Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, don't hurt me. Please don't let JKR sue me.
(a/n: Thanks to everyone who reviewed.
Good luck to everyone who's starting school / university / college, etc. this year!
Be careful to look at the dates on this one!
Read on, oh faithful ones!)
Chapter Nineteen
Early morning. Friday, Nov. 15th
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"Come on, love. You know you want this. I can taste your desire. You lust for me," Ric's voice in her ear was silky and charming; everything he wasn't.
"Only because you want me to," Ginevra growled back at him, glaring angrily.
"Yes, keep fighting it. Deny it all you want, fight me. It still doesn't change the fact that you want to fuck me," Ric sneered.
He smirked at her, kissing her roughly, and pressing his body up against hers.
She felt sickened, even as her own lust and desire rushed through her blood, warming her body. Her insides went cold and Ginevra screamed as soon as he pulled away from her.
Ric's cruel laughter echoed in her mind.
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"Ginevra," Draco said, shaking her slightly. "Wake up, love," he murmured, stroking her hair.
Ginevra sat up quickly. Her eyes were wide, her skin was pale and sweaty, and her breath was coming in short gasps as she tried to shake Ric's laughter from her mind.
"Are you all right?" he asked quietly.
"No," Ginevra murmured, shaking her head
She curled into his chest, listening to his heart beat, and wishing that she wasn't under this spell.
Draco held her, his eyes clenching as anger filled him, as it had for the past two weeks every morning when Ginevra woke up briefly.
He looked at Ginevra, who he saw was asleep again. She was still under Ric's spell, and couldn't stay awake longer than a few minutes. She had enough time to eat some soup, and perhaps drink some water before she was pulled to sleep again. All of it was just enough to keep her alive, like Ric was trying to kill her slowly.
Sighing, Draco ran a hand through his hair. He desperately wanted to find Ric. Perhaps tearing his throat out would be too kind a thing to do. Maybe it would be better if he just bled the sick bastard to death. Anger curled in his body, and Draco forced himself to slowly relax again.
"Are you all right?" Padma asked quietly, looking at him quietly from the mattress at the end of Ginevra's bed.
The Patil twins had moved into Ginevra's room without giving a reason, but they seemed to relax Ginevra, so Draco didn't argue against them being there. That didn't stop him from asking questions though. As of yet, Luna still hadn't answered his questions, and neither had the twins, but it was obvious that they were helping in some way at least.
Every time they left the room, Ginevra's nightmares became worse and she started moaning Ric's name again, and when they returned, the nightmares weren't as bad, as she didn't moan in her sleep.
"I'm fine," Draco muttered.
"Are you sure?" Padma asked.
He jumped slightly when he realised that she was suddenly beside him, and no longer on the mattress. He hadn't even seen her move!
"Not now that you've scared me like that! How on earth did you do that?" Draco asked.
"Magic," Padma replied, ironic laughter in her eyes. "She'll be okay, you know. Time heals all wounds, even ones in the mind. Those wounds just take a little longer to be healed in a way that is seen by everyone else," she murmured, her eyes serious once more.
Draco nodded briefly, looking at Ginevra once more. She was still curled into a ball and clinging to his chest. In the pale moonlight, he could see tears making tracks on her cheeks, and he had to force his anger back again.
"I just wish I knew how to help her," Draco murmured, wondering why he was confessing this to Padma.
"Just be there for her," Padma replied. "You should get some sleep now," she added, resting a hand on his shoulder.
Draco shook his head, but his eyes felt so heavy, and he was tired afterall. He was asleep in seconds.
Padma sighed, rubbing her face. It seemed that the bags under her eyes were becoming darker and deeper with each passing hour. She was tired, but she had a job to do. Padma cast a Glamour on her eyes and went back to the mattress where Parvati was sitting, looking concerned.
Parvati sat up, watching her twin as she tried to hide the fact that she was completely exhausted. Padma was doing so much, and no one knew about it. Padma was the only one who could help Ginevra, and Parvati was the only one who could help Padma.
"You need to sleep as well, sister," Parvati murmured, going to rest a hand on Padma's shoulder.
"I'm fine, Parv," she snapped, hitting her hand away. Sighing, she looked at Parvati apologetically. "I am sorry; I didn't mean to snap at you like that. Perhaps a few hours sleep would be beneficial," Padma murmured.
Her eyes closed as her head rested on the pillow, and Padma was asleep within a minute.
Parvati sighed softly, and removed the Glamours from Padma's face. As she removed each one, layers of healthy skin and bright eyes disappeared to reveal unkempt skin and hair, as well as large dark and deep bags under her eyes. Shaking her head, Parvati rested both of her hands on Padma's shoulders, closing her eyes.
Parvati concentrated, a slight crease on her brow the only evidence, and took long deep breaths. With each breath she took, Padma began to change. Her exhaustion slipped away, the creases on her face after two weeks of nightmares smoothed, and it continued until she looked healthy again.
The changes transferred onto Parvati, and she hunched as nightmares filled her, racking her body. Bags appeared under her eyes, looking black as they added to her own tiredness.
"You can transfer the emotions, you know," Luna said from the doorway, her voice soft.
Parvati took her hands away from her twin and looked to the door. Luna was standing there, Colin by her side.
"I can't," Parvati replied, shaking her head.
"I can take it, and Apollo can change it," Colin said.
"No, I mean I really can't. I'm not able to do it with anyone else," she answered quietly, looking down. "I'll just sleep it off," she said, giving them a smile.
Colin looked like he wanted to argue, but Luna touched his hand, and he gave a nod. They left quietly, and Parvati laid back on the mattress, crying herself to sleep.
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Draco woke up, feeling refreshed. He frowned, as it was odd for him to feel like that after only a few hours sleep. He looked to Parvati and Padma on the mattress, and saw how exhausted Parvati looked. Padma looked tired too, but she had the same refreshed look to her face that he felt.
He would let them sleep for now, then he would get answers, willingly or not.
