It's going to be a long chapter!!! I hope you're ready lol!

I have to give a brief – actually a long explanation for some of this chapter...

I know it's been a while since I started this story and wanted to reiterate that the house that Draco and Ginny were in wasn't No. 12 Grimmauld place but another safe house. At the time of starting this story, I had read that JK Rowling had stated the following (not in her own words!)

Dumbledore was the secret Keeper of Grimmauld Place, now with Dumbledore dead the secret could no longer be passed on. So while all the people Dumbledore had led to the house could still go in and were aware of its existence – they couldn't pass the information on to anyone new... Just as they couldn't before he was dead. So once all the remaining people who knew about the house died, it could never be found by anyone.

Oooh, I found the quote "with the death of Dumbledore (the secret keeper), the secret keeps the same properties it had when he died: those who knew will continue to know, and those who didn't know will not find out about it."

Now in the last book she has obviously changed her mind about that and anyone that knew about the house now becomes a secret keeper themselves and can take others there... But I already had my story planned out so they weren't at No. 12 as Draco wouldn't have been able to get in.

Some of Ginny's plot in this chapter might have seemed a bit wrong if you thought they were at Grimmauld!

On a separate note, there's a bit of an unpleasant spell described a bit later on when the explanation for Voldemort finding the girls happens. I don't think it's too bad but I wanted to give a little warning in case any of you are easily grossed out!

"Very well then. You may be of use with the other two."...

Pansy brushed her fingers repeatedly over the beautiful mosaics that covered the table where she sat, nervously wondering what was in store for her. Who were these others and how was she meant to help with them? She knew for certain that she didn't have it in her to physically harm an innocent human being.

Pansy hung her head, she wasn't a saint; probably not even a very nice person when it came down to it – but to actually cause someone pain with her own hands? Someone who had done nothing to her... No, she couldn't do it; she hated herself enough for helping Voldemort to capture people who were undoubtedly tortured – or worse.

A thought crossed her mind, causing a shiver of horror to run down her spine. She knew how Voldemort worked; he could make people do things. Faced with her own demise, who knew what she was capable of, and if, miraculously, she was somehow strong enough to say no even when threatened with death then Voldemort would most likely just Imperious her and she would have to carry out his foul deeds anyway.

Just as Pansy was about to bury her head in her hands and despair, she heard the door opening. In her fear she nearly threw herself under the table to hide, but she knew that would be a fruitless exercise. She could hardly escape from her shackles that bound her ankle to the wall, and even if she could –her only escape other than the door was a window which led to a large plummet onto some very sharp and pointy rocks.

Deciding to face the visitor, Pansy stood up tall and smoothed out her clothes. The door opened fully and in walked Snape.

Pansy breathed a sigh of mild relief; at least she didn't have to face Voldemort again. She doubted that she could carry out a very convincing act with him.

Snape looked far from happy, but this being more or less a permanent look for the Potions Master, didn't necessarily mean something horrific was about to happen.

He nodded curtly to Pansy and removed a large shiny key from his voluminous robes. Looking at it with distaste – Snape preferred to keep a certain atmosphere around things like this, keys should always be rusty and doors should always squeak – he bent down and unlocked the chain which was attached to the wall. It ran easily through the cuff which remained on Pansy's ankle.

"You will follow me now. I need to perform some tests." He told her brusquely, not looking at her.

"S-Sir?" Pansy asked cautiously, "What did you do to the Veritaserum?" She had been wondering since the moment Snape and Voldemort had left her, what had happened to make the potion wear off so quickly.

Snape raised both of his eyebrows and studied Pansy for a second. "If you are referring to the strength of the potion then yes, I did make it rather stronger than normal to ensure answers were forthcoming for the Dark Lord. I am surprised you could tell." He stared at her harder then, as if willing her to give a different answer.

