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See Me
Prologue
Ginny finally tore her eyes away from the dark sky, and used every ounce of strength still in her body to drag her torso towards where her ankles were still bound to the base of the tree with several large, tangled knots. Her fingers, tingling from the blood flow returning to them, were too wet with mud to do much of any good at first, and her attempts and cleaning them off on her clothes were unsuccessful. She was, in fact, so thoroughly soaked in the mud that she could not help but feel as though she would be just as dirty beneath her pants.
For a moment, Ginny looked up at the moonless night in an attempt to calm the tears that were threatening to spill over once more, and when she looked back towards the shadowy knots around her ankles, she chastised herself for not thinking earlier to use her wand.
"Are you a witch, Ginny Weasley, or not?" she asked herself harshly, and searched the folds of her robes for her wand. When her search failed to be fruitful, she plunged her hands into the muddy puddle that she sat in, muttering "Come on! Oh please, be here" as she reached in all directions as far as she could reach, but still, her wand was nowhere to be found. Ginny used a hand to brush a mud encrusted strand of auburn hair from her eyes, and left a streak across the others already on her defeated face.
"For Merlin's sake!" she found herself screaming in frustration, and the recently threatening tears spilled over, leaving faint rivers in the black on her face. She sat that way for a moment, sniffling, and seething inside at the situation, before righting herself once more to tackle the rats nest of knots at her ankles.
If it had seemed possible, she'd have thought the night had gotten even darker then it had been before, and by the time she freed her ankles from the ropes, she could scarcely tell her own hand as it waved in front of her face. Ginny rubbed her hands, flexing and stretching the raw and bleeding digits, before using the tree as a support to climb slowly to her feet.
Now if only she knew where she was.
Several minutes passed as she stood that way, arms wrapped tightly around the trunk of the tree that had only just relinquished it's control on her, and she strained her ears for any sound that might help her find some way back to the castle, or at least, out of the elements. The wind had picked up, and was lashing the wet strands of her hair across her neck, face, and the exposed part of her chest, leaving stinging red marks and sticking to where they hit. Past the tree, on her right side, she could hear the rustling of leaves in the wind, and the occasional flutter of wings. On her left, there was the crash of waves on rocks, behind her, she could hear nothing, as the wind was viciously attacking from that direction, and ahead of her, only darkness. It was ultimately the thought of walking into the wind that forced her decision to go forward, with the wind at her back, the woods on her right, and whatever form of water on her left.
At first, her movement forward was slow, her hands outstretched and her every step tentatively placed, but when after a few moments nothing unfortunate happened, she found herself moving more quickly, though still blind. Her thoughts drifted to Malfoy, and she felt her face flush inexplicably at the thought of his closeness, before her stomach gave a lurch and she remembered his words.
'How dare he,' Ginny thought to herself. 'Assume that I would be so smitten with him that I would tell somebody that we have something going on between us.' She had neglected to tell even Luna of their meeting in the Owlery, and had not even allowed herself to put the slightest positive thoughts towards her run-in with Malfoy. To think that she might stoop so low as to allow him to touch her without putting up a serious fight was to be completely delusional. She growled in frustration, and clenched her fingers into fists, breathing heavily.
Ginny let her thoughts drift to just before he'd flown away, and the way he'd stared at her, with so much anger and hate radiating through his piercing gaze, and the momentary glimpse of – something – that she'd noticed. "Damn you Malfoy." She cried, hoping that somehow he might hear her, and took another step.
Without warning, her footing gave way and she toppled sideways, having stepped on a wet rock. Ginny was submerged in water up to her waist, its icy tendrils climbing through her clothes to her upper body and weighing her down through her robes as she screamed in shock. Frustration forced another wave of threatening tears and she gave a growl that echoed in the still air.
She did not move. For a few minutes, she sat there, having no energy to lift her bruised and bleeding body from the icy pool. It was only when she began to shiver violently that she knew she needed to move if she wanted to reach her destination – whatever it turned out to be. So Ginny stumbled her way back to her feet, and put her hands on the wet rocks, finding that past the rock was the trees, and she had only two options, to keep traveling, half submerged in ice water, or in the woods.
