Title: Fragments 2: The Difference a Malfoy Mind Can Make
Author: Tiny Q
E-Mail: [email protected]
A/N: Well, I finally decided to write a sequel. I really enjoyed writing the first one and I hope this one will be just as fun. But I must say to all who have not read Fragments, please read it first! Otherwise this one will make no sense. Well it could make sense, but it will also ruin the other story. Just to warn you. Now please, sit back, relax and enjoy the read. ~grin~
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine! Nothing! ~runs around screaming for Tiny Q does not own her sanity either~
Fragments 2: The Difference a Malfoy Mind Can Make
Chapter 1
Enter the Matrix
~*~
Ginny Weasley sat in the cafe, drearily looking out the window. Everything was so different from what she had expected her life to be like. And the weather outside seemed to prove this: it was supposed to be sunny outside today, not raining. Not that she minded the rain that much these days. Lately it had caused her to become cheerful because she knew few others would be. But apparently not today.
When Ginny had been younger she had always imagined that she would get a great job, find the man of her dreams, marry him then live happily ever after while having half a dozen kids. Well perhaps not that many kids, but hey, you never know. But this dream of hers never happened. She had a rather dull job as a secretary for a broom making company. The pay was good and she got to talk to all the Quiddtich players who showed up, but it still almost wasn't worth it.
She had thought she had found the man of her dreams, but that had fallen through years ago. And now she was having problems finding a decent replacement, let alone a perfect one. It just seemed that none of the men compared, even if it had been over five years.
Since she had no dream guy she couldn't have a wedding and thus couldn't get married. And that pretty much eliminated the option of having kids. She wasn't too keen on becoming a single parent with those half dozen screaming brats.
But usually all this didn't make Ginny feel down. In fact, she was usually quite happy. But lately things had begun to press down on her. She was realizing that perhaps she would never live a happy life with someone else but rather live the rest of her life in solitude and loneliness. She glared at the rain harder, beginning to resent it. Not even the rain lived in loneliness.
Ginny probably would have continued to think along these lines until she decided to leave the cafe, go and take a long walk in the rain then die of pneumonia for the simple sake of it. Yet none of this would happen because someone began to speak to her, distracting her and keeping her in the cafe where it was warm and dry.
"Ginny?" this someone asked from behind her. She recognized the voice in an instant for it was a voice that was often in her office. Along with a body of course. Harry Potter was sponsored by her company after all.
"Yes, Harry?" she asked simply, making the stool she was on swirl around so she could face him. She smiled slightly, ignoring his well toned body. He was like her brother after all and she didn't think she would ever be able to see him as anything but, especially after that mullet incident. "What can I do for you?"
"I need your help," he said flatly. Ginny's eyebrows rose and he seemed to take this as an invitation to sit down, for that is just what he did, taking the stool next to her. 'Not one to extend greetings is he?' she thought darkly, swirling back around to face the window.
"What can I possibly help you with Harry?" she asked, once again glaring at the rain. "I can't get you any more deals on brooms if that's what you're after."
"This doesn't have to do with Quidditch type help, Gin," he said softly, some emotion coming back into his voice. "It's more Order type help. And it's not exactly for me either."
"Oh?" she asked, turning away from the window to face the Boy Who Lived properly. He wasn't quite as handsome as she had always thought he would turn out to be. She figured that it was all his battles with Bludgers and Death Eaters that had done it, leaving him to have an aura about him rather than looks. "Well, if I'm not helping you, then who am I helping?"
He muttered something under his breath that she just didn't catch.
"What was that?" she asked, ignoring the rain as it pounded harder against the window pane.
"Draco Malfoy," Harry said, speaking louder this time.
Ginny's heart stopped for an instant and her mind began to whirl. Draco was in trouble? Something was wrong? How could she possibly help him? Then her senses kicked in and told those thoughts to fuck off.
"And why would I want to help him exactly?" Ginny sneered, not really caring that Harry winced at her words.
"I knew this was going to be a lot harder than they said," he grumbled, looking away from her. He seemed to examine the table for a moment collecting his thoughts, then raised his eyes and looked at her again. "Because you are the only one who can help him, Gin."
"I highly doubt that," she hissed, turning away and glaring moodily out the window. "There is nothing I can ever do for him that will help."
"He's in a coma, Gin," Harry persisted. "The Death Eaters caught him unawares and the mediwizards are saying that he might never wake up again."
"So," Ginny hissed, yet it didn't have quite the same vehemence as before.
Harry glared at her. She glared back.
"How can I help him then?" she demanded defensively after a moment. "I never took any medical courses."
"No, but you have experience with other people's minds," the black haired man said gently.
"So what are you saying then?" she asked, beginning to get a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach.
"The Order wants you to go into Malfoy's mind and pull him out."
Ginny stared at him. Then she started to laugh.
"Are you serious?" she demanded. "Me? Go into Malfoy's mind? Does the man have no one closer to him? Is he that much of a loser?" She continued to laugh, ignoring Harry's shocked face.
"I knew you wouldn't do it," Harry suddenly hissed, turning serious and causing her to stop laughing completely. "I knew you would be too scared."
"Scared of a Malfoy?" Ginny demanded. "Never."
"Then I don't see what the big deal is then," Harry snapped. Ginny looked at him in surprise. Why would he want Malfoy to wake up so badly? Sure the guy was a member of the Order but the two of them never did get along and Ginny suspected they never would, even if they had to work side by side. "All you have to do is go in there and get him out. No biggie."
