The Laws Have Changed - Chapter 18
She had run through their plan multiple times, both verbally and mentally. Everything was accounted for: who would cast the Disillusionment Charm, who would distract teachers or students patrolling, if needed, and who would search the office while one of them kept watch.
It had been decided that her, Neville, and Luna would be the only ones to tempt fate. They were the most well-equipped to put up a decent fight and she was still confident in the fact that, should Dumbledore's portrait be present, there would be little to no issue for them.
The only thing she felt bad about was still keeping Draco and now, by extension through Luna, Blaise in the dark. She knew her boyfriend wasn't going to make an attempt to stop her, lest she remind him how effective her hexes can be, but she wasn't privy to every detail of her friends' blossoming relationship. She didn't know if Blaise had been warned as an additional fail safe.
But it was too late for that now.
The trio had been well concealed by the efficacy of Luna's spell work and her hand was resting on the door knob, the Headmaster's office just beyond.
She turned back, a curt nod shared amongst the three of them and, as she held her breath, she slowly turned the engraved pewter bulb in her hand; only releasing everything once they were inside the room.
The office was surprisingly well-kept, but she wasn't sure if it was because Professor Snape was no longer surrounded by caked on potions residue or the damp chill of the dungeons. Or maybe the man had been too afraid to move anything out of place, lest he get a stern talking to from the man he killed to save her boyfriend.
With Neville keeping watch at the entrance, she began her slow circuit around the room; Luna going left to her right. She scanned the glass cabinets, finding nothing that even closely resembled a sword that fit the image she remembered from her second year. It was tougher than she expected, considering that they all decided to not use Lumos on the off chance that it woke up one of the headmasters sleeping in their portrait. As she got closer to the large oak desk near the back of the room, though, she was held up in her search by a whispered voice slightly above her.
"Miss Weasley?"
She froze, knowing which portrait spoke and praying and hoping that her theory was about to be proven correct.
She held her breath again as she pivoted, her heels grounding her as she faced the portrait of Professor Dumbledore.
"Apologies for the intrusion, Professor," she murmured, keeping her head ducked as though she were actually being chided by the old man.
"No need to apologize, my dear girl. I know why you're here."
She blushed at the knowing chuckle he gave her. Of course he would know. What didn't Dumbledore know? She'd never told anyone, but she secretly thought that he was much better at something like Divination than people were probably wont to believe. There was no denying that he was incredibly well-connected during the course of his life, but there was just something about the extent of his knowledge that raised some questions in her mind.
"But you don't have much time, so I have a question to ask of you." She was pulled back by his words, a bead of sweat building at her brow at the implication of his statement. She nodded, finding that she was holding her breath for a third time as she waited.
"How is Mr. Malfoy faring this time?" Her eyes went wide before her features settled into a frown. His knowledge of her relationship with Draco aside, what did he mean by "this time"?
"I'm not sure I understand, Professor."
"Perhaps a better question for me to ask is, have you grown close to him?"
She could only nod once more, her attention drawn to the cabinets below his painting.
"Good. Very good to hear. There may be hope for him yet."
Suddenly, the migraine that plagued her last year came back with a vengeance. She couldn't see her own reflection as her eyes pooled with tears threatening to fall. She crouched down, gripping her knees as she tried to keep her balance. The pain gave way to nausea and she scrunched her eyes shut, hoping the total darkness would make it easier for her to regain her composure.
Dumbledore said they didn't have much time and she knew that. Knew that it was entirely possible for Snape and his new goons to descend on them any minute. She knew that Luna had rushed to her side as soon as she dropped to the floor, rubbing her back as she called Neville over. And she was certain that Professor Dumbledore had said something to her that triggered her reaction, but why was she having trouble remembering what it was?
It felt like she had the idea on the tip of her tongue and a simple lip smack would be the thing to set it free. But every time she tried replaying the conversation she just had, it almost felt like her head was filled with the static she'd once seen on her dad's Muggle telly. She tried to push past the feeling, even though the compounding pressure was making her ears ring.
All of a sudden, she felt herself being hoisted up like a rag doll, a bright light shoved into her face as she was trying to steady herself.
"I should've known."
She slowly opened her eyes, focusing in to see Professor Snape narrow his eyes at her. She almost wanted to sigh in relief. This was, hopefully, their best case scenario. Her eyes began darting around, trying to find her friends behind the new Headmaster.
"What were you hoping to find, Miss Weasley?"
She gulped as he somehow managed to both draw out her name and make it sound as crisp as the fall air. "I was hoping to speak to Professor Dumbledore, sir." The nicety was hastily added as an afterthought.
"And what, pray tell, were you hoping to achieve by speaking with him?"
She was shoved into a chair in front of his desk. Her eyes followed him as he rushed to sit in the same spot she knew Dumbledore had occupied for decades. "I thought he might've known something that could help Harry."
It was close enough to the truth. And she hoped that the portrait of her former Headmaster would back up her story. Now that the pain of her migraine was subsiding, she remembered the theory Draco and Blaise had. That Professor Snape was more aligned with their goals than Tom's, but he couldn't stray from the role he was forced to play. He would still need to appear just a toe over the line of impartial to people like her.
