Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, don't sue me!
(a/n: Thanks to everyone for reviewing!)
Chapter Fifteen
Wednesday, Sept. 18
Ginevra woke up with a throaty gasp. Her breathing was heavy and sweat covered her body. The dream had felt so real...
Draco smirked as she woke up. He rolled over and kissed her hotly.
"We should probably invest in some ties," he murmured with a quiet chuckle.
Ginevra blushed, and then gasped as he bit her breast.
"You dreamt it too?" she asked, her senses going hazy as Draco began to kiss and lick his way down her body.
"Yes," he hissed, licking her centre.
Wrapping her legs around his head, Ginevra groaned heavily.
There was a knock at the door and with a disappointed sigh, Ginevra unwrapped her legs from Draco. He sat up next to her, pulling the blanket over them as he started to kiss her neck. He opened the door with a wave of his hand, revealing an amused Pansy.
"You've both got enough time for a shower before we have to get to breakfast," she said, smirking.
"What're you smirking at?" Ginevra muttered at her.
"I've been waiting for you two to shag for weeks. Congratulations," Pansy said with a laugh.
"Sod off," Draco muttered.
Pansy laughed again, and then went down to her room to get Vincent and Gregory out of bed.
Luna leant against the doorframe, smiling at them in a dreamy way.
"You should probably get to the shower before breakfast. Lupin can smell sex from a mile away. Nymphadora won't know what hit her," she mused with a light chuckle.
Draco and Ginevra pulled apart, wincing.
"The thought of Lupin with anyone just put my mood out the window," Draco muttered.
"Agreed," Ginevra said with a shudder.
She leant over the bed and started to gather her robe and clothes. Putting her robe on, she smirked at Draco, then headed to her room to get ready for class.
Relo scampered out of her room when the door was opened.
"Elf boy wouldn't let I stay with him last night! I was unhappy!" he said with a sob.
"I'm sure he's upset about it too, Relo," Ginevra said, but she wasn't so sure of that, considering how smug and happy Millicent was looking at the moment. "I think Theodore just needed some privacy with Millicent. You like privacy sometimes too, don't you?" Ginevra asked Relo.
Relo just nodded, then left Ginevra's rooms to get food.
Shaking her head, Ginevra hurried to the bathroom. She showered quickly and changed into her uniform and robes.
"Hurry up!" Pansy yelled at Gregory and Vincent. "If you don't get up soon, then you're going to miss out on breakfast!"
Still grumbling, the two boys got up and hurried to get changed.
"Finally," Pansy sighed. "Is everyone else out of their rooms?" she asked Padma and Parvati.
"Luna's getting Colin out now," Padma said.
"Millicent and Theodore are already up, so are Draco and Ginevra," Parvati said.
"Blaise, Seamus, and Neville are still in their room," Padma said, smirking when Pansy went down to their room.
Knocking on the door loudly, Pansy waited until she heard some cursing that indicated they were awake.
"Get up! We've got to get to class!"
"It's still early, bugger off!" Seamus called.
Pansy narrowed her eyes, even as Blaise tried to get Seamus to be quiet.
"Get out of bed, or I swear I will come in there and drag you out myself!" she yelled.
Seamus didn't say anything, but quickly got out of bed and hurried to get changed, as Blaise and Neville were doing.
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Flitwick floated around the room, smiling at everyone as they completed the theory work he'd set them. Hermione Granger had her head very close to the parchment, eager to get in as much as she possibly could. Lavender Brown was pretending to do work each time he passed, and as she had finished an answer, he couldn't bring her up on it, nor give her detention. Ginevra Weasley and Draco Malfoy were sitting there, looking bored.
"Have you both finished?" he asked, looking to their parchments.
"Yes, Professor," Ginevra said. "Do we have any other work to do?" she asked, passing her parchment to him.
"Since you will both finish your work faster than the others, I think an extra curricular assignment may be in order," Flitwick replied with a small sigh. Ignoring the upset cry that came from Hermione's direction, he continued. "The origins, requirements, and outcomes of the Fidelius Charm should give you enough work to do. Pack your things while I get passes for you to go to the library," Flitwick said, going over to his desk.
Ginevra and Draco packed quickly, then went to the front where Flitwick was waiting. Taking their passes, they thanked him and left the room quietly. They continued to hear Hermione hyperventilating for another three corridors.
"What is wrong with her?" Draco muttered as they sat in the almost-empty library.
"She's always on the lookout for extra work to do. It must be killing her that she's not getting to do an assignment on the Fidelius Charm too," Ginevra replied, smirking.
"Right," Draco drawled, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Can I help you?" Madam Pince asked with a smile as Draco and Ginevra approached the circulation desk.
"We have an assignment to do on the Fidelius Charm. Are the books in the Restricted Section, or the normal collection?" Ginevra asked politely.
"Restricted, of course. We can't have students running around making everyone Secret Keepers over a hidden sweet, now can we?" Pince asked with a laugh.
She headed over to the Restricted Section, Draco and Ginevra following her.
"Books to do with the Fidelius Charm are straight ahead, the third bookcase to your right. The second shelf from the top, I believe. You may want to cast a silencing charm first, those books are known to yell," Madam Pince said.
"Thank you," Ginevra said, leading Draco down the narrow spaces between the bookcases.
"There's Fidelius," Draco said as they stopped at the third bookcase.
He pulled a book from the second shelf and did a silencing spell on it, then opened it.
"Fidelius Charm is an immensely complex spell involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is impossible to find, unless the Secret Keeper chooses to reveal it," he read. "Sounds about right to me," Draco muttered, putting it aside.
They went through all of the books available, sorting them into quick piles. In ten minutes, they finished sorting them, replacing the ones they wouldn't use, then going back into the main area of the library to do their assignment.
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The bell rang, and Ginevra quickly packed her things up to head to the dungeons. Draco didn't move.
"Are you still awake?" she muttered, poking him.
"I'm writing, aren't I?" he said in return, smirking at his parchment.
"You could be sleep-writing," Ginevra said with a laugh.
Draco shook his head, dried off the ink, then packed up too.
They went to the dungeons quickly, arriving just behind the last of the students.
Snape stalked into the room as everyone was seated. The door shut with a slam.
"Open your books to chapter eight," he said, anger tinting his words. "Read all of the chapter, then do the exercises at the end. I do not want to hear a single word from any of you!" Snape said, glaring at them.
Without so much as a breath, the class opened their textbooks to the chapter, and began to read silently. Ginevra wondered what was wrong with Snape, but decided to just do her work as he'd instructed.
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Although a lot of people had finished their work, Ginevra noticed that no one seemed very eager to go to the front and give it to Snape. With a sigh, she looked at her work, then stood up and headed to the front.
"Professor?"
"What?" Snape snarled with a glare.
"I've finished my work," Ginevra said, gritting her teeth so she wouldn't say anything rude and lose House points.
"Put it down, then go and sit at your desk quietly," Snape said, glaring once more.
Ginevra rolled her eyes slightly, then put the parchment on his desk before returning to sit beside Draco. One by one, people timidly went to the front. They practically threw their work on the table, avoided all eye contact with the Potions Professor, then ran back to their seats.
