Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to HP. It all belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Inc., Warner Bros., and any other entities involved.

From the oddly-phrased request, Ginny knew that this was a pureblood vengeance ritual. She had an inkling that it would be gruesome, but she secretly cherished every moment she was spending with Draco exuding that special passion of revenge, so she decided to stay.

Ginny said "I would like to remain if it is all right with you, Draco Sergius Malfoy."

Draco responded "As you command, my lady."

Draco said to Lucius: "In your great wrath upon hearing that I'm gay, you decided to rape me and offer me to Voldemort as his bitch, hoping to earn his favor this way. I'd hate to disappoint you, pervert, but your harebrained Voldemort schemes will be examined by the Order. As for you, after having left the fortune to me, your life is forfeit. I can end it whenever I wish. I curse you on the name of the Malfoys and Blacks, that you may never find peace."

"You may feel like you can break from my Imperio, let me remind you, dear Father, that you once taught me that the Dark Arts and Dark Curses are powered by the negative emotions, like hate. Let me assure you that my hate for you is indeed endless, so there is no way you will ever break the curse."

Draco spoke in an icy tone; "Take off your pants and underwear." Lucius's brow was covered with sweat and he was grimacing. Obviously he was trying like mad to throw off the curse, but not succeeding. He took off the garments and Draco looked critically at his dick.

Draco transfigured the knife into a silver sword with the Malfoy coat of arms, and handed it to his father. He ordered, in a deceptively suave voice which made Ginny shiver: "Cut off your cock and balls, now."

Just as Lucius was about to do it, Draco's hand stopped him. Then he said, "Remember this for as long as you live, Lucius. I am not you! I despise you and will take great pleasure in destroying your life's work."

"There's more to do. Here, catch this," continued Draco, throwing the cane to Lucius. Malfoy Senior caught it and Draco shouted, "Transfer the wards to me! Of course, Father, you now have your wand and could kill me if you throw off the Imperio, you're free to try and I wish you luck. Of course, it would be a pity, since I am your only heir; you would be killing off the Malfoys too, right?" Draco smirked maliciously and looked intently at Lucius, who was grimacing and scowling.

Ginny had to admire Draco's pluck and gallantry. Harry would never do something so daring, wicked, and dangerous to himself just to taunt an enemy. It was a foolish act, a self-serving statement, a dangerous chess move, a sublime gesture.

Lucius's cane wavered, and a multicolored sphere shot out from its end, moving towards Draco, enveloping him in the colors of the rainbow for a few seconds.

Draco unremittingly continued, "Of course, Lucius, all these spells I've done, they were done by your cane, so when the Ministry comes to investigate your death they will only confirm what they thought, that you are completely barmy and utterly unreliable. And your dear Voldemort will find out that he can no longer count on the Malfoy money, it is a pity, isn't it?"

"I would stay and chat with you, but I'm afraid it would be boring, since you can no longer contribute with something tongue-provoking, (oh, sorry)."

"I'm leaving to entertain Miss Weasley, as I'm sure you would like me to do. And Father, in one hour you will grab that sword and cut off your wand hand. I want you to write on the wall 'I'm a dirty man' with the blood; you will also draw a Pentagram on the floor." "And no, you cannot do the Avada Kedavra on yourself, you have to die and bear it like a Muggle."

"See you in hell," with that Draco led Ginny out of the dungeon and closed the door.

Draco led Ginny to the parlor and concentrated on the wards. He modified them so they would repel anyone bearing the Dark Mark except Severus. He also defused the minefields which were in place in the gardens around the Manor and on the house itself, designed to neutralize possible enemies (and Draco) by detonating incapacitating spells.

Having done this, he said to Ginny: "Ginevra, you have seen too much, just a fraction of this could get me killed. I need you to take a Silencing Vow."

Ginny was anxious. She understood Draco's request and indeed, she thought it was the best solution; otherwise, she would be compelled to tell Harry. If she took the Vow, she could never speak of these events, even under Veritaserum. She also knew that if the Order or Voldemort knew what had transpired, Draco's life would be forfeit; and also Draco had been forced to do this because she had been captured.

Ginny told Draco that she would do the Vow. Draco ordered a house elf called Tizzy to get the necessary implements and the Vow was performed.

Draco spoke, "Do you want to stroll through the gardens? Now that I deactivated the mines, we're safe." Ginny replied, "The mines? What do they do?"

Draco countered, "My dear father put spell-mines in different places through the property. They're conditional mines, that is, only if certain conditions are met would they trigger, such as: being loyal to the Light, being a member of the Weasley family, or…."

Ginny continued the thought: "or being a blood traitor, not supporting Voldemort or rescuing a Weasley."

Draco continued, "You have to understand, Ginevra, that if I hadn't forced my father to transfer the wards to me, if I had killed him in a Wizard's Duel, then when I went to the corridor the mines would have been triggered by the death of the owner and we both would be dead." "Also if I hadn't used Legilimency I would not know about the mines."

Ginny answered, "I understand completely, Draco. You have saved our lives many times today. You had no choice in the matter, you had to grow up and face the danger. You do what you have to do, and only what you have to do. You dealt with your father, and only you knew how you could deal with him, you stroke a severe blow to You-know-who today. That's all anyone can ask of you."

Draco waved his wand unobtrusively and said, "How about we continue this conversation in Florean Fortescue's." "We need to be seen in public."

After Apparating to Diagon Alley and making their way to Florean's, Ginny and Draco were sitting, eating their ice cream and talking, when Draco said:

"There's a method to my madness, Ginevra. When Lucius dies and the Ministry records the hour, they will notice I was here with you, in the public eye. The mutilations, the pentagram and the blood will lead them to believe that Lucius was attempting to summon a Demon, and the Demon took possession of him and destroyed him, which could be called poetic justice."

