Disclaimer: I still don't own anything, no matter how much wishing I do…oh, wait, I own Lori.

A/N: I'm going to keep this A/N short and sweet. I'm sorry this chapter took longer to get out than normal; it's much longer than the other ones (I think it's double their length) and it was hard to write. Anyway…R&R, as usual! Thank you, Ash, my best friend and amazing beta reader who waited so patiently for this chapter.

Chapter Nine: The Lockup Chamber

            Ron ignored Hermione's rushed questions as he searched for an open compartment. Once he found one, he dragged Hermione inside and made her sit down.

            "I'll be right back," he said, shutting the compartment door. Hermione stood again and looked out the window, watching Ron run back to the castle. She had no idea what he was doing, but was certain he was losing his sanity.

            A few minutes later, Ron barged back into the compartment with things tucked inside his robes – one was soft and malleable; the other was thin, rigid and long.

            "Oh, that's inconspicuous, Ron," Hermione said sarcastically, her arms folded.

            Ron grinned. "It's Harry's Invisibility Cloak and broomstick. We're going to use them to get into Malfoy Manor."

            "What? No! We can't sneak into their house; that's illegal!" Hermione hissed.

            "Not if we're doing it for a good cause," Ron reasoned. He took the Invisibility Cloak out and stuffed it on the seat. "You can come or not, but I'm going."

            "What about your parents, Ron? And mine? When they can't find us, they'll panic!" Hermione was frantically spitting out any form of logic she could muster, but Ron wasn't buying.

            He waved his hand at her to dismiss her worries. "We won't be gone long – just a few hours, I imagine. They'll be at the station, right? Maybe they'll figure I went with you, or you came with me. All we have to do is follow Malfoy in the cloak and slip in his house with him.  We'll find the antidote in no time."

            "I don't think you have a plan."

            "Plan, schman. We don't need a plan! We've got your brains and my…caustic wit. With the two of those together, we've got an unbeatable team!" he said triumphantly, as if he was being rational.

            "Right, what are you going to do when Lucius catches you? Make a joke?" Hermione said scathingly. "If you're going to be an idiot about it and go, then I guess I have no choice. I can't let you do something stupid without someone sensible with you. I wish Harry was here; he'd talk you out of this."

            "If Harry was here," Ron said, his voice dropping, "we wouldn't be talking about this in the first place."

            "Talking about what?" said a familiar voice, stepping into the compartment, a scarf tied tightly around her neck. Ginny slid the door shut and sat next to Hermione.

            "Nothing," Ron mumbled. He had been acting strange around Ginny ever since he found out that she and Draco had kissed. Ginny frowned at his reaction.

            "Tell her your brilliant plan, Ron – or lack thereof," Hermione pushed.

            "We're going to Malfoy's to get the antidote so we can save Harry."

            Ginny raised her brows and replied, "That sounds oddly comic-book-heroic."

            Ron sighed and looked out the window. He loved his little sister dearly and couldn't bear the idea of her liking his archenemy. Ron had thought that Ginny was under the influence of some potion as well, but when he suggested this Hermione smacked him upside the head and yelled at him for thinking such things. "What purpose would Draco have for wanting Ginny to like him?" she had asked. Ron only raised his eyebrows in reply, suggesting such things that made Hermione gasp and kick Ron smartly in the shin. Ron accused Hermione of getting rather violent with him, but she retorted by sticking out her tongue at him and smiling.

            Ginny saw Ron frown. It wasn't as though she were purposely trying to hurt Ron by kissing Draco; it was just a fluke that it happened to be his enemy. How come Ron couldn't see the sensitivity Draco possessed? It seemed like only Ginny could see past his surface and know the real him. A part of Ginny loved the feeling of being the only one who could understand him, but a part of her wished that everyone could see what she could.

            "I'm coming too, then," Ginny said after a few minutes of awkward silence.

            "No, you're not," Ron said sternly. He didn't want to see his little sister snogging some guy. Stop the thoughts! Ron thought angrily, resisting the temptation to bang his head on the window.

            "Yes, I am. Don't try to say no, Ron, because I am going." Ron chose not to argue with her, because she obviously would fight him and he was definitely not up to fighting her at the moment.