Even when most of the class had finished their work, no one said a thing. Ginevra was almost sure that a few people stopped breathing.
Sighing softly, Ginevra grabbed her Vampire book opened to a page and started to read.
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Vampires are beings who do not overly enjoy the prospect of change. Despite the fact that a lot of vampires mould themselves to the current year and century, a lot of them dislike doing this.
If a vampire resides in the Muggle world, they have to change every aspect of themselves; their home, passport, social security number, tax number, job, etc. and sometimes even their way of speech and country. (For more information on these Muggle things, read Mystifying Muggles, also by myself.) For newer vampires, the first few changes are made easy by telling everyone that they are a long-lost son or daughter of their former selves.
As the years wear on, a lot of vampires choose to return to the wizarding world. This may occur for many reasons, but the most common are war and dislike of the Muggle population on a general whole. While some vampires are intrigued and fascinated by Muggles, just as wizards are, they also have to see a lot more of them, night after night, year after year. (I feel that I must remind you here, that at night, Muggles are seemingly at their worst.) While some vampires argue that Muggles and wizards are only different due to magic, or lack of, they all agree that after two hundred years of being with Muggles endlessly may drive a vampire to insanity.
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Ginevra didn't know whether to laugh or be worried. Her father seemed to be of the mind that Muggles could do no wrong, yet here they were driving people insane. Shaking her head, Ginevra put the book away, then started to read her Potions book for the few minutes left of the lesson.
The bell rang, and just as quiet as the lesson had been, the class left. As soon as they were out of the dungeons, they all started muttering about Snape's behaviour.
Ginevra looked at Snape, watching as he sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead, suddenly seeming as if he was the oldest man in history.
"Is everything all right, Severus?" she asked, concerned.
"Fine," he muttered in reply.
With a cough, he righted himself and looked at the pile of parchments on his desk.
"Everything is fine. There is no need for your concern, Miss Weasley. Head off to recess, the lot of you," Severus added, seeing that all fourteen of them were standing there.
Even though she didn't believe him at all, Ginevra left with the others, all of them talking quietly about what could be wrong. Suggesting it in even lower tones, Parvati and Padma thought it was something to do with Voldemort.
"He's not like this after a meeting with Him," Draco said, shaking his head. "He's usually pale and withdrawn, not angry like this," he said, his voice betraying his worry.
"Food will help us think properly," Vincent decided with a nod.
"Agreed!" Gregory said, grinning.
Pansy rolled her eyes at them.
"You never stop thinking about food, do you?" she muttered, but headed to the Great Hall anyway.
"Do you know what's wrong with Severus, Luna?" Millicent asked, Theodore looking at her.
Luna shook her head, frowning.
"I am sorry that I do not know. I wish I did; I do not like to see a friend like this," she murmured.
"You can't expect to See everything, Luna. Told you that last night," Colin said, hugging her.
"I know, love," she said with a smile.
Blaise, Neville, and Seamus talked quietly, following the others to the Great Hall for recess.
It seemed that everyone was talking about Snape's odd behaviour, especially as he wasn't present for all of recess.
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"Yer assignments are due today. Yer had better have finished them, or I have permission ter feed yer ter the squid," Hagrid said, chuckling when a few students paled. "No' really, don't worry 'bout that," he added when one looked close to fainting. "They are due though, so all of yer hand 'em up at the front 'ere," he said, patting the box beside him.
Most of the students started lining up and putting their scrolls in the box. Some students raised their hands, looking nervous.
"I haven't finished my assignment yet, Professor," one said, trembling.
"Yer all haven't finished it yet?" Hagrid asked, surprised when they all nodded. "Detention tonight then, the lot of yer," he said, sighing. "Yer'll finish off yer assignments plus an extra inch. Don't like it when people are slack," he muttered.
Ginevra sat down, Draco and Blaise on either side of her. Neville and Seamus sat next to Blaise. Behind them, the Patil twins sat with Pansy, Gregory and Vincent. Millicent and Theodore sat in front of Ginevra with Luna and Colin.
"I'll mark yer assignments and yer can read yer books. The information 'bout the Chimaera is really interesting," he said, his eyes sparkling in excitement. "When I call yer, come up here and get yer scores," Hagrid added.
Grabbing her book, Ginevra started reading. The Chimaera was interesting. A Greek monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a dragon's tail.
Ginevra looked at the picture, frowning. The Chimaera seemed very unbalanced. The lion head was fairly large, as was the dragon's tail, which was very heavy. She could imagine the Chimaera having a lot of back pain, considering it had the body of a goat.
"I can see why it's always hungry. I'm sure a lion would eat a goat, but it can't eat its own body, or it'll die," she murmured to herself, shaking her head. "Poor things," Ginevra said, then continued to read.
A Greek tale of the Chimaera had been translated into English and was featured in the chapter, providing good information about the rare beast.
"Ginevra," Hagrid called.
As she stood up, Ginevra looked at her watch, surprised to find that over half an hour had passed since the start of the lesson.
"Very good. I like how yer argued the Gytrash's purpose in life and them being innocent and all. Pass," Hagrid said with a smile.
"Thanks, Professor," Ginevra said with a grin, then returned to her book quietly.
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"Today, we are continuing to gather wood for your Runes," Professor Yepir said. "As some of you were absent yesterday, you will have to catch up in your spare time. Organise a time with me after class. I do not want you in the Forbidden Forest unsupervised," she said sternly.
"Yes, Professor," Ginevra and the others chorused.
"Okay, everyone outside," Yepir said. "Ginevra, a moment," she said quietly as the students began to file out. "As we agreed earlier, I would appreciate you collecting your wood during the study time allocated on Friday afternoons."
"That's understood. Do I have any homework to catch up on from yesterday's class?" Ginevra asked.
"Yes. You all do," Yepir added, nodding at Ginevra's friends. "Read chapters four, five and six, then complete the exercises in each one. It sounds big, but it really isn't. There's about twenty questions all together," she said with a friendly smile.
"Can we catch up on Friday too, Professor?" Pansy asked. "We don't mind that Ginevra's there," she added when Yepir looked uncertain.
"I will think on it. For now, you have to get outside too. Thank you for your understanding, Ginevra," Yepir said, then left the Runes classroom.
Ginevra sighed, then went to a nearby tapestry, heading down the narrow stairs to her room.
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"Is everything all right, Ginevra?" Bexley asked with a bow as she entered the room.
Ginevra gave the Boggart a smile and nodded.
"Everything is fine, Bexley. I am just collecting the wood for my Runes on Friday, that's all. I might do my homework while I have the free time," Ginevra said with a grin. "Where is everyone?" she asked, setting her bag on her bed.
"Relo is out hunting for food. Lyra is in Luna and Colin's room decorating the walls with smoke. It is a mystery to me too, but somehow, the smoke attaches itself to the wall. It looks quite pleasing," Bexley added thoughtfully. "Sram returned to the pixie world. I believe he left yesterday with Padma and Parvati," he said, nodding to himself. "Micah is asleep. He has shrunk himself in the back of Vincent's sock drawer," he said.
