Secrets and Lies

Ginny's night had been an exceptionally bad one. First she'd gone and said that to Matthew, then she'd told Hermione about it within earshot of Parvati Patil and all the girls in Gryffindor had found out about it, and she'd be greatly surprised if the boys didn't know it by breakfast.

But Ginny had a plan. She wasn't going to get up for school today. If anyone asked, she was sick. Unfortunately she hadn't counted on Megan assaulting her with a pillow.

"You're getting up," she said sternly. "If you don't everyone will think it's because of this Matthew thing."

"They're right," Ginny groaned, trying to hide under the covers. Megan sighed and whipped Ginny's covers off the bed with a flick of her wand. "I'm not going."

"Then I'll just have to force you!"

Ginny was vaguely aware that if Colin wandered in with a camera he could take a picture that would be worth the weight of Hogwarts in gold to its male inhabitants. She vaguely thought that maybe they could split it. But most of her energy was focused on Megan trying to force her into her school robes.

When their roommates Tabitha and Romilda came in the girls calmed down. But it was only a momentarily truce as fairly quickly Megan began trying to get Ginny's shoes on. Romilda and Tabitha burst into giggles, before leaving (probably to tell Parvati Patil that Ginny had given up on boys).

When Ginny arrived for breakfast her hair was everywhere and her shoes were on the wrong feet. Megan had somehow managed to look immaculate even after Ginny had attempted to stuff her head into a pillowcase. The two sat down beside Seamus, who looked extremely put out and was casting dark looks down the table.

Ginny scanned the table for a trace of Matthew, but he wasn't anywhere in sight. She caught sight of Harry, who was sitting beside Ron and Hermione whilst looking very upset. Seamus' gaze seemed to be travelling primarily in that direction. This was until he turned around and noticed Ginny and Megan.

"What's this I hear about you two?" he asked with a grin. "As the most gorgeous man at this table I feel it is my duty to turn you back to the light... well, maybe not all the way." He winked at them.

"Rest assured Romilda Vane will play for her heinous crimes," Ginny told him, before piling her plate high with bacon.

"How do you know it wasn't Tabitha?" Seamus asked.

"Because it was Romilda," Ginny answered, serving up the eggs.

"Are you okay?" he asked, surveying the mountain of food now on her plate. "Even Ron usually stops after twenty slices."

"Have you ever heard the term comfort eating?" she asked. Seamus nodded.

"So what actually happened with Matthew last night?" Seamus asked. Ginny could see most of the table was trying to lean as close to this conversation as possible. Harry, however, seemed oblivious.

"That's none of your business Seamus," Ginny said with a forced smile.

###

It wasn't that he didn't trust Granger. But she knew about him, and her proof had to be eliminated.

Granger would surely get in a lot of trouble with Potter for losing the map. But it was a sacrifice that had to be made. The trouble was making sure that Hermione didn't suspect it was him. That was why he had Lavender Brown lift it. And Lavender Brown gave it to Longbottom.

He hated using Longbottom as a scapegoat, but he was the only Gryffindor who was more loyal to him than Potter. Despite the fact that he was a complete klutz and hopeless at brewing even the most simple of potions, Draco found himself warming to the round-faced boy.

He'd even told him the truth about who he was. It had taken Draco four hours to convince Longbottom not to run to Potter.

Draco let out a cry of triumph whenever Longbottom handed him the map. Now he faced the dilemma of what to do with it. Ideally he should destroy it, but it seemed like such a waste of good magic. And he didn't know how to work it, so he could hardly use it.

So he tried the good old approach of talking to it.

"My name is Draco Malfoy," he said to the parchment as he prodded it with his wand. "I demand you reveal your secret." Then, much to his delight, writing began to appear across the parchment.

Mr. Prongs would just like to say that Mr. Malfoy is an arrogant, blonde git who shouldn't go sticking his nose where it doesn't belong.

Mr. Padfoot would add to that by saying that Mr. Malfoy would look much better without that pointy thing sticking out of his face anyway.

Mr. Moony would like to say that he's deeply sorry for the insulting things Mr. Padfoot and Mr. Prongs had to say, but he could not tell such an atrocious lie.

Mr. Wormtail would like a muffin.

"Wormtail!" Draco hissed. Could it really be Voldemort's henchman Wormtail? Could it be that Death Eaters had made this map? But no, hadn't Wormtail been a Gryffindor?

Peter Pettigrew... supposedly killed by Sirius Black... who was one of his old school friends... Black had been the Potter's Secret Keeper.

The facts were all coming together. This map must have been made by Black, Pettigrew and Potter's father when they were at school. He supposed Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail were nicknames of some sort. But that still left one of these four that he didn't know.

Draco tried something else.

"My name is Harry Potter," he told the map.

Mr. Prongs would just like to say that Mr. Malfoy is obviously in Slytherin, since he is telling such blatant lies. If he continues to lie like that I'm afraid I will have to have Padfoot eat him.

Mr. Padfoot would like to add... woof.

Well they were Gryffindors at any rate.

###

Matthew arrived late for Transfiguration. Something Harry found very suspicious. He told Hermione and Ron about this all through class.

Professor Walker didn't seem to mind. He was more preoccupied with finding some new and exciting way to injure himself this lesson. Something made all the more difficult by the fact that McGonagall had banned all his classes from practical work for the week. So they were making notes on the theory of human to animal Transfiguration.

Hermione briefly wondered what kind of animal Walker would turn into if he was an Animagus. Probably a lemming.

But she had bigger things to worry about. Such as Seamus, who was sitting behind her and had rather deliberately placed his foot beside her on the seat so it was rubbing against her. She desperately wanted to turn around a slap him, but alerting Ron to this activity was probably a bad idea.

After class (in which Walker managed to choke on a pencil sharpener... which was brilliant because nobody used pencils; they all used quills) she pretended that she wanted to talk to Walker and said Harry and Ron should go on to their next class without her.

She then cornered Seamus.

"What are you playing at?" she demanded. "I have told you time and time again I am not interested!" Seamus merely grinned.

"You can't deny what happened between us," he said smugly. "We're made for each other, and you know it."

"No I don't!" she hissed. "I love Ron. Do you understand me? I love Ron, not you. So you can flush these stupid notions out of your head."

"Weasley eh?" he said, somewhat unperturbed by Hermione's statement. "My rival for fair lady's hand? Perhaps I should tell him about that one fair night we shared." Hermione drew her wand.

"Don't you dare!" she growled.

"The course of true love never did run smooth." He winked at her. "I love the challenge."

"Petrificus Totalus," she hissed, and Seamus suddenly went rigid, before falling forwards towards her. She quickly stepped aside so that he hit the ground with a thud.

"Maybe this will change your mind," she muttered. With a wave of her wand she levitated his stiff body into a nearby broom cupboard. She slammed the door, and locked it.

When she arrived in Charms she smiled at Ron as she sat down beside him, before unpacking her things. She cast a few looks a Seamus' empty seat, as indeed did the rest of her classmates.

"Where's Seamus?" Ron asked, glancing around the room.

"I have no idea," Hermione replied.

###

Draco was very surprised whenever he found Finnigan in a broom cupboard. He'd seen Ginny coming and had tried to duck into the nearest possible door. It had been locked, but a simple charm solved that. When he opened the door his classmate was just lying on the ground, stiff as stone.

By the time Draco had unfrozen Finnigan Ginny had caught up with him. She was about to say something whenever Finnigan growled at them.

"Where is she?" he demanded of Ginny.

"Who's she?" Ginny asked.

"Hermione," he hissed in reply. "Where's Hermione?"

"I think she's in the Great Hall having dinner with Ron. Why?" Ginny replied. This was apparently the wrong thing to say. Finnigan barged past them, knocking Ginny over in the process. Draco quickly hauled her to her feet, before taking off down the corridor after Finnigan. He heard Ginny running up behind him.

"Matthew, we need to talk!" she called.

"First we have to find Finnigan!" he called back. That and he really didn't want to have that conversation.

They caught up with Finnigan just as he marched into the Great Hall. Several eyes followed him as he made his way over to where Granger and Weasley were sitting. Potter was beside them, looking sulky like he always did these days.

"How could you?" Finnigan asked loud enough for most people nearby to hear. "How could you do this to me?"

"Seamus, this isn't the time for this," Hermione said angrily.

"I thought we had something special!" Finnigan shouted at her. Several people were watching them with interest.

"We never had anything!"

"That's not true! As I seem to recall we did have sex!" Finnigan snapped. At this point most of the Great Hall turned around to listen. There were only a few pockets of conversation around the Hall, and that was just people pretending they weren't interested.

Weasley stood up.

"What?" he said, his voice barely above a whisper. His ears seemed to glow like a beacon in the Hall. Draco had learnt that this was usually a sign that aggression was to follow.

"We had sex!" Finnigan said with a grin. "How does that make you feel Weasley? Knowing that this girl who claims to-"

He didn't get another word out because Weasley had laid one onto him. Face met fist with a sickening crack and Finnigan sailed to the ground. The teachers rose from their seats and swept around to stop the fighting. But the students at their tables piled around to get a better view, and Draco soon found himself being forced out of the Hall by a huge mob of people. The teachers were shouting things and trying to force their way through the crowd.

The students were singing Weasley is Our King. Draco smiled at how he'd managed to come up with a tune so memorable, but it was short lived when he stumbled out into the Entrance Hall, where Ginny was waiting for him.