Sleeping Beauty
Chapter 4: No
A/N: I warn you now before you even start reading this chapter, that there is a bit of physical violence that creeped me out while I was writing it.
Everything belongs to JKR.
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Ginny tilted her head slightly, studying him with pensive eyes, obviously turning his words over in her mind. Finally she shook her head, flaming hair shimmering in the light, smiled sweetly and said, "No."
For a moment Draco just stared at her, stunned. He had ordered her, told her, commanded her to obey him and she had just sat there, said no and gone back to reading her book, unconcerned. He had obviously been too lenient with her.
Draco grabbed her arms, throwing her against the wall, ignoring her startled cry of fear. His movements were slow and languorous; the quiet house amplified the sound of his palms slamming against the wall by her head.
He leaned closer, his pale eyes cold and unfeeling.
"You don't seem to understand, little girl."
Ginny set her jaw and tried to glare at him, but the fine tremors shaking her slender frame betrayed her fear.
"Do you know what I could do to you, little Ginny?"
Ginny refused to answer.
"I could steal your soul, girl." He leaned even closer, his body brushing against hers.
"And there's no guarantee I would give it back." He brushed a gentle kiss over her pale cheek.
"Or that you would even want me to," he whispered into her ear.
Ginny jerked away from him, but there was nowhere to go. Draco slowly stepped back, then spun around and walked out of the room, never looking back at the girl frozen against the wall.
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Shaking Ginny slid to the floor. It was no good, she had to leave, she couldn't stay here any longer.
~Look, she told herself harshly, it's either leave and break your heart, or stay and loose your soul; you can live with a broken heart.~
In the week since she had awakened to see Draco standing over her looking pale and shaken, Ginny had alternately been terrified out of her wits and charmed down to her toes. It was like there were two people inside his body, both determined to be the victor in a game where the prize was his soul.
There was the Draco that had just left her shaking and in tears, the horrible stranger who seared her with his cold hands. He raged and ordered and hurt her.
And then there was the other one, the one who obviously tried to please her, bringing her flowers crumpled from his rough handling, then threw them out the window instead of giving them to her. The one who sat for hours just watching her with shadowed eyes.
This second Draco confused her at the same time he intrigued her. He obviously didn't know how to be gentle, wasn't even sure he wanted to be nice, and when he tried, usually ended up brooding about it in the corner.
She couldn't stay; she had to leave, before Draco destroyed her.
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Tonight.
The message had been very clear, there was no way he could misinterpret it. Tonight, he and Ginny would return to Lord Voldemort. There, Draco would either deliver the girl up to him, or kill her.
He wasn't sure which he preferred.