"So that's your plan?"
Ginny had been walking to the corner store at the East end of Cagailshire when the pitter-patter of tiny feet behind her continued in hot pursuit of her heels. She bent down to see a tiny black rat standing on its hind legs, nose sniffing the air. "A rat? Clever."
Polyjuicing himself into a rodent was not what Ginny expected as Severus' way of assisting her. That was the idea. It certainly ensured Severus kept himself hidden from prying eyes. She hoped it wouldn't come to him needing to intervene, but she could never be too careful when matters concerned the Dark Lord.
"You know what? I'm out," Ginny grumbled. If she was putting herself out on the line to face the Dark Lord himself, Severus could have sucked it up and come as himself as well.
The rat climbed on Ginny's shoe and began nipping her laces.
"Alright, alright. But the moment there's trouble, I can't have you pulling a Lucius Malfoy," Ginny muttered, the image of the blond wizard making haste to flee the scene of the Final Battle of Hogwarts with his wife and son before the Aurors showed up to the aftermath.
The whirl of air nearby meant Marcia the Obscurial had come to meet and take her to meet the others. Ginny picked up Rat-Severus by the scruff and stuck him in her leather coat pocket. That earned her a nip on the finger. Ginny winced.
"You alright?" Marcia asked.
"Yeah, just nervous," Ginny mumbled, hiding her pain with a quick smile.
"No need. Unless, you aren't really that interested in New Age politics," Marcia said.
"That's not it."
"Good, because we are a very exclusive club of wizards and witches."
Marcia took Ginny by the hand and the two of them Apparated to the field just outside of Carlisle. The warehouse—the place of meeting—was nearby.
"The wards only let in the true supporters. Are you in," Marcia cocked a brow. "Or out?"
Ginny swallowed. "I'm in."
"Good." Marcia's hand stayed shut tight around Ginny's, wet to the touch.
"Are you okay?" Ginny asked.
"Fine."
"You're scared of Tom Riddle?" Ginny pushed herself closer to Marcia. She may have been an Obscurus, but she was still part human. Severus had told her that Obscurials felt fear much more intensely than humans did. Ginny squeezed her hand; had she not known, she would have thought Marcia was just as human as anyone she knew. Just a witch in the face of darkness.
Marcia nodded. "He says I can trust him, that he's working for the Greater Good. That creatures like me will not have to suffer under his rule."
Right, Ginny thought, but everyone else will suffer as a result.
"Have you actually seen him? Riddle, I mean."
"Yes, well." Marcia frowned. "It's hard to explain. You'll see for yourself."
"You seem like you're not fully comfortable with him despite the tempting ideology."
Marcia sighed. "Severus gave me the impression I could not trust Riddle. He wanted to help me in exchange for answers," Marcia said.
"And you denied it."
"He's intense."
"He's intense, yes, and naturally suspicious of anyone," Ginny said reassuredly. "But he won't betray you."
"How do you know?"
"Because I've come to know him," Ginny said. "Because despite the odds, his heart is in the right place." Even if other parts of him aren't.
Rat-Severus stirred inside Ginny's pocket, nearly peeking his head out. Ginny shoved him back with her finger. "And I'm with you too. You're not alone."
"His mysterious side is certainly alluring, but-"
"I think I understand what you mean," Ginny said, smiling softly. "But he is the type that is loyal to a fault with those he cares for. Even if he doesn't show it, he is at your side. He has an odd way of showing it for sure, but he is the one person to have around when the storm hits."
The stirring inside Ginny's pocket stopped.
Marcia looked at Ginny and squeezed her hand. "I was scared Severus might turn me in or…rat on me."
"Never."
"You seem to like him."
"I do." Ginny spoke quickly, as though it was a truth she knew all along.
"I thought I'd found a family with Riddle's people. It's hard to know who to trust. Don't know what to make of them sometimes, but I trust my choice."
"I know." Ginny pulled away. "So, you were going to show me some real politics."
"That I was."
-xxx-
There were wards that shielded the entry to the warehouse. Ginny supposed these were put up to keep the wrong types of wizards and witches out.
"Don't worry, your access is granted," Marcia whispered. "I warned Peter."
She proceeded to explain how some unfamiliar wiccans and Muggles have tried to sneak in beyond the barrier only to become burnt to a crisp by Riddle's wards.
Ginny swallowed and quickly slid the jacket from her shoulders.
"Sorry," she mumbled to Severus as she tossed the leather fabric into the grass. She might have heard an angry squeak emerge, but that was better than the possibility of the wards discovering Severus was there and him burning to a crisp (on Marcia's words).
The duo entered to see a very warm, Slytherin-green lounge complete with a fireplace, ablaze with green flames, and many chairs around it. It smelled of sage and wilted wildflowers and an elder's breath. Voldemort certainly made his followers comfortable, but not unaware that death was looming around the corner. There in the center stood a large throne-like place with a variety of wizards huddled around it. Drawing in a breath, Ginny approached what she thought was Lord Voldemort's chair, wishing desperately that Snape's Legilimency tests have worked well enough to make her the perfect candidate to apply.
"Ginny?"
Ginny whipped her head around to see, "Pertha?"
"Hi." Pertha waved shyly to her, her eyes wide like a doe at wand-light. "Didn't think I'd see you here."
"I guess you never asked if I'd be interested," Ginny said quickly. Of all people, Pertha. Pertha? Her mousey coworker who stuck to the rules, cracked jokes with her about the patrons at the Crooked Crone and liked everything she liked. Pertha who, despite all her good qualities, had not become Ginny's best friend, but was certainly the last one she expected to do the Dark Lord's bidding.
"I guess I didn't," Pertha whispered.
"-Peter." The voice was low and whistle-like, barely grounded, and was coming from a giant chair in the corner of the lounge.
Ginny's neck hairs stood upright. Peter Pettigrew really was here. Severus was right. The Dark Lord kept his enemies much closer to him than his friends, but his friends were not far behind. Pertha turned to face the voice.
Then Ginny saw Pertha Transfigure into Peter Pettigrew himself.
A/N: Dun dun dun! Next up, a tete a tete with the Dark Lord himself.