When the Aurors began Apparating into the tunnels, Draco took off running. He'd scoped out the tunnels during his first visits and had an escape plan in place. Vaguely he wondered if Ginny had survived her visit to the basilisk. He rather hoped not, Astoria would make a much more appropriate Malfoy bride. Not to mention it would be a much more profitable union. Ginny had brought no money into the marriage.

Crawling through the smallest part of the tunnel, he broke out into sunlight. Pulling his uncle's Invisibility Cloak around him, he looked around. Aurors were swarming the tunnels, but he'd exited high enough on the mountain that no one noticed him. Hunkering down, he settled to wait and see what happened.

He couldn't believe it when he saw Antonin Dolohov pulled out of the tunnels unconscious, bleeding, and trussed up like a Christmas goose. His shock was even greater when he heard them yelling that Rodolphus was dead. He was going to have to warn his mother, but he stayed where he was to see what else he could learn. To his shock, Potter emerged from the tunnels. He was wounded, but walking under his own power. Draco swore – this was going to be bad for him. When the hell had Potter arrived? Realizing he would have to activate his escape plan from Great Britain, Draco hurried away.

Harry sat stoically as the medi-wizard patched him up. He'd suffered some minor cuts and bruises as well as a fairly deep cutting curse across his upper chest.

"Harry! You are okay?"

Looking up Harry saw Dmitri standing in front of him. "I am. I am sorry about Sasha."

Dmitri nodded. "He was a good friend and a great partner, but now is not the time to mourn him."

"I agree. Have we found Malfoy?"

Dmitri shook his head. "There is no sign of him. You are positive he was actually here?"

"Yes, he shoved his wife into a chamber with a basilisk," Harry said with disgust.

"She is safe?"

"I sent her back to England," Harry replied. "She should be staying with my godfather – they are related and he can help protect her."

"What about the basilisk?"

Harry quickly related his conversation with Kaaliya. Dmitri shook his head in amazement. "It certainly is interesting working with you. I will contact the temple in India and see if they can send a delegation to retrieve the animal. The less time we have a basilisk in my country, the better I will feel."

"I agree," Harry concurred. "Kaaliya told me she has plenty of food so she won't need to hunt."


"What?!"

Blaise shrugged, unfazed by Draco's anger. "That's what I've heard. Potter was never in Thailand. He was in charge of the Kazakhstan mission and he's been there for a while. Apparently he was undercover at a broom factory. He is the one who killed Rodolphus and captured Dolohov."

Draco swore. Nothing had gone right since the night he'd had to flee Kazakhstan. "Have you heard anything about my wife?"

"You won't like this."

Draco simply glared. Blaise shrugged. "She was not found in the basilisk chamber. A team is working to identify the bodies, but I've confirmed that all of the bodies are male. Not only that, the basilisk is gone."

"What?! Where did it go?"

"I don't know," Blaise replied, "but no one seems worried about an escaped basilisk so either they killed it and aren't saying anything or they know it is secured somewhere."

"Potter could control it," Draco reasoned. "Shit! Could he have been the one who we sent into the Chamber with her? I know the man worked at the broom factory – they recruited a lot of people from that factory."

"That could explain how Ginny escaped," Blaise replied. Looking over at his friend, he asked, "Where is your mother?"

"She made it to Dubai without a problem, she has some funds and our elves are working to liquidate more assets. I heard from her last night."

"Dubai? Ah, we have no extradition treaty with the UAE."

Draco nodded absently. "My father originally made arrangement for the safe house years ago, but obviously he never needed to use it. He funnelled quite a lot of funds to vaults there. My son, Perseus, is the heir to most of the estate. I will retrieve him from the country and take him and his brother with me. It is time to erase her teachings."

"What about the girl?"

Draco shrugged unconcernedly. "The Weasleys can have her."

"Anyone else going with you?"

"Astoria is coming with me," Draco replied. "Once Ginny is taken care of, I can marry Astoria and her dowry will come with her."

"I'm sure she would be happy to provide you with an heir."

Draco shrugged. "I already have an heir who is at the right age to start training. I don't want to wait another nine or ten years to start passing on my father's legacy. I'm sure Astoria will understand. I believe she will enjoy Dubai."

Draco changed into the robes Blaise lent him. He hated not having his own belongings, but it was only for a short period of time.

"Dobby!"

The house-elf appeared. "Master."

"Where are my children?"

"They are at Malfoy Manor with Mistress Ginny," Dobby explained.

"Very well," Draco said. "Finish helping my mother with her move."

"Yes, Master," Dobby said. The little elf popped away, but decided to make one stop before returning to Mrs Malfoy's side.

