TS: The Sun by Maroon 5
An Unlikely Alliance
Chapter 2: Important Announcements
After Dumbledore had dismissed the group, Ginny remained seated trying to absorb the events that had just passed. She saw Harry rise and walk over to Severus Snape. They exchanged a few words, after which he walked into the hall with Dumbledore. What was going on here? Since when did Harry Potter invite Death Eaters to the Headquarters of the Order?
It had ignited an old grudge within her to see Malfoy here, reminding her of all those times he had made her school life a living hell. She had tried to give him chances, even as he picked on her and Ron constantly. It must be hard, she had thought, to have such a mean bastard for a father. He obviously didn't have the most loving home life. However, try as she might to account for his behavior, the constant battery of insults and comments quickly quelled any feelings of compassion. He knew what he was doing, and after a time, she could no longer feel sorry for the pale-haired boy.
Her anger was only increased as she remembered how easily Dumbledore and Harry appeared to accept his words. How dare they simply bring him into Grimmauld Place as though it were a public corner stand rather than the gathering place of all wizards fighting against Voldemort. They had allowed him to waltz in here without bothering to prepare the members for what was to happen, not even asking if this fraternizing with the enemy was alright with everyone.
Snape had known ahead of time as well, she thought. Incensed, she quickly rose to her feet and closed the distance between her and the Potions Master.
"I need to speak with you," she stated in a clipped tone. He took in her tone and followed her to a corner of the room.
"Did you know about this, Severus?" Ginny spat, staring at him intently.
"Miss Weasley, I ask that you watch your tone," he remarked.
"Don't you `Miss Weasley' me. I hope you have a bloody good explanation for this."
"Ginevra," he said his voice low. "There are some matters that I cannot discuss with you. Matters that would put you at great risk."
"That's bollocks, and you know it! I am fully capable of taking care of myself. You of all people should know that. Why do you keep thinking you can or should protect me?"
"I assure you that I believe nothing of the sort. I do, however, have certain aspects of my life I cannot -"
"Will not," she interjected.
He glared at her, "-cannot include you in. I gave my word to the Headmaster that I would not speak of this arrangement."
"How long have you known? Can he be trusted?" she demanded, ignoring his earlier comments.
Sighing, he replied, "Ginevra, one doesn't make the decision to turn traitor on the Dark Lord lightly. If Voldemort were to ever hear of this meeting taking place, Mr. Malfoy would be dead within the day. Then again, knowing Mr. Malfoy, this could simply be another opportunity to watch your tempestuous brother's face turn many shades of purple," he finished with a smirk.
"Sarcasm doesn't suit you, Severus."
"And animosity from past grievances doesn't suit you, Ginevra," Snape retorted. "You are not being asked to befriend Mr. Malfoy. He brings information, and it would be foolish to ignore him."
Ginny simply glared at him.
"If you are quite finished with your tantrum, I have other matters to attend to." He started to walk away. "I will expect you tomorrow evening at 8 o'clock. We have much work to complete." With that, he walked to the door where Draco stood stiffly, waiting.
Ginny remained behind, fuming. Perhaps her demand for information had been childish, but considering her family's history with the Malfoys, who could blame her? He was a Death Eater for Merlin's sake. There was something going on here.
"Ginny."
She looked behind her to where Harry stood.
"Ginny, I've been calling your name for five minutes."
"Sorry, Harry, what is it?" she asked impatiently.
"Ron and Hermione want everyone in the kitchen for their announcement." He smiled at the look of frustration on Ginny's face. "Trying to work out what's going on with Malfoy, eh?"
"I wouldn't have to if you told me what was going on," she snapped.
"Temper, Weasley," Harry smirked.
"Oh, sod off Potter," she returned, as she stalked into the kitchen, pushing past a chuckling Harry.
"Everyone, Hermione and I have asked you all here to make a very special announcement," Ron stated as he gently squeezed Hermione's hand. "We're very excited about it and -"
"Get on with it, mate!" Harry shouted. He looked at Ginny and rolled his eyes. Merlin knew once Ron got started it would be hard to shut him up.
Ginny giggled. She had a feeling she knew what this was about.
"Alright, alright," Ron laughed. "We're having a baby!" Molly immediately gave a cry of joy and burst into tears, engulfing her son in a giant bear hug.
She sniffed, trying to calm herself. "It's about time. I'm so happy for you dear." She moved on to Hermione who was soon after embraced by a jubilant Ginny.
"Nice going, mate," said Harry, shaking hands with Ron. "I think this calls for some Butterbeers."
"I'm not so sure, Harry," Hermione said slyly. "I think Butterbeer's what got us into this mess." She winked at Ron.
