Title: More than Mrs. Potter

Author: Joy

A/N: Here I am once again begging for feedback. I know to most people it seems silly but it's the only way I am going to get better is if people actually comment on it. If it weren't for one such comment I would have never been aware that I was interchanging 'than' and 'then'. So please review.

6.Settling the matter

Ginny was in the hallway in shock staring at the path Harry and Hope had taken out of there. She felt disoriented and confused. She spied Draco watching her with an unreadable expression. "What did you do? What did you do to her? What did you do to me?" Ginny growled at him anger emanating from her.

Draco's eyes got dark and pained. "I...I..."

"What? You what? This is the only time I have with you Draco. This is the only time I can support you and be your friend," she tried to reason with him.

He got angry, "Whose fault is that? Huh? I'm not the one that lied to your boyfriend. I'm not the one that hid our friendship from him. I'm not the one that chose to rectify things by cutting off all communication between us except for these meetings... I know Harry didn't ask you to do that. You did that all on your own. You abandoned me!"

"Well don't get self righteous about me not telling Harry... you're the one that was afraid of being disowned. You also were the one that made it sound like I had cheated on him!" Ginny snapped.

Draco growled, "I was messing with his head...that's what I do."

"No, its what you did. You were supposed to try to get better about stuff like that."

"He's Potter and he was telling me to stay away from what was his...I just wanted him to lay off the stupid proprietary stuff...And what? You aren't going to comment on the fact you abandoned me!"

Ginny stared at him a second, "You didn't need me any more. Not the way you did last year. You had Hope...at least you did. She was there all the time. She could be everything you needed. Hell she was everything you needed...everything you wanted!"

"Yeah...until I found out the reason she understood me so well was because she was screwing with my head. If I wanted that I wouldn't be with you researching would I...I would just let them have me," Draco snapped.

"That is not what she does and you know it."

"No I don't know it."

Ginny stared at him, "So that was what tonight was, huh? You make Hope hurt as much as you can by using her gifts against her. My god Draco...I defended you. I trusted you. What am I supposed to do now?"

Draco grit his teeth, "You're supposed to run back to the safety of Gryffindor tower and cuddle with your boyfriend."

She shook her head and walked up to him very close. He defiantly looked in her eyes just before she wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry you hurt this much...but don't take it out on Hope anymore. She cares about you. I care about you. Whatever you did to me tonight...I forgive you. I should be extremely pissed, since you know what Tom Riddle did to me and messed with my head anyway...but...screw it. You need to hurt me, because I hurt you. Fine. You have hurt me in one of the most painful ways possible. We're even. I will still be here. I will still be your friend...but leave Hope out of it." Draco gazed a moment as she stared at him hard, "Remember D, you don't have be him...You are better than this."

Ginny gave him a little squeeze and left the Slytherin sex god standing in the hall completely unnerved.

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"Miss Nigellus I am so sorry that this happened. I had hoped that Mr. Malfoy's behavior wouldn't be harmful to anyone."

"I told you he was up to something," Harry growled.

Hope began to laugh once again for no reason.

"Hope, really. Its not that funny," Harry chided.

At that she began to laugh all the harder. "Harry, your dead mother called to you from inside a picture to check to make sure you weren't cheating on your girlfriend with me. Once you assured her you weren't, she then busted your father for his carnal ways before expressing concern that you might have lost your mind due to your 'activities' with your girlfriend. Upon that time your father and godfather felt the need to come to your defense inside the same said picture. Her defense was better embarrass you rather than have you impregnate some girl...i.e. me... I have the right to laugh my ass off. Under the circumstances I am grateful for any amusing thing that can happen...especially tonight."

Dumbledore looked to Harry, "Your parents and Sirius have been contacting you through pictures?"

Harry's face got fearful.

"Did I say something I wasn't supposed to?" Hope asked quickly.

Harry shook his head at Dumbledore, "Please don't take them away. I have needed them so much the last several months...Please don't..."

"Harry...I am not going to take the pictures away from you...Nor will I make the nice people in them stop talking to you. There is a reason that magic is working now and I won't interfere."

Harry nodded, "Thank you sir."

"Now back to Mr. Malfoy."

"Professor, why don't we have another session tomorrow? See if he tries the same game. I will have all my shields in place and we'll see what he does next," Hope suggested.

"You have got to be kidding?" Harry snapped. "I'm not letting him do that to you again."

"He can't...and it's not your choice."

"Now you sound like Ginny."

