Chapter Eight: Voldemort
Ginny let the woman lead her through the maze of the mansion, her body unable to cooperate. Too much was going on, she couldn't seem to make herself function. The endless halls seemed to fade away as she thought about the morning's events. How only a few hours ago they had been safe at Hogwarts, with smaller problems...boy problems. Something stirred inside of her. Draco and Harry were here with her, and neither seemed in any better position than her. Draco had been bleeding when he left the room and Harry unconscious.
"What will happen to Draco?" Ginny asked, surprising herself.
Narcissa was surprised as well, she stopped and stared down at the girl, studying her with cold blue eyes that made Ginny inwardly shiver. "It is none of your concern," Narcissa managed. "Worry about your fate, which will not be bright, I assure you. You're ruined beyond repair."
"Huh?" Ginny narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"
Narcissa didn't answer, but pulled Ginny farther into the heart of the mansion. "If your parenting had been different, perhaps there would be hope." she admitted, more talking to herself than Ginny. "But it is too late, you are too far gone." They stopped outside a door, which she opened with her wand. "A pity, a valuable wife. There's something-" Narcissa stopped and shoved Ginny into the room. The door shut with a slam and the sound of a bolt and lock echoed in the pitch-black room.
"Would you bloody quit glaring at the back of my head, Weasley?" Draco snapped, whirling around as soon as the Death Eater disappeared into the chamber.
"I knew it! I knew you'd betray me, you sneaky little ferret!" Ron yelled, struggling to move but ropes bound him to the spot.
Draco smirked, "Don't act like I betrayed your trust, Weasel. You never trusted me."
"You just admitted it," Ron spat, "Bastard."
"I didn't admit anything, now shut up."
"Shove off!"
"Weasley, shut up." Draco hissed. "Use your head you dolt."
Ron glared at him.
"I suppose that's asking too much," Draco shrugged, "If you think about it, Weasel, we both very well couldn't be caught going against my father, now could we?" he arched one brow, "Besides, it's your fault we were caught in the first place."
"You could have at least warned me-" Ron started but was cut off by Lucius entering. He had changed from when Draco had last seen him. He now wore the robes of a death eater, and a billowing black cloak lined with green. A silver clasp under the chin was in the shape of a dragon, its jaws open wide and eyes narrowed into slits, the Malfoy symbol.
Lucius stopped before Draco, his eyes revealing nothing of what he thought, though he did tap his wand against his thigh in an anxious sort of way. "You must change for the ceremony," he said, breaking the silence. His voice was very calm and low, very unlike him. Draco watched him warily, knowing something was up.
"It will take too much time for him to get dressed," Narcissa's voice objected.
Both of the men turned, and watched Narcissa approach looking agitated. She drew her wand and transfigured Draco's bloodied and torn robes into ones almost identical to his fathers. The only difference was the cloaks linings, Draco's silver which accented his pale features. Narcissa hardly glanced at Ron, but moved to her husband, one slender hand pressing against his chest as she leaned toward him. "She is in the storage room, I wanted to stall and see maybe if there was a way to...alter her more to the Master's liking."
Ron sent a confused look to Draco, knowing they were talking about his sister, but not understanding what she meant. Draco did, he looked toward the open doors and the huddled bodies around the fireplace. They wanted to make Ginny a wife, for who he didn't know, but to be one of those was horrible. Narcissa was one, Draco wasn't quite sure if it was by her own free will or by force.
"Bring him in, Draco." Lucius said, apparently finished talking to Narcissa. He was moving quickly toward the center of the half circle.
"What were they talking about?" Ron hissed as Draco loosened the robe binding Ron's legs. "Why do they want to change Ginny?"
"You'd be better off not knowing why, Weasley." Draco grumbled.
"No," Ron said stubbornly.
Draco sighed, seeing where Ginny got her stubbornness. "A wife," he explained, pushing him forward. "A wife to a Death Eater, a mindless female that does the bidding of her 'husband' used only for the reproduction for the better aiding of Voldemort." He felt Ron flinch at the name and smirked.
Ginny sat down where she stood soon after Narcissa left her. The dark room seemed to press in all around her, but she didn't move, too afraid that perhaps they locked her inside the room with something. She felt her heart beating rapidly in her chest, knowing that if something was in here with her, it could surely hear the sound of it. It only took a few minutes for her to calm down, mentally telling herself to gather her wits about her. Her eyes adjusted to the dark, not making her sight any better, but she could tell the crack in the door let in some light.
