Sanctuary

Amethyst

Rating: PG13
Genres: Drama, Romance
Relationships: Draco & Ginny
Book: Draco & Ginny, Books 1 - 5
Published: 24/11/2003
Last Updated: 04/08/2006
Status: in_progress

Sometimes, sanctuary can be found where one least expects it — the only thing keeping it out of reach is pride.

Chapters

1. Part I

2. Part II

3. Part III

4. Part IV

5. Part V

6. Part VI

7. Part VII

8. Part VIII

9. Part IX

1. Part I

Title: Sanctuary (1/?)

Author: Amethyst

Author E-mail: AmethystJackson@hotmail.com

Category: Drama, Angst

Sub-Category: Romance

Keywords: Draco Ginny Voldemort Dumbledore sanctuary

Spoilers: PS/SS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Sometimes, sanctuary can be found where one least expects it — the only thing keeping it out of reach is pride.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author’s Note: I meant this to be a rather long one-shot, but the plot bunny ran away without me, so it looks like this could get…lengthy.

~

Witch Weekly

Volume 777, No. 5

Week of November 23, 2003

Welcome, readers, to ‘Sanctuary,’ a new mini-series by Amethyst, our so-called ‘Queen of Angst.’ (The day you can call this angst is the day Katie becomes a R/Hr shipper.) This series stars, you guessed it, Draco! For what series would be at all good without a heavy dose of Draco? Hopefully, Amethyst will stick to her resolutions for once, and we’ll see a second episode — but for now, enjoy this first chapter.

Sanctuary

By Amethyst

Draco lived only for the quiet moments — the times when he could slip away from his House and his family and his own image and simply…be. He liked to sit behind a tree by the lake, just out of sit, where only someone as lonely and mixed up as he was would go.

Lucius Malfoy was no longer in Azkaban, but where he, along with the dementors and the Dark Lord’s other followers, had disappeared to was unknown to everyone. Lucius never wrote to Draco anymore, but he did write to Narcissa. She forwarded a few things to Draco — mainly, hints that he would be asked to join the Dark Lord soon.

Draco had learned the Killing Curse when he was fifteen, just after the Dark Lord had returned. His father had taught him, and asked him to kill a pigeon outside Malfoy Manor. Draco had done it…and though it was merely a pigeon, Draco could hardly stand the feeling of a life forced out of a body, of the sheer hatred that coursed through him. Once his father had gone back inside, Draco had been sick in his mother’s garden. Draco hadn’t performed the Curse since, despite his father’s instructions to practice.

Draco had wanted to please his father. He always had. It had been his only goal for the first fifteen years of his life. It was the reason he had worked for Umbridge. It was the only reason, other than envy, that he had tormented Harry and his friends. It was the reason for performing those Unforgivable Curses. But in that sixteenth year, he had finally realized that he never could please his father. Lucius Malfoy would always want something more from him, and Draco would never be able to provide that. And if pleasing Lucius Malfoy meant killing, torturing, and controlling, Draco didn’t think he wanted to please him anymore.

If he had to join the Dark Lord…how would he manage? Draco wondered often what he would be asked to do. He never wondered what the punishments would be if he didn’t, because he already knew, and he never wondered how much torture he would have to go through, because he had been through it. No, the most painful thoughts were always and only of what he would have to do — whom he would have to kill, how many people he would be asked to torture.

Draco had only two choices in the matter — do or die. And many times, he thought he might decide to die instead.

Perhaps he could choose his death. Perhaps he could make it quick and painless, on his own terms, rather than at the hands of the Dark Lord.

Draco wondered why he hadn’t killed himself long before. He wondered why he still had any hope at all for his future. There was no getting out of the deal his father had made with the Dark Lord. As the Muggles liked to say, he could run, but he couldn’t hide.

And so he waited, going to classes, doing his work to get his mind off things, sitting by the lake until his mind finally shut down.

He had never counted on anyone finding him there, by the lake, let alone stopping to sit with him. But he had been surprised by the least likely source when he had opened his eyes to find Virginia Weasley standing before him.

"Something you want, Weasley?"

"I want to know why you come here every day," she told him, looking him directly in the eye. No one looked him in the eye anymore, save Potter — but Draco didn’t look back then.

Draco didn’t like the way she barged into his sanctuary. "And just why do you think you have the right to know? Why do you assume that you could ever understand?"

"I don’t have the right to know, unless you give it to me. But I’m sure I could understand, as long as you aren’t sitting here thinking about quantum mechanics."

Draco raised an eyebrow at her, arms crossed over his chest. She’d never seemed quite so odd before. Perhaps she’d been spending too much time with Loony Lovegood. "What on earth are quantum mechanics?"

"Has to do with Muggle science," Ginny replied, presumptuously taking a seat next to him. "Hermione was going on about it the other day…doesn’t make any sense at all, naturally."

Draco shrugged. "When does anything that those Muggles come up with make sense?"

"Never," Ginny conceded, giving him a sideways glance. "Are you going to answer my question?"

"You don’t want to know, Weasley. Go back to your perfectly sheltered world before you hear something you’ll want to forget later."

Ginny glared at him. "Do keep in mind that my perfectly sheltered world had included being possessed by You-Know-Who when I was 11 and fighting Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries, breaking my ankle in the process."

Draco almost smiled. "I forgot about the diary…but still, you don’t know. You’ve never been on the other side of it…"

"And you have?"

He laughed hollowly. "Weasley…my father taught me to do all of the Unforgivable Curses. I assure you…you’ll never be able to comprehend it."

Ginny seemed to pale slightly. "You know the Unforgivable Curses?"

Draco nodded, looking across the lake. "I could kill you right now, Weasley. And I could torture you first. Or I could control you, but you’d break that spell quickly… I could do it. I know how."

She was tempted to get up and run, he could tell. She didn’t want to be there any longer, next to someone who had killed. She wanted to run back to the castle and tell the professors. But she wasn’t moving.

"Would you, Draco?"

He looked over at her. "No."

"Then does it really matter that you can?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Draco sighed. He didn’t feel like explaining it. "Not everyone can do those curses. Potter never could. You probably never could. Not because of right and wrong, but because you don’t have the hatred. But I do, Weasley. I can hate enough to do them, but I can’t stand the feeling… And if I refused to do it, they could kill me. Just like that."

"It doesn’t have to come to that," Ginny said.

"Oh, it doesn’t, does it? And how do you propose I keep my father from killing me if I refuse to join You-Know-Who? I have to live with him, for Merlin’s sake."

"You don’t have to go back."

"Where else would I go, Weasley?"

"Dumbledore would protect you," she said. "All you have to do is ask."

Draco shook his head. "I’m not going to go begging to Dumbledore."

Ginny stood, brushing her robes off. "If your pride is worth more than your life, Draco, then so be it. Don’t expect anyone to help you if you won’t ask for it."

She walked off, leaving him to consider her last words.

To Be Continued

2. Part II

Title: Sanctuary (2/?)

Author: Amethyst

Author E-mail: AmethystJackson@hotmail.com

Category: Drama, Angst

Sub-Category: Romance

Keywords: Draco Ginny Voldemort Dumbledore sanctuary

Spoilers: PS/SS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Sometimes, sanctuary can be found where one least expects it — the only thing keeping it out of reach is pride.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Note: So…yeah, I must admit, I wrote this at the last minute. You see, I wanted to do a Christmas fic for this particular week, but the Christmas fic turned out to be way too long for the time I allotted myself - and then I remembered that I'd started a miniseries and really ought to work on that first and foremost. So…here you have it, and I'm sorry if it lacks in any way.

~

Witch Weekly

Volume 012, No. 3

Week of December 21, 2003

Welcome, readers, to installment number two of ‘Sanctuary.’ You may have been expecting some sort of Christmas ficlet this week, it being the week that contains Christmas…but, according to our Editor-In-Chief, we really ought to stay non-denominational about things, and Amethyst was too lazy to finish her Christmas ficlet anyway…so…Happy Non-Denominational and Politically Correct Holidays!

Sanctuary II

By Amethyst

Ginny was shaken by her conversation with Draco Malfoy.

She still didn’t know what had inspired her to approach him like that. Perhaps it had been the look on his face – a look that showed emotion for once. And perhaps it had been the despair in his eyes that had convinced her to sit and talk with him.

Nobody had really ever considered him as dangerous before. He was just Malfoy, the immature prat who constantly irritated the Gryffindors. He had come up with silly plans to get them in trouble, of course – but none of them were very cunning at all. Sure, he knew his share of hexes – but what Hogwarts student didn’t?

Never, however, would anyone have thought that Draco could seriously hurt anyone.

And now, Ginny was burdened with her knowledge. She felt like she could trust him, but what if all the cliches about listening to one's gut were not true? What if she had played right into his hands like a ball of clay? Perhaps she should go to Dumbledore or McGonagall about him, but if he was truthful, perhaps he would go to Dumbledore himself. It seemed more likely to Ginny that pride would stop Draco from seeing Dumbledore than ulterior motives would.

She would trust him as much as she dared. If she didn't learn that he had visited Dumbledore within a week, she would do it herself.

That settled, Ginny felt that she could quit pacing the castle and finally return to Gryffindor Tower. Normally, she would have been better off thinking something like this over outdoors, but she couldn't risk running into Draco just after she had walked off on him. That would be horribly awkward. Gryffindor Tower was no better, always full of students, some nosy, some noisy, and others, just annoying.

When she entered the common room, she found Ron and Dean sitting together, both looking up at her. She frowned. This couldn't be good.

Ron stood and approached her, Dean following. "Ginny - "

"Something you want, Ronald?" Ginny asked curtly. She hoped her use of his full name would be enough warning for Ron to not do something stupid.

"Dean told me you were talking to Malfoy, Ginny."

Ginny was torn between rolling her eyes and smacking Dean. "So, you were following me, Dean?"

