Aris sank down upon the soft couch cushions in front of his roaring fire place. He reached for the Daily Prophet to fill in his favorite cross word puzzle. Sadly, this one was more difficult than the previous day because each time he filled in an answer, the boxes switched around and caused him to grip the paper in agitation each time the letters separated across the puzzle.

He filled in another answer. The same thing happened. He hissed in pain and looked down at his quill. Aris had squeezed too tightly without realizing what he was doing and now he had stabbed himself in the palm and ink squelched over his hand.

The screeching alarms began again and Aris squinted his eyes shut against the offensive racket. He grabbed the sides of his head and begged silently for a moment of peace. Tippy scurried through the room and disappeared. A few moments later, the screeching stopped and Aris relaxed.

The he looked down at his hand that was covered in ink and groaned. He felt the sticky substance on the side of his face, shot out off the couch in a temper tantrum and stormed over to the mirror hung over the fireplace.

He scrubbed violently at the ink with a handkerchief until it vanished. He finally looked at himself and was shocked to see the dark purple circles underneath his sharp grey eyes. He ran a shaky ink-free hand through his messy black hair and the image of his scruffy and disheveled appearance frightened him. He was a handsome fellow according to those who knew him but it seemed to be fading away.

I am only thirty four yet look like an old man, he thought fitfully. I am a bag of bones.

Aris was struck at that moment by how much stress he had been under. Working at the Ministry of Magic in the War Department seemed to be taking its toll. But it wasn't just that, he mused. It couldn't be. Things didn't feel right lately at home or at work. Morvan had been bugging him beyond belief about idiotic things. He often worried about Narcissa Malfoy and her son whom he had never met, but had needed to suppress those anxious feelings for obvious reasons. And Ginny Weasley's escape tactics were not helping matters.

A loud popping noise startled him out of his reverie.

"Tibby has bolted Miss Weasley's windows shut. Master does not need to worry!" she insisted. Tibby bowed and disappeared into the darkened hallway.

Aris looked down at his ink-stained Daily Prophet and gave it up as a bad job for the night. He tossed the newspaper into the fire and watched it burn with relish before retiring upstairs.

He laid his head on the pillow and closed his eyes to wait for sleep. It wouldn't come. An hour of tossing and turning passed into two hours.

There was a soft knock on his door.

"I swear to bloody Christ, Tibby! What on earth could possibly be wrong now?!" he shouted. There was silence.

"Answer me!"

There was a shuffling noise outside his door.

"It's Ginny," he heard the muffled response.

Aris bolted out of his bed, hair sticking up wildly in all directions. He grabbed his wand and tip-toed quietly to his door. It creaked open and he stared down at the pretty red headed girl with wide eyes.

"How do you do that?" he asked in awe. She shrugged.

"Were you sleeping?" she asked. Aris looked behind him at the rumpled sheets and then back to her.

"I suppose not… Can I get you anything?" he offered, confused and wary. She did not seem to be in a fighting stance, merely shuffling barefoot in front of him in his mother's old nightgown. He couldn't remember getting her any clothes and he immediately felt bad.

"A key to the front door?" she piped up and put on a winning smile. Aris narrowed his eyes and frowned in answer.

She shrugged and the smile disappeared.

"You have to admit it was worth a try," she mumbled and waltzed down the hallway, leaving him cold and shirtless at his bedroom door.

"Wait! Where do you think you are going?" he demanded after his brain stopped buzzing.

"To get out of here," she called back.

Aris grabbed a handful of his own hair in frustration.

"Gah! You are not leaving! Do you understand me? I will not allow it!" he roared after her. His patience with her had run its course and he stomped down the staircase after her flowing mane of red hair.

"I am tired! I am exhausted, actually. I have had a bad day! No, I have had an awful week! I sank a lot of money into this investment and I will not have one hundred thousand galleons skip right out my front door!"

Ginny stopped and cocked her head to the side and he lumbered after her.

"I was planning to use the kitchen window. I haven't tried that one yet," she said with a twinkle of defiance in her deep brown eyes.

Aris didn't know whether to cackle with madness or collapse in a fit of defeat. He smacked a hand against his forehead, sat on the bottom stair and leaned his cheek against the banister as he watched her disappear.

The screeching started up again in no time and Aris hung his head between his knees and waited for it to stop. He heard the distinctive pop as Tibby appeared in the entrance hall.

"Go to bed, Tibby. It will do no good," he muttered. Tibby bowed and he heard another pop as she took the order.

Aris covered his ears until the screeching stopped. A few minutes passed in silence, except for the ticking of the grandfather clock off in the distance of the living room area. Then he heard the tell tale padding of bare feet.

Ginny sat next to him on the bottom staircase and smoothed down her hair.

