Chapter 4: Devil's Advocate
"How did you know?" Was what Draco had wanted to ask Ginny, but he didn't. The question would be answered soon enough. Weasleys were stupid like that and gave answers at the drop of a hat even if they weren't asked for them.
"So, you saw through it," Draco said.
"I probably wouldn't have, but your wonderful acting skills kind of gave it away," Ginny said, walking casually to the bed next to Draco's. She sat down and glared at her brother.
Draco was about to say something when Ginny demanded again, "Where is my brother? What have you done with him? I swear, if you've done anything to harm him, I'll—"
Draco snorted. "You'll what? You'll come hit me? I'm very scared, Weasley."
Ginny just glared back.
"Oh, and so you know, it's always been my dream— a boy and his dream, to become a Weasley."
Ginny could feel the sarcasm dripping from his words and Draco could sense her irritation.
"Look Weasley, are you daft or something?" Ginny raised her eyes to Draco's. "You think I want to be a Weasley? I've no idea why I'm stuck in his undeveloped, unattractive, useless, brainless, freckle-filled body."
"Ron isn't brainless," Ginny retorted. "He's got more balls than you'll ever have!"
Draco arched one of Ron's eyebrows. "I suppose it runs in the family then. We weren't talking about balls, Weasley, we were discussing the presence of his brain, but obviously, you're lacking one too."
It felt strange to be addressed as 'Weasley' by her brother. Ginny knew it wasn't her brother that was inside Ron's body, but it was still uncomfortable. She couldn't even look into his eyes knowing it wasn't her brother inside. It was better when she only suspected someone else was in Ron's body. Ever since her encounter with Tom Riddle during her first year at Hogwarts, she'd been able to sense magical mishaps and dark magic.
Ginny shivered.
Draco noticed and asked, "What is it now, Weasley?" His tone wasn't caring, but more vicious as if he'd asked because her trembling was annoying him.
Ginny looked up and meekly replied, "Oh, um, nothing really. I'm fine."
"Whatever," Draco mumbled.
Ginny pointed her wand at Draco now and said, "Oppoto swelluto."
Draco looked up. Nothing happened, but a stream of blue light had left Ginny's wand tip and made contact with Draco's chest. "What'd you do to me Weasley."
Ginny sighed a tired sigh. "Ron's allergic to Darhoshes. They make him swell up like a pumpkin. That's the counter curse for it."
"Oh," Draco said. "Thanks, I guess."
Ginny didn't say anything for a while, but Draco suddenly asked, "Weasley, you were the kid that was abducted by Tom Riddle, right?"
Ginny's head shot up. Why was he asking her about Tom Riddle? Ginny simply nodded in response to Draco's question.
It was somewhat easier for Draco to talk to Ginny, but he still felt nervous. A question had been plaguing him for quite a while. Questions, really, but would he really get an answer if he asked?
"Well," Draco stuttered, deciding it'd be alright to try. "Could I ask you something?"
Draco, however, never had the chance to ask because the next moment, the door to the Infirmary slammed open.
It was Blaise Zabini in a very showy red dress.
"Blaise! What're you doing here?" Draco said suddenly, forgetting just for a second that he was supposed to be Ron.
* * *
Hermione made her way up the narrow spiral staircase to Dumbledore's office and took great care in not hitting any of the walls. Everything looked as fragile as the man the steps led up to did. When she'd finally reached the top, she stood up straighter and made sure her hair was in place; after all, she was visiting the Headmaster and she was lucky that he was taking her appointment, so she should at least make an honest effort at looking nice and presentable.
With an intake of breath, Hermione knocked on the door and the instant her hand had touched the door, it swung open and Hermione took in an even sharper intake of breath.
Dumbledore's office was a mess! Someone had raided it! The desk in which he sat in was upturned, papers lay scattered everywhere, bottles had fallen over, some vases were broken, picture frames were off-center, Fawkes was flying around in circles at the top of the room, and Dumbledore lay on a bed of Mandrake plants with his eyes closed.
Completely forgetting her neat and prim appearance, Hermione immediately dropped her books and fumbled through her robes for her wand. She ran to the Headmaster, and though she was feeling panicked, she shook him gently. "Headmaster," Hermione whispered. "Professor Dumbledore, please," she begged.
To her surprise, Dumbledore stirred and opened his eyes. Hermione quickly moved out of the way as the old man sat up suddenly and yawned. He smacked his lips and looked around at his office as if everything was normal. He jumped a bit as one of the Mandrake plants beneath him took a bite at his leg, and then he finally spoke. "That was a good nap, really. Naps, they're wonderful, aren't they? Refreshes the mind." Dumbledore finally noticed it was Hermione that had woken him up. Ignoring that her normally small and alert brown eyes were now wide beyond reason and her mouth hung open as she stared at him, he said, "Of course, a brilliant minded individual like you must know of the benefits of naps."
Hermione mouthed wordlessly for a couple of seconds before she nodded and closed her mouth.
"Thought so!" Dumbledore jumped to his feet and stretched his arms and waved them about. After five jumping jacks, he addressed Hermione once again. "Now then, what have you come here to speak of?"
Suddenly, Fawkes landed on Dumbledore's head and he beamed even more as Hermione struggled for words.
The Headmaster looked ridiculous! Like a flustered peacock.
"Oh," Dumbledore said, twirling a strand of braided beard between his frail fingers, "Don't mind the mess. I decided to do a bit of redesigning!"
"Oh," was all Hermione could say. Pushing the sudden shock she'd just experienced to the back of her mind, she continued. "Well, Headmaster," she couldn't help but wring her fingers. Her reason for coming to Dumbledore sounded stupider and stupider the closer and closer she got to telling him what was on her mind. "It's about Harry."
"Ah, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said, casually conjuring two chairs for them to sit in, "do go on."
Hermione sat down on the chair she'd been offered. For some reason, she couldn't look at Dumbledore. Perhaps because she felt so childish coming to Dumbledore for such a simple reason. Hermione focused on a spot on her lap and began, "Well, I'm worried about him. He's been acting so strange lately and he's not really eating. Last night he had one bite of dinner and the night before he didn't have any dinner at all and he skipped lunch to play Quidditch. And he's looking pale and he hardly talks to anyone anymore and he hasn't slept much either. Sometimes I'll stay up to study, or I'll get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, and I'll see Harry just sitting in front of the fire in the common room." Hermione bit her bottom lip. This sounded so stupid.
She looked up to find that Dumbledore had been listening to her story very intently. Realizing Hermione didn't have anymore words to make her story make more sense, he sat back in his chair. "Ms. Granger, do not worry about Mr. Potter."
Hermione furrowed her brows and her eyes asked Dumbledore to clarify what it was he was trying to say.
"If I were you, I'd pay attention to other things."
