Hidden Meanings

Warning: Character Death in this chapter!



Pittwitch: I love Barty you leave my little boy alone. Hee hee, David Tennant is also quite yummy.



Cateye: Thank you, and I didn’t guess it until the two previous nights before I wrote this chapter.



Lisa: Well, yeah, that is terrible. Lucius didn’t take it too well did he? He seems to have reverted back to the Lucius at the beginning of the story... don’t worry... though. Well, maybe you should, just a little.



Angel: Yep, Barty certainly does. I happen to like Barty, I think he’s wonderful and I haven’t quite forgiven Jo for killing him when he could have had so much potential to do so much more.



BuckyKattGirl: Thank you so much. As for Draco... well, read on my good friend.



Rowenn McNair: Thank you, yes I love reading unexpected twists and now I love writing them. It would never have been Snape. I can’t write evil Snape... just not within this Snape lover’s heart to do so.



Mary: Thank you, yes, fooled me to. Ha ha! Anyway I hope you like the progressions in this next chapter.



Lady Lynn: I am so dreadfully sorry at having upset you for not having any more chapters. I do hope that this will solve that problem and make you happier.



JW: There is a death in this chapter but it’s not Pettigrew, so be prepared. I hope you like this next chapter though.



Citten: Never mind; I suppose I did, didn’t I? Well no harm done. I hope you don’t kill me for this chapter.



Ccrawley: Isn’t she though? Imagine having Lucius, Severus, Draco, and Barty Crouch Jr wanting you at once... it’s enough to give someone a big head.



Chavela: Thank you, yes, quite unexpected. Poor Hermione indeed but have to agree with you, Barty needn’t imperio me.



Jandy: Here’s the update and thank you for your review. As I said be prepared for a few more twists to the story yet.

Dee Dee: Not in this chapter you won’t. But next chapter you will. I hope you love it.



Kirabates: Sweety, I have other stories to tend to, and I had an unseemly amount of writers block for this particular story. Last night it got all worked out... which is a relief for me I can tell you.



Criosdan: Hmm, my muse more than kisses me... He and I do a LOT more than kissing.



Ophelia Immortal: Thank you so much for that. I liked writing it. You know I think I now understand what Jo means when she says that writing Snape is so much fun, as he’s the one that provides the twists. Barty was the fun part of this story I can tell you.



Lady Darcy: At your wish, my Lady, an Update for thine eyes to look upon and read with such pleasure.



Atrumnex: I gosh, I hope it’s not serious. Here take this update as a breathalyser and I hope it brings you back to life. Here it is, now please give me signs that you’re alive.



Coraline Black: Okay, more.



A Distraction and Tragedy



Draco slipped out of bed and crept stealthily down the stairs trying not to step on the creaking floorboards. He almost reached the front door when he heard a click and the hallway was immediately flooded with light. He blinked; shaded his eyes, and turned around.



“Where do you think you’re going?” it was Potter. Draco rolled his eyes and sighed. He folded his arms across his chest and leant against the wall.



“Out to buy the newspaper, Potter. What do you think I’m doing?”



“You are not going alone,” Harry said. “I’m coming with you.”



Draco arched an eyebrow. “Look, Potter, don’t make the mistake of thinking that I hated Hermione. I want to do my bit for her.”



“You’re not going to tell me that you love her,” Harry said incredulously.



“Of course I do, she was one of the reasons why I came back. When I found out that Lucius was married to her I was jealous. I was almost prepared to fight him for her; until I found out that I’d have to go through Snape first. I am not stupid!”



Harry smiled and he walked up to the blond boy. He grinned at his old enemy.



“When I first met you I hated you. I thought you were an arrogant, selfish, jerk, and I also thought that I would NEVER want to be near you. But I have changed my opinion of you. I am coming with you whether you like it or not. When we get back you and I will be brothers-in-arms;” Draco was about to protest when Harry held up his hand. “I insist on it.”



Draco sighed again and stood up properly walking up to the dark haired man.



“Oh, all right, you know it’d be wonderful to have a friend that can actually speak a sentence or two intelligibly.”



Harry laughed; he produced his invisibility cloak from behind his back and as they were both about to step out the front door another door creaked open and the adults, who were discussing their own plans in another room, came out and stepped into the hallway after hearing the boys conversation.



Molly came out from behind the crowd.