"I'd just wanted to talk to you," Dean responded defensively. "When I finally caught up to you, I realized who you were talking to and -"

"And you decided to run to my brother?" Ginny interrupted, her quick temper rising. "I don't need a babysitter, Dean. And you need to stop whatever the hell you're doing, because we're over. I thought I made that clear the last time we discussed the matter!"

Ron stepped in, his eyes narrowed. "Ginny, whether or not what Dean did was right, you shouldn't have been talking to Draco Malfoy! He's dangerous, Ginny - and he hates our entire family. He wouldn't hesitate to hurt you if he had the opportunity, and you ought to know that, especially after what he said to you!"

Ginny turned back to Dean, glaring. "You eavesdropped, too?!"

"I was concerned for your safety," Dean said.

"I can take care of myself. I can hex better than even Harry, and you know it - in fact, you've experienced it firsthand! So just stop following me around and stop trying to protect me!"

"Fine," Dean snapped. "Chase after Malfoy instead of staying with someone who actually cares for you - and when he hurts you, I'll be thrilled to say I told you so!"

Dean left. Ginny didn't pay attention to where he went.

"I know you're angry, Gin," said Ron, "but Malfoy is dangerous, no matter how stupid he acts - and even though you're a very capable witch, if you're taken by surprise, you may not be able to react in time."

Ginny's temper was dampened slightly by her brother's concern, but she was not ready to give in yet. "You didn't hear what I did, Ron. I don't think he would hurt me."

Ron shook his head. "You're mad if you believe that, Ginny. I don't want you talking to him again, and if you do, I'm writing Mum."

~

"Professor?"

The hook-nosed man looked up from a stack of parchment. "Yes, Draco?"

Draco didn't want to show how nervous he felt. "I need to speak with Professor Dumbledore."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Dumbledore is an extremely busy man, Draco. You'd better have a good reason for it."

He should have been expecting that. As it was, he had no idea what to tell him. The truth was out of the question; Draco knew that Snape was a Death Eater.

"I can't tell you," he said, knowing that it was the lamest possible response, but he was pressed for time and ideas.

"I can't help you, then."

Draco left wordlessly. He had a better idea.

~

"Professor McGonagall?"

She looked surprised. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"

"I was wondering if I could talk to Dumbledore. It's…it's about my father."

She looked even more surprised. "Certainly, Mr. Malfoy. Follow me."

Draco was surprised at his own brilliance. Who knew that the truth could be so useful?

McGonagall led him to a stone gargoyle, which Draco assumed was the entrance to Dumbledore's office. "Pumpkin pasties," she told the gargoyle, and it hopped aside.

"Just go up the stairs, and you'll find yourself right at the door."

"Er…thank you," Draco said. The words felt funny on his tongue. He stepped onto the bizarrely moving staircase as the gargoyle behind him hopped back into place.

He knocked on the door. It opened several seconds later. Dumbledore smiled. "Mr. Malfoy. I'd been hoping I'd see you."

To Be Continued

A/N: I'm evil, I'm evil! *dances about evilly* And this was extremely boring! But have no fear. It will only be three weeks until the next part.

3. Part III

Title: Sanctuary (3/?)

Author: Amethyst

Author E-mail: AmethystJackson@hotmail.com

Category: Drama, Angst

Sub-Category: Romance

Keywords: Draco Ginny Voldemort Dumbledore sanctuary

Spoilers: PS/SS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Sometimes, sanctuary can be found where one least expects it — the only thing keeping it out of reach is pride.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Note: I apologize for taking such a long time to update when writing such short chapters. This is really just a miniseries that I jumped into as a project for Witch Weekly - to which I post once a month, hence it taking me three to four weeks to update. I'll try to start writing this outside of Witch Weekly, to update more quickly. I hope it's actually worth the wait.

Witch Weekly

Volume 778, No. 1

Week of January 11, 2004

Welcome to installment three of 'Sanctuary.' Amethyst would like us to share a message with you. She says that if you do not stop harassing her about this fic, she'll stop writing altogether. We editors at Witch Weekly encourage you to continue with the harassment, please, to make our lives easier. Oh, and enjoy the story. Tata!

Sanctuary III

By Amethyst

Draco squirmed. He had never, ever, in his entire life, felt the need to squirm before - not even as his father had a servant hold him down so that he could be tortured. But as he sat in his chair before Dumbledore's desk, which the elderly wizard stood behind, he understood why the darkest wizards in the world feared Dumbledore. The man looked as if he could see right through you. He was like a very old and wrinkly Dame Blanche.

"I've been expecting you to come speak with me, Mr. Malfoy, ever since I had a conversation with a certain Gryffindor several days ago."

Draco felt absolutely betrayed. "She told you?"

"Not she, Draco, he. Ginny Weasley never came to me, but another young man did. Apparently, your conversation had been overheard, and this particular Gryffindor was concerned about Ginny's safety, and felt it necessary to inform me of the details of the conversation.

"You needn't look so worried. I do not intend to inform the Ministry of Magic of anything you have done. Wizards such as your father have many methods of persuasion, I know. I would like to know one thing, Draco." Dumbledore leaned over his desk, hands on the polished surface, looking at him over his spectacles. "What do you intend to do about it?"

Draco swallowed. "I don't know. But I know that I don't want to go back there after I'm finished here. If I do, my father will take me to You-Know-Who."

Dumbledore nodded grimly, straightening. "Do not be afraid to say the name, Draco. It's true, you cannot return to the Manor. Your father must not know of your plans, either, until you are safe. After leaving Hogwarts, you will stay at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix for your protection."

"The Order of the Phoenix?" Draco didn't know what it was, though the name sounded familiar. It struck his curiosity.

"The Order of the Phoenix is an organization outside of the Ministry that works to fight against the rise of Voldemort. It was in operation during his first reign and banded again when he returned three years ago."

"Oh. So…do any of the Order live at the headquarters, then?"

"A few members do. You'll be familiar with some of them. You remember Remus Lupin, of course. And the Weasleys live there over the summer."

Weasleys. He'd be spending the summer with Weasleys. He could tolerate one particular Weasley - but her six brothers? He just hoped they wouldn't murder him in his sleep.

"Why only in the summer?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Mrs. Weasley has never really said, though I believe it's for her children, and Harry and Hermione, of course."

Draco was seriously beginning to consider his other option. He didn't know if avoiding Voldemort was worth spending a summer around the Weasleys and the fabulous Dream Team.

"Now," Dumbledore said, signaling a change in subject. "There's the matter of what you will do with your time until it is safe for you to live on your own. Money will not be an issue during your time with the Order, provided that you earn your keep. The real problem, Draco, is going to be earning their trust."

Draco fought a scowl at that. He didn't want their trust. He wasn't about to cozy up with the Gryffindors. If he had to live with him, he'd deal, but there was no way he'd get chummy with them.

"Do you understand that it is a necessity for you to do so? If you intend to be of any use to the Order - which is part of earning your keep - they must believe that you are trustworthy. Otherwise, they will insist that you be kept out of everything."

"But you trust me, don't you?"

Dumbledore nodded. "I do. However, my opinions about people are not always accepted - especially when it comes to those that do not want to accept them."

Draco sighed inwardly. He understood. He didn't trust anyone, really; he'd been raised that way, just as many other Slytherins had. The trust and loyalty games were not new to him.

"All right. I'll work on it," he agreed reluctantly. His mind was already whirring with plans to do just that - manipulation was an easy game, especially with naïve fools like the Gryffindors. He fancied that he'd nearly earned Ginny's trust. The fabulous Trio would be a bit more difficult. It would definitely be easiest to win them over through Granger - if he could convince her, then Potter would automatically be convinced as well. Potter was a real sucker for Granger. Once they accepted him, Weasley would fall in line soon enough. And with Ginny and the Dream Team won over, he didn't think it would take long for the rest of the Weasleys to join them.

It would be easy. The truth was the easiest thing to use to one's advantage, and he had no need for lies this time.

Dumbledore was about to speak again when a knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

~

"Come in," Ginny heard Dumbledore call from the other side of the door she was standing before. She walked in with slightly less vigor than usual; she was nervous about this conversation and what it might mean for Draco, and herself.

To her surprise, Draco was sitting in Dumbledore's office, pretending not to notice her, though she had seen his glance.

"Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said, smiling. "How can I help you?"

She had been so preoccupied with seeing Draco already there that she had nearly forgotten her reason for being there in the first place. Bringing up what she had intended to was out of the question with Draco right there. A quick lie also seemed to be beyond her - she had no bright ideas.

"I - um - well, never mind," she stammered, backing out the door. "I don't think it's that important after all."

She turned and left then, but not before meeting Draco's eyes and catching what she thought to be the closest thing to a genuine smile that the Slytherin had ever made.

To be continued

4. Part IV

Title: Sanctuary (4/?)

Author: Amethyst

Author E-mail: AmethystJackson@hotmail.com

Category: Drama

Sub-Category: Romance

Keywords: Draco Ginny Voldemort Dumbledore sanctuary

Spoilers: PS/SS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Sometimes, sanctuary can be found where one least expects it – the only thing keeping it out of reach is pride.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Note: I apologize again for taking such a long time to update when writing such short chapters. Life has been a crazy banshee lately. Yes, it shrieks.

~

Witch Weekly

Volume 778, No. 2

Week of February 8, 2004

Welcome to yet another issue of Witch Weekly. Amethyst is too busy enjoying her recently fattened head to write her own introduction this week, but she'd like to thank the wonderful readers at Portkey for recently significantly fluffing her ego. In her own words, "They loff me! They really loff me!" ...We're still trying to figure out what that's all about. Anyway, enjoy the story!

Sanctuary IV

By Amethyst

The next time they saw each other was three days later, in the place they had held their first conversation. This time, it was Ginny sitting beneath the tree and Draco who stumbled upon her.

"Fancy seeing you here, Weasley."

She offered a wisp of a smile. "If you're to be staying with us this summer, you really should learn our names. Many people answer to 'Weasley,' you know."

"As you wish, Virginia," he said impatiently, sitting down beside her.

"Thank you, Draco," she replied with a smirk. "…You really need a nickname," she added with a frown.

"A nickname? Why?"

