"We need someone on the inside."

The words fell among those gathered at the table; glances were exchanged, hands nervously folded atop the table, lips tightly pressed. "We need someone on the inside," Remus Lupin repeated, his gaze falling first on the head Weasley, then onto the trail of his sons, his only daughter, and onto the other dozen or so bodies gathered among them. "Someone who can blend in, someone who can get information." But who? The unspoken question fell between the lot and more glances were exchanged.

"I'll do it," one of the elder Weasley boy's spoke up first, his deep set brown eyes gleaming in the candlelight. The gazes all turned to him; on a rare moment, Charlie Weasley was home from Romania. "I'm virtually unknown to the Death Eaters."

"No," Arthur replied, shaking his head. "You need to be here, to look after your mother and sister when Bill or I can't." Charlie opened his mouth with a quick retort. "To take care of the Order business as well, if Lupin isn't around." Arthur cut in before his son could go on. It was enough that most of his children were out fighting this war- he needed at least one of his sons there to protect their home and their family, as well as look out for the duties of the Order.

"I'll do it," Ginny spoke up without warning, interrupting the arguing men. All eyes turned towards her then and she smiled uncomfortably beneath their gazes. Her father looked too stunned to reply and already Bill was shaking his head, a resounding no seeming to be the answer before any real thought was given. Typical, she thought, thinking back to her childhood with a fond sort of annoyance. Being the both the youngest child and the onlygirl in generations was a little more than difficult sometimes. "I'm eighteen, after all," she continued on, locking eyes with every person around that table. To her surprise, some of the other Order members were nodding and to her relief Remus Lupin was one of them.

"It makes sense," he spoke up finally, shooting Arthur a glance that silenced him before he could even speak. "She adapts well, she fits in with any crowd, and she's tough." Remus turned away from the others to face her, her brown eyes blazing as they looked upon him. "She's the best choice and you know it." The others could not deny what Remus said- Ginny was everything they needed in someone to pull this job off: smart, cunning, inventive, and strong. Not only could she hold her own against the toughest of wizards, she could outthink most of them too. No, despite his fears of letting her go, even Arthur knew she was the most logical choice of them all. Her mother wasn't going to like this one bit, though.

[ x x x ]

"Draco, you know your mission."

The blonde male nodded, standing a little straighter, his shoulders squared as he looked his father in the eye. "This is your last chance, do not fail him again. Do not fail me again." Another silent nod and then he was dismissed. Escaping from the room, Draco Malfoy fled down the corridor of his family's manor, his childhood home and long since the central hub of all Death Eater activity. His newest mission (and apparently last one, which did not bode well for him should he fail) was to partner with the newest recruit and together they were to find the "Golden Trio." Draco sighed, rounding a corner, the new recruit had already arrived and there was no time to waste. While he could never admit it out loud, this was the last thing he wanted to do. But, he was weak and he was afraid… There was no going against his father and Voldemort. Not again. He'd lose his life if he tried that again.

Coming to a stop in front of a door, he didn't bother to knock. Instead, he went right on in, to find the room held only one other occupant. She stood with her back to him so all he could see at first was her hair; it was long and jet black, falling in soft, oh so soft looking curls. She was of small stature, no taller than his chest and weighing what looked to be next to nothing. As he closed the door behind him she turned, revealing to him a face like he'd never before seen: she was pale and delicate looking, with eyes the color of the sky that seemed to swallow him whole as they stared at him. Her lips curved into a smile and he felt his heart skip a beat, felt his stomach turn over; she was so unlike any other Death Eater he'd ever laid eyes on. She was young too, his age perhaps even a little younger. It was strange, he thought, for a girl like her to be at their door step, offering her services to the Dark Lord. But, all the same his father had spoke highly of her skills and had claimed she'd be an asset to their side. "Ahem," he cleared his throat, realizing he'd been standing in silence for far too long. "Hi, I'm Draco."

It seemed to be working.

