Ginny ran into Malfoy Manor, unable to contain her excitement.

"Narcissa? Lucius? Hello! It's Ginny!" There was an excited squeal and Narcissa appeared from the room, which looked to be the kitchen.

"Ginny!" she cried, running over to her friend and enveloping her in a hug.

"Is Lucius here?" Ginny questioned. Narcissa shook her head.

"No, he told me he needed to attend to something important today, so I've been busy preparing a lovely dinner for us both when he arrives home tonight. Oh, how have you been?" Narcissa asked, realizing that she'd been rambling on. Ginny grinned.

"I'm engaged!" she yelled. Narcissa gasped and hugged her friend tightly.

"Oh, that's wonderful, oh wow, is that the ring? It's amazing!" she gushed, looking delighted. Ginny showed Narcissa the ring, feeling proud that she was marrying the man she loved.

"Oh, I bet Remus was ecstatic that you said yes, wasn't he?" Ginny nodded furiously.

"We both were. Actually, we're planning on getting married sometime next year, but hardly anyone else knows yet. You're one of the first to know because we're telling everyone else at dinner tonight. Anyway, when we do get married, I want you to be a bridesmaid" Narcissa let out an audible gasp.

"Really? You want me to be a bridesmaid, oh, I'd love it!"

"Uh, I hope you're not mad at me or anything, but I … I'm sort of going to ask Lily to be the maid of honour" she cringed slightly "You're not mad, are you?" Narcissa smiled and waved it away.

"As long as I'm a part of the wedding, I don't care. It'll be your day Gin; it's up to you what you want" Ginny let out a sob as she hugged Narcissa again.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so happy" Narcissa laughed and offered her a cup of tea.

"Oh, I can't. I need to get ready for tonight. Hey, how about you and Lucius come round to ours tomorrow? I mean, I'll have to ask Remus of course and if he doesn't mind, do you want to come?"

Narcissa beamed at her and nodded furiously.

"Sure, that'd be great"

"Alright then, hey, I might as well walk home, it's about fifteen minute walk home, but I was so excited about telling someone that I just flooed here. Anyways, I need some fresh air, I'll see you later Nar"

"Take care!" Narcissa called out as Ginny wandered off into the night.

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Ginny tried to hurry walking home, it was rather dark and, needless to say, she was feeling extremely nervous being outside with no one around. As she quickened her pace, she ended up accidentally knocking into someone and falling to the floor. She looked up and froze in terror.

"Ah, hello Ginny" It was Avery! Ginny kept her face neutral, making sure that she didn't show any fear.

"Avery, what do you want? If you don't mind, it's cold and I need to go home and see my fiancé" she told him, trying to side-step, but Avery side-stepped with her.

"Aw Weasley, come here, if you're cold, I can warm you up" Ginny froze; what was Avery playing at? His eyes glinted evilly against the half-crescent moon.

"Avery" Ginny shivered, whether it was from fear or the cold, she wasn't a hundred percent sure "Move, please" She whirled around and made to walk off, but Avery carried on following her. She was starting to get unnerved by his actions; he was up to something and she had a gut feeling that it wasn't something good.

"Hey, where're you going baby? Come on" Ginny, who was now absolutely terrified of what he was going to do, started running, not caring if she was showing him that she was scared. Unfortunately, Avery was faster and grabbed her around the waist. She whirled around and screamed.

"GET OFF ME!" She grabbed a hold of her wand, but he flung out of the way; it went flying to the ground and carried on rolling. Ginny panicked, where had her wand gone? Avery smirked evilly as he slapped Ginny hard around the face. She fell to the floor and backed away from him in fear. He tried to grab hold of her, but her clothes tore, ripping her top at the shoulders. She felt her breathing quicken. He was going to rape her! Why else would he corner her in a dark alleyway? Something that Marie had once told her echoed in her mind.

Rape is not about sex, it's about power.

Ginny gulped; Avery was going to prove that he was more powerful, more dominant than her. She put on a brave face as he cornered her, his grin widening as his face came to be mere inches from hers…

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Ginny lay on the ground, unable to move. Her clothes were ripped, she had bruises all over her body, her hair was filthy and she felt incredibly dirty from what had happened to her. She just lay on the ground, crying her eyes out. A shadow passed down the alleyway and Ginny froze. It couldn't possibly be Avery back for more! She let out a small gasp when she saw that it was Snape.

"Ginny!" he cried when he saw her.

Ginny wanted with all of her might to say something back to him, anything, but something inside of her couldn't do it.

"S-Sev?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" he asked, his face was completely pale "Come on, I'll take you back to mine and we'll call Lupin from there, come on, I've got you" He gingerly helped Ginny to her feet and gently helped her back to his place.

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Snape handed her a cup of hot cocoa. He noticed that she was shaking tremendously and her ability to speak was very small. Avery had affected her badly. Her hands were shaking so much that the cocoa was spilling over the edges of the cup and falling onto her skirt, but she didn't seem to notice. She was too busy staring into space, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Snape sat down next to her and tried to put a comforting arm around her. She immediately jumped, recoiled and dropped the cup onto the floor; she gasped and quickly knelt down next to the broken cup, trying her best to pick up the pieces.

