"That's perfect, love," Blaise said. "You did great."
Kathleen Barrows stared blankly ahead, waiting for Draco's next instruction. He flexed his left hand, belatedly realizing he had been making a fist. Holding his wand in his other hand, he leaned into the warmth leading from his own mind, down his arm, and through the wand.
Sit down next to Blaise.
Kathleen did so, walking from near the rusty suit of armor to sit on the settee the room had brought forth in lieu of its usual high-backed armchair. He could feel the slightest tug of resistance coming from her, a mild pulling back from the strand of magic that connected their consciousnesses. He tightened his grip, envisioning the tether like a rope, and the resistance subsided.
"Well, Draco, I think this is as good of an opportunity as you're likely to get," Blaise said. He was reclined lazily against the back of the settee, feet kicked up on the coffee table. "No Potter, no Weasley, no Granger. No teachers. And plenty of alcohol to smooth things along."
Draco bit his lip. "There's still a lot that could go wrong. What if we're missing something?"
Blaise scoffed. "You've examined every single one of dear Kathleen's memories from the last three weeks twice over by now. I know you find her simply fascinating, but I'm not sure what else you expect to learn about Ginny at this point. It's not that complicated - she resents Potter for sidelining her, even while she's still pining for his approval. She's opinionated, and impulsive, and sometimes downright reckless. She has a - what was the criteria again? A pure heart?"
Draco's lip curled; he realized as he made the expression that it was similar to one his father often made. "Careful, Zabini, given our present company."
Blaise laughed. "She won't remember this - she never does. That extra little trick of yours works like a charm."
"Speaking of," Draco said. "I should take care of that now."
"If I didn't know you better, Draco, I would say you were stalling," Blaise said with an expression that said he knew all too well that stalling was exactly what Draco was doing. "You're the one who started us both down this godforsaken path. If you were going to get cold feet, the time for that was before casting the Imperius a few dozen times on our friend here, wouldn't you say?" He looked to Kathleen, who fortunately had no response.
Draco glared at him. "I'm not getting cold feet. I just don't have any room for mistakes. Let me check this memory, and if everything is as she says, we'll talk about the party."
"Fine by me," Blaise replied. He grabbed a book from a nearby stack and began to read, feigning disinterest.
Stand up and walk ten paces to your left.
Kathleen did so, and Draco followed. Blaise took the opportunity to recline further on the settee, kicking his feet up against one armrest.
It was a bit unnerving to see Kathleen like this, all blank-faced and staring. He had never really talked to her before three weeks ago, when he had decided to follow his father's advice and use the Imperius Curse rather than Polyjuice Potion to gain intel on Ginny Weasley. Looking back, his father had been right - as long as he maintained his grip on the spell, the Imperius gave him constant access to someone in Ginny's inner circle. Kathleen had looked bubbly and vivacious next to Ginny at the Gryffindor table - she was clearly a ringleader in their little group. He had known he needed to choose someone close to Ginny but not to Potter, which had put Lovegood or even Longbottom out of the question. No, better to use someone out of the spotlight.
When Kathleen wasn't reporting to Draco, he ordered her to behave exactly as she normally would, though he sometimes gave her prompts of things to ask Ginny or subjects to discuss. He had learned a good deal about Ginny in the past three weeks - some things relevant to his task and some not so much. He knew her favorite Weird Sisters song, that she preferred taking her tea with honey rather than lemon, and that she occasionally talked in her sleep (mostly about Quidditch). He also knew, exactly as Blaise had described, about her complicated feelings for Potter and her desire to be treated like an equal.
Shaking his head to bring himself back to the present moment, he reached out and gently grabbed Kathleen's chin to tilt her face upward. She didn't flinch away from him, which he knew she would have if not for the Imperius.
I won't hurt you. Just relax and keep eye contact with me.
Her blue eyes met his gray ones as he whispered, "Legilimens."
Kathleen's mind took shape around him, the now-familiar sights of the Muggle cafe putting him at ease. This set-up was smaller than Blaise's, but fascinatingly, there were other people here. Or at least the spectres of other people - they were blurry, and didn't have clearly defined faces. Draco hadn't asked Kathleen, but he was sure that this must also be a memory. Now intimately familiar with how to find what he was looking for, Draco walked toward the front of the cafe where a rack of magazines sat.
