AN: Bel Dumbledore wanted more Draco/Ginny. Enjoy. Prompt number 20 - fortitude. Fortitude is courage in pain or adversity, which I think Ginny shows. As ever, I'm borrowing the characters.
"Don't be ridiculous, Ron. I wouldn't be offering to do this if there was any other way."
Grimmauld Place was filled with the sound of the two youngest Weasleys screaming at each other. They'd woken Mrs Black ages ago, and she had added her voice to the cacophony. Finally, Hermione had heard enough. She cast a silencing spell on the two screaming Weasleys and made her announcement.
"We need a spy in Voldemort's ranks. You know that, Ron, we haven't been anywhere near as successful since Snape died. You can't do it, I can't do it and Harry definitely can't do it. Ginny volunteered. She fits there criteria. I'm not happy about it either, but there is no other way." Reluctantly, she removed the silencing spell.
"They're going to torture you, Ginny."
"Do you think I'm unaware of that? I'm used to pain – I had a year at Hogwarts with the Carrows in charge of discipline. Besides, I've already been possessed by Tom Riddle, which may give me an advantage."
"What do you mean, possessed?"
Hermione, Harry and Ginny all looked at each other in despair. "Ronald, do you remember the Chamber of Secrets?"
"Oh. I get it now."
"He's remembered what that thing inside his head actually does." Ginny's voice was filled with sarcasm. Ron glared at her.
"Just one question, Ginny." Harry looked thoughtful. "How are you actually going to get to a Death Eater's meeting?"
"I've figured it out, but I don't think I should tell anyone. The fewer people who know, the better, right?"
"True. Just… be careful."
"I know what I'm doing."
She knew she couldn't remain at Grimmauld Place to carry out her plan, just in case anybody put a tracker on the owl or the messages themselves. The Burrow, however, was a perfectly logical location for her to be, so she returned there.
A letter to Draco Malfoy should work nicely as an introduction to the Death Eaters. It wasn't long before a reply arrived. He clearly wanted to prove himself by recruiting new members.
"Weasley,
If you're serious about joining us, then use the portkey provided. It will activate at 10pm tonight.
Draco."
Perfect. She pulled a set of black robes out of her wardrobe, cast a quick cleaning charm, and put them on. She might as well dress the part.
…………………
Standing before Voldemort, in the middle of the circle, was more frightening than she'd expected it to be. Nevertheless, to show fear was a weakness, so she stood tall and proud.
"Ginevra Weasley. Not someone I thought would ever consider joining us. Why, then, are you here?"
"To offer you my services, my lord."
"For what reason would Harry Potter's girlfriend offer her services to me?" Ginny could feel the power trying to force its way into her mind, and she thanked Snape for teaching her Occlumency. It allowed her to choose exactly what Voldemort saw.
"My lord, I have not been Potter's girlfriend for over a year, now. As to my reasons? Power." It was true – she and Harry had broken up over a year ago. He merely waited for her to explain further. "There is no good or evil, only power, and those too weak to seek it."
Ginny knew that the Death Eaters surrounding her were startled to hear the Dark Lord's teachings coming from her mouth. She did, after all, belong to a blood traitor family.
"Impressive, Miss Weasley. Do you pledge your loyalty?"
"I do, my lord."
He touched his wand to her left forearm, and the Dark Mark began to take shape. It was more painful than any of the Cruciatus curses she'd been subjected to during the previous year. Sheer determination kept her both on her feet and silent. The Death Eaters watched, waiting for the screaming that usually accompanied the branding. They were disappointed. Voldemort, however, was not. Finally, he removed his wand. The smell of burning flesh sickened her, as did the mark itself, but her expression did not change.
"Draco Malfoy." A hooded figure stepped forward and bowed deeply. "Fetch Miss Weasley some new robes. For the time being, you will be responsible for her."
That night, she was spared the ordeal of having to torture or kill innocent victims, though she was certain it would happen before long. That was the part she was dreading, and there was nothing she could do to stop it, except pass on every piece of information she knew.
………………
A week later, she was summoned by a burning pain in her arm. Apparating to the meeting place, she soon realised that this was her real initiation test.
"Ginevra."
"Yes, my lord."
"Dispose of the children."
Separate from the rest of the terrified muggles were two teenagers, clinging to each other in fear. They weren't much younger than she was. If she had to do this, then at least she could make their deaths quick and painless. Most of the Death Eaters liked to torture their victims first, drag the process out for as long as possible. Raising her wand, she pointed it at the pair. They were so close together that one spell was sufficient.
"Avada Kedavra."
That night, she was given a room in Malfoy Manor, next to Draco's. He found her puking her guts out in their shared bathroom, and actually held her hair out of the way for her.
"That's what I did, the first time."
"You did?"
"And the second, and the third. Eventually, you stop throwing up, but the feeling never really goes away."
The last person she'd expected to be so understanding was Draco Malfoy.
"To be honest, I thought you'd have been one of those who enjoyed it."
"I'm no sadist. That's Aunt Bellatrix's job."
Ginny remembered Bellatrix Lestrange as the deranged woman who had confronted them in the Department of Mysteries. She'd fallen out of Voldemort's favour for a while as a result of her failure to retrieve the prophecy, but so had the Malfoys. Hard to believe that was almost four years ago.
