Chapter 23 – A Revealing Nightmare
Ginny’s delicate body lay crumpled in the corner of a tiny chamber, the bruises evident on her gentle face. She was weeping softly and appeared to be in a dozing state. “Draco…” the words barely escaped her mouth when a figure suddenly appeared through a heavy steel door.
“What did you say, dear?” The figure was unrecognizable, but the voice was icy and cold. “Are you calling for him?” A screech of laughter ensued from the figure and Ginny desperately tried to fight back the tears that were swelling in her eyes.
“He’ll come, Ginny dear. And when he does…the Death Eaters will be ready for him. Ready for his initiation.” The laughter continued as Ginny struggled to sit up, unmistakable rage written all over her face.
“You WON’T take him for yourself. He’s stronger than his predecessors and wants NOTHING to do with your petty games. You’re just a lonely Muggleborn, Tom…unequipped to deal with the pressures of life without your flock of disciples in your wake.”
The full force of a spell caused Ginny’s back to arch as an enormous wave of pain struck her body. A malicious face, with red slits for eyes, swam into view and everything went black.
“NOOOOOOOO! LEAVE HER ALONE!” Draco’s voice rang through the dormitory as he sat up from the floor near the foot of his bed, sweat pouring from his hair. His chest was beating with the force of a thousand drums and he couldn’t seem to get enough air in his lungs.
“What in bloody hell is the matter with you?”
Draco’s eyes adjusted to the morning sunlight beaming through the open window – the same window that captured the moonlight just hours earlier. As he blinked a few times, he could make out Blaise’s appearance standing above him.
“Mrumph, what?” Draco tried to play off his little incident as casually as he could…as sleepily as he could.
“I said what in bloody hell is wrong? You’re a wreck, mate. Were you having a nightmare or something?” Blaise held his hand out to help Draco from the floor where he’d obviously fallen asleep sometime during the night. Draco reached up to take it as he thought of a good excuse.
“Yeah - nightmare, yeah. Crazy, really…about my mum. Where are the others?” Draco noticed that he and Blaise were the only two in the dormitory and he was thankful for that.
“Where do you think? You’re talking about Crabbe and Goyle here, Malfoy; they’re at breakfast.”
“Right, yeah. Breakfast.” Draco felt like an idiot as he hadn’t fully recovered from the scene that had unfolded in his head. His first instinct was to run and find Weasley to tell him what had happened – and that thought made him curse under his breath.
“So are you going to tell me the truth?” Blaise’s words were a bit of a slap in the face to Draco. He hadn’t expected him to be so blunt – or to even question him about it in the first place. It’s not as if Draco had sounded like a liar.
“Truth?” Draco wiped his brow rather nonchalantly and looked Blaise directly in the eyes.
“About your dream, mate. You’re a bloody mess, you were sleeping on the floor and it’s not as if Pansy and I haven’t noticed your change in behavior. Something’s up with you and I think you need to fess up.” Blaise lightly crossed his arms against his chest and waited for Draco to answer. Draco was so flabbergasted at Blaise’s accusations that he stumbled a bit in answer.
“I…It’s nothing, mate. Leave it as it is.” He began to walk toward the door of the dormitory when Blaise spoke again.
“This has something to do with the Weasley girl, doesn’t it?”
Draco stopped in his tracks and spun on his heel. He hadn’t meant to appear so guilty, but the shock was too much to conceal his amazement. “What do you mean?”
“You have some idea of what’s happened to her, don’t you?” Blaise stepped toward him. “You fancy her.”
Draco’s wanted to bury his head in a hole to keep from revealing these true expressions to Blaise, yet he grew defensive at the accusations. “Why in the name of Merlin would I know where she is?”
“Ah, see - didn’t bother denying that you fancied her. I knew something was up with you, Malfoy.” Blaise nodded his head slowly in a very matter-of-fact manner.
Draco started to speak, but all he could manage was a blink. How did all of these people keep discovering his secret? And worse – why wasn’t he able to lash out at Blaise when accused of fancying Ginny? He was the master of putting on a good front. Yet, the fact that he hadn’t denied his feelings for Ginny had practically confirmed to Blaise what he truly felt. It was as if he’d just opened the door to his heart and let Blaise have a peak inside. Draco was flustered. However, he was the slightest bit thankful that Crabbe and Goyle had been absent for this conversation…not that they would’ve understood it, anyway.
