The hotel lobby was full of well-to-do people talking about things that would bore Ginny Weasley to tears. She grabbed a glass of wine from a passing waiter, vaguely wondering whether or not she was supposed to order. She looked around and spotted the table plan; even that was elegant.

Ginny had never thought of herself as elegant. She scrubbed up very well, but was much more comfortable getting dressed up for a pub crawl than a ball. Nevertheless, elegant was the only way to describe the evening so far, and Ginny was a little surprised to find she was sort of enjoying it. An invite to the British Magizoology Association's Annual Charity Ball hadn't come as much of a shock, considering her sister-in-law did a lot of work with the association and Ginny had recently been promoted to Assistant Features Editor at the Prophet. Not that she would actually be writing a feature on all these privileged people, come together for a night of patting one another on the back, but they didn't have to know that.

Indicating that she wasn't all that important was the fact that she was seated on a table at the very back of the ballroom, furthest away from the stage. She hadn't even spoken to Ron and Hermione yet, though they'd waved at her as everyone was taking their seats for dinner. She could see Harry over there with them, too. Meanwhile, Ginny had a rather eclectic collection of dining companions: Neville was representing the Hogwarts staff and had brought with him his new fiancée Hannah; Declan Harris, a nerdy looking Healer, was sat to Ginny's left with his very pretty date Ruby DuBois; there was an older couple who seemed a little confused by everything; and a middle-aged couple who seemed very put out by their seating arrangements. Lastly, sat to Ginny's right was Draco Malfoy. Apparently he too had come to the ball dateless.

'So, Malfoy,' said Ginny, putting down her cutlery, having finished her starter. 'I'm representing the Prophet, Neville's representing Hogwarts. Who is it you're representing tonight?'

'You can call me Draco,' he said, tearing off a piece of bread. 'I'm just representing my family, I suppose. We always get invited to these things.'

She turned to her left. 'What about you, Ruby?'

'Oh, I'm just Declan's arm candy,' said Ruby with a giggle that seemed a little bit forced.

'Arm candy that I'm pretty sure he paid for,' said Draco under his breath. Ginny grinned; she had wondered when she'd seen them together. Looking at her other companions, it was clear that she was the only one who'd heard. She let the others fall into another round of small talk, then turned towards Draco.

'How did you know?' she asked.

'Know what, Weasley?'

'Know about – oh, and you can call me Ginny – know about those two?'

He shrugged. 'I've seen her at these sorts of things before. Usually the men she's with are much older and much richer, though.'

'So maybe they're in love,' said Ginny. 'That'd be a sweet story.'

'I recently inherited a large sum of money from an uncle I'd never actually met,' said Declan, loudly enough so people at other tables would also be able to hear. Draco raised an eyebrow.

'Or that,' he said.

'Okay, or that,' she conceded.

So began the evening's entertainment; Draco was incredibly shrewd with his comments about those around them and Ginny's appetite for all things scandalous and salacious was steadily growing. Draco pointed out a few more beauties he thought were probably call girls and showed her how the tables nearest the front were all distributed to contain equal parts old-influential people and young-pretty people. He picked out those who would be the drunkest by the end of the night and those who would leave early.

'Very impressive,' said Ginny. 'A little sad, but impressive. You could easily write a book with all this material. A survival guide.'

'Believe me, I know how ridiculous my party trick is. But it passes the time.'

It was strange how easy she was finding it to be in Draco's company; they hadn't actually come across one another at all in the past five years, though they did share some mutual friends. It seemed they had both lost a lot of the aggression they'd had growing up, to be replaced with this sarcastic, dry humour that not many of the people closest to Ginny shared. He had changed physically, too, but not to the extent that it was hard to recognise him at all; he'd grown into his features a little more and seemed lean rather than lanky.

'Of course,' said Ginny during dessert, 'all of these things make me wonder what you'd be saying about me, were I one of your targets.'

'Well you would definitely be a target.' He took a sip of wine and surveyed her. 'Do you really want to know?'

'I'm not sure I do, given the look on your face.' She bit her lip, considering. 'Oh go on, I can take it.'

'First,' he said, 'nervously waving at people you know at the front of the room gives away that you've only been invited to make up the numbers.'

'Ouch,' said Ginny. 'What else?'

'It is also one of the many indicators that it's your first time at one of these things. Others include – but are not limited to – the fact that you used the wrong fork for your starter, your dress, your hair and the way that you've been talking to me all through dinner instead of attempting to talk to those opposite.' He picked up his wineglass and went into an imitation of what she apparently should be doing, gesturing with it wildly. 'Oh Dahling, it's been forever, how have you been? We must do lunch sometime, it's so hard to talk over these damn centrepieces.' The elderly woman opposite, who'd been on the receiving end, stared at him with a look of alarm until Draco seemed to be back to his usual persona. 'So basically, you don't fit in, Ginny.' He reached for the nearest bottle and topped up both of their glasses.

'I like my dress and my hair,' she said, pouting in a mock-sulk.

'Look around. Clearly, the hair this season is up and the dresses are meringues. Cascading curls and slinky frocks were not supposed to be on this evening's menu, so I'm pretty sure most of the women in this room have called you slutty by now.'

'Oh thanks. I'm in a room full of call girls, and I'm the slutty one.'