Ginevra winced at the thought of the Moke being surrounded by the resulting smell.
"Chi is up in the rafters, playing with what is left of the birthday sign. Dodger is sleeping in Seamus' room. I believe he talks in his sleep. Rather, he curses in his sleep," Bexley corrected with a grin.
"Thank you," Ginevra said with an appreciative nod. "Would you like to stay in here, or come with me for a while?" she offered.
"I may rest in your cupboard for now. But I would be happy to take you up on your offer if you are planning on going outside once you have finished your homework," Bexley said with another bow.
Ginevra bowed in return, then grabbed her homework and headed to the meeting room.
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Over the next half an hour, Ginevra finished planning an essay for Potions, had finished writing the introduction and the first opening paragraph. Satisfied, she dried the ink and set it aside. Taking up the work for Astronomy, Ginevra looked at the charts and started on the work set with a small sigh.
Her ability to retain knowledge, as well as her Vampiress speed ensured that she finished the work in fifteen minutes. Pleased with her work, Ginevra went to her room and roused Bexley from his sleep.
Ginevra walked along the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Bexley content to see everything from inside of her.
"Do you dream, Bexley?" she asked curiously.
"Yes, every living creature dreams, whether they understand them or not. Primitive beings may dream of food for their entire lives. Others may dream of happiness, of being with a higher power. Dogs often dream like that," he replied.
"What do Bogart's dream of?" Ginevra asked.
"You must not confuse all Bogart's to be the same, Ginevra," Bexley reprimanded lightly. "Just as not all wizards, or Muggles, are the same," he said.
"May I ask what you dream of then?" she asked with a smile.
"The future as it should be, as it could be, and as it would have been," Bexley replied.
"Would have been?" Ginevra queried.
"If you had not saved me, then my future would have been very different indeed. Quite possibly, I may never have had a future to dream of," he said, sounding sombre.
Ginevra just nodded, thinking on what he said. A noise filtered through the trees, and Bexley flew inside Ginevra before he was seen.
"Ginevra," a voice hissed from the edge of the tree line.
Looking to where it came from, she saw Alexander standing between two trees, his bow beside him.
"You should not be here, it is not safe for you," he hissed, looking over his shoulder. "The centaurs are not happy about the Runes class taking wood from the forest," Alexander said.
"Will the centaurs hurt them?" Ginevra asked immediately.
"I do not know," Alexander said truthfully. "With your permission, I will watch the centaurs to ensure that no one is hurt," he offered.
"Very well," Ginevra said with an absent-minded nod.
Frowning slightly at her lack of attention to him, Alexander took his bow and left.
Ginevra continued along the forest line, her footsteps quickening as she smelt blood. Soon, she was running along the trees. She stopped abruptly as she came upon her friends who were exiting the Forbidden Forest.
"Ginevra? What are you doing here?" Blaise asked with a frown.
"Professor Yepir's not going to be happy if she sees you," Pansy added, all of them hurrying to surround her so the Yepir wouldn't notice the addition to the class.
"What's wrong?" Draco asked quietly as they walked up to the castle.
"Alexander said that the centaurs weren't happy about the Runes class taking wood from the forest," Ginevra said. "And I smelt blood, so I thought something had happened," she added as Draco's face hardened at the Protector's name.
"The blood was us, all right," Millicent muttered, showing her the newly healed wounds on her arms and hands.
"Yepir was right about everyone nicking themselves," Seamus said, rubbing his own arms.
"I think Draco was the only one who didn't get cut," Padma said, glowering at him as he smirked.
"I only cut myself once," Parvati said, laughing at her sister's annoyed face.
"Can we hurry it up? I'm starving," Vincent groaned.
"Agreed," Gregory said with a nod.
"I hope there's pumpkin soup again," Vincent said to Gregory.
"I don't know. I thought the roast pork and vegetables were good," he replied with a small shake of his head.
"Are they really talking about eating vegetables?" Theodore murmured, sounding shocked.
"I heard that too," Ginevra said.
Gregory and Vincent just laughed when everyone stared at them in shock, then they all hurried to the Great Hall.
Ginevra sat next to Draco, who smirked and put an arm around her waist fondly. She smiled at him, then started on her lunch, hungrier after hearing Gregory and Vincent talking about food.
Halfway through her food, Ginevra noticed that Snape was absent too.
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"Today's lesson will be held in the Room of Requirement. You will all be doing different scenarios this time," Lupin said, looking at the class. A few people shivered at the thought of the last time they went in. "Please get into groups of five. Include people from the opposite House," Lupin added, then began taking attendance.
Luna and Colin went over to Pansy, Gregory, and Vincent. Blaise, Seamus, and Neville joined Ginevra and Draco. Millicent, Theodore, Parvati, and Padma formed the third group, glaring at anyone who went to say something about their group only having four people.
In ten minutes, the class was made up into five groups, everyone huddled together nervously.
"Right, all of you follow me," Moody barked, then made his way out of the room.
The class quickly followed Moody, talking to each other quietly about what they were about to face.
"It better not be the animals again," Blaise muttered, subconsciously rubbing his hand where the Boomslang snake had bitten him.
The puncture marks had healed, but despite everything Madam Pomfrey and Theodore tried to do, a small white scar still remained.
"You'll be fine," Seamus said, grinning at him. "You were fine with the animals yesterday," he added.
Blaise just nodded, then smirked at Neville, who had taken his hand.
"Aw, is big ol' Blaise scared about a few animals?" Lavender taunted with a smirk as she walked past with Ron.
"Spider!" Ginevra yelled, making both Lavender and Ron scream.
Blaise laughed, Neville and Seamus giving Ginevra grateful looks.
"Oh, I wish I could drop a spider down her back," Parvati growled, glaring at Lavender.
"It just so happens that I have a jar of spiders," Padma said with a smirk.
"Why are you carrying around a jar of spiders?" Millicent asked, her eyebrow raised.
"In case Ronnie-kins annoyed me," Padma replied, smirking as she handed the jar to her twin.
Parvati opened the jar silently and shook it slightly. A small spider crawled onto her open hand, then Padma replaced the lid and watched as Parvati crept closer to Lavender. With a smirk, Parvati tipped her hand, the spider crawling onto Lavender's robe. Lavender didn't notice a thing, not even when Parvati left back to her friends.
"Oh, Lavender?" Ginevra said sweetly, smiling at her mockingly. "Did you know that you have a spider on your shoulder?" she asked, motioning to it.
"Yeah, like I'm going to fall for that," Lavender retorted, glaring at her.
Ron, however, had looked to where Ginevra had pointed, and immediately moved away from Lavender, his face pale and his entire body trembling.
Seeing the horrified look on Ron's face, Lavender's eyes widened and she started to scream, hitting her robe and missing the spider each time.
Luna shook her head at everyone, from her laughing friends, to the scared and trembling Ron and Lavender. With a sigh, she moved closer to Lavender, who was oblivious to her, still hitting away at her clothes. Luna just stood there for a moment, then quickly moved her hand and grabbed the spider from Lavender's robes. Despite her dislike of the event that had just occurred, Luna had to admit that it did look funny, and knew that Lavender wouldn't listen to her, even if she said that the spider was gone, so she stayed quiet and just watched Lavender with an amused look.