Draco looked at Ginevra, who was still curled into his chest, gripping his shirt tightly. Tears seemed to stain her cheeks. They hadn't left her face since she'd gone to sleep two weeks ago after the All Hallow's Eve party.
He sighed, and put an arm around her lightly.
There was a knock at the door, and he looked to see Fred and George standing there. Their hair was short and standing up in every direction, and George had a scar on his cheek to join the other two on his face. Their eyes seemed to be steadily dimming with every passing day that Ginevra was under Ric's influence. Unable to handle their sister the way she was, always crying and having nightmares, Fred and George had started searching for Ric less than two days after Ginevra had fallen asleep.
"Anything?" Draco asked.
Fred shook his head briefly.
"Agnes has been helping, but even her resources are limited. Julianne was able to help with Artemis, but we still can't find out exactly where he is," Fred said, sounding angry.
"Artemis is pissed, by the way," George said, sounding slightly happy. "Ric's got more than fifty spells going in order to keep himself hidden, as well as cloaking devices," he added.
"I thought Cassandra said that as long as Ginevra was sleeping, so was Ric?" Draco muttered.
"We know, that's why it's so frustrating. He manages to keep moving, despite being asleep. I didn't think sleep walking could last this long," Fred said, rubbing his temples.
"Did my ears just hear a joke, brother?" George asked, somewhere between surprised and amused.
"I know. Shocking, wasn't it?" Fred replied, grinning.
"Absolutely. You shame me," George said, laughing softly.
"Sorry to interrupt, but we're going to class now, okay?" Pansy said, looking at Draco.
"We'll bring notes back for you," Millicent added.
"Thanks," Draco said with a nod.
"We should get going too. Tell our girls we stopped by," Fred and George said, looking to Padma and Parvati longingly.
"I will," he replied.
In a few minutes, Draco was left alone with Ginevra, Parvati, and Padma around him, sleeping soundly.
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"I say we skip classes for the day," Pansy muttered. "I don't want to deal with anyone. And I swear if Lavender looks at us with that smug fucking look on her face, I think I may just stab her with my wand."
"As much as I agree with you, we have to go," Neville said, sighing heavily.
"I still don't see why we have to," Millicent muttered angrily.
Theodore nudged Millicent, who trailed off when she saw the Golden Trio standing in front of them.
"What do you want?" she sneered, glaring at them.
Hermione looked at Ron, who scowled at her, shaking his head.
"Ron wants to know if Ginny's all right," Hermione said, sighing and stepping around Ron to look at them.
"What the fuck do you care? She's been under Ric's spell for two whole weeks and you haven't asked before!" Pansy said, glaring.
"She ... she's still my sister, all right?" Ron muttered, not looking them in the eyes.
"Yeah, the way you've treated Ginevra really shows how much you think of your sister," Neville drawled sarcastically, surprising everyone. "She's been this way for weeks, and you only ask about her now?!"
"Well, you're not very approachable!" Hermione said, defending Ron quickly.
"Oh, get off ye high horse, Granger!" Seamus growled, glaring at her.
"Yeah, let the Weasel King speak for himself, if he can," Blaise sneered at Ron.
"Leave her alone!" Harry said angrily, his hand immediately going for his wand.
"Oh, fuck off, Potter!" Neville said, fed up with the Trio already.
Harry stared at Neville in shock.
"You're just like them," Ron hissed, glaring at Neville.
"Better than being like you. Now move the fuck out of our way before I make you," Neville snarled angrily.
Their shock had the Trio parting, and Neville pushed past them, the others beside him in a second.
No one said anything about Neville's outburst, but all of them started to realise just how much Ginevra's state had affected Neville. Ginevra was his best friend.
She was their friend, best friend in some way or another, and they slowly started to see how her absence affected all of them. It was a startling realisation for all of them, even Luna.
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"I can see it, you know," Ric murmured in her ear.
She wouldn't answer him, despite her curiosity.
"Your flaw, I know what it is," he said, running a hand down her body.
"I'm not flawed," Ginevra replied, glaring.
"Exactly! That is my point. Your flaw is that you are perfect," Ric said, smirking. "You have your entire image set up so that no one will notice anything and be suspicious of you. Except your brother, of course, and he can be taken of easily enough, can't he?" Ric sneered.
"Don't talk about him like that!" Ginevra said, glaring at him.
"Why not? I know of your thoughts, your desire to see him hurt the way he hurt you... Besides, it can be put down to his own stupidity, can't it? No one will ever know your flaw, and as such, you will remain innocent and perfect," Ric said, sneering at her.
"I'm not perfect! And I am definitely not innocent!" Ginevra growled, indicating to her naked state.
Ric smirked at her, her lust increasing in her stomach, even as she felt nauseous.
"I know that you're not perfect or innocent, but the rest of the world believes you to be exactly those things, don't they? You wouldn't want to dissapoint the world by losing yourself to one such as me. At least, you wouldn't want to be with me if it weren't for the hold I have over you," Ric said. "The entire world loves you, Ginevra. And you love the attention, don't deny it. Being the youngest of seven children, as well as the only girl, you never got the attention that you needed. Sure, you got some here and there when it came to explain the necessary 'women's things', but even that was short due to Ron falling off his broom. Even your first year wasn't all that much, was it? After all the time you spent with the Dark Lord, you got avoided more than the attention you craved..."
Ginevra made a pained sound, but Ric ignored her and continued talking.
"And now, now that you are a Vampiress, you are loved, revered and getting more attention than you could have ever dreamed of. But it's not enough, is it? You want more attention, and to get that, you have to stay perfect. In order to keep the power and attention, you need to maintain your innocent look and keep every little thing about you perfect so that they won't stop loving you. You're perfect, and you can't go back to the way you were anymore..."
"STOP IT!" Ginevra said, a sob ripping from her chest. "Would you have done it any different? Well, would you?" she yelled, glaring at Ric.
Ric smirked at her. "I would have done the same, and more. That's why we're perfect for each other," he murmured, going to kiss her.
She moved away, glaring at him.
