So this took a lot longer to be written than I intended it to :( Between working, jumping through the hoops required to apply for promotion, and everything else going on recently my creativity deserted me a bit.

For the most part I am living at home again and as part of an extended household staying at my friends only two nights a week to watch the little one while she works, unlike when I was living with her I will only really have my laptop with me so writing should pick up again.

Hope everyone is still keeping safe x

Harry had never expected this to be his life, plotting sessions with the Malfoy family in their manor, plotting against a Weasley, but Ginny had to be dealt with. He had gone to bed the previous evening angry at her and how she thought she could demand a place at his side and order him about, he was his own person, he wasn't going to take orders on how to live his life from Ginny of all people. Waking up that morning it was to find that Hermione had already set things in motion for him, having contacted Narcissa as soon as she woke up. Narcissa had suggested that they all meet at Malfoy Manor for lunch and spend the afternoon plotting before dinner that evening.

He had dithered that morning over what to wear, not wanting to show up dressed too formally or informally for that matter, especially as he knew Draco was at the manor so it would be all the family there. He wanted to show that he had been taking Lucius' lessons on board and was appreciative of all the man had done for him. Showing up at his home poorly dressed in front of his family was not the way to do that, in the end he left the decision up to Winky and she chose a lovely set of forest green formal robes with silver detailing.

Harry couldn't help but feel a little nervous, Draco had been polite to him the evening before when he remembered his manners but their previous rivalry didn't make him that confident that turning up at Malfoy Manor would be easy, even if both of Draco's parents accepted Harry's place in society and were supportive and helping him to realise his potential. He was also worried about Hermione and Draco meeting again, they hadn't seen each other since he and Hermione had left Hogwarts and Harry worried that Hermione's new station in their world would be too much for Draco. The one girl who had ever gotten the better of him was now the Heiress of his mother's birth house, Harry hoped that it wouldn't be an issue, but he was wary regardless. Hermione seemed to believe that it would be fine and had practically forced him through the floo to Malfoy Manor.

Narcissa had been waiting for them in the floo room and had led them to the dining room, still acting every inch the lady of the manor despite her and Lucius' divorce. She was elegantly dressed and completely poised, every inch the proper pureblood hostess, yet there was a warmth to her words as she led them through the halls of the manor, talking to them as family rather than just guests. She led them to the family dining room where Draco and Lucius were waiting for them. They exchanged pleasantries then sat to eat, exchanging stories of how their lives had been recently over their starters before getting into the reason behind the earlier meeting over their main course.

Harry had been surprised by the lack of hostility from Draco towards either him or Hermione, he had expected some sort of antagonistic behaviour towards at least one of them if not both. He was perfectly well mannered, if a little quiet and introspective. Harry was positive he was trying to study him at one point with how focused he was on him. He did make some excellent suggestions to protect himself from the crazy witch.

After their plotting session Harry was intending to make his way straight to Gringotts to put some safety measures in place for himself. Draco had suggested that he have the goblins place the mail ward so that it was documented, to add protection to his vaults and use the Gringotts recorded letter delivery to send his letters. Lucius had read his letters and had agreed that they were acceptable to send, he like Hermione believed that they could have been a bit more formal and less blunt, but had agreed that the sentiment of the letters was probably more conveyable in the form they were written than in a more formal stilted tone.

"I do have some slight concerns," Lucius stated as he handed the copied letters back, "Miss Weasley, as evidenced by her continued trying, does not seem like the type to give up. Draco has convinced you of the wisdom of protecting your vaults from gold-diggers in general, but I feel that this situation warrants you to get some protection for yourself as well."

"I have protections built into my Lordship rings for myself against poisons, and several other substances, love potions included." Harry assured him, "The Black Lordship ring in particular is rather lethal in the protection of the Lord."

"I am glad to hear that, but I was thinking more along the lines of protection from the Ministry and the media. I would not put it passed Miss Weasley to try and use either of them against you if she felt that it would benefit her situation in any way." Lucius informed him, looking to Narcissa to gauge her assessment of the situation.

Narcissa nodded in agreement, "Miss Weasley is clearly trying to regain a foothold in your life and I completely agree with Lucius that she would have no problem discrediting you to try and gain you back. She would see the tainting your reputation took as a minor inconvenience that she could rectify once you were together again."

Harry wasn't entirely convinced by their argument, their opinions of Ginny were already biased to begin with as a result of the Weasley-Malfoy feud that spanned generations from what he had heard. And according to Hermione Narcissa had been looking fro ways to get Ginny out of his life before this. He just didn't think that Ginny would take things that far, one look at Hermione though, showed him that she didn't disagree and Draco seemed to be nodding along with his parents.

"What do you suggest?" Harry asked, wondering what plans Lucius would have for him involving the Ministry.

"A simple plan really, and nothing that would look untoward considering the circumstances. I would suggest a visit to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, her recent behaviour and what you state to her brothers about her questionable mental state would certainly be grounds for a magical restraining order." Lucius began, "Having a magical restraining order on file will highlight the fact that you had taken steps to stop Miss Weasley from having access to you, which would make any statements she makes suspect. The restraining order would stop her from getting close to you so she would be unable to make any claims of you having done or said anything to her and a two way mail ward would absolve you of any supposed written correspondence."

"You really think something like this is necessary?" Harry asked, staring round the room. When he got nods of assent from everyone he sighed, he had been hoping to deal with this quietly without the papers finding out, but if he went to the Ministry it was sure to get out. He said as much to the others but Narcissa was quick to reassure him that things could be kept silent in the Ministry if you had the right connections.

After a few hours of plotting how to deal with the current situation, and how to completely ruin Ginny if necessary Harry left the manor accompanied by both Hermione and Narcissa. Their first stop was the bank to set in motion all the protective measures they could put in place there, as well as set up the dowry from the Black vaults for Narcissa, giving a plausible reason for her to be with them. The Ministry was the next stop where Narcissa took the lead, managing to get them in without much notice and lead them right to where they needed to be with a few small polite conversations and soon had them ensconced in an office in Magical Law Enforcement filling in all the required paperwork for the magical restraining order, providing the needed evidence and had it signed off and magically put in place within half an hour of arriving. It was surreal to Harry how fast it all happened, but they had it dealt with and were back at Malfoy in time for dinner.