Title: The Myth of Innocence
Author: Catalina Royce
Disclaimer: These stories are based on characters and situations created
and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books,
Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made
and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Rating: R
Virginia slammed the book closed. Madame Pince shot her a dirty look, her vulture like face pursed into a disapproving frown. Her bun was held in place tightly, the skin at her temples pulling slightly. Virginia had only ever seen that effect once before. It was achieved through the rigorous use of hairpins. Sharp, pointy objects that Madame Pince would no doubt use on Virginia if she made such a noise again.
Still, she hadn't slammed the book on purpose; the thing spooked her. She was only halfway through, but she didn't need to read it, she already knew what would happen. She didn't know how she knew, but the knowledge was there, nonetheless.
Even the cover was starting to scare her. It was so perfect, so unmarred by the passage of time. It was as if no one had ever touched the book bar her. The pages weren't dog-eared nor crumpled. The cover hadn't faded, and the engraving was as silver as the day it had been made.
Virginia pressed her hands against the wooden table, trying to calm her shaky nerves. There was nothing wrong, she promised herself. She couldn't repress the stories, however, of books the Ministry had confiscated. Or of Tom Riddle. There was an easy decision then. She wouldn't finish the book. Whatever happened, she wouldn't finish it. She knew how it turned out, anyway, so there was no harm done.
Her next class was about to start. She hadn't even started reading Charon, but she could do that later. It was a research assignment, after all. And she'd set it herself; there were no teachers involved. What did it matter if she got a bit behind schedule?
That thought in mind, she set off to potions, glad it was only a single lesson. She was a few minutes early; Snape hadn't arrived at the dungeon yet. The rest of the class was milling around outside, though in two distinct groups. Slytherins versus Gryffindors. Draco and Blaise seemed to be in the centre of the Slytherin group, the Dream Team were in the centre of the Gryffindors. There'd been an argument, apparently, because both sides were looking shocked and outraged, although the Slytherins seemed more shocked and smug.
Virginia stood in the very centre, afraid of what it might do if she favoured one side over another. Two pairs of very cold eyes settled on her; Draco's and Ron's. "Well," Draco's voice broke the silence. "If it isn't the littlest Weasel. Tell me, Weasel. How did you manage to get into this class? Slept your way in, I presume."
There was another ripple of outrage. Hermione was shocked. Harry was angry. Ron was furious. Blaise was ready to kill Draco. And still he didn't let up. "What's wrong, Weasel? Gnome got your tongue? Why the annoyed face? Are your second hand knickers in a knot?" He sneered at her, lip curling. Virginia's face was creased into an indignant, furious look of hate. She didn't understand what she'd done to deserve this treatment. She thought they'd declared a truce. Hadn't they? After all, she'd slept the night in his bed. He'd treated her fine this morning, if with the same brusqueness he'd always shown her. So why the sudden attack of viciousness?
Ron had let out a roar of outrage at that remark and lunged at Malfoy, just as Snape entered the corridor. He took in the scene and in an unruffled voice, stated "Fifty points from Gryffindor and a week's detention, Weasley. I'll not have you fighting in my class."
Hermione muttered something to Harry ("But we aren't in his class at the moment.") and Snape paused to look at her, eyes sweeping up and down her frame in a dismissive gesture. "You wanted to share something with us, Miss Granger?"
She shook her head, muttering, "No sir."
"Good." He entered the room without another glance.
The rest of the class followed obediently. Virginia just stared, shell shocked at what had just happened. Pansy flicked a glance at her then muttered in a slightly pitying undertone, "Don't worry about Draco. He got a letter during breakfast." Her tone seemed to say that that should explain everything. And perhaps it did, to someone who knew him.
She entered quietly behind the rest of them, sitting closer to the Gryffindors than she usually would. She'd realised something in those few minutes; until Draco accepted her, the rest of the Slytherins wouldn't. They'd pity her, perhaps – if that were possible for a Slytherin – but they'd never accept her.
Feeling muted and slightly despondent, she tuned into what Snape was saying. "—A relatively easy potion, which you should all have mastered by now, considering it is OWL level. I might remind you that the Draft of Peace needs 10 minutes to simmer before testing. Therefore you have 40 minutes to make your potion." He waved a hand in an unusually flowery gesture. "Proceed."
