Chapter Ten

Surreptitious Secrets

A/N: This might be my last chappie for a couple weeks I have these really important tests starting on the second and their up till the sixteenth so….wish me luck so that I can get back to writing after the exams! And I promise that I'll try to put up a chap on the sixteenth. A huge 'thank you' goes out to my reviewer's who's reviews keep the plot bunnies coming…;D And just in case anybody is reading but not reviewing, plz review it'll only take a second come on, pretty plz even if you don't like it critique's are just as important as encouragement. Plz! Okay then I suppose I've groveled enough for one chap. Enjoy!

Ginny apparated into her room flicking a Colloportus at the door before throwing her wand down beside her and sinking down to the thick woolen carpet. She pulled up her knees and buried her face in them.

"What do you want Malfoy?" she asked not bothering to raise her head, she'd seen the gleam of his immaculately groomed pale blonde hair when she threw the spell on her door, that was why she hadn't bothered to ward it against intruder's, just locked it.

"Harry was found a little over an hour ago he was in your apartment, oddly enough, I thought you might want to know that, before you ran into him there."

Ginny looked away from him at the veiled contempt in his voice. A sudden upsurge of guilt overcoming her wretchedness."There's something you should probably know."

Draco looked down at the slight form, amusement and curiosity filling his ashen eyes.

"Let's cut to the chase shall we?" proposed Ginny who was fidgeting under his watchful gaze.

Draco merely raised an eyebrow in a way that obviously meant if you must.

Ginny took a deep breath, "You showed me the destination of a pocket of dark matter. I don't know why, and I figured that you'd probably …I dunno…grunt at me if I asked you so…"

"No I wouldn't" came the immediate reply.

"I beg your pardon?" she asked.

"Malfoy's don't grunt."

Amazing, he actually sounds offended, she thought, "Right, anyway I thought about it and the only thing I can conclude is that you some how found out about the little fiasco in my kitchen the day after my engagement, and you felt guilty for using it to um …hurt me so you left me with one of your secrets so that I could use it against you and we could be even and you didn't have to feel like you owed me something."

"You think entirely too much." he said waving his wand and materializing a tray of tea and pastries.

"Whatever, the point is," she shook her head to his offer of a cup of tea, "I know one of your secrets and you probably er… shared it with me out of some twisted good will gesture but the thing is I wasn't really necessary cause you don't know any of my secrets." she finished, clumsily her speech rushed.

Any man who had been trained even a little less would have choked on the scalding sip of tea he now took. A look of utmost repugnance masking his features he motioned for her to go on.

"Well you see that scene in my er… kitchen was um kinda a set up Harry knew Cho was a death eater she kept trying to get close to him and the Order wanted him to take advantage of that, but he was going with me for the past years so it would be kinda weird if he broke it of so sudden and all so we ended up cooking this elaborate plan where Harry cheats on me the day after he proposes and I get all pissy…and break up with him. "

An uncomfortable silence settled in between the two.

Malfoy finally broke the silence with his drawling,"That would explain why your family continues to treat him like a prodigal son…"

"Well yeah they do, do that don't they?" she smiled indulgently. She could feel him prodding her mind, quietly she acquiesced.

"But," he began as mystification set in once he saw she was indeed telling him the truth,"I was telling you what I saw in your mind. How?"

Ginny smiled a little at his confusion. "You see nobody but me, Harry and Minerva knew about this for safety reasons you understand," she continued at his nod, "But we knew we couldn't use the reasoning we gave Cho to anybody in the Order they'd all murder Harry. Especially my brother's so to avoid that we decided not to give a reason at all since we couldn't give them the reason or another one incase we had a spy amongst us. A few days in Hermione came to visit me at the training centre Hermione tried to use Legelimins on me and the Order realized they needed to do something."

"You modified your memory?"

"Not exactly. They created another memory one everybody sees the first time the use Legilimins on me. In fact Minerva even adapted it so that it showed what I felt at that exact moment. Nobody other than Hermione ever used Legilimins on me, so nobody else knew, thats why I freaked when you described it with such graphic detail, I must have been so overwrought that I didn't even notice you enter my mind."

"So Potter's still the wonder boy then?"

"Sorta I guess, he's still Harry not secretly an evil twisted protégée for the Dark lord or any thing."

"So you lied." Draco drawled.

"What?!"

"When you said Harry wasn't your boyfriend the first day you were informed," he clarified, "You lied."

"I did no such thing!"

"You said very clearly that there was a you and a Harry but no you & Harry."

Ginny smiled wryly, "Trust me there is most definitely no me and Harry."

Draco stared quietly at her.

"You said it was planned?" Draco asked. And then continued at Ginny's nod. "Then what feelings?"

Ginny swallowed audibly, refusing to meet his questioning gaze.

"They tricked you didn't they?" Draco asked, her averted gaze confirming the theory that popped into his mind, " When did you find out that it was planned?"

Ginny ignored the question, and instead folded her hands neatly in her lap.

"When?" he pressed.

Brown eyes blazed with rage, which oddly wasn't directed at him. "The day I entered the Elite Order."

Draco shut up, feeling the rage she was feeling for her. Instead he changed the topic.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked vanishing the tea-tray with another flick of his wand.

"Why did you show me your memory?" asked Ginny curiosity overcoming her reluctance to ask him.

"You seem to already have a theory so why ask?"

"Fine." she retorted annoyed. "Then you can make your own theory and don't ask." she snapped rising from her spot on the ground to draw herself up to her full length. Not that it was much use when he just mimicked her move and towered over her.

"Temporary insanity." He said suddenly.

"I beg your pardon?" she asked sure she'd misunderstood.

