Chapter Seven: Knowing

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Draco Malfoy was sitting on the edge of his bed clutching tightly onto a white piece of paper. Lying next to Draco was a green envelope with a broken serpent seal. On the back of there were silver words saying,

Draco Malfoy, open this in total privacy

Draco shook his head in a way that clearly stated that he couldn't believe what he just read. There was no doubt in his mind that the written words on the paper were true but his mind refused to believe it. What he could though believe was that his entire family was made up from insane, power hungry, followers. The depressing fact was that Draco knew he wasn't much different. The tattoo on the forearm proved that far too well.

Draco must have been too wrapped up in what the letter said to notice the other envelope with the Hogwarts crest laying on his pillow.

-

Seventh years of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,

The staff is pleased to announce that this year Hogwarts will be hosting a good-bye ball May twenty-seventh, lasting from seven p.m. to eleven p.m. Lower years may come accompanied by a Seventh year.

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore

That letter was folded and sealed with the Hogwarts crest. Each seventh year had gotten the same letter, which they found on their pillow up in their dormitory. Up in the Gryffindor common room everyone was talking about the ball.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were all sitting in chairs by the fireplace discussing the good-bye ball.

Ron put the letter on the table beside him. "Harry, do you have any clue on who you're going to go with?"

"No, but I've a feeling this is going to be fourth year all over again," Harry said, remembering his attempt to ask Cho Chang to the Yule Ball. "It's not a while anyways."

"Well at least this year I wont go mad and ask some veela."

"True. Do you have any idea on who you want to ask?" asked Harry.

Ron sighed again. "No, I'm probably just going to go alone. Save some time and I wont have to worry about asking anyone."

Hermione growled and put down the book she was reading. "For the love of Merlin! Ron, will you go with me to the stupid ball?"

"Bloody hell... that's a good idea! I'm glad that's over with. Why didn't I think of that?"

Hermione frowned. "Well, it's only been three years since you noticed I'm a girl…"

"Hermione, I was just joking, of course I knew you were a girl. What else would you be? And I didn't ask you in fourth year because I was sure you'd say no," Ron explained.

"Really?"

Ron smiled. "Yeah. Umm…" Ron paused and spat out really fast, "Willyougooutwithme?"

"What?"

Ron said the same thing except slower. "Will you go out with me?"

"Yes."

Harry threw his hands in the air. "Finally, It took you both till seventh year to get on with it. I was wondering how long it'd take. Well, I'll leave you two to snog I'm going to try to figure out what I'm going to do for the ball." With that Harry got up and left the common room.

-

They youngest Weasley was sitting at a table in the library. She was trying to concentrate on reading this annoyingly boring book for her History of Magic class. Every time she tried to concentrate her eyes would dart up and she would skim the perimeter of the library waiting for something exiting to happen. Even though she was quite aware that nothing of interest would be happening soon. Then she would lower her head back down to the book looking for the place she left off. Unfortunately Ginny would always lose her place so she would start over and read from the beginning of the page.

I've read the same bloody page four times! But I can't remember what it's talking about. Binns could at least be nice enough to assign an interesting book to read out of class instead of one that mimics the way he teaches.

Ginny started to scan the room again; she looked up to the entrance door of the library. A pale male blonde was entering. To Ginny's amazement he started to walk towards her, closer and closer, until he was sitting right across from her.

"Hello, Weasley."

What does he think he's doing? Oh, I'm Draco Malfoy, I have nothing better do to so why don't I go bother the youngest Weasley? Sounds like jiffy fun to me!

"What do you want? I'm trying to read this book." Draco snatched the book from her. He closed the book while taking it from her.

"You lost my place!"

Draco rolled his eyes and gave the book back to her. "Relax, Weasley, no one in their right mind actually reads that boring piece of shit." He pointed to the book. "All the Ghost is going to do is ask some questions about current troll laws. As long as you know that then you're fine."

Ginny sighed in relief and put down the book. "Thanks, it's almost impossible to read. I wouldn't be surprised if Binns wrote it himself. So anyways why did you come over hear?"

Draco became a bit stiffer. "I, erm, wanted to say… thank you."

Ginny looked at Draco questioningly, "What for?"

Draco snapped, "Jeez, Weasley, I knew you were poor but I would think you'd own some brains. Remember? Blaise, me, knife, drinking? Ring any bells? I've even got a pretty little scar on my chest as a reminder. Would you like to see it?"

Ginny blushed. "No, thank you. And I thought you were going to lay off the poor Weasley jokes."

