"Nott, explain yourself." Draco demands, tone cold, voice barely restraining a cold fury. Surprisingly, Theo matches the Malfoy heir's gaze with defiance in his eyes, a fire reflected in his pupils.

"What's there to explain, Draco? She broke the rules, I did my job."

"She's mine." The Slytherin King hisses angrily. "And you know that! She's untouchable!"

"No one touched her." Nott responds quietly, eyes directed towards the ground. Draco's eyes flash dangerously.

"I know that. If they had…if you had…" He doesn't finish his statement, nor does he need to. Everyone knows what would happen. In fact, the other Inquisitors wouldn't even go so far as to confront her, leaving Nott to be the one to apprehend her. The Dragon King stares down one of his two mates, before sighing and shaking his head. "Lead me to her."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"You don't need to do that." Ginny says quietly.

"Do what?" He asks, head tilted in confusion.

"Protect me." She clarifies, her eyes meeting his. "I don't want it. I don't need it. I—" Draco interrupts her by gently touching her arm.

"Ginny, you're my girl. My woman…" She reciprocates, touching his hand and squeezing it.

"I know, I…I just don't want to be babied." She explains, causing the Slytherin King to sigh.

"I'm not babying you, I just…" She turns away, leaving his sentence to trail off.

"I know. But I don't like it." His hand cups her cheek, turning her back towards him, gently.

"But I like you." He responds with a kiss, causing her face to flush heavily. When they depart, she's still cross with him, causing the blond to relent.

"Fine. I'll lift my protection if it bothers you so much." He agrees with a slight roll of his eyes, as a small smile graces the youngest Weasley's features.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Draco stalks down the ministry halls, not moving a wand, a hand, nor a finger, as he dispatches Death Eater after Death Eater who dare stand in his way. He didn't want it to be this way, to so openly fight against one of the two men who could possibly oppose him, but they have what is his. And that is completely unacceptable. One, two, five, seven, a dozen Death Eaters fall on his warpath, and finally he reaches what appears to be an auditorium of sorts, one with dozens of Death Eaters standing guard, and more importantly, their hostages.

"Hand over the Weasley girl, and I may let you live." He bellows out with a calm exterior, just barely keeping a vicious snarl from donning his face. The followers of the Dark Lord look among each other, before training their wands on the intruder.

"Malfoy, control your son before—" One of the Death Eaters begins, before suddenly catching fire, his screams swallowed by the sound of the roaring flames that engulf his very being.

"Good thinking." Draco says nonchalantly. "Father, Aunt Bella, you two come with me as well." He commands. Lucius purses his lips, looking around him as his fellow Death Eaters provide him zero support. Sighing, he responds.

"Very well, then." Bellatrix does not come so quietly.

"I will not abandon my mission. The Dark Lord—" She hisses out in anger, before being cut off.

"Will get you caught by the ministry." Draco finishes for her. Her eyes narrow at his words.

"I can handle the ministry."

"Can you handle Dumbledore?" He counters, causing her to inhale sharply. "Surely, he's on his way here, given you have Potter of all people hostage, not to mention a handful of other students. His students." This causes Bellatrix to frown.

"No, I—" Suddenly she falls like a puppet with her strings cut, only to stop just before she hit the ground. Lucius looks upon his sister-in-law, soundly asleep, looking peaceful for once, and he can only sigh in frustration as he knows what she'll be like when she wakes.

"Draco, what did you do?" He questions all but rhetorical with his words. The younger Malfoy shrugs.

"Save her. She'll get over it." Lucius can only shake his head.

"I don't think she will." He mutters.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Draco Malfoy, the Demon, the King of Slytherin, watches on helplessly from his broom, as the Gryffindor team runs roughshod over his own. He is…he's always been the great protector, the Beater of Death, the sole reason why the Slytherin Quidditch team was unbeatable, so much so, that many theorized they could go pro and win over a few national teams.

Despite that, he finds himself at a loss, unable to protect much of anything, as Angelina Johnson darts around the pitch with grace and skill, scoring yet another goal. The score is 100-80, Gryffindor, courtesy of the damn lions using his Ginny against him, along with Johnson, to run up the score in the first half of the game.

Long gone are the flinches, the evasive maneuvers, and any worries of being hurt, or even hit. Both girls know deep down that he won't…beat them to death, and thus he ends up with a less than stellar effort at keeping his team ahead. He does all he can, aiming for keepers, the other chaser, and the seeker, who disappointingly is not Potter, due to his issues with Umbridge, but it's not enough.

And then comes their Magnum Opus.

In the second half of the game, Ginny Weasley, his Ginny finds herself taken off the field for just a brief moment, in a puzzling move that furrows his brow. The score quickly evens out and then tips in their favor, 120-110, Slytherin. Letting out a sigh of relief, the Dragon King celebrates with a particularly nasty Bludger hit that takes out the Gryffindor seeker…and their broom, and while he and his teammates cheer in sadistic glee, this ends up being the most costly move of the match.

Subbing in for the broken Seeker is Ginny Weasley, a determined look on her face, as she just barely spares him a glance. Licking his lips nervously, Draco is unsure of what to do, other than bother the other team's chasers and maybe hurt their keeper, as he usually does. And so, like usual, the other team slowly dwindles in number, leaving Angelina Johnson, a heavily injured Keeper, and Ginny Weasley as Seeker as their only field able members. Even the reserves are taken down, as Draco puts forth Bludger after Bludger trying to prevent the inevitable.

The score is 180-120, Slytherin when he sees it, a reflection of golden light, as the Snitch flies right by him, with a blur of red and gold following swiftly behind it. He curses inwardly, as he sees Ginny, his Ginny close her hand around the Golden Snitch. The crowd goes wild as the game ends, 270-210, Gryffindor, with House Slytherin students being shocked into silence. This has never happened to them before, being spoiled by their king, and they don't know what to do nor what to feel.

The same can't be said by the Gryffindor house, who all celebrate loudly, singing songs as they raise Ginny upon their shoulders and parade her for the world to see. Ginny Weasley, Queen of the Lions, Savior of Gryffindor.

What little pride he feels is overwhelmed by the tremendous amounts of pure wrath and loathing.

For the first time since he entered this world, and certainly since he entered Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy has lost.