Orbs of Fate

Orbs Of Fate by Mel*Star Chapter #3 Silver Tears

Big wet tears glistened down Ginny's cheeks and soaked her bed sheets. She lay on her stomach with her face stuffed in an over fluffed pillow, crying her heart out. Why did everything have to happen to her?

Earlier today, she had caused so much havoc in the halls that it would take her another lifetime to live it down. There were books flying everywhere, students scrambling the halls looking for teachers, a dozen prefects rushing to the scene, and an unconscious Harry lying on the cold floor. She felt horrified at her own stupidity. Harry had even told her his scar hurt every time she was near him so then why did she have to go and trip over him of all people...

After everyone steered clear, Ginny had gone missing. The truth was that she panicked and had fled to her own dorms. She didn't even attend the rest of her classes that day.

She blindly ran through the halls and through the portrait hole straight to her dorm. Luckily, she found herself alone in the entire tower. She tried to calm down but she couldn't stop the tears flowing from her eyes. Somehow she ended up sulking in her bed all day. So here she was now staring at a small entry scribbled in her diary.

It read,

Have you ever wanted something so badly that it hurt? And it wasn't an ordinary depressing feeling but a pain that felt so real it was almost tangible? And when you reached out and tried to touch that tangle of emotions did you end up hurting yourself and others more then before? I suppose I'm not very contemplative...

'Well, this is my life summed up in one paragraph,' she thought bitterly. Growing up as a Weasley was a lot harder then it looked. Money was a slight problem but being the youngest and only girl gave her many disadvantages. Coming to Hogwarts was supposed to be her golden opportunity but she understood what it was as soon as she realized the truth about her beloved friend, Tom Riddle. She shut her eyes; thinking about him was painful.

"Ginny?" someone asked. Ginny immediately straightened up and wiped the tears from her face. It was Zealyne. She was a girl in Ginny's year and roommate as well. "Are you alright?" She was about 5'5 and had dark features. Her coffee brown hair went marvelously with her dark brown eyes and gave her an attractive profile. Her thick eyebrows were knitted in questioning as she widened her eyes, causing her fine eyelashes to reach the outskirts of her brow.

"Yes, of course, I am," she replied good-naturedly. By the looks of it Zealyne didn't look as though she had bought the act. She sighed and walked over to Ginny's bed. She sat right across from her and stared into her eyes.

"You didn't come to any classes and missed lunch too," Zealyne said sincerely, "I was worried about you, so I thought I would take a break and come and have a chat with you"

"I'm touched you care Zealyne, but I'm honestly fine. Just feeling a little sick."

"Why don't you go see Madame Pomfrey?" Ginny knew she was trying to be helpful but walking into the hospital wing would probably give Harry a heart attack. She ignored all thoughts of Harry and then forced herself to reply cheerily, "You know what? I am feeling better now. I think I'll take a shower and then join you for dinner" Zealyne smiled in response and then left for the Great Hall.

When the door had creaked shut Ginny preceded to the bath. She peeled off the sticky clothes she wore and then slipped into the bathtub. The gentle bubbles of the bath relaxed her and erased all the day's frustration from her mind. She closed her eyes and let the memories wash over her.~

It was a chilly afternoon with gusts of wind blowing every now and then. Ginny tightened the scarf around her neck and hugged her winter robes close to her. The entire class was miserably waiting on the grounds for Hagrid to retrieve their next 'specimen'; flobberworms. Ginny silently wished she had never taken Care Of Magical Creatures.

Soon Hagrid returned carrying the 'vile' creatures, as she thought of them. The class was broken into groups and she ended up working with a chubby boy she hardly knew. It didn't matter since she wasn't paying a bit of attention to Hagrid's tips on Flobberworms or to the boy. She was thinking of Harry. She wanted to slap herself silly every time he worried about her but this time was different. He wasn't worried about her, but about himself. This didn't mean that he was selfish just occupied.

She tried concentrating on her work but kept catching Colin stealing glances towards her. He discreetly tried approaching her but she kept moving to a different area of the field. The last person she wanted was to face Colin, who had been crushing on her for years now. So, when the bell rang Ginny was the first to run out towards the castle. She simply stuffed her belongings in her bag and ran. It wasn't till she reached the third floor corridor when she heard someone yell, "Ginny!"

