The Prophecy of Valeo

It's a funny thing, watching a clock tick. If you're not watching it, the hands seem to move like lighting, but if you are watching it, they don't move at all- and yet they are still somewhat hypnotizing. At the current moment, Harry Potter was doing just this.

As he sat on his yellow-sheeted feather bed, he gazed endlessly at the clock on the mantel above his dresser. And love is also a funny thing. Because as he watched the clock, and even though he had just called powers through his hands without the Ministry taking notice, he was thinking about love.

The red second-hand that ticked again and again somehow reminded him of Ginny, her hair swishing back and forth in the light summer breeze. She was smiling, and he loved it when she smiled at him. In fact, he just plain loved everything about her.

He loved the way she chewed her tongue when she was thinking, he loved the way that when the sun hit her hair just right, in seemed to sparkle, he loved her new-found confidence- which really hadn't been there until this summer, he thought, she had truly changed.

At that particular moment, Harry believed that if a flying saucer crashed through the wall and little green men came crawling out with jeweled walking sticks and black top hats singing 'Old Macdonald had a farm', he wouldn't be interested, because he was to busy thinking about his best friend's little sister.

* * *

Dear Ron,

What's with you?! I mean really, you're sister can handle things on her own. And Harry is only 10 months older than Ginny! Anyway, happily getting off the subject of your sister's love-life, did I tell you that Draco had been owling me the first few weeks of the month, right up until about three days ago? I wonder if his father has done something to him. He really is horrible person- Lucius, I mean. Draco isn't too good himself- and just so you know, I'm saying this for your sake. Just to prove a point, I included some of his letters to show you we didn't have anything going on. And PLEASE don't burn them before you actually read them!

Love, Hermione

Ron shook open another envelope reluctantly, hatred crawling across his face.

Dear Hermione,

How's summer been? My father's doing all the usual- threats, beating, listening to music from the 50's, all of that torture. Really, sometimes I think he's nuts. Yesterday, he told my mum he was going out to buy some pickles and came home with purple hands. I'm not kidding!

Lov

Your fri

Draco

Dear Hermione,

He's getting worse. Mum is starting to creep me out with the way she acts around him. There's really nothing else to tell, not at this moment anyway.

Draco

Hermione,

Don't owl me again. I won't answer, and it'll put your life in danger.

If I don't ever see you again, goodbye.

Draco

Ron's mouth gaped open as he read the last of the letters.

Once she could muster the courage, Ginny knocked quietly on Draco's door.

"Draco?" she asked. "Are you in there?" A few seconds passed before he decided to answer her.

"Yeah," he said.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked, immediately flinching as she kicked herself. Of course he's okay, she thought, kicking herself again as Draco answered her thoughts.

You're right. I'm fine.

Are- do you need anything? Ginny asked him.

My life back. Ginny didn't reply.

I'm gonna go, okay? Ginny asked.

Fine. Draco heard a soft click and footsteps down the hall. Wait- a soft click- it sounded like- Ginny had locked the door to keep Ron and Harry out. He was stuck in the attic alone.

"Uh-ho," he muttered, turning around and looking at the objects around him. He noticed the glint of gold from underneath his bed. It was a roll of red lipstick. He picked it up and for a moment he wondered if the attic had a gas leak.

Mentally shrugging, he removed the cap of the lipstick and smiled madly to himself. Since there was nothing else in the room...

* * *

[for anyone who has seen the movie rocketman, I took a lot of lines of this scene from it.]

4 hours later

"Ministry!" Draco whispered. "Ministry! Do you read? This is auror DM, They've got me surrounded! Write this down, I need a bucket of leprechaun gold, seven kelpie hairs, flobberworms for nourishment, and a Guy that speaks Hootoo!" he took the lipstick and smeared a squiggly red line across his forehead..

"I'm living in a pile of hay with a talking frog, who told me that flying giraffes have surrounded your fort- RETREAT! RETREAT! GET OUT OF THERE, MAN! THEY'RE COMING IN FOR THE KILL! NOOOOOOO...,"

"Draco?" Ginny called from downstairs. He felt his stomach drop as he looked at the red marks all over the walls, which made crude images of a Hippogriff, a sphinx, trees, a building that had the words Ministry of Magic sloppily painted on the top, and a very crude image of Ginny herself in a distinctly R-rated manner (that I will not go into detail of.)

He could hear Ginny coming up the stairs and panicked, ducking into the closet as she opened the door and gasped.

"What the..." The empty container for the lipstick rolled out of his pocket and onto the floor. Draco cursed inwardly.

"Draco..." Ginny said warningly.

