A/N: This is a fairly short bridge chapter, but it has a couple of important clues about the second half of the story. The next (more emotional) chapter will be along shortly.
It was very late by the time Harry and Ginny finally crept out of the Room of Requirement and snuck back through the corridors towards Gryffindor Tower. Harry was cursing himself for forgetting his Invisibility Cloak; now that his thoughts were so much less muddled, he remembered Dumbledore advising him to keep it on his person at all times from now on. He and Ginny held hands the entire way but didn't utter word, nervous that Peeves or Mrs. Norris or even Snape would discover them out of bed.
One odd thing happened, too. Just outside the door to the Room, Harry and Ginny ducked behind a tapestry that was the quickest shortcut back to the more populated parts of the castle. Just inside the hidden passageway, they found a small pile of first-year textbooks and a plateful of crumbs.
"Looks like Malfoy had someone watching the Room for a while," he muttered, pushing the plate aside with the toe of his trainer. "Probably waiting until we left so he could get in to do . . . well, whatever it is he's been up to." He looked at Ginny. "We need to start keeping a better eye on him, now that all this . . . other mess is better."
She squeezed his hand. "I bet Ron and Hermione and the rest will want to help now, too."
That thought cheered Harry enough to keep him from brooding too much while they walked, although bits and pieces of the afternoon's events filtered in anyway. He tried to tell himself that worrying right now wasn't going to do anyone any good, tried to remind himself that things were so much better than they had been since June. But part of him couldn't ignore the image of Fate, back again, not cackling and yelling this time, but just rubbing its hands together sneakily, knowing that the next shoe was going to drop.
Harry sighed. How very maudlin of him. As if reading his thoughts, Ginny squeezed his hand and then knocked her hip into his.
"Come on, Harry, no more moping. I mean it."
He forced a smile onto his face and looked down at her. "How do you know I was moping?"
Ginny raised her eyebrows. "I've been watching your every move since I was ten, Potter, I know all your moods."
This surprised Harry. "Really? You've been watching me? All that time? I thought . . . well, Hermione told me you'd gotten over all that."
Ginny didn't even blush this time. "Given up on, not gotten over." She shrugged. "Although, I guess I just admitted that I didn't even really give up on you either."
This gave Harry something to think about. What's she implying? Before he could even process her words, they had reached the portrait hole.
The Fat Lady smiled at them. "Any more kissy kissy for me to watch, dearies?"
"No," said Harry firmly, giving the password.
"Fine, then," harrumphed the Fat Lady, swinging the door open. "Leave me here, alone."
Harry rolled his eyes at Ginny and climbed through the door. It was almost 2 a.m. – classes tomorrow were going to be a nightmare – and Harry was looking forward to a nice goodnight snog with Ginny in the empty common room before they both went up to bed.
He was more than surprised to see they were not alone. Ron, Hermione and Neville were all sitting near the fire. Obviously waiting for them.
Harry stumbled to a stop, his brain still half wrapped around thoughts of kissing Ginny goodnight.
What were they doing here? His first assumption was that they had changed their minds about him; decided he was dangerous after all. His second was that somehow, in the short time since the others had left the Room of Requirement, the Horcrux had figured out yet another way to separate them from him. His stomach sunk as he took in their faces. Serious, and sleepy. Then Ron raised his eyebrows.
"How about we agree that neither of you are going to mention anything that you've been doing for the past hour – ever. Okay?"
Harry let out his breath and grinned. "Like I'd want you to know that I've been snogging your sister."
Ron put his fingers in his ears and screwed his eyes shut. "I'm not listening, I'm not listening, I'm not listening," he chanted.
Ginny walked forward and pulled Ron's fingers out of his ears. "Grow up, Ronald. It's not like you haven't made us watch you slobbering all over the place with Lavender all year."
Ron suddenly looked embarrassed. Harry stiffened, waiting for Hermione's reaction. But she seemed kind of . . . smug?
"Well, umm, I, ummm, kind of broke up with Lavender. Earlier."
Harry didn't know what to say to this. Sorry? He wasn't. Why? He really didn't want to know.
Ginny grinned. "About time."
That'll work. "Yeah, Ron. About time."
