Disclaimer: I own nothing. I just enjoy playing with other peoples toys. Thank you JKR for sharing.
Chapter 6: Questioning Draco
"Lily is our daughter."
Harry's face went slack as he stared into Ginny's anguished face.
"Our daughter?" He asked slowly allowing the knowledge to seep into his brain.
Ginny merely nodded. This was not how she had meant to tell him. She had wanted to wait a bit longer, revel in his return. She knew she could not wait too long, that would be impossible, but she felt that she would have liked to at least inform him of his fatherhood alone. Her mind was still reeling from his sudden appearance and the knowledge that he was indeed not dead, but very much alive to spring such a bomb shell on him so suddenly.
"I have a daughter. I have a child," he said quietly.
Looking stricken he sank to the floor on his knees taking the once struggling Ginny with him. Positioning her on his lap he looked into her deep brown eyes as though searching for answers within them.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I would have, I was going to. I really was, but you just, and I was. Well I, I didn't have much of an opportunity yet, had I?" Ginny told him stumbling over her answer.
He nodded at her, tears appearing in the corners of those handsome eyes, allowing him a moment's pause.
"Harry, Harry we need to find her," she told him cupping the side of his face in her hand.
Standing suddenly, and nearly sending Ginny falling to the floor, Harry stood. "Where was she taken from and where is this Camilla?" He asked those in the room commandingly.
"This way Harry," Brenda said in response gesturing towards the back exit of the bar.
Never letting go of Ginny, Harry set off after Brenda's retreating form. They climbed the narrow staircase to the apartment she and Lily had called home with quick steps, throwing open the door to reveal a distraught Camilla. Ginny attempted to free her hand from Harry's powerful hold to run to Camilla but, he would not relent.
"Not yet," he said sternly. "What if it is not this Camilla? What if it's just another one of them? You're too trusting Ginny."
Ginny let out a haggard humorless laugh. "Harry it is Camilla. I know it is. Just like I knew it was you. Intuition. Trust me."
She headed towards her shaking and sobbing friend, Harry in tow still holding fast to her hand. Ginny knelt down next to Camilla placing her free hand on the two Camilla had clenched tightly in her lap. "Camilla, I'm sorry Camilla. You shouldn't have had to go through this," Ginny told her apologetically.
"Me, you are apologizing to me?" Camilla asked confused and crying. "Ginger, I should be apologizing to you. They took her and she was in my care. I couldn't stop them. I was sitting by the door ready to call you if anybody came. I didn't even have time to press the speed dial to the bar before the door came flying off the hinges towards me. Then I was, I don't know, I just sort of blacked out I guess. When I woke up Brenda was standing over me and Lily was gone. I didn't even see their faces, they were masked and in black robes."
Brenda came to stand behind Camilla and rested her hands comfortingly on her shoulders while Ginny tried to console the woman she had come to think of as a second mother. Camilla, so distraught she hadn't even noticed Harry, sobbed into her hands still held tightly by Ginny. Harry looked on, alert and wary. He knew he must look around for signs of spent magic, but he was still too reluctant to release Ginny. Instead he looked around him surveying the small apartment and its limited contents.
"This is where they had lived all this time without me," he thought to himself. "I wish I had been there. I wish . . ."
"Harry," Ginny interrupted his thoughts. "You can let me go you know. I'm not going anywhere."
"Promise?" He asked with a half smile.
"Promise." Ginny replied with a watery attempt at a reciprocal smile.
Harry, with much trepidation, released her hand before beginning to wander the apartment, muttering under his breath, and watching small puffs escape the tip of his wand. Ginny continued to console Camilla, who began to calm down with her and Brenda's help. Within minutes Camilla had calmed down enough to notice the stranger in the room and what he was doing.
"Who is that? What is he doing? What is that thing he is holding?" Camilla asked sharply obviously scared of what she was seeing.
Ginny sighed before answering. "Camilla, that is Harry, Lily's father and he is trying to figure out where she has gone. He is a wizard and Brenda and I, we're witches and my name isn't Ginger Weables it's Ginny Weasley"
"What?" Camilla exclaimed violently staring transfixed at the shapeless smoke issuing from Harry's wand.
