"Friday-Friday-Friday!" Ginny chanted at dinner. "I love Fridays. Do you know why I love Fridays?"
"Because you'll have enough time to get a head start on next week's homework? At least, that why I take pleasure in my Friday evenings." Blaise nodded solemnly. The two were seated at the Slytherin table amidst mostly 7th years of that house. "Tonight I intend to write my three-foot essay for Charms. Professor Flitwick said it only had to be two feet long, but of course I cannot restrain myself to that."
Pansy, closest to Blaise, slapped him lightly. "Careful with that, or that is what you'll end up doing tonight."
Blaise just grinned. "Why, it isn't like there's anything exciting going on…" He knew better, of course, but he had discovered that provoking Ginny was like a game. A really fun, potentially dangerous game.
"Hey! You said it was a good idea! In fact, I do believe you helped with…procurement. 'Sides, the common room looks like it was made for parties." It was true. After the tumultuous first two days of school, Lijanhorn's common room had settled into it's own identity. The smile had vanished off of Ginny's face, and she was looking at Blaise dangerously.
"Hey! All in good fun," he held his hands up in mock-surrender. "It's not just a good idea, it's a bloody brilliant idea. Nothing unites people like a party. Did you talk to your brother yet?"
Ginny's smiled. "It went smashingly. I told him he could come, and I might even let him drink if he played nice with the rest of the kids. Oh…and that if he did one tiny little thing to annoy, disrespect, control, or otherwise irritate me, I was throwing him out and calling Fred and George. I think we came to an understanding."
"You won't even need to call them, I can just bash his head in for you," Blaise said.
"Thank you, but hopefully unnecessary."
Dinner ended uneventfully, Blaise standing first. "Well, former Housemates-of-mine, we should get going. Lots of stuff to get ready, you see. We'll see you tonight."
"Lots of stuff to get ready my ass," Ginny heard Pansy mutter as the pair walked out of the Great Hall. However, Blaise hadn't been lying this time. When they reached their dorm, Ginny couldn't help but smile when they entered the common room. Even though it had been the same for the past few days, it was still impressive. The room was naturally divided into sections, while remaining one large open space. The front half— or, at least, the part closer to the door— had a few small round tables, with two chairs each, scattered in front of a bar, for lack of a better word. The counter had been stocked with a few snacks on the top shelf and potion supplies and cauldrons on the rest, but Ginny and Blaise had restocked with every liquor imaginable, shoving all of the previously neatly arranged supplies onto the lowest shelf. The counter itself was a deep blue with silver speckles, same as the tables. The floor was a hard material that Ginny could not identify. Seamless, smooth, swirled with shades of gray, the floor gradually darkened as it approached the other half of the room, where a thick black carpet covered the floor. Several leather couches were spread in front of a very impressive fireplace, littered with purple-red and blue pillows, several blankets tossed in for good measure. A table in the middle was made of the same material as the rest of the tables, but only rose about a foot off of the floor.
The two got to work immediately, Blaise charming balls of light to float around the high ceiling, providing the perfect level of light, while Ginny fought with the speakers Hermione had given her upon learning of their efforts. She'd been a little surprised that the Head Girl was aiding, let alone condoning, the party, but Hermione had shrugged and said, "there's a war going on outside these walls. I think unity inside, whatever the means, is very important." The two cleared the tables from the front portion of the room in order to make room for dancing, and then set off to make themselves ready for the party.
Ginny found Lijara seated at a small table in their bedroom— technically Ginny's room, Blaise's was down the hall— and asked the miniature woman for the thousandth time if she thought the party was a good idea.
"Ginny, yes, yes, again, yes! What do I need to say to get you to believe me?"
"It's just…are you sure we shouldn't be doing research instead?" Ginny asked. "I mean, I think the party'll be fun, but will it really accomplish anything?"
Lijara crossed her arms over her chest. "When I told you that you needed to give up on the library because there simply isn't any information there, I meant it. When I told you to stop worrying so much and just focus on the first week of school, I meant it. When I said not to worry about rushing into finding more members for Lijanhorn, I meant it. When you and Blaise came up with this idea and I jumped up and down and shouted 'Brilliant!' I meant it!" She huffed. "Now, go make yourself pretty and enjoy the night. I'm leaving shortly so that I don't see anything I shouldn't. Have fun!"
