Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns it

 

A/N: Quite clearly you all love snogs, so I managed to put some in this chapter. Enjoy :) And thanks to Christine!  

 

 

 

Chapter Fourteen

 

Attractiveness and Forgiveness

 

 

Draco was hopelessly lost.

He tried to tell himself he wasn’t, that he knew exactly where they were going. He tried to ignore the feeling of despair in the pit of his stomach. But it was there, and it was reminding him that he had absolutely no idea where they were.

I’ve got to know! he thought. We can’t get lost down here – we just can’t.

“Draco,” Ginny panted. “I can’t keep up with you . . .”

He could feel her starting to slow down. Now he was in the lead, pulling her along by her hand, listening to her ragged breaths and thudding footsteps behind him. And yet he still forced her to run. 

Draco slowed to a walk, realizing that Ginny really was exhausted. “Not too much longer,” he muttered under his breath, lying. He couldn’t let her know that he didn’t know where they were. She’d only panic and he couldn’t have a panicking girl on his hands. That would be too much.

The more they hurried along, the more Draco began to figure that he would be the one who started to panic before she did. He hated the feeling. He’d never panicked in his life, and he didn’t want to start now. Not when he was the only one who could get them out of the tunnels below his house alive.

Minutes passed. Ginny didn’t say anything and managed to keep up with his long strides. Her hand was starting to feel sweaty in his but he didn’t release it. 

“Are you sure this is the right way?” she finally asked.

Draco stopped abruptly. She somehow stopped with him, turning her head to stare at him. He forced himself to meet her gaze. Her brown eyes stared trustingly into his, waiting for him to answer. His face was blank, but she suddenly knew the answer. In a moment her expression had turned from frightened to angry.

“We’re lost?!” she shrieked at him accusingly.

“Well, I’m sorry!” he exploded back at her, dropping her hand. “Maybe you’d like to figure out how to get out of here while running full speed?”

He turned and began stalking furiously down the tunnel. Ginny rushed after him. “I didn’t mean to get you upset,” she said, practically jogging to keep up. “But . . . it’s just . . . well, you said that this is like Gringotts, and if we’re lost that means we’ll be wandering down here . . .”

“Forever. Yes, I know, you didn’t need to remind me,” he sneered.

“Will you stop and look at me?” she demanded shrilly. “If we keep walking we’ll just get more lost.”

He quit moving and spun around to face her. “Okay, I’ve stopped. What now?”

She looked uncertainly at him, as if afraid she would anger him more. “Don’t be mad,” she said quietly. “This isn’t the time. We won’t have any chance of getting out of here unless you calm down.”

For some reason that annoyed him. He narrowed his eyes at her, trying to think of some stinging comment that would shut her up. But then he heard footsteps that didn’t belong to either of them, considering they weren’t even moving anymore.

Ginny heard it, too, and whipped her head around to try and decide which direction it was coming from. Draco knew instantly it was coming from the way they’d arrived, and the only route they could take was to go forward down the tunnel. Reaching out for her wrist, he whispered, “Come on.”

This time they walked hastily, but they didn’t run. Ginny kept glancing behind them to make sure whomever the footsteps belonged to wasn’t close enough to be seen yet. 

Draco felt unusually calm, but as he squeezed Ginny’s wrist tighter he could feel her trembling. He didn’t have time to dwell on it, yet he had the sudden urge to stop and wrap his arms around her to ease her shaking.

“Who do you reckon it is?” Ginny whispered urgently. “Are they after us?”

“Of course they are,” Draco replied harshly. “And most likely it’s my father. Probably has Voldemort with him. Can’t you go any faster?” He glanced at her over his shoulder and received a look in return that clearly said, Shut up, Draco.

Unless his ears weren’t working properly, it sounded like the footsteps were coming closer. The closer they sounded the more it seemed as though there were two pairs of feet, confirming his theory on it being his father with the Dark Lord. It still wasn’t much more comforting.

