Lies

Chapter 1: The Note

Sarah MacLachlan-"Fallen"

Heaven bent to take my hand
And lead me through the fire
Be the long awaited answer
To a long and painful fight
Truth be told I tried my best
But somewhere long the way
I got caught up in all there was to offer
But the cost was so much more than I could bear

Though I've tried I've fallen
I have sunk so low
I messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here and
Tell me I told you so

We all begin with good intent
Love was raw and young
We believed that we could change ourselves
The past can be undone
But we carry on our back, the burden
Time always reveals
In the lonely light of morning
In the wound that would not heal
It's the bitter taste of losing everything
that I've held so dear...

I've fallen
I have sunk so low
I messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here and
Tell me I told you so

Heaven bent to take my hand
I've nowhere left to turn
I'm lost to those I thought were friends
To everyone I know
Oh they turn their heads embarrassed
Pretend that they don't see
But it's one missed step you'll slip before you know it
And there doesn't seem a way to be redeemed

Though I've tried I've fallen
I have sunk so low
I messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here and
Tell me I told you so
I messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here and
Tell me I told you so

I didn't grow up like most wizarding kids around here. Not at all. From the time I was five I only knew pain, agony and fear. All came from the man that made me call him father. How I hated him. I still do. And I always will. Because of him, I trust no one. Because of him, I carry scars with me that I am forced to hide. Because of him, I am hated by everyone. Everyone in this world, but luckily, not the next.

Ginny's eyes widened as she read what Malfoy had written. The piece of parchment had drifted out of his window, down to where she was sitting embedded in the grass under a drooping willow tree. She drew her knees to her chin, resting it on the soft white cotton of her long skirt. A stray strand of hair tickled her forehead, and she reached up with a hand to release her waves from their poor confinement within a bun.

She scanned her eyes over the parchment again. "I carry scars with me that I am forced to hide." Is that figurative or literal? Unable to decipher his meaning, she dropped the note in the soft green grass of Malfoy Manor's back lawn. A small brown garden snake slithered toward it, and Ginny watched as it stuck out its tongue, paused, and continued past the note to her hand. The snake coiled around her fingers, and she carefully lifted her hand to examine it. Why, it's not brown at all! It's just muddy, she thought. Its genuine green scales shown through the mud, and its emerald eyes stared at her intelligently. She smiled, and set it down again, where it proceeded to slither up the tree.

"Ginny!" The redhead turned her head to where her mother was beckoning. "Time for lunch, dear!" She nodded, and clambered to her feet, brushing off bits of dirt from her purple tunic and white skirt. She slipped her feet into her worn leather shoes, and quickly burned the note, then obediently followed her mother inside the mansion.

Inside, the house was just as decorated as the outside. The mansion was made of grey stone, with ivy and green shutters holding onto the stone. The inside was basically green and black velvet furniture, a few pictures here and there, and mahogany floors and baseboards. Draco had burned half of the stuff that used to reside inside.

Ginny followed her mother to the dining room which held a massive mahogany table that was set for everyone of the order. They had decided to move between the Blacks' house and the Malfoys' house, so that nobody could be certain of where they were.

Lupin, Moody, Tonks and Shacklebolt were engaged in a conversation about how they could get Draco to come down and socialize. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Mr. Weasley, Bill and Charlie were talking about Quidditch. A few people were just gulping down the sandwiches that Molly had prepared.

Ginny dutifully took her seat next to Tonks, as she would rather listen to them talk about Draco than listen to Quidditch talk.

"The boy simply refused to come down!" Moody growled.

"Give him time," Lupin said. "He's got a lot of things to think about, such as how to kick us out of his house, or to run from the Death Eaters. I mean, come on, the boy just killed six of them!"

Ginny bit into a cucumber sandwich then wrinkled her nose at the faint taste of mayonnaise. Ah, well, it could be worse. Like horseradish!

"Six, yes," Kingsley said, in that deep voice of his. "They will want revenge."

Tonks nodded. "Especially seeing as they only managed to get what....an eighth of the dark mark on his arm?"

Ginny perked up. "What do you mean?" she asked.

They all stared at her. She had been around when he had explained what happened. Then again, lately she was lost in her own world, not talking or listening much.

Remus blinked. "You'll have to ask him." Ginny looked down at her sandwich and nodded.

One by one, people started leaving the table. Ginny resumed her place under the willow tree, this time with a book. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer, was the best book ever! She loved vampires-not the traditional ones, such as the Minister, but the new species, the ones who looked like normal people and could go out in the light.

As the words poured from the book into Ginny's eyes, she became lost to the world. The sun shone higher, then lower, and then lower still.

A shadow fell over Ginny, obscuring the words of her book. She glanced up, and then widened her eyes at the sight of Malfoy.

"Your family is calling you," he said shortly. Ginny took in the sight of him. He wore a black button-down with rolled up sleeves, and faded Muggle jeans, and the dragon necklace that she hadn't ever seen him without. But what really captured her interest were his wounds. There was a great deep brown scar across his face, from temple to chin, just past his left eye. His arms bore knife cuts, whip lashes, and on his left, the beginning of the Dark Mark.

He saw her looking, and met her stare defensively. His grey eyes bore no emotion, save the cold exterior of one who has withdrawn into themselves for safety.

"Ok,"she said standing and tucking her much-worn book under her arm. She brushed past him, aware that he stared after her, but not with interest. She could feel the weight of his gaze, heavy and solid, and almost like he knew about the note that she had burned.

~*~

"Ronald!" Ginny looked up as she heard a familiar voice outside of her door. "Ronald stop it! Put it down!"

Her brow furrowing, Ginny swung her legs over the side of her worn bed, and sighed. Coming back to the Burrow was always good, but here, everyone could fight freely without embarrassing themselves.

Ginny opened the door, and gasped. Like all of the Weasleys rooms, hers was just off of the stairs. Hers was closest to the kitchen, where her brother was ferociously attacking...someone?

"Bloody little prat...what the devil are you doing here...Ow! Hermione!" she heard Ron say. She examined the situation, then rushed down and launched herself at Ron, cleverly wrapping her thin yet strong arms around his neck.

He gasped. "Ginny!"

She held on as he backed up and sank to his knees, turning purple. Hermione stood, wand in hand and eyes wide, to the side. When Ginny let go, the clock turned his head back to "home", instead of "mortal peril".

She then turned to who Ron had been attacking, but there was no-one there. She turned to Hermione, puzzled, who pointed to the open door.

Ginny carefully peered through the kitchen door, and saw a figure robed in black disappear into the woods a few yards away. She turned back to Hermione, but saw that she was firmly scolding Ron, saying that Harry needed rest, not to make such a racket, etc.

The sun finally disappeared beneath the trees, and Ginny decided not to follow whoever it was. Which, of course, came back to haunt her late at night.