Serpent's Bride

Author´s Notes:

Okay Fred, I was such a ninny! Arg! I´m sorry but I just realized about the `comment included in the file´ thing after I sent you an e-mail asking about it. ::chuckles:: Sorry! Oooohhh... you are so greeeeeennnnnnnn!!!! ::lol:: You really made me laugh with your comments. ^_^ Thank you so much for all the help! Of course, that doesn´t exclude my gratitude to Alli-chan and VioletJersey ^_~

I´m terribly sorry if I let everybody hanging in the first part! Ehehehe... I swear I´m not torturing you! It´s just that I´m having qualms about the second part that´s why I´ve decided to post this a week after... giving me ample time to think things over and take a risk. I´m not really sure about everything, but be rest assured that I really poured out my best in here ^_^

Okay, I hope everybody will be satisfied with what I´ve decided to write here. Especially Fred and VioletJersey! You two really got me so confused that in the end I´ve finally decided to do both. So, if anybody finds anything peculiar or disagreeable, then don´t blame me. Blame them. ::snickers:: Just joking! Just joking! I know my beta-readers won´t suggest anything stupid. ^_^

Also, I´ve noticed that someone was actually about to read my other fics. OH MY GOD! NO! DON´T READ THEM! THEY SUCK! I tell you, they suck! When I was still writing them, I was still in the process of learning. Damn, I can´t believe I even posted it there! I haven´t even taken a beta-reader before because at that time, I don´t know what a beta-reader was. ::grins:: What can I do? I´m an idiot. ^_^ Well, if you so insist, then be free to do so. Just don´t blame me if it ruins your day ::winks::

Thank you, everybody for the reviews of the previous part! Gosh! I wasn´t exactly expecting so much reviews since part 14 isn´t through yet but what greeted me really surprised me! Wow! You people never really fail me! I am so touched! ::sob:: Over a thousand reviews?! Whoa!!! Thank you, thank you!

Okay, enough rambling! Here´s the second part of chapter 14! Enjoy!

Serpent´s Bride XIV - The Serpent´s Bride

~*~

"What and spoil the fun?" Therese asked, giggling buoyantly. She looked at Draco who was pale and bloody, obviously too bruised and weak to fight. Then her sharp eyes fell onto the two redheads, lying there unconscious on the floor, up to the brown-haired woman who was looking at her thoughtfully but nevertheless, terrified.

She let out a very cold and cruel laugh.

"We´re just getting started."

~*~

"Dammit!"

Rebecca swore as she slowly guided her broom down. Where the hell was she, anyway? She hopped down and looked around her surroundings, all too foreign for her. When she didn´t recognize a single thing, her pulse quickened anxiously. All right, it´s official now. She was lost and she couldn´t even see a damn thing .

"Stupid! I should´ve brought my glasses with me!"

she hissed at herself and at her poor night eyesight angrily. She turned around and saw nothing but a vague and curious wooden lopsided-cake form looming before her with windows sticking out from its timber-made planks. She focused her not-so-good eyes in front of her only to notice a tiny mailbox or something standing a few inches from her body. It was hard to say if it was a mailbox due to the night sky and her affected eyesight. She was about to walk towards the enormous lopsided pile of wood with windows on them and take her chance when something suddenly heavy fell on top of her.

"Shit!" she cried as she felt herself falling to the hard ground with something heavy but warm tumbling down on her.

"Oh shit, what was that?"

It was a deep, male voice.

She looked up only to see a pair of glasses and a man´s face looming on top of hers. When she felt the warmth of another foreign body against her, she looked away and felt herself blushing unexpectedly.

"Oh god, I´m so sorry!" Harry immediately cried out, realizing that he had actually landed on top of a woman. He stood up, looking a little bit flustered. "I didn´t mean to-er- drop on you Ms. er-" he stopped as he automatically offered his hand to help her up as though it was the common thing to do. "What´s a strange woman doing here at a time like this?"

Rebecca´s eyes narrowed cautiously at first before finally deciding to take it. "I´m all right," she said standing up and immediately letting go of his hand. Then she turned to him sharply, her face emotionless. "Harry Potter."

Harry´s eyebrows went up a surprised notch upon hearing his name from a woman he didn´t even know, his glasses sparkling against the moonlight. "I don´t recall seeing you before," he started politely. "I´m sure you will forgive me if I-"

"No, you haven´t seen me before," interrupted Rebecca sharply. "I´m Rebecca Fairfax."

"O--oh, I see," Harry stammered back. He couldn´t think of anything to do but to nod in acknowledgement. He was not entirely sure if shaking hands with her was quite all right at the time like this. "Well, it´s nice to meet you- erm- Ms. Fairfax but," he stopped and looked at the Weasley´s house rather awkwardly, "I´m really sorry but this is not a good time- perhaps some other time, I´d be-"

"Oh for the love of god, would you quit babbling," said Rebecca with crude impatience. "Oh, so that´s the house," she thought, noting the look Harry gave the weird shaped edifice. At that, she gathered her skirts and walked past the stunned Harry Potter. "I´m sure you´re here for the same reason! Let´s go before everything´s too late!" Then she stopped and gazed at the moon only to notice the thin red line forming a circular tier surrounding the moon´s gleaming whiteness. "Damn, it´s nearly time!"

She hastily continued on her way.

"Wait, wait, wait," Harry called out suddenly as he ran to catch up with her, quite taken aback by her outburst. "What do you mean about `for the same reason?´" he asked, huffing and puffing beside her. Then he frowned suspiciously at her direction. "Do you know something about Draco and Ginny-," he winced and gulped momentarily, "Malfoy?" There I finally forced the words out, he thought, feeling a little sick.

"Yes, and I have to get there before the Serpent´s Bride does," she muttered without thinking.

"Serpent´s Bride?" echoed Harry but Rebecca ignored him as she continued on her way towards the Burrow. "What the hell is a Serpent´s Bride? Hey! Rebecca!"

The woman finally stopped and turned to him, completely vexed. "Look, I have no such time to play a stupid question and answer game with you! If you really-" Just then, she stopped as a hot, burning sensation sparked at the back of her neck. Her hand instinctively went up to touch her stinging nape, her face wrinkling in pain. "The eye´s finally open," she thought frantically.

"Are you all right, Ms. Fairfax?" Harry asked quickly upon seeing her aching expression. He placed his arm over her shoulders agitatedly when he saw her bending down with the unknown pain. "Ms. Fairfax?"

Rebecca took a deep breath as the burning sensation slowly ebbed away from her. "Yes, it´s nothing," she replied, finally standing upright again, ignoring the lingering pain. "Let´s go. I promise to explain everything later."

And before Harry could say anything, Rebecca quickly ran up to the house without waiting for him. "Hey!" he called out after her fleeing form. When she didn´t stop, Harry found no choice but to run too, towards the house.

When they finally reached the Burrow´s backdoor, Rebecca took out her wand out and was about to mutter Alohomora when they noticed it already open. Harry immediately shoved her behind him protectively while taking his wand out. Rebecca found herself frowning with the sudden but `endearing´ action.

"Malfoy!" Harry called out as he quickly kicked the doors open. He was about to call Draco´s name again when he stopped abruptly at the sight that greeted him.

Before him was a beat-up Malfoy, struggling to get up to his feet, his shirt torn, his face all bloody. His green eyes riveted towards the floor only to see Ron and Ginny lying there, unconscious while Hermione was curiously up into the air, holding her nape, her face scrunched in pain as well. His eyes then turned towards the center of all the chaos only to see a woman with fine blonde, tinsel-like hair standing there, laughing out with unhidden menace. He cried, "Malfoy! What´s this-"

Feeling another presence in the house, the woman turned around to face them. Then she smiled, clearly pleased. "Harry Potter!" she exclaimed shrilly. "Just the person I want to see!"

