Tel' Qualohtarie

Chapter Four

Ginny woke again a little after lunch. She slipped carefully out of Luna's embrace, not wishing to disturb her friend's napping. She showered and changed clothes quickly, running down to the kitchen to grab a sandwich to eat on the way to the window. She was just polishing off the food when she landed in the entrance foyer of Malfoy Manor. Winky immediately appeared with a crack and smilingly led her to the training room, chatting pleasantly.

Ginny walked in and the first thing Draco said, "We'll train in here this week, but next Wednesday we'll be in the observatory to start star charts and Elven runes. You'll need to come later in the evening for that."

"Alright. So what are we doing today?"

Draco reached up and pulled two broadswords off the wall. They were almost identical, with gleaming metal blades and bone hilts strapped with grey leather. Down the centres ran a single deep blood channel, Elven runes carved on either side. They were blades made for true warriors. True knights. He handed one to her with a grey leather scabbard that fit over her right shoulder. Something on the base of the blade caught her eye and upon closer inspection she found her name and the word 'Tel'Qualohtarie' engraved into the metal of the silver crosspiece. "That's yours to keep. Every Knight has one. You'll receive your own bow when we begin archery on Thursday."

"I've never handled a sword before," Ginny said, uncertainty creeping into her voice.

"That's alright. I'm sure you're a natural. Most of our lessons are really just a kind of refresher course," he replied, drawing his own sword and indicating that she do the same. Ginny did so, the weight of the blade just equal to her strength, and he attacked. She fought him off and found that she was indeed a natural. It was like the wandless magic she could do and the language she could speak without knowing it. It was in her blood; she simply needed to wake it up. She felt the heady rush of energy flowing through her and gripped her sword tighter. The clang of steel against steel rang in her ears and dozens of memories that were not her own flashed behind her eyes.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in combat, Draco giving her pointers as they went along. "No, use your elbow more. It takes the strain off your wrist." Or something like, "Swordplay is about balance. The object is to keep your balance while upsetting your partner's." Finally, after they had been practising for about two hours, he sheathed his sword and said simply, "That's it for today."

Ginny nodded, panting, and Draco led her back to the entrance in silence. She looked up to say goodbye as she passed through the doors, but he was already gone. Within seconds, she was back on the window at Hogwarts, staring Luna Lovegood right in the face. She jumped back with a small yell and put her hand to her chest. "Luna! What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?" the other girl asked with a rather uninterested air.

At a loss as to how to answer that, Ginny said, "I asked you first."

"Oh. Well, I was looking for you," Luna answered dreamily. "Or perhaps I wasn't really looking for you. Maybe my subconscious was telling me-."

Ginny interrupted before she could really get going, "What did you want?"

"Nothing in particular," Luna replied her mind clearly elsewhere. "Fancy a walk?"

"You do know it's raining?"

"Of course. Are you going to come with me?"

Ginny stared at her in confusion, "Um...sure. Just let me put my things away. I'll meet you here in five minutes?"

Luna nodded and sat down on the bench, staring off into space thoughtfully. Ginny ran up the stairs and through the Gryffindor common room to her dormitory. She unlocked her trunk and placed the sword and scabbard inside carefully. Pulling on some boots, she ran back down the stairs and met Luna at the grey window. The pair walked down to the lake, the rain falling gently on their heads. They made it about halfway around the lake in silence until Luna said, "Ginny, have you ever actually thought about why we're doing all of this?"

"Doing all of what, Luna?"

"All of this fighting. Everything. Why?"

"Do you mean why are we fighting Voldemort?" Ginny asked incredulously. No one had ever asked her anything like that before. Luna nodded and Ginny thought about it for a minute. "Well, he's evil. He wants to rule the world."

"Why is it so evil to want to rule the world? And is that really why? For you and I? What exactly are your reasons, or my reasons for that matter? Are we doing this for the right reasons or half-heartedly? And if we're not doing it for the right reasons doesn't that make us just as bad as Voldemort and the Death Eaters? And wouldn't that hurt the people we love?"

"That's a hard question," she began slowly, thinking about how to try and answer it. "If Voldemort won, Hermione would be killed, Harry would be killed, and people like the Malfoys would be allowed to torture people and all that. We have to stop him."

"Hermione doesn't like me," Luna stated. Ginny was silent, not quite sure how to interpret that, and she continued, "And Malfoy's not so bad. I think I would be upset if Harry died though. And we don't have to do anything."

