Disclaimer: I would just like to say before I write anything further, that I own absolutely nothing except my own personal possessions. It's a sad fact of life. Please allow me to claim the plot though.
Chapter Six, A Contented Bliss
A house elf stood silently in the doorway, where Draco's person had disappeared only moments before. Ginny lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling and gathering her thoughts together.
He was a monster: she had really thought that he was going to kill her or at the very least, rip her apart, limb from limb.
He was right about one thing though. She had not had a bath in six weeks and the stench she was emitting must be quite overpowering. The house elf was beckoning to her. Ginny stood with a little apprehension. She did not want to face anther confrontation with the adult Malfoy or one of his minions today. Her mind was too bewildered and her body too weak to defend herself.
Ginny walked with a little difficulty through the door and followed the small creature down a windowless hallway, through a door, down another stone corridor, up a flight of musty stairs and nudged into a room.
The lights were off and so Ginny's hand automatically reached to her side for her wand. A feeling of panic rose when she remembered that it probably lay where she had dropped it the night of her kidnap. It was with surprise that she realised that she had not missed her wand till this point.
Her fists were clenched as she waited for whatever fate would befall her. Suddenly something brushed against the door behind her.
She turned in fear to see a second house elf nudge the door open with it's behind and shuffle into the room backwards with an oil lamp and several candles on a tray. With a flick of its hand, the candles rose smoothly from the tray and hovered in the air revealing a large bathroom.
The bath was already filled with bubbles and Ginny's head was filled with the scent of floral soaps, which she had not noticed before. The smells drifted in soft clouds filling Ginny's mind with a blissful feeling.
On a dressing table to the side of an enormous shower, fresh towels lay alongside a hair brush and a change of clothes. Ginny smiled. The thought of having a bath suddenly seemed exciting and very appealing. Not even the prefect bathrooms at Hogwarts had been this luxurious.
Stripping off her clothes, Ginny stepped cautiously into the steaming water and sank into the foam, the warmth enveloping her tired body. The water lapped round her body as she lay enjoying the sensations of the bath.
The scented soaps filled her mind with a lazy contentment. Her eyelids fluttered and Ginny had to fight to keep herself conscious. Her thoughts were filled by his menacing face. How could man… no, he wasn't even a man: he was only a year older than her... How could a young man be so cruel and brutal?
"He will be just like his father when he is older." she thought sadly but her thoughts had apparently been voiced out loud.
There had been a time when Ginny had hoped that Draco Malfoy and his 'friends' would break away and live independently from their fathers. Perhaps at one time they had considered this, but since the Dark Lord's conquer, no one dared to question. To follow was all that was required of them: to follow orders, whatever they might be.
Draco seemed to have fallen into this life very easily. She laughed.
"Yes, he will be just like his father."
"Well, I'm glad we have established that fact. Could we now turn to more pressing matters?" Ginny screamed at the sound of his voice and sank further into the water, trying to hide her body with the foam.
Draco Malfoy sat calmly (and a little damp from the steam) on the dresser chair. His groomed hair had lost some of its carefully styled presentation from clouds of stream that drifted from the bath. Ginny's body shivered subconsciously. Why did he have to plague her with his presence constantly?
Draco cleared his throat, choosing his words carefully. "Well obviously the sheets need changing on my bed, my floor needs cleaning, my clothes could do with pressing and a bed needs to be set up in the corner so that I can keep an eye on you."
The rage was boiling up within Ginny and she blushed deep crimson in anger. She stood up furiously, shouting "so I'm supposed to be your personal slave. You are determined to degrade me in every way possible, you son of a…" A towel was thrown at her head and Ginny gulped back her words of insult, hurriedly wrapping the towel round her body.
Bloody pervert: bet he is loving this, she thought angrily.
Draco smirked and rose from his chair. "I'll see you in my room in ten minutes, when you are more disposed." He walked towards the door, tapping his wand on her stomach in a dismissive air as he passed her.
Ginny was left staring at the door fuming, embarrassed and humiliated. Pervert, pervert, pervert, bloody prick.
She stepped angrily out of the bath and padded over to the dressing table. She threw on a clean shirt and skirt, stopping to examine herself in the mirror. Her skin was much paler than she had remembered and most of her freckles had disappeared: a definite benefit to sun deprivation.
Her body was thinner and her eyes looked tired and worn. The bruises had gone from her body once more (someone must have moved them). Oh yes, of course: Malfoy. She looked like a completely different person: Harry would not recognise her anymore.
On a happier note, she had to respect whoever had bought her outfit because it was much nicer than anything she had ever owned. Floral skirts were not her style but this one was nice…elegant somehow. Her self-appreciation quickly passed as her attention turned to her hair and she began to attack the curls with a hairbrush.
Fifteen minutes passed and Ginny was left staring triumphantly at her reflection: her hair as groomed as it was ever going to be and the straining muscles in her arm throbbing through her body (but the pain was somehow satisfying).
Ginny straightened her skirt, re-adjusted her shirt and gave her reflection a final glance, then turning around, failed to notice a body standing directly behind her. She collided with the figure and fell to the floor, her elbow crushed by her weight, but the sickening crunch was hidden by her scream of fright. Her legs were crushed by the body on top of her. Ginny looked up to see a house-elf lying precariously on top of her: its arms flailing in the air.
With a crack Ginny found herself upright, the house-elf still lying on the floor: its arms too short to pull itself of the floor and its stomach too round to give any assistance. Draco Malfoy stood in the doorway leaning against the frame, his expression unable to mask his bemusement.
"I really don't think this is appropriate behaviour for a personal slave. Do you Dilon?" The house-elf gave a brief squeak, then returned to its attempts to stand once more. Ginny could feel the familiar blush of anger rising from within her and stepped towards him to give an angry retort, but a hand closed around her arm and she was dragged from the bathroom. The pain in her elbow splintered through her body like a dagger, so she did not feel arms close around her waist and carry her down the corridor.
A/N Just to clear something up. I know this story is really twisted but it is in fact a DG ship (sorry if that annoys anyone). Draco is just a bit temperamental and difficult to predict. It keeps me on my toes. I'm trying soooooooo hard not to make it cliché (you may have noticed form the unconventional beginning).