They turned down another tunnel. Draco was hoping to lose them, though he couldn’t help but realize that the more he tried to throw them off, the more lost he became. He gave up on counting the turns they made, on the corridors they passed through and left. I’d much rather starve to death down here, he thought, than have Voldemort torture and kill me.

But what about Ginny? She finally had a chance to get her name cleared and live a normal life. Why should it end now?

Draco made a vow that he would search for a way out until the day they died.

At the moment, though, he had to figure out a situation to get them away from Voldemort and Lucius. And nothing was coming to mind except, I have no clue where the hell I am.

“Draco!” Ginny cried sharply, tugging on his arm. He looked back at her, a bit irritated that she was distracting him. Then he followed her gaze and saw that Voldemort and Lucius were now visible behind them. Even though they were quite a few yards away, they were quickly gaining on them, and Draco saw the Dark Lord raise his wand.

“Shit,” Draco muttered.

“Avada -” Voldemort began, though a second too late. Draco was already curving swiftly into another tunnel, pulling Ginny along with him. When he shot a look back over his shoulder he saw the Killing Curse whiz by the corridor opening in a flash of green light and disappear. He heard Lucius swear loudly, then focused his attention on Ginny.

“Um, run?” she suggested faintly.

He nodded in agreement.

So they ran again, and Draco turned into every tunnel possible. At first he thought it had to be working, because Voldemort and Lucius’s footsteps seemed to be fading, but maybe it was because his and Ginny’s own steps were drowning them out. Either way, he was beginning to feel confident they were getting away. But then –

“Don’t think you can run, Draco,” Lucius called. His voice seemed to be magnified, bouncing off the stone walls. “We’ve planted Tracking Spell on you, you fool.”

A Tracking Spell! Why hadn’t he thought of that? And when had they done it? He figured that the only time it could’ve been done was when they were running from that room, and the ceiling was collapsing around them. Voldemort must’ve somehow put the spell on him when he didn’t realize it.

Draco’s heart seemed to sink to his knees. Now he knew they couldn’t escape. Ginny was already starting to lag behind; he could feel her beginning to tire.

We can’t stop, he thought. I won’t let us give up.

“Draco!” Ginny exclaimed suddenly, tugging on his arm to get him to stop.

“We can’t stop, Ginny –” he began, annoyed, twisting around to yank her along. He would carry her if he had to. Then he noticed why she’d paused.

“Look,” she said, pointing at a spot on the wall a little ways behind them. She dragged him back. “It’s a door!”

Sure enough it was. A rather small wooden door in the wall with a metal knob. Draco had never seen it before, since he clearly had never been down this corridor before, but he hadn’t suspected that there were any other rooms besides the one his father used. He tried turning the knob and found it locked.

Ginny pressed her ear against it and listened for a moment. Then her eyes widened. “Listen!” she told him. Feeling rather stupid, he did as she ordered and listened to what was on the other side. An odd sound greeted him. It sounded almost like . . . like rushing water . . .

“Water,” he said simply, straightening and moving his head away from the door. Now, another noise filled his ears – the sound of Voldemort and Lucius’s approaching feet.

“Yes, water,” she agreed, nodding. “Draco, water is the only thing that can rid a person of a Tracking Spell!”

He stared blankly at her for a minute before realizing she was right. Tracking Spells were only taught to select people – people who needed to use them for their jobs and such. Draco had never learned how to disable one before, though he did remember learning at Hogwarts that water could put a damper on such magic.

“We’ll go in here,” Ginny whispered quickly, aware as Draco was of how much closer the Dark Lord and Lucius were getting, “and you can get rid of the spell. Okay?”

“Not okay,” he replied, frowning. “This door is locked for a reason, I hate to tell you.”

She looked into his eyes for what seemed like an eternity, but couldn’t have been more than a few seconds. They could both hear the approach of the two men who wanted to kill them, their footfalls echoing in their mind, and still they stared at each other.

Many emotions ran through Draco at that moment. He felt compassion, hurt, anger, frustration . . . all at the same time. Finally, he settled on a decision and tore his eyes from Ginny’s. He reached for his wand and turned to the door. “Alohomora!” he declared, and watched the door bounce open.

