Title: To Live Forever
Author: Wyld Rose
Rating: R overall
Disclaimer: I only own the plot and a few miscellaneous made-up characters. The rest belongs to JK Rowling!
Chapter 2: Something Amiss
Draco was no longer hungry, and decided to return to the Slytherin common room as he left the forbidden hallway. Muttering the password, ‘Muddy Mudbloods,’ he gained access to the dimly lit serpent’s hangout. Thankfully, the common room was vacant. The breathy hum and seldom crackle of burning logs in the hearth replaced chattering and scheming that typically went on here. Unraveling Ginny’s precious parchment slowly, he sat against a cold stone windowsill and read her words carefully.
Is it just me that sees beyond the sky
Beyond your demons, beyond your eyes
To a place so cold, such careless horizons
Where empty words fill empty years
And a forlorn past lets no one near.
Ambition’s burning too bright for you now
You thought it would all make sense somehow
To replace the pain, such precise indifference
Intoxicating your hollow world
Such a sordid flag you have unfurled
Draco wished he never read the poem as his eyes lingered on the last line. It seemed unfinished to him, but regardless, he saw himself reflected in her intense words. Just then, the entrance wall to the Slytherin common room slid open and a slender figure stepped in, identity revealed in the glow of the fire.
"Ooh, Draco...fancy meeting you here. Why weren’t you at dinner? Crabbe and Goyle didn’t even know where you were." The hearth fire illuminated the figure as she moved closer, blue eyes gazing at Draco fondly. Draco shifted uncomfortably against the windowsill and straightened the hem of his robes. Every time Morgan Moon was around him he felt slightly uncomfortable. She had been his father’s ultimate choice in a soon to be arranged marriage. Draco did not desire to marry her in the slightest, but he knew his father was very avid about passing down the pure Malfoy bloodline. Morgan had slithered close to him, resting a hand lightly on his arm as she canted her head to see the poem.
"Do not touch me." Draco muttered callously, not meeting her sultry gaze. Morgan narrowed her eyes and a pensive smile touched her dark red lips. He ignored her obvious unspoken advance on him, and moved away from her, sliding swiftly away from the Slytherin common room and into the empty hall outside. Still clutching the parchment in his hand, he thought idly about returning it to the Little Weasley. Noise filled the stairwell above, indicating that dinner was over in the Great Hall, and Slytherin students began meandering down the stairs. Draco thought better than to wander about all over the castle trying to find Ginny at this hour, and instead he went back to the forbidden hallway. He was able to slip in unnoticed after a pack of gossiping witches passed his destination.
Draco was consumed by the darkness of the hallway as soon as he entered. Moving through the shadows, he retraced his earlier steps and glanced inside the desolate room before him. The room was empty. Spots of wax on the carpet near the door assured Draco that this was the room he found Ginny in earlier. He pulled her parchment from the folds of his robe and set it on the escritoire, assuming she would return to this place later.
Draco...
Draco froze. That annoying rogue strand of hair fell in his face as his eyes searched the choking darkness. Remaining deathly still, he strained his hearing, swearing he heard someone say his name. Seconds went by like hours, and he never heard it again. He cast the apparition aside, assuring himself that he was hearing things...chatter from the distant stairwell perhaps. Someone must have called out his name, searching for him. He hadn’t shown up for dinner, after all. Turning to the door, he began to exit the peculiar room.
Just breathe...
Blinking, Draco rested his hand on the doorknob and searched the room. The voice came from behind him, in the room...he was sure of it. Feeling incredibly ridiculous, as if he were some child talking to the monster beneath his bed, he cleared his throat.
"Who is there?"
I’m begging you...breathe!
This time, the voice was louder, and Draco felt nothing short of startled. Of course, he would only admit that to himself. The feminine, bodiless voice echoed in his mind, and crawled over his skin with a sinister chill. A list of Hogwarts ghosts ran through his mind, and not one of them could have this effect on him. He hurried out of the room, trying to regain his composure as he went.
Come back...please...
He heard it as he moved swiftly down the hall, the dim light of the stairwell like a haven from the abhorrence he left behind. Taking in a deep breath, he leaned against the banister and glared into the forbidden hallway, going over what had just happened in his mind. Interestingly enough, his thoughts rested on the image of Ginny scratching away on her parchment, sitting on the floor of that bizarre room. Had she heard the voice as well? Draco strained his memory for any recollection of the level of clairvoyance that Ginny possessed, and then cursed himself for giving a damn.
~*~*~*~*~
Ron entered the library and searched for Hermione in her typical studying niche. Sure enough, there she was, pouring over a large stack of textbooks. He slid in a chair beside her and rested his chin on her shoulder, scanning the content of the page she was reading.
