Chapter 5: Wildfire
Draco awoke to a dark world. It was cold, dank, and dreary, and he could tell by the dancing shadows before him that the only light emitted in the area before him came from a candle or some sort of torch placed far away and above him.
His vision was blurry, his head groggy, and his limbs heavy, but he knew he could not just lay there and go back to sleep, as much as he wished he could. His body seemed not to know where the muscles controlling his legs were located, so Draco used his arms to drag himself about the ground. Where to? —He only wished he knew.
But after a few minutes' moving about, Draco realized he was outside Hogwarts on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. His mind tried to register when he'd been about these parts of the castle grounds before, and he suddenly remembered. The half-giant! His hut was somewhere nearby.
Under normal circumstances, Draco would've preferred dying over seeking help from a creature as revolting as Hagrid (they had gone so far as to name him!), but he knew this was no time to be thinking about what he preferred. Ginny was in danger, and for her, he would endure anything.
By the time Draco reached the front door of the sodden hut, he was breathing heavily, sweating profusely from the effort it had taken him to drag himself so far, and smelling of only what Merlin knew was scattered about the muddy ground he had slid through.
"Hagrid!" He called out. His voice felt as though he hadn't used it in a long time and he realized just how thirsty he was. With much effort, Draco flung the arm closest to the door in an attempt to knock. "Help! Someone!" He groaned and cursed inwardly. He isn't home! Where else could an oaf like him need to be at this hour? Draco's breathing was haggard and he could feel his body begging him to just close his eyes and go back to sleep.
Suddenly, Draco heard a sound behind him. He turned his head, and through a face of dark, bushy brown hair, he met the two tiny, twinkling eyes of the half-giant, staring at him in surprise. "Malfoy!" Hagrid cried aloud, dropping the pile of logs he'd been carrying on his shoulder. "Malfoy, what's wrong?"
And just as the half-giant knelt next to him, Draco managed to mutter another cry for help before he felt himself give in to his physical need and close his eyes once again.
Hagrid, as well as all the other Hogwarts staff, had been informed on the missing Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy. As much as he couldn't stand the youngest Malfoy, Hagrid hoped that both children would soon return safely back to Hogwarts, but when he came across Draco Malfoy sprawled across the threshold of his home, he was worried for Draco, but even more for Ginny's safety.
As Hagrid cradled Draco's limp body in his arms much like he had during the boy's third year, he wondered just where Ginny Weasley was right now. He carefully made his way through the darkness to the hospital ward. If they could treat one of their own like this, what were they doing to Ginny?
"Minerva, I received your summoning request," Dumbledore said stoically as he entered his office, followed by Harry. The headmaster eyed Ron and Hermione standing next to the professor. "I trust you already know of the situation then?"
"Yes, Albus, I've been informed. How should we go about retrieving Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Weasley?" She asked worriedly.
"We need to go in there and get Ginny out!" Ron suddenly hollered, shaking his clenched fists.
Dumbledore lowered his eyes. "I am afraid we should avoid making rash decisions as such, Mr. Weasley. The people we are dealing with are not afraid to harm your sister or Mr. Malfoy. It is, indeed, our move, but we must think carefully before treading forward."
Hermione nodded. "Please, headmaster, we'll do anything at all to help."
"Now that you mention it, I think it is best that you three return to your dormitories for the night." Before Ron could speak in protest, Dumbledore continued. "It is late, and you may need to save your strength for later battles." He gave the trio a curious look before turning away.
Professor McGonagall bid the three a goodnight and assured Ron one more time that he would be the first to know if any new information regarding the safety of his younger sister was discovered.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked through the corridors in silence for a while until Harry finally spoke. "Y'know, I'm sorry, Ron."
Ron stopped abruptly. "What?"
Hermione gasped at hearing Harry speak so suddenly.
"I'm sorry that Ginny's gone missing and I'm sorry for—"
"For being a prat?" Ron offered.
Hermione winced, but Harry only sighed. "I was going for bad friend, but fine, prat."
"Well, thanks," Ron said.
"For what?" Harry asked.