"Yes well you really should tell her what happened so she'll be on guard tomorrow."

"Alright."

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Hope slipped into the Slytherin common room in silence. She rushed toward the girls' stairs only to find a sullen Draco sitting at the base. His eyes met hers and she could feel his sorrow despite the barriers she put between them. In a small voice he whispered, "I'm sorry." She looked at him like he was nuts or ready to strike or something.

Hope was very aware of the emergency portkey that she was given. It would send her immediately to Harry's quarters if she activated it. She eyed Draco a little and then sat down next to him being very careful not to touch him. The only reason she even sat was because he looked so broken.

Draco realized that Hope would never voluntarily touch him again. She would go out of her way to avoid any casual contact at all. No hugs, no handholding, no tickling, no light touches...no contact at all. "I'm so sorry," he said again.

"Why?" she whispered.

"Why'd I do it or why am I sorry?" he asked.

"Both," she answered.

Draco shrugged, "You are the person I trusted most in the house...and suddenly you turned on me for no reason. I didn't know how to deal with that. I was so open with you and then you went...well... Pansy on me."

Hope chuckled a bit at the joke.

Draco almost smiled but then bit his lip, "So much of my life I felt manipulated and controlled...spied on. I couldn't handle feeling like you were doing that to me... And that after everything with Ginny, I couldn't deal."

"So what was tonight?" she asked simply.

He grit his teeth, "I wanted to know how it worked...and..."

"And..." she said knowing the rest but he needed to say it.

"And I...I wanted to make you hurt like I was hurting," he answered.

"And you don't think me crying in the hall the night you called me a freak was a good enough punishment for that?" Hope snapped at him.

"You were with him!" Draco snapped back.

"So because Harry was my friend and comforted me I deserved what I got. He defended you...they both did," she answered.

"I don't know how to be good Hope," he admitted. "I have a short fuse. I don't take rejection well. I'm not... good...like him. I get jealous and angry. I don't care that I am conniving... I just don't want to be that evil."

"Well, you have to start somewhere," she offered. "Asking for forgiveness in the dungeon is as good a place as any."

They sat on the floor next to one another for a long while until Hope fell asleep, her head touching Draco's shoulder. Draco felt that calmly peace that Harry had mentioned before. He sighed; peace was something he knew little about...with any luck he might learn to embrace it.

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Harry heard a relentless knocking at his door, so despite sleep and modesty he got up and went to the sound. He threw open the door in a sleepy haze to see a very shaken looking Ginny standing there.

"Are you okay luv?" he whispered wrapping his arms around her quickly.

"You didn't come," she answered with dried tears on her face.

"What?" he asked. "When?"

"In my dream you didn't make it to the Chamber...I woke up and waited in the common room for you to come...but you didn't. Why didn't you come Harry?" Ginny cried. "You always come."

Harry kissed her brow over and over. "I'm sorry luv...I don't know. Maybe somehow with me being further away I can't feel it like I used to." He led her to his bed and moved her to lie down with him.

"Or maybe you don't love me anymore," she cried more even as she trusted him to move her into his bed.

"You know that isn't true," he insisted petting her hair.

"You were so mad at me tonight," Ginny sniffled.

"I know. I'm sorry... That guy just makes me nuts. I don't like that he messed with both you and Hope."

"I know...I yelled at him about it. He seemed to be kicking himself pretty bad afterward."

"I hope so..." Harry said calmly, still touching Ginny lightly to comfort her.

"Lets go to sleep," Gin murmured not thinking beyond wanting to be close.

He smiled and ran his hand down the side of her torso grazing her breast. She arched into his touch moving her body closer in a seductive manner. "How 'bout I make you feel good first?" Harry purred.

Ginny adjusted her body slide along his length. "You are really good at that...I was missing your touch," she admitted.

"Things have been a little weird since we've been back," he said as he kissed her throat.

"Stuff with..." Gin began to say.

"New rule, no mentioning the guy with the initials DM in my bedroom while I am touching your breasts," Harry teased as he nipped her neck.

Ginny began to laugh, "How bout the only names allowed to be spoken when we are in bed together like this be, Gin, Harry, god, and Merlin?"

"Sounds like a plan," he said as his lips closed around her nipple.

"Merlin."

Harry smirked to himself at her proclamation...His life would always be weird but at least he was happy.

TBC...

Okay...anybody want to take a guess at what Hope, Draco, and Ginny are researching? How 'bout why those three people in particular are the ones doing it? Please REVIEW. Please REVIEW.