The Adventure
By RowlingIdol
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I don't own the song `Sex On Fire'. This chapter contains slight language, teen drinking and sexual references. Review if you wish! They are most appreciated.
Authors Note- Sorry this has taken a long time to get out. I hope with the release of the Deathly Hallows Part 1 coming up next week that I can get the next couple of chapters out soon. Without any further ado - enjoy!
Chapter 12: Sex On Fire
"All right! All right! Everyone back inside! BACK INSIDE I said!" One of the Ministry wizards yelled at the people standing around the town square.
"Come on." Draco said, taking Ginny's arm, beginning to pull her back towards the door.
"No! We can take them!" Luna said suddenly, whipping out her wand and taking a step forward.
"Whoa whoa there darling!" Blaise said, grabbing Luna's hand and lowering it. "Let the Ministry do their job, mmmm?"
"But…." Luna said, her face dropping.
"Luna. It's all right." Ginny said, touching Luna's shoulder. "This isn't like before. Let's go inside like the Ministry wizards said."
"Okay." Luna said with a sigh, putting her wand away and following the others back inside the bar.
Two Ministry wizards arrived at the door nearly five minutes later to interview them about what they had witnessed. They however did not dispel any information about what had happened at Gladrags.
"And that's all you saw? Smoke and the women arriving at the town square?"
"Yes." Draco said for the umpteenth time.
"I see…." The wizard said, giving Draco a skeptical look and scribbling in his notebook.
Over in the corner near the phonograph, Luna was in the middle of her interview.
"And THEN-" Luna said, taking a deep breath before continuing to her interviewee,
"Ginny told Draco `See you in a few weeks'. Then I opened the door and we left. Then I was about to take a left to head back towards Aberforth's - such a nice man, have I mentioned that? Then there was a boom, not very loud, but loud enough to catch ones attention. After that someone yelled `Someone get the Ministry!' and the boys ran out, Blaise first and then Draco. Then we all headed further out into the square and Blaise asked `What's going on?' and then I said `Look!' and pointed in the direction that I saw smoke coming from above the rooftops. After that a lot more people were coming to the square to see what was happening. That's when the ladies came out covered in soot and one was supporting the other one. The lady helping the limping one yelled `Make some room!'. Then Blaise said `Merlin! What happened?' and his neighbor at the bookstore said `A sewing machine exploded'. Did that really happen? Because from what I've learned in Muggle studies that sewing machines don't do that, even magically enhanced sewing machine. Maybe that's why I prefer to sew by hand. Do you like my gloves? I made them myself. After that Draco was like-"
"Enough! I get it!" The interviewer said exasperated.
"But you asked to hear everything that happened." Luna said frowning and cocking her head slightly to the side.
"Yes. But I didn't need to hear every single little detail of everything that happened leading up to the accident. I just needed to know what you had seen."
"And that's what I told you. And Draco asked…"
Ginny tuned out the rest of Luna's continued interview with the wizard who was intently scribbling in his notebook.
"No I'm not drunk!" Blaise was telling the wizard who had previously interviewed Draco. "Just because I own a bar doesn't mean I'm always drunk." Blaise said, crossing his arms grumpily.
"Hmmm." The interviewer said, giving Blaise an equally skeptic look as he had given Draco.
"I think we've heard enough here." The wizard who had interviewed Luna said loudly to the other wizard.
"Well then. If you see or hear anything suspicious, please report it to the Ministry immediately."
"We will." Ginny said, nodding to the men as they left. She clicked the door locked shut after they had
gone.
"Well that was crazy." Blaise said.
"We ought to get home. I'm sure my parents have heard what's happened by now." Ginny said.
"I will escort you to the Hog's Head." Draco said.
"Luna too?" Ginny asked.
Draco looked over at Ginny's odd friend who was staring wide eyed at Blaise.
"Of course." Draco said with gritted teeth. He wasn't happy with the idea. Luna was…. Well…. Loony. But she was Ginny's friend, and apparently Blaise's new toy. And he wasn't about to leave her to fend for herself after what happened.
"I wish there was Floo network here." Luna said dreamily. "Then we wouldn't have to travel to the Hog's Head every time we came to visit."
"There is a fireplace upstairs." Blaise said. "It's not hooked up though."
