Ginny's Gift, Chapter 23

[tartanboxers]

Rated: PG-13

Summary: Ginny gives Harry a special birthday present, but the consequences are unexpected.


Harry and Draco stared at each other, neither one of them moving. Harry began to wonder why Malfoy didn't try to hex him then and there.

"Well, Potter, I'm waiting. What did you think you were going to find under there? You been through all Weasley's copies of Playwitch and looking for some new material to wank off with?"

Harry kept his gaze riveted on Malfoy's wand tip, ready to act at the slightest provocation. "Looks like I don't need to dig up anything more on you. I already know all I need to."

With his peripheral vision, Harry saw Malfoy glance down at his left arm, the one that was extended, holding his wand on Harry. "Oh, that? That's only there for show."

"Come off it, Malfoy. I know what that means. It means you're a Death Eater."

"Does it now? And what would you know about that?"

"Enough to know your dad has one like it."

"Yeah, and he wanted his darling boy to follow in his footsteps, so he took me to get one, too." A note of bitterness had crept into Malfoy's tone. "It was a lot of fun. Do you know what I had to do to prove my worth to the Dark Lord? I'm sure you heard about it. Made the Daily Prophet, that attack did." He shrugged. "It was better than the alternative anyway."

Harry shuddered, thinking of the headlines he'd seen at the Burrow the previous summer. The idea that someone he knew from school had been involved made his blood run cold. "Which was?"

"Don't you get how it works yet? It's prove your merit or be eliminated," Malfoy hissed menacingly, leaning towards Harry as if he were going to take a step closer.

"Stay where you are," Harry warned.

"Oh, don't worry, I know you must have your wand out under there." Malfoy nodded towards Harry's invisibility cloak.

"Then don't come any closer."

"Why not? If you were going to hex me, you'd have done it by now. What's the matter? Gryffindor bravery not all it's made out to be?"

"I could say the same to you. What's stopping you?"

"Maybe I feel like talking."

What was Malfoy on about, anyway? Harry wondered as he gaped. He had the advantage here, so why wasn't he using it? Did he think he could throw Harry off his guard by making conversation? Harry remembered duelling with Lucius Malfoy. The father had used the same tactic, trying to distract him with words.

"All right," said Harry. "You want to talk, then talk. Tell me what you know about what happened to Ginny over the Christmas holiday."

Malfoy laughed, and Harry was sorely tempted to curse him. "You expect me to tell you? Just like that? I suppose I could, but you'd have no way of knowing whether or not I'm telling you the truth, would you?"

Harry knew Malfoy was right, of course, and he wished he'd looked up how to make Veritaserum, knowing at the same time that the recipe would never be in Hogwarts library and that the potion was no doubt beyond his, Ron's and Hermione's abilities.

"Well, I've got all night, and so do you, it seems," Harry replied. He thought he'd worked out now why Malfoy hadn't bothered using his wand. Malfoy must think Harry was wearing his talisman, rendering him immune to whatever Malfoy decided to throw at him. Besides the killing curse, of course, and Malfoy's remarks about his Death Eater initiation implied he might even be able to perform that spell.

"I could always hex you."

"You're not going to hex me; you'd have done it by now," Harry replied, deliberately echoing Malfoy's words to him earlier.

Malfoy shrugged. "Believe me, I would have if I thought it would do me any good."

Harry worked very hard to keep his expression neutral. He couldn't afford to give away to Malfoy that he wasn't wearing the necklace. He had no choice but to seem to let his guard down. He moved his eyes from the tip of Malfoy's wand and looked him in the eyes, but underneath the invisibility cloak, he remained ready to act if he had to.

"Why don't we make a deal?" Harry purposed. "You answer my questions, I'll answer yours."

"I might play along, Potter, but the deal has to be sweeter than that."

"All right, answer my questions, or I'll tell Dumbledore you've got the Dark Mark."

"What makes you think he doesn't already know?"

"He doesn't know."

Malfoy's expression wavered the slightest amount, enough to let Harry know that he'd been right to call the Slytherin's bluff. He hoped his own relief didn't show.

