Author's Note: Sorry I wasn't able to update earlier! I've been very busy with school lately. To make it up to you guys, this chapter is around 6000+ words. So hope you'll accept this is an apology for updating late!

Chapter 17

"Kill her now!" Voldemort yelled angrily and commandingly, shaking Draco to his core as his eyes shot open. He knew immediately that he was going to die of regret and sorrow after this.

Draco's eyes shot open, only to find himself looking into those liquid brown and pleading eyes, tears streaming steadily down both their faces, both shaking uncontrollably. Draco's eyes gazed every part of her face, trying to memorize it. Images of her sweet and bright smile flooded his mind as he remembered the feel of her strawberry red lips on his and the touch of her fair, smooth skin. He felt his heart was breaking and he wanted to look away but found that he couldn't bring himself to do just that. He began thinking abou life without her; how devoid and empty he knew he would be if he pulled through this. His eyes travelled down the rest of her body and his gaze rested there, confusion suddenly setting in. He frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. Why was Ginny wearing a pink tank top? Draco's heart began racing faster than ever as he sensed something was amiss. His eyes then travelled lower down her body and he saw that she was wearing a short skirt and knee-high boots that looked nowhere close to the boots that he knew Ginny owned. Draco's mind raced again. Ginny hated pink. She never wore tanktops; she never wore short skirts and these weren't her boots. He was sure of it. A spark of hope ignited in his chest as he came down to one conclusion: This girl was not his Ginny Weasley. He began to feel so relieved that he almost laughed and the anxiety and distress he was feeling was immediately replaced by anger and fury at the Dark Lord. Who does he think he is to use my emotions to make a fool out of me like this? he thought with a vengeance.

"Kill her now," Voldemort growled this time, in a very dangerous and angry voice.

Draco grinned inwardly to himself and took a good look at Ginny's impersonator in front of him, feeling more ready than ever to kill this impersonator before him but at that very moment, Ginny's voice kept ringing in his mind. "You're not a murderer like him." Draco shook his head; willing for the thoughts to disappear but the voice just kept getting louder and louder; it was as if she was right there behind him, shouting in his ear, telling him he wasn't a murderer like that Death Eater, Avery. He was getting frustrated and frustrated by the minute that out of anger and fury and without thinking, he yelled, "Avada Kedavra!"

His curse sent a green spark flying from the tip of his wand, hitting her square in the chest. Her eyes widened and flashed with fear before she fell limply on the floor, her eyes closing and her head lolling to the side. Draco's mind was completely devoid of thought as he stared at the body before him. She was dead. Immediately, the effects of whatever potion or spell that they had used to make her look like Ginny began to wear off, transforming into a young girl who looked not older than sixteen. Draco was breathing heavily, staring at the young girl's bloodied and battered body before him. His stomach suddenly fell and he felt like he was going to be sick. What had he just done? He had just murdered an innocent person. Extreme guilt settled in his conscience. His life would never, ever be the same again from that moment on. He knew what he was now and he couldn't convince himself otherwise. He was a murderer.

"I am gravely disappointed in you, Draco," Voldemort said, bringing Draco out of his reverie. He turned to face the Dark lord, looking him straight in those hollow and empty eyes.

"But I did it anyway. I passed," he said coldly.

"Barely," Voldemort retorted. "Nevertheless, I will not change my mind about my decision. You will still be my confederate."

"Why me? Why not Lucius or Bellatrix? They're far stronger than I am," Draco argued. Voldemort seemed appalled at Draco's audacity, but did nothing about it and answered his question instead.

"Because you have been disloyal to me once," Voldemort hissed. "I will not let that happen again. You're fortunate you're still alive. You know more than anyone else what I do to unworthy and disloyal servants."

Draco quieted. It was true. Draco was still alive and well but right now, he wished he was already dead.

"Are you still willing to recieve your Dark Mark?" Voldemort asked.

Draco raised his eyebrows. "It's not like I have a choice," he snapped exasperatedly. "Yes, my lord," he said quickly, bowing, as soon as he saw the flash of dangerous fury in Voldemort's eyes.

"Very well," Voldemort said. He turned to one of the death eaters in the line. "Call in everyone, Bellatrix."