"I like upstairs." Luna said.
"Come on Luna - we need to get going. I don't want to worry your dad and my parents are probably flipping out." Ginny said.
"Alright." Luna said.
~*~*~*~
`Fashion Disaster At Gladrags!
In the early evening of January 3rd in the village of Hogsmeade a sewing machine reportedly combusted at the local Gladrags. It is suspected that the incident was not caused by machine malfunction but rather was the result of malicious tampering on part of an unknown individual or individuals.
Fiona Ceratos, age 27, one of the employees of Gladrags who was working at the time of the incident, accounts her first hand experience exclusively to the Daily Prophet.
"It was a normal day. Business was smooth as usual. No one suspicious came in at all. Ever since what happened at Hogwarts we have taken many precautions, including going so far as holding monthly safety drills. It was getting to be closing time and Jewel was still in the back working on finishing a special order, so I started cleaning up the front of the store. About ten minutes later I noticed the smell of smoke coming from the back room. I ran to the back and the machine Jewel had been working on was speeding out of control! The desk the machine had been sitting on was on fire and Jewel was lying on the floor almost unconscious next to it. So I summoned all my strength and pulled her up and we exited through the back."
Jewel Willows, age 23, suffered a broken leg and smoked inhalation and has yet to be released from St. Mungo's.
"We at Gladrags encourage other businesses to take part in safety drills!" Fiona continues. "It is good to know what to do in case of emergency."
The Ministry will now be offering a series of 5 classes on Wizard Self Defense and Emergency Type Situations to be held Tuesdays, at 4pm. For more information on these classes, please contact Amy Druwell, Ministry of Magic, Department of Magical Community Relations'.'
"Do you want to finish reading this volume?" Neville asked Ginny, breaking the silence in the train car.
Ginny shook her head, leaning back in her seat. She had leaned forward to read the cover story of the Daily Prophet while Neville had read interior articles.
"No thanks."
Neville folded the paper back up and set it beside himself on the seat.
"So? Is it like the article said?" He asked her.
"Pretty much I guess." Ginny said sighing. "I mean all we knew was that something exploded at Gladrags and it was suspected it wasn't an accident. Draco says its `Rebellions'."
"Rebellions?" Neville repeated.
"Yes. Rebellions. Witches and Wizards who were Death Eaters that got away or Voldemorts supporters. People that are upset that he has been defeated and who want to bring the Dark Arts back to the Wizarding world."
"Geez." Neville said. "There could be that many of them left?"
"It could be as small as just one person. Its possible they can build a support for their cause and something bad can happen again."
"No wonder the Ministry is looking so heavily into this." Neville said. "What did your parents say?"
"Mum nearly squeezed the life out of me once I got home from Hogsmeade that night. Dad had been in the middle of trying to send me an owl when I showed up. So because I came home he decided to owl George instead. Worried about the store in Diagon Alley I suppose - wanted to know if anything was going on there."
"And Harry?"
"He glued himself to the wireless listening for any news. Hermione kept trying to tell him it was nothing but you know Harry. He's not going to get past this last summer very easily."
"Understood." Neville said, nodding his head in agreement.
"Any word on Hogwarts?" Ginny asked him.
"Hard to say. The professors didn't owl me or anything. I assume if there have been changes to security measures we will find out once we arrive back at school."
He leaned over and peered out the window of the train car.
"Which in fact is approaching fast."
He turned back to Ginny.
"You ready for the rest of the year?" He asked.
"Yes and no." Ginny replied. "First time all by myself. Last of the Weasley's."
"For now that is." Neville said. Ginny gave him a confused look. Neville blushed.
"You know… Kids…." Neville said. "I mean you have a lot of older siblings."
"Well let's hope we give the professors a much needed break." Ginny said with a smile as Neville laughed.
~*~*~*~
The first month of classes were dull and boring. It also didn't help that due to the attack at Gladrags, that Hogsmeade trips were cancelled for the time being. Ginny ended up spending a lot of time with Neville, who encouraged her not to sneak to see Draco `for her own safety'. That and he threatened to tell on her.
They exchanged letters often. Mostly they consisted of how work was going and tales of Blaise's antics.