"What is going on here?!" Lupin said, looking at them all angrily.
"There's a spider on me!" Lavender cried, hitting her robes again.
"Miss Brown, if you would desist with your antics, I can check if there is a spider on you and get it away," Lupin said with a sigh.
Lavender kept hitting herself, but eventually stopped. Lupin pointed his wand at Lavender, then murmured a spell. Nothing happened, and he raised an eyebrow at her.
"There is nothing on you. Perhaps it jumped off while you were hitting yourself," Lupin added when she paled. "If you're finished, can you please continue up to the Room of Requirement?"
With a scowl at Ginevra and her friends, who were shaking in an effort not to laugh, Lavender left, practically dragging Ron along with her.
Lupin looked at the fourteen students, then sighed.
"Hurry up then," he muttered, when Ginevra portrayed the image of innocence.
Laughing to each other, they quickly went to the Room of Requirement. Madam Pomfrey was waiting beside Mad-Eye, whose magical eye was watching the door intently, his other eye kept on the students outside.
"The first group has already entered," Moody said to Lupin, who nodded.
Everyone watched the door. It took ten minutes for the door to turn red, a loud scream coming from the wall. In an instant, Moody and Pomfrey were inside the room, leading out the trembling and feverish students.
"What one did you get?" a few people asked Sally-Anne, who had been the one to scream.
"Death Eaters. They were just everywhere," she murmured, her eyes wide as she shuddered.
"Next group!" Moody yelled.
Luna's group went in, and everyone waited anxiously for fifteen minutes before the door turned a dark shade of orange. No scream filtered out, and neither Moody nor Pomfrey could get inside. Another five minutes went by and then the door turned green. Luna, Colin, Pansy, Gregory and Vincent came out of the room, slightly bruised and bloodied, but otherwise fine.
"If they can do it, then so can we," Lavender said pompously, then dragged Ron, Harry, and Hermione into the room.
"We cheated," Pansy murmured to Ginevra, smirking. "Apollo went all out when a Devil's Snare got Luna. The rest of it was a breeze," she said with a low laugh. "Certainly helps having a god, but Colin was mightily pissed," she added.
"I can imagine," Ginevra said with a nod, seeing how sour Colin looked.
The door turned red, two high-pitched screams filtering out of the door. It was loud enough that even Moody and Pomfrey paused to cover their ears before going inside.
"That was definitely Ronnie-kins," Ginevra said, smirking.
"The other one was Lavender," Parvati said with a nod.
The four of them came out, pale, bruised, with a broken arm, and bleeding from various wounds.
"Who knew that Muggles were so vicious?" Lupin muttered as he helped attend to them.
"You're saying that Muggles did this to them?" Draco drawled, his surprise evident.
"Yes. People can do extraordinary things when they are frightened, or feel threatened, Muggles included," Lupin replied.
Millicent's group went in, Ginevra and the others deciding to go last. Again, they were forced to wait while their friends faced the dangers in the Room of Requirement. Pansy started pacing, muttering about how unfair it was to make the groups smaller.
"When in battle, you may often split into smaller groups in order to spy on others, or to sneak about without being seen. It is quite useful, and even though you may worry about the others in your larger group, it will not help that you are worrying about them instead of focusing on your own task," Lupin said.
"But I don't have a task to do at the moment, do I?" Pansy muttered, then continued her pacing.
The door turned orange after ten minutes, then red in another five, two identical screams filtering through.
Moody and Pomfrey ushered the four out, Parvati and Padma clinging to each other, their faces so pale they were almost unrecognisable.
"Don't worry about it," Millicent was saying, looking slightly green herself.
"What happened?" Draco asked Theodore, who was silent and pale.
"We got the one with Death Eaters and dead bodies. We were okay with a few no-odour spells, but then Parvati and Padma stepped in two bodies that were rotting. They swear that they looked like Fred and George," he replied, turning a shade of green.
"Last group!" Moody called.
Ginevra, Draco, Blaise, Seamus, and Neville walked into the Room of Requirement feeling nervous, and slightly sickened by what they had just heard. They stood in a line so they all knew which way the others were facing, then started to talk amongst themselves quietly.
"We can't really plan anything without knowing what we're coming up against, can we?" Neville muttered as the door shut with a loud bang.
"We'll find out soon enough, I'm sure," Ginevra said.
"A barrier might give us enough time to come up with some sort of strategy," Seamus suggested.
"I don't think anything will be repeated, so that means Death Eaters are out, as is the one with Death Eaters and dead bodies," Ginevra ticked off.
"Muggles are out, so are plants," Draco said with a nod.
"So that leaves everything else under the sun," Blaise muttered. "Moody said there'd be combinations of all of the scenarios, so why prepare ourselves for one when it may not even be that one?"
"We should wait until the lights go ... " Seamus began to say, then the light disappeared, the room plunging into darkness. "... out," he finished.
"A bright light will give us enough time to talk about something if it's animals," Neville said quietly.
"If it's something with Death Eaters, then we may give away our position," Ginevra replied.
"How about we Stun whatever we can hear? It'll do something to anything that comes at us, and from there we can figure out what it is with a small light," Blaise suggested.
"Good idea," Draco said.
"There's something coming from the left," Seamus said in a hushed tone.
Listening carefully to the soft sounds that were coming from his left, Draco shot a Stunning spell at the thing, then led the others to the where the thud sounded. Neville produced a soft glowing light from his thumb and they looked down at the Stunned Muggle on the floor.
"Okay, so it's one with Muggles. That means it can have either animals, Death Eaters, or plants included with it," Ginevra muttered.
"Or a combination of them," Draco pointed out. "It could be all four options, or it could be three of them."
"What should we do with the Muggle?" Blaise asked, looking down at it.
"It was only Stunned, so it'll be fine if we leave it here," Ginevra said with a shrug.
"Maybe we should find out what the landscape's like first," Seamus suggested. "There's something against my shoulder here, and it almost feels like a wall," he added, sounding worried.
"All right, I'll do a quick flash of light then," Ginevra said.
A moment later, the area filled with a bright light.
There was a wall next to Seamus, one connected to a familiar building. They were standing in what seemed to be a car park, identical to the one at King's Cross Station. A train whistle filtered from inside the doors, and lights began to turn on inside the building.
"We apologise for the temporary loss of lights. We experienced a minor technical glitch," a scratchy voice came from speakers.
"Don't tell me this is actually King's Cross Station," Blaise muttered.
"I'm going for Muggles and Death Eaters," Neville said quietly, looking around at the crowding Muggles.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!" a Death Eater yelled.
There was a flash of green light, and as someone dropped dead, screaming and chaos ensued.
"Oh, shit," Seamus said as hundreds of Muggles began to swarm towards them in a terrified mass.
"Try to stay together!" Ginevra called, grabbing onto Draco's hand.
She held tightly, but was forced to watch her friends get swept away by the sea of Muggles. In his Veelan form, Draco cajoled, persuaded, and encouraged people to get away from them. A small group of Muggles calmed down considerably then began to direct other Muggles away from the scene.
