Note! Chapter has been re-beta-ed!

Chapter 4

Ginny didn't exactly have a plan. She had decided that she would travel to London and try to get a hint of what Voldemort was up to. It was a long shot, but she got lucky. When she came to Diagon Alley, she saw a note about a job vacancy. The Leaky Cauldron was looking for a new housekeeper. That was good. If she got the job, she would have a place to live and be in a good position to spy on Death Eaters. And so, the same afternoon she had said goodbye to her brothers and friends, she went into the cold, dark pub and asked to see the owner.

The barman looked at her curiously. "What happened to your head, missy?"

"Accident with a razor."

"Razor?"

"A friend of mine has got a thing for Muggle-stuff. Obviously, I don't talk to her anymore… I don't want to be connected to Muggle-lovers."

The barman had a cold laugh. "Nah, don't want that these days…"

He led her through a door behind the bar and down a dark corridor. He knocked on a door.

"Enter," a harsh voice answered.

"A young missy is asking for the job!" the barman said, while opening the door.

"Let her in."

The barman pushed her inside and closed the door behind her. She was standing inside a small office. There was no fire, just some candles lighting the room. A man was sitting behind a big desk, and he was clothed in a big fur coat. He had a short, dark beard and furry eyebrows, but he had no hair on top of his head. He looked up at her with cold, blue eyes.

"So, you are looking for a job."

That was not a question, but she nodded anyway.

"Why?"

"We all have to do something for a living," she said neutral.

"I see… How old are you?"

"Twenty," she lied.

She was still just sixteen. But her parents were dead, so she had no guardians. And she didn't look like a child. He just nodded. She got the feeling, he didn't really care. He just wasn't allowed to hire girls, he knew were underage.

"And your name?"

"Lucy Clifford."

"Family?"

"We are from Denmark, but I moved here to be with my boyfriend."

She hoped that would make it more difficult for him to check up on her story. And she hoped no one would try anything with her, if they thought she was seeing someone.

"What's with the look?"

"Got drunk, and a stupid friend shaved my hair and made it permanent. Then, I found out she liked Muggle-stuff. So now, I don't talk to her at all." She thought it would be best, if she appeared to be a Muggle-hater. Then, she wouldn't be controlled for that reason.

"I see… Well, I guess you could get a test job. If that works out, you're hired. You'll get one galleon and five sickles per hour and you will work from seven a.m. to twelve a.m. After which you will have a break and start again at five p.m. and work until ten p.m. You may take a room at the end of this corridor; the one on the left. Here is the key. You start in one hour, and the work clothes are to be found in the wardrobe. Ask the barman, Robby, what you shall do. Any questions?"

"No."

"Then leave."

Ginny nodded and left. She went deeper down the corridor and found the room. It was shabby and dark. It contained a bed, a wardrobe and a small table next to a kitchenette. The only light came from a window high up on the wall. A door next to the bed led to a small bathroom with just a toilet and a shower.

"Cosy…" she muttered and opened the wardrobe to change into her work outfit.

It wasn't that bad. It was a long black skirt, a grey apron and a black top. She felt some relief about it. Deep down, she had been worried about the possibility of having to work in a too revealing outfit. This wouldn't make anyone drool. She looked at herself in the small mirror next to the wardrobe. She barely recognised herself. Where was the smiling and happy girl she used to be? Would she ever be happy again? The Ginny Weasley everyone knew was gone. Dead. She didn't even feel like a Ginny anymore. Ginny sounded like a small girl with no problems in the world. A girl, who always cheered and sang. Not that she felt like a Lucy either. She had just said the first name to pop up in her head.

No, for the first time in her life, she felt like a Ginevra. She had always hated that name. When she was younger, she had begged her parents to come up with another name. Ginevra had sounded… serious and boring. It belonged to someone writing deep poems about death. Well, that suited right now. She felt really serious and boring. And she wasn't planning to enjoy herself, until her work was done. Well, killing Voldemort would be a lifetime experience. She could hold off on her fun, until that happy moment. And maybe she should start to write poems. Then she would have something to do in her spare time. She went to the bathroom, used the toilet and quickly washed herself under the shower. Then it was time for her to start her new job. She found Robby behind the bar and asked what she should do.

"Well, missy, I guess I could use a hand with the dishes. Soon people will come for their evening snacks…"

She looked at the clock on the other side of the pub and realised it was already half past five. Time travelled quickly when you were on a mission.

And it sure did.

After a couple of days the owner (who Robby said was named Gary Teller) told her that she was hired for real and that her salary would be raised to two galleons per hour. Not much, but she didn't care. After the first week, she fell into a routine. She woke up at half past six, ate something and washed up. After that she went down to the pub's kitchen to see if some of the guests had ordered breakfast. She would make it, and then, started to get the pub ready for the morning and the first guests. They opened at eight. She cleaned the rooms during the rest of the morning, before she had some time of her own. She used that to spy on people in Diagon Alley, but she almost never found anything interesting. At five she started to work again. Ginny cooked meals for the guests, made sure nothing looked too shabby (that was the hard part), and at ten, she went to bed, while Robby closed the pub. After a month she wondered if she would get anything useful out of this and started to look at other options.

