A/N: Part One goes back in time, starting at the end of HBP. I tried to stay with the real storyline as much as I could, while incorporating my own plot. Thanks for your reviews! Enjoy!
Part One
Chapter One
Ginny could not remember a pain like this. It was brutal, vicious and persistent. It traveled through her nerves and veins to every extremity. Her eyes watered and she screamed, hoping that someone from the Order would notice and help her. Finally, the pain stopped. Ginny couldn't stop shivering. A hand latched onto her arm and dragged her to her feet.
"Ginny, are you all right?" Harry asked breathlessly.
"Harry? What-"
"Ginny, I have to go. Find somewhere safe." Harry bolted towards the door through which Severus Snape and a young blonde wizard had just exited. Ginny frowned and ran after him.
"Harry, what's happening?" Ginny asked frantically. "I couldn't see, but it sounded like-"
"Ginny, I don't have time for this now!" Harry called over his shoulder, not slowing his pace. Ginny used what energy she had left to keep up with him.
"Harry, I want to help you!" Suddenly, Harry stopped dead. Ginny ran into him and nearly had the wind knocked out of her.
"What did you do that for?" She snapped angrily. Harry muttered something under his breath and a door to their left creaked open.
"This is the prefect's bathroom. Stay here. Don't move. It's become too dangerous out there for you," Harry said, dragging Ginny inside.
"What? Harry, you can't make me stay here!"
"Stay here, Ginny!" Harry thundered, slamming the door and locking it with a spell. Then he continued running as fast as he could down the stairs. He caught sight of the Death Eaters leaving the castle, and he continued his pursuit.
-
Draco felt a sharp pain in his side. His muscles were cramping and he felt as though he was going to throw up. But Snape urged him on, insisting that he would be killed if he lingered for too long. So Draco ran. A thousand thoughts were running through his mind. The image of Dumbledore falling from the tower was seared into his eyelids. He couldn't shake the old man's pleading blue eyes from his thoughts. Suddenly, a stunning spell hit the ground between Snape and Draco.
"Draco, run! Get out of here!" Draco was too terrified to protest. He bolted for the cover of the forest, where he leaned on a tree to catch his breath. Suddenly, the events of the evening began to sink in. He had failed in his assignment to murder Dumbledore. And the Death Eater's attack on Hogwarts was not going as planned. He couldn't bear to consider the repercussions of this mistake. When he returned home, Lucius was sure to curse him into unconsciousness. And that would be nothing compared to what Voldemort would do to him. The thought occurred to him all at once, and it horrified him.
He couldn't go back.
-
"Stay here. Don't move. It's too dangerous," Ginny muttered bitterly as she paced back and forth in the prefect's bathroom. "It's not like I'm a child!" She shouted to no one in particular. Her voice echoed off the walls of the bathroom, making her feel even more isolated.
"What are you complaining about, dearie?" The mermaid painting asked silkily. "At least you know you'll live another day."
"But my friends and my family are out there risking their lives! It's so frustrating to not know what's happening and to not be able to help them!" Ginny responded loudly.
"They were just trying to protect you," the mermaid countered.
"I don't need protection!" Ginny shouted, knocking several bottles of bath soap onto the floor. The mermaid rolled her eyes at the tantrum and fell silent. Ginny scowled and sat on the edge of the bathtub. Suddenly, she heard hastened footsteps coming down the hall. She reached into her pocket and her hand closed around her wand. Silently, she prayed that the footsteps would continue past the bathroom and disappear. However, Ginny leapt to her feet when she heard the person pause outside the door.
"Looks like you'll get your chance to fight after all," the mermaid commented smugly. Ginny glared.
"Shh!" She hissed, waiting in fevered anticipation. A deep voice muttered the counter spell for the locking charm and the door creaked open. A figured burst inside and slammed the door abruptly, clearly not noticing that Ginny was even present. But Ginny noticed the man. And more than that, she recognized him too.
"Malfoy?" She exclaimed in shock. Draco whirled around, his wand extended and ready to strike. Ginny raised hers as well.
"Weasley?" He questioned, clearly equally surprised.