"We should go get the Death Eaters, then try to find the others," Draco suggested.
Ginevra nodded, then they started to push their way against the tide of people. As they got closer to people, Ginevra could immediately tell which Muggles had seen the murder, and which ones were just terrified. The ones who had been witness to it had a look of pure shock, disbelief and terror in their eyes. The rest were simply pale and scared.
Draco and Ginevra hurried along the passageways. They saw a robed figure escape into a wizarding platform, only to come out the other end and send hexes at more Muggles.
"They're going in the Quarter Platforms!" Ginevra yelled, her voice echoing through the emptying station. She hoped the others had heard, then slipped through the barrier between platform five and six.
Platform nine and three-quarters wasn't the only wizarding one. All of the Muggle platforms unknowingly had wizarding Quarter ones, so people could travel from wherever they lived, much like a regular Muggle transportation system.
Draco hurried after Ginevra through the barrier, watching the other side until he went through completely.
"He hasn't gone through yet," he called to Ginevra, who gave a nod.
The scene on the wizarding side of the station was quite like the Muggle one, the only difference being that the wizards and witches were able to Apparate away from the danger rather than run. That meant that there were very few wizards left to worry about.
"Quarter Platform three!" Blaise's voice called out.
"I'll go," Draco said quickly.
Ginevra nodded once more, and ran even faster after the Death Eater. Annoyingly, the Death Eater Apparated out of the Quarter platform. Hearing screams from the Muggle side of the platform, Ginevra ran to the end and came out of the other side. She pointed her wand at the Death Eater, who was currently playing yo-yo with a few Muggles bodies.
"Expelliarmus!" Ginevra yelled, the wand flying out of the Death Eater's hand.
The Muggles dropped to the ground with a sickening crunch. As her attention was diverted by the Muggles, the Death Eater Apparated away.
Suddenly, all of the Muggles woke up and started screaming loudly, the noise echoing throughout the entire station.
Moody and Pomfrey entered the room, entering the 'station'.
"We weren't hurt though!" Neville protested when he saw them.
"No, not you, but they were. While you're in here, the Muggles are under your protection too," Moody said.
"That's just stupid," Seamus muttered under his breath.
"No, it is realistic. Now hurry and get your bags. It's the end of lesson," Lupin said, his head popping into the room.
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"We could have healed them and kept going," Seamus grumbled on the way to Astronomy.
"Actually, some of them fell pretty hard. I don't think I would have been able to heal them," Ginevra said with a shake of her head.
"As great as this conversation is, we have to hurry, or else we'll be late," Pansy pointed out.
With nods, they started to run along the corridors and to the Astronomy Tower.
Arriving a mere three seconds before the bell rang, they all hurried to sit down before Rion would take points off for something as trivial as stopping to catch their breath. Going to the long row of tables at the back of the classroom, they sat down and caught their breath as Rion took attendance, glowering at them.
"Put your homework on my desk, then do the work on the board," Rion said, her tone clipped. "I do not want to be disturbed, and if I hear a single sound from any of you then, thirty House points will be taken off immediately!"
A few people paled, Lavender included, and everyone hurried to get their homework out of their bags. In less than ten minutes, Rion's table was filled with the class' scrolls, and everyone was copying the work from the board. Not one sound was uttered from the student's mouths, the only sound that could be heard was their timid breathing and quills scratching on the parchment.
Ginevra finished the work half an hour after she started, Draco beside her, looking bored. He had finished his work ten minutes before. He was tempted to do something to alleviate his boredom, but the look on Rion's face made him even think otherwise.
Smirking, Ginevra started writing something on a scrap of parchment, not looking up from her finished answers.
Bored yet? she wrote, nudging Draco with her leg.
He glanced to the parchment without moving his head, then a smirk started to form. He moved his arm over slightly, but not so much that it would draw any attention from the annoyed Professor.
Of course. I think she thought the work would take us the entire lesson. Stupid woman, he replied.
I agree completely. I think Lav-Lav's having a hard time though. Either that or she's trying to eat her parchment, Ginevra noted.
Draco looked over to Lavender, who had her head so close to the parchment she was either falling asleep or licking the ink.
She might be going for a new look. I heard that ink-stained noses are the new thing, he replied.
Ginevra had to hold her breath so she wouldn't start laughing out loud. Her hand shook with the effort, but she soon got herself under control.
A piece of parchment slid over to her from Pansy, who'd finished her work too.
Give us a copy, we're bored over here!
Draco pointed his wand at the parchment discreetly, glancing up to see if Rion noticed. She was busy marking the homework, and didn't look up from the parchments. Draco thought of a spell, and duplicate parchments appeared in front of them.
So very bored! Can't we Stun her, then go play Quidditch? Seamus asked.
I second that. Love to see you riding a broom, Blaise said.
Keep your thoughts off the parchment! Pansy wrote, a slight wince on her face.
Nothing wrong with showing affection, Blaise replied, his smirk evident even in his words.
That's affection? I'd almost hate to see what you consider foreplay! Gregory said.
Now, now Gregory, you're making poor Neville drool and blush! Millicent said.
I am not drooling! Neville protested.
Not yet. I think Blaise and Seamus have other ideas, though... Parvati said, seeing what they were doing to Neville under the table.
Okay. Keep your thoughts, hands and other body parts to yourself, or else you'll be kicked off the parchment! Draco said.
Is it possible to be kicked off something this small? Theodore asked.
Being a smart arse will get you kicked off too! Draco replied.
That's everyone using the parchment, Draco, Ginevra said.
You think that getting laid would make him relax a bit, wouldn't you? Padma said, smirking slightly.
Nice one, Padma. You're making him go Veelan, Colin wrote, looking at Draco out the corner of his eye.
Draco, calm down, Luna wrote, her demanding tone evident in her words.
That was close. I think Rion noticed something, Vincent said.
Draco thought something silently, his head not moving, even as he watched Rion get up from her desk and start patrolling, an angry look on her face. The parchments disappeared, and they pretended to be reading, writing, or doing something that looked like they were still doing work.
"If you have already finished the work, why have you not told me so I can give you something else to work on?" Rion said in a clipped tone, looking at Ginevra's work in disdain.
"You said that we weren't to disturb you, so I thought it would be best if I just started reading the next chapter, Professor," Ginevra replied, smiling at her innocently.
"Give me your work," Rion said.
Ginevra did as she said, her jaw dropping when Rion started ripping it to shreds.
"Come to the front of the classroom and do your work while I watch. I want to be sure that you're not cheating," Rion said, a satisfied smirk on her face.
"Of course, Professor," Ginevra said in a snarl, then grabbed her things, and headed to the front of the class.
She sat down, her blood boiling in anger. Trying to settle down for Draco's sake, as well as her own (he was starting to turn Veelan, and an angry male Veela was never good to have in such a small space), Ginevra clenched her teeth tightly as she began re-writing her work.
Rion stood over her, practically breathing down her neck. She was concentrating so hard on Ginevra, that she didn't notice Ginevra's friends attempting to calm Draco down in the back of the classroom.