With that, Lijara disappeared. Though Apparating within Hogwarts was impossible, Ginny was starting to suspect that there were lots of rules that didn't apply when it came to her two-foot tall head of house. She shrugged, and started digging through her closet. She settled on a black halter dress that cut off halfway above her knees. Nothing too short that she couldn't move in it, with a reasonable front and much lower cut back. Not quite backless, but close. She didn't feel like risking falling out of her clothes tonight. A few cosmetic spells had her hair in soft waves and her face perfectly made up. She returned to the common room to find Blaise sprawled out on a couch, and jumped on him.
"Come on, only a couple more minutes till nine," she said. The temporary password for the common room had spread like wildfire through the older students, and would start allowing people entry at nine o'clock. No one wanted to miss the first party of the year.
"No one's gonna be here at nine." Blaise said, earning him a glare from Ginny. "Fine, fine, I'm up. Happy?"
Blaise was right, no one was there exactly at nine. Shortly thereafter, though, guests began trickling in. It seemed as if the majority of the older students at the school had come…or, the majority of three Houses. There were far fewer Gryffindors. Ginny shrugged. Their loss. She spotted one unmistakable group of Gryffindors winding their way towards her at the bar.
"Gin, this is amazing!" Harry said, loud enough to be heard over the music. The dance floor had filled up almost immediately, while the other half of the room held a few small groups of students talking. Blaise had taken up residence behind the bar, mixing drinks on demand.
"Y'think?" Ginny grinned, sipping on her margarita, which Ron's eyes were glued to. "Oh grow up, older-brother-of-mine. You want something?"
Hermione put a steadying hand on Ron's arm, who, in turn, took a few deep breaths. "Th-that would be nice."
"You two? Kay. Hey, Blaise! A round of drinks for these three, yeah?"
She chatted with the trio for a few minutes more before losing them to the dance floor. As much as she wanted to get absolutely smashed tonight, she knew she had to have enough of her wits about her to deal with any problems that might arise. So far, the Slytherins and Gryffindors were doing nothing to provoke each other. They weren't doing anything to get along, either, but she'd take peaceful coexistence in the same room as a first step. She leaned back against the wall and watched the dancers. Harry looked mildly uncomfortable as— Ginny squinted, but couldn't tell who was dancing with him in the dim light— a witch ground up against him, and she couldn't suppress a smile. Ron and Hermione were…gone already, and she immediately banished that thought from her head. She sighed, content to watch her peers from her stool at the bar.
A long while later, she glanced over at Blaise. It was getting close to one, which was when he was abandoning the bar. He had already mixed up a giant punch bowl for those that wanted to keep drinking and was locking up the liquor. "Alright you, you're coming on the dance floor with me now."
Blaise grinned. "Not quite." He gestured at the six shot glasses in front of him. "I've been drinking, but I am so far from done. As I remember, I didn't lose the sober coin toss. Cheers!"
Ginny glared at him as he downed the shots in rapid succession, and then squealed as he swept her into the crowd.
Later, she wasn't sure how much later, the pair collapsed onto one of the couches. The dancers were thinning rapidly, as people either left the room or claimed their own space on the couches. "What's he doing by himself?" Ginny nudged Blaise, nodding in Draco's direction, where the blond was barely visible, hidden away in the doorway that led up to their rooms.
Blaise's fingers stopped tracing along her thighs and he looked down at her. "Who knows…he's Draco."
"Hmm. I'm going to go find out." She slid out of Blaise's grasp and stood up, swaying for a second.
"Don't. It's not good to bother him when he's like that," Blaise attempted to grab her wrist, but she had already started making her way across the room, weaving around the clumps of people.
"What're you doing all alone?" Ginny sat down on the stair next to Draco, who was staring vacantly ahead. "There are plenty of pretty girls here, why aren't you with one of them?"
Silence.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Silence.
"Really, I'm not." She cocked her head at him. "Why did you turn away from the Death Eaters?"
Silence.
"Why does your House look to you for leadership so much? What happened the summer before your 6th year?"
Silence.
"I don't get it. For years, you were the bratty little aristocrat, convinced you were a million times better than everyone, all set to join the ranks of the Death Eaters. Something happened; what?"
Draco finally moved. "Whas it t'you?"
"Curiosity, I guess." Truth be told, she wasn't sure where her questions were coming from. She just had the sense that there was something very important about the Malfoy seated next to her. The way his House followed him was one hint, and the way she had sensed a change in him back in her fifth year was another. But she couldn't attribute it solely to that, because she felt driven to ask these questions, a feeling far stronger than mere curiosity.
He turned to look at her, and Ginny was shocked at how…dead he looked. "I'm drunk," he announced.
"I know…" Ginny hesitated. He was very drunk. And very un-Malfoy in behavior, though she supposed that was one reason she was there.
"I've never told anyone, what makes y'think you're special?"
