Unofficial Portkey Archive

Chapter Sixteen

Friday, Sept. 20

Draco woke up early on Friday morning. He sat up, careful to not disturb Ginevra, then got out of the bed. Going to his trunk, Draco started to get out his Initiation attire, then headed to the bathroom.

Stepping into the bath, Draco sank into the hot water and relaxed, closing his eyes. He breathed in deeply, exhaling after a moment.

He could smell so many things; it was almost scary. The air had drops of moisture in it; the steam that filled the room, the scent of freshly pressed linen and towels. He could smell everything in Ginevra's rooms, from the overwhelming smell of Vincent's sock drawer that Micah was sleeping in, to the woody scent that filled the meeting room.

Breathing and exhaling deeply again, Draco focused his senses on his own body so he could wash properly. Ginevra's scent lingered on his body, mixing with the smell of his own scent. The musky smell of cooled sweat and body heat mixed together. He could smell his hair and the dried gel products he had used yesterday morning when it had been untameable.

With a small sigh, Draco took the soap from the holder and began to clean his body and hair. The soap didn't have a scent and was specially designed by the Veela Ancients to erase all foreign smells.

Ten minutes later, Draco stepped out of the tub and used the white towel to dry himself, wishing that he could use his regular black or green towel. Once he was dry, he changed into the Initiation garments, delighting at the feel of the white silk against his skin, even despite the cool air. Frowning, Draco realised that there were no shoes with the clothes.

"I'm just supposed to go around barefoot?" he muttered.

Yes, you are, Garion's voice said in his mind, sounding amused.

Lord Garion. Good morning, Draco said quickly.

Good morning, Draconius. Are you prepared for the Initiation tonight? Garion asked.

I am preparing myself now, my Lord Garion, Draco replied.

Good. I have appropriate attire for Ginevra so that she will not feel out of place.

Thank you, my Lord.

You are welcome. Do not forget that you must fast for the entire day.

I will not forget.

Lord Garion left Draco's mind with a nod of approval.

Draco looked down at his bare feet and sighed. He couldn't even do a warming spell on them.

Heading back into his room, Draco found that Ginevra was waking up. With a small smile, Draco sat on the bed.

Ginevra frowned slightly. She had the sense of something clean sitting next to her. There was no human smell at all, just a pure sense of cleanliness.

"Good morning," Draco said with a grin as she opened her eyes to stare at him.

Ginevra's eyes widened as she realised that the clean smell was coming from Draco; or rather the clean smell was Draco. She wanted to touch him to see if he was as solid as he had been the night before. Draco seemed to be more Veelan than human at the moment.

"Good morning. You're wearing white," Ginevra murmured, looking him over.

"You're wearing nothing," Draco pointed out, smirking as Ginevra blushed and pulled the blanket up further.

"Are you going to wear that during class?" she asked, wanting to change the subject from her current lack of clothing.

"Yes," Draco said with a nod. "It's the compulsory attire for a Veelan who is to be Initiated," he said.

Draco had told them all the night before that he was going to be Initiated, as he knew they would not leave him be unless he told them something about the letter. He didn't mention that he was taking Ginevra along with him.

"Is that silk?" Ginevra asked as she started to get changed.

Draco nodded in reply, watching her change into her uniform.

"I don't think you should go to class. Everyone's going to be all over you," she muttered.

Pansy knocked on the door loudly.

"You two out of bed?" she asked.

"You can come in," Draco called.

Pansy opened the door, smirking at them. She saw Draco and her jaw dropped.

"Wow, Draco... You're wearing white," she said quickly, hearing Ginevra's low growl.

Draco suppressed his laughter, settling on a smirk instead.

"I've noticed," he replied. "Coming to breakfast?" he asked.

Pansy she struggled to back down the corridor, her eyes wide.

"Think I'll skip it," she muttered, hurrying back into her room.

Draco raised an eyebrow, then headed down the corridor. As he passed each door, they opened and everyone was soon staring at him with wide eyes and open mouths.

"I hope you realise that your Veelan hormones are at full scale while you're wearing that," Luna commented, smiling at Draco.

"I've got them under control though," Draco said with a slight frown.

"The clothing releases it anyway," Luna said, shrugging.

"Draco. I really think that you should stay inside today," Ginevra said, barely getting through their friends to him.

"I don't think that will work," Luna murmured, indicating to the window.

Ginevra looked out and saw most of the Hogwarts population coming down towards her room, pulled by Draco's Veelan spell.

"Looks like I'm going to class then," Draco muttered.

He strode through the front door, Ginevra a second behind him. Luna held the others back with a strong spell, then shot another spell at each of them before slumping against the wall wearily.

"Are you okay, Luna?" Colin asked her immediately.

"Nothing a day of rest won't fix," she said with a tired smile, then turned serious once more. "You're all going to have to stay with them and make sure that nothing gets out of hand. I think Ginevra might just hurt someone if they touch Draco, and with his Veelan pull this strong, that won't even stop them," Luna murmured.

"I wouldn't be against her hurting Lavender," Parvati muttered, but still hurried out the front door with the others.

The scene they arrived at was pure chaos. Students were struggling to get to Draco, screaming and kicking each other to simply touch him. Ginevra was trying to fight them off, but the desperate students still managed to get to Draco.

"This is going to be fun," Seamus said with a wild look, jumping into the fray.

Students cried out in pain as Seamus made his way through them, finally stopping beside Ginevra.

"You okay?" he called to Ginevra.

"Perfectly fine," she growled, pushing away two fifth year girls.

In a matter of minutes, Blaise and Neville were beside them, vines pulling students away.

"Tell Draco to get on my back, I'll get him to class," Blaise said with a determined look.

Nodding, Ginevra looked over to Draco, still trying to fight off the students.

"Get on Blaise's back," she said.

Growling, Draco leapt into the air, landing on Blaise's back lightly. Before anyone had a second to realise what had happened, the centaur and Veelan were heading towards the castle.

"We couldn't get through them. It was like they were stuck to each other!" Parvati growled.

"It's all right. You tried," Ginevra said with a small smile.

"They're all going to regret their behaviour tomorrow," Millicent muttered to Neville, watching as the screaming girls ran after Draco.

"Some of them might not. Romilda Vane's not very choosy," he muttered in reply with a smirk.

"Stupid bint," Seamus muttered.

"We better get to class before someone tramples Blaise to get to Draco," Ginevra said with a sigh.

With that, they headed through Ginevra's rooms to the Astronomy Tower.

"If his Veelan powers are at full scale with the clothes on, would they stop when he took them off?" Fred and George asked as they headed with the others to class.

"I'm not sure it'll be a good idea to make Draco strip," Pansy said, grinning.

"We didn't mean it like that! Can't he just change his clothes?" Fred and George asked, going red slightly.

"He has to wear the clothes all day. It's his Initiation attire," Ginevra said.

They heard a loud thud and ran to the Astronomy classroom.

"Blaise!" Neville and Seamus cried, running over to him.

He was on the ground, fading to his human form. Rion had cornered Draco and was clawing at his clothes.

"Get the hell off of him!" Ginevra growled, running over to Rion.

She hit a barrier and her eyes glowed red as she watched Rion rip open Draco's shirt.

"Get off him, you bitch!" Ginevra removed the barrier and cleared the classroom in one leap, pulling Rion off Draco with a primitive growl.

Rion hit the wall with a grunt, then ran back over to Draco, who was trying to create a barrier around him. The Veelan attire cancelled out any magic he tried to perform, and the barrier idea was immediately dismissed.

"Stop it this instant!" Draco roared, fed up with the Professor's advances.

By this time, the students had made their way to class and were trying to get past the Professor's own barrier to get to Draco. At the sound of his voice, everyone went quiet and stopped what they were doing.

"So that's how it works," he murmured to himself. "Right, all of you stop this nonsense this instant. Go to your classes, or to your desks, and do not bother me for the rest of the day!"

Quietly and without much fuss, everyone left the room, excepting Draco and his friends, Rion, and the other students in the Astronomy class.

Red faced with embarrassment, Rion started teaching the class, not even daring to look in Draco's direction.

Ginevra glared at Rion any time she looked up from the parchment and barely listened to a word that she was saying.

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Now that he was no longer being pursued by the student (and staff) population, Draco was left to his own thoughts. He couldn't concentrate on class, and was far too excited about the Hunt that night to be bothered about not paying attention.

Charms started and went by almost as quickly. Flitwick taught them a new spell. It was immediately pushed to the back of Draco's mind after he'd perfected it - in one shot, of course - in favour for more interesting thoughts.

His eyes flicked over to Ginevra, who was just finishing the spell herself, and smirked. She was going to be in for a surprise. All Veela's and Veelan's were taught about the Initiation Hunt as soon as they discovered what they were. Hunts in general occurred everything three months, but Draco hadn't been able to attend as a fledgling. He'd been told by various Veelan's of what happened at the Hunt, and their tales had only made him eager for his own Initiation Hunt to occur.

He could barely wait for the night to come.

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"Draco isn't with us at the moment, is he?" Pansy asked, smirking at the faraway look on Draco's face.

"He hasn't been with us for most of the day," Ginevra murmured, waving a hand in front of him.

Draco didn't move or even blink an eyelid to acknowledge her.

"Well, if he's not going to eat that ... " Vincent said, reaching over the table to take the cake from Draco's plate.

Draco grabbed his hand before he could touch it, and glared.

"Don't touch my cake," he growled.

He wouldn't eat it anyway, as he had to fast, but Vincent could still ask!

"Oh, so you'll come back for the cake?" Ginevra muttered, feigning hurt.

Gregory laughed as Draco looked at Ginevra, a confused look on his face.

"Is the day over yet?" Draco asked, looking out the window with longing.

"You should have just stayed in your room. You're not going to learn anything today," Blaise muttered.

"Oh, I disagree," Draco said with a smirk, doing the spell that Flitwick had taught them that day. "See, I learnt something."

"I'm sure your mummy's very proud of you," Seamus said sarcastically, grinning at Draco as he glared.

"Don't fight so soon after eating. You'll get cramps," Luna said absent-mindedly, returning to her own lunch.

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"Congratulations, Draco," Firenze said as he entered the room.

"Thanks," Draco replied, momentarily surprised out of his stupor.

Firenze nodded in reply, and Draco returned to his thoughts.

"I think I should be scared that he's been thinking all this time," Ginevra muttered.

"His poor brain mustn't be taking it too well," Millicent sniggered.

They sat at a table, waiting for the rest of the class to arrive.

"So what are we doing for today's lesson?" Ginevra asked Firenze, who just smiled at her and shook his head.

Before Ginevra could mutter about not getting an answer, the rest of the class arrived.

"With Professor Trewlaney's permission, I will be teaching you for today. She has agreed to teach you on Monday and Friday to make up for it," Firenze said, ignoring their disappointed looks. "For today's lesson, you will be learning about divination and meditation," Firenze announced when everyone was seated. "You will be meditating for today's lesson. Do not worry, I will teach you how," he added before any questions could be asked. "I do not expect anyone to succeed immediately, so do not worry if nothing happens at first," Firenze said, smiling at them kindly.

