Happy Halloween!
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The first thing anyone learns about creating a successful business is that location is everything.
Location. Location. Location.
Fred and George had picked a prime spot in Diagon Alley for the address of the flagship store for Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Settled on a bustling corner in the magical area, that first location was constantly brimming with customers of all ages. From students coming in for school time pranks to the more adventurous and mostly immature witches and wizards who knew it would be funny to pull one over on a friend or colleague - they packed the sizable space from nine in the morning to eight at night.
It was so successful, in fact, that the always conspiring twins hired their only sister to locate a property, create a store, and manage a second branch of the hilarious company. Ginny searched long and hard for the ideal address. She was a perfectionist by nature and she would settle for nothing but the best for the store that she would grow and nurture.
She was also aware, though, that perfection could be hidden behind some graffettied walls and busted in windows.
No buildings were off limits. She explored every possibility with the eye of an architect, a designer, and a businesswitch as one. From abandoned shells of restaurants and empty office buildings to posh lofts and swanky department store-style two storys, Ginny combed them all. And not a single one of them fit the mold or met her criteria. Some looked far better from the outside than how they actually were on the inside. But most were simply lacking in renovation potential and that was the final nail in the coffin for every piece of real estate she painstakingly saw.
Then - one month to the day since she had accepted her brother's offer and began her hunt, Ginny stumbled upon the perfect location.
She had been in Hogsmeade after dropping by Hogwarts to leave several packages from home for her nieces and nephews. The quaint little Wizarding village had already been thoroughly scouted but the twins had assured her that they would not receive enough foot traffic for the location to be entirely successful. So Ginny had checked it off her list and looked for other venues. But when she walked further down Juniper Street than she normally did on that chilly October afternoon, the small district was on the higher end of the shopping choices, she noticed a large structure at the end of the road.
For all intents and purposes it appeared functional and the peeling grey paint on the outside walls just screamed renovation.
Interested in the numerous options the wooden warehouse could provide, she ventured further down the street. A large sign out front stated that the building was property of MZ Enterprises, a simple but warning message that would deter most people from poking around any further.
But Ginny was not most people. She had found her perfect location and she was going to finagle a way to make it hers. Once she got the history on the place she would be ready to tackle negotiations and a deal.
The following Monday she dropped by Hermione's Editor in Chief office at the Daily Prophet and not so discretely asked about the company who owned the prime real estate in Hogsmeade. The bushy haired witch had her own questions about the younger witch's inquiries but withheld what she really knew about the business in favor of preventing a catastrophe should Ginny find out who truly owned that particular piece of land. Instead she doled out the appropriate Floo number for her sister-in-law, quietly mentioned that the aforementioned warehouse might be haunted, and sent her on her way.
Which was how Ginny ended up sprinting down Juniper Street on Halloween evening.
Once she had gotten home from Diagon Alley that dreary afternoon the week before, after stopping in to see Fred and George of course, she had activated her Floo and called out the hastily scribbled gate number. A snooty receptionist directed her call to a sales agent and within ten minutes Ginny had a scheduled appointment to meet the cheerful wizard at the site on All Hallow's Eve. He seemed all too eager to offer to walk her through the property and even laughed off her skeptical questions about the rumored haunting, assuring her that she would forget about all that gossip as soon as she stepped foot inside the building.
But the ghosts residing in the seemingly abandoned warehouse were the last thing on her mind as she hurried towards her destination with little less than five minutes to spare before she was late for her five thirty appointment. Upon dashing out of the Three Broomsticks, Ginny had immediately run into children in costumes who were running up and down the streets, darting into open storefronts to seize what candy they could from the laughing business owners. Parents stood in small groups along Main Street, their eyes glancing around to watch their children as they laughed and gossiped with other mothers and fathers.
Madam Rosmertta was offering fresh caramel covered apples, dipping the red fruits into a small cauldron of boiling, burnt sugar in front of the eager line of customers, while Gladrags was emitting smoke and a variety of cheesy horror sounds as they enticed the daring witch or wizard to walk through a short 'haunted path'. Most of the storefronts were decorated with cobwebs, pumpkins, and various ghouls or goblins, enhancing the Halloween spirit that oozed with Wizarding background.