"What happened- Who--?" Harry immediately aimed his wand at her.

"No, Potter!" Draco yelled as he leaned helplessly onto an over-turned couch. Harry turned to him. "Magic won´t work on her! She has a protective-reflective charm as well!"

Harry nodded, enlightened and but nevertheless, he didn´t let his wand arm down. "Who the hell are you?" he asked instead.

Therese just laughed. "You´ll soon find out," she replied saucily. She held her wand a little away from her face and muttered a faint Appario.

Instantly, a gold chain materialized in the air. Harry, Rebecca and Draco looked on curiously only to notice its flat pendant. It was made of pure gold with ancient runes at its sides and a long, spherical glass orb in the middle. With the size of the thing, Draco assumed it to be an amulet and not a pendant. Then his eyes widened when he discerned a miniature smoky face inside it, looking just like Therese. He swallowed hard, his eyes traversing towards the laughing woman, gaping.

"A Soul Keeper!"

his brain screamed. He knew what it was because his father used to have one. Every dark wizard had one!

Therese laughed and carefully slipped the gold chain around her delicate neck as though it was a jewel, an adornment, the enormous and ugly `pendant´ dangling heavily on her chest, a terrible clash with her dress robe. She turned to Harry and giggled. "After all, it´s about time."

Rebecca, seeing the discord around her, immediately rushed inside and placed herself before Harry. "You will stop this nonsense, right now!" She yelled as she pointed her wand tip at the creature. "Everything´s over," she stopped and took a deep, rasping breath, "Bianca!"

At the mention of the name, Draco´s eyes widened disbelievingly. Surprisingly, he felt a strong blow inside his chest when the Bianca´s name was brought up. Was he hearing right? "Bianca?" he asked, astounded. He looked at Rebecca then at Therese, obviously perplexed. "What´s the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"My dear sister," the other woman began, delicately while ignoring everybody around them. "Just a few seconds from now, the moon will bleed and the process will be complete." Then her eyes surprisingly softened. She looked at Draco´s puzzled face tenderly. "It won´t be long now. I will be with him and he with me, just as He had promised."

Now Draco was really confused. One moment she was trying to kill him then the next, she was looking all mushy and sweet at him saying something about being with together with him or stuff like that. Was this really Bianca? Just what the freaking hell´s this all about?

"And you actually believe him?" Rebecca asked dubiously. Therese turned her attentions back to her sharply and eyed her disagreeably. Seeing this, Rebecca gave a bitter laugh. "I can´t believe you could be so stupid as to trust-"

"He gave his word!" she shouted back. "I will take her body and He will have the child!"

"And what makes you think that He will really keep his word?" Rebecca shot back defiantly. "He´s totally evil! He´s ruthless! He´s just using you for a reason---"

`Therese´ let out a horrifying, almost maddening scream. "Stop it!" she shrieked, stomping her foot like an angry child and madly tearing her hair. "Stop it!"

"What´s this?" Harry asked. He turned to Draco only to see him stunned, his face having a dazed loon on them. He frowned and made his way towards the other man only to notice his eyes glazed. "Malfoy! Malfoy, snap out of it!"

"Bianca was the one trying to kill Ginny?"

Draco thought as he listened at the interchanging conversation between the two women. He looked on, completely in a stupor, his face heavy with dispirited emotions and searing pain as though he was bearing the weight of the whole world upon his shoulders. "But she´s dead, right? I saw my father kill her. I saw the green flash of light going right through her body, taking her life. She couldn´t possibly be back from the dead."

Harry shook his head upon seeing Draco´s reaction to this. "Malfoy, if you don´t snap out of it, I will-"

"Everything is all planned out, can´t you see? Nothing will stop us now!" Therese yelled, her face turning evil.

"Not if I can help it!" Rebecca cried out furiously. She was about to cast something dreadful on her when, suddenly, the huge glass windows behind them began to crack. Moments later, it shattered with a loud, tremendous explosion.

Harry instinctively ducked as shards of glass began flying everywhere. He swore out loud upon seeing Draco just standing there, not minding the small pieces of sharp glass blasting all around him. He finally blinked when one successfully lashed against his cheek, cutting it and making it bleed, a wake up call for him.

"Blast it! Get down!" Harry yelled furiously as he pulled Draco down on the floor with him. Draco, finally stirred up, lifted up his hand and began wiping his bleeding cheek. He looked at his hand first only to see a red pungent liquid grazing the white skin of his hands. His eyes widened in wonder, turning to Harry silently. When Harry felt the other man´s awed and curious stare, he turned to him, shaking his head disgustedly, while muttering, "Idiot."

Hearing the insult, Draco snapped back and frowned. He was about to utter something nasty in return when a sudden bright stream of white light began shooting down inside the house. Harry, Draco and Rebecca looked up only to see it coming from the sky, shutting them all up. Suddenly, a deep, hissing voice rang out inside the house.

"Ennervate."

Instantly, Ginny´s body began to stir. Then after a few seconds, she groggily stood up, her eyes half-closed. She turned to them only to see Harry and Draco standing up and Rebecca frantically looking around, no doubt searching for the voice.

They all looked up only to realize that the voice was coming from Hermione, whom was looking at Ginny as though she was under some kind of trance. Her eyes were sharp, narrowed, her lips moving. She had her right hand held before her while muttering out words eerily, doing magic without the usual aid of a wand. Just then, the bright straight current of light parted, emanating a sharp, wheezing sound only to settle itself protectively around Hermione´s and `Therese´s´ bodies, surrounding them as if to shield them from any disturbances and interruption.

"Constringere!"

Instantaneously, Ginny found herself unable to move. It was as if her arms and legs are locked together! She stood there, eyes surprisingly drooping close, as still as a statue whereas Therese´s face relaxed, eyes also slowly closing.

Just then, Hermione´s lips began to move. Her eyes narrowing in concentration.

"De profundis, ad vivum..."

Draco immediately walked his way towards Ginny, ignoring the pain every step brought. He pursed his lips to keep himself from crying out loud when he felt his internal muscles twisting, screaming out their agony. He placed himself in front of her, protecting her, his right arm around her still and rigid body.

"Expelliarmus!"

Harry yelled as he pointed his wand tip against `Therese.´ Then much to his surprise, the hex bounced back. Luckily his reflexes were fast as he was able to swerve out the hex´s way. It hit the unbroken window behind him instead, breaking it to pieces. "What the hell was that?" he shouted as he struggled up to his feet.

"I told you it won´t work, you stubborn arse!" Draco growled at him angrily. He watched helplessly, furiously thinking of a way to save Ginny.

The hissing voice went on.

"Ex alter idem, esto perpetua..."

"Well, can you think of anything better to do?" Harry spat back sarcastically. "At least I´m doing something unlike some other people I know!"

"That´s what I´m trying to do even before you came here you bastard!" Draco yelled back furiously.

Rebecca, in turn, stood there silently, immune against the bickering of the two men and furiously thinking. Her eyes narrowed as she calculated the on going scene before her.

"In corpore vili, post obitum..."

"Oh my god!" Harry cried out, looking at the two women before him. His jaw dropped unfashionably, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

"What, Potter?" Draco demanded seeing the look of terror on Harry´s face. As his reply, Harry pointed behind him. Draco turned around only to see Ginny´s hazy essence slowly emerging from her physical form. She looked peaceful, her eyes closed as if asleep. He didn´t know what it was. And it- terrified him. He couldn´t do anything but to tighten his arms around hers even more and curse out, looking helpless as ever!

