Some Days I Wish I Were in Slytherin

More than you know,

More than you know,

Man of my heart I love you so.

Lately I find you're on my mind more than you know.

Whether you're right whether it's wrong

Man of my heart I'll string along

You need me so, more than you'll ever know

Loving you the way that I do there's nothing I can do about it.

Loving may be all you can give, but darling I can't live without it.

Oh how I'd sigh, Oh how I'd cry, if you got sad and said good bye.

More than I'd show, more than you'd ever know.

--Lena Horne, More Than You Know

Chapter 17: More Than You Know

Ginny woke up from a fitful sleep, plagued by strange, disturbing dreams of blood and killing, where the only clearly remembered details were a pair of dark blue eyes and hideous laughter. She irritably hit her pillow with her fist and looked to the window, where dawn's first streaks were lightening the sky outside. She sighed and rolled over, pulling the coverlet up under her chin.

Her head was spinning from too much thinking, no wonder she'd had nightmares. When she left Snape's room last night, her heart had been filled with unbearable joy, but also sadness. He loved her. He had said the words, and she had answered back in kind, the response falling instantly and naturally from her lips. It was true, she did love him. Almost too much, so much, that the mere thought of him seemed to fill up the emptiness inside her and pour over to fill every crevice of her being. He closed the wounds she had always known existed, but had thought would never heal. He was a rock, ballast in the tempest that was her world, reassuring, comforting, her dark prince of blood and night. But then there was Draco. Draco, who made her laugh, who made her skin tingle at the slightest touch and her heart beat much too fast.

She pulled the pillow over her head and groaned into the darkness. It was too much to think about. Her head was throbbing already. She should be worried about Voldemort, about his plans, not about such piddling matters of the heart. The pillow went sailing across the room with a muffled curse, and she forced herself to sit up. She would meditate on this and put it out of her mind for now. There was a ball to think about after all.

A short, self deprecating laugh escaped her. Ah yes, the ball, she thought. Such an earthshaking event in the eyes of the world, but despite the fact that it was foolish, she was looking forward to it. Looking forward to dancing and wearing her new robes and maybe, just maybe ... Severus would be there. Her heart lifted at the thought.

*************

Ginny stood in front of the mirror in Daisy's suite of rooms at Julian's hotel. The two girls were getting ready; Ginny was already dressed, while Daisy was helping her with her hair, still clad only in her underwear and dressing gown. Draco would be arriving shortly, while Erasmus was picking Daisy up later so they could descend on the ball with the rest of the guests.

"There." Daisy ran her wand over Ginny's hair a final time and looked at her approvingly. "You look beautiful."

Ginny turned around and looked at herself in the mirror. A smile came to her lips. Daisy had done a charm which swept her hair up to the back of her head, where it was bound by fine copper threads strung with delicate amber flowers that matched her robe. The robe was the one Draco had bought for her that first time they'd gone out. It was cut low in the back, almost to the waist, but in the front the soft material gathered loosely around her neck, ending in capped sleeves just brushing her shoulders. When she moved, the golden material glimmered and flowed like molten metal and seemed to take on a life of its own.

She turned to Daisy and smiled. "It looks beautiful, thank you."

"It's not the dress that makes the girl," Daisy said. She smirked, then jumped as a knock sounded on the door. "Bloody hell," she said. "That must be Draco, and here I am, still in my knickers." She shoved Ginny towards the door and rushed into the bathroom, whispering over her shoulder. "You're gorgeous, you're beautiful, now go."

Ginny laughed and, after smoothing down the floor length skirt a final time with nervous hands, she opened the door.

It was Draco. When he saw her, he smiled. It took her breath away.

**************************

The ball was a glittering, gala affair. Wizards and witches were pulling up to Julian's hotel in long, dark Muggle cars or on flying carpets, their bejeweled fingers flashing in the air as they talked animatedly and made their way into the ground floor ballroom. Inside, wide French doors opened up onto the blooming moonlit garden and admitted the enticing perfume of exotic gardenias and peonies. The gleaming wood of the dance floor was an open invitation, made all the more enticing by the presence of the orchestra in the corner. The conductor, a middle aged Asian wizard, was warming up the magical floating instruments, pointing his wand at each one and listening to the soft sweet notes which issued forth.

