Chapter 3
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"He wants what?!" James stared at Minerva, eyes wide with shock.
"Ginevra Weasley." She replied sharply, her gaze harsh.
Sirius sighed. "We'll have to talk to Ginevra."
"You're not actually considering handing her over?" Lily asked, disbelievingly.
"If she is willing."
"You are going to give a human being to Harry so he can kill people for you?!"
"We would simply not order him to kill. Harry is not entirely mad, as long as we give him what he wants and keep him under our employment, he is leashed."
"Now he's a dog?" Lily shook her head disbelievingly. "The way you treat people."
Minerva gave her an ice-cold look. "This is a war."
"So don't lower yourself to this level."
"Lily, you don't understand. We have to!" Sirius burst out, earning a glare from the Hogwarts Headmistress.
"You don't have to give away a person!"
"Harry may be a killer but he asked for this girl for a reason. His request may work to bring him out of whatever depths his humanity has crept to."
"I disagree." James spoke up. "What insurance does Ginevra have? What are you going to do, walk up to her: Kid, we just want to give you to a psycho mass murderer, no problem? What are you going to tell her parents if he kills her?"
"We will tell them the truth. That she died in aid of the light."
Lily made a noise in the back of her throat.
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Harry laughed to himself. The thought. The simple, ridiculous, yet oh-so-tempting thought. It could only make him laugh in disbelief that they seemed to be considering his ludicrous request. Trade a human being? How despicable.
He sobered at his own apparent disgust at the notion. If they were seriously thinking about that, he would soon have Ginny Weasley standing on his doorstep. He didn't know what to make of that. Why he had asked for the Weasley was beyond his comprehension. The idea had come to him in a moment of intense boredom and he was already beginning to regret it. The girl was undeniably beautiful in her own way, but Harry knew he could sleep with almost any young witch in Europe, why Ginny?
He supposed it revealed the true colours of the light side in an increasingly tedious war.
It was a common misconception, shared by the majority of the wizarding world, that Harry was insane. It didn't bother him in the slightest, he'd done nothing to assure them his mind was intact. He had no intention of doing so. Harry admitted to himself that he quite enjoyed the fact that everyone thought he was unhinged. In his younger years it had annoyed him to no end, but now he found it quite amusing and he wondered if that should have bothered him.
The fact of the matter was, Harry was incredibly, mind-bogglingly, unbearably bored with it all. It sounded pretentious but Harry had been in the center of the war since he was born. Before he was born if what he'd heard was true. It had become a drag beyond belief. He didn't even know if he could kill Tom, yet they all had expected him to. Harry was glad to not tie himself down, they were all out to get him anyway.
It struck him that he was paranoid.
Just at that moment, someone rapped on the door. With a rather undue amount of force, Harry noted.
Puzzled, Harry stood. His hand automatically went for his wand. It was a strange reaction to someone at his door but, as someone who had lived without visitors for quite some time, he reserved the right to be jumpy.
He didn't realize exactly who it was until he reached the entrance hall. A small, astonished smile spread across his face. He schooled it immediately.
It was with an expression of nonchalance that Harry opened the door to Ginny Weasley.
"Fancy seeing you here!" Harry let an unbalanced grin grace his face. The sarcasm clearly irritated her and Harry ushered her in with a sense of irrational satisfaction.
"Don't mess with me, Harry," He noticed her teeth were gritted. "Where's my room?"
"Second door on the right, third on the left, up the stairs, left, fourth door on your right. The bathroom is opposite. Unless you would rather bed with me?" Harry noticed his acerbic tone and grimaced inwardly. That would not do.
She didn't warrant the question a reply, instead huffing once and taking the third door on her right. Harry shook his head. She'd be back, either that or she'd be too stubborn and end up sleeping on the floor. Only four rooms in the house were properly furnished.
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Ginny stomped her foot in frustration for what felt like the hundredth time. She must've taken a wrong turn somewhere. She dropped her trunk. Hearing the 'thud' echo in the huge empty room made her sigh in defeat. She sat on the near empty case.
In hindsight Ginny realized that she definitely should have packed more. She'd been so furious at the time that throwing things into the trunk was as far as she got. Select Order members had approached her, set the offer out and had basically cornered her with talk of ending the war. Ginny knew she was doomed from the beginning, she heard the first few sentences, snatched the letter and had made as graceful an exit as possible.
