Chapter Ten – Serious Discussions

Ginny and Draco sprinted down halls, quickly turned corners, dodged the feet of prefects, and skidded to a halt in front of a large gargoyle. They meowed at the door but it wouldn't budge. It must not have known that the two cats were yelling the password. As time went on the two became more desperate. Ginny jumped up and down, attacking the defenseless stone gargoyle while Draco yowled and hissed, hoping to draw attention to himself.

Eventually the sound became loud enough for the sleeping headmaster to be awoken. Slowly ascending the stairs Dumbledore found the cats that at the sight of him became still. When Ginny bite his nightgown and pulled him toward the Gryffindor tower, a look of understanding passed over the headmaster's eyes. Soon he was following the two cats back through all the corridors and secret passageways. Once at the picture of the fat lady, the password was said and all three entered.

Draco and Ginny raced up the stairs to Harry's room. The door thankfully was open; allowing them in. Once Dumbledore saw Harry's mangled body he instinctively began to heal him. Doing simple spells Dumbledore fixed tiny cuts and stopped the bleeding. Madam Pomfrey would have to stop the internal bleeding and fix the broken bones.

After placing Harry's body on a floating cot, Dumbledore turned to the two cats to thank them for their help.

"Thank you friends, for showing me this disastrous situation. Without your help he might not have made it. Harry's lucky to have two cats like you." Quickly glancing over the cats Dumbledore continued to say to himself, "I never knew Harry had cats. I guess he got them in Hogsmeade." And without a second glance the headmaster was on his way to the informatory.

Ginny pounced on an unexpected Draco, yelling, "We did it! I can't believe we did it!"

"You wont usually hear me say something like this, but the old coot does have a knack for saving people and feeling when something is wrong in Hogwarts. I'm also glad that we saved Harry. He's been horrible lately, but is nothing like who did this to him."

"Wow! Let me get this straight. You complemented Dumbledore and admitted that Harry is a semi good guy? You must be tired form all of the excitement."

"I'm perfectly fine. I know and don't regret anything I said." After a second he added, "Don't tell anyone about this, I do have a reputation to maintain."

Ginny laughed, or at least tried. It sounded like a laugh to Draco but if a human were in the room they would think that the red cat was having a fit.

"If I ever get turned back into my human form, I wont tell. The first thing I'm going to do once back to normal is make Harry pay…after I thank whoever it is for changing me back to the correct species."

"You sound like we will be stuck like this forever." Draco replied.

"Well, wont we? If Harry dies he wont be able to change us back, and no one here would know that we weren't real cats. Even if they knew, how would they change us back? It takes a strong wizard to cast that spell."

"Someone will be smart enough to figure out that both of us are missing. We will be saved soon…I know it!"

Ginny and Draco stayed in a peaceful silence for next hour, both thinking how they would get back to normal. Ginny was replaying what had happened lately. First she had been found by Harry, watched Draco be turned into a cat, been told she wouldn't be able to eat for three days - at the thought of food, Ginny's stomach grumbled, protesting the lack of food - and then found a battered Harry.

'Today has been really strange.' Ginny mused.

Then, as if hearing it for the first time, Ginny remembered her conversation with Draco. He had said something about thinking he knew the person who injured Harry. Deciding to ask him whom he thought capable of hurting someone so badly, Ginny got up and walked over to the sleeping silver cat.

Nudging her head against his, Ginny woke him up. After making sure he wouldn't fall asleep again Ginny asked him her question.

"Draco, you said you had an idea who hurt Harry. Who do you think it is?"

In a voice filled with sleep he answered, "Many people. Snape, Voldemort, and various deatheaters."

"Hmmmm. It couldn't have been Voldemort because he's in hiding right now. Snape…he wouldn't try to kill Harry under Dumbledore's nose. He knows that he would get caught. That leaves deatheaters. Do you know any of their names?"

With a sigh Draco named off everyone he knew. "Lestrange, Nott, Black…and my dad."

"Your dad! That's it! He must of somehow got Harry to leave the grounds and meet him somewhere, most likely Hogsmeade."

"You know Harry wouldn't go to meet my dad, he hates him." And adding as if it was nothing, "It's not like my dad could control him into coming to him."

"What if he could? What if he had put him under a spell? A spell like imperious."

Draco tuned to look Ginny in the eye. He looked upset, but not because of the accusation of his father using an unforgivable. Something else she had just said had hit a nerve.

"I bet you the bastard put him under the imperious spell. It would explain the sudden change in his behavior. When was it when he first started to act strange?"

"Soon after the first Quidditch game. Why?"

Draco thought hard for a minute before exclaiming, "Of course! My dad came to the first game. It was a Gryffindor verse Slytherin game and he wanted to watch me."

"Do you think that he could have put Harry under the spell while he was here?" Ginny asked.

"It sounds like something he would do. But what good would it do to control him over petty things like the girls he dates?"

"Maybe he isn't after Harry. Maybe he is after me."

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I just wanted to thank everyone who pointed out that I had accidentally put chapter one in the place of nine. I also want to thank everyone who has ever reviewed. Your criticism and compliments have helped me write my story better.