In the woods an animal cackled, and Ginny's eyes narrowed towards the sounds origin. "Think this is funny, do you?" she snapped. "I'll show you funny you –" Her hand had found the pocket that was devoid of her wand, and her anger deflated instantly. She was distracted though at the flash of a light ahead and slightly to the left. As she stared, she saw it again, but it was no longer a flash. A pinprick of light, unwavering in the darkness could be faintly made out. And Ginny began moving again.
She climbed like a child along the edge of the pool, hand over hand, holding as tightly as she could to whatever she could find to grasp, and dragging her body along after her hands. Ginny fell several times, being submerged over her head twice in her desperate task to reach the light, but refused to think about it any longer. She was wet, she was ice cold and aching into her muscles. It would not do her any good to think of the shape that her fingers were in, or how she looked in the slightest. Or of Malfoy, for whom even the shortest thought about him invoked a vomit-like feeling of hate, anger, and disgust. Because it would do no good for her to think of any of these things, Ginny resolved silently to think only of hand over hand, foot over foot, and the light.
As the night began to be joined by other lights, the stones beneath her feet became shallower and shallower, until Ginny was crawling up through rocks and onto a grassy incline towards the lights. If she was correct, she was peering up at the castle through a fog, and – yes! There was the astronomy tower! Ginny let out a breath that she hadn't known she'd been holding in, and paused, thrilled.
Out of the silence to her right came the pounding of heavy footfalls, and the growl of a large beast coming closer. Her sense of security shattered, short-lived, and Ginny turned her head, seeing the bright lights of what must have been Hagrid's cabin. In front of those lights, growing ever clearer and sharper in form, a dark figure burst through the fog and at her.
"HAGRID!" Ginny screamed, before the beast was upon her, and she hit the ground.
There was a flash of light, and Ginny Weasley was gone.
It was October the 9th.
Prologue
Ginny finally tore her eyes away from the dark sky, and used every ounce of strength still in her body to drag her torso towards where her ankles were still bound to the base of the tree with several large, tangled knots. Her fingers, tingling from the blood flow returning to them, were too wet with mud to do much of any good at first, and her attempts and cleaning them off on her clothes were unsuccessful. She was, in fact, so thoroughly soaked in the mud that she could not help but feel as though she would be just as dirty beneath her pants.
For a moment, Ginny looked up at the moonless night in an attempt to calm the tears that were threatening to spill over once more, and when she looked back towards the shadowy knots around her ankles, she chastised herself for not thinking earlier to use her wand.
"Are you a witch, Ginny Weasley, or not?" she asked herself harshly, and searched the folds of her robes for her wand. When her search failed to be fruitful, she plunged her hands into the muddy puddle that she sat in, muttering "Come on! Oh please, be here" as she reached in all directions as far as she could reach, but still, her wand was nowhere to be found. Ginny used a hand to brush a mud encrusted strand of auburn hair from her eyes, and left a streak across the others already on her defeated face.
"For Merlin's sake!" she found herself screaming in frustration, and the recently threatening tears spilled over, leaving faint rivers in the black on her face. She sat that way for a moment, sniffling, and seething inside at the situation, before righting herself once more to tackle the rats nest of knots at her ankles.
If it had seemed possible, she'd have thought the night had gotten even darker then it had been before, and by the time she freed her ankles from the ropes, she could scarcely tell her own hand as it waved in front of her face. Ginny rubbed her hands, flexing and stretching the raw and bleeding digits, before using the tree as a support to climb slowly to her feet.
Now if only she knew where she was.
