Drifting

Chapter 9: The Second Prophecy

"I don't care what you did before,

'Cause now it's a brand new game,

I'm everything you're searching for,

And you'll never be the same-"

Mandy Moore, Love Shot

~*~

"I'm really sorry about today, Ginny. I'm such a horrible boyfriend," Harry said glumly.

Ginny's head moved a little on Harry's chest. She lay half on top of him on his chest. He'd been toying with her hair for a long time.

"You're the best boy a girl could have," she reassured him.

She adjusted her position so she lay completely on top of him on her stomach. She began to plant soft kisses on his mouth. They were quick and electrifying, never giving Harry enough time to respond. Ginny knew he wouldn't either. She'd realized that Harry felt down and sad a lot. He often felt like he was worthless. Ginny wasn't stupid, she knew it was obvious signs of depression. Still, the kisses, as she discovered, made him feel a little bit better.

Ginny began to speak in between the kisses.

"We decided - at dinner - that someone - needs - to stay - with you - tonight."

She pulled back a little, waiting for his reaction. While she waited, Ginny studied his face. His lips were slightly swollen from all of her kisses. His cheeks were tinged pinkish-red from his feverish state two hours ago. He'd been running a high fever when Ginny had come back up from dinner. She smiled slightly at the fact that she'd made it go away.

"You," he said finally. "I want you to stay."

"I hoped you would pick me," she said, kissing him again.

Harry frowned when she pulled back.

"I didn't pick you because I wanted you to kiss me senseless and make me forget about my life. I picked you because I could trust you. But if all you care about is the kissing..."

He sat up, slowly pushing Ginny off of him. She plopped back onto the bed as Harry stood up. He walked to the window, staring out.

Ginny hung her head. What did I do? Maybe I misinterpreted how he felt. I hope he's not mad. I can't believe it, it's barely been a day and I've already caused a huge rift in the relationship.

Harry turned back to Ginny. He saw her sad state and then it occurred to him what he had just done.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me."

Ginny raised her head slightly. "So you're not mad? I didn't do anything?"

"Of course not. I've never had anyone love me like this before...I don't really know how to act."

Ginny smiled. "Really? I think you're doing just fine."

Harry smiled as he lay down again, pulling Ginny back on top of him. His arms snaked their way around her waist, his lips capturing hers.

"I could stay like this forever," he breathed.

Ginny sighed, pressing closer against him, leaning further into the kiss.

"I think we will," she whispered contently.

Harry rolled onto his side, dragging Ginny with him. He leaned over and began his assault on her mouth. Several minutes later he broke away gasping for breath. Oxygen suddenly seemed to be in very short supply for both of them.

"No one ever told me you could kiss like that," Ginny panted.

"Never knew..." he gasped, trying to slow his heartbeat, "I could."

He lay still for a while, listening to his breathing go back to normal.

"Damn it, I'm so in love with you," he whispered.

"Don't know how I ever thought I wasn't," Ginny whispered back, laying her head on his chest again.

Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door.

"Ginny, Harry, it's Ron. Hermione sent me up. She wants to know who Harry picked to stay, even though she says she already has a pretty good idea of who it is, and she won't tell me either."

"It's Harry's business!" Hermione snapped. "Anyway, Harry, if you're up yet, we brought you dinner and I will sit there and make sure you eat it because you haven't eaten anything today and I highly doubt you ate more then a few mouthfuls of your dinner last night and I know you didn't eat yesterday's breakfast or lunch!"

Just as Hermione raised her hand to knock on the door again, Harry opened it.

"What have you and Ginny been doing up here? You look disheveled!" Hermione said, sisterly concern showing in her voice.

Harry smiled weakly.

"I think I have a fever, that's all."

He grabbed the apple off of the plate Ron was holding.

"Thanks mate. 'Mione's right, I haven't been eating."

"Will you stop calling me 'Mione?" she exclaimed.

Slowly, he bit into it, ignoring her and savoring the taste of the warm juices that flowed into his mouth. The apple itself was sweet, just the way Harry liked it. He leaned against the doorjamb, closing his eyes.

Ginny got up off the bed and came to stand beside Harry. Suddenly her vision clouded.

"Harry?" she whispered.

Harry's eyes snapped open and he set the apple down on the desk.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concern and fear woven into his voice.

Her vision was hazy now. She was barely able to make out what was right in front of her. Then everything went black.

Ginny stumbled, unable to see where she was going. She crashed into Harry. He caught her and steadied her easily. The last thing she felt was his arms wrap around her and he began to rock her side to side gently.

Soon, she couldn't feel his body anymore.

____________

She had been sucked into a sort of tunnel. There was a faint bluish light at one end of it. At the other, there was just endless blackness. She began to walk forward, praying that the light would lead her back to Harry's warm embrace.

When she reached the end of the tunnel, an invisible force stopped her from walking. All she could do was watch.