Show me the conversation about the Valentine's Day party.
One of the magazines fluttered as though lifted by an invisible breeze. Draco waved his hand and the magazine floated off of the rack, pages flapping rapidly until it landed on a picture of Ginny in the Gryffindor dormitory. He waved his hand again and the picture rose up off of the page and grew until it was like he was watching the scene through a window. Taking a deep breath, Draco stepped through the window, into the memory.
He leaned against one of the four posters and smirked as the girls prattled on about boys. He had now listened to more of these conversations than he cared to remember. Ginny was sitting in front of the vanity, struggling to run a brush through her hair. Her skin was paler than normal, her freckles having a sharper than usual contrast across her cheekbones. She was recovering from a cold, he knew, but she looked like she was on the mend.
A very normal-looking Kathleen hopped out of bed and began brushing Ginny's hair for her. The smile Ginny gave her lit up the room, making Draco's heart skip a beat.
What would it take for her to look at me like that? he thought, and immediately shook himself. Idiot. Pay attention. Don't get distracted.
He watched Ginny's face in the mirror's reflection as she closed her eyes, apparently enjoying Kathleen's attention. She looked so open and relaxed here - so different from how he ever saw her in real life. Well, except for one time. That moment at Slughorn's party had in some ways been his undoing, but it was also the only moment he could remember where Ginny wasn't glaring at him or trying to embarrass him with some sassy remark.
Maybe we can have a moment like that again. For the Dark Lord, of course.
Kathleen had indeed been accurate in her description of events - not that the Imperius allowed her to lie. No, using Legilimency was really a level of paranoia Draco wasn't quite ready to let go of yet. Besides, if he hadn't practiced Legilimency on Kathleen, he never would have learned how to hide a memory.
He stepped out of the Gryffindor dorms and back into the Muggle cafe. The magazine, sensing that its purposed had been served, flipped closed and floated back to its place on the rack. He lifted his consciousness up, but only slightly. He reached out a hand, summoning Kathleen's most recent memory of reporting to him in the Room of Hidden Things. As it was still so recent, it wasn't quite corporeal - just a misty ball of thought and image. He willed the ball to float toward the cash register, which opened for him easily. He lifted up the Muggle money and slid the memory inside, squishing it down in the drawer. He replaced the Muggle money and slid the drawer closed; it locked with a tidy click.
There - the memory wasn't completely forgotten, just hard to access. Relegated to the back of her mind like junk. Satisfied, Draco let his consciousness float upwards, taking care to go slowly so as to be gentle with Kathleen.
He landed smoothly back in his own consciousness, no longer startled by the sensation. He let go of Kathleen's chin and walked back to his seat.
"Well? How did it go?" Blaise asked, not looking up from his book.
"You're dismissed," he said to Kathleen. "Meet me here again on Saturday at two o'clock. Act as you normally would until then, and forget this conversation in the meantime."
Wordlessly, Kathleen turned away from them and left the Room of Hidden Things.
"So I'm guessing that means it went well," Blaise said, closing his book and sitting up to look at Draco.
"Well enough, I suppose," Draco said. "I think you're right - this is the best place to start. One problem though - I don't believe we're invited to this party."
"Nonsense. I will be taking the lovely Selina Selwyn as my date," Blaise said, referencing a seventh-year Hufflepuff, "and you can be my other date. Unless you want to just throw caution to the wind and ask Ginny."
Draco raised an eyebrow, stifling a laugh. "I'll go dateless, thanks. They probably won't be checking anyway. Besides, what was it she said? I've had enough of boys to last me a lifetime?"
Blaise laughed. "So be a man. Problem solved."
"That's perfect, love," Kathleen said. "You look great."
Ginny smiled at her friend as she put the finishing touches on her curls, removing her wand from the lock of hair with a little twist. "Thanks. Hopefully they stay - I'm usually lucky if they last an hour."
"Well either way, you look gorgeous," Kathleen said, her lips parting as she applied a layer of lipstick. "Ready to head out?"
"Yep," Ginny said, ignoring the little knot in her stomach. She had been to these types of parties before, so why did tonight feel so different? Harry's face flashed across her mind and she winced.
That's why.
Kathleen, perceptive as always, put her hand on Ginny's shoulder. "We're just going to have fun, alright? You said it yourself - no more moping around. Forget about Harry for tonight."
