Disclaimer – I own no part of Harry Potter or any of the various things I am borrowing from his world.

Chapter 25

Later that night the four gathered in Draco's room. It was Friday night and there was no Quidditch practice in the morning so they all sat on Draco's bed drinking from a bottle of Fire whiskey he had smuggled into school.

"What a day." He said taking a long swig from the bottle before passing it to Ginny. She looked at it for a moment before taking a sip herself. She made a funny face as the liquid hit her tongue. Draco could tell that she had never tasted it before. She must have gotten used to the taste fairly quickly, because she took another longer gulp before passing it to Blaise and Pansy who were curled up together at the other end of the bed.

"Yeah I think the whole school just about shit their pants seeing us with Potter's gang not only at breakfast but lunch and dinner too. I swear I saw some people looking up to see if pigs were flying overhead." Blaise chuckled. He had a point, if anyone had told him that morning that he would have sat through three civilized meals with the Golden Trio he would have laughed his arse off.

Draco wrapped his arm around Ginny as she laid her head on his shoulder. "They never told me about the Prophecy before. I mean I knew it had existed, that's what the whole thing at the ministry last year was all about. But I never knew that Harry got to hear the whole thing, last I knew it got busted but it was too noisy and chaotic to have heard it."

Draco felt guilt welling up inside his chest. Ginny must have felt his body tense up, because she quickly looked up at him. "What is it Draco? What's wrong?"

"I can't help but feel guilty. I knew that the Dark Lord was after the prophecy. I had overheard my father talking to some friends over holiday last year. If I had just told someone what they were up to that whole thing could have been avoided. But I was too afraid of what my father would do to me. I never gave a second thought what would happen to other people for not speaking up. I mean I may not have known Serius but he was still part of my family, my mother used to tell me tales of them as young children playing together . She always said he was one of the few decent people in the Black family."

"Yeah I know how you feel, I was there when they were talking too. But we both know that it wouldn't matter what our last names were or our age, if we had told we would have been killed." Blaise nodded his head in agreement with Pansy.

"Guys don't feel bad. You had no choice. Besides if things hadn't played out as they did then you wouldn't be free of your father now." Ginny squeezed Draco's hand in reassurance.

Draco laughed. "Free huh? Confined to the castle with my mother in hiding. If that is your idea of free maybe Granger should loan you her dictionary."

Ginny pulled herself away from him, pain evident on her face. "All I meant was you and your mother are free of his control. You can be yourself and not what he forces you to be. And you are under the protection of The Order so you are safe and no longer alone."

Pansy stood up and took Blaise's hand. "Come on we should go. It's been a really long day and I'm really tired."

"You're right. We'll see you guys in the morning." Blaise said following Pansy towards the door.

Ginny got to her feet as well. "Wait up Pans, I'm going with you." Draco watched in shock as the three of them walked out the door together. Pansy's arm around Ginny's shoulder and Blaise's hand on the small of her back closing the door behind them.

Draco picked up the half gone bottle of Fire whisky and began to chug. He hadn't meant to be so harsh. He just failed to see how being locked up like and animal at a zoo meant he was free. But she did have a point, his mother was safe from his abusive father and they were free now to side with who they felt was right all along. Damn it why did he have to inherit his fathers temper.

After a while of staring around his mirrored room and seeing nothing but his own reflection; he downed the rest of the bottle and headed out the door himself. Ten minutes later he was still standing in front of the door to the girls bedroom debating whether to knock or go back to his own room. Much to his surprise the door before him opened to reveal Pansy standing there.

"She doesn't want to talk to you right now so why don't you stop hovering outside the door and go get some sleep." She held the door in one hand and the door frame in the other so as to block his entrance.

Knowing Pansy as he did he took the direct approach. He picked her up by the waist and walked through the door leaving it open behind him.

"No."

"Draco!" She screamed kicking her legs trying to free herself from his grasp. "Put me down." And he did right on her bed next to Blasie, who had been watching the whole scene in amusement.

"Where is she?" He looked around the room for the first time since Ginny had moved in. He noticed the second bed, second wardrobe and a new door that had not been there before.

"In her bathroom getting ready for bed." Blaise replied, his smile still etched on his face. Draco went over to the new wardrobe and found a bag in the top and began shoving clothes inside of it.

