Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I would be working as hard as possible to finish the 7th book. Not writing fan fiction.
The Charms classroom was always full of floating feathers, objects zooming across the floor on their own, and the chatter of the many students involved in giving movement to these otherwise inanimate objects. Today was no exception.
“Settle down, everyone! Settle down!” cried Professor Flitwick over the multitude of other voices. “You’ve had plenty of time to practice the Summoning Charm. Would anyone like to demonstrate? Ah, Ms. Weasley, why don’t you try it?”
Ginny had been doing quite well on this lesson and had managed to work her way from summoning needles, to making large textbooks and even chairs start flying in her direction. She stood up from her seat at the front of the class, and raised her wand confidently.
“Accio Textbook!” she said, making sure to keep her voice very clear.
Luna Lovegood jumped as her Charms book leapt off of her desk and soared right into Ginny’s outstretched arms, earning the caster of the spell a well-deserved round of applause.
“Splendid, splendid! Ten points to Gryffindor!” said Professor Flitwick. “Very good job, Ms. Weasley. Well, that’s all for today. We’ll practice a bit more on Monday. Enjoy your weekend!”
As the students hurried out of the classroom, Ginny swore she could have kissed Professor Flitwick, no matter how far down she’d have to stoop. No homework over the weekend! After the past few days of constant studying, essay-writing, and spell-practicing, it seemed almost too good to be true that she would finally be able to spend some time in Hogsmeade with her friends.
Being in a considerably better mood than she was in yesterday, Ginny decided that she rather fancied a walk around the lake before going down to the Great Hall for dinner. As the rest of her classmates continued walking straight along the corridor towards the stairs, she turned right and started off in the direction of the entrance hall.
‘I can’t wait to get some fresh air into my system,’ she thought, grinning to herself. ‘I’ve been locked up in that stuffy library for too long. I don’t know how Hermione can stand it!’
Turning another corner, Ginny grimaced as she heard the voice of a familiar, and very depressed, ghost coming out of a bathroom. Walking a little faster to prevent those dismal tones from spoiling her good mood, she couldn’t help but catch a few words of what they were saying.
“Don’t,” wailed Moaning Myrtle, her voice drifting out of a cubicle and into Ginny’s ears. “Don’t…tell me what’s wrong…I can help you…”
Turning her head to look inquiringly at the entrance to the lavatory, Ginny noticed with a fair amount of shock that it was a men’s bathroom. What was Myrtle doing in there? Ginny had heard from Harry that the gloomy ghost enjoyed spying on boys in the prefects’ bathroom (she never did get the details on how he knew that), but Myrtle sounded miserable, not sneaky or giggly. Well, more miserable than usual at least.
She took a few careful steps towards the bathroom door, pressed her ear against it, and heard another voice, this one deeper and softer than Moaning Myrtle’s had been. Still unable to make out what this new voice was saying, she pushed on the wooden door and peeked into the room.
What she saw froze her in her tracks, and she stood with one foot in the bathroom and one still lingering in the corridor, eyes widened in astonishment.
Draco Malfoy stood in the middle of the room, hands gripping the edges of one of the sinks, tears pouring out of the grey eyes that had invaded Ginny’s thoughts the day before.
She was attempting to gather her thoughts and get over the initial shock of having seen the Slytherin prince crying his eyes out in a bathroom, when she realized that he was speaking, short gasps of breath escaping from his lips between words.
“I can’t do it,” said Malfoy, his body trembling violently as he spoke. “I can’t…It won’t work…and unless I do it soon…he says he’ll kill me….”
Ginny didn’t know what to do. Her mind told her to leave, leave and forget she had ever witnessed this seemingly impossible sight, but her feet were still frozen to the ground, and her eyes still locked on the sobbing boy in front of her.
Before she could come out of the trance-like state she was currently trapped in, the door gave way in front of her, swinging wide open and revealing her hiding place.
