Sorry, for the delay, this chapter was pretty long. I'm mostly sure the other ones will be like this as well.
My beta reader informed me that Ginny (in this story) is borderline Mary-sue and I know it may seem like that right now, but hopefully with the next couple of chapters it won't be that way. This is one of the few stories/series I had planned from the beginning, so I hope it doesn't end with Ginny being a Mary-sue.
Thanks to my beta reader for putting up with the long wait and bad writing!
Chapter Four: The Egyptian Warrior
It was extremely late. Sitting in her bed with a huge musky book across her lap and a few stray pieces of paper resting near her feet wasn't what she should be doing. Ginny yawned, her jaw making a popping noise, and her eyes watered.
When you first comes into this world as a baby, your parents have the desire, the need, to protect you from everything…Well, how do you tell them that around the age of eleven, positions were reversed, and that you're protecting them from the horrors of the world? Ginny wondered.
She couldn't answer it. Technically, her parents already knew about her from what Dumbledore had told them, but they needed to hear it from her. So instead of writing to her parents as she should have been doing, she was researching the Egyptian girl from her vision, praying that she was important enough to be in history books.
Her eyes were blurry, her head hurt, and it was nearing her tenth hour of searching for the Egyptian. Ginny hadn't expected it to be easy, especially since pictures of Egypt weren't exactly the moving photographs they were today, but neither did she think that it would take her ten hours. Even now she'd found hardly anything, but one name stood out the most: Princess Nefernefrure, born in eight or nine B.C.
The name felt right. Ginny had no other way of describing it. It has to be her, Ginny thought to herself, pulling the maroon and gold trimmed sheets over her bare legs. It was a gut feeling, but it isn't always easy to follow one's gut when one is so uneasy about the decision.
It wasn't until Ginny continued researching the Princess that she felt a sense of familiarity. Nefernefrure didn't have a common suffix in her name for her time. It was stated by some researchers that they believed it could have been a change in beliefs. Before Nefernefrure it was common for 'aten' to be the ending suffix of a name, not 're'. Her name meant 'Beauty of the Beauties of the Sun (re)' and Ginny remembered that the sun had been a dominant factor in her vision. Whether it was symbolic or it had just been a sunny day, she didn't know.
Ginny had a hunch that she'd found her girl, but as she continued researching, she became unsure. By the year fourteen Nefernefrure was no longer talked about. No one knew if she'd died or if she'd been betrothed to a Prince in another land, though that wasn't in the Ancient Egyptian customs.
Ginny figured that if the religious beliefs had started to change enough to name a child 'Re' instead of the usual 'Aten' then it was possible that other practiced beliefs could have been altered as well. It was possible.
Ginny groaned and slammed the book shut. Now that everyone knew about her, perhaps she should ask Hermione for some help, even though she was almost positive that the girl she'd seen was Nefernefrure. If it had been her, however, then she was definitely not dead at five or six years old, because in Ginny's vision the girl had been at least fifteen. More importantly, she'd looked very, very happy, so either she had enjoyed her arranged marriage to the suitor in another land, or she had run away with her lover.
Sighing heavily, Ginny scratched her neck, hoping it had been the last one. Who'd want to be pushed into a marriage that they didn't want? Unless, of course, she'd made a commitment, but all the same, it should have been her choice.
****
"So you say that you had a vision of yourself on your birthday, which passed almost three months ago, and you'd never had any visions of the past before that?" Hermione asked, looking highly irritated at the fact that she was being bothered. She rested her head on her hand and continued reading an extremely thick book.
"Never." Ginny frowned as she tried to make eye contact with her. "Hermione-" Ginny paused as Hermione reached for a book entitled Mind Powers of a Witch, a book that was next to another one that read Dragon Training.
Ginny had found Hermione in the library, which really wasn't much of a surprise. The table at which Hermione sat alone was overflowing with textbooks, and from what Ginny could see, the books were mostly about dragons and mind control.
Thankfully, the library, for the most part, was empty and the people that were there were scattered around the room. Ginny didn't have to worry about anyone overhearing.
Not that it would matter, since everyone's already afraid of me! Ginny thought, her heart hurting again at that knowledge. You'd think it would be different for witches. They've had to deal with scrutiny against them for years from the Muggles.
She'd always been an oddball in the school, but it seemed as if everyone was being a little quieter around her, a little meaner. Someone had actually rammed his shoulder into hers when she'd been walking to class. Ginny had dropped all of her books, papers had scattered, and she'd broken her last quill. At first she'd thought the collision had been an accident, but then Ginny had glanced up and seen that person's face. It was filled with hate, fuelled by fear.
