Raquel Dodd Normal Raquel Dodd 2 2 2003-06-18T09:13:00Z 2003-06-18T09:13:00Z 1 2478 14125 117 33 16570 10.2625 Clean Clean MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
Ginny held a heavily gasping Draco as she gingerly touched his leg. He nearly cried out as she tried to lift his trouser leg, and Ginny winced. Caleb crawled over and, to Ginny's surprise, took Draco's hand.
"My dear Housemate, you look like shit." Caleb said with forced cheer. Draco grinned, his eyes tightly shut and sweat pouring from his trembling form.
"Thank you, and remind me to repay the compliment once I can focus." He quipped back. Ginny frowned slightly, but was grateful that Draco was being distracted. She continued to pull up his trouser leg, then wished she hadn't.
"Bugger!" Caleb swore softly, and Draco opened his eyes.
"I don't want to know," he said shakily, "just see what you can do."
"I'm not sure," Ginny replied in a low voice. At least she'd stopped crying, which was a good thing. Her eyes were painfully swollen, and she was pretty sure she'd run out of tears. She wasn't sorry for that because looking at Draco's leg in any other circumstance would have thrown her into hysterics.
The bone was poking out a tad to the side, but hadn't quite broken the skin. She knew it would have to be set properly, but she also knew it was going to be very painful for Draco. The thought of having to set it made Ginny nauseous. She knew basic medical treatments, but she had no potions and her wand was currently with the Celt. This would have to be done the Muggle way. Though she had a vague idea of how the bone should be set, she had no idea if she would be able to set it properly with one push or how many pieces the bone had been broken into. That would be important, she knew. She turned to regard him, wondering if he'd have the strength to endure it.
Draco's face had gone almost white, and his lips were bloodless as his teeth bit down into them. He was sweating profusely, the dim moon light giving his face an ironically dewy appearance. A wounded angel.
Why was she feeling sorry for him when he'd run out on her and Caleb? Why was Caleb so ready to forgive him? Weren't Slytherins about vengeance and all that? She stared at his face, felt a burning begin in her chest and her throat close.
How could he? How could he just…go?
Caleb tried to run as well, a voice reminded her, you didn't get angry at him. You were hoping he'd get away.
That was true. Why was she angry at Draco for doing the same?
Because things have gotten worse, she thought, looking away from them, and because now I don't want to be alone! He wasn't injured and helpless, he could have stayed and we would have all gotten away! I didn't try to run without them!
Her mind flew dizzily back to the barn, back to that moment when he'd rocked her existence. He'd taken something from her then, when she'd least expected it. Her defenses had been down, and he'd swooped in for the conquest. The burning in her chest increased, spreading to her stomach. Bastard! It was always about him. I want to kiss you, then I'll leave you here, it's as easy as that. She felt herself trembling with irrational anger.
"This is going to hurt," she said stiffly, trying to control her flaring temper.
"What is?" Draco looked at her in alarm, "Are you going to set it?"
"I'm going to try," she replied quickly, "but I'm not sure if I can do it. I just wanted to warn you that it was going to hurt."
Draco cursed, "Weasley, if you don't know what you're doing then please don't even try!"
"We're not going to get anywhere with you in this state," she snapped, "You can't even stand!"
"I'm sure the bastard will take care of it once he returns," Caleb offered, "right royal prick, he is!"
"I don't want to wait for them to return, this is-"she stopped abruptly, glancing at Morgan. Both young men understood her immediately, and Caleb began to laugh.
"Weasley, I figure this little outing's cracked you!" he chortled. "What are you going to do; yell at her to move?"
Ginny scowled, feeling her blood begin to boil. "This is probably going to be our last chance," she hissed. "When they come back we're off to London for sure! We won't have another opportunity!"
"Don't be stupid," Draco hissed back, biting his lip as another spasm of pain shot through him, "you can't overpower her, and you certainly aren't going to trick her. Just face facts, we're stuck for now."
"We're not stuck!" Ginny yelled, then flinched as Morgan growled menacingly and trotted over to them. She stood right next to Ginny and began to sniff her, which made the red head furious.
"Get away from me," she cried, roughly pushing the werewolf's muzzle. Morgan snapped her jaws, and Ginny reared backwards, throwing her hands out behind her to prevent herself from falling on her bum. She shook uncontrollably as the werewolf's cold nose brushed her cheek, causing Ginny to turn her face away. Ginny could see the rows of sharp, long teeth in her peripheral, and felt herself break out in cold sweat at the thought of those teeth sinking into her vulnerable flesh. Finally, after Ginny's heart began to beat so fast she feared it would burst, Morgan backed away.
"Good call, Weasley," Caleb drawled. "now tell her she's ugly."
Ginny was too busy staring at the werewolf to respond. But Morgan seemed satisfied that everything was as it should be, however, and with one last menacing growl at Ginny, walked away and flopped down next to a tree, watching them warily with her strange, green-brown eyes. Ginny silently expelled the breath she'd been holding, then jumped when a hand smacked down on her wrist, gripping it tightly.