Before her eyes were older versions of Ron and Harry. They couldn't have been any older than 20 or 21. Harry was leaning against the doorjamb again and Ron was standing on the other side of the threshold. Neither she nor Hermione were in sight.

"Aww. C'mon mate. History isn't going to repeat itself now that Voldemort's gone. There's no other 'Dark Lord' to threaten you, Gin, and the baby," Ron said.

Harry sighed. "I suppose I'm just paranoid."

Then Ginny saw the older version of herself. Her older self walked up to Harry, cradling a tiny baby in her arms.

"Morning, dear," Harry greeted, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead.

Both Ginnys smiled.

Harry reached over to take the baby from her. Ginny gasped when she saw the ring on his finger that matched the one on her older self's.

Then that same invisible force knocked her backwards.

Ginny flew through the tunnel, afraid of where she might end up. She couldn't tell where the blackness would stop. She shut her eyes tight.

____________

When she opened them again, she looked up to see Harry's worried face staring back down at her.

She stood on tiptoe and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Can I borrow Hedwig?"

Harry seemed frozen. He stared at her blankly as if wondering why she would be asking for his owl right after she had just practically fainted in his arms.

"Harry?" Ginny said, tapping her foot impatiently.

Harry shook his head and went and grabbed Hedwig for her. He stroked the owl's head fondly as he brought her over to Ginny.

"There should be some parchment and a quill on the desk."

Ginny nodded, sitting down and beginning to write. She was well aware of the trio talking about her in hushed tones.

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

I can vaguely recall now what Professor Trelawney said about what having a premonition or seeing the future was like. She said it was like walking to the end of a tunnel and observing a picture as if it was projected there. I think I've just experienced something like that. Do you think I could possibly be a Seer? I've heard it's not that uncommon for the seventh child to have the Sight.

I will be awaiting your answer.

Sincerely,

Virginia Weasley

Professor Dumbledore looked up from his pupil's letter.

"The seventh child is the Seer. The orphan is the warrior. Together they shall be. The son of the faithful to the Dark shall turn on his side and the chosen one will have to make her choice. Have faith and they will unite as one. The four with the Mark of the Phoenix will rise again to vanquish the Dark Side once more," he whispered. "The second prophecy has begun."

~*~

There was a very loud rapping on his window when he woke up. Draco groaned, rolling over and checking the time.

"What the hell do you want at 5:30 in the morning?" he grumbled.

The owl gave a soft hoot, signaling to Draco that it needed to get inside the house.

Draco rubbed his tired eyes, willing them to stay open. He slid out of bed and opened the window. The owl swooped past his head, flying around the room once before coming to rest on the bed.

Sighing he took the letter from the owl, mentally cursing it for disturbing his sleep. His eyes flicked back and forth across the page. When he was done, his jaw had gone slack.

"The son of the faithful to the Dark shall turn on his side?" he whispered. He glanced back at the writing under the prophecy. "Blaise, Potter, and Weasley are in this too?"

He glanced at the owl as if expecting answers. The bird had none to give.

"Well I suppose I'll have to go to Potter's house this morning."

____________

Draco put his breakfast dish away and looked up at the clock for what seemed like the millionth time that morning. The four hours since Dumbledore's owl had awakened him were very slow. He knew he must have spent at least three hours of it reading Lucius' journal and listening to the radio.

He'd come across a very interesting entry with his father's plans to convert Narcissa to the Dark Side. It had involved something with trapping someone else in a separate world. Lucius, unfortunately, could not find the book that contained it and was tortured unceasingly for two hours. Draco was now under the impression that his father was more a fool than Arthur Weasley.

He shrugged off the thoughts of that and his mind returned to the matter at hand, the prophecy.

"Mum, I'm going out!" he called up the stairs.

"Have fun, dear. Make sure you're back by dark."

Draco nearly laughed at the irony of the situation. His mother was afraid of him being out after dark because of the Death Eaters and Dementors that were always on the prowl. Yet the darkness was the one thing that Lucius relished in. His parents were complete opposites.

"Yeah, I'll be back."

He heard the door slam behind him as he left with the letter in hand.

____________

Before he knew it, his feet had carried him to Harry's house. He hadn't really been paying attention to where he was going and was surprised he found his way. He had only been to Harry's house once before.

Draco sauntered up the front walk and rang the doorbell. When the ring had ended he could hear a small fight inside of who was to get it.

"Make Harry get it!" said Dudley in a very loud whine.

"Harry is trying to sleep off a fever so you leave him alone young man! Get the door!"

Draco could almost feel Dudley's elephant like steps as the boy walked to the door. It swung open and Dudley's face wrinkled in disgust.

"What do you want, freak?"

"I need to see Potter. Urgent business."

"No. He's sleeping. Anyway, my mum would never allow your prissy blond head in her house."

Draco laughed. "From what I've heard, you're the prissy blond around here. Now let me in or I'll be forced to use magic on you."