"Lia!"

The small elf turned when Dobby appeared in the kitchen. "Dobby."

"Master is coming here soon. Dobby doesn't know Master's plans, but he wants to take young Master Perseus with him." Looking around to ensure privacy, Dobby said quietly, "He talks about a new Mistress."

A determined look came into Lia's eyes. "We will protect the Mistress."

With a nod, Dobby popped away.


Ginny woke early the next morning at first confused as to where she was, but the events of the night before came rushing back. She gently extracted herself from the bed without waking her daughter. Smiling down at the girl, she pulled the covers back over her and gently smoothed out her hair before kissing her on the cheek.

Leaving the childrens' wing, she hurried to the master suite and without even glancing in the mirror, she stripped off her dirty and ruined clothes and jumped in the shower. She could feel the bruises Draco left on her body, but she was determined not to let that stop her.

Her thoughts turned to Harry. He had appeared just when she needed him and unlike the other men in her life, he did whatever it took to save her. She hoped he'd made it safely out of Kazakhstan. Of course, she also hoped that her husband didn't make it out of Kazakhstan. She couldn't even find it in herself to feel badly about that.

Finishing her shower, she entered her dressing room to find a set of elegant dress robes laid out. She walked past them and felt around in the back of her wardrobe for her comfortable jeans which she paired with a blue and white striped blouse. She felt strangely free – no wedding ring, no enforced Malfoy clothes.

After thinking it over for a minute, she returned to her dressing room and opened her jewellery box. Most of the items were so ostentatious, she hated wearing them. A smile crossed her face; she could sell these for a lot of money. Draco would be furious. He was forever banging on about his family and their heirlooms. Wait, instead of selling them she could simply give them away. She laughed at the thought of Draco seeing his grandmother's ring on the finger of a Muggle. Shrugging, she emptied the box into her bag. She didn't have to decide today what to do with it.

Setting the box back, she ran her hand over the back of it. A secret compartment clicked open. Ginny didn't think her husband even knew it was there. The hinge was rusty and hard to open when she first discovered it. Inside the compartment were just a few pieces, not nearly as fine as those her husband had given her, but to her much more precious. There was a jade and moonstone bracelet that Bill and Charlie had given her for her sixteenth birthday and the small ruby earrings Bill had given her for when she'd visited him in Egypt after her first year. The pearl necklace and earrings her parents had given her for her wedding stayed in the box as she slipped the bracelet over her wrist and replaced the large diamond earrings from Draco with the earrings from Bill. She was rather surprised he hadn't demanded the earrings back as he had the wedding and engagement rings.

Pulling her hair back into a simply ponytail, she actually felt like Ginny rather than Ginevra Malfoy. Returning to the nursery, she discovered that all three of them were still sleeping. Looking around, she could tell that Lia and Mimi had started packing.

When she checked on her daughter, she saw the mask that she'd dropped on the floor the night before. With a slightly shaking hand, she reached out and picked it up. The Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes logo was clearly visible. She'd honestly hoped that Draco was simply tormenting her, but unfortunately she wasn't surprised.

Did Fred and George know he planned to kill her? In her darkest moments over the past years, she'd thought they probably wouldn't care, but she really hoped they would. Staring at the logo, she decided then and there that she would not protect her family from any wrongdoing. That was what had landed her in the position she was in and they had never reciprocated the effort.

Shrugging off her morbid thoughts, she silently looked around her daughter's room to see what else Titania might like to take with her. She smiled at the thought of this being her last day in Malfoy Manor. Maybe they could take Sirius up on his offer to live in the home in which Harry grew up. She could finally give Titania the kitten she kept hinting she needed.

She was so caught up dreaming of a new life that she didn't hear the noise behind her. It wasn't until she felt a wand at her back that she realised she wasn't alone.

"I don't know how you made it out of that cave, but you won't be leaving here with my sons," Draco growled as he grabbed her shoulder.

Ginny froze.


Perseus lay quietly in his room. Glancing over, he could see his brother was still sleeping. His thoughts turned to his parents. He loved his mother dearly. She was his favourite person in the whole world. While his father was mean and angry, she was sweet and loving. Mummy never hit him or yelled at him like his father did. She always gave him hugs and kisses and she always smelled nice.

He knew father hit her. It sickened him and made him angry. Mummy tried to hide what father did to her, but Perseus always knew. Perseus had to bring her potions and help her when his father was really angry. He couldn't imagine mummy doing anything to make father so angry. She was always nice and she always remembered the rules. He didn't know why it had to be this way, but he wished he could find a way to make his father stop.