Draco decided to give up. He sat down on the bed nearest the door and stared out the window. After several seconds of silence he was able to collect his thoughts enough to answer Blaise. “I don’t want anyone else knowing. I promised my mother that I wouldn’t disclose this secret to the other Slytherins so you and Pansy are it – got it?”
“I’m as silent as a flobberworm,” Blaise teased.
Draco was trying to adjust to the fact that one of his fellow Slytherins was in on his secret. He hadn’t quite made up his mind as to what information to share with Blaise and what he needed to keep private, but one thing was certainly bothering him. “So…” Draco stopped after the first word, unable to finish his sentence.
“So, what?” said Blaise.
“So, you think badly of me now?” He wondered what vile thoughts were creeping through Blaise’s mind right now. Draco Malfoy…King of Slytherins - gone slummin’ was probably a good guess. He wasn’t quite prepared for the next words out of Blaise’s mouth.
“Think badly of you? This is the best news I’ve heard in ages, mate.” Blaise grinned as he leaned against the closed door of the dormitory, still crossing his arms lightly against his chest.
Draco was confused. “Huh? What in bloody hell is that supposed to mean?”
Blaise looked as though he were thinking long and hard about what it was he was going to say so Draco prodded him once more. “Well?”
“Let’s just say that I know what it feels like.” Blaise decided to take his seat on the bed across from Draco.
Draco furrowed his brow in contemplation. He could tell that a serious discussion was about to follow. “What it feels like? Who?”
Blaise didn’t flinch. “Granger.”
“NO WAY!” Draco’s eyebrows practically shot straight off his head. He simply couldn’t get over this. Of all the people, why a Mudbl— he stopped his thought before it went any further. After all, Blaise was obviously forgiving of his attraction to Ginny and here they were, bonding over the entire issue. It felt odd. But it was a good kind of odd.
Blaise continued. “It was, you know, before Pansy. So I don’t want you to go thinking that I still fancy Granger or something, mate. Pansy being your friend and all.”
Draco barely heard Blaise speaking. His mind was wandering as he thought about the other Slytherins. What if more of them felt this way? What if it really weren’t a big deal that he and Ginny were together?
“Malfoy? Hey…Draco? Did you hear what I said?”
Draco had been miles away and remembered only that last bit about Pansy. He blinked a few times. “Sorry, mate - I’m just surprised is all. What was it that you were saying?”
Blaise didn’t look at all put out and repeated himself. “I asked you about Ginny. It’s just that…I don’t know, I thought maybe you had some idea of where she was. You were talking in your sleep as though you knew something.”
Draco wasn’t prepared for this part at all, but something inside him said that Blaise needed to know. He knew his mother wouldn’t be happy with his decision to tell Blaise, but she wasn’t here…she didn’t know the turmoil that Draco was fighting. He felt as though his only companions right now were the Golden Trio and that was one fact he was not happy about at all.
Draco hesitated a second more until he looked at his feet and came out with it. “Voldemort has her.”
The silence was deafening. Blaise didn’t react straight away, but seemed to be letting the shock absorb into his head, first. Then his eyes began to widen quite slowly, until he finally found his voice. “How…how do you know?”
“Mother told me. She knows.” Draco waited for Blaise to ask the questions. He was still in no mood to tell Blaise every detail, but he realized now that he needed to get a few things off of his chest.
“So wait…he obviously knew you were seeing her, then? Did someone tell him?”
Draco scratched the back of his head as a distraction. He hated giving Blaise all of this information. “Actually, he saw us. You um…know that dream travel thing in the uh…”
“Silver book?” Blaise finished for him.
“Yeah. Well, in a nutshell, I didn’t realize he’d know if I used it.” Draco felt his cheeks flushing out of embarrassment. He was supposed to be smarter than this. He was the Malfoy heir; respected by all of the other Slytherins. Yet he felt like a fool getting himself into this kind of trouble.
“Merlin’s beard! So he could see you?”
Draco was rather surprised at Blaise’s response. “You mean you didn’t know?”
“No. My mother always made it clear that I was by no means to tamper with it, but she never mentioned that the Dark Lord would know.” Blaise got very quiet after this, as though he were somewhat frightened by this news.
