Author's Note: Well, here ya go. Chapter two is by far my favorite chapter so far, due to the Draco-ness and the amount of action. Oh yes, I meant to include this last chapter: the pronounciation of Ismene's name. It's Is-May-Nee, and it's from Sophocles' Antigone. All right?
Thanks, as always, to Rea and Jess. Enjoy!
Chapter Two
Give light, and the darkness will disappear of itself.
--Erasmus
Although after the brief afternoon rainstorm the day had brightened and the sun had emerged, the night proved to be quite the opposite. By ten o'clock, the heavy clouds had opened, sending sheets of torrential rain down to Earth. It made seeing even nearby objects a challenge, which was quite an advantage, considering the task that needed to be fulfilled. Draco himself didn't mind the rain much, but one that accompanied him had some altogether different opinions of the weather.
"Can't believe it'd choose to start rainin' now," a whining voice muttered. "We haven't had any rain in months – 'sides this afternoon – and now I'm sittin' out here on my arse in it."
His Irish accent barely evident, Draco's other companion replied, "Then stand up and get your arse out of it, you bloody idiot," his eyes constantly trained on the distant house light.
Draco could hear shuffling and muffled curses as Goyle struggled to lift his substantial bulk from the forest floor.
Brian O'Rourke, the Irishman, murmured to Draco, "I wish I hadna said that. He probably wouldn't have noticed if we'd gotten the girl and left him here."
Draco smirked. "Provided we get the girl, of course. Where the hell is Ismene?" He sent an impatient glance at his watch, cupping his hand around the glow, just to be sure that no one could see it at the house. Not that you could really call it a house; 'shanty' would be more appropriate.
"How late is she?" O'Rourke asked.
"Twenty minutes. She's probably flirting with one of those filthy Weasleys. They probably haven't bathed in months."
O'Rourke snickered. "Knowing her, you're probably right. But then again…" he sent a coy glance at Draco. "I'm surprised she's not out here putting the moves on you."
Goyle caught the tail end of the conversation and chuckled appreciatively while Draco rolled his eyes.
"Twenty-five minutes," Draco grumbled a few moments later, rocking back and forth on his heels. He reached up and ran his hand through his sopping hair, pushing it back out of his eyes.
"You went to school with this girl, right, Malfoy? You know her, don't you?"
"I don't know her. My father tried to kill her once, I remember that."
O'Rourke raised his eyebrows.
"I'll tell you about it later. Or, better yet, she could tell you about it. I'm sure she remembers it far more vividly than I do."
"What's her name?"
"Ginny Weasley."
"She fit?"
"Ugh!" Draco sent him a disgusted look. "She's a Weasley. They've all got bright orange hair and freckles. And, if I recall right, she's about four feet tall. They're dirt poor. Completely destitute. She's so far below me – us… once you see her, you'll understand."
"I see."
There was movement by the house then, no more than a flash of colour against the night before it was gone.
-*-
After Ismene ran out the kitchen door into the downpour, it was a good half minute before Ginny reacted. She turned the events over in her mind, thinking rapidly. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione had been speaking of the war -- did anyone talk of anything else these days? -- and Ismene had suddenly jumped from her chair, yelling unintelligibly and her eyes flashing with anger. She'd wrenched her cloak off a hook on the wall and, with a final snarl, ran out into the rain.
"Did she… is she… what did I…"
Hermione was frowning at Ginny. "Something's weird with that girl tonight. Why on Earth would she have run out like that? Ron, go get her."
Ron, who was sitting at the kitchen table eating the last bit of Ginny's birthday cake, choked. "I'm not going out in this rain. That girl may be crazy, but I'm not."
When a distracted Ginny saw the murderous look on her friend's face, she said quickly, "No, no, I'll go get her. It was me who got her upset; who set her off. I'll go run and grab my cloak…"
Before Hermione could protest, Ginny ran up the stairs to her room as quickly as she could. She flung the cloak about her shoulders, pausing a split instant when she saw her wand at the other end of her room. She decided not to waste the extra three seconds grabbing it would require, and ran downstairs.
"If I'm not back in ten minutes, send out a search party," Ginny muttered, grinning at Ron and Hermione and ignoring Hermione's last feeble protests as she slipped out the door.
Standing underneath the overhang of the house, in the slight glow of the porch light, she gazed about the garden, searching for any trace of her friend. The rain was coming down so hard she could barely see the line of trees a hundred and fifty feet from the house.
