Orbs of Fate

Orbs Of Fate By Mel*Star

Chapter # 1 REALIZATIONS

'How am I ever gonna get through this?' thought Ginny Weasley. She sat at her desk in the Potions classroom biting her lower lip. She had been practicing the remedious potion for months and still couldn't get it right. It's not that she wasn't a good student but this was completely different. This was Potions. She had never been good at it and having Professor Snape for a teacher didn't exactly encourage her to do better.

This potion was an extremely important part of her curriculum for the O.W.L.s. They had learned it in October and now it was January; meaning she only had another couple of months to get it right. The tension was driving her crazy. Barely getting any sleep, she had stayed up most of the nights last month trying to memorize ingredients for various potions, but even that hadn't pleased her professor. Realizing that this wasn't getting anywhere, she took a deep breath and resumed mashing lizard eyes into a fine powder and once more found herself losing concentration.

Usually she thought of only one thing. Or person. Harry Potter. And that was exactly where her mind was right now. She had memorized his schedule meaning she knew that he would be at the Quidditch pitch, right now, most likely practicing the Wronski Feint. At first she though she was being childish going around trying to remember his whereabouts. But soon it became a kind of game. She was well aware that the feelings she felt for him, when she correctly guessed his location, were not indications of a silly crush. No, it was more then that and whatever it was, was growing day by day.

Harry Potter was brilliant in everyway and he had enough courage to face the truth when almost everyone disagreed with him. During the end of the Triwizard tournament Cedric had died and Harry had risked his own life to bring his dead body back. He showed bravery beyond her expectations, something she knew she herself would never be able to do. Everyone had been frustrated with the news of Voldemorts return but much to their surprise no terrifying disaster had befallen the world. Some slight Death Eater activity had been encountered but nothing else to everyone's relief. Dumbledore was too smart for that and was keeping constant eye on them.

She had been reluctant to start school knowing that strange rumors about her were going around and had probably increased with the return of Voldemort. They had been going around ever since her first year and this year she was determined not to let them bother her. The girls in her class were nice enough and she had befriended Hermione as well but what really made her happy was that Harry had stood up for her every time she had been the object of humiliation. He had always been a sober yet interesting individual with an air of mystery to him. She had tried for years to get over him but she just couldn't, it was as if she was haunted by his memory. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of him.

'The boy who lived? ha! More like the boy who doesn't let me live!' she snorted aloud. A sudden noise caught her attention. It was more like a cough, which sounded horribly loud. She looked up only to see a silver haired boy staring at her from the entrance. 'shit!! He must have heard me '. She felt herself blush bright red. I must was be redder then my hair.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid............

She quickly gathered her things and started for the door. Slinging her bag onto her shoulder she met his gaze again. His face was basically expressionless but his eyes were cold as ever. Even though she despised him she had to admit that his eyes were gorgeous.

There was something mysterious about them but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. They were as gray as ever but looked as though they had some sort of cloudy film over them. She knew she must look redder then her hair but he seemed to look paler than his hair. She averted her eyes from his and looked at the entrance, which he was blocking. Clearing her throat she felt her voice returning. "You are blocking my way," she murmured trying to sound casual.

"I-uh-um well--" he stuttered while moving away from her.

"Don't you know that it's rude to stare," she said this time with annoyance in her voice. Why was he being so quiet? Shouldn't he be insulting her? For a few minutes they just stared at each other in silence. She shifted uncomfortably not looking away from his eyes.

He finally snapped out of his hypnotized state and barked "What? I don't need YOU teaching ME manners Weasley!" He shoved past her and started towards the back of the room. An exasperated Ginny presumed walking to Gryffindor Tower thinking 'he is so unbelievable! One minute he looks like some sort of lost child and the next he's back to being that insensitive creep!' With a sigh she climbed into the portrait hole unaware of the person watching her.

*~*~*

The lamps of the Slytherin common room burned a sickly green. Draco Malfoy sat in one of the armchairs near the fire feeling nauseous. He wanted to vomit but for some reason he knew that it wouldn't help. It was more like a wrenching feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something was definitely wrong. He wasn't acting like his annoying irritating self lately.