"Really, now, with a name like Draco, you can't expect people to use it with a straight face all the time. Especially since it means little snake..."

Draco scowled. "It does not mean little snake," he huffed. "It means dragon. And there's nothing wrong with my name."

Ginny chuckled at him, which made him all the more irritated. "Dragon, little snake - it doesn't matter, it's still funny. You need a nickname."

"And just what do you have in mind?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Drake? Drakey-poo?"

"Say that again, Weasel," Draco growled, "And you won't have a tongue left to say anything with."

"How frightening," she laughed. "I'll forever tremble in fear at your presence...Drakey-poo."

He glared at her. "You'll pay for that, wench."

"I'm sure." She turned sober. "I'm glad you went to Dumbledore."

This reminded Draco of a question he'd wanted an answer to for the past week. "Who told him about me?" he asked, watching her out of the corner of his eye. "Somebody had told him about our conversation beforehand."

He was surprised to find that she looked angrier about it than he'd been.

"It was Dean," she informed him. "He's been bloody stalking me since I broke it off with him in January. He followed me the day we talked and eavesdropped. I never told him."

"I know," Draco said, and he did believe her. Though Dumbledore had made it sound as though their conversation had been overheard, he'd still wondered if perhaps Ginny had shared the conversation with her brother or Potter or perhaps all of Gryffindor. But hearing her say the words, he couldn't help but trust her. This new lack of suspicion was something new and strange to Draco; he was used to being suspicious of his peers.

Ginny was about to speak again when another voice broke into their private world, calling for Ginny - not Dean this time, but the other Weasley.

Draco jumped up automatically and backed toward the edge of the forest. The last thing he needed in his life now was for Ron Weasley to catch him sitting around with his sister. "I'm not going to stick around to suffer the great sidekick," he said. "See you later."

"Goodbye," she whispered as he retreated into the trees.

As he walked away, he noticed the strangest thing of all about his time spent with Ginny. He'd actually enjoyed himself.

~

"Draco," a quiet voice called out to him as he walked down the dungeon hallway. It was to his left. He turned. Ginny stood in the doorway of a rarely used classroom. She beckoned him inside, and he followed.

"What's this all about?" he asked.

"I was just wondering," she said, "if you wanted me to help you tell the others."

He raised an eyebrow at her. She certainly was a presumptuous little thing. "Tell them what?"

"Well...that you're on our side now."

"No, Weasley," he replied immediately, shaking his head. "They won't know at all until the summer."

She scowled. "And why not?"

"If it gets out, it will get to my father, and then there will be no escaping. It's out of the question."

Ginny seemed determined to win. "They won't let it get out. You can trust them."

Draco laughed. "Trust them? I can't trust anyone who won't trust me right now, Weasley. As if they'd really care about protecting me. Besides, it always gets out. No one else can know."

Ginny frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "Tell me, then, Draco. Do you trust me, or do I just have impeccable timing?"

He didn't know the answer to her question, but he knew that she was already prying too deeply into him. "What do you think, Weasley?"

She looked away uncomfortably. "I trust you, Draco."

"I guess that's your problem, isn't it?"

She sighed. "I guess it is." She paused. "What are you going to do with the rest of your time, then?"

"Pretend," he said. "Everyone has to remain in the dark."

"You could still help the order, you know."

"And just how do you propose I do that?"

"Information," she said. "You must know things - your father must write to you -"

"I haven't heard from my father since he disappeared," Draco snapped. "Death Eaters aren't stupid. They keep their secrets closely guarded."

"So you're saying you know absolutely nothing?"

Draco hesitated. "My mother knows things. She lets them slip to me sometimes."

"You should pass those things to the Order," Ginny said, eyeing him firmly. "If you can do something, you should."

"I still don't know if I can trust them."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Draco, for Merlin's sake, we're fighting the same enemy. Anything you gives to us goes to the same cause. How could it possibly be used against you?"

"There are ways," he said stiffly.

"It's better to act, Draco," Ginny said, glaring at him. "You have the power to do something - that's more than a lot of us can say, myself included. Don't make yourself helpless."

She left then without a goodbye.

~

After his third encounter with Ginny, Draco's time at Hogwarts passed quietly and without conflict, except for the nervous edge to his life that came with the knowledge of what he was planning to do. He went on as usual. He studied for N.E.W.T.s and passed them with good marks, attended classes, and pretended to be exactly the same person he'd always been. If he was distant or less enthusiastic than usual, his housemates and victims alike didn't notice; the transformation had been happening for months before hand, and in it's gradual nature, it was unseen.

Now, in an attempt to make some kind of contribution, his life consisted of passing information from his mother to Ginny, who would in turn put it into the right hands. As far as he knew, only Ginny and Dumbledore were aware that he'd switched sides, and that was exactly the way he liked it. In the days and weeks between his time with Ginny, he found himself spending more time alone than ever before, leaving Crabbe and Goyle to their own devices. Many times, he ended up in the back of the library, where his housemates wouldn't think to look for him. He would watch from a window the world that he'd thrust himself into.

Oftentimes, he would watch Ginny, who liked to sit by the lake with her many friends - Luna Lovegood, the Trio, sometimes Neville Longbottom. She was always bright and alive and animated, and he was drawn to her vibrancy. He'd never felt even half as alive as she looked.

Ginny was Draco's one source of subsistence in those months. The quick, whispered conversations that they shared every few days saved him from the monotony and stress of his strange new life. Those moments meant more to him than he was willing to admit, and he worried that he was beginning to care too much for her. Caring was dangerous. She seemed to care for him. He worried about what that might mean for him as well.

It seemed like both an eternity and no time at all had passed when his last month at Hogwarts finally arrived, bring with it the official end of his old life.

To Be Continued

A/N: Thanks to all the reviewers! Your response to this has amazed me, and I'm infinitely grateful to receive such support.

If you're interested in seeing new chapters of this story ahead of time, feel free to join my Yahoo! Group, SpellbookFics, located at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SpellbookFics/ . I post chapters for a day or two there before I post them anywhere else. You can also read the work of some other great writers there, and writers are always welcome to join and share their work.

5. Part V

Title: Sanctuary (5/?)

Author: Amethyst

Author E-mail: AmethystJackson@hotmail.com

Category: Drama

Sub-Category: Romance

Keywords: Draco Ginny Voldemort Dumbledore sanctuary

Spoilers: PS/SS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Sometimes, sanctuary can be found where one least expects it — the only thing keeping it out of reach is pride.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Note: Thank you all for being so patient between chapters. This one is the longest yet, so hopefully it will be more worth the wait.

~

Witch Weekly

Volume 362, No. 1

Week of March 7, 2004

Welcome to our latest issue. Before we get to our story, we would like to report a missing muse. He has disorderly black hair, wears glasses, is about 5’6" and 130 lb. His name is Harry, but he may go under the alias "Neville" and has been known to disguise himself as a pirate. If you spot him, please contact the Ministry of Magic so that he can be returned to his writer. Now, on with the miniseries!

Sanctuary V

By Amethyst

Draco wrote to his mother at the end of May, telling her that he'd decided to fly home instead of taking the train that year. It was a pitiful lie, but his mother was a very slow, ditzy woman. By the time she realized he wasn't home on time, he would be at Order headquarters, as difficult for his parents to find as Malfoy Manor was for a Weasley.

The real arrangements were for some woman called Tonks to meet him at Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. Apparently, she would be looking like his mother to prevent suspicion amongst anyone related to Voldemort. Tonks would then take him to headquarters, where he would be staying with her and Remus Lupin until the Weasleys arrived.

Meanwhile, he was dreading the leaving party for the seventh year students which he would be forced to attend. It was almost a requirement to bring a date; the lucky single students at the leaving party ended up facing social stigma, on top of a very boring night. Social stigma and social involvement were equally undesirable to Draco, and he was very tempted not to go, but he didn't want his housemates to think him acting at all strangely, lest they gossip to their parents. Besides, it was always entertaining to see what students from various houses did when they were incredibly drunk - bootleg liquor was very popular at seventh-year parties.

Pansy Parkinson had been dropping hints at every turn that she wanted to go with him, but he would have rather taken Moaning Myrtle than spend an evening with Pansy clinging to his arm. He carefully ignored all of the hints. The only company he actually would have enjoyed was Ginny Weasley's, and while it was acceptable to bring a sixth year as a date, it would have been the very worst thing he could have done at that point in time. She probably would have refused him, anyway.

He really needed more friends, Draco decided. Life was truly sad when one's only friend was a Weasley, if she could even be called a friend. Their relationship was a unique one. He wondered what she thought of it, if she thought of it at all.

~

On the Saturday before the last week of school, Ginny found herself changing into a set of light blue dress robes for the seventh year leaving party. She still wasn't quite sure how she wound up going. One moment, she was talking to Seamus Finnegan; the next, she was his date.

She didn't know how she felt about it. Seamus was nice enough, and even somewhat handsome, but there was something essential that was missing for Ginny. He would always be too average, too boring, and there could never be any real spark between them.

She would have liked for Draco to ask her. As much as he infuriated her sometimes, she had come to enjoy his company more than any other's. He was perhaps the only person that no longer treated her like a child. She had thought she'd proven herself in the Department of Mysteries, but apparently it wasn't enough. Ron had only become more protective, and Harry and Hermione were more reluctant to allow her involvement in anything. But Draco had come to acknowledge her as an equal, a worthy adversary, and she appreciated that more than he knew.

Of course, having those kinds of feelings toward an all-in-one Slytherin, son of a Death Eater, and Malfoy did not do anything to make her life particularly easy or fun. She couldn't tell anyone about him, lest word of what he'd done get out - because he had a point, whether she liked his method or not - and she couldn't speak to him openly. She definitely couldn't be his date to the 7th years' party.

Date. No, she couldn't go down that road, either.

Ginny hated not being able to do what she wanted.

Sighing, she gave herself a final once-over in the mirror. Her hair was curled, eyes lined, lips glossed. It wasn't her best...but it would do for Seamus.