……………………
After she'd passed the initiation, she began to find out more information, which could be passed on to the Order of the Phoenix. She had one of Sirius's mirrors, and used it, when she was alone, to communicate with them. Usually, she spoke to Hermione, who was the most sensible of the three.
Meanwhile, she and Draco had come to tolerate each other, and could have been called friends, if Ginny hadn't been keeping quite so many secrets. They shared a disgust for most of the things Voldemort made them do, but none of them were quite as horrifying as the plan he announced four months after Ginny's initiation.
"It has come to my attention that we have a growing number of the younger generation joining our ranks. I wish for marriages to take place between acceptable couples."
Across the circle, Ginny and Draco's eyes met, neither revealing their thoughts, but both equally horrified. It wasn't just marriages that Voldemort wanted – it was the offspring of such unions.
That night, they sat in Ginny's heavily warded bedroom and ranted.
"He has got to be out of his mind. This is absolutely outrageous."
"At least you're used to the idea of an arranged marriage. I always thought I'd be able to choose."
When Draco returned to his own room, Ginny passed on the latest piece of news. Hermione looked as disgusted as Ginny felt. "We have got to get you out of there."
"Hermione, listen. If you're pulling me out, I'm bringing Draco with me."
"Don't be so stupid."
"I'm not. He's doing this because it's what he's been brought up to do, not because he wants to. He hates it as much as I do."
"I still think… hold on, Gin, Harry's saying something."
Ginny waited, pacing the room impatiently. After what felt like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, Hermione returned.
"Funny you should mention Malfoy. He's just owled us, asking if we can help him."
"Leave it to me."
"Bring him here. You're a secret keeper, now Dumbledore's dead, so you can get him through the door. Do it tonight if you can."
Ginny knocked on the door of Draco's room. "Can I come in?"
"Of course."
"Were you serious about the request to the Order of the Phoenix?"
"How did you know about that?"
"I have my ways. Well, were you?"
"Yes…"
"You don't sound very sure."
"I'm not certain I can trust you - you did swear your allegiance to Lord Voldemort and he accepted you. He'd have known if you were lying."
"Not when you've been taught Occlumency by Severus Snape."
"Snape taught you?" He looked astounded by that particular revelation.
"Yes. Now, if you want to leave, we'd better go sooner rather than later."
He shrunk a few objects and placed them in his pockets. "I'm ready."
"Can we apparate from here?"
"Yes."
She grasped his arm tightly, and concentrated. The next moment, they were standing in Grimmauld Place. Draco was looking around, searching for their headquarters.
"Listen carefully. The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix is at number twelve, Grimmauld Place." She spoke quietly, even though the area seemed to be deserted. When the house appeared, they hurried through the front door. Mrs Black's portrait began shrieking about blood traitors, but then looked more closely at Draco.
"Your name, young man?"
"Draco Malfoy, Aunt Walburga."
"Narcissa's son. I must say, it does make a change to see a proper pureblood about the place instead of blood traitors, half-breeds and mudbloods." The curtain then closed itself, to Ginny's amazement.
"He's staying. I don't care what anybody else thinks – if you can handle that portrait, Malfoy, you're welcome here."
"Granger, I'm honoured."
To say he was welcomed would be stretching the term a little too far. He was tolerated. From necessity, he and Ginny were not involved in any planning sessions – they were now fugitives and had to remain in hiding. This led to them spending even more time together than before.
"Who were you expected to marry, before Voldemort made his announcements? I presume it had been discussed."
"Pansy Parkinson. It was practically arranged, and then you turned up, changing my father's plans completely."
It was nearing Christmas time, and that meant you had to watch out for trick decorations and bespelled mistletoe. George may have been working alone, but it didn't make any difference. One morning after breakfast, Draco forgot about the mistletoe hanging in the kitchen doorway, and walked right underneath it. Ginny, as the nearest person, was dragged under with him.
"George, take the spell off. I can't watch my sister snogging the ferret, it's just wrong."
"You know the answer then, don't you, Ron?" Ginny smirked, in an almost perfect imitation of the Malfoy smirk. "Don't look."
Since there was no other way to escape the mistletoe, she reached up and kissed him. She didn't expect the flare of passion between them – all she'd intended was to escape the spell and leave the kitchen. Kissing Draco, though, proved to be intoxicating, addicting and far, far more enjoyable than kissing any of her ex-boyfriends, including the one staring at them right that moment.
"Ginevra Weasley, put that boy down this instant."
"Sorry, Mum. It was George's fault – he charmed the mistletoe."
"Not to do that, he didn't. Now, you two will be spending the day cleaning the attic, and no more funny business, is that clear?"
"Yes, Mum." "Yes, Mrs Weasley."
As they trooped up the stairs, Draco grinned. "Seven kids, and she gets flustered watching a kiss?"
AN: What Mrs Weasley says to Ginny is adapted from something my drama teacher once said to me. I wasn't kissing a guy - I was whacking him around the head with my drama script after he'd screwed up his lines again. The full line was "Put that boy down, Kylara, you don't know where he's been!"