Disclaimer: Own nothing!
A/N: Wow! It has been entirely too long since I've updated. You can all flame me and tell me how lazy and stupid I've been for making you wait this long for the fourth chapter. I give you my permission. ;o) Well, sorry for the long wait guys, and I really hope you enjoy!
Finding Beauty
Chapter 4: Attacks of Reality
~**~**~**~
Ron Weasley paced incessantly as he, Harry, and Hermione discussed Ginny's circumstances.
She had not returned last night.
"We were bloody thick to let her go." Ron said, as he continued to wear down the floor he was pacing.
He was wringing his hands, and straightening his robes every two seconds. It was obvious his nerves were getting the better of him.
"Ron," Hermione started, "Just sit down for a moment." Ron hardly glanced at her, let alone stopped pacing. "Ginny is old enough to take care of herself. If she doesn't come back by tomorrow, the Ministry has already agreed to search for her. Don't worry yourself."
Harry nodded his agreement. "You'll make yourself sick, Ron, if you don't calm down a bit."
Ron sighed and collapsed into a chair.
"I suppose you both are right. But if she doesn't show up, and I've found that Malfoy has done something to her . . . " His voice faded, the determination and anger was sketched upon his face.
Harry locked eyes with Hermione. They were both thinking the same thing.
Ginny probably wouldn't be returning home soon . . .
~*~*~*~*~
The grounds of the Malfoy Mansion were beautiful, even Ginny had to admit that. The fact that such stunning grounds belonged to one of the most dreadful wizards she had ever known hindered Ginny from exclaiming too fondly over them.
Everywhere she looked as Malfoy led her around, there were beautiful roses. Red roses, pink roses, white, orange, yellow, burgundy . . . they were abundant in color, size, and numbers.
As they walked through one particularly beautiful patch of roses, Ginny bent down to admire them. She lightly brushed a petal of a gorgeous red rose with her fingers. She heard a sharp intake of breath from Draco.
"Don't touch them." He said, reaching his hand out to grab hers away.
Ginny quickly withdrew her hand and stood up, looking him square in the eyes.
"And why can't I touch a flower?" She asked, her tone demanding and superior.
"Flowers are to look at, not to touch." He replied, as though speaking to a little child.
He casually walked forward, hands clasped behind his back and nose upright in the air, as he surveyed the beauty of his grounds around him. Ginny sighed and moved forward too, eyeing him with loathing.
"Greedy, aren't we?" She muttered under her breath.
Ginny was surprised to hear Draco respond to her quiet comment, "Oh no my dear." He turned and waved his hand through the air, gesturing to the manor and grounds. "Everything here that is mine is also yours. I just ask that you not damage any of the goods." He smirked deviously.
Glaring, Ginny rounded on him. "Aren't you afraid that just my 'Weasley presence' will dirty your fine, elegant possessions!?" She cried sarcastically. Without waiting for an answer she continued. "It doesn't matter anyway! I won't be staying here another day."
And with that she turned her back to him, hiked up the blue gown and jogged down the garden path.
"WEASLEY!" Malfoy yelled after her. "Stop! Come back!"
Ignoring him, she kept going. The garden path ended in a cluster of tall trees, which led into the forest. She hesitated at the edge of the forest, but quickly made up her mind to proceed. After all, she had come onto this forsaken Manor by way of the woods, so why shouldn't she be able to leave it the same way?
The air immediately turned cold and musty as she trotted down the rocky path. It was as though she had walked from a clean, cheery room, into a dark, dank closet. The trees closed in around her, and the woods were full of unnatural sounds to Ginny's ears.
Nothing looked familiar to her; she could see no resemblance of this path from the one she had traveled on her arrival. After several more meters she became frightened. The darkness was impenetrable, and Ginny wished more than anything that she could use magic in this territory, to light her way.
Her heartbeat quickened with every step she took, rustling bushes made her feet slow and walk quietly, instead of hastily. Glancing around furtively, she thought she saw a pair of eyes staring at her hungrily from the shadows.
"It's only my imagination." She thought to herself. "Just close your eyes, concentrate, and focus on getting home."
She stood there with her eyes closed for a moment, gathering her bearings and taking a few breaths.
When she opened them she screamed.
In her path was a werewolf, it's big hairy body shivering with desire and his front claw raking the ground in fury. Ginny's feet seemed to freeze to the spot in terror, and it took all her willpower to force her legs to run back toward the manor.