Ginny noticed it all but was forced to offer a hasty hello and a frazzled smile instead of enjoying the holiday festivities as she zig zagged through the throngs of children. The sharp left turn down Juniper Street about halfway down Main brought a shock of silence and a stretch of empty cobblestone as the noises of celebration faded away and she was faced with her destination at the end of the desolate and shadowed path.
The stores on this street were all closed up, the doors locked and the lights off. A sweeping, howling wind blew against her back and threw her copper waves around her face as she paused to keep from stumbling forward. The lapels of her black tweed coat glued to her curvy frame and Ginny pulled them tighter around her torso as she ducked her head and began walking once more. The eerie silence that had just moments before been a relief now gave her the chills and sent off her internal alarm.
Silence this thick was never comforting, often hiding something dark and sinister that was waiting for its next victim.
Indeed, Ginny stole several hasty glances between the buildings and into the unoccupied stores, irrationally thinking that she could feel someone watching her.
I'm twenty three and I have lived through Voldemort's reign of terror - but I still can't walk down an empty street without freaking out. She bitterly laughed to herself at the thought, her almond eyes darting sideways as she knew that she still had every reason to be wary of seemingly lifeless areas.
Ginny looked up, sighing with slight relief that the warehouse was only another fifty meters away, but movement caught in her peripheral. Her feet instantly stopped as if the ground had swallowed them up and her muscles became as rigid a statue. Surely she should have started running instead of pausing but the fighter in her had taken over her instincts and had automatically prepared for a confrontation.
Without turning her head or moving she searched for the source of the movement. A thin strip of an alley to her right was drenched in shadows but a slight shifting of a small, dark mass within the pitch black alerted her of the possible threat. Ginny picked up her right foot and rotated ninety degrees so that she could see straight down the narrow space. But before she could cock her head and narrow her eyes for a better glimpse, a blur of black darted out of the alley and across the street. Her shoulders hunched and her muscles tensed as her wand was instantly in her grasp.
Then a sigh escaped her mouth and her lips curved up in a sardonic smile as she watched the burnt end of an unlucky cat's tail disappear between two buildings on the left side of the street.
Quit being so jumpy - there is nothing to be afraid of here.
Stowing her wand back in the front pocket of her coat, Ginny stuffed her hands inside their warmth and took off with determination in her stride.
The closer she got to the vacant warehouse the less maintained the buildings appeared. One had a shattered front window and the former store with a second floor apartment on the left of the large structure had a crudely written 'Do Not Enter' sign magicked to the front door. She hadn't noticed these off putting details on her first trip down Juniper Street and abruptly the entire lane oozed an eeriness that she couldn't shake.
Ginny was near sprinting by the time she reached the knee high wrought iron fence that surrounded the warehouse. She slowed to a leisurely pace as she inhaled sharply, pausing momentarily with a hand on her hip, and tilted her head back to get a proper look at the building.
Her business eye took over and she was suddenly gauging the potential for various signs, the options of different paint colors, and the possibility of this structure actually becoming home to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. It would certainly be larger than the original store but she figured there was enough space for them to design living quarters at the back, or as a second floor, into the renovations. And since the Weasleys would have children, or family of some sort, at Hogwarts for many more years, the idea flowed wonderfully with the location choice.
Ginny became caught up in the whirl of creativity going on in her head and was lost to her thoughts. She was so engrossed in her planning that she did not notice the slight flapping of a window shutter on the left end of the building nor did she notice the faint traces of internal light peaking through from the far corner of the closest window. But when an ear piercing scream suddenly echoed loudly down the quiet street she was brought to attention as her body froze.
A second, shorter cry followed the first before all was silent once more.
She was absolutely certain that the terrified sounds had come from inside the warehouse. There was not a bone in her body that said otherwise. That chilling sense that she was being watched returned as her muscles relaxed enough for her neck to cautiously rotate.
A hasty glance over her shoulder showed the still empty street behind her, everything the same as minutes before. Slowly Ginny turned back to the warehouse and a looming shadow seemed to lurch forward, the building itself appearing somehow more sinister than five seconds prior.
Haunted houses, buildings, and churches were common in the Wizarding world. After all, most magical folk knew that ghosts were relatively harmless unless otherwise disturbed. How else could so many incorporeal beings roam the halls of Hogwarts?