A distant scream sent Ginny running.
It had come from the woods, slightly to her left. Years of running through the garden to the impromptu Quidditch pitch through the forest had so attuned her feet to the dwarf holes and tree roots in the ground that she barely stumbled. She cursed herself now for not grabbing her wand, thinking that she really must have been the stupidest person alive for thinking that light would not be needed.
Another scream, straight ahead, sent Ginny running faster, as fast as she could. She reached the line of trees and went crashing through the bramble, screaming for Ismene, praying to hear an answering yell. She stopped short, no more than ten feet from the start of the trees and scanned the area, clutching a stitch at her side and panting from her sprint. "Ismene?" she called hesitantly, fear working its way up her spine.
A twig snapped, and Ginny whirled around, her heart stopping when she saw Ismene struggling against a man who must have been double her size and triple her girth, a huge hand clapped over her mouth, the other holding a lit wand. Ginny started to run towards them, but she stopped suddenly when they both started shimmering, as if they were apparating, but that was impossible, two people couldn't apparate together… Could they? Shoving her mass of sopping hair out of her eyes, she stared in horrified fascination as Ismene stopped struggling, gazing about in disbelief.
Then they were gone, and Ginny was left alone, staring for a second at the place where her best friend had just been standing. There was light suddenly, deeper in the woods, and Ginny started stumbling towards it, tripping over roots and foliage. She stopped short, after walking only a few paces. She needed to go home, get Ron and her wand. She was just about to turn around at a run when another light, a little to the left of the first, flashed on. Her mouth went dry, and she stood stock still, terrified.
A man she had never seen before, handsome, his short brown hair spiky from the rain, stepped out from behind an ancient oak, and Ginny stared at him for a split second. Then she screamed, as loud and as long as she could, praying, even while she knew it was futile, that someone could hear her back at the house. Praying that Ron had come out to find her. The man was upon her then, his hand over her mouth in a similar fashion that the giant had held Ismene.
Ginny struggled against him, kicking and biting, but she was small and he was a man grown, tall and battle trained. In a last, desperate stand, she stood still for a moment, causing him to relax – only slightly. She bit against his hand, sinking her front teeth deep into the skin. He let go with a cry of pain, and she whirled, kicking him in the shin with all the strength she could muster. The man grabbed his leg, looking ridiculous as he hopped on one foot, groaning in agony.
She didn't wait to watch anything else. She took off as fast as she could, praying that she was going in the direction of the house. Her heavy robes caught on a tree, and she wasted precious seconds trying to rip them away from the scraggly bark. With a mighty pull, it tore too quickly, and she went flying into the mud on the forest floor. Raising her head from the ground, shaking the worst of the muck off her, she listened, trying to hear her captor. Ginny could hear someone coming after her, crashing through the undergrowth. Her heart stopped again, and she closed her eyes for a moment, trying to think with her head and not her feet for once. She backed up against the tree she'd been caught on, pulling her knees up to her chest. She couldn't do this. Her mouth was dry and her heart was pounding, and for an instant, she seemed to be separated from her body, watching the wand light flash off of wet leaves and individual raindrops. With a gulp of air, she realized where she was – nearly directly in front of the house, barely fifteen feet from the line of the trees. She could just make out the porch light by the back door. She stood, leaning against the rough bark, praying that she could make it at least near enough for Ron and Hermione to hear her. Light flashed on the other side of her tree, and her heart dropped into her stomach.
Without stopping to think, she pushed off the tree and ran. She heard a shout from behind her and ran faster. The rain was blinding, the wind was whistling in her ears, and her screams echoed through the garden. She was barely fifty feet from the door when she heard a furious roar, "Stupefy!" Her limbs started stiffening, and she let out a frantic scream as her legs gave out from under her and she collapsed, a stone's throw away from her back door.
Ginny felt she must have lain there for hours, gazing at her home, tears of defeat beginning to form and mixing with the rain. In reality it was only about eight seconds, and she wondered if her captor was a slow sprinter. If he wasn't, he must have aimed that curse from by the tree line… a good one hundred feet away from her. That was remarkable, even her brother Charlie couldn't throw curses so well, particularly in the dark and the rain.
A dark figure loomed above her and hoisted her up. He wore long, heavy robes, and the hood was up. Ginny couldn't tell whether he was young or old, and she was unsure whether he was even male until she was pressed against him, her body frozen with her hands snapped to her sides, her legs forced together. She could feel the hard planes of his body, even through the layers of clothing. Ginny could hear him whispering, muttering a spell.
Suddenly, the back door of the house slammed open, and she could see a tall figure. Had she been able to, she would have cried out in delight at the sight of her brother. He let out a yell, and Ginny's captor looked up. Ginny watched Ron's expression transform – first shock, then recognition, and then anger. The man who held her muttered faster, and Ginny could feel the first nauseating effects of apparition take hold on her. Ron was almost there… his wand was out, and he was yelling, and Ginny wondered why he didn't curse the man, until she realized that she was in front of him, protecting her captor with her body.
The world around her began to shift, starting to be replaced in pieces by another place. She felt dizzy, horrified, trying to communicate with her brother in the split second she had to look at him.
Suddenly, her feet seemed to leave the ground for a split second, and then she was back on the ground, her eyes rolling about in her head, trying to take in everything.
They were in a clearing in the woods, no more than a mile from her house. She'd played Quidditch there as a girl. There was no sign of Ismene, but the brown haired man from before – the one she'd kicked – stood there, watching them silently. Her captor let her go, and she fell, the effects of the stunning spell making her unable to support herself. A sharp rock jabbed into her back and rain began to run into her mouth and eyes. The two men stood a few feet from her, talking in quiet tones she couldn't hear over the pounding rain.
-*-
O'Rourke grabbed Draco's arm roughly, muttering in a fierce undertone, "Ismene just remembered to mention something rather important to me a few moments ago."
When Draco didn't reply, O'Rourke sighed and continued. "The girl can't apparate. She's tried to take the test four times… she splinched herself the first time around, and was too frightened to try again on the other three tries."
"What!" Draco exploded. "How could-"
"Shut up! You're yelling. Don't blow Ismene's cover!"
"That's not important right now. I've been standing here for five minutes, trying to think of something, and I've come up with nothing. What do you think we should do?"
"Merlin… her brother saw me, he knows what he's doing…"
"He can track us, then?"
"He probably already has his scanners out. Double apparation isn't that hard to track. He was halfway done with his auror training when he left to join the war effort."
"Oh shit," O'Rourke breathed. "You wanna apparate-"
"Yeah. Let's say 3000 meters directly north of here. Try not to come down on a tree if you can help it. When we get there, apparate back to the castle, and grab two of the fastest brooms you can find and get back here as fast as you can."
"All right… are you sure you don't want me to grab three brooms and go with you?"
Draco rubbed his tired eyes and pushed his hair out of his eyes. "No, you have to put blocks up when you go back. We can't have Weasley following us back to…"
"I understand."
"Yeah. Report to my… I mean, the general and notify him of the change of plans. I hope…" Draco paused. "I imagine we'll be there in the space of five days. If it's more than that, send a squadron out to search, but don't risk sending them outside Wales. Send an elite group if you have to go into England."
"You think it'll take you that long?"
"I don't want to risk flying over the Bristol Channel with her. It gets damn foggy and cold at night over there. I'll go around, through Bath."
"All right. Let's get going then."
Draco nodded and started for the Weasley girl. "Start a few seconds after me so we arrive at about the same time."
He picked her up, surprised again at how light even her dead weight was, and began muttering the complicated double apparition spell. His breath hitched when his feet seemed to leave the ground without really doing so. Draco struggled to keep his feet, having landed on a huge knotted tree root. He stepped onto solid ground and listened intently for O'Rourke. Draco heard a faint crashing noise from his left, along with a muffled curse. He started in that direction, and saw O'Rourke's outline removing leaves from his hair. When he sensed Draco watching him, he straightened and immediately apparated.
"Lumos," Draco muttered, shoving his wet mop of hair out his eyes for what seemed the thousandth time that night. He glanced at the Weasley girl, who he'd unceremoniously propped against a tree, and shone his wand light on her. He was startled when her eyes widened in astonishment. He smirked.
"Yeah, Weasley, it's me. Haven't seen you around much lately. Where've you been hiding?"
The hatred in her eyes was palpable.
Draco laughed appreciatively and turned to wait.
After a few moments, there was a loud crashing sound behind him and he whirled, his wand held out in a defensive stance. He sighed audibly when he realized it was O'Rourke.
"I could only find one…," he muttered apologetically, holding out the broom.
