AN - this has to be record time for me i feel for one of my updates! It may have to take more than one review next time, but since I promised here is the next chapter! hope you like thanks for the two reviews which made me continue!
druccillamalfoyrox - i have not broken my word as you can see and I hope I didn't make you wait too long! your reviews lighten my day and you make me write - so thank you over and over again multifold!
jjp91 - i hope you like this chapter too!
Chapter 6 – Reactions of all kind
"This is an extraordinary case Lord Malfoy, you understand that I would have to talk to Miss Weasley alone to make sure that there is no coercion and it is her choice." Peering through his half-moon glasses, Professor Dumbledore's penetrating stare made Draco rethink his stratagem. What if deep down Ginevra didn't want to be in Slytherin? Ignoring his doubts, Draco realised that only the truth would serve its purpose but he would rather die than let Dumbledore win.
"You mean Lady Weasley, Professor Dumbledore, if she is to be in Slytherin House her titular name is to be used in all circumstances as custom states. In regards to your other query, coercion would be the wrong phrase, by all means please do bring Ginevra in here, but I must explain that there is a matter of a wizard's debt."
Dumbledore's expression didn't change but he continued to stare at Draco who was still sneering. Reaching out in front of him he picked up a jar.
"Sherbet Lemon Lord Malfoy? No? Shame, shame, rather addicted myself. Right, lets see, the wizard's debt, I must say I thought this would happen, now you obviously may collect whatever you wish but I advise you to think about how it may affect others, such as the Weasley's, the Gryffindors and the Slytherins." Popping a sherbet lemon into his mouth, Dumbledore stared at a spot on the wall, as if he was finished with the discussion. Draco, on the other hand, had become rapidly angrier as Dumbledore had continued speaking. Gripping his wand in one hand, he slammed his fist down on Dumbledore's desk and exploded.
"Haven't you forgotten something while trying to give me a moral lecture, Professor? What about thinking about how it may affect Ginevra, Lady Weasley, the purest female in the Wizarding world with illustrious bloodlines flowing straight from our forefathers. But no, even you, The Mighty Dumbledore doesn't even think of her, she has been left alone for far too long and deserves more. Not only is it a wizard's debt but it is something that will keep her safe from prying eyes, Slytherin will be a safe haven for her and she need not fear idiotic Gryffindors anymore. If you think that you have a better house, I can prove you wrong, she belongs with us and that is where she is staying." Draco was trembling with rage and had whipped out his wand from behind his robes and pointed it straight at Dumbledore's heart despite the loud gasps from the portraits on the walls.
Dumbledore, however, just kept his eyes on Draco's, and calmly said,
"Very well, Lord Malfoy, it is more than clear that you have Lady Weasley's best interests at heart despite the wizarding debt. I shall inform Professor Snape now and the rest of the school at dinner. The house-elves shall transfer Lady Weasley's belongings to the chambers you have undoubtedly given her. This shall be your burden Lord Malfoy if it fails. The house change is automatic since it is technically because of the debt so the School Sorting Hat shall not be brought into this matter. Please tell Lady Weasley that I am here if she ever needs to speak to me, good day, Lord Malfoy." A swirl of robes and a shout of "Dungeons" Dumbledore disappeared through the fireplace leaving Draco feeling elated.
Taking a handful of the floo powder from the pot beside the fireplace he shouted "Slytherin" and was engulfed by the green flames. Shaking himself rid of the ash, he looked around and saw that Blaise had summoned every Slytherin through the charmed emblems they all had on their robes. Draco and Blaise had thought of this in their third year when they had needed to talk to the house, the snakes were glowing green on their robes and the common room was filling up rapidly as more and more Slytherins appeared.