Hermione nodded, nibbling her lower lip. "Perhaps it can be deciphered not as a vision from the past, but as something to come? Maybe your vision needed pieces of the past for the future to exist and actually happen in it. Your eyes started changing more after your birthday, didn't they?"
Ginny frowned and thought about that day. She didn't remember much about it except the fact that she'd woken up sick to her stomach. "I think -um- they might have."
"Can you remember anything specific about that night?"
Ginny shook her head. "Not really, only that I felt horribly sick, but it didn't seem like any type of virus."
Hermione slowly lifted her eyes. Her thoughtful expression hadn't changed. Her eyes still looked as if they'd found something of interest, something that hadn't quite been figured out yet, but was on the verge of being discovered. …and it was holding the promise of great importance. "Can you explain to me how it felt?"
It wasn't a pain she was likely to forget, but Ginny didn't understand where this was going and frankly, it was getting to her. Clenching her jaw with slight irritation as she recalled the pain, she took a deep breath and started describing it. "It felt like a war was being waged and I was its battle ground. Does that pretty much sum it up?"
Hermione frowned, her mouth falling open slightly. "I wonder…a body transition?" she whispered to herself, her hands coming up to cover her cheeks as she thought.
Ginny leaned forward over the library table so she could hear her. "What?" Ginny frowned as she watched Hermione's eyes flicker with uncertainty.
"A body transition. The pain you spoke of could have been blood cells fighting a foreign cell to stop the change, perhaps? But the change was necessary for you to be able to... er... morph into what you needed to be. It was as if you were being prepared for…something," Hermione looked puzzled as she thought and then, just as quickly as her confused expression had settled in, it fled, followed by a look of realization. "Ginny, I think your theory was right. I think you're immortal or pretty close to it," she spoke enthusiastically, her eyes wide with realization.
"Okay, whoa! Hermione, breathe. I was just-why do you have to be so dramatic about it?" she cried out suddenly, her eyes first puzzled, then snapping to attention, her hands slapping her thighs. "And no one is really immortal, right? I told you it was just stupid talk," she laughed cautiously, and then stopped abruptly. "Right?"
"Well, as I said, if you aren't immortal then you're pretty damn close to it," Hermione snapped, gritting her teeth. Whether it was at her or at the situation, Ginny didn't know.
Ginny's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't know what she was more surprised by, Hermione's language or the fact that she had been so snippy with Ginny. "You swore," Ginny said, stating the obvious.
Hermione sighed. "Because I want to show you the severity of this situation. I want you to know I'm being serious. I really think something very important changed in you that night. When did Professor Dumbledore say that your testing would begin?"
Ginny frowned. "I had forgotten about that. I haven't talked to him since the day before I was in the infirmary. It's actually been awhile since then. What's it been, three days?"
"What did you talk about?"
"Extra classes that I wanted to take. Ancient Runes mainly. He'd said it was all right, that I could handle the extra work. You know how he gets that look in his eyes, that knowing look."
Hermione beamed at Ginny. "I'm so proud of you. I've wanted you to take that class for the longest time. Are you starting next term?"
Ginny nodded.
"That's great, Ginny. You'll love the class." Hermione grinned happily, her head nodding up and down. Then she quickly and almost professionally got back on topic. "This is going to be a huge scientific breakthrough. A witch that isn't a vampire becomes one of the immortal, and she's a Seer at that! It's a little surreal. Would you mind if I took some of your blood?" Hermione spoke quickly, almost a little too enthusiastically.
"Um-" Ginny paused, raising an eyebrow.
Hermione reached for her wand and then pulled at Ginny's arm.
"Hey! Hey! I do believe that enough of my blood has been spilled for the next twenty years!" Ginny cried out frantically, trying to yank her arm from Hermione.
Hermione clucked her tongue at the roof of her mouth. "Oh really!"
"Speaking of which, I bled and I almost died. That means I can't be immortal, right?" Ginny asked, sounding somewhat relieved. The prospect of being an immortal was far too great for Ginny to comprehend, and if she weren't going to live forever then she wouldn't have to understand it.
Hermione frowned, nibbled her bottom lip, and lifted her hand, taking a piece of her curly brown hair and rubbing it between her index and thumb finger. "I don't know. You didn't die, though, and you healed within a day, less even. It's got to mean something."
****
Ginny turned the corner and grunted as she bumped into someone.
Hmm…a male someone, Ginny thought to herself, a very sexy male someone. Shuffling her books to the other arm, she absent-mindedly raised her free hand, and rubbed it against the crisp white shirt. When her hand brushed skin, she realized that the school uniform shirt was rolled up at the sleeves showing rather impressive forearms for a teenager.
Well, impressive to me, anyway.
