Chapter One- The Slytherin Prince

“Hermione, how. . ? Hermione?”

Ron looked up from his homework to find the girl in question nowhere to be seen. “Hey, where’s Hermione?”

Ginny glanced up from where she was helping Harry with his Charms homework and sighed. “Ron, she’s sick. She said at least three times that she had a headache, then said she was going to bed. Honestly!”

Ron sighed and frowned, then grinned. “Then you can help me. You’re good at Potions, Ginny. How do you do this one?”

Ginny rolled her eyes, moving to kneel by where her brother was doing his homework. She glanced at the problem he was pointing at, then at him. “You have to use the equation Professor Snape gave you yesterday. Isn’t it in your notes?” When Ron continued to look at her blankly, she rolled her eyes and called across the room.

“Hey Harry, do you have your Potions notes with you?”

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Ginny left the dungeons in a bad mood. Honestly, Ron and Harry could do well in potions if they tried a little harder. Since neither of them had copied down the notes, she’d had to get Hermione’s from where they’d been left
in the dungeons earlier. Muttering to herself, Ginny stalked up the passageway, mindless of where she was going.

“Hey!”

At the unexpected shout from behind her, Ginny jumped slightly. Quickly schooling her features, she turned toward the source of the shout and felt a shiver of fear run up her spine. Draco Malfoy was strolling up the hall toward her, a look she couldn’t puzzle out upon his face.


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Draco sighed as he walked through the dungeons. He came out here every night to think, to be by himself. Though the corridors were often full of Slytherins, he didn’t worry about anybody bothering him. Any dweeb with half a brain knew by now to stay out of his way. The Slytherin Prince tolerated people in his own house well enough, but that didn’t mean he would stand for them bugging him day and night, trying to be his friend to get in on his money. Very few people actually understood him.

Turning a corner, Draco was surprised to see a slim, red-headed figure retreating up the passage. “Hey,” he called, not quite registering who it was. The figure jumped at his shout. Ginny Weasley turned to face him, her look of surprise giving way to one of fear, then quickly turning indifferent.

“Yes?”


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The closer he got to her, the more Ginny wanted to turn and run. The stubborn Weasley part of her wouldn’t allow it, though, and compelled her to speak.

“Yes?”

Draco didn’t respond until he was less than a foot away from her. “What are you doing down here?”

Ginny felt her face flush at his nearness, but tried to hide it with a brisk tone. “I had to get some notes, not that it’s any of your business. Why do you care?”

Draco moved closer yet to her, lowering his face so it was less than an inch from hers. “The dungeons aren’t a safe place for any girl at night, especially innocent little Gryffindors. You shouldn’t be here.”


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Draco was less than a foot from her by the time he could respond. “What are you doing down here?”

Draco watched her cheeks go pink, and something caught inside of him. She was so naive. He had to get her out of here. “The dungeons aren’t a safe place for any girl at night, especially innocent little Gryffindors. You shouldn’t be here.”

Ginny’s pretty brown eyes widened in surprise, then softened. “Are. . .you actually trying to help me?”

Silently, he took her wrist and led her down the hallway. Two minutes later, the exit was in sight.


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Ginny felt her eyes widen as he moved closer to her, and another shiver ran down her spine. This time it wasn’t fear that held her, but wonder. His grey eyes were so deep, like pools she could just drown in. Then what he had said registered. “Are. . .you actually trying to help me?”

Without responding he grabbed her wrist and led her up the hallway. A few minutes later they were at the stone archway that signified the end of the dungeons. He stopped when they reached it, releasing her wrist. “This is as far as I go. You’re safe from here.”

Ginny opened her mouth to say something: she didn’t know what, but he turned and walked away. When he didn't hear her move away, Draco turned back for a moment. “Go.”

Chapter Two- Thank You

“Ginny. Ginny? Ginny!”

Ginny awoke the next morning to someone shouting her name and shaking her. Bleary-eyed, she lifted her head and peered at crazy woman by her bed. “Hermione?”

Hermione leaned back and grinned. “You'd better get up, Ginny. Ron’s pretty ticked off about something. He’s been pacing the common room for the last hour, and he keeps shouting for you up the stairs.”

Still half asleep, Ginny sat up yawning. “What’s he want me for?”

“I don’t know, but you’d better get down there before he tears the common room apart.”


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"Where is she, Hermione? You said she was up!”

Hermione frowned at Ron, who was still pacing back and forth across the floor. “She’s coming, Ron, for Heaven’s sake. Honestly, sometimes I think you have some of Snape in you. Harry, talk some sense into him.”

Harry Potter, who’d been lounging on the sofa watching them bicker with an amused look on his face, shook his head. “I’ll leave that to Ginny.”

The door to the girls’ staircase opened, and Ginny came out, looking none too happy at being woken up. “What do you want, Ron? Hermione said you’ve been wearing a hole right through the floor down here.”

Ron rounded on his sister, glaring at her. “You never came back from your ‘little walk.’ I want to know what you were doing last night.”

“Sleeping.”

“Oh, don’t give me that! We walked right past you underneath the invisibility cloak. You had this weird look on your face, like you’d. . .Ginny, who were you snogging?”

Ginny’s eyes went wide and she glared back at her brother. “I wasn’t snogging anyone! Honestly, you’re acting like it’s a crime to go for a walk.”

Ron acted as though he hadn’t heard her. “You’re dating someone, aren’t you? You’re dating somebody and you sneak out in the middle of the night to kiss him! If you have to sneak out then he’s in a different house. You were coming from the direction of the dun- Bloody hell! My sister’s dating a Slytherin! Oh no, Mum’s going to find a way to blame this on me, you watch!”

“Ron, I really don’t see what you’re so upset about.” This came from Harry, who had risen to stand by Hermione, somewhat between the feuding siblings. “We sneak out in the night all the time.”

“And you know Ginny hates Slytherins just as much as we do,” Hermione put in. “Why on Earth would she date one?”

Ron spluttered. “But, but she. . .but. . .”

“Hermione, why don’t you and Ginny head down to breakfast,” Harry said, grinning at the pair of them. “I’ll handle Ron.”


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Later that day, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny sat eating lunch together, Ron considerably calmer. Or rather, Ron, Harry, and Hermione sat eating lunch, while Ginny pushed her food around on her plate. Her thoughts were on the night before.

“Draco Malfoy was being nice. Is the world ending?” Ginny glanced at the ceiling of the great hall. “Nope, the sky isn’t falling. But Draco Malfoy being polite? It’s crazy! Maybe he’s sick. Or maybe it was all a dream.”

Looking suddenly at the Slytherin table, Ginny saw the object of her thoughts watching her. Their eyes met, and an idea struck Ginny. Jerking her head back toward the doors, she rose to her feet.

“I'll be right back,” she whispered to Hermione.

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“She seemed so surprised that I helped her. Great, now she probably thinks I’m into her.” As it turned out, Draco’s thoughts were on the night before as well. Looking over at the Gryffindor table, he noticed Ginny wasn’t eating. “Great. Now she’s gone and gotten herself all worked up over nothing.”

When Ginny looked up at him and jerked her head back, he felt himself nod. Waiting until she’d disappeared out the doors, Draco stood and left the hall as well.

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Ginny waited nervously in the hall for him to appear. She’d seen him nod; he was coming. Pacing slightly, she tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach. “Maybe it’s not what you think. He was just trying to help. Yeah, that’s it. There’s nothing more to it.”

Sinking down onto the floor, Ginny waited in silence for Malfoy to come.

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Draco left the hall with a wondering feeling. What did she want? Exiting the hall, he almost tripped over Ginny, who was kneeling near the doors. She quickly got to her feet, brushing herself off.

“Well, Weasley? What do you want?”

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The door opened suddenly and Draco Malfoy came out, sending Ginny sprawling. She quickly rose, brushing the dirt off her clothes to hide her glowing face. At his question, she collected herself and faced him.

“Why did you help me?”

“Nobody deserves what happens in those dungeons, except maybe Potter,” Draco said. At her question his eyes had widened, then gone blank of emotion. “Don’t get any ideas, Weasel, it wasn’t anything personal.

Ginny took a deep breath, then spoke the words she’d been dreading to say. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Draco turned on his heel and walked back into the hall.

Chapter Three- Step One: Introductions

Draco,

As you know, the Dark Lord rose again to power last June. I and several other of his most faithful Death Eaters have recently broken out of Azkaban. We are, of course, staying well hidden until the Dark Lord finds it necessary for us to prove our strength. He has recently been questioning me as to whether you will be ready to join us upon graduating. I told him I would write to you about it.

Now Draco, because I am an escaped convict, you will likely be questioned as to whether you’ve heard from me. For this reason, precisely ten minutes after you read the closing of this letter, you will forget everything you’ve read, with the exception of your joining the Death Eaters. Think long and hard on this, and have an answer ready for me.

Lucius Malfoy

PS- Burn this letter. Or, better yet, make a first year eat it.

Draco closed his eyes as he refolded the letter from his father. Him, join the Death Eaters? It was among the greatest of honors, but he knew the Dark Lord hadn’t meant for him to join after graduation. More likely, he would want his loyalty sworn as soon as possible. That could prove difficult, as walking around Hogwarts with the Dark Mark would cause a bit of an upset.

With a sigh, Draco turned to the other letter he’d received with the morning post:

My Dearest Draco,

How are you? I assume by this time you’ve read the letter from your father. Doubtless he’s informed you that the Dark Lord wants your loyalty? My son, it would bring an even greater honor to the family name if we had two members in the Dark Lord’s company. Please think carefully on this Draco; it means a great deal to your father and me.

There is another matter, which your father thought would be best brought up by me. It is our wish that by the time of your graduation, you be married. Lucius asked me to suggest the Parkinson’s girl, Pansy, though anyone loyal to our Lord would be acceptable.

Goodbye for now. Think carefully on these issues, as they are vital components of your future.

All My Love,

Narcissa Malfoy

---

A few hours later, Draco Malfoy was in the company of his two best friends. Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson sat in the Head Boy’s rooms with him, both looking somewhat confused at his distress.

“Quite honestly, Draco, I don’t see what you’re upset about. You and Blaise have always known you’d join the Death Eaters eventually.”

“It’s not the Death Eaters that I’m worried about, Pansy,” Draco snarled. “You can’t be that thick-headed.”

Pansy rolled her eyes. “You know I’m not. The only reason everyone thinks so is because I have to put on that stupid, ditzy act all the time.”

“I don’t think you need to worry, mate,” Blaise said, adding in his two cents worth. “You have practically all school year to find some girl to marry. You know it won’t matter as long as she’s a Slytherin. Heck, you might even be able to get away with a Ravenclaw.”

Draco sighed and flopped back on his bed. “It’s more complicated than that. She has to be a pureblood. My family’s one of the most powerful ones in the wizarding world, and there’s no one left to marry. My first choice would be a Black, but there’s no decent ones left. No female Averys, no female Notts. . .”

“What about a Crabbe or Goyle?” Blaise put in.

Draco shook his head. “Too stupid, I wouldn’t be able to stand it. And no offense, Pansy, but I can’t see us getting married.”

“None taken. I wouldn’t want to marry you.”

Draco ignored her little barb and kept muttering. “The only other pureblood family I can think of is a disgrace to wizarding kind.”

Blaise and Pansy caught on at once, because Draco often ranted to them about that family.

“Well, maybe a certain girl from that family could be persuaded to join us,” Pansy said hopefully.

Blaise shook his head. “It might’ve been possible when she first came to Hogwarts, but after the Chamber she’s been a lot more on her guard. I don’t think it’s likely she’ll forget that the 16 year-old Dark Lord tried to kill her.”

“Still, Ginny Weasley’s my best bet.” Draco sighed. “It’s worth a try. Pansy, what do I do first?”

The girl shuddered at Draco’s question. “What do you do first? How about forget this ridiculous plan of yours? Blaise is right, Ginny’s always going to remember that You-Know-Who tried to kill her. There must be someone else.”

Draco stood and faced her. “There aren’t very many purebloods left. If not Ginny, then who? No female Macnair, no female Lestrange, not even a female Black, come to think of it. Snape has no daughter, Karkaroff has no daughter, and Crouch has no soul, so I don’t think he’ll be adding to the population anytime soon. I have no desire to marry a Crabbe, Goyle, or Parkinson, and I’m not going to wed my own cousins.”

“There are others,” Pansy put in. Seeing the look on Draco’s face, she added “Besides Millicent Bulstrode.”

“Yeah,” said Blaise snickering. “You could ask the Bloody Baron if he has any Great-Great-Great Granddaughters you can snog.”

Pansy delivered him a sharp slap across the head. “Boys, focus! Draco, are you sure that it’s Ginny you want to go after?”

“No, but what choice do I have?”

Pansy heaved a sigh and pulled a notebook and pen from the drawer next to her.

Blaise cast a curious glance at it. “What that for? We’re not making a checklist or anything.”

Pansy smiled. “Actually, we are.”

---

Nearing two hours and three notebooks later, Pansy declared they were finished. “I think we’ve got everything. You just have to follow this list exactly and you’ll be fine. A word of advice, though; Work more on getting her to the Dark side than getting her to like you. I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

Draco looked at Pansy sharply. “What do you mean?”

“You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed the looks she gives you.”

“You mean of disgust?”

Pansy rolled her eyes and glared at Blaise. “No, that’d be the ‘famous trio.’ I’m talking about Ginny. She almost seems to see that underneath that coarse exterior-”

“He’s gross?”

Pansy slapped Blaise across the back of the head.

“What? He smells funny?”

---

Draco walked around the school on his break, studying the list Pansy had made. Oddly enough, she seemed to have written it for girls in general, not specifically for Ginny. It read:

Step One: Introductions
In order to get to know a girl, you must know her name firsthand. Don’t think that learning her name from someone else will do. Talking casually is the first step toward friendly contact, which happens to be step two. A good conversation starter is ‘Hi, I’m Draco Malfoy.’

Oh my gosh, she thinks I’m an idiot. I’m going to kill her!

Draco glanced up and saw Ginny walking down the nearly deserted corridor in front of him. Well, here goes nothing.

“Hey, Ginny!”

Ginny stopped walking and glared at him, but stood her ground as he came nearer. When he stopped in front of her, she raised an eyebrow at him. “What?”

He stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Draco Malfoy.”

Ginny tilted her head to one side, then took his hand. “Ginny Weasley. I don’t like you.”

“Pleasure to meet you, too.”

---

“Pansy, all that accomplished was thoroughly confusing her!”

“Well I didn’t say it would be easy, Draco. Honestly, I wouldn’t have made that list for you if it was going to be.”

“I wish,” said Blaise from across the table, his mouth full of turkey. “I’d been dere to shtee da look on ‘er face.”

“Oh yes, it was priceless,” Draco replied dryly.

Pansy patted him soothingly on the back, a kind smile lighting upon her lips. “You did quite well for the first time. She didn’t curse you or run away, so I think we’ve made progress already. A word to the wise, though; make sure you make contact with her only when you two are quite alone. The last thing we need is word getting to your mother before you’ve brought Ginny around.”

---

The next morning, the Azkaban breakout was front page of the Daily Prophet. As expected, Draco was questioned as to whether he knew where his father was.

“I haven’t heard a thing from him, sir,” said Draco, sitting in Professor Dumbledore’s office. “I can only guess he’s not stupid enough to sit around the Manor waiting to be found.”

Professor Dumbledore sighed, looking weary. “Alright, Mr. Malfoy, I can’t say I really expected you to know. You may go. Please send in Mr. Nott.”

Chapter Four- Step Two: Friendly Contact

“What’s the matter, Dracey-poo?”

Draco glared at Pansy, who gave him a bright ditzy smile. “Nothing’s the matter. Leave me alone, Pansy.”

Draco had been sitting quietly on the couch in the Slytherin common room, thinking about ‘The Plan’ when Pansy came over and plopped down next to him. Being out in public, she’d had to adopt the dense version of herself.

Pansy shook her head. “Nope, not gonna do it. Tell me what’s wrong, it’ll make you feel better.” Moving closer in her “sultry” manner, Pansy whispered in his ear. “Blaise says he’s got something important to tell you. Let’s go.”

Playing the part, Draco let a smirk darken his face. “Come with me Pansy. I have something to show you in my room.”

---

“Draco, we’ve got a problem.”

Draco shot Blaise a dry look. “Of course we do. I’m a pampered rich boy trying to court the poorest girl on the planet, I’ve got to marry her in less than a year, and I get to join the Death Eaters in a couple months. What’s not a problem right now?”

Blaise rolled his eyes. “Well, someone’s just having a right pity party, aren’t they? I’ve been designated by Dumbledore to tell you that you have to plan a Halloween dance/ball thing.”