It was dark inside. Draco rapidly lit up his wand then went in first, followed by Ginny. She shut the door firmly behind them, using a Locking Curse on it. As if that will hold the most powerful wizard in the world, he thought, rolling his eyes.

His wandlight revealed a rather small stone chamber, shaped like an upside down bowl. It was empty, but across the room was a creek. It couldn’t have been wider than the length of Draco’s arm. Though it trickled along the opposite wall, it wasn’t the rushing water they’d heard. Because now Draco could hear it a lot clearer, and it wasn’t coming from the creek. It was coming from somewhere else.

“Where is it?” Ginny whispered, staying close to Draco.

“I don’t know,” he answered, striding across to the creek. He could see the bottom plainly, and when he put one foot in the water only reached to his ankle.

He looked up to see where it was flowing. It couldn’t begin and end in that chamber alone, he knew, so there had to be some source. To his surprise and relief, in each direction, from where the creek was coming from and going to, was a long, dark passageway leading somewhere. The passageways were so narrow, it was about as wide was the stream was.

Ginny joined Draco at his side. “There must be more water that way,” she said softly, pointing in the route the creek was flowing in. “I can hear it.”

She was right. The noise of rushing, pounding water was coming from the way the stream was leading to. Draco made his decision in an instant. He grabbed her hand firmly and said gruffly, “All right, keep up.”

He put his other foot in the water and began walking along with the current. Ginny splashed in behind him, having to walk following him because of how narrow the passage was.

“I don’t think this bit of water will throw the Tracking Spell off,” Draco said to her without turning his head.

“But this little river must lead to a lake or some body of water where you can submerge yourself,” she told him, slightly breathless.

“Maybe,” he answered distractedly.

He held his wand as high above him as he could without hitting the low ceiling, but it only lit up a few yards ahead of them. After that it was pure darkness and they couldn’t see a thing. Draco figured that if anything dangerous were coming, they’d be able to see it once the wandlight hit it.

He was wrong.

The walls were made of black stone. There was a sudden drop that Draco did not see, for he hadn’t been looking down, and since the blackness continued from where he could distinguish, he didn’t notice it. He did not see that the creek suddenly dropped and made a tiny trickling water fall down into a pitch dark hole . . .

One minute they were half-jogging, half-running, Ginny starting to say, “How much lo –” and the next, nothing was beneath their feet and they were falling through the air.

It took Draco a moment to fully grasp what was happening. He quickly shoved his wand into his pocket so he wouldn't drop it. His stomach dropped and his heart seemed to jump in his throat, cutting off any screams he might’ve made. Ginny’s own shrieks began to fill the air around him, and he felt her clawing at him, trying to grab his arm.

Draco blinked, but all he could see was darkness. Oh God, he thought. We’ve fallen into a bottomless pit!

He might’ve been jumping to conclusions, but that was all he could think of. Panic seemed to engulf him, and blindly he reached out and tried to grip anything at all. His palm scraped against rough, uneven stone that he couldn’t see, and it stung. He let out a cry of pain and yanked his hand away, hoping he hadn’t cut the skin.

They fell for what seemed like forever, though in actuality it couldn't have been more than twenty seconds. Ginny quit screaming after a moment, but managed to find his arm, hugging it to her. Then she started shouting again. Draco wished she would shut up. There was no doubt in his mind that Voldemort and Lucius could hear her and know where they had gone.

    But he could understand her fright. He was afraid as well. And he barely ever was afraid. That's what scared him most. They were falling, down towards who knows what, going deeper and deeper into the earth, farther away from the surface in which they needed to get to.

    And where would they land? On concrete? Though only a few seconds had passed since they'd been tumbling through the air, they'd gained enough momentuem to really injure themselves if they hit a hard ground.

    There was also the possibility that they'd fall forever. Or that they'd land on spikes sticking up from the ground, impale themselves and die instantly.

    None of that happened. Instead, the pounding of water filled Draco's head, and an instant later he stopped falling. Now, not air surrounded him, but water did. He had fallen into a some sort of pool.