Bellatrix? She was in here all along? he thought as he watched Bellatrix bow down on her knees and then rise and then walked off briskly, but not before looking Draco in the eye for a brief moment. Draco stood there in front of the Dark Lord, surrounded by the Death Eaters, the acrimony hanging tense in the air. Draco thought he would cower in the Dark lord's scrutiny but felt that he had more courage than ever. What was it that brought him to not fear this dark wizard in front of him? As thoughts ran in his mind, the double doors swung open again and a mass of Death Eaters began shuffling in. When and how did the Dark Lord get this much followers?

The sea of black and evil came sweeping in, filling every corner of the Hall. It amazed and frightened Draco at the same time to know that there were this much Death Eaters who are very much capable of destroying anything that got in their way. His thoughts drifted to the light side and the Order. Did they have this much people on their side? He silently prayed and hoped that they had even more than Voldemort has.

The Hall suddenly came to a silence; no movement was made and the air hung cool and eerie on Draco's skin. The blue flames from the torches illuminated the dark, pointed hoods and masks of the Death Eaters, heightening the feeling of being surrounded by evil. A few moments of silence passed by as they stood still when finally, Voldemort spoke.

"My faithful followers," he began. "We are gathered here once more to witness the rebirth of a new and powerful dark wizard! I and this wizard will lead you to victory and triumph and we will conquer not only the whole of the wizarding community but also the whole world. I give to you," Voldemort turned to Draco, "Draco Malfoy!" he boomed and the crowd immediately broke into applaud and unconsciously, Draco began to feel prouder and powerful despite himself, forgetting the guilt and pain in his conscience and was then startled when he felt clammy, cold hands touch him followed by the feeling of the tip of a wand being pressed into his skin and at last, a searing and scorching pain that almost made him flinch. He realized that Voldemort was already embedding the Dark Mark on his left arm. He bit his tongue to keep from screaming as he looked at the horrible dark image being imprinted on his pale, smooth skin and it took him all he had to keep from snarling in disgust and then he felt the pain begin to fade as his breathing began to calm. He looked at the glowing mark on his arm again and immediately filled with anger and fury. He was a Death Eater again.

"I don't want to say 'I told you so' but I told you so," Ron said to Ginny as the trudged up the gates to Hogwarts Castle. Ginny pretended not to hear him and continued walking. Harry, Tonks, Remus and Moody were ahead of them, chatting merrily.

"Malfoys are filthy scum. You knew that from the beginning but you still went on with your so called relationship with that git," Ron said. Ginny could feel her patience wavering and she could feel her anger rising but she chose not to react, yet.

"He's a really good actor I have to admit. He had the whole family fooled, except me of course. He even had Hermione and Harry fooled and you especially."

"All he wanted from you was a good shag. You weren't even good enough. He had to run to that slut, Parkinson," he said and at the next moment; Ginny pivoted on her heel, threw back her fist as far as she could and swung it hard, hitting Ron's face. "What the bloody hell?" Ron yelled, catching the attentions of Harry, Tonks, Remus and Moody. Ron spit out blood and wiped his bleeding lip on his sleeve. He even lost some of his teeth.

"You're never going to let me forget my mistake, aren't you?" Ginny yelled, feeling the tears of anger stinging her eyes. "Fine, Ron, rub it in my face will you! Tell me straight to my face that I was just another one of Malfoy's sluts! Tell me what a huge idiot I've been and tell me that he didn't love me for real. Isn't that what you want? To hurt me? Come on Ron, hurt me more than I already am! Or better yet, why don't you just avada kedavra me so I'll be gone forever!"

Tonks gasped, Remus and Moody remained silent and Harry felt sorry for Ginny and angry at Ron. Ron just sat there on the ground, lip bleeding, face red and conscience heavy with guilt and then Ginny fell on her knees, breaking into heartbroken sobs. Harry approached her and went down on his knees and took her in his arms. He glared at Ron as Ginny sobbed into his strong chest.

"We can't go on like this. We'll have to come back tomorrow," Remus said, shaking his head. Tonks sighed. All this personal stuff happening was really taking its toll on their jobs. How were they going to do their job well when every now and then there'll be a sudden outburst of emotion from Ron or Ginny? Tonks suddenly felt frustrated despite herself.

"Draco, I'm so proud of you!" Pansy shrieked as she walked into Draco's office. Draco pinched the bridge of his nose. The peace and quiet he wanted was now out of reach.

