The Dragon's Rose
chapter four :: an inner public neutral vs. neutral debate
...
Minerva McGonagall rushed into Dumbledore's office.
"You said it was urgent?" She greeted him, settling in a chair facing his desk. She noticed he was very somber, the twinkle in his eyes faded to a dull glow.
"Yes, Minerva." He said, nodding. "I'm afraid it is. Voldemort is coming to Hogwart's." He said, and she gasped.
"How do you know?" She asked, clasping a hand to her chest. Dumbledore sighed. "We received an owl, believe it or not, from Voldemort himself, so kindly informing us that he was coming and there was nothing to do about it."
Minerva shook her head. "There must be something we can do. The students.." She said, wringing her hands.
"Most of the students will be perfectly safe. They aren't what Voldemort is after. As we have previously discussed, he wants a human sacrifice. It will provide him with a new body. He hasn't said who he is after, but I still believe it is Mr. Malfoy." He said, sadly.
"The worst part of this all is that there is really nothing we can do. We don't know where he will be, or how it will happen, all we know is that he's coming. We don't even know when." He explained, and Minerva shook her head dully.
"This is terrible. There must be something... Harry. Can't Harry stop him? Can't you?"
Dumbledore sighed, and turned his chair slightly, to look out the bay window behind him, at the school grounds.
"I'm afraid that I'm getting too old for this sort of thing, Minerva. Harry is our only hope. But getting him there in time is up to us, and this once, I really don't know what to do." Dumbledore explained.
Minerva sighed, tears springing up in her eyes. "I see." She said, her voice small. "All right, then. Have you spoken with Sirius lately?" She asked, changing the subject.
"He sent me an owl recently, yes, but he is a very busy man." Dumbledore said.
Minerva nodded her head. "All right, Albus. Thank you for informing me." She said, and stood up to leave.
Dumbledore motioned for her to come over to him. "Help me up, then, Minerva." She went to his side immediately, and took his arm, helping him out of his chair.
"Albus... are you going to be all right?" She asked, concerned.
Dumbledore sighed again. "Days are passing quickly." He said wisely. "And my energy is leaving as well." He said, and Minerva shook her head in worry.
"What is happening, Albus? How is everything falling apart so fast?" She asked, with watery eyes.
....
In the Slytherin 6th year boy's dorm, there was quiet talking coming from one of the four-post beds. Concealed by green silk curtains, under green silk sheets, Ginny and Draco were having a quiet conversation.
"Ginny, do you realize I was supposed to tutor you again last night?" Draco asked, stroking her hair idly.
"Well you certainly taught me a few new things." Ginny said, giggling softly, a pretty blush tainting her cheeks. Draco smirked.
"Yes, I know. Pop quiz, though. How big is the herb Dhaktalus when it is two years old?" He asked, and Ginny wrinkled her nose, then giggled.
"8 and a half inches exactly." She declared, and Draco frowned.
"Incorrect. It's 2 centimet --" He started, but stopped when he realized what Ginny was talking about. "You're so mature, Ginny." He scolded her, tugging at her ear gently.
She smiled happily, snuggling into his arms. "I know. I get that from my brothers, really."
She sighed, and traced the contours of his chest with a finger, revelling in how perfectly pale his skin was, at how toned his muscles were, and everything about him.
How had she not noticed him before? Ah yes, they hated each other's guts.
There was a loud grunt from across the room, and Crabbe shouted something. "Stop talkin' to yerself, Mr. Malfoy... I'm tryin' ter sleep." He mumbled, and Ginny and Draco struggled to hold back laughter.
"Mr. Malfoy?" Ginny whispered, smirking. Draco blushed and ran a hand through his silver hair. "I demand respect. You should try it sometime..." He murmured, and Ginny giggled.
The curtains were pulled aside gruffly, and Crabbe in nothing but little black boxer-briefs stood there. "I meant it, Mr. Malf --" He stopped, upon seeing Ginny.
"Oh."