    Ginny released his arm. He opened his eyes, but since there were so many bubbles from his splash he could not see her. For a minute he felt sort of disoriented and he didn't move. Then his brain started to function again and he kicked to the surface. It was farther away than he had anticipated, but he reached it rather quickly.

    Breathing in oxygen, he tossed his head to get his wet hair out of his eyes. He treaded water, looking around for Ginny. He didn't see her, yet then he was too busy looking at his surroundings to worry.

    He was in another stone chamber, slightly bigger than the previous one, and lit with candles floating in the air near the top. The entire floor was one big pool. There was no solid ground anywhere. The only stone made up the walls and the ceiling. And at the far end of the chamber there was a wide opening, sort of like an arched door. It was dark and hard to see where it led to, but the current in the lake was going towards it.

   The current is a little too strong, actually, for this pool, Draco mused. He could feel it start to pull him along, start to drag him towards the dark opening. Where does it lead?

   Then it hit him. It was a waterfall. The rushing, pounding water noises he and Ginny had heard had been coming from the waterfall, the waterfall that was made from this pool. There must've been a drop in that black, arched opening. And from the sound the water made as it crashed over from the lake, then hit some sort of barrier below, it must've been one long drop.

    Draco's heart seemed to quit beating, then start up again. With each passing moment the current was pulling him closer to it, closer towards the opening, closer towards falling over the edge.

    And he was tired of falling.

    He suddenly heard the sound of someone gasping, and turned his head to see Ginny breaking to the surface just a little ways away from him. She glanced around quickly, and when her gaze fell on the opening, and she heard the pounding sound of the water, her eyes widened.

    "Swim!" Draco commanded, turning and starting to stroke away from the opening.

    "It's - it's a waterfall!" Ginny cried, seeming too stunned to figure out what he was saying.

    "Yeah, I know," he snapped. "And if you didn't notice - blurgh -" He spit out a mouthful of water "- if we don't swim away from it, we'll be falling over the waterfall."

    She nodded, twisting around in the water and starting to kick in the opposite direction.

    Draco was beginning to tire already, and he'd barely even started. He tried to pump his arms and legs faster, but when he looked up he realized that the current was too strong - it was only pulling them closer.

    "Draco!" Ginny yelled. "I - I don't think . . ."

    "Just keep swimming!" he shouted back sharply.

    So they did. Though it was beyond hopeless. They couldn't swim like that forever, and there was no place, no ledge, to get out of the water onto. The place where they'd fallen from was just a hole in the ceiling, and it was way too far up to get in. Not to mention that there was no means they could climb back up, being there no footholes or hand grips.

   My wand, he thought. He could use magic and somehow levitate them out of the water. Of course, he couldn't levitate both himself and Ginny, but maybe if she used her wand and raised him . . .

    Using one arm to try and swim, he reached with his other down under the surface into his pocket, grabbing his wand. He began to pull it out, but it caught on the edge of his cloak and slipped from his grasp. And suddenly it was gone.

   That's okay, he told himself. Wands float . . . it'll pop back up to the surface in a minute.

   He continued to swim, but looked around for his wand to resurface. It seemed like hours before he spotted it. Rapidly floating away from him, towards the edge, an arm's length away. I can reach it, he decided, and quit swimming for a moment. He changed directions, finding it much easier to flow with the current than to fight against it. The closer he got to the waterfall the stronger it seemed to get.

    And his wand was just beyond his reach. He kept leaning out and missing it by a hair's length. He didn't notice how close he was getting to the fall.

    "Draco!" Ginny shrieked, noticing what he was doing. "Draco, don't! You'll fall!"

    He paused for a moment, realizing she was right. But they were going to fall no matter what they did. At least he could attempt to get his wand. It was getting closer and closer to going over, and still he couldn't get it!

    Draco let out a cry of frustration. Damn this! he thought. Damn this whole situation!

   Then the wand went over the edge, disappearing into a rush of water.

