The Devils Triangle
Chapter 15: Restoration
To say that Harry and Draco made tense Potions partners would be an understatement.
Professor Snape had refused to allow them switch partners and watched them working together with a vast amount of sick amusement in his eyes. The boys grunted and growled their way through their assignments, bumping against each other in an almost brutal way, and speaking only when necessary.
Harry was dying to ask Draco about his recent visit to Azkaban to see his father. He just had to know if Draco had learned any more about the cryptic threats against Ginny alluded to in Lucius Malfoy's letter. Harry had already asked the Headmaster, but he had received one of Dumbledore's infuriatingly vague and only marginally helpful answers. Likewise, Draco was very curious about Harry's continued Occlumency lessons with Snape; he wanted to know when Harry would be ready to try to invade Voldemort's mind.
One day on the way out of class, Harry's curiosity finally got the best of him.
"Malfoy," he called back to Draco, outside the Potions classroom.
Draco stopped, turned and quirked an eyebrow.
"Azkaban… how did it go?"
"Not here," Draco hissed and motioned for Harry to follow him. He led him deep into the dungeons to an unused classroom. Draco shut the door and performed a silencing charm on it.
"Say Potter, why don't you make an announcement over the WWN? I don't think everybody in Hogwarts heard you ask about my father's new residence."
"Malfoy, I think it's been established that YOU are the one who uses poor judgment when speaking of private subjects in front of a crowd, so sod off."
Draco snorted and looked away. Then, he eyed Potter warily and said, "If I tell you what I learned, I want you to agree to include me when you try to contact the Dark … er, Voldemort."
Harry glared at Draco icily, "It's really not your business."
"It IS my business, Potter," Draco said vehemently. "I care for her. She may choose not to believe that, but it doesn't change the fact that I don't want to see her killed…or worse. I can be useful, you know… I know more about Dark Magic than you suspect I do."
"I'm sure you know quite a bit," Harry said tersely.
"Well, I know even more than that. I was raised with it."
"Are you saying you're willing to fight against Voldemort?" Harry asked acidly.
"No. I'm saying I'm willing to fight to protect Ginny. Let's just say I don't necessarily have the same confidence in your ability that others do. I'd rather be involved and make sure you don't get her killed."
"I'd never put her in danger!"
"Just knowing you is a danger! I'm not an idiot, Potter. I sat through my father's trial; I heard them talking about a prophecy involving you. I also heard whispers around Grimmauld Place all summer. Granger's had her head stuck in book after book, looking for ways to harness the 'power of love'. By the way, she's never going to find what she's looking for in Hogwart's library. That lot is under the ill-conceived illusion that you're the savior of the Wizarding World, and even Ginny believes it. I think she'd be foolish enough to sacrifice herself for this cause."
"Alright," Harry said cautiously, "tell me what you learned from your father and you can be involved when I'm ready to make contact."
"And when will that be?"
"I don't know. Soon, I hope. Now, what did your father say?"
"Seeing as he's indisposed at the moment, he's not up to date on all the specifics. But it seems Voldemort's interested in Ginny because she has the proper bloodlines and she'd be a good breeder."
"You make her sound like a horse!" Harry gasped in disgust.
"Not my words. What doesn't make sense is why Voldemort would be interested in breeding. He's not the type to want an heir, he's immortal. He wouldn't want the competition."
"He thinks he's immortal."
"That's right, I forgot. You're planning to kill him with a big, wet kiss," Draco said with a roll of his eyes.
Harry ignored him and continued his train of thought.
"We have to concentrate on protecting Ginny from the curses that would be used to control her. What would they be?"
"Binding curse would be the most convenient; one curse would supply all the necessary elements," said Draco, with a defeatist tone in his voice.
"Yes," Harry said impatiently, "but you have to be a virgin for that to work, and it seems you've made sure she's already protected against that. So, what other curses could be used against her?"
Draco was stunned momentarily, but then decided to answer the question.
"Well, it's a very complicated procedure. You'd need a curse to paralyze the breeder, another to stupefy the mind to make it susceptible to the instructions of its master; another to protect the breeder from invasion by anyone other than its master, and finally, one to prepare the breeder for fertilization. But Potter, unless you're a very fast worker, which I doubt, Ginny's not protected against a Binding curse."
