A/N: Ok I never took one class of Latin and I used an online dictionary so whatever. If it's wrong then it is wrong. Next chapter is a certain character, you could probably guess, speaking about their past. And so you know this is a D/G story, I just think that if those characters suddenly jumped upon each other it would lose it's sense of reality. Yeah it's fiction but all good fiction still needs verisimilitude.

Thirteen: Malum Absum

Ginny had covered his shirt up so that Ron, Hermione and Harry wouldn't see what was on the arm of Draco Malfoy. She couldn't believe he was a Death Eater, but if they had found out, they would probably leave him out to die. It would be a cruel thing, but they hated Malfoy and this would give them a good and possibly legal way to get rid of him. Ginny had seen much cruelty throughout the war and did not want her friends to be part of it. At the same time, she wished for Malfoy to stop screaming.

"I think you should go away. He probably doesn't want you around while I try to figure out what is happening," Ginny said in her most serious tone.

Malfoy was still thrashing about giving scream after scream. His voice was getting tired of it but his mind couldn't help it. The pain was just too much. It seemed as if the pain had originated from his Mark and continued to spread out throughout his body at an impossible speed. As the seconds went by, the amount of agony Malfoy went through augmented. He couldn't control himself and could barely see anything but white. All his thoughts were scrambled and his body urged in some way to cease the pain. However, all that resulted in were deep scratches throughout his chest and arm.

When no one did anything, she finally said even louder, "Go away! Harry, Ron he hates you! Hermione find some plants to create a really good sleeping draught. I think I might have some of the items needed in my medi-case, so try to unshrink that. I wasn't able to. Make sure you make the draught as powerful as possible because with this amount of pain, he could wake up."

When she finished, Hermione scrambled to get Ginny's bag and left. Harry winced every time Malfoy let out a really loud scream, but understood the situation and forced Ron to leave them and help Hermione. Although Ron felt bad for Malfoy, he couldn't help his sadistic side when it came to his adversary. The thought of his pain for all those years Malfoy tormented his family and his friends brought just a tiny twinge of happiness. However, he decided to look as worried as Harry and copied his expressions. Even though he hated Malfoy with all his heart, he wouldn't want the git to die from agonizing pain. At least not in front of him and his sister. That would leave a bitter mark between them and the Malfoy family, except for the fact that there would not be one member left.

After everybody left, she turned back to Malfoy and looked at the Dark Mark. She had performed the spell before, which was to reveal it, and it didn't. Malfoy had used the Dark Arts to cover the Mark, and this meant he was hiding something. Something that he hid so well that he escaped the Trials after the war. She almost trusted him. Ugh, why couldn't she ever follow her brother's idea that Malfoy-is-a-Death-Eater-and-should-die senses? He was actually right. Ginny didn't think of this though, the screams that Malfoy was letting out had made her concentrate on finding a way to stop the pain. She was after all human, not Voldemort, who expressed no feelings whatsoever.

"Malfoy, it's going to be ok, we are going to find you a way to get through this. It's obviously caused by your Dar…your past. At this moment everybody is trying to find a way for this to stop. It will be ok!" Ginny said to him in a loud but calm tone.

He seemed to not realize that Ginny was sitting right next to him, for all he could see was pain. His eyes were blind from the pain and he couldn't take it anymore. Why couldn't they just kill him? Wouldn't that just be a simple solution? They didn't even want him around, "Bloody Weasley!" He let out with another scream.

Ginny then tried every healing spell that she was taught in school and in the hospital. When they all failed, she had a feeling that the only way to cure this problem was with Dark Magic. She knew a forbidden spell that would most likely work, but she had never used it, nor did she want to. It was complicated and it required something from her Healer's Manual, which luckily was in her bag. She didn't know if the only way to stop this pain was by the Dark Arts. While in the middle of deciding this and trying to stop Draco from injuring himself more, Hermione came running back.

"You've finished the draught that quickly?" Ginny asked amazed, but instead of waiting for a reply she took it and asked for her bag.

"I think I want to add some lionfish to it." When Hermione looked at her perplexed she added, "It's supposed to be another way to heal while you sleep."

From her standard potion kit, she added the lionfish and then forced it down the throat of Malfoy. He stopped thrashing around – looked at her with a disgusted face – and then went into unconsciousness.

"Do you know what's going on, Ginny?" Hermione asked. She had an idea, but her theories weren't as great as Ginny's, for Ginny was the healer and she was the Auror. In fact, Ginny did make a great temporary Auror during the war. Her knowledge of healing spells and hexes was just amazing. Then again, Ginny's best classes in school were Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions.