A few of the students looked relieved at this. Firenze asked them all to stand, and in moments, the chairs and tables had disappeared, soft cushions on the floor instead. All of the bags were lined against the wall, out of everyone's way. The students sat down and waited for Firenze to continue.

"There are six basic forms of meditation that you can attempt during today's lesson. You do not have to choose a preferred form of meditation today, as you may not know immediately what suits you best. I suggest giving them all a try and then deciding later," Firenze said.

A few students look excited, Firenze noted with a smile.

"The first is breathing meditation. This helps you maintain your breathing and clear your mind. Close your eyes," he instructed, waiting for everyone to do so before continuing. "Now, to start off with it is easiest to go with a count of four. Inhale, two, three, four. Hold, two, three, four. Exhale, two, three, four," Firenze began slowly, tapping a hoof against the floor in time with his words.

He gradually stopped talking, simply tapping his hoof against the floorboards instead. A few times Firenze noticed that some people were getting restless, and so he instructed them to concentrate on their breathing and counting, nothing else.

After ten minutes of this, he instructed the students to open their eyes once more. It took a few minutes for everyone to get back from their relaxed state, but they got there eventually and Firenze awarded ten House points for both Slytherin and Gryffindor.

"Very good, everyone. We will continue while you are still relaxed," he said. "The next type of meditation is empty mind meditation. This requires you to empty your mind of all thoughts, and as it is human nature to think, this will be difficult for most of you. Sit up in a cross-legged position and we will begin," Firenze instructed.

They all sat up in the way he had said, waiting for further instructions.

"Now, empty your mind," Firenze said, watching them with a smile.

He waited for a few minutes before continuing.

"You need to clear your mind of all thought. As I said, it will be difficult for you to do this immediately, so for now, simply sit quietly. Close your eyes, sit cross legged, Mr. Weasley," Firenze added as Ron went to stretch his legs. "While you are sitting there quietly, you will have thoughts. For now, just accept that you have listened to your thought, and let it move on," he said.

After fifteen minutes of sitting quietly, some people started to get restless, Ron in particular.

"Open your eyes now," Firenze said, smiling at them again. "The next type of meditation we will try is mindfulness meditation. It is practiced by both Muggle and wizard Buddhists, and is also known as vipassana, or insight meditation," he informed them. "You can keep your eyes open for this meditation. This type of meditation gets you to focus on everything, from what you're feeling and thinking, to your surroundings. This will be done outside, so take a few minutes to stretch," he finished.

Once everyone had feeling in their legs again, Firenze led them outside. He stopped at the top of a small hill and instructed for them to sit on the grass. As they were seating themselves, Firenze looked around. Everything could be seen from this small height: the castle, lake, Forbidden Forest and Whomping Willow, the Quidditch grounds, and even the cliffs were in clear sight. He looked at the class again. They seem interested, but it may be an affect of the meditation, he mused with a slight smile.

"Calm your breathing as we did for the first meditation," Firenze instructed, his voice soft and carrying. "Now, focus on yourself. Focus on your breathing ... your feelings ... your thoughts," he said, pausing between each and allowing enough time for each student to do so. "Feel the floor and cushion beneath you," he said, his voice no more than a whisper now. "See your surroundings. Don't move," Firenze added. "Focus on the nature that is around you. Everything is moving to its own rhythm, and you will sense this with practice," he said.

Ginevra could feel her legs getting pins and needles, and heard the restless grumbles of her brother behind her. He had never been this quiet when he was awake. Not that he was quiet when he was sleeping either, she mused. Redirecting her thoughts, Ginevra focused on the lake, waves moving back and forth against the rocky sand, the water rippling with the movement of the giant squid. She could feel the wind on her face, playing with her hair and cooling her neck as it blew from the Forbidden Forest. As her mind focused even further, she realised that she could feel an insect crawling on her hand. Wanting to know what the animal was, but not wanting to break out of her trance-like state, Ginevra just focused on the feel of the miniscule animal instead.

Draco was surprised that he'd settled down enough to meditate for so long, let alone for three different types of meditation. He focused on he was feeling, becoming slowly overwhelmed by the amount of anticipation he was suppressing for the Initiation Hunt. The more Draco focused on the feelings, the more his anticipation flowed through him, and he began to get agitated. Waiting was horrible, he decided. Draco redirected his focus to the grass beneath him and started to focus on the individual blades of grass against his leg.

Gently, Firenze felt into the minds of the students. They were focusing on their surroundings effectively now, but thoughts still pressed against their minds. The next lesson would have to focus on how to quiet thoughts further, he told himself.

"I will now go around and tell you a word. You are to repeat this is as a mantra in your mind. Later, if you choose to practise this, you may say it out loud. The mantra will make you concentrate on the word alone, and help you clear your mind," Firenze said, and then started around the class.

As Firenze murmured a word in their ear, the class started to recite. Some of the students mouthed the words, while others screwed their faces up to concentrate on nothing but their particular word.

"Relax," Firenze said, amused at some of the expressions they were pulling.

Less than five minutes went by, and Firenze had to stop them before a few of his students fainted from a loss of oxygen.

"Now, you will try how to meditate on a concept. The Buddhist 'meditation on the corpse' is focused on a body in the ground as it rots away and is fed on by worms," Firenze said.

Lavender screeched and gagged, going green in the face.

"Don't like worms, Lav-Lav?" Pansy taunted, sneering at her.

Lavender gave her the finger and as she went to add a few swear words, but Firenze interrupted her quickly.

"No offensive language during meditation," he said, looking at the entire class sternly. "You do not have to meditate on a body rotting as your particular concept, but it may be easier to focus on than some other concepts," Firenze said. "Now, close your eyes and begin. We will do the final meditation in ten minutes," he added quietly, making sure they all closed their eyes.

Ten minutes went by and Firenze called the students out of their trance-like states. He noticed that most of them were looking slightly ill at how detailed their meditation had been, from everything to each grain of dirt surrounding the body in the ground, to the entire rotting process and the joy of the worms.

"This final meditation is called walking meditation. It may help clear your mind and emotions. Stand up," Firenze said, smiling. "As you begin to walk, pay attention to the movement of your legs, and your breathing. Continue to walk, and feel how your feet touch the ground. You may take your shoes off if you would like to feel the grass on your feet. If your mind wanders, focus on the motion of walking and breathing. You can pace back and forth if you would like. I would not suggest walking in circles, Mr. Thomas," Firenze said.

Dean, who was walking in small tight circles, nodded queasily, turning a light shade of green.

Everyone began walking, some people looking straight ahead, while others watched their feet. Some chose to walk with shoes on, others didn't. By the time the bell rang, everyone felt relaxed and refreshed, the rotting body nothing more than a memory.

"Very good, all of you. Twenty points for both Slytherin and Gryffindor. Enjoy the rest of your day and night," Firenze said with a smile, looking directly at Draco and Ginevra.

"Thank you, Professor. See you on Monday," Parvati called as she left with the others.

"See you on Monday," Padma taunted, smirking at her.

"Oh, shut up," Parvati grumbled, glaring at her twin.

Padma just laughed and put an arm around her sister's shoulder.

"Any chance you can get Draco to hurry up? He's dawdling and we're running late," Pansy muttered to Ginevra.

"Not sure what I can do, but I'll try," Ginevra replied with a grin.

Lagging behind, Ginevra waited for Draco to get beside her. She pinched him, and he glared at her angrily.

"What did you do that for?" he asked, rubbing his arm.

"You're walking slow," Ginevra said with a shrug.

"Why'd you have to pinch though?" Draco grumbled.

"Hurry up then I won't have to pinch you again," Ginevra taunted, hurrying after the others.

Draco muttered to himself then, rubbing his arm again, hurried after her.

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"Today's lesson will be focused on changing animals into more than one item. For example, a hedgehog can be transfigured into a pin cushion," McGonagall said.

She quickly transfigured a hedgehog out of a spare quill, then continued.

"It is one of the easiest multiple transfigurations to do, due to the hedgehog's spiky outer skin. Remember to focus on the hedgehog's face and body disappearing into a small pin cushion, and the spikes into pins," McGonagall reminded them. "The incantation is Macero mucro, which means to soften a sharp point in Latin. Now, watch my wand movements," she said.

Circling clockwise three times, McGonagall did a sharp anti-clockwise motion, pointing her wand at the hedgehog she'd conjured.

"Macero mucro!" she said.

The hedgehog shrank rapidly, its spiny outer skin changing into individual silver pins. The pin cushion itself was a beige colour, and with some concentration, McGonagall had her initials etched into one corner of the cushion.

"Put a quill in front of you and I will transfigure a hedgehog for you. Please make sure it doesn't get away from your table," McGonagall said, going around the classroom quickly and efficiently.

In less than fifteen minutes the entire class had a hedgehog sitting in front of them. A new record, McGonagall thought with a hint of pride.

"Now, try to change your hedgehog into a pin cushion. The pins need to be removable," McGonagall said, then sat at her desk to watch them perform the spell.

Luna watched as some people started to do the spell. She winced as one person's spell was done wrong and the hedgehog started squealing, trying to roll into a ball, but unable to as it was slowly becoming a pin cushion. Luna looked at the hedgehog on her table with a slight frown. She didn't want to hurt the hedgehog like others in the class were doing.

The hedgehog heard the squeals from the other hedgehogs throughout the classroom, and grunted in fear a bit, it's voice getting higher with its increased fear. The hedgehog curled into a tight ball, its spines sticking out in every direction.

"Poor thing," Luna murmured, patting the spines lightly.

"Professor! My hedgehog is losing its prickly things!" Lavender yelled from her seat.

"You are stressing the animal, that's why!" McGonagall yelled back.

The squealing got louder as students started shouting at each other, at the animals in front of them, and at their wands.

"You okay, Luna?" Ginevra asked her, seeing Luna's frown.

"I don't want to do that to the hedgehog," Luna said, indicating to Lavender's hedgehog.

It was shedding spines out of stress, half formed into a pin cushion. The poor hedgehog looked frightened beyond belief, trembling and managing to get out a few squeals from its cushion mouth. The hedgehog had no idea what was happening, or why it was suddenly feeling different.

"I know what you mean. My poor hedgehog is scared out of its wits," Ginevra said, looking at the curled hedgehog in her hands.

She'd talked to it briefly, explaining to the hedgehog what was happening. As soon as it found out, the hedgehog had gone into its protective ball and didn't want to come out, its fear too much for the small animal to handle.

"I don't want to do this spell," Parvati said, looking at her hedgehog in pity.

"No, I don't think I'd like it if I was suddenly turned into a pin cushion either," Draco was saying to his hedgehog.

"You're not doing the spell either?" Pansy asked Theodore, who shook his head.

"The hedgehog's gone into shock because of Lavender's incompetence," Theodore muttered. "Don't think I'd want to anyway; what am I going to need a pin cushion so urgently for that I'd need to make it out of hedgehog?"

"Exactly what I've been saying for this entire lesson. If I need a pin cushion, I've got one in my bag that I can use," Millicent muttered. "Why are you all looking at me like that for?"

"Show me your pin cushion," Padma said quickly.