Moaning Myrtle dove into a toilet, sending a spray of water up into the air, and Malfoy spun around, a look of alarm on his tear-stained face, his wand pointed straight at Ginny. She whipped out her own wand, ready to defend herself if the occasion called for it, before noticing that Malfoy’s hands were shaking so badly that it would be nearly impossible for his spells to actually hit her.
“Weaslette,” he snarled, his voice cracking and another tear escaping down the side of his face.
Ginny held her ground, and watched as Malfoy’s wand slipped from his fingers and clattered to the tiled floor. He took a step backwards, his chest heaving as his legs gave out and he sank back down to the floor, consumed by yet another bout of sobs.
All thoughts of hexing him left her mind, and Ginny felt her heart twinge at the sight of the broken boy in front of her, crying and alone on the floor. She stashed her wand back inside her robes and walked cautiously across the room, kneeling down next to him. Her hand settled carefully on his shoulder and she waited, unsure what his reaction would be.
He tensed at the contact, but gradually relaxed and allowed Ginny to wrap her arms around his shoulders, letting the tears continue to flow down his face. His body was shivering uncontrollably as he cried, and Ginny tightened her hold on him, wracking her mind for something to say.
“It’s alright,” she whispered, rocking him gently back and forth. “Everything’s going to be just fine. Shhh…”
‘This isn’t how it’s supposed to be,’ she thought. ‘Malfoy’s supposed to be strutting around the castle, a perfect guy with a perfect life. But right now he just looks like a sad, scared little boy.’
She wondered at this new side of Draco Malfoy. The side that would break down in front of someone he hates, and then proceed to let them comfort him. His sobs came less frequently now, and eventually quieted to soft hiccups as Ginny continued to whisper words of reassurance into his ear.
When his crying had stopped completely, Ginny pulled away from him slightly, just enough to be able to speak to him.
“Malfoy? Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”
He shook his head.
“Are you feeling alright? I can take you to the hospital wing if”“
Interrupting her with another shake of his head, Malfoy pulled out of her arms and stood up. He paced across the room several times, running his hand through his hair, and then began rummaging in his pockets for something. Walking back to where Ginny was still sitting on the bathroom floor, he handed her a slightly crinkled envelope.
Recognizing it as the letter she had seen him reading the night before, she opened it hesitantly, almost afraid to see what it held inside. Glancing up at Malfoy, she looked carefully into his eyes. He looked back at her, facing her coffee-colored eyes with his stormy gray ones, before speaking in a voice that was almost a whisper.
“Go ahead,” he said. “Read it.”
Turning her attention back to the letter in her hands, she unfolded the last crease and began to read.
Draco,
I have been informed that your plan is taking longer than expected. This is absolutely not acceptable, as it is imperative that we act as soon as possible. The teachers will become suspicious if you are missing too many classes, and it will be a miracle if you manage to elude the headmaster for much longer. It has also come to my attention that several of your schemes have backfired miserably. Really, Draco, did you actually believe that the necklace or the mead would reach the correct target? You are getting desperate, and that attitude will only result in failure. The Dark Lord is getting impatient, and if he doesn’t see some results soon, he will not hesitate to kill both you and your mother. Do not humiliate me Draco. I refuse to let the Malfoy name be sullied by your incompetence.
-Lucius
‘So Harry was right,’ Ginny thought. ‘Malfoy really was up to something. And from the sound of it, he’s a Death Eater as well.’
She looked back up at him, fear and disbelief showing in her eyes. Standing up slowly, she handed the letter back to him.
“You’ve been trying to kill someone, haven’t you?” said Ginny.
Malfoy tucked the letter back inside his robes and didn’t answer.
“That’s what your father was talking about,” she continued. “All that about schemes and plans and correct targets. That can only mean one thing.”
Malfoy sighed and leaned against one of the walls before answering.
“You read what he wrote. If I don’t do what they say, they’ll kill my mother. I don’t have a choice in this.”
“You always have a choice, Malfoy.”
He looked at her in mild surprise, but quickly went back to staring at the wall opposite him as he spoke.
“That’s not true. Do you expect me to just sit back and let them kill off the only person who cares about me? Sometimes there are no choices, Weaslette.”
