The Otherwhere

Encounters

"I'm hungry." Draco's tone was more than angry.

"And you think I'm not?" Ginny answered coldly. "Unfortunately, there is no room service!"

After the dragons had vanished, they had continued to follow the path. They had almost reached the canyon's end, a fact which didn't made them any happier. Draco had been nastier than ever, and Ginny had forgotten her intention to ignore him, so they had begun to argue again.

"This is all your fault!" he began again.

"I wasn't the one with the Raja-thing in my pocket!" she answered heatedly. "This is getting old, Malfoy!"

"If you hadn't stopped me, Potter would have disappeared, and not me!" His voice clearly said that he wouldn't have cared one bit about Harry's fate.

"You egoistic bastard! I would rather sit here with you than to let you hurt Harry! He is important for the Wizarding world - you are nothing!"

That hit a sore spot, and she heard him grinding his teeth.

"Saint Potter!" he scoffed, ignoring her last words. "Who doesn't even throw you a second glance. Ha! Come to think of it, he doesn't even look at you in the first place! And despite that, you defend him. Maybe you're holding onto the hope that you will get laid because he is grateful? Whatever the reason, it's sure as hell not because he finds you attractive!"

Smack.

Ginny slapped him in the face with lightning fast speed. He didn't hesitate a second before striking back. Because of his anger, he aimed too low and hit her shoulder. Ginny tripped and sat down hard on the ground.

"You earned that ...."

Ginny jumped up, kicked and landed a direct hit to his groin. Any bellicosity left the Slytherin, and this time, it was his turn to fall on his arse.

"You - will - pay!" He managed to get out. "Damn, that hurts!"

"And you earned that!" Ginny was red from anger and cradled her hurt shoulder. "Let me tell you one thing, Malfoy, go on with your behaviour, and you can walk alone through this nice countryside! I'm sick of your comments about me! It's your choice, do you think you'll be faster without me?"

"I do!" he yelled. "You're a pain in the ass, nothing more!"

"Fine!!" Ginny stomped away without looking back.

Draco didn't follow. He simply wasn't able to.

***

Ginny had reached the end of the canyon. She was surprised. They had both thought that the mountains would continue, they had been so huge. Instead, a wide, green valley opened up, peaceful and inviting.

This world was changing its surroundings astonishingly fast. She had even discovered a fountain. But another thing that caught her attention: Animals, very similar to the ones on Earth, but yet a little different here and there. A full herd of creatures looking like deers was standing around a small lake which had been the result of the fountain. When they noticed Ginny, the whole troop flew in a southern direction - or what Ginny believed was South.

Ginny couldn't remember a time she had been this hungry, but she knew she could not kill an animal. And as it turned out, she didn't have to.

Continuing to walk through the knee-high grass - it was glowing purple-red - she noticed a group of trees where animals had left their prints under.

The trees were almost three metres high, and in the middle they had something resembling fruit. But what if they were poisonous? Then again, it was the same with the water - did she have a choice?

Ginny climbed up a tree. It was more difficult than she had thought. Many branches looked robust, but they were bending under her weight dangerously. Very soon, she was high enough to have quite a view of the valley. Stone walls were surrounding it, and she suspected that mountains followed after the valley.

Ginny had reached her destination and started to gather the fruit from their thin branches. With a great satisfaction, she thought of Malfoy.

Hopefully his balls fall off!

Her way down was much faster than the way up - unwittingly. Rather inelegantly, she fell down the last meter as one of the branches broke away.

"Ouch. I was so close to liking it here," she muttered, and stood up.

She examined her goods. She didn't have a choice but hoped anyway that the fruit would taste good, at least. Ginny bit in one of the them and was pleased. Something positive! It tasted a bit like an orange, rather sweet, but the sugar calmed down her nerves effectively.

She ripped her cloak and wrapped the rest in it. Maybe it would be cold again tonight, but she needed the food.

The most important thing now was to find a destination. She believed Malfoy and what he had told her about the Rajahin, but she wasn't willing to give up and surrender yet. There had to be a way to get home.

"Okay, Weasley," she told herself loudly. "Point one, it's nice here, but there aren't any humans who can help you. Point two, as a result from point one, you have to find somebody so that you can ask for help. And point three --- well, you'll just have to think about that."

Involuntary, she looked back to the entry of the canyon. Malfoy wasn't anywhere to be seen. Ginny suddenly had nagging pricks of conscience, as stupid as it sounded. Horrible as he was, wasn't it better to stay together?

Come on, Ginny! It isn't like you tried to get along with him! If he wants to be an asshole, let him!

Surely, he would take it as a victory for himself if she came back for him. That was enough for her to make her decision, and she left the valley - in the opposite direction.