Throngs of people surrounded Ginny from early in the evening. She had been alarmed when she had realized that "being early" meant she was to be part of the receiving line with Julian and Draco. She curtsied to the witches and had her hand clasped and kissed by the multitude of wizards, who looked at her with sly, amused eyes before paying elegant compliments to their host about her charm and youthful beauty.

"Ah, Yes," Julian said to a bald aging wizard, giving the man a charismatic smile. "Virginia is a girl after my own heart. She has become like a daughter to me in only a short time." His face took on a caring paternal expression that was most unlike him, and he added with a sidelong look at his grandson. "I only hope that someday that might be true."

Ginny had smiled tightly at this. The wizard and his wife, a thin nosed woman in blue robes, had made polite responses, but she had noted them hurrying off to a knot of people to share this latest delicious piece of news. Her mother would hear of this. That was for certain. She pushed the bracelet from Draco higher up her forearm and greeted the next guest, pushing the thought from her mind. There was no time to think of it now.

Finally the crowd in the entryway diminished to a slow trickle, and Ginny abandoned her duties as hostess. She took a flute of champagne from a house elf and moistened her throat. The liquid slid down with a soft, tickling sensation and settled warmly in her stomach as, without warning, the orchestra conductor brought down his wand and the instruments began to play. She took another sip and looked for Draco.

He was approaching her from across the room, his blonde hair shining in the bright light of the sconces, stylishly handsome in his charcoal dress robes. The look on his face was one of pride and adoration, and she knew no matter how much he might care for her, a small part of him was taking satisfaction in being the most attractive man there. She couldn't say she felt the same about herself, but the way his eyes settled on her, she thought that he might disagree. He took the glass from her fingers and placed it on a conveniently floating tray.

"Virginia," he said. The stiff formality of his words was softened a tiny bit by his smile. "Would you do me the honor of leading out the dance?"

She gave him a brilliant, flashing smile to disguise the guilt and apprehension that gripped her and stretched out her hand for him to take. His fingers closed over hers, palm to palm, and he led her out onto the empty dance floor. A circle of faces, obscured by the haze that had come over her eyes, surrounded them, watchful and eager.

Draco pulled her towards him, his hand warm against her cold, nervous one, and put his other hand on her waist, just above her hip. His eyes held a challenge, and he smiled at her expectantly.

"Can you dance, Malfoy?" she asked.

The music began in earnest, a stirring refrain with a gentle sprightly melody. He began to guide her around the floor in time to the music. "I don't know," he told her. "Why don't you tell me?" His eyes were narrowed, intensely focused on one object, her. The way he looked at her made her realize all the declarations he had made to her last night were true. The thought should have made her happy, should have leant wings to her feet, but instead she followed his lead stiffly. For he could dance, glided, actually, with the mechanical precision of someone who has taken years of lessons, his feet flawlessly moving in the intricate steps of the Wizard's waltz. The way he danced was practiced, smooth, but he didn't seem to feel the music, it seemed he only went through the paces because he was expected to and was expected to do it well.

The music brought them around in a sweeping, graceful turn, and over Draco's shoulder, through a parting in the crowd that now surrounded them, she saw him. He was standing on the edge of the floor against the wall, his robes raven black amidst the bright plumage of the other guests. He seemed to draw in all the light and color of the room and make it snap into sharp focus, more pure and real than it seemed possible. Severus.

He stood there, unmoving, and she knew his gaze followed her. It didn't seem that anyone else noticed him devouring her with his eyes, and she wondered how they could be so blind to the invisible threads that bound them to each other.

"What is it?" Draco hissed in her ear. She brought her attention back to him and realized her feet had faltered. With a quick extra step she matched his movement again.

"Nothing," she whispered. "I just felt dizzy for a moment - all this whirling."

Draco smiled at her. "I'll whirl you all night if you like. Just so I can feel you in my arms." He moved his hand possessively around below her waist, and her breath caught as she saw a tortured look flash across Snape's face.

"Draco," she hissed, moving his hand back to her waist. "People are watching."

