Hermione was waiting outside of Hogsmeade in a cave she once visited with Harry, when the two had come to visit Sirius.

"Urgh Blaise, hurry up its freezing," Hermione mumbled to herself as she paced back and forth, rubbing her arms trying to keep warm.

"I hope you don't make a regular habit of talking to yourself Hermione," Blaise said with a laugh as he leaned against a wall in the cave.

"What took you so long?" Hermione snapped.

"Well I apparated to the wrong spot, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't being followed," Blaise said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Hermione starred at him for a moment not saying anything, just taking him in. From his dark slacks and dress shirt, to his dark robes, to his dark hair and skin.

"Well you dressed appropriately." Hermione remarked aloud

"Yeah," Blaise said looking at Hermione in a way that made her very self-conscious. "Sorry about Williamson," Blaise added, talking a step closer.

Hermione shrugged not taking her eyes of Blaise. "It wasn't your fault." She said simply.

"It was though," Blaise said quietly.

"You and I both know that's not true," Hermione replied softly.

"I didn't mean to," Blaise replied, avoiding her gaze.

"You're not like them Blaise," Hermione snapped.

"But I am," Blaise said pulling up the sleeve of his cloak and exposing the dark mark.

If he expected Hermione to react, she didn't show it, her expression didn't change.

"You're not like them," Hermione repeated

"Her-"Blaise began.

But Hermione held up her hand silencing Blaise.

"You aren't like them Blaise. You may have the same mark as them. But you aren't like them. You care, that's the difference Blaise. You killed someone, and you regret it, you feel it. You care what happens, you may stand with them, but it's because you have to, not because you want to. You didn't have a choice," Hermione said talking a step closer to Blaise.

"Everyone has a choice," Blaise replied dryly.

"Maybe, but you chose the one that would keep your family together," Hermione added.

"But it kept me away from you, from who I am," Blaise said sadly.

"You joined you-know-who, because of who you are Blaise," Hermione smiled, grabbing his hand.

"Thanks," Blaise mumbled, as he looked down at her.

Hermione nodded shyly as she looked into Blaise's dark brown eyes. She could feel her heart beating loudly in her chest, in a way she never experience when she was with Harry.

"Hermione, I know you said the Order needed time-" Blaise began pulling his hand away as he got straight to the point. "But Draco won't come unless his mother is offered the same protection."

"And Ginny won't come without him," Hermione nodded.

"Something like that, yea," Blaise responded, letting out a loud laugh that bounced off of the walls in the cave.

"The Malfoy's haven't made it a secret that thet supported you-know-who," Hermione frowned, as she glance around the cave.

"I know," Blaise responded.

"I trust you, you know that I trust you, but I barely have a say in the Order, and Harry has more influence than me, and he wouldn't even jump on board for offering your mother protection," Hermione said sadly.

Blaise nodded, pursing his lips.

"I'm so sorry Blaise," Hermione whispered, reaching out to him.

"I've always protected Draco, and I've never been able to protect my mother, so it's hard having those roles reversed now," Blaise laughed dryly.

Hermione closed the space between them and wrapped her arms around him and the two stood in silence for a while.

"There's something else," Hermione said into his warm chest.

"What is it?" Blaise asked tencing.

"It's about Ginny," Hermione started, knowing it wasn't her place to say anything, but also knowing that Ginny deserved to know.

"Are you sure Hermione?" Blaise asked for the third time since Hermione filled him in on what Mr. Wealsey had told them all about Ginny.

"Yeah, "Hermione replied.

"Does she know?" Blaise asked unsure.

"If she does she never told me. But then again I never knew she was having nightmares either, I was too busy to notice," Hermione responded blinking back tears.

"It's not your fault," Blaise said as he pulled Hermione in close.

"It might as well be, if it weren't for Draco, I don't know how she would have coped," Hermione trailed off.

"If it weren't for Draco, I probably would still be exchanging insults with you in the hall," Blaise laughed, attempting to lighten the mood.

"In your defence you usually just stood there while Pansy and Draco fired away," Hermione said laughing along with Blaise.

"I wish this could be over," Blaise said becoming serious again.

"Well we're working on it, but knowing that we've got a lot more people on our side changes things," Hermione said with a small smile.

"Yeah, well Snape was the one that took down the wards for us to get to you all," Blaise said dryly.

Half the Order didn't trust Snape, and knowing that he played a hand in destroying the Burrow and getting an auror killed gave her a little satisfaction knowing she was right.

"Well Harry never did trust him," Hermione responded.

At the mention of Harry Blaise tensed a little and looked down at Hermione.

