Alright, so I know this is a fast update, but I was so pumped that I have over 50 reviews now (thanks guys!) I never thought I would make it this far, and because I'm so very excited for this chapter, I decided to post earlier than I would have normally. Anyways, I feel like I've pumped up these next few chapters, so I hope you guys really like it and aren't really disapointed if it doesn't meet your expectations. More at bottom, so get excited! I'll meet you there, lol

Summary: A new prophecy has both Harry and Draco training for the ultimate fight. Ginny has many secrets of her own, one involving the newly tattooed Draco. He has hatred and ruthlessness branded into him; will his love for Ginny give him new, more painful scars?

Disclaimer: I have no rights to any material that you recognize, but

You said wanted distance
This is what you get,
This is what you get...
I dreamed of you
Number One Fan

14

Stupid Colin, Ginny thought as she rounded the corner heading into the dungeons. He knew she didn't like going on rounds alone, much less rounds on Friday nights. But she couldn't say no to his pleadings of having to study, and he would have let her skive off duties if she had to study anyways. It was the fifth time this semester, and she was almost positive that he wasn't studying.

So here she was, patrolling the dark hallways. She hated the dark, especially in the dungeons, alone. She suddenly wished that Draco was with her again, but immediately pushed that thought out of her mind.

The past month had been nothing but short glances and long glares. She still hadn't figured him out yet, but she missed him and was determined to keep her distance because of it. She had a good time at the Yule Ball with Harry, but couldn't help but be greatly disappointed. Ginny had gotten dressed specifically for Draco, she wore her hair the way he mentioned that he liked it; she picked her dress because she knew it was daring. She wanted to get a rise out of him, she wanted Draco's attention. And he hadn't looked at her once the whole entire night.

He was with Emlyn, whose blonde hair and blue robes that matched her eyes cast Ginny into a shade, she was sure. She even saw Harry looking longingly towards her a couple times that night. Merlin, she couldn't even keep Harry's attention and she was supposed to be dating him.

Thank goodness there were only a few days left until she was home for Christmas and away from Draco. She was getting tired of deliberately avoiding him, and wanted a few days away so that she could stop thinking about him… hopefully.

She glanced out one of the few windows, as she was on the upper portion of the dungeons. Outside she could see the moonlight falling on the snow covered ground. She briefly wondered if she should get Draco a present like last year.

"Get a move on, girly. You're keeping me awake!"

Ginny jumped visibly, and turned her wand light on a painting of cranky old man situated on a black horse. He looked very cross, so she continued without a word, but not without a nasty look in the old man's direction.

The paintings always made her jumpy, their creepy eyes always following and watching, and their low whispering. Absolutely eerie, she thought. She heard a painful moaning farther down the dark hall, unfortunately in the direction she was heading, and chalked it up to another painting. Once they knew of her nervousness, they made a point to scare her. But her heart sped up with her uneasiness.

-:¦:--:¦:--:¦:--:¦:-

"Draco, you have worked hard, now it is time for your reward," Voldemort's voice filled the arena and Draco heard the Death Eaters laugh. "Hold out your arm," he commanded.

Draco was only wearing his loose practice pants, his upper body was bare. He extended his left arm towards Voldemort and watched as the Dark Lord pointed his wand towards him. Draco had learned enough to know that flinching would mean more pain than he could imagine, so he stood with his face impassive waiting for Voldemort to act.

"Hasith l'herisith," Voldemort hissed. A bright light shone from a wand and jet black snake emerged from it. It landed on Draco's outstretched arm and began to twine itself up and around his arm and shoulder. It was so heavy Draco could barely keep his arm still as he felt the cold scales travel up his arm. The snake's tail was just beginning to tickle his ear when it stilled.

Draco looked down, his arm was still straight out and the snake was wrapped tightly around it. Suddenly it began to shine bright white and burn as though it were melting. He wanted to scream through the pain, but Voldemort was watching his face curiously, and he knew the Dark Lord was waiting for him to show a reaction to the searing snake.

He took a deep breath and watched as the snake slowly melted onto his arm. The searing eventually lessened, and Draco finally looked up at the Dark Lord.