"You're right," Ginny said. "I'm being stupid."
"You could never be stupid. What you could be, though, is late- let's hurry."
Ginny slipped her school robes over her navy blue dress - the party was down in the dungeons near the kitchen, quite a ways from Gryffindor Tower. Students would travel in pairs at different times to make their way down undetected. It was a miracle that Filch hadn't caught them, but the Hufflepuffs had a longstanding agreement with the Hogwarts ghosts to keep Filch occupied on nights such as these. She was sure Peeves was causing quite the ruckus somewhere upstairs and far away.
She and Kathleen hurried down the steps to the common room, which was mercifully empty. No Harry to be seen. Kathleen pushed open the Fat Lady's portrait and they walked through, Ginny's stomach still fluttering.
It will be nice, she reminded herself. It's been over a month. Time to move on. Ginny nodded to herself as they made their way down the stairs, though her stomach wasn't quite so sure.
Luck appeared to be on their side - they didn't run into any teachers or Filch on their way down. Jessica, Ava, and Lydia had headed down already, and Luna had said she would be joining a little later. Balancing her Gryffindor friends with Luna was always a bit of a challenge, but Ginny was looking forward to letting loose for a little while and just enjoying the night. If Luna knew anything, it was how to have fun.
Soon, they reached the dungeon-level corridor that led to the Hogwarts kitchens. The house elves usually made food for the Hufflepuffs' parties - they had a close relationship given their proximity, and honestly, it seemed like the Hufflepuffs' real talent lay in building relationships. The ghosts, the elves... even the teachers mostly left the Hufflepuffs alone.
"Ok, two up from the bottom, and then over-" Kathleen mumbled, counting the barrels next to the still-life painting. "Alright, I think it's this one. Prepare to take cover if I'm wrong."
Ginny giggled as Kathleen tapped out "Helga Hufflepuff" with her wand on the barrel - they knew from personal experience that if you tapped the wrong barrel or the wrong tempo, you would get sprayed with vinegar. Thankfully, Kathleen got it right - the barrel slid open and pounding bass music assaulted their ears. They shared a grin before heading inside.
"Welcome, welcome ladies!" Ernie Macmillan shouted over the music, an open bottle of beer in his hand.
"Thanks, Prefect Macmillan," Ginny joked as she shrugged out of her robe. Ernie flushed a little but stayed smiling.
"Well, you know, I figure it's better to keep an eye on things, strictly speaking," he said, trying and failing to sound serious. "Keep things from getting out of hand."
"Right," Ginny said with a laugh. "And if I wanted to get out of hand...where are the drinks?"
Ernie pointed toward the back, where a long table was veritably overflowing with different types of alcohol.
"You made it!" Ava squealed, rushing over to give Kathleen and Ginny a hug. "Come on, let's dance!"
And dance they did. The music poured on and on, and the girls got drunker and drunker. Jessica did indeed come with Phillip Anderby, and Ava was happily dancing with Anthony Goldstein. Lydia had decided to go with a date as well, a seventh-year Hufflepuff Ginny had never really talked to before. Jonathan maybe? She wasn't sure.
Maybe I would have been sure three firewhiskeys ago, she thought with a laugh. The room was spinning in a mostly pleasant way and Ginny's shoulders felt looser than they had in weeks. The music was loud enough that she could feel it reverberate in her bones, a delicious sensory overload that made her forget all about her normal life. Here she could just lose herself in sound and movement and laughter.
After a bit, the music changed to something a little softer and slower; Ginny didn't recognize the artist. She looked at Kathleen as she wiped a bead of sweat from her brow.
"Do you want to - hey, are you ok?"
Kathleen's eyes looked glassy and distant. She was still dancing, but she looked like she was a million miles away. Upon hearing Ginny's voice, she shook her head and laughed.
"Yeah, sorry, I just spaced out for a second," she said. "I really got in the zone with that last song."
Ginny nodded, not entirely reassured. Kathleen looked normal now, and it had only been a second... maybe she had had too much to drink?
"Do you want me to get you some water?" Ginny asked. "Maybe we should take a break."
Kathleen shook her head. "No, I'm ok - I promise."
"It's not a problem - stay here, let me get us some water." Not leaving room to argue, Ginny disentangled herself from her friend group and began winding through the crowd to get to the drinks table. The party was really in full swing now - she had to duck under a couple of people's arms to get through.