"It's true. You don't have to fear us though. I suppose I should also tell you that it was a couple of very bad wizards or witches that attacked you tonight. They stunned you or I guess you would say knocked you out. They were the ones I was going to leave to escape from. I'm so sorry Camilla. I shouldn't have put you in harms way," Ginny told her unable to look her in the face for her regret and shame.
"Honey," said Camilla after a few moments. "I wouldn't have stayed away if I knew. I just wished you would have felt you could trust me with this knowledge. I love both you and Lily like members of my family."
Ginny looked up into the wise eyes before her and Camilla smiled through the shining tears still glistening on her aging face. It went unspoken, but an understanding like that of mother and child crossed between them. It was unconditional love and Ginny was relieved that Camilla was accepting of the uncovered truth.
"Harry, any luck?"
Harry turned quickly startled, not by the question, but by the speaker. Camilla was now standing behind him, all weakness and fear gone, ready to get the job at hand done. Ginny smiled genuinely at him from where she still knelt by Camilla's empty chair.
"Typical Camilla," thought Ginny. "It's truly amazing how she is always able to pull herself up and face whatever presents itself."
Without warning Camilla had pulled Harry into a motherly hug. "Ginny truly loves you Harry," she whispered in his ear. "Be there for her. Find Lily."
Camilla pulled away starring at the startled and flustered Harry. Patches of pink appeared on his cheeks as he looked into her face with some sort of wonder.
"I, I'm not getting much here. I've confirmed that they used the Reductor curse to blow in the door. They used the stunning spell to attack Camilla and possibly Lily for it was used twice and they cast a Disillusionment charm, most likely on Lily to disguise her. They didn't Disapparate from here . . ."
"They wouldn't be able to," Ginny interrupted. "I put wards around this place for protection."
Harry smiled at her slightly before continuing. "The only other thing I detect is Brenda's spell to revive Camilla. That's all we can do here."
"That can't be it. Harry, how are we going to find Lily?" Ginny asked frantically.
"Did you forget who we have lying bound and unconscious downstairs?" Harry asked her with a grim expression.
"Malfoy," she said with hatred evident in her voice.
"Malfoy," Harry confirmed stonily.
"Enervate."
Malfoy's eye's flickered open as he slowly returned to consciousness. Harry, Ginny, Brenda, Lyle, and Camilla stood around him staring down at his magically bound body.
"Welcome back Malfoy," Harry said coldly pointing his wand at Draco's heart.
"Potter," Draco sneered. "Thought you were dead, but I see you escaped once again. Very lucky aren't you?"
"Where's the little girl Draco?" Harry asked ignoring his captive's questions.
"What? Missing your daughter already Potter? Didn't know you knew she existed. Rather funny actually, didn't know you had a thing for the Weaselette, and then we find out you got her pregnant. Tramping around were you Weasley? Finally got the great Harry Potter in bed like you always dreamed . . ."
"Shut it Malfoy," Harry interrupted through gritted teeth.
Arrogantly Draco scoffed at Harry's anger.
"What? Is the great Harry Potter, hero of all things good, going to kill me?" Draco taunted him coldly. "I though you were above that sort of thing. I heard how you felt about killing the Dark Lord. You only did it because you had to didn't you? Weak . . ."
Ginny fell to her knees beside Malfoy and placed the tip of her wand threateningly on Draco's throat. "One more word like that Malfoy and I'll kill you myself," she spat at him.
For the first time there was fear in his narrowed gray eyes.
"What about your daughter Weasley? Going to kill me when I'm the only one who knows where she is?" Draco tried to ask scornfully, but his facade was broken by the waver in his voice.
Harry's hand was on Ginny's shoulder warningly as she spoke, venom in every word. "I'll find my daughter and when I do you and the rest of your kind will pay Malfoy. Do you hear me? You will pay."
Draco blinked panic evident in on his face while Ginny loomed over him menacingly, her wand poised and eyes blazing with angry fire. Harry knelt down and looked closely at Draco's pale face.
