(HBP) CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Conspiring

The first thought Ellie had when she arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place was that it was completely different from the last time she had seen it.

The second was that Harry was there.

She should have known, she supposed. He was Sirius' godson, and he had nowhere else to go. He had a right to spend his Christmas there, same as her.

She didn't really even resent Harry for what he had said to her. He was suspicious of Draco for legitimate reasons. He had fought Voldemort once again, and he was undoubtedly terrified of what came next. If Draco was playing even a small part in it—which Ellie was quite certain he was—why shouldn't Harry resent Ellie for becoming friends with him?

Because you're trying to do the right thing, and he's trying to make you feel bad about it, said an all-too-familiar voice in her head. If I can get past you slow dancing with the guy, he should be able to get past that.

Ellie knew from the sound of the footsteps descending the stairs that both he and Sirius were approaching. She wasn't sure what relieved her more—seeing her boyfriend and father again or knowing that her boyfriend wasn't mad at her for slow-dancing with the boy who had once been her biggest rival.

She ran over to them, throwing her arms around both of them and squeezing as tight as she could.

"I missed you, too, Ellie," Sirius said into her hair as he squeezed her back. "Though probably a bit more than the bloke who got to see you once a week."

Ellie grinned sheepishly at Fred as she pulled away from both of them. He grinned back, wrapping an arm around her and drawing her closer to him. He planted a kiss somewhere on the side of her head—not remotely where she'd like him to plant a kiss, but understandable, considering the presence of Sirius and Harry in the foyer.

"This place looks great, Sirius," Harry said as he gave his godfather a hug. Ellie wondered when he had shown up—obviously not long before she had.

"Thanks," Sirius said brightly. "Amazing what you can accomplish when you aren't in hiding. Now, Molly's in the kitchen with Kreacher, whipping up a little welcome meal for you. Insisted on being here to greet you both, though we'll be having Christmas dinner at the Burrow."

Ellie beamed at that. She wanted to spend as much time as possible with her father, but she relished the thought of getting to do so with the Weasleys, too.

Fred's arm squeezed her a little tighter in response to that thought.

They followed Sirius into the kitchen, where Molly temporarily handed off the cooking to Kreacher so she could smother Ellie and Harry in hugs.

"My sweet, sweet children!" she exclaimed. "We have so much to catch up on. What's all this hubbub about my son dating some girl called Lilac?"

"Lavender," Ellie corrected with a chuckle. "I take it Ron's made it back to the Burrow, then?"

"He arrived yesterday," Fred explained. "Didn't get invited to that schwanky party, remember?"

"Right." Ellie thought of Hermione and deflated slightly. "George there, too?"

"Not just yet. He's manning the shop at the moment—last-minute Christmas gifts, you know."

Ellie recalled the conversation she had overheard at Slughorn's party and frowned. It was a few days before Christmas Eve—the busiest time of year for them besides back-to-school. "You should be there, too."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Molly with a wave of her hand. "You two barely get to see each other as is. Fred worked that out already."

Ellie glanced curiously at Fred, who explained with a grin, "Child labor. Put Ginny and Ron to work. They insisted on actually getting paid, which was quite impolite, if you ask me, but—"

"Now, now," Molly scolded, clicking her tongue.

Ellie felt a little guilty about Ginny and Ron having to work on their holiday, but she supposed they both might have done it willingly for the chance at some extra coin. Besides, the knowledge that she'd get to spend the whole break with Fred provided her with so much relief, she couldn't linger on it.

"Good to see you again, Kreacher," she said instead as she stepped over to the magical stovetop. "Can I help you two with anything?"

Kreacher eyed Ellie warily, but if she wasn't mistaken, there seemed to be less animosity in his gaze than usual. "Kreacher does not need help with the meal. The mistress should enjoy her father's company."

Ellie glanced at Sirius with raised eyebrows as everyone headed to the table. He returned her gaze with a shrug that seemed to say, Your advice seems to be working.

Fred seemed reluctant to remove his arm from Ellie's shoulders, but given that the chairs were several feet apart, he had no choice. He sat next to her, Sirius sat across from her, and Harry sat across from Fred—refusing, as he had since her arrival, to meet her gaze.

"Well, then," said Sirius, clearing his throat. "First things first. How's Severus been faring as Defense teacher?"

Harry grimaced, but Ellie didn't. "Not bad, actually. He certainly redecorated the old Defense room in a creepy way, but I've really gotten a handle on my nonverbal spells, and—"

"Oh, come on!" Harry snapped.

