A/N: To everyone's great pleasure, I present to you...*drum roll* THE
SEQUEL TO "FIRE AND ICE"!!!!!!! (I suggest you read that first, to fully
understand this story.^^) It takes place immediately after F actually
this chapter starts the morning after the ball. Sorry, you never find out
what happened that night. (Or perhaps you will, later on. [grin]) And thus,
the story begins.
~*~
If someone had told her yesterday that she was in love with Draco Malfoy, she surely would have laughed in their face.
However, that was yesterday, and things were very much different today. Ginny sighed, in a blissful daze, and thought of the evening's events.
She's accompanied Harry to the Valentine's Day Ball, only to leave him after the first four songs to meet with her mysterious online love obsession. They'd danced, and then went out to the courtyard to meet each other, once and for all. She remembered the feel of his lips on hers, how wonderful it felt to be so close to someone. She remembered the way his hands caressed her body, in a gentle, loving way.
Then she remembered what had happened when they took their masks off. It had been a masquerade, only too appropriate for the happenings that had taken place that night.
It was as if they were still wearing masks, even after the decorative ones had been removed. Hers, a poor, muggle-loving freckled mask. And his, an aristocratic heartless mask.
Ginny saw through his mask luckily, and saw the Ice that she'd fallen in love with. The caring, slightly uneasy boy she'd met online. Only he hadn't been so smart. He'd seen her as no more than her name implied.
Thankfully Ginny was able to convince to him that she was the same Fire he'd gotten to know, and grown to love, over the Internet. He'd realized his stupidity and then thankfully, things were right.
Everything was right. Ginny had been in love with him for the passed two months. Now knowing who he actually was only made her love him more, not less; like he'd feared.
There was only one problem. One horrible, terrible problem burning in Ginny's heart.
She couldn't tell anyone. She and Draco had decided that no one would understand the love they shared for each other, and they must keep it a secret at all costs. This fact tugged at her heart, but there was nothing she could do. She thought of the reactions she would get from her friends. Hermione would be baffled. Harry would be concerned that Draco was using her for dark purposes. And Ron, Ginny laughed. As for Ron, he would simply go ballistic. That's all there was to it.
She pulled on some clothing and bounded down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were already sitting at the Gryffindor table, eating.
"Good morning everyone!" she sang to her friends, a huge smile on her face. She plopped down into her seat and began eating. The food tasted better than ever this morning.
Her friends shared odd looks of confusion, but Ginny paid no notice.
"Hey, uh, Ginny? What happened to you last night?" Harry asked, almost timidly.
Her head shot up at him, her eyes widened in alarm. "Last night? Uh, what do you mean Harry?" Did he find out about me meeting with Draco, she thought, overcome with worry.
He just stared at her. "Ginny, you know exactly what I'm talking about. You just disappeared, after the fourth song, and never turned back up. Why did you leave like that?"
She gave a sigh of relief. He hadn't found out.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Harry. I started feeling a bit queasy; I think I ate too much at the feast. I went up to my bedroom to rest for a minute, and ending up falling asleep. I woke up later and felt simply horrible!" she looked him straight in the eye, so he wouldn't doubt she was telling the truth.
It worked.
"Are you alright? I'm sorry, I was just worried about you." Harry gave her a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand, which was lying on the table next to her plate.
They returned to their breakfasts, and Ginny resumed her daydreaming. She found her gaze wandering over to the Slytherin table, and her eyes landed on Draco. Looking as perfect as ever. Actually this was only the second time she'd looked at him and not felt an urge to throw up. When actually giving him a chance, he was very nice looking. Sexy, even. Ginny blushed. If only her brother new what she was thinking now.
Draco suddenly looked up, and caught Ginny staring at him. She didn't blush or turn away, instead she smiled. He smiled back and gave her a small wink.
"Attention, students, I have a very important announcement to make." From where he was sitting, Draco could clearly see Dumbledore standing on his chair at the head table.
The whole room quieted instantly.
"First of all, I do hope all of you enjoyed the ball last night." He winked slightly at the students watching him. Then his face turned grave.
"Secondly, as you may or may not know, there have been many reports of sightings of 'You Know Who' recently. Our school is a main target of the Dark Lord, and although we have more protection here than any other place on earth, we do wish we were more prepared if 'You Know Who' were to try something."
He paused for a moment. Every one in the room was wondering what his speech was leading up to.
"Because of this I've decided to take a few selected 7th years on a sort of 'field trip', to teach them more advanced magic. Therefore, if 'You Know Who' were ever to try something, we'd have a little more help on hand."
Excited murmurs flew through the room, though Dumbledore was not done speaking.
"If you are interested in participating in this trip, there will be a box outside the Great Hall. Just put your name inside and we will pick 20 students to go on the trip. This will be done almost as in the Triwizard tournament. Please, only put your name in if you are serious about coming along."
