Hughes read the letter from the young Malfoy and smiled. It was perfect. He wrote a quick note in confirmation of the offer and sent it off.
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Draco had just finished his last class of the day, Potions and wanted to get back to his room to study, then maybe look for Ginny. As he passed the entrance to the Slytherin common room the stone door concealed in the wall slid open and Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode stepped out into the corridor. Pansy and Millicent started tittering when they saw him and so he tried to walk away faster, but Blaise called out his name. "Draco dear, how are you?"
Reluctantly he turned, "Tired Zabini, I want to go to my room."
Blaise stepped closer to Draco; she was standing so close that she could feel the heat coming off of his body. "Oh, but I'm sure you'd rather spend an hour or so of alone time with me. We don't even have to go back to that silly little room of yours. I know much better places that we could go to . . ."
He took a step back. "Yeah right, Zabini" he said as he started to walk away.
"Oh please, you don't really want to spend your time with the Weasley, do you?"
Draco didn't even stop to look at her but said over his shoulder, "I'd much rather spend my time with her, at least she has some integrity."
Blaise seethed, he had only gone a few steps when she called after him, "You'll regret that Draco, you have no idea how much. You'll pay for choosing that worthless . . . whore over me"
Draco paused mid stride, his anger at the insult at Ginny getting the better of him. He took out his wand, magic wasn't allowed in the corridors but in this case he was angry enough to make an exception, no one was going to tell on him anyways. He turned and before she knew what he was doing he had whispered "constrictus."
Blaise clutched at her neck; Draco had blocked her air passages and she was suffocating. As Draco turned to walk away he smiled. The spell was nothing really, it would wear off after 30 seconds but it would teach her a lesson, something she dearly needed.
He had just reached his room when he heard Blaise gasping fresh air, he rolled his eyes as he entered and was pleased to find someone very welcome waiting for him. She was sitting on his desk working on some paper or other and looked up and smiled when he entered. That smile lifted his spirits and he came over to kiss her.
The kiss started out as a tender peck but escalated, they couldn't seem to get close enough together, hungry for each others taste. Soon he was picking her up and carrying her over to his bed.
Ginny felt like she was on fire, it had never felt like this when Dean or Michael had kissed her, like he was her world and she was his. The way he kissed her made her feel like she was his everything. The desperation in her kiss increased, answering his and he laid her down on the soft down cover on his bed. He worked the buttons of her blouse open and his hands were everywhere.
It was only when she felt his erection against her thigh and he pulled down the zip to the side of her pleated skirt that she started to panic. Although she was aroused beyond reason her mind was screaming `Stop! Wait!' so she pushed him away and tried to sit up.
Draco felt her hands push his away and although it pained him to do it, he backed off.
"What?" he asked, trying not to sound too impatient to get back to what they had started. Ginny backed away a little bit.
"I'm sorry, I guess I'm not ready to go that far yet" she said softly.
"Go that far?" he said confused.
"Oh come on Draco, you were taking my skirt off, it doesn't take a genius to reach the logical conclusion."
It dawned on Draco that she was scared. He assumed that she'd done this before with her other boyfriends but obviously he was wrong. He didn't know what to say, there was an overwhelming urge to demand that she give to him what she had blatantly seemed to have been offering, as he would have done with any other girl. But he had more respect for her than that, whatever happened he knew that Ginny was different. Did he really want her to be like Blaise?
When he saw Ginny's uncertainty but determination to go through with her decision he decided he could wait a little longer.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realise . . ." he started.
"No I'm sorry."
"No, you don't have to be" Draco came closer and gathered Ginny up in his arms, he would go no further today.
Ginny stiffened at first but then relaxed into his arms. "Soon, I promise, just not yet." She said.
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The days crawled by and they settled into a routine. They would spend lots of time together but not in his room, in fact Ron had seen them around and had made it clear that he didn't like what she was doing. She had in turn told him that she didn't care and they hadn't been talking for a while, Ginny considered it a mixed blessing.
She and Draco had made arrangements for the Hogsmeade weekend, he had some sort of meeting but they would spend the majority of their time together. He had been adamant that when she wasn't with him she would stay with her friends and she had agreed; ever since she had had that meeting with Vehka and Mirhe she was prepared to take precautions.
The Saturday of the Hogsmeade weekend had arrived and the school was seated in the great hall having breakfast when the owl post came.
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Draco saw the owls come in to deliver the post and a beautiful eagle owl landed in front of him. It was a letter from his mother that he had been expecting. He had asked her for advice concerning his meeting with Hughes and she had replied, he untied the letter and slowly opened it.
It read:
Dear Draco
I understand that you dearly want to reach your father as I do. But please exercise caution when meeting with this man, although he could have been an associate of your father I have never heard of him. I would advise you not to meet him at all but I know that if I did you would go anyways.
I'm glad that you had the sense to choose the Three Broomsticks but remember, don't leave with him and try to always stay in places where there are people around you. These are dangerous times and I want you to be safe.
