Author’s Note: Just to give everyone a head’s up, this is the first chapter I’m posting after the release of HBP. After a lot of consideration I’ve decided to keep my plot exactly the same as it was “pre” HBP, yet I won’t go into detail about that in case some of you haven’t finished the book. I’m nearly finished writing this story and there will be approximately 32 chapters or so. I’m currently finishing up chapter 28 as of 7/21/05 so that you guys have some clue of when it should be done. After that, I’m debating on continuing with the sequel or creating an entirely new plot structure that more closely follows the events in HBP. I’ll probably take a tally at some point from my LJ – but if you have any suggestions or feelings either way you’re welcome to leave a note in the review or drop me an e-mail. Please don’t hesitate to tell me what you’d like to see. I have ideas for both so I’m quite open for suggestions.
Chapter 24 – Joining Forces
The Great Hall was nearly empty by the time Draco reached it. Most of the students had consumed an early breakfast and were wandering off in preparation for their first class, new schedules held fast in their hands. Draco barely took the time to notice his curriculum before his eyes rested on the Gryffindor table. Ron and Hermione were looking in his direction, giving a slight gesture that plainly said he was to come and join them. Surely they’re not thick enough to want to discuss this in the Great Hall?
Draco sighed and pocketed his schedule. A quick look around revealed that most of the Slytherins were already on their way to class so he didn’t have to fear too much over the thought of speaking with Ron and Hermione in public. His curiosity had gotten the better of him and he’d made up his mind to cross over to the Gryffindor table when Blaise suddenly placed a small plate under his nose.
“Toast?” Blaise bit into a piece of his own that was covered in orange marmalade.
“No thanks.” Draco gave a quick glance toward Ron and Hermione and directed his words at Blaise. “I need to have a word with her brother.”
Blaise didn’t seem to find this unusual and nodded his head yes in answer. “I’ll be right here…with my toast.” He gave Draco a bit of a goofy grin and waved him on. Draco couldn’t help but feel good about the support Blaise was giving him. He was obviously trying to keep Draco’s spirits up during this time and was more than willing to help rescue Ginny. Draco could only hope that Pansy turned out to be just as loyal.
He’d no more than finished the thought when he caught sight of her. She was entering the Great Hall and looked over Draco’s shoulder to smile at Blaise. It seemed so long ago when they’d argued about the end of their romantic relationship. They had been distancing themselves for quite some time during sixth year, but neither of them had been able to finalize it. However, once Draco was able to admit to himself that he had feelings for Ginny he knew that he needed tell Pansy that there could no longer be anything but friendship between them. Not that there had been all that much to brag about in the first place. They’d been fairly intimate, yet their childhood friendship had always made it a bit awkward. He knew their parents had always expected it, but it was never really meant to be. Draco was ever grateful that, after the arguing had subsided, Pansy had remained his friend and started seeing Blaise.
As she brushed past his shoulder to join Blaise she gave Draco a look that plainly said she was ready for her explanation. Draco was able to smile and give a nod in answer to their silent conversation before reluctantly approaching the Gryffindor table.
Hermione was the first to look up. “Any news?” she asked.
Draco knew that she was referring to Dobby’s visit to the Manor. “Nothing that brings me any peace of mind – but I’m going to find out tonight when I go to the Manor.”
Hermione’s eyes grew wide. “To the Manor? Are you insane?”
Draco’s face flushed red as he tried to hold back his frustration. He lowered his voice. “Look Granger, the two most important people in my life are missing! I refuse to sit here doing nothing but pouring over schoolbooks. I’m going to the Manor to find out if Mother is alright…and if she is I’ll uncover where Voldemort is hiding so that I can get to Ginny.”
Ron looked as though he were about to agree with Draco when Hermione interrupted him before he had a chance. “There’s no way you’ll make it. It’s still too soon and Dumbledore will be watching all of us. The Prefects, as you well know, are out so thick every night that you’ll never steal a moment to sneak to the passageway. And even if you made it there – someone’s bound to find you out of bed.”
