The Soul Keeper

Chapter 13: The Challenge

Draco entered his dorm room quietly; he didn´t want to wake anyone up. It would be easy enough to lie about his absence, but he really didn´t feel like talking to anyone right then. His thoughts were spinning too fast through his head, a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions that was impossible to stop.

He quickly lay down in the bed so he didn´t fall over from the dizziness of it all. Never before could he ever remember feeling this way. It was a strange sensation, a not-quite-real feeling that pervaded the entire atmosphere of his mind. It was pure giddiness.

He had kissed her, actually kissed her. Ginny Weasley, the one girl he was forbidden to love. Every old tradition and instinct that had been driven into him at birth rebelled against the very thought, but Draco was tired of denying a fact that was becoming more obvious with each passing second. He liked her.

" I really like her." The whispered declaration seemed to bring everything more into focus, and it felt like a weight had been dropped from his shoulders. He could admit the fact; he didn´t need to run from it anymore.

The protests that had been rising in the back of his mind flowed smoothly away once he had voiced his feelings out loud. Why fight what you could not beat? That was another thing he had learned as a Malfoy. After all, hadn´t his family joined with the Dark Lord because they knew (or thought they knew) that he was the only one who could possibly win?

The image of Ginny in the hallway outside her common room, her surprised face staring up at him and the disbelief in her eyes when he had lowered his lips to hers, and claimed her as his own, rose in his mind as vividly as if it was still happening at that very moment. He felt once again the soft feel of her lips under his and the sweet taste that was impossible to describe, but was simply and uniquely Ginny.

As the visions flitted in and out of his minds sight, something else had occurred to Draco. It was something that Ginny had mentioned earlier, about how they could fix it so that they were partners together so that they would be able to talk frequently without suspicion. Although he had dismissed it at once, the idea had been playing around in his head ever since.

What if there was a way to make it work? If he and Ginny were partners, they wouldn´t have to sneak around behind anyone´s back and worry about getting caught. It would be a much better solution.

And Draco thought he knew just how to do it.

*********************************

Draco wasn´t at breakfast the next morning when Ginny got there (accompanied by Hermione, Ron, and Harry). The Great Hall was filled with students, all of whom were eagerly anticipating the announcement, of who would be partnered with who, that was sure to come. Up until she noticed Draco´s absence, Ginny had been one of them. Seeing him missing put a damper on her excitement. Where could he be?

It was possible he had overslept, but Ginny thought it highly unlikely. Draco wouldn´t do that. She knew he was just as anxious as she to see who was paired with whom. And he wouldn´t have risked calling suspicion to himself by being gone. No, there had to be a reason for it. She just couldn´t figure out what.

Hermione called her name softly, pulling Ginny back to the present. " Ginny, are you okay? You look a little pale."

Luckily, Hermione had been speaking low enough that it didn´t catch Ron or Harry´s attention. She knew her older brother would have been on her faster than she could blink if he thought she was ill.

" I´m fine, just hungry." It was the only excuse Ginny could think of. She couldn´t possibly tell Hermione that she was worried about Draco. What if something had happened with the Soul Keeper? Draco had told her that it would probably attack again, that it was trying to weaken him. What if it had?

Ginny turned her face away from Hermione so the other girl wouldn´t see her worry and quickly took her seat at the Gryffindor table. She put on an excited smile, hoping that no one would see through the act. She thought Hermione might have, but the Head Girl made no comment.

Over half of Ginny´s breakfast was spent craning her head this way and that, constantly on the look out for the shock of blonde hair and the flashing smirk that would mark Draco out in any crowd. She was so caught up in looking for him, she didn´t even touch her food, and she almost missed it when Dumbledore stood up to make the announcement.

That was the time Draco chose to come creeping through the door, careful not to attract attention to himself. That wasn´t hard, considering that the eyes of the entire student body were riveted on the Headmaster. He snuck quietly to his seat without a word, observed only by the Slytherins seated immediately around him, who noted his presence with only slightly curious expressions and then ignored him.