"Ginny!" Draco yelled, shaking her still body violently. He knew it was stupid but what was there to do? "Wake up! Snap out of it! Come on! Wake up!"

"Malfoy, look!" Harry shouted suddenly.

Draco stopped abruptly and turned. Then much to their horror, a faint violet light shot up from the Therese´s body. Just then, much to everybody´s amazement, a hazy form floated up from the woman´s rigid state. Draco´s eyes widened as he recognized the pale cheeks, the violet pair of eyes that was looking at Ginny´s still body with anticipation. Instantly, his heart gave a loud thud.

It was Bianca.

"Can´t we stop Hermione from doing this?" Harry asked frantically, looking upwards only to see Hermione´s eyes wide, having a demonic gleam on them. Damn! He couldn´t possibly point his wand at her and shoot her, right? Who knows what it might do to her!

Rebecca shook her head, reading Harry´s mind. "No, it´s not Hermione, it´s somebody else. It´s somebody who wanted my twin sister alive in another body," she replied quickly. Then she shook her head, agitated. "We can´t do anything about it, she gets her strength from the moon. I-"

"No!" Draco cried. "There must be a way!" Then against his will, he forcefully detached himself away from Ginny´s motionless body and immediately made his way back towards Harry. "Okay, so we can´t possibly wipe the moon out," said Draco his eyes darting around wildly, ignoring Bianca´s and Ginny´s soul, clearly in the process of interchanging. He bent down and picked his wand from the floor. "Let us combine our magic together to conjure up a Shield Charm." He turned to Harry. "Go and wake Weasley up."

Harry nodded, surprisingly trusting Draco´s judgement.

"You think it wise?" asked Rebecca as she gripped her wand firmly while Harry immediately went to Ron´s unconscious form and muttered out Ennervate.

Draco shook his head. "I don´t know but it´s worth a try, Rebecca," he replied truthfully. "I firmly believe that we can conjure a more powerful Shield Charm if we focus and combine all our magic together."

Rebecca looked at Therese then at Ginny. Seeing Draco´s point, she finally nodded and placed herself beside Draco, her wand before her. And besides, she couldn't think of anything to do! So far, this was the only logical alternative they have. "All right," she said as she raised her wand. "Let´s do it."

Draco nodded as he raised his as well.

"What happened?" Ron asked groggily while Harry helped him up.

Draco turned. "Oy, you two!" he called out. "Wands out!"

Hearing Draco´s bossy but frantic voice, Ron still had the grace to frown irritably, if not stubbornly. "What the fuck-"

"Ron, shut up!" Harry interrupted as he too raised his wand. Then he turned to Ron whose eyes were wide with disbelief. "Trust me. Raise. Wand. Shield Charm. Got it?"

Ron stared at him first, completely taken aback. But finally seeing the urgent look Harry gave him and surveying his surroundings with his wife up into the air, muttering crazily, he finally heaved a sigh. "Fine, I´ll trust you," he said while raising his wand as well. "You owe me, Harry."

"Ecce signum!"

Bianca´s eyes widened as it slowly pulled out its transparent body completely from its host´s. Rebecca´s pulse quickened nervously as she felt the strong adrenaline rush swiftly flowing in her veins. Therese´s body, in turn, tumbled to the floor like a rag doll, useless and unconcsious.

"All ready?" Draco asked, bracing himself, seeing Ginny´s soul lifting up fast from her body.

Harry, Ron and Rebecca nodded and tightened their grips on their wands.

"Adorior! Adorior, Serpens Consortis!"

Something kicked inside Ginny´s womb when the last words of the curse were uttered. She swallowed hard, still unable to move.

"Now!" Draco yelled.

"Defendre!"

Instantly, pale blue light shot out from the tips of their wands. It flew directly in front of Ginny, forming a thick, sturdy, glass-like barrier that stretched from the wall to her right to the other end of the room, from the ceiling to the floor, completely covering her.

Then, just like a flash of bright light, Bianca´s essence shot out and zoomed purposely towards Ginny´s rigid, stiff and `soul-less´ body. It slammed itself immediately against the protective barrier. When it felt the magic shield blocking its way, it gave an eerie cry of anguish as it forcefully tried to fight its way through it.

Draco winced as he tightened his grip on his wand even more, releasing more magic. It was surprisingly strong and he could feel it fighting against them. He heaved as he felt himself being drained, the strong flow of magic sweeping from his veins like a powerful current, gnawing out his energy. He was so sure that the others could feel it too for he could hear them gasping and huffing tiredly as well.

"Too strong," muttered Ron as he felt his body burning up. Just then, much to their horror, a small gap became suddenly visible before their eyes. Draco, Harry, Rebecca and Ron watched in horror and amazement as a pale hand began fighting its way through their barrier. Just then, the tiny gap widened up till its whole arm passed through. Draco swore out loud and focused more of his energy, releasing more magic till he could feel himself weakening and falling apart!

"We won´t make it,"

Rebecca thought frantically upon seeing her sister´s transparent head already inside. "I have to do something!" And with that, she threw her wand aside and without thinking, ran towards Ginny. She screamed out in pain as she forcefully fought her way inside the protective shield.

Draco, upon seeing it, swore out loud and ran towards her. Ron finally fell on the floor, weak and drained while Harry put his wand arm down, heaving, the shield finally broken.

Just then a shrill cry!

"Rebecca!" Harry yelled as he saw her throw herself before Ginny. She shoved Ginny out of the way, just in time to stop and catch Bianca´s essence with her own body. Ginny, in turn, safely landed on Draco´s arms, whose soul promptly slid back in her own body when it felt itself out of danger. "Rebecca!"

"Potter, Granger´s falling!" Draco yelled out as he wildly scrambled around for his wand.

Harry immediately whirled around to see Hermione tumbling down from the ceiling, screaming fearfully. He quickly held his wand out and shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Hermione gave a surprised yelp as she herself floating, her fall breaking just in time before she hit the hard floor.

"Finite Incantatem,"

Draco muttered as he flicked his wand against her body and waited.

Instantly, Ginny´s eyes began to blink. Then she slowly opened her mouth, "Draco," she whispered weakly. Draco only smiled as his reply.

"What happened?" Hermione demanded shrilly as her feet finally touched the ground. She ignored the subtle burning sensation plaguing her nape. "What did I do? Did I do something horrid? What happened?" she pressed, her eyes wide with horror at the thought of doing something stupidly evil.

"Long story, just revive Ron," replied Harry as he turned back towards Rebecca. Then his eyes widened only to see the black-haired woman writhing and rasping. She was growling and shouting at herself, tearing at her hair, as if being possessed by something evil. He looked at Draco and Ginny only to see them also staring and gaping in horror.

"Rebecca!" Harry yelled and without thinking of what might happen to him, he threw his arms around her, pinning her arms against her side with his. "You stop it this instant!" he yelled as he tried suppressing the wild woman who was yelling and fighting to get free from his grasp. "Rebecca, wake up!" And with that, Harry slapped the woman hard across the face.

Feeling the stinging pain against her cheek, Rebecca finally stopped moving.

Harry frowned, his arms not leaving hers. "Rebecca?" he gently inquired seeing her passive face in front of him.

She opened her eyes. Then to everybody´s astonishment, her face underwent another set of transformation. Surprisingly, her purple eyes became soft, her whole feature yielding. The hint of darkness completely eradicated only to replaced by peaceful radiance. It was as if she had just woken up after a long sleep full of nightmares and horrible dreams imaginable. Harry loosened his arms around her, unsurely at first, when he felt her already calm and passive, her body turning around to face Draco.

