“Who is it Ginny?”
Ginny stood, dazed, barely registering Harry’s voice. Draco stood there, his silver eyes boring into hers. He was soaked from head to toe.
Silence.
Ginny could hear Harry behind her. He appeared at the doorway, and looked very shocked when he caught sight of Draco.
“You!” he gasped. Draco nodded. Ginny shook herself out of her reverie and went into hospitality-mode.
“Come in,” she said, opening the door for him. “You look freezing.”
Ginny shut the door. Draco pulled his wand out and performed a Drying Spell. His clothes immediately were dried.
“Thank you,” he said. “I’m sorry to disturb you like this “ it’s rather urgent.”
Ginny frowned. “Come to the sitting room.”
Harry led the way and opened the door for Draco, his face impassive. Draco’s expression was similar as he sat down “ yet Ginny could see a flicker of fear in his eyes that she could not place.
“Would you like anything to eat or drink?” Ginny asked, out of routine, which her mother had taught her. Draco shook his head.
“Harry, you had better go and see to Lisle,” Ginny said. Harry looked for a moment as if he would rather do no such thing at all, but merely shrugged and did so, leaving the door ajar.
There was a silence while Ginny tried to think of where to start. She had a million questions she was dying to ask, yet somehow she couldn’t get the words out.
“Your baby, I presume?”
Ginny looked up. Draco was indicating the pram. Ginny nodded.
“Yes,” she replied, with a smile. “She was born in August.”
It was Draco’s turn to smile. “Not your first, I realise.”
Ginny blushed. “How “ did you “ know about Lisle?”
Draco smirked. “At the time, I think all of Hogwarts knew you were pregnant. I wasn’t there, but Slytherins in the year below me were. We stayed in contact for a while “ but ever since I…well…they don’t speak to me anymore.”
He stood up and began pacing the room. Ginny watched him for a while, bursting to ask him why he was acting so normal while he had an urgent message for her. Finally, she couldn’t handle the silence any longer.
“Draco, why are you here?” she burst out suddenly. He stopped pacing and looked at her. Her heart thudded with anticipation.
Draco sat quietly down on the sofa. “A few months ago,” he began, with a sigh, “I helped you out of a dangerous situation. They didn’t catch me…until last month. Listen carefully to me “ you and your family are in grave danger.”
Ginny’s insides went cold. Danger?
“They know I tried to help you,” he continued, “now they’re looking for a chance to capture you again “ as bait for Harry. Fortunately I got away again, but I had already overheard their plans.”
Ginny felt stunned. “But “ but why?” she asked. “The war’s over, nobody should be in any danger any more…should they?”
Draco shook his head impatiently. “You don’t understand! They want revenge! Just because the Dark Lord is dead it doesn’t mean his followers are. There are still plenty of them out there “ lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce…fulfill their master’s life ambition…”
There was a momentary silence. Ginny didn’t know quite what to say.
“But,” she suddenly said, breaking the silence, “why do they need to fulfill his needs if he’s gone? Surely the only reason they followed him in the first place was that they were scared of what he would do to them if they didn’t?”
Draco nodded. “They are a bunch of cowards, I’ll agree with you there, but the main thing they’re after is power. They saw what their master could do “ and they realise that it can be done with a lot of effort. They know the famous Harry Potter is a threat, so obviously they want to eliminate him, which is where you come in.”
Ginny felt bewildered. “Me?”
Draco rolled his eyes. “Of course! They know you’re close “ extremely close “ so they’re using you as a ploy to get to him. They’re going for a more subtle approach than just capturing him straight out. For one thing, they know you’re an easier target. Everyone would know if Harry Potter was captured “ and they know he could fight back if they used the Imperius Curse. They know now that your husband doesn’t tend to sit at home while his true love is missing, possibly being tortured…they know he can’t stand the thought of him putting other peoples’ lives at risk.”
Ginny thought it over. It certainly was logical “ if a little far-fetched. The fact that they were carrying on after their master Voldemort was gone seemed to be pointless to Ginny “ but then again “ she did not understand much of the Dark Arts. However, the one thing she did know was that a lot of extremely advanced, complex and exceptionally powerful spells were conceived through methods of Dark Magic.
“So what are we supposed to do?” Ginny asked, standing up then sitting down again. “Do you know what they’re planning?”
“I “ don’t know entirely,” Draco replied. “You need to be prepared “ all of you. They could attack at anytime. Don’t trust anyone who you see around here “ that’s what they’re looking for, a chance to get you while you’re most vulnerable “ while Harry’s not around.”
For a moment, Ginny thought she saw a flicker behind Draco’s grey eyes. A sudden flash of fear “ confusion. It was as though he didn’t understand what he was saying. He looked almost as though he was about to say something “ pleadingly “ but as soon as Ginny saw it, it was gone. However, Ginny felt as though she was a bird whose feathers had been ruffled the wrong way. She couldn’t quite place her finger on it, but she felt different. She shivered suddenly as she looked at his eyes. They were so…silver. Like metal. She stood up.
“Excuse me,” she said. “I’m going to the kitchen to see Harry. Are you sure you wouldn’t like tea?”
Draco smiled. “Actually…milky tea with sugar would be nice.”
Ginny nodded, and went to the kitchen, shutting the door. She leaned against it when it was shut, and heaved out a sigh. She couldn’t get rid of those eyes in he mind. They seemed to burn through hers “ making Ginny feel as though she was being X-rayed, like a Muggle.
Pulling herself together, she waved her wand at the whistling kettle on the stove. Hot water poured itself into a mug. She looked around for Harry.
“Harry?”
“I’m upstairs, putting Lisle to bed!”
Ginny sighed and poured some milk and sugar in the mug. Then, taking a deep breath, she hurried down the corridor with it. Tentatively, she opened the door to the living room.
“Here’s your “ ”
But she couldn’t finish the sentence. A jet of light hit her in the face and she fell to the floor, immobilized. Hot tea soaked her blouse, yet she couldn’t open her mouth to scream in agony. Draco stood over her, wand in hand. He wasn’t smirking or smiling. On the contrary, his face was completely blank, no vindictive pleasure showing at all. Ginny desperately tried to move but couldn’t. To her horror, she saw Draco was holding a crying bundle in his arms. Amy.
Ginny wanted to shout for Harry, and reach out to grab Amy, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t. Her eyes were the only thing she could move. Draco pointed his wand at the window, which opened. Ginny felt as though she might vomit with fear. She pleaded desperately in her head.
“I’m not really in the mood for tea,” Draco said, looking at Ginny’s soaked blouse. Amy was screaming, her face red. Her head was lolling backwards, because Draco wasn’t supporting it. Ginny felt tears coming to her eyes. She wanted to rush to her helpless daughter more than anything, at that moment, but she couldn’t budge a muscle.
She watched, with dread and fear as he went out of the window, down the path until Amy’s red curls were completely out of sight.
Ginny would have been shaking, if she could.
A/N: I know you all hate me “ two cliffies in a row, you must be thinking! Again I am exceedingly sorry to have to give out so many cliffies “ but they’re so tempting! I’m also sorry that this is so short, but I had to make it short. The next one will be longer than this, I hope. Thanks, and please review!
Oh and on a happier note, I finally have a banner for this story!! I thought it would be good to have one since it's quite long already, and I'm really pleased with the result! All the credit goes to sayiansirius who made it for me (thank you!!) The actor used for Harry was Tobey Maguire (Spiderman), and the other two I dont know. To view it see my profile. Thank you!!