"Yay!" he said, his voiced slightly muffled. "You found me! Can we go downstairs and eat cookies now?" Ginny rolled her eyes and grabbed his by the collar of his shirt, yanking him from the closet head first.

"I'll take that as a no," he said, rubbing his head.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?" she screamed.

"You locked me in here for four hours, and there was SO much to do! I made ten thousand points on pinball, jumped on the trampoline in the corner there, and played video games until my thumbs fell off," Draco said sarcastically. Ginny's face looked like a beet.

"CLEAN IT UP!" she yelled.

"You're the one with the power to heal," Draco said.

"Oh, yeah, That's a wonderful idea! Only one thing- I CAN'T FIX INANIMATE OBJECTS, DOOFUS!"

"Well then," Draco said calmly. "We'll just have to use the five finger magic."

"Wait- do you mean, like, magic that comes out of our hands, or muggle work?" Ginny asked.

"The second one. It really can get confusing."

"Hmm." There wasn't really much else to say- which was quite odd, Ginny thought, considering the whole situation. Maybe it was the fact that she was trying desperately to ignore the painting of herself in the corner.

A few moments later, Ginny had gone downstairs and returned with a large bucket of soapy water and some sponges.

"Lipstick can't be that hard to clean," Draco said incredulously.

"It's ever-lasting," Ginny grumbled.

"Oh." She sank down to her knees against the wall, Draco watching her, and dipped the sponge in the water, scrubbing with all her might.

"Are you going to help, or not?" She asked him. Draco followed her lead, he too dropping to his knees and cleaning away, the two hands with completely different owners sliding across the wood.

"I can't believe you did this!" Ginny said, her anger welling. "You're such an ass."

Then why do I catch you thinking about me? Ginny didn't reply, her cheeks turning crimson. She suddenly had three urges at once- To slap Draco, to get lost in Draco's silver, shimmering eyes, and to kiss Harry with all her might.

The second one came true as they reached into the bucket at the same time and grabbed hands, thinking they were the drenched sponges. When Ginny realized her hand was clasped in Draco's palm, she tried fruitlessly to pull it away, but he didn't let go.

And he looked at her, and she at him.

Why do you love Harry? He asked her.

I just do.

Why?

Because he's the opposite of you.

Draco's heart sank mercifully, and he hated himself for letting it do so. He gripped Ginny's hand in the water tighter.

He and I are in love with two very different people. Ginny swallowed hard, leaning in and accidentally knocking over the water bucket. Neither of them cared.

I hate you. She rose to her feet and walked slowly out of the door. Draco moved to the window and opened the blinds, watching his subconscious, never-to-happen tears roll out over Britain in sheets of rain and thunder.

Ouch.

* * *

Ginny stormed into Harry's room, where he was staring curiously out the window.

"Gin, Have you looked outs-," she interrupted him by pressing her lips passionately into his, flattening their bodies against the bedspread. At first, he was so surprised that he was still, but then he quickly melted into the kiss.

When they let go of each other, both were panting hoarsely.

"Whoa," Harry breathed. She took his glasses off and threw them carelessly on the nightstand.

"I love you," she said, kissing him again. "I want to marry you. I love you." At first, Ginny had come to him out of jealousy, but now she knew that this was absolutely real. She could never feel for Draco what she did for Harry.

"I love you too," he said between another two kisses. He reached up and grabbed a handful of her soft hair and pushed it into her head, pulling her closer to him. She smelled like raw cinnamon and pepper, her breath hot and smoky.

Finally, she collapsed on his shoulder and he hugged her tightly. Neither ever wanted to let go.

* * *

Ron stared off into space, wondering if Hermione was having a good time in America. He could just imagine her- in a slinky white tank-top and cut off shorts with her hair in a messy bun, dancing the night away underneath a spinning disco ball, looking just as good if not better that the exotic Bella.

And then, he imagined Hermione dancing close to Bella underneath a spinning disco ball, covered by only a sequined black tube top and micro-mini skirt. He laughed to himself quietly, wishing he could see the two of them. He cursed himself for the thought, knowing Hermione would probably slap him if she knew what he was thinking.

It was then that he looked over to the window and noticed two things: one, it was pouring down rain in mid-summer, two, A huge black owl was pawing at the window. He quickly raced over and opened it. The owl immediately flew over to his desk.

Ron untied the letter from his leg and unrolled it.

