Crossing Lines

She got to the Room of Requirement at nine and settled on one of the comfortable couches that had appeared to wait for Zach. While she waited, she idly added to the essay she was supposed to be writing on the proper methods for going about a nonverbal spell, something she definitely needed work on.

She yawned and dug in her pocket to see if she had any forgotten food. Pity the Room didn't seem to do snacks.

She heard the door to the room open then close, and she turned around to see Zach standing near the way out, hands in pockets and shoulders hunched. "What's this about?' he asked, looking around suspiciously. "This isn't DA stuff, is it?"

Ginny bit back a smile. It might not be technically the DA, but Ginny hoped that what she was doing would be much more helpful in the long run. "Nah," she said easily. She swung her legs off the arm of the couch and shifted over to make room for Zach. "Sit down, will you?"

He sat down gingerly, still wary. "Oh, for Christ's sake," Ginny said impatiently. "I'm not gunna bite."

"What do you want, Ginny?"

She'd thought a bit about how she was going to talk to him. It wasn't as if she could just march up and ask him to put his life on the line spying when she wasn't even sure he was keen. So she squinched over nearer him and quietly muttered, "Legilimens."

She stared deep into his eyes and concentrated. "Zach," she murmured, moving closer to him. Pinned between her and the arm of the couch, he couldn't move away. "You're on our side, aren't you? You support Harry."

"Yeah!" He forgot his nervousness and sat up straighter. Ginny could feel indignation rising off him, and she could see pictures between them: his thoughts. Him punching someone who'd voiced support of Voldemort; him comforting a girl whose Muggleborn boyfriend had been taken away...He was telling the truth.

"Good," Ginny purred. "Times are hard, Zach. I need someone; someone who I can trust, who'll support me and won't run off-"

Zach turned beet-red, misinterpreting her words. "Ginny, I - you - it's-"

Again, images floated up between the two of them. Zach in a deserted corridor, kissing...a boy?

"Do you fancy blokes?" Ginny was too surprised to be tactful. Her spell broke with her concentration.

Zach went from scarlet to the colour of old bone. "I - how did you - wha - no!"

Ginny eased back to her end of the couch to give the poor boy a bit of space. "Don't bother lying," she said airily. She might as well tell him straight, now she'd just blown her cover. "I read it in your thoughts. But don't worry, I don't care."

Zach looked like he was on the verge of an aneurysm. "You," he said in a strangled voice. "You read my mind?"

Ginny grinned apologetically. "Yeah," she said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

He was starting to look a bit more normal, given that she hadn't freaked out or anything. "So reading my mind doesn't count as prying?" he asked sarcastically.

Ginny shrugged. "I just needed to check you weren't going to betray us. I-"

He stared at her. "What - the - fuck?"

"I'm trying to explain! Shuddup and listen, alright?" She took a deep breath. "I'm in training at the moment to join the Death Eaters - as a spy!" she added hurriedly as Zach looked alarmed. "Snape wants me to have a partner, someone else who's prepared to spy as well, doing the same things as me."

"But Snape killed Dumbledore! How can you trust him?" Zach accused. "You really believe his shit?"

"Yeah," Ginny replied, trying to keep her temper. "I do. I spoke to Dumbledore's portrait and he confirmed everything."

Zacharias blinked. "Okay..." he said slowly, like he was still trying to take it in. "And you want me to be another spy?"

Ginny nodded, pleased he was so quick on the uptake. "But it's really dangerous, so don't feel like you have to. Snape's gunna do his best to change your mind, too, and you should listen to what he says."

"So - you don't want me?" he asked, confused.

"I want you as my partner," Ginny clarified, "and you should listen to what Snape tells you. That doesn't mean you have to do what he says, though."

"And as your partner, I'll be doing what, exactly?"

"You'll become a Death Eater with me, we'll stick together during tasks we have to perform, watch each other's back and look after each other if it's needed. You have to trust me with your life, because in the field, I'm the only one who'll care what happens to you. Other than Snape," she added, "but he can't blow cover."

"Hang on. You trust me with your life?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I guess. Think about the other options. Luna? Neville? I don't think so, somehow. I can trust you won't do something idiotically heroic, you won't start blabbering on about Wrackspurts at some crucial time, and I'm pretty sure you've got the willpower to follow through with your orders."

"...Thanks." He sounded surprised. Ginny resisted the urge to roll her eyes again.

"So are you going to?" Ginny wasn't as nice as Snape. Time to bring in a little emotional blackmail. "'Cause you don't have to, and we'll just give you a memory charm and leave you alone, but...memory charms can be broken." She sighed. "And I really do need a partner."