He stepped down from his chair, signaling that conversation could start up again.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were excitedly discussing how they must be on the trip.
"Well of course Dumbledore is going to pick you, Harry," Hermione reasoned, tossing her curly brown hair over her shoulder, "It's me I'm worried about."
Ron looked at her and rolled his eyes. "Hermione you probably know as many spells as Dumbledore himself! How could he not pick you?"
She blushed. "I highly doubt THAT."
Ginny began to tune out their conversation. What if Draco got picked to go on the trip? She was only a sixth year, she had to stay behind. That meant she wouldn't get to see him until the trip was over. She wouldn't be able to stand that, not after just meeting him in person yesterday!
Too bad she wasn't old enough to go as well.
Draco picked up his things and walked out to the main entrance outside the Great Hall. There was a crowd of seventh years standing around the box that had just been set up on a wooden pedestal. He saw Harry drop a slip of paper into the box, followed by Ron and Hermione.
Of course they'd be the first ones to sign up, Draco thought bitterly. He then remembered that they were friends of Ginny's and tried to push the nasty thoughts aside. But try as he might, he loved Ginny, not her friends. He bumped in front of Harry and snarled, "Oh, Potter, are you going to save the world again from 'You Know Who'? I might as well just not come along, you always seem to do it fine on your own."
Harry just smirked at him and walked on, not letting Draco get to him today. Draco scrawled his name on a piece of paper and dropped it into the box.
When she was absolutely sure that Harry was gone, Ginny ran up to Draco. He seemed surprised to see her.
"Draco, you're not going on the trip, are you?" she asked him timidly.
He gave her a sad smile. "Ginny, my father would kill me if I didn't. Besides, I would love to be able to kill off 'You Know Who', he sure has ruined my life. I'd love to ruin his..."
Ginny cast him an odd glance. She took his hand in hers and pulled him around the corner into the hallway. They were getting some odd looks from their peers.
"What am I going to do without you here? I'm not old enough to go on the trip." Ginny complained.
That thought hadn't occurred to him. "Who knows, I may not even get picked."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "As if your father wont have something to say about it."
Draco bent over and kissed her lightly on the lips. "It'll be ok, Ginny. If anything, it's only for a couple of weeks. I'll be back."
She sighed, leaning into him. "Hopefully..." she whispered.
~*~
A/N: Well, that's the end of chapter one! I hope you all like it, the plot will be developing more in the next chapter, when Dumbledore posts the list of names that were chosen to go on the trip. Oh, and I forgot to mention, the computers are still in this story! So look forward to more online chatting! Bye for now!
~*~
If someone had told her yesterday that she was in love with Draco Malfoy, she surely would have laughed in their face.
However, that was yesterday, and things were very much different today. Ginny sighed, in a blissful daze, and thought of the evening's events.
She's accompanied Harry to the Valentine's Day Ball, only to leave him after the first four songs to meet with her mysterious online love obsession. They'd danced, and then went out to the courtyard to meet each other, once and for all. She remembered the feel of his lips on hers, how wonderful it felt to be so close to someone. She remembered the way his hands caressed her body, in a gentle, loving way.
Then she remembered what had happened when they took their masks off. It had been a masquerade, only too appropriate for the happenings that had taken place that night.
It was as if they were still wearing masks, even after the decorative ones had been removed. Hers, a poor, muggle-loving freckled mask. And his, an aristocratic heartless mask.
Ginny saw through his mask luckily, and saw the Ice that she'd fallen in love with. The caring, slightly uneasy boy she'd met online. Only he hadn't been so smart. He'd seen her as no more than her name implied.
Thankfully Ginny was able to convince to him that she was the same Fire he'd gotten to know, and grown to love, over the Internet. He'd realized his stupidity and then thankfully, things were right.
Everything was right. Ginny had been in love with him for the passed two months. Now knowing who he actually was only made her love him more, not less; like he'd feared.
There was only one problem. One horrible, terrible problem burning in Ginny's heart.
She couldn't tell anyone. She and Draco had decided that no one would understand the love they shared for each other, and they must keep it a secret at all costs. This fact tugged at her heart, but there was nothing she could do. She thought of the reactions she would get from her friends. Hermione would be baffled. Harry would be concerned that Draco was using her for dark purposes. And Ron, Ginny laughed. As for Ron, he would simply go ballistic. That's all there was to it.
She pulled on some clothing and bounded down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were already sitting at the Gryffindor table, eating.
"Good morning everyone!" she sang to her friends, a huge smile on her face. She plopped down into her seat and began eating. The food tasted better than ever this morning.
Her friends shared odd looks of confusion, but Ginny paid no notice.
"Hey, uh, Ginny? What happened to you last night?" Harry asked, almost timidly.
