Chapter 2
A/N: Finally! I apologize to all of you out there
who waited ever so patiently (and some not so
patiently =P) for me to overcome my writers block. I
had absolutely no idea where this story was going to
go. But now, I have a pretty good idea, but I'm
trying a new tactic. I'm writing from the end to the
beginning, so obviously I can't post until I have
everything else. Expect the next chapter around three
to four days.
Thank you for all those reviews! Never expected so
much!
Hermione flew to the opposite wall and hit with full impact with a sickening
crunch then slumped onto the floor in a lifeless heap. Ginny's heartbeat
pounded within her ribcage while her breathing quickened. From across the
room, she could hear Cho's ragged breathing and choked sobs. Gathering all
her courage, Ginny slowly looked up into Draco's cruel eyes, and a gasp
caught in her throat.
Draco's light hair was longish, falling over his forehead in disarray. He
had a wicked face, serious, but with an unexpected dimple that Ginny hadn't
noticed before that gave him a slightly mischievous look. His body was
nicely muscled but compact. Ginny suddenly had the strange urge to brush his
hair back from Draco's forehead.
"Draco," muttered Ginny with disbelief.
He smiled a cold smile, as if he knew he would win. "Ginny." Then, Draco
bowed and took out his wand in one quick simultaneous motion, and whispered,
"Illusinata."
The world started to fade around Ginny and before she blacked out, she heard
the sound of evil laughter.
* * * * *
Fear rippled through me so fast I could hardly breathe. In front of me,
Hazel is working on the bars while Grail is quickly disarming spells.
Taking deep breaths, I lift my black hood over my head with trembling
fingers.
"Done," says Grail softly. I stole a glance at Hazel, who nods and gives
me a quivering, reassuring smile.
I glide next to the window, and look out through the now transparent
adamantine bars. The night seems too cold and unforgiving. Even now, although
I don't believe in a God, I pray that some higher existence carries me
through this night with protection. "Thank you," I whisper to my adopted
sisters of misfortune.
Hazel walks up to me, and gives me a huge hug, her sobs absorbed by the
black sheet that wound it's way around my body. "Good bye," she managed
through her spasms.
I push one strand of wispy black hair behind her ear, and give her a smile
through my tears. "It's not good bye yet," I whisper harshly. "You're going
to escape right after me, and you'll live with me in our apartment with the
little garden." She manages a few dry laughs, and I am proud of her.
Turning around to face Grail, I feel apprehensive about the girl. But she
gives me a sizing-up look with her brown eyes. "You'll do fine," she said
with a rare grin on her face. I hug her and feel her lithe body pressed
against mine. Inside, I knew that this would be the last time I ever saw
her. And she knew it as well.
"Yes, mother," I say sarcastically. How scared does she feel? Quickly,
before I shed my tears, I pull myself out the window and felt my feet touch
the cool, slippery grass. With one last glance behind me at the two faces of
my friends for the last year, I start to sprint.
The responses from my watchers are almost immediate. Within ten seconds, I
can hear the scampering of feet behind me. This is one race I couldn't lose.
Too much was riding on it. Propelling myself to go farther, I darted through
trees quicker than I ever ran before. I had to get to my destination, no
matter what.
I could feel him getting closer and closer while the others lagged behind.
With every swerve and bolt that I made, he matched mine even quicker. I
didn't dare look back. It would be within moments before he has caught up.
Adrenaline pumps through my veins as I make one last quick turn and end up
on the very edge of a cliff.
I could hear his sigh of contempt. He thinks he has caught me.
"Surrender," he commands. Inside, I laugh. "You can't escape. You're trapped."
I turn around slowly and deliberately, seeing his face for the first time in
months. It looks the same. The onyx hair and swirled around his face, and
the muscular build. The elegant, dark expression. The only difference was
that his porcelain eyes weren't porcelain anymore, but the color of steel. I
grip my wand harder.
His eyes flash towards the wand, and with a quick "Expelliarmus!" my wand is no more
in my hands. Still, he does not know what I planned with Hazel and Grail.