"Draco, what the hell are you doing?" Now Pansy was laughing at him as well. "You are completely tanked aren't you?"

"Yes I am. And would you like to know what else I am? Huh?" He paused to see if they would answer between fits of laughter. "I am sick of being walked out on every morning, so I am bringing her stuff too. Now she will have no reason to run off in the morning." Apparently this pushed Blaise over the edge, he was laughing so hysterically that he actually fell off the bed.

"What the hell is going on in here? What's with all the yelling and laughing?" Ginny stepped out of the bathroom drying her hair on a Slytherin green towel. The laughter came to a stifled halt, Blaise nearly choking for trying to hold in the laugh. "Draco, what are you doing ?" She screamed when she noticed him at her wardrobe.

He said nothing just looked at her in the black silk pajama set Pansy had given her. He remembered Pansy wearing it a few times when they had homework sessions but it had never hung on her the way it did on Ginny. Showing off her curves just enough but not too much. He momentarily forgot about the current situation or the fact the their were other people in the room. Pansy brought him back to reality all too quickly. "He said he is sick of being walked out on every morning." She too was trying to hold back her previous laughter.

"Well that's good." She said with the only straight face in the room. "Because I am staying here tonight so there won't be any need to walk out in the morning."

For the second time that night Draco simply said the word no, and picked up a female. But this time the threw the kicking Ginny over his shoulder with one arm and carried the bag he had packed in the other. "Goodnight" he called over his shoulder to his two friends who were now rolling with laughter once again.

He carried Ginny, kicking, screaming and beating him on the back all the way down the hallway to his room. A few students peeked out of their rooms at all the commotion. "Don't worry." He said waiving them off. "Just a little domestic dispute."

Once back inside his room he kicked the door closed behind him and put Ginny down on his bed while muttering a silencing spell and sealing the room in case she tried to run away. He had a feeling she might be yelling at him for awhile.

"Domestic Dispute?" She screamed while glaring at him. He could see the rage in her eyes.

"Yes we were having a dispute due to your temporarily having forgot where your domicile is." As furious as she may have been with him, she couldn't help but laugh at this comment. A sound that instantly put a smile on Draco's face.

"Look, I'm sorry about before; it's just that it's really frustrating being told that you have to stay locked up in the castle. But you were right, we are at least protected from my father now."

She smiled at him, knowing how hard it was for him to say he was sorry or admit that someone else is right about something. "I know. I can't say I know exactly how you feel but I have a pretty good idea. I spent a lot of time with Sirius when he was in the same position. But at least you are locked up here in the castle with people around you and you can still have a life here. Sirius had people wandering in and out all the time and he had Buckbeak. But the only life he had was cleaning a house he had always hated."

"I always knew that bloody bird didn't fly away on his own." But as Ginny gave him a stern look he quickly shut his mouth on that subject. "Okay I get your point."

"So, why did you just kidnap me?"

"Like Pansy said I am sick of being left every morning. I never had a teddy bear as a kid so I am just making up for lost time." He smiled and ran his fingers through her soft clean hair. "We'll get the rest of your stuff tomorrow."

"Just like that huh? So I'm just a childhood plaything. What if I don't want to stay here. This has to be in breach of school rules."

"Don't you think that if it was that big of a problem Dumbledore would have put a stop to it by now. He knows everything that goes on in this school." He watched the color rise in her cheeks at his mention of the Headmasters knowledge. "And you are not some childhood plaything, do you think I would do half of this stuff with a teddy bear?"

He donned his best puppy dog eyes and batted his long pale eyelashes at her. "So will you stay?" He stuck out his bottom lip in a pout for good measure. "Please." He added softly.

"Yes, I'll stay. You're a big old baby, do you know that? Just like the spoiled child that you are. You throw a temper tantrum to get what you want. Did it ever occur to you to just talk to me in my room rather than kidnap me?"

"Yes." He said while climbing into the bed next to her with his sly smirk in place. "But, that wouldn't have been half as fun or Malfoy-ish." Taking her face into his hands he kissed her gently at first but quickly turning passionate. Maybe being locked in the castle won't be so bad after all. He thought running his hands over the silk pajamas Ginny had thought she was going to wear to bed that night.

A/N – My apologies for the long wait but here it is. Thank you all for your condolences regarding my house, I appreciate your thought. As always please review. your loyal writer Cinda.