Quicksilver

Quicksilver

Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, etc. are the sole property and copyright of the lovely J.K. Rowling. This story is for entertainment purposes only and is in no way affiliated with the original Harry Potter novel series or the Warner Bros. films.

This story contains minor violence, some adult language, and overt sexuality.

------------------------------

Chapter Sixteen
A Mere Coincidence

In the melancholy days following Ron\'s disappearance, the remaining Gryffindor Two and their respective significant others seemed too afraid to act normal or happy. It seemed almost disrespectful under the circumstances. Mrs. Weasley had taken up vigil in an available room in the Hogwarts Castle while Mr. Weasley burned the midnight oil at the Ministry, meticulously watching the Locators for hours on end. Even Fred and George seemed ceremoniously somber in their owls to Ginny...they were completely taken aback by the whole thing.

It seems that while Ron thought that he was sorely overlooked in his life...overshadowed by his siblings and his friends, though he loved both sets of people fiercely...his absence had left an emotional hole in Gryffindor House and his family and an uneasy fear of the unknown in everyone else. It was very unusual for an ordinary wizard, especially one not of age, to completely disappear without a trace despite Locator charms and other seeking magic.

Exams approached, but none of the instructors was really digging in on study and review. Professor McGonagall halfheary asy assigned reading material for her class as she mournfully glanced at Ron\'s empty seat several times during the hour. Professor Trelawney made wistful remarks about how she had forseen this situation, and every day they were assigned to search for more clues about Ron with of of their divining equipment.

The big surprise was to be found in Potions, however. Professor Snape had taken ill but refused to allow a substitute for his classes. His stringy black hair was tied carelessly at the knape of his neck, his eyes were glassy and barely responsive, with huge dark circles beneath them, and he spoke softly to his students for the first time in years. It was most curious...Ron was one of Snape\'s least favorite students both by being a Gryffindor and Harry Potter\'s best friend. Nonetheless, Snape wrote shakily on the blackboard and had lost his fiery vigor for harassing Neville or Harry.

While Snape snoozed with his head propped clumsily on his hand, sitting at the desk in his office, Harry absentmindedly added essence of wormwood to his concoction while Hermione lazily read over the passage in their text. Draco was prodding chopped roots with his wand, searing them as was directed, as Goyle looked on. Simultaneously, Harry, Draco and Snape all yelled out in pain. The entire class awoke from the somber haze, looking at each member of the shouting party as they looked amongst themselves.

Harry felt it in his forehead, Draco felt it in his shoulder and Snape had felt it in his arm. Something bad had just happened. But as quickly as the harsh zing of pain had come, it had completely evaporated. As Draco and Harry turned to regard each other confusedly, Snape bolted from the room, bringing everyone\'s attention with him.

***

Ginny hadn\'t slept for more than an hour for nearly three nights now. She allowed everyone to believe that worry alone was the cause of her insomnia, but each meager night\'s sleep compounded her stress immensely.

She fitfully tried to nap, hoping the day\'s light would ward offe ofe of her horrible nightmares. No such luck.

It started the same way. She was studying potions in the dungeon after something had gone wrong earlier in class. Professor Snape was nowhere to be seen. She was calmly reading her text when a pair of cold hands barely brushed over her hips and she could sense the person standing behind her.

She faced the intruder fearlessly as his hands came to rest firmly around her waist. He wasn\'t as tall compared to her anymore. But those coal black eyes were just the same as always. The wavy dark hair, the shockingly handsome face, the guileless youth mixed with unmistakeable maturity. The already sharpening evil edge hanging around him like both a warning and an invitation....

How this creature ended up becoming the loathsome and frightenLordLord Voldemort, she would never know. Young Tom Riddle was like a combination of Harry and both the old and new Draco Malfoy. Perhaps with the right influence, his future never would have been...

She shivered as he would, without a word, lean over to lay gentle kisses and nibbles on her neck. He had never touched her like this when the diary liasons were happening. Even at eleven, she would not have resisted him then. She could surely not resist him now. Deep in the back of her mind, she protested her betrayal of Harry. But all was forgotten the second he tenderly kissed her lips.

She couldn\'t believe how gently he couandlandle her. He would lay her back on the table slowly, gliding his hands softly down the sides of her torso while he did so.

It was as if he was calculating what it would take to override the fearsome images of him with these seductive, calm versions. As he would make love to her, he was intense but never rough. Conquering but not cruel. Persistent but never forceful.

