Abandon
She was trapped once more. Trapped in an enclosed place where she could not see herself in the darkness; where her whole body was numb with cold, where the only thing she felt when she shifted was the hard surfaces. She was in a box.
There were no holes, no leaks, no anything to slide out of - there was only space to isolate her, to drown her in suffocation.
And she knew, if nobody let her out of this box - then she would never breathe again.
~*~
When Hermione stumbled down the stairs, she didn't know where she was going. All she knew was that her feet were taking her somewhere, and that she was obeying her body to move, even though it was numb. Every bone seemed to be discharged. Her brown curls poured over her face as she limped into the living room, both hands on the sides of the doorway to keep her balance. Nobody noticed her at first, as everyone was too occupied with looking at presents. She didn't mind. She stood in the doorway for several minutes before she accomplished attention; "Hermione? What's wrong?" her mother's voice rang out in concern.
Harry jerked his head up at her, and quickly got to his feet, going toward her. She tried to move but her limbs wouldn't cooperate. Her feet were frozen and tingling, her legs felt broken. When he finally reached her, she kept her arms outstretched so that he caught her as she fell, her chin on his shoulder. "It's happening again," she murmured, her eyes closed.
"Hermione? What's going on?" Harry asked, pulling her back so he could face her. He looked alarmed.
"Where's Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley suddenly spoke out.
"She's gone," Hermione said in a dead-prone voice, giving a small laugh under her breath. She didn't know what else to do. Her whole body was shaking uncontrollably, her knees were threatening to buckle underneath her. "She's gone..." Harry grabbed her hands, looking at her clenched fists, and something white peeking out of one of them.
"Can I see?" he prompted. She let her lifeless hand unfurl, and let the note drop. Harry gave her a glance before leaning over and picking it up, his eyes pondering the words.
"What does it say?" asked Draco, who, to everyone's amazement, had gotten up, a look of shock and mixed worry among his face, his shoulders stiffening with the spare seconds that passed by in silence without any answer to his query.
Harry crumbled the note, shaking his head. "Nothing." His tone of voice was deranged; it was not real. False, executed into something that would never be reality.
"Tell us," Ron said, his bottom lip quivering, his eyes glowering with both concern and curiousity. Mindy stood beside him, caught in mid-smile, at a joke Ron had been telling her, looking at Harry strangely.
"He's taken her," Harry announced, his face growing expressionless now. A faint blush was tinging his neck, but it was more from anxiety and anger than embarrassment. Everyone stood in surprised silence.
Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked at each other, bewildered. Ron clenched his fists; Mindy stood, observing something that was not there; Harry and Hermione stood beside each other, not moving except for the faint quivers of their bodies. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley merely looked at Harry in disbelief whilst Fred and George stayed cross-legged on the carpet, not saying a word.
"Who?" Mrs. Weasley suddenly spoke out. "Not - not He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" her voice shook violently as she spoke, as if she had wanted this to be true, and not the person she really thought had taken Ginny.
Harry managed a bitter laugh. "No, of course not."
This was all they needed to know. Their fears had been confirmed.
Mindy stomped her foot several times. Everyone turned their eyes to her. She waved her arms, pointing at her mouth.
"She's trying to tell us something," Fred said, raising his eyebrows as Mindy's words were blocked by only croaking squeaks as her lips moved wordlessly.
"She can't...she must have upgraded her cold to the flu, or something. She can't speak," Draco told him snappishly.
"Give her a quill and parchment...now!" Hermione demanded. Harry soothingly caressed her shoulder before heading out of the room.
~*~
"Little princess."
He was mocking her.
"Little princess, where are you? Are you hiding again?" That cooing voice.
Stop it. Stop it, stop it, stop it...
"There you are..., I thought I had lost you..." he slid open the door, looking at her with ease.
Is it snowing outside still...
He grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her out. She gave a dry sob as he pushed her against him, his cold body against hers.
How many years has passed...
"There, there, there's nothing to worry about princess, Devon's here to take care of you...,you know that, don't you?" he murmured in her earlobe.