    Draco was right behind it. It felt as though a great vacuum sucked him up. He was falling once again, this time surrounded with large droplets of water, bathed in darkness once more. The last thing he heard was Ginny shrieking out his name, and then all he could hear was the pounding of water, throbbing his head.

   Well, he thought dryly, on the bright side, at least I won't be killed by Voldemort or Father.

   He wondered if his father knew about the underground pool. If he did, then of course he wouldn't let himself and Voldemort try and follow Draco and Ginny. But if he didn't, maybe they would meet the same fate as they would . . . maybe he and the Dark Lord would drown.

    That was just wishful thinking, he figured after a moment. Voldemort would not be killed simply by drowning. He would somehow save himself with magic.

   Then what was happening hit him fully. I'm going to die, Draco realized. There's always rocks at the bottom of huge waterfalls. And from the sound this one makes it's got to be huge. Also the impact might kill me. I might die as soon as we smack into the surface.

   The longer he fell confirmed his suspicions. The drop was horrendous. Draco hated the feeling of waiting for death. He guessed it had to be worse than death itself. The knowledge that he was going to die, that he'd barely begun to live, that it just might be painful, was nerve-wracking and perhaps more painful than the actual dying part.

    He did something he never thought he'd do in his life. He opened his mouth and yelled.
 

    In those moments, shouting at the top of his lungs like he'd never done before, he had a few regrets. One was not having left the house and gotten as far away from Lucius as possible the moment he graduated Hogwarts. Another was having always tried to best Potter in everything when he should've just given up, should've known that Potter'd always have luck and that damned Dumbledore on his side.

    But perhaps the worst one, the one that made his insides wrench from a cause other than what was about to happen to him, was that he'd never taken the chance to get to know Ginny Weasely. Maybe then they'd have had a little time together, time that didn't include running from every wizard and witch in the country.

    All of it was too late now. He was going to die, Ginny with him. There was no way she could avoid the fall. And it was all because Lucius had accused the first person he could have. Yet what was he trying to prove? Why was he protecting Voldemort? It didn't make any sense. Everyone would've believed him if he said the Dark Lord had been torturing him. He could've just said he'd been minding his own business. He didn't have to say that he was a Death Eater. Voldemort tortured many innocent people every day, why would it be any different with Lucius?

   Funny, he told himself, that in my final moments all I can think about is how unfair Ginny's punishment was.

   After that all thoughts were wiped from his brain. He hit the water hard, and it knocked the wind out of him. He could feel himself sinking lower and lower under, pushed down by the weight of the water falling from the waterfall. His body was turned over several times, and he attempted to try and swim out of the pressure of the falling water.

    He wasn't sure where he found the strength. He should've been exhausted. But somehow he managed to pull himself up to the surface, bursting out and sucking in air gratefully. Wiping his hair out of his eyes, he quickly looked around, treading water.

    It was very dark. He could barely see a thing.

    Just then, something hit his arm. He started, afraid it was some sort of animal. As he squinted down at it, he realized it was his wand. Gratefully, he grabbed out, nearly grinning with relief.

 

    Nearly.

 

    He held his wand up while he attempted to keep his head above the surface, it being already still lit. The light barely revealed anything, so whispered quickly, "Solarixium."

 

    A small ball of light shot out the end of Draco's wand and floated up into the highest corner of the ceiling. It blossomed into a huge circle and lit the room as effectively as a million candles would have. What he saw now was a massive chamber, larger than the two he'd been in put together, larger than anything he'd ever seen. It went up so high Draco could just barely see the top.

    Tucking his wand away, he continued to search around. He'd been right about the waterfall - it was huge. It started near the ceiling, and he figured that's where the dark opening from the previous chamber was. Though it wasn't as wide as he'd expected, perhaps only about as wide as two of his body heights, he'd certainly fallen a long way.

    The water fell into another large pool, about the same size as the other had been. It was full of crystal clear liquid, and it was sort of chilly. Fortunately, it only filled about half of the chamber. The other half was a stone platform.

    Draco, extremely grateful to have a way to get out of the water, started to swim towards it. His feet touched the bottom of the pool as he got closer to the ledge and he was able to wade the rest of the way towards it.