Ginny asked, "Did you have that planned since the beginning?"

Draco replied, "No, most of what happened was happenstance, just me trying not to get killed, but after I got some revenge on Lucius, I thought about the summoning and the latter instructions were performed accordingly."

Draco looked thoughtful and said "I need to explain something to you, Ginevra."

"What is a Slytherin?" "Let me phrase it like a Muggle fairy story, albeit a harsh one: Long before now, in the age of legends, a love of books, of lore, like your typical Ravenclaw profess, would not keep you from dying at the sword of someone stronger than you."

"Huddled together seeking mass warmth, like sheep, like Hufflepuffs, would surely not deter the predators prowling around, it would only make it easier for them to kill."

"And running headlong into danger like a Gryffindor would surely kill your enemy, but leave your mate and offspring behind to cruelly die."

"It was only if you had cunning, if you planned completely in advance and took the slightest advantage you had and mercilessly used it to further your cause, that you prospered, that you endured."

"Ginevra, Granger can spout off all the answers in class, and know that if she fails, all she gets is a laugh. Weasley can be as morose as he wants, and he knows he'll always have his family. Potter can brave headlong into danger, knowing that he has the Headmaster and the Order behind him, whereas if I commit a mistake I die."

"There is one thing that your enemy can do, keep you on your toes. That's my father's only benefit, and I will miss it sorely."

"Malfoys are considered the embodiment of Slytherin. As long as Hogwarts has existed, it has had at least a Malfoy studying in it; and they became Slytherins." "Also Malfoys exceed in Potions. Did you know that there is a potion that nullifies the Imperio curse, even if it is taken after the curse has been cast?"

Ginny said "Aren't you afraid, Draco?"

He answered, "No, I stopped being afraid of him years ago," he nonchalantly looked at his watch, and shrugged. Ginny noticed and asked "Are you expecting something?"

Draco answered lightly, "Yes, I'm expecting my father to drink the potion and throw off the curse, and I believe he has just done it."

Ginny shrieked: "Are you insane? Have you lost your mind? How could you let it happen? What about all this Slytherin cunning?"

Draco petted her hand, "Calm down, Ginevra. I was expecting that, and that's why I put a particular mine on the dungeon, which causes any newly released Imperio-sufferer to become immobile; at least long enough for the security to arrive."

Ginny said "Security, what security?"

Draco answered, "When Lucius gave me control of the wards, he also let me command the secret weapon of the Malfoys: there are two Dementors on the grounds of the Manor, who obey the Master. By transferring the wards, he acknowledged me as such, and just before I left I ordered them to stand guard outside the dungeon, enter when the mine was triggered, and Kiss him."

Ginny stared at Draco full of awe, comprehension slowly dawning on her. "And I'm sure the Dementors will trigger an alarm at the Ministry, the Aurors will go and examine everything, and after realizing that it was the Dementors, they will think You-know-who did it!" "Draco that's brilliant!"

Draco continued: "That's why I taunted him so. It was essential that he transfer the wards to me, we would not have made it out alive otherwise. Even under Imperio he could have fought and denied it, so I had to keep him on the edge, bristling with anger and too blind to recognize good strategy. He was trying so hard to throw off the curse and kill me, that he never thought what would happen with the wards."

"What happened today was a battle of wits, and I won only because I laid the groundwork years in advance."

Ginny stared, remembering the overwhelming look of surprise in Lucius's face as Draco threw off the Crucio and disarmed him.

Draco continued: "If I wanted, I could have better grades than Granger, and beat Potter at Quidditch, but I dared not, knowing my father was watching my moves with eagle eyes. I proved good, but not good enough for him, and this was exactly what I wanted. Do you know that after each Quidditch defeat he would beat me blue so that I could not move for a week, if it weren't for the healing charms?"

Ginny asked: "But then, why do it, why not simply win, like he wanted?"

Draco answered: "Because it bought me precious time, and was my camouflage. I was beaten, but I remained alive, I endured." "My father was also a Slytherin, and just as cunning as me, but he was lulled into a false sense of security concerning me, and I used that like a good Slytherin should, ruthlessly."

"There's also another reason I used the Dementors. When I performed Legilimency on my father, I learned that he and Voldemort have been working on a new plan, a way to tap into their followers' magic, even after death. It involves necromancy. Ginevra, do you know what happens to a person after they've been Kissed?"

Ginny paled and visibly shivered, and said, "No, I don't know. What happens?"

Draco answered, "Their soul becomes part of the Dementor and adds to its strength. The point is, if my father had died in a natural way, his magic would have gone to Voldemort. As things stand now, my father's magic is held securely in the Dementor, and is out of Voldemort's scaly hands. The blood of the Malfoys and the Manor magic are inextricably linked, I think Voldemort wanted Lucius' magic to own the Manor. Now he's left with nothing but ashes!"

Ginny reflected and said wistfully, "Why didn't you tell me this from the start, why tell me about Demons?"

Draco replied sternly, "I wanted you to be aware, if only for a little while, of the plans within plans woven by a Slytherin. Being who you are, it is supremely important that you know this, because Voldemort and his top lieutenants are Slytherins. You must be able to predict their next move and counteract, in doing this, you must remember that they have contingency back-up plans. Above all, you need to understand the nature of Slytherin and make it your own."

"I played a game of one-upmanship with my father all my life, had I miscalculated, I would have been killed today."

tbc