"For being sorry, I guess," Ron answered. "I mean, I know that you'll always be in the spotlight, Harry, and I know that you really wish more than anything you could just hide out in the shadows, but," Ron paused a bit. "Getting left out of everything really can get to a guy, y'know? And when you got so upset over Hermione and me, I just didn't know what to do." He looked Harry in the eye now and changed subjects slightly. "I'll always have your back, mate, but it's a difficult thing to do when I never get included in anything. I bet everyone thinks I'm the dumb sidekick."
Harry gave Ron a wry smile and Hermione felt herself smile at Harry's change in expression. "Well, you're a loyal sidekick, and if I'm supposed to have any sort of sidekick, there's no one I'd want more to fill that position than you. And you, too, Hermione."
Hermione beamed.
"And seeing as angsty Harry Potter has caused so much trouble, I'd just like you two to know that I'm happy for you. For being together and all. I'm happy because the both of you are happy, and nothing more than that makes me happy," Harry said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and blushing a bit at speaking so truthfully to his friends.
"Actually, we've been talking Harry," Hermione finally spoke. "We're putting our relationship on a hiatus." She saw Harry gawk at her. "We still like each other very much," she smiled at Ron, "but with the Dark Lord back in power, there just isn't time for a relationship of any sort. We have other things we need to concentrate on."
"Like finding Ginny," Ron said.
Harry gaped. "So you're not together anymore?"
"No?" Ron shrugged sheepishly.
Harry didn't know what to think. They had mentioned that part of the reason for the hiatus on their relationship had to do with the Dark Lord, and he assumed that the other things they had to worry about was watching over his back. His friends were sacrificing their own lives for him once again!
"You guys," Harry sighed. "I really don't think sticking it to the Dark Lord is reason enough to stop your relationship."
"And just an hour ago you were ready to wring my neck for seeing Hermione!" Ron scoffed, grinning.
"Really, Harry," Hermione assured. "Ron and I discussed this and feel it is best to put our relationship on a hiatus. It's a temporary halt to things, if you will. Things are just too crazy right now. Especially with Ginny gone, Ron's a right mess."
"And you think I shouldn't be a right mess—?"
The trio had been walking through the corridors, speaking to one another rather animatedly, and hadn't noticed whether or not anyone was walking before them. Ron had run right into Hagrid's chest.
"Hagrid!" Hermione cried aloud as she and Harry helped Ron back onto his feet. Hagrid looked a 'right mess,' as Hermione might say. He was panicked, his eyes wide, hands trembling. "Hagrid, what's the matter?" Hermione asked.
"M-m-m-malfoy," he finally managed to stutter. "He's in the hospital wing. I've got to get to the headmaster!" And with that, the half-giant was thumping down the corridor, going the direction Harry, Ron, and Hermione had just come from.
"Malfoy?" Ron shouted. "What if Ginny's there, too?" Ron bolted, heading for the hospital.
"Ron, wait!" Hermione cried as she and Harry ran after him.
In a matter of minutes, the three stood before the entrance to the hospital ward. "Should we go in?" Harry whispered.
"Of course we're going in!" Ron rolled his eyes as he twisted the doorknob. The three peered into the room and found that Madam Pomfrey wasn't inside. "C'mon!" Ron motioned to his two friends.
After spending so many years with her two best friends, Hermione was almost used to bending the rules every now and then. She ran to the clipboard on Madam Pomfrey's desk, flipped through the pages, and said, "Malfoy's in the twelfth bed on the left side."
Even though Madam Pomfrey wasn't in the infirmary, the trio felt it necessary to whisper and tiptoe about. When they reached the curtain surrounding the twelfth bed on the left side of the room, Harry carefully pulled the curtain aside and gasped at what they saw.
Draco Malfoy lay in the bed, sleeping quite peacefully. He was clad in a pair of polyester pajamas, something he'd throw a fit over once he woke up, and it looked as though he might have an extreme fever, for his face was damp with sweat and he looked even paler than usual.
Harry crept closer to Draco and used the back of his palm to touch the sleeping boy's cheek, but immediately retracted his arm. "He's so cold!" He turned to Hermione. "Where's Madam Pomfrey? Something's seriously wrong with him. Look how much he's sweating, yet how cold he feels."
Ron could only stare at the unconscious Slytherin boy, but Hermione went around to the other side of the bed and yelped at what she saw. She had jumped slightly, knocking a couple bottles over. She straightened them with trembling hands, but still goggled at Draco.
"Hermione, what is it?" Harry asked with concern.