I'm horrible, she thought, going on a pity date and hardly bothering to look nice on top of it.

Seamus was waiting for her downstairs. She greeted him awkwardly and let him take her hand as he replied with a compliment, and they went down to the Great Hall.

Ginny hoped Seamus wouldn't be glued to her side the entire night. She might be able to spend some time with Ron, Luna, Harry, and Hermione if he'd leave her be long enough. She was still shocked that Ron was taking Luna to the party. Whether it was because Harry had asked Hermione first or because he genuinely liked Luna, she didn't know.

As they entered the Great Hall, she spotted Draco immediately. He was standing in a corner with Crabbe and Goyle on either side, sipping on what looked to be a bottle of liquor. She pursed her lips and looked away. If he was going to spend his night getting drunk, she wasn't even going to look at him.

...But at least he didn't seem to have a date.

~

He'd never been so bored in his life, and the alcohol wasn't helping at all. Crabbe and Goyle were already drunker than he'd ever seen them and had probably passed out somewhere, Pansy was trying her hardest to lure him onto the dance floor, and he had nothing to do but sit and watch the chaos unfold. It was entertaining until it became annoying.

The highlight of his evening had been seeing Ginny walking in, floating along like a cloud in powder blue robes. The sight had been somewhat dampened when he realized whose arm she was on. As far as highlights went, it wasn't the best.

He was now mulling over his reaction to that sight, which was difficult, considering the way his head was swimming, but he could still tell that something wasn't quite normal about it. For one thing, he'd never thought of the girl as any of the following adjectives: pretty, gorgeous, beautiful, or sexy-as-hell. For another, he'd never had the urge to drag her off to some dark, empty room somewhere.

He frowned down at his half-empty bottle. Maybe he was just jealous; perhaps he just didn't like her being with Seamus.

And then he realized that that wasn't quite normal either.

Draco sighed and slumped against the wall. This night was not going well.

~

Ginny was getting very thirsty, but the best route to the punch bowl involved walking past Draco. The other route involved passing Ron and Luna, Harry and Hermione...and Seamus, who she'd finally shaken off for awhile. Weighing the two options, she decided it would be much easier to ignore Draco than get away from everyone else.

After all, they were supposed to ignore each other in public anyway. It wasn't as if it would be rude to just walk loftily on past him; it was what he wanted, wasn't it?

She would just stroll past him without looking at him. One step, two steps, three steps...six steps and she was past him; one more took her to the punch bowl. She could just see him out of the left corner of her eye, slouched against the wall. Even drunk with his eyes rather unfocused and a rather distasteful bottle in his hands, he managed to look completely cool. She hated his constant composure.

Ginny wasn't expecting him to speak to her, but he did, just as she was about to take a sip of her punch.

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you."

Ginny narrowed her eyes at him. "Why, exactly?"

"It's spiked."

"Oh? With what?"

Draco shot her a rather sloppy smirk and held up his nearly bottle, shaking it slightly for emphasis. Ginny rolled her eyes. "Why would you do something like that?"

Draco shrugged. "What can I say? I was bored and I didn't fancy drinking this entire thing. I hate vomiting...nasty business."

"How can you stand yourself?"

Draco laughed. "What do you think the alcohol is for?"

Ginny sighed and turned away from him, looking dubiously at her punch. Liquor wasn't generally a smart thing to try, especially in public and having never consumed any before...but he couldn't have put that much in it, and she was incredibly thirsty...

"Not a good idea, Weasley."

"Do you have a comment for everything, Malfoy?"

"Usually, yes. Seriously, it's strong stuff. Drink that whole cup on a virgin stomach and you'll lose it."

She glanced around her to make sure nobody was listening to their conversation. "Even just a few sips?"

Draco shook his head and straightened. "Do what you want, Weasley. I've had it with this. Don't know why I even bothered coming."

With that, he left the Great Hall as steadily as possible under his condition, leaving Ginny with a cup of punch that she didn't know if she wanted to drink.

"Ginny!"

Seamus was coming toward her. She groaned. Why on earth had she given into the pity?

With a glance at her cup and a lack of thought that she would definitely be smacking herself for later, she downed the drink.

Ugh, no one ever mentioned how horrible this stuff tastes.

"Where’ve you been, Ginny? I’ve been looking all over for you."

"Just…getting punch," she said as the alcohol burned its way down her throat. "Um, actually, Seamus, I rather need to visit the lady’s room, so…er…drink some punch while you’re waiting for me to come back."

Ginny walked away without further comment. She could tell that the alcohol was already going to her head. She felt a little dizzy and muddled, and she wasn’t sure she liked the tingling in her stomach. Perhaps it would be best to stumble her way up to Gryffindor Tower and sleep it off. By the time Seamus realized she wasn’t coming back, he’d be reeling from the punch, anyway.

Upon reaching the Entrance Hall, she tried to walk up the stairs and found that her depth perception was slightly off.

Okay, Weasley. Sit down for a bit. Maybe your head will stop spinning.

"You drank the punch, didn’t you, Weasley?"

"Go ‘way, Malfoy," was her reply.

"Stupid girl, I told you not to drink it, and you did anyway," he said, sauntering over to her.

"Yes. ‘S your fault," she mumbled, putting her head in her hands.

"Mine? May I ask how?"

"You told me not to. Said I couldn’t handle it."

She could feel Draco rolling his eyes without looking at him. "You must be drunk, because that is the worst logic I’ve ever heard."

"I don’t like being told not to do things," she said sullenly. She added thoughtfully, "And I think I’m going to be sick."

Draco took a step back. "Not on these robes, you’re not."

"Thanks for your concern."

"Bloody Gryffindors." With a flourish of his wand, he conjured a wastebasket and placed it before her, sitting down heavily next to her. "You never think – the entire lot of you."

"’Mione does."

"She’s an exception."

"Why aren’t you as drunk as I am?" she questioned.

"I’m drunker, actually. I’m just better at it."

Ginny was about to retort when her stomach convulsed, and she leaned over the wastebasket, knowing what was coming. She was vaguely aware of Draco pulling back her hair before she unceremoniously vomited.

"Why do people drink this stuff?" she asked, coming up for air. Draco let her hair fall onto her shoulders.

"It can be rather nice once you’re used to it."

"Mmmph."

They sat for a few moments in silence as Draco stared off into space and Ginny mused.

"You know, this would almost be romantic if it wasn’t so disgusting," Ginny commented.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "You’re a strange girl."

"No, really. Every girl wants a guy who’ll hold her hair for her when she vomits."

He raised the other eyebrow and brought them together in a look of pure skepticism. "Women are absolutely insane."

Ginny shrugged. "Someday you’ll understand."

"If you say so."

Ginny turned to look at him. "Don’t you want to be taken care of?"

"I don’t know," he replied.

An awkward silence followed, but was eventually broken when Draco stood. "You should probably get to bed. Think you can make it."

Ginny stood, steadying herself on the banister. "…I don’t know."

Draco frowned. "I’ll get your brother."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "My brother? I thought you didn’t want anyone to know about you."

"He won’t," Draco smirked. "Just, uh, don’t get upset when he starts asking you about Seamus."

Ginny started to ask him what he meant about that, but he was already walking back into the Great Hall.

In just a matter of minutes, Ron came out of the Great Hall, looking rather furious. Ginny frowned in puzzlement as Draco came out behind him, smirking, and headed for the dungeons.

"Where’s Seamus? Did he hurt you?" Ron questioned.

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked, alarmed.

"Malfoy said you were out here with Seamus and that –"

"I haven’t seen Seamus since I left the party. Malfoy was obviously mistaken. I think someone spiked the punch, though, and I could use some help getting back upstairs."

"Spiked? Probably Malfoy. Stupid Slytherin scum… Come on, let’s take you to Madame Pomfrey…"

Clever, Malfoy, she thought as Ron guided her up the stairs, ignoring the wastebasket that would be left for Filch to clean up. She glanced behind her to see if Draco was still there. He wasn’t.

She was upset to find that she missed him.

To Be Continued

A/N: If you're interested in seeing new chapters of this story ahead of time, feel free to join my Yahoo! Group, SpellbookFics, located at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SpellbookFics/ . I post chapters for a day or two there before I post them anywhere else. You can also read the work of some other great writers there, and writers are always welcome to join and share their work.

6. Part VI

Title: Sanctuary (6/?)

Author: Amethyst

Author E-mail: AmethystJackson@hotmail.com

Category: Drama

Sub-Category: Romance

Keywords: Draco Ginny Voldemort Dumbledore sanctuary

Spoilers: PS/SS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Sometimes, sanctuary can be found where one least expects it — the only thing keeping it out of reach is pride.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Author's Note: I am so very sorry that this chapter has taken over a month. It was supposed to be posted here two weeks ago, but RL got in the way and I totally forgot. I hope you can forgive me, and if you want to see chapters right when I finish them, you can join my Yahoo! Group, SpellbookFics, which is located at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SpellbookFics/ (and if the link doesn't work here, it's also linked in my profile).

~

Witch Weekly

Volume 967, No. 1

Week of April 4, 2004

We’d like to take this opportunity to let the public know that Witch Weekly desperately needs writers. It doesn’t matter what ship or genre you write, as long as you can post something around once a month. If you’re interested or have questions, please e-mail our highly stressed editor, Katie, at insufferable_know_it_all@hotmail.com. We new return you to your regularly scheduled fic.

Sanctuary VI

By Amethyst

Draco didn't see Ginny again until they were at Hogsmeade Station, boarding the Hogwarts Express. He knew that she saw him, because she met his eyes and looked away again before she smiled. Draco wanted to smile back, but he still wasn't quite sure how, so he instead pretended he hadn't noticed her at all. That was the way it was supposed to be, after all.

He got on the train with Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy, who wanted to spend the journey home discussing the possibilities of joining forces with the Dark Lord, now that they'd finished schooling.

"I know that I'll be asked to join," Pansy said to them smugly, a sadistic smile forming on her face. "I'd mastered all of the Unforgivables a year ago. I can't wait to start getting rid of the Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers."