The portkey had left her guessing as to what house she was meant to enter. The houses were far apart, the area looked like the country, but a bit more up-market. She had walked five miles and she wasn't even sure she was going in the right direction. She had knocked on sixteen doors. Her rage had only increased as confused gazes had met her. Each house grew more and more pompous than the last. By the time she had finally reached the large white building with the well-trimmed garden she had been ready to give up.
As she examined the clean and empty room she found herself in, she knew this house was probably the most pompous of them all. And worse, it knew it.
"Arrogant, bloody house." She muttered. It only irked her that the words echoed.
"I advise you actually listen to the directions next time," Came the sarcastic voice of Harry Potter.
"I don't need anything from you." She responded, feeling lost and betrayed.
"You are my guest, I am here to help you, all you need do is ask." He moved closer to her and she couldn't help but step away in disgust.
"I am not your guest, murderer." Ginny spat, loathing the idea that he was catering to her whims while she was here. She was doing it for the light side, not for herself or him.
"Murderer?" He laughed mockingly. "This is war, Ginny dearest, you're surrounded by cold-hearted killers."
She had never hated him more.
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She seemed to find the idea of being his guest revolting. He hid the feeling of hurt from even himself. It wasn't the sort of thing he wanted to deal with.
"I'm not your guest, murderer." She bit out, confirming Harry's strong suspicions of her aversion to his company. He thought her choice of title was ironic.
"Murderer?" He questioned with a short contemptuous laugh. "This is war, Ginny dearest, you're surrounded by cold-hearted killers."
Her glare held the intensity of a thousand killing curses.
He shook his head. "Your choice, your opinions. Come, I'll show you to your rooms this time."
Harry turned and left. For a second he was uncertain Ginny would follow but he heard her sigh and the sound of her footsteps trailing behind him.
Ginny couldn't see his satisfied smile.
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She supposed Harry wasn't doing anything half-way. The room was very nice. Considering the emptiness of the other rooms, she'd thought he wouldn't have made much of an effort on any sleeping quarters. She wondered if it was a guest room or if he'd made it up specifically for her. From that thought Ginny wondered who his guests would be. The idea of You-Know-Who dropping in for a spot of tea was sort of ridiculous.
"The room is acceptable?" Harry's voice sounded from the doorway.
"It's fine." She answered shortly, wanting him to leave.
He seemed to understand as he nodded curtly. "For breakfast you'll want to go down the stairs, into the hall, second door on your left." Ginny committed the route to memory, she wouldn't stand the embarrassment again.
The door was closed behind him and Ginny felt the sick dread overcoming her. Harry didn't act like he was going to rape her. It was one thing that really hadn't occurred to her in the little time between the news and her arrival. Now it consumed her. Surely Harry wouldn't... but he was a murderer and traitor. And possibly the most sordid, a mercenary.
Ginny had just finished school. She was about to approach the real world. Of course, that had been shattered. A shiver running down her spine. She hoped she would survive Harry. She didn't care about her job or her love-life at the moment. She wasn't worried about being basically directionless, she was only scared for her life and her dignity. Ginny was a prideful person, she admitted, she couldn't lose face in front of Harry. It seemed she already had though, in her humiliation and irritation earlier she'd gotten lost in her host's home.
At that thought she wondered what had possessed Harry to buy this house. It was quietly ostentatious from the outside but from the inside the characteristic reigned. The place was outright flamboyant in its excessive amount of rooms and space. Most of it seemed to be empty, as Ginny had found in her frustration earlier. Not only did it not seem Harry's style, though Ginny did not think herself any judge of such a thing, it was particularly pointless.
She didn't bother unpacking her trunk. She didn't want to touch the wardrobe, which appeared to be crafted of maple. It looked expensive. Everything in the room looked like it would've cost more than the entire contents of the Burrow. It scared Ginny to be so far out of her depth.
With a bit of apprehension and nervousness, as she was not sure of what she should be doing in Harry's house, she pulled a book out of her trunk. Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland. A book she used to only read in her room for fear of teasing from her siblings. When she was smaller she taught herself how to fly on Charlie's broom. In her fifth year she'd joined the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a Chaser, she enjoyed playing Seeker best but Harry had occupied that position until her last year, when she had snatched up the opportunity.
She finally fell asleep on page 343.
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"Someone's an early bird." Harry drawled from behind her.
