See the prologue for the disclaimer.
Afraid of the Dark
Written by LJP
Chapter 13
Draco raced through the dungeons as fast as he could. The pain in his forearm continued to grow with each step. He didn’t know how much longer he could bear it. His bottom lip was already beginning to bleed from his teeth, which were sunk down into it in an attempt to mask the pain from his face.
He reached the Potions classroom only to discover it empty.
"Damn." He swore aloud, spinning on his heels in search of his Potions professor. Snape was nowhere in sight, but the door to his personal office was slightly ajar. Draco was across the room in seconds.
"Professor?" He asked, pushing the door open a little more. He knocked on it.
Snape was sitting on a plush valor chair, a book open in his lap. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing heavily. While Draco’s arm burned in pain, his professor did not appear to be in any distress.
Draco walked to him slowly and put a hand on his shoulder. "Professor Snape?"
The Potions Master’s hand shot out and wrapped around Draco’s wrist. The student sucked in a breath, his gray eyes wide. Snape let out a sigh. "Mr. Malfoy, did you father teach you nothing?" He pushed himself to his feet and stepped backward.
"I — I’m sorry, sir." He grimaced, his hand returning to massage his forearm.
"Is there a problem Mr. Malfoy?"
Draco nodded. "Sir, I — my arm."
Snape raised an eyebrow and pushed up Draco’s sleeve to reveal the Mark. The usually pale gray skull and serpent, was glowing red, and it was evident that it was hurting him. Snape looked at him, and then spun on his heel to take the small, green vial off the bookshelf. "I don’t know if this will work, but you’re more than welcome to try it." He held the green glass vial out to Draco.
However, when Draco touched it, nothing happened. Well, he did not disappear. But, his Mark began to hurt worse than before. "Damn."
Snape looked pensive for a moment. "Why don’t you go in search of Miss Weasley? Perhaps she can help you."
Realization dawned on Draco’s face, and he was out of the room and running toward the Quidditch pitch before Snape could say "flibbertigibbet." (Though why Professor Snape would ever find it necessary to find such a word is entirely beyond this author.)
Ginny followed Harry down the hallway and outside onto the Quidditch pitch. With her arm linked through his, they strolled into the light from the setting sun. "Is this a full practice tonight Harry?" She asked, patting him on his upper arm.
He nodded. "Yeah, we’re getting ready for the big game this weekend." He moved away from her. "You’re more than welcome to sit down here and watch, or you can go up to the stands." Harry smiled at her. "I’m really glad you came with me tonight Ginny."
She smiled back at him and watched his retreating form as he disappeared back into the hallway and into the locker room. Letting out a small sigh, Ginny crossed to a small patch of grass and sat down on it, crossing her legs. She set her bag next to her, and reached into it to take out her diary.
It wasn’t there.
Ginny panicked. She was sure she had it when she went to the library. It had been sitting out next to her Potions book. She gasped. It must have fallen off the table, and I must have left it there. "Damn!" She muttered. "I hope Draco doesn’t find it —" She stopped suddenly as a burning pain shot through her arm. She grabbed her forearm in an attempt to halt the pain from spreading, but there was nothing she could do.
She could see the red outline of the skull burn through her shirt.
Struggling frantically, Ginny reached up to touch her necklace, preparing herself for the apparation.
Nothing happened.
She opened her eyes and looked around. She was still on the Quidditch pitch. Her fingers were still laced around her necklace. And she was still grimacing in pain. She knew that nothing good could ever come out of her not going when the Dark Lord called. But without her necklace doing the work for her, Ginny had no way of getting there — wherever there was.
Still in pain, Ginny struggled to her feet. She looked around frantically. She needed to do something. She needed to find Snape. As she began to run toward the hallway back into the school, she heard a voice call out to her from behind. "Ginny!"
She spun around to find her brother and Harry landing their brooms and walking toward her. Ron was looking at her, concerned. "Gin, are you okay?
She nodded fiercely. "Yes! Yes! I’m fine." Ginny started to take a step backwards, hiding her arm behind her back so the burning red couldn’t be seen. Harry raised an eyebrow and took a step out toward her. "Really. I am."
Ginny took another step backwards, just in time to back directly into one Draco Malfoy, who was practically flying out from the school. As soon as he touched her, the two of the dematerialized, identical looks of surprise on their faces.
Harry and Ron gasped. There was a moment’s pause before they both realized what had just occurred and took off for the Headmaster’s office.
***
Author’s Note: Sorry this is so short. I wanted to get something out for all of you faithful readers. Thanks for the reviews.
"Speak to me no more. These words like daggers enter in mine ears!" — William Shakespeare, Hamlet
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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.