Disclaimer: I own nada!
~*~*~
Hello Friend
The following weeks were rather boring for Ginny. She was in some windowless room, probably a basement somewhere, with nothing to do. She couldn't write since she didn't have any thing to write with or write on. There weren't even rocks that she could use to draw or make rocky mosaics with.
None of the kidnappers kept her company either. They had her wand, so Ginny had no possible means of escape. By the end of the first week, Ginny got to the point of wishing to have her wand so someone would keep an eye on her. At least then, she would be able to talk to a person instead of the wall. But of course, having her wand would mean she would be able to apparate out. She had seen the Grumpy apparate in and out. He would bring food from the outside, which tasted absolutely horrid. All she needed was a kitchen and she could make better tasting food; she won't even need her wand.
"Excuse me, I am quite bored," Ginny complained for the umpteenth time that day. Like the response for the other complaints, no one responded. Ginny was certain her kidnappers had gotten sick of her cheeky attitude the first day. "Please, let me do something. A stack of Exploding Snaps would even be wonderful. And you don't have to play with me either!" the Dumb Twins just ignored her. She had seen them pull something out of their ears before, so it was highly likely that the two bulky men had stuffed wax in their ears.
"Miss Weasley!" the stern voice of Grumpy chastised. "Will you please mope like a good prisoner?" Ginny rolled her eyes. Her imprisonment was far from typical, starting with her first moments at her prison room. Who would hang the person they kidnap upside down with their wand in plain view? But Ginny didn't object to her atypical type of treatment. The usual treatment would mean she wouldn't have her rather large space to move in and the speaking privilege she had to annoy people for entertainment.
Rolling her eyes was all Ginny could do to stay in relative good graces with her capturers. Nearly a month had already passed but Ginny still had no clue why she was kidnapped. No news of people searching for her was the topic of chitchats between the capturers. Her kidnapping was neither an adventure nor a newsflash, apparently . . .
Deciding to continue her game of immaturity, Ginny trudged her way to the designated corner of the three-year-old timeout area. The clicking of stilettos shattered the silence in the room.
Ginny paused. Her group of kidnappers did not consist of any females. Unless one of the idiots was actually a cross dresser in disguise, Ginny was about to meet another member of her abduction team.
"Hello Robert!" The bell-like voice was painfully familiar. Didn't it belong to an overly flirtatious blonde whose voluptuous personality, if there was such a thing, drove Ginny crazy?
"My dear Annie!" Grumpy, also known as Robert, exclaimed. Right, Annabel Cardigan. Ginny knew that woman was up to no good from the moment she saw Annabel standing in too close to Harry. Instead of continuing her walk to her time-out corner, Ginny turned to observe the welcoming of Miss Cardigan.
"So you've got her?" Annabel asked, giddiness obvious in her tone. Grumpy nodded, which was followed by a feminine giggle. "Now I'll have the most eligible man and a spectacular wedding."
Ginny pulled a face at the woman's proclamation. So was she kidnapped for the sole purpose of planning a wedding? Or did the reason also include stealing Harry? It wouldn't make sense to steal Harry from her if she was going to plan the forsaken wedding. The event planner and her employer need constant communication. It was possible to only talk to Annabel, but enraging the wedding planner by stealing her boyfriend probably doesn't make the process easy nor would it ensure an award-winning wedding.
"Miss Weasley!" Grumpy called. Ginny sighed rather loudly with resolution. She was going to be the stubborn goat and be uncooperative.
"What Grumpy?" she answered not moving at all.
"Come out of here!" the man exclaimed impatiently. "I have someone you might was to meet." Ginny figured she probably should obey so she could at least be out of the dark, so to speak, on the reason of her abduction. She walked into the lighted area but did not join Grumpy and Annabel. To Ginny's shock, the two blondes looked remarkably alike.
Her surprise wasn't hid well since both blondes noted her gaping mouth with a condescending smirk.
"Hello Ginny," Annabel greeted. "Long time no see." Ginny didn't respond. "You know, the outside world just hasn't been chaotic about your absence. You've got the heart of the Boy Who Lived and the hearts of so many Britons, yet they have done nothing about your lack of existence." Annabel tsked with mock pity. "I don't think they miss your column either."
Ginny narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Good to see you too, Miss Cardigan," Ginny replied sarcastically. "And I suppose the lack of popularity in my column was due to the fact that a writer of less than amateur level has replaced me," Ginny accused, taking a shot in the dark about why no one noticed her absence. Perhaps the lack of communication between her and her family was not so much a good thing. Ginny actually missed the old restricted living, but at least her relatives knew where she was and could come to her aid at any given moment. The other woman just laughed at the accusation, neither defending herself nor admitting the guilt.
"Why do you despise me so? I am no competition to you. Fortunately for you, Harry Potter does not fit my taste. It is another that I wish for, and one that I will have." So the wench wants Malfoy. That is, if her definition of the most eligible man coincide with the definition of the masses, or the media. Ginny's eyes bulged.
"Yes, it is a pity that he had his eyes set on that plain girl. A name like Aurora is wasted on face such as hers."
Okay Ginny, breath. They probably want me to plan the wonderful wedding. I am not sure how Miss Cardigan was planning on ending Aurora and Draco's engagement, but even if she gets past that point, I will not plan their wedding. Nope, people will probably see me comforting my best friend rather than organizing a spectacular event for the cow that stole someone else's man.