Hey Ron,

That is your name, right? Just so you know, I'm not Hermione. She's actually over here now in the apartment. Anyways, it's Bella. Mione's told me a bunch about you. I'm not supposed to tell you this, but she says you're a total honey muffin. He he- she's gonna kill me If I tell her I told you. Uh-ho... She's coming over now! We're going dancing in a minute. I'll leave your sick teenage boy mind to imagine the rest. See ya later! (I'm coming to Hogwarts this year. Let's just say I had a teeny squabble with a girl at my old school, and now her parents own a particularly ugly and deformed skunk. That they cherish like a daughter- hint hint)

Bella

Ron snorted at the last comment, forgetting that his best friend was in love with his younger sister for just a moment.

* * *

Draco sat in a particularly ugly chair by the window, staring bitterly out into the mass grayness outside and the rain pounding on the glass threatening to rip the whole house apart. He had cleaned off the rest of the lipstick from the walls and was now examining the peculiar things he had gotten from the storage space only a week ago.

The dagger seemed to draw itself to him- it probably belonged to someone way back in his past. The five chains were sitting in a tangled mass a foot away, and the four other objects were laid out neatly in front of him.

The cross, he guessed, had something to do with vampires. The red and gold ring gleamed mysteriously, waiting to be unveiled. Over closer examination, Draco had found that a picture of a tiny lion was carved on the inside. And the book- the book seemed different than the rest.

It was, despite being torn and horribly ragged (which Weasley is! Stop thinking about her, you GIT), had some kind of a magical power about it that made Draco think it was almost godlike. He picked it up as if it were glass and opened it, beginning to read the ripped, yellow pages.

* * *

Harry twisted a long lock of Ginny's fiery mane absentmindedly.

"You've changed," he thought aloud.

"Hmm?" she asked contently.

"Ever since this summer, you've been- I dunno- different."

"Good different, or bad?" she asked, looking into his stunning neon eyes.

"Good different... Oh god, good different. What happened?"

Ginny shrugged into his warm body.

"I really don't know. It's like, up until right about now, I've kind of felt trapped inside myself."

Thank god she'd changed.

"Tell me something sweet."

"What?" Harry asked.

"Just think of something."

"Okay," he said as Ginny grabbed a handful of his messy, jet black hair. "After that last kiss, I probably won't stop thinking about being with you until the day I die." Ginny swallowed.

"That'll do," she said, leaning her chin forward and lightly, sweetly kissing him.

"How long have we been laying here?" Harry asked, pulling his wrist up and realizing that he didn't have a watch on.

"Who cares?" Ginny asked. Harry laughed. He paused for a moment.

"Ginny?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you think I'm mad if... if I told you I could...Oh, what's the word... Move things with my mind?"

"What?"

"Just watch," he said, sitting up and concentrating on his glasses, which were laying the nightstand. He wasn't sure if he could still do it, but he could try. Pushing out his hand in an attempt to bring the still object to life, he realized with a sullen feeling that nothing was happening.

"Erm..." Ginny muttered. They stayed in that position for a few more moments before a heart-stopping clatter rattled the house. Harry, who had been startled by the sudden noise, was just as amazed as Ginny when his glasses flew from the dresser and into his outstretched hand.

"Fear's the trigger," Harry nearly whispered. Ginny jumped from his bed and to the door. Harry watched her, confused.

"The Ghoul," She muttered before speeding up the stairs.

"But...," He began, and wanted to finish his sentence by saying You got rid of the Ghoul two years ago, but his girlfriend was already long gone.

* * *

Bursting through the doors to Draco's room, She bounded over to his bed where he was sitting, trying to look as casual as possible. An antique Victorian lamp lay in the center of the room, cracked from where the blonde boy had obviously threw it on the ground.

"You're pretty when you're mad," he said blandly. Ginny ignored him for a moment.

"Don't you mean sexy or something perverted?"

"No. You heard me." It had stopped raining outside, Ginny saw, and the greenish lawn was soaked.

"What do you need?" she asked angrily.

"Well, I was reading this book that my mum told me to pick up along with the other stuff, and I found something ever so interesting," he said in an artificially sweet tone.

"And?"

"And, I've found that this book is written as a Prophecy for who and what the Regina, as they called her, will be, And it most directly stated that the prophecy holder will have the power to heal."

Ginny's breath caught.

From the book. THE BOOK! Your breath caught because of the BOOK. Not because you just happened to glance over at Malfoy and see him peering back at you with his...his...his blue-gray eyes... and his...perfectly shaped lips...and...

"And they also wrote that she has premonitions in her sleep, which I believe you've said nothing to me about. Oh, and along with that, the Regina is supposed to be the seventh sister of her six brothers. And thank you, I've always thought my lips were very well shaped. Which makes them excellent to kiss, care to give them a go?"

Her heart stopped again. She ripped the book from Draco's hands and sat with a loud flump on his bedspread. Opening the cover, the book's mere pages seemed to be overwhelmed with power that seemed to belong to someone other than her.