'Judge not, lest thee be judged.'

'All you've been doing for this entire meal is judging people,' said Ginny, only a little annoyed.

'No, I've been making observations. Anyway, they can judge me all they like, I'm very aware of what observations of me would be.'

'Really? I find that hard to believe.'

'Firstly, I've only been invited because the Malfoys are always invited. If they didn't invite a Malfoy then it would be seen as some sort of statement and they don't want to make statements because, after all, this is All For a Good Cause.'

Ginny laughed. 'I thought it was All For the Open Bar.'

'Ha, maybe that's what I'll call my book.'

'You know, I think it'll be more of a pamphlet.' Ginny was pouring wine, now, which admittedly, they were beginning to hog. 'Are there more terrible and hurtful things people are saying about you this evening?'

'Oh plenty, but a large chunk of that is just bitter exes and one-night-stands.'

'So you've spent the last few years becoming a manwhore?' asked Ginny.

Draco nodded, as though taking her question completely seriously, then with a grin said, 'I'm really good at it, too.'

All evening Ginny had been feeling mild amusement and nostalgia, but now for the first time there was an inkling of desire. It had been something in the look on his face, his knowing grin, and it was all so contrary to what she would usually find attractive that she found herself stuck in a bubble of confusion for a minute. As quickly as it came, the moment passed, and Draco was explaining what would be his own observations of himself, were he someone different.

'Also, I'm sat at this table because whilst they have to invite me, I'm also pretty irrelevant. They had to stick me near the back and this was the only table far back enough that had another person without a plus one. But--'

'Oh, there's a but?'

'There is, and it's this: luckily, whilst I can identify all of these things, I also know that they really don't matter at all because I still get the free dinner and booze. It doesn't matter that you're wearing the wrong dress because you look beautiful and not like a sheep.'

'And also because I don't actually care what any of these people think.'

'And only the cool kids get to sit at the back anyway.'

'I wonder if there's anything coming up that we'll be able to heckle...'

'You can count on it.'

As if they had summoned him, a man took to the stage and the voices in the room fell to a murmur. Ginny was reminded of the feasts on the first day of Hogwarts She half expected the man to warn them about Dark forces or bring out a singing hat. Instead, all he said was that there would now be a short intermission in proceedings before the charity auction got under way. He was still talking as people began getting up and heading for the bar.

'This is going to sound really tacky,' said Ginny, 'but do you know what I really fancy now I've had a big three course meal and most of a bottle of wine?'

'No,' replied Draco, 'do tell.'

'I really fancy a fag.'

'Let's go, then. Fresh air would be good; all the perfume in here is going to my head.'

'Do you have some, though? Because I don't. Can I bum one from you?'

Draco laughed. 'Sure, why not? You can pay me back at the next one of these things.'

'The next one?' asked Ginny, getting up. 'There's not going to be a next one.'

'You say that now, but there will be.' They began to weave through the crowd towards the exit. 'You're on The List, now.'

'But that doesn't mean I have to accept any invitations.'

'No,' conceded Draco, 'that's true. You will though, because it's charity.' He paused, then with a smirk added: 'Think of the children, Ginny, what about the children?'

They were in the lobby now, which was full of people mingling and drinking. It looked quiet outside. Draco seemed to spot someone he knew and gave them a small wave, but the two of them continued towards the exit regardless.

'I really am trapped in a world of dress robes and foie gras, aren't I?' asked Ginny as they came to the doors. She reached out to push the nearest set open, but it wouldn't budge. She tried pulling, but still there was no give. She turned to look at Draco, expecting to see him with his wand out, trapping her literally as well as figuratively in a bad attempt at a joke. But his face was as confused as hers must have been; he shook his head.

'It looks like we are trapped, yeah.' He looked around. No one was panicking; no one had noticed. He tried the second door, then the third. All locked.

Ginny got out her wand, pointed it at the front doors and said 'Alohomora.' Draco tried the door, but still it wouldn't open. Ginny shrugged. 'It was worth a try.'

'Now what?' asked Draco.

'We tell someone, I guess? There could be a logical explanation.'

'I don't think so.'

'But who would want to lock us all in here?'

'Who wouldn't?' said Draco. 'All the rich and famous of the wizarding world, conveniently inside one building.'

'Right.' Ginny nodded. 'You're right.'

People were starting to notice them; they must have looked strange, worried frowning faces in the midst of the party. A lot of the women here had lost the ability to frown some time ago. Ginny bit her lip as a sense of foreboding went through her. They needed to make sure there was a way out despite the main doors being locked, because something very bad was coming.

'Whatever's going on, Ginny, I don't feel like playing hero,' said Draco. She looked up at him; he appeared a little scared. 'You can go and tell your mates. They can do the Auror thing and I'll see you at the victory party.'

Ginny scoffed. 'Don't be pathetic. I'm not telling them. Last I saw, they were still inside the ballroom, utterly surrounded.'

'I'll create a diversion so that you can get to them, if you want? I do a very good Inappropriate Drunk.'

'We don't even know if this is anything to worry about, yet.' She wasn't convincing herself with that statement, so Draco would probably have none of it. Nevertheless, she pressed on. 'Come with me.'

