The Dragon's Savior

Chapter 6

The next few days passed normally. Draco went to class and talked to Fierysprite. He had just finished his last class, and was heading back to his dormitory.
Upon entering, he saw his father's owl, Lucifer, waiting for him again. Draco untied the letter from its leg, and it quickly flew away. The letter said:
Dear Draco,
You are making a huge mistake with grave consequences. You will become a Death Eater. You do not have the power or authority to resist the offer. It is a very generous one. You should be jumping that the chance.
Now, you say that your sister is a professor at Hogwarts? As you stated in you last letter, I never thought you'd find out about her. You being friends with her could ruin my plans. So be forewarned. Anyone who gets in the way of Lucius Malfoy's plans will suffer. Remember that.
-Lucius Malfoy
After reading the letter, Draco was visibly shaken. His face had paled considerably, and he felt slightly nauseous. He should ha known not to tell Lucius about Christina, but he had just wanted to rub it in. Lucius had failed at keeping that secret. Now, Draco realized how stupid it had been. Now, Christina was in danger, and it was all his fault.
Draco sighed and laid down on his bed. Why, oh why did I have to be so stupid? he thought bitterly. Maybe, Lucius was just making an empty threat so Draco wouldn't hang out with her anymore. No, Lucius Malfoy doesn't make empty threats or bluffs. If he says he'll do something, then he'll do it, no matter how bad it might sound. Sighing again, Draco picked up his book. Reading usually helped him relax and take his mind off the things that were happening around him. That was exactly what he needed at the moment, to take his mind off what had just happened and relax.
I didn't work, so he picked up the letter, and walked to Christina's office. She was sitting at her desk, grading papers. Draco knocked on the door, and waited for a reply. She looked up, and smiled at him.
"What's up, Draco?" Christina asked him cheerfully.
He entered the room and sat down before replying. Then he slid her the latest letter from Lucius silently.
She picked it up, and read it quickly. She then looked up at Draco questioningly. He sat silently, trying to judge her reaction. She didn't seem one bit fazed.
"Aren't you upset about this?" Draco asked incredulously.
"No," Christina replied calmly.
"But why not? Lucius Malfoy, one of the most, if not the most, powerful Death Eaters is threatening you," Draco said, astonished that she didn't even care she was probably going to die.
"I'm not upset because, all my life, I knew there would be a day when Lucius would find me and kill me. Now that day is almost come, but it doesn't bother me because one of the only reasons he wants to kill me is so that I can't help you anymore. If that's why I have to die, well, and then let me die because I know I did making someone's life a little bit better, t's worth it," Christina finished her short speech by walking over to Draco, and giving him a hug. "I may not have known you that long, but you're still my little brother and I love."
"I love you, too, and I don't want you to die," Draco said, truthfully.
"Well, we can't really avoid that, now can we? Unless Lucius was just making empty threats, but somehow I doubt that. We don't even know if he's really going to kill me or just hurt me. I'll be fine, don't worry about me, worry about not letting Lucius get to you. Focus on not cracking and becoming a Death Eater, okay?" Christina asked comfortingly.
"Okay," Draco said, resigned.
"Now, it's time for dinner, let's go."
Draco stood up, and followed Christina out of her office, thinking about what she'd said. She was right. When the time came, then he'd worry about it, but right now, he would worry about enjoying his time with her while it lasted.

*~*~*~*

It was Wednesday, and Ginny was starting to get nervous about the Quidditch tryouts that were going to be held on Friday. Even though she had practiced everyday since theg of school, and she was a pretty good Chaser already, she still wasn't sure that she'd make the team. Oh well, I can't worry about that now, she thought, I gotta get to class.
She got up from the Gryffindor table where she had been eating breakfast, and walked towards her first class. It was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Ginny arrived, and sat down in one of the front desks. This had become a habit for many of her classmates also, especially the boys. Everyone in her class had decided that Professor Malfoy, regardless of her name, was the best teacher they'd ever had. She was always cheerful, and almost never lost her temper, but she could still easily control her students. Their professor also made the class so much more interesting than any of the past professors.
Once everyone had arrived in the classroom, Professor Malfoy flashed them all a smile, and then began the class.

