The spell wore off gradually, and Draco awoke to find himself in a darkened room. Confused, he groped around next to him to locate his wand on the bedside table where he was sure he had it last, only to find that his hand was hitting the cool marble of a bathroom floor. Still not sure exactly what was happening, Draco raised his head a bit and allowed his eyes to adjust to the lack of light. When they did, he caught sight of a figure on the bed. 'Ginny ' he thought, and let his head fall back to the floor. "Ouch," he hissed as it made contact with the hard surface. He remembered now, Ginny must have stunned him. Well, he was sticking by his word. Ginny was NOT going to sleep in a different bed than him. Irritated, he felt his way to the bedside table where his wand really was. He lit it, and stood over Ginny, surveying her sleeping figure. Her face was back to its normal color after all of her crying jags, and her vivid red hair was falling over her face. Very carefully, as not to disturb her, Draco brushed the strands back behind her ear. She looked the same as she had in August. He was almost amazed that his new wife was the same innocent little treasure as his pet, but when he saw her asleep like this, he believed it. In fact, the only difference was that her stomach had the slightest swell to it. Slowly, and very timidly, he reached out to touch the little bulge with his fingertips, and when Ginny didn't stir, he covered it completely with his hand. His child was living in there, the little child he had planted in Ginny, and was all his own was developing in there. He wondered how big it was. Would it have blonde or red hair? Would it have Ginny's brown eyes or his gray ones? There were so many questions. It was really a shame he wouldn't know any of the answers for almost a year. He sighed, and used his free hand to cradle Ginny's face once more, but she stirred, and Draco yanked his hand away before she could wake up. He crawled into bed. On a whim, he pulled himself up to Ginny and very carefully drew her into his arms. She stirred once more but didn't wake. He lay there, and thought of how nice it felt to have his pet asleep in his arms. Maybe things could work out after all.
~
Ginny awoke slowly, she had had the most horrid dream, where she was married to Draco Malfoy and she had to carry the child for another whole year. Even through the haze that one always feels while waking up, Ginny thought desperately of how she needed to tell Harry about this. He would comfort her and tell her it was all a dream. But the instant she opened her eyes and saw the room she was in, she knew it wasn't a dream. It was true. She was now married to Draco Malfoy, and she wouldn't be seeing Harry again for another few days. And then, she became aware of something else. Someone's arms were around her. Slowly, very slowly, she turned around, dreading what she might find. Sure enough, there was Draco Malfoy. Screaming bloody murder she got out of bed and grabbed her wand.
Draco awoke to the sickening, yet distinctive, feeling of a wand being pointed at his temple and his lovely little wife screaming at the top of her lungs.
"What are you doing in that bed?" she yelled. "Why I ought to hex you into tomorrow. You weren't supposed to wake up until this morning, and you were supposed to wake up STILL ON THE FLOOR!" Ginny felt sick. What had Draco done while she was asleep? Perhaps he had stunned her, and done--she swallowed--and done horrible things to her. There were no limits to the things he could have done, and if she had been stupefied, she would never even know. And if he had done that sort of thing now, who's to say he hadn't back in August? Was there no end to his evilness?
Draco tried to comprehend what Ginny was yelling. So he wanted to sleep in the bed. All he had done was hold her. Why was she so worried about that? After what he could and should have done to her last night, she should be happy that that's all he had done.
"You're sick Malfoy. Disgusting, and I don't want you near me!" What was so sick about sleeping next to her? Unless…yes, that was probably it, Ginny thought he had done more. What kind of ill-mannered pig did she take him for? Maybe her foul little brothers would have to resort to stunning a girl and taking her, but he wasn't that low. At least his pursuits remembered what had happened. He looked up at Ginny, she was shaking violently and her breathing was getting shallow, just like it had when she had gotten the notice that she had to keep the baby. There was really no telling what she would do to him in that state. He made a move and he had his wand in his hand in no time flat. He pointed his wand at Ginny.