She grabbed his cold hand and pulled him back towards the ballroom, where people were beginning to make their way back to their tables. Ginny and Draco, however, continued on by their own table, Neville flashing them a confused look as they did so.

'Where the bloody hell are we going?' asked Draco.

'The kitchen,' said Ginny; she just hoped they'd reach the door before everyone was reseated and they attracted more attention. 'There's bound to be an exit in there. I want to try it.'

'You realise, of course, that everyone who sees you dragging me into the kitchen is going to think there's something going on between us.' He seemed to quite enjoy the prospect.

'I find it's often better to let people believe what they like. It means you can actually get on with things much easier.'

They came to a halt ten feet away from the kitchen door. An elderly man being helped back into his seat blocked the path through the tables. Ginny tried to wait patiently, but found herself tapping her foot. She was still holding Draco's hand, she realised, so let it go. He put a hand on her shoulder.

'Ginny,' he said. She turned to face him and found him smiling, a twinkle in his eye. She opened her mouth to speak, but before the words had chance to come out his lips were on hers. His left hand went to her waist, hers to his neck and then as though awoken from a dream, they parted. Ginny felt herself blush. 'I thought we'd give them something to believe,' said Draco, his voice deep and a little unsure. Ginny rolled her eyes.

'Manwhore,' she said, then turned away again. The elderly man was seated, the way clear once more. Ginny headed off towards the kitchen, Draco grabbing her hand again as she went.

Inside the lights felt ridiculously bright and Ginny's shoes seemed very loud all of a sudden. There were no protests to their being somewhere off limits, just a waitress standing meekly by the sink, apparently in the middle of charming pots and pans clean.

'What's going on?' asked Ginny as Draco crossed the room to the double doors that led outside. 'Where is everyone?'

'I don't know,' said the waitress. 'I'm just a temp. I'm worried I'm supposed to be somewhere but nobody said anything. I'm just sort of standing here, hoping they'll come back.'

'These are locked too,' said Draco. The waitress looked alarmed. 'We're trapped.'

Ginny sighed and turned back to the door into the ballroom. She opened it a crack; everyone was seated, ready for the next part of the evening to begin. There would be no going back out there and waiting to see what happened next; nor was there a way of communicating to Ron, Harry and Hermione what was happening.

'Draco, we seem to have ended up in the position of the heroes of this tale. I don't know how it's happened, and Merlin knows it's probably not going to end well, but it looks like the great and the good are screwed without us.'

'And what exactly do you plan to do?' asked Draco. 'I mean, we still don't know what the threat is here.'

'Threat?' said the waitress.

Ginny and Draco stood on opposite sides of the kitchen, motionless and clueless. Surely something was supposed to come to Ginny at this point? A so-crazy-it-just-might-work sort of a plan should have formulated by now.

The lights flickered and went out. It was utterly black. Ginny waited for her eyes to adjust, but they didn't. She felt in her bag for her wand, grabbed it and pointed it towards the ceiling. 'Lumos,' she said, confidently. Nothing happened.

'Erm, Draco?'

'Yes, Ginny?'

'Have I gone blind?'

There was a pause, long enough that Ginny started to panic that yes, she had gone blind.

'I don't think so,' said Draco, 'unless I have too. Waitress?'

'My name's Lucy,' said the waitress.

'Okay, Lucy, have we gone blind or is it just dark?'

'I think it's just dark,' said Lucy, 'really, really dark.'

'I'm with Lucy on this,' said Draco. 'It's really dark.'

'Great okay, thank you. Great.' Ginny folded her arms. 'Now what?'

She considered moving towards the door. She wanted to see if the lights had gone out everywhere, or just in the kitchen. Logic soon told her that they were at least out in the ballroom; there was nothing coming under the cracks in the door but the noise of a few hundred people plunged into darkness.

Then, a much louder noise sent them all into silence. A booming voice, as clear as if it were right next to Ginny. She shuddered at the thought of someone moving around unseen in the darkness.

'I speak on behalf of the Serpent Soldiers,' said the voice. 'We have taken one of your number. We will take one each hour until the Ministry meets our demands. The doors are locked; you are trapped. You can do nothing but hope that your government is wise and that we are merciful.'

Silence, then the lights came back. Lucy was crying. Draco looked completely dumbfounded. Ginny was livid.

'Snakes. Why is it always bloody snakes, Malfoy?'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Well you'd know.' She sighed, exasperated. 'Sorry. I know that was a long time ago and stuff I just … I'm not in the mood for this.'

'Do you think I am? Do you think any of that lot are? They're probably all sat there, half-pissed and terrified.'

'Good point,' said Ginny. 'I think we should go and find my brother now.'

'You go to them and I'll go back to our table.'

'I don't know if you've got some sort of anti-hero complex, Draco, or what,' said Ginny, 'but I'm not asking you to do anything except stick with me.'

'Why?' he asked. 'What am I to you except someone who made your life difficult once?'

'I don't know,' said Ginny honestly. 'Someone I met at a party and was having a good time with 'til everything went arse over tit. Someone my gut is telling me to stick with right now. Nine times out of ten, my instincts are right.'

'Fine,' said Draco, 'we'll stick together, but I bet you five Galleons this is the one time out of ten that your instincts are wrong.'