"Draco, calm down or else we'll all get into trouble. Do you really want thirty points taken from each of us?" Pansy hissed at him.
"Can't you do something, Luna?" Parvati asked, her voice low as she kept a worried eye on Draco.
Feathers started to grow from the corner of his eye, and his hair began to change colour as it grew longer. Instead of being platinum blonde, it was turning white. The colour was so bright that it almost looked like a moon was glowing inside the room.
The glow caught Rion's attention and she started to turn.
"Professor, I finished!" Ginevra said quickly, sending a look to her friends that clearly said get him under control.
"Already? You can't have, you were just up to question five!" Rion said, her voice shrill as she returned her attention back to Ginevra.
In an instant, the light that had filled the room went out. Rion turned again, glaring at Vincent, who was rubbing his fist in pain. She didn't notice that Draco wasn't in his seat, but lying on the floor behind them, unconscious.
"What are you doing out of your seat?" Rion yelled.
"I saw a Snidget," Vincent replied smoothly, returning to his seat without another word.
Rion was confused by his answer. Not only were Snidget's extremely rare and valuable, but how would it have got into her room? Deciding that he was playing her for a fool, she glared at Vincent.
"Thirty points from Slytherin," she said, then looked back to Ginevra, who was calmly writing out her answers again. "I thought you said that you were finished?"
"I finished question six," Ginevra replied with a bright and fake smile, then returned to her work.
Theodore quietly crept from his chair and down to Draco. He looked for a bruise, but there wasn't a single blemish to indicate that Vincent had knocked him out cold. In fact, Draco was waking up. Although he was surprised at how fast Draco recovered, Theodore acted quickly and put a hand over Draco's mouth as he sat up. Draco glared at him.
Millicent, seeing what was happening from he corner of her eye, quickly wrote a note and slipped it to Theodore.
She's not looking, get back to your seats before Brown says something.
Theodore nodded and went back to his seat with a glance at Draco. Brushing himself off, Draco glared at Vincent, then sat in his seat with as much dignity as he could muster.
The class was quiet for the rest of the lesson. Draco brooded and sulked, glaring at Vincent occasionally. Ginevra finished her work five minutes before the bell rang, much to Rion's disappointment.
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Rion made up an excuse to keep Ginevra back, but the others waited for her, glaring at Rion until she let Ginevra out of the classroom. As soon as they were out of the doorway, Seamus started swearing in a mix of Gaelic and Latin.
"On that cue, we'll be going to the hospital wing," Theodore said with a grin, leaving with Millicent.
The others headed over to a tapestry and began making their way down to Ginevra's rooms.
"I didn't know you knew Gaelic," Ginevra said, smirking at Seamus.
"We knew," Blaise said with a grin. "Who ever said that Latin was the language of romance obviously hasn't heard Seamus speak in Gaelic," Blaise said, smirking when Seamus started talking about him in Gaelic.
"Seamus!" Neville hissed, blushing slightly.
He started to redden further as Seamus leant to his ear and began murmuring things in Gaelic.
"We'll see you at dinner," Blaise said with a grin, not in the least bit annoyed with his lovers. In fact, he looked rather smug as he hurried them down the corridor to their room.
"You didn't have to punch me," Draco muttered to Vincent, still annoyed about it.
"Yes he did. You were about to get everyone into trouble," Ginevra said, with a glare that silenced his retort.
They continued in silence until they reached the wardrobe that led into Ginevra's room. Pansy was talking to Gregory and Vincent quietly, her cheeks going red as they whispered back to her.
Ginevra and Draco winced as they were assaulted by images and their quiet words.
Laughing at the expressions Ginevra and Draco were making, Pansy pulled Gregory and Vincent down to their room quickly.
"Is anyone actually going to train tonight?" Ginevra asked, seeing Padma and Parvati slipping off to their room, where Fred and George were waiting.
"I'd take that as a no," Draco said with a smirk, as Luna and Colin left.
"Are you going to train?" she asked him, smirking as his own smirk faltered.
"I can think of something better to do," he replied after a moment, smirking once more.
"I'd hit you if I didn't agree," Ginevra said with a sigh, then grinned and kissed him as she pulled him to her room.
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"Severus, a moment of your time please," Albus said, entering Snape's office.
As Albus rarely entered his office without good reason, Snape nodded and indicated to the seat in front of his desk.
"Is everything all right, Severus? The entire student population has been commenting on your odd behaviour. You were not present for breakfast, recess, nor lunch, and you did not have a meeting last night," Albus said at Snape's annoyed look.
"I had the house-elves bring food for me, and I did not think that you were suddenly keeping tabs on the staff," Snape drawled.
"You think I came here as your employer, Severus?" Albus asked with a stern look.
Sighing heavily, Severus shook his head.
"No, I don't think that, Albus. I know that you are worried for me. Everything is fine," Severus said, but continued at the look Albus gave him that clearly said he didn't believe him. "The Ancients of the Veela Council want Draco to join them sooner rather than later. Apparently, his power is growing far too immense for the end of the school year to be an acceptable time. I am worried what will happen if he doesn't go, but I am also worried about what may happen if he does go," he said, sighing once more.
"Severus, why did you did not tell me this earlier? I know exactly when he can go that will be enough for both his schooling, and for his power to be contained properly," Albus said with a small smile, shaking his head.
"I was only told of it this morning, and I have been trying to think of a way to tell him all day. You should talk with the Ancients, Albus. They want to see him about it this weekend," Severus said.
Albus nodded, put a hand on Severus' shoulder to thank him, then left the dungeons with a purposeful stride.
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"Pansy?" Ginevra called, knocking on her door tentatively.
Pansy opened the door, and Ginevra could see that Gregory and Vincent were finishing getting changed, just buttoning their shirts.
"Need everyone to get out of their rooms?" Pansy asked with a grin.
"If you don't mind," Ginevra said, grinning in return.
"Mind? I've been waiting for you to start the training for half an hour! Mind you, it did give Greg and Vince a chance to rest," Pansy said with a laugh, then headed into the corridor. "Get out of your rooms now!"
In less than ten minutes, everyone was in the training room, stretching slightly.
Luna persuaded Colin to join in, and he reluctantly left his camera on the bench.
"Why do we have to train? We're not at school!" Fred and George whined.
"Stop your whining and get ready," Ginevra said with a smirk.
"Fine," they said with sighs.
"Maybe we should let them sit this one out. They haven't trained with us before," Pansy said with a smirk.
"We said we're going to train, so drop it!" Fred and George growled.
"I must say that I am quite surprised that all sixteen of you fit in here," Bexley commented as he floated over to the bench beside Colin's camera.
Ginevra thought about it for a moment - the room did seem larger than normal, but then she dismissed it and shrugged.
"Maybe it's because we shrank the furniture," Millicent suggested.
"Perhaps," Bexley said.
"Everyone ready?" Neville called, grinning.
A chorus of 'yes' followed.
"Right then. On three. One," Neville said, then threw a punch at Seamus.
"That weren't three!" Seamus growled as he rubbed his cheek.
