The Perfect Plan

Chapter Fourteen

The Perfect Plan

For Every Action there is...

~*~~*~~*~

"You know, professor Dumbledore, I don't think that asking each student separately was such a good idea." Professor Snape sat down next to McGonagall. They had been called together with Professor Binns and Professor Sprout. There was a faint sound of snickering in the background but it went unnoticed.

Dumbledore had called them mainly to discuss the behaviour of the six particular students of each house that had remained. He had found it peculiar because not only had these been the same students the 'note' from that school owl had been passed to before it was destroyed but, they were also spending an awful lot of time together when he was told that they were all instructed not to talk. At least unless it was necessary.

That had made him think, something about the holiday had made their conferring necessary. It wasn't until he had had a little talk with Severus Snape had he found out a clue that could help him out. Apparently, the two 'deviants' were vacationing in France with each of their parents.

He had then sent owls to each of the six students requesting their presence at different times of the day. However, as the day progressed, the stories seemed to become more and more... identical.

By the last student, Edward Williamson, it was truly ridiculous. Professor Sprout had taken to questioning him and all they had managed to find out was that sometime during the day the group of students had created some script that they had memorized by the time they were to be questioned.

"He's right sir," McGonagall said. "This is getting us nowhere." The snickering had turned into a large but quiet peel of laughter.

"I suppose," Dumbledore inserted. "Oh for Merlin's sake will somebody shut him up!" They all turned to the creator of said snickering. He was in knots by the time all faces set on him. "If you know the truth why don't you just come out and say it?"

"Because, dear head master," the man in the portrait said bowing, "this is truly a satirical scenario. Every clue is in front of you, really Albus you disappoint me. A man of such acclaimed brilliance should be able to decipher a plan created by two simple minded children."

"Well, why don't you give me an extra hint?"

"Fine," he said pulling on his painted moustache. "You have had no disturbances in the houses these past few days have you?" Dumbledore shook his head. "Think back through the past month, these students have frequented their head of house's offices have they not?"

"They have," both McGonagall and Snape inserted.

"And each time you dole out their punishment something new and improved would come up, no?"

"Yes," they said.

"Well," he said counting on his fingers. "For schemes, brains, helpful remarks and the bravery to carry it out who better to turn to than-."

"The students that fit under that stereotype, of course. They used the houses as their personal database of ideas," Dumbledore said clicking his fingers.

"But for what?" Professor Sprout said.

Dumbledore looked at the portrait studying her question; he went and stood by a window overlooking the Quidditch pitch. His mind wandered over the stands and to the hoops at each end. Soon his face smoothed out from its frown. "Goals," he said finally.

"Pardon?" they asked.

"Goals, they had goals." He turned from the window and faced them.

"Goals?" Binns said.

Snape thought back. "You did mention something of the sort to us before when you said they had something to achieve and that detention was not one of them."

"Exactly, if they were striving for something to happen but we kept giving them the wrong thing what else would you expect them to do but try harder? Think about it, if they keep breaking rules we keep giving detention. But if that's not what they're after they go bigger and worse than before until-."

"We call in their parents," McGonagall said smiling.

"Exactly. Now in that meeting with their parents we found out that they have been secretly friends without the teachers or the parents knowing. Obviously they thought that if their parents knew, both of them would be told to stay away."

"So what? They wanted their parents in. We'll just have to deal with them. Nothing big has happened. We'll still be at the same place we were before when they get back."

Dumbledore stopped pacing. "Well that's it, they wanted their parents. We all know of the unfortunate fate of their parents' other halves. When we interviewed our first student," he said thinking that the first student would be a more reliable source as they would have had no way of bending the story. "She told us that they were more like brother and sister than just friends." He reflected over Snape's last comment. When they get back? He smiled knowingly. "No, we won't have to deal with them at all."

"Why not?"

"Because, Severus, I think they have achieved their goals after all."

***

Ginny stared at the vacant space previously occupied by Draco. It wasn't until there was a cold chill at her back did she turn around to see where he had gone. The door stood ajar and the small lace curtain that was drawn behind it was blowing with the slight breeze that crept into the warm house.

"Well it's a better reaction than I thought it would be." She got up and walked over to the door and slipped through it.

Malfoy was sitting outside crossed legged on the ground with his cloak on. She cocked her head to the side watching him. He was bent forward with his head in his hands. She clucked her tongue and prepared to walk down to him as he sat on the floor. It was a funny site seeing him on the ground like that considering who he was.

Then again shock can make you do crazy things, she thought to herself.

She made her way down the steps and dropped down beside him. They sat there in silence before he turned to look at her. She mirrored his movements and met his eyes sitting in silence. She had said her piece, it was his turn now.