"So tell me what you know about Ginny," Harry prompted.

"Nothing."

"You know it happened."

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Everyone knows that by now."

"Did you know about it at the time?"

"I spent the holiday at Malfoy Manor."

"Where was your father?"

"Not around very much. Made for a nice holiday, actually."

"And you didn't wonder where he was?"

Malfoy shrugged. "Didn't ask. Best not to, most of the time."

Harry thought it might be a good idea to ask Malfoy something he already knew the answer to in order to test the Slytherin's truthfulness. "How did he know to go after Ginny?"

"Dunno."

"How did he even know about the talisman?"

"Don't be stupid, Potter. We all saw it at Halloween."

"So you told him about it."

"Yeah, but he already knew."

"So why did you tell him then?"

"Because I couldn't not tell him," Malfoy spat. "Everyone saw it. If he'd found out from someone else, and I hadn't told him…" Malfoy shuddered.

"So you've been passing things along…"

"As little as possible." He held up his left arm, taking his wand off of Harry for a brief time. "You think I wanted to get this?" he hissed. "I didn't have a choice. And now that I've got it, I've got to play the game. My father wants information, I give him information, but I haven't told him everything he wants to know. It isn't easy knowing what I can safely keep from him, though. I'm not the only one passing information along."

"You mean you weren't."

"No, I mean I'm not."

Harry was confused now. "But Dumbledore caught the spy… It was Krum."

"Either he didn't or there's another one."

Harry's heart began to beat faster. "Who is it?"

"I don't know. I'm not allowed to. You see, even my own father doesn't completely trust me."

"But you know there's someone still passing information along. Recently."

"I was only in contact once. Father wanted me to pass a message along, and there was no point in refusing, so I did as he asked. I wasn't allowed to see who it was though."

"Then how do you know it wasn't Krum?"

"It wasn't him, unless he managed to change the way he walks. You know he's not exactly graceful on the ground. This was before Christmas, but there was frost on the ground. I heard the person approach. The footsteps didn't sound at all awkward to me. I could hear them crunching."

"So you met this person outside."

"Yeah, it was at night. Behind Hagrid's old hut for cover."

"And you didn't see them?"

"I told you I didn't. I was instructed to face the hut. Whoever it was came out of the Forbidden Forest."

"Did you hear them speak? Any other clues as to who it is?"

"We weren't to speak. My father had sent me a letter and told me to put it in the pocket of my robes and wait behind the old gamekeeper's hut. I wasn't to speak or turn round. All I heard was someone come up behind me, and then I felt them take the letter from my pocket. Then they left."

"You didn't read the letter?"

"It was in code."

Harry couldn't believe that Malfoy was telling him all this. There had to be a catch somewhere. "Whose side are you on, Malfoy?" he asked slowly.

"Maybe I haven't made up my mind yet. Maybe I'm waiting to see who's going to come out the winner, and while I'm waiting, I'm playing whatever role I have to. Or maybe I'm making it all up. You decide."

Harry stared at Malfoy, and Malfoy stared back. Harry didn't get the impression Malfoy was lying for some reason. The whole time they'd been speaking, Harry hadn't heard any indication in Malfoy's tone that he hadn't been telling the truth. Nor had there been any other signs in Malfoy's posture or eyes. On the other hand, if it were true that Malfoy had been playing both ends against the middle, he'd have to be a good actor, and in that case, he'd be able to lie easily and not let on.

Harry was going to have to think about this, but at the moment, his immediate concern was getting out of here. Could he trust Malfoy to let him go, or should he just hex Malfoy without warning? It was a difficult decision, but in the end, Harry decided it wouldn't be quite fair not to give Malfoy a chance to show his mettle. Perhaps it would also be a clue to whether he was lying or not.

"Well, if that's all you've got to tell me, I'll be off then."

Harry made a move towards the door, but Malfoy raised his wand higher. Harry tightened his grip on his own wand. "Not so fast," said Malfoy. "You never did tell me what you were doing under my bed."

"Looking for information, and I got it."

Malfoy smirked. "If you say so."

