Forever Yours

AUTHOR'S NOTES: wasn't that quick guys? Only two days after, I believe, chapter 15 was posted. This chapter is lots more fun...hopefully. The next one should be even more fun as I am starting to write that one. Much thanks to my awesome beta Elisabeth who did this chapter so quickly for me! Anywho, enjoy! More notes at the end.

Chapter 16

The weekend passed by quickly enough. On Saturday, Hermione invited Ginny to go out shopping with her, which she did.

On Sunday, her mum and dad came to visit in her flat. Ginny was happy to see that her mum had brought a basketful of food for her, which she thanked her for.

So when Monday rolled around, Ginny woke up feeling rested and relaxed.

She had a shower in the morning, slipped on a the bar of soap, got dressed, combed her wet hair, dried it magically, left the house and came back after five minutes because she forgot her folders.

By the time she got to work, she was still early.

Briskly, she walked to her office, remembering that today was the day Malfoy was going to take the Polyjuice Potion and they were going to try and go undercover at Borgin and Burkes.

She placed her folders and her purse on her desk and then went to Malfoy's office, whose door was closed.

Straightening her skirt, Ginny knocked on the door.

Malfoy opened it almost instantly and raised an eyebrow when he saw her.

"You said to not be late, so here I am- early," she said.

He smirked. "So I did. Are you ready?"

She nodded and then he said, "Let's go."

Malfoy pocketed his wand and locked the door. As soon as they were out of the office, he pulled out a vial of some potion.

"You already added the blood?" Ginny asked, surprised. She had thought they were going to do it together when they got to work.

He shrugged, popping the cork on the vial. "It made sense for me to just do it when I got here. I didn't want to waste time."

"Are you sure I can't transform too?" she asked wistfully. "What else am I going to do?"

"Who would you transform into?" he asked, his eyes full of mirth. "Borgin himself?"

She rolled her eyes. "No. But, what else am I supposed to do?"

He appeared thoughtful. "Actually..."

Ginny cheered. Yes, her constant whining was working on him. "Yeah?"

"Actually, you probably don't even have to come with me. There's nothing for you to do there other than wait."

She felt like smacking herself...or him. Her whining was just annoying him. "Nothing for me to do?"

He shook his head. "I'm going in and then out. You can't transform into anyone, and the Invisibility Cloak doesn't work. There's nothing. Borgin will probably be suspicious if you went."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You just want to get rid of me, don't you? You think I'm going to mess things up, right?"

He rolled his eyes. "No, actually that's not why. It'll just be a waste of time. You can probably do something constructive like write that report for Mr. Dawlish. The details are on your desk."

"Report?" she repeated.

He nodded. "It's just to update him on our progress. It shouldn't take you too long, but you can work on it in the meantime while I'm gone."

"How long will you take?" she asked.

"The potion lasts for an hour, so that's how long I should be. If only you would stop asking me unnecessary questions, then I could leave."

Ginny pursed her lips. "Fine. Be my guest and leave." She swept her hands in the direction of the foyer and bowed low.

Malfoy just ignored her and left, going somewhere to take the potion so that he could transform.

After he left, Ginny stomped her foot. That git! How dare he think he was the boss of her, telling her what she could and couldn't do?

It was so unfair. She was his partner; they were supposed to work together. Partners! She laughed at the word. Malfoy didn't even know what the word meant.

He just always gave her the menial office work and expected that she sit and do it.

She walked to her office and sat down in her lumpy chair, grumpily. She fingered her long chain with the ring on it, as she thought.

He just wanted to do all the work. He was a work-hog. He thought that everyone but him was incompetent.

The quill in her hand shook as she wrote. She bit the end of the quill as she thought for fifteen minutes.

Why should he get all the action? This assignment was for both of them, not for just him.

That was it. She threw the quill down on her paper-strewn desk and got up. The assignment had been assigned to her too, so she was going to work on it with him. There was nothing he could do to stop her.

She picked up her wand and put it in her pocket. She checked her reflection in the mirror, making sure her hair was still up in her ponytail.

With that, she walked out of the office, taking off her robes and sticking them behind a bust of Albus Dumbledore.

Then she ran to the foyer and immediately Disapparated.

She Apparated in a corner of Diagon Alley, with her heart hammering in her chest. She had no idea what she was about to do, but knowing that Malfoy was going to be angry made her heart beat faster. She was scared that he might just kick her off the team, but at the same time, it made her excited.

Swiftly, she walked to the street where Borgin and Burkes was. She glanced down at herself to make sure that she didn't have any Ministry logos or such on her person that would give her away.