When Ginny just stared at her blankly, Hermione suggested, "Well it looks as if the wall blocked Malfoy from intruding. Do you think that means he's a…"

"No, I don't think so. I mean, wouldn't it have at least done something to me?" she questioned, turning her lie to make it seem truthful. "After all, I was possessed by the Dark Lord and that seems worse than being a Death Eater."

"That's true," Hermione said in a grim tone. "What can you do? When he wakes, he'll probably still be in pain."

"There is this spell I know, but the problem is that it involves the Dark Arts," Ginny said. When Hermione gave her a shocked expression she said, "It's in my healer's manual – things they used when in desperate measures – like the war."

"Well, since we're all Aurors here, I don't see a problem with you using it…unless it has side effects. Is it in this bag?"

Hermione sorted through the bag and found The Intermediate Guide to Great Spells and Potions for Healers, in it's shrunken form. Ginny unshrunk it, and thankfully the spell worked. She turned to the page and pointed out the spell to Hermione. Hermione scanned the page quickly and then recited the summary to Ginny.

"Well it looks as if this spell is just used to take evil out, so why would it be involved with the Dark Arts?" Hermione questioned and read further, "Oh…Here it says that the side effects include the dissolving of body parts, blindness, and/or an eternal connection between the caster and the person the spell was used upon."

"What are the chances of getting the side effects? And what do they mean by eternal connection?" Ginny said horrified. It didn't matter if Draco lost a body part, but if more than one, he would most likely kill Ginny in some way that she didn't want to even think about. A blind Malfoy sounded good to her, but that would also result in the same consequences. But eternal connection? She knew that no one else would volunteer to do this spell. Who would want to be eternally connected to their worst enemy?

"I don't know, maybe you'll be bonded physically, mentally, or some other way. Do you really want to risk be bound to that filthy ferret?" Hermione asked.

"If we don't do it and he ends up waking in the same amount of pain, what can we do…? If his body continues going through this agonizing pain, he will die!" Ginny said, her healer duties now kicking in.

"Do you really want to do it then, Ginny?" Hermione asked, which confirmed Ginny's belief that she would be the only one who would volunteer to do it. "The thing is, since you are both on the opposite sides of everything, there may be a chance this spell won't give side effects. Usually these sorts of side effects occur to those who have some sort of connection, even if it's a little amount. The only one you two have is that you're both purebloods, and I don't think that makes a difference." She paused but then added, "But then again, this is Dark Magic that has been created by pureblood wizards. However, I still doubt that with such a large gap between your beliefs, appearances, and standards, etc. it won't matter."

"Well then, I'll try it. Give me the book. I need to practice the incantation and wand movements. I hope on this stupid island it will actually work. Can I do it by myself? I feel weird enough already."

After Hermione left and promised not to tell the other two, she practiced a few times with a stick nearby. After memorizing the incantation and the wand movements, she moved on to her wand. Every time she did it with her wand, the wand would grow a black color for a few moments and shoot out a deep blood red color. From that, Ginny hoped she would never have to use the Dark Arts again. Were these the kinds of spell that Malfoy would use? Was that why his wand was a very dark color or did he just purchase a very expensive one? These thoughts raced through her head every time her wand shot out the spell, but she was going to heal him. He didn't hurt them yet, so why would he hurt them now? If he really was a terrible Death Eater, then they would take him to a fair trial. It was the right side that would counter the dark deeds of the Death Eaters with justice.

When she was done practicing, she looked at Draco's unconscious form. He seemed to be frozen in a cold expression, but his eyes were closed and he looked somewhat peaceful. She now realized that there were side effects for him, too. What if his arms dissolved? What if he went blind? What would he think if there was an eternal connection between them both? He'd probably Avada Kadavra himself right there on the island.

She was scared, but knowing that this was the thing healers had to deal with, she took a deep breath. Every time she had to do a difficult spell, she felt bad for her patient and was a little scared, and this time was no different. She hoped that there would not be an eternal bond with him. Although, she probably didn't feel as sympathetic as she did towards Malfoy as she did towards her other patients.

What if for the rest of her life after this spell she would live a life of illusion? What if her mind was bonded with Malfoy's and she saw through his eyes for the rest of her life? Ginny assured herself that Hermione did know that she was using this spell, and with her intelligence, she would notice what was going on. Almost every Dark Magic spell did come with a counter curse didn't it? If they had to use a counter curse then would that mean that Malfoy would go through this again? Maybe when they get home, they would use the counter curse, only if necessary. Then the best healers at St. Mungo's would be able to solve the problem. However, then she would have to admit her usage of Dark Arts, and even with three Aurors on the island, it was still illegal and the punishment was severe. She thought about what had happened to Malfoy as he went through the waterfall and knew that she would have to use this spell.

Another deep breath later she pointed her wand to him and said loudly, "Malum Absum!"

The deep red shot at Malfoy, who immediately opened his eyes and stared at Ginny.