Call to Destiny

Warriorlily

Story Summary:
The summer before her sixth year at Hogwarts, Ginny Weasley is invited to a convention in San Francisco. However, the convention turns out to be more than she thought. What does Draco Malfoy have to do with it? Or an ancient group of warriors, for that matter. AU.

Chapter 21 - Of Quaffles and Quivers

Chapter Summary:
The first Quidditch match of a rather postponed season has a shocking ending.
Posted:
07/19/2006
Hits:
1,816


Chapter 21

Of Quaffles and Quivers

Ginny nervously paced the Gryffindor team's Quidditch locker room, wondering what the hell had made her so antsy.

After Dumbledore's and the Trio's initial disappearance, the Quidditch Cup had unofficially been canceled, but thanks to their reappearance less than a month ago, the Cup was reinstated.

Of course the first match of the postponed season was Gryffindor versus Slytherin.

Of course.

A heavy hand descended on Ginny's shoulder, causing her to look up at Harry's concerned face. The Boy Who Lived had been Quidditch captain since the year before.

"Are you alright, Ginny?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine, Harry."

He looked unconvinced. "It's not like you to be nervous before a game. Is everything alright?"

Ginny smiled at him, touched by his concern. "Yes, everything's fine. I just didn't get much sleep last night."

Well, not a complete lie. Merlin, she'd turned into such a liar since the summer.

"Alright, then," Harry said, nodding. "Get ready; we're going out in a couple of minutes."

Ginny nodded.

Harry made his way over to the rest of the team and Ginny took the opportunity to shake her nerves off.

Really, what was with her? It was just a Quidditch game, after all. Yes, it would be the first time she'd be facing Draco in the air as not archenemies, but really! They wouldn't even have anything to do with each other, her being a Chaser and him a Seeker.

After Cassie's startling revelation and their argument, things were still tense between the two Warriors. Ginny nearly snorted out loud. When were things not tense between them?

It'd actually only been a week, but it felt like ages. She'd tried to bring the subject up on their one patrol (last night,) but Draco was adamant to act like Cassie showing up at the cemetery and announcing that she was a Wicca had never happened.

Frustrating bastard.

He was holding a grudge against her, and she was doing the same. She knew it was a petty and stupid argument, and technically she was in the wrong for overreacting. She just couldn't bring herself to apologize to Draco. He never seemed to feel in the wrong, so why should she? She realized she was beginning to sink to his level, but trying to stay above it was just too tiring. She was beginning to constantly feel exhausted, simply by trying to figure out ways to either a) avoid conflict with Draco, or b) repair the damage an unavoided conflict had caused.

Ginny sighed, running a hand through her tangled hair and deciding to put it up.

She was glad to have Cassie as an ally, though. The two girls had grown rather close in the past few days. Having a shared secret could do that, Ginny guessed. They'd shared some stories that they couldn't share before, and a whole field of new conversation topics had come up. Cassie had inquired about the situation between her and Draco a few times, but dropped the subject after seeing Ginny's unwillingness to talk. Ginny had a plan though.

First, she was going to somehow fix her and Draco's idiotic argument without actually apologizing. Tricky, but not impossible. Then, she was going to convince Draco to let Cassie go on patrols with them. That would take a while, but she was determined to do so.

Alright, so it wasn't a plan, but a radical idea.

Still.

"Let's go!" Harry yelled, startling Ginny.

She picked up her broom and the Gryffindor team poured out onto the field to tremulous applause.

Ginny saw that the Slytherin team was already out and headed for the center of the pitch, lead by Draco. So, he was captain. She hadn't known, but wasn't surprised. She noticed that Draco had dropped the 'bigger is better' motto of the previous Slytherin Quidditch captains, and even noticed a couple girls on the team.

"Captains shake hands!" Madame Hooch yelled over the roar.

Draco and Harry approached each other. They shook hands stiffly, never breaking eye contact. Loathing radiated off of them. Ginny had the sudden urge to laugh. Stepping back towards his team, Draco locked eyes with her for a moment. Not long enough to be able to discern any emotion, though.

"Mount your brooms!"

Simultaneously, the whistle blew and the Quaffle was released.

The game had begun.

Within moments, the game was already heated. Ginny darted to and fro, waiting for the Quaffle to come to her. How could she have forgotten what a rush Quidditch was? She flew past some fifth year Slytherin girl and caught the Quaffle Demelza Robins threw her.

She flew like a demon, no pun intended, toward the goalposts.

"Weasley in possession of the Quaffle!" yelled Blaise Zabini, the new, and oddly unbiased, announcer. "Body of a goddess, I say!"

Ginny grinned as she heard McGonagall try to get the microphone away from Zabini. Flattered as she was, she focused back on the game. The Slytherin Chasers were behind her and their Keeper in front. She feigned right and watched as the Quaffle sailed through the left hoop.

There was a tremendous roar and Ginny grinned.