"Oi! Too much information, you two!" Ginny shouted. Smiling, she walked over to the cupboard and grabbed several drinks.
A little while later, spirits high and a little giddy from the Butterbeer, Ginny made said her good-byes and left.
She stepped out, momentarily considering Apparating to her flat. Taking a deep breath, she decided to take advantage of the mild autumn night by walking home. It was only a few blocks and it would give her some time to think.
She was happy for Ron and Hermione. They will make wonderful parents, she thought. She sighed, suddenly feeling more aware of being alone. How full their life seemed; those two would probably go home together, holding hands and feeling content just being in each other's presence. Growing sadder as she continued this train of thought, she felt a weight in the pit of her stomach. She knew what it was that she was feeling: melancholy, lonely, and bitter. Mostly bitter, she acknowledged, and hated herself for feeling it. She knew if she was just a little bit different, if she hadn't allowed things to work out this way, she could have all the things she wanted. But no, she had made her choice long ago.
Lost in her thoughts, she found herself at the door to her flat before she knew it. She let herself in, seeking the comfort of her bed and wanting nothing more than a peaceful night's sleep. As she turned off her light, one last thought ran through her head:
Enough.
The next day passed quickly for Ginny. There was always a lull in her department before a large assignment. All the other various departments would rush to put their intelligence together and she would have to wait for her briefing the next day before she could start preparing.
By Seven thirty, Ginny had finished up dinner, tidied up her flat, and was looking for something to do to fill up the time before she had to floo to Snape Manor. Unable to find anything else, she decided to simply leave early. Maybe Severus would be more forthcoming in private. She knew he wouldn't say anything while they worked.
She arrived at the Manor a few minutes later, brushing off the soot on her clothes as she stepped into the drawing room. She would have to remember to replenish her supply of Ingram's Soot-less Floo Powder; having just run out of it a day or two before, she hadn't had time to buy more and had been using regular Floo Powder. As a result, she had found herself constantly cleaning soot off her robes, much to her displeasure.
She walked to the lower floor of the Manor and into a large room that was filled with cauldrons, each of the four walls were lined with potions' ingredients. Ginny usually found Snape here already working, but today, she found only an empty room. She popped her head into an adjacent store room, and found that empty as well. Where is he?
Realizing he wasn't on that floor, she went to the main floor to see if he was still in his study. As she walked briskly down the hall, she noticed some light pouring into the corridor.
Walking into the room, she saw Severus Snape sitting in a chair near the fire, next to a small end table that held two empty brandy glasses.
"A little early isn't it, to start drinking heavily?" she asked, teasingly.
Snape jerked up in his chair, startled. "You're early," he observed tersely.
Ginny frowned. "So? I was bored at home and -"the rest of her comment was cut off by a deep male voice coming from the hall.
"Uncle Severus these layouts should be sufficient to-"Draco Malfoy abruptly stopped speaking once he realized there was someone else in the room.
An awkward silence presided over the room.
Draco was the first to speak. Holding out a sheath of papers to Snape, he said, "These are the ones you asked for."
Snape took the proffered bundle; looked at Ginny and Draco; and stated as he walked into the hall, "I trust I can leave you two alone for a moment."
Silence reigned once again. Several moments passed by until Ginny cleared her throat. Feeling the need to say something, she made eye contact with Draco and spoke, "Malfoy."
"Weasley."
Ginny fell silent, unsure of how to proceed. To say that it had been a surprise to see him in Severus' study would have been an understatement. She knew that her mentor was close to his godson. They were Death Eaters' in Voldemort's ranks for Merlin's sake. Yet in all the years she had been coming to Snape Manor, she had never once seen Malfoy there. Severus had been very diligent in keeping certain parts of his life separate from others.
Part of what had surprised her most, was Malfoy's air as he had walked into the room. He had appeared to be at ease, robes unclasped, body relaxed; he was a startlingly different man to the one she had seen the day before.
Growing uncomfortable, Ginny spoke again, albeit reluctantly, "How are you?" Where on earth was Severus?
"Honestly, Weasley," came her only reply. Leaning against the mantle of the fireplace, Draco smirked as he folded his arms across his chest.
Realizing she would get little response from him, Ginny decided to remain silent, shifting her eyes around the room, she inwardly cursed Severus for leaving the two of them together for so long.
Draco, seeing her discomfort, decided to take advantage of it and used her silence as an opportunity to study her. She still had that ridiculous red hair, though it looked a bit darker than it had during her time at Hogwarts. Her body had filled out a bit, yet remained trim. Having become accustomed to her own height, her movements were graceful rather than the lanky, unmeasured motions of a child. She was rather tall for a girl, coming up nearly eye level with him, he noted. Taking all this in quickly, his eyes narrowed in on the one detail that seemed to be the most at odds with her position as a Weasley: her robes. Used to seeing shabby, misshapen things on the girl, he was surprised to note that the stitching and cut of her robes were those of a very sought after designer, who only took on very exclusive, very rich, clients. Well, it appears there is more to Weasley than meets the eye.