For example, just last week, Luna had invited them to a tea party. While Draco declined the invite, he using having to work as an excuse not to go, Blaise jumped at the opportunity. And after he returned, he spent all the following day setting up the fireplace to the Floo network and singed off his eyebrows in what Draco called `Seamus fashion' in the process.
Now it was Valentine's Day. Amongst all the happy red envelopes Ginny had received that morning was a copy of the Daily Prophet with yet another disturbing headline.
`Fires Burn Again in Hogsmeade!
Last night was another restless night for residents of the village of Hogsmeade.
A goat shed behind well known Hogsmeade Pub, the Hog's Head - owned by Aberforth Dumbledore, the estranged brother of famous Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore - caught fire around 3 am, according to reports. Ministry Wizards arrived on the scene quickly to help cease the blaze.
Mr. Dumbledore refused comment for our article. No persons or goats were injured in the fire.
Just 6 weeks after the fire at popular Wizarding clothing store `Gladrags', in which a sewing machine caught fire and subsequently exploded causing injury to both the store and an employee, this incident is causing more cause for concern for witches and wizards everywhere, including the Ministry.
"We originally assumed the accident at Gladrags was isolated, that it was just due to the mis-manufacturing of the sewing machine that it combusted. After last nights fire, we are suspecting both the accidents to be the work of vandals." said Ministry official David Marsh.
Vandals? Or Dragons?
Joseph Nadder, a neighbor of Dumbledore's, describes his account of night of the fire.
"I woke up from the smell of smoke coming from behind my house. I went outside to investigate. There was an intense smell combined with the smoke. Smelled nothing like I had smelt before. Disgusting smell! Next thing I know, a BIG dark shadow just whips past me! Almost knocked me down! I'm sure it was a Night Fury."
The Night Fury, like most wizards and witches know, is the rarest and most intelligent species of Dragon. What one could be doing terrorizing the small village of Hogsmeade is anyone's guess.
"All this talk of dragons is nonsense." Marsh says when we ask him of this theory. "If it was a dragon starting these fires, there would be a lot more evidence."
If anyone has any information on these fires, please contact the Ministry of Magic Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes.'
Ginny set the paper aside with a sigh. The picture of Mr. Nadder that accompanied the article continued to flash at her as she reached for her goblet of juice. Mr. Nadder was shown with his arms stretched wide, no doubt mimicking the size of the so called `dragon' he saw.
"My sister said that she refuses to go shopping in Hogsmeade anymore. At least not until they know for sure what's going on." Said one of the girls from down the table, reading her own copy of the latest Daily Prophet.
"Why don't they just get dragon handlers to set a trap for the thing?" Another girl questioned.
"Because its not a dragon, its vandals." Said another student.
The girls became distracted as a large owl flew in with a bundle of roses. They sighed in disappoint as the roses bypassed their little group and landed in front of Ginny.
A card attached to the roses fell off as Ginny picked up the roses.
`Spring break can't come fast enough.
- D.'
He was right. Spring break could not come fast enough.
~*~*~*~
Seven weeks later Spring Break finally came. She really ought to be staying at home studying for her impending NEWT exam but since not seeing each other since January, Ginny had convinced her parents to let her visit Draco in Hogsmeade the first day, saying she'd stay at Luna's that night (as if that was really going to happen).
Draco had to work that day so she was packing up to head to Hogsmeade early as to surprise him when he got off work.
There had been no accidents since the one in February and pretty much all talk about vandals and dragons had been dropped. Even Draco hadn't mentioned anything about Rebellions.
With a duffle in hand, she made her way down to Hogsmeade, waving to Hagrid as she saw him outside his hut attending to a large Hippogriff.
Upon reaching Zabini's she knocked twice before letting herself in.
"No no no! We are NOT doing that same old boring routine again!" came a shrill voice.
"Ginny! You're early! Is Luna with you?" Blaise asked, looking up from the bar.
"Ginny?" Came a woman's voice.
Ginny looked to her left and saw a group of four girls gathered at a table with papers spread on it. The girls hurried over.
"Oh she's such a darling!" One of the girls cooed as if she was a puppy.
"Are you sure this is the same girl from that night?" asked another.
"Of course she is! Can't you tell?" said a third.
"Ladies! Ladies! Calm down. I'm not paying you for harassing the poor girl." Blaise said, coming over to the girls.