Hermione placed two shaky fingers on Draco's neck before gently turning his face to reveal the four marks on Draco's neck. "Riddle bit him," she whispered.
Ginny shivered. She shivered down to her bones.
Tom Riddle had just ordered Lucius to use a Port Key to send his son back to Hogwarts since the boy was not needed anymore, and since Draco did not need to be watched over, Lucius had served his purpose in the room, so he left, thus leaving Ginny alone with Riddle.
But at least Draco was safe. He was back at Hogwarts, so besides the fact that she was chained to a wall, getting back would be easier. It would be just her getting back; not two separate people like it had been last time.
Last time, Ginny thought. Her first stumbling upon the spirit of Tom Riddle had been a freak accident, but she had been wrong to assume it would therefore never happen again. But after all that from just months ago—again? Why was Riddle always after her? It seemed an odd coincidence, but Ginny was beginning to think that after a coincidence happened so many times, it wasn't a coincidence anymore, but merely a pattern leading to something else. But what? Whatever this pattern of events was leading her to, Ginny did not care to know. All she wanted was to get away from the Dark Lord, away from Riddle, and away from this ruddy mansion, or wherever it was they were holding her captive.
Riddle interrupted her thoughts. "Pay attention, Virginia," he snapped.
"My name is Ginevra," Ginny said placidly.
Then Riddle's hand was a blur and Ginny felt a sting on the left side of her face, which soon began to pulsate. He'd slapped her. "I'm calling you Virginia, and you're going to like it and respond to it."
Ginny glared.
"Besides, Ginevra is such an ugly name. It's obvious you were bred in a rat's den." He smiled as Ginny's temples flared a bright red color. He wanted to ruffle her up a bit. He liked it when they were riled. She'd put up more of a fight that way. Riddle then gripped Ginny's chin in his hand and violently brought her face to his. Lips pursed tightly shut she was breathing hard through her nostrils, but he knew she was seething inside. Taking pleasure in her pain, Tom brought his other hand to Ginny's neck.
For a fleeting instant he could see the girl thought he intended to bite her, but he'd made a deal and did not intend to break it. Could not break it. Besides, he had better things in mind for the girl.
Ginny's heart was racing when he felt the vampire wizard's spindly fingers unbutton her shirt ever so slowly. She could feel his quickened breath hit her bare chest now and she cried out instinctively when Riddle ripped the rest of the shirt off her since he could not slip it off her shoulders because her hands were still restrained.
"Looks like someone's been a very good girl," Riddle hissed, fingering Ginny's bra. He began licking her chest, and then her shoulders, and ended by nibbling on her neck, careful not to bite her. All the while he was struggling to take his own cloak off.
Ginny was panicking now. She knew what was coming and it was not a fitting bloody demise! However, when Riddle's cloak landed on the ground, she lifted her chin away from the vampire wizard's head on her neck and caught sight of his back—of the wand stuffed in his back pocket!
Ginny's upper arms were beginning to numb, for Riddle was holding them tightly as he became more and more aroused with what he was doing to her, but she used all the will power within her being to keep calm. She needed to figure out how to get the wand from him without his knowing, and for now it seemed best to play along. Hopefully she would be able to steal Riddle's wand before things got out of hand.
She clenched her eyes shut tightly and knew she would want to slap herself for what she was about to take part in, but there was no other way. "Oh, Tom!" Ginny heard her voice moan. She hoped it wasn't too showy, but she felt Riddle's mouth grin on her neck. She began to jangle the chains attaching her arms to the wall. If she could just get him to undo them! She pretended she wished she could touch and caress him as he groped her, but it seemed he was deaf under his pure enjoyment of the whole ordeal.
"I knew I'd chosen wisely so many years back during our first encounter," Riddle placed a rough kiss on Ginny's ear.
Suddenly, Ginny felt the breath cut off from her, for Riddle's mouth was now attached to her own. Ginny struggled at first to breath, trying to back into the wall as Riddle's tongue probed and explored every inch of her mouth. His tongue invited her tongue to explore the depths of his mouth, but Ginny dared not for fear of touching one of the deadly fangs growing from his gums. Her breath began to fill his lungs and his hot, putrid breath began forcing its way down Ginny's lungs as much as she tried to prevent it. She thought she could handle this if kissing and nibbling was all he planned to do, but she suddenly felt Riddle's hands leave her arms and rest on her breasts, and in no time at all his callused hands were squeezing her breasts with the intensity of his lust.