She would relish the excitement that came from the fact that she had the Ultimate Bad Boy buried inside of her. She whimpered and sighed as he bit into her shoulder and cupped her breasts. Where their clothing had gone, she never really knew. Nor did she care.

Until it started happening. He would bring his head up from her neck and shoulders and let his impassioned eyes burn into hers. With each new thrust of his hips while he looked inot her eyes, it was like a strike of lightning, surging through her brain and nervous system. The sound and the shock would run through her and then she could feel him thinking before it happened again. It was like a thunderstorm was going on around them and they were channeling its energy.

*clap* Bright, blinding light. Horrible pain. Flawless, beautiful little pureblooded wench. Ginny\'s torso lurched.

*clap* You have matured so gracefully.

*clap* She let out a strangled cry. Yes, I cannot wait to see that which is to come.

*clap* This last surge knocked her out. She could just barely hear him once more before the blackness washed over her vision. You and I will rule it togetogether, my love...

The dream Ginny saw visions of her childhood float before her eyes...a backyard picnic at the Burrow. Mr. Weasley searing meat to perfection with his wand while Mrs. Weasley bewitched various utensils to chop vegetables and toss them into a salad. Fred and George were pitching gnomes at one another, annoying Percy as he tried to read in a lawn chaise. Her heart would leap when she saw Ron, running out of the house in just his knickers because he was too busy running after his trousers. Which, of course, was the twins\' doing. Her father caught the trousers and handed them to Ron. Mrs. Weasley was just about to turn and have a go at the twins when she could hear another voice...

\"You must awaken, my darling.\"

\"TROUSERS ARE BLOODY EXPENSIVE ENOUGH FOR THAT LONG-LEGGED, CONSTANTLY GROWING BOY WITHOUT YOU TWO ENCHANTING THEM TO RUN AWAY! WHAT IF THE MUGGLES SAW?\"

\"Mum, the Muggles will -hear- you if you aren\'t careful,\" Fred began.

\"Virginia, come to me. Wake up.\"

\"...MINISTRY WOULD HAVE TO MEMORY CHARM THE LOT OF OTTERY ST. CATCHPOLE...\"

She felt another jolt, much lighter this time. The scene at her family\'s home faded slowly and she tried to open her eyes. Her body was sore and she resisted leaving the black peacefulness of her subconscious.

\"Are you awake?\"

The voice sounded like Tom\'s, but higher and more artificial. She expected he was just worried.

She opened her eyes and saw a skeletal, hideous face with startling blood-red eyes, what nearly were just slits for nostrils set into sickly pale, disintegrating skin stretched tignto nto a mirthless smile. Long, cold fingers that did little to hide their body insides caressed her face and sent horrible icy waves in their path.

\"NOOOOOOOOOO!\" Ginny sat straight up in her four-poster bed, screaming.

\"GINNY!\" She heard Harry bellow from the base of the girls\' dormitory stairs. She released the stair charm and he came running up to her, his green eyes electric with fear and worry. \"What happened?\"

\"N..n...nothing. Just a dream. A dream.\" She sat, rocking back and forth, talking as if to convince herself.

Harry drew her into his arms, but she felt cold and unyielding...scared. \"We\'ll talk about that later. I came up here to tell you something anyway,\" he said as he regarded her with concern.

\"You...were? I thought you would still be in Double Potions,\" Ginny replied confusedly, as she looked at her clock.

\"Ron was found, Gin. Today. A few minutes ago,\" he blurted quickly.

\"HE WAS? Where? How? And oh Merlin, he is okay?\"

\"Professor Snape found him by the lake, stark bloody naked and unconscious. He\'s in the hospital wing now, but nothing appeared to be wrong with him other than the two things I just mentioned. Dumbledore already owled your parents...your mum had gone home temporarily to give everything a quick cleaning and your dad was, as always, at the Ministry. They are already here.\"

\"But...I charmed the Marauders\' Map to alert me when Ron reappeared on it...it was supposedly to make a trumpet fanfare...\" Ginny picked up the parchment from her nightstand drawer.

Harry looked uncomfortable. \"That\'s just the thing. Dumbledore had something similar set up to alert him. Ron is still UnLocatable, even though we know where he is. Your family\'s clock still has Ron\'s hand pointing at \"Lost\". And, as you can see,\" Harry indicated the map. \"...his name doesn\ppeappear in the hospital wing, either.\"

Ginny hesitated, then said, \"I don\'t care if that bloody means he\'s got amne I I want to see my big brother.\"