I can feel the ice against me...
"Why aren't you answering princess? Why aren't you answering?" He bit her earlobe, his teeth sinking into her soft flesh. She gave a cry, almost feeling the blood traveling from it...she could feel blood trickling from her ear into her neck...she could almost see her turtleneck stain...
"I know, I know," she answered helplessly in defeat. He pushed her backwards into the wall, wringing her wrists painfully over her head.
"We won't need this..." Devon whispered, with a voice of sick satisfaction as he slipped the turtleneck over her head without any difficulty. She tried to fold her arms across her chest, to protect the only garment that supported her front region, but found that he had pressed her wrists above her head once more.
"I am going to enjoy this," he said, and her ears rang with his laughter as his harsh kisses began to linger into her skin, contaminating it, demolishing it, ruining it...
~*~
The necklace. I told you the necklaces in Deja Vu had little charms on them. The one I gave you has a tracking charm.
Harry read it aloud to Draco and the rest of the clan, giving his former nemises a hopeful look.
"Does she have it on?"
"You gave her a necklace?" Ron's disbelieving and cautious voice was now fully audible to it's hearing length.
"Yes, she has it on, and yes, Weasley, I did. Are you going to break my neck for giving your sister a present?" he said in a challenging voice.
Ron gave him a look that said 'if it weren't for this situation, I would break your neck' and stepped back into the shadow of the massive Christmas tree that was glittering with several ribbons, tiny decorations, lights, and balls.
"So how do we track her down?" Harry asked Mindy. Mindy mouthed the words 'in Deja Vu'.
"She must have a device ...so that was the thing in the back of the locket? A tracking device?" Draco suddenly said, turning to the brunette.
Mindy blushed, nodding.
"So she must have something that lets us know where Ginny is in the store, right?" Harry turned to Mindy.
She nodded in reply.
"I am getting my Invisibility cloak," Harry said.
"I am going with you," Draco called after him firmly.
"No you're not! I am going with him! She's my sister!" Ron said sternly as Harry disappeared once again upstairs.
"If I didn't give her that gift, you wouldn't have a chance, you stupid bastard," Draco seethed.
"Now boys!" Mrs. Weasley protested.
Ron gave him a glare but said nothing. When Harry arrived once more into the living room, the look on his face was both pissed off and disdainful with regret.
"Someone stole my Invisibility Cloak."
~*~
The room was the size of a cubicle, titled 'People Information', with only a where a pretty blonde sat, pondering the contents of a thick book titled in German.
"How may I help you today?" The blonde's voice spoke out, her voice sweet and soft. Her book had now escaped from her grasp, and she now occupied herself in raising a suggestive eyebrow at Draco and Harry.
"What's your name?" Draco said, leaning over and giving his most charming smile.
She giggled and blushed automatically at his smile. "Testicle."
Harry choked beside Draco, and appeared to be laughing, as his shoulders were now silently shaking with blissful mirth.
"Err...what a nice name," Draco commented, even though his ribs were probably broken from the restraint of laughing uproariously on the floor. The blonde shrugged, obviously flattered.
"It's not bad," she whispered huskily at him. "Now how can I help you - young boys?" she smiled, winking at Harry, and stared at his scar pointedly.
Harry looked bored at this movement and said nothing. Of course, he had experienced this more than several times of his life.
"We want to look up a friend's address," Draco said and leaned over easily, smirking at her. "Perhaps you could help us out? Devon Myers, registered wizard, currently now twenty, I think he might live in a muggle neighborhood?"
Her eyes glittered as her mouth ran with an uplift. "I would love to help you out, but the Ministry has now apt higher security. Unless you have proof that you are family of his, I can't do that. Perhaps you could go to 'Missing Persons'?"
"We've tried that," Harry responded, then gradually stiffened. It wasn't a complete lie - he had told Mr. Weasley to go straight to Missing Persons as soon as possible while he and Draco tried to find Devon's address, but not for Devon, but to report Ginny.
"Perhaps -" Draco said silkily, desperately reaching into the pocket of his robes and pulling out what it contained. He planted it on the desk, where she looked down at it with a puzzled expression.