With all of his heart, he wished that he had a different father. When he was younger, he'd wished Uncle Bill was his father. Uncle Bill was his favourite uncle. He always tried to look after mummy. Recently he'd changed his mind, while he loved Uncle Bill now he thought Harry Potter would make a better father. He was fun and nice.

What really made Perseus think he'd made a good father was when he didn't yell at Titania or punish her for breaking the glass. He knew his father would have done so. Father would probably also have punished mummy for not watching Titania closely enough.

Today was going to be a brilliant day! They were leaving. He wasn't entirely sure how that was happening. Father had come to retrieve mummy a few days earlier and he'd told Perseus and Orion that they would be coming to live him and his mother. He'd also told them they were going to have a new mother. That scared both boys. He didn't want a new mother, but mummy had come home last night. Perseus was so happy. He'd been worried about what father was doing to her.

Deciding he might as well get dressed, Perseus slipped out of bed. Mimi always set out his clothes for the next day, so after a quick trip to the bathroom he was able to get dressed. He made sure his pyjamas were in the dirty laundry basket.

A scream made him jump. That was mummy! He hurried towards Titania's room. Father was standing behind mummy, holding a wand towards her head.

Perseus paused outside the door. Father looked very angry, but there was something else. Father was always very proud of his appearance, but today he looked rumpled and dirty. Mummy looked scared. Peering around the corner, Perseus could see his sister. She was sitting up in bed and she looked terrified.

Making up his mind, Perseus hurried back to his room. Like his younger sister, Orion was sitting up in bed looking scared.

Pulling his brother out of bed, Perseus ran towards the fireplace. Grabbing some Floo powder, he looked at Orion. "You need to go get Sirius and Harry. Father is here and he's hurting mummy."

Orion's eyes were big and shimmering with tears, but Perseus saw him take a deep breath and nod. Perseus threw the Floo powder into the flames. "Grimmauld Place."

Orion tumbled out of the fireplace in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. There was no one there. He took off running. "Sirius! Harry!"

The two men in question were in the dining room on the ground floor when they heard Orion calling for them. They leapt up with their wands in their hands.

Sirius fell to his knees in front of Orion as he finished running up the stairs. "Orion, what's wrong?"

"Father," Orion panted. "He's hurting mummy. He wants to give us a new mummy. Please help her!"

"Where are your brother and sister?" Harry asked.

"Perseus was going to help mummy," Orion called out. "I don't know about Titania."

Nodding, Harry looked at Sirius. "Get in touch with Kingsley. I'll head over there."

Sirius nodded as Harry hurtled down the stairs towards the Floo.

He only had a moment to orient himself before he heard screaming. It was Ginny. Taking the time to cast Silencing Spells on himself, he ran towards the fight. They were in a bedroom off to one side of the corridor.

Draco was holding Ginny under the Cruciatus Curse. Before Harry could do anything, Perseus ran up behind his father and hit him repeatedly with a broom breaking his concentration.

"Leave Mummy alone!"

Draco cursed as he turned towards his son. He grabbed the broom and threw the boy halfway across the room. "Brat! I will teach you to disrespect your father."

"Malfoy!" Harry barked at him to divert his attention from his son. Luckily, Harry had raised a shield as the other man turned and started firing at him. Harry was hampered by the fear of hitting Ginny, Perseus, and Titania, whereas Malfoy didn't appear to care.

Perseus crawled on the floor over to his mother. "Mummy, are you okay?"

Her hair had fallen out of her ponytail and was a mess around her. She had a bloody lip and the beginning of a black eye. Feeling her head, she could feel a large lump on the back of her head. Although she had an almost blinding headache, she pulled herself together. Ginny managed to raise herself up slightly. "Take your sister and crawl under the bed."

Nodding, the young boy crawled over to his sister and obediently pulled her under the bed. Her eyes were wide with fear and she was shaking, but she wasn't crying. He hugged her. "It's going to be okay, Titania. Harry is here. He will help Mummy."

She looked up at him with trusting brown eyes. "Father hurt Mummy."

"I know," Perseus said sadly. "But Harry is here now, he'll help Mummy."

He couldn't see much of what was going on from this position. He could see his mum. She had crawled out of the way. His father's black boots were on one side of the room and Harry's green dragon skin boots were on the other side. Perseus wriggled so he could see what was going on a little better, but still stay hidden.

"Give it up, Malfoy!" Harry yelled. "The Aurors are on their way."

"They will find you and my wife tragically dead in my house," Draco laughed. "I wonder what conclusions they will draw from that."

