Author's Note: Here's another chapter for you guys! I've decided to make this chapter a little longer as I don't think I'd be able to update for quite some time since my midterm exams are coming up soon. Reviews would be very much appreciated!

Disclaimers: JK Rowling owns everything familiar in this story.

Chapter 10

Ginny woke up in a daze feeling exhausted but content as memories of the night's events came flooding back to her. Draco's head was nuzzled in the crook of her neck and shoulder, his arm held her close to his body. Draco always liked to sleep on his stomach. She took note of the pleasant numbness between her legs and remembered the extreme intimacy and lust the night before. She was immediately overwhelmed with different kinds of emotions; happiness, which was all that Draco had been giving her the past few weeks; a sense of love, which was all that she had felt for Draco the past few weeks and despite all that, she felt fear, fear of the fact that all this won't last. What will happen when his father's case has been closed? Will they go their own ways? Will they just walk away and forget everything they had in the times they were together? She was pulled out of her reverie by the butterfly kisses Draco was brushing against her neck.

"Morning, Red," he breathed into her ear, sending waves of giddy pleasure throughout her body.

"Sleep well, love?" she asked, grinning. Draco propped his head on his elbow to get a good look of her beautiful face.

"You mock me, Red. You kept me awake all night," he said as he gave Ginny a passionate and urgent kiss. Ginny coiled her arms around his neck, bringing him closer. "I could get used to waking up like this every morning," he said as they broke apart.

As Draco began to kiss her again, a tapping noise came from the bedroom window. Draco sighed and hung his head in frustration for a minute as Ginny gave an annoyed sigh. Draco got off the bed, completely unperturbed of his nudity and walked to the window and untied the parchment from its leg.

"It's a note from the ministry," he announced as he saw the Ministry emblem in front of the envelope. Ginny immediately got up, wrapped the sheets around her body and walked to Draco.

"Open it," she said, feeling slightly anxious as Draco unfolded the parchment.

Ginny, I have important news for you and Draco Malfoy. Please be here as soon as you receive this note.

Tonks

"Get dressed, Draco," Ginny said as she quickly muttered scourgify and put on her black, work robes. She didn't have to tell him again as Draco immediately did the same, his heart beating against his chest, anticipating what Tonks had to tell them. Ginny zipped up her boots, brushed her hair and turned to Draco who was ready. They apparated into the Ministry and quickly took the lift to the Auror Department. They briskly walked down the hall into the senior aurors' office and saw Harry, Ron and Tonks who had looks of worry on their faces there. They looked up once they entered.

"Ginny! Draco!" Tonks exclaimed as she rushed to them. Ginny glanced at Harry and Ron worriedly as they gave her a small smile. "I've got bad news, Gin," Tonks started. "I don't know how but Avery got out of Azkaban just this morning."

Ginny's eyes widened. "What? There hasn't been a break out since Voldemort's downfall! How can this be? Someone powerful must've helped him but who?" she asked almost frantically. Draco put a hand on her shoulder, a gesture which made Ron and Harry's eyebrows rise. Either Tonks ignored it or she simply did not notice for the stern but worried look on her face did not falter.

"We don't know. He even managed to take his wand with him," Tonks replied.

"From the confiscation chambers?" Ginny asked incredulously. In the history of Azkaban, no one has ever broken into the heavily warded confiscation chambers where all the prisoners' wands and important things were confiscated and kept. Tonks nodded.

"Who was on duty when this happened?" Ginny said suddenly in an ice cold and furious voice that Draco dropped his hand from her shoulder. He knew she was angry. Harry and Ron took deep breaths.

"I assure you, Ginny, that this wasn't their fault. They were under the Imperious curse when we found them," Tonks said as she silently prayed that Ginny didn't ask for their names, for she was sure that even under the circumstances they were in, Ginny would give them more than a good scolding. Her prayer was answered. Ginny instead asked a question that even she did not know the answer to.

"Where is he now?" she asked.

"We don't know yet. Although we've got an inkling that Malfoy and Lestrange were the ones who helped him," Tonks said.

"And you need me to help Harry and Ron find him." It was more a statement than a question.

"And if possible, Malfoy and Lestrange also," Tonks replied.

"I want to help," Draco said all of a sudden, causing all four of them to stare at him as if he had just popped out of nowhere. He rolled his eyes at their gaping mouths. "Avery was the one that cast the curse that killed my mother during the war. I saw it with my own eyes. Lucius never knew. I never told him. He would have never believe me."

Tonks contemplated the look of fierce determination and anger on Draco's face. Who was she to deny him of avenging his mother?

"You are aware, Mr Malfoy, that you are exposing yourself to them," Tonks said.

"I've gone this far. I'm not about to back out as of yet," Draco said, the determination and elation of being given the chance to avenge his mother freely was evident in his voice. Ginny smiled as she felt so proud of Draco, of the man he had become.

"Very well," Tonks said, smiling.

Ginny squealed in delight, something Harry and Ron had never seen her do in so many years. Harry grinned at the sight of Ron gaping and wide-eyed. Harry didn't know what he was feeling. Right now, he was just grateful that Ginny was back on the team. The weeks of endless searches was getting rather tiresome and difficult without Ginny's swift and unpredictable skills and now, they had Draco to add to their team. He had seen Draco fight in the war and he had to admit that the bloke was actually really good. He watched as Ginny gave Draco a smile that he remembered so well back when they were together. The smile that showed Harry how much she cared for him and thought he would be the only one she would smile like that to but right now, she wasn't giving it to him, she was giving it to Draco Malfoy. He soon came down to one conclusion: Draco and Ginny were in love.