She turned around and saw Colin holding her bright red scarf and waving to her. Ginny, then had a mental fight with her mind. Should I talk to him or ignore him? It was either; talk to him and have him gush all over her or pretend not to hear him and walk away. Unfortunately, she picked the latter. Before she knew what was happening she and Harry were sprawled across the floor with a bunch of students scrambling about, screaming.~

Ginny blew a bubble off her shoulder and then reluctantly got dressed. My life is over.

When Ginny reached the great hall, it was buzzing with students. She hesitated and had to fight the urge to run back to her dorm before walking over towards the Gryffindor table. She sat down next to Zealyne, who smiled cheerily at her. She smiled back in response and noticed people staring and whispering about her. Ginny ignored them and helped herself to some potato salad.

Hunger didn't occupy her so she spooned her food around the plate idly, after a while Zealyne and a few other girls gave an effort to engage her in a conversation. She listened to them chatter and smiled at them vaguely every now and then but didn't join. She watched their happy faces and carefree smiles and secretly wished her life could be so simple. But if they had gone through what she did in the Chamber of Secrets they wouldn't be so cheery either. She shuddered at her own thoughts and that, the most horrible day of her life.

Harry was still in the infirmary, she assumed, since his seat was empty. As was Ron and Hermione's. A pang of guilt washed over her as she pictured them standing near the infirmary bed sadly staring at an unconscious Harry, she fought back the fresh wave of tears and closed her eyes tightly. Harry was prone to having strange things happen to him, but this was different. All those times, she didn't have the guilt of causing it. This time she did. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

When she opened them, Draco Malfoy was staring at her from the Slytherin table. His silvery eyes were fixated on her, emanating a strong aura. Deep lines of concentration were etched on his face, giving him a totally different look. Feeling uneasy, Ginny lowered her eyes and stared at her potato-splattered plate. A second later the food vanished from it and the gold plates along with them. Dinner was over and students were beginning to exit the Great Hall.

When she looked up again, she saw him give her a quick glance before brushing past students into a back corridor. She felt an indescribable need to follow him. There was something about him and she needed to know what it was that kept haunting her. Ever since she saw him in the Potions classroom, he had been acting strangely. He didn't even give her detention when he had caught her outside her house, late at night.

Without a word to anyone Ginny slipped out of her seat and followed him into the deserted corridor. In front of her was a large stone staircase similar to the one on the other side of the Great Hall. She began climbing up the stairs hesitantly. When she reached the top of the staircase, there was nothing but darkness.

Pulling out her wand and whispering 'lumos', she continued forward. She glanced at the surroundings around her and the dark empty hallway. 'Is this the way Draco went?' she thought miserably. Instead of turning around on her heals and leaving like a good little girl, she preceded further down the hall.

As far as she could tell she was in some sort of hidden passageway. Or so she suspected. She crept silently through the dimly lit passage, careful not to make too much noise, though she needn't worry since the floor was covered with a pastel colored carpet.

Eyes blazing with curiosity, she passed portraits of former Headmasters and large abstract paintings hung to the walls. She passed enchantingly beautiful chandeliers and an assortment of different flower hangings. The chandeliers were made of real crystals, and were unlit, something, which told Ginny that she wasn't supposed to be there.

The walls were decked from Blossoms to Roses to Tigerlilies. A heavy scent rose from each of them and filled the air around her. She clutched her forehead and backed up against the wall, vertigo sweeping her mind. It took only a minute to clear off, but it took Ginny longer to stand upright.

When she did, she rolled her eyes around the room and narrowed them upon a portrait of old Headmaster Dippet. Of course, she didn't know who he was at the time. He smiled up at her, and she smiled back in spite of herself, thankful to see a friendly face.

'Where am I?' she spoke aloud when she reached the end of the unfamiliar hallway.

It turned out that the 'secret' passageway didn't lead to anywhere but a dead end. There was a large frost covered window, but that was about it. Ginny knew there was something more to this place, something which didn't meet the eyes, something she couldn't put her finger on. She had forgotten why she was there, all thoughts of Draco, temporarily erased from her mind, until she heard him call behind her.

"You're in the Hall of The Triple Goddess," said his smooth voice. She swirled around and looked up into his beautiful eyes, the enchanting glint that drove girls wild.

