"And if you truly feel love, why are you doing this to your own family?!" Dumbledore inquired, closing the distance in an instant. He leaned over me, going so far as to rest his hands on my knees to force his face just inches from mine. "Do you have the slightest idea of what you have unleashed? Do you know how much pain your parents are going through at this very moment? And even if you didn't care about them… how do you think the girls you spend time with, or all those with whom you hide a secret relationship, would react to the consequences of your actions?" His voice rose, tense and vibrating, though he restrained himself from shouting.
"That is... where you are slightly mistaken, Headmaster..." I offered a subtle, almost wicked smile, holding his gaze fixed on those blue eyes. "I am doing this precisely for the people I love. For my family."
The old man scrutinized me with intensity. With his Legilimency rendered completely useless by my defenses, it was impossible for him to read the thoughts behind my words; however, what seemed to throw him off and disturb him the most was the absolute, pure, and baffling sincerity that radiated from my voice.
"Hmph..." he finally huffed. He straightened up and took a few steps back, creating physical distance. "This time I will not make the same mistakes of the past. You are a boy with immeasurable potential, Red, and I cannot allow you to stray from the path."
"Are you planning to kill me?" I asked, tilting my head with genuine curiosity.
"No, I would never do such a thing..." he denied immediately, though his expression did not soften. "But, if necessary, I will take charge of your education personally. I am going to teach you the truths that others only learn through the hard knocks of life... even if I have to deliver those knocks myself. I will not take my eyes off you; I will keep you by my side every second of the day if that's what it takes to straighten your course." He spoke with a solemnity so rigid that his words seemed to settle like a magical decree upon the walls of the office. "And to begin with, we are going to resolve the disaster of that Duel of Honor. I am going to cancel it."
"I don't think it is possible for you to do that, Headmaster. The pact is already established before the Ministry, and even if you detain me in this castle, the result of my absence would not be at all favorable for me or my family," I replied, letting my smile turn more astute. The time for hiding was over.
"Certainly, failing to show up would not be a very... honorable act. Unless, of course, you are physically incapacitated from attending," Dumbledore commented, casting a sidelong glance at me that overtly suggested he was willing to put me in a coma if necessary. "Just enough time to convince Lucius to accept an official version: we will say you were possessed by the dark magic of your wand, that I destroyed it myself to free you from its influence, and that, therefore, the duel is annulled."
"My... Impressive, Headmaster. Hurting me without quite killing me and weaving a web of lies for the entire world... You really are willing to break a great many of your own principles just for me," I praised him falsely, widening my smile.
My absolute lack of seriousness and my irreverence in the face of his threats visibly uncomfortable him.
"You know? I am truly eager to start working with you... Except I highly doubt things will turn out the way you are planning them."
The old man looked at me severely, intrigued by my level of confidence. He knew perfectly well that I shouldn't have any viable escape. The magical bindings he created with the Elder Wand not only imprisoned the body but suppressed any manifestation of special abilities: from Animagus forms and Metamorphmagi to my supposed hemomancy. By the laws of the wizarding world, I was completely defenseless.
"I hope not to disappoint you, but I don't think you'll be able to take me as a forced apprentice in your little... rehabilitation program," I added, letting out a low, almost machiavellian laugh, enjoying the pure theatricality of the moment. "But we will work together. In fact, I am completely certain that you yourself will trample your beloved rules just to cooperate with my plans. I haven't the slightest doubt. You will do exactly everything I ask of you... Because, certainly, the next time we meet, I will hold something in my hands that will force you to kneel before me."
"You speak as if there will be a next time," the Headmaster retorted, unperturbed by what he considered a delusion of grandeur. "You will not have that opportunity. You are not escaping this room..."
He pronounced those words with the weight of an absolute sentence, though in the depths of his weary heart, he grieved to see another talented student fall into darkness.
"But... how do you plan to hold me... Headmaster...?" I snapped at him, stretching the corners of my lips like a demon and dragging out the words with deliberate slowness. "If I am not... even... here..."
With that final syllable, I let out a sharp supervillain laugh as the structure of my body collapsed. My blood clone dissolved in the blink of an eye, transforming into a dense, reddish puddle. The magical bindings, losing their support, fell uselessly onto the seat, and the torrent of blood splashed onto the office floor for a brief moment before vanishing entirely into the air.
Dumbledore was left dumbfounded, petrified in his tracks.
Those arcane bindings should have prevented any attempt at transmutation or escape; in fact, he had ensured himself that what stood before him was not a mere clone or an illusion, since the magic of the Elder Wand would have dissipated the copy's energy flow upon first contact, unraveling it instantly.
What the great Albus Dumbledore did not know was that my blood magic did not belong to this world, did not fully respond to the laws of sorcery, and therefore, did not bow to his blessed rules.
The office was left in a deathly silence, with the Headmaster staring at the empty space.
...
Meanwhile, morning at The Burrow dawned under an suffocating tension. Neither Arthur nor Molly had managed to catch a single wink of sleep all night. Ginny hadn't had a good time either; not only due to the logical worry over her brother's fate, but because of the psychological toll of seeing her parents consumed by such devastating stress.