Ginny was a bit surprised by Luna's statement. She had always sort of thought of Luna as wacky, but not cruel or anything like that. It was a jolt to her brain to think that perhaps Luna wouldn't care if Hermione died and that she thought Malfoy wasn't so bad. Maybe, in a way, she was right though. Hermione didn't like Luna, so why should Luna care if she died or not? But Hermione was a person, a person that she knew. Luna should care because she is another human being. But what about all those people that died every day that Ginny didn't know? Should she have more than a passing care that they died? They were people too. Ginny was suddenly confused and felt very out of sorts.

"Luna, I, uh, I need to lie down. I don't feel so well," Ginny said, her stomach in knots.

"Here, lean on me. I'll help you back."

Luna offered her arm, but Ginny refused, "Um, no, you know, it's alright. I can make it, why don't you enjoy the rest of your walk?"

The other girl studied her intensely with her big pale eyes, eventually nodding and saying, "Alright, but I'll come check on you later."

Ginny nodded and gave her friend a small smile that she knew probably looked fake. Heading up to the castle, the rain stopped and Ginny glanced up to see a rainbow over the lake. It made her feel a little better and she strolled up the stairs to the bath to try and figure some things out. Maybe Luna was right, not about Hermione, but about Malfoy. Ginny fully believed in being your own person and felt that her friend had the right to feel whatever she wanted whether Ginny agreed with it or not.

She sank down in bubbles to her chin and stared blankly at the ceiling above her. Ginny thought back to all the times she had ever encountered Malfoy, it hadn't been many, even with their recent meetings. And lately, he'd been rather civil to her though he'd admitted that she wasn't important enough for him to hate her. She thought that she preferred it that way. His father had hated her and look where that got her. Almost killed. As soon as her training was done, she wouldn't have to see him again except at Grey Knight gatherings and she would be done with the Malfoy family forever. But then, a new thought registered. They were Grey Knights, they were connected and they always had been and always would be. Ginny knew that from the moment she was inducted into the Grey, she had felt the bond with him and all the others, but now she didn't know what to think or feel about that. Maybe Malfoy really wasn't that bad or maybe he was. Tonks had pointed out that he wasn't Lucius, but could he really be all that different? She didn't know and wasn't sure she wanted to find out. He may have Tonks convinced, but I'm not buying, she thought determinedly.

The more she thought about the things Luna had said, the more discouraged she became. If Luna hadn't helped Harry, would her father be alive right now? Had she thought that and was that why she was asking these strange questions? And why was Ginny doing this? Were her reasons the right reasons? Revenge, she thought clearly. For all the wrong Voldemort has done to me and my family and friends. As an afterthought she knew that it was also because getting rid of Voldemort was something that had to be done, whether Luna thought so or not. He would kill everyone, especially those close to Harry or Dumbledore. Hundreds of Muggles and wizards had already died at his hands, no more could be allowed to. After her bath, she slipped her pyjamas on and climbed into bed, quickly falling asleep thinking about her place in the Order of the Phoenix and how happy and uncomplicated her life would be once Voldemort was gone.

~&~

The next afternoon, they practised combining everything they had gone over so far. Thrust, parry, curse, duck, punch, curse, parry, jump. They were so absorbed in the training that they lost track of time and Ginny was determined to finally beat him. She was losing horribly when Ginny happened to glance out the window and notice that the sun was setting. She held up her hand, panting, "Wait. It's time for dinner, I have to go."

He looked out the window and looked at her, wiping his forehead and sheathing his sword. "If you stay, we can get some work done on the runes tonight. It's a full moon."

She shrugged, "Why not?" He hung his sword back on the wall and left the room.

Ginny laid her things near the door and followed him wordlessly and he turned to ask her, "Hungry?" She nodded and he led the way to the kitchen. It was large, dimly lit, and warm with braided carpets and bright copper kettles hanging from the ceiling. To one side was the cooking area with a big island and lots of crockery pots and utensils lying around. A thick oak table sat on the other side next to the dish cupboard and in the middle was a big stone fireplace, a fire burning merrily and the house-elves sitting in front of it in little rocking chairs. It was by far the cosiest, most comfortable room she'd been in yet. She imagined that the human occupants of the house didn't spend much time here. The Malfoys didn't seem the type to enjoy this kind of surrounding.