"This is my mark for you, Young Apprentice," Voldemort said, placing his gray fingertip on Draco's arm and tracing the mark with his yellow nail. Shivers ran down Draco's spine. The Dark Lord continued, "You will receive no mark like the others, because, let's face it, you are not like the others. I can tell by the look in your eyes you thirst for something more." He smiled, or at least what looked like a smile. Despite his allegiance to the Dark Lord, Voldemort still made Draco cringe inside.

"Although you are special to me, you are not special to MY DEATH EATERS!" his voice rose to a crescendo, exciting the Death Eaters who surrounded them. The noise was almost deafening, but it did not bother Draco who knew what was coming and immediately began preparing for it. His wand was at his side clenched in his hand… but not for long.

"Let me see your wand, Draco," Voldemort said, turning back towards him, his voice was almost disarmingly sweet. Draco handed it over nonchalantly, keeping his breathing even though his heart was racing. It was time for his test…

Voldemort looked at him, then placed what Draco figured to be a comforting hand on his newly tattooed shoulder.

"It is time for the Apprentice's first test. Lucius, if you would join me here," he swept towards the middle of the circle, "Along with Macnair, Black, and Crabbe."

Draco could see the three smiling beneath their hoods. His father, who wasn't wearing a hood, was smiling also, but with pride. Draco's heart lifted and excitement tore through him at his father's display of fondness for his son. Now was just the chance he wanted to prove to his father he wasn't a failure. After all Voldemort had been calling him an "Apprentice" and that was no small feat.

"Here is the challenge, Anguisator," Voldemort said, looking meaningfully at him. It took Draco a moment to realize Voldemort was speaking to him, and that he had been given a new name. The meaning hit him tremendously, the last person Voldemort gave a name to was Lucius when he became Voldemort's trusted right hand. Only the most influential Death Eaters were given names, and Draco was now one of three who carried the privilege. Draco looked over at his father and Lucius looked complacent, though Draco could see the approval in his eyes. Anguisator, Draco rolled the name around, and though his translation was weak, he realized it was the Latin astronomical word for snake. He was the Serpent Warrior.

"Your challenge tonight is you against… whomever I choose. Good Luck." Voldemort laughed maniacally, "And who shall get the honor of going first?"

"I would, my lord," Lucius said immediately, stepping forward taking caution not to look at Draco.

Draco swallowed his instant anger. How dare his father show him the ultimate disrespect of meeting him in the battle ring first? Voldemort gave away no expression of displeasure, but rather started the sounded the starting bell. The circle of Death Eaters started their catcalls.

Draco faced his father, calmly running his fingertips along his palms at his sides to help him clear his mind. The dishonor Lucius showed him influenced Draco's decision to show no restraint for his father. Lucius had his wand at the ready, obviously showing Draco more disrespect in letting Draco make the first move in a challenge Lucius initiated.

And then it happened. Draco flung his spells at Lucius, and Lucius flinging spells right back. Draco hurled himself sideways, and recovered quickly while dodging a green light from Lucius' wand. He was close enough to create contact and landed a roundhouse kick to Lucius' jaw, rendering him unconscious. It wasn't that hard to bring the great Lucius down, Draco thought, as he wiped his palms on his battle pants.

"Very nice, Anguisator," Voldemort stepped forwards again into the ring. "But, I think that was too quick for much fun though, don't you?" It was obviously a rhetorical question, and Draco barely held back a sneer, but the rest of the Death Eaters cheered in agreement.

Voldemort stepped back into the circle. "Macnair, Black, Crabbe, you're next," he said with a sneer.

Draco cursed silently, but Gruchis had trained him for multiple enemies and had thirsted for weeks to show what he could handle. He smiled challengingly as his opponents took their places in front of him. The bell sounded and the fight began.

The halls sounded with shatters and calls and curses as Voldemort watched on with pride as Draco thoroughly demolished the obviously unworthy opponents in three swift moves.

Draco rose from his kneeling position realizing that he had just taken Voldemort's most prized fighters to the ground in less than thirty seconds. Looking over at Voldemort, he could tell that he was pleased. When he had shown up for practice today, he definitely did not expect this.

"Good, Anguisator, very good," Voldemort murmured, looking greedily at Draco. "Goyle, Acinar, Burns, Zambini, Parkinson… GO."

