The Dragon's Rose
chapter five :: when you run out of an endless supply of both ironic and logical titles
a/n: yeah, about the title thing... none of the titles really have anything to do with the story. so.. uh. just ignore them. thanks! and review! oh, somebody named "..." said i messed up on draco's personality by making him cry. i have to disagree. everyone cries. even me, believe it or not... O.o
this is kind of a sad chapter, by the way, alot of not so happy things happen.
...
Draco made his way outside to where Ginny was waiting, and as he neared her his heart began to ache. He really didn't want to do this.
But he had to.
"Virginia." He whispered, into her ear. She jumped slightly, and then turned to face him. She smiled gently, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He sighed.
"Ginny, I'm afraid we can't continue this." He said, quietly.
She startled. "What?" She asked, furrowing her brow. Draco sighed and tried again.
"I'm sorry, love, but we can't stay together. It's for your own safety..." He said, his eyes watery.
Ginny's eyes went dangerously wide. "Why?" She choked out, tightening her embrace around him, never wanting to let him go.
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you. Ginny, I love you. I always will. But staying with you is putting you danger. I can't risk your getting hurt. I'm sorry, Virginia." He said, a tear rolling down his cheek.
She was sobbing now, wet, hot tears streaming down her face. "Draco..." She gasped, and he pulled her into a kiss.
The forlorn lovers passionately embraced outside, in the autumn cool.
....
Just a little ways off, Serverus watched with Minerva.
"I feel so sorry for them." Minerva admitted, and Serverus nodded. "As do I. But he's doing the right thing, Minnie." He said, and she sighed.
"I know he is. But I wonder, how long can they stay apart? It could be a while until You-Know-Who attacks. What if they give in? What if they can't stand each other's absence and suddenly, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named attacks?" She asked, worry ebbing on her voice.
Serverus sighed. "I don't know, Minerva. I don't know." He confessed, and he left.
Minerva continued to watch as Draco left Ginny standing in the courtyard. Minerva caught a glimpse of tears staining his face.
She sighed and left.
...
Somewhere outside of the 6th year Gryffindor boys' dorm a bird sang a happy song. Inside Ron was comforting a sobbing Ginny.
"Ginny, look, he talked to me, he loves you, he does, this is for your own good." He tried to coax her.
Ginny shook her head. "No, Ron, it's not that. He hates me. I did something wrong." She wailed.
Ron huffed and rolled his eyes. "He does not hate you. Draco Malfoy loves you!" He said, which was something he'd never imagined he'd say.
"Then why did he just dump me?" She cried out, again, and went back to sobbing. Ron rolled his eyes. She was hopeless.
"Was I bad in bed?" She squeaked, and then reached for a kleenex, and let out a loud honk.
Ron shuddered. "I don't even want to think about you being in bed with him." He muttered, and the door opened, Harry and Hermione came in, looking hopeful.
"Feeling any better?" Hermione asked, patting Ginny's arm. "No." Ginny said darkly.
Harry beamed. "Good!" He said, and Ginny and Ron glared at him. "What do you mean, good?" Ron snapped.
"Well, because. If you were feeling better, than Hermione and I couldn't break out the ice cream!" He announced, happily pulling two gallons of ice cream out from behind his back.
"Ta da!" He exclaimed, and Hermione brandished some spoons with a flourish. "Party hearty!" She exclaimed, and the two plopped down on the floor with Ginny and Ron, and they set about handing out spoons and opening the cartons.
Ron was glowing, as he heartily dug into the Rocky Road, but Ginny just poked at the Mint Chocolate Chip. Hermione glared at her, mouth full of ice cream.
"Eat." She commanded, which made Harry choke on his ice cream, laughing. Ron just smirked, mouth covered in chocolate.
Ginny smiled despite herself. "You guys are awesome." She exclaimed, and Harry grinned his lopsided smile, which was currently covered in mint ice cream.
Hermione poked him hard, and he swallowed and whimpered. "Oww, what was that?" He asked, and Hermione shrugged. "I don't know." She said, and Harry snorted, shoveling more ice cream into his mouth. Ginny giggled and the four spent the entire night eating ice cream.
...
Morning rolled around, and Ginny and Hermione set off for classes immediately after breakfast.
Hermione was quizzing Ginny on 5th year Herbology as they rounded a corner. Ginny was listing off ingredients for sleep potions, Hermione was taking notes in her notebook, so they weren't looking up.
That's when Ginny ran smack into Draco Malfoy.
They fell on their bottoms, opposite each other. Ginny's books scattered, and Draco dropped a little piece of parchment he was carrying.
They stared at one another. Draco began sweeping up her books for her, but she swatted his hand away. He pulled it back, a hurt expression playing across his face as she picked up her books and left quite abruptly.
He watched her walk away, and then looked at Hermione, who was feeling rather awkward. She gave him a little sympathetic smile, and then ran to catch up with Ginny.
Draco sighed and stood up, walking off, forgetting that he didn't have his piece of parchment with him.
...
Ginny was walking fast, her head down, to hide the tears. She finally stopped, outside the potions dungeon, where she was heading for her big test.