The main ingredient used in the potion was the essence of Hellebore for its ability to clear out 'invading energies' from the mind. The essence was usually provided in bottles, because the flower itself was poisonous. Virginia jumped when she heard Malfoy's voice call out to the Professor. "Professor, there's no Essence of Hellebore here. May I go and get some from the student's cupboard?" After being granted permission, Draco stalked over to the student's cupboard, his face alight with some unholy, restless energy.
He looked through the shelves, feeling the weight of the small vial of Essence of Hellebore in his pocket. There were more vials in the storeroom, of course, but he merely pushed those to the side, out of the easy range of the eye.
Seconds later, he walked back out again, his face schooled into a puzzled frown. "There was none there, Professor. Perhaps you have some in your private stores?"
Virginia looked up, along with the rest of the class. They all knew that Snape's private stores were strictly out of reach. What was Draco Malfoy planning?
Snape nodded and stood up to unlock his cupboard. Draco followed him willingly through the gloomy classroom, trying not to let the smirk play on his face. Professor Snape stood back and allowed Draco to pick up the vial. "Here it is." Draco announced for the classroom at large. He held the vial up to the light and returned to his seat, smiling maliciously, careful not to let anyone see the label on the glass vial: Veritaserum. Use only with Ministry of Magic approval.
He switched the Essence of Hellebore in his pocket with the Veritaserum, and continued making his potion.
Virginia had a troubled little frown on her face, and her lip jutted out into what most would describe as a pout. "I don't like it," She announced.
Blaise chuckled and took a sip of his Pumpkin juice, taking care not to knock over the goblet of gravy beside it. He ignored her six-year-old tone and took a bite of the roast lamb Hogwarts had served up for lunch. There was a dark green tablecloth on the table, and the tables were laden with roasts, gravy and vegetables. Blaise loved it. Roast had been his favourite meal since the first time he'd been to his Aunt Narcissa's house for dinner. He pitied the woman, to some extent, but she (or rather, her house elves) made very good roast lamb. It was a pleasant break from the rich sauces and heavy dishes served at his house.
"Did you hear me?" She demanded, annoyance in her eyes. "I said, I don't like it!"
He took the bait. "Don't like what?"
She bit her lip, looking adorable as she worried over whether to say it in such a public forum. "The way Malfoy's been acting." It was true. Malfoy had been acting oddly all day. She was growing rather concerned for him, actually. Her face was earnest, eyes wide as she tried to convey how willing she would be to help Malfoy out.
Blaise burst into laughter at the sight of her expression. He looked away and calmed himself down, then made the mistake of looking at her again. A smirk played on his lips as he tried to keep the laughter back. "Oh?"
"Yes."
He chuckled again, and she felt a pang of annoyance that he was still laughing at her. "Look, Frecks, I know that he annoyed you with his comments this morning, but you have to understand. He got a letter today." Once again, she was supposed to know what the hell that meant, and once again she had no clue. Her face clouded over, and she chewed her roast lamb thoughtfully.
Something clicked inside her. Blaise regarded her with an amused expression, knowing her next question would finally get her the explanation she wanted. "Who was the letter from?"
"His father."
"His father?" About to indulge her curiosity, she leaned closer and to ask another question when Draco interrupted, his hand clamping down on her neck. There was a brief pressure, and then it was released; Draco had wedged himself in between her and Blaise.
The blonde had started picking food off her plate with a spare fork he'd borrowed from somewhere. She didn't mind; she wasn't going to eat it anyway. She didn't even worry about how out of character he was behaving, he'd been doing so all day.
"Whose father?" The male in question asked, then pointed over to Virginia's goblet of Pumpkin Juice. "May I please have a sip?" His manners had come from nowhere. She didn't realise he was on the very best of behaviour so that he could manipulate her the way he wanted.
Draco took a sip of the juice, cradling the goblet in his hands. Both Virginia and Blaise were distracted enough not to notice what his hands were doing. They'd uncapped the small vial of Veritaserum, were dropping three drops into her Pumpkin Juice.
"We..ah..we were talking about..ah..er..Potter's father." She blushed, the colour running straight up her cheeks, and, Draco noticed, down her chest. He wondered idly just how far down that blush would run.
"Oh, and what about Potter's father?" He replaced the goblet on the table just in her reach. She did what every other normal person did to stall when they were nervous – took a sip. And another. And a third.
Her face went slack.
Smirking, Draco stood up, pulling Virginia along with him. "We have to go, Blaise. I hope you can excuse us."
Blaise took in the scene, from Virginia's involuntarily slack face – always a sure indication of Veritaserum – to Draco's smug triumph. "You bastard," he whispered.
