Title: Guilty By Association

Author: Tiny Q

E-Mail: one_legged_lesbian_seagull@hotmail.com

A/N: Hello All! Well it is finally here: the next part! Or school has been giving us soooo much homework that I only now, in Spring Break, have been able to finish the chapter that I started 3 weeks ago! So please don't be mad! Tiny Q looks around warily for the penguins she suspects have been the ones following her around for the past week Well yes. I'll keep this one short. I own nothing but the highly not original plot! So don't' sue me! Now on with . . .

Guilty By Association

Chapter 5

That Git Wallski

"Faster," Harry Potter muttered as he urged his Firebolt to go even faster. "I can't let them get away."

The cloaked figure Harry was chasing after had a good lead on him. In fact who ever it was was only a small black dot against the aura of the city bellow. Yet he had to catch them, they most likely knew where Hermione was. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her.

So on he sped wiping all thoughts from his mind except his goal: to catch the person flying before him. It was just like back at Hogwarts when he would go after the Snitch. The cloaked figure was getting larger, telling Harry that he was catching up.

A few moments latter he was only meters from the figure, who he assumed to be male by his build and the way he held himself. Reaching into his robes he pulled out his wand and was about to hex the man when he suddenly swerved sharply to the right and dove straight down.

"What the-" Harry said with a start. Clutching his broom, wand in hand, he dove after him. The deserted streets of London were approaching quickly and Harry had the sudden thought that perhaps the man wasn't going to pull up. He was going much to fast.

Inches from the ground the man pulled out of his dive and traveled along the street with Harry hot on his tail. Once again attempting to use his wand, he shot out a binding curse to stop the cloaked figure's mad escape. Without even turning his head the man turned sharply into an alley, causing Harry's shot to collide into an innocent light post.

"Damn," he swore and quickly followed the man into the alley. Looking ahead he saw that it was a dead end, yet on the man went until he was nearly against the wall where he pulled up sharply. 'He's crazy,' Harry thought and followed him up the wall and over the roof. 'It's a good thing it's so late. No muggles.'

The two of them went on this way for a short time. Harry throwing curses and hexes alike while the man would dodge them without even looking back or giving any acknowledgment to Harry's pursuit.

Once again heading down a deserted street, he again tried a binding curse. As he suspected he would, the man turned sharply up a street and Harry followed close behind but quickly swerved left when he heard the startling noise of a semi-truck horn. The object of his pursuit, obviously startled by the truck, swerved to the right and disappeared from Harry's sight.

Putting on an extra burst of speed with the hopes of cutting the man off, Harry flew around the back end of the truck and turned into the direction the man had gone.

To discover nothing.

"Where did he go?!" Harry gasped angrily, looking around frantically for the cloaked figure. But he was nowhere to be found. There were no alleyways down this street for him to have flown into and he wouldn't have been able to get over a roof with out Harry seeing him.

"Just my luck," he hissed at himself. "Only lead on Hermione's whereabouts and I blow it." Giving the area another thorough search he turned his broom towards the Bureau. 'Perhaps Ginny and Malfoy caught up with the other one,' he thought and quickly sped off.

As he approached the aging building he saw that none of the lights were on and it looked as it should be when there was no one there. They weren't back yet. 'Great,' Harry thought and headed to the roof where he quickly entered the building, locking all the doors behind him.

He had never liked being in this building by himself. Nor did he like it when Ginny stayed to work late nights. It just had bad vibes. No one listened to him though. Even with all the candles lit and a warm fire roaring he still felt chilled.

Glancing down at his watch, Harry took a double take. 'Four o'clock?!' he thought in surprise. 'That means that I was chasing after that guy for almost an hour!' He began to pace in front of the fireplace in the lobby. 'If I've been out that long, then Ginny should be here by now.'

He suddenly got a sinking feeling in his stomach. Maybe Malfoy hadn't changed as he thought and had done something to Ginny. Perhaps the reason, as everyone except him seemed to think, Malfoy quit was because he was still loyal to his father.