Hermione came up to her, trying to catch her breath. "Oh... Ginny..." She said, sadly. "He loves you, he does. You've got to forgive him. He's doing this because he loves you so. It would be selfish and cruel for him to stay with you and put you in danger."
Ginny looked at her friend with sorrow in her eyes. "I know. But, I just... I want him so badly. I want to feel his touch, to hear his voice, to kiss his lips. I... I want him so bad." She whimpered, and Hermione shook her head.
"I know. I'm so sorry. We're doing everything we can to try and stop this." Hermione explained.
Ginny blinked. "What exactly is going on?" She asked, her grip tightening on her books. "No one will tell me the details. If you're all helping my love, than I want to help too." She said, hotly.
Hermione sighed. "I suppose it is time you knew." She said, softly, and then explained the entire situation to Ginny.
...
Voldemort rubbed his temples, slowly, trying to ease the pain he felt.
Lucius Malfoy stood nearby, holding an orb.
"So let me get this straight." Voldemort began, opening his eyes again. "You spy on your son with this crystal ball..." He muttered. "Correct?"
Lucius nodded.
"And recently you saw him shagging a Weasley, then dumping her for her safety..."
Voldemort paused, and glanced idly at the mirror pendant. "...and you think she and Potter and the other weasel and the mudblood may cause a threat?" He asked, and Lucius nodded.
Voldemort laughed. "Hah! You overestimate them."
He dismissed the issue, and went back to staring at the mirror. "Besides... even if Potty does find me, even if he does challenge me... maybe that's what I want." He hissed, his eyes flashing.
Lucius stared at him. "Oh."
Voldemort huffed, and looked back at Lucius. "Everything is going according to plan, no?" He asked, and Lucius shrugged.
"Well, it's your plan. You haven't even told the whole thing to me. So I suppose, yes, it is."
Voldemort looked at his mirror again. "Lucius. I can't wait another day. I won't be able to get in if I don't have the sacrifice now. I want the sacrifice immediately. We leave for Hogwart's now. I've found a way in." He said, and stood.
...
Hermione drew in her breath. "Harry. I've found it." She whispered, and Harry looked at her with intense emerald eyes.
"You... you did?" He asked, in disbelief. Hermione nodded. "Yes. Here, in a book from the restircted section. Harry, we did it. We found it." She whispered, hoarsely.
Ginny and Ron looked at them in shock. "You found a way to reverse the effects of the sacrifice?" Ginny asked, coming over and looking over Hermione's shoulder at the book she and Harry were poring over.
Hermione shook her head. "No. We don't need that if we stop the sacrifice before it happens. And we figured out exactly where Voldemort would perform the ceremony." She explained, and pointed to a map of Hogwart's on the page.
"Right here is Salazar Slytherin's personal dungeon. He used it for many purposes, including the Dark Arts. When he died, the dungeon was sealed off, for fear that some powerful wizard would get a hold of the dangerous Dark Arts supplies.
"Harry and I began to wonder where the ceremony would occur earlier, and so we searched for an ideal spot. I had read about Salazar's dungeon before, but couldn't quite remember where. So we began looking for mentions of it instead of ways to reverse sacrificial rituals.
"We figured if there was any place in Hogwart's that Voldemort would choose it would be Salazar's dungeon. The problem was, when it was sealed off, it, like the Chamber of Secrets, sort of disappeared. The dungeon was enchanted to move around, so that not many people could find it.
"Finally, I've found a map that charts it's movements. It shows the original door that opens in intervals; which actually happens to open tonight at 11:45." Hermione explained, and Ron and Ginny stared at her with wide eyes.
"Wow. Does Dumbledore know about this?" Ron asked, and Harry shrugged.
"He might. But if he does, he hasn't said anything. We're all going tonight. We've got to at least try to save Malfoy..." He paused, and looked at the floor awkwardly.
"Even if he is Malfoy."
Ginny nodded. "I see." She bit her lip. "You guys... how is You-Know-Who going to get into Salazar's Dungeon?" She asked. "Isn't Hogwart's warded to prevent apparation?"
Hermione shrugged. "We don't know for sure. The dungeon itself may have several entrances. Ginny, everything's a little uncertain. And we're definetely going to keep researching, in case something else comes up." She said, patting Ginny on the arm.
Ginny sighed. "I pray we can do something in time." She whispered, and then gather up her books. "I'm going to go study in the common room. I'll see you all later, right?" She asked, and the trio nodded.
Ginny left the library.
...
The midday sun was bright, and Minerva had to shield her eyes from it, as she faced Dumbledore's window. The door to the room opened and she turned, to see Dumbledore and Serverus.
"Albus. Serverus." She greeted them solemnly.
They nodded in greeting, and Dumbledore sat down heavily in his chair. Minerva looked on with concern.
"Are you feeling quite alright, Albus?" She asked, wringing her hands in worry.
He nodded. "I'm fine, really, I'm just tired." He dissmissed the issue."