Winky jumped up when they entered and said curtsying, "Master Draco, what is you needing, sir?"

"Is Tonks here?" he asked.

Winky nodded, "And Mister Ethan too."

"Dinner for four, then."

"Right away, sir," Winky replied with another curtsy, turning to Neesa and the two elves busied themselves on the other end of the kitchen.

Draco went to sit down at the table, but Ginny pulled at his sleeve. He glanced down at her hand with one eyebrow raised and she quickly removed it, "Um, where's the toilet?"

"Oh, come on," he led her out of the kitchen through a different door near the fireplace and down a narrow hallway. He stopped at the third door and opened it to reveal a bathroom. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," he said and pulled the door shut.

Ginny used the toilet and stood in front of the white porcelain sink washing her hands. She studied the bathroom in the mirror and noticed the claw feet of the bathtub and the soft, fluffy towels on the rack. Even though this was probably one of the shabbiest rooms in the Manor, it was still more beautiful and expensive than anything at the Burrow. Ginny splashed some water on her face and as she was patting herself dry she felt a small pang of jealousy and longing. She rarely felt this way; she had accepted her family's poverty very early on. Ginny understood that there were many things more important than money and she knew she was abundantly rich in them, but every now and then she couldn't help wanting to have the material things that people like the Malfoys had.

She shook herself and replaced the towel on the rack, surveying herself in the mirror. She wasn't exactly a wreck, but her hair could use some combing and her clothing needed straightening. She quickly did that and ran her fingers through her hair until it looked at least halfway decent. Well, it's not perfect, but a vast improvement, she thought, glancing in the mirror one last time before she left.

She walked quickly down the hallway, and heard Draco say, "I can't believe you two are doing this to me. This is going to kill me. I thought you were supposed to be my best friends. You know how I feel about her."

"You don't have to be so melodramatic about it. It's your sacred duty and you can't get out of it. You are her guardian, whether you like it or not. And if you don't survive, I'll make sure they don't put how you died on your tombstone," she heard Tonks teasing Draco.

"Malfoy's dying?" Ginny asked hopefully, coming into the kitchen and sitting down across from Ethan Rosier, quickly taking in Tonks' bright purple hair. They were both wearing Muggle jeans and t-shirts. Tonks' hair matched her Weird Sisters shirt.

"Fortunately for you, no," Draco smirked.

"Unfortunately, more like," she turned apprehensively to Ethan, not quite sure how to approach the fact that she was about to have dinner with a Death Eater, if she should approach it at all. She did like him after all. "I don't think we've been properly introduced in a normal setting. I'm Ginny."

"Well, Ginny, I'm Ethan," he smiled at her so charmingly that she couldn't help but return it. His smile wasn't big or overly cheerful, but he seemed to smile at you with his eyes and goodness, they were bluest colour of blue she'd ever seen. "Draco tells me that Percy is one of your older brothers."

Ginny bit her lip and said stiffly, "Yes. Do you know him?"

She really didn't want to discuss Percy right now. Especially not with one of his fellow Death Eaters. Their family had gone through a rough time when Percy left home in her fourth year and her mother still refused to acknowledge that he had joined Voldemort last year. It was another one of those things that was too hard to believe.

"We were in the same year at Hogwarts," Ethan replied. He seemed to notice her reluctance to talk and thankfully the house-elves brought the food right then, sparing either of them an embarrassing moment. He winked roguishly at the elves as they set the dishes on the table. "This looks good, thank you girls."

Winky and Neesa giggled and curtsied and Draco shot them disapproving looks while they quickly returned to their chairs by the fire. "Now, that wasn't nice, Draco," Tonks said, missing her mouth and smearing mashed potatoes on her cheek.

Ethan laughed and leaned over to wipe her cheek with his napkin. "You know, you really need to lighten up a bit, mate. Ever since- well, you need to learn to have fun again."

"Well, you need to learn to mind your own business," Draco replied around his mouthful of pot roast, causing Ethan to laugh again.

He was pulling his hand back from Tonks' face when Ginny caught sight of the Dark Mark on Ethan's left forearm. It was red and ugly and didn't seem to belong on him. Without realising it, she had gasped slightly and when she managed to pry her eyes away from it, she found all three of her tablemates staring at her solemnly.

