Someone to Watch Over Me

Someone to Watch Over Me

Chapter One: Your Mission, Should You choose to Accept it...

"Do you think Harry Potter will be staying the summer with you again? Because you'll be taking me home with you if he is!" Alice Cranston said, looping her arm through Ginny Weasley's as the girls made their way toward the Great Hall for dinner.

Ginny looked at her friend with a frown.

"First off, Harry stayed with Ron, and I rarely saw either of them last summer. And now they're sharing a flat outside of London. I doubt they'll spend much time at the Burrow."

What Ginny didn't tell Alice was that Harry and Ron, along with Hermione, became part of the Order of the Phoenix after graduating last summer, and had been doing secret work for Albus Dumbledore.

Ginny herself was finally sworn into the Order this past Christmas, but all she'd been doing was reporting on the state of Hogwarts students. Nothing terribly interesting had happened at the school since Harry, Ron, and Hermione had graduated along with Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

While that was good news, Ginny couldn't help but be disappointed. She'd thought that when she'd finally be allowed to join, she'd be able to make a difference in the war.

Unfortunately, Alice and her family were of the persuasion that there was no war going on, and Ginny knew better than to try and convince her otherwise. This had left Ginny feeling very alone her last year at Hogwarts. Luna was the only other student that knew anything about it, but as she was in Ravenclaw, the two rarely had a chance to talk without the fear of being over-heard.

Hermione had come back to Hogwarts for three months to assist Professor Snape in the brewing of a 'special' potion. At first Ginny had been delighted, but when Hermione insisted on talking about nothing but Ginny's NEWTs, it had quickly gone downhill. Hermione had spent most of her time in the dungeons with Snape after that, and my, how the rumors flew.

Of course, Ginny would never have started a rumor about Hermione and Professor Snape. At least, that's what she told the bossy know-it-all when asked.

She was so lost in her thoughts that Ginny nearly walked Alice and herself right into Professor McGonagall .

"Oh, excuse me Professor, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"Obviously," her Head of House sniffed.

"Headmaster Dumbledore requires your presence in his office immediately."

Though Minerva McGonagall's face stayed carefully blank, there was a definite gleam in the old woman's eyes that told Ginny this was 'Order Business.'

"Oh, I'll go right away then. See ya later Alice."

Ginny turned on her heel and tried not to run to the Headmaster's office.

"You're supposed to be an adult now, act like it," she muttered to herself.

With the NEWTs out of the way, Ginny had been waiting 'til the last possible minute to make her post-Hogwarts plan, in the hopes that Professor Dumbledore could use her for something important.

Now, she had less than two weeks before she'd be leaving Hogwarts forever, and was getting quite anxious about what to do next.

She paused at the door of the Headmaster's office.

"I just want to help. To make a difference. Please, let this be my chance," she prayed to whoever would listen.

Taking a deep breath, she lifted her hand and knocked.

"Come in, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore called.

It took great discipline to stay calm when she beheld the occupants of the spacious office.

Professor Snape sat in a chair directly in front of the Headmaster's desk, ramrod straight, clearly upset about something.

Hermione sat next to him, chewing her lip, and rubbing her hands, anxiously.

But it was the young man who was standing in a corner glaring at everyone that made her gasp in horror.

Draco Malfoy sneered at her then turned to the others.

"I told you she wouldn't do it, just forget it!" he growled, and began pacing.

"Draco calm yourself," Snape's deep authoritative voice commanded.

Albus Dumbledore stood up and gestured for her to take the chair next to Hermione.

"Ah Miss Weasley, thank you so much for getting here quickly. There is a matter we need to discuss."

He was completely ignoring Malfoy, who was silently fuming, but had stopped pacing and had resorted to glaring at them again.

"What's he doing here?" she asked, rather rudely prompting Hermione to give her a chastising look.

"Mister Malfoy became an Order member not long after yourself, Miss Weasley. He has joined Professor Snape in spying on the Death Eaters on the inside."

Hermione briefly placed her hand on the back of Professor Snape's, but had quickly removed it before anyone could react.

Ginny filed that away for later consideration and focused back on the Headmaster's words.

"For obvious reasons, we have not divulged this information to all of the Order members yet. They know we have someone else on the inside, but not that it's Mr. Malfoy," Albus explained as lightly as if they'd been discussing Quidditch.

"And you... You really trust him?" Ginny asked, incredulously.

"Yes I do. The information he has obtained for us has been indispensable. And many lives have been saved because of it."

She looked over at Draco, but he refused to look at her.

"Okay, of course you would know best, but what does this have to do with me?" she asked, confused.

"Ginny, when you were sworn into the Order, you took an oath to protect the innocent, and do all in your power to help the other members, remember?"

She nodded, her mouth suddenly dry.

"Mr. Malfoy was betrothed, at birth, to Miss Pansy Parkinson. The only reason that they have not married yet, is that Lucius and Narcissa have both been trying to get out of this arrangement. The Parkinsons are not as affluent as they were when Pansy was born, and Draco has never had any real interest in her. However, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy are now dead. Pansy's mother has gone to Lord Voldemort and asked for the marriage to take place soon, as the betrothal was never broken."

She felt a pang of sympathy go through her at that, but still wasn't sure how this involved her.

Hermione slipped her hand into Ginny's, and she realized that the part that concerned her must be coming up. And from the look on Hermione's face, it wasn't going to be pretty.

"Luckily for him, Voldemort sees himself as taking Lucius' place in Draco's life, and summoned him to discuss the betrothal. Draco expressed that he did not want to marry Miss Parkinson. Voldemort then asked him why. Draco told the Dark Lord that he was in love, and engaged secretly to someone else."

Ginny felt her stomach dip, and had a horrible feeling that she knew what was coming.

"The Dark Lord was not displeased by this, but he wasn't convinced that Draco was telling the truth either. He decided that Draco should bring his secret fiancé to him tonight. If he approves, they will be married. If not, Draco will marry Miss Parkinson," Snape took over.

Ginny stared down at her and Hermione's hands in her lap, processing all of this.

"We need someone who is a pureblood and an Order member. You, being the daughter of a Muggle supporter, are a good reason for Draco to have kept this secret. You are our only hope," Hermione added.

"I ... I can't do it, I'm sorry I just can't," Ginny protested in shock.

Draco stomped over to her and opened his mouth, but Dumbledore stopped him before he could say anything.

"Professor Snape, if you would kindly escort Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy to the Great Hall for dinner, I'd like a private word with Miss Weasley."

Snape nodded, and the three were gone almost before Ginny could blink.

Dumbledore handed Ginny a cup of tea, and allowed her a few minutes to gather her thoughts.

"Professor, I..."

"No, Miss Weasley. I think it would be best if you just listened for a minute," he said, not unkindly.

She nodded, and sat back in her chair.

"Every solider in this war must make sacrifices, Miss Weasley. You have expressed repeatedly how much you want to be involved, and I commend you for that. Mister Malfoy has become a key figure in this fight, but he is still very much a wild card. I fear that it wouldn't take much to push him back where he came from. Your marriage to him would serve several purposes. Firstly, it will be much easier to incorporate him in with the others with you by his side. He's a lost, and lonely soul, Ginny. He needs someone to ground him. Remind him why he needs to be on our side. He needs someone he can trust. Someone he can share everything with, and not be afraid of being killed for it. Someone to take care of him; make sure he's eating and sleeping. The life of a spy is a hard and often depressing one. I've kept Professor Snape so close all these years so that I could watch him. I can't do that with Draco. I need someone I can trust. Someone who can help him when he needs it, and most importantly, someone who can let me know if he betrays me."

"You think he will?"

"Not if you're with him."

He was putting an awful lot of faith in her.

"You said you wanted to help. To make a difference. Here's your chance."

Dumbledore sat down heavily, and looked at her expectantly.

Ginny stared back for a moment.

"Okay, I'll do it. But you have to tell Mum."

Ginny couldn't help but giggle at the look of dawning horror on the old man's face.

End Chapter