Draco sat in his room pondering whether or not to get started on his homework. What he really wanted to do was to write Ginny to see how it was going, but chances were, she hadn't told them yet, and he didn't want to rouse suspicions. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even realize that an owl was fluttering outside. Hoping that the letter was from Ginny and bearing good news, Draco rushed to let the owl in. His heart sunk as he realized that it was not Ginny's handwriting, but the same handwriting that was on the letter he had received a few days ago.

Mr. Malfoy,

Please report immediately to my office. It is urgent. "Lemon Drop" will grant you entrance.

Professor Dumbledore

Wondering what could possible be wrong this time, Draco walked quickly to Dumbledore's office. Uttering the password, the stepped onto the revolving staircase and rode to the top, becoming more worried all the time. Stepping into Dumbledore's office, he was shocked to see that Adam and Kit were there as well. 'Maybe the news isn't so bad, after all,' he thought, sitting down by Kit. Stealing a sideways glance at both of them, he realized that they were just as confused as he felt. Dumbledore came around to the front of his desk, and leaned back on it. He did not look like he was about to deliver good news.

Dumbledore turned to Malfoy, "Mr. Malfoy, I have good news and I have bad news," he said. "The good news is that your father has been arrested. He is currently in Azkaban until his trial date."

Draco nodded, wondering where this was going, "That's good, Sir. It's about time. What's the bad news?" he asked.

Dumbledore sighed, "He was arrested in Ottery St. Catchpole. Villagers noticed a strange mark in the sky, and sent what are called policemen to see the problem. Luckily, Aurors arrived first and were able to modify the memories of the villagers and rid the sky of the Dark Mark," he said.

Draco froze, afraid of where this was going. He thought immediately of Ginny and was scared that something had happened to her. Dumbledore continued, "The mark, Mr. Malfoy, was over the Weasley home," he said.

Draco thought his heart was literally breaking in two, "NOOOO!" he screamed, and buried his head in his hands. Kit came over and pulled him into a hug. Draco looked back up at Dumbledore, "What have I done? What have I done?" he said.

"Mr. Malfoy, you have done nothing, and are hardly to be blamed for you father's actions. Now, before you jump to conclusions, Miss Weasley, along with her mother and brother William are still alive. I have sent Severus to retrieve them and bring them back to Hogwarts. The rest of the Weasley's should be arriving any moment," he said.

Draco saw a ray of hope, "Is she alright?" he asked, tears glistening in his eyes.

"Mr. William Weasley is awake and appears to be just fine. He endured the Cruciatus Curse once, and quickly fell unconscious. Mrs. Weasley is much worse off, for the Death Eaters reached her first and had to keep her out longer in order to get to Virginia, which was their goal. She, too, was kept unconscious with the Cruciatus Curse, but was hit with it far more times," Dumbledore said.

One tear fell, "And Ginny," he whispered, afraid of the answer.

"Miss Weasley was not tortured the wizard way, but the muggle way. Whips, knives, as well as fists and feet were used, and they did not allow her to fall unconscious but used a spell to keep her awake. She is awake, but in much pain. She has been given a potion to keep her asleep. Her condition is very severe," he said.

Many more tears followed the first one, and Draco put his head back in his hands. "This is all my fault. Why? Why did I have to fall in love with her? Now look what I've done. It's not fair. I finally have something so incredibly good in my life, and he takes it. Why?" Draco choked.

"Shh, Draco, it's not your fault. Ginny loves you, you know that," Kit tried to reassure him just as the door opened and red-heads started pouring in. Draco watched them and knew that their was no way that he was going to get out of this alive. They would kill him, he knew. He recognized them all from meeting them and from photographs that Ginny had showed him. Ginny! What would happen to him without her? Of the 7 Wealsey's, one Granger, and one Potter, only two were not looking at him with hatred in their eyes, and they didn't even know how it was his father who did this, yet. Hermione and Bill were the only ones that weren't, even though Draco did notice that Bill was walking a little stiffly, a walk that Draco knew all too well, after his own bouts with the Cruciatus Curse.

Draco looked into Hermione's eyes, and he knew that she knew something was wrong with Ginny at least. He looked down, he couldn't face them. He heard footsteps, and looked up to see Bill standing above him. Draco stood, ready for whatever Bill would throw at him. He deserved whatever he got. He was surprised when Bill held out his hand in a friendly gesture. Draco shook his hand with relief, "You must be Bill," he said.