Draco couldn’t help it. He felt that the bond between them was growing and he wanted to clear his mind of a few things. “I have to get her back, Blaise. I don’t exactly know how I’m going to do it just yet. Dumbledore will be watching Weasley and me like a hawk…but he and his bloody friends have a plan to get us out of the castle.”
Blaise’s head snapped up. “So Dumbledore and the Golden Trio know where she is?”
“They know that Voldemort has her, but not where Voldemort is hiding. And they are all aware that Ginny and I are…close. Gathering all of that, I’m certain Dumbledore expects us to try and get out of the castle.”
Blaise gave him a strange look. “Why do you keep calling him Voldemort and not the Dark Lord?”
Draco’s eyes grew cold as stone and he glared hatefully at Blaise, but Blaise understood that this hatred was not directed at him. “I see,” were the only words he could muster.
Draco couldn’t go into detail about it. It was something he was accepting on the inside, but he didn’t want to admit it to anyone else. He’d always taken pride in being a Malfoy. After all, he was Lucius’ son – the man who occupied the right hand of Voldemort. It took everything in him that loved Ginny to throw it all away, but he knew he could never regain that status…not with his family, with Voldemort or even in his own mind. The Dark Mark would never rest on Draco’s forearm the way that it rested on his father’s.
A loud “pop” brought Draco and Blaise’s attention to the corner of the room where Dobby stood, his knees shaking a bit timidly.
“Dobby!” Draco felt slightly awkward. He hadn’t told Blaise about Voldemort paying his mother a visit and his reasoning for sending Dobby to check on her. However, he threw caution to the wind in anticipation to find out about his mother. “Is she alright? Were you able to speak with Blinka?”
Dobby nodded his head yes in answer and spoke rather softly. “M-Mast…Draco, sir – your mother was not at the Manor, sir. Blinka says that she was out, but that she is being just fine the last time she sees her, sir.”
Draco felt shaken. His mother seldom left the Manor – his father had made sure of it for her protection. Draco raised his voice without meaning to. “She’s not THERE? Did Blinka say where it was she had gone?”
Dobby was beginning to cower. “No, sir. Blinka says that the Mistress never told her that she would be leaving, sir. Dobby did what he could, sir.”
Draco felt bad. “No, Dobby – it’s…you’ve done well. I didn’t mean to raise my voice.”
Blaise’s eyebrows rose slowly on his head, obviously surprised to see this change in Draco.
Draco turned to Blaise when he spoke. “I have to find out if my mother is alright and then get to Ginny as quickly as possible. And Dobby,” Draco looked at the house-elf who now appeared somewhat relaxed. “I’m sorry that I made you make the journey at such a short notice. But…thank you for doing this for me. I think I need to take matters into my own hands now.”
Dobby stepped forward. “No, Master Draco sir - Dobby can return tonight. He shall find out if Mistress is alright!”
“Dobby, I won’t ask you to go again. Besides, there's no more time. I need to get out of the castle tonight.” Draco thought for a moment before he spoke again. “And Dobby…I won't give you a direct order, but I'm asking you to be discreet about this.”
Dobby slowly nodded his head again. “Dobby will tell no one, sir.” He gave a sly smile and continued. “But if you need Dobby’s assistance again, you know where to look.”
Draco gave Dobby a tiny smile as he remembered the peas on his shoes. The “pop” sounded again leaving Draco and Blaise alone, once more.
Draco took a slow breath as Blaise picked up the conversation. “Well I for one, am coming with you.”
“What?” Draco began to lay out his protest, but Blaise continued.
“Malfoy, I know how serious this is and how much help you’re going to need. And I know that if I let you go alone, Pansy would refuse to forgive me. Not to mention that you’ll never manage Ginny’s escape if you’re working with Potter and his friends. I don’t care how much you care for her, you haven’t changed that much.”
Draco gave his signature smirk, but gratefully agreed. “Thanks, mate. It’ll mean a lot to me to have another Slytherin there.”
“Two other Slytherins there.”
Draco looked mildly confused.
“You don’t think Pansy is going to let us traipse off without her, do you?”
Draco nodded again. But how in bloody hell was he going to get all of these people out of the castle without being noticed?
