A/N: Thanks for being patient with me. The formatting is getting better! Yippee! Still need a beta! Any takers?
Chapter 4
The water ran down into his eyes, his black hair soaked to his face. His arms were out and his palms were pressed against the wall of the shower. His muscles developed from Quidditch flexed as he leaned forward under the hot cascading water again. He couldn't get clean. He just couldn't get clean enough. Harry knew he had been in the shower for more than an hour, but he didn't care. After Hermione had figured Draco found the ashes from Voldemort's wand, Harry still didn't sense what that could mean.
Who cares about ashes, right? What's the big deal, he thought as he let the water hit him. Apparently it was big enough for the Minister to demand them and keep them safe. Apparently they were strong enough to cause alarm.
Voldemort's voice was inside his head again. You will never be rid of me Harry; I will forever haunt you, taking pieces of your soul. You will never escape me Harry.
He punched a wet fist against the tile as if the evil bastard were standing in front of him and groaned in pain. How could this happen? What was the Minister doing?
Then there was the matter of Draco even giving up that sort of information. Could he be trusted? Why should he be? After years of lies, deceit, and murder at Hogwarts, it kind of made Harry extremely wary of Draco's intentions. Hermione got into a screaming match with Draco and Ginny, demanding to know why he would give anyone such a thing, knowing the destruction it could cost. Ron repeatedly tried to get Harry out of shock, as he stood there gob smacked that the ashes could be used against him. Draco had stood his ground, saying that he saw no sinister plans with the Minister, and that he was just doing his job.
"A job?!" Hermione yelled, pointing a finger in his face. "Do you even know what those ashes can possibly bring on? Do you even care? Or is it about what it's always been about?!"
"What exactly are you excusing me of?" Draco snapped back. He glared at Hermione angrily and he didn't care if that oaf Ron or Super Harry were standing there. "I was doing my job. Coogle is the Minister of our government. What do you expect him to do?"
"Ha! A true defender of authority right here!" Ron chuckled, mostly to goad Malfoy.
Hermione fumed, her fists balled up at her sides. Ron stood behind her, ready to resume the job of kicking Draco's ass. "You have no concept of what you could have possibly caused. You're just trying to get back at Harry, so you give over a dark wizard's potentially powerful ashes. Once a traitor to all wizard kind, always a traitor!"
Ginny pushed her brother out of the way. "What do you expect him to do Hermione? Not do his job because it might possibly affect Harry? This is the Minister, he's not some dark lord wielding power."
"Oh shut up about things you don't know Ginny. I know you have the mark, Draco. Is it still calling you to do wicked things?" She pointed at his exposed forearm, and he flinched back and pulled his sleeve over it.
The rage in Hermione was uncontrollable. Draco glared at her intensely and she glared back. Her statement hit him in some way. She looked over at her husband, who was standing there, his brow furrowed. He obviously believed he had destroyed Voldemort, and it's possible he did, but what if his wand's ashes still held the intense power Voldemort wielded?
"Get off my property." Draco said through gritted teeth.
Hermione moved around them and to Harry. "Harry, let's go."
Hermione stepped inside the steamed bathroom closing the door behind her. She had no intention of romance; she could tell how Harry tensed suddenly at Draco's. They apparated back home and Harry ran into the bathroom and vomited. She couldn't fathom how he felt. His whole life dedicated to destroying this one person, and now, his remnants may be back to haunt Harry. She saw him leaning into the water.
"Harry?" she finally got enough courage to speak, but it was barely a whisper.
He shook his head and brushed the wet strands out of his face. He could barely see her standing next to the door with all the steam in the room. "I'll be out in a minute, luv."
"Alright," she replied softly and turned to the door. She took a deep breath and gathered her nerve, turning once again to Harry. "Are you okay?"
He was silent for a minute, as if he had to think about his answer. He finally did. "No."
The shower turned off and Harry stepped out the shower and reached for a towel to dry off. Hermione reached first and handed it to him, trying desperately to get him to look at her.
"Please talk to me."
Harry dried himself slowly, taking pause at all the scars that were on his skin. Scars of war, scars of death. "I'll be fine."
"So fine is being in the shower for an hour?"