“Aw man, I have to hang out with Granger again? Damn!”

Blaise shook his head. “No, I mean YOU have to plan it. Granger’s taken ill or something, so it’s up to you.”

“I can’t plan a dance, I’m a guy! Pansy, I need your help.”

Pansy just looked at him. “Don’t ask me for help; ask Ginny. It’ll give you an excuse to be with her, and that will fulfill Step Two.”

---

Ginny walked out of Potions detention steaming mad. ‘That stupid Snape, I swear I could kill him sometimes! I don’t care if he is in the order, I don’t see how Voldemort himself could be any worse!’

Ginny’s thoughts were interrupted when the person she least wanted to see at that moment joined her. “What do you want, Malfoy?”

Draco swallowed hard and forced the words out. “I need your help.”

Ginny laughed a mirthless laugh that didn’t reach her eyes. “Why do you need my help? Why would a Malfoy possibly need help from a Weasley?” When he didn’t answer right away, Ginny pulled him to a stop and turned him to face her. “Well?”

Draco’s mouth twisted into a frown, then he spoke. “The Head Boy and Girl are supposed to plan some sort of Halloween bash, but Granger’s sick now. I need a girl to help me.”

“Why on Earth are you asking me? No, never mind- it doesn’t matter. The answer is no.” Ginny started walking again, not caring if he followed her or not.

Draco grabbed her arm and pulled her back in his direction. He lowered his head and let his mouth brush hers for just a moment. When she didn’t pull away, he pressed his lips hard to hers. With the hand still clutching Ginny’s elbow, he brought her closer to him.

---

Ginny felt his arms encircle her, and she didn’t even care. His kiss was making her head spin, and it was all she could do to keep from shaking. Draco pulled back slowly and she looked up into those deep smoky eyes. He looked just as flustered as she felt.

Suddenly, Ginny realized what was going on. She had just kissed Draco Malfoy! Pushing him away, she stood trembling on her own, trying desperately to sort out her feelings.

Draco spoke long before she was ready for him to. “Your help?”

Ginny swallowed, fighting desperately to keep from drowning in those dark eyes.

“Alright.”

---

“Draco, I- Draco? Draco!”

Draco started, looking guiltily around at Pansy. “What? Sorry, Pansy, I missed what you said.”

“You’ve missed everything that’s been said for the past hour. What’s wrong with you?”

Draco shook his head slightly, trying to clear it. “Ginny says she’ll help. I completed step two. . .and step six.”

---

“Hello, Earth to Ginny!”

Ginny jumped as a finger flicked her hard in the forehead. She glared at Ron, rubbing the spot where he’d hit her. “What?”

“Ginny, what’s up? You’ve been messed up all night. Ginny? Ginny!”

Chapter Five- The Eye of the Storm

“Hermione, I think something’s wrong with Ginny.”

The bushy-haired brunette looked up from her book with a sigh. “Why this time, Ron?”

“Last night she wouldn’t pay any attention to me.”

Hermione snorted and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like ‘smart girl,’ but Ron appeared not to hear.

“I got her to look at me once, but she just drifted off again a second later. She acted like she’d been snogging someone.”

Hermione rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh that even Ron couldn’t ignore. “Honestly, Ron, the last time you thought that she’d been in the dungeons getting Potions notes. Need I remind you that she’s 16 now? She’s hardly a child anymore, so even if she had been snogging someone, it wouldn’t be any of your business.”

Harry, who’d been listening in from across the table, shook his head. “Naw, Ron’s right, Hermione- Ginny was acting really weird last night. She’s not here right now, either, and have you ever known Ginny to miss breakfast? Maybe you should talk to her.”

Ron nodded furiously. “Yeah, a girl to girl type thing.”

Hermione looked between the two boys with raised eyebrows. When they just kept watching her, she groaned and got up. “Oh, alright, but I don’t see what good it’ll do. Ron, stop nodding like that, you look like a bobble-head.”

---

Ginny sat sprawled in the arm chair in a daze, peering into the flames with no apparent concern for the pajamas she still wore. ‘I can’t believe I kissed him,’ she thought confusedly. ‘No wait, he kissed me! But then again, I kissed him right back. Why did I tell him I’d help him plan that stupid dance? God, I’m an idiot!’

A person plopped down in the nearest arm chair and Ginny started, whipping around to see who it was. Hermione sat there, watching the flames.

“I’m supposed to ask you why you were so out of it last night. Ron and Harry think you looked like you’d been snogging somebody.”

Ginny looked quickly away from her friend, a pink glow rushing to her cheeks. When she didn’t reply, Hermione leaned forward to see her face.

“Ginny? You weren’t snogging someone, were you?” When she still didn’t answer, Hermione sat back with a grin. “You were. Who was it? Do I know him? Is he cute?”

“You know him,” the red head said slowly, wondering how she was ever going to get out of this one. “He’s very good looking, but cute doesn’t really describe him.”

Hermione’s smile widened. “What house is he in? I’m betting. . .Ravenclaw?”

Ginny shook her head and spoke with obvious reluctance. “Let’s just say that. . .his Quidditch colors are green and white.”

Hermione’s smile faded abruptly. “You mean he’s a Slytherin?” At Ginny’s nod, Hermione’s jaw dropped. “Oh, Ginny, that’s not good at all. Next thing you know, you’ll be telling me it’s Draco Malfoy, who has suddenly fallen madly in love with you!”

The other girl remained silent.

Hermione looked stunned. “Ginny, you can’t actually mean it’s Malfoy! Do you have any idea what you’re getting yourself into? He’s a Slytherin, for Merlin’s sake! His father’s a Death Eater!”

“Do you think I don’t know that, Hermione?” Ginny snapped. “Do you think I don’t realize how bad this is? I didn’t mean for it to happen, okay? Get off it!”

Hermione sighed, and she softened. “I know, Gin. I’m sorry I went off on you like that. I’ve got to go back to breakfast, though; Ron and Harry will be frantic.”

Ginny’s eyes widened, her face becoming a mask of panic. “You’re not going to tell them, are you? Hermione, they’d kill me! They’d freak!”

“Relax, it’ll be our little secret.”

---

Ron and Harry both looked up expectantly as Hermione sat back down, picked up her book, and began to eat. After exchanging a look with Ron, Harry spoke.

“Did you find her?”

Hermione nodded.

“Did she tell you what she’d been doing?”

Hermione nodded again.

“Was she snogging someone?”

Hermione shrugged.

“Are you going to tell us who?”

Hermione shook her head.

“Why not?” This time it was Ron who spoke, a bewildered
look on his face.

Hermione looked up from her book. “I told her I wouldn’t, okay? Drop it.”

---

Draco Malfoy watched from his place at the Slytherin table as Hermione Granger came back into the Great Hall, a satisfied smile on her face. “Damn it,” he growled, throwing down his napkin and rising from the table. “She told.”

Draco stormed from the hall, feeling none to happy with a certain red-head.

---

Finally unable to ignore the growling coming from her stomach, Ginny had gotten up and dressed. She was heading toward the portrait hole when fire erupted in the fireplace and filled the room with green light. Draco Malfoy was stalking out of the flue, covered in ash and looking fit to kill.

Ginny was stunned. “How’d you do that?”

Draco held out a handful of green powder to her. “I’ve got connections at the floo office. Let’s go.”

---

The next thing she knew, Ginny was falling out of the fireplace in a room she’d never been in before. The floor was a soft white carpet, thick enough that she couldn’t feel the stone beneath it. On each wall was one of the four symbols of Hogwarts, with the coordinating house colors surrounding it. A magnificent four poster was positioned in one corner of the room, green and silver hangings glinting at her mockingly.

Situated in one wall was a closed door, presumably leading to a bathroom of some kind. A majestic arch took up most of the other wall, leading to the common room type place where Draco and Ginny were standing. A giant fire burned in that room, taller by far than either of them. A magnificent silver serpent glinted above the fireplace, emitting hissing noises right along with the fire. This was where the Head Boy stayed.

“What did you think you were doing?” Ginny jumped as Draco’s livid voice broke into her musings. “Do you have to tell the entire school EVERYTHING? Are you completely incapable of keeping things to yourself? You obviously didn’t stop to think about what would happen to us both if the wrong people found out!”

Ginny jerked away from Draco as if burned. “How was I supposed to know it would upset you so much? I told one stinking person, I fail to see how that will end the world!”

Draco paced the room, running a hand through his hair in agitation. “Honestly, Weaselette, I know you aren’t stupid! Do you even realize what you could’ve done? Do you have any idea?”

Ginny’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Let’s get one thing straight here, Malfoy- I don’t have to answer to you for anything I do. This conversation is over.” She stalked back to the fireplace, grabbing a fistful of green powder from a jar on the way. “And don’t you ever yell at me again; I don’t deserve that.”

Ginny threw the powder into the fire, yelled her destination, and watched with relief as the Head Boy’s quarters- and Draco Malfoy- spun out of sight. She was so upset that, when her feet finally hit the ashes of the Gryffindor fireplace, she felt her knees buckle. Her upper body lurched out of the fireplace, and Ginny Weasley fell into a deep blackness.

---

‘Way to go, idiot! How are you going to explain that one to Pansy?’ Running a hand through his hair, Draco turned from the fire Ginny had disappeared into. After a moment, the flickering shadows from the flames descended and engulfed him in a wreath of darkness.

The timelines are going to be screwy from here on out, but it's very important to the story line that all those characters are at Hogwarts, so. . .yeah.

Chapter Six- Timeless

“Who is she?”

“I don’t know, but she kind of looks like Lily. . .ow! Prongs!”

“She does NOT look like Lily. Nobody looks like Lily.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“I don’t know. . .What do you think, Moony?”

“I think we should take her to the hospital wing and let Madam Pomfrey figure it out.”

“Too late, she’s waking up.”

Ginny half-sighed, half-groaned and opened her eyes. A mildly attractive boy of about 17 bent over her, amber eyes filled with concern.

“Are you alright?”

“I- I’m okay, I think.” Ginny struggled to sit up, blinking at the boy confusedly. “You look awfully familiar. Have I met you somewhere before?”

The boy looked at her, considering, then shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

Ginny frowned. “I could’ve sworn. . .” Something clicked in her brain, and her mouth formed a soft ‘o’. “Lupin? Remus Lupin, is that you!?”

“Ha ha, Moony, you dog! How come you didn’t tell us you knew hot chicks like this?”

Ginny looked in the direction of the voice and groaned. “You have got to be kidding me. Sirius Black?”

The boy looked at his cohorts in confusion before nodding. Ginny, seeing this, flopped back down onto the floor, muttering under her breath. “I’m in school at the same time as the Marauders. Just fabulous.”

---

“He’s kind of cute, don’t you think?”

“Narcissa, you’re dating Lucius, remember?”

“He actually looks a lot like Lucius.” Narcissa tipped her blonde head to the side, considering. “Don’t you see it?”

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. “Whatever. What do you think we should do with him?”

“Nothing. He’s already waking up.”

---

“Weaselette?!”

Ginny’s eyes popped open. There was Draco Malfoy, just sitting down on the hospital bed beside hers. “Holy crap, you’re here, too?”

Madam Pomfrey came bustling out of her office, hurrying over to look at the new arrival. “Get out, all of you others. Out!”

---

Fifteen minutes later, just as Madam Pomfrey finished attending the pair, Professor Dumbledore strolled into the hospital wing. “Hello, children. The Head Boy came to my office a few minutes ago to inform me of some new arrivals. Who exactly are you?”

Draco started to speak just as Ginny was opening her mouth, and she cut him off mid-syllable. “We’re from Hogwarts later on, in 1996 to be exact. We just somehow both passed out, and when we woke up, we were here.”

“I see.” A somewhat awkward silence stretched between the three. “Well, I’m assuming you’d like to continue your studies for the duration of your stay?”

Ginny started to say something, but Draco interrupted. “What do you mean ‘the duration of our stay’? Can’t you just send us back?”

Dumbledore shook his head. “I’m afraid not. I have no idea how you got to this time, and as you two don’t either, I think it wise to study the subject for a time before making a decision.”

Ginny nodded slowly, trying to force thoughts into her clouded mind. “Well. . .we’ll have to use different names. If my calculations are correct, my oldest brother should be a first year this year. Bill Weasley?”

Dumbledore nodded. “I recognize the name. A very promising young Gryffindor, and red hair like yours.”

“My parents should be here right now, too,” Draco put in, disliking being ignored. “Narcissa Black and Lucius Malfoy?”

“Yes, two true Slytherins. Seventh Years, if I’m not mistaken.”

---

People stared as Draco and Ginny entered the Great Hall halfway through dinner, the latter heading straight to the Gryffindor table. She immediately spotted Lupin, who was waving her over. Bee-lining in his direction, she plopped down next to him with a grateful smile.

“Hey! Feeling better?”

Ginny nodded. “Yeah, loads.”

A very pretty girl sitting across the table smiled at Ginny; she had green eyes and dark red hair. “Remus, introduce me!”

“Lily, this is the girl that James was telling you about.” Remus paused and looked at Ginny, brow furrowed slightly. “I don’t think I caught your name.”

“Haleigh,” Ginny said, automatically supplying the name she’d decided on. “Haleigh Adams.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Haleigh.” Lily extended her hand across the table. “I’m Lily Evans, the Head Girl.”

Sirius nudged Ginny with his elbow. “Why did the boy in the hospital wing call you Weaselette?”

Ginny thought fast. “Oh, that’s Erik Cummings. He just makes up random nicknames for me sometimes. We were home-schooled together.”

---

Draco, smirking at the direction Ginny went, headed to the Slytherin table. Narcissa was sitting near the middle, and she waved him over, nudging the man next to her.

“Lucius, this is the guy Bellatrix and I were talking about, the one who looks like you.”

Draco felt, to the say the least, a bit uncomfortable at the calculating gaze his teenage father fixed on him.

“You’re a pureblood, I assume?”

Draco nodded at once, producing the name of an American wizarding family. “I’m a Cummings. Erik’s the name.”

Chapter Seven- A Wrinkle in Time

“Write the message, Ginny.”

“Yes, Tom.”

FLASH

“Hermione, what’s going on?”

“Some Death Eaters showed up and started levitating Muggles. We have to get out of their way!”

FLASH

“They’ve been down there too long. It’s been over an hour.”

“They’ll be fine, Ginny. It’s just a task.”

“How can you be so sure? Harry! Ron!”

FLASH

“He fell through the veil, Harry. He’s gone.”

“No! Don’t say that! Sirius!”

FLASH

Footfalls behind her matched her own. Being followed in the dungeons was undoubtedly a bad thing.

“Hey!”

FLASH

“Write the message, Ginny. Good morning beautiful.”

“Yes, To- what?”

“How was your night? Mine was so wonderful-”

Ginny opened her eyes, squinting at the light that assailed her. Lily leaned over her, a grin on her face. “And I open my eyes, to see your sweet face. It’s a good morning beautiful day.”

Ginny groaned and flipped over, pulling her pillow over her head. “Go away, or a sweet face is not what you’re going to be seeing.”

Lily’s grin widened, and she grabbed the pillow off Ginny’s head. “No can do, Haleigh. I have a message from
Dumbledore.”

“Tell him to go to he-”

“Language.”

“Tell him I’d appreciate him not waking me up this early in the morning.”

“It’s important,” Lily said, straightening and putting on her best ‘Dumbledore voice.’ “He said to come get you ‘with all haste, and bring Mr. Cummings as well.’”

Ginny’s hand froze in mid-grab for her pillow. Jumping out of bed with complete disregard for the pajamas she still wore, she tore down the staircase and out of the common room, bellowing at the top of her lungs. “Erik! Erik Cummings, get your bloody boxered self out of bed before I come do it for you! Don’t make me come down there; I’ll open a can of butt whoop on you! Erik!”

“Haleigh.”

Ginny whirled from her tirade to see Draco Malfoy standing a few feet behind her. “I was already on my way to get you. You stormed right by me without even noticing, but by all means continue; there might be a few heavy sleepers that you haven’t woken up yet.”

Ginny stamped her foot and grabbed his arm, setting off at a run for Dumbledore’s office. Draco had no choice but to do the same, lest he be dragged along.

---

“Chocolate frogs? Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans? Cockroach Cluster! Blood Lollipop!”

Draco rolled his eyes from his lounging position against the nearby wall. “Shut it, Weaselette. Some of those candies you’re shouting haven’t even been invented yet.”

Ginny looked around in mock surprise. “Weasley? Is that little boy Bill here somewhere?”

Draco sighed and closed his eyes. “Shut up.”

“No.”

“Fine, have it your way. Shut it, Adams.”