He nodded. He still looked a bit shell shocked. "I...um..."

Ginny grinned in understanding. "Think about it tonight and tell me tomorrow. Then you'll come and start your training with Snape."

"Won't someone read it in my mind?" he asked, worried. "If you could just now, without me even noticing..."

"I shouldn't think so." She shrugged. "Who'd know how? The only reason I do is Snape's been trying to get into my brain for the past week. So I can, and he can, but I doubt anyone else could."

"The Carrows?" he suggested doubtfully.

Ginny snorted. "Not bloody likely. They're too stupid."

He smiled wryly. "Yeah, I noticed."

Ginny glanced at the ornate clock hanging on the wall. "We'd better head back to our houses," she said, picking up her abandoned essay. "D'you want me to Disillusion you?"

"Dunno how to get it off," he admitted. "And I might look a bit weird, wandering around see-through."

"I'll walk you to your house and take it off there," Ginny said decisively. "You don't wanna get caught wandering round these days. That guy who got Cruciated the first day of term was in your house, wasn't he?"

"Patrick McGibbon? How'd you know about that?"

Ginny didn't reply for a moment as she Disillusioned them both. "I was there," she admitted as she stuck her head out of the room to check no one was lurking on the other side. Life had been so much easier with Harry's map. "I couldn't do anything, though."

"Yeah, I know. Poor bastard."

"Mmm." Ginny wasn't really listening. She saved her concentration for sneaking through the halls, avoiding both teachers and ghosts.

They arrived at Hufflepuff without trouble. Ginny took the Disillusion off Zach and was about to leave when he suddenly blurted, "I'll do it."

She raised her eyebrows appraisingly. "Really?"

"Yeah. I want to help."

"Good." Ginny tried not to grin in delight; she didn't want to scare him off, after all. "Tomorrow night, in Snape's dungeon at eight, alright? Not his office."

He nodded, and turned to enter his common room. Before he could, though, Ginny laid a hand on his arm. "And Zach," she said softly. "I won't tell."

He looked confused. "Eh?"

"About the blokes thing," she elaborated. "I didn't mean to see it. I won't tell anyone."

He blushed scarlet for a moment, then muttered, "Thanks," and fled into his common room.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Ginny flopped into bed the next night feeling just a teeny bit smug. Well-made plan, well executed with good results. Game, set and match to the Gryffindor.

Of course, Snape had bitched for nearly an hour about the inadvisability of having some slow, idiotic, easily led Hufflepuff as her partner, but it was getting harder and harder to be intimidated by Snape. They were equals, now, or almost. Two dedicated members of the Order, fighting for what was right.

But before she'd had the chance to interrupt him, Zach had. "What do I have to kill to convince you?" he asked brusquely.

Snape had been surprised enough to fall silent for a few moments. "Ooh, pick Draco, pick Draco," Ginny said, grinning. "And you can't give him Mrs Norris, I got there first."

Finally Snape had sighed, then rolled his eyes and told Zach, "Your training begins tonight. You'll be here every evening, working with Ginevra and myself. She's not significantly ahead of you, so you should be able to duel each other for a change." His eyes flickered to Ginny, and she could see a ghost of a smile on his face. Tired of being hexed half to death, was he? she thought, grinning.

"And Ginevra," he added. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It wouldn't kill him to call her Ginny, would it? "You won't be needed today. Go and do your homework for a change."

She did roll her eyes that time - as if she normally had the chance to do her homework - but departed without comment.

So instead of doing her grim training in Snape's gloomy dungeon, she'd instead chilled out with her friends, and talked DA and Quidditch all evening. She contacted what was left of last years Quidditch team - herself, Mel, Ritchie Coote and Jimmy Peakes - to tell them to turn up at the Quidditch trials on Saturday.

She and Neville also decided that the first DA meeting would be held that Wednesday.

"We should have it before dinner," Ginny said. "Less chance of being caught running round corridors after hours, and who's going to expect a rebel group to be meeting in broad daylight?" Not to mention it would clash with her 'lessons' with Snape, otherwise.

"But it'd be easier for people to be seen," Neville had replied anxiously. "'Cause there are so many other students around, and that."

Ginny shrugged. "Maybe, but I reckon it'll be less obvious with more people around. We won't look so out of place."

"I s'pose," Neville conceded reluctantly. "This is just a preliminary meeting anyway, isn't it? Just to see who's interested and whether there's any point in recruiting more people."

"Yeah," Ginny had said. She knew that there would be recruiting this year. She wouldn't be surprised if most of Gryffindor joined up, with Snape as headmaster.

