Fred managed to invite Angelina to the Deathday party this morning, and then, in the afternoon, he got a reply from the liquor supplier.
The supplier's letter said that a rather esteemed guest had bought all their high-proof spirits, so his order would be delayed by a week.
Enclosed with the letter was a card: "To the esteemed Mr. Percy Weasley, we deeply apologise for any inconvenience. To show our sincere regret, this transaction will be given a fifty percent discount…"
Normally, Fred would have been over the moon about such a stroke of luck. But with the Deathday party happening tomorrow, a fifty percent discount was utterly useless.
"And," he thought with a shiver, "I used Percy's identity to buy the firewhisky! The longer this drags on, the easier it'll be to get caught. If Mum finds out, my backside will be… well, let's just say it won't be a pretty sight." Fred immediately regretted not dragging George into this mess with him.
"I'll just have to try the Hog's Head again," Fred muttered to himself.
"Try what?"
Fred nearly jumped out of his skin, startled by the sudden voice. He quickly tucked away the letter and spun around.
Upon seeing who it was, Fred let out a sigh of relief. It was just Ginny.
"Just trying out Harry's new Firebolt 2001," Fred blurted out, making something up on the spot.
"Don't lie to me!" Ginny said, reaching for the letter in Fred's hand.
But Fred was much too tall for Ginny. He simply lifted his hand effortlessly, and Ginny couldn't reach the letter.
Seeing Fred about to whistle and walk away, Ginny had no choice but to say, "I know about your and Harry's plan—"
Before Ginny could even finish her sentence, Fred clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Shush, shush, shush!"
He pulled Ginny into a secluded corner before finally letting go.
"How did you know?" Fred asked, practically buzzing with impatience.
Ginny didn't rush to answer, instead taking a few deep gulps of fresh air. Once she'd recovered, she said, "Never mind how I know. Just tell me what's in the letter."
Hearing Ginny say that, Fred immediately suspected she didn't know a thing.
"Do you really know?"
"I just know! If you don't show me the letter, I'll go tell Lockhart!" Ginny threatened.
Fred was now convinced Ginny really did know, and quite a bit too.
"Lockhart? I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about."
"Give me the letter!"
After a short standoff, Fred finally handed over the letter.
"Can't believe you're already threatening your older brother…" Fred grumbled under his breath.
Ginny ignored Fred's complaints, quickly scanning the letter.
After a long moment, Ginny looked up and said, "I can help you get your hands on some high-proof spirits, but you have to tell me, is this what Harry really wants?"
"I don't want to lie to you, Ginny. It really is what Harry wants," Fred said, pausing before continuing, "But I really don't want you getting involved. Because, well, trying to get Harry's attention this way just won't work—"
Ginny didn't want to hear another word from Fred. She swiftly turned and left.
Fred stood rooted to the spot, watching Ginny's retreating figure, and sighed.
---
Ginny wrote and sent out two letters.
She knew for certain that Malfoy would have strong spirits, as Norbert had grown quite particular, no longer satisfied with just juniper gin and brandy.
---
That evening, Draco Malfoy was sitting at the dinner table when an owl suddenly flew in.
Seeing the owl extend its leg, Draco pointed to himself in surprise. "Are you sure that's for me?"
When the owl nodded, Draco, utterly bewildered, took the letter.
Just to be safe, Draco placed the pendant from around his neck onto the envelope.
The pendant didn't change colour, meaning there was no dark magic on the letter. It was just an ordinary letter.
"Who in Merlin's beard would be writing to me at this hour? And that's not even our family owl," Draco thought as he opened the letter.
The letter read: *Malfoy, it's me. If you don't want me to spill the beans about you buying Muggle alcohol, bring me a bottle of high-proof liquor. Meet me by the Great Hall entrance.*
Draco practically choked with laughter, utterly furious. He immediately knew who it was.
Draco spun his head to glare at the Gryffindor table, and sure enough, Ginny Weasley was looking right back at him.
Spotting Draco's gaze, Ginny quickly mouthed: *Eight o'clock tonight.*
"BANG!" Draco slammed his hand down on the table.
Pansy, sitting nearby, asked curiously, "What's wrong, Draco? Is there something in the letter?"
Draco, unwilling to reveal the truth, quickly concocted an excuse.
"It's that insufferable Potter, always trying to get a rise out of me. He said he's already reserved next year's new broom!"
Pansy didn't doubt him. In her eyes, Potter was always antagonizing Draco.
"It's alright, Draco," Pansy said softly, trying to comfort him. "In my eyes, you're a thousand times better than Potter."
Faced with Pansy's attempts at comfort, Draco forced a smile.