Her head shot up at him, her eyes widened in alarm. "Last night? Uh, what do you mean Harry?" Did he find out about me meeting with Draco, she thought, overcome with worry.
He just stared at her. "Ginny, you know exactly what I'm talking about. You just disappeared, after the fourth song, and never turned back up. Why did you leave like that?"
She gave a sigh of relief. He hadn't found out.
"Oh, I'm so sorry Harry. I started feeling a bit queasy; I think I ate too much at the feast. I went up to my bedroom to rest for a minute, and ending up falling asleep. I woke up later and felt simply horrible!" she looked him straight in the eye, so he wouldn't doubt she was telling the truth.
It worked.
"Are you alright? I'm sorry, I was just worried about you." Harry gave her a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand, which was lying on the table next to her plate.
They returned to their breakfasts, and Ginny resumed her daydreaming. She found her gaze wandering over to the Slytherin table, and her eyes landed on Draco. Looking as perfect as ever. Actually this was only the second time she'd looked at him and not felt an urge to throw up. When actually giving him a chance, he was very nice looking. Sexy, even. Ginny blushed. If only her brother new what she was thinking now.
Draco suddenly looked up, and caught Ginny staring at him. She didn't blush or turn away, instead she smiled. He smiled back and gave her a small wink.
"Attention, students, I have a very important announcement to make." From where he was sitting, Draco could clearly see Dumbledore standing on his chair at the head table.
The whole room quieted instantly.
"First of all, I do hope all of you enjoyed the ball last night." He winked slightly at the students watching him. Then his face turned grave.
"Secondly, as you may or may not know, there have been many reports of sightings of 'You Know Who' recently. Our school is a main target of the Dark Lord, and although we have more protection here than any other place on earth, we do wish we were more prepared if 'You Know Who' were to try something."
He paused for a moment. Every one in the room was wondering what his speech was leading up to.
"Because of this I've decided to take a few selected 7th years on a sort of 'field trip', to teach them more advanced magic. Therefore, if 'You Know Who' were ever to try something, we'd have a little more help on hand."
Excited murmurs flew through the room, though Dumbledore was not done speaking.
"If you are interested in participating in this trip, there will be a box outside the Great Hall. Just put your name inside and we will pick 20 students to go on the trip. This will be done almost as in the Triwizard tournament. Please, only put your name in if you are serious about coming along."
He stepped down from his chair, signaling that conversation could start up again.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were excitedly discussing how they must be on the trip.
"Well of course Dumbledore is going to pick you, Harry," Hermione reasoned, tossing her curly brown hair over her shoulder, "It's me I'm worried about."
Ron looked at her and rolled his eyes. "Hermione you probably know as many spells as Dumbledore himself! How could he not pick you?"
She blushed. "I highly doubt THAT."
Ginny began to tune out their conversation. What if Draco got picked to go on the trip? She was only a sixth year, she had to stay behind. That meant she wouldn't get to see him until the trip was over. She wouldn't be able to stand that, not after just meeting him in person yesterday!
Too bad she wasn't old enough to go as well.
Draco picked up his things and walked out to the main entrance outside the Great Hall. There was a crowd of seventh years standing around the box that had just been set up on a wooden pedestal. He saw Harry drop a slip of paper into the box, followed by Ron and Hermione.
Of course they'd be the first ones to sign up, Draco thought bitterly. He then remembered that they were friends of Ginny's and tried to push the nasty thoughts aside. But try as he might, he loved Ginny, not her friends. He bumped in front of Harry and snarled, "Oh, Potter, are you going to save the world again from 'You Know Who'? I might as well just not come along, you always seem to do it fine on your own."
Harry just smirked at him and walked on, not letting Draco get to him today. Draco scrawled his name on a piece of paper and dropped it into the box.
When she was absolutely sure that Harry was gone, Ginny ran up to Draco. He seemed surprised to see her.
"Draco, you're not going on the trip, are you?" she asked him timidly.
He gave her a sad smile. "Ginny, my father would kill me if I didn't. Besides, I would love to be able to kill off 'You Know Who', he sure has ruined my life. I'd love to ruin his..."
Ginny cast him an odd glance. She took his hand in hers and pulled him around the corner into the hallway. They were getting some odd looks from their peers.
"What am I going to do without you here? I'm not old enough to go on the trip." Ginny complained.
That thought hadn't occurred to him. "Who knows, I may not even get picked."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "As if your father wont have something to say about it."
Draco bent over and kissed her lightly on the lips. "It'll be ok, Ginny. If anything, it's only for a couple of weeks. I'll be back."
She sighed, leaning into him. "Hopefully..." she whispered.
~*~
A/N: Well, that's the end of chapter one! I hope you all like it, the plot will be developing more in the next chapter, when Dumbledore posts the list of names that were chosen to go on the trip. Oh, and I forgot to mention, the computers are still in this story! So look forward to more online chatting! Bye for now!