She rolled over in bed, smiling at the bed hangings. At the rate he was going, Snape was going to replace Phineas Nigellus as the most-hated headmaster of all time.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Zach was as good a partner as Ginny had hoped, maybe even better. He didn't know all the spells Ginny did, like Disillusionment, but he worked fiendishly until he'd caught up. And though Ginny hadn't always gotten on with him in the past, spending almost all her time with him did wonders for their relationship.

Maybe even too much.

"So, are you going out with Smith or not?" Mel asked.

"Hmm?" Ginny wasn't really listening; she had a three-foot long essay to complete that was due in yesterday. "Only eight inches left to go."

Mel glared at her. "That's not what I asked. Merlin's balls, Ginny, it wouldn't kill you to listen once in a while!"

"Sorry," Ginny said, trying to hide a yawn. She'd been busy last night, with Zach and Snape, and then with a special project of the DA's. "What did you say?"

"I said, what's up with you and Smith? Are you going out? And if you are, why haven't you told me already? And why do you never do your homework at night like a normal person?"

"Uh, I was busy last night," Ginny said, putting her quill down. "Remember? You were there too."

Mel blushed at Ginny's not-so subtle reminder of what the DA had been doing, but persevered. "Yeah, and I got all my homework out of the way beforehand, when you were Circe knows where. And don't try to distract me. I saw you two arrive together. C'mon Gin, I'm your best friend. You have to tell me. It's like, a law or something."

Ginny pulled a face at her friend. "You sound like Ron," she complained. "The way he was always bitching on about me having boyfriends 'cause he wasn't getting any."

Mel didn't find that at all amusing. "Don't you dare change the subject," she commanded. "Just tell me, for Christ's sake."

"Hey." Zach slid into the seat on the other side of Ginny.

"Hi, Zach," she replied, picking up her quill again. "Hold on, I've got eight more inches to write."

He looked over her shoulder at her essay. "It's only History," he said dismissively. "Anyway, are we going to Hogsmeade together or do you want to meet up while we're there?"

Mel's eyes bugged. "Might as well go together," Ginny said absently. "We'll get the most time that way. Anyway, bugger off, I've got to work and you're distracting me."

Zach rolled his eyes. "Only History," he said again. "Binns probably won't even notice." He sauntered off over to the Hufflepuff table.

Mel had the decency to at least wait til he was out of earshot. "What the hell was that about?" she demanded.

"Hogsmeade this Saturday," Ginny said, measuring her essay. "Remember?" Then, as an afterthought, "Crap, we didn't have any plans, did we?"

"So you are going out with him," Mel said flatly. She was like a dog with a bone, Ginny thought in exasperation.

"Yeah, I guess." Actually, they were meeting up with Snape in the hills above the village to learn Apparition, but Mel didn't need to know that, and in a way, going out with Zach was a good cover story. "Don't worry, I'll be back before Quidditch practice."

"You damn well better be," Mel replied grouchily. "Our team sucks. Remind me why we're only practising once a week?"

Ginny thought Mel was probably being a bit harsh. They weren't fabulous, but with a bit of training, the new players should come right. "They're not that bad. Better than the other idiots that showed up." That, at least, was God's honest truth. Between the arrogant, the average and the absolutely awful, there wasn't much to choose from. It was like all the good Quidditch players were born in the years before Ginny. "And we're only practising once a week 'cause I'm busy. Anyway, our first game's not for ages."

The bell rang for class, and Ginny cursed, her essay still two inches short. All this hassle better be worth it, she thought grimly.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

"D'you think Filch will ever let us out?" Zach asked as they waited in the line for Hogsmeade.

"It'd be nice, but I doubt it," Ginny replied, looking towards the head of the unmoving line. "He's having too much fun sticking his Probity Probes up - ew! That was disgusting!"

"Pervert," Zach muttered, shaking his head. "If he tries to do that to me, I'll deck the bastard."

"Hi Ginny, Zach." Mel appeared seemingly out of nowhere on the arm of Ritchie Coot. "Mind if we wait in line with you?"

"Go for it," Ginny replied. "Anyway, what's all this, then?" she added, looking pointedly from Mel to Coot.

Mel grinned. "You're not the only one who can keep secrets, Gin. Though maybe if you were around a bit more, you would've noticed."

Mel still wasn't happy with her, it seemed. Oh well. Ginny had bigger concerns. "I've been busy," she said, reaching for Zach's hand.

Mel smirked good-naturedly. Zach, understandably confused, tried to get his hand back. Ginny discretely ground her heel into his foot. "Later," she hissed. They all had to make sacrifices, and if hers was her reputation for good taste, so be it.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

"Ginny," McGonagall called out over the clatter of the sixth-year students packing up their Transfiguration and heading down for lunch. "Stay behind a moment, please."