She could feel her face beginning to flush and tears prickled behind her eyes. "I'm sorry. I- I just...I don't understand," she whispered. "This is all wrong, I'm confused. This isn't- I'm sorry." Ginny stood abruptly and ran out of the room, down the hallway behind the kitchen and into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Ginny leaned against the door and slumped to the floor, her face in her hands. She couldn't stop the tears from coming or the images flashing through her head. She had seen the Mark before on Professor Snape, but this was different. She didn't know Ethan, she didn't know if he was truly loyal to Voldemort. Which he probably was, if one considered his reputation and his father's. She didn't know what in the world he was doing here or what Tonks was doing here. She was a member of the Order of the Phoenix, not to mention an Auror, shouldn't they be fighting? Instead of having dinner together, calmly laughing and talking like they were friends? This was too much. This whole day was just too bizarre and confusing.

She heard a soft knock and Ethan said, "Ginny?"

"Go away."

He knocked again, more insistently, "Ginny, come on. Open the door, I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to talk to you."

"Well, I don't want to talk to you," she knew she was being unreasonable, but she didn't care. "Go away."

"I'm not going away. I want to explain some things to you. Just open the door, please."

Reluctantly, she turned and opened it, looking up at Ethan. "You can sit out there." He nodded and sat with his back to the opposite wall so he was facing her. She remained in the doorway to the toilet, trying to wipe away her tears without him noticing.

"Ginny, listen-."

She held up her hand and interrupted him, "Stop. Let me explain something to you first." He conceded and she continued, "I'm not sure what you want to tell me, but I only want to know what I need to know. I don't trust you and you probably don't trust me, but we're on the same team and I don't understand that. I look at that," she pointed to his arm. "And my brain sends off all kinds of signals. Danger! Death Eater! Voldemort! But then, I look into my heart and all the knowledge I have of you there. And I can't find anything that sends me those same signals. I'm confused! I don't know what to think or believe!"

Ethan sighed and rubbed his head. "It is confusing, I know. But Ginny, you need to understand that good people sometimes do bad things."

"You're going to sit here and tell me that you're just a good person who does bad things even though he knows they're bad?"

"No, that's not what I'm trying to say. Look, people make mistakes. Sometimes they get in over their heads and don't realise it until it's almost too late."

"If it was such a mistake, why are you still a Death Eater? Why didn't you go to Dumbledore and fix it?" He gave her a revealing look and was silent.

After a moment, realisation dawned and she took a deep breath, whispering hoarsely, "You already have. And Tonks knows, that's why she hasn't taken you in to the Order or the Ministry or killed you."

He nodded and rubbed his eyes, "I wish you didn't know that. Only three others know and Ginny you have to keep it a secret. Do you understand how important that is? I don't want to have to use a Memory Charm on you, but I will if I have to. I want to trust you because I like you and you're a smart girl and I know I can trust you if you're willing to keep it a secret."

Her tears began to fall again, "I want to believe you, I really do. But...Ethan, I'm so mixed up. Why can't we just be Ginny and Ethan and not a silly scared little girl and a Death Eater? I don't even really know you, not in the conventional sense anyway, but I'm connected to you more strongly than I am to my family or my friends and I want to trust you and I think some part of me does. But- the other part...Why can't we just be Ginny and Ethan? Why does everything have to be this way?" She buried her face in her hands and cried.

Ethan leaned over and pulled her to him, cuddling her as she clutched his shirt and nudged her face into his chest, "Ginny. Ginny, button, shh. We are just Ginny and Ethan. We're the oiolaire, remember? We share the same energy and spirit. And you do know me just like I know you. We've been friends forever, you've just forgotten. Look, I don't have any ancient wisdom or even any humorous quips to make you feel better. I'm not going to pretend to know everything, but I do know that it's going to be all right. You just have to trust me, like I have to trust you with my secret. You have to remember it for yourself before I can tell you anything, but please try and remember, Ginny. Try."

She pulled back to study his face. His eyes were steady and he stared into her eyes, seeming to understand that she was looking for something. Finally, she found it. She found him, the Ethan that she had always known even if she hadn't always known him as such. This was her heart's knowledge of him and she imagined she could almost see the invisible threads connecting them. Somewhere in the back of her head a memory of the oiolaire was fighting to come to the front.

He ducked his head to look at her again and smiled that charming smile, "Better now, button?"

She nodded and returned his smile through her tears. "Let's go eat, I'm hungry. I've been stuck with Malfoy all day."