"…I…" This time, the silence was on Ginny's end.
"Jus' 'cause you've got some fancy mission to unite the school doesn' mean you hafta get in ev'ryone's business." Draco nodded, agreeing with himself.
"Something happened to you. I can see it in your eyes, in the way you carry yourself. I want to understand what made you change. More than that, I want to understand why people change. Not just you. I think…I think it's important for me to know." She laughed self-deprecatingly. "I don't know what I'm babbling about re-"
"Lucius killed my mother." He said it so quietly she could barely hear him, all traces of alcohol vanishing from his voice. "He killed her in front of me. Said she was weak. Said she disrespected him." He looked down. "He didn't even use the killing curse; he—he…" He shuddered, trailing off. When he spoke again, his voice was rough. "So, littlest Weasley, you wished to know what makes people change? Seeing your family destroyed by the taint of the Dark Lord will do it, as will seeing the depravity your own father has deep within his soul. She- I've seen him do others before, but what makes a husband…they were in love, you know. Once. I was forced to confront the fact that there is something wrong, something very, very wrong with my father. With Voldemort. With the others…" His eyes lost their focus. "I could ignore it. Say they had it coming, or they weren't worth it. When I say wrong, I don't mean Dark. I mean…fuck, I don't know what I mean. Fuck."
Ginny released the breath she didn't even know she had been holding. Her mind was reeling as she studied the boy beside her. Distantly, she thought that boy wasn't the right word, but he seemed too young to be a man. She tried to imagine a situation where her father could kill her mother, but the thought was far too alien. She had no idea what to say, but Malfoy spoke again.
"Lovely, hmm? All that changed was that I was forced to see what had always been in front of my eyes."
"What…what happened after?" Ginny found her voice.
"What do you think happened next?" He returned, looking at her intently. When she didn't speak, he answered her question. "I killed him. Not then; right before school started. I had to."
Rather than protest that he had a choice, Ginny nodded. Technically, he did have a choice, but Ginny knew on some instinctual level that he had to kill his father if he ever wanted to be free of him. A thought occurred to her. "But it hasn't been in the papers! Surely I would have heard…"
"I learned to forge my father's signature when I was thirteen," he said tonelessly, "Not with a pen, with a wand. For all business purposes, he's alive. And the Dark Lord wouldn't want to go around announcing one of his inner circle was dead unnecessarily. Bad press, y'know?" He laughed, the alcohol reclaiming him. "Delightful chatting wi' you, baby Weasley." Some of the life finally returned to his eyes as he tapped her on the nose. "I shoul' get back to Slytherin…ev'ryone's gone." He stood up, swerving unsteadily as he turned to face her. "G'nigh'," he said, and left through the portrait.
Ginny sat on the stairs for a while longer, trying to digest what she had heard. She knew it had been important for her to hear, but she wasn't sure why, and that bothered her. She stood slowly and took the few steps back to the common room. Draco had been right; everyone was gone. And Blaise was passed out on one of the couches. All told, the place was surprisingly clean. Sure, there was a spill or two, and a couple glasses that hadn't made it back to the bar, but she had been expecting far worse. With a few muttered "scourgify" spells, she left the furniture as it was to deal with tomorrow and headed to bed.
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A/N: I have no idea why anyone has decided to read this…I probably would have taken one look at the gap in dates and gone to find a more reliable author (preferably one with a completed story, too.) But thank you! PS, can we all have a huge laugh at the fact that an Ariana was revealed to be a member of the Dumbledore family in DH when (granted, four years ago) I had adamantly said she wasn't a relative. Haha. Wonder if I'll change that/if it's relevant. Still amusing.
GoodGirlzDead - I agree. Well, kind of. A fifth house is such a complete alteration to everything, but hopefully by the time I get through the "deeper" stuff it will be more…palatable? As for another hiatus, I won't make any promises because I definitely do not have the track record for it, but I don't plan on it. And thank you about Dumbledore, really. I agree…many people lose his…charm, I guess. Ellusiveness? Maybe I shouldn't try and describe it. I'm just glad I managed to capture any of it (although now I'll be paranoid about any other scenes he's in…) miss devil's kiss - To answer your, and probably anyone else who found this under D/G's, question…Um, patience is a virtue? I know that, whether you look at is as four years of nine chapters, this story is very slow in getting to the romance. However, it is important to the plot that things happen in a certain order. This is not going to be along the lines of "Malfoy you're insufferable" "Weasley you are below me" - smirk - more smirks - random run ins - likely detention/tutoring/tutoring as detention - they realize they, gasp, like each other. But hey, they talked in this chapter?