Chapter Three: Save The World
It was dark by the time Ginny entered the parking lot of her apartments. Questions of what had happened and what will happen had bombarded her the entire day. Did the men suspect her? If in the Wizarding world and you're looking for a red head you first go to the Weasley's. Would someone be coming for her? What if she were caught?
Ginny cautiously got out of her car, searching the ill lit lot for any suspicious people. As far as she could see, she was alone. She walked towards her apartment, keeping an eye out for any shadows. Everything was quiet, and something didn't seem right to her. She quickly plucked her keys from her pockets and with shaking hands thrust the key into the lock. Thinking she was safe she pushed through the door. That's when someone grabbed her by the arm.
Ginny shrieked and turned around. A large shadow loomed over her! Her instincts kicked in and she thrust the palm of her hand into her assailants face then pulled out her wand, ready to finish him off.
"Virginia!" Someone choked.
That voice sounded familiar. Ginny switched the light on and recognized the person to be Ryan, the man from the interview building. Ryan was hunched over the linoleum, bleeding. Ginny brought her hand to her mouth and gasped.
"I'm so sorry." She said, bending over to see if she could help.
"Ow! Don't touch it!" Ryan held his hands up to his bleeding nose protectively.
"Here, come in." Ginny ushered Ryan into her apartment and shut and locked the door.
"I'll fix it, but I need to see it." Ginny held her wand up with one hand and with the other tried to pull Ryan's hands from his face.
With great reluctance, Ryan lowered his hands and Ginny said a healing spell and Ryan's nose stopped bleeding.
"Thanks." He said, rubbing the nose.
"Least I could do." Ginny began laughing at the weird faces Ryan was making, as if he were trying to see his nose, his eyes going cross.
"What?" He asked offended.
"Oh, nothing—it's nothing." Ginny stifled her laughs. "So what are you doing here?"
"I came to ask you out, but I'm beginning to think you don't like me." He smiled.
"Oh?" Ginny raised an eyebrow.
"I stopped by the Daily Prophet but someone said you had the day off so I came here. You were gone when I came the first time, so I thought I'd try back later, and this is later…"
"I'm sorry I hit you, it's just that—" Oh, no way was Ginny going to drag Ryan into this mess by telling him about the conspiracy. "I have weird neighbors and I thought that…well, you know."
"Is something wrong?" Ryan asked, looking intently at Ginny.
"No, nothing." She tried smiling.
"Well then, would you like to go out?"
Ginny stood there, thinking. "I don't know, it's kind of late."
"Oh, come on. First you break my nose and now you try and blow me off? Have a heart." He smiled.
Ginny sighed. "All right. Maybe it'll take my mind off of things."
"Great! I know this awesome Muggle club, the music is great and they serve good drinks." He took Ginny's arm and led her to his car.
"You drive a Muggle vehicle too?" Ginny asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I like the way it feels to know you're controlling all that steel and the speeds you can reach!"
Ginny looked up at Ryan, amazed at how much they already had in common. His wavy hair and exotic eyes helped a bit too. The drive to the club was very short, and already she could feel the beating of the music from inside the building. There was a long line of people out front, but when Ryan and Ginny walked up to the door the man let them right in.
"Wow!" Ginny exclaimed.
The inside was dark with beams of light shooting on and off, videos playing from every corner. People danced everywhere! In the center, on the stairs, on the tables. It was hard to take it all in at one glance. Ryan led her to the center floor where they began dancing. Immediately Ginny felt a little underdressed. Her jeans and shirt didn't scream that she belonged, but she didn't care, she was having too much fun.
Ryan was a very good dancer. Ginny had taken Harry out dancing one night and came to realize that not all men had rhythm. It was refreshing to meet a guy who could move like Ryan did.
"Are you thirsty?" Ryan screamed over the noise of the music.
"Yeah!" Ginny yelled back.
"Wait right here…I'll be back!"
Ginny watched Ryan leave the crowd and head towards the bar. Ginny kept dancing with the music trying to take in everything at once. Soon Ryan came back holding a clear glass with a blue liquid in it.
