I never promised you a ray of light
I never promised there'd be sunshine everyday
I give you everything I have,
the good, the bad
Why do you put me on a pedestal
I'm so up high that I can't see the ground below
So help me down you've got it wrong
I don't belong there
-Halo by Bethany Joy Lenz
Ginny had woken up the next morning with a bit of a hangover, but with almost a complete recollection of the events from the night before. She could remember the exact words of every question she’d been asked and every answer she’d been given. The only thing she couldn’t seem to remember, though, were her own answers.
Blaise told her that she had answered every rude question with a few cryptic words; she’d been far too embarrassed to ask Draco what she’d said. This was the second time that she’d been drunk in front of him, and what had started out as a fun way to get some information from the trio had turned into a night of drunken stupor for her.
Because she, Draco, and Blaise had found out very little information from the trio, they had yet to completely jump on board with the idea of working with them. Draco and Blaise were surprisingly more open to the idea than Ginny, but even they remained skeptical. However, the time had suddenly come for them to decide; Snape had finally called them all into his office.
“Do you think it’s time?” Ginny asked Draco. She was standing at the large mirror in his bathroom, brushing her hair. “Do you think we’re going to have to leave now?”
Draco answered from the other room, where he was picking out his shirt for the day. “I don’t know,” he said loudly, before entering the bathroom, two shirts in hand. When he held the black button-up shirt and the identical white one with pinstripes, she pointed to the black one. “But I don’t think Snape would call us to his office unless it was important.”
Ginny nodded, butterflies assaulting her stomach. The mission had never been properly explained; even drunk Harry had managed to dodge giving a direct answer to her questions. However, she did know that they were going to have to leave the school.
“Right,” she said uneasily. She squeezed his hand when he briefly laid it on her shoulder. “Let’s go.”
Draco nodded, quickly donning his shirt and buttoning it up. When he was completely dressed, he reached forward to grab her hand. She took it immediately, gracing him with a small, grateful smile.
*****
The six teenagers sat awkwardly around the headmaster’s desk, none of them looking at each other. Harry had glared at Draco at every opportunity he got, but they had no more conversations. Ron made an effort to speak to Ginny, and they were on seemingly good terms. Hermione and Ginny had gotten back to being good friends almost immediately, giggling over relationship issues like pre-teens.
Snape finally walked into his office, causing the uncomfortable teens to sit up straight.
“So,” he began, sitting on his desk and folding his arms across his chest, “these three tell me that it’s time for them to return to their searching.” He glanced at the trio. “As you know, the prophecy has you six working together, and so I’m going to ask you others to accompany them on their trip.”
The reactions were varied throughout the “dark ones”. Blaise chuckled lowly, Draco shot a contemptuous look at Harry, and Ginny raised an eyebrow.
“What is so funny?” Snape asked Blaise calmly.
Blaise stopped laughing, but his smile remained. “You’re asking Draco and Harry to go on an extended trip together to keep people from danger? If you ask me, it’s probably safer that we stay here, if only to keep those two from ripping each other to shreds.”
Snape smirked, shaking his head slightly. “Miss Weasley, you look almost as unhappy as Mister Malfoy about this situation. Care to share your thoughts?”
“I agree with Blaise,” she replied calmly. Snape raised an eyebrow curiously. “Although if anyone were to tear Harry apart, it wouldn’t be Draco. It’d be me.”
Blaise sniggered behind his hand, and Draco threw his arm across the back of Ginny’s chair. Even Ron and Hermione looked amused by her statement. Harry glared at Draco as Snape shook his head, trying not to smile.
“Well be that as it may,” he said coolly, “you all have a task to complete, a mission if you will. And unless you plan on letting the Dark Lord win, you’ll have to be willing to work together. So Miss Weasley, what do you say?”
Ginny felt the stares of the Golden Trio burning a hole in her. She knew that if she didn’t agree to go with them, the chances of losing the war to the Death Eaters were exponentially increased. She couldn’t let her anger at Harry control her decision, she decided finally. Clearing her throat, she gave Snape her answer.
“I’m in.”
Snape nodded as if he’d expected the answer. Then again, he probably had.
