Wow!  800 words of a prologue, and already I am on somebody's favourites!  How hugely flattering!

Thank you Skull Bearer and WittchWay for your encouraging reviews, and I hope you enjoy the first chapter.

Ginny's eyes flickered around the room, a room that was bright and covered in gaudy Christmas decorations.  The kitchen at the Burrow was, in actuality, larger than it appeared at this moment – but any room would seem small when filled to its utmost capacity by seven grown men and a small whirlwind.

The whirlwind in question was chattering to Ginny.  Molly Weasley had been worried when, upon her youngest child's graduation from Hogwarts, Ginny had been unable to find a job.  It wasn't as if Ginny was unintelligent – she had in fact been one of the top students of her year – but nor was she simply being choosy.

It seemed that there was just nothing there that was right.

Molly was certain, however, that the perfect job would finally appear, and then Ginny would be set for life.

After all, she already had everything else she needed.

A loving family.

Supportive friends.

Harry Potter to marry.

Quidditch in the weekends.

It was the perfect life, as far as Molly could see.

Ginny was perhaps less certain about how suited she was to perfection.

Draco had leaned in to speak to Ginny, his eyes still wary, although his manner was certainly more open than it had been only five minutes ago.

"When you say that you want to work for the Dark Lord, Weasley, what exactly do you mean?"

It wasn't that Ginny didn't appreciate her life, she did.  It was simply that it didn't feel right.  There was supposed to be something more.

She just didn't know what.

Memories of Ginny's first year at school flooded her as she considered Malfoy's question.

She remembered the feeling of horror at what she was doing.

She remembered the power that had welled through her, power that was not hers.

She remembered the loss of control.

She remembered the ecstasy of the moments when she had been nothing but a vessel for dark magic.

Ginny answered the question

"I mean, Malfoy, that I want to join his cause.  I know what he is capable of.  I want to feel it.  I am not my brothers, Malfoy, nor am I my parents.  I control my own destiny, and this is what I choose."

Ginny interrupted her mother's soliloquy on how hard Arthur was working at the moment, and how well all the boys were doing – even the twins, with their joke shop.

"Mum, I've got a job."

Molly halted immediately, looking at Ginny uncomprehendingly for a second before a wide smile emerged.

"That's wonderful, dear!  When did this happen?  Where will you be working?"

The excitement in her voice aroused some interest from the Weasley men, who, up until now, had been surreptitiously testing a few of Fred and George's less dangerous jokes.  Ron looked up, red and gold glitter clinging to his face and gilding his eyebrows and lashes.

"What was that?  Has Ginny got a job, Mum?"

With all the male faces now turned enquiringly in her direction, Ginny nodded.

"I have to admit, Weasley, that I am not entirely certain of your sincerity in this matter."

Draco was perhaps not telling the absolute truth when he said this – not that he often did.  It wasn't so much that he didn't believe her; after her earlier statement, after seeing the expression on her face and in his eyes, he had no option but to believe that Ginny truly was interested in joining forces against everything she had ever been taught to revere.

Then again, perhaps that had been evident from the outset.  After all, any Weasley would need a very good reason to approach a Malfoy for help.

But this was Ginny, and much as the desire had always seemed alien – wrong - to him, Draco had always hoped that she was exactly as, before that day, she had appeared.

He set that realisation aside to be dealt with at a later date.

"So instead of welcoming you willy-nilly into the fold, my dear," Draco's voice was sardonic as he uttered the words. "I will allow you an apprenticeship."

Everybody in the kitchen was staring at Ginny with interest.

"Well, I start in two weeks, and it sounds really interesting," she began, knowing this was going to be difficult, if not downright impossible, to explain.

Over the last four and a half years, Voldemort had come to full power, and nobody appeared capable of bringing him down.  Harry, of course, being Harry, had come very close on numerous occasions, but never any more than close.  He had managed, however, to uncover Wormtail and prove Sirius' innocence during one of the attempts.

Luckily for Ginny, as, had Harry been at the Burrow instead of at Black Manor with Sirius and Remus, she would have had one more person to worry about telling.

The faces turned toward Ginny began to look impatient as she paused.

She took a deep breath.

"I am working as a personal assistant to the vice president at Malfoy's Magical Manufacturing."

There was utter silence.

Bill broke it.

"I think we must have misheard, Ginny."

Fred and George nodded in tandem.

"Yeah, you couldn't possibly –" Fred began.

"Be intending to work –" George continued.

"For that git!" They chorused.

Ron closed the mouth that was still hanging open as Percy gave an audibly disapproving sniff.

"Ginny, we're talking about Malfoy.  Apart from the fact that we hate him, he's actually evil!"

It looked like Ron had every intention of continuing with his own little tirade when Charlie interrupted.

"Are you serious about this Ginny?"

Everyone waited with bated breath for her to answer the question.

"Yes, I am."

It was then that Arthur spoke.

"Has it really been that difficult to find a job, Ginny?" His voice was morose.  "Because you don't need to work anywhere you don't want to, you know.  Wouldn't you prefer to just keep looking?"

Ginny faced her family head-on.

"By Merlin, you are all acting as if I have been recruited to the Dark Side!  I know Malfoy is evil, but even though I will be working as his assistant" – there was a gasp here, this fact had not been entirely assimilated by the group – "I promise not to let him influence me.  It looks like a good job, and I have already agreed to take it.  Besides, nobody really knows anything about Malfoy for certain."

Ron regarded Ginny in disgust.

"Of course he's a Death Eater, Gin!  You cannot get anywhere near him!"

Ginny smiled.  "I assure you, Ron, that I both can and will, and nothing you try and tell me now will have any effect whatsoever.  I have made up my mind."

Percy, ever tactful, finally spoke.

"Besides, if it all is true, Ginny could be a useful source of information for the Ministry."

Eight faces turned to regard him with disgust.

Ginny stared up at Draco Malfoy, a little confused.  There was determination in his face, and suddenly, for the first time, he appeared to be exactly what he was: a Death Eater who was reputedly so trusted by Voldemort, and so untroubled by moral scruples, that he had usurped his father's position in the Dark Lord's inner circle.

His father had apparently not been pleased, but had been unable to do anything about it.

Ginny looked, and recognised precisely what it was she was getting into.

She nodded.

"As you wish, Malfoy.  An apprenticeship.  I suppose I could not ask for a better teacher."

In the context of the conversation, the innocent, happy smile that crossed her face at that point seemed obscene.

Draco certainly thought it was.

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