A/N: In Elizabethan times, the bride and groom had individual portraits of themselves made before their wedding.
Disclaimer: Nothing here belongs to me except the plot and some of the minor characters (though who'd really want to own Sabine?).
The Final Time
Chapter 10
-Captured by Insanity
Lucius coolly flicked his wand and dispassionately said, "Avada Kedavra!" Alistryna was as still as a statue for a split second before collapsing like a rag doll to the ground.
It was as if time had stopped at the moment Lucius uttered the Unforgivable. For the last few years, Ginny had been surrounded by death, as Voldemort fought those who tried to oppose him. Some of her parents' dearest friends, people she had known since childhood, had been killed. But she had never witnessed someone die. She had never seen a dead body. And now Alistryna Rhydderch, the first year, the buddy, her only hope of survival, was lying in the dirt, dead.
And she had done nothing, absolutely nothing to help. She had just stood there like a fool as Lucius Malfoy casually and callously murdered Alistryna. She could have diverted his attention, she could have persuaded Alistryna not to meet there…
But it was too late now. Nothing she could do could change the fact that Alistryna was dead.
Ginny barely noticed when Draco escaped from the grip of a Death Eater to rush up to his father. The traitor was probably going to congratulate him or something like that. After all, who else could have possibly known that she and Alistryna were meeting in the Forest that night? He said he had come to warn them, but how had he known what was going to happen in the first place? She should have known better than to trust a Slytherin, and a Malfoy at that. Alistryna had been right; he was no better than Wilfred Malfoy.
And so Ginny gasped along with everyone else when Draco delivered a punch to his father that caused Lucius to stagger back a few feet, clutching his bleeding nose.
"You idiotic bastard!" Draco hissed, advancing on his father. "Do you what you've just done?"
Lucius tried to look dignified despite his broken nose and failed miserably. "Ridden the world of one Mudblood? And what in Merlin's name is the meaning of all this?" He asked angrily, losing his usually icy demeanour. "Has the muggle-loving bitch you've taken up with affected your judgement?"
"That 'Mudblood', as you so charmingly referred to her as, held the knowledge of the antidote to the curse!" Draco retorted furiously. "You've not only killed her tonight, but me as well!" He caught Ginny's eye and gave a minute jerk of his head, imperceptible to anyone who was not looking closely at him.
Lucius was silent for a moment, mopping up his bloody nose with a silk handkerchief. He did not notice as Ginny started to creep away. Finally he answered, "You've always been a disappointment to me, Draco. You did not take to the Dark Lord and his ideals as well as your mother and I would have liked, you didn't grow into it as you became older, and I couldn't beat it into you either." He raised an eyebrow at Draco archly. "Frankly, boy, we're rather pleased that we will be rid of you at last. Your mother is still young; there is time enough for us to get another heir."
Ginny kept moving backwards. The other Death Eaters were enthralled in the Malfoy family feud and were paying her no notice.
"I'm a disappointment?" Draco's voice rose in disbelief as Ginny slipped past the last Death Eater to disappear into the darkness of the Forest. "You're the only disappointment in this family, Lucius. No self-respecting Malfoy would ever dare to be used in the way you are now. Voldemort views you as expendable, valuable only because of the family name." Draco sneered, "Trust me, Lucius, as soon as you're not needed, you'll be killed as effortlessly as that poor girl over there," Draco jerked his head towards the pitiful little body of Alistryna, lying where she'd fallen on the floor of the forest.
Lucius made a noise of shock as the rest of Death Eaters continued to stare fascinated. He pointed his wand toward Draco. "I've had enough of your nonsense, boy," Lucius hissed in anger, the wand quivering slightly. His eyes gleamed in the darkness and he raised the wand high above his head. "Avad-"
Ginny screamed, and Lucius stopped, confused. Draco took the opportunity to begin to run towards the school. "Get them!" Lucius yelled at the top of his voice, running after his son. Ginny clamoured out from behind a bush and the two crashed through the undergrowth. Ginny had never run so fast in her life and it felt as if her lungs were about to burst. They were nearing the edge of the forest and Ginny could still hear the Death Eaters running behind her. Once they were in view of the school they would be safe, as not even Lucius would attempt anything in plain sight of Albus Dumbledore. They were so close…one hundred metres…eighty metres…sixty-five metres…
Suddenly someone stepped out in front of them from behind a tree. Ginny tried to dodge to the left of them but they grabbed her by the shoulders. "Let me go!" Ginny shouted, kicking her attacker in the shins. They let her go with a muffled curse and the hood covering their face fell back.
Ginny stared with a mixture of horror, amazement and anger at Sabine. The French girl was clutching her shin with a pained expression on her face. "You!" Ginny accused, recovering her voice. Sabine was silent. "All this time you were working for Voldemort!" Ginny hissed. It was Sabine who had betrayed them, not Draco! Ginny felt Draco grab onto her arm and pull away. "Quick, Ginny, run!" he begged her, casting an anxious look back.
Sabine smirked at her. "You are on ze losing zide, Ginny!" She called out contemptuously.
Ginny looked back helplessly as Draco pulled her along. "What is wrong with you?" he hissed. "We've got to run!" Ginny focused again on running, and picked up her pace just as she heard someone shout from behind them. They'd been seen. There were only about twenty-five metres to go until they reached the edge of the Forest and safety. Ginny felt the metres slipping away as her feet pounded the forest floor. The trees were getting sparser…someone yelled from behind them and from out of the corner of her eye Ginny saw Draco fall to the ground.