"Sir, you want to bribe me with leftover candy?" she asked, glancing at him with widened eyes.
Draco looked down at the candy, then blushed furiously. "Oh, I thought it was money," he mumbled, making a mental note to himself: he had no money.
Harry rolled his eyes, clearing his throat so he had the attention once more. "Perhaps we could offer you something besides money."
Her smile widened. "Really? Well that'd be interesting!"
"What else would you want?" Harry grinned at her reluctantly.
"Well...perhaps..." she leaned over attractively, pulling both boys by their collars and whispering in between them as they choked on her ferocious grip..."A night out...with both of you?"
"Okay, sure," Harry squeaked, and she quickly let go off his collar, but was still hanging onto Draco's. "We'll take you out."
"Great! I'll be right back...Devon Myers, you say. You can sit," she said with triumph as she scuddled off into another corner of her office, searching through stacked folders with a keen eye.
Draco dragged his partner into two seats which was refered to the waiting room, and glared at him.
"Potter, what have you done?!" he snarled.
"What do you mean? If it's going to help find Ginny, then we can take Testicle out," Harry said, and seemed to be stifling his laughter.
"She doesn't want a night out, Potter. What are you, a virgin?" he scoffed in disbelief. "She wants BOTH of us - do you get my meaning? BOTH of us, at the same time!"
"What?" he sputtered. "No way! She doesn't want a threesome!"
"Yes, she does!"
"That's ridiculous!" Harry exclaimed, even though he looked a bit more scared than doubtful now. "But...but..."
"My God, Potter, are you so naive?"
"I can't have sex with you!" Harry finally managed to say, a look of horror upon his face.
"No shit," Draco retorted. "Look what you've gotten us into!"
"Sorry," he said meekly. "Well, after we find Ginny, we can still move to Asia."
Draco groaned, banging his head backwards against the wall.
"What would be the ground rules for something like that, anyways?" Harry thought aloud.
Draco tilted his head. "Shut up, Potter," he grumbled, grinning cheekily at him.
~*~
Ginny knew it was snowing. It wasn't an instinct, or something that she hoped it would be; she could feel the snow's essence, even though the room where she was held had no windows. The room where she was held, and a room where she would never get out of again. It was a small bedroom, windowless, with a small bed without bed sheets or pillows, a bathroom with only a curtain to conceal it, and a dresser table that held a tray of food. She wrinkled her nose, huddled into a small ball into the corner. Her hair sprawled over her face. She could still remember yesterday afternoon, she could still feel his fingers digging into her flesh. There was nothing to escape this, this madness.
She knew it was snowing outside. Whenever she closed her eyes, she rid of this dingy place and went to a new one, where the snowfalls melted into her nose, and someone wrapped their arms around her as she leaned back, and settled into the delicious warmth...
But that would never be real.
She couldn't do anything. She was weak. She had to surrender.
She belonged to him again.
~*~
"No way. I am not letting you go alone! She's my best friend's sister!" Harry protested.
"So? I want to go and help her," Draco notified him in a definite tone.
"I don't trust you one bit, Malfoy," Harry replied snappishly.
"I don't care if you don't trust me - I want to be the one who saves her," retorted Draco egotistically.
"Either you don't go or you go with me, that's the deal," he said firmly, folding his arms over his chest with a stubborn look on his face.
Draco glanced at him, sulking before answering. "Fine."
Then, he reached into his robes and deposited something into Harry's hand. Draco grinned as Harry looked in awe at the various square-shaped packs of condoms.
"Merry Christmas," Draco said jovially.
~*~
Ginny took a sharp intake of breath when he left, the door closed behind him. She wanted to scream, to do something that would rattle the surfaces of this very place she was closed in. She wanted, no, needed to die. It would only bring sweet relief to her. She thrashed back and forth on the bed, feeling her legs numb and her shoulders scratched with his marks. The heart-shaped scar in between her neck and chest burned whenever he was near. She didn't know if it was a mental, physical or chemical reaction. All she knew was that she needed to die. Every hour, minute and second that passed by destroyed her virtues, her values, her morals, her life.
