Author's Note: I apologize for the delay in posting, I had some ridiculous double shifts at work and when I got home I could barely stay awake let alone form a coherent sentence. I will be posting another two chapters by tomorrow night if all goes well. There are tons of ideas going on in my mind for this and I have some of the future chapters already written since my mind won't stop turning! Anyway, enjoy guys!
-DGDGDG-
The basement was completely black after Narcissa made her way upstairs. She knew enough of the plan to know Lucius, Narcissa and Bellatrix weren't going to be here for the battle in case there was to be a repeat of the previous attempt at the ministry last year. Instead, Wormtail and a dozen low ranking death eaters would be there to fight against Harry, Ron, Hermione and whomever else they'd brought. Ginny shrunk into the corner and listened, waiting for a sign. She knew when she was found she would have to play injured and exhausted so she closed her eyes and tried to place her mentality there. A loud explosion startled her out of her thoughts and she began to worry. She never liked being unaware of what was happening, but no one left here with extendable ears or any means of informing herself. Another explosion happened and she jumped. There were sounds of fighting above her and she stood up nervously.
Something crashed against the wall and someone yelled the killing curse. Ginny bit her nip nervously, praying it missed. She could vaguely hear people running around and unsuccessfully tried to count the number of people there by footsteps. The shouting was starting to get farther away and there was more crashing of furniture and dishes upstairs but she could make out less details. The further away the fighting got the more uncomfortable Ginny felt; a lot of explosions had taken place already, what if one were to happen close enough to her to trap her there? She began to count in her head, trying to keep track of time as it became more silent. The numbers got higher and higher as she paced her cell endlessly. 500 came and went, then 1000. By the time she got to 2000 she knew something wasn't right. Her eyes began to water and she realized the air was getting thick. Ginny looked around frantically and realized smoke was filling the dungeon. She began to scream.
"HELP ME!" she begged. "OH GOD PLEASE HELP ME, I'M TRAPPED DOWN HERE!"
It was silent. She lost it. Ginny began to sob hysterically as she cried for help, the smoke surrounding her. No footsteps could be heard, there was no screaming and no fighting and it was beginning to get harder to breathe. Her lungs were raw from breathing in smoke but she continued calling for help from anyone. Smoke inhalation was finally getting to her and she slumped over against the wall, crying out for help weakly until she finally couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. A tear slid down her face as she thought of her family, and the image of her mom's face was the last thing she thought of before she fell unconscious.
-DGDGDG-
When Ginny woke up it was completely dark around her. Her eyesight was fuzzy as if she hadn't opened her eyes in a prolonged time period. The first thing she remembered was being in the dungeons at Riddle Manor and smoke surrounding her and panic set in. She leapt up and began to scream, not realizing that she was breathing in normal air again. A pair of arms wrapped around her and a familiar voice was trying to soothe her, softly calling her name. Ginny's eyes began to adjust to the dimness and she recognized her surroundings and began to come down out of her panic attack.
"Oh Ginny!" She now recognized her mother's voice, strangled with a sob as she held her tighter.
"Mum?" All she managed to get out was a coarse whisper, her throat was dry and she felt parched. Her mother guided her back to the bed and handed her a glass of water.
"My baby, I'm so glad you're awake." Her mother's voice was shaky, and her eyes were puffy from crying. "You inhaled so much smoke, we were terrified. When we found you outside the house, unconscious we couldn't believe you made it out."
Ginny frowned. Her memory leading to waking up in Hogwarts's hospital wing was fuzzy at best but she didn't remember escaping her dungeon cell at all. "How long have I been here?" she asked held her breath waiting.
"You've been unconscious for 9 days Gin." Her mother hugged her tightly as she gasped, unable to believe it. Madam Pomfrey burst into the room before Ginny could ask anything else and bustled over to her bedside.
"Miss Weasley! I'm so happy to see you awake. You must be extremely confused right now though, am I right?" Madam Pomfrey's voice was kind and understanding, and Ginny remembered in that moment that this woman was one of the few people who knew the real situation and truly understood what could have happened. Ginny nodded and stared at the woman with a pleading look. She seemed to understand and she smiled. "Molly, I know you must want to talk to your daughter very much but Albus is on his way up and needs to speak with her privately about what happened."
Molly stood up, flustered. "I hardly think this is the time for my daughter to have to deal with questions!"
"I'm sorry Molly, he said it had to do with the Order. I thought you would understand." Madam Pomfrey didn't sound sorry at all to Ginny, and her mother must have picked up on it too as she muttered under her breath on her way out of the room. Dumbledore didn't escape the woman's wrath as she shot him a deadly glare when their path's crossed outside the room. He sealed the doors and cast several spells so they couldn't be heard before walking to Ginny's bed and handing Madam Pomfrey a pair of fuzzy ear muffs so they could speak in private. The witch looked amused as she put them on her head and continued to work on Ginny.
"I'm very happy to see you awake again, Miss Weasley." Dumbledore greeted. "You gave us all quite the scare; even two minutes more in that smoke and you wouldn't have made it."
Ginny sighed and slumped back a bit. "But Professor, I don't know how I got out. The last thing I remember is the smoke getting thicker and not being able to scream for help anymore. I couldn't hear any one fighting either."
Dumbledore frowned, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "That is quite interesting… We will have to investigate that further. Do you remember much of what happened before the fire?"
Ginny nodded and began to tell him of what happened from when she was taken. He looked grief stricken as he listened to her describe learning spells with Voldemort and his intimate conversation with her. She didn't tell him she'd used an unforgivable, and glazed over several of the spells she'd had to use. Then she got to dinner with the Malfoys and Voldemort and paused, thinking through how to proceed best. Dumbledore sensed her hesitance and offered her a lemon drop which, Severus had warned her, were laced with calming draught.