Draco smirked. "I lied."

"Of course, never trust a Malfoy."

Draco leaned in closer to her so that their faces were almost touching. "Oh, but you're wrong, very, very wrong."

"I'm so sure."

Draco decided to change the subject, "Has Saint Potter asked you to the ball yet?"

"No, and he's not going to."

"Well somebody's pessimistic."

Ginny decided to ignore him. Even though she wasn't being pessimistic. She thought of Harry as her brother… just her brother, a brother that she wouldn't mind snogging. Ginny pushed her thoughts out of her mind and thought it was as good of a time as any to ask Draco the question that was bothering her. "It's my turn to ask a question, why did Blaise want the knife from you? Or was he trying to hurt you? But then Dumbledore would have expelled him or something, right?"

"That, Little Weasel, is none of your business."

Ginny protested. "I have a right to know! Without me you could be dead right now! Six feet under, if I hadn't helped you. So tell me!"

Draco smirked. "I bet you're wishing you hadn't done anything."

"Maybe I am."

"Eh, you're a Weasley. Weasleys don't wish death upon people, you're too noble."

"And that's a bad thing?" asked Ginny.

Draco looked at her straight in the eye. "Depends on how long you're planning to live, and how many questions you ask. Sometimes you're better off not knowing."

Ginny got up from her chair. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Figure it out on your own, Weasley."

-

"Stupid ball, dance, good-bye thing. Is the staff trying to make me insane? How the hell am I supposed to find a bloody date?" That was the ramblings coming from Harry Potter's mouth. He was walking up and down the halls trying to think of whom to ask to the good-bye ball.

"I always knew you were nutters, talking to yourself all alone in a hallway. You might give people the wrong impression- err, I mean right impression." Pansy was standing not a few feet behind Harry.

"Go away, Parkinson. I don't need you to make my day any worse."

"This is the response one gets from trying to make nice conversation with an arrogant prat?"

"Oh that's really rich, a nice conversation with a Slytherin?"

Pansy sat down. "I really don't know why I try to be nice to you."

Harry looked over at her. "Why are you sitting down?"

"Well isn't it obvious? I'm going to help you pick someone to go with for the dance! Come on, sit down next to me." Pansy patted the ground beside her motioning for Harry to sit down next to her.

"You've got to be joking, what if someone sees us?" Despite what he said Harry sat down anyways.

"No one comes down this hallway because it doesn't lead anywhere, and it doesn't really matter if anyone sees us, does it?"

"I suppose it doesn't."

Pansy took out a piece of parchment; a quill and some ink from her bag and looked over at Harry. "Okay, you obviously don't want to go with someone under fourth year, do you?"

"No, and could you please tell me why you're doing this?"

"Because I've got nothing better to do."

"Erm, right."

"Okay, so I'll start naming names then I'll right down the names of the people you wouldn't mind going with. Can you follow that?"

"I'm not stupid, you know."

Apparently Pansy ignored Harry because she started to name people. "Lavender Brown."

"No."

"Padma?"

"No, she went with Ron fourth year and I went with her sister, it didn't turn out very good," Harry explained.

"So that's no for her sister too." Pansy wrote down both names. "Ginny Weasley?"

"No, she's like a sister to me. It would be weird."

Pansy looked questioningly, "Alright, The Mudbl- Hermione Granger?"

"She's going with Ron."

"Ah, I see. They finally got it through to their thick skulls they were made for each other." Pansy noticed the expression on Harry's face. "What? Just because I don't like them doesn't mean I don't pay attention to them."

Pansy kept on naming people. After she said a name Harry would always reply with a no. Pansy looked down at her list, "Well congratulations Potter, you have said no to every fifth, sixth and seventh year girl at Hogwarts. At least you didn't waste a day after you got the notice about the ball to dismiss every girl fourth year an and above."

"Oh come on, you must have missed someone."

"Well, the only person I didn't name was myself but I highly doubt you would want to go with me. I could just see it now; Harry's going with her? That Slytherin? Malfoy's friend! What has the world come to? Next we'll see Slytherins and Hufflepuffs sitting together."

Harry thought for a moment. "You know, that isn't such a bad idea, going with you. I mean, we do sort of get along. It would be fun to see the look on everyone's face. Obviously, would only be going as friends, if you can even call us that. The only problem is your Slytherin friends."

Pansy shot Harry a look of disbelief. "I can't believe you agreed with me. Don't worry about my friends they won't leave me. I'm too close to Draco. Draco probably won't mind, he'll think I'm insane but I know too much about him for him to do anything."