"All right, fine. Maybe it's better this way anyway."
"I'll see you around, Draco." He disapparated again.
Draco turned to Weasley. "Well, we've got a bit of a ride to take. Are you going to get straight on the broom?" He looked at her, her eyes flashing dangerously. "I better not chance it." And then he said two spells so quickly she had no time to respond, "Finite Incantem. Silencium."
-*-
Ginny straightened up, rolling her shoulders uncomfortably. She didn't bother opening her mouth to speak. She knew she wouldn't be able to.
He had his wand pointed directly at her heart. "Get on the broom, Weasley."
Ginny's heart began pounding. He's bluffing with that wand, she tried to convince herself. They wouldn't bother kidnapping me only to kill me. They'll never find Harry if I die.
Malfoy glared at her, and said again, "Get on the broom." She shuddered at his tone and obeyed him.
I should let him kill me, she thought.
He climbed on in front of her and kicked off. He angled the broom so sharply upwards that Ginny gasped and clung to his waist – but only for a moment. She felt him tense and let go as if she'd been burned, gripping the broom handle for support instead.
The rain was coming down so hard it felt like needles driving into her face, and she let go with one hand to try and pull her hood up. She huddled behind Malfoy, trying not to think of how very miserable she was.
The higher they went, the colder it got. Even if I was stupid enough to not grab my wand, Ginny thought ruefully, at least I grabbed my cloak. Unfortunately, the waterproofing spell appeared to be wearing off.
She shivered violently then.
Malfoy looked at her over his shoulder, but said nothing. Ginny fixed her meanest glare on him and resolved to never shiver again in his presence.
Ginny didn't know how long they flew in the darkness. It must have been hours, and she realized that she hadn't slept in nearly a day. She was exhausted. Try as she might, she simply couldn't keep her head from falling to her chest or her eyelids from drooping. She'd become used to the rain by then, the sound of it hitting her and Malfoy's cloaks helped put her to sleep. Her head fell forward, her nose pressing into his back, and Draco knew without turning around that she'd fallen asleep. He muttered a quick charm to keep her on the broom.
He sighed and glanced at his watch. It read half past four, which meant the sun would be coming up all too soon for his liking. They had to be on the ground and well hidden before first light. The rain had reduced to a meagre drizzle, and as he began his descent, it began to taper off to nothing. Of course, he thought sarcastically. Why wouldn't it stop right as we bloody well get off the broom?
Draco could see city lights to the north. It was probably Bristol or Bath, but he didn't really care to find out. He needed to stay as far away from all human habitats as much as possible – damn Ron Weasley for seeing his face, he'd probably alerted the Ministry immediately. He began scanning the dark woods below him, looking for a suitable landing place. After a few minutes, he spotted one and headed in that direction.
Her nose pressed harder into his back as they began to descend. He heard her gasp and felt her stiffen. Draco grimaced when he realized she was awake. She jerked away from him, moving back on the broom as far as she could.
Once they had landed and he'd gotten off the broom, he smirked when she tried to swing her leg over the side and found she couldn't.
"Finite Incantem," he muttered lazily.
Once she was off the broom, Weasley immediately began to yell. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY THIS, ABDUCTING ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! WHERE DID THAT OAF TAKE ISMENE? BLOODY HELL, I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS MALFOY, I SWEAR I WILL!"
She rambled into incoherence then and Draco deliberately turned his back on her. He peered about the dripping wet forest, shining his wand light, looking for a place that could have at least a small amount of dry wood. He saw a large rock and went to look around it. There was a small amount under an overhanging part of the stone, but not much else.
Weasley stopped screaming then. "What the devil are you doing?"
"Looking for firewood. Care to join me?"
"Why are you doing that?"
"Because, Weasley, I need to make a fire."
He knew she was looking at him as if he had a screw loose.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you the one with the wand?"
He turned around and glared at her. Her hair was beginning to dry and the scraggly ends were starting to form frizzy curls. She was covered in mud, down her front, all over her face, in her hair. Her robes were torn in places, and her face was covered in scratches.
"Weasley," he said mock appreciatively. "Why don't I remember you being this beautiful when we were in school together?"
"Fuck off, Malfoy. In case you don't recall… the only reason I look so 'lovely' is because you decided last night would be a good time to abduct an innocent witch!"