"Let them watch." He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her, hot and sweet, like the rich, sugary coffee he loved to drink. Her lips returned the kiss, but with only half her heart. The other half was standing across the dance floor. She was torn between them. Between brilliant, sunlit, youthful day which made her smile inside and dark, deep, desperate night that shook her to her very soul.

The music became faster, more intricate, and she followed Draco's lead, her feet matching his in perfectly syncopated rhythm. The dance floor was a blur, empty except two pairs of eyes, one grey and tender, the other black as sin and all consuming.

She rested her chin on Draco's shoulder, and her eyes met Snape's. She could feel the electricity crackling between them from here, and a compelling sensation as though a key had snapped into place, locking their gazes together. His eyes took her in as if he never wanted to let her image go, as if she was the setting sun, and he a dying man who knew he would not live to see the morn. It felt as if he could see beneath the thin material of her robes, see to the bare flesh underneath, to the most naked parts of her that ached for him. Severus. His name pounded in her veins, throbbing in time to the music of the violins.

The music stopped, and she faced Draco, breathless and trembling. He seemed unruffled, but turned his eyes to her in surprise. "What was that?" he asked her. "You danced as if you were possessed."

"Nothing," she lied. "Can we rest for a moment?" Her eyes darted to where Snape had been standing, but he had gone, his place filled by the crowd forming around the buffet table. Her heart sank a bit, and she turned to Draco, who was looking at her with a puzzled expression. He led her to a quiet corner and sat down next to her on a bench. She sank against the wall for a moment, steadying her breathing, while he held her hand.

"Are you all right?" he asked. She nodded in response, knowing her cheeks were sheets of flame and her eyes unnaturally bright. All she could think was that it was impossible to feel this way, and yet impossible not to. He ran a hand over her cheek, his touch gentle, and whispered soft low words.

"For ever bright and ever fair. How beautiful she seems to mortal sight, the white robed maiden with the auburn hair."

Ginny's lips turned up a little at the corners, and before she could stop herself, she laughed, spoiling her somber mood and making her heart lift. "Malfoy," she said. "Has anyone told you you're a shameful flirt?"

He smiled at her. "They're usually too busy falling at my feet." She couldn't help rolling her eyes at him, and he squeezed her hand. "Feeling better now?"

"Yes, actually," she said. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and he ran his free hand up the inside of her arm, his fingers stopping momentarily at the exact spot where, if she received one, the dark mark would be. "Thinking about that?" she asked him.

"Since last night," he told her. He looked down at her seriously. "I meant what I said. I stand by you. I don't just want the sparkling, laughing girl. I'll take everything that comes with her - dark, dirty secrets and all. It's just ... this seems wrong somehow."

She noticed a few people looking at them curiously. "We'll talk about this later," she told him. "Let's just dance."

He helped her up, and they returned to the floor. The evening flew by quickly, and Ginny's feet throbbed in her sandals from dancing nearly every dance. She danced with Draco, Erasmus (to her surprise he was a fun, inspired dancer), and several other members of what Ginny had begun to call in her head The Future Pureblood Council. The men all paid gallant compliments to her about her dress or her dancing. She laughed and flirted gaily, but inside, her heart was being torn apart. She was aware of Severus' presence on the edges of the room, his brooding, watchful eyes making her skin burn from the inside out.

The room grew more crowded as the night went on, and finally she and Daisy excused themselves for a few moments. They went to the empty ladies room and collapsed on a small sofa, easing off their shoes and whispering together in low voices.

"My feet are dead. I swear they are," said Ginny, healing her blisters with her wand. "I must have danced with everyone here."

"I know someone who wants to dance with you," Daisy said, arching an eyebrow while reapplying her lipstick. She shot Ginny a significant glance. "The way he looks at you. No one," she shivered, "has ever looked at me like that. It's like you are the only person in the room to him, like you're a star that suddenly appeared in a starless sky."

"Daisy! If I didn't know better, I'd think you were becoming a romantic." Ginny tapped Daisy's hand jokingly with her wand. "Do you think anyone else noticed?" she added quickly.

"No, I only noticed because I was looking for it. He hides it rather well I think." Her voice grew quiet. "Ginny," she said. "I love Erasmus with my whole heart. It eats away at me to think of him with Lavinia." Tears spilled over in her blue eyes. "I know I act like it doesn't matter, but I ache for him. Just for him. I don't care about his money. I just want him."