Finally, she got to the drinks table, which was looking decidedly less orderly than it had when she had arrived.
Whiskey, beer, wine, tequila, whiskey... where the bloody hell is the water?
"Well this is familiar."
Ginny's stomach dropped. Those words - she had said those words. To Harry. When... Her stomach twisted. But that wasn't Harry's voice...
She looked to her left and realized Draco Malfoy was standing next to her, a near-empty glass of firewhisky in his hand. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"What do you mean?"
He raised an eyebrow. "We keep running into each other at the drinks table."
Ginny frowned as the room spun a bit. "Oh. I guess you're right. Why do we keep running into each other at the drinks table?"
He laughed then, a genuine laugh that Ginny didn't think she had ever heard before. "Beats me," he said. "Can I help you find something?"
Ginny looked at the drinks table again. She really was beginning to feel quite drunk. Now that she had stopped dancing, it was like the alcohol had time to catch up with her system. "I'm looking for water for Kathleen. I think she might be sick."
"The same Kathleen that's currently sitting on Ernie Macmillan's lap?"
"What?"
Ginny spun around and stumbled as she did so. Not missing a beat, Malfoy reached out and grabbed her arm to steady her. Ginny froze at the unexpected contact. His skin was warm to the touch against her bare arm, his fingers strong and sure around her bicep. She looked down at his hand once she was steady, then up at his face. He smirked and pulled his hand back, making a mock-surrender gesture.
More thrown off than ever, Ginny looked across the dance floor for Kathleen. The Hufflepuffs had pushed their couches into three different corners in order to make more room for dancing. It took her a moment but she eventually spied Kathleen. She had pulled her hair out of its twist and was indeed sitting on a starstruck Ernie Macmillan's lap, her hand pressed lightly against his chest as she giggled at something he said.
What the fuck.
"She looks fine to me," Malfoy said drily. "This might be Ernie's best Valentine's Day ever." Ginny laughed before she remembered who she was talking to. Why was Malfoy of all people making small talk with her? It was too weird.
"Can I get you a drink?" he asked. Ginny turned back to the drinks table, where he was filling up his own glass with firewhisky. She watched his hands as they poured the alcohol and found herself nodding, though she wasn't sure why. Wordlessly, Malfoy grabbed another glass from the rack and poured in some firewhisky. He offered it to her and she took it, nodding her thanks before looking back at Kathleen, who was now full-on making out with Ernie.
"I think your friend's a little busy," Malfoy said, the ghost of a laugh in his voice. "Come have a drink with me." He started walking toward another set of couches and gestured for her to follow. When she didn't follow, he looked back over his shoulder and smirked again. "Come on, Weasley, it's a party. The normal rules of engagement don't apply. Surely one drink is ok?"
Maybe if she had been sober Ginny would have argued. But as it stood, sitting down for a bit sounded lovely, and she wasn't about to interrupt Kathleen, bizarre as her choice in boys this evening was. She followed behind Malfoy and plopped down on the couch next to him.
For a minute or two, they just drank their drinks in companionable silence, both keeping their eyes focused ahead of them. Ginny reclined back against the couch, finding its support helpful given the topsy-turvy nature of the world currently, while Malfoy sat up a little straighter. His knee was close to hers but not quite touching. Everyone around them was entirely engrossed either in their dates or in dancing; it was like they were temporarily invisible.
"Why are you being nice to me?" Ginny blurted. Malfoy laughed again, quieter this time, just for her to hear.
"I'd like to actually enjoy my evening," he said.
"And being mean to me isn't enjoyable?"
"If we're being honest, not really, no."
"Oh." She stayed quiet for a moment before starting again. "But being mean to Harry is?"
"I don't want to talk about Potter right now," he said, a sharp edge coming into his voice, sharp enough that Ginny found herself looking up at him. They made eye contact and Ginny was struck by his eyes. They had made eye contact like this once before, at that other party... Slughorn's party. He had been so...sad then. Sad, and yet there had been an urgency in his gaze that she had avoided thinking about since it happened. An urgency that was still there now.
"Is there something you want to tell me?" she asked, her voice barely more than a whisper. It was a wonder he could hear her over the music. He smiled before adjusting his seat. He angled his body to face her and leaned back against the edge of the couch, one hand propping up his head against the back.