"Don't beg Weasley it's unbecoming." he said his voice cool and aloof.

But Ginny wasn't listening, a sudden thought had just invaded her mind.

"Malfoy do you really want to know why I told you?" she asked her mind working on fast forward.

Draco knew that look and tone much to well to appreciate it, it was the come-on-I'll-make-a deal-with-you -I-know-something-you-don't-know the kind he himself had perfected, "What exactly is it you want, Weasley?"

Ginny smiled, maybe, just maybe . . . .

"Hand me the beetle wings would you Hermione…"

Hermione obeyed quietly appreciative of the amiable silence they shared while working on the various potions.

Her bushy hair tied back in a barely tame ponytail she continued to flip through the potions book open on the counter.

"Do you have any new information?" she asked not looking up from the blood clotting potion she was studying.

Silence.

Hermione looked up to a grim faced man his own ebony hair pushed of his long face.

He continued to finely chop the beetle wings. Silently.

"What is it?" demanded Hermione her curiosity now fully aroused.

Severus continued to frown and began chopping the wings even faster, making his hand look like a flurry of pale peach and black before Hermione's amateur eye.

A splash of crimson-red appeared in the whirlwind of hands. Hermione gasped. Severus winced.

He'd put a healing charm on it even before she grabbed his hand.

She watched the skin pucker together and heal itself leaving the faintest of marks in the centre of his palm. She traced it carefully with one finger as he had done with the cut on her neck the day he'd rescued her and her parents from Draco's dungeons.

"It seems we have another mark." she offered light heartedly. Her hands still cupping his palm.

His gaze traced the slight curve of her face longingly. She was young, very young. And she deserved so much more than practicing potions in a dingy shack. He remembered the time he'd told her that, a ghost of a smile gracing his haunted face.

We're in the middle of a war Severus, nobody is young anymore.

He'd scowled his trademark scowl and contradicted her then. Argued. Now he was filled with an unusual tenderness.

He looked into her eyes, his obsidian gaze unwavering.

It was as if he was looking inside her into her very soul. She blinked away her conscience beating down her instinctive reaction.

He smiled, softly.

Painfully.

For her.

For himself.

And for what simply couldn't be.

He gently extracted his hand from hers and turned back to the potion. Deliberately he ignored her comment and instead latched onto her first question. "He called me last night. He had an important immortality strategy to discuss."

Hermione played along, unreasonably hurt that he too had managed to control his feelings. Again. "What did he say?"

"He believes it's time to proceed with his plan to obtain a source."

"He still wants Ginny's first born doesn't he?" she summarized.

Long finger's ran through silky black hair."He wants much more."

Hermione waited for him to continue.

"The child…the source is to be not only Virginia's first born but also a complete pure-blood. The only blood line that is completely pure other than the Weasley's is the Malfoy's."

Brown eyes rounded comically,"Oh no!"

"I however was able to sway the Dark Lord slightly in favor of Draco."

"Don't. You know I hate it when you call him that. He's nothing but a crazed snake-eyed git."

Severus nearly grinned at the unconcealed contempt in her voice. She was practically righteous. "You know that I can't call him anything else risks of a slip up are much to …precarious. I do however prefer your choice of…er title shall we say, Miss Granger."

"Don't get cute with me Severus."

"Why, that sounds remarkably like a threat." He teased in a manner so unlike his own that it coaxed a reluctant smile out of Hermione.

"Perhaps it is." she said mysteriously. The light banter making her forget, momentarily where they were and why.

"And what," he asked his eyes on her own sparkling one's, "May I ask are you threatening me with?"

" ……..another…Title as you call it."

A charcoal black brow arched itself.

"Imagine," she said her voice grave,"Alastor's reaction, if I were to start to publicly address you as ….Sevvie."

The lilac colored potion Severus was lightly stirring splashed on his black robes, in reaction to his violent jerk.

"You will do no such thing!" he commanded once he had regained his ability to speak.

Hermione grinned. "How much would you like to bet on that?"

He groaned. "Not much." he admitted grudgingly.

"Good. Now about Draco did you tell him?"

"No. The Dark lord intends to tell him tonight."

"What exactly does he intend to say?"

"That he, the Dark Lord, is going to reward him for being such a faithful follower, he rewards those who are loyal to him, and he wants him to know that."

"Draco will never agree. Not after Blaise and Pansy he'll kill Voldemort himself before he gives him his child."

"For Virginia's sake we'd best hope he does because Voldemort wants a pure blood if not Draco, then his father will be put in his role."

"Oh Circe! Severus you'll talk to him won't you…" she pleaded.

"If I tell him he won't even attend the call and that will blow his cover."

Hermione hugged herself tightly and prayed,"Merlin, let them find a way."

Bill listened intently, his face contorted in rage, as his wife of two years calmly relayed what she'd been told of the last meeting when she met with Minerva last night in France.

"They can't make Ginny do this," He burst out finally,"Giving birth to the child who is to be Voldemort's source?! She's barely more than a child herself! And the want her to kill it after Voldemort gains it's power….goodness why that's the most horrible plan that I've heard! Do mother or father know about this," he demanded.

Fleur put a placating hand on his arm which he shrugged away roughly. Fleur just slid the hand over his forearm instead. "Papa knows he said it 'vould perhaps be best if 've break it to mama after zi entire family 'ees told. She 'vill need your strength…but Ginny 'vill need it more."

"She'll get it too, in the face of whoever's bloody idea this was!"

"You intend to kill zi person in whose hands lies zi only hope of zi 'vorld?" She asked.

"Damn straight I …who?"

Fleur smiled grimly,"I 'vas referring Harry Potter, Ronald's friend…"

Icy blue eyes met astonished honey eyes.