*~*~*~*

After all of her classes were over, Ginny rushed back to Gryffindor Tower. She changed clothes, and picked up her broom to go practice.
When she arrived at the Quidditch Pitch, she was surprised to see someone else was already there. Ginny wasn't sure was, until the figure moved closer to her, and she saw slicked back white-blonde hair and an expensive new broom. Draco Malfoy. Oh, great, Ginny thought in frustration, now I have two choices. I can either practice with this git watching my every move or I can skip practice today. While she was debating her choices in her head, Draco had landed behind her quietly, and put his lips close to her ear. He was about to scare her, when she felt his presence. She turned her head quickly, maybe a little too quickly. Her lips met Draco's, and to Ginny's great dismay, she felt a tingling sensation where Draco's lips touched hers. She moved her lips against his, and moved her arms around his neck. She just couldn't help herself.
At first, he was too shocked to move, but soon enough he reacted. He started kissing her back, and pulled her closer. He moved his hands from his sides to her hips. The kiss began to grow increasingly passionate. Draco ran his tongue along her bottom lip. Ginny opened her mouth under his, granting his tongue entrance. A shiver ran down her spine when Draco's tongue touched hers, and finally the reality of the situation caught up with her. She was kissing Draco Malfoy. She pulled back as quickly as if his lips had burned hers. Ginny looked into his stormy gray eyes for a second, before doing the first thing that came to mind. She slapped him.
Draco gave a little yelp of pain, and then turned to Ginny, eyes blazing. "What was that for?" he asked indignantly.
"For kissing me, you stupid ferret," Ginny shot back coolly.
"First of all, I didn't kiss you, you kissed me, and second of all, will you drop the ferret jokes, for heaven's sake? It happened two years ago," he sighed in frustration.
"I did not kiss you."
"Yes, you did, you turned your head, and your lips met mine. From my experience, that's kissing."
"Well, I didn't mean to. What were you sneaking up behind me for anyway?" Ginny yelled.
"I wato scare you," Draco informed her calmly. "But you must have heard me."
"Whatever just leave me alone, Malfoy," Ginny said, resigned.
"Fine, I was about to leave anyway, until you showed up," Draco replied snottily, and then started to walk away. When he walked passed Ginny, his arm brushed her, and he whispered, "By the way, you're a bloody good kisser, Weasley."
Ginny's arm tingled where his had brushed hers, and she smiled at his comment. She was about to yell to him, but decided against it. She was horrified to realize that she had thought he was a good kisser and that as he walked away, she couldn't help but think that he looked really hot with his Quidditch robes and slightly mussed hair. She also couldn't help notice that, even after he had left, her lips were still tingling from where his had been. Disgusted with herself, Ginny mounted her broom, and flew up into air.

*~*~*~*

As Draco was walking away from the Quidditch Pitch, he couldn't help but feel satisfied with himself. Not only had he managed to restore his bad boy impression, he had also made the little Weasel mad, which was a plus. Although, he was satisfied, he couldn't help but wonder why he'd done it. Why had he kissed her back? He didn't really know, and he also felt that it wasn't very important either. Who cares why you did it, it made her mad, didn't it? he asked himself. Whatever.
Draco gave the password to get into the Slytherin Common Room (Parseltongue), and then walked up to his dormitory. He put his broom away, and then looked in his trunk for some clean clothes. He had had the last period of the day free, so he had gone out to the pitch, and had worked up a sweat. Now, he walked out of the Common Room with his clean clothes to take a shower in the Prefects' Bathroom.
One Draco had taken a shower, and gotten dressed; he dropped off his clothes in his dorm. Then he headed to the Great Hall for dinner. He didn't want to talk with Blaise very much, so he ate quickly, and went back to his dorm. Draco booted up his laptop, and logged online. Fierysprite wasn't on, but Draco hadn't expected her to be. She was probably still eating dinner. He was just goofing around, when Fierysprite sent him an IM.
Fierysprite: Hey, what's up?
Hotdragon: Nothing much, what about you?
Fierysprite: Nothing, so how was your day?
Hotdragon: Fine, how was yours, honey? : )
Fierysprite: I know, I know, that was dumb, but I couldn't think of anything else to say.
Hotdragon: Oh.
Fierysprite: Do you like Professor Malfoy?
Her question startled Draco. Do I like her? Of course not, that's gross, she's my sister. Not that Fierysprite knew that, but anyway.
Fierysprite: I mean, do you think she's a good teacher?
She must have sensed his hesitation to answer. This time Draco had an answer.
Hotdragon: Yeah, I think she's a great teacher.
Fierysprite: I think almost everyone feels the same way. I know I do.
Hotdragon: Yeah, I've noticed that most people like her. So, you're going to try out for your house Quidditch team, right?
Fierysprite: u think you'll make it?
Fierysprite: I'm not sure.
"Hey, Draco, you might want to go stop Pansy from telling the whole school you're in live with Ginny Weasley," Blaise said casually as he entered the room.
"What?" Draco asked, shocked.
"She said she saw you two kissing, and that you'd been cheating on her," Blaise informed him.
"Oh, bloody hell," he swore. "Why does it have to be me?" He mumbled this to himself, and ran out of the dormitory to find Pansy.
"Where is that little brat?" he asked himself angrily. Draco looked around the Common Room, but didn't see her, so he ran out of the Common Room to look for her.

