Dear Readers,

Sorry this is so short, but it was just a good cut off point. I'm already working on the next one, so the next update should be sooner. I'm crazy busy though, so no promises.

PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!

Littlekat_1010

Ginny Weasley waited until she heard the door close behind her before allowing her feet to do what they wanted—flee as quickly as she could out of doors. She had no real clue as to where she was going. Lucius had not given her a tour of the house, much less the grounds, but Ginny found that it didn't matter. She did not need a specific destination; she just needed to put as much space as possible between herself and that man.

There had been very few times in her life when Ginny had been truly terrified. Growing up with five older brothers had left her with two choices: keep up, or be afraid and get left behind to help mom cook. She could hardly count the number of broken bones, cuts, scrapes, and other minor injuries that had resulted in a trip to the healers and a stern lecture from her mother. Molly Weasley had always tried to convince Ginny not to let her brothers coerce her into doing foolish things that could be dangerous, but Ginny had never need coercion. Half the time, the ideas were hers.

In fact, looking back, Ginny could count the number of times she had experienced true fear. The first was at the age of 5, when she had almost drowned in the ocean currents on a family vacation to the seaside. The next was the still-terrifying experience with Tom Riddle's diary and the Chamber of Secrets. The event in the ministry during her fourth year at Hogwarts had been less than pleasant. And then, of course, there had been the final battle, where she had been tossed back and forth between huge rushes of courage-inspiring adrenaline, and fear so incapacitating she had been sure she would die. And then last night.

The truth was, Lucius Malfoy terrified Ginny. Perhaps it was his suspicious connection with the Chamber of Secrets incident, or maybe the fact that he was a former Death Eater. It was possibly the idea that she would spend the rest of her life bound to him in marriage, or the thought of sharing his bed twice a week. Perhaps it was a combination of all of these.

Ginny had been walking at a fast pace, determined to put distance between herself and the Manor, but she slowed down now to catch her breath and take in her surroundings. The grounds of Malfoy Manor were vast and incredibly beautiful, but their beauty was lost on Ginny. Her fear and desperation turned to anger as she gazed at the twenty foot high wall that completely surrounded the grounds. She was angry at herself for being afraid; she was angry at the Ministry for forcing this on her; she was angry at the wall for preventing her from leaving.

Her usually grounded sense of reason left her, and Ginny began to run as fast as she could. She began to follow the wall around the grounds at breakneck speed, stumbling some on the ground below her. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe. She had to run. She had to find the gate. There had to be a way out of her. She felt like she had been running forever; her lungs burned with ever breath that she took. A low tree branch caught in her hair, but she didn't notice the pain as she tore it out. She had to get out. Suddenly, her foot caught on a tree root, and the last thing she remembered was the sensation of falling, before everything went black.

*****

Lucius snorted at Severus' words. "You're excusing her behavior?"

Severus gave a deep sigh, his voice remained calm. "What is there to excuse, Lucius?"

Lucius whirled on his friend, his eyes flashing. "She is my wife, Severus. I did not force this on her. We are both victims here!" There was silence for a moment, and Severus could see the subtle change in Lucius' eyes, the pain seeping through the anger. Then the silver haired man spoke again, his voice lower. "Do you remember their faces, Severus?"

Snape didn't answer. Lucius continued.

"I do. I remember every face of every girl that—" His voice broke off, and his chest heaved as he took a deep breath to steady himself. "I remember those that screamed, and remember those that quietly told me that they would prefer death. I remember the early days, how I reveled in the power it gave me. And remember the last year, the guilt that came with each incident. And I remember exactly how many."

Severus remained quiet, sensing the older man's need to talk. "Narcissa never knew. She never took the Mark, you know. She was never there when he ordered us to—do that, for his entertainment. She always knew that something had gone wrong, but I never had the courage to tell her what." His eyes had glazed over, a painful expression on his face. "I tried to tell myself that I had no choice. He would have killed me. But I know what complete shit that is. I will never be a kind man, Severus. I have no expectations of redeeming myself for my actions. I am damned. But I never wanted to feel that way again, and that slip of a girl brought it all back." The anger was back in his voice.

Severus waited to be sure that Lucius had finished. "I remember, Lucius. But she doesn't. In her mind, you enjoyed last night. You enjoyed her pain and her humiliation. She was not prepared to be a wife, and her young mind certainly cannot fathom that you may be experiencing the same pain she is. Give her time. You're a different man now; give yourself time."

Lucius Malfoy shook his head at his friend. "You're a far better man than I, Severus. You did what you did for a good cause. I did what I did because I was too tempted by the power, and then I was too afraid to give it up. I haven't really changed much at all. I'm not—" He cut off suddenly, his face darkening as he felt the pull of the safety charm he had cast on the girl.

Severus noticed. "Something wrong?"

Lucius nodded, his face grim. "She's hurt."