A/N: I last updated in … April. It's August. I'm so sorry for this terrible lack of updates! I had most of this chapter written, and I just wrote the end now.

Chapter 4: An Even Darker Side

The faceless Death Eaters amassed as a group around their Dark Lord one Thursday afternoon. Each was glowing with success, but none more than Voldemort himself.

The Death Eaters had succeeded in permeating the island with their heavy aura of disturbance. Draco listened as his companions, who seemed much more social in the presence of the Dark Lord than ever before, boasted to one another about their ridding the world of another mudblood.

"Now that the muggle-borns have been killed off the island," started the Dark Lord without preamble the minute his minions had taken their place in the tight circle surrounding him, " the island can begin to follow the Dark Order."

A cued flash of lightening would have properly emphasized the gravity of his comment, but the weather was actually perfectly beautiful. Wispy white clouds spread themselves throughout the blue sky, swimming in the current of a soft wind. The Death Eaters had chosen to meet on a bend in the beach where their feet hugged the warm sand beneath them.

Draco could feel his mask sticking to his face. Surely, it was strange to see the Dark Lord in this manner, standing in the middle of a circle with the sun shining down on him. It almost made him seem a little less frightening. Almost.

" I, however, have business elsewhere," Voldemort continued airily, " I will be leaving and believe I won't return for quite some time. In the meantime, I trust that the island will be in good hands, Richard."

" Yes, my Lord," spoke the unctuous voice next to Draco.

" Good. Expect me back sooner than you think if I am notified of any sort of disturbance." His nostrils flared and his red eyes widened threateningly. Draco thought they landed on him questioningly before the Dark Lord himself departed.

For quite some time, Draco had been fearful at the prospect that Voldemort could read minds. He was afraid now, more than ever. He had betrayed him and lied to him, and found it near impossible to look him in the eye anymore without feeling like he was going to die.

Your mistakes shall not be tolerated next time, the cold voice echoed throughout the walls of his mind.

The circle broke apart and almost everybody Disapparated. No doubt they were anxious to get out of the blistering heat as soon as possible. Draco did not hesitate to follow.

He appeared in the blink of an eye inside the cool, large lodge located at the bottom of the hill. Upon their arrival, the Death Eaters saw that the house was empty, and made it their little base where they could relax and discuss their killings during the day.

Draco joined a small group of Death Eaters out on the veranda at the back of the lodge. As he emerged outside, he was greeted not only by his fellow Death Eaters, but by the shimmering sea that stretched before him on the other side of the rail.

" So, Draco," somebody started.

The voice belonged to Amory Cortez, a Death Eater nearing fifty who was a friend of Lucius.

As Draco unstuck the white mask from his moist face, Amory asked, " Where are you staying?"

Draco seated himself. " Just up this hill."

" Let me guess," another one piped, already sipping a cold drink he had just conjured, " you've got slow old people who can't even chew without your help, right?"

Amory chuckled before Draco could answer. " Mine can chew, as long as she's got her teeth in!"

There was a general murmur of assent within the group, to which more laughing ensued, except for Draco. " That's too bad," he said with a smirk. He was about to tell them that his host was actually his age, and that he didn't get stuck with any elderly folk like them, when Amory interrupted again.

" It really is, isn't it now? I could do with some nice young girls on the island, if you know what I mean." He laid back and patted his gut unappealingly.

" I know what you mean," said Cooper, a Death Eater just about Draco's age with heavy black hair to match his robes. " I haven't seen a single person my age since we came here, let alone a good-looking woman. I'm about to go crazy."

Draco tightened his lips together. No doubt it was not such a good idea anymore to divulge the fact that he was staying with two women almost exactly his age, both already victimized by the seize, and one unmarried.

" We can get some, you know," said Amory. "Women, I mean."

The rest of the group handed their attention over to the man.

The latter sat up in his chair, his eyes glinting madly. " The Dark Lord will be gone, and he says it'll be a long time before he comes back."