Ginny sighed and gestured for Mel and Luna to go down to the Great Hall without her. She suspected she knew what this was about. "Yes, Professor?" she asked when everyone else had left.

"Do you know what grade you gained on your Animal Transfiguration essay?" McGonagall asked sternly, glaring at Ginny over the tops of her glasses.

"No, Professor." Ginny bit back a sigh. "You haven't handed them out yet."

Ginny's backtalk wasn't enough to distract McGonagall from her purpose, however. "A 'D', Ms Weasley," she said, nostrils flaring. "This shoddy piece of work-" she pulled it out from a stack of papers and held it between thumb and forefinger as if it were a dead rat. "-was ill-presented, near illegible, handed in three days late and only seven inches long. A far cry from the two feet that was assigned."

Ginny nodded dumbly, letting the criticism wash over her.

"Would you care to explain yourself, Ginny?" McGonagall asked, seeing Ginny wasn't going to speak of her own accord.

"I've been busy," Ginny muttered, staring at the floor. Of all the times she could be called out for homework, it would have had to be today. She'd had less than three hours sleep last night, after a DA meeting lasting until midnight, a meeting with Snape and Zach after that, and then a further talk with Zach about their plans for today. Returning to her dormitory at four in the morning, she'd been up before seven to finish an overdue Charms essay before class. By now, she was almost dropping from lack of sleep.

"Too busy to do basic schoolwork?" McGonagall asked acidly. "Too busy to fulfil the purpose you are at Hogwarts for?"

Ginny mentally rolled her eyes and played her trump card. "I'm sorry, Professor, but right now I think there are things that matter more than schoolwork," she said carefully, meeting McGonagall's eyes. "I hoped you'd understand."

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows. "You have some, some task to carry out?"

"Yes, Professor. I've been asked by...someone...to do some work for him." Ginny looked at McGonagall and knew at once the professor had bought it.

The teacher nodded reluctantly. "Very well," she conceded. "But I don't expect to receive such a shoddy piece of work again, Ginny, despite any...other obligations."

"I understand, Professor." Ginny picked up her book bag and left the classroom, pulling a face when she got out of sight. She was sick of lying to everyone. She was a Gryffindor! They weren't supposed to tell lies!

But she had little choice.

"You all right?"

Ginny looked up and smiled despite herself. "Hi, Zach. Yeah, I'm fine. McGoogles was just giving me a slap over the hand about not doing my homework."

Zach snorted. "Great minds think alike. So was Vector."

"Your fault for taking Arithmancy."

"Probably," he said cheerfully. "You still on for this afternoon? You look like crap, by the way."

Ginny punched him in the arm. "Shuddup," she growled. "Yeah, I'm still on for this afternoon. Yeah, I know I look like crap. I had no sleep last night. Actually, neither did you. Why don't you look as bad as I do?"

"I didn't bother showing up for Divs," he replied, shrugging. "Not like I'm learning anything anyway."

They split up when they reached the Great Hall, going to their respective houses. Much to her dismay, the only free seat was next to Romilda Vane, but Ginny sat down anyway.

"McGonagall give you a bollocking, eh, Weasley?" Neville asked her when she sat down.

Ginny glared down the table at Mel. "News travels fast."

"Merlin!" Romilda said in fake surprise. "What for?"

"Got a 'D' on that Animal Transfig essay," Ginny said through a mouthful of pie. Steak and kidney. She just couldn't get a break today, could she? "D'you have any decent food up your end of the table?" she asked Neville.

"Swap you this chicken thing for that steak and kidney," he said at once.

"You're disgusting. How can you eat kidneys?" Romilda demanded. "Do you know where they come from?"

Neville shrugged. "Sheep?"

The other seniors fell to bickering and left Ginny to contemplate the plan. It was a good plan, she thought. She and Zach had come up with it. She'd been in training for a month now. She knew what she had to know. She could do what she had to do. So did Zach.

But Snape still hadn't acted. He still hadn't indicated they should seek out Alecto Carrow, and Ginny and Zach were both sick of waiting for his permission. So they'd come up with the plan, instead.

"Coming, Ginny?"

She hadn't heard the bell for the end of lunch. She swallowed hard and picked up her book bag.

If Snape wasn't going admit they were ready, then fine. Ginny knew they were. And it wasn't like she needed his permission to talk to a Death Eater. He couldn't do anything to stop it, really. So that's what she was going to do.

"Come on, Ginny," Mel called impatiently. "Being late for Dark Arts is a bad idea."

Ginny Weasley was going to prove to Amycus Carrow that she'd be an asset to the Death Eaters. And she was going to prove that now.