She smiled. "Forgive me, Draco," she said softly, her voice tender. "What I did, I did only for you."

"Bianca?" Draco gasped out, shaking his head slowly, Ginny resting against his arms, looking so weak and pale. "Why-"

"I was angry," she replied. Then she turned to the red-haired woman resting against his arms momentarily. Ginny met her eyes, stare for stare. The red-head bit her lip, not sure of what to do or say. Seeing that, Bianca nodded considerately, her eyes conveying unhidden acceptance- and pain. "But now I understand everything." With that, she gave them one last and peaceful smile before closing her eyes, a sign of letting go. Then before them, a soft, transparent form floated up from Rebecca´s body. Just then, a loud and horrifying laugh rang inside the house. Draco looked up only to a jet of bright death-green light zooming towards Bianca´s spirit.

"You foolish girl! Now you will be annihilated, along with the others!"

"That voice,"

thought Draco fearfully. He swallowed hard. He knew that voice anywhere! He grew up with that voice! Painful memories immediately whirled inside his head as he saw the scenes of his life before him. It was so clear, so fresh. He shut his eyes painfully, breathing hard. "How could I even forget the voice that haunted me until now?"

"Draco!" Ginny called out, straightening up. It was beyond doubt that Ginny felt his inner struggles. She knelt before him, facing him. "Draco, please-" she pleaded as her hands flew up to cup his face. "You´re not like him, do you understand? You´re far more different from him!"

Draco just stared at her blankly. Surprisingly, he couldn´t see anything but a dark room and two tall figures. There were a lot of screaming and crying. It was his mother... she was crying... and his father... His lower lip trembled as he saw the scenes before him. His father slapped his mother... and he was laughing...

"Draco!" Ginny cried as she felt the overpowering presence of the Dark Arts looming all around them. She shook him gently, afraid. "Please, wake up."

Just then, he saw her face... then light...

He blinked.

Hearing Ginny´s fierce voice and feeling the tender caress of her hands, he finally snapped out. He blinked his eyes again, furiously focusing them only to see a clueless Harry and the stunned Rebecca standing on the eerie light´s way. "Potter! Look out!"

Harry whipped his head around only to see the green light speeding towards them. Then without a moment´s hesitation, he pushed Rebecca to the floor and threw himself on her protectively. Draco, in turn, shoved Ginny behind him, covering her with his body as the green light slammed itself against Bianca´s spirit, who in turn, welcomed it warmly and with open arms.

Then a flash of blinding green light surrounded them, flowing around inside house.

A sound of glass breaking, an amulet being broken in two.

Ron immediately put his arms around his wife as Hermione cowered towards him fearfully.

"Oh God help us!"

Ginny prayed silently as she felt the couches rattling and shaking wildly around them. Glasses began to shatter as the walls began to groan with the force of the powerful light. It was as if an explosion was bound to happen, strong enough to wipe them off entirely. She gasped as she felt heavy Dark Magic in the air, heard heavy and ghastly set of wailing everywhere. It was struggling, fighting with each other and she could feel it, much more than the others. She pressed her body against Draco´s closer. If they were to die right now, then she would have to die close to him. Draco, in turn, felt her fear as he tightened his arms around her even more, waiting for the inevitable: death. "Help us!"

Then, in a split second, everything went silent.

Ginny tightened her arms about Draco as she waited for the pain. When nothing came, she frowned. She slowly opened her eyes only to see shimmering bits of light falling all around them. "What the--," She looked up only to see nothing but the bare ceiling. No light, no explosion and, no spirit or whatsoever. She disentangled herself from Draco, her eyes wide with wonder. "We´re alive?" she thought, seeing Harry, his glasses already broken, standing up, looking up as well and Ron slowly looking around, checking if everything was already over. She lightly pinched her arm, touched her dirt-stained lilac dress expecting her hand to go right through it... but her skin felt the soft fabric. She looked up in amazement. "We´re alive!"

"What was that?" Ron asked finally amidst the bright snow-like dots falling all around them. He stood up and helped Hermione up as well. He turned around only to see Therese´s face stirring, her eyebrows frowning. "Is it over?" he added.

"Bianca," uttered Rebecca, her eyes blank. "Bianca..."

Just then, the door suddenly burst open. Draco looked up only to see Terrence Higgs and several other Aurors standing and fussing behind him.

"I´m sorry I´m late," said Terrence as he made his way inside. "I just got back from Ireland, from the Ministry Convention and-" He stopped and looked around only to notice everything in disarray. Windows shattered, couches over-turned, everything broken--- He looked down only to see a number of six pale, bloody and weakened wizards all struggling to get up.

Terrence Higgs took a deep, horrified breath.

"I´m really terribly sorry I´m late."

==========

"I sure hope that Therese will be all right," quipped Harry as they settled themselves inside the already fixed living room, sipping mugs of hot chocolate with thick blankets over their shoulders, their faces and bodies already healed by the Ministry Wizard Medics.

It was already five in the morning, near to sunrise. The Aurors were finally through investigating and double-checking everything inside and out of the house, casting Reversing Spells and Charms to drive away whatever Dark Magic was left behind. They took the now-conscious and terrified Therese with them for further questioning and of course, for a thorough `fixing´ up.

He looked across from him only to see Ron fussing about his wife after having a word with Higgs, his deputy. Then he turned to his left only to see Ginny, whom emerged from the bathroom looking absolutely radiant and glowing despite of last night´s events. She was actually looking a little smug as though she knew something, if he was not mistaken, when she sat down to join them. She placed herself beside Rebecca whom was silently brooding about what happened, sitting on a couch a little away from his left.

His brows furrowed. For the first time, out of the rubble and the chaos, he finally noticed how pretty Rebecca was. Damn, I can´t believe that, a while ago, I was literally on top of a beautiful woman, he thought, his eyes traversing from her face to her pleasant figure. He swallowed hard and decided to focus his attentions to Draco instead whom was currently standing by the doorway, having a last minute talk with Terrence Higgs, looking so very tired and drained. Terence, on the other hand, was busy nodding and looking at a broken glass amulet in his hands, his face set in mild concentration.

"Oh, I´m sure everything will be all right with Therese," replied Hermione as she lifted her own mug. She paused for a while and took a tiny sip of the delicious and sweet drink. "A strong Memory Charm will be used, of course and before she knows it, she´ll be sent back to her Muggle home completely oblivious about what just happened," she continued after smacking her lips. "That´s how we usually work, Harry."

Ginny´s face fell. "Has word been sent to Mum and Dad?" she finally asked not looking up. Harry´s face softened upon seeing her crestfallen expression, the radiance he saw earlier completely wiped out. He was sure that the whole mortifying experience left her terribly shaken until now. After all, Ginny was the most sensitive one when it came to Dark Magic. Recovering from that would take her at least another week.

"Yes," replied Ron testily. "I´ve received their letter. They said they´ll be back tomorrow."

"I just don´t get it though," started Hermione as Draco finally shook hands with Terrence saying his thanks and farewells and finally decided to join them. The moment Ginny felt Draco´s presence, her heart gave a loud panicked but excited thud. Hermione stopped abruptly upon feeling the awkward atmosphere in the air. She looked up only to see Ginny blushing madly and Draco looking very uneasy and unsure. She cleared her throat noisily. Seeing everybody too preoccupied with their own thoughts, Hermione decided to take some action. "Won´t you have a seat, Malfoy?" she offered neutrally, looking up at him with raised eyebrows.

"I´ll stand up, thank you," he replied stiffly as he positioned himself behind the wall just a little away from where Harry was sitting. He leaned casually towards it, his arms crossed, his silver eyes boring through anything but Ginny.

