Crossing Lines

Ginny wiped sweat off her brow. It was after midnight, she was sure. After Snape's speech and her curse, the lesson had degenerated into a rough duel, tossing round Unforgivables as if they were nothing. After several hours of that, neither she nor Snape were in peak condition.

Ginny had her back in a corner, and was going to wait for Snape to come around the desk he was using for cover and hex him senseless.

"Halt." He walked calmly round the desk, flicking his greasy hair out of his eyes. "That will be enough for this evening."

The curse was half out of her throat by the time she registered what he said. "Cru - oh. Sorry," she added a little sheepishly.

He ducked his head to hide something that looked to her like a smile. "Control, Miss Weasley."

She nodded and lowered her wand. "So can I go now?"

"One thing first - no, two. Come here so I can fix that cut."

"What cu - oh, right." She rubbed her hand over her forehead and her fingers came away sticky with half-clotted blood. "Bugger. When did I get that?"

Snape shrugged. "One of the many times you spent hitting the floor, no doubt." His lips twitched and she tried not to gape. He'd just made a joke.

"I wasn't the only one," she replied. "Look at the bruises on your hands."

He looked down, grimaced, and twitched the sleeve of his robe so it covered the worst of the damage. "Well, if you insist on trampling on my fingers like that...medicra."

Ginny pulled a face as she felt the edges of the cut knit together. "That feels revolting."

Snape rolled his eyes. "God forbid,' he muttered sarcastically. "Anyway, for the second matter, Miss Weasley."

She remembered that there was something else he'd wanted to talk to her about. "Yeah?"

"You need a partner," he said. "You won't be operating with me. I think the best way to avoid suspicion about joining is to approach Alecto Carrow. She's mildly more intelligent than that oafish brother of hers, and might understand what you want more swiftly."

Ginny nodded. It made sense that she couldn't get Snape to introduce her to the Dark Lord. It'd be far too suspicious.

"So you will need a partner for the times you need support. Ideally, you will work together and play off each other's strengths."

"Have you got someone in mind?" she asked. "Or do I have to find someone?"

"It needs to be someone you can work well with and trust with your life." He ran his wand over his injured hand and Ginny watched as the bruises dwindled and disappeared. "In that respect, you would do better to choose who. But you have to trust them absolutely. If they betray us, we are lost. And it can't be one of your idiot Gryffindors, like Longbottom. They need to be convincing."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Try to use Legilimency to see how pure their intentions are. Be discreet, though. Bring them to me when you've found someone."

"Uh, I don't know how to use Legilimency," Ginny reminded him. "You've only taught me Occlumency."

Snape waved his hand dismissively. "Well, use Occlumency in reverse. It amounts to the same thing, and your proficiency won't matter. None of the students here have even the faintest mental barriers."

"Okay," she said. "I'll do my best."

Snape nodded. "Now go, and be careful. It's past midnight."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Ginny sat in the slightly funereal hush of the library, trying to write an essay on the theory of nonverbal spells, and not succeeding. Not only were most nonverbal spells bloody difficult, her mind was firmly planted on other things.

Who to choose? Who else could she trust her life to, and still believe they could pass as credible Death Eaters? Her first thought had been of Demelza, her best friend, but she knew that the other girl couldn't do it. Mel was too nice, too kind. She'd never be able to use the Cruciatus curse on an innocent, or kill anyone without a reason.

Neville was out, too, for obvious reasons. Besides, he'd already got a reputation for troublemaking and answering back to the Carrows. Ginny didn't really know or trust any other of the seventh year Gryffindors enough, and the sixth years were, in her opinion, all pretty idiotic.

"Weasley! That's where you've been hiding!" Ginny jumped about a foot and whirled round, scrabbling for her wand. "Whoa, don't hex me!" Ginny recognised the speaker now. Jimmy Peakes, a fourth year who'd been on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He was standing with his hands in the air, grinning good-naturedly. "Wand down, please."

Ginny forced herself to relax. "What is it, Peakes?"

"Jeez, you're in a bad mood, Ginny." Peakes cheerfully plunked himself down into the chair next to hers. "I heard you got made Quidditch captain this year."

"What? Oh, yeah, I did," she added belatedly. What with all that'd happened since she got the letter along with her OWL results, it didn't seem that important anymore.

"So when are the trials? And do I have to try out again?"

"Um..." Ginny hadn't given it any thought before now. She looked over Peakes. He'd grown over the summer and was even broader across the shoulders. The muscle tone of his biceps was easily visible. "You been working out over the summer?" she asked, distracted.

"Yeah," Peakes grinned. "I want to put some more force behind my swings."

Ginny nodded. "The trials'll be next weekend," she said. "You don't need to try out, but if you could show up anyway so I can see how well the team'll fly together."