Hermione racked her brain for what the crazy man before her was trying to say. "But Harry—"
"Is fine," Dumbledore said. "For now." He paused to see if Hermione had anything to say, but she didn't. Not now, at least. "I'm sorry to cut our meeting short, but if you'll excuse me, I've another appointment to play Exploding Snap with Mr. Crouch. I'm sure you remember who he is."
Hermione grimaced internally. Of course she remembered that idiotic and arrogant man.
"Don't study too hard, now. And remember to wash behind your ears, it shows character! I trust you'll be able to see yourself out?"
Hermione nodded and as she did, Dumbledore disappeared with a popping sound.
"But you can't apparate inside Hogwarts," Hermione whispered furiously as she walked down the spiral staircase out of Dumbledore's office.
* * *
"Don't you call me by my first name, Gryffindor scum!" Blaise spat at Ron.
Draco repeatedly punched himself internally for forgetting he was supposed to be Ron. If any of the Slytherins knew he'd been parading around in anything Gryffindor, that would be the end of him.
"What? You want me to call you by Zabini? How ugly! If my father—" Draco spluttered back.
Ginny was glaring daggers at Draco now. Ron always tried to talk back to Slytherins, but he never mentioned his father!
Blaise smirked at Ron. "Your father? Your father, what? That lump you insist on calling a father—"
Before Blaise could finish, Ginny had jumped up. She was better than her brothers at repressing her temper, but she was dangerously angered nonetheless. "What do you want, Blaise?" Ginny said, trying to keep her voice steady.
Blaise carefully scanned the Infirmary for signs of Draco, just a hint of silver hair, but not a single strand could be found. She crossed her arms over her chest and spoke to Ginny and Ron with her nose high in the air. "Nothing from the likes of you!" With a final glare, Blaise stalked out of the Infirmary.
"She's lovely, isn't she?" Draco said after Blaise left.
Ginny couldn't tell from his tone if he was trying to be sarcastic or if he really meant it. She chose to ignore his comment and proceeded with what was on her mind. "So, how should we go about doing it?"
"Doing it? I'm not that kind of boy!" Draco scoffed, fluttering his lashes in a feminine manner at Ginny.
Ginny rolled her eyes in disgust. What a freak! Ginny thought to herself. If I ever find out who did this, that person is so going to die the most painful death for making me waste my time with Draco Malfoy! Now she sighed and forced herself to look into Draco's— her brother's eyes. She couldn't help but notice that even though she was staring into Ron's eyes, they were different because it was Draco who was looking through them. Ron's eyes were always playful, or nervous, or alert, but never so blank. She could always see right through her brother when she looked into his eyes— feel what he was feeling, and this was probably one of the reasons she favored him most out of all her brothers. True, she loved all her siblings dearly, but besides the fact that Ron was barely older than she was, he was the most like a true friend.
She remembered how she had had no friends in her first year at Hogwarts since she was so introverted as soon as she began writing to Tom Riddle. Ginny was always a bit quiet, but knowing Tom… he had caused her to think that nothing else and no one else in the world mattered, but he was wrong. Harry and Ron had told her of their adventure into the Chamber of Secrets many times anew. Even though Ginny's survival had become nearly hopeless, it had been Ron that had come with Harry to rescue her. Sure, the idea was completely stupid, but it was an act of the heart and of emotion. The only reason Harry had done the actual saving was because of an unstoppable collapse of rocks overhead. Her brother, Ron, not the person in front of her, wherever her real brother was— he was always there for her. But this time, he was the one who needed her.
"Tough crowd," Draco said, dropping his innocent girl act. Ginny tumbled back into reality and realized she'd been staring into his eyes for a minute or two.
"No, I mean," Ginny stuttered, hiding her frustration, "How should we go about switching you and Ron back into your respective bodies?"
"What makes you think Weasley's in my body?" Draco asked even though that was just what he suspected as well.
"Well, if you're in Ron's body, where else would Ron be?"
Draco placed his left hand on his chin, arched his left eyebrow (Ginny thought it looked funny because Ron only knew how to arch his right eyebrow), and began to think. Firstly, why would anyone have him and Weasley switch bodies? What a sick-minded psycho, Draco thought. Next, why did he still have the craving for blood? He hadn't forgotten about the voices in his head. He'd heard later after his second year at Hogwarts that Potter had been hearing voices and even though it wasn't his fault for hearing them, it was never good to be hearing voices that other people couldn't hear and it most likely wasn't any better if the voices asked to be fed blood. Perhaps it was Ron Weasley that was mad and the people that lived in his head were now bothering him. Then again, why would the voices inside Weasley's head be talking of blood, the Dark Lord's water and wine?
"Hold on," Ginny said softly, interrupting Draco's thoughts. Ginny fumbled through her robes for her wand and said, "Accio Ron!"
A second later, Draco was lifted from the Infirmary bed and was flying across the room headed straight for Ginny. She tried to back away from her brother's approaching face that was full of surprise, but she wasn't quick enough. Draco's head made contact with Ginny's body where her wand had been— in front of her chest. With his head nestled between Ginny's breasts, he and Ginny toppled backwards and were sprawled on the floor, Draco lying on top of Ginny, head still on her bosom and Ginny spread-eagle under Draco's long body.
Ginny immediately felt tension flood her body. She was breathing hard now and here eyes were wide open, once again staring into her brother's eyes— Draco's eyes.
Draco was obviously taken by surprise when he'd collided head first into a woman's chest, but now, still on top of Ginny, he lifted his upper body off of her, holding himself up with his two hands placed on the ground on either side of Ginny. He cocked an eyebrow and looked into her dark blue eyes. She stared up at him, her eyes full of shock and maybe even horror. It was interesting how all her brothers had sparkling light blue eyes whilst she had sad pools of dark blue in her eyes. He liked those pools.
Ginny suddenly shivered and Draco felt it. He cursed inwardly for even thinking about Ginny's eyes as if he were interested in her and abruptly rolled off of her.
Blood… it is near…
Draco's pupils dilated. Not the voice again! Ginny finally sat up and choosing that it was best to ignore the voice in his head, Draco began his cheekiness. "Well Weasley, I know I'm tempting, but how about I pencil you in for a time when I'm not in your brother's body? It wouldn't really go too well with… anyone. If you know what I—"
BLOOD! Feed us…
"Argh!" Draco said suddenly, clutching his head with both his hands.
Ginny was about to say, "Shove it, Malfoy," or something similar, but instead, she asked, "Malfoy, what's wrong?"
Ginny almost pitied him at that moment. Maybe her emotions were biased since it was her brother's face she looked at whenever she spoke to him, but his eyes hadn't fooled her, so what was it that made her feel sorry for him?
Draco only slightly loosened his fingers' grip on his head and gave a weak smile, or smirk, or sneer— whatever it was, and said, "Nothing, Weasley. What's wrong with you? Not that that experience will keep me particularly scarred for life, but—"
"I was going to see if I could make the real Ron come here," Ginny said, realizing how pathetic her idea had been.