"Put your wand down," he said calmly. Ginny just shook her head and clutched onto her wand. Who was she kidding? She couldn't fire a decent spell if she tried with her grip like that. "Put your wand down Ginny," he said persuasively. Ginny shook her head and backed away from him. Finally, Draco heaved a sigh and summoned her wand to him. She gasped upon suddenly finding her hands empty and sank down to the floor, where she started to hyperventilate.
"Don't come near me," she tried to shout, but she couldn't get enough air, so it came out sounding like a desperate plea. Draco crouched down next to her and quickly put a calming charm on her. She stopped hyperventilating and instead seemed to be frozen in place.
"Do you want to know what really happened last night?" he asked huskily and grabbed her chin, forcing her face up, but her eyes stayed pinned to the floor.
Ginny stayed still, frozen by his terrifying touch. Did she want to know what happened? Could she take it? On one hand, ignorance is bliss, but on the other hand, she couldn't take not knowing. But before she made up her mind, Draco's voice returned to normal.
"Nothing happened, I just climbed in to bed when I woke up on the floor," and he stood up, "now get ready for breakfast."
The idea of breakfast with the rest of the Malfoys didn't sound the least bit appealing. She protested against eating with them, claiming that she'd take her breakfast in her room, but Draco insisted, and he still had her wand. After threatening to bathe and dress her himself, Ginny finally got ready. And then, the only thing that got Ginny out of the room was Draco's ultimatum of either eating breakfast with the rest of the family, or being locked in the room until they returned to school. It didn't take Ginny too long to decide that the latter was NOT the answer.
Draco attempted to stifle a yawn as they walked down the halls of the manor. Stunning spells weren't the same as being asleep, and he had been under one for the better part of the night. He would have had a lie in, but Ginny had woken him up with that horrible screaming. After that, getting back to sleep seemed almost impossible. He wondered if everything was going to be a battle. It had taken him nearly an hour to convince Ginny to get ready, and he could have sworn she was taking extra long in the bathroom just to annoy him. And she must have worn the worst clothes she owned, and by the looks of it, she didn't own many.
"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," Lucius said as they entered the dinning room.
"Good morning Father, Mother," he nodded to each of them in turn. Next to him, Ginny mumbled a 'mornin'' and they sat down for breakfast.
"Oh Virginia," his mother spoke up, "we must get you some new robes."
"What's wrong with these?" Ginny asked indignantly and looked down at her tattered old jeans and patented Weasley jumper. Her mother had knitted this jumper for her just last Christmas. It was practically brand-new! She had pulled it on this morning just to feel her mother's presence. It was silly and she knew this. All the same, the jumper helped her feel better, and she didn't intend on letting Mrs. Never-made-a-single-thing-for-my-own-child take it away from her and replace it with some fancy smancy robe made by some stranger!
"They just aren't appropriate for a Malfoy," Mrs. Malfoy said.
"I'm not a Malfoy." Ginny said. Draco opened his mouth to say something but Ginny cut him off. "I don't care what any stupid contract says. I'm not a Malfoy; I'm a Weasley, and Weasleys wear these jumpers!"
There was a stunned silence, and Ginny had the distinct feeling that the Malfoys were not used to being told off, especially by a Weasley.
Draco cleared his throat and spoke up, "as I was going to say. Why don't you keep the jumper Ginny, and wear it around the Manor, but you can wear robes in public?" Draco didn't feel like fighting a battle, and if he had to give Ginny a little bit of ground in order to ultimately win, so be it.
Narcissa didn't wait for Ginny to reply, "well Madam Malkin is expecting us. Finish up and we should be off." She gave Ginny a once over, "don't you have any robes to wear dear? I find those," she paused, "garments just appalling."
"No, we don't worry about things like that." Ginny said curtly.
"Yes, and that is why we are here," Lucius spoke up gesturing to the elaborate dinning room, "and your old family lives in that horrid shack, isn't it?"