'I never should have made her go with him,' he hissed at himself and sat down miserably on the couch. 'They probably just ran into a few problems,' a soothing voice in the back of his head reassured him. 'They will be here soon. Ginny's a big girl. She can take care of herself.' With a resigned sigh he tended to agree and ignored the feeling that was still churning in his stomach. Getting up he walked over to the fire to contact his cousin and Tabitha.

~*~

Draco Malfoy realized with horror that he was going to die if he didn't think of something quick. He and Ginny Weasley were plummeting with increasing velocity through the clouds, and he feared that as soon as they cleared them, they would be impaled by a building or something stupid like that.

The wind was howling in his ears. His clothes and hair were flailing behind him. His body being tossed and turned as though he were nothing more than a rag doll. He had always wanted to sky dive but this was ridiculous. He was going to kill who ever possessed his broom, that is, if he survived.

Looking to his right he saw Ginny plummeting along side him in much the same manner he was. 'Compared too this,' Draco thought grimly, 'Floo powder is nothing.' At that moment the two of them broke through the dense cloud and he saw they were about a kilometer above the ocean.

Reaching out his right arm, Draco grabbed Ginny and pulled her towards him. He then did the only thing that came to mind, he closed his eyes and Apparated. In an instant the howling wind in his ears disappeared and was replaced by the startled scream of the woman in his arms.

With a loud crash, the two of them slammed on their sides into Ginny's bed. The black metal of the frame broke instantly on the right hand side and sent them crashing to the floor with a loud thump. The blanket fell over their heads and Draco began struggling to get out of the tangle of body parts, robes and blankets only to realize that he could no longer breath.

"Oh my god!" he heard Ginny screech as he attempted to undo the clasp to his cloak which was caught under the broken bed frame. The blanket was pulled from his head and he could see Ginny right beside him looking in disbelief at the bed before her.

"You broke my bed!" she said after a moment and began to laugh hysterically. If Draco hadn't been turning blue due to the lack of oxygen going to his brain he might have thought it cute or at least entertaining.

"Weasley!" he managed to choke out as he began to see white spots. She turned and looked at him with a large smile on her face which was instantly wiped off when she saw his discolored face. She quickly lent forward and undid the clasp for him.

He took in deep breaths as he was suddenly able to breathe once more. And he lay there for a moment panting and wondering exactly how lucky he was. 'Two near death experiences in one day,' he thought 'That's not something to take lightly.'

"Are you alright?" he heard her ask as she leant over him. He nodded and she fell back beside him, sill tangled into him.

"I never should have come back to England," he gasped after a moment, "Being around you will get me killed." He expected her to hit him or something but she just began to laugh again.

"You should see your face," she gasped between giggles, "You look as white as a ghost!"

"Well being tossed from a possessed broom and plummeting to my death tends to do that to me," he snapped, which only made her laugh harder. Wanting her to stop, he grabbed the pillow by his head, which had fallen as well, and hit her in the face with it. Her laughter stopped for a moment then the pillow came sailing back at him and it started again.

With a sigh, Draco began untangling himself from Ginny and her blanket only managing to make her laugh even harder. "Would you shut up already?" he snapped and jerked his left leg out from under her.

"Oh lighten up!" she hissed, "We just about fell to our deaths! Can't you let your guard down at least once in your life?"

"I can," he growled as he finally managed to free himself, "But it seems that whenever I do, someone tries to kill me." His eyes widened as he realized what he had said and quickly covered his surprise with a sneer. Ginny stopped laughing at this and looked at him sharply.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"You wouldn't understand, Weasley," he drawled as he finally managed to get on his feet.

"You're such an asshole!" Ginny yelled at him as he turned and walked out of her bedroom and into the main room. He heard her struggling to untangle herself and a few moments latter she was in the main room as well. She stormed past him and went into the kitchen. The sound a fridge being ripped open and the clinking of jars told him that she was pretty pissed off.

