The Malfoy Inquisition

Chapter Three

It was late into the evening - perhaps even early morning - when Neville finally ran to the bathroom to throw up his guts. Ginny shared a wry expression with Draco as they watched him go.

“I can’t decide if he’s terrible at holding his liquor, or if you just happen to be excellent at it,” Draco said, then picked up another shot, holding it out to cheers her.

“Someone thinks highly of himself, doesn't he?” Ginny chinked her glass against his, then twisted slightly in order to throw it over her shoulder without Draco seeing.

Ginny was, of course, quite exceptional at drinking, but she had the good common sense that tonight could be a golden opportunity for her, and she was certainly not going to waste it by getting slaughtered. Conversely, she was astounded that Draco had held up so well. He was still quite lucid, despite the fact she’d supplied the three of them with enough shots to give a hippogriff liver poisoning - and only herself downed a fraction of those. Now that Neville was most probably stuck with his head in down the toilet, she was definitely feeling guilty.

Hannah hurried over a moment later, a frown creasing her forehead. “Is he alright?” she asked, worriedly, tilting her head towards the bathrooms where Neville had vanished to.

"He'll be fine," Ginny assured the witch, nearly confident that she was right, then turned to Draco, apologetically. Ginny hadn't exactly learnt much that evening, but she wasn't ruthless enough to abandon her friend in her pursuit of an Astoria-free future - though that did give her an idea to buy some more time with Draco . "I should probably get him home," she said, then glanced at her watch, frowning. "It's after one!"

"Let me escort you," Draco quickly offered - almost too quickly. "That's no time for a lady to be travelling alone."

Simultaneously relieved that he'd saved her from playing a damsel-in-distress, and irritated that he presumably didn't think she could look after herself, she attempted a grateful look. "Thank you. Hannah, would you happen to have a potion to settle Neville's stomach?"

"What kind of barmaid would I be if I didn't?" Hannah replied with a sniff, then summoned one from behind the counter and handed it to Draco.

He raised a brow, then glanced at Hannah. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Hannah looked expectantly at him, hands on hips. "He's in the men's room," she said, then waved a hand around the near-empty bar. "I sent my last male employee home a half hour ago."

Ginny covered her smirk with her hand, wondering how Draco would handle his current predicament. After a long look at Hannah, then at the small bottle in his hand, he surprised Ginny by getting to his feet and striding away - to sort out Neville, she hoped.

One look at Hannah's pale face after he disappeared into the men’s room sent Ginny into a laughing fit. "You look as though someone passed over your grave."

"They might as well have. He could send a person into anaphylactic shock with that stare."

Ginny shook her head, getting to her feet with the intent of helping Malfoy haul Neville into the street, but promptly fell flat on her arse as she slid over in all of the liquid she'd been throwing over her shoulder. Sheepishly, she glanced up at Hannah.

"You paid for them," Hannah said with a shrug, taking Ginny by the arms to help her up. "It's not really a concern of mine what you or Malfoy do with them after that, as long as nothing gets broken."

That made Ginny slip to the floor once more, and she landed with with an oomph. "Wait a minute. 'You or Malfoy'?"

Hannah gave Ginny's arm another tug, opening her mouth to respond, when she stopped suddenly. Draco had emerged from the men's room, Neville thrown across his back in a fireman's carry that made Ginny want to find how exactly where he was hiding all of that muscle. "Don't tell me I have to carry you, too," Draco said to her, with a smirk, and Ginny blushed crimson as she stood and regained her balance on dry ground; and silently praying Draco didn’t notice the mess.

"I'm fine," she said, brushing her hands off and hoping she didn't have a huge damp patch covering her bum. "Let's get the bus. Thanks for your help Hannah, tonight was great."

Neville lifted his head long enough to give Hannah a star-struck look. "You're great," he managed, before his head fell forwards again and Ginny ushered Draco off.

As they made their way out to the street, Ginny eyed Draco warily when he bounced Neville to shift the other man's weight. "Are you sure you can manage him?"

"You're bruising my ego," said Draco, feigning a wounded look. "I do attempt to stay fit, you know."

She laughed, though the thought of Draco shirtless - and more - was now at the forefront of her mind. "Do you work out a lot?" she asked him, hoping she might be able to segue into his other hobbies.

"Probably more than average," he paused, as she opened the front door and held it ajar for him. "It helps me think."

Shutting the door behind them, she feigned a gasp. "Counting reps and thinking at the same time?"

"Multitasking is but one of my many talents," he said with a proper laugh - probably the first one she'd ever heard from him - and she had to wonder if she was missing something.

Pushing the thought away, she retrieved her wand and held it in front of her. "Who knew Draco Malfoy was so skilled?"

"I pity the poor woman who doesn't venture to find out," he said, taking a firm step backwards to brace himself when the Knight Bus appeared before them in a gust of wind. Ginny swatted away a stray piece of paper that hit her in the face, rolling her eyes at Draco's smirk and holding her hand out for him to board the bus.

