"Father," Draco responded, grabbing Ginny's hand, and stepping in front of her slightly.
"I was pleased with your efforts tonight Ginevra," Lucius said, addressing her as he stepped into the room.
"Thank you," Ginny responded, as she tried not to grimace at how tightly Draco held onto her hand.
"I will be the first to admit I was wrong about you," Lucius continued.
"Stop father," Draco cut in, his face a blank mask.
"Draco," Lucius chuckled, his grip tightening slightly around the snake head on his cane. "I'm merely trying to apologize to young Ginevra here," Lucius tisked, giving his son a tight smile.
"She's not interested in your apology," Draco responded.
"Nevertheless, it's extended, and I must also apologize for my son's lack of hospitality," Lucius added, smiling as his eyes met Ginny's. "While I offer my home to the Dark Lord, and his faithful followers – that now includes you," he grinned as his gaze landed on her forearm where he knew she bore the mark. As such I must offer you your own chamber," Lucius grinned.
Ginny stood there confused at what caused Lucius's sudden change, and Draco's hard pressure on her hand reminded her that it probably wasn't anything good.
"Although you have been staying in Draco's room, it isn't appropriate for a woman of your age to reside in the same room as him," Lucius grinned throwing a glance at Draco.
"She's fine here," Draco repsonded, taking another small step in front of Ginny.
"I'm sure she is Draco, but it would be more appropriate if Ginevra had her own room," Lucius said, his hand twitching as he looked at Draco. "Perhaps on the second landing, Narcissa and I reside there, and you would have-"
"I said no father," Draco cut in again, barely controlling his voice.
"Now Draco it is my home," Lucius responded, taking a step closer.
"Did you not offer it to the Dark Lord?" Ginny asked, placing a reassuring hand on Draco's arm.
"Yes," Lucius answered, taken aback.
"Then it would appear Malfoy Manor is no longer under your control Mr. Malfoy. And the Dark Lord hasn't expressed his discomfort over our arrangement, so I see no reason to change it," Ginny replied, smirking slightly.
Lucius's hand tighten around the head of his cane, so that his knuckles turned white, and his eyes flared as he took a breath to steady his voice.
"You're right Ginevra, I was just offering a suggestion," Lucius responded, with a tight smile.
"Well thank you for the offer Mr. Malfoy, but it is unnecessary," Ginny responded, as she moved across the room, and held the door open signaling that he was now dismissed.
Lucius fixed Draco with a menacing stare before he turned and left.
"He wants you to leave" Draco whispered as soon as his father left..
"Why?" Ginny asked. She thought that she had proved her loyalty to Voldemort when she went on the Order raid.
"After we got back he told me that Voldemort's getting suspicious, and that I should sneak you back to your family," Draco said his face unreadable.
"What?" Ginny asked suddenly sitting up right.
"Ovbiously it's my father's way of testing me. The fact that he cares about you or me is laughable. The only thing my father has ever cared about is the Dark Lord, and he was probably trying to see if my loyalty was real."
"Maybe he is getting suspicious," Ginny responded.
"No, my father wants to make sure that I would be loyal to the dark lord before you. My father has only ever loved one thing, and that's the Dark Lord. He knows how I feel about you, and it makes him unease," Draco added dryly, with a shrug of his shoulders.
Ginny, squeezed his hand gently, as she pulled him close to rest her head on his chest. Draco had always been there for her, but Ginny felt at a loss when it came to Draco and his father, she didn't know how to help.
"Bad time?" Blaise's voice trailed through the threshold, where he had pushed the door open.
"Not at all," Draco grinned, happy to see his friend.
"What happened?" Ginny asked, looking Blaise up and down to make sure he was unharmed.
"Draco and I were both trained in occlumency by my grandparents since we were young. So there was no way Voldemort knew what happened, whatever he guessed was because someone else saw something," Blaise said sighed, running a hand through his short hair. "Someone overheard something, but not enough to back anything up, he bought what I told him so I'm ok," Blaise reassured them.
"But your father is in trouble with the dark lord," Ginny pointed out.
Draco and Blaise both glared at her.
"Hey!" Ginny protested raising up her hands in defence. "I'm just pointing it out from his perspective," Ginny shrugged.
"I don't know, I guess so. This is husband number six for my mom, I barely know him," Blaise confessed.
"So you don't know why he's in trouble?" Ginny asked.
"He works in the ministry, so it could be a number of things," Blaise sighed.
"Well that doesn't exactly explain what you were doing with Granger," Draco pointed out.
"She told me that the Order agreed to give my mother protection," Blaise responded.