Ginny's mouth about fell open. Weren't these people supposed to be classy? She supposed they didn't care around her, or perhaps they were just trying to get her riled up, and they had succeeded. How dare they insult her home? "it's not a shack!" Ginny protested loudly. "It's our home. It's my home!"
"Not a very good one, is it?" Draco snorted beside her.
Ginny let out a frustrated scream and rose from the table. She didn't care if she was locked in a room for three days! She'd rather be alone than forced to endure hours with these—these—ugh, she couldn't think of a name horrible enough to call those hateful Malfoys.
"Sit," Draco commanded and grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down into her chair.
"No!" she said and ripped her hand from Draco's grasp. She stood for a second time but Draco pulled her down again.
"You are going to Diagon Alley today," he leaned over and hissed in her ear, "or you'll be locked in a cell until we go back to school."
Defiantly, Ginny pushed him away. "I will not go!" She stood again.
Suddenly the slightest smirk appeared on Draco's face and Ginny felt her stomach sink. That smirk only meant one thing; he knew he was going to win.
"Fine," he drawled, "we still have those green robes you wore in August. Would you like to wear those?"
Ginny plopped down in her chair. She couldn't wear those, she wouldn't! There were too many times when Draco had unbuttoned those robes. Back home, her mother had taken the robes she had escaped in and torn them up to use as rags.
"Fine," she mumbled and looked down.
"What was that?" Draco chuckled.
"I said fine!" she yelled in frustration. Fine, she'd go with that horrid woman and buy robes that cost way to much and wear them around and parade about like she was…arg…fine, she'd do it, fine!
"Good," Mrs. Malfoy said gaily, "let's get going."
"Are we going by floo?" Ginny asked snidely.
"Floo?" Narcissa exclaimed, "Oh no, we travel everywhere by portkey. That reminds me—Lucius did you arrange for a portkey for Ginny and me?" Ginny crossed her arms angrily. How dare they assume that she would just go? Though, she probably should have expected that Narcissa would immediately plan an expedition to Diagon Alley so she could dress her up. Narcissa's displeasure with her and her mother's clothing hadn't surpassed Ginny's attention.
Lucius nodded and produced a tattered looking quill. "It's not active for another fifteen minutes," he said, checking his pocket watch.
"Virginia darling, why don't you go put on a little make-up," Narcissa suggested.
"Don't call me darling!" Ginny said, but she went to put make-up on all the same. She usually wore make-up out anyways. As she wondered through the halls to her chamber, she thought about what had just taken place. It was nice, for a change, to not be crying. Somehow, the Malfoys had riled her up enough where she was fighting again, and the baby wasn't bothering her nearly as much. She supposed it was the potion Lucius had given her, now it only felt like a couple of extra pounds. It felt good to put up a decent fight again. No, Draco Malfoy would not conquer her. If she was stuck here married to Malfoy, she was going to give them a run for their money.
"Virginia, the portkey is going to activate," Mrs. Malfoy said as she glided into Ginny and Draco's chamber. Ginny nodded and allowed herself to be pulled by the navel to Diagon Alley. They landed with a thump right in Madam Malkin's robe shop.
"Ahh, Mrs. Malfoy, and young Mrs. Malfoy," Madam Malkin said nodding at each of them respectively, "I was expecting you." Madam Malkin set to work, fitting Ginny in a plethora of robes she knew she would never use. Well, Ginny Weasley may not ever use them, but she was quite certain that Ginny Malfoy would have several, rather boring and dreadful occasions to attend, where she would have to wear the robes. Mrs. Malfoy bought her several simple work robes in varying colors, along with some dress robes, which Ginny had to rather guiltily admit to herself, she liked.