Ginny crawled forward, not caring about her robes, which were torn from the fight in the room and in some parts stiff with dried blood. She wasn't sure if was from her or Draco, but she really didn't care. Ginny pressed her body against the door, sighing with relief. For the little light it gave, it still comforted her, and she could see a bit better from this angle.
The room had all sorts of dark shapes that crowded around the area. When they didn't move she figured she must be in some sort of storage room. If there were more light she'd look around, but she refused to go stumbling around in the dark, not knowing if she'd hit something or not.
Something glimmered out of the corner of her eye. Ginny turned her head quickly, thinking it just her imagination, but she did indeed see something. A dull silver shine, it looked like a piece of jewelry. Ginny's hand reached out and grabbed before she realized what she had done. Whatever it was, it was cold and smooth in her hands, and if she lowered it to the ground and twisted it, the metal would shine and sparkle.
Ginny found herself putting it into her pocket without even thinking about it. Her hand reached in, to draw back out, but as soon as her fingers grasped the metal she didn't pull it out. What? Ginny thought confused. Leave it be.
Did I just think that?
Ginny shook her head she was getting sleepy. That's not right, I just woke up.
"What's happening?" Ginny muttered. She jumped, not realizing she had said that out loud. As suddenly as the feelings of exhaustion had hit her, it went away when she spoke. Shaken, she pulled her hand out of her pocket, too afraid to touch whatever it was again.
Ginny wrung her hands together nervously. What had happened to Draco to make him bleed? Where did Harry go, was he still alive? Was Draco still alive? Unconsciously, her hand wrapped around her wrist and brushed along the circumference, something she did out of habit from the spell, and since the string was very smooth feeling.
Only she felt regular skin.
Ginny's eyes widened and she looked down at her wrist. Of course! Why hadn't she noticed earlier? They'd been separated from each other for quite a long distance and for a long time. Ginny's arms dropped limply to the ground. She wasn't feeling the relief she thought she would feel after the spell was done with. More of dread and worry.
"Harry...Draco..." Ginny whispered, a wave of emotion washing over her. "What can I do?"
Draco was standing in the middle of the room full of the people he hated.
His mother and father, Voldemort's groupies (his secret name for the rest of the Death Eaters), and Harry Potter with his usual side kick Ron Weasley.
But there was one more to add, of course.
Voldemort was on his way, or here. He couldn't figure out which since he seemed to be hearing both by different people. Not that he was perspiring over it, like his father, or giddy with excitement like his mother. Hell, Potter and Weasley were tense about it, but Draco found himself at ease. And that disturbed him.
The setup was something he typically expected from Voldemort. Everyone crowding around the intended victims, Potter tied up and defenseless, and a nice, cheery fire roaring behind him. Typical and predictable.
"You had to get Ron into this too, didn't you Malfoy," he heard Harry's voice interrupt his thoughts.
Draco blinked and looked down at Harry, who, despite the magical ropes the bound him, looked at him with such passionate hatred he believed Harry to forget his predicament. "I didn't get Weasel involved in anything, Potter." Draco sneered. "It's his fault he came here, and his fault me and him are here now."
Harry's glare never faltered, "And Ginny? Why is she here?"
Draco stumbled over that. "We were still under the spell, Potter." Draco snapped.
"You knew your father was coming," Harry continued. "Her being brought here was all part of the plan wasn't it."
"Shut up," Draco hissed, his gray eyes flaring.
"That entire spell was probably a nice little plot you and your father made up. Why did you want her anyway? Just to kill her?"
"Potter," Draco warned.
"Or could it be," Harry's eyes narrowed, "You're jealous."
Draco reacted violently this time. He kicked out with his booted foot and hit Harry in the stomach, knocking him to the ground and sliding him toward the fire. Ron cried out but Draco ignored him, advancing on Harry.
Harry was struggling to sit up but couldn't because of the ropes that bound his hands behind his back. Draco kicked him again, this time in the face, sliding him even closer to the fire. Harry managed to shift onto his side when Draco neared him again. He leered up at the boy and spat out blood onto the floor.
"Enough," a chilling voice interrupted Draco's next strike. The room went deathly quiet; the only sound was the whisper of robes turning toward the fireplace. Draco looked up from Harry to see a dark robed figure step out of the flames.
"Voldemort," Draco said, and the whisper of 'Master' swept through the crowd. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Harry curling up, in obvious pain. Lord Voldemort paid him no heed; just stepped over the boy and advanced toward where Lucius stood.
Narcissa caught Draco's eyes and she waved frantically for him to take his place beside his father. He thought briefly not to go, but when the look in her eyes became dangerously insistent he trudged over to stand beside Lucius.
