A Stroll in Your Shoes

Disclaimer: I did not create any of the Harry Potter characters, etc.

A/n: Since I was originally going to abandon all my fics when I decided I wasn’t going to write fanfiction anymore, I wasn’t actually planning to finish this; however, I ended up deciding to finish at least some of my fics. So, while I will be updating the rest of the chapters, it might be a while before I do update.

Unlikely Allies

Ginny opened her eyes groggily and sat up on the bed, groaning as a sharp pain surged through her swimming head. She gazed about the room with a sort of vague sense of disorientation, having no idea where she was or how she got there. Probing her throbbing head got her nothing except another stab of pain, and feeling suddenly dizzy, Ginny placed her head on her knees and took a few deep breaths.

She had realised as soon as she had woken that she was no longer in Draco Malfoy’s body, though that did nothing to reassure her. Something was definitely wrong, and the sickly feeling clinging to her weak body did nothing to soothe her fears. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Lucius Malfoy had obviously done something to her after realising she wasn’t his son, but the main problem was that she really couldn’t remember what he had done. Something had made her change back to herself, but what? And why was she not dead already? Why had Lucius spared her life?

Grumbling to herself at all these confusing thoughts and possibilities, Ginny tested her wobbly legs on the floor an almost fell flat on her face. Luckily she had found sudden inspiration to grab the bedpost and now clung to it tightly to keep herself upright. With a long-suffering expression on her face she tried to walk again, her legs feeling like they would crumple on her in any second. She was determined to reach the door on the other side of the room though, and with that in mind kept walking rather unsteadily to the door.

“Please be unlocked,” Ginny murmured to herself as she placed her hand around the door handle and tried to open the door. It did not move. Her expression fell comically, and almost feeling close to tears, she gave the door handle another fruitless tug before finally letting her emotions get the better of her as she collapsed to the floor in a heap of tears and sobs.

“No!” she wailed, feeling helplessly trapped. She had no wand, and no hope in getting out of here. She was literally relying on the mercies of a Death Eater who didn’t give a scrap for her. Things could not be any worse.

Footsteps sounded behind the door, getting louder and louder as someone came horribly closer towards her room. She felt her heart give a frightening jolt in fearful foreboding and quickly scrambled away from the door until her back was pressing up against the side of the bed. Brave though Gryffindors were meant to be, Ginny was no fool. She knew that her life was very much in danger and no amount of Gryffindor courage could help her out of this. She just had to hope.

Her breath quickened as she stared at the door, just watching in terrified silence as the door was unlocked and the handle started to turn.

“Please don’t let them hurt me,” she whispered to the room, her eyes locked on the handle now completely turned. The creak of the door pierced her frozen brain and the door slowly began to open, revealing a pair of black boots just peeping out from underneath the fine emerald wizard robes.

Involuntarily she let out a small squeak of fright and chanced a glance up at the person entering the room, hoping against hope that the owner of those boots was not who she thought it was. Cold grey eyes met her gaze, and a dark smile curled her captors’ thin lips as those chilling eyes pierced her soul. Ginny could only stare in petrified silence, her whole body completely trembling as she tried to shuffle fruitlessly away from this man who she feared so greatly.

“Well, well, well,” Lucius Malfoy said with a smirk, his eyes lighting up with cool amusement. “A little weasel has stumbled into my home. What should I do with the little weasel?”

“Please,” Ginny began in a terrified voice, her heart literally trying to force its way out of her throat. “Please don’t hurt me.”

Normally her pride would not allow her to beg with a man such as this, but she knew better than to fight against him. He was more powerful, more experienced, and more at an advantage right now than she would ever be. She was completely in his hands. Not to mention she was dead frightened.

An amused smile flittered across Lucius’s thin lips. “Be at ease little Weasel; I will not hurt you unless you give me reason to.”

Ginny let out a small breath of relief even though she knew the danger was not yet over. She met his gaze shakily and swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. “What do you want with me?”

Lucius knelt down in front of her and smiled slightly, though the effect was in no way reassuring. She could see his wand resting in his hand and felt a shiver run through her body. Swallowing again she stared at him through wide eyes.

“I want you to tell me where my son is and why it is that you were impersonating him.”