Draco fought the urge to show his disgust. He tried to appear agreeing without actually doing so.

"You'll be asked, of course, Draco," Pansy continued. "Your father's played such a large part in the Dark Lord's work."

He made a noncommittal, grunting sort of noise, and that was enough encouragement to keep her talking.

"Do you suppose we could work together, Draco?" she said, and he could see the idea she'd formed in her head clearly. "We could be the next Lestranges."

He couldn't help himself. He raised a single, sardonic eyebrow at her and said, "No, I'm afraid that wouldn't be possible. If I were to work with someone, they'd have to have at least a touch of class."

Pansy narrowed her eyes. "You're saying I don't have class?"

"No, Pansy," he said, saying this as though he thought her very stupid, "I'm saying you're completely trashy, not to mention sick, sadistic, and disgusting."

Her eyebrows shot up comically before she glared at him and put on an expression that clearly said, "I'm going to kill you." Draco did as he was wont to do in situations like these. He smirked. Crabbe and Goyle were fidgeting next to them, unsure who they were supposed to menacingly crack their knuckles at this time.

"You're a bastard, Draco, and I hope you remember that when there's not a single person in the world that would piss on you if you were on fire."

Draco laughed dryly at this. "What makes you think that that isn't already the case, Pansy?" He rose and turned for the door. "I'm going to escape the idiocy now," he said, looking back at them.

He then found himself outside the compartment with no real idea where he meant to go. Shrugging to himself, he headed forward. There had to be something better than what he'd left behind, no matter where he went from there.

~

When he got off at the station, it didn't take him long to spot Tonks. It really did look as though his mother was waiting there for him. She'd even copied the crooked pinky fingers and the faint lines around her mouth. The only giveaway was the gold band on her finger, but only Draco and his father would ever know that his mother hated gold. It was virtually perfect.

"Wotcher, Drake," she murmured to him quietly when he was close enough to her to avoid being overhead. This was a much more obvious sign of her identity, which he nodded at in acknowledgment. The crowd continued to swarm around them, completely oblivious.

She produced a rather large button from her pocket - a portkey. This, too, was flawless - they'd always taken portkeys to get from the station to the gates of Malfoy Manor. She held it out to him, and he grasped it between his thumb and first two fingers. He hoped he wouldn't lose hold of it during the trip. It would come out of his fingers easily. Rather silly, he thought, to share a button as a portkey.

"It goes off in a few seconds," she told him. "Grab your trunk."

He did so, struggling somewhat to keep hold of both objects at once, and then he felt the familiar but still rather sickening tug of the portkey, pulling them away from the busy platform - to where, he had no idea.

As it turned out, they were destined for a very shabby street in London, in front of some very ugly, run-down houses. He noticed with a frown that there was no #12. This seemed very odd.

Draco turned to Tonks and raised a very skeptical eyebrow. "This is it?"

"Of course," she said, pulling a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket. "Read this," she said, handing it to him. He straightened it out and read - "Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix are located at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place."

He looked up to remark that this was impossible, because there was no Number Twelve...but as it turned out, there was.

Tonks snatched the paper from his hands and promptly burned it with a quick, "Incendio."

"They use the Secret-Keeper spell, don't they?" Draco questioned. He'd heard about it, from his father, in connection with the Potters - it seemed like a glaringly obvious choice for Order protection, now that he thought about it.

Tonks nodded. "Dumbledore keeps it - he sent that. C'mon, let's get inside before we're overheard."

Once inside, Draco found that it wasn't at all what he'd expected. In fact, the main hall looked quite a bit like a particular part of Malfoy Manor.

"Just whose house is this?" Draco asked.

"Well, Harry's, technically," she told him. "It used to belong to Sirius Black, and the Black family before him. Your mother was related to them. ...I am, too, as a point of fact..."

Both of Draco's eyebrows shot up at that. "So we're related?"

"Ironic, isn't it? 'Ere, let me look like myself again." He watched as her nose became slightly longer, the lines on her face smoothed away, her eyes changed colour, and her hair turned into a spiky, neon version of the rainbow. She grinned. "That's better. Anyway, Sirius died two years ago, on Order work, and since he was Harry's godfather, the house went to Harry."

Most of this wasn't new to Draco. He'd known that Sirius was Harry's godfather and that he hadn't been the one to betray to Potters from conversations he'd overheard at the Manor, but he hadn't known that the man had died - nor that he would actually be spending the summer on Harry Potter's property. That could possibly provide a slight hitch in his plans. He wasn’t expecting Harry to throw him right out, but it was a possibility.

"Well, let's go upstairs - I'll show you where your room'll be." She babbled on as she led him up the stairs. "The only other one here right now is Remus - Lupin, you'll remember him, of course. The Weasleys will be here tomorrow - or at least some of them will. Molly, Arthur, Ron, and Ginny at least. Harry and Hermione will be here sometime this week. Hermione's decided to move in, and Harry's gone with her to help her pack up all her things. There will be others, always going in and out, but that's all that live here. Here we are - hope it suits you."

They'd stopped beside a door on the second floor, which opened to a small, sparsely furnished bedroom. There was an average-sized bed within, and a nightstand and dresser. It certainly wasn't what he was accustomed to.

"I'm going to go and change now," she told him. "Your mother's robes are quite frumpy, if you ask me. Remus is downstairs getting dinner together. Head down once you've settled in."

With that, he was alone in his new world, wondering not for the first time what on earth he was doing there.

~

Draco went downstairs later and found the kitchen after several minutes of searching the lower level. Lupin looked up from his place at the table when he walked in, unsmiling. The man definitely looked older than Draco remembered, though just as thin. Evidently, he hadn't fared very well since his time at Hogwarts.

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy," Lupin said to him somewhat coolly, and Draco had a horrible moment of clarity that dashed all of his delusions of suddenly fitting in within the house. To them, he would still be 'Malfoy', and that meant everything.

"Hello," he said awkwardly. He felt as though he were thirteen again.

"Albus tells us that you intend to join the Order." His tone didn't indicate appreciation.

"Yes."

"Albus trusts you, and we've all taken that into account - but he's been fooled before. Can you give us a good reason to trust you?"

He certainly hadn't expected such an abrupt confrontation - but then again, Lupin had been a Gryffindor. They weren't much for tact.

"I can try, but I don't suppose it will work very well."

"Well, give it your best." There was a trace of humor in this statement, and it eased Draco slightly.

"I guess...well, it's like this. If your parents work for the Dark Lord, it's safe to assume that you'll be asked to work for him, too, unless you're a great useless idiot. And since most of the Death Eaters are Purebloods, they're all about family pride - and when you're raised to be loyal to your family above all else, you're not very likely to turn on the Dark Lord, because that would mean turning on your family. So I would have been asked to join the Dark Lord, if I'd gone home. And I don't want to."

"Why not?"

"Because...well, don't you know the kinds of things Death Eaters have to do, and the kinds of things the Dark Lord does to the Death Eaters? It's bloody horrible."

"And I take it you want no part of that?" Lupin said, seeming amused.

"It's not exactly fun, you know. The killing and the torturing. The Unforgivables aren't unpleasant to the victims exclusively. Have you ever used one?"

"No, I can't say that I have," Lupin replied darkly.

Draco shrugged. "Then you can't possibly understand."

"Then you've performed the Unforgivable Curses?"

He nodded, thinking that this inquiry wasn't going as well as he would have liked. "Yes...I didn't really have much choice about it."

"And you honestly want to fight Voldemort?"

Draco winced slightly. "Er... Well...I guess. I mean...what other choice do I have?"

Lupin was about to reply when a timer went off from the general vicinity of the stove.

"Ah - dinner's ready," Lupin said. "We'll continue this conversation later. Go call Tonks down while I get this out."

~

They ate, and afterward, the conversation continued, as promised. This time, he was seated across from Lupin at the table, with Tonks to his left, listening in.

"This is really my only option," Draco was saying, feeling very much as though he were on trial. "I don't want to join You-Know-Who, and if I refuse them, they'll torture me and eventually kill me...so my only choice is to hide, and help any way I can."

"I see," said Lupin with a frown. "I'm afraid your story gives us no reason to think you're not a spy, but it wouldn't be right to throw you out without giving you a fair chance."

"I hope you didn't talk to your students like that when you were at Hogwarts, Loopy," Tonks broke in. "Throwing him out - we can't throw him out at all. What if his story's true? He'd have nowhere to hide. It's not as though the Ministry would bother protecting him. They'd just hand him right back over to his mother - and where would that get him?"

"I never meant to throw him out, Tonks," Lupin said with a patient smile. "But there's nothing more to say as of now. If he's to prove himself, it will require time." He turned to Draco, "And I'm sure you'll understand that the Order will also require caution - we can't let you in on matters until we're more sure of you."

Draco nodded, having expected this.

"Well," Tonks said, breaking the awkward silence that had formed, "I'm hitting the sack. Ministry's worked me to the bone lately. G'night."

Draco found himself alone again with his former Professor. He felt as though he had to do something - anything - to clear the air.

"I'm sorry I was such an arse third year," he said abruptly, wishing afterward that he'd been more tactful. "I - well - I didn't really know any better."

Lupin nodded. "You can't be blamed for the way you were raised, Draco. It's what you do to remedy it now that you do know better that counts - but then, you'll have learned that by now."

There was another brief, awkward silence before Lupin spoke again. "Perhaps you should get to bed now. Tomorrow could be a trying day for you."

Draco nodded and left the kitchen, feeling somewhat lost. Tomorrow would be trying - and how did he intend to handle it? The only Weasley that wouldn't be surprised to see him was Ginny; how was he going to explain himself to the others? What on earth could he say? It had been all well and good to scheme beforehand to convince them one by one - but he hadn't counted on the actual convincing being the hard part. After his time spent with Lupin, he realized he simply couldn't talk his way into this.

Draco entered his new room, lying on the bed without undressing. He would have to focus on his allies. Ginny's faith in him was nearly unwavering, he hoped, and Tonks seemed to favor him. Lupin didn't seem entirely convinced yet, but perhaps the man would be on his side eventually.