Ginny, in turn, tried her best not to look disappointed. She turned away and fixed her gaze on Hermione instead, busily ignoring and sorely pretending not to care if Draco should decide to stand or suddenly do a series of cartwheels before them.

"What kind of a woman was your sister, anyway?" Hermione asked Rebecca gently. "According to Ginny, she was a cat, her cat, at that. Then after a moment she became Therese and then Ginny and almost everybody in here. She´s not an Animagus, is she?"

"No," Rebecca finally replied. Then she took a deep breath, settling her clear purple eyes on the ceiling. "Do you know Proteus?" she asked suddenly.

"No," Ron immediately replied. He didn´t particularly like thinking and boggling his mind in the midst of an explanation, actually.

Harry just shrugged and fixed his newly-repaired glasses on the Rebecca´s face instead while Hermione just sat there and waited patiently, the thirst to know something new clearly visible on her face.

"He´s a Greek sea god capable of telling the past, the present and the future," replied Draco unfeelingly. "He was-"

"He had the ability to change shape, any shape he wished," said Ginny at the same time. Then she immediately stopped and bit her lip.

Rebecca nodded, quite impressed. "You know you´re Mythology very well," she said. At that, Ron gave out a disgusted kind of snort while Hermione nodded in earnest. "You see, my sister and I are born with- different abilities."

Ginny frowned. "Like you were born to read minds while Bianca was born to be-" She stopped abruptly. Come to think of it, they were actually dealing with someone dangerous here. Rebecca´s mind-reading and penetration ability proved to be dangerous because she could easily drive you mad if she suddenly wished to. At that, she swallowed hard.

"She´s a Protean?" Harry asked with wonder, breaking her thoughts. "But that was-," He broke off and shook his head. "They say it´s only a legend. There´s no known wizard who could do magic like that, right? I thought it´s-"

"It´s not magic," said Draco quietly, his arms not leaving his chest. "It´s an ability. It´s an inborn ability. Alius Corporis. Not many wizards are born with that gift."

"To tell you honestly, I really don´t know where to start," said Rebecca, her face falling. She shook her head slowly. "I don´t even know how to explain everything."

"Then tell us right from the beginning," suggested Ron. He stood up and made his way towards the fireplace, putting more wood. "It won´t hurt to start all over, right?"

Rebecca stared at the eager and curious faces first before finally nodding agreeably. "My sister and I were born when the moon was it´s highest," she began in a hushed voice. "Blood Moon, most evil wizards would call it."

"So that´s why she got her unusual strength from the moon," said Harry thoughtfully, remembering the unusual burst of powerful energy coming from the sky a while ago.

"Could be," Rebecca replied, nodding slowly. "You see, Virginia had her accidents just last year, yes? Well, using the Seth Calendar, the Blood Moon will fall on three nights. In our case, two consecutive nights and another night, which we all know, was just a while ago. As you may have noticed, Virginia´s near-to-death experiences fell during the Blood Moon except the one in the carriage," she explained.

Ron frowned. "I don´t see the point of using Seth or Egyptian calendar or whatsoever in the story, actually," he said as he took a seat beside his wife.

Hermione shooed him away. "That´s the calendar most evil wizards use, Ron," she hissed with embarrassment. "You´re an Auror, for goodness sake!"

"Well, I´m sorry for being human," Ron shot back sarcastically.

"I really thought that using Egyptian calendars are already obsolete," said Harry after a moment, ignoring Ron and Hermione´s stony faces.

Rebecca shook her head. "No, believe it or not, most evil wizards still use them. They´re quite useful and more accurate."

"Why Bianca?" Draco asked quietly.

At that, the black-haired woman took a deep breath. "Bianca was a Protean when she was still alive. Actually, Voldemort foresaw everything and had already made plans. It included me and my sister in it." She paused momentarily. "My parents were Death Eaters but they were different. Actually, the Fairfaxes are known for being the pioneers of evil wizardry but my parents wished to put a stop to that. They wanted to live a decent life."

Draco, Ginny, Harry, Ron and Hermione fixed their eyes on her while listening attentively, hanging on her words. Seeing the attentive audience, Rebecca cleared her throat. "I may have mentioned something about Serpent´s Bride, yes?" She looked expectantly at Harry.

Harry nodded. "Yes, a while ago," he replied.

"Well, that´s it. My sister was supposed to be the Serpent´s Bride. It was foretold," Rebecca supplied. "Apparently Voldemort saw everything. You see how powerful he is? He saw his downfall, his defeat He´s evil, yes, but he´s also clever. I´m not really sure if almost all of the Death Eaters were aware of his plans."

"I don´t get it," said Ron after a moment of pondering. "You´re saying he´s still at large today? What´s the Serpent´s Bride? What importance does it have for Voldemort?"

"That I can assure you," she said while shaking her head. "As long as he has all his followers alive, serving and supporting him, we cannot entirely defeat him. That´s the sad reality of it. And believe me when I say that he has still dozens of them. Isn´t it that you haven´t found his body when the Dark Sorcerer´s war came to an end?" Then Rebecca pursed her lips. When everybody fell silent at this, she decided to speak again. "Have anybody of you heard about Loki and Sigyn of the Norse Legend?"

"The Norse gods punished Loki by placing a serpent above his head," replied Draco thoughtfully, reiterating everything he had read. "Sigyn, his wife came to help him by taking her place at his side, bearing a cup, catching the venom with it." Then he stopped abruptly, his eyes widening as he looked at Ginny. Good lord! Everything was falling into place! Then it was Ginny? She was-

"Voldemort wanted to have a wife but unlike Loki, he would use his bride in order to free himself from eternal damnation," explained Rebecca, her voice testy. "And that would be Bianca, my sister."

"But how?" Harry asked, getting confused by the minute. "And, good god! They´re just legends! Surely you don´t actually believe that-"

"Ah yes, legends," Rebecca interrupted, turning her eyes back to Harry´s green ones. "But you do know that when used with proper and powerful magic, legends can be brought to life, don´t you? After all, our magic, everything we have, I mean, a bigger percent of what we wizards do was all derived from legends, you know."

Hermione nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes indeed," she gushed, her eyes wide with wonder. Then she frowned. "So why was Voldemort in need of a wife?"

"Do you think that Voldemort did nothing in order to come up with those kind of powers?" Rebecca asked instead, smirking. Then she shook her head and looked straight at Harry. "He was greedy, he was obsessed, he wanted to become the most powerful wizard, he wanted everybody to be afraid of him. That´s why, still not losing hope, he made a deal with the Supreme Evil after you defeated him the second time around."

"And the deal was-" Harry prodded encouragingly.

"Blood of his blood," replied Rebecca with a straight face, "flesh of his flesh. That´s the only thing they were asking for."

"And Bianca was supposed to be the one to give him a child," Hermione continued, feeling terrible by the minute.

"But Lucius killed the wrong twin, as you can see it," concluded Rebecca, her voice bitter. "When Voldemort felt that my family´s about to turn their back on him and go to hiding, he had ordered his Death Eaters to wipe them off except Bianca. He ordered Lucius to bring my sister to him. I suppose, he was thinking that he killed me but the truth of the matter was he killed Bianca." She turned to Draco. "He was planning to stage Bianca´s death using me in front of you, I reckon. For you to think that it was Bianca therefore building up your hate, the first step towards the Dark Arts." Then she smirked. "But then again, he was a blundering idiot."

At that, Draco felt himself getting furious by the minute. He tiredly massaged the bridge of his nose. Curse his father for ruining his life, for ruining everybody´s life! Curse him for everything! "I hope you rot in hell, father!" his brain screamed. "I hope you rot in hell!"