"Yes."
"Right." Hermione crossed her arms. "We've been married for two years now. I know when you're upset. I hate when you do this."
"Do what Hermione?" He asked annoyingly.
"Shut me out. I saw your face! You looked horrified. Scared!"
"I said I was fine." He huffed and pulled on a pair of clean boxers before going towards the door to leave. Hermione jumped in front of him blocking the door. "Move Mione, I'm tired."
"No! Talk to me!"
"You know what? Fine! What were you doing at Draco's?"
Well, that's not what I wanted to talk about, Hermione thought. She pulled herself up on the counter and looked at Harry. "Same reason you were there."
"I was there to kick his ass and get some answers."
"Well…me too, but my methods weren't as violent as yours."
He dried his hair with the towel draped around his neck. "So you weren't about to deck Ginny or Malfoy? Please, I might not be as bright as you, but I'm not dumb Hermione."
"I never said you were! And if I were to hit Ginny, she deserved it, the way she came at Ron! And Malfoy's an arsehole, but he's an arsehole with the answers about Coogle!"
"Hmm…" Harry studied his wife's intense face for a moment. "What prompted a visit to Malfoy at that moment? You aren't telling me something."
"Harry…"
"No, you're right. We're married now. We need to talk to each other. Or is that just only pertaining to when I don't want to talk about something?"
"I never said-" Hermione went to protest but Harry cut her off.
"If something has happened, you need to tell me. You went to Draco's because something happened."
Hermione looked away. "I don't want to you to fly off the broom with this. It's stupid really."
"What happened?" He asked softly, stepping in front of her.
Hermione bit her lip and hesitated for a moment. She knew Harry would snap and do something stupid if she told him about Coogle. But she couldn't lie to her husband. She inhaled slowly and stared up at the emerald orbs looking intensely at her.
"Coogle came into the bookstore today."
**********************************
Coogle's chair was turned the other way and Malfoy couldn't make out what his face looked like. Maybe it was for the best, he would have hated to see disappointment or anger in Coogle's expression. And for the moment, Coogle was silent, which probably was not a good thing.
Draco swallowed audibly and looked down at his hands to distract him from the crushing silence. He had failed his mission to successfully recruit Harry so far. Maybe he'd be taken off this blasted assignment and put on something more fitting, like a centaur rebellion or something.
"You want off this assignment?" Coogle's voice interjected.
Draco's head shot up. How the hell did he know what he was thinking?! "No sir."
"Maybe it's too much for you. Maybe you can't convince Mr. Potter of what the Ministry of capable of offering him. You and Potter were rivals once, no?"
"Yes sir, but-"
"I'll be happy to assign it to Dweedle, or Nukfoot in your department." Coogle turned around to face Draco, his aging face calm and peaceful. He began scribbling on a piece of parchment, as Draco struggled with himself whether this was a blessing or a curse. "They seem like the diligent sort, willing to meet expectations."
Internally, Draco battled with two opposites of himself over what to do.
Say something! Stop him!
Are you nuts, you wanted out! Here it is!
You have to put your issues with Potty aside and do your job.You're going to be sacked if you don't. SACKED!
Oh shut up, this assignment is useless. I could have told him from the beginning Potty would say no.
You are scared. Scared Potty will come in the Ministry and be better than you, once again be the golden boy. It'll be just like Hogwarts, the old man and the golden boy again. And you're being forced to watch from the sidelines.
Fuck you.
I'm just saying…
Draco shook his head again and his mouth seemed to dry up. He didn't know what to say. "Please sir, give me another chance."
Coogle looked up and stared intensely at Draco. He didn't seem too angry. Malfoy didn't want the Minister to believe he was weak and ineffective. He spent all his life trying to be worthy of something, trying to please someone, even if he was against what they were expecting him to do.
The Minister finally looked back at the parchment he began to scribble on and balled it up. "Alright. But I want to be clear that I expect you to get Mr. Potter on our side. I am sure you understand he can be a great value to us. His powers are unmatched nowadays."
"I will sir. It's just…I have to find a way to convince him…"
"Well, obviously the methods you have employed haven't been effective. Perhaps-" Coogle stopped suddenly, staring back at Draco. He smiled and suddenly Draco felt that tickling again. "Perhaps, a more 'hands on' approach."
