Vidi, Vici, Veni

Chapter One

"Dreams and Hexes"

Draco Malfoy sat on the Hogwarts Express heading towards his sixth year at school. He glared out the window at the countryside, not really watching the blur of trees and hillsides in the distance.

Pansy Parkinson sat across from him fawning over him as usual. He ignored her as best he could, but her cooing and fussing over him made him almost nauseous. He just wished she would leave him alone. Crabbe and Goyle were doing their best to get her attention as they thought she was cute and had crushes on her.

The thought of Crabbe or Goyle groping Pansy was an image that he wanted to push out of his mind. She reminded him of some over bred lap dog, bred to the point where there was something seriously wrong about her. Crabbe and Goyle made him think that their wizarding lineage was just a few generations from swinging in the trees and eating bananas, just like big gorillas, but with smaller brains.

Gazing out the window and falling into a meditative state, he reflected over his fifth year and the summer. His father telling him that he should 'sow his wild oats' while he was at Hogwarts so he would be ready for marriage after he was done with his schooling. He knew whom his father had in mind to be his bride and she was sitting across from him at that very moment.

Hoping to make Draco jealous, Pansy attempted to achieve her goal by flirting with Crabbe and Goyle. He knew what she was trying to do when she stopped pestering him and started batting her eyes at the hulking pair. Pansy had overheard her father talking with Lucius Malfoy and that a marriage had already been arranged, but she wasn't supposed to know about that. She figured Draco would come around one of these days, but in the mean time, she began to realize that she could get Crabbe and Goyle to do her bidding since Draco had no interest.

Draco was glad for the lack of attention from her now and Crabbe and Goyle would be too busy with Pansy to bother him anymore. He went back to his thoughts.

His thoughts returned to the pendant his mother had worn at dinner the night before he left for King's Cross. A large amber pendant. He had gazed at it during dinner, his mind flashing to a pair of wide amber eyes looking into his own. He didn't know whom the eyes belonged to, but he was sure that he had seen them before. Those eyes haunted his thoughts over the summer, like some phantom nymph in his dreams. The smell of jasmine and roses, a flash of pale skin, the nape of a neck.

He would wake up panting in shallow breaths, his heart racing and a throbbing in his groin. Unable to go back to sleep, he would try to remember the woman in his dreams, but all that came to him were pieces of a puzzle with most of the pieces missing.

Draco shrugged and resettled himself into his seat. His father advised him that if he found someone as an outlet for his hormonal angst, his grades might improve. Yeah, like he would ever have the desire to shag Pansy. He'd sooner do a flobberworm.

His mind wandered, thinking about how his father had been imprisoned in Azkaban, but had escaped shortly thereafter. Lucius Malfoy had come to the Manor a few times over the summer to pick up a couple items that hadn't been discovered in raids by the Ministry. He would collect money that Draco had withdrawn from Gringott's by his father's instruction and then apparate before the Aurors could arrive hot on his heels.

Draco was glad his father was gone almost all of the time. It gave him a chance to relax, but not much. With his father on the run, probably hiding out wherever the Dark Lord was, Draco was left with the task of running the Manor; his mother did not have the head for such things. He noticed that due to his father's frequent requests to withdraw large amounts of galleons, the vault had started to look alarmingly emptier.

He did mention it to his father, who dismissed the statement by saying that he had to put everything into this war, for after the war they would be rewarded with much greater riches. Draco figured that the family fortune was going to help pay for the war against Dumbledore and all his mudblood and Muggle-loving fools. He began to resent the Dark Lord for putting him and his family into this kind of situation.

What he hated most was the fact that his father was fearless, ruthless and controlled everyone around him, yet simpered and kowtowed to the Dark Lord. From what he overheard his father's friends say during their long talks in the study after dinner parties, the Dark Lord wasn't even human. And Draco had never heard of the wizarding surname Voldemort. He was sure it was an alias. There was a deep desire in Draco to find out which wizarding family he came from.

The Hogwarts Express started to pull into Hogsmeade and with the slowing of the train, Draco was roused from his train of thought. 'Finally,' he thought. He was supposed to patrol the train as part of his prefect duties during the trip, but figured Pansy could bully and pester enough of the students for both of them with Crabbe and Goyle in tow. Besides, after what Harry and his gang of hopped up wanna-be Aurors had done to him on the train ride last June, he wasn't too keen on the thought of oozing or riding on the luggage rack again.

As he got off the train, he spied two heads of red hair walk past him along with Potter and Granger. "Well, if it isn't the weasels, the mudblood, and scar head," Draco drawled.

"Sod off, Malfoy!" was Ron's first greeting to him.

"Manners Weasley, or is your family too poor to afford those too?"

"I really don't think three prefects arguing on the platform is any example to set for the other students, especially the first years," Hermione retorted.