“Alright, everyone. According to Miss Granger, it would be easier to leave tonight, while the students are asleep. Waiting even one more day will increase your chances of being seen,” Snape explained. He looked to Draco while giving his instructions. “The three of you who are students will go through your day, as usual. You will attend all of your meals, and all of your classes. The rest of you will go back to your chambers and strategize. To pull this off, you’re going to need all the plans you can make.”
All six of the teenagers nodded in unison, standing simultaneously. When they started to leave in a single-file line, Snape called Ginny back.
“Miss Weasley, a word?”
Ginny looked surprised, but gave Draco’s hand a firm squeeze and turned around. She looked at her headmaster calmly.
“Yes, Professor Snape?” she asked. Her eyes were guarded, as if she already knew the point of this conversation.
Snape looked at her knowingly. “I know of your talent, Miss Weasley. And if you’re planning to be of use to your friends, you may want to start using it,” he said curtly. Without another word, he strode around her and exited the room.
Ginny rolled her eyes and huffed as she seated herself in one of the chairs her group had occupied earlier. What was she going to do?
*****
Harry paced in his room. He’d been doing that a lot lately, it seemed. And his thoughts always seemed to revolve around the same thing: Malfoy.
Draco had been unconsciously rubbing Ginny’s shoulder when he threw his arm around her. The unintentional gesture had bothered Harry greatly; it was easier to pretend it wasn’t real when there wasn’t evidence. Even more disturbing than the ferret’s sudden relationship with Harry’s ex was Ron’s calm acceptance of the situation. In fact, he hadn’t heard a rude word about Malfoy from Hermione, either.
“Mate, you okay?” Ron’s voice said from behind him. “You’ve been in here for a while.”
Harry turned and faced his friend. “Just thinking about the trip tonight,” he lied easily. “I don’t see how we’re going to make it with three more people along; we barely made it the first time.”
Ron clapped his friend on the shoulder. “Yeah, but Ginny’s smart, and Malfoy’s dead cunning. Even that Blaise kid seems smart enough.” Harry snorted, and Ron withdrew his hand. “We’re all gonna have to work together, Harry. It doesn’t matter what’s happened before, and you know it. We need their help.” Without another word, he turned and left.
Ron ran into Hermione right outside Harry’s door. He sighed when she gave him a concerned look.
“You alright?” she asked carefully.
“Yeah,” he said, wrapping an arm around her waist. He was lucky to have her. “Just, do you think that something’s gonna happen? With Harry, I mean?”
Hermione laid her head on her boyfriend’s shoulder. “I think it’s got to,” she responded, leaning into him. “I think that he’d hated Draco for so long, it’s going to take a big scene for him to get over it.”
Ron pulled back to look at her in amazement. She squirmed a little.
“What?” she asked self-consciously.
Ron shook his head. “You just called him Draco,” he said in shock.
Hermione smiled. “Yeah, I did, didn’t I?” She sauntered back towards the room she and Ron had been sleeping in since their arrival. “Ron, are you coming. I had something I’d rather like to show you.”
Ron shook his head in confusion at her smile, but followed her with anticipation.
*****
Blaise walked into his room after classes were through, seeing Ginny sitting on his bed. Ever since the night she’d gotten completely pissed, she’d begun sleeping in his room again. Although she hadn’t explained it to him yet, he was sure she would soon.
“Hey, love,” he greeted, throwing his bag down on the sofa. “What are you up to?”
Ginny smiled at him though sadness touched her eyes. “Nothing.”
“Aw, come on,” Blaise cooed lightly, seating himself beside her. “I know that long face. I’ve seen that long face more times than I can count. What has Draco screwed up this time?”
Ginny choked out a laugh. “He hasn’t done anything, Blaise. That’s the problem.”
“Okay,” Blaise said uncertainly. “I’m sorry, I don’t get it.”
“He’s been unnaturally sweet, taking every need of mine into consideration.” Ginny took a deep breath and let it out. “I haven’t been sleeping with him, did you know that?”
Blaise shook his head. “You’ve been staying here at night, so I figured something was going on. I just wasn’t sure what it was. Is something wrong?”