"Do you want something to drink?" he heard her call, and almost refused at the thought that she might try to poison whatever it was that she was serving.

"What do you have?" he finally called, walking into the kitchen and leaning against the door frame.

"Milk, cranberry juice and Coke," she said, her head behind the fridge door. "I don't drink and I didn't get a chance to go shopping because you showed up."

"Um, Coke then," he said and was almost caught off guard as a can came flying towards his head. She closed the fridge and opened a can of her own. "Aren't we supposed to meet Potter?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, and took a long sip, "In a moment."

After they had both finished their drinks she lead him over to the fireplace, and once again held the container of Floo powder out to him.

"It's called The Bureau," she said and he groaned inwardly. 'How much spinning do I have to go through tonight?' he wondered, grabbing a pinch, throwing it into the fire and calling what she had told him.

~*~

Ginny Weasley stepped out of the fireplace and looked around he lobby of the Bureau. Everything was in order except for the soot covered figure of Draco Malfoy and the very rumpled figure of Harry Potter. The two of them were standing in the center of the room, glaring into one another's eyes as if daring the other to move or blink. She stepped up beside the two and looked at them curiously. Neither acknowledged her in anyway.

"Helloooo," she said slowly, waving her hand between her their faces. Still neither of them moved but she saw Harry's lip twitch slightly. "You are so immature," she hissed and turned around to step right into Dudley Dursley with a small yelp. At this both Harry and Malfoy turned their heads with a snap to look at her.

"Do you always have to do that freaky creepy thing?" Ginny asked as Dudley, dressed in his usual Rolling Stones shirt and leather jacket, stepped back with a lopsided grin.

"Sorry. Bad habit," he said then flicked his eyes at Malfoy who was now looking mildly at Dudley from over Ginny's shoulder. "Who are you?"

"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," he said stepping in front of Ginny and offering his hand. "And you are?"

Ginny raised her eyebrows in surprise. 'Malfoy being civil?' she asked herself in disbelief.

"Dudley Dursley," the taller of the two blonds replied and shook Malfoy's outstretched hand firmly. "Are you a friend of these two?"

"More of an associate," Malfoy responded, glancing at Ginny who promptly stuck out her tongue at him. 'Friends with him?' she asked herself, 'Not even if Azkaban froze over.'

A throat cleared from the library door and everyone turned to see Tabitha Murphy standing in the doorway. She was wearing a pink summer dress covered by a cloak of serillyum blue. Despite the fact that it was 5 in the morning she looked as perfect as ever.

"Am I interrupting anything?" she asked and walked over to Malfoy, looking him up and down then smiling mischievously. 'Is there any guy that she doesn't do that to?' Ginny wondered angrily then mentally smacked herself as she realized that she was doing. 'I am not jealous of him. He's a Malfoy for Merlin's sake.' Yet she could barley suppress a glare as Malfoy kissed Tabitha's hand in greeting. Even Dudley seemed a little put off by her reaction.

"Well," said Harry, making everyone turn to look at him. "Now that you two are finally here and everyone has been introduced, I suggest we get down to work. Tabitha," he said turning towards her, "You have a knack for rediscovering ancient spells. Start looking through the library for anything that will help us find Hermione. Dudley, go see your Muggle contacts and see if you can find out anything that might be useful. Until then, help Tabitha."

"Where are you going?" Dudley asked, running a hand through his blond and blue hair.

"We're going back to where Ron and Hermione were attacked then to go see our own contacts," Harry responded, heading for the door.

"Alright," Dudley said as he strode towards the library and brushed past Tabitha without a second glance. "Latter."

Ginny noticed that Tabitha was grinning slightly but brushed it off, thinking that she was still grinning over Malfoy.

"Bye!" Tabitha said cheerfully, turning on her heel and following Dudley into the Library.