"I'm going to ask you one more time where our daughter is. Tell us now Malfoy or we start using force," Harry told him angrily.
Devoid of a wand, lying helpless, bound, and fearing for his life Draco stared into the eyes of both Harry and Ginny with terror. What he saw there was a rage that he had only seen on one other person before in his life, Voldemort. This perhaps is what broke his resolve for the next words he uttered were, "She's at headquarters."
"Headquarters? Where are these headquarters?" Ginny asked him, her every word hard as steel.
"In Belgium at Breendonk, but you'll never get in. It's too well protected," Draco replied slowly regaining his usual haughty manner.
"What do they want her for?" Harry pressed him.
"Haven't you figured that out yet?" Draco laughed at him before continuing, "Who better to bring the dark forces back to power than the daughter of Harry Potter."
Draco continued laughing as a foot came flying out of nowhere and caught him squarely in the head. The laughter silenced instantly as Malfoy lay unconscious once again. Turning as one, Ginny and Harry looked up at the owner of the foot. Camilla stood glaring, face red, and eyes narrowed, while Lyle held her back from leaping on Malfoy's body.
Harry stood up and turned towards Brenda. "Brenda, could you please show me where your fireplace is I have to floo Remus immediately."
"Number 12 Grimmauld Place," Harry said clearly throwing a fistful of floo powder into the Mason's fireplace and thrusting his head in afterward.
"What the hell! Since when has our fireplace been able to do that?" Lyle exclaimed to his wife as Harry's head disappeared into the flames.
"Dear it's alright. It's been able to do that since we moved in fifteen years ago," Brenda explained.
"Crazy," muttered Lyle watching Harry in wonder.
On the other side of the flames Harry was calling wildly into the kitchen
"Harry? What news?" Remus Lupin asked as he came running into the kitchen and saw Harry in the fire.
"I've got Draco," Harry told his old friend quickly. "I, I've also, I've found her."
Remus smiled lightly before replying. "You've found Ginny. Good Harry, good. Should I tell Arthur and Molly or give you more time?"
"No, it's not just that I found Ginny but, I've also found my, my daughter. Ginny and my daughter." Remus smile faded and his brow furrowed as Harry continued. "Draco's cronies took her, our daughter, Lily. That is what they were doing here. They've taken her to Belgium, to the Death Eater's headquarters. I've got to go."
"No, Harry. You can't go flying off to Belgium yet, not without a plan at least," Lupin said sharply.
Harry scowled but realized instantly that Remus was quite right. If he was to get back his daughter he would need to go about this carefully. Nodding reluctantly, Harry spoke again. "You're right."
"Now Harry there is no time to lose. You need to bring Ginny back here as quickly as possible. I will contact the members of the Order, yes I know that most don't know you are alive but I think it's time they did," Remus said seeing Harry about to object. "Listen to me Harry; you are going to need all the help you can get if you plan on infiltrating the headquarters of the Dark Order. Now, where exactly are we talking about in Belgium?"
"Breendonk," Harry replied.
"Breendonk?" Lupin questioned, "Where is that?"
"No idea, better ask Hermione," Harry replied.
"Yes, good thinking. Now when can I expect you?" Remus asked.
A couple minutes later Harry pulled his head out of the fire and stared dizzily around at Ginny.
"We have to go back. Remus is expecting us tomorrow. He's calling a meeting of the order," Harry told her pulling her to his chest. "We'll find her."
"Tomorrow?" Ginny asked quietly.
"Ginny it's going to be okay," Harry assured her kissing the top of her head.
"Harry, I'm scared. What about my family? Hermione? Everyone else? I just left Harry. I didn't even say goodbye? How am I going to face them? What are they going to think about Lily? What . . ."
"Gin," Harry interrupted. "They loved you then and they still love you now. It will all be fine. Besides, I will never leave your side."
Not entirely reassured Ginny turned her face into Harry's chest seeking warmth and solace in his embrace.
"I hope you're right Harry," Ginny thought to herself. "I hope you're right about it all."