She stopped running instantly and looked back. She could see the vague outlines of Death Eaters through the trees. She had a few minutes before they drew close enough to catch her. She dropped to her knees beside Draco. He was lying on his face, unmoving. She checked his pulse and was relieved to find it still beating. But she had no idea what the curse Draco was under was. She looked back at the Death Eaters again, coming nearer by the second, and took out her wand. "Mobilicorpus!" She muttered quickly, and Draco's body rose up into the air, and then began to move towards the school. Ginny ran after it, directing the body with her wand. Suddenly, the trees stopped, and in the distance the great castle of Hogwarts rose up into the air. She felt a sob coming and so she kept running, faster and faster, even though she knew that the Death Eaters weren't following her anymore.
Finally she reached the huge doors of the castle. They were closed. There were no doorhandles, she knew, and because of Hermione's great memory concerning all things in Hogwarts: A History, she also knew that no spells could open them from the outside. She pounded as hard as she could on the doors with her fists, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. "Let me in!" She shouted as loudly as she could, still banging. "Let me in!"
After what seemed like hours, even though it was probably only a few minutes, the doors opened, and the imposing figure of Professor McGonagall was revealed. "Miss Weasley, whatever-"
She stopped mid-sentence. Ginny had fainted.
~~~~~
Ginny opened her eyes to find herself in a large, light-filled room. She turned around in a slow circle. Virginia Weasley was sitting rather stiffly on velvet chaise longue, wearing what had to be her best clothes. A man was standing about six feet in front of her with an easel, painting her portrait, Ginny supposed. She walked over to him and glanced interestedly at the portrait. It was good, Ginny had to admit. An exact likeness, even down to the trapped look in Virginia's eyes. Ginny wondered if the portrait still existed in modern times. The Malfoys might have it, she thought curiously, I'd have to ask Draco.
Then she remembered that Draco was unconscious.
Sabine was working as a spy for Voldemort.
And Alistryna was dead.
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
The only time Ginny would see her now would be in her dreams.
Ginny screamed in vexation. Virginia did not bat an eyelash, but continued staring ahead. The painter continued with his work. They could not hear her. They didn't even know she existed. She meant nothing to them. Draco meant nothing to them. Alistryna meant nothing to them.
Ginny kicked the easel in anger, and her foot went straight through it. She screamed again.
~~~~~
Madam Pomfrey jumped in surprise as Ginny let out a scream to rival a banshee. She rushed over to the girl, and helped her sit up. "There, there," she said comfortingly. "You've had a shock, that's all." She reached onto the bedside table and handed Ginny a slab of chocolate. "Eat up, dear."
Ginny didn't eat the chocolate. "Draco?" She asked anxiously. "Is he alright?"
"Oh, yes, yes," Madam Pomfrey assured her. "He was hit with a very strong hex, was Mister Malfoy." She pursed her lips slightly. "He's lucky to be alive. What on earth were you two doing out there alone, and at that time of night?"
Ginny was silent, and the Mediwitch sighed. "Professor Dumbledore is waiting to see you," she informed the girl. "Eat up your chocolate."
Ginny took a half-hearted bite out of the chocolate as Madam Pomfrey left to fetch the Headmaster. He would be disappointed in her, she knew.
There was a shuffling from behind the curtains and Professor Dumbledore poked his head through and smiled at her. "Miss Weasley, it's good to see you've awoken." He stepped into the cubicle and sat on the chair next to the bedside table. "Now, I want you to tell me everything, starting from the beginning."
Ginny nodded miserably and took a deep breath before starting. "Draco and I were researching the curse when I fell asleep. I had a dream about Virginia Weasley." Ginny looked down at her hands, still holding the chocolate, which was starting to melt. "It was a dress-fitting, and there was a little girl there who was helping. I saw her face and it was Alistryna."
"Alistryna?" Dumbledore interrupted. "Who is Alistryna?"
"She's my buddy," Ginny explained. "Well, I woke-"
"Buddy?" Dumbledore frowned. "Ginny, you know prefects weren't assigned buddies. They already have enough commitments."
Ginny looked up quickly, into the Professor's perplexed eyes. "What do you mean…" She asked confusedly. "Professor McGonagall called our names out…"
"What did you say this girl's name was?" The Headmaster asked, baffled.
"Alistryna Rhydderch." Ginny said promptly. "She's a first-year Ravenclaw." She was a first year Ravenclaw, Ginny mentally corrected herself.
Dumbledore's next words made her come back to earth with a jolt.
"There's never been student at Hogwarts with that name," he informed her with a concerned frown. "Perhaps I'll come back in a few days when you're quite recovered," he said, and gave her another worried look before standing and slipping through the curtains.
Ginny collapsed into the pillows and closed her eyes tightly. She was going insane.
~~~~~
If you want me to email you when I next update, say in a review or email me at dizzy_flower@hotmail.com. Thankyou to everyone who reviewed last chapter; QuIbBleR1, thankyou! DragonsMistress, it's original? Thankyou so much for saying that! TarynMalfoy88, The suspense is killing you? Was that an intentional pun?:) goddess, does the ending of this chapter make me even eviller? Gilt trip, I liked Alistryna too. Little Wings, well, I am a G/D author! Dragon_dreamer3 I'm going to update it a lot quicker from now on. fcucking cathy, another cliffhanger! Princess Serenity of the Moon, Thankyou! Alistryna really is dead, but I might find a way to make her come back, even for a little while:) Taintless This is the first G/D fic you've ever read? Wow. Thanks for reading mine. Hplova4evea I know, poor Alistryna:( Nichole Malfoy thanks! Arafel2 I hope this wasn't too long.