"You idiot, your magic can't work long distance—" Draco cut himself off as he moaned again.
BLOOD! FEED US BLOOD! Serve your master and feed us BLOOD! The one true Lord… give him blood, feed us blood!
"The Dark Lord?" Draco gasped more in a question's form.
"You-Know-Who?" Ginny asked.
"Of course I know who the Dark Lord is!" Draco spat back.
Ginny realized the stupidity of her You-Know-Who remark. Many people in Slytherin house were able to refer to the Dark Lord as Voldemort.
"What about the Dark Lord?" Ginny tried again.
Draco had been sitting up straight on the floor, but now he was on his hands and knees, obviously in pain. The pain must have been great, because Ginny had never seen Draco Malfoy reveal his feelings so freely. He had ceased keeping a blank face and wasn't wiping away the sweat sliding down the side of his face and back of his neck.
"Malfoy…" Ginny began.
"Get out of my head!" Draco suddenly burst out.
"Who's in your head?" Ginny asked. "Ron— I mean Draco," Ginny paused a bit. This was one of the first times she'd called him by his first name. When she looked up at Draco in her brother's body, she could see the rapid rise and fall of his chest.
Eyes wide with horror, Ginny bellowed, "Madam Pomfrey! Help, Draco— I mean, Ron, he's—"
Ginny never got a chance to finish, however, because Draco's eyes suddenly flew wide open before he fainted onto Ginny's lap.
"Malfoy?" She asked, timidly stirring his shoulder. "Draco, are you alright?" She didn't realize at the time what a stupid question this was. Of course, he didn't answer, as he was unconscious. And why hadn't Madam Pomfrey come in yet? She had an epiphany as she realized that the locking spell she had placed on the door also prohibited sound from escaping through either end of the door that was locked.
Ginny sighed a heavy sigh as she wondered what to do. She thought hard before she finally concluded with one word: "Harry."
* * *
After Hermione had left him at dinner, Harry didn't really have much of an appetite to finish his dinner, so he went back to his dormitory in the middle of dinner only after giving Neville his slice of fickleberry pie. He now sat on the very center his crimson covered bed, his arms clutching his knees, which were curled into his chest. Every now and then he would heave a great sigh and at one point, he had tried reading his favorite book, Quidditch Through the Ages, but even that ceased to cheer him up and he was back to sighing once again. True, Ron was going to be all right, but he still felt horrible. He knew Hermione had noticed by now that he hadn't been eating much and the bags under his eyes were quite evident as well. Even he had noticed he was looking paler, but who could blame him?
If only they knew— Harry had begun thinking when a tapping on his door interrupted him.
The curtain of eyelashes hiding Harry's brilliant eyes gave way as he looked up, his green eyes shimmering as he did so. The visitor knocked once again.
Who could it be? Everyone was still supposed to be at dinner.
"Harry?"
It was Ginny.
"Harry, it's me," Ginny said, "Can I come in?"
Harry searched his brain for what to say. He'd really been enjoying the silence— it was part of the reason he didn't mind staying up so late at night. Finally he replied, "Um… not now Gin, I'm kind of busy."
He'd tried to be nice, but Ginny was uncharacteristically obtrusive today. "Busy?" She questioned hysterically. "What're you so busy with? What're you doing?"
Harry screwed up his face and finally replied with a pathetic, "I'm busy brooding! Just leave me alone today." Harry said. Then he remembered he was talking to Ginny and added, "Please."
"Harry Potter, I'm coming in this very instant, so if you're stark naked or anything, put some clothes on!" Ginny yelled through the door. "Unlock this door!" Ginny screamed, jiggling the handle to his room. She growled a low growl and wand in hand, she whispered, "Alohomora," and the door swung open to reveal Harry still sitting on his bed.
"Since when did brooding require nudity?" Harry inquired, but there was no time for Ginny or Harry to even have the slightest moment of amusement from his joshing. The moment the door had opened, Harry had briefly scanned Ginny before his eyes rested on the floating object next to her.
However, what Harry had seen wasn't an object, it was a person. It was Ron Weasley.
Immediately abandoning his so-called brooding composure, Harry leapt off his bed and ran to the door. "Ginny, what happened? If he's not alright, why'd you take him out of the Wing?"
Ginny suspired and explained everything that had happened in the Infirmary and everything she had learned from the Ron who was really Draco, ignoring Harry's sudden gasping and wide eyes. He was actually rather calm for a person just digesting a story like the one Ginny was telling Harry.
Running the story through his head one more time, just to clarify, Harry pointed a slightly trembling finger at Ron's body. "You mean to tell me that's Malfoy?"
"Yes, Harry, and I think something's wrong with him. He fainted and it was like he was hearing voices. He was acting like his head was going to explode."
"Mm, I know the feeling," Harry mumbled as he remembered the basilisk's hissing in his ears during his second year.
Ginny was still at the door and the rest of the Gryffindors would be coming back from dinner any minute. "Harry, are you going to let me in or not? I think," Ginny searched for words for a minute before finally saying, "I think you're the only one who can help. The only one who might understand."
Harry began looking squeamish. "You mean we're going to have to fix whatever's in Malfoy's head?"
"Harry! Ron's missing! Haven't you understood that yet? And this," Ginny said, pointing to Ron's body, "is Draco Malfoy. He's not strong enough to cast magic that can make two souls switch places, so it must've been someone related to Draco, if you know what I mean."
The Ron beside Ginny was still unconscious. "Gin, I think you should go to sleep early tonight. It's been a long, rough day for you and you ought to get some rest. Totally understandable about—"
"Harry? Aren't you listening to me? Don't you believe me?" Ginny exploded, her eyes begging for the answer she hoped for.
Harry thought over everything he had just learned. How could Draco possibly be in Ron's body? It simply wasn't possible and Madam Pomfrey had looked him over quite thoroughly down at the Infirmary. Harry remembered the countless times he had landed himself in the Infirmary for injuries, however abnormal their causes were, but Madam Pomfrey, fussy as she was, always knew what to do with his detriments.
Harry had cast his lashes over his eyes once again, and when he looked up, Ginny could feel the doubt Harry felt.
"Harry, he's your best friend," Ginny pleaded one last time.
"But wouldn't Madam Pomfrey have noticed something?" Harry asked.
"Harry, you know first-hand that identity switches can't be detected by nurses and doctors—"
"But he's Malfoy!" Harry suddenly burst out, surprising both Ginny and himself.
"Harry!" Ginny said, backing away slowly, disbelief apparent on her face.
The rest of the Gryffindors were coming back from dinner now and realizing her time was short, she said what she had to say quickly. "Who are you, Harry? So what if this is Malfoy?" Ginny said, motioning once again to the unconscious body next to her. "Don't you want to know where Ron is?"