He didn't mean it, she could tell by the look on his face. 'You're on.'

'Okay,' said Lucy, 'I feel like such a third wheel right now it's not even true.'

'What about her?' asked Draco.

'Well, I'm not leaving her on her own,' replied Ginny.

'I can look after myself.'

'Let's just go, shall we?' said Ginny and she pushed on the door to the ballroom. It wouldn't open. 'You've got to be joking. I mean, really. The front doors are already locked, there's no need!'

'Actually,' said Draco, Ginny turned back to him and he looked as though an idea had just hit him, 'this is good. Really good.'

'How exactly can this be construed as good in any known universe?'

'Because it means that whoever is behind this is sloppy. They're in a rush and they're not doing things thoroughly.' He crossed the kitchen towards her now, a conspiratorial look in his eye. 'First, they've obviously sent the kitchen staff home, or bought them off or something.'

'But not me,' said Lucy.

'No,' said Ginny, 'because you're a temp – I bet this was a short notice job, wasn't it?'

Lucy nodded. 'I only got called in right before the start of the event, because someone went home ill. It's been a total nightmare, I had no idea what I was doing.'

'Exactly,' said Draco, triumphant. 'When everybody else took their cues to slope off, you had no idea, and nobody checked. Then, they've gone to the trouble of keeping everybody in the ballroom, not just the building. They locked us in, then when everyone was back in their seats they locked the ballroom doors.'

'Except,' said Ginny, 'no one noticed two empty chairs at the back of the room. They've obviously not done any spells to see if anyone is elsewhere in the building still, or I'd imagine they'd be in here by now.'

'Course, there's a strong possibility they know we're here, but we're a few nobodies trapped inside a kitchen, so they don't care.'

'One way to find out,' said Ginny. She made for the only door in the room they hadn't tried and held her breath as she reached for the doorknob. The door creaked open and the three of them breathed a sigh of relief. 'What's through here?' she asked, but headed through the door without waiting for an answer. 'Lumos.' She was faced with a fairly plush looking restaurant, which must have been the main place hotel guests came to eat.

'I bet this leads into the lobby,' said Draco, and the three of them crossed the room to the big set of double doors, which opened without resistance. He was right, they were back in the main lobby of the building. 'What next?'

'We find the people involved in this and hope that we surprise them when we do. That voice, it was an amplification – the Sonorous spell – it wasn't a recording, which means they're here somewhere.'

'And I suppose your instincts are telling you where?' said Draco, a hint of fear mixed in with the sarcasm.

'I'd think the biggest suite in the place would be a good guess.' She wondered what the hell to do about Lucy; whilst Draco wasn't usually the first person she'd go to for help in a fight, she at least knew him a little, knew he could hold his own if it came to it. 'Lucy, I think you should get behind the reception desk.'

'What?'

'Sit behind there and if you hear anyone coming, jump out and Stun them,' said Ginny. 'I mean, if these Snake Soldiers or whatever they are come looking for more people to … well there's a good chance they'll come through here.'

'She's right,' said Draco. 'And three of us heading upstairs would be a mistake.'

'What if I hear someone coming but it turns out to be you?'

'We'll call out to you as we come down the stairs. You'll know it's us.'

'Okay,' said Lucy. She headed behind the reception desk; Ginny felt guilt flood through her body, but forced herself to remain firm. This was the best solution for everyone.

'Right,' said Ginny, eyeing the spiral staircase. 'Come on then, Secret Agent Malfoy, let's do some Dark Wizard catching.'

'Let's.'

They headed up the stairs as quickly and quietly as they could. Ginny held her wand in one hand and used the other to hitch up her dress. Men had it so much easier in these situations. It wasn't as dark in the stairways and on the landings as it had been when all of the lights went out, but something in this kind of darkness scared Ginny more; it was the shadows, the way that they seemed to move in the corner of her eye, the way that they almost looked like shapes from dreams or figures from nightmares.

On the landing of the fourth floor, Draco stopped. Ginny already had her foot on the next step, the climb seeming relentless. She turned back to him.

'What?' she asked, trying to keep her voice at a whisper. 'You okay?'

He nodded. His hair had started to look a little unkempt, Ginny thought, as though he'd ran his hand through it too many times when he was thinking. It looked more attractive than when it was perfectly styled. She silently admonished herself for admiring him at a time like this. Then she admonished herself again for admiring him at all.

'I thought I heard something,' he whispered. Ginny headed back down the steps and towards him. They stood silently, side by side, listening to nothingness. If there was a sound, Ginny wouldn't have heard anything over her heartbeat, which seemed louder than the largest drum she'd ever heard, thumping in her chest and her ears. The fear combined with this inexplicable attraction she had begun to feel towards Draco came to a head with his form so close to hers in the shadows. She didn't know what she was feeling or where to begin.

'I don't think there's anything there, Draco.' Her voice sounded breathy, she was embarrassed to find; she was thankful that he didn't know her very well and therefore couldn't identify all of the things that made it come out that way.

'I know I heard something,' he said. Then he looked down at her and smirked. 'Call it instincts.'

'Fine, we'll have a look around this floor.' She bent down.

'What the hell are you doing?'

'My shoes are killing me. I don't know if you know this, but high heels aren't the best thing to wear for walking up and down stairs.'