Ellie felt her jaw drop open. It was so unlike him to snap like that. Pulling her aside and attempting to reason with her was one thing, but this?

"Harry," Sirius said, sounding as surprised as she felt. "I know you're not a fan of his, and I certainly don't blame you for that, but—"

"It's not about being a fan of his," Harry said. "It's about what he's been up to this year—he and Malfoy both. They're conspiring."

"Conspiring?" Molly repeated as she started making her way to the table with various dishes. It was only midday, but the meal could easily have served as a dinner feast. "Whatever do you mean by that, Harry?"

"Well, there was the thing with Katie Bell and the necklace, for one. There's the conversation I overheard last night, where Snape told Malfoy to be more careful. There's—"

"Have you ever considered that maybe Snape told him to be more careful because he doesn't want him to join the Death Eaters?" Ellie interrupted. "That maybe he's doing the opposite of conspiring?"

"Join the Death Eaters?" Sirius repeated. "What—"

"El," Fred warned gently.

"So you admit it?" Harry demanded. Molly had finished putting out the food, but no one seemed capable of focusing on serving themselves. "You admit that he's in the midst of joining?"

"In all likelihood, yes—if he hasn't already joined, I think he's in the midst of it," Ellie said evenly. "Which is why I'm trying to reason with him. To—"

"Now, hang on one bloody second," Sirius interrupted, voice starting to raise. "If the boy is involved with Voldemort, the last thing you should be doing is getting involved with him."

"Please don't use the words getting involved with," Fred said, placing a hand on his stomach. "It makes me queasy."

"And it makes Draco queasy," Ellie said to Harry, "knowing what the Death Eaters did to me. He has empathy, Harry. He has remorse. And if I'm able to dissuade him—"

"It isn't up to you to dissuade him!" Harry shouted, slamming his hands on the table. "Why are you suddenly the keeper of Draco Malfoy when until this year you hated him just as much as the rest of us?"

His words hung in the air for several seconds as everyone stared at Ellie in stunned silence.

She could answer him. She could give him the same tired speech she had given Draco the night before. But it had hurt her to speak the words, and she knew it had hurt Fred to hear them. She wasn't sure it would be worth it to repeat them to a boy who clearly wouldn't understand them, anyway.

"Mrs. Weasley," she said instead, rising to her feet. "Thank you so much for cooking this lovely meal, but I'm afraid I've lost my appetite."

"I get it," Fred said a few minutes later after they had settled into her bed. It was still midafternoon, and neither of them had any intentions of sleeping, but Ellie, as always, just wanted to be held by him.

"You do?" she asked, turning to face him. His arms were still wrapped around her. "You were so quiet during all of that yesterday, I thought…"

He lifted a hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, smiling softly. "I didn't say I got it right away. There were quite a few thoughts rushing through my head that I had to get a handle on. I knew better than to subject you to them until I'd worked it out myself—especially when you were already feeling so isolated."

God, she loved him. She loved him for understanding her on a deeper level than anyone ever could.

"It was a beautiful song," he told her. "Sort of felt like someone had stuck their hand right through my chest and twisted my guts around, but I reckon that's how you know it's a good one."

She frowned. "It wasn't meant to hurt you, Fred. It wasn't about you at all."

"I know. I just hurt when you hurt."

Ellie felt tears well up in her eyes at that. They weren't sad tears; they were tears of realization of how lucky she was to have found someone she loved so much who loved her so much in return.

"Harry's a git," he continued, though she was pretty sure his eyes were starting to water, too. "He'll come around, though. Try to understand—it's hard to see someone you love so much becoming so close with someone you loathe so much—especially when the latter has the potential to put the former in real danger."

She bit her lip. "You said you got it."

"I do get it. You're trying to do the right thing here, like you always do, and I've spent enough of my life trying to stop you from that. Now, don't get me wrong—I'll always try to protect you—but only after I've accepted your decisions. Even the stupid ones."

She granted him a smile. "Do you think this is a stupid one?"

"I think it's an ambitious one, to be sure, but no—not stupid. I've been there in your head with you, remember? I know you're not crazy. I see the humanity in his eyes, too, when he talks to you. Frankly, I see a little more than I care for."

"It's not like that," she said immediately. "Those aren't romantic thoughts he's thinking about me, Fred. I think they're just… surprised thoughts. Like he's finally realizing there's another perspective in life he might be able to take, and I'm the first person who's shown it to him."

"I hope so. I'll still hang onto my bitter jealousy a bit longer, though, if it's all the same to you. Hard not to when you're dating the most beautiful, intelligent, and caring girl in the world and she goes off slow-dancing with Slytherins."

