Awakening to See...

...A Memory of What Has Passed

'When one door closes another opens. But we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we fail to see the one that has opened for us.' -Alexander Graham Bell

***

Instruction: For rememberance from Virginia Weasley in the future, take out Tape 2 and insert Tape 1 on Side A. Rewind until sixth year, December 31st at 11pm. Then press play.

*

An older and more mature voice of Ginny Weasley began to speak on the tape recorder. There was no one in the room though, but there was that tape recorder sitting on the table in the middle of the room. The voice began recounting to the silence what had happened on New Year's Eve back in her sixth year.

"The Great Hall was decked out with streamers falling from the ceiling to the floor in an endless stream and the tables had disappeared, allowing for small, round tables to be spread about the room. Wizarding music was playing, magically amplified so that everyone could hear it from here to the Tranfiguration office. Students filled every corner of the room, talking to their friends in huddled groups, some eating from the candy set out on the long-table at the front of the room, some dancing to the music, some wandering aimlessly around, yawning.

"My friend, Christine, and I were dancing to Celestine Warbeck's song 'Night of Nights'. I hadn't seen Ron or Hermione all night, and Harry was sitting at a table talking to Seamus and Dean, most likely about Quidditch. New Year's Eve parties were only for the fifth, sixth, and seventh years, so there weren't any younger kids in sight except for those select few who had snuck in. Many students were on the dancefloor, dancing to this song. Christine and I danced for a couple more songs after that until I broke away to head for the food. They had a couple of cases of Butterbeers from the Three Broomsticks and I was anxious to have one before they ran out.

"When I got to the table, Draco Malfoy was already there, filling a plate with Exploding Potato Chips in barbecue flavour. He took no notice of me, but I could swear that I saw him look at me for a second before going back to filling his plate. I looked around the table for a Butterbeer but they were nowhere in sight. I grumbled and began to walk up and down the long-table looking for another case of Butterbeer. When I had gotten back to my original spot, I noticed Draco was looking at me finally, and he looked as if I had lost my mind.

"'What are you looking at?' I asked, more irritably than I would have liked.

"'Oh, nothing at all,' he said, looking back towards his plate. 'Just wondering what Potter's little follower is doing here when he's over...somewhere.'

"Not satisfied with that answer, I pressed on, walking over to him. 'No, tell me. What is it that you find so fascinating about me?' My voice had taken a hard edge for I could not stand Draco ever since I started school.

"Now, he answered. 'I was just wondering what has gotten you off your bat, Weasel,' he said with a sneer. 'You looked like a mindless corpse wondering where your mummy was.'

"'Oh, is that true?' I asked, my temper rising within me. It was an awful thing, that temper. When provoked, my temper had the knack to turn everyone away from me, but since this was Draco Malfoy, I frankly didn't care. 'I heard that in the last vampire attack when the lights had shut off, you had run around the school, screaming like a baby.'

"For some reason, he snorted. 'You know, you are really petty to be listening to rumors. Even a dog wouldn't listen to those kinds of things. But I suppose you would find a liking for them, as they are your only friends.'

"'How dare you!' I hissed. In the meantime, my mind kept saying 'Get OUT of here!' while my temper kept rising. I ignored both warning signals and went on. 'I do so have friends, but at least they have more of a mind than those two lackeys of yours. Crabbe and Goyle couldn't add two and two together even if it counted on their lives.'

"'Don't insult those two. That's my job.' He looked away to where the tables were and then back again so quickly that I didn't know where he looked. He snorted when he returned his gaze to me and said, 'In the meantime, that girl over there is what you call a friend?' He pointed to where Christine was sitting, chatting easily with Harry as if they had been best friends for years. I do have to admit, I still had a crush on Harry, even at that time, and it irked me to see my best friend over there, chatting more easily than I ever could. I kept my eyes on that table and could feel Draco watching me, his eyes taking in the pain he had just caused.

"'See that, little Weasley? He doesn't like you. He only thinks of you as Weasel's little sister, nothing more.' He gave a short laugh. 'I wonder if he even notices you at all.'

"At that point, my temper took control of me. 'That is it,' I said, annoyed, and whirled around to smack Draco before I could stop myself. My mouth dropped open in shock and I looked down at my reddening hand. Then, I looked at Draco's reddening cheek. He was looking at me in a mixture of anger, amusement, and shock.

"I was only dimly aware that the lights were dimming, throwing us into complete shadow along with the rest of the room, and that mistletoe popped into the air above us. The tradition at these parties was when the clock struck midnight, pairs underneath mistletoe had to kiss. What was even more ironic was that somehow a branch of mistletoe had found itself hanging over Draco and I.

"When I finally did notice it hanging there, the countdown from ten had already begun. I realised in shock that I was supposed to kiss this worm, so I started to back away. But Draco noticed and smirked, saying 'You're not going anywhere.' He grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to stand right in front of him, our bodies mere centimetres apart. Three...two...one...

"'Happy New Year!' The cheer came up fast and loud before every pair in the room began to kiss. I found myself tilting my head up to meet Draco's lips and him bending down to meet mine. The kiss was heated, as if we were both venting our troubles in it. I had kissed boys before, but never like this. It became rough a little, and he pulled me closer to him and I wrapped my arms around his neck. Then, it became slow, methodic. My fingers were in his hair and his were massaging my back down to my bottom. We kept kissing until the music suddenly blasted through the silent air around us. Draco sucked on my bottom lip one last time before we broke apart and I found that the lights that had been dimmed were growing brighter. I felt my face blush as if people had been watching, but I was relieved to find that most pairs were still caught up in kissing.

"But us I looked around, Draco slipped away silently. Everytime I passed him in the hallways after that, I had to blush and put my head down, hoping that he wouldn't see it. Afterall, I had snogged one of the hottest boys in Hogwarts on New Year's Eve and I'm sure that not many girls in Gryffindor get that privilege with Draco...or any at all. Then, he graduated and I forgot about it. Heavens, I don't even know why I still remember it so clearly after all these years..."

*

Instruction: Replace Tape 1 with Tape 2 and fast forward to continue with the main story.

**

Ginny bolted upright in her bed, breathing heavily. It had been so long since she had thought about that New Year's Eve, let alone the kiss between her and Draco. Why was his sudden appearance back into her life making her dream about it again when she was well over it? Or was she?

She didn't have any more time to think when she realised that a group of people were tramping through the forest towards the cottage. And then, glass shattered in the window in the living room and her window was set on fire.