Some Days I Wish I Were in Slytherin

Some Days I Wish I Were in Slytherin:

Chapter 18: The Promise

The second curse hit Ginny with greater force than the first. Once again, waves of pain swept through her, like blistering iron brands, but this time she was ready for them. The presence of Draco only strengthened her resolve. Her feelings upon seeing his horrified grey eyes and the look of pure rage on his face melded with the pain and loss she had felt at Snape's dismissal. The two emotions combined with the excruciating agony racking her body, and suddenly, with a sensation like the sun drifting behind a cloud, her mind floated away from her body like a separate entity, severing the tethers of pain from her consciousness. She watched in odd detachment as her legs and arms bent in increasingly unbearable angles, as if the torture was happening to somebody else.

In the portion of her mind which still clung to reality, she heard the memory of Snape's voice imploring her to take the pain and use it, to accept it, to embrace it. In the background, she was aware of McNabb repeatedly screaming at her to spill her secrets, but her agonized form lay eerily silent, twitching and convulsing, yet not letting out a single scream. She could see Draco struggle to get to her with a shout at McNabb, but the older man tossed him back easily with one beefy forearm, throwing him to the floor. At the sight of his crumpled form, she returned to her body with a painful jolt as a tumultuous storm of agony caved into her very center. She heard Draco shout her name, and then their eyes met across the chaos of the room. Grey and Brown, water and earth, and she grew lost.

At that moment, she heard Snape's voice in her head, as if he was standing next to her. "Be free for me." Instantly, the pain morphed as it had once before, replaced by a huge, pounding flood of pleasure that was gone as quickly as it had arrived. She slumped back on the floor, her muscles still trembling violently, but victorious, triumphant.

A gasp of disbelief came from McNabb, and she sat up and sneered as he looked at her in panic. He pointed his wand at her again and repeated the curse. She forced the pain to conform to her will again, showing no outward sign beyond a slight twitch of her eyes and a trembling of her lower lip. Slowly, she rose to her feet and stood, unsteady, facing McNabb. Behind him, Draco rose, his expression shocked, but he recovered his composure quickly and moved his eyes in the direction of McNabb, signaling her to distract him.

"How did you?" asked McNabb, recoiling in fear.

Ginny smiled. The look of terror on his face made her feel as if she'd suddenly grown fangs. "What is pain?" she asked him. She took a slow step forward, and he backed away again, his wand shaking in his outstretched hand. She narrowed her eyes and looked at him coldly, her voice menacing. "It is merely an illusion indulged in by the weak. Tell me ..." She arched an eyebrow. "Are you weak?"

McNabb stared at her, mute and fearful, and Draco took that moment to strike. A flash of charcoal robes and blonde hair tackled the Death Eater from behind, low in the legs, and they both landed on the ground in a tangled heap of flailing fists.

Both wands flew free of McNabb's grasp and skittered across the floor, showering green and red sparks. Ginny lunged for her own, falling on her hands and knees and grasping for it with frantic fingers as it started to roll under a chair. Her fingers curled around the slender piece of ash, and she scrambled to her feet and brought the wand around just as McNabb began to pound Draco's head into the floor.

"Stupefy!," she shouted. With a thud like a massive tree falling, McNabb fell and was still. Ginny ran over to Draco, her breath coming in ragged gasps, and her knees still shaking from the effects of the Cruciatus curse.

"Draco," she said. She knelt next to him and pulled his head onto her lap. His eyes were closed, and he was frighteningly still. "Draco?" She shook him gently, feeling herself become more frantic as he didn't respond. Her fingers had started to dig in his neck, searching for a pulse, when he opened his eyes slowly and stared up at her.

"Scared weren't you? I knew you cared about me."

The relieved noise that escaped her throat answered his question better than any words could, but she ruined the moment by hitting him. "Don't do those kinds of things," she said, her voice quivering a little. "Besides, you were scared too."

"You don't even have to ask," he said. He sat up instantly, holding the back of his head with a groan, and reaching his other hand up to gently cup her swollen cheek. "Are you hurt? How did you do that anyway?" he asked.

She shook her head and grimaced at the pain in her face and only answered his first question. "I'll be all right." He helped her to her feet and surveyed McNabb's prone body with a frown.

"We need to get out of here. Then you are going to tell me everything." He squeezed her hand tightly and gave her a serious look.

"I'll tell you," she agreed, after thinking about it for a moment. She pursed her lips and hissed in pain as she looked down at McNabb. "Bastard." She kicked him with one sandaled foot. "I'll have to obliviate him."

