The Dragon's Savior

Chapter 2
Early the next morning, Draco woke up feeling very stiff. He looked around, and vaguely wondered why he was on the floor. Then he remembered what had happened the night before. Something must have gone wrong with one of Voldemort's many schemes to wreck havoc on the world or to kill Harry Potter. That was the only time Lucius ever used Crucio. Otherwise, he just beat him and cursed him, but never Crucio.
While he was thinking about this, a dull throbbing started in his head. It was the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse. He hated it when his father used it on him, and was getting fed up with Lucius always taking his anger out on him. He hadn't even done anything, at least nothing that deserved that kind of torture as punishment.
Draco wished he had someone to talk to and confide in, but there was no ne. Everyone at Hogwarts was scared of him. They knew who his father was, and figured he was just like Lucius. They were wrong, though, he wasn't anything like his father. The only people that had seen the real him, were his friends online and the Slytherins. Well, that did him a whole lot of good. As soon as his internet friends found out who he was, they would drop him instantly. As for the Slytherins, they were all mean, and just thought Draco was soft. He had been teased about that, but after awhile had turned to the emotionless, cold-hearted method. The Slytherins accepted him after that, but the rest of the school either hated him, was scared of him, of both. Now Draco wished he hadn't turned into an ice man. He wished he'd just let the Slytherins tease him. At least then he would have friends to talk to, and hang out with. In reality though, he had no friends so here he was sitting in the middle of his room, just regaining consciousness after his father tortured him, and he had no one to talk about it with. He could tell Fierysprite, and she'd listen, but she would probably figure out who he was, and never speak to him again. Maybe I'll e-mail Fierysprite anyway, he thought. He'd promised he would last night, but he'd been a little preoccupied.
So Draco turned on his laptop, and signed on to the internet. For the fist time, he looked at the clock by his bed. It was only eight o'clock in the morning. No wonder I'm so tired, he thought. It's about four hours earlier than I usually get up during the summer. Oh well, it's not like if I go to bed now, I'll be able to fall asleep anyway. When his screen had loaded, he saw he had an e-mail from Fierysprite. He read it and then responded:
Hey, Fierysprite! Sorry I blew you off last night, but my father had me a bit preoccupied. I'll be online most of the day today, so reply when you get online. Talk to you soon.
Hotdragon
After he wrote that, he decided he would search the web, while he was waiting for Fierysprite.

*~*~*~*

Ginny woke up at ten o'clock the next morning. When she got downstairs, everyone else was already awake, and eating breakfast.
"Good morning, Ginny," her mother greeted her.
"Good morning," Ginny replied.
"Hey Gin. Did Hotdragon ever e-mail you?" Harry asked her.
"Not last night, but he may have this morning," Ginny said. Then she continued to eat her breakfast quickly.
"Whoa, where's the fire, Gin?" Fred asked.
"Yeah, why are you eating so fast?" George asked.
"I've gotta check my e-mail," she replied.
"Oh yes, you just have to check it immediately," Ron said sarcastically.
"Ha, ha," Ginny shot back, just as sarcastically. "I'm gonna check my e-mail. See ya," she said as she raced up the steps to her room, two at a time.
She turned on her laptop, and logged into the internet. When her screen appeared, she noticed she had mail, from Hotdragon. She read it, and when she saw he was online also, she Instant Messaged him.
Fierysprite: hey
Hotdragon: hey, what's up? Sorry about last night, I was a bit tied up
Fierysprite: it's fine, I understand, my parents do that to me sometimes too
Hotdragon: my father is pure evil
Fierysprite: (laughs) he can't possibly be that bad. At least no worse than Draco Malfoy's dad. He's in Voldemort's inner circle, and probably uses Unforgivable Curses on his son. I almost feel sorry for him. Almost
Hotdragon: yeah I've seen him, looks evil to me
Fierysprite: exactly, see, your parents aren't that bad
Hotdragon: I guess not
Fierysprite: by the way, what do you think of Draco Malfoy?
Hotdragon: he's a bit cold, don't you think?
Fierysprite: yeah but I think deep down, he's a good person. He just can't let it our or doesn't want to , I mean if I were Lucius Malfoy's child, I'd be cold too
Hotdragon: I get you point, I think you may be right about him
"Ginny, get down here. You are not going to spend another day in your room, chatting on your laptop. Everyone else is going to the beach. We're leaving in ten minutes. Be read by then," Mrs. Weasley yelled up the stairs.
"Alright Mum, I'll be down soon," Ginny shouted back.
Fierysprite: I'm really really sorry but I can't chat with you right now. We're going to the beach. I gotta go.
Hotdragon: it's alright, I'll talk to you later. At 3 in the chat room
Fierysprite: okay talk to you then, bye
(Fierysprite has logged off.)
Ginny got ready, and ran downstairs.