"Then tell him," Ginny said. "Tell him how you feel. Tell him you don't care if his family cuts him off. You both have jobs, you're adults. If you want to be together then do it." She felt tears coming to her own eyes. "Do it for yourself, even if I can not." A sob came over her, and she wiped the wetness from her cheeks with her hands.

"I love him so much, Daisy. What will I do? My mind tells me to let him go, but I can't."

"Ginny." Daisy pulled out her wand and began to fix Ginny's makeup with a skilled hand. "You must do what will make you happy, no matter how you feel for the Professor." She looked down and lowered her voice. "At this point in time, do you think there can really be anything between the two of you? Anything real? You know there can't. Don't waste how you feel on something that will rain down more trouble than good. Be patient, let it be, and if it is meant to happen it will." She smiled and lowered her wand. "True love never dies."

Ginny nodded sorrowfully and straightened out the tangles in her hair, and they walked back to the ballroom in silence. She looked for Draco and saw him out in the courtyard with Erasmus and some other men, laughing and drinking from a flask of what looked like potent fire-whiskey.

The music started up again, an old song that reminded her of home, which made her foot tap the floor in time to the rhythm. A hand settled on the bare skin of her upper arm, and she knew it was Severus before he even spoke.

"Dance with me," he said. She took a shallow breath and turned to him with her heart in her eyes. Just this once, let me have just this once. She took his hand and followed him onto the crowded floor. They ignored the whispers and pointed stares from those around them. At that moment it was just the two of them. He pulled her into the pattern of the dance, his stern form oddly graceful. His free hand alighted on the small of her back, his palm resting gently against the bare skin. He leaned forward and put his lips near her ear.

"Act like I'm not saying anything," he murmured. "I just learned that McNabb is meeting a contact after the ball is over, to hand over the papers. We must find out what is in them."

Ginny smiled as if enjoying the dance. "Could you distract him?" she asked in a low voice. "It would take me but a moment to sneak into his room and copy them."

Snape scowled. "I didn't mean for you -"

"Do you have a better idea?" They turned and retraced their steps the other way. Snape sighed, his expression hovering halfway in between disapproving and resigned. "No," he said finally as the orchestra began another song, switching from the traditional waltz to a slow jazz tune. "Room 309. You'll have five minutes. After this, don't talk to me until tomorrow." She nodded and expected him to leave. He dropped her hand, but instead of walking away, he drew her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her waist until she rested in the circle of his embrace. Ginny sighed and brought her hands up, twining them around his neck. His eyes burned bright at her touch, like black pools of pitch with a single flame at their center.

They swayed slowly, in time with the music. The rich sound of the instruments supported them; the song's plaintive, melancholy strains constructing a golden cloud where they alone existed. It was a dream world where time ceased to be, where there was no death or dying, no right or wrong; only two people, who fit together like sun and shadow.

Ginny wanted the dance to last forever. She drank in the touch of his hands on her skin, the feel of his body against hers. They danced together in perfect harmony, their steps slow and measured, like honey pooling on a spoon. He radiated gentle assurance as he guided her, and in return she moved against him like a lover, responding to his every touch, their bodies melded into one. She looked up at him and saw her own desperate desire reflected back at her. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them they were strangely sorrowful.

"I wanted to tell you how beautiful you are tonight," he said.

She smiled tremulously. When he was dancing, she glimpsed how he might have looked if things were different; handsome and full of life. She relaxed against him, resting her head against his chest. She felt at home in his arms, the longing quenched when she could hear his heartbeat keeping time with hers.

"Severus," she breathed, lifting her head to look at him and fighting back the tears that choked her, hoping in the sound of his name, he heard how much she loved him. She moved one hand up, her fingers barely brushing the skin at his hairline. "This is killing me ..." she pleaded.

His hands trembled against the bare skin of her back for an instant then held her firmly again. He looked down at her, his eyes hooded, as if trying to hide the emotions that played across them and spoke. "This time is for you to live your life, Ginny. I will not have you waste your youth pining for something that can not be." He ran a soothing hand along her spine, and his voice grew low and gentle, the words a caress. "Someday we'll be together. I promise." He looked over in the direction of the patio. "He loves you. It's not a betrayal if you love him back."

