Dark Lord's Little Helper

The Plot Thickens, or at Least Congeals

"I can't believe I'm being held prisoner this way!" Draco fumed. "It's insulting. I've been a model visitor in this home. I've weeded the garden, done the dishes, been up before the crack of dawn--which is a fate no man should suffer, by the way--and been helpful and accommodating every step of the way, and this is how you repay me?"

"Oh, stop whinging about it already," Ginny retorted, flipping her hair out of her face. "It's only for a couple of hours. And if you want to prove you're trustworthy, you ought to be happy with this chance. All you have to do is plant your arse in a chair, and boom, you've proven that you're not here to spy on us."

Draco looked appalled at this. "I don't want to prove that I'm trustworthy! That would do unimaginable damage to my reputation as a Malfoy. I want to prove that I'm necessary, yes, and clever, and astoundingly sexy, but never trustworthy. If you're trustworthy, people tell you to do things and expect you to actually do them."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Well, yes...I suppose they do at that. Look, I'm not any happier about this than you are. That whole premise about 'keeping an eye on Malfoy' whenever they want to keep me out of the way is beginning to wear rather thin."

"Then why do it? Let's just sneak downstairs and find out what's going on. They shouldn't be allowed to treat us as though we are irrelevant! Come on now, where's your sense of adventure?" Draco wheedled, giving her a pleading look.

Ginny shifted uncomfortably. The reason she was upstairs making sure Malfoy didn't leave his room was that Snape and some of the other Order members were at the Burrow for a quick meeting, and she didn't want Malfoy to know. After all, he said himself that he didn't want to be considered trustworthy. And as little as she liked Snape, she didn't want Draco getting him killed. "Draco..."

He studied her carefully. "What's up?" His eyes were shrewd as he watched Ginny rise from her chair and begin pacing.

"I don't..." She swallowed. "I don't want you to go downstairs while they're meeting."

"You don't trust me, either." A flat stare. A flat voice.

"There's a lot at stake, is all." Ginny didn't meet his eyes. This was harder than she thought it would be. It was easy to stand up to Harry these days, and he usually needed someone to stand up to him. She was finding it harder to stand up to Draco...but then, that probably had something to do with having kissed him.

"Yes...there is a lot at stake. There's Potter, for one thing," Draco responded in a bitter voice, and Ginny looked up, questioning.

"Well, yeah. Among the other important things, like our way of life, the world as we know it, and so on and so forth. Are you all right, Draco?"

"I'm just dandy," he replied coldly.

Ginny stared at him for a long moment. What was his problem, anyway? Shrugging slightly, she said, "How about I go downstairs and try to find out what's going on? I'll come back when I know a bit more, and tell you whatever I think would be safe enough for you to know. I know you don't like it, but...you have to prove yourself, if you want to be seen as one of the good guys."

Draco gave her a hard look. "Oh, boy. So before I get my 'do-gooder' pass, I have to yank a sword out of a stone, fight a basilisk with it, maybe stop some weirdo from coming back from the dead...is that what you want? And is that more or less your list of qualifying traits for a boyfriend, as well? I can picture your personal ad: Must enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach, and repeatedly defeating the myriad forces of evil. Fine, go downstairs if you like. I don't care. I'll just sit up here and wait for Voldemort to come and Crucio me."

Ginny gritted her teeth. "Stop sulking. You can be really childish, you know that? Don't be angry, I'm only going down there because you keep moaning about it. And...I trust you enough to leave you here alone. That's something, isn't it?"

Draco gave a half-hearted sigh. "Yes, we've definitely reached new heights of confidence when you can leave me alone in my room for five minutes."

Ginny frowned, then slipped out into the hall, trying hard to make certain she wasn't stomping, and carefully not slamming the door behind her. What was his bloody problem? Things had been rather awkward since the kiss--which they hadn't mentioned since. What would be the point? It would ever work out. She was a spunky redhead, a girl next-door sort of thing, and he came from a long line of rich psychopaths.

Creeping carefully down the stairs, she slipped out an extendable ear and tossed it at the kitchen door. No good--it bounced right off. Right. Well then. She'd just have to get a bit creative about it, wouldn't she? She toed off her shoes and sidled down the hall, cautiously opening the front door, and began silently working her way round to the kitchen window. When she was right beneath it, she swung the twins' creation up and over, and felt it fall snugly into the flowerpot on the sill.