Chairs had appeared in the room, and were forming a semi-circle around the fireplace where Draco and Blaise stood. The Slytherins made their way over to the chairs and each had an allocated place which showed their ranking in the house and their lineage. Each Slytherin took pride in being placed where they were, for it was not only purity that mattered but nobility of heart too. They understood that a fellow Slytherin could not change the purity of the blood but they could become respected by upholding the honour of Slytherin house and swearing allegiance to it. However exhausted Draco was from his talk with Dumbledore, he always found it amusing seeing them gathered like this showing a stronger united front than any other house could ever have. It didn't matter what the houses thought of them, it actually made it easier for them to follow the old traditions.
Once every place was filled, a hushed silence spread through the common room, Blaise looked at Draco and realised that it was he who should break the news. He leant against the mantel-piece and stared ahead of him wondering how they were going to react.
Draco took a deep breath and looked down, he was actually nervous about this, what if they didn't accept her?
Malfoy since when did you start shaking like a baby, who cares if they don't want to accept her, we have therefore they will, you know that. Now hurry up, I want to see if she's ok.
Zabini, I'm warning you, get out of my head! Bloody hell, can't a wizard have one private thought!
Blaise started sniggering without realising that all the Slytherins were staring at him as if he had grown another head.
"Right, Malfoy is obviously incapable of telling you why you're gathered here, so I'll just tell - " Blaise felt an invisible hand pinch him hard on his arm, looking down he couldn't see anything, then he spied Draco's wand from underneath his robes and the murderous look in his eyes.
Draco, having heard Blaise's introduction could have killed him, didn't he think that this should be broken gently, Merlin, what the hell was wrong with him!
Running his hand through his silvery-blonde hair, Draco lifted his head and started to address the waiting Slytherins.
"As my dear friend, Zabini was about to say, a strange event has just occurred and it took place because we wanted it. What I'm about to say next may shock you, you may not like it or want it, but you shall accept it because both Blaise and I have supported it and felt that it should have happened. Is that understood?" Draco's voice was clear and loud as it echoed through the vast common room and bounced off the stone walls. The Slytherins all nodded in disbelief as their loyalty was subtly being questioned by their Prince. Seeing their blind allegiance to him and Blaise helped Draco continue with the news as he tried to get the next part done quickly.
"A student is being transferred from her house to this house and she shall be given my spare room. She has been maltreated by her own house, so I expect you to support her and protect her from any animosity which this decision will most certainly provoke not only from her own house but also the other houses. This will strengthen our house as we shall stand above them, disdainful of their pettiness." Listening to these words faint smiles started to appear on their faces as they could imagine the school's reaction, but they were still puzzled as to whom the girl was.
You're dragging it out Draco, nice speech and all but she's probably crying on your bed right now can you try and speed this up!
Blaise, it is not only her who needs our attention but the house too, they must understand.
"From your looks, I can tell you have no idea who the girl is. I promise you we have not broken any of our founder's rules. She is a pureblood, actually the most prominent female of our wizarding generation, Lady Ginevra Weasley." Draining any emotion from his face as he finished his speech, he surveyed the occupants of the room and saw the different stages of shock register in each of their expressions. If it had been any other situation it would have been almost comical to see all the Slytherins look so dumbfounded and portraying this amount of emotion.
Before any of the Slytherins could have time to think or say anything, a small red head was winding her away through the packed semi-circle of chairs. She reached the fireplace and stood in between Blaise and Draco. Stunned at seeing her in the common room, let alone awake, he noticed that there were no traces of tears on her face, she had reapplied her make-up which could rival Pansy's and had replaced the gold hem with the silvery green again. Slowly absorbing the changes from head to toe he saw that she had charmed the Slytherin emblem on her robes. The two snakes were sliding over each other and their eyes were glowing red. She smirked as she saw Draco's stunned expression at her handiwork, standing on her toes; she whispered in her ear rather saucily "I'll teach you how to do it if you want!" Winking at him she turned to the rest of the Slytherins, as yet another hushed silence fell upon them.
