Synopsis: Ginny Weasley is in Azkaban sentenced to die after Lord Voldemort's defeat of the Boy-Who-Lived. To save her life, she agrees to marry Draco Malfoy.
Disclaimer: Harry and the gang are the property of J.K. Rowling. A few minor characters (Scrubs, Elysia, and other Malfoys), as well as the history of the Malfoy family, belong to me. Don't steal my peeps!
AN: What a lovely "welcome back"!! I received such wonderful reviews from everyone. ::does the raptor dance:: I am glad you all enjoyed it, and hope you will enjoy this chapter even more =P I am going to try and commit myself to updating once a month. Not that this will actually happen…but it is my goal. The large gap between updates is due to summer classes and because I will be starting my Masters degree in the fall. It is sure to be a lot of work, and I doubt I will have much time for typing >.< I hope you all will stay interested in this story despite the time it take to update.
Many thanx to Book-Master for serving as a temporary beta. I am still looking for a beta reader for this story!!! If anyone is interested, please let me know…
Chapter XIII: Secrets?
~*~
Secrets are made to be found out with time. ~ Charles Sanford
~*~
"Ginny? Ginny! Can you hear me?"
The sound of a familiar voice penetrated her mind, drawing her out of unconsciousness. Ginny moaned softly and struggled to open her eyes. She had fainted. Why? What had happened? She couldn't quite remember. She remembered opening the portrait and walking through. She had come around the corner and Draco had been there. Draco and…
"Harry!" she said softly.
"I think she's waking up." A woman's voice said.
"Ginny! Can you open your eyes?"
She tried and succeeded. A pair of beautiful green eyes stared back at her from behind worn glasses.
"Harry?"
The owner of the green eyes grinned. "That's my name."
"Oh, gods!" Ginny sat up slowly and threw her arms around him. "I thought you were dead!" she was on the verge of tears. Justin and Terry…they said that you died!" She began to cry, and a few tears landed on the front of his shirt.
Harry held her and rocked her softly as she cried. "Everything will be fine Ginny, I promise."
Draco, who had watched the entire exchange, uncrossed his arms and came toward them. "Just remember that she is my wife Potter. I won't have you taking advantage of her when she is in this state."
"Oh ha-ha, very funny, Malfoy." Harry winked at him and helped Ginny to her feet. "I'm not trying to take her away from you, although I could if I wanted to."
"Well…at least she isn't dead," Came the woman's voice again.
It was then that Ginny saw the portrait. It was of a young, blond woman in a flower garden. Not a female visitor after all. Ginny scowled at Harry's last comment. "Stop talking about me as if I'm not in the room, Potter. I'm not fifteen years old anymore. The handsome hero act doesn't work on me."
Harry shrugged and smiled at her. "It was worth a try."
"Well, now that I'm awake and everyone appears to be in a good mood, would someone mind telling me what exactly is going on?"
The two men looked at each other, but neither spoke.
"Well? Do I have to beat it out of you?"
"Kin-ky." Harry wiggled his eyebrows. "Malfoy, you are a lucky man."
"Shut up, Potter." Draco sighed, and turned to his wife. "It is all very simple." He said, dryly. "I am a spy for the Resistance-I have been ever since seventh year."
"Dumbledore insisted that it be kept secret." Harry explained. "I didn't even know he was on our side until right before the final battle. Aberforth knew that there might be spies in the Order, and he wanted Malfoy here to remain secure, even if Voldemort won."
Ginny turned to Draco hands on her hips. She looked, Harry thought, very much like her mother, Molly, in that moment. "So, this whole time you let me believe you were planning all kinds of hideous things for Lord Voldemort, when all along you were working for the Order?"
"That's my fault." Harry said. "I told Malfoy it would be better that way. There was no need to get you involved. Also…" he cleared his throat. "I wasn't sure whether or not you would switch sides once you got out of Azkaban. So many others gave in that I couldn't be sure that you wouldn't do the same."
"Harry James Potter! I lost my entire family to Lord Voldemort. How could you believe even for a minute that I would join him? Draco, you should have told me."
"He did what he thought was right." Harry insisted. "It wasn't just my life he was protecting; it was the lives of everyone in the Order."
"How many survivors are there?" Ginny asked.