"Well, we've had people there for days, and there hasn't been a single thing out of the ordinary," her father was saying. "It does seem to me that either he's given up on that location, or he found out that Harry wasn't there anyway."

"If the entire thing wasn't fabricated by those hooligans you call your progeny," Snape's frosty voice noted.

"We weren't making it up," Ron said quietly. "Harry really was saying stuff like that in his sleep."

"Who cares what he thinks, Ron?" Harry grated, sounding prickly as ever these days.

"And if Mister Potter wasn't simply making the whole thing up in order to get some extra attention," the Potions Master responded.

There was a rather long pause.

"I really hate you," she heard Harry say finally.

"Harry, that's enough," Molly broke in, around the same time as Snape's reply, which sounded something like, 'I assure you, the feeling is mutual.'

Dumbledore finally spoke out at this point, after gently clearing his throat. "Well, despite that there have been no attacks on Harry's family, I cannot in good conscience relieve the guards we've set there. It would be foolish to remove them now, if Voldemort were simply awaiting the time when we decide it's safe enough left alone, before attacking the house."

"Has there been any progress in finding out what any of the rest might have meant?" Hermione's voice. She'd only arrived this morning, as she'd be travelling with them to King's Cross. "I mean, I could look into--"

"Thank you, Hermione, but that's my job at the moment," Remus Lupin replied firmly. "I don't want you kids getting involved in this one. You've been allowed the information we have, and that's simply going to have to suffice. I don't want you doing anything else, is that clear?" he asked, with a note of anxiety in his hoarse voice.

"Fine with me," Harry said sulkily. "I think you're all overreacting, anyhow."

Someone sighed. "I know you think that, Harry, but it's important to me that you're kept safe," the werewolf said kindly. "And unfortunately, I haven't found any information on black snakes that would seem to correspond with our situation. It's a pity, but I'll continue to look into it."

Snape gave a growl of disgust. "What a waste of time! Of all the things we might be accomplishing right now, we--"

"That is enough, Severus," the Headmaster cut him off.

"Have you gotten anywhere in...obtaining the thing you said we might need?" Ginny's father asked, distracting them.

"Unfortunately, the Ministry is averse to allowing us to use one, even in this situation. The fact that I wished to entrust it to Severus was a bit of a sticking point, as well. Try as I might, I could not convince Cornelius that Severus is not a threat--he insists that it would be folly to allow a former Death Eater to wield such an instrument. He does not trust Severus."

"First smart thing the Minister's probably ever done," Harry muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"You're smugness is remarkable, considering your situation," Snape replied with ire. "What conceit you must have, to sit here casting aspersions on me, not a year after having gotten your own godfather killed!"

"You were the one that killed him!" Harry yelled. "You're the one who couldn't make one damned move to show me you understood what I was talking about! It's your fault, and I--"

"That is enough," Dumbledore said in a tired voice, and Harry broke off into an irritated muttering.

"So what shall we do, if that fool from the Ministry will not entrust it to us? I cannot see Potter staying out of trouble long enough that we do not have a use for it." Ginny could hear the sneer in the man's voice.

"They did eventually agree to lend us the use of one," Dumbledore replied, "But they would not allow me to put it in your care."

"Who would Fudge approve of, then?" Remus asked, consternated. "Certainly he wouldn't trust me, since I'm a known lycanthrope, and he's still angry with Arthur for going over his head."

"The only person we could agree upon was Minerva, so she will be the keeper of the object," the Headmaster informed them.

"You know, I don't know why you bother! You all sit around talking and talking and playing like you're including us, but you don't tell us anything!" Harry suddenly burst out. "It was just one stupid little dream, anyhow." The screech of a chair being abruptly pushed back, followed by several pairs of feet, and then the slam of a door.

"Well, that's a quota of adolescent drama filled, then," Snape said sourly.

"He's going through a lot right now," Remus's voice replied tactfully, and no one mentioned that Snape seemed to enjoy antagonizing Harry as much as Harry enjoyed blowing up in response. Really, Ginny thought, He's just as childish as Harry is. I wonder if boys ever grow up?

