Slytherin Forever! Book One: Blood Ties

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Chapter Six: Helpless.

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Cherish the moment

Tower the skies

Don't let the dreamer

Fade to grey like grass

No falling for life

A gain for every loss

Time gathered me

But kept me flying

- Away, Nightwish.

~*~

Ginny did not see much of Draco for the rest of the week because the upcoming Quidditch Match consumed his time completely. This left her with a perfect opportunity to talk to Tom, something she was very grateful for. However, as things go if you have friends, she found that she could not spend all of her time writing in her diary.

She knew that the Gryffindors thought that they would win on Saturday but she also found out that the Slytherins were very keen on beating the Gryffindors this time. Ginny hoped that her House would win, giving them at least something to be proud of after half of the school accused them of opening the Chamber of Secrets, but she also thought that Harry Potter was a better Seeker than Draco.

As eleven o'clock approached the Slytherins made their way down to the stadium, hoping to see their team win. Unsurprisingly, the Gryffindor team walked onto the pitch amidst cheers. The Slytherins hissed angrily for a moment at the other Houses' obvious prejudice and then started to cheer their own team on with great enthusiasm. Both teams sped up into the air after their captains had given each other a handshake.

"And Johnson takes possession of the Quaffle, but is soon knocked off course by a Bludger directed at her by Zabini. Flint has the Quaffle now and is speeding towards the goals together with Adrian Pucey, and he scores! Slytherin lead ten to zero."

Ginny vaguely heard Lee Jordan comment on the match but her attention had been drawn to Harry Potter who was flying high above the pitch together with Ginny's brothers Fred and George. Marita, who had followed Ginny's gaze, blinked as she saw a Bludger being hit away by one of the twins and then turning in mid-air to go after Harry again.

"Someone's must have tampered with the Bludger," Dev said suddenly. "I don't know how that somebody succeeded in it though, because all Quidditch things are locked up in Madame Hooch's office until a match is being played."

"I don't care how somebody could get into Hooch's office," Ginny said grimly, "but I want to know who would do such a thing."

The Gryffindors soon called for a time-out amidst jeers of the Slytherins, who were now leading with sixty to zero. Rain began to fall quite heavily and the crowd was soon soaked through and through. The teams resumed play after a while as the first-year Slytherins started to talk quietly with each other about the Bludger. Harry was now forced to make all kinds of dives and turns to avoid getting hit by the aggressive ball. Nobody else seemed to notice the seriousness of the situation, because when Harry turned upside down the crowd laughed heartily. Dev was on the verge of losing her temper and hissed angrily:

"Why won't they just call it a day? What is wrong with the Gryffs? Are they afraid to lose from us?"

The rest of her questions could not be heard seeing as Ginny had just screamed because the rogue Bludger had - finally - hit Harry. The crowd watched with anxious silence as Harry made his way towards Malfoy down below him. Malfoy careened out of Harry's way, something he should not have done, letting the Gryffindor Seeker catch the Snitch.

The Slytherins groaned - although some were busy calling the Gryffindors all sorts of names - and most of them did not notice Harry faint and fall off his broomstick. Natalya, however, did notice and tugged at Ginny's sleeve as she pointed at Lockhart who had now reached Harry. They did not see what happened to Harry seeing as most of the Gryffindors were crowding onto the pitch but they heard whispers about an arm and some removed bones.

"Better luck next time," Blaise Zabini sighed. "I knew that us leading with points was too good to be true."

"We gave it our best shot," Marita said to her. "That's the only thing that really counts."

"Flint seems to think otherwise."

Ginny pointed at the pitch where Marcus Flint was busy yelling at Draco, who did not seem too happy with their loss. The Slytherins made their way back to the school quietly, still disappointed and angry, while they saw the Gryffindors and the other Houses celebrate.

"One day," Blaise said softly, "we will win. One day our House shall not be looked upon with fear, but with pride. I hope I'll live long enough to witness it."

Natalya made a non-committal sound whereas Trevor and Nelson nodded in appreciation. Pansy Parkinson put one arm around her sister Dev before saying:

"We need to keep our House pure, Blaise. The other Houses may have Muggle-loving fools in their midst, but we don't have any Muggle-born scum in ours. We will win someday."