Ginny’s delicate body lay crumpled in the corner of a tiny chamber, the bruises evident on her gentle face. She was weeping softly and appeared to be in a dozing state. “Draco…” the words barely escaped her mouth when a figure suddenly appeared through a heavy steel door.
“What did you say, dear?” The figure was unrecognizable, but the voice was icy and cold. “Are you calling for him?” A screech of laughter ensued from the figure and Ginny desperately tried to fight back the tears that were swelling in her eyes.
“He’ll come, Ginny dear. And when he does…the Death Eaters will be ready for him. Ready for his initiation.” The laughter continued as Ginny struggled to sit up, unmistakable rage written all over her face.
“You WON’T take him for yourself. He’s stronger than his predecessors and wants NOTHING to do with your petty games. You’re just a lonely Muggleborn, Tom…unequipped to deal with the pressures of life without your flock of disciples in your wake.”
The full force of a spell caused Ginny’s back to arch as an enormous wave of pain struck her body. A malicious face, with red slits for eyes, swam into view and everything went black.
“NOOOOOOOO! LEAVE HER ALONE!” Draco’s voice rang through the dormitory as he sat up from the floor near the foot of his bed, sweat pouring from his hair. His chest was beating with the force of a thousand drums and he couldn’t seem to get enough air in his lungs.
“What in bloody hell is the matter with you?”
Draco’s eyes adjusted to the morning sunlight beaming through the open window – the same window that captured the moonlight just hours earlier. As he blinked a few times, he could make out Blaise’s appearance standing above him.
“Mrumph, what?” Draco tried to play off his little incident as casually as he could…as sleepily as he could.
“I said what in bloody hell is wrong? You’re a wreck, mate. Were you having a nightmare or something?” Blaise held his hand out to help Draco from the floor where he’d obviously fallen asleep sometime during the night. Draco reached up to take it as he thought of a good excuse.
“Yeah - nightmare, yeah. Crazy, really…about my mum. Where are the others?” Draco noticed that he and Blaise were the only two in the dormitory and he was thankful for that.
“Where do you think? You’re talking about Crabbe and Goyle here, Malfoy; they’re at breakfast.”
“Right, yeah. Breakfast.” Draco felt like an idiot as he hadn’t fully recovered from the scene that had unfolded in his head. His first instinct was to run and find Weasley to tell him what had happened – and that thought made him curse under his breath.
“So are you going to tell me the truth?” Blaise’s words were a bit of a slap in the face to Draco. He hadn’t expected him to be so blunt – or to even question him about it in the first place. It’s not as if Draco had sounded like a liar.
“Truth?” Draco wiped his brow rather nonchalantly and looked Blaise directly in the eyes.
“About your dream, mate. You’re a bloody mess, you were sleeping on the floor and it’s not as if Pansy and I haven’t noticed your change in behavior. Something’s up with you and I think you need to fess up.” Blaise lightly crossed his arms against his chest and waited for Draco to answer. Draco was so flabbergasted at Blaise’s accusations that he stumbled a bit in answer.
“I…It’s nothing, mate. Leave it as it is.” He began to walk toward the door of the dormitory when Blaise spoke again.
“This has something to do with the Weasley girl, doesn’t it?”
Draco stopped in his tracks and spun on his heel. He hadn’t meant to appear so guilty, but the shock was too much to conceal his amazement. “What do you mean?”
“You have some idea of what’s happened to her, don’t you?” Blaise stepped toward him. “You fancy her.”
Draco’s wanted to bury his head in a hole to keep from revealing these true expressions to Blaise, yet he grew defensive at the accusations. “Why in the name of Merlin would I know where she is?”
“Ah, see - didn’t bother denying that you fancied her. I knew something was up with you, Malfoy.” Blaise nodded his head slowly in a very matter-of-fact manner.
Draco started to speak, but all he could manage was a blink. How did all of these people keep discovering his secret? And worse – why wasn’t he able to lash out at Blaise when accused of fancying Ginny? He was the master of putting on a good front. Yet, the fact that he hadn’t denied his feelings for Ginny had practically confirmed to Blaise what he truly felt. It was as if he’d just opened the door to his heart and let Blaise have a peak inside. Draco was flustered. However, he was the slightest bit thankful that Crabbe and Goyle had been absent for this conversation…not that they would’ve understood it, anyway.