McGonagall calmed both Lavender and her hedgehog down, and then did a small Stunning spell on the animal so Lavender could do the spell properly.

Millicent passed her pin cushion to Padma, who smirked, quickly going into a conversation with Colin and Neville.

"It could work, but the initials would have to go," Blaise pointed out, trying to soothe his hedgehog down at the same time.

"Okay. Give us some quills and let us work on it," Padma said, nodding to Parvati.

They handed over their spare quills and started to calm their hedgehogs down as Padma and Parvati started working on duplicating the pin cushions.

"Why do you have a pin cushion in your bag anyway?" Seamus asked Millicent with a grin.

"So I can stab people," she replied sarcastically.

"Come on! What do you really have it for?" Neville asked.

"We won't laugh," Pansy said, smirking at her.

"Not telling you. You're already laughing," Millicent pointed out with a half-hearted glare.

"It's nothing to be ashamed about, Millicent. They're really quite good," Luna murmured, trying to coax the hedgehog out of its ball.

"I'm not ashamed! I'm just not telling them," Millicent muttered.

"We'll start singing unless you tell us," Gregory said, Vincent nodding in agreement with a large smirk.

"Don't care," Millicent said, putting her head on her arms.

Gregory and Vincent coughed slightly to clear their throats.

"Millicent, tell us before they really do start singing," Pansy said, paling as her boyfriends decided on a song.

"Food, glorious food!" Gregory and Vincent started to sing loudly.

"Oh, for the Gods' sakes! I do cross stitching, okay?" Millicent muttered, her voice muffled.

Gregory and Vincent ignored the looks they were getting from the rest of the class, then started pestering Millicent to show them some.

"Please?" Ginevra asked, pouting at Millicent.

"I said no, so drop it," Millicent said. "Don't touch my bag, Theo!" she said, glaring as he went to reach in her bag.

"If you show them then they promise to shut up about it," Theodore cajoled.

"Promise!" Pansy said, nudging Vincent and Gregory to agree with her.

"Draco will say please too," Ginevra said, smirking when Millicent just raised an eyebrow at her.

"No I will not," Draco muttered, looking down at the hedgehog.

"Say please!"

"No," Draco growled.

"Say please!"

"Glad to see the hedgehogs are enjoying the show," Neville said, seeing that the hedgehogs had uncurled and were watching the argument in amusement.

"Hurry up and say please or else you won't get one," Padma bribed, holding out a pin cushion to Draco.

"I could just make you," Draco responded.

"Just say it," Ginevra said.

"Fine," Draco said, sighing heavily. "Would you please show us?" he muttered to Millicent.

Millicent still didn't look happy about it, but she brought out a cross stitch that she was working on. It was a wolf head, and even though it was only half-finished, the wolf still seemed to leap out from the cloth.

"That's really good, Millicent," Ginevra said, slightly surprised.

"I told you," Theodore said, smirking at Millicent.

"Shut up. McGonagall's coming over. Give me my cushion back now," Millicent said, grabbing her pin cushion from the twins.

Everyone hid their hedgehogs on their laps and placed their pin cushions in front of them.

"How are you going over here?" McGonagall asked, looking at each of them.

Pin cushions sat in front of all of them, but something didn't look right.

Ginevra cursed inwardly as the hedgehog on her lap started to grunt affectionately.

"All of you move back away from the desks," McGonagall said with a heavy sigh.

They reluctantly did so, revealing the hedgehogs sitting on their laps.

"We didn't want them to be like that," Luna said, indicating over to the deformed hedgehog that Lavender was working on.

"You don't believe in your abilities enough?" McGonagall queried.

"It's not that," Luna protested. "It's the hedgehogs. They feel everything, and even if we managed to get the spell done half as fast as you did, it would still be excruciating for them," she said, patting the hedgehog fondly.

"You do know that I created the hedgehogs out of quills?" McGonagall asked. "Quills have no feelings."

"But it's a living animal! The moment you did the spell, you gave them life and feelings too!" Luna protested angrily.

The others watched her in surprise. They had never seen Luna as emotional as this before. She was always calm and level-headed.

"You can not just do that to them! They have hearts, and they beat just as ours do!" Luna said, tears streaming down her face now.

Ginevra frowned, then stood up and looked at Luna.

"She's Seeing," Ginevra murmured, indicating to Draco.

Luna's eyes had glossed over with a white film, and her face was paling with every second. As Ginevra said that, Luna's entire body went pale and her clothes changed into a tattered form of Cassandra's white dress.

"Theodore, help us over here," Ginevra said.

He hurried over, Millicent beside him.

"We should lie her down and get Madam Pomfrey. I haven't had much experience with this before," Theodore murmured, conjuring a pillow for Luna.

In seconds, a makeshift bed was made up and Luna was lying down, still crying out words of helplessness every few minutes.

"My Lord! You must have some mercy! They are mere humans and know not what they do!" Luna cried, her body convulsing with emotions.

By now, the entire class was crowded around Luna, the hedgehogs forgotten on the desks. Draco, Gregory and Vincent were holding Apollo back, but just barely.

What happened next scared everyone and even gave McGonagall nightmares for months. Blood curdling screams ripped from Luna's body and her body rocked with every one.

Apollo finally got our of the three Slytherins grasp, and hugged Luna to his body tightly, golden light spilling into her pale body. The light faded, but Luna still remained as white as a sheet. Apollo screamed in pain, loss, anger and love, and even more light flowed out of his body and into Luna. As it did, Apollo started to fade back to Colin's form.

"I don't think that's good," Pansy murmured, but was unable to move.

After what seemed to be hours, Luna finally got some colour back in her body, and Apollo had disappeared. Colin gently lowered Luna back down on the bed, and stood up shakily, only to collapse to the ground immediately.

Theodore rushed to him, feeling for a pulse and doing a few spells to monitor him. Different coloured bars appeared in mid air, only Theodore knowing what they all meant.

"He's lost a substantial amount of inner magic. Someone go get Pomfrey!" Theodore yelled as something started to change colour.

Five students ran out of the classroom as fast as they could.

"They won't get there fast enough. We'll be right back," Neville said.

Neville and Seamus were gone before anyone could think of saying something.

"Professor, the bell went some time ago," Millicent murmured.

"Oh. Yes ... Of, of course," McGonagall said, staring at Luna and Colin's pale forms for a moment longer. "Class is dismissed!" she said, quickly turning the hedgehogs back into quills. "All of you, out!" she said, her voice and words reminding everyone of Madam Pomfrey.

No one wanted to leave it seemed, and just packed their things, then returned to crowd around Luna and Colin. Theodore started doing a few spells, but the coloured bar he was looking at continued to drop.

"Okay, boys. You can get this plant off of me now," Pomfrey's voice came from the classroom. "That was the oddest form of transport I've had since I went for that ride in one of the Muggles aeroplanes... Really, Professor. I would have thought you would have had enough sense to get the students out of the classroom!" Pomfrey muttered as she pushed her way through the students to Luna and Colin. "Oh."

Neville and Seamus collapsed against Blaise wearily, their breathing heavy with the exertion.

"All right then. The lot of you, clear out!" Pomfrey yelled, shooing away the students.

"We're not leaving," Ginevra said firmly, the others standing beside her.

McGonagall managed to get the rest of the class out of the room, and paced beside Pomfrey.

"Is there anything I can help with?" she asked, wringing her hands.

"No, there is nothing you can do. Just go to lunch and tell Albus what happened," Pomfrey said, dismissing her without even looking at the Professor.

McGonagall didn't look very pleased, but left nonetheless, shooing the last of the dawdling students out of her classroom.

"You can stay here as long as you don't get in my way," Pomfrey said reluctantly when Ginevra and her friends refused to leave.

"Thank you," Ginevra said quickly, sitting on a nearby table to watch.

The others followed suit and they watched carefully as Pomfrey and Theodore started to work on Colin and Luna, the two monitors showing varied colours that still meant nothing to anyone except the two healers.

"You spend every day with him in the hospital wing, and you don't know what any of this means?" Draco growled.

"I do my cross stitching in the hospital wing," Millicent said sheepishly. "I know that bar there is the heart rate though," she said quickly, pointing at the red bar on Colin's screen. "The lower it is, the slower the heart rate is," she said nervously, watching as the bar started to drop.

Finally knowing what something was, they all focused on the red bars on the two magical monitor screens, their own hearts jumping every time the bar dropped lower.

"That gold bar of Colin's is really small," Neville murmured, looking at it.

"That's the inner magic bar," Theodore muttered absent-mindedly. "He lost a lot of magic doing whatever he did to help Luna," he said.

"You're missing out on lunch, you know," Pomfrey said, sounding just as absent-minded as Theodore.

"We'll be fine," Gregory and Vincent said immediately, not looking away from their friends or even pause to stop and think about food.

Pomfrey didn't reply, she just murmured something to Theodore, who began murmuring in return. Their words were incoherent to anyone but them; not even Millicent understood the language they used. Theodore nodded, then turned to his friends to translate what they'd said.

"They'll be fine. We just need to take them down to the hospital wing. Colin will sleep for a while, as he needs to replenish his inner magic. Luna will be fine once she comes out of her daze, but to be on the safe side, we're just going to administer a sleeping draught that has a mild sedative in it so she won't freak out when she wakes up," Theodore said.

"Theodore, what did I say about that term?" Pomfrey asked him sternly as she levitated Colin and Luna into the air with ease.

"Freak out is not a technical term," Theodore muttered in response. "Sorry, Madam Pomfrey."

She nodded curtly, then guided the lovers down to the hospital wing carefully.

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"You don't have to stay here. They won't wake up for a while," Theodore said.

"Go have some lunch," Madam Pomfrey insisted, practically pushing them all out of the hospital wing.

"I'll get you as soon as something happens," Theodore promised.

The door shut on them and Ginevra sighed.

"I'm not in the mood for going to the Great Hall. There are going to be too many questions," she muttered.

"Kitchens then?" Parvati and Padma asked.

"There won't be a lack of noise. House elves are louder than third years when it comes to food," Pansy muttered.

"It will do for now," Draco said.

Blaise looked at Neville and Seamus in concern. They still weren't looking any better than they had when they'd returned from the hospital wing.

"What did you two do to get her there so quickly? The hospital wing is more than a few minutes away from the Transfiguration classroom, even for you two," he murmured as they headed to the kitchens with the others.

"We did it," Neville said heavily.

"You stopped Time?" Blaise asked in shock.

Seamus nodded grimly.

"I never want to do that unless I absolutely have to. It's not the way they make it out to be," he shuddered.

Blaise frowned.

"What do you mean? Doesn't everything just pause?" he asked.

Seamus laughed shortly and shook his head in reply, trying to hide the fact that his hands were trembling.

"Time doesn't technically stop," Neville replied. "We're just diverted to a place that is similar to this one, but where Time means nothing. We had to do a few spells on Pomfrey so she wouldn't realise that we weren't in Hogwarts," Neville said.

"If you weren't in Hogwarts, how did you get Pomfrey?" Blaise asked, confused.

"We did it twice. We came out just at the hospital wing entrance, then after doing the spell on her, we left in the same spot. It's not good to do it in more than one place within a matter of minutes," Seamus said.

