Ah, guys I'm so sorry this chapter took FOREVER! But I'm taking Geometry Honors, Spanish II Honors, English Honors AND Business Systems and tech. this term so I've been really busy. Sorry, I'll try and have the next chapter out sooner but I can't make any promises.

Anyway, this chapter is the much anticipated arrive at the Weasley house. Plus, for all of you who have been asking for more of the Weasley brothers, this a short tribute to you, because there's a scene I've been dying to wirte since I first started this fic.

Diclaimer: I own nothing except the plot. Anything you recognize from the HP books is not mine as I, unfortunatly, am not JK Rowling.

The ride was even more unbearably bumpy as they pulled onto a long, dirt road. After a slow drive, a monstrously large and disproportioned house –could you really call it a house?- came into view. Rooms hung, seemingly suspended by nothing onto the house. Large lopsided add-ons were obviously attached at different times as each was made from a different material and each in a different style. Draco was about to comment on the atrocity when he realized with growing horror what it was. It was Ginny's house. This was the place he'd be staying. He barely restrained himself from cursing. His worst fears confirmed, the car stopped in front of the place and Ginny, with absolute disregard to her trunk still in the back seat, ran out of the car and into the house. He sat there, more than a little uncomfortably, until Tonks looked back at him.

"Coming?" She asked.

He still paused. Lupin smiled understandingly, "Come on, Draco. It'll be alright."

He followed. When he entered the Weasley family had already begun its reunion. Hermione had scurried upstairs to unpack and Ginny was locked in what seemed to be a bone crushing embrace and more redheaded boys then he could count were in a twisting, writhing, pile in the living room floor. As soon as she was released Ginny jumped, feet first into the pile and was received with a loud "oof ".

"Ginny!" Mrs.Weasley cried, mortified. "Ginny! That's not appropriate."

Another redheaded woman, about the same age and looking weary said, "Boys, boys! Molly says stop. Boys!"

"Ow!" The pile cried. "Bill that was my nose!"

"Ew! Ginny! Shave your legs!" Another voice cried.

"That wasn't my leg, Fred." Ginny snapped.

"Ginny, boys, stop that right now!" Mrs. Weasley said again. Harry was hanging back behind the plump woman looking at the group on the floor longingly. Ron, Draco assumed, was already among them.

"Hey," The voice replied. "That wasn't me, it was George."

"I thought you were George." Another voice replied.

"No, I'm Fred." The first answered.

"I'm Fred, you dolt." The other responded.

"Oh, well then who am I?"

"GEORGE!"

"Really boys," The second woman said again, "Listen to your aunt!"

"Oh, never mind." Mrs. Weasley said, resigned.

"Ah, Will! You're sitting on my arm!"

"Come on, Harry!" A voice he recognized as Ron's called.

"Um….Mrs. Weasley….?" Harry said, looking beseechingly.

"Oh just go Harry." Mrs. Weasley said. The boy ran, screaming and laughing, into the pile. She turned and for the first time saw Draco, standing uncomfortably in the doorway.

"Who are you?" The woman asked.

"Draco."

"The boys' friend from school?" She asked. Draco wasn't sure what to say, he faltered for a moment before finally just shrugging.

"And I suppose you want to join in too?" She asked sounding worn.

He shook his head no.

"Oh. Well, sit down then. Get comfortable." She said, smiling.

Silently he crossed the room and took a seat. Right about then, Ginny stood up (amidst several loud groans and one cry of "My ribs!") screaming "I'm queen of the mountain!"

Not a second later the bodies under her shifted and she fell back down into the pile. She was in the process of trying to stand again when her father burst through the door, carrying one of their trunks.

"Ginny Weasley, I want a word with you!" He said sternly. "You'd better come too, Molly."

The boys on the floor immediately froze and Ginny, slowly stood up.

Ginny's brothers all looked startled; they weren't used to their father being so stern. It was usually their mother was the one who enforced the rules. Arthur was the who snuck them biscuits before dinner; you had to be in really deep trouble for Arthur to yell at you. Then, Ron poked one of the twins and nodded in Draco's direction. One by one the brothers stood and glared. Doing a quick head count, Draco rapidly determined that the he was in even more trouble then he could have imagined. Charlie and Ron, the twins, and Ginny he recognized. He vaguely remembered seeing one of the others, a big tall boy with long red hair, before, but would never have been able to name him. Then there were three others, who were standing, silent and confused and a forth, the youngest and only one not standing, was still on the ground clinging stubbornly to Ginny's leg. Draco was fairly sure he hadn't seen any of them before, although he couldn't be certain. Maybe they just moved around so much he'd never gotten an accurate count.