But this - this was most certainly not a haunted property. This was something else entirely.
The Shrieking Shack was supposed to be haunted - but everyone now knew that it had only been Lupin howling in the lonely house all of those years. And the dirty, abandoned cottage about a kilometer from the Burrow was said to be haunted - but the Weasleys knew it was just another ghoul living, moaning and groaning continuously, there. There were explanations for every single known "haunted" building or property. But this mysterious warehouse in Hogsmeade garnered none of the typical speculations because outside of the occasional, but still horrifying, screams, not a sound was heard from the large, wooden structure. Of course that did not stop the rumors from swirling nor did it contain the theories about who, or what, was occupying the building.
But as much as the outrageous possibilities frightened her, they also arose Ginny's curiosity.
Had someone been murdered here and their restless ghost was the source of the strange noises?
Was this MZ Enterprises using this warehouse as a holding cell for some sort of illegal human trafficking business?
More importantly, if this place was supposedly haunted, why had the real estate agent at the main office so eagerly offered to show her the building?
Ginny's mind double backed to the illegitimate slavery possibility and for a split second she fully considered turning around and running like hell. Until her Gryffindor courage kicked in and she remembered she was a witch - and magic could defeat pretty much anything if you wanted it to. Haunted warehouse or not.
Pressing her lips together and furrowing her brow with determination, Ginny slid her wand up and down in her grasp and took a step forward. The wind rustled a few leaves in her path and teased the loose auburn curls around her face. She took another step, slightly larger but still with a trace of hesitation. There was a high pitched howl from the stray cat in another alley behind her but it was close enough, and sudden enough, that the hairs rose on her arms. A third step and she was just one short movement from leaning forward to lift the surprisingly ostentatious door knocker to announce her arrival.
Ginny inhaled slowly, squeezing her eyes shut as her chest expanded. She straightened her frame to her full five-seven height and exhaled with a long sigh.
It was now or never. If she was serious about putting an offer in on the warehouse then she had no choice but to walk inside and keep her appointment with the agent.
"You can do this," she spoke softly to herself, the verbal reassurance proof that she was a stone's throw from mostly crazy. "This place isn't haunted - it's going to be full of laughter in just a few months."
Nodding once for good measure, Ginny lifted her balled up right hand and reached for the matte black door knocker. Her fingers uncurled as they lightly touched the smooth, metal surface and she picked it up with the precision of a biohazard scientist handling a dangerous compound.
The knocker was pulled back from its resting position, her hand ready to release it and repeat, when the locks clicked out of place and the door knob twisted of its own accord. Ginny's chocolate eyes darted down to the moving object while she still held the knocker in between her fingers. With a near silent creaking of the rusted hinges, the door popped open to reveal a sliver of inky darkness as she muffled a gasp of shock. There was only a seconds hesitation before it swung backwards a tad farther, just enough for her to slide inside.
She was insanely curious but did voluntarily entering a rumored haunted building, after the instances that had just occurred, count her as demented or brave? Ginny was about to find out.
Slipping the fat end of her wand up the sleeve of her coat so that it rested readily against the inside of her forearm, she turned sideways and shimmied in through the small opening. Her right hand was barely past the door when the wooden frame shook with its rapid closing and that ominous chill returned as Ginny felt her muscles tense and her senses jump into overdrive.
It was pitch black and she could not see a damned thing. Her wand slid out from her coat and she pointed it forward defensively. Knowing she couldn't create a light without giving away her position, though if there was someone watching her they already knew where she was, Ginny closed her eyes and focused on what she was hearing.
The wind was howling again outside and she could distantly hear the screeching of tree branches scraping against the windows or the wooden exterior. Her own breathing was heavy but besides the rapid pounding of her heart, there was not a single noise in the warehouse.
There was no telling what the room she was in looked like or if there were even divided rooms at all. Ginny was completely blind and since her ears were not picking anything up she would have to rely on her senses of touch and smell. Taking a deep inhale, her brows met in the middle of her forehead as she didn't pick up any traces of any particular scents. The slightly moldy smell was predetermined but that was it.
This warehouse was completely devoid of any nonphysical clues.