"Of course, Voldemort was angry when he heard of Lucius´ stupidity," Rebecca continued on, tearing her gaze away from Draco. "In order to get everything right, he ordered Lucius to make him a charmed vial, before it´s too late, trapping my sister´s soul into it. Then using Bianca´s anger, he made a deal with her."

"She wanted to get my body to be with Draco," whispered Ginny to no one in particular. "She wanted to be with him that´s why she-"

"But why wait for the moon to bleed?" asked Hermione suddenly.

"The Serpent´s Bride will be born on a Blood Moon. She has to be. That was a fact," Rebecca answered. "But as to why she should be born on a Blood Moon, I don´t know. Even I was baffled about this but then, in time, I´m fairly sure that we would find the answers to this-," She broke off only to gaze at the sky already turning a light shade of pink. "Blood on the Moon, in case you don´t know, symbolizes death and rebirth," she continued. Then she shook her head. "Bianca´s spirit somehow got inside Therese´s body but Voldemort somehow found a way to retain her ability. She used Therese´s body for a while but she couldn´t last in a human body for long that´s why she killed your cat and copied its form."

"How was it even possible?" Ron started, more confused than ever. "I- I mean is it possible for Therese to host two souls in one body then? And what about Hermione? Don´t tell me that Voldemort used her body!"

Rebecca sighed. "Have you seen the broken amulet one of the Aurors found on the floor after the confrontation?" she asked. When everybody decided to keep silent, she continued on. "That was a Dark Artifact, a Soul Keeper. Dark Wizards often use it to trap another one´s soul temporarily into it. You see, witches and wizards are not born with the same talents and abilities. Dark Wizards, however, use it for them to be able to use a particular talent found in another wizard if necessary. Naturally, the tendency is for them to transfer their soul into another wizard and perform the evil deed. I firmly believe that it was used to keep Therese´s soul temporarily inside it so that Bianca can make use of her body." She stopped, inhaling fresh air. "As for Hermione, I´m not really sure but I´m positive that a Soul Keeper wasn´t used. I think it´s more of a dark enchantment or something like that." She shrugged. "We´ll know more about it in time," she continued, blinking her eyes rapidly. "You see, it´s much easier for proteans to copy animal form than human form. When properly trained, they will be able sustain a longer resistance to copy a human body but as you can see my sister wasn´t even trained to use it properly."

"How did it even enter Malfoy Manor to copy the Ginny´s cat?" asked Ron, his face turning grim. Hermione frowned at him upon noticing him sporting another one of his ridiculous 'poker face' looks whenever he was interrogating petty criminals and dark wizards alike back at Headquarters. But then again, she found it sweet... well, almost cute in an odd and sort of bizarre way. "How was it possible?"

"The Engagement Party," replied Rebecca promptly.

Draco perked up when he heard this. "You mean to say that woman I talked to wasn´t you?" he asked, astounded. "It was Bianca using Therese´s body transforming into you?"

Rebecca nodded. "Yes, very clever don´t you think?" Then she turned to Ginny. "When I heard about it, I became suspicious of everything. That´s why I decided to keep a closer look on you, Virginia. I hope I didn´t scare you off when we met accidentally in Hogsmeade." Then she looked at Harry, Ron and Hermione quizzically. "Access was granted so she killed the cat. Of course she couldn´t afford to have a replica of the animal itself, right? That would be really stupid. That´s why she killed it, copied it and pretended to be Ginny´s pet."

"Why Therese?" Harry interjected suddenly.

"Therese is a Muggle, an easy prey for any wizard," answered Rebecca knowingly and with a straight face. "She lives in a Muggle settlement making it all the more perfect." She shook her head and let out a light, almost inaudible snort. "You see, Muggles are so stubborn! They don't believe in magic even if it was right under their noses. Naturally, it was easy access for them since Muggles couldn't detect Evil Wizard Activity that easily."

Harry nodded. "I see," he murmured, realizing her point. He didn't particularly have a hard time believing her theory upon remembering how the Dursleys would often scoff the very idea of magic being possible. Wasn't it that they deemed him abnormal?

"So Voldemort was in on this too? Sort of Bianca´s accomplice maybe?" Ron asked quietly. He just can´t believe that Voldemort was still alive even though barely!

As her reply, Rebecca´s eyes riveted towards Draco´s thoughtful face. She looked at him narrowly, almost accusingly but reluctantly. Draco seemed too oblivious of what was happening since he chose to remain silent, his span of attention elsewhere. Ron was busy debating whether he should send Dumbledore an owl about this while Hermione was busy pondering about what happened, quite horrified at that thought of facing the Dark Lord one more time. Harry, in turn, noticed Rebecca. He turned to Draco then back at Rebecca again, his face inquiring, expecting. He knew Rebecca knew something. Her narrowed eyes told it all.

Ginny chose to remain silent at this, deaf to the voices around her. She was too busy thinking of Bianca and the almost inhuman thing she did. All this trouble for that, she thought. "Bianca must really love Draco," she surmised. The woman practically moved heaven and earth just to be with him! Would she be able to do the same for him? Then she looked up only to see him silently thinking on the corner, his `already-fixed´ face set grimly, his eyes tired but nevertheless sparkling. Her face softened as a gentle smile grazed her lips.

"I couldn´t blame her,"

she thought as she looked at him, standing there, memorizing every form of his body. For the first time in her life, she had never seen him looking so beautiful. "She saw something in him that other people failed to see."

"So what now?"

her heart asked. When Draco looked up only to see her staring at him, Ginny immediately turned away, her face flushing hotly.

"What do you mean by `what now?´"

she hissed furiously.

"You have to tell him, you know."

"The hell I´ll do that especially now,"

she answered back. "I´m not sure of what he feels about me anymore. After all, I suspected him, ran away from him, put his life in danger...I nearly killed him, you know! How could I ever face him now?"

And with that last thought, Ginny abruptly stood up and made her way outside, leaving them curiously staring after her.

==========

Draco stood there, not sure of what to do. What did I do this time?" his insides screamed. "I just looked at her!" Then it made him somewhat smile. Ginny was actually staring at him. And she was blushing. Why?

His eyes followed her departing form longingly. Should he go after her? Should he follow her? Should he tell her what he felt? But then-

"How can I?"

he asked himself, hearing the door shutting behind her. He swallowed hard and instead, he focused his attentions back at the remaining people in front of him, conversing.

Just then, he met Harry´s eyes.

He frowned.

"What the hell are you doing standing there?"

Harry hissed, looking at Draco sharply. He gestured his head towards the door and turned back to him meaningfully, the thoughts about asking what Rebecca´s `secret´ was, temporarily forgotten. When Draco stubbornly shook his head, Harry frowned incredelously and cried out, "Malfoy?"

"Oh shut it, Potter!" growled Draco sulkily. He knew what Harry was thinking of.

"Fine! I´ll shut up!" Harry growled back, much to the surprise of the three people sitting before him. Just then, he stood up. "I´ll go if you don´t want to!"

At that, Draco threw his hands up into the air as he finally detached himself from the wall, the thought of Potter being alone with his wife sending another set of boiling jealousy within him. "Bloody hell!" he cried out as he stomped his way out of the living room, leaving the confused group before him.

Harry shook his head and sat back down once again, finally satisfied upon hearing the loud, angry bang of the kitchen door around them. He looked at Ron, his eyebrows raised questioningly. "You were saying something?" he asked mildly as if nothing was amiss.

Ron cleared his throat. "Right," he murmured. Then he turned to Rebecca. "How did you know all of this, Rebecca?" he asked after hearing everything, trying his best to suppress the itch to stand up and follow Malfoy, who, no doubt, was on his way to his sister. Well, he was about to, actually but after earning a reproachful look from Hermione, he decided not to.

