Over the next week, Draco and Ginny worked on the potion. It wasn’t too hard, now that they knew how to do it. And Ginny reminded herself that if Hermione could brew Polyjuice in her second year, a seventh year Draco—and herself—could definitely do Veritaserum. The annoying part was waiting a week for it to be done.
So they went to classes and stayed up studying together. Finals were ages away, but Draco, much like Hermione, felt he needed to be as prepared as possible for the exams at the end of the year. Ginny wanted to do her best too, so it was often that Draco and Ginny quizzed each other. Ginny became much more proficient at antidotes under Draco’s tutelage, and Draco had become a top hat at Charms, which had always been his worst subject.
As the week wore on, Ginny found herself almost eagerly anticipating when the potion would be done. She had made a list of questions to ask Draco, and she was almost giddy to get her answer to the things—however superficial—that she wanted to know. Ginny didn’t know that Draco had done the same thing one day in Transfiguration class.
And so the week went by, and they added the last ingredients, stirring it as instructed and taking it off the heat at precisely the right moment. The potion was colorless and odorless, just as their textbook said it should be. Draco took an eyedropper, filled it up, and squeezed a few drops onto his tongue. He then handed it to Ginny who did the same. They sat there a couple of moments just staring at each other, neither wanting to be the first to ask one of their questions. Ginny did feel slightly light-headed, as the book said the drinker should feel. So she supposed it had worked.
“Do you think it worked?” Draco asked warily.
“Yes,” Ginny replied without hesitation, surprising herself because she hadn’t realized she was going to answer.
“What are you thinking?” Draco asked.
“That if someone had slipped this to Voldemort it would have been a lot easier to end the war. We’d all have known about the soul thingys,” Ginny scoffed just imagining it.
Ginny contemplated her question before she said, “What are you thinking?”
“That you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met,” slid off Draco’s tongue, and of course it had to be true. Draco couldn’t lie right now. Ginny felt her face flush.
Me? Beautiful? She thought. She’d always been either scrawny or muscular. She was short, no curves to speak of, and some wild ass hair. And he thought she was beautiful? Ginny’s cheeks flamed, and for a moment she had nothing to say. She cast about wildly for a question, any question. But Draco asked a question first.
“Which do you think came first, the phoenix or the flame?” he asked with a smirk.
Ginny had to laugh.
“I don’t know and honestly I do not care. All that matters is that they are here. It’s all philosophical bullshit that only the Ravenclaws give a damn about,” Ginny answered.
“Why didn’t you identify Harry when he was helped captive at your manor?” Ginny asked quite suddenly, surprising even herself.
Draco sighed. “The Dark Lord was a madman. I didn’t want to see him win. His views were… terrible. I thought, for a long time, that he was right. That my father’s hatred of muggleborns and blood traitors was accurate. But killing for fun? Torturing for fun? He was out of control, and I just wanted it to be over at that point. I knew Potter could do that, and I knew if I pretended I wasn’t sure it was him there would be no harm done. Of course, I was wrong. He tortured my family and I for not notifying him immediately. He was a crazed lunatic who was tearing my family apart. I wanted him gone.”
Ginny nodded silently. She could relate.
“What was it like, being in the Chamber your second year?” Draco asked cautiously.
Ginny pursed her lips, thinking, before she said, “Scary. At that point, I knew he’d made me do it. I felt betrayed. I trusted him. I thought he was beautiful and smart and just so kind. Then he was standing over me telling me Lord… Voldemort,” she choked on the name, “was grateful for my service, but I had to die. And it’s a kind of fear I can’t explain. It wasn’t even so much dying, it was fear of what would happen to my family’s reputation. What would happen to Harry if he actually came after me? Would Ron be alright, because of course, the git would follow Harry, even then, to the ends of the Earth? I wasn’t so scared to die because if a memory could be preserved in a diary, and there are ghosts, then we know there’s some afterlife. I just didn’t want anyone killed because I trusted a handsome, kind boy who wrote to me.”
“He was handsome?” Draco asked incredulously.
“He was handsome to the point where he was a beautiful enigma. It’s easy to see how he whipped himself up followers back in the day. Praise from him would be amazing. But it was easier to see the monster in him when he let himself become less than human. It was easier to rebel against him them. He wasn’t the boy I thought was my friend, and I doubted he had any idea about what happened with me.” Ginny shrugged.
“Do you think I’m handsome?” Draco asked through squinted eyes.
Ginny giggled. “I do, but isn’t it my turn to ask a question?”
Draco nodded, and they could both feel the effects of the potion starting to wear off.
“Do you think you’ll ever love me?” Ginny asked, using the last few seconds for the question she really wanted an answer to.