She was beginning to think she'd gotten in way over her head, but all she did was blink, and when she opened her eyes, she lay on the bed that had been across the room only moments before. A shirtless Tom Riddle was on top of her and he was fumbling with the buttons on her pants, but her hands were free! Relieved for a sudden glimmer of hope, Ginny tried to quickly whip her hand to Riddle's backside before she felt his fingers leave her abdomen and pin her arm down. "No begging, Virginia," he cackled slightly as he lay on her with all his body weight.
She felt the bile rise in her throat as she felt Riddle's hardened sex through the fabric of his trousers. But after one more hastened kiss, he still lay on her, but both hands were now fumbling with his own pants—this was her chance! In hopes of delaying his reactions if he sensed what she was doing, Ginny closed her eyes in disgust as her mouth latched onto Tom Riddle's neck. She wrapped an arm around his neck as she sucked, nibbled, and kissed it. With the other hand, ever so slightly, she made to place her hand on his back, but quick as lightning she felt her fingers wrap around the wooden hilt of the vampire wizard's wand and pulled with all her might.
Ginny almost felt Riddle's eyes whip open and thought for an instant she saw the fires of Hell burning within the pitch-black pupils staring at her in furious rage. Ginny saw the vampire wizard bare his fangs at her. She felt as though her heart was in her throat as she turned away closing her eyes. She pointed the wand at the wizard and yelled out the first spell she could think of—
"Wingardium Leviosa!" She cried aloud.
Ginny slapped herself internally—harder than Riddle had slapped her before, as the half-naked form of Tom Riddle now floated in the air above her. It seemed even Riddle was surprised at the spell Ginny had cast, but she quickly corrected it with a gallant wave of her arm and bit out the next spell. "Petrificus Totalus, you bastard." She wished she'd levitated the vampire wizard a little higher before his frame stiffened and landed on the floor with a great thud, but this was the chance she needed to escape!
She had to hurry before anyone found Riddle in the state she'd left him, and even if no one found him, she'd only used a simple first year charm on him, so it would be wearing off soon. Flustered in her hurry, she almost left without a shirt! The one she had been wearing before lay shredded on the floor, but she picked it up, crumpled it into a ball of fabric and held onto it. Then she picked up Riddle's silk black shirt, which lay forgotten near the floor next to the bed, and allowed it to slide onto her shoulders. She quickly buttoned up the shirt that was very loose on her tiny frame. She retrieved her fallen cloak, and was out the door in a flash, not even looking at the petrified form of her molester. The molester of her life.
Once she'd fled through a few corridors, Ginny realized she hardly knew where she was, meaning there really was no hope of finding escape without wasting a lot of time. Out of breath, she paced about. She didn't dare open one of the doors in hopes of finding help—she was in Malfoy Manor! She couldn't even apparate out of here.
But when she turned a corner, Ginny gasped as she saw a scoundrel of a man note her presence and casually walk into a room. Then he came back out to stare at Ginny's tattered form, but that was when Ginny remembered. She wasn't in Malfoy Manor. She was in a brothel! She could apparate out! With a curt nod and a meek smile at the man staring at her, Ginny turned to go back the way she had come, pretending she'd made a wrong turn, but once she was around the corner, she leaned against the wall. She felt as though this was the first time in a while she was finally able to breathe!
Draco, I'm coming! Ginny thought to herself in frantic glee.
She closed her eyes, fingers tightly wrapped around Tom Riddle's wand, and whispered a spell to apparate to Hogwarts, but nothing happened. Ginny opened her eyes and blinked. Was it because she was using Tom's wand? She ran a finger up the long wooden stick, finding it odd just how much it felt like Harry's wand. Everyone on the face of the planet knew the Dark Lord and Harry had wands made of the same core, but it was just odd. It was like looking at a complete stranger and mistaking him or her for someone you know. Even though you realize the mistaken acknowledgement, you still wish you could hug or speak with this complete stranger in hopes of finding just a shred of your friend or loved one within this complete stranger. It was wonderfully comforting, but an absolute lie.