"Weasley scores! Twenty nil to Gryffindor!" Zabini had the microphone again. "Slytherin now in possession of the Quaffle!"

Soon the two teams were tied- 120 to 120. Ginny had to admit that Draco picked a good team. Nearly as good as the Gryffindor team.

Nearly.

She scored once more to applause followed by a complete hush. Ginny spun around abruptly to see Harry streaking towards her.

"Potter's seen the Snitch! Malfoy, you arse, come on!"

Seemingly out of nowhere, Draco cut in front of Harry, to cries from the stands. There were joyous screams from the Slytherins, and from the other houses, outraged cries of "Foul!"

Silence slowly encased the pitch as everyone's attention drew back to the two Seekers.

Neither had moved.

Until, that was, Draco slipped sideways off his broom, eyes closed.

An arrow's fletching was sticking out of his shoulder, the arrowhead out of his back.

Ginny's breath left her in a rush. She felt paralyzed, unable to move, breath, or think.

Later it turned out that Snape and Dumbledore had saved the Slytherin prince from crashing to the ground, while the students poured out onto the field. Ginny landed in a daze, trying to process what had just happened. An arm wrapped around her shoulders and Ginny found herself looking into Cassie's concerned blue eyes. Thank Merlin Cassie knows.

The raven haired girl guided Ginny out of the crowd and into the castle.

"It was a demon," Ginny croaked weakly as they started up the stairs.

Cassie nodded, looking grim. "I know. Come on, we can talk in our dorm."

Ginny nodded and let Cassie lead her over to their dormitory.

Once inside, she sat down in the armchair, her mind worlds away.

"I don't understand," she said softly as Cassie took her customary seat on the sofa.

The Wicca shook her head. "Neither do I. No one knows you're Warriors, do they?"

"Besides you? No." They had taken their vows of secrecy seriously. In fact Ginny hadn't actually told Cassie they were Warriors. She guessed it on her own.

"Maybe someone figured it out, like you did?" She knew it was feeble, but she was desperate for an explanation.

Again, Cassie shook her head. "I really don't think so. Like I said, I'd only guessed. And I knew about the Warriors. I don't think anyone here has even heard of them. Same as Wiccas.

"And for someone to know about the Warriors, have figured out who the leaders of the pack are, had connections with demons, and have the power to order an assassination at a school during a Quidditch game? I don't think so."

Ginny nodded. It did sound far fetched. She thought over what Cassie just said and wave of nausea hit her.

"Assassination?"

Cassie, looking up, shrugged helplessly.

"I know it sounds horrible, but that's the only way I can see it."

"You really think someone was trying to-" Ginny's voice caught.

"Kill him?" Cassie supplied softly.

The redhead nodded, feeling sicker with every passing minute.

"I'm sorry, Ginny, really I am. I just can't think of any other explanation."

Ginny doubted she'd ever seen anyone look more sincere.

Cassie sighed and stood up.

"Come on. You go take a shower, because frankly you stink," Cassie said, trying to inject some humor into the situation. Ginny smiled weakly. "And then we'll grab some lunch, 'kay?"

The American girl extended a hand, which Ginny took.

"Okay."

She was almost at the bedroom door when a thought occurred to her.

"Cassie?"

The Wicca turned around, dark hair flying over her shoulder. "Huh?"

"Thanks," Ginny said with a small smile.

Cassie shook her head, smiling sadly. "Don't thank me. I haven't done anything."

Ginny shrugged. "Still."

"Go take a shower would you? You stink."

Ginny smiled and ducked into the bedroom, trying to keep Draco out of her mind for the time being.

~

Heading down to the Great Hall had been eerie, to say the least.

"Holy crap," Cassie muttered by the third floor. "It's like a freaking ghost town."

Ginny only nodded, wondering if they'd missed something.

Soon though, it was evident where everyone was.

The Great Hall was packed with students and teachers alike, the din deafening.

"Ah, crisis averted," Cassis muttered darkly. Ginny couldn't help but smile a little. It was good to have someone to share a secret with.

"Ginny!" Ron called out, apparently spotting his sister.

She smiled at him weakly. "Hey, Ron."

"Where were you?" he asked, the overprotective big brother once again.

Both Ginny and Cassie rolled their eyes.

"Taking a shower, Ron."

He seemed satisfied with the answer.

"So," Seamus asked from Ginny's left. "What do you lovely ladies think of our recent drama?"

Seamus had apparently handled Ginny's abrupt rejection well. He'd, abruptly, gone on acting as though nothing had ever happened, leaving the air clear for them to remain friends.

Cassie said something to him that Ginny didn't hear. She didn't care. Her attention was drawn to the Slytherin table, where the sixth and seventh years sat in a huddle. They were all leaning in towards each other and discussing in low voices, looks of worry and concern etched onto their faces. For the first time in her life, Ginny's heart went out to them, and in an odd way, wished she were with them.

Pansy Parkinson looked near tears and Zabini was sitting stock still, staring into space, brow furrowed. The others around them didn't look much better.