Knockturn Alley smelled this early in the morning and had mist rising from the ground.

Trying not to breathe anything in, Ginny opened the door to Borgin and Burkes.

There was nobody there this early in the morning. When she thought about all the times she had been in there, there hadn't been anyone there other than Borgin and her.

As she stood there trying to think of what to do, Borgin came in from the back.

"Yes?" he said, his voice oilier than usual.

"I...I was just looking," stammered Ginny.

"You've been looking for a week now," he snapped. "Get out! Go somewhere else!"

Ginny's pulse quickened and her hands began to sweat. "Sorry," she gulped. "But I don't mean any harm. I just..."

"I said, get out!" the old man shouted. "You're a bother. Out with you."

"Is something wrong, sir?" said a man from the back. It was Jones, his assistant. But Ginny couldn't tell if it was Malfoy/Jones or just Jones himself.

"No, I was just leaving," she stammered. "Thank you." She left the store, with her heart beating faster and faster.

Quickly, she walked out of Knockturn Alley until she was in the daylight of Diagon Alley.

This was when she slowed her pace down, but she couldn't relax yet. She closed her eyes and popped back to the Ministry, in the foyer.

The place was bustling with people now, but Ginny's heart still refused to slow down.

She walked to her office and only let out a sigh of relief when she sat down in her chair, safely enclosed by the three walls.

That was a close one. But was that Malfoy there in the store or just Jones? She couldn't tell. If that had been Malfoy in there, then she was so dead. But if it wasn't...then she was saved.

Ginny picked up her quill and bit the end as she thought. Jones (or Malfoy) hadn't made any sign that showed he recognized her. His expression had been blank when he had come from the back. Other than polite interest, there had been nothing else.

She let out a sigh of relief. That couldn't have been Malfoy then, she decided. That was just Jones. Malfoy probably hadn't even transformed yet.

With that comforting thought, Ginny picked up her quill and began to write her report for Mr. Dawlish. That way, when Malfoy came, she would be working diligently away. Her plan was brilliant.

She spent a half an hour writing the report. Just as she was adding the date, she noticed that the office had gone silent.

"Miss Weasley?" said a voice behind her. "May I see you in my office?"

Ginny looked up and turned around to see Malfoy standing behind her. He looked strangely calm as he waited for her patiently.

She got up slowly. "Sure."

She followed him to his office and sat down in the chair in front of his desk, waiting while he closed the door. He walked around the desk and sat down in his chair.

Then he said, "What the hell were you thinking?"

Ginny just stared at him. She had never seen him lose it before. "What do you mean?"

"You nearly ruined everything," he said, "by casually walking into Borgin and Burkes!"

Oh, shit. So that had been him. Except he was a damn good actor and didn't show his feelings on his face, like Ginny always did.

"Sorry," she mumbled into her lap, not looking at him.

"Sorry?" he repeated. "What the hell were you thinking when you snuck into the shop? Even when I told you not to."

Ginny hated being yelled at. Even when her mum did, her face would redden and tears would well up in her eyes. Being yelled at by Malfoy made her feel as if she was six years old again.

As she raised her eyes to look at him, she willed the tears in her eyes not to fall.

"Gee, maybe if you actually gave me a job to do instead of doing it all yourself, then I wouldn't have had to sneak around," she snapped. Her cheeks were read from embarrassment, but she couldn't back away from what she wanted to say. "Maybe if you actually trusted me and treated me like a partner, then I wouldn't have had to do it."

He sighed, running a hand through his blond hair. "I told you, it's hard for me to trust anyone."

"That's not my problem," she said. "We're partners. You're supposed to be able to trust me. This assignment was given to both of us, not just you. It's a partnership, which means we're supposed to work together and trust one another."

"Then why can't you trust me?" he demanded. "We're supposed to trust one another. Then you should trust me when I told you not come."

Absently, she pushed back a strand of hair. Obviously flustered, she said, "You're twisting my words around. That's not how it's supposed..."

"I'm following the same principle you're following."

"No, you're not. Because we're still supposed to be working together, something that we're not doing. You just assume I can't do anything so you stick me in the back while you have all the fun."

"Fun? This is why I don't trust you, because your attitude is that this is fun and it's a game. It's not," he snapped.

"Well that's how I interpret it, all right? And I haven't seen it any other way because you won't let me do anything. You don't give me a bloody chance," she said, her cheeks reddening from anger now.

He sighed. "You messed things up today. It proves that I was right to not let you come."