She took a deep breath and straightened her back, steeling herself for whatever inevitable punishment he had in mind.
"Miss Weasley, I'm sure you understand that Mr. Potter is no longer a student here, but a wanted criminal. I'd like to think that you, of all people, would understand that whatever you think you were trying to find is no longer in this office." He spoke his last words with the same kind of staccato emphasis he preferred whenever he was explaining something to a student he didn't care for. Which, she thought with a laugh, was a vast majority of them.
And yet it didn't stop her eyes from widening as the last bit sunk in. Whatever they had been looking for was no longer there. Had it been moved? Or had Snape found a way to deliver the sword to the Order without people like the Carrows noticing?
"However, this doesn't change the fact that not only are you, Miss Lovegood, and Mr. Longbottom out past curfew, but you had exceedingly Gryffindoric idea of breaking into my office."
"We can handle things from here, Severus," Amycus announced, a predatory grin spreading across his greasy face.
"Not this time," Snape intoned, waving a hand to the open door behind her. "You can see yourselves out and I will handle what these three will be dealing with as punishment."
Alecto's gaze remained on her until she had to turn to leave and she hated how unsettled she still felt by the older woman's leering. Once the door lock clicked upon closing, she turned her attention back to her former Potions professor.
"Seeing as you three are brave enough to attempt tonight's actions, why don't we see the extent of that bravery by having you all join Hagrid as he patrols the Forbidden Forest?" She could hear Neville's gulp, despite the fact that they were on good terms with the groundskeeper. They had all heard what the man they considered a friend had allowed to flourish and thrive in the depths of the forest, and she was only too glad to find out that the largest of them had died last year. "And," she focused back in, praying that their detention was the worst of what they would have to deal with, "effective immediately, you will be banned from attending any Hogsmeade outings until the end of term."
She almost laughed.
She wanted to laugh in absolute relief at the punishments. It wasn't like she could enjoy Hogsmeade with her boyfriend, so what did it matter? The small village felt like a veritable ghost town during the times she had ventured in that year, so if that was the worst thing Snape could levy against her, then she'd be more than happy to take it.
But she knew better than to make her glee obvious. She slumped down in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest as though she were despondent. She saw Neville about to make a move to argue, but saw Luna place a hand on his forearm just as quickly. Luna's thinking was probably along the same lines as hers and she was grateful for her friend's immediate response.
"Do I make myself clear?" Snape asked in his patently bored drawl, an eyebrow raised as though he was daring them to defy him.
"Crystal, sir," she replied, moving to stand, only to steady herself against the chair arms. Her lower body felt like it'd been hit with a Jelly-Legs Jinx after dealing with her returning migraine.
"Do you require assistance, Miss Weasley?"
"We'll help her, Professor Snape," Luna chimed in. "We'll make sure to return directly to our respective Houses."
"See to it that you do. Otherwise, I may not stop the Carrows next time."
She nodded, keeping her head down as they left the office.
As soon as they descended the stone steps, Luna pulled them to a nearby alcove.
"Do you need us to take you to Madame Pomfrey, Ginny?"
While both friends showed visible concern, she could see that Neville was a bit more shaken up by the whole experience than he had let on while they were in the office.
"No, Lu, I'm fine." It had taken them longer than expected to get downstairs, but she was starting to feel some semblance of stability again.
"Are you sure?" The older boy held her shoulders as his eyes scanned her. "I remember Hermione mentioning to Ron in class one day that you'd been getting a lot of migraines at one point."
She frowned before chewing on her lip. She had never told anyone the things that happened as a result of the headaches or what triggered them. She hadn't even mentioned it to Draco as he would only panic and make a bigger deal out of it than she wanted it to be. Besides, that was the first time since the end of last term that she experienced that level of pain, so she tried chalking it up to being a one off.
She eventually shrugged, then softly chuckled, trying to divert their attention elsewhere. "Yes, I'm sure. I haven't gotten a headache like that in a while, so it may have just been bad timing."
Her friends shared a look, one that told her that they were placating her. She sighed, hating that they were giving her the illusion of letting the matter rest. It only meant that they would bring it up at a later time, when she least expected it. And knowing Luna, she might try to bring it up in front of Draco under the impression that if she couldn't get it out of her, her boyfriend would. That remained to be seen, but she had a feeling that she probably would tell him everything, if prompted.
They walked Luna to Ravenclaw Tower in silence, not wanting to cause a commotion on the off chance that someone on patrol would spot them.
But as she got closer to Gryffindor, Neville pulled her aside once more.
"Are you going to tell me where you're actually spending the night?"
She gaped at him, wondering when he caught on to the fact that she wasn't spending most of her nights in Luna's dorm as she had been claiming.
"Ginny, if we're going to keep working together with Luna, I'd appreciate it if you didn't leave me out of things. I know Luna knows the truth and I thought we were good enough friends —"
"We are!" She hissed the words as softly as she could, her hands beginning to wring themselves as she struggled with how to answer him.
"Then why won't you actually talk to me?"