They left the robe shop, but the return portkey wasn't active for another two hours. So, Ginny was forced to endure Mrs. Malfoy's shopping trip, during which, Mrs. Malfoy bought Ginny new school things. She wanted to protest and ask what was wrong with her old ones, but two things stopped her. First, the contract wouldn't let her, and second she knew what was wrong with her old ones. They were old and battered, like everything she owned. In fact, new school things would have been greatly appreciated had it not been Mrs. Malfoy who was buying them for her. She smiled to herself, to think, after years of wanting nothing more than to get a new set of robes, and some new crisp books and parchment, she now wanted nothing more than her old second hand robes and books held together by spell-o-tape. The duo wondered into Flourish & Blotts where Ginny let herself get lost between the aisle and aisles of books. She found herself in the fiction section, where she selected a book about a muggle born witch who never got her Hogwarts letter. Books about muggles always interested her; it must be her father's influence. While Narcissa was getting the owner's help with a book she wanted called Brewing Beauty: A simple guide to brewing beauty potions, Ginny found a nice little niche in the corner where she could sit and read. It was a marvelous book. The girl was a free spirit, and an only child. Ginny got lost in its pages. In her mind she became the girl, going where she pleased, and dating who she wanted.
~
Narcissa checked her small wristwatch in annoyance. What was taking this man so long? Her portkey was going to be activated in any moment. Lucius had taught her to Apparate in their first year of marriage, but she hated it and rarely did. As soon as the owner handed her the book, she threw some gold into his hand and left. She still needed to pick up some singing ink to address invitations in. Just in the knick of time, she got the ink, paid the man, and grabbed the portkey. Two seconds later she was standing in the dinning hall of her Manor. A house-elf was there to greet her, so she dropped her packages into his little arms and beckoned it to follow her. She had taken a few steps towards her bedroom when she felt her stomach sink. Where was Virginia? Oh! She must have wandered off and lost her on purpose. That ill-mannered little simpleton! Well, she could find her own way back. In a huff, she walked to her chambers.
~
Ginny stretched and checked her watch, then went back to reading. She read about three sentences, then stopped when what her watch read registered. It couldn't be! Was it really two o'clock already? But, the portkey had been scheduled to activate at 1:45! Maybe her watch was fast. The clock on the wall read the same thing though. Indignant and annoyed that she'd been forgotten, she stood, and replacing the book on the shelf, walked towards the Leaky Cauldron. She supposed she'd have to floo back to the Manor. If they were going to leave her stranded in Diagon Alley with no means of return, then she had no other choice but to travel by floo and get all sooty. There was no other way around. She paid Tom a few sickles that Narcissa had given her and he provided her with the necessary floo powder. Standing before the fireplace, she was ready to call 'Malfoy Manor,' when a thought hit her. What if she didn't go to the Malfoy Manor? She could go back home to Burrow. Who's to say that she wasn't acting in the Malfoys' best interest? After all, she had never been told that the Malfoys had a floo fireplace in their house. If she tried to travel to a fireplace that didn't exist she could end up in some strangers house. Wouldn't that be embarrassing? Of course, she knew they did in fact have a floo fireplace, as Harry had visited her a few times via floo in August, but they didn't know that. Yes, she'd visit the Burrow.
"The Burrow!" she called, and in a woosh, she was gone.
~
Harry sat at the kitchen table playing gobstones with Fred, George, Hermione, and Ron. It probably wasn't the best game for that particular lot to be playing on a day when they were so distracted. Everyone was considerably smelly and appeared to be splattered with dark ink. His mind was on Ginny, and he suspected everyone else's was, too. What had she been forced to endure last night? If Malfoy had hurt her he'd—he'd, well he didn't know what he would do, not for lack of ideas, but because he couldn't think of anything bad enough for him except maybe for the Dementor's kiss, and Harry didn't fancy finding one for Malfoy to snog. He was just wiping the nasty liquid from his face and getting ready to aim a gobstone at Hermione when he heard someone clamor out of the fireplace.
"Ginny!" he yelled, and jumped up to give her a hug.
"Ugh Harry!" she said laughing, "you smell horrible! Are you lot playing gobstones?"