Ginny couldn’t believe he was being so stubborn. How could he give up hope before even trying? He would be throwing his life away for nothing if he didn’t try to get himself out of this dreadful situation. She walked across the room to stand in front of him, forcing him to look at her while she spoke.
“Stop being ridiculous,” she said firmly. “You do have a choice in this, no matter what your father tells you. The choices we make show us who we really are. I know at least that much is real.”
There was silence as Draco stared down at Ginny, trying to gauge the truth of her words. She stared back, urging him silently to believe her, to try to be something other than what his father had insisted on him becoming.
“What can I do?” he said finally, breaking the quiet around them.
“We’ll go to Dumbledore,” Ginny replied. “He’ll be able to help. I’m sure he will.”
Draco swallowed and nodded his head, and the two of them turned towards the door. Peeking outside to make sure the corridor was still empty, they left the bathroom and started making their way across the school to the headmaster’s office, Ginny in the lead and Draco trailing behind.
Neither of them spoke, and the only sound they heard was the steady clicking of their shoes against the stone floor, and the distant voices of the students in the Great Hall enjoying their dinner. They climbed a flight of stairs, turned three corners, and walked down several corridors without saying a word.
When they arrived at the entrance to the headmaster’s office, Ginny paused and turned around to look at Draco.
“Er, I don’t suppose you know the password?” she questioned.
He didn’t.
With no other alternative, the two students set about trying to guess the words that would grant them entrance to Dumbledore’s office.
“Chocolate Frogs!”
“Acid Pops!”
“Fizzing Whizbees!”
“Pepper Imps!”
“Blood Pops!”
That earned Ginny a strange, and slightly disgusted, look from Draco.
“You don’t actually eat those do you?” he asked. “They’re supposed to be for vampires.”
“I know that!” Ginny said crossly. “George gave me one when I was little. Said it was cherry flavored. Toothflossing Stringmints!”
The gargoyle that had been guarding the entrance sprang aside, and allowed Ginny and Draco access to the door to Dumbledore’s office. Ginny rushed forward and lifted the heavy brass knocker, before noticing that Draco hadn’t moved and was still standing on the opposite side of the hallway.
“Aren’t you coming?” she asked. “Everything will be okay, I promise. He’ll be able to help you.”
“If”If you say so,” Draco answered, taking several hesitant steps forward.
Ginny turned back around and let the knocker fall from her hands, thumping down against the door. It swung open and Ginny led the way into the headmaster’s office.
“Good evening, Miss Weasley”Mr. Malfoy,” said a voice from across the room.
Ginny and Draco glanced towards a desk sitting in the corner, and caught sight of their headmaster. They walked over to him, preparing themselves mentally for the events that were about to unfold.
Dumbledore’s blue eyes swept over his two students, looking not a bit surprised at seeing both of them together. It seemed that nothing in the world could disturb the quiet calm that surrounded the headmaster of Hogwarts. Not even seeing two complete rivals stroll into his office, side by side.
“Please, take a seat,” Dumbledore said pleasantly. “I’d offer you both a lemon drop, but from the looks on your faces, this is neither the time nor the place for such luxuries.”
“You’re quite right, Professor,” said Ginny, settling herself into one of the comfy armchairs in front of Dumbledore’s desk. “Er”I was just walking past one of the bathrooms, when I heard…um, well I talked to Draco and…and we have something important that we think you should know.”
“Oh? And what might that be?” said the headmaster, looking up at Draco, who had remained standing.
Draco fidgeted under the intense gaze of his professor, debating with himself about how to voice his problem. He couldn’t very well hand over his letter and expect Dumbledore to figure it out himself, like he did to the Weaslette, could he? There was nothing for it. He would just have to explain it himself.
“You see, Professor,” he began. “I got a letter from my father yesterday, telling me…telling me that I had to work faster on the plan for Voldemort.”