He sighed at the ceiling. With Ginny, perhaps, he would make it through, provided that Ron didn't kill him upon sight.

~

Draco woke to the sound of voices in the front hall. Familiar voices.

Feeling the gloomy, unwashed mood that came from sleeping in one's clothes, he quickly got up and changed into a white shirt and trousers - the closest thing to Muggle clothing that he had. He hoped he wouldn't find the others in robes.

He paused at his door. Should he go now and greet them, or wait for them to stumble upon him? He sighed and went out. Best to get it over with as soon as possible.

They were all gathered in the front hall, Tonks and Lupin greeting the four Weasleys that had just arrived. Ginny spotted him coming down the stairs first and offered him a smile. He didn't return it, but nodded, unsure how to convey that he took strength from it - and not sure that he wanted to show her that much.

Ron was next to see him, and his reaction was a bit more extreme. First his eyes widened, then narrowed before he exclaimed, "What the hell is he doing here?"

Mrs. Weasley barely had time to scold Ron for his language before she and Mr. Weasley fell into silent shock.

"You're all being silly," Ginny said amongst dead silence, looking almost amused. "Dumbledore wouldn't have sent him here if he didn't think he was all right."

Ron must have gotten whiplash, turning as fast as he did to Ginny. "Are you nutters, Gin? He's a Malfoy!"

Draco cleared his throat. "A Malfoy who's standing right here," he said. "And she's not nutters."

"Let's all go into the kitchen, shall we?" Lupin intervened. "This will require some explanation."

"You think?" Ron said sarcastically as they all filed into the kitchen, Ginny falling behind to give Draco a reassuring pat on the arm before they went in.

To Be Continued

7. Part VII

Title: Sanctuary (7/?)

Author: Amethyst

Author E-mail: AmethystJackson@hotmail.com

Category: Drama

Sub-Category: Romance

Keywords: Draco Ginny Voldemort Dumbledore sanctuary

Spoilers: PS/SS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Sometimes, sanctuary can be found where one least expects it – the only thing keeping it out of reach is pride.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

~

Draco felt every eye on him as they sat at the long kitchen table. Ginny's and Tonks' were supportive and bracing; Lupin's were blank. Those of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were confused, while Ron's were decidedly biased - and perhaps a little bloodthirsty.

"I'm afraid we don't quite understand," Mr. Weasley said, breaking the deathly silence. "Er, just why are you here, Draco?"

He hated that question. There was no tactful way to answer it. "Mainly, to keep from being killed by You-Know-Who."

"Spy for him, more like," Ron snorted.

"Hush, Ron," Ginny said firmly, much to Draco's satisfaction. "Let him speak, will you?"

"Yes, do go on," Mr. Weasley said.

Draco sighed. He was going to have to explain it again. It was becoming very tiresome. "I don't want to be a Death Eater, believe it or not - and I don't fancy being his spy, either," he added pointedly. "It's nasty business, you know, and the company's annoying at best. But when your family is loyal to the cause, you're somewhat expected to follow.

"You can't stand up to You-Know-Who, you know that, right? I mean, it's all well and good to be brave and noble, if you don't mind being dead. But if you'd rather not be, it's best to avoid a confrontation with him."

It was Ginny that spoke next, quiet from across the table. "Your father really wouldn't protect you, then?"

He thought she'd figured that out long before then. "No, he really wouldn't."

It was as though they were alone for that moment. She looked so desperately sad for him that he felt the need to go and comfort her.

"Just why should we believe you?" Ron asked, bursting their little bubble. Draco shot him an exasperated glare.

"You won't believe a word I say, no matter how good my reasons are. Unless you've got a bottle of Veritaserum up your sleeve, I guess you'll just have to wait until someone finds a way to penetrate that thick skull of yours."

"I'm not just going to sit about while you're leaking Order secrets to You-Know-Who!" Ron cried, standing.

"Now, boys, calm yourselves!" Mrs. Weasley broke in, her tone making her authority indisputable. Ron slowly sat back down, still fuming.

"Look," Draco said slowly, watching the skeptical faces of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, "it's not as though I'm really in the Order. I'm not going to hear any secrets I could leak, and I can't exactly disclose our location, now, can I? I'm not much of a risk - an annoyance, sure, but not a risk."

He saw Ginny suppress a smile before his attention was drawn back to Mr. Weasley.

"He makes a point, and there doesn't seem to be any reason to debate it anymore. It's unlikely that he's a spy, or that he'll be able to provide any substantial information to the Dark Lord if he is one...so let's just leave the boy alone and try to get used to the idea."

Well, at least they're not talking about me as though I'm not here, a sarcastic side of his brain chimed in.

"Yes, you're right, Arthur," Mrs. Weasley said, standing, "Come, Ron, Ginny, let's take our things upstairs."

They went, Ron looking thoroughly unconvinced.

"Well, glad no one made a fuss," Tonks said, rolling her eyes. "Great Kneazles, you'd think you had a huge Dark Mark on your forehead, Draco."

He gave an ironic smile (which probably looked more like a grimace) and replied, "I might as well."

~

He went back to his room, wanting to keep away from everyone. He was tired of the constant questioning. "Might have been easier to tell You-Know-Who to sod off," he muttered to himself, sitting heavily on his bed.

Looking around, he was struck with a new problem - boredom. What on Earth was he supposed to do to pass the day? Merlin, what was he to do for the rest of his time there? What had he to do?

He was debating between sleeping away the rest of the morning and brewing up something smelly to annoy the other houseguests when a knock on his door solved the dilemma.

When he opened the door, he wasn't surprised to find Ginny there, though he was finally struck with how odd she looked. He'd only ever seen her in robes before, or jeans and a sweater. He now found himself confronted with Ginny in shorts, of all things. He couldn't remember seeing so much leg in his life, come to think of it.

"Can I come in?" she asked, oblivious to his thoughts, and he nodded, stepping out of her way.

"Rather drab room they've given you," she said, glancing around. "Then again, the entire house is a bit drab. What is it with you Slytherin types and gloomy furnishings?"

Draco shrugged. "We don't do cheerful."

Ginny made herself at home, sitting on his bed. She seemed to have more freckles today; she must have spent quite some time in the sun yesterday.

"Ron will come around, eventually," she said with a sure smile. "He's stubborn, but once everyone's convinced him he's wrong, he'll give in. I imagine Hermione will be helpful with that."

"You don't doubt me at all, do you?" Draco said, hiding his amazement from his voice.

"Of course not," she said. "You're not that hard to figure out, you know. I know you think you're quite the enigma, but you only appear that way because no one cares to look past your scaly exterior -"

"I'm not scaly," he said, crossing his arms.

Ginny chuckled at him. "That was figurative, of course. You're really just pasty."

"I'm not -"

"You're pasty, Draco. But back to my point. It's easy to see that you've been dying for approval all your life, and you just finally grew up and realized you were looking for it in the wrong place."

Draco blinked. "Well, I'm glad you've figured that out, because I never did."

Ginny smiled. "I only saw it because I'm the same way. Not that I have it half as bad as you do, but...well, with Hermione and Harry and my brothers...I've never felt quite good enough."

Draco raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You? Oh, please, Weasley; everyone loves you."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Love me? Sure. But I'm not special, and I never have been. Even in first year, I was so insignificant that even your father knew Riddle could possess me and nobody would notice for a second!"

"You were chosen because you're a Weasley," Draco said, exasperated. "Your father was trying to pass some Muggle protection law, and mine was trying to screw that up for him. It was political, not personal."

Ginny shook her head. "You see everything in terms of what it will get you, don't you? You don't even think about how anything makes anybody feel."

"Where the hell did that come from?" Draco asked, glaring down at her. "I was just pointing out the truth, Weasley. My father didn't give a damn about what you were like; he only looked at your name. That doesn't mean I'm the same way."

"You really think your father didn't consider emotions? If he'd only wanted a Weasley, he could have slipped the thing to any of us, but he knew that I was the only one who would be lonely and desperate enough to write in that diary. If I didn't exist, do you think he would have given it to any of my brothers? It would have never worked."

Draco fidgeted, crossing his arms defensively. "All right, so I never looked at it that way. I guess you win."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "There you go again. Win and lose. It's all about gain. Do you even have a heart?"

He snapped. "Damnit, Weasley, what exactly is it that you want from me? Yeah, I do look at life in terms of gain. It's how I was brought up. I can't just change my way of thinking overnight."

She looked down at her hands. "I'm just...I'm just trying to show you. I didn't mean to be overly critical." She stood and took the two steps to the door. "I'm sorry I bothered you," she said before leaving him alone.

He sighed and fell onto his bed, ignoring the urge to follow her. He would have to do better - change somehow - before he lost his only ally...no, not just an ally. If he was going to think of anything in terms of feeling, it would be her, and she was more than an ally in the game he found himself playing.

Listlessly, he began to pace his small room. Tomorrow, he would fix things with her. He would begin to prove himself tomorrow - for her, if nothing else - and he would have her back, as his friend, or whatever it was that they were.

To be continued

8. Part VIII

Title: Sanctuary (8/?)

Author: Amethyst

Author E-mail: AmethystJackson@hotmail.com

Category: Drama

Sub-Category: Romance

Keywords: Draco Ginny Voldemort Dumbledore sanctuary

Spoilers: PS/SS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Sometimes, sanctuary can be found where one least expects it – the only thing keeping it out of reach is pride.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

A/N: I’m a bad, bad author. This fic ought to be complete by now. >.< Many, many apologies for the ridiculous wait, and to those of you who have been hanging in there and e-mailing me wondering when I’m going to get off my lazy bum and update, I love you. I really do.

I think, however, that since there are many of you desperate for some vicarious snogging, you’ll find it in your hearts to forgive me this time.

~

Draco found Ginny in the kitchen the morning after their quarrel, scrubbing dishes.

“Why don’t you use magic for that?” he questioned, stepping tentatively into the room.