Ginny nodded approvingly.

“Hem hem.”

Professor Dumbledore was standing in the corridor beside them, arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

“Shall we go on up?”

---

“So, what is it, Professor? What have you found out?”

Dumbledore seemingly ignored the question, pulling at a piece of thread hanging from the cuff of his robes.

“Professor?”

Dumbledore simply continued to fumble with the thread, pulling at it first this way, then that.

Annoyed and bored, Draco had a go at it. “Professor! What have you found?"

“This.” Dumbledore had freed the thread from his sleeve and was holding it up for inspection.

Ginny raised her eyebrows and cleared her throat uncomfortably. “You found a- a thread? That’s certainly. . .uh. . .interesting.”

Draco was much less circumspect. “You called us here for a thread? Good God, he’s gone mad! My father always said the man was loony, but I never suspected how early it started. I’ve half a mind to go to St. Mungo’s right now and tell them I’ve got a new patient for their psych ward.”

“Draco, shut up.”

The blond cut off mid-tirade, looking hard at Ginny, who [i]wasn’t[/i] looking at him. Rather, she was watching Dumbledore and his thread with a rather peculiar look on her face. The headmaster had brought his hands together, so that most of the thread hung loose between them.

Ginny tilted her head, brows furrowing. “I read a Muggle book once that dealt with supernatural travel. It used a thread and an ant for a diagram.”

Dumbledore smiled, eyes twinkling merrily behind his half-moon glasses. “Very good, Miss Weasley. That book is my source as well.” He pulled the thread taut. “Suppose I had an ant on this piece of thread. How would it get from one end to the other, Mr. Malfoy?”

Draco rolled his eyes. “By walking along the length of the thread, I suppose. I’m sure you have a much more interesting idea, though.”

Dumbledore only nodded. “Indeed I do. Walking the length of the thread would be the obvious choice, of course, and seemingly the only one. However, if I did this, it would be a much shorter journey for the ant.” Dumbledore brought his hands together again, letting the majority of the thread hang free. “This kind of travel has always been considered impossible, but, even so, the theory was given a name: a wrinkle in time. That is how I believe you got here.”

Ginny’s frown grew deeper. “But how, Professor, and why us?”

“You will remember, Miss Weasley, that book talking about dimensions? No? Well, I’ll explain it, then. The first dimension is a straight line, the second, a square, and the third, a cube. The fourth dimension is time, and the fifth is a Tesseract- a wrinkle in time. I believe you came through the fifth dimension. I cannot say why for sure, but it had something to do with the fourth dimension as well. With the help of something of infinite importance, the fourth dimension can be meshed into the fifth.”

Draco looked at Dumbledore blankly. “What thing of infinite importance?”

Dumbledore shook his head, the twinkle leaving his eyes. “That, I cannot say for sure. My guess is there is something here in this time that concerns you two, something of great importance to your futures. I imagine you won’t be able to return to your own time until you witness this thing, but, like I said, I can only guess. I urge you to think on what I’ve said, and keep your eyes open; the smallest detail could be the key you need. You’re dismissed.”

Draco got up and headed for the door immediately, shaking his head. Ginny, however, hovered on the cusp of rising or remaining. “Um, Professor? I had a dream last night about all these terrible things that happened back in my time. I think it’s important somehow. The thing is, most of them didn’t exactly turn out terrible, but it seemed like they would. It might just be a coincidence, but somehow I don’t think so.”

Dumbledore came closer, taking the seat nearest her. “Is there a common emotion that you could easily associate with each of these memories?”

Ginny nodded. “Fear. Every time, I was just deathly afraid of what might happen, or what was happening right before my eyes. I don’t understand.”

Dumbledore sighed and stood, pacing away from her. “Unfortunately, I do.”

Chapter 8- Changes

“I believe those dreams, that common emotion, has to do with the reason you’re here.”

“Let me guess,” said Draco from the door. “This thing of utmost importance is going to require us to get the shit scared out of us before we can ‘truly understand’ and return to our time. Am I right?”

Ginny winced at Draco’s colorful language in front of the Headmaster, but Dumbledore merely nodded. “Yes, actually. I believe you’ll have to relive that common emotion of fear before being sent back home. Of course, I could be wrong.”

Ginny laughed humorlessly. “Yeah, right.”

---

“Well, Erik? What do we do?”

Draco glanced at Ginny out of the corner of his eye. “We skive off class, find a Time Turner, and get the heck out of here.”

“It won’t work.”

Draco pulled up short, staring at Ginny incredulously. “You don’t honestly believe everything that old loony said about time travel and the fifth dimension, do you?”

Ginny shrugged, but the gleam of battle lit her eyes. “Yes, actually I do. Dumbledore’s never steered me wrong before.”

“You’re pathetic.” Draco shook his head, mouth curling in distaste. “What’s to say all that ‘wisdom’ he has in our time hasn’t come from a life riddled with mistakes?”

“Nothing, but I really don’t see what choice we have but to trust him. He’s the best hope we’ve got, and this is one lifeline I’m not letting go of.”

Draco stared at her for a long time before finally nodding and stalking off. Ginny jogged to catch up, then slowed to a walk beside him.

“What do you think it is that we need to find out?”

Ginny glanced at Draco in surprise. “I don’t really know. Considering it results in fear, I’m going to assume it has something to do with Lord Voldie-wart.”

Draco grimaced, but didn’t comment on her creative nickname. “Assume makes an ass out of u and me.”

“Well, you come up with something then, brainiack! I don’t know what else it could be.”

Draco glanced down at her wearily before returning his gaze to their surroundings. “I guess it could have something to do with the Dark Lord, but somehow I doubt it. It has to specifically relate to us. What was going on when we first got here?”

“I don’t know,” Ginny said, raising an eyebrow. “I just know James and Sirius and Remus were walking the halls, and-”

“No, I mean what had we been doing right before we came?”

“Let’s see. . .I was really angry about something. . .it must’ve been the night you yelled at me for telling Hermione ab-” Ginny stopped short, her cheeks going pink. Draco, however, seemed not to notice.

“It’s got to have something to do with that, then. What else could it be?”

---

“Haleigh!”

Ginny was rather confused. One minute she’d been walking into the Great Hall with Draco, the next she’d been tackled by a cloud of red hair.

“Where were you? I haven’t seen you all day!”

Ginny gently pried Lily’s arms off her and led her back to the Gryffindor table. “I had to talk to Professor Dumbledore about some. . .er. . .transcript records that were lost on the journey from my old school. Some of my credits got mixed up with one of my brother’s.”

James looked up at her, confused. “I thought you said your brothers went to public school.”

Ginny nodded. “They did.”

“Then, how can your credits have gotten mixed up? You were home schooled.” James paused, obviously thinking hard. “Wait, how can you have transcript records when you were home schooled?”

Lily giggled. “How do you know what transcript records are?”

Remus, sitting across the table, quickly turned his chuckle into a choking cough. Ginny had to stifle a giggle, too, as James looked at Lily with the utmost indignation. “I happen to possess great intelligence, thank you very much, I just choose to ignore it! But seriously, how do you have transcript records?”

Ginny felt her face heat as all eyes turned to her expectantly. “I. . .um. . .” Her eyes fell to Draco, watching her stutter from across the hall. “I just remembered something I need to talk with Erik about. Excuse me, won’t you?”

---

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­“How could you slip, Weasley? What are we supposed to do now?”

“Come with me, both of you.”

Ginny and Draco jumped at Dumbledore’s sudden appearance from behind them. They did, however, follow him to the empty classroom farther up the corridor, and stood in silence as he locked the door behind them.

“Miss Weasley, I believe you just said something you shouldn’t have?”

Ginny nodded, dumbfounded.

“We will have to work quickly, then. Draco, you will pretend nothing of importance has happened. Haleigh got called away on urgent family business, and that’s why she won’t be here from now on. Ginny, you’ll have to assume a new identity. Hogwarts rarely has exchange students, though, so the sudden disappearance of one, only to be replaced by another. . .let’s just say most people would make the connection. The only way to ensure no one does will be to make you an entirely different person from who you are now.”

Ginny blinked uncomprehendingly. “Meaning?”

“Meaning, you’re going to be a Slytherin.”

Ginny stared at him in silent horror for quite a long time before choking the words out. “I- I’m what?”

“You’re going to be a Slytherin. It’s the only way to make certain no one will connect you to Haleigh Adams.”

Draco snickered at Ginny’s obvious discomfort.”

“Sorry, I must have heard you wrong. A Slytherin? Me!?”

“I’m afraid so. People were getting suspicious anyway, with you and young Bill Weasley looking so much alike.”

Ginny rested her head in her hands,exhaling very slowly.

Dumbledore continued on. “I will, of course, have to change your appearance, but I’ll leave your new personality traits up to you. Are you ready?”

Ginny shook herself out of her reverie. “Wait, ready for what?”

Dumbledore sighed. “For your new look. You can’t just go in there claiming to be someone else when you still look like Haleigh Adams.”

“Oh. . .right.”

Dumbledore nodded and waved his wand over Ginny, muttering under his breath for what felt like an eternity. In reality, only three minutes had passed when Dumbledore let his arm fall to his side.

Ginny, who’d had her eyes closed, opened them slowly to find the world pretty much the same. “I feel really tall, but that’s about all that's different.” She looked to Dumbledore, who jerked his head in Draco’s direction. Ginny looked at him and felt her stomach drop.

Malfoy, the one who’d never felt anything beyond hatred for the Weasley family, was looking at herthe way ahungry wolf looks at a rabbit caught in brambles. Ginny shied away from that gaze and looked in Dumbledore’s direction, only to find him gone. She shifted her eyes back to Draco and tensed.

“Draco? What do I look like? You’re looking at me as though you’re going to eat me.”

Draco muttered under his breath as he drew his wand. “Eating’s not exactly what I had in mind.” He conjured a mirror on the wall and turned her to face it. Ginny’s breath caught in her throat.

Vibrant red hair was now a glossy black, falling down her back in shimmering waves. Her skin had darkened from milky alabaster to a lovely chocolate tone, and her eyes were a bright, startling green. Long, French-manicured nails adorned her fingers, as well as a number of very expensive rings.

The biggest surprise, however, was her body. Ginny and Haleigh had had soft, feminine curves, but nothing special. This new woman was. . .voluptuous; there was no other word to describe it.

‘Ginny’s’ clothes had changed as well. Haleigh had had on a smooth-fitting black shirt and long blue skirt. Nothing special. The woman before her wore a daring white tube-top and tight jeans that showed off every inch of those enviable curves. Diamonds dangled from her ears, and a dark green stone with a Slytherin snake in it hung around her neck.

“Blimey,” Ginny whispered, watching alluring red lips mouth the words along with her. “I look. . .”

“Hot.”

Ginny whirled to face Draco, ready to meet sarcasm; he just looked appreciative.

“What? It’s true. Sit down, we need to make you a new identity.”

Ginny sighed as her anger deflated and plopped down on the floor, back against the wall. Draco did the same.

“You need a name first. Something that fits the new you. . .” Draco paused, thinking hard. “Isendre?”

“Isendre.” Ginny said the name, testing it out. “It works.”

“It more than works.”

“Why are you being so nice?”

“You’re hot, and you’re a Slytherin.”

Ginny snorted. “At least you’re honest. So, how does Erik know Isendre?”

“We’re dating.”

Ginny’s eyebrows threatened to disappear into her hairline. “Excuse me?”

“Either you’re dating me, or every other guy in this school is going to be after you. Need I remind you that they’re all about 20 years older than us?”

Ginny sighed. “I’ll think about it. School me on how to be a Slytherin.”

“Drop your bubbly personality. You can’t be this happy-happy girl who’s nice to everyone.”

“So, I’ve got to basically become a crappy person?”

“No, you have to become a Slytherin; there’s a difference. You can’t be Miss Innocent anymore, either; you have to be sensual." Draco ran his eyes over her figure again. “I don’t see that being much of a problem.”

Ginny glared at him and folded her arms across her chest. “I loathe you.”

Chapter 9- Unveiling

Ginny and Draco stood just outside the Great Hall, a heated debate taking place.

“I don’t want to go in there.”

“You have to.”

“No, I could go live in the Forbidden Forest.”

“You’d die.”

“Good.”

“If you die, I’ll never get back to our time.”

“Glad you care so much about me.”

“Naturally. Can we go now?”

“No.”

“Ginny-”

“It’s Isendre now, remember?”

“How could I forget, sweetheart? Now let’s go in, someone’s coming.”

Ginny groaned, but walked through the door to the Great Hall. Draco followed her through, tossing an arm around her shoulders. When she started to pull away, he leaned close and hissed into her ear, “Are we dating or not?”

Ginny growled low in her throat. “Not.”

Draco raised an eyebrow and removed his arm. “Suit yourself.”

Ginny glanced around the Great Hall, wary of the hungry male eyes following her. “We’re being stared at.”

“Correction: you’re being stared at. Remember, be sensual.”

Ginny frowned at him, but threw a sultry smile at some random Ravenclaw. Moving her gaze to the Gryffindor table, she saw Sirius gaping at her, eyes wide. ‘We’d make a really cute couple. I’m just as hot as he is now, probably more so.’ She glanced at Draco out of the corner of her eye. ‘Anyway, I’d rather date Sirius than a Malfoy.’

Ginny was brought out of her thoughts by hands on shoulders, pushing her into a chair in the middle of the Slytherin table. She glared at Draco, who threw a warning look back.

“Be Slytherin-like,” he hissed in her ear, taking a seat next to her. “And let me do the talking.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “My pleasure.”

Narcissa Black, sitting very near Lucius Malfoy, was the first to speak. “Erik, who’s this?”

Draco favored his mother with a smile. “This is a good friend of mine, Isendre Delacour.”

“What a beautiful name.” Narcissa gave Ginny a warm smile. “It’s French, isn’t it?”

Mentally cursing Draco into oblivion, Ginny nodded, forcing a pleasant look onto her face. “Yes, quite.”

Lucius coolly raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have much of an accent, Miss Delacour.”

“Oh, I lived here in Britain for most of my childhood. My family didn’t move to France until I was ten years old.”

Narcissa leaned across the table, nearer to Ginny. “How did you and Erik meet? He’s been home schooled, so you obviously didn’t meet at school.”

Draco jumped in before Ginny could answer. “We met last year through mutual friends.”

Ginny smiled, a mischievous glint sparkling in her green eyes. “Yes, we met at a musical theatre performance.”

Lucius’s brows threatened to disappear into his hairline. “You don’t mean to tell me that you sing and dance, Erik?”

“Oh no,” Draco said hurriedly, before Ginny could say he did. “I was in the audience. It’s Isendre here that does the singing and dancing; she’s simply amazing.”

Narcissa looked vaguely impressed. “Perhaps we’ll have to have a rendition back in the common room later.”

Ginny threw a death look at Draco, hoping that her bared teeth passed as a smile to everyone else at the table. “Perhaps.”

---

“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you,” Ginny whispered angrily to Draco as they descended into the dungeons. “I hate you so much I can’t even put it into words. I have officially never hated anyone more than I hate you right now. It’s impossible for someone to hate someone else more than I hate you. I can’t even begin to express-”

Draco glanced around warily. “Ginny, we’re supposed to be good friends, remember?”

“No one can act that well.”

Draco sighed, but continued on in the direction of the Slytherin common room. “At least pretend you like me.”

“Still testing my talents, but I’ve always enjoyed a challenge.”

“Here we are.”

Ginny stopped ranting in surprise. “This is it? A wall? You guys can’t come up with anything more creative than a wall?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your common room entrance, it’s pathetic! I mean, Gryffindor has a painting to admit us, Dumbledore has a statue. Heck, even the prefect bathroom has something more interesting than a sliding wall.”

“I’m seriously beginning to doubt your sanity. Muggle.”

“What did you call me?”

“It’s the password.”

“Whoa, I wouldn’t have ever guessed that in a hundred years.”

“That’s the idea.”

“I loathe you.”

Draco sighed. “So you’ve said.”

---

“Erik, who is this?”

Ginny turned to see an extremely good-looking black boy looking her up and down.

“This is Isendre Delacour. Dee, this is Emerson Zabini.”

Ginny smiled and put out her hand. “It’s a pleasure to
meet you, Emerson.”

Emerson took her hand and bowed to kiss it. “The pleasure is all mine, I can assure you.”

“Oh, how charming.” Ginny was quite popular around Hogwarts in her time, but they didn’t have this kind of good looking men. He was actually flustering her.

“Isendre! I want to hear this amazing voice of yours!”

Ginny dropped Emerson’s hand and promptly forgot all about his charm. “Excuse me?”