Flustered beyond reason, Ginny grabbed her wand before Harry could reply and yelled, "Petrificus totalus!" Her favorite spell. Harry stiffened immediately and Ginny stiffly stepped over his body, fumbled through the case at the foot of Harry's bed and drew out a silvery cloak— Harry's invisibility cloak. She turned to Harry and announced, "I'm borrowing this!" With that, she slammed the door to Harry's dormitory shut, threw the invisibility cloak over Ron's unconscious body and yelled down the stairs to the first person she saw, Dean Thomas. "Dean, I think Harry might need your help, he was making out with his mirror when he petrified himself."
Dean's handsome young face contorted and was soon dotted with confused wrinkles as he hurried up the stairs. Before he entered the boys' dormitories, he turned to see Ginny at the bottom of the stairs, rabidly walking across the common room towards the stairs that led up to the girls' dormitories. Harry really must have done it this time. Dean took a closer look and noticed Ginny was walking with her right arm slightly hovering at her side, her wand pointing at an angle as if she were pointing it at someone walking next to her who was half her size.
"Oh sure, besides the fact I got an A+ on my Potions paper, everything's completely normal." Dean shook his head slowly as he pushed open the door to the dorms.
* * *
Before she had gone to sleep, Ginny had drawn the curtains of her four-poster all the way around the bed so that no one could see in. She awoke suddenly to the sound of girls bustling about getting themselves dressed and ready for the day, but soon realized that wasn't what had awoken her. Ginny blinked once or twice to clear her vision and looked up to see her brother's scowling face look back at her.
While Draco had been unconscious, Ginny had tied him to a chair with some special rope she had taken from Fred and George's stash of magical goodies. Draco couldn't move anything but his head since Ron's hands and feet were tied to the chair he sat in. She had gagged him as well and had slept with her wand under her pillow. The chair was magically secured on her bed at the moment.
Ginny grabbed her wand and with a wave, the gag that had been on her brother's mouth disappeared and his scowl could be more clearly seen.
"How long have you been up?" Ginny said as a way of greeting him.
"Three hours," Draco said tonelessly as he glanced at the shimmering clock numbers that were enchanted onto a portion of the curtain by Ginny's head. "Do you know how boring it's been? You don't even snore! None of you do!" Ginny could only stare. "By the way, thanks for letting me spend the night in a girls' dormitory, but tying me up was a bit too much don't you think? How was I supposed to play with each one of you before morning? Oh well, maybe tomorrow—"
"Draco!" Ginny gasped, highly appalled. She made certain to keep her voice at a low whisper so none of the other girls would hear her.
Draco wore an innocent look on his face. "What? I just wanted to be fair, you know—"
"Do you not even remember yesterday?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Draco said in a haughty tone. "And I demand you untie me this instant. I have to use the little boys' room, if you don't mind."
"I do mind," Ginny said. "You're not going into the bathroom while you're like," Ginny struggled for words and finally said, "that!"
"Oh, very logical, Weasley. Are you proposing I hold everything in while we march up to Malfoy Manor to undo this bloody mess? Well, why didn't you say so before? Before we leave, how about some tea and disembowelment, too?" Draco wouldn't look at Ginny's face. His lips were a thin, slanted line on his face and he glared at the chair handle that his left hand was tied to.
"Go?" Ginny finally said, breaking the silence.
Draco turned to her with a bored expression on his face, his left eyebrow arched.
"Where are we going? You said 'before we go'. Well, where're we going?" Ginny asked again.
"To Malfoy Manor, you pillock," He replied, still not looking into her eyes.
Ignoring Draco's pillock statement since she was desperate to have her brother back, she persisted, "How do you know we go to Malfoy Manor."
"I don't," Draco said softly, but nonetheless with the same malice he'd used to speak to her all morning. "I had another dream."
"Another one? You mean you have strange dreams too—"
"What is this, Weasley? Twenty questions? Use that damn stick in your hand to untie me now!" Draco was looking at her now, nostrils flared, eyes only slits on his face, teeth barred.
Ginny lifted her hand and softly uttered, "Finite incantatem." The ropes fell away from Draco's hands and feet and Draco fell over onto the bed because the chair wasn't fixed to the bed anymore. He was still in the Infirmary clothes. He got up quickly, straightened his garb and began to mess with his hair, but then he remembered it wasn't his hair so he left it alone.
"How do I get out of here?" Draco asked monotonously.
"You're Ron," Ginny said. "The girls are used to seeing you in here. Just walk out."
"Well, I guess Weasley doesn't have it off that bad after all, allowed to parade around the girls' dormitory whenever he wants."
"Sad he's not a pervert like you, mm?" Ginny said, not able to bear Draco's sarcasm anymore.
"Ha. Ha." Draco replied bitterly. He hated to be made fun of. He wasn't part of a joke's punch line, he was supposed to be the puncher.
Draco was obviously useless; not even showing any sign that he cared that he was stuck in a body that wasn't his own. How was she going to find the real Ron? One thing was for sure: No help from Harry, that git.
As he prepared to push open the curtain, he turned and looked at Ginny, the malignant expression melting away from his face just slightly. "Are you going to sit there all day, Weasley?" Even though Draco called her whole family by their last name, Weasley, each one had a different tone and this one was hers. She looked up and didn't say anything. "Well, it's hard to get to the Manor just sitting around in your nightgown." Ginny had an amazed expression on her face suddenly. Draco Malfoy, ultimate doer of bad, was going to help her? "And you had better get some real clothes. I refuse to go anywhere with you if you come dressed like—" Draco pointed to a picture beside Ginny's bed, her whole entire redheaded family smiling and waving furiously at them, "—that."
Draco turned around and stepped out from the secret barrier Ginny's four-poster had created. "Wait," Ginny said without warning, "Um… thanks for helping me out, Draco." With that, Ginny's cheeks were covered in a blanket of red and she couldn't look at Draco's face for some odd reason, even though the face she would see even if she did look up would be her brother's face.
"I'm not helping you, Weasley. How degrading and low-class could I get? You think I want to stay trapped in this ugly body forever?" Draco snorted. "I think not." Ginny stared bewildered as her thoughts about a different Draco were in the process of being turned into oblivion in her mind. "Now get ready. We leave after breakfast."
Without another word, Draco began walking towards the door. Even though he had been amazed that thirteen girls had said 'hi' to him— to Ron on his way out, he didn't even change the expression on his face.
Author's Note: This chapter was longer than all the other chapters I've written. Anyway, yay! Draco and Ginny are off to Malfoy Manor, Harry's a git beyond reason, Dumbledore's plain crazy, and Hermione's perplexed. Could things get any better? As for Ron, sorry, there was no room for him in this chapter, but he'll be in the next one.
Chapter Five: Look forward to the Draco and Ron confrontation! Remember that Ron still hasn't realized he's in Draco's body. Harry and Hermione realize Ginny and Ron are missing as well. It's a lot more exciting than I make it sound.