*~*~*~*

Draco was actually a bit glad the chat ended so soon. He had felt a little weird about the whole conversation. First, he had lied to her. Then, they had started talking about him and his father. Draco had been a bit amazed when she had nailed what Lucius was like exactly. She had also said she almost felt sorry for him. He was glad someone noticed Lucius wasn't only mean to other people, he was mean to Draco also.
He had been especially happy when she'd said that deep down he was a good person. He had been completely surprised, but happy all the same. Whoever this girl was, she defiantly had a knack for figuring out people's secrets. Draco wished that he could tell her that it was him she was talking ab out, and she was completely right. He wished he could have confided in her, but he knew that wasn't a good idea. She might never talk to him again, and he liked talking to her. Maybe, if she chats with me long enough, she'll see I'm not all bad, he thought. Then we could reveal to each other our identities.
In the meantime, he would have to be as nice as possible, and try to gain her trust. Once she trusted him enough, then he could tell her who he was. Now, though, Draco jsut wanted to crawl into bed, and sleep until 3, and that's exactly what he did.

*~*~*~*

Even though at first Ginny hadn't wanted to got to the beach, she had ended up having fun anyway. At first, she'd just planned on sun bathing the whole time, but it had soon gotten too hot for that. She had relented, and got into the water.
Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fred, and George had started a huge water fight. Ti had been Ginny, Harry, and Hermione against Ron and the twins. Ron still refused to talk to Harry, Hermione, or Ginny. Ginny wished he would jsut give it up, as he was jsut making himself miserable.
Oh well, she thought. He'll get over it eventually.
Now though, it was quarter to three, and they were heading back to the Burrow. Ginny and Harry were trying to hurry a bit, so they could change before going to the chat room. As soon as ti was in sight, Ginny and Harry raced each other to the dilapidated, old house.
Harry made it there first, as he had much longer legs than Ginny did. Once Ginny was inside, she ran up the stairs to her bedroom. She turned on her laptop, and then changed as fast as she could. Ginny looked at the clock, 2:59, perfect.
She typed in the website, and entered the chat room. She saw everyone else was there except for Harry and Cho.
Just then, Harry came into her room. Ginny looked up at him.
"Can I sit in here with you?" Harry asked.
"Sure, sit anywhere," Ginny replied, gesturing around the room. He chose the spot next to her, on her bed.
Ginny soon saw Harry's screen name appear on the list.
Gossip Queen22: what do you want to talk about? Please not Quidditch.
Teenage Enchantress: fierysprite, how was your alone time with Hotdragon yesterday?
Ginny blushed, so they had been trying to set her up with Hotdragon.
Fierysprite: it was nice, it got cut a little short though
Gossip Queen22: did you go to a private chat room?
Fierysprite: yes and after that I talked to him twice
Teenage Enchantress: really how interesting, did you flirt?
Ginny blushed any even deeper shade of red. She wished that they'd stop asking questions.
Fierysprite: a little, but the guys seem bored, so let's talk about something else
Gossip Queen22: oh alright but no Quidditch
Teenage Enchantress: are you guys dating anyone?
Emerald Hottie: yes, I have a girlfriend
Gossip Queen22: I have a boyfriend
Fierysprite: I'm single
Froggylegs 91: single and lovin' it
Hotdragon: I don't have a girlfriend but this one girl is convinced I'm in love with her, all because I took her to one stupid dance, she's quite annoying
Fierysprite: have you told her you don't like her?
Hotdragon: only about a million times
Fierysprite: oh well, she'll grow out of it, I did, what about you, Teenage Enchantress, do you have a boyfriend?
Teenage Enchantress: yeah
Gossip Queen22: well Froggylegs said he liked being single, but what about you other single people
Fierysprite; being singel is okay, but I'd much rather have a boyfriend
Hotdragon: same as Fierysprite
Fierysprite: are you gay?
Hotdragon: no, why would you think that?
Fierysprite: because you agreed with me when I said I wanted a boyfriend
Hotdragon: you know what I meant
Fierysprite: I know, I'm just kidding
Gossip Queen22: you two are so much alike
Hotdragon: and your point is?
Gossip Queen22: I was just making an observation, no reason to bite my head off
Fierysprite: alright, alright break it up
Gossip Queen22: look who's jealous
Fierysprite: I am not
Gossip Queen22: yes you are, why else would you break up our fight?
Fierysprite: so we can get a conversation going again
Emerald Hottie: okay quit fighting
Fierysprite: fine what do you want to talk about?
Gossip Queen22: let's continue the topic from before
Hotdragon: how can we go any further?
Gossip Queen 22: for those of you who are dating someone, how long have you been dating?
Emerald Hottie: for about 3 months
Teenage Enchantress: yeah it is
Fierysprite: ooh, sounds pretty serious
Teenage Enchantress: yeah it is
Fierysprite: have you gone all the way
Teenage Enchantress: no but we were pretty close. Have any of you gone all the way?
Froggylegs 91: I have, once, I was in love with the girl but she died
