Disclaimer:
Do I have to do this every time??? I own nothing. I have like 10 bucks, so
please, please don't sue. JK Rowling's character's, Sharon Shinn's plot.
The Dark Mark
Ginny gradually made her way away from Oxford. The trip getting here had only taken a week or so, because Ginny and Seamus had to travel by night. Now, Ginny was numb. She had seen Death Eaters take people before, people that she cared about. After all, there was nothing the Death Eaters loved more than catching a colleague of Potter's, especially one that was as close to escape as Seamus had been. Though not a religious person, Ginny muttered a quiet prayer for Seamus's safety. This just proved that nobody was out of Voldemort's reach.
Right now, she was sitting on a public bus. Wary of anyone too close to her, Ginny moved seats a lot, to wherever the least crowded part of the bus was. At any given time, more people than Ginny wanted to admit - possibly even people sitting here on this bus were, here with her- were Death Eaters, or were closly allied with them. Voldemort had imposed restriction on how much magic any witch or wizard could use, and most of the non-Dark magical community found it easier to use Muggle transportation rather than magic, after they tried to perform magic without a Dark Mark. And, of course, if the non-Dark people used Muggle transportation, so did the Death Eaters, because they couldn't control what they weren't around to witness. So now Muggle transportation was just as unsafe as magical, just not nearly as taxing. What it took to preform even a simple spell without the Dark Mark to assist you was rarely worth the magical assistance.
"I have to do something." Ginny muttered to herself. And she did. Right now, she was sticking out like a sore thumb- the conspicuous absence of the Dark Mark on her arm, the lack of Dark Arts paraphernalia. She might as well write, "I'm opposing the Dark Lord" on her forehead. But there was nothing that Ginny could do. She couldn't bring herself to get the Dark Mark, but at the same time, knew that she would have to sooner or later. Might as well be sooner, Ginny thought.
She couldn't go back to London, where the main resistance movements were. Just a week or so before Ginny and Seamus left, masses of Death Eaters had attacked the bookstore that had served as a command center, while they were in a meeting. Only about half of Potter's followers survived that night. Everyone knew the plan; if they were attacked, meet two months later- to the date- in an abandoned village fifteen miles or so North of Inverness, Scotland. So Ginny had two months to make her way there. She didn't even know the destination of the bus she was sitting on- she had just chosen a bus at random and got on it.
Now, she had to find someone who would put the Dark Mark on her. Ginny didn't know where she would find someone who would give her the Dark Mark when she was one of the more public of Harry's followers. She couldn't get a Dark Mark the ordinary way- from one of the head Death Eaters- because they would surely recognize her. Then, she would be done for.
Ginny rode the bus until it reached the end of it's line, then she disembarked and looked for a motel room where she could spend the night. Ginny was incredibly lucky; the room that she got was clean, cheap, and happened to have a fireplace. So, later on that night, Ginny made a decision, and used magic for the first time in several months. She contacted Paul, an ex-Death Eater, who she figured would be able to tell her where she could go to get the Dark Mark. Ginny was startled when she saw his face in the flames a few minutes later. In the two or so weeks since Ginny had last seen Paul, his face had aged considerably. There were wrinkles around his eyes that had not been there before, and that were not laugh lines. His brow seemed to have a permanent crease across the top, and the lines around his mouth told of much tension. All in all, he looked quite different.
"What?!" He snapped, seeing Ginny in the fire.
"Sorry for disturbing you, Paul, but I need to know where I might be able to get the Dark Mark." Ginny replied, sweat trickling down her face with the effort of casting and maintaining the spell. Her hands trembled, and her voice shook.
"And where are you?"
"Umm………I'm not exactly sure."
"Well, than how can I tell you where to go?"
"I'm about a day's travel by bus West of Oxford." Paul frowned.
"Try seeing," Paul paused, racking his memory for the name he was searching for. "Marion, that's her name! Marion Stoll. She's a dentist. I think she can help."
"Thanks so much, Paul!" Ginny said, her voice filled with relief. "I'll see her tomorrow."
"Good luck, Ginny." Paul whispered as his face faded into the fire.
