Isabel has been pacing back and forth in front of the old dark door the leads into the dungeons for half an hour. It looks harmless enough but it's one of the only things forbidden to her in this place. She stops moving and faces the door with her hands on her hips. There may be a curse or charm on the door that'll hurt her if she opens it, or maybe Tom just trusts her not to go in there… that's more unlikely of the two.
She takes a deep breath before reaching for the handle. The door swings open before she touches it making her fall back. She lifts her head fearfully to the door to see who it is.
"What are you doing?" asks the blond boy that she remembers from the horrible dinner.
"I was lost." She lies.
He looks around the hallway that has no other doors. "Is that so?" he asks, clearly amused by her distress.
She stands up and straightens out her dress. "Yes, it is." She says with a little more bravado.
He smirks at her. "Well, what exactly were you looking for? Perhaps I could help you find it." He says as he shuts the door and locks it with his wand.
"Well, I was... it was nothing." She finishes lamely and spins around to hurry down the hallway.
"I'm sure the Dark Lord would like to hear about this." He says making her stop in her tracts. "If you're lost that means the house elves didn't give you a very good tour, now did they? I'm sure he'd be very unhappy with them."
She turns and glares at him and his silent threat. She opens her mouth to respond to him but is cut off.
"Isabel, what are you doing down here?" It's Tom.
She closes her eyes and faces him. She looks down at his shoes while she answers. "I was just walking around." She says with a shaky voice. In all honesty his cold facade scares her to death.
"Down by the dungeons?" he questions and looks behind her. "With young Mr. Malfoy no less." He adds with an evil sneer.
"She said she was lost, My Lord." Malfoy says from behind her and she wishes she could turn around and curse him.
Tom takes a menacing step towards her. "Were you lost?" he questions.
She finally looks in his eyes and sees the flecks of red intertwining with dark blue. He's livid. Now she has to choose to lie or tell the truth… he's going to get the truth out of her anyways… "No, I wasn't." She says softly looking down at her feet.
"You, leave." He says to Malfoy and she feels him walk by her and out of the hallway. Once he's out of ear shot Tom stocks towards her until his face is only inches away from her. "So, if you weren't lost… what were you doing down here?" he asks in a calm voice.
"I just wanted to walk down here."
"Really?" She nods her head. "Why did you want to walk down here? There is nothing to look at."
"I was bored." She says trying to gather up some courage.
He takes a strand of her hair and twirls it around his finger. "You were bored?" he asks lightly. "Surely you weren't down here to try to visit a few redheaded relatives of yours were you?"
"No." she answers.
He sighs loudly and drops her hair. "You really aren't making things easier on yourself." He tells her making her shiver.
"Please don't be mad." She says looking up at him pleadingly. He raises a dark eyebrow at her and she sighs loudly. "Ok, I was coming down here to see them but I'm so lonely. You never talk to me and I have no friends here. Maybe if you let them out I wouldn't be so bored all the time."
"Nice try, dear, but I am not a fool." She looks at him with wide eyes. "Do you think I would actually allow blood traitors to run free around my castle just so you have someone to talk to?"
Anger and sadness boils up with in her and she turns her face away from him. "I wish you would have killed me." She says softly to herself. A new defeatist attitude overtaking her.
"Look at me." He says and it almost sounds gentle. She turns back to him and he grabs her chin so she can't move. "Never say that again."
"Why not?" she asks. "I mean it. I should just kill myself. It might make things easier on me."
Anger flashes in his eyes again and his jaw twitches. "You are not allowed to die." He hisses and she laughs.
"You can't stop a person from dying, Tom." She says deliberately using his name.
He grabs the locket around her neck and twists it in his hand so she's pulled closer to him. "I don't think you understand, Kitten." He says through gritted teeth. "You can't die."
He lets go of the locket and pushes her causing her to fall to the ground. "What do you mean I can't die!" she yells.
He smiles darkly at her. "That necklace won't let you." He says nodding to her neck. "You see, you'll stay young and unable to die until I take it off of you, which I will never do. Good little spell isn't it? So you can go drown yourself in the bath tub all you want and it will do no good." She sucks in a shaky breath. "Do you like my gift by the way? It was a family heirloom after all."
"I hate you." She hisses.
He laughs humorlessly. "We'll be spending a very long time together so I suggest you get over that minor scruple."
"What do you want from me?" she says with tears prickling her eyes.
He looks at her very seriously. "Everything."
They stay in the hallway staring at each other for a long time. She doesn't move off the ground and he doesn't remove his hands from his pockets. Finally he shakes his head like he's ridding it of unwanted thoughts.
"Go to your room." He orders.
She doesn't look at him as she stands up and walks past him. "Yes, My Lord." Her voice no longer holds emotion.
X
He comes to her that night and she's waiting for him by the window. When he comes into the room she removes her clothes with out being told and turns to him. He takes calculated steps to her and brings his hands up to caress her body, with his eyes trained on hers. They stare blankly back at him.