Ginny smiled again. “No, nothing’s wrong there, either. Only, it’s just that when I started sleeping with Draco, it was sort of because I hated myself. I wanted someone who hated me to make me feel it, so I started sleeping with Draco.” Blaise almost responded, but Ginny started talking again. “And for a while, I could hate myself even more because I knew what I was doing was wrong.”
“But now, I can’t bring myself to sleep with him, and it’s all my fault,” she muttered miserably. “Because he’s made me not hate myself, without even realizing he’s doing it. And he’s made me not hate him.” She looked up at Blaise with tears in her eyes. “I don’t think it’s right to sleep with someone you love if they don’t love you back,” she admitted. “It’s like punishment, and he’s made me not want to punish myself anymore.”
The only thing Blaise could think of to do was to hold her. He pulled her close and let her cry quietly onto his shoulder.
*****
That night, when Draco, Blaise and Ginny were walking to the Golden Trio’s rooms, Draco pulled Blaise back. Blaise watched Ginny keep walking as Draco spoke quietly to him.
“Blaise, is something wrong with Ginny? She’s been acting strange around me these past few days.”
Blaise shrugged nonchalantly. “What makes you think I would know, mate? You’re the boyfriend.”
Draco made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat.
“Yeah, I know. That’s the problem,” he explained. “Every time I try to get close to Ginny, or to talk to her, she finds a way to move away from me. At first, it didn’t seem like a big thing. Then, it became obvious that every time I’d touch her she’d shrink away. She hasn’t told you anything, then?”
Blaise sighed and stopped walking altogether. “Look, mate, there’s some serious stuff going through Ginny’s head right now, and you two really need to talk through the thoughts. But I’m not going to be the mediator here. If you and Ginny have a problem, you two are going to have to hash it out yourselves, understood?”
Draco nodded, seeing Ginny standing at a portrait a dozen yards in front of them. He put his hand on Blaise’s shoulder.
“Alright, man. Are you ready for this?”
Blaise rolled his eyes. “Always the dramatist.”
They walked to the portrait together.
I never promised there'd be sunshine everyday
I give you everything I have,
the good, the bad
Why do you put me on a pedestal
I'm so up high that I can't see the ground below
So help me down you've got it wrong
I don't belong there
-Halo by Bethany Joy Lenz
Ginny had woken up the next morning with a bit of a hangover, but with almost a complete recollection of the events from the night before. She could remember the exact words of every question she’d been asked and every answer she’d been given. The only thing she couldn’t seem to remember, though, were her own answers.
Blaise told her that she had answered every rude question with a few cryptic words; she’d been far too embarrassed to ask Draco what she’d said. This was the second time that she’d been drunk in front of him, and what had started out as a fun way to get some information from the trio had turned into a night of drunken stupor for her.
Because she, Draco, and Blaise had found out very little information from the trio, they had yet to completely jump on board with the idea of working with them. Draco and Blaise were surprisingly more open to the idea than Ginny, but even they remained skeptical. However, the time had suddenly come for them to decide; Snape had finally called them all into his office.
“Do you think it’s time?” Ginny asked Draco. She was standing at the large mirror in his bathroom, brushing her hair. “Do you think we’re going to have to leave now?”
Draco answered from the other room, where he was picking out his shirt for the day. “I don’t know,” he said loudly, before entering the bathroom, two shirts in hand. When he held the black button-up shirt and the identical white one with pinstripes, she pointed to the black one. “But I don’t think Snape would call us to his office unless it was important.”
Ginny nodded, butterflies assaulting her stomach. The mission had never been properly explained; even drunk Harry had managed to dodge giving a direct answer to her questions. However, she did know that they were going to have to leave the school.
“Right,” she said uneasily. She squeezed his hand when he briefly laid it on her shoulder. “Let’s go.”
Draco nodded, quickly donning his shirt and buttoning it up. When he was completely dressed, he reached forward to grab her hand. She took it immediately, gracing him with a small, grateful smile.
*****
The six teenagers sat awkwardly around the headmaster’s desk, none of them looking at each other. Harry had glared at Draco at every opportunity he got, but they had no more conversations. Ron made an effort to speak to Ginny, and they were on seemingly good terms. Hermione and Ginny had gotten back to being good friends almost immediately, giggling over relationship issues like pre-teens.
