Propensity
Propensity- an innate inclination to act or do something
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Chapter TwoAfter flying for a few hours, Oliver and Ginny landed a few miles from the manor, intent on watching the comings and goings before trying to infiltrate.
The Death Eaters guarding the entrances changed out every hour, and no one was watching the windows on the first level, only the doors. The pair quickly made their way around the mansion to a somewhat dim section and decided which set of windows to break through. It seemed like the protective wards around the compound wouldn't be too difficult to penetrate, contrary to what Snape had said, so they quickly began making plans to slowly break through them.
After breaking through the first set of wards, they heard a rustling in the woods behind them. Oliver motioned for her to keep quiet while he went to check things out.
As he was slowly crawling away, Ginny managed to break through the last of the wards. She kept low the ground as she made her way to the windows. She heard Oliver behind her, hissing at her to come back, that someone had seen them. As she turned to reply, someone grabbed her. The last thing she saw was the look of fear in Oliver's eyes before a dark hood was thrown over her head.
Oliver quickly mounted his broom and flew up above the manor, trying to see where Ginny had been taken. Unfortunately, he was spotted, so he instantly made his way to return to the headquarters. He dreaded telling her parents what had happened, but at least he knew where she was. They could come back for her rapidly.
Silently, the man threw her over his shoulder. Ginny thrashed and kicked at her captor, yelling and screaming at him as she was hauled into the manor. She realized that they turned around corridors several times and went down quite a few stairs. Suddenly, he stopped and she heard a door open with a loud "Clank," and she was thrust inside. The hood wasn't removed, and her pockets were searched. The Death Eater found her wand and took it.
She was then picked up again and carried further down a hallway and shoved into another room. This time the hood was removed. She turned to look at her abductor. She looked up to find herself face to face with Draco Malfoy!
"Well, well, Weasley," he drawled. "Seems your little rescue attempt failed miserably. Such a pity," he smirked at her. "Don't you worry, though, we'll find uses for you." He reached up to trace her jaw line with his index finger. "Yes, I know I will have lots of uses for you."
Ginny was about to tell Draco what he could do with his uses when a hoarse voice spoke harshly from a corner of the "room."
"Leave her alone, Malfoy. She's of no use to you."
Draco's attention turned to the figure bound in the corner. "What's it to you, Werewolf?" he asked. "Aren't you glad to have company? Don't worry. You can have a go too, once I'm through with her."
"If you touch one hair on her head, Malfoy, I swear I'll kill you with my bare hands," Remus said roughly.
"That's what it will have to be, Werewolf, considering you haven't got anything else," Draco snickered at his former professor.
Ginny glared at Draco with pure hatred in her eyes. "Let. Us. Go," she said sternly.
He said nothing but in one swift movement, he backhanded her, knocking her to the floor. Remus growled and tried to get across the room, but was stopped when Draco tightened the bindings around him, pulling him back down.
"Your insolence isn't amusing, Weasley," he said while breaking her wand in half. He took a step towards her and glared down at her.
"Why don't you join your precious professor? I'll be back for you later," he threatened.
He exited the dungeon, releasing the binds around Remus as he did so, and slammed the door, placing several locking charms on it. Ginny turned to face Remus, who wore an expression of shock.
"What in the hell are you doing here, you silly girl?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Rescuing you," she said simply.
Remus would have laughed, had he not known the horror of their predicament. Instead, he said, "I don't think you were successful."
"It's okay, Professor," Ginny said. "Oliver was with me, but had to escape before Malfoy got me. He'll be back with Aurors in no time." She smiled confidently.
Remus, however, wasn't as sure. In the back of his mind, he felt something was off by Malfoy's behavior. So his view was somewhat cynical.
Ginny looked at her mentor and took in the bruises, scrapes and dried blood that was visible on his body. She reached gingerly to his face to wipe some blood away from his hairline.
"Professor, what have they done to you?" she asked, fighting back tears.
He pulled away from her touch and limped back to sit against the wall. "It's nothing. I'm okay, considering," he replied, trying not to sound pitiful. "Ginny," he asked, "how did you get here?"
She sighed and sat down next to him. "Moody had a reconnaissance mission planned. I wanted to go, but no one would let me. They were supposed to come get you, but a battle broke out. I couldn't let you rot here, so I came after you."
"And Mr. Wood?" he inquired.
"Oliver wouldn't let me come alone," she said, "so he came with me. We were doing fine until we heard someone in the woods behind us." She sighed again. "What's happened since you've been here?"
"I don't want to talk about it," he said. "If what you say is true, we'll be home before long, and I'd rather not have to tell it more than once." He turned away from her.
