living with them, ginny weasley & the marauders

nineteen

chapter nineteen; the enemies reluctantly become some sort of frenemies

Ginny sprinted down the hallways of Hogwarts, her heart beating at a rapid pace. Her search for Lily had proved pointless so far, but she was determined to keep going. She couldn't let anything happen to her, or it could change the entire future; she'd know for sure if she ever got a chance to read that god damn book.

"Going somewhere, Weasley?"

Ginny stopped in her tracks, freezing at the mention of her name. She spun around on her heels to see Marlene staring at her, a few metres away. How did Marlene know her name? No one except Dumbledore and McGonagall were supposed to know, and surely neither of them would say anything.

"Are you talking to me?" Ginny asked, obliviously.

"Oh, don't play dumb with me, Weasley," Marlene rolled her eyes. "I know you're not a Granger, I heard you talking to McGonagall the other day. You know, after you were spying on Sirius?"

"Marlene, I honestly don't know what you're talking about," Ginny said, though she didn't know how much longer that excuse would hold.

"Who are you? I want to know who you are!" Marlene shouted. "Are you a death eater?"

"No!"

"Then who are you? And why are you pretending to be someone else? And why are you here?" Marlene shot questions her way, not giving her a chance to answer them.

Ginny sighed. This wasn't going to work. She'd have to tell Dumbledore about this. "Marlene, really, I wish I could tell you, but I just can't."

"Why are you ruining my life?!" Marlene shouted out of nowhere.

That was obviously what she had wanted to say since the beginning. Ginny began to lose her temper. She had been very tolerant with Marlene; and Ginny generally wasn't a tolerant person. She'd given her chances on end, and she still wasn't taking them. It was time that Ginny did something about it, and by that, she meant returning to her old feisty self.

"That's it! I've had enough of your bullshit!" Ginny shouted. "I've tried to be your friend, I've tried to understand what I've done wrong, and you're not even trying to co operate with me! You're being a bitch, and you know it! I'm not a bad person, and I didn't think you were either, but now I'm starting to have second thoughts!"

"Oh, you've had enough of my bullshit, have you?" Marlene growled back in response. "You're the last one to be able to criticise me, when you're not even telling your so called friends what your real name is! You're a fraud, and you can't be trusted."

"Dumbledore trusts me! If you don't believe me, you can go to Dumbledore!" Ginny yelled, puffing loudly.

"Fine! Maybe I will!"

They both paused for a moment, panting loudly, out of breath from the yelling. It was really a wonder how neither of them had been stunned yet. Ginny hesitated for a moment before speaking, mulling over her options here and choosing the wisest one.

"Look," Ginny said calmly. "My identity is kind of a secret, and it's really important that it stays that way. So I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about any of this, and tomorrow, you and I can visit Dumbledore and tell him all about what you know."

Marlene didn't respond straight away. It took her a minute to regain her thoughts. "Alright, I'll keep your secret. I shouldn't, but I will."

"Thank you," Ginny nodded civilly.

"But if I find out tomorrow that this is some sort of joke to you then—" Marlene began to get fired up again, but Ginny intervened before anything went too far.

"It's not, I promise," Ginny said honestly. "I just think it's best if Dumbledore decides how much I tell you. And if you heard my conversation with McGonagall, then you already know a hell of a lot more than you should."

"Alright," Marlene agreed. "But just so you know, this doesn't make us friends. We can't be friends until I know the truth."

"And I respect that," Ginny nodded.

"What are you doing out here alone anyway?" Marlene asked curiously, walking towards Ginny.

"I was looking for Lily," Ginny admitted. "She got mad at Remus, and punched him in the face, and then ran away, and we don't know where she's gone."

"She punched Remus?" Marlene asked in disbelief.

"Yes, and we don't know where she is. Keep up, Marlene," Ginny repeated.

"Have you checked the heads common room?" Marlene asked, choosing wisely to ignore Ginny's side remark to her previous comment.

"Yeah, I checked there first," Ginny informed her. "She wasn't in her dormitory either, and James said he hadn't seen her since she ran out on him."

"Why did she run out on him?"

"Um, I'll explain later," Ginny avoided the subject smoothly.

Maybe if she and Marlene became friends, Marlene could join the Flowerpot Club, and they could all work together in harmony to get James and Lily together. That would be nice; though of course, they had to get passed the first barrier before that could happen. And whether they passed or not relied on what happened when they visited Dumbledore together tomorrow.

"Ginny, who were you talking about with McGonagall the other day?" Marlene asked her in a tone which suggested that they had been best friends for years. "And what do they have to do with Remus?"

Ginny sighed. She didn't want to have to lie to Marlene. "I'll tell you tomorrow Marlene."

"Why can't you tell me now?"

Ginny understood better than anyone how frustrating it was to be in Marlene's situation right now, where people knew information and they delayed telling her. After all, she'd gone through that twice in the past few days. Once with James, once with Remus.

"Because I don't know what Dumbledore will let me tell you," Ginny replied honestly.

"Why does that matter? It's not like it'll change our lives of anything! Please? Can't you just tell me now?" Marlene asked, in an almost pleading tone.

If only she knew how wrong she was. Now that they were on better terms (thanks to a bit of yelling and cursing) Ginny felt bad for not telling Marlene. Really, she did. But this was a very important matter, and it was something that she needed guidance with. Guidance from Dumbledore, that is.

Ginny sighed. "All in good time, Marlene. All in good time."