Well I updated this a lot sooner than planned, but I got some reviews and I just couldn't resist. Thank you SO MUCH for the reviews. You really made my day.

IMustNotChaseTheBoys- Wow, ducks can run? I didn't know that. I've never actually seen a duck up close that was alive, so I just assumed they waddled, hahaha. Awww, thanks. I thought privivero was pretty cool too. Thanks for the review.

louey31- Thanks for the review, and the compliments. I love to write so I try my best to do it well. I hope you keep reading….and reviewing.

QueenThayet12990- Haha, your reviews made me so hyper. I kept smiling while reading them. Yes, it will be Ginny/Draco, but it'll just take a while to get there. I don't like it when people just rush into the love, it's gotta take it's time. Lol, anyway now you've got 16 reviews. I know, don't you just love reviews? They're so wonderful. Oh, and I LOVE the word fantasmical.

Disclaimer: Nope. Though it is hard to accept, I do not own any of J.K. Rowling's wonderful stories. I wish I did though. Wouldn't that be cool?

Chapter 5: Searching for Albert Harding

Draco slept fitfully that night. Somebody was missing? That never happened, at least not at Hogwarts. He couldn't figure out why he even cared. He didn't; he had never even heard of Albert Harding. The whole thing though, somebody disappearing without anybody knowing what happened, seemed like something his father would do. But what would his father want with a 13 year old boy? It didn't make sense……none of it did.

Draco threw the covers off his bed and stood up. There was absolutely no way he was going to be able to sleep. He loosely pulled on a shirt and then his robe. Crabb and Goyle never noticed as he silently walked out of the dormitory and down the stairs. He sighed when the Slytherin portrait closed behind him, and the silent halls of Hogwarts seemed oddly comforting. Without any idea of the time, he wandered about, thinking things over.

Quidditch tryouts would be soon….the first game of the season was in two months. Draco had to admit, the Slytherin team was horrible. Crabb and Goyle were the beaters, but only because nobody else tried out for that position. Hopefully, somebody new would come along this year, somebody who could actually hit the bludger.

Draco was just thinking of some new moves he could try as soon as he got on the Quidditch field when he heard footsteps. He whirled around, but saw nobody. He listened again, and decided the footsteps were coming his way, but they were coming from around the corner. He cursed in his head. If anybody caught him out after curfew, he was going to be in serious trouble. He definitely didn't feel like another detention. Turning around, he started running in the opposite direction the noises were coming from, but as he started running, the footsteps quickened their pace as well. Just before he turned the corner, he heard somebody shout, "Immobulus!" and Draco was frozen in place. Since Draco had been running, he had one foot in the air, and one on the ground. Frozen like that, one arm at his side and one in the air, Draco lost his balance and fell over side-ways. His feet and arms stayed in the same position.

Somebody trotted up to Draco, but he couldn't tell who it was. He received a nudge in the side, and he flipped over. Bending over him, a look of amusement clearly written on his face, was Ronald Weasley. Draco cursed. He may despise Weasley's guts, but Weasley was the one with the Head Boy badge pinned on his robe, and Weasley was the one who could make his life hell at that moment.

"Well look who we have here." Ron looked very smug. "Somebody out on a little stroll, perhaps? Or doing something else…" Draco knew he must look ridiculous, sprawled on the ground like he was. The entire situation was very un-Malfoyish. But he couldn't do anything until Ron took the spell off him. When he did, if Draco didn't control his emotions, he was likely to rip Weasley to shreds. As it was, he could feel the hatred radiating off himself in waves.

"Now, I could turn you in," Ron appeared to be thinking. "I could take away house points, give you a detention. I must say, that would be very pleasing…but I can think of a better punishment." Ron was now smiling evilly, something he rarely did, and Draco suddenly got a very bad feeling. "I think I'll just…leave you here, you know? Let you think all this through. Then, in the morning, somebody will find you and if they like you enough, maybe they'll take that spell of you." Ron laughed. "You look ridiculous, by the way. Just so you know, it's a little past midnight, so you've got at least 7 more hours until people head down to breakfast." Laughing, Ron headed back down the hall, but before he turned the corner, he called back to Draco.

"Oh, and Malfoy? 50 points from Slytherin for being out after hours." With that said, Ron walked off, leaving Draco in a very bad situation.

He tried moving his fingers and toes, but nothing happened. The only thing he could do was move his eyes, and that did him absolutely no good; his wand was still in his back pocket. It seemed Weasley had gotten the best of him this time. There was nothing he could do but wait until morning, and pray that either Crabb or Goyle found him first. Even if they do find me, Draco thought, I bet neither of them would know how to take this stupid spell off me. He sighed, and prepared himself for a long night.