"What do you think you're doing, Weasley?" Draco Malfoy said, sounding somewhat detached and slightly annoyed at the same time.
Ginny gasped and yanked her hand away, her eyes looking everywhere but at him. "I-I'm sorry."
No wonder. This Malfoy crush really has to stop, Ginny thought to herself, becoming quickly alert.
"You're an odd bird, you know that?"
Ginny lifted her face and gave him a half-grin. She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. She felt light-headed as she glanced up at him again.
It's really a shame he's a Malfoy…should I consider being an 'odd bird' a compliment? From him, it probably was.
"Um... Hi," Ginny's voice wavered, her eyes dropping back to the floor.
"A-huh," he harrumphed, staring at her with a baffled expression before pushing her aside to continue down the hall.
"What an idiot," she mumbled, shaking her head and resuming her walk down the corridor. "Um... Hi? Merlin, Ginny, could you be any more pathetic?"
A shout sounded through the hall and Ginny whirled around, her eyes wide and startled. She placed a hand over her heart and took a deep breath. She hated it when people screamed in the halls. If the pictures didn't mimic it, the booming echo would do it a million times over.
She heard the shout again and scampered down the hall. That's it, Ginny, run towards the loud yelling and banging, she growled to herself, but continued to go towards the chaotic sounds.
Ron and Malfoy. Ginny flinched as she saw Malfoy push Ron with a strength that she wouldn't have figured he possessed without a wand, smashing his entire body into a wall.
"Fight," someone cajoled. "Fight…" the unnamed person chanted.
Ginny ran towards them, her eyes finding Harry in the large crowd. She cringed as she saw Malfoy's fist smash into the brick wall as Ron ducked. His face etched with pain as he shook his bloodied hand. Ron elbowed him near his kidney in retaliation.
No one was going to stop them.
"Hey! Would you just break it up?" Ginny shouted above the rowdy cheers. "Harry, do something!" she yelled, stomping her foot, but when she looked back at him she realized that he wasn't there anymore. Ginny's mouth fell open as she watched Harry being stomped in the stomach as Malfoy and Ron continued going at it. "What the-you aren't doing any good getting stomped on, now are you?" Ginny yelled down at him.
Harry grunted and glared up at her, managing to evade another foot to the stomach as he scooted away from them. "Like that was my choice of places I wanted to be! I was trying to stop them," Harry paused as he watched Ron deliver a sickening punch to Malfoy's nose. "Oh, that's really good," Harry grinned, then quickly stopped. "No, no that's not good. Ron! Malfoy is Head Boy!"
Harry's warning seemed to not reach the hot-tempered redhead. Ginny clucked her tongue. "Brilliant, Harry," she spoke sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"The ponce deserves it," Harry cried in defence.
"That's beside the point," Ginny argued, folding her arms across her chest and taking a step back as the brawling teenagers got closer to her.
"Malfoy! Ron! Break it up!" Hermione hollered, pushing her way through a resistant crowd.
Ginny gritted her teeth as she watched people hold Hermione back, telling her that 'they needed to go at it'. Well, she didn't save her brother's life so he could get pummelled to a pulp after a couple of days.
"Guys-" Ginny started, but was quickly shut up as Pansy Parkinson came forward, landing a punch so hard on Ginny's cheek that she fell to her knees.
"Just stay out of it, Weasley. Draco's winning," she said, her face looking dreamy and far off.
It was true; Draco was winning, but barely.
Just as she tried to get up she felt a sharp pain jolt through her midriff as Pansy delivered a hard kick. Ginny coughed as she tried desperately to get some air. She clutched her stomach with one arm, the other supporting her body on the floor. …And that's when something happened. The moment Ginny placed her other palm on the cold cement floor something flashed behind her eyes and just as Pansy was about to kick her once more Ginny grabbed her foot.
She'd done it so easily, so quickly, that it took her a second to register that Pansy was now on the floor, an expression of surprise, humiliation, and anger filling her facial features.
Ginny swiftly leapt to her feet just as the other girl stood up. When Pansy advanced, Ginny turned to the side and kicked her directly in the chest. The kick was so powerful that it sent her flying into Malfoy and Ron.
Ginny's eyes widened with shock, staring at her extended leg and foot, which was still in air, in its kicking position.
"What the-" Malfoy growled, glancing up from his undignified sprawled position.
Breathing heavily, Ginny dropped her leg and settled her foot on the floor. She laughed cautiously and walked towards them. "Sorry," she smiled down at them, bending to lend a hand to her brother.
"Damn, Ginny, where was that power kick hiding?" Ron asked, an astonished look on his face.
She shrugged, partially ignoring him as she watched Malfoy get to his feet, patting at his shirt and pants. Ginny bit her lip, joy fluttering around her heart as she watched Malfoy roll his eyes at Pansy and offer her a hand, helping her to her feet.