"What did I tell you about knocking?" Draco asked exasperatedly. "Or about not coming into my office at all?"

Pansy ignored his annoyance and proceeded to sit on the table, crossing her legs in front of him so that the slit of her dress parted and showed fair flesh. Draco immediately felt more annoyed than ever. "Afraid that little Miss Ginny Weasley might walk in on us again?" she asked sweetly, raising an eyebrow. Draco's head snapped upwards and glared at her through those cold silver gray eyes as his jaw hardened.

"Don't ever mention her name again," Draco said through gritted teeth and cold gray eyes but Pansy did not falter.

"What has she gotten into your system, Draco?" Pansy asked, getting off the table and walking towards the couches in the sitting area of Draco's office. "Why is she so special to you? She's not even your type."

"What do you know about the type of girls I like?" Draco snapped.

"I know you like girls like me," Pansy replied. "You used to anyway." Draco scoffed.

"You think I like girls like you?" He asked coldly before laughing almost cruelly. Pansy raised an eyebrow. "You don't even come close to the type of girl that I like. Why the hell are you still here anyway?"

Pansy stood even straighter, chin in the air and feeling indignant. "Even so, you're father wishes you and I to marry and of course we know that the Dark Lord will not tolerate you being wed to a blood traitor, especially one who is fighting against him. Besides, I'm everything she isn't."

Draco gave a look that seemed to be thinking before saying, "You're quite right there, you know Pansy," he said, pointing to her thoughtfully. Pansy smirked. "She isn't raunchy; she isn't cheap; she isn't greedy; she isn't high maintenance; she isn't a social climber and ungraceful and selfish like you. You're right. She's nothing at all like you."

Pansy's face fell and she looked at Draco through narrowed eyes. She couldn't hide the hurt she was feeling as well as she wanted to and that made Draco smirk.

"We're still marrying. Whether you like it or not," Pansy said with a ring of finality to it.

"Let me just say one thing to you, Pansy," Draco replied, putting the tips of his fingers together, "We can get married tomorrow, the next week or right now even, and you can have my money or me physically; but you will never have my heart."

Pansy's lips thinned as she tried to fight back the tears that were stinging her eyes. She didn't want to believe what she was hearing from the only man she felt so strongly for. She did not want to believe that she was claiming something that can never be hers. She did not want to believe that Draco Malfoy had fallen in love with Ginny Weasley, of all people, instead of her. She felt the anger coursing through her as she thought of Ginny. How she hated that girl. It was then that Pansy decided that she would do whatever it takes to keep Ginny Weasley out of Draco's system. Even if it meant she had to kill the girl herself.

"You're going to regret saying that," Pansy sneered.

"I know what you're thinking Pansy," Draco replied. "You'll never succeed in killing her. You can only go so far as to attempt but trust me when I say that you will fail. You'll only end up hurting yourself."

Pansy's eyes widened. How could he know what she was thinking? And how dare he imply that she was going to lose to a Weasley?

"Well, we'll just have to see about that," Pansy snapped and without another second, she turned on her heel and walked out of Draco's office. Draco threw his head back against the back of his chair and closed his eyes. He had sounded confident and sure that if Pansy did try to harm Ginny, Pansy would fail but under the circumstances and heartbreak Ginny was in right now; he wasn't so sure.

His mind began racing again as he thought about what he could and should do. His thoughts began to drift back to his conversation with Cho Chang. He had told her the truth and he had told her not to tell anyone but right now, he wanted more than anything for her to tell someone. He wished he could meet up with the Order but he didn't know how. He wanted to warn them so that they could build a strong army that can match Voldemort's but he didn't know how. It was so stupid of him to not allow Cho to tell someone. All he could do now was hope and pray that somewhere, somehow, Cho was unable to resist telling the others what she knew and lucky for Draco, somehow, somewhere, that was exactly how Cho was feeling that night.

