Blood Ties

Rating: PG-13

Summary: "You fall in with the sort of people your parents would call the wrong crowd, and before you know it you're sucked into the vortex" A chain of events forces Ginny to take on the world of the Dark Lord; but will the lure of power prove too much for her?

Disclaimer: All disclaimers apply. Any characters portrayed that you recognise as being from the HP books belong to J.K Rowling. Any characters you don't recognise belong to me, unless noted. Any characters that you recognise but have been noted as being mine are, obviously, mine : ) I'm not making any money from this, it's just for fun!

A/N Here you go folks, another juicy slice of Blood Ties pie for you all, lol. I'm glad it didn't take me quite so long to update this time – a month to update each chapter is a little bad. Oops ;D

Chapter Four

Idiosyncrasy

"Ah, Weasley," the voice above her said, "Long time no see, wouldn't you say?"

A feeling of horror seemed to wash over Ginny as she looked up to see who had spoken; although what she expected, she wasn't sure. She'd heard the voice– she already knew who it was.

"What, cat got your tongue?" the woman in front of her retorted, smirking maliciously.

"Uh…uh…" was all Ginny was able to muster.

"I see," Kate Vale continued, her eyes scanning Ginny and the clothes she was wearing, "Do you think perhaps you might be able to muster enough intelligence to tell me what you're doing here?"

Her eyes locked  on Ginny's, her tone malevolent as she continued, "Especially dressed in that"

"I'm…I'm…" Ginny stammered, unsure what to say. Seeing Kate Vale of all people standing in front of her had completely thrown Ginny, and in truth she had no idea what to say.

The last time Ginny had seen Kate Vale had been on her graduation day at Hogwarts, and the parting had not been on the most…pleasant of terms. In truth, Kate and Ginny had always hated each other; Kate had been a Slytherin in the same year as her, and had constantly teased Ginny about her second-hand uniform, books and really anything to do with her family's lack of money. She was pretty much a younger, female version of the hated Pansy Parkinson, save for the fact that, though it pained Ginny to admit it, Kate was incredibly beautiful. Her long, flowing black hair and piercing blue eyes had long since secured her a place among the hearts of most of Hogwarts' male population.

"I'm here for the same reason you are" she finally managed to choke out, her eyes looking fearfully up into Kate's own.

"Oh really?" Kate replied, her voice full of cool amusement, "Well then, I suppose it won't be long until you're visiting our resident stud, will it? I'm guessing that's why your wearing something so…expensive looking"

Ginny could feel the woman's eyes come to rest on her bare midriff, almost as if the pupils were burning holes in her skin.

"Although some might just called it slutty"

Ginny's head jerked slightly with this last comment, as if she'd been physically slapped.

That's unfair! her mind screamed, although her vocal chords remained unused. I didn't want to wear these clothes!

Well tough, another part of her seemed to say, you're wearing them now and there's nothing you can do about it – so deal!

The thought gave Ginny a little comfort, strengthening her slightly against the words that Kate was hurling at her. Flicking her hair behind her shoulder with a casual throw of her head, she put a hand on her hip in a gesture of defiance, trying to emanate a confidence and carelessness that she certainly didn't feel.

"Uh huh, because what you're wearing would certainly never constitute the word slutty" she shot back, a triumphant smile forming on her lips as she realised what she had just said. However, the feeling of triumph was quickly followed by a sensation of acute alarm as she realised that she had probably just severely pissed off a Death Eater, of all people. Her smile faltered slightly, but she managed to keep it there, although her nervous shifting of weight from foot to foot probably gave away her edginess.

Kate looked at Ginny with a air of surprise, but only for a moment; within a few seconds her smug exterior was back, her contemptuous gaze upon Ginny once more.

"Unexpected Weasley, unexpected – but I'll commend you for finally growing a backbone, even if it's only a limited one," she conceded, albeit with a spiteful tone and an equally spiteful comment, "But on to the real business now; I'm guessing, as you didn't actually say anything – or anything constructive anyway – when I asked if you were going to see our own lovely V.I.P, that you are. Correct?"

"Well…" Ginny answered, "I don't…actually…know…"

"Ah," Kate replied, as if suddenly everything had fallen into place, "I understand. Now this is very interesting. Tell me Weasley, just who brought you to this club?"

