Blissfully Ignorant, Chapter 14 (Betrayal)
Big thank you to my reviewers, especially Dracoginnylover24 and AngeliqueBlack! This chapter's for you's.
Draco and Ginny stumbled through the rumble; the only thing left of the grand door that had stood in the stone hallway proudly until Draco had shot it down with several powerful spells.
Ginny coughed through the dust the explosion had left, that was some powerful door. Once the dust had settled the room was made visible. Ginny gasped.
The small, perfectly square room was highly furnished with polished furniture and fluffy red rugs covered most of the floor. The room was toasty, thanks to the burning fire in the huge fireplace to Ginny's left. Coffee tables and dressers were scattered with priceless heirlooms and two red satin covered armchairs took pride of place around the flaming fire. The entirety of the wall to Ginny and Draco's left was cover top-to-bottom with shelves of leather bound books. A single door led off to another room.
Ginny looked up at Draco, her brow furrowed, unsure what to make of the elegant room they stood in.
"Shall we?" Draco gestured to the closed door. Ginny looked back at the door and nodded.
Ginny, with trembling fingers, clasped the brass door knob and turned it. Expecting it to be locked… It wasn't. She licked her dry lips and entered, wand raised.
The room was in complete darkness and seemingly deserted, Ginny waited in the doorway. "Hurry Ginny, we don't have all night." Draco tried to push past her to get into the room.
"Do you hear that?" Ginny whispered.
"Hear what?"
"Shh." Ginny lifted her hand and Draco fell silent.
"It sounds like…"
"Yes," Ginny nodded, "snoring." She lit her wand was a swift 'lumos' and walked further into the room. "Scorpius!" there he was, fast asleep in a high four poster bed, the blanket pulled right up to his chin.
Ginny rushed forwards, tears in her eyes, ready to embrace her son when her husband's loud yell of warning stopped her. She was about to turn around and question Draco when she felt a strong pair of hands suddenly grabbed her from behind and shoved her, none to gently, to the floor where said person binded her with a spell. "HEY!" Ginny yelled and tried to struggle out of her invisible restraints.
Darkness clouded the room as Ginny's wand fizzled out, and then it was quickly thrown back into the light by an unknown source. Ginny looked up, fearing the worst and having the worst confirmed by looking into the faces of three masked Death Eaters. Scorpius was still sound asleep.
Ginny watched as the tallest evil Death Eater preformed a Patronus charm and spoke to it. No doubt sending the silvery lizard to their leader, whoever it was, asking what to do with the intruders they'd caught. Ginny surprised herself by not feeling scared, instead she felt relieved that she was in the same room as her son and that he was still safe and very much alive.
Draco was thrown to the floor next to Ginny and the evil Death Eaters preformed a shield around them stopping them from escaping which was unnecessary as they were both binded anyway.
Ginny gazed wistfully at her sleeping son. The lizard returned accompanied by a similarly silver ostrich. Draco's eyes widened as he stared at it in disbelieving shock, he shook his head in denial.
Ginny was unable to hear the quiet conversation between the ostrich and the tallest Death Eater. The man nodded and the ostrich burst into a puff of silver cloud. He signalled to Ginny and Draco with a nudge of his head. This man was obviously the leader; the others immediately responded. Ginny struggled again as the smaller two men came towards them. A flash of red. Black.
&&&&&
"Hmmm," Ginny groaned as she regained consciousness, "Draco?" Silence.
She sat up dizzily, nudging the limb body that lay to her left. Wait a minute, he was lying upright! Ginny looked down and screamed at the distance between her and the stone ground. Wait a minute! Hard stone wall against her back… arms and legs held to the wall with shackles… unconscious husband knocked out beside her… equalled… big trouble.
"Draco!" Still no reaction. She elbowed him in the ribs "DRACO!!!" she fell silent after that, sulking.
She stared at the grey wall opposite her, wondering whether she should be worried about her husband. No, she could hear his light breathing.