"Uh huh," Ron supplied.
"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked.
Ginny smiled and told them all about her Diagon Alley fiasco. Harry looked at her in amazement. She looked fine. Was it possible Malfoy wasn't doing anything to her? They all sat down and resumed their game, delighted to have Ginny with them again. Harry desperately wanted to ask about last night but he didn't quite know how to introduce the subject. Luckily, Hermione found a classy way to mention it.
"So Ginny, you look, err—good. I mean, yesterday you were pretty torn up."
"Yes," Ginny said with a sigh, "I stunned Malfoy last night, so uh—that went okay, and then this morning I had to eat breakfast with them, and they didn't scare me, but they just upset me. I don't know, it felt good not to be crying." Everyone nodded in agreement and Harry nodded the most vigorously of them all. Ginny looked around and had the feeling that they were as sick of her crying as she was, if not more so. They continued to play, Ginny laughing good naturedly as Harry aimed a stone that shot all over her new robes.
~
Narcissa checked her watch again. She hadn't come back yet. Where was she? In a moment of desperation, she decided to find her son. Somehow, she couldn't imagine Lucius being too happy with her for losing Ginny. She had had to talk Lucius into letting her take the girl out to the dress shop in the first place. Lucius seemed to think that they could just take the measurements and order her new robes. Honestly, men didn't know anything about style! She found Draco in his chamber, retrieving his broom from the closet.
"Mother," Draco said jumping when he saw her. She hated it when he played Quidditch and he seemed to know this. "Have you and Ginny returned?" he asked as a pleasantry.
"Ginny wondered off," she said without ceremony, "I suggest you go find her."
"Damnit!" Draco swore and threw his broom back into the closet. "Why'd you return without her?" he asked sharply.
"Don't talk to me like that Draco Thomas. I was on a portkey and running out of time. When I realized she wasn't back with me I assumed she'd find her way back by floo."
Draco's shoulders slumped and he angrily ran a hand though his hair.
"Does Father know?" he asked her.
"No, I thought I'd give her a chance for you to find her first." Draco nodded in agreement. Ginny telling them all to shut up at Breakfast was something Lucius could laugh at, but Ginny wandering around Diagon Alley by herself was a completely different matter.
"She can't be doing to much," Narcissa said, "that contract won't let her do anything too embarrassing. "
Draco nodded in agreement and then after a moment's pause asked where she'd last had her.
Narcissa thought back, "Flourish and Blotts" she finally replied.
"Right then, I'll start from there." Moments later, Draco had the invisibility cloak on and was ready to Apparate into Diagon Alley. He Apparated into the little alleyway his father had shown him after his first attack last August, hid the invisibility cloak there, and set off down Diagon Alley. He didn't find her in Flourish and Blotts, nor in Quality Quidditch Supplies, nor Madam Malkin's. Annoyed, he went into the Leaky Cauldron and ordered a butterbeer. Ideally, he'd have ordered something else, but he didn't want any alcohol dulling his senses and decreasing his chances of finding her, and probably giving her a few good licks in the behind when he did. How dare she run off like that? Why, when he found--
"Looking for your wife Mr. Malfoy?" an old voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Huh?" he said snapping back to reality.
"You looked distressed. Your wife came in here a little bit ago looking a bit distressed herself. She flooed to her parents' house." Tom told him.
Draco was going to strangle her. That horrible little whore had gone to see Potter!
"Uh thanks," he said and got up to leave. "That's useful, but I still have to get something, and she's safe at her parents home. I'll have to go there and tell Virginia how to get back to Manor," he chuckled good naturedly, "I don't think she's ever come back to the Manor by floo. We usually travel by portkey." Tom nodded and Draco left the Leaky Cauldron, tapping his wand on the bricks to get back into Diagon Alley. In no time, he had the invisibility cloak back on and he popped into the Burrow.