"About two dozen give or take a few." Draco supplied. "Some from our Hogwarts days, and others not. Gabrielle Delaceur joined shortly before the final battle. We have one or two other former students from Beauxbatons. Lupin is still around, and so is Snape. He was the one who convinced Dumbledore to take me into the Order."
"It was the best decision we ever made." Harry said. "Malfoy has been keeping us informed about everything that has been happening at the palace. A few months ago he gave us the heads-up on a transport of potion ingredients. We managed to get bezoars, wolfesbane, and several crucial ingredients we needed to make Veritaserum. It is because of him that we also prevented ourselves from walking into a trap that had been set for us. Without his help, several of our key members would have been captured and would now be in the hands of the Death Eaters."
"I see. But Harry…that doesn't explain why you are still alive. Voldemort's defeat of you was broadcast everywhere. We even heard about it in Azkaban. Are you telling me it was all a lie?"
"I was not the one Voldemort killed-obviously, since I am standing here talking to you." Harry said. "The body that was found and identified as mine was Nymphadora Tonks. Her being a Metamorphagis proved to be one of our greatest advantages. She had been practicing for months, trying to change into other members of the Order. She could successfully morph into Dumbledore, Snape…and me. The change was so complete that even Hermione couldn't tell the two of us apart. Toward the end of that final battle, Tonks morphed into me, and both Kingsley and Aberforth Polyjuiced themselves to look like me. We hoped that multiple Harry Potters would distract Voldemort long enough for me to be able to kill him." He sighed, heavily. "Unfortunately, the plan failed. Kingsley and Tonks both died for nothing. When it became evident that we were going to lose, Aberforth ordered the retreat. The next day, we heard that The-Boy-Who-Lived had been killed in battle."
"Thankfully, they never discovered the truth." Draco added. "When we searched the bodies after the battle, we found Shaklebolt's body. The Polyjuice had worn off by that point, so he was himself again. Then…we found what I believed at the time, to be Potter's body. It looked just like him, and I was convinced he had been killed."
"Quite a shock to you wasn't I, when you showed up at the meeting point, eh, Malfoy?" Harry's smile was grim. "I thought you were going to faint."
Malfoy ignored him. "When I saw Potter standing there, I realized that the body had to belong to Tonks. Severus was the one who explained to us why she didn't change back after she was killed. He said it must have been connected to her being a Metamorphagis. Whatever shape she had taken on last in life was the shape she retained in death."
"Lupin must have been devastated." Ginny said, wiping away tears.
"He still misses her," Harry said sadly, "but he has put most of his energy into raising their son, Caelum."
"What have you been doing since the Day of Retribution?"
"Biding our time." Harry's eyes blazed. "Waiting for the day when I can kill Voldemort. I want to kill him slowly. It's what he deserves after what he did to my parents, and…Hermione, and to the rest of the Wizarding World."
"You know then about Hermione…Harry, I am so sorry."
"Malfoy came and told me after…after it happened. He brought her ashes with him. I buried her next to my parents."
"We shared a cell in Azkaban until they…took her away." Ginny took the chain with her family's rings from around her neck and removed Hermione's wedding ring. "She gave it to me before she died. If she had known you were alive, I'm sure she would have asked me to give it back to you."
Harry shook his head. "Please, just keep it. Out lives are so uncertain. I could be dead tomorrow, and then it would be gone. Keep it for me until all of this is over."
"I hate to interrupt," Draco drawled, "but the sun will be coming up shortly, and Potter needs to get back to Headquarters before its light enough for people to recognize him."
"Damn!" Harry glanced down at his watch. "I didn't realize how late it was. That's the downside of having a room with no windows."
"At least its safe here, Potter. Would you prefer to have our secret meetings in the garden? How about in the parlor, in case more guests arrive?" Draco said, his voice dripping sarcasm.
"As much as I would love to stay and have a verbal sparring match with you, Malfoy, I'm afraid I can't. As you so generously pointed out, I need to get back to Headquarters before somebody sees me." Harry moved toward the door.
"Wait!" Ginny grabbed his sleeve. "Don't leave Harry, please! If you have to go, then let me go with you, back to Headquarters."
"Well…" Harry looked at Draco who shrugged, and then nodded. "I suppose it would be alright."
"Right then…where is Headquarters, exactly?"
Harry grinned. "Come with me, and I'll show you."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Would you mind telling me why we had to floo here?" Ginny asked, wrinkling her nose in distaste at the filthy pub.
"To avoid suspicion, my dear." Draco breathed in her ear.
"Would you mind telling me why Harry didn't have to floo with us?" she hissed back.
"Honestly Gin, you're no match for Granger when it comes to brains." Draco teased. Ginny swatted his arm, and he laughed. "Potter could not floo here for obvious reasons. The floo network is constantly being monitored, and I do not think His Lordship would look kindly on me-one of his most loyal servants-allowing his worst enemy to use my fireplace as means of traveling."
Ginny followed her husband to the rear of the pub and out the back door. "It's just a bit farther." Draco promised. "Potter should be waiting for us at the end of the next alley."
"What took you so long?" Harry teased. "I've been waiting for hours!"
"Shut up, Potter."
"Is everyone ready to go then?" Harry asked. Ginny nodded and Draco simply rolled his eyes. "Right then, Malfoy, I think we should use side-along Apparation so Gin can be surprised."
Draco sighed heavily. "Very well, I'll take her. Come here, Gin." He pulled her closer. "Hold tight now. Ready then, Potter? One, two, three."
The feeling of Apparation was foreign to Ginny. She hadn't Apparated in years, and she had forgotten exactly how unpleasant it could be. Thankfully, it didn't last long. Once it was over, and everything came back into focus, Ginny was able to analyze her surroundings.
Although the sun would shortly be rising, the moon was still visible in the sky. Its light reflected off the nearby lake and seemed to hang in the tree branches of the forest. And not far away, gleaming in the light of the moon, was the ruin that had once been Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"I can't believe you still haven't figured it out." Harry said, playfully tugging one of Ginny's red curls. "Malfoy, why don't you help your wife find Headquarters."
Draco reached into his cloak and began rummaging around in the inner pocket. He fished out a quill, and then resumed his digging. "I haven't got any paper Potter."
"Oh, honestly, Malfoy." Harry began searching his own pockets and finally held up an old chocolate bar wrapper. Draco took it from him without comment, and turned Harry around, using his back for support. He hastily scratched a few words on the wrapper, and then handed it to Ginny.
Ginny glanced down at the paper and read: The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found in the Room of Requirement, on the 7th floor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"The Room of Requirement?" Ginny asked. "That's where you've been hiding all this time?"
"Nearly." Harry answered. "We didn't actually start using it until after the Day of Retribution. After Grimmauld Place became compromised, we met in the basement of the Witch's Hat for awhile. But then more and more of the Order were captured, and we knew we had to find someplace safer. Snape and I came to investigate Hogwarts for a possible hiding place, and we realized how ideal the Room of Requirement was."
"Who is the Secret Keeper?" Ginny asked, curiously.
"That would be me." Draco said. "I thought that much was obvious. I did after all, just give you the slip of paper-er-chocolate wrapper rather, telling you the location of Headquarters."
"If you thing about it, it was rather an ingenious idea." Harry added.
"Voldemort trusts me completely." Draco said. "Who better to guard the secret of the Order than one of the Dark Lord's own?"
"I'll admit, I had my doubts." Harry joked. "But you have been a model Secret Keeper, Malfoy."
"Oh Potter, I know how hard that was for you to say. Now, unless you want us all to be caught by one of the Dark Lord's patrols, you'll hurry along." He took Ginny's hand and began to run toward the ruin.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The front doors of the castle were completely gone, as was one wall of the Great Hall. What was left of the building was charred and crumbling. The staircases-or what remained of them-were all wobbly and Ginny held tightly to Draco's hand as they ascended the steps. When they reached the fifth floor they were forced to stop. The staircase was completely gone, leaving a gaping hole behind.
Harry held his wand in the air and muttered a spell under his breath. A moment later, a multitude of rocks shot up out of the darkness, creating a narrow stairway that allowed the trio to climb to the sixth floor.
"Lupin came up with that trick." Harry admitted. "He thought it would be a good way to guard against unwelcome guests. We don't get many, but when we do--"
They reached the seventh floor, and stopped to catch their breath. "The door is just up ahead." Draco said. "We will need to walk past the empty space three times in order for the door to appear. Don't forget to concentrate on what I wrote down."
Ginny nodded, and the three of them started down the hallway. They walked once past the bare stretch of wall, then stopped, and started back the way they had come. Ginny's eyes were closed. She concentrated with all her might on the words Draco had written on the chocolate wrapper. On the third pass, she heard Harry's grunt of approval.
"It worked. Good. I'm always afraid it won't appear one of these days."
Ginny opened her eyes. There was a door where the empty stretch of wall should have been. It was the same door she remembered from D.A. meetings during her fourth year.
Harry opened the door and walked in gesturing for the Malfoys to follow him. The room didn't look quite the same as she remembered. This room was much larger. Tables covered with maps and various pieces of parchment filled the room. There were half a dozen more doors scattered around the room that opened into what appeared to be bedrooms.
"It's as large as a house." She breathed.
"I know, isn't it great?!" Harry said, gleefully. "There are over two dozen of us living here, many with families. Lupin and his son live over there. Euan and Sally Anne's two daughters are here also. After Neville died we went and found his grandmother and brought her here as well. Her room is…somewhere around here."
"It's amazing, Harry. I can barely believe it."
"Thanks, Gin, but it isn't all due to me. The other members of the Order are just as committed as I am."
"Speaking of which," Draco interrupted, "here comes Hooper."
"Harry! You're back!" A young man with wiry brown hair and rather prominent ears hurried over toward the newcomers. "Romilda and Euan came back with the supplies while you were out," he began, speaking very quickly. "The count stands at three bottles short on pepper-up potion-hello Malfoy-and Strenmer also shorted us on boomslangskni and hellbore." He stopped and took a deep breath. "And Euan wants to know whether you want him to turn Strenmer into a pile of slime or if he should cut the dirty, cheating bastard a break."
Harry rolled his eyes and sighed. "Its fine, Geoffrey. Tell Euan not to worry about Strenmer. We are lucky he is willing to work with us at all."
"Well, yes, I suppose so," the younger man agreed, "but that doesn't mean…that…Ginny!" Geoffrey's eyes widened.
Ginny smiled wearily. "Hullo, Geoff."
"Ginny! I can't believe it's really you! Harry told us that Malfoy had rescued you from Azkaban, but I never expected to see you here." He stepped forward shyly, and gave her a hug. "I'm glad you're alright."
"Alright, Hooper, enough is enough." Draco said dryly. "Stop pawing my wife and get back to work. I'm sure there is something for you to do around here."
"Er, um, yes, of course." Geoffrey stepped quickly away from Ginny, nearly tripping over his robes in the process. "There is, yes, naturally, something I could-yes, I'm going now." The young man hurried away, alternating between smiling at Ginny and darting frightened looks at her husband.
"Draco! What on earth?!" Ginny threw up her hands in dismay. "Why did you do that?"
"I should think that was quite obvious." He said, drawing her forward. "You are my wife. Only mine. And I love you."
Heat rushed to Ginny's face, turning her cheeks a delicate shade of pink. "Oh…"
"…for gods sake!" Harry said. Draco and Ginny both turned there attention to the Boy-Who-Lived, who looked as though he couldn't decide whether he was more amused or disgusted by the romantic drama playing out before him. "Get a room, why don't you. No, no. Never mind. There are more important things than shagging at present."
"More important than shagging? You must be joking." Draco said.
"No, he's right." Ginny regrettably pulled away from Draco. "There will be plenty of time for that later. Harry, why don't you finish showing me around, and then we can get down to business."
"Oh?" The corner of Harry's mouth was twitching, as if he was trying very hard not to laugh. "And what business would that be?"
She ruffled his hair affectionately, "saving the world, of course."
~TBC~
A/N: Many thanx go out to lakailah, Lovely.Beat.For.Life, huanita, yomoedmb, LoVe PeTtLes, down2earthangl85, dracorox, Tayler, mooo, KillingByTwilight, MBPrincess. QueenThayet12990, sagereader, LElessar, MD, Broken Fairytales, Phillexican, siri- poo, Dracoginnylover24, AmelieFoy, sidlovesnancy1979, Stelladorro, AuntAnnie, Cirolane. Flipinpenname, AlaiLuver, sexyevilempress276, xdopex, PhoenixTalons, nun outfits are cool, Shining Bright Eyes, STA, Sazzy7, NicholePotter86, and all of you Anonymous people for reviewing the last chapter!!
-->