Harry glanced at Ginny and Malfoy then headed towards the main entrance. Ginny sighed, it seemed that she wouldn't be getting anymore sleep tonight. She followed Harry out the door and down the stairs without even glancing in Malfoy's direction. She could feel his presence right behind her's but she just kept walking.

When on the sidewalk the three of them walked silently side by side looking around the deserted street. It had begun to snow again and all the freshly cleared streets and walkways were once again being covered by the cold white stuff. Ginny's black cloak was slowly turning white as the snow began to fall heavier.

"If this keeps up we won't be able to find anything," she said finally.

"I doubt there will be anything left," Malfoy said from her left. "Death Eaters are very thorough."

"You got away didn't you," Harry said from her right. "Perhaps they slipped up for a second time."

"Yeah," Ginny agreed. "How did you get away anyway?"

"I don't know," he snapped, looking momentarily down at the ground. "I just did."

"Sounds suspicious to me," Ginny said and instantly regretted it at the cold yet hurt look Malfoy gave her.

"You'd think that too, wouldn't you Weasley," he sneered, still glaring into her eyes.

"It's not like you have given me a reason to think otherwise," she snapped. A tiny voice in the back of her head told her she was wrong but she ignored it. She wasn't going to back down from a Malfoy.

"Oh. So saving your life doesn't constitute change?" he snarled.

"You were falling too. You had to save yourself," she said stubbornly, not breaking eye contact yet continuing to walk along side him.

"True. But I could have just Apparated myself out-"

"Guys . . ." Harry started but they both ignored him.

"-and left you to fall to your death," he said narrowing his eyes.

"So why didn't you?" she challenged, a small smirk reaching her lips as she crossed her arms.

"Guys." Harry tried again.

"Because if I didn't then Potter here-"

"GUYS!" Harry yelled.

"WHAT?!" they both snapped at the same time, turning to look at him.

"We're here and so are they," he said gesturing towards the alley they had been in just hours before. Ginny and Malfoy both turned and looked into the alley to see a group of about two dozen Aurors scurrying about the place.

A large, beefy man with balding grey hair and moustache approached them. His expensive grey robes and red cloak billowing behind him in his approached.

"Not this git again," Ginny heard Malfoy mutter.

"How did they find out?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"St. Mungos probably filed a report," Harry whispered back. The three of them stood there until the older man came to a stop before them.

"What are you three doing here?" he demanded. "You have no jurisdiction here."

"Like hell we don't, Wallski," snarled Harry, looking angrier than Ginny had seen him look in a long time. "Only our partners and family were involved. Or did you conveniently forget that part so you could have a bigger pay check at the end of the month?"

Wallski's large, beady eyes seemed to get even bigger then they narrowed. "You will stay away from this case, Potter, if you know what's good for you. We don't need you giving away what we already know to the enemy."

"Or what?" Harry demanded defiantly. "You'll fire me? Already did that haven't you? And the way I remember it, it was you who gave our position away to Voldemort."

The old man's face went beat red and his eyes flashed with furry. It seemed to Ginny that their former boss still hadn't got over the incident which had got the four of them fired. It really had been his fault, almost cost him his job.

"This is our case now and if you interfere I will personally make sure that the lot of you never work in the wizarding world as anything more than janitors." He then turned his beady eyes to Malfoy who had a horrible scowl on his face, the likes of which Ginny had never seen. "Figures that you would end up with them." He then turned on his heel and strode away. Ginny saw Malfoy reaching for his wand and placed a hand on his arm.

"Don't" she whispered. "He's not worth it."

"I know," he hissed, violently tearing his arm from her grasp. "I know."

~*~

A/n: Well that's it. Sorry no cliffy this time. But just you wait! I have a real bad one coming up soon! He He He!

Now for my thank yous: Thank you to Jan McNeville, Stargazer, Verena Gruen, Meo, Chained Dove, NicoleTheNiveter, moodyirishbabe, isis, IM-obsessive, ChildLikeTendencies, and Rosandra May for all your lovely reviews! I just love hearing what you guys think! So keep it up!