Draco and Ginny made sure to see each other often over the next week. Secretly, of course. They had managed to convince everyone that they had just bumped into each other outside the Great Hall and there was nothing going on between them. And that the reason they hadn’t hexed each other stupid was because it was time to put petty rivalries behind with the war going on.
When it was possible, the two of them would walk between classes together. They employed as many secret passages as they possibly could to avoid detection. They always stole a couple of minutes before lunch to be alone together.
Draco started opening up to her more and more. He told her about his father’s overbearing nature and the pressure he felt to conform to the Death Eater way. He told her about his sixth year and the fear he had felt when Voldemort threatened his family to get him to make an attempt on Dumbledore’s life. He told her things he’d never dreamed of telling anyone before.
Ginny told him about her life, as well. How difficult it was to be the only girl and the youngest of so many children. How she was easily overlooked amongst all the noise and mayhem of a crowd of growing boys.
Draco figured that that was the reason behind her fiery attitude. It was a self-defense mechanism. He found himself enjoying the stories she told, even if they were about a bunch of Weasleys. Especially the stories in which she and the twins played pranks on Ron.
Draco was gathering his books at the end of his Transfiguration class, hurrying because he had a meeting planned with Ginny and didn’t want to be late. Their time together was the highlight of his day.
He’d just told Blaise to go on ahead to lunch and rolled up his parchment when Professor McGonagall called, “Draco Malfoy. I’d like to speak with you for a moment.”
He swept his quill and inkwell into his bag and walked up to his teacher’s desk. To his surprise, she led him into her office instead. Once inside, he realized what was going on.
Sprout and Flitwick were seated at the desk, each holding a small stack of papers. They looked up at Draco when he entered, and he could see that they didn’t quite trust him, but were willing to give him a chance because McGonagall did.
McGonagall closed the door and motioned Draco toward a seat. The other two professors watched him uncertainly, as if trying to ascertain his hidden intention. He suddenly felt very nervous, sitting down carefully and pasting on a grim smile.
“Draco, I’m sure you must have guessed by now why I asked you to come in here,” McGonagall began. “We have put together some false information for you to feed to your father.”
Sprout and Flitwick held up their stacks. “This is enough for you to give him a couple every week for the next two months,” Flitwick explained in his squeaky voice. “Hopefully he’ll buy it.”
Draco was a bit surprised that they had come up with so much in so little time. He glanced through the papers to see if he recognized any of the spells. When he found that he didn’t he looked back up at the teachers, his eyebrow slightly raised.
Professor McGonagall smiled at his expression. “Most of these spells are completely out of date. They have been replaced with stronger, more complicated wards as they’ve been developed. The others are fake. They wouldn’t so much as singe the ends of your hair.”
Draco smirked. “Nice. I was beginning to wonder what kind of information we could pass on. I didn’t even think of old stuff.”
He thought for a second, then asked, “Were any of these used to protect the school in the past?”
Professor Flitwick nodded. “Yes. In fact, You-Know-Who might recognize a couple of them from his time here. We’re hoping that that will persuade him to believe the one’s he doesn’t know.”
Draco frowned. “Won’t he expect them to have been updated?”
McGonagall chuckled. “We are counting on his ego to fool him,” she replied. “Even as a boy, he believed that he was smarter than everyone. He felt that he could not be fooled, so he was less careful than he could have been.”
“From what we heard from Harry Potter, he is still very much the same,” Flitwick added.
Professor Sprout agreed. “The information we have gleaned from You-Know-Who’s own mind has been invaluable.”
“Potter can read the Dark Lord’s mind?” Draco asked, looking from teacher to teacher in surprise. “I had no idea he was a Legilimens. Can he read other people’s minds?”
“No,” Professor McGonagall stated simply. Then she turned to Sprout and began discussing some plants that could be used in case of an attack.
Draco sensed that he was not going to get any more information about Potter. Probably didn’t trust him not to let it slip.
Snape might know something, but Draco felt that going to see the Headmaster in his current position as a traitor would not be wise. He didn’t want to be turned over to Voldemort.
Draco sighed. It was tricky pretending to work for the Dark Lord when, in fact, he was helping his enemies. He hoped that he wouldn’t slip up and give himself away. Voldemort wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.
Already he’d had to put off Pansy’s questions of when he was going to get his dark mark and Theodore Nott bragging about what the Dark Lord had him doing, wondering what he’d asked Draco to do. Even Blaise had been curious about why he didn’t seem to talk about it as much as he’d used to.
A thought suddenly struck Draco and he shot upright in his chair. “Wait. How am I going to get these to my father?” he asked. “He didn’t give me any instructions and it has to be quiet. It can’t look like something the school would know about.”