"Wh-What?" she asked uncertainly. He smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"I said 'You are in the Hall of The Triple Goddess'," he repeated slowly.

Ginny had absolutely no idea what he was saying, and by the looks he was giving her, he knew that too. He hesitated to look her modest figure over and then said, "It's a hallway built in the early days of Hogwarts by Professor Dippet. It's dedicated to the Triple Goddess"

"The Triple Goddess? Isn't that some Celtic Goddess?"

"Yes, she is"

Ginny, now feeling confident looked around and set her gaze upon the wall behind which Draco stood. Three large pastel paintings clung to the furnished walls. The first one was of a maiden, wearing a long, green, yellow, and red colored skirt with matching blouse. She had auburn hair and peach tinted skin. The painting was blurred, almost as though watercolors had been run over it. The background was some sort of forest. It reminded her of the Forbidden Forest next to Hogwarts, but less intimidating.

Next to that painting was another one, this time it was of a redheaded woman in a navy blue and purple gown. She was prettier then the first and had a zesty attraction about her. She was standing on a snow-covered track with a snow-peaked mountain behind her.

'Strange,' she thought, 'She's standing there in summer clothes and not freezing!'

The third, and final, painting was the last one on the wall and was nearest to the window. The woman in this picture had black hair and piercingly white skin. She was standing in, what seemed as, a large, bubbling cauldron. She was in the nude except for an arrowhead extending from the fire and covering her chest. Her long flowing hair taking the place of a skirt along her waist and legs covered what needed to be covered.

Ginny reddened at the three beautiful women staring at her, and then looked down her own front, wishing it to be breathtaking as well.

Draco followed her gaze and noted her red cheeks. "Pretty, isn't she?"

She looked up at him and nodded, fearing anything else would cause her to blush brighter.

"This one," he said, referring to the maiden, "is 'Blodeuwedd'. She was the flower maiden aspect of the Triple Goddess"

"And this one," he pointed to the red-haired woman, "is Arianrhod. She is the Mother aspect of The Goddess"

"What about her?" Ginny asked, nodding towards the last one.

Draco smirked at her and said, "This is 'Morrigu', my personal favorite. She was the Crone"

"I see" Ginny arched her neck back, looking for somewhere else to lead the conversation to.

"How do you know about this place?" she burst out.

"Alright, if you answer my question; I'll answer yours," he said smugly.

Ginny bit her lips and wondered whether she could trust him; exactly how well did she know him? It was only one question. And it couldn't do any harm right?

'Isn't that how Tom trapped you in his mind game?' said her brain. Her brain was telling her to run, to leave, but not for the first time in her life, she decided to trust her instinct and follow her heart instead.

"Fine. Ask away" She had a very strong feeling that it would be a sexually oriented question, something she didn't want to answer.

So, obviously, when Draco asked her "Were you following me? And if you were, then why?"

She was taken aback. She stared into his eyes for a moment and then answered, "No." Which was a lie.

"Oh and I suppose you just happened to get lost and wound up here?" He gave her an expression of disappointment.

She caught the flicker in his eye that said 'I can see right through you' but was determined not to falter.

"I already answered you and that's more then one question," she said evenly. He scowled at her, but remained silent. "Well, I believe it is your turn to answer my question"

"Fine," he answered groggily. "When I was in 2^nd year, the whole school was looking for the Chamber of Secrets."

Ginny didn't say anything. No one knew who was behind the opening of the Chamber Of Secrets besides her family, Harry, and the Teachers. And quite honestly, she preferred it that way. Alas, the rumors had flooded the halls anyway, but that was beyond her control.

Draco continued talking, ignorant of Ginny's shaking figure. "So while the whole school went around babbling about the Chamber Of Secrets, I decided to go and look for it myself. After wandering around a couple of times, I stumbled into this place."

"That doesn't explain how you know so much about it"

"Now that would be more then one question," he said slyly. Upon seeing the look on her face, his lips cracked into an amusing grin.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing," he said slowly. "Ok. I did a lot of research about this place. It turns out that 'Hogwarts: A History' has absolutely nothing in it about this place. So, I looked through about a million books and figured out that these women were some mythical Goddesses."

"Some? You mean Celtic, right?" she said, confused.

