I think I better start doing a disclaimer again.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters present in this fic. I do own Leo, and Zokori the House Elf, however.

Enjoy!

LIFE AFTER DEATH

Chapter Twelve: House Elves

Ginny had only sent the letter an hour ago, but already she was growing impatient for a reply; she had basically told Tom everything the house elves had told her, obviously with the third person and willingness to punish themselves at every opportunity. She wondered whether the information would be of any importance at all, and since she had gotten the name of the house-elf-turned-spy from another house-elf, maybe the Master would be flushed out easier, and quicker than anticipated. Of course, she knew that there were thousands, millions, of house elves across England, but somebody must know of one called Zokori. They just had to, because it was her baby's life at stake.

She had never been without her children for longer than two weeks, when Leo was a baby, that had been so traumatic, and she actually knew where he was, Tom had just prevented her from seeing him, but it still affected her, like he wanted it to...

Ginny sat and waited for Tom, tapping her shoe on the floor in an irritated manner, her arms crossed firmly. Why was he taking so long? Earlier, when she had ignored Tom's questions and angered him, she had gone to play with Leo for a while, but one of the maids had called her to the lounge downstairs to pick out some dresses. When she had returned, Leo was no longer in his crib. That was three hours ago, and she suspected Tom had had something to do with it.

"Not hiding under the bed," Tom had entered the room, unaware to Ginny, and he sounded infuriatingly smug, "I see." He removed his cloak as Ginny stood up, and smirked arrogantly at her, triumphantly. "You know, Ginny, I think that you won't be hiding under the bed for much longer."

"What have you done with him?" she demanded, her eyes wide, and her voice trembling with anger as he lit the fire, and sat very casually in one of the armchairs. "Tell me where he is, Tom."

All he did was chuckle, only to enrage Ginny even more. "You sound as though you think I have harmed him, Ginny," he stated bemusedly, laughter dancing in his blue eyes.

"I wouldn't expect any less from you," she spat harshly.

"That hurts, Ginny, it really does," Tom said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, then he stood up, walking toward Ginny, only to stop right in front of her, so close that she had to lift her head up; she wouldn't give in, but she almost winced as he raised a hand to her cheek, though all he did was stroke her there lightly. "What ever happened to our agreement? Aren't Gryffindors supposed to be loyal?"

"What 'agreement'?" she said in a harsh tone, pushing his hand away resentfully.

"I let you see your brother, and the Mudblood," he began, "and you, in return, obey my wishes, and behave like a normal wife."

Ginny glared at him, and shoved his hand away again as he went to stroke her cheek once more, causing him to laugh softly. "I am acting like a normal wife, any normal wife would react like this at being…" she searched for a word, "…at being imprisoned!"

"Not in my generation," he retorted haughtily.

"Well, I'm not from your generation," she said in an obvious tone. "Perhaps you should have married Professor McGonagall!"

"Oh, Ginny, you do amuse me," Tom murmured. "But, the fact remains that you agreed that those terms were acceptable to you, yet you do not fulfil your end of the bargain," he was now speaking to her as though she were a child, dictating and berating her, "whereas I have."

"I don't care," she replied nastily. "I want my baby!"

"You should care," he hissed in a serious manner, grasping her upper arm in a tight grip, "because the reason for the child's absence is everything to do with our agreement. Now," he said commandingly, "sit down." He pulled her by her arm to the armchair, and practically threw her down before standing in front of the mantelpiece. "I visited your brother today, Ginny," he began conversationally, "and it is him that reminded me of our little arrangement. You see, Ginny, he is highly volatile, and the things he says about you anger me very much." His face had suddenly become so devoid of any emotion that Ginny had to avert her gaze to the fire. "And it reminds me of how disobedient you have been, childish to a point; so, like a child ought to be punished, I have confiscated, shall we say? Yes, I like that word. I have confiscated," he continued, "something dear to you, until you can learn to behave. Is all this understood, Ginevra?"

"You can't keep a child from his mother," she said matter-of-factly. "Who please tell me, will feed him? Who will play with him? And put him to bed?"

"Dear me, Ginny," Tom said in mock-surprise, "all of that can be replaced quite easily; I myself was given a bottle. And a Nanny can take care of all those other things." He leant over her, a superior look on his face, and he chucked her chin. "You see, Ginny, you are not needed."

"Yes, I am needed," she said loudly, "children need their mothers love, or else they'll turn out like you!"

He smiled gently, but in the firelight it made him look eerie and sinister. "Why do you say such things? Things that affect me so," she could tell he was mocking her, she didn't even have to look at him to realise that. "All I ask of you is another child, yet when I come to make love to you, you are not waiting for me on our bed, but hiding somewhere, being stubborn and insubordinate."

