A/N: Hey! Guess what? I work at the Harry Potter Store!!!! There's a Harry
Potter store in Salem, Massachusetts, and I recently got a job there! How
cool is that!
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. I wish I did, but I don't.
Chapter 12: Dungeon.
Ginny struggled against the chains binding her to the wall. She had been dragged by three Death Eaters into the dungeon of a muggle mansion. The room she was currently in had no windows, and was illuminated by only one torch. The floor was pure cement, and the bonds around her wrists and ankles were cold metal. She sighed when she realized it was best to save her strength. She didn't know how long she had been wherever she was.
The heavy wooden door opened, and two men came in. One was wearing a Death Eater's hood, so she couldn't see his face. The other she recognized, even though he hadn't looked like the man she met at the age of eleven. Tom Riddle now had red eyes and slits instead of a nose. He resembled a snake so much, had he not had a human body, she might have confused him for the reptile.
"Ah, so our Sleeping Beauty has finally awoken," he hissed in a cold, high- pitched voice. "Ginevra Weasley, I don't think we have been properly introduced."
"There's no need for introductions," replied Ginny frigidly. "I know who you are, Tom." Voldemort's jaw clenched at the sound of his muggle name, but was otherwise expressionless. "I have nothing that might want," she continued. "Why did you bring me here?"
"On the contrary, my dear, you have everything I want," he corrected her. "You see, you hold very important information that I am sure I can find some use for."
"I don't know what you are talking about," she lied.
"Liar. You hold the secret to immortality, and I want it!"
"Even if I knew the 'secret to immortality,' I would never tell you!" Ginny yelled.
Voldemort tsk'ed. "And here I was, ready to make you an offer."
"What offer? You'll spare my life if I tell you? I have news for you, even if you wanted to kill me, you would never be able to," she smirked.
"So confident in your own powers," he said appraisingly. "Were you not in league with Dumbledore and his people, you would have found a place in my circle." He walked away from her and addressed the Death Eater standing by the door. "Prove to me that this girl is the immortal one you were telling me about." The Death Eater bowed deeply. He straightened up and removed his hood. Ginny's eyes flashed in anger, for Severus Snape stood before her.
The atmosphere in Dumbledore's tidy office was tense. The old headmaster sat in his chair, writing furiously. Across from him sat Molly and Arthur Weasley. Mrs. Weasley had her face hidden in her hands, her shoulders shaking slightly. Mr. Weasley was trying to calm her down. Fred and George stood by the window, silently looking the Hogwarts' grounds. Ron sat between Harry and Hermione on a plush couch that the latter had transfigured from a trash bin.
A gust of wind suddenly entered the room, and after a few seconds, Jenny materialized in front of them. "Sorry, no news on Ginny," she said regretfully when Mrs. Weasley had gotten up from her chair. She turned to Dumbledore. "We did find Colin Creevey. Bill took him St. Mungo's. He was in pretty bad shape. And we found the body of Draco Malfoy three miles from Hogsmeade. "
"You mean Malfoy is dead?" Hermione asked.
"No. A Dementor kissed him," Jenny answered. Hermione gasped, and George cursed.
"I suppose Bill took him to St. Mungo's as well," Dumbledore stated. Jenny nodded. "And we have no news on Madam Pince?" he asked.
Jenny shook her head. "We're still looking."
"Very well, then, Jenny," the old headmaster sighed. "In that case, I'll ask you to take Harry for his lessons. I want the two of you to work together for the next week or so."
"But professor," Harry put in. "I don't want to go lessons. I want to look for Ginny-"
"Completely out of the question, Harry," Jenny said. "You have to learn to control your powers, otherwise you won't be able to fight against the Death Eaters or Voldemort. Then, where would Ginny be?"
Harry resignedly followed Jenny out of the office. She was right. If he wanted to help Ginny, he needed to know how to use his powers. He couldn't duel against the people holding her captive if he didn't know how to use his magic.