Draco was lying on the floor panting, trying desperately to catch his breath. He had barely survived that last round. Catching a quick count, he saw that only eleven more Death Eaters stood around them, the rest had been dragged out of the circle unconscious after attempting to fight Draco. However high Draco's confidence was at the beginning of the night, now, three hours later, he was not so sure he would survive. Though, Voldemort would never let him die, the pain already coursing through his body was slowly coaxing him into unconsciousness.

Draco was not the all-powerful fighter, actually far from it, and he knew the injuries he sustained tonight were very serious. After about the first half hour of fighting, Draco realized the more creative his attacks were, the more Voldemort enjoyed them. However, after about the first hour of fighting, the Dark Lord got bored, and decided to color things up with a little blood and produced his beloved wizard sabers. Though Draco was sure he hadn't killed anyone yet, his temper and mental fatigue were going to be hard to control.

"I think one last fight will do the trick, Anguisator," Voldemort said for the tenth time that night. And Draco hauled himself to his feet, though extremely unsteady.

"Novas, your turn," Voldemort said, tossing the young man a sword. Draco almost groaned, for there was nothing that Novas loved more than swords. He heard the sound of the bell, and prepared to fight.

The swords crashed together with a jolting spark. The two opponents sprang back from each other, circling and calculating. Draco watched Novas with a warrior's intensity only interrupted to wipe the blood that trickled into his eye. Novas thrust forward and Draco countered, lunging forward in attack. He spun sideways and managed to slice Novas' arm through the thick fabric he was wearing. Novas lunged forward with amazing speed and accuracy. Draco barely countered, then in his clouded exhaustion stepped into another attack. Novas' sword pierced Draco's chest, slicing between his ribs.

Draco fell without a cry, hitting the ground with a deathly finality, his hands covering the wound on his bare chest.

The arena went still; the few Death Eaters that were still conscious held their breaths in anticipation and caution.

"YOU WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO KILL HIM!" Voldemort's voice exploded in anger. Turning quickly, his blood red eyes rested on Novan, who was shaking in fear. "Crucio!" he pointed his wand at Novan, who fell to the floor screaming in agony.

"My lord," another Death Eater called over Novan's shrieking, "Anguisator is not dead."

Voldemort's attentions turned towards the now faintly writhing Draco. Novan was motionless on the floor.

"Only I use the name Anguisator for the Apprentice. You shall address him further as such," Voldemort murmured, eyeing Draco who was moving slightly.

"Yes, my lord, a thousand pardons, my lord."

"Enervate Lucius, I wish to speak to him," Voldemort said to a nearby Death Eater. Then to another, "Watch Anguisator and tell me if he dies," Voldemort stalked over to wear Lucius was awakening.

Draco lay on the floor and he could not hear properly with all the ringing in his ears. He turned his head to the side, but it was immediately viciously kicked back so that he was staring upwards. Draco almost laughed, but heard Voldemort's and his father's voices though they were quiet and sounded far away.

"He did excellent tonight, Caducusluor, you should be proud, he will serve me well."

"Yes, my lord. Thank you, my lord."

"I can not heal his last wound fully, but I will try. Then send him back to learn from his pain," Voldemort's voice carried through the fog which Draco lay in. His pain was slow and throbbing and so intense he still had yet to identify where it was coming from. But, finally submitting to the darkness, he passed out.

:¦:--:¦:--:¦:--:¦:-

Ginny heard the moan again, but this time it was louder. Then she heard yelling.

"EXCUSE ME, SIR! You are blocking the entrance if you would so kindly remove yourself."

Ginny hurried nervously through the black corridor towards the voices. Hearing another moan that sounded quite painful, she lit her wand and it shown on the floor where she was half running. In her surprise, she almost slipped and fell: there were blood smears all over the floor. Her eyes wide with panic, she raised her wand and found herself standing in front of a very angry statue of Boros the Bragged. His statue was the entranceway to the Head Boy dorm, and currently propped open by what looked like Draco's lifeless body.

Ginny cursed lightly, and bent down to see if it really was Draco who was bleeding so profusely. She could barely make out his blond hair with her tiny wand light, as his head was being blocked by the careless statue. He was lying prone so that his stomach looked as though it was being painfully cinched by the statue and the wall. She righted herself, and addressed the statue.

"Sir, you'll need to stop trying to close the entrance, there is a student caught, can't you see that?" she said, her voice was panicky and stern.