His voice was soft and gentle, but she knew better than to think he was trying to be nice. Lucius Malfoy was never one to lose his temper. He was always cold and collected- a statue of ice that could freeze anyone to his will. She was not stupid enough to fight him either.

“H-he’s at my home.”

The cold grey eyes widened slightly and a slight frown crept onto his face. “Your home?” Lucius murmured in wonder. “And why is he there?”

“Because of a spell we were placed under…” Her voice grew more confident as she began to explain just what had caused Draco Malfoy to be at the Burrow and she to be at Malfoy Manor. Lucius listened intently, all the while with that slight frown on his face. Once she had finished talking he stood up quickly, his hand still gripping his wand.

“Thank you Ginevra,” he said with a chilling smile. “You have been most useful.”

Ginny watched as he started walking to the door and felt a wave of panic whirl up inside her. “Wait!” she called out quickly. “What are you going to do with me?”

Lucius stopped and turned to face her with a thoughtful look on his face. “I could just kill you but that is far too messy, not to mention I would have all of those idiotic Order Members hounding my doorstep to get their righteous revenge. No, I have a better idea. I’m going to hand you to my Master and let him decide what to do with you.” He smiled suddenly, his eyes gleaming with amusement. “You see I am never one to waste good opportunities, and I believe you could be very useful to us.”

The whole world seemed to shatter in that moment, and Ginny was sure she had just fallen three feet through the floor. She had told him everything in the hopes that he would forget about hurting her, but she realised now how naïve she had been to think Lucius Malfoy had a single merciful bone in his body. He was going to hand her over to Voldemort without a second thought and who knew what would happen to her then.

“Don’t you have any pity?” Ginny asked with a slight catch in her voice. “I’ve done nothing to you.”

“My dear child, a blood traitor like you doesn’t have to do anything to be a scourge on our society. You are of good blood but your family have betrayed their kind. I cannot feel anything but disgust for anyone who bears the name of Weasley.”

Giant tears welled up in her eyes and slipped unchecked down her face to scatter the ground in wet droplets. Lucius remained unmoved and turned on his heel and strode out the door- it closing behind him and magically locking itself again.

Finding herself alone again, Ginny stared around the empty room, the sob that had been burning her throat finally breaking out in a pathetically broken sound. What could she possibly do now? Was this really the end for her? Would the father of her friend really be the reason for her early demise? And what about Draco? What would happen to him? Would he be forced to become a Death Eater?

“How did things turn out this way?” Ginny whispered brokenly, still with tears streaming down her face and clinging to her lashes. “This isn’t how it was meant to be.”

OOOO

Draco swore under his breath as the gates to the manor remained firmly shut. He had apparated to his home straight away after finding out Ginny might be in danger but the wards had been turned on and now it was impossible for him to get past even the gate. He had spent the past half an hour fruitlessly casting spell after spell in the hopes of breaking his father’s wards, but he knew deep down this was never going to work.

Sighing he realised that he would just have to give up his plan. He had hoped to sneak in and get Ginny out before either of his parents noticed, but that seemed a little ridiculous now that he couldn’t even get past the gate; that only meant that Lucius already knew Ginny was in his home and had thus set up the wards so that her family could not go barging in and take her back.

“I guess I have no choice.” Draco muttered and brought out Ginny’s wand, holding it at a certain point in the large black gate, an alarmingly grim expression on his face.

“Father,” he spoke out clearly into the night. “I’m home. Please open the gate.”

He waited in the chilly night for a few seconds before the gate slowly started creaking open. Taking a deep breath for some courage, Draco entered the grounds with his heart thudding uncomfortably in his chest. He had no idea how he was going to make his father let Ginny go, but he knew that he needed to at least try. It would be his fault if she were hurt after all.

The door to his home opened and Draco was greeted not by his father or the house elf like he was expecting, but by the tall, composed figure of his mother. His breath caught in his throat as he saw her eyes narrowing at him, but then Narcissa’s face softened and silently she walked over and pulled him into her arms, burying her face into his neck as she held him tightly against her.

“I was so worried,” she whispered, still clutching him to her for dear life. “When I saw that the girl had been impersonating you I thought you were dead and those nasty Order Members were trying to trick us...”

