Nowhere To Run
Harry
flew a good distance behind Draco on his own broom, deep in thought. He kept
replaying the previous scene with Ginny in his head. What was wrong with
him? As if helping Lucius Malfoy wasn't enough, he'd stood by and watched as
they took her away. He could've done something – anything – to stop
them.
When he'd first heard that the bus Ginny
was on had crashed into the ocean and there were no survivors, he'd felt
terrible. He couldn't bring himself to visit the Weasleys, but he could only
imagine their despair. He had been angry and upset and he wasn't even related
to her.
But then he'd heard that she was still
alive. So he'd gone straight to the Burrow, slightly guilty that he hadn't been
with them when they'd been mourning Ginny's "death." They had all turned to
Harry for help, since he worked for the Ministry as an Auror. Harry would never
forget the look on Mrs. Weasley's face when she took one of his hands in
between hers and stared him directly in the eye.
"Find her, Harry," she had said somberly,
her face a pasty white, but her eyes determined. "Do anything you can to bring
my baby back to me."
How could Harry have said no? Deep inside,
he felt that he wouldn't be able to bring her back to her family, considering
she'd just go right back to Azkaban as soon as the Ministry got a hold of her.
He'd just jumped to the conclusion immediately that she was running from her
guilt as soon as he'd heard she'd survived the bus crash.
But why had he? His godfather, Sirius
Black, whose name had been cleared the year Harry had graduated, had been
innocent and had run from the Ministry. For some reason, he thought it was
different, considering that Sirius had been in jail for twelve years and knew
what it was like.
Now, Harry cursed himself inside his head.
When Sirius first escaped, I thought he was guilty. And he turned out to be
innocent. I didn't even know him very well and I assumed he deserved to be in
Azkaban.
But I know Ginny. And I should've known
that she was innocent the whole time.
He'd just been so
desperate to help the Weasleys, who'd always been kind and helped him when he
was younger, that he'd convinced himself that Ginny was guilty. Maybe
subconsciously he'd thought it would be too painful to watch the Ministry put
Ginny behind bars, and thought maybe if she was guilty then it would make it
easier.
Not to mention that she
was with Draco Malfoy. That was what worried him the most. He wasn't sure why –
just because Draco was a terrible person didn't exactly mean he'd hurt Ginny.
But somehow he just didn't feel comfortable with the fact that she was running
with him. It didn't feel right. It was what scared him most about Ginny being
on the run.
So he'd been
incredibly stupid. He hadn't really thought it out. He'd just reacted, and
Lucius Malfoy was the only person who he thought could help him.
I was afraid for Ginny because she was
with Malfoy, so I go and form an alliance with his father? Oh, that makes
sense, doesn't it? God, I'm a prat.
Harry frowned deeply
and put more speed on his Firebolt. The sooner he got Ginny out of Lucius's
grasp, the better he'd feel.
***
Ginny
was obviously walking too slowly for the men holding on to her. She stood
between two of them, each holding on to her upper arm. They were constantly
yanking her forward, or lifting her a few inches off the ground and dropping
her back between them so that she wouldn't fall behind. Ginny put up no
resistance – she allowed them to drag her wherever they wanted.
I've got to escape, she thought
desperately. I'm not going to let Lucius Malfoy take me back to his house
and torture me. I'd rather live my life on the run than return with him.
She found herself wishing Draco was near
her. The longing didn't surprise her. She felt safe around Draco, despite how
he treated her, and felt that maybe if he was nearby it would make things
easier. Draco wouldn't stand by and let Lucius hurt her.
At
least, I don't think he would.
It was pitch dark out. The thick leaves
overhead blocked the night sky. Ginny was having trouble seeing which direction
they were going, and was slightly afraid that her toe would catch under a log
and she'd sprawl flat on her face. While she was having this fear, the exact
thing happened – only it happened to the person walking in front of her.
Lucius suddenly cried out and fell
forward, dropping onto his hands and knees.
This caused the other dozen men, including
Ginny's bodyguards, to halt behind him.
Ginny tried to suppress a giggle. Draco
Malfoy does not fall, she thought with amusement, but Lucius Malfoy
does.
"Help me up, you idiots!" Lucius
commanded, sounding annoyed and slightly embarrassed.
About half of the men rushed to his side.
This included the guy holding Ginny's right arm.
The other relaxed his grip slightly, as if
unsure to let go of her, too, and help or to just stay put.