"Ginny. I'd like you to meet Maya." He said motioning to the girl with almond eyes and jet black hair - the one that had referred to her as `darling'.
"Alicia." A girl with chocolate brown hair and tan skin.
"Kimberly." She had blonde hair cut in a pixie style
"And Christina." The one who had doubted Ginny. She had curly black hair and dark skin.
"My dancers." Blaise finished. The girls struck an obviously rehearsed pose.
"Nice to meet you Ginny!" Maya said.
"You're right cuz'." Christina said to Blaise, nudging him with her elbow. "She could use our help."
"Oh please please please can we take her with us?" Maya pleaded Blaise.
"Take me where…" Ginny asked wary.
"Bee promised he'd take us to London to go shopping for new outfits!" Kimberly said.
"Uniforms! I said `uniforms'!"
"But what about Ginny, Bee? She needs outfits. Not uniforms." Alicia spoke up.
"Why do you keep calling him Bee?" Ginny asked.
"Because his initals are `BZ', which is kind of like `buzz'."
"Which is the sound a bee makes!" Maya interrupted.
"So we call him `Bee' for short. I have at least for the last 20 years. I'm his cousin by the way." Christina said.
"Ah." Ginny said. She turned to Blaise.
"I don't need clothes Blaise. I'm fine with what I have." Ginny said, going slightly pink in the cheeks.
"Take her upstairs Bee. Show her the closet." Christina said.
"If you promise to get back to work while I take her upstairs, we will go shopping."
"Yay!" the girls squealed in delight. They hurried back to the table.
"Come with me."
"I don't like the sound of this." Ginny told Blaise as he took her by the wrist and took her up the stairs.
"Haven't been up here before." Ginny said.
"Employees only…. Oh and roommates….. And I guess the roommates lady." Blaise said.
At the top of the stairs was a velvet rope blocking off a small hallway that had a sign that read `Employees Only'.
With a wave of his wand, the rope dropped down and allowed Ginny and Blaise to enter the hallway where they approached a door. He pointed his wand at the door and there was a series of clicks. He opened the door and stepped aside, letting her walk in ahead of him.
Once opened Ginny set foot into Blaise and Draco's apartment. There was a kitchen and small dining area off to the left, a pile of dishes in the sink. A sitting area to the right with a large wireless to the right, magazines and more dishes stacked on the coffee table. A door was off to the side of the sitting room.
There was a small hallway that led to two more doors. One on the left and one at the very end of the hallway.
"Now you can't tell him I brought you in here."
"I promise."
"Swear on your Malfoy crest!" Blaise said, pointing to the broach on her jacket.
Ginny rolled her eyes.
"I promise." She said, raising a hand.
"Okay." Blaise said. He flicked his wand at the door at the end of the hall and after another series of clicks Blaise opened the door.
A large four poster bed was off in the left corner, a window above the headboard. There was a desk to the right of the bed with an inkwell and parchment strewn across it. A grand armoire in the far corner of the room near a door. Random pieces of clothes lay on the floor.
"In here." Blaise said, opening the side door near the armoire.
He stood holding the door while Ginny wandered inside. Her mouth dropped.
It didn't look like a closet. More like a small store.
The walls were lined with racks of clothes. There were double racks of them. Shirts and jackets on the top racks, pants on the bottom racks. There was a big unit in the middle of the room with shoes in cubbies all around. On top was a small rack of ties and other accessories including a few briefcases and an old antique looking jewelry box.
"Wow." was all Ginny said.
Blaise didn't say anything as Ginny looked around, gingerly touching some of the sleeves of the shirts along the walls. The sweater she had knit him for Christmas was hung gently amongst other sweaters.
"Audemars Piguet watch, Hermes briefcase, Cartier top clips, Silk lined blazers, VVS cuff links…" Ginny murmured as she read off all the labels.
"This is very high end stuff." Ginny said. "I don't know why you needed to show me this. I know Draco has money…… I don't."
"But that's where I come in." Blaise said, leaning on the unit with the shoes.
"Blaise, you can't buy me clothes. That's just weird…." Ginny said.
"Think nothing of it doll. I know what I'm doing here."
"I like who I am. I don't want to change." Ginny said, shaking her head.
"We're changing your wardrobe. Not you."