Draco felt himself relax in his mother’s arms. He had missed her over the holidays. The Weasleys were crazy and it felt good to be back in his own home with his own mother. There was no time for celebrations yet, however. Ginny was still in danger.

“Mother.” Draco pulled himself away and looked up at his mother’s beautiful face. He knew he could trust her. She may not like Weasleys, but he also knew she didn’t care enough about that dislike to wish a girl like Ginny dead. “Where is Ginny?”

Her eyes lowered into a downcast expression. “When the girl changed back into herself your father went crazy. He used some spell on her and took her away to one of the guest rooms where he’s been keeping her. I don’t know if she has woken up yet. I checked on her earlier but she was unconscious.”

“She’s not hurt is she?” Draco asked anxiously, wondering what horrible spell his father had used on Ginny. He felt literally sick at the thought of his father hurting that free-spirited girl. His very stomach seemed to lurch out of his throat.

Narcissa shook her head. “No, he hasn’t hurt her at all as far as I know. It was just a spell to keep her quiet and easier to interrogate. We were so worried about you….”

Ignoring his mothers fretting words about his own welfare, Draco found himself at a loss what he could do. Would his father even listen to him? He looked at his mother and wondered if she could help. She was the only one who really stood up to Lucius and he was sure she could get his father to stop this insanity if she really wished to.

“It doesn’t matter about that now,” Draco interrupted. “I’m perfectly fine. The Weasleys did nothing but try over-feeding me to death, but mother-” He looked at her with an anxious expression- “We need to help her. She’s just as innocent in this as me, and I know that father will not just let her go.”

“You’re probably right,” Narcissa agreed in a low voice. A frown settled on her normally composed features and she suddenly looked at Draco with a rather piercing look. He felt like her eyes were seeing right through him, which wasn’t at all a comforting thought.

“It’s not like you to care about Weasleys, Draco. Is there something you’re not telling me?”

He shook his head, knowing they were wasting precious time just standing here talking about this. “What does it matter?” he grabbed her hand and held it firmly in his grasp, grey eyes pleading desperately for her to just help him. “Will you really abandon her to father because she’s a Weasley? You’re the one who said that you don’t like what the Death Eaters do. I know you don’t really like blood traitors and mudbloods, but you also would not kill them would you? You’re not like those Death Eaters are you?”

She shook her head, her blue eyes watching him in wonder. Feeling a little more confident Draco met his mother’s gaze firmly. “I don’t care if she is a Weasley. She’s innocent in this, and she doesn’t deserve to be hurt because a spell decided to force us to switch bodies, or because of her family’s actions. She doesn’t deserve that at all…”

Tears slipped down his mother’s pale cheeks and a watery smile crept onto her lips. “Well said my son.” She placed a hand on his cheek, the smile growing on her face. “Now let’s go stop your father.”

Draco felt beautiful relief sweep through his body and smiled in reply. “Thank you,” he whispered gratefully.

Narcissa simply nodded and led the way towards the room where Ginny was being kept. “Your father is in there with her right now. Let’s just hope he has not decided to take matters into his own hands yet.”

His stomach twisted uncomfortably at her words, but Draco remained calm as they walked down the hallway. The sound of a door closing and locking echoed around the long corridor, and both Narcissa and Draco stared as Lucius stood before them with a rather surprised expression on his face.

“Draco, is that really you?” Lucius walked forward a few steps and stared at his son as if seeing him for the first time. His grey eyes were for once free from their icy coldness, and his lips were not marred in anyway by a sneer or smirk. He looked human- relieved, just as a father should when finding his son back in his home.

“I’m home, father.”

“And another child must now go home.” Narcissa said firmly to her husband, her eyes taking on a steely glint. “The girl cannot stay here, Lucius. I refuse to have that poor girl trapped in my house.”

Lucius’s face changed swiftly, until once more he was the mask of icy politeness. “She’s just a Weasley and she could help the Dark Lord win this war. I can’t let her go back to her home.”

“Oh don’t be a fool, Lucius,” Narcissa snapped harshly. “Is power really worth this? Are you so unsatisfied with your life that you must risk our lives and that girl’s just for a bit of power?”

“I’m doing this for the good of the family!”