Draco was looking at Ron as Ron rolled his eyes. They’d both obviously had about enough of Granger’s bossy attitude.
“Look, Granger, stop speaking to me as if I’m half troll. I’m well bloody aware of the fact that I’m being watched and that the Prefects are filling up the corridors at night. What do you expect me to do? Dobby tells me my mother has all but disappeared from the Manor and Ginny is being held captive by the most feared wizard of all time—“
“DUMBLEDORE is the most feared wizard,” Hermione chimed in with her matter-of-fact tone.
Draco gave her a dumbfounded expression. “Dumbledore is the most feared wizard? What are you on about now? I don’t see Mudbloods running through the streets to get away from him, Granger—“
“That’s enough, Malfoy!” Ron had obviously intervened to protect Hermione’s honor.
“Oh, for the love of… Look at you, Weasley – riding up on your white horse to protect your girlfriend when you know that she’s in the wrong. Admirable sentiments, indeed.” Draco noticed Ron’s ears flushing bright pink in color and he couldn’t take it anymore. He spun on his heel to head out of the Great Hall but Ron abruptly stopped him.
“We aren’t finished yet, Malfoy. I am coming with you to the Manor tonight.” He lowered his voice. “Besides, you need Harry’s cloak and you can’t get it without me.” At that precise moment Harry had entered the Great Hall and sauntered up to catch the last few words out of Ron’s mouth just as Pansy and Blaise were at Draco’s elbow.
“Can’t get what without you?” Harry asked of Ron.
“What’s the problem, Draco?” inquired Pansy.
Draco and Ron appeared flushed and rather startled at Harry, Blaise and Pansy’s sudden interruptions, but it was Ron who gathered his composure to speak first.
“The, er…” Ron lowered his voice again so that it was barely audible. “The cloak.”
“So we’re going tonight, then?” Harry directed the question at Draco.
Draco nodded his head yes in answer. “I’m not waiting any longer. With or without you I’m going to make sure that my mother is safe and I will find out where Ginny’s being held prisoner. I may very well die trying to save her, but I refuse to sit around waiting for Dumbledore to do something about it.”
“I do not agree with this.” Hermione’s whispered protests were heard in the background though no one but Blaise seemed to take notice of them.
“Hermione, he’s got to go tonight.” Blaise spoke in an elevated whisper while looking directly at her. “Do you realize what Voldemort might be doing to Ginny? Draco’s mum is the only person who knows where he is - who might be willing to tell us, that is. The sooner we find his mum the sooner we can get straight to finding Ginny.
“We?” Hermione blinked a few times while searching Blaise’s face for an explanation.
“We aren’t letting Draco go without us,” said Blaise. “Pansy and I have had a hunch something was up, but Draco didn’t let us in on it until a bit ago. Well, he let me in on it anyway…I’ve only just told Pansy. But we refuse to let him go it alone.”
“He has someone to go along with him,” said Ron. “She’s my sister and we’re only taking people that we trust.”
“Draco doesn’t trust you! Maybe you should take a second look in the mirror Weasley as I don’t see a green serpent on your robe.” Pansy glared hard at Ron as she spoke her words.
“That’s exactly why you and Blaise have no call for going with us,” said Ron. “Ginny isn’t a Slytherin and doesn’t want to be rescued by those whose parents are putting her through misery as we speak.”
The insults began to fly by as Pansy and Ron verbally dove into one another while Hermione, Blaise and Harry tried to silence their harsh words.
Draco’s head began to pound and his heart was steadily sinking. This lack of cooperation was going to get them all killed. He knew the level of difficulty it was going to be in just getting himself out of the castle unnoticed. The odds were ridiculously slim that all six of them would sneak out with any success.