Hermione reached into her jacket for her wand, her cold fingers fumbling alittle.

"What are you doing?" Blaise asked confused.

"Sending a patronus."

"Who are you sending it to?"

"We're sending one to headquarters I think I know how to end this." Hermione replied with a smile.

Ginny walked through the cold hallway and wrapped her arms around her small body comfortingly. She was glad that she hadn't taken off her death eater robes; somehow, they made her feel a little more intimidating, and less like Ginny Weasley.

When Ginny reached the door where she would meet Voldemort she paused before knocking, she had no idea why she was here. There could be a million reasons. Blaise had been caught, he knew she was lying, he had another test to prove her loyalty. All the thoughts that were racing through her mind in that instant weren't very comforting.

"It helps if you open the door Ginevra,"

Ginny froze in her spot, slipping back into Ginevra, she turned around to face the Dark Lord with a smirk on her face, but she didn't let her guard down.

"Maybe I was waiting for you," Ginny said playfully.

Voldemort said nothing but gestured for her to open the door, and he followed in behind her.

Ginny sat down on a chair close to the fire. Voldemort took his time sorting through papers on his desk, a desk that Ginny doubted he ever sat at, a desk filled with papers Ginny doubted he ever looked at. It's all for show she thought.

"Ginevra, I have no doubt in my mind, that you wonder why I've asked you here," Voldemort said as he took a seat in a chair close to hers.

Ginny hated that he knew what she was thinking, hated that he knew things about her, things she could only guess at, things she would pretend she didn't feel. She hated that it was harder to pretend with him.

"It's not my place to question The Dark Lord" Ginny shrugged, taking Bellatrix's words.

Ginny didn't look up to meet Voldemort's gaze that she felt resting heavily, like a weight on her back, instead she rested her gaze on the flames of the fire. The orange, yellow and red, moulded together and danced without a care in the world, because even when they died they would return looking the same, dancing the same dance.

Voldemort chucked softly, in a way that made the hairs on the back of Ginny's neck stand up.

"Have you figured it out yet?" Voldemort asked. Dropping the facade, there was no one here to torment anymore, it was just Ginny and him, Ginny who knew the secrets of his past that he wanted to burry, and Voldemort who held something over Ginny dangling it up high.

"There is no one here but us Ginevra," Voldemort said softly. A threat or bribe to get her to spill her secrets, she didn't know which. But she held onto the only cards she had in his game, Ginny was always good at muggle card games, she knew she wasn't supposed to tilt her hand and expose her cards, she would bluff her way through, until it was time to lay down her hand, and hope it was better.

"The test was for you Ginevra, letting you and your friends take the mark. Consider it a welcome home present," Voldemort said. Ginny didn't have to look at him to see the smile creep across his face, but she looked anyways.

"For me?" Ginny asked quietly raising an eyebrow.

"I knew how much you would want the power," He added as his thin waxy lips held their mile, and his red slits starred at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ginny said as she wiped her face blank.

"You don't?" He asked as he raised himself from his chair. He walked behind her, placing his hands on the back of her chair. "I told you once before, there is still a chance for you Ginevra, that your time would come when you would fight for what is right along my side," Voldemort said leaning down to whisper it in her ear. "And that time is now," Voldemort added, as he walked from behind her chair to stand in front of her with his arms spread wide open.

"Why now?" Ginny asked slowly, proud that her voice wasn't shaking, like she was inside.

"Because I had to know if you were ready to fulfill your destiny Ginevra. This time it's more than killing mudbloods, this time it's about purifying the wizarding race," Voldemort said his voice rising slightly, with his arms wide open.

He really is crazy, Ginny thought fearfully.

"Why me?" Ginny asked, curiosity making her tilt her hand just a little, but not enough to give herself away.

"Because you and I are the same Ginevra." Voldemort said as he looked down at her, dropping the showy facade as his arms came to rest by his side.

Ginny fought the erg to let out a snarky comment. How could they be even close to the same?

But you liked the way the dark mark felt, still feels when it pulses on your skin, like it belongs there, like it's a part of you. A small voice in Ginny's head said.

"What blood runs in your veins Ginevra?" He asked his voice barely above a whisper.

Ginny said nothing, but she was sure he saw her tense, as he asked the question that had lingered in the back of her mind since he had asked her when she first arrived.

"The same blood that runs in mine, the same blood we must keep going, we mustn't let it die out Ginevra. You have no idea how long I waited to see if there was truth in the rumours. If you had more than just his blood." He said quietly.

And for an instant there was an expression that flicked across his face, and expression that made him look almost human, like the boy Ginny had grown so close to in her second year, the boy she hoped was still there deep down.