Chapter 3: Captive

The sky was an ugly orange color.

Ginny looked out the window disinterestedly, staring at a far point in the horizon.

Her feet were tucked primly beneath her and her chin was propped up on one hand.

"Mistress Malfoy, is you wanting something to eat?" a house-elf piped from her side, and Ginny tore her gaze away from the window.

She looked at the batty creature, who was balancing a tray of food with the most delectable-smelling gourmets on it, and turned away again. "No, I would not," she said perfunctorily. Indifferently.

"But Mistress has not eaten since yesterday!" the house-elf—Dilly, if Ginny remembered correctly—cried in distress, wringing its hands. "Master says that Mistress will starve."

"Well, you can tell him that I don't feel like it," Ginny said, more emphatically this time. "Now, please leave."

The house-elf disappeared along with the tray of food, but not before sending her an anguished look, and Ginny half-wondered if Draco had threatened to punish it for failing to carry out its task.

Since two months ago, she'd been playing this game. She would try to stave off food for as long as she could, finally caving just before she fainted from hunger. It made her feel closer to her family members, knowing that she was suffering as much as they were. Or had been.

"A house-elf has just reported something interesting to me with the deepest distress. Tell me, Ginevra, are you planning on killing yourself within my walls?"

She looked behind her and saw him leaning against the side of a doorway, grey eyes made lighter with his anger. She'd only ever heard him call her by her full name when he was truly furious with her.

But she didn't care anymore. He'd kidnapped her and then forced her to marry him while people in her family died fighting his side. Her parents were both gone, as were Percy and the twins. Only Bill and Charlie, who had both gotten out of the country a day early, and Ron, who was somewhere out there with Harry, had survived. She was allowed to be mean to him.

"I didn't know you cared," she told him icily. Ever since their marriage, she'd refused to fall back into their original, carefree relationship. After all that he'd done, she wasn't sure she could, even if she'd wanted to.

"Surprisingly enough, I spent a lot of time and effort keeping you alive, so yes, I do care quite a bit about what happens to you," he walked over and stood next to where she sat.

When she purposely ignored him in favor of staring out the window, he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Ginny, would you please just eat something?" he asked through gritted teeth, and it sounded like he was making a big effort to control his temper. "I know you're upset about your family, but starving yourself isn't going to bring them back."

She felt anger flare within her. "Of course you'd know that. You probably killed them."

"Don't assume anything you don't know," Draco snapped, and just like that, he was back to normal. "And you know what? I don't have to convince you of anything. Dilly!"

The house-elf appeared with a crack at his summon

"Make sure Mistress Malfoy joins me for dinner. If she is being difficult in any way, feel free to freeze her and carry her to the dining room yourself."

With that, he swept out of the room in a towering rage.

Ginny ignored his outburst and continued looking out the window, hoping that if she stared at the horizon long enough, everything would be okay.

*

Dinner was a silent and awkward affair.

Ginny stabbed her food viciously, reveling in the fact that the knife made a sickening sound every time it stuck the beef. She had considered locking herself in her room, but Dilly had suddenly looked more menacing as he'd advanced threatening on Ginny, armed with Draco's order to mobilize her if necessary.

She looked up from her spot to see him looking at her, and he spoke up.

"From now on, Dilly will be monitoring you during the day to make sure that you don't try anything stupid," he said from across the table, breaking the silence.

She glared.

"What? It's not enough that you forced me to marry you?" Ginny gutted the poor piece of meat again, slicing it furiously.

"No, it's not," he replied calmly, sipping on his wine. "And until I decide that it is, you'll be monitored for possible suicidal tendencies."

"That would be a welcome change," Ginny muttered, forking a piece of cut meat.

"Yes, we all know how much you want to join your beloved weasel family," he sneered.

"If you hadn't taken me away from them, I would've been able to help them," Ginny retorted. "You didn't even give me a choice."

"What do you know about choices?" he said softly, bitterly. "This is war. Nobody has a choice. And if you really think that you think that you do, maybe you should get a dose of reality."

He got up from the table and walked right out of the room, leaving Ginny alone with Dilly.

*

That evening, he came to get her.

"I want to show you something," he said, standing in the doorway and watching her move around her room.

She stared at him quietly, remembering what he'd said at dinner, and then grudgingly allowed him to show her the way.

He led her down to his study and closed the door behind them, fetching something from his cabinet. When Ginny leaned in for a closer look, she saw that it was a pensieve.

"These are some of my most important memories," he closed his eyes and pulled out one, two, three silvery strands from his mind and cast it into the bowl-shaped object. "The first one is the night everything both started and ended everything for me."

Then, holding onto her hand, he gently touched the watery surface, and they plunged into his memory.

Ginny felt dizzy momentarily, and it took a moment before she looked up.