~
Mrs. Weasley had fixed them some pumpkin tarts, before leaving with Arthur to see Bill and Charlie off. They were all eating it, picking it up carefully with whatever fingers had escaped the gobstone's spray. Ginny, who had her leg firmly wrapped around Harry's, was just beginning to nibble on one when there was a pop.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?" the unmistakable voice of Draco Malfoy hissed as he pulled off an invisibility cloak.
For a split second, she considered pretending to be happy to see him, pretending that she had had no clue what to do when she noticed Narcissa was gone. He had believed her in August. Would he be naïve enough to fall for it again? But she didn't feel like lying to him again. That game of deception had worn on her, and she didn't fancy playing another one.
Instead she coolly replied, "you can't punish me. You're not my parent. I obviously didn't do anything wrong because the contract let me do it."
Draco ignored her and went on. "You're just lucky Mother told me before she told Father."
"Watch it Malfoy," one of the twins said as they both arose in unison, "the only thing that contract prevents us from doing is telling someone else about it. There's nothing in there that forbids us from giving you a good beating."
Draco looked at the Weasley brothers; their barks were bigger than their bites. They wouldn't dare touch him, but as they slowly advanced on him, this resolution became harder and harder to hold.
"Come on," he simply said, grabbing Ginny's hand and starting towards the fireplace, "let's get back to the Manor before Father returns. He's away right now but he'll be back soon." Ginny wrenched her wrist from his grasp and stared at him.
"I'm saying goodbye first," she said with her chin held high in defiance.
Draco sighed, but as he breathed in deeper he got a whiff of something foul in the air.
"Were you all playing gobstones?" he asked in disbelief. Gobstones was a game for small children. He hadn't played them since before he went to Hogwarts, but a few of the first year Slytherins were still uncivilized enough to play them. So, the smell was familiar enough.
"Yes," Ginny said, a slight smile on her face. She had annoyed him and she knew it. She was so insufferable. He'd teach her a lesson.
"Do you have a bath in this place?" he asked, putting his hand on his temples and messaging them.
"No, we all go and hose down in the back yard," one of the twins said.
It took Draco a second to realize that he was being sarcastic. "Go shower," he commanded Ginny.
"I will not be ordered around like a house-elf! I'm a fully—"
"Fine," Draco snapped, "Go back to the Manor smelling like manure. We'll go straight to Father and see what he says. He'll be thrilled you didn't keep track of Mother. If you're a fully grown adult you should be able to keep up with Mother."
Ginny stared at him for a while and then Her mouth pursed into a line that could rival McGonagall and she stormed upstairs to the bath. Even more annoyed at her attitude, Draco called after her.
"And just be happy that I'm not coming up there with you."
"No no, Malfoy," one of the twins spoke up, "you should be happy that you're not going up there with her."
"Oh shut up will you?" he drawled, "I'm her husband. I've a right to do whatever I—"
"No, as her husband, you have a right not to get beaten into smithereens if we catch you with your hands on her and she tells us not to touch you. You DO NOT have a right to do whatever you like to her."
Draco ignored them, and plopped down into a chair, taking a pumpkin tart from a nearby tray and popping the whole thing in his mouth.
"Oh please, won't you sit down Malfoy. Insult us then eat our food. Would you like some wine with that, too?" Ron spoke up bitterly.