Ginny quickly detached herself and moved towards her parents. Her eyes never left the floor.

"Ginny?" One of the twins asked.

"What's going on?" The other inquired, glaring at him.

"Ginny, your mother, and I are going to have a talk. If you boys fight while we're gone, so help me, you don't want to know what I'll do to you." Arthur said and then, guiding Ginny firmly with one arm around her shoulders, he wheeled her out of the room. Mrs. Wealsey followed with a baffled expression.

"Boys." The woman in the corner said. "Why don't we go unpack?"

"But mum we want-"

"William Weasley! If you don't get upstairs this instant you won't even see a broom for a month." The woman snapped and ushered her herd up the stairs leaving only the familiar Weasley faces.

"William Weasley. Poor kid." One of the twins said, shaking his head.

His brother patted his shoulder. "It had to be done eventually. I'm just glad it wasn't us."

"Why parents are such suckers for alliteration I'll never know." The first said.

"It is a quandary, Gred. But you know what really baffles me?"

"What Forge?"

"Why Draco Malfoy is in our house and why exactly he thinks he'll leave in one piece."

"You know, I was wondering that myself."

By now all six of the remaining boys had rounded on him. Only Charlie held back slightly, not looking quite as suspicious as his brothers.

"What're you doing here, Malfoy?" Harry asked.

He merely shrugged in response.

The oldest looked suspicious. "That's all the answer you have for us?"

Gritting his teeth and forcing himself to stay calm he responded, "I just don't see how it's any of your business."

"The Mal-Ferret thinks he's staying here for the holiday." Ron said, a bit of triumph in his voice for having known something his brothers didn't.

"Does he now?" Bill asked, looking more than a little suspicious. "And why is that?"

"Ginny." Ron answered. "I don't know what he's got over her, but-"

"Do you ever shut up?" Draco snapped, losing the battle to stay calm.

"Come off it Malfoy." Harry said. "Did you really expect us to believe that Ginny just invited you for a jolly holiday?"

He smirked. "Depends on what exactly you mean by jolly."

"I'm gonna kill you." Ron said, starting forward. Charlie grabbed the back of his shirt to restrain him.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen." One of the twins (Fred, George, did it really even matter?) said. "As much as I'd love to see Malfoy get pummeled we have more urgent needs."

The two boys held up a long, fleshy, chord. The Weasley brothers, plus Harry, abandoned him to surround the twins. Draco had the distinct feeling he was missing something. Then he heard Ginny's voice, loud and clear over the device.

"I already told you I can't!" She was saying.

"Ginny, you can't just expect us to welcome him with open arms. He's-"

"I know who he is. It's you that doesn't! Please, I understand why you're upset but-"

"No, Ginny, you don't seem to." Her father answered. "This doesn't just concern you. You are putting our family, the entire Order, everything we've worked for in danger."

"You think I would be doing this if I didn't think it was safe?" She said now, only a degree away from yelling. "Trust me I know-"

"Sweetie," Mrs. Weasley said. "Of course we trust you. It's him we don't trust. Just look who his father is."

"I know you don't trust him but I do! And if you really trust me, then you'll just have to believe me and accept that, because there's nothing else I can tell you."

Draco held his breath for what seemed like forever. Finally he heard a sigh.

"Fine, Ginny, we'll have to talk to Dumbledore of course, but as far as I'm concerned he can stay."

"Okay, little sister." Fred said, putting an arm around Ginny. "What's you plan?"

"Eh, what do you mean?" Ginny asked, shifting uncomfortably. For the past hour she'd been avoiding her brothers, but they'd finally cornered her. The prying eyes of all six of her brothers and Harry (even Percy who'd apparently been hiding in the kitchen to escape the reunion) gleaming down at her.

"What's your plan to torture Malfoy? Are you blackmailing him?" George asked. He quirked an eyebrow and made a sour frown. "Did you lure him with your feminine wiles?"

"No." She said.

"Good." George answered firmly.

"So you've hexed him?" Prompted Fred.