Pansy stood stock still for a moment, her mind racing furiously. What if Snape hadn't messed with the potion and she'd just over come it somehow, unlikely as that seemed. Maybe by making the potion stronger Snape had messed up the serum... impossible – Snape was a master in Potions and a perfectionist.

I heard a voice, Pansy thought. It sounded like Snape but what if I was wrong, what if someone else somehow managed to invalidate the potion and is helping me. There were several doubts in her mind and if Snape hadn't helped her then she couldn't let him suspect that the potion hadn't worked or he'd run straight to Voldemort.

"Yes sir," she said, decided. "That's what I meant – I've had the serum before and thought it tasted different..."

Snape nodded once and then suddenly reached out to grab her arm above the elbow. Pansy expected his grip to be painfully firm but he was surprisingly gentle with her; however his hands were as cold as she had imagined they would be. The hook nosed professor opened a draw in the base of the table that Pansy hadn't previously noticed, and pulled out a heavy black cloak.

"Come then, it is cold where we are going." He murmured, throwing the cloak adeptly round her shoulders with one hand.

Walking quickly, Snape led Pansy out of the room and down one twisting corridor after another. Pansy tried to keep track of the route they were taking but soon lost her way. She wondered briefly if they were doubling back as she could swear she recognised some of the building but it was so difficult to tell. What she did know was that whenever they came across a stairwell they travelled further and further down.

Ginny had discovered, after several painful attempts, that if she moved very slowly and carefully, she could lie on her side without activating the band around her neck. So she had adopted a foetal position, her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped round them - It was a position she had used many time during her first year at Hogwarts.

She was in trouble, she knew that much; but at least at the moment she was only a physical prisoner and not a mental one. Ginny hoped that wasn't going to change soon. Banging her fist once against the wall, she cursed herself for being so stupid and winding up in this situation.

It had been a very convincing ruse, but she shouldn't have fallen for it. She closed her eyes and remembered what had happened. She was downstairs getting food ready and heard a large crash from outside. Looking out of the window, what she had seen had caused the colour to drain from her face...

The road that the safe house was situated on looked out onto a very quiet back road where there was never much traffic. However, instead of an empty road, what Ginny saw now were two cars that had collided with each other at what looked like very high speeds, and two pedestrians lying a few feet away from the cars looking broken and bloodied. Two very distinctive, red haired pedestrians.

Ginny knew that she shouldn't have thrown open the door and sped towards the road, ignoring the door closing behind her. She knew that it was very unlikely that her parents would be walking to the house, in plain sight but none of those thoughts registered in her brain at that moment. All she could see was that her parents were hurt and lying close to two cars, one of which was on fire and likely to cause more damage very soon. The overriding thought in Ginny's brain was driving her forwards to help her parents.

Of course, the second she came close to the bodies she knew something was wrong – both figures were changing, their skin bubbling and hair changing colour. She noticed then that there was no smell of smoke or any broken glass, despite the cars on the road being irreparably damaged.

She'd been tricked, as soon as the thought hit her mind Ginny turned to run back to the house but something else hit her first. The last thing Ginny saw before she collapsed to the floor was a dark red smoke from a recent spell surrounding her and shoes shuffling towards her...

A door that she hadn't previously noticed opened silently breaking her thoughts and a short fat man entered with a try of food balanced on one hand. Ginny noticed immediately that he had a facial tic; he twitched his nose almost like a rabbit. She wondered if it was because he was nervous and if she could use that to her advantage.

"Don't try anything." The man said in a wheezy needy voice. "I'm stronger than you think and I have permission to restrain you if you try anything... The Dark Lord has made me strong." He seemed to be talking to himself at the end.

Ginny decided that if she was civil then she might see if he was bluffing. He certainly didn't look capable of restraining anyone larger than a small child to her – he looked cowardly and weak.

"What's your name?" She asked him in a tone that, while not exactly nice, hid the disgust Ginny felt at having to be polite to her captor.