It had probably been a week since she first arrived here. Ginny laid motionlessly on the floor. It was too painful to even move. She had spent the past three hours coughing up blood thanks to one of the poisons Snape had administered. Voldemort had ordered him to try every poison and killing curse known to wizard kind to make sure her immortality was a hundred percent. And it hurt like hell. Snape had forced fed her a poison that liquefied her insides. It took her three days to recover, and in that time, the Potions master had tried three killing curses, two of which she had never heard of.
Ginny had tried to fight back on the first day, even used some of her Dark magic, but that only attracted Voldemort's attention. He went straight down to the dungeon and spent hours torturing her, mostly with the Cruciatus curse. Now she was breathless, hurting all over, and was quickly losing hope. Snape was never working for Dumbledore; he was spying on him. With no one to tell the Order where they were keeping her, she was doomed.
The door opened, but she kept her eyes closed tightly. She figured it was Snape again, coming back for another day's work. She knew they were trying to break her, trying to get her to reveal the truth, but she couldn't. She couldn't give in.
"It's been a week, Ginevra," Voldemort's cold voice said. "Potter isn't coming to get you. I can assure you that he doesn't even know where you are."
'Good. That will keep him from doing something stupid, like trying to come rescue me. He can't put himself in danger,' she thought. She kept quiet however, her breathing ragged.
"What is it, girl? Did your tongue melt with that last poison?"
Still, Ginny kept silent. She refused to speak to him. Not that she had anything to say to him anyway.
"Very well, Ginevra," sighed Voldemort. "I will give you more time to think things through and sort through your priorities." He turned and left the room.
'Priorities?' she asked herself. She sighed, then winced at the pain in her ribs. She had to get out of here. But how?
Harry returned to the Gryffindor Common Room dirty and sweating. Jenny had been giving him more work than ever. Today's lesson had been almost three hours long. And it had been followed up by Remus and Tonks training him physically. All his muscles ached, and he was extremely tired.
"Long day?" asked Hermione sympathetically.
"Extremely," Harry answered. "Are there any news on Ginny?"
Hermione shook her head. "Ron just went to check with Dumbledore again, but I doubt that there is anything new. I'm sure either Dumbledore or McGonagall would have told us."
Harry sighed. "This is hopeless! There's no way for us to know whether or not she's okay, or where she is! I got a bad feeling about all of this, Hermione. My scar keeps bothering me, as though Voldemort were trying to tell me something, or he's been torturing someone. I'm terrified that it might be Ginny."
"Harry, you can't think like that. I'm sure that the Order will find her. You'll see. Everything will be okay." She reached out and patted his back comfortingly.
"Yeah, whatever," he mumbled. "I'll see you later. I'm going to bed."
Instead of going to sleep, Harry started to pace around the boys' dormitory. 'How can I help if I'm stuck here, going through lesson after lesson?' he wondered. There had to be a way to help Ginny. And he needed to figure it out soon. 'Maybe, I could- but no. Dumbledore would be pissed if I did that,' a voice in his head said.
'But if you don't," another voice in his heard said, oddly sounding like Fred and George. 'Then Ginny could get really hurt. You gotta save her somehow. And this way, at least, you'll be able to know where she is.'
With that in mind, Harry climbed into bed, and letting his Occlumency shields down, fell asleep without a second doubt. The next morning he rushed to Shrieking Shack, where he knew Jenny was living until she finished teaching him what he needed to know.
"Jenny! Jenny!" he yelled up the stairs of the Shack.
She came rushing from her bedroom, tying her robe. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"
"I need you to teach me all you can in the next two days."
A/N: Sorry this chapter was so short, but here's what happened: At my house, we have a laptop and a computer. I type all my stories on the laptop. My sister, smart little thing that she is, put the laptop to charge with the wrong charger, and the laptop got fried. So I lost the chapter I was supposed to be posting up. Now I had to retype the whole entire chapter, but with work, I've been so busy, I haven't been able to write at all. But I promise a nice long chapter next update. I only have about three more chapters to type, maybe more, maybe less. So hopefully I'll be able to update soon.