"You've always known it."
He sat her on the bed, not bothering to secure her hands to the four-poster. He grinned maliciously and kissed her forehead, then closed the door to the dorms, soundproofing the room. "How much do you hate me for this, Virginia?"
She opened her mouth, then closed it, opened it again, accepting the inevitable. "I don't. I would have done the same."
He glowered at her. Not the answer he wanted. Still, truthful, nonetheless. "Tell me," he said, enjoying his feeling of power. He was arrogant, he knew, but he had every right to be. He'd bested her at every turn. So why did he feel like scum for doing this to her? No matter. "Why did you suddenly turn Slytherin? Why this miraculous change?"
She took a deep breath. And another. Her face closed over in pain. Her body started shaking. She was trying to fight the potion. Her eyes were pleading for him to let her go. But he couldn't. Instead he waited.
She gave up. "It wasn't miraculous. It had been coming for a long time. It was because of me and...and Ginny."
"You and Ginny? Tell me everything."
She fought it again. This Ginny must have been special to her, if she fought it so hard. Her body was racked with shudders, then Virginia spoke. "Just before Ginny's first year, she went to Flourish and Blotts, for school books. While there, Lucius Malfoy slipped a diary into one of her books. It was the diary of Tom Marvolo Riddle. Tom Riddle is Voldemort."
Draco knew that already. It was the reason he'd eventually joined with Blaise. Tom Riddle was a half-blood. Draco didn't mind mudbloods much as he often implied, but he couldn't stomach the thought of a Pureblood bowing and cowering in fear of a mudblood.
"They started writing to each other, and Ginny-"
"You." He interrupted her, so there would be no mistakes.
"Not me. Ginny. She started giving away her soul to Tom. Eventually, he started giving his back to her. But there was a period in between, where she'd given it away, and didn't get any back. Then I was created. My name is Virginia. I came into existence because there must be a certain amount of soul in a person at all times. Otherwise, they become like the Demented. When Tom Riddle gave his soul to her, he fed it through me. I grew stronger. When Riddle was defeated, I should have died a natural death. But I didn't. By that time, there was too much of me, and I was too determined to live. Ginny was sent to St. Mungo's for treatment, and 6 months later, I knew I was there to stay."
"What are you saying?" He looked around the four-poster, glad now that he'd silenced the room. He'd curtained off the bed, and it was darkly lit. Still, he could see her clearly, could tell the she wasn't able to lie.
"There are two people who live in this body. Myself and Ginny. Recently, Ginny gave up and became dormant." She was struggling again. She hated to betray Ginny. "And I became dominant."
"Why do you want to become a Death Eater?"
"I don't, not really. But there's nothing else to do. I can't join Dumbledore's side. I wish I could stay neutral, but I can't."
Draco made a snap decision; confident it was the right one. From what she'd blurted out, Blaise had been right. She would be an asset, and he could be confident of her wish to stay completely neutral. "Virginia, I have a proposition for you."
She nodded, mouth closed. As long as he didn't ask her for anything, she didn't have to say anything.
"Blaise and I are the leaders of a small group of renegades. Rebels, dissenters, nonconformists, whatever you wish to call us. We have no formal name – and it's better that way. We're made up of mainly Death Eater's children who have seen what it does to their parents and have no wish to continue in the family tradition. Some of us, like myself and Blaise, have been initiated as Death Eaters, but have not yet been given the mark, and we're thankful for that. Recently, we've been trying to find someone to help us with Occlumency lessons." Draco took a breath. "I'd like you to join us, Virginia. Blaise was going to ask you, but I protested, and then you expressed a wish to join the Death Eaters."
In spite of the anger Virginia had towards Draco for playing this trick on her, she had the ridiculous urge to grin. Her friend – her best friend – was not a Death Eater. He was exactly like her. He was exactly what she'd unconsciously been looking for the entire time!
Later, Virginia would think over what an idiot she would be, and grin in shame. She wouldn't be able to believe how stupid she'd been.
At that present moment, however, Virginia had no thoughts. She was just incredibly happy to have peace of mind about her friend. So she did the stupid thing she was going to regret.
She kissed him.
Author's Note: Oh, I had so much fun writing this chapter! The next chapter was just as fun, too. I hope you all enjoy reading it. The chapter title is latin for 'truth'. I've always been partial to the word, heh. Remember to spot the please. Oh, and Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you you all get plot bunnies for Christmas!