"It's not good to do it more than once in the same lifetime," Neville muttered, rubbing his hand over his face.

"You three coming?" Ginevra called, looking at them with a frown. "What's wrong?" she asked as they hurried to the fruit portrait.

"Nothing's wrong," Seamus replied.

"Do not lie to me," Ginevra growled.

"Ginevra. We are tired from carrying Pomfrey, so nothing that is overly important is wrong," Neville corrected Seamus, using a half truth. He could tell the whole truth later.

Ginevra stopped glaring at Seamus, then nodded wearily. Blaise steered Seamus into the kitchens.

"You're telling me later," Ginevra muttered as Neville went past her into the kitchens.

Since she was a Vampiress again, Ginevra had to wait in the corridor for the others.

"We just want some food, Dobby!" Draco growled, getting annoyed at the house-elf, who insisted they all sit down and eat it right there. If they didn't get the food, then Ginevra wouldn't eat.

"We're going on a picnic, and we want to take the food outside," Parvati said.

"Why didn't Misters and Mistresses say so?" Dobby said happily, then ran away grinning. He returned in seconds with a large picnic hamper.

"I'm not carrying it," Draco muttered when the house elf offered it to him.

Dobby insisted, a large grin on his face as Draco left the kitchens with the picnic basket in his hands.

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"Nice basket," Ginevra said with a laugh, smirking at Draco.

"Damn bloody house elf wouldn't let us leave unless I took the damned thing," he muttered.

Ginevra just laughed again, then opened a tapestry and they headed to her rooms quietly.

Vincent and Gregory ate very little and the others only ate out of necessity. Draco didn't eat anything, and wouldn't have eaten even if he had been allowed to.

"Good afternoon. Is something the matter?" Bexley asked as he floated into the room and saw the picnic food strewn across the table, hardly any of it touched.

"Luna and Colin are in the hospital wing," Ginevra replied, biting into her sandwich without any enthusiasm.

"What is the matter with them?" Bexley asked, frowning.

"Luna Saw something that made her do something else and Apollo did something that made her better, but it was something that made him worse," Neville replied.

"So in other words, you do not know exactly what happened?"

"Not really. All we know is that their heart rates dropped, and Colin's inner magic is below average," Ginevra replied.

"Madam Pomfrey said that they'd be fine and will sleep it off," Parvati and Padma replied.

"Ginevra!" Relo said happily, oblivious to the mood of the room as he ran in and hugged Ginevra's legs tightly.

"Hello Relo," she said with a slight smile.

"Dodger was being mean and saying he was going to bite my ankles. Where is elf boy? Why is everyone looking sad?" Relo asked quickly, looking around at everyone with wide and innocent eyes.

"Theodore is in the hospital wing looking after Luna and Colin," Ginevra replied.

"Is they all right?" Relo asked, his eyes wide.

"We hope so," Seamus murmured.

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The bell rang, and they reluctantly went out to Hagrid's hut for Care of Magical Creatures.

"Yer to be reading yer books, then we're goin' in ter the Forest to see the blood-sucking bugbears," Hagrid said. "They sound worse than they are," he said quickly when a few students looked scared.

"They suck blood, don't they?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Er ... Yeh, they do," Hagrid said, wringing his hands. "They're really good though. Yer'll see when we go ter see them. They won't hurt yer," he said quickly.

"What chapter do we need to read?" Ginevra asked him, diverting the subject.

"Chapter eight. There's information about bugbears in it," Hagrid replied, looking relieved. "While yer all reading I'll jus' go make sure they've eaten, then I'll come to get yer," he said cheerfully, hurrying into the Forbidden Forest.

Ginevra could feel the nervous atmosphere increasing through the students as they read each passing paragraph on blood-sucking bugbears.

"Okay, who's ready to go see the bugbears?" Hagrid asked eagerly, clapping his hands together in excitement. "They've eaten everything I gave 'em so they won't do anything ter yer, I promise," he said, smiling at everyone reassuringly.

Only once Ginevra and her friends stood up to follow Hagrid did the rest of the class follow, still looking nervous.

"They won't hurt yer," Hagrid reassured as he led them through the forest.

He started whistling loudly, and the students huddled together, sure that he was bringing more attention than was necessary to their whereabouts. Soon enough, Hagrid stopped whistling, and turned to the students, smiling at them cheerfully.

"They'll be 'ere in a minute, yer'll see," he said, then turned around again.

He whistled every so often, almost like he was directing the bugbears by sound. In five minutes, a sloth of bugbears were in front of the students, sniffing eagerly.

"Why are they sniffing?" one student asked in a trembling voice.

"They're mostly blind, but they can hear yer hearts and blood pumping. They're sniffing ter see if yer scared of 'em," Hagrid replied, calming the student with a soothing voice.

One student didn't get the soothing effect of Hagrid's voice, and yelped in fear when one of the bugbears shifted restlessly. Immediately, the bugbears looked at the student, their eyes glowing brightly. They snarled at the student, their sharp fangs dripping blood and saliva. With a terrified yell, the student ran out of the forest and straight back to the castle. As soon as he'd gone, the bugbears returned to sitting on their hindquarters, seemingly indifferent to the humans in front of them.

"They're so cute," Ginevra said with a smile, getting odd looks from her friends.

"You think they're cute? After what they just did to what's-his-name?" Pansy asked Ginevra, her eyebrow raised.

"They just scared him enough so he'd go back home. You just read that in the Book of Monsters, Water Pansy," Luna said, laughing quietly.

Oblivious to the argument, Ginevra went over to Hagrid.

"Can we pat them?" she asked, looking to the bugbears with something close to longing.

"Not yet," Hagrid muttered out of the corner of his mouth. "Have ter calm the rest o' the students down before you get the bugbears all excited," he said with a slight grin.

Ginevra sighed, but stepped back and waited impatiently for the rest of the class to get comfortable around the bugbears. They looked exactly like normal, everyday bears. Except for the sharp fangs and glowing eyes, of course.

"So how much blood do they need in comparison to Vampires?" Draco murmured in Ginevra's ear, moving them behind Hagrid and away from prying eyes.

"They need twice as much, but they also store it for longer. Vampires need to replenish every three to five days, depending on their size and Hunger. Bugbears will drink their fill once a month," Ginevra replied.

"Three to five days? You've been Drinking every three to five hours," Draco muttered, smirking at Ginevra.

"Well, why would I say no when I have a willing supply of sweet blood?" she replied, turning and kissing him eagerly.

"Break it up now, the two of yer!" Hagrid said, pulling them apart. "Can't have you doin' none of that in front of the bugbears. Yer blood'll pump faster and it'll excite them, yer see," he said in explanation, then quickly continued when he realised he was supposed to tell them off for other reasons too, "That, and it's also me class. So no more of that, clear?" he asked sternly.

"Yes Professor," Ginevra said.

She moved away from Draco reluctantly, scowling when Pansy and Millicent smirked at her.

"All right, now yer've all settled, yer can pat 'em a bit. They like it behind the ears," Hagrid said, a cheerful grin on his face.

Someone pushed Sally-Anne forward. She stared at the bugbears in fright, obviously remembering what had happened to the boy.

"It's all right, Sally-Anne. They won't hurt yer," Hagrid said, slowly calming her down.

Tentatively, Sally-Anne walked forward, encouraged by the whispers of her classmates. It showed that she wasn't listening, as Millicent was whispering for her to get scared and run off to the castle. Luna raised an eyebrow at her friend's behaviour, making Millicent grin sheepishly and go quiet.

Sally-Anne took a deep breath, and closed her eyes tightly as she placed a hand on one of the bugbears. Nothing happened. She let out a sigh of relief, then started to stroke the bugbear behind the ears.

It whined and growled affectionately, making the others brave enough to step forward to the other bugbears. Hagrid waited until the other students had all had equal amounts of time with the bugbears before letting Ginevra and her friends through. He'd offered for them to go before, but they all wanted to wait for Ginevra instead.

Ginevra looked at the bugbear in front of her. It was the largest of the sloth, and therefore the leader. There was blood stained around its mouth from the blood Hagrid had given it earlier. The bugbear regarded her for a moment, then turned away indifferently.

"You know who I am, do you not?" Ginevra asked it quietly.

Yes, we are all aware of who you are, Queen Ginevra, the bugbear replied. Why do you ask?

"I was wondering, as I am not used to this reception of indifference," she said with a short laugh.

You would have us praise you as others do then? the bugbear asked.

If it could have raised one eyebrow at her, Ginevra was sure that it would have.

"Not at all," Ginevra said, grinning at the bugbear.

For a short moment the bugbear looked impressed, then it returned to its face of indifference, looking at the students in front of it.

You are missing some, the bugbear stated, sounding curious.

"Two of our friends are currently in the hospital wing, and my two brothers are in their shop for the day," Ginevra replied.

They will be fine, do not worry, the bugbear said, in the kindest voice of indifference possible. How long do your nails grow?

"My nails?" Ginevra asked, surprised.

The bugbear nodded, looking bemused. Ginevra extended her fingernails to their longest length and held them out.

They are strong at this length?

"I believe so," Ginevra said, flexing her fingers experimentally.

Would you care to test them? the bugbear asked, an eager light shining in its red eyes.

Ginevra looked at Hagrid, who nodded, looking weary.

"Go ahead. Be careful with her, yer hear me?" Hagrid said to the bugbear, glaring.

Of course. Nothing less than gentlemanly behaviour, the bugbear replied with a toothy grin.

Hagrid sighed, then led the other students away.

The rest of the bugbears crowded around Ginevra and the largest bugbear. Ginevra's friends hurried to sit in front of the bugbears.

"Should we be letting her do this?" Millicent asked the others.

"Probably not, but Draco wouldn't let anything happen," Blaise said, looking at Draco.

No longer thinking of the Initiation Hunt that was going to occur in about four hours, Draco watched Ginevra intently as she faced the bugbear.

Are you ready?

"Yes," Ginevra said with a nod.

Before she had even finished nodding, the bugbear swiped at her, its red claws extended.

She moved out of the way quickly, grateful that she'd been training with Draco. Moving aside her gratitude and other emotions, Ginevra scratched at the bugbear. Without even blinking, the bugbear blocked the blow, retaliating with its own. Ginevra blocked, then retaliated. The bugbear blocked every motion, from the front, back, side; all of Ginevra's moves were blocked instinctively. The most she got was a lock of fur from the bugbear's arm. The bugbear was blocked too, in some cases no more than a few millimetres from Ginevra's body. The most the bugbear got was a scrap of material from Ginevra's robes.

They stopped after another ten minutes of fruitless fighting and blocking.

"You are good," Ginevra breathed heavily, clutching the fur in her hand.

As are you, Queen Ginevra. No one has gotten that close to beating me in a long time. I would suspect that your own would beat me with his power and skill. I am tired now, so perhaps another time, the bugbear said with a smile.

"I would be honoured," Draco replied.

You may keep my fur. You may call me with it when you feel ready to beat me, the bugbear said, smiling at Ginevra.

"Thank you. You may keep the piece of my robe," Ginevra replied with a bow.