But Ginny did not have time to further think of such things. She nearly kicked herself when she realized that in her panicked thinking she had tried to apparate to Hogwarts. Everyone knew no one could apparate into the school grounds! Hermione would've whacked her upside the head if she were here, though thank Merlin neither she, nor any of her other friends, wasn't.
Grateful that no one else had come after her, she closed her eyes and apparated away within the blink of an eye. A faint pop and a quickly receding mist of smoke were the only evidence of her ever having been there at all.
Harry suddenly hollered out in pain. Clutching his forehead, he backed into the curtain surrounding Draco's hospital bed and ripped it off its bindings as he fell onto it.
"Harry, what's wrong?" Ron and Hermione chimed together. They ran to his side, but Harry was already getting back up when they reached him. He looked confused.
"Voldemort," Harry whispered hoarsely.
"What is it?" Hermione asked gently as Ron stared in complete shock.
"I don't know," Harry stuttered, furrowing his brows. "It's okay, I'll be fine," he said as he got back on his feet.
The three heard a pained moaning come from Draco. Immediately, Harry, Ron, and Hermione rushed to his bedside. He blinked repeatedly to adjust his eyes to the dim light in the room, but his eyes were wide with shock in no time. "What're you lot doing here?" He cried aloud, trying to scoot away from them in his bed.
"Malfoy, stop!" Harry said, raising his palms to face Draco, backing away slowly. "Just stay still—"
"It's about bloody time you're up!" Ron growled, interrupting Harry. Hermione tried to elbow him for flustering Draco, but he moved away from her. "I really don't care how many times you want to go necking with that bloody Tom Riddle—" Draco slowly placed a hand on the side of his neck. It seemed he just now remembered he'd been bitten and his glazed expression made it look like all the memories from just hours before were flooding back to him. "—What is wrong with you?" Ron was still going. "You say you love my sister, but why weren't you thinking of her well-being? Where is she? Don't you think of her at all?" He finally ended, huffing and puffing for air, red in the face.
Draco's head throbbed and no one wants to be awoken by an angry Ron Weasley, but his eyes widened at the Weasel's last few words. Finally, he slowly lifted his head and looked up at Ginny's brother. "I don't think there's a single moment I don't think of her."
Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth, realizing how terribly romantic Draco had just been, quite unintentionally, of course, for boys were thicker than, well, anything at all! But the fact that Draco looked so vulnerable now, so out of place in the hospital wing, clashing horridly with the polyester pajamas he wore—the fact that he felt this really was his fault when it was true that it wasn't anyone's fault but Tom Riddle's… Hermione suddenly felt a happy feeling inside and hoped Ginny would return to Hogwarts soon so that she and Draco could be reunited. She was finally able to see how sincere and kind Draco could be and she was finally able to see what Ginny saw in Draco.
People contain an equal balance of both good and evil. After reading so many books and analyzing many philosophies, Hermione decided that that was what she believed. All souls contain good and evil, but it is the choice of the soul-bearer, the person whom the soul resides in, to decide which aspect (good or evil) shall shine through. Once that decision is made, it is not likely that the person will make a complete switch and caress the opposite side that he or she did not allow to shine through, for humans are creatures of habit, but changing is possible. This is what Hermione believed, but looking at Draco now, she knew her philosophy was true. Changing was rare, but possible. She knew it was true and Draco Malfoy was going to prove it.
Author's Note: Ack! I'm so sorry this took so long to come out! I thought I'd be nice and not end in a cliffhanger just to make up for the delay of this chapter. :) Anyway, now that AP exams are over and I have 18 days until I graduate from high school, hopefully the next chapter will come out sooner. I'm so sorry once again for the delay!
Credits: Thanks to Shattered Mirror by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes for inspiration in the vampire scenes (this is a GREAT novel to read) and Dreadful Sorry by Kathryn Reiss (also an awesome mystery book to read) for inspiration on the bit about many coincidences not being coincidences, but a pattern.
Chapter Six: So… is Draco a vampire again or not? And now that Ginny's apparated out of the brothel, what'll she do and exactly where did she apparate? And could Ginny's thought on many coincidences adding up to a pattern or some ulterior motive be true? We'll see! ;)
Thanks to Twerksie Gogara Relffin, Ashe, Andromeda77, bigreader, Niles Chiku, Jamie, Jonah, remembrances, and GoldenFawkes for stickin' with me! I hope this chapter hasn't let you down!