She flipped through quickly, and the first score of pages were written in loopy scrawl; the second twenty in thin, neat cursive, the third in powerful, squarish writing that reminded her of Harry's. And the last of them- which was only a page long- was in untidy but still refined, snakelike scribbles.

Closing the Prophecy book, her eyes met the five gold chains sitting next to Draco. He saw her gaze and handed them to her without questioning.

"Coincidence," she muttered, knowing it was certainly wasn't. She sorted them out and they gleamed magically in the dim light of the attic. She examined each one carefully, and when she picked up the purple and white one, she suddenly remembered the heart shaped crystal in her pocket.

Draco watched as she dug it out of her shorts and magically hooked on a clasp with the tip of her wand, attaching it to the chain.

"They can track that magic, you know," Draco said. Ginny shrugged.

"They've never been able to with me. I don't know why- they just haven't."

Draco realized, as Ginny flipped up her hair with her arms and attempted to pull the chain over her head, that he found it hard to control himself.

Blame it on hormones, boy. Hormones. Nothing more.

God, the way the sunlight hits her hair...

Would you quit it?! Bloody Hormones...

"Hey- can you help me with this thing?" she asked him. That didn't help either. Sometimes he couldn't understand why she acted the way she did- one moment she was incredibly dramatic like with the sponge incident, and the other she was a spunky, sexy smart aleck. And Draco wasn't saying he hated it, either.

A roller coasters were always fun. Of course, most of the time you ended up puking for dear life.

"Sure," he said, crawling over to her and undoing the clip holding it together. He saw his hands shaking slightly as he pulled it over her neck, his fingers creeping up the top of her spine like large, graceful spiders, slowly redoing the brooch.

"Thanks," she said, turning around and picking up the book again. She didn't notice Draco still gazing at her. There was an awkward silence as she looked up and caught him.

Do you want to talk about it? She thought at him, snapping the book shut.

What?

You know what.

No, I don't think I do.

I know for a fact you do, Draco.

Fine, you do know, but I'm still not going to talk about it.

Then think about it. She could hear his thoughts whirl inside his head before he decided.

Fine. Don't say anything; just let me get it out, Okay? You're not like your family. You're different. The best different I can think of. And when you smile, it's like the sun comes up. When you walk, you stop the world. Your beautiful, Ginny, even if you can't see it. And I just realized that I must sound like the corniest guy on earth, but it doesn't matter.

Silence.

"It's not fair," Ginny said, drifting from mind to mouth and crossing her arms furiously. "Just when I get Harry's attention- and all of it at that- you have to roll around and be all charming and funny. I hate you."

"Well, an I love you probably would have better suited the situation," Draco said.

"Better suited the situation?" Ginny said exasperatedly. Draco hid his mouth and nose behind the worn feather pillow he had picked up from Ginny's bed, leaving only his eyes as Ginny spoke again. "I'm with Harry, and we love each other. There is no you and me. I consider us total opposites, Fire and Ice. Got it?" she said, her nails digging into her green cardigan.

Draco, his eyes just barely showing signs of anxiety, spoke quietly.

"who said fire and ice are really that different?" he asked her. She unfolded her arms and looked at him, her hard expression fading the teeniest bit.

"what do you mean?" she asked. Draco took a deep breath and Ginny knew that she would regret listening to him. When he took in a breath like that, it meant that he was going to say something that would sweep her off her feet.

"Well, fire and ice have lots of personality, and they care for each other. Fire melts ice every time she's near him, even if he doesn't show it. And even if fire has a boyfriend that ice happens to despise, they know that deep down, they love each other, even if fire thinks it's wrong. Ice knows it, and so does she. And sooner or later fire won't be able to hide it." Ginny stood there, her heart thumping. Thumping because of Draco.

"If there was one thing you could do in the world right now, anything to match what you just said to me, what would it be?" Ginny nearly whispered, tears welling in her eyes stupidly. It was idiotic. She wouldn't let him destroy her life.

Smiling a little, he walked over to her and dropped to one knee. For a crazy moment, Ginny thought he was going to propose but he did something just as powerful, instead. Taking her right hand, he laid ten soft kisses from her wrist to the tip of her index finger, each one better than the last.

She gulped.

"Damn you," she whispered. Draco laughed quietly. "Damn you to hell."

"Do you love him?" Draco asked, knowing she knew who he meant. Ginny nodded slowly.

"Do you... do you love me?" he asked, taking a step closer. She took in a sharp breath, and at that moment Harry Potter burst through the attic door, Ron following close behind. Ginny stood frozen, her eyes stuck on her boyfriend, her face petrified.