The bugbear returned Ginevra's bow awkwardly, then led the rest of the sloth deeper into the Forest.

"We've got to go, or else we'll miss meeting up with Yepir for your Runes lesson," Neville reminded Ginevra.

"You sure you want to come?" Ginevra asked, leaving with them quickly.

"Of course. You wouldn't want to Drink our blood when you've got Draco, would you?" Millicent teased, laughing.

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"You were almost late," Yepir said with a smile. Noticing Ginevra's friends, she continued with a frown, "Are you sure that it is wise for all of you to come along?"

"It's better than you being on your own with Ginevra if something happens," Pansy replied, shrugging.

"We might as well get the wood now," Seamus added.

"Very well," Yepir said. "What wood would you like for your Runes?" Yepir asked Ginevra as they walked along a path in the Forest.

"Ash, please," Ginevra replied.

"What is your wand made from?" Yepir asked curiously.

"Elm," she said, wondering why Draco looked surprised.

"My wand is ash, and my Runes will be elm," Draco explained.

"Did you plan to have it opposite to each other?" Yepir asked.

"No. I didn't even know what properties Draco's wand had," Ginevra replied.

Yepir just nodded, then continued along the path.

Ginevra let her mind float, listening to the noises throughout the Forest. She stopped abruptly, hearing a centaur's words. Draco followed Ginevra's pointed finger and tuned into what she was listening to.

"They are ruining our forest, Bane! You should not stand for this!" a centaur hissed.

"They are not ruining it! They have the Forest's permission!" one voice said, Ginevra recognising it as Ronan, the young centaur who supported her.

"We will consult the stars this evening to ascertain what we will do," Bane replied diplomatically, his tone crisp. "It has been that way for centuries, do not glare at me, Tate!"

There was a galloping sound, but only one centaur had left.

"I will be watching the stars for you, Ronan. You had better not betray the herd," Tate hissed.

"I can watch the stars myself," Ronan replied, leaving before Tate could do anything more.

"Is everything all right?" Yepir asked, looking at Ginevra and Draco in concern.

"Fine, sorry Professor," Ginevra said, giving her a reassuring smile.

Blaise, Neville and Seamus had listened in too, and quietly relayed what they had heard to the others as Yepir continued along the path.

"Here we are," Yepir said as they arrived at an ash tree. "Would you like a knife to ... " she started to ask Ginevra, stopping short when she saw how pale Ginevra was. "Are you feeling all right?"

Ginevra stared at the tree in front of her. Over the past years since Hogwarts had introduced Runes to the curriculum, the tree had its bark removed, and the inner wood cut out by uncaring students. The tree had taken a long time to repair itself, only to have the same misgivings repeated.

"How could they let it get like this?" Neville murmured in shock. He didn't have Runes as a subject, so this was the first time he was seeing it too.

"How many more are there?" Ginevra whispered, looking at the tree.

Ginevra, Draco, Neville, and Seamus all paled at the tree's answer.

Yepir looked between the students and the tree nervously.

"What is wrong?" she asked.

"How could you have seen this and let it go?" Ginevra asked, turning on her friends, Draco and Seamus included.

"It wasn't this bad!" Seamus protested.

"We asked the other trees before we did ours," Gregory said quickly, Vincent nodding in agreement.

"We all did, Ginevra," Millicent said.

"If we had known it was like this, we wouldn't have done it," Parvati and Padma added.

"What are you all talking about?" Yepir asked.

Draco had to hold Ginevra back so she wouldn't hurt Yepir.

"I'll show her," Seamus offered, stepping forward and taking Yepir's hand.

Seamus placed his free hand on the tree, and shut his eyes, a look of deep concentration on his face. For a moment, nothing happened. Then a horrified and painful sob broke from Yepir.

"What's he doing?" Pansy muttered to Neville.

"Showing her the tree's life, and how much pain it's in," he replied.

Tears were falling from Yepir's face, her sobs getting more pain-filled with every passing second.

"Enough now, Seamus. I can't stand to see women crying," Blaise said, putting a hand on Seamus' shoulder.

Seamus pulled away, letting go of Yepir's hand. She moved slowly, wiping the tears from her face with the back of her hand.

"You need to do the project to pass the subject," Yepir said quietly after a long time of silence. "Wood can be taken from a fallen branch or tree," she added. "Go ahead for a moment, I'll find you," Yepir said, not looking at them.

They nodded, and then continued along the path. Yepir moved to the tree, putting a hand against it and sighing heavily.

"For what it's worth, I really am sorry," she murmured, then went after her students quickly.

"We found a thick branch, Professor. Will that be enough wood to make my Runes?" Ginevra asked, indicating to the large branch that Gregory and Vincent were lifting.

"More than enough," Yepir replied with a nod.

"You didn't have to lift it manually, you know," Ginevra said with a grin. "But thank you anyway."

Pansy laughed as Gregory and Vincent reddened, realising that they had their wands on them.

"Don't inscribe the runic symbols. For now, just get the wood cut so it will be manageable," Yepir replied.

Ginevra nodded, then started to cut into the fallen branch carefully.

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"How are you going?" Yepir asked, walking over to Ginevra.

"I think I'm done," Ginevra answered, sitting back on her heels and wiping her forehead.

"Did you cut yourself?" Yepir asked, her eyes scanning Ginevra's hands and arms, and her hand subconsciously going to the wand at her belt.

"I only got myself once. It's healed now," Ginevra replied, showing the Professor her unscathed arms.

Yepir nodded briefly, then went around to the others. They'd levitated logs of their own specified wood to the area and were cutting them up too. On Yepir's request, they'd all put up odour-less spells so Ginevra wouldn't do anything. It worked fine with the smaller amount of people, but had the entire class been there then it would have been too much for the magic to handle, and Ginevra would have smelt the blood all the same.

"Your study time has finished. Bring the wood to class on Monday. Ginevra, again you will have to be absent for my class while this is going on," Yepir said, sounding apologetic.

"That's okay. Thanks Professor," Ginevra replied, grabbing her wood and leaving with her friends.

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"There you are! You took ages," Colin said as soon as they entered Ginevra's rooms.

He looked shocked when everyone rushed over and hugged him tightly.

"You had us worried," Ginevra admonished, trying not to focus on how pale he looked.

"Yeah, I worried a lot of people, apparently," Colin murmured. "Sorry," he added sheepishly.

"You better be, god or not!" Millicent said, levelling him with a glare.

Colin looked away briefly; pain in his eyes, and Luna appeared between them.

"Apollo is not residing within Colin at the moment. What he did today forced Apollo to retreat back to Mount Olympus until he is at full strength again," Luna said quietly.

"How long will that take?" Draco asked, who had enjoyed talking with the god.

This time Luna looked away briefly. She took a deep breath, then looked at them all with watery eyes.

"I do not know," she answered.

"I told you not to tell them that," Colin said, looking crestfallen.

"I know, love. But I Saw what would happen if they did not realise he was gone. It is better for everyone to not be so dependent on each other," Luna murmured, swaying slightly.

"Is she Seeing again?" Parvati asked, noticing the white look of Luna's eyes.

"She might be. We couldn't help her with her eyes," Theodore said, sounding upset.

"I told you that it did not matter. My sight will restore itself in time," Luna said with a smile.

Luna turned to Padma when she heard her gasp.

"Yes, I am blind," she replied to their silent question. "But that does not mean I will not beat you during training," Luna said, a grin on her face.

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For a good ten minutes into training, no one knew what to do. They were wary of Luna, almost afraid of hurting her, or acting as if sightlessness was contagious. Luna knew how to solve that problem and within minutes, they were retaliating against her attacks as fast as she was sending them.

"How are you sending them so fast?" Pansy muttered, erecting a barrier to stop a harsh and fast hex from Luna's wand.

"Never mind that. I want to know how she knows where we are!" Millicent grumbled, reflecting another hex.

"I have practiced with my eyes closed for some time now. You are also very noisy when you fight," Luna replied to their questions, shooting a spell at Colin.

"Do you mean to say that if we stop moving you won't know where we are?" Parvati murmured, stopping completely.

"Not necessarily," Luna replied, pointing her wand directly at Parvati's face, a barrier blocking spells from the others.

"How?" Padma asked, shocked.

"I can also See your aura's," Luna admitted.

"So we won't be able to hide from you?" Gregory asked.

"Not until you harness your powers properly," she replied, shaking her head slightly.

"Can every ... blind person see aura's?" Vincent asked hesitantly.

"I do not know. I would like to think that they could all see what I see, but it may not be."

While they had been talking, Ginevra had crept closer and closer to Luna, making her movements so quiet that not even she could hear them. She took a deep breath, trying to clear out her mind. At her movement, Luna whipped around and pointed her wand at Ginevra, a half-smile on her face.

"Close, Ginevra. Had you cleared your mind without taking a breath, I might have been fooled," she said.

"I have to go now," Draco said, hearing a clock chime seven. "Walk me out, Ginevra?"

"All right," Ginevra replied. It was odd that he was asking her, but she wouldn't complain about some quiet time with Draco. "Be back soon," Ginevra said, leaving with Draco.

Luna waited until the front door closed and Ginevra and Draco were out of earshot.

"Draco's taking Ginevra to his Initiation Hunt. She won't return this night," she murmured, sighing.

"You're tired," Colin said, taking Luna's hand.

Luna let him lead her to their room. She felt along side of the bed and sat down, then looked at Colin with another sigh.

"You can ask me," she murmured.

Colin stopped staring and nodded briefly. He realised that she wouldn't be able to see him, and swallowed the lump forming in his throat.

"You knew you were going to go blind today, didn't you?" he asked after a few moments to compose himself.

"Yes."

Neither of them noticed that the door hadn't closed all of the way, and their friends could hear every word they were saying.

"Did you know that I would lose Apollo?" Colin asked.

"You haven't lost him. He is still inside you, but he is too weak to come out as he once did," Luna said.

"Answer the question, Luna," Colin grounded out.

"Yes, I knew," she replied, her voice quiet.

"And you didn't think of telling me?" Colin said, his voice getting louder now.

"Of course, I thought of telling you!" Luna said, tears in her eyes. "I Saw every single possible way I could tell you, and none of them ended well!"

"You think this is any better?"

"Yes," Luna said softly.

"I tell you everything, Luna. You could have told me that you were going blind at least!" Colin yelled.

"I couldn't, Colin! I didn't want to lose you," Luna said, sobbing now.

"You wouldn't have lost me! Why didn't you just ask me, instead of Seeing? I wouldn't have broken up with you!"

"I know that! You would have tried to save me, and you would have been killed!" Luna yelled, falling off the edge of the bed as she started crying.

"What do you mean? I saved you today, didn't I? I'm not dead, am I?" Colin said, proving that by hitting his shoulder.

"You wouldn't have used Apollo until it was too late. You would have tried to take on my Seeing, and what you Saw would have led to your death," Luna replied, still crying on the floor.

"What would I have Seen?" Colin asked after a moment's hesitation.

"You would have Seen a possible future," Luna replied.

"Stop with the cryptic answers, for fuck's sakes, Luna! Tell me what I would have fucking Seen!" Colin yelled.