"Albus was just telling me how he has faith in Potter, Weasley and Granger." Serverus explained, and Minerva raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean by faith? They are but children. Surely they can't do it all alone." She said.
(a/n: you know whats stuck in my head? the best song in the world tribute by tenacious d. O.o "he asked, 'be you angels?' and we said 'Nay, we are but men.' ROCK!" heh. yeah.)
Dumbledore raised one of his own eyebrows. "They are more than children, Minerva." He said, wisely.
She huffed. "I know. But I'm sorry, I worry for them as a mother." She explained, her voice weak with desperation.
Dumbledore nodded. "I understand completely. But, like a mother, you must trust them to do as they see best at times. And I think they know what they're doing. They will succeed." He assured her, and Serverus remained silent.
Minerva sighed.There was a knock at the door. "Come in." Dumbledore called, and the door creaked open to reveal Harry, Ron and Hermione.
Dumbledore's eyes lit up. "Ah! Just the people we were talking about! Come, sit down." He gestured to 3 armchairs. They timidly sat.
The headmaster looked upon them fondly. "So tell us, have you discovered anything?" He asked them, and Harry nodded.
"Yes sir." He launched into an explanation.
...
Ginny left the library and headed for the common room. She stopped in the middle of a hallway, and broke down sobbing.
It was late in the afternoon, so many people were in their common rooms, or in the library, so no one noticed the redhead on the floor crying.
She was so sad. Once she had gotten a hold of Draco she became addicted to him. Like a drug that was so severely addictive that if one doesn't get it, they break down. Draco's drug had addicted her and she couldn't live without it.
She drew her knees up to her chin, and wrapped her arms around her legs, rocking slowly, as she sobbed into her robes.
"You're ruining your prettiest robes." A voice next to her said. She raised her head, and found herself staring at Pansy Parkinson.
"What do you want?" Ginny asked, trying to sound threatening but not succeeding.
Pansy smiled gently. For a moment she looked almost human, Ginny mused.
"Look, I know you love Draco." Pansy said, softly, the toe of her shoe grinding into the floor. "And he loves you, I just want you to know that."
Ginny glared. "But he dumped me, Pansy. It doesn't matter how much he loves me, he isn't with me. I don't care if that's selfish, I just want him so bad. I need him." She whined, and Pansy huffed.
"Look, I know. But you've gotta believe me. He wants you just as much. He's crying his heart out for you, Weasley. Draco Malfoy doesn't just cry his heart out over anything." She said, her tone firm, but not hurtful.
Ginny allowed a few more tears to roll down her cheeks, and tried to ignore Pansy as she sat down next to her.
She began looking at the books Ginny had been carrying, which she had thrown down when she'd broken down.
"What's this?" Pansy asked, picking up a piece of parchment gingerly.
Ginny tried to conceal her interest by shrugging. Pansy gasped. "Ginny, where'd you get this? This is one of Draco's poems!" She whispered, staring in shock at the parchment.
Ginny gasped. "I... I ran into him today... literally. He was holding some paper. I must've accidently picked it up with my books." She said, and Pansy handed her the poem.
Time passes slowly, now that you're gone.
Days are short, my nights are long.
Wish you were here, my only one.
~
You're a rose, thorned yet fragile.
And for you I'd travel a million miles.
The thing I miss most, is your lovely smile.
~
I'm but a dragon, that cannot have you.
Your laughs, your touch, your kisses too.
I need you so badly, if only you knew.
~
Dragons and roses, they cannot be
No matter how much this dragon loves thee.
It would change the world, if you could see me
~
I know this seems weak, desperate and full of hope.
You think it's funny, you think I'm on dope.
But if only you knew, how much I loved you, how much I mope.
~
So I send you my love, a kiss, a hug.
From your dragon
To my rose.
Ginny inhaled slowly. "Wow." She whispered, and Pansy smiled beside her. "See? I told you." She said, and then stood up.
"Well, I'll be going. See you, weasel." She said.
"Later, Park 'N' Slut." Ginny tossed back, gathering her things.
Pansy frowned. "Is that a new one? I haven't heard that yet." She said, smiling.
Ginny stood up, books in hand. "Yes, we made it up last week. Thought it was pretty good." She said, and Pansy smirked.
"Later."
...
"Once, as my heart remembers/ all the stars were fallen embers/ Once, when night seemed forever/ I was with you."
Fallen Embers, Enya
...
a/n: i know this chapter was shorter than the others, its only like 16K, and the shortest yet in this fic is like 19, so you know. but next chap will be longer, after all, we've got a big event coming up.
thanks to my reviews, cookies to them!
i wanted to also add something. i noticed there's another d/g fic thats entitled "the dragon and the rose", and i only realized it just recently. i didn't mean to copy the title, so dun get angry, i dont think ive even read that fic.
at first i was gonna rename my fic, but with this chap and the poem and all, i couldn't. plus, not even me and a drugged up God of Fire could come up with a better one. a big "hey!" to her, too, she's awesome! kawaii! oh, yeah, pray for her toothache. it "hurts like a bitch".
anyways, thankerz to all for reading, and stay tuned!
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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.