Keeping eye contact with her, he said, "Is there something you want me to tell you?"
Ginny felt mesmerized, unable to look away. A small voice inside her wasn't sure how much of this was the alcohol and how much was the utter strangeness of this moment. Her mind tossed around question after question, finally landing on one that had plagued her and those close to her for months.
"Where is your father?"
Another laugh. "No comment, Auror Weasley." He took a sip of his firewhisky before continuing, "That's what Potter would want you to ask. What do you want to ask me?"
Luna's words from months ago echoed in her mind - something about being lonely. Without thinking, she asked the question that kept coming back to her again and again. "Why do you look so sad?"
Whatever Malfoy had been expecting to her ask, it wasn't that. He started, the openness in his eyes shuttering a bit. The gray in his eyes grew darker and yet flatter somehow.
Like the sea on a cloudy day, Ginny thought vaguely.
"I have a lot on my mind lately," he said, his tone clipped. He looked away from her to take another sip of his firewhisky and Ginny took this chance to look away too. They had moved closer to each other without her realizing. Where was Kathleen when you needed her?
"Am I scaring you?" he asked, his tone a bit softer. He too seemed to have realized the shift between them, but he wasn't pulling away.
Insulted at the implication, she looked back up at him, eyes blazing. "No."
He was ready for her eye contact - he had looked back at her before she had looked at him. He smiled. "Of course not. Because you're never scared of anything, are you?"
She kept eye contact with him, even though her entire body felt like it was buzzing. "No."
His expression grew softer too, the gray in his eyes lightening a bit. "Potter didn't realize how lucky he was, did he?"
It was like the world under Ginny rotated. Ever since their breakup, everyone had been encouraging her that she and Harry could work things out. When it became apparent that that was off the table, they had reassured Ginny that she would find someone just as good as Harry, that it wasn't some great loss after all, or else that it was okay to be single for a while. No one, not one person this entire time, had implied that Harry had been the lucky one. She felt frozen under Malfoy's gaze, but she wasn't sure she minded it at the moment. Part of her knew she should run away from this moment, part of her screamed that it wasn't safe, this was Malfoy after all. But his eyes...
He chuckled as though he knew what she was thinking, though she knew he couldn't possibly. "How about this?" he said. "I know Potter thinks I'm a Death Eater, and I'm neither confirming nor denying that tonight, but I'll tell you what I would be doing if I were a Death Eater, in exchange for one dance. And you can do whatever you want with that information."
Ginny's eyes widened and she felt her lips part, though words escaped her at the moment. Why had she drank so much? If she were sober, maybe this whole evening would make more sense. Was Malfoy saying-
Malfoy leaned in closer, his breath tickling her face. "Come on Weasley, I thought you weren't scared of anything."
That did it. Frowning, Ginny stood up, quickly enough that she wavered a bit, but she caught herself. Malfoy looked up at her, an unspoken question in his eyes, before she nodded toward the dance floor.
"Let's go," she said. He smiled and stood up, letting her lead the way.
The music had slowed down again, as the night was starting to wind down. A slow song was just beginning, and all around her couples were moving languidly together. Ginny stopped in an open space on the dance floor before turning around to face Malfoy. He must be drunk too, she realized - his cheeks were flushed. Would they even remember this in the morning?
"May I?" he said, looking down at her as he stepped closer. Certain she had entered some alternate reality, Ginny nodded and allowed Malfoy to put his hands on her waist. Cautiously, she reached up and put her hands on his shoulders. He was taller than Harry, but only just. She had to tilt her head back to look up at him. She looked up but only for a second. This felt different than when they were on the couch. More intimate. His hands were gentle but sure on her waist as he guided them in small steps, in cadence to the song.
What was she doing here? How did she end up dancing with Malfoy of all people, at a Valentine's Day party? Her eyes darted around, wanting to land anywhere than where she was. What had he been saying about the Death Eaters? It was so fuzzy now-
"Look at me please."
Startled, Ginny looked up and met Malfoy's eyes. He smiled. "It's bad form to not look at your partner while dancing," he said, his tone making it clear he was joking. Still a bit unnerved, Ginny couldn't quite bring herself to laugh.