Ginny burst out laughing, half at how ridiculous Crabbe looked in tight black shorts, half at how shocked he was that Malfoy had a Weasley in bed with him.
"You were saying something, oaf?" Draco asked, frowning, as Ginny giggled like mad.
Crabbe shook his head dumbly, closing the curtain.
Draco started cracking up as well, and the lovers laughed merrily.
...
The ceiling of the Grand Hall, being charmed to show the sky, was a brilliant blue, with scattered clouds, and windows let in fantastic rays of morning daylight.
It was very pretty, needless to say.
Hermione yawned and practically purred, as she sat down next to Harry, her face aglow. "It's a beautiful morning, wouldn't you say?" She asked, happily.
Harry nodded, smiling widely. "I have a feeling today will be grand. You know that feeling?" Hermione nodded.
Ron settled across from his two best friends, and put a hand to his stomach.
"I'm starving, where's the food?" He asked, and Harry grinned.
"Yeah. Today'll be great." He assured himself, as breakfast appeared.
About halfway through the meal, Ron asked Hermione a question.
"So about what time did Ginny come back last night?" He asked, casually, as he poured syrup on his pancakes liberally.
Hermione choked on her bacon.
"What?" She asked, color slowly draining from her face. Ron noticed this, and carefully set the syrup down. "What time did Ginny get back last night?" He asked, again.
Harry watched them, as he shoveled some eggs into his mouth.
"She... well.. I.. I don't recall... I don't recall her coming back..." She stuttered.
Ron turned purple.
"You do mean that because you just fell asleep, right? I mean, she was there this morning, right?" He asked, breathing becoming difficult for him.
Harry just watched their conversation with interest, taking a large swig of orange juice.
"Actually..." Hermione fidgeted in her seat. "... She wasn't there this morning either..." She said, carefully and slowly, and Harry choked on his orange juice.
Ron was turning different colors now. Purple, red, green, pale, and back to purple again. Harry turned to Hermione.
"What's this mean?" He asked, kicking Ron under the table.
Hermione tilted her head to the side. "Well, let's think about this logically. Last time she was seen, she was seen being ravished by Malfoy in the hallway." She stated, looking at her breakfast funnily.
"And then she never came to bed last night..." She continued, when a flash of aubern and silver hair coming in caught her eye.
"And now she's walking in with Malfoy." Hermione breathed out, and screwed her eyes up.
"She uh... was... being tutored all night? Maybe?" She squeaked, and Ron stood up so quickly and angrily that he tipped his chair over, and spilled his goblet of juice all over the table.
He stormed over to Ginny and Draco, who were heading for the Slytherin table.
He was about halfway over to them when Dumbledore stood up, and told everyone to please be quiet and stop walking.
So Ron froze, and turned to listen to Dumbledore.
"I'm afraid I have some grave news." The headmaster began, and immediately a hush fell across the room, and all eyes were on him.
"You-Know-Who has announced that he is back to full power and coming to Hogwart's." Gasps were scattered across the room, and some girls began to whimper and cry.
Dumbledore raised his hands for silence.
"Please, listen. He isn't going to harm most of you." He assured them, but shot Malfoy a meaningful look. "But it is best that we be on high alert. If anyone has anything strange to report please do so. Try and enjoy your day. Now eat." He instructed them, sitting down tiredly.
The usual din of breakfast became distinctively louder, as the students buzzed with shock, and Ron just sort of stood where he was, uncomfortably.
It wasn't till one of the Hufflepuffs, a loud girl named Daniela, hollered at him to quit blocking her view of Donnie*. The table burst into laughter, and Ron sneered at the Hufflepuffs, but went back to his table reluctantly, forgetting about Ginny and Draco, who were sitting down with the Slytherins.
"Did you hear that?" He asked, as he settled back in his seat, and Harry nodded fervently.
"I sure did." He assured him. "This is huge." He said, and Hermione furrowed her brow.
