A/N Wow, I am still in shock after what happened last time. Draco is trying to run away from me. I need to let him know that I am in control as the author of this story. Do you think he will listen? Naw, me neither. He is a Malfoy after all...
Disclaimer: I dreamed about Draco last night... does that mean he is mine now?
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Chapter 5: Meddling Adults
Ginny was still sitting on the floor two hours later when Professor McGonagall showed up. Minerva took one look at the girl on the floor, taking in the broken window and the shards around her, gasped, and ran to her, searching frantically for some explanation. She was horrified to find that Ginny was covered in blood but became confused when she took a closer look at Ginny's arms and legs and couldn't find the source of all the red liquid.
"Miss Weasley! What happened?"
Ginny looked up at Professor McGonagall numbly, not appearing to comprehend a single word she was saying. She turned her gaze from the Professor's face back to herself, taking in all the dried blood that covered her. "Oh, this? I don't know." At that moment, Ginny didn't know. She just knew it involved Malfoy, but she had promised that she wouldn't say anything. And since she couldn't remember what happened, she didn't know that she should have told Minerva about Draco losing his temper.
"Goodness, child. Well, let's get you up." McGonagall gently took Ginny's arms, helping her get up and together they walked to the living room. It was a little hard for Ginny's muscles to work since she had been sitting in the same position for two hours.
When they got to the couch McGonagall motioned for Ginny to sit on it, but Ginny protested, "no, I can't. I am filthy. I will just get whatever this is all over the nice new couch." Minerva was horrified even more to find out that Ginny did not even know she was covered in blood.
"Don't worry about that, Miss Weasley."
"No, really. I must go change. However are we to do our lessons?" Well at least Ginny remembered what happened before Draco went crazy.
"Miss Weasley, that won't be necessary. We should not have lessons tonight. I need to know what happened."
"Not have lessons? But then I will get behind and I will never know enough to be able to help when I get old enough. Please Professor. I will just go up and change. It will take just a moment." Ginny was walking up the stairs all the while talking to Professor McGonagall. Minerva did not know what else to do, clearly Ginny was in shock from something, so she walked back into the kitchen.
She took in the scene again, this time more critically. She noticed the chipped bowl with dried stew on the floor near the entrance and the dried splatter of butter near the table. She saw the bread and re-hardened butter next to it. Behind that was the broken window. There was blood on the large pieces still stuck to the window frame and blood spattered on the wall and small pools of it on the floor. If all this was Ginny's, then she lost a lot of blood indeed. Not enough so that her life was actually in danger, but enough that there was no way in hell she should have been left alone for as long as she was. That was something else that crossed Minerva's mind. When did all of this happen?
"Professor," Ginny called as she came down the stairs, freshly cleaned with not a trace of blood on her anymore. When Minerva looked more closely at Ginny as she walked into the kitchen, she could not detect a single scratch. Not even a scab. If the blood wasn't Ginny's, and by all appearances it wasn't, then who's by Merlin's beard was it?
"Yes, of course. No magic planned for tonight. I have simply come to bring you your books, and assign some reading." She walked over to the bag that she brought with her and took out some books. "Here is everything you will need for the rest of the year." McGonagall was still a little worried about giving her any work, but she didn't know what else to do. Ginny clearly would not be able to help answer any questions yet, and Minerva did not know how to deal with her in her fragile state. "You should read the first chapter in your charms book and the first two chapters in your transfiguration book and write a foot long essay on each. Lupin will give you your Defense Against the Dark Arts when he and Tonks return. Other than that, I will see you tomorrow night." Before McGonagall even finish giving her instructions, Ginny had her Transfiguration book opened to the first page and she was curled up on the couch reading it.
Minerva stood back to look at the young lady for a few minutes. No one would have ever known that not half an hour earlier said young lady had crusted blood covering herself and the immediate area around her. The only thing that McGonagall decided while she was there was that she was not going to tell Ginny's parents until she knew what happened. There was no reason stressing out the couple when there may not be a need. All the Order had to do was make sure that Ginny never came home alone anymore or stayed there at night without anyone. But they were not going to get any answers out of Ginny any time soon.
"Miss Weasley. I must get back to Hogwarts. I will send someone else here if Lupin and Tonks are not yet finished with their business."
"Ok, Professor. Can you tell my family that I love them and miss them?" Ginny was not paying much attention to McGonagall anymore. She was completely absorbed in her magic books. Not being able to think of anything else to do at the moment, Minerva disapperated and left the youngest Weasley to her own devices for the few minutes it would take her to locate someone to watch over the young woman.