Hugs to my chums, Jonah, and Eiko for reviewing the previous chapter! :)
"How did you know?" Was what Draco had wanted to ask Ginny, but he didn't. The question would be answered soon enough. Weasleys were stupid like that and gave answers at the drop of a hat even if they weren't asked for them.
"So, you saw through it," Draco said.
"I probably wouldn't have, but your wonderful acting skills kind of gave it away," Ginny said, walking casually to the bed next to Draco's. She sat down and glared at her brother.
Draco was about to say something when Ginny demanded again, "Where is my brother? What have you done with him? I swear, if you've done anything to harm him, I'll—"
Draco snorted. "You'll what? You'll come hit me? I'm very scared, Weasley."
Ginny just glared back.
"Oh, and so you know, it's always been my dream— a boy and his dream, to become a Weasley."
Ginny could feel the sarcasm dripping from his words and Draco could sense her irritation.
"Look Weasley, are you daft or something?" Ginny raised her eyes to Draco's. "You think I want to be a Weasley? I've no idea why I'm stuck in his undeveloped, unattractive, useless, brainless, freckle-filled body."
"Ron isn't brainless," Ginny retorted. "He's got more balls than you'll ever have!"
Draco arched one of Ron's eyebrows. "I suppose it runs in the family then. We weren't talking about balls, Weasley, we were discussing the presence of his brain, but obviously, you're lacking one too."
It felt strange to be addressed as 'Weasley' by her brother. Ginny knew it wasn't her brother that was inside Ron's body, but it was still uncomfortable. She couldn't even look into his eyes knowing it wasn't her brother inside. It was better when she only suspected someone else was in Ron's body. Ever since her encounter with Tom Riddle during her first year at Hogwarts, she'd been able to sense magical mishaps and dark magic.
Ginny shivered.
Draco noticed and asked, "What is it now, Weasley?" His tone wasn't caring, but more vicious as if he'd asked because her trembling was annoying him.
Ginny looked up and meekly replied, "Oh, um, nothing really. I'm fine."
"Whatever," Draco mumbled.
Ginny pointed her wand at Draco now and said, "Oppoto swelluto."
Draco looked up. Nothing happened, but a stream of blue light had left Ginny's wand tip and made contact with Draco's chest. "What'd you do to me Weasley."
Ginny sighed a tired sigh. "Ron's allergic to Darhoshes. They make him swell up like a pumpkin. That's the counter curse for it."
"Oh," Draco said. "Thanks, I guess."
Ginny didn't say anything for a while, but Draco suddenly asked, "Weasley, you were the kid that was abducted by Tom Riddle, right?"
Ginny's head shot up. Why was he asking her about Tom Riddle? Ginny simply nodded in response to Draco's question.
It was somewhat easier for Draco to talk to Ginny, but he still felt nervous. A question had been plaguing him for quite a while. Questions, really, but would he really get an answer if he asked?
"Well," Draco stuttered, deciding it'd be alright to try. "Could I ask you something?"
Draco, however, never had the chance to ask because the next moment, the door to the Infirmary slammed open.
It was Blaise Zabini in a very showy red dress.
"Blaise! What're you doing here?" Draco said suddenly, forgetting just for a second that he was supposed to be Ron.
Hermione made her way up the narrow spiral staircase to Dumbledore's office and took great care in not hitting any of the walls. Everything looked as fragile as the man the steps led up to did. When she'd finally reached the top, she stood up straighter and made sure her hair was in place; after all, she was visiting the Headmaster and she was lucky that he was taking her appointment, so she should at least make an honest effort at looking nice and presentable.
With an intake of breath, Hermione knocked on the door and the instant her hand had touched the door, it swung open and Hermione took in an even sharper intake of breath.
Dumbledore's office was a mess! Someone had raided it! The desk in which he sat in was upturned, papers lay scattered everywhere, bottles had fallen over, some vases were broken, picture frames were off-center, Fawkes was flying around in circles at the top of the room, and Dumbledore lay on a bed of Mandrake plants with his eyes closed.
Completely forgetting her neat and prim appearance, Hermione immediately dropped her books and fumbled through her robes for her wand. She ran to the Headmaster, and though she was feeling panicked, she shook him gently. "Headmaster," Hermione whispered. "Professor Dumbledore, please," she begged.
To her surprise, Dumbledore stirred and opened his eyes. Hermione quickly moved out of the way as the old man sat up suddenly and yawned. He smacked his lips and looked around at his office as if everything was normal. He jumped a bit as one of the Mandrake plants beneath him took a bite at his leg, and then he finally spoke. "That was a good nap, really. Naps, they're wonderful, aren't they? Refreshes the mind." Dumbledore finally noticed it was Hermione that had woken him up. Ignoring that her normally small and alert brown eyes were now wide beyond reason and her mouth hung open as she stared at him, he said, "Of course, a brilliant minded individual like you must know of the benefits of naps."
Hermione mouthed wordlessly for a couple of seconds before she nodded and closed her mouth.
"Thought so!" Dumbledore jumped to his feet and stretched his arms and waved them about. After five jumping jacks, he addressed Hermione once again. "Now then, what have you come here to speak of?"
Suddenly, Fawkes landed on Dumbledore's head and he beamed even more as Hermione struggled for words.
The Headmaster looked ridiculous! Like a flustered peacock.
"Oh," Dumbledore said, twirling a strand of braided beard between his frail fingers, "Don't mind the mess. I decided to do a bit of redesigning!"
"Oh," was all Hermione could say. Pushing the sudden shock she'd just experienced to the back of her mind, she continued. "Well, Headmaster," she couldn't help but wring her fingers. Her reason for coming to Dumbledore sounded stupider and stupider the closer and closer she got to telling him what was on her mind. "It's about Harry."
"Ah, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said, casually conjuring two chairs for them to sit in, "do go on."
Hermione sat down on the chair she'd been offered. For some reason, she couldn't look at Dumbledore. Perhaps because she felt so childish coming to Dumbledore for such a simple reason. Hermione focused on a spot on her lap and began, "Well, I'm worried about him. He's been acting so strange lately and he's not really eating. Last night he had one bite of dinner and the night before he didn't have any dinner at all and he skipped lunch to play Quidditch. And he's looking pale and he hardly talks to anyone anymore and he hasn't slept much either. Sometimes I'll stay up to study, or I'll get up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, and I'll see Harry just sitting in front of the fire in the common room." Hermione bit her bottom lip. This sounded so stupid.
She looked up to find that Dumbledore had been listening to her story very intently. Realizing Hermione didn't have anymore words to make her story make more sense, he sat back in his chair. "Ms. Granger, do not worry about Mr. Potter."
Hermione furrowed her brows and her eyes asked Dumbledore to clarify what it was he was trying to say.
"If I were you, I'd pay attention to other things."