The teachers exchanged looks.
“Yes,” McGonagall replied slowly, her face indicating that she was surprised by the question. “We thought about that.”
She turned to Flitwick and he nodded. She then continued, “We think that the Floo network would be your best bet.”
“Floo?” Draco repeated. “Don’t you monitor that?”
“We used to,” Professor Sprout replied. “Since Dumbledore was killed, however, the Ministry has taken over. I’m pretty certain that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has some… influence there.”
Flitwick finished for her. “So it should be no problem for you. If your father asks, tell him you overheard us complaining.”
Draco pondered this for a minute. It seemed a sturdy, well-formed plan. All of the apparent loopholes had been considered and explanations provided. Now it was all up to him.
Great, he thought wryly. Now the easy part.
If there was one thing that could be said about Lucius Malfoy, it was that he was careful. He was not likely to let anything slip past him. It there was even one thing wrong with Draco’s report, he would find it.
Draco could feel his already small amount of confidence slipping, and before he could back out completely he said, “Good. I’ll do that. It’s a good idea.
He grimaced as he realized that he sounded as if he was trying to convince himself.
He stood quickly and stuffed the phony spells into his bag, hoping the teachers wouldn’t notice his uncertainty. Thankfully they were too busy going over their own plans. McGonagall raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing.
Draco mumbled a good-bye and hurriedly left the office. He went to his prearranged meeting place to see Ginny, but she was already gone. He sighed and walked off on his own. He hadn’t really expected her to wait around, but it didn’t change the fact that he was disappointed to have missed her.
Once he got to the Great Hall, lunch was half over. He sought out Ginny’s face. He found her watching him and gave her a strained smile, mouthing the word ‘sorry’.
She gave a small nod in return. That would have to do for now. Having decided to keep their relationship a secret, he couldn’t go over and talk to her.
Draco sat in his usual spot at the Slytherin table with a deep sigh.
“Trouble, Drakie?” Pansy asked, leaning over to grasp his arm.
He pushed her hands off. “Not now, Parkinson,” he growled. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with her today.
She stuck out her bottom lip. “Draco…” she began to whine.
Draco rolled his eyes and turned away. Behind him he heard Pansy huff before jumping out of her seat and storming off. Draco bit into a sandwich and tried not to think about the task of fooling his father.
When it was possible, the two of them would walk between classes together. They employed as many secret passages as they possibly could to avoid detection. They always stole a couple of minutes before lunch to be alone together.
Draco started opening up to her more and more. He told her about his father’s overbearing nature and the pressure he felt to conform to the Death Eater way. He told her about his sixth year and the fear he had felt when Voldemort threatened his family to get him to make an attempt on Dumbledore’s life. He told her things he’d never dreamed of telling anyone before.
Ginny told him about her life, as well. How difficult it was to be the only girl and the youngest of so many children. How she was easily overlooked amongst all the noise and mayhem of a crowd of growing boys.
Draco figured that that was the reason behind her fiery attitude. It was a self-defense mechanism. He found himself enjoying the stories she told, even if they were about a bunch of Weasleys. Especially the stories in which she and the twins played pranks on Ron.
Draco was gathering his books at the end of his Transfiguration class, hurrying because he had a meeting planned with Ginny and didn’t want to be late. Their time together was the highlight of his day.
He’d just told Blaise to go on ahead to lunch and rolled up his parchment when Professor McGonagall called, “Draco Malfoy. I’d like to speak with you for a moment.”
He swept his quill and inkwell into his bag and walked up to his teacher’s desk. To his surprise, she led him into her office instead. Once inside, he realized what was going on.
Sprout and Flitwick were seated at the desk, each holding a small stack of papers. They looked up at Draco when he entered, and he could see that they didn’t quite trust him, but were willing to give him a chance because McGonagall did.
McGonagall closed the door and motioned Draco toward a seat. The other two professors watched him uncertainly, as if trying to ascertain his hidden intention. He suddenly felt very nervous, sitting down carefully and pasting on a grim smile.
“Draco, I’m sure you must have guessed by now why I asked you to come in here,” McGonagall began. “We have put together some false information for you to feed to your father.”
Sprout and Flitwick held up their stacks. “This is enough for you to give him a couple every week for the next two months,” Flitwick explained in his squeaky voice. “Hopefully he’ll buy it.”
Draco was a bit surprised that they had come up with so much in so little time. He glanced through the papers to see if he recognized any of the spells. When he found that he didn’t he looked back up at the teachers, his eyebrow slightly raised.
Professor McGonagall smiled at his expression. “Most of these spells are completely out of date. They have been replaced with stronger, more complicated wards as they’ve been developed. The others are fake. They wouldn’t so much as singe the ends of your hair.”