"What do we do?" She asked, and Harry frowned at his breakfast. "I don't know." He confessed, and Hermione sighed, and leaned her head on his shoulder.
...
Somewhere in Voldemort's secret lair, he was pacing back and forth, pondering the situation at hand.
"I don't have anything to worry about." He said, in a wistful sort of voice. Then he frowned.
"But what about Potter?" He growled, and stared into the mirror, clutching the handle so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
In the mirror, admist a swirl of colors, he saw Harry Potter, laughing with his poor friend, a mudblood upon his arm, with a broom, a wand... a life.
Voldemort growled, and watched as the trio in his mirror tromped along the Hogwart's grounds, enjoying themselves. Suddenly a surge of anger and envy flowed through him and he cried out, throwing the mirror against the wall.
The mirror shattered into a thousand pieces, and when he realized what he had done, he gasped, and ran over to where the frame lay, one fairly large piece still intact. The other tiny shards lay scattered around in a perfect circle, and Voldemort reached out and picked up the large piece.
It was about the size of his palm, and ironically was an exact circle. He flourished his wand, and tapped the piece, muttering, "Amuletus Transformus."
The piece now hung from a long silver chain, the piece connecting it to it was a fine piece of silver, with an emerald embedded in it. Voldemort held it up, as his prize, and stared into the depths of it. It still showed the same image, the one that filled him with rage.
"Destroy it. It is consuming you, and it will be your downfall." A hooded figure said, his voice smooth like silk. It wasn't Lucius, Voldemort knew who this one was.
"Serverus, this mirror is my only form of joy. I don't know what you are talking about." Voldemort argued, and Snape shook his head.
"You know that's a lie. This mirror, the mirror of Erised. It drives even the most powerful wizards insane." Serverus said, angrily. Voldemort whirled around, his eyes flashing.
"And I am more powerful than even the most powerful wizards!" He shrieked. Narrowing his red eyes, the dark lord slipped the chain of the amulet over his head, wearing it proudly.
"Now what do you want?" He snapped, and Serverus sighed.
"You wanted to know if I would assist you in sneaking into Hogwart's." Serverus reminded him.
"Ah, yes. Well? Will you?" You-Know-Who asked, walking over to his throne and sitting down.
"I'm afraid I cannot." Serverus said, looking at the floor.
"Why?" Voldemort hissed, his eyes flashing dangerously. Serverus didn't even flinch. "Look, my lord, I'm not a death eater any longer." He reminded Voldemort, who glared at him.
"A death eater will forever be loyal to me. You once were one, you forever will be loyal. Now tell me about the secret passages." He commanded, but Snape held his ground.
"No, my lord. I refuse."
Voldemort whipped out his wand and pointed it at Serverus.
"You will obey!!" He screamed, "Or I will kill you!!"
Serverus' eyes flashed.
"And I'd rather die than serve for you ever again!!" He screamed back, with equal venom. Voldemort seemed to be defeated, and he pocketed his wand.
"Very well. Then I will find my own way in. Farewell, Serverus." He hissed, and Serverus only smiled, bowing, and then leaving.
...
At lunch the daily mail came, delivering mail into the students' awaiting hands. Draco wasn't looking forward to this time at all, and he frowned when one of his father's owls dropped a letter on his plate.
He picked it up gingerly, as if it would hurt him. However, judging from the recent letter, it probably would, though not literally.
Ginny poked him. He turned demurely, and saw her smiling happily.
"What'd ya' get?" She asked, her red curls bouncing a bit, the light glinting off it, reminding him how beautiful she was and how lucky he was to have her.
"I don't know, I haven't looked yet." Draco said, and this wasn't a lie. He hadn't looked yet. She raised a delicately shaped eyebrow. "Well? Are you planning on opening it?" She pressed, and he sighed.
"No, not really..." He admitted, and raised a forkful of potato salad, and opened his mouth.
Ginny snatched the letter off the table, and began opening it.
Draco dropped his fork and tried to grab it back, but it was too late. Ginny cleared her throat and read it aloud.