"We're not perfect for each other!" Ginevra said, glaring at him.
"Because I ruin your image of being perfect and innocent," Ric countered.
"Because I don't love you!" Ginevra said, her voice rising to a yell.
Ginevra turned away from Ric, and he didn't try to stop her. He smiled to himself.
The seed of doubt had been planted. Not only one that would make Ginevra doubt her relationship with Draco, but also one that would spread across her mind to make her doubt herself. It was going even better than he had planned.
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Draco stayed awake as Parvati, Padma and Ginevra slept around him. He didn't have any energy to move, but his mind was whirling with hundreds of thoughts. Useless thoughts, thoughts of helplessness, confusion, anger, and more helplessness.
He felt his body go slightly numb, but still didn't move. He stayed in the same position until Parvati and Padma woke up. Only then did he allow himself to move slightly and sit up properly.
"I want you both to explain what is going on," Draco said to the twins when they were both completely awake, his eyes not leaving Ginevra once.
"What do you mean?" Parvati asked.
"You could start off by explaining how I went to bed exhausted and woke up better than I've felt in a long time, after just a few hours of sleep," Draco replied.
Parvati looked at Padma, who looked back at her and gave a slight nod.
"I take emotions from people," Padma said.
"And I give emotions," Parvati said.
"What does that mean, and how does it help Ginevra?" Draco asked.
"I am able to take away the worst of her emotions from her nightmares. It takes a lot out of me, as I get the worst of it then, but Parvati can give me her own emotions, and takes them away from me. Even when I tell her not to," Padma muttered, glaring at her twin half-heartedly.
"I wasn't going to sit by and do nothing to help you, Padma," Parvati murmured.
It was obviously an argument that had been going on for some time.
"Why can't you just give your emotions to Ginevra?" Draco asked Parvati.
"I'm only able to give my emotions to Padma," she replied, sounding frustrated.
Padma patted her sister sympathetically, looking sad.
Draco was silent as he thought of everything they had said.
"Thank you," he said eventually.
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"They're still not coming to class then?" Flitwick asked Pansy as he saw her walk in the Charms classroom with the other nine, and without Draco, Ginevra, Parvati and Padma.
"Not yet, Professor," Pansy said, shaking her head.
"How are you all coping?" Flitwick asked kindly.
The others all looked to Pansy, who gave a brief nod. They all went to their seats while she answered for them.
"We're not coping that well, Professor. We all miss Ginevra, more than even some of us would like to admit. She has become more to us than we realised," Pansy said, then went to her seat between Gregory and Vincent.
Flitwick looked at all of them, seeing the dark circles under their eyes, how their clothes didn't seem to fit properly, like they'd all stopped eating. They all looked like they were under a curse too. Sighing, he silently hoped that Ginevra knew what kind of friends she had.
Other students entered the classroom then, and he reluctantly turned his attention from the ten shadows sitting at a long desk.
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Draco brushed a piece of hair back from Ginevra's face as she groaned, her hands clenched into tight fists.
Parvati and Padma had left to get lunch, and Ginevra had already moaned Ric's name twice. He tried to ignore her tone, the one that she usually used when he was with her, tried to ignore the look of rapture on her face. He really tried.
"Ric, please," Ginevra moaned, her back arching.
Draco got off the bed, moving away and just looking at her.
Padma and Parvati felt the wave of rage come from Ginevra's room. They stopped making lunch, and ran back to the room. Ginevra was crying out Ric's name, and Draco was in the corner of the room, just staring at her.
Padma hurried over, placing her hands on Ginevra's shoulders. Closing her eyes, Padma had to bite her lip to stop from calling out too. That would be far too much for Draco to handle.
Ginevra relaxed at her touch, her body lowering back onto the bed. She woke up then, her eyes wide. Ginevra looked at Draco, his pale face, the dark colour of his eyes, and turned away from him, realising what he'd seen.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed.
Draco forced himself to move over to her, and wrapped his arms around Ginevra. He tried not to think of Ric doing the same thing, holding her, kissing her, loving her.
"You don't have to be sorry, love. Ric's doing this, not you," Draco murmured.
"We made food," Parvati said after a moment's silence.
"I'm hungry," Ginevra said.
She didn't look at Draco, but she didn't move out of his embrace either.
Padma and Parvati hurried to get the food, knowing that if they took too long then Ginevra would be asleep by the time they returned.
"You shouldn't be watching this," Ginevra said quietly.
"I know, but I'm not going to leave you," Draco said.
The Patil twins returned with food, stopping any response Ginevra would have made.
"Thank you," Ginevra said as she finished off a sandwich and drink.
She yawned and her eyes began to close.
"Sorry," Ginevra said, falling asleep again.
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"You could have given me more time!" Ginevra yelled at Ric.
"To do what?" Ric asked, taunting her. "To kiss him, without emotion? To tell him that you love him, when you can't? Please, tell me what you would have done with an extra five minutes, or even five hours, if you could have had it! Would you have gone and played Exploding Snap? I'm sure he would have loved that, after two weeks of not seeing you," Ric jeered.
"Bastard!" Ginevra yelled, hitting him angrily as she cursed at him.
"My mother wouldn't thank you for that," Ric said with a smirk.
His response startled Ginevra for a moment. She hadn't thought of Ric having a mother, a father, siblings. She hadn't thought of it at all, as if he had just appeared out of nowhere to harrass and torture her mind.
"Oh, come now! Don't look so surprised, my dear," Ric sneered. "You know my mother already," he said, a taunt to his words.
Ginevra frowned and looked at Ric intently, trying to discern where and how she would have met the mother of this foul, low, mind-warping creature.
"Virginia," she said, disgust evident in her voice.
"Don't sound like that, love. Mother dearest would be ever so upset," Ric said with a sneer.
"Bastard! Complete and utter bastard!" Ginevra said, hitting him again.
"I think we already established that I am not a bastard in the literal sense, Ginevra. So I take it that you are attempting to offend me," Ric taunted, feigning hurt.