"Yeah, if you got some," he replied. His father would be appalled if he could see him, but he didn't care. He was too angry at Ginny for making him come here, and ever angrier for making him stay here. If she thought he hadn't seen her leg wrapped around Potter's she had another thing coming. What was he thinking? Why hadn't he just taken her last night? What's more, what had come over her? Last night she was all shaking and crying, and today she was little miss collected. He sighed again (wrinkling his nose at the smell); she had done this last August, too. At first she had been very frightened, then the next time he saw her, she was all laughter and mirth. What was it with that girl? He'd take her tonight and teach her a lesson. He'd force her struggling little body down on the ground and—but what if she didn't struggle, what if she laughed at him, or laid there like a corpse? What would he do then? He'd find something. He still had her wand from this morning, and if she thought she was going to get it back before they were boarding the Hogwart's Express, she was dead wrong. They only had today, and then tomorrow they were boarding the train for school, but he would do everything in his power to make sure tonight was hell for Ginny. Soon, the game of gobstones resumed around Draco. He knew they were shooting them towards him on purpose. So he moved and sat in one of the rather uncomfortable couches in the living room. Couldn't these people even afford proper furniture? 'Or a proper Christmas tree,' he thought, looking at their lopsided tree adorned with a mismatched jumble of homemade ornaments and decorations. And were those actually muggle lights on the tree? He shook his head and thought of his beautiful ten-meter, perfectly shaped tree, standing in their ballroom with the most expensive glass ornaments galleons could buy, and tinny blue fairies fluttering obediently in their perfectly calculated spots.
Ginny emerged from the stairwell with her hair still wet, and her robes still stained. Draco had only seen Ginny with her hair wet once, and it had had quite an affect on him. He cleared his throat; nothing had changed.
"Fred, George," she said, "put a drying spell on my hair would you? Mum's not here."
Fred, or George, Draco wasn't sure which one, stepped forward and dried her hair.
"Let's go," he said, and started towards the fireplace, grabbing her wrist.
She yanked her hand away. "I'm saying goodbye first," she insisted again.
"Fine, but make it fast," he said. Ginny, however, took her merry time saying goodbye to each one of her brothers in turn, then turned, and took her merry time saying goodbye to Hermione and finally Potter. Draco kept his eyes on her and Potter the whole time, but she simply said a friendly goodbye, and joked with him about making sure she won at gobstones next time. Although Draco didn't appreciate that it was Potter she was joking with, he couldn't help but agree. No wife of his was ever going to play gobstones again, and if she did, she would most certainly win. Draco grabbed his cloak, found the floo powder, and was just about to throw some into the fire when he suddenly realized what a stupid thing he was doing.
"You wait here," he told Ginny, "I'm going to Apparate back to the Manor and make sure my father isn't in the study." Draco popped away under the invisibility cloak.
~
Ginny couldn't help but think what a silly idea that was, because the instant she heard the pop announcing his departure, she pulled Harry to her by the collar and gave him a kiss on the lips whispering, "I'll see you soon!" Her brothers looked a little hesitant, but it was Ginny who pulled Harry to her, so they let it go. Ginny was back in her place by the time Malfoy returned.
"Come on," he said motioning her towards the fire, "you first," Ginny gave Harry a wink, making sure Draco saw it, and threw some powder into the fire calling out "Malfoy Manor!" She landed with a thud in Mr. Malfoy's study and thought how silly it was for Draco to make her take a shower when she was now covered fully in ashes. Draco appeared next to her a second later. He cast a cleansing spell on her, that didn't fully get rid of the ashy smell, and then cast one on himself.
"You ought to get a solid beating," Draco said through gritted teeth as he pulled Ginny along by her upper arm. She tried to wrench it away from his grasp, but his grip was stronger than she predicted, and with each attempt she made to free herself, he only tightened his grip. A trickle of panic started to worm its way in. Draco wouldn't really beat her, would he? What if he did worse? Her thoughts were just turning frightening when Draco stopped in front of a large door. He opened it and tossed her inside. Ginny stumbled but righted herself in time to turn and see Draco say, "be glad it's not a cell," and shut the door. Ginny heard him mutter a charm. She looked around to take in her surroundings and her stomach sank. The room was pink, and oddly familiar. She sat down on the canopy bed and tried to slow her breathing. Draco had shut her in her pink prison from August.
A/N: If you'd like to be added to the e-mail update notice list, just say so and leave your e-mail in the review. IMPORTANT! If you reviewed chapter 11 asking for a update notice and you didn't get one this time REVIEW THIS CHAPTER and say so! Fanfiction.net won't let me see 12 of my reviews so I could have missed you.