"Blood is not the most important thing," Verice said softly. "Muggleborns can be smart too, just look at that Granger girl for example, and we have some half bloods in our House. Do you want to throw them out, Parkinson? I know for one thing that some of our best students have a Muggle parent. Let's see how we will win the House Cup if they are not with us anymore."

"I didn't mean it like that," Pansy said with an irritated voice. "I just wanted to point something out. The day our House gets a Mudblood in it is the day the name Slytherin won't mean anything to people."

"Where are we going?" Jayden asked all of a sudden. "This is not the way to the common room."

The group looked around, startled. They were standing in a dimly lit hallway that was completely deserted. Dev, however, recognized it instantly and stepped around the corner.

"The place of attack," she whispered. "Over there is the writing on the wall."

Ginny blinked as she took the scene in. She had not been here since Mrs Norris had been attacked, just like the other first-years she avoided this place, but there was something strangely familiar about it all...

"I... child of Salazar... shall not be denied. Enemies... beware! Something in the walls..."

Ginny groaned, making the others turn around and look at her. Blaise grasped Ginny's arm and held the shaking redhead upright. Ginny closed her eyes to shut the noises out, noises that did not only come from her friends but also from the school itself...

She ran down the flights of stairs with her friends following shortly behind. They made their way through the corridors towards the Slytherin common room and stopped in front of the entrance. Jayden leaned against the wall and panted:

"What was that about?"

"I had to get out of there," Ginny whispered and then gave the password. "Pureblood!"

Any further questions were drowned out by the noises inside the common room. Draco and Zeynep spotted the group soon and walked towards them with huge smiles on their faces.

"Where have you been?" Draco shouted over the music. "I missed you!"

"What are you doing?" Blaise hissed. "We have lost the Match, in case you didn't know!"

"Don't fret, little sister," Zeynep replied. "We are celebrating our loss. Nobody ever lost with the Nimbus Two Thousand And One broomsticks."

"Nobody except us."

Natalya muttered before walking towards Alisha and Thomas, who were busy eating as much sweets as was possible. The group scattered across the room and blended into the crowd. Ginny spotted Jayden dancing with Dev and Pansy at the same time and caught a glimpse of Blaise and the twins before they disappeared from view.

"Why were you so late?" Draco whispered in her ear. "I was a bit worried."

"We got lost," Ginny replied. "If you will excuse me now, I want to get something in the dorm."

She ran to the other end of the room and closed the door to the dormitories softly behind her. Draco shook his head for a minute before joining his goons Crabbe and Goyle who were at the food table with some third years. When Ginny returned with her diary clutched in her arms she seated herself near one of the fireplaces in a fluffy green chair. She did not have time to write in the diary though, because Natalya whisked her away to dance to a very energetic song by the wizarding band Sedis.

"Did you see Flint yell at Draco?" Zeynep asked Ginny as they took a break. "The rest of us got the full blast of his bad mood too."

"At least Flint didn't let the Gryffs score any goals," Ginny replied. "You were better than them, you know."

"Thanks to the brooms, yes," Zeynep sighed. "I shudder to think what would have happened if we didn't have them. After all, we have been flattened by them before."

"I was paying more attention to Potter after a while," Ginny said softly. "One of the Bludgers would not leave him alone, did you see that? Refresh my memory and tell me who is on our team again."

"Well, there's Flint. He's the Captain and also a Chaser. Then there is Derrick, a Beater, and Pucey, who is a Chaser. Montague is the third Chaser. Draco is the Seeker and I am the other Beater."

"I love Quidditch," Natalya said brightly. "But I am afraid of heights so I don't play."

She shrugged and tucked a loose strand of her dark hair behind her ear as she grabbed a handful of peanuts. Ginny smiled and made her way back to her chair, this time not disturbed by any of the Slytherins. She started to write and grinned as Tom wrote back.

We lost.

How did you lose? I recall that you told me about your good brooms...

Pure dumb luck from the Gryffindors. Harry saw the Snitch before Draco did, and caught it. Someone had tampered with one of the Bludgers so it circled around Harry all the time and in the end it hit him.

Is he okay?

I guess so, but I don't really care. We might have lost this time, but it won't happen again.

Glad to hear it. But I thought that you had some kind of a crush on Harry, didn't you?

I don't have a crush on him anymore. He is too damn perfect.

Nobody's perfect, Ginny. Harry defeated the Dark Lord but it doesn't mean that he is perfect. He is just human like everybody else. What time is it, anyway?