***

Draco sat at the same place where Weasley had left him, still and trying not to move. If she was standing in front of him now, he would have killed her. He was still struggling to come to terms with the fact that she had simply left him.

He tried to forget that he had provoked her first. Despite all his arrogance and disrespect, he wasn't by any means as self-confident as most people thought. He knew all too well that it was his fault alone for driving Ginny away, and that thought made him even angrier.

However, this anger wasn't aimed at Weasley alone. No, it was also aimed at Lucius. His father must have calculated the risk of failure as he planned the opening of the Otherwhere. The realization that he, Draco, had been nothing more than a pawn whose loss was bearable ... that hurt. That hurt even more than Scrawny's hit.

With clenched teeth, he got up and limped in the direction where the canyon ended. Alone, they didn't stand a chance against this world, so he had to find Weasley. Aside from that, he knew a small detail she hadn't a clue about : if they were able to open the Otherwhere again - a possibility he knew was very rare - they had to enter the portal together. Otherwise, it would mean death for both of them.

***

Ginny had left the valley and was once again surrounded by mountains. The sun started to sink, and the wind became chilly as it blew against her cheeks.

Just as she was deciding where she should stay for the night, she suddenly heard loud noises getting closer by the second. She ducked behind the nearest rock and waited stiffly. Then her head shot up. Was that voices?

"Milady, I dare say, the armies have stopped."

This was the first sentence she was able to understand.

"Oh, really?" a taunting, female voice answered. It sounded like an old lady, but powerful and full of self-confidence.

Ginny carefully peered over the rock.

Some riders had appeared between the stones. Their mounts looked like horses, only they had scales and instead of hooves, big, dangerous-looking paws that touched the ground without a noise. All riders wore dark cloaks, and their faces were hidden behind their hoods.

"Sirrah, I know that our forces came to their ends," the same voice came again. The first rider pushed her hood back and revealed the face of a very old woman, her white hair wound in a tight knot. She had a strong aura of competence and authority and as Ginny watched, all of the others bowed slightly.

The piece of stone Ginny had been clinging to suddenly came loose and tumbled to the ground. She froze, her body stiff as she awaited her fate.

"What was that?" another rider hissed. Swords were unsheathed, and three of them moved to the place where Ginny was hiding. She hastily tried to get away, but it was too late. A strong arm took her hair and pulled her into the open.

"Stop!" the old woman said sharply and motioned her 'horse' to get closer to Ginny. Light blue eyes examined her intently. "Get off her. What are you doing here, girl?"

Ginny swallowed heavily. She was still surrounded by three figures, each one taller than her by at least three heads, all holding up a sharp sword.

"I ... I got lost?" That sounded weak, even to her own ears.

"Lost!" The figure to her left snorted derisively. "The next colony is more than 200 miles away. You are lying, little one!"

His voice was strangely choked. He pushed his hood back too, and Ginny bit her lip as not to let out a startled cry. A heavily scarred face stared at hers. There were countless scars, and one eye-socket was empty, the other one ruled by an inflexible yellow eye. A large part of his cheek was missing, and white bone was visible.

He bent down so that they were eye level, and she had to suppress the urge to retch when decayed breath hit her.

"Milady", he said, without taking his eyes off Ginny. "This had to be a trap. Tanadryl isn't even hesitating to abduct small Farah-girls and use them as a bait."

"Is that so." The voice of the old lady was thoughtful, with a hint of something Ginny wasn't able to identify. "Come near me, girl. Is Sirrah right? Does Tanadryl send you?"

A hand pushed the small Gryffindor in her direction.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she answered sullenly. "I don't even come from here, I come from ... forget it, you won't believe me."

"Who knows?" The old woman smiled. "It's worth a try, right?"

Something in her appearance made Ginny frown. She knew that face, but wasn't able to put a finger on it.

Before she had the chance to answer, a soft noise from tapping paws came from the left, and six more riders reached the plateau.

"We found something, Milady", the leader said, whose mount was pitch-black and looked very dangerous. He gave a sharp nod to another rider, and something fell inelegantly in front of Ginny's feet. It was Draco.

The Slytherin shot immediately to his feet and stood. His eyes flashed in the direction of the old woman.

"What's this about?" he demanded to know. "Why have you captured me? Who the hell are you?"

The wandering corpse that had made Ginny so uncomfortable straightened to his full height. The others stiffened.

"Who the hell I am?" Now the old woman was laughing. She was the only one who wasn't shocked by Draco's expression. Then she turned to the giant. "We take them with us. I am curious about their story. Can you ride?"

"Uh - no," Ginny said hesitantly, while Malfoy only shook his head impatiently.