Draco lifted an eyebrow in confusion. This was going to be interesting. "Sir?"
**************************
"Ron, please tell Harry he's being ridiculous."
Ron looked from Hermione to Harry and back to Hermione. He just shook his head and resumed playing wizard's chess with Luna. He wasn't getting in the middle of this.
She frowned at Ron's lack of support and spat, "Honestly, you both are being stupid."
Harry just shrugged and walked over to the other side of the bookstore, whirling his wand to set the wards. Ever since Hermione had told him of Coogle's visit, he never let her out of his sight. And if he absolutely had to leave the only thing that could protect her was wards.
"See I knew you were going to over react as usual. That's why I didn't want to tell you."
"So you were going to lie to me?" Harry looked at her irritably.
She looked slapped as she turned red and frowned. "How dare you!"
"Well mate, I guess you'll be sleeping on the couch tonight." Ron stated, as Luna checked his queen and giggled. "How'd you do that?"
"You were distracted by Hermione." Luna smirked. She began to arrange the chess pieces again. "What kind of wards are you putting up Harry?"
Distracted by Luna, Harry left the angered stare of his wife and answered, "The kind of wards that trace who enters. Keeps all magical folks out, well except you, and my Gryffindor alumni, and Amy of course. Only you and I can filter who we want in."
"What about the customers? Hello?!" Hermione said agitatedly.
But her husband was resolute in his solution. "I don't care about them. I care about you. And like I said, we can filter them in if they ring properly."
Hermione huffed in frustration and walked to the back storage room leaving Harry to finish placing the wards.
"Will it keep him out?" Ron asked as Harry continued to wave his wand.
"No sure. But it's the strongest I know."
Harry muttered the last ward and went looking for his pissed off wife. Hermione was in her office, ravaging through her book orders, obviously taking out her anger on the poor paperwork. She was mumbling to herself and Harry stood in the doorway for a minute, not sure if she was thinking of multiple hexes to put on him.
"So…"He said quietly, testing to see if she would pull her wand. "I'm done. I can read your magical signature. Coogle can't come in, neither can Draco or Crabbe or Goyle."
"Whatever," Hermione waved to dismiss him.
Harry frowned at her action and came charging at her desk. "Why are you so angry?! This is to protect you!"
His wife lifted her brown eyes to his green and concentrated on him. "Is it? Because he didn't threaten me!"
"You said yourself you almost pulled you wand on him! Merlin 'Mione, we don't know what this man is capable of! The harassment, Malfoy, the ashes…I don't know what his card is yet."
"Well, shouldn't we figure out what he's doing before we go and throw up wards? Instead of turning into some goddamned row."
"I don't want to fight with you Hermione!"
She sighed heavily. "I know. It's just…he could break them possibly. We have to find out what he is capable of first. If he's even a threat."
"Yeah, well, just how do you suppose we do that?"
Hermione stood and walked over to Harry. "Malfoy knows more than he's telling us."
"Yeah? Well beating the shit out of him didn't get me much last time." Harry huffed, pulling her towards him to hold her.
She let him embrace her as she pondered bringing this up at all. They would be breaking laws. Hell Harry might actually go for that. "We break into Malfoy Manor. Draco might keep some files there."
"That, Mrs. Potter, is against the law."
"So? He's got to have something in there that can tell us what this Coogle is up to."
"We aren't certain of that, Mione."
"No, which is why it's risky." She replied, looking up at him.
He kissed her lips and pulled her closer. "What about Ginny? We can go there when Malfoy's at the office but how will we distract her?"
"Well…since she'd probably use the bat bogey hex on Ron… maybe we can get you to distract her." Hermione closed her eyes and leaned into his hard chest.
Harry's breath caught at her suggestion. He would definitely be able to hold Ginny's attention, but did he want to? "And you won't have a problem with that? You won't come charging in ready to kill her?"
"No, Ron and I will break into the house while you distract her. I promise she won't even know I'm there. Besides, you're mine, destiny says so." She smiled at the last bit.
"Right. Well, Mrs. Potter, when do you suppose we break into Malfoy manor?"
