I dare You

11. "A snake? As in a Slytherin snake?"

She looked out into the garden. There were a lot of flowers in the beds along the fence. For a moment she was even entertaining the thought, that her own family... She pushed the thought away. She didn't want to think about that. She had to focus on matters at hand, which meant she was heading to the Burrow to meet with Ron and Harry.

Ron... He was sweet and after she had been crying nearly all the way to London on the train he had tried his best to be there for her. He might not have known, quite why she had been in tears for all those hours, but he had just held and comforted her. She sighed. She should tell him, that he shouldn't get his hopes up. That she was already spoken for. More than spoken for! She was the wife of another. Tears started again to slowly roll over her cheeks.

'Draco!' she sobbed.

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"Ginny, do you remember the time I found you in the common room in the early hours of the morning, on a Saturday? You said you couldn't sleep and had been there for two hours already."

She looked at him. Of course, she remembered! That had been the morning when she had to make sure, Harry didn't notice Hermione coming back from her date with the ferret.

"Sure? What about it?"

"Were you there to cover for somebody who's been out all night?"

She looked at him. Where did that come from? He had never asked before. Why now?

"Ginny?"

She took a deep breath before finally answering.

"I really couldn't sleep any more, but you are right. Somebody came in while we were on the couch together."

"Was it Hermione?"

She paled. How did he find out?

"It was her, wasn't it?"

The young witch nodded.

"I suppose you know whom she had been spending the night with?"

She nodded again.

"What has happened?"

That wasn’t what she had expected Harry to ask/ It took a while before ahe finally got her voice back.

"What do you mean, what happened?"

"After the Death Eaters invaded the school and Dumbledore died, she has been crying so often, that I would have thought there are no tears left in her any longer. She has been sobbing all the way from Hogwarts to London! That must be a record."

"Ahm."

"You know who it is, don't know?"

Ginny hesitated. Should she tell Harry that his best friend had been spending the night with Draco Malfoy? No! Not after what had happened. Merlin alone knew what kind of stupid scheme her boyfriend might come up with.

"Ginny, please! Do you actually know?"

"Yes, Harry, I do know whom she had spent that night with, and before you ask, I'm not going to tell you. It’s bad enough for her as it is."

"Has he finished it or why is she crying?"

"I don't know if they are still together. I would think so, but it’s not that straight forward. He is a..."

"A what, Ginny? Merlin's Beard! Tell me! What is he?"

"A snake."

"A snake? As in a Slytherin snake?"