He threw his hands up to silence the arguing. “Shut the bloody hell up – all of you! There is NO WAY that I am trying to escape the castle with five people who are guaranteed to get me caught. Look at you…you can’t even get along for five minutes while we discuss it.” Draco remembered where he was and lowered his voice while glancing around to check for an unwanted audience. After confirming that no other students were near he continued. “I love Ginny and I got her into this mess. It’s my responsibility to find her and get her back safely…even if that means risking my own life. But if I don’t get to her soon she might very well DIE. He IS torturing her and I refuse to blow this whole mission because I feel it my duty to take along my friends, or her brother, OR our famous hero and class bookworm.”
Silence fell around the group as Draco’s words were left ringing in their ears. For the second time that morning he turned to leave the Great Hall, despair weighing heavily on his chest. Pansy caught up with him by the time he had reached the foot of the stairs in the Entrance Hall.
“Draco, wait.” She reached out and gently touched his arm. “I…I provoked that. You know how much I like to antagonize people and I shouldn’t have taken such a serious issue and made a game of it. I was just…well you couldn’t expect me to not have some trouble with this. I mean, it’s no surprise, really. I know I questioned you numerous times about seeing someone else during spring term last year and you insisted there was no one. But I had suspicions that you were lying to me and it’s been a bitter pill to swallow, Draco. And now to realize that you were not only being dishonest with me, but seeing someone that we’ve always considered the enemy? How could you think I wouldn’t be bothered by this?”
Draco said nothing as a tiny tear escaped one of Pansy’s gleaming eyes. He knew she was hurting and he hated that she’d found out in this way. Draco had wanted to tell her himself and instead Blaise had had to do it - and in a relatively short amount of time, at that. Pansy spoke again before Draco was able to utter a word.
“I’m okay, though. I understand why you had to keep it to yourself.”
“Do you?” he said.
“Yes. You were trying to protect her.” She gave him a weak smile.
“Yeah some fine bit of protection I offered her…sneaking around trying to see each other, going to extremes by using the dream travel. Look where it’s gotten her!”
“You’re blaming yourself for this, aren’t you?” she said.
“You’re bloody hell right, I am.” Draco quickly ran his fingers through his hair in frustration as flashes of the previous night’s dream crept into his mind. How could he have let his world crumble like this? “We shouldn’t have been seeing each other in the first place. I was foolish to think that it could work…but I just – I couldn’t stay away. It was like this – this warmth that kept spreading through me each time I was near her. And before I knew it I had fallen so deeply in love with her and couldn’t fight it anymore. Being away from each other during the summer was killing me, Pansy. Even my mother noticed a change in me. I wasn’t eating, wasn’t sleeping… I thought I’d stumbled upon the perfect solution to be with her—“
“Draco you didn’t KNOW!”
“That’s no excuse! I used a Dark Art to be able to see her when I should’ve been smart enough to know better.”
Pansy closed her mouth and stared at her feet, a second tear sliding softly down her cheek. Draco took a deep breath before he spoke again.
“I’m sorry that I lied to you, Pansy. Our past should’ve meant more to me than that, but I just assumed you wouldn’t understand. And quite frankly, in the beginning I was embarrassed. Embarrassed because I’ve spent the last six years taunting her and those around her and I was in denial over all of the feelings I had for her. I didn’t want the other Slytherins to know…because I didn’t want them disowning me. Once I came to the realization that I didn’t care what the others thought, I knew that it still needed to be kept a secret for our safety, being fully aware of the traitor I had become.”
He was silent for a moment until Blaise’s figure came into view near the door of the Great Hall. Pansy followed Draco’s gaze and motioned that they’d be a second more before she picked up the conversation.
“Draco, whether you like it or not you need our help. ALL of our help. And trust the fact that I don’t enjoy the idea of working alongside the Golden Trio, but I know that we have no choice - especially due to the fact that Ron is Ginny’s brother.” She looked Draco in the eyes. “Look – I promise to control my urge to tell them exactly what I think of them and you know that Blaise won’t go picking a fight. He’s much too laid back for that sort of thing. You can deny it all you want – but we all have a part in this and you need to face it so that we can get a plan of action together. It’s time to figure out how in the hell we’re going to get out of the castle tonight.”