Love, Amalia.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. I wish I did, but I don't.
Chapter 12: Dungeon.
Ginny struggled against the chains binding her to the wall. She had been dragged by three Death Eaters into the dungeon of a muggle mansion. The room she was currently in had no windows, and was illuminated by only one torch. The floor was pure cement, and the bonds around her wrists and ankles were cold metal. She sighed when she realized it was best to save her strength. She didn't know how long she had been wherever she was.
The heavy wooden door opened, and two men came in. One was wearing a Death Eater's hood, so she couldn't see his face. The other she recognized, even though he hadn't looked like the man she met at the age of eleven. Tom Riddle now had red eyes and slits instead of a nose. He resembled a snake so much, had he not had a human body, she might have confused him for the reptile.
"Ah, so our Sleeping Beauty has finally awoken," he hissed in a cold, high- pitched voice. "Ginevra Weasley, I don't think we have been properly introduced."
"There's no need for introductions," replied Ginny frigidly. "I know who you are, Tom." Voldemort's jaw clenched at the sound of his muggle name, but was otherwise expressionless. "I have nothing that might want," she continued. "Why did you bring me here?"
"On the contrary, my dear, you have everything I want," he corrected her. "You see, you hold very important information that I am sure I can find some use for."
"I don't know what you are talking about," she lied.
"Liar. You hold the secret to immortality, and I want it!"
"Even if I knew the 'secret to immortality,' I would never tell you!" Ginny yelled.
Voldemort tsk'ed. "And here I was, ready to make you an offer."
"What offer? You'll spare my life if I tell you? I have news for you, even if you wanted to kill me, you would never be able to," she smirked.
"So confident in your own powers," he said appraisingly. "Were you not in league with Dumbledore and his people, you would have found a place in my circle." He walked away from her and addressed the Death Eater standing by the door. "Prove to me that this girl is the immortal one you were telling me about." The Death Eater bowed deeply. He straightened up and removed his hood. Ginny's eyes flashed in anger, for Severus Snape stood before her.
The atmosphere in Dumbledore's tidy office was tense. The old headmaster sat in his chair, writing furiously. Across from him sat Molly and Arthur Weasley. Mrs. Weasley had her face hidden in her hands, her shoulders shaking slightly. Mr. Weasley was trying to calm her down. Fred and George stood by the window, silently looking the Hogwarts' grounds. Ron sat between Harry and Hermione on a plush couch that the latter had transfigured from a trash bin.
A gust of wind suddenly entered the room, and after a few seconds, Jenny materialized in front of them. "Sorry, no news on Ginny," she said regretfully when Mrs. Weasley had gotten up from her chair. She turned to Dumbledore. "We did find Colin Creevey. Bill took him St. Mungo's. He was in pretty bad shape. And we found the body of Draco Malfoy three miles from Hogsmeade. "
"You mean Malfoy is dead?" Hermione asked.
"No. A Dementor kissed him," Jenny answered. Hermione gasped, and George cursed.
"I suppose Bill took him to St. Mungo's as well," Dumbledore stated. Jenny nodded. "And we have no news on Madam Pince?" he asked.
Jenny shook her head. "We're still looking."
"Very well, then, Jenny," the old headmaster sighed. "In that case, I'll ask you to take Harry for his lessons. I want the two of you to work together for the next week or so."
"But professor," Harry put in. "I don't want to go lessons. I want to look for Ginny-"
"Completely out of the question, Harry," Jenny said. "You have to learn to control your powers, otherwise you won't be able to fight against the Death Eaters or Voldemort. Then, where would Ginny be?"
Harry resignedly followed Jenny out of the office. She was right. If he wanted to help Ginny, he needed to know how to use his powers. He couldn't duel against the people holding her captive if he didn't know how to use his magic.