*~*~*~*

Ginny sat on her bed, waiting for Hotdragon to respond to her.
Fierysprite: Are you still there?
She waited a few more minutes, but there was still no reply.
Fierysprite: Hello?
Still nothing.
Fierysprite: I've got homework to do, so if you don't respond I'm going to log off.
Ginny waited a few more minutes, but to no avail. He never responded. She logged off of the internet, and shut down her laptopher books, and started her essay for Care of Magical Creatures.

*~*~*~*

Draco finally found Pansy Parkinson in an empty classroom. He was about to yell at her, and give her a piece of his mind when he noticed that she was crying. He walked over to the desk she was sitting in, and kneeled down next to her.
"What's wrong, Pansy?" Draco asked, his voice tinged with regret. He knew that it had something to do with him.
"What do you want?" Pansy asked scathingly.
"I want to know what's wrong," Draco replied comfortingly.
"You want to know what's wrong?" she yelled at him. "I'll tell you what's wrong. You're what's wrong! You and your bloody conceit."
"What do you mean?" he asked innocently, although he had a pretty good idea of what she meant.
"I mean that the only reason you're here is because you thought I was going to tell everyone about you and Weasley, right?" she asked, and then continued before Draco could answer her, "Well, that's what's wrong. The only time you ever pay attention to me is when I do something you don't like." She began to r.
Draco was starting to feel really guilty. As annoying as Pansy could be, she had been one of his only friends growing up. Pansy, Blaise, and him had hung out all of the time, and played together. Then they got to Hogwarts, and Draco picked up Crabbe and Goyle. He had started being cold to everyone. Pansy was also one of the only Slytherins not to tease him about being soft.
"Look, Pansy, I'm really sorry," Draco said, and he meant it. "I know I've kinda ignored you the past few years, but I'll make it up to you."
"How?" Pansy asked curiously, her tears ebbing away to sniffles.
"How about you and me go to Hogsmeade together next weekend," Draco suggested. "But not as a date."
"Alright. The only reason I pretended to be in love with you was so you would pay more attention to me," Pansy admitted.
"You do realize that it only made me like you less, right?" Draco asked teasingly.
"Yes, that's why I've decided to stop it, and look at how well me plan worked," Pansy replied, smiling.
Draco and Pansy went their separate ways, Pansy to the library, and Draco back to his dormitory.
Even though he still thought Pansy was pretty annoying, she was a little less annoying when she wasn't in love with him.

*~*~*~*

Friday arrived faster than what Ginny would have liked. She still didn't feel that she was completely ready for Quidditch Tryouts, but all Ginny could do was try her best.
McGonagall had appointed Harry as the new Quidditch captain, now that Angelina Johnson had graduated. The two other Chasers, Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet, had also graduated, leaving the three Chaser spots open. Harry began the tryouts by explaining what they'd have to do. Each person would take a turn at shooting the Quaffle ten times at the goal that Ron was playing Keeper at. The ones who showed the best ability, would go on to try some plays, showing how well they could work together.
Then the tryouts began.
There were about twenty students, and Ginny had gotten stuck going last because they were going in alphabetical order. When it finally came to her turn, she flew up, in front of her brother. He smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up. Ginny smiled back, and then threw the Quaffle. It easily went into the left hoop. The next time she faked shooting to the middle, and then threw it to the right hoop. She tried many different strategies, and made all ten of her shots. Only two other people had done that well.
After Ginny was done, Harry picked the best nine, and split them into three groups of three. Ginny was in a group with Colin Creevey, and Dean Thomas. Coin had made nine of his shots, and Dean had made all of his.
They were given a short time to come up with a play, and had three chances to score a goal. Ginny, Colin, and Dean were the first group to go. They started flying in a regular V-formation, Dean in the middle with the Quaffle. Then Colin flew behind Dean, and grabbed the Quaffle. Colin threw it over Dean to Ginny, who passed to back to Dean. Dean then faked a shot at the left hoop, but instead tossed it to Ginny who threw it into tht hoop. There was no way Ron could have gotten there in time to stop it from going in. When they landed, Harry looked very impressed. He watched the other two groups, but neither was anywhere near as impressive as the first group.
Harry faced the three groups, and said, "Thank you all for trying out, but unfortunately, we only have three spots open. All of you showed a lot of skill, but my teammates and I have come to the conclusion that the best three for the job would be Colin Creevey, Dean Thomas, and Ginny Weasley, who all showed exceptional skill. Congratulations."
Ginny was so happy, she could have kissed Harry at that moment. The people who hadn't made the team trudged away, hanging their heads. As for Ginny, Dean, and Colin, they were all grinning winningly. I made the Quidditch team, she thought excitedly. I'm not just the girl that Harry Potter saved from the Chamber of Secrets anymore, oh no, I'm a Prefect and on the Quidditch team.
Harry turned to the three new Chasers, and said, "Practices will be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday form 3:00-5:00. Our first match is two weeks from Saturday, against Slytherin. Now, see you Monday."
Ginny skipped away, and back to the castle. She could not wait until Monday. She couldn't' wait to write a letter to all of her brothers and her parents, they would be so proud of her.