Fierysprite: that is so sad
Froggylegs 91: yeah well I've tried to forget about it, what about you?
Fierysprite: no I haven't even gotten remotely close
Gossip Queen22: I've come very close, but never done it
Emerald Hottie: I've come pretty close
Hotdragon: everyone at my school thinks I do it all the time, but I've never gone all the way before
Fierysprite: have you gotten close to it?
Hotdragon: fairly close
Fierysprite: how far have you people gotten, on a scale of 1-10, 1 for not ver far, 10 all the way
Emerald Hottie: 8.5
Gossip Queen22: 9.5
Froggylegs 91: 10
Teenage Enchantress: 9.8
Hotdragon: 7, what about you Fierysprite?
Fierysprite: well, probably around a 6
Hotdragon: ooh, harsh
Fierysprite: hey you're not very far ahead of me
Hotdragon: yeah but the only people who know that are here
Fierysprite: what does that have to do with anything?
Hotdragon: I don't know, I was trying to distract you
Fierysprite: it didn't work
Hotdragon: I realize that, but it was worth a try
Fierysprite: once again, I'll say you're weird
Hotdragon: and once again, I know I am
Emerald Hottie: there are other people in the chat room you know
Fierysprite: oh right, sorry
Emerald Hottie: I'm just reminding you
Teenage Enchantress: you're only a 6, how many boyfriends have you had?
Fierysprite: 2
Teenage Enchantress: that's it? When did you get your first boyfriend?
Fierysprite: last year
Teenage Enchantress: that's is? I was dating when I was 12
Fierysprite: when I was 12 I was obsessed with a guy
Teenage Enchantress: did you finally get him to notice you?
Fierysprite: no I grew out of my crush
Hotdragon: whoa, it's 4 o'clock already
(Hotdragon has logged out.)
Fierysprite: bye, see ya everyone
After Ginny logged out of the chat room, she Instant Messaged Hotdragon.
Fierysprite: hey
Hotdragon: what's up?
Fierysprite: nothing much
Hotdragon: who's the guy you were obsessed with?
That was when Ginny remembered Harry was still in the room. Ginny was about to ask him to leave, but he beat her to it, "Alright, alright, I get it, I'm leaving." She smiled gratefully at him.
Fierysprite: I can't tell you
Hotdragon: why not?
Fierysprite: because you'll know who I am
Hotdragon: please
Fierysprite: no
Hotdragon: alright fine
Fierysprite: so everyone thinks you sleep around?
Hotdragon: yeah
Fierysprite: I'll have to ask my brother which 6^th year guys sleep around
Hotdragon: hey you can't do that
Fierysprite: you were trying to find out who I was obsessed with
Hotdragon: yeah but I dropped if after awhile
Fierysprite: so you were still trying to get clues too
Hotdragon: yeah but I'm not researching it
Fierysprite: whatever let's just drop it
Hotdragon: fine
Fierysprite: it's so weird not knowing who I'm talking to but we talk and joke like we're best friends
Hotdragon: you are my best friend I don't have any friends, except you and my cousin but he has to like me
Fierysprite: why not?!? from what I can tell you're a great guy
Hotdragon: to you yeah, you know the real me but only people online see it
Fierysprite: how come?
Hotdragon: because people are too quick to judge but on the internet you can't do that
Fierysprite: that's a bit sad
Hotdragon: I know but that's how it goes
Fierysprite: why don't you try harder to show people the real you?
Hotdragon: because I'm not sure I want them to see it
Fierysprite: your life sounds so dark and dreary
Hotdragon: that's because it is
Fierysprite: but that's so sad
Hotdragon: you already said that
Fierysprite: I know I did, it's true, are you trying to change the subject?
Hotdragon: kinda yeah, I don't really like talking about this kind of stuff
Fierysprite: oh I'm sorry, I'm just curious
Hotdragon: I know, it's okay, let's just talk about something else
Fierysprite: okay what do you want to talk about?
Hotdragon: what about you, do you have many friends?
Fierysprite: I have pretty many good friends
Hotdragon: are they all in your year?
Fierysprite: not all of them, but most, what about your parents? What are they like?
Hotdragon: I told you before, I don't like them, well actually I like my mother but not my father
Fierysprite: I know you told me before but you were mad at them then
Hotdragon: I would probably like my father more if he were nicer
Fierysprite: does he yell a lot or what?
Hotdragon: my father abuses me
Fierysprite: no way, your father can't be that bad
Hotdragon: yeah he is
Fierysprite: that's terrible no one deserves that
Hotdragon: yeah well I got it
Fierysprite: OMG, I am so sorry
Hotdragon: I'm not looking for your sympathy
Fierysprite: I know, but I still feel sorry for you
Hotdragon: can we talk about something else please?
Fierysprite: sorry
Hotdragon: what about your parents?
Fierysprite: from what you said, pretty much the exact opposite of yours
Hotdragon: so you like your parents?
Fierysprite: most of the time
Hotdragon: except when they annoy, embarrass, or punish you
Fierysprite: exactly
Hotdragon: I should probably go, last time I stayed online all day my father was not very happy with me
Fierysprite: oh God, is that what you were busy with?
Hotdragon: yeah
Fierysprite: alright, I'll talk to you tomorrow
Hotdragon: okay see ya
(Hotdragon: has logged off.)
After Ginny had logged off the internet, she began to cry. That was one of the saddest conversations she had ever had in her life.