Draco stared at the man with a thoughtful expression, and suddenly a smile tugged at his mouth, lighting up his eyes. He looked at Ginny. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

An impish grin was his answer. "One better."

Three flicks of her wand, and the spells were cast. The final spell was the memory charm. They left him stunned, lying curled up on the floor like a wounded bear. Ginny then gathered her handbag, stuffed the papers inside, and grabbed Draco by the hand. They snuck out of the room, laughing quietly to themselves. When McNabb's wife arrived later, it was to find her husband passed out on the floor, wearing nothing but a pair of lacy women's knickers, his arms wrapped tightly around a cuddly Gilderoy Lockhart doll.

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

Snape watched Draco and Ginny leave the room and get into the elevator. His heart had clenched painfully when he'd seen her injuries, but at least she was safe. What hurt even more was seeing her holding Draco's hand and laughing with him, but the decision had been made. He had helped her make the choice. Acceptance bowed his shoulders, but a single despairing sigh was the only outward sign he allowed of his emotions before he drew his habitual, cold reserve around him like a sheltering cape. He descended the stairs, slipped past the other guests out into the street, and slowly made his way back to his rooms. He planned on burying himself in work till late into the night then trying to sleep, but the thought of her still filled his mind, and the memory of her warm skin still remained against his hands as if he had just let go.

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

The exhausted, still laughing couple went up to Draco's room and closed the door behind them. A final wave of her wand cast the secrecy charm around them, and then Ginny collapsed exhausted onto the bed, the pain and subsequent emotions catching up with her.

After settling her on the bed, Draco went into the bathroom and brought back a wet cloth and a jar of healing salve. With a gentle touch, he began to clean the wounds on her face, then applied the healing paste while she talked. Ginny hesitantly told him the basics of her plan to infiltrate Voldemort. He already knew, and she saw no point in hiding it. She didn't think he would betray her, but if he did he would pay dearly. She lied and said that her ability to fight the Cruciatus curse was the result of a secret potion Snape was working on for Voldemort, which was not fully perfected yet, and swore him to secrecy on pain of Voldemort's wrath. Purposely, she left out anything about the Order of the Phoenix and Snape's role among them as a double agent, making it seem she was deceiving the Potions Master. She told him how she had seen McNabb in the tea room with her brother and that when she had seen him talking with Snape, she had taken the opportunity to sneak a look at the papers.

Draco's expression changed several times during her story, and he listened without interrupting until she mentioned Snape. "It fits now," he said. "I knew you wouldn't choose to be a Death Eater."

Ginny nodded and looked at him seriously. "I may have to become one before this is over." She put her hand on his arm. "I hope you understand why I'm doing this. Can I count on you to keep my secret?"

He regarded her thoughtfully and then spoke. "I will not betray you, Ginny. But I have to tell you that I won't join your side. I can't choose either side in this battle." A small sneer crossed his lips. "They're both wrong in their own way, and a Malfoy looks after his own interests." He stopped and took her hand in his own. "Right or wrong, I can't take sides, but I do choose you, and I will do anything I can to keep you safe."

"Thank you." She reached her free hand up and ran her fingers over his cheekbone. All along she'd held back from really touching him, held back from falling for him. Meanwhile, he had pledged himself to her. Trusted her when she'd been nothing but deceitful. It was time she gave him a chance. It was time she gave herself one.

It was then that she closed her eyes for a moment and pictured Severus a final time, remembering the shining light in his bottomless dark eyes as he'd spoken words of love she doubted he'd ever uttered before. She took the memory and shrouded it in love and hope like cotton wool then tucked it back into her mind to save for another day. A day when she was older and wiser and they could be together. She knew she would always love him, nothing could change that, but that didn't mean she couldn't let herself be free.

She opened her eyes and faced Draco. He was looking at her with trepidation, and she reassured him by leaning forward, closing the short distance between them that had always seemed so vast. Her lips touched his cheek as she finally allowed herself to feel the soft warmth of his skin.

A long sigh escaped him, as if he'd been holding his breath for a lifetime, and he turned his head and brought his lips to hers in a kiss so gentle and tender it was like a dream of a kiss. A slow, lingering shiver went through her, starting in her chest and continuing down to her feet.

"I love you," Draco whispered, placing another tiny kiss on the corner of her mouth. The words sent silent, salty tears down her cheeks, but they were not tears of sadness like before. Ginny buried her face in his neck as he ran his hands over her hair.

"I'm sorry I deceived you," she said quietly.

Draco lifted her face with his fingers and brushed the tears away. "Shhh. Don't say anything." He leaned forward and kissed her again, more deeply this time, and she felt as if they were both lost and drawn in.

It felt as if a constricting iron band had snapped open across her chest. With all the boys she'd slept with, it had been about power, about control, getting satisfaction from the act, revenge for what Tom had done to her. The first time with Draco had been surrender, her body betrayed by her mind, but she knew this wasn't that. This time would be like letting go. This time, she felt free.

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

Ginny awoke in the clean light of morning to the sounds of the house elves bringing in a breakfast tray. She could feel Draco's warm body spooned against her, his arm around her so his palm rested on the naked flesh of her abdomen, and smiled, remembering the night before. The soft cotton of the sheets rubbed luxuriously against her as she stretched out her arms then rolled over to face him.

He was wide awake, staring at her with amused grey eyes. "Sleep well?" he asked in a low voice.

A wicked grin appeared on her lips. "You could say that." She snuggled into him, resting her head on the bare skin of his chest. "How about you?"

"Not too well, I had something distracting in bed next to me.

Ginny dragged her fingers lazily up his arm and kissed his palm. "We won't be able to do this at school, you know," she said.

"I know." He brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and kissed the top of her head. "I don't fancy you and I in a closet somewhere, worried half the time that Filch will find us."

Ginny's nose wrinkled in distaste. "Ruddy pervert." She shuddered, and then her eyes narrowed wickedly. "There's always the Quidditch locker room."

"Minx." Draco smiled down at her and pulled the sheet more firmly around them. "Can't get enough of me, can you?"

"Aren't you just full of yourself this morning?"

"Well if memory serves me correctly, I seem to recall a certain red headed girl screaming my name over and over fairly recently."

"Oh, so you fancy the red headed girls do you?"

"Only one." He pulled a strand of her hair fondly. They were silent for a few moments until Draco cleared his throat. "Ginny, I meant to ask you. Do you ... use anything? For protection I mean? Not that I don't want an heir ... eventually."

Ginny suppressed a grin at the anxious tone in his voice and gave him a worried look. "I thought you did."

His mouth dropped open for a second, then shut with a snap as she ruined it by giggling. He pinched her arm hard. "That wasn't funny." She laughed harder at the look of annoyance on his face. He sniffed and finally smiled. "Well, whatever you use, I hope you didn't learn it from your mother. Her method served her so well after all."

"Not hardly. Most people don't rely on the rhythm method anymore. No, I used the charm Professor McGonagall teaches all the Gryffindor girls."

A disgusted look crossed Draco's face. "Oh, thank you for another frightening mental image, Weasley. The thought of McGonagall needing a charm like that." His left eyelid twitched. "I think I'm scarred for life."

She slapped him lightly and snuggled back into his arms. "Don't think about it." She picked up the thread of their previous conversation. "What about the prefect's bathroom?"

"And have a ghost watching us? Not to mention nosy Hufflepuffs blundering in. Not bloody likely." His brow wrinkled in thought. "We'll be working together in the Potions lab a lot." He smirked. "Up for a shag on Snape's desk?"

Ginny felt herself stiffen at the words. "Definitely not," she replied primly. "He'd have our hides. Which reminds me." She pulled up his wrist and looked at his watch. "I really should be going."

With a final kiss on his cheek, she slipped out of his embrace, got out of the bed, and started to gather her clothes, stopping to shake out the wrinkles in her robe before pulling it on. She stood in front of the long mirror and ran a comb through her disheveled hair. Behind her, reflected in the mirror, she could see Draco prop himself up against the headboard, the bed sheets pulled casually over his hips.

He watched her with veiled eyes. "What is it between the two of you?" he asked.

Ginny turned around, startled, and stared at him, keeping her features composed. "Nothing, why do you ask?"

"Because you freeze up when his name is mentioned, because you get this scared look in your eyes when you look at him."

"I've told you," she said. "I'm his apprentice; he has a certain hold on me. I would be foolish to not be cautious of him."

Draco's eyes darkened. "Has he hurt you? Because if he has ..."

"No!" Ginny said vehemently. "He's been nothing but noble." She forced herself to sound surprised. "Despite being a Death Eater he is a gentleman. Snarky and rude yes, but he's never tried to take advantage of me. He hasn't hurt me."

"Then why are you afraid -"

"I have to be careful around him," she interrupted. "If he ever found out about me, well I don't have to tell you what would happen."

Draco nodded and stood up, pulling the sheet around his waist and crossing over to her. "He won't," he said. He kissed her forehead then gave her a one armed hug. "Things will be different at Hogwarts."

"Yes, they will."

"I wish I could take the train back with you, but Grandfather has to stay a few days longer. We'll be back the 30th."

Ginny hid a smile. "Still plenty of time to finish your shopping in Diagon Alley. Couldn't have you going back to school without a full wardrobe now could we?"

His eyes narrowed. "You are impertinent, Miss." He dropped his sheet and grabbed her around the waist. "I think you'll have to be punished for that."

She smiled and leaned into his kiss. "Fine by me."

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

That afternoon, Severus Snape looked up from his packing at a knock on the door. He knew who it was without checking. Only Ginny knocked as if she expected to be let in, as if she knew he wouldn't deny her admittance, the same way he had let her into his heart. He opened the door and let her in the room before casting the secrecy charm and setting the dead bolt in place.

They regarded each other in awkward silence for a moment. She was wearing a soft blue robe and white shirt that were so rich in design that he knew they had been a present from Malfoy. Malfoy, who he had given her to. He'd spent a restless night, for every time he'd closed his eyes he'd imagined her, warm and welcoming, soft and unclothed in his bed, doing the things with him that he knew instinctively she was doing with Malfoy. Out of desperation, he'd finally taken a dose of Dreamless Sleep Draught and sank into a dark coma-like sleep. But when he'd awakened, his thoughts had turned instantly to her; now here she was, in vibrant, breathing flesh.

Finally, Ginny cleared her throat. "I got the papers," she said. Her hand trembled only slightly as she held out a sheaf of parchment rolled neatly and tied with a black velvet ribbon.

He took in the faint, barely visible bruises still mottling her cheek and jaw, almost, yet not quite fully healed by magic. "You made it safely then? You didn't return till this morning." He kept his face impassive, forced a cold distance into his eyes.

"Yes." She broke his stare and a soft tinge of red colored her neck. He was right; she had been with Malfoy last night. Things had irrevocably changed. He could be her teacher again.

"Good." He took the papers from her hand, careful not to touch her fingers with his own, and gestured to her to sit down. "Let's look them over shall we?"

Ginny looked at him, her brown eyes wide with surprise, and seemed to hesitate. It was up to him to make this easier for both of them. He sat down on the floor, not the bed. He didn't trust himself with her too near a bed right now, heavens know what he might do, the emotions were still too raw. "Sit down." He gestured to a spot beside him. "It's only fitting if we are to work together."

A smile flew to her lips. "We are?"

"Of course. You succeeded didn't you?"

"And almost got caught," she admitted, looking at him with a shamed expression and hiding behind a waterfall of hair.

He caught himself just before he started to stretch out a hand to push her hair back. "But you learned a valuable lesson, did you not? I don't think you will let yourself get into such a situation again."

Her eyes lit up, and he knew instantly he had done the right thing. They were now truly partners, friends, a bond of trust between the two of them no one could break.

"No," she shook her head and smiled. "I don't believe I will."

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

The day passed by swiftly. Daisy came over to say goodbye and gave Ginny a lovely gift, a soft cashmere jumper in dark Slytherin green. Ginny unwrapped the gift and smirked. "Trying to get me in trouble?" she asked.

Daisy smiled in her cool superior way. "I think you already do well enough in that department without any help from me." They laughed together, and the older girl helped her finish packing, showing Ginny how to perform a charm on her trunks that formed a large false bottom where she could hide all her new possessions, away from Molly Weasley's prying eyes, until she got back to Hogwarts.

That evening, Ginny and Snape went to dinner at Ying and Humphrey's. Ginny was sorry to say goodbye to the plain spoken Chinese witch and promised to exchange letters with her when they could.

The next morning, she and Snape checked out of the Inn early. Ginny felt sad to leave her now familiar room. She would miss waking up in the morning to the sounds of the market outside. Snape's room too, she would miss. It was there she'd learned so much about herself and where they had spent so many moments, both good and bad, together. They boarded the train and weaved their way through the narrow corridor, past crowds of travel-weary wizards, to their compartments.

With a final screech of the whistle, the train pulled out of the station, leaving behind Beijing and all that had happened there. Ginny knew though, looking out the window, that a new and dangerous chapter of her life was just beginning. Her teacher had instructed her well, only time would tell if she would pass the tests in store for her.

The journey seemed to pass more swiftly than the one six weeks before. Snape and Ginny spent most of their time in the compartment, drinking tea, poring over notes, and making last minute contingency plans under cover of the secrecy arc.

When the suburbs of London began to flash by the train windows late the third day, Ginny gathered her trunk and handbag together and joined Professor Snape in his compartment. They looked at each other, and Ginny felt the familiar rush of emotion at the thought of all they had been through. It was strange to think that not two months ago, they had been mistrustful and hateful towards each other, and now they shared something indefinable.

Professor Snape broke the silence, his lips twisting in a wry approximation of a smile. "You realize you are an honorary Slytherin now. To have a student I approve of in any other house would be a travesty."

"Of course, Professor." She bowed her head, a soft twinkle illuminating her eyes. "It is an honor." She smiled at him and was relieved when he gave her a small smile back. "Thank you for giving me a chance."

"You have proven yourself," he said in a low measuring tone. "You will do." He looked uncomfortable again, and without thinking, Ginny crossed the few steps in between them and threw her arms around him in a hug. He hesitated a bare second before engulfing her in his arms and holding her close. They stayed that way, unspeaking for a time, and finally Ginny pulled back a bit.

She looked up at him, at his hawkish nose and cold black eyes. They had a tiny speck of light deep inside them now, as if something had been rekindled within him. A glimmer of the long ago boy who had lost everything and had finally learned to love.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, for that appalling display of affection," he snapped at her, attempting a scowl.

Ginny raised one eyebrow, a quirky, assessing grin crossing her lips. "Welcome back, Professor Snape," she said.

His voice softened. "Welcome back, Miss Weasley."

With a jolt, the train began to slow. Snape drew his arms away. "Before I forget, I have something for you." He began to dig in the pockets of his robes.

"I have something for you too," Ginny said. She pulled a small white wrapped package from her handbag and handed it to him. He accepted it with an amazed expression, as if stunned someone would give him a gift, slowly pulled off the wrapping paper, and opened the tiny box. His eyes widened imperceptibly as he picked up the pendant with trembling fingers and held it up by the chain to examine it in the light. The dark green jade shone in the flashing rays of the declining sun coming through the window. He stared at it mutely for a moment and then slipped it over his head with an odd expression, resting the stone reverently against his chest.

"Thank you," he said. He reached his hand into an inner pocket of his robes, pulled something out with a clenched fist, deposited it in her palm, and, with both hands, closed her fingers around something smooth and cool. "This is for you." He tightened his hands over hers as the train shuddered to a stop and, with a gentle, knowing look, bent down and kissed her softly once. A tender kiss, loving and kind, that said one thing more clearly than anything else could. It said goodbye. He pulled away and smiled, then, with a quick flap of black billowing robes, he was gone.

Ginny stared at the open doorway, her lips still warm from his kiss. She slowly opened her hand and stared at what she had known would be there. A dark green jade pendant, so dark it appeared almost black except in the brightest light, twin to the one she had just given him. The cool stone was suspended from the finest of silver chains, like a gleaming moonlit hair, but unlike the other pendant, this one had a single difference. Embossed by magic on the smooth surface, so finely crafted it appeared to be one with the stone, was a single silver rune. Eohl. She recognized it from Ancient Runes, a powerful protective rune, a sign of fate, but also a sign of fidelity. She rubbed her fingers over the mark and imagined she could hear his voice whisper the promise he'd made to her as they stood on a gleaming hardwood floor.

She smiled and clasped the chain around her neck, slipping the stone down under her robes so it rested against the bare skin underneath.

A flick of her wand sent her trunk out into the hallway and down the steps. She followed it and stepped down onto the platform to meet her family.

The End

To be continued in The Secret Slytherin, Part 1 of Traitor's Gate

"If you wait for me then I'll come for you
Although I've traveled far
I always hold a place for you in my heart
If you think of me, If you miss me once in awhile
Then I'll return to you
I'll return and fill that space in your heart

Remembering
Your touch
Your kiss
Your warm embrace
I'll find my way back to you
If you'll be waiting
If you dream of me like I dream of you
In a place that's warm and dark
In a place where I can feel the beating of your heart

Together again
It would feel so good to be
In your arms
Where all my journeys end
If you can make a promise If it's one that you can keep, I vow to come for you
If you wait for me and say you'll hold
A place for me in your heart."

Tracy Chapman
New Beginning (1995)
The Promise