~&~

The pair had returned to dinner and with Draco and Tonks, they spent a rather enjoyable evening though Draco and Ginny didn't get any work done on runes. Tonks and Ethan were the best of friends, always laughing, and she learned that Tonks had actually trained Ethan because the Grey Knight who had been born between them had been killed during the first war with Voldemort. He seemed to even be able to predict her accidents and the pair avoided disaster several times with his guidance. Draco, while always a prat, was at least a civil prat and the bantering between him and Ginny and him and the others seemed to be the more good-natured teasing of friends than anything else. Of course, it could have been Ginny's imagination and probably was. She was just in too good of a mood to let him get to her. But she noticed that Ethan seemed to bring about a kind of calmness and steadiness to Draco that no one else could. He didn't seem so wild and temperamental. Ginny could tell that they were great friends and had known each other for a long time, they acted almost like brothers.

When they had sat talking after dinner, Tonks and Ethan had told her that they hadn't been able to get to John Davies yet. Apparently, the Death Eaters kept moving all of the prisoners and it would be too suspicious for Ethan to keep asking. They were going with Roger tomorrow to try and find him again. She was worried for them, but knew that they knew what they were doing. Tonks was an Auror after all. That made her think of Kingsley and the mission he had gone on with Charlie and Lupin. It made her so angry to be denied information.

The trio of friends had enveloped her and included her more than anyone else ever had. Ron, Harry, and Hermione had never wanted her hanging about and it had taken a while after the Chamber of Secrets for anyone else to take a liking to her, much less become best friends with her. Sure, she was liked and had friends, but they were really more the sort of relationships that resulted because of circumstances and not actual, lasting affection. As of right now, her best friend was Luna and that wasn't exactly what you could call a friendship either. More of an understanding, really. They had been through so much together and she loved Luna and would trust her with her life. But Ginny and Luna were two different kinds of people and they had learned to "live and let live" when it came to the other's beliefs. Tonks and Ethan had truly accepted her without question and had trusted her with things that they wouldn't trust to just anyone. It kind of made her feel special and made her want to keep that faith.

As she lay in bed, staring up at the burgundy canopy above her, Ginny felt that something had been resolved but she wasn't entirely sure what. She laughed; this had been an interesting evening, she had dinner with a Death Eater who turns out to be a spy for Dumbledore and she makes friends with him. Well, she had been friends with him before, she just hadn't remembered until tonight. There were all these memories and bits of knowledge from her previous lives that kept popping up when she heard a certain sound or thought a certain thought or saw something of significance to the memory. It was like this life wasn't really a different life; it was becoming a continuation of the last one. And the one before that and so on, all the way back to the elf she originally was. She was a Grey Knight and she always had been. They all always had been. Ginny fell asleep remembering who she used to be and realising that she was still the same Ginny because that's who she really was...

...The world was young and as yet unspoiled by humans. A small group of young elves sat on the bank of a gently flowing stream, talking, laughing, and eating the fresh berries that grew on the edge of the forest. There were four of them. One with eyes as black as coal, twinkling with mischief, that was called Melme'amiev and one with intense steely grey eyes that revealed nothing and everything at the same time. He was known as Varakolniasa. One with charmingly striking eyes that were bluer than blue that was named Melmorimiev, one with sweet amber brown eyes. Kolniasa. All had the same sort of beautiful angular features and long, straight, silvery-grey hair.

They wore tunics of cotton and grey trousers; weapons laid to the side, yet easily accessible. The young male elf with charming blue eyes spoke, "We must be the four strangest elves ever born. It is odd for two elves to be born in the same year, let alone four."

The female elf with mischievous black eyes laughed and said, "It was maranwe. Destiny. The stars chose us to be born in the seventh hour of the seventh day of the seventh month. There is nothing odd about it. It is the way of magic and destiny."

The male elf with revealing grey eyes replied, "Destiny cannot be mapped and not all destinies are good. There is great evil growing in the world and I fear ours may be short-lived."

The female elf with sweet brown eyes then said, "That is true, no matter how foreboding. I propose we make each other a promise. To be true friends forever and to never let the summer fade. We are connected by the Keys, but we are also connected by our hearts."

"We are the oiolaire, the ever summer," the blue-eyed elf replied. He pulled a small silver dagger from his side and cut his right palm. He passed the dagger to the grey-eyed elf who did the same and on to the other two.

The four pressed their right palms all together, their blood mingling and becoming one, and chorused, "Oiolaire."...Ever summer.