Draco led Ginny down the wide staircase of Malfoy Manor with an arm slung loosely around her shoulder. Ginny looked over at him, surprising herself as she realized she was looking for support. For the first time in the whirlwind that had been the last half hour, she noticed that he was also wearing dress robes. His were navy, nearly black, that stood in stark contrast to his pale skin and silvery-blond hair. "You look really nice, Draco," Ginny offered.

Draco squeezed her upper arm and smiled faintly. His mind was clearly elsewhere. Probably on my odd behavior, Ginny thought to herself. "Thanks, Gin. Same to you."

Once they finished descending, Draco led Ginny toward an imposing pair of double doors. As they approached, he opened one of the large blue doors, gesturing for her to walk through.

Ginny had to suppress a gasp as she walked in. It wasn't the beautiful crystal chandelier, the grand size of the room, or the beautiful decor that shocked her. It was the sea of red hair. She had miscalculated. She was not different in this time; her entire family had switched sides.

Ginny didn't have much time to contemplate this as Draco grabbed her hand immediately after they walked in and started leading her around the bend of the circular room. He stopped suddenly as they approached a line of couples leading to the opposite end of the room they had entered from. There, sitting on what appeared to be a throne, was Voldemort. Ginny couldn't suppress her reaction this time. Draco had warned her about his presence, but nothing could have prepared her for the proximity and the sinking realization that they were waiting to interact with him.

Ginny pulled at Draco's deep blue robes until he bent down so she could whisper in his ear. "I don't know if I can do this, Draco."

He gave her a confused look, but proceeded to wrap his arms around her fiercely. Her face was buried in his chest, and she didn't question the comfort that she felt from their embrace. She returned the gesture and nuzzled her head against him as she pulled him closer. He bent down and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I don't know what's going on with you, Gin, but just follow my lead and I'll try my best to get us out of here early." She nodded against him and then looked up as she heard someone clear their throat behind her.

When she turned around, she wanted to scream with joy. Percy was standing behind her with… Millicent Bulstrode? "Ginevra," Percy reprimanded her in a stern tone that made her feel like she was at home. "Move up," he continued in a bossy tone.

"Perce!" She couldn't help but grin at the sight of him.

"Ginevra!" He hissed.

Ginny moved closer to the imposing figure of Voldemort, trying to focus on putting one foot in front of another and breathing at the appropriate pace. It wasn't easy.

As she approached, she noticed that the other couples were kissing each hand as they greeted him. Ginny tried to look away but it was impossible, and her survival instincts told her she needed to watch to mimic. It was one thing to defy Voldemort for a purpose; it was quite another to do so in front of all his followers (and her family!).

"Ginevra." Ginny barely held back a shudder; every syllable was extended and Voldemort had just used her first name. The same first name that before this time had only been used by her mother. Hearing it come out of his mouth made anger bubble up within her, and she intentionally avoided eye contact. "Draco," Voldemort greeted her date after a pause that felt like an eternity. She watched Draco for her cue and kissed the cold, corpse-like hand and allowed Draco to drag her away, shaking like a leaf.

"You okay, Gin?"

Ginny nodded slowly. "Let's go find the rest of my family. I'd like to say hello to them."

"Ronald's right over there."

"Ronald?"

"Your brother. Don't tell me you're that confused," Draco teased.

"No, I'm just a little slow on the uptake right now," Ginny mumbled.

"I'm just teasing."

"I know." Draco grinned in response and pulled her over toward Pansy and her date. As they got closer, Ginny realized it was Ron. She could not have picked him out herself; his hair was slicked back and short, and he was a solid twenty pounds thinner, bones jutting out of his face to the point where he looked sickly.

"Ron-ald," Ginny piled on the second syllable.

"Ginevra," Ron responded formally, his chin still in the air. He gave her a stiff nod but no other indication of her presence.

"We just wanted to come over and say our congratulations," Draco offered. Congratulations?

Pansy smiled a wide smile that Ginny had never seen on her face before. "Thank you, darling."