"That didn't work so well either," she commented.

Aris grunted.

"Why don't you lock me up in your wine cellar like you said you would?" she asked, intrigued. Aris shrugged his shoulders. He glanced over at her and leaned more comfortably against the banister.

"What is the point? You are going to do what you want at any rate. Plus, I don't want you anywhere near my highly prized collection of spirits. I don't want to take the chance of losing those in your next escape attempt," he answered dryly. He thought he might finally fall asleep right there on the stairs and his eyelids drooped.

"Harry Potter is still alive, you know," she said softly.

She rested her elbow on her knee and watched him with interest. He blinked.

And then he let loose a high pitched giggle. He kept laughing and laughing until he couldn't catch his breath. Ginny wrinkled her nose.

"And she is delusional. Fantastic!" he said to himself and stretched out across the steps to stare at the chandelier hanging from the ceiling, still giggling to himself at the absurdity of his predicament.

"It's true!" she insisted and smacked him on the shoulder. Ginny frowned disapprovingly which made him laugh again.

"No it isn't. The Dark Lord vanquished him during the Battle of Hogwarts. Everyone knows that," he snorted.

It was Ginny's turn to laugh. Aris shut his mouth shut and drank in the vision of the fiery girl beside him as she chuckled. Her head extended backward so that the mirth rose effortlessly from her throat. He was captivated, although slightly miffed that she was making fun of him.

"Where did you get that information? The Daily Prophet?" she scoffed.

"Er…"

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, Malfoy? You believe that claptrap?" she asked him. Aris didn't answer.

It was true that the Daily Prophet sometimes exaggerated or lied. But why would they lie about something so important? If Harry Potter were alive and well, wouldn't it be cause for alarm? And then suddenly he realized that was the answer. The Dark Lord would not wish to alarm anyone. Of course he would want to keep such information secret. His brain whirled and Ginny watched him come to his own conclusion.

"I will believe it when I see it," he finally decided aloud but she seemed satisfied to have caused him to entertain the idea that Daily Prophet was lying to the entire wizarding world about Harry Potter's demise.

"Do you like it here?" she asked in a softer voice. Aris was confused.

"Do I like where, exactly?"

"Here. London. Working at the Ministry of Magic and smelling the stench of burning corpses on a daily basis," she explained.

Aris didn't like where she was going with this. She was a blood-traitor. The alarm bells in his head were ringing as he stared at her. She was beautiful, yet dangerous. He wished he had never been persuaded to attend the auction, yet he wanted nothing more than to be in her company. Aris swallowed hard and tore his gaze away.

"I am going to bed. Good night, Weasley," he growled as he left her alone on the staircase.

"Sleep well, Malfoy. I will follow soon, I expect. But I haven't tried the wine cellar window yet," she warned.

Aris swatted at the air beside his head as if warding off a bothersome fly. He was suddenly so exhausted that he didn't give a damn what the Weasley girl got up to in his house. She could burn it down for all he cared, as long as he got in some decent sleep.

He fell across his bed and passed out. He didn't even stir as the screeching alarm pulsed in the air and faded away again.

"How is Miss Weasley?" Kingsley asked in a fatherly tone when stuck his head inside the office.

Aris winced and rubbed the back of his skull. It seemed he now carried around a permanent headache.

"Charming," he snapped at the regal dark-skinned Auror.

"You know, I can take her off your hands," Kingsley offered in a soothing voice. He smiled in understanding. Aris took a deep breath and thought for a moment.

He considered the offer. He really and truly considered it and the peace it would bring. Kingsley take the girl away? A blissful nights sleep for once? A stop to the longing he felt as she scampered freely through his house looking for some means of escape, even in broad daylight under his watchful gaze? She was like a tiny butterfly battering around in a cage. A loud butterfly. A snarky, sarcastic, annoying little butterfly he wished he could squash sometimes but wouldn't because he enjoyed seeing her flowing red hair rippling through his empty manor.

Wait. Butterflies don't have red hair, he shook his head to clear it.

"I will sell her to you for what I paid," Aris muttered and shuffled his papers across his desk to look busy. Kingsley straightened his spine.

"Would you care if I stopped by to say hello, then? I have not seen here for years," Kingsley offered genially.

Aris leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling and the magical memos fluttering above his head.

"Fine," he grumbled and arched his back to sooth his aching muscles. Kingsley nodded and slipped away.

He arrived home and was greeted in his study by Ginny.

"Your friend Morvan came to call," she said hesitantly. Aris looked around the room.

"Is he still here?" he asked. After Aris had punched Morvan in the nose a few weeks ago, Morvan had been cowering from him. Perhaps he was here to apologize for dragging Aris into this situation.

