Disclaimer:see previous chapter

AN - To all our faithful readers out there, sorry about the wait. It's been a pretty crazy summer, but the fanfic writing is back in full swing and we've got not one, but TWO amazing chapters to post this time. So read and review if you will, any and all comments are welcome. Oh, and we would just like to note that the first three chapters of this fic were written BEFORE HP6, so that whole bit about how Harry dumps Ginny because he's being noble and wants to protect her - you read it here first, folks! Eventuallythe first chapterwill be altered slightly to fit the current HP universe, but for now, on with the show...

Chapter Three: Infidelity and Intrigue

"Bloody oafs!" Draco fumed, as he hurled his goblet against the stone fireplace; the glass splintered and scarlet wine seeped down the wall, pooling on the stone floor of the sinister-looking chamber. Draco stalked across the room and plunked his elbows on the mantle in an incensed sulk. He then wheeled his head around and glared at the objects of his malcontent: his faithful cronies Crabbe and Goyle shrank back against the sofa on which they sat.

"You can't just Apparate in and out of Azkaban! And the last time you geniuses tried to apparate, you ended up in Madam Malkins, tangled up in a heap of pink lace!" Also quivering mutely were an assortment of Slytherin consorts. Draco further berated the lot: "I called you all here hoping we might plan a way to save our bloody parents. But the best you addle-brained half-wits can do is land us in a dress shop!" He heaved a great sigh and pondered his next move. "Even if we did manage to break them out, they'd need to be kept in hiding. Unless…unless…we hid them where everyone could see them…" Draco grinned connivingly, but was met with blank stares. "Unless we switched them with Ministry officials, administrators, Aurors! Think of it—we'd be in complete control, and no one would suspect a thing."

Goyle glanced around for support, and then raised a hand tentatively. "Yes?" snapped Draco.

"Wouldn't, uh, that is, don't you think people would suspect if your dad was all of a sudden the Minister of Magic?"

Another outburst was bit back by Draco, and he began to speak to Goyle slowly, as if addressing a very dull, young child. "That's what polyjuice potion is for, you dolt. And we could modify it, to make it last longer and harder to trace. In the meantime, we could dispose of those Muggle lovers so they could never come back to power."

"Yes, if you want to kill your parents while you're at it," snidely retorted Pansy Parkinson, who reclined confidently on the corner chaise.

"What?" Draco frowned.

"I know the potion you're talking about. It is longer lasting than regular polyjuice, but it also creates a link between the person drinking it and the one being impersonated. Kill the ministry officials and the people under the effects of the potion will die as well." Secretly, nothing pleased Pansy more than outwitting her former flame—she'd never gotten over the fact she'd been deserted for that little Weasley strumpet.

"Hmm…" While Draco mused this drawback, he poured himself a glass of firewhisky from a new goblet. "Then we'll put the sonambulo spell on them and lock them downstairs. My family has put our dungeon to good use in the past. Crabbe, Goyle: you're too dimwitted to impersonate Ministry men, even Fudge, so we'll have you two numbskulls guard the zombies night and day."

"Which leaves us with just one other tiny problem…" Pansy again interjected; she meant to have the last word.

"What now?" asked Draco, really started to get irritated.

She dropped her observation nonchalantly. "We still haven't come up with a way to get in or out of Azkaban." But she was foiled, as the answer to this dilemma came all too easily to Draco. "I think we can leave that to my fiancée." He put distinct emphasis on the last word.

Responding to the quizzical looks given to him, he clarified: "Ginny's brothers, the joke shop ones—we'll kidnap them, have them make a contraption or distraction or something for us to get us in and out…and I know Gin would be more than eager to get even with those backstabbing fools." He became more excited as the plan began to set in place in his mind. "I'll get her to lure them to us."

All around, this suggestion was met with roaring approval, except for Pansy, who glowered in the corner. Of course, that trollop would get the glory. Nevertheless, she could not help but be cheered by the prospects the prison escape offered them. The planned seemed destined to return them to former grandeur.

But amidst all this reveling, Ginny Weasley sat alone in her tower suite on the other end of the mansion, eyes glued to a shimmering image projected on the wall. If she would ever have viewed Dumbledore's pensieve, that visual would have seemed quite similar. But unlike with the pensieve, Ginny was not spying in someone's past; she was watching the present events in Draco's lair unfold.

"Ugh!" she exclaimed indignantly, "as if I was his house elf, bred to do his bidding!" The scornful girl had resolved to monitor Draco's activities of late because she was sure his sneaking around was to cover for a mistress on the side. However, finding out his cocky plots made her, maybe, just as livid. Before Ginny could plan her next move in this state of affairs, a knock on the door startled her.

"Darling?" It was Draco. Ginny whipped back around to her projection—she hadn't noticed his leaving the meeting. Cursing herself silently for letting him sneak up on her, she hastily waved her wand at the projection, and as it faded away, she called out, "One minute Draco, I'm changing my robes." The window on the wall vanished, and she opened the door.

"I was wondering if you had a moment." With his eyes downcast, he shyly entered the room. When Ginny assented, he approached her hastily, wrapping his arms around her neck and whispering in her ear. "Darling, I've been wanting to tell you what I've been up to lately. Finally, I've come up with a way we both can get what we want."

Ginny resisted the urge to recoil from his touch, knowing what request was to come but not wanting him to know of her eavesdropping. "Oh, really?" She coyly grinned. Draco's face broadened into a smirk, encouraged by her interest, now certain his scheme would proceed as planned. He related the plot eagerly, as Ginny appeared attentive and thoughtful.

"So," Draco finished, giving Ginny a piercing stare. "Can I count on you?"

"Draco, darling, as if you had to ask."