Hours passed, and Draco had to go to the bathroom. He forced himself to wait, because peeing in his pants would only further embarrass himself when morning came. He tried many things to pass the time. He counted as high as he could, but got lost somewhere around 2995. He tried naming all the spells he had ever learned, but that gave him a headache so he stopped. Finally, around 4 o'clock in the morning (though Draco didn't know that) he fell asleep.

He was soaring through the air on his broomstick. With the wind in his hair, Draco had never felt so alive.

Then Ron Weasley appeared before him and shouted "Immobulus!" Laughing and pointing, he taunted Draco, saying how he'd be stuck on his broomstick for the rest of his life.

Draco tried to scream out, but his mouth wouldn't work. Pulling and straining with all his might, he wrenched himself loose from the broom, but then he was falling…falling…

Draco woke up to somebody poking him in the side. Opening his eyes, he found himself staring into two very bright, very big green eyes. Whatever had poked him jumped back with a start, tripped over its feet, and fell over backward. It was a house-elf.

The house-elf righted itself, and tentatively looked at Draco. Draco tried to tell it to un-curse him, but he couldn't say a word, so he settled with staring at the house-elf, as if to tell him through his eyes. The elf continued looking warily at him.

"Would sir be needing any assistance?" the elf squeaked in a high-pitched voice. Draco tried to nod, but couldn't, so he rapidly blinked his eyes. "Sir?" Draco kept blinking. "Can sir not speak?" In his head, Draco was yelling No! I cannot speak, you dimwit! Help me! But of course the elf didn't hear him.

"Perhaps Neli should go get somebody to help you sir. Neli is a good house-elf, and I will help you." Draco's eyes went wide, and he tried to shake his head. He watched hopelessly as the house-elf Neli quickly ran away. Who knows who she would bring back for help? Draco tried once again to move his hands, move anything, but nothing worked.

Soon, he heard more footsteps. He cringed inwardly before looking up. This could be very embarrassing. To his immense relief, he saw Snape striding towards him, an amused look on his face. He stopped in front of Draco, and stared down at him momentarily, before taking out his wand and saying softly, "Enervate".

Immediately Draco's arms and legs fell limp, and he struggled to sit up. His muscles screamed in protest and his whole body felt like a million needles were ripping through him. To say his muscles were cramped would be a serious understatement.

"What is the meaning of all this, Draco?" Snape still looked slightly amused, but his eyebrows were raised.

"Weasley…"Draco said through clenched teeth. That was twice in a week that a Weasley had gotten the best of him. He was furious.

"Weasley cursed you? Which one?"

"Ron Weasley," Draco was still shaking with rage. Oh, he would get him back. He would get him back good. Both him and his sister.

"Well, I'll make sure to deal with him appropriately. Right now, though, breakfast will be served soon, and I think you should make yourself more presentable before then. You look terrible at the moment. No need for anybody to see you like this, right? Go on then, get out of here."

Draco didn't need to be told twice. Stumbling down the hallway towards the Slytherin common room, he silently cursed the entire Weasley family and vowed to get revenge.

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That evening after dinner, Draco was approached by Snape.

"Draco, remember last evening when Professor Dumbledore said we would be starting searches for that boy?" Draco nodded, wondering what Snape wanted. "Well, he wants students from each house searching for him, and so far, nobody from Slytherin has volunteered." A look of dread passed over Draco's face. He had seen the sheets posted in all the house common rooms, as well as in every class. Albert Harding seemed to be a small boy for his age. He had blonde hair, brown eyes, and only one younger sister, who also was in Ravenclaw. The posters bored him, so he pushed all thoughts of helping search for him out of his mind. What did he care about Albert Harding? It wasn't his fault the little twerp went and got himself lost. Why should he have to work to find him?

"I need you to get together at least 15 other students, and you will meet down in the Great Hall tomorrow morning. Everybody will be split into groups, and those groups will then have certain areas to search."

The last thing Draco felt like doing was searching for somebody. Actually, it wasn't the searching part he didn't mind. It was the caring part. Why should he help someone else? Unless there was something in it for him…

"Professor? What about classes? How are we going to look for this kid if we have classes?" Draco thought he had caught on to something.

"The students that participate in the searches are exempt of their classes during the morning," Snape said. Draco smirked at this and started to open his mouth to agree when Snape cut him off. "However they will be making up those classes in the afternoon after their regular classes." Draco shut his mouth, looking sullen. Oh this was going to be loads of fun.

Sighing, Draco nodded his head. Snape looked pleased and walked away. Looking like he would be forced to live with the Weasley's for the rest of his life, Draco trudged back towards the Slytherin Common room, dreading the coming day.

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Smirking as Crabb and Goyle groaned in protest, Draco led the way to the Great Hall early the next morning. He had managed to get 15 students to join him in this search for Albert Harding, only because they had been too frightened to say no. Crabb and Goyle were the first ones he had gone too; the exercise would do them good.