Ginny scuffed her foot against the rug.

"No…"

Aris narrowed his grey eyes.

"What did you do?" he demanded.

She tapped her finger against her bottom lip as she thought about her answer.

"Well see… he was being an annoying git and I might have, er, hurt his feelings," she responded defiantly amidst his stern gaze.

"And he has gone?" Aris demanded.

She nodded, watching warily as if preparing her next round of insults.

Aris shrugged off his cloak and collapsed onto the couch.

"Thank goodness," he replied. Ginny flounced over to him and joined him on the couch, careful to put an equal amount of distance between them.

"He is an idiot and he deserved it. What do you have there?" she asked and Aris unfolded his Daily Prophet crossword puzzle. He was determined to finish it no matter how difficult this one turned out to be.

"Oh! Let me have a go," she insisted and held out her hand for it. Aris smirked, tossed it at her and handed her his quill.

"I must warn you, it isn't for beginners—" he began to say but watched in consternation as Ginny's hand whizzed over the parchment. The blocks and letters whizzed so fast on the paper that his head became dizzy watching her fill in her answers. In a matter of minutes, she blotted her last answer and the puzzle lay before him… completed.

His jaw dropped and Ginny flashed him a dazzling smile.

"I give up. Never again!" he huffed and stomped out of the room. "Ridiculous!"

She flew after him, giggling.

"What! Poor Mr. Malfoy can't compete with a blood-trait-" she called after him and slid to a stop as she saw Kingsley Shacklebolt in the main parlor dusting off his cloak.

Aris shook Kingsley's hand in surprise and turned to Ginny so he could introduce the Auror.

"Kingsley!" she shouted and rushed into the Auror's arms. Kingsley patted her on the head and held her tightly in his grasp as if he were mightily relieved to see the girl in one piece. Aris backed away slowly. It was a weird feeling much like he was a stranger in his own house viewing something uncomfortably intimate.

"Tell me how—" she whispered and Kingsley waved a hand to cut her off.

"Do you mind if I speak with Miss Ginny alone?" he asked in a deep, calm voice.

Aris pointed at himself as he looked around the room. The he realized he was an idiot. Of course Kingsley was talking to him. Aris nodded and ascended the staircase. When he was well out of earshot, he pulled something from his robes.

It was a set of Extendable Ears he had picked up a few years ago at a joke shop in Diagon Alley before it was shut down. They had come in handy before and he was curious enough to use them now.

He quickly unraveled the flesh-colored string. It slipped under his bedroom door and snaked down the hallway to hang over the stairs. He stuck the other end in his ear and listened intently.

"…Mum and Dad? Does she know what happened?"

"…been informed, I assure you."

"Take me with you, please!"

"… has been discussed. You are safe here for now."

"Kingsley! Please! I can't leave without the damn alarms shrieking and he's so stubborn!"

"I cannot lose my position at the Ministry over helping you escape. I have informed the Order of your predicament and that is all… do. Your brother Ronald is busy… plans to rescue you but with the siege in the south… take a while before he can retrieve you. Harry is sure he is nearing the end of his secret mission. Your mother has been worried sick over you, of course… better than they could have expected… landing here. As long as you… not dead or harmed."

Aris yanked the string out of his ear and stared in horror at the closed door.

Kingsley Shacklebolt is a traitor! Harry Potter is alive and participating in a secret mission against the Dark Lord! The Order of the Phoenix is currently active in Southern England!

Aris clutched at his chest, breathing hard and fast as his brain whirled. He had to get rid of the girl. But that would not stop this brother of hers, Ronald, from coming to retrieve her. Aris could not release her of his own will, lest he bring death upon himself for betraying the Dark Lord. No, he must keep her here. But he must get rid of her! How?!

Slowly the answer settled upon him. He must kill her. He felt sick to his stomach. He must kill her and turn her body in to the Ministry. He must turn in Kingsley and inform the Dark Lord's minions that Harry Potter was mounting forces against him.

But… did the Dark Lord know this already? Would he be executed for possessing such knowledge outside of his position? After all, he was not a Death Eater and the Dark Lord might likely decide to kill Aris for fear that he would expose the secret that Harry Potter was still alive.

He was paralyzed with fear. He had no idea what do to. He couldn't keep such a secret for fear that the Dark Lord would find out, read his mind and label him a traitor. He also couldn't kill the girl for fear of retribution, especially since it seemed southeast England was holding strong and possibly growing stronger according to the magical map in his office.

His entire world crashed around him. All of his hard work, all of his money, all of his good fortune and fine name meant nothing now. He shuffled anxiously around the room until he heard the front door close and the sounds of sobbing from below.

Aristophanes Malfoy needed answers. Right now.