"You would have Seen one of your possible deaths ... I killed you," she said quietly.

Colin stared at Luna. She was his girlfriend, his lover, and his best friend. She would have killed him?

"Colin?" Luna called, not able to sense him.

"I'm leaving," Colin said and left her crying on the floor.

Colin pushed past his friends, glaring at them when anyone tried to say something to him.

"What do we do?" Millicent asked Pansy.

"I don't know..." Pansy murmured, wishing that Draco and Ginevra were there. "Someone go after Colin and make sure he doesn't hurt himself. Or anyone else," she added.

"We'll go," the four twins said, leaving through the front door quickly.

Luna's sobs flowed from the room, making everyone uncomfortable.

"We'll stay with Luna," Seamus said to Pansy, Neville and Blaise nodding in agreement.

"If you need anything, we'll be in the meeting room," Pansy replied.

With a sympathetic look at Luna's sobbing form, the five Slytherins made their way to the meeting room, keeping the door open and an ear out for them.

Neville, Blaise and Seamus went into Luna's room and touched her shoulder.

"Sorry, I know you do not like to see women crying. I can't seem to stop," Luna said through her sobs.

Blaise shook his head slightly, then lifted Luna easily and put her on the bed.

"You can be an idiot for someone so wise, Luna," Blaise murmured.

She laughed, tears falling freely from her sightless eyes.

"It really was for the best. This wasn't the best outcome, but the others were far worse. I didn't want to lose him again," she sobbed.

"Again?" Seamus queried.

"I keep Seeing his death. I'm always there watching and I can't stop it from happening. I See his death, and then I create my own," Luna murmured, her tears slowing.

"How often are you Seeing?" Neville asked.

"Every minute of every day. I See what will happen next, and what could happen, which ends up as hundreds of possibilities alone. I can See the answer for every question, and what would happen if someone answers the question right or wrong. I then See the possibilities of every other class member answering the question for both right and wrong. The answer to that question can affect their entire lives, from their self-esteem, to their exams, to the job they get in the future. I then See their entire future, the girlfriend they could have if they said something at this moment, the friend they could lose if they misinterpret something that way, the wife they could destroy by going through with the thoughts of the younger witch that just walked by, the children that have no respect for them if they have that one drink too many, the job they could lose by answering one question in a particular tone, the lives they affect every day just by being alive ... So many possibilities, so many choices. How will anyone ever know if they chose the right one?" Luna murmured.

"It's not for us to know. Our future is there for us to look back on the things we did choose, and not have any regrets," Neville said quietly.

As they continued talking through the night, the three lovers combined their magic to create a vine hammock. They infused all of their love and support-filled feelings into it, and as Luna began to sleep, the three of them lifted her onto it. The plant cocooned her slightly, but not enough to feel restricting in any way.

"I thought you would make it," she murmured as sleep finally took her.

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Ginevra followed Draco past the Hogwarts entrance. The spells around Ginevra's rooms ensured that they didn't hear what was happening between their friends this very moment. By the time Colin left the rooms, Ginevra and Draco would be gone.

"Where are we going?"

"Albus said to meet him in the Forest," Draco replied, taking Ginevra's hand and continuing along the forest's edge.

Ginevra frowned, but went with Draco nonetheless. Smirking to herself, she started to caress his arm with her free hand, watching him out of the corner of her eye to see his reaction. After a few minutes, she pouted in defeat.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked with a slight frown.

"You didn't do anything," Ginevra said, sighing in annoyance.

"About what?" Draco asked, confused.

"You can't feel that, can you?" Ginevra asked, touching his arm again.

Draco shook his head, getting confused again when she muttered about the disadvantages of magical clothing. They went into a clearing. Albus wasn't there yet.

"Are we early?" Ginevra asked suddenly, a smirk on her face.

"Only by about ten minutes," Draco replied, wary of what she was going to do.

"Good," she said, then kissed him eagerly. "You can't feel that, can you?" she asked, smirking again.

"Yes I can," Draco said, going in for another kiss.

Ginevra stopped him with her hand, the smirk still there.

"Not that. Look at where my other hand is," she said.

Draco followed her arm downwards and stared at where her hand was pressing against him. Peals of laughter burst from Ginevra when Draco's mouth fell open.

"That's not fair. I can't feel it," Draco growled, kissing her hungrily and pushing Ginevra against a tree.

The bark digged into her back, scratching and pulling at her robes. Ginevra found that she didn't care, couldn't care when Draco was doing that to her mouth.

A polite cough made them pull apart, their faces flushed.

"My apologies for interrupting, but you need to leave early if you are to meet Lord Garion first," Albus said.

"Very well," Draco said, sighing.

"Ginevra, I trust that you have preserved your energy for tonight?" Albus asked her with a smile.

"What do I need it for?" Ginevra asked with a frown.

"You have been invited to come with me tonight," Draco said, grinning at her.

"What? Why didn't you tell me sooner? I might have had plans!" Ginevra said, glaring.

"I didn't tell you sooner because it was a surprise. You didn't have any plans, and if you had, I would have organised you to do them tomorrow night," Draco said with a smirk.

"You will have to decide if you will go, Miss Weasley," Albus said gently, looking at his pocket watch.

"Of course I'm going!" Ginevra replied indignantly. "I just would have liked to be informed. I mean, don't you have some sort of required dress?" she asked Draco.

"Lord Garion has the appropriate attire for you," Draco replied.

"You should go now, Mr. Malfoy," Albus said, a stern edge to his voice. "It will take two hours for you to get there."

Draco nodded.

"Good luck, Mr. Malfoy. Remember your manners, Miss Weasley," Albus said briefly, then left with a secretive smile.

"Wish you'd told me, Draco," Ginevra muttered. "My apologies, carus. Ready?" (Dear, or beloved.) "Ready," she replied with a nod. Draco looked at Ginevra and with a smirk, he began to change. He changed into a dragon and blew a small puff of fire at her before flying up into the sky. Ginevra shook her head at him, then changed into a winged horse and flew to join him. Draco gazed at her then flapped his wings once before flying over the treetops. Ginevra followed, keeping up with him easily despite their difference in size. As Draco started to descend, Ginevra frowned in a very unlike-horse way. They hadn't been flying for that long, no more than thirty minutes. Hadn't Albus said it would take two hours? Draco landed and changed back into his human form. Ginevra went down to the ground and followed in suit. "Why are we here? Where is here?" Ginevra asked, looking around. "You don't recognise where we are?" Draco asked with a smirk. Ginevra frowned, but followed him along a path. When she saw where they were headed, she stopped short. A cottage was before them; one she had Seen before. "Lord Garion," she murmured, shaking her head. Draco just smirked again, and knocked on the wooden door. The door opened but no one was there. Far from being spooked, Ginevra knew that it was controlled by magic and followed Draco inside. "My Lord. I have brought her," Draco announced, blocking Ginevra's view with his body. "Very good, Draconius. Please enter," a voice replied. Draco moved into the room, and Ginevra followed him inside. Sitting on a throne-like chair was Lord Garion, as handsome as he had been in her vision. His long blonde hair flowed past his knees despite his intricate braids. His blue-silver eyes were enticing and his pale skin seemed to shine in the warm firelight. His clothing shimmered white, despite the red light of the fireplace. "Hello, Ginevra. Do you know who I am?" the man asked, smiling at her. Ginevra bowed to the man before answering. "I do know who you are, Lord Garion. I did not expect to meet you, and I apologise sincerely for my manner of dress," Ginevra replied. Garion laughed softly and looked at Draco, then at Ginevra again. "Very good... Very, very good. You bow and show respect, even though I am the leader of your enemy?" "Of course, my Lord Garion. I would not allow myself to be disrespectful towards you. I am your guest, which could turn hostile if I do not give the proper courtesies towards you. Besides, you are my lover's mentor. I would not insult one who means so much to the one I love," Ginevra replied. Garion nodded his head in agreement. "Excellent, Ginevra. Now, would you oblige me by answering some questions I have for you?" Garion asked. "Of course, my Lord Garion," Ginevra answered. "I thank you. Draconius, seat your lady, then leave us," Garion instructed. Draco bowed and led Ginevra to a seat. He held her hand as she sat down, then kissed it. With another bow he left the room, closing the door behind him. "Now, Ginevra, if you will allow me to do one single spell to see if you under any enchantments before I begin my questioning?" Garion asked. "I allow you to perform the spell," Ginevra replied. "Promptu," Garion said holding his palm towards Ginevra's face. A white mist flowed around her for a moment, then flew back to his hand. (To make clear or reveal.) "May I ask what the result was?" Ginevra asked. Garion nodded. "You have not been put under any enchantments. The spell I just used also allows me to discover whether Draconius has put you under a Veelan spell, as well as to find out if you have been spelled to comply with another's wishes," Garion said. Ginevra smiled briefly. "You think this to be amusing, Ginevra?" Garion questioned. "Slightly, my Lord. Nothing about you, of course. I am immune to Veelan charms, so it would be unnecessary for Draconius to attempt to seduce me in that particular way," Ginevra replied. Garion looked at her for a moment. "May I see if this is true for myself?" Garion asked, sounding curious. "Yes, I allow you to see if I am indeed immune to Veelan charms," she said, remembering the correct phrasing from her vision. "Thank you. If you will please, look into my eyes," Garion said. Ginevra looked into the Veelan Lord's eyes and watched as a glint travelled across gaze. She felt nothing happen, as usual. "Stand up," Garion commanded. "I hope you will not be offended, but I would prefer to sit," Ginevra replied. "Very well. Thank you for letting me see for myself. Now, I will begin my questioning," Garion said. "You have Seen this entire conversation before, have you not?" Garion asked her. Ginevra was surprised. She had been expecting the question he had asked in her vision. Quickly composing herself, Ginevra answered truthfully. "Yes, I have, Lord Garion," Ginevra said.

"Good. I understand that you are not yet part of the Elder Council. This event is occurring a few months before schedule. I will not delay our journey by going through all of the tedious questions again. You have Seen it, and your questions have already been answered, as have mine. I suggest that we continue on to Draconius' Initiation Hunt," Garion said with a smile.

"Gladly. Thank you, Lord Garion," Ginevra said.

She stood and offered a hand to Lord Garion. He took it, and stood up too, calling Draco into the room.

"We have agreed to continue on with the journey without questioning. She knew all of the answers word for word, so I have no doubt that she is who she is supposed to be. Shall we continue?" Garion asked Draco, smiling at him.

"With your permission, my Lord Garion," Draco replied with a bow.

"Very well. Ginevra, I would suggest that you change into the appropriate attire here. It would not do for you to arrive and hold up the Hunt while you change," Garion said. He moved his wrist slightly and a small white bird appeared. "Follow it to a room, and it will lead you back here when you have finished changing," Garion instructed.

"Thank you. By your leave, Lord Garion," Ginevra replied with a bow, then followed the extremely fast bird through a series of corridors.

Draco turned to look at Lord Garion, who was still watching after Ginevra, despite that she was no longer in eyesight.

"Where is Lady Julianne?" Draco queried.

"Testing your own," Garion replied briefly.