When he got downstairs, he noticed that there were many students already waiting. Potter, Granger, and Weasley were among them. Draco scowled. They were standing there, talking with some of their other friends Draco recognized as Thomas, Finnigan, and, Draco smirked, Longbottom. That boy was borderline squib.

Draco avoided the lot of them and stood in the corner, chatting idly about Quidditch. Draco was thinking about setting up tryouts for next week. He was just thinking up a new move when Professor McGonagall walked into the room.

"Alright, students. We will be dividing you all up into four groups, with a leader for each group. Since all the Professors have classes we need to attend, we cannot do this. We will be deciding leaders for each group, and decide who goes in that group." Draco looked around. There was no way he wasn't going to be made a group leader. No way.

"Each the Head Boy and the Head Girl will have their own group to lead, and Misters McMillan and Finnigan will have their own group to lead." Draco's mouth fell open in shock. How come he didn't get to lead a group? Did they not think he'd do a good job? Draco scowled. He was seriously thinking of walking right out of the room.

Professor McGonagall then had each Ron, Hermione, Ernie, and Seamus stand next to the wall, and she put different students in each group. Draco was waiting not so patiently, and he was letting everyone know he didn't want to be there. Tapping his foot, he sighed ridiculously loudly, and almost everyone in the room turned to look at him. He received a glare from the professor, so he stopped.

Potter ended up in the Mudblood's group, and the two Weasels were in the same group. There were only a few people left, including Draco. When the Professor reached him, she looked at him a few seconds, and then said, "Mr. Weasley's group."

Sighing, Draco dragged his feet over there. At least it wasn't the famous Potter's group. He thought of something, and his steps quickened. This would be the perfect time to start his revenge on those lousy Weasley's who dared to get him, Draco Malfoy, into trouble. Draco could get himself in trouble; he didn't need any help.

Smirking, Draco brushed past the Ron, and started leading the way. He had no idea where they were going; he hadn't heard McGonagall when she had given Weasley instructions. Slowing down, he heard Weasley quickly closing the distance between them and resuming the position of leader. Draco fell back in line, thinking of ways to get even with Ron and Ginny Weasley.

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After a while, Draco still hadn't thought of anything. They were apparently in some underground tunnel, which Draco could only assume meant they were somewhere under Hogwarts. Unfortunately, the only other Slytherin in their group was someone Draco didn't know well, and he didn't feel in a friendly mood. A tunnel underground would be a great place for revenge, Draco thought. The only problem is, I can't think of anything to do to them!

They continued walking, Ron and Ginny upfront and leading the way. Supposedly this Harding kid could've gotten lost down here, and they were looking for him. He understood how somebody could get lost down here; it was so dark everybody had their wands out. Though he couldn't see well, he could tell that the walls were mostly made out of dirt, and it was damp and mucky. Thick and mucky, the air left a foul taste in Draco's mouth. Stumbling over a thick root in the ground, he walked on.

Soon, an idea for his retaliation popped into his mind, and he moved up front to walk with the Weasleys. Ginny had been saying something to her brother, but fell grew stiff and silent at his approach. Draco ignored this and walked a little ways to Ron's right.

"I see you got away all right," Ron said smugly. Bursting out laughing, Ginny looked over at Draco, who did something a Malfoy never did: blushed. Then Draco did something all Malfoys do: scowled.

"Yeah, no thanks to you." Draco kept walking, and remembering what they were there for, shined his wand in the darkest places. Nowhere did he see any sign of Albert Harding.

"What were you doing out, anyway?" Ron glanced at him.

"None of your business, Weasel!" Draco shot back. "And just so you know, Snape isn't too happy about what you did. He says he'll 'deal with you appropriately'. So you better watch your back. He may not be the only one dealing with you. Or you baby sister."

"You leave Ginny out of this!" Looking angry enough to kill him, Ron turned and faced Draco, an ugly snarl forming on his face. Whipping out his wand at the exact same time Ron did, Draco turned to face him as well.

"Or you'll what, Weasley? Exactly what will you do if I don't?" Draco whispered in an animus voice. They were staring each other down. Ginny pulled on Ron's shoulders and positioned herself in between them, facing Ron.

"Ron, just leave him be. He's not worth the effort." Ron kept staring at Draco, seeming oblivious to his sister. He jerked his head down to look at her though when she shouted, "Ron!"

"Whatever," muttered Ron. He walked off, pulling Ginny with him.

Smirking, Draco fell once more towards the back of the group, which only contained about 20 students. He was just working out the finer details of his revenge when he heard a shout from ahead. Pushing his way through everybody, Draco made his way to the front. His mouth dropped open at what he saw.

Lying face down, not moving, was Albert Harding.

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-------------A/N: Ok everybody hope you liked that chapter. It turned out a lot shorter than I had originally planned, but I figured that was a good place to end this chapter. Haha, sorry about the evil cliffhanger, but I just had to do it. I won't be able to update for about a week or so because I have family coming in. Review though! You know I love them…

Lauren