Rebecca, in turn, shrugged. "I was part of the Resistance Movement during the war," she replied simply. "And- having her essence in me, even for a short period of time, I was able to search her mind and those are the things I learned."

"So it wasn´t just about-uh--," Ron stopped, his eyebrows crinkling with embarrassment, "love?" he asked a little uneasily. When Rebecca´s brows went up a notch, he cleared his throat. "About your twin sister, I mean," he added quickly.

The purple-eyed woman turned suddenly thoughtful. "I don´t know," she replied slowly. "Maybe it was about love, for Bianca, that is. But there are other things--- other compelling forces. For once, I´m sure the main reason why Voldemort wanted her alive was because he needed her. I´m fairly positive, though, that he was just using her, using her anger, striking a deal with her but leaving her with empty promises. That was how he usually worked."

"Where´s her soul now?" Hermione asked gently.

Rebecca shook her head while turning away bitterly. "I have no idea," she finally said, the ache clear in her voice. "I don´t know where souls who had associated themselves in something evil go. She will just-- disappear, I reckon."

At that, Hermione´s face saddened as she felt the other woman´s obvious pain. "I´m sorry, Rebecca," she said softy.

Harry´s ears suddenly perked up when he heard this, the deal about Ginny and Draco completely forgotten.

"Of course, those part of the movement were commissioned to be always on the look-out for anything suspicious," supplied Rebecca while standing up, dropping the subject about her sister. "As long as the Patronus eye doesn´t disappear, we can´t rest." And with that, she took her wand out and was about to disapparate when Harry suddenly called him.

"You have the Patronus eye as well?" he asked, standing up abruptly.

Rebecca just stared at him.

"Wait, Rebecca! I need to ask you something I-"

The beautiful woman, for the first time, granted him the most beautiful smile he could ever dream of. It lit her whole face up, making her deep violet eyes sparkle out a light purplish hue. Her cheeks were rosy and her hair, gleaming with health against the early morning rays of the sun behind her. Harry´s heart gave a sudden thud, he felt his face warming up.

"Don´t worry, Harry," she said in her sultry voice. "I´ll stick around."

And with that, she flicked her wand against her and disappeared from his sight, leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione staring after her empty spot. Just then, Ron let out a low whistle.

"She´s something else, Harry," he said while shaking his head and looking at his bestfriend´s flustered face.

==========

"Stupid Potter!"

Draco swore as he made his way towards the Burrows´ backyard. He kicked a pebble that greeted his way as he casually slid his hands inside his pockets. "I can´t believe I let myself be bullied into this! Dammit!" Just then, the series of curses abruptly stopped swimming inside his brain upon seeing a dainty woman sitting on top of an enormous rock just under a large tree, thinking. His pulse suddenly quickened, not sure if he should go to her or not.

She was looking at the rising sun, her face softly being illuminated by the delicious warmth of the early morning sky. She wasn´t aware that she was being observed. Just then, a soft breeze blew at her and he saw her tenderly hold her hair with her hand, tucking a stray lock behind her ear. His breath suddenly got caught in his throat. She never looked so beautiful, so vulnerable...

Just then, she turned around and saw him gaping at her. Draco immediately cleared his throat and fixed a frown on his face while taking his hand off and raking his fingertips against his hair impatiently. He saw no other choice but to walk towards her.

"Hey," she greeted softly, unsurely, as he placed himself beside the rock. She turned away from him and focused her attentions back at the rising sun.

"Hey," he greeted back, sliding his left hand inside his pocket once again.

Just then, silence.

Draco nonchalantly brought his eyes on the rising sun as well as if it was something interesting to watch. After a moment of awkward silence, he finally cleared her throat.

"Are you feeling all right?" Draco asked instead. As a man, he should be the one to strike a conversation first, right?

"Yes, thank you," replied Ginny, refusing to look at him. "And you?"

"Oh I´m fine," he replied smoothly. "Thanks for asking."

Another awkward silence fell on them.

"Damn it! Say something!"

Draco heard his heart scream.

Ginny swallowed hard, her eyes blinking more rapidly. Just then, she decided to speak. "I´m sorry for all the trouble I´ve caused, Draco," she said softly, without looking at him. She kept her eyes directly at the sun, blinking them rapidly. "I´m sorry for even suspecting you of something horrible."

"No, its nothing," he replied automatically. "I should be the one to say sorry, actually."

"No!" Ginny replied quickly, looking at him. Draco turned to her, his eyebrows raised. The moment Ginny saw his face looking at her up close, she blushed like a silly school girl. "I- I mean, if it wasn´t for my stubbornness this wouldn´t have happened."

When Draco just fell silent at this, Ginny shook her head and stood up. "I´d better get going," she said while straightening her skirts. Then she looked away, her lower lip quivering. "He´s not feeling the same way," her brain said. Pain immediately wrenched her heart. "I have- I have to have a brief word with Ron and-" she stopped and took a deep breath. She was making a fool of herself and she knew it. "Quit babbling!" her brain screamed. She gulped. "Well, goodbye." She turned around and was about to make her way back towards the house, when-

"Ginny."

She stopped. "Yes?" she squeaked, turning back at him once again.

Draco stared at her, unable to say anything. Why did he call her anyway? He blinked his eyes rapidly and swore at himself mentally. He was well aware that she was waiting and- Damn! He had never felt this with other women before!

"Please don´t go," he blurted out without thinking.

Ginny stared at him, her eyes wide.

At that, Draco took a deep breath. He walked towards and took her shoulders by his hands, his head shaking from side to side. "I don´t want you to go, Ginny," he said softly. "I don´t know why- I just-"

Ginny shook her head. "Draco, I-"

"Ginny look," he cut in gently. He knew he was babbling but he didn´t care! He had to tell her everything! "I don´t know anything anymore. I´m not exactly sure of what to say to you. I don´t know what you- feel for me but," he stopped and let his eyes graze over her face.

Ginny blushed furiously upon noting the look he gave her. Her pulse quickened, her breathing rapid...

"All I know is," he paused and swallowed hard, not sure of whether to go on with it or not. He took a deep, nervous breath. "I can´t do it!" he said to himself. He was about to shake his head and walk away when he heard a tiny but strong voice coming from the back of his head.

"Say what you feel, you moron!"

his brains hissed furiously. "It´s about time you stop being a fucking wussy, Malfoy!"

"But I-"

"Don´t you dare let her walk away from you again because if she does, then this time around, I assure you it would be forever, Draco,"

it reminded him willfully. "This is your only chance!"

His face softened. "Right." He swallowed hard and opened his mouth. "All I know is-- when I look at you, I-- I feel stronger and weaker at the same time. I feel so excited but also terrified. I feel happy but scared, scared about something that I've never felt with someone before. It´s like you´ve done or- or practically reached for the unreachable and you aren´t all ready for it and I never felt so damn terrified all my life! I just -"

Ginny´s eyes widened with disbelief, her lower lip immediately trembled as her heart gave a sudden leap with the words. She felt her eyes already moistening with tears. Was she hearing right? This wasn't a dream, wasn't it?

Draco heaved, all the burning emotions he had kept deep inside of him, pouring out uncontrollably, the words coming out strongly. He was speaking not through his mouth but through his heart. He was saying things from his soul and not from his mind. It was amazing and terrifying at the same time, plunging into something he wasn't entirely sure of, risking everything he had, everything he felt... He never risked anything in his whole damn twenty-two years of existence. He was always sure, so certain about everything!

Until now.