"Where is the girl?" Voldemort hissed, ignoring everyone around him.
Lucius glanced over at his wife. "She's locked away right now, My Lord. Would you like for me to get her?"
Voldemort's slitted eyes narrowed, and Lucius blanched and motioned for Narcissa to go fetch the girl.
Narcissa paused however, "Master," she breathed, reaching out to grab the hem of his sleeve. "We were hoping maybe you could reconsider the fate of the girl. She has great power milord, I can sense it-"
"Silence," Voldemort snapped, snatching away his sleeve. Narcissa shut her mouth, looking perturbed. "Fetch the girl, do not question my decisions Narcissa."
"Yes milord." Narcissa said quietly and hurried from the room.
Draco stared after her, disgust plain on his face. That entire display nauseated him, and worse still, he'd be expected to do the same soon. Voldemort's eyes locked onto Draco's for a brief moment before the man turned and made his way over toward the fireplace.
Ron had managed to reach Harry and was help sitting him up when Voldemort reached him. Ron's face paled, his freckles standing out on his face even more than usual. Harry was to busy trying to keep his balance, the pain in his stomach and mouth didn't help the current ones now emitting from his forehead.
"Harry Potter," Voldemort's voice echoed through the chamber. "We meet again."
Harry opened one eye to glare at Voldemort before shutting it again, and swaying where he sat.
Voldemort laughed. It was high, without mirth, and reflected the cruelty that was etched clearly on his deformed face. He bent down to look Harry eye to eye, though his voice was still heard to everyone present, "You escaped from me once, Potter, but not again. No, you will die this time, and where you sit now." he straightened. "Your chance of fighting me has ended. But first..." his slitted eyes looked at Ron, who paled even more.
Harry chanced to understand what Voldemort was getting at. "Wait," he said desperately. "Leave him be."
"Why would I do that?" Voldemort laughed, drawing his wand from his robe. "When I can see you suffer by watching your friend die?"
Ron's entire body tensed as Voldemort raised the wand, the words of the killing curse beginning to form on his lips when the doors opened again.
Narcissa had arrived with Ginny.
The first person Ginny saw was Harry, still looking battered and bloody, his hands bound sitting on the floor. Then she saw the shock of red hair, and the familiar face that she so desperately hoped was an illusion.
"Ginny!" Ron cried, seeing her.
"No," Ginny whispered. "No, no, no, no." Narcissa stopped anymore words from her by dragging her forward and forcing her down so she knelt before The Dark Lord. For a slender woman, Narcissa was surprisingly strong.
"Virginia Weasley," Voldemort said her name. "Look at me."
Ginny shuddered when he said her name, but looked anywhere but him. A flash of silver caught her eye. Draco and Lucius stood side by side, both looking grim. Draco was no longer in the robes he'd left Hogwart's in, rather, he was in very expensive looking robes, and wearing a cloak. Her eyes trailed from his clothes to his eyes, which instantly locked with hers as if he'd been waiting for her to look at him.
"Look at me," came the command again, more angry than before, but it seemed farther away. Draco held her eyes, something flickering in them, like he was trying to tell her something. It clicked just as Narcissa forcibly turned her head and tilted it up so she stared into the face of Voldemort. It was a look she got from her brothers whenever they did something to upset her but she refused to talk to them. The 'I'm sorry' look. For what though?
"I remember," Voldemort's voice cut through her so she flinched. "The Chamber of Secrets. Those things you told me, do you remember that Virginia?"
Ginny trembled, finding herself unable to answer. She never felt as afraid as she did now, not even as afraid as she had been down in the Chamber with Tom Riddle. This man, no this thing, was more real with more destructive power than the ghost of Riddle had. Her eyes fled his snake like ones.
Voldemort reached out so the tip of his fingernail lifted her chin up so she looked into his eyes again. For a moment, she saw the old Tom Riddle, but it was merely a trick of the mind, as he applied more pressure, forcing her to stand before him. She still had to tilt her head up to look at him, but it was enough, for he only had to bend over slightly to say his next words to her only. "Join me, Virginia. I'll make you my Queen."
Ginny stumbled back, falling into Narcissa, who caught her and shoved her back roughly to her feet. Revulsion coursed through her at the thought of standing beside him, as his 'queen'. It must have reflected onto her face because he straightened a look of sick amusement on his face. "As I thought," he addressed to Narcissa, who frowned but said nothing. She grabbed Ginny by the arm and pulled her over to where Ron sat, shoving her beside him.