Seeing no other alternative Ginny gripped her wand tightly and tentatively called out, "Hello? Is anybody here?"
She held her breath as her words traveled across the expansive building and for a moment nothing happened. Then a square foot sized window opened up towards the left side of what she guessed was a small room and an indistinguishable face filled the tiny space. Ginny gasped softly as the bright light spilled around the faint edges of the darkened head and she pressed herself back against the door as the man moved out of the small window and the light filtered across the empty space.
"Who's there! ?" A gruff and disembodied voice called out, his absence not masking the danger that his voice emitted. And he most certainly did not sound like the eager bloke at the company offices who agreed to the meeting.
"I-it's m-me - Ginny Weasley?" She stuttered, her words trailing off as a question to remind the man that she had an appointment. "I was supposed to meet - uh - James? - at five-thirty."
Without a response the miniature door shut and the room was once again bathed in darkness. Ginny's eyebrows rose incredulously as she stared in the general direction of the small window. Was this really happening to her? Was she really being kept in the dark when she had come here to put in an offer on this decrepit building?
"Hello?" She called again, this time with a twinge of irritation in her voice. "James? Are you still going to show me the property?" No response. "Hello?"
Ginny began mumbling to herself about the lack of manners and etiquette these days, one hand reaching out to feel for the edges of the door as she turned away completely from the interior of the room.
Of course she would neglect to make plans for the holiday in favor of arranging a business meeting. Of course she would subjugate her own happiness for the success of the company. Both were a given in her eyes, after all they had to acquire prosperity where they could. But to decline Harry's half-assed offer to be his date for a costume ball because she had to be stood up by a real estate agent at a haunted warehouse? That was unacceptable. That really heated Ginny's temper and pushed her to hastily decide to blow off the bogus meeting. Why should she waste her time on someone who was not going to even show up to tell her that the company wasn't interested in selling?
Huffing with frustration and muttering about the stupid trick door, Ginny ran her fingers every which way over the wood without any luck of finding the door's seams. A nervous chill settled into her limbs and her motions became frantic as she uselessly felt for the way out of this bizarre place. Just as her index finger bumped into the very thin deviation of the frame a screeching yelp sounded. It was so loud that she swore the person was right behind her, screaming to the top of their lungs.
Ginny scrambled against the wall, her hands searching for any way to open the door and escape. She looked backwards into the black nothingness as if someone was about to grab her. Unconsciously she was emitting a small whimper as her nails became bloodied from scratching at the blank walls.
There was no way for her to get out. She was trapped.
Panicked and extremely anxious, Ginny steeled her distraught nerves and spun around to place her back firmly against the wall. Her left hand flattened next to her hip on the rough surface and her right arm shakily extended her wand as she took a series of short breaths.
"Lumos," she quickly whispered and the tapered end of the magical object lit up with a soft glow.
For a long moment Ginny focused solely on the light, her eyes glued to the small aura as the fear of looking beyond the tip of her wand grew. She knew she wouldn't be able to just turn back around and search for the door without getting a look at the building she had wanted for WWW. And it wouldn't be the first time that her curiosity had gotten the better of her.
With her palms sweating and her arm trembling, she timidly extended her wand farther into the bleak room and hesitantly allowed her wide gaze to look past her immediate vicinity.
At first she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. She was in fact in a small room and just around her she could see the shadowed outlines of a long couch with two chairs sitting opposite it and a coffee table in between the set. There was a slight ledge and the darkened square of sizeable window, the smaller, sliding glass piece that she had seen opened just to the right of it.
Ginny's nerves abated slightly as she realized that she was probably just being overly paranoid. Nothing seemed to be wrong with this place other than the ultra creepy vibe it gave off. And the screams that came out of nowhere.
Rolling her shoulders with the chill that ran up her spine, Ginny routinely swept the light across the rest of the room. She hardly expected to find anything of interest but then she lit up an open doorway directly across the room from where she was standing. It was completely dark beyond the frame and she could see nothing. Nothing but a pair of feral, swirling pools of silver eyes. She audibly gasped and the edges of the floating orbs crinkled as if the face were smiling at her reaction.