Ginny appeared to be the only other person who noticed his entrance, and she breathed a quit sigh of relief when she saw him looking perfectly fine. It was so quiet that not even Hermione heard it, which Ginny was thankful for.

She was about to turn her attention back to Dumbledore, when a slight movement of Draco´s head drew her gaze and he caught her eyes.

A slight smile crossed his face, and Ginny was unable to keep from grinning back at him. Obviously, things had changed for both of them last night. As she looked at him, Ginny saw the mischievous glint in his eyes, all too recognizable after living with Fred and George her entire life. What was he up to?

Draco ignored her unspoken question, tilting his head in the direction of the high table instead; silently indicating that she should pay attention to what Dumbledore had begun to say.

Ginny took the hint, turning her eyes away from the Slytherin table and towards the Headmaster.

" After a great deal of thought and effort, " he was saying, "the professors and I have come up with pairings that we believe will prove satisfactory to all. First-"

Ginny listened as name after name was called out, smiling slightly when it was announced that Harry and Hermione would be paired together. They would work well with one another. Ron looked slightly disappointed, but Hermione seemed happy that she would be able to work with someone in her own house.

" Besides," Ginny caught her telling Ron, " if they had paired me and you together, they probably knew we wouldn´t have gotten very much work done."

Ron´s face turned a very bright red at this comment, which just made Harry, Ginny, and Hermione laugh harder then they had been previously. They were soon shushed by some of the other students, and forced to stay quiet.

Ron was announced soon after that, and it came as a surprise to everyone when he was paired with Liana McDowery, a seventh year Ravenclaw who was notorious for her "learning-constantly-is-fun" attitude and the way she was always on people`s backs to study more. That probably explained why she and Hermione had hit if off really well.

While the rest of them had a good laugh over this twist of fate, Ron looked positively miserable. It would be his worst nightmare to have to work with someone like Liana.

" Maybe this wasn´t such a good idea..." he muttered under his breath.

" Nonsense," Hermione told him firmly. " Liana is very intelligent and dedicated, she´ll be a huge help to you. You couldn´t ask for a better partner."

" Wanna bet..." Ron grumbled, looking pointedly at Harry.

Harry just shrugged helplessly, a grin on his face. When Ron turned away, disgusted at being laughed at in what he considered a horrible predicament, Harry glanced over at Ginny and they both burst into laughter.

It was only when Hermione nudged her in the ribs that she realized Dumbledore had just announced her name.

" Ginny Weasely and Draco Malfoy-"

A sudden hush came over the crowd, as everyone alternated between staring at Ginny and then at Draco in confusion. How could the teachers possibly expect them to do well together?

Ginny glanced over at Draco quickly, just in time to catch the smug look that crossed his features before he concealed it. So he had been up to something. He caught her looking and met her eye, his facial expression changing to a sneer. Ginny scowled back, knowing that it would be best if they kept up the pretense of hating each other, at least for a little while.

Hermione, Harry, Ron, and all the rest of her house were watching her somewhat apprehensively when she broke her gaze away from Draco and turned back around in her seat.

" I think I´m going to be sick," she announced, surprising herself at the easiness of the lie. Well, practice makes perfect, so they say. And I´ve had plenty of practice lately.

Harry and Hermione nodded sympathetically, but Ron looked like he was ready to jump up and start shouting at the professors.

" Oh, no you don´t," Ginny told him quickly, reaching across the table to grab his arm. " There must have been a reason they put the two of us together. I´ll just have to learn to work with him, that´s all." She gave a weak smile, trying to sound convincing.

Ron started at her. " How can you be so calm? It´s Malfoy!!"

This last part came out so loud that Ginny knew everyone in the Hall must have heard him.

" Could you shout a little louder please, Ron? I don´t think Mum and Dad heard you." Ginny looked at him coolly.

Ron spluttered in indignation for a moment, but couldn´t come up with anything to say. Instead, he peered over Ginny´s shoulder to glare icily at Draco. " He better watch himself, that´s all I´m saying. He´d better watch out..."