"What are you doing in here?" Ginny snapped, her heart racing madly. Footsteps came clattering down the corridor, and Ginny saw an unmistakable flicker of fear in his eyes. Before she had a chance to react, Draco had crossed the room in a few long strides and backed Ginny against the wall, rendering her defenseless.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Ginny demanded loudly.
"Shut up!" Draco hissed, pushing his weight against her to hold her in place. "I need you to be quiet. Can you do that?"
"Why? So the Order won't find you? I'm on their side, if you've forgotten-"
"It's not the Order," Draco whispered. "So if you don't want to die, you'll want to shut up." Ginny glared at him, but obeyed. They listened to the people outside walking around and talking in hushed voices. Ginny could feel Draco's heart pounding furiously in his chest. She studied his face carefully, trying to decipher if he presented a threat to her. She had been trained to recognize any Malfoy male as a danger to her, but at this moment in time, he resembled a small child hiding from the monster in his closet. Still, she kept her guard up, and as soon as Draco released his grip on her, she raised her wand.
"Leave," she commanded with more strength than she felt. Draco raised both an eyebrow and his wand.
"Now, now, Weasley. Let's not be unnecessarily violent. I have to stay here for a little while, so if you're not all right with that, then you can go," Draco replied smoothly. Ginny stared at him, calculating.
"Are you going to put your wand down?" He asked.
"I don't trust you," Ginny spat.
"Well, I don't exactly trust you either."
"Fine."
"Fine."
Neither of them lowered their wands.
"This is stupid, Weasley. I'm not going to kill you. You can put away your wand."
"You've never given me a reason to believe that. In all the years I've known you, you've been nothing but a prat to me and my family. Why in god's name should I trust you not to hurt me?"
"Weasley," Draco began in a strained voice. "I am very tired, and I just did something horrible. All I want to do is sit down and figure out what I'm going to do next." There was a long pause during which neither of them moved and neither of them spoke. They just stood across from each other, trying to predict the other person's next move. Their eyes met in a frighteningly intense stare that neither of them could break. Ginny could see the desperation in his eyes, although he tried very hard to mask it with indifference. Exhaustion was written all over his face, and against her better judgment, Ginny felt a twinge of pity for him.
Slowly, Ginny lowered her wand and relaxed her stance. Draco hesitated for a moment before following suit. They didn't take their eyes off each other, still not certain that they were safe from one another. Eventually, Draco moved towards the wall and sat down with his back to it. Ginny watched as he used his wand to lift a tile from the floor and reached inside. She was surprised to see him lift a bottle of whiskey from the hole in the ground.
"Where the hell did you get that?" Ginny asked in confusion. Draco looked at her as though she were an idiot.
"From the floor?" He replied arrogantly. Ginny rolled her eyes.
"How did you know it was there?"
"Because I put it there, if you must know," Draco replied, taking a swig from the bottle. He started to offer Ginny the drink, but seemed to think better of it. She began pacing again, trying to figure out what the hell was happening. Why was Draco here? Who was he running from? And most importantly…
"What did you do?" She finally asked. Draco swallowed another mouthful of alcohol and stared at her blankly.
"Excuse me?"
"You said you did a horrible thing. What did you do?" Draco's eyes darkened.
"None of your business, Weasley." Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Fine, whatever," she muttered, holding up her hands in surrender. She returned to pacing impatiently back and forth across the room.
"Do you have to keep walking around like that?" Draco slurred in annoyance. Ginny stopped in her tracks and glowered at the blonde figure slumped against the wall.
"Do you have to keep existing like that?" She retorted. Draco smirked and raised the bottle in a mock toast to her jibe.
"I really don't like you, Weasley," Draco drawled with his signature smirk still in place. Ginny sighed.
"And that eats me from inside, Malfoy, really," she replied sarcastically.
"Will you let me finish?" Draco snapped in a frustrated tone. Ginny did not give a definite sign of encouragement, but she didn't act to stop him from continuing either. Draco took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let his head rest against the stone wall behind him. "I really don't like you. I don't like any member of your family. Especially your twit of a brother, Ron."
"Then occasionally we agree with each other," Ginny interrupted with a wry smile. Draco returned the gesture.