Her throat felt dry and she felt the sting of tears building up, her frustration palpable and unwanted. Why didn't she include Neville in her expanded group? The was a strong possibility of him understanding once she told him everything. But fear niggled and prodded her mind, trying to convince her that her friend, someone her boyfriend and his friends once tormented, wouldn't give Draco or Blaise and chance. Would walk away from everything they were working on because her being with the blond might be a bridge too far.
"Because I'm afraid," she croaked out.
"Ginny," he began on a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose, "we're in the middle of a war. We're literally preparing our friends to possibly die. I know I may still act petrified most of the time, but even I understand what's going on around us. So I think I can handle where you sneak off to after our DA meetings."
She took a deep breath, leaning against the wall behind her in hopes that it would keep her upright should her body decide otherwise.
"I've been spending my nights now in the Head Boy's room." Her voice sounded so small, so uncertain and she realized that she had never felt this way before in front of Neville. Even back when she had gone to the Yule Ball with him, she had never felt like she needed to shy away from the older boy that had become one of her closest friends. It felt like a stone had been dropped to the bottom of her stomach, and the feeling grew to have a name as it twisted her insides and burned her throat: guilt. Maybe even shame. Both were so similar that they were fighting for dominance.
"How long have you been with him?"
She blinked and was almost relieved at the pensive look Neville was now giving her. It was, at the very least, better than the clear anger she was expecting.
"Since last term. After Harry put him in the Hospital Wing for using that slashing curse on him. But I became friends with him in the fall of that year." Whispering seemed like the only feasible option anytime she opened her mouth now.
"He's been helping us, hasn't he? The extra potions, the knowledge of the patrol routes — that's all been him." Neville's eyes went wide as he spoke, fully understanding the extent of the work her boyfriend had been trying to do on their behalf.
"In his own way." She gave a little shrug and smiled, a touch of relief flooding through her.
"And he doesn't like having to punish people, does he?"
She nodded, uncertain of how much she could reveal without Draco getting concerned for his safety. "He can't go easy on any of us, but he does try to minimize the efficacy of whatever he casts."
She could feel her nails scrape against the cold bricks still keeping her upright, watching as her friend began to pace.
"Does Luna know?"
"She figured it out when she saw us leave the same section of the library at the beginning of this term."
"Does anyone else know?"
"Just you, Lu, and Blaise. He figured it out the same day as Luna."
Neville nodded in response, keeping up his thoughtful pacing. He would stop every so often and turn to her as though he were about to say something before shaking his head, mumbling to himself, and continuing on as though he were trying to work through a particularly tough Arthimancy problem. After what felt like an eternity, he finally stopped in front of her, crossing his arms over his chest as he regarded her.
"I want to be there the next time the four of you meet."
"Okay."
"Okay," he repeated, dragging out the word. "Simple as that, then?"
This time she truly chuckled, the smile twisting her lips genuine. "Simple as that. I can't guarantee that Draco and Blaise will completely behave with you there, but Draco won't give you shit if he knows what's good for him."
It was Neville's turn to gape at her, his shock somehow warming her heart.
"He must really like you," he whispered, mostly to himself, she realized.
"Well, yeah, I should hope my boyfriend actually likes me." Her use of 'boyfriend' seemed to snap her friend out of his thoughts.
He scoffed, any kind of expected malice or irritation not found in his clear amusement. "You know, Gin, you would be the one to keep Malfoy in check. Maybe you being with him will make him less of a pompous git in the long run."
She finally leaned forward, the strength of her friend's words giving her the literal push to embrace the closest thing she was going to get to publicly dating Draco that year.
She couldn't help but give him a hug, feeling as though she were having the conversation with Ron as opposed to the boy she was beginning to feel was akin to another older brother. "Thanks, Nev." She pulled away, mimicking his actions from earlier by grabbing his shoulders. "Although I will admit that he can still be a bit of git, don't be afraid to tell him when he is. I think he might be pleasantly surprised to see that you're not going to tolerate his nonsense anymore."
"Can I blame you if it all goes tits up the minute I tell him to stop being a wanker?"
She covered her mouth to muffle the bark of laughter she let out. "I would only be too happy to take the fall for you when that moment comes."
The pair shared a smirk, the kind that felt too devious for their typical friend group and decidedly Slytherin, if there were any other Gryffindors around to notice.
Neville broke their comfortable silence first. "Alright, get on back to the arrogant little shite you call a boyfriend," he lightly commanded, shooing her with along as he rolled his eyes.
She made to leave their temporary hiding place before she paused to give the older boy one more hug. "Thank you again," she whispered, making sure to get in a good squeeze before she let go. "I'll keep you posted on when you can join us in Draco's room."
"Be safe, Gin," he softly called out, waving as he watched her cast a Disillusionment Charm to help her safely get back to her favorite pompous git.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I did want to mention that I still have two more fest fics to complete (I'm a busy bee lmao), so next week's update might be my last one for a hot minute.
In the meantime, though, my fic from the Drinny Fall Fest, Nightwalker, and my fic from the Gothic Fantasy Fest, Phoenix, have both been revealed. Unfortunately, I cannot post them here due to the rating and content of each fic. BUT! They're both available on Ao3 under my username Alexandria_Malfoy.
Thank you again for your continued support!