Cho Chang paced their living room; her mind furiously deciding whether to tell Harry what she knew or not. She had realized after Draco left that what he had told her was valuable and critical information. The whole wizarding world needed to know that another war was somewhere being planned by the Dark Lord himself. The world needed to know that the Dark lord was alive. She ran a hand through her long dark hair nervously. She had been feeling so nervous and jumpy ever since that night she had the conversation with Draco and Harry was beginning to notice how she wasn't really herself these days. She heard a shuffling noise from the fire and she knew that it was Harry. She turned to the fireplace and saw Harry coming out of the fire. She approached him and kissed him on the cheek, helping him dust the soot of his robes. Harry could feel her anxiety and nervousness emanating from his girlfriend and he could see in her eyes that something was indeed amiss.

"What's wrong, Cho?" he asked gently, puting a strong hand on her shoulder. Cho looked at him in the eyes and decided that this was it. She was going to tell Harry what she knew.

"I need to tell you something," came the shaky answer of Cho. Harry immediately began to feel anxious and nervous as well. He took her hand and led her to the couch where they sat down, facing each other.

"Tell me, Cho." he prodded gently. Cho looked down on her lap, wringing her hands together in a mass of nerves and anxiety. She bit her lip, trying to find the words to begin with. Harry tried not to feel impatient but her nervousness and stoic expression on her face told him that it was not good news. Finally, she spoke.

"Harry, that night when Ginny came crying to us," she began. "She fell asleep in your arms remember?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Is that what this is about?"

"No, no, I'm not bothered by that," Cho said quickly. "What's bothering me is what happened while you were asleep."

"What? Did I embrace her too tightly? Were we too close?"

"No! Just shut up and hear me out for a second, damn it!" Cho suddenly yelled, surprising both Harry and herself. After a few moments, Harry shut his gaping mouth. "Are you ready to listen now?" Cho asked, feeling more confident and braver to tell him now. Harry merely nodded. "Good."

"Ok..so that night, Draco came by looking for Ginny," Cho began again. Harry's eyebrows rose and his mouth opened to speak but Cho's glare stopped him from doing so. "He found the both of you asleep on the couch and got bothered by it. I saw him from the kitchen and I asked him to have tea with me."

Harry's mouth opened to speak and this time, Cho couldn't stop him to her annoyance. "You asked him to have tea with you?" he asked incredulously, feeling a little bit angry at his girlfried. "What were you thinking?"

Cho rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm trying to tell you something really important here and you're not really helping."

"What did you two talk about? Did he come here just to make fun of Ginny and then get his grubby hands on you?" Harry asked, his voice getting louder and louder with each word. Cho suddenly stood up.

"It wasn't like that, ok!" she said. Harry then stood up too so that he was towering slightly over Cho.

"Then what was it? Did he come to claim Ginny as his again after he hurt her like that?" he yelled.

"He came to tell me that the Dark Lord was alive!" she yelled back. Harry's eyes widened as what she had just said begun to sink into his mind.

"Are you playing some kind of sick joke on me?" he asked coldly.

"Why would I do that?" she asked. "I didn't believe him at first but.."

"But what?" Harry interrupted. "What makes you believe him?"

"He was serious, Harry. He didn't even crack a smile once during our conversation. He was nervous and he seemed like he was speaking with every ounce of honesty he's got. He broke up with Ginny because he wanted to protect her from the Dark Lord. He explained that Pansy was there that night to inform him that the Dark lord requested his presence in some manor for his re-initiation where he was going to receive his Dark Mark again."

"But how did he come back to life?" Harry asked, somewhat calmer now and Cho told him everything that Draco had told her, not missing even a bit of information. When she had finished, Harry shook his head. "We have to find out if he has any more horcruxes. I don't know how to destroy him. I don't know what could kill him."

"We need to find Draco, Harry. He's the only one that can help us now. We need him," Cho said. Harry knew that Cho was right but meeting up with Draco was the problem.

"Alert the Order members now and ask them to meet at Grimmauld Place immediately," Harry said. Cho nodded and walked to the fireplace. She put her hand inside one of the short vases and pulled out the fake galleon which was similar to the ones they used back in the days of Dumbledore's Army in Hogwarts, only the coins vibrated and made clinking noises when it received alerts. She alerted the others and put the galleon back into her pocket.

