Ginny quickly made her way up the seven flights of stairs to the Room of Requirement. Neville had finally managed to arrange a D.A. meeting and she was really excited about it. Two new students had agreed to join and they would be sworn in today.
Stopping beside the blank wall across from the large tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy and his trolls, Ginny glanced around. Satisfied that she was alone, she began the familiar routine to make the door appear. She stepped into the room and looked around with a smile.
The new D.A. had made several changes since Harry Potter had left. Quite a few new books had been added to their Defense Against the Dark Arts collection and posters indicating the use of different spells were pinned up all over. Not to mention the blown-up photo of Harry Potter himself from the Daily Prophet declaring him No. 1 Undesirable that was prominently displayed in the middle of the far wall.
Neville jumped forward and greeted Ginny. He pulled her into the group of students, talking excitedly about an idea he’d had. Ginny was impressed with the way Neville had taken charge of the group. No one would have expected it of the shy boy.
The meeting started five minutes later, after Ginny was forced to use a Sonorus spell to get everyone’s attention. The two new students, both from Ravenclaw, signed the parchment that Hermione Granger had enchanted when the D.A. was created. The charm she had used instantly revealed the identity of anyone who betrayed the secret group.
The students looked a little nervous as they took part in their first meeting. Ginny offered them comforting words as Neville asked them to demonstrate a couple of spells to test their knowledge. They did pretty well and accepted their congratulations with relieved faces.
Ginny helped them practice the Reductor Curse for a while, until the older one, Annette Wimbly, misfired and destroyed a mirror behind Ginny’s head. Good-natured laughter rang out around the room and the other members were quick to put the girl at ease. Soon she was laughing as well.
As it turned out, the younger Ravenclaw, Marcus Dembol, was brilliant with a variation of shield charms. Neville immediately asked him if he’d be willing to work with the younger students. Marcus was excited to be singled out and quickly agreed. The meeting progressed smoothly after that and the new members found it easy to fit in.
As Ginny was about to leave the room, Parvati Patil stopped her to talk.
“I haven’t seen you in a while, Ginny,” she said. “What have you been up to?”
Ginny shrugged. “Studying, mostly. I’m trying to stay on top of my schoolwork now they have us doing so much ridiculous stuff.”
Parvati suddenly noticed Ginny’s necklace. “Oh, my gosh!” she shrieked, lifting it to study up close. “This is beautiful! Where did you get it?”
“It was a gift,” Ginny said evasively. She tried to cover up the happy smile that came to her face at the memory.
Parvati winked. “Who is it? Who have you been seeing?”
“What?” Ginny exclaimed. “I never said I was seeing anyone!”
Smiling, Parvati agreed. “No. But you didn’t have to. These past few months you’ve been practically glowing. I’ve never seen you this happy. Not even when you and Harry were going out.”
Ginny started to argue, but Parvati cut her off. “Not to mention,” here she paused to turn the locket over, rubbing her thumb over the inscription, “it says ‘My Everything’. It’s obviously from a guy. A particularly romantic guy.”
Ginny blushed and a self-conscious giggle escaped her lips. “Okay. There is someone. I don’t know about ‘particularly romantic’, but…”
Parvati squealed. "I knew it! Why haven’t you told anyone?”
“Well. He’s not exactly very popular among the students. We figured it would be better to keep it under wraps. At least for now.”
“So does that mean you’re not going to tell me?” Parvati gave a little pout.
Ginny hesitated. Should she tell? She couldn’t keep it a secret forever, especially from her friends. It would come out eventually. But how accepting would everyone be? She knew that Draco wasn’t what everyone thought, but that wouldn’t change how they already thought of him. Besides, they’d agreed to keep it a secret. Ginny shook her head.
Parvati looked crestfallen. “Oh,” she said. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t tell a soul. I swear.” She clasped her hands under her chin and stuck out her bottom lip. “Please?”
Ginny laughed and shook her head again. “Sorry, Parvati,” she said. “I can’t tell you just yet. We agreed.”
“Oh, alright. But I’m still dying to know.” Parvati’s eyes suddenly lit up and she gasped. “I know! Invite him to a meeting. Then we can meet him and he can get involved with the cause!”