"Good luck to you, too!" Ginny called after Paul's retreating outline. "We all need it."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next day, as soon as Ginny woke up, she looked around the motel room for a phone book. She looked up Marion Stoll, only to find that there was no such person in the phone book. Ginny sighed. "Figures. Guess I'll find someone else than." She muttered to herself. So she got on the bus again. Around noon, they stopped in a tiny little town. Ginny got out to stretch her legs, and spotted a telephone booth. She went over, and, on a whim, looked up Marion Stoll in the phone book. There she was, only a few blocks from Ginny's present location. So she got her bags off the bus, and went over to Marion's office. At first, it seemed that it was closed, but after a few inquiries to the people on the street, Ginny learned that Marion had recently moved offices. Ginny went to the new one, and went inside.
"May I please see Marion Stoll?" Ginny asked the secretary. The girl looked her over, and pressed a button on the desk. A minute or so later, a woman came out.
"Are you Marion?" Ginny asked her. The woman looked her over in much the same way her secretary had.
"Yes." She replied shortly.
"Good." Ginny said quickly. "Then I need to talk to you in private." Ginny looked around at the waiting room full of people, wary.
"Alright. Come on." It seemed that Marion wasn't one for conversation. As Ginny followed Marion to an office, she observed the woman in front of her. She was not tall, maybe only about 5'5''. She seemed to be in her sixties, like Paul, for her hair was completely silver.
"Here. Now," Marion said, getting down to business, "What is it that you want?"
Ginny took a deep breath to steady herself. "I need a Dark Mark." Marion's eyes widened a bit.
"What makes you think that I can help you?" Marion snapped.
"A man by the way of Paul Bennet said you could." Marion's dark eyes widened even more.
"Paul?" she breathed. "He's still alive?" Ginny nodded. Marion looked down, still obviously stunned. "I thought he was dead. They told me he was dead!" Marion's voice rose to an almost hysterical level.
"You were close?" Ginny asked.
"We were lovers." Marion replied shortly. Ginny's mouth formed an "O". "Yes," Mario said. Ginny frowned, confused. "Yes, I'll give you the Dark Mark, though I have no idea why you want it."
"Camouflage." Ginny answered. "I can pay you." Marion's eyes traveled over Ginny, taking in her dirty and worn clothes, the poor fabric of her suitcases, and that fact that she obviously supported Potter.
"No, keep the money." Ginny frowned. She didn't like accepting charity.
"I'll pay." Ginny replied, a note of stubbornness in her voice.
"Fine. Fifty galleons." Ginny blanched a bit. That was over twice what she had been expecting.
"Fine." Ginny reached into her purse, and pulled out all her money, her entire savings. She had withdrawn it from Gringott's before she left London, and now it looked like she was going to lose most of it. "Not losing it." Ginny told herself. "It's a necessity. I need that Dark Mark." She passed the fifty galleons over to Marion, who nodded once.
"It'll hurt like hell." Marion warned.
"I know."
"Just wanted to let you know what you were getting into." Marion answered, and motioned Ginny to follow her out of the office. Ginny did, slightly weak at the knees from fear, and the loss of her savings. She followed the older woman down several different corridors, and finally reached a dark little room. Ginny followed Marion in, and Marion put both a locking charm on the door and a silencing charm on the room.
"Hold out your arm." Ginny did as she was told, and Marion pulled out a wand. She began whispering words under her breath, spells. The skin right above Ginny's vein core began to heat up. Marion's words got louder, and Ginny's skin got hotter. Soon it felt like it was on fire. A scream filled Ginny's ears, and it took her a while to realize that she was the one screaming. The pain was tremendous. Ginny's teeth were clenched, and her left hand was in a fist, her nails digging into the flesh of her palm. The smell of burning human and charred flesh filled the room. So, Ginny tried to take her mind off the Dark Mark eating up her arm, and thought about anything she could think of. Her mind latched onto a random memory and dragged it up.
And so, as soon as Ginny got to London, Harry's headquarters, she made her way to the bookstore that served as a command center of the rebellion. "Ave noche" she whispered, and the door swung open. Ginny walked down a dozen or so stairs and found herself in front of a massive wooden door. "Duck, duck goose or the pause heard round the world." Ginny stated with a sigh. Why Hermione had chosen that as a password Ginny still didn't know, but if Hermione was happy with it, and no one managed to guess it, so Ginny supposed it was fine. Ginny walked up to the first person she saw and asked them where Harry was.
