only two more chapters after this one!

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