"Element of surprise," Ginevra said with a grin, kicking at Draco, who dodged her easily.
Pansy started to attack both Fred and George, the twins barely able to stop from getting hit. It was their experience with four brothers that helped them dodge Pansy, while it was her lack of experience that made her miss some vital openings.
Moving faster than even Ginevra could see, Draco started towards her and began retaliating on her assault, hitting and kicking her before she could defend herself.
Parvati and Padma stopped fighting with Blaise and Theodore, staring at the blurs of Ginevra and Draco that was going around the room. Millicent took Gregory out of the headlock, both of them staring too. Pansy, Fred and George stopped, as did Colin and Vincent, and Luna, Seamus, and Neville. They all stared as a red and blonde blur circulated around the room faster and faster.
"Should we stop them?" Millicent asked, frowning.
"I don't know if they realise how fast they're going," Blaise murmured, watching as the blurs were on one side of the room, then the other in less than a millisecond.
"I'll stop them," Neville said.
"You may be strong enough, but you're not fast enough," Luna commented, putting a hand on his arm to stop him.
"I'm strong and fast," Apollo / Colin said, stepping forward.
"Apollo, don't be an idiot!" Luna growled at him, pulling him back before the blurs hit him. "Just because you're a god, it doesn't mean you can't die in this form," she said, glaring at him.
"Sorry, that was my idea and his ego. Bad combination, huh?" Colin muttered, grinning sheepishly. "They'd better not go near my camera though, or I will be forced to torch them."
"What about you two?" Pansy asked.
"We're fast enough, but not strong enough," Fred and George replied, shaking their heads.
"Strong, but not fast," Vincent said for himself and Gregory.
"I vote that we just continue fighting and wait for them to wear each other down," Seamus said.
"Agreed," Parvati and Padma said quickly, then both punched at Seamus' head.
He managed to block and dodge both of them, then started to retaliate.
Gregory started fighting against Luna and Blaise, while Vincent started fighting against Pansy and Colin. With a smirk, Millicent and Neville started towards Theodore, who blanched slightly, a mist appearing in front of him.
A plant shot through the mist, the vine missing Theodore by millimetres. The mist grew thicker and the vine started to struggle against the weight of the cloud. Neville pulled it back in, then started muttering. A green light came out of the mist, moving swiftly as Theodore moved around. With a growl, Millicent jumped on the green light, pinning Theodore to the ground. Another vine snaked over to them, tying Theodore up from the roof. He glared at Millicent and Neville, then another mist surrounded him and heavy rain began to fall on them. The rain cleared only to show that Theodore had escaped. Neville barely had time to dodge the fist aiming for him, Theodore hitting Millicent instead.
"That all you got?" she asked with a toothy grin, then they started fighting again.
Blaise growled angrily; he didn't have time to aim his bow, let alone string an arrow. For a troll, Gregory was moving extremely fast and he wouldn't be able to aim, hit him and dodge the club. Shielding his eyes from a sudden bright light that came from Luna, Blaise stared as Cassandra /Luna started fighting against Gregory swiftly. She managed to hit him in a few vital spots and in seconds, Gregory was on the ground, his club beside him. Not giving Blaise a chance to breathe or stare in shock, Cassandra / Luna started to punch at him. Blaise barely had enough time to put his bow around his body before he could resist and gain some control over the fight.
Pansy and Vincent started advancing on Colin, who was still in his human form. He didn't know whether to change into Apollo, or into a dragon. A dragon would limit the space in the room, and he wouldn't be able to fight as well without the sky around him. Quickly choosing Apollo, Colin let out a smirk as a gold glow pulsed from his body.
It took you long enough, Apollo said.
Never mind that, just start fighting!
Nodding, Apollo / Colin moved forward to Pansy and Vincent, a bright light shooting from his body and blinding them for a moment. The moment was all he needed, and a black arrow started forming around Apollo / Colin's hands. The arrow was so dark that it made night seem like day, and shadows were nothing but mist compared to this arrow.
Draco and Ginevra stopped fighting, sensing the power that was about to be unleashed.
Cassandra / Luna put Blaise on the ground in an instant, then appeared in front of Apollo, glaring angrily.
"Do not even dare of doing that, Apollo!" Cassandra started yelling in Ancient Greek.
"It is a fight!" Apollo protested.
"It is training with friends," Cassandra said, glaring again.
The black arrow disappeared and Apollo looked away from Cassandra, muttering under his breath.
"Sometimes I really do not even think that you have learnt from your actions. And making your sister do them is not any better!" she said before he could begin defending himself.
"Apollo has a sister? Is she Dennis?" Pansy asked, grinning slightly.
"Of course I have a sister. You have not heard of Artemis?" Apollo asked, offended and shocked.
"I've heard of her, but since I'm a mermaid, the dolphins only ever talk of you, don't they? Apollo rode on my great-grandfather's back; when Apollo was a dolphin he swam with my ancestor's school to take the priests from Crete to Pytho," Pansy mimicked with a smirk.
"Well, I did," Apollo said, confused and angry about her sarcastic attitude.
"Artemis is not Dennis, Pansy," Cassandra / Luna replied with a sigh. "Apollo, calm down, would you? You really have to understand humans a bit better before you go around shooting them with a plague-filled arrow," she muttered.
"Well, I think that's enough training for tonight," Ginevra said with a smirk.
"Nice to see you properly," Neville said with a grin.
He helped Blaise up, cancelling out Cassandra / Luna's action with his magic, then helped Gregory too.
"You turned into blurs when you were fighting. It was scary in an amazing way," Blaise said, smirking at them.
"What did you do to me?" Gregory asked Luna as he returned to his human form.
"I hit a vital point in your body. The result caused a temporary paralysis or unconsciousness in your body," Luna replied.
"No, really?" Gregory muttered, rubbing his sore body.
Draco smirked as he heard what Pansy and Millicent were arguing about.
"The wolves are worse! As soon as you mention gods, even if it's not Apollo, they won't shut up about him unless they're going to sleep, or going hunting!" Millicent said.
"Dolphins are worse! They can tell you their entire family history just based on Apollo!" Pansy argued.
"I think it's the hyacinthus that's worst. It never stops crying," Neville said. "Apparently he was angry at Apollo for throwing the discus into his head, but then he found out that Zephyr, the god of the West wind, did it because he loved Hyacinthus too. Now he's just moping about saying 'woe is me! I was too fair for both to have, and now neither do!' And don't even get me started on the cypress tree!" he muttered.
"We won't!" Padma said quickly, smirking at him.
"Personally, I think that humans were the worst," Luna murmured.
"Agreed! Now can we go get dinner?" Vincent asked, his stomach rumbling loudly.
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Ginevra sat next to Draco, grinning when she heard Ron's hyperventilating as Draco gave him the finger.
"You're so kind," Ginevra muttered to him.
"Very kind," Draco murmured, his hand slipping beneath the table to rest on her leg.
"And you're so mean," she growled, barely refraining from moaning out loud as he started to stroke her leg. "Not in public," Ginevra hissed at him, blushing as she grinned into his shoulder.