" Weren't you listening, you fool?" Richard Lestranges was leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed and his cold eyes boring into Amory's. " The Dark Lord said he'd be back right away if he knew about a 'disturbance'."

" He doesn't have to know," Amory retorted defensively. He smiled. " He's gone and he's not as great as he thinks he is. He won't know."

" What do you plan to do?" Young Cooper, looking quite excited was facing Amory and disregarding the reprimanding stare of Richard.

" Well, we'll have some special ones shipped. I've got connections, you know."

He could have been talking about cigars for all the difference it made in his tone. Amory was planning to import prostitutes onto the island behind the Dark Lord's back. The danger of that was equivalent to jumping into a shark's mouth in hopes of coming out alive.

Draco listened, half in disgust, half in curiosity as Amory planned the whole thing. If his plan were successful, a 'shipment' of women would be in by the end of the week.

Richard cleared his throat. " I forbid it, Cortez," he said acidly. An orderly man like Richard rarely got along with promiscuous ones like Amory. " I'll have to curse you if you follow through."

Amory clutched his wand. There was no denying that Richard was a powerful wizard, and over a decade in Azkaban prevented the man from making empty threats and being harmless to those he disliked.

" Come now, Lestranges. Let us take a nice walk along the beach." Amory stood, smiling from ear to ear, and scratched the few gray hair on his balding head. "Just a walk."

Richard saw no other option, and gave in. They walked away together without another word.

* * * * *

Hermione had taken to knitting to distract herself from her woes. She seated herself next to the window in the study, as Ginny thought it dangerous for her to go outside, and clicked her needles for hours, even long after her fingers had gotten sore.

Ginny left her friend alone, and usually sat at the kitchen table, writing and rewriting letters to Harry.

The first few weeks that he had been gone, Ginny was able to send post to her beloved boyfriend anytime she wanted. She had written numerous letters with the little lovesick comments: Harry, I miss you. Every day that you're not here feels like a year to me! I wish you would come home so you can wrap your arms around me…

They had been, Ginny admitted, quite selfish. Her letters had been sort of panicked and out-of-breath.

She hadn't heard from Harry even once since he left. Now that the Death Eaters had seized the island, post was forbidden. Draco had told her so the other night in his superior tone when Ginny yelled at him because she had so many letters to send. Ginny had written one to her family, and at least a dozen to Harry.

Ginny stared out the window and tickled her chin with her quill. She continued to write Harry letters, even though she knew she couldn't send them. It was comforting to her to write her feelings as though Harry would really read them someday. Hopefully, he would when he came home and everything was all right again.

She wrote: I'm scared for Hermione. Can you believe this situation? Draco Malfoy is the officer we're billeting! I hate him beyond words. Don't worry, he hasn't done anything to me personally. Well, besides invading my home and island. To me, he just epitomizes evil and all that is bad. He makes me sick just to look at him, Harry.

She glanced outside the window. There wasn't a sign of a Death Eater anywhere. Carrier owls were located less than a mile away at Incolumisa's only post office. She could maybe sneak down there now and send an owl.

Just imagining Draco's sneering face made her stand up and gather the papers on the table. She shifted them in her hands as she stepped out of the door and headed for the post office.

There was not a single human being in sight. This was the first time Ginny had gone out onto the streets since the Death Eaters had come. Everything was so unnaturally quiet. It seemed the rest of the villagers were staying in their homes, no doubt fearful of setting foot outside.

The population on the island was not very large to begin with, and Ginny knew that aside from Hermione and herself, everybody was already at an old age. Most people on the island had been put here since Voldemort's first rise to power and had simply not bothered to move out. And as Ginny fixed her gaze on the large mountains standing in front of her, she could definitely understand why.

Too fixated on her thoughts, Ginny crashed right into something solid.

Her heart beat wildly as she withdrew. Her initial thought had been Death Eater.