Ron shrugged. "She didn't like me running off after you with Hermione. I told her there were some things that were more important than snogging and if she couldn't understand that, then maybe we shouldn't go out anymore.
"Wow, Ron." Harry was impressed.
To her credit, Hermione didn't say anything, but Harry didn't think they should dwell on the issue either. Particularly as it was nearly 2 a.m. and he still didn't have any idea why his three friends were still awake.
"Is there a reason you guys are still up?" Harry asked. "Other than waiting to see if Ginny and I missed curfew, of course."
It was Neville who spoke first. "We wanted to make sure everything was okay," he said. "Things were kind of . . . up in the air, when we left. And we wanted to make sure you know that we are going to help you however we can. Luna too."
"No matter what," put in Hermione. "I'm already making a list of places to look for information on Horcruxes, although, now that I think about it, maybe I should just go back to the Room of Requirement." She broke off her musing, looking thoughtful, and pulling out a piece of parchment that already seemed to be covered with notes.
"And that goes for whatever other help you need, too," said Ron. He looked sheepish for a moment. "I . . . I can't believe I didn't believe you when you thought there was something suspicious about Draco. I mean, when has that Slytherin git ever done anything on the up and up? If you think he's a Death Eater, I say we try to catch him before he does something really awful."
Harry stood there in shock, barely even feeling the warm pressure of Ginny's hand as she pressed it into his. He would never have guessed that his friends would be so . . . supportive, or normal so quickly. He desperately hoped it was not another trick, not another way for the Horcrux to get him to let his guard down before snatching it all away, like it had when it started affecting Ginny. He wouldn't allow himself to believe that, he decided. These were this closest friends, and having them here was the best way to fight the evil – he was sure of it. And that none of them had shied away from him, even knowing what he was, well, that was nearly priceless.
He just wished he knew how to tell them how much it meant.
"I . . . I really appreciate that," he finally stammered. "Having all of you helping me, well, it's almost more important than actually figuring out what I'm going to do about it – almost," he added, as he heard Hermione huff. Can't deprive her the chance to research. He yawned enormously. The day seemed to have lasted a hundred hours, and suddenly he could barely keep his eyes open.
"Why don't we figure out a time to all talk, tomorrow," he said.
"Maybe we can use our DA Galleons," said Neville excitedly, "to fix a time to meet."
Harry couldn't help but grin at his friend's enthusiasm for a task that could end up another bloodbath.
"Great idea, Neville," he approved. "But now I really have to go to sleep, or Snape'll probably try to drown me in my cauldron tomorrow."
Neville disappeared up the stairs immediately, and Harry rather hoped that Ron and Hermione would follow suit so that he could give Ginny a proper goodnight kiss, but both of them seemed strangely reluctant to leave. Ginny had a strange expression on her face as she watched them, half calculating, half amused. Hermione was gathering her things together very slowly, and Ron was dawdling around helping her, giving Harry and Ginny glances out of the corner of his eye.
Finally Ginny grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him to her; Harry would never have had the courage to make the first move to stand that close to her – she was practically wrapped around him – with Ron nearby. But Ron didn't seem to notice, even when Ginny rose up on her toes and pressed her lips to Harry's. After a moment, he forgot about their audience and merely concentrated on kissing her back.
After another moment, he wondered vaguely if he was really as tired as he thought he was, or if, perhaps, there was time to satisfy the sudden desire that ripped through him, causing himself to thrust almost involuntarily against Ginny. With a sigh and an enormous amount of effort, he pulled himself away and gave her a final kiss on her forehead. "Wait for me for breakfast?" he asked her.
Ginny's face was flushed from their goodnight kiss, and her breathless answer almost made Harry grab her again. "Of course."
Only after they pulled apart did Harry glance over to see Ron's reaction to the display. He almost fell over with shock when he realized that Ron was completely oblivious to what Harry and Ginny had been doing.
He was leaning over the desk where Hermione still had a large parchment spread out, looking at it seriously with her, his hand resting – unconsciously or not, Harry couldn't tell – on her arm.
Harry bit back a dozen comments and merely raised his eyebrows at Ginny before kissing her lightly once more and heading up to bed.