Ginny had to admit that it was a good idea, though she had no idea how Draco would feel about actually joining the fight against Voldemort. He was already supplying false information to thwart the Dark Lord’s plans, but it was another thing entirely to actually join an army.
To Parvati, Ginny said, “How do you know he isn’t already a member?”
Parvati grinned. “Because you told me that he wasn’t popular with the students. Members of the D.A. are pretty well accepted.”
She was right, of course. This group had originally come together to defy Professor Umbridge two years ago and to learn practical defense. As time went on, however, they had become more active in the school itself. A lot of the members were tutoring younger students and there were all-around good deeds.
There had been a few rescues performed for students who had been imprisoned in the dungeons below the school (those hadn’t gone so well, though, so it had been reluctantly abandoned) and everyone absolutely refused to take part in the torturing of other students that had become a regular part of their lessons. When a Slytherin attacked someone, a D.A. member was right there to bring an end. All in all the D.A. was well-loved by everyone (except for the Slytherins).
Ginny blushed as she realized that Draco was one of the very group that despised her ‘do-gooder’ friends. On more than one occasion he’d sneered at their defense of the younger students. He claimed that it was weak to worry about anyone but yourself. Ginny had reminded him of his concern for her after Parkinson’s attack and was rewarded with a sullen look and a complaint that ‘that was different’.
Parvati chuckled. “He’s not a Slytherin, is he?” When Ginny didn’t reply, she gasped. “He is! A Slytherin, Ginny? I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into.”
Ginny gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry,” she told her friend. “He’s nothing like the rest of them. He used to be, but… he’s changed.”
“So, are you going to bring him to a meeting? Neville told me that he’s got one planned for the first of March.”
“We’ll see,” Ginny said. She didn’t want to make any promises, but deep down, she hoped he would come. She just needed to figure out a way to ask him without offending him or making him angry.
Parvati surprised her by suddenly asking, “What about Harry?”
“Harry?” Ginny was a little confused by the switch in topic. She was still thinking about Draco. “What about him?”
Parvati shrugged. “Well, you two were going out last year. I was just curious. It’s quite the change.”
You don’t know the half of it, Ginny thought to herself. Truthfully, she had felt a little guilty at first about falling in love with her former boyfriend’s enemy. He hated Draco almost as much as Voldemort. She’d gotten over that, though. Harry had broken up with her, after all.
Aloud, she said, “Harry and I broke up. We didn’t really work out as a couple as well as I thought we would. He said he just wanted to protect me from You-Know-Who, but I think we’d both begun to fell the same way.”
Parvati nodded in understanding. “I thought you guys didn’t seem quite comfortable with each other. I mean… not in a bad way. You just didn’t seem very… couple-ish. You know? You were always more like brother and sister.”
Parvati wrinkled her nose. “It was interesting to watch you snogging.”
“Thanks,” Ginny said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She knew it was true, though. Harry hadn’t been the best kisser. He had nothing on Draco, for sure! And she hadn’t felt any excitement from it. It was almost like snogging one of her brothers. No offence, Harry.
Parvati giggled. “Come on. Let’s get back to the common room before we get in trouble.”
She headed out the door and Ginny followed with a sigh. They talked the whole way back to Gryffindor Tower about insignificant things, Ginny still trying to figure out the best way to approach Draco about Parvati’s idea. So far she had nothing.
The common room was full as the early curfew trapped all the students together. It was much too early to go to bed, so people tended to congregate down there. The noise was incredibly loud and both girls paused for a second to brace themselves against the commotion.
Parvati said a quick good-bye and went to sit with her seventh year friends. Ginny took the opportunity to escape to the relative quiet of her dormitory. Her roommates were already there, discussing hair-styles and makeup, but it was better by far that the chaos to be found downstairs.
Ginny curled up on her bed with a book, but that was more for show than actual reading, caught up as she was in her thoughts. She’d already discarded two plans for bringing up the D.A. with Draco and her mind was quick-firing ideas to her. Bit by bit, she pieced together an approach.
It was a long-shot, but she figured Draco had probably had enough with riddles and beating around the bush. That was pretty much the way of things in Slytherin. Straight-forward and direct, she decided, would be her best bet. It was quite late by the time Ginny settled on this, so she began preparing for bed. She could only hope that it would be effective.
