Unexpected

Ginny sat and stared at her brother, not quite believing what he'd just asked her to do. Her day had started out normally enough, with her best friend, Lauren, hopping on her bed to wake her up. They'd then had a nice, normal breakfast, and attended their nice, normal classes. But as she sat in the Gryffindor common room, gaping at her brother and his friends, she came to the conclusion that their request was anything but normal, and that they had also gone completely bloody mad.

"You have got to be kidding me." She said, and Lauren shot her look that showed she was just as shocked as Ginny herself was, and that she, too, understood the real problem. Well, besides Ginny's possible death if she actually did this.

"Come on, Ginny!" Ron pleaded. "Do it for Gryffindor!"

"Let me get this straight." Ginny said, trying her hardest not to yell or laugh hysterically. "You not only want me to take illegal Polyjuice potion, but for me to then sneak into another House, Slytherin at that, after having changed into Blaise Zabini, who happens to be the most dangerous wizard in the school besides Malfoy himself, who happens to be who you want me to get dirt on, which is what this entire scheme is all about?"

"Well...You don't have to say it like that!" Her brother reprimanded. Ginny couldn't even really believe this was happening. It seemed like it surely had to be a dream, and she felt strangely unattached to the whole situation.

"I can't believe you're agreeing to this, Hermione." Lauren said, looking at the studious girl with a new appraisal in her eyes now that her initial surprise was over. Hermione had the grace to blush.

"Well, everyone's a bit sore about that game. So when they came to me about it, I figured 'why not'?" She said, not meeting Ginny's eyes.

"I can't believe this is all because Draco beat Harry at Quidditch." Ginny said, slightly annoyed.

"It's not just that!" Her brother said defensively. "He's had it coming for years, the slimy little snake! So will you do it, Ginny? Please?" He was practically begging. Ginny cocked an eyebrow.

"What is it exactly that you want me to do?" She asked carefully, liking the nice, cozy realm of sheer disbelief that she seemed to be in.

"Well," Ron started, "I suppose anything potentially incriminating you may hear while down there will be good, but what we really want is..." He looked around shiftily and Ginny rolled her eyes. "The book." He finished, and her mind reeled.

"Oh no, oh hell fucking no." She said, shaking her head.

She knew what book he was talking about. No one knew exactly what was inside of it, but everyone in the school had a gigantic hard-on to find out. Because the leather-bound black book was always in either Draco Malfoy or Blaise Zabini's possession. The numerous rumors surrounding it varied, but no one had the suicidal tendencies required to actually approach one of them about it. Not even Harry or Ron, not anymore.

Not since Draco and Blaise had come back for their sixth year with power practically rolling off them in waves, and something lazy and dangerous swirling just beneath the surface, flickering in their bored, hooded eyes. But the book...Some said it was a journal, others that it listed all of their black, evil deeds, others that it was a list of sexual conquests or muggles that they'd killed, and others swore it was their Book of Shadows, full of dark magick that they'd learned or created on their own.

"You have gone mad, haven't you?" She questioned them. Because whatever the truth of the book's contents, she knew it would be heavily protected.

"We know you can do it, Ginny! You're the actress, not us." Her brother argued. "We'd just fumble it up. But you can pull it off, I'm sure! And it's not as if you need to really steal it. You'll be in Zabini's body and Malfoy would give it to you willingly. You'll be in and out, and Malfoy might not even be there." He was giving her that pleading puppy dog look, and she sighed, but still wouldn't relent. She didn't have a death wish, thank you very much.