Disclaimer: Nope, nothing, nothing, nothing, although…

…no just kidding.

Previously

Draco Malfoy's face was covered in bruises. His face was a mask of pain and Ginny's shock was nothing compared to his. What was he doing, revealing his weakness to a muggle-lover? She was the enemy and she had almost seen him cry. He stood up abruptly, knocking her body away in his haste to move away from her.

She could see from the way that he moved that his bruises must continue down his body. Ginny felt a foreign emotion for her enemy and she was frightened by the rise of sympathy within her towards the self-important, pureblood bastard walking away from her.

Chapter Nine, This Godforsaken Prison

Ginny stood uncertainly, watching Draco. He was reluctant to leave the room and so chose to sit on the bed, balancing on the edge in case he should need to stand up quickly for any reason. He could not quite imagine why this might be necessary but opted to be on the safe side all the same.

Ginny watched him for a moment, pondering whether to leave or sit in the pretence that nothing was wrong. She couldn't leave. There was nowhere to go and sitting with absolutely nothing to do was not an option, so with a little hesitation, Ginny walked gingerly towards the hunched figure of her enemy.

Reaching out, she lightly touched his arm in a fashion that she hoped wouldn't startle him. She blushed with the contact, sweeping away the thoughts of the abuse he had inflicted on her only days before.

Draco felt something lightly brush his skin and looked up in alarm to see Ginny standing above him. Her cheeks were red and there was a glint in her eye, but he sensed concern and this calmed him somewhat. Draco didn't move… he didn't dare, not even when she sat beside him, her hand returning to his arm and lightly caressed the bruised skin. Draco flinched but still didn't move. Damn it, why didn't he move?

"Who did this to you, you're bleeding?"

It was more of a statement then a question and so feeling no need to answer, he remained silent. It was certainly true. His lip was split, his face sported several cuts and his arms were battered and raw. Draco looked down in horror at his body. He had not noticed the severity of his injuries until now, but they were worse than they looked he decided.

The silence was uncomfortable and it struck Ginny that helping the enemy was traitorous (she pleaded temporary insanity). But then again, she had betrayed her friends the moment she agreed to give Lucius Malfoy information. She was not a child. She knew that the consequences of this could cause nothing but damage for her friends if she did not tread carefully. Ginny was playing in a different world now and there was no one to come to her rescue.

Turning towards the bed, she looked at Draco once more and watched as his hand rose to his side then return to his lap tainted with blood. Ginny gasped and looking at his chest realised that blood was seeping from a wound beneath his shirt. Draco sat staring intently at the blood and continued to ignore her.

"Malfoy you're bleeding. Let me help you."

He continued to stare at his hand as though it held the answer to a question he could not place.

"Malfoy, let me help you. Please."

He looked up with a jerk and stared at her. Ginny felt heat rising in her body and she could almost see the red glow of her cheeks in his eyes. She lifted her hand to his shirt, undoing the first button, only pausing for consent to continue. She accepted his grunt as permission and quickly stripped the clothing off his body to reveal the purple bruises that adorned his skin. Blood seeped from a stab wound to one side, trickling down his abdomen and absorbed by his trousers. Blood smeared the pale skin and beneath these, Ginny noticed the scars of some other attack she assumed.

The sight repulsed her, but masking her emotions, she continued to strip off his socks and trousers till all he wore were a pair of black boxers. Draco sat absolutely still, staring at the wall ahead, his blank face ashen and drained of all colour.

Ginny pushed him gently backwards onto the bed until he lay like a doll, his jaw set and his eyes closed. Ginny looked around frantically for some water or a cloth to clean his wounds. A t-shirt had been thrown carelessly onto a chair and she rose to get it when her eyes came to rest on his discarded wand, lying on the floor beside the bed.

She turned quickly back to Draco lying on the bed. His breath was ragged and his fists were clenched, but his face had relaxed. He was asleep.

Her fingers tingled and her skin prickled. The door lay ajar and there was the wand, still lying on the floor a few feet from her. If she could just reach the door she would perhaps be able to find the exit to this godforsaken prison: the exit and freedom.

Ginny bit her lip as excitement bubbled up inside her. Her eyes rested once more on the wand and leaning forward, her hands closed around the polished wood: the wand tightly in her grip. Standing slowly, Ginny grimaced at the sound of the bed springs as they groaned from the release of her weight. Walking silently towards the chair, Ginny carefully put on her shoes and tip-toed towards the door.

Turning back, she stared at the sleeping figure of a battered Draco Malfoy, before slipping out of the room.

A/N hmmmmmmmmm.