The Green Man and the Goddess

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Green Man and the Goddess, Chapter Seven- Power By ArrA. The echoes of our feet sounded down the passages of the maze as we made our way to the chamber where I would find the box that was filled with my power. We would have been lost in minutes but the map was instilled into my mind. I knew every nook, cranny. I knew every corner and bend. I knew the every passage of the maze. I could hear the far off sounds of water dripping from the ceiling onto the floor somewhere but there was no other sound except for our footsteps and the panting of our laboured breathing. The only light, was the light on the ends of our wands, giving a small, steady stream of light, that showed us the path only a few feet in front of us. I led, my arm linked with Draco's, his body heat warming me and his presence giving me reassurance and banishing any fear that would have been in my mind. Behind Draco and I, Hermione marched, keeping distance between Draco and Ron, acting as a barrier between the two. Ron wasn"t happy about being the last person in line and he wasn't happy that his worst enemy was now free to date his only sister. He trudged behind Hermione sulking but he didn"t say anything about the arrangements. One hour of steady walking finally brought us to an ancient door, carved from stone into a wall. It was barred with an old, rotting piece of wood that looked like it would fall apart if it were to be touched. Unlinking my arm from Draco, I stepped forward, towards the door, carefully placing my hands onto the rotting wood. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply till I felt a surge of power come into me; I could feel it flowing into me and then flowing out in a direct stream towards the piece of wood. Heat pulsed out from my hands and I could hear the steady buzz of the power that I was emitting. With a final deep breath, I put a stopper in the power that was flowing out of me and slowly opened my eyes. The once rotted piece of wood was now fully revitalized. It looked like it had just been cut off the tree to bar the door, although it was hundreds, maybe thousands of years old by now. I turned to Draco and looked at him worriedly. He stared back at me, asking what was wrong with his eyes. "It's leaking," I announced. No one said anything. They waited for to say something else but I couldn't. I stood there for a moment, then I walked back to the door and slowly lifted the wooden bar. It came off easily in my hands, sliding smoothly out of its anchorage. I pushed the door open and slowly stepped into the room that I had come to see. The room was twenty feet by twenty feet and in the center was a pedestal and resting on the top of it was the box that I had come to in search of. The others were following me inside the room and I turned to them, "Don"t touch to box. Do not touch it! Not even you Draco." Draco nodded affirmation and Ron and Hermione chorused their an answer, "Yes." I walked towards the center of the room where all my power had been stored for thousands of years, Draco at my heels, his hand clenching an owl pendant I had never seen before. He stopped five feet away from the pedestal, his eyes closed, seemingly concentrating on something and he started to glimmer and transform. There was a flash of brilliant white light and Draco was no longer standing in his school robes. He now wore armour, ancient armour and in his hand, instead of the owl pendant was a brilliant sword that sown in the dark light. I looked at him and he just nodded at me to go and reclaim my power. I finally reached the pedestal. Standing directly in front of the box, my hand reached out, touching the lid of the old wooden box that was placed on top of it. It was carved with a complicated design like the old Celtic knots but it also had two figures. On one the side of the box there was a woman, spinning round, her hair flying, and on the other side was a man dressed in ancient armour, sword drawn, just like Draco. Engraved on the top of the box was the couple embracing each other, the woman resting in the man"s arms. I smiled at the picture carved into the lid of the box and slowly lifted the lid. Power rushed out of it, into me. It was the most intense thing I had every felt and it almost knocked me off my feet. I could hear Draco panicking in the background and Hermione and Ron shouting at him before they grabbed him and held him back. The magic coming out of the box was so strong that they didn"t have the power to stupefy him. It became very overwhelming and I threw my head back, screaming as the power poured into my mouth, my nose, and even my skin. I was having a terrible time breathing, I was almost choking on the power that was travelling into my body. Suddenly it stopped and I fell over, breathing heavily. Hermione and Ron stopped holding Draco back and they ran to me, helping me up. Draco picked himself off the floor and rushed over and scouped me into his arms. "Draco! Put me down!" I told him right away. "I need to lead you back. You can't find the way on your own." He looked down at me, his head close to mine and gave in but not before he softly brushed his lips against mine. I felt the jolt I usually felt when Draco kissed me and then it was gone. Draco quickly placed me on the ground, Ron was glaring at him, and if looks could kill, Draco would be been dead. I entwined my fingers with Draco"s and we set out, back towards Hogwarts. We passed through the damp passages and it seemed to only take half an hour this time, although I'm sure it took just as long as the trip down to the chamber, if not longer since we had