Stopping beside the blank wall across from the large tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy and his trolls, Ginny glanced around. Satisfied that she was alone, she began the familiar routine to make the door appear. She stepped into the room and looked around with a smile.
The new D.A. had made several changes since Harry Potter had left. Quite a few new books had been added to their Defense Against the Dark Arts collection and posters indicating the use of different spells were pinned up all over. Not to mention the blown-up photo of Harry Potter himself from the Daily Prophet declaring him No. 1 Undesirable that was prominently displayed in the middle of the far wall.
Neville jumped forward and greeted Ginny. He pulled her into the group of students, talking excitedly about an idea he’d had. Ginny was impressed with the way Neville had taken charge of the group. No one would have expected it of the shy boy.
The meeting started five minutes later, after Ginny was forced to use a Sonorus spell to get everyone’s attention. The two new students, both from Ravenclaw, signed the parchment that Hermione Granger had enchanted when the D.A. was created. The charm she had used instantly revealed the identity of anyone who betrayed the secret group.
The students looked a little nervous as they took part in their first meeting. Ginny offered them comforting words as Neville asked them to demonstrate a couple of spells to test their knowledge. They did pretty well and accepted their congratulations with relieved faces.
Ginny helped them practice the Reductor Curse for a while, until the older one, Annette Wimbly, misfired and destroyed a mirror behind Ginny’s head. Good-natured laughter rang out around the room and the other members were quick to put the girl at ease. Soon she was laughing as well.
As it turned out, the younger Ravenclaw, Marcus Dembol, was brilliant with a variation of shield charms. Neville immediately asked him if he’d be willing to work with the younger students. Marcus was excited to be singled out and quickly agreed. The meeting progressed smoothly after that and the new members found it easy to fit in.
As Ginny was about to leave the room, Parvati Patil stopped her to talk.
“I haven’t seen you in a while, Ginny,” she said. “What have you been up to?”
Ginny shrugged. “Studying, mostly. I’m trying to stay on top of my schoolwork now they have us doing so much ridiculous stuff.”
Parvati suddenly noticed Ginny’s necklace. “Oh, my gosh!” she shrieked, lifting it to study up close. “This is beautiful! Where did you get it?”
“It was a gift,” Ginny said evasively. She tried to cover up the happy smile that came to her face at the memory.
Parvati winked. “Who is it? Who have you been seeing?”
“What?” Ginny exclaimed. “I never said I was seeing anyone!”
Smiling, Parvati agreed. “No. But you didn’t have to. These past few months you’ve been practically glowing. I’ve never seen you this happy. Not even when you and Harry were going out.”
Ginny started to argue, but Parvati cut her off. “Not to mention,” here she paused to turn the locket over, rubbing her thumb over the inscription, “it says ‘My Everything’. It’s obviously from a guy. A particularly romantic guy.”
Ginny blushed and a self-conscious giggle escaped her lips. “Okay. There is someone. I don’t know about ‘particularly romantic’, but…”
Parvati squealed. "I knew it! Why haven’t you told anyone?”
“Well. He’s not exactly very popular among the students. We figured it would be better to keep it under wraps. At least for now.”
“So does that mean you’re not going to tell me?” Parvati gave a little pout.
Ginny hesitated. Should she tell? She couldn’t keep it a secret forever, especially from her friends. It would come out eventually. But how accepting would everyone be? She knew that Draco wasn’t what everyone thought, but that wouldn’t change how they already thought of him. Besides, they’d agreed to keep it a secret. Ginny shook her head.
Parvati looked crestfallen. “Oh,” she said. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t tell a soul. I swear.” She clasped her hands under her chin and stuck out her bottom lip. “Please?”
Ginny laughed and shook her head again. “Sorry, Parvati,” she said. “I can’t tell you just yet. We agreed.”
“Oh, alright. But I’m still dying to know.” Parvati’s eyes suddenly lit up and she gasped. “I know! Invite him to a meeting. Then we can meet him and he can get involved with the cause!”
Ginny had to admit that it was a good idea, though she had no idea how Draco would feel about actually joining the fight against Voldemort. He was already supplying false information to thwart the Dark Lord’s plans, but it was another thing entirely to actually join an army.
To Parvati, Ginny said, “How do you know he isn’t already a member?”