Every single second counted. Time was running out. Ginny found herself sobbing uncontrollably at times, breaking things. That very morning Devon had gotten furious with her because she had broken the china plates. She screamed that she wouldn't eat, that she would starve herself so she could die. He merely laughed and told her she was too much of a coward to do a noble thing like that. She was losing control. She became a robot, lifeless as he screwed her as much as he wanted to, lifeless as she walked and answered his questions, lifeless as she cried herself to sleep, mumbling, "Kill me God, please, God, kill me," inwardly, and waking up very much alive and regretting it.
She was crippled. Her pulse barely paced. Her heart barely continued it's rapid beats.
She sang songs under her breath to occupy her time. Sometimes she just sat still on her bed and stared intently at the ceiling, watching it blur into millions shades of white before her eyes before she fell into slumber once more. She didn't know what year it was, nor what month, and certainly not what day. She knew it was snowing; she could still feel it, the instinct of it.
And snow was what kept her alive. Pure, white snowflakes settling her on her nose, Draco picking her up and flinging her around joyfully, or her brothers teasing her heartedly, or Hermione and her having a nice girl talk inside, settling into armchairs beside the snow-freckled windows, sipping hot cocoa. She could imagine all these things in her mind; and vividly, they seemed to become real, these images. They could move in so many motions that she found herself thinking it was reality.
Snow kept her alive. It was pure, and flawless if left untouched.
And it was the purest thing she could think of.
Snow kept her alive...
But as December and January would soon disappear, so would the snow, the pure thing that Ginny managed to live for, even though her soul was constantly trembling.
And if the snow disappeared...then so would Ginny.
~*~
"Floo powder?" Harry wrinkled his nose, glaring at him doubtfully. Both boys were now observing the stingy walls of the Capital General, a massive storage room that held Floo Powder, order forms to Ollivander's Wands, handy Apparation booklets stacked in five hundred rows, instruction guides on other wizard transportation, books that studied the comparison of muggle and wizard transportation, and a clerk that looked at them menacingly every five seconds. "Don't you think the place where Devon lives would be protected from the Floo Network by now?"
"We've got to try," prompted the silver-blonde logically. "If it doesn't work, maybe we can get a Portkey made...I am not even sure where they make them, but I am sure if we go to the Ministry of Magic and report-"
"You sound like Hermione," Harry said in an amused tone.
Draco rolled his eyes. "This is no time for jokes, Potter. Next week, we're scheduled to go out with that blonde chick, we may have to stupify her as well. I cannot believe you got us into this situation in the first place."
Harry shot him a look that clearly said 'that's illegal'.
"Maybe...,maybe she doesn't want a threesome," Harry suggested, though his voice was meek and small. "Maybe..."
"No maybes. I think -" Draco's eyes left Harry's face and pondered to his shoulder.
"What are you look- ACK!" Harry jumped as an owl brushed against his head, dropping a letter squarely in the middle of his face. His companion laughed silently. The clerk cleared his throat, his eyes narrowing at them for the noise, even though nobody but them were occupied in the storage room.
"Thanks a lot," he shouted to the owl, who had already swooped out.
"Stop talking to an owl, Potter. Open the letter, will you."
It was a small piece of parchment with neat, bold imprinted letters. Draco leaned over, inspecting the words with both disgust and curiosity.
Dear Boys,
We hope you're okay. Molly wanted to send you pies, but I told her not until you give the word. I have notified the Ministry, but I have not given Devon's name. I have reason to suspect that he knows the Ministry will be out for him, and has already planned his attacks if they do find him. I only told the Ministry that Ginny is missing and if there is any way to locate her. They are working various charms right now, but they don't work yet. We're hoping one of the higher level ones will work. Devon, or whoever kidnapped her has set security around the location, it seems. Owl us if you need anything. Molly said not to get in trouble.
-Arthur
P.S. Mindy has found the tracking device. However, all it tracks down is that the place Ginny is (Fortunately, we found that it was somewhere in London at least) has an alarm and a shield force around it. Please be careful boys, and remember to carry your wands protectively.