Especially today with that Weasley girl...what was her name ...Ginny?? yeah that was it!! Her name was Ginny Weasley. But why did he even care? An emotion of intense joy flooded through him as a result of remembering her name. Then it hit him. I can't believe it! Out of all the girls at Hogwarts I have fallen for her!! Why me??? Did-She-Have-To-Be-A-Weasley? What will my father say when he finds out? A million thoughts seeped into his mind.

His mind blanked out all his surroundings as he recalled today's events.

He hadn't been doing his Potions homework lately and the work was just piling up. Heading over to the Potions classroom after lunch, he hoped to find Professor Snape. So clearly he was shocked to see Ginny Weasley instead of the rather tall Professor. When he saw her he stopped in his tracks. She was sitting at her desk with a look of sheer determination on her face. Her thick red hair flowed down her shoulders like dark rich honey. It took him a lot of willpower to restrain from attacking her right then and there.

Watching her sit there working all alone was wondrous almost as if making up for all those times he had hated everything about the world. This feeling of completion didn't last very long, unfortunately. No sooner had he begun to understand this emotion that she uttered those heartbreaking words. She was so deeply buried in her thoughts she hadn't noticed him staring at her.

"The boy who lived?" she practically whispered with a wistful smile on her face." More like the boy who doesn't let me live".

Draco Malfoy was a stubborn cold-hearted young man. Then why did he feel like his heart had been shattered to a million pieces? Was he even capable of feeling this way? Gasping for breath he felt a suffocated noise escape his throat. He could hardly breathe and when he managed to inhale normally he turned to see Ginny. She was staring at him in horror and managing to turn bright red while doing so. It was obvious by the look on her face that she knew he had been ogling her. Oh the agony of it all.........

He raked his hands through his hair feeling disoriented and confused. Well at least it gave him another reason to hate Potter, as if that was a plus point. Why do I have to be so cruel to her? he thought. He knew the answer as much as he tried to pretend he didn't. Because you're a Malfoy and that's what Malfoys do came a voice from the back of his head.

"Yeah, we push the people we care for away from ourselves" he shouted more loudly then he had intended to. The rustle and bustle of the common room stopped as all eyes turned to see where the noise was coming from. Crabbe and Goyle who were playing a game of exploding snap nearby were staring at him as if he were mad. Pansy, Millicent, and Blaise were also staring at him as well as some seventh years he didn't know. Pretending as if nothing had happened he rose from his seat as calm as he could and walked to his dormitory. He could feel the tension in the air and it gave him an uneasy feeling. He understood why everyone was so surprised; they never expected such an outburst from him of all people. Even he himself was shocked by his outburst. Hoping that eventually everyone would forget tonight's incident he opened the door to his room and entered. And as usual, they did.

*~*~*~*

A week later Ginny was sitting in the common room feeling more and more irritated. Her studies were gruelingly tough, her Potions practice was getting nowhere, Neville was trying too much to hang out with her, Harry was trying as much as possible to avoid her and on top of that she was getting the idea that Malfoy was following her around. At first he would just stare at her every time he saw her but then he actually started showing up outside every class she attended. Creepy. The girls in her year thought it was sweet but none of them knew who Draco Malfoy really was. In her opinion he was a complete idiot on the outside but deep down somewhere he was a decent guy. But that didn't mean she actually liked having him follow her around. And until he decided to act decent she was not going to give him a second thought.

After thinking over it she decided not to tell anyone. Besides if Ron found out he would just beat Malfoy bloody and that wouldn't do any good.

"Ginny?" said a familiar voice. Looking up she saw that the voice belonged to a tall handsome figure approaching her. She recognized him immediately as Harry. He gave her a genuine smile as he sat down in the armchair nearest her.

"Hi Harry," she replied with the same genuine smile he had given her. She looked him over generously and then let her eyes wander to the gold and maroon tapestries hanging on the walls. She couldn't help but notice how beautiful they were.