"A girl…" Ginny replied, stalling. She didn't know what to say. It was very difficult to know what you should do when dealing with Death Eaters, because at every turn there was a chance of getting killed for saying the wrong thing. Ginny mentally cursed herself again for coming here for what felt like the millionth time.

"Oh, that helps tremendously Weasley, it really does," Kate replied sarcastically, "I mean, which girl brought you?"

"She never told me her name," Ginny countered, the lie coming quick and easy to the edge of her tongue – she had no qualms about lying to this woman. However, the words were still slightly stilted – lying to her parents had been one thing, but lying to strangers who could kill you if they found out the truth was certainly another. 

"It sounds just like you to follow a woman you've never met and whose name you don't even know to some bar in the middle of London, Weasley. Mostly because it's so incredibly stupid. Now tell me," Kate began, "Did you know that this bar is full of Death Eaters, Weasley?"

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, actually, I did"

"What?". Kate's surprise was evident as she leant forwards slightly, as is she didn't think she'd heard properly.

"I said," Ginny repeated, "Yeah-actually-I-did". Her voice was deliberately slow, the words spaced equally apart as if she were talking to a rather stupid child.

Kate's eyes bulged slightly at this, her cheeks flaming, not so much with embarrassment as with rage as she grabbed Ginny's arm painfully and began to drag her across the room, her long finger nails digging into her flesh.

"Well Weasley, I think it's only fitting that you see our V.I.P now, don't you? Considering, after all, that you're all dressed up" Kate shouted behind her to Ginny as they cut through the throng of people on the floor, "Don't' you agree?"

Before Ginny could find time – or the right words – to reply with, Kate had dragged her across the dance floor and now stood in front of an alcove of space cordoned off with red rope. There were several chunky black sofas and chairs within it, and numerous bottles of champagne were dotted about the place, most of them opened and accompanied by half-empty champagne glasses. People sat, or rather, sprawled drunkenly about on the couches, laughing and enjoying a choice of delicacies from plates that contained such things as lobster and roast hams.

"Where is he?" Kate asked, leaning on a post that held up the red rope and addressing one of the girls lying on the couches, her grip on Ginny's arm still firm.

"Oh, he, uh, he went that way…" The girl slurred, pointing vaguely behind her and to the right slightly, her attention almost immediately being stolen by a young man next to her who began to tickle her, whispering drunkenly in her ear.

"Right" Kate replied, nodding and walking off in the direction the girl had pointed, which was a small corridor that led off of the main room beside the V.I.P area. The walls, floor and ceiling here were still painted black, but there were sconces lined up all the way along that lit when you passed them and died out when you'd gone by, so that the corridor, whilst being lit, was only ever lit in one spot.

"Here" Kate intoned, stopping in front of a door that Ginny hadn't even noticed at first, mostly because it was painted black as well and had no visible door knob, so it blended in with the surroundings. Kate knocked heavily on the door once, waiting as the sound of someone getting up was heard. The click of someone turning a door handle was heard next, and then it swung open slightly, so that only a tiny crack of light was visible behind the door.

"I've got someone for you" Kate said, a small, vicious smile on her lips as the door swung open a little more; however, Ginny still couldn't see who was behind it. Only Kate could.

Ginny had to assume that the person behind the door had nodded, because Ginny heard no one speak as Kate herself sneered sadistically and nodded back. Beckoning Ginny forwards with a toss of her head, she placed a hand on her back and shoved her through the door, a swift cry of "Good luck Weasel!" following her before the door was shut and any outside noise was cut off.

Ginny stood there numbly in the sudden silence, staring at the door. Fear washed over her suddenly as she realised that she was now alone…alone with a Death Eater anyway.

"Turn around"

The voice of the person behind her sent ripples of familiarity through her being as she heard it; she knew that she'd heard it before, but as for where, or how, or who…she couldn't say…

Slowly, she began to turn, afraid to see who it was and yet at the same time eager to know. Her eyes were aimed at the floor, so the first thing she saw was a pair of black leather shoes, perfectly polished without a speck of dust. Next, a pair of black trousers, then a leather belt just visible through a white shirt with the last few buttons undone. Up over the chest sheathed in the pale shirt, to the elegant white neck and then…

Ginny gasped in shock as she saw just who it was, her hand flying over her mouth as she felt her knees tremble. She leant against the door, staring at him with wide eyes and her breathing panicked.