“No you’re not!” Narcissa cried, finally losing her calm as the words that she had wanted to say were finally unleashed. “You’re doing this for yourself, and you’re even more of a fool if you think that the Dark Lord will give you anything! He doesn’t care about you, he doesn’t care about us- all he wants is Potter dead!” Tears gathered at her eyes but she continued to talk, Draco watching in amazement at how truly wrong he had been about his mother. He had always thought her a fickle woman, but listening to her passionate entreaties to his father he realised that she was so much more than that.

“That girl in there may be a blood traitor but she is still a human Lucius. She has a family just like we do, and even if they are the scum under our boots they are still people. I don’t care if you hate them; I don’t care if you hate her- just think about what you’re doing here. Think about the family that you will be destroying by taking away their child.”

“They’re blood traitors Narcissa. They don’t deserve my pity.”

“What if it was Draco?” Narcissa said softly.

Lucius’s eyes flickered to his son but he did not say anything.

“He’s been in that family’s care for all this time and not once did they hurt him. When he changed back to himself they did not lock him away in a room or curse him. They allowed him to come back home to us. You cannot tell me you were not relieved to see him again. You cannot tell me that you were not afraid that he might have been killed.” She reached out and took her husband’s hands in her own, her tear-filled eyes meeting his imploringly. “Will you deny this family the same relief? Will you deny them their only daughter?”

“I…”

“Please Lucius. Let’s forget about what we’ve been taught about blood traitors. Let’s just let that girl go home to her family as she should be allowed to. It’s Christmas for Merlin’s sake. We should be enjoying this time with our own family, not trying to set up plans to kill teenage boys and kidnap girls.”

Lucius seemed to deflate like an old balloon and silently nodded his head. Draco very nearly couldn’t believe his eyes. It almost seemed too good to be true, yet his father was keeping to his word. He took down the wards and then released the locks keeping Ginny in. Silently he opened the door and walked into the room, Draco and Narcissa following behind.

Draco’s first glimpse of her was to see her red hair sprawling around her like a fiery cape as she sat huddled over on the ground clutching her knees. She turned at the sound of their footsteps, tears staining her cheeks and her eyes widening in disbelief as she saw not just Lucius, but also Narcissa and Draco.

Meeting her gaze, Draco found himself feeling the insane urge to run over there and hug her, but he wisely refrained from doing so, knowing that would get more than just raised eyebrows from his parents. Even Ginny would have something to say about that he was sure.

“Get up.” Lucius commanded roughly. Clearly his compassion didn’t stretch for her to actually see.

Ginny stayed huddled on the ground, looking at them all a little frightened and confused, not really sure what was going on at all.

“Come, child. It’s time to go home.” Narcissa said softly as she reached down her hand and helped Ginny to her feet. Ginny seemed to wobble precariously and Narcissa quickly placed an arm around her to hold her steadily on her feet.

“I- I can go home?” Ginny asked with a catch in her voice, her tears falling even more freely as she looked up at Narcissa.

Draco watched his mother’s eyes soften and a kind smile coming to her lips. “Yes. We’re taking you home.” She smoothed back Ginny’s hair and wiped away the tears from her face. “Your family are waiting for you.”

Ginny let out a pathetic sob and hugged Narcissa tightly, burying her face deep into his mother’s shoulder as she cried in relief. Draco looked to his father who seemed to be fighting with a strong desire to keep his act of coldness or to smile. Compassion won the battle and a small smile was soon to be seen on his lips.

“Come.” Narcissa gently disengaged herself from Ginny and took her hand in hers. She looked at her husband and nodded her head. “I shall take her back.” Her eyes flickered to Draco. “Will you come too?”

Draco nodded his head and walked over to his mother. Silently Narcissa pulled out her wand and raised it in the air. Draco took a hold of her arm, just as Ginny did on the other. They all turned as one and disappeared with a loud crack.

When Draco opened his eyes it was to see the lopsided burrow before him. The front door to the house opened and all the Weasleys came bursting out, obviously alerted to their arrival by the sound of them apparating. He spotted Hermione and Harry also in the crowd, but Mrs Weasley’s loud exclamations diverted his attention back to her as the rather plump woman came rushing over.

“Ginny! My poor Ginny!”

She stopped when she saw Draco and Narcissa, her eyes taking on a slightly mistrustful gleam.

“You do not need to look at me like that,” Narcissa said smoothly. “I’m simply returning her to you.”

