Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

A/N: Revised for OoTP.

Also:Something went wrong with the uploading process. The third chapter will be up, but not at the current moment.

Do not despair.

Chapter One

The Unwelcome Compromise

Dear sheets-of-parchments-that-I-bound-together-with-magic-during-last-year-so-I-can-have-a-place-to-write-that-is-not-a-diary:

I think I finally have news that is worthy of The Quibbler, no offense meant to Luna in anyway.

"What did you say?"

Mr. Weasley tapped the table in agitation as the whole family's attention, which had been focused solely on the cheesecake, turned to him with alarming speed. Nervously, he set himself to say the very unwelcome words again. "I said," he said, "that Draco Malfoy is going to be spending the summer with us."

There was a bit of an awkward silence, but only because Fred and George were trying to beat each other at swallowing their cakes.

"What?" George exclaimed, having finished first. "I'm sure I just heard something wrong."

"Oh no you didn't," Fred said, patting his twin on the back with much exaggeration. "Good joke, Dad! I was starting to worry that Forge and I had taken all the family humor when you two were handing out genes."

Ron's eyes lit up. "Ah!" he said, raising his fork and breathing in relief. "That sure beat all of Fred and George's jokes! I was starting to wonder where Fred and George's craziness came from, myself."

"Actually," Mr. Weasley said regretfully. "I wasn't joking. I was quite serious, to be quite honest."

Mrs. Weasley shook her head. "Arthur, what is this madness?" she said. "I was under the impression that we were not on good terms with the Malfoys."

"I didn't ask for it!" Mr. Weasley said in an injured tone. "You were there."

"Was that why Albus wanted to you to stay after the meeting?" Mrs. Weasley said, frowning. "Sometimes I forget how tricky the headmaster could be."

"Why us?" Ron demanded.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" reprimanded George.

"Don't reprimand your brother when you are still chewing!" Fred cried out.

"Silence, all three of you," Mrs. Weasley said. "Arthur, I believe a little more explanation is necessary."

Mr. Weasley sighed. "Well, Molly, in case you don't remember, we are related," he said regretfully. "I believe our great-great-grandfathers were either brothers or cousins or twins or…you know. Somehow related."

Family, Ginny Weasley decided, could be quite a drag. Especially when the lineage had decided to remain pureblood since, oh, perhaps 1438. Which meant, of course, that intermarriage had basically connected all the pureblood families, even the ones that gave her headaches.

"Gee, why didn't I think of that?" Fred said, sounding shocked. "Of course Dumbledore would think of us when he's trying to dispose of Malfoy! We are only his cousins…about, oh, sixteen or seventeen times removed!"

"And his father was sent to Azkaban," continued Mr. Weasley, allowing him a smile at Fred's statement. "Narcissa, because she was involved in the Kreacher affair, apparently left for France or Ireland, where a few of the uninvolved Malfoys were still living."

"And she didn't take Malfoy?" George said.

"Which shows," Ginny said primly, "that even his mother gets tired of him. How awful. I do feel dearly for him, Dad. Of course we have to take him in."

"And so he needs a place to spend the summer," Mr. Weasley finished.

Somewhat lamely, Ginny felt.

"If I could make a suggestion," Ron said tentatively, "I'd say locking him into a dungeon with Snape won't be so bad. They could finish each other off and leave the world a better place."

"Well, I guess you didn't get an O.W.L. in Potions," Ginny said snidely.

"Sadly, I think Hogwarts need a Potions master," Fred said diplomatically. "Although I'm at a loss as to why Narcissa won't just take her son to some outlandish place and leave us all some peace and quiet."

"The problem is mainly Grimmauld Place, actually," Mr. Weasley said, looking thoughtful. "Because Mrs. Black—whom I'm sure you've all met—was disappointed in her two sons when she died, she left the house to her two nieces, Andromeda Tonks excluded."

"I'm starting to understand," Mrs. Weasley said. "So the Malfoys are entitled to that house, should they ever need it. And I believe you just confiscated his Manor last week."

"Exactly. By the way these old wizarding laws work, young Mr. Malfoy inherits the house. Of course, he can't possibly, as the place is under the care of the Order. I believe that Lucius is related to the Averys, but the Averys are under investigation as well."

"So, we are stuck with Malfoy," concluded Ginny.

"At least I kind of understand how Harry felt, when he's stuck with the Dursleys," mused Ron.

"I suppose we have no choice then," Mrs. Weasley said. "Your father and I will just have to take turns staying at the Burrow, to keep a watch over him. Meanwhile, we'll treat him as a relative, visiting for the summer."

"Yuck," chorused her four children.