Hermione racked her brain for what the crazy man before her was trying to say. "But Harry—"
"Is fine," Dumbledore said. "For now." He paused to see if Hermione had anything to say, but she didn't. Not now, at least. "I'm sorry to cut our meeting short, but if you'll excuse me, I've another appointment to play Exploding Snap with Mr. Crouch. I'm sure you remember who he is."
Hermione grimaced internally. Of course she remembered that idiotic and arrogant man.
"Don't study too hard, now. And remember to wash behind your ears, it shows character! I trust you'll be able to see yourself out?"
Hermione nodded and as she did, Dumbledore disappeared with a popping sound.
"But you can't apparate inside Hogwarts," Hermione whispered furiously as she walked down the spiral staircase out of Dumbledore's office.
"Don't you call me by my first name, Gryffindor scum!" Blaise spat at Ron.
Draco repeatedly punched himself internally for forgetting he was supposed to be Ron. If any of the Slytherins knew he'd been parading around in anything Gryffindor, that would be the end of him.
"What? You want me to call you by Zabini? How ugly! If my father—" Draco spluttered back.
Ginny was glaring daggers at Draco now. Ron always tried to talk back to Slytherins, but he never mentioned his father!
Blaise smirked at Ron. "Your father? Your father, what? That lump you insist on calling a father—"
Before Blaise could finish, Ginny had jumped up. She was better than her brothers at repressing her temper, but she was dangerously angered nonetheless. "What do you want, Blaise?" Ginny said, trying to keep her voice steady.
Blaise carefully scanned the Infirmary for signs of Draco, just a hint of silver hair, but not a single strand could be found. She crossed her arms over her chest and spoke to Ginny and Ron with her nose high in the air. "Nothing from the likes of you!" With a final glare, Blaise stalked out of the Infirmary.
"She's lovely, isn't she?" Draco said after Blaise left.
Ginny couldn't tell from his tone if he was trying to be sarcastic or if he really meant it. She chose to ignore his comment and proceeded with what was on her mind. "So, how should we go about doing it?"
"Doing it? I'm not that kind of boy!" Draco scoffed, fluttering his lashes in a feminine manner at Ginny.
Ginny rolled her eyes in disgust. What a freak! Ginny thought to herself. If I ever find out who did this, that person is so going to die the most painful death for making me waste my time with Draco Malfoy! Now she sighed and forced herself to look into Draco's— her brother's eyes. She couldn't help but notice that even though she was staring into Ron's eyes, they were different because it was Draco who was looking through them. Ron's eyes were always playful, or nervous, or alert, but never so blank. She could always see right through her brother when she looked into his eyes— feel what he was feeling, and this was probably one of the reasons she favored him most out of all her brothers. True, she loved all her siblings dearly, but besides the fact that Ron was barely older than she was, he was the most like a true friend.
She remembered how she had had no friends in her first year at Hogwarts since she was so introverted as soon as she began writing to Tom Riddle. Ginny was always a bit quiet, but knowing Tom… he had caused her to think that nothing else and no one else in the world mattered, but he was wrong. Harry and Ron had told her of their adventure into the Chamber of Secrets many times anew. Even though Ginny's survival had become nearly hopeless, it had been Ron that had come with Harry to rescue her. Sure, the idea was completely stupid, but it was an act of the heart and of emotion. The only reason Harry had done the actual saving was because of an unstoppable collapse of rocks overhead. Her brother, Ron, not the person in front of her, wherever her real brother was— he was always there for her. But this time, he was the one who needed her.
"Tough crowd," Draco said, dropping his innocent girl act. Ginny tumbled back into reality and realized she'd been staring into his eyes for a minute or two.
"No, I mean," Ginny stuttered, hiding her frustration, "How should we go about switching you and Ron back into your respective bodies?"
"What makes you think Weasley's in my body?" Draco asked even though that was just what he suspected as well.
"Well, if you're in Ron's body, where else would Ron be?"
Draco placed his left hand on his chin, arched his left eyebrow (Ginny thought it looked funny because Ron only knew how to arch his right eyebrow), and began to think. Firstly, why would anyone have him and Weasley switch bodies? What a sick-minded psycho, Draco thought. Next, why did he still have the craving for blood? He hadn't forgotten about the voices in his head. He'd heard later after his second year at Hogwarts that Potter had been hearing voices and even though it wasn't his fault for hearing them, it was never good to be hearing voices that other people couldn't hear and it most likely wasn't any better if the voices asked to be fed blood. Perhaps it was Ron Weasley that was mad and the people that lived in his head were now bothering him. Then again, why would the voices inside Weasley's head be talking of blood, the Dark Lord's water and wine?
"Hold on," Ginny said softly, interrupting Draco's thoughts. Ginny fumbled through her robes for her wand and said, "Accio Ron!"
A second later, Draco was lifted from the Infirmary bed and was flying across the room headed straight for Ginny. She tried to back away from her brother's approaching face that was full of surprise, but she wasn't quick enough. Draco's head made contact with Ginny's body where her wand had been— in front of her chest. With his head nestled between Ginny's breasts, he and Ginny toppled backwards and were sprawled on the floor, Draco lying on top of Ginny, head still on her bosom and Ginny spread-eagle under Draco's long body.
Ginny immediately felt tension flood her body. She was breathing hard now and here eyes were wide open, once again staring into her brother's eyes— Draco's eyes.
Draco was obviously taken by surprise when he'd collided head first into a woman's chest, but now, still on top of Ginny, he lifted his upper body off of her, holding himself up with his two hands placed on the ground on either side of Ginny. He cocked an eyebrow and looked into her dark blue eyes. She stared up at him, her eyes full of shock and maybe even horror. It was interesting how all her brothers had sparkling light blue eyes whilst she had sad pools of dark blue in her eyes. He liked those pools.
Ginny suddenly shivered and Draco felt it. He cursed inwardly for even thinking about Ginny's eyes as if he were interested in her and abruptly rolled off of her.
Blood… it is near…
Draco's pupils dilated. Not the voice again! Ginny finally sat up and choosing that it was best to ignore the voice in his head, Draco began his cheekiness. "Well Weasley, I know I'm tempting, but how about I pencil you in for a time when I'm not in your brother's body? It wouldn't really go too well with… anyone. If you know what I—"
BLOOD! Feed us…
"Argh!" Draco said suddenly, clutching his head with both his hands.
Ginny was about to say, "Shove it, Malfoy," or something similar, but instead, she asked, "Malfoy, what's wrong?"
Ginny almost pitied him at that moment. Maybe her emotions were biased since it was her brother's face she looked at whenever she spoke to him, but his eyes hadn't fooled her, so what was it that made her feel sorry for him?
Draco only slightly loosened his fingers' grip on his head and gave a weak smile, or smirk, or sneer— whatever it was, and said, "Nothing, Weasley. What's wrong with you? Not that that experience will keep me particularly scarred for life, but—"
"I was going to see if I could make the real Ron come here," Ginny said, realizing how pathetic her idea had been.