"You admitted yourself that Draco Malfoy has his eyes set on Aurora Classen," Ginny pointed out, hoping to get more information about her plan. "You know how stubborn Malfoy is, you work with him, sometimes." The aloof smile on Annabel's face felt to Ginny's glee. "Besides, you also work with Aurora and know her personality rather well. She's not about to give in without a fight." By now, the blonde woman was scowling at Ginny. But that didn't unfaze her at all, in fact, Ginny enjoyed taunting the woman. "Oh, but we do forget that Malfoy doesn't like feeling like a prize to be won."
It wasn't unpredictable for Annabel to levitate the nearby table and attempt to throw it at Ginny. Considering the young Weasley didn't have her wand, all she could do what duck. After the first throw, the table was broken into many pieces in which Annabel chucked at Ginny piece by piece.
"Shut your trap, Weasley!" Annabel exclaimed while continuing her tantrum. Even while the table pieces were shattered to splinters, the woman didn't stop. Some how Ginny's taunting about Annabel's lack of favor, at least romantically, in the eyes of Draco Malfoy pinched a nerve.
"Careful Annie," Grumpy interrupted finally. "You and I both know that this girl has more connections to the ministry than our family put together!" The man had somehow made his way over to the lunatic managed to contain her in a body lock. Ginny cautiously relaxed her muscles. Any more abuse by keeping alert would have her sore for at least three days. "We may have been able to cover for her absence now, but we can't very well replace a dead person."
"Thank you," Ginny replied automatically. Good to know her family's new status in the wizarding world was going to help her live.
For the safety of everyone enclosed in the room somewhere on earth, Grumpy had taken Annabel away from Ginny and the two idiots. Away meaning the little sector of space that doesn't directly connect to the underground cave, the little room right above the stairs.
Ginny was kept company by the Dumb Twins while the blondes went upstairs for a quick chat. It wasn't long before Ginny's two companions were called up. The murmurs and grunts of approval were obviously about the next plan of action. Ginny tiptoed closer to the short staircase. The end of the order giving was marked by heavy footfalls of, most likely, the Dumb Twins getting fainter.
"I am going to get that little twit!" the fierce voice belonging to Annabel Cardigan swore. "How dare she steal Draco from me? We had been friends, very good friends until that witch-mutt came. Honestly, even having that Weasley girl beat me to Draco is better than having her steal him from me."
Ginny cocked an eyebrow thoughtfully. So many it was a plan of a lunatic desperately in love. Now if she would be a bit more open minded, Annabel should be able to notice the queue of men trying to claim her attention. Goodness, if a woman like her couldn't get a man, where's the hope for the rest female population?
Ginny shook her head with a smile and walked back to her corner in case the two left wanted to check on her. There had to have hope for the rest of them since she is Harry Potter's girlfriend. If she could get a man perfect – well, let's not go that far yet. Just suitable – for her, Annabel should not have any problems finding a guy for herself. She shouldn't have to resort to kidnapping and whatever she was planning on doing next.
~*~*~
The kidnappers had left Ginny to her own musings. The less intelligent ones were sent to do the dirty work while the blondes were upstairs in their own musings. The time of personal thought didn't cooperate in keeping the prisoner reasonable. Times like these were usually the root of the abducted's own worries. Aside from the typical prisoners' concerns of keeping alive and making their location known, Ginny's heart quickened at the thought of the three aurors on their mission in Latin America. The most unsettling thought was the fact that the woman that helped plan the mission was also the person who commissioned Ginny's abduction, as well as the task of eliminating Aurora Classen.
Ginny knew she was to be kept safe else the small plan of stealing a man would be changed to a massive abduction. That was quite a bleak outlook. If Annabel chose to go beyond stealing Draco, which her lunacy made it seem possible, Ginny was sure her happy-go-lucky times in the chamber would be less happier.
For the next two and a half days, Annabel's presence graced the room once or twice a day. Each time, Ginny had seen her pacing. Ginny actually wanted to pace around herself. It was a suffocating feeling to be safe but unable to remind her friends of Mad Eye Moody's favorite phrase: constant vigilance. The fact that the abductors had given her limited freedom rather than having her tied-up or chain to the way, or even placed in a cell was like a planned, subtle way of torture.
The end of feeling useless ended suddenly when Annabel's presence burst through Ginny's worries. The smile that seemed so confident, so scheming, so heartless ended the anticipation. The smile made everything clear, Ginny knew Annabel's plan had succeeded, if not, then the major part of the plan was completed. Aurora was gotten rid of.
"Come Ginny!" Annabel Cardigan ordered with triumphal glee. "You shouldn't miss the welcoming of your boyfriend, should you?"
~*~ to be continued ~*~
I apologize for the shortness of the chapter and the rather cliffy ending. I just wanted to move the story along before school starts . . .in 16.5 hours. For those of you who have been with me since the beginning of this story, you know how I am when school gets busy. I tend to disappear.
Since I still need to prepare for my classes, the individualized thank-yous will be postponed until the next chapter. If you have your e-mail address public, I probably will e-mail you my thanks and appreciation.
~Omnifarious
(Don't you like my new name? I still prefer Omni as short one though . . .)