8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8

Ginevra thanked the bird, then went into the room. She stopped short on seeing a Veela in the room. The Veela looked young, but her eyes showed that she had been in the world longer than the sixteen years her face portrayed.

"My apologies. I did not know that this room was being used," Ginevra said, wondering if she'd been sent to the wrong room.

"Everything is fine. I am simply here to help you bathe and dress," the Veela replied with a smile.

"Oh... Thank you," Ginevra said, sounding uncertain even to her own ears.

"Is there a problem, ma'am?" the Veela asked.

Ginevra couldn't judge the age of the lady, but knew that the Veela shouldn't be calling her 'ma'am'.

"My name is Ginevra, and there is no problem, I am just used to cleaning and dressing myself," Ginevra replied with an apologetic smile.

"Of course, Ginevra," the Veela said, curtsying slightly. "Your bath is this way," the Veela said, leading her into an adjoining room.

A screen was set up in the corner of the room, the 'bath' in the middle of the room. It was certainly the largest bath Ginevra had ever seen before. It was closer to a spa than a bath. Steam rose from the water, inviting Ginevra to get in.

"Sorry, but what is your name?" Ginevra asked the Veela, going behind the screen to change.

"My name is Jules," she replied.

"It is nice to meet you, Jules," Ginevra said, smiling at her as she came from behind the screen, a white towel around her body.

Jules was kind enough to turn around when Ginevra went to take off her towel, sensing how uncomfortable she was. Only when Ginevra was fully submerged did Jules turn around again.

"Have you eaten today?" Jules asked, placing her hands on Ginevra's forehead.

"Not a lot, unfortunately," Ginevra said, wondering why Jules had her hands on her forehead, but too polite to question her.

"Why have you not eaten?"

"Dinner started an hour after we left, and I did not feel up to eating my lunch due to my friends being in the hospital wing. I missed out on breakfast because I had to help Draco this morning. Most of the school were trying to get their hands on him," Ginevra added, unable to stop the growl in the back of her throat.

"You do not like other people touching Draconius? You are not proud that his looks draw attention from people?"

"Looks fade," Ginevra said simply, then tried to think of a way to say her next words without offending the Veela. "I would not be proud if he looked at someone who was drawn to him for only his looks and money."

"And you were not?" Jules asked, her tone almost accusing.

"Definitely not for his money," Ginevra said with a light laugh.

"What of his looks?" Jules asked, the smile on her face evident in her voice.

"They were a bonus, I suppose," Ginevra said.

She briefly wondered why she was telling Jules all of this when no one else knew it, then relaxed again as Jules placed her hands on her forehead again.

"Why did you date Draconius then?" Jules asked curiously.

"I dated him because of what I'd Seen of him. He always treated me with respect, and the look in his eyes ... " Ginevra said, trailing off.

"What did you see in his eyes?"

"Love," Ginevra replied.

Jules was surprised. They had taught him better than that.

"Would you like me to show you?" Ginevra offered, noticing how still Jules was.

"If you would not be uncomfortable about it," Jules said.

"I will be fine. You remind me of someone, but I can not think who," Ginevra said, frowning.

"What do I need to do?" Jules asked.

"Hold onto my hands, and I will show you what I Saw," she replied, offering her hands.

Jules took them, and Ginevra said a spell silently.

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Draco watched her from the balcony. Ginevra was working in the garden, tending to the plants carefully. Her skin was bathed in the moonlight, and he'd always loved how ethereal she looked under the full moon.

Especially when he was inside of her, holding her arms above her body and working on her rounded breasts with his tongue. He loved how she purred and moaned his name when he did that to her. Ginevra's screams of ecstasy only encouraged him further... He groaned at the thought, the noise attracting Ginevra's attention from in the garden.

"You're staring again, carus," Ginevra said, smiling up at him. (Dear, or beloved.)

"I do not stare," Draco protested. "I gaze at with lust," he said, smirking.

"Lust, already? I only just managed two hours sleep," Ginevra replied, sitting back on her heels and looking at him from the garden bed, her eyebrow raised.

"And what is your point? You've woken me up after ten minutes," Draco replied, smirking again.

"That was on our honeymoon. It's allowed," Ginevra countered, grinning now.

"You coming upstairs or not?" Draco growled.

"Of course. Don't want you to pout, do I?" Ginevra said.

She stood and jumped up to the balcony with ease. Standing on the railing, Ginevra looked at Draco with a smile.

"Are you going to help me inside, or not?"

"Who said we were going inside?" Draco growled, pulling her down to him.

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Ginevra stopped the vision before it became any more detailed.

"I see," Jules murmured.

She took her hands away from Ginevra's, then closed her eyes and murmured a spell of her own.

In less than five seconds, Ginevra was completely clean, from her hair to her toes.

"I will return with your necessary clothing. You may dry yourself with the towel," Jules said, leaving the room quickly.

Ginevra took her time; the water was very warm, and it probably hadn't been the best idea to See something that sensual when she was going to be near Draco for the rest of the night without being able to do anything about it. Tonight was going to be torture on her senses, she could already tell that.

"Your clothes, Ginevra," Jules said with a smile, offering the white bundle to her.

"Thank you, Jules," Ginevra replied, then went behind the screen to change.

"Is everything all right, Ginevra?" Jules asked. The clothing did not take this long to get into, and Garion was starting to get impatient.

"I apologise. I am not sure if I have this on correctly," Ginevra said, coming out from behind the screen.

The clothing was all made from silk. It was comprised of a white skirt and shirt, both items torn, layered and very short so the person wearing it seemed to be wearing nothing more than a cloud.

"You have it on correctly. We must hurry if Draco is to arrive on time," Jules murmured, ushering Ginevra out of the room quickly.

Ginevra followed Jules along the corridors, feeling uncomfortable in the clothes. It was far too short, considering what she was used to. She felt very exposed and vulnerable, and didn't like those feelings at all. Jules was wearing a longer version of the clothing, why must she wear this?

She hesitated a moment before following Jules into the room. What would Draco say about what she was wearing?

Taking a deep breath, Ginevra entered the room.

Draco stared as Ginevra walked in. He had seen Veela's wearing less than what she was, but nothing came close to what Ginevra looked like. He barely remembered to breathe.

"Carus, vos vultus decorus," he murmured, taking her hand. (Beloved, you look beautiful)

"Gratias ago vos," Ginevra replied quietly, her cheeks going red. (Thank you)

"Ginevra, I would like you to meet my own, Julianne," Garion introduced. "Jules, you know Ginevra," he added, smirking.

Jules smiled at Ginevra, offering her hand to her. Ginevra was only slightly surprised.

"Nice to meet you, Lady Julianne," Ginevra said, grinning as she shook Julianne's hand.

"Call me Jules. Are you ready now, Garion?" she asked, turning to her husband.

"I have been waiting for you!"

"You always say that," Jules said, laughing as she Apparated away.

"You are always late," Garion muttered, then turned to Draco and Ginevra. "Draconius, you know where to go."

Draco nodded in return, then bowed and watched as Lord Garion Apparated too.

"Are you all right, Ginevra?" Draco asked her with a slight frown.

"I'm not very comfortable in this, that's all," she replied.

"Don't worry, the others will be wearing less. What you have is quite modest, by Veela standards, that is," Draco added with a grin. "Ready?" he asked.

Ginevra nodded briefly, holding onto Draco's hand tightly as he Apparated her away.

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They arrived in a large clearing in the middle of a forest. The second they arrived, Draco was pulled away by Garion, leaving Ginevra alone. She felt lost, and looked after Draco for a moment, then she noticed that there were hundreds of Veela's and Veelan's in the clearing. They were talking to each other, all of them in their human form, and all of them wearing the same clothing that she and Draco were wearing. Most of the Veela's were wearing even less than she was, making Ginevra a little more comfortable.

"I haven't seen you around here before, love," a voice purred behind her.

"Lolita, she is immune. Leave her be," Jules said sternly.

"Immune? She is not one of us," Lolita replied, sounding confused and angry at the same time.

"She is Ginevra, Draconius' own," Jules replied cryptically.

Ginevra frowned when Lolita hissed; in awe or dislike, she wasn't sure.

"You had better stay with me tonight, Ginevra. They can smell that you are not one of us, even despite the soap," Jules murmured, but smiled at her reassuringly. "Garion is starting, look."

Ginevra looked to where Jules was indicating, and listened as Garion began to speak.

"Tonight begins the Initiation hunt of the ninth moon. The fledglings shall become Full Blooded, and we shall fly as one into the night!" Garion said, roars and applause bursting from the crowd. "Fledglings, up front!" he commanded.

As one, three Veelan's stepped forward, Draco included. They took off their shirts, and Garion nodded to the first fledgling.

"Begin."

"I, Pluma, of the Torleni clan, choose to spread my wings and fly this night," he said, then stepped forward, went down on one knee, and stayed perfectly still as Garion painted a white intricate pattern on the left side of his face.

"Stand, Pluma, and spread your wings," Garion said.

Pluma stood, then stepped past Garion and concentrated for a moment. He cried out as pure white wings exploded from his back, a few white feathers falling to the ground.

"Is Lord Garion's last name Torleni?" Ginevra asked Jules quietly.

"Only through marriage," Jules replied. "When Veelan's take a Veela as a mate, they take the woman's last name," she explained.

"Do you know Xavier Torleni?" Ginevra whispered.

"Of course. He is my brother," Julianne said.

Ginevra would have stared, had Garion not instructed the next Veelan to begin.

"I, Ravi, of the Torleni clan, choose to spread my wings and fly this night," Ravi said, then repeated the actions of Pluma, not moving at all as Garion painted the pattern on one side of his face.

"Stand, Ravi, and spread your wings," Garion said.

Ravi stood, stepped past Garion, and clenched his jaw tightly as his wings erupted from his back.

"The patterns are different for every Veelan," Julianne explained quietly. "They not only identify them as a Veelan of the Torleni clan, but also reveal their true nature to everyone."

"Why is it only on one side of their faces?" Ginevra asked.

"The other half is painted once they have flown with the rest of the flock," Jules replied. "Draconius is up now."

"I, Draconius, of the Torleni clan, choose to spread my wings and fly this night," Draco said clearly.

He stepped forward, went down on one knee and waited patiently with a blank face as Garion painted the left side of his face with magic.

"Stand, Draconius, and spread your wings," Garion instructed.

Draco stood up steadily, and stepped past Garion. He steadied himself for the pain, knowing that it would hurt. He cried out briefly as the skin on his shoulder blades split, feathers pushing out of his body. Bone and feather grew from his skeletal structure, joining to him like nothing before. He felt whole, as if he'd regained a lost limb. He gave his wings a light shake, feathers floating to the forest floor.

"Veelans, step forward and spread your wings!" Garion called, the excitement of the night in his voice.

As one, all of the Full Blooded Veelans stepped forward and pushed their wings out of their backs with ease. As they did, Ginevra noticed that their human faces changed to the patterned ones the fledglings were getting a taste for. Lastly, Garion revealed his wings, and they all flew a few centimetres off the ground. They started talking with the three fledglings, instructing them how to fly properly, how to use the wind's currents, how to feel every single feather in their wings, and realise that every one had their own purpose.