“Because I can’t,” she said. “I’m underage.”

“I meant a general ‘you.’ Can’t someone else do it? It’s a simple wave of the wand to do dishes. Why do they have you doing them by hand?”

Ginny sighed. “My dad’s had this belief lately that it’s important to learn to do things the Muggle way…so I’m doing the dishes the Muggle way. Besides, there’s nothing to do here during the summer. Might as well pass the time this way.”

She turned her attention back to the cauldron full of soapy water, scrubbing at a bowl with a sponge. Much as doing the dishes the Muggle way didn’t appeal to him, this seemed the best place to start being the new Draco.

“Can I help?” he asked, rolling up his sleeves. Ginny straightened, frowning at him.

“You want to do dishes?”

Draco shrugged. “Like you said, there’s nothing to do here. Might as well.”

“There’s another sponge in that cabinet over there,” she said, indicating it with a nod of her head.

Five minutes later, they had progressed from scrubbing to rinsing in slightly tense silence.

“Um…Ginny, I’m…sorry. About yesterday.”

Ginny shrugged. “You were right. I was expecting too much from you.” The way she said the last suggested that it was an insult rather than an apology.

Draco sighed as he dried what had to be the hundredth plate she handed him. “Give me a break, won’t you? That was the first time I’ve apologized in my life – well, the first time I’ve done it voluntarily.”

“How touching,” she said coldly, not once looking up from the dishes she was running under the faucet.

“I am trying,” Draco said.

“Well, good luck with that.”

Draco frowned. Somehow, Ginny was turning into him.

“I don’t know what it is you want me to say, Weasley,” Draco snapped, “but evidently you haven’t realized yet that I’m trying to change for you, and for absolutely no other reason.” He paused, and the realization that he’d just said something unforgivably emotional began to sink in. He could only imagine the number of ways she could use that against him. He cleared his throat. “What I mean to say is…you might at least give me a chance.”

Ginny stared at him, speechless. It seemed as though she was on the verge of responding when they were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening, followed by two voices – Harry and Hermione.

~

Harry and Hermione, as it turned out, did not do as everyone else had. After recovering from the shock of his presence, asking what the hell he was doing there, and receiving his shortened version of the story, Harry merely took Draco into another room and had a few brief words of his own, while Hermione looked on with a knowing smirk.

“Listen, Malfoy – I’m not going to worry about whether or not I can trust you. I don’t care what side you’re on or why you’re here. The end is fast approaching – Voldemort isn’t going to be around much longer, and whether you’re being honest or not, I will not have the lives of any of my friends put in unnecessary danger. So listen well, Draco – if anything you do hurts someone I love, you will pay in kind – an eye for an eye. Do you understand me?”

“Aye-aye, cap’n,” Draco retorted, though privately, he was more than a little afraid of his long-time rival at that moment.

“Don’t mock me, Malfoy,” Harry said warningly.

“Sorry,” Draco said, repressing a smirk, “It’s a bit of a reflex.”

Harry rolled his eyes and left, setting about helping Hermione move her things in. Draco looked for Ginny after that, but she’d finished up in the kitchen and was now nowhere to be found. He went upstairs to look for her, but quickly realized that he had no idea where her room was. Unwilling to stay in the path of Harry and Hermione with their boxes or to take the risk of knocking on anyone’s door but Ginny’s, he decided to go back to his own room until lunchtime.

Draco wasn’t sure exactly what he was hoping to accomplish with Ginny, but he knew that he wanted to hear that she had forgiven him. It was something he’d never experienced before, wanting forgiveness. Indeed, Ginny had him feeling a lot of things he’d never felt before, and while he didn’t really mind feeling something for a change, he hated that he had no idea what to do about all of it.

He wanted friendship. He could admit that to himself, at least. He wanted Ginny’s friendship. And he didn’t want to be alone in a world where nobody was like him or understood him. Ginny only partially understood him, and he barely understood her, but that was better than nothing at all. If he could just figure out how to deal with a person like Ginny, things would be great…

A part of him yearned to rush out and find Ginny as quickly as possible and force her to comprehend that he was sorry, that he could be the sort of person she expected him to be.

Her words echoed quietly in his head: you've been dying for approval all your life, and you just finally grew up and realized you were looking for it in the wrong place.

Yes, she’d been right. Lucius Malfoy had definitely been the wrong person to look to for approval. And now…now he was looking for it in her. He couldn’t help wondering if she, too, was another wrong person.

But was it really worth the trouble? Was it worth the effort and the sacrifice and the damage to his pride that would be necessary to win her approval? Was she really the one whom he wanted approval from? A Weasley?

If not Ginny’s, whose approval could you possibly want? Who else in this world is worth the effort?

And in his cold, crippled, underdeveloped heart he knew, even though he would not admit it even to himself, that he was nothing more than afraid of being rejected by her, because after everything he’d been through, Ginny had turned out to be the most important person in his life…the only important person in his life…and the only person that had ever truly meant something to him.

Draco sighed, coming to a decision. He had to find her, wherever she was, and talk to her. He didn’t know what he wanted to say, but he felt that somehow, talking to her would provide an answer to his questions…whatever those were.

Full of determination and confidence, he headed into the hallway (and was incredibly relieved to find it empty). He wished desperately that he’d bothered to ask Ginny where her bedroom was. Slightly anxious, he began to explore the second floor, peeking into the rooms that were left open – none of them seemed to be Ginny’s. Some were clearly unused, some rather masculine, and he spotted one decidedly feminine one – but the sheer amount of books surrounding the bed and tables suggested that it was probably Hermione’s. How she could strew so many books across a room in so much time was something he’d always marvel at, he was sure.

Draco was about to begin knocking on one of the closed doors when her heard two voices inside – one male, and one female. He couldn’t help listening.

“I’m not sure that I feel right about him being here, Hermione.”

Harry. He’d know that voice anywhere.

“Well, neither do I, but Dumbledore seems to think he’s changed, and Ginny trusts him –“

“Ginny also trusted Tom Riddle –“

“When she was eleven, Harry. Give her some credit; she’s learned her lesson since then.”

Draco smiled. He’d been right about his plan – gaining Hermione’s trust would be the key to winning Harry’s.

He heard Harry sigh. “It’s not that I don’t want to trust him, but he’s an undeniable risk. If he at any point turns against us, he could hurt somebody –“

“I don’t think he would be that stupid, Harry. Alone, surrounded by well-trained wizards who have most definitely studied more defense than he has? No…if he’s a spy, his only purpose is to supply information until the final battle.”

There was a pause. “And what if that information turns out to be the thing that gets one of us killed?”

Another pause. “Harry…he won’t be allowed in any of the meetings. There will be guards making sure nobody’s listening in, and with the checks we do before every meeting, we would certainly spot him before he could learn anything.” Draco heard another sigh. “It’s going to be all right, Harry. Stop worrying so much about our safety and worry a little more about winning the war. You know most of us are just going to go and do stupid things to protect you anyway.” He could hear the smile on her face.

“You’d better not. You know I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you during the last battle.”

Draco raised an eyebrow. So Harry and Hermione were more than they presented to the world…

“Harry, that goes both ways. You can’t protect me from this – I’ve already got too much invested in it. If I live, and you don’t…there’s nothing left for me to live for.”

Much more indeed. If Draco could convince Hermione to trust him, Harry would most definitely follow…

“And you think my life’s worth anything without you in it?”

Draco heard the creak of a mattress as one of the two – or perhaps both – shifted.

“I think there’s only one good solution. We’ll both have to live.”

A good deal of creaking followed this statement, and Draco thought it best to move away from the door before he heard anything that could potentially nauseate him.

He set off to find Ginny with renewed vigor. After exploring most of the second floor, he crept down to the first and found her alone (luckily) in the drawing room.

Ginny looked up as he walked in, a telltale creak of a floorboard giving away his presence, and she set down the book she was reading.

Draco opened his mouth to speak, but Ginny cut him off.

“Before you say anything, I want to finish our conversation from this morning,” she said in a very practiced way that made him think she’d been rehearsing this speech instead of reading. “I’m genuinely sorry, Draco, for demanding so much of you. I just…I look at you and sometimes I see the person you could be instead of the person you are, and – don’t look at me like that – I keep forgetting that who you are is your choice, not mine.”

She took a breath and looked away from him before continuing, “I care about you, Draco, no matter who you are, and I don’t want you to feel as though you have to change yourself for me. I’d just like to know that you’re capable of caring about me as well.”

“I do care about you.” Oh, why had he come right out and said that? Emotional outbursts…he was turning into such a Gryffindor.

Ginny very nearly did a double take. “You what?”

“I do care about you,” Draco huffed. “Isn’t that what you wanted to hear?”

He could almost see the girl’s temper flaring as she stood, coming to stand dangerously close to him. “I don’t want you to say it just because I want to hear it! I want you to say it because you mean it, damnit!”

Draco scowled. “I do mean it. I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t. I didn’t even intend to say it just then, but it slipped out, because somehow, when I’m with you, my mouth completely ignores my brain.”

Ginny swallowed, and the delicate movements of her throat were somehow fascinating. She wasn’t a ravishing beauty, but there was something captivating about the way her fiery hair fell in curls against her pale – almost porcelain – skin.

“You – you honestly care about me?”

“Of course I do. I – oh, I do hate talking about my feelings. But….you’re the first real friend I’ve had in my entire life. I dare say you’re one of the only people I’ve ever really cared about.”

“Oh,” she said, looking oddly disappointed. “It’s – it’s all platonic, then.”

Draco eyed her carefully. So she didn’t want it to remain platonic, then. Well, he didn’t fancy leaving the first great thing he’d found in life to chance, but if she had that sad look on her face every time she saw him, their friendship was doomed. It looked as though he had no choice now.

Perhaps it would be worth it, Draco mused as he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to her full, soft, pink ones. Worth it, indeed.

As he pulled away, he barely had a second to memorize the happily stunned look on Ginny’s face before the last voice he wanted to hear at that moment (or any moment) interrupted it.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Malfoy?”