“I already do,” Draco answered, whether because of the potion or just because he felt he could be honest with her at this point she wasn’t sure, and she wasn’t going to question it.
Draco clapped his hands together. “That was fun. At least now we know how to make it successfully. I bet you anything it shows up on our N.E.W.Ts.”
Ginny nodded. “Quite right. I need to do my Potion’s homework for Slughorn anyway. At least he isn’t as demanding as Snape.”
Draco nodded. “Though Snape was always fairer in Potions to us Slytherins.”
“Oh gosh,” Ginny groaned, “You know he loathes Hermione now for saving his life? He won’t talk about it, and neither will she. But apparently, he doesn’t like being in a student’s debt. Not that I can really blame him, but Hermione is the least likely to try and guilt-trip or blackmail him.”
“Granger is above such petty things. Lately, I seem to think I am too,” Draco said, fishing out his parchment, History of Magic book, and a quill with ink.
Ginny followed suite, getting her Potions’ items out to start the essay. Draco had already done his during her Quidditch practice. It was ironic. They had the perfect opportunity to cheat off each other, and yet they didn’t want to. They asked each other for help, but they wanted their work to be done off their own knowledge. They wanted to earn their grade.
Ginny fell into subspace. She loved the sound of a quill scratching on parchment. It eased her in a way very few things could. Even with her tumultuous history with the diary, there was something soothing about the sound of a quill scratching on parchment.
Thankfully, the essay was on Veritaserum. Now having personal experience in brewing it and taking it, Ginny felt more prepared for her homework. It had been a good idea, she thought. Then she bit the inside of her cheek as she recalled how Draco had said he already loved her. She doubted he was yet in love with her. That would come with more time. But she loved him too. He had become a steady presence in her life. She found she looked forward to classes and evenings with him. She was sure he felt the same now. It was nice.
Ginny finished her homework and reread over her essay, tapping her and there to correct words she had misspelled. Finally, she tapped the parchment to dry the ink, and then rolled it up and tied it with a piece of string the way Hermione had taught her.
Hermione. Ginny gave a soft, fond smile. She knew the other woman was keeping a secret from her. She also had a feeling she knew exactly what it was. But she was going to let Hermione come to her when the time was right. For now, she would continue throwing herself into Quidditch and studies. That was what mattered at this point.
That and building her relationship with her future husband. She glanced at him, tongue sticking out as he wrote his own essay. She couldn’t help but think that maybe this would all turn out all right.
So they went to classes and stayed up studying together. Finals were ages away, but Draco, much like Hermione, felt he needed to be as prepared as possible for the exams at the end of the year. Ginny wanted to do her best too, so it was often that Draco and Ginny quizzed each other. Ginny became much more proficient at antidotes under Draco’s tutelage, and Draco had become a top hat at Charms, which had always been his worst subject.
As the week wore on, Ginny found herself almost eagerly anticipating when the potion would be done. She had made a list of questions to ask Draco, and she was almost giddy to get her answer to the things—however superficial—that she wanted to know. Ginny didn’t know that Draco had done the same thing one day in Transfiguration class.
And so the week went by, and they added the last ingredients, stirring it as instructed and taking it off the heat at precisely the right moment. The potion was colorless and odorless, just as their textbook said it should be. Draco took an eyedropper, filled it up, and squeezed a few drops onto his tongue. He then handed it to Ginny who did the same. They sat there a couple of moments just staring at each other, neither wanting to be the first to ask one of their questions. Ginny did feel slightly light-headed, as the book said the drinker should feel. So she supposed it had worked.
“Do you think it worked?” Draco asked warily.
“Yes,” Ginny replied without hesitation, surprising herself because she hadn’t realized she was going to answer.
“What are you thinking?” Draco asked.
“That if someone had slipped this to Voldemort it would have been a lot easier to end the war. We’d all have known about the soul thingys,” Ginny scoffed just imagining it.
Ginny contemplated her question before she said, “What are you thinking?”
“That you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met,” slid off Draco’s tongue, and of course it had to be true. Draco couldn’t lie right now. Ginny felt her face flush.
Me? Beautiful? She thought. She’d always been either scrawny or muscular. She was short, no curves to speak of, and some wild ass hair. And he thought she was beautiful? Ginny’s cheeks flamed, and for a moment she had nothing to say. She cast about wildly for a question, any question. But Draco asked a question first.
“Which do you think came first, the phoenix or the flame?” he asked with a smirk.
Ginny had to laugh.
“I don’t know and honestly I do not care. All that matters is that they are here. It’s all philosophical bullshit that only the Ravenclaws give a damn about,” Ginny answered.
“Why didn’t you identify Harry when he was helped captive at your manor?” Ginny asked quite suddenly, surprising even herself.