Shocked, the man rapidly blinked his small watery eyes several times before answering. "I- I'm Peter. Not that I have to answer your questions you know..." He added somewhat hurriedly and forcefully, wrinkling up his nose and baring crooked yellowing teeth.

Ginny's brains whirled and as if to confirm the thoughts forming, Peter put down the tray that he had been carrying to reveal a shimmering silver hand. He turned to leave muttering darkly to himself; Ginny noticed then that the shuffling feet she had seen before passing out and being captured belonged to this man.

"Peter Pettigrew!" She exclaimed. Ginny then realised that his almost constant nose-twitching wasn't like a rabbit but a rat. "Wormtail."

He turned back to face her and nodded. "Clever aren't you. I didn't know if you'd recognise me but I guess your brother told you all about what happened to his loyal pet." He sniffed loudly.

Ginny wanted to let him know exactly what she thought of his loyalty but bit her tongue. She wanted to try and get some information and shouting or mocking this pitiful excuse for a man would get her nowhere.

"He didn't tell me outright, but I've got good hearing and my brother isn't exactly the best secret keeper going."

Wormtail flinched slightly when Ginny said secret keeper. "That makes two of us." He said, pulling a face that could have been a grimace or a smirk. "Yes, I remember you being a curious girl, several times I saw you listening to those three. Your brother and those friends of his."

Ginny was slightly revolted at the thought of this rodent like man watching her through his rat's eyes while she was completely oblivious of his presence. Unconsciously she pulled her clothes around her the best she could while lying down. She felt terribly defenceless being stuck on the slab; Wormtail seemed not to notice. In fact he seemed thrilled to have a captive audience and was keen to talk.

"Nice times they were in a way. Fed well, warm place to sleep, no worries… Until the end that is…" He hissed air through his teeth in an angry way which sounded to Ginny like 'Sirius'.

"Shame." He muttered.

"What is a shame?" Ginny asked, wondering if he was regretting the choices he made which forced him from his comfort. Maybe he'll realise he's on the wrong side and help me escape? She thought.

"Hmm?" Wormtail seemed momentarily distracted. "Oh, it's a shame that your brother didn't understand the right choice. Too much time spent with that meddlesome Potter boy. Just like Sirius and James that one is. No, if young Ron could have just seen that there's no way one young boy can defeat the Dark Lord for good, not now he has his full power – and more… "

The balding animagus sighed. "He was a good master your brother, we could have found a place for him I'm sure. But he's a fool- like Remus was – too attached to his friends to listen to sense."

Wormtail started muttering to himself. "Friends do you no good you know. They say they want to help you but when you suggest that maybe they aren't making the right choices they just won't listen. They won't… I told them that the order couldn't protect anyone…"

Desperate to stop his rant, Ginny asked, "How did you find me?"

Suddenly aware again of his surroundings, Wormtail straightened up. His beady eyes flicked around the room nervously "There's no harm in telling you I suppose. It's not as if you've got anyone to tell, or as if it matters now!" He gave a hissing laugh which chilled Ginny; any possible pity she could have felt for him had been lost in that instance.

"We have many spies; some willing – others not. Your father took his yearly leave at the same time as an awful lot of Aurors, people we know are in that silly order and other people suspected of being blood traitors. Silly ministry writes everything down; it's so easy for us to see what's happening… So we watched them all leave, although we couldn't find out where… Anyway, we knew you would be all alone – no family to protect you. It was our chance." He laughed his creepy laugh again.

Ginny shook her head in confusion. She found it hard to follow Wormtail's babbling speech. "But why capture me; I'm nobody special? And how did you find me anyway - No one outside of the order should have been able to see or sense the house, let alone know who was in it…"

Wormtail clapped his hands gleefully and sang out like a child, "My master found it! The Lord's wisdom is immense… Bellatrix LeStrange herself said they couldn't be found – she was wrong."