"Here, this is great!" He handed her the drink and she instantly drank it.
"It burns!" She coughed.
"You'll get used to it!"
They continued dancing but Ginny began to feel a little dizzy. The lights and people around swirled together, blurring as they zoomed around her. She felt like she was being held upside down. She clutched at Ryan's arms to try and steady herself.
"I don't feel so well." She mumbled.
"What?" Ryan asked.
"I feel sick." Ginny looked up into Ryan's eyes.
"Here, I'll take you to the bathroom." Ryan grabbed Ginny by the waist and led her to a flight of stairs.
They walked up the flight of stairs into an upper level that had more tables with people sitting, drinking and laughing. Ginny watched their faces contort in laughter and had a strange feeling they were mocking her. She tried to focus on one thing at a time, but it was impossible. Everything was flying at her from all directions. Then she began to feel like she was falling again, only this time it felt real.
She looked up at a distant Ryan who was leaning over the railing. Why's he so angry? She asked, seeing his eyebrows furrow and his eyes narrow.
Someone was holding her! They were carrying her out of the club!
"No!" She tried to scream but it only came out as a whisper. "No! No!"
The cold night air hit her causing her to regain some of her senses. She looked up at her capture and saw a streak of silver hair and a determined expression on his face.
"Draco?" She mumbled, then passed out.
~*~*~
There was a dirt smell, and some noises that seemed to be coming from far away. The bed she was in was lumpy and the sheets were scratchy and smelled like they hadn't been washed in a while. A gnawing pain was coming from her stomach, and she realized she was hungry.
"I'm hungry." She moaned. "And I have a head ache."
Ginny tried sitting up but was afraid she would be sick all over the bed. She rubbed her temples with her forefingers. Looking up at the ceiling she realized it was tin—not a real ceiling.
"Where am I? What happened?" Ginny successfully sat up, her vision blurry.
"If I tell you," Someone said, coming up to her. "I'd have to kill you. Here, eat this."
A plate was thrust into her hands and if she had been in her ordinary state she would have been repulsed by the burnt eggs and toast, but she was too hungry to care. Too hungry to even use a fork, for she grabbed at the eggs with her hands and crammed them into her mouth.
"Very attractive." Draco scoffed.
"What happened?" Ginny asked while eating the toast.
"What? I couldn't hear you. I was busy making sure the bits of toast flying out of your mouth didn't hit me."
Ginny gave an angry grunt.
"Well, it's as plain as this. You were doped at the club and an attempt on your life failed, thanks to yours truly." Draco placed his hand on his chest.
"I was doped? How come you didn't revive me last night then?"
"They used Muggle drugs so that one; it'd look like you got high then fell off the second floor, and two; so if someone like me came along I wouldn't be able to perform a counter curse." Draco explained.
"Oh no! What about Ryan?" Ginny just realized that Ryan was left at the club and whoever was chasing her might kill him too.
"Ryan? The man you were with?" Ginny nodded her head. "Are you crazy? He's the one that doped your drink! If I were you, I'd be cursing him!"
Everything was happening so fast that Ginny just realized she was in some sort of dwelling with a convicted murderer. A man Ginny had doubts about.
Draco seemed to have seen her train of thought for he said, "Look, I'm innocent, ok? Why would I have saved you back there if I was a murderer?"
This was true, Ginny thought. "How did you escape?"
"Escape?" Draco laughed. "I was let free! The doors opened and I jumped out."
"But why?"
"Why do you think?"
Ginny tried to fit the pieces together. "You know something they don't?"
"Correct. They set me free so they could follow me, and they'll kill anyone who gets in their way, namely you." Draco smiled as giving her this news brought pleasure to him.
"I don't get it…where do I fit in?"
"Well, you didn't up until two days ago. Before they were to take me to Azkaban they put a bunch of spells on me. One of them was to keep me from telling you my story, another one was to make me incapable of escape. I guess a mixture of all those spells sort of cancelled out the first one. I told you my story and some how they found out. Ryan was sent to see if you'd reveal anything then kill you."