Once they had Neville resting haphazardously on one of the beds, Ginny realised she and Draco, themselves, were now rather limited as to their own travel arrangements; without bothering to venture upstairs, all of the beds but one were occupied. Draco seemed to realise this too, but sat himself down on the free bed next to Neville’s. When he looked back at her, his gaze could only be described as challenging.

Ginny bravely joined him on the bed, but was careful to maintain her distance from him as she crossed her legs and leant against the brass bedhead - Merlin knew if she was any closer to him he’d easily be able to distract her with thoughts of exactly what else they could use this bed for...

When she turned to Draco, he seemed amused. “What’s so funny?” she asked.

“This night hasn’t exactly gone to plan.”

She had to laugh. “You mean, being in bed with a Weasley?”

Draco smirked at that, but his expression seemed to take on a sardonic tone following her comment - almost as though that was the plan - and didn’t that thought just make her feel hot all over? “Let’s just say that I didn’t think I’d be riding the Knight Bus at one in the morning with a couple of Gryffindors.”

Ginny stifled the urge to outright ask him what he had thought he would be riding instead - and not because she was terrified that the answer might be you. She really needed to focus. “I can’t help but question your sanity, right now. You had some of those witches eating out of the palm of your hand - yet you decided to help me drink Neville under the table instead.”

He let his hands rest across his flat stomach as he tilted his head back against the headboard, looking genuinely relaxed in her company and making her wonder if this was how he looked in bed. It was almost enough to incite her pity, that she was working so hard to ruin his life - albeit deservedly. “Where’s the challenge in that?” he asked her, a small smirk playing on his lips

That comment grated her slightly, particularly considering the circumstances, and she couldn’t help getting off topic. “Women don’t exist for your amusement, you know.”

“Depends on the woman," he said, still looking as relaxed as anything, so she gave him a hard thump on the arm.

"It's any wonder a catch like you is still single," Ginny began, but stopped when he caught her wrist and gazed at her steadily.

"Why are you still single, Ginny?"

She briefly debated between baiting Draco, or answering honestly, but ultimately knew she probably couldn't draw him out that convincingly. Instead, she made the obvious decision and opted for blind indignance. "I don't think that's any of your business."

He examined her expression for a long moment, before he released her hand, and her skin felt oddly cold after the loss of contact. "You know, you're not very forthcoming with personal details," he commented, returning to his relaxed position.

Bollocks. "If you must know, I don't have time for a boyfriend."

"Good," Draco replied, and she didn't know how to respond to that.

Wary of the strange course their conversation had taken, Ginny chose to stay silent. Instead, she thought back to Hannah's observation; clearly, Draco was not even slightly drunk. Which begged the question: why had he been trying his damnedest to get her drunk?

She immediately wondered if he'd been trying to take advantage of her, but while he wouldn't have been the first entitled, rich man to do so to a woman, she knew that wasn't it. Men like Draco Malfoy didn't depend that heavily on impaired judgement to get their way, and besides, he'd had his pick of women tonight...

The bus suddenly jolted to a stop, halting her train of thought along with it, and causing Ginny to fall across Draco's lap. Cheeks burning, she pushed off him, but not before she managed to get a good handful of his toned stomach and chest. "Sorry," she said, fully aware of his hands on her arms as he helped her off the bed, and disappointed she hadn't taken the opportunity to land a little lower on his person, since it was only a matter of time before aforementioned opportunities were non-existent.

The conductor announced they'd arrived at Neville's address, and Ginny busied herself with hefting Neville's arm over her shoulders in order to avoid eye contact with her sociopath of a companion. "Wait a minute," Draco began, but she already had a groaning Neville half way off the bus before he managed to get a hold of Neville's other arm to assist her.

Screw the investigation, she thought to herself, impulsively. She'd send Astoria her resignation letter and refund her deposit first thing in the morning. This case was not going to be at the cost of her dignity, and she wasn't going to willingly put up with these two a moment longer; they deserved each other.

"I don't need your help," Ginny told him, only slightly struggling under Neville's weight.

Draco was clearly more of a gentleman than she gave him credit for, because he didn't point out she’d been more than prepared to ask for his help only minutes earlier. "I know," was all he said, and continued to support Neville's weight with her as she half dragged the man to the front door of his house.

They came to a halt at the entryway of the building, and Ginny slumped Neville - who'd begun to mutter something about pretty barmaids - against his door. She slanted a look at Draco over her shoulder.

“It’s appropriate to thank people in this type of situation,” he prompted.

Ginny had half a mind to give him a talking to on what exactly appropriate behaviour was, but decided that would probably tip him off as to her intended purpose of the evening. Instead, she reminded herself that Draco hadn’t technically done anything to warrant her infamous bat-bogey hex - yet. “Thank you,” she said to him, grudgingly, and was rewarded with another one of his rare smiles. “Well. It was nice to see you again.”