His mouth opened and closed a series of times but nothing came out so he turned back to looking at the ground. Ginny turned away and looked up into the sky. It wasn't until he moved his hand did she look back at him, thinking he would make a move to leave. He didn't, he moved his hand to his face again and for the first time she didn't mind it. He, at least, was entitled to it. Her look softened and after a while he looked at her as she watched him. As if snapping out of his reverie he realised what he was doing and took away his hand. He stared at it for a while and remembered looking at Cordelia doing the same thing. He hadn't thought anything of it, or the way she ran her hands through her hair as if she were raking it out while she thought. The way she accepted the spotlight as if she were born to take it, or... how her eyes matched his entirely.

She was exactly like him. He smiled.

Finally he turned back to Ginny who was eagerly awaiting some response. She didn't show it though. She was always calm that way. She always waited for others to have their say when the situation called for it. This was definitely one of those situations and despite all the names he had thought about calling her his mind kept on returning to one thing. His mind had been reeling since he left the house but once it settled on that one thought, it was the only thing that had prevented him from talking.

She had been strong enough to give him a life with a family to live through a broken home on her own.

She had said that she was selfish when she found out about Pansy's death but what human being that was bringing up a child on their own wouldn't want some kind of company. In his own mind, she was the strongest person he knew.

He smiled showing the sudden pride he had of her. "So," he said making her head shoot up. "She's not Finnegan's then?" he asked.

She smiled half heartedly surprised by his query. "No, Draco, she's not Finnegan's." She brought up her knees and encircled her arms around them. It was a bit cold outside and she began to regret coming out without her cloak. Malfoy, as ever, had remembered and wasn't even trembling. She shook her head at the thought of him still thinking logically even when his life was being shattered to pieces. She always despised his lack of clumsiness and his gift of organization. She had never had it and he knew it, which was why he had always tried to keep it down when they were in school. Sometimes he would walk into something on purpose just to prove the point that he wasn't as perfect as she had declared him to be.

She laughed then and he regarded her with a strange look. She looked at him and saw it, she shook her head. "It's nothing."

"You've been saying that a lot. The last time you said that I ended up with more offspring, I would prefer if you restrained yourself from using that word when I'm around." He smiled and looked up at the sky.

She laughed harder. "I'm sorry, yes - of course, I'll try."

They sat there for a while in silence. He had picked up a twig on the ground and started playing with it, twirling it as if it were his wand.

He snapped the twig in half. "Does she know?" he said breaking the silence.

She shook her head, "No."

"So she just thinks that her father died in the war?"

"Well he did didn't he?" she turned but didn't look at him, she couldn't. As she looked past him he saw tears fall.

"Does your family know?"

She broke down then. "Oh god, please don't start on my family. The amount of times I've had to elude them... I wasn't sure if I could cope. Then Fred found out about her when Mara - Cordy's cousin - got home from school one year. He owled me but I didn't answer. Cordelia had no idea about the rest of them until she started school. She started asking questions then that I couldn't answer. I told her what I could and made sure that the family didn't tell anyone. Mum came and visited me the next day with Dad and Ron. He obviously brought Hermione and Harry who brought with them their stupid ideas and reasons for me to stay in one place. I just couldn't take it. So, we moved. They don't know where I live now and Cordelia, though she doesn't understand why, has chosen to go along with it."

He chuckled. "What?" she said.

"I think I rubbed off on you." He sat back on his elbows. "You carried this on your shoulders for this long? I'm surprised you didn't go crazy."

"I did. A number of times," she said wiping away her tears though more fell to take their place. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry I kept this from you," she sniffed.

"Ginny," he said getting up. "I can't pretend that I'm not upset with you for keeping this from me but if it means anything I understand why you did it. I'm sure if I was in the same situation you were, thank Merlin I wasn't but, I would have probably done the same thing you did." He gave her a hand to help her up.

She took it and pulled herself up. "What, run away?" she said mockingly.

"No, you didn't run away." He took her hand and pulled her to him. She gratefully welcomed the hug and slipped into his embrace willingly. "You made a decision that any other person would have been selfish about. You sacrificed having a life with someone that you loved, I presume you did love me right?" he said making sure.

She gave him a sardonic look. "Of course I did, I still do," she sniffed into his shoulder.

"Good, you sacrificed it to make sure that I would give my son a good life. One where I wouldn't falter with my feelings toward what I had, I will always be grateful to you for that."

She looked up at him from his arms and gave him a half smile. "But even so Ginny," he said waiting for her to raise her head again. "I would have liked to know."

"You would have come looking for me," she stated.

"Looking? No, Ginny I would have - hunted - you - down," he said matter of factly.

They both laughed at this. "So what now?" she said.

"Well, now that I know I think it would only be fair to tell her too."

"What?" she said jumping out of his arms. "No, no no no no no I can't do that. No she'll hate me, I wouldn't be able to stand that. No." She walked back toward the house.