"But how did you know we were there?"
"I followed you! I've been following you!" Draco paused. "I knew I told you and that you'd be in danger. For some reason I couldn't handle that on my conscience. I guess I'm getting soft in my old age."
While Draco was telling his story Ginny was taking in his features. He was much different then when she interviewed him. His hair was cleaner and combed and his skin wasn't so pale. His eyes were now alight with fury and there was something alluring in them.
"Ok, I don't want to answer any more questions. I need to think about what I'm going to do. Adding you into the mix has messed up my plans."
"Maybe I could help." Ginny offered.
Draco looked her up and down. "I seriously doubt that." He began laughing.
"Hey!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Look, I need to do this myself, alright? Now be a good girl and stay here until all this is over. No one will know you're here. You might want to put a charm on your looks or something…finally got an excuse to change that red hair of yours." He pulled at a strand of her hair, then smiled.
He got up to leave but Ginny followed right behind him.
"I'm not just gonna sit here and wonder what's happening out there! What if they find you?"
"They won't."
"Don't be so sure!"
"You're staying here!"
"I am not!"
"Yes you are!"
Ginny glared her eyes at him, then grabbed his arm tightly with both her hands.
"Let go!" He shouted, trying to pry her fingers off of him, but she only grabbed on tighter. "Ow!"
"I'm going, whether you like it or not."
"Ow, fine! See if I care." Ginny let go of his arm. "You must have a death wish."
"No, I'm just very curious. Part of being a reporter." Ginny smiled.
"This isn't a game, Ginny. These people have killed hundreds before, and they'll kill hundreds more." The sudden seriousness caused a sharp stab of fear to hit Ginny's heart. "Come on then, let's save the world and all that."
(A/N: Yay, another chapter! Thanks you guys for all your reviews! It's rather hard keeping up two stories at once, and with school starting again my week is pretty much jam packed! I'll try and get chapters up as soon as possible, but don't fear if they take a while.
~ADELA H
It was dark by the time Ginny entered the parking lot of her apartments. Questions of what had happened and what will happen had bombarded her the entire day. Did the men suspect her? If in the Wizarding world and you're looking for a red head you first go to the Weasley's. Would someone be coming for her? What if she were caught?
Ginny cautiously got out of her car, searching the ill lit lot for any suspicious people. As far as she could see, she was alone. She walked towards her apartment, keeping an eye out for any shadows. Everything was quiet, and something didn't seem right to her. She quickly plucked her keys from her pockets and with shaking hands thrust the key into the lock. Thinking she was safe she pushed through the door. That's when someone grabbed her by the arm.
Ginny shrieked and turned around. A large shadow loomed over her! Her instincts kicked in and she thrust the palm of her hand into her assailants face then pulled out her wand, ready to finish him off.
"Virginia!" Someone choked.
That voice sounded familiar. Ginny switched the light on and recognized the person to be Ryan, the man from the interview building. Ryan was hunched over the linoleum, bleeding. Ginny brought her hand to her mouth and gasped.
"I'm so sorry." She said, bending over to see if she could help.
"Ow! Don't touch it!" Ryan held his hands up to his bleeding nose protectively.
"Here, come in." Ginny ushered Ryan into her apartment and shut and locked the door.
"I'll fix it, but I need to see it." Ginny held her wand up with one hand and with the other tried to pull Ryan's hands from his face.
With great reluctance, Ryan lowered his hands and Ginny said a healing spell and Ryan's nose stopped bleeding.
"Thanks." He said, rubbing the nose.
"Least I could do." Ginny began laughing at the weird faces Ryan was making, as if he were trying to see his nose, his eyes going cross.
"What?" He asked offended.
"Oh, nothing—it's nothing." Ginny stifled her laughs. "So what are you doing here?"
"I came to ask you out, but I'm beginning to think you don't like me." He smiled.
"Oh?" Ginny raised an eyebrow.