******************************
Ginny flew down the foyer stairs in a speed she never knew she had. Harry was calling. She practically squeaked into the call box when he said his name. And he was alone. Even better, she thought. Draco was out at the office, as he had been for the last few weeks. Apparently he was still tracking Harry, and Ginny was trying to figure out a way to see what he had hidden in that file of his. Of course he would distract her with other activities while he was here, and he kept his office locked when he was out.
She checked herself in the mirror before she opened the door, smiling the brightest smile she possibly could.
"Harry…"She said seductively. "I'm surprised to see you."
Harry snapped his head up to see Ginny impeccably dressed, her long red hair pulled into a high bun and she was doused in perfume. He almost choked on the overwhelming scent of it.
"I wanted to talk to you."
Ginny stared oddly at him, as if in shock at his words. "Oh?"
"Can I come in?"
She nodded and moved back as he stepped inside the house. She closed the door and stepped in front of him to take in the magnificence that was Harry Potter. That should have been her Harry Potter. His black hair was shorter but still stuck up in odd directions, giving him a carefree look that she always adored. She could see his muscles ripple under his tee shirt, and he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans, probably becoming aware that she was looking him over.
"Draco's not here, if you're here to kick his ass again." She said, crossing her arms to bring his focus to her chest.
Harry smiled slightly and reached to scratch the back of head. "Yeah, about last time. That didn't go like I planned. We had really come just to talk to Draco. Ron…well you know Ron."
"Yeah, I do."
Harry looked inquisitively at the woman he no longer knew in front of him. Once a smiling happy and playful Weasley, Ginny looked like an aristocrat now. She looked flawless and poised, but he could tell in her eyes, she carried a sadness about her. Something he probably was responsible for, breaking her heart and all.
"So, why are you here Harry?"
"To see you."
She chuckled in disbelief. "Right. Now why are you really here? Hermione isn't stupid enough to let you come see me alone."
"Well, no. I lied. I mean, I am here to see Malfoy but you are important too Ginny. I guess in a way…I wanted to apologize to you."
"Apologize?" Ginny's face went blank for a minute, her eyes searching his own. "For what exactly?"
Harry paused. He didn't know what to say exactly. Shit, I should have thought of that before I came here. He had always wanted to apologize true enough, for hurting her, but never for choosing Hermione. Besides it was just a distraction, but obviously a stupid one. Harry didn't know if he wanted to be in the middle of an argument with Ginny about their past while trying to carry out this plan. But she looked genuinely confused. Ginny had been so angry when she found out, she disowned her family because they gave Harry their blessings. This had to be resolved.
"For hurting you. For driving you away from your family."
Ginny couldn't take her eyes away from Harry's. Her face dropped and her heart began to beat faster as she tried to process what he just said.
When she didn't say anything, Harry continued. "I know this is odd. It's been years and I don't want to pick at old wounds. But I think I do realize how hurt you were. It was never my intention to hurt you Ginny. I know you felt strongly about me and I-"
"Why are you bringing this up now?" she said in a quiet voice, dropping her eyes from his gaze.
"I-I guess I see you here. And you just…I don't see the Ginny I knew."
"The Ginny you knew doesn't exist anymore."
Harry nodded. "And I think that's why I have to do this. See if we can get her back, maybe?"
Ginny blinked. "I loved you, you know. I really did. I wanted to marry…"
Harry swallowed hard. Errrrr...maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe I should have stuck to a subject like Quittdich. "I see."
She shook her head, her face red now. She was becoming vunerable in front of him. "No, you don't. I loved you, Harry. I never really got to tell you. You broke up with me to protect me, but I…I would have fought with you if you didn't push me away. I just never got the chance because you never gave me another."
Harry couldn't look at her anymore. He was always sorry he hurt Ginny, but he couldn't see any good coming out of this conversation. "I did it for a lot of reasons. Mostly to protect you. Also because I couldn't be completely honest with you about what I was doing. And because you were young. I didn't want any of that to touch you."
"That's a load of bullshit. You let Ron and Hermione go with you. She followed you like a little lost dog and you let her." Ginny said harshly. "I was your girlfriend! Me! But no, it was Hermione you ended up trusting and Hermione who ended up being the one you loved. She stole you from me!"