This is my chance, Ginny thought.
And she tore her arm from the man's grasp. Spinning on her heels, she turned
and bolted in the direction they had come.
"FOOLS!" Lucius Malfoy screamed.
Ginny ran as fast as she'd ever run in her
life. She jumped over rocks and small bushes and dodged trees. She could hear
the footsteps of pursuers behind her, lumbering not too far behind. Her breath
started to come out louder and in gasps as she pushed herself to go even
faster.
Please don't let me fall, she
prayed silently. They'll catch me if I do . . . please don't let me trip . .
.
She had no idea where she was going. For
all she knew she could be going deeper and deeper into the woods, away from
civilization. And the one thing she needed at the moment was a busy, crowded
place.
It's the middle of the night, she
thought. Nothing will be busy.
Still, a building to
hide in would be pretty useful right about then.
She could hear their voices, but the
pounding of her feet and her quick breathing blocked out the words they were
saying. Branches whipped at her face, tore at her jumpsuit, scratched her skin,
but she ignored it and kept running as fast as she could.
I don't know how long I can keep this
up, she thought desperately. She couldn't sprint forever. Already she was
starting to get tired and slowing a little and she'd only been going for less
than a minute.
She'd need to hide. No, that won't work,
she told herself quickly. They'll be looking everywhere for me! Lucius won't
give up until I'm found. If I stop and hide in these woods I'll be caught for
sure.
Ginny's hard, raspy breathing turned into
short, frantic sobs. What was she thinking, trying to get away? She couldn't do
it . . . there were so many of them, only one of her . . . and Draco wasn't
there to help her.
But she kept going. I managed to keep
away from the Ministry for a few days, didn't I? I can run away from them
again.
She tried to ignore the fact that she
hadn't exactly been by herself those few days.
Here I go again, acting all helpless.
I don't need Draco to help me with everything. I can do some things myself.
Suddenly, her foot
caught on something and she toppled over instantly, falling so quickly that by
the time she had her hands out to soften her fall she had already hit the ground.
Fortunately, there were leaves that covered the ground, and it cushioned it
somewhat, but she still got the breath knocked out of her. For a moment she lay
still, trying to stop panting. Then she sucked in her breath and held it, her
heart pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears. She struggled to listen
to what was going on around her.
Yes, they were definitely still nearby.
She could hear them rushing through the trees and crunching over the leaves as
they ran, desperate to find her. They were talking to each other, telling one
another where to go. When she lifted her head, she saw the light from their
wands through the trees. Soon they would come to where she was laying and
they'd see her. But if she jumped up and ran, then they'd spot her, too.
She let out her breath loudly, and
continued to inhale and exhale noisily. Her palms were flat on the ground,
ready to push her back up into a standing position when she needed to. The
problem was she didn't know what to do.
Frightened tears ran down her cheeks, and
her nose was running. Oh, God, what am I going to do now? Should I just wait
to be found? They're only seconds away . . .
She looked around quickly for a place to
hide, only until they passed by and she could turn and run in the other
direction. Their voices rang louder in her ears, along with her pounding heart
and hoarse crying, and she just reacted. She rolled under a long, narrow bush
about a meter away and pressed herself flat against the ground. The thick, tiny
leaves and scraping twigs kept her covered enough so that they wouldn't notice
her. Unless someone decided to look down and see her leg sticking out . . .
Her nose inches from the dirt, she tried
to control her sobbing. Calm down, Ginny, she instructed as smoothly as
she could. It'll be all right.
It barely helped.
And then the men were running past the
bush, their tones loud and their boots falling heavily on the ground. The
wandlight lit up a good distance, and she was terrified they would happen to
see her without even having to look down. Ginny held her breath once again and
squeezed her eyes shut, gripping two handfuls of dirt, getting it up her
fingernails and not even noticing, and gritting her teeth, trying to keep
herself from letting out whimpers. Please just keep going, she prayed. Just
go.
Slowly, so slowly Ginny could barely stand
it, their voices faded. They didn't go away altogether, but they seemed to be
far enough away for her to lift her head, open her eyes and relax her grip.
The light was gone. She was drenched in
darkness once more.
She let out a relieved sob, and let her
head drop back to the ground.
I want to go home. I don't want to run
anymore. She wasn't sure if she could handle another chase.