That at this moment, they're drinking poison and chanting to Hell and Heaven
for another chance. He has no idea. "Surrender," he commands again, this
time a little harsher. "You don't have your wand anymore."
I shake my head and edge closer to the air below the cliff.
"Fine," he says with cruel mockery. "Jump. Do it."
He doesn't actually think I'll do it. He thinks I'm weak. This was too easy.
I throw my head back and laugh. It ruffles him. Since you asked for
it...master.
As quick as lightning, I jump backwards. It takes him a while to come back
from shock and denial. By the time he takes a step, I am too far gone for
him to reach. Even so, he tries to grab my cloak in desperation, but only
grabs air. I can see his face for a split second before I fall down, and I
notice his eyes are open wide and the steel starts to melts. In his eye's
reflection, I can see fear, hope, faith, and . . . love.
This last part startles me a little, and for a fleeting moment, I wonder if I
made the right choice.
I quickly start to plummet towards the turquoise sea at tremendous speeds.
It was a long way down, but in his chaotic state of losing his love, he had
forgotten about his wand. Before I hit the water, I could hear him screaming
at me to come back.
Good-bye, my dark knight in shining armor. I always believed you weren't evil. Farewell.
* * * * *
Gasping, Ginny sat up quickly to find herself in a room unknown to her. She
could feel her heart was beating rapidly in her ribcage, and smooth cloth
was pressed against her wrists. Smooth cloth? thought Ginny.
Taking in her surroundings, she realized she was tied to bars, and she
suddenly saw that she was in a cage. An immense cage that creaked and
groaned with every movement. They were obviously going somewhere. Ginny took
heed of the other four girls in the cart with her. Cho and Hermione were
still unconscious. The other girl had cafe a latte skin with dark brown
hair. She looked remarkably familiar. Her hair was disheveled and she had a
black eye and one long scar down her cheek. Besides that, the girl was
rather pretty. Suddenly, Ginny knew who she was.
Padma.
She looked so sad, so lonely . . . so hopeless. Ginny wanted to go over and
comfort her, but something made her stay still.
The other girl that Ginny didn't know was fully awake, and obviously scared
from her constant trembling. Her white blonde hair was messy, her pale
cerulean eyes showed fear, and her long, slender fingers were wringing each
other. In her own way, Ginny immediately did not like this girl, and there
was a small feeling of disdain towards her. The girl probably hasn't known
one day of hard work, Ginny thought grumpily, glancing at her smooth, pale
skin and her delicate hands.
The girl must have felt someone staring, for she immediately swiveled her
head to Ginny, and smiled a nervous smile. "What's your name?" she asked
kindly.
"Ginny."
The pale girl's eyes got dreamy, and she said softly, "My name's Luna." An
aura of sweetness and innocence radiated from her voice, and Ginny could
feel herself budging from her hasty judgment.
The cage stopped moving with abrupt force, and Ginny's head banged against
the bars. Ow . . . she thought as two men showed up and started to unlock
the adamantine cage. They both looked young, and devastingly handsome.
However, they were quite rude and pushy when it came to herding them out of
the cage and onto a dirt path. As one of them pushed Ginny's back, she
noticed for a brief second the Dark Mark tattooed into his skin.
In a single-file line, they trudged through mud and made their way to their
destination. Suddenly, the trees parted and in the sunrise, a mansion loomed
high above them. They walked until they came to the door of the mansion. One
of the young men knocked on the door. A little eye peephole slid open, and a
set of hazel eyes peered through.
"Who is it?"
"Hell is better than Heaven," the young man said.
The man on the other side laughed. "For darkness is better than light.
Welcome home, Niles." The eyes glanced at the other man. "You too, Burns."
The huge oak door opened and they were moving once again. As they passed the
door man who resembled a snake, Ginny could feel his hungry eyes lingering
on them. Suddenly, with remarkably fast movements, he grabbed her arm. His
fingers tighten, and his other hand reaches out to stroke her hair. Ginny
starts to shiver, and the man laughs. Niles joins in, but Burns grabs Ginny
away from the snake man.
"You know you're not suppose to hurt the merchandise," snapped Burns. And
with that, he shoved Ginny through a door, and thrusts into her hand a
sword. "Have fun," is all he says before he closes the door with a bang.
