Dreams of Fire

Chapter 5-Fire and Ice

When Ginny awoke the next morning, she was puzzled to find herself still fully dressed, lying on top of the bedclothes. She jumped up, remembering it was a Hogsmeade day, and then remembered the events of the day before. For once, her dreams had been normal. Well, if normal includes being eaten be a giant dragon while Charlie stood firing stunning spells at it! But anyway, what remains is that, at least for the time being, the dreams had stopped. Ginny felt a strange sense of loss, but then picked up her things and ran for the shower, before all the other girls woke up. She didn’t want to share Draco just yet…

Meanwhile, Draco had woken up in his bed, with the scent of Ginny still around him. He lay back on his luxurious pillows, remembering the day before and smiling. There was a knock on the door, and before Draco could protest Professor Snape walked into the room. ‘Ah, Mr. Malfoy. I thought you would still be here. I am on my way to the Great Hall, and thought that I would check whether you will be accompanying us to Hogsmeade today?’

‘Erm, Professor, I think that I might give it a miss today. Crabbe and Goyle are going though.’

‘Yes, yes, I know that. As I was saying I was simply checking. I will come and see you when I return.’ Snape walked to the door and pulled it open. Then turned around to face Draco again. Draco looked alarmed. ‘Was…was there something else Professor?’

‘Yes, there was. Be careful Mr. Malfoy. You are playing with fire.’ With that final remark, he swept out of the room, leaving Draco looking stunned.

By this time, Ginny was in the Great Hall with everyone else for breakfast. Ron sat opposite her, looking as if his toast had just turned into a giant wasp in his mouth. Harry was next to Ron, trying to concentrate on his breakfast and cheering Ron up. Hermione was next to Ginny, keeping the conversation light. ‘ So Gin’ you coming to Hogsmeade?’

‘No, there’s nothing I need to get, so I thought that I’d catch up on some work.’ Hermione nodded with approval and Ron blurted out, ‘What, catching up on yesterdays lessons? You’d think that he’d realise how important your education is. You won’t get through Hogwarts by bluffing your way through lessons and homework you know.’ At this point Hermione grinned and tried to stop herself from laughing out loud. ‘Excuse me for one moment,’ she muttered and ran out of the hall, trying to suppress the grin. Ginny followed her, with a final glare at Ron.

As soon as she was sure that everyone had gone to Hogsmeade, Ginny ran to the entrance to the Slytherin common room. Draco met her outside, and muttered the password, allowing Ginny in after he’d checked that the room was empty. They went up to his room again, and Ginny started to tell him about Ron. ‘Forget it. He’s just being stupid. Plus, you’re his little sister, he’s bound to feel protective towards you.’ Ginny smiled at him and leant over and kissed him. ‘I didn’t dream about you last night.’ Draco looked puzzled.

‘Aren’t you supposed to say that you dreamed about me last night, then I ask what it was, and you tell me this hot and steamy dream and I realise that I had the same one?’

‘No, I didn’t dream about you. Sorry.’

‘Well, I dreamed about you. You were being eaten by a dragon.’

‘What!?’

‘Ok, so it’s not your usual dream, but there was a tall red haired guy there as well, and he was trying to save you. In case you wanted to know, it didn’t work and the dragon ate you. Hungarian Horntail I think.’

‘OK, so I didn’t know you were there. I had that dream as well, but I didn’t see you.’

‘Don’t worry darling, you were probably concentrating on not being eaten,’ Draco said. At this, Ginny lightly hit him on the shoulder. ‘Hey! What was that for?’

‘How come you left all the saving to Charlie?’

‘Charlie?’

‘The tall redheaded guy, my brother.’

‘Oh, sorry… I didn’t fancy fighting a dragon though… would you?’

‘S’pose not.’ Draco kissed her and she lay in his arms. For a while, the room was silent and all that could be heard was them breathing as Ginny rested her head on his chest.

Later that day, they went down to the Great Hall for dinner, separately, of course. Ginny was sitting with Hermione at one end of the table, telling her about the dreams that she and Draco had been having. Hermione looked worried. ‘The exact same dreams? And when you thought that it had stopped, it just turned out that you couldn’t see him? This is weird Ginny.’ She looked thoughtful for a moment, and then something hit her, and she dashed out of the hall, calling to Ginny behind her ‘ Library, thought of something.’ Ginny watched her go in amazement. As Ginny watched Hermione run out of the hall, Harry came up to her. ‘Ginny, can I have a word with you?’

‘Err, sure, why not.’ They both walked out of the hall together. When they got to the entrance hall, Harry stopped. ‘Why are you doing this Gin’?’

‘Doing what?’

‘This, Draco, you know’

‘Well, I like him.’

‘Really?’

‘Really really.’

‘So this is nothing to do with attention or me?’

‘You! Why the hell would it be anything to do with you?’

‘Well, you know, I know, you like me.’

‘Harry, I liked you, LIKED you, not like, past tense.’

‘Well, if you’re sure, cos Ginny, I do like you, you know.’

‘Yeah right, you like me so much that you drool at the Ravenclaw table.’

‘Whatever Ginny, but I do. And if it wasn’t for this whole Draco mess…’

‘What are you trying to say?’

‘All I’m trying to say is, will you be my date for the Yule Ball?’

‘No.’ With that Ginny walked away to the common room, where she found Ron sitting next to the fire. ‘Did you put him up to this?’ she yelled at him

‘Put who up to what? Draco? No.’

‘Not Draco, Harry.’

‘Put Harry up to what exactly?’

‘Up to asking me out.’

‘Harry asked you out? Wow…’

‘So you didn’t… oh dear, you mean that was all true… oh God…’

‘Ginny, what have you done?’

‘He asked me to the Yule Ball, and…and I thought that you had put him up to it, so I turned him down flat.’

‘Flat, how flat is flat?’

‘Just… well… No.’

‘Oh, Gin...’

‘I didn’t know he was for real, and this is all a big big mess and I don’t know what to do, COs you hate me, and Harry hates me, and Hermione’s worried and Snape… I don’t want to go into Snape and nothing is going right and nothing is fair… nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing…’ Ron jumped up and hugged her, so her head was muffled against his chest. ‘Nothing…’

‘ Listen Gin’, I don’t hate you. I just want you to make sure you know what you’re doing, and I’m not sure you do.’ She pulled away from him and looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears. ‘ I like him, and I just want to see if this is going to go anywhere.’

‘OK then, that’s all I wanted to know.’

‘Thanks Ron,’ she muttered as she walked upstairs to her dormitory. She had just fallen into bed when Hermione came rushing in. ‘Ginny I’ve found it! I know what’s going on!’