Кассандра Клэр - Draco Sinister

"Yeah, well, not everyone memorizes their textbooks," said Ron.

"Yes, some of us just scribble on them," said Hermione, and the haughty disdain in her voice was so evident that Draco looked up and actually felt himself smile, and Sirius smiled back.

* * * * *

Ben, Ginny had decided, was a lovely, angelic sort of person and it really was too bad that he was so old, and also, not from her time.

Draco could learn a lot from him. Ben was endlessly solicitous about her welfare, making sure she had enough to eat, enough to drink, and wasn´t bored, while he hurried about the camp, packing and making various preparations. He even brought her extra clothing when he realized that the army they would be travelling back in time to intercept had vanished in the middle of winter. "I´ve only got menś clothing," he said apologetically, handing her a bundle of garments. "I´m sorry."

Ginny took the clothes gingerly, and snorted. "Leather trousers?"

she demanded.

"They´re breeches," said Ben. "They might be a bit big on you, but…whatś so funny?"

"Nothing," Ginny spluttered, and shooed him out of the tent so she could change.

She had just stripped down to her undergarments when there was a soft *pop* and a very angry-looking someone Apparated into the tent.

Ginny screamed, leaped backward, and succeeded in wrapping one of the heavy canopies that draped the bed around herself as a covering. Then she screamed again, this time for help. "Benjamin!

Ben!"

The intruder young man glared at her as if she, not he, was the intruder in Benś bedroom. He was a young man, around Benś age.

"Who the hell are you?" he said rudely, looking not at all pleased to encounter a half-dressed teenage girl where he had presumably expected to encounter Ben. Ginny was about to reply equally impolitely when the tent flap opened and Ben raced in. He came up short when he saw the intruder, the look of alarm on his face fading into one of surprised resignation.

"Gareth," he said. "What are you doing here?"

Ginny looked at the intruder with renewed interest. So this was Benś cousin, the Heir of Slytherin. Salazarś son. She should´ve guessed. He was tall, Benś height, but as fair as Ben was dark, and looked several years younger. He had thick light hair that fell in his eyes, skin as fair as Dracoś or Narcissaś, eyes as green as Harryś.

His arrogant, handsome face was now twisted with fury. He certainly didn´t look nearly as much like Draco as Ben looked like Harry, but did look like someone who could have been a distant cousin or relative. Especially when he scowled as he was doing now.

"Ben," he said furiously, waving a hand towards the Heir of Gryffindor. Ginny saw that in his hand, he clutched a piece of half-crumpled parchment. Around his wrist was a thick band of what looked like red glass. It glinted in the light. "What the hell is this?"

Ben edged behind Ginny, looking martyred. "Gareth, you didn´t have to Apparate all this way — "

"I bloody well did!"

"Ginny, this is my cousin Gareth," Ben added, half as an afterthought, pushing Ginny towards Gareth, who scowled at her mightily. "Gareth, this is Ginny."

"Congratulations," he snarled at her.

"I´m the Heir of Hufflepuff," she told him, by way of introduction, still hugging the bed canopy around herself.

"Yes, I would have guessed that. You´re just as red and speckled as all the rest of them. Now skive off, will you? I need to talk to Ben."

"Red?" Ginny sputtered indignantly. "Speckled?"

Ben stepped between Gareth and Ginny, whether to protect Ginny from the angry Heir of Slytherin or the other way around, it was difficult to tell. "Gareth, don´t be an ass," he said.

Two bright red dots of rage appeared on Garethś cheekbones. "Oh, I´m the one behaving like an ass? Whatś this, then? What kind of letter is this?" He glared down at the parchment, unrolled it, and started reading out loud. "And so I will be going into the future to fight a battle unlike any we´ve fought before. If I die there and do not return, I trust you will take my son and raise him as if he were your own, and as a brother to your own children — "

Ginny goggled at Ben. "You have children?"

"Just the one," said Ben absently.

"Gah," said Ginny, nearly speechless.

"Aside from the fact that you sound like a puffed-up poncy git in this brilliant epistle of yours, it looks like you´re planning to get yourself killed?" snapped Gareth, still glaring at his cousin. "You moron."

"I am not a moron."

"I beg to differ."

"All right, thatś it," said Ben, grabbed Gareth by the back of his cloak, and commenced dragging him into the tent. He glanced back over his shoulder at Ginny, and called "Just give us a minute, will you?" before they vanished, and the tent flap closed behind them.

Quite unrepentantly, Ginny raced up and put her ear to the flap.

She could only make out muffled words of the conversation that was taking place inside — "sodding git", "get yourself killed why don´t you", "always me having to look out for you," and "not going to do anything just because you say so."

Ginny sighed to herself. If they really were anything like Draco and Harry, this could go on for hours without ever getting to any good bits. She reached forward and pulled the tent flap back, and stuck her head inside.

Ben and Gareth were standing about five feet from each other, both yelling. Ben was scarlet in the face; Gareth, a bit like Draco, evinced his anger only by looking colder than ever. He was looking so cold, in fact, that Ginny wouldn´t have been surprised if the arm he was pointing stiffly at Ben had broken off at the elbow and shattered on the ground like an icicle. He swung around and glared at Ginny.

"What do you want?"

"And hello to you too," she replied. "Look, don´t you think itś Benś decision what he wants to do? I appreciate that heś your cousin — "

"Second cousin," said both Gareth and Ben, in unison.

"Whatever. The point is, itś his business. And I think itś very brave of him. Nobody else in my time knows what he knows, is as equipped to fight this battle as he is. He could be the instrument that destroys the Snake Lord once and for all, which would be a wonderful thing-" she broke off, realizing with a sudden jolt that she was talking about Garethś father.

"This has nothing to do with him being my father," said Gareth, spitting the words out as if they were poison bullets. "I loathe him.

In the morning when I wake, I curse his memory. If the recollection of him could be wiped from the face of the wizarding world, if it would only please me."

Ginny gaped at him. "Then what? I don´t understand."

"You can´t win against him," said Gareth simply. "Heś too powerful. It took the power of the houses of Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff combined to bring him down, and even then he couldn´t be killed. What can you do? You´re only children. He´ll destroy you all, massacre your armies where they stand, and carve flutes for veela children out of your bleached bones."

"Gareth," said Ben, with a certain warning exasperation.

"We have something they didn´t have," said Ginny, confidently.

"What?"

"The Heir of Slytherin on our side."

Gareth looked at her narrowly. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," said Ginny, with a certainty she didn´t feel.

Gareth glanced at Ben, his eyes wide and inquiring. Ben looked exasperated. "I was trying to tell you, Gareth. The prophecy, do you understand now? I have to go."

"The prophecy," said Gareth, sounding disgusted. "Itś just a prophecy, just a bunch of words. Itś not like it came from on high."

"Actually, it did," Ben pointed out gently. "Thatś what a prophecy is."

The Heir of Slytherin, now looking slightly deflated, looked back at Ginny. "He could still get killed," he said, indicating Ben with a wave of his hand.