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Chapter 18

Maledicti Praesentia

November 14th, 1998

Draco was walking through the halls of the East Wing in the Manor. It seemed pointless to him to have a home as big as the Manor for only himself. However, as much as he disliked what his family had become and what the Malfoy name stood for, he couldn't bring himself to rid himself of the Manor. It was as much a part of him as his name was. He walked along the quiet hallway, taking a few moments to look around the many rooms. He passed an office he remembered his grandfather had once occupied. There were a few guest suites where his childhood friends had stayed during the summers before they had gone to Hogwarts. He reached a door towards the end of the long hallway that had a sign which read "Malfoy/Zabini " in children's writing. He felt a pang of nostalgia. Blaise had been his best friend throughout his childhood and most of his years at Hogwarts. His sixth year had put a strain on their friendship and they'd grown apart. It wasn't as if his new friendship with Harry wasn't genuine or that he didn't appreciate the man's forgiveness, but he missed having his childhood friend by his side.

Draco pushed open the door and looked around at the room. It was littered with toys, broomsticks, and books. There was a small tent set up by an enormous window. He vaguely remembered spending hours in there reading with Blaise or hiding from his father. He walked out of the room in a rush, not wanting to let his feelings of nostalgia grow any further. He stood in the hallway unsure of where to go. It was then that his new house-elf, Pixie, appeared in front of him.

"Master Malfoy, Mister Potter is here to see you. He is in your office, sir," she said.

"Thank you, Pixie. I'd appreciate some supper, if you wouldn't mind."

"Of course, Master Malfoy." She disappeared and he began making his way to his office. It was a few minutes before he reached the office, where he found Harry accompanied by Ginny. The redhead smiled at him as he walked towards them.

"Malfoy, I hope you don't mind I brought Ginny along to discuss the plan," said Harry as they made their way to the sitting room.

"Not at all. I'm just curious to know how you've managed to convince McGonagall to let you out so often."

"Well, being married to the 'Chosen One' helps. I admit I've taken quite a bit of advantage of that," she laughed. "You have a beautiful home, Malfoy."

"Thank you, it's been in my family for centuries."

"I think this is the first time I've seen you here without a drink in your hand," said Harry.

"You as well, Potter."

"Malfoy, is it only you living alone here?" asked Ginny. He nodded. "Really? You must get lonely often."

"I try to keep myself distracted. I'm planning on moving out soon. I don't think I can handle much more of this place. Would you like a drink?" he asked as they reached the sitting room. She shook her head, but Harry accepted his offer. "Supper will be ready soon, if you'd like to accompany me? Or are you two in a rush for something?

"Actually, we were wondering if you'd like to join us for supper at the Burrow tonight."

"Not that I don't appreciate the thought, Mrs. Potter, but I don't think the plan to have your brother back on good terms with your husband will work with me around."

"Speaking of which, I wanted you to explain to us what the plan will actually consist of. Ginny thinks he hasn't done anything wrong, but agrees that if he does come in contact with her, we should go through with the plan to find her."

"Do you trust him that much, Ginerva?"

"He loves Hermione. He would never do anything to hurt her." There was an uncomfortable silence between them. "Ron will be at supper. You two could do it then."

"We haven't worked on it yet, Gin," said Harry.

"Well then, get to it. If you don't mind, Malfoy, I'm going to take a tour of this gorgeous home." She walked out of the room, taking Harry's drink with her.

"If you get lost just call Pixie!" yelled Draco. He smiled. "You got lucky with that one, mate," he said to Harry.

"That witch will be the death of me."

"Down to business, then?" Harry nodded. Draco raised his wand and a notebook came flying though the door to his hand.

About an hour later, Ginny walked back towards the sitting room where she had left Harry and Draco. She had spent the hour discovering the many different rooms of the Manor. She had been surprised when none of the paintings had called he a 'blood-traitor' like at Grimmauld place. But upon closer inspection, she noticed that the mouths of the Malfoy family ancestors in the paintings were moving, but there was no sound to be heard. She assumed Draco had silenced all the paintings.

When she walked back in the room, she couldn't help but laugh a bit at the scene she saw. Harry and Draco were taking shots of muggle tequila, complete with salt and lime. They looked up at her when they heard her and smiled.

"Where on Earth did you get this bottle?"

"London. Muggles have good taste," answered Draco.

"Gin, dear, c-come sit with me."

"Harry James Potter! Are you drunk?!"

Draco roared with laughter.

Another hour later found Harry, Ginny, and Draco at the Burrow. Draco was hiding under Harry's invisibility cloak in Ginny's old room. He could hear people laughing downstairs. If their plan went right, Ginny and Harry would bring Ron up to the bedroom and Draco would knock Ron out. As his boredom grew, he began looking through Ginny's things and found a collection of personal journals under her bed. He took the liberty of reading some pages while he waited and laughed at the constant insults towards her brothers.

"You should have taken that bottle from Malfoy's house," whispered Ginny.