"Doesn't matter, you will be able to hold tight, won't you? Sirrah, a Calinor for the both of them."

"Milady?"

"You heard me. That's an order."

"Yes, Milady."

***

The horse-like creatures - Calinors, as the old woman had called them - were astonishingly comfortable. Less pleasant for Ginny though, since she had to sit behind Malfoy, and, on top of that, had to wound her arms around his chest so as not to lose her balance. Draco himself just starred grimly between the ears of the giant mount and said nothing.

"Where did they catch you?" Ginny asked quietly after some time. Under them, the desert began to darken because the night had come. But each Calinor had some sort of light, which glowed from saddle and bridle. They moved in what seemed like triple the speed of a normal horse.

"Shortly after the canyon," he answered, just as Ginny had finally given up on waiting for him to speak.

"That ... that creature ... he looked dead."

"They all look dead."

"Except the old woman. She's human."

"I know her face."

Ginny blinked, surprised.

"You, too? I'm sure I've seen that face before. But I can't remember where!"

She was silent a moment.

"I know I will regret this, but ... I'm sorry. I mean, because of what I did this morning. You earned that kick, that much is for sure, but I shouldn't have left you there."

She anticipated a derisive answer. Instead, he said something so unexpected that she nearly loosened her grip around his chest.

"No, it's me who has to apologize," he snarled almost inaudibly.

"You - what?!"

"Scraw - Ginny. If we ever go home again, I will kill you with my own two hands if you tell anybody about this conversation, understood?"

She nodded slowly into his back and waited.

"You're more correct than you can imagine. We need to stay together. The portal will only send us back if we go through together. Otherwise, we will die. Don't ask me why, that's simply a fact - even if we don't really know if it will sends us back to our own world."

"Why do you know so much about all of this?"

"You want to guess, Scrawny?" He snorted.

Ginny was - of course - able to imagine, and changed the topic.

"What do you think they're going to do with us?"

"Do I look like Trelawney?"

"Can I only get one reasonable answer out of you?"

"If you are able to recollect, I don't know this wonderful piece of planet either!!"

Once again, they were ready to fight. Neither Draco nor Ginny noticed that the Calinor had slowed down.

An enormous snarling sound startled them out of their growing argument.

"Oh heavens, there it is again!" Ginny paled.

"You have met a Gramièr before?" one of the creatures near them asked. "And you still live?" It was taunting, but still a little bit respectful.

Everyone had unsheathed their swords and was ready for an attack.

"A what?" Ginny and Draco said at the same time.

"Unimportant," another one cut in. "Seems to be three of them. They're coming in our direction."

"More and more each day," a third one muttered.

The old woman sighed.

"Tanadryl wants to make sure that nobody lingers around the mountains. Because of this, he breeds more and more of them, Cray."

"What is a Gramièr?" Draco repeated.

"That."

In the thin light of the moon and Calinor saddles three mammoth figures appeared. They looked like cat of prey.

Shivering, Ginny noticed their tusks, almost half a metre long. They reminded Ginny of saber-tooth tigers, but the fur was like a wolf's, shaggy, felted and grey.

The cats snarled and attacked.

The old woman gave a single battle cry, and one of the Gramièrs fell down. An arrow was sticking in its neck. Snarling and salivating, it tried to pull the arrow out with its paws. The other two just continued to attack.

A blow with a sword, and the next one fell to the ground. The third proved that it possessed intelligence and stopped. Its silvery eyes were wandering over the group and lingering on Draco and Ginny. It hissed hoarsely - it really sounded like a cat - and the hiss was curious, though it was strange that it was possible to impress that in animal language. Then it turned quickly and disappeared into the darkness.

The old woman rode over to the first beast its neck still embedded with an arrow. With a strong, powerful movement, she stuck her own sword into its body, and it stopped moving.

"These beasts were near us?" Ginny was ghostly pale. "We would have been dinner if they had found us."

"Just a snack," Draco said dryly. "You don't have enough flesh on your bones, Scrawny."

Ginny whacked him in the back.

"Go on!" the old woman ordered. "Tanadryl will know soon that we've been here, and with people who don't belong in this world, I might add."

The Calinors started moving again.

It was a little while before Draco realized what the old woman had said.

"What? How do you know ....." Ginny had realized it second later, too.

"Later. We need to reach safe ground."

With an almost impossible speed, the Calinors took off.

Ginny was clinging desperately onto Draco's back so as not to fall down. The Slytherin muttered something under his breath, but didn't protest.

It seemed like hours before a light began to penetrate the darkness in front of them. The troop was moving in the direction of a fortress, which was bigger than Hogwarts. A lot of people were on the streets, despite the late hour. Ginny saw soldiers and normal passers-by. Humans were the dominant population, but a great number of the weird figures were also among them.