Dumbledore lowered his eyes and focused his gaze upon his clasped hands, which were resting on the surface of his desk. He looked thoughtful for a moment, and then spoke carefully, a hint of sorrow buried underneath his eternal calm.
“So very sad that Voldemort is now enlisting children to do his bidding,” he said. “But Draco, I am sure he never meant for you to succeed in your task. Killing me is beyond your abilities, I’m afraid.”
Draco’s head snapped up and he looked uneasily at the headmaster. Dumbledore’s steady gaze met his eyes, and the young Slytherin’s expression changed from shock, to confusion.
“How did you…” he began, his voice trailing off before he could finish his inquiry.
“Oh, I have known for a long time Draco,” the headmaster said, smiling slightly. “In fact, I’m willing to bet that even Voldemort himself knew that I was aware of his plan. He also knows I would never harm a student to save myself, so he continued to let you attempt to fulfill your goal.”
Ginny had been sitting in shocked silence for the past few minutes, allowing her mind time to comprehend all that was going on. Needless to say, it was going to take awhile. Abandoning her silent approach, Ginny exploded with questions, voicing every thought that had been swimming around in her head.
“Draco’s job was to kill you?” she cried. “And you knew about it? Why didn’t you do something? What can we do?”
Ginny had sprung up out of her chair, and moved to stand directly in front of Dumbledore, her eyes flashing with bewilderment and desperation.
“I believe a simple ‘yes’ will satisfy your first two questions nicely,” Dumbledore said. “However, as to why I did nothing, a more complex answer is required. I did not want to endanger Draco, or anyone else, by bringing this situation out into the open. Secrecy is a form of protection, which will be of the essence in these circumstances.”
Ginny sank back into her chair and stared at her knees, somewhat embarrassed at her sudden outburst. It wasn’t like her to be disrespectful to her professors, but this whole affair had been so emotionally draining that she really doubted her ability to control her actions right now. She was dragged out of her thoughts when she heard Draco start to speak, and she raised her eyes to look at his face.
“Professor…” he said slowly. “You didn’t answer her last question. What can we do about all this?”
“Unfortunately, I cannot answer that.” Dumbledore paused and pushed his half-moon glasses up his nose. “Only you can decide what will happen next, Mr. Malfoy.”
Draco stared at him. He had absolutely no idea how to get himself out of this mess! He had thought that Dumbledore of all people would be able to find a solution to his dilemma. A way out of the snarled web of lies, hatred, and death that Voldemort wove around every one of his followers. Wasn’t the headmaster supposed to be a sort of genius, who could pull an answer out of a hat or something? The whole reason he came here was to get help escaping the future in store for him. Well, that and the fact that he had been having trouble refusing the Weaslette when she was looking so fierce and compassionate. But that was really beside the point.
“However,” Dumbledore interrupted his thoughts. “Although I cannot choose your future for you, I can give you several options to pick from. The first of which would be that you continue about your life as if you had never spoken to me, or Miss Weasley, and carry on taking orders from Voldemort.”
Ginny looked nervously at Draco, not sure what to expect. Dumbledore had made it sound so easy for him to just forget everything that had happened, and pretend he had never been found crying in that bathroom. She watched apprehensively as he opened his mouth to answer.
“Er…,” Draco cleared his throat gently. “Option number two?”
Dumbledore smiled slightly, and Ginny let out a breath of air, relaxing noticeably.
“Option number two is that you abandon Voldemort and let us, meaning myself and the rest of the Order, hide you away and imply that you died. Nobody would be surprised that you had failed in your attempt to kill me, and I will even go so far as to say that Voldemort expects it.”
No matter how tempting the offer sounded, Draco felt that to accept it would be a coward’s way out. Faking a suicide to escape facing your problems, seemed just as bad as actually committing one. He could live with being an arrogant, narcissistic brat, but somehow, being labeled a coward seemed a great deal worse.
“Are there any other alternatives, Professor?” He sighed, doubting that the old headmaster had anything else up his sleeve. Two choices were more than he had expected anyway.