"But you…" Harry's voice cracked with shock.
"I didn't lie," Draco quickly interjected, "although I may have made insinuations I shouldn't have."
Harry greeted that comment with a dark glare.
"I'm not proud of myself," Draco added, "and I'm paying the price."
Neither boy was eager to pursue this line of conversation.
"Then we need to learn more about Binding curses," Harry said firmly. "In the letter, your father mentioned using a Binding curse to protect her."
"No, Potter. He mentioned using one to 'keep' her, there's a difference. A Binding curse isn't about protection or love; it's about ownership and dominance. If you'll recall, he cautioned that the result would not be satisfying."
"What does that mean?"
"It means you're not to contemplate for a second using one on Ginny to 'protect' her," Draco snapped. "Ginny should know she's in danger," he added quietly.
Harry turned to him coldly. "She's dealing with quite a bit at the moment, Malfoy. I think the news that your Dark Lord regards her as prime breeding stock can wait for another day."
"Fine, I've had enough of you for the day anyway. Don't let anyone know I'm helping you." Draco stopped at the door. He seemed to be uncertain as to whether to ask his next question.
"Potter, how is she?"
"She's getting over you nicely," Harry said tightly.
"I suppose you're always there to comfort her?"
"That's what friends are for," Harry said, with a satisfied smirk.
"It's been three weeks and she still hasn't talked to me. Please tell her I'm sorry, as she won't let me do it myself."
Harry nodded and Draco exited.
The news that Malfoy hadn't been Ginny's first was a shock, and also a thrill to Harry. From Malfoy's taunts at the Quidditch match to Ginny's devastation in the Tree, Harry had been sure they'd slept together. He now found himself wondering if she would ever open her heart to him, and if she could ever feel as much for him as she obviously did for Malfoy.
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Ginny had never been more excited in her life. She felt she'd found where she belonged.
In an effort to keep herself busy and keep her mind off certain boys, she'd buried herself in her studies. When that proved insufficient to occupy her, she found herself in the hospital wing with Neville. He'd been working on cataloging herbal specimens provided by Professor Sprout, and creating potions in the hope of reversing the damage done to his parents when he was a baby.
The Healers at St Mungo's, though skeptical about any hope for a cure, humored Neville by administering some of his herbal potions to his parents, or at least the ones that seemed harmless. However, so far, all of Neville's attempts had proved fruitless.
Ginny threw herself wholeheartedly into Neville's research project, reading every book she could get her hands on. Although she'd always gotten good grades in Herbology, it had never been her favorite subject. Now, she was incredulous that it was so easy to read and retain knowledge when she found the subject so enthralling.
She also spent many hours with Hermione, discussing her research on residual magic. Hermione suspected the protection given to Harry by his mother's death had left traces of residual magic in Harry's blood. Ginny surmised the same thing was happening with Neville's parents and that a residual trace of dark magic left in their blood was preventing Neville's potions from being effective. But how did one cleanse the Dark Magic from their blood? That was the dilemma currently occupying Ginny's mind.
Well, not the only dilemma of course. Ginny still had world-class boy trouble.
She found the pain of Draco's betrayal was diminishing daily. She'd often catch herself smiling as she remembered something witty he'd said or something sweet he'd done. She found herself missing him. She still couldn't bring herself to talk to him though, but knew she couldn't avoid him forever. He'd become quite talented at putting himself in her line of vision, daring her to deal with him.
And then there was Harry. What to do about Harry? Had he really told her he loved her? Sometimes she wasn't sure. His behavior towards her hadn't changed at all. Well actually, that wasn't true; now, he sometimes allowed himself to openly flirt with her, and then laughed when she was rendered speechless, blushing and tripping over her own feet. But he made no demands on her.
How did she feel about him? She was so accustomed to keeping Harry out of any conscious romantic thought, that it was somewhat painful to allow herself to even think of him in that way. Old feelings were resurfacing and old wounds reopening. She knew it wasn't Harry's fault that he hadn't returned her feelings in the past. After all, it wasn't until her fourth year that she'd finally begun to speak with him, but that didn't make it any easier to cope with. But that little box in the corner of Ginny's heart where she'd stuffed away all her feelings and hurts and hopes about Harry Potter was slowly… slowly… being pried open.