The werewolf grunted furiously, and she could feel him take off after her. Screaming, she ran down the path, but suddenly she felt very confused. Her direction seemed wrong, the path was more twisting and narrow than it had been originally. Ginny didn't know how she could be so disoriented, and she was really panicking.
"HELP!" She cried as she ran, the werewolf nipping at her ankles as she barreled on. Her breathing became short and quick; a cramp in her side burned in pain. She tripped over a rut in the trail and her feet faltered over the long gown that she now hated for its clumsiness.
As she fell forward she felt the werewolf rip at the hem of her dress, craving to get his big, yellow teeth into a piece of her delicate flesh.
"AWAY!" A voice yelled powerfully from above her as Ginny screamed. A cane came swooshing through the air, hitting the wolf under his neck with a sound smack. It bared it's teeth again and hissed at the newcomer, completely forgetting Ginny and making his way toward the rescuer. "I SAID AWAY!" And the cane came down once again, this time striking the werewolf on the head. Recognizing defeat, the creature whimpered and scampered away into the safety of the underbrush.
Ginny didn't move. She had her head wrapped tightly in her arms, tears of fright, anger, and misery streaming down her face. Afraid of whom her rescuer might be, she continued to sob into her arms.
"Get up Ginny." The voice said calmly.
She knew now who it was; his voice was quite recognizable at a regular volume.
"Get up." Draco repeated.
Ginny looked up at his towering figure and struggled to her feet. He leaned down almost grudgingly and helped her up.
"Are you bitten anywhere?"
Ginny lifted her dress up slightly and squinted down at her ankles. Before she could say anything, Malfoy had dropped to his knee and was also squinting at them. Carefully, he took one ankle and felt with his warm hand all around.
"No tear on this one." He then proceeded to the next ankle.
Ginny felt her stomach tighten at his touch . . . his hands were so warm and smooth. It sent an emotion through her body that Ginny wanted nothing to do with.
"You're fine." He said rising to his feet, and catching her stare. "I told you to come back." He said matter-of-factly. "But you Weasley's . . . just have to be stubborn."
Ginny only glared and didn't respond. She didn't have the strength to argue back.
~*~*~*~*~
Back at the Manor, Elf escorted her up the stairs to her "bedroom" so that she could recover from her frightening incident.
After several hours of lying awake in bed, there was a soft knock at the door. Without waiting for her consent, the door opened and Malfoy walked in, holding a candle to light his way, as it was getting dark.
"Your fire has burned down." He said irritably. "I'll get Cally to build it back up after I leave."
Ginny pulled the covers up closer to her chin to cover her thin nightgown. Malfoy didn't seem to notice. He closed the door behind him and walked over to a chair near the fire, placing his candle on a small table and leaning casually against the grand chair.
"I suppose the polite thing for me to do would be to ask how you're feeling." He sighed as if it were pointless.
"The polite thing would have been for you to not come in at all." Ginny replied sardonically.
"I go anywhere I wish in my own home." Draco responded, the annoyance clear in his voice. "You should remember that you are my guest."
"I am an artificial guest." Ginny spat impatiently. "It was a forced situation. What choice did I have?"
Draco pursed his lips and didn't respond and instead ran his fingers exasperatingly through his blonde hair. Ginny immediately found herself attracted to the way his hair was rumpled, and the grace in which Draco moved. This only annoyed her further and she decided to resume her argument, to take her mind off his irksome appearance.
"So, we should now discuss when I'll be leaving." She said, taking a chance and sitting up a little straighter against her pillows.
She jumped as Malfoy slammed his closed fist down upon the back of the chair.
"I am NOT going over this again! The simplicity of it is understandable! So why don't you understand!?" His brow was furrowed in anger, and Ginny saw the angry glint in his eyes. "You aren't leaving. I told your father that you would not leave. It is the consequence of his action!"
"He picked a bloody FLOWER!" Ginny yelled back in hate. "YOU ARE THE ONE AT FAULT. HE DID NOTHING!"
The look Malfoy gave her sent chills through her. In a tone dangerous and low Draco responded, "He took what was mine. So I took what was his."
There was a brief hiatus as he angrily glared at her, and Ginny found her mouth hanging open in bewilderment and realization.
Malfoy turned abruptly and left, slamming the door to her room behind him.
Ginny now knew for sure she was his prisoner.
It was reality, and it had hit her hard.