Draco caught sight of Ginny peering at him from behind Potter and the other Weasel. "Don't think I've forgotten about that Bat-Bogey Hex!" he snarled at Ginny trying to intimidate her. "Ten points from Gryffindor!" was the only thing he could think of at the time. Staring at her, he started to get flustered.

"You can't take points away from houses for things that happened last year and there is also the fact that this year hasn't even started yet," Hermione coolly replied.

"Gee, is little Malfoy afraid of a few itty-bitty bats? Did you know that you scream like a girl," Ginny sneered her best Malfoy imitation at him.

Draco wasn't going to loose his cool, not in front of other Slytherins and the rest of the houses milling about the platform. Everyone around them had started to watch the verbal exchange with great interest. "You'd better get your sorry self into one of those carriages, Potty, before the Dark Lord apparates onto the platform and finishes you off." There were sharp intakes of breath around the platform.

"Get stuffed, you pompous, ferret-faced moron!" Everyone looked at Hermione, shocked that those words had escaped from her mouth.

Draco knew that with the return of the Dark Lord and the war on, everyone was expecting him to become a Death Eater sooner rather than later. Everyone was expecting him to cast some Dark Arts curse on Harry before he had a chance to pull out his wand and defend himself. "You and your little gang of twits had better watch your backs, Potty." Draco marched off through the crowd and students began heading towards the carriages again.

Ginny finally let go of Harry's robes and the four of them wandered off towards the carriages. They all piled into one with Harry and Ginny sitting next to each other and Ron and Hermione across from them. Ron took Hermione's hand in his and kissed it.

"That's my girl," Ron said. The carriage started off towards the gates of Hogwarts where two Aurors stood guard.

"Hey, what am I? Minced meat?" Ginny said with false hurt in her voice.

"And kudos to you too, Gin," Ron smiled. He was proud that his sister had stood up to Malfoy and seemed to put him in his place. "He must be off his game, his responses are usually so much better than that. Must be running out of material."

"Or maybe Crabbe and Goyle have begun to suck his brain dry. After all, it's a pretty big vacuum between those two sets of ears," Harry added with a laugh.

They all laughed, but Ginny realized that her heart wasn't really in it.

~_~_~_~_~_~

Over the summer Ginny had seen Harry several times. Even though Harry was supposed to stay home at number four Privet Drive, Dumbledore did not want a repeat of the previous summer's events. So, he had arranged for Harry to be escorted every weekend to another safe house that had been set up in case Sirius's home was discovered. Harry was glad that when he did get away, it was not to the old house that he so clearly remembered; even the memory of Sirius sitting at the kitchen table was still fresh in his mind and it made his heart ache for his godfather.

Ginny would go with Ron and Hermione to visit Harry. On the train ride home from Hogwarts last June, Ginny and her last boyfriend decided to see other people if they wanted during the summer and maybe pick things up when they returned. She had spent some evenings alone with Harry in an upstairs study, casually kissing and caressing each other. It wasn't that they were strongly attracted to each other; it was simply a matter of convenience that they found themselves in each other's arms.

Harry had been unusually testy and frustrated all last year, but having found comfort in Ginny's arms to release some of that pent up hormonal energy, he was feeling much more relaxed at the start of this school year.

Ron and Hermione spent every available moment snogging in a spare room during those weekends with Harry and sometimes in between. So, in the awkward absence of Ron and Hermione, they had ended up keeping each other company. Just before the start of the school year, Harry and Ginny had both agreed that it was best that they just cease the intimate, yet innocent activities they had done together.

Ron was unaware of what Harry and Ginny had been up to, but Hermione had a clue. She figured that if there was something there, it would be for the best if they found it. If not, oh well, at least they would know that they weren't meant for each other.

Ginny did like Harry, but when they kissed, it was average. Not like the sparks she dreamt about during her first year at Hogwarts. More like something pleasant to do to release some of her pent up frustrations.

During the summer Ginny had been having the same sort of dreams as Malfoy, but she knew who was in her dreams. She remembered breaking free from a large Slytherin girl in Dolores Umbridge's office when the melee broke out after Harry and Hermione had left to lead Umbridge to the so called 'weapon.'

She bolted for the door but was caught by Malfoy and slammed up against the wall. He had a vice like grip that hurt, but then began to soften. She looked at Malfoy, eyes wide with fright and determination. His icy grey eyes pierced through her and she felt like she might go weak at the knees. She wasn't sure if it was because of an overload of adrenaline or the look on his face. Perhaps both. His face neared hers, sneering, but it began to soften. She didn't know what was running through his mind, but a sudden shudder of fright made her twist her head to the side and wince. She inhaled deeply and caught the faint scent of very expensive soap, with a light musky scent that made her head swim.