Several minutes passed as she stood that way, arms wrapped tightly around the trunk of the tree that had only just relinquished it's control on her, and she strained her ears for any sound that might help her find some way back to the castle, or at least, out of the elements. The wind had picked up, and was lashing the wet strands of her hair across her neck, face, and the exposed part of her chest, leaving stinging red marks and sticking to where they hit. Past the tree, on her right side, she could hear the rustling of leaves in the wind, and the occasional flutter of wings. On her left, there was the crash of waves on rocks, behind her, she could hear nothing, as the wind was viciously attacking from that direction, and ahead of her, only darkness. It was ultimately the thought of walking into the wind that forced her decision to go forward, with the wind at her back, the woods on her right, and whatever form of water on her left.
At first, her movement forward was slow, her hands outstretched and her every step tentatively placed, but when after a few moments nothing unfortunate happened, she found herself moving more quickly, though still blind. Her thoughts drifted to Malfoy, and she felt her face flush inexplicably at the thought of his closeness, before her stomach gave a lurch and she remembered his words.
'How dare he,' Ginny thought to herself. 'Assume that I would be so smitten with him that I would tell somebody that we have something going on between us.' She had neglected to tell even Luna of their meeting in the Owlery, and had not even allowed herself to put the slightest positive thoughts towards her run-in with Malfoy. To think that she might stoop so low as to allow him to touch her without putting up a serious fight was to be completely delusional. She growled in frustration, and clenched her fingers into fists, breathing heavily.
Ginny let her thoughts drift to just before he'd flown away, and the way he'd stared at her, with so much anger and hate radiating through his piercing gaze, and the momentary glimpse of – something – that she'd noticed. "Damn you Malfoy." She cried, hoping that somehow he might hear her, and took another step.
Without warning, her footing gave way and she toppled sideways, having stepped on a wet rock. Ginny was submerged in water up to her waist, its icy tendrils climbing through her clothes to her upper body and weighing her down through her robes as she screamed in shock. Frustration forced another wave of threatening tears and she gave a growl that echoed in the still air.
She did not move. For a few minutes, she sat there, having no energy to lift her bruised and bleeding body from the icy pool. It was only when she began to shiver violently that she knew she needed to move if she wanted to reach her destination – whatever it turned out to be. So Ginny stumbled her way back to her feet, and put her hands on the wet rocks, finding that past the rock was the trees, and she had only two options, to keep traveling, half submerged in ice water, or in the woods.
In the woods an animal cackled, and Ginny's eyes narrowed towards the sounds origin. "Think this is funny, do you?" she snapped. "I'll show you funny you –" Her hand had found the pocket that was devoid of her wand, and her anger deflated instantly. She was distracted though at the flash of a light ahead and slightly to the left. As she stared, she saw it again, but it was no longer a flash. A pinprick of light, unwavering in the darkness could be faintly made out. And Ginny began moving again.
She climbed like a child along the edge of the pool, hand over hand, holding as tightly as she could to whatever she could find to grasp, and dragging her body along after her hands. Ginny fell several times, being submerged over her head twice in her desperate task to reach the light, but refused to think about it any longer. She was wet, she was ice cold and aching into her muscles. It would not do her any good to think of the shape that her fingers were in, or how she looked in the slightest. Or of Malfoy, for whom even the shortest thought about him invoked a vomit-like feeling of hate, anger, and disgust. Because it would do no good for her to think of any of these things, Ginny resolved silently to think only of hand over hand, foot over foot, and the light.
As the night began to be joined by other lights, the stones beneath her feet became shallower and shallower, until Ginny was crawling up through rocks and onto a grassy incline towards the lights. If she was correct, she was peering up at the castle through a fog, and – yes! There was the astronomy tower! Ginny let out a breath that she hadn't known she'd been holding in, and paused, thrilled.
Out of the silence to her right came the pounding of heavy footfalls, and the growl of a large beast coming closer. Her sense of security shattered, short-lived, and Ginny turned her head, seeing the bright lights of what must have been Hagrid's cabin. In front of those lights, growing ever clearer and sharper in form, a dark figure burst through the fog and at her.
"HAGRID!" Ginny screamed, before the beast was upon her, and she hit the ground.
There was a flash of light, and Ginny Weasley was gone.
It was October the 9th.
To Be Continued.
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