They were standing in the middle of a cemetery. All around her, she could see the endless tombstones on graves, and up over the hill, there was a big house towering over the landscape.

Ginny bit her lip as she looked around her and noticed that she and Draco were standing in the middle of a circle. Surrounding them, she could see the endless black crowd of Death Eaters. There were some that were easily recognizable, even with their masks on, and some that she had a hard time identifying. At the head of the circle, a lone figure stepped inside.

"Tonight," the figure hissed, raising his head so that Ginny could see his blood-red eyes, "we call upon a member of one of our oldest Pureblood families for initiation. Upon taking my mark, he promises to be loyal to the cause and to eradicate the those of lesser blood. Tonight, we will accept Draco Malfoy into our circle."

Ginny watched as a younger Draco stepped forward from the circle, lowering his mask so that she could see the grey of his irises, and kneeled before his Dark Lord.

"Draco Malfoy, do you pledge to rid our society of those who would contaminate the bloodline?" Voldemort walked in a circle around Draco's kneeled figure.

"I do," Draco said in a firm voice.

"And do you promise to eradicate Muggles, Mudbloods, and blood traitors?"

Ginny watched as he froze at the last word before quickly dropping his eyes to the ground.

"I do," he promised, betraying none of the momentary indecision that he'd just went through.

"And do you swear to be loyal to me and to use the power I give you for the greater good?" Voldemort came to a standstill in front of him.

"I do," Draco said, and then stood up to face his new master.

"Your arm then, Draco," Voldemort said softly, and Draco pulled back the sleeve of his left forearm.

Voldemort placed the tip of his wand at the base of a blue vein, and Ginny watched in horror as the Dark Mark took shape, black wisps of smoke arising as it burned itself into the skin forever.

Younger Draco gritted his teeth in pain, but didn't make a sound. When Voldemort finally removed his wand and held up the newly branded mark, the circle cheered in approval.

And Draco stood in the midst of it all, holding up his arm proudly, looking like he'd just been bestowed the greatest honor.

"It was knowing that I could. It was being able to show people like Granger that pure-bloods were better than Muggle-borns in every way, no matter how many questions they answered correctly in class. And most of all, it was power. For once in my life, I was included in reshaping a better world," present Draco said quietly next to her. "And I wanted nothing more than to be in control."

"I don't think I want to stay here anymore," Ginny said truthfully, trying not to look at the scene in front of her. It was too real to her. Even though it was a memory, she didn't want to have to look at the crowd of pure-blood supremacists any longer.

"You're going to wish you'd stayed here," Draco laughed bitterly. "It gets worse than this."

And then, he was tugging on her hand, and they were falling into the next memory.

This time they landed in some kind of room, and once again, a circle had already formed. If Ginny looked closely, she could see that there were gargoyles mounted at the sides of the stairway.

"This," Draco looked around until he found what he was looking for, "was the first time I ever killed a man."

Ginny followed the direction of his gaze until her eyes landed on a kneeling figure in the middle.

"Please, my Lord," the man was begging, rocking back and forth pathetically, "forgive me. I didn't mean to. It was an accident---"

There was a high, cruel laugh. "Did you not swear to be loyal to me, Addison? To serve me faithfully?"

"I tried, my Lord," Addison gasped for air. "Give me one more chance..."

"I think not, Addison," Voldemort said, reaching for his wand and holding it loosely in between his fingers. "Lord Voldemort does not forgive easily. Twice you have failed to kill the Weasleys and bring Harry Potter to me because of your incompetence and sympathy. You have betrayed me by breaking your oath to be faithful; there are no more chances. Draco!"

Still reeling from the mention of her family, Ginny almost failed to see younger Draco step forward once again from the circle, a glimpse of his platinum blond hair shining in the light.

"Yes, my Lord?"

" Kill him," Voldemort said coldly and swept out of the room with Nagini draped over his shoulders.

The rest of the Death Eaters watched in frenzy anticipation as Draco twirled his wand expertly, as if to test the familiarity.

Ginny watched him fearfully, silently urging him to lower his wand and leave the room.

Even as she prayed for him to stop, she knew what was going to happen. In flash of green light, the man named Addison keeled over, dead, and it was over.

Ginny closed her eyes, feeling bile rise up in the back of her throat. It wasn't out of pity for Addison. Instead, it was from seeing Draco do something like that without even batting an eyelid.

"The next one is the worst," Draco said beside her and grabbed her wrist one last time.

She stumbled as she landed and had to steady herself before she took in her surroundings. Instead of a room, she found herself in some sort of disgusting and dark alleyway. On closer investigation, Ginny could make out a tiny one-story house down at the end, with similar houses built along the road.

"Fucking Mudblood community," someone said next to her, and she jumped back as a hooded and masked Death Eater swept past her, laughing along with his companions.