"When you- when you smile or-- or laugh or just simply stare at me with your brown eyes, I knew-- I knew, at that moment, that I wanted to be somebody else," he paused, breathing deeply. "I want to be better man," he stopped and stared at her, locking her eyes with his. "That is the only thing that I feel for you, Ginny."

Ginny let out a bittersweet smile. "That is the most beautiful thing I´ve heard," she whispered.

Draco shook his head. "Not as beautiful as you." And with that, not sure of what to say anymore, he pulled the shocked Ginny to him, enclosing her in his embrace only to feel her body stiffening with surprise. He heard her soft gasp. He felt her eyes blinked, her long eyelashes brushing the skin of his neck gently. "I don´t want to lose you," he whispered in her ear, his voice heavy with intense longing and burning passion that shook Ginny completely, body and soul.

At that, Ginny closed her eyes and felt herself bursting into tears. She buried her face against his chest, her heart shouting out unspoken happiness, her chest constricting with delicious pain. Her body softened as she felt herself giving into his strong but warm touch. She raised her arms and tightened them around him.

"I need you, Ginny."

She slowly lifted her face from his chest and stared at him, her arms not leaving his neck. She just-- stared. "Why?" she finally asked softly.

Draco let his eyes travel momentarily around her face before whispering intensely.

"Because I love you."

At that, Ginny's lower lip began to tremble as another set of fresh tears fell from her eyes. She slowly detached herself from his embrace only to look up at him fixedly, searchingly, not saying anything. He knew she was prying inside him, reading his soul and he stared back at her, wordlessly letting her in and baring his naked soul in front of her.

She noticed nothing but sweet silence. But then, in that silence, the unusual sparkle of his eyes conveyed all the truthfulness of the words he had just uttered, so sure, without a mixture of doubt or fear or falsity in them. He was not shutting her out anymore like he used to back then. What he said a while ago was no match for what she was seeing in his eyes right now... It was a look that told her forever... she smiled, having no second thoughts.

"I love you too, Draco."

Hearing that, Draco smiled and immediately pulled her to him. Ginny laughed softly through her tears but then the laughter stopped when she felt his soft lips landing on hers. She sighed when she felt his hands going on about her waist, pulling her closer, demanding more. Ginny responded with the same feeling of urgency and hunger. She gasped as the familiar white hot blade of pleasure sliced within her. She eagerly opened her lips when she felt his tongue pushing through, seeking conquest just like he used to. But then, that's where the similarities end...

It was a different kiss. It was a kiss that shouted out several things, happy things mostly. He was not just kissing her, he was pouring out everything, every feeling, every emotion, every ounce of his being into her. It was beyond lust. It was beyond love. It was something deeper, more intense that she was so sure that her chest would go bursting out with unexplained happiness. There was a luscious but fervent ache inside her that was begging to be filled, to be satisfied. She tightened her arms around him, pressing herself closer to his, moving her lips rapidly to keep up with his hunger, wanting to taste every drop of his passion, a perfect match for her own. How could something as simple as this could make her weak and trembling? How could something as gentle and as tender as this could also be intense and extreme at the same time?

She tightened her arms around his neck, giving her everything to him just as he was giving his everything to her. She smiled when Draco groaned out his pleasure. Just then, she remembered something. Ever so gently, she broke the kiss, her lips parting from his deliciously, her knees buckling. Heavens above! She was already turning into a human jelly!

"Why-- why did you kiss me five years ago?" she asked suddenly, her arms not leaving his neck. Her voice was coming out in a gasp as she leaned on his shoulders for support. She looked at him, her eyes half-lidded.

Draco frowned. "When I caught you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ginny nodded. "Yes."

He frowned wonderingly. "Well," he looked away thoughtfully. Then he grinned sheepishly at her. "To tell you honestly, I don´t know," he shrugged, "that seemed to be the only good thing to do at that time, actually."

At that, Ginny frowned at him and lightly punched his chest with her little fist. Draco laughed as he snatched her hand in his. "Hey, I´m only joking!" he exclaimed, chuckling. Then his face turned serious. "You looked beautiful at that time and I just had to kiss you. I can´t explain it, to tell you honestly." Then he planted a kiss on her nose. "That kiss changed my life, you know," he whispered tenderly. He was about to bring his lips on hers once again, when Ginny placed her hands on his chest, stopping him.

"That´s not all," she said, shaking her head.

"Aw, Ginny come on!" Draco lamented.

"One more question or you don´t get to kiss me," she said stubbornly.

Draco rolled his eyes but nevertheless nodded in agreement. Ginny smiled with satisfaction. "What were you doing in Knockturn Alley?" she asked shrewdly. "I saw you going in and out of there, Draco."

"You thought the potion was mine?" Draco asked, slightly hurt.

"I´m sorry but could you blame me?"

At that, Draco let out a resigned sigh. "I was planning to sell all the Dark Artifacts my father had accumulated. I was actually talking with Mr. Borgin about the prices when I suddenly thought that it would be better to just surrender everything to the Ministry of Magic for further study and investigation," he replied tiredly. He smirked. "Happy now?"

Ginny nodded finally. Draco smiled and was about to bring his lips onto hers again when she suddenly stopped him again. "One more thing," she said abruptly.

"Ginny!" Draco frowned. Then his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you teasing me?" he asked, his voice rich with unmistakable want. "Because if you are, you´ll be sorry for that later on, you know."

Hearing the tone of Draco´s voice sent electric sparks up and down her spine. She immediately felt her face burning up as something hot and scorching ignited inside her simultaneously blending with the warm and tender feelings that swelled up inside her chest. She tried her best to smile. "I´m not teasing you," she said, her voice getting softer by the minute. "Dad."

"Good, but I´ll make you pay later on, anyway," he drawled arrogantly and was about to kiss her again when this time, he stopped. He looked at her only to see her grinning at him. He frowned. "What did you say?" he asked.

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Did I say anything?" she asked airily.

"No, no, you said something!" Draco said quickly. "You said `dad,´ didn´t you?"

"Maybe," replied Ginny deliberately. Then upon seeing Draco´s incredulous face, she laughed. "Okay, maybe I did say something." She raised her eyebrows and looked away. "Maybe I did say the D-word," she hushed on enigmatically, her eyes widening in mock wonder.

At that, Draco´s eyes widened, his mouth dropping. "Are you really?" he asked eagerly. "Really? You´re not kidding me?"

"No!" Ginny answered. Then she smiled tenderly. After confirming everything with the Wizard Medic and checking herself in the bathroom with one of Hermione´s hefty supply of pregnancy tests a while ago, she was now certain about it. "We´re going to have a baby, Draco."

At that, Draco gave a whoop of joy. He laughed out loud, lifted her in his arms and kissed her hastily. Ginny laughed as well, her arms tightening around his neck even more. Just then, he stopped and gently let her down. He stared at her, his eyes full of silent amazement.

"A baby?" he gushed at her, his eyes misty. "I´m a father?" he asked no one in particular, his face alight with wonderment and awe. "I´m a father?" An indescribable feeling of happiness immediately soared inside him at the thought of his own flesh and blood growing inside of the woman he loved so much. He turned to her. "I´m going to be a father," he whispered, his voice rich with astonishment.

Ginny smiled and nodded. "Yes, Draco," she replied, bringing her hand to caress his cheek, "you´re going to be father."

At that, Draco shook his head slowly. He gently held her face with his hands. "How could you make me so happy after all the things I´ve done to you?" he asked breathlessly.

Ginny smiled radiantly. "You deserve it," she replied simply and before Draco could utter another word, she immediately brought her lips to his, shushing him up with a kiss full of blissful promises of a happy life together.

End of Part XIV