Harry made another move towards the door, but Malfoy put out his wand to block him. "I can't let you go that easily."

Harry hoped he could brazen it out. "What can you do to me?"

"I just want to know one thing. Am I going to find you down here again?"

"You think I'm interested or something? I've got a girlfriend, thanks. No, I'd only come back if I had a good reason, like if I found out you were lying."

Malfoy nodded once and lowered his wand. "Don't worry, this doesn't make us mates or anything."

"In your dreams."

Harry covered himself up with his cloak once more, but he didn't dare let his guard down. As soon as he'd disappeared, he turned around and backed out of the room. It didn't matter because Malfoy couldn't see him, but he thought it was more prudent that way. The distrust was apparently mutual, as Malfoy kept his eyes on the door, and so he appeared to be watching Harry as he left the dormitory.

When Harry was back outside the Slytherin common room once more, he went a little way along the corridor before sinking down against the wall. That had been one of the strangest conversations of his life, and he still wasn't sure what to make of it. His overall impression was that Malfoy had been telling the truth--something Harry could barely credit--but in such a way as to raise doubts in Harry's mind. He shook his head. Perhaps Ron and Hermione would be able to make some more sense out of this. At any rate, Hermione would be glad to learn that there was a possibility that Krum wasn't the spy after all.

He got up and made his way back to Gryffindor Tower, where he paused to remove his invisibility cloak before stepping forward to give the Fat Lady the password ("comfy chair!") and climbing through to the common room.

There wasn't anything out of the ordinary going on beyond the typical Saturday night exuberance, but to Harry it sounded like complete pandemonium. He couldn't remember how long the Auditory Enhancing Potion was supposed to last, but he hoped it would wear off soon. The way it magnified the slightest sound was going to make sleeping impossible, he realised. Even now, he didn't know how he was going to manage a conversation with Ron and Hermione amidst all this racket.

He spotted them in a corner with Ginny, and the three of them looked as if they had their heads together over a game of chess. Coming closer, Harry could see that Ginny and Hermione seemed to be teaming up against Ron, and from the look of consternation on Ron's face, the girls were holding their own.

Harry had also caught a glimpse of Parvati trying to catch his eye, and he felt like it would be a good idea to make a public statement to show her he wasn't available.

Ginny was standing behind Hermione, whispering advice to her. "If you sacrifice that bishop, we can have his queen in two moves." Harry grinned to himself. He was willing to bet Ron would love to have some of this potion to make out what the girls were plotting.

Hermione instructed one of her pawns to move, leaving her bishop open to capture. At the same time, Ginny let out a surprised screech, as Harry stole up behind her and put his arms around her waist.

"Harry! Don't do that!" She'd turned her head to face him, and her eyes were very close to his. At the same time, he felt her relax into the embrace.

"Do what?"

"Scare me half to death like that!" But she smiled as she said it.

Ron and Hermione had both looked up at Ginny's cry and were now watching Harry expectantly. "You get anything on Malfoy?" Ron asked, very low, but Harry heard it distinctly.

Harry nodded once. "Not here though."

Ron got up. "Let's go then."

"Wait a minute," said Hermione. "You can't go just like that. We're in the middle of a game!"

"I think this is just a bit more important," said Ron.

"You wouldn't say that if you were winning," Ginny pointed out.

"Who says I'm losing?"

Harry looked at the chess board and the number of pieces each side had taken. He thought Ron's pieces looked rather mutinous. "Ron, I'd say you're in trouble here."

"It's just a minor setback. Nothing insurmountable."

"Prove it then," said Hermione.

Harry had to fight to keep himself from smiling, when Ron instructed one of his castles to take the bishop the girls had left vulnerable. Two moves later, when Ron had lost his queen, he looked peevishly at Hermione and said, "It's not fair, you know, two against one."

"Are you implying I should help you?" Harry asked Ron. "When you trounce me on a regular basis?"

Ron looked hard at Harry, and Harry was sure he didn't want to admit he needed help. Then Harry had a wicked idea. "I suppose I could help you another way."

