Search the Sheets
War had dawned on the Wizarding world and in following the same analogy, did not seem to be setting any time in the near future. Citizens were shaken out of the lull of complacency that followed the then-unknown temporary downfall of Voldemort through Harry Potter. Ever able-bodied man and woman united in a massive war effort, influenced not by outlandish propaganda machines but the very real threat of the Dark Lord's possible reign over Wizardom.
The Order of the Phoenix remained a main player in these war games, headed by the illustrious Albus Dumbledore. Making good of his reputation as the only wizard that Voldemort ever feared, Dumbledore managed to pull off what was considered impossible.
He protected the identity of a traitorous Death Eater from Voldemort himself.
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Draco worked as a battle strategist for The Army, the collective armed forces of witches and wizards across the globe to combat the equally global threat of Voldemort's expansionist policy. He found that his job was exciting, frightening, boring and rewarding all in equal amounts. Most of all however, he found that the job was exhausting. The job description entailed that he meet and greet magic-folk from all corners of the globe, often traveling to the very same corners to research battle strategies and to coordinate trans-continental attacks. His past occupation afforded him generous knowledge of the inner-workings and trends of his ex-colleagues, information that was priceless in the war.
Gains and losses were natural for The Collective as well as the Dark, but Dumbledore and other military officials would be lying if they denied the significance of Draco's input to the gains they made.
The tiring aspect of Draco's position was not only the achingly long hours and the nights overtime he worked, but the regular burning pain he felt in his left forearm. Dumbledore had been able to suppress some of the pain Draco experienced whenever Voldemort called so that it was bearable, but the Dark Mark was not a trifle piece of Dark Magic that could easily be undone with a spell – Draco had to endure. No morphenic incantation could reduce the pain any further.
One would most certainly wonder, what on earth Draco Malfoy was doing fighting against the Voldemort.
If one heard the honest answer, he or she may laugh, scoff, snort or roll their eyes in derision and disbelief.
Draco Malfoy had fallen in love. With someone who belonged to The Collective. Ginny Weasley no less.
Two years ago, at a tender twenty one years of age, he was sent by Voldemort to go do some general scouting. Draco went about it with disinterest. He didn't like to admit, he was loyal to Voldemort out of family duty, not out of his own emotions.
He stumbled among a gold mine. Figuratively speaking. On a small island in the Pacific he discovered a whole division of training soldier-Aurors! Sneering at the hole in their magical defense they had created around the training camp, Draco's mind reeled over the rewards that Voldemort would surely bestow upon him at his easy discovery.
Stupidly, he rested against a tree for a moment in contemplation. By the time he heard the pounding footsteps and the steady breathing of a jogger, it was too late. Someone had seen him.
Ginny Weasley had caught him.
The scene that occurred now would have been quite comical if not given the high stakes involved with war.
Ginny stared open mouthed at Draco as his eyes widened in concern, trepidation and glee in equal amounts.
"Holy shit, whatthefuck, shiiit!" Ginny had said first, her heart palpitating in panic as she realised her wand was in her other pair of robes.
This is why Captain Montgomery always tells us to carry our bloody wands! Thought Ginny to herself uselessly.
Ginny then proceeded to fall into an attacking stance and opened her mouth to scream for help. Draco reacted quickly with the only solution he could think of at the time.
Kidnap the redheaded chit!
The next few moments occurred very quickly. Draco whipped out his wand, stupefied Ginny, caught her body before it hit the ground and apparated away from the training group that was not far away to a nearby island. Just before he disappeared, Draco executed non-verbal magic that removed any trace of himself from the island. A clever little piece of magic that baffled and frustrated The Collective's authority to no end.
At another exotic location, Draco appeared with a crack out of thin air and dumped the youngest Weasley unceremoniously on the ground and proceeded to ward the small island with all the disillusioning magic he possessed.
He dared not to transport Ginny to Voldemort's base as an official prisoner of war. By now magical transportation control would have maxed its personnel in finding what he considered, the she-weasel.
Unsure of his next move as of yet, Draco sighed and enervated Ginny.
As Ginny slowly recovered from Draco's powerful stunning spell in the rich glow of the setting sun that seemed to set fire to her hair, Draco did not expect to fall into a spiral of passionate love.
No.
Draco's plan was to apparate Ginny to the base at nightfall, but when nightfall came, his sneakoscope was whirring out of control. Pointing his wand to the sky, he shot a discerning spell and a few moments later, magical silver writing spelled out 'large scale Dark Mark detecting charms cast all throughout Pacific.'
Swearing under his breath, Draco realised he was stuck. He was only one Death Eater, no match for an entire army of soldier-Aurors.
He looked down at Weasley who was magically chained to a coconut tree and carried an expression of acute fright and sighed heavily.
"Looks like we're stuck Weasley."
Ginny just replied with a scared doe-eyed expression. He was the one with the wand.