Then, one night, Lucius Malfoy came into the pub.

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Hermione's time travelled just as fast as Ginny's. She too was busy working, but unlike Ginny, Hermione did something she loved. Research. She and Severus worked every waken moment on the clone project and they were making progress. It was only at night that she felt the angst about helping Voldemort. But, as Severus said, a scientist could never know what his or her work would do for the world. Or did she think Nicolas Flamel knew his stone would become the reason for an insane treasure hunt?

But she still felt bad. If they found a way to make a perfect clone, Voldemort wouldn't use it to hand out treats to puppies. More likely, he would kill them and turn them into treats for his snake. Or himself… Severus had indicated that The Dark Lord didn't have normal eating habits. Severus… She still didn't know what to think of him.

He had given her free access to his house, and even if it was dark and gloomy (just like him), she liked it. It wasn't big. On the top floor, there were three bedrooms and one toilet. At ground level, there were a kitchen, a sitting room, a study, a bathroom and a small library to be found. Then, there was the basement. It was where all the science and research took hold, and they spent most of the day down there, only coming upstairs to eat and sleep.

But one morning, in the beginning of February, he did something way out of routine. They were halfway through breakfast when he said: "Let's go out."

Hermione, who was in the middle of reading the latest article about the Muggle-born extermination, looked up rather confused. "What?"

"You look so pale, and it is lovely weather outside. I think we could both use some fresh air."

She stared at him. Was this really the Potions Master? The bat of the dungeons? Talking about lovely weather?

He smirked, reading her thoughts. "You know, the best way to improve our work is to try new things and get new ideas."

"Yes… Well… Okay, why not," she smiled.

"Good, let me grab us two cloaks and we will be off."

He rose quickly and came back only minutes later. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," she drank the last of her tea and he gave her a black cloak. "But what if someone sees me?"

"Ah, well, this house is quite far away from any cities. I used to live in a small neighbourhood before, but I felt sorry for the muggles. Now, I live in this forest."

Yes, she had seen a lot of trees from her window, but she hadn't really thought about it.

"Besides," he said, opening the backdoor for her. "It's much easier to concentrate without all the noise from traffic and people."

She stepped outside and blinked a couple of times, before her eyes got used to the sun. The weather really was lovely. Snow was still covering the trees and the ground, but she could see and hear it melt. And she could smell the spring coming. He led her through a groove and she saw a lake, barely covered with ice. They walked slowly by the lakeside.

"You're right, this really does clear one's mind," she smiled, listening to the sounds of the forest.

"I thought so."

They grew silent. It was funny. They had spent over a month together and she hardly knew anything about him. Sure, they talked, but it was always about the project or what they would eat or not.

"It's funny," she said after about ten minutes. "You can almost forget he exists."

"Yes… but why ruin the day by talking of him?" he sighed.

"Sorry… I was just… Well, let's talk about you for a change."

"Me?"

"Yes, what's your favourite colour?"

"I don't like colours…"

"Should have known that one."

He smirked. "Why the sudden interest in my favourite things?"

"Well… I don't know anything about you… other then, you like to torture your students and are loyal to the few you love…"

"What? I haven't…."

"It's obvious, you can't forget Lily," she smiled at him. "You said it yourself; you are only doing this, so you can kill the Dark Lord in the end."

"Well… but that doesn't make me…"

"But it does. If I ever get out of this mess, I hope I'll find a man as loyal, brave and clever as you."

He stared at her and she felt herself blush. "I-I didn't mean…"

"I understand… it's not like you are in love with me or anything."

Did he sound bitter? She could have sworn, he sounded bitter. "I… I just mean that I respect you, Severus…" she tried.

"Don't bother, Hermione," he said in a tired voice. "I don't care."

They continued their walk around the lake, but somehow the sun didn't seem to shine so bright anymore.

"Do you know…" she stopped.

"Do I know what?"

"Nothing…"

"I can see it's something."

"I just… Do you know if anyone survived?"

He looked at her. "Do you really want to know?"

"Well, yes, they are my friends. I want to know if they are still alive."

"And then what? Even if your friends survived, you are not able to help them or contact them in any way. All you will do is worry about them."

"But…"

"It doesn't matter if your friends survived, they should be dead to you."

She broke into a furious rant. "So that's it?! You are just keeping me here, because you can't do this on your own. And you don't want me to be thinking of anyone else! You are just as manipulative a bastard like all the other Death Eaters…"

He had looked quite horrified at her outburst, but now, he grabbed her shoulders. "Don't you dear use that voice with me; you have no idea who you are playing with, girl!"

She squeaked when his nails dug into her shoulders, but his face was a terrifying mask of anger and he didn't care about her discomfort.

"I'm putting my life at risk by keeping you alive, and I don't want you to do anything reckless just because you find out that there is another world outside my walls."

Tears started to run down her cheeks and he let go of her. She turned around and ran back to the house.

He didn't call her back. He knew, as well as she did, that she didn't have anywhere else to go. That brought up more tears.

Sorry it took so long! I had a lot to do in school this week. But now I have one week holiday! Wippi!

Anyway, still looking for a beta if anyone is interested? Hope you like the story, it will be better... and with some smut. Probably in the next chapter!!

Have a nice day