Snape finally walked into his office, causing the uncomfortable teens to sit up straight.
“So,” he began, sitting on his desk and folding his arms across his chest, “these three tell me that it’s time for them to return to their searching.” He glanced at the trio. “As you know, the prophecy has you six working together, and so I’m going to ask you others to accompany them on their trip.”
The reactions were varied throughout the “dark ones”. Blaise chuckled lowly, Draco shot a contemptuous look at Harry, and Ginny raised an eyebrow.
“What is so funny?” Snape asked Blaise calmly.
Blaise stopped laughing, but his smile remained. “You’re asking Draco and Harry to go on an extended trip together to keep people from danger? If you ask me, it’s probably safer that we stay here, if only to keep those two from ripping each other to shreds.”
Snape smirked, shaking his head slightly. “Miss Weasley, you look almost as unhappy as Mister Malfoy about this situation. Care to share your thoughts?”
“I agree with Blaise,” she replied calmly. Snape raised an eyebrow curiously. “Although if anyone were to tear Harry apart, it wouldn’t be Draco. It’d be me.”
Blaise sniggered behind his hand, and Draco threw his arm across the back of Ginny’s chair. Even Ron and Hermione looked amused by her statement. Harry glared at Draco as Snape shook his head, trying not to smile.
“Well be that as it may,” he said coolly, “you all have a task to complete, a mission if you will. And unless you plan on letting the Dark Lord win, you’ll have to be willing to work together. So Miss Weasley, what do you say?”
Ginny felt the stares of the Golden Trio burning a hole in her. She knew that if she didn’t agree to go with them, the chances of losing the war to the Death Eaters were exponentially increased. She couldn’t let her anger at Harry control her decision, she decided finally. Clearing her throat, she gave Snape her answer.
“I’m in.”
Snape nodded as if he’d expected the answer. Then again, he probably had.
“Alright, everyone. According to Miss Granger, it would be easier to leave tonight, while the students are asleep. Waiting even one more day will increase your chances of being seen,” Snape explained. He looked to Draco while giving his instructions. “The three of you who are students will go through your day, as usual. You will attend all of your meals, and all of your classes. The rest of you will go back to your chambers and strategize. To pull this off, you’re going to need all the plans you can make.”
All six of the teenagers nodded in unison, standing simultaneously. When they started to leave in a single-file line, Snape called Ginny back.
“Miss Weasley, a word?”
Ginny looked surprised, but gave Draco’s hand a firm squeeze and turned around. She looked at her headmaster calmly.
“Yes, Professor Snape?” she asked. Her eyes were guarded, as if she already knew the point of this conversation.
Snape looked at her knowingly. “I know of your talent, Miss Weasley. And if you’re planning to be of use to your friends, you may want to start using it,” he said curtly. Without another word, he strode around her and exited the room.
Ginny rolled her eyes and huffed as she seated herself in one of the chairs her group had occupied earlier. What was she going to do?
*****
Harry paced in his room. He’d been doing that a lot lately, it seemed. And his thoughts always seemed to revolve around the same thing: Malfoy.
Draco had been unconsciously rubbing Ginny’s shoulder when he threw his arm around her. The unintentional gesture had bothered Harry greatly; it was easier to pretend it wasn’t real when there wasn’t evidence. Even more disturbing than the ferret’s sudden relationship with Harry’s ex was Ron’s calm acceptance of the situation. In fact, he hadn’t heard a rude word about Malfoy from Hermione, either.
“Mate, you okay?” Ron’s voice said from behind him. “You’ve been in here for a while.”
Harry turned and faced his friend. “Just thinking about the trip tonight,” he lied easily. “I don’t see how we’re going to make it with three more people along; we barely made it the first time.”
Ron clapped his friend on the shoulder. “Yeah, but Ginny’s smart, and Malfoy’s dead cunning. Even that Blaise kid seems smart enough.” Harry snorted, and Ron withdrew his hand. “We’re all gonna have to work together, Harry. It doesn’t matter what’s happened before, and you know it. We need their help.” Without another word, he turned and left.