"True, but it's always fun to hear them scream," another one licked his lips.

"I hope she does," the first rubbed his hands in anticipation. "I can teach her a thing or two about her place underneath me."

Ginny felt dizzy as she inferred what the men were talking about. Looking at the five figures, she tried to figure out which one was Draco, hoping that it wasn't the first one that had spoken.

"You get her, MacNair," a third one said, pushing the first man towards the door. "It was your idea."

"I will," MacNair laughed. "And I'll be the first to have her."

He walked up the doorsteps, his footsteps heavy on the doorstep, and used his wand to blast open the door.

"No," Ginny whispered, averting her eyes. She didn't want to see this. This wasn't going to happen. "Draco, I want to leave," she tugged on his arm none too gently, but he ignored her.

And that's when the screaming started.

"You need to see this," Draco spun her around so that she was looking straight at the scene. And once she started, it was like she couldn't stop.

She was such a pretty girl. So, so beautiful. Even in the dark, Ginny could see that.

They dragged her to the end of the dead-end street, and Ginny could see the crooked angle of her open legs.

And when the woman's husband came running from the house, yelling for them to stop, MacNair lazily flicked his wand, sending him flying back, where his head crunched sickeningly on the doorstep, blood seeping out from underneath him.

Ginny's heart dropped when she saw the shadow of a little girl—no more than five-years-old—hiding behind the front door, sobbing in fear with no one to comfort her. Her big eyes alternated between her parents, filling with wave after wave of tears as she buried her tiny head in between her knees and clamped a tiny hand over her mouth, afraid of what the men would do to her if she made a sound.

Ginny squeezed her eyes closed as tight as they could go, trying to ignore the noises of the group of Death Eaters. Growing up in a warm and loving family who'd always tried to shelter her, she'd never had to see any of this.

"We're done here," she heard a Death Eater growl, and she chanced to open them again. "She's no fun. You should've killed him afterwards, MacNair. Didn't react at all after that."

Ginny opened her eyes and looked over; it was true. The woman now seemed to just lay there, the white of her legs contrasting against the black of the road, stunned. It was as if she was just sitting back and accepting her fate.

"Ah, well, it's okay, Malfoy," one of them clapped Draco on the back. "We'll get our turn soon. I heard they're finally closing in on the Weasleys in a month and a half's time, and that they'll be keeping the littlest one for the rest of us."

Draco's eyes glazed over and stilled for the barest of a second. "Ginny Weasley?"

The other Death Eater chuckled. "No other female Weasleys out there. Personally, I think the Dark Lord's saving her for initiation. And when Zabini and Nott are done, he'll probably let us have a go, too. She'll be propaganda, so that the public knows the consequences of helping blood traitors."

"Interesting," Draco said in deep thought, drawing up the hood of his cloak again so that the darkness swallowed him.

Ginny saw him take one last glance back at the woman, whose ice-blue eyes were now staring listlessly at the sky, and her daughter, who had run over to her father's body. Then, present Draco was pulling her up through the pensieve and back into his office.

"That," he said, putting the pensieve away for later use, "was the night that changed everything."

She tried, but couldn't bring herself to look at him as she squeezed out of the office and ran for the loo, barely making it before she vomited all over the white-tiled floor.

*

That night alone in her room, she couldn't sleep.

The moon was too bright, and the nighttime noises seemed to have been amplified.

Flipping onto her stomach, Ginny buried her head under her pillow and tried to count kneazles to no avail. Groaning, she turned onto her back again, looking up at the ceiling. If she was honest with herself, she didn't want to close her eyes because in her mind, she could still hear the woman screaming and the girl crying as she watched her father die.

At last, when she'd finally managed to reach the midpoint between sleep and consciousness, she was freshly awakened by the sound of someone opening her door.

"Ginny," the person said, shaking her, and she realized that it was Draco. "Wake up."

She sat up, watching as Draco rifled through the closet and tossed something at her.

"Put that on," he told her in a worried voice. "We're going to go see the Dark Lord."

"I don't understand," Ginny said, scrambling up and pulling on the robe that Draco had tossed her. It was big and bulky, and she could feel the thickness of the robe cutting off all outside air.

"He's ordering that everyone attend, so it must be big," Draco commented absentmindedly, pushing a hand through his hair and grabbing onto Ginny's wrist, pulling her through the darkened hallways of Malfoy Manor.

Draco touched the Dark Mark on his left forearm, and Ginny felt a pulling sensation in her navel. When she landed alongside Draco, she saw that she was standing in the same room as the one in Draco's second memory. This time, it seemed as if they were the last ones, because everybody seemed to be waiting for them.

"Step forward, Draco," the high-pitched voice said coldly, and Ginny dared to glance at the deformed face even as Draco pushed her back to blend in with the rest of the circle.