Draco knew that Pansy was right long before she finished her speech. There was no choice but to try and make this alliance work. He’d do anything he could to rescue Ginny and his odds of achieving her escape would be more successful with the help of the others…just so long as they could all get along.
Additional Note:
Thanks to Shelly and Judy for their beta work…and to everyone leaving great feedback and reviews. I truly appreciate it. Don’t forget to leave me a note if you feel strongly about the follow-up story mentioned in the author’s note above.
Chapter 24 – Joining Forces
The Great Hall was nearly empty by the time Draco reached it. Most of the students had consumed an early breakfast and were wandering off in preparation for their first class, new schedules held fast in their hands. Draco barely took the time to notice his curriculum before his eyes rested on the Gryffindor table. Ron and Hermione were looking in his direction, giving a slight gesture that plainly said he was to come and join them. Surely they’re not thick enough to want to discuss this in the Great Hall?
Draco sighed and pocketed his schedule. A quick look around revealed that most of the Slytherins were already on their way to class so he didn’t have to fear too much over the thought of speaking with Ron and Hermione in public. His curiosity had gotten the better of him and he’d made up his mind to cross over to the Gryffindor table when Blaise suddenly placed a small plate under his nose.
“Toast?” Blaise bit into a piece of his own that was covered in orange marmalade.
“No thanks.” Draco gave a quick glance toward Ron and Hermione and directed his words at Blaise. “I need to have a word with her brother.”
Blaise didn’t seem to find this unusual and nodded his head yes in answer. “I’ll be right here…with my toast.” He gave Draco a bit of a goofy grin and waved him on. Draco couldn’t help but feel good about the support Blaise was giving him. He was obviously trying to keep Draco’s spirits up during this time and was more than willing to help rescue Ginny. Draco could only hope that Pansy turned out to be just as loyal.
He’d no more than finished the thought when he caught sight of her. She was entering the Great Hall and looked over Draco’s shoulder to smile at Blaise. It seemed so long ago when they’d argued about the end of their romantic relationship. They had been distancing themselves for quite some time during sixth year, but neither of them had been able to finalize it. However, once Draco was able to admit to himself that he had feelings for Ginny he knew that he needed tell Pansy that there could no longer be anything but friendship between them. Not that there had been all that much to brag about in the first place. They’d been fairly intimate, yet their childhood friendship had always made it a bit awkward. He knew their parents had always expected it, but it was never really meant to be. Draco was ever grateful that, after the arguing had subsided, Pansy had remained his friend and started seeing Blaise.
As she brushed past his shoulder to join Blaise she gave Draco a look that plainly said she was ready for her explanation. Draco was able to smile and give a nod in answer to their silent conversation before reluctantly approaching the Gryffindor table.
Hermione was the first to look up. “Any news?” she asked.
Draco knew that she was referring to Dobby’s visit to the Manor. “Nothing that brings me any peace of mind – but I’m going to find out tonight when I go to the Manor.”
Hermione’s eyes grew wide. “To the Manor? Are you insane?”
Draco’s face flushed red as he tried to hold back his frustration. He lowered his voice. “Look Granger, the two most important people in my life are missing! I refuse to sit here doing nothing but pouring over schoolbooks. I’m going to the Manor to find out if Mother is alright…and if she is I’ll uncover where Voldemort is hiding so that I can get to Ginny.”
Ron looked as though he were about to agree with Draco when Hermione interrupted him before he had a chance. “There’s no way you’ll make it. It’s still too soon and Dumbledore will be watching all of us. The Prefects, as you well know, are out so thick every night that you’ll never steal a moment to sneak to the passageway. And even if you made it there – someone’s bound to find you out of bed.”
Draco was looking at Ron as Ron rolled his eyes. They’d both obviously had about enough of Granger’s bossy attitude.
“Look, Granger, stop speaking to me as if I’m half troll. I’m well bloody aware of the fact that I’m being watched and that the Prefects are filling up the corridors at night. What do you expect me to do? Dobby tells me my mother has all but disappeared from the Manor and Ginny is being held captive by the most feared wizard of all time—“
“DUMBLEDORE is the most feared wizard,” Hermione chimed in with her matter-of-fact tone.