Bill looked at his sister's choice and knew that what Ginny said had been true. Draco looked scared and terrified, and it was written all over his face how upset he was over Ginny's current predicament. The fact that he loved her was written all over his face helped a lot too. "And you must be Draco," he answered, "pleased to meet you. Heard a lot about you. Some good, a lot bad."

Draco couldn't help but grin, "I've heard a lot about you, too," he said, then turned to the rest of the Weasleys, who hatred was just outweighed by the shock that was now in their eyes, "actually, I've heard a lot about all of you. Some bad, a lot good."

"What are you talking about Malfoy," Ron seethed.

Draco looked at his hands, "I owe you an explanation." He said, looking at Mr. Wealsey.

Mr. Weasley's eyes flashed, "Oh, are you going to explain to me how my wife and daughter came to be lying in hospital beds."

Draco flinched at the hatred in his voice, but held Mr. Weasley's gaze. He could feel Adam's, Kit's, and Bill's presence around him. It gave him courage to know that at least one Weasley was on his side. "It is my fault, I admit it," he said.

Fred and George took a step towards Draco. Draco turned his eyes to them, "Go ahead, I know that I deserve it. You think that I don't know that this is my fault. Besides, whatever you do can't make me hurt any worse than I do now," he said.

Fred and George stopped, puzzled. "What's that supposed to mean?" Harry spat.

Draco looked at him, "how would you feel if it was you," he said, and turned to Ron, who was being held back by Hermione, "Or you, Ron? How would you feel knowing that you put Hermione in danger, that she was suffering because of you?" Ron stopped struggling, looking confused. Draco looked from face to face stopping at Mr. Wealsey, "the fact is, sir, that I am in love with your daughter, and she with me."

His words caused an uproar, and everyone was surprised when a female voice yelled, "Silence!" Turning to Hermione, Draco realized that it was not her that had spoken, but Kit. Turning to look at her, Draco could tell that she was seething. "Kit, don't bother," he said.

"Like hell I won't, Draco," she said, venomously. She turned first to Harry, "You, yes I know who you are. The great Harry Potter. Did it ever occur to you or to any of you that there may be a reason that Draco acts the way he does. Of all people, I thought you would understand. After all that cousin of yours wasn't the nicest person was he? Beat you up all the time when you were little didn't he? Well, just think, what if that were your father beating you up? What if it were James hitting Lily, Harry?"

Harry straightened up, "How do you know my family?" he asked,

"My dad and my Aunt Arabella," she said simply, "And you four," she said, pointing to Ron, Fred, George, and Percy, "What if it were your father? What if you knew your father wouldn't hesitate to kill you if you messed up? What would you do if you knew that anyone you loved was in constant danger? You would try to hide it from him, wouldn't you?" she said, then rounded on Charlie, "You don't even know Draco, this is the first time you've even met him. How can you even presume to judge him?" she said. She turned to Mr. Weasley, "I know you hate Lucius, and let me tell you that you are not the only one, but how would you feel if the only things your sons were known for were your mistakes. Say you killed someone, how would you feel if it were taken out on your sons everyday?" she whispered, then turned to Bill, "You were the only one to give him a chance, I thank you," she said.

The Weasley's stood in complete silence, but not one of them appeared to be softening. Draco sighed and looked at Kit, "Thanks, Kit, but you needn't have bothered. You aren't going to change their minds," he said, and made his way to the door, just as Professor Snape walked in.

"Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore called. Draco paused, but kept his back to everyone except Snape, who was looking around with confusion written all over his face.

"Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore repeated, "Perhaps Miss Katherine's outburst did some good." Draco turned around, and noticed that everyone was looking at him. Well, everyone except Ron, and one of the twins. Hermione had tears in her eyes. "What?" he asked cautiously.

"Well, we'll try, ok. That's the best we can do," Mr. Weasley said.

"Like hell," Ron muttered.

"Ronald Percival Weasley, you will, understand," Mr. Weasley said, holding his hand out to Draco, who shook it with relief.

"So, does this mean that I can see Ginny?" Draco asked timidly.