"I've never seen them look so...worried," Lavender commented, startling Ginny out of her thoughts. Apparently, she'd followed Ginny's gaze. The seventh year girl looked at her expectantly, waiting for Ginny to say something.

Finding her throat dry, Ginny just nodded. She noticed a small group of sixth and seventh years had gathered around, all talking.

Zacharias Smith snorted. "Well, what do you want? Their Prince of Darkness is gone."

A shot of wild panic went through Ginny.

"What! He's dead?"

"Not yet," Ron muttered darkly, not noticing Ginny's expression.

Her heart began to beat rapidly in her chest. A touch on her hand made her look in Cassie's direction. Hold on, said the silent message.

"What do you guys know?" Cassie asked nonchalantly.

"I heard someone say that the arrow that hit Malfoy was covered in some sort of lethal poison," Colin said, as others nodded, having heard the same thing.

"Poison?" Cassie asked, her brow furrowed.

Pravati nodded. "Yeah. I heard Madame Pomfrey telling Professor Sprout. All the teachers look really worried."

"They say Malfoy's going to die before the day is out," Neville said, looking rather less excited than the rest of the mob.

Ginny's head spun. Please stop, she thought. Please, please, please stop.

"Actually," Hermione said, frowning. "By all logic, Malfoy should already be dead."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked, surprising herself.

"He's in a coma," Harry told her, looking rather troubled.

Ron apparently saw this, too. "What's wrong, mate? You can't be worried about that ferret."

Harry shook his head. "Later, Ron."

Coma, dead, arrow, poison, dying.

Malfoy's going to die.

Draco's dying.

Dying.

Draco.

Ginny felt the world spin and she clutched onto Cassie's arm.

"Oh crap!" Cassie exclaimed. "I totally forgot! Ginny, could you please, please, please help me with that Charms essay we've got due Monday?"

A few people chuckled at Cassie's predictability and Hermione began telling her off.

"Cassie, you really ought to make-"

"Sure, Cassie."

Cassie gushed her thanks as she pulled Ginny out of the Great Hall. Once they were a safe distance away, Cassie stopped and Ginny collapsed against a wall, sucking in great lungfuls of air.

Cassie watched her carefully as the redhead tried not to shake. The urge to cry was overwhelming, but her eyes felt dry as the desert. Ginny couldn't remember ever feeling so helpless and hurt.

"Gin-"

"I'm fine," she lied.

"Like hell you are. Come on, we're going back to the dormitory."

Cassie grabbed her elbow and pulled her up. Ginny let Cassie lead her back to their dormitory, wishing fervently that the day had been just a nightmare, that she'd wake up any moment and everything would be fine.

However, that wasn't meant to be. Fate seemed to have a very twisted sense of humor, indeed.

~

Ginger!

What's up my beautiful, red haired friend? Haha, I nearly wrote Friday instead of friend. Sorry, I'm feeling a little insane right now. Just downed about a gallon of Dr. Pepper. Hey, do you guys have Dr. Pepper in England? Just wondering. I've never been outside the US, so I have no idea.

Sage might have already told you, but we've been patrolling a lot. It's pretty fun actually. We've only run into demons a few times, but still.

I got a letter from Nick not too long ago. He says he's in Moscow and there were a ton of demons in a club he went to. Weird, huh? He's a nice guy. Too bad he's so far away.

That's sad, really. We all got so close during the summer and now we're all spread out all over the world. Well, Sage, David, and I do see a lot of each other, but still. You and Draco are all the way in England, at Hogwarts. Roby's in Toronto, doing god only knows what. Ryan's in Texas, working in his dad's firm, Maria's in some tiny town in Spain that I can never seem to remember the name of, managing her parent's flower shop. Juli...I actually have no idea what Juli is doing, but I know she's in Italy and she's kept in touch with Ryan. And Nick's in Moscow.

When are we going to see each other? It's a bit weird, don't you think? We're brought together for a summer, "Oh, there's a big bad war going on you have to protect these people and fight these demons. You might even die." And now nothing?

I mean, I've heard about things like what happened in Brighton about a month ago, but still.

When are we going to be called? When are we going to be needed? It doesn't really feel like we have a purpose, you know? It felt so different in San Francisco. Like we meant something, like we had a destiny.

Oh my god, Ginny, I feel like crying right now. Do you know what I mean?

When are we gonna hear our call to destiny? Are we ever? I feel like something was started, set into motion, and then just cut off halfway.

Maybe that's just the sugar talking, I don't know. I miss you, girl. And I miss Draco, too. You haven't killed each other yet, have you?

Oh well.

Love you, miss you,

Ali

XOXO

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A/N: See? See? See? Update! I updated!

Okay, sorry, I had to get that out of my system. But, see? I updated just like I said I would. The next chapter should be up soon as well.

I really, really, hope you enjoyed the chapter and the Warriors are coming back. Slowly, but they are.

As always, thanks for the reviews. They really do mean a lot and keep me writing. So, thanks.