Dudley paled. "You can't use magic outside of that freakish school of yours."

"I honestly don't mind bending the rules on you. A tail would go nicely since that seems to be the only thing you're missing in your pig costume," Draco sneered.

Dudley grabbed his bottom. His many chins quivered in fear.

"Er, come on in," he said, looking positively terrified. "Harry's room is up the stairs, last one to the right. Go wake him up. Just don't give me another tail!"

He ran off leaving Draco clear entrance to the house.

My pig's tail threat doesn't normally work. What does he mean he's had a tail before?

Shaking his head, he took the stairs two at a time and knocked on Harry's bedroom door.

"Potter, we need to talk," he said.

There was a pause in which Draco assumed that Harry was rising from his bed.

"Yeah, Malfoy, give me ten minutes," Harry replied, recognizing the voice instantly.

He opened the door, brushing past Draco and into the bathroom with a fresh change of clothes. While he was gone, Draco pondered the fact that Harry could now recognize his voice instantly.

Is that a good or bad thing?

Roughly eight minutes later, Harry reappeared, his hair sopping wet and he was dressed.

"Just let me wake Ginny up."

He went back into his room and Draco followed. He could see the redhead curled up under a faded blue blanket in Harry's bed. Quite a few dirty thoughts crossed Draco's mind at the sight of that.

"Ginny," Harry said, shaking the girl gently. "Ginny..."

Ginny popped an eye open. "I'm up." She glanced over Harry's shoulder. "What's Malfoy doing here?"

"Business that actually concerns both of you," Draco supplied.

Harry turned with one eyebrow raised. "Both of us?" he questioned suspiciously.

Draco nodded. "It has to do with a prophecy-"

He stopped as all the color drained from Harry's face.

"Not the same one," the blond snapped. "It's one that may actually help you more."

Ginny looked at Harry and then Draco. "What first prophecy?"

Draco shot Harry a look that clearly said, you didn't tell her!

Harry shook his head. "Now I suppose I'll have to. Does this one have anything to do with Ron and Hermione?"

"No."

Harry turned to Ginny now. "You can't tell either one of them about either one of the prophecies, okay? I'm trusting you on this."

Ginny gulped and nodded. She couldn't fathom what was so serious about it but she knew she'd find out soon.

"Weasley, before we start you might want to get dressed first," Draco commented, his eyes rising slowly from her chest.

Ginny looked down, blushing furiously. She'd forgotten that she was wearing her spaghetti-strap nightshirt which exposed much too much of her chest for her mother's pleasure. She was quite certain neither Harry nor Draco really minded. All it would do is serve as a huge distraction. Her face turned even redder at the thought of Draco even noticing her.

"Er - yeah. I'll just be changing now," Ginny said awkwardly, snatching up her change of clothes from her bag.

Both boys were sitting down and waiting for her when she came back. She slumped down next to Harry, resting her head on his shoulder.

Harry sighed. "Okay, here goes." He closed his eyes before reciting the prophecy perfectly. "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have the power the Dark Lord knows not...And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."

In his mind's eye, Harry could practically see Professor Trelawney sinking back into Dumbledore's Pensive.

Hedwig came soaring in. She perched on Harry's shoulder and nipped his ear. Harry didn't seem to notice. As if it was habit, he just happened to reach up to his shoulder and take the letters from his faithful owl. For a while Harry just held the letters in his hand.

Finally Ginny got impatient and snatched her letter from him. This sudden movement seemed to shake Harry from his dark memories and the couple opened their letters at the same time. Harry's eyes ran through it quickly and he stared up at Draco when he was done.

"We're going to be training together and fighting side by side?"

"It looks that way."

Ginny put her letter down cautiously. Everyone knew the history between Harry and Draco but she wasn't yet aware of the kind of understanding that had occurred between the two boys in the past week.

"It might actually be okay," Harry said absentmindedly. "I mean, you're not half bad, Malfoy. I'm actually starting to like you. You understand things that no one else can..."

Ginny looked at him like he was crazy.

"Harry? Are you sure you're better from that fever? You do realize you're talking to the scum of the wizarding world right here."

Harry just continued to stare at Draco.

"You don't know him like I do now. He's been breaking free of the chains that hold you to what everyone expects you to be. It's something I wish I could do."

Draco was now looking at Harry with an odd sort of look on his face.

"Do you remember the Sorting Hat's song last year? It said that everyone should try to be friends, no matter what house they're in. Now that prophecy's basically saying the other three of us have to unite with you to help you win. Is it just me or did the Sorting Hat know something?"

"I'm not sure. I wouldn't be surprised if it did, living in Dumbledore's office all year."

A comfortable silence fell over the group. Ginny edged away from the two boys. The look on Harry's face was starting to scare her. He seemed like he had lost something very important but found it at the same time. Then a new awareness seemed to seep into her mind.

Harry's just lost his best enemy and gained a new friend.

~~**~~