"No biggie," she sneered. "No biggie? Are you kidding me? It is a huge biggie! And I refuse to do it. I refuse to do anything for that bloody Order and I refuse to save that complete ass! I will never ever do it."
Three Hours Later
Ginny found herself standing outside the hospital room which contained one badly beaten and comatose Draco Malfoy. She wasn't quite sure how it had happened, but she had argued herself into a corner and Harry had caught her. Now the words: "Never say never, Gin" kept echoing through her head. She resisted the urge to growl
'Since when did he become so devious,' she thought angrily, glaring at the Boy Who Lived standing beside her, grinning as though he had just won the Quidditch World Cup. For the fourth time.
"After you," he said, opening the door to reveal a medium sized room with two beds placed in the center. Side by side. Ginny suppressed a shudder and looked around letting her eyes rest on anything but the person occupying the bed on the left hand side. There were several other people in the room, most of whom she didn't recognize, the rest she whished she didn't.
"Weasley, so good of you to join us," Podmore sneered, from his position in the corner. Ginny suppressed a glare for him as well as an articulately placed finger. The two of them had had a major falling out a while back, and it seemed that things were getting worse, not better.
"It's my pleasure," she sneered, trying to sound as sweet as she could but came off as rather daft. She didn't really care.
"So this is her?" a witch dressed in a St. Mungo's uniform asked from the other side of the room. Everyone nodded. She turned to Ginny, and smiled. "You've been told what's going to happen?" she asked in a polite voice that contrasted perfectly with Podmore's.
"Yes, Harry told me," Ginny said, trying to keep the resentment out of her voice.
"Good," the nurse said cheerfully. "Less for me to do then I suppose." She grinned a little grin. Ginny felt butterflies unleash themselves in her stomach. She told them to stop it. "Now will you please lie down on the bed beside Mr. Malfoy and we can begin."
Ginny turned to face the man she hadn't seen in almost five years. He wasn't anything like she remembered, but then he was covered in bandages and half his hair was missing. She frowned, he really was a mess. 'What the hell did they do to you?' she wondered, feeling the butterflies get a little antsier. She told them to shove it.
Taking a bit of a breath and glancing at Harry for unnecessary support, she walked towards the bed and carefully climbed on, minding her skirt. Harry smiled at her, seeming to sense her nervousness. She glared back, trying to say that he should be the one lying here and not her. But he didn't seem to get it.
"Now, Miss. Weasley," the nurse said, coming to stand at the foot of her bed. "I need you to hold onto Mr. Malfoy's hand for the spell to work." The spell the woman was referring to was apparently an adaptation of an older one that allowed the transfer of minds. Ginny had heard of it before, but never given much attention. She figured that if she really wanted to try it again, she would just go whack her head against some more marble floors.
Taking in a deep breath, Ginny fumbled with her right hand until she found Malfoy's left and clasped it gently in hers. His skin was colder than it should be, as though he had been standing outside in snowy weather for too long. The butterflies decided they would attempt to make their presence known again, and Ginny nearly screamed at them aloud. She managed to contain herself though.
"Ok," the nurse said, drawing Ginny's attention to her. "Let's get this over with, shall we?" She raised her wand, and seemed to frown at her. Ginny took in another deep breath and closed her eyes. She didn't really want to see it come. "Transitus Conscientiaae," rang through the room.
Ginny felt a wave of water wash over her and she gasped, her eyes flying open to see nothing but blackness. A moment later she felt herself submerged completely in the water, unable to breathe. She gasped again, but found nothing to take in. Her body began to spin wildly, and she realized she was in some sort of whorl pool. Closing her eyes tightly, she tried to scream, but nothing came out.
Ginny hit the ground after what seemed like hours, but it was really only a few seconds. She lay there, gasping like a fish, not quite sure why she felt so wet. After a few seconds of recovery time, she slowly opened her eyes and knew exactly why she felt wet: it was raining.
Sitting up, she looked around. She appeared to be in the field of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She frowned at the building then frowned at the rain. Why would Malfoy's mind center around that school? Hadn't he graduated seven years ago? And why was it raining just as hard as it had been that day?
Getting to her feet, Ginny stood for a moment, surveying the massive building. It seemed the same as in the waking world. Same dark tones, over bearing towers and turrets, yet had that magical feeling that seemed like home. Letting out a sigh of resignation, she made her way towards the main doors in the hopes that she could find the bugger Malfoy, solve his petty problem and go on with her life.
The trip didn't take too long, most likely because Ginny was encouraged to run to prevent herself from getting any wetter. She stood before the massive doors, reached out for the handles and hesitated.
"What have you got yourself into, Ginny?" she asked herself. Having no real response that she wanted to hear, she did the only thing left to do: she pulled the doors open.
It was completely black inside yet she walked in anyways. There was a flash of light that caused Ginny to slam her eyes shut. When she opened them again she was greeted with the sight of the Entrance Hall. She walked slowly into the center if it, the only sound being her heels clicking on the marble and the dripping of her clothes.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!" someone shrieked from above her. "I JUST CLEANED THAT FLOOR!!"
Ginny's head flew upwards and saw something she hoped she would never have to see again: Argus Filtch dressed in black leather pants, black shirt and an ankle length leather jacket. Not to mention various belts and other such weapon carrying devices adorning his person and rather snazzy looking sunglasses. He was carrying some sort of black metallic device.
Ginny gulped. Perhaps this was going to be harder than she thought...
~*~
A/N: So what do you think? Should I even bother continuing with this? Do I dare say it? Smash or Trash?? I think I'm leaning towards the trash side. But I wouldn't mind putting in another round of Celebrity Jeopardy, SNL style of course