She would not leave.
A/N: Wow! It has been entirely too long since I've updated. You can all flame me and tell me how lazy and stupid I've been for making you wait this long for the fourth chapter. I give you my permission. ;o) Well, sorry for the long wait guys, and I really hope you enjoy!
Finding Beauty
Chapter 4: Attacks of Reality
~**~**~**~
Ron Weasley paced incessantly as he, Harry, and Hermione discussed Ginny's circumstances.
She had not returned last night.
"We were bloody thick to let her go." Ron said, as he continued to wear down the floor he was pacing.
He was wringing his hands, and straightening his robes every two seconds. It was obvious his nerves were getting the better of him.
"Ron," Hermione started, "Just sit down for a moment." Ron hardly glanced at her, let alone stopped pacing. "Ginny is old enough to take care of herself. If she doesn't come back by tomorrow, the Ministry has already agreed to search for her. Don't worry yourself."
Harry nodded his agreement. "You'll make yourself sick, Ron, if you don't calm down a bit."
Ron sighed and collapsed into a chair.
"I suppose you both are right. But if she doesn't show up, and I've found that Malfoy has done something to her . . . " His voice faded, the determination and anger was sketched upon his face.
Harry locked eyes with Hermione. They were both thinking the same thing.
Ginny probably wouldn't be returning home soon . . .
~*~*~*~*~
The grounds of the Malfoy Mansion were beautiful, even Ginny had to admit that. The fact that such stunning grounds belonged to one of the most dreadful wizards she had ever known hindered Ginny from exclaiming too fondly over them.
Everywhere she looked as Malfoy led her around, there were beautiful roses. Red roses, pink roses, white, orange, yellow, burgundy . . . they were abundant in color, size, and numbers.
As they walked through one particularly beautiful patch of roses, Ginny bent down to admire them. She lightly brushed a petal of a gorgeous red rose with her fingers. She heard a sharp intake of breath from Draco.
"Don't touch them." He said, reaching his hand out to grab hers away.
Ginny quickly withdrew her hand and stood up, looking him square in the eyes.
"And why can't I touch a flower?" She asked, her tone demanding and superior.
"Flowers are to look at, not to touch." He replied, as though speaking to a little child.
He casually walked forward, hands clasped behind his back and nose upright in the air, as he surveyed the beauty of his grounds around him. Ginny sighed and moved forward too, eyeing him with loathing.
"Greedy, aren't we?" She muttered under her breath.
Ginny was surprised to hear Draco respond to her quiet comment, "Oh no my dear." He turned and waved his hand through the air, gesturing to the manor and grounds. "Everything here that is mine is also yours. I just ask that you not damage any of the goods." He smirked deviously.
Glaring, Ginny rounded on him. "Aren't you afraid that just my 'Weasley presence' will dirty your fine, elegant possessions!?" She cried sarcastically. Without waiting for an answer she continued. "It doesn't matter anyway! I won't be staying here another day."
And with that she turned her back to him, hiked up the blue gown and jogged down the garden path.
"WEASLEY!" Malfoy yelled after her. "Stop! Come back!"
Ignoring him, she kept going. The garden path ended in a cluster of tall trees, which led into the forest. She hesitated at the edge of the forest, but quickly made up her mind to proceed. After all, she had come onto this forsaken Manor by way of the woods, so why shouldn't she be able to leave it the same way?
The air immediately turned cold and musty as she trotted down the rocky path. It was as though she had walked from a clean, cheery room, into a dark, dank closet. The trees closed in around her, and the woods were full of unnatural sounds to Ginny's ears.
Nothing looked familiar to her; she could see no resemblance of this path from the one she had traveled on her arrival. After several more meters she became frightened. The darkness was impenetrable, and Ginny wished more than anything that she could use magic in this territory, to light her way.
Her heartbeat quickened with every step she took, rustling bushes made her feet slow and walk quietly, instead of hastily. Glancing around furtively, she thought she saw a pair of eyes staring at her hungrily from the shadows.
"It's only my imagination." She thought to herself. "Just close your eyes, concentrate, and focus on getting home."
She stood there with her eyes closed for a moment, gathering her bearings and taking a few breaths.
When she opened them she screamed.
In her path was a werewolf, it's big hairy body shivering with desire and his front claw raking the ground in fury. Ginny's feet seemed to freeze to the spot in terror, and it took all her willpower to force her legs to run back toward the manor.