So he is a gentleman, she thought, smiling and feeling slightly giddy, even if the person doesn't deserve it.
"Miss Weasley, you had better have a good explanation for this." Professor Snape's voice came from behind her.
She shivered at his tone. He was angry, but she had to listen hard to hear it because of the low octave he'd made
his voice go into, and he was puzzled.
Ginny turned slowly, her teeth gnawing into her bottom lip nervously and her fingers gripping the edge of her white school shirt so tightly that she heard a tiny tear coming from the seams. "Well-I-me, sir?"
Could I be any more pathetic? She thought angrily, gritting her teeth.
He gave her a disapproving look and she knew that he hadn't seen the other two fighting, so the mess would fall to her.
Even though they look like they've been fighting! Ginny sighed.
Snape will probably think it was from the hard fall they took when Pansy had flown into them. Just my luck.
"Detention?" she asked, her face falling in defeat.
He nodded curtly. "Tonight, seven o'clock, Potions classroom," he snapped and stormed past her.
Why did she even bother trying to be helpful?
****
The first thing she saw when she entered the classroom was Malfoy sitting in Professor Snape's chair with a pair of reading glasses drooping down the slope of his nose, his robes draped open, and his feet kicked up on the desk in front of him. If it had been anyone else, Ginny would have described him as slightly ruffled-looking. Of course, it wasn't anyone else, so she could only assume that the look was intended. She noticed he was looking down in his lap, and then she heard a page turn.
"Your assignment is on the desk," he said, not even bothering to glance up.
If it hadn't been for the tiny silver glint in his mouth as he talked, she probably would have started reading the assignment, but she just stopped, directly beside the desk with the tiny slip of yellow parchment, and stared.
His mouth was entrancing, beautifully shaped, lower lip slightly more full than his top, sneering lip. She'd come to the conclusion a day in a half ago that Malfoy had very kissable lips, suckable even.
Ugh, Ginny!
It took him a full two minutes to sigh and glance up, the irritation evident in his eyes. "What is it?"
Ginny breathed, trying to figure out when exactly she'd started becoming sick to her stomach when she was around Malfoy. Perhaps it was just when he talked to her…looked at her…Talk to him!!
"Um-"
After she'd realized she'd had a crush on Malfoy, Ginny had gone out of her way to get little glimpses of him. She felt incredibly guilty every time she blew off Colin or Luna just so she could watch him practice with his Quidditch team, a schedule she'd come to memorize in the past few days. Slytherin practiced on Thursdays and every other Saturday. She hadn't yet found the courage to really talk to him.
"Weasley, did I lose you somewhere? Why the hell are you looking at me?"
Ginny's eyes snapped up to his. "Um, your mouth-tongue-it was silver."
Malfoy raised an eyebrow, his head cocking to the side as the corner of his mouth raised up in amusement. He slowly stuck his tongue out.
The entire line down the centre of his tongue was pierced and studded with small silver balls.
"What are they?" she asked, frowning.
"Erotiki sfairi," he spoke softly before closing his mouth, moving his jaw in such a way that she knew he was rubbing his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
"Huh?"
Malfoy smirked and slowly stood, making his way towards her. He stopped in front of her, so close to her that she had trouble thinking straight. "Sex balls. So my licks are much more-" he paused and bent his head closer to hers, forcing her to bow backwards a little. His breath tickled her mouth. "Stimulating." She shivered as she felt his top lip brush her bottom lip as he whispered.
My mind is fried, Ginny barely managed to think.
Her knees were quivering and she was praying she wouldn't fall. Why did she get like this? Why couldn't she be like a normal girl and just tell him how she felt? Maybe because your families have been feuding forever and he hates your guts. "Oh," she breathed.
A muffled grunt escaped her lips as she felt his hand slid down the side of her arse, pushing her hips against him and then pushed her away, causing her to bump gently into the desk.
He snorted with laughter, his eyes a light with amusement. His face instantly became sober, serious. "Get to work."
Ginny knew why he was laughing. He was laughing at her. Merlin, how could I be so gullible, she whimpered.
He was just screwing with me, to make me angry; he doesn't know how I feel. Please don't let him know. I don't think I could handle that humiliation.
She bit her bottom lip hard to keep it from trembling and reached for the piece of paper.
To Be Continued…
[The entire line down the centre of his tongue] and then continues to here [against the roof of his mouth.] ~ Entire scene belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon
"What the freaking hell did that bitch do to me?" ~ Glory from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Episode: The Gift (100th)
"Hands, hands," ~Willow, from Buffy the Vampire slayer, Episode: Doppelgangland