He nodded and gave her shoulder a friendly slap. "Sweet." Standing up to leave, he added, "And you should probably move your quill before Pince murders you."

Ginny followed his gaze and saw her quill making a still-growing blot on a page of text. "Fuck!" She swept the quill off the book and slammed the tome shut. "Ta, Peakes."

"No problem," he replied, and sauntered off, whistling.

Ginny groaned and whacked her head gently against the stained book. Quidditch was just one more thing she had to deal with and she just didn't have the patience. Could she give the captaincy to someone else, maybe? But McGonagall would want to know why, and...

Ginny groaned again and sat up, gathering her stuff and making a hasty exit from the library before Madam Pince could find out about that book.

She didn't concentrate on the walk back to her commons, so much so that she walked straight into someone "Gnnh!" Her armful of books crashed to the floor.

"Watch where you're going, Weasley," someone said. Despite his jeering tone, he dropped down and helped her gather up her stuff.

"Sorry," Ginny said tiredly. "Oh! Hi, Zach." Zacharias Smith was a Hufflepuff who'd been in the DA. A bit of a wart, really, but mostly bearable.

A chorus of sniggers came from his friends standing behind him. "Ooh, knows you pretty well, does she, Zachy?" one of them teased.

Ginny gave him her best death glare. "Bite me."

The little idiot grinned. "Hell yes. Don't mind sharing, do you, Zach?"

"You're pathetic," Ginny said coldly as she gathered up all her friends. She didn't bother thanking Smith as she walked off.

Those little boys were so annoying. It was true Ginny was popular, and she hadn't been without a boyfriend for more than three weeks since third year, and that she wasn't exactly 'pure' - though only her and Dean knew about that and that's the way she was planning on keeping things - but please. She had some standards.

"Don't they remember you just about slaughtered Smith last year?" Ginny jumped as Mel fell into step with her. "Remember, after that Quidditch game he commentated? And you flew into the stand and almost right into him?"

"Oh, yeah." Ginny snorted with laughter at the memory. "Hufflepuffs are honest and true, my arse."

"Actually, it's 'hardworking and loyal.'"

Mel jumped this time, but Ginny just smiled.

"Hi, Luna."

Luna nodded dreamily as she joined them, and continued. "Though Hufflepuffs are sometimes referred to as 'true', mostly it's 'hardworking and loyal'. Oh," she added, "and Zacharias asked me to give you this. I think he heard what you said. He looked quite upset."

"Oops," Ginny said guiltily. She took the inkwell Luna offered her. She must have dropped that along with her books.

"Oh well," Mel said, linking arms with Luna. 'So Luna, can you help me figure out how to do those bloody charms Flitwick set us?"

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Mel? Ginny wondered as she tried to Transfigure her rat into...something else. She wasn't sure what, which probably wasn't helping. Would Mel do? She was one of Ginny's closest friends, and they had lots of common interests, but she just couldn't see Mel using any Unforgivable, ever. She just wasn't vicious enough.

And besides, Mel was great, but she tended to be a bit of a follower. Ginny was always the ones who had the final say on their decisions, and she wanted a partner who could take the lead sometimes.

She waved her wand vaguely and jumped at the resulting squeak. Not from the rat, though.

"Ms Weasley, you are supposed to be giving your rat fangs. Not turning Ms Vane's nose purple. Concentrate."

"Er, yes Professor. Sorry, Romilda."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Luna? she mused in Charms. No, Luna was too...well, too batty, in the nicest of ways. She somehow couldn't picture the Death Eaters buying into Luna's ramblings about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and such. And Luna was too nice anyway.

Not to mention, her father was the editor of the Quibbler, now the only paper not under Ministry - and therefore Death Eater - control. Luna was too obviously on the side of the Order.

Neville was out for the same reason. Who else was there? There was no one in her year, in Gryffindor, at least, who Ginny would trust enough.

"Ginny, pay attention! Are you to tell me that you haven't even attempted the spell?"

"I was just about to do it now, Professor Flitwick." She raised her wand to cast before realising she had no idea what she was doing. Mel mouthed something across the room. "Er..." Ginny couldn't tell what she was saying. She'd always been terrible at lip reading. "Silencio."

Flitwick sighed. "A good Silencing Charm, Ginny, but you were supposed to be doing it nonverbally."

"Oh, right. Sorry Professor."

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Seamus Finnegan? Wayne Hopkins? Michael Corner? God, she really was scraping the bottom of the barrel. Seamus she knew through the DA, and he seemed all right, but she didn't know him well enough. Wayne Hopkins was a Hufflepuff she'd dated on the rebound, and while he was steady and reliable, he was also dull and not all that good at thinking on his feet.