The werewolf grunted furiously, and she could feel him take off after her. Screaming, she ran down the path, but suddenly she felt very confused. Her direction seemed wrong, the path was more twisting and narrow than it had been originally. Ginny didn't know how she could be so disoriented, and she was really panicking.
"HELP!" She cried as she ran, the werewolf nipping at her ankles as she barreled on. Her breathing became short and quick; a cramp in her side burned in pain. She tripped over a rut in the trail and her feet faltered over the long gown that she now hated for its clumsiness.
As she fell forward she felt the werewolf rip at the hem of her dress, craving to get his big, yellow teeth into a piece of her delicate flesh.
"AWAY!" A voice yelled powerfully from above her as Ginny screamed. A cane came swooshing through the air, hitting the wolf under his neck with a sound smack. It bared it's teeth again and hissed at the newcomer, completely forgetting Ginny and making his way toward the rescuer. "I SAID AWAY!" And the cane came down once again, this time striking the werewolf on the head. Recognizing defeat, the creature whimpered and scampered away into the safety of the underbrush.
Ginny didn't move. She had her head wrapped tightly in her arms, tears of fright, anger, and misery streaming down her face. Afraid of whom her rescuer might be, she continued to sob into her arms.
"Get up Ginny." The voice said calmly.
She knew now who it was; his voice was quite recognizable at a regular volume.
"Get up." Draco repeated.
Ginny looked up at his towering figure and struggled to her feet. He leaned down almost grudgingly and helped her up.
"Are you bitten anywhere?"
Ginny lifted her dress up slightly and squinted down at her ankles. Before she could say anything, Malfoy had dropped to his knee and was also squinting at them. Carefully, he took one ankle and felt with his warm hand all around.
"No tear on this one." He then proceeded to the next ankle.
Ginny felt her stomach tighten at his touch . . . his hands were so warm and smooth. It sent an emotion through her body that Ginny wanted nothing to do with.
"You're fine." He said rising to his feet, and catching her stare. "I told you to come back." He said matter-of-factly. "But you Weasley's . . . just have to be stubborn."
Ginny only glared and didn't respond. She didn't have the strength to argue back.
~*~*~*~*~
Back at the Manor, Elf escorted her up the stairs to her "bedroom" so that she could recover from her frightening incident.
After several hours of lying awake in bed, there was a soft knock at the door. Without waiting for her consent, the door opened and Malfoy walked in, holding a candle to light his way, as it was getting dark.
"Your fire has burned down." He said irritably. "I'll get Cally to build it back up after I leave."
Ginny pulled the covers up closer to her chin to cover her thin nightgown. Malfoy didn't seem to notice. He closed the door behind him and walked over to a chair near the fire, placing his candle on a small table and leaning casually against the grand chair.
"I suppose the polite thing for me to do would be to ask how you're feeling." He sighed as if it were pointless.
"The polite thing would have been for you to not come in at all." Ginny replied sardonically.
"I go anywhere I wish in my own home." Draco responded, the annoyance clear in his voice. "You should remember that you are my guest."
"I am an artificial guest." Ginny spat impatiently. "It was a forced situation. What choice did I have?"
Draco pursed his lips and didn't respond and instead ran his fingers exasperatingly through his blonde hair. Ginny immediately found herself attracted to the way his hair was rumpled, and the grace in which Draco moved. This only annoyed her further and she decided to resume her argument, to take her mind off his irksome appearance.
"So, we should now discuss when I'll be leaving." She said, taking a chance and sitting up a little straighter against her pillows.
She jumped as Malfoy slammed his closed fist down upon the back of the chair.
"I am NOT going over this again! The simplicity of it is understandable! So why don't you understand!?" His brow was furrowed in anger, and Ginny saw the angry glint in his eyes. "You aren't leaving. I told your father that you would not leave. It is the consequence of his action!"
"He picked a bloody FLOWER!" Ginny yelled back in hate. "YOU ARE THE ONE AT FAULT. HE DID NOTHING!"
The look Malfoy gave her sent chills through her. In a tone dangerous and low Draco responded, "He took what was mine. So I took what was his."
There was a brief hiatus as he angrily glared at her, and Ginny found her mouth hanging open in bewilderment and realization.
Malfoy turned abruptly and left, slamming the door to her room behind him.
Ginny now knew for sure she was his prisoner.
It was reality, and it had hit her hard.
She would not leave.