"Get dressed. We need to go now," Harry said. Soon they were both ready and they immediately apparated to Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

Ginny was at her apartment eating chocolate frogs to battle her depression when she heard a clinking sound coming from the mantle of her fieplace. She looked up and was surprised to see the alert galleon vibrating and clinking against the blue glass that it was in. She raised an eyebrow. It had been a very long time since the Order of the Phoenix held an official meeting and she suddenly felt her spirits lift a little; knowing that there was finally going to be some action and fighting. She needed to vent all her feelings and emotions that were trapped inside of her. She immediately got up from the couch, grabbed her cloak from the back of a sofa and the galleon from its glass and quickly apparated to Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

As soon as the tightening sensation of apparation left her and she felt her feet land on the ground, she felt the warm and sense of home that she always felt when she was at Grimmauld Place. After all, this was where she spent most of her time with her family and friends and of course the Order during the war. She walked up the delapidated stairs leading up to the house when she suddenly heard a 'pop' of apparition behind her. She turned to look who had just arrived and she lit up when she saw that it was Harry and Cho.

"Hey guys. Who called the meeting?" she asked as they walked up the stairs.

"I did," Harry said with an urgency in his voice that made Ginny even more curious as to what was happening. Together, the three of them walked into the house and were immediately greeted by friendly, familiar faces. Ginny took off her coat and hung it in the coat closet and saw that her family, Remus, Tonks, Moody, Kingsley, Hermione and unfortunately, Ron, were all already there. Even Professor McGonogall was there. She caught Hermione's eye and immediately, the older girl approached her and hugged her.

"Merlin, I heard what Ron did to you this morning," Hermione said as they pulled apart.

Ginny smirked and rolled her eyes. "More like what I did to him." She laughed.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, her jaw set. "It's not funny you know. What he said to you was totally uncalled for. I've given him a good scolding about it you know. So we're not exactly friends right now."

"You didn't have to do that, Hermione. Really, I'm alright. I just don't want to talk about it anymore," Ginny said. "But I'm glad you did anyway. Let's go into the kitchen, I wonder what mum cooked," she said, linking her arm with Hermione's.

"Gin, this isn't a feast. It's a meeting," Hermione said.

"But you know mum. There's always food," Ginny replied, making Hermione smile. They entered the kitchen and sure enough, there was a bubbling cauldron on the fire that gave off the delicious aroma of stew. Ginny smiled. She began to feel the most comfortable she's been in a few days. She wasn't even thinking about Draco. She saw that the others were already sitting at the table and she led Hermione to the end of the table where there were two empty chairs and they both sat down. Immediately, Harry spoke in an urgent and serious voice.

"We're here tonight because of something that Cho has told me earlier," he said. "Draco Malfoy came to her and told her that Voldemort is alive."

Everyone at the table remained quiet, thinking what kind of joke Harry was trying to pull. The silence hung in the air until surprisingly, Cho stood up and spoke.

"It's true. I know that half the people in this room don't even like the person and I'm sure you all know what he did to Ginny," heads turned to Ginny's direction and Ginny raised her eyebrows at their scrutiny. "but he broke up with you, Gin, because he wanted to protect you from the Dark lord."

Ginny blinked, trying to register what Cho had just said and once it did, she stood up in anger. "To protect me? Why is it that everyone thinks I'm always a child or a damsel in distress?"

"Ginny, Draco loves you and he doesn't want you to get hurt by the Dark lord," Cho said. Ginny fought the urge to let the tears flow. She didn't want to cry again; especially not in front of the Order. She held her chin up and stood straighter.

"Is there a point to this, Cho?" she asked.

"The point is, he's not lying. Gin, he wouldn't break up with you just for the hell of it. He loves you, I could feel it when he was telling me the whole truth."

"Why didn't he tell me himself? Why did he have to hurt me like that and what about Parkinson?" she asked. There were so many questions running in her mind right now.

"He hurt you because he knew it would make you stronger. It was stupid yes even he admits that it was a stupid idea but he already did it. Parkinson was just there to inform Draco that the Dark lord wanted him to be at Salazar Slytherin's Manor the next day. Pansy just, you know, threw herself at him."

"Salazar Slytherin's Manor? But that was destroyed ages ago!" Kingsley said.

"When did Malfoy tell you this?" Ginny asked Cho.

"The night you came to us," Cho answered, making Ginny's eyes widen.

"Why that night?" Ginny asked.

"He was after you," Cho said.

"This isn't the right time to talk about me and Dra- Malfoy," she said. "What makes you think he's telling the truth?" All eyes were on Cho, waiting expectantly for her answer.