"You love it," he whispered in her ear, his hand moving slightly and making her gasp.
"I love dinner," Ginevra commented, looking at her shepherd's pie.
She wasn't so enthusiastic about eating it now.
"Damn you," she muttered, moving the plate away and resting her head on the table to try and hide the fact that she was blushing so brightly.
The others were nice enough not to smirk at them too much.
Draco pulled away, smirking himself. With a small sigh of relief, Ginevra felt her eyes closing as she tried to control her flaming cheeks.
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"Don't you understand, my dear?" Voldemort's voice rasped at her.
He looked down at her with red eyes, smirking at the bars that separated him from her magic.
"You will never escape from here unless I consent to it. You hurt some of my best workers, and it takes time to get new ones, not to mention training them to replace the dead. And of course, I have to quell the fear that you have raised. Oh, yes. Now you look at me," he leered. "You have made everyone so afraid that I had to come in here myself to show them that you are nothing more than a little, weak girl," Voldemort said, emphasising his last words with the Crucio curse.
The curse passed over her, and even now, Voldemort couldn't understand how or why it did. He wanted to know how she did that!
"I was when I was younger, Tom, and that is all you remember of me. But I'm not a little, weak girl any longer. Not anymore, Tom," Ginevra said with a snarl.
Jumping from her corner of the cage, she moved faster than ever before. Breaking a metal bar in half, she grabbed Voldemort by the neck, the jagged metal against his throat. Sneering at him with her fangs in full view.
"Don't you understand, my dear?" she mocked him. "This is what I am now."
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Ginevra left the vision with a start, someone screaming in pain distracting her. As she became aware of her surroundings, Ginevra realised that the screaming was coming from Harry and that he was clutching his scar in pain. As the vision faded completely, Harry became calm once more and sat up, panting with wide eyes.
Going red at everyone's attention on him, Harry slid back into his seat and kept his head down, his bangs covering his eyes, almost acting as a barrier between him and the rest of the students.
"Are you all right?" Draco asked Ginevra quietly.
She nodded and began to reply, but was distracted by a bird flying into the Great Hall, a scroll in its beak.
In seconds, everyone was staring as the bird flew around the Great Hall. It was not only getting attention because it had come during dinner, and not breakfast, like owls usually did, but also because the pure white bird looked like a Veela when angry. The feathers and wings were the same, it only had the body of a bird instead of a Veela.
With a sigh, Draco turned Veelan quickly, the transformation catching the bird's attention. It flew down to him, perching lightly in front of Draco. He bowed his head slightly, and the bird returned his bow, dropping the scroll before flying into the air again.
"Show off," Draco muttered as the bird circled a few times before leaving the Great Hall.
Ginevra watched Draco read the letter, slightly surprised when he smirked suddenly. He put the scroll down, but before anyone had a chance to glance at it, the scroll burst into white flames, turning into nothing more than a pile of white ash. Draco scooped the ashes into a vial he conjured, then continued eating his dinner calmly.
The Great Hall buzzed with conversation at the two odd events that had already occurred.
"What did it say?" Millicent asked immediately, her curiosity burning inside her.
Everyone waited impatiently for Draco to finish swallowing and answer her.
"None of your business," he replied with a smirk.
Millicent glared at him.
No one asked Draco again, and the rest of dinner was spent in silence.
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Draco kissed Ginevra goodnight, ignoring the whistles and glares that he got from their friends, then went down to his room quickly. Millicent was still annoyed that he hadn't answered her question, and he knew that all of them wanted to know, but he couldn't tell them what the letter said. They would all be too tempted to tell Ginevra and ruin the surprise.
He remembered the letter word for word.
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Dear Draconius,
Everything has been organised with your Headmaster.
You are to come to the cottage this Friday for your Initiation. Your own, Ginevra, is to come with you.
You will be prepared for the Hunt, and Ginevra will be participating, if she passes my spell.
Sincerely,
Veelan Ancient, Lord Garion
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Draco grinned, then got in his bed, wanting Friday to come quick.
Initiation Hunts were famous for more than just the thrill of the hunt...
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Ginevra was confused. She knew that Draco wouldn't want to talk about what the letter said, but she didn't know if he'd want her in his bed while he was so preoccupied. He'd closed his mind off to her when she'd asked about the letter, but that smirk was there, as if to tease her and say 'I know something that you don't know'.
Sighing, Ginevra got changed into her pyjamas. Bexley was sleeping on her dressing table Relo curled up at the foot of her bed, using her childhood blanket as both a pillow and quilt.
Sitting on her bed, Ginevra thought about it a moment longer, then made up her mind and headed down to Draco's room. She knocked on the door and went inside when he answered.
Draco sat up and looked at her, worried that something had happened. Then, sensing her nervousness and lust, he grinned at her reassuringly and patted the bed beside him.
Feeling more relieved than she would care to admit, Ginevra sat beside him, playing with the hem of her nightdress.
Stroking her shoulder softly, Draco turned Veelan and tuned into her emotions. He relaxed as she let him into her mind, then spoke to her in quiet tones, kissing her shoulder, moving up to her mouth.
Ginevra kissed him back, turning into a Vampiress and letting her power flow over, through, and around them.
Draco moved the quilt away, then pulled Ginevra onto his lap, holding her hips.
As she guided his cock into her body, Ginevra moved forward, her lips right next to his ear.
"Ego diligo vos," she whispered. (I love you.)
"Ego diligo vos quoque," he murmured, kissing her deeply. (I love you too.)
Moaning, Ginevra Drank from Draco hungrily.
"Carus, Ego postulo cruor," he groaned as she licked at the wound on his neck. (Beloved, I need blood.)
Pulling away reluctantly, Ginevra offered him her wrist, her eyes glazing over as he Drank deeply.
Draco started to push up into her as he Drank from her. Clutching his back, Ginevra moved further against him, biting into him again as they explored each other.
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(a/n: thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
In case anyone was wondering, and even if you weren't, I found out a few days ago that the first fourteen chapters of this story are OVER 400 pages long! That's in Verdana font, size nine, and with five millimetre borders on the page. It's also NOT including the author notes before and after the chapter!
I got the information on Apollo from the following site: (again, tell me if it doesn't show, but I will still put it on my profile for those interested - the site also has a lot of information on other Greek gods. More than I knew about! Just click the 'Greek Mythology' link at the top of the page.)
www (dot) pantheon (dot) org / articles / a / apollo (dot) html
I know I said this in the last chapter, but the world domination RPG has been cancelled and I'll be changing it to a Harry Potter one instead. If anyone's even vaguely interested about it, I'd like to know so I can start organising some sort of structure for it, as well as what it will focus on. There's the before, during, and after Harry Potter era's. So that's basically the Lily and James / Lucius and Narcissa era (yes, I know they were different, but they're better grouped together!), the Draco and Ginevra era, or children of whoever survived Deathly Hallows era. (I'm not going to spoil it for those who haven't finished reading the book, but you'll know who I'm talking about if you've finished it already.) If you're interested it'll be great to know!
Just so you know, I will be skipping straight to Friday for the next chapter! Hope everyone's okay with that!
Thanks again for reading!)