"As much as it pains me to do this," Draco began in an aggrieved voice. "I need your help." Ginny's eyes widened.
"Excuse me?"
"I need your help."
"No, I heard what you said," Ginny replied shortly. "I'm just not sure I understand it." Draco chuckled humorlessly and shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't fully understand it either. But it's the only option I have left right now."
"Why should I help you?"
"Because as much as you despise me, I know that part of you still believes that I am a human being who deserves sympathy," Draco explained quietly. Ginny fixed him with a furious look.
"How would you know something like that?" She demanded defensively.
"It's in your eyes," Draco replied simply. Ginny watched him closely for a moment, wondering if her soul was as readable to everyone as it was to him. She sighed heavily and put her hands on her hips before she continued pacing.
"Does helping you endanger my life?"
"Yes," Draco replied honestly.
"Then I'm sorry," Ginny answered. "I can't. I have no reason to sacrifice myself for your benefit. I just don't trust you." Draco sighed and stared at her with pleading eyes. When she made no attempt to rethink her decision, Draco groaned and patted the floor next to him.
"Sit down, Weasley."
"What?"
"Sit down," Draco repeated slowly. "I'm going to tell you everything." Ginny raised her eyebrows skeptically, but took a seat on the floor beside him.
"It's not going to change my mind," she pointed out.
"I would feel better about my certain death if I knew that I had done everything I could to prevent it," Draco replied flatly. Ginny blinked, unsure of whether she should believe his dramatic statement.
"All right then," she said quietly. "Start talking."
"Voldemort gave me instructions to kill Dumbledore," he blurted out. Ginny's heart skipped a beat. She withdrew from him in horror.
"What?" She gasped, hardly able to breathe. Draco held his head in his hands.
"I know. It's my fault that the Death Eaters were able to get into the castle tonight. I did it. And my purpose was to kill Dumbledore."
"You bastard!" Ginny screamed, scrambling to her feet and stumbling towards the door. Draco leapt to his feet after her and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"I didn't do it, Ginny!" He shouted, shaking her slightly. "I couldn't kill him. I couldn't do it!" Ginny's anger transformed into confusion when she saw the tears in Draco's eyes. She was shocked into paralysis. Even when he let her go, she didn't move from her position. He returned to his spot on the floor and took another drink of whiskey.
"I choked," Draco said weakly. "I'm not a murderer. I could never be a murderer. But if I can't be a murderer, then I can't be a Death Eater. If I'm not a Death Eater, then I have two options. Death or betrayal."
"What?" Ginny whispered, not quite catching his drift.
"If I defy Voldemort and my father, then I will be killed. There is no question about that. There is also no question about the fact that I will be tortured extensively for failing in my mission. And then I'll be killed."
"What's your point, Malfoy?" Ginny asked impatiently.
"My point is I don't really want to die," Draco said with a smirk. "So my only other option is to offer my services to the Order. Provide them with valuable information that my father is privy to. Work undercover." Ginny blinked.
"You're serious, aren't you?" She said softly, sinking to her knees beside him. Draco touched her hand briefly.
"I am. I have no other choice. I need you to bring me to someone who's in charge and I need you to vouch for me."
"What? You want me to risk debunking my reputation by vouching for you?" Draco shrugged. "How do I know that you're not actually a spy for Voldemort?" Ginny asked sharply. "What if I let you in and you destroy the Order?"
"You're just going to have to take that chance," Draco replied quietly, realizing now how weak his argument was. Ginny shook her head firmly.
"No," she said. "No, I have too much to lose to take a chance on a Malfoy." Draco nodded in defeat, not surprised at all by her decision.
"I respect that," Draco replied. "I probably would have said the same thing in your position." Ginny looked away from him. She was confused by the guilt stirring in her gut, especially since she owed Draco Malfoy absolutely nothing after the way he had treated her family and friends. Draco finished the bottle of whiskey and got to his feet.
"Good luck," Draco murmured. "To you and the Order." Then he slipped out the door and disappeared down the hall. Ginny hesitated for a moment before leaving the bathroom herself. She tried to forget the events that had just transpired and focused her energy on finding Harry. When she finally did, he was kneeling in the grass beside Dumbledore's lifeless body.