By the time he finally managed to mollify Pansy and looked up again, Ginny had long since left the Great Hall.
---
That night, Ginny quietly slipped out of her Astronomy lesson.
At the entrance to the Great Hall, Draco was already waiting, having also snuck out of his common room.
Just as Draco was growing impatient, Ginny finally appeared.
Before Draco could even speak, Ginny impatiently demanded the strong spirits.
"Where's what I asked for?"
Draco, however, didn't move. Ginny quietly gripped her wand.
After a tense standoff, Draco finally spoke.
"How can I be sure you won't keep using this to blackmail me?" Draco asked suspiciously.
"Heh, do you think I'm some evil Slytherin? We Gryffindors are honourable!" Ginny scoffed.
"Hahahaha…" Draco laughed, utterly enraged.
"What are you laughing so loudly for? Trying to attract all the professors?" Ginny snapped.
Draco's laughter abruptly died. He lowered his voice. "Is that what all Gryffindors are like, then? Threatening people with their secrets?!"
Ginny couldn't be bothered to waste any more words on Malfoy. She'd already located the bottle he'd hidden on him.
Draco felt a flash of light before his eyes, and then he couldn't move a muscle.
Draco glared furiously at Ginny. He couldn't believe that little weasel had actually ambushed him.
Ginny roughly lifted Malfoy's robes and pulled out the spirits.
Seeing "Special Reserve Vodka: 90%" written on the bottle, Ginny nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave.
Leaving Malfoy standing there, utterly dumbfounded.
---
A moment later, a wizard emerged from the shadows and effortlessly lifted the Petrification charm from Malfoy.
Since the attacker still hadn't been caught, but the scope had narrowed to pure-blood wizards, Snape had been secretly keeping a close eye on the young Slytherin students.
Tonight, Snape discovered that the charm he'd set at the common room entrance had been triggered, and he immediately left his office.
By the time Snape followed the magical traces to the Great Hall entrance, he saw Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy arguing about something.
Although Snape didn't believe Draco or the idiotic Weasley could be the Heir of Slytherin, he decided to observe from the shadows, just to be safe.
After seeing Draco so easily petrified, Snape was certain that this fool couldn't possibly be the Heir.
Snape decided to teach Malfoy a lesson for daring to sneak out of the common room late at night, breaking the rules.
So, he left a warning charm in place and then followed Ginny.
Snape only turned back after confirming Ginny had returned to Gryffindor Tower.
Draco looked at the expressionless Slytherin Head of House and forced a slight smile.
"I was ambushed, Professor. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to—"
Snape said nothing, but merely cast a disdainful glance at Draco's wand, which was awkwardly sticking out of his back pocket.
Draco's face flushed crimson. "Give me another shot, I'd definitely be able to—" he yelled.
"Stop being so pathetic. I don't care if you can 'beat' a Weasley," Snape said coldly. "I'm asking you, what in Merlin's name were you doing out of your common room so late?"
Draco immediately clamped his mouth shut. He had no intention of revealing what had truly happened.
"Answer me, Draco Malfoy, what exactly led you and Weasley to meet here?" Snape asked again, impatiently.
Seeing that Draco wasn't going to say anything, Snape directly threatened him. "If you don't tell me, I'll write to Lucius!"
"Oh, no, Professor, please don't! I, I'll tell you!" As soon as he heard Snape mention writing to Lucius, Draco panicked.
It was already humiliating enough for a Malfoy to buy Muggle alcohol for a magical creature. Now, he'd been ambushed by a first-year Weasley.
Draco couldn't even fathom which revelation would make Lucius angrier if he found out about both at once.
"That little weasel fancies me, you see. She wrote me a letter telling me to meet her here, and I was going to humiliate her, but then she got all furious and attacked me…" Draco said, mixing truth with lies.
Snape roughly cut off Draco's fabricated story, saying coldly, "Do I look like an idiot? Is your brain filled with gillywater? You are—"
After giving Draco a thorough dressing down, Snape couldn't be bothered to waste any more breath on him.
"Come with me," Snape said icily.
"What? No, Professor, please don't take me to my father," Draco pleaded.
"Hmph, I'm far too busy to concern myself with your… 'romantic entanglements'," Snape said, emphasizing the word 'romantic entanglements'. Seeing Draco's face turn pale, he paused and added, "Sort it out yourself. This time, I won't tell Lucius. Now, get back to bed!"
---
In the Gryffindor common room, Ginny handed the vodka to Fred.
"How in Merlin's beard did you get this?" Fred asked, astonished.
"Never you mind."
Ginny said and then headed straight back to her dormitory. She should have still been in class at that time, and she certainly didn't dare linger in the common room; it would be disastrous if Percy saw her.
---