"Just what do you think you're going to accomplish by confronting her like that?" Draco hissed, his face contorted in an angry frown.
Ginny yanked her arm away, clenching her teeth as her face flushed. "At least I got rid of her!"
"Getting rid of her wouldn't have been necessary if you hadn't called attention to yourself in the first place," Caleb glared.
Ginny felt her emotional dam burst, and fury flooded her being, blinding her in a haze of red;
"Well at least I did something constructive instead of running off and leaving you to die!" She growled, her throat burning from the effort to keep from screaming in rage.
"If that's your idea of constructive, Weasley, I'll thank you to leave me out of your plans," Draco snapped.
"Like you left us out of yours?" she cried, unable to hold back any longer.
"What?" Draco's frown grew deeper.
"Don't act so ignorant," she hissed, shaking like a wind blown leaf. "you ran off and left us to face everything alone! Well maybe I'm not sorry you got your leg broken, you filthy bastard! Now you can't run away and save your own hide, we're in this together!"
It was a horrible thing to say, Ginny knew, but she was beyond reason and simply wanted to retaliate by hurting him as much as watching him walk so casually out of the barn had hurt her. She felt a stab of uncertainty a moment later, however, as his pale face suddenly calmed, and his grey eyes narrowed to slits. Very slowly Draco began to rise, the muscles in his face tensing with pain, but his expression remaining ice cold, and distant as the moon. Soon he was sitting up and facing her directly, Caleb's suddenly neutral face next to his. Somehow, Draco seemed to have grown, towering over her even though they were on the ground. Her uncertainty grew, like a sudden burst of cold water over her hot temper. After a moment he spoke, his voice as frosty as his expression;
"Ran off?" he hissed, trembling slightly, "Since when am I responsible for you? Or has the high and mighty Weasel decided that I fall short of regal nobility?"
"I wouldn't have left you," she snapped defensively, wondering why she was feeling foolish.
"You assume I was running off, when the reality is you're too stupid to know a real opportunity when it's before you!" Draco continued, sneering in contempt.
Ginny's head snapped to him, hot words ready to tumble off her tongue. But they died instantly when her eyes fell on Draco. His face was practically white, and he was trembling with the effort of sitting up. His right hand was balled into a fist and pressed against his stomach; his left was behind him, propping him up. Sweat was pouring off of him again, and he was gasping slightly. His eyes, however, remained steadily fixed on her, and his lips were pulled back in an angry snarl.
"Who am I?" Draco asked softly, staring intently into her eyes.
The question startled Ginny. Her mouth opened to reply, but she didn't understand what he meant. He was Draco Malfoy, but she had a feeling that wasn't what he was asking.
Draco's stare intensified, which frightened Ginny. She felt her heart begin to pound and her eyes blink rapidly as he leaned closer to her and spoke again.
"Who are we?" he whispered softly, the undertone of menace chilling her blood and replacing her anger with confusion. What did he mean, who are we? Did he mean both him and Caleb? She frowned in confusion, looking from Draco to Caleb and back again. Who were they, or what did they have in common?
Common…
Her eyes fell on the patch sewn onto the front of Caleb's robe, the same patch Draco bore on his own chest. A silver field with a green serpent.
"Sl-Slytherin," she murmured, rocking back on her haunches because he was now very close, and she could feel the anger pouring off of him.
"SLYTHERIN!" he spat, rocking forward suddenly and making her gasp, "Slytherin and proud of it! Not a brainiac Ravenclaw with their heads so deep in their books they forget to take notice of the real world, not a fool Hufflepuff who works his fingers to the bone for precious little thanks and no recognition, and especially not an idiot Gryffindor whose honor comes before his life!"
"Stop," Ginny whispered, frightened by the glazed look in his eyes, and feeling chills race down her spine as his gaze sought to pin her like a moth to a board, "I…I'm sorry-"
"You neurotic morons want to die for your honor, that's just fine with me," Draco continued, seeming deaf to her pleas, "but we won't, we'll live. You will fight to the death for a principle or an idea, but we use our intelligence and cunning to live, and we'll be standing over your broken bodies when all is said and done!"
"You want to stay here and get yourself killed trying to get us all out of here Weasley, you go right ahead." He was really spitting now, and Ginny fell on her backside as he pushed his face roughly into hers, "But I will look for an escape, and I will take it if it comes. Maybe I'll be able to send help, or maybe I'll just have to mourn, but I won't stay still and waste my time trying to drag a useless sack of dead weight with me. That's me, that's who I am!"
Ginny was shaking uncontrollably, staring at Draco as he gasped in pain and fury. His eyes bored into hers as he leaned slowly back, his face flushed from pain and and his slowly ebbing temper. Caleb was looking at her through slightly narrowed eyes, a small but cold smile playing about his lips. Draco's words echoed in her mind; you'll die, but we'll live!