Narcissa walked over from across the Common Room, grabbing Ginny’s arm and pulling her closer to the fireplace. “You said at dinner that you’d sing for us.”

Ginny looked to Draco for help, but he simply smiled and mouthed, “Be Slytherin.”

Ginny sighed, thought for a moment, then nodded to herself. Pulling her wand out and muttering under her breath, Ginny dimmed the lights to a sultry glow. Music filled the common room, and someone used their wand as a spotlight on Ginny. She started to sing.

“Right now, he’s probably slow dancing with a bleach-blonde tramp

And she’s probably gettin’ frisky

Right now, he’s buyin’ her some fruity little drink

‘Cause she can’t shoot whiskey

Right now, he’s probably up behind her with a pool stick

Showing her how to shoot a combo

And he don’t know”

Ginny’s green eyes caught Draco’s, promising to somehow get revenge on him for this.

“That I dug my key into the side

Of his pretty little, souped-up four-wheel drive

Carved my name into his leather seats

I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights,

Slashed a hole in all four tires

Maybe next time he’ll think before he cheats”

As the music slowed down for another verse, Ginny moved her hips lightly, tantalizingly, to the beat.

“Right now, she’s probably up singing some white-trash version

Of Shania karaoke

Right now, she’s probably saying ‘I’m drunk,’

And he’s a-thinkin’ that he’s gonna get lucky

Right now, he’s probably dabbin’ all three dollars worth

Of that bathroom cologne

Oh, and he don’t know

That I dug my key into the side

Of his pretty little, souped-up four-wheel drive

Carved my name into his leather seats

I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights,

Slashed a hole in all four tires

Maybe next time he’ll think before he cheats

I mighta saved a little trouble for the next girl

‘Cause the next time that he cheats

Oh, you know it won’t be on me”

Ginny rolled her neck to the light music, watching the male eyes follow her movement.

“No, not on me

‘Cause I dug my key into the side

Of his pretty little, souped-up four-wheel drive

Carved my name into his leather seats

I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights,

Slashed a hole in all four tires

Maybe next time he’ll think before he cheats

Oh, maybe next time he’ll think before he cheats”

Ginny let her voice go husky on the last word, smirking in a very Slytherin-like way at the open-mouths that greeted her.

Chapter 10- It’s All in the Details

The clock chimed twelve, and almost everyone had trailed off to the dormitories. Draco and Ginny, however, had stayed downstairs to make up more details about themselves, just in case anyone decided to delve deeper into their lives. So far, they hadn't accomplished much except fighting.

“Well, I’m seventeen anyway. I see no reason to change that.”

Ginny sighed. “Then why can’t I stay sixteen?”

"I would've thought that'd be obvious."

"Well, obviously, it's not!"

Draco blinked. “Dumbledore didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“He’s moving you up to seventh year so we can stay together most of the time.”

Ginny looked stunned. “How does he think I could possibly handle seventh year work?”

“You’re top of your year, aren’t you?”

“Close enough to it, I suppose. Still, that doesn’t mean I’m good enough to do the really advanced stuff.”

Draco looked at her flatly. “Ginny, Crabbe and Goyle have made it this far.”

“True.” Ginny raised her eyebrows and quirked a grin. “Draco, I think you just came dangerously close to making a joke.”

---

Close to an hour later, Ginny didn’t feel much like teasing him anymore. “It’s almost one in the morning. Can’t we go to bed?”

“We have to finish this before tomorrow, or someone’s going to hit you with a question you can’t answer.”

Ginny groaned. “How much is left?”

“Not too much,” Draco said, stretching his legs out in front of him and lacing his fingers behind his head. “Right now, we need to think of a reason why your family disowned you.”

Ginny frowned. “Why’ve I been disowned?”

“I don’t know; that’s what we need to find out.”

“No, I mean why do I have to be disowned?”

Draco raised his eyebrows at her, amusement entering his gray eyes. “You don’t think someone might bother to check your supposed identity? The Delacours are French purebloods, it’s true, but someone at Hogwarts could easily find out that they have no daughters right now.”

“How do you know that? That the Delacours don’t have any daughters, I mean?”

“I think you’ll find that most true pureblood families require their children to learn pureblood history. Now, can we get back to the subject at hand, please?”

Ginny made a face at him for the ‘superior than thou’ tone in his voice. “Well, what’s a bad enough offense among true purebloods to be disowned?”

“Being sorted into Gryffindor, consorting with mudbloods or half-bloods, marrying beneath your position and/or status. . . that sort of thing.” Draco took in the bored look on Ginny’s face, the way her eyes were half-closed, and sighed in resignation. “You can go to bed.”

Ginny’s head shot up. “Seriously?”

Draco nodded, dismissing her with a wave of his hand. “Yes, just keep brainstorming possible disownment reasons.”

Ginny brightened and practically leapt from the sofa. She started off toward the dormitories, then paused, looking back at him with a mischievous gleam in her green eyes. She approached the sofa from behind and bent to lightly kiss his cheek. “Goodnight, Draco.” She started to walk away, but Draco caught her elbow and pulled her back toward him.

“Oh, no you don’t.”

Ginny had only a moment for the shock to register before he’d tugged her lips down to his.

The kiss was short, only lasting for a few moments, but it seemed like a very long time to Ginny. When Draco pulled back, smiling slightly, she gave herself enough of a thought-clearing shake to hear him say, “Goodnight, Isendre.”

Chapter 11- Pureblood Knowledge

“Her?! She’s a Slythie, Mate!”

“Thank you, Prongs, I hadn’t noticed the green and silver scarf around her neck.”

“I think James is right, Padfoot; she-”

“Shush, Moony, I’m trying to prepare here.”

“Padfoot, wake up! She’s a Slytherin!”

“Yeah, and she’s sexy; that makes it worth it.”

Ginny heard the voices of three of the four Marauders following her up the corridor, but she pretended not to. Part of her wanted to whirl around and inform them, quite snidely, that she did have ears, but her curiosity over what they were planning won out in the end. She kept walking.

After a moment, the voices became muffled, the footsteps faded, and Ginny could tell they’d stopped walking to argue. Before long, however, Sirius Black came trotting up next to her.

“Lovely morning, don’t you agree, Miss Delacour?”

Ginny glanced at him coolly and pursed her full lips. “It was, Mr. Black, it was.”

Sirius raised his eyebrows and grinned, apparently oblivious to the fact that she’d just insulted him. “You know my name? My fame must precede me.”

“Every true pureblood knows your name, Mr. Black.” Ginny began a thorough examination of her perfect nails and bit back a smile. “I don’t know about famous, but I certainly know you’re notorious. Imagine, a Black being sorted into Gryffindor.”

Sirius’s smile faltered for a moment, but it was hurriedly steadied again. “So, you’ve figured out that I’m the rebel Black. Well, you’re not the only one with ‘pureblood knowledge.’” The words were most definitely a mockery coming from his mouth. “I happen to know that the Delacours don’t have a daughter right now. What did you do to earn yourself disownment?”

Ginny’s smug smirk faded a bit, and she looked away quickly, mind working furiously. After a few deep breaths, she raised her head, calm and sure once more. Draco had said that the Delacours had always disowned for rather petty reasons. “A few years ago, I made the mistake of mentioning to my mother that I thought you were rather. . . admirable.” That was all the information she volunteered, but it was enough.

“Ouch.” Sirius had turned serious for once, and he grimaced. “I can’t imagine that going over well.”

Ginny nodded curtly, trying to cement the Slytherin attitude to herself once more. “Obviously, it didn’t.”

Sirius didn’t reply, and the pair walked on in a surprisingly comfortable silence. After a few minutes, they neared the Great Hall, from where the smells of breakfast wafted out to them. Sirius jogged ahead a few steps and pulled open one of the doors, holding it for Ginny to walk ahead of him.

“I’ll be seeing you, Isendre.”

Ginny swept past him supremely, hoping she’d managed to turn her smile into a smirk. “Unfortunately so, Mr. Black.”

Sirius allowed the door to fall shut with walking through it, waiting instead for his friends to join him. They did so, pulling off the invisibility cloak after checking carefully for any watching eyes. Remus shook his head wonderingly as James stuffed the cloak away.

“Padfoot, I have to admit I’m impressed.”

James grinned cheekily. “I’m not. Sometimes she reminded me of good old Snivelly, but the other half of the time she wasn’t a very good Slytherin.”

Sirius looked affronted, as if James’s words were a personal attack on his flirting abilities. “How so?”

“Too nice.”

---

Unnoticed by only semi-careful eyes, Draco watched the Marauders walk into the Great Hall, bickering over how good a Slytherin Ginny was. The cool blond thought carefully over the scene he’d just witnessed, and his gray eyes darkened considerably as his mind saw Sirius flirting shamelessly again, and again, and again.

Draco rolled his neck slowly, considering. He would soon have to make sure that Ginny was so enamored with him, she forgot all about Sirius Black.

---

Once again, the late hours found Draco and Ginny in the Slytherin common room, though they weren’t quite alone yet. The pair sat on opposite ends of the sofa in front of the fire, neither speaking. Ginny’s thoughts were spinning over the day, which had been filled with classes, constantly forcing herself to be Slytherin-like, and propositions from Sirius. Draco was just trying to think of a way to break the silence. Eventually, something came to him.

“I forgot to tell you,” he said slowly, waiting until her head came up in acknowledgement of his words. “You were incredible last night.”

Ginny looked up, both surprised and. . . pleased? “Really?”

Draco’s brows shot up. “Did you doubt?”

Ginny looked down at her lap, picking at the fabric of her jeans. “No, I just. . .value your opinion, that’s all.”

She continued to stare at her legs, and Draco was struck by her sincerity, her unfiltered sweetness. Without warning, guilt assailed him for the way he’d treated her over the years, the way he’d plotted with Blaise and Pansy, and the way he was still acting toward her.

Draco stood suddenly, grabbing Ginny’s hands and pulling her to her feet, too. “Come with me.”

Chapter 12- Nighttime Confessions

Ginny allowed herself to be pulled out of the Slytherin common room and into the dark dungeons, where an eerie light reflected dimly against the stone. Once they were halfway up the corridor leading from the dormitories, Draco spoke. His words sent apprehension through her, and a chill ran down her spine.

“Ginny, I have something to tell you, and I want you to promise to just listen until I’m finished.”

Ginny tilted her head warily, but nodded. “Alright.”

“Earlier this year I got a letter from my father. He told me that it is the Dark Lord’s wish that I join the Death Eaters soon. This wasn’t a problem, as I’ve always known I would join someday. I was quite pleased, actually, that He considered my service so valuable.

“However, also enclosed was a letter from my mother. She told me that it was my parents’ wish that, by the time I graduate Hogwarts, I am married. Father suggested Pansy Parkinson.”

Ginny grimaced deeply, and Draco gave a shadow of a smile.

“Pansy is one of my best friends, Ginny, but you’re right; I don’t want to marry her.” He smirked at Ginny’s smug expression. “It’s not because she has a pug face, or whatever it is that’s running through your mind right now. Anyway, I shared this letter with Pansy, and with Blaise Zabini. We began brainstorming possible purebloods, and didn’t come up with many. After all, there aren’t many purebloods left.”

Ginny’s eyes narrowed dangerously, her gaze darkening considerably. “If you’re telling me that-”

“You promised you wouldn’t interrupt.”

Ginny glared, but stopped talking at once.

“Thank you. Now, as I was saying, there aren’t many purebloods left. We- meaning Pansy, Blaise, and I- began working down a list and decided that you were to be my aim. Now, of course, some work had to be done. You wouldn’t come to the Dark Lord’s side easily, and I couldn’t marry someone who’s against him. So, we set to work trying to turn you evil.

“Now, obviously, that plan wasn’t going to get very far. When we somehow ended up in this time- well, that simplified things for me quite a bit. After all, without your brothers, Granger, and precious Potter, you’d be a much more susceptible young woman. You became, unknowingly, more and more attached to me as time went on. I could bend you more easily to my will, and that was quite agreeable to all concerned.

“I think that, by this point, you’ll find that you’ve become quite attached to me. One might even say you’ve fallen in love. You can’t help but want to please me, and that means Slytherin ways will seep into you, and you won’t be able to stop them. Even with you only being in this house a couple days, you’ll find it much harder to resist the temptation to do evil. That’s what I was going for when I started this whole thing.”

Ginny spun on her heel and began to stalk away, seething, but Draco’s hand shot out and caught her elbow. She struggled to break free, but couldn’t.

“I- I was wrong.” Draco bowed his head and swallowed hard; the words didn't come so easily anymore. “I don’t know what to say other than that. I can’t justify what I did beyond what I’ve already said, and I-” Draco pulled a deep, shaking breath in through his nose. “I’m sorry.”

Ginny had remained silent through almost the entire monologue, and now she looked into Draco’s face. Her green eyes burned holes in him, but he was sure they’d softened a bit in the last few moments. When she spoke, her voice was very quiet, very controlled.

“Are you quite finished?”

Draco only nodded, suddenly unable to speak past the fear in his throat; he was going to lose her.

Ginny turned and walked away without a word, back stiff, chin high and proud. Draco, despite the fact that he was truly sorry, couldn’t help but think that the plan had succeeded as he watched the bouncing black hair disappear; she’d gone straight back to the Slytherin common room.

---

Ginny sat curled in a ball beside the lake, cradling her aching head in one hand. ‘What do I do now? This whole stupid thing has been some sort of game to him, a con. I can’t just pretend that everything’s fine, not and keep my self-respect. Merlin, I don’t know how to handle this.’ She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the sudden rush of tears back down. ‘I need help.’

“Isendre?”

Ginny jumped, and looked up into the incredibly handsome face of Sirius Black. Merlin, she hadn’t even heard him walk up!

“Are you okay?”

Ginny raised an eyebrow and forced herself to adopt a Slytherin-like attitude, though every bone in her body was screaming for her to tell Sirius the truth.

“That is none of your business, blood traitor. Go back to your wormhole, or wherever it is that you Gryffindors sleep.”

Sirius didn’t move away. Instead, he sat down slowly on the grass beside her, looking out over the lake. When he said nothing, Ginny relaxed, grateful beyond words to have a friend with her. After a few minutes, Sirius spoke.

“I caught the last bit of what Erik said to you. Is. . . is there anything you want to talk about?”

Ginny shook her head, blinking furiously again. ‘Merlin, I can’t handle someone being so nice right now!’

“I think you’ll find that I’m a pretty good listener.”

Ginny glanced at Sirius’s serious gray eyes. She put her head on her knees and closed her eyes against the sudden wave of pain that shot through her.

“I’m so tired, Sirius. I’m tired of pretending, I’m tired of missing the people I know. . .” She sucked in a deep breath. “I’m tired of trusting and being hurt.”

Sirius wordlessly reached out and pulled Ginny into a hug, wrapping his arms around her small frame. They sat like that for a long time, Sirius just holding Ginny while she desperately tried to sort out her thoughts.

After a while- neither one knew how long- Ginny stirred and pulled away, running a hand through her thick hair. “I should get back to the Common Room; Narcissa and Bellatrix will be looking for me.”

Sirius looked his tentative friend in the eyes, searching for a sign of weakness. “Are you okay to go back there? Will you be able to handle it?”

Ginny nodded, rolling her neck as she stood up and began walking toward the castle. “I’ll make it because I have to. See you around, Sirius.”

---

“Isendre! Merlin, we’ve been so worried! Where have you been?”

Ginny winced and put a hand to her head at the shouts that erupted when she entered the common room. Narcissa Black ran to her, a look of genuine concern on her stunning face.

“You look horrible!” Narcissa leaned close, her sharp eyes catching the deadened look in Ginny’s eyes. “Are you alright? You came charging in here last night, then ran back out as soon as Erik came in. Did you two have a fight?”

Ginny nodded slowly, thinking the wording over carefully. “I suppose you could call it that.”

Chapter 13- Plans

Ginny glided into the Great Hall the next morning, resplendent in a strapless, light green mini-dress. Her dark curls shimmered on her shoulders, and her sultry smile gleamed. Someone, Ginny had a sneaking suspicion that it was Sirius, catcalled from the Gryffindor table, and she threw a quick wink back over her shoulder.

Reaching the Slytherin table, Ginny sat down beside Draco, pretending as though nothing was wrong.

“Hi, Erik,” she said, leaning over and kissing his cheek. “Sleep okay?”

“What are you playing at, Ginny?”

“Playing, Erik? I don’t know what you mean.” Ginny’s green eyes widened, thick dark lashes making them seem seductive despite the innocent air.

Narcissa showed up just then, straightening her blouse, her hair mussed.

“What happened to you?”

Narcissa waved Ginny’s question away, taking a seat beside Bellatrix. “Oh, I just ran into Lucius in the hallway.”