            The ride back to King's Cross Station seemed even longer than previous years, mainly because of Harry's absence and the uncomfortable silence between Ron and Ginny. Hermione, caught in the middle, tried to make friendly conversation, but gave up when Ron only gave short answers and Ginny looked ready to cry. When the train slowed to a stop at the Platform 9 ¾, they all immediately looked at each other knowingly. The three of them quickly hid behind one of the columns at the station, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible.

            "I'm going to say goodbye to him," Ginny said suddenly.

            "We're going with him, Gin!" Ron said incredulously.

            "But he won't know that," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'll be back in a second, all right?" Ginny ran off to Draco, who was standing looking rather agitated with Crabbe and Goyle, while their parents spoke to each other. Draco spotted Ginny and motioned her off into the corner so his father wouldn't see them.

            "I wanted to say goodbye," she said softly, smiling at him.

            "Me too," Draco replied, frowning. Ginny realized as she watched him frown that she'd never seen him smile.

            "Smile for me."

            "What?"

            "Smile. Just once, please?" she said, her own faltering.

            Draco shook his head and gave a small smile. Ginny beamed. "Happy now?" he asked, placing a hand on her waist.

            "Yes." Ginny placed her hand on Draco's shoulder and leaned in, hoping for one of those exploding kisses that made her heart swell. To her disappointment, Draco gave her a slight hug.

            "I'll see you after the holiday. Bye, Ginny."

            Ginny let go of Draco and watched him march off with his parents. Suddenly, a hand out of nowhere grabbed hers and dragged her under a cloak. It was Ron and Hermione, out of sight from the Invisibility Cloak. One look at Ron's face and Ginny knew he'd seen Draco embrace her, but Ginny didn't care. She was happy she'd been able to say goodbye on good terms, considering she was just about to break into his house.

            Draco and his parents climbed into a large black Ministry car, while Ron, Hermione, and Ginny clambered on two separate brooms – Ron and Ginny on one, Hermione on the other (Ron had given her Harry's broom). It was tricky flying two brooms under one Invisibility Cloak, but they managed. Ginny, since she wasn't the one flying the broom, had to make sure either side of them was securely fit so the cloak wouldn't be blown away and it covered them. They followed the Malfoy's large Ministry car for awhile, the three of them growing restless and their bottoms sore.

            The car finally stopped in front of an elegant wrought iron gate, waiting for admittance. The gate slowly opened with a drawn-out wailing creak and the car sped through, the gate doors snapping shut, nearly catching the trunk in its vicious teeth. As the Malfoys drove up the driveway, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny soared above the manor.  A magnificent mansion much smaller than Hogwarts and less amiable in appearance slid into view. Turrets spun towards the sky in three majestic spirals, triangulating the roof. A large wooden door sealed the entrance. Ginny half-expected there to be a moat but saw there was none when they circled lower around the front door, trying to keep the cloak securely on all of them. Draco gazed up at the towering turrets and shuffled after his silent parents.

            The three students managed to land gently, hide the brooms, and slip quietly inside before the door slammed shut with a deafening boom. It was eerily dark inside the manor, making Ron realize that this mission would not be as simple as he had hoped. There were doors everywhere; one to the left, a row behind them, and a winding staircase led to more closed doors, doors they'd have to check. They'd have to inspect carefully, of course, lest they wanted to be captured.

            "Ron," Ginny whispered. "Now what the hell do we do?"

            "Watch your mouth, Ginny!" he hissed back. Ginny rolled her eyes. Like Ron's one to talk, anyway. "We're just going to…look around. Search for anything suspicious."

            "And we're going to do all this under one giant cloak, I suspect? I think not," Hermione said huffily, wiggling out of the cloak. Ron tried to drag her back under, but she batted his hand away and crept forward, motioning Ginny and Ron. "Here's what we're going to do, since Ron obviously cannot come up with anything on his own," she whispered pointedly. "We'll split up. Ron, since you're so paranoid, take the cloak. We'll meet back here in…half an hour?" Ron and Ginny nodded. "Try not to get caught." She flashed a smile, and tiptoed off into the depths of the dark hallway.

            Ginny looked towards Ron and followed Hermione's lead. Ron took to a corner across the hall, making his heart thump quite loudly in his chest. He had not seen where Draco and his family had gone, which made him nervous – but was only too glad he had the Invisibility Cloak with him (Hermione and Ginny were lighter on their feet – this comforted the nagging guilty feelings). He turned left again, another endless hallway of doors looming in the darkness. Sighing, he shut his eyes and pointed any which way, walking into the one he pointed at.