"Right," she said a little breathlessly. "Earlier, what did you mean when you said-"
"Shh," he interrupted. "Not yet. Let me enjoy this first."
Thoroughly nonplussed at this point, Ginny fell silent, her eyes on Malfoy's face. They danced for a little while longer in silence. Her mind was curiously quiet - it was like she had given up trying to make sense of the situation, and was just along for whatever ride Malfoy was taking her on. The music was hauntingly beautiful, though Ginny thought the vocals sounded a little sad. A little unusual for Valentine's Day, she thought vaguely.
Finally, after an eternity seemed to pass, Malfoy leaned down. For one shocking moment, Ginny was sure he was going to kiss her. But he didn't. He leaned down and whispered against her ear, his breath hot on her neck, "If I were You-Know-Who, I would task my best and brightest with finding a weapon, something I could use against my enemies. I would be looking for something to amplify my power, something...historic. Something proven to destroy my opposition. And I would do anything to make sure Potter didn't find it first."
Ginny's heart stopped. Or maybe that was the music. Yes, the song was ending, and they had stopped moving. Malfoy had lifted his head up again and dropped his hands from her waist, taking a step back, their dance over. Ginny dropped her hands, finding them suddenly slick with sweat.
"What kind of weapon?" she asked, her voice a little hoarse.
"I guess that will have to wait till the next party," he said before reaching out for her hands and pressing it to his lips. "Sweet dreams." And before she could make sense of things, he disappeared into the crowd, as though he had never been there at all.
Ginny stood frozen on the dance floor, her thoughts racing a thousand miles a minute. If her heart had stopped a moment ago, it had redoubled its efforts now. She could feel her pulse in her throat, right where Malfoy's breath had been.
She remembered the conversation she had overheard at the Burrow, over the Extendable Ear - Sounds like Malfoy thinks he's found a way for Voldemort to kill me. But why on earth would he tell her-
Her breath came out all at once in a little gasp and she stumbled through the crowd, the beginnings of panic stirring in her stomach. She needed to find a friend. She needed to find-
"Kathleen!"
Kathleen was no longer with Ernie Macmillan and, while a little disheveled, looked overall no worse for wear. Ginny's vision grew blurry as she felt her eyes fill with tears. She grabbed onto Kathleen's arm, who looked startled.
"Ginny! What's wrong? Where did you-"
"I have to find Harry," Ginny sobbed.
"What? What are you talking about? Tonight's about forgetting Harry, remember? This is the alcohol talking-"
"No, you don't understand," she wailed before pulling her away from the crowd.
"Ginny, slow down," Kathleen said, but Ginny wasn't listening. Her hand clutched Kathleen's arm as she dragged her toward the front of the Hufflepuff common room. She felt suddenly claustrophobic in here - too many bodies, not enough air. She pulled Kathleen through the entrance and out of the barrel, panting.
"Ginny, stop," Kathleen insisted, panting herself. "What's going on?"
"Malfoy's a Death Eater!"
"What?"
"Well. I guess he didn't really say that. But he might as well have! He was talking about a weapon... oh my God. Oh my God, I have to tell Harry, but how am I going to explain - oh my God, I was dancing with Malfoy!" She covered her face in her hands. Her cheeks were hot.
"Okay, you're going to have to start from the beginning," Kathleen said, pulling Ginny's hands away from her face. "Take a deep breath. Here, let's sit down." They moved slightly further into the corridor, away from the entrance, before sitting down on the ground. The dungeon stones felt cool against Ginny's back, her exposed shoulders resting against the wall.
"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "Okay." Slowly, taking care to leave nothing - well, almost nothing - out, she told Kathleen what had happened between her and Malfoy. Kathleen frowned as she talked, and her frown deepened the longer Ginny kept speaking. She didn't talk to Kathleen much about these things generally, but with her and Harry on the outs and Ron and Hermione fighting... she had become more of a confidante for Ginny's worries about the impending war than Ginny had initially realized.
"So Malfoy may or may not be a Death Eater, but if he was a Death Eater, he would be looking for a weapon for You-Know-Who," Kathleen reiterated. Ginny nodded.
"And you're worried about this because Harry also thinks You-Know-Who is looking for a weapon." Another nod. Kathleen stayed silent for a moment, long enough that Ginny turned to look at her.
"What do you think?" Ginny asked.