A wicked smile lit Ginny’s face, while Draco looked torn between approval and slight repulsion. These were his parents, after all. Bellatrix had just opened her mouth to reply when Sirius showed up, seemingly quite reluctant to be seen on that side of the hall at all.

“Isendre.”

Ginny looked up, apparently disgusted by this blood traitor speaking to her. “What?”

“Our detentions are tonight, seven o’clock, in the Transfiguration classroom.”

“What de-” Ginny began, but stopped suddenly. She could’ve sworn Sirius had winked at her. “Seven o’clock then.”

Sirius nodded and turned on her heel, glad to be hurrying back to his table.

“What did you do to get detention with. . . him?” Bellatrix added disgusted emphasis to the last word.

Ginny put on the air of someone talking about something rather nasty they had stepped in. “Oh, I got into a little. . . disagreement with him last night, and the Mudblood Head Girl caught us. Since when does anyone but Slytherin prefects patrol the dungeons, anyway?”

Narcissa rolled her eyes. “Since Dumbledore thought we weren’t doing our job well enough.”

“Were you?”

“No.”

---

At seven o’clock exactly, Ginny walked into the brightly lit Transfiguration classroom to find Sirius waiting for her. The former watched silently as the latter locked the door and blacked the windows. He pointed to a chair in the middle of the room.

“Sit.”

Ginny sat. “What’s going on, Black?”

“I’m worried about you.”

Ginny waited for a moment, but he said nothing further. “Sooo. . . ?”

“So, let’s talk.”

Ginny relaxed. Talking, she could handle.

---

“Erik.”

Draco turned around to find both his mother and his aunt converging on him.

“Yes, ladies?”

“We’d like to speak with you. Have a seat.”

Draco sank compliantly into an armchair and the women sat on the sofa. He leaned forward expectantly.

“What can I do for you?”

Narcissa and Bellatrix glanced at each other, and the latter spoke.

“We want to talk about Isendre. She said you’d had a bad fight. First off, are you alright?”

Draco nodded, Slytherin-like amusement plain on his features. “Really, Bellatrix, it’s not a big deal.”

“I beg to differ,” his aunt said primly, fixing him with the same dark-eyed stare that had petrified him when he was a child. “She was exceedingly upset, and that’s the best I can say of it. If you ever want her to forgive you, you’ll need to do something extra special.”

Draco was dying to ask what it was, but he forced himself to remain a Slytherin. “And if I don’t want her to forgive me?”

“Oh, come on.” Narcissa rolled her eyes obviously. “Just look at her! What man wouldn’t want to be in her good graces?”

“Now, Christmas is coming up,” Bellatrix said, overriding whatever reply Draco might have had. “You should get her something very nice. What kinds of things does she like?”

Draco’s mind went to the tatty things the Weasleys had always had, imagining the things Ginny must have longed for. “She’s likes expensive things: gems, gold, pearls-”

Narcissa cut him off. “It has to be something extra special. What kinds of gems does she like?”

“Diamonds, I suppose.” Draco paused, Ginny’s eyes coming to mind. “Emeralds are her favorite, though.”

Bellatrix and Narcissa smiled at each other knowingly.

“Erik, how much expendable cash do you have?”

---

“Why, Mr. Cummings. This is quite a surprise. What can I do for you?”

Erik walked into the Headmaster’s office and plopped down, unbidden, on the sofa.

“Sir, I’d like to know what to do about money.”

“Money? What do you have need of?”

“Well, sir,” Draco shifted uncomfortably. “Christmas is coming up, and I-”

Dumbledore held up a hand. “Say no more. I suppose I can contact someone at Gringotts and have money withdrawn from the Malfoy account.”

“Can you do that? Won’t they be suspicious?”

“Oh, I think not. I do that for many of the students around this time of the year. How much will you be needing?”

Draco thought back on his earlier conversation with his aunt and mother. “A good amount, I’d say.”

“Alright then. I’ll probably have it at this time tomorrow.”

“Thank you, sir.” Draco stood and headed for the door, but stopped at the head of the staircase. “Oh, and Ginny will probably need some as well. That could come from either the Weasley account or the Prewett account. Her mother was a Prewett.”

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows in surprise. Draco understood his unasked question.

“Pureblood knowledge.”

---

“Isendre!”

Ginny turned to see Sirius jogging up the deserted hallway toward her, eyes sharp for any onlookers.

“Yes?”

“I wanted to ask you if you’d like to come spend Christmas with me.”

“I can’t.”

Sirius looked taken aback, and slightly disappointed. “Oh. . .okay then.”

“No! No, it’s not like that! It’s just that I already told Narcissa and Bellatrix I’d come stay with them.”

“Narcissa and Bellatrix Black?” Sirius looked stunned. “My extremely evil cousins? The queens of ‘get away from me you plebian scum’? That Narcissa and Bellatrix?”

Ginny had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at his mostly accurate descriptions. “Those would be the ones. They aren’t that bad once you get to know them. As long as they don’t know you’re a blood traitor, I mean.”

“Naturally. Are you going to get together with some other Slytherins for Christmas day?"

"I think we're spending the day with Lucius at Malfoy Manor. Rodolphus Lestrange will be there, and they've invited Erik."

Chapter 14- Christmas: Part 1

“Isendre! Isendre Elayne, get your butt down here this instant!!! I’m not kidding! Isendre!!!”

“Chill,” said Ginny disdainfully, vaulting over the railing of Grimmauld Place, where she’d been staying with Bellatrix, Narcissa, and their extended family. She was finding that it had actually been a very impressive house before being abandoned for a number of years. “We’re only a few minutes late.”

“Oh, yeah, only about an hour!” Bellatrix waved her wrist in front of Ginny’s face, the nearness making the little numbers of her watch blur. Abruptly, the angry woman threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace and stepped in after it, already yelling “Malfoy Manor!”

“Don’t worry about it,” said Narcissa, calmly taking her own handful of the glittery green substance. “She always gets like that when she’s been away from Rodolphus too long. Malfoy Manor!”

Ginny watched as Narcissa spun out of sight, then reached for the jar.

“Hey, Babe, leaving so soon?”

Ginny recognized the voice of Sirius’ brother instantly and snatched a handful of floo powder. Without a backward glance, she leapt into the fireplace, already shouting out her destination.

“Isendre, why are you so rushed?” Narcissa asked as Ginny literally fell out of the fireplace of Malfoy Manor.

“Oh, Regulus was just trying to make another pass at me,” she said, coughing as she stood.

“Well, hurry up and get presentable, Lucius is fetching his parents to meet you right now.” Narcissa hurriedly started brushing soot off Ginny’s clothes, while Bellatrix straightened her hair.

“Too late.”

Ginny glanced up and saw Lucius returning with yet another tall, handsome blond man. A stunning brunette followed behind him, her face contorted with the same sneer that Narcissa would one day wear.

“That’s Lucius’ mother,” Bellatrix leaned over to whisper. “She was a famous model in America, but she moved here in hopes of wedding into the Malfoy money.”

“Father, meet Isendre Delacour. She descends from the line of French purebloods. Isendre, this is my father, Xavier Malfoy.”

Ginny forced herself to smile politely and extended her hand; Xavier took it in his own and bent to kiss it. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Malfoy. I thank you for opening your home to me.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Miss Delacour. May I present my wife, Isabella Malfoy?”

The stunning brunette stepped forward and grasped Ginny’s hands in her own, squeezing them slightly. “It is a pleasure to meet you, my dear,” she said, smiling in a way that held no warmth. “And Narcissa, Bellatrix, always a delight to see you again.”

---

“What time did she say to be downstairs?”

“Seven o’clock. We have an hour, just enough time to get ready.”

Ginny looked up from where she’d thrown herself face-down on the bed. “Excuse me?”

Bellatrix stuck her head out of the walk-in closet. “We need to get dressed for the get-together.”

“What get-together?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” asked Narcissa, looking surprised. “The Malfoys host an annual Christmas party, by invitation only. It’s the social event of the season.”

“Simply to die for,” added Bellatrix. “Everybody who’s anybody will be here.”

“So, all the purebloods?”

“All the ones from Britain. The ones who aren’t blood-traitors, I mean.”

“Naturally.”

A knock sounded at the door and Narcissa opened it. A package wrapped in brown paper lay in the hall, a card on top of it. No one was in sight.

“Ooh, Isendre it’s for you.” Narcissa brought the parcel inside and laid it carefully on the bed, kicking the door shut behind her and exchanging a knowing glance with Bellatrix. “I wonder who it’s from.”

Ginny lifted the card from its place and removed it from the envelope.

My dearest Isendre,
Words cannot describe the remorse I feel at having caused you distress. I’m so sorry for hurting you in that way and I hope that you can forgive me. This is part of your Christmas present. I know I’m supposed to wait until the party is over, but I thought you might like to wear it.
Please enjoy it. Nothing would give me greater joy than to see you in it.

Much love,
Erik


“Aaawwww, that’s so sweet,” exclaimed Bellatrix, who had been reading over her shoulder.

“Open it, Isendre! We’re running out of time.”

Ginny pulled back the brown wrapping on the package, her eyes widening as she saw what lay inside: a dress of emerald green, more beautiful than anything Ginny could’ve ever imagined.

“It’s. . .lovely.”

“Lovely? It’s exquisite, is what it is. That overlay is imported silk, a very rare variety, too.”

“It must’ve cost him a fortune. Put it on, Isendre. I want to see it.”

---

Ginny descended the stairs a little behind the Black sisters, feeling rather self-conscious. The dress was beautiful, there was no doubt about that. It was just rather. . .provocative, more so than anything she would usually wear. The emerald satin clung to Ginny’s hourglass frame, showing off every enviable curve. The neckline was just short of off-the-shoulder, and it swooped into a low v. The hem of the dress brushed the floor, but long slits crept seductively up either side.

“Come on, Isendre, you look gorgeous, and your hair is fabulous. Wait, you need another piece around your face.” Bellatrix reached up and pulled a few strands out of the elegant bundle of curls atop Ginny’s head. “There. Perfect.”

“Bellatrix! Narcissa!”

The sisters (plus Ginny) turned to see a rather plump young woman hurrying toward them, her vibrant red curls bouncing up and down. . .Ginny’s red hair.

“Hi, Missy, how are you?”

“Oh, I’m doing pretty well- very glad to be back amongst friends.”

“I can imagine.” At Ginny’s questioning look, Narcissa elaborated. “Isendre, this is Missy Prewett. She’s the only one of her family who isn’t a Mudblood-lover. Missy, this is Isendre Delacour. She’s a friend of Erik’s from France.”

“Ooh, Erik,” Missy said keenly, pumping Ginny’s hand up and down. “I saw him earlier with Lucius and wondered who he was. He’s a handsome one.”

Ginny looked up and noticed Draco walking coolly toward them from across the room, eyes fixed on her. “Yes. Yes he is.”

>

Chapter 15- Christmas: Part 2

Draco reached the small cluster of girls and smiled charmingly at them. “Hello, ladies. I trust you’re having a good time? Narcissa- Bellatrix, you look charming this evening.”

“Why, thank you,” Narcissa said, smiling broadly . “We’re having a very good time.”

“I wonder, Narcissa, if I might have a quick word with you.”

“Of course,” she said graciously, handing her cocktail to Bellatrix. “Excuse me, everyone.

Draco led his mother to a short distance away from the others. “Is it working?

“Hook, line, and sinker. She’s stuck on you, Erik.”

Draco nodded. “Good.” The couple walked swiftly back over to the small group of females.

“I wonder, would you ladies mind terribly if I borrowed Isendre for a bit? I promised her a dance.”

Bellatrix waved her hand at Ginny, shooing her away. “Of course not. Go along, Isendre, we’ll finish introductions later. And if you see Rodolphus, tell him I’m expecting a dance or two as well.”

Draco took Ginny’s hand and led her out onto the dance floor, fervent whisperings following them. He swung her into him and started a slow waltz to the music. Ginny looked up, surprised.

“Since when do you dance?”

“I think you’ll find there’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

Ginny fell quiet, and Draco refrained from saying anything further; silence reigned between them. Draco pulled her into him, closing the already rather small space separating them. Ginny relaxed enough to rest her head on his shoulder, and that was when she noticed just how many stares they were receiving.

“Draco?” She said, her voice soft enough to be heard by only him.

“Yes?” His breath was hot on her neck, yet she shivered.

“Why is everyone watching us?”

Draco lifted his head from where it rested on hers, surveying the room with a superbly disdainful look. People quickly averted their gazes and watched the other couples, or buried themselves in another glass of wine.

“They aren’t.”

Ginny laughed softly into his neck. “I wonder why that is.”

“I haven’t the faintest idea.” Draco’s eye went to where his aunt stood, watching them closely. Bellatrix nodded, and he winked in return. He carefully cleared his mind and worked up the right spell; Draco was quite good with wandless magic. ‘Stupefy,’ he thought, directing the flow of power into Ginny; she collapsed in his arms.

Around the room, people gasped. Draco carefully lifted Ginny and bore her off the dance floor. Bellatrix followed, reassuring people as she went. “It’s just the heat. . . Oh, she’s simply exhausted. . . No, no, I have it under control, thank you.”

Once outside the main ballroom, Bellatrix pointed to the conservatory doors. “Go that way, people won’t be expecting it. There are benches on the far end, or you can continue on to the garden.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll work my way around the house then go back to the ballroom. That will have been enough time to ‘get her settled in bed.’

Draco nodded and headed toward the conservatory. “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

---

“Ennervate.”

Ginny blinked groggily. Her gaze roamed over the ceiling of the greenhouse before coming to rest on him. Her eyes took a long time to focus, filling with recognition after a few moments of silence.

“What happened?”

“You passed out while we were dancing,” Draco said with a perfectly straight face.

“Oh.” She lay back down on the bench.

They were both silent for a few minutes, before Ginny spoke again.

“So. . .what are we doing?”

“Cooling you off.”

Ginny just looked at him. “In a greenhouse, Draco?”

He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I suppose that wasn’t thought out entirely well on my part.”

“Ya think?”

Ginny sighed at his silence, letting one leg flop off the bench. She watched as Draco’s eyes went slowly to it, a strange expression creeping onto his face, and it was then that she remembered the long slit up the side of her dress. Blushing, she sat up hurriedly, rearranging the green satin to cover herself as much as possible.

“Ginny-”

“Stop it.”

“Stop what?”

“I know what’s going through your head right now, and I want it to stop.” Even as she spoke, Ginny could feel herself getting redder.

Draco’s eyes moved slowly over her red face, slightly mussed hair, and glorious curves, and just shook his head. “You have no idea.”

Ginny went, if possible, even redder and started to move away.

“Lucius, where are you taking me?”

Draco and Ginny both froze, listening to a laughing Narcissa tease her boyfriend. The voices came nearer, and Draco stood, taking Ginny with him. “Come this way.”

---

Draco pulled Ginny up the main staircase and down the hallway, kicking open the door to her bedroom and pushing her inside. She allowed him to enter after her and close the door. When he started to come close to her again, though, she calmly pulled out her wand (no one has yet figured out where from) and held it between them.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Draco looked amused, but behind the casual face was a hint of apprehension.

“I could ask you the same question.”

“Ginny-”

“Did you really expect me to forgive you, just like that?”

“You were acting like you did a few minutes ago.”

“Draco, shut up! This isn’t a game, okay? I’m still trying to figure out how to deal with you, and until I do, you need to keep your distance!”

“I know this isn’t a game! Merlin, I’ve been trying to make amends with you!”

“It sure seems like a game, and I’m the one being played!”

“Ginny-”

“Why did you tell me the truth? Just tell me that, why?!”

“Because I couldn’t let myself love you!”

Ginny’s eyes widened in shock.

“I. . .you. . .what?”

Draco raked a hand through his hair, shouting on. “Dammit, Ginny, I can’t stand to lose you, but I can’t let you stay! Do you have any idea what you do to me?! You intoxicate me. Whenever I’m near you, I can’t see anyone else, and when you’re away, you fill my every thought!”

Ginny’s anger melted away, her voice breaking as she spoke. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“Because I’m evil, Ginny! No matter what you want, I’ve given myself to the dark side and that’s not going to change! I’ve spent the last four months of my life trying to figure out what it is I want!”

Ginny’s head tilted slightly. “And what have you figured out, Draco Malfoy? What do you want?”

“I want you, Ginny, but I need my life, too.”

Ginny’s chin dropped, her eyes squeezing shut against a rush of tears. She stayed in that position for a long time, breathing heavily.

“Ginny?”

