The next three days were horrendous. Draco was constantly looking around as if expecting Charlie to jump out on him again. His mind had been working overtime since the encounter trying to work out how Charlie had come so close to the truth.
It was impossible. Nobody could know what had happened that day. There had been nobody other than himself in that flat. How could Charlie have found any other information? What was Draco missing?
It had taken him two days to realise what his mistake had been. Ginny's flat had been in a muggle building. There were people there that day other than him. Of course they hadn't understood what had happened. He had heard a lot of rumours among the muggles that he and Ginny had had a massive fight and he had smashed up the flat.
But of course Ginny had left through the front door of the building. She had walked out like any other muggle would. One of her neighbours had seen her. Nobody had ever thought to speak to them. That was why he hadn't bothered with memory charms. But Charlie had been snooping.
Maybe it had started because of the simple problem of the clothes. If Draco had been thinking he could have transfigured some of the damage into clothes. But his mind had been on his loss. It had never crossed his mind that the family wouldn't believe him. But Charlie had seen the loop hole. He had gone to the muggles.
Draco had traced the leak back to the woman who had lived opposite, Heidi Ashmore. The O.A.P had been on her way back from the shops and had passed Ginny on the stairs with her suitcase. She hadn't thought anything of it. She heard about the fight between the pair of them and assumed Ginny had left him. Of course when Charlie had gone round she had told him that.
Draco cursed himself for allowing such a slip up. But it was too late to cover it up now. He was sure that Charlie would have gone to other people so that if a memory charm was placed on him it wouldn't make a difference. This indeed turned out to be true.
On the third night since the meeting a knock sounded on his door. Draco groaned as he looked at the clock. He was due to meet with Voldemort and his inner circle of Death Eaters in less than an hour. All he needed was to have guests now. He wouldn't be able to flog them off with a fake reason to leave early.
But as the knocking continued he opened and looked once more into the blue eyes of Charlie Weasley. This time he was stood there with another man. Draco almost groaned. Bill's own blue eyes were narrowed and he knew the look of malice in them was directed towards him.
"You'd better come in."
Draco let them enter. This time Charlie didn't head towards the study. He watched as the brothers went into the door next to it. It led to a sitting room opposite a sizzling fireplace. It had become one of Draco's favourite rooms in the entire house.
"Are you ready to tell us the truth now?"
Charlie dropped onto the sofa and Bill took the seat next to him. As Draco lowered himself into the armchair he studied the two brothers. They looked so much like each other. Both red heads with blue eyes and freckles. But while Charlie had burns on his neck Bill had a scar down the side of his face. Draco remembered the night that that had happened. The night he had fled Hogwarts after Dumbledore's death.
So many people had died in this war. And that wasn't even counting the first part that took place before his own birth. War had been part of the wizarding world for so long that most people had forgotten what living in peace was like. Draco realised pretty much for the first time that he had only ever known conflict.
"Heidi Ashmore?"
Draco's question was for Charlie. The two understood what it meant and the redhead simply nodded. Draco took a deep breath and looked at the two men carefully. Then closing his eyes he spoke to them.
"It all starts with the fact that I'm a Death Eater."
"What?"
The two brothers spoke as one. But Draco felt no need to repeat or explain.
"Ginny was a tool so that I could get close to the Order –"
"I'll kill you."
Bill's voice was a growl that resembled that of a wolf. But Draco once more continued.
"But I made a mistake. I fell in love with her. So I started to feed false information to Voldemort. But it wasn't enough for me. I wanted to be the man that Ginny loved. And I knew that the only way I could do that was if I stopped being a Death Eater. But that isn't easy."
He looked at the two men.
"Arresting Lestrange was my way out. Only it opened the way to attack. Suddenly I was a target and so was Ginny. I'd decided that we needed to go into hiding before the attacks became more dangerous. And so I went to the flat… and well you remember."
"But she was alive. The muggle told me."
Draco nodded at Charlie. But his eyes went to Bill. Bill had been there that day he had seen the state of the place.
"She was under one of the doors. That saved her life. They had gone there that day to kill her. That door had kept her out of sight and they had left. When I got there she was just coming round. She looked terrible. Her hair was knotted with blood and I knew that I had to protect her. I knew that they would never stop hunting her while I'm alive because she's my weakness. She's the thing that made me want to leave."
"So you made her leave. Then you called us there and watched as we searched. I thought that I was going to find her body at any moment. I have never felt like that before."
Bill was still growling. But Draco didn't respond. Should he tell them about the baby? He couldn't. It was his own private conflict. It was the thing that drove him. He needed to keep that buried because if they knew about that then they would never forgive.
"I needed to know that she would be safe. The muggle world would keep her away from Voldemort."
"But that wouldn't stop him Malfoy!"
Charlie had never called him Malfoy before and it sounded strange.
"I went back to him. I promised to serve him completely if he let Ginny live. I promised him that she would never return to the wizarding world and that it was all I could do for her."
"You're still a Death Eater."
Bill's wand was at his neck.
"I'm a spy for the Order. If you don't believe me ask Moody. I've been passing him information for eight years. Voldemort thinks I'm his man but I'm not. I can never be again because of Ginny."
"HOW DARE YOU!"
Charlie was on his feet but as the grandfather clocked chimed Draco didn't seem to notice.
"I have to go."
As he turned and left his house he saw the look on Bill's face. He understood that the Weasleys would know the truth soon enough. They would never forgive him this. His mind was so caught up on Bill and what would happen he failed to notice the grip on his arm…
Happy Holidays everyone! I hope that you enjoy whatever it is you chose to celebrate at this time of year.
Kris xx