Ginny looked into his eyes. "How can you say that?"

"Because that is the truth. This is not our time; it is your time to be with him. I have accepted that." The music swelled around them, a painful keening of heartbreak and loss. She pulled away a little and regarded him seriously.

"If I do what you have asked," she said, trying to keep her voice from breaking. "Do you promise you will wait for me? Do you promise what we have will still be here?"

He leaned in under cover of a turn, his voice like silk. "I promise, Virginia. I will wait for you forever." His words became a whisper. "I will love you forever."

The music stopped and the dancing couples drifted apart. He bent over her hand and kissed it softly. "Go," he murmured. "Be free for me. It is my gift to you." He drew himself up and swept away, leaving her standing alone on the dance floor.

Unshed tears welled up in Ginny's eyes, and she rushed from the parquet. She paused in the entry, hiding her eyes and pretending interest in a painting. A hand came down on her shoulder, and she turned around to see Draco looking at her with an expression that was half concerned and half angry.

"What's wrong," he asked. "What did Snape say to you?"

She shook her head. "Nothing," she lied. "Just some work he has for me. He was upset because I forgot to prepare an ingredient for tomorrow." She fished around in her evening bag as if looking for something. "Can you excuse me?" she asked him. Behind him, she could see McNabb talking to Snape in the background. "I need to run upstairs for a moment. I'll be right back." Draco nodded, looking confused, and she slipped off and got into the lift. The doors closed, and she stood quietly, watching the lights mark off her progress to the third floor though blurred vision.

************************

Before exiting the lift, Ginny took the precaution of casting a glamour on herself, with a brief muttered apology to Daisy. She stared at her reflection in a tiny hand mirror and gave a sad smile of satisfaction, then wiped her tear stained cheeks, squared her shoulders, and pushed all the emotions raging inside her out of mind. She would think about Snape's words later, when she was done with her task and when the thoughts did not hurt so terribly.

The woman who exited into the wide, plushly carpeted hall bore every resemblance to Daisy Parkinson - a slim blonde, with an upturned nose and slinky black dress robes. She sauntered down the corridor with confidence, passing several people and nodding at them icily, in the regal manner Daisy projected to all but her friends. McNabb's room was easy enough to find, off the main corridor near the end. At the door she paused, looked around carefully to make sure no one was watching, and pulled out her wand.

"Alohomora!" she whispered. The door unlocked with a click, and she slowly extended her hand and twisted the knob. It opened silently, and with a final glance down the hall, she disappeared into the room.

Inside, Ginny closed and locked the door behind her, then looked around the room, a lavishly appointed sitting area. A cursory glance revealed no obvious place to hide the papers, so she passed into the adjoining room. The bedroom was occupied by a massive bed, but had several chests and trunks as well as a large closet. Her eyes darted around and then settled on a narrow writing desk. She rushed to it and began opening the drawers. A hurried search revealed no documents, only cosmetics she assumed to be his wife's, letters written in a feminine hand, and a frightening array of empty sweets wrappers.

She turned and looked around her again with narrowed eyes. Her time was running out. If she was McNabb, where would she hide something? Finally she pulled out her wand and said in frustration, "Accio documents!" With a crash, a hidden panel in the desk popped open, and the papers fell onto the floor, followed by an avalanche of sticky wrappers.

Ginny groaned and kneeled on the floor, the skirt of her robe billowing around her. She plucked the papers up and scanned them quickly. The first document was a multiple page list of the various pureblood families and their children, including their suspected allegiances with Voldemort, the Ministry, or Dumbledore. Its presence made little sense to her. She found her own name halfway down the list and was pleased to note a question mark next to it. Percy's name was conspicuously absent. She quickly copied the papers with a duplicating charm and stuffed them in her hand bag.

The second sheaf of documents she looked through with horrified eyes. It was a directory of every Muggle born student at Hogwarts and included detailed information on their families and homes. She took a shaky breath as she began to duplicate the pages, she didn't have to wonder what Voldemort would do with this information. Within seconds, the document was copied. She shoved it into her already full bag then quickly replaced the original document in the desk. The false bottom clicked into place, and she frantically began to scoop sweets wrappers on top of it. The last handful of wrappers fluttered down, and she closed the lid of the desk and started back for the living area. That was when she heard the sound of someone unlocking the door.