He watched her go listening to her repeating her words. He shook his head and went in after her.

Ginny walked into the house and went straight to the fire to warm her hands. "Ginny, she won't hate you. I don't hate you and I hear she takes after me in every sense." He took out his wand from his pocket.

"Stop trying to make me feel better, Malfoy. She's going to hate me. You may not be able to show any form of anger right now, but believe me, she has my temper which means she certainly can - what are going to do?" she asked as he pointed his wand to the ceiling.

"Finite Incantatum," he said and a pale blue veil removed itself from the ceiling above them. "Chayse, Cordelia come down here!" There were thumping sounds coming from the rooms above and they maneuvered their way to the stairs.

Ginny stood there frozen. "Malfoy," she said slowly. "Malfoy, what are you doing?"

"We're going to tell her now - well, both of them seeing as she's going to tell him anyway the second she goes back upstairs."

The two of them began walking down the stairs dressed in their pajamas. "Yes, Father?" Cordelia stepped out from behind him and took a glance at her mother.

"Mum, have you been crying?"

Ginny took the opportunity to wipe her face with her jumper. "Cordelia," Draco said. The girl turned to face him. "There is something you should know, both of you." He gestured to the seats in front of the fire. They obeyed and silently walked over to them and sat down. Cordelia didn't take her eyes off of her mother.

"Mum, are you sure you're alright?" Ginny nodded.

"Ginny, would you come here?" Both the children looked at Draco. They hadn't heard him call her by that name before. Their eyes wandered back to Ginny as she walked over from the dining table slowly. Their eyes widened as she took Draco's hand before standing in front of them.

Both of them chanced a glance to each other, a smile could help but surface.

It's working.

"Go on Ginny, or would you prefer I did it?"

"No, no I can - I can do it." She breathed deep and let go of his hand to crouch down in front of them. It was a while before she spoke and Cordelia had resorted to furrowing a brow wondering why it was taking so long. They had both waited for this moment since March and she could practically feel Chayse's excitement radiating from him. They were probably going to tell them that they were madly in love and marrying in summer. The smile wouldn't go away from her face.

"Mum, it's alright, you can tell me," she said to her silent mother, she took her hand and looked into her eyes.

"Do you remember when you were little and you asked me about your father?" Ginny said shakily.

She frowned a little. "Yeah," she said slowly. "You told me he died in the war, so what?" she sounded confused and looked at Chayse. He simply shrugged; he had no idea where this was going either.

"Well, that wasn't exactly one hundred percent true." She could feel the tears burning.

"Wh - what?" she stuttered. She could feel her heart getting faster, but her silence remained. She felt for Chayse's hand and found it immediately. She squeezed it tight. "What do you mean?"

"I mean - honey, he's alive." Tears fell from both of their eyes. Chayse sat back in the chair but didn't let go of Cordelia's hand.

"Alive?" she said choking up. Tears ran full force and she let go of both their hands to hold her face. Ginny in turn did the same covering her mouth and nose. She watched her daughter as she calmed down.

"Honey, I'm so sorry." She reached forward and placed a hand on Cordelia's knee.

"Why? Why didn't you tell me, why now after everything we've done?"

"Everything you've done?" Draco asked.

Cordelia looked at him and raked her hand through her hair. "Nothing, it doesn't matter."

Draco frowned. Hmm, just like her mother, he thought and sighed. Ginny turned and looked up at him from her position, he could see from her eyes that she was telling him to let it go.

He nodded and turned to the fire. Chayse looked at his father and noticed the calmness he had for an outside observer, it was strange even for him as if he knew exactly what was going on. "Father?" Draco turned to him. "Do you know who he is?" Chayse asked.

Cordelia looked first from Chayse to Draco with a searching look. Draco looked at Ginny, Cordelia then back at Ginny. She shook her head slowly but Cordelia saw. "He knows? He knows and I didn't? Who else knew?"

"Nobody knows honey."

"Then who is he?" she said angrily.

Ginny stood up and stood next to Draco. Cordelia watched her warily as she rose silently from her previous position. Ginny gave Draco a look that told him she couldn't do it.

"What the hell is going on? Who is he!" she almost yelled through a blur of tears. She looked up as Draco stepped forward.

"It's me," Draco said looking her in the eye.

"She's the girl you were in love with before you married my mother?" Chayse said pointing at Ginny. Cordelia spun at him wide eyed.

"What?" she said then turning to Ginny. She shook her head and covered it with her hands. Cordelia fell silent as did Chayse, in both words and expressions. Just blank stares at the two parents. The blank expressions turned to confusion. Confusion turned to more tears for Cordelia and a concerned face for Chayse.

Draco stared at the vacant seat Cordelia had occupied. He looked at the door which now stood ajar and the missing cloak from the hook.

She was just like him.