His arms were still around Ginny's waist, and he tightened his grip, while he nuzzled into the angle where her neck met her shoulder. He thought he felt her shiver. "Harry! That tickles!" she protested, trying vainly to duck away.

Ron was about to make a move, when Harry saw his eyes go round as saucers. Then Ron looked under the table. "Hermione!"

"Just trying to even the odds," Hermione replied innocently. "If Harry's going to distract Ginny like that, it's only fair."

"I thought Harry had something important to tell us," Ron reminded them.

"It's still your move, Ron. You can always forfeit, you know."

"No way. If I do, I'll never hear the end of it. You'll never let me forget it."

Hermione didn't reply, but Harry imagined she was smiling sweetly at Ron while he made his next move.

It was a tribute to Ron's chess playing ability that the game ended in a stalemate, in spite of the loss of his queen. Harry clearly heard him mutter that this was the last time he let two girls gang up on him.

"What was that, Ron?" asked Hermione, who had obviously not understood.

"Nothing," replied Ron. "Where are we going to go?"

Harry looked around the common room, spotting the other seventh year boys. He also noticed that Colin Creevey seemed to be staring at an oblivious Parvati Patil, who was looking at Harry with a disgruntled expression on her face. Harry sincerely hoped she'd taken the hint.

"The dormitory ought to be all right," he said to Ron. "We can close the door, and I think I'll hear anyone coming a mile off."

"That stuff working, then?"

"Yeah, just a bit. Believe me, you don't want to know what Seamus and Lavender are saying to each other over there." Harry nodded towards another secluded corner, where Seamus and Lavender looked to be quite cosily ensconced.

They quietly made their way over to the boys' staircase, and after a quick look around to be certain no one was paying attention, sent the girls up first. When Harry and Ron had made their way up to the dormitory as well, Hermione closed the door and took out her wand.

"Claustrum!"

It was the spell Snape had used in Wales, and Harry knew that the room had been effectively locked down as the walls glowed green for a moment.

Ron went over and sat down on his bed, while Harry stretched out on his own four-poster, propping his head up on one hand. It was going to feel good to sleep in a proper bed tonight, even if he had to do so alone. He moved his legs over to make room for Ginny, while Hermione went to sit with Ron.

When they were all in place, Harry launched into his story, telling the others about how he'd come to be caught and the odd conversation he'd had with Malfoy. When he'd finished, no one said anything for a long moment. Finally, Ron broke the silence.

"Why would Malfoy tell you all that?"

"I dunno. That's what's weird about it," replied Harry.

"Bet he was lying."

"I didn't get the feeling he was, though, that's the thing."

"At least we know Krum wasn't the spy," said Hermione.

"You don't know that," said Ron.

"Malfoy said he didn't meet Viktor Krum, Ron."

"Doesn't mean that whoever Malfoy met is the only one."

"Just how many spies do you think are running about the place?" asked Hermione.

"Why did Dumbledore sack him if he wasn't a spy? And what about what he did to Ginny?"

Hermione glowered at Ron.

Harry decided to break in before the argument could escalate. "What's important now is the spy who's still here at Hogwarts. Whatever was up with Krum, he's not here now. But there's still someone passing information on to Lucius Malfoy."

"If Draco Malfoy was telling the truth, you mean," said Ron.

"I think he was," said Harry, feeling like they were going around in circles. "So why did he tell me all that?"

"From what you said, Harry," Hermione began speculatively, "by his own admission he's doing whatever he has to, to have an in with either side. He received the Dark Mark to please his father, but his heart wasn't really in it, was it?"

"No, it doesn't seem that way," agreed Harry. "The way he told it, he was forced into it."

"Yes, and perhaps he's wondering about what else he'll have to do once he's finished school. As long as he's here at Hogwarts, there really isn't a whole lot of horrific things they can order him to do, but once he's no longer under Dumbledore's wing…"

"So you're saying he's trying to sabotage his own father?"

"I've never got the impression he liked his father much, have you?"

"You're right. He as much as said he was glad his dad wasn't home over the holiday. But he also told me he hadn't chosen what side he was on."