"But--"
"Look Ginny. You've been with Draco for….. What? 6 months? You guys are serious right?" He stared pointedly at the broach on her jacket.
"Well yes…" Ginny said, also looking down at the broach.
"If you're with a guy like Draco, you need…. Well…. An upgrade."
Ginny frowned.
"I don't know if I like where you're going with this."
"Don't doubt yourself. Trust me. You need me."
"How are you going to upgrade me?" Ginny asked, gently spinning the tie rack.
"Introduce to you some new things." Blaise said, a glint in his eye. Ginny still gave him a wary look.
"This has nothing to do with Draco. This is all me….. And maybe the girls a little."
"And why is this so important?" Ginny asked, crossing her arms.
"I've heard some rumors of you on the verge of a new merge." Blaise said grinning.
"Okay I'm not sure what that means." Ginny admitted.
"Good." Blaise said, grinning even more.
"So you believe me?" He asked.
Ginny pressed her lips together and thought about it.
Draco was always dressed to the nines. She dressed nice too, but she had nothing near the quality nor quantity that Draco did. If she had more nice things too, maybe Lucius and Narcissa - well, mostly Lucius, wouldn't see her as just a lousy Weasley anymore.
"Alright. I'll follow. This could be easy." Ginny said.
"Excellent! Your dynasty ain't complete without a chief like me!"
~*~*~*~
Blaise, Ginny, and the girls got back about an hour before Draco was scheduled to be off work.
"Girls. I want you to fix her up. I've got things to do." Blaise instructed the dancers.
"Oh this will be fun!" Said Alicia. The girls hurried Ginny into their dressing room, which was off to the side of the stage, beside the area with the private couches.
The girls tugged and pulled at Ginny as they stuffed her into a new dress. It was purple and black and was `a good look' according to the girls. The top was like a corset and the bottom had layers of ruffled fabric. Once she was in the dress the girls started fussing over her with makeup and curling her hair.
"I wonder what Bee is up to. He's having Theodore watch the bar tonight." One of the girls was saying.
"He has been acting odd lately." Said another.
"Oh Ginny you look perfect!" Kimberly said. The girls stepped back and admired the work they had done on Ginny.
They turned her in the chair she had been sat in and she was able to see herself in the mirror.
She looked glamorous, almost like a star in the movies Hermione always talked about.
"Draco's going to die when he sees you." Alicia said.
"We've got to get ready girls." Christina was saying. She turned and gave Ginny a wink.
"You're on your own." she said to Ginny.
Ginny smiled at the girls and left the dressing room.
"What do you mean you don't know what he's up to?" Ginny could hear someone saying.
"I don't know. All I know is that he said I'm in charge because he had things to do tonight. He didn't specify."
Ginny turned the corner and saw Draco talking to Theodore Nott, who was behind the bar.
Ginny cleared her throat and the boys turned and looked. She saw Theodore's jaw drop. Draco looked like he was about to fall over.
"Ginny!" Draco said, nearly tripping over himself as he made his way towards her.
"Hi." she said shyly.
He nearly ran over and wrapped her in his arms and held her tight. Theodore started whistling, pretending he wasn't paying attention.
"You look….. Wow." was all Draco said.
"Thank you." Ginny said, blushing.
"So what's all this?" Draco asked, gesturing to her hair and outfit.
"I….. Got an upgrade." Ginny said.
"Ugh. Blaise." Draco said grumpily.
"It's fine. It's fun to have nice things." Ginny said, playing with the dress.
"We open in five." Theodore said to Draco from the bar.
"Got it." Draco said.
"Should we head upstairs?" Draco asked Ginny, turning back to her.
"Sure."
~*~*~*~
Draco showed her the apartment, sans the `closet' and Blaise's room. The room off to the side of the sitting area was a small bathroom.
When the music started downstairs, Draco pointed his wand at the door and instantly the music was silenced.
"A silencing spell Blaise taught me. Keeps all the sound of the bar out. As well as keeps any sounds from here out there."
"I was wondering how you could sleep here." Ginny said.
"Bar closes at 2am. Blaise usually gets to bed around 3 or 4 - depending on how crazy of a night it gets to be. Theodore usually cleans up. Do you know what Blaise is up to tonight?"
"No idea." Ginny admitted.
They talked for several hours while they were upstairs.