"What makes you think Avery would be hiding here, Malfoy?" Ron said, his voice full of venom as they apparated into what appeared like an abandoned estate. Ginny rolled her eyes and she took in her surrondings. They were just inside the grounds of an old, victorian mansion. The estate was surrounded by walls of stone and just outside those walls, Ginny could see that the estate was well hidden by a forest of thick trees. It had been a week into their search and that evening, Draco remembered something and forced them to apparate with him to this place.

"I didn't say they would actually be here, Weasley," he snapped. "Not you, your brother," he said exasperatedly as Ginny glared at him. Her face broke into a smile as they walked down the stone path that led to the big oak doors of the mansion.

"Get serious, guys," Harry said. "What is this place?" he asked Draco.

"The Lestrange mansion," he answered.

"How come you've never mentioned this place before?" Harry asked as he felt his anger rising.

Draco shrugged. "I only remembered about this place last night. The Death Eaters used to hold meetings here."

Suddenly, Harry grabbed him by the front of his robes and pushed him onto the wall.

"Malfoy, do you know how long our search has been going on? If you told us about this place earlier we could have searched it and probably have found them already! What if they were actually here in this place? We could have caught them!" Harry yelled.

"Harry, let him go. Now's really not the time," Ginny said. Harry turned to yell something at Ginny but what he saw caused him to forget what he was going to say and let go of Draco. In front of them, the massive, oak doors were slowly opening. It was dark inside and they couldn't see who or what was causing the heavy doors to open. It seemed to them that it was opening at its own accord. Ginny stood in front of the three of them, precariously close to the doors. Draco took hold of her right arm to pull her beside him and realized that Harry too, was pulling her to them so that she was in between them. Ginny didn't have time to find out who was gripping her so tightly as the doors came to a halt as it fully opened and emerging from the darkness inside the mansion was a very smug Avery who stood in front of them, smirking. Soon, several hooded figures that looked very much like Death Eaters came to either side of him.

"Well, well, well," Avery said in a deep, foreboding voice. "I've been expecting you," he said.

Harry, Ron, Ginny and Draco stood there boldly, glaring at Avery and his followers, wands at the ready.

Ginny was the first to speak and when she spoke, her voice was confident and dangerous.

"Where is Lucius and Bellatrix?" she said, making Avery turn to her. He scrutinized her with disgust in his face.

"Ah, Ginny Weasley. My captor," he said, almost spitting out the words. "Lucius and Bellatrix are not worthy of being my followers. I have not a vague idea of where they could be. Rotting away like the maggots they are, I hope."

Ginny laughed. A cruel, maniacal laugh that surprised them all. Draco wanted to kick her for choosing this time to find something funny and laugh at it as if it were alright to do so. Harry got annoyed too but didn't keep his gaze off Avery and the death eaters. Ron gaped at his sister.

Avery's eyebrows rose so high that they would have disappeared into his hair line.

"Your followers?" Ginny spat in between gasps of laughter. "You're no more a dark lord than Peter Pettigrew is!" she exclaimed. This time, the three boys turned to look at her as if snakes were coming out of her nose.

"You dare mock my power!" Avery's voice boomed. Immediately, Ginny's laughter died down but she did not falter at his yells. Instead, she stood up even straighter and looked at him straight in the eye. "Get them!" he ordered and immediately, his followers ran to attack them, casting curses at the four who expertly dodged them and shot their own curses back at the hooded figures.

Ginny narrowly dodged a curse as she rolled on the ground and in one swift movement, stood up and cursed two death eaters at the same time. Draco jumped and kicked a death eater on the chest and cursed him as the death eater collapsed on the floor. Harry and Ron sent curses flying over to a group of death eaters approaching them, killing most of them in the process.

"Draco, get Avery! We'll cover you!" Ginny yelled as she tackled yet another one. Draco nodded and ran through the chaos, dodging curses along the way. He ran into the mansion and looked into the darkness around him but before he could say "Lumos", he heard the loud bang of the oak doors swinging shut. He looked around him and suddenly, the whole room was bathed in light from the chandelier above them and he stood there face to face with Avery. White-hot fury and adrenaline coursed through his veins as he looked into they eyes of his mother's murderer.

"Ah Draco, here to avenge your mother?" Avery said, taunting him. Draco raised his wand to Avery's chest.

"Expelliarmus!" Avery yelled. Draco's wand flew from his hand. "You cannot defeat me, I am-" but before he can finish his sentence, Draco's strong fist came in contact with Avery's nose, breaking it in the process. Avery put his hands to his nose. Draco took advantage of the distraction and mercilessly sent punches and kicks to the pained man. Once Avery was bloody and writhing on the ground, he quickly summoned his wand back to him. When his wand was in his hands once more, he disarmed Avery and pointed it to his chest.

"This is just too easy," he said, smirking. He reveled in the weakened form of Avery as the words of the first curse that came to his mind flew out from his mouth. The curse his mother died of. "Avada Ked-"

"NO! That's enough!" Ginny's voice rang through the room.

"Stay out of this, Ginny," he said in deep voice.

"Draco, you don't want to do this. You're not a murderer like him. Please, put the wand down," she said soothingly, approaching him slowly.

Tears of anger and sorrow streamed down his face as memories of his mother flooded back to him, the only person that understood him and loved him for who he really was. He felt Ginny take the wand from his hand and he felt Ginny embrace him. He gave in to her warm and familiar scent and buried his face in her hair and shoulders, tears still steadily flowing from his eyes. Harry and Ron walked to Avery's unconscious form as they levitated him and with one understanding glance, they disapparated leaving the couple to themselves.

A/N: So what did you guys think? Hope you liked it!

Lemonwedges4, Chicago Is So 2 Years Ago, beckysue2 and Catnipob:

Thanks so much for the encouraging reviews! You guys really made my day! I really appreciate it! And thanks beckysue2 for telling me about the anynoymous review thing. I've enabled it already. :)