Ginny clutched the chair. "That's completely backward logic! I only did that because you wouldn't let me."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

She sat back down in the chair and Malfoy leaned back as well before saying, "Come in."

Mr Dawlish entered with a piece of parchment in his hand. "Miss Weasley? Mr Malfoy? Is everything all right?"

Ginny took a deep breath and plastered a fake smile on her face.

Before she could say anything, though, Malfoy said, "Of course, Mr Dawlish. I was just demonstrating a certain technique to Miss Weasley."

Dawlish's eyes twinkled in a way that Ginny knew he didn't believe a word Malfoy said. "Carry on, then. Miss Weasley, I wanted to let you know that I have received your report."

"All right," she said as he turned and left the office, closing the door behind him.

After he left, Ginny turned back around and stared at Malfoy. He stared back, unblinkingly.

"Do you want to know what happened or not?" His voice was tired as he asked her, as if he was tired of arguing.

She crossed her arms. "Fine."

Sighing, he shifted a few papers on his desk before saying, "Before you barged in there, I had just gone to the back and had found something interesting."

"What? What was it?" she asked, clutching the desk, all traces of anger gone. Her eyes were wide with curiosity, like that of a child's.

"Ten empty beds," he said. "And empty packs of crisps and food everywhere. Before I could pry anymore, Borgin came to the back and asked me what I was doing."

"And then?" Ginny said, riveted by the story.

"I just told him that I was cleaning up after them," he said. "And he seemed satisfied by my answer. Just when he mentioned how Macnair had gone with the others to do something, a customer came in."

"Oh," she said, noticing the annoyance in his voice.

"So I waited for a minute for him to come back, while looking around carefully, when I heard him shouting. So I went back out to see what had happened and was shocked when I saw that it was you."

Ginny waited patiently for this part of the story to be over, not wanting to argue again.

"So after you were gone, he came back and for ten minutes, all he talked about was how often you came to the shop, doing nothing and bothering him."

"Shit," muttered Ginny. When Malfoy had caught her in the shop and had confronted her about it, she had felt anything but guilt. She had felt anger and annoyance, but not guilt. Now guilt seeped into her thoughts.

She had messed up. Now was when she actually realized the effect of her mistake. She had created suspicion for herself by going into the shop again and doing nothing. Other opportunities to spy in the shop were gone.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," he said wryly. "Anyways, after that was done, he told me that the 'others' and Macnair had gone out for a bit and would be back soon. Also, that I was to attend to them then."

"And then?"

He shook his head. "I didn't get a chance to ask anything else, because I could feel myself turning back. So I quickly made an excuse and left."

Ginny bit her lip, feeling bad that she had messed it up. "I guess you didn't get any information then."

He raised his eyebrow at her. "Any information? I found out that the ten Death Eaters on our list, including Macnair, are hiding out in the back of Borgin's shop. What else do we need?"

She just stared at him with her mouth open. "But...but, he only mentioned Macnair. How do you know the others are there as well?"

He smirked. "Put it together, Weasley. He said the others as well as Macnair were gone out. That means the ten people gone were known to him. And I know that Borgin was pals with a couple of them and would do anything for them."

"So we've got them?" Ginny asked, her eyes lighting up.

He nodded. "We do. But how do we actually get them?"

"Hmmm." Ginny thought. She bit her lip as she thought, ideas percolating her head. A thought stuck her midway. "By the way, how did you know what to do as Jones? I mean, if you didn't act properly Borgin would be suspicious, but he wasn't."

"I shadowed him on the weekend while he worked at Borgin's. He was up front, restocking the shelves so I hid under the Cloak and observed how he spoke and behaved with his boss," he answered smoothly.

"Oh, wow," she said, clearly impressed. "And when you saw me, you didn't show that you knew me, or that you were angry."

Malfoy shrugged. "If I had gotten angry, that wouldn't have helped, would it?"

She shook her head.

"So, I just acted as if everything was normal," he said. "But back to how we will capture them."

Ginny bit her lip in thought. "Do you mind if I make myself comfortable?"

He raised an eyebrow and nodded.

Ginny kicked off her shoes and crossed her legs in the wide chair. She was thankful that today she was wearing pants and not a skirt.

He just smirked and looked like he was going to laugh, but thought better of it.

"Why can't we just sneak through again?"

"Because there's a barrier in the archway that allows only Borgin and Jones through," he reminded her.

"What about the back?" she asked him, leaning back in the chair.