"Thank you, Draco," Ron echoed.

"Er—congrats," Ginny followed.

"Thank you, Gin. You cleaned up nicely," Pansy said with an overexaggerated wink.

Ginny blushed fiercely. "Thanks, Pansy," she mumbled.

"We really must greet everyone else," Ron said in a bored tone. "Enjoy the rest of your night."

As Ron walked away, Ginny turned to Draco in an attempt to gauge his response. Was this really normal behavior for Ron? He had become a completely different person. Draco looked nonplussed, so Ginny didn't say anything.

"Remind me what they're celebrating?" Ginny asked in a strained voice.

Draco's face filled with surprise momentarily, but he suppressed it quickly. "Pansy's pregnant."

"Oh," Ginny squeaked out, not sure how to feel. It was as though she were being inundated from all sides, and somehow things like who her brother had married were almost more jarring than the knowledge that she was in the same room as Voldemort.

She greeted the rest of her brothers mechanically, not daring to hope that they might be the same as they had been. They weren't.

Her parents were not in attendance, and Ginny wondered if it was because they were still part of the Order or worse, but she didn't ask. Mostly, she didn't want to know the answer until she had the strength to hear it.

Miraculously, the party was over. Draco was leaning against a white wall, mumbling to himself. She couldn't make out what was coming out of his mouth, so she waited. "What I don't understand," he said after a long pause, "is you don't seem like you've been hit by an overly powerful Obliviate. You seem perfectly sane," he looked at her with a scrutinizing look as though to confirm this fact.

"I feel… fine, mostly. Just confused."

Draco started nodding and pacing furiously. Then he sat down next to her and grabbed her hands, looking straight into her eyes. She had never noticed before, but his eyes weren't a flat gray—they had specks of all different shades, and a hint of pale blue. "I'm going to do some research regarding memory loss once you get back," Draco was saying. Get back? "In the meantime, we have all weekend to go over little things you'll need to know so as not to raise suspicion. But you haven't forgotten everything, right? You haven't forgotten… me?"

"Of course not, Draco," Ginny replied because she couldn't bear to say anything else. She had never seen anything close to this side of Draco Malfoy; he was so vulnerable and concerned for her well being. Ginny actually felt bad about lying to him, but what else could she do? This Draco seemed lovely, but she didn't know him enough to trust him with all her secrets.

"Alright. I think it's best if we get some sleep. What do you think?" Ginny nodded in response. Part of her wanted to ask where her room was, but judging based on the state of the shower earlier, she thought she already knew the answer to that.

Draco rummaged through one of the dresser drawers, pulling out a pair of pink flannel pajamas. He turned around and handed them to her before pulling out the drawers below. Before grabbing his pajamas, though, he started taking off his robes. Ginny felt like she was frozen as Draco was suddenly in front of her with nothing but boxer-briefs on. She had never seen any man other than her brothers in their underwear and felt a fierce blush creep up her cheeks against her own will. She could see every muscle in Draco's back move and flex as he bent down to grab his own flannel pajamas from the open drawer—they were a dark plaid, not pink like her own. He put on his pants and turned to her, saying something as he was buttoning up his shirt, but she was too focused on Draco's chest and abs and… oh Godric, am I actually distracted by the body of Draco Malfoy?

She forced herself to snap out of whatever daze she was in. "Apologies, but I didn't catch that." She forced herself to look him directly in the eyes. No, that doesn't help.

Draco smiled, but he mostly looked exhausted. "Let's just go to sleep, shall we?" Ginny nodded and Draco continued to look at her. "You're sitting on my side of the bed, Gin. And I assume you'll want to change?"

"Oh," she heard her voice squeak out as she jumped up and ran into the bathroom. Once she closed the door, she let herself lean against it for a few moments, steadying herself. Draco's right. Sleep. Sleep is the best thing right now. Ginny tried not to think about much else as she slowly put on her clothes, looking in the mirror, trying to find some physical change in herself, but the same Ginny looked back at her, terrified.