"And so I hope I do well on the NEWTs. Class isn't the same without you." Ginny was saying.
"I can imagine. I had fun in that class with you." Draco said.
"We did, didn't we." Ginny said, giving him a kiss.
"Mmm." He said.
"Do you know what we haven't had fun with in a while?" He asked.
"Hmmm. I'm going to guess--"
Ginny didn't have time to guess, even though she was pretty sure she knew what he meant. Draco kissed her fiercely and the next thing she knew, they were up and off the couch, scrambling towards Draco's room.
Crashing into Draco's room they stumbled clutching each other to the bed below the window. The moonlight shining in lit the room enough for them to still see.
"You're sure about the silent spell right?" Ginny whispered as she broke away from his kisses.
"No one will hear a thing." He whispered gruffly. He fell back onto the bed with her in his arms, Ginny squealing at the motion. He then rolled over, hovering over her with a fire in his eyes.
Clothes began to fly. It was anyone's guess as to whom they belonged to or what articles they were.
"Neighbors?" Ginny again whispered.
"Not even the neighbors." He said, reaching between her legs and wrenching down a stocking.
"The window." She breathed heavily.
"We're nearly three stories up." He said, grasping for her shirt.
"People will talk."
"Let them talk."
"Alright alright." She murmured as Draco gently nipped her earlobe.
With a subtle growl he rolled her so she was on top.
Gripping his shoulders, hot as a fever, rattling bones, she cried out - consumed by what was transpiring.
Draco reached up and pulled her head down. Her soft lips were open and ready for his kiss. He loved what he tasted.
Her knuckles growing pale, she cried out more. It felt like forever, but it was just tonight. It felt almost as if she was dying.
In the dark of the alley that the window faced, Ginny could make out the light of the day breaking.
Her hands tightening around his biceps as the ride continued, thighs aching with every movement, the sex was on fire.
She cried out more and more and soon she welcomed Draco's release.
They both stayed still except for the incessant panting that escaped their mouths. The light through the window had brightened.
"Early already?" Ginny murmured, wiping a section of hair away from her hot brow.
"Mmm?" Draco responded, his eyes shut, arm draped across his forehead as he lay back on the bed.
Ginny's panting stopped and her eyes grew wide.
"Fire." She whispered.
"What was that?" Draco asked.
"Fire. Fire! FIRE! DRACO FIRE!" Ginny yelled as she scrambled off of him and grabbed whatever clothing she spotted on the floor.
"What do you mean?" Draco asked, sitting up. He rubbed his eyes and turned to look out the window behind him.
"FUCKING MERLIN!" Draco shouted as Ginny fled the bedroom and into the hallway.
"Blaise! Blaise! Fire!" Ginny yelled, banging on Blaise's door.
"He probably can't hear you!" Draco called to her, nearly falling over as he scrambled to put on shoes.
Ginny whipped out her wand and was ready to blast open the door when it opened and a sleepy eyed Blaise greeted her.
"What's all the ruckus?" Blaise yawned.
"Blaise! There's a fire!" Ginny yelled at him.
"A fire?" came a dreamy voice from behind Blaise.
"LUNA?" Ginny shrieked.
"Damn." Blaise said.
"No time for questions. We have GOT to leave!" Ginny said.
"The fuck mate! Something's on fire! We've got to get out of here!" Draco said, running into the hall. "Let's go!"
He grabbed Ginny's hand and nearly dragged her down the stairs.
"Oh fuck!" Blaise said. He turned behind him.
"Come m'lady!" Blaise said to Luna, grabbing her hand.
Draco and Ginny raced outside and they could immediately smell smoke. The back of the bar was lit up with a devilish glow.
"Where's it coming from? Next door?" Ginny asked confused. Draco looked around and soon realized the source of the blaze.
It wasn't just the sex that had been on fire that night. Apparently the bar was too.
~*~*~*~
Authors Note- GAH! I know, I know! Cliffhangers(ish)! There are 3 chapters left as well as the epilogue, which will be uploaded at the exact same time as the final chapter as to not confuse people. I hope everyone liked this chapter and was not offended at all. After all, it is warned to you of sexual references multiple times. Please review! It is much appreciated. Hope you guys are ready for the next last few chapters. :) Stay tuned!
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