*~*~*~*

When Ron was walking up to his room, which was right next to Ginny's, he heard crying coming from her room.
He forgot about being mad, and went to see what was wrong. He walked over to her bed and said quietly, "What's wrong, Gin?"
She looked up at him, startled. "You're actually talking to me," she said dazedly.
"Yeah, now what's wrong?" Ron asked again.
"It's nothing really, it shouldn't upset me as much as it does," she replied vaguely.
"What is it?" Ron asked impatiently.
"I was talking to Hotdragon online, and he was telling me about his life. He has the worst life ever imaginable. He doesn't have any friends, everyone thinks he's a slut, and his father beats him" Ginny said as calmly as she could.
"That's why you're crying?" Ron asked incredulously.
"Yes, isn't it terrible?" Ginny asked.
"Sure, but Gin, that's no reason to cry. I mean, you don't even know the guy for heavens sake," Ron replied exasperatedly.
"I many not know him in person, but he's still my friend," Ginny shot back. Ron was beginning to annoy her.
"You've only been talking to him for two days," Ron pointed out.
"So, we've talked a lot in those two days. I know a lot about him," she said, he voice rasing in defense.
"He could be lying," Ron retorted calmly.
"You are so irritating. You come in here to comfort me, and you make me even more upset! Get out!" Ginny yelled while pushing him out her bedroom door.