He appeared thoughtful. "The alleyway is too tight, if it exists at all." He paused for a minute, trying to envision it. "No, the shops in Knockturn Alley don't have any space between them. They are completely side by side, unlike the ones on the main road."

"That means there's no way in," she muttered, trying to think about it. "Do you have a piece of parchment and a quill?"

He handed her the things she asked for.

Biting the end of the quill, she thought. "I'm just trying to imagine it." She scribbled a square in the centre of the parchment, while writing BB on it for Borgin and Burkes. She drew a few other squares on each side of the BB.

"Let me see," he said. She handed it to him and his eyes swiftly swept over it.

He flipped it over and began drawing again.

"Hey!" Ginny said. "What was wrong with the one I drew?"

"There's five shops to the left of it and six to the right," he answered without looking up. He was drawing neat, even squares and labelling them correctly. "You drew three to the left and two to the right."

Ginny snorted. "How did you remember that?"

He looked up. "I just did.

"Why does it matter?"

"It could be the difference of life and death," he explained patiently, his grey eyes meeting hers. "My father used to tell me that any little detail could become useful later on while planning a getaway."

She just blinked. Wow. That actually made sense, but she couldn't remember anything for the life of her. She remembered random things that had no relevance to anything, but nothing important.

He handed the parchment back to her when he was done. Ginny glanced at it and found twelve squares drawn neatly with the full name of the stores in the centre, written in tiny script.

She looked at the drawing. "According to this, there's no way to the back of the store from the front, unless you are Borgin or Jones. And there's no way to get to the back unless...there is no way."

Malfoy thought about it and then said, "That sounds right."

Her eyes narrowed at him and she said, "You're taking this rather calmly."

He shrugged. "We have all day to come up with a plan."

Ginny was confused. "Why? When are we doing this?"

"Tomorrow," he answered calmly, as he cleared a few papers of his desk.

"Tomorrow?!" she repeated. "But that's so-"

"Soon," he said, taking off his robes and rolling up his sleeves of his long sleeved Muggle collar shirt, which stretched across his muscular chest.

Ginny averted her eyes, trying not to stare. "Okay, then. Let's start, then."

Five hours and several piece of parchment later, they still didn't have a plan.

While Ginny needed to draw the plan out, Malfoy needed to write it, so they went through several pieces of parchment, which he would chuck into the rubbish bin once they realised the flaw of the plan.

She still sat with her legs crossed in the chair while Malfoy was leaned back in his chair. Malfoy's maroon shirt and black tie still looked the same as when he had taken his robes off, while Ginny's blue shirt was blotted with ink blots from when she wrote too enthusiastically.

"We're not getting anywhere," groaned Ginny, setting down the half-bent quill. She had pressed too hard when she had been writing and had also fiddled with it while she thought.

Malfoy ran a hand through his blond hair. "For once, I have to agree. Are you hungry, by the way?"

Ginny snapped the quill she had been playing with in her hands. "Sorry?" Did Malfoy just ask her a question that wasn't about work? What was up with that?

He glanced at his watch. "It's three o'clock. I assume if we eat, then we might be able to think better."

Wow. Malfoy was acting...human. This was indeed something new.

She started to get up but Malfoy waved a hand at her. "I'll be right back. Try to think of a plan while I'm gone. Maybe you'll have a stroke of genius."

He said it sarcastically, but before Ginny could comment, he was out, shutting the door lightly behind him.

She turned back around, looking back at the plan. Malfoy wasn't that bad. But he wasn't that great either, of course...

But then again, working with him wasn't what she expected it to be. He was always focused and hardly strayed to other topics, like she might have done with a female partner. He had good strategies and work ethic, speaking in a clear and concise manner. His sarcasm was also funny, when it wasn't aimed at her.

Even with all these positive aspects about him, Ginny wasn't head over heels over him. Maybe it was because of a long and painful history from Hogwarts that prevented them from truly becoming friends.

The original plan that Malfoy had drawn five hours earlier, the first that he had drawn again, was still on his desk.

Ginny picked it up, smoothing the corners and looking at it. One of their ways to get to the back was to climb the rooftops of the shops. That was the only way, other than going from the inside.

Even if they made it to the back and to the Death Eaters, what about Borgin and what he would do? This little glitch made their whole plan change, causing them to revise it so that they split up and causing one of them to drink the Polyjuice Potion and come from the front to cause a diversion.

Suddenly the wheels in Ginny's head began turning as random ideas began popping into her head. Quickly, she wrote them down with her broken quill, rushing to make sure that it was all down.