"You idiot, your magic can't work long distance—" Draco cut himself off as he moaned again.
BLOOD! FEED US BLOOD! Serve your master and feed us BLOOD! The one true Lord… give him blood, feed us blood!
"The Dark Lord?" Draco gasped more in a question's form.
"You-Know-Who?" Ginny asked.
"Of course I know who the Dark Lord is!" Draco spat back.
Ginny realized the stupidity of her You-Know-Who remark. Many people in Slytherin house were able to refer to the Dark Lord as Voldemort.
"What about the Dark Lord?" Ginny tried again.
Draco had been sitting up straight on the floor, but now he was on his hands and knees, obviously in pain. The pain must have been great, because Ginny had never seen Draco Malfoy reveal his feelings so freely. He had ceased keeping a blank face and wasn't wiping away the sweat sliding down the side of his face and back of his neck.
"Malfoy…" Ginny began.
"Get out of my head!" Draco suddenly burst out.
"Who's in your head?" Ginny asked. "Ron— I mean Draco," Ginny paused a bit. This was one of the first times she'd called him by his first name. When she looked up at Draco in her brother's body, she could see the rapid rise and fall of his chest.
Eyes wide with horror, Ginny bellowed, "Madam Pomfrey! Help, Draco— I mean, Ron, he's—"
Ginny never got a chance to finish, however, because Draco's eyes suddenly flew wide open before he fainted onto Ginny's lap.
"Malfoy?" She asked, timidly stirring his shoulder. "Draco, are you alright?" She didn't realize at the time what a stupid question this was. Of course, he didn't answer, as he was unconscious. And why hadn't Madam Pomfrey come in yet? She had an epiphany as she realized that the locking spell she had placed on the door also prohibited sound from escaping through either end of the door that was locked.
Ginny sighed a heavy sigh as she wondered what to do. She thought hard before she finally concluded with one word: "Harry."
After Hermione had left him at dinner, Harry didn't really have much of an appetite to finish his dinner, so he went back to his dormitory in the middle of dinner only after giving Neville his slice of fickleberry pie. He now sat on the very center his crimson covered bed, his arms clutching his knees, which were curled into his chest. Every now and then he would heave a great sigh and at one point, he had tried reading his favorite book, Quidditch Through the Ages, but even that ceased to cheer him up and he was back to sighing once again. True, Ron was going to be all right, but he still felt horrible. He knew Hermione had noticed by now that he hadn't been eating much and the bags under his eyes were quite evident as well. Even he had noticed he was looking paler, but who could blame him?
If only they knew— Harry had begun thinking when a tapping on his door interrupted him.
The curtain of eyelashes hiding Harry's brilliant eyes gave way as he looked up, his green eyes shimmering as he did so. The visitor knocked once again.
Who could it be? Everyone was still supposed to be at dinner.
"Harry?"
It was Ginny.
"Harry, it's me," Ginny said, "Can I come in?"
Harry searched his brain for what to say. He'd really been enjoying the silence— it was part of the reason he didn't mind staying up so late at night. Finally he replied, "Um… not now Gin, I'm kind of busy."
He'd tried to be nice, but Ginny was uncharacteristically obtrusive today. "Busy?" She questioned hysterically. "What're you so busy with? What're you doing?"
Harry screwed up his face and finally replied with a pathetic, "I'm busy brooding! Just leave me alone today." Harry said. Then he remembered he was talking to Ginny and added, "Please."
"Harry Potter, I'm coming in this very instant, so if you're stark naked or anything, put some clothes on!" Ginny yelled through the door. "Unlock this door!" Ginny screamed, jiggling the handle to his room. She growled a low growl and wand in hand, she whispered, "Alohomora," and the door swung open to reveal Harry still sitting on his bed.
"Since when did brooding require nudity?" Harry inquired, but there was no time for Ginny or Harry to even have the slightest moment of amusement from his joshing. The moment the door had opened, Harry had briefly scanned Ginny before his eyes rested on the floating object next to her.
However, what Harry had seen wasn't an object, it was a person. It was Ron Weasley.
Immediately abandoning his so-called brooding composure, Harry leapt off his bed and ran to the door. "Ginny, what happened? If he's not alright, why'd you take him out of the Wing?"
Ginny suspired and explained everything that had happened in the Infirmary and everything she had learned from the Ron who was really Draco, ignoring Harry's sudden gasping and wide eyes. He was actually rather calm for a person just digesting a story like the one Ginny was telling Harry.
Running the story through his head one more time, just to clarify, Harry pointed a slightly trembling finger at Ron's body. "You mean to tell me that's Malfoy?"
"Yes, Harry, and I think something's wrong with him. He fainted and it was like he was hearing voices. He was acting like his head was going to explode."
"Mm, I know the feeling," Harry mumbled as he remembered the basilisk's hissing in his ears during his second year.
Ginny was still at the door and the rest of the Gryffindors would be coming back from dinner any minute. "Harry, are you going to let me in or not? I think," Ginny searched for words for a minute before finally saying, "I think you're the only one who can help. The only one who might understand."
Harry began looking squeamish. "You mean we're going to have to fix whatever's in Malfoy's head?"
"Harry! Ron's missing! Haven't you understood that yet? And this," Ginny said, pointing to Ron's body, "is Draco Malfoy. He's not strong enough to cast magic that can make two souls switch places, so it must've been someone related to Draco, if you know what I mean."
The Ron beside Ginny was still unconscious. "Gin, I think you should go to sleep early tonight. It's been a long, rough day for you and you ought to get some rest. Totally understandable about—"
"Harry? Aren't you listening to me? Don't you believe me?" Ginny exploded, her eyes begging for the answer she hoped for.
Harry thought over everything he had just learned. How could Draco possibly be in Ron's body? It simply wasn't possible and Madam Pomfrey had looked him over quite thoroughly down at the Infirmary. Harry remembered the countless times he had landed himself in the Infirmary for injuries, however abnormal their causes were, but Madam Pomfrey, fussy as she was, always knew what to do with his detriments.
Harry had cast his lashes over his eyes once again, and when he looked up, Ginny could feel the doubt Harry felt.
"Harry, he's your best friend," Ginny pleaded one last time.
"But wouldn't Madam Pomfrey have noticed something?" Harry asked.
"Harry, you know first-hand that identity switches can't be detected by nurses and doctors—"
"But he's Malfoy!" Harry suddenly burst out, surprising both Ginny and himself.
"Harry!" Ginny said, backing away slowly, disbelief apparent on her face.
The rest of the Gryffindors were coming back from dinner now and realizing her time was short, she said what she had to say quickly. "Who are you, Harry? So what if this is Malfoy?" Ginny said, motioning once again to the unconscious body next to her. "Don't you want to know where Ron is?"