"Oh my god, oh my god…" she repeated over and over again, "It's you…"

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" Malfoy replied, his voice cool and his face calm, "An interesting fact, to be sure," (here he paused, looking at Ginny with an air of mild interest) "but tell me, please – what are you doing here?"

Ginny just shook her head, eyes still wild as she stared at him.

"Will you not tell me?"

But Ginny felt as if she could hardly move, let alone speak. Shaking her head a little more, she just continued to look at him with expressions of wonder and fear mixed together in her features.

"Well then, I suppose I'll just have to cart you out there and tell whoever brought you here to take you back home—"

"No!" Ginny cried, finding that the remark had sent life back into her veins. She put a hand out towards Malfoy in a reflexive gesture of don't-you-dare-move-an-inch, shaking her head.

"No," she said again, her voice calmer and quieter this time, "You can't do that"

"Why not?"

"Because…" she explained, taking a deep breath, "They don't know who I am"

One of Malfoy's pale eyebrows shot up in a look of surprise, the corners of his mouth twitching as if he wanted to smile but had thought better of it.

"Oh, really?" he said, his tone betraying his amusement anyway, "and why would that be?"

"Because I didn't tell them"

"Bravo, Weasley, bravo – it seems you do have some common sense and reason after all" he drawled, clapping softly and mocking her, "No – what I meant was why didn't you tell them"

Ginny remained silent, her lips locked together and a look of defiance creeping onto her face. She wouldn't tell Malfoy why they didn't know. As long as she could find a way to stop him telling the others who she really was, it didn't matter.

"Tell me," he continued, "Would it have something to do with the fact that you're on the run from the ministry?"

Ginny's mouth fell open in horror, feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of her. How does he know? she silently cried, unable to figure it out. There was no way the ministry would have alerted the general wizarding public to the fact that she was missing, it would cause too much panic. Being told that the youngest daughter of the dead Weasleys had now gone missing and may be dead herself was not something the ministry would like the rest of the world to hear.

"How—how do you know?" she whispered, eyes wide as she looked at Malfoy from across the room.

"Oh, I know a few people, that's all. A couple of people from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, in fact" he revealed, watching with amusement as Ginny's eyes became like saucers, "Apparently they've put out a search warrant for you. Seeing as a bag, several items of clothing and a pair of shoes are missing from your room and there's no sign of a struggle, right now they're willing to bet that you've run away"

"You have an informant whose that good?" Ginny blurted out, unable to help herself, but nearly immediately her hands flew to her mouth, almost as if they were guarding against her saying anything more. She was determined that at no point would she ever enter into something that sounded like a civil conversation with Draco Malfoy.

To her utter fury, he chuckled lightly, calmly taking a sip of something from a glass that rested on a table next to his chair before refocusing his attention on her.

"Yes," he replied nonchalantly, "I have an informant whose that good. In fact," he continued, "They're so good they practically have Fudge tied around their little finger"

"But…surely nobody could infiltrate that…deep…"

"Oh believe me, Weasley, they can. But now" he said, changing the subject, "To be honest, I am much more concerned with why you're here than anything else. What my friend told me was nothing more than a rumour in a late night conversation—That is, until you turn up unannounced in my private rooms, dressed in something I'm more likely to see Pansy Parkinson in rather than the youngest Weasley"

Ginny scowled at him, all earlier thoughts of fear and confusion quickly disappearing as defiance seared through her. She crossed her arms and stopped leaning against the door, standing as tall as her petite frame could manage (helped along by the heels on her boots of course).

"Who cares if I'm wearing these clothes?" she snapped angrily, "I'm still wearing a whole lot more than half those whores out there"

"Feisty," Malfoy shot back, standing up himself, "And pretty bitchy too"

Ginny just stared insolently back at him, chin tilted and eyes haughty in a gesture of rebellion. A smirk stayed on Malfoy's face as he began to walk towards her slowly, the sneer growing as he saw her body giving away the nervousness her face wouldn't show. She was shaking, he realised as he drew nearer, and the realisation thrilled him. It was always fun to see women affected that way by him.

"Now Weasley—or should I call you Virginia?" he questioned as he reached her, his eyes raking over her appreciatively , "What are you going to do if I go out there and tell those new friends of yours who you really are? I don't think they'd be too pleased, do you? After all," he whispered as he got closer, "you did lie to them"

He was so close now that Ginny could feel his breath on her neck as he stood next to her, leaning towards her so that he only had to whisper for her to hear him.

