Editor's note: I have permission to archive this chapter by hosting it under my pen name.

- Chapter Two last edited December 3, 2012 -

by Callidora-Malfoy

Disclaimer: This entire magical world belongs solely to J.K Rowling. I own nothing.

Forced into Darkness

Chapter Two: Taken [from Hogwarts]

Ginny shuddered. She felt the realisation of what Dumbledore had told her sink in with a new force, which seemed to hit her like a ton of bricks being carelessly dropped on her. "No!" she screamed. Her voice cracked. "Professor, it-it c-can't be true," she said, looking at her teachers, who looked as shocked as she felt. Minerva McGonagall stood up and looked at Lucius Malfoy with disbelief and thinly concealed loathing.

"You cannot be serious, Lord Malfoy. Nobody follows this medieval law any more," she [stated].

Lucius Malfoy fixed a cold glare on the Transfiguration teacher. "Professor, it is a valid law, and it ensures the purity of old bloodlines. I fully intend to act in accordance with this law, as should be expected of any wizard of honour."

Before McGonagall had a chance to reply, Dumbledore interrupted, "I'm afraid I have to agree with my Deputy Headmistress, Lord Malfoy." Dumbledore lowered his gaze and surveyed Lucius Malfoy through his half-moon glasses. "This law hasn't been practised for [a] hundred years, because it is commonly thought of as a barbaric anachronism."

Lucius Malfoy narrowed his eyes in annoyance, his hands clenched at his sides. "I don't think you would dare to deny me my right." He sneered, "After all, I think you may find I am more than accustomed to the art of duelling."

Although his smooth voice never lost its slightly amused lilt, there was no mistaking the harsh tone that made Ginny tremble even more than before. That man was the very same man who had tried to kill her when she had been only eleven. That man was the epitome of evil, the same man who had tried to kill her friends—to kill Harry. That man was cruel and hateful. He had killed and tortured mercilessly.

Dumbledore, ever the diplomat, remained calm. "Lord Malfoy, if it comes to that, I can assure you: you'll find a worthy opponent in me. I am more than capable with a wand." Dumbledore's words, while sounding slightly blithe, had a clear warning directed to Lucius Malfoy.

The teachers and students who sat near enough to hear the verbal battle sat stationary, most of them grasping their wands in stiff grips. Ginny Weasley backed away, her terrified glare on Malfoy. She expected him to attack the Headmaster at any moment.

For a moment the dark wizard stared at Dumbledore with cold fury glittering in his pewter-coloured eyes. The Headmaster held his gaze unflinchingly, his face a stoic mask. But his eyes … they were unrecognisable [compared] to those of the jovial, kind old man Ginny knew him as. They were the eyes of a hardened warrior: cold, determined and dangerous to anyone who dared to oppose him. Ginny had never thought it was possible that the kind-hearted Headmaster could ever look like that; even with the evidence right in front of her, she scarcely believed it.

Then Lucius Malfoy took a step closer to Dumbledore in an almost predatory bearing, gliding with a snake-like elegance. He then smiled. A cold, cruel, taunting smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "You are a brave man, Headmaster. Very … Gryffindor of you…." His words dripped in disdain.

Dumbledore, ever the serene headmaster, calmly answered, "Courage has nothing to do with schoolhouses, even if it is one of the major characteristics of the members of the House of the Lion." The tension diminished slightly, but the two men still held each other's gazes, each too proud to look away first.

Ginny was in a haze, her mind still in turmoil. It was all too much. In her haste to move away from the dangerously powerful men, she stumbled and was unable to do anything as her legs gave way. Just as she was about to crumple to the floor, the gaze of the two men fixed on her, and with a cat-like agility Lucius Malfoy had his arms around her waist in an iron-hard grip, steadying her and pulling her to her feet.

He held on to the girl for a few more moments, making sure she was able to stand. Ignoring Dumbledore, Lord Malfoy turned his attentions fully to the distressed, trembling girl beside him. "Miss Ginevra Molly Weasley?"

She nodded her head, not quite trusting herself to speak. She was light-headed and had to fight the feeling that she would faint at any moment. She looked up at him, and he took this as an invitation to come closer. Their bodies almost touched. He bowed his head slightly to her as was the customary address given to a pure-blooded woman by any self-respecting pure-blood-society wizard. "Miss Weasley, I imagine you know my name—Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, Lord of Malfoy Manor. It is a great pleasure to meet you again; it has been a long time."

She moved her mouth to open [it]. Her mouth was dry, and she found herself unable to answer. She stared at him like a rabbit would at a snake. He would try to lure her in to strike [her] at the opportune moment, [so] she had to be cautious.

He looked at her and cocked his head to the side, surveying her appearance. Judging her. The intense gaze made her feel slightly uncomfortable, and she felt like she should somehow cover herself up, despite the fact that she was in her school uniform.