"Draco, darling, it's your mother."
Draco let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Your father owled me your owl and I was very disappointed in you. Since when do you use such language? Certainly not from me. I'd have sent you a howler, but I know how those trouble you so, and considering your situation, I decided I would be nice to you this once.
Lovey, I must admit I'm worried, but you've gotta admit that it is a bit flattering. Anyways, be sure to wear clean underwear, lovey. You've got sensitive skin down there, remember when you were 6 and you got that dreadful rash?
We wouldn't want that happening again, now would we? No, of course we wouldn't. That was terrible. And you wouldn't stop scratching. If you do get another rash, be sure not to scratch, it just makes it worse. Especially with your sensitive skin.
Are you using that cologne that gives you hives? I hope not. We told you to get rid of it. I'm having your bedroom redone into a dressing room. If you do happen to escape, which is doubtful, you'll have to live in a pink room, with lace curtains.
Does that make you feel any better about the situation? I once tried to get your father to paint the kitchen pink, but he said he'd rather die than live with a pink kitchen. I hope you don't share your father's taste. Speaking of pink, grandmother has sent you a lovely collared pink shirt.
I'd have sent it but I figured why bother? You'd just burn it, like those lovely sailor pants she sent. I liked them, bellbottomed or not. And what happened to the sweater? The one that was yellow with blue stripes? I thought it would've looked lovely with your tan dragonhide pants.
Speaking of dragon hide, your cousin Marty, the bum from San Diego, came visiting yesterday dressed from head to toe in red dragonhide. He goes through such dreadful phases, don't you agree? Yes, lovey, I know you do.
Well, send me a response, if you must, but remember not to use such bad words. Try substituting them with words like, 'salmon fillet', and 'copper'. Of course, that never worked for your father, so I doubt it will work for you. Take care, wear clean knickers.... Mother."
Ginny finished smugly, and turned to him slowly, a wide grin spreading across her face.
Draco put his head in his hands and sighed. "You had a rash when you were 6?" She burst out, and began laughing madly.
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me! This is rich!" She exclaimed, giggling wildly. He sneered at her, but she just giggled and gave him a light kiss. "You've got sensitive skin down there, aye?"
...
The day dragged on, no one really being able to enjoy the unusually gorgeous weather because of the looming danger.
Draco was worrying about his sacrifice, Harry, Hermione and Ron were trying to come up with a plan to stop Voldemort, Ginny was worrying about how she'd be able to make enough copies of Mrs. Malfoy's letter for the entire school population, and the teachers worried for their student's safety.
Evening rolled around, and as Draco was leaving the Quidditch Pitch, after practice, an owl dropped a scroll on his head.
He hollered. "Salmon copper fillet!!"
This drew some strange glances from the Slytherins, but he was getting a lot of those recently, so he ignored them, picking up the letter, which was probably from his father.
He had guessed correctly, and scanned the letter, twice, three times before throwing it down and stamping on it, hollering out random curses and seafood dishes.
The letter told him to cut off all contact with his friends, girlfriends ("if anyone would touch a pottymouth like you" the letter had said), and accquaintances. It also informed him that the sacrifice would occur 2 days from then.
He felt like it was time for another whimper, and so whimper he did. He stared at the crumple parchment in his hand, wondering if he stared at it long enough it would burst into flames. Then a hand grasped his shoulder, making him jump and holler out something about tunafish.
It turned out to be Professor Snape. "Something troubling you, Draco?" He asked, and Draco felt, for some reason, as though he could confide in him.
"Actually, many things." Draco confirmed, and the two began walking.
"I'm in a bit of a predicament with my father and You-Know-Who." Draco began, and Snape nodded. "I know."
Draco stopped walking, and looked at him strangely. "How do you know?" He asked, and Snape sighed. "Dumbledore has many connections, and what he discovers he shares with the teachers, in order to better protect his students." He explained, and Draco furrowed his brow.