Looking around, Ginny found herself in a glass room. She couldn't see the
outside, but she could feel that there were people out there watching her every
movement. Perhaps even Harry.
"Hello," a sweet voice resounded behind her.
Ginny gasped and turned around to find a young girl about her age with
raven's hair and green eyes. In the girl's hand lay a sword as well.
Before Ginny had time to react, the girl pounced with the sharp blade pointed
directly at Ginny's heart.
(A/N: I was about to stop it here...I don't think SO!)
Instantly, the sword in Ginny's hand jumped with her hand still attached to it
and the sparkling sound of metal clashing
against metal clinked. Taking a few steps back, Ginny breathed hard and looked down
at the weapon in surprise. The blade was lined with silver, and the handle was the
color of licorice with sapphire jewels embedded into the hilt.
Sapphire . . . something flashed in Ginny's mind. Steel eyes . . . turquoise water .
. . navy-colored midnight sky . . .
The girl with mint green eyes was enraged, and came towards Ginny again. But the
sword was too fast for her, and Ginny had a hard time keeping up with the blade in
which her hand seemed to be glued to. It
was like it had a life of it's own. With a flick of her wrist, the blade in the other
girl's hand careened out of her hold and clattered against the glass. Now the girl
was just plain furious. One last time, she hurled herself towards Ginny with
unbelievable speed . . . inhuman speed, thought Ginny with wonder and awe.
Without her control, Ginny's sword flew up and sank into the young girl's chest in
mid-leap. The apple eyes flashed emotions like lightning. Anger, shock, pain, despair.
Then, she lurched and collapsed on the ground, Ginny's weapon sliding smoothly
out of her body.
Ginny stood there, with the bloody sword in her hand, looking at the girl lying on
the floor. Suddenly, dropping the sword with a clatter, her hands flew up to her
mouth, and tears welded up in her eyes. Shaking her head, she tried to deny what just
happened. She
had killed . . . murdered . . .
The sound of clapping was almost inaudible to her ears, but Ginny heard. It was
sharp and cruel, as if her killing was something to be applauded. She spun
around to see Draco, leaning against the doorframe, clapping.
"Bravo," said Draco coldly. He strolled over to the lifeless girl and poked her in
the side.
Ginny winced.
Noticing her repulsion, Draco smirked. "Don't worry. You didn't kill her." Ginny was
about to protest about how a person can't live with a piercing through the heart,
when he added, "She can't be killed. She's a robot." After kicking the girl in the
side, he looked at Ginny once again with a look she couldn't quite place. "I think
that's enough for today. Wyrn will show you to your room." He waved a hand at a man
who Ginny hadn't noticed, and the man immediately scampered out of the room. Ginny
hurriedly followed, but not first without a glance back at Draco, to find him staring
at her with a look of . . . wonder. Shivering and desperately trying to block Draco's
face from her mind, she quickly followed Wyrn.
The castle was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Shortly, they arrived in a
wing that was obviously for keeping the prisoners. Fuzzy orchid carpeting made her
feet feel wonderful, and the halls were painted with a misty mulberry color. Faint
sounds of sobbing and crying filled the corridor, and Ginny could almost taste the tangy
and raw taste of fear, sorrow, and lost faith.
Upon coming to her room,
Wyrn left with only a raspy, "You may wander around this wing, but that is it. Be in
your room at midnight." He left as quickly as he had come, and Ginny was alone, standing
in a vast, empty hall with tall mahogany doors. She didn't even want to know what was behind
those doors, the sight of those thin, hopeless faces.
She didn't want to look because she knew it was her destiny to become like them.
* * * * *
A/N: I need your help. You see, I've hit a dilemma in my story. I HAVE NO IDEA WHO
GINNY SHOULD BE IN LOVE WITH! Sure, she'll snog both Harry and Draco, but who should
she end up with in the end? So, in your review, please tell me either Draco or Harry.
And please don't just say, "Draco," and that's it. You might as well comment on the
story as well. Thank you!
Next chapter, Ginny meets up with Harry. Oooh. =P