'But what are you going to do with them?' he asked, as she undid and stepped out of the first one. 'You can't carry them, you can't leave them hanging around, you'll tip someone off to us.'

She thought about this for a moment, looked around, then had a bright idea. There was a huge pot-plant in the corner of the landing. 'Perfect,' she said, before taking the shoes and stowing them in the gap left between the rounded pot and the wall. 'Don't let me forget what floor I left them on, I'll want them back.'

'You're actually a short-arse, aren't you? I hadn't noticed before.' He was looking her up and down, she realised, as she crossed the landing back towards him. Her tights felt strange against the carpet.

'Yes, I am small,' she had grown used to disparaging comments over the years, but secretly liked her diminutive form, 'that doesn't mean that I'm any less deadly.'

'I never said it did,' said Draco. 'I'm a great believer of good things coming in small packages.'

'Really? That probably says more about your body than mine.' She paused to let the insult sink in, then pulled open the door to the rest of the floor.

'You don't play fair, Weasley,' he said, his voice below a whisper. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her neck as he bent down so she could hear him. His hand rested on her waist as he followed her through the door and Ginny felt her stomach flip over. If it weren't for the complete silence around them, she'd have felt almost like she were sneaking him back to her room after a party.

They crept down the hallway, Ginny leading the way in an attempt at bravery. At the door to each room she paused to try the handle; if the door didn't open, they moved on. About halfway down the corridor Ginny finally heard noises in one of the rooms. She looked back at Draco, who shot her an 'I told you so' sort of look. The noise seemed to be coming from a room still a couple of doors away. As Ginny edged closer she identified the noise as music; it sounded like someone had a radio on.

'This is weird,' she whispered to Draco, who shrugged.

'Don't expect me to explain it,' he said.

'I don't – I'm just saying it's weird.'

The developing tiff would have to be set aside, however, as another voice joined the one emitting from the radio. They were level with the door, now. Ginny rested a hand on the knob as Draco appeared at her side, wand out.

'It's about time,' called the man inside the room as the door swung open. 'I thought I'd be left to deal with this by myself.'

'Lucky for you,' said Draco, 'we're here to save the day.'

The man spun on his heel, a shocked look on his unremarkable face. Ginny caught sight of what it was he had to 'deal with' behind him and her heart sank; Ruby DuBois lay motionless, her hair tangled and her dress ripped. The man's wand lay on the bed and he reached for it as Draco and Ginny took in the sight before them.

'Avada Ke--' he began, but Ginny was too quick, her wand already out, aimed at his chest:

'Stupefy!'

In a flash of red the man was on the ground on top of his victim. Ginny sighed.

'We should have stunned first and made our attempts at witty remarks later,' she said.

'It was worth a go,' said Draco. 'It doesn't look like this is the brains of the operation.'

'No,' said Ginny thoughtfully. She wondered vaguely why they had brought their first victim here. 'Let's get Ruby onto the bed.'

'What about him?'

'Tie him up and stick him in the cupboard?'

Draco nodded. 'Incarcerous,' he said, his wand directed at the Stunned man on the ground. Ropes shot out and bound him; then, once he was shoved inside the wardrobe, they turned to Ruby.

'Is she definitely dead?' asked Draco.

'Yeah, she's definitely dead.'

'Excellent.' He sighed.

Ginny reached out and squeezed his arm softly in support. 'Nothing we can do; nothing we could have done. Let's just get her off the floor.'

'It's a shame,' said Draco, as they lifted her. 'There's so much fun to be had in a hotel room. What a waste.' The twinkle was back in his eye, the smirk on his face.

Ginny was glad that he wasn't afraid to make jokes at a time like this. She had grown up in a house full of boys afraid to share their feelings or show their fear; most of the time, she had found that making light of a dire situation was the best way through.

'Draco, is this all an elaborate scheme to get me into bed?' she asked.

'You wish. From what I've heard, the only scheming required to get your knickers off is the purchase of a couple of pints of cheap cider.'

'Who's said that?' said Ginny. 'I'm going to have to have words. Was it one of the Patil twins? You know how they twist things.'

'I never reveal my sources,' said Draco, a hand on his heart.

Silence fell between them and Ginny noticed a chill in the room. Her hair, too, seemed to blow in a draft. The window. Ginny strode across the room, first trying the doors onto the balcony.

'Locked,' she said. She moved onto the window; it was open a crack. Ginny pushed and it opened wide. 'We can climb through that easily.'

'And then what?' said Draco. 'We'll still be trapped, just on a balcony.'

'Go and get a towel from the bathroom and follow me out,' said Ginny. When she was sure he wasn't looking she hitched her dress right up around her waist and climbed out onto the balcony. The fresh air felt like bliss; until that moment Ginny had not realised how claustrophobic she'd felt, locked inside the building. She let her dress fall again as she headed to the railings. There was no one on the street to shout to; if there had been, would they be able to hear her? There was something she could do, though. As Draco appeared through the window, she shot a flare into the sky.

'All that'll do is confuse the Muggles,' he said.

'They'll think it's a firework,' said Ginny. 'Someone at the Ministry might see it.'

'You'd think they'd already know we're here, since these guys have demands.'

