These days the redhead hated spending much time in the Gryffindor commons. She felt like her whole house was staring at her with judgment in their eyes, and truth be told at least half probably were. She’d royally screwed up already this year, and it was barely even started yet. Sometimes it seemed like she was just trying too hard to be somebody, especially considering she had a decent boyfriend and was pretty talented in the way of the twins. Then again, sometimes it felt like she was never going to stand out for being herself.

Her thoughts had her wandering through the castle after dinner, going the opposite direction of her housemates, which meant she wound up in the basements soon. Rather than risk heading toward the dungeons and the snakes who might push her to fighting, Ginny turned toward the boathouse and walked softly down the dock. Maybe she could sit and dip her feet in the icy water… bring some feeling back to her cold body…

”Well, well, well,” she purred as she noticed who was already perched on the dock. ”You know, your cousin put on quite a show last night. I’d say it was reminiscent of a little scene I was privy to a few months back, except this time his prey wasn’t nearly as into it, and neither was as drunk.” She smirked at the boy, taking out her own anger and frustration through cold cruelty toward him.

”I somehow don’t think he’d have been so eager to show his willingness to… excite the boy who lived if he knew he’d done much the same in a drunken stupor this summer. Do you?”

An evil grin stretched across her lips as Ginny noticed the defensive fear dancing in the older boy’s eyes. He might be doing well to hide his emotions from his voice, but the eyes were a window to the soul, as they said. She knew she had him now, and he had no idea just how much she’d seen and heard. In truth, she wasn’t sure that it was Malfoy when she’d first seen them. She knew it looked a whole lot like him, but she was sure it couldn’t be him.

Apparently it had been, though, and now she had some major dirt on the cousins. ”Oh, I’m certain I’m not, and I’m certain you know exactly what I’m talking about, Lestrange.” This summer had seen her in Diagon Alley more often than normal since she’d been visiting the twins every time she could. This meant she had heard the rumors that Harry was staying in a room above the pub, and she’d been stopping in each visit in the hopes of spotting him. Instead of finding Harry, though, she’d seen more of Lestrange and his cousin than she’d ever wanted to.

”Maybe I should just ask your cousin how it felt to be taken by his own family member. I’m sure he’d love to know, since he seemed too… inebriated to remember much if anything.” Ginny silently wondered what she might be able to get out of this situation as she looked at the Slytherin with calm superiority dancing in her eyes. She had leverage and she was damn well going to use it.

The redhead snorted at the Slytherin’s words. He could pretend to be all strong and bad all he wanted, but she knew she’d hit a nerve. There was no way he could hide the way his gaze fell on her and the way he stiffened at her threat to talk to Malfoy. Ginny knew she had something here, and she wasn’t about to let him get away without some kind of deal being made.

”I think you know exactly what I’m talking about and you know my eyes are just fine.” She stared at him defiantly, refusing to back down. ”So do you want me to keep your little secret, or do you want me to go talk to your cousin? Cause I could very easily leave you here to splash around and go tell Malfoy exactly what happened this summer.”

Her eyes took on a cruel glint as she crossed her arms, staring the older boy down. He’d be stupid to underestimate the youngest Weasley. She’d learned from the best at blackmailing and pranks, after all. She’d definitely be getting her way.

”Oh, Lestrange, you’d like that wouldn’t you? Me doing the telling for you so you can decide whether it’s worth it to deal with or not…” she murmured with a cruel spark in her eyes. The ginger had a darkness inside that few people ever saw, but when it came out it was rather horrifying. She toyed with her wand while she looked at him, sizing up the boy before her. Maybe it was foolish to mess with someone who was obviously physically stronger than her and much darker in his heart, but she didn’t much care. She had something on him and she was going to get something out of it.

Ginny cocked her head and gave the boy a cruel smile. ”Alright then. I will take a favor from you. No matter what might happen in the future, even if you decide to tell him yourself, you still owe me for keeping your little secret. One favor, no restrictions, whenever I ask for it. Or else I let your little secret slip to someone who could make things much more difficult that if just your cousin happened to find out.”

The girl knew she was being mean, but she didn’t care. Rumor was the blonde snake had been hurting Skyler lately, and Lestrange had more than earned his fair share of consequences for any actions he took. She had enough idea of who had connections to Voldemort that she could let something slip in front of one of them. Once she did that, the boys would be in so deep they might never come back out. Ginny considered the possibility a service to the world, and smirked at the boy, looking very much like her twin brothers. ”What do ya say, Lestrange?”

”No deal, Lestrange? Really?” she asked with gleaming eyes. Ginny licked her lips and shrugged at the older boy, slowly starting to turn on her heel. ”Well then, I guess I’ll be off to the owlery. I need to pen a little note to a certain blonde. I believe his name was replaced with a prisoner number, but I’m sure my note will find him. He’ll be oh so interested in what his son has been involved in…”

Lucius Malfoy was one of the worst human beings Ginny could think of, and she had a sure way to reach him if the Slytherin before her didn’t reconsider her offer. Yes, it was cruel, but the boys both deserved it. If he did remain adamant about not taking her offer, Ginny would search out Sky right after sending the owl. The girl needed to know exactly what her ‘Prince’ got up to in his drunken states.

Ginny quirked a brow at the Slytherin, waiting in case he might change his mind. Growing impatient, she turned the rest of the way and started walking slowly back toward the castle. ”It’s your funeral, Lestrange,” she said in a sing-song voice, shaking her head and smiling to herself.

The smile only grew as Lestrange reached out and stopped her progress. She had him and it was all she could do to keep from laughing in triumph. ”I thought you’d see things my way eventually.” Her voice was oddly friendly and she shrugged his hand off of her arm, nodding at his agreement. His look of defeat only fueled her determination as she vowed to figure out the best way and moment to cash in her favor.

”Nice chat, Lestrange. Very productive. Now it’s late and I should be getting to bed. Good thing I don’t have to go all the way to the owlery,” she winked slyly at him, resuming her stride back to the castle. ”Oh, and Lestrange? If you even think about going back on your agreement, I’ll have a nice little chat with my blonde friend. I still owe him a little something for the diary he gifted me four years ago, you know.”

With that final threat, she left the boy alone, working her way up to Gryffindor Tower with the smile never fading from her face.