Ellie laughed at that, but her heart was starting to pound. The words coming out of his mouth, the way they made her feel, and the way he made her feel by being so close to her on the bed were all reminder her just how badly she wanted to kiss him—maybe even to do more than kiss him.

"Fred," she whispered, taking his face in her hands. "I love you so much."

The look that clouded those warm, brown eyes of his was filled with so much love, he didn't even have to say it back. Instead, he kissed her—hard.

There was something different in his kisses now—something she liked very much. It was as if he had been holding back every other time he kissed her, but she hadn't realized it, and now, finally, he was letting go.

He pressed her deeply into the bed as he rolled on top of her. One of his hands reached for hers and weaved its fingers around hers, but the other trailed down, toward the base of her shirt, and then up the bare skin beneath it. The moment his hand started to slow, she moved her own free hand to it, then guided it beneath her bra and onto the bare skin of her breast.

He let out an inherent groan of pleasure, trailing his kisses to her neck as she arched her back upwards toward his hand. She curled her legs around his waist, pressing herself up against him, and that made him groan again, and suddenly it was feeling very warm in the room, and—

"Ellie?" Sirius called from the other side of the closed door, giving it a knock. "Can we talk?"

Fred shot up and away from her, face as red as his hair. She grinned in spite of her own pounding heart as she attempted to smooth her hair and clothes back down.

"Sure, Dad," she shouted back, doing her best to keep her voice even as her breathing struggled to normalize. "Coming."

El, Fred said in her head as she rose to her feet, if your dad walks in and sees me like this, he's never going to invite me back here again.

She did her best not to laugh as she brought her hand to the door handle. Then I'd suggest you Apparate on out of here and keep tabs for when we're done.

My girlfriend is a genius.

She did laugh at that, but he was already gone by the time she opened the door.

Sirius glanced behind her, then frowned. "Where's Fred?"

"Back at the Burrow, I think. Told him I needed some time alone."

Sirius frowned. "If you'd prefer I come back later—"

"No—it's fine." She gestured behind her toward her room, inviting him to join her. He eyed the unmade bed with a hint of concern, but settled for a spot at her desk chair without voicing it. She took a seat on the bed across from him.

"Ellie," he said, heaving a sigh. "Tell me what's going on with Draco Malfoy."

"It really isn't that big of a deal, Dad. I got stuck as his partner in Defense at the beginning of term, and Snape suggested that I give him a chance. Then I got stuck sitting with him in Potions, too, and we started talking. It's just a harmless friendship, is all."

"Harmless," Sirius repeated doubtfully. "And yet you said yourself that he may already be a Death Eater, or at least in the midst of becoming one."

She wished she hadn't said that. Not in front of all those people. "He hasn't admitted anything to me one way or the other." Not entirely true. They didn't include me in any of their plans back then, he'd said. Still, it hadn't been an outright admittance of anything. "He isn't like them, Dad. At least, not entirely. I'm sure of it."

He ran a hand through his hair. He was growing it out again—probably since he no longer had to avoid looking like his mugshot. It looked good. "He isn't the only one, you know. Not all of them are as bad as Aleks and his father. Lucius is, to be sure, and Bellatrix, too. But not all of them."

Ellie supposed she had known that. As much as she hated Peter Pettigrew for framing her father for his own crimes, she had noted that he was the only one who refused to torture her.

"It didn't matter in the end with Peter," Sirius said, seeming to sense her train of thoughts. "His fear of Voldemort outweighed his love for us. That's what always happens, Ellie—what will happen with this Malfoy boy, in all likelihood."

"It's different with him. Peter had you, James, and Lupin—such wonderful incentive to stay on the right side. Draco doesn't have any of that. Until we became friends, he barely even knew anyone on our side of the fence."

"Which only gives me more cause for concern," Sirius pointed out. "Especially how Peter turned out in spite of us."

She sighed. "I know. And I promise to be careful, Dad. It's not like I'm going to go visit my new buddy at his house for Christmas. I just… want to try my hand at showing him there's another way. Is that such a bad thing?"

Sirius' expression softened, and he came over to join her on the bed, wrapping a loving arm around her shoulder. "No, sweetheart," he said softly. "It just reminds me how big your heart is."

I know Harry's being pretty brutal here, but if you'll recall from the real Half Blood Prince, he DID develop quite the obsession with hating Draco, so I think it fits. Ellie, on the other hand, seems to be developing the opposite obsession... Thankfully, she has the welcome distraction of a lovesick Weasley twin to keep herself balanced! Please remember to leave a review if you're enjoying the story, and see you soon!