When Malfoy came back with a plate of sandwiches, Ginny pounced on him (not that way!) Eagerly, she thrust the plan towards him, explaining it in detail.

Malfoy's brow was furrowed as he read over it, still listening to her as she explained.

"No, absolutely not," he said, once she was done.

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Because there are far too many variables," he explained. "There are a thousand things I can see right now that can go wrong."

"So? Don't you want to catch these guys and put them away in Azkaban for good?"

He nodded slowly, his grey eyes meeting hers.

"So sometimes you have to be willing to a risk for what you want you do."

"This is not one risk, but a hundred risks!"

She sighed. "Then we'll be careful. It's already taken us so long to get this far. And now, just because you don't trust me, you're willing to throw this whole assignment down the toilet?"

"It's not that," he said warily. "I don't want to be responsible for your death. This operation has death written all over it."

"I know what I signed up for, Malfoy," she said. "I know it's dangerous and I know that one of us could get hurt, but I'm willing to take that risk, because I really want to rid this world of Death Eaters. Harry died in vain if nothing has changed. I owe it to him and all the people who died in the war to finish what they started. But to do this, I need you to trust me." Her brown eyes were wide and alive with a fire deep in them.

He sighed. "Fine. But if you die, it's your own fault."

She grinned, glad that he had agreed. "Okay. I take complete responsibility if I die and also if you die."

He smirked. "That's kind of you."

Grinning back, she said, "I try."

Suddenly there was a tiny pop and a piece of parchment materialised on Malfoy's desk.

He picked it up, his grey eyes skimming it quickly. "Shit," she heard him mutter.

"What is it?" she asked him, her brow furrowed.

"Dawlish called a Department meeting for tomorrow," he said, handing her the parchment. "Early in the morning, too."

"Shoot," she said, biting her lip. "And it's imperative for us to start at night. I guess we'll have to go tomorrow night, then."

"I guess so," he said, appearing annoyed. "We should start planning, though. Make a list of materials we'll need and I'll get them."

"Okay, then," said Ginny, grabbing a sandwich on her way out.

The rest of the way passed by quickly enough as she sat at her tiny desk and scribbled up lists of materials, showing them to Malfoy and revising them after he scoffed at parts of it. By five o'clock, she handed him the final list while he handed her the final plan.

"All the details aren't on here," she noticed, skimming it over. It didn't state any specifics.

He nodded, picking up pieces of parchment and putting them in folders. "I know. I have to add more tomorrow after the meeting. But you won't have the entire plan either way. This is to ensure that the plan continues even if something happens to me."

"And you know the entire plan?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

He smirked. "Obviously, Weasley. I came up with it."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"I didn't make up the tactic," he told her, walking with her to the foyer. "It's actually a common tactic used in war efforts to ensure the successfulness of the mission and to keep the casualties to a minimum."

"Lovely," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "So you know everything and I only know part of it?"

Malfoy smirked again. "Indeed. I'll see you tomorrow, Weasley." And with that, he Disapparated.

Ginny stuck her tongue out to the spot where he had been. It wasn't very professional she admitted, but sometimes certain situations called for certain acts of immaturity.

It was as if he had a tendency to appear and disappear on the spot. He was often sneaking up on her and disappearing when he was done talking to her.

But then a secret smile lit up Ginny's features as she thought of the plan. The plan that she had mostly come up with and was going to be a part of.

She knew that Malfoy told her to be more serious. In fact, he had reprimanded her on several occasions during the five hours of planning they spent, when she burst out loud laughing for some quaint reason or another.

The thing was, though, that finally, she was going to be part of the action. Even during her Auror's training course, she hated the sitting at the desk and planning part. She wanted to execute her plan and wanted to be in the middle of it all.

She goofed around when things got too serious during the dull bits, but was all brisk and business like when it came time to be serious.

Malfoy just had to see her in action. Then he would know what she was made of.

Her grin widened as she imagined what Malfoy's expression would be like when she kicked Death Eater butt.

She laughed silently. It was going to be one to be seen.

A/N- haha, did you like it? I loved writing this chapter. The next chapter should be even more fun as it's all action. Not action between Draco and Ginny...but action action! Think Mission Impossible (which I've never seen, but the music seems appropriate) for the next chapter. Except with magic! And a lil bit of Spiderman...lol. I think. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I know it was dull, but hopefully this one made up for it and the next one will make up for it even more. Much thanks to Painsbeauty for reading and reviewing 12 chapters in one day! Yay! I love to read your reviews, guys, so keep 'em coming, 'cause it makes me smile! :)