"Come, Ginevra. We are going on our own hunt," Jules said.

"We're not going with them?" Ginevra asked nervously.

"Not tonight. Fledglings need to feel free this night, and not be nervous about what we are twittering about when they do not fly straight," Jules said with a grin. "Our Initiations are different. Veela's don't have wings, you see. So we can not fly about the forest. We run to hunt, faster than any speed they could ever get to," she added, smirking when Garion looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"You know that is not true, Jules. We can reach speeds of over one-hundred-and-fifty kilometres per hour, and you can only do one-hundred-and-thirty," Garion said.

"You believe what you want, Garion. Are you going on your hunt, or not?" Jules asked with a smirk.

"This is what I get when I came over to say goodbye?" Garion asked, a teasing smile on his face.

Jules laughed, kissed her husband and hugged him, laughing once more as he lifted her into the air with one beat of his powerful wings.

"Look after them, or the mothers will come after you with more than wands," she said as he lowered her to the ground.

"Girlfriends too," Ginevra muttered, making Jules laugh again.

"Indeed. I always look out for them, Jules. Enjoy your hunt. I will see you afterwards," Garion said.

Jules wasn't offended in the least at the suggestive tone he was using, even though they were in front of Ginevra.

"I look forward to it," she replied. "Now leave so you can come back sooner."

"Gladly, love," Garion said, then flew over to the waiting Veelan's.

"Follow me, Ginevra," Jules said, leading her over to the Veela's. "Ladies, it is time for a hunt of our own. Lolita, help Ginevra along if she can not keep up," Jules instructed.

"Yes, my Lady," Lolita said happily.

Hadn't Jules said that Ginevra was to stay by her side? Ginevra thought, confused.

Julianne smiled at the confused look on Ginevra's face, then stepped back.

"Do not worry. I will explain in a moment," Julianne said.

Julianne's shoulder-length hair changed from its silver-blonde colouring to a dark brown colour. She grew taller, and her clothing changed from the short shirt and skirt to a flowing white chiton. A small pair of wings pushed from her shoulders, and a bow and quiver materialised in her hands.

"Lady Artemis. A pleasure to see you during our Hunt," Lolita said, curtsying low to the goddess.

"It is a pleasure of my own," Artemis / Julianne replied. "To my right, leopard," she said.

Lolita nodded and went to the right side of Artemis, looking proud.

"My lion has returned," Artemis said lovingly, looking at Ginevra. "To my left, lion," she instructed.

Ginevra moved to the left of Artemis. To say that Ginevra was still confused was an understatement.

Her friends were turning into gods, her ancestors were immortal, and now she was not only related to a goddess, but also a lion for said goddess! Nothing made sense!

"Everything is connected. That is what Initiation Hunt teaches the fledglings. You will understand everything at the end of the night," Artemis said, reassuring Ginevra.

"Fly to the right, fledglings. Link your mind with ours. You need to become one with the rest of the flock, or else we will not be able to hunt properly," Garion instructed.

Flying to the right, Draco kept his wings in tight and opened his mind to the other Veelan's in the flock. Memories, images, thoughts and information all pushed into his mind. As the Veelan's opened their minds to each other, the thoughts became more focused and direct.

Move wings inward, go faster. He tried it and shot forward. Tilt left wing higher than the right, bank right sharply.

The flock moved as one through the night air, banking right and shooting forward as they all adjusted their wings and arms accordingly.

Turn right at the tree two wing-spans in front, curve around the large tree on the right, look out for the low branch, beat right wing faster for left bank. Shoot forward, slow by spreading wings forward and tilting feathers vertically. Hover with down movements of primary feathers. Not those feathers, these ... Good. Keep wings beating. Look out for thermals; they are good for soaring.

More and more pieces of vital information came from all of the Ancients, even as they directed the flock to their prey. Their hearts beat in time with each other, and they all felt the same feeling of completeness. The flock burst from the treetops, and then dived sharply back into the forest, arms outstretched to capture their prey.

When they had all caught something, from rodents to snakes, Garion stopped them from doing anything else.

"Let the animals go," he instructed.

The Veelan's did as he said, panting heavily at the night's exertion.

"Why did we let the animals go, Pluma?" Garion asked.

"So we do not deplete the food supply for other birds," Pluma replied.

"Good. How do you bank left, Ravi?"

"Either beat your right wing faster, or tilt your right wing higher than your left," Ravi answered.

"Correct. What is the highest speed a Veelan can go to, Draconius?"

"One-hundred-and-fifty kilometres per hour," Draco replied.

"Correct. Your patterns will be finished later on tonight. For now, let us fly," Garion said.

The Veelan's flew up into the air, then continued to fly and teach the fledglings the art of flying.

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Artemis ran along the path, her leopard and her lion on either side of her. They were both keeping up very well, and she was proud of them. The other Veela's were also keeping up, staying a respective distance behind her.

As they continued to run - reaching speeds well over the Veelan's boastful one-hundred-and-fifty, she might add - a herd of deer appeared from the surrounding trees, running elegantly beside them.

"Bows!" Artemis called, slowing her pace abruptly.

All of the Veela's slowed and bows appeared with a gentle flick of the wrist. Quivers materialised on their backs, wings etched into the fine leather. In seconds, the bows were strung, and arrows were pulled back, ready to fire.

"Lion, leopard. Change," Artemis said.

Lolita nodded and in seconds, a leopard stood in her place, black dots shining on golden fur. Ginevra took a few moments longer, but was soon shaking her mane and standing beside Artemis on four paws, ready to fight or defend.

"Keep your bows steady," Artemis instructed, her voice quiet.

They waited for instructions, tense. Artemis was patient, watching the trees in front of her intently.

"When I say, shoot at the trees. Not between, is that understood?" Artemis asked.

Confident in their affirmative reply, she held the leopard and lion back, gently resting her hands on their necks.

"Ready," Artemis said. The Veela's had not moved from their positions once. Excellent. "Shoot!" she commanded.

As the barrage of arrows shot onto the trees, the Veelan's flew in between them, nimbly avoiding the arrows. Artemis whistled, making the arrows return to their owners slowly, leaving the trees unharmed.

"Congratulations, you are now Full Blooded Veelans!" Garion said to the former fledglings.

"You may return now, Lolita and Ginevra," Artemis said kindly, smiling at them.

Ginevra returned to her human form in time to see Garion painting the rest of the pattern on Draco's face. All of the Veelan's looked immensely happy and fulfilled with their hunt. Their mates soon found out how happy they really were, and they started to go off in groups of two.

"You need not worry about my brother, Ginevra. Apollo is strong, and he will survive what happened today. My brother is usually foolish when it comes to love, so I am happy that he has found someone he can truly love," Artemis murmured. "He will return in a short time. He just needs to recover," she added with a reassuring smile.

"My Lady Artemis," Draco said with a bow. "May I take Ginevra off your hands?" he asked politely, his face flushed with excitement.

"Of course, Draconius. Enjoy the rest of your night, Ginevra," Artemis said with a knowing smile.

Julianne returned, then went over to Garion, both of them grinning broadly. They Disapparated within seconds of taking each other's hands.

"Did you have a good time?" Draco asked Ginevra.

"Yes. What about you?" she asked, grinning. She could already see the answer in his flushed face and excited eyes.

"It was excellent. I've never felt so whole or complete," Draco breathed.

"Wait 'til you get with your girl! Always better after a Hunt, eh lad?" a Veelan called, laughing heartily as he led his wife away.

"Your mother was a sparrow!" Draco called after him, trying not to let his cheeks go red.

"Draco?" Ginevra said, gaining his attention once more. "Can you carry me while you fly?"

She didn't want to focus on how shy she sounded. He just looked so brilliant with his face and wings, and added to the fact that he hadn't stopped staring at her; it was all making her unbelievably nervous.

A few of the other Veelan's had told Draco what to expect when he came back to the others - his own included.

They love flying as much as we do, and will always reward you for a flight ... Mostly. Just remember to hold onto her. She will not be pleased if she falls, especially if you do not catch her! Then all you get is a hand print on your face.

Draco smirked at Ginevra, then flew down to her and lifted her easily.

"How high do you want to go?" he murmured in her ear.

"As high as you can," Ginevra replied eagerly, watching as the ground got further away and the trees became nothing more than shadows in the moonlight.

Draco glided in the air, holding Ginevra against him tightly.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

Ginevra nodded, kissing him hungrily. Draco fell a few metres, then remembered his wings and rose into the air again.

"Hold on a minute, carus," he murmured as Ginevra started to kiss his neck. (Dear, or beloved.)

Draco dived into a clearing in the forest, stopping and landing on his feet lightly. Before Ginevra had time to adjust to ground beneath her feet again, Draco's arms were around her, his lips were on hers and he was effectively changing her brain into liquid.

She pulled the clothes off him quickly, caressing his wings cautiously. He shivered at her touch, his wings wrapping around her, moving Ginevra even closer to him.

"Remember what you were doing before?" Draco murmured against her neck. "I can feel it now," he said.

Ginevra blushed as she remembered what she'd done so boldly.

Draco removed her shirt and skirt, his mouth taking possession of one of her breasts eagerly. Leaning Ginevra against his wings, he let his hands roam over her body. He could feel her trembling in pleasure against his feathers, and moved his wings slightly so Ginevra was pressed flush against him.

She couldn't think straight. She could hear his blood pumping faster, could feel his teeth scraping against her nipple gently, his hands were everywhere, and his wings ... oh, his wings. The feathers pressed against her already-sensitive skin and made her want to whimper in pleasure. She wanted to Drink from him, have him inside of her, kiss him, make him go over the edge.

Crying out Draco's name as he eased into her roughly, Ginevra moved his head to the side and bit into his neck hungrily. Sweet blood filled her mouth and she Drank eagerly, wanting more.

"Share," Draco growled in her ear, kneading her breasts with his free hands.

Ginevra drew a nail along her wrist, offering the blood to him. Draco Drank from her slowly, relishing the taste in his mouth. Sweet and heady. Perfect.

Ginevra pulled him down to the forest floor. It was soft enough. Cocooning them with his wings, Draco pushed deeper into Ginevra, his movements getting faster and erratic as she wrapped her legs around him, calling his name. Only once Ginevra orgasmed did Draco let go and spill into her, kissing her softly as the wave of emotions began to wear off.

"Love you," he murmured, already falling asleep.

"Love you too," Ginevra replied softly, watching as his eyes closed and he slept, his arms still wrapped around her.

Ginevra stayed awake for a long time, thinking over what Jules had said earlier: everything is connected.

Luna was Cassandra, Apollo was Colin, Artemis was Julianne, who was not only married to Draco's tutor, but who also happened to be Xavier's sister. Xavier was married to Agnes, both of them ancestors of Ginevra's. Everything was connected!

As she continued to think on it, Ginevra came to a stunning realisation. It was definitely still confusing, but she could see that all of their lives, and the lives of everyone in the world, were connected in some way. Whether the connection was small or large, it was always significant and affected the rest of the world, even if people didn't individually realise it.

With that thought in mind, Ginevra smiled and curled up into Draco's embrace, sleeping contently.

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(a/n: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reading!)