The next day was both wonderful and terrible. Wonderful because Harry sat with Ron and Hermione and Ginny and Neville at breakfast (and Luna even strolled over to warn them against eating any of the marmalade, which she contended was infested with Nargles). He enjoyed watching Parvati's eyes bug out as he kissed Ginny at the table, and was thrilled (only probably only half as much as Hermione), that Lavender sat far away and didn't look at any of them. Harry was not particularly surprised when another terrified first year found him to deliver a note setting his next meeting with Dumbledore for Wednesday evening. But this time, before sending it back, he scrawled a note for the Headmaster at the bottom:
I'm bringing everyone else with me.
Harry didn't really care if Dumbledore minded sharing the rest of his knowledge with Harry's friends; they deserved to know, and, more than that, Harry knew he needed their help.
The day was terrible because, not only was Harry absolutely exhausted, but attending his classes for the first time without the haze of the Horcrux clouding him was overwhelming. Not only was Harry behind in his classes, but there seemed to be an air of unease permeating the school. He couldn't tell if it was his imagination or whether many of the students really were shying away from him. And the fact that Harry had no idea if it had been like this all year was even more upsetting.
And Snape! Harry couldn't believe he hadn't been bothered by it before – the man was teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts! In class, Ron muttered that if Snape was such an expert, why hadn't he figured out that Harry was possessed? Harry didn't answer; he was too busy watching Draco, who seemed nervous and even more pale than usual. Whatever it was he was trying to do in the Room of Requirement didn't seem to be going very well.
After class, as planned, Harry and Ron followed Malfoy as he headed again towards the Room of Requirement. Several times, they thought Malfoy had almost seen them, and Harry realized ruefully that he and Ron were a bit out of practice in sneaking around together. During several whispered conversations between – and during – class that day they had debated what exactly to do. Ron was all for trying to grab Malfoy as the door appeared and forcing their way into the Room with him. Harry wasn't sure they could time it right and worried they might give too much away if Malfoy saw them before the Room transformed. He wanted to work more on trying to get the door opened while Malfoy was already inside. They finally agreed to play it by ear when they got close.
Apparently, their sneaking around was not quiet enough, though. As they rounded the last corner before the one leading to the blank bit of wall where the door would appear, there was Malfoy, leaning against a suit of armor, clearly waiting for them.
"Awww, how sweet, Potty and the Weasel, together again," he drawled with a bored look on his face. "Or are you looking for somewhere private so that Ron can beat the hell out of you for snogging his baby sister?" Harry did bother asking how Malfoy knew about him and Ginny; he could see that, despite his attempts at bravado, the Slytherin was nervous; he fingered the edge of his robes as he watched them, clearly unsure how much they knew.
Harry took a chance. "Sod off, Malfoy. We know what's going on. How can you really think that you're powerful enough to be a Death Eater? Do you really think Voldemort sees you as a replacement for your father? Or merely a punishment for his sins?"
His words hit the mark, Harry could tell. Malfoy paled even more, his eyes darting from side to side as if wondering where Crabbe and Goyle had gone. But Harry and Ron knew they were not around; they'd seen them on the Map, heading for the Slytherin Common Room.
"The Dark Lord knows what he's doing," said Malfoy, and Harry could see how hard he worked to force a smirk back onto his face. "And it's people like you and the blood traitor Weasels and the Mudbloods who are a going to be punished." He stopped, a slow smile spreading across his face. "Of course, maybe you want to try to figure out what's going on first?" He backed away towards the wall where the door to the RoR usually appeared and waved at it.
"I'll make a deal with you, Potter. I'll show you exactly what I'm doing in the Room, if you give me that bottle of Felix Felicis you won."
"And how do we know you won't make something up?" Ron broke in harshly.
"The Room won't lie," retorted Draco. "If I ask it to show you the room I've been working in, it will." He smirked. "Don't you want to know?" He paused. "Of course, we'll have to make an Unbreakable Vow that you won't go blabbing to Dumbledore or any of the other professors. they'll know soon enough, anyway."
Harry paused. "You'd have to agree to something too, then," he said slowly. "Like we can tell our friends. And try to stop you."