“You two are going nowhere. We’re handling it.”



“Forgive me, Mrs Weasley,” Draco drawled charmingly, “but how are we to test all what we have learned at school if all we’re going to do is stay here.”



“This is suicide, young man. You have your life ahead of you.”



Narcissa rolled her eyes and strolled up to the two young men. She ruffled her son’s hair and hugged him to her chest.



“Be safe, sweety,” she whispered before kissing the top of her son’s head.



“Mum,” Draco whined. Narcissa turned to Harry and tilted her head to one side. She walked up to him and tilted his chin up with her elegant fingers. Smirking mischievously she bent down and placed her lips on his and kissed him properly to the surprise and consternation of everyone watching, and to Harry. She stopped kissing him and looked him squarely in the eyes:



“You be careful,” she said sternly. “If I had my own way you would have been raised by Sirius and I.”



Harry blushed and his lips were still tingling from her touch. He shook his head and found himself swaying. Narcissa turned around and looked at Molly.



“Harry is definitely a man. He’s not a bad kisser. I’d say your daughter is one lucky girl.”



Molly narrowed her eyes at the blonde woman. “We do things differently in Gryffindor.”



“Yes, you wrap people up in cotton wool,” Narcissa said. She turned around and looked at Harry. “Just make sure you bring Draco back safely.” Then she added as an afterthought thinking of the Chamber of Secrets incident. “But then you generally do bring people back safely.”



She walked up to the group and Severus jaw hung down low. He had never thought that Narcissa would do that. He looked at the young raven-haired man who was blushing from his head to toes.



They walked out of the front door and Draco turned to Harry and there was a mile wide grin on the blonds face. Harry spotted it.



“What?” he demanded.



“Oh, nothing,” Draco said in that annoying sing song voice. He shook his head. “I was just remembering what you said about her once. Kind of fancy her now don’t you?”



“No, I love Ginny.”



Draco kept quiet. He was thinking of explaining to his new rather naïve friend the difference between the two. Draco sighed when he thought of his true love and what state she could be in right this moment in time. He knew he could never have her but he was prepared to see her happy.



If Harry had known that Draco’s mother was going to kiss him he’d have taken a step or two back. He now felt that he had betrayed the only person he could ever love. His penis was beginning to throb in his pants and now he had a forbidden image of Narcissa naked. His blush deepened; his frustrations were let out on an inoffensive stone.



“This looks like a good place to apparate,” Draco said. Harry nodded. They stepped in the alley. Draco told Harry where to apparate and they both popped at the same time.



~*~*~



Hermione woke up with a headache. She groaned as she remembered what had happened that day. She shook her head and sat up clutching at the sheets. She couldn’t hear any sounds so felt safe enough to leave the bed. She got out of the bed and stepped up to the wardrobe hoping that there would be clothes suitable for her. She flung wide the doors and breathed a huge sigh of relief as she saw various robes iridescently shining all colours of the rainbow hung up on hangers in one straight serried row.



She picked out a lilac set and put them on. Not caring if she wasn’t properly clean. She was going to work out an escape plan. She had to get back to Harry and tell him that Barty Crouch Jr was still alive and to be wary. Whatever the Dark Lord thought she was not going to betray Harry. She was definitely not going to betray Lucius. He was her Master; her Lord; her husband; her lover; and, lastly, her best friend.



She walked up to the door and looked around; it was a hallway. She kept her breath in. She was about to step out of the room when she heard a pop.



“Oh no you don’t,” a voice said from behind her.



“Leave me alone, creep!”



He stalked her and she backed into a wall. “Where is Lucius? He hasn’t bothered trying so I heard. He doesn’t love you.”



“He does love me,” Hermione said vehemently.



“Oh does he? How come he isn’t tearing England apart looking for you? No, he’s a Slytherin of the true order. He loved you when it was easy for him to do so. Now he has to fight for you he can’t be bothered.”



Hermione’s lip trembled. “You’re lying.”



“No, I’m not,” he murmured. “I love you; that’s the truth. I went to extraordinary lengths to get you. I want you, and I am prepared to fight all of England’s men for you.”



“Then start with me!” another voice said behind him.



Barty turned around and found himself face-to-face with Draco Malfoy.



“You?” he asked incredulously. His eyes were sparkling with mirth. “Do you honestly think that you stand a chance against me you stupid idiot?”