"I stopped by the Daily Prophet but someone said you had the day off so I came here. You were gone when I came the first time, so I thought I'd try back later, and this is later…"
"I'm sorry I hit you, it's just that—" Oh, no way was Ginny going to drag Ryan into this mess by telling him about the conspiracy. "I have weird neighbors and I thought that…well, you know."
"Is something wrong?" Ryan asked, looking intently at Ginny.
"No, nothing." She tried smiling.
"Well then, would you like to go out?"
Ginny stood there, thinking. "I don't know, it's kind of late."
"Oh, come on. First you break my nose and now you try and blow me off? Have a heart." He smiled.
Ginny sighed. "All right. Maybe it'll take my mind off of things."
"Great! I know this awesome Muggle club, the music is great and they serve good drinks." He took Ginny's arm and led her to his car.
"You drive a Muggle vehicle too?" Ginny asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I like the way it feels to know you're controlling all that steel and the speeds you can reach!"
Ginny looked up at Ryan, amazed at how much they already had in common. His wavy hair and exotic eyes helped a bit too. The drive to the club was very short, and already she could feel the beating of the music from inside the building. There was a long line of people out front, but when Ryan and Ginny walked up to the door the man let them right in.
"Wow!" Ginny exclaimed.
The inside was dark with beams of light shooting on and off, videos playing from every corner. People danced everywhere! In the center, on the stairs, on the tables. It was hard to take it all in at one glance. Ryan led her to the center floor where they began dancing. Immediately Ginny felt a little underdressed. Her jeans and shirt didn't scream that she belonged, but she didn't care, she was having too much fun.
Ryan was a very good dancer. Ginny had taken Harry out dancing one night and came to realize that not all men had rhythm. It was refreshing to meet a guy who could move like Ryan did.
"Are you thirsty?" Ryan screamed over the noise of the music.
"Yeah!" Ginny yelled back.
"Wait right here…I'll be back!"
Ginny watched Ryan leave the crowd and head towards the bar. Ginny kept dancing with the music trying to take in everything at once. Soon Ryan came back holding a clear glass with a blue liquid in it.
"Here, this is great!" He handed her the drink and she instantly drank it.
"It burns!" She coughed.
"You'll get used to it!"
They continued dancing but Ginny began to feel a little dizzy. The lights and people around swirled together, blurring as they zoomed around her. She felt like she was being held upside down. She clutched at Ryan's arms to try and steady herself.
"I don't feel so well." She mumbled.
"What?" Ryan asked.
"I feel sick." Ginny looked up into Ryan's eyes.
"Here, I'll take you to the bathroom." Ryan grabbed Ginny by the waist and led her to a flight of stairs.
They walked up the flight of stairs into an upper level that had more tables with people sitting, drinking and laughing. Ginny watched their faces contort in laughter and had a strange feeling they were mocking her. She tried to focus on one thing at a time, but it was impossible. Everything was flying at her from all directions. Then she began to feel like she was falling again, only this time it felt real.
She looked up at a distant Ryan who was leaning over the railing. Why's he so angry? She asked, seeing his eyebrows furrow and his eyes narrow.
Someone was holding her! They were carrying her out of the club!
"No!" She tried to scream but it only came out as a whisper. "No! No!"
The cold night air hit her causing her to regain some of her senses. She looked up at her capture and saw a streak of silver hair and a determined expression on his face.
"Draco?" She mumbled, then passed out.
~*~*~
There was a dirt smell, and some noises that seemed to be coming from far away. The bed she was in was lumpy and the sheets were scratchy and smelled like they hadn't been washed in a while. A gnawing pain was coming from her stomach, and she realized she was hungry.
"I'm hungry." She moaned. "And I have a head ache."
Ginny tried sitting up but was afraid she would be sick all over the bed. She rubbed her temples with her forefingers. Looking up at the ceiling she realized it was tin—not a real ceiling.
"Where am I? What happened?" Ginny successfully sat up, her vision blurry.
"If I tell you," Someone said, coming up to her. "I'd have to kill you. Here, eat this."