Ginny, sensing she should leave him for the time being, took in her surroundings. The room was somewhat large, with a cold, hard stone floor. There was the door across from them, which was wooden and had a small square window towards the top. The walls were stone as well, and there was one window on the wall to the right of them. It was a small window and had bars over it, inside and out.
There was a small, dilapidated mattress in the corner with a single blanket on it. Next to it was a small table with a bowl of water on top of it and bloody rags next to it.
Ginny ripped part of her robes and dabbed it into the water. She crawled over to Remus and gently forced his face to hers.
"Please let me help you," she said quietly.
Remus didn't argue, and she cleaned him up quickly. He winced in pain as she cleaned his wounds. Her touch was gentle, though, and he was suddenly glad she was there.
She finished with the wounds on his face and arms and looked at him, shyly. "Are there more, Professor?" she asked. "I mean, under your robes?"
He nodded and removed his robe. He went to unbutton his shirt, but his hands began trembling from the torture he'd endured. He fumbled with the buttons before Ginny reached up and covered his hands with hers.
"Here, Professor, let me," she whispered.
"Please," he said quietly. "Please call me Remus."
She nodded in reply. She finished with the buttons and carefully pushed the shirt off his shoulders. There were two gaping gashes, one on his chest, the other on his abdomen. She bit her lip to prevent a gasp from escaping. The wounds were deep, and she wished she'd had her wand to Heal them correctly. Unfortunately, cleaning would have to do for now.
When she'd finished, she gently pulled his shirt back on and rebuttoned it. He looked up at her and smiled weakly. "Thank you," he said.
Ginny merely patted his hand. He felt drowsiness begin to take over. He tried to get to the bed, but he was too exhausted. Ginny helped him to lean towards her, and she rested his head in her lap. Remus quickly fell asleep, and Ginny couldn't help noticing how handsome he was when he slept. She knew he was in pain, and she wanted to do more for him. But they would just have to wait for help. He stirred in his sleep, and she wondered if he was reliving some of the torture she knew he'd suffered. She gently smoothed her hand over his hair in an effort to calm his dreams.
In the back of her mind, she wondered if she would be subjected to the same torture as Remus. Granted, he knew more details of the Order than she, but she was fearful of Malfoy's threat. But she was also confident that Oliver would go and get help. They'd be back soon, she thought as she let her head rest back against the wall. She soon joined her professor in sleep.
Remus and Ginny were soon awakened by a loud "pop" as a Death Eater appeared in the room. Ginny gently shook Remus awake. They looked at him with fear in their eyes, but the man quickly set food on the table, before pulling Remus away from Ginny. He pointed his wand at the injured wizard, and Ginny panicked.
"No!" she cried, throwing herself in front of Remus.
"Move aside. I'm not going to hurt him," came the soft voice behind the Death Eater's hood. "I'm Healing his wounds." Ginny hesitated before sliding away. The man quickly muttered healing charms on the professor's wounds before turning and Disapparating.
Ginny carefully checked Remus' injuries, just to make sure they were healed, and helped him to the food they'd been brought. She suspected it was poisoned, but Remus needed to eat something.
They both ate ravenously. When the food was gone, Ginny tried to help Remus onto the mattress to sleep.
"No," he said, "you need to rest as well. You take it. I'll be fine of the floor."
She shook her head. "No, Remus, you'll need your strength," she insisted.
He laid down on the thin mattress and watched as she tried to get comfortable on the floor. Seeing her failure, he reached out and pulled her onto the mattress with him. She curled up next to him, mindful of where his injuries were and the two fell back asleep.
Hours later, the door to their dungeon banged open and three Death Eaters entered the room. Remus sat straight up, as if he'd been waiting for them. Ginny woke up next to him and protectively used her body to shield him.
"What do you want?" he asked them from over her shoulder.
The shortest Death Eater removed his hood. Draco strode over to Ginny and forced her to stand up.
"Calm down, Werewolf. You're going to have a little chat with my father and Blaise, here, while Ginny and I have some quality time together," he said frankly.
"No," he said. "No, I'll talk. I'll tell you everything. Just leave her alone," Remus pleaded with the three men.
Lucius laughed. "How gallant of you," he sneered. "Unfortunately, I'm in no position to deny my son anything that he wants. But perhaps, we can delay their...interaction if you tell us something interesting." He and Blaise Zabini yanked Remus up. "Let's go," he said abruptly.
He, Draco and Blaise led Remus out the door, leaving Ginny sobbing on the floor. He'd sacrificed himself for her, and she was grateful. But at the same time, she felt so guilty at what he was going to endure to save her dignity.