Running the light up and down the rectangular doorway she backed up against the wall behind her when she couldn't see any body attached to the eyes. Ginny felt like she was going to have a panic attack; her head was growing dizzy and her lungs seemed to be constricting themselves as she heaved for a clear breath. Praying to Merlin that it was just her mind playing tricks on her, she feebly muttered "Nox" to cast the room in complete darkness once more.
But why hadn't she turned around to look for the door first? Ginny ground her teeth as she mentally kicked herself, the bigger problem arising as she kept her gaze locked on the wild eyes that did not disappear with the light.
A rich, throaty laugh echoed loudly, the sound so close she imagined she felt someone brush against her arm, before it trailed off with an amused chuckle.
"How ever will you get out if you do not have a light to see the way?" A sensual voice taunted her, his words a soft caress of tough love that made her question her desire to run away from this building.
"You don't scare me," Ginny barked, the tremble in her chest belying the boldness of her statement. If she could buy herself some time maybe she would be able to get out of there.
"Oh?" He sounded even more amused with her stubbornness. The shiver that raked her body this time was purely out of responsive fear as she felt the thick presence of someone nearby. She hurriedly looked around but the mysterious eyes had disappeared. Now all she had was an arousing voice and a phantom man beside her. "I should," he breathed and she felt his breath on her collar as she instinctively pressed herself harder against the wall.
"But I suppose you wouldn't be -" he teased her again, his voice lilting in a way that she found almost familiar. "Or else you wouldn't have come to a haunted house on All Hallow's Eve."
The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, her throat gulping quickly, as she processed the truth to all of those rumors. Who was this man? Had he lured her here to take her as some sort of prisoner? Ginny's thoughts raced as her widened brown eyes fruitlessly scanned the dark room.
With nothing left to lose and seeing no other options, she rapidly formulated a plan. This - man or being, or whatever he was, was not going to play by the rules or give a fair fight. Since her use of magic had amused him she figured hand to hand combat would be her best option of getting out of there alive. She had a Muggle gun tucked into the waist band of her jeans against the small of her back and a fair sized knife was shoved down the leg of her right boot. Opting for the sharp, pointy object instead of the blinded firing object, Ginny slid her wand up the sleeve of her left forearm and braced herself to move quickly.
Either mystery man had left the room or he was watching her closely because she had a feeling he didn't go without speaking for long. His proximity to her was the biggest wild card but she had to hope that she was faster than he and able to dart away if he tried to grab her.
Bouncing once on the balls of her feet Ginny exhaled sharply and took off, pushing one foot off the door as she sprinted to what she assumed was the middle of the room. Her right hand reached down for the knife and as she stopped short she assumed a slight crouch with the normally gleaming blade thrust out in front of her.
His laughter rippled across the room as if he were watching the most hilarious comedy known to man. Ginny let one eyebrow raise curiously at the reaction while her body tensed for a further response, whether with words or physical contact.
"You can't run away from me. Not now," he promised seductively, the air rustling around her left side as Ginny turned her head to find the source of disruption.
"What do you want from me?" She screamed harshly, her wrist twisting the knife in the empty air as she held her ground.
"Everything," he hurriedly answered and she felt a rush of wind come at her from the right. He was there - right next to her. Ginny shivered in his closeness as she felt the presence of a towering figure. "I want every single part of you." His finishing words were a breeze of coolness down her neck. He was literally on top of her and she wasn't doing anything.
His voice may have been hypnotizing but he was radiating danger and she was too panicked to press the snooze button on her internal alarm.
Feeling a burst of courageous energy she did the one thing she knew how to - she turned her weight and stabbed her knife into his shoulder. The wound was exact because the moment she twisted then pulled the blade out, he cried out in furious anguish and his heavy presence receded for a moment.
It was her chance to run, to kick open the bloody door, and get the hell out of there. Ginny took one long stride as an animalistic and angry growl sounded loudly beside her. Her levels of fear skyrocketed as her arms swung at her sides but she barely made it through a second stride before two hands with iron-like grips latched onto her upper arms and picked her up off the ground.
"You have drawn my blood. Now - I shall take yours."