Ginevra turned away from him, glowering.
Bastard, she thought angrily, but she wasn't as satisfied as she should have been.
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Pansy grit her teeth during Divination. It seemed that every five minutes, either Trewlaney sent them sympathetic looks, or Ron and Harry sent them glares. Normally, neither of their expressions would have bothered her, but nothing had been normal since Ginevra had gone under Ric's spell.
"Relax, love," Greg murmured under his breath. "Only ten more minutes left," he added, taking her hand.
"Feels like ten years," Pansy replied in a soft tone.
She desperately wished that she could leave the stifling classroom and go down to the lake. Being in the water would soothe her...
Pansy waited impatiently for the bell to ring. She could skip Transfiguration; the others would take notes and they would be more than understanding.
Ron and Harry glared over at them a further six times, while Trelawney seemed to notice the hostile looks they were giving her and only offered three sympathetic stares. It was enough to make Pansy break her favourite quill, almost put hand dents in the table, and squeeze the blood and circulation out of both Vincent and Gregory's hands.
They were already going down the ladder before the bell finished ringing.
Pansy headed straight to a tapestry, ignoring the other students who were coming out of the Divination classroom. They went inside the wall, oblivious to the students' surprised gasps and hurried whispers.
"I'm not going to Transfiguration," Pansy said as soon as they were all in the corridor.
"We're not either," Vincent said for himself and Gregory.
"I'll go, you all stay and watch over Ginevra. Draco and the twins need more sleep," Luna said, leaving them all without another word.
Neville led the way down the corridor and back to Ginevra's room. They crowded into her room, all of them managing to find seats despite there only being one chair.
Draco, Parvati and Padma slept on, oblivious to the others seated around them.
"Do you think she can hear us?" Colin asked softly.
It was something they had all discussed at length, but no one, not even Luna, was able to tell if Ginevra could hear what they were saying. That didn't stop them from talking to her though.
"I hope so," Millicent muttered, then she began to recount the day's events so far, from Lavender's smug expression at breakfast - which all of them had wanted to hex off but had somehow refrained - to the annoyingly sympathetic looks Trewlaney kept giving them through Divination.
Slowly, they all began to fall asleep. Pansy and Neville were the last two awake, both of them fighting yawns to stay that way.
"You go to sleep, Pans. I'll watch over her," Neville said.
Pansy would have protested, but her eyes were already closing and by the time she would have said something, she was fast asleep.
Neville blinked furiously, then rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He wouldn't fall asleep. He did a slight cooling spell on his body in an effort to wake himself up. It worked well and he shivered as he watched Ginevra carefully.
So it was that Neville was the only one awake when Ginevra woke up five minutes later.
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"Ric, darling! Time to wake up," the sweet voice rose him from his dream-like state, and Ric sat up, blinking wildly.
As his pupils adjusted to the dim light, Ric scowled for being woken up.
"Oh, don't give me that look. You know I hate it when you pout like that," Virginia said, a sharp edge to her voice.
"Which is why I do it, Mother," Ric sneered at her.
"Do not use that tone with me!" Virginia snarled, glaring at her son with red eyes. "I Turned you, and I can just as easily Turn you back to a stupid, little mortal!"
Ric didn't show any emotion on his face, but he quietly drank the blood Virginia offered to him, then returned to taunt Ginevra some more.
"Go, get her mind," Virginia hissed.
Ric was already asleep, yet his fear of returning to a mortal life followed him.
Sensing magic nearby Virginia hissed again. Taking her son's wrist, she forced him to change into an animal, then carried him out of their latest hiding spot.
They were getting closer with every passing hour...
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Luna woke up, surprised that she had rested. This vision had been undetermined, which was odd. Shaking away her doubts, Luna stood and left the class without a word of explanation.
McGonagall stared after her in some confusion, but was forced to return to teaching the rest of the class. She would talk to Luna about it later...
Hurrying to Ginevra's room, Luna found Neville returning to his seat, a frown etched on his face.
"Did she just go back to sleep?" Luna asked.
"Yes," Neville replied, then he frowned again, this time at Luna. "Did McGonagall let class out early today?"
"No, I left," Luna said. "I had a vision; something that can help Ginevra."
"Help her to get rid of Ric's spell?" Neville asked hopefully.
"No; help her fight him," she replied.
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Refusing to go to class, even when Draco tried to make them, everyone instead waited in Ginevra's room for her to wake up. They all kept a vigilant watch over Ginevra, and any time that she did awake, Luna was called for immediately. By the second hour, they all knew what it was that could help Ginevra, but still, they called for Luna.
As it was, Ric didn't risk keeping Ginevra awake for longer than a few minutes, and it was never enough time for Luna to reach through Ginevra's somewhat addled mind.
After five hours had passed, Ginevra was finally awake and able to understand Luna's message. She nodded in response to their encouragement, then fell asleep within a few seconds.
The others left quietly, leaving the Patil twins and Draco sleeping around Ginevra's still form.
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Ric looked at Ginevra, and saw the smug smirk on her face.
It had worked then, just as his mother had said it would...
"So you fear of becoming mortal again, do you Ric?" Ginevra sneered at him.
"Perhaps," he replied smoothly.
Too intent on returning his cruelness, Ginevra missed the tone in his voice, and the look in his eyes.
"You realise that once you're done with me, Virginia's not going to want you anymore? She'll probably turn you to a mortal again, then send you back to Azkaban," Ginevra sneered.
That hit a nerve, and Ric clenched his teeth tightly.
"I was captured by the Ministry, she did not send me there," Ric said, glaring.
"How do you think they captured you? Our kind has been successfully avoiding the Ministry for centuries!"
She was affecting him far too much, Ric decided, it was time to turn it around again.