"There was a lot discussed at dinner. They discussed branding Crabbe and Goyle when they turned 17, which we suspected already. Flint, who graduated a couple years ago was one of the death eaters who was supposed to be working on convincing the younger Slytherins during Hogsmead visits. He got involved in the skirmish and will be replaced with the sixth year, Nott." Dumbledore's mouth tightened into a firm line and Ginny was terrified of the man as his anger became apparent.
"Using students… It wasn't enough to ruin Draco Malfoy's life, now he will be ruining another 16 year old's life as well. I cannot abide him corrupting my students!" Dumbldore's voice shook the room, and Madam Pomfrey let out a gasp, reminding them she was there. He saw her and Ginny trembling and his eyes shone with remorse. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. Is there anything else you have to tell me, Ginny? If not I'll let you rest."
Ginny bit her lip, unsure if she wanted to tell Dumbledore about Voldemort's other decision or not. "Well… he also decreed that after Draco completes his task he will deserve a reward. He intends to give me to Draco as a wife."
She could have sworn she saw an amused glint from the old fool before he nodded and walked away. Madam Pomfrey took that as her cue and stepped forward to pour potions into her mouth. Her mother came back into the room just as she began to feel her eyelids grow heavy again. Ginny wanted to object that she couldn't possibly be tired again already, but she couldn't seem to find the will power for it. Her pillow was quite comfortable and she nodded off to sleep again.
-DGDGDG-
No one except Arthur and Molly Weasley were allowed to visit Ginny during her last week of hospital time. Madam Pomfrey tested her relentlessly, taking blood samples and checking her lungs frequently. She also had to do physical therapy to test the strength of her lungs after so much smoke inhalation. Her parents asked her questions constantly and wanted to remove her from school; a loud argument followed by windows breaking accidentally from the tempers of the Weasley women could be heard three floors down until they relented that Ginny could stay at Hogwarts. On her last day in the hospital wing Severus was brought in unconscious. Dumbledore escorted him in and set up the wards so he could be seen in private. When Ginny asked what had happened she was told he used the emergency portkey after a meeting and was unconscious when he landed in the headmaster's office.
When she was released on Sunday she still hadn't heard what was wrong with Severus or if he'd been released yet, but she couldn't stay further. The trio had come to escort her back to the common room but Ginny begged them to go anywhere but there. On a weekend too many people would be around and she didn't want to answer any questions. They agreed and they went up to the room of requirements. It appeared as it was for the DA and Ginny felt at home. The DA was what had given her the courage to do Dumbledore's mission after all, why shouldn't she take comfort in it. They spent hours talking, easily avoiding anything she didn't want to talk about and for that she was grateful. When lunch came Ron was ready to eat a horse but Harry looked sad. Ginny knew what he was planning on doing before he could say anything so she asked Hermione to go with Ron for lunch so her and Harry could talk.
"Ginny…" he began as soon as they were alone. "I'm so-"
"Don't say it, Harry." His damn hero complex was going to ruin everything, and she didn't know what would happen to her if she failed. "It isn't your fault; I won't let you take the blame for everything and leave me."
He stood up, angrily knocking his chair over and throwing his drink on the ground. "It is my fault Ginny! You would have never been a target if not for me!"
"What about my family? We're all in the order. We have you stay with us all summer. Dumbledore trusts my parents. My dad works for the ministry. All of those are good enough reasons for them to take me. This doesn't have to be all about you!"
"What if it happens again Gin? What if he takes you from me?" His voice dropped from screaming to pleading in a manner of seconds. "I couldn't stand if I lost you…"
"I can protect myself Harry. Wasn't that what the DA was all about? Wasn't I there with you at the Ministry? I'm a big girl, you don't always have to keep me safe."
He smiled sadly and placed his hand on her cheek lovingly. "I want to keep you safe though. I love you."
Ginny's heart stopped. This was the first time he was saying I love you, to anyone. She didn't love him at all. Her chest tightened as she saw the look on his face as he waited for her to say something. Not knowing what else to do she closed the distance between them, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately. "Make me forget everything that's happened, Harry." She begged of him.
His arms tightened around her as he picked her up and moved over to a couch. He laid her out gently in front of him and climbed on top of her. Their lips locked again and he was in a frenzy; Harry's hands were everywhere over her clothes and her breathing hitched as she felt his hand slide under her shirt and softly caress her stomach. When her lips parted he took advantage of her surprise and slid his tongue into her mouth, teasing hers and battling for control. She couldn't believe how fast he was moving as his hands slid under her bra and he rolled her nipples between his fingers. They were both breathing hard and Harry's hardness was pressing against her as they heard the door open and Hermione squeal in embarrassment. Harry jumped off Ginny quickly and she turned away to straighten her clothes.
"I'msorryIforgotmybagitsokayHarrycanbringitlaterby e" she burst out before turning tail and slamming the door behind her.
Harry and Ginny were both red in the face and she couldn't look into his eyes. "I think you should grab Hermione's bag and meet them in the Great Hall… I'm going to take a few minutes to clear my head."
Harry nodded. "Are you sure you don't want me to walk you?"
She shook her head. "No thanks Harry. I think both of us need some cool down after that. I'll see you later."
He grabbed the bag and walked to the door, stopping to face her before he left. She smiled at him and blew him a kiss, then he left with a smile. Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. I don't know if I could have gone all the way with him… He would have taken that as a confession of love from me and I don't think I'll ever be able to say that to him. She made a mental note to thank Hermione later for the interruption and then decided to make her way down to Severus's quarters. Even if he wasn't there, she could read a few books and call the house elves to serve her lunch there. It would be a much more private option than the Great Hall and she wouldn't have to face anyone for hours.