"Ginny, aren't you done yet?" Harry whined; she had promised him a game of Exploding Snaps hours ago.
"Shhh, just let me finish reading this bit, I'm almost done." Ginny was reading an exciting Muggle book about human physiology that her father had sent her.
"You've said that ten times all ready!" Harry pouted. "You've gotten worse than Hermione."
"Honestly, Harry!" Hermione snapped from the chair before the Gryffindor fireplace, shot him a dirty look, and then returned to her book.
"I'll play with you Harry," Ron chuckled, from the floor in front of Hermione. "I don't know how we got stuck with these two; they're no fun at all lately."
"No, thanks mate, I'll stay right here." Harry was unwilling to give up his spot lying on the sofa, resting his head on Ginny's lap. Occasionally she would rest her free hand on his chest, unconsciously tracing small circles with her fingers. She would remove her hand abruptly whenever she realized what she was doing, but Harry wasn't about to move.
"So Hermione, have you gotten any further with Carina de Florette?" Harry asked glumly.
"Nope, not a thing. Everything I've read indicates she developed incredible and powerful spells, but none of the books go into detail."
"I just remembered…" Harry said suddenly, "Malfoy said something the other day. He said you'd never find what you're looking for in the Hogwarts library. I didn't pay much attention at the time because we were talking about something else, and also because he said it in that 'I'm-superior-and-know-everything' way of his. Pretentious plonker. Anyway, now I wonder what he meant."
"What were you and Draco talking about, Harry?" Ginny asked, her attention suddenly extracted from her book.
"Oh…er, you know… potions stuff," Harry covered quickly, although no one believed him, least of all Ginny.
"He doesn't know anything, Harry," Hermione grumbled, "he's just blowing smoke out his arse."
"Hermione!" Ron shrieked in mock shock and genuine amusement. "Language, love! Shocking!"
"I'll see if I can squeeze something out of him in class next week," Harry resolved.
"Hermione!" Ginny suddenly gasped. "I just had a thought… what if Neville used a tincture solution for administering his potion? Wouldn't that get the magic to the blood supply more effectively?"
"What is he using for a base now?" Hermione asked.
"Dragon's blood and Murtlap urine," Ginny said, grimacing a bit.
"Blimey!" Ron groaned. "If I'm ever unconscious and can't complain for myself, please give me my medicine mixed with Fire Whiskey rather than Mutlap urine! I beg of you."
"Ron, hush," Hermione chuckled. "You're not helping. That's a really good idea, Ginny… Neville should definitely give it a try."
"Excellent! Thanks, Hermione," Ginny said proudly. "Alright Harry, I'll play with you now," Ginny said, snapping her book closed and putting it aside.
"Y'know, I don't want to play anymore. I think I'm comfortable where I am, thanks." He tilted his head up to look at her and grinned slyly. "Are we all going to Hogsmeade together next weekend? You know… as a group… a friendly group." Harry addressed himself to the others, but he never took his eyes off Ginny.
"Yeah, whatever," Ron grumbled, too busy trying to distract Hermione from her reading to pay attention.
"Sure, sounds good," Hermione added, while slapping Ron's hand away from her thigh.
"Ginny? You in?" Harry asked, still staring at her.
Ginny nodded, blushing. "Okay, but I have to do my Christmas shopping. I haven't even thought about it yet."
"Excellent," he said grabbing her hand and returning it to his chest. He relaxed his head and closed his eyes with a contented sigh.
Ginny watched Harry's face as he slowly relaxed and fell asleep in her lap. Her left hand involuntarily found its way to his hair, stroking his head. Everything with Harry was so easy, so comfortable that it was easy to forget how good he made her feel.
Ginny found herself staring at his lips, trying to remember the feeling of Harry's kiss in the Bower just a few months before.
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One day while having her morning fly with Harry, Ginny spotted Draco walking by the lake. She waved Harry along and told him she'd meet him at breakfast, and then sped toward Draco in the distance.