Draco gave her a dumbfounded expression. “Dumbledore is the most feared wizard? What are you on about now? I don’t see Mudbloods running through the streets to get away from him, Granger—“
“That’s enough, Malfoy!” Ron had obviously intervened to protect Hermione’s honor.
“Oh, for the love of… Look at you, Weasley – riding up on your white horse to protect your girlfriend when you know that she’s in the wrong. Admirable sentiments, indeed.” Draco noticed Ron’s ears flushing bright pink in color and he couldn’t take it anymore. He spun on his heel to head out of the Great Hall but Ron abruptly stopped him.
“We aren’t finished yet, Malfoy. I am coming with you to the Manor tonight.” He lowered his voice. “Besides, you need Harry’s cloak and you can’t get it without me.” At that precise moment Harry had entered the Great Hall and sauntered up to catch the last few words out of Ron’s mouth just as Pansy and Blaise were at Draco’s elbow.
“Can’t get what without you?” Harry asked of Ron.
“What’s the problem, Draco?” inquired Pansy.
Draco and Ron appeared flushed and rather startled at Harry, Blaise and Pansy’s sudden interruptions, but it was Ron who gathered his composure to speak first.
“The, er…” Ron lowered his voice again so that it was barely audible. “The cloak.”
“So we’re going tonight, then?” Harry directed the question at Draco.
Draco nodded his head yes in answer. “I’m not waiting any longer. With or without you I’m going to make sure that my mother is safe and I will find out where Ginny’s being held prisoner. I may very well die trying to save her, but I refuse to sit around waiting for Dumbledore to do something about it.”
“I do not agree with this.” Hermione’s whispered protests were heard in the background though no one but Blaise seemed to take notice of them.
“Hermione, he’s got to go tonight.” Blaise spoke in an elevated whisper while looking directly at her. “Do you realize what Voldemort might be doing to Ginny? Draco’s mum is the only person who knows where he is - who might be willing to tell us, that is. The sooner we find his mum the sooner we can get straight to finding Ginny.
“We?” Hermione blinked a few times while searching Blaise’s face for an explanation.
“We aren’t letting Draco go without us,” said Blaise. “Pansy and I have had a hunch something was up, but Draco didn’t let us in on it until a bit ago. Well, he let me in on it anyway…I’ve only just told Pansy. But we refuse to let him go it alone.”
“He has someone to go along with him,” said Ron. “She’s my sister and we’re only taking people that we trust.”
“Draco doesn’t trust you! Maybe you should take a second look in the mirror Weasley as I don’t see a green serpent on your robe.” Pansy glared hard at Ron as she spoke her words.
“That’s exactly why you and Blaise have no call for going with us,” said Ron. “Ginny isn’t a Slytherin and doesn’t want to be rescued by those whose parents are putting her through misery as we speak.”
The insults began to fly by as Pansy and Ron verbally dove into one another while Hermione, Blaise and Harry tried to silence their harsh words.
Draco’s head began to pound and his heart was steadily sinking. This lack of cooperation was going to get them all killed. He knew the level of difficulty it was going to be in just getting himself out of the castle unnoticed. The odds were ridiculously slim that all six of them would sneak out with any success.
He threw his hands up to silence the arguing. “Shut the bloody hell up – all of you! There is NO WAY that I am trying to escape the castle with five people who are guaranteed to get me caught. Look at you…you can’t even get along for five minutes while we discuss it.” Draco remembered where he was and lowered his voice while glancing around to check for an unwanted audience. After confirming that no other students were near he continued. “I love Ginny and I got her into this mess. It’s my responsibility to find her and get her back safely…even if that means risking my own life. But if I don’t get to her soon she might very well DIE. He IS torturing her and I refuse to blow this whole mission because I feel it my duty to take along my friends, or her brother, OR our famous hero and class bookworm.”
