Chapter 17

The Raid

"I know. Mr. Weasley, can I speak to you alone, please?" I interrupted. I didn't expect him to be happy to find his daughter in my bed. He nodded.

"Sir, Ginny is in the other room," I explained. I would have liked to be gentler, but it was a matter of seconds before she was awakened.

He looked past me at the sofa, then at my clothing. "Why?"

"There was an incident, earlier," I quickly started and thankfully Mr. Weasley caught on.

"Gentlemen, please allow me to check the bedroom." Arthur headed to the bedroom where he found his daughter sleeping fully clothed, thankfully, with her cat. I knew I could not move about the room. The most I was allowed to do is step out of the room and wait for them to finish, which I did. I was ashamed for the first time ever during one of these, only because Ginny had been put in the middle of it and I couldn't protect her from it.

A few minutes later, Ginny and Arthur joined me in the hall. She was holding McCoy. "Draco?" she questioned me.

"Ginny, Draco, I think this was set up so I would find you here," Arthur explained, gazing at his daughter. "Yes, I have been on raids to the Manor, but only as another set of hands. The Malfoys have never been suspected of misuse of Muggle artifacts. That's what this tip was about."

I was still concerned. I didn't want Mr. Weasley to think that Ginny being in my quarters was anything but innocent. "Mr. Weasley, Ginny had gotten upset earlier."

"Dad," Ginny started, saying the first thing since the explosion.

"Why didn't you take her to him?" he asked.

"He is having a health setback," I explained. "I-"

"Draco, relax; it's clear that this was innocent. You have a sofa that was clearly being slept on, you're both clothed, and your actual bed was still pretty much made other than the small amount of room Ginny's sleeping body would take. However, because of the past, we do have to finish this raid."

I nodded.

"I'll go finish up." He reached out and gave Ginny's arm a squeeze. She touched his hand and gave a weak smile.

Once he walked into my quarters, I moved in front of Ginny and gently took her hands in mine. "Are you okay?" I rubbed small circles on her hands with my thumbs.

She nodded as I let go of her hand and reached up to tuck some hair behind her ear. "Is this normal?" she asked.

"Normal no, but not uncommon. I'm sorry."

"Because of your family's history?" she asked.

"Yes."

"What will they do?"

"Go through everything I have. Everything in my quarters."

She was quiet for a bit, then asked, "Dad said that it was a tip about a misuse of something Muggle. Your family has never misused anything Muggle?"

I chuckled. "Technically, no. I think I may have misused that microwave a few times. I don't think it was meant to cook a whole meal."

She smiled a little. "I think Harry did this," she stated

"What?" I asked. "Why? How?"

She sighed and moved to lean against the wall. "He has this map that shows the whole school and the location of all the people in it."

"He thought we were, er, together, and he wanted your father to find us!" I sort of laughed. "Joke's on him!"

"I'm sorry." She moved towards me and hugged me.

I hugged her back. "For what? Having a jealous ex who can't let go?"

"What happened? Why was I here?"

"Something went off; I suspect a firework from your brother's shop. You went quiet and I was going to take you to Snape, but he had a health setback. I couldn't leave you alone."

"Thank you."

A while later Mr. Weasley return to Ginny and I in the hallway "Draco, by law I am required to report to the Headmistress that you had a student in your quarters, but I will let her know, as the father of the student, that I know nothing was afoot."

I didn't care if something happened with my job. Ginny was far more important. I did the right thing. "I understand."

"Ginny, do you want to come home for the night?"

"Maybe you should; I don't think you should be alone," I encouraged her.

"I want to be here. I want to know what's going to happen to you, Draco."

Ginny's POV

I could feel it in my bones; this was Harry's fault! Harry and that damn map of his! I wanted to kill him. A rather slow and painful death, right now.

"Most likely, I'll lose my job," Draco admitted to me.

"Dad, you can't let that happen!" I pleaded.

"Ginny, I'm not about to let that happen," Dad assured me.

Draco's POV

We were waiting for the Headmistress outside of my quarters. She swooped down the hall and clearly had taken the time to dress, but her hair was down. "Arthur, what is the meaning this?"

"Minerva, I'm sorry to disturb you at this late hour," Mr. Weasley greeted. "Before I begin, I want you to know I personally, as a father and as a Ministry official, am in no way concerned about what I am about to tell you and feel nothing should happen to Mr. Malfoy."

She nodded.

That was when I saw Potter round the corner.

"Headmistress McGonagall, while performing a raid of Mr. Draco Malfoy's quarters, because of an anonymous tip, I found a student, one Ginevra Weasley, in his bed," Mr. Weasley gave a formal report.

McGonagall's eyes grew huge.

"Ginny was fully clothed and it was clear that Draco had been sleeping on the chesterfield," Arthur clarified.

She was processing what she had heard and clearly was trying to decide how to react. "Draco," she started to address me as if I were still a student and then caught herself, " , is this true?"

"Yes, ma'am. Ginny, Miss Weasley, had a setback tonight. The person who is providing her therapy was unavailable, and I was advised she should not be left alone," I explained my reasoning.

"Mr. Malfoy, you are well aware that staff at Hogwarts are not to have students in their quarters for a great number of reasons."

"Yes ma'am, I am."

"Minerva, as Ginny's father I have NO concerns about what was happening or had happened. Ginny has gone home so that she is not alone in the state she is in,"

Mr. Weasley contributed.

"Draco Malfoy, this will not happen again. Should Miss Weasley have any other setback and her therapist is not available again, you WILL inform me immediately! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

"Professor, Draco broke some of the most important rules that govern professors at Hogwarts!" Harry Potter finally chose to interrupt.

"Mr. Potter, what are you doing here?" the Headmistress asked.

"Uhm, I, I need Ward's signature on this before it's given to the prosecutors. They need this done within the hour or our case falls apart."

"Well, get it and allow me to deal with matters regarding Hogwarts staff and students," she told him off. She did not seem pleased with him.

Ginny's POV

Draco caught up with me in the library the next day. He reached out and gave my hand a squeeze, "How are you feeling today?"

I didn't know how to put what I was feeling into words. I replied with a shrug and a weak smile.

Draco sat around the corner of the table from me. He smiled at me, then checked to see if anyone was around. "It's okay, I only got a stern telling off for last night."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. Was it because of dad?"

He nodded. "That coupled with the fact that Potter showed up and was clearly there to see me lose my job."

"What?" I hissed.

Draco smiled at me. "Don't worry; he's just jealous. I'm fine, my job is fine. Not that I need a job..." Draco changed the subject. "He, your helper, wants to see you tonight with McCoy."

"I have an essay due tomorrow," I lamented. "Charms."

"I'll take care of that," Draco vowed.

"You can't just do that!" I complained, pulling my hand away.

"But I can," came Headmistress McGonagall's voice from behind me.

I turned to look at her as she continued, "Last night Professor Malfoy placed his career at great risk for you. Ginevra, I have seen you at your worst, so if your therapist is able to see you that must come first. I will speak to Professor Flitwick."

I wondered, but am too scared to ask, if she knows that it's Snape that is treating me.

A/N

So there is another chapter for you. I know they are being posted slowly, but I do have a very full life… as does my beta, and for the last while I have had to steal time to write when my kids aren't using the computer for school work. But please leave me a review. In the next chapter Ginny will run into another Malfoy.