Ron ran into Hermione right outside Harry’s door. He sighed when she gave him a concerned look.
“You alright?” she asked carefully.
“Yeah,” he said, wrapping an arm around her waist. He was lucky to have her. “Just, do you think that something’s gonna happen? With Harry, I mean?”
Hermione laid her head on her boyfriend’s shoulder. “I think it’s got to,” she responded, leaning into him. “I think that he’d hated Draco for so long, it’s going to take a big scene for him to get over it.”
Ron pulled back to look at her in amazement. She squirmed a little.
“What?” she asked self-consciously.
Ron shook his head. “You just called him Draco,” he said in shock.
Hermione smiled. “Yeah, I did, didn’t I?” She sauntered back towards the room she and Ron had been sleeping in since their arrival. “Ron, are you coming. I had something I’d rather like to show you.”
Ron shook his head in confusion at her smile, but followed her with anticipation.
*****
Blaise walked into his room after classes were through, seeing Ginny sitting on his bed. Ever since the night she’d gotten completely pissed, she’d begun sleeping in his room again. Although she hadn’t explained it to him yet, he was sure she would soon.
“Hey, love,” he greeted, throwing his bag down on the sofa. “What are you up to?”
Ginny smiled at him though sadness touched her eyes. “Nothing.”
“Aw, come on,” Blaise cooed lightly, seating himself beside her. “I know that long face. I’ve seen that long face more times than I can count. What has Draco screwed up this time?”
Ginny choked out a laugh. “He hasn’t done anything, Blaise. That’s the problem.”
“Okay,” Blaise said uncertainly. “I’m sorry, I don’t get it.”
“He’s been unnaturally sweet, taking every need of mine into consideration.” Ginny took a deep breath and let it out. “I haven’t been sleeping with him, did you know that?”
Blaise shook his head. “You’ve been staying here at night, so I figured something was going on. I just wasn’t sure what it was. Is something wrong?”
Ginny smiled again. “No, nothing’s wrong there, either. Only, it’s just that when I started sleeping with Draco, it was sort of because I hated myself. I wanted someone who hated me to make me feel it, so I started sleeping with Draco.” Blaise almost responded, but Ginny started talking again. “And for a while, I could hate myself even more because I knew what I was doing was wrong.”
“But now, I can’t bring myself to sleep with him, and it’s all my fault,” she muttered miserably. “Because he’s made me not hate myself, without even realizing he’s doing it. And he’s made me not hate him.” She looked up at Blaise with tears in her eyes. “I don’t think it’s right to sleep with someone you love if they don’t love you back,” she admitted. “It’s like punishment, and he’s made me not want to punish myself anymore.”
The only thing Blaise could think of to do was to hold her. He pulled her close and let her cry quietly onto his shoulder.
*****
That night, when Draco, Blaise and Ginny were walking to the Golden Trio’s rooms, Draco pulled Blaise back. Blaise watched Ginny keep walking as Draco spoke quietly to him.
“Blaise, is something wrong with Ginny? She’s been acting strange around me these past few days.”
Blaise shrugged nonchalantly. “What makes you think I would know, mate? You’re the boyfriend.”
Draco made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat.
“Yeah, I know. That’s the problem,” he explained. “Every time I try to get close to Ginny, or to talk to her, she finds a way to move away from me. At first, it didn’t seem like a big thing. Then, it became obvious that every time I’d touch her she’d shrink away. She hasn’t told you anything, then?”
Blaise sighed and stopped walking altogether. “Look, mate, there’s some serious stuff going through Ginny’s head right now, and you two really need to talk through the thoughts. But I’m not going to be the mediator here. If you and Ginny have a problem, you two are going to have to hash it out yourselves, understood?”
Draco nodded, seeing Ginny standing at a portrait a dozen yards in front of them. He put his hand on Blaise’s shoulder.
“Alright, man. Are you ready for this?”
Blaise rolled his eyes. “Always the dramatist.”
They walked to the portrait together.
Author notes: My update was somewhat faster this time. I'm actually preparing for orientation at Troy University, so I've been kind of busy.
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