"Well, it's not a whole lot to go on, is it?" Kathleen asked with a sigh, running a hand through her hair. "It's not a whole lot of information. From what you're saying, Harry already suspected this of Malfoy, and yes it's confirmation of a sort, but what is he supposed to do with it?"
Ginny frowned. "Well, nothing, I suppose, or I guess investigate it-"
"Isn't he already doing that?"
"...I guess so. But I have to tell him Kathleen, this is dangerous-"
"No, I get that- tell him if you want, definitely tell him. I'm just not sure it will do any good. It would be better if you had more to go on."
Malfoy's parting words about "the next party" echoed in Ginny's mind and she buried her face in her hands again. "Oh no, Kathleen, how am I going to tell Harry? You know the first thing he's going to ask is how I found out, and I can't exactly say Malfoy shouted it to me from across the room, can I?"
Kathleen reached out to rub her shoulder, for which Ginny was profoundly grateful. "No, you can't. Not that he has any room to be upset, by the way - you didn't do anything wrong."
She wasn't sure why that hit her the way it did, but Ginny burst into tears all over again upon hearing Kathleen's reassurance. Kathleen kept rubbing her shoulder, making comforting, nonsense sounds as she did so.
"You don't have to do anything right away," Kathleen said. "Why don't you and I try to figure out what this is all about, hm? I don't know how exactly, but we'll figure this out together, and then you can tell Harry. Is that alright?"
Ginny nodded before leaning her head on Kathleen's shoulder.
"Thank you," she said thickly. "You're a really good friend, Kathleen."
Kathleen's hand stuttered for a second against Ginny's shoulder, but it passed before Ginny really had a chance to notice it.
So softly that Ginny almost didn't hear her, Kathleen murmured, "Don't thank me yet."
Draco lay in bed with his arms crossed behind his head, his head buzzing from alcohol and adrenaline. Pansy had been angry with him for not taking her to the party, but she had quickly shut up when he had dragged her to his dorm room and fucked her senseless, twice. She was passed out next to him in bed at the moment, but Draco couldn't sleep. He normally would have kicked her out by now, but he just kept replaying the events of the evening over in his mind.
It had gone better than even his best-case scenario. Ginny had gotten well and truly drunk, which made it so that her normal defensiveness took a backseat for the night. That part he had anticipated, but some things had been quite the happy accident. When he had ordered Kathleen to make herself scarce and pick a random boy to flirt with, he had no idea she would take things quite as far she did. It gave him the perfect opportunity to talk to Ginny alone.
And what a conversation it had been. Every quip, every subtle movement, all of it...all of it had been perfect. He could never have anticipated her being so open with him, both on the couch and on the dance floor. Despite having had a crush on her for almost two years now, he felt like in some ways he was seeing the real Ginny for the first time tonight. And he wanted more.
But he couldn't have more. Hence, the frantic Pansy-fucking. He looked over at her sleeping form and scoffed, annoyed with himself that he had momentarily lost control. He had felt like he was starving and was finally being offered a morsel of bread, only to have it snatched away before he had really had his fill. It wasn't fair.
It's alright, he reassured himself. The trap is set, or the beginnings of it anyway. Now, the curious thing was going to be seeing what Ginny did with it. Would she go running to Potter right away, or would she do as he hoped and wait it out a bit? He had instructed Kathleen to slow her down if she could, but only if she could do so without rousing Ginny's suspicions. It was a strange sort of balancing act - revealing everything and nothing all at once. He knew he would be profusely thanking Blaise in the morning for the idea.
His mind floated back to Ginny, how smooth her skin had felt under his hand when he had grabbed her arm, the lovely flowery scent of her hair as he leaned in... Fuck. It was intoxicating.
Too bad it wasn't real, a nasty voice whispered in his mind, making his stomach clench. It'll never be real.
Suddenly angry, he pushed the voice away, drowning out in the deep ocean. That voice, the voice of doubt and fear and insecurity, hadn't helped him at all. He saw that now. It was weakness. And as much as he wanted tonight to be real, he knew that his mission for the Dark Lord had to take priority. Contrary to what those outside of his circle would say, he knew now that the best way to keep Ginny safe from the Death Eaters was to play right into the Dark Lord's hands. And that was what Draco was going to do.
"Don't worry, Weasley," he whispered into the darkness. "I'll be feeling happy again very soon."