So far, there seemed to be no indication from any of the Death Eaters she'd come across that they had any idea she was not who she said she was. She had prepared for suspicious glances, for interrogations as to her reasoning for so suddenly wanting to join the ranks of Death Eaters. But there was nothing. She had known Draco was to come for her when she'd been placed into this room half an hour earlier- he'd come in and seemed awestruck by her. Well, by her disguise really. A glance into the mirror across the room reminded her of her new appearance, one that she was still attempting to grow accustomed to. "Hi," she replied with a sweet smile, extending out her hand for him to grasp, to shake. At the moment of connection, they both felt it, a flicker of something warm and inviting. Pulling her hand away, Ginny forced another smile and went on to speak. "I'm Audrey. Audrey Harper."

What had he felt just then? That spark, that warmth? Draco could not help but to remain stock still, hardly hearing her as she introduced herself. Luckily for him he'd known her name before coming into the room. He had never felt something like that before. He could see the flicker of something crossing her features and he wondered… Had she… Had she felt it too? "It's nice to finally meet you. My father speaks highly of you." At his words she was humble enough to blush and then shrug, as if it didn't matter all that much. "He said he knew your parents." Knew. His father had told him that her parents had died when she was young, a small child of only ten. She had been on her own since then, at least until she'd gone to Hogwarts a year after they had passed. He couldn't ever recall seeing her, though she did seem vaguely familiar to him. Though, he supposed she was a little younger and from Ravenclaw of all Houses, so it wasn't all that surprising that he didn't remember her.

"Yes, I'm told they were well acquainted." She replied, hoping the dark look that she took on fooled him into thinking talking about her dead parents was still yet too difficult. He seemed to grasp it because he nodded and moved on, instead asking if she'd been shown to her rooms. "No, but my things were taken for me." She allowed him to lead her from the room and instead they took to the corridors and then came to a staircase. He paused at the base, waiting for her to catch up, and then they made their way up the staircase only to come to yet another corridor.

"Your rooms are near mine." He said, gesturing to a door they passed on the left, indicating that was his own room. She nodded and they came to a door three down from his. They were the only occupants of this floor, it would seem. Most Death Eaters did not remain at the Manor permanently, though it was not uncommon for some to stay a night or two. "Here you go," he opened the door and lead her inside, the door swinging closed behind her. Just as she'd said, her belongings were settled on the bed, just two small bags that looked old and worn. "Our first mission starts tomorrow morning, you probably want to get some rest."

"Good night." She watched as he left the room, closing the door behind him. The moment he'd gone, she sank down onto the bed, a heavy sigh escaping her. Her hands ran over her hand and then through her hair, the raven colored locks still foreign to her. Lowering her hands, she lifted her gaze to the door, unaware that Draco still remained standing outside in the hall. Kicking off her shoes, she pushed her bags off onto the floor and crawled beneath the covers of her bed. The bed was soft but she knew without a doubt that she'd not even sleep a wink.

Outside the room, Draco leaned against the closed door, his eyes closed and his hands over his face. Those strange, strange emotions he had felt when she was near… The way there had been a spark at the mere touch of her hand to his… He shuddered, unable to explain why he longed to return to the room and talk to her, to find out more about her. But, with a sigh he pushed away from the wall knowing he'd have plenty of time to get to know her. He wondered if anyone had even told her of their mission… Well, she'd find out in the morning he supposed. With a backwards glance to her closed door, Draco strode down the hall to his own room, where he'd lay awake for the whole night long.

[ x x x ]

When she woke the next morning, it was in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. Oh, she thought, blue eyes flickering with the memory of the night before. That's right, I'm in Malfoy Manor. Sitting up, she caught sight of her own reflection and for a moment was confused, but then that too returned to her. She hoped she'd adjust to her new face sooner rather than later. Rising from her bed, she shed her t-shirt and changed into a clean set of clothing- slim fit jeans and a loosely fitting tee. Gathering her long, raven locks up, she secured them with a hair band and went to stand at the one single window in her room.