Harry looked at Ginny like she had grown a second head. Hermione hadn't stole Harry from Ginny. Harry was the one who went to Hermione, who loved her, who wanted her by his side no matter what. "No, it wasn't like that Ginny!"
He watched as Ginny began to pace in her stiletto heels. "Of course you make excuses for her Harry! She knew how I felt; she knew I loved you even before I knew you! And she took you from me!"
"What? No! It's not like-"
"NO! And you come here and say you want to apologize, don't dismiss what you two did! I would have loved you come hell or high water Harry. I would have done just as she, standing right beside you on the battlefield! But no, you had to be honorable, and sweet. You had to shield me even when I didn't ask you to!" He could see tears form in her eyes. "I don't hate you for it. I just can't be angry with you. But Hermione, she…she lied! She betrayed me in the worst way! She was never my friend!"
"I don't know what to say Ginny."
Ginny walked up to Harry, getting so close he could feel her breath on his face. "Of course you don't. But you felt it too, the moment you came here, we connected again…"
Harry looked at her, confused. She was talking nonsense now and he had opened a can of worms he didn't want to open.
She pushed herself against him. "Take me away from here. Please. We can leave."
"OY!"
"What?" Ginny asked looking up at Harry.
"Er…oh boy. I said…oh boy. As in this is a bad idea." Harry stammered. Oh my god, this has to stop. She wants to run away together?! Harry stepped back. "I shouldn't have come."
"No you shouldn't have." Draco's voice echoed through the foyer.
Oh, shit. Harry turned and looked at the blonde man standing behind him. Draco slammed the front door and stalked over to Harry and Ginny. Ginny wiped her eyes and cheeks and then sneered at Draco.
"What are you doing home?"
"I live here, remember? Or were you planning to let Potter move in?" Draco spat. He stared Ginny down and she sucked in her bottom lip and chewed on it.
"I just came by to apologize for what happened the last time I was here." Harry stated. He whistled loudly and smiled at Draco. He wasn't scared of Draco. But he wanted to keep him downstairs that's for sure.
"Funny, I didn't walk in on an apology." Draco huffed, his glare returned to Ginny.
"Well, the conversation veered to other things. But I want to apologize for what happened." Harry held out a hand to Draco.
Malfoy eyed his extended hand suspiciously but didn't take it. "Great, now get out."
Harry's smile faded but he stood where he was and dropped his rejected hand to his side. "I was invited in this time, actually."
He watched him walk away and bypassed Ginny to go up the stairs. Damn it, Harry thought. Harry knew he had to think of something fast. He racked his brain for a second and then finally came up with something. "I needed to talk to you."
"I'm done talking. Are you done talking…Ginny?" Draco asked cutting his eyes at the young miss.
She barely nodded, shame all over her face.
Malfoy stopped in his tracks and turned back to Harry. "Don't play with me Potter. What are you here for?"
"You want to make nice with your Minister, right? It'll do good for him to know you talked to me. Even for a little while."
"Why? Why would you do this now?"
"I guess I'm a little bit interested in hearing what you have to say. And the ashes."
"I'm not talking about the ashes. That's confidential."
"Ah. I see. But hey, if you don't want to talk to me, I can just go to him directly, let him know I was rebuffed by you."
Draco stared at Harry and came back down to stand in front of him. "If you're lying Potter, I swear…"
Harry crooked a smile at Draco. "Now…you know better than giving me empty threats. And they are empty Malfoy. Shall we go in your drawing room and have a sit?"
Draco frowned and stomped towards the room, followed by a sneering Harry and a flustered Ginny.
*******************************
"What are you doing Hermione?" Ron whispered as he crouched down behind a bush.
Hermione wiped her mouth with the back her hands, fighting back the wave of nervousness that took over. Sodding nerves. Sure she had broken plenty of rules before, but for some reason, breaking in Malfoy's house was getting to her. She was no seasoned criminal. Which was pathetic seeing as it was her idea. She shook her head to clear her mind and pushed back a branch to watch as Harry walked up the steps to the front door.