 

    It was sort of like a beach - only with freshwater, no waves, and cement instead of sand. The bottom stone made the bottom of the lake, but as the water got shallower, it curved upwards and made the little beach area.

    He was halfway out, water up to his knees, when he heard a shriek and then a splash behind him. Spinning around, he scanned the bottom of the fall, trying to see if it was Ginny who'd fallen. Of course it had to be her, for she had screamed, though only once. He felt worry rise in his chest when she didn't surface at first, but a few seconds later she came up, coughing and sputtering.

 

    Draco watched, slightly amused, as she slapped the hair out of her face and searched around wildly for him. When she spotted him he could almost hear her sigh of relief, and she started to breaststroke towards him.

    Draco turned and continued out of the water, collapsing into a sitting position as soon as he reached the solid ground that wasn't wet. He brought his knees up and rested his elbows on him, burying his face in his hands and trying to catch his breath. A few moments later he heard Ginny plop beside him.

    For a long while there was no sound but the dripping of Draco and Ginny's hair and clothes, their harsh breathing, and the pounding of the waterfall. Finally, she spoke.

    "We're alive," she breathed.

 

    "Amazingly."

 

    "I thought I was going to die."

    "So did I."

 

    "Were you scared?"

    He lowered his hands away from his face and looked at her, finding that she was already staring sideways at him. Her hair was still sopping wet, causing rivelets of water to drip down her face. He could feel the same happening to him.

 

    She stared at him with those brown eyes of hers, those large brown eyes that had seen so much, but still held a touch of innocence in them. Though he didn't answer for at least a minute, she didn't push him or ask him again.

    "Yes," he finally admitted.

    For a second she continued to look at him, then she started giggling. A girly giggle that would've annoyed Draco even if she hadn't been laughing at him. But since she was it irritated him ten times more. He'd trusted her enough to tell her and she was giggling at him.

    "Shut up," he snapped, vowing never to tell her anything he was feeling every again.

    "Draco, I'm just kidding," she said, and stopped laughing, even though the grin was still in her voice. "It's just that I didn't really expect you'd tell me."

    "I'm sorry I did," he snarled, glaring out at the water.

    "Don't get mad," she said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh at you. It just surprised me, that's all."

    He didn't reply. There was a long silence, and he could feel her still staring at him. It only annoyed him greater. "Is there something interesting on my face?" he finally gritted out.

    "No," she said. "I guess near death experiences make you grumpy, huh? Most people get happy, and start jumping around dancing and singing, thrilled that they get to live another day."

    "I am not going to dance and sing," he snapped, still refusing to look at her.

    "I didn't expect you too," she answered. "After all, you're not most people. That's what makes you so attractive, I guess."

    At this comment his eyes went to hers. Surprisingly, she wasn't blushing. She was smiling. "What?" he sneered. "I thought most people found my chiseled features, soft hair, and gorgeous body attractive."

    "You think too highly of yourself," she scoffed.

    "At least I don't like people because they're different," he shot back.

    "Huh?"

    "Forgot what you said already? You told me you found me attractive because I'm not like most people."

    "Oh. That." She paused, lost for words, then brightened. "At least you're not angry at me anymore."

    He smirked. "Yes I am. I'll never tell you a single thing again."

    She frowned at him. Then she grinned and lifted herself up on her knees, walking around behind him.

    "What are you doing?" he asked, starting to turn his head, though in an instant he felt her hands on the sides of his face, forcing him to look foward.

    He suddenly felt her breath at his ear, and stiffened. "Maybe," she whispered softly, "you won't be so grumpy once you're out of these wet clothes." He wasn't sure what to reply to that. Her hands left his head and went around his shoulders, finding his cloak clasp at his throat. She undid it and pulled the garment off, letting it drop to the floor.

    He was highly anticipating more, but she didn't continue. She slid around him and fell into his lap, causing him to grunt with surprise. Her arms wrapped firmly around his neck she grinned at him. "Am I forgiven?"

    "No. All you did was take my cloak off. You think that makes up for laughing at me?"