"And what if I am scared of being mortal? You are too, aren't you?" he said, sneering at her. "You're just as afraid to be a mortal once more, afraid of losing the power, the perfection of being a Vampiress. You'll return to being plain old Ginny Weasley, youngest of seven. Without this power of being a Vampiress, you'll return to being a nothing, a nobody! You will probably go off and marry Harry Potter, live a wonderfully boring life, have some kids that you'll no doubt love to pieces, but always wonder what it would have been like with someone else ... Someone like me," Ric said, emphasising his point by pulling her body to his, holding her against him tightly.
Ginevra pulled away abruptly. He shouldn't have had power over her like that! It was his fear, yet he had made it hers!
"You can not deny it, love. You and I are made for each other," Ric said, kissing her hungrily.
"No!"
She didn't want to believe it, yet she could see his words as the truth. She could see herself beside him at the Vampire Council, she could see herself hunting and Drinking with him...
NO! a small part of her mind protested, and it was that protest that made Ginevra pull away from Ric, drop to the floor and curl up into a tight ball. She would not let this bastard get to her, even if she had to go so far deep within herself that she wouldn't be able to get back out again...
Ric smirked as he watched Ginevra clutch her knees tightly, curling up even smaller still.
Now she was so far gone that not even her precious Draco could get her back...
He could almost hear his mother's laughter in his mind, sharp, high-pitched and completely evil.
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Luna gasped, sitting upright.
It was a trap.
Those four words echoed in her mind over and over until she could no longer hear the outside world. She had led her friend into a trap, a trap she should have Seen!
"Wake Ginevra up!" Luna called loudly.
She stumbled out of her bed, reaching for her wand and clothes. Not able to feel either properly, Luna simply left her room and hurried down to Ginevra's room.
Not knowing who was awake and who was asleep, Luna raised her voice loud enough for everyone to hear.
"WAKE GINEVRA UP!" she called.
"We're trying!" Padma called back, disgruntled.
"She's not waking up!" Parvati yelled, her voice close to hysteria.
"What's wrong?" Theodore asked, pulling a robe on and following Luna into Ginevra's room.
"It was a trap," Luna said, her voice emotionless.
"What was?"
"His fear," she replied.
"What are you on about, Luna?" Millicent grumbled, confused as well as angry.
"I was meant to See his fear. Virginia sent it to me; it was a trap for Ginevra," Luna said.
"You mean he's not really afraid of being mortal?" Pansy asked, her eyebrow furled.
"Oh, yes. He's terrified of it. I think Ginevra gave him something to think about as well," she said, absent-mindedly.
"What does it mean for Ginevra?" Draco asked, his fists clenched tightly.
His body glowed brightly, his Veelan side struggling to come out. He wanted to hunt Ric down and kill him. Every fibre of his body and soul strained to be released to do this one thing.
Draco knew that if he did do it then he wouldn't return alive. He wouldn't leave Ginevra like that, he couldn't. Draco forced the Veelan back inside with a cry of pain, then looked at Luna impatiently, waiting for an explanation.
"She's gone inside of herself. Even when the spell is removed, she will not be the same..."
"We knew she wouldn't be the same before this!" Neville said, his voice bordering on a shout.
"Don't yell at her!" Colin growled, glaring.
"Leave him alone!" Orion growled.
Apollo shone brightly, scowling at Orion.
"Can this display of testosterone be postponed?" Pansy said, glaring at both of them.
They reluctantly backed away from each other.
"How will she be different, Luna?" Blaise asked quietly.
Luna focused for a moment, her body trembling as she Saw the hundreds possibilities.
"Worst case scenario is Ginevra will need to be put in St. Mungo's. She will not be cared for properly, they will treat her vampirism as a disease, rather as something that she is, and it will worsen her. If that path is followed, then she will die before Christmas. By Draco's mercy," Luna said, her white eyes staring directly at him. "That is without any intervention on our part, which I hope will not happen," she added softly. "The best case is that she will simply be withdrawn and come out of it by Christmas."
She didn't add that she doubted for this to happen.
"What do you think will happen?" Draco asked, his voice soft as he looked at Ginevra with tender rage burning in his eyes.
"It does not matter what I think will happen, what matters is what we will make happen by our actions and reactions," Luna said, shrugging his question away.
Neville left the room then, muttering under his breath about cryptic answers that didn't make sense. Blaise and Seamus followed him soon after. Their bedroom door slammed shut and it didn't open for some time.
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Fred looked at George, albeit with difficulty, the latest scar on his face making his eye swell up.
"We're so close," he murmured.
"I know. Artemis? Or Agnes?"
"Both. The magical signature is weak at best, but they may be able to get it. We're still not strong enough," Fred replied.
"When they're with us, we will be," George said, looking at his twin.
"We could have brought them," Fred replied.
"They needed to be with Gin," he countered, somewhat reluctantly.
"I'll get Artemis," Fred said after a long heavy sigh.
"I'll get Agnes," George said with a nod.
They both disappeared.
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Fred arrived at the small cottage. Knocking on the door, he waited somewhat impatiently for Julianne or Garion to open the door. Julianne opened the door, looking grave.
"Come in, Fred. We've been waiting for news," she said, leading him into the sitting room.
Garion was there, his face stern. He could feel Draco's anguish; all of the Veelan's could. This was hurting all of them more than anyone seemed to realise.
"We traced it to a magical signature. It's weak, but it's stronger than the last few. I think we're getting closer," Fred said quietly.
"I will look at it," Artemis said with a nod.
"Thank you," Fred said with a slight bow.
"What of Ginevra? Draco is becoming more enraged with each passing minute. Only five minutes ago did he let his Veelan self out, but it was for a brief period. Do you know what is happening?" Garion asked.
"George and I were there this morning, my Lord. We have not yet been back. We were hoping to return this evening," Fred said. "We will report to both yourself and the Elders as soon as we hear of something," he added with another bow.
"The moment you report to the Elders," Garion said, emphasising their name with distaste, "then Virginia will know everything. Her husband is still on the Council."
"I am aware of that, my Lord. But I did not specify that I was going to reiterate the information to the Council, I only said 'Elders'," Fred said, a grin forming for a moment.
It only lasted a moment, as the motion pulled on the scar, making his eye sear with pain. The grin turned into a wince.