Draco smirked. “Nice. I was beginning to wonder what kind of information we could pass on. I didn’t even think of old stuff.”
He thought for a second, then asked, “Were any of these used to protect the school in the past?”
Professor Flitwick nodded. “Yes. In fact, You-Know-Who might recognize a couple of them from his time here. We’re hoping that that will persuade him to believe the one’s he doesn’t know.”
Draco frowned. “Won’t he expect them to have been updated?”
McGonagall chuckled. “We are counting on his ego to fool him,” she replied. “Even as a boy, he believed that he was smarter than everyone. He felt that he could not be fooled, so he was less careful than he could have been.”
“From what we heard from Harry Potter, he is still very much the same,” Flitwick added.
Professor Sprout agreed. “The information we have gleaned from You-Know-Who’s own mind has been invaluable.”
“Potter can read the Dark Lord’s mind?” Draco asked, looking from teacher to teacher in surprise. “I had no idea he was a Legilimens. Can he read other people’s minds?”
“No,” Professor McGonagall stated simply. Then she turned to Sprout and began discussing some plants that could be used in case of an attack.
Draco sensed that he was not going to get any more information about Potter. Probably didn’t trust him not to let it slip.
Snape might know something, but Draco felt that going to see the Headmaster in his current position as a traitor would not be wise. He didn’t want to be turned over to Voldemort.
Draco sighed. It was tricky pretending to work for the Dark Lord when, in fact, he was helping his enemies. He hoped that he wouldn’t slip up and give himself away. Voldemort wouldn’t hesitate to kill him.
Already he’d had to put off Pansy’s questions of when he was going to get his dark mark and Theodore Nott bragging about what the Dark Lord had him doing, wondering what he’d asked Draco to do. Even Blaise had been curious about why he didn’t seem to talk about it as much as he’d used to.
A thought suddenly struck Draco and he shot upright in his chair. “Wait. How am I going to get these to my father?” he asked. “He didn’t give me any instructions and it has to be quiet. It can’t look like something the school would know about.”
The teachers exchanged looks.
“Yes,” McGonagall replied slowly, her face indicating that she was surprised by the question. “We thought about that.”
She turned to Flitwick and he nodded. She then continued, “We think that the Floo network would be your best bet.”
“Floo?” Draco repeated. “Don’t you monitor that?”
“We used to,” Professor Sprout replied. “Since Dumbledore was killed, however, the Ministry has taken over. I’m pretty certain that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has some… influence there.”
Flitwick finished for her. “So it should be no problem for you. If your father asks, tell him you overheard us complaining.”
Draco pondered this for a minute. It seemed a sturdy, well-formed plan. All of the apparent loopholes had been considered and explanations provided. Now it was all up to him.
Great, he thought wryly. Now the easy part.
If there was one thing that could be said about Lucius Malfoy, it was that he was careful. He was not likely to let anything slip past him. It there was even one thing wrong with Draco’s report, he would find it.
Draco could feel his already small amount of confidence slipping, and before he could back out completely he said, “Good. I’ll do that. It’s a good idea.
He grimaced as he realized that he sounded as if he was trying to convince himself.
He stood quickly and stuffed the phony spells into his bag, hoping the teachers wouldn’t notice his uncertainty. Thankfully they were too busy going over their own plans. McGonagall raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing.
Draco mumbled a good-bye and hurriedly left the office. He went to his prearranged meeting place to see Ginny, but she was already gone. He sighed and walked off on his own. He hadn’t really expected her to wait around, but it didn’t change the fact that he was disappointed to have missed her.
Once he got to the Great Hall, lunch was half over. He sought out Ginny’s face. He found her watching him and gave her a strained smile, mouthing the word ‘sorry’.
She gave a small nod in return. That would have to do for now. Having decided to keep their relationship a secret, he couldn’t go over and talk to her.
Draco sat in his usual spot at the Slytherin table with a deep sigh.
“Trouble, Drakie?” Pansy asked, leaning over to grasp his arm.
He pushed her hands off. “Not now, Parkinson,” he growled. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with her today.
She stuck out her bottom lip. “Draco…” she began to whine.
Draco rolled his eyes and turned away. Behind him he heard Pansy huff before jumping out of her seat and storming off. Draco bit into a sandwich and tried not to think about the task of fooling his father.
Author notes: This chapter begins to add a little detail to the plot. It's not really very long, or even terribly... active, but it was moderately important. I know I'm biased, but I really like how it came out. How do you guys feel about it? I love 'hearing' your comments! Thank you to psyche, and Rosalie for reviewing! Loves!
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