From the moment they left the Ministry of Magic the previous day, both of them had subjected her to an incessant interrogation. Desperate, they tried to unearth any detail that would explain how things had escalated into an imminent Duel of Honor to the death.
Ginny wasn't exactly a bad liar—and the amulet her brother had given her worked wonders keeping her mental state on an axis of perfect serenity—but even so, holding her own parents' gaze and deceiving them proved to be a difficult task. To survive the pressure, she played the trauma card: she feigned being so affected and overwhelmed by panic that her memories of the afternoon were hazy, fragmented by fear. That performance was her shield, justifying any inconsistency in her story.
The real challenge, of course, was sustaining the farce of the diary. Ginny couldn't comprehend why Red had crafted a lie that was seemingly so fragile and easily dismantled under rigorous scrutiny, nor why he hadn't warned her in advance to allow her to practice her role. In her innermost self, she felt a twinge of hurt pride; she firmly believed that, if he had asked her, she would have played an exemplary and absolute role to his benefit. She was completely faithful to him. But now, being forced to weave a web of improvised falsehoods on the fly proved complicated.
She harbored a spark of resentment for the lack of notice, but that small annoyance evaporated completely, replaced by a radiant smile, the moment she received Red's [message]: "I owe you a big one. Ask for whatever you want..." An electric warmth blossomed in her core, an enthusiasm so sharp it nearly eclipsed the remorse of seeing her parents on the verge of a breakdown.
Finally, after hours of weeping, choked apologies from Molly for "not having noticed her daughter's suffering," and protective embraces, they left her confined to her room. Safe within her four walls, Ginny used [messages] to communicate intermittently with Astoria and Luna. Her relationship with Astoria was still in an early stage, but Luna... Luna was another story. Luna was her "blood-sworn sister," and the mere memory of that clandestine ritual and what it entailed still made her shiver to the very depths of her being.
It was through this informal messaging network that Ginny found out about the latest news: Red had shown up in the Hogwarts Great Hall for breakfast to hang out with his inner circle before marching off to the duel.
The revelation hit her like a bucket of cold water, tinging her with a sudden fit of jealousy. Why did her dear, adored brother prefer to spend his final hours surrounded by the other girls in the castle instead of looking for her? Was it not she, his poor, faithful little sister, who was enduring the entire weight of his lies at The Burrow?
So she contacted Luna and explicitly asked her to pester her brother; to insistently ask him where she was, just to remind him of his mistake and make him feel a bit of guilt. But she didn't plan to stop there.
Her parents had been firm: they would not allow her to accompany them to the Ministry. She would not see the duel. As a member of the family, it would have been proper for her to be present, but Arthur and Molly feared the worst. They were convinced Red could die in that arena—even if they themselves were determined to intervene to prevent it at all costs—and, just in case, they had no intention of exposing her to such trauma.
Faced with the lockdown, Ginny decided her brother deserved a small punishment for making her go through this ordeal and, above all, for ignoring her to run off with the others.
She sent a new [message], but this time the target was the pink-haired girl who had smuggled her out of Hogwarts the day before. Ginny wasn't stupid; she sensed perfectly well that her brother maintained a relationship with her. She was pretty, she was capable, and her brother... well, her brother was a total man-whore. Clearly, he would try to get into the pants of a woman like that, and from what she had heard, they had been close since his first year at school. The mere thought of him already being with another woman irritated her deeply, so she didn't feel the slightest remorse for what she was about to do. If that girl was going to end up as her sister-in-law, the least she could do was pay her dues to the younger sister.
She contacted her, adopting a remarkably authoritative tone, demanding that she sneak her back into Hogwarts.
Tonks was left stunned by the unexpected call and, even more so, by Ginny's demands, especially given the bossy attitude the youngest Weasley was throwing around. Nymphadora knew the girl must suspect something about her relationship with Red, though she doubted she knew how deep it actually ran. Accepting the challenge with the maturity she had acquired, Tonks contained her initial surprise. She understood she had to show the little lioness some respect, especially after hearing her final condition:
"And let my brother take all the blame for this. Let him be the one to explain how I got back to Hogwarts..."
Tonks smirked on the other side of the mental line and nodded. Technically, she wouldn't be looking for trouble; she would just be following Ginny's direct orders, so he couldn't punish her for fulfilling his little sister's whim... though knowing him, he would probably find a way to make her pay for the mischief later.
With an extra mission to fulfill before noon struck, Tonks moved in a hurry to pick her up. She arrived at The Burrow, scooped Ginny up by the waist using the strength of her mechanical arm, and set off toward Hogsmeade, giving the younger girl no opportunity to initiate the "sisterly interrogation" she already had prepared.
Without wasting any time on detours, Tonks dropped Ginny off at the entrance of the secret passage leading directly to the castle, gave her the proper instructions, and left immediately. Her next task at the Ministry was very important and highly complicated.
Ginny had no choice but to swallow her indignation in solitude as she traversed the damp stone passageway into the heart of Hogwarts. Her sudden appearance in the common room took everyone by surprise; however, with nerves on edge and the atmosphere so thick with anxiety, no one asked too many questions.