"Trainee soldier-Auror right?" prompted Draco with a tired rub of his eyes. Ginny felt no need to conceal this well-known tidbit of information and replied by stiffly jerking her head in a nod.
Draco suddenly smiled a very disarming and warm smile.
"Trainees don't have any information. Looks like I won't have to torture you."
Ginny's only was response was to smile nervously and shuffle unconsciously away from him.
A month later, Ginny was no longer magically bound to a tree and was free to move around the island as much as she liked. Most of her time was spent swimming within the magical boundaries Draco and set and watching her captor. She found that she could make polite requests for clothes, food and water from him without fear.
Two months later, Ginny was sharing friendly although reserved, banter with Draco. Conversational topics ranged from the price of food during the war time to surprisingly, ideology. Ginny voiced her opinion on the need to do "right" and "good" whilst Draco enigmatically replied "well, I'll be the bad to emphasize your good."
The evening that statement was uttered, Ginny pondered not only escape plans, but Draco's life.
Three months later, Ginny rose silently from the thin blankets Draco had conjured her to try and steal his wand in the dead of the night. She had just completed the stealth and tracking unit of her training and was confident she could swipe the magical instrument from the wand-holder in his trousers. Ginny could feel herself becoming interested in the Death Eater. Somewhere along the lines, she lost reason to fear Draco, and instead, became preoccupied with him. The conversations they had now could be even called amicable and perhaps… enjoyable? Ginny was naïve enough to allow herself some romantic notions of the quiet blonde. Conversely, Ginny was knowledgeable enough to know that no good could possibly come out of their union. That was her reason why she had to take action now. Before she fell deeper… in an imagined love.
Making nary a sound, Ginny crept up to Draco's long, still sleeping form. In the dying flickers of firelight, his facial features were relaxed and unfettered. Ginny could admit to herself he was extremely attractive when she observed him brooding and planning, drawing battle lines in the sand. However, this expression that she daren't study for too long in the long evenings by the fire added a whole new element to his enigmatic character.
Ginny mentally slapped herself. Stop thinking about him like that! She scolded silently.
She had just extended her arm towards Draco's waistband when it happened. It was over so fast. One moment she was reaching in the air in front of her, next she was on her stomach, a weight was on her back, a fierce stranglehold was on her neck and a small dagger was poised near her heart.
"Little Weasley. I suggest you never try anything so fundamentally stupid again," whispered Draco threateningly into the shell of her ear.
Ginny's heart was racing, thudding, it was so loud she swore Draco could hear it. At his silky voice at her ear, Ginny felt a large shiver rip through her body. At the stiffening of Draco's body she knew he felt it too.
Slowly, Draco lifted himself off Ginny, but since he was touching her warm and slender neck, he couldn't seem to let go.
Ginny twisted around to face him and looked him in the eyes. All thoughts of being killed for trying to steal a Death Eater's wand fled. Ginny screamed in jubilation internally.
She was having a moment! With Draco Malfoy!
Adrenalin was pumping through both bodies in abounds in that moment.
Should I kiss her? Does she want to be kissed? Ohhh I want to! Ran Draco's thoughts uncontrollably.
Draco kissed her.
Ginny fell in love, taking Draco down with her.
Draco kept Ginny "hostage" for another three months after that evening. In their isolated environment, both found they had no one else to answer to but their own desires. Both had eyed each other hungrily, although secretly since they had arrived.
With what seemed like unlimited time in an alien but wonderful slice of earth, Draco rapidly lost sight and sense of his past goals and ambitions with Voldemort. There was always a little fissure in his heart that servitude to the Dark Lord could never mend, but being with Ginny suddenly rendered it unbroken. Not only that, it seemed to expand as well.
Ginny was somewhat an opportunist. With Harry, she understood the emotional climate of happiness, and decided that after the post-quidditch success would be the optimum moment for her to stake her claim.
Here, prisoner of a dangerous Death Eater on a tiny tropical island that was better perceived as a honeymoon destination, Ginny grasped that she would never be able to connect with such an interesting and not-so-inherently-evil man in such ideal emotional and picturesque conditions.
Draco, who always retained a suspicious streak in him, decided to test the extent of Ginny's love. In the warm nights where Ginny's breath blew steadily onto his neck and chest, Draco decided he wanted her forever, but wanted even more to have his heart not to be shred to tatters if it eventuated that Ginny was actually using him.
Rising noisily so to wake Ginny but not loudly enough to make it sound like he'd expected her to wake, Draco ensured he had his lover's attention. He removed the existing restraining wards over the island but mispronounced the replacement spell purposefully. Ginny's keen ears would have picked up the easy-to-make mistake. The wards were useless.
Draco reasoned with himself. If she remained on the isle, he would feel unadulterated happiness that would be an entirely new and probably addictive emotion. If Ginny escaped… he'd never chase after her. His heart would shatter, a risk he would never have taken before Ginny. He'd never be able to look at beautiful women the same again.