Ginny landed her broom in front of the surprised Slytherin.
"Hi," she said quietly.
"Young lady," Draco nodded with a gulp.
"I was told you'd like to talk to me."
"Yes, although I'd practically given up." Draco walked towards Ginny until he was very close, looking down at her. Ginny tried to step away, but she couldn't; her legs refused to obey her brain. He was like a planet with his own gravitational pull.
Draco touched Ginny's cheek gently. "I've missed you," he said, his voice full of longing. Ginny's eyes were locked, looking straight ahead, staring at Draco's chest. Ginny removed Draco's hand and, using every bit of resolve she could muster, took two steps backward.
"Tell me what you wanted to say," her voice quivered.
Draco's mood shifted slightly, the longing was gone. He assumed a more businesslike demeanor.
"I want to say I'm sorry. I was cruel and stupid. And I let Potter provoke me, not that it's his fault; I wish I could blame him."
"What do you mean?"
Draco shrugged, and seemed to mentally change course.
"We knew it wouldn't work, Gin. It doesn't matter how much we wanted it to."
Ginny looked up suddenly and met Draco's eyes.
"I didn't know that, Draco. I thought we were doing well. In fact, I would have never… done what I did with you if I didn't believe in us." Ginny's gaze fell back to Draco's chest. "But you never believed in us, did you?"
"I tried. I wanted to."
"At first I was angry because I thought you were pretending with me just to get to Harry, because you hate him so much."
"No," Draco said adamantly.
"But then I realized that you weren't pretending."
"What made you see that?"
"You didn't have sex with me. You could have. If you'd been using me, you would have."
"Oh."
"Why didn't you?"
"Why didn't I what?" Draco asked, suddenly uncomfortable.
"Have sex with me. I asked you to." Ginny smirked. "I think I begged you," she added with a grimace.
"Several times," he chuckled smugly. "But you weren't in the proper mindset to make that decision. I'd worked you up a bit."
"I remember," Ginny blushed. "Is that the only reason you didn't?"
Draco was quiet for several seconds. "No," he said softly.
"Why else?"
"I didn't want to know… I didn't want to know what it was like to have you, when I knew you couldn't be mine to keep. It didn't work though… I still know how you feel and how you taste. I still know what sounds you make, and all that tortures me."
"Draco, did it ever occur to you that I could have been yours? That if you had believed in us, I would have been yours. And you probably wouldn't have behaved as you did."
"No, I don't believe that ever occurred to me," Draco said flatly.
"You said you loved me."
"I did." Draco resisted the urge to step towards her. "I do."
"This doesn't make any sense."
"I don't think it's supposed to make sense Ginny. It's all a muddle. Half of me knows we're not meant to be, the other half wants me to beg you for another chance. I don't know what to do."
"Please don't beg for another chance, I couldn't take it. Let's just let it go."
Ginny lifted her teary gaze to Draco pleadingly, and he nodded.
"Let's go to breakfast." Draco led the way to the Great Hall. They walked back together in silence, but not an uncomfortable silence.
As they entered the Great Hall together, they fell under the gaze of many, not the least of which was Harry.
"Ginny," Draco said as she took her seat, "please come back to Friday rounds; your brother's a cretin," he commented, to spite the fact that Ron was sitting right there.
Ginny laughed.
"I'll see what I can do; Ron may not want to switch, as he's grown quite fond of you," she said ignoring Ron's growl.
"I'm sure," Draco drawled, before he returned to his own table.
"Please tell me you're not getting back with the Ferret," Ron groaned miserably, as Harry continued to eat his breakfast, pretending not to care about Ginny's answer.
"No," Ginny responded slowly. "It was just something I had to do before I could move on."
Harry stopped drinking his pumpkin juice mid-gulp. He looked at Ginny, but she was carefully looking in the other direction. But still, there was something about the way she was looking in the other direction that gave Harry hope.
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Harry and Ginny had a wonderful shopping day in Hogsmeade village. They had started out as a foursome, but Ron and Hermione suspiciously disappeared five minutes after they arrived in town. They both giggled at the image of Ron and Hermione sitting beneath a confetti-bearing cherub at Madame Puddifoot's coffee shop. Ginny wasn't sure if this was Harry's doing or not, and she found she didn't really care.