"I thought you were upset at me for drinking with him."

"I was, but this is too much to bear."

As soon as Ron had arrived at the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley had wasted no time in thanking Harry and Ginny for convincing Ron to join them. She had also spent a good amount of time asking Ron about every detail of his life. And even though they were both happy about the joy they had brought to Molly, they were both anxious to get Ron upstairs so they could get to work.

Supper was an awkward event as George had arrived with Angelina and had refused to speak to Ron. Harry had promised Ginny that he would be civil towards her Ron, so he kept quiet most of the time. Afterwards, Molly had sent them to the sitting room to spend some time together. Percy arrived then and had taken the attention away from Ron, and they took the opportunity to try to get Ron alone.

"Ronald, could we have a word with you?" asked Ginny, "Upstairs?"

Ron looked from Ginny to Harry, who had a look of indifference on his face. He remembered what his Master had asked him to do and nodded. They walked silently up the stairs and Ginny led them into her bedroom. She noticed her old journals on her bed and silently cursed Draco for finding them.

"I'm actually glad we're up here, Harry, I wanted to apologize."

Harry was unable to hide the shock he felt when he heard that. "Really?" He turned to the door and put a silencing charm up. "Well, go on then."

"I'm sorry, I mean- I've been such a git to you lately. I should have supported the two of you- I just wish I had been there for you these past few months. I'm-" And then he was unconscious on the floor. From the bed, Draco threw off the cloak.

"I thought I was going to be sick."

"You could have waited until he was done!" exclaimed Ginny.

"No, I would have been sick all over your journals. But maybe you would want them to be destroyed, from the look of what's in them."

"You READ them!"

"Enough!" yelled Harry. "Is this really the time?" he asked looking from his wife to Draco. "Malfoy, stop trying to wind her up." Draco rolled his eyes and slid off the bed. He and Harry carried Ron to Ginny's bed. "Ready, Malfoy?" he asked the blond.

Draco felt a knot in his chest. He knew his voice would betray him and reveal how nervous he really was, so he simply nodded.

Ginny stood back and watched them begin very intricate wand work. They moved simultaneously, mirroring each others moves. It was like a beautiful dance that Ginny couldn't help but to watch in awe. After a few moments, they stopped and Harry placed a small pendant on the bed next to Ron. He and Draco pointed their wands at it and said in unison, "maledicti praesentia."

The pendant glowed blue for only a moment. Draco picked it up gingerly. He pulled out a handkerchief and wrapped it around the pendant. "I should go."

"Draco, wait," said Harry as Draco had turned to leave. "If this works, and we find her, I-"

"I know, Harry, I know." He turned on the spot and was gone.

"Harry, are you okay?" asked Ginny. She put her arm around his waist.

"Yea, I just feel like I wasted seven years of hatred on someone who maybe didn't deserve it."

"Despite what he's like now, he was a git in school. Don't feel bad."

"I- I think I should go with him," he said, "back to the Manor."

"Go, I'll floo back from here."

"What will you tell Ron?"

"I'll think of something, don't worry."

He bent down and kissed her gently on the lips. "I love you, Gin."

"Malfoy! Where the bloody hell are you?!" Harry had been walking around the Manor for half an hour looking for Draco. He was peering into the library when Draco's house-elf appeared in front of him.

"Is Mister Potter looking for Master Malfoy, sir?"

"Er- yes, I am, Pixie. Do you know where he is?"

"Aye, sir. He is up on the roof standing near the edge. He has been drinking and is talking nonsense. He sent Pixie away when she told Master he was making her nervous. You see, sir, he drank the whole bottle-"

"Can you take me to him, Pixie?"

"Of course." She grabbed a hold of his hand and they apparated to the roof. The sun was setting and it would have been a beautiful view had it not been for Draco standing on the ledge, staring off to the dinstance.

"Malfoy, what the- what do you think you're doing, you overgrown ferret?!"

"I'm standing, Potter, isn't is obvious?"

"Are you going to jump?"

"Of course not!"

"Master ordered Pixie not to save him if he jumped," interjected the small elf.

Harry walked forward and pulled Draco down by his cloak. "How could you think of doing something so stupid?"

"Shut up, Potter." Draco dropped down to his knees. "I think I'm drunk."

"Can't you control yourself for one night? You start training tomorrow! And we've got a plan to carry out! You can't just go and try to do something like off yourself in the middle of our mission!"

"Potter-"

"No, listen to me! You might be feeling depressed, but you've got to realize you can't leave the people that care about you like that! Life isn't something-"

"Potter!"

"-you can play around with. It's something that should be-"

"DAMN IT, POTTER! LISTEN TO ME!"

"What?!"

Draco pulled out the handkerchief and opened it so they could see the pendant without touching it. It was glowing bright blue. "It activated."

A/N:

I'm so sorry for making you guys wait so long. Hello to all my new followers and to my old ones as well. If you can help me out with some reviews, I'd really appreciate it. I hope you guys liked this chapter. More to come soon, I promise!