Forcing herself with resolve, she snapped herself out of the daze that she was falling into and hexed Malfoy with her Bat-Bogey Hex. The one she knew so well from using on Fred and George when they played pranks on her.

~_~_~_~_~_~

The students began to drift into the Great Hall for the start of term feast. Malfoy was in the entrance hall when he saw Professor Snape walk by in great strides towards a side corridor.

Professor Snape was going to meet Professor McGonagall for their usual start of the year bet. He was sure that Slytherin was going to trounce Gryffindor this year for house points and the Quidditch cup. He was betting a 200-year-old bottle of port verses whatever she had to offer.

As he rounded the corner, he felt like a fist had hit him squarely in the chest. Standing next to Professor McGonagall was what looked like an angel in sky blue robes. Professor Snape took in a sharp breath that caught the attention of the two ladies. Professor McGonagall, being a woman herself recognized a man when he was dumbstruck. She'd seen it too often in her own students not to notice.

"Professor Snape," McGonagall started, "this is our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. May I introduce Professor Calliope Mead. She's been sent over from America by their Department of Magic, Auror division, as we have had to look abroad for someone to fill the position."

She was ravishing. Professor Mead stood a several inches shorter than Professor Snape with a halo of honey blond hair that fell about her face and shoulders in gentle waves and curls. He wondered if he had ever seen a face more perfect. Water blue eyes the colour of aquamarines that shone brightly as she smiled at him. His normally beady black eyes became large and lost looking. He almost had the expression of befuddlement.

"I am most charmed to meet you, Professor Snape. I do believe we have a mutual friend. Your Potions Master from your school boy days here taught for a few years at my school." Professor Mead's words had a distinct Southern drawl that drew him in deeper.

"Smith & Hemmings School of Magic, located in the mountains of Vermont. I did learn so much from Professor Fichtl those few years. I've heard you are quite the Potions Master yourself. I do look forward to talking with you in an exchange of ideas regarding some of the uses of New World herbs in traditional potions." She said smiling slightly at him, batting her lashes.

Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes in disgust unbeknownst to her two companions.

"I...um...yes! I'm very charmed to meet you Professor Mead. I do hope we have a chance to talk sometime..." he said trailing off. "Where do you hail from originally?"

"I was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, that's in the South. My family was one of the first wizarding families to settle there while it was still a colony. We are one of the oldest wizarding family still living in the South today." Smiled even more deeply at him and turned to Professor McGonagall.

He looked at her with great interest trying not to stare, but her lips looked like two petals of a rose.

"If you will excuse me, but I really think that I should go freshen up before the feast begins," she drawled. And with a small flourish, she turned and headed towards the faculty bathrooms.

Professor Snape seemed to have lost that perpetual look of smelling something bad and a faint smile curled at the corners of his lips. "What an extraordinary woman," he sighed wistfully

"Yes, indeed," said McGonagall sharply. She looked disgusted at the way Snape was longingly watching her walk away. Snape shook his head as if coming out of a trance. McGonagall thought about saying something to Snape about looking like a lost puppy, but thought better of it. She didn't want to incur Snape's wrath on her students in retribution.

"So, what have you got this year, Professor?" she asked Snape.

"A very exquisite bottle of port from the family cellar. And you?" He glared at her, knowing that she had just watched him in a rare moment of weakness with someone of the fairer sex. And fairer she was, by far.

"Two prime box seat tickets to this summer's Quidditch World Cup," she said looking over her spectacles at Snape.

"Done," he replied as they shook on it.

Professor Snape proceeded to the end of the side corridor and through a passageway that led to the back of the Great Hall where the staff table was. Professor McGonagall marched back to the entrance hall ready to lead the first years in for the sorting ceremony.

~_~_~_~_~_~

As the staff settled into their seats, they all heard the students begin to whisper excitedly and a few boys call out wolf whistles as Professor Mead made her way to her seat at the staff table. Several girls at the tables began to elbow their boyfriends sitting next to them as the boys gaped in wonder at the new DADA professor.

Professor Snape eyed the room, looking sternly at many of the boys and feeling a pang of jealousy in the pit of his stomach. Yet he was embarrassed, because he realized that he had probably made a fool out of himself in much the same way as many of the boys were now, mouths agape and all. Snape was trying to be as calm as possible for now he realized that the only empty seat at the staff table, besides McGonagall's, was next to him.

Panic swept through him. Memories of girls teasing him as a student at Hogwarts, a young woman sneering back at him in disgust that she would never agree to an arranged marriage with a Voldemort worshipping cretin like him. He almost winced as those memories came flooding back, but held himself steady and firm.