For the first time in a long time she didn't think of him as her friend first. He was a boy, a hot boy… a hot boy, who when he thought she wasn't looking, stared at her in a way that made her tremble and her heart stop. She was sure she'd spent the entire day beet-red and tongue-tied, but Harry didn't seem to mind.
Harry also didn't seem willing to make a move. He would hold her hand, but that was nothing new. When Ginny bumped up against him suggestively in Zonko's Joke shop, he budged over to give her more room. When she ran her finger sexily along his cheek, he asked if he had a smudge on his face. When she rubbed ankles with him under the table in the pub at The Three Broomsticks, he apologized and moved his leg. He wasn't going to make this easy... he was going to make her say it. She tried several times to say something, but always seemed to revert into a babbling first-year mode when she tried, never managing to say anything coherent. Harry just smiled at her ineptitude politely and changed the subject.
Through the fog of her besottment, Ginny was able to successfully complete her Christmas shopping; she even managed to sneak off and quickly buy Harry's present. After several failed attempts to express her renewed feelings to Harry she finally gave up, deciding she wasn't ready yet.
They only had two weeks left to the term and Ginny became engulfed in end-of-term activities and revising for exams.
Ginny had resumed her Friday rounds with Draco. After several tense and quiet hours, they fell into friendship surprisingly easily.
Though he wouldn't talk about it, Ginny suspected that Draco was receiving pressure from the dark forces to declare his allegiance. When she learned that he was planning to spend the Christmas holiday at Grimmauld Place, she immediately invited him to the Burrow instead.
"You want me to spend my Christmas with Scarhead and Githead and your eighteen brothers in a place called 'the Burrow'?" he laughed. "I think I'd rather take tea with the Dark Lord, thank you."
"You don't have to be mean, you git! I'm trying to be nice. Why don't you go to Pansy's then?"
"It's not safe; Pansy's parents aren't exactly neutral. I don't even want her to go there."
"Fine, but you should at least come to the Burrow for Christmas dinner. Don't bother to say 'No'. I'm going to tell my mother to invite you as soon as I get home and you can deal with her. You'll be at Christmas dinner," Ginny smirked.
Draco smiled, and seemed to concede. "Thanks, Ginny."
"Where's your mother?"
"Visiting cousins in Italy somewhere. She won't be back for some time."
Days passed quickly for Ginny, and every day had one constant… Harry. He was always in her thoughts, and her daydreams and night dreams were getting rather… interesting too. Sometimes she thought she should forget about words and just attack him. Boys like that, didn't they? But Harry seemed to be waiting for words.
Harry's last DA meeting was scheduled two days before the end of term. Ginny was a bundle of nerves, as they had been working on the Patronus Charm for two sessions and she still hadn't managed to produce more than a vague puff.
Draco had been able to produce Spike for them several times. Spike was a huge, ferocious dragon who seemed particularly fond of shooting fire at Ron. But once Spike determined there was no imminent danger to Draco, he became quite playful and cuddly before evaporating into mist. Much like Draco, Ginny chuckled to herself.
Ginny, however, was hopeless. She was getting nowhere with her Patronus and sensing her frustration, Harry began to help her.
"I have trouble holding onto my happy thought. I think I have it, but then it floats away from me," she complained.
"I know what you mean," Harry said sincerely. "You can't just think about it, you have to feel the happiness, Ginny, you can't be afraid of it. It can be scary to believe in it sometimes, because it hurts if it's taken away. You have to risk the hurt."
Harry stood behind her and placed one hand on her waist and the other on her wand hand and whispered softly in her ear, "Try again. Think of what makes you happy, Ginny."
Ginny muttered the incantation and tried to follow Harry's instruction, but she was a bit distracted by the feeling of him pressing against her from behind.
Suddenly a huge bolt of fire burst from the wand and a large silvery blue bird flew from the flames.
"I did it!" she squealed, leaning back into Harry's arms.
"You did," he said squeezing her. "It's perfect for you too… it's a phoenix."
"Why would that be perfect for me Harry?" she turned to him and asked.