“I-” she choked and stopped, her head coming up to reveal the trail of tears sparkling down her cheeks. “I don’t want to lose you.” She shook her head, more tears welling up in her eyes. “Draco, I can’t lose you!”

Draco closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms; she pressed her face into his shirt.

“What are you going to do?”

Ginny took one deep, shuddering breath. “I’m going to stay with you. No matter what.”

Chapter 16- Christmas: Part 3

“Isendre!” Narcissa snapped her fingers in front of Ginny’s wide, dancing eyes. “Isendre Elayne Delacour, snap out of it!”

Ginny shook her head and blinked, her eyes coming to focus on the woman in front of her. “Sorry, what?”

Bellatrix rolled her eyes from the corner where she was changing. “Oh, just tell us already. It’s not like we haven’t figured out that something important happened.”

“Oh, Erik and I just got everything cleared up.”

Ginny’s nonchalant attitude disappeared, and she let out a high-pitched squeal. “I’m so happy we aren’t fighting anymore!” Ginny didn’t notice the winks that Bellatrix and Narcissa exchanged.

Bellatrix winked at Narcissa knowingly before heading into the bathroom. “Hurry up and change you two,” she called from in front of the mirror. “We’re going to be the last ones down there! Again!”

“Okay, okay, we’re coming.”

---

Ginny rushed down the stairs with her friends, smoothing her clothes anxiously. Now was the gift exchange with just the Hogwarts teenagers. She’d chosen a smooth-fitting pair of jeans and a cowl-necked white sweater. Her dark hair was slicked back in a French braid, a Slytherin ring swinging from the end.

Ginny irritatedly pushed back the few curls left around her face as the trio burst into the living room. The boys, of course, were already there. Bellatrix led the way into the room, joining the semi-circle around the massive Christmas tree. It was just happenstance, of course, that there were open places right next to Lucius, Rodolphus, and Draco.

Just a moment later, Lucius reached for a wrapped package and nodded. The rest of the gang dove into the presents, tossing them around in something closely resembling ‘hot potato’ until everyone had the right ones.

When the room had settled a bit, Ginny began to open her gifts, reaching first for a brightly wrapped one. She ripped the card from its place and read slowly.

Dearest Isendre,

It’s been really great getting to know you and being your friends. We’re so glad that you and Erik got things worked out, and we wish you the best in the future. Love you, girl, no matter what!

Your FAVORITE Black sister,
Narcissa

The non-delusional half of the Black duo,
Bellatrix

Ginny, shaking her head good-naturedly, replaced the card in its envelope and ripped the paper off the present. An expensive-looking picture frame fell into her lap, stilling her movements. The outer frame was solid silver, while the inner part was a curving, detailed Slytherin serpent. It was the picture inside, however, that made her pause. It was a moving, color photograph of the three of them on a Hogsmeade trip, and they looked so. . .happy. Ginny stared at the picture, transfixed. Bellatrix was making bunny ears on Ginny, Narcissa was smiling dazzlingly at the camera, and Ginny was laughing, trying to push the bunny ears away. Their arms were around each other, and they looked like real friends.

‘We are, though,’ Ginny thought, amazed and confused at the discovery all at once. ‘We are friends. Imagine, all those years of avoiding the Slytherins, only to discover that they’re people, too. This is so weird.’

“Isendre.”

Ginny was snatched from her reverie by Draco’s voice cutting into it.

“Finish opening your presents, Dee.”

“Oh. . .right. . .”

Ginny placed the picture frame carefully to the side and turned to her next gift. Upon opening the package, she found it was a vast assortment of lotions, perfumes, and bath crystals. The tag read simply:

I wasn’t sure what you’d want for Christmas, so I just kept my sister in mind as I bought for you. Happy Christmas, Isendre.

Lucius

There was no card to go with the last gift, but Ginny knew instinctively who it was from. She undid the wrapping paper and began pulling out things that made her jaw drop. First was an expensive-looking silk scarf, pure white and wonderfully smooth to the touch. Next was a dazzling set of dangly diamond earrings, followed by a necklace of alternating diamonds and emeralds. Ginny gaped at the thousands of galleons worth before her and turned to Draco.

“Bribery, Draco?” She asked, for his ears alone.

“Is it working?”

Ginny pretended to think about it for a moment, then threw her arms around his neck, squealing with delight. “Yes, yes, yes, a million times yes!” She pulled back a second later, her expression turning a bit serious. “Really though, the dress was more than enough. You shouldn’t have spent so much.”

Draco raised his eyebrows and glanced pointedly around the elaborate room. “Does it look like I’m hard up?”

“Draco-”

“I wanted to surprise you, Ginny. It’s fine, really.”

Ginny tilted her head slightly, a slow smile of utter amazement and bliss lingering on her lips. “Do you know where we are?”

“Where?”

“Under the Mistletoe.”

---

Ginny was sitting on the bed in her guest room, deep in thought, a small smile lingering on her face, when Bellatrix and Narcissa burst through the door.

“I knew there something going on with you two! I knew it!”

“Merlin, Isendre, why didn’t you just tell us?! I think it’s fabulous!”

“What are you talking about?” Ginny asked, even though she knew perfectly well what they were talking about.

“You and Erik, silly!” Narcissa’s face plainly said that she knew what Ginny was up to. “I saw you two under the mistletoe.”

Ginny smiled, playing the innocent. “What would you say if I told you we were just friends?”

Narcissa lifted one of the diamond earrings from Draco and held it to Ginny’s ear, turning her so she was looking at her reflection. “Then he must really love you.”

Chapter 17- Pirates, Phantoms, and the Occasional Giant Ape

Ginny was beginning to wish that she’d been to Hogwarts at this period in time instead of hers; she was finding that school had been a lot more fun before the Marauders got everything worth going to banned. For instance, at this moment time, she was walking to the annual New Years Eve costume ball with two underclassmen Slytherins that she didn’t even know.

“Who are you?”

Ginny glanced at her companions through the eyeholes of her mask. “It kind of defeats the purpose of a masquerade if I tell you.”

“Oh… right.”

Ginny rolled her eyes, suppressed a sigh, and wished she could’ve found a way to tag along with Bellatrix and Narcissa without everyone knowing immediately who they were. These two- who Ginny could swear were dressed as twin hookers- were unbelievably dense.

As it so happened, the Head Boy and Girl reached the Great Hall just about the time Ginny and her two companions did. James gave the ‘hooker girls’ a once-over, then did a double-take at Ginny. He looked very confused as he ran his eyes over her figure, but the Muggle-born Lily smiled. “Marilyn Monroe. Good choice.”

Ginny wanted desperately to smile back, but she forced herself to adopt her Slytherin behavior once more. She looked disdainfully at the King Kong and Fay Wray before her, then swept supremely into the Hall, her two hooker lackeys behind her.

---

About an hour later, Ginny had to admit that the whole Marilyn Monroe thing had been a good idea. The white, full-skirted dress fit her just about perfectly, and the light-skinned blonde wearing it wasn’t recognized by very many as a Slytherin. So far, she had no idea who any of her dancing partners had been; apparently, she hadn’t been the only who’d taken the ‘masquerade’ part seriously.

At the moment, Ginny was playing the part of wall flower. Looking over the crowd, her eyes kept going back to one man: a swaggering pirate with long black hair, an old-fashioned pistol, and a bottle of whiskey in one hand. His grey eyes searched the students frequently, and his sure gaze came to rest on Ginny more often than not.

One of these times, the pirate’s gray eyes met her temporarily brown ones, and he lifted an eyebrow in question. Ginny smiled secretively in return and took a step toward him; that was all the invitation this pirate needed. Setting his whiskey bottle down decisively, if rather regretfully, he abandoned his swaggering gait to stride purposefully across the room.

“Hi, gorgeous.”

Ginny’s smile grew; it was Sirius’s voice coming from underneath that three-tiered hat. “Hey, rebel.”

Sirius’s jaw dropped. “Isendre?”

“The one and only.”

“You look hot.” Sirius reached out and pulled one of her tight blonde curls, grinning as it sprang back into place. “Want to dance?”

“I’d love it.”

Sirius grasped Ginny’s elbow firmly in one tattooed hand and pulled her out onto the dance floor. The song changed from an upbeat one to a slow ballad, and she stepped close to him without embarrassment. Sirius wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, grinning at the wry smile she shot him.

“We weren’t close enough, huh?”

“Nope.” His unrepentant grin was so comical that Ginny just had to smile back. “I haven’t talked to you in a while. How’s life with the Slythies?”

Ginny glanced around to make sure no one was listening before answering. “It’s actually not as terrible as I would’ve imagined it. I mean, they certainly have some… obscured views on what I would consider general morals, but they’re not all bad. I actually had a lot of fun over the Christmas holidays.”

Her dance partner looked unbelieving, and Ginny gave his hand a squeeze. “They don’t treat me as badly as they do you, Sirius. How were your holidays?”

Sirius brightened considerably as the subject moved away from the world he’d left behind. “My fellow Marauders completely trashed Lily’s parent’s house, and James and I terrorized her horrid sister constantly, so it was really good.”

“Sounds fabulous,” Ginny said wryly, though somewhat cherishing the mental image of Harry’s horrible aunt floating upside down.

“You have no idea.”

“Oh, I bet I do.”

Sirius started to disagree, then remembered who she lived with now. “Maybe you do.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

The current song ended and another one began, slow like its predecessor. Sirius opened his mouth to ask her for another dance but a different voice interrupted him.

“May I cut in?”

Sirius began to refuse him, but the newcomer cut him off again. “I think you’ll find that that was more of a statement than an actual question.”

Ginny reflected later that if she hadn’t put a hand on Sirius’s arm when she had, he probably would’ve started a fight. “Sirius, it’s fine. I’ll explain later.”

The pirate paused for a moment, clearly torn, then nodded. “Fine.”

Ginny watched him disappear into the crowd before allowing her new partner to pull her into a waltz. “Draco.”

“Ginny.”

“Nice costume.” Her comment was, for once, lacking in sarcasm; Draco looked absolutely breathtaking. His simple black suit, white tuxedo shirt, and white, half-face mask suited him very well. “I’ve always had a thing for the Phantom.”

When Draco didn’t reply, Ginny knew immediately that something was wrong. “What’s the matter?”

“What makes you think anything’s the matter, Isendre?”

Ginny’s temper instantly flared. “Don’t start up that frigid, superior Slytherin bit again; don’t you dare!”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Draco’s gaze narrowed above her head, and Ginny’s glanced back to see what he was looking at.

“Sirius? Oh my gosh, Draco, grow up; it was just a dance.”

“Did I say I had a problem with it?”

“You're making it more than a little obvious, Draco. Honestly, why do you care?”

Draco ducked a bit, his face very close to Ginny’s. “Should I not care when my girlfriend is shamelessly throwing herself at a drunken pirate?”

Ginny dropped Draco’s hand, stepping back in disgust. “Ugh, you’re so unbelievable, Draco!” He took a step toward her, and Ginny held up a hand. “No! You leave me alone until you can get over your paranoid jealously issues!”

She stalked away.

Chapter 18- The Results of Unfounded Accusations

It was only a matter of moments before Draco found himself on the ground, jaw aching and Sirius standing over him. “What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?!”

“What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?!” Sirius looked angrier than even James, who had seen the punch and was hurrying to get to the pair, had ever seen him. “She’s your bloody girlfriend; you should be the one defending her, not hurting her!”

Draco jumped to his feet, livid. “Since when is our relationship any of your business, blood traitor?! Last time I checked, you didn’t consort with Slytherins!”

“She’s my friend; that makes it my business, you Death Eater!”

Draco’s gray eyes flamed red, and he went for his wand, already bellowing curses that some aurors didn’t know.

“Expelliarmus!”

Draco’s wand flew out of his hand and out of sight; McGonagall, a newly hired professor at this point, pushed hers to his throat. “You are in very deep trouble, Mr. Cummings.”

“Professor, I-”

“No!” Professor McGonagall cut him with a jab of her wand. “I don’t care what you wanted to say; nothing gives you the right to curse another student!

“Black!” McGonagall turned her head in his direction but kept her wand at Draco’s throat. “In my office, now! Evans, you too.”

Lily, who had witnessed the whole thing and was looking nearly as angry as McGonagall, grabbed Sirius’s arm and pulled him out of the room.

“You, out!” McGonagall pulled her wand away from Draco’s neck and jabbed it toward the opposite door. “Just get out! Out!”

---

Sirius, Lily, and James- who had followed his best friend and his girlfriend out of the Great Hall- had been in McGonagall’s office only a few minutes when Ginny flew through the door, blonde curls stretched out behind her. When she caught sight of the Head Boy and Girl, she quickly schooled her expression, trying to restore her mask of ambivalence.

Sirius, who had sat up quickly when the door opened, just looked at her. After a moment of silence, he motioned to Lily and James. “Could you guys leave for a second?”

Lily glared. “No we can not-”

“We’ll be just outside.” James cut his girlfriend off and pulled her out of the room, already knowing he was going to be in the doghouse for this.

Ginny waited for the sound of the door closing before she moved toward Sirius. She was there in two steps, and he was out of his chair in less time, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her already shaking form into his.

They stood like that for a few minutes before Sirius noticed the moisture seeping through his shirt. “Hey, what’s the matter, Reb?”

“I just-” Ginny stopped, choking down the lump in her throat. “You have no idea what Erik’s capable of, and when I heard that he went off on you I thought… I thought…”

Sirius didn’t know this Erik Cummings very well, but he knew what it was like to grow up in an evil pureblood family, so he could kind of guess what could’ve happened. “Hey, I’m fine. See, no blood.”

The door opened behind them, and Ginny pulled back before McGonagall could enter the room; she offered her hand to Sirius. “Thank you.”

Sirius took her hand, looking inquiring. “For what?”

“Sticking up for me.”

---

Draco walked into the Slytherin common room 30 minutes later and found a mass of glossy black hair flying at him. Ginny stopped inches from his face and practically hissed, “We need to talk. Now.”

Really not feeling in the mood to handle an extremely emotional Ginny, Draco nevertheless followed her into the corridor and out onto the grounds. The moment they were in the open air, Ginny rounded on him.

“What do you think you were doing?! As if we weren’t treading a fine enough line already, you had to go and pull a stunt like that! What are we going to do if you get expelled, Draco? How are we ever going to get back to our own time if we get separated like that?!”

Draco looked angrier than she had ever seen him. “You know what, Ginny? I don’t need this from you right now! I lost my temper, okay? Get over it! It’s not like you never slip up, or do I need to remind you why you had to become a Slytherin in the first place?!”

“Well, honestly, Draco! What could he have said that was so bad that you had to start hurling curses at him that even some teachers don’t know?!”

“He called me a Death Eater, alright, Ginny?! A Death Eater!”

“And why does that upset you so much, Draco, hmm? Why?!”

“BECAUSE I’M NOT! I’m not, okay?!” Draco stopped, closing his eyes in an attempt to get a reign on himself. When they opened again, his usual rigid control was back in place. “I am so sick of constantly living with people who assume I’m evil because I’m a Malfoy. To tell you the truth, I was relieved when we ended up here, because people wouldn’t know who I was!” He gave a short, mirthless bark of a laugh. “I guess it doesn’t matter where I am… or who.”

The blood drained out of Ginny’s face and she started to speak, tentatively. “Draco, I-”

“Mr. Cummings.”

Draco and Ginny turned to find Professor McGonagall a few feet away, looking very grave. “You are to report to Professor Slughorn’s office immediately.”

Draco glanced at Ginny for just a moment before turning to walk back into the castle. “See you later… hopefully.”

Chapter 19- Pureblood Knowledge of a Different Kind

Ginny watched Draco walk away, tears welling unexpectedly in her eyes. Blinking furiously, she turned and went in the direction of Hagrid’s hut, wandering aimlessly while she tried to work out her knotted up thoughts. Draco had told her at Christmas that he was evil; he’d said it outright! Yet he’d gotten angry enough when Sirius had called him a Death Eater that he’d started shooting curses. Could he possibly be changing?

Ginny sighed and turned back in the direction of the castle; it probably wasn’t a very good idea to be out here alone. She’d taken about two steps when a long, eerie howl broke the silence behind her. She whipped around, and something very large galloped past on her right. She whipped back around, eyes straining to see in the darkness. Whatever had been behind her was now in front… between her and castle.

“H-hello?”

Ginny’s voice shook, and she could feel beads of sweat breaking out on her forehead. Panic was quickly rising in her throat, and the ominous silence just stretched on. Ginny realized that just standing in the light of the full moon wasn’t doing anything, and she couldn’t take it anymore. She took one step toward the castle and heard something else move, too.

An enormous creature was stepping into the small radius of Ginny’s vision, and she could almost feel her heart stop from fear.