Mrs Weasley didn’t appear to be reassured by that and placed her hands on her well-endowed hips. “You’re telling me that you came all this way just to hand my daughter to me?”

“Mum,” Ginny said in a small voice, slowly pulling herself away from Narcissa and walking forward. “I’m okay.” She looked back at Narcissa and smiled softly. “This woman helped me.”

Draco watched as Mrs Weasley’s face softened, her eyes losing their sharp quality to become just relieved. “Is that true?”

Ginny nodded. “Yes. I would still be there if it were not for Mrs Malfoy.”

“You helped my baby girl?”

Narcissa smiled gently as she walked forward and placed a hand on Ginny’s shoulder, her blue eyes meeting Ginny’s mother’s with an understanding expression. “You took care of my son while he has been here. The least I could do was to do the same for your daughter. They are both innocent in these wars. I do not think it is right to hurt them because of our mistakes.”

“I have wronged you Narcissa,” Mrs Weasley said in a subdued voice. “I am sorry.”

Narcissa laughed a little bitterly. “You have nothing to be sorry for. If I had only talked to my husband earlier perhaps none of this would have happened. It is my son you really have to thank. He is the one that pushed me to talk to Lucius.”

“Is this true?”

Draco nodded his head. Mrs Weasley suddenly beamed at him and came striding towards him. Draco’s eyes widened in surprise, but all too soon Ginny’s mother was enfolding him in a very tight embrace. In the corner of his eye he could see Ginny being squeezed to death by her brothers as each took their turn in hugging her.

“Thank you! Oh thank you!” Mrs Weasley cried happily.

“Don’t suffocate him,” Bill said in an amused voice.

Much to Draco’s relief, she released him and took a step back, though a watery smile was still on her face. Mr Weasley walked over and held out his hand to Draco with a broad grin on his face- who took it a little shyly. He was not used to being treated this way.

“Thank you, son. You have made us all very happy.” He smiled at Narcissa. “And you too. We cannot thank you enough.”

“It is nothing. Please enjoy your Christmas together.” Narcissa said awkwardly- she too obviously feeling a little uncomfortable by the Weasley’s attentions.

Draco stood back as Ginny’s parents talked to his mother and felt a small tap on his shoulder. He turned just enough to see a glimpse of long red hair and chestnut eyes before once more he found himself locked tight in a hug.

“Thank you Draco.” Ginny whispered, her face resting against his chest as she held him to her. “I know you are the one who made this possible.”

He frowned slightly and stared down at the top of her head, his hand instinctively stroking her hair as his other came to rest on the small of her back. “It’s okay,” he said softly.

She pulled her head back and looked up at him with a warm smile, her eyes that were still glistening with tears, the small droplets clinging to her lashes, seeming to sparkle as they caught the light of the night sky. “You know, I’m glad we switched bodies.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I would never have let go of my prejudice of you. I would have continued hating you.” She gave a wobbly smile and leaned her face back down against his chest. “We would never have become friends.”

Draco felt his heart speed up on its own accord and wondered why there was an unfamiliar warmth seeping through his body. It almost felt like he had just walked into a bath of warm water, or maybe it was like a hot air balloon rising inside him. It was strange, and he didn’t understand why he should suddenly feel this way.

“Aren’t you glad too?” she whispered.

“I guess it wasn’t so bad,” he said after a moment, looking down at her with his face settled into a slight frown. Her arms were still locked tightly around him and her face was resting directly over his heart- the same heart that was pounding furiously against his chest. “Why are you holding me like this?”

Ginny only held him tighter. “Don’t you like it?”

He squirmed uncomfortably. It was very difficult to deal with Ginny when she was in her own body and he was in his. “I… I’m just not used to it.”

She laughed lightly and finally pulled herself away. Draco was surprised to feel a strange sense of loss. He almost wanted to pull her right back into him and hold her again.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you again after Christmas.”

He nodded his head. “Guess so.”

A shadow descended over them and Draco turned his head to see his mother standing there. “Let’s go home, Draco.” She said softly.

Draco nodded his head and stepped closer to his mother so he could disapparate with her. His eyes found Ginny’s face and saw the smile brightly shining at him. He found himself smiling in reply, unable to resist that infectious smile, before the whole world vanished with a small pop.