"In his office." Was the reply, and Ginny made her way in there, meanwhile getting hugs from all her old friends there. Finally, Ginny managed to knock on the door to Harry's office. "Come in!" was the gruff reply.
"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed as she made her over to hug him.
"Hey Gin! Are you and Seamus still going next Tuesday?" Ginny stiffened. She had gotten into an argument with Hermione about this. Hermione didn't think it was safe, and didn't want Ginny to go. Needless to say, Ginny was still intent on going.
"Yep." Ginny replied abruptly. Harry winked at her.
"Just be careful." He muttered.
"You know I will be. And you also know that it'll be much easier and safer for Seamus to have me go with him, posing as his wife. It'll be more believable, and maybe out of the Death Eater's notice."
"Well, I wish you luck"
"Thank you, Harry." Ginny replied. "Are you ready for the meeting tonight?"
"Yeah………kinda………not really." Harry shrugged. "I'll know what to say when it's time."
"Dumbledore's present." Ginny breathed. Dumbledore's Present or Gift was a rumored object that Dumbledore had left for Harry before he died. Right before he'd been Avada Kedavra'd, Dumbledore had turned to Harry, and told him that there he had a present for him. Then, a few weeks after the battle in which Dumbledore had been killed, Harry got an owl from Minerva McGonagall, telling him all about Dumbledore's gift. It seemed that it was an enchanted object; filled with spells that only Harry could use to defeat Voldemort, that could allow Harry to fulfill his prophecy to his advantage. For the past two and a half years, everyone supporting Potter had searched high and low for the gift.
"Yeah, that's always one of the main topics at the meeting.
"I guess I'll see you later, then. Good luck, Harry." And Ginny had seen him later at the meeting, but only for a brief moment. And after that, the Death Eaters attacked in spades. So much blood was spilled that night………Ginny shuddered just thinking about it.
Ginny woke up in the dark. Her arm ached horribly. She looked down at her arm, but couldn't see anything through the bandages. She swore under her breath. After a few minutes, Ginny attempted to sit up.
"Don't move." A voice said quietly in the dark. Ginny jumped, terrified. How had the Death Eaters found her? "Shit, shit, shit." Ginny thought. Any second now, they'd say "Avada Kedavra" and Ginny would be dead. Or worse, they wouldn't kill her. They would just torture her- like they probably did to Seamus- until she gave away secrets. Then, Harry, Hermione, the entire Weasley Clan, and all of Harry's cohorts would be dead, because of her.
Then, the someone flipped the light switch, and Ginny saw that it was just Marion. She breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Don't scare me like that!" Ginny said reproachfully.
"I didn't want you to move and hurt your arm." Marion said with a frown.
"Oh." Ginny replied.
"How does your arm feel?" Marion asked.
"It hurts. Very Badly." Marion nodded.
"That's to be expected. I'll give you some salve for it. Wonderful stuff."
"Thank you." Ginny replied. "For everything." Marion smiled weakly.
"I thought surely by now you would be cursing me, not thanking me." Ginny laughed quietly. Marion walked over to a cupboard and got out a white jar. She bent down, and removed the bandage from Ginny's arm, and began applying the brownish cream to the new Dark Mark. "Not bad." Marion muttered, surveying her handiwork. "I guarantee you, no one will be able to tell that this isn't wasn't given to you by the Death Eaters. One of my better ones, I assure you." Ginny reached over, and with her good arm, she grasped Marion's arm.
"Thank you again. I think you might have just saved my life. If there is anything that you need or want, just ask, and, if I can, I will give to you right away. What you have just done means so much to me." Marion raised her eyebrows.
"There is a favor I would ask of you." Ginny raised her eyebrows.'
"Anything."
"Tell Paul………tell him………tell Paul I miss him."
A/N tell me what you think!!
And the "secret password" that Hermione used is actually the name of
a play that a couple of friends and I wrote. It's so cool!!!! We also performed
it, and I got to be Holly, who should have been born blond. It's so cool!!!