And Michael Corner was the last person she'd want to team up with. They'd dated in fifth year - now she thought about it, she might've been on the rebound off him when she was dating Wayne - and had had the most spectacular break-up row, involving lots of shouting, a Bat Bogey Hex and a bowl of kippers. They hadn't spoken since.

"Congratulations, Miss Weasley," Snape said coldly. "You have succeeded in ruining what had been a perfectly good potion. Five points from Gryffindor."

Bloody perfect. Ginny thunked her head gently against her workbench.

The bell went for lunch and immediately everyone began tidying ingredients away and heading out of the dingy and malodorous room. "A word, Miss Weasley," Snape said as Ginny Vanished her ruined potion, which was fluorescent orange and spitting sparks rather than the shimmering blue it was supposed to be.

Ginny had been expecting it, and sat back down, waiting for the dungeon to clear.

"Well?" he asked.

"I'm trying," she said. "It's turning out to be harder than I thought. Give me a couple more days."

He nodded curtly. "Then our meetings are cancelled until you find someone. And by the looks of things," he added with a slight sneer, "you need to catch up on your classwork."

Ginny nodded and left, recognising his dismissal.

The corridor was mostly empty and she lengthened her stride as she went to the Great Hall. Knowing her luck, all the decent food would either be gone or cold, and -

"Merlin's balls, Weasley, would it kill you to look where you're going for once?"

Ginny picked herself off the stone floor and groaned. Zacharias bloody Smith. Again. Without his entourage, though, which was a nice change. "Sorry, Zach. My mind was ages away."

Zach nodded unexpectedly as he knelt to help her pick up her books. "Tough for you, eh. Knowing he's out there and not being able to help. Do you have any idea what they're doing, or where they are or whatever?"

Ginny wrinkled her nose in confusion before realising he was talking about Harry.

"They?" she asked. "If you mean Harry, he's by himself. Ron's back home with spattergroit, and I think Hermione left the country."

Zach snorted. "Whatever, Ginny. I'm not an idiot."

"He's got spattergroit!" she protested. "I'm telling the truth; it's disgusting."

"My arse. Why won't you say? Worried I'll dob you in to You-Know-Who?"

She smiled despite herself. "No, guess not. But I honestly have no idea. It was all hush-hush, 'don't tell the kid sister anything' back in summer, and then they just vanished."

He nodded. "But you're doing your bit, aren't you? I heard the DA was starting up again."

She shrugged. "We're talking about it. Neville's really keen, and I want to do my bit, but..." She stood up, brushing dust off her robes. "Thanks. I'll look out next time, promise." He nodded. "And..." She could feel herself blushing. "Sorry about what I said on Saturday."

"It's fine."

They smiled awkwardly at each other, then Ginny remembered that everyone would eat her food if she didn't get to the Great Hall soon, and headed off.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Zach wasn't someone she'd considered. Not even at all. Surprising, really, she thought as she poked unenthusiastically at the limp salad on her plate - virtually the only thing left for her - given that she'd even thought (however briefly) about Michael.

Actually, now she did think about it, Zach wouldn't be too bad. She didn't know him all that well, but he'd been in the DA, they had some classes together, and he was also into Quidditch, being named Quidditch captain for Hufflepuff this year.

He was steady, but Ginny knew from experience she couldn't push him around. And he had that vicious streak that Ginny shared, the streak that was going to make Quidditch very interesting this year.

"You're quiet, Gin," Mel remarked. "Are you all right? Snape didn't chew you over again, did he?"

"Nah," Ginny replied. "It's just this bloody salad."

It was worth a try, surely. He was a better prospect than anyone else she could think of. She just had to talk to him.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

She had her chance coming out of Herbology, where his class was lining up for their lesson.

"Can you tell Binns I'll be late?" she asked Mel. "I gotta have a word with someone."

Mel shrugged. "Not that he'll notice, but OK. Who?"

"Tell you later." She waited til Mel had walked off back to the castle before approaching Zach. She grimaced. She was pretty confident about talking to boys, even when they were surrounded by their 'pack' but Zach's mates were so irritatingly immature.

"Smith," she said tersely. "Can I've a word?"

She listed common potion-making ingredients in her head while Zach's friends all whistled and catcalled. Zach went bright red. "Yeah? What?"

She gave him a look. "In private?"

"Now, now," one of the Hufflepuff boys called out. "Keep it clean."

"What is it, Weasley? I need to get to class."

She glared at him. So he wasn't going to play nicely? Then neither would she. She swung her hair over her shoulder so it fell over half her face. She leaned forward, pouting, and murmured in his ear. "Meet you nine thirty tonight. I think you know where."

Then she winked at him and sauntered off, a little extra swing in her hips. How'd he feel about that? she thought savagely. Then she remembered that she actually wanted to work with him, and it probably wouldn't kill her to be nice, but it was too late now. She just had to hope he would show up.