It was dawn and she could see the light beginning to streak across the sky. Always an early riser, this was not her first sunrise, but it was beautiful all the same. One beautiful thing in this dark world she'd become immersed in.

Knock, knock.

Turning, she waited a moment before calling out: "Come in." The door opened and Draco was in her doorway, his hair still tousled from sleep though he was fully dressed. He stepped over the threshold (looking highly uncomfortable, she noted) and the door swung closed behind him. "Morning." She greeted, stepping away from the window to begin stuffing her sleep clothes into her bag.

"Good morning," Draco said, unable to help but notice her figure in her clothing; she turned to him then and he caught her piercing gaze, suddenly feeling a sense of déjà vu, as if he'd looked into those eyes once before. But then it faded and she smiled, looking quite alert despite how early it was. How was she not a mess like he felt? Draco was anything but a morning person, he preferred late nights. "Are you ready?" He asked then, forcing himself to think about the mission ahead and not how perfectly her jeans seemed to fit. "We should get going."

She merely nodded, taking hold of the one small bag she seemed to have suddenly acquired. He must have looked at her curiously because she laughed and held it up for closer inspection. "It's a trick I learned," she said, thinking for a moment of the bushy-haired female who'd taught her the spell. "Look." She extended the bag out to him and he reached a hand in, stumbling slightly as he realized the bottom was nowhere to be found. "Cool, isn't it?" In truth, he was actually impressed by the spell and wondered where she'd learned such a trick. But, he supposed being in Ravenclaw she was probably smart. "Lead the way," she gestured for him to go on and he led her from the room, down the hall and out into the main corridor.

As they walked, she found the place was empty aside from a few Death Easters- it was early after all. They approached the main doors and she could not help but to ask him: "Your parents aren't going to say goodbye?" a dark look crossed over his features and he silently shook his head, saying nothing at all. A cold, dark feeling took her by the heart and Ginny realized he did not have any sort of relationship with his family. Death Eater or not, she had certainly thought his parents would offer their only son some words of wisdom before this mission of his. Apparently, she was quite wrong.

Without a backward glance, they were gone.

[ x x x ]

They'd been traveling for weeks.

The days had passed, molding together as they went on and on. Soon it was hard to remember a life before the one she currently lived. Every day she and Draco became a little closer, grew to trust one another a little more. She felt bad, lying to him as she was, but she knew better than to allow herself to grow too comfortable. She still kept to herself, carefully avoiding any sort of details that might hint at her true identity. So far it seemed he was entirely fooled, so she had to be thankful for that. Should she be caught, it was easy to imagine what would happen to her. But, despite it all, they were becoming closer than she had ever anticipated them becoming.

"Audrey?"

She turned her head, realizing then that Draco had been speaking to her. "I'm sorry," she said, shooting him an apologetic look, a smile teetering on her lips. He'd become accustomed to her somewhat spacey personality, knowing she was always lost within her own thoughts. He wondered what she thought of.

"I was saying, maybe we should stop for the evening?" Draco slowed to a stop and turned to face her, his gray eyes studying her. "We could keep going but it's going to be dark soon." They had been traveling nonstop for three days now, not stopping for more than a few hours to merely rest and recharge. Their first task had been to find Harry Potter and his friends, but the task changed as soon as they had. They had now been tasked with following the Golden Trio and to put a stop to their meddling. They were to avoid challenging them in any sort of duel unless necessary and were merely following from a distance, watching from a distance, and sending constant feedback to Draco's father. "They've surely stopped as well." He glanced in the direction they had been walking, where sure enough, they could see the flicker of a fire. A moment later it faded from sight, telling them both that the protection spells had been placed around the Trio's camp.

"Let's stop," she agreed, allowing her bag to fall to her feet with a soft thump. At once they went to work setting up their own camp, a tent which they shared and a small fire which she would cook a meal for them to share. When they had eaten and darkness had fallen, they retired to the tent which they shared, a cot for each of them, to rest for a night until dawn came and they would be off once again.