Cho almost laughed at how really similar Harry and Ginny were. They even asked the same questions. "My heart just kept screaming to believe him. Not very tangible but I just know that he's telling the truth."

Ginny slowly sat back down, thinking and registering everything that was just said. She knew that Cho was telling the truth and that Draco had told Cho the truth, even if she didn't want to believe it herself. Voldemort was alive? If this is indeed true then this means the rise of another war. More lives will be lost and ruined; chaos in the wizarding world and more disaster and tragedy.

"Tell us what you know, Cho," Ginny said and immediately the room quieted, looking once more at Cho Chang. Cho nodded and soon she was telling everyone everything that she knew. It was tiring, telling the whole thing over and over again. Terrifying even but Cho knew that this was the best thing to do even if she was breaking her promise to Draco.

"Do you know where he is now?" Tonks asked after Cho had finished.

"No but I reckon he's at the Malfoy Manor," Cho replied.

"We don't know how to kill Voldemort now," Professor McGonogall said. "Draco might be the only person who knows and can help us."

"Minerva is right. We need Draco," Mr. Weasley added.

"But he's a Death Eater again now," Ginny said. "If the Dark Lord finds out that he's helping us, he'll get killed," she added softly. Hermione put a comforting hand on Ginny's shoulder and gently squeezed.

"We need someone to go to the Manor," Harry said.

"But who?" Ron asked.

"I'll go," Ginny said, causing everyone to look at her once again. What is it with these people and their staring? "I'm the only that can apparate into the Manor."

"What makes you think his wards are still the same?" Ron asked. Ginny raised an eyebrow at her brother.

"Do you have other greater ideas?" she snapped.

"Stop," Harry demanded. "Before this gets out of hand again. Ginny, are you sure you want to do this?"

"No! Ginny you're putting your life in danger!" Mrs. Weasley cried.

"Mum, I'm the only that can get in," Ginny replied.

"Oh Arthur! Do something!" Mrs. Weasley said, turning to her husband. Mr Weasley appeared thoughtful for a few moments and then sighed and shook his head.

"There's nothing we can do about it, love. She's the only one who can do it," Mr Weasley replied and Mrs. Weasley immediately began crying.

"She can't go unless she's wearing this necklace," Fred said as he took two silver necklaces with a tear shaped pendant out of his pocket.

"New invention," George explained. "There are two of these. I'll wear the other one. If you're hurt or harmed, my pendant will glow and we'll come after you." Ginny smiled at her two brothers, thankful for their great minds and inventions. At least she was guaranteed some safety even if she knew that the safest place she could be in was with Draco.

"That's settled then. When do you want me to go?" Ginny asked, feeling courageous.

"As soon as possible. We need to know everything about Voldemort and his army," Harry said. "Get him on our side, Ginny. You can do it."

Ginny gave Harry an appreciative smile as Fred and George came up to her, holding the necklace.

"You take care now," Fred said.

"If he hurts you, we'll be there even before you can say 'exploding snap'," George added as he placed the necklace around Ginny's neck and clasped it securely.

"Thanks you guys," she said and then turning to her mum, she hugged her and said, "Don't worry, mum. I'll be back before you know it." Mrs Weasley calmed down and hugged her daughter tightly before letting her go and giving her a smile.

"Go," Mrs Weasley said with a warm smile. After hearing instructions and advices from the rest of the Order members, Ginny put on her cloak and walked out the door of Grimmauld Place where she was greeted by the cold and dark air. She stopped under a huge tree, took a deep breath and apparated to Malfoy Manor.

Draco sat at his desk, quill scratching furiously across a parchment. It was almost midnight but he couldn't sleep so he decided to work on a few of the legal documents that Blaise had given him to fill out. The manor was quiet and there was no sound of Pansy's shrill voice so he knew she was already asleep. Feeling a bit of a headache, he put down his quill and stretched his arms and rolled his shoulders. He poured himself another glass of whisky and drank it all in one gulp despite the burning sensation i caused on his throat. He was about to pour himself another one when he was suddenly startled by a the 'pop' of an apparition. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as his heart began beating furiously against his chest. He looked around his office, trying to see who it was that just apparated in. Was it only his imagination? No, it couldn't be. It was loud and clear. A lump was forming in his throat and his mouth went dry. His grip on the glass tightened as if preparing to hurl it at the intruder once it showed itself.