"Sarcasm is unbecoming." She snapped. Ginny had woken at six and had been unable to force herself back into oblivion in the unfamiliar and hostile grounds. She'd immediately blanched at the kitchen. They were muggle appliances. These were her father's toys in a not quite so 'make-believe' situation.
"What would you like for breakfast?" He asked, all humor dropped from his voice, Ginny found herself grateful.
"Eggs." She said quietly. "And toast."
"Done." He grinned and it fitted his face, Ginny thought, his eyes lit up.
She looked on as he flicked a few switches and turned a knob. She listened absently to his commentary. "This turns it on. You want the element up front so you turn this knob. How do you want your eggs?"
"Fried, thank you." She answered, feeling distinctly subdued.
She continued to watch Harry. He had changed so much. His hair was longer, looking as if it had not been cut in a long time. He obviously hadn't shaved either. Despite looking markedly unkempt, he was still clean, and Ginny was glad for it. Harry did look a lot more rugged than he had in school. Roguish really, Ginny thought, blushing. She shouldn't have still found this man attractive and engaging when she knew he was a mass murderer, a traitor and the fact that he had virtually bought her.
He looked like he'd kept in shape, his activities would guarantee that, and healthy. Ginny could see several scars marking his neck and his upper arm. Battle wounds, probably. Nothing that couldn't have been prevented from scarring by going to a healer. Of course, with Harry's profession he couldn't exactly go to St. Mungo's. And Harry had never been apt at healing spells when she'd known him.
She slowly ate her breakfast opposite Harry. His eyes flickered to hers every now and then. They truly were a brilliant shade of green.
"They sent you then." He broke the silence.
"They didn't have to. I went before they got to asking." She wanted him to know she was not forced to come here. She needed him to know. "You're big in this war. I want us to win."
His bitter sigh surprised her. "I'm not really important, you know, this game I'm playing, it's just to distract them. I suppose I'm important in a different way. Significant."
It was the first time since she'd arrived that she'd heard him babble. "What are you talking about?" She asked.
He laughed. "I don't even know."
She thought maybe she shouldn't have interrupted his rambling because he didn't sound completely certifiable.
"It doesn't matter now, anyway, I've just got to wait it out." He sounded so resigned, it made Ginny want to hug him and at the same time strangle him.
"Wait what out?"
"This stupid war." Harry answered.
"Dumbledore said-"
"I know, he told me." Harry was quick to cut her off. "He said I can't wait it out because I'm the only one who can end it."
That confused her. "So why are you trying to?"
"He's senile." Ginny would have jumped to Dumbledore's defense, the ex-Headmaster was in a magically induced coma because of the man just a few feet from her, but she couldn't bring herself to for the broken look on Harry's face. "It's my life, he can't tell me how to live it just because some bloody fake like Trelawney said so."
Ginny felt anger building up. "You're so selfish!" She cried, ignoring her sympathy.
His chair flew back and hit the wall violently. Ginny shrank back into her seat.
"Don't tell me what I am, Ginny, you are nothing more than my bounty." He spat the last word out.
How dare he call her bounty?! "And you, pal, are nothing more than a vengeful shirker!"
There was a gaping silence.
Harry suddenly grinned. "Did you just call me 'pal'?"
Ginny grimaced. "Shut up."
"You did!"
"Harry, shut up."
"Fine." He folded his arms. "But you did."
"What did I tell you?" She growled.
He smiled.
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Ginny wondered if all common-sense had abandoned her. She had purposefully provoked the most infamous murder of the moment. She still couldn't shake the fact that it was Harry, the boy she'd known in school, her brother's best-friend. It hurt to admit that she could see herself getting used to the predicament. She supposed it was only sensible, considering she would be here for a while yet, it was inevitable. But Ginny didn't want to settle in, it felt like she would be the one betraying her family and friends. The family and friends she wasn't allowed to contact and hadn't said goodbye to. The loneliness caught up.
She heard his voice in her mind. "Unless you would rather bed with me?"
A part of her desperately wished she'd considered it as she stared at the ceiling of the unfamiliar room. She'd dined with Harry for lunch and small talk had ensued, but dinner had been a silent affair, his body tense and expression strained. She didn't ask what was wrong because she knew Harry wouldn't answer.
Ginny turned over. One day gone. Now she had to face tomorrow. And the day after that. And the days following that.
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