Draco paused, then nodded jerkily. "As if you could stop me," he sneered, and Harry knew he was frightened. He'd probably made the offer half in jest, not expecting Harry to accept it and now he couldn't back down. Next to him, Ron grabbed his arm. "Are you sure Harry? That Felix stuff could be really useful."
"So's learning what Malfoy is up to," whispered Harry back. "And anyway, I have a plan."
"To get around the Vow?" Ron asked sharply. "Don't even think about it. If you break it, you die."
"Not that . . ." Harry began, but Malfoy interrupted.
"Are we going to do this or what?"
Harry looked at him. "Yeah. We're going to do this." He shrugged at Ron. He'd tell him later that he was planning on giving Malfoy only half the potion in the bottle, and keeping the rest for himself. That wouldn't violate the Vow.
Harry had never seen one performed before. Malfoy explained what to do and he and Harry knelt on the floor, grasping arms. Harry couldn't help but nudge the sleeve of Draco's left arm a bit, and he huffed in satisfaction when the other boy jumped and pulled his arm back, pulling the sleeve farther down his arm, before taking Harry's hands again.
Ron stood over them with his wand. "Draco Malfoy, do you make an Unbreakable Vow that you will reveal to Harry Potter everything that you have been working on for Voldemort in the Room of Requirement?"
Draco jumped at the sound of the name, but swallowed harshly before nodding and saying, "I do."
A shining green rope flew out of the end of Ron's wand and wrapped around the clasped hands.
Ron's voice trembled a bit as he asked the next question. "Harry P-p-potter, do you make an Unbreakable Vow that you will not reveal to anyone other than a current student at Hogwarts what you learn from Malfoy in the Room of Requirement?"
Harry opened his mouth to answer, watching the wand quivering in Ron's hand. "I . . ." he began. Suddenly, Draco screamed in pain and grabbed his arm and the green rope that had been shining around him and Harry blew apart and disappeared. Ron was thrown backwards against the wall from the force of the spell dissipating and Harry heard a roaring in his ears and his head that pushed him back to the Ministry of Magic again. He put his hands on his head, trying to dispel the images assaulting him, only vaguely aware of Draco and Ron yelling at each other above him.
Think of something else . . . Ginny. Think of Ginny. Just her name helped spread a new warmth through him and he was able to relax and sit up. Just in time, apparently, because Ron and Draco were facing each other, wands out, both looking furious.
"What the hell did you do, Weasley? You could have killed both of us!"
"I didn't do anything!" screamed Ron. "It's your Dark Mark. It kept me from finishing the Vow."
"Bullshit," said Draco. "People make Unbreakable Vows with the Dark Mark all the time. It's part of the . . ." His voice broke off and he looked terrified to realize he had just admitted.
"Forget it," said Harry heavily. He knew exactly what had prevented him from making the Vow. He just didn't want to clue Ron into what was going on until they could get away from Malfoy and find Hermione and Ginny and the others. "It was probably a bad idea anyway." He forced himself to sound as nonchalant as possible.
"Guess you're going to have to finish your precious project for your Lord without any help," he said, noting with satisfaction that Draco's face paled at the thought that he was not going to be getting the good luck potion after all.
"This isn't over," he muttered to them, lifting his wand threateningly.
"Potter, Weasley! What are you doing here, so far from the Gryffindor Common Room?" Professor Snape whirled towards them, robe flapping around him, looking furious.
"We were just talking with Draco," said Ron. "Who happens to be even farther from the Slytherin Common Room," he added.
"That is none of your business. Ten points from Gryffindor for your cheek. Now get out of here before I make it twenty."
Snape wasn't even paying much attention to Ron and Harry, so focused was he on Malfoy. He was staring into his face with an expression Harry recognized as Snape attempting Legilimency. Draco was staring back just as intently; apparently he was better at Occlumency than Harry had ever been. Snape broke his gaze. "Auntie Bella's been teaching you, apparently. Don't keep me out, Draco. I . . . " he looked up then, and saw Ron and Harry still standing there.
"Get out!" he roared, and shot something at them out of his wand. Suddenly it was as if a brick wall was bearing down on them, pushing them down the corridor. Harry and Ron couldn't help but retreat, and as they rounded the corner they heard Snape say, "My office. Now. You have a lot to answer for, Draco."