"Dolohov admitted everything," Harry taunted him. "You are going to lose everything – your money, your business, and your family."

That threw Malfoy off enough that Harry managed to hit him with a Cutting Curse across the chest. Malfoy howled in pain and a Killing Curse narrowly missed Harry. Malfoy backed up and almost tripped over his wife. Without even sparing her a glance, he stomped down as hard as he could. She screamed as he crushed her hand under his boot heel. He kicked backwards and she fell back.

"Ginny!" Harry yelled. He looked over at Ginny in concern and Draco hit him with a Blasting Curse that sent him flying backward. Draco laughed and sent several Cutting Curses flying. They all hit their target.

Standing over Harry, Draco laughed. "Crucio!"

Under the bed with his sister, Perseus saw his mother was seriously hurt. He recognized the bad curse his father had used, too. He didn't know exactly what it was, but he knew it was bad. He looked around to see if there was anything he could use to help Harry. In the corner, he could see the rest of the Quidditch set. He'd already used the broom. His eyes lit on the Bludger. It wasn't as heavy as a regulation Bludger, but it was still heavy.

"Stay here," he whispered to his sister.

"Are you going to help?"

He nodded and she pulled her blanket closer around her and lay down on the floor. As quietly as he could, he hurried over to the corner. He picked up the Bludger. Watching his father, he ran across the room and threw it as hard as he could at his father's arm.

He hit the wand, which went clattering to the floor. Draco swore viciously as he turned to his son. In doing so, he turned his back on Harry. Harry grabbed Malfoy's ankle and pulled, causing him to fall. Perseus scrambled back out if the way.

Harry managed to pull himself to his knees, but his wand had also gone flying across the room. He slammed his fist into Malfoy's jaw. That stunned him, but only for a minute. Malfoy pulled a knife from his pocket. The two men scrambled to their feet and began slowly circling each other. Draco feinted, trying to draw Harry off guard, but Harry didn't fall for it. The next time Draco extended his arm Harry grabbed it and pulled him closer. Draco fell towards him and Harry wrenched the knife out of his hand, flinging it away. Malfoy grabbed Harry around the neck and tightened his grip.

They fell, but Draco was in control of the fall. Harry was lightheaded from blood loss. He grabbed at Draco's hands trying to pull them away, but he couldn't. Looking over to the side, he saw the knife. With the last of his strength, he lunged for the knife and stabbed blindly.

Draco stiffened almost immediately and loosened his grip. Harry shoved the man off him and scrambled over to reach his wand. He needn't have bothered. Draco was dead. Harry stood over him a minute waiting to see what would happen.

A noise in the doorway caused him to raise his wand. To his relief, it was Kingsley with a group of Aurors. The experienced Auror took in the scene in a practiced glance. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Harry insisted even as the room was spinning. "Ginny. He hurt her. Perseus and Titania – under the bed – get them out of here. They don't need to see this."

Kingsley nodded to two of the Aurors. One went immediately to Ginny's side with her wand out. The other found Perseus huddled under the bed with tears making their way down his face. His arm was around his sister who was wrapped in her blanket sucking her thumb.

"Is my Mummy okay?" Perseus asked. "Father stomped on her and used bad curses on her."

"Bad curses?"

"He used the Cruciatus," Harry explained.

The Auror nodded. "Your Mummy should be okay. We are all going to go to St Mungo's."

A Portkey quickly transported Ginny, the children, and an Auror to the magical hospital. Another Auror retrieved Malfoy's wand and was using Prior Incantato and recording the spells used in the fight while another was doing the same with Harry's wand.

Kingsley looked over at him. "You are going to fall over. Sit down on the bed."

While he didn't want to, he was rather dizzy so he complied. The Aurors continued to examine the room.

The Auror recording Harry's spells looked up. "This is clean. No Unforgivables. I have a recording of the spells used."

Kingsley nodded. "He can have it back."

Once Harry had his wand back, he sent a message to Sirius, letting him know where the other children were. The medi-wizard took a look at Harry. Looking at Kingsley, he asked, "Can I give him potions?"

"Not yet," Kingsley said as he eyed the younger wizard.

"I'm fine," Harry insisted.

"What happened?" Kingsley asked.

Harry recounted his investigation into Malfoy, Dolohov, and Lestrange. Kingsley listened and took notes. "How did you come to be here this morning?"

"Orion came through the Floo yelling that his father was attacking his mummy. We've become friendly in the last couple of months and the children have been to our house several times." Harry described the fight with Malfoy.

The Auror examining Malfoy looked up. "Mr Potter, where did you get this knife?"