"You're going to inform Xavier and Agnes, aren't you?" Julianne asked.
"Yes, my Lady. As Ginevra's mentors, they have a wish to know of this as well," Fred said.
"Good. Keep them well informed then," Julianne said with a nod.
"We are, my Lady. George is with Agnes at this very moment, relaying the same information. Agnes has been able to help with some of her more questionable resources," Fred said.
"Good," Julianne said, a smile on her face. "Now, you'll have to Apparate me back to the site. The signature won't be there forever," she said briskly, taking hold of Fred's arm.
Garion sighed after they disappeared.
Something bad had happened for Draco to let go of his Veelan side. After being made a Full Blood, a Veelan had more control over his side than that. Only the most emotional urges would have made him loose that control...
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George knocked on the mansion door quickly. Miles opened it and ushered him inside, making sure that no sunlight would enter for too long a period.
"Stay, I will get Agnes," Miles said, leaving George in the foyer.
Agnes hadn't allowed George to Apparate into her room. Not only was it considered rude, but there were a great many wards against that kind of thing, and George would most likely be turned into mince before he even reached her room.
Agnes arrived with Xavier only a moment later.
"George, a pleasure to see you again," she said smoothly, but her eyes betrayed her pleasant tone and words.
She was worried about Ginevra, George thought.
"Follow me," Agnes said, turning and returning to her room without the usual pleasantries.
Very worried.
George followed after Agnes and Xavier, trying to keep from rushing. Any fast movements would signify a chase, and despite knowing Agnes and Xavier, and being Ginevra's brother, none of that would stop the vampires from chasing after a fresh supply of human blood.
They eventually reached the room, and Xavier shut the door behind them.
"What have you found?" Agnes asked instantly.
"A magical signature. It's weak, but it is stronger than the last few," George said.
"Do you know the direction it was heading?"
"No, sorry. It's hard to determine, since we're not at full strength," he replied.
Agnes gave him a sympathetic smile.
"You know that the twins are needed with Ginevra," she murmured softly.
"We know, my Lady," George answered with a nod.
"Has Cassandra Seen anything that may be of use?" Xavier asked.
"No, my Lord. She says that it is too cloudy for her to discern anything. Something is blocking her Sight," George said.
Xavier and Agnes shared a quick glance. It was too quick for George to notice.
"I should go look at that signature now, dear. You will need to Apparate me," Agnes said with a smile.
George nodded, offered Agnes his arm and Apparated swiftly.
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"Hello, sister," Julianne said as Agnes and George arrived.
"Julianne, it has been far too long," Agnes said, smiling at her affectionately.
"Definitely. But our fates are entwining again, so I suppose we will see each other more often," Jules said with a grin.
"Indeed. How will Garion react?" Agnes asked.
"If it is just you, Xavier, and I, then he will be fine. Any more than that, and I'm afraid he'll overreact," she murmured.
Artemis' attention was on the magical signature.
Agnes waited patiently as her sister-in-law scrutinised the signature. As she waited, she looked at the twins. She noticed the numerous scars on their faces - more than they had had a day ago - with some degree of surprise, and asked them how they got them.
Fred and George scowled in response to Agnes' question, their hands clenched into tight fists.
"Bart, Virginia's bodyguard. He likes to play with knives," they replied angrily. "But we know we're getting closer the harder he comes at us," they added grimly. "She's getting desperate, sending him out to fight us."
"I hope you're giving as good as you get it," Julianne said with a grin, finished for the moment.
"Better," George said with a smirk that bordered on evil.
"Fireworks in the shape of worms for instance," Fred said, smirking at George, then wincing slightly.
"Spells that make him see worms covering his body," George continued.
"That one wasn't pretty to see when he had the knife in his hand," Fred said, shaking his head.
"Worms?" Julianne asked, her eyebrow raised in confusion.
"His greatest fear is worms," they answered.
"They are heading east," Agnes said.
"You got that too?" Jules asked with a grin.
"Anything more specific?" Fred and George asked hopefully.
"Not at the moment. We will continue to look," Agnes replied.
"I want to deal with them myself," Artemis snarled. "No one touches my lion and gets away with it," she growled.
With a grin at each other, George and Fred Disapparated in an eastern direction. It was better than nothing...
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Friday, Nov. 29th
They all waited expectantly for Ginevra to open her eyes. This time she would do it of her own free will, and she would no longer be under Ric's spell.
The past month had been horrendous, things only worsening after the initial two weeks.
Fred and George rarely returned to the rooms, unable to look at the shell that Ginevra had become. Their scars got worse with each passing day, and the light in their eyes dimmed.
Parvati and Padma cried themselves to sleep every night, certain that it was their lack of effort that had caused Ginevra to escape deep within herself.
Neville, Seamus, and Blaise hardly left their room, and when they did, not one of them spoke. Neville managed to perfect silent hexes though, as the Trio found out after a particularly bad argument with Pansy.
Gregory and Vincent didn't eat anywhere near what they usually did, and even less than they needed to eat. Instead, most of their food was pushed around their plates. Even if they did eat it, it tasted like cardboard and they could hardly swallow.
Pansy skipped a lot of her classes and found refuge in the lake. The squid would rock her to sleep, and her tears mixed with the water surrounding her.
Millicent and Theodore spent more and more time in the hospital wing; he working and she attempting to sleep. Millicent had recurring nightmares, and wasn't able to sleep for more than three hours at any given time, and even then it was a broken and fitful sleep.
Luna spent all of her time in her room, not leaving once. The door was shut firmly, and even Colin had a difficult time entering the room. Luna blamed herself for everything that had happened, and spent all of the time Seeing as much as she could to try and right the situation. She wasn't able to See much.
Draco spent all of his time in Ginevra's room. He didn't move from her side, except for the basic necessities, and even they were put off until the last minute. He rarely spoke, hardly blinked or breathed. It was almost as if he were under Ric's spell too.
Now, the long month was over, and they all waited with anticipation for Ginevra to open her eyes.