Ron snorted. "He's just telling you what he thinks you want to hear. He's chosen all right!"

Hermione was shaking her head. "No, he's doing what's expedient, but I think he has chosen. He's chosen to do whatever's best for Draco Malfoy first and foremost."

Harry reckoned she was right, but he didn't like the idea. It made Draco Malfoy seem all the more dangerous in Harry's opinion.

"We need to go to Dumbledore with this," Hermione went on.

"We can't," said Harry.

"Why on earth not?"

"Because he's going to want to know how I found this out, and then I'd have to tell him that Malfoy has the Dark Mark. I made a deal with Malfoy that I wouldn't tell Dumbledore about that. That's why he agreed to talk in the first place."

"Who cares?" said Ron. "This is Malfoy we're talking about here. Why do you want to protect him?"

"If he hasn't made up his mind yet whose side he's on," said Hermione, "it might push him the wrong way if he thinks he can't trust Harry."

Harry had never expected Hermione to support him in this, while Ron pushed him to go to the headmaster, and he gaped at them both for a moment before saying, "If we can find out who the real spy is, independent of what Malfoy told us, which isn't much, really, then we'll tell Dumbledore."

"Great!" said Ron. "Just how are we going to go about that?"

But no one could answer him.

*

In the days that followed, Harry tried his best to keep a close eye on Malfoy. He held onto the hope that Malfoy would somehow betray his true intentions through some unguarded action or expression, but Harry could discern nothing new in the Slytherin's behaviour. And whenever Malfoy would catch Harry staring, he sneered.

Harry also tried to observe the other students and staff in case he noticed anything out of the ordinary, any clue at all that one of them could be working for Lucius Malfoy. He paid extra attention to the Slytherins, as they seemed the likeliest candidates. He immediately dismissed Crabbe and Goyle as being too stupid to carry off the role of spy, but that still left Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode and the rest of Slytherin house.

When he brought up the possibility to Ron and Hermione, Hermione wasn't very convinced. "If it was another member of his house, Malfoy might have noticed something familiar when he met them. I mean he noticed enough to eliminate Viktor Krum…"

"Or maybe he's protecting one of his friends by saying he doesn't know who it is when he actually does," said Ron.

Harry had also tried to keep an eye out for clues around Hagrid's cabin during Care of Magical Creatures class. Perhaps it had been used as a rendezvous point more than once. Unfortunately, with all the snow gone, now that spring was approaching, and the number of students who normally came down here for class, not to mention various creatures, the ground outside the cabin was thoroughly trampled, and it was impossible to tell if anything out of the ordinary was going on.

It was now the beginning of March--Ron's eighteenth birthday had come and gone--and Harry still didn't have the slightest idea where to begin. On top of that, every single one of his teachers had begun preparing the seventh years for their NEWTs in earnest. Even Professor Flitwick, who tended to be easy-going, had deluged them with extra work. This meant that Harry, Ron and Hermione spent every night in the common room working full out from the end of supper until curfew. There was little time for other considerations, and Ginny had begun to look at Harry with a mixture of concern and apprehension.

"I reckon this is what I've got to look forward to next year," she said one evening, while Harry madly scribbled away at an essay for Professor McGonagall, which was due the following day.

Harry looked up for a moment, a wry grin spreading over his face. "If you're clever, you'll get a head start on all this over the summer holiday. Then you'll stand half a chance of getting it finished on time."

He went back to his essay, while Ginny returned to her runes. Hermione was too busy to work on that project at the moment, and Ginny was forging ahead on her own. Harry couldn't resist stealing another glance at her, as she bent over her parchment. Her hair was catching the light from the fire, reflecting a myriad of reds. Her arm extended, as she wrote something down, and Harry saw that she was wearing his Christmas present. He thought longingly of the Easter holiday, which was still six weeks away. At the rate things were going, he couldn't hope for any time alone with her before then.