A plate was thrust into her hands and if she had been in her ordinary state she would have been repulsed by the burnt eggs and toast, but she was too hungry to care. Too hungry to even use a fork, for she grabbed at the eggs with her hands and crammed them into her mouth.
"Very attractive." Draco scoffed.
"What happened?" Ginny asked while eating the toast.
"What? I couldn't hear you. I was busy making sure the bits of toast flying out of your mouth didn't hit me."
Ginny gave an angry grunt.
"Well, it's as plain as this. You were doped at the club and an attempt on your life failed, thanks to yours truly." Draco placed his hand on his chest.
"I was doped? How come you didn't revive me last night then?"
"They used Muggle drugs so that one; it'd look like you got high then fell off the second floor, and two; so if someone like me came along I wouldn't be able to perform a counter curse." Draco explained.
"Oh no! What about Ryan?" Ginny just realized that Ryan was left at the club and whoever was chasing her might kill him too.
"Ryan? The man you were with?" Ginny nodded her head. "Are you crazy? He's the one that doped your drink! If I were you, I'd be cursing him!"
Everything was happening so fast that Ginny just realized she was in some sort of dwelling with a convicted murderer. A man Ginny had doubts about.
Draco seemed to have seen her train of thought for he said, "Look, I'm innocent, ok? Why would I have saved you back there if I was a murderer?"
This was true, Ginny thought. "How did you escape?"
"Escape?" Draco laughed. "I was let free! The doors opened and I jumped out."
"But why?"
"Why do you think?"
Ginny tried to fit the pieces together. "You know something they don't?"
"Correct. They set me free so they could follow me, and they'll kill anyone who gets in their way, namely you." Draco smiled as giving her this news brought pleasure to him.
"I don't get it…where do I fit in?"
"Well, you didn't up until two days ago. Before they were to take me to Azkaban they put a bunch of spells on me. One of them was to keep me from telling you my story, another one was to make me incapable of escape. I guess a mixture of all those spells sort of cancelled out the first one. I told you my story and some how they found out. Ryan was sent to see if you'd reveal anything then kill you."
"But how did you know we were there?"
"I followed you! I've been following you!" Draco paused. "I knew I told you and that you'd be in danger. For some reason I couldn't handle that on my conscience. I guess I'm getting soft in my old age."
While Draco was telling his story Ginny was taking in his features. He was much different then when she interviewed him. His hair was cleaner and combed and his skin wasn't so pale. His eyes were now alight with fury and there was something alluring in them.
"Ok, I don't want to answer any more questions. I need to think about what I'm going to do. Adding you into the mix has messed up my plans."
"Maybe I could help." Ginny offered.
Draco looked her up and down. "I seriously doubt that." He began laughing.
"Hey!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Look, I need to do this myself, alright? Now be a good girl and stay here until all this is over. No one will know you're here. You might want to put a charm on your looks or something…finally got an excuse to change that red hair of yours." He pulled at a strand of her hair, then smiled.
He got up to leave but Ginny followed right behind him.
"I'm not just gonna sit here and wonder what's happening out there! What if they find you?"
"They won't."
"Don't be so sure!"
"You're staying here!"
"I am not!"
"Yes you are!"
Ginny glared her eyes at him, then grabbed his arm tightly with both her hands.
"Let go!" He shouted, trying to pry her fingers off of him, but she only grabbed on tighter. "Ow!"
"I'm going, whether you like it or not."
"Ow, fine! See if I care." Ginny let go of his arm. "You must have a death wish."
"No, I'm just very curious. Part of being a reporter." Ginny smiled.
"This isn't a game, Ginny. These people have killed hundreds before, and they'll kill hundreds more." The sudden seriousness caused a sharp stab of fear to hit Ginny's heart. "Come on then, let's save the world and all that."
(A/N: Yay, another chapter! Thanks you guys for all your reviews! It's rather hard keeping up two stories at once, and with school starting again my week is pretty much jam packed! I'll try and get chapters up as soon as possible, but don't fear if they take a while.
~ADELA H