Draco twirled his wand and Barty was hanging up in the air, the young blond turned the madman upside down. He nodded at Hermione but she wasn’t leaving. She stepped up to Draco’s side and lowered his arm. Barty was soon back on the ground but his head bumped against the floor. She was about to step around him when he woke up and grabbed her ankle. She stumbled and fell. He dragged her to him. He got up holding her to his chest. He got his wand out and waved it at the blond Wizard cackling in Hermione’s ear. Hermione screamed when the ethereal green light shot out of the tip of Barty’s wand.



Draco fell down on the floor; limp, lifeless and – Hermione’s blood ran cold... dead!



Barty dragged her out of the room; it was time to find somewhere else. She had to meet the Dark Lord soon enough; he was going to introduce her to him and then run.



~*~*~



Harry had arrived too late. He walked around the bedroom and his heart stopped beating. He saw Draco lying still on the floor.



“Please be alive, oh please, oh please!” he prayed.



He walked up to the man and turned him around. Draco’s eyes were staring unblinkingly at the ceiling. Harry picked his wrist up to feel for a pulse. He stroked aside the young man’s fringe and picked him up physically and hugged him crying onto the dead man’s shoulder.



“I will avenge you my brother!” he said. It wasn’t fair. How come this ALWAYS happened? Why, as soon as he got close to someone and began to think of them as a brother they got killed?



Harry put Draco back on the floor and turned to look at the open door and glared angrily at it.



He got up and went towards the door. He saw a flip of cotton fabric whip around the corner. He narrowed his eyes and followed the fabric. He banged them against the wall and turned them around. It was Ginny.



“What the hell are you doing here?” he snarled at her.



“I followed you, Harry, and just to prove I am who you think I am...” she lifted her hair and turned her head around to show him a love bite he had given her. He smirked when he remembered. “You seem to forget that I lost my brother.”



“Sorry,” Harry said. “Draco’s dead.”



Ginny sighed. “I’m sorry, Harry.”



Harry smiled at his girlfriend. “Come on, Ginny.”



He took her hand and led her down the hallway. She followed him holding her cloak tightly around her. Harry was stumped. Where could...



“This door,” Ginny hissed.



“How do you know?”



“Diary, remember?” Ginny said. Harry shook his head. Ginny took the lead and showed him the rest of the way.



~*~*~



“This is Miss Hermione Granger, my Lord.”



Harry was shaking visibly. Ginny’s presence was the only thing that kept him from exploding into the room. Ginny placed her hand on his back and looked up at Harry.



“I love you,” she whispered in his ear.



“You have caused us a lot of problems,” the Dark Lord purred. “But now it appears that you are in the arms of the man you love.”



“I love Lucius. And my name is Hermione Malfoy,” she said proudly.



“You tell him,” Harry whispered.



“Shall we go in?” Ginny asked. Harry nodded. They walked through the door and the Dark Lord turned to look at the people entering.



“Ah, my dear one. Thank you for leading him to me.”



Harry scowled looking from Voldemort to Ginny and back again.



“What?”



Before he knew what had happened Ginny was curtseying to the Dark Lord. He laughed tilting her chin up and brought her within his grasp. He held Miss Weasley in his arms and then kissed her; he laughed a cold cruel laugh to Potter.



“Now, Potter, we end this!”



“No,” he said. “Ginny, explain, what have I done to deserve this? Haven’t I always loved you?”



Ginny tilted her head.



~*~*~



A red haired girl woke up in Grimmauld Place smiling and she turned around to stroke the mattress and frowned when she realised it was empty. She panicked. She got out of bed and wrapped a robe around her body and left the room. She bumped into a semi naked Lucius Malfoy and she blushed. She realised now why her mother had something for him. And why Hermione did to.



“Where’s Harry? I went to sleep he was there and I wake up and he’s not there; where is he?”



“He’s with Draco rescuing Hermione,” Lucius said.



“Is he indeed?” Ginny asked with a hint of steel in her voice. “Well, that’s the last time he’s going to play boy-hero. He’s my fiancée and...”



“And what?” Lucius asked.



“I’m pregnant,” she whispered. “He’s going to be a daddy.”



Lucius sighed. He stroked her cheek tenderly and he looked into her eyes.