Draco decided to give up. He sat down on the bed nearest the door and stared out the window. After several seconds of silence he was able to collect his thoughts enough to answer Blaise. “I don’t want anyone else knowing. I promised my mother that I wouldn’t disclose this secret to the other Slytherins so you and Pansy are it – got it?”
“I’m as silent as a flobberworm,” Blaise teased.
Draco was trying to adjust to the fact that one of his fellow Slytherins was in on his secret. He hadn’t quite made up his mind as to what information to share with Blaise and what he needed to keep private, but one thing was certainly bothering him. “So…” Draco stopped after the first word, unable to finish his sentence.
“So, what?” said Blaise.
“So, you think badly of me now?” He wondered what vile thoughts were creeping through Blaise’s mind right now. Draco Malfoy…King of Slytherins - gone slummin’ was probably a good guess. He wasn’t quite prepared for the next words out of Blaise’s mouth.
“Think badly of you? This is the best news I’ve heard in ages, mate.” Blaise grinned as he leaned against the closed door of the dormitory, still crossing his arms lightly against his chest.
Draco was confused. “Huh? What in bloody hell is that supposed to mean?”
Blaise looked as though he were thinking long and hard about what it was he was going to say so Draco prodded him once more. “Well?”
“Let’s just say that I know what it feels like.” Blaise decided to take his seat on the bed across from Draco.
Draco furrowed his brow in contemplation. He could tell that a serious discussion was about to follow. “What it feels like? Who?”
Blaise didn’t flinch. “Granger.”
“NO WAY!” Draco’s eyebrows practically shot straight off his head. He simply couldn’t get over this. Of all the people, why a Mudbl— he stopped his thought before it went any further. After all, Blaise was obviously forgiving of his attraction to Ginny and here they were, bonding over the entire issue. It felt odd. But it was a good kind of odd.
Blaise continued. “It was, you know, before Pansy. So I don’t want you to go thinking that I still fancy Granger or something, mate. Pansy being your friend and all.”
Draco barely heard Blaise speaking. His mind was wandering as he thought about the other Slytherins. What if more of them felt this way? What if it really weren’t a big deal that he and Ginny were together?
“Malfoy? Hey…Draco? Did you hear what I said?”
Draco had been miles away and remembered only that last bit about Pansy. He blinked a few times. “Sorry, mate - I’m just surprised is all. What was it that you were saying?”
Blaise didn’t look at all put out and repeated himself. “I asked you about Ginny. It’s just that…I don’t know, I thought maybe you had some idea of where she was. You were talking in your sleep as though you knew something.”
Draco wasn’t prepared for this part at all, but something inside him said that Blaise needed to know. He knew his mother wouldn’t be happy with his decision to tell Blaise, but she wasn’t here…she didn’t know the turmoil that Draco was fighting. He felt as though his only companions right now were the Golden Trio and that was one fact he was not happy about at all.
Draco hesitated a second more until he looked at his feet and came out with it. “Voldemort has her.”
The silence was deafening. Blaise didn’t react straight away, but seemed to be letting the shock absorb into his head, first. Then his eyes began to widen quite slowly, until he finally found his voice. “How…how do you know?”
“Mother told me. She knows.” Draco waited for Blaise to ask the questions. He was still in no mood to tell Blaise every detail, but he realized now that he needed to get a few things off of his chest.
“So wait…he obviously knew you were seeing her, then? Did someone tell him?”
Draco scratched the back of his head as a distraction. He hated giving Blaise all of this information. “Actually, he saw us. You um…know that dream travel thing in the uh…”
“Silver book?” Blaise finished for him.
“Yeah. Well, in a nutshell, I didn’t realize he’d know if I used it.” Draco felt his cheeks flushing out of embarrassment. He was supposed to be smarter than this. He was the Malfoy heir; respected by all of the other Slytherins. Yet he felt like a fool getting himself into this kind of trouble.
“Merlin’s beard! So he could see you?”
Draco was rather surprised at Blaise’s response. “You mean you didn’t know?”
“No. My mother always made it clear that I was by no means to tamper with it, but she never mentioned that the Dark Lord would know.” Blaise got very quiet after this, as though he were somewhat frightened by this news.