A scream practically escaped her throat when she saw that she had hit the chest of somebody wearing heavy black robes. She looked up, and didn't know whether to feel relieved or worried at what she saw.

" What are you doing outside?"

Draco was staring down at her in disgust.

" Er ---," Ginny backed away as quickly as possible. " I'm going to the post office."

Draco turned to face the direction she was headed towards. " Don't bother. I told you, you can't send post."

Determination caught up with her. " Like you're going to stop me," she spat, even though she knew he would and he could.

" No, Weasley," Draco said, annoyed. " You can't. There aren't any owls left."

Ginny blinked. " You freed them?"

Draco's chin shot up a bit higher. " You could say that," he answered in that condescending tone he saved for Ginny.

Ginny dug her heel into the dry dirt road. " You people are such ---,"

She never finished her sentence. Instead, she saw Draco's eyes widen as he grabbed her by the shoulders forcefully and as quickly as he could, pulled her to the side of the street. He pushed her in behind a bush.

" What are you ---," Ginny began to shriek, but before she could comprehend what was happening, Draco's hand covered her mouth.

In the shadows of the bushes, Ginny's back was pressed against Draco's chest. His hand was clasped tightly around her mouth. Breathing hard through her nose, she glanced through the gaps between the leaves and squinted. She saw two men, wearing black robes like Draco's, walking up the street, conversing quietly.

Draco identified them to himself as Amory and Richard, and suddenly remembered their little conversation back at the lodge that led to their walk.

Richard had his eyes set straight ahead. He had a stony expression on his face, and Draco saw him divert his glance ever so often to shoot Amory a cold look.

" Richard, my man. Like I've told you before, the plan won't fail!" Amory waved his arms excitedly.

Richard stopped in his tracks, right where Ginny had bumped into Draco. " You seem to have a listening problem. The Dark Lord has placed me in charge, and I shall make the decisions. Bringing other outsiders onto this island is in no way something he would assent to, and you cannot convince me otherwise."

" But he'll never know!" Amory was getting anxious, and Draco could see, even with the distance between them, that he was starting to sweat more than was necessary.

" Then I will tell him myself, and have you killed," Richard answered coolly. His tone greatly contrasted that of Amory's. " I will be rewarded for it, and you will die. Is that what you want?"

Amory's smile dissolved from his face. Draco could see the sweat beads draining down his now reddened face. Richard resumed his walking, leaving Amory standing very still where he was.

Ginny, who was watching the scene unfold before her with wide-eyed consternation, suddenly became aware that Draco still had her locked in his arms. She tapped in annoyingly with her free hand, and he recoiled right away.

They continued to watch from behind the bushes. Richard continued walking, and when there was nearly 10 feet's distance between him and Amory, they saw the old man's wand go up.

" Avada Kedavra!"
Ginny and Draco were suddenly engulfed in a mass of blinding green light. Ginny felt her hair whip behind her, and she closed her eyes tightly. She turned her head and pressed it against something behind her.

The thud of something falling on the ground brought her back to her own state of mind. She withdrew her face from what had been Draco's shoulder and turned back to the street. Through the gaps of the bush, she saw the old man run up to the one lying facedown on the ground.

Amory knelt beside the body and stared with wide eyes at what he'd done. He hesitated slightly, before turning him over.

A small cry escaped Ginny's lips, in spite of herself, causing Draco's hand to shoot back up to her mouth. Ginny wished he'd covered her eyes too.

Merely a few feet away, she saw Richard Lestranges lying flat on the dusty road. His mouth was parted slightly open, and his black, expressionless eyes stared up at the pale sky, as though he were seeing it but not looking at it.

Amory unnecessarily dusted off the black robes Richard was wearing. Ginny saw the dust from the road clinging to his hair and stuck around his open mouth. Amory slid his hands beneath the corpse and lifted Richard onto his shoulder. His knees seemed to nearly buckle from the weight.

Ginny and Draco watched as Amory carried him down the road and soon disappeared.