“Come,” he said taking her hand. He walked into the Library and took some floo powder. “Draco and Harry apparated. We’re going this way. Hold on to me tightly.”



Ginny felt herself blush at the thought of a half naked Lucius holding her closely. She looked at his chest and her heart beat just that little bit faster.



“Um, have you always been – er, sexy?” she asked him.



Lucius looked down and realised he wasn’t wearing a shirt. He smirked a little at the thought of making the Weaslette blush. He stroked her hair and held her closely to his chest. Potter was a man; she was a woman. He clamped his big, strong muscly arms around her waist and sniffed in the scent of her hair. Some animal part of him wanted to thrust her against the wall and lose himself in her but the human part of him told him that would be wrong, his heart said that no one could satisfy him as well as Hermione could. This was a test, and he knew he passed it well.



He could now say that he was truly in love with Hermione because he couldn’t bear the thought of touching another woman knowing that it would hurt his wife. He stroked Ginny’s hair tenderly, this time in a fatherly way.



“Lets go,” he said.



Ginny was slightly disappointed. She had hoped to taste some of Legendary Lucius but it seemed that he truly had mended his ways.



“I wouldn’t have minded you know,” she said out loud.



“Minded what?” he asked as he stepped into the fireplace.



“A kiss from you,” she sighed. “Every single woman I know including my mother seems to have tasted you. I want to know what all the fuss is about?”



Lucius chuckled. “If I was Lucius Malfoy ten years ago I would have kissed you and so much more. But I am absolutely in love with Hermione; my heart belongs to her and her alone.”



Ginny smiled. “Wow, if Hermione can tame you then she most certainly could tame Casanova!”



Lucius chuckled. “That wasn’t my intention. I was supposed to have tamed her.”



Ginny shook her head and felt sorry for men. They still didn’t get it did they?



He took a pinch of Floo and smiled at the slight young form of the woman in his arms.



“You do realise that Harry would do anything for you, don’t you?” Lucius said. “I think that if he knew you offered to let me kiss you that would break him so we’ll keep that to ourselves.”



Ginny sighed. He had changed so much it was unbelievable.



“Yes, Lucius,” she sighed. He smiled and wrapped her protectively in his arms.



“You do realise that your mother will kill me for putting you in danger,” he said.



“Wouldn’t be the first time. Now take us there before we get caught.”



He sniggered a little and threw the pinch of powder and they instantly apparated to the Dark Lords drawing room where the Dark Lords back was turned. No one saw Harry or fake Ginny. All Lucius saw through the lattice framed window was Barty Crouch Jr dragging Hermione to the graveyard where the Dark Lord had taken his form back.



He narrowed his eyes and apparated out before the Dark Lord turned around and noticed he had gone. He did notice the real Ginny. This was perfect.



“So, Potter, you claim you love this woman. Who is the real Ginevra Molly Weasley?”



Harry looked from one to the other.



~*~*~



Lucius had apparated on Tom Riddle Sr’s grave. He leant against the cold stone. His blond hair shining silver in the moonlight, he was examining his fingernails and he checked his watch.



Barty Crouch Jr crested the hill. Lucius heard her kicking and screaming.



“It’s lucky you’re still alive after your little outburst, Missy. It seems I might have to work a little harder at convincing you but you will see my way in the end. We have less of an age-gap for a start!”



“Let me go! I LOVE LUCIUS!” she screamed.



“You think you do,” Barty said. “You loved that Weasel brat too, didn’t you? You certainly need educating in proper men!”



Lucius whipped his wand from his trousers. He strode up to the man’s back and tapped him on the shoulder.



“So, Barty,” he said smoothly. “You’re that unconfident in your abilities to find a Witch you have to steal somebody else’s? That’s bad form you know!”



“I don’t bloody care!” Barty said. “She’s mine; I’ve lusted after her for long enough.”



“I have loved her for long enough,” Lucius replied. “Now, why don’t we do this the proper way and I’ll fight you. Wizard-to-Wizard.”



A/N – Aw, Draco died without managing to tell Hermione that he loved her, but I think she knows. Ginny’s a bit of a minx isn’t she? And speaking of Ginny, who is the fake Ginny? What is Lucius going to do now? What is Harry going to do? Will he be able to tell the difference? Tune in on the next (and Penultimate) episode of Hidden Meanings.