Any means to achieve their ends. And escape was the end they sought now. She felt stupid as she stared unseeing at them both. If the opportunity to escape came, they would take it. Yet she was still here when she could have run back in the barn. Although considering everything she couldn't have, as Relah had said she'd been there the entire time. Ginny slowly turned her eyes back to Draco, really looking at him for perhaps the first time. He was leaning back again, his eyes no longer lit with intensity, but still regarding her with an unnerving steadiness.
This is who I am.
A Slytherin; Ambitious, opportunistic, cunning, and ruthless. All in a day's work, really. Yet these were the same young men she'd spent a very pleasant day with in Hogsmeade, who'd made her laugh and had touched her with the small exposures of their souls. Draco, especially, had touched her in ways she hadn't thought possible. Images flashed in her mind; Draco cracking his skull on the kitchen hearth, Draco standing with the irritating Pansy, giving her a small, special smile. Draco standing before the lake, his pain obvious in his stance, Draco smiling in amusement as peasant Weasley tried to order from an overpriced menu and his reassuring hand on her shoulder when Elizabeth had come running over to them. All of these images she never thought she'd see, all of the emotions they inspired.
But he was who he was. Could she live with that? And that was a legitimate question, because she loved him. Her heart gave a painful thump.
"We should set your leg," she whispered, looking away from them as she sat up. She looked at his leg but didn't really see it. Her mind was too full.
Draco lay back down, saying nothing. Caleb stared at the injury, shaking his head.
"It's no good, Weasley, we need our wands."
Weasley, Weasley! I have a name, damnit! Ginny thought dazedly, not really comprehending anything. She continued to stare at Draco's leg, Caleb's words falling meaninglessly away. Her mind was spinning from too much information, and she was still feeling ridiculously hurt. She didn't have the strength for this, she could barely think with everything that was rushing through her mind. She was exhausted, hungry, frightened, and in shock. One thing at a time, Ginny, she told herself. Shaking out of her reverie, she got to her knees and bent to examine Draco's injured leg again. It looked a bit worse, as the skin was now broken due to his recent movements, and a tiny fragment of bone was visible. Ginny's stomach lurched, and she looked away quickly.
"You're right," she said simply, looking around helplessly.
"Just leave it," Draco said sleepily. Turning to him, Ginny saw his eyes closing, his pale face drawn with exhaustion that matched her own. Then she saw Morgan approaching them, and felt her heart drop. But Morgan's approach was quiet, slow. When she reached them, she bent over Draco and began licking his face and prodding him with her large muzzle. Ginny blinked in surprise, what was she doing?
"Shock," Caleb said tensly.
Ginny looked quickly at him, "Yes, I am too."
"No, he's going into shock," Caleb frowned, suddenly leaning forward to shake his house mate; "don't fall asleep mate, that's very bad!"
"What?" Draco frowned, pushing weakly at the werewolf, "I'm tired, leave me alone."
For some reason, Ginny was enormously relieved to hear some of his former petulance rising. She shook him a bit herself, about to ask what Caleb meant by "shock", when she saw a shadow move.
She froze at the same instant that Morgan snapped upright, growling. The shadow kept moving, and after a moment detached itself from the surrounding blackness, making its way slowly towards the group.
It was the large black dog, and it was carrying something in its mouth.
Ginny watched it approach apprehensively, wondering if it was a stray and was suddenly (not to mention ironically) glad for Elizabeth's presence. The werewolf might be an enemy, but she wouldn't allow anyone else to cause further chaos. Draco lifted himself slightly and stared at the dog as it approached. The creature moved towards Caleb, who reared back slightly, and dropped whatever it was carrying next to him. Caleb gasped and Draco's eyes widened.
"What is it?" Ginny whispered anxiously, unable to see in the half light. In response, Caleb lifted the object, which turned out to be two objects, and turned to Ginny with a mad grin.
Their wands!
Ginny could only stare for a moment, then shot out her hand for her beautiful mahogany and Dragon heartstring instrument, feeling a grin stretch across her own face. They were saved!
"Where's mine?" Draco asked, snapping Ginny's attention back to him. It whuffed at Draco, and looked back the way it came. Ginny looked to the dog, and realized it had brought only hers and Caleb's wands. How had it gotten them? Didn't the Celt have them before? How had it known where to bring them? She stared at the creature, wondering if it was an animagus considering it had seemed to understand and even answer Draco's question. Morgan touched noses with it as they exchanged growls and whines, communicating in a purely canine way.
Then they got the shock of their life.
The dog moved away from Morgan after a few minutes, and crouched slightly. Suddenly, its fur began to shorten and its limbs to elongate. The muzzle shrank back, and the fur on top of its head grew long. In a few moments, a man was crouching where the dog had been. As he stood slowly, clad in worn clothing and looking slightly haggard, Ginny felt her heart somersault as recognition hit her full force.
"Sirius!" she screamed.