A Story of the Unrefined

~Chapter 6~

     Emily's heart beat faster and faster as she neared Hogsmeade. She knew that as soon as she left the carriage, she would have to apparate home. Apparation was a skill taught to all children of Death Eaters' on their sixteenth birthday. They were considered part of an elite group. Emily scoffed at the thought that just because they were purebred and filled with money it made them special. She sometimes wondered if they had totally forgotten that their master was a half-blood himself. Her breath caught as she stepped off the carriage. The sun had already risen, but for one slight moment she caught sight of the moon.

     In darkness she had always felt safe. She could hide in the darkness, but when the sun rose, she would be watched and noticed she would have to put on an act. She opened her owl's cage and Calah flew unto Emily's shoulder. She pulled a letter out of her robe and tied it to her owl's leg. "Fly to the owlery and stay there for two days. After those days pass, give this to Draco. Don't try to come back to me." The owl cooed mournfully, it could feel the desperation in its owner's voice and it could feel the deep weight of the letter. She lifted the owl with her arm and let it go. The owl circled her three times and flew away. She could still hear its final screech echoing in her ears.

     She choked back the sob that threatened to shake her whole body. She would face this as the person she was. She gazed down at her trunk. It was filled with everything she held dear to her. She couldn't take it there, she pushed it into a stretch of trees nearby and sighed. Sometimes she just didn't make sense, even to herself. She slipped her wand into her pocket and disappeared from the sight of those in the nearby vicinity.

     Her body jerked as it touched ground a mile from Malfoy Manor. Her steps seemed to fall into a rhythm as she ambled along the dirt path. She seemed to be wandering aimlessly until she stopped in front of a black steel gate. The Malfoy crest in the middle of the gate seemed to split to make an entry to the grounds. She sighed, and longed to just turn around and never come back, but they would find her. No one ever really got away unless they had the inner strength to do so.

     She slowly made her way to the door. It softly opened, but she could see no sign of the silent house-elf that had made that possible. The house seemed dark and obscured compared to the brightness outside. She laid down her trunk and waited for Narcissa to arrive and give her permission to enter the various other rooms of the house. To her surprise, it was not Narcissa that greeted her.

     Lucius's cold eyes raked cruelly over her body. Her body shook against her resistance. "I would not tremble so easily. I am not even close to being as fearful as what you will soon face. "Lucius smirked as she glared up at him. He motioned for her to leave and she did so without any apprehension.

     She lay on her bed and staring at the ceiling. The stones were aligned to form a circular pattern until you reached the center. The circles seemed to surround a diamond shaped stone. Narcissa had plated the stone in ivory and the light from the fire seemed to make the colors dance on the stone. She sighed in anguish, as she lay their awaiting Lucius's return. She knew that when he did she would never see this room again.

***

     Ginny was running across the grounds. She was trying to avoid being late to Care of Magical Creatures for the third time this week. She lost her footing and fell to the ground. "Great Ginny, don't you ever learn anything." She brushed the dirt off her robe and lifted her head. There was no breeze, but the leaves of the nearby tree seemed to be shaking. She turned, ignoring the oddity, until she caught the nearly silent sound of laughter. Her shoulders stiffened and a look of complete annoyance covered her face. After years of hearing that laugh it could belong to no one else.

     Draco jumped down barely rustling the leaves. "Why have you been avoiding me, Weasley?" Ginny didn't move her head to look at him. She had no answer for it, but she knew she had been, and evidently he did as well. What she couldn't understand, was why he would even take the time to notice? Ginny had been so lost in her own thoughts that she was startled by Draco's next words. "Do you hate me, Ginny?" She felt her heart stop. Did she hate him? Did he really just say her name? It sounded so sweet.

     She mentally shook herself. She couldn't think like that. She looked up at him. His eyes looked so different then they normally did when they looked at her. They weren't harsh, but she couldn't exactly figure out what they were. His question continued to ring through her ears. Did she hate him? No, she didn't hate him. She couldn't even say she disliked him anymore, but what she felt for him she couldn't decipher. "No" It was all she said, but it seemed enough for him. He sat down leaning against the tree and he watched her. She needed to get to class, but she was late anyway, she didn't need to see all the looks she'd get for such an entrance. She dropped her bag down and sat down beside him.

