Chapter One - An unexpected guest

Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat at the table at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. They were waiting for an Order member to come and tell them if they were going to stay there or not. They had already been waiting a couple of hours. Just as Harry opened his mouth to comment on how long they were waiting, right on cue, Remus Lupin burst through the fireplace dusting himself off and appearing very stressed.

"It's absolutely manic!" he burst out. "I've just met with Kingsley to discuss this situation. Since this place was protected by the Fidelius Charm and Dumbledore was the Secret Keeper, now that he is dead we don't think the protections will hold anymore. Voldemort has gained so much power, he's going to take over Hogwarts. We've discovered that that is his plan."

"What? So Hogwarts is going to be run by Death Eaters! We can't let that happen!" Harry yelled.

"There isn't anything anyone can do about it just yet," Lupin sighed. "anyone who protests is getting killed. Since it's the safest place to be right now, you four are to stay at the Burrow which is now the new Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. It's under the Fidelius Charm and I am the Secret Keeper. You four will be safe there."

Harry had a look of fierce determination on his face as he said "Hermione, Ron and I can't hide, we have to go and do a job that Dumbledore left for us."

Lupin sighed in resignation. "I had a feeling you might say something like that. But at least come to the burrow with us first. Molly would be terribly upset if she didn't get to see you before you went to accomplish your task" Harry reluctantly agreed to accompany Lupin to The Burrow.

Ginny was having an internal struggle as this conversation went on. Her heart ached at the fact that her ex boyfriend was going out into the dangerous world against Voldemort. Even though she knew that he had broken up with her to protect her she still felt a cold pain when she thought about him. Yet she managed to put on a face as if it didn't matter to her half as much as it did. She kept to her lively ways while she was around people so they wouldn't know how dejected she was. Showing her true feelings would only make this harder for Harry. She came out of her reverie to find that Lupin was speaking again.

"There's something else as well. Well…I wasn't going to tell you all until later but I should warn you that there will be an unexpected guest staying at the burrow, since it is the safest place right now."

"Who is it?" asked Ginny curiously.

"I'll tell you, but hear me out before you explode. It's Draco Malfoy, he-"

"What?! That bastard, no way is he staying at my house. He let Death Eaters into school!" yelled Ron furiously.

Lupin sighed. "He turned himself in a couple of days ago to the mercy of the order. He hasn't said much, but he's injured and he escaped from the Malfoy Manor - Voldemort's headquarters - at great personal risk. He's obviously realised that he made a lot of bad choices but he's just a teenager. Now he needs to hide, since Voldemort obviously knows he's changed sides. I know he hasn't exactly been a good person and he has done some terrible things but I think he's changed. Most of the order agreed that whilst we should keep a close eye on him we should accept him. Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance?"

"Malfoy is responsible for Dumbledore's death!" Harry retorted.

"No, Harry. Snape would have killed him anyway. They would have found a way in without Malfoy."

"Great, so I'm gonna have to put up with Malfoy for the rest of the year." complained Ginny. It was a stormy party that left for the burrow. Ginny momentarily forgot her annoyance about Malfoy as she excitedly greeted her parents and older brothers. After the greetings however, everyone looked grave.

"So you've heard about the bouncing ferret then?" asked Fred. Ginny sighed and Fred took that as agreement.

"Don't worry dears," reassured Molly "he's not going to cause any trouble."

"He's still here." complained Ginny.

"Where's he sleeping?" demanded Ron. The room fell into an awkward silence.

"Er…well, there isn't much room now so, we've had to …. Put him in with you and Harry." whispered Molly. For a while the room was silent and Ginny took this opportunity to slip out of the room unnoticed. She did not want to stay and hear the argument which would definitely ensue. As she started up the stairs she caught the glimpse of a blond head retreating towards the landing at the top of the stairs. He had clearly been listening to the conversation downstairs. As she headed up the stairs he realised she had seen him and gave her a nod of acknowledgement then hurriedly stormed into his room and slammed the door. Ginny had seen his face for a few seconds before he closed the door and was surprised that she had not seen an arrogant smirk or a look of contempt. Instead there was a slight look of fear in his eyes, a look of uncertainty. She wondered why he had chosen to leave Voldemort. As she sat down on her bed, trying to ignore the increasing volume of the shouting downstairs. It was impossible. After a while she heard silence downstairs and a knock at the door.

"Come in." Harry entered the room and she gave him a weak smile.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

"I'm fine."

"I just wanted to tell you that Ron, Hermione and I will be leaving in the morning."

"So soon?" Ginny asked, trying to hide the disappointment on her face.

"Well, we were going to leave at the end of the week but…with Malfoy here we can't stand to stay here any longer. We'll be gone when you wake tomorrow. I-I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." Ginny turned her head to hide the tears that were starting to appear in her eyes. She fell silent and because of the awkwardness, Harry left the room saying goodbye.

During dinner that night the tension could have been cut with a knife. Even Molly's strained attempts to initiate conversation between Malfoy and everyone else were not much help. Molly was obviously only doing it because it was necessary. Nobody responded to it very well. Ginny noticed that Malfoy had a bandage round his arm and his face was bruised. He did not try to attempt any conversation with anyone but politely answered the questions he was asked.

"How is your arm today Draco?" asked Molly.

"Much better thank you." he answered politely. His face was devoid of its usual smirk. His answers seemed distant and empty of emotion. Ginny suddenly felt a surge of pity for the boy. He really seemed different to how he was before. He must have really changed his opinions on some huge things to turn his back on his father's views on blood purity and Voldemort. The fact that he was staying with the Weasleys without any scorn was enough to show Ginny that he had changed. It would be nice if they could get on enough to hold some civilised conversation seeing as they would be the only ones left at the burrow who were not in the order - Draco because he was not trusted enough for that and Ginny because she was not yet of age.

While Draco conversed in polite small talk with Molly Weasley, Ron and Harry simply sat there eating and glowering across the table. Ginny noticed that, far from trying to antagonise the two boys, Draco was trying to avoid their gaze entirely. As far as she could tell he had not made eye contact with anyone since the start of the meal. She remembered how pleased she had been to greet her family, to be welcomed back into the arms of her parents and brothers. Draco would never have that again because he'd turned his back on his parents. The thought made Ginny think better of him. If he had the strength to do that then he must be stronger than she'd thought. The rest of the evening was uneventful. After dinner everyone went to their respective rooms and went straight to bed. Ginny shut her eyes for sleep that night knowing that when she woke up in the morning the trio would be gone and that thought made her feel very lonely.