He'd walked closer while she'd been speaking and now stood no more than five feet from her. "Watch your mouth, Weasley," he said in a low, dangerous voice. "And I think we both know full well you're anything but innocent."
Ginny repressed a shiver and turned her back on him. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she muttered as she stalked away from him.
"I think you do."
"Oh this is rich, Malfoy. I'm a healer at St. Mungo's. I barely help with the war effort. If you did this because you think I'll tell you something about my brothers, forget it. They don't tell me anything anyway!"
He said nothing for a long moment. "Perhaps not your brothers. Instead… your boyfriend, Potter? Where is he, then?"
He would have thought he had just dumped a bucket of ice water over her head, for all she jumped. "I… I have no idea what you're talking about. Harry's dead. He's been dead for a year and a half."
"Really."
Ginny nodded.
"Why then, was his body never found? Who killed him? Why," his voice dropped, "can my master still feel his presence on this Earth? I don't think you're telling the truth, Weasley."
"Well it's true, you bastard!"
"Weasley, as you so kindly reminded me a few moments ago, I am the one with the wand. I recommend that you treat me with a bit of respect, or else…"
"Or else what?" She demanded.
Malfoy looked at her intently. Finally, he shook his head. "You don't want to know."
"Yes, I do."
He shrugged. "The dark lord has recently discovered the joys of Muggle torture, with his own personal touch, of course. It seems fitting that only their torture chambers are of any interest to him."
Ginny knew nothing about Muggle torture. Surely it couldn't be worse than the Cruciatus curse? Though it didn't matter. No force on Earth could make her betray Harry's location. Even so, a chill travelled down her spine as he stared at her.
She attempted a casual shrug. "I can cope with torture."
He laughed; a cold, bitter laugh. "Right," he replied dryly. "Go look for some firewood, and don't bother running away. You're kind of… stuck near me, so to speak…" He laughed again.
"Why are you bothering to build a fire when you have your wand-?"
"That's none of your concern," he snapped. "Go."
Weasley shot him a look that would have killed a lesser man. "How am I going to see, then? It's still dark, you realize."
He turned, shrugging. Now what the hell was he supposed to do? He couldn't use magic, the Ministry and the Muggle Prime Minister had his wand's signature on their respective databases. If he used any big magic, like transfiguration or apparation, Ministry officials would have his location in a second.
Draco sat down, his back against a tree and waited for Weasley to return. He heard her let out a yelp once, and assumed she'd reached the barrier he'd erected. After going thirty feet from his side, she would hit an invisible wall, unable to step any further.
The sun began to come up and Draco peered into the trees. They needed to be hidden by the time it was full light. He still wasn't entirely sure how they were going to manage that, but he had an invisibility cloak in his pack, and figured that if worst came to worst, they could crawl under it and go to sleep.
Though the thought of being in such close proximity with a Weasley for a prolonged period of time made him shudder.
"Weasley?" he called into the woods. "Weasley, where the bloody hell did you go?"
There was no answer.
A/N: If you're confused, you probably have a right to be. If you have any questions, of course, feel free to email me, but know that most of them -- at least the ones that are plot related -- will be resolved in time. If you'd like to be on my mailing list, please let me know. Question -- should I bother starting a Yahoo!Group for this story? Do you think anyone would join? If you'd be interested, drop me a line! :o)
Thank you to:
Crystal: I love D/G too. :) Thus why I'm writing a D/G story. I'm so brilliant. Sunshine*girl Hermione: Thanks for all the compliments. I intend to keep writing! Megan: Well, here's a bit of Draco for you. Nasty git, isn't he? Ginny Malfoy: Wow, that's a great review! Especially because I am (god knows) in no way a H/G shipper. I'm thrilled that you like it. Zelle: You know what I think of you. Crazy girl. Thanks though! Dragongurl: Here he is! I hope you still like it. Shinnonu: Good guess. ;) And he definitely is a bitch to write in character. Damn. But I do love him. *hugs Draco* Scarlett: I hope that I can keep you guessing throughout the entire thing. Thanks for reading!! Americangirl: Thank you! Hallee87: Thanks for reviewing! Icedpeaches: Here he is! I hope you like him. He gets better, trust me. And I've just added you to the mailing list. swaummyjs06: Thanks for the compliments and advice! Nmffnurse: Merci beaucoup. I've just added you! Blackmage: Soon enough? ;) Kranestad: Just what an author wants to hear! I'm glad to hear you liked it.