"Obviously, I can not, you silly girl! My head only turns one way," the statue scoffed, then proceeded to demonstrate that indeed he could only move his head one way.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" Ginny yelled, frustrated.

"I need the password first," Boros calmly inspected its nails.

"I'm a Prefect, I don't have to give you the password," she cried, her voice rising in panic. The amount of blood surround her feet was unnerving.

"I say you do, and you can't get in without my permission," Boros the Bragged said again, deftly crossing its stony arms and lifting its stony nose.

"Well, how about this for permission?" Ginny muttered, her voice low and her wand pointed directly at the statue's head.

"Curse my head off, and then I'll never move," the statue said haughtily.

"How very kind of you," Ginny said sarcastically, then immediately bent down to see if she could squeeze through the crack created by Draco's body. She slid through easily, and leaned down to see his face covered in blood.

"Oh, gods," she whispered, when she saw amount of blood leaking off his back in her weak wand light.

"Draco?" she said, and then yelled his name again. He moved slightly, but barely as he was still being squeezed by the statue. "Draco, I need the password," she was crying now, desperate to reassure herself he would be alright. She slapped him lightly on the face to try to wake him, and he whispered something.

"I didn't catch that, Draco, say it again," she pleaded, leaning her head towards his, stroking his hair softly.

His voice sounded like he was choking on gravel, but his breath on her cheek sent shivers down her spine. She stroked his face quickly then stood to squeeze back through the door.

"Gryffindor love," she repeated to the atrocious statue, and only when it opened did she realize that Draco had used their inside joke as his password. Her heart constricted at what that possibly meant, then she was brought back to reality as Draco's body rolled sideways as it was released from the painful hold.

Lighting the room with her wand, she quickly decided to move him out of the hallway to see the damage before she transported him to the hospital wing. She gingerly lifted his shoulders off the floor so they wouldn't drag and cause more pain. The sudden movement seemed to alert Draco, and he thrashed out of her grip. He hit the floor hard and groaned again, rolling onto his side.

"Malfoy, I need to get you to Madame Pomfrey," Ginny said, tears running unwillingly down her cheeks. She could now see the deep cuts and purple and black bruises forming all over his body. She could only think of one person who could do this: Lucius and the stupid training he made Draco go through.

"No," Draco barely whispered, "No, take me to my bed. I can't go to Pomfrey, you have to…" he choked, and coughed, expelling more blood. Ginny closed her eyes, more tears rolling down her cheeks. Oh, how she wished she could hurt whoever did this to him.

She conjured a stretcher and carefully floated him past the leather couches and study room into his bedroom. Setting him softly on the bed, then making sure he was comfortable enough, she ran to get hot water and towels from the bathroom.

Dangerously loading her arms, she carried back a basin full of hot water and as many towels as she could carry and set them next to the bed. He was lying on the comforter surrounded by lush velvety pillows so she removed them save one she left for his head.

She studied his body. Even bruised and bloody, he still set her on fire. She hadn't been this close to him in at least a month, and she took a moment to savor his nearness. She suddenly remembered that they weren't speaking, and she should leave now if she wanted to keep it that way. But not for a second did she actually consider it. After all, she was his friend once, and she still cared about him, though she wouldn't ever admit it to him.

He was passed out, though his beautiful face was screwed up in agony. Ginny noticed his new tattoo, the skin was raised slightly and red along the edges and she figured that was his reward for tonight. It was a gigantic snake, the black hissing head starting underneath his forearm near his wrist then twisting around his bicep and shoulder, across his upper back then its thin black tail ending on his neck, just below his right ear. It was patterned with intricately woven symbols and phrases in a language she had never seen. And though she knew it was a mark of Darkness, on Draco it looked absolutely stunning and powerful. She could imagine the snake moving if he flexed his arm in anger…or in passion. She ran her fingers over the raised skin, relishing the feeling of just touching him. But as her fingers traced the path of the snake, they crossed with an angry bleeding wound, and Ginny was snapped back to reality.