"Damn it," Draco cursed under his breath. shoving the parchment away and crumbling it into a small ball, and throwing it in the corner, which caused the clerk to give him a look of death for littering.
"Why do you care about Ginny so much anyways, Malfoy?" Harry asked him suspiciously, his arms folded over his chest.
"I - I-" he stammered, flushing bright red. "I do not care about her."
"Oh, no?" Harry said innocently in mock-shock.
"I care - I care about the owl," Draco finally managed to say. "Obviously Mr. Weasley's an idiot, the owl left."
"You came with me on this," Harry reminded him, raising his eyebrows at him knowingly.
"I was bored," he insisted, biting his lip afterwards, then almost tripping over his feet, similar to Harry's expression whenever Draco mentioned his 'secret love'.
"Sure, Malfoy, sure," Harry mimicked thoughtfully.
~*~
"I won't!" Ginny shrieked, holding her plate up like a weapon, protective of her. But it would never protect her. "I won't let you have your way with me again!"
Devon laughed as if she was little child that was confused and spoiled. "Little princess, you're not in charge here. Give that to Devon," he added, glancing at the plate. Ginny squirmed in disgust. He talked to her like a little child - like a baby that needed caring.
"I'll break it," she seethed the threat to gritted teeth.
"Do as you wish," Devon answered coolly. "That means more pain for you."
Ginny restrained the dry sob that was forming in her throat, and turned around hesitantly, setting the plate down.
"That's a good girl," he said silkily. "Now come here, and undress."
Ginny gulped, closing her eyes for several moments. It was time to be dead now.
He would touch her, hurt her, destroy her again.
It was time to be dead again. She turned around and began undressing, her eyes glazing over, not believing this was real, that nobody could be evil enough to make her suffer through such agonizing pain. It was not reality. Her clothes were peeled off in bundles on the floor, the only clothes that she had been wearing. Her Christmas clothes. It was unnerving to see them shriveled and wrinkled into the floor along with her undergarments.
Limp. She was limp as he carried her in his arms, and used the knife to cut the sides of each breast, rip each arm, shatter each and every part of her.
She was a doll to play with.
Limp.
Lifeless.
The snow would soon end.
~*~
"God damnit, Potter, I am shivering my ass off here!" Draco complained, pulling his thin cloak tightly around himself. Harry exchanged a dirty look with him, brushing snowflakes off his hair. Both boys received extreme cool air to splash around them, snow covering their every move. They were numb from the fierce freezing.
"Isn't this the right way?" Harry asked, his teeth clattering slightly now.
"Well, maybe he's made it Unplottable...?" Draco suggested dazedly, blinking ice out of his eyes. "But that takes advanced magic, doesn't it?"
"You're scaring me Malfoy. Sounding like Hermione again," he informed, trying to observe the territory with his eyes.
Draco scowled at him, but his bare hands were beginning to feel like ice - and since he had no mittens, he grumbled. "Potter, why don't you go this way, and I'll go to the right?" he suggested.
Harry shot him a tense look. "You mean, separate?"
"Well, it's a plan, at least, isn't it?"
"I suppose," Harry agreed reluctantly. "But how will we find each other again?"
"We should have some sort of visible or audible signal."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. A yell or something. 'Hey, Potter! Kiss my ass!'" Draco demonstrated keenly, his voice loud and sharp.
Harry looked at him stonily. "I don't think 'kiss my ass' would phrase your correct meaning."
"No, I suppose not," the silver-blonde agreed reluctantly. "But it's still coded."
"How do I know if I'll hear you?"
"Easy. Wand. Sonorus?" Draco asked, with an amused eyebrow.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Fine. Let's separate. It'll be the best thing that happened all day."
Draco's teeth clattered. "That's the spirit."
~*~
Harry withdrew his earlier statement silently and very quickly when he drew apart from Draco. It was freezing, and without any warmth radiating from anywhere, he might as well have starved to death.
