The Seductress

Part I

The Beginning

The book was gone. Ginny noticed it was gone that weekend, while she was rummaging through her drawers, a strange ambition rising in her chest and gnawing at her skin, waiting to see it again. And yet -- it was gone. The most unusual fact of it all was that so was the red ribbon. At first, she convinced herself she had misplaced it somewhere. Surely someone had not taken it -- the worst scenario she could imagine was Draco finding it and throwing it away. But that was impossible. Draco had already left on an important matter for two weeks. And she would've seen, known if he had taken it.

But would she? How could he ever think to erase the past that had linked them together? Could he really throw it away? Could he really even think to? Ginny lay a palm against her stomach, feeling her heartbeat falter as she sat down at the edge of the bed, taking sharp, deep breaths.

Draco was gone. He had not seen the book. Nor the ribbon. He didn't know that they were once in her possession. A need, a strength so dire made her reach out her hand, letting her fingers wave failingly toward the air of nowhere, calling for something that never existed.

~

"Are you not, satisfied, Virginia?" The Healer stood on his feet, glaring at her. "Are you not satisfied?"

Virginia took the hemline of her dress and swung it below her knees, letting him bathe his eyes on her glory. She slipped the strands off her shoulders and left them protruding at her feet, a scowl erupting on her face. "Of course I am," she said, dead-prone with a strained smile across her face.

The Healer could tell something was wrong, and his presence was not helping matters. "Are we going to make love already?" he asked, surprised at her movements. "I thought we could handle more serious subjects."

"And making love to me is not a serious subject?" she queried with a raise of her eyebrows. Her lips were as red as black blood, and she let them curl into a caressed line of her lips.

"I didn't say that," the Healer started to say, but she held up a hand.

"Do you want someone more youthful, I presume?" she asked, with a quiver of her chin. "Is that what you want? Someone more youthful? Perhaps -- what's that virgin's name?" she laughed. "Ginny?"

The Healer looked truly insulted at this. "All I want is you, Seductress."

Virginia motioned him over, letting his eyes sight and seek over her ivory-colored skin. "Then come."

He walked forward cautiously.

"Do not deprive from me," she said sternly. "I love you. Don't be afraid."

Her gentle prodding forced his feet forward. She touched his lips with the tip of her finger, and she angled her face toward his. 'Don't be afraid', she said silently with her eyes.

Afraid of what? he wanted to ask, but his mouth was growing dry. A raw, dry, rupturing red was plummeting in his skull -- his heartbeat seem to grow ten times larger then it was before, and the explosion withered his body profusely as he fell down to his knees, bowing his head. Groaning, he showed his only fear, his only weakness to her with the glimmer of his eyes.

Virginia lay a hand upon his forehead, as a mother would do to calculate one's illness -- and frowned.

"Don't be afraid," she whispered, as he closed his eyes and surrendered to the blinding pain.

~

Draco could feel nothing else but the darting of their eyes toward him as he walked. An iron was curling it's steel upon his throat, and he felt himself choking slightly as they gazed at him threateningly. They were unlike people he had seen before, they eyes were bulging, as if to caress every aspect of an inch of his skin, detecting whether or not his skin was bruised or purple.

If only Ginny were here, he prayed to himself. If only I had told her the truth, this wouldn't be happening.

He took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to shunt away the image of her sweet, pink-flushed lips, the feeling of her body pressed against him, the heart of hers pounding against his own. If only she was here, he could kiss her just one, single time and let her know that he was doing this for her.

And only her. He gently settled himself on his knees.

"What do you want, predator?" spat a nearby townsperson. He was the first to break the silence.

"John, don't be rude," sniffled a young woman, with the hair the color of auburn. "Let him speak."

"I--" he suddenly found himself speechless. Months of planning this, and he had a block of ice rising in his throat already. "I want to exchange."

"Exchange for what?" said a doubtful-looking mistress near him, who wore a dirty apron and a dress the size of tulips.

You're not doing this for her, and you know it, a thought whispered.

I have to do this, he argued. I have no other choice.

How can you be with her? She's foul, she's evil...

He almost choked on his own spit. His tongue rolled, evidently trying to slip out of his mouth. "I want to..."

The faces glanced at him blankly, waiting for him to speak.

But he was once again, speechless.

~

He sought the ribbons on her dress and unclasped them, one by one.

"Why don't you want the one you fell in love with?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Because I fell in love with you--" Virginia grinned an ugly grin.

Another ribbon faltered to the ground.

"I am in love with someone else," he pleaded.

She clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "Silly, silly boy. Do you want to be with a virgin forever?"

"She's not a virgin," he answered curtly, watching the last ribbon unfurl in it's misery and fall to the ground in a swift motion. She offered him her hair.

He pulled out the red ribbon tucked into the strands of her hair. He felt the soft silkiness of it. It was nothing like Ginny's -- no, Virginia's hair was much more lively, wavering curls side by side her shoulders.

Virginia waved her hand dismissively. "Whatever. Don't argue with me. You know what will happen if you don't follow by my rules."

"Why are you doing this? You don't love me. You're a liar. You're an evil, pathetic little --"

A slap across his face. It stung as if a knife had been sunk into him, and as if blood was already churning upside down in his veins. He wanted to spit in her gorgeous face. She might've been beautiful but she could never compare to the glow that Ginny had.

Ginny was after all, alive.

"Don't question me," Virginia said calmly, another smile penetrating her face as a breathless whisper ran down his neck -- "You will do what I say. We must stick to the plan -- otherwise..."

She pulled something out of midair, a fire in her hand, burning the tips of her fingers. But the expression on her face said it was painless for her. "This is your little virgin's soul now --" she said bitterly, the smile uplifting the corner of her precious, blood-dried lips.

She crushed the fire.

And turned it into black ashes that sunk into the between of her fingers. It made a churning, twirling noise as she rubbed her hands together greedily.

She whispered, "...and this is what it will be like then."

The ashes fell to her feet, black, and nothing else but black.

~