Chapter 17

It was nearly noon when the youngest Weasley got around to unpacking her stuff. Upon arriving at her Aunt Muriel's (and escaping her nagging questions), she caught a few hours of extra sleep before getting up to eat some breakfast. At that time, she and her mother had been the only guests in the house, but as she reached into her trunk to pull out a few shirts, the sound of the floorboards squeaking behind her alerted her of someone else's presence.

"Hey, what's this?" a voice asked as its owner moved to grab a piece of parchment from where it was sitting on her bed. She could recognize the voice as belonging to one of the twins, but just from listening, she couldn't tell which one. Of course, that was the last of her priorities when she realized exactly what he had picked up.

Whirling around, she demanded, "Fred! Give it back!" Just as her hand was about to close around the paper, George took hold of it and moved it out of reach with a broad grin.

"Is this another one from that boy?" An enlighten look appeared on his twin's face.

"Oh yeah! That one who's letters always make her laugh so much." Their entertainment was halted for a moment when Ginny pulled her wand from her pocket.

"Give it back," she repeated dangerously, narrowing her eyes as her face glowed a light pink from both embarrassment and anger.

George tutted as he pushed her arm down, directing her wand away from them in the process. "No magic outside of school, Gin," he admonished with amusement.

"Not until you're of age anyway," Fred added casually as the letter exchanged hands once more and he prepared to open it. "Now, let's see what's in here..." The other twin peered over his shoulder, only to frown when the parchment was revealed to be blank.

"A security charm?"

Fred raised an eyebrow in Ginny's direction, his voice taking on a slightly more serious tone. "Just what's he writing in these letters?" But without waiting for an answer, his demeanor changed to one of mischievous plotting as he turned to his brother. "We can always figure that out though, can't we?"
"Right you are," he chimed in response before they simultaneously turned to leave. With a huff, Ginny started after them.

"Fred! George! If you don't give that back-" The words died on her tongue when she made it into the hall just in time to see a petite brunette girl effortlessly pluck the letter from Fred's grasp, causing the older boy to stop in alarm.

"Oi! Ris, you're supposed to be on our side!" he exclaimed, but the girl hid the letter behind her back as he reached for it and sent him an exasperated look.

"Give her a break, okay?" Her lips curved downward as she continued unhappily, "Or do I need to remind you what happened when you read my letter from Terry?"
George smiled as he came up beside his brother. "What? Embarrassed that he loves you?" The girl, who Ginny knew as Sarisa Esteed, immediately turned a rosy shade as she glanced away in a flustered manner.

"N-no, that's not it at all..." she argued before a hint of annoyance passed over her features. "And it's none of your business anyway." The twins chortled at her awkward behavior as they gave up on acquiring Ginny's letter and walked away, no doubt planning to bring up the subject a little later. Still embarrassed, Sarisa handed the letter to the younger girl, murmuring, "Honestly, they have no respect for people's privacy..."

Ginny accepted the parchment with a grateful smile. "Thanks." After tucking it away safely in her pocket, she voiced the question that had been on her mind for the past few minutes. "Now, what are you doing here? I thought you were in hiding."

"I still am," she explained with a slight frown. "I'd been hiding out at the twins' shop before this whole fiasco happened. So, it was either here or at Shell Cottage with Dean and Luna-"

"Wait," the red-head smiled, "Dean and Luna are there? They're all right?"

Sarisa returned the expression brightly. "Yup, they're with Harry and the others. Didn't anyone tell you?"

"No," Ginny grumbled. Just one more thing to be added to the list of things that the Order wasn't telling her.

As if sensing her thoughts, the other girl sighed. "Well, you're not the only one they've been keeping in the dark. This is the first time I've heard about anything."
"I'd tell you what I know about what's going on, but that's not much."

"That's all right. Maybe I can find something out from Fred or George. I told them I'd help with something anyway." She turned to leave, Ginny's eyes following her suspiciously.

"Are you three up to something?" she wondered, though she knew her assumption was probably correct.

The brunette glanced over her shoulder before smiling innocently. "What makes you think that?" Ginny laughed as the girl disappeared around the bend in the hallway, knowing that whatever they were up to would surely displease Aunt Muriel. But then again, most things did.

Blaise looked up from the text in front of him as the door to his room slowly swung open, revealing his mother standing in the doorway with a indifferent expression on her face. "Blaise, I would like you to stay up here for the time being. We have important guests and I can't risk you embarrassing me."

He refrained from rolling his eyes. It wasn't as if he wanted to leave his room in the first place — at least, not when her newest conquest was visiting. "Okay, mum," he replied before returning to his homework. She gazed at him curiously, but simply shook her head after a brief moment and closed the door as she left. The sound of voices from downstairs drew his attention a few minutes later and, wondering what could have been so important that his mother didn't want him down there, he rose from his desk chair to crack the door open. A deep voice reverberated up the stairs that he immediately identified as Mulciber's, the man who had been frequenting their house as of late.

"What brings you here, Avery?"

While the name rang a bell in his memory, Blaise couldn't exactly remember where he'd heard it until the man responded. "A few items that the Dark Lord sent us to retrieve." That was it; he was a Death Eater that Draco had mentioned a few times. "What about you?"

"Just visiting my lovely woman," Mulciber remarked, earning an airy laugh from Mrs. Zabini. Blaise grimaced in disgust.

Avery also seemed to find amusement in it, as his broken, wheezy snicker was heard not even a second later. "We'll be quick then. You, boy, go get the stuff we were sent for."

"The two packages are upstairs. The last room on the left," his mother chimed in. Footsteps were heard on the wooden stairs and Blaise hastily shut the door before returning to his seat. To his surprise, the door reopened.

"I thought I'd find you here..." a voice drawled. This time, he did roll his eyes as he shifted in his chair.

"It's my room. Where else would I–" He paused. "What the hell happened to you?" The blonde in the doorway scowled as he unconsciously rubbed the marred skin above his eye. "Potter?"

"So you've heard..." Draco grumbled as he waltzed over and took a seat on the large trunk at the end of Blaise's bed.

"Yup." He leaned back in his chair lazily. "But they all escaped, huh? Even Weasley?"

From his tone, or lack there of, Draco couldn't tell what he was implying, but either way he diverted his gaze to the floor. "Yeah, they did." When his friend didn't say anything, he glanced up, continuing. "Have you heard from-?"
"Gin?" Blaise picked up a slip of paper that was sitting on his desk and handed it to the boy across from him. "This is the last thing I got from her. As you can see, she's gone into hiding, so I'm sure she's fine." Draco exhaled tiredly, tearing his eyes away from her scrawled signature to return it to Blaise. "Why? Have you heard anything?"

"No, and I'm glad I haven't," he mumbled. "It would just mean they know where she is."

"Touché," he agreed with a slight chuckle before his voice became more serious. "What about you? How've you been?"

"I've been worse," Draco answered with practiced casualness. The last thing he wanted was for people to worry about him, though he knew Blaise wouldn't pry if he didn't want to talk about it. "The Dark Lord obviously isn't happy that Potter got away, but he hasn't said anything to me." As he had assumed, Blaise picked up on the cue and smiled wistfully, rising from his seat before clapping him on the shoulder.

"Hang in there, mate. It won't be long till we had back to Hogwarts."

Draco also stood, though he did so with a sigh. "Everything'll just go back to the way it was before... If she even steps foot on the train, she's as good as captured."

"Don't be like that," Blaise retorted sternly. "There's always a chance-"

"That she'll try to come back despite the risk?" He snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure that'll happen."

"...I think you under-estimate how much she cares about you and everyone else she knows," he commented thoughtfully after a moment before meeting Draco's eyes. "In case you haven't noticed from previous years, I'm pretty damn sure she'd go through hell and back for her friends."

Blaise had a point; he was aware of her undying devotion to her friends, but he also figured that the decision wasn't hers to make. "They wouldn't let her. You know that."

The other boy shrugged, opening his mouth to reply but a gruff shout from downstairs cut him off. "Kid! What's takin' you so long?"

Draco growled under his breath. "I just had to get stuck with him..." he muttered, turning towards the door. Blaise followed him into the hallway.

"So, what are you picking up?"

"You'd know better than I do."

Blaise laughed softly at his sharp response. "At least this is an easy job. I wasn't expecting to see you over the hols."

"Me neither. I don't think my father realized where he was sending me." He hadn't known either before arriving. If anything, luck was just on his side that day.

"Well, at least I know you're not off causing trouble," Blaise quipped. While he had intended it to be funny, they both realized there was some seriousness in the statement, but Draco's lips quirked nonetheless.

"You're more of a trouble-maker than I am."

Blaise opened his mouth to argue, but after a second thought, he grinned. "Yeah... I suppose you're right."

"Ginevra!" Upon hearing her name, said girl let out a small huff and lifted her head from where she was diligently trying to get gravy out of the carpet. Unfortunately, her head promptly met the bottom of the table with a loud thud but her swear was drowned out by Aunt Muriel's harping from the kitchen. "Ginevra! Where did those two ruffians go? They should have to clean up the mess they made!" During dinner, Fred and George, with help from the seemingly innocent Sarisa, had managed to explode every dish on the table, splattering everything from mashed potatoes to bits of pork across the dining room. (Apparently they had wanted to throw in some fireworks as well, but she had a feeling the most reasonable of the three had put a stop to that.) Of course, the twins had fled and now Ginny and Sarisa were stuck scrubbing the room clean.

"I can't believe they didn't take me with them..." the older of the two pouted as she dumped the sponge she was using in the bucket of water sitting between them. "Those prats..." It was at that point that Mrs. Weasley entered the room with a sigh of exasperation.

"Sarisa, would you go get them?"

"Mm-hmm." She stood up immediately and made a bee-line for the stairs. Before she could ascend them though, Mrs. Weasley spoke up again.

"Oh, and tell them they won't need their wands. They'll be cleaning this by hand."

The girl fought back a laugh, glad that her partners in crime would be getting their just deserts for roping her into their scheme. "Yes, ma'am." Once she had disappeared, Ginny got to her feet as well and tossed the sponge in the bucket.

"I'd better go too."

"And where do you think you're going?" her mum inquired without missing a beat. Ginny turned to face her with the most passive expression she could muster.

"Upstairs to pack," she answered simply, but Mrs. Weasley was quick to stop her.

"No you're not," she stated with pursed lips. "Your father and I told you that you're not going back."

"But mum-" Ginny started to protest, but the look on her mother's face caused her to hesitate.

"No, and that's final."

"But I have to go back," she insisted with nothing but sheer determination as her grip on the banister tightened. "I can't leave Neville by himself. And who'll stand up to the Death Eaters if we don't?" And I want to see Draco... she thought, her hand loosening on the banister as she watched her mother's irritated expression falter slightly. Merlin, who would've thought I'd miss them both so much...

Mrs. Weasley's shoulders slumped wearily. "This is the safest place for you right now, Ginny."

Even though it was a weak excuse, she uttered, "They won't try anything."

"Have you already forgotten what happened to that poor Lovegood girl?" Mrs. Weasley reminded her. "It's a miracle she's all right!"

"But-"

"Ginevra. Go see what's taking your brothers so long." Realizing that that was the end of their conversation, Ginny let out a huff and made her way up the steps a little louder than need be. When she reached the top, the sound of Sarisa's voice coming from the twins' room told her where she needed to go. "If you don't help, I'll be stuck doing all the work!"

"Hey, you're to blame too," one of the twins replied, while the other continued.

"If you think about it, the entire thing was your doing-"

"After all, you were the one who put the product in the food."

She could just hear the frustration in Sarisa's voice as she fired back with, "Only because you asked me to!"

Ginny came to the doorway just in time to see George point a finger at their friend. "Ah, so you admit to doing it!"

"Brilliant," Fred added with a grin. "Now we don't have to clean." Sarisa let out a heavy sigh.

"You two are horrible..." Simultaneously, the twins each placed an arm around her shoulders.

"But-"

"Since you're such a great friend-"

"I suppose we'll help," Fred finished. An exasperated laugh escaped her lips at their antics as she turned around to see Ginny standing in the doorway. A smile appeared on her face.

"Oh, Ginny, are you going to pack already?"

"No," she answered glumly, folding her arms over her chest.

"They're not letting you, huh?" George cut in with a sympathetic frown.

Fred shook his head. "Figured this'd happen..."

A somber silence stretched out for a minute before Sarisa spoke again. "So... I guess we all really are stuck here then." A mischievous glint flashed across Fred's face.

"Hoping to send a love letter back, weren't you?"

"Yeah..." As soon as the word left her mouth, a light blush lit up her face and her eyes widened. "I mean- I wanted to send a letter back but not a love-"

"Did you hear that too, Fred? It sounds like she said she did want to send a love letter," George interrupted with a broad grin.

"Why, I absolutely did, George. Who would've thought our little Ris would've fallen in love with that smart-ass Ravenclaw."

"He is not a smart-ass," she objected hotly before her lips turned downward a fraction. "Well, maybe he is, but that's not the point!" Turning to Ginny, she blurted out, "You needed to talk to them, didn't you?"

Answering the girl's plead for help, the red-head prevented them from continuing the topic. "Hey, mum wants you two downstairs, and I suggest you hurry before she gets really mad at you guys."

"Fine, fine," George grumbled.

"Go ahead and spoil our fun."

"But don't thing we've forgotten about your love letters either, sis," they chorused before exiting their room. Sarisa moved to follow after them, but not before sending Ginny a sheepish smile.

"Thanks." With that, she left as well, probably figuring she'd be safe from their teasing with Mrs. Weasley in the room. Rather than going back down to clean, Ginny decided to spend the rest of the evening in her room, but even then she knew there wouldn't be anything that could keep her mind off of Hogwarts. She'd known it was impossible for her to return, especially after what happened with Luna, but there'd been the slightest glimmer of hope in her mind that everything could've gone back to the way it'd been not even a month ago. But now, it seemed as if that was never going to happen.

"Do you see her?"

Blaise shook his head as his friend continued to scan the platform for any sign of red hair among the crowd. "I though you were convinced she wasn't going to come."

A scowl crossed over his features. "That doesn't mean I can't ask if you see her," he hissed before resuming his task of trying to find the girl who had flitted through his thoughts the entire break.

"Someone didn't get enough sleep last night..."

Draco shot a glare at him before growling, "You think so?" Blaise wisely chose not to respond as the other boy's anger ebbed away. "...Do you really think she's not coming?"

Not wanting to admit the reality of her absence, Blaise turned away from him and started walking towards the train. "Come on, mate. We need to get on or it's gonna leave without us." Draco lingered for a moment before resigning to the fact that Ginny was nowhere to be seen and with a hint of reluctance, he boarded the train with a soft sigh.

A/N - I hope this chapter didn't seem too uneventful... In my mind though, it's a little like the calm before the storm, you know? I'd love to hear your opinon about it : )

My two other concerns with this chapter were keeping Draco in character and adding Sarisa Esteed to the mix. With Draco, I wanted to show that he was upset about not being able to see Ginny, but at the same time, he's still who he is... So, I'm not so sure about how I did : ) As for Sarisa, I hope you guys don't mind that I've been adding my own random characters in... It's just a little easier if there's another girl at Aunt Muriel's with Ginny.

I'd love to hear what you guys have to say and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! : )

-Twilight-Songstress