"Kiss me." He demands hoarsely. She does what he says but he pulls back and grips her arms. "Kiss me like you mean it." He hisses and dips his head down to ravage her mouth painfully.
He pulls back again and there's blood running from her lip where he bit her. "Do as I say." He says as he shakes her.
"I'm sorry, I can't." she says flatly.
"What do you mean you can't?" his nails dig into her skin leaving marks.
"I can't kiss you like I mean it because I don't mean it."
He lets out a feral growl and grabs her wrist pulling her to the bed. He throws her down harshly on the mattress. "I don't need to kiss you to fuck you." He says crudely but she doesn't cringe. "Get on your hands and knees."
He enters her in one painful thrust and she bites the insides of her mouth so she doesn't scream. His fingers dig into her hips as he pounds inside her, making the bed shake violently. Her hands grip the bed sheets trying to stay in place.
He starts ranting between thrusts. "You will learn your place. You belong to me and you always will. You're mine, I own you. You will love me." She doubts he even knows what he's saying. He drags his nails down her back, leaving red scratch marks in their trail and she arches her back to deaden the pain. He sounds crazy… he is crazy. "Mine… you're mine…completely mine."
When he's done he falls on her back making her collapse under his weight. His breathing is heavy and erratic in her ear. He lightly bites her shoulder; hard enough to make teeth imprints but not to break skin. After a few moments his breathing comes back under control and he gets off of her to start righting his clothes.
She gets down under the covers and faces away from him. "I hope you feel better now." She mutters as he walks to the door.
He pauses for a moment and then punches the wall before he walks out and slams the door shut.
X
Lord Voldemort is an important man and he doesn't care about trivial things like feelings. Especially his own, barely there, ones. So the odd emotions that are coursing through him as he sits in his office are very bothersome to him. In fact they piss him off. He's sitting at his desk with a troubled expression on his handsome face as he stares at the glass of bourbon in his hands.
He doesn't want to hurt her like he does but he can't help it. She is just so frustrating. He's good at manipulating people; he's excellent at strategizing battles and killing off enemies. He knows how to handle a whole army full of hateful men but he is at a total loss when it comes to the redheaded girl upstairs. He leans back in his chair and puts his hands behind his head. Perhaps, he thinks to himself, he should treat her differently. Try a new angle with her. He doesn't want her to be an empty shell, after all.
He comes to a decision and with a new resolve he calls Draco Malfoy to his Office. The door opens a few minutes later.
"You called, My Lord." Says the young man as he bows down low.
"Bring Ginny Weasley here."
Draco nods his head and leaves the room with a spin of his heals. He stretches before standing up and walking around to the front of his desk. He crosses his arms and rests his back against the wood as Draco enters again, dragging a dirty Ginny behind him.
He throws her on the ground at the Dark Lord's feet. "You may go." He says with a wave of his hand, his eyes never leaving the girl in front of him. Draco leaves and closes the door behind him. "Why, Ginevra you look a mess." He chastises with a click of his tongue.
She lifts her head and spits on his shoes. This makes him smile. The dungeons have made her feisty, interesting.
"Now, now there is no need for that." He says like he's talking to a child. He takes out his wand and cleans his shoes. "You should feel lucky little one… I have a new job for you."
She raises her head again and looks in his eyes. "I won't do anything for you." She growls out.
He smiles. "I'll remember that." He says lightly. "but what I want you to do has nothing to do with me. You see my girl seems to be very unhappy and when she's unhappy I'm unhappy."
She eyes him suspiciously. "I don't understand."
"Why am I not surprised?" he says meanly making her blush red. "You will be cleaned up and you will keep Isabel company when I'm not around." He pushes off the desk so he's towering over her. "I want her more agreeable and if allowing her to talk to you is the only way then so be it."
He snaps his fingers and an old house elf appears. "Make her take a bath and put her in presentable clothes. When your done lock her in the blue guest room." He tells it. He turns back to her as she stands on shaky legs. "Remember, Ginevra, if she displeases me anymore you'll be accepting her punishments from now on. So try to convince her, I'm sure you could make her understand." He says in a smooth voice.
The house-elf drags her out of the room and the Dark Lord falls back into his chair with a small smile on his face. He finishes his glass of liquor and puts it back on the table. Sighing loudly he lifts himself up and walks out of the office, to his bedroom.
He uses his wand to turn on the lights when he enters through the thick door and sees her sleeping deeply on her stomach with her arms folded underneath her head, propping up her pillow. The blanket is resting around her lower body leaving her shoulders and back completely bare.
He slowly walks up to her and runs his fingers down her spine, taking in the red scratch marks he made earlier. Her skin prickles under his touch and she turns her head so she's facing him. She doesn't wake up as he takes out his wand and heals her wounds. He removes his clothes and settles in beside her, pulling her back flush against his body. She unconsciously settles back into his chest and he kisses the back of her neck… things will change he tells himself before he closes her eyes.