"It's just you…" Harry stammered, a blush rising on his cheeks. "It's very beautiful, with extraordinary strength, and magical healing powers. It's you."
Ginny suddenly went weak-kneed. She couldn't wait a single moment longer… she had to find a way to tell him. She reached out, touched his shoulder, and began to speak. But before she could say a word, a burst of energy shot forth between them and formed a smoky ethereal ring around them. The ring of energy grew outward until it encompassed and affected everyone in the room. Everyone stood frozen, watching Ginny and Harry.
"What in Merlin's name is happening?" Pansy whispered to Draco.
Draco sighed. "Just the inevitable."
"Damn! That felt like a little orgasm!"
"Come on Pans, let's go. I don't need to watch this," he said as he began to lead her, winding their way through the motionless students, out of the Room of Requirement.
"Alright," Pansy said cautiously, watching Draco's guarded expression. "Let's go find someone to take rounds for me tonight. We can play chess or something."
Draco brightened suddenly. "Strip chess?" he whispered hopefully.
"I don't feel that sorry for you, Malfoy."
"Oh, but you should," Draco said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I'm in quite a lot of pain here, I need comforting."
"Sod off, you tosser!" she laughed and shoved him off her and then ran off toward the dungeons.
"Hey! How do you know what an orgasm feels like, Parkinson?" he called as he ran after her.
Hermione stood watching the proceedings between Harry and Ginny, her eyes growing ever wider with excitement and her grin splitting her head in two.
"Hermione," Ron whispered to her, "did you feel that? What the bloody hell was that?"
"Shhh…just watch," she admonished as Ginny took another step toward Harry, their eyes were locked on one another, everyone else in the room had disappeared to them. As Harry placed his hands on Ginny's waist another, even larger wave of energy burst between them and expanded throughout the room.
"Blimey, I can't take much more of this Hermione," Ron shuddered from the ecstasy of it all. "What is that?"
"That's pure love, Ron."
"Okay," he smirked. "Look Mione, I know you love those saucy Muggle romance novels as much as the next witch, but somehow I don't think that's why you look so happy. What does this mean?"
"It means we've got him. It means we've got what it takes to kill the bastard," Hermione whispered, mostly to herself.
"What the bloody hell are you on about, woman?"
Harry suddenly came back to earth and realized the entire D.A. was transfixed by Ginny and himself. So, he extracted himself from his stupor long enough to address the room.
"That's all for today everyone. Have a Happy Christmas," he announced quickly and then returned his attention to Ginny.
"Harry, I have something to tell you, but I'm having trouble saying it."
"What would that be Ginny?" he whispered into her hair as he enfolded her in his arms.
"Harry, would you mind looking for yourself?" Ginny pulled away slightly and looked into Harry's eyes.
Harry was slightly hesitant to follow Ginny's wish. He didn't want to learn that she didn't feel as strongly for him as he felt for her, but curiosity finally overcame his insecurities and he looked into her eyes and heart. At this point someone should have stepped in and cautioned Harry that a man would never be able to truly decipher the mind of a woman in love, but ignorance is bliss, so Harry proceeded.
What Harry saw there nearly overwhelmed him. In an instant he saw every time he'd made her laugh and every time he'd made her cry. He saw the remnants of her schoolgirl hero worship, now just dusty memories. He felt her pain, fear and uncertainty, all pushed away by her hopefulness. And above all he felt her love for him, the strength of it bound together everything that was Ginny; he was part of her in a way he had never suspected.
"Ginny, I never knew."
"Harry… that girl… I think she might be ready."
"Good…I'll be sure to tell her next time I see her," Harry said as his lips descended onto hers."
Authors Notes:
Thank you once again to Jocjarmom, for your quick and thorough beta, for your many additions to the text and also for your continual…erm…encouragement to get writing! (You're still a distant second to Cloz in the nagging department BTW.)
And to dearest Cloz, thank you for being my Brit-picker, and of course for the incessant, constant and most entertaining nagging.
I believe I got the concept of residual magic from a story called 'After the End', which can be found on sugarquill. It was the very first fanfic I ever read and I still remember it fondly as one of my favorites.