“Oh my god.”

The words just barely squeaked out of her throat, and Ginny found that she couldn’t move. Even if she’d wanted to, something told her that wasn’t a good idea, because she’d just recognized what this creature was: a werewolf. Its long snout sniffed the air as though not sure where its target was, but those vertical yellow eyes were looking directly into Ginny’s, and she was paralyzed.

How long they stood like that, prey and predator, could’ve been a few minutes or an eternity. All Ginny knew was that the moment her eyes flickered to the castle for less than a second, the werewolf pounced.

Ginny was later fascinated at how time seemed to slow down in that moment. In slow motion, she obeyed her instinct, which was to drop and cover the back of her head and neck. Even with her eyes closed, she could see the werewolf coming toward her, his snapping jaws just inches from her hair. A second before she imagined contact was coming, a snarling sounded from her right, and something hit the wolf hard.

Ginny’s eyes flew open as time resumed its normal pace and found a violent, bloody fight taking place only a foot from where she lay curled on the ground. A large black dog was fighting with the werewolf, claws tearing at the other monstrous creature. As she watched, and to her horror, the werewolf managed to throw the dog off, and its yellow eyes once more turned to her. Its long jaws now had blood and bits of fur hanging from them.

Her next course of action was something that Ginny would berate herself for endlessly later on. She knew, of course, that running away was the worst possible thing she could’ve done at that moment, because it would further enrage the werewolf’s perception of a hunt. So what did she do? Turn and run, of course.

Ginny tore her eyes away from the wolf and ran as she’d never run before, legs pumping at lightning speed, nearly falling from going so fast. However quickly she was running, however, the werewolf was faster. It dashed past her and skidded to halt sideways, blocking her path to the castle. Ginny could just see the detail of the stone, but she knew that to try to cover those last few feet would be suicide. The werewolf, killer instinct functioning in full now, stalked slowly toward her, breathing heavily. Ginny took one step backward and it pounced again. This time, no bear-like dog came to her rescue.

Ginny managed to dart aside before those long jaws dug into her, but the vicious claws of one of those curled paws tore into her back, digging long furrows in her delicate skin. Ginny screamed, falling, realizing through her pain that she was about to die. The werewolf thrust out with its other paw and was once again pulled away from its prey by another large animal. This time it was a stag, large and tawny-red, that pushed its antlers into the wolf.

“What’s going on ou’ here?”

Ginny almost cried with relief at the sound of Hagrid’s voice booming across the grounds. Her scream must’ve roused him. A sudden light blossomed from the end of a pink umbrella that the half-giant carried, and he took in the situation with a glance. Ignoring the werewolf, which was fiercely engaged by both the stag and the dog, Hagrid lifted Ginny roughly and ran to the castle, bellowing at the top of his lungs.

---

It was a few days before Ginny felt able to move around freely, and she was already beginning to regret her decision to return to classes; the deep tears in her back were burning something awful. She’d just made up her mind to go back to the hospital wing instead of to lunch when a familiar voice floating up the corridor stopped her.

“Moony, you’ve got to quit beating yourself up. It could’ve happened to anyone.”

“No, it couldn’t have, James, because not everyone is a-”

Remus, the one who was speaking now, rounded the corner and stopped before he could complete his sentence. The four Marauders just stood and looked at Ginny, Remus quite guiltily, and Ginny looked back. A few minutes passed, and the Gryffindors turned awkwardly to go back the way they’d come.

“Wait!”

Ginny’s half-shout caused the Marauders to stop, and she strode quickly over to them. Without giving herself a chance to change her mind, she threw her arms around Sirius and kissed his cheek. He was beginning to close his arms around her when she pulled away and did the same with James. It was a few seconds before she released him and turned to Remus. One slim, dark finger went to trace a long, very recent scar down his cheek, then her green eyes met his golden ones; she held his gaze for just a moment, then turned and walked away, trying hard not to cry.

The Marauders just stood there in stunned silence. After a few minutes, Peter spoke his first intelligent words all day. “She knows.”

Chapter 20- Recoveries of Many Kinds

A deep pain was stinging in Ginny’s back, like someone was shoveling hot embers into four long furrows. She moved a little, trying to get comfortable, and tears sprang to her eyes; a single word escaped in a half-whimper. “Ow.”

“You’re awake!”

The words were whispered, and Ginny opened her eyes to find Draco sitting beside her bed looking more worried than she’d ever seen him. He reached out with one hand to brush back a strand of hair that had fallen into her face, gray eyes apprehensive.

“Listen, Gin… about last night…”

Ginny, shock running through her at the realization that Draco was about to admit he’d been wrong, whipped her head around to look at him; that proved to be a mistake. Pain shot down the grooves in her back, and she winced. “Hold my hand, Draco.”

“What?”

“I need something to squeeze. Hold my hand!”

Draco found Ginny’s slim hand after a bit of fumbling and pushed his own into it, gasping at the grip she had on it after a moment. He sat like that for a few minutes, holding his girlfriend’s hand and wishing there was something he could do to help relieve her pain. It wasn’t overly long before Ginny’s fingers relaxed their grip and she sighed.

“Okay, talk to me.”

“About what?”

“Anything. I just need something to focus on.”

Draco was silent, and Ginny rolled her eyes.

“Fine, I’ll introduce something. The ball last night.”

“What about it?”

“How did you know it was me?”

Draco reached out and touched one of the dangly diamond earrings that still hung from Ginny’s ears. “I gave those to you.”

“Fair enough. I-” Ginny stopped dead; a thought had just occurred to her. “Draco, what are you still doing here?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, why aren’t you expelled or something?”

“Dumbledore let me off with the equivalent of a slap on the hand and telling me I was a bad boy.”

“Isn’t that a little light? How is he going to explain that to the rest of the staff?”

Draco shrugged, running his thumb lightly over the back of Ginny’s hand. “He probably let me off as easily as he did because he knows there’s nothing else that I can do in this time. Anyway, it’s his problem, now.”

“Draco, don’t be so flippant. You could’ve ruined everything!”

Draco didn’t reply, and Ginny felt the anger slowly draining out of her. “Anyway, at least that’s all cleared up now.”

---

It was just about a month after Ginny’s run-in with the Marauders that she found herself off on a visit to Hogsmeade. She was currently sitting in the Three Broomsticks with Bellatrix, Narcissa, and a few other Slytherin girls. The blonde half of the Black duo was showing off her new engagement ring.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” she stated more than asked, waving her hand so the ring caught the light. “Lucius felt that it would be best to get married soon, seeing as I’m going to be having his baby come September.”

Ginny’s mouth fell open with shock, as did those of a number of other girls sitting around the table. “When did you find out?”

Narcissa waved the surprise of her friends away as though it was nothing, but a telltale excitement gleamed in her eyes. “I wasn’t feeling very well, so Mother took me to St. Mungo’s last week. I mean, obviously I wasn’t going to go to a silly school nurse for something so important.”

“Of course not,” Ginny replied knowingly, her head reeling. It was a very odd thing to hear your friend talk about being pregnant with your boyfriend.

“Your ring is so lovely, Narcissa,” exclaimed one of the other girls at the table. “It must’ve cost him a fortune!”

“It’s not like that means much, Anastasia,” Bellatrix snapped at the rather annoying girl. “You make it sound like the Malfoys want for money. What stones are set in it, Cissy?”

“Diamonds, obviously, and those little alternating ones are emeralds. Lucius is so clever; he even kept the ring Slytherin colors.” Narcissa smiled in genuine happiness and turned to her sister. “What about you, Bella? Have you and Rodolpus talked about a wedding at all?”

Bellatrix tossed her illustrious dark hair grandiosely over one shoulder. “Oh, he’s taking me ring shopping the second we get back to King’s Cross in the spring. We’ll go straight to Diagon Alley from there; his mother owns the most fantastic jewelry shop.”

As the younger girls started chattering about the Blacks’ men, Bellatrix turned expectantly to Ginny.

“What about you, Isendre? When is Erik taking you to get your ring?”

“Oh! Um…we hadn’t really talked about it. I suppose we’ll… um..”

“Hello, ladies,” Draco put in smoothly, approaching with Rodolphus and Lucius. He slid onto a stool beside Ginny and put a possessive arm around her shoulders. “What are we talking about?”

“Bella was just asking when we’re going ring shopping.”

To Draco’s credit, he didn’t even blink. “We’ll be buying it when we return to France at the end of this school year. Isendre and I are planning to summer in Dijon and have a wedding come autumn.”

“That sounds lovely, Isendre.”

Silence fell over the group, and Ginny cast about quickly for something to say. “Oh, did you hear Narcissa’s news, sweetheart?”

“You mean that she and Lucius are getting married?”

“No, the other news.”

“I don’t think so, no. Care to tell me, Cissa?”

Narcissa threw a dazzling smile back at Lucius before answering. “I’m expecting!”

“That’s fantastic! In fact, I think that constitutes Butterbeers all around; I’ll buy.” Draco put a hand on Ginny’s shoulder and gave her a significant look. “Help me carry, love?”

Ginny nodded at once and followed Draco up to the bar. He waved Madam Rosmerta away when she came their way and just stood there for a moment, staring at the countertop.

“Is… everything alright, baby?”

Draco shook his head as if to wake himself up and answered still staring downward. “It’s just… it’s so odd to see her pregnant with me when I’m right here.”

“I know, I thought that, too.”

Draco stood there for a few more minutes, eyes staring unseeingly at the counter, before he raised his head and looked at Ginny with a very strange look in his eyes. Without any warning at all, Draco grasped the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. When he released her just a moment later, it was with a soft, almost tender smile on his lips. Without a word, he turned and walked away.

Ginny stood at the counter and watched him go, bemused. “What was that?”

“Isendre.”

Ginny turned at her name and found Lily Evans extending an envelope toward her; she took it curiously.

“Professor Dumbledore would like you to read this immediately. And privately.”

Chapter 21- The Beginning of the End

Ginny watched Lily walk away before looking down at the envelope in her hand. A letter from Dumbledore… She glanced at the table of her Slytherin friends somewhat guiltily, then back down at the envelope. Well, Lily had said to read it privately. Ginny nodded in decision and headed out into the open air. Once the swinging doors of the 3 Broomsticks were behind her, she pulled a crisply folded letter and two photographs from the envelope; her breath caught.

One picture was of Haleigh Adams and Lily Evans laughing with Sirius and James, brilliant red hair and freckles prominent. The other was of Isendre Delacour sitting cool and calm at the Slytherin table, listening to Narcissa with a sultry smile alighting on her lips. The handwritten message that accompanied the pictures chilled her.

Who do you want to be, Ginny? Do you want to be a Haleigh Adams or an Isendre Delacour? You can’t have both; you must choose one life or the other. Your time of returning quickly approaches, and you must have made a decision by the time it comes.

Albus Dumbledore

Ginny stared down at the parchment, tears filling her eyes.

“Isendre?”

Bellatrix stood watching Ginny with concern.

“Are you alright, honey?”

With a strangled cry, Ginny turned and stumbled down the road leading back to Hogwarts. Tears blinded her as she ran through the shops and trees, sprinting wildly to avoid the shouts of concern following her.

---

At long last, Ginny found herself bent double in exhaustion in a seventh floor corridor. Spotting a familiar portrait hanging on the wall, she wrenched one side off and stumbled into the secret corridor behind it. Gasping for breath, tears still running down her cheeks, Ginny lay wearily on the ground. For 15 agonizing minutes she lay sprawled on the stones before hearing the door open.

Sitting up warily, Ginny saw a familiar face enter the small hidden room, worry etched into his features. Sirius knelt beside her, pushing black hair back from his friend’s sweaty forehead.

“What’s up, Isendre?”

Ginny silently lifted her wand and waved it around her head, going by the shocked look on Sirius’s face that her spell had worked.

“Whoa… one second you were that bitchy Slytherin, and now you’re our Haleigh again.”

Ginny wordlessly thrust the headmaster’s letter at her friend and waited in silence as he read it. She knew that he wouldn’t understand all of it, but she just really needed some support right now.

“Wow,” Sirius said quietly a minute later, setting the letter on the floor beside Ginny. “I’m not sure what ‘the time of your returning means,’ but wow.”

“Yeah. Wow.” Her voice came out like a croak. “Sirius, what do I do? I can’t have both lives, I know that, but I don’t know how I’ll give up one of them. I love Erik, I really do, but I need my family.”

Sirius was silent for a few minutes. “Well,” he said slowly. “The way I see it, you shouldn’t have to give one up. So don’t. Dumbledore will never know.”

Ginny lifted red, bleary eyes from her knees. “He won’t?”

“Of course not,” Sirius said cheerily, offering Ginny a hand up. “He still doesn’t know that it was me that dissolved an entire box of ‘Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans’ in his hot spiced cider my first year here.”

---

Ginny bounced impatiently as the winding staircase rose slowly to the Headmaster’s office. The moment it jerked to a stop, Ginny bounded off and burst through the door without knocking; Dumbledore didn’t even look up.

“Sit down, please, Miss Weasley. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

Dumbfounded, Ginny turned to the selection of sofas the office held and was surprised to find Draco already there; she altered her course to end up next to him. “Hey.”

“Hi. Why are you here?”

Ginny glanced at Dumbledore before answering. “He wrote me a letter about ‘our returning’ or something, and I was curious about it. You?”

“Same.”

“Cool.”

Dumbledore finished whatever he was doing at his desk and rose, coming to sit in a chair across from his students. “I assume you two want to know about the letters I sent you?”

Two nods were his answer. “When is the ‘time of our returning’? You said in mine that it quickly approaches.”

“I can’t pinpoint the exact time,” Dumbledore said somewhat sadly, obviously slightly disappointed in himself for his failure on that point. “It will be soon, though. You’ve accomplished what you were sent here to do.”

Two blank stares. “When? How?”

“You’ll recall, Miss Weasley, I said something about fear being an emotion you would have to experience before returning?” Ginny nodded, and Dumbledore continued. “You’ve both experienced that fear in immense amounts- Ginny when she was attacked by that werewolf and Draco when he heard of her condition.”

Ginny looked at Draco in disbelief upon hearing this, but his eyes remained stubbornly on the Headmaster.

“More importantly, I think, you’ve bridged the gap.”

“… What gap?”

“The gap between your families, that huge chasm that’s been there for centuries; you’ve mended the tear that’s separated the Malfoys and Weasleys for a very long time. On a larger scale, though, you’ve bridged a much larger gap: that between the ‘noble’ purebloods and the ‘blood-traitors’. That is why your time of returning approaches.”

“So... when will we go back?”

Dumbledore shook his head. “I’ve told you, I can’t be sure. My guess would be sometime before the day is out.”

“Can you delay it at all?” Ginny looked slightly panicked, and Dumbledore faintly surprised.

“Why would you want me to, Miss Weasley?”

“I want to have time to say goodbye. I’ve spent the last few months of my life with these people, and I owe them an explanation.”

Dumbledore looked very considering for a few moments. At long last, he said, “Very well; I will do what I can. I can’t guarantee you more than a day by any means, and you must be careful not to reveal too much of the future.”

“Of course!” Ginny was nothing short of ecstatic, and she rose, already on her way to find a certain friend. “Thank you, sir!”

---

“Sirius, where are you taking me?”

“You’ll see in a second. Close those eyes!”

Ginny sighed and shut her eyes, blindly following Sirius through the Hogwarts corridors. A few turns later, he muttered something under his breath and came to a stop.

“Alright, open your eyes.”

Ginny obeyed and felt her mouth fall open in surprise. She stood in the middle of the Room of Requirement, surrounded by shocked Marauders.

“Hey, guys,” Ginny said nervously, running her fingers through her hair, which she shockingly found was a vibrant red once more. “You told them?”

“I asked Dumbledore how long it would be until you left; he said it would be wise to say our goodbyes.”

Ginny nodded, suddenly finding herself besieged by overwhelming emotions. “I never meant to deceive you.” She stopped, biting her lip. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, any of you.”

“Why did you, Haleigh?” This question came from James, who was looking quite serious for once.

Ginny gulped quite audibly. “I’m not sure if I can tell you. I don’t think I should.”

“Wait a minute…” This time it was Remus who spoke, golden eyes shining in agony. “So you’re the one that I… oh Merlin…”

“Remus, it wasn’t your fault.” Ginny waited until he lifted his head to find her face just inches from his own. “I understand, and I don’t blame you. Believe me. Trust me, please.”

“I’m so sorry, Haleigh.” Remus’s eyes shone with tears, and Sirius and James’s looked suspiciously wet as well as they realized what their two friends were talking about. “If I could go back and change it, I would.”