    Her grin widened. "All right, I'll take off your sweater. Hold your arms up."

    "No, I'll do it," he replied with a smirk, going to take it off, expecting it  to come off quickly. Since it was still wet, he had some trouble with it, and when he finally managed to pull it over his head Ginny was smothering giggles once more. Angrily he tossed the article of clothing aside. "All forgiveness that was in my heart just vanished."

    "I'm sorry, it was funny," she said. "Seeing you struggle to get a sweater off. It was so . . . normal."

    "So I'm abnormal, is that what you're saying?"

    "I like different, remember?"

    "And I'm supposed to give a damn what you like?"

 

    He figured any other time she would've gotten mad with him for saying that, but now she just smiled. "Of course," she said. Her smile transformed into a grin. "If I take off your trousers will you forgive me?"

 

    "You become very bold after you nearly die, don't you?"

 

    "You only live once," she replied, shrugging. Then she became serious. "Draco, honestly, what do you think about us?"

    "Honestly? I think we'll never work," he told her truthfully.

    Her eyes darkened with sadness and the corners of her mouth drooped. "I think the opposite," she said quietly. "I think if we try we could make something together."

    "We're too different, Ginny," he said. Just because I feel so totally amazing when you kiss me doesn't mean we're meant for each other, he added in his head. "We're like water and oil. We wouldn't - we don't - mix."

    "Draco, the thing with you is, you're just afraid to try," she said quietly.

    "I'm not afraid," he snapped defensively as she dropped her arms away from his neck. "The reason we're so different, Ginny, is because you love too easily. You'll get too wrapped up in this relationship and when it doesn't work, you will be too busy trying to make it work you won't see that it wasn't meant to be. And then I'll have to be the one to call it off and you'll be heartbroken."

    "That's not true," she said, straightening in his lap. "How do you know I'll be heartbroken? It hasn't even happened yet! You have no idea."

    "Trust me, I do," Draco smirked. "I've dated girls like you before. It happens every time."

    The blood ran from her face and she swallowed. He'd hurt her and she was trying to cover it up. "Well," she said sort of thickly, "this will be different."

    "No it won't," Draco insisted. He felt sick in his stomach for causing the pain in her eyes, but she needed to know the truth.

    Suddenly, the suffering in her expression vanished and was replaced with fire. "Tell me something, Draco," she hissed. Without warning she then grabbed his shoulders and planted her lips firmly on his, kissing him with such force he nearly jerked back from shock. Yet he soon melted into the kiss, loosing himself in the feeling of her lips. He wanted it to go on, but she pulled back and ended it abruptly, meeting his glance with her narrowed eyes. "Tell me," she repeated through clenched teeth, "that you felt what I did. That you felt that explosion, that eruption that happens every time we touch. Tell me you felt it."

    He stared at her. She was still gripping his shoulders hard, her face only inches from his. He could feel her breath on his cheek, could see the anger in her gaze. And for the first time since Ginny had been with him his voice shook slightly as he replied. "Yes," he said quietly. "Yes, I felt it," he said again, this time stronger.

     "So you sit here and try to say that we won't ever work out," she continued fiercely. "Say that we're too different, too opposite to be together. When you know very well that you've never been kissed quite like you are when I kiss you. That you've never felt quite so comfortable in someone else's arms than you do in mine. That you've never felt so carefree in someone else's presence than you do when I'm around. Just say it and see if you believe it any more than I do."

    He couldn't move his head away even if he wanted to. "How do you know?" he demanded quietly. How could she have voiced his exact feelings? And how come he didn't mind that she knew? Why was she having such a damned whirling affect on him?

    Her look softened slightly and she gave him a small smile. "I'm a woman, Draco. I know these things."

    Draco was having trouble keeping his face blank. All his annoying emotions kept wanting to show themselves. It was enough that Ginny knew how he felt, she didn't have to see it as well.

    "Wow, Draco," she said softly, bringing her lips so close to his cheek they brushed his skin when she moved them. "This is the first time you've never come back with some snide remark."