“There is one more, yes,” Dumbledore replied, nodding his head. “You could always become a spy for our side. However, I must warn you that it is dangerous work. Spies are generally shunned by both sides, for they must act in the utmost of secrecies, and therefore have few to turn to in their times of need.” He paused for a moment, gauging his student’s reaction to this information. “Remember, I do not think to choose your future for you, Mr. Malfoy. The decision must be made by you and you alone.”
Ginny was once again sitting rigidly in her chair, her eyes locked on Draco’s face, studying his every movement. Lips pressed together and chin resting against his hand, he seemed to be thinking hard about Dumbledore’s words, calculating the effects that his choice would have on his life. Shifting her eyes to glance at her headmaster, she noticed that he too was watching Draco intently, waiting for his decision.
He lowered his hands from his face. “I’ll do it,” he said quietly.
“Very well,” said Dumbledore. He pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill, and began to write. “I’ll have you give this to Professor Snape during your next potions lesson, and he will inform you of what will be happening next.”
Dumbledore folded up the letter and handed it to Draco. Clasping his hands again and resting them on his desk, he surveyed the two students over the top of his glasses.
“Now then,” he began. “I believe the both of you should be getting down to the Great Hall. They should still be serving dinner, and we can’t have you going to bed with empty stomachs.”
Ginny and Draco stood up. “Yes, professor,” they chorused, turning around to walk back out of the office.
As the door closed behind them, Dumbledore sat with a thoughtful expression across his wizened face. It was a wonderful thing, that two rivals could put aside their differences to help each other in the gravest of situations. He supposed that it just goes to show that even in the darkest of times, people could find it in themselves to come to the aid of their fellow human beings, and friendships could be born.
Outside in the corridor, Ginny began walking towards the Great Hall, Draco by her side. An awkward silence settled over them, and Ginny wracked her mind for something to say. ‘Well, what can I say?’ she thought, biting her lip. ‘He’s just agreed to put himself in an even more dangerous situation than before, and it’s all my fault!’ Her heart fell as this thought invaded her mind. She had only wanted to help him by taking him to Dumbledore, not lead him into an even greater mess. He’d probably hate her now. No, wait. He already hated her. Now he probably loathes her beyond imagination.
Ginny was jolted out of her musings as Draco broke the suffocating silence. “You, know,” he said, a shadow of his old smirk touching his face. “As much as it kills me to say this, you were right Weaslette. I did have a choice. Three of them, in fact.”
Ginny stopped walking suddenly, and Draco took a moment to realize that she was no longer next to him. He turned around to look at her as she stared at him in surprise.
“You mean”You’re not angry?” she asked incredulously. “I just made your life go from bad to worse, and now you’re telling me I was right all along?”
Draco’s face wrinkled in confusion. “Why would I be angry? You and Dumbledore found me a way out, and I don’t care if it’s dangerous. Anything’s better than how it was before.”
Ginny began walking again, continuing on towards the Great Hall. “So you do want to be a spy?” she said.
Draco looked exasperated. “Yes, I want to be a spy! I do want Voldemort gone you know, no matter how much my reputation may point otherwise.”
It was definitely true that his status as a Slytherin and a pureblood caused many assumptions, most of which were not very good. Ginny blushed and looked down at the floor. She hadn’t given any thought to the fact that he might actually want Voldemort to be defeated just as much as the rest of them did. They turned another corner, and found themselves at the entrance to the Great Hall, laughter and the clattering of knives and forks drifting through the door. Stopping abruptly, the two of them glanced nervously at each other.
Ginny cleared her throat. “Well… I’ll see you around I guess,” she said finally.
“Yeah, um,” Draco started. He took a deep breath and shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Thanks.”
Ginny smiled thoughtfully, and looked into his grey eyes. He really wasn’t all that bad after all. In fact, she was even ready to take back what she had thought about him last night. Well, most of it anyway. He was still gorgeous, but at least now she knew he had a sweet side to go along with his handsome face. Pushing carefully on the wood of the door, they slipped inside the Great Hall unnoticed and walked quietly back to their tables.