AN: Hey everyone here is the Beta-ed version of this chapter! Thank Grace! She did this even though she had finals and work, and Christmas!! Anywho I love her! The next chapter is coming soon. All I have to do is "tweak" the end. Love ya!

Merry Christmas!

Penny Shirley

Chapter 1:

Draco

"You want me to WHAT?" I practically screamed at my boss, who just happened to be the great Harry Potter.

"I want you to go to New York City and bring Ginny back." He didn't raise his voice; he didn't even act like it was bothering him that he was giving me an almost impossible task to complete.

"Sure. I'll go to New York, wrestle her down to the ground, hog tie her, and bring her back kicking and screaming." The sarcasm was obvious in my voice but I hoped that I had gotten my point across to him.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to penetrate his overly thick head. "As a Head Auror, I have full control over you. You will do what I say no matter how impossible the task."

It was then that I understood why Harry wasn't going after his runaway fiancée: he was still, even after five years, hung up on her. I glanced down at the letter that sat on his desk, and frowned slightly. My Auror senses were tingling, or maybe it was my friend senses that were on alert. Either way, I knew arguing would get me nowhere. I needed to just accept the task and go.

I let my mind drift back to 5 years ago. When Weasley had suddenly gotten up and disappeared from the face of the earth, everyone had known about it. After all, they had invited practically the entire wizarding world to their wedding, and when the wedding was cancelled, it slowly but surely leaked out that Ginny had disappeared. The Weasley's had taken it fairly hard, insisting that Ginny had not just up and left, and that if she had there was no way she could take care of herself. It appeared from the letter I had already read a copy of, the little Weasley was doing just dandy.

I glanced up at Harry, he was watching me intently and I could feel his eyes on me as if he was trying to read my thoughts. "Okay, I concede. I will go after Miss Weasley. But I want to know why. Why do you want me to go after her? I know you don't want me to bring her back just because she ran away so long ago. It must be something else entirely," I said it confidently as if I already knew that I was right.

Harry stayed silent for a few minutes and walked over to the cabinet to get some Fire Whiskey, his favorite alcoholic beverage. After he had knocked a few gulps back straight from the bottle he turned back to look at me.

"She is the last key."

I practically choked on my own spit as I stared at him. One would rarely find me speechless, but I sure as hell was now, and I didn't like it one bit! After a moment, I found enough words to respond.

"She is the last key. The last key of the four founders, and the person we have been trying to find for five years." Harry only nodded at me and I glared at him. "And you chose not to tell me WHY? I am, after all, Slytherin's key!!!" Harry didn't answer, as if it wasn't any of my business. Well if it wasn't any of my business, then why was I the one that had to go look for her? It was entirely my business being one of the four founders' keys.

The four founders each made a key and each key had a different characteristic. Gryffindor's was bravery, Slytherin's was courage, Hufflepuff's was loyalty, and Ravenclaw's was knowledge. Each of the four keys corresponded, aiding each other in their weaknesses. Each key had it's own powers, an element it could control. Gryffindor's was fire, Slytherin's was thunder, Ravenclaw's was light, and it was rumored that Hufflepuff's was lightning. The holder of the key could control the element of their key because they were a part of the key itself. Three of the key holders had been found: Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw. The holders were Harry for Gryffindor (no surprise there), me for Slytherin (of course), and Hermione for Ravenclaw (once again, no surprise there). As I just learned, Ginny is the last key holder, which would make her the Hufflepuff key.

After sighing heavily, I gave in to Harry and nodded my head. "I will go after Ginny, but how to you expect me to reel her in, so to speak?" This time Harry smiled and laughed slightly before handing me a letter. "She has been offered a job at Hogwarts, as have you and I. I've already accepted it for you. You're the new Potions Master, and I am the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor." I groaned, and not silently or softly either.

"Sometimes I really, really hate you."

Harry just laughed as I turned and left his office. Just as I reached the door Harry called out to me. "Draco?" I turned back to him and nodded my head to let him know I was listening. "She doesn't know about Ron, so don't fill her in too harshly if you know what I mean." I nodded again in acknowledgement of this.

"Oh and Harry, it really isn't your fault she left." He nodded to this just as I had before as I left his office. Damned if I was going to tell Weasley about her brother. I would let Harry take care of that. That is, if I could even get her back to England.

Thanks! Now Review and keep reading if you haven't read the rest of my story yet!!

Penny!