The room was masked in darkness; she wished someone would light their wand so she would have something to look at as she waited. All she could make out were the dark walls partly covered by something she suspected was material but could be sure of it. A single door stood on the left wall; at least she thought it was a door.
She sighed. Could this week get any worse? Her baby boy had predicted a horrific prophecy about himself, then he'd been kidnapped by the evilest of evil Death Eaters, after that she'd had nearly two days of torture waiting for her traitor of a husband to return and tell her what was happening, then they'd stormed the Death Eaters headquarters on a foolproof rescue mission, they'd failed to save Scorpius and now here she was, bones aching, chained to a freezing cold wall. Foolproof? Yeah Right!
Just as Ginny was wondering what would happen to her and her partner, said partner mumbled something, lifting his head.
Ginny turned and rolled her eyes "Welcome back to consciousness, princess."
"Huh?"
"Nothing." She muttered. "Would like to know where we are?"
He lifted his tired head further up and looked at her.
"Would you like to know what I've been doing for the last half an hour while you were pleasantly dozing? Staring at a bloody wall! The wall that is opposite the very wall we happen to be chained to!!!"
"It's my fault I was knocked out cold? I suppose it's my fault we're stuck to a bloody wall too is it!" he asked.
"Yes."
"How!" he demanded.
"I don't know! But give me a minute and I'll think of a reason!"
Draco chuckled "I love you, Gin." She smiled, and then jumped as the door, that had now proved itself a door, opened swiftly allowing a dozen cloaked and masked Death Eaters to enter carrying lit wands.
"Good; you're awake." One said lighting the rooms torches that hung on the walls. The Death Eater then strutted over to stand in front of Draco who was trying not to look into the eyes of the Death Eater.
The man ripped is mask off and sneered. The other Death Eaters kept theirs on. Draco sighed. "Yaxley." He nodded in acknowledgement.
Yaxley tutted "Such a waste you were, Malfoy. And with so much potential." He muttered.
"I'm happy with my men and you with you're; in my eyes everything worked out for the best." Draco spoke to the floor.
"You're father had such high hopes for you to Malfoy, he bragged and boasted about your talents daily. We all grew excited by the prospect of having someone like you in our forces, but your father had made you up to be something you are not, didn't he, Malfoy? Loyal he claimed you'd be and intelligent. Of course the most intelligent thing to do would have been to have stayed where you belonged, with people who were just like you, not half bloods, blood traitors and mudbloods."
"You are nothing like me." he stated coldly.
"My blood is pure, your blood is pure." He said simply as though that settled it "You belonged with your own kind, boy."
"I am with my own kind. I'm with people who share my views, share visions of the future that could be. A world where wizards ruled but lived among the muggles, muggleborns, halfbloods and squibs. Leaders, but worthy leaders. We'll build a world where wizards aren't forced to hide their existence, but a fair world. Somewhere that wasn't built on fear and ruled by murderers." Draco sounded almost otherworldly as he spoke of his shared dreams. Draco's Death Eaters suddenly seemed less evil to Ginny. There was nothing wrong with chasing your dreams, those men were ambitious fighters that deserved to be looked up to. Killing was wrong, but killing for all the right reasons was something Ginny could maybe, one day, forgive. She should have spoke to Draco about all this much sooner, maybe then she'd have understood him better.
"Yes, yes." Yaxley dismissed Draco's words with a wave of his scarred hand "You're all very good, worthy, innocent men that completely deserve to rule the wizarding world." He told Draco sarcastically.
"I never said we were innocent. We are not. We've all done bad things, things some of us are ashamed of. But those things are part of our past, those experiences build our character; the building blocks of who we all are a person and as a group. Though we may be ashamed we do not regret anything from our past and are prepared to do a lot of things to succeed, maybe not as much as you…" he motioned to the group "…because we will remain true to ourselves. That does not limit us because we use skills and traits that your Death Eaters lack, intelligence, patience, integrity, knowledge, friendship and of course… subtlety."
