Holes in the Floor

Episode I

"Fool," he whispered softly as he slowly advanced towards his prey, wand raised at the ready position.

Ginny Weasley didn't dare take her eyes off him. Although it chilled her to the bone, she continued to stare into his cold and merciless eyes. No matter how hard she looked, they were empty. Devoid of all feeling, all except for one: hatred.

It made her cringe to realize how much he had changed. Or perhaps he hadn't changed at all. Perhaps he had been this way from the very beginning and she was just blind to it. Blinded by love, or at least what she thought was love. In her heart she was never really sure.

She was acutely aware of her surroundings and mentally looked for an exit. Nothing came to mind. Frantically she searched for an aid, a diversion, anything at all. But it was no use. There was no help. Nobody would save her. He would show no mercy.

He was just a foot in front of her. She tried to keep her face blank, devoid of all emotion. She pictured a slate that had been wiped clean. Something stirred inside of her. Oddly enough, memories swept through Ginny's mind, even at this inconvenient time.

"Think of your emotions as being written across a blackboard," she could hear the low male voice in her mind. "Pour out all of your feelings and then wipe it clean. Scream on the inside, but never let it show."

At the moment she wasn't screaming. It was more like weeping. Weeping for regretful decisions and a past that could not be changed. She remembered all too clearly when she had looked the monster before her in the eye and told him yes.

Yes, when she knew that she had wanted to say no.

Her mind jerked back to the present as he poked his wand hard into her chest. Inwardly, she gasped as air was driven from her lungs but her face remained impassive. This seemed to anger him and he struck her across the face.

"You never should have betrayed me." He smirked evilly at her and she involuntarily shuddered. "You should have known it would lead to this."

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. She watched helplessly as he raised his right arm and pointed the cursed wand at her temple. She could see his lips moving as they formed the curse that would ultimately end her life. There was nothing that she could do to stop it.

"Avada Kedavra," he whispered softly in her ear.

One final thought plagued her mind as a burst of brilliant green light showered before her eyes and she crumpled to the floor, lifeless.

I should have said no.

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But it was not the end.

She was engulfed in a sea of mist. It chilled her, cutting deep into her skin like a knife. She looked around nervously, terrified about what she would find. Everything around her was gray. There was no colour, no black and no white, just different shades of gray. She couldn't tell which way was up and which way was down.

Ginny knew exactly where she was: trapped in Darkness, the land between life and death. It was a cursed place, for those who could not move beyond the veil and into death. There was something holding her back.

And she knew exactly what it was.

Chapter One

She was engulfed in a sea of mist. It chilled her, cutting deep into her skin like a knife. She looked around nervously, terrified about what she would find. Everything around her was gray. There was no colour, no black and no white, just different shades of gray. She couldn't tell which way was up and which way was down.

Sixteen year old Ginny Weasley awoke from her deep slumber with a start. Adrenaline pumped through her body, causing her heart to race and forcing sharp painful breaths to tear from her chest. Cool beads of sweat trickled down her pale face. She absently brushed it out of her eyes as she tried in vain to grasp the last fleeing memory of the dream. It was slipping through her mind as water seeped through cupped hands and in less than a moment it was gone.

Ginny sighed and tumbled out of her four-poster bed. For months her sleep had been haunted by the same recurring dreams. Every morning she was woken up by a surge of emotions and every morning she had no recollection of the visions that had plagued her unconscious mind.

She knew that it was useless to dwell on the dreams. Try as she might, she could never remember them until she fell asleep again. It was a viscous cycle, a hidden message coming just within her reach and then escaping once more.

Noticing that as usual her roommates had already left for breakfast, Ginny threw on her Hogwarts School uniform and quickly dragged a brush through her fiery red hair. She reached for her bookbag and headed out of the dormitory.

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"Morning," said Ginny as she slid into a space between Hermione Granger and Harry Potter at the Gryffindor house table.

"Hello Ginny," replied Ron Weasley, watching as his younger sister speared a piece of toast and spread it with raspberry jam. "Late again?"

Ginny mumbled something indistinguishable through a mouthful of her breakfast. Her three fellow Gryffindors just rolled their eyes and continued to eat.

The meal passed uneventfully until Ginny was nearly finished eating. Hermione was hovering behind the table, clucking her tongue impatiently at Ron and Harry. Ron just rolled his eyes as he grabbed yet another piece of toast. Hermione glared at the redhead and began tapping her foot loudly. He continued to ignore her.

After a few more minutes of this game, Ron gave in, not before muttering something about being in no hurry to get to double Potions. He reluctantly stood up and headed towards the door with Hermione storming after him. Harry too, got up from the table. He said a short farewell to Ginny, ruffled her hair and followed his two best friends to class.

Harry's actions towards Ginny had changed significantly since the beginning of the school year. Ginny had spent the first three years of her schooling lusting after the Boy Who Lived. Getting no response from him, she finally left matters alone and moved on, over two years ago. However, Harry had recently begun to act differently around her. The signs were small, offering her his jacket, ruffling her hair and so on. But they were definitely there.

Her quick tempered and overprotective brother, who worked so hard in the past to keep her under his wing, didn't try to push his best friend away. On such occasions he just smiled and pretended not to notice. In a way, this saddened Ginny. A few years ago, she would have been overjoyed for the slightest bit of affection from Harry. Now, she was not sure that she wanted it at all.

Ginny groaned and rubbed her temples. It was too early for thinking. Unfortunately, it was not too early for class and she had exactly three minutes to get to Charms. Collecting her things, she got up from the table and ran out of the Hall.

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Two minutes and nineteen seconds.... One minute and fifty-eight seconds... One minute and...

WHAM.

Ginny ran headlong into something hard and fell to the ground. Somebody, she corrected herself as a pair of gleaming black shoes came into her view. She lifted her gaze from the ground slowly and took in the sight before her. A black Hogwarts uniform, pale pianist hands, a shock of blond hair. Finally, she stared into cold gray eyes.

Damn, thought Ginny, of all the blasted, stupid, awful, rotten-

"Why Weasellette," stated Draco Malfoy in his sarcastic drawl. "You'll want to watch where you're going next time."

"Shove off Malfoy," she muttered in little more than a whisper. Reaching for her bookbag, she found herself presented with a slim, pale hand. Ginny sat stunned for a moment before hesitantly taking it with her own.

Draco Malfoy pulled her to her feet in one swift motion. He handed her the tattered bookbag. For a minute neither of them said anything. Then the Slytherin gave her one of his trademark smirks and turned to leave.

"That is, unless you enjoy running into me."

Ginny watched in amazement as he strolled casually down the corridor as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He disappeared around the corner without another word. Ginny was left standing in shock, staring at her owned tanned hand.