It might have been her imagination but at that moment she felt warmth flooding in to her body. The room was suddenly thick with a smell of sweetness and a feeling of heat. The warmth made her feel dizzy and a little lightheaded. It was quite ironic since the weather outside was chilly and the fire wasn't burning that much wood. Trying to ignore the sweltering heat within the room she turned her attention to Harry. "So how is everything going?" she asked.

With this his smile turned to a frown and his face absorbed a morbid look. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about- -everything's going horrible," he muttered. Without waiting for her to answer he continued," It's my scar. It's been hurting like hell and driving me crazy. I can barely sleep and when I do, I have these horrible dreams". The smile on his face and friendly tone had dissolved completely now. His hair was messy as always, but it looked good on him anyway. He had beautiful eyes, which contrasted wonderfully with the green robes he was wearing. Usually he looked gorgeous with his manly build but now he looked utterly exhausted. His eyes didn't twinkle with energy but sagged with bags underneath them. She could tell he hadn't been sleeping properly. Now she was beginning to worry. It wasn't like him to look so unhealthy or to talk to her about his scar pains. Usually it was Hermione and Ron he went to, come to think of it he barely ever talked to her.

"Harry! You should go to Dumbledore right away or Madame Pomphrey or-or something-" she began to say but was cut off by Harry.

"No Ginny, first I have to talk to you about it," said Harry. If Ginny had doubts before they were all gone now. She was sure that something was definitely wrong. What could she possibly have to do with all this? Could he have the same feelings for me as I do for him? she thought. No, came another thought. His scar hurt and that weary look on his face didn't exactly show signs of love sickness. Then her mind directed her thoughts in a different direction. She felt the insides of her stomach tighten as she remembered the events of her first year. It had been horrible watching that basilisk slithering around hurting people all because of her incompetence. Clenching her fists she forced her mind to push those thoughts to the back of her head and pay attention to the current situation.

"But I don't understand. What do I have to do with any of this?" she questioned.

"That's just it. I don't know myself what you have to do with any of this," he answered as truthfully as he could. 'Explain' was the only word that came out of her mouth.

"Ok, I will," he paused to look at her and then began again, " At first my scar would only hurt mildly and occasionally. I guess I should have paid more attention to it like I should have, that is until the pain began to increase. Then it became routine and more painful. I realized the only times it would hurt would be -um-well-" he trailed off. The look on his face told her that this was not going to be good news. Suppressing the sudden urge to barf, she nodded, asking him to continue. She wished he would just hurry, the anticipation was killing her.

He raked his hands through his gruff hair, and then putting his hand on top of hers, he continued, " Ginny, it's you. Every time I 'm near you my scar begins to sting. I honestly don't know why-er- even when you're within eyesight I start getting dizzy. And I'm afraid it's not just you, when I'm near Malfoy it happens too".

If Harry hadn't been so serious about it she would have found it hysterical. Ginny? Giving someone a headache? Not likely. Malfoy was a totally different story though. But at that moment hysterical laughter was the last thing on Ginny's mind.

"Ginny?" asked Harry with an uncertain look on his face.

"Yes Harry, I'm listening. Go on-- or is that all?" she asked as calmly as possible.

"Well there's more ... ", only a small pause. "These dreams I've been having... they aren't normal... They're about me and you and Malfoy and-and Tom Riddle. You know, before he became Voldemort".

The heat she had felt before was now completely gone, only to be replaced by utter emptiness. She felt darkness cascading over her, urging to follow its mysterious ways. It was so appealing and extraordinarily real. Feeling intensified by the situation she directed her thoughts to Harry with great effort. When she looked up at him he had drawn his lips into a straight line and was staring at her with concern written clearly all over his face. "Are you alright?" he asked again. "Yes" she lied.

"I just thought you should know. Listen, if anything strange is happening with you like -" he started to say but was cut off by Ginny's outburst. "NO!! I'm fine Harry. Really. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened at all like that," She tried to convince him. "I know Gin. But don't worry everything is going to be fine. If the pain doesn't go away in a week or so-I'll see Dumbledore," He added the last part reluctantly.

With this he stood up to his full height of 5'9. "Well goodnight Gin," he called as he ascended the stairs to his dorm. "Goodnight Harry," she called back softly.

She was now left alone to dwell in her own thoughts.