"As soon as that door opens Ronald, hoist me up through that window."
"Did you just throw up?" Ron winced. Hermione shot a nasty look at him and turned back just in time to see Ginny open the door. She whipped around and gripped Ron by the shoulders and he boosted her up towards the window. "I don't see why we can't just use a levitation charm?"
"Security wards, Ronald. They sense blast of charms outside the manor."
"Did you gain like 200 pounds lately Hermione?" Ron muttered, struggling to keep her steady.
Hermione pulled herself up into the ledge, but not before kicking the side of Ron's face. "Shut up Ron!"
"Ouch!"
Hermione pulled the rest of her weight onto the ledge and swooped around to put her legs inside the window. She lowered herself down in what looked like the first floor lounge. Her eyes darted on each of the antique pieces and she let herself admire the taste the Malfoys had in fine furniture. Bloody murderers but fine taste. She could hear Harry in the front foyer, talking to Ginny. So it was then she made her move and swiftly walked up the back stairs that she remembered from her first visit to the Malfoy house with the Order to interrogate Lucius. Once on the second floor she didn't hesitate to walk quickly to the 3rd door and push it open. But it was stuck. Shit.
After chewing at her lip and thinking about what spell she could use without being detected, she muttered, "Alohamara" and the door clicked open. Stupid Malfoy and his weak locking charms.
The study was dark and she didn't want to turn on a light so she lifted her wand and whispered, "Lumos."
A soft light can from the tip and she moved around the room finally finding a file cabinet in the corner. She crept over and listened to see if she heard anything. Ron was supposed to be watching outside, and Harry would whistle loudly if anyone were coming upstairs. She pulled on the file cabinet door and that of course was locked too.
As she was about to mutter a spell to unlock it, she noticed a picture of Harry sitting on Draco's desk. Hermione stepped over to the desk and found that it was littered with pictures of Harry and her. Her eyes widened as she looked at the pictures, Harry at the bookstore, Harry and her at dinner with Luna and Ron. Beside the photo was an open file. Hermione picked it up and looked at it. It was about Harry. Everything from what he eats for breakfast to how he slept.
Sucking in a tight breath, she flipped through the profile quickly, reading the notes. Draco had been tailing Harry for weeks. He knew his schedule and his habits. He also knew Hermione's and even Ron and Luna's. She turned the next page and there were notes of Harry's past, his mother and father, the war. She flipping again, she saw pages on Dumbledore and Sirius Black. Harry's post-war St. Mungo's report, even Harry's therapy sessions. Hermione wished Draco did burst in just so she could kick his ass for invading their privacy in such a way.
"OY!" She heard Ron call from the window.
Hermione placed the file down, trying to flip it back to the pages just as if no one had touched it. In her haste, a lot of the photos slid off the desk onto the floor. Shit! She scrambled to get them up and she locked on a certain piece of parchment on the floor. She had no time to read it, so she stuffed it in her shirt and collected the remaining photos. Draco wouldn't miss this, it was on the floor anyway, she thought to herself before sneaking out the door of the office and relocking it.
"Nox," made her wand dim out and she crept back down the staircase towards the opened window. She heard 3 voices, Harry's, Ginny's, and Draco's. Thank goodness she got out of there in time. Harry whistled loudly and Hermione snuck out the window and landed in a thump on Ron.
"Could you have been any louder?" She hissed. Ron shrugged his shoulders as they ducked out the bush and ran to apparate back to the flat.
********************************************
Potter was full of it. He talked of nothing for hours that day and Draco felt as if he was wasting time. It had been a few days since Draco wished he could hex the crap out of Potty in the drawing room for asking those idiotic bumbling questions and giving very little useful answered. Surely, Coogle would not want to know of that report. Besides, Malfoy had bigger fish to fry, if he could just locate where he had it last…
"Where is it? Oh no! Where is it?!" Draco tossed more papers around his desk furiously. He had already destroyed his study. "Please be here! Please!"