"Well, yes. But as you can see, the pictures aren't moving. There is no way of knowing whether they truly existed or not. Besides, they're Goddesses. If they did exist...I doubt we would be able to see them"

"But these are paintings. Of course, these won't move...unless you charm them to"

Ginny stared into the brown eyes of 'Arianrhod'. She knew there was something strange about these pictures, now she knew what, they weren't moving! The women were frozen in time, glued to their spots. Ginny shuddered at the prospect of Muggle paintings. Being captured into one moment in time was definitely not her way of looking at things. Even if she did draw or paint something, she and everyone else she knew charmed it to move.

"Right. Do you come here often?" she said, quickly changing the topic.

"Yes. All the time," he sighed. "It helps me think," he added after a moment.

Ginny smiled slightly, realizing that Malfoy was human too. No not Malfoy. Draco.

Draco inched closer to her and was soon standing a mere 2 inches away. His warm breath grazed her neck. Ginny could see his chest heaving up and down.

He leaned in closer and was seconds away from placing his lips on hers, when something in the back of Ginny's mind snapped. She was not supposed to be here. This was just...wrong.

She liked Harry, not Draco. Harry didn't like her, or at least he didn't show it. But despite the obvious, Ginny felt uneasy, as though she was betraying him. Pushing him away, she said, "I can't do this"

"Can't do what?" Ginny glanced up at Draco. She didn't mean to say that out loud, it just slipped. "Nothing...I-I have to go now"

Ginny took a step back. With one last look at Draco, she retreated back to from where she came. It wasn't until she reached the bottom of the staircase when she broke into a run.

Panting desperately for air, she slowed down when she reached the Great Hall. She checked her watch for the time. It was 1.00 A.M! How long had she been there? Deciding the best thing to do would be going back to Gryffindor Tower, she left the Great Hall, which was completely empty.

Ginny knew that Harry had absolutely no interest in her as anything but Ron's little sister, but she couldn't help but feel like she had betrayed him. Thinking of Harry felt like having a heavy stone plummet to the bottom of her stomach.

All she could think about now was the unconscious Harry, lying exhausted on the infirmary bed. Confusion and depression wore her down mercilessly. She trudged her way past various corridors, still brooding about her pathetic life when a movement caught her eye. She stopped dead in her tracks. The dimly lit hallway showed no sign of life but something told her she wasn't alone.

She reached into her robes, only to find her wand missing. Where did it go? After racking her brain and recalling having it in the Hall with Draco, she decided she must have left it there. Funny, she didn't remember putting it down.

She squinted in the dark atmosphere, trying to make out her whereabouts. When she saw the dark gargoyle statues and dreary lampshades, her eyes widened with panic. She was in the dungeons!

She took a step back and held her breath painfully. When she had come down to the dungeons, she had no idea. And true to the rumors, the dungeons were much more scarier at night then in the day.

She took another step back, with the intentions of going back to where she came from she lost her footing, and landed on her back and elbows. She flinched as the pain shot through her. It was like having daggers pierce through your veins.

Before she could make an attempt to heave herself up, large, clammy hands hoisted her up by the shoulders. Whoever it was, kept a hold on her shoulders until she was standing steadily and well balanced.

"What are you doing down here?" said the person in a husky voice.

For one agonizing moment, Ginny was sure she bumped into a teacher. With her heart practically jumping out of her throat, she stepped into the light and saw that the person was Crabbe. She breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing his sturdy face.

"That's none of your business," she said as though talking to a four-year old child, " I am going back to my House Dormitory"

"Wait a minute" Another large figure stepped out of the dark shadows and stood next to Crabbe. He was slightly shorter with big gorilla arms and a stocky build.

"What you doing Crabbe?" he asked, looking at Ginny, who was now pressed against the wall.

"I think this here Gryffindor was spying on us, Goyle" He made a rude gesture towards Ginny and cocked his head.

"I wasn't spying on you!" she exclaimed indignantly, " I just got lost and came down here by mistake"

"Oh yeah right," he said sarcastically, " You expect us to believe that?"

"Why would I want to spy on Slytherins, especially one of you," she spat.

Crabbe shrugged and licked his lips before saying, " Gryffindor has a match with Slytherin coming up and you are the Gryffindor Chaser. Probably trying to see what is in store for you!"

"That's not true and I don't have to take this from either of you!" She stepped forward in, what she hoped was, an intimidating way. Feeling her confidence build up, she turned on her heel and then stumbled back when Goyle grabbed her arm forcefully.