All she wanted to do was lay there
forever, fall asleep and never wake up. Or perhaps wake up and find it was all
a bad dream, that she wasn't a convicted felon and she wasn't going to be
tortured by Lucius Malfoy. That she'd never had to fight her way to stay free
with Draco, and that she'd never allowed herself to become so attached to him.
The one thing she didn't want to be a
dream was kissing him.
She closed her eyes, her wet cheek against
the dry dirt, and remembered the feel of his lips on hers. In the back of her
mind she knew she should be getting up and running away, not fantasizing about
some kiss.
Some totally amazing kiss, she
added.
No matter what she tried to tell herself,
she really wanted Draco back with her. He gave her a sense of security she'd
never really felt with anyone else, not even her brothers. Maybe because there
was always the possibility that Draco would suddenly kiss her while he was
rescuing her, while her brothers would probably just manage to get revenge by putting
ink in her tea for getting into such trouble in which she needed to be saved
from.
All right, Ginny, time to get up,
she ordered.
She somehow managed to get out from under
the bush without getting her jumpsuit too torn up, or her hair too tangled, and
pushed herself to her feet. Her legs were wobbly, and every other part of her
ached with exhaustion. But she still had to run – quickly – out of the woods
before she was found.
Wiping the dirt off her cheek, she glanced
in the direction the men had gone. She could see some light through the thick
trees, and she could hear their muffled voices, but they seemed a good distance
away. It was now or never.
Taking a deep breath,
she exhaled slowly. Then she turned and started to half-jog, half-run and tried
to forget all that had happened to her.
***
"Which
building is it?" Harry called, pulling his broom up next to Draco's in the air.
"What?" Draco asked lazily, not bothering
to turn his head.
"Where they're taking Ginny. What building
in London is it?"
That caused Draco to look at him, his
steel eyes unfathomable. "I don't know. You work for the Ministry – don't you?"
Harry glowered. "There are a lot of
buildings the Ministry use. How the hell am I supposed to know which one?"
Draco stopped and hovered in the air,
causing Harry to stop as well. "Great. Wonderful. So we don't even know where
she is. Why didn't you wait until we got to London to tell me this?" he
demanded sarcastically.
"So what are we going to do?"
Draco sighed irritably. "We've only been
flying for about a half hour. We'll have to turn around and find my father
again and follow him from the air. That's all we can do."
Harry bit his lower lip and nodded. "All
right."
They turned and started to fly in the
direction they had come.
***
After
a few minutes of trying to run, Ginny started to stumble through the woods. She
wasn't sure how she managed to keep going, but somehow she found the strength
to keep going. She began to think of people running through the desert, without
water, the sun beating down on their backs, and then they finally collapse.
That was exactly how she felt, only there was no sun, no sand, and if she
really wanted water she could get it.
And then, she saw the trees were starting
to get thin out. She increased her speed slightly, rubbing her face in her
hands in attempt to keep her alert.
She finally came out of the woods.
Stumbling a little, she came to the edge
of an empty parking lot. It was a grocery store and it was closed, obviously,
considering it was still the middle of the night. No traffic went by, and
everything was deathly quiet.
Ginny was about to sit down on the curb
when she suddenly heard a loud snapping noise behind her. She whipped her head
around back at the woods, and caught the dark form of somebody just in time.
They had accidentally stepped on a twig.
Lucius and his men had been following her
the whole time! Peering closer, she could see the bulky outlines of the others trying
to hide behind trees. Her breath caught in her throat, and she started to take
small steps backwards, terrified. They're going to get me . . . they'll kill
me, Lucius'll be mad that I tried to run again . . .
Without warning, she came to the curb.
Since she'd been walking backwards, she hadn't seen it and she missed the step,
loosing her balance. She fell hard on to her bottom in the parking lot, biting
her lip in attempt to keep from crying out.
"Get her!" Lucius's voice suddenly
shrieked.
They all came out from their pathetic hiding places, advancing on her.
Without having time to think, Ginny jumped to her feet and started running. She
sprinted, using whatever energy she had left in her, and headed towards the
grocery store.
She screwed up her
face, waiting for them to start shooting curses at her. Glancing over her
shoulder, she saw them still standing at the edge of the lot, pulling out their
wands.
She didn't stop.
"No!" Lucius screamed. "No magic! I don't
want you to damage her! She's only a girl – you can just grab her! Put
your wands away and run after her, you idiots!"