When she went back into Draco's large bedroom, she paused momentarily. Draco was spread-eagle on the side of the king bed closest to her, eyes closed and breathing even. Ginny tiptoed to the other side of the bed and gingerly crawled in. She curled up into a ball facing the opposite direction from Draco, trying to forget about the presence of the blond wizard next to her.

The next morning, Ginny woke up to a pair of green eyes the size of saucers. Ginny broke into a wide smile and half-shouted, "Dobby!" She was never close to the house-elf, but she had met him a few times and his presence was a warm reminder of the friends she dearly missed.

"Miss Ginevra is awake!" Dobby squeaked. "Mister Draco says that the miss has breakfast in here."

"That will be fine, Dobby. Thank you." Ginny was annoyed to not be consulted, but privately agreed that she should interact with as few people as possible.

"Would miss like her normal breakfast?" Ginny nodded, and Dobby immediately left with a pop. Hopefully other me has similar taste in food, Ginny thought to herself. She rose to survey the room. She started rummaging through the drawers and found that about half of them were hers. Luckily, she quickly located her underwear drawer. She had been too embarrassed last night to ask Draco to hand her underwear, and felt too awkward to do her own search. All of her underwear were plain black, but they weren't alone. Next to them was a stack of Slytherin ties and scarfs. So I am in Slytherin, Ginny thought to herself, slightly dismayed at the realization although it was increasingly obvious considering the company she kept.

She quickly changed, and then sat on the bed, waiting for her food to come. She hadn't felt very hungry, but realized it had been a long time since she'd eaten. The last meal she had was extremely early the previous morning before the final battle. It was crazy to think that twenty-four hours ago, she was fighting Death Eaters, and now she was sitting calmly in Malfoy Manor, waiting for a house elf to bring her breakfast. Nevermind that she was engaged to Draco Malfoy; that was something to think about later.

Ginny was ripped out of her thought process as she heard the slow, quiet creak of a door slowly opening. Once Draco saw her, he breathed out a sigh of relief. "Good, you're awake. I didn't want to wake you." Who was this person and what did he do with Draco Malfoy?

"I appreciate that," Ginny replied, and then remembered that she was still irritated with him. "Why did you tell Dobby where I wanted to have breakfast?"

Draco laughed at that, which just infuriated Ginny more. "Sorry, Gin, did you want to have breakfast with my mother? 'Good morning, Narcissa, I've just been sleeping in your son's room.'"

"She doesn't know I'm here?" Ginny asked, surprised.

Draco rolled his eyes and looked mildly annoyed. "You know how my parents are. They know you're here, but they don't want to be reminded that we're flouting their pureblood traditions. Which is really a laugh since you're basically my sister, but they don't know that, obviously." His sister? We're engaged!

"Of course," Ginny replied, shaking her head as if to clear it. "You know I'm having a hard time with… details."

"Yes, I know," Draco replied, his voice serious again. "Which is dangerous, but we will just have to work this out as best we can until we can hopefully retrieve your memories. Now, you don't seem to know where you have memory holes, so maybe just tell me what you remember? Let's start with school since you'll have to go back Monday, and I can help you well enough at parties."

"Well," Ginny started. She still didn't want to admit she didn't remember everything, so she decided to just make educated guesses and then backtrack if corrected. "I'm a seventh-year Slytherin."

Draco nodded, chuckling softly and squeezing her hand as he took the spot next to her on the bed. "Let's hope you at least remember that," he joked. You wouldn't think it was so hilarious if you were inside my head right now, Ginny thought to herself.

"Professor Snape…" Ginny waited for a reaction on that one, and Draco nodded for her to continue. "...is Headmaster," she guessed, hesitating for a moment to gather her thoughts.

"If you're going to pause for dramatic effect after every sentence, we're going to have a hard time getting through everything." He seemed to be in a much lighter mood this morning. He yawned and stretched, making himself more comfortable by slumping against the headboard. Ginny realized then that this was probably the first time she had seen Draco slouch, which she couldn't help but smile at.