“Likewise,” he said to her, his smile growing wider when she held out her hand for him to shake as a fair-well. He took it gently, his thumb sliding across the back of her hand in a way that made her ache for it to touch naughtier parts of her body, and she was immediately stunned by how intimate Draco had managed to make a handshake, of all things. “It’s been a pleasure.”

Before she knew what was happening, Draco gave her arm a sharp tug, and she half-stumbled into him. They stood only a breath apart now - she could practically feel the heat radiating off his skin in the cool night-time air - and when his eyes locked on hers she was captivated. It was a strange thing Ginny experienced in that moment, in that she knew the moment should have been strange, and yet it somehow wasn’t at all. If she were a romantic, she might wax lyrical about catching a glimpse one another’s souls - of kismet - but of course, Ginny was far too practical for such things.

Instead of leaning into him and catching the hard line of his lips against hers, as she supposed any other woman might have done in that same moment - and despite the fact she was desperately tempted to - she took a deep breath and pulled back. “Good night, Draco.”

He tilted his head as he watched her with that constantly-assessing gaze of his, and she tried not to outwardly show exactly how much he’d affected her in that moment. Instead, she looked at where his hand still grasped hers, then reluctantly released him. “Good bye,” she said to him, firmly, and she must have passed whatever test he was giving her because he dipped his head, smirk firmly in place, then Apparated away with a crack.

---

Some time later, Ginny climbed the steep staircase that lead to the small office she rented above the florist shop in Diagon Alley, shaken to the core after the evening’s events but no less determined to leave it all behind her. As she’d put Neville to bed her slight alcohol buzz had eventually worn off, and she’d resolved that a good detective would compile a complete file before handing over a case - no matter the circumstances for it. And, if Ginny intended to cut her ties with Astoria in - she peered at her wristwatch in the dark - approximately six hours time, she might as well get things wrapped up sooner rather than later.

Once she reached the top of the rickety first flight, she unlocked the door to her small - and notably empty - reception area, disabling various security wards as she went. Stifling a yawn, Ginny firmly told herself that she wasn't tired, then entered her office. As soon as she was through the door her wedges were kicked off and strewn haphazardly in the corner, and she collapsed into her desk chair on a sigh. It had been a long day, but it wasn’t over yet.

Working on autopilot, she reversed the second set of wards placed on her desk and opened her top drawer to retrieve her case file, thinking that the battered sofa in her office looked awfully comfortable, right now.

Then, suddenly, something placed in the middle of her desk caught her eye, and Ginny was out of her chair, wand drawn, within a moment. Now, more than certainly wide awake, she carefully took stock of all of her surroundings and noted that the unassuming package place on her desk was the only thing out of place. Someone managed to deactivate all of my wards perfectly, she thought, more than a little miffed they hadn't even triggered an alarm.

Scowling, she tapped her wand against the package. "Specialis revelio," she said, and was only mildly relieved to see that she hadn't manage to overlook some kind of magical bomb, or anything equally nefarious. It seemed this was just a plain old parcel, of some kind, and she ignored it momentarily to take further stock of her surroundings.

Nothing appeared to have been moved, but then, Ginny reminded herself that common thieves didn't tend to leave presents behind. Her office had been broken into by someone who wanted the only truly valuable item she possessed - information.

She went to the filing cabinets in the opposite corner of her office, feeling somewhat ill at the thought of going through them all. Casting the spell-detecting charm once more to ensure some sadistic wizard wasn't trying to mess with her, she pulled open a cabinet drawer. Ginny hated filing with a vengeance, but mentally thanked herself for keeping things haphazardly in check, because it would at least make it that much easier to find what her thief had taken from her.

As she flipped through the first row of files, she idly wondered who on earth would want to steal the kinds of information she kept in her office. She had to admit, the thought was intriguing enough in itself, and she couldn't help but pursue it.

Her thief would have needed time to deactivate her wards, so it was definitely someone who knew her movements - or at the very least, knew she wouldn't be around that evening. Neville and Hannah had been the only people who'd known her movements, really, since Ginny didn't bother to keep an appointment book - after being in the business this long, she knew all too well the dangers of having that information readily available to see. It almost made her pity fools like Draco Malfoy, who kept their appointments like clockwork-

Ginny froze, wide-eyed, her train of thought dead in its tracks.

Draco Malfoy always kept his appointments. She'd been following him around for long enough to know he verged on anal retentive when it came to attending meetings down to the second. But he'd been late to the speed dating event.

"The son of a bitch!" she yelled, furious, as she slammed the drawer of her cabinet shut and went back to her desk. She picked up Draco's case file and flipped it open, bile rising in her throat as she noticed that every page had been straightened and tidied by whoever had gone through it. Not only had he totally violated her privacy by going through her things, but he'd been playing her all evening like a musical saw.

Ginny Weasley felt like a fool. And she was furious.