    "I guess you render me speechless," he told her gruffly, turning his head to catch her mouth in his.

    The kiss was more passionate, though it seemed just as fiery as the one before. Ginny shifted, her legs going around his waist, though she was still seated in his lap. Her hands were on the back of his neck, her fingers running through his dripping hair effortlessly.

    She was cold from the water, and her lips were cool. He could feel the water on her cheeks from being pressed against her face. Her clothes were wet and clinging to her body, and he could feel the shape of her, could feel her skin warming under his touch. He couldn't think straight anymore; didn't bother to think at all. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. Nothing seemed more important.

    She must've felt the affect she was having on him because she pulled away. Her eyes met his and she whispered, "Are you sure it's safe to be doing this here?"

    "Chances are they think we're dead," Draco replied breezily.

    "Then maybe we should be looking for a way out of here," Ginny suggested, starting to lean back and get off his lap. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back against him. "Or not," she added quickly, smiling as he returned his lips to hers.

    They'd barely gotten started again before there was a loud pop, followed by the same exact sound. If Draco wasn't mistaken, it was the noise of someone Apparating . . .

    Ginny pulled away slightly, turning her head to see what the noise was. Then she gasped and flew backwards off Draco's lap, putting her hands out to keep her from toppling onto her back.

    Draco knew who it was before he'd even looked over. Voldemort and Lucius had Apparated and were standing only a few yards away. Voldemort was sneering contentendly at them, while Lucius was scowling with a frightened look in his eyes.

    "There, you see, Lucius?" the Dark Lord said with fake pleasantness. "I told you we should check and see if they were dead or not. You rely too much on luck. Only fools rely on luck."

    "Yes, My Lord," Draco's father muttered.

    Clearly, Voldemort wasn't happy with his tone. He turned to Lucius while Draco got to his feet, reaching to grip Ginny's arm and help her up. "You have failed me several times tonight, Lucius," the Dark Lord said. "Do you think I like those who fail me?"

    Lucius tore his eyes from Draco and looked up at his master. "No, My Lord -" he blurted.

    "I allow very few mistakes," Voldemort said, keeping his silky calm tone. "You have made quite a bit more than a few."

    "Yes, My Lord," Lucius said again, lowering his gaze.

    "If I wasn't mistaken I'd say you were getting soft," he added dangerously quietly.

    At this Lucius's eyes flew up. "No, no, My Lord!" he insisted. "I will kill them both for you. Just tell me -"

    "That's the problem with you," Voldemort interrupted smoothly. "I need to tell you everything." He reached into his robes and pulled out his wand. "Crucio," he said lazily.

    Lucius dropped to the ground instantly, his screams filling the air. It drowned out the waterfull, and was so loud Draco could barely hear himself think. He winced, looking away from his father's writhing body. His eyes fell on Ginny, and saw that she had her eyelids squeezed shut and her hands clapped over her ears. Her face was contorted as though she could barely stand the noise. As though she had sensitive hearing. Draco could only conclude that it was the same yells that had gotten her into the mess her life was now and it must've been some sort of psychological thing. Though he wanted to put an arm around her, he didn't move.

    Emotion was weakness. He couldn't show his weakness to Lord Voldemort.

    The torture went on for a while. Finally, Voldemort removed the curse and Lucius went still, his screams strangling into coughs.

    The Dark Lord turned to Draco. "Would you like to do it?" he asked, baring his teeth. It took Draco a minute to realize he was smiling. And what was he talking about? He must've looked confused, for Voldemort laughed coldly. "All right, I'll do it." And he faced Lucius again, raising his wand once more.

    "No!" Lucius gasped out. "No more, My Lord."

    "Of course not," Voldemort said. "There will be no more anything for you. Avada Kedrava."

    There was a flash of green light, and Lucius let out one final scream. Then everything was deadly silent. Even the roar of the waterfall seemed to have dimmed. Draco blinked. His father lay dead on the floor.

    And somehow, even though that was one less person to worry about, Draco didn't feel any more secure about facing Voldemort.

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A/N: Another wonderful cliffie, wouldn’t you agree?

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