It is ten o'clock.

In the evening? What are you doing up so late?

We are partying. I think that Zeynep said something like 'we are celebrating our loss'. It's very funny seeing as I just saw Emmanuelle and Dev dance the tango together!

That's funny indeed.

Ginny wrote on for a while, oblivious to anything around her, before she got up and walked out of the common room with her diary in her hands. As the wall closed itself behind her again she made her way down the corridor but fainted halfway through.

She lied there on the cold floor for a while before she opened her eyes again and got up. She heard a voice in her mind, a murderous voice that was made of ice.

"Find an impure one and kill him! Find him, little princess, and kill him."

She started to move slowly, and then went faster and faster until she found herself standing at the foot of a marble staircase.

"Go up."

Ginny did as she was told and she reached the first floor faster than she had imagined. The voice laughed softly and then she was pushed towards one of the many statues near the stairs as the voice continued:

"Hide behind it and don't look if you hear something move."

"Come to me, servant of Salazar and the Vayaen!" she hissed but deep inside she knew that it wasn't her who was speaking... "Come to me and kill the impure one who will cross my path tonight."

Footsteps could be heard as Ginny slid into the shadows. Something was moving in the walls, waiting to kill, waiting... for impurity. It struck and there was a blinding flash of light. Then it moved away, leaving Ginny all by herself with the voice...

"Walk down the stairs again and don't pay attention to the impure one. Go back to where you came from my little princess... our job tonight is done."

Ginny got out of her secret hiding place and ran down the flight of stairs. She only stopped to look at the impure one, who was clutching a photo camera in his hands that was currently in front of his face. She sighed before running towards the corridor she had come from. The little black book was still there, the silent witness of the events.

Of what events?

Ginny's mind asked suddenly, but she didn't know the answer. She slid down against the cold stone wall and closed her eyes for a moment to regain her senses. When she opened them again she saw red. Everything was red and everything was hurting her...

She closed her eyes again and was glad to see that when she opened them everything was back to normal. She got up slowly and pocketed the small diary before whispering the password. Although she didn't know what had happened, she knew that it would not be that good. The wall slid open and revealed the still partying common room. Ginny blinked before she walked into the crowd. It seemed like nobody had noticed that she wasn't there (something she was very grateful for) and she was glad that everything was back to normal.

How 'back to normal' everything was became clear on Monday morning. The Slytherin first-years walked down to breakfast, to find that everyone in the Great Hall did not even look at them. Ginny seated herself next to Blaise and asked what was going on.

"Things are getting worse," was Blaise's reply. "A Gryffindor called Colin Creevey has been Petrified on Saturday night and now everyone suspects one of the Slytherins."

"And Potter has not done it," her brother Zeynep added. "He was still in the Hospital Wing when the attack took place. We do know one thing, however, and that is very important. This thing that can attack both students and animals can move around the school. Creevey was found by Dumbledore on the stairs."

"The stairs?" Ginny asked and shook her head. "It can't have been one of us then. We were all in the common room partying, remember?"

"Someone could have sneaked out," Natalya said with a mouthful of porridge. "We weren't exactly paying attention, you know."

"But still... stairs..."

Ginny shook her head again as if she was trying to remember something. Verice, who came running down the table and squashed herself in between Marita and Jayden (who were now looking very uncomfortable) interrupted her thoughts.

"The Dueling Club is going to start soon," Verice said in a hushed voice. "It's only a matter of weeks before we have a chance to prove that it was Potter."

"I don't believe it anymore," Zeynep said sadly. "Let's face it: we are doomed. It has got to be one of our number. Potter has an alibi."

"If doom is the key to success then I think that you have just made a point," Natalya said slowly. "We can still try Potter, because nobody actually saw him in the Hospital Wing that night. If we play our cards right we might win this round."

"What spell are we going to use?" Verice asked as she grabbed a sandwich. "We need a spell to prove that he could be the Heir of Slytherin."

"Serpensortia," Zeynep replied. "It conjures a snake. If Potter talks to it in Parseltongue we know that it is him who is attacking everyone. Salazar's Heirs bear Salazar's mark: the language."

"It is settled then," Ginny said. "Potter will fall."