Silence fell around the group as Draco’s words were left ringing in their ears. For the second time that morning he turned to leave the Great Hall, despair weighing heavily on his chest. Pansy caught up with him by the time he had reached the foot of the stairs in the Entrance Hall.
“Draco, wait.” She reached out and gently touched his arm. “I…I provoked that. You know how much I like to antagonize people and I shouldn’t have taken such a serious issue and made a game of it. I was just…well you couldn’t expect me to not have some trouble with this. I mean, it’s no surprise, really. I know I questioned you numerous times about seeing someone else during spring term last year and you insisted there was no one. But I had suspicions that you were lying to me and it’s been a bitter pill to swallow, Draco. And now to realize that you were not only being dishonest with me, but seeing someone that we’ve always considered the enemy? How could you think I wouldn’t be bothered by this?”
Draco said nothing as a tiny tear escaped one of Pansy’s gleaming eyes. He knew she was hurting and he hated that she’d found out in this way. Draco had wanted to tell her himself and instead Blaise had had to do it - and in a relatively short amount of time, at that. Pansy spoke again before Draco was able to utter a word.
“I’m okay, though. I understand why you had to keep it to yourself.”
“Do you?” he said.
“Yes. You were trying to protect her.” She gave him a weak smile.
“Yeah some fine bit of protection I offered her…sneaking around trying to see each other, going to extremes by using the dream travel. Look where it’s gotten her!”
“You’re blaming yourself for this, aren’t you?” she said.
“You’re bloody hell right, I am.” Draco quickly ran his fingers through his hair in frustration as flashes of the previous night’s dream crept into his mind. How could he have let his world crumble like this? “We shouldn’t have been seeing each other in the first place. I was foolish to think that it could work…but I just – I couldn’t stay away. It was like this – this warmth that kept spreading through me each time I was near her. And before I knew it I had fallen so deeply in love with her and couldn’t fight it anymore. Being away from each other during the summer was killing me, Pansy. Even my mother noticed a change in me. I wasn’t eating, wasn’t sleeping… I thought I’d stumbled upon the perfect solution to be with her—“
“Draco you didn’t KNOW!”
“That’s no excuse! I used a Dark Art to be able to see her when I should’ve been smart enough to know better.”
Pansy closed her mouth and stared at her feet, a second tear sliding softly down her cheek. Draco took a deep breath before he spoke again.
“I’m sorry that I lied to you, Pansy. Our past should’ve meant more to me than that, but I just assumed you wouldn’t understand. And quite frankly, in the beginning I was embarrassed. Embarrassed because I’ve spent the last six years taunting her and those around her and I was in denial over all of the feelings I had for her. I didn’t want the other Slytherins to know…because I didn’t want them disowning me. Once I came to the realization that I didn’t care what the others thought, I knew that it still needed to be kept a secret for our safety, being fully aware of the traitor I had become.”
He was silent for a moment until Blaise’s figure came into view near the door of the Great Hall. Pansy followed Draco’s gaze and motioned that they’d be a second more before she picked up the conversation.
“Draco, whether you like it or not you need our help. ALL of our help. And trust the fact that I don’t enjoy the idea of working alongside the Golden Trio, but I know that we have no choice - especially due to the fact that Ron is Ginny’s brother.” She looked Draco in the eyes. “Look – I promise to control my urge to tell them exactly what I think of them and you know that Blaise won’t go picking a fight. He’s much too laid back for that sort of thing. You can deny it all you want – but we all have a part in this and you need to face it so that we can get a plan of action together. It’s time to figure out how in the hell we’re going to get out of the castle tonight.”
Draco knew that Pansy was right long before she finished her speech. There was no choice but to try and make this alliance work. He’d do anything he could to rescue Ginny and his odds of achieving her escape would be more successful with the help of the others…just so long as they could all get along.
Additional Note:
Thanks to Shelly and Judy for their beta work…and to everyone leaving great feedback and reviews. I truly appreciate it. Don’t forget to leave me a note if you feel strongly about the follow-up story mentioned in the author’s note above.
Leave a Review