**************************

Draco watched Ginny disappear into the elevator and narrowed his eyes. What was going on? Was this Death Eater business? He glanced casually behind him. Snape was talking with his grandfather's flunky McNabb who was downing his tenth or eleventh drink of the night. Daisy and Erasmus were sneaking out to the garden for a snog, and the other guests were eating or dancing merrily. He wouldn't be missed if he left for a few moments. The lights above the elevator paused at the third floor. He turned quickly down the hallway, went into the stairwell, and started up the stairs.

He reached the third floor and peered through the tiny window into the hall. Ginny was nowhere to be seen, but he saw Daisy going into a room a few doors down. He tried to see past her down the hall, and then his eyes went back to the now closed door as a thought occurred to him. Daisy was down in the garden with Erasmus.

Something was wrong here. He went out into the hallway and hid behind a tall potted plant to wait and watch. Nothing happened for a short while, then the lift doors slid open with a high pitched chime, and McNabb emerged. The tall, heavyset man walked unsteadily down the hallway and stopped at the same door Daisy had entered.

**************************

Severus Snape glanced around the ballroom. To anyone else, he looked cold and distant, but there was an anxious unsettled feeling deep inside him. She should have been back by now. Where was she? Draco was missing as well. Perhaps they had gone off together after she copied the papers? As much as he wanted to, he didn't believe that. He looked around a final time and started for the third floor.

****************************

Ginny muttered a curse under her breath and hurried into the outer room. She chanced a quick glance in the mirror, making sure the glamour was still intact then hid her wand in her robes and lowered herself onto the couch. The door opened, and McNabb stumbled in, his beady eyes widening in surprise when he saw her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Don't say you're not happy to see me." She made her voice a close approximation of Daisy's drawl. The alcohol on his breath was noticeable from across the room; hopefully he was drunk enough not to notice any difference.

He leered. "On the contrary, my dear, I've been hoping you'd listen to reason. But unfortunately, I have a colleague coming to see me shortly."

"Well then," Ginny said, smiling at him and trying to hide the disgust she felt. "I'll catch up with you later." She stood up slowly and made her way across the room. It seemed he would let her go, but at the last minute his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.

"Then again, it won't hurt him to wait." He pulled Ginny to him, and she fought the urge to vomit at the feel of his sweaty hands against her skin. He ran his hand down her back, stopped with a puzzled expression, and then ran his hand over her skin again as if unable to determine why he couldn't feel the material of her robes. His thick eyebrows lowered in thought, then, in an instant, his pupils dilated, and he became stone sober. He pushed her away and said in a harsh voice. "Who are you?"

She stumbled back and pulled out her wand, but with a swift backhand he knocked her off her feet. Pain flared up the side of her face, and she felt the glamour disappear with a sudden surge like icy water. She hit the floor hard, knocking her breath from her chest. He kicked her, a sharp bone crunching blow to the ribs, then bent over and, with a vicious twist of his wrist, snatched her wand away.

"Weasley," he snarled. He straightened up and curled his lip in distaste. "I should have known. I must applaud you on your efforts. You may have seduced Snape into believing your lies, but now he and my lord will know the truth. Unless ..." His eyes narrowed. "Unless he is a traitor after all. Tell me! Is he helping you?"

Ginny glared at him silently, and another hard punch to the face made her teeth crunch together painfully. She felt her lip split open, tasted blood in her mouth. "I will tell you nothing," she spit out, wiping the blood away with her hand.

"Don't be stupid, girl." He frowned and drew his eyebrows together menacingly. "Very well, I can make you talk." He raised his wand and brought it forward with blurring speed. "Crucio!"

The scream tore through her body, wrenching though her heart, her lungs, her insides, then shot out of her mouth in a horrid symphony of pain. This was a thousand times worse then Snape's ring. She could feel her bones grinding together, her joints popping, sharp excruciating tearing in her chest. She knew she was twitching, agonized on the floor, and a tiny, still thinking part of her mind blared insistently at her not to fight. She tried desperately to relax, but the pain went on and on.