Draco sighed. “The Dark Lord was a madman. I didn’t want to see him win. His views were… terrible. I thought, for a long time, that he was right. That my father’s hatred of muggleborns and blood traitors was accurate. But killing for fun? Torturing for fun? He was out of control, and I just wanted it to be over at that point. I knew Potter could do that, and I knew if I pretended I wasn’t sure it was him there would be no harm done. Of course, I was wrong. He tortured my family and I for not notifying him immediately. He was a crazed lunatic who was tearing my family apart. I wanted him gone.”
Ginny nodded silently. She could relate.
“What was it like, being in the Chamber your second year?” Draco asked cautiously.
Ginny pursed her lips, thinking, before she said, “Scary. At that point, I knew he’d made me do it. I felt betrayed. I trusted him. I thought he was beautiful and smart and just so kind. Then he was standing over me telling me Lord… Voldemort,” she choked on the name, “was grateful for my service, but I had to die. And it’s a kind of fear I can’t explain. It wasn’t even so much dying, it was fear of what would happen to my family’s reputation. What would happen to Harry if he actually came after me? Would Ron be alright, because of course, the git would follow Harry, even then, to the ends of the Earth? I wasn’t so scared to die because if a memory could be preserved in a diary, and there are ghosts, then we know there’s some afterlife. I just didn’t want anyone killed because I trusted a handsome, kind boy who wrote to me.”
“He was handsome?” Draco asked incredulously.
“He was handsome to the point where he was a beautiful enigma. It’s easy to see how he whipped himself up followers back in the day. Praise from him would be amazing. But it was easier to see the monster in him when he let himself become less than human. It was easier to rebel against him them. He wasn’t the boy I thought was my friend, and I doubted he had any idea about what happened with me.” Ginny shrugged.
“Do you think I’m handsome?” Draco asked through squinted eyes.
Ginny giggled. “I do, but isn’t it my turn to ask a question?”
Draco nodded, and they could both feel the effects of the potion starting to wear off.
“Do you think you’ll ever love me?” Ginny asked, using the last few seconds for the question she really wanted an answer to.
“I already do,” Draco answered, whether because of the potion or just because he felt he could be honest with her at this point she wasn’t sure, and she wasn’t going to question it.
Draco clapped his hands together. “That was fun. At least now we know how to make it successfully. I bet you anything it shows up on our N.E.W.Ts.”
Ginny nodded. “Quite right. I need to do my Potion’s homework for Slughorn anyway. At least he isn’t as demanding as Snape.”
Draco nodded. “Though Snape was always fairer in Potions to us Slytherins.”
“Oh gosh,” Ginny groaned, “You know he loathes Hermione now for saving his life? He won’t talk about it, and neither will she. But apparently, he doesn’t like being in a student’s debt. Not that I can really blame him, but Hermione is the least likely to try and guilt-trip or blackmail him.”
“Granger is above such petty things. Lately, I seem to think I am too,” Draco said, fishing out his parchment, History of Magic book, and a quill with ink.
Ginny followed suite, getting her Potions’ items out to start the essay. Draco had already done his during her Quidditch practice. It was ironic. They had the perfect opportunity to cheat off each other, and yet they didn’t want to. They asked each other for help, but they wanted their work to be done off their own knowledge. They wanted to earn their grade.
Ginny fell into subspace. She loved the sound of a quill scratching on parchment. It eased her in a way very few things could. Even with her tumultuous history with the diary, there was something soothing about the sound of a quill scratching on parchment.
Thankfully, the essay was on Veritaserum. Now having personal experience in brewing it and taking it, Ginny felt more prepared for her homework. It had been a good idea, she thought. Then she bit the inside of her cheek as she recalled how Draco had said he already loved her. She doubted he was yet in love with her. That would come with more time. But she loved him too. He had become a steady presence in her life. She found she looked forward to classes and evenings with him. She was sure he felt the same now. It was nice.
Ginny finished her homework and reread over her essay, tapping her and there to correct words she had misspelled. Finally, she tapped the parchment to dry the ink, and then rolled it up and tied it with a piece of string the way Hermione had taught her.
Hermione. Ginny gave a soft, fond smile. She knew the other woman was keeping a secret from her. She also had a feeling she knew exactly what it was. But she was going to let Hermione come to her when the time was right. For now, she would continue throwing herself into Quidditch and studies. That was what mattered at this point.
That and building her relationship with her future husband. She glanced at him, tongue sticking out as he wrote his own essay. She couldn’t help but think that maybe this would all turn out all right.
Author notes: Thank you for the reviews! I promise more will be added, as I am having such a fun time writing this story! Let me know if you're enjoying it too by leaving a review!
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