"Why should I do what you want all time?" she said indignantly.

"Because, sweet Ginny," he murmured as he knelt before her, "I am the one with power over you, do you understand? I can take away all your privileges, just with a snap of my fingers." Tom was speaking so low now, that Ginny realised he was not playing around with her.

"What 'privileges'?"

"Privileges such as being able to see your brother, being able to roan the manor when you please," he listed, "and being allowed to see our son."

"I'm his mother! You can't do that!" she shouted defiantly.

"Oh, I can, and I'll tell you why," he said darkly, "because I am his father, and you seem to have forgotten that." Just then, cries broke the sudden silence between them. "Yes, Ginny," he said maliciously as her eyes widened, "he is just across the hall," and he grabbed her arm before she could run for the door, "and I'm taking away your other privileges as well, which means you shall stay here, locked up, until you can learn how to obey me."

Ginny stared up at him wide eyed. "You can't do that!" she said, her voice wavering tremulously.

He looked down at her, still with a gentle smile, his hand running through her hair slowly. "You look lovely when you're lost from hope," he muttered desirously.

She stepped closer to him, her hands on his chest, and her face down turned. "Please, don't do this, Tom," she pleaded, "I need my baby, please?"

Tom continued to smile, and held her face up to his; he noticed she was finally on the verge of genuine tears, and he stopped smiling. "You will learn to obey your husband like a wife should. You will learn to act as my wife, as I expect you to act. Do you understand?"

"I just… I want to see -."

"Do you understand?" he repeated firmly.

"Yes," she whispered reluctantly.

"Good girl," he said appraisingly, and he turned from her as tears spilled over her cheeks. Tom went into the bathroom, and Ginny heard the water running, so she ran for the door, and pulled down the handle hard, only for it to snap sharply back to its original position. "Now, you don't think I'm that foolish, do you, Ginevra?"

Ginny spun around hastily, wiping away her tears as he leant against that bathroom's doorframe, with only his trousers on. "No," she replied earnestly.

They stood in silence for a while, until he held his hand out. "Come, come now, Ginny," he gestured, "there is no point in sulking, or trying to open the door, come on," he coaxed, smiling as she finally took his hand and led her into the bathroom. "Now, you can show me how obedient you can be…."

Now, that just seemed nothing compared to Elizabeth being taken from her, because she had no idea where she was, what was happening to her. Ginny hated the feeling of dread in her stomach the most, it drove her crazy, she lost sleep over it, and resorted to sitting in Leo's room, watching over him as he slept in case anyone tried to take him away from her too. Sometimes she would think about how much he looked like Tom just to take her mind off the situation, or would wonder about what he would be like when he was older. It would only stave off the dread for a few minutes, because she would remember Elizabeth, and wonder whether she would actually make it to become older. That was where she was now, in Leo's room, watching over him as he drifted off to sleep.

"Mummy," he said quietly, "where is Lissy? She isn't back yet."

"I know, darling," she stroked the top of his head, and sat on the bed beside him, "Daddy's trying to find her, and bring her back, little one." He lay back down, satisfied with this answer, and closed his eyes. As soon as she realised he was asleep, a tapping sound on the window made her look up, and she jumped out of her seat instantly as she recognised the obsidian-coloured owl and wrenched the window open to allow the bird in. She took the letter from the owls' outstretched leg, and unfolded it in haste.

Ginny,

I am unsure of how important this information is, but I will return immediately. You are vulnerable on your own, and it is

clear that this person has been using his servant to gain access to the manor, he could use it to his advantage again.

So, I want you to get one of the house-elves, one that you know, and tell it to open my study; there is a dagger in my

desk. Take it, and use it if needs be, of course, until I return -.

"I'll be taking that, my Lady," a voice sneered dangerously behind her. Her body went rigid as she felt the tip of a wand dig sharply into her back, and the letter was snatched from her hands before she could read the rest of his message. "Now, no sudden movements, or I'll be forced to slit your pretty little throat, understood?" Ginny nodded her head frantically in reply, and looked desperately ahead of her. Why was this happening to her? She wasn't the one who went around killing people like it meant nothing, why was she being punished? Oh, it didn't matter anymore, she cared not a jot for herself, she just hoped this maniac would leave Leo alone. But, she hoped more for Tom, which was probably the first time she had ever wanted him to be there so desperately. "So… the Dark Lord will be arriving soon?" the man said, and she could tell it was a man, and he gave a low, and eerie sounding laugh. "Good… I will have years work complete within a day. Stupefy!"

Ginny slumped in her chair, the frightened look on her face relaxing as her eyes closed. Leo remained asleep, still unaware of the happenings surrounding him, yet if he was awake, he wