Chapter 5: Thank you sir, may I have another?
Disclaimer: Me no own, you no sue.
A/N: I am truly sorry for the length of time it took to get this out. My life was a huge mess and the writers block finally fell of my head. (Those big blocks really hurt, ya' know?) Well, I have finally got past all that. I've got tons of free time in Biology, Sociology and such, so here it is; the long awaited Chapter 5. My beta Kari, told me that this chapter was well worth the wait. I put in some sleepy fluff, and Snape makes an irritable entrance. This chapter is also devoted to my Kari (Karl Cheeseburger). And a thank you to my pal Jessie for beta-ing for me.
"I've figure it out you know. Not all of it, but the important bit."
The red head buried her head deeper in the nest of her bed, "Good job 'Mione."
"Ginny will you wake up and talk to me?" Hermione started to jab a finger into what she thought was the younger girl's ribs.
Ginny rolled over and opened an eye to look at her. "So what's wrong?"
"I've figured out one of your little secrets. I saw you last night." Out came the look that rivaled Professor McGonagall.
Ginny closed her eye and snuggled in the bed, "Lots of people saw me. There was a party."
But only I saw you change into a fox and fly out the window. Why didn't you tell us Ginny?"
Ginny flopped onto her back, keeping the blankets tucked under her chin. "I suppose that it was nice to do something you three couldn't do. You guys are always doing stuff without me, so I wanted to do something without you for a change. This makes me special."
"We never mean to leave you out. It's mostly Harry that tries to do stuff without anyone. He doesn't want anyone her cares about to get hurt. He tries to shoulder the world by himself." Hermione gave a warm smile.
"Oh please. Harry's a self absorbed twit. He's so used to being alone with himself he thinks he's the only person that matters. He's so worried that Voldemort's out to get him that he doesn't notice until last minute that someone else is in trouble." Ginny harrumphed then turned over no to look at her.
Hermione gaped at her, "I…I…I suppose your right. Well, not in those harsh words, but the basic gist." The two girls were silent for a bit. "So do you want to tell me any of the others things I haven't figured out yet?
"Not in particular." Ginny though about the collar and turned to face her. "Did you actually figure anything out, or was it just that you saw me transform?"
Hermione turned read and looked at the bedspread. "I just saw you transformed, she looked up at Ginny, "I would have figured it out from there."
Ginny smirked. "Well, maybe, but probably not. I'll tell you, but utter a syllable to anyone else and I'll memory charm you back to a muggle. You get my drift?"
She nodded and held up her wand. "I swear on my honour as a Gryffindor."
"All right, good enough." She sat up in bed. The covering slipped from her body like an elegant unveiling. The collar sat upon her shoulders as untouched and perfect as when he put it on three months ago. The black tank top framed the green tag on her pale freckled skin. Ginny met Hermione's eyes. "It won't come off."
"Ginny are those…?"
"Yes they are real diamonds."
"Who?" Hermione put a hand up to touch them, but held back and kept her hand in mid air.
Ginny mumbled her answer. Hermione gave her the McGonagall stare again and so Ginny closed her eye, grit her teeth and let it out. "Malfoy, I'm his pet."
"Are you mad? No, seriously, have you gone completely nutters? There is a lovely bed next to Lockhart we can get you."
"Hermione…" Ginny's eyes grew wet. She had never had Hermione scold her before.
"Ginny will you think! What if he finds out? You'll be killed. You have to get that off. You have to stop seeing him."
Ginny grabbed Hermione's wildly expressive hands. "Hermione, take a breath. I've thought about this. I can't take the collar off, only he can. I can't stop seeing him; he'll just 'accio' me. I think I just have to wait it out for the end of the school year."
"But…but...." Hermione whimpered. "Oh Gin, you can't leave it for that long. He might try to do something before the end of the school year."
"Hermione, I'm his pet. He hasn't figured it out yet. I doubt he is the least bit suspicious. Plus, he's not as bad as he makes himself out to be."
"You fancy him!" Hermione put her hand to her mouth to suppress a giggle.
Ginny's face reddened. "No, I've jut come to understand him. He tells me things, things he wouldn't normally say aloud to anyone. I just…I don't know." Ginny looked right at Hermione. "So, not a peep? I don't have to take a page out of your book and charm up a contract, do I?" Ginny's eyes hardened and sent a chill up Hermione's spine.
"I swear to you, not a peep." Hermione stood up and crossed the room to leave, "If it helps, I'll try and research some way to get the collar off."
The best thing to keep Hermione out of your hair was to get her to do research. "That would be helpful. Thanks." Ginny curled back up in her bed as she heard the door click shut.
* * *
The next few weeks passed by easily, Ginny continued to show up at the pitch in her animagus form. Draco continued to talk about what was on his mind with his sweet, little Vullie.
In mid April there was a Hogsmeade weekend. She was wandering around trying to find a late birthday present for the twins, when Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, landed on her shoulder. "Hullo Fawkes." The warm from his body comforted her body. She looked around and dodged into an alleyway where he dropped a letter for her and flew off. She stared at the seemingly harmless note lying on the ground in front of her. She hesitantly picked the letter up and read it. 'Please come to my office.' Ginny automatically felt that familiar sickening tug from her ribcage.
The portkey letter fell from her hand as she landed in the Headmaster's office. She met the sparkling blue and pitch black of two professors as she turned. "Glad you could join us Miss Weasley. Please, take a seat." Ginny sat in a nearby chair and stared dumfounded at Dumbledore and Snape. "I would like to first ask you if there is anything you would like to tell me?"
Ginny shook her head, "Not that I can think of sir."
"Well, Miss Weasley I would first like to say that I know about you new ability and I commend you for your skill in transfiguration. I also appreciate you not registering. To cut to the chase, I would like you to join the Order."
Shaking her shock off, Ginny croaked out one word, "Why?"
Snape rolled his eyes and Dumbledore smiled, "I don't really have to remind you of your own talents, do I?" He chuckled at her vacant face. "Well you are the first student in over 30 years to become and animagus while attending school. You are right behind Mr. Potter in you Defense against the Dark Arts skills. You're a parselmouth. You have faced Death Eaters and Tom Riddle, and you have managed to befriend young Mr. Malfoy."
"I'm not friends with Malfoy" she growled.
"Have it your way, but you have gotten close to him, and that's what we particularly see as an asset."
"You want to use me to use him." Her ears started to grow red.
The potions master snapped at her, "Miss Weasley, you're being a spoilt brat. We need you to help the Order by becoming a link into the Death Eaters. It's not a personal thing. War isn't personal, you must think of the bigger picture."
Ginny pouted and turned her head to the side, trying to hide her tears. "Severus, please calm down. Ginny, I've deliberated this to myself for months now. Unfortunately I've found no other way than for you to infiltrate Malfoy Manor. We need to have a confidant in the household. There is mistrust in Professor Snape among Voldemort's cohorts. We need a fresh angle."
Ginny took a deep breath and sighed, she paused to think a moment then looked back at Dumbledore. "I suppose that I have no choice."
"You always have a choice Miss Weasley."
"Not when you tell me that I am essential in stopping Voldemort, who probably wants to destroy everything I know and love. When you give me a choice of me or the world, you don't really give me a choice." She crossed her arms over her chest.
His eyes twinkled again, "Now you're seeing the big picture. So, you have two things on your plate for the rest of the school year. Firstly, you will get Mr. Malfoy to take you home when he leaves school. Secondly, you will now be under Professor Snape's private tutelage until you leave. He is going to prepare you for your mission."
Ginny's mouth fell open as Snape sneered at her, "Yes, Headmaster."
"Please remember Miss Weasley that no one, besides the three of us, is to know anything about this."
"Headmaster?"
"Yes, Miss Weasley?"
Ginny looked down at her fumbling fingers, "Then I have two problems." Both men looked at her confused. "Well, Hermione knows that I am an animagus."
After a moment Snape grew restless, "And the second?"
Ginny untied the silk scarf around her neck to show them her collar.
"Why, Miss Weasley, what a lovely piece of jewelry." The old wizard smiled cheerfully.
Ginny scoffed, "That's not what I meant. I can't take the collar off. Malfoy put it on. All the Slytherins have seen it on the fox, so if they see it on me, they'll know. I haven't been able to do anything with it."
"Well then you'll just have to be careful." Ginny looked into the familiar blue eyes of the aged wizard. He seemed to know everything. Those eyes seemed as clear and deep as the ocean, holding just as many secrets.
Ginny suddenly felt ashamed, she didn't know exactly why. Maybe it was just that her parents always told her not to talk back, or it could be Snape eyeing her down. "Yes headmaster. I understand. When should I start with Professor Snape?"
"He will work that out with you personally. If you wish to return to Hogsmeade, than you only need to pick up the letter."
Ginny stood up, reapplied the scarf around her collar. "No thank you sir. I think I'll walk around the grounds for a bit." She wandered out of the office.
"Sir…"
"I know Severus. She is still only a child, but she's strong enough. With proper training she'll be a force to reckon with." The Headmaster gave him that look, the one look that commanded respect, but made you want to hit him for being a smart ass. "Please don't make this a repeat of Mr. Potter's Occulmency lessons."
Snape gritted his teeth and nodded, "Yes, Sir." With a fury of black robes, he was gone. Dumbledore smiled cheerfully and started sucking on a sherbet lemon.
* * *
Ginny wandered out to the grounds to think, she barely even realized that she transformed. Vullie wandered down to the pitch where she laid down and started to nap.
Draco was flying over the pitch when she saw the red spot on the pitch. He smirked gently and landed softly next to her. He picked her up and cuddled her into his chest. "Do you want to fly with me love?" She purred as only she could and rubbed against him. He cradled her tightly, mounted his broom and took off. Draco thought it was odd that she was so calm, but he learned long ago that his little Vullie was anything but normal. She picked her head up into the wind, feeling the sharp chill through her fur. She loved to fly. This was a new sensation, being held and flying.
After a couple minutes of gentle flying, they landed and collapsed onto the soft warm grass. Draco sprawled out and Vullie crawled onto his stomach and curled up into a ball. She watched his breathing even out and sleep. Thoughts tramped though her mind, could she really betray him like that? Could she use him as a tool? Could she possibly turn him into the ministry? She shook her head gently. It wasn't his fault; he wasn't given a choice for anything that happened to him. She felt like screaming, no one ever gave them a choice, either of them. He wasn't given a choice to become a Death Eater. She wasn't given a choice to become a spy in the Order.
She stood up. She was going to give him a choice. It might mess everything up, but for one decision they were going to have a choice. She slinked up his body and sat on his chest, putting her front paws on his eyelids. She changed back to her human form with her hands clasped over his eyes, straddling his chest. She leaned forward and whispered into his ear, "Draco?"
"Hmmm?" He wasn't completely out of his doze; still lightly asleep enough not to realize what was going on.
"Draco, it's me. I want to give you a choice. Please remember that this is what you want. Do you want me to go home with you this summer?"
"Vullie?"
"Yes, it's me, Vullie. Do you want me?"
"Your mine, I'll protect you no matter what."
Ginny smiled, "So you're going to take me home this summer?"
"Yes love. I'll take you home." He raised his arms and started petting her hair.
She savoured his touch on his touch on her hair, not fur, hair. She smiled sadly, took out her want and changed back into his sweet, innocent Vullie. She curled up on his chest, her head over his heart, and napped with him.
As the sun started to set, the evening chill prevailed against Draco's thin robe. He woke up and looked at the red ball of fur on his chest. He smirked, thinking back on the odd dream of Vullie talking to him. He shook his head, 'It's just because she seems more human than animal.' He started to pet her and she tried to snuggle into him more. He chuckled softly, "Come on love, time to get up." She opened one eye and seemed to glare at him. "If you wake up, I'll tell you something nice." He finally seemed to coax her awake and she thumped her tail. "Do you want to come live with me after school?"
Vullie yipped in response and licked his hand. "Suppose that's a yes then?" She stood up and rubbed against his cheek. It surprised her the most when she licked his cheek.
Draco held her to his chest and stood up. He called his boom to his hand and with her, walked up to the school. "If you are coming home with me, than I suppose we should get you used to living indoors." Vullie wagged her tail, until she got to the front doors of the castle. Once she realized that he meant to bring her down to the Slytherin dormitory she struggled and jumped out of his arms.
He looked at her, confused, she was crouched to the ground shaking. "All right, step by step then. We have time." He stepped though the doors, "I'll see you later, go have fun now." He watched until she wandered off.
Ginny changed back and sat against the walls. She got him to take her home, but it wasn't until he tried to take her into the castle did she realize what that meant. He was going to take her into a den of Death Eaters. She, as a fox, would have no way to defend herself, besides the collar. She would have to toughen up. She really needed to buff up. She needed Snape. She groaned at that thought.
The Potions Master was exacting. He could be a bit unfair at times, but he needed to be a perfectionist. With a potion, one tiny mistake and you could kill everyone in the classroom. She understood, but she didn't like it. He tortured everyone but his own. She made her potions with perfection, yet he still felt it necessary to berate her.
She pulled herself up, checked her scarf and trudged her way into the castle. She forcefully made her way down to the dungeons. She hesitantly knocked on Snape's office door and waited, holding her head down. The heavy door opened and the furious stare of the Professor seemed to look through her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the office. He threw a locking and silencing charm on his office, then moved her to a chair and sat on the corner of his desk, looking down at her.
After several moments of silence, Snape stood up and paced around the room. "Miss Weasley, if you've nothing to say. Than I suggest you continue your lethargy up in your own common room with the likes of you Gryffindors."
She turned her head away from him. She kept her eyes closed; she didn't want to see his reaction. "I'm scared. I didn't realize what I had gotten myself into."
"Exactly" he spat, "you didn't think of looking before you leapt. How very Gryffindor of you." He fumed and paced a few moments longer. He paused and his expression softened. "He didn't give you much of a choice though, the old coot never does." He saw the glisten of a tear on her cheek. "Miss Weasley, stop simpering, he did the same to me." She turned to look at him, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Yes, he got me too. The man likes to manipulate all of us in his little game. Once he gets you, he'll turn you into his ideal pawn." He sighed and sat down at his desk. "If you don't completely muck up, what I teach you will keep you alive and safe. We are going to meet down here every night after curfew." She opened her mouth to protest. "Miss Weasley, if you can't manage to sneak yourself down here without getting caught, then there is no hope for you."
"I understand Professor." She looked down at her fumbling hands.
He groaned, "What Weasley? What?"
"Malfoy tried to take me down to the dormitory with him. What should I do, he's trying to get me used to being indoors. I'm going to eventually have to get stuck down there. I just don't know what to do."
"Miss Weasley, please restrain yourself. You can't be hysterical in a situation like this. You will have to stay with him. But you need to learn to think on your feet." He looked directly at her. "I will offer you no help with this. You have to figure it out on your own. No one will be there this summer to baby-sit you. Do you understand me?"
"Yes sir."
"Now, you will leave her and come back at 10pm sharp. I don't want you here earlier or later. Get out of my office."
Ginny hardened herself and walked out of his office with her head held high. She kept her cool as she walked up to the library to do some research on various things. She pulled out books on curses, defense against the dark arts and animagi. Ginny found a quiet corner in the History of Magic section and started to prepare herself. She had no idea what was coming, so she would try to absorb everything she could in the little time she had.
Later that night, Ginny slipped out of Gryffindor tower. Getting out of the common room took longer than she though it should have taken, but she could still manage to get down to Snape's office in time. As she closed the portrait door, she pulled her wand out eHand changed her form. It was easier to sneak around when she was smaller. She managed to get down to the dungeons with one minute to spare and quietly changed back to human. The second hand on her wrist watch ticked too slowly in her mind as she watched and waited for ten o'clock to strike. She silenced the squeaking door and opened it a crack. She slipped through and felt something change. Snape smiled cruelly from behind his desk. She glared at him. "It's ten precisely. What's your deal?" She picked up her wrist to check her watch and saw that he had turned her skin green. She groaned and rolled her eyes. "A twisted sense of house pride I suppose."
"You never know what nasty little surprise is waiting around that door. This is harmless; it could have been something much, much worse. You are going to have to figure someway out of this one yourself, because you never know what could be there." He stood up and rounded the desk. "This will wear off once you go to sleep tonight, but please let it be a lesson."
Ginny mumbled something rude, but looked at Snape defiantly. She noticed the shimmering bowl sitting on his desk.
"First things first, we will start off with Occlumency. You need to be able to protect your mind if you are caught. Your mind can be the most powerful weapon against yourself."
And so the first lesson began. Sometimes there was a charm on the door and sometimes there wasn't. The level of defense was far beyond anything taught in a classroom. Ginny was a quick and studios learner. She soaked everything up. As much as Snape hated to admit it, she was an excellent student. She took everything seriously, even as much as he tried to scare her. He kept trying to raise the bar, push her farther and farther. He has her life in his hands. If she was killed, it would be more innocent blood on his hands. Knowing this fact, he might have to teach her to kill. If it came to a kill or be killed situation, she would have to know how to end that other person's life, and he didn't know if her would be able to teach that to an innocent sixteen year old girl. The night her realized this, he drank himself into a stupor.
Another damn A/N: I've almost finished writing the next chapter, so that should be up after my spring break. The next chapter is bringing Quidditch finals, Ginny in the Slytherin common room, secret passages, and the end of the school year.