Thanking Merlin for her beginning training this summer as a Healer, she tended to his anterior wounds first, washing and cleaning the cuts on his chest and abdomen then removing his blood soaked pants to clean the wounds on his legs. She healed as many as she could, but he had huge gashes along both thighs, his chest and along his stomach that all wouldn't stop bleeding, and she wasn't educated enough to heal them. However, she knew that even if a wound wouldn't stop bleeding, even the most experienced Healers would turn to stitching with a thread and needle. So she gathered her courage, and afterwards, she bandaged the perfect stitches as tightly as she could and tended to his head.

There was another deep cut along his scalp that she was unable to magically shut, so she stitched it shut also, crying as she saw his beautiful face wince in his dreams.

After she was done she flipped him over gingerly, careful not to rip the stitches she had finished. His back was not as bad as she had originally thought, however it was more bruised and there was still one large jagged cut she did her best to stitch shut.

She forced him to drink some water, regular pain killers, and a blood restoration potion she had quickly made, hoping they would help with some of the agony she knew he must be in. She said a quick prayer that none of the bruises were because of internal damage and then she cleaned the bloody mess outside his statue in the hall.

Ginny fell asleep from exhaustion around dawn next to him on his large bed, curled up in a ball close enough that she could still hear if he moaned in pain. She woke up only awhile later; Draco had rolled over and was sleeping fitfully on his stomach. Deciding this was a good time to wash off the rest of his back, she started for his bathroom again, this time taking in his rooms.

His bedroom was decorated in dark reds, definitely not Malfoy colors. The large bed Draco was currently sleeping on dominated the room, along with two dressers and, she laughed when she spotted it, a rather oversized full length mirror. Two windows looking onto the grounds let in the early morning light when Ginny pulled back their heavy red curtains. Ginny walked into the joining bathroom, it was also decorated prominently in reds. She briefly thought it must be Draco's favorite color. She ran more warm water into the basin and carried it back into the bedroom. Unfortunately, there were no more clean towels, so she went off exploring the rest of his rooms.

She opened the door to his room and stepped back into what looked like his study, surprisingly decorated in Slytherin green and silver. There were bookcases along the walls and a huge desk dominated the area. Joining with it was a sitting area, with two settees and a large comfy couch facing a huge fireplace. She checked in two closets before she found the one the house elves magically supplied with fresh linens. She grabbed a few more towels and hauled them back to his room.

She took in his sleeping form, his face finally relaxed and he looked so much like a little boy, Ginny had to restrain herself from brushing the hair off his forehead. But her gaze drifted to his tattoo and she frowned. The snake was filled with dark symbols, she was sure of it. Six years of Defense Against the Dark Arts hadn't taught her what the symbols stood for, but at least she knew they meant something sinister. Again, her thoughts drifted to how he got it. The skin around it was so inflamed she knew he had to have received it very recently. She had heard the rumors that the Dark Lord was giving out new Dark Marks, and she idly wondered if this was one of them while she started soaking the clean towels in the warm water.

It took her a good while to clean off his back as most of the blood was dry and sticky. She also changed all the bandages, lathering the wounds with healing potion before taping the gauze over them. She knew she should leave before he woke up, but she was exhausted and Draco's bed was warm and comfortable. Only promising herself five minutes she lay down next to him, curling up under the comforter. But, five minutes became hours and before she knew it, the sun was shining through the windows behind Draco as he was standing over her.

OOOh... so mini cliffy! yea I'm excited! You? I hope I didnt disappoint anyone with my hyping up these chapters. It's just this is like the first thing I wrote when I thought up this story, and I've been hanging on to it for so long, and so far, it's been one of my favorite things I've written...ever. And the whole scene isn't even done yet! AWESOME! lol, well anyways, the next one is ready to go and the more you tell me what you think, the more im inclined to let you read what happens next. I feel evil doing that... you know I'll never be able to resist posting the next chapter soon!

Reviews Reviews: neveralone89 (i hope you liked the whole d/g thing going on in this chapter! lol. But Im glad you like the h/e stuff too!) Alexandria J. Malfoy (I honestly love when people use wicked to describe things! It's so woot!) Shwenny (thanks for the h/e critique! you made me feel a lot better about them!) Kirrashi (Am I more evil now? I hope you dont hate cliffhangers like I do! No worries though, Im posting quickly!) bluey (thanks! I hope you keep reading!)

And thanks to everyone else!

Make sure to come back 'cause there's more! keepin it short: read, review, woot -xxx