"Malfoy!" he shouted, trying to turn back, but the snow was heaving towards him, pushing him farther away. Find Ginny, was the only option that rushed through his mind at this frantic moment. His feet seeping into the many layers of white snow, he struggled to get through the almost-blizzard, his eyes blinded by the rushing snowflakes.
Why was it snowing so furiously now? It hadn't been snowing like this before...
It could be unplottable. He has extra security. A shield force.
Extra security. The two words echoed through his eardrums before he gasped in realization, and received a mouthful of snow in return.
Of course. A force of -
"Malfoy!" he screamed. He fumbled for his wand, but couldn't find it anywhere. Feeling a rush of concern and worriment, he began to yell among the wind, shooting his fists in the air of mercy, "Kiss my ass! KISS MY ASS! GOD DAMNIT MALFOY, KISS MY ASS!"
~*~
It was a storm in which Draco had never seen before. On the way Apparating here, he had not seen London so snowy before. It was like a blizzard. He coughed halfhazardly, knowing he would have a fever when he came back. His heart jolted as he pushed his feet across the snow, his shoes shining. I wonder if Ginny's alright, crossed through his mind frequently. He ignored this. He didn't like her. He couldn't. He cared a bit, yes, he'd admit that reluctantly. After all, she had kindly taken him to the Burrow, convinced her parents to let him stay at least for Christmas. And if he found her - if he and Potter did find her and save her, who would get to go home with Ginny? Not him.
He felt ice in his eyes, a burst of cool air splashing into his face. Why was he bothering? He could just Apparate back - yes, that's what he'd do. He'd find some way to get into the manor. He searched for his wand - but it was gone. He furrowed his snow-freckled eyebrows in puzzlement. He had it just moments ago. Where had it vanished to?
Draco, Draco, help me, Ginny's voice was calling in his mind. He felt guilt rush over him. He'd find her. And he'd take her home safely.
And then it would be over. He felt his knees cripple underneath him. Get a grip, he scolded himself. It's just some Weasleys. And Ginny...- Ginny who was now vulnerable at the state of a sadistic rapist and possible murderer, Ginny who had transformed from her freckled appearance to a grown woman, who was rather pretty now. Who felt warm in his embrace, and was not such a bad kisser herself.
Don't get so sentimental...if you ever do find her, then it's gone. Those little looks, those little games, those tiny little kisses. They're gone. So screw a romance, just find her. It's the least you can do. He found himself on the knees now, shivering uncontrollably, pulling his many cloaks around him, his silver-blonde locks glittering with snow.
And then he heard it. A faint yell. A faint calling. He jerked his head upwards. It was not Potter's. It was a female shriek. A female calling for help.
"Ginny?" he yelled as loud as his sore throat would allow him to, observing the houses around him - he was blinded by the snow - and which house was it?
The call was heard again, with inaudible words.
"Ginny?" Draco shouted the yelp as loud as you could. "WHERE ARE YOU? GINNY?"
There was a muffled response. He couldn't see through the windows, the snow was covering everything. And then.
Silence.
Pure silence.
Serenity.
"Oh damn it," Draco cursed, feeling his chest well up with something indescribable. Pain. Regret. Except it was something else that was pounding against his chest. He couldn't define it.
He didn't want to.
He was too afraid that if he did, things would change. He would change. And he couldn't. But it was tearing him apart inside.
Draco found himself raising his head up skywards, his knees numb from the cold, "God, help me."
~*~
Her red hair fell over her face like strands of weed. She hadn't been able to brush it for over days now. Her arms were scathed with blood and cuts that stung through the night. She knew she had lost more than a few pounds. She hadn't been eating, after all. All she felt all day long was her stomach aching, her knees shaking, and her chapped lips, in which she constantly had to run her tongue over. But it made no difference. She didn't feel alive anymore. If it wasn't for the pounding of her heart in her eardrums, she would've never moved.
She was a puppet now, and Devon had the strings to control her. It was only the next morning that Ginny thought she would die from bliss instead of pain, for when Devon came in, he left the door open, and came toward her. If it had been just a few days ago, Ginny would've run out the door in a flash. But she was weak; and no match for him. But she found that with the door open like that, even if he was present, there was still hope.