"Maybe this would be faster if you just gave me a rundown of absolutely everything," Ginny suggested, hoping he would bite. He made a bit of a face, but didn't seem too opposed. Ginny pouted and said, "Please. I'm tired. Getting attacked and Obliviated isn't my favorite Friday night activity." Draco's eyes darkened for a moment, but he cleared his throat and nodded.

"Alright, Gin. You lie down, I'll talk." He patted the space next to him as he talked. Ginny agreed silently, lying back against the comfortable pillow that seemed to mold to her head shape instantaneously.

"Let's see. I'll start with the staff, I suppose. The head of Slytherin is Professor Grubbly-Plank. She teaches Care of Magical Creatures." The Care of Magical Creatures substitute teacher is the head of the house of snakes? Things keep getting stranger and stranger. "The Dark Arts professor and Head of Ravenclaw is Professor Quirrel." Suddenly, Ginny was glad she hadn't had breakfast yet because she felt like she was about to choke. She had never personally had Quirrel, but Harry had told her enough stories to give her pause. The part that really disturbed her, though, was that this means Voldemort had been back for at least seven years, if not longer.

"Head of Hufflepuff and Herbology professor is Professor Sprout," Draco was saying. Finally, something familiar. "And the Head—" But Draco was cut off by a pop as Dobby Apparated into the room with a plate of breakfast and juice. Ginny sat up to receive her food, giving her thanks to Dobby. Draco shot her a strange look but didn't comment. Her breakfast consisted of jam, toast, and guava juice. Merlin, didn't she eat?

"Something wrong?" Draco was looking at her with an all-too-familiar expression of suspicion, setting off alarm bells in Ginny's head.

"No, it's just that my toast is not very hot," she tried to say in a haughty voice. Draco's eyes were still slightly narrowed.

"Do you want me to call Dobby back to fix it?"

"No, that's alright. I'm very hungry," she replied, hoping that adequately explained her behavior. Draco shrugged and continued, naming a wizard that Ginny had never heard of as Head of Gryffindor. She didn't recognize the names of the Potions, Divination, or Charms professor, either. Astronomy, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy were still taught by the same people. She winced when she heard Draco say that Professor Lockhart was the History of Magic professor.

Draco laughed at that. He seemed to have gotten over whatever bothered him about her interaction with Dobby. "I love that you have a hard time remembering basic pureblood traditions but Lockhart's awful teaching is burned into your brain." Ginny wrinkled her nose in response to the mention of Lockhart. "Well, I think that's everything, unless I've forgotten a class?" Ginny was unsurprised to hear Muggle Studies not mentioned.

"You're the one who would know," Ginny joked.

"Now, let's see. Your best friends are Pansy and me, though we've both graduated, so you mostly spend time with your roommate, Marie Hemlocke. Personally, I find her incredibly irritating, but you two seem close. That's about it. Oh, right. You play Quidditch, of course. You're a keeper. Nasty one at that." Keeper? At least I still play Quidditch, I suppose. "Of course, you can't tell anyone about us." He emphasized the last word.

"That we're engaged?" Ginny asked, confused.

"No," Draco said, shaking his head. "That we're not—you know—romantically involved. If anyone finds out, you would be in immediate danger."

"Right," Ginny responded, nodding to show she understood. "Got it." A wave of disappointment washed over her, which made her feel utterly ridiculous.

Draco seemed out of sorts. "Do you? Or do I need to explain what will happen if anyone finds out?" His voice had an edge to it, and although the information sounded useful, Ginny had a feeling of dread that made her go with her intuition. She shook her head and told Draco she understood perfectly. That seemed to satisfy him, and it was clear he also didn't want to discuss what the consequences would be, so he continued, telling her about all the passageways and trick stairs in the castle.

"Oh, and classes. You're taking Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, Dark Arts, and History of Magic."

Ginny tried not to make a face at that list.