Holes in the Floor

Episode II

She was cold. It was nothing new. The land of Darkness was always cold, in an unreal way. The coldness cut through her skin like a knife, chilling her completely through her bones. It swept over her skin like a continuous flood that did not ever retreat. It was an indescribable feeling.

It was not like being cold on a chilly winters day nor was it comparable to standing in an ice cold shower. The closest thing that it could be compared to was walking through a ghost. Both had the same superficial feeling, that the coldness was not quite earthly, that it came from beyond.

Ginny shivered involuntarily. Her teeth chattered. Although her body was feeling the coldness, it seemed like something more, almost as if the bitter chill extended beyond her physical self and into her mind. Her thoughts seemed frozen over, her emotions reduced to ice.

Yet one feeling overcame the cold and plagued through her. Anger. Anger at him and anger at herself for not seeing what he was. That anger forced her to overcome the icy cold that would have otherwise overtaken her. The emotion burned deep inside of her, an angry flame that flared into life.

As the anger fought back the cold, several other emotions swept over her. Despair. Hopelessness. Guilt. The latter was the worst. Deep within her mind were buried secrets, crucial knowledge that only she possessed. It was imperative that the information did not fade with her.

If only she had been a little quicker. Before that terrible day, she had tried to find somebody, anybody who would believe her. She had tried to halt his rise to power. Ginny could almost feel the wind in her hair as she ran like she had never ran before, searching for someone who would help.

Alas, he was one step ahead of her. He always was. She wondered for how long he had suspected her betrayal. He was always aware that she didn't love him, that Ginny knew. They were both aware that she merely stayed with him because she had to. Too many of his plans had been revealed to her, he would have never let her go.

And so Ginny stayed with him, out of necessity and out of fear, the fear of what he was capable of.

She shuddered at the thought of what would happen if nobody found out, the poor, unsuspecting fools. Distracted by what lay before them, they did not see what crept up from behind. Every minute the shadow crept closer. Soon he would be ready to make his move.

And then everything would be lost.

She had to do something. She could not just wait for her soul to fade away, and for the world to meet its devastating end. Whether they knew it or not, the world needed her.

The question was... how? The land of Darkness was not one to be easily overcome. However, there were certain exceptions to the rule. There were holes in the floor. And Ginny had to get through.

Chapter Two

She was cold. It was nothing new. The coldness cut through her skin like a knife, chilling her completely through her bones. It swept over her skin like a continuous flood that did not ever retreat. It was an indescribable feeling.

Ginny opened her eyes as the last memory of the dream danced just beyond her grasp. Her blankets were pulled up to her quivering chin, as if the room was several degrees colder than it actually was.

Cold. The word made a sharp impression on Ginny's half-asleep mind. It had some significant meaning. It was important somehow, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. The dream was long gone.

With an exasperated sigh, Ginny kicked off her red and gold sheets and rolled out of bed. She rubbed her eyes tiredly. Last night she was restless, and had not fallen into the depths of sleep until early in the morning. Even then, her sleep had not been peaceful.

Staggering over to a large vanity table, Ginny dipped her face into a basin of cool water. It washed over her face smoothly and cleared her mind. Reluctantly, Ginny reached for a fluffy crimson towel. She slowly dried her face with one hand as she used the other to reach for her school robes. It was going to be a long day.

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Ginny twirled her frayed quill absently, only half listening to Professor McGonagall drone on and on about projection charms.

"The art of projection is classified in the field of transfiguration due to the complex nature of the charm. When performed successfully, the caster will transport a shadow of themselves to a desired location. They are transfigured in the sense that their body becomes insubstantial. Consequently, a projected image can be recognized by its slight transparency."

Transfiguration was normally a hands on class. This lesson was one of the infrequent and terribly boring theory classes that nearly always put Ginny to sleep. It didn't help that she could barely keep her eyes open as it was. However, Ginny made an honest effort to keep from taking an afternoon nap. It was more of a selfish act than a kind one. There was no doubt that the stern faced professor would not take kindly to a student falling asleep in the middle of her lesson.

"Projection is a very useful skill to posses as it is most commonly used when the caster is in danger. By projecting themselves to a desired location, they can insure that the details of their situation are conveyed and the likelihood of being rescued is greatly increased. Unfortunately, projection is very difficult to learn and has been classified by the Ministry of Magic as beyond newt standard."

Ginny was staring down at her desk. Her long hair fell forward in a curtain of fiery red that served as a precaution just in case her eyes accidentally drifted shut, which they were dangerously close to doing.

"Projection differs from apparation in the aspect that the caster's true body remains behind. It slips into a temporary trance until such time that the projected image returns."

Ginny blinked her eyes, McGonagall's words slipping past her ears. For a minute Ginny thought that she must be dreaming. Either that or notes had magically began to appear on her blank parchment. On closer examination, Ginny found that she was awake and her eyes were not playing tricks on her. As if an invisible hand was writing, letters connected into words.

Ginny,

I just wanted to say hello. Are you having fun in transfiguration? I'm sure that you are, just as I am enjoying myself in History of Magic. Anyway, Hermione is glaring at me so I better start pretending to pay attention. I'll see you at dinner tonight.

Although the note was not signed, Ginny knew who it was from. She would recognize the untidy scrawl anywhere. It seemed that Harry had managed to create a crude version of the projection charm. Ginny absently wondered if the true version of his note had remained behind.

"The incantation for the projection charm is as follows: promineo. However, the spell alone is not enough to complete the charm and- Miss Weasley, can you repeat what I just said?"

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Ginny was in a foul mood when McGonagall finally let her leave for dinner after giving an impressive lecture on daydreaming in class. She stalked out of the classroom impatiently and did not see the person before her until it was too late.

"Weasellette, what did I tell you about watching where you're going?" asked Draco Malfoy quietly.

"What do you want Malfoy?" asked Ginny impatiently, unnerved about carrying on a half-civilized conversation with the blonde Slytherin for the second time in twenty-four hours. She brushed past him without waiting for an answer.

He caught up to her and reached for the heavy transfiguration book that she was carrying.

"I want to walk you to dinner," he replied nonchalantly and smirked at the look on Ginny's face.

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