Moonlit Grounds

Chapter 6

Ginny stalked away from the clearing satisfied. Sometimes the realization of what she was doing hit her so hard, but other times it made perfect sense. She felt released from her life when she saw the blood spilling onto the ground. She felt the pain go from emotional to physical. She was addicted to it.

Once again, she had gotten the strange perception that she wasn't alone. The feeling frustrated her. She abruptly stopped and quickly turned around. No one was there. She continued walking but still had an uneasy feeling. Once she was up to the castle steps, she pushed these thoughts out of her head and focused on being incredibly quiet.

Back in her room she pulled on her old nightgown. It had been her mother's, when her mother had been at Hogwart's. It was a beautiful ivory color and was silky to the touch. It had always been a mystery to Ginny how her mother had came to own such a gorgeous piece of clothing.

She glanced out the window. She swiftly looked back, swearing that she had seen something move. She had. A figure was running quickly across the grounds toward the castle. She grabbed the omnioculars that were Ron's from her dresser. She zoomed in on the figure, only to find that it was Draco Malfoy.

*

Draco suddenly felt the forest's oppressing silence. He remembered an experience as a first year in the Forbidden Forest and his fear then. He was determined not to run, so he slowly found the path and began on his way back. The darkness wouldn't let up and he found that his wand didn't do much. He was trying hard to concentrate on not losing his way, but his thoughts continued to wander back to Ginny. He didn't want to think about Ginny. She was a Weasley. He vowed that he would never again allow himself to act as he had in front of her.

He slowed down when he finally reached the grounds. He never got over his past experiences in the forest to feel comfortable in it.

He heard a rustle in a patch of bushes up ahead and was alarmed to see a figure rise out of it.

"Malfoy? What the hell are you doing here?" Ginny's arms were hanging limply at her sides and her face was in shock.

"Ginny? What are you doing back out here?"

"What did you see, Draco?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

"I...I didn't mean to...I didn't know..." Draco could only stutter. He had no idea what he was supposed to tell her. There were so many questions he had intended to ask her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Draco," she whispered, "No one was ever supposed to know that."

He stood there numbly as she fell to her knees in front of him.

Ginny covered her face with her hands as she began to cry. She didn't want him to see her cry again. Once was enough, perhaps too much. Her pride began to shield her, as she was able to quickly stand up and recover.

"You have no business following me, Malfoy. I would suggest you forget about everything that concerns me." She brushed away another tear and turned away from him.

Draco grabbed her arm before she could get too far away. He didn't have time to think, so he did the first thing that came to mind. He kissed her.

Their lips met softly, but the hunger they felt soon consumed their bodies. Draco pushed her lips open and slowly lifted her tongue with his own. She responded with equal passion to his every move. Ginny gripped his neck, pulling him in closer. They stood there, connected and feeling, for a little longer, until they both broke apart for a breath.

Ginny looked into his bright eyes and saw her own eyes reflected in it. She couldn't grasp what had just happened. She then felt Draco's arms wrapped around her back, pressing her into him.

Getting dizzy, she looked down at the ground and saw a familiar face. She heard two voices, each calling out her name. One was concerned and warm. The other was cold and cruel.

Virginia. It's been too long.

"Ginny? Are you alright?" Draco felt her weight slipping to the ground.

You know you're mine, Virginia.

"Ginny? Ginny?" He was beginning to get frantic.

Draco lifted her up into his arms when she stopped responding and carried her back to the castle. Her eyes were locked and her breathing shallow.

In her hurry to catch the stalker, Ginny had thankfully left the front door open. Draco leaned into it, and was able to sneak back through the main hall. He took Ginny down through the dungeons and back into the Slytherin common room. It was too late for anyone to still be up, so he didn't think twice about taking her to his room.

He laid her on his bed and fetched a cool glass of water. On the way to the bathroom, he made sure that Crabbe and Goyle (the only other male Slytherin sixth years) were out cold. As an after thought he cast an easy, but potent, sleeping charm on the two of them. Just to be safe, he told himself.

As he set the glass of water down on the nightstand, he heard her mutter something.

"No. It's not...TOM!" Ginny bolted upright as she screamed his name. She was breathing heavily and looked around in bewilderment.

"Ginny! It's ok, it's alright!" Draco patted her arm, but she shrunk from his touch.

"He was...he was...going to do it again," she was able to get out.

"Who, Ginny? Who's Tom?" He moved closer to her again, yet this time she didn't move away.

"I don't want him anymore." She fell into Draco's chest and sobbed. Draco laid back onto his bed and Ginny curled up against him. He held tightly onto her as she slowly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Draco laid awake far into the night; just stroking her soft hair, wishing his blood wasn't pure.