Draco released his hand for the second time. Ginny, feeling incredibly unstable emerged from their hiding place. She couldn't take her eyes off of the dusty road where only moments ago, she had seen somebody killed.

Draco followed and she felt sick just to look at him. He's was just one of them, she thought. He does that sort of thing too.

Without thinking, she ran down the dusty road, opposite the direction Amory had gone, leaving Draco standing in the middle of the road.

Draco looked to his right, where he and Ginny had seen the Death Eaters disappear. There was no way he was about to follow them. If Amory ever found out Draco had witnessed what he did, he would most likely he killed as well.

On his left was quite a different fate, but in Draco's opinion, it wasn't much better than death. He could go back to the cottage and face a very angry Ginny. This was inevitable, for Draco would not have food or a place to sleep otherwise.

Slowly, he headed in the direction of the cottage. His black robes absorbed the sun and seemed to get heavier with every step.

Draco tried to rub the horrible memory of what he'd just witnessed out of his mind. Amory Cortez, a man he'd known since his childhood, had killed another man he had also known since that same time. Draco could still see the expression of Amory's face, the way his sweat trickled down his red face. He'd taken another man's life for the simple and stupid reason that he wanted to bring women onto the island.

While pondering Amory's viewpoint on the true worth of life, the cottage came into view.

Draco entered into the cool kitchen, but neither Ginny nor Hermione were in sight. He didn't know what to do from there, so he rushed up the stairs to Ginny's bedroom.

He shut the door and locked it with a spell. He lay flat on the bed, staring at the cracks in the ceiling, feeling numb and apathetic. He breathed deeply and closed his eyes, a distinct smell of the ocean mixed with peaches and flowers washing over him. The window must be open, he thought.

Thud.

Draco opened one eye and peered over to the window.

" Get out." Ginny's voice was stable at the moment, but Draco was sure she would explode any moment. The light from the window behind her contrasted the dark gloomy expression etched on her freckly face. " This is my bedroom. Out."

Draco scrambled out of bed as orderly as he could, then straightened his robes. " Weasley, I've told you before. I can't. Alright? Accept it."

Ginny didn't even blink. She stood with her arms at her sides and glared at Draco. She was a Gryffindor. She was going to get Draco out of her house or die trying.

She slowly withdrew her wand from her back pocket – she had grabbed it from the kitchen counter on her way in. Draco saw the point of it rise upwards and direct itself straight at his cold, stony heart.

Draco narrowed his eyes, not doubting for one second that Ginny would kill him. He reached for his wand up his sleeve –

" Expelliarmus!"

Ginny ducked sideways and fell on her right hip. A thick beam of light flew into the window behind her, and she heard the sound of the glass breaking abruptly and sprinkling onto her front lawn like sharp snow.

When she braved a glance toward Draco, she found he was not there. In his absence was a large hole in her bedroom wall.

Disheveled, she pulled herself up and saw Draco do the same. The sight of him … breathing. It bothered her. She aimed her wand once again.

" Stop."

Hermione was standing at the bedroom door, her knitting supplies clutched in her hand. Despite the broken window she was facing, her eyes were directly on Draco. " Downstairs. Go."

Wordlessly and without much hesitation, he obeyed and left the room swiftly, clutching his wand in his hand.

Hermione shut the door, her chocolate eyes now on Ginny in a calculating manner.

" Ginny. I've told you – you can't do that no matter what," said Hermione shaking her head.

Feeling shameful, Ginny pocketed her wand. She pushed her lips together and let out a sigh.

" I owe him my baby's life. He saved us, Ginny. All three of us."

Ginny found herself caught in a web of feelings. She hated Malfoy with everything she had, but she had to feel something else for him for saving Hermione. She suddenly found she couldn't even express her apology to Hermione for acting so irrationally, but Hermione seemed to understand.

" Please, Ginny. Just … control yourself."

Hermione took her by the shoulder and led her downstairs, where, thankfully, Draco was not in sight.

* * * * *