"That's no excuse for making up nonsense which keeps us from doing more important things," Snape snapped. "We are at war, Lupin. Try not to forget that. And I dislike wasting my time trailing about after some figment of a teenager's imagination!"

"Ah, but Draco claimed he heard Harry say the same. And I do believe you said Draco, at least, had 'potential?'" Dumbledore politely suggested.

"Well. I said he had the potential to be an utterly terrifying Death Eater," Snape replied. "I'm not entirely certain he'll be a very useful ally, though. And at any rate; he only heard what Potter said. I'm still not convinced Potter isn't making it all up."

"Harry does seem...extraordinarily out of sorts, lately," Arthur commented, almost apologetically. "He's going through that rather rebellious phase. He even snapped at me when I asked him to take out the trash this morning."

"That doesn't mean he's lying," Lupin pointed out in a sharp voice.

"No, but we're not certain there's even anything to the dream, even if he had one," Snape jumped in.

"That's true," Ginny's mum said, sounding a bit fretful. "I hate to think of the poor boy having nightmares from him, but in any case, what he's gone through is more than enough to give any boy nightmares. I wish we knew if it was one of those dreams. I believe Harry is telling the truth, though."

"As do I," the Headmaster acknowledged. "And it seems likely that it was a dream of Voldemort. However, Severus makes a very good point; we cannot continue to spend all our time on this particular threat. There are many other plans afoot, and I must say that I believe Remus could be better used elsewhere. At the same time, I do not believe we should reduce surveillance of Privet Drive. Harry's family may be in grave danger, and cannot defend themselves."

"I think you are correct to remove Lupin from that ludicrous research," the Potions Master remarked. "On the other hand, he'll likely be equally useless elsewhere, so--"

"Really, Severus," Ginny heard her mother respond in an aggravated tone. "Would you please try to behave like an adult? We have enough other worries without the two of you starting in on each other."

"It's all right, Molly," Remus said in a mild voice. "How long do I have to finish my research, Albus?"

"I shouldn't give it more than a week," Dumbledore replied. "You are needed elsewhere."

"Very well, then. I'll--"

"Spying, are we?" a voice asked, and Ginny jumped to her feet in fright. Harry was standing behind her, still looking angry. "If one of them had a nightmare, who would you be able to tattle to?"

"I didn't tattle!" she whispered angrily at him. "I was looking out for you, because you're my friend. And you're acting like a complete arse, and I don't deserve it. So if you want to be rude to someone, then go somewhere else, because I'm not going to stand for it."

Suddenly, Harry seemed to deflate, and looked very tired. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry; I know you were doing what you thought was right. I just...hate having all of this out of my control. I don't mean to snap at you, but I'd appreciate a little privacy, you know?"

Ginny nodded, feeling a bit sorry for him. "Where are Ron and Hermione?"

He gave her a crooked smile. "Ran them off with my bad temper."

She snorted. "Figures. You're just a regular bucket of cheer these days, aren't you?"

Flushing, Harry had the grace to look embarrassed, but still noted, "Well, you would too, if you were me."

"I know," she admitted. "You...look kind of tired. Are you all right?" Ginny bit her lip, worried that he would think she was prying.

He shrugged and looked away, and she could see the circles under his eyes. "Well...yeah. I guess I haven't been sleeping very well. I don't want to have another one of those dreams, you know?"

She tilted her head, considering. "You should really go back and take some more lessons with Snape," she said. "Hermione said it was a really smart idea, and--"

"Look, I don't need another lecture, and I don't need another Hermione around!" he grated, his temper flaring again. After a moment, he shut his eyes and gritted his teeth. "Sorry," he said shortly. "I'm going...I'm going to find Ron and Hermione. I should probably apologize to them, too."

"Yeah, you probably should," Ginny agreed, unable to keep from speaking her mind.

He smiled again, small and pale, but real. "Right. And...thanks, Ginny. For being honest with me when no one else will."

She watched him walk back around the front of the house, lost in her thoughts. Poor Harry. He'd had it hard enough already, and things never seemed to get any easier. And now, Lupin was going to give up his research. That wasn't good. And it was especially strange that her first thought about it was that she really wanted to tell Draco.