Ginny felt slightly relieved. Now all she
had to do was manage to outrun them. Yeah, that'll be easy, being exhausted
and all.
They had longer legs than her and were
quickly advancing on her. Ginny reached the sliding glass doors of the grocery
store and pushed on them. They didn't budge. Of course, they were locked.
She tried pounding on it with her fists,
but that would get her nowhere. And the half dozen men were seconds away from
grabbing her and handing her back to Lucius.
I won't let them get me, she vowed,
too scared to even cry. I'll die trying to escape.
She looked around frantically for a
weapon. There was nothing . . . nothing . . . they were going to get her –
Her eyes rested on a line of metal
shopping carts an arm's length away. Bingo, she thought, grabbing the
handlebars of the first one. Then, she swung it around to face the bulky men
running towards her.
With all her might she shoved the shopping
cart towards the mob of them. They're not too bright, are they? They should
spread out if they hope to catch me.
Since they were only feet away, the cart
didn't have very far to travel. It hit the first few of them, slowing them
down. But it wouldn't stop them.
Her heart in her throat, Ginny hurriedly
grabbed another shopping cart. This time she turned towards the glass doors of
the store. Without letting go of it, she rammed it into the doors. The glass
shattered. She rammed it one more time just to be sure and then pushed the cart
to the side, out of her way.
She started to step through the doorway
when someone grabbed the back of her jumpsuit.
She let out a loud shriek and twisted
around, fighting to get free. Her foot slid on a piece of glass, and, for what
seemed like the fiftieth time that night, fell on her back on the ground. The
good thing of this accident was that whoever had grabbed her lost their grip.
The bad thing was she landed on a bed of glass.
Fortunately, it didn't feel as if anything
had pierced her too badly. Using her feet, she pushed herself along the ground
away from the doorway. They were all hurrying to get in, and two of them
couldn't fit in at the same time. That gave her time to get away from the
doorway.
When she was a good distance away, she
scrambled to her feet. She hurried down an aisle, glad that it was dark inside.
For a moment, she paused, reaching behind to feel her back. Her jumpsuit was
cut in many places, and she could feel a couple of slashes on her skin, but
nothing too terrible. All the glass had fallen out and that was good, but blood
dribbled out of her wounds down her back.
Fix it later. You've got to find a way
out of here and loose these baboons.
She
could hear the pounding of boots on the tile, and could hear Lucuis's voice
commanding them where to go. Ginny hurriedly looked for a place to go, another
exit in which she could leave. But she saw nothing in the dim light – only the
shelves of food that surrounded her.
Fear, panic, and hysteria were beginning
to mix, and she wasn't sure if she could handle it. She bit her lip to keep
from screaming, so hard she felt blood drip off her chin. She hadn't even felt
the pain. Her whole body was numb. Even her mind was having trouble
functioning.
She somehow starting walking towards the
end of the aisle, her ears perked up to listen for the sound of approaching
footsteps. So far they were still searching the area to her right, about two
aisles away if she was hearing correctly.
Think, she commanded herself,
trying to get her brain working again. Figure something out, Ginny. You
can't stand here!
She leaned her back against the shelf and
closed her eyes. Tears leaked from the closed lids, and she couldn't think of
anything else. Her mind went blank, and she felt nothing, thought of nothing.
She slid down to the floor, bringing her
knees up to her chin. She hugged her legs for comfort, but none came.
Then one thought flashed across her mind.
I wish Draco were here.
***
"Do
you see that?" Harry asked suddenly.
Draco could see the woods up ahead, and
was too busy concentrating on it to listen to Harry or look where he was
pointing.
"Isn't that them?" said Harry a little louder,
annoyed at being ignored.
He looked down.
It was an empty parking lot with a store – except near the store the lot wasn't
so empty. There were about half a dozen people trying to get in through the
doorway. They were only flying a bit higher than the building, so Draco could
see that the doors had once been glass and were smashed in.
Harry was right. It was them. Draco
could see his father, standing behind everyone who was trying to get in, his
arms waving frantically.
Draco hovered above the scene, trying to
figure out what was going on. As the men clad in black finally managed to file
in, followed by Lucius, Draco began to slowly smile.
It's Ginny, he realized. She got
away from them. All on her own. And they're trying to get her back.
Draco shared his idea with Harry, who
quickly became concerned.