"I—I…what do you expect me to say?" she reasoned, her eyes closing momentarily as she felt despair beginning to take hold of her.

"Well," Malfoy answered, his fingers reaching up and beginning to thread themselves within her hair, "How about we start with addressing each other on a first name basis. It gets tiring to hear the name Weasley over and over again after a while"

"Al—alright…Draco" she agreed, trying not to take notice of his delicate hands playing with strands of her hair.

"And secondly," he said, leaning so close now that Ginny could almost feel his lips touch her skin when he spoke, "There's something I want from you Virginia…"

Oh god, please, she thought desperately, not…not…

But she could hardly bear to finish the thought, closing her eyes with desperation and hoping that this was only another nightmare. Hesitantly, she brought a shaking hand up to her opposite forearm and pinched, hard, wincing when pain shot through her skin and down her arm.

Oh hell! She shrieked in her mind, why can't this be another horrible nightmare? Why?

So she waited. Waited for the feeling of his lips on her skin, on her neck, on her…mouth – but it never came. Instead she felt him move away, the space around her where he had been a second ago now only filled with cold air. Opening her eyes, she looked around in confusion, her eyes finding him on the other side of the room instead, rubbing his temple with elegant white fingers.

"You see Virginia," he began, "There is a man sitting out there in the club who I need to see. However, he has been avoiding me for the past week and there has been no way for me to talk to him. So you see," he continued, turning to face her, "I need the help of someone a little more…persuasive than me. And when I say persuasive I don't mean the kind of persuasive where you hurl a punch or two at somebody's face. I mean the sort of persuasion that a member of the opposite sex can provide"

For the second time in a very short space of time Ginny's mouth fell open in horror.

"What?!" she yelled indignantly, her face a picture of abhorrence, "You want me to—you—ooo!". She finished her sentence with a very unladylike howl of anger, her face reddening and her hands balling up into fists. "That's disgusting!"

"Calm down, Virginia, it's not as if I'm asking you to sleep with him" Draco said calmly, looking as though he wanted to laugh but wouldn't let himself.

"You're not?" Ginny answered, confused, "Well then, what are you asking me to do then?"

"All I am asking is for you to use some of that feminine charm those clothes give, and get the guy in here" he said, holding out something to her. It was a photograph. "That's him"

"Why should I? It's disgusting and demoralising" she argued, crossing her arms again and ignoring the photo.

"Because, Virginia" he retorted, annoyance seeping into his tone slightly, as if he were dealing with a spoilt child that refused to give up a toy, "If you don't do me this favour, I can do something that practically constitutes singing your death warrant"

"You can tell them" Ginny replied slowly, realisation dawning on her. He knew who she really was, and he could easily tell Stella and Michelle and the rest of them. "There's nothing I can do, is there?"

"Apart from what I've asked of you, no, there isn't" Draco confirmed, "If you do what I've asked, I'll go along with your little charade"

"What about Kate Vale?" Ginny asked, reluctantly taking the photo, "She already knows who I am anyway, and there's probably about twenty others who do as well"

Draco dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. "I'll sort them out Virginia – as long as you do what I've asked"

Ginny nodded slowly, sighing in defeat. However, she still didn't leave, instead staring at the back of Draco's head as he began to peruse the bookshelf that spread along the back wall. Sensing that she was still there, she saw him pause and shake his head. Turning, he asked, "Why are you still here?"

"Why are you helping me?"

Draco groaned under his breath. He hated people answering questions with questions. It wasted breath.

"Because, Virginia, I need to see this man. Believe me, if you'd been wearing anything else, I wouldn't have helped at all"

There was silence behind him, only because he assumed she was mulling the answer over in her head. Turning, he looked at her as she stood there, her gaze angry and yet at the same time utterly defeated.

"I haven't got all night, you know" he prompted ever-so-unsubtly, "Get going"

He watched with satisfaction as she scowled angrily. Looking around for a moment, he saw her eyes seize on a bottle that sat on the desk by the far wall. Walking over to it, she grabbed it, examined the label, and, making sure that her eyes were locked on his the whole time, took an enormous swig from the bottle of what – if he remembered correctly – was Vodka.