Her discomfort increased when he broke out in a victorious smile, a typical arrogant smile, a customary Malfoy smile that she had seen a hundred times on his son Draco. He seemed to be pleased with his choice, finding some semblance of [merit] in what he saw.

She shuddered involuntarily when she saw his cold, silver-grey eyes watching her as if she were something on display in a shop. She noted how his eyes lingered on her black mini-skirt. She now felt she had to agree with what Ron had said—it did expose a bit too much of her creamy, white flesh, which Lucius Malfoy seemed to find pleasure in. Her hands snaked down to her skirt, but she shoved back her urge to tug it down. His intense predatory gaze was unnerving, and it made her feel like he was undressing her in front of the entire Great Hall.

He was handsome, in a very aristocratic kind of way—the sleek dangerous beauty of a snake seeking out its dinner. He reached out one hand, and she flinched slightly when he took her hand in his, rubbing his thumb on her soft flesh in a comforting gesture. Once he was sure she had relaxed a little, he gently brought her hand to his lips and placed a surprisingly gentle kiss on it.

Ginny would have thought the gesture romantic if it had been any other man in any other situation, but it was Lucius Malfoy, the man who wanted to make her his new bride. She blushed slightly as his lips lingered on her hand, and she struggled not to pull her hand out of the surprisingly warm one of the intimidating man.

Nobody had ever kissed her hand before, and she couldn't help but feel pleasure at the fact that this aristocratic, sophisticated wizard was treating her like a real woman.

Her face tinged a light cerise colour, and she smiled timidly when he eventually released her hand. Suddenly, she realised that she should at least greet him as well. He had behaved in a courteous way with her, and so she should behave accordingly, no matter who he was, and despite the fact that she wished he wasn't there at all … that she wasn't there.

She coughed faintly and managed a weak "Nice to meet you…", which even she found almost inaudible … and [not] very believable, as it betrayed her fear.

This brought the first real smile to Malfoy's face. He turned around to Dumbledore. "It is always charming to see how unpicked roses begin to blossom with the right care."

The way he said that made Ginny shiver again. She felt like she was drowning. Never had she felt such unease and even fear, not even when Tom Riddle's diary had almost killed her.

The Death Eater flicked a glance at the redhead once more before looking back at the Headmaster. "Headmaster, I will return my fiancée two weeks from now in order to let her finish her education properly. I will not have an uneducated wife." With those words Lord Malfoy nodded curtly in the direction of the staff table. He gripped Ginny's elbow in a steely, vice-like grip, taking her with him.

In a desperate attempt Ginny tried to fight against the stronger wizard's grip and managed to call out to the Headmaster, "Please … Professor!"

Dumbledore only shook his head sadly, looking very tired. "I'm afraid, Miss Weasley … Ginevra … that you don't have a choice. I'm so very sorry."

For the second time that day, she felt her legs turn to jelly, and she stumbled against the tall wizard beside her. If not for his quick reaction with which he caught her—yet again, she would have fallen. He scooped the girl into his arms and carried her away.

She barely registered the faces of the students staring at the unusual pair, and everything she saw seemed to be through a hazy fog. She thought she could hear familiar voices: Ron and Harry screaming. She was sure her brother had yelled something along the lines of "Let go of her, you bloody bastard!", but it was possible she had imagined it.

In front of the [oak doors of the castle's entrance], an ornate carriage stood, which Malfoy opened with a smooth wave of his hand. Entering the carriage, with Ginny still in his arms, he gently laid her down on the plush velvet seating. He retrieved something from the inside pocket of his cloak and force-fed her a few drops of the silvery-gold potion that was contained in the tiny bottle.

It looked harmless, but looks could be deceiving. After a moment of panic in which she thought that he had finally succeeded in killing her, this time with a poison disguised as a harmless potion, she felt herself becoming more and more relaxed, until it was too difficult for her to open her eyes.

A relaxing potion … the realization that he had given her something to relax was the last thing she thought before falling asleep, despite her determination to stay awake.

Then it was all black.

X

Back in the Great Hall, turmoil had broken out. Harry had managed to hold Ron back until Malfoy had left, and then Ron had punched him hard into the stomach and started running after his baby-sister and her kidnapper.

But a firm grip on his shoulder held him back, as well as the stern voice of the Headmaster: "Mr Weasley, I want you to stay calm until I have had an opportunity to speak with you. I've already sent an owl to your parents. They will be here shortly."

Neither Ron, nor Harry, nor Hermione had ever seen Dumbledore that worried before. The Headmaster looked almost shocked.

If Ron had been frightened before, he was now frightened to death. "How could you allow Malfoy to take my sister with him?" he asked in a broken voice he barely recognized as his own.

The old Headmaster sighed heavily and replied, "You will learn as soon as your parents arrive. I'll inform you as soon as they are here." And with a reassuring squeeze of Ron's shoulder, he left.

It looked suspiciously like flight.

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