"My Lord," Draco murmured, kneeling down before his master.

"Tell me, Draco," Voldemort said, twirling his wand as if in preparation, "did you not swear loyalty to me?"

Draco hesitated, feeling as if it were a trick question.

"Yes, my Lord," he finally said.

"And has your job not been to rid us of Mudbloods and blood traitors," Voldemort asked, and Ginny credited Draco for being able to keep an indifferent face.

"Yes, my Lord," Draco said, more slowly this time.

"So, imagine finding out that one of my most prized Death Eaters," Voldemort said softly, "has been trying to aid the blood traitor cause."

"I—" Draco started, suddenly realizing how much danger he was in.

"You helped two of the Weasleys escape after requesting permission to marry one," Voldemort raised his wand above Draco's head. "You told me that you wished to convert her and provide me with many future Death Eaters when you've been protecting her right from the start."

"My Lord—"

"So, in punishment, I do believe I will be handing your wife over to Zabini, to do what he may with her," Voldemort said, and Blaise Zabini smiled wolfishly down at Ginny, his eyes glittering behind his mask.

"As it should've been from the very start if Draco hadn't interfered," he whispered gratingly into her ear, and she trembled from where she stood.

"And for his treachery," Voldemort raised his voice so that everyone could hear him, "Draco Malfoy will die tonight. Let it be a warning to anyone who chooses to consort with blood traitors of her kind."

Then, he swept out of the room, and Blaise Zabini and two other Death Eaters stepped forward, surrounding Draco. They all lowered their hood one by one, and Draco eyed each of them coolly, as if he hadn't just been condemned to death.

Ginny stood in the circle of Death Eaters, watching as Blaise Zabini brought Draco to the ground, biting the inside of her mouth to stop herself from crying out. They cursed him time and time again, and she felt as she were re-watching the scene from Draco's memory. She could feel the tears running down her face as they tortured him into the night, but she still stayed silent. But when they finally tired of their game and sent him spread-eagled in front Ginny, she finally lost it and screamed until her voice bled, knowing that there was nothing worse in the world than staring into those grey, unseeing eyes for what she knew was to be the last time in her life.

*

She stepped out of her room as quietly as she could, fumbling down the darkened hallway. Although ever since her marriage she'd refused to step inside Draco's room, choosing to take a spare guestroom instead, she still knew that it was located two doors down the opposite side.

Ginny paused in front of his room and fumbled with the lock noisily. When she entered, she could see him facing the window, hands laced behind his back.

He turned when he heard her come in, raising an eyebrow when he saw her.

"Ginny?" he asked in disbelief. In the three months that she'd been here, she'd always refused to come in to his sanctuary.

She stared at his full figure in relief for a minute, thankful that it'd all just been a dream, taking in all the little nuances in his physical appearance.

Then, wordlessly, she crossed the room and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her tear-stained face into his neck. She could feel the rough beating of his heart, the planes of his body. He still smelled exactly the same as he had back in Hogwarts, and it was enough that he was still alive and breathing and well.

She pulled back slightly away from him, and felt a collapsing rush of gratitude when she saw his beautiful grey eyes search her face for answers.

Without further ado, she grasped the back of his head and dragged his head down to meet hers. Ginny moved her lips against in his, reveling in the feeling and trying to pull him even closer to her. His lips felt heavenly against hers; it'd been too long, and she'd forgotten just how much she'd missed this.

She broke away first. "I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want us to not talk to each other. I don't want to pretend like you don't matter to me," she murmured against his lips, closing her eyes, thankful for the knowledge that he wasn't dead upon the ground like he'd been in her dream.

"So don't," he whispered back and kissed her again. Ginny reached up and shrugged his shirt off even as he backed her up against his bed.

She placed disconnected kisses everywhere she could touch, and pulled him even closer for more body contact as he entered her, finally consummating their marriage.

Ginny looked at him as he moved inside of her, and she wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly and securely, reveling in the feeling that they were together again.

She was never going to let him go for as long as she lived.

A/N: So, I just wanted to make it clear that this is only a short, four chapter story, and will not deeply dive into the development of the D/G relationship. I'm starting a new long chaptered fic that WILL explore and develop the D/G relationship fully, but it's just not meant to be for this one. For those of you that read "Lady", you already know the ending, so I feel like it limits my creativity as to what I can come up with. I'm really sorry.

Another thing is a lot of people added this story to either their favorites or their story alert, but didn't leave a review. Please read and review! I don't mind constructive criticism, because it'll help me improve my writing, but at least take a minute to just let me know how I'm doing. It would really make my day.

Thanks so much to delete-the-girl, twinsofthesky, lucygirl07, veronica21, Callidora-Malfoy, and Black Lagoon for reading and reviewing!