Parvati grinned. “Because you told me that he wasn’t popular with the students. Members of the D.A. are pretty well accepted.”
She was right, of course. This group had originally come together to defy Professor Umbridge two years ago and to learn practical defense. As time went on, however, they had become more active in the school itself. A lot of the members were tutoring younger students and there were all-around good deeds.
There had been a few rescues performed for students who had been imprisoned in the dungeons below the school (those hadn’t gone so well, though, so it had been reluctantly abandoned) and everyone absolutely refused to take part in the torturing of other students that had become a regular part of their lessons. When a Slytherin attacked someone, a D.A. member was right there to bring an end. All in all the D.A. was well-loved by everyone (except for the Slytherins).
Ginny blushed as she realized that Draco was one of the very group that despised her ‘do-gooder’ friends. On more than one occasion he’d sneered at their defense of the younger students. He claimed that it was weak to worry about anyone but yourself. Ginny had reminded him of his concern for her after Parkinson’s attack and was rewarded with a sullen look and a complaint that ‘that was different’.
Parvati chuckled. “He’s not a Slytherin, is he?” When Ginny didn’t reply, she gasped. “He is! A Slytherin, Ginny? I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into.”
Ginny gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry,” she told her friend. “He’s nothing like the rest of them. He used to be, but… he’s changed.”
“So, are you going to bring him to a meeting? Neville told me that he’s got one planned for the first of March.”
“We’ll see,” Ginny said. She didn’t want to make any promises, but deep down, she hoped he would come. She just needed to figure out a way to ask him without offending him or making him angry.
Parvati surprised her by suddenly asking, “What about Harry?”
“Harry?” Ginny was a little confused by the switch in topic. She was still thinking about Draco. “What about him?”
Parvati shrugged. “Well, you two were going out last year. I was just curious. It’s quite the change.”
You don’t know the half of it, Ginny thought to herself. Truthfully, she had felt a little guilty at first about falling in love with her former boyfriend’s enemy. He hated Draco almost as much as Voldemort. She’d gotten over that, though. Harry had broken up with her, after all.
Aloud, she said, “Harry and I broke up. We didn’t really work out as a couple as well as I thought we would. He said he just wanted to protect me from You-Know-Who, but I think we’d both begun to fell the same way.”
Parvati nodded in understanding. “I thought you guys didn’t seem quite comfortable with each other. I mean… not in a bad way. You just didn’t seem very… couple-ish. You know? You were always more like brother and sister.”
Parvati wrinkled her nose. “It was interesting to watch you snogging.”
“Thanks,” Ginny said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She knew it was true, though. Harry hadn’t been the best kisser. He had nothing on Draco, for sure! And she hadn’t felt any excitement from it. It was almost like snogging one of her brothers. No offence, Harry.
Parvati giggled. “Come on. Let’s get back to the common room before we get in trouble.”
She headed out the door and Ginny followed with a sigh. They talked the whole way back to Gryffindor Tower about insignificant things, Ginny still trying to figure out the best way to approach Draco about Parvati’s idea. So far she had nothing.
The common room was full as the early curfew trapped all the students together. It was much too early to go to bed, so people tended to congregate down there. The noise was incredibly loud and both girls paused for a second to brace themselves against the commotion.
Parvati said a quick good-bye and went to sit with her seventh year friends. Ginny took the opportunity to escape to the relative quiet of her dormitory. Her roommates were already there, discussing hair-styles and makeup, but it was better by far that the chaos to be found downstairs.
Ginny curled up on her bed with a book, but that was more for show than actual reading, caught up as she was in her thoughts. She’d already discarded two plans for bringing up the D.A. with Draco and her mind was quick-firing ideas to her. Bit by bit, she pieced together an approach.
It was a long-shot, but she figured Draco had probably had enough with riddles and beating around the bush. That was pretty much the way of things in Slytherin. Straight-forward and direct, she decided, would be her best bet. It was quite late by the time Ginny settled on this, so she began preparing for bed. She could only hope that it would be effective.
Author notes: So, I know there's not any interaction in this chapter, but it's important for later chapters. And now I must ask, what did you think? Was it good? I really liked the way Parvati came out. She's kind of fun! Hehe, anyway.... Thank you to laylaelaine, Nakita, raye, and 4everdandg for your great reviews! Loves!
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