"No." She said again.

"I knew it." George announced, shacking his head in disgust.

"Ah ha! So he's blackmailing you!" Fred said indignantly.

"No! There is no blackmail involved!" She cried. Then she paused, knowing that wasn't strictly true. "He just…need a place to stay and I owed him a favor." She said after a moment. That was at least a little closer to the truth.

"So he's hexed her!" George shouted.

"No!"

"Look, Ginny, what ever he's got on you, you can tell us, we won't get mad." Ron said, in what was probably meant to be an assuring manner.

"Look Ronald," She said, keeping only a very forced restraint on her exasperation. "He doesn't have anything on me." Which again, was a lie. He had the necklace on her, quite literally. "I was just doing something nice."

"Well, I don't care what you say. That boy is bad road. I don't like this at all." Percy said.

"Well that's at least one reason to like him."Fred murmured.

"Look, I know you won't believe me, but I don't think the kid's all that bad-"

"Gee, thanks for that professional opinion, Charlie. You, having known the prat all of an hour, think he's a pretty okay guy. Well that just changes everything." Fred snapped.

"Hey, back off, George." Bill said.

Ginny felt awful. She was going to kill Malfoy for leaving her alone to deal with he brothers. At least he would have been able to lie to them without compunction, she on the other hand, hated lying to them. At least about something as major as this.

"Guys, listen I'm not going to tell you any more than I told Mum and Dad," Seven mouths opened in protest, "Don't even bother telling me you weren't listening." She snapped, "I'd tell you more if I could. I promise as soon as this is over I'll tell you exactly what's going on. Until then you'll just have to believe me when I say that everything's going to be fine. I trust him."

It was the second time that day she's said those words, and she was surprised to find she almost believed them.

The boys all still looked hesitant. "You don't have to like him." She said, smiling slightly, "You just can't kill him."

There was a long pause.

Finally, Bill sighed and said, "That's a lot to ask, Gin."

"You know, Weasley," Ginny jumped as she opened her door only to find Draco Malfoy reclining on her bed surrounded by throw pillows. He propped himself up on one arm, "I would have preferred stricter guidelines then 'you can't kill him'. Like the promise of all my limbs."

"Not likely if they see you there." She said, indicating the bed. She made a mental note to remind him later that baby blue daisy throw pillows clashed horribly with his complexion. "How'd you hear that anyway?"

He held up one of the extendable ears. "Your brothers really should keep a closer eye on these things."

"Didn't anybody ever tell you eavesdropping isn't polite?"

"No, actually, my dad told me 'eavesdrop only when you can't find someone expendable to do it for you.'"

She grinned, sitting down on the bed. "Cheery."

"I've got loads of them. He used to always tell me 'the best leaders inspire by example. If that is not an option, brute force and intimidation work just as well.'"

"Yes, that does seem rather like your father doesn't it?" She smiled, almost reminiscently, but her eyes darkened.

"He's a jerk." He found himself saying, before he'd even contemplated the words.

"What?" Ginny asked, looking at him in astonishment.

"My father." He spat, still surprising himself. "He's a complete wanker."

Ginny looked taken aback. For a moment she faltered and Draco could tell she was debating between agreeing, and trying to make him feel better.

"Well, I-I-I don't really know him." She managed after a moment.

"Yes you do. Lucius Malfoy is exactly what you think he is."

"I sorry." She said.

"Don't be."

The silence that hung there was long, awkward. She reached up to fiddle with the necklace that still hung at her neck, a nervous habit she had acquired somewhere in the past few months. Then, realizing what she was doing she quickly pulled her hand away and blushed.

"Well then," She said turning around so he wouldn't see her blush, "We'd better get you to your room then."

He grinned. "What, I'm not staying here?"

She turned back to glance at him. He was still propped up amongst her pillows, now giving her a suggestive look. "I'm sorry." She said sweetly, "My bed is much too small for me and your ego."

"That just makes it all the more romantic."

She snorted and turned back away, but he was quite sure he saw he blush a great deal more than she should have been during their regular repartee. On the way up the stairs he made sure to accidentally brush against her shoulder.

He smirked at her back as she quickened her pace. Yes, he could already think of several ways to make this holiday more interesting.

Thanks to all of you who reviewed. Man, I love you guys. Now if you don't want me to hunt you down and attack you viciously, please review.