His face contorted at the mention of her name, Ginny heard him mutter under his breath 'Still he favours her-'

"What did he find?" Ginny probed; interested as to how Voldemort had found a way to beat the best spells the Order had to offer.

Wormtail had been hunched over scowling nastily; when Ginny spoke he seemed to come out of his stupor. Ron said he was a cowardly idiot but he never once mentioned him being totally deranged, Ginny thought.

"Entrails-" Wormtail announced loudly. "Witches and some Wizards of old used to be able to cast spells upon dead people's intestines and they would form patterns which would give the answers to their questions. The Dark Lord searched long and hard for anyone still skilled in the arts; eventually he found one woman and she taught him everything she knew. He has more power in one finger than she had in her entire body."

Ginny had noticed that whenever Wormtail talked about Voldemort, he cradled his silver hand. She couldn't quite make out whether he was holding it in a loving way or if it was causing him pain…

He continued, "Lord Voldemort was able to take the art to a new level. With his new knowledge from the book, he could cast spells upon a whole body, not just their innards! He cast spell after spell and finally he managed to master the magic; after many attempts he was at last able to get the cadaver to reveal the knowledge of the dead…"

Wormtail squirmed slightly, if it was possible he looked disgusted and yet enthralled at the same time.

"Great welts and gashes appeared in the waxy flesh; blood that should have been long gone sprung anew and formed rivers in the cuts… After a short moment the wounds started to spread and run together and a name seemed to appear as if written on the dead person's chest. 'Hermione' was what it said…"

Unable to help herself, Ginny gasped aloud. Wormtail didn't notice and continued.

"Once my Lord had this information, he cast yet another spell, much harder than the last. The corpse flew into the air and yet more cuts were gouged into it, this time the back was awash with blood. Lord Voldemort cried his final word of the spell and the body fell back to the floor. Even I could see that what was left of the skin looked like a map. It was if it had been flayed there by a whip; but it was so intricate – there was a small dot on the map which somehow seemed to be slowly pulsing and moving its way round the area. That is when my Lord realised this was the location he could find the girl Hermione in.

Three more bodies he desecrated; three more times he performed the spell and three more names he saw. Pansy was the second, Ginevra – You were the third; fourth…"

"Fourth?" Ginny questioned when he paused, now truly curious to know the rest of the gory tale.

Wormtail hung his head and seemed deflated somehow. "My master sent me away before the fourth name was revealed. He has not mentioned it since."

Ginny let out a huge breath in frustration. Suddenly the door opened and through the gap Ginny could just make out a cloaked figure.

The figure spoke, "Pettigrew. Why are you still here? You were meant to deliver this food twenty minutes ago. It's lucky for you that I happened to be allocated the task of checking the girls and not one of the others..."

Ginny thought she recognised the man's voice; it was educated but so full of disdain. She tried to place it as he continued talking to the now grovelling Wormtail who was clinging to the bottom of the man's cloak and murmuring words of gratitude.

The man pushed Wormtail away from him. "Get off me; I don't want your slobbering thanks. I will however expect payback for not reporting you to the Dark Lord. Get out of my sight."

Wormtail gabbled the words "thank you" over and over again while bobbing and bowing like a servant before turning and practically running from the cell. The shadowed figure turned back to the corridor for a moment and Ginny could vaguely hear him talking to someone. She wanted to crane her neck to see more but she had already tested the pain threshold of her 'necklace' several times and knew it was a pointless idea.

A short moment later the shadowy figure returned to the room and bent to pick up the tray that Wormtail had left. When he stood to walk towards Ginny, the dull light washed over him and his face became visible for the first time.

"Professor Snape?" Ginny gasped in shock, it took a moment for the realisation of what was happening sunk in.

"Murderer." She spat the word out before she could stop to wonder if antagonising her jailer was such a good idea.

Snape's face changed the second that the word left her mouth. Before he had seemed calm and purposeful but in an instant his demeanour had changed entirely.