            Hermione was afraid. She had shown bravery in appointed positions a few minutes earlier, but the fact was – she was scared to death. She had just broken into someone's home, something she never would have condoned had Ron been more levelheaded. Hermione climbed the creaking stairs and rushed down the hallways, scared to slow down. After awhile she looked about, choosing any room. She placed her palm on the door and pushed it forward, shushing the door's creaking and stepping inside the pitch black room.

            "Lumos," she muttered, her wand instantaneously lighting.

            The wand's small beam of light let Hermione gaze around. She didn't dare light any candles, unwilling to have the Malfoys see the illumination. The room was a bedroom of some sort, with a majestic mahogany bed and a grand armoire. A gleaming mirror stood at one end of the room, intriguing Hermione. She had only heard of Harry and Ron's escapades with the Mirror of Erised (she was absolutely miffed that she hadn't been invited, she might add, considering it was such a fascinating artifact, and ancient as well) and desperately wished she could use it. Although she knew this was not the Mirror of Erised, she approached it anyway. Only her reflection peered back at her, until a soft voice called out from the mirror.

            "Are you lost?" the mirror whispered.

            Hermione started. "I…uh, sort of," she replied. "I'm looking for something."

            "I do not think whatever it is you are looking for is here. You should leave; this is no place for a young girl such as yourself."

            "I know, but I need to find it. It's very important," Hermione said. I can't believe I'm talking to a mirror, she thought to herself.

            "Well, if you're looking for something of Master Malfoy's, you might want to try his office. It's where he mostly hides his private things."

            Hermione arched her eyebrow. "How would you know?"

            "People talk; I listen."

            Hermione murmured a thank you and goodbye and stepped out of the room, making sure no one was around. She was amazed she hadn't been caught yet, but rethought her incredulity and realized the house was so enormous and only three people occupied it. She decided to take the mirror's advice and search Lucius's office, if she could only find it.

            Ginny wanted to find the antidote, but she wanted to see Draco as well. She was very much confused still and he had only made it worse by just hugging her when she said goodbye. Perhaps he doesn't like me as I like him. Ginny grew nervous at this thought and furiously pushed it out of her mind. No, she thought, scolding herself, no. He wouldn't have kissed me a second time if he didn't. She never once thought he was only using her; that was Ginny's gift, or fault – she never saw the bad in people, only the good.

            "Antidote, antidote, where are you?" she half-sang to herself as she roamed the halls quietly. Her heart had not stopped beating against her chest frantically since she climbed aboard the broom and started following Malfoy's car. She had climbed the creaking stairs to explore the second floor, when a door on her left caught her eye. Carefully surveying her surroundings to make sure no one was around, she opened the door and entered.

            It was a study of some sort. Enchanted candles ignited as soon as she walked in to reveal a desk dominating most of the deep red room, with a mile-high ceiling and bookcases stretching to meet it. Trinkets of every type stood making odd noises on a small table in the corner. Ginny was overcome with curiosity and examined the room before she began her investigation. She was reluctant to touch anything, the chance of it being cursed too high. Ginny started scanning the bookshelves and picked one that looked as though it had been hastily thrown back onto the shelf. It was a book of potions, a book that had a peculiar piece of paper folded thoughtlessly hidden among the spotted pages. Too immersed in the paper, she did not hear the soft footsteps pattering close to the door. She was unfolding the paper, but the footsteps were nearing her with every second she wasted, yet Ginny still stood in her place. The handwriting was messy and she needed more light, but someone was turning the doorknob, and she couldn't get out in time, there was no way…

            Ginny looked up as soon as the door was flung open, gray eyes piercing her own. Her mouth opened, first silently, but then let loose a scream so piercing and strident it could shatter windows. The heavy book slipped from her shaking hands and reverberated off the walls in booming thuds, and the paper fluttered to the floor.

            "Wha – Ginny?!" the voice exclaimed.

            "Draco, oh my, I thought you were your father! You scared me to death!" Ginny said softly, her voice lost in her nerves.

            More footsteps joined outside the door, this time rushed and heavy. "What's going on?" a voice growled. It was Lucius. He looked at Ginny in surprise. His eyes traveled to the floor and onto the book, and suddenly darted to the scrap of paper. Face darkening, he pushed Draco aside. "You're that Ginny Weasley, aren't you?"