"So basically no one can do anything to you because you'll black mail them or they'll lose their place on the food chain."

"Pretty much," said Pansy with a smug look on her face.

-

Draco Malfoy was sitting in his favourite tree on the Hogwarts grounds. He was silently thinking to himself about everything that has happened to him in these past months. He was holding the letter that he had received earlier today. Still trying to process what it all meant. If it wasn't such a big deal Draco would have found the whole thing amusing. But right now what he did find amusing was the shimmering red hair that was walking towards him, "Fancy seeing you here, Weasley." He called down to Ginny who was now standing right beneath the tree.

"Not you again."

"You don't seem happy to see me," pouted Draco.

"One of these days I'm going to come out here and you're not going to be here."

"Way to state the facts since I am graduating from Hogwarts this year."

Ginny saw the letter Draco was holding. "What's that?"

"What?"

"The parchment you're holding. It's not a love letter is it? You don't seem to happy about it."

"It's not a love letter, it's the farthest thing from it."

Ginny furrowed her eyebrows. "It's a hate letter?"

"Not exactly. What's it with you and questions? Didn't I tell you before you're better off not knowing things?" Draco jumped down from the tree. "Unless of course someone is paying you to ask all these questions. Like, your brother perhaps, or Potter."

"You're insane, Ron or Harry wouldn't dream of asking me to do anything, they don't even trust me."

Draco got closer to her. "Well, I'll choose to believe that since you aren't a very good liar."

"I am too a good liar!"

"No you aren't. The tips of your ears turn red when you lie."

Ginny turned pink. "They…do?"

"Yep."

"Oh. I'm sorry about asking about the letter and well everything, like what happened with you and Blaise. You're right, it is none of my business." Ginny stopped talking and wondered where all of that came from. She hadn't planed on saying that, even though she knew she should.

"How noble, Weasley. If you want to read the stupid letter, be my guest." He shoved the letter into her hand and lay down at the bottom of the tree.

Ginny gasped at what she read.

Draco Malfoy,

You're probably going to here about this sooner or later in the Daily Prophet anyways, though it depends on how long Fudge plans on covering it all up. There has been another breakout at Azkaban. You father has escaped along with other Death Eaters. I've talked to Lucius and he told me to write this. He says he can't be bothered now to write to you. He is proud of your loyalty to The Dark Lord and your support during the missions.

Narcissa Malfoy

"I can't believe, what does, oh my god." Ginny couldn't process the words she was trying to get out, "Oh, Draco. Do you want any of this? You're loyal to You-Know-Who? Why did you show me this?"

Draco took the letter back from her. "I warned you about reading it. Are you happy you know now? Are you going to tell all you're little friends? Not that I care, you don't have any proof."

Ginny leaned back against the tree next to Draco. "What does your mother mean by mission?"

"She means a Death Eater mission."

"Death Eater," Ginny squeaked.

Draco had his arms behind his back and he was looking up at the sky. "Yes."

"So that would mean you are…" Ginny trailed off.

"A Death Eater. Would you like a cookie for figuring that one out on your own?"

Ginny had to admit she was scared but she couldn't stop asking questions. "How can you joke about that?"

"What else is there to do? Would you like me to go to my room and cry about it? I've got the mark; I follow the other Death Eaters. Lucius orders me around. I don't bloody know if I'm for or against it all. There isn't a bloody thing I can do about it."

Ginny paused for a moment and tried to take in all the things he was saying, "You haven't killed anyone, have you?

"No, and I probably couldn't if I wanted to. All I'm basically allowed to do is watch. Thanks to the other Death Eaters I can see thestrals." Draco said the last part with bitter sarcasm.

Ginny didn't know how to react. What do you say to someone after they've told you that they have witnessed killings? You don't say anything at all. Well at least that's what Ginny did. She silently scooted closer to Draco. She put her head on his chest and just laid there.

Draco didn't know what possessed him to start rambling to Ginny. "I could have stopped them. I just stood there like an idiot watching them all attack people. They told me it was good for me to learn how to hide emotion and just watch. It's not the emotion part that I needed help with. It's figuring out what's right and wrong. Knowing I could have stopped them. The deaths were just as much my fault as theirs."

Ginny lifted her head up and turned to look Draco straight in the eye. She said to him, "It's not your fault." Then she leaned in and kissed him right on the lips.

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What you wouldn't give to be naïve for a day.