     Draco gave a sigh and stood and started to walk away. Ginny jumped up. Why did he have to annoy her so well? "Draco, what is your problem?" Draco gave a hollow laugh and turned to her. "You"

     "What is that supposed to mean?"

     "If you lack the mind to comprehend, it means that my thoughts have been totally overrun by a little Weasel."

     "Yes, well, it's not much better to be forced to think of an idiotic dragon every minute of the waking day, either."

     Ginny mentally slapped herself. She couldn't believe that she had just admitted that to him. Draco looked at her and gave his classic smirk. She always seemed to fight within so much. Draco reached out and lightly touched her cheek. Her eyes met his and she felt her heart jump when he smiled.

     He began to trace her lips with his thumb. Ginny's eyes held a glimmer of something that Draco couldn't define but then he felt her put her lips lightly on his own. He slowly tried to pull her closer but she pulled away from him.

     "Ginny" Ginny's body trembled from the silent sobs that seemed to fill her whole body. Draco reached out to touch her, but she pulled away. "I just need to think." Draco reached out a second time and she fell into his arms and cried against his shoulder. "This is a mess, Draco, a mess. What are we going to do?"

***

     Emily flinched against the bright light that seemed to come through her closed eyes. She felt so cold and alone but couldn't seem to remember why. As she began to scan her surroundings the images returned to her. Her hands were covered with deep scratches and mud, from her trek through the woods. She grabbed hold of a low hanging tree limb to pull herself up with her one good arm. The night before had been a disaster, a disaster that had left blood, broken bones, and rotting flesh.

     It began the later on the night she had first returned. Lucius had finally realized the Draco would not be coming home and that it had to have something to do with her. She could still feel him pulling her up by her hair and forcing her out of the room.

***

     He rested his hand on her shoulder. They had to talk. They had been avoiding the strange undercurrent for weeks, but it was there nonetheless, even Ron was beginning to see it. It was late. She had still been awake adding more to a long finished homework assignment and he was avoiding the nightmares that hadn't left him through the past few nights. She turned to look up toward him and she sighed in resignation. This talk could destroy everything, yet it could build so much more.

     She sat, with her knees tucked underneath her, on the couch. She slowly lowered her books and motioned for him to sit. Her gaze had flown to the window as he had sat down beside her. He didn't say a word. Just watched as she tried to rationalize this conversation. He knew she'd try to rehearse it all in her mind, like a report she would be writing, but it wouldn't work that easily. She didn't know what any of his responses would be, and she probably wasn't even sure of her own.

     "Something's changed," she seemed to jerk out of the state her mind had been in and she looked toward him. "What do you mean something's changed?" She didn't want to have this conversation. She'd been avoiding it for as long as possible, and she was fairly certain she could have lasted without it for a longer span of time. "Don't try to act like it isn't there. You can feel it just as much as me." She let her gaze travel downward and began to concentrate on, what must have been a quite interesting section of the carpet below. "I know you don't want to have this discussion right now, but you could at least stop acting like it doesn't exist." Her anger finally boiled over at this point.

     "I'm not acting like it isn't there, I'm trying to stop whatever it is from ruining everything that you've worked so hard for."

     "That's what you aren't getting." Harry sighed exasperated. "It's not ruining anything unless you don't feel it too," his voice seemed to lower to a whisper, "and as far as I can see you do." She made no response, but she didn't move to leave as he had expected her too. He raised his head and looked at her. She was gazing into the fire, her eyes blinking furiously, trying to hold back the tears that were soon to fall. He reached forward and tilted her face upward. He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it. "I'm sorry, Harry."

     Her voice was choked with the tears that she was forcing back and her eyes were red and swollen from the held back tears, but to him at the moment, she had never looked better. He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Shouldn't you be in bed by now, Miss Always Early for Class?" She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'll see you tomorrow," and for the first time that night a smile played on her lips, "night" As she started to climb the stairs she could hear Harry call after her, "it's morning"