*~*~*~*

p>

After dinner in the Great Hall, Ginny returned to her dormitory to e-mail Hotdragon. She knew she couldn't tell him she had made the team, but she could tell him she had done pretty well. When she logged online, she was disappointed to see that he wasn't online. So she decided to send him an e-mail.
Hey, Hotdragon! Quidditch tryouts were today, and I think I did really well. I hope so at least! I was hoping you'd be online, but you're not, so I'm going to go and read. E-mail me back.
Talk to you later,
Ginny
She was just about to push the send button, when she noticed one problem. She had signed it Ginny instead of Fierysprite. Ginny quickly fixed her error, and then sent the e-mail. She shut down her laptop, and picked up her book. At present, she was reading Pride and Prejudice by: Jane Austen. She, like Draco, although unbeknown to her, also liked classic literature like Jane Austen and Shakespeare. Ginny wasn't really sure why she liked it so much, but she did.
She flopped back on her bed, and got totally immersed in her book.

*~*~*~*

Meanwhile, in the Slytherin dungeons, Draco was dreading the next day. He would have to spend the whole day with Pansy. It would not be fun. Maybe I can get Blaise to come, Draco thought, or maybe I can get Christina to come. That would be even better. Besides, Blaise had a date with some Ravenclaw chick.
He quickly walked towards her office, and when he had reached it, Draco knocked on the door. After a few seconds, the door opened, and Christina appeared.
"Hi Draco," she greeted him with a warm smile.
"Hey," Draco said, returning her smile. "Can I talk to you about something?"
"Sure, what's up?" Christina asked.
Draco began explaining what had happened with Ginny, and then with Pansy as they walked to her living room. They both took a seat on the couch. "Anyway, Pansy kinda annoys me, but I still felt guilty, so now I have to spend the whole day with her and I was wondering if you wanted to go with us?" he finished hopefully.
"Wouldn't that be kinda mean, telling her you'll spend the day with her, and then bringing you sister with?" Christina asked uncertainly.
"What about if you just come to lunch with us if you want?" Draco suggested.
"Alright, I can do that," Christina replied, smiling. She had wanted to go with Draco, but she hadn't wanted to hurt Pansy's feelings.
"Okay, it's settled then. Pansy and I will leave about ten or ten thirty, and we'll meet you at the Three Broomsticks at noon. This is going to be great," Draco gushed, well sort of, the closest thing a Malfoy can get to gushing without losing their cool cover. "See you tomorrow."
"Good-bye, Draco."
He left Christina's office/house, and made with way back to the Slytherin Common Room.

