Meeting the Monsters

Ginerva Weasley had never lied to her mother before.

She had been a very honest child, and while she wouldn't always tell a complete truth, never had a tale untrue passed her lips. At least, to her mother.

Perhaps that was the reason she was so nervous right now, sitting in the plush red seats of the Hogwarts Express. Or maybe it was just the fact that what she was doing was so very wrong.

She glanced up at the petite blonde in front of her, wondering just how it had all worked out.

Finding the right person to lie to your family and friends by saying you were spending the vacation at their house so you could sneak off to your boyfriend's is hard enough. Finding one that was willing to lie to not only the Weasley's, but also to Harry Potter – acclaimed savior of the wizarding world -- was near to impossible.
When the boyfriend in question had suggested Luna Lovegood for the crime, Ginny was ready and waiting to fill out a form to St. Mungo's. As it turned out, she had indeed been the perfect choice. Whereas Ginny had to fight to keep in her nervousness, the lies had spilled from Luna's lips like butter, her expression not changing in the least to the pestering of her family. For a few, terrifying moments, Ginny thought that maybe Luna did think that she was going to spend the vacation at her house, and that she would be stuck listening about Snoozles and Carpners all vacation.

Needless to say, her fears were dwindled when they got into the compartment of the train, and Luna had turned to her and gave her a dreamy smile, saying "Did I do ok?". After reassuring her that she did, indeed, do just fine, they had settled in, Luna instantly pulling out the magazine that she went nowhere without.

At that point in time, Ginny had just been ecstatic, happy at how well their fable had worked out. Now that she had had some time to think on it, however, a nervous dread was filling her. Thoughts of what would happen if they figured out, what they would say, it was terrifying.

"Are you ok, Ginerva?"

Wincing at the use of her full name, Ginny shook her head. "I'm not so sure, Luna...I mean, what if they find out?"

"Then they'll probably never trust you again."

Ginny looked at the very serious girl in front of her with wide eyes, wondering where the Luna she had known had gone. Sitting in her place was a nearly normal person, no weird smile on her lips, no clouding in her eyes. It gave her shivers, and she was about to say something when everything snapped back like a slingshot.

"Besides, my father once wrote this article..."

Ginny let her words tune out as she relaxed in her seat, feeling much better with this old version of Luna. Curious still about just what had happened, she hesitantly went back to reading her book, glancing up at her companion every few pages.

"Why do you have to hide it, anyways?"

She nearly jumped out of her seat when Luna talked, having gotten so used to the silence since then. It was dark out, the only sounds those of the wheels on the ground. She took a deep breath before answering Luna's question, as if preparing herself.

"My family would never approve of it. If they knew I was seeing him, they'd completely ban me from ever seeing him again." She closed the book on her lap, staring at the cover as she spoke. "They don't trust him – Or his family."

"But they helped us in the war, didn't they? Father said that if it hadn't been for them, we would have lost."

/One of the few things I've agreed with your father on.../

"Yes, but the way they did was questionable for some people. It was so discreet, so hidden, that not even the members of the Order knew, other than Dumbledore. They're still convinced that its all a ruse to fool us, that they never were on our side, only doing what they had to so that they would stay alive after the Dark Lord fell. And to them, the fact that his father has been in Azkaban is an unarguable fact."

"Well, Father said that we should trust them."

"I'm sure he did, Luna." She replied with a terse smile, the constant reference to Luna's father starting to grate on her nerves.

"Mmhmm. Thats why he said that we'd lie for you."

Ginny was sure that all the color was gone from her face in that moment, and she stared at the other girl in something short of horror.

"You told your father?"

Luna just blinked owlishly at her, and she felt her throat clenching, a despereate feeling of hopelessness growing in her.

"Well, your mother did talk to him about you coming, he had to know. Our fireplace is also connected one of the lower rooms in your boyfriend's house, so when your parents call on you for christmas, they'll find you."

Ginny just stared. It was something she hadn't thought about before, and it shook her that Luna had thought of this herself. Unnerved by her awkward change in attitude, she went back to her book, not really reading, but pondering this new and unnoticed change in Luna.

Her thoughts quickly seeped into another process, though, as time went on.

She was going to his house. She was going to his house to meet his parents and spend the vacation with him. It was almost as terrifying as the lying had been. The fear and self-conciousness in herself that had bloomed when he first suggested her visit came springing back, constantly reminding herself of all the things she didn't like about herself.

She wondered if they would be angry at her lack of manners, her confident attitude (which had been failing her as of late), and, what seemed to be the most insistant upon all of those, her lack of money. Sure, she had never worried about it before, but when she was with him...It was like it was constantly bugging on her. She didn't wish that anything in her life could have happened differently, and she couldn't have asked for a better upbringing. She just felt so out of place, standing beside him in his perfect-ness.

Her nerves were growing thin with her constant worrying, and she felt her panic raising steadily inside of her. She wished she could just see him, see his snarky attitude, and his annoying little smirk that always calmed her down inside. She wished that she could have just floo-ed with him, like she would have if she had been able to tell her family the truth. But, no. She had to keep up her lie, had to go with Luna on the train.

Her worries were cut short as the train pulled to a stop, and she sat there for several moments, taking deep, calming breaths. When she stood, Luna was standing in the doorway, smiling sweetly as she said goodbye and took off to go meet with her parents. Grabbing her trunk, Ginny determidly pushed it in front of her, her knuckles nearly white on the handle.

It barely took her any time to find them among the throng of people out on the platform. They were decisivly hard to miss. Her steps took her to them all too soon, and she found herself standing in front of the towering black robes in mere minutes.

"Good evening, Miss Weasley. I trust your trip was well?"

His voice oozed politeness and aristocracy, and she had to swallow, cursing the awkward silence. Her gaze drifted for a second away from the speaker, and caught with his. One look, one reassuring smile, and that was all she needed. She turned her eyes back to the father that had been her biggest worry on her trip, and let a smile cross her face.

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy. It is a pleasure to see you, and I am deeply thankful for your invitation."

A/N: Of course, none of you expected that, now did you:Shifty eyes: Yes, well, I know it was obvious:pouts: Anyways, I really shouldn't be putting yet another story into the mix, as I now have lord knows how many 'in-progresses', but I also have much more free time! XD I'm working very hard on keeping the fics updated regularly, with at least one update a month per story. Maybe if I didn't have so many, there would be less time inbetween updates...But thats ok! XD

As it were, this plot had been bugging for a really long time now, I just didn't know how to start it. So when I got a sudden -boom- idea, I just had to do it.

Feedback is loved!