She choked slightly as it went down, but she didn't spit it all back out, quite an achievement in his eyes for someone who had obviously only had Vodka once or twice before. Slamming it back down on the table so hard that half the contents shot out of the top and all over the desk, she gave him a rebellious glare and stalked over to the door, grabbing the silver door handle and swinging it open with such force that it swung all the way round and hit the wall. As it slammed shut behind her, Draco shook his head and laughed. That Weasley girl was obviously completely off the rails.

***

Ginny felt like she was going to explode. How dare he? she fumed silently, her scowl deepening further as she stalked up the corridor, unaware of everything save for Malfoy's voice as it went on and on in her head. "I need the help of someone a little more persuasive than me"… "Use that feminine charm"…who the hell does he think he is? Huh?

As she neared the end of the corridor, she saw Kate Vale walking in the opposite direction, back down the corridor towards the room that Malfoy was in. She gave Ginny a perplexed looked as she passed, obviously wondering why Ginny had escaped from him unscathed, but Ginny just shot a glare back at her; she was in such a bad mood even Kate Vale didn't phase her. It passed through her head that he'd probably asked for her so he could perform a memory charm on her, although how he was going to rid about twenty people of all their memories of Ginny she didn't know. She'd never heard of a spell that could do that – but then again, the only spells she'd ever performed or heard of were light spells. Reputedly, the Dark Arts could do anything.

As she passed the V.I.P area and made her way towards the bar, she looked at the photo in her hand. It was a wizarding photo, taken outside what appeared to be a station. The man in it was quite short, balding slightly, with a pair of thick glasses perched on top of a pig-like nose. He was also extremely ugly. She turned it over to see if there was a date or anything like that, but instead she found a name, written in dark purple ink, the script neat and looping.

Alfred Learing

"What sort of name is that?" she murmured to herself as she sat on a stool by the bar, turning the picture back and once more looking at the man in the shot.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that over the music" the barman said, making her jump, "What did you order?"

"Oh, just a—a Vodka and Orange please" she requested politely, smiling and quickly hiding the photo in her trouser pocket. This barman was different from the last, a much younger and, to be frank, much cuter one, so asking him if he knew where this "Alfred Learing" was wouldn't put her in too much jeopardy with the others, she reasoned.

"Uh, excuse me," she began as he got her order, "But could you tell me where I might find
Alfred Learing?"

"What do you want him for?" the barman asked, his tone one of incredulity, "It's not usually your sort who're looking for him"

"What do you mean?" Ginny enquired back, curious in spite of herself and the knowledge that she shouldn't be extending this conversation any more than she had to.

"Oh, it's just that it's usually Mr. Malfoy and the likes of him that are actually asking around for that Learing fella, that's all"

"Oh," Ginny replied, trying to sound as innocent as possible, all the while preparing herself for her next line, "It's just that I have some…personal business with him"

Don't be sick, don't be sick, don't be sick…

"Oh…" the barman replied, an air of mild disgust on his face as he handed Ginny her drink, "It's his money I suppose?"

Ginny just shrugged and smiled naively, taking a sip of her drink.

"If you're determined to find him," he continued, "Then you'd do best to look up there,". He pointed up to the second level of chairs and tables that Ginny had fist seen when she came in. "He likes the table in the far right-hand corner"

"Well then," Ginny conceded, jumping from her stool and taking her drink from the bar, "I guess I'll go up there then". She smiled innocuously at the barman, twirling a curl around her finger in a motion that screamed "Airhead!" at the top of it's voice. "Thanks"

"No problem…" he called after her as she began to walk away from the bar, smiling a little as she turned and waved.

"Man…that's one hot chick…" he murmured, staring after her, "I've gotta get myself a girl like that…"

***

Ginny, meanwhile, was trying to work out how to get to the stairs without seeing Stella and the others, and vice versa. Eventually, she decided to just go the long way round, crossing the dance floor and making her way to the stairs along the opposite wall to the bar. It worked, because she reached the stairs without once seeing any of the others, although at one point she'd had to evade someone she was sure she recognised from her yearbook at home.

Having now reached the second level, she scanned the numerous tables and chairs scattered about the second level. There wasn't an enormous amount of people up here, and those who were mostly just sat at the table talking, with a few standing by the railings and looking out over the dance floor.

It took a few moments for Ginny to spy out where Learing was, but she soon saw him, sitting in a corner at a table surrounded by…well, quite a few women actually. Ginny squinted slightly and stared harder at the table to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her – but no, it was true. Several members of the opposite sex (i.e. female) sat around Learing, all of them with cocktails in hand and smiling at Learing with a look of desire; a desire Ginny was willing to bet was centred on Learing's fat wallet, not his face. Shaking her head, Ginny squared her shoulders and stood up straighter, taking a deep breath as she began to walk across the room towards Learing, making a conscious effort to swing her hips and trying not to trip in her heels at the same time.

I can't believe I'm doing this, she thought incredulously to herself as she plastered a wide, (hopefully) dazzling smile on her lips. The closer she got to the table, the more and more she repeated to herself the words Draco had said – "If you don't do me this favour, I can do something that practically constitutes singing your death warrant"

Do this for your life Ginny, she said to herself as she neared the table, Do this for your family. You're no good to them as another dead body.

"Hello," she greeted sensuously as she arrived at the table, putting a hand on the man's shoulder, "Can I join you?"

"Oh, yes, of course," Learing declared, looking thoroughly happy at having another young women join his party, "Seat yourself down here". He reached out a dragged a chair over from a neighbouring table, positioning it right next to him and causing the woman who had previously been in that particular place of honour to scowl darkly.

"Well, actually…" Ginny purred, all the while feeling the bile rise in her throat as she leant in towards him and began to whisper, "I was thinking more along the lines of sitting with you, if you understand my meaning"

"Oh…yes…yes I do," Learing replied, his ugly face breaking into an equally ugly grin, "I'm sorry girls," he said, turning to the others, "but Miss…uh…Miss—"

"Louisa" Ginny supplied.

"—Yes, Miss Louisa here has requested only my company. I'm sure you understand" he reasoned as a collective groan rose from the group of women, "I'll see you all again soon, I'm sure" he continued, getting up as the women did, even hugging and kissing several of them goodbye, whom Ginny assumed must be regular "Learing leeches", as she had already so affectionately nick-named them.

Finally, when the last of them had gone, Learing turned back to Ginny, who had sat down at the table.

"So…" he began, sitting down next to her, "What is it you wanted that meant we had to be…alone?"

Talk about living up to the meaning of your name, Ginny thought with revulsion as the man leered at her sickeningly. Uggh! I am going to kill Malfoy when I find him!

"Well…" Ginny began, closing her eyes momentarily to stop herself being sick as Learing's hand came to rest on her knee, "I…uh…uh…"

"Yes?" Learing encouraged eagerly, his hand still resting on Ginny's leg.

"Well…uh…you know what?" Ginny said, getting up from the table. Learing looked up at her in confusion as she stood there, shifting her weight from foot to foot as she swayed slightly. "I was thinking that maybe…maybe…"

Just say it girl! Get it over with!

"I was thinking that maybe we could go somewhere more private" she said in a rush of breath, trying to get the words out as fast as possible. What was even worse was Learing's nauseating snigger as he stood, his eyes roaming appreciatively over Ginny's outfit. She felt as if she'd be physically sick if she was around this man much longer. No, it was much better to get things over and done with.

"You see, I think I know a place we could go," she suggested seductively, motioning behind her to downstairs.

"Well, where you lead, I'll certainly follow!" Learing cackled, trailing Ginny as she made her way across the floor to the stairs. She checked as she got there that Learing was still behind her, feeling an undeniable sensation of displeasure that he was still there when she looked, and she knew his eyes were resting on her behind when she wasn't looking.

Leading him across the dance floor, Ginny made sure to take him the way she'd come herself – it would have been bad enough if Stella had seen her and stopped her from carry out her "favour" for Malfoy, but for her to see Ginny with Learing…she didn't even want to think about the questions that would be asked.

Luckily, they made it back to the corridor without bumping into anyone, and Ginny took a deep breath as they stood at the beginning of the corridor, Learing standing beside her and practically shaking with anticipation. She began to head up the corridor, turning to where he still stood at the edge. A look of uncertainty passed over his face as he looked up the corridor, but as soon as Ginny put on her…affectionate smile, beckoning for him to follow here, any doubt that he was feeling must have left him, for he licked his thin lips sickeningly and eagerly followed Ginny up the corridor. Forcing herself to giggle as if she was actually enjoying herself, she kept a look out from the corner of her eye to try and see where the door was, knowing how well it blended in with the walls and determined not to miss it.

Finally, her eyes caught the subtle line of the door's edge, and she stopped, leaning against it with what she hoped would sound like a loud bang on the other side. She giggled like an airhead, trying again her trick of twirling a piece of hair around her finger and biting her lip. Learing sniggered sickeningly once more, leaning forward and beginning to slobber over her neck.

Oh, this is DISGUSTING! her mind screamed, followed by a feeling of indignation at Malfoy for not opening the door as soon as she had hit it. Once again she knocked on the black metal surface with her fist, Learing being so caught up in drooling all over her that he didn't notice – that is, until the door suddenly swung open.

Ginny, knowing that sometime soon the door would (hopefully) be opened, had prepared herself for it, her reflexes preventing her from falling, only staggering slightly. Learing, however, had not been so lucky; he tumbled off of Ginny onto the floor of the room, his nose hitting the polished wooden floor as he descended right at Draco's feet.

"Oh, it's you" Draco said, his voice openly full of disgust as he watched Learing sit up, his hand over his nose, which had begun to bleed freely. "Couldn't you find somewhere else to do one of your whores? Who is it this time? Marie? Claire?"

"Elizabeth or something like that" Learing answered, his reply muffled from the hand he held over his bleeding nose.

"Louisa!" Ginny interjected indignantly, arms crossed. She raised an eyebrow at Draco as he looked up at her, silently trying to tell him to call her Louisa.

"Louisa…right," Draco replied, his gaze lingering on Ginny with a hint of perplexity in his face; But within moments it was gone, and he had a look of disgust on his face as his attention centred back on Learing. "But I suppose this interruption wasn't entirely wasted," he continued, walking over to Ginny and grabbing her arm, moving her firmly away from Learing and out the door. "Wait there," he whispered quietly as he placed her outside in the corridor.

 "I've been meaning to talk to you," she heard him say to Learing just before the door closed, "about some debt collection—"

But his words were cut off by the door closing, and Ginny was left standing outside in the corridor, alone.

Staring at the door for a moment, she felt all the emotion from the past 24 hours welling up inside her, and before she could stop herself she felt tears well up in her eyes, and she began to cry.

***

A/N Wow, I can't believe I've finished this chapter already. It took me ages to finish each of the last two chapters, but I've done this one in two days! And it's the longest yet. Heehee.

Just in case anyone is interested and in case I didn't get the point across very well, Kate Vale was Ginny's "worst enemy" at Hogwarts – she's sort of a female version of Draco mixed with Pansy Parkinson. She was in Ginny's year at school. And, for fear that some of you might be concerned, don't worry, Stella will be making a return appearance, just not this chapter.

As for the name of this chapter – I dunno, Idiosyncrasy just seemed to fit. I looked it up on the thesaurus and it means "Unconventional behaviour", and as this chapter features some pretty unconventional behaviour, I'd say it fitted really well!

Anyways, thanks a bunch to everyone who reviewed – I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Thanks to:

Amanda Mancini (Thanks so much for the advice, it's nice to know someone's rootin' for ya, lol. As you can see I took hold of your advice and tried to do it justice. However, I do have to warn you that I'm on holiday at the moment, so once I go back to normal it'll be increasingly difficult for me to update quickly cause of all the homework (Grr!). But I think the fact that I got off to a stilted start with this probably has something to do with why it took me a while to update. Hopefully now things are flowing better I'll update quicker anyway. Btw, did you write a fic called "Red Dementia"?) Okeanos (No actually, she's an abstract version of you. C'mon Lara, doesn't the name Michelle ring a bell? : D heehee! And I hope this update was quick enough for you. I did try! Happy Easter to you too, and I'm glad you found the Caps Lock button) Alyssa Rose (Yeah, it's cool when you find out you and a famous movie star think the same. Well, you know, great minds think alike…jk, jk! Glad you're enjoying the story, and I hope this chapter lived up to the others) fcuking cathy (Really, mine was the best? That's so nice! Well, now you know who the voice belonged to – but even though it wasn't Draco, he turned up in the end! And yes, later on in the story hopefully more information about her parents' deaths and the rest of her family will come to light. Hope you like the update) hermiones double (Thanks for the major compliments on my fic, that's so nice of you! And I'm glad you like Michelle, even though she is evil, lol. I know what you mean about liking a character even though they're supposed to be horrible. I always appreciate compliments on my original characters)