"Um, you might want to wait until Molly wakes up, but it's alright with me. However, if you so much as make her cry for the wrong reason, well, I do have 6 sons," he trailed off.

"Yes, sir," Draco said.

Snape had been whispering to the Headmaster, who now turned to everyone. "Severus has informed me that Molly and Virginia are in the Hospital Wing. You may go and see them. Mr. Malfoy, I need you to wait, however. I have something else to discuss with you."

'oh, no', Draco thought as he sat down. He did feel considerably lighter, but was still terrified for Ginny and wanted nothing more than to kiss her and hold her hand. "Yes, sir?" he asked.

"Upon your father's arrest, it has come to the ministry's attention of all of his crimes. He will be charged with 3 murders, 3 uses of illegal curses, and 2 attempted murders," Dumbledore said.

Draco did the numbers in his head, '2 murders of Kit's mom and stepdad, Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Kit are the illegal curses, and Ginny and Kit are the attempted murders. But that still leaves one murder,' he thought, and turned to Dumbledore, "He killed someone else?"

Dumbledore nodded, "When your father found out that he was wanted for arrest, he first thought that it was you mother who had turned him in. It was the only option that made sense to him until he heard of your relationship with Miss Weasley."

"He killed her," Draco stated, "he killed mum."

Dumbledore nodded gravely, "I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco nodded, and still in shock, he left Dumbledore's office and walked to where Kit and Adam were waiting for him, "He killed mum," he whispered, then punched the wall. "He killed her! I hate him!" He collapsed against the wall. Kit and Adam did the best they could to comfort him, but to no avail. "I need Ginny," he said, standing up.

"Draco, maybe that's not such a good idea," Kit said.

"Why not?" Draco demanded.

Kit leaned over to whisper to Adam, "Keep him here, I'm going to get dad." Adam nodded.

Kit took off running for the hospital wing, and quietly walked in. Spotting her dad talking to Bill, she walked over to them, catching sight of the mangled girl on the bed. Gasping, she quickly turned away, "Dad," she whispered, "I need your help. Draco isn't taking this last bit of news that well, and to be honest I think any other trauma could permanently damage him. I don't think he needs to see Ginny like this. Seeing her like this will push him over the edge. Will you come help us get him to go to sleep. Please!" she pleaded with him, knowing that Bill had heard every word, but not caring.

"You're right," Snape said, following her towards the door.

"I'll help," Bill said, following them.

Walking quickly back to where Draco and Adam were, Snape sat down next to him. "I need to see her, please," Draco whispered.

"Draco, Miss Weasley has been given a potion to help her sleep. Why don't you get some sleep and then you can see her in the morning. You don't want to wake her up, do you," Snape asked.

"No, I just want to see her. Tell her that I'm sorry and that I love her. What if she wakes up before I do? I want her to know that I love her," he said.

Bill knelt in front of Draco, "I'll make sure she knows, Draco, I promise. She will know that you love her, but how are you going to be able to keep her company tomorrow if you are dead on your feet. She's going to need you, and she's going to need you to be rested, not dead," he said.

"Please, Draco. We'll put you in a bed right next to her, just please take the potion and go to sleep. You can see her in the morning. Besides, you don't want her to see you like this, do you," Kit pleaded with him.

"I guess not," Draco said, and took the bottle that Snape handed him. He turned to Bill, "You'll tell her?" he asked.

Bill nodded, and Draco drank the potion. He was instantly asleep. Snape conjured a stretcher, and directed it to the hospital wing. Going in the door, everyone turned to look at them. Mr. Weasley walked over to them and noticed Draco on a stretcher. "What happened to him?" he asked.

"Mr. Malfoy has just found out that his father killed his mother. We didn't think it wise for him to see Miss Weasley like this. We fear that it would push him over the edge. Therefore, we put him to sleep. That way, he will be well rested to deal with everything tomorrow," Snape said.

Professor Dumbledore walked into the room, noticing Draco on the bed, "Good, that's very good," he said, then turned to everyone else, "Now, everyone but Severus, Arthur, William, and Adam, go to bed. Miss Granger, an extra bed has been put in your dorm for Miss Katherine, and as for you Weasley boys, there are enough beds for all of you with so many students away for holiday. You can come back in the morning, but now, to bed."