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"What the hell were you thinking?" Draco was chastising himself as he paced back and forth in his own little apartment across town from the Weasley. "Who the bloody hell are you trying to be? Your fucking father? Now the idiots that are trying to actually fight him are going to know that you are here and you will have to find some other muggle hole to crawl into. Bloody Hell!" Draco was very upset with himself for losing control twice in a single day. What was it about this girl that caused Draco, who is normally in perfect control (except of course around the Dream Team), to lose his facade twice in the matter of a few hours? Maybe it had something to do with the fact of Weasley's and Potter's relationship. Draco didn't know, but he did know that he was not happy. He continued to pace, muttering to himself the whole time, when he heard a distinct pop from the other room. Schooling himself once more, he walked to greet his newly arrived visitor.
"Snape," he said with a nod. "When can I get out of this filthy muggle town?"
"Quit complaining," at this Draco made a face. "You wouldn't have had to come here in the first place if you weren't so big on proving yourself to the Dark Lord. And what happened to the change of appearance we decided on?" Snape had quite a bit of contempt built up, and he was not afraid to take it out on Malfoy.
"It wasn't all my doing if you will remember, dear Professor. I believe my dear old Dad had some say in it. If memory serves, you had a few words to say in the matter as well. How was I supposed to know that he was going to have me kill Dumbledore? And you were the one who wanted to look different. I said it wouldn't matter because I wouldn't see anyone here that knew me anyway."
Giving up on the disguise topic, Snape continued with the more pressing argument. "I told you to stay the hell away for as long at you could! No, you wanted to be the youngest Death Eater the Dark Lord has. Not all it is cracked up to be, huh? Did you stop to think for a second what it would have cost your mother?"
"Yeah well, she should have thought of that before she married the bloody bastard that she did. If she planned on actually caring about her kid, and letting him know it, she should have been a little more carful on the choice of a husband." Draco was in no mood to act kindly toward Snape, when he was part of the reason why he was locked away in exile from the world he knew and was accustomed to.
Snape's eyes took on a murderous glint and Draco realized, not for the first time, that whether Snape was two-faced or not didn't matter. He had Voldemort's ear and that alone was power incarnate. "Your mother has had even less of a choice in all of this than you, my dear boy. Don't you dare speak ill of her."
Draco refused to show the fear that he was suddenly feeling. Instead, he stood up to his full height, which topping over six feet was quite tall, and asked nonchalantly, "did you come here for a reason or just to yell at me some more? Don't get me wrong, I can take quite a bit of anger, but it gets old after awhile." He knew the punch swung his way was coming, so he had enough time to get out of the way. When a second swing didn't follow, Draco decided to settle down. As reckless as Draco was feeling at the moment, he knew that he shouldn't bait Snape any more than he already had. In a physical fight, Draco would win, but as soon as Snape pulled out his wand, Draco didn't have a chance.
"Watch your mouth boy. I'm of half a mind to beat you in your father's stead." Although Snape was still rather upset with Draco, and he meant his threat, he looked like he was cooling down and actually even sat down in the black leather easy chair in the living area.
After sitting for a minute, watching Draco lean against the wall, Snape finally decided to answer Draco's question. "Yes. I have just been informed that the youngest Weasley" Snape couldn't keep the sneer out of his voice on the name "is supposedly in this little muggle rat's nest. You have two choices where we stand. One, I can find another such stink hole for you to disappear in, but that will take time. The other is that you can show some sense for once in your life and stay the hell away from her. Don't go looking for her and don't, for Merlin's sake let her see you. We both know how she feels about you, and I am still obligated to protect you. So help me Draco, if you compromise my loyalties one more time I will bury you in a cave myself."
Snape actually was looking a bit tired, so Draco decided to take a small amount of pity on him. After all, this man did save his life, a number of times in a few short days. But there was no way, baring Voldemort himself demanding it, that Draco was going to tell Snape that he had already seen the little fireball. Three times. "Fine. I will stay here. But only if you keep me abreast of things. I will not be left out from this Snape. You can't keep me here forever, and don't forget that if I die, so do you." Draco's mother telling him about the binding she had forced on Snape was the best things she had ever done for him.
Snape was not pleased to hear this latest bit, but he was in no mood to argue. Apparently, any energy he had left, he had expunged in their previous spat. "Whatever." Rising slowly, he looked Draco in the eyes before disapparating without another word.
"Damn, this sure keeps life interesting," Draco said to himself as he walked to the kitchen to fix himself some food.
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A/N Sorry that took a few days to get out. I keep trying to write this in a different direction, but then I sit down and start typing and this is what comes out. So, you know as much as I on what will happen. Anyway, I hope you like it.