Weasley.

To be continued

9. Part IX

Title: Sanctuary (9/?)

Author: Amethyst

Author E-mail: AmethystJackson@hotmail.com

Category: Drama

Sub-Category: Romance

Keywords: Draco Ginny Voldemort Dumbledore sanctuary

Spoilers: PS/SS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Sometimes, sanctuary can be found where one least expects it – the only thing keeping it out of reach is pride.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

A/N: Wow, I honestly hadn’t realized it’d been over a year since I updated this. It…kind of only felt like a few months, actually. I guess time flies when you’re having a life. Stupid decision on my part, that life thing. Destroying my muses, I say.

Sanctuary IX

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Malfoy?”

“Nice to see you, too, Weasley,” Draco said, somehow managing to hide just how completely exasperated he was.

Ron glared and pulled his wand on him. “Get away from my sister, or I swear to Merlin, I’ll –“

“You’ll what, make yourself burp slugs?” he drawled, rather bored with the typical Gryffindor showdown and eager to return to what he’d been doing with Ginny.

“I’ll have you know, my wand was broken then,” Ron said, eyes narrowed, “And –“

“And nothing,” Ginny cut in. “Honestly, Ron, I know you have that whole big brother complex, but you’ve got to let it go. I’m quite old enough to decide whom I’ll be kissing, thanks.”

“But Ginny, he’s a Malfoy,” Ron said desperately. “Have you forgotten what his father did you to first year? What he’s –” Ron gestured to Draco with his wand – “done to all of us over the years? He can’t be trusted!”

“Well, I do trust him,” Ginny said softly. “I believe he’s changed.”

Her hand was grasping his tightly, and though he wasn’t really afraid of Ron – it really was difficult, after the slug incident – he was glad to know she was firm in her belief in him. He’d never had that before.

Ron lowered his wand but shook his head, as if to himself. “Fine. You won’t listen to me, I know. I’ll just have to tell Mum and Dad. Maybe they’ll be able to talk some sense into you.”

Ginny sighed. “Well, go on, then. I’ll wait to hear it from them.”

Ron turned and left, his footsteps clattering down the stairs to the kitchen, presumably in search of Mrs. Weasley. Draco looked to Ginny, suddenly unsure.

“Look, if being with me is going to cause you trouble, maybe –”

“No, Draco,” Ginny cut in. “We’ve come this far, haven’t we? I won’t give up on you now. They have to accept you eventually, and maybe this will help speed it along.”

Draco arched an eyebrow. “Or it’ll fuel their desire to put me on a one-way portkey to You-Know-Who’s lair.”

Ginny chuckled. “They may want to, but they won’t. Dumbledore is on your side, and eventually the rest will follow. I mean, they came around with Snape, didn’t they? Sure, most of us feel nothing but seething hatred for him, but we accept he’s on the good side.”

“Thanks, Gin. That’s very comforting,” Draco said dryly.

She grinned. “Anytime. Now, you should head upstairs. Lay low for awhile.”

Draco nodded. “I’ll see you later?”

“Tonight, after everyone’s gone to bed.” She stretched upward and pressed her lips to his once more, and he fought off the desire to pull her closer.

“Now go,” she murmured, stepping away. “I’ll clean this up.”

~

The summer before Ginny was due to go to Hogwarts, her mother had taken her aside and given her the talk. After that day, Ginny had assumed – as well as hoped and prayed – that she would never have such a talk with her mother again.

Well…everyone knows what they say about assumptions.

As Ginny now sat across from her mother in the drawing room, she thought she’d die of embarrassment.

“…Now, Ginny, I, too, found myself attracted to a Slytherin or two in my day…why, Lucius Malfoy himself was quite the looker – still is, really – but I realized he could never be the kind of man every good, decent girl needs – a man like your father. I can understand how you could confuse that attraction with genuine affection, but I really think you ought to consider a nice, reputable boy instead…like Harry, perhaps. Or even Dean; he sounded like a sweet boy.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Mum, you know I don’t feel that way about Harry anymore, or Dean, for that matter, and I didn’t befriend Draco because I was attracted to him. Honestly, I’m not some silly thirteen year old. I know the difference by now.”

Her mother frowned. “But Ginny, dear, he’s a Malfoy. He can’t be trusted!”

Ginny had certainly had her disputes with her mother, but she’d never wanted to throttle her quite like this before.

“Have you missed the whole point of why he’s here, Mum?” Ginny cried. “Dumbledore thinks he can be trusted, and what Dumbledore’s decided has always been good enough for you before. Besides, I know him…maybe better than anyone does, and I trust him…and I care about him, and nothing you can say will convince me to stay away from him!”

Having said her piece, her raging temper drove her to storm out of the room. Her mother yelled after her (“Ginevra Molly Weasley, don’t you dare take that tone with me! Get back here this instant!”), but Ginny ignored the screams and charged upstairs. She was headed, without every consciously deciding it, toward Draco’s room, but before she could get there, Hermione intercepted her.

“Um…Ginny, might I have a word?” Hermione said tentatively. She looked nervous, and wisely so, Ginny thought. She was in no mood to have Hermione try to talk her out of her feelings as well.

“Look, Hermione, if you don’t mind, I’d really just rather –“

“Please, this is really important,” Hermione insisted, taking her by the arm and steering her back to the room Ginny and Hermione shared. Sighing, the redhead resigned herself to her fate and allowed Hermione to lead her away.

Once in the confines of the bedroom, Ginny made herself comfortable on her bed and raised her eyebrows at Hermione waiting for her to speak. Hermione wrung her hands nervously, paced back and forth a couple times, and finally opened her mouth to speak.

“Ron told Harry and I about you and Malfoy,” she started bluntly. “I just hope you know what the ramifications of your actions could be.”

Ginny scowled. “Ramifications? What are you implying, Hermione?”

“I’m not saying he can’t be trusted, not for sure,” Hermione sad hastily. “I certainly would like to believe the best in him, Ginny, but I don’t want to underestimate him, either. If he’s a better actor than you think, it would be a major risk to let him get too close – not just to you, but to all of us…Harry especially.”

Hermione took a deep breath and continued, “If this were any other time and place, I’d leave it alone, Ginny. I know you’re a big girl and I’d be worried about you, but I’d let you do as you pleased. But we’re at war, and we both know that in the end, it’s going to come down to Harry and Voldemort.” Ginny flinched involuntarily. “If something happens to him as a result of your relationship with Draco, I don’t know if I’ll be able to forgive you. I just…need you to understand that.”

Ginny swallowed. She trusted Draco completely and had no doubt that his intentions were pure, but Hermione’s wrath was a scary thing, nevertheless. That didn’t stop Ginny from exploring a bit of curiosity, though.

“You’re in love with Harry, aren’t you?”

Hermione reddened and sat down heavily on her bed. “We’ve been together for three months now,” she said softly. “He insists we keep it a secret. I…I can’t lose him, not now. He’s it for me – it’s only been a short time, but I know it. I need him to live through this.”

Ginny felt her heart going out to the girl before her. She wasn’t sure if she loved Draco, but she did know how hard it was to care for someone who had reason to fear for their life. That knowledge was a strain on her heart, and Draco might come out of the war without a scratch. Harry, on the other hand, had a destiny. Damage was…inevitable.

“Hermione…” she started tentatively, “Harry’s like a brother to me. If I thought Draco might betray us, I’d be the first to push him out the door. But…he talks to me, Hermione. He’s told me about his father and the thing’s he’s done to him…what You-Know-Who expects of his followers…it’s terrible, and you can tell when you listen to him that he doesn’t want that life. And he’s helped us! He’s given us information that’s helped us capture several major Death Eaters. We can trust him. I promise.”

Hermione nodded, smiling faintly. “I guess I’m not the only one who’s in love, am I?”

Ginny shrugged, but couldn’t help a blush. “I’m not entirely sure. He’s…he’s special, though. I believe in him.”

“Well,” Hermione sighed, leaning back on her bed, “Let’s have the juicy details, then. How was that kiss Ron interrupted?”

Ginny grinned. “Phenomenal.”

~

Much later that evening, Ginny finally made her way surreptitiously to Draco’s bedroom. She found him wide awake and fully clothed, sitting up against his headboard, legs stretched out in front of him. She took a moment to admire his long, lean frame – not unlike Harry, in that respect, but where Harry appeared underfed, Draco carried it well. Something in his fair hair and skin, his strong jaw, his hollowed cheeks, his otherwise delicate features, made him look like a gaunt angel…a fallen angel…and a handsome one, at that.

The corner of his mouth quirked up in something halfway between a smile and a smirk. She supposed he’d never break the habit.

“So, any heart attacks in the family today?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

“Well, I had a terrible row with Mum, who’s ceased speaking with me; Fred and George are plotting your abject humiliation as we speak; I think Ron’s gone off to kill himself, actually, because I haven’t seen him since this morning; and Dad has yet to voice his opinion. Oh, and Hermione threatened horrible things, should our relationship end up harming one hair on Harry’s head. But other than that, all went well.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “I always knew Granger would become Potter’s lapdog one day.”

“Draco, be nice!” Ginny admonished. “But how did you know about them, anyway?”

“Overheard her fretting over him when I was looking for you yesterday. Quite the sickening couple, if you ask me.”

“Well, I think you ought to make an effort to be nice to them,” Ginny said. “After the threatening bit, Hermione and I had a good talk. I think she might have come around to our side, actually.”

“Good to hear.” Draco grabbed her by the hand and drew her onto the bed next to him. “Still want to be with me, then?”

Ginny smiled. “For some reason, yes, I do.”

“You sure know how to make a bloke feel loved,” he remarked with his trademark smirk.

“Actually,” she whispered with as seductive a purr as she could manage, “I really do.”

Draco’s smirk stayed on, his expression only changing with the quirk of an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

“Mmmhmm,” she hummed as she climbed into his lap. No sense beating around the bush. Slowly, she descended her lips to his, and let everything else slip right out of her mind.

To Be Continued (hopefully much more quickly)