'I had thought of that,' said Ginny. 'This is less to let them know that something is wrong than it is a way of showing them how to get in. Hence the towel.'

'Hence the towel? You've lost me.'

Ginny grinned. 'Hold it out for me.' He did so and Ginny set to work, burning letters into it with her wand.

Draco raised an eyebrow. 'Help?'

'It's to the point.'

'It's not exactly informative.'

'You think of something better then, genius,' she said, frustrated with him.

'How about “We're trapped by crazy Dark wizards, but you can get in and save us through this here window”?'

'Yeah I'm not going to burn that onto a towel.'

'I wonder if we can Apparate from here?' asked Draco, as they went about hanging their sign from the railings. 'It's not technically inside the hotel.'

'If we could, would you?' She was interested to know how prone he was to taking the easy way out these days; would he save his own skin and leave everyone inside to their own devices?

'Probably,' he said. 'Well no, I wouldn't.'

'Why not?'

'Because even if I left, you'd stay.' His eyes slid away from hers, as though this was somehow a confession he was ashamed to make. 'I wouldn't want to leave you on your own.'

'You did say you'd stick with me,' said Ginny. 'It wouldn't be very nice to break your word.'

'Exactly.' He looked back at her now. 'You look tired.'

'So do you.' She smiled at him weakly. Neither of them were built for this; she would fight when she needed to, but she wasn't a born hero. 'I don't think we'll be getting any rest for a while.' She felt like they were stalling now, making small talk to avoid climbing back into a hotel room that contained a dead call girl.

'And to think things were going so well,' said Draco. 'We were well on the way to getting pissed for free.'

'Maybe we should give up and just start raiding mini-bars.'

'That sounds very tempting.'

She wanted to kiss him, just kiss him, properly this time, not like in the ballroom. She wanted to just step into the space between them and kiss him; no time for questions or thinking, no need for answers or reasons. Just a kiss. But she'd already thought about it and soon enough the moment was gone.

'Come on,' said Ginny, 'let's head upstairs.'

'If I had a Galleon for every time a girl said that to me...'

'You'd have one Galleon, I bet.' She prodded him in the chest with her wand. 'You're not the Casanova you like to say you are, I've heard.' She began to climb back through the window, which this time was a little more difficult, unwilling as she was to lift her dress right up.

'You're right,' said Draco, following behind her, 'those Patil twins really do twist things.'

Ginny tried not to look at Ruby's lifeless face as she walked through the room. Instead, she headed for the mini-bar and grabbed a couple of bottles.

'If we can't raid every room, then one for the road?'

Draco took a mini whiskey from her with a nod. She opened her little bottle of vodka and knocked it back in one. The music on the radio made her sad; it would have been so perfect to dance to, so elegant.

'Let's get on with it then, Secret Agent Weasley,' he said.

'Let's.'

They headed back down the corridor, onto the landing and up the stairs, Ginny silently lamenting the loss of her shoes, though it was much easier to walk (and sneak) without them. Soon, they were on the top floor of the building. There was no corridor here, just a door. This was where the leaders would be, this was where they could put a stop to this. She didn't know how much time had passed, but it seemed increasingly unlikely that Ruby was the only fatality at this point.

They stood poised, their wands out: stun first, ask questions later. Ginny took a deep breath.

'I feel like we're about to board the Death Star,' she said.

'Death Star? What's a Death Star?' asked Draco. Ginny saw him falter, his wand falling momentarily.

'You wouldn't get it, Draco, it's a Muggle thing. All you need to know is that it's bad, very bad.' She took a step closer to the door. She didn't want to take the handle and open it, but it seemed inevitable.

'Well what does a Death Star do?'

'It does death, Draco!' said Ginny, annoyed that it was this of all things he decided to focus on. 'What do you think it does?'

'I don't know, cakes?'

She sighed. 'Shall we get on with this, or what?'

'Let's make an entrance,' said Draco. Ginny stepped away from the door to allow him to lead the way. He cleared his throat dramatically. 'Reducto!'

The door smashed to pieces and fell to dust, some of it landing on the two of them as they rushed through. Ginny whipped around the corner, looking for a target, but saw nothing. She headed back to Draco who shook his head. They continued on through the suite, but found nothing. No enemies to fight, no one to save; not even a clue.

'You're joking,' said Ginny. She sat down on the edge of the huge bed. Draco was still checking this, the last room, but it was obvious he wasn't going to find anything. 'I was so sure that there'd be something here.'

Draco sat next to her. She avoided his gaze, keeping her eyes on her hands in her lap. 'It was a logical assumption,' he said. 'Though we probably should have rethought it when we saw Mr. Creepy and Ruby.'

'Yeah,' said Ginny, 'we probably should have.'

She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. She was so tired, so very tired. The vodka had been a mistake. She should know better than to mix vodka and wine by now. This was always where she had hoped the night would end, a nice hotel room with a handsome man. Draco had proven that evening that whilst he infuriated her from time to time, he could also make her laugh. They seemed to operate on a similar level. The thought that she found herself similar to a Malfoy would have disgusted her a few years ago, but she was wiser now; it was easy to see that Draco had grown up a lot since school and so had she. They were different people now.

'I don't know what to do,' she said. 'I don't really know what I expected us to do anyway. How would finding the people behind this help? We'd probably have just got ourselves killed.'