He continued his study of her through half-lidded eyes, as she looked around the room at anything but him; his thoughts began drifting to his relationship with her and her family during school. Draco had never cared much for the Weasleys. At first it had been because of all the stories his father had told him, but over time he had learned not only to give less credence to what his father said, but also found reasons all his own to hate them. This added to their association with Potter had made them the target of much of his ill will during school.
It had irked him to no end, the number of things Potter and his bloody gang of minions had gotten away with. If it had been any other student, they would have been severely punished, expelled even. Yet simply because the boy lacked parents, Dumbledore had looked the other way each time.
He still remembered that first day of school, just as they had descended from the train, when he had gone out of his way to make an overture of friendship to Potter. Having heard so much about him, he had thought Potter would recognize the value of being shown the ropes by a Malfoy. He still remembered how humiliated and angry he had been when Potter had refused his hand. To add insult to injury, Potter had befriended the Weasleys instead, choosing to stand with those pathetically poor blood traitors.
However, all this had had very little to do with the Weasley standing in front of him. Their relationship had always been far more amusing to him. He thought back to his first interaction with the youngest female of the brood with some amusement. She had sharply ordered Draco to, "Leave him alone!" referring to his treatment of Harry that day in Flourish and Blott's. The look on her face had been so fierce. She would have interested him farther if he hadn't been aware that she was another member of Potter's fan club. He idly wondered if her temper was still as prickly as it had been back then.
Ginny, finally noticing his intense scrutiny, glared at him.
"Didn't your mother tell you it was rude to stare, Malfoy?" she demanded.
He continued to ignore her, his gaze unwavering, but grinned inwardly; apparently she still was a bit of a firecracker.
Much to Ginny's relief, Snape reentered the room soon after.
"Draco, I will speak with you again soon. Be sure to think over what we have discussed," he spoke, dismissing the blond haired man.
"Yes, Sir," Draco replied with an incline of his head. He nodded jauntily in Ginny's direction and withdrew from the room.
"Let's get started, Ginevra," said Snape, leading the way to his laboratory.
"Pass the Abscum extract."
"Here. Three or four grains of Nissel?"
"Three."
The pair worked quietly for some time, occasionally passing ingredients, their movements in harmony, evidence of two minds working as one. A stray remark was made time to time as they worked through another potion, each completely focused on the task at hand. They continued on this way through the evening, finishing up close to midnight, somewhat tired from the strain of focusing for so many hours, but satisfied with the result nonetheless.
This odd union had been in place for several years. Neither spoke of their relationship to those outside of it. They rarely spoke of it between themselves, having established the pattern of their meetings a while back; any conversation about it had seemed superfluous.
It was doubtful that anyone knew either of them as well as they did each other. Having begun her relationship with Snape at a very vulnerable time in her life, she found that he provided her with a grounding that she had lacked. It had scared her at first; in school they had always been at odds, though there had always remained a steady respect for one another.
Neither spoke of feelings nor what this odd partnership did to them, but what was obvious was their deep mutual affection, respect, and admiration.
They sat in Snape's study, enjoying the moonlight, listening to the crickets sing to each other outside. Ginny felt a sense of contentment as she sat there, sipping her wine. Working on potions always did this to her. It gave her a chance to block out everything else and gave her a feeling of pleasant blankness. Reveling in this feeling, she was able to forget, for a moment, all the big changes in the Order and the large new assignment she had from the Ministry.
"It seems that a chain of events has been started that is likely to consume us all," remarked Snape. Ginny glanced at his face, noting the thoughtful expression he was currently wearing. Severus was rarely prophetic and even less frequently poetic.
Curious as to what brought on this uncharacteristic display; she furrowed her brow and remarked, "You're speaking about this new alliance in the Order?"
"No, I was thinking more of the first alliance that was made six years ago. I believe that it may have started then," he mused. He picked up his wine glass and slightly caressed the crystal stem. "Yes, I do believe that it did," he finished with greater certainty, as he picked up his drink and drained it.
Unsure of what he meant, Ginny leaned back in her chair and thought about his words. That first alliance had started a chain of events for her, a chain that she neither regretted nor would give up.
They each brought their minds to that summer, rewinding the events and playing them back; the summer when teacher and pupil had first joined, and how it had changed each of their lives irrevocably. Side by side, they sat there, each lost in their own thoughts.
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