"A murderer I may be -" he snarled at her furiously, "but you know nothing of anything and have no right to judge me."

He slammed the tray down hard beside her head, his eyes flashing dangerously. Ginny cowered slightly as he paced to the cell door and pushed it closed slightly. She could see him clenching his fists. He intoned an incantation that Ginny had never heard and she felt the band around her neck disappear.

Snape stood with back to her still and said in an emotionless voice. "You may sit up now, the restraint will return in an hour. Don't bother trying anything stupid. The door is warded so you cannot pass until it is time to."

Ginny warily pushed herself into a sitting position; she eyed the food hungrily. It was a good meal even by her standards. She had been expecting nothing more than bread and water but the food in front of her was suspiciously appetising – even though it had gone cold.

"What's this?" she asked Snape testily, pointing at the plate.

He turned and stared at her coolly. "I didn't realise that your capture had caused your brain to become addled. It's food; I suggest you eat it."

Ginny glared at him, her anger growing. She snapped back, "Its not exactly standard issue prison food is it? Is it meant to be my last meal or something?"

Snape sneered at her, a look that reminded her painfully of Draco. "I wasn't aware you were an expert on how prisoners were to be cared for. Somehow I don't think that the Dark Lord would appreciate an owl on the matter. He has plans for you which require you to be in peak condition both physically and mentally. You will eat the food which you are given; even if someone has to force you." He concentrated on her plate momentarily and steam started to rise from the food, sending a delicious aroma wafting round the cell.

"I will return later to perform some tests. If you have not eaten then there will be consequences." Snape swept from the room majestically, the door closing firmly behind him.

Ginny leapt across the room on shaky legs to see if she could prise the door open but the gap was too small to even fit her fingernails in and there was no handle or even a grill she could hold on to. It was obvious now why she hadn't noticed the door before Wormtail had entered, it sealed so that the join was barely visible.

Ginny sank down to the floor in despair. She buried her head in her hands, causing her hair to tumble down over her face, and let out a sob of anguish. What plans did her worst nightmare have for her? Could he feel and see what Tom Riddle had experienced? If he did then he knew all about the chamber of secrets, was that why he had chosen her again? She gritted her teeth hard together and fought against the flood of questions rushing through her brain.

If he did know then maybe he was annoyed that she hadn't finished the work he had planned for her, although Voldemort didn't need Ginny's body to occupy as Tom had so maybe he was just seeking revenge. Ginny wanted to know that she could defend herself better than before but had a sneaking suspicion that Voldemort would be able to worm his way into her mind just as easily as his memory had.

Hermione finished the last morsel of her meal and neatly laid her knife and fork down on the fine china plate. Being the sort of person she was, Hermione had decided that if there was to be even the remotest chance of escape she might as well be well fed and at her best rather than dizzy from hunger. She hadn't been able to get a lot from the ugly looking Death Eater who had delivered her dinner other than the information that her bonds were to be removed until further notice and that someone would be along to see her later to perform a test of some kind.

Hermione stood and stretched her cramping limbs, staying in the same position for so long wasn't comfortable. She walked round the room seemingly just to stretch her legs but her sharp eyes were carefully examining everything.

At the very back or the room, in a dark recess that looked like it had once been an old fireplace, Hermione noticed an intricately carved man's face. It looked as if the man had ivy instead of hair and flowers were entwined in his beard. The man somehow reminded Hermione of Hagrid so much that without thinking she reached out to touch the carving as if reaching for a symbol of hope.

As soon as her fingers brushed the stone picture, Hermione heard what sounded like a contended sigh. She jumped back as the stones started to shake and crumble; tiny green shoots that blossomed into tendrils of ivy, vines and other plants forced their way through the mortar and bricks. They continued upon their destructive course until a small archway had formed where the fireplace had previously been.

After a moment's hesitation, Hermione tentatively crept forward into the space beyond the cell...