A week passed, Ginny, if anything, seemed to fall even deeper for Draco after she sensed the anxiousness radiating from him. There was more kissing him, whiling long hours away talking to him and molding her body to him.
Draco could finally accept that she didn't want to leave him. An impossibly warm glow spread from the centre of his chest outwards, until he could no longer contain it all inside. The feeling was so bright, so warm, so alive that Ginny unconsciously understood that she had completely won the blonde-haired, grey-eyed man over.
After six months Draco admitted while they were both naked in the sea that he couldn't imagine living contentedly without her.
In sheer joy, Ginny squealed unashamedly at this news and jumped onto him, tipping them back into the vibrant turquoise of the ocean. Rising up for air, Draco tossed his sopping platinum hair from his face and smiled genuinely, gripping Ginny by her waist and holding her to his body.
"So don't live without me. Live with me Draco," Ginny suggested with hope in her eyes.
Draco tensed and let Ginny slide back to the water to stand on her own two feet. It was a touchy issue that neither had wanted to acknowledge whilst they were falling for each other at a speed that felt like mach 2.
"Draco, don't be like that," implored Ginny sadly.
"Like what?" Draco muttered darkly.
"There! Like that! What's wrong with coming to the light side?"
Draco's jaw clenched.
"Shit, I'll rephrase. Uhh, …" Ginny supplied dumbly. How else could she describe her "side" of the war?
"Look Weasley, if it was just that simple –"
"Oh yeah, as simple as falling in love with a Weasel," sniped Ginny, crossing her arms across her exposed breasts and feeling her cheeks warm with disappointment.
"Weasley, oh, look, Ginny. No Death Eater who betrays Voldemort gets away with it. I've known too many people… and what Voldemort does to-" Draco stopped abruptly. Ginny was so young. Physically, only a year younger than Draco, but mentally – she was still in war training. She had no idea what was going to hit her. Emotionally and physically.
Ginny removed her hands from her chest, her endowments already viewed daily by Draco anyway. Instead, she placed them just under the water as she thought.
"But no Death Eater has approached Dumbledore for help," she said quietly. "After all, he's the only wizard-"
"That Voldemort has ever feared. I know Ginny," continued Draco sarcastically. Ginny pouted unhappily at his tone while he whispered under his breath "I don't fucking count on it."
"Alright. Fine. Let us leave that variable alone for the moment. What other compunctions do you have about spending the rest of your goddamn life with me? Huh Mr Malfoy?" jibed Ginny, hoping her crude and terribly un-subtle phrasing would convince Draco to leave Voldemort.
Pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, Draco said "if it were only that simple damn it!"
Ginny was happy that she was making some progress, she continued enthusiastically, "I think it is actually."
Draco looked sharply at Ginny. "What?"
"I think, it is actually very, very simple."
"Oh pray tell? Give up two generations of Malfoy ideology?" snapped Draco with irritation.
Ginny grinned, placed one hand on her bare hip and examined her fingernails absently with her other hand.
"Wench! Explain immediately!" Draco stated at her expression.
"Don't you see Draco? The two fundamental reasons why people rag-tag along with Voldemort is tradition and power. Firstly, those who commit to him for power reasons are sadly, sadly mistaken! What true power do you actually possess? The power to be bent humbly and yet so painfully forcibly to Riddle? A half blood? All the power you supposedly gain all adds to his supreme power."
Draco's jaw clenched tightly. He could not refute Ginny's statement.
"Listen up Mal-ferret, this applies to you the most. Secondly, tradition and ideology. I seriously don't deny that these can be the fundamental principles to how a person may live his or her life. That is… is if it's the most important thing to them."
Draco eyed Ginny shrewdly. If she had the gall to suggest, to assume…!
"And to you, Mr Malfoy…" Ginny trailed a salty path from Draco's abdomen up to the underside of his chin with her forefinger. "…I am the most important thing. I will make you happy where ideology and tradition will not. You and I, we're human. We're inherently selfish, and you want me the most."
Ginny's voice had dropped to a low and seductive whisper, and Draco found it utterly irresistible coming from her. Growling, he captured her smirking lips into a salty kiss. It was a kiss of extreme satisfaction for Ginny. She knew she was right. Draco knew she was right.
"I cannot believe myself," Draco muttered darkly as he tore his lips away from Ginny's.
"Mmm," mmed Ginny as she peppered kisses all over very slightly tanned chest and neck. Ginny knew she had won.
"You survive this union with the least loss! You get to keep your god-damn ideology and you walk away with a sexy, sexy man who would badly like to nail you three feet into the sand," he growled, clutching her wet naked body closer to his.
Ginny pulled sharply away from Draco's body to look him deeply in the eyes.
"I know," she whispered solemnly. "And I am so lucky to have you."
Ginny's eyelids fluttered rapidly as she tried to contain the sudden torrent of happy tears. Draco wrapped his valuable little redhead into his arms to share the warmth of the sun that had suddenly exploded his chest.