He rushed over to the file cabinet and looked again. Nothing. Shit. Damn. Kill me. He turned slowly and eyes his disheveled office again. His life was over. It had been a week since Harry had shown up again. Maybe somehow he found a way into the study. Maybe… maybe Ginny snuck back in and took it. That treacherous leech! Draco slammed a hard fist on the desk and stalked down the hall to the master bedroom. Ginny lay sprawled across the sheets, sleeping yet again. Draco gripped the covers and yanked it off her naked form.
"Where is it?!" He yelled.
Ginny sat up at the feel of cold air on her body and the sound of Draco's booming voice. "W-what? Huh?"
"Don't lie to me! You've been in my study again! Where is it?!"
Ginny rubbed her eyes and finally focused on the angry blonde in front of her. She stretched and yawned. "What are you talking about?"
"Get up! Get up and tell me where you put it!" Draco tossed the covers aside and yanked Ginny out of the bed. She stumbled slightly but grabbed his forearm for support.
She tried to yank her arm away from him but he held tight. "You're hurting me!"
Draco's angry glare softened a bit and he quickly released her.
Ginny rubbed her wrists and snarled. "You've gone mental! Coming in here yelling at me abou- what are you yelling at me about?!"
"My study! You've been in there again haven't you?"
"NO!" She hissed, realizing she was nude. She walked over to the discarded covers and draped a sheet around her. "I haven't. You know, you're been completely mental since Harry came here! Yelling and accusing me of the most preposterous things! I'm tired of your accusations and your moods!" She spat and stomped off to the bathroom.
Draco grimaced and composed himself. Oh no, she would not turn this on me. She's been in my study. She's practically working Potter like a stripper pole when I walked in the other day. He walked to the bathroom and banged on the closed door.
"Don't try to turn it back on me Ginny! I saw you salivating after Potter. Throwing yourself at a married man! Sick!"
Ginny pulled open the door and stood defiantly. "Fuck you, Draco."
"Right. Exactly. Fuck me. And live with me. But still love Potter. I want you to get your ruddy things and get out of my house!"
Ginny opened the door in shock and glared at him. "You want me out? Because I dared to remember what it was like to love Harry? You knew! You always knew! And why now are so insecure about it?!"
"Because you stole from me for him! Part of my file is missing and you gave it to him! And guess what…after his little visit here, he went home to his wife." Draco knew he was hurting her and despite wanting to enjoy it, he couldn't.
"No I didn't! He was in the foyer the whole time and so was I! But you know what Draco? Fine I'll leave." She hissed, dragging the sheet behind her. She went back to the room and began to gather her things.
He watched her angrily pull her things from the bureau, and dress quickly in jeans and a t-shirt. She then began yanking things out of her closet, and tossing them on the floor. Her red hair flung back and forth as she paced from dresser to dresser, removing her belonging. Suddenly a sharp pain hit his chest. It hurt like hell and he paused until it dulled away. What was that? Indigestion?
Ginny stomped past him to the bathroom again, pulling her things out of cabinets.
"Ginny. W-wait."
She stopped suddenly and stared up at him, her eyes red and watery. She said nothing but her eyes said it all. Pain.
"I'm…I'm…I'm...well-"
"You're an arsehole."
He stared down at the back of his hands. "Yes. And I-"
"Deserve to burn in hell for treating me like this." She growled.
"Now you're being ridiculous. But a part of my file is missing."
She resumed pulling her things from the cabinet. "I didn't take it. I don't know why you're following Harry, nor did he ask."
"Why was he here?" Draco stared at her, causing her to pause again.
"Oh, so you haven't sussed out the situation?" Ginny snapped, clearly pissed beyond all reason. "He came to apologize. For his actions the other day."
Draco snorted. "Yeah, right. Potter apologizing for kicking my ass, imagine that."
"Maybe it wasn't all about you." Ginny mumbled but Draco heard her.
"Look, you-you can stay. We had a deal. But let's be honest, Potter wasn't here for you."
"How do you know? Is it so hard to imagine he would want me?" Ginny spat.
"Yes, especially when he's married Ginny."
She looked at him with cold eyes and stood in front of him. "That's just a technicality."
Draco stared back at her, searching her for a minute. "Well, if you want to continue to embarrass yourself, be my guest. What do I care?" he glanced behind him at the piles of clothes all over the floor before walking to the door to leave. "Clean up your mess."