Harry looked puzzled for a moment. "It's Malfoy's. He tried to stab me and I disarmed him."

"It's a good thing you did," the Auror said, "it is drenched with some type of venom or poison. It seems to be venom, but I can't place it."

Harry paled slightly. "Could it be basilisk venom?"

The Auror's eyes widened before he looked back at the knife. "Yes, it could."

"He and his uncle had created a basilisk."

The Auror swore and cast a spell that labelled the knife as extremely hazardous. "It looks like he submerged the knife in the venom. Any little cut could be fatal. I can't believe the fool was just carrying this around, especially when there are children in the room."

"I don't think he really cared all that much about the children," Harry said. "He almost cursed his son more than once. Perseus is a brave little boy. He was trying to protect his mother."

Looking down at the body, Kingsley said, "They won't have to worry about him now."

Several hours later Harry was ready to leave St Mungo's with Sirius. After passing out while Kingsley was talking to him, he'd been rushed to hospital. He'd been pumped full of potions and had several fractures healed. After several doses of post-Cruciatus potion and blood replenishing potion, he was allowed to go home with Sirius.

"Are you sure you are feeling okay?" Sirius asked a bit anxiously. "And if you say you are fine I will not take you home."

Harry laughed weakly. "I have a headache, but I just took the potion."

Sirius shook his head as he helped Harry to his feet. He wrapped his arm around him and kissed him on the forehead. "You scared me, kiddo."

"Sorry," he said bashfully. "I did think I was okay."

Shaking his head, Sirius led the way out into the corridor. "Why don't we stop by and see Ginny before we leave?"

Harry eagerly agreed. She was on the opposite side of the unit. A young man with red hair was outside of her room. He was thin with short hair and glasses. Harry wasn't sure which brother this was. He looked up when Harry approached.

"Hi," Harry said, suddenly aware that he must look a mess. "I just want to see Ginny before I go home."

"I don't think so," the other wizard replied. "You just killed her husband. It would hardly be appropriate for you to visit her."

"Stop being a priss, Percy," Bill said as he stepped out of the room. He reached out and shook Harry's hand. "Thank you, so much. I can't tell you how grateful I am. Ginny and the children have been worried about you."

Harry flushed. "Are you sure? Is she upset with me?"

"Of course not," Bill reassured him. "Percy is just being an arse."

The older wizard laughed at the glare he received from his younger brother. He guided Harry into the room. Ginny was sitting up in bed. She was pale and her head was bandaged. When she saw Harry, she brightened up and smiled. "Harry!"

Self-consciousness forgotten, Harry hurried over to her bedside. "Are you okay?"

"Thanks to you," she said as he sat down in the chair Bill had vacated. He reached out for her hand. She placed her hand in his. "Thank you. I don't know what he would have done."

"Are Perseus and Titania okay? I hated having to kill him in front of them. I know they didn't have an affectionate relationship with him, but they shouldn't have had to watch him die."

"No," she hastened to reassure him. "Titania didn't realize exactly what was happening. My poor Perseus…he was so worried about me."

"He was very brave. He attacked Draco several times to try to save you and then me. He protected you and his brother and sister."

Ginny smiled proudly. "He is brilliant."

"Where are your children?" Harry asked as Sirius talked quietly with Bill.

"They are with my sister-in-law, Fleur, and my mother," she replied. "Bill brought them all to see me so they would know I will be okay. My parents' house is very secure so I thought it would easier than making other arrangements."

"Of course," Harry said. "You don't want to change too much for them."

She squeezed his hand. "I don't know if I can every thank you. You saved me and my children. I didn't think we would ever be free from him."

Harry smiled. "I am so glad I could help you. You deserve so much better than…him."

"That you do, love," Sirius said as he strolled over. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "I am so glad you are okay. I was just talking to your brother about Malfoy's estate. I will be happy to help you sort through everything."

"I hadn't even thought of that," she said as she looked at her brother.

He smiled. "I hadn't either, but we don't need to deal with that right now."

Harry stood a bit unsteadily. "I better go, but I will talk to you soon."

He looked down at her uncertainly, but at the sight of her smile he knew it would be okay. He wanted to kiss her as she had done earlier, but he was nervous, especially with Bill and Sirius there. He squeezed her hand and the way she smiled at him made him think it would be okay. Before he could talk himself out of it, he leaned over and briefly kissed her. Like the kiss in the basilisk's chamber, it was a chaste kiss but it was sweet and full of promise.


A/N: This was actually the first scene that I envisioned when I started this story. Ginny's son protecting her (to the best of his abilities) against Draco. Thanks again to my beta, Arnel and Brit picker, Mark!