Draco's face was blank as he nodded.
"They also agreed to give both of you protection," Blaise sighed.
Ginny's heart leapt, her family knew she wasn't a traitor, there was hope for the three of them.
"What about my mother?" Draco asked, pulling Ginny from her thoughts.
"They're not entirely convinced that your mother doesn't have a hand in the Dark Lord's plans," Blaise sighed, meeting Draco's gaze.
"Then you and Ginny go," Draco responded without hesitation.
"No, I'm not going anywhere without you," Ginny responded automatically.
"I can't leave my mother here," Draco said, shaking his head.
"I know mate, and Hermione is working on swaying the Order's opionion. But you have to see it from their point of view, your mother is the wife of a very powerful death eater, the risk for them is-"
"What about the risk for her?" Draco snapped, dropping Ginny's hand. "Do they not know what she's sacrificed all these years to stay with my father," Draco added.
"Whoa," Blaise said, coming to put his hands on Draco's shoulders. "I know mate, trust me I know. But the Order needs more time, they'll come around, but if tonights any indication of how our lives are going to be I suggest the two of you get out now, and when the time comes when they agree to give your mother protection she can disappear."
"I can't take that chance. If we leave, and they deny her protection, she's alone with him," Draco responded shaking his head.
"All of Hogwarts knows my mom marries for money, I'm doing this so she won't have to. She never got to marry for love, So I want to give her that chance to be happy, she deserves it, she shouldn't spend her life marrying to clean up the mess my father left her in." Blaise declared, looking away and blinking hard.
"Are you sure you two were supposed to be in Slytherin?" Ginny joked, trying to make light of the heavy situation.
"Yes," Draco replied without hesitation.
"Actually the hat couldn't decide, I chose Slytherin," Blaise grinned.
"Why?" Ginny laughed.
"Because Draco needed me," he replied griping Draco's forearm affectingly. "I'll talk to Hermione," Blaise responded solemnly as he tuned and left.
The realization of the situation they landed themselves in sunk in, and the room filled with silence. Ginny said nothing, as she crossed the room and laid down on the bed, rolling onto her side as she looked at the blank wall opposite her. This was the room Draco grew up in, he slept in this bed his whole life he wrote letters to Blaise at the small desk in the corner; he grew up in here, yet it was empty. Besides the furnishings, the room was completely void of anything to prove that the room belong to a teenage boy, and it broke Ginny's heart that Draco grew up scared in his own home.
A knock on the door brought Ginny out of her thoughts and she rolled over to look at Draco.
"Blaise?" Ginny asked raising an eyebrow as her eyes connected with Draco's.
Draco got up from his chair and shook his head.
"He wouldn't knock," Draco whispered back as he walked across the room and opened the door.
"Draco," Bellatrix nodded as she brushed past him and walked into the room.
"Aunt Bella, what are you doing here?" Draco asked surprised.
"What's wrong Draco? You were always glad to see me when I visited when you were younger," Bellatirx laughed as she took in the room.
"You never came to visit, you were in Azkaban," Draco said frowning.
"Well I have to make up for lost time," She crackled as she hopped onto the bed, sending Ginny up in the air.
"Aunt Bella," Draco said his voice mixed with warning and uncertainty.
"Your mother sends her regards, she'll be arriving tomorrow," Bellatirx continued as if she didn't hear Draco.
"You spoke to mother?" Draco asked.
"I flooded her yesterday," Bellatrix shrugged.
Draco frowned slightly but said nothing.
"I'm sure she'll be as surprised as I am to find you've brought a Weasley along with you," Bellatrix continued as if Ginny wasn't right beside her. "And perhaps she can convince you to quit this ploy for attention," Bellatrix smirked as she twirled a strand of hair around her finger.
"Did you come here for a reason?" Draco said crossing his arms and starting at her.
"Of course, the dark lord requests the presence of Ginevra," Bellatrix said curling her lips up in disgust and looking at Ginny for the first time since she came in the room, her eyes filled with hatred and jealousy.
"Why?" Draco asked.
"It's not your place to question The Dark Lord," she hissed in return.
"I'm coming with you," Draco said looking at Ginny.
"I don't think so Draco, The Dark Lord azked me to keep you company whilst he talks to her, he'd rather ithey be left alone," she said with a laugh.
Draco opened his mouth to protest, but Ginny shook her head as she got off the bed.
"It's fine Draco," Ginny said without meeting his gaze.
Maybe Voldemort didn't believe her after all, Ginny just hopped that Blaise returned soon, with good news.