Flustered beyond reason, Ginny grabbed her wand before Harry could reply and yelled, "Petrificus totalus!" Her favorite spell. Harry stiffened immediately and Ginny stiffly stepped over his body, fumbled through the case at the foot of Harry's bed and drew out a silvery cloak— Harry's invisibility cloak. She turned to Harry and announced, "I'm borrowing this!" With that, she slammed the door to Harry's dormitory shut, threw the invisibility cloak over Ron's unconscious body and yelled down the stairs to the first person she saw, Dean Thomas. "Dean, I think Harry might need your help, he was making out with his mirror when he petrified himself."
Dean's handsome young face contorted and was soon dotted with confused wrinkles as he hurried up the stairs. Before he entered the boys' dormitories, he turned to see Ginny at the bottom of the stairs, rabidly walking across the common room towards the stairs that led up to the girls' dormitories. Harry really must have done it this time. Dean took a closer look and noticed Ginny was walking with her right arm slightly hovering at her side, her wand pointing at an angle as if she were pointing it at someone walking next to her who was half her size.
"Oh sure, besides the fact I got an A+ on my Potions paper, everything's completely normal." Dean shook his head slowly as he pushed open the door to the dorms.
Before she had gone to sleep, Ginny had drawn the curtains of her four-poster all the way around the bed so that no one could see in. She awoke suddenly to the sound of girls bustling about getting themselves dressed and ready for the day, but soon realized that wasn't what had awoken her. Ginny blinked once or twice to clear her vision and looked up to see her brother's scowling face look back at her.
While Draco had been unconscious, Ginny had tied him to a chair with some special rope she had taken from Fred and George's stash of magical goodies. Draco couldn't move anything but his head since Ron's hands and feet were tied to the chair he sat in. She had gagged him as well and had slept with her wand under her pillow. The chair was magically secured on her bed at the moment.
Ginny grabbed her wand and with a wave, the gag that had been on her brother's mouth disappeared and his scowl could be more clearly seen.
"How long have you been up?" Ginny said as a way of greeting him.
"Three hours," Draco said tonelessly as he glanced at the shimmering clock numbers that were enchanted onto a portion of the curtain by Ginny's head. "Do you know how boring it's been? You don't even snore! None of you do!" Ginny could only stare. "By the way, thanks for letting me spend the night in a girls' dormitory, but tying me up was a bit too much don't you think? How was I supposed to play with each one of you before morning? Oh well, maybe tomorrow—"
"Draco!" Ginny gasped, highly appalled. She made certain to keep her voice at a low whisper so none of the other girls would hear her.
Draco wore an innocent look on his face. "What? I just wanted to be fair, you know—"
"Do you not even remember yesterday?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Draco said in a haughty tone. "And I demand you untie me this instant. I have to use the little boys' room, if you don't mind."
"I do mind," Ginny said. "You're not going into the bathroom while you're like," Ginny struggled for words and finally said, "that!"
"Oh, very logical, Weasley. Are you proposing I hold everything in while we march up to Malfoy Manor to undo this bloody mess? Well, why didn't you say so before? Before we leave, how about some tea and disembowelment, too?" Draco wouldn't look at Ginny's face. His lips were a thin, slanted line on his face and he glared at the chair handle that his left hand was tied to.
"Go?" Ginny finally said, breaking the silence.
Draco turned to her with a bored expression on his face, his left eyebrow arched.
"Where are we going? You said 'before we go'. Well, where're we going?" Ginny asked again.
"To Malfoy Manor, you pillock," He replied, still not looking into her eyes.
Ignoring Draco's pillock statement since she was desperate to have her brother back, she persisted, "How do you know we go to Malfoy Manor."
"I don't," Draco said softly, but nonetheless with the same malice he'd used to speak to her all morning. "I had another dream."
"Another one? You mean you have strange dreams too—"
"What is this, Weasley? Twenty questions? Use that damn stick in your hand to untie me now!" Draco was looking at her now, nostrils flared, eyes only slits on his face, teeth barred.
Ginny lifted her hand and softly uttered, "Finite incantatem." The ropes fell away from Draco's hands and feet and Draco fell over onto the bed because the chair wasn't fixed to the bed anymore. He was still in the Infirmary clothes. He got up quickly, straightened his garb and began to mess with his hair, but then he remembered it wasn't his hair so he left it alone.
"How do I get out of here?" Draco asked monotonously.
"You're Ron," Ginny said. "The girls are used to seeing you in here. Just walk out."
"Well, I guess Weasley doesn't have it off that bad after all, allowed to parade around the girls' dormitory whenever he wants."
"Sad he's not a pervert like you, mm?" Ginny said, not able to bear Draco's sarcasm anymore.
"Ha. Ha." Draco replied bitterly. He hated to be made fun of. He wasn't part of a joke's punch line, he was supposed to be the puncher.
Draco was obviously useless; not even showing any sign that he cared that he was stuck in a body that wasn't his own. How was she going to find the real Ron? One thing was for sure: No help from Harry, that git.
As he prepared to push open the curtain, he turned and looked at Ginny, the malignant expression melting away from his face just slightly. "Are you going to sit there all day, Weasley?" Even though Draco called her whole family by their last name, Weasley, each one had a different tone and this one was hers. She looked up and didn't say anything. "Well, it's hard to get to the Manor just sitting around in your nightgown." Ginny had an amazed expression on her face suddenly. Draco Malfoy, ultimate doer of bad, was going to help her? "And you had better get some real clothes. I refuse to go anywhere with you if you come dressed like—" Draco pointed to a picture beside Ginny's bed, her whole entire redheaded family smiling and waving furiously at them, "—that."
Draco turned around and stepped out from the secret barrier Ginny's four-poster had created. "Wait," Ginny said without warning, "Um… thanks for helping me out, Draco." With that, Ginny's cheeks were covered in a blanket of red and she couldn't look at Draco's face for some odd reason, even though the face she would see even if she did look up would be her brother's face.
"I'm not helping you, Weasley. How degrading and low-class could I get? You think I want to stay trapped in this ugly body forever?" Draco snorted. "I think not." Ginny stared bewildered as her thoughts about a different Draco were in the process of being turned into oblivion in her mind. "Now get ready. We leave after breakfast."
Without another word, Draco began walking towards the door. Even though he had been amazed that thirteen girls had said 'hi' to him— to Ron on his way out, he didn't even change the expression on his face.
Author's Note: This chapter was longer than all the other chapters I've written. Anyway, yay! Draco and Ginny are off to Malfoy Manor, Harry's a git beyond reason, Dumbledore's plain crazy, and Hermione's perplexed. Could things get any better? As for Ron, sorry, there was no room for him in this chapter, but he'll be in the next one.
Chapter Five: Look forward to the Draco and Ron confrontation! Remember that Ron still hasn't realized he's in Draco's body. Harry and Hermione realize Ginny and Ron are missing as well. It's a lot more exciting than I make it sound.
Hugs to my chums, Jonah, and Eiko for reviewing the previous chapter! :)