Draco couldn’t help it. He felt that the bond between them was growing and he wanted to clear his mind of a few things. “I have to get her back, Blaise. I don’t exactly know how I’m going to do it just yet. Dumbledore will be watching Weasley and me like a hawk…but he and his bloody friends have a plan to get us out of the castle.”
Blaise’s head snapped up. “So Dumbledore and the Golden Trio know where she is?”
“They know that Voldemort has her, but not where Voldemort is hiding. And they are all aware that Ginny and I are…close. Gathering all of that, I’m certain Dumbledore expects us to try and get out of the castle.”
Blaise gave him a strange look. “Why do you keep calling him Voldemort and not the Dark Lord?”
Draco’s eyes grew cold as stone and he glared hatefully at Blaise, but Blaise understood that this hatred was not directed at him. “I see,” were the only words he could muster.
Draco couldn’t go into detail about it. It was something he was accepting on the inside, but he didn’t want to admit it to anyone else. He’d always taken pride in being a Malfoy. After all, he was Lucius’ son – the man who occupied the right hand of Voldemort. It took everything in him that loved Ginny to throw it all away, but he knew he could never regain that status…not with his family, with Voldemort or even in his own mind. The Dark Mark would never rest on Draco’s forearm the way that it rested on his father’s.
A loud “pop” brought Draco and Blaise’s attention to the corner of the room where Dobby stood, his knees shaking a bit timidly.
“Dobby!” Draco felt slightly awkward. He hadn’t told Blaise about Voldemort paying his mother a visit and his reasoning for sending Dobby to check on her. However, he threw caution to the wind in anticipation to find out about his mother. “Is she alright? Were you able to speak with Blinka?”
Dobby nodded his head yes in answer and spoke rather softly. “M-Mast…Draco, sir – your mother was not at the Manor, sir. Blinka says that she was out, but that she is being just fine the last time she sees her, sir.”
Draco felt shaken. His mother seldom left the Manor – his father had made sure of it for her protection. Draco raised his voice without meaning to. “She’s not THERE? Did Blinka say where it was she had gone?”
Dobby was beginning to cower. “No, sir. Blinka says that the Mistress never told her that she would be leaving, sir. Dobby did what he could, sir.”
Draco felt bad. “No, Dobby – it’s…you’ve done well. I didn’t mean to raise my voice.”
Blaise’s eyebrows rose slowly on his head, obviously surprised to see this change in Draco.
Draco turned to Blaise when he spoke. “I have to find out if my mother is alright and then get to Ginny as quickly as possible. And Dobby,” Draco looked at the house-elf who now appeared somewhat relaxed. “I’m sorry that I made you make the journey at such a short notice. But…thank you for doing this for me. I think I need to take matters into my own hands now.”
Dobby stepped forward. “No, Master Draco sir - Dobby can return tonight. He shall find out if Mistress is alright!”
“Dobby, I won’t ask you to go again. Besides, there's no more time. I need to get out of the castle tonight.” Draco thought for a moment before he spoke again. “And Dobby…I won't give you a direct order, but I'm asking you to be discreet about this.”
Dobby slowly nodded his head again. “Dobby will tell no one, sir.” He gave a sly smile and continued. “But if you need Dobby’s assistance again, you know where to look.”
Draco gave Dobby a tiny smile as he remembered the peas on his shoes. The “pop” sounded again leaving Draco and Blaise alone, once more.
Draco took a slow breath as Blaise picked up the conversation. “Well I for one, am coming with you.”
“What?” Draco began to lay out his protest, but Blaise continued.
“Malfoy, I know how serious this is and how much help you’re going to need. And I know that if I let you go alone, Pansy would refuse to forgive me. Not to mention that you’ll never manage Ginny’s escape if you’re working with Potter and his friends. I don’t care how much you care for her, you haven’t changed that much.”
Draco gave his signature smirk, but gratefully agreed. “Thanks, mate. It’ll mean a lot to me to have another Slytherin there.”
“Two other Slytherins there.”
Draco looked mildly confused.
“You don’t think Pansy is going to let us traipse off without her, do you?”
Draco nodded again. But how in bloody hell was he going to get all of these people out of the castle without being noticed?
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