Personally, I don't think it is that bad if it weren't for a few other technicalities. Fred and George have been thinking up plans to trash the Malfoy Manor all summer, since they are now fully-qualified and can Apparate anywhere—without splinching more than 1 percent of the time—and they can basically kidnap Malfoy, hex him, and get away without the Ministry after them (well, that's what they said. I have my doubts but I'd rather not voice them). So I suppose fate is working into their hands by dumping Malfoy on us.

The only problem, as far as I could see, is that I have to share—actually, GIVE—my room to Malfoy, for a very simple reason. It's the smallest and the worst room in the house, the room "added" to the house two days before I was born.

"So, in other words, you expect me to share the room," Ginny said, stabbing her cheesecake with her eyes artfully narrowed.

"Not share, dear," Fred said. "We wouldn't want our baby girl to share a room with big, bad Malfoy."

"Oh, excuse me," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "Give the room to Malfoy, simply because, oh, I happen to be the youngest and nicest person in the family."

"That's debatable, but basically, yes," Mr. Weasley said. "We would add another room for Malfoy, but it really is too much trouble and spell work for us. I have a lot of work in the Ministry and the Order, and your mother has been helping Remus with Grimmauld Place."

"But why can't someone else move out?" Ginny demanded. "I have a girl's room! He's going to trash it. I know he will!"

"Fred and George know enough tricks to keep him from doing that," Mrs. Weasley said, looking sounding absentminded. "Ginny, dear, it's only for this summer. If everything calms down enough during the school year, we'll add a bigger and better room for you, and get rid of your old room entirely."

Ginny sighed and slumped in her seat.

"I take that as a 'yes'," Ron announced, probably thankful that he did not need to give his room to Draco Malfoy.

"I'm going to be sharing your room, you know," Ginny said grumpily, glaring at her brother. "One world from you and your lovely Pigwidgeon—"

"Pig—"

"—Pigwidgeon, and it's the Bat-Boogey Hex, Ministry or no Ministry," Ginny said. "And that goes for all of you too."

Draco Malfoy leaned back as far as he could go without falling, and looked at Albus Dumbledore defiantly. "You know I would not tell you where Mother went," he said coolly. "You have given me no reason to trust you."

"That is not the reason I have asked you come here, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore answered, looking merely amused and not affronted by Draco's attitude. "But I am glad that you are aware that your mother has left the country."

Draco smirked, but he was a little unsettled. Narcissa had not told him where she would go, only that if he should wake up to see her gone, he should act as if he knew nothing. "Well, that's rather understandable, since you haven't been exactly kind to Father or to the Manor," he drawled.

"No," agreed Dumbledore.

Oh.

"Well," Draco said, feeling more disoriented by the minute. "Aren't you supposed to, you know, help your students when they are in trouble?"

"Am I?" Dumbledore said. "I guess I do serve a purpose after all, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco stared.

"As a matter of fact, because there is a Ministry decree against an underage wizard or witch staying without adult supervision, I will have to—"

"Release my father?"

"Please do not interrupt me, Mr. Malfoy. You will be staying with your relatives."

Draco frowned. Relatives? Who was Dumbledore kidding? Unless he meant the Lestranges and the Blacks. He'd like to stay away from his Aunt Bellatrix, thank you very much. She was one of the few women who had ever scared him. And he was pretty sure that most of the Blacks had died off or been killed during the war. If there were any left, they would be somewhere in Bulgaria. As for his Aunt Andromeda, whom he'd never even seen, he was sure that she lived somewhere in Wales, and even surer that she'd want nothing to do with him.

"I don't think I have any relatives," he said.

"The Weasleys."

Draco suddenly began to cough. "Wh-what?" he choked out.

"Would you like a lemon drop?" Dumbledore asked brightly.

"No! The Weasleys? We aren't related!"

"Oh, but I'm afraid you are. Your great-great-great-grandfather was related to one Terrence Weasley a few centuries ago. By marriage, I do believe."

"The Weasleys!" cried Draco.

"I assure you, they will be delighted at this chance of…er…family reunion," Dumbledore said, eating his lemon drops merrily. "They will not wish harm upon you in anyway."

Oh no. I've only been hexed by all four of these Weasley brats in my five years of school. They won't wish to harm me at all. But of course, Draco wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. His father, after all, had always advised him to stop fighting when it was obvious that the hippogriff had the rabbit. Whatever that expression meant.

"Besides, I'm sure you'll do your best to be civil," Dumbledore continued.

Draco began coughing again. "I think I'd like some lemon drops now," he managed to say, before he began coughing again.

A/N: Please review! Speeds up the quill and puts a smile on the rabbit's face! (Hmm, a very awkward sentence : D).