            Ginny merely nodded, too shocked to say anything. Lucius approached her and snatched the paper from the floor. He scrutinized it a moment before he tossed it into the hearth next to Ginny and lit a fire.

            "No need for that," he muttered. He then turned towards Draco and muttered something incoherently, waving his wand about for a moment. Seemingly satisfied, he turned back to Ginny. "Girl – you do realize you've broken into my home, don't you? Breaking and entering is a punishable offense. However…" Lucius looked off into the distance, a small and cruel smile playing on his face daringly. "I am in a good mood. Draco," he snapped, turning to his son, "bring her to the Lockup." Lockup? Ginny thought, panicked.

            Draco's face showed no expression. Ginny's eyes pleaded with him, but he remained still and staring past her. It was as though she was a ghost to him, a ghost he could not see nor hear, and did not care to touch. Draco marched forward and placed his hand on Ginny's arm, dragging her forth. Ginny could see nothing in his eyes. They were empty.

            "No, Draco, what are you doing?" Ginny yelled, attempting to pry his hand off her arm. "Stop it, Draco! Stop! Don't you hear me?" Draco remained silent and stared ahead. "Draco! Let me go!" Ginny's voice grew shrill with her terror, seeing Draco would not regard her screams. "Help!"

            Draco led her to a small room in an extremely gloomy section of the house. A heavily barricaded door stared Ginny in the face as Draco opened the door under Lucius's watch. He pushed Ginny into the room without a word and slammed the door shut behind her, engulfing her in complete darkness. Ginny was alone in the completely dark room. She could not see nor hear anything in the freezing room and had no idea where she was or if Ron and Hermione were all right.

            Ginny patted her robes for her wand and pulled it out when she found it. I'd better thank my lucky stars they didn't take this, she thought, relieved. "Lumos," she muttered, and the wand lit.

            She shone it around herself and almost immediately wished she hadn't. She was in an all-concrete room with no windows and one door. The place smelled of owls and rotting cabbage. She rushed towards the door and pounded with all her might on the heavy door, not knowing you could only hear a muffled banging on the other side.

            Hermione was just about to search another room when she heard the scream. She was positive it was Ginny. Hermione ran out of the room and nearly collided with Ron, who had run out of the room he was searching at almost the same time. They looked at each other for a split second and practically flew down the stairs.

            "Where is she?" Hermione squeaked, her voice rising with panic.

            "I don't know," Ron said, his face paling. "She can't be hurt, she can't be…" Ron ran a hand through his hair and glanced at something in the corner of his eye. He quickly snatched Hermione's hand and pulled her into a broom closet, breathing heavily. Ron clutched Hermione's hand in fear. She let him grip it as hard as he could (though it pinched a little) for she knew he was trying his hardest to stay together.

             "We've got to find her," Hermione said. "Staying in this broom closet is not going to do us any good."

            "But what can we do? We haven't any idea where we're going. We couldn't find the antidote, and we're not going to be able to find Ginny." Ron's face fell even more and he looked about to sob.

            "We'll get Dumbledore."

            "All the way back at Hogwarts? Hermione…that's miles and miles away! Flying from King's Cross was tiring – could you imagine flying to Hogwarts?"

            Hermione was stumped. For the first time, she could not think of anything. "I…I…Ron, I don't know what to do."

            "We…" Ron's eyes were darting all over the place, as if searching for an answer in the closet. "We can get an owl…and send a letter to Dumbledore…that's what we'll do, find an owl."

            Ludicrous though his plan sounded, it was the only thing they had. Ron opened the door slowly and peered out, motioning Hermione to follow him.

            "We're staying together this time," Ron said, grabbing Hermione's hand.

            Ron and Hermione seemed to walk the halls of Malfoy Manor for ages. They felt they had nearly checked all the doors in the entire house, and could not find Ginny or an owl. They had just about given up when they heard a faint thumping and shouting. Ron ran blindly to the noise, with Hermione trailing behind him.

            "Oof!" Hermione knew that noise quite well – Ron had run into something and fallen.

            "Ron, you idiot, what have you tripped over?" she whispered through the darkness.

            "Hermione, run!" Ron yelled frantically. Hermione, taken aback by his response, had no time to react, and took Ron's advice – she ran.