In the second week of December Snape came to collect the names of those who would be staying over at Christmas. Ginny signed up and so did Natalya together with Zeynep and Verice who had decided that they wanted to be around in case something bad happened. Almost all of the Slytherins went home for the holidays just like most of the other students.

There was a trade going on, hidden from teachers, in talismans and amulets. Nobody of the Slytherins acquired anything of the sort - like Natalya said: "when I am a target no stinking sock is going to prevent an attack" - leaving the other students to wonder about their connection to the Heir.

Ernie McMillan, a Hufflepuff, had lost ten House points when he told his friends he suspected all of the Slytherins to be in on the attacks in front of Verice. Zeynep was losing his temper a lot lately and scared flocks of students with his sadistic grin and frequent point taking. Even Ginny did not want to be around him any more than was strictly necessary because his sarcasm struck a nerve with her. The only one who could stand him now was Natalya, who deserted herself more and more from her friends.

Alisha and Dev were studying night and day in the library and Ginny did not see much of them anymore. The boys were busy with their own things and did not have time for her at all. The only first-year left to talk to was Marita, but the girl's arrogance annoyed Ginny to no end after a while. Draco was still one of her most loyal friends and Ginny found herself being more in his company.

Of course she still had the diary, but she didn't confide in it that much anymore. Something about it made her feel uncomfortable and although she still talked to Tom she felt that she did not need him at all. But something pulled her back to the diary every time, something made her write in it again, something made all her fears and doubts go away...

***

St Mungo's Hospital For Magical Maladies, London.

"And you say that there has been no change in her condition?"

"None at all."

The doctor sighed and closed the file as the purple haired woman looked up at him with tears in her eyes. He patted her hand softly and got up as he said:

"You told me in one of our previous conversations that Melanie's had this sort of thing before. Can you tell me about it?"

"Yes. It is a long story, so I think that you need to sit down."

"I am listening," the doctor said and seated himself again. "Begin at the beginning."

"I met Mel in the Hogwarts Express," the woman started. "She came into my compartment with two of her friends: Lily Evans and Shanna Malfoy. When I saw her I knew that she was someone special. It was just a feeling and nothing more than that.

This feeling did not change when we were all Sorted into Slytherin together with Gudrun Halonen. Soon we were inseparable and I found myself being drawn into Mel's little world. She never cared much for marks or for House points - in fact the only time when her eyes became strangely alive was with Quidditch - and did not go to Hogsmeade at all. I know that she loved to hear our stories when we came back but she never joined us.

In our fifth year You-Know-Who was attacking the wizarding world regularly. He was in full power then and it was somewhere around Halloween when I noticed a change in Mel's actions. Her voice became softer and she did not look us straight in the eye anymore. She walked around the school silently.

Of course we found out later on that she was suffering from Lycanthrophy, but that did not have anything to do with her frequent visits to the Hospital Wing. When we asked her about it she said that she needed Dreamless Sleep potions in order to be able to pass her exams with good marks.

I never thought much of it, until I found her in the dorm screaming and clutching her head in agony. She was having a vision that proved to be true later on. She slipped away, just like she did now, and the only thing we could do was stand back and watch as she fought for her life. I hated not being able to help her at all. The Lycanthrophy thing was still an issue and - if that was possible - her condition became worse after the full moon. We feared for her life back then.

After a while she recovered and we graduated from Hogwarts. Lily had passed with flying colors and married James Potter, a Gryffindor, later on. Shanna married with Sirius Black, James' best friend, but the rest of us didn't marry.

When You-Know-Who attacked Lily and James and was stripped of all power Mel had another vision. It was the last one in a series of premonitions that would prove to be true. Sirius had betrayed the Potters and he also killed a friend of his, Peter Pettigrew. I don't know why, but even though Mel saw everything she refused to believe that Sirius betrayed Lily and James. She said it was just a feeling she had.

Last year, when Harry Potter started his education at Hogwarts, Mel had another vision. I heard that it came true at the end of the school year. In the summer her visions became more frequent and she predicted that the one we fear above all others would rise again. I hoped that she was wrong but when I see her now I believe that she might have been right..."

"How did she recover?" the doctor asked the woman quietly. "Maybe we can do the same thing here."

"That's just the problem. I don't know how she recovered," was the reply. "I just know that she did."

"I have to be honest with you about this, Catherine," the doctor said. "If we don't find a cure soon she could be dead by the next full moon."

"But that's in two weeks..."

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