'This was a better plan than hiding behind the reception desk with Lucy,' said Draco. 'Then we'd just be waiting to be killed.'

'Thanks for coming with me on this wild gnome chase,' she said. She didn't feel sleepy any more, just sad, but she kept her head rested on Draco's shoulder because it felt right and comforting.

'Thanks for having me,' he replied quietly.

Without thinking, Ginny lifted her head and pressed her lips to his. She felt him still, clearly surprised, before reaching out to pull her closer. She didn't feel tired, or tipsy or like a failure in that instant, just like herself with no reservations. There was a reason that her instincts had told her that they needed to stick together and this was it. In the back of her mind she was aware that her heart was racing; it seemed much faster than when she had been afraid. Then he pulled away, letting out a deep breath and her heart began to slow once more.

'We should go downstairs,' said Ginny, her voice coming out as little more than a whisper.

Draco nodded. 'Don't get me wrong I …' He looked at her, his grey eyes intense, but Ginny couldn't quite read what was going on behind them. 'This isn't how I expected things to be,' he said, then leaned back in and kissed her again. It was short and soft; Ginny yearned for more. She reached to undo a button on his shirt, but he covered her hand with his. 'When this is over.'

'You're right.' Ginny nodded. 'It's just instincts, I suppose.'

'Good ones, too.'

She leaned in and kissed him briefly once more, then stood, taking a deep breath. No good would come of feeling sorry for herself or of indulging in her desires. She was Ginny Weasley: if there was one thing that Ginny was good at it was getting things done without complaints.

'I have an idea,' she said.

They headed back down the stairs at a much faster pace, no longer wary of being ambushed at every turn. It seemed clear now that the people behind this weren't the sharpest knives in the drawer, though they'd learnt some fairly impressive charms to keep everyone trapped or in darkness. Ginny and Draco kept their wands out, ready to Stun if needs be, but they saw nobody. The sound of the radio still drifted down the corridor of the fourth floor.

They had almost reached a sprint as they headed down the last flight of stairs into the lobby.

'Lucy,' Ginny called, 'it's us, are you down here?'

They reached the desk, looked over the top and found her, sat exactly where they had left her and looking annoyed.

'Why didn't you answer?' asked Draco.

'Because you weren't very clear: “It's us”? That could so easily be a trap.'

'Good point,' said Ginny. 'Look, has anyone come through here?'

'Nope, just you two.'

'Great I thought so.' Ginny could feel that she was right with this, she knew what to do. 'Stay here. I'm hoping the Ministry will be on their way by now: if they try to get in the front doors I need you to let them know that there's a window open on the fourth floor, okay?'

Lucy sighed. 'Fine.'

Ginny and Draco set off again, back into the restaurant.

'Do you really think this is the right way?' asked Draco. 'The kitchen was locked and …'

'If there's a stage, there's a backstage,' said Ginny. 'There's got to be a way in through here somewhere. You'd think there'd be a staff room or...'

'There,' said Draco.

'The loos? I don't think so.'

He sighed and walked off, Ginny followed behind.

'See this one?' said Draco, pointing to the door he stood in front of. It was labelled 'Private'. 'That generally means it's where the staff go.'

'Oh right, course,' said Ginny.

'And I'm supposed to be privileged. Princess Weasley over here doesn't notice where the Help go when they're not pouring her champagne.'

'All right, dickhead.'

Draco sighed. 'Really? I expected better at this point in the game, I have to admit.'

'Ah, see, that's because you're playing games and I'm not,' said Ginny, feeling she had the upper hand.

'Course you're not.' He rolled his eyes. 'Let's go, shall we?'

Ginny could hear talking almost as soon as they were through the door. They were moving quietly once more, hoping to take their enemy by surprise. The corridor was large; its tiled floors seemed to make even the tiniest noises echo much louder.

'Will you take the body upstairs?' Ginny heard someone say; she immediately recognised the voice as a quieter version of the one that had spoken for the Serpent Soldiers earlier. 'And see what happened to Bothwell, would you? He's been forever. Incompetent little shit.'

'I know that voice,' said Draco. Ginny turned to look at him; he was paler than she'd ever seem him.

'Who is it?' she whispered.

'I knew he was getting into something weird, I thought it was just because he's always been a bit weird.'

'I'll be back soon,' said a second voice. This one, Ginny recognised: Declan the Healer, Ruby's date. As he appeared through the doorway, Ginny wondered if he'd known all along that his 'arm candy' would end up dead. She didn't stop to ask him.

'Stupefy!'

Perhaps foolishly, they ran, stepping over Declan's body and into the room he'd come from. As Ginny had suspected, it was a dressing room. She guessed the door at the other end of the room led onto the stage in the ballroom.

'Theodore, what the hell are you doing?' said Draco. His hands were in the air, but he still held his wand. Ginny followed suit. They were faced with four men, none of them very big in size, though that didn't mean that they were more powerful than Ginny and Draco. Still, she thought that with some luck they could take them. Their leader was a man Ginny remembered from school, though she had never spoken to him: Theodore Nott. He and Draco had clearly been friends at some point, if they weren't still.

'Where's Bothwell?' said Nott, ignoring Draco's question.