*~*~*~*

The next morning, Draco woke up at nine o'clock. This was a little early for his taste, but he had promised to meet Pansy at ten o'clock. He wanted to spend the least amount of time alone with her without hurting her feelings. Draco could just picture what she would do if she knew his real motives. It would not be pretty. Plus, she saw Weasley kiss me, and has some pretty good blackmail material, even if the kiss hadn't meant anything. It had still happened.
Dragging himself out of bed, Draco was thinking about what to wear. He decided to just wear a pair of black jeans, a forest green sweater, and a black clock with the Slytherin emblem on it.
Draco slicked back his hair with some gel, and put a charm on it to make it stay in place. He carried on with all his morning rituals, and at two minutes to ten walked out of the Slytherin Common Room. He was meeting at the front doors in the Entrance Hall.
He arrived at exactly 10:03.
"You're late," Pansy said when he arrived.
"Yes, and fashionably so," Draco shot back with a smirk.
"Whatever, so what time are we meeting your sister?" Pansy asked.
"Twelve o'clock at the Three Broomsticks," Dracobr> They stopped in front of a carriage, and Draco, once again, was surprised to see it was already occupied by Ginny and her friends. Each carriage comfortably fit six people, and seeing as how there were only three people in it, they had to wait until more people came. Draco thought about just walking away, but saw there were no other carriages at the moment. That and the fact that Pansy had already gotten into the carriage.
Draco go in after her, and sat across from Ginny, who was smirking at him.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Malfoy and Parkinson together," Ginny said, still smirking as if to say that Draco was really pathetic for taking her out.
He was about to tell her that they were only friends, if even that, when Pansy said, "Isn't it great? I think we make such a wonderful couple."
"I'd have to agree with you," Ginny replied.
Draco turned and silently glared at Pansy. By the time they reached Hogsmeade he was ready to kill her. "What was that for?" he shouted once Ginny and her friends were out of earshot.
"What was what for?" Pansy asked innocently.
"I specifically told you we were only coming as friends," Draco shouted angrily.
"Oh come on, Draco," Pansy whined.
"Don't 'come on, Draco' me," Draco shot back. "I told you it wasn't a date, and we were only going as friends."
"I know that's what you said, but you couldn't possibly have meant it," Pansy replied stubbornly.
"Yes, I did mean it. I don't want people thinking we're going out," Draco said in a frustrated tone.
"Why not?" Pansy asked, hurt.
"Because we're not," Draco pointed out.
"Whatever. If you didn't want me around, you shouldn't have asked me here in the first place," Pansy said, close to tears, walking away from him.
"Wait Pansy, it's not that I don't want you here, it's just that I don't want to date you," Draco lieda wished he would have let her walk away, just so he wouldn't have to deal with her anymore.
"It's alright Draco, I realize that we just don't get along as well as we used to. I wish it weren't that way, but I realize it's true. I'll talk to you later, Draco," she said, and then walked away.
He felt a little bad as she walked away, but what she said had been true. They didn't get along as well as they used to.
After Pansy left, Draco walked through Hogsmeade, going into different shops. He was pretty much wasting time until it was time to meet his sister for lunch.
He wasn't paying all that much attention to where he was going, and neither was Ginny. They ran into each other, and both were knocked off their feet.
"Watch where you're going, Weasley," Draco spat as he stood, and brushed himself off. When Ginny didn't move or respond, he offered her his hand. She glanced at it warily, and then took it. He pulled her to her feet.
"Thanks, Malfoy," she said gratefully, and then winced slightly.
"Are you okay?" Draco asked.
She shook her head, and said, "It hurts to talk, think I hurt my ribs."
"If it hurts to talk, don't say anything. Look, I'm meeting my sister at the Leaky Cauldron. Why don't you come with," he suggested. "I can't do anything, but she can."
Ginny nodded to show that she agreed, and followed Draco. At one point, she tripped, and fell into him. He must have been watching her, because he easily caught her. When she had fallen, he had gotten a whiff of her hair. It smelled really good, a fruity flavor, but not too overpowering.
When they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, Draco held open the door for her, and she walked in. Draco spotted his sister, and walked over to her with Ginny in tow.
Christina smiled at him, and said, "Hi Draco, Ginny. What happened to Pansy?"
"We had an argument, and she realized that we don't get along all that well," Draco explThen I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and ran into Weasley. She says it hurts to talk, and that she probably hurt her ribs. Can you heal her?"
"Yeah," Christina said. She uttered a healing spell, and a blast of yellow light shot from the tip of her wand. It enveloped Ginny, and then slowly faded.
"Thanks," Ginny said. "I'll be going then."
"Wait," Draco said suddenly. "Why don't you stay? I knocked you over, my treat." Christina smiled at his offer. She believed that she was having just the effect Dumbledore had intended her to have on Draco. He was loosening up around other people, and that made him a generally nicer person.
"Alright," Ginny said, shrugging. "My friends already abandoned me for some guys, so why not?"
All through lunch, the three of them chatted casually. Draco had sensed that Ginny didn't have anything else to do except go back to Hogwarts, which she hadn't wanted to do. So he had invited her to stay, and he was glad he had. For once in his life, he actually had fun in the company of a Weasley. He knew that Ginny knew why he invited her, and also knew she wouldn't tell anyone else about it. He was right, Ginny never told anyone about that day.