**********************

A scream pierced the quiet hallway, echoing in the cavernous space, and was silenced almost instantly. Draco felt a sick tearing sensation of dread ...Ginny. Curious guests came out into the hallway and looked around nervously, then quickly went back into their rooms and locked their doors, seeming to feel that mysterious screams were best left uninvestigated. As soon as the last lock snapped into place, Draco left his hiding place and flew down the hall. The heavy mahogany door was thick, and he heard no sounds from inside. He tried the knob and swore in frustration. His fear for Ginny made him desperate, and without thinking of the possible dangers, he pounded on the door with both hands.

"McNabb!" he shouted. "Open the door." The door opened suddenly, and he was face to face with the tall, hulking man.

"I'm busy, boy," he growled.

Draco clenched his teeth in frustration and tried to look over McNabb's shoulder into the room, but his bulk completely filled the doorway. He looked down at the meaty hand which was clutching a long, thick wand, as well as a slender wand of ash that he knew too well, it was Ginny's.

"I know she's in here, McNabb." He drew back his arm, slammed his fist into the man's solar plexus, and pushed past him into the room as he doubled over with pain.

***********************

Snape stood in the stairwell and watched McNabb catch his breath then turn angrily back into the room, slamming the door behind him. He'd been just in time to hear Ginny's scream and see Draco's charge down the hall. Worry twisted his features, giving them a strangely vulnerable cast. He was uncertain what to do; too many times he had been in this situation, unable to act in time of danger, for fear of exposing himself. He knew McNabb's weaknesses well, however. He was an incompetent bully, nothing more. If Ginny could keep her wits about her, and if Malfoy kept true to his word and helped her, she should be able to get out of this situation. Nonetheless, a fearful premonition gripped him that this would not be the only time he would send her into a dangerous situation, putting aside his personal feelings for the good of their cause. The thought of her at the mercy of Death Eaters chilled his blood. Cover or not, if they weren't out of that room in a few moments, he was going in.

**********************

Draco looked around the room, which was dim and shadowy and pervaded by a grim feeling of dread. His eyes adjusted to the darkness, and the scene in front of him sent a cold stabbing icicle of fear into his heart. Ginny was slumped on the floor, her golden skirts and red hair fanned out around her, trembling violently, like a butterfly trapped in a spider's web. A deep angry welt discolored her face, and her lower lip was cut and swollen. He started to open his mouth to speak, but she widened her eyes in warning and shook her head just the tiniest bit.

He fought to control the violent urges flowing through his blood and turned to confront McNabb, letting the cold hateful sneer he had learned from his father slide into place. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"Had you fooled well and good, didn't she, boy?" McNabb gave him a sly, self-satisfied smile.

"What do you mean?"

McNabb gestured towards Ginny who had struggled to her hands and knees. "She's a spy, sneaking around for Dumbledore and his party of fools. She's fooled all of us this summer. I came in and found her snooping. She is prying where she doesn't belong, playing with dangerous forces."

"And how could you possibly know that, McNabb?" Draco looked at him impassively.

"Don't be a fool like your grandfather boy. It's not too late to keep the allegiance your father can no longer fulfill."

There was a moment of silence and then Draco took a shaky breath and gave him a conspiratorial sneer. "You're right," he said. He gave Ginny a contemptuous glance. "A spy? I can't believe I was taken in by this filth." He smiled cruelly and told her. "I never meant what I said, you know." He knelt beside her and ran his fingers gently over her cheek. "It was only a lie, to get you into bed." Her eyes widened the tiniest bit, but he didn't dare stop to reassure her, he could only hope she could see through what he was doing. "You told me that you loved me." He brought his hand back and slapped her across the face, horrified inside at what he was doing, and at the same time haunted by a frightening sense of déjà vu. "You lied to me, you filthy whore."

She was knocked back by the force of his slap, but she recovered quickly, and with a cat-like twist of her neck spat in his face. Her eyes were cold and hateful, but deep inside them he sensed approval for his performance. Her lips twisted cruelly. "Of course I did," she said. "Do you think it would be possible for any girl to love a spoiled little Nancy boy like you?"