Cold

Chapter Four

(Draco Malfoy)

Emerald eyes flew open as my fingers brushed against the glowing skull on her skin. Her wand flew to my throat and she had my wrist, clutching it tightly. Her eyes were glimmering in fear, but her face was rock hard in determination. Then she realized who I was and jumped back.

"What the fuck were you doing, Malfoy?! Trying to take advantage of me or something?!"

"You... you're bleeding," was all I could manage to sputter for some reason.

She halted and stared down, then ran a finger across the mark carved in her skin. Those fear-stricken eyes grew wider and filled with tears. She collapsed against the trunk of the tree.

"God... no.... God... no.... No, no, no..."

Another bit of pain panged against my stone cold heart. I sighed and lifted my sleeve.

"Calm down. Just because you have it doesn't mean you work for Voldemort."

Ginny screamed and backed as far away as she could.

"You... you've come to take me away, haven't you?! You've come to take me to Tom Riddle!" she went into hysterics. "You- you can't! PLEASE DON'T! PLEASE! I'LL DO ANYTHING! PLE-"

I slapped her across the face. "Calm down Weaslette! I'm not taking you away. I'm not taking you to-who the hell is Tom Riddle?"

"V-Voldemort... sorta," she breathed.

I had to think it over for a moment. This girl was becoming more and more like me! I sighed. This was difficult for me to do. I quickly threw my cloak around the girl, grabbed her wrist, and began dragging her towards the castle.

"Malfoy, where are you-"

I stopped. "Does it hurt-the Mark?"

She nodded softly.

"Then I'm going to get you some help. C'mon." I dragged her onward.

(Ginny Weasley)

I honestly had no clue where he was taking me, but, for some reason, I trusted him, and I let him lead me down the corridors. It was dumb to trust him, I knew, because that was what started this whole thing- me trusting Tom Riddle. But, it seemed that he was different, even from his former self. I had noticed it on the train. It was his eyes... they were hurt... like mine... It made me wonder why someone like Draco Malfoy would be sad on the inside. What went on that left him so silent, so different from his previous years. I hadn't heard one taunt, one laugh, except for the half-hearted ones on the train.

He raced down the stairs, dragging me along until we reached the dungeons. I stared at him as he threw open the doors and began to walk quickly forward. He slammed the doors behind him, then turned to me quickly, grabbed me by the shoulders and squeezed them tightly, centimeters from my face.

"Now, listen to me," he demanded.

I nodded, deciding not to be the smart-ass I usually was to him. He had a threatening sense about him suddenly. "O-okay..."

"You need to keep this mark hidden at ALL TIMES. Understand?"

I nodded.

"What you do here tonight will be completely kept to you and I, AND THAT IS IT. THAT IS ALL. Do you UNDERSTAND?!"

I nodded.

"You know that if anyone finds out about this, you will be completely doomed to a life alone in Azkaban, St. Mungo's, or even as Death Eater. You know that, RIGHT?!"

I nodded again, feeling myself trembling under his overpowering gaze. He let go of me and turned to one final door, which he knocked on.

"Come in, Draco," a voice drawled from the other end.

He pushed open the door and stepped in, revealing that the man that was speaking was none other than Professor Snape himself.

"Professor?" He said softly. "Um... small problem... do you have enough of that potion for THREE people?"

"What's wrong?" Snape said immediately, standing and stalking over to the blonde in front of me. He looked back at me and I stepped out from behind him, blushing furiously, but on the verge of unconsciousness. "Why is she here?"

"Weasle- Ginny, show him."

I blinked, and then bit my lip, pulling a bit of my shirt down to reveal the glowing and bleeding mark. Snape raised his eyebrows.

"Just like Draco's... strange..."

I had never felt so... out of place. Here I was, standing around, chatting with Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape, two of the most unlikely people I would really even know all that well. Snape rolled his sleeve up to his forearm, and revealed his very own Dark Mark, except... it was different. Malfoy's was like mine. Snape's seemed like a tattoo, while ours seemed more like a scar, carved into our skin like stone. Draco suddenly yelped as he was pulling up his sleeve. The mark on his arm began bleeding profusely. I gasped.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

"SHHHHHH!" They both said, turning to me.

"D-don't worry. I'm fine. I-it happens all the time. Besides... I've felt worse pain..."

I saw a slight look of sadness in both their eyes, but I felt it radiate from them more. I told myself not to ask and that I shouldn't know anyway.

"So... what do I... do?"

"Here," Snape said, pulling out a lotion of some sort and applying it to the Dark Mark. "It takes away the pain... most of the time. I still don't understand why both of yours' bleed, however."

Draco ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. "Who knows? Who cares? I don't."

Snape handed us each a bottle of the lotion and I stared at it. He shook his head, and returned to his scowl. "You should."

"I can't BELIEVE a Weasley has the Dark Mark," he muttered, but I smiled at him all the same.

Draco brushed past me quickly and began to head up the stairs. I kept at his heels, trying to find out why he was so... different. He stopped.

"Malfoy?"

"What is it?" he asked.

We were alone in those empty corridors, littered with dust and the like. It was just us and the silence. I looked at my feet.

"Um... two questions."

"Shoot," he said.

"Um... why aren't you-ya' know, picking on me and my friends, and... why are you being so... understanding?"

There was an eerie but comforting silence, even though there was a despondent sadness pulsing from him. I could sense it in his soul.

"Well," he sighed. "I don't feel like picking on any of you anymore. It's stupid. And... I know how it feels. I DO understand. That's WHY I understand you now, Weaslette. Look." He turned to me. "I'm going to be honest. These next few years are going to be the most painful years of your life. You're going to be tested like you've never been tested before, but..." He put his hands on my shoulders, "If you remain good, and trusting, you'll pull through, definitely much better than I ever will-considering my attitude of the world...."

I bit my lip, feeling tears piling in my eyes again. He didn't understand completely. He didn't know that my good and trusting side had been thrashed since Second Year. He didn't know that my evil side was Voldemort himself. He didn't know...

"This... SUCKS!" I yelled, throwing my arms around him.

He tensed up, and then relaxed. "I know."

"Fuck Voldemort! I HATE HIM! He's a bastard! A cold heartless BASTARD!" Oh, how long I had wanted to scream.

"Shhh," Draco said quickly, placing a hand over my mouth and pulling me into an empty classroom.

Filch walked by the door without noticing us.

"I know. It's terrible. He's a horrible guy and all that, but what can you do? If you let this anger continue, he's winning!"

"This anger has been here a long time, Draco Malfoy," I said darkly, feeling the hot tears pouring down my face as I shook uncontrollably. "Nothing will EVER make it go away."

I stomped past him and away from the classroom and up to the portrait hole and up to my room without a word. I screamed into my pillow until I fell asleep.