"Did I scare you?" came a voice. Draco looked towards the source of the sound and there, emerging from the darkness and into the light from the fire, was a hooded form. The voice was a woman's voice and he was sure that he knew who that voice belonged to.

"Ginny?" Draco croaked. The firelight flickered and illuminated her face for a brief moment but that was all he needed. He had caught a glimpse of her cherry red lips and hair and immediately he stood up and approached her in long strides. He halted right in front of her.

"Ginny, what are you doing here?" he asked gently. He wanted her to look him in the eye but she kept her gaze straight; almost right through him.

"I've come to ask you some questions," Ginny said. Her voice was cold and distant and it was hurting Draco.

"You can't be here," Draco said, the concern and worry evident in his voice. "You're not safe with me," he added as he slowly lifted his hand up to cup her cheek. Surprisingly, Ginny did not move away. She just stood there as Draco caressed her cheek with his thumb.

"Draco," she breathed. "I'm safest with you."

Draco lifted her chin up so she can look into his eyes but she closed her eyes as he did so. "Gin, look at me," he said.

An involuntary tear streamed down her closed eyes. Draco wanted to kiss it away and he did just that. He placed butterfly kisses on her cheek as his other hand pulled her closer to him by the waist. He kissed the edge of her lips and just as he was going to kiss her lips, she pulled away from him and left Draco hanging there. He felt his heart shatter into a million pieces as he watched her pull away from him.

"Draco," she said. "I know everything. I know about you and your Dark Mark. The rise of Voldemort. I know everything." Tears were steadily streaming down her face now but she just couldn't bring herself to wipe them away. She just wanted to let them fall.

Draco gulped, trying not to cry. Was she going to hate him now? Did she already hate him? Was she never going to accept him now?

"Do you hate me now that you know?" he asked, voicing out his thoughts.

"No, I don't hate you," she said. "I just hate that you didn't tell me about it and that you had to lie to me and hurt me."

Draco wanted to hold her in his arms and just kiss away all her pain and take back everything he did but he couldn't do that.

"I'm sorry that I did those things," Draco said, his voice shaky but still strong. "I just needed to get you away from me. Away from the Dark Lord."

"You know you could have told me. Told the entire Order. Then you wouldn't have had to go through this. But I'm not here to scold you about your mistakes. I need you to do something for me."

"Anything, Gin," Draco replied.

"The Order sent me here to ask if you would secretly join our side," she said.

Draco's heart fell. She was here just because the Order sent her and not because she wanted to see him.

"I already am," Draco said, disappointment etched in his expression. "I've always been. That's why I told Cho everything."

"Why did you tell Cho instead of me?" Ginny asked, her voice becoming stronger and louder.

"Because you were busy sleeping in Potter's arms," Draco snapped.

Ginny gave out a sigh of exasperation as she shook her head. "That was your doing."

"You didn't even let me explain."

"Pansy was in your arms, grinding against you and lips locked in a furious battle of tongues. What was a girl supposed to think?"

"Correction: It was only her tongue that was battling mine. I was pushing her away. She was coming on to me," Draco said.

Ginny sighed sharply. "This is not even what I'm here for. Are you on our side then?"

"I've told you already, yes," Draco said.

"Then you're going to help us kill Voldemort," she retorted. "Find out how and when you do, alert me with this," she said, holding out the fake galleon that the Order used.

"Finally, I get one of these," he said, smirking to himself as he took the golden coin from her hand, lingering at their contact for a few moments before Ginny drew back her hand.

"I've got to go now," Ginny said. "Don't let me down more than you already have," she added and she prepared to apparate but Draco's strong hand gripped her arm again and turned her to face him and suddenly, Draco kissed her hard and hungrily. It took Ginny all the energy and sense that she had to pull away and slap him right on the face making Draco's grip on her loosen.

"Just because you're on my side that doesn't mean I've already forgiven you," she said and with that, she apparated away, leaving behind a very hurt Draco. He sighed and put his hands to his head. He really couldn't blame her for being mad. He was just mad at himself for being unable to resist the urge to kiss her when he knew that she wasn't ready yet. He walked to his desk and poured himself another glass of whisky. His life was now officially complicated and fucked up.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling.