Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot.
A/N: Thanks to my beta, Aliya.
Chapter 1
Sixteen-year-old Ginny Weasley skipped through the halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with a bright
smile on her face. It was nearing Christmas, her favorite time of year. It was also snowing outside. She loved the
snow. It made everything look so sparkly and pure. Today was the first snowfall of the year, and she couldn't be
happier.
As Ginny walked along, lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice a figure approaching her. She didn't notice it
at all until it spoke. "Going somewhere, Weasley?" seventeen-year-old Draco Malfoy drawled casually.
Ginny shook her head to clear her thoughts. "What do you want, Malfoy?" she snapped.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I interrupt a nice daydream? Were you thinking about Saint Potter again? Pathetic,"
he sneered.
Ginny narrowed her eyes into dungeons, chocolate-brown slits. Harry Potter was the hero of the wizarding world,
defeating the evil Lord Voldemort when he was only a baby. Ginny had had a crush on him from when she was ten until
when she was fourteen. He was also her brother's best friend along with Hermione Granger, Harry's current
girlfriend. "You really need some new material, Malfoy. I've been over Harry for ages," she retorted as
calmly as she could. "Besides, he has a girlfriend."
"Oh yes, him and the Mudblood are going out, aren't they? Must be terrible to know that even Mudblood like
Granger can snag a guy, especially a guy that you want, easier than you," Draco taunted. He was trying to get a
rise out of her, and she would do her best to prevent that.
"I've had plenty of boyfriends, Mal-ferret. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have places to be. Besides, you
wouldn't want to keep your sluts waiting," she snarled, and with that, she was gone.
Draco glared menacingly at her retreating form for a few moments. Then he turned around, stalking away, robes billowing
out behind him.
*~*~*~*
After her encounter with Malfoy, Ginny's mood darkened considerably. She could feel him glaring at her as she
walked towards the Entrance Hall. Although she had stayed calm, she realized that Malfoy had struck a nerve. She was a
little bitter about the fact that Hermione had a boyfriend and she didn't. It wasn't as if she thought that
Hermione didn't deserve a boyfriend or anything, it was just that Hermione didn't really care if she had a
boyfriend or not. She was perfectly content with having Harry and Ron as friends.
Stepping out into the frigid December air, Ginny pushed thoughts of Malfoy and Hermione from her head. As she strolled
around the lake, her mood brightened. Days like these were her favorite. The ones that were perfect for walking around
in the snow and then going inside to have hot chocolate and snuggle up by the fire. That was exactly what Ginny was
going to do when she got back inside the castle.
*~*~*~*
Draco stalked through the corridors of Hogwarts, glowering at anyone who dared stand in his way. They would quickly
scamper away. They all knew better than to bother a Malfoy when he was angry if they valued their lives. Draco's
family had much power and influence in England and the surrounding wizarding communities. The Malfoys were the richest
wizarding family in all of Britain, and they weren't afraid to show it. You would never catch a Malfoy wearing
anything less than the best quality designer robes.
Glowering at another figure in his path, Draco continued his trek to the dungeons, or at least he tried to. The figure,
he recognized as his childhood friend, Pansy Parkinson. They had been friends for as long as he could remember. He
wasn't exactly sure why they ever became friends in the first place. When they first started playing, he had
memories of having lots of fun together, but the memories since he was about six were less pleasant. They were almost
always fighting, and when they weren't, they were bored, which led to more fighting. It was almost as if Pansy was
a whole other person when she turned six.
"What do you want, Pansy?" Draco asked in a less than friendly tone.
"I want you tot take me to Hogsmeade this weekend so I can get Christmas presents for my family," Pansy
answered.
"Well, what if I told you that I was busy?" Draco snapped. There was no way he was going to take her to
Hogsmeade and spend the whole day with her, it would be torture.
"Busy with what?" Pansy grilled.
"Homework. It's N.E.W.T. year, you know, and there's a ton of homework. I need this weekend to catch
up," Draco replied, starting to get irritated.
"You need all weekend to catch up?" Pansy said skeptically.
"Yes," Draco told her coldly before brushing past to enter the Slytherin dungeons.
*~*~*~*
By the time Ginny was ready to go back to the castle, it was time for dinner, which meant that she wouldn't have
time for her hot chocolate. She decided that she would have some late if she felt like it. She made her way to the
Great Hall. She sat down near one of her best friends, Colin Creevey. Colin was a wonderful photographer and almost
always had his face behind a camera. Next to him sat his girlfriend, Mary Anne Phillips, a Gryffindor in the same year
as both Ginny and Colin. Although Ginny and Mary Anne weren't very close, they would hang out together. She was a
nice enough girl in Ginny's opinion, it's just that they didn't share many interests.
"Hey, Gin," Colin greeted as she sat down.
"Hello, Ginny," Mary Anne said cheerfully.
"Hi Colin, Mary Anne," Ginny returned with a smile. She could remember the old days when she and Ron had been
the best of friends, back when they were little. Then one day, she could almost pinpoint the exact day he had changed.
He'd no longer wanted to play with her, and when he had played with her, he'd persuade her to play games that
she didn't like. It was as if he'd changed into a different person overnight. Now, it was still the same.
Whenever she tried hanging out with Ron and his friends, he would shoo her away. He just didn't like hanging out
with her.
"So, Ginny, what do you think of the History of Magic project?" Colin asked, breaking her from her
thoughts.
"I think it's interesting, better than the usual assignments, at least," Ginny answered. That day in
History of Magic class Professor Binns they had been assigned a project to do over Christmas holidays. They were
supposed to research the history of their families, major accomplishments of family members and the like. Then they
would present their findings in class so they could see the differences between the heritage of purebloods, half
bloods, and muggleborns. They had a whole month to complete it so they could be thorough in their research.
"Yeah. Usually we just have dumb essays about goblin rebellions and rubbish like that," Colin agreed with a
grimace. "It's so boring."
Both Ginny and Mary Anne nodded in consent. "It's by far the dullest class, and Professor Binns's
monotonous voice doesn't help much either," Mary Anne commented.
"I'd have to say that I agree with you there," Ginny replied. "but I'm not sure if the monotony
is better than Snape who takes off points from Gryffindor left and right."
"And never takes any off of Slytherin," Colin added. "It's not fair. I don't know why Dumbledore
doesn't just fire him. There must be some rule against favoring one house over the rest, hasn't
there?"
Mary Anne and Ginny nodded. Professor Snape was the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House, and he was always
taking points off of Gryffindor, but he never took points off of Slytherin. "Plus, he's a Death Eater, why
should he be allowed to teach at Hogwarts?" Mary Anne pointed out. Death Eaters were followers of the most
powerful evil wizard of the time, Lord Voldemort, often referred to as You Know Who or He Who Must Not Be Named.
"Harry says that he's not a Death Eater anymore, he's a double agent for the Order," Ginny said. The
Order of the Phoenix was a secret organization that Dumbledore started as resistance to Voldemort.
"How are we to know if he's really a double agent for us? Suppose he's really a double agent for
them," Colin said.
"Dumbledore trusts him so he can't be all bad," Ginny replied.
"I guess," Mary Anne said with a shrug, clearly not convinced.
After that the discussion was closed, and the conversation turned to other things like the upcoming Quidditch match
that would determine who would be facing Gryffindor for the Quidditch Cup, Ravenclaw or Slytherin.
Dinner soon ended, and Ginny began to make her way back to her dormitory. She still had a little of homework to do
before she could relax for the night.
*~*~*~*
After escaping Pansy, Draco had retreated to his dormitory to work on some homework. It seemed that was all he was
doing lately, homework. Being Head Boy, it wouldn't do for him to have late work. Besides, if he didn't do his
homework, he wouldn't be able to pass his N.E.W.T.s, and he would never get a good job. It wasn't as if he
needed one, no, he would have plenty of inheritance money, but it was that he wanted one. He took more advanced classes
than most of his classmates because, as not many people knew, he wanted to be a Potions professor. That required
N.E.W.T.s in a variety of subjects because they needed to know about the potions themselves, the history of them, the
plants used to make them, and the right time to pick the plants.
After Draco's father had been put in Azkaban, the wizarding prison, there had been many changes in his son. He had
become more subdued, not insulting as many people as usual. He still would jeer at Potter and his crew every chance he
got, but didn't bother many others. He had also stopped being followed around by his "bodyguards", Crabbe
and Goyle. He had also lost any interest he had ever had in becoming a Death Eater. After seeing what had happened to
his father and his friends' fathers, he decided that it wasn't worth it. He had never fancied killing anyone
anyway.
Sighing, Draco turned back to the essay he was writing for History of Magic about the goblin rebellions of 1694 that
was due the next day.
*~*~*~*
The next morning, Ginny woke up feeling more cheerful than usual. That was probably due to the fact that it was
Friday. That was her favorite day of the school week, and no only because the weekend was after it. It was also because
she had the best schedule. She had Potions first thing. She didn't particularly enjoy this class, but needed it for
her chosen profession. She wanted to be a Magical Healer. After Potions, she had Double Charms. Then was lunch and
Transfiguration. She then had a short Healing class with Madame Pomfrey, and then the rest of the afternoon was a free
period. This time she used to finish her homework, and then she had the weekend pretty much free.
When Ginny had finished getting ready for class, she made her way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. When she
arrived, she scanned the Gryffindor table for Colin. She spotted him sitting with is brother, Dennis, and Neville
Longbottom, a notoriously clumsy and forgetful Gryffindor seventh year.
"Hey, guys," Ginny greeted
"Morning," they returned.
"What class do you have first, Ginny?" Dennis asked.
"Potions," she replied with a grimace. She guessed that the class itself wasn't' that bad, it was the
professor that she disliked.
Colin grimaced with her; he didn't like Professor Snape either. "What do you have, Neville?" he enquired
of the older boy.
"I have Herbology," Neville answered happily. Herbology was his favorite subject, and he was quite good at
it. "What about you, Dennis?"
"Divination," the younger boy replied sheepishly. Dennis was a shy Gryffindor fourth year. Although his
brother never excluded him from his conversations, he was rarely addressed directly. Dennis got along pretty well
despite the differences in personality. Colin was very out going, whereas Dennis was terribly shy and didn't have
many friends.
The rest of breakfast passed quickly as the conversation turned to the upcoming Hogsmeade trip. When breakfast had
ended, the group split up to go to their various classes.
Colin and Ginny arrived in the Potions classroom just in time. They took their seats, and Professor Snape began
teaching them how to brew a very basic Truth Potion. "Alright, now split up into groups of two and brew the potion
on your own. When the potion is brewed, you will test it on your partner and vice versa," Snape commanded.
"You will have to save a sample to give to me at the end of the lesson."
Colin and Ginny paired and began brewing their potions. They added ingredients and stirred them together according to
the instructions that Snape had written on the chalkboard. When they had finished brewing their potions, their potions
were both a pale blue color. That was the color it was supposed to be, so that, at least, was promising. Snape came
over to them to see if they were ready to test their potions, and they said that they were. Colin agreed to be tested
on first. Ginny handed him the right amount of potion and handed it to him. "Ask him three questions, Miss
Weasley," Snape commanded.
Ginny nodded and thought for a minute. "I'm going to ask easy questions, but try to lie," she said and
Colin nodded his assent. "What's your name?"
"Colin Christopher Creevey."
"What's your favorite color?"
"Yellow."
"Who's your least favorite teacher?"
"Snape."
Colin blushed slightly at the last answer, and Snape sneered self-appreciately. "Yours seems to have worked, Miss
Weasley," he commented. "Your turn, Creevey."
Colin measured the right amount of potion nervously. He handed it to Ginny, and she took it. "What's your
name?"
"Ginevra Molly Weasley."
"How many brothers do you have?"
"Six."
"Who's your best friend ever?" this was asked mostly in jest. He knew that it would be him. Ginny
hadn't had any close friends before him.
"Draco Malfoy," Ginny replied calmly through her potion-induced state.
Colin visibly blanched, and Professor Snape's eyes widened the slightest bit in surprise. Instead of showing his
surprise, however, he sneered at Colin. "Well, Creevey, it appears that another one of your potions has
failed," he snarled coldly. "That will be one more failing grade."
Colin sighed in resignation as he looked at Ginny. Her eyes were wide and confused. "You could have at least said
something a little more believable than Draco Malfoy," he snapped waspishly. He was already failing Potions, he
didn't need anymore failing grades he had been sure Ginny would at least try to help him out.
"I didn't mean to say that. I tried to say you, but my tongue wouldn't form the words," Ginny
whispered dejectedly. That was when Colin realized he was overreacting. The way she explained what had happened in that
dejected voice made him realize that she wasn't lying. "What do you think it means?"
"Look, I'm sorry I snapped at you before. It wasn't your fault," Colin apologized contritely. "I
don't know what this means, it's probably nothing. I probably did mess up the potion."
"But you did everything exactly right. I watched you to make sure," Ginny answered, confused.
"It's probably nothing," Colin repeated weakly.
Ginny merely shook her head. She didn't believe that one moment, but there was no other explanation. Unless you
considered the fact that Draco Malfoy being her best friend was true as an explanation. That could never be. She hated
Draco Malfoy. She had for all of her life, so had everyone in her family. The Malfoys and Weasleys had been sworn
enemies forever, hadn't they? Of course, Class was dismissed, and she and Colin exited the classroom in silence,
heading towards the Charms classroom.
*~*~*~*
A few hours later, Ginny sat in the Library during her free period, trying to do her homework. Trying being the key
word. Her mind kept wandering back to the incident in Potions class. She couldn't think of any rational
explanation. She knew Colin hadn't messed up the potion. She had made sure of it. She knew that her friend was
failing Potions, and she wanted to help him. She had subtly rearranged things so he would put the right ingredients
when they were supposed to go in, and she had distracted him when he was reaching for the wrong thing. It just
didn't make any sense.
Vowing to ask her parents about it when she went home for Christmas, Ginny went back to her homework, without much
luck. She just couldn't concentrate. Shaking her head, she decided to go back to the Gryffindor Common Room. The
rest of her housemates would be done with their classes by now, and she figured that there would be something to
distract her there.
*~*~*~*
Meanwhile, Severus Snape, unbeknownst of him, was having thoughts similar to Ginny's. He had also been watching
Colin, and knew for a fact also that Colin hadn't made any mistakes. He was deeply intrigued by what had happened.
It just didn't make any sense. He'd tested the Potion over and over trying to find something wrong, just in
case, but to now avail. It was baffling. The only explanation was that he had told the truth, but it couldn't be
true. He decided that he had ought to have a short talk with Narcissa Malfoy. She had taken over all of the Malfoy
affairs after Lucius was thrown in Azkaban.
Stepping into the fireplace in his office, Snape threw some Floo Powder in and yelled, "Malfoy Manor."
*~*~*~*
Narcissa Malfoy was in her study when Snape arrived. "Severus," she greeted with a nod of her head.
"Narcissa," Snape replied, inclining his head.
"Shouldn't you be at Hogwarts?" Narcissa asked, almost coldly. Narcissa and Severus had never gotten
along very well, and it showed.
"Classes are over for the day," Snape answered evasively.
Narcissa nodded curtly. "Now, to what do I owe this pleasure of your company?" she asked.
"Something rather, uh, interesting happened during my sixth year Gryffindor and Slytherin Potions class this
morning," Snape began. "A certain Ginevra Weasley was given a Truth Potion, and when she was asked who her
best friend ever was, she responded Draco Malfoy."
Narcissa's eyes narrowed ever so slightly, but that was the only reaction. "The potion must have been brewed
wrong," she replied nonchalantly.
"I assure you, Narcissa, it was brewed correctly," Snape protested.
"Well then the girl must be so wrapped up in fantasies of it being true that she's convinced herself it
is," Narcissa sneered coldly. She was so like her husband sometimes, it was scary.
Snape opened his mouth to argue that the potion would have made her tell the truth no matter what she was convinced,
but knew he wouldn't win so he decided against it. "Perhaps you're right. Well, I just thought you might
be interested, but since you're not, I won't bother you any longer," Snape said. "Good day,
Narcissa."
Narcissa nodded in reply, and then Snape Flooed back to Hogwarts.
*~*~*~*
Once Snape had left, Narcissa promptly Apparated to the Weasleys' home. She knew they were too incompetent to
perform the spell right. Now the secret had almost been revealed. She knew her son, if he found out, would be
murderous. So would her husband. She couldn't imagine that the Weasley girl would be any happier.
Narcissa stepped out of the fireplace and brushed herself off. In front of her stood a surprised looking Molly Weasley.
"Molly," Narcissa greeted curtly, nodding in acknowledgment.
"Narcissa," Molly answered.
"Who cast the memory altering charm on your daughter all those years ago?" Narcissa asked, getting straight
to the point. She was not one to beat about the bush.
"Arthur, why?" Molly replied.
"Because it evidently wasn't done properly," Narcissa snapped.
"What ARE you talking about?" Molly inquired waspishly.
"Your daughter was asked who her best friend was, and she answered, Draco. She was under the influence of a Truth
Potion," Narcissa answered briskly.
"Well that explains it. The Truth Potion made her say it. She doesn't really remember," Molly quipped.
"Now, get out of my house."
Narcissa obeyed the command and Flooed back to the Manor.
*~*~*~*
Although Molly had brushed off the situation with Ginny, she was secretly a little concerned. Ginny would be rather
upset if she found out she'd been lied to all of her life.
Shaking her head, Molly continued with the task she's been working on before Narcissa arrived.
*~*~*~*
Back at Hogwarts, Snape called his prize Potions student to his office. He wanted to try something. "Draco,
take this potion," Snape commanded.
Draco took the vial without question and drank the potion. He'd done this enough times to know that the potion was
nothing dangerous. After a few minutes, Snape spoke again. "Who was your best friend ever?" he asked.
"Ginny Weasley," Draco answered mechanically.
Snape nodded. Draco was thoroughly confused. It was like Snape had suspected that to happen. "What kind of potion
was that?" Draco inquired.
"A truth potion," Snape answered.
Draco's eyes widened in shock. "You're kidding me, right?" he exclaimed.
"No joke," Snape replied seriously.
"Then there must be something wrong with the potion or the ingredients or something," Draco said frantically.
The hysterical note in Draco's voice was what made Snape's argument die on his lips.
"Probably," Snape agreed. "You can go now. Thank you."
Draco wasn't very reassured. He walked out of the Potions classroom, very confused. He knew something was up, he
just didn't know what. He decided that he would find out eventually and pushed the thoughts to the back of his
head. It didn't quite work, and a questioning air hung around his mind for the rest of the evening.
A/N: Don't forget to review! Next chapter will be up soon.
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