'If you mean the bloke carrying around poor Ruby, then we disposed of him,' said Draco.

'Where's his body? He has something I need.'

'I don't think we'll be answering your questions,' said Ginny. 'The Ministry are on their way.' She hoped that her words were true.

'Theo, what exactly do you expect to accomplish by killing off all these people?'

'We were never going to kill them all; it'd be stupid to kill everyone. It was just the prostitutes and the people who made up the numbers.'

'A life is a life,' said Ginny. She was disgusted. There was another girl on the floor, her eyes closed; Ginny hoped that she wasn't dead, but knew it was unlikely.

Nott let out a little laugh. 'Come on,' he said, 'you know as well as I do that a jury values the life of a Ministry official differently to a prostitute.' She couldn't argue.

'I know,' said Draco, as though he'd just had a splendid idea. 'How about we all put down our wands?'

Something caught Ginny's eye beyond the men who were facing them, movement that they hadn't noticed. The door to the stage had opened a crack.

'I'm not putting down my wand until they do,' said Ginny. She tried to look as though she was stoically staring ahead, but she was keeping an eye on the door as it opened further. A head of black hair appeared slowly around it: Harry. They made eye contact, but she couldn't do anything to communicate with him further.

'What are you doing with this blood-traitor, Draco?' asked Nott. 'You used to stand up for your beliefs.'

'Aren't you tired of all that stuff?'

Ginny took a chance, she looked at Draco; he had seen Harry. He was playing for time, she could tell by the look on his face. She looked back towards Harry, who mouthed 'on three'. She counted in her head and then:

'Stupefy!'

In a flash of red all but Nott were on the floor as Harry, Ron and Hermione rushed into the room. Nott looked shocked, but quickly recovered, turning his wand on Ginny.

'Avada Kedavra!'

She threw herself to the floor. The bolt of green light must have missed her head by mere inches. Looking up, she saw Draco punch Nott square in the face, knocking him out.

Ron laughed. 'I just did the same to one of that lot out there.' He motioned to the door they'd come through. 'Sometimes magic just isn't as satisfying.'

Hermione was next to Ginny, helping her to her feet then hugging her tightly. 'We thought you were dead,' she said. 'We thought, when his voice came over saying someone was taken and you weren't there...'

'Sorry,' said Ginny. 'We'd figured out there was a problem and we were trying to find a way out.'

'Can you hear that?' said Draco. Ginny listened: voices, calling.

'This is Emma Savage, Auror with the Ministry of Magic, put down your wands.'

'Emma,' said Harry, 'it's me, Potter. We're all safe in here.'

'Safe-word?' asked the Auror beyond the door.

'Lemon drop.'

Soon enough the place was crawling with Ministry officials moving prisoners, bodies and civilians. Once her statement had been taken, Ginny headed into the lobby and sat on the stairs. She didn't know whether or not she was supposed to leave.

'They couldn't break the charm,' said Draco, sitting down next to her. 'Someone just told me they got in through the window; they saw the sign.'

'I'm glad,' said Ginny. 'Knackered, but glad.'

'We saved the day, hurrah!' said Draco, nudging her in the ribs playfully.

'It doesn't really feel like it, does it?'

'No.' He laughed. 'I think we were a bit useless. But I had a good time. And it was excellent material for my book.'

'I think it'll be more of a leaflet,' said Ginny, 'a flyer maybe.'

'I suppose I won't be seeing you at the next one of these things?' he asked. Ginny smiled; he sounded hopeful.

'Maybe, maybe not. If they're all this exhausting I think one a lifetime will be more than enough.'

Someone cleared their throat. Ginny turned her gaze away from Draco to see Lucy standing at the bottom of the stairs looking sheepish.

'I'm going home now,' she said. 'I just wanted to say thanks. I know I was an inconvenience, but I'm pretty sure that I would have been … in a really bad situation.' She clearly meant dead, but couldn't bring herself to say it aloud. 'I owe you guys.'

'You don't,' said Ginny. 'We'll see you around?'

Lucy nodded. 'I temp all over the place, so probably when you least expect it.'

'See,' said Draco, 'we did save the day for Lucy.'

'We should start some kind of superhero team.'

'What, Clueless Man and Tipsy Girl?'

Ginny laughed. 'Tipsy Girl? I like it.'

'I had thought about Short-Arse Girl …'

She slapped him on the arm.

'Listen,' she said, 'how do you fancy coming to the pub with me one night? We could have a pint and I'll show you my party trick.' For a moment, she thought he would turn her down, that the bond they'd created was for tonight only; then he smiled.

'Yeah, I'd love to,' he said. He leaned in and kissed her. Vaguely, Ginny heard people cheering and applauding at the bottom of the stairs. They broke away and she felt herself blushing, but couldn't suppress a grin.

'You know,' she said, 'my shoes are upstairs somewhere.'

'Course, I'd forgotten about them. I did promise you'd get them back.'

He tucked a curl of hair behind her ear; the contact sent her head spinning. She stood up, extending a hand to him.

'Shall we go and get them, before we go to the pub?'

'Great idea,' he said. 'I think you may have left them in the penthouse suite...'

'It's possible,' said Ginny, as they began climbing the stairs once again. 'In the bedroom, I think.'

She never did find them.