"Then we have to go in there and stop
them," Harry said. "Come on, they'll probably listen to you better, Malfoy –"
"No," Draco said sharply, holding his hand
out to stop Harry from diving down. "We don't want them to know that we're
here. Come on, we'll go in through the back and see if we can find Ginny before
them."
A minute later, they landed behind the
grocery store. Draco searched the length and found an employee entrance. "Alohomora,"
he hissed, and the door sprung open.
Harry started to rush by Draco to get in,
but he grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. "Don't let them see you," Draco
snapped warningly. "If you do then my father will kill you. Do you understand?
Look for Ginny and then bring her right back out here and fly her home right
away. If I get to her first, come back out here in five minutes. We'll have to
have found her by then. If my broom is gone, then you leave, too."
"What if they get her first?" Harry
demanded.
"Meet me here anyway. We'll figure out a
plan to get her back then. Got it?"
Harry nodded. Draco released his shoulder
and allowed him to go in first. Then he followed him in. He watched Harry turn
to the right, away from where Lucius's men were searching, and disappear down
the furthest aisle.
Draco's eyes quickly adjusted to the
dimness of the store. He decided to pick the aisle next to the last one where
everyone else was searching. That way he would find her before they did. From
their conversations he could hear, they obviously hadn't found her yet.
Draco looked down the aisle and saw
nothing. He quickly looked in the next one.
And saw a small form curled on the floor,
back against the shelves. It was Ginny.
Draco reached her in three strides. She
was hugging her knees to her chest, her face down and her wild hair spreading
over her shoulders. She hadn't heard or seen him approach.
"Ginny," he whispered urgently, his voice
hard. "Come on, Ginny, stand up."
He
leaned over and grabbed her upper arm as she slowly raised her head to him. As
he pulled her to her feet, her eyes stayed on his face. They looked slightly
amazed to see him, but her features reflected how hopeless she felt, how broken
up she was. Draco felt all his hard feelings wash away as he looked at her, and
she stared back. He held both her arms, her body only inches from his.
Carefully, she reached a hand up to touch
him. Her fingertips brushed his cheek.
"Draco." It wasn't much more than a
sigh.
And then their lips were pressed together,
and what space that had been between them disappeared. She tasted coppery, like
blood, but Draco didn't care. She didn't seem to mind, either, because she
kissed him hard. She clung to him like he was her lifesaver in the ocean of
turmoil she'd been drowning in for the past few months. Draco felt in a way he
was comforting her, something he'd wanted to do ever since he'd saved her from
Kyle. She needed him – for the first time in his life, someone needed him
– and he was happy to give himself to her.
They kissed for what seemed like hours,
but it had to have been less than a minute. The danger they were in melted from
their minds and all that seemed to matter was them.
When Ginny finally pulled her mouth away,
she still kept her arms around his neck, keeping herself plastered against him.
He didn't loosen his grip on her waist – in fact, he tightened it.
And then she was smiling. It was very faint,
but it was there nonetheless. Her dark eyes showed how relieved she was to see
him, but he still saw how terrified she was.
"Don't ever leave me again," she ordered.
And he could see, even in the pale light, the adorable blush that spread across
her cheeks and neck.
A/N: Yes, yet ANOTHER cliffie. Because we all
know that just because Draco's there doesn't mean they'll be able to get out
easily, though I wish it were all that simple. Anyway, time for thank yous.
w&m_law (yes, I don't
know what Harry was thinking!), DarkKnight (I'm quite mad at Harry
myself ^_^), Myanda (okay, I didn't really hurry, but just a hint . . .
I like Oreos!), cammie, Korinna Myorin, pyrobunnie (I can think
of many different words for Lucius other than "jerk"), StrangerWithMyFace,
sailor hope, Strega Brava, Archer, Lizzy/Tigrestick, Nice, Nemesis (funny
how even Draco's worst enemy goes to him when they need help, isn't it? Hee
hee), Tigre, Grace, Hermione M. Granger (they kissed again!), Luninthoron
(thanx!), summer_thyme, LilyAyl (I don't exactly think of it as
suffering . . .), Melissa Belial Riddle, Zoemma (you hate 'em, yet I
always use them! ^_~), Tiku (they'll have an even better chance to, um,
finish what they started), ~meg~, sOmEoNeSpEcIaL, and last but
not least, Christine, my beta!
And if I forgot anyone I'm sorry, considering ff.net has
gone wacko and I can't see all my reviews :P.