Ginny and Hermione hadn't moved since Voldemort had visited. The news that neither of them had long to live hadn't really had the expected effect on them. In truth, the two girls were surprised that they had made it this long in Voldemort's new world.
Hours later, the cell door opened, and Voldemort, accompanied by Lucius Malfoy, entered.
"Hermione Granger," Voldemort spoke. She looked up slowly, her eyes swollen and heavy. "Come with me, I have decided to spare your life. You will, I think, make a wonderful wife to Lucius' son Draco."
One look at Hermione's face would tell anyone what she thought of that, but Voldemort ignored this, seizing her arm with his grimy hand and yanking her up. "Go with Lucius."
Ginny stayed on the floor, looking up at the ceiling without really seeing. She was completely numb, numb to everything... Even the news that Hermione was to marry her childhood love didn't faze her.
A little while later, Ginny was taken out of the prison cell by Macnair and Dolohov. As she walked to the place of her impending death, she had to admit that she was feeling slightly sorrowful now. All she could think of was the many things she hadn't done in life; get married, become a famous Quidditch player, have children... And now she would never have a chance to do them.
Voldemort himself was waiting outside the dungeons. He grinned, showing his rotten teeth when he saw her being half-dragged along.
"Are you feeling remorseful now?" Voldemort asked. Ginny nodded, for it was harder to remain brave now that death awaited her. She looked at the floor as he laughed.
"Dolohov, Macnair, put her in here and lock the door. I want someone guarding it at all times."
Ginny was shoved in; she lost her balance and fell to the floor. The last thing she saw were the two Death Eaters and Voldemort smiling evilly at her before the door was slammed shut and bolted from the outside. Ginny slid back against the wall, wrapping her arms around her knees as she shivered and looked around the grimy prison.
~~~(O.O)~~~
Hermione was shaking. Facing Voldemort was the most unpleasant thing in the world; you could never tell whether he was going to praise you or kill you in a heartbeat for disobeying one of his rules.
"You showed great bravery, Hermione Granger." Hermione looked him in the eye and tried to look grateful. "Unlike your friend, you showed courage when faced with the consequences of your actions."
"I'm sorry, my Lord," Hermione murmured. "It won't happen again."
"No, it won't," Voldemort agreed. "It is rare that I spare a life, but my long-time servant and friend Lucius needed a wife for his son. I thought that you, with your intelligence and courage, would be ideal, and Lucius agreed."
"Thank you, my Lord."
Hermione wasn't that brave – not really. If she was brave, she wouldn't fear death quite like she did. Instead of dying with her friend, she allowed herself to be removed from the cell and was now complying with the enemy she had been fighting for years. Perhaps she should have been put into Ravenclaw instead.
But somehow, she felt that her work on Earth wasn't done yet – she felt like she needed to avenge the deaths of Sirius, Dumbledore, Mad-Eye, Dobby, Fred, Harry... The list was endless. Whether it was an excuse, or a genuine goal, this kept her going when she felt like she could give up.
And right now, there was in fact one thing she could do, for one of the only remaining people she cared about...
"I feel that Ginny is rather brave too," Hermione said boldly. Voldemort looked at her coldly.
"You do, do you?" He began pacing slowly – a dangerous sign.
"Yes, my Lord, I do." Voldemort stopped, probably in surprise. Hardly anyone ever stood up to him, and 95% of those people ended up dead within seconds. "Ginny showed remarkable bravery in going against you, the greatest wizard the world has ever seen. She also showed incredible loyalty to her brother – think of having a person with that amount of bravery and loyalty within your ranks." She knew Ginny would never join Voldemort, but perhaps she could place her under the Imperius Curse for a short while, then help her slowly move abroad...
"You are right, Granger," Voldemort said slowly, and Hermione dared breathe out. "I do need that loyalty within my Death Eaters. She could show many of my men a thing or two. With a little... persuasion, we could invite her to become a Death Eater... What an honour that would be..."
He began walking to the door. "You may leave, Granger. I am going to free Ginny and have a word with her. Once again, you have shown your above average intelligence – the reason I spared your life during the Battle of Hogwarts..."
Hermione sighed in relief, then began to wonder if she was spiralling into darkness herself, just like the Death Eaters she was forced to be around.
~~~(O.O)~~~
Voldemort walked into the deepest dungeon, where Ginny was being kept. Dolohov sprung clumsily to his feet as soon as he entered and gave a small jerk of his head.
"Open the door, Dolohov. I have decided to spare the life of Ginevra Weasley."
Dolohov, looking astounded, complied, pulling back the lock and using his wand to open the heavy black door. The sight that greeted them was not one they expected to see. They had expected to see Ginny in a corner weeping, not Ginny hanging by the neck with a piece of rope she had found in the corner.
Voldemort screamed, and killed Dolohov with a single Killing Curse to the chest. It was hardly his fault, but Voldemort was furious that she had controlled her own fate, rather than allowing him to dictate it.
Lucius came stumbling down the steps at the sound, with his son Draco at his heels, and gasped when he saw Ginny's lifeless body.
"Draco... stay back..."
But Draco was stronger than his father now and pushed his way forwards, then fell against the doorframe in shock. A low moan came from the back of his throat, as he witnessed the love of his life still and lifeless.
In an instant, he pulled out a knife, and turned on a shocked Voldemort. His father grabbed him round the neck and tried to pull him back, as their master watched the pair emotionlessly. After a small tussle, in which Draco seemed unlikely to win, he drew back the knife and plunged it into his own chest.
He died instantly, in his father's arms, and as Lucius lay his son on the ground and wept silently, Voldemort turned away in disgust. The deaths of two teenagers didn't concern him, and he couldn't bear to see the weakness of one of his closest followers. Lucius would pay for his moment of weakness later, but at that moment all Voldemort cared about was feeding his hungry snake Nagini the body of a complete waste of a life.
This is my first time writing a dramatic tragedy and I rather enjoyed writing this in a weird way! Haha thank you for reading! Much love, from Haunted Veela.