Ginny rolled her eyes. It was almost funny, the way Ron was freaking out about her having to work with Draco.

The thought made Ginny grin involuntarily. Now, that would be a show she could sell tickets for.

Dumbledore had obviously reached the end of his list, and as soon as things were quieter, he went on. " Now that you all know who your partners are, one person from each team needs to come up and collect the parchment which will have your teams challenge written on it."

Several of the students jumped up instantly and made a beeline for the stage, some from the same team who were totally ignoring the "one-person" request.

" Form a line, please," Dumbledore added as an afterthought, seeing the chaos the students were creating by trying to rush up at once.

Several of the professors stood up from their table as well, walking over to help sort the mess out and give the student teams their challenges.

Ginny remained seating, looking over her shoulder to find that Draco was doing the same. The other three had already stood up and joined the line, leaving Ginny virtually alone at the table. Nobody would see the smile she shot towards Draco, or the answering one she received in return.

When the line had almost dwindled to an end, Draco suddenly appeared behind Ginny´s chair, catching her by surprise.

" Ready to go get our challenge, Gin?"

Luckily, Hermione, Harry, and Ron had already told her goodbye and left to get started on their projects or to head for class, Ginny wasn´t sure which. She was just glad that she wouldn´t be under any close scrutiny. Now that the initial surprise and excitement of the announcement of the strange pairing was over, no one was giving them a second glance.

"Guess so," she replied, standing up.

They started walking towards the end of the line, Ginny sending Draco curious glances, but not wanting to ask. Draco remained silent, however, and she was forced to give in. " Alright, alright. So how did you do it, already?"

" Do what?" Draco asked innocently, but there was a self-satisfied look on his face.

" Win the Most Popular Student Contest, " Ginny mocked sarcastically. " What do you think? How did you arrange it so that we would be paired up?"

Draco shot her a sly glance from the side, and then shrugged nonchalantly. " It was pretty easy. They just drew names from a hat this morning, so all I had to do was put a spell to make sure that it was our names that came out together."

" I knew it!" Ginny exclaimed, grinning at him. " As soon as I saw you walk in here with that smirk on your face..." she trailed off, seeming to realize something. " Why did you tell me that it wasn´t a good idea last night?" She demanded.

" Well, I...uh..," he sighed. " Okay, so after I thought about it for a while I decided that it really did make since, and that if it could be done I should do it. So I did."

" Without me," she stated flatly.

" Yeah."

Neither of them said anything else, and a few moments later they reached the Headmaster.

Dumbledore looked them both in the face; a slight smile on his features and the usual sparkle in his eye seemed brightened beyond normal. " Now then, " he began, " I must say this is quite an unusual circumstance. But perhaps fate knows more than all of us would wish."

Ginny had to try desperately not to burst out laughing at this statement, and when she looked at Draco, he sent her a quick wink. Right, his eyes seemed to say, fate. That was definitely it.

For a moment, Ginny almost felt as though Dumbledore knew what they were thinking; there was a sudden knowing look in his eyes that hadn´t been there before. Then it was gone, replaced by an uncertain smile, and Ginny wasn´t even really sure it had been there at all. However, Dumbledore´s cheerful, carefree attitude quickly returned, and he handed a slip of paper to Ginny.

" This is your challenge. You must work on it together, and you need to be ready in exactly a month from now." He met both of their eyes in turn, his face serious. " I wish you both the best of luck."

" Thank you, sir," Ginny replied politely, knowing that Draco would say no such thing. " We´ll do our best."

Dumbledore´s gaze switched to Draco, who nodded stiffly. He might have changed his attitude towards her, but it was obvious he still disliked Dumbledore as much as ever.

" Come on, let´s get out of here," he told her quietly after Dumbledore had turned away from them and went back to converse with the other professors.

Ginny nodded, following him out of the Great Hall, but staying far enough away from him so that anyone watching wouldn´t be suspicious. That was the way they walked out onto the Grounds, Draco leading the way, and Ginny walking a foot or two away from him.