"Hello, Little Princess," he greeted her with an air of joy.
"Hello," she whispered, then looked up, surprised. "You're dressed."
He smiled, tugging at his collar. "I am going to be away for a little business trip."
Ginny's face fell. "And I am guessing you're not taking me with you?"
Devon gave a small chuckle. "No, sorry to say. The Ministry's already after my ass, but there's no way they'll find me in this 'snowstorm'." He grinned at her. "You're to stay here."
"But...what about..." Ginny gestured in the air with her hand, even though it was agonizing for her to do it.
"Yes, if you want to eat, that plate will refill itself automatically. So will the cup if you want water."
"Oh."
"I'll be gone for about four days," Devon notified her.
"Oh." Ginny felt a bit of happiness well up inside of her. He wouldn't be able to touch her, or hurt her in four days. For Ginny, four days seemed like eternity. She restrained a timid smile that was urging to spread across her lips.
"But don't worry Little Princess," Devon told her, leaning over, grazing her cheekbone tenderly. "When I come back...we'll catch up." He gave her a small wink.
She gave an audible gulp as he kissed her on the lips. It was a gentle, prodding kiss. She felt no feeling coming from it, and was emotionless as he did this. When he broke away, he gave her a hesitant smile.
"I want you to be a good little girl. There's no way out of here, so don't waste your time trying."
Ginny found herself nodding obediently. She felt a thump in her stomach.
He said nothing else. Turning away from her, he took out his wand, and murmured an incantation in which Ginny could not hear. As he closed the door behind him, sparks flew. Ginny jumped up, trying the knob, her blanket in a bundle in the floor.
"It won't work," said a dead-prone voice behind her.
Ginny felt at that instant - that instant that she heard the familiar voice, that her heart would grow three times larger. She was aghast, fearful and hopeful all at the same time. Her chin trembling, her eyes filled with tears, she turned around, and she knew she would melt.
Draco Malfoy was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak off of him.
~*~
"Did you see them?" Hermione asked, crestfallen when Harry had arrived in front of the Burrow, shivering in the mass of cloaks and coats he was wearing. "When you came, we thought you had Ginny with you. Mrs. Weasley was crying so much - I feel so sorry for them."
"Yeah, I know," Harry responded curtly. "Now I've lost Malfoy too." Desperation and exhaustion rang audibly in his voice.
Hermione didn't respond. She merely pulled him closer to her with an arm of comfort, allowing his head to be put on her shoulder. They sat for several moments of silence.
"He gave me a Christmas present," Harry prompted in a soft voice, his hair tickling her chin.
"Really?" she asked in surprise. "What was it?"
Harry didn't retort - he merely closed his eyes and drowned into slumber right in her arms, a remembering, wistful smile still attached to his face.
~*~
Ginny recoiled in horror, grimacing several times. "D-d-raco?" she stammered, tilting her head.
He nodded. "Ginny."
"How - how..." she trailed off. "Is this - is this real?"
"Very," Draco answered, smiling. "I stole Devon's Invisibility Cloak..."
Ginny couldn't manage to find her voice to ask questions - because she didn't want any answers. She took a timid step toward him. He didn't back away. Walking toward him, her arms outstretched, she wrapped her arms around him. He froze in surprise, his arms rigid - but after a moment's hesitance, he returned the embrace, his lips tickling her neck.
She gave a soft sigh, rubbing her nose vigorously against his cloak, which was wet and drenched from melted snowflakes. She could smell snow on him, and a pleasant sensation ran through her spine. Her legs and arms were paralyzed, too numb to move. They refused to get rid of the clutch on him. He didn't protest. His chin now positioned on her shoulder, his eyes closed, he began to cradle her slowly in his arms.
"Thank you," Ginny muttered over and over again. "Thank you."
"I asked God - to help find you," he murmured inwardly.
"Good," she whispered in his earlobe, her lips lingering on the skin of it. They stood like this for many minutes - but it seemed like hours when he finally let her go.
~*~