"Where do you think you're going?" he said while pushing her hard against the wall. Panic started welling up inside her and her sweaty palms were aching from being clenched into fists for so long.

"I told you, I'm going back to my dorm," she said evenly. Crabbe, who was watching then from behind Goyle, pushed him aside. He was now so close to Ginny that she had to rest her cheek against the wall to avoid her face coming in contact with his.

"Why should we believe you?" he whispered in her ear. Ginny could feel herself shaking with anger but she didn't lose it completely until Crabbe's tongue felt it's way into her ear and began nibbling on her ear lobe.

She kneed him in the groin as hard as her legs would allow her to; he fell over, moaning. You just couldn't live with six older brothers and not learn something. She stepped over him and then fell face first when Goyle lunged at her, managing to grab her ankle. She turned over on her side and kicked him in the shins, causing him to fall on top of her. She moaned as his heavy weight landed on her. Half of her bones must be broken, just from Goyle's weight alone.

"You can't leave just like that," he said still on top of her.

"Stupefy," yelled a fourth voice from above Ginny. Goyle's face turned a deathly pale and then went completely rigid. She pushed his face off her chest, and then watched the mystery person drag the lifeless Goyle off of her.

It wasn't until he held his hand out to her, that she realized it was Draco who had petrified Goyle and Crabbe, who was laying beside her, still clutching his crotch.

"Are you alright?" asked Draco. She looked up at him and blinked several times.

"I'm fine," she said ignoring his out-held hand and getting up by herself. He shrugged nonchalantly.

"If you say so," he said smirking. "What are you doing down here in the dungeons?"

"Oh you mean besides getting attacked by your cronies?" she said angrily, "I came down here by accident, ok? I was going to Gryffindor Tower and - and got lost"

Draco widened his eyes and said, "You got lost?"

"Just shut up!!"

Draco's eyes twinkled with amusement. "Whatever you say."

Then it dawned on her. Was Draco the one who told them to do that? "How long were you standing there?"

"Here," he breathed, while pulling out her wand from his robe pocket.

"That's my wand!" She took it from him and then stuffed it in her own robes.

Instead of asking the question again she raised her eyebrows, but didn't pursue the matter. She knew asking Malfoy questions, was like asking a fortune-teller for a fortune; you never got a straight answer.

"Why did you leave?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Leave?" She had a feeling what he was going to say, but felt it best to pretend not to.

"Yes, leave. Back in the Hall, you just left." His eyebrows were raised and a smile was curling at his lips.

"It was getting late."

"And that's why you're in the dungeons at one in the morning?"

"I already told you, I got lost!" She rolled her eyes at him. " I don't know what you're -"

She was halfway through her sentence when Draco grabbed her around the waist and placed his lips on her mouth. Warmth spread through her.

Then realization struck, Draco was kissing her! And what was even more appalling was that she liked it! This was what she was afraid of all along. Now that she had started she didn't want to stop.

All thoughts of Harry left her and her depression was being sucked into one indulging kiss. His arms were now wrapped around her waist tightly, she brought her arms up and rested them on his shoulder blades with her hands in his, for once, gel-free hair.

His enticing lips sent shivers all through her. He tasted amazingly like...toothpaste. But his masculine body smelled of fresh spices and surprisingly, mint. She imbibed his heavenly scent into her nostrils greedily. His god-like body molded into hers and caressed her deep within. His lips were her soul food, but as hungry as she was for her ambrosia, this couldn't be continued.

Within seconds, she parted her lips from his and was walking towards the staircases. She didn't look back nor did she want to. She moved her head slightly to face the walls. From the corner of her eye she could see him standing there with an unreadable expression mingling his features.

The first thing she did when she reached her dorm was brush her teeth and gargle with mouthwash a respectable five times.

She changed quickly and flopped down on her bed. She knew very well that this feeling of happiness wouldn't last. It was a one-time kiss and never meant to be. But that didn't mean she couldn't like it, even though she would never admit that to anyone.

In the morning she would be disgusted with herself for liking it but that would have to wait till morning. Right now, she was about to receive a much-deserved sleep.

*~*~*

A/N- Yea! I finished chapter 3. Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 2. I hope you guys like this. Next off, we get Ron's insight and observations about an unlikely couple. ;)