My Protector | A Harry Potter love story

chapter 9

                           Arabella's POV

I sit in the infirmary waiting for Madame Pomfrey to give Hemione the draught of Mandrake when McGonagall calls me over to Dumbledore's office.

I manage my way over to his office and see Harry, Ron, Dumbledore, my father and Dobby? What the hell is happening?

"Professor, you wanted to see me?" I ask Dumbledore as I step into his office walking past my father entirely. "Yes, my dear come over here." he motions me to stand beside him over at his desk. He wraps his hand over on my arm and speaks. "Mr. Malfoy, your daughter here has been through a great deal. It is thanks to these two gentlemen here that she still stands here alive as ever. They broke well over a dozen school rules, risked expulsion, to rescue your daughter, their dear friend." I look over at harry and Ron and smile gratefully at them as they do to me. I look over to my father and see him scowl behind Harry and Ron's heads before meeting my eyes. His face softens and I see that his eyes start to become red. Is he going to cry? Over me? "Now, these two boys will receive Special Awards for Services to the School." They both look overjoyed at Dumbledore's statement. "Now, Mr. Weasley, if you would, have an owl deliver these release papers to Azkaban. I believe we... we want our gamekeeper back." He stands up, hands the letter to Ron and leads him out of his office.

Harry turns around and sees Dobby creeping behind my father. "Dobby! So, this is your master. The family you serve is the Malfoys." How does Harry know Dobby? I think I'm missing a lot here.

My father looks down at Dobby and murmurs "I'll deal with you later." My father goes up to Dumbledore's desk and uses his cane to push Harry out of the way. "So, it's true. You have returned." "When the governors learned that your daughter was taken into the Chamber, they saw fit to summon me back."

"Ridiculous." My father sneers. "Father, I am alive, standing before you here today, because of my friends that you look so down upon were able to save me from death. Hermione, my best friend in the whole world, figured out it was a basilisk that was Petrifying the students. They are my family. They care about me. Can I say the same thing about you?" I question up at him. He looks down upon me and doesn't answer.

"Curiously, Lucius, several of them, the governors, were under the impression that you would curse their families if they did not agree to suspend me in the first place." I look over to my father in complete disbelief before walking over besides Harry and place my hand in his. My father sees this and scowls at me.

"How dare you?" "I beg your pardon?" Dumbledore asks back. "My sole concern has always been and will always be the welfare of this school and especially the welfare of my children." He uses his cane and clutches it onto my shoulder tugging me away from Harry over next to him.

"Ah!" I whimper out in pain. He takes the cane off my shoulder and replaces it with his hand, digging it into my shoulder in the same spot. I keep a brave face on not wanting to cause drama. It's what I'm used to being his daughter.

"The culprit has been identified; I presume?" My father asks Dumbledore. "Oh, yes." "And? Who was it?" Dumbledore glances over to me, then Harry with a slight knowing smile on his face before looking back over at my father. "Voldemort." My father's grip tightens around my shoulder. "Ah." "Only this time he chose to act through your daughter... by means of this." He holds up Voldemort's diary. The same book I saw my father try to put into Ginny Weasley's cauldron that day at Diagon Alley. I look up at my father and glare at him. "Voldemort almost had me killed father. By using that book he placed the imperious curse on me putting me in a trance all year then finally trying to kill me so he can come back. Isn't that horrible? What do you have to say to that?"

"I see." I look from the corner of my eye and see Dobby tug on both Harry's and my robes. Yes, Dobby I know my father planted this. I use my index finger and caress Dobby's shoulder in comfort. "Fortunately, our young Mr. Potter discovered it. One hopes that no more of Voldemort's old school things should find their way into innocent hands like Arabella here. The consequences for the one responsible would be... severe."