Theodore checked her vitals more than three times. Slowly, Ginevra opened her eyes to see fifteen faces hovering above and around her, a range of emotions on their faces. Her first words weren't what they expected at all.
"Leave me alone," she said, her voice rasping from lack of use.
They all looked confused then, so she repeated her words with more force, making sure they knew she meant it for them. One by one, they slowly left. Ginevra looked at Draco and told him to leave too.
The hurt and anguish in his eyes pierced her for a moment, but then it was gone. And so was he.
Ginevra turned on her side and slept.
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Bexley watched Ginevra, a frown on his face. He had spoken with Parvati and Padma, but they hadn't been able to discern Ginevra's emotions on waking.
She should have felt a rush of emotions, but it had all been supressed. It was as if she didn't have any emotions.
Going closer to Ginevra's sleeping form, Bexley slipped into her dream.
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Ric sneered at Ginevra, pulling her close to his body. She pushed him away, but without much effort.
Bexley moved around and watched Ginevra closely as she fought off Ric listlessly. Her eyes were blank, cold; she was dead inside.
The dream, nightmare that it should have been, stopped. Ginevra and Bexley hung in mid air. She looked at him with no emotion.
"Go away," she said.
As Bexley pulled himself out of her dream, he realised in shock that not even her voice had emotion to it.
She was truly devoid of emotion.
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Ginevra sat up from her dream, and saw that Bexley was gone.
She laid back on her bed, and let her emotions flow through her properly.
Happiness, anticipation, confusion, anger, hate, relief, lust, desire.
Everything flowed through her, and as each emotion filled her body, Ginevra bit her lip in an attempt to stop from crying out in pain at the same time.
Ric hadn't just stolen her emotion, he had also forced herself to go deep inside of herself. But in doing that, Ginevra had caused herself more pain than Ric had. Any emotion she displayed would result in every fibre, cell, and atom of her body feel as if it was on fire. She clutched at the mattress as she writhed in pain.
It eventually stopped, and Ginevra closed herself off again. She couldn't have Padma and Parvati feeling this pain. It would destroy them, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to handle losing them.
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They all looked at each other, silent as their thoughts got more and more confused with every passing second.
"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't like seeing her like this," Millicent said after ten minutes of unbearable silence.
"Agreed," Neville muttered.
"Do we even need to get her so we can go to class?" Pansy asked, hating that she sounded so uncertain.
"She will be out in a moment," Luna said softly.
Blaise looked at Draco in concern. He watched as Draco clenched his fists tightly, squeezed his eyes tight and took a good ten seconds to put his blank mask up.
Before any of this, he would have had it up in half a second. Ginevra affected him more than most of them realised, Blaise thought in some surprise.
Neville and Seamus saw Blaise's look, and looked to Draco, then away before Draco could catch them looking.
Ginevra appeared in the doorway. She was pale, and looked quite ragged. It wasn't her clothes, they were straight and pressed, as were every students'. It was Ginevra herself; her eyes had heavy bags under them, despite the amount of sleep she had, her hair was ratted in various places, and worse than everything else was her eyes: they weren't bright, no spark of life shined through them, and she looked more like a stuffed animal than a human being.
"I don't think you should go to class, Ginevra," Theodore said, hurrying over to check her temperature.
Ginevra pulled away quickly.
"I'm fine," she said, her voice firm. "Let's just go to class."
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Yepir looked at them all when they entered her classroom. She looked relieved and pleased to see Ginevra, all of them, and said as much.
Ginevra just nodded in thanks, then went to her seat. Slightly put out, Yepir watched them all for a minute, then returned to the blackboard behind her.
In reality, it seemed that nothing had changed with Ginevra's awakening. They were still shadows of themselves...
Ron, Harry, Hermione, Lavender and Dean entered the room. Lavender and Dean hesitated when they saw Ginevra in her seat, but on seeing the grim look of her friends, their expressions became smug once more, and they sat with the Trio confidently.
Class went by almost the same as it had the previous four weeks. Ginevra didn't say anything in class, adding to the illusion that nothing had changed.
The only thing that had changed was the atmosphere. The sad atmosphere that had been following the other nine around was now gone, replaced with a confused and wary one instead. Even the hope that they'd all had was slowly dimming with every passing minute of Ginevra's prolonged silence.
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Flitwick was excited, so excited in fact, that he had already fallen off his chair more than three times. Ginevra would be in class again this morning, and her friends would be joyful again. They would put more effort into his class, into his charms and spells. Everything would be fine...
His face fell the moment Ginevra and her friends walked in. They looked even worse than they had in the past month!
All of Flitwick's hopes went flying out of the window faster than any 'Accio' could have produced. With a heavy sigh, he began to teach the class, hoping that they were just tired, and getting more and more disappointed with every charm he had them refresh up on.
At the end of class, Flitwick couldn't stand it anymore and called Ginevra over. She walked over obediently, and he waited for the rest of the class to filter out before speaking.
"I am very pleased to see you awake, Miss Weasley," he said, putting as much warmth as he could muster into his words.
"Thank you, Professor," Ginevra replied, her voice empty.
"Are you feeling well enough to be starting classes already? I think Albus said you were allowed to have the weekend off ... " he trailed off for a moment, wondering if Albus had seen Ginevra yet.
"I feel fine, Professor," she answered.
"Very well then," Flitwick said, frowning. "I do hope you realise the amount of hardship your friends have been through, Miss Weasley. You weren't the only one to suffer from Ric's spell," he called as she walked out of the door.
Ginevra froze for a second, then continued to walk on as if she hadn't heard him.
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Ginevra didn't go to the Great Hall for recess, despite telling the others that she would meet them there. Instead, she went straight to her rooms, hurried to her bedroom and shut the door firmly behind her.
Sitting on the bed, Ginevra stared at the floor. She tried to imagine everything that her friends had been through without her. It wasn't hard to do, as she remembered every word they'd said to her while she was under Ric's spell. The daily recounts, the secret visits at night when Draco dozed off for a minute; she remembered all of it.