"You're going soft Malfoy, losing your touch if you ask me."
Draco, still looking at the floor, sighed "this is another thing that annoys me about you people; something isn't going your way so you respond to that with an insult. The ability to have a conversation with someone you disagree with without throwing childish insults is something you really should work on." Draco urged. Yaxley scowled and turned his attention to Ginny who'd remained silent, admiring Draco's words.
"Pretty little thing." He appraised "But really Malfoy is she worth disgracing your family for?" Yaxley asked Draco, though he kept his eyes on Ginny, running his eyes over her body in a way that made bile rise in her throat.
"Absolutely." Draco answered immediately, he kept his face impassive.
Yaxley laughed coldly. "Draco being a Death Eater, did that shock you, my dear?"
Ginny kept her mouth shut. Yaxley grew alarmingly irritated that she wouldn't respond. He glided forward and grabbed hold of her chin with his grubby hand. "I asked you a question." She spat at him; the spit hit his face and ran down his cheek. He snarled "You little bitch!" he pulled his wand out and pushed it against her neck.
"Leave her alone!" Draco shouted, struggling to get free from his restraints.
"Yaxley," a gruff voice barked from among the grouped Death Eaters "She wants them alive and conscious." He reminded the angered man. He reluctantly let go of Ginny and walked away from the two of them.
"We have a little surprise for you. I think you'll like it, we were lucky our leader let us show you; you see, she's very protective of it." They both looked up, unwillingly curious.
Yaxley was standing by a large satin curtain that reached the top of the ceiling and fell to ground; he had his hand wrapped around a robe that would obviously open the curtains when he pulled it.
Ginny's heart was beating, why did she have the feeling she wouldn't like whatever Yaxley was about the reveal.
Yaxley pulled hard on the robe and the scarlet curtain was pulled aside. Ginny heard herself gasp in horror and her eyes stung with tears.
There, standing on a stone platform, was her little boy. Dressed in Death Eater robes and donning a horrifying mask.
Ginny pulled her head away from the sight, looking down at the floor. "Yes. Following in his fathers footsteps." Yaxley said, obviously happy with the situation.
Draco was suffering from extreme guilt; it was his fault that his four year old son had been forced into such attire, it was his fault Scorpius had been kidnapped also.
Scorpius looked at his mother and father chained to the wall, helpless. He smirked and looked away. Ginny wasn't sure what she expected him to do, but it certainly wasn't that. Oh no she thought we're too late, they've already turned him evil. NO, he's been brainwashed or he's probably confused and shocked.
"Scorpius." Ginny whispered, wondering whether the boy was even her son. He didn't act like Scorpius; Scorpius was playful and hyper not the quiet, cold and serene child that stood proudly in front of her. Scorpius heard but didn't look at his mother, he was under strict rules.
Scorpius shivered. "You." he pointed at Yaxley and Yaxley stood straighter "Get me my cloak." he spoke with the demanding voice of a leader, it was a terrible contrast. Yaxley didn't hesitate; he briskly walked out of the stone room, shutting the door behind him.
Ginny's mouth was open in shock. What grown man, let alone a Death Eater, would take orders from a little boy? How could her son command such power over the very people who had kidnapped him?
Draco felt his pride for Scorpius swell unwillingly, he'd always been more respectful to people with power, a childhood trait that he'd been unable to lose. Draco then felt disgust at himself for feeling pride and respect for his son the Death Eater. He should be feeling proud that his son had control over creatures like them, he should feel repulsed. He'd never wanted this for his boy, he wanted so much better for his little Scorpius.
Yaxley returned and handed a miniature fur cloak to Scorpius. He took it and pulled it on. "When will she be here?!" Scorpius asked loudly.
"Momentarily, my lord." One Death Eater answered, quickly. Scorpius nodded.
A few minutes later Scorpius looked to the wooden door and smiled a welcoming smile.
The door swung open and an old, blonde lady stood in the doorway smiling evilly "Good evening, grandmother." Scorpius spoke.