He figured that the only way he could redeem himself after making himself look like a fawning schoolboy was to be a gentleman. He rose as Professor Mead approached her seat and pulled back her chair for her. He helped seat her while the rest of the staff looked shocked or bemused by the sight of Professor Snape behaving in such a manner. When Snape sat back down, he noticed that the whole of the Great Hall was too quiet. He shot a glance at the tables full of students that said volumes about how any comment or mention of this was going to result in a year of potion classes that EVERYONE was going to regret. The four house tables went quickly back to idyll chatter.

Ron was the first to speak at his table. "Are you sure she's not part Veela?"

Hermione started in as quick as she could, "You should talk, you were ogling her just like all the other boys in the room."

Ron looked sheepish, but saved his romantic standing with Hermione by adding, "Yes, but I only truly have eyes for you." Hermione smiled and leaned over to give him a peck on the cheek. Many of the Gryffindors sitting within earshot of their exchange looked nauseated and some made gagging noises or motions. When Hermione turned away, Ron looked at Harry and wiped his brow, silently mouthing, "Close one."

Every boy in the room did look attentively at Professor Mead. Every boy, but Draco. His attention was caught somewhere else. He was glaring at the back of Ginny Weasley's head. He was thinking with great earnest on how to get back at her for making that parting shot on the train platform. But as he stared, he caught sight of the nape of her neck as she turned her head to watch Professor Mead enter the room. The flash of creamy skin, the shape of her neck as it curved up, the soft tendrils that trailed down her back tied in a loose ponytail.

'She let her hair grow this summer,' he absentmindedly thought to himself. Staring at her neck brought back images of his summer dreams, of his nymph. Of warm amber brown eyes peering into his, wide with intensity. He closed his eyes momentarily and the memory of jasmine and roses filled his mind.

Just then Crabbe nudged him and asked if he was all right. Draco shook his head, pulling himself out of the trance. Goyle made a comment to Draco about Professor Mead being hot. He turned to look at the new DADA teacher and found himself locked in her gaze. She was staring with great interest at Draco. He felt himself freeze, unable to look away. Vague memories of his dreams flashed in his mind. Crabbe nudged him again and asked if there was something wrong. Draco blinked hard as if he just woke up and glanced back up to the staff table. Professor Mead was engaged in conversation with Professor Snape.

"No, I'm all right," he replied to Crabbe. "I think I just need a good night's rest." Crabbe shrugged it off and went back to his sycophantic courting of Pansy. 'Maybe if he shags her, she'll beg daddy to change her marriage arrangements and leave me alone,' he thought to himself.

Professor McGonagall entered the room with the first years in tow. As always, they were nervous and wide-eyed. There were a few in the group with their heads held high and a scowl on their faces that made Draco think that they would probably be sorted into Slytherin.

After the sorting, Professor Dumbledore stood up and made his usual start of term announcements.

"I would also like this opportunity to introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Mead. She is visiting from the United States and I do hope you will all make her feel welcome." She stood and bowed slightly amidst polite clapping from the girls and hoots and hollers from the boys.

She sat back down giving Draco one last fleeting glance. He heard a small voice as if someone was whispering in his ear, "You should be a little more quiet when you think." The accent was definitely American. He snapped his head around to see if there was someone standing behind him, but then realized where the voice came from. He looked at the staff table again and Professor Mead was again in another conversation with Professor Snape.

Ginny began chatting with her dorm mates Florence and Roxanne, fifth years like herself. She brought them up to date on what she'd been up to over the summer, sans details about her and Harry. Ginny felt that this was this was the beginning of a good year for her, despite that fact she would have to face her O.W.L.s.

As the feast ended, prefects lead their charges back to the common rooms. As Ginny rose with the rest of the gang to head back to Gryffindor Tower, she looked up at the door to see Draco glaring at her with a sneer. "This year might not be so good after all," she muttered to herself. She knew her quip on the train platform would not go unpunished.

Draco escorted the Slytherin first years past the opened portrait and into the common room. After briefing them on sleeping quarters and other basic living arrangements, he left them to go to his own private prefect quarters which were just next to the common room entrance.

As he flopped himself onto his bed in utter exhaustion, he was trying to think of someway to get back at Ginny. The thought of her hair trailing down her back in soft waves and remembering what her neck looked like roused a slowly growing urge in him. He readjusted himself and tried to shake the thought from him mind. 'She's a Weasley, dammit! Stop this,' he screamed in his head.

He paused, and then he bolted upright on his bed. He smiled a wicked grin that spread from ear to ear. He knew what he could do to put that piss poor pest back in her place.

"I shall make her fall in love with me. I will shag her rotten and then in front of the whole school, especially her insipid brother, ruin her reputation and dump her mercilessly," he muttered to no one in his room. Draco was most pleased with himself. He was going to sow his wild oats with Ginny Weasley, ruin her reputation, break her heart and make her mother and father wring their hands with regret and sorrow for their poor, little girl.

He continued to smile, malice dripping from him. He slowly whispered to himself, "Vidi, vici, veni."