She wished that she didn't. She didn't want to hear about Rion's awful and smug behaviour, Lavender's sick expressions, Ron's lack of concern, the teacher's stares, and the work they were expected to concentrate on while she was in the coma-like state.
Ginevra didn't want to remember a thing that had happened to them, not when it added to everything that had happened to her.
Her eyes were shut tight, and she could hear Ric's voice in her mind.
In order to keep the power and attention, you need to maintain your innocent look and keep every little thing about you perfect so that they won't stop loving you. You're perfect, and you can't go back to the way you were anymore...
We're perfect for each other...
Tears leaked from her eyes, and pain filled her body as the emotion ran through her mind.
It wasn't meant to be like this. She was meant to wake up, be happy with her friends, with Draco, and she was meant to forget the awful things that Ric had ever said and done to her.
Screaming in frustration, Ginevra hit her pillow in anger, then her mattress, moving onto the wall before sliding onto the floor, sucking her bloodied hand.
The blood made her feel slightly better. Not a lot, but it was enough for her to be able to face the next two classes.
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Ginevra didn't hurry to the Divination classroom. Firenze would most likely understand, and if he didn't ... well, she was supposed to have today off anyway.
Going up the ladder to Divination, Ginevra opened the trapdoor and entered the classroom. She didn't remember it being quite so stuffy, nor the scent being quite that overwhelming. It made her stop and try to compose herself for a second.
"Are you all right, Ginevra?" Firenze asked, his voice kind and musical.
Ginevra fought to keep her emotions down. Firenze was trying to bring them out with his own power, but she wouldn't let him. Not while her friends were there, vulnerable to her.
"Fine, thank you," she replied.
It was becoming an automatic response.
Firenze simply nodded, waiting for her to take her seat.
I want to see you after class, Ginevra.
As with the past two classes, Ginevra didn't offer to answer any questions. When she was asked one, she gave the right response, no less and no more. Other than that, Ginevra stared off into space, her gaze eventually wandering to the crystal ball on her table.
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Ginevra sat in St. Mungo's, watching the wall quietly. Nothing was on it, the whitewash making it less than ordinary. Still, she continued to watch it, waiting for something to happen.
Three nurses stared in through the small window on the door, intrigued by the vampire.
"She's been sitting like that for weeks on end," one nurse whispered.
"I haven't even seen her blink," another said in a hushed tone.
The third just stared, wondering how the vampire could sit in the sun without burning.
"Excuse me," a cool voice said behind them.
The three nurses jumped, and turned to see Pansy staring at them with an icy glare.
"We're here to see our friend," Neville said.
The nurses scattered quickly, knowing their tempers all too well.
The fifteen walked into the room. Colin blacked out the window, while Draco moved over to Ginevra. Without a sound he cut his palm, letting some of the blood pool in his cupped hand. He offered it to Ginevra, and she lapped it up, barely making a movement.
"They've got her drugged up to the eyeballs," Theodore said in disgust, reading the medi-chart.
"And I sincerely doubt that's even the human supply of blood we gave them, let alone a fresh batch," Millicent said in horror, staring at the bowl near Ginevra's bed.
"Ginevra, it's time for you to wake up," Luna's voice murmured in her ear.
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Ginevra opened her eyes and sat up slowly. She looked at Luna, who gave her a small smile.
"You know that's what will happen if you don't do something, don't you?" Luna said softly.
Without waiting for an answer, Luna left the Divination classroom so that Firenze could speak to Ginevra in private.
"This is the wrong path to take, but I think you know that now," Firenze said softly.
Ginevra nodded in response, her throat constricting as tears threatened to spill. Her body burned as sadness washed through her.
"It hurts when I h-have emotions, Firenze. It hurts s-so much," she stammered through her pain.
"They can help you get through it. Do not fear for their vulnerability, your friends are stronger than you think," he replied honsetly, a kind smile on his face. "Go and sleep now, Ginevra. The rest will do you good."
He guided her to the trapdoor, then watched as she left the room.
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Doing as Firenze said, Ginevra went back to her rooms. She didn't go to her bedroom, not wanting to see the hole she'd put in the wall earlier.
Instead, she went down to Draco's room. It smelled like him, and the scent was soothing as well as painful. Removing her robe and shoes, Ginevra climbed into his bed and curled up.
She slept.
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Padma and Parvati rushed into the room, trying to make it look like they weren't rushing. Seeing Ginevra curled up in Draco's bed, they sighed in relief.
"She's in here!" they called down the corridor.
"I did tell you that she would be," Luna said, a smile on her face.
"You should see the size of the hole in her wall!" Neville said, his eyes wide.
Draco just walked into his room and looked at Ginevra asleep on his bed. It had been a long time since he'd seen her look content while she was sleeping.
Moving so as not to wake her, Draco quickly took his robe and shoes off, joining Ginevra on the bed. The others followed suit, laying around Ginevra's curled up body. They were all asleep in minutes.
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Ginevra woke up, surprised at how calm she felt. Seeing the others surrounding her, she laughed. Wincing as it caused her pain, Ginevra took some deep breaths.
She waited patiently for everyone to wake up, trying to figure out what and how she would tell them.
By the time she had figured out a speech, they'd all woken up and were looking at her in concern.
Ginevra relayed everything that Ric had done to her, including her responses and how she had finally gone inside of herself to hide from Ric and his pain. Then she went on to say how, in doing that, she had caused herself to be in even more pain when she woke up.
"That's why you were so unemotional this morning," Millicent muttered.
Ginevra nodded in response.
"I'm really sorry, I just couldn't think of any other way to deal with it. It hurts now, even being remorseful," she said, her teeth clenched.
"Well, don't worry. We're going to help you get through it," Parvati said, Padma adding in firm agreement.
"We all will," Pansy added, grinning at her.
Even though she knew her pain would multiply, Ginevra allowed herself to feel happy and hopeful.
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(a/n: end of this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Again, sorry for the delay!)