"So much for wondering if there are other humans in this world," Ginny said tiredly. She yawned, despite her tension. It had been a hard day, and she was feeling the long ride in every muscle.

When the troop went by, the majority stood still and greeted the old woman who nodded back.

"I'm more interested in what they will do to us." Draco wasn't able to hide the suspicion in his voice.

Finally, they stopped at the inner courtyard. The grim undead who had spoken to Ginny ordered them to dismount. Ginny almost toppled to the floor, her legs hurt that much. Draco seemed to be unaffected as he dismounted elegantly. Only somebody who knew him very well would have seen that he was as tired and stiff as Ginny.

However, the piercing blue eyes of the old woman were sharp enough.

"I don't think it's a good idea if you stay awake until I am able to hear you out," she stated. "My soldiers and I, we have an important meeting right now, and it will last hours. I will tell you more tomorrow. It's late, and you're tired. Follow Cray, he will show you your room."

"How do we know that we can trust you?" Draco was still highly suspicious.

The half destroyed faces of the undead turned in his direction.

"How dare you ...." one of them hissed, but the woman held up a hand, and he silenced, still throwing threatening glances in Draco's direction.

"You don't know. You will just have to trust me."

With that, she turned and disappeared up the bright staircase, and the rest followed her.

The one called Cray had stayed and waved impatiently for them to come with him.

"There!" he said harshly, after they had followed him through many corridors and up several flights of stairs. Again they were reminded of Hogwarts, the complexity of the staircases easily confusing them both.

Cray opened a door and pushed them inside with brutal force.

"You will be wakened tomorrow morning. I don't advise you to prowl around alone - for strangers, it could be very dangerous." The meaning was clear enough.

"Wait a second," said Draco. "I won't share a room with her!"

"Tough luck, you must." Without another word, Cray disappeared and slammed the door shut.

Ginny rolled her eyes and took a look around. The room was small, and the only furniture was a bed and two fragile-looking chairs with an equally fragile-looking table. That was all.

Draco kicked the door angrily.

"We don't even have anything to eat!"

Ginny didn't get a chance to tell him she still had some of the fruit in her pockets before he continued.

"I don't care what you do, I'm getting the bed!"

"Dream on!! Why you and not me?!"

"Because I'm faster."

He hustled Ginny aside, sat down on the bed and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"If you think that I'm going to sleep on the floor while you are lurking in a bed which is big enough to host two people, you're wrong, Malfoy!"

"Try and get me off."

He shouldn't have said this. With a power he would never have suspected from the small Gryffindor, she grabbed his arm and tried to pull him off the bed. He seized her other hand and twisted her arm. Growing up with six older brothers, Ginny was able to throw him off in seconds. Then he pulled her hair hard, and tears of pain threatened to escape her eyes. She had to give up.

"Suits you, you coward!" she panted.

"Being a coward, I won," he answered sneering.

"Wait and see, Malfoy, just wait and see."

It irked Ginny, but she knew she wouldn't be able to get him physically. So she had to trick him - but how? Suddenly, she grinned and turned around so that he could only see her back.

Ginny took one of the fruits from her pocket, bit into it and started to chew audibly.

"What is that?" he asked promptly.

"Nothing," she answered, taking another mouthful.

"You ... you bitch! The whole time I'm suffering, you didn't tell me a single word that you had something to eat?!"

"Looks like it." Now it was her turn to sound triumphant. She sensed his angry look at her back. "I would give you something, if you perhaps...."

"That's blackmail!!"

Ginny burst out laughing at his scandalized tone.

"What are you laughing about??"

"Those words coming out of your mouth, Malfoy, gives me every right to laugh. Okay, you have sixty seconds to make a decision."

He hissed furiously.

"So?"

"You won." That came through gritted teeth.

Ginny grinned again and turned around.

Draco's eyes were blazing as he stood up and went over to one of the chairs. But the hunger was far more important than his need for a comfortable sleep.

"Look, that wasn't so hard, now was it?"

"Careful, Weasley," he said quietly, acid dripping from his words. "If I were you, I would be very careful with your next words."

"Would I? Catch!"

Ginny threw him one of the fruits, and he caught it with ease.

"Only one?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and unwrapped the rest.

"And we can really eat them?"

"I'm alive aren't I?" she answered snappish and laid down on the bed.

Ginny stared at the ceiling while he munched on the fruit. What had possibly happened at home after they had disappeared? He parents would be mad of worry. Did they even know what had happened? Would Dumbledore and Snape be able to find out where they had gone?

What if they really never returned home again?

She turned abruptly so Malfoy couldn't see her cry.