"How boring. Who cares about the architecture of Hogwarts?" Ron rolled his eyes. Hermione glanced at him sternly and pursed her lips.
"It just so happens to be very interesting, and extremely practical." She stated with finality. Ron just stared at her and sat up straight, stretching out his arms with a hearty yawn.
"Relax from studying for just a bit. I need some attention." Ron tugged at her sleeve imploringly. Regardless of how much more studying Hermione knew she had to get done tonight, a pleading Ron was hard to resist. She leaned against him and gave his leg an affectionate pat. Ron smiled and stroked her long chestnut hair, which had calmed down a bit over the years.
"Why did you leave in such a rush earlier?" Ron spoke after a few moments of silence between them. He felt her tense slightly before she answered.
"Oh, I just wanted to hurry and get the studying done while it was still fresh on my mind." She hoped that he would settle for her answer. Unfortunately for her, Ron was as inquisitive as ever.
"Even though we all know you’re nutters about studying and staying on task and all, it was still kind of...I don’t know, sudden? Harry wasn’t even done explaining his dream." Ron explained, hoping she’d hurry up and confess.
"Oh, well I thought he was."
"Is something bothering you?"
"No," said Hermione with a soft sigh. Ron looked up to the ceiling and blew the fiery red hair from his forehead. Maybe she had the same dream...and she’s just not admitting it because she doesn’t want to blow it out of proportion?
"It’s weird because I had the same dream as Harry," Ron thought that by saying this, Hermione might admit to the same thing, and again, he felt her tense up.
"I... I think I did too."
Finally, she admitted it. Ron was proud of himself for his clever use of reverse psychology. Hermione sat up and held Ron in a you-better-not-tell-Harry gaze.
"I think it would be best if we don’t act like this is some huge deal...Harry has been through enough already. I just want his seventh year to be a peaceful one." She picked up the book she was studying earlier and thumbed through the pages. Ron stared at her and then began to laugh.
"I don’t think it’s legal to mention Harry and peacefulness in the same sentence. I’m sorry but I can’t just ignore mysterious things anymore—especially after six years of possessions, murders, and curses all around me. It’s almost like something crazy is destined to happen as long as Harry is here. Since when does more than one person have the exact same dream? I mean, couldn’t you see exactly what he described? The emptiness? You told me to come meet you in here, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that you were worried about the dream." Ron tried to keep his voice down, but he was so annoyed that she could just act like the dream was nothing. Hermione glared at him beneath furrowed brows. She hated to admit when he was right, but he was.
"Just...let’s wait for a while until something else happens. It could just be a coincidence." Hermione said as she began reading through the book again, showing Ron that she would not discuss this any further. Ron sighed disappointedly and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. He hadn’t received but a few moments of rest before a piercing scream echoed through out the library. Mournful sobs and a murmur of concerned voices followed the scream. Ron and Hermione stood simultaneously and looked at one another.
"What the...?" Ron whispered, noticing several students hurrying to the main lobby of the Library. Hermione blinked, then grabbed Ron’s hand and pulled him over to follow the students.
Tentatively they approached the scene noticing a student, sitting limp at a table, his head resting listlessly on an opened textbook. The sobbing was coming from another form huddled over the figure, clinging to him desperately.
"NO!" The person sobbed, burying her face in the robes of the fallen Hufflepuff fifth year, "Someone help! He isn’t breathing!" Everyone stood there, unsure of what to do. The librarian, Madam Prince glided over in a hurry, forcing the students to stand aside. She shook the student and felt of his pulse, and when she found none, she ordered a nearby prefect to notify Dumbledore immediately.
Madam Prince moved the body to the floor, and everyone gasped at the body’s pallid appearance and blue lips. A few observers turned, gagging, and others groaned, disturbed at the sight of the dead body. The girl who had cried out upon noticing her dead friend, immediately passed out and was caught by the throng of students behind her.
A few minutes later, Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey approached the scene and kneeled to the boy, whom they determined to be Theodore Murdock, one of the beaters for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.
"He is dead," Madam Pomfrey stated in barely a whisper. She covered her heart with her hand, feeling uneasy. Dumbledore looked around and then searched the body for any mark, any sign of how the boy could have died.
"We will have to perform an autopsy, as long as his parents permit, to understand how this terrible thing could have happened," Dumbledore reached down and closed the boys eyes, which he noted were frozen wide and terrified.
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Draco and Ginny belong to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, Scholastic, Warner Bros and various other corporations. They are being used here without permission and/or affiliation with the above. None of the authors listed here make any profit from these stories.