As she was lifted off her feet Ginny began kicking. His promising words only intensified her struggling until he spun her around and yanked her forward. All at once she was pressed up against a very hard and very broad chest, one thick arm fastened around her waist to keep her from moving. She looked up, expecting not to be able to see when suddenly her captor's face was illuminated as if his skin were glowing with small lights.
And it was certainly a face that she recognized. The muscular body felt all wrong as her gape of panic morphed into a glare, her struggles beginning again as she kept her gaze locked on Draco Malfoy.
"Let me go, you bloody ferret!" Ginny screeched but her bravery melted away as the handsome blonde wizard smirked and two sharpened teeth fell over his bottom lip.
"I am so looking forward to getting to know every square inch of your body," Draco leered suggestively and her attention was distracted as his pink tongue darted out to wet his lips. "You will have plenty of time to get used to screaming my name."
Ginny shivered at the insinuation and froze completely when he leaned forward. She squirmed vigorously but Draco tightened his hold around her waist and used his free hand to brush the fiery tendrils off her neck.
He inhaled sharply before his nose ran up the column of her neck. The gesture was intimate and it stoked the betraying fire between her legs. Ginny felt like a rag doll in his arms - some toy that he felt he deserved for luring her there and capturing her in the process.
"Stop! Please stop!" She begged, her heart rate quickening as his erection poked her in the stomach. "Malfoy - please!"
"I do love the sound of my name off your lips," Draco nearly growled, the vibrations of his deep voice causing her body to jump.
His large palm held the back of her neck and his silence said all that it needed to.
"Please don't do this!" Ginny implored beseechingly. "Please!" She cried with a whimper of a pitiful groan.
His fangs pierced her ivory skin and the scream she heard sounded nothing like her own. The pain was excruciating but Draco pressed her neck against his mouth and drank like a man deprived of water. Ginny felt his cock grow harder as she became light headed and her breathing slowed. His grip on her tightened further while her struggling slackened and she quit weakly begging for him to stop.
It could have been hours but it was really only a few seconds before the pain evaporated and her body felt light as air. Draco was the only thing holding her to the ground as he continued to lap at the bleeding wounds on her neck but even that she didn't mind so much now.
Dare she say it - it felt good.
Her thoughts were going fuzzy and as his large palm expanded across the small of her back she forgot why she had even come there in the first place. His grasp around her waist had softened without her realizing it but he held her firmly still. The color was quickly draining from her face as her loss of blood worked to knock her unconscious. Her head fell backwards as soon as Draco pulled his lips away but the wounds were already healing even as Ginny sighed delicately.
His time was running short but he couldn't shame himself - her blood was so sweet and delicious! Glancing to her freckled face he silently cursed himself for gorging as she smiled serenely, her caramel eyes sliding shut easily. Draco rearranged her small frame in his arms and smoothly sliced open his wrist with his own fang. Praying that he wasn't too late he held his bleeding cut over Ginny's slightly parted lips and let the liquid dribble into her mouth.
When she did not at first swallow the crimson fluid, he ran his hand up and down her throat to mimic the motion. After the third sweep she followed his touch and swallowed his fresh blood. It was warm on her tongue in stark contrast to the cooler temperature of his body but it did not matter.
Ginny felt a wave of blissful euphoria. It started at the crown of her skull and hastily ran down her torso and arms to her legs and feet until she felt like a puddle of satisfied goo in Malfoy's arms.
"Go to sleep, Ginevra," his rich voice echoed in her ears. She could barely nod with contentment as he shifted her weight to cradle her against his chest, her consciousness spinning away as if willed to by his words. "We will have plenty of time to speak when you are fully recovered."
His phrasing sparked a panicked note of worry in her chest as her fogged mind clung to his last word. Her internal alarm screamed for her to do something! do anything! but sleep was pulling her under with a nagging speed.
Ginny was a long moment from remembering why she had been scared in the first place when her consciousness disappeared and her muscles went limp. Her head fell against Draco's toned chest and his rhythmic stride lulled the last bit of her awakeness to a peaceful slumber. The answer was licking at the front of her mind but the only thing she could focus on as she slipped into her dreams was the shockingly strong heartbeat beneath her ear.
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A/N: There is the possibility of a second chapter, with a nice little twist, if I receive enough positive feedback. Don't be shy - I won't bite. Yet. ::insert evil laugh::