Innocents Be Damned

Planning

"So half the town wants us dead," Draco said conversationally. "What now?"

Harry snorted. "We die, probably."

They had been chilling at Luna's house for the past hour. She claimed her father was out of town for a few weeks, and Draco didn't ask about her mother, given the way she had said it.

Ginny's Maserati was in the garage so no one in town would see it, and the girl currently sat on Luna's bed with the blonde laying next to her, pale legs sprawled across Ginny's. Draco and Harry sat on the floor together, fingers laced together nervously. Pansy sat on Luna's swivel chair backward, and Hermione sat on Ron's lap on Luna's beanbag chair. Blaise was laying on the floor, and Neville, who had been hanging out at Luna's house beforehand, laid on the floor not far from him.

Ginny looked worried. "Draco, Pansy, Blaise, I know you haven't been here long, and I don't know how much you know about this town, but it's extremely homophobic. Just by helping you, we've all been put in danger, except dear Luna and Neville because they weren't there. Astoria, Daphne, and Nott will most likely have to ignore you to keep up appearances and avoid being attacked."

Draco frowned. "Seriously?"

Luna nodded sadly. "We live in dark times. You and Harry won't be able to return to school anytime soon."

"What?!" Draco cried.

Hermione sighed irritably. "Draco, I don't think you understand. The people in this town are extremely close-minded. If one of them killed you, the others would look the other way. Nothing would be done about it. It's fucked up, but it's true."

"What do we do?" Ron's voice sounded small and terrified, as opposed to his normal voice. His fingers were twisting in his lap, and his face was one of concern.

"Ron, Hermione, Pansy, Blaise, Harry, and Draco will need to stay here," Luna said. "They were the most directly involved and will be punished as such. Ginny wasn't seen by many, so she should be able to get around. Neville and I will be able to get around freely."

"I'm so sorry," Harry murmured. "I didn't think about the consequences of this at all."

Pansy straightened. "Harry, I've known you for about an hour and all I've seen of you is stealing my best friend from our wedding and making sarcastic jokes. But I've been best friends with Draco forever, and I've never seen him as happy as he is when he's with you. If he had gone through with our marriage, both of us would have been trapped and miserable. For that, I thank you. The price is worth it."

Blaise nodded. "You two are lovely together. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat."

Draco smiled at his best friends and rested his head on Harry's shoulder. 

"What if we leave?" Ginny asked quietly. Heads snapped toward her in shock.

She looked slightly uncomfortable at the number of eyes on her, but continued. "What if me and Neville and Luna get money and we leave this town and find somewhere else to go? We'll all be eighteen in about a year, and until then we can find our way around. We can't stay here forever, Luna's father will be home in a couple weeks. It's far too dangerous for us to stay here, with the amount of LGBT people we're hiding."

"Gay overload," Pansy snickered. Blaise elbowed her, a smile on his face.

"It's not a bad plan," Neville mused. "But where will we get enough money?"

"Getting a job takes too much time and won't pay enough in that amount of time," Luna mused.

"Who says the methods would have to be... legal?" Hermione suggested tentatively.

Pansy pointed at her. "I am in love with you."

Hermione smirked.

"Me and Neville and Luna will go to school and keep up appearances," Ginny said. "I'll try to get as much money as I can from my parents, and take whatever I have now and bring it here. We'll stash it all."

"I have lots of money at my house," Draco said quietly. "My family is fairly rich. I can try to get in and out quickly and get as much money as I can."

Ginny nodded. "Good. You and Pansy can go together, for backup. So far, we have a good supply of food at Luna's house, so we don't need to worry about that. Hermione, you and Ron can try to get us more money through more... unconventional methods. Just be subtle and try not to get caught. Harry, you and Blaise can steal us a second car, because my Maserati won't fit everyone. Hermione and Ron can help you make a new license plate for it. Everyone clear?"

They nodded. Draco smiled.

"Great." Ginny clapped her hands. "Let's go."