"Oh. Well, then, the other thing is that now I have to cut off contact with my friends... and my girlfriend... in order for their safety, and I really don't know how I can tell Gin- er... them that." He said, stuttering slightly.
Snape smiled. "Who's your girlfriend?" He asked, casually.
Draco shot him a death glare. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that I love her and that I can't do this to her... not now." Snape nodded. "I see. Well, you'll just have to tell her, no matter what. Be sure to mention that it's for her safety. Remember, Draco, you're just putting her in more danger the longer you're with her. " He said, wisely. Draco sneered at him, then watched as he walked off, down the hall, his robes swishing around him.
...
The "dream team" was in the library, trying to figure out what to do.
Hermione thumbed idly through a paticularly fat book. "It all says the same thing, you guys. That human sacrifice, when performed, and the bodies are switched, is irreversible." She said, reading from the top of the page.
"I still don't know why we should be helping Malfoy." Ron muttered,as he angrily paged through another book.
"Have you forgotten that your sister is madly in love with him and shagging him? Does that clear matters up a bit for you, you insensitive prat?" Hermione asked, snappily.
Harry sent them a warning glare. "That's not the only reason. If Vold- er... You-Know-Who gets Malfoy's body, he'd be even more powerful than before. He'd be stronger, healthier." He explained.
Ron sighed, and slammed the book he was reading shut, and reached for another one. "This sucks." He announced, as he opened another book, glaring at the words angrily.
Ginny appeared suddenly, clutching her stomach and giggling, holding a piece of parchment in her hand.
The trio looked up at her, strangely, wondering why she was so happy. "What's all this then?" Ron asked, and Ginny didn't speak, she just cracked up, and handed Ron the letter she was holding.
He read it aloud, and soon all four of them were nearly rolling on the floor.
"Oh, that's rich..." Ron said, wiping a tear from his eye. Hermione and Harry were clutching each other to keep from falling over.
Ginny smiled smugly. "Isn't it, though? I read it and nearly died." She announced. Ron grinned. "It's fantastic." He agreed, but his smile disappeared when Malfoy entered the library.
"Oh, look, it's the ferret with a rash!" He exclaimed, his face lighting up as he greeted Malfoy, who blushed and sneered.
"Oh, funny, very funny." He spat, sarcastically. Ginny turned around when she heard his voice, her face lighting up.
She threw her arms around him, and he softened instantly, wrapping his arms around her. Harry and Hermione smiled gently, and Ron averted his gaze.
Draco let go of Ginny slowly. "I need to speak with you." He said, and looked furtively around. "Alone." He added, and Ginny nodded. "Of course. We'll go outside." She suggested, and he nodded.
She headed for the door, but stopped when Draco didn't follow. "Well?" She pressed, and Draco assured her he'd be there in a minute. She nodded and left.
Malfoy turned back to Ron. He leaned in, furrowing his brow.
"Now listen here, Weasley. What I'm about to do is for her own good. I don't want to hurt her, God knows I love her, but I can't risk her being in danger. Do you understand? I'm telling you this so you don't implode if she comes running to you." He said, his voice trembling.
Ron opened his eyes wide. "You're leaving her?" He gasped, and Draco sighed, and looked at his feet.
"I have no choice, Weasley. If I stay with her, which I wish I could do, she'll be in worse danger than ever. Do you understand?" He asked again, impatiently.
Ron nodded. "I do." Draco nodded curtly. "Good." He turned to leave.
"Malfoy!" Ron called after him, and he turned around.
"We're going to try to help you, you know." He said, and Draco's eyes glimmered. "Thank you." He said, softly, and then sneered and left.
...
a/n: wow! 30 whole reviews! im touched! ^_- seriously, though. your reviews mean a lot to me. they really make me feel... well... special. *sniff*
anyways, thankerz to all my readers, and a bigger thankerz and cookies to all who reviewed.
adios, and stay tuned for the next chapter.
....
and remember, it's passover, stay away from the leaven! ^_^
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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.