Immediately she flung herself to him wrapping him into a hug that could have broken a few ribs. "You idiot, why are you here?" she hissed into his ear.
Ron never had the chance to answer, for then Voldemort reached down and grabbed Harry by the hair and yanked him to his knees. Harry groaned the first noise he had uttered since Voldemort's appearance. Voldemort looked pleased.
"Let him go!" Ginny shrieked, seeing this.
"Quiet!" Narcissa snapped, smacking Ginny hard on the back of her head.
"Don't touch her," Ron growled, struggling to get to his feet, but Narcissa only laughed and an well-aimed kick to his ribs sent him sprawling on the ground.
"Look at your friends Potter," Voldemort hissed to Harry, ignoring the scuffle between them. "Look at how helpless they are."
Harry's eyes were only slitted open, and his sight was blurry since his glasses were broken and his eyes were watering from his hair being pulled.
"They're going to die." Voldemort cackled, "Because of you, they're going to die."
Harry hissed something out inaudible, but whatever it had been only made Voldemort laugh all the harder.
"Leave them and just kill you? Where would the fun be in that?" Voldemort smirked. He released Harry's hair so he dropped to the floor, "Choose Potter. Choose who will be the first."
Harry struggled to his knee's, he could only glare at Voldemort.
Voldemort had his wand out and he glared down at him, "Crucio!" he yelled the curse aimed at Ron. The force of the curse knocked Ron to the ground, and the effects were heart wrenching. Ron writhed on the floor, curled up into a ball, screaming on the top of his lungs. Ginny added to the noise screaming, "Stop it! Stop!" repeatedly.
Voldemort stopped it with a wave of his wand and looked down at Harry. "Have you chosen yet?"
"Leave them alone," Harry spat, struggling to his feet.
"I'll choose for you," Voldemort shrugged, his wand this time pointing toward Ginny. "Avada Ked-"
"Wait!"
Draco had watched the entire thing with little outward emotion. Inside he was desperately trying to piece together some sort of plan to get them out of this. But for all his usual quick wit, nothing came to him.
Then he saw Voldemort point the wand at Ginny, and the beginning of the spell. "Wait!" he cried out, not realizing he did so until he felt all eyes on him. "Voldemort.... Lord Voldemort," he corrected himself when he felt the sharp sting of his father's elbow in his side. "You cannot kill her."
Voldemort's wand lowered, and his expression grew murderous.
Lucius groaned beside Draco but he continued, "I thought I would be given the honors to do so," he said desperately. He didn't see the look of growing horror on Ginny's face when he played his trump card, "And I wanted to be joined into your circle before you finished your task."
A/N: I did it! My muse was merciful and descended to me last night. All in about an hour and a half. And you know what? I still don't like it! And my beta reader has gone poof! SOOOO. We'll just finish this…
I'm working hard on all my stories. I think I participate too much in a bunch of them. Hehe. 'Trapped with the Enemy' might be updated today, or 'Have You Heard About Ginny?' might be. We shall see. I'm sick so I have all day so I will begin!
Thank you of so much to these patient readers!
w&m_law (Ronniekins isn't being stupid!. I'm sorry if you think that's how I'm making him. I love Ron, he's just being his lovable self ^_^), GoddessOfRainbows, DarkKnight (Glad I'm not the only one!), Hermione Gulliver, Tigre (I like Narcissa in this too. She's a pro bad girl), Segev, MochaButterfly (Oh I love all your stories. I check them nearly every day! I'm such a geek, thanks for continually telling me to update, I probably would've gave up if you hadn't!), pyrobunnie, tiku, annakas, StuntWoman, Trunks_Goku_DBZ (me too ^_^), Nice (thanks for the critique! It helps J ), LilyAyl, lily, piratequeen (I'm flattered, thank you for taking the time to review for me **grins**), KTAKRI, medea (lol, yes Aoria will be back in the story, they're not rid of her yet!), FeatherQuill (hehe, how was the shower? ;)), *~*GinnyPotter*~*, Dauphin (Phew another person who feels the same! I don't know if it ever said Avada Kedavra is an unblockable curse. But it is Draco's shield so I'm sure it have some sort of Dark Magic protecting it from a curse…:- ) or will we find out?), ~^*^~krissy~^*^~, I Have Issues (Lol I know stupid Lucius. Yes! I love Narcissa, she's so evil!)
Thank you all so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, SO much for reviewing and being patient with a bumbling artist. You guys really helped me out, knowing there's rabid reviewers waiting for this chapter. Thank you all! I'm here for you! ^.^
Yours in Fanfiction,
Archer