He led her back around the lake, to the secluded spot she had found him at the day before. This time, he didn´t bother climbing up onto the bolder, preferring instead to walk around to the grassy area in front of it. Here he took a seat on the grass and motioned for her to do the same.

Ginny sat, realizing that this was a very private spot indeed; a place where they could see a lot of what went on, but where they were hidden from view by the surrounding trees and the boulder.

" Let´s find out what that says. " Draco indicated the piece of parchment that still remained folded in Ginny´s hand, " then we can figure out how to start."

Ginny opened the slip of paper as he had asked, laying it out in front of her on the ground. She opened her mouth to read the note aloud, but Draco moved closer to her, until they were only inches apart and she could feel his warm breath on her cheek as he read the note. The sensation reminded her instantly of the time he had grabbed her in the Library, except this time it was a great deal less startling. Had that been only last night? It seemed like longer.

Without realizing what she was doing, she shifted her weight slightly, making her lean closer to him.

The small smile that crossed his face made it clear that Draco had noticed, but he didn´t say anything.

They both finished the note at about the same time, exchanging identical glances of surprise when they had finished it. There had to be some sort of mistake. That couldn´t possibly be what they were assigned to do. Could it?

Ginny read the letter again.

No, there was no mistaking the words; they said quite plainly what needed to be done. Or not so plainly really. It was a riddle of some kind, and Ginny had no idea what it meant.

"A familiar place inside the Hall," Draco read out loud. " I think that means the Great Hall. See how "Hall" is capitalized, like a proper noun?"

Ginny looked back at the paper. He was right. " Yeah," she agreed, " that makes sense. I suppose." She looked up at him confusedly, biting her lip. " But what does it mean in a familiar place? The only time we ever go to the Great Hall is for meals or dances and things. We don´t really hang out in there enough to be familiar with a particular part, do we?"

Draco shook his head. " I don´t know about that part, but let´s look at the next line."

" You shall find a hidden wall," Ginny repeated the line. " Why would there be a hidden wall anywhere there? And where could it be when it´s all open space?"

" It might not really be a hidden wall, so much as a hidden door in one of the existing walls. There are lots of those around Hogwarts." he informed her, frowning thoughtfully. " The next lines say something about finding a key to the door in the rust, whatever that means. I say that´s our best bet. We´ve got to go over the whole Hall, see if we kind find some sort of hidden door or a key."

" Okay," Ginny nodded. " When do we start?"

" Right now. Apparently, this is only a beginning to our first challenge, how do we know how long the next part will take? We´ve got to get started right away."

That made sense, Ginny figured. They did need to get started quickly. Neither of them knew how much work they would have to do after they found this room. It could even just lead them somewhere else. But..." What about...that?" she asked him, feeling slightly sickened as she looked towards his necklace.

Draco glanced down quickly, his hand snaking up to wrap around the silver column of burnished silver. " I don´t really know." All his lighthearted winks and smiles had disappeared, and his face appeared haunted again. " I´ve been thinking about it, and I´m not actually sure there is anything else we can do here. There isn´t anything else here to help us at all. I´m beginning to think I might just have to wait until Christmas break to do something else. I´m sure Father has something on this, or knows something..." he trailed off thoughtfully.

" But you can´t!" Ginny cried in protest. " If you wait until you go home, then how am I supposed to help you?"

Draco gave her a long, measuring look. " I´m not so sure you can help me anyway, Gin. This really isn´t something you need to get involved with. Why don´t-"

" Like hell it´s not!" Ginny burst in. " In case you haven´t noticed, I´m already involved. Your stuck with me now, Draco Malfoy, whether you like it or not." Her chin jutted out stubbornly, and she gave Draco a determined look.

Although he had intended to be serious and firm with her, a smile stole uninvited over his face. " I know that," he said gently. " But look," he went on, running a hand through his tousled hair. " Let´s talk about this later and get back to the challenge, okay?"

She gave him a measuring look, trying to gauge how serious he was. "Okay."