She must have felt his gaze on her, for she looked up. "You're not going to get very much finished at that rate." But she was smiling as she said the words. He wondered in passing how he was ever going to manage to get through next year while she finished school. The month they'd been separated had been torture…

Harry made himself get back to work. He still had to find a way to fill a foot and a half of parchment before Professor McGonagall would accept his essay, but it wasn't long before he was interrupted again.

He felt a prickling on the back of his neck, as he sensed someone's presence nearby. He looked up to see Colin Creevey standing at the table he and Ginny were using. "Erm, sorry to bother you, Harry, but could I have a word?"

"Sure, Colin, but could you make it quick? Only I've got to get this essay finished."

Colin looked uncomfortably at Ginny before replying. "It's… it's kind of, well, personal."

Harry wondered what Colin could possibly want with him that he couldn't discuss in front of Ginny. It wasn't as if he'd ever been friends with Colin. In the past, he'd considered Colin more of an annoyance than anything else.

Harry stood up and took Colin out of earshot. He noticed, as if for the first time that Colin was no longer a tiny, mousy boy. He was almost as tall as Harry now.

"What is it then?" Harry asked.

"I heard you had, well, a book that had advice in it. Advice about girls. And, well, I was wondering if you'd let me borrow it. Please?"

Harry's first instinct was to say no. That book had been enough of a source of embarrassment to him, and he didn't like letting it out of his sight unless it was in his trunk, where he'd kept it locked up ever since the incident in Charms class. It had been bad enough when it had made the rounds of the seventh years. If it was going to be passed round among the sixth years as well, could the fifth years be far from finding out about it? It was never going to end at this rate.

On the other hand, Colin had taken it upon himself to spy on the Slytherin Quidditch team last autumn. He and Ron had never really thanked Colin for that. It wouldn't be quite right to refuse him now.

"Please, Harry," Colin said again, his expression reminding Harry of a puppy. "Only I've never had a lot of luck with girls, and maybe there's some advice for me." Colin looked around and lowered his voice. "Did you ever see anything in there about attracting older women?"

Harry had a sudden nasty image of Colin with Madam Hooch. He shuddered slightly. "Er, older women? Can't say that I have, no."

Colin's face fell. "Pity, that."

"It doesn't mean it's not in there," Harry said quickly. "Only I've never needed it." He hesitated, but morbid curiosity made him ask the next question. "How much older are we talking?"

"Oh, just a year."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Then he remembered seeing Colin staring at Parvati last week. That decided it. If Colin could manage to get Parvati to leave him alone, then it was worth the risk of lending out Dr Zog.

"All right, Colin. I can let you borrow the book. Just be really careful with it. It's got a twisted sense of humour."

"What?"

"It's got a mind of its own, this book, and it tends to turn up in embarrassing places. Just try not to let it out of your dormitory, all right? Don't carry it around in your bag."

"All right. Thanks, Harry, I really appreciate it."

"Come on. We'll go get it now. But then I really have to get back to my homework."

Colin followed Harry up to the seventh year dormitory and waited while Harry unlocked his trunk and began to dig to the bottom.

"That's odd. I swear I left it here… Bugger it all!" Harry looked in his school bag, just in case the book had managed to find its way into it, but the book wasn't there either.

"What?"

"It's gone!"

"Maybe someone else borrowed it."

"You don't know this book, Colin. That's the least of my worries. It likes to play tricks, and now it's played another one on me. It's not here."

A/N: A couple of reviewers have wondered about how Draco could have the Dark Mark at such a young age. I don't think he's too young. He's seventeen, and from the way I interpret canon, a wizard is considered an adult at that age. I made it so Harry was able to do magic outside school after his seventeenth birthday, so I don't think it's totally out of the question for Draco to have been recruited so young.

The Latin Postatem obscuri lateris nescitis, which I had as the Malfoy family motto translates to, "You do not know the power of the dark side." Canus lupa, Spiffy Chan and Tiger Lily got it right.

There's an obscure Monty Python reference in this chapter, if anyone wants to look for it.

Credit must go to Goggle Boy for giving me the idea of pairing up Colin and Parvati. Credit also goes to my betas and everyone who reviewed. Thanks, I really appreciate it!

Chapter 24