Chapter Twenty-Three – Tears Fall
Ginny angrily walked down the corridors to where she could only hope the indoor hot tub resided. She really needed to relax after her fight with Tom. It made no sense, he was all over her then, POW, he wanted to stop because he didn't want to 'use' her when she was drunk.
Ginny scoffed. "Drunk am I? If I was drunk, would I be walking around naked in the Dark Lord's castle?" Thinking about what she just said, Ginny mumbled, "Fine, I may be drunk, but who cares?"
Up ahead a golden door shined brightly in the night. Knowing that this room led to the hot tub, Ginny picked up her pace and let a smile grace her lips. Pulling open the door quietly, she peaked inside to make sure the room was empty. When she was sure no one was inside, Ginny fully opened the door and went to the hot tub. Letting the warm water fill up the tub, Ginny slowly lowered her now cold body.
Almost immediately the tension in her neck and back disappeared into the bubbly water surrounding her. Taking a sponge, Ginny scrubbed down her body, then washed her hair. When completely finish she turned off the jets and climbed out. Looking for a towel to dry off with, Ginny made her way towards the closet, only to stop when she heard someone breathing loudly behind the door.
Fear building inside her, Ginny grabbed her wand, which she for some reason had left in the room last night, and crept towards the closed door. Hands shaking, Ginny opened the door and pointed her wand at the intruder, only to find a pool of blood gathering on the floor. Confused, Ginny looked around for the injured person, only to look up and see a person hanging from a rope with a large stab wound in their chest.
Screaming loudly Ginny fled the room and ran back to her room to wake up Tom. After explaining the situation the two rushed back to the closet to find the man dead.
Tom told Ginny, "Why don't you wait out in the next room, you have seen too much already." Thinking he had the right idea, Ginny shuffled from the room in a daze.
Tom then entered the closet and examined the body, trying to see who it was. He let out a gasp as he finally recognized the brutally beating person. He couldn't believe that the person before him was dead, deceased, living in another world, resting in peace. 'Scratch that last one,' Tom thought to himself. 'This person is in anything but peace.'
The dead man before Tom had been a dedicated leader, a man of power, feared by many, respected by all. Lucius Malfoy's dead body was no more then a corpse, a body of bones, blood, and organs.
"Draco will be shattered…and Narcissa. Who could have done this?"
Cutting the rope, Tom gently guided the body down to the floor and covered it with towels. Feeling anger build inside his already tired body, Tom called his followers to have a surprise meeting.
Back at Hogwarts, the trio, along with Dumbledore, gathered around in the Gryffindor common room. All present had their attention fixed on Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived.
"Harry, where have you been?" Hermione asked. "We have been so worried about you! No note, telling no one…what where you thinking?"
"I was in Walla Walla. I found Ginny and got a chance to talk with her. She is fine; Voldemort has surprisingly been decent to her. She is healthy and had no physical aliments, but…"
As Harry trailed off Ron began to panic. Obviously Harry didn't want to tell them something, and Ron had to know what it was. His sister had been missing for months and no indication about her ware bouts or her safely had been given to him. Not being able to take the silence Ron prodded, "What, Harry?"
Gulping Harry sadly looked at his friends and mentor and said, "She is married to him."
"What!" Hermione, Ron, and Dumbledore said at the same time.
"What do you mean? She is legally married, bonded?"
"Yes, I told you about the dream where they…bonded, but I didn't know it was because of marriage purposes. It is legal, Ginny told me so."
"Married." Ron stuttered. "She is married. To he-who-must-not-be-named! Oh God."
Ron stood up abruptly and kicked the sofa behind him. His face changed to a shade of red that resembled a tomato, making the others present worried about his reaction. Clenching his fist, Ron punched a pillow on the sofa that he had just kicked over, and over, and over again, till he was too tired to go on.
"I am so sorry Ron." The headmaster said, placing a loving hand on Ron's shaking shoulders. "I know things seem like they can get no worse, but I reassure you, we will rescue Ginny and bring her back to Hogwarts, where she belongs. I promise, and believe me, you have my word."
Harry and Hermione nodded in agreement, but Harry cleared his throat. Everyone turned their heads back to him to see what else he had to say.
"I hate to have to tell you this, but Ginny seems to love him." Wetting his lips he went on. "She was confused when we talked. She called him Tom, since he is back into his younger body, and kept telling me that she couldn't leave. She has been brainwashed into thinking they are in love. I did get through to her and convinced he it wasn't true, but I have a feeling he has undone the progress I made."
"No. No bloody way in hell is she in love with him! She is obviously been brainwashed by the monster, we have to save her immediately! He already stole her innocence, what else he has done, I don't want to know." Ron yelled, letting his anger out on the rest.
Hermione wiped away the tears that ran down her face and pulled herself together for the sake of Ron, who needed comfort and a steady friend to lean on. Shaking the thoughts out of her head she shakily stood up and enclosed Ron in a large bear hug. Whispering comforting nonsense into his ears, Hermione felt his body shake as the tears left his eyes and feel onto her shoulder. Feeling arms wrap around her and Ron, Hermione look up to see Harry sharing in their grief and shock.
As the teens comforted each other, Dumbledore left to plan on what steps where needed in Ginny's rescue.
That night, many grieved for the losses their lives were full of. Deatheaters gathered around the body of Lucius as he was lowered into a casket and then to the fire. At the castle, Lucius was cremated and later scattered around Voldemort's castle, a place where he had faithfully served his lord, and the pureblood wizarding world.