            Hermione dashed through the winding hallways of the house, unsure of where she was going until she recognized the grand foyer of the mansion. She pushed through the front door and grabbed the closest broom she could and flew off into the sky, unsure of where she was going. Back in the mansion, Ron stood up and squinted through the dark. The thing he had run into was Draco.

            "You filthy piece of –" Ron was cut off by Draco sealing his mouth with a strong and broad hand.

            "Shut up, Weasley," Draco said calmly. "My father had placed me under the Imperius Curse to bring Ginny here, all right? You've got…and I can't believe I'm saying this…you've got to trust me." He took his hand off Ron's mouth uncertainly.

            "This is my sister we're talking about, Malfoy. If you're lying to me – and she gets hurt – I will kill you. And I don't mean in a nice, sudden-death way. No, I mean I will gouge out your eyes and feed them to you. And then you will choke on them, and then I will rip off your scalp and stab you with…your stupid hair."

            Draco stifled a laugh. Ron had no idea what he was babbling on about, but he knew that Ron was definitely protective of Ginny. "She's in there. My father calls it the Lockup Chamber. The door is guarded by a curse, but I can't get it open. I only know the curse when my father has me under the Imperius Curse."

            "So get back under the curse!" Ron nearly shouted.

            "I realized that, Weasley, thank you." Draco started pacing back and forth. "You'll have to hide. There's a pantry over there; stay in there until I open the door. My father might not take the curse off of me, so you'll have to be careful. Think you can handle that?"
            Ron glowered. He briskly walked past Draco and shut himself in the pantry. Draco smirked and went to find his father. His plan was to ask him to open the chamber so he could put a Silencing Charm on Ginny – though he'd call her the "little Weasley." Draco wanted nothing more than to release Ginny from the Lockup Chamber. He knew all too well how horrible it was in there, being imprisoned in the room many times as a child. His father thought it would toughen Draco. It worked, only it broke Draco's ability to feel emotion towards his father and that was forever changed.

            "Father, the Weasley girl is making an awful lot of noise. I can hardly concentrate. I would suggest placing a Silencing Charm on her," Draco said as he entered his father's office.

            Lucius studied Draco for a moment. "Fine. Imperio," he said, pointing his wand at Draco. He felt his thoughts vanish and bliss completely take over. Directions lightly flowed into his mind, making his feet move towards the Lockup Chamber. His mouth spoke words his mind could not hear, and the door opened. Inside, Ginny sat huddled against the wall. She peered up at him, but he could not see her. Deep inside, he felt himself trying to break through.

            It's Ginny! Save her, take her to Ron…make sure she gets out of the mansion, and tell her how you feel. Save her!

            Draco's blissful controlled hell vanished. His mind was clear, every thought from his father's mind vanquished. Draco had broken the Imperius Curse.

            "I'll be heading back to the office. I trust you can perform a Silencing Charm," Lucius sneered.

            Draco stared at his father's retreating back and slowly turned back to Ginny's small figure, peering up at him helplessly. She was clutching her wand, her hand shaking. She was freezing cold, having been in there over two hours. Draco stepped backwards, mouth agape at the horror this poor girl had been through, and ran from the room. He returned in a few seconds (much to Ginny's relief, though she had been frightened of him) with a blanket. He rushed inside the chamber and covered her. Ginny flinched as he touched her.

            Draco's face fell as he saw this. "Ginny, it wasn't me. My father had the Imperius Curse…I'm so sorry, I'm sorry…" Draco pulled Ginny into his arms and hugged her tightly. Her tiny arms weakly wrapped around his neck, burying her face in his neck and sobbing.

            "I know," she whispered. "I saw it in your eyes."

            "Ahem," Ron grunted behind them. His arms were folded and he was standing rather rigidly while staring at the two of them. Draco pulled away from her and granted Ron access to Ginny. Ron swept down upon her and embraced her.

            "Ron, you're suffocating me," she said, her voice muffled.

            "I hate to break this up, but I think you should get out of here before my father comes back," Draco drawled.

            "Draco," Ginny stated, prying Ron's hands off her neck. "We came here for the antidote. We can't leave without it."

            Draco sighed heavily. "He's given it to Voldemort, and the instructions are gone."

            "What? There's got to be a way…" Ron said incredulously.

            "No. Unless you want to face Voldemort, there's nothing we can do."

            "Then that's what we're going to do," Ginny declared, marching out of the room.