It had probably been a week since she first arrived here. Ginny laid motionlessly on the floor. It was too painful to even move. She had spent the past three hours coughing up blood thanks to one of the poisons Snape had administered. Voldemort had ordered him to try every poison and killing curse known to wizard kind to make sure her immortality was a hundred percent. And it hurt like hell. Snape had forced fed her a poison that liquefied her insides. It took her three days to recover, and in that time, the Potions master had tried three killing curses, two of which she had never heard of.
Ginny had tried to fight back on the first day, even used some of her Dark magic, but that only attracted Voldemort's attention. He went straight down to the dungeon and spent hours torturing her, mostly with the Cruciatus curse. Now she was breathless, hurting all over, and was quickly losing hope. Snape was never working for Dumbledore; he was spying on him. With no one to tell the Order where they were keeping her, she was doomed.
The door opened, but she kept her eyes closed tightly. She figured it was Snape again, coming back for another day's work. She knew they were trying to break her, trying to get her to reveal the truth, but she couldn't. She couldn't give in.
"It's been a week, Ginevra," Voldemort's cold voice said. "Potter isn't coming to get you. I can assure you that he doesn't even know where you are."
'Good. That will keep him from doing something stupid, like trying to come rescue me. He can't put himself in danger,' she thought. She kept quiet however, her breathing ragged.
"What is it, girl? Did your tongue melt with that last poison?"
Still, Ginny kept silent. She refused to speak to him. Not that she had anything to say to him anyway.
"Very well, Ginevra," sighed Voldemort. "I will give you more time to think things through and sort through your priorities." He turned and left the room.
'Priorities?' she asked herself. She sighed, then winced at the pain in her ribs. She had to get out of here. But how?
Harry returned to the Gryffindor Common Room dirty and sweating. Jenny had been giving him more work than ever. Today's lesson had been almost three hours long. And it had been followed up by Remus and Tonks training him physically. All his muscles ached, and he was extremely tired.
"Long day?" asked Hermione sympathetically.
"Extremely," Harry answered. "Are there any news on Ginny?"
Hermione shook her head. "Ron just went to check with Dumbledore again, but I doubt that there is anything new. I'm sure either Dumbledore or McGonagall would have told us."
Harry sighed. "This is hopeless! There's no way for us to know whether or not she's okay, or where she is! I got a bad feeling about all of this, Hermione. My scar keeps bothering me, as though Voldemort were trying to tell me something, or he's been torturing someone. I'm terrified that it might be Ginny."
"Harry, you can't think like that. I'm sure that the Order will find her. You'll see. Everything will be okay." She reached out and patted his back comfortingly.
"Yeah, whatever," he mumbled. "I'll see you later. I'm going to bed."
Instead of going to sleep, Harry started to pace around the boys' dormitory. 'How can I help if I'm stuck here, going through lesson after lesson?' he wondered. There had to be a way to help Ginny. And he needed to figure it out soon. 'Maybe, I could- but no. Dumbledore would be pissed if I did that,' a voice in his head said.
'But if you don't," another voice in his heard said, oddly sounding like Fred and George. 'Then Ginny could get really hurt. You gotta save her somehow. And this way, at least, you'll be able to know where she is.'
With that in mind, Harry climbed into bed, and letting his Occlumency shields down, fell asleep without a second doubt. The next morning he rushed to Shrieking Shack, where he knew Jenny was living until she finished teaching him what he needed to know.
"Jenny! Jenny!" he yelled up the stairs of the Shack.
She came rushing from her bedroom, tying her robe. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"
"I need you to teach me all you can in the next two days."
A/N: Sorry this chapter was so short, but here's what happened: At my house, we have a laptop and a computer. I type all my stories on the laptop. My sister, smart little thing that she is, put the laptop to charge with the wrong charger, and the laptop got fried. So I lost the chapter I was supposed to be posting up. Now I had to retype the whole entire chapter, but with work, I've been so busy, I haven't been able to write at all. But I promise a nice long chapter next update. I only have about three more chapters to type, maybe more, maybe less. So hopefully I'll be able to update soon.
Love, Amalia.