Remember that I'm proud of you no matter what happens and whatever this man says, your father was proud of you too. I've never told you this but he felt trapped in the situation that he created for himself and he never wanted you to follow in the his footsteps, I know you understand what I mean. Please take what I'm writing into consideration
Much love,
Mother
Draco folded the note slowly. He knew what she meant; she wanted him to know that neither she nor his father wanted him to join the death eaters. It was comforting to have his mother's advice at hand and she was right, if she had said no he still would have gone.
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The silence was stifling.
Draco was sitting in a carriage to Hogsmeade with Ginny and her two friends, he thought their names were Jenny and Sarah but he wasn't sure so he thought it best to keep his mouth shut. He had wanted to take a carriage with just Ginny but she had insisted that she wasn't going to `abandon' her friends for the day. The result was a very extended awkward silence.
"So . . ." said Sarah as Draco sent Ginny `I-told-you-this-would-be-a-disaster' glares, "where are we planning to go?"
Draco bit down an acid comment and no one else answered so they lapsed into another silence. When they finally reached Hogsmeade Jenny and Sarah were quick to make polite excuses to leave the couple on their own. Draco and Ginny then started walking around together.
Ginny started laughing, Draco was confused but let her laughter slide with only a puzzled glance.
"That was so funny - " she said, cracking up again, "I really didn't think would go so badly."
"I don't see what's so funny about it," Draco said as they walked into Honeydukes, "I just think that we shouldn't do that again anytime soon."
"I know, I promise it won't. And you didn't bite my friend's heads off, which was very sweet." She turned, smiling, to give him a peck on the cheek.
Draco sighed and they walked around the shelves of Honeydukes, looking at the cockroach clusters and blood popsicles but eventually just settling on the tried and true formula of chocolate frogs and Bertie Bott's every flavour beans.
After spending a few hours together Ginny left to meet her friends at Zonko's and Draco went off to the Three Broomsticks to have his meeting. All he told Ginny was that he was going to meet someone involved in family matters and she was reluctant to push him for more information on something he was obviously very apprehensive about.
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Hughes waited in the Three Broomsticks taking a booth at the back of the crowded establishment. Draco Malfoy was three minutes late, you'd think the boy would be more punctual with his upbringing. Four minutes late when Draco stopped loitering outside and stepped into the Three Broomsticks. He quickly spotted Hughes who waved him over.
"Mister Hughes" Draco said by way of greeting, giving a slight bow before sitting down.
"Mister Malfoy" replied Hughes giving a nod of his head. "You know why I've come; your father wants to know what you are going to do with your life. This is how I will relay your answers to him; I will write what you say here, you will sign it and then it will be given to your father to read."
"Alright" said Draco.
"Alright, let's start. What careers are you thinking of going into after you graduate from Hogwarts?"
"I've been thinking of going into commerce, perhaps working for Gringotts if my NEWT results are adequate. I'm also thinking of working for the Ministry."
"Okay" said Hughes as he continued to write. "Why do you want to go into these professions?"
"Well, I've always been good with money and I think its something I would enjoy, I've been thinking of working in the Ministry because I know how the system works and I am ambitious, I want to so well and I think that through the ministry I can do so."
"Yes" he replied as he wrote that down. "There's another thing your father wanted to discuss, you do know that he wanted you to join several organisations." He raised his head to give Draco a meaningful look.
"What do you mean?" said Draco, careful not to show the despair that crept into his being at those words. He hoped that Hughes's `organisation' didn't mean the Voldemort's circle. Please don't make this a trick, please just be for real, please let me just talk to my father.
"Organisations concerning your father's . . . beliefs. I know you understand what I mean."
Draco understood and he fought the urge to scream to run, even to cry. He just sat still and looked at Hughes. "I understand," he said carefully, his tone ice cold, "I think I'd better leave."
"What do you mean? I thought you wanted to speak to your father."
"I did. But I also know that he didn't want me to join any organisations connected to his `beliefs' as you say." Draco rose but Hughes grabbed his hand and made him sit down again with a rough pull.
"Do not walk away from me. So you've found out I'm not really carrying a message from your father. It doesn't matter, what does matter is that our Lord has made you an offer and you had better not refuse it." Hughes told him.
Draco rose again and said to him, "Don't threaten me, and tell your Lord that I refuse his offer and that I always will refuse."
While Hughes remained in the seat fuming Draco stalked out of the Three Broomsticks.
He ran into Ginny and her friends walking in to get a butterbeer. Seeing them he grabbed Ginny, pulled her away from her friends and dragged her away from the Three Broomsticks. It didn't matter which direction they went in as long as it was away from Hughes and all the lies he weaved.
"Draco, what is going on?" said Ginny. Draco didn't answer but kept on pulling her along until he reached the Shrieking Shack. Here he stopped, out of breath from climbing the hill and sat down on a tree stump putting his head in his hands.
"Draco?" Ginny asked timidly, stepping towards him.
Draco didn't answer, he just drew her down and held her. It was as if everything had fallen apart. All his hopes to speak to his father had faded. He held her as if his life depended on it because he felt that if he let go he might break apart.
Ginny didn't know why he was holding her with such desperation but she did know that he needed her and so she let him hold her and tried to whisper comforting nothings in his ear. She would wait to find out what had happened.
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A/N: Another chapter out and I'm actually quite proud of it. Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters found in the 5 books and I'm not making money off of this so don't sue.