"Oh god, I'm so-so sorry" she whispered, her voice trembling. Snape knelt down next to her and watched her; she was becoming hysterical.

"It's alright. Don't worry about it"

"N-No, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do it!" Snape grabbed a hold of her hands and clasped them together.

"It's alright Ginny" he said, looking at her meaningfully. Ginny looked into his eyes and burst into tears.

"I was s-so scared!" she cried onto his shoulder. Snape awkwardly hugged her back, trying his best not to make her nervous after her ordeal.

"Hey, its okay, look, I'll call Lupin, I bet he's wondering where the hell you are"

"No, you can't tell him what's happened!" she whispered in a quivery voice "He'll go mad"

"He needs to know Gin, either he'll find out from me by accident or you'll be jumpy all the time. One way or another, he's going to find out! Now come on, I'll escort you back" Ginny shakily stood up, tears streaming down her face as she nodded. They both gingerly stepped into the fireplace and yelled out "LUPIN LODGE!"

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They both flew out of the fireplace. Remus looked startled to see Snape, but his eyes widened when he saw Ginny.

"Ginny, I've been frantic with worry, where have you been?" he cried, enveloping her in a hug. Ginny cried as soon as she was in his embrace. Snape's face hardened with serious graveness when they pulled apart.

"Lupin, there's something you should know" he said, looking totally serious. Ginny's eyes widened as she shook her head, but Snape glared at her.

"He needs to know!" he snapped. Ginny hung her head and sunk onto the couch, burying her hands over her face. Marie, Max, Zak and Charlotte had entered the lounge to see Remus looking worried and Ginny crying her eyes out. Charlotte and Marie sat on either side of Ginny, while Zak and Max stood, watching Snape with curiosity.

"Tonight" Snape took a deep breath, before plunging on "Tonight, Ginny was attacked and raped"

Everyone froze as Remus stiffened; looking from Snape to Ginny, then back to Snape again.

"And how do you know?" he questioned.

"I heard Ginny's attacker boasting about it earlier on. He said that he'd attacked and raped her in an alleyway near Malfoy Manor, when I got there, I found Ginny unable to move, I took her back to mine and healed up some of her wounds"

"Who's her attacker?" Remus asked tensely. Snape's eyes flickered to Ginny, who had her face buried in Marie's chest.

"Avery" he replied. Remus paled, if possible, even more.

"Avery" he spat, looking angry "Wasn't he the guy who attacked Ginny on Halloween in fifth year?" Snape nodded.

"I don't why Avery keeps attacking her, but whatever it is, it's getting worse. This time, it was rape. I just think that she shouldn't be alone for a while now. She's absolutely terrified; I'd advise you to keep her at home for a few days. She's extremely jumpy"

"Of course she is!" Marie cut in "I would be too if that were me!" Snape nodded and smiled slightly at Ginny.

"I'll see you around?" Ginny smiled weakly at Snape and nodded.

"Thank you" she whispered. Snape gaze lingered on her for a few seconds longer, before he turned and strode back into the fire, yelling out his home.

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Remus looked to his fiancée helplessly. They'd been engaged for only a few hours and he hadn't even been able to protect her! What sort of a husband was he going to be when they got married? He'd canceled the dinner between the friends. Ginny couldn't face anyone, and Remus had to admit, he didn't blame her. He sat down next to her and she snuggled up to him. Remus looked to her, guilt flooding through him. He couldn't let her marry him! He wouldn't be able to protect her, give her anything that she wanted. Why would she want him anyway? He cleared his throat, but Ginny seemed to have read his mind as she spoke up.

"I love you, that's why I'm marrying you" she told him "So, d-don't you dare say that you don't want to marry me! It'll make my life even worse" she sniffled. Remus hugged her tightly to him and sighed.

"I do love you Gin, but … I'm not sure if I'm able to protect you"

"You are!" she cried "It's only because of my own stupidity that this happened; I should've traveled back by Floo Powder, but I said I needed fresh air, I was talking absolute garbage, plus the fact that it was dark, I should've known better" Remus hugged her even tighter and kissed her on the forehead.

"I love you"

"Then marry me" she whispered. Remus smiled and nodded.

"I will"

"Is it alright if Narcissa's a bridesmaid?" she questioned. Remus nodded again.

"I don't mind. Narcissa's alright, let's just hope that Sirius doesn't try and kill her though" Ginny laughed weakly.

"Well, it's our day, not his, so he'll have to deal with it!" Ginny put her head on Remus' lap, while Remus ran his fingers through her hair.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you" he whispered.

"It's alright. I don't want you to blame yourself because of this, it was my fault" Remus shook his head slightly, feeling angry at himself.

Ginny had been hurt, and he hadn't been there to save her, yet she was right in a way, he hadn't known, therefore, he felt that he couldn't really blame himself.