Ginny smiled slightly, tracing that scar down Remus’s cheek again. “I’m just thankful that nothing worse happened.”

“Why are you telling us, Haleigh? I mean, why did you decide to tell us the truth now?”

Ginny was still caught up in the moment with Remus and spoke without thinking. “I’m leaving soon.”

“Leaving?” Sirius took an unconscious step forward. “Why?”

Ginny bit her lip, realizing what she’d just said and not sure what to tell her friends and what not to. “I- I can’t tell you. I’m sorry.”

“Not anything?”

“Let’s just say that,” Ginny paused to swallow. “I’ll be seeing you later on.”

James, Sirius, and Peter continued to look confused, but comprehension dawned on Remus and Lily’s faces.

Chapter 22- Many Happy Returns?

“… I just wanted to say goodbye.”

“But, Isendre, I don’t understand. Where are you going that we can’t contact you?”

Ginny shot a glance at the room where Draco and Lucius were secluded and sighed, running a hand through her dark-again hair. “I think you’ll find out soon enough.”

Bellatrix and Narcissa peeked at the door just as it opened. Sure enough, a grim-faced Lucius pulled the sisters into a corner and began to talk. Draco emerged from the room a few seconds later looking worn, and Ginny went to him.

“How’d it go?”

Draco sighed and ran a weary hand through his bleached hair. “Not too badly, actually; he was more surprised than anything else. I think the part that upset him the most was that we’ve lied to them this whole time. I thought he was going to hit me for a second there.”

“Do you know why he didn’t?”

Draco shrugged. “I assume it was because I told him I was his son.”

“You what?! Draco, you know we aren’t supposed to reveal the future!”

“What did you honestly expect me to do when he asked, Ginny? Lie some more?” Draco closed his eyes for a moment in exhaustion. “She’s already pregnant with me, anyway; it’s not like they’re finding out something they didn’t know was coming.”

Ginny hesitated for a moment. “How did he take it? That you’re his son, I mean.”

Draco shrugged. “No worse than anything else I said. Come to think of it, this explains some of those weird looks he shoots me in the future.”

“Miss Weasley, Mr. Malfoy.”

The two looked up from their conversation to see Dumbledore standing beside them, looking semi-transparent.

“I’m afraid I can’t delay it any longer.”

Ginny glanced at Draco, who nodded at her. “That’s alright. I think we’ve finished up here, anyway. Thank you for all your help, Professor.”

Dumbledore simply nodded. The world faded in a swirl of colors.

---

Ginny opened her eyes and had only enough time to gasp before she landed hard on the lawn of 13 Grimmauld Place. She lay there for a moment, trying to get a handle on the thoughts racing each other through her brain. Was it really possible? Was she finally back? Without thinking, Ginny sat up quickly and nearly fell over again from the pain that shot through her skull; when falling from the sky, one should really try not to land on one’s head.

“Ow… you’d think he could’ve found a more convenient way of sending us back.”

When only silence answered her, Ginny looked around for Draco; there was no sign of him.

“I guess Dumbledore must’ve sent him straight to Malfoy Manor.”

Ginny sat there for a few minutes more trying to decide what to do. The smartest choice would obviously be to get up and go inside before some Muggle came along and asked her why she was sitting in the snow. Though, despite this solid reasoning, despite the frequent bouts of homesickness that had assailed her over the last few months, and despite the cold sinking steadily into her bones, she found that she wasn’t quite ready to face everyone. How would she react to seeing her oldest brother when he just recently had been six years her junior? How was she supposed to face Harry after meeting and befriending his parents, something that he’d never had the chance to do? A chill ran down Ginny’s spine at a new thought; how could she possibly see Remus again after she finally had an idea of what his two best friends had meant to him… had meant to her?

How long she sat there in the snow, Ginny didn’t know. Those terrible thoughts chased each other around in her mind until she was nearly dizzy with worry. All that she knew was she was thoroughly chilled by the time Kingsley Shacklebot, returning home from his job at the Ministry, stopped a few feet from her, stunned.

“Ginny?”

Shivering furiously, Ginny nodded through teeth that were beginning to rattle.

Shacklebot just stood there staring at her, obviously shocked. It wasn’t until Ginny sneezed a few minutes later that he shook himself out of his reverie. Wordlessly, the broad-shouldered black man lifted the redhead effortlessly from the ground and carried her up the drive and into the house, being careful to close the door quietly behind him. The moment they were safely inside, though, Shacklebot began to run.

Ginny was too cold by this time to realize, or care, where they were going in such a hurry. She just lay in Kingsley’s arms, utterly exhausted, and bumped along for the ride. It was a remarkably short time, though, before she recognized the door he was slowly pushing open as that leading to the kitchen. A moment later, the motion stopped and Ginny found herself being set on her feet, head spinning. Through her dizziness, she could hear voices.

“Kingsley should be home anytime, Molly. You might as well put dinner on the table.”

That voice was familiar… who was it? Ginny thought through the fog in her mind for a few moments before it hit her. That was her father’s voice! And Molly… Molly was her mum’s name! Ginny fought to open her eyes, well aware that Kingsley’s steadying hands were the only thing keeping her upright. The conversation continued.

“Mum, take a chill pill. Why are you so tightly wound lately?”

That was Charlie… or maybe Bill… oh, but how she’d missed them both!

“You would probably be, too, Charlie, if your only daughter had been missing for five months!”

Ginny tried to form words, to tell her mother that she was here, but her mouth felt like it was full of mush. Kingsley noticed this and decided to speak for her.

“Molly.”

The older redhead looked up, eyes bleary from the constant stresses that had been plaguing her for the last five months, and she didn’t even notice her daughter past her tears.

“Oh good, you’re here. Dinner is almost ready, and-”

“Molly.” Kingsley’s voice was gentle, and he pulled Ginny carefully in front of him, right into her mother’s line of sight. “Look.”

Molly peered at her daughter for long moments, obviously under the impression that she was hallucinating. A few minutes later, though, when the apparent hallucination took a hesitant step forward, her hands came up to her mouth in amazement.

“Ginny… oh my baby, is that you?”

Ginny tried again to speak, but this time found her throat clogged with tears; she contented herself with a single nod.

Mrs. Weasley dropped to the floor all at once, tears streaming down her face, sobs tearing from her throat. Ginny found that she, too- though for reasons very different- could no longer stand either.

Chapter 23- Repeated Apologies and Awkward Introductions

Ginny woke up and opened her eyes, aware of a dull throbbing in the back of her head. The light that greeted her was just short of too bright, and the ceiling she found herself gazing at was white. ‘Wait a minute… where am I?’

Ginny moved her head from side to side experimentally, wincing at the tightness in her neck. ‘Nope, I’m not dead.’ She lifted her head from the pillow slightly and jumped as she caught sight of the person sitting beside her bed; she’d had no idea anyone was in here. She studied the top of the man’s head- he was bent over the edge of the bed- and that light grip he had on her hand seemed vaguely familiar. And suddenly, Ginny knew who it was.

“Remus.”

The man’s head shot up off her hand, and the worry fell off his face. “Ginny, you’re awake!”

Ginny didn’t answer, taking her time to study her former professor. His face was more heavily lined than she remembered from Headquarters that summer, and his light brown hair was very gray. It was his eyes, though, that bothered her the most. Those amber eyes so full of suffering and cares he should never have had to shoulder… she could remember a time when they hadn’t looked like that.

Some of the emotions running through Ginny apparently showed through to her face, because Remus’s brow lowered in concern. “What’s the matter?”

Ginny shook her head, squeezing his hand comfortingly. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

Remus didn’t look like he believed her, but his silent glance around the room caused Ginny to look, too.

“Am I at St. Mungo’s?!”

Remus nodded.

“Why?”

A small smile twitched at the corners of Remus’s mouth. “Your mum about had a heart attack when she saw you collapse back at Headquarters. You father tried to convince her you were just tired, and she started spouting about how she’d just gotten you back, she wasn’t going to take any chances!”

Ginny grinned at the way Remus mimicked her mother’s voice, then grimaced as her head gave a particularly painful throb.

“What can I do?”

Ginny motioned him closer. “Help me sit up. I want something to drink in the worst way.”

Remus stood immediately and placed one hand on Ginny’s back, the other on her stomach. When she nodded, he helped her slowly sit up and lean against the headboard. When she was safely there, he started to remove his hand, then stopped. His fingers moved lightly across her back, and Ginny’s mind reached for the panic button before she realized what he was doing. When she did, she tried to push his arm away.

“Remus, don’t; it’ll be worse for you. Just let it go.”

He just looked at her, and Ginny leaned forward with a sigh. With slightly shaking hands, Remus pulled down the back of Ginny’s nightgown, twitching violently when he saw those four scars that were just beginning to heal. His long fingers ran down those deep furrows, eyes closing involuntarily as he felt the rough, still-raw skin. Gently, Ginny removed his hand and leaned back again.

“Remus.” He didn’t respond, and Ginny spoke more firmly. “Remus, look at me.”

His amber eyes came up to meet hers, and Ginny’s stomach muscles clenched at the fresh anguish there. She spoke slowly and deliberately, willing him to believe her. “It wasn’t your fault. I don’t blame you.”

Remus looked at the ceiling, fighting back the tears that were trying to rise again. “I’m so sorry, Ginny.”

“Remus, we’ve been over this. Please do me the courtesy of believing me when I say I forgive you.”

Remus looked back at her and started to speak, but a knock on the door interrupted him; a bleach blond head appeared in the opening. “Hi.”

Ginny smiled. “Hi.”

Draco stepped all the way into the room, closing the door behind him and looking somewhat awkwardly at Remus. “Do you… are you… I-”

“I know it was you, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Draco nodded and walked forward, holding out his hand. “I believe I treated you rather badly when you were my teacher. I apologize.”

Lupin took his hand, managing to reign in his surprise. “Thank you; I accept.”

Ginny didn’t even bother trying to hide her shock. “Did you hit your head on the way back, too?”

Lupin glanced between them and smiled slightly, nodding toward the bed on the other side of the room. “I think I’m going to go have a chat with him; rumor has it he was bitten by a werewolf, and I think I might be just the person to cheer him up.”

Ginny threw a parting smile at Lupin before turning all her attention to Draco. “What was that?!”

“What?”

“Oh, don’t play dumb with me, Draco. Why are you being so nice to him?”

Draco took the chair Lupin had vacated and looked very serious. “If we’re going to make this work now that we’re back, we’ll both have to make some serious compromises. I’m going to try to be civil to people I know you care about.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “You’re so noble, Draco. I don’t know how I’ll ever be worthy of you.”

“Oh, stop.”

“Seriously, though, why were you being so nice to him? I know there’s more than what you just told me.”

Draco shifted a little in his chair, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “There are two people I need you to be at least on speaking terms with if this is going to have any chance of lasting.”

“Okay… who?”

Draco looked to the door, and it opened right on cue. Narcissa Malfoy, looking just as snooty as she had at the Quidditch World Cup, entered the room. She walked slowly to the bed, and Ginny had the distinct impression that she was being measured up and found wanting. After a few moments, Narcissa extended her hand.

“It’s… nice to meet you, Miss Weasley.”

Draco started to open his mouth, looking worried, but Ginny shushed him and shook his mother’s hand shortly. Calmly bending to the trunk that was propped open beside the bed, Ginny drew out the silver frame the Black sisters had given her for Christmas and handed it to Narcissa.

The emotions that flitted across Narcissa’s lovely face as she looked at the moving photograph were somewhat difficult to describe- it was somehow a combination of shock, disbelief, a little anger, and resignation. Finally, she raised her eyes to Ginny’s. “You’re Isendre?”

Ginny nodded, and the barest hint of a smile appeared on Narcissa’s face. “Well, this might work out after all.”

Ginny’s jaw dropped, and Draco quickly shooed his mother out of the room. His next words sobered his girlfriend. “There’s someone else I need you to accept, Ginny. I know that you hate him, and you have good reason to, but if you can’t… he’s just very important to me.”

Ginny bit her lip worriedly, but met Draco’s gaze and nodded. “Alright.”

Draco’s eyes went to the door again, and Ginny closed her eyes momentarily, steeling herself to see his father walk into the room. She’d been gone for a year; he must’ve been released from Azkaban while she was back in time. The door opened, and Ginny opened her eyes again, determined to watch Lucius Malfoy walk through it without flinching.

The person that greeted her vision was most definitely not Lucius Malfoy.

Chapter 24- My Bane

Draco’s eyes went to the door again, and Ginny closed her eyes momentarily, steeling herself to see his father walk into the room. She’d been gone for months; he must’ve been released from Azkaban while she was back in time. The door opened, and Ginny opened her eyes again, determined to watch Lucius Malfoy walk through it without flinching.

The person that greeted her vision was most definitely not Lucius Malfoy.

Ginny watched Severus Snape walk through the door, and shock numbed her all the way to her toes. “Him? You want me to accept him?!”

Remus, on the other side of the room talking with the werewolf, heard her shout and straightened. When he caught sight of Snape standing at the foot of Ginny’s bed, his back became rigid and he strode hurriedly across the room, hand going for his wand. “What are you doing here?”

His voice was practically a snarl, and even Snape looked a bit surprised.

“I came with Draco to meet this amazing girl that he apparently feels very seriously about.”

Remus’s expression didn’t change, and Ginny instinctively stepped in. “Remus.”

“You have no right to be here. She needs rest, not the constant aggravation and anxiety that follows you around!”

“Remus, please.”

Snape’s expression soured, and his hand twitched toward his wand, too. “I’m here at Draco’s request, and Draco’s request only. Do you think it’s exactly my idea of a good time to talk with a Weasley?”

“You’re lucky that-”

“Stop it, both of you!” The two men both jumped a bit, having obviously forgotten that they weren’t alone, then looked at the angry redhead in the bed. “Remus, I appreciate your concern and I know that you’re only trying to be helpful, but let me handle this myself. I’m a big girl.”

Remus looked only slightly abashed and stalked back across the room reluctantly. Ginny nodded to herself and looked at the other perpetrator of the fight. “And you get out. Just get out.”

Snape didn’t even hesitate. He just turned on his heel and strode casually out the door as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

Ginny looked back at Draco. “Going back to our conversation… you want me to accept him?!”

Draco glanced at Snape, casually closing the door behind him, then back at his girlfriend. “Yes. Ginny, he saved my life. And he’s the closest thing I have to a father right now.” The betrayal remained in Ginny’s eyes, and Draco sighed. “He’s changed, Gin, he has. I don’t care if you believe him when he says it, but you trust me. Please, Gin. You don’t have to like him, just be able to be in the same room with him occasionally.”

Ginny closed her eyes and leaned her head back. She couldn’t believe she was about to do this. Her brothers were going to kill her. “Get him back in here, Draco.”

If her eyes had been open, Ginny would’ve seen the shock written across her boyfriend’s face as he quickly stood and went to the door. It was only a matter of moments before Snape was standing beside her bed once more.

Blinking a couple of times, Ginny pushed her hand out in her former potions master’s general direction. She glanced at Draco when she felt Snape’s hand grasp hers, and the happiness she read on his face told her that she’d just made a lasting commitment in his mind. Surprisingly enough, that didn’t bother her at all.

---

Ginny sighed contentedly and snuggled closer to Draco, watching the fire dwindle down into glowing coals. His arm tightened around her shoulders and she smiled slightly, closing her eyes momentarily. They’d come a long way since that hospital wing a year ago, and she couldn’t remember ever being so happy. Yes, they still had frequent spats, not to mention the awkwardness that was always present when they stayed at Order Headquarters or attended lavish Malfoy parties together. Nevertheless, Ginny was content when she was with him. He made her happy.

She felt him draw in a deep breath and knew that he was about to speak. “Will you do something for me?”

“Depends on what it is.”

“Marry me.”

Ginny pulled back from his shoulder slowly, eyes wide. “Are you serious?”

“Completely. I love you more than anything else in the world, and I want you to be my wife.”

Ginny’s eyes sparkled with tears, but she managed a mischievous grin through them. “I don’t care who you are, Mr. Malfoy, you are doing this thing properly.”

Draco rolled his eyes and pulled a ring box from his jacket pocket. He raised a questioning eyebrow at her, and Ginny shook her head. “Nope, still not right. You’ve got to kneel.”

He sighed, but knelt down in front of her and opened the box, extending it toward her. “Well, Miss Weasley?”

Ginny smiled. “Well, now that you’ve finally gotten it right…” She leaned in and kissed him lightly, then rested her forehead on his. “Of course I will.”

Draco pulled the ring from its padding and watched his girlfriend- no, his fiancé- examine it. The large diamond glinted in the faint firelight, but Ginny was smiling at something else. Etched into the gold band were the words ‘My Bane’.