to go up hill to get back to Hogwarts. I felt like nothing could touch us. I thought we were invincible, that Voldemort was nothing compared to me and Draco but of course, I was overestimating our power. Voldemort was one of the most powerful wizards ever born, even though he gained his power through the Dark Arts, he was still more power than Dumbledore, and he was crafty with years of experience fighting battles. He knew how to win. Unfortunately Dumbledore had never been able to outsmart him, but that day, I never thought about that. I was ecstatic that I would be able to defeat Voldemort. I never should have been so confident. * * * The school year passed uneventfully. There weren't any attacks by Deatheaters but Dumbledore told the people who had his ear that Voldemort was definitely gathering his allies. Former Deatheaters were disappearing, as well as members from old, rich, pureblooded families. Draco's father had been seen for two weeks before the end of the school year although Draco had gotten quite a few owls from him. It was soon time for Draco to be joining the ranks of the Deatheaters, his father had written. The first time Draco had received such a note he shaken with fear. Originally he wasn"t supposed to join the Deatheaters ranks till after he had graduated. His father must have learned of our relationship, even if not a word had been written about it in the letter. It was obvious the reason why Draco would be joining the Deatheaters early. One the last day of school, Draco and I were given permission by Dumbledore to venture into the forest. We walked down the hill towards to forest in mutual silence. Hogwarts loomed behind us, the Forbidden forest in front of us. Both of them were my creations. We entered the forest, still not talking but now listening to the songs of the birds, the chirps of the crickets and calls of the animals. Finally we reached a glade... the glade that Draco had first come to me, telling me he was the Green Man. I cleared my throat, "We've come along way since we were here last." He smiled slightly and nodded. "No matter what happens this summer, remember that I will always forgive you. I know you don't want to be a Deatheater but sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do. Even if you come back with a dark mark burned on your mark, I'll still love you just as much as I do now." Draco's eyes started to water and he closed the space between us and wrapped his arms around me, tears sliding slowly down his face. His outbreak of emotion made me start to cry, and soon we were weeping together. I raised my head to his and looked him in the eyes. "Don't forget that Draco." "I know, I know," he whispered to me and lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me till I was out of breath and I felt I would pass out if I didn't breathe soon. His hand roamed down my back and sighed into his mouth. He slowly pulled his mouth back from mine and said, "I love you Virginia Weasley." I smiled at him, "I know, I love you too." "Good," he said, taking a step back from me and crouching down on one knee. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small jewelry case. "Virginia, will you marry me?" he asked, opening the case. A ring lay in the center. The band was white gold and in the middle was a beautiful ruby with two small diamonds encrusted on either sides of the ruby. I just stared at him, overwhelmed with joy. He took my silence as a negative reaction though and quickly said, "Not yet. After you"ve graduated from Hogwarts or if that's to soon, whenever you're ready. I can't imagine not spending the rest of my life without you Ginny." He too smiled and slid the ring onto my finger, I held out my hand, both of us looking at the ring. Then I turned to Draco and threw both my arms around him again. "I love you so much, Draco!" He smiled at me and gathered me in his arms, picking me up in his arms. "We have to go back to the school now but I get to carry you this time... I won't be denied my wishes, Virginia," he told me. He carried me out of the forest and up towards the school. Just as we were going up the stairs, Draco lifting me up them with no difficulty, we saw Harry Potter standing in the shadows watching us. Ever since he had left Dumbledore's office to have his mind wiped he had been different. Even though he didn't remember what happened, there was still tension in the air, as well as some hatred because even though Harry didn"t remember what happened, he still seemed to be able to sense that he had been belittled by whatever happened. Ron and Hermione both looked at him differently too, since he had backed out and he probably noticed that too. Harry Potter was bitter and we didn't know that then but that bitterness would lead Harry on a very different path from the rest of us. Later that day, Draco and I said goodbye on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. We had told Ron and Hermione that we were engaged but no one else. Hermione had been excited for us, although Ron hadn't looked all that happy but he understood that Draco loved me just as much as I loved him. All my brothers, as well as my mother were there to meet us, so Draco and I said a short, discreet goodbye before he left for home with his butler and his mother and I went home with my mother and brothers. I never did find out what exactly happened to him that summer, but it really did change him. He had still been a boy when he had left Hogwarts but when he returned, he had grown into a man. He hated Voldemort with a passion and his Dark Mark had been burned into Draco's arm, although that wasn't the only scar that Draco had endured over the summer.