Chapter Twenty-Five: A Lost Knight

Marduk closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He held both hands over the bowl of silver liquid and paused. The heat of ancient magic building within him emanated from him, filling the room in waves.

A grimace crept across his young face and he suddenly looked very old. His hands shook and dropped. The magic faltered then faded, disappearing. He shivered and his eyes remained closed.

"No! No! No!" A dark-haired youth dressed fully in black stepped from the shadows behind him. "In order for the spells to work, you have to finish them!" he yelled, slamming his fist on the table.

"I don't know what you want from me," Marduk shouted back, pushing the bowl roughly away from him. The silver liquid sloshed over the side and hit the table with a burning hiss.

"What I want?" Voldemort growled, pressing his face against the boy's. "What I want is for you to try…" he hissed, a bit of spittle flying from his mouth.

"I am!" the boy cried out, wiping the spit from his cheek.

"Not hard enough," was Voldemort's reply as he straightened and stepped around the table to face Marduk. His eyes were green, but behind them burned a fire as red as hell itself. Marduk felt a shiver of fear course through him as he stared into that black oblivion. His mother had warned him about people like Harry. The walking soulless. The innocence eaters. But it was too late to heed her warnings.

Marduk felt the sadness and pain of longing fill him and before he knew it, the power was peaking.

His face grew paler and paler and a glow seemed to surround him. Voldemort reached forward hurriedly and grabbed his hands from the table and held them above the bowl. He released them and Marduk's hands remained steady. Marduk's eyes were suddenly glazed white and Voldemort's young face was brightened with an ancient smile.

Before Voldemort knew the boy had lost control, the bowl suddenly exploded, sending shards of splintered wood and boiling liquid everywhere. He cursed and he lifted his cloak to guard his face. Too late, he felt the sharp pain of burning. Pulling out his wand, he muttered a spell to cease the injury's progression.

After a second or two of blinding pulses of power, Marduk slumped in his chair and his head feel forward, hitting the table with a loud, painful thump.

Voldemort lowered his cloak, glared at the unharmed child before him, unconscious and barely breathing. Someone knocked at the door.

"Enter!" He shouted and he heard the giant door creak open.

"My Lord," a quiet voice said and Voldemort turned to face Ginny Weasley. "You sent for me."

"Yes," he agreed. "Indeed, I did." His voice was grave and he watched with satisfaction as her eyes flitted from him to the child. Her eyes widened.

"What happened?" she asked, touching his wound. She pulled her hand away, her fingertips tipped in blood.

"Minor incident," he replied tersely.

"Are you—"

"Yes, I'm fine!" he snarled, cringing away from her.

"What did you need me for?"

"I have your first task," he said, forcing his eyes to soften.

"Anything…"

"You are going to make yourself known to Hermione Granger," he replied and before she could argue he held up his hand and said, "and through that means, you will keep your eyes on both her and Draco… mostly on the latter."

"Yes my lord," she said, looking down at her feet.

"That's a girl," he whispered, stroking her face gently. "Now run along. Write often."

"I will." Ginny turned from Voldemort. Marduk began to stir. Voldemort felt a jump in his stomach and his vision faded.

"What did you say?" Ginny asked. She was now several feet away, but she was turned back towards him.

"What?" Voldemort asked, feeling oddly displaced.

"It sounded like you said help me…"

"Don't be ridiculous," he snapped and Ginny looked at him strangely, then left.

This was the fourth time that this had happened in her presence. That Gryffindor stirred something him and it made his hold on Harry falter. He'd have to fix that.

Ginny closed the door behind her and leaned against it with a sigh. Despite her attempt at maintaining control, two silent tears slid down her cheeks.

"Oh… the little Gryffindor weeps? What for, I ask?"

Ginny twirled around, coming face to face with the oldest ghost in the castle. Sir Grimmott was a knight from the fair land of Camelot. One of the forgotten in King Arthur's tale.

No songs about old Grimmott the Axe, he always moaned. No tales of his love, his life, and his death. Such a valiant story never to be heard by the ears of those who would be most interested… sometimes Ginny imagined her brother had felt that way…

"That man is not who he says he is," Sir Grimmott suddenly stated. "I see two souls in that body." Ginny smiled, a small, weak, and ironic smile.

"I know that," she replied.

"Then why do you stay?"

"I can save my husband," Ginny snapped.

"By running errands for the devil?" Sir Grimmott asked.

"I only do that to keep him close," she said.

"You'd sacrifice your own soul to save his?" Grimmott asked.

Ginny drew herself up suddenly and glared through him. "I would sacrifice everything I had. He's rescued me, he's rescued all the people I've ever loved and he never asked for anything in return. This is my time to save him. I have to go."

She walked through the ghost, feeling a shower of cold chill her as she walked down the gigantic front stairwell and into the foyer. Grabbing a large coat and a hat from the door, she walked outside into the early afternoon sun.

Cheapside… Ginny had never felt so sure about anything in her life.
"You did very well, Marduk," Lord Voldemort said as the boy's eyes looked up at him from the floor.

"I did?" he asked. "I don't remember…"

"Spectacular show… you have such great power, Marduk. With a little training and lot of discipline, you'll be ready…"

"Ready for what?" he asked groggily.

"Honest work…" Voldemort replied, his tongue clicking rhythmically against his two front teeth.

A/N: OMG, i feel so guilty that these last few chapter have been so short! But i wanted to get back to the main characters lol. This is just a little insight into whats happening with harry/voldemort, Marduk, and a way of introducing our little Ginny back into the story the way i have intended all along. I know its very vague on her, but i will get more in depth. she might even have her own chapter later on, but these are the basics. Thanks so much.

Special thanks to:

Markitdownb4itsstruck: Life is sad for these two. Thats why i think they're so compatible. lol. Thanks for the review.

Bflatgirl: I can't promise anything about Draco because I'm still trying to sort it all out in my mind, but i guess that makes it fun right? I'm in love with Hermione/Draco-ness. At first it was weird for me to write, but the more I do, the more I improve i think. I know the tired feeling lol... thats when sleep is a good idea.

Erytha: Good to know I'm keeping the plot moving. I've started setting goals to keep me on track, hence all the short chapters and the long time between updates. I'm glad you like the Dramione. Ive grown quite fond of it myself. It is a problem i have... my motto is that if you dont like it and you read something you dont like all the way through, you can't give it an objective assessment, which is what reviews are supposed to be about lol.

Grace: Good to see you're back. I always love to hear from you. I'm glad you're liking it. :)

cckeimig: Your reviews are an interesting read. I hope you get to this point so you understand whats really going on.

Trumpet Queen: Thanks much! Glad you see its coming together. Tell me what you think. :)

Last Summer's rose: That chapter was so much fun to write. I had the whole thing in my head for days before I wrote it out and the whole time I was like, awwww... and i gotta fix this or that... lol. but it turned out all right according to you all. Thank you so much for reviewing. always nice to hear from you.

Twitchy the Squirrel: LMAO. I know. the crookshanks thing was just one of those random wouldnt it be funny thoughts that I actually played out. Can't you just see crookshanks being all moody like that? another man stepping on his territory and courting his woman? There will be some more about lucien later on, so be prepared for more background. Hope you liked this chapter. Drop me a line.