She saw a look of uncertainty on each of their faces combined with fear of Blaise and Draco. She then became conscious of their hesitation to accept her.
Making her face into a blank canvas, void of emotion and as cold as possible she drawled, "I understand your reluctance to accept me no matter what Blaise and Draco say, but I would just like to tell you this, I am honoured to be a part of Slytherin House just from the little I have seen, and it is all because of how you work together. I have been abandoned by Gryffindor because I have interacted with Voldemort even though it was involuntarily. My own family have ignored me and will now probably disown me which should make your decision easier as I will no longer be connected to a family you consider blood-traitors. As Draco said, I have a right to be in this house because I am of pure blood and noble lineage whoever my family are, from the seating arrangements you are in, it is obvious that I am an equal to Blaise and Draco which confirms my untainted blood. Better yet, the most influential deciding factor is that I probably hate and have more reason to hate Potter than any of you here. If none of these are good enough for you, you can just swallow your pride and cope with it for I have spoken with Severus and he has accepted me, I would prefer to become friends with you and enjoy your companionship but if not it does not matter for I am here to stay." Overwhelmed by her audacity, she started to clutch her robes and could feel her palms becoming clammy. An arm reached out to her and pulled her into his body not too roughly. Looking up she found herself gazing upon a grinning Blaise with pride sparkling in his eyes. Leaning down, he gently kissed her lips provoking a reaction from Ginevra. As she started to open her mouth wider and slip her tongue into his mouth he pulled away with an even bigger grin on his face. Falling short of thumping him across his head, she raised an eyebrow at his actions and then smiled when he whispered "I love it when you say my name!"
Remembering the Slytherins, they both turned to face them. They were all mirroring the grins that had been on their own faces just seconds before. They crowded around Ginevra and Blaise as if they had all always been friends.
Draco's heart was filled with pride. It had been her speech which had made them accept her; they would have followed his orders but not have believed him in their hearts. She was truly a Slytherin. Yet, for some reason he felt a slight pang inside him when he saw Blaise re-iterate the same feeling he had had when she was on his bed. He couldn't place it. Wondering what it was, he realised that he was standing by himself while all the others surrounded Blaise and Ginevra. Thinking that he had discovered what he was feeling, he pushed down his jealousy that Blaise was getting all the attention with Ginevra when it was part of his plan anyway. He couldn't let them get too close too soon; she needed to trust him first and to come to him as a brother without a boyfriend who would get in the way, especially if it was Blaise.
Wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn't notice Ginevra disengage herself from the seventh year Slytherins and walk towards him. She saw that he looked rather distant as usual and had heard how hard it was for him to persuade Dumbledore, it was a shame that he didn't perceive her as a girl worthy of his infamous attentions; she knew that she could have helped him. Sighing to herself, she understood that they could at least be friends it was better than unrequited love, she had experienced that with Potter and was not going through that again. Folding her arms around his waist she hugged him shyly as she sensed his spine stiffening with shock, keeping her hands around his waist she looked up and softly said,
"I haven't had the chance to thank-you yet Draco. I want to thank-you for realising that this would help me, for sticking up for me in front of Dumbledore, for trying to coerce all the Slytherins into accepting me, for not telling them that it was all part of a wizard's debt and most importantly for not leaving me when I needed you." All of Draco's jealousy vanished; he had only needed to hear those words from her and to see the admiration shining in her eyes, for him to forget his surroundings and place an almost chaste fatherly kiss on her forehead.
"That's ok little one; I'd do anything to make you happy! Anyway I think threatening Dumbledore with my wand was more for my pride than for you!" As both of them laughed, the Slytherins observed a slight change in Draco's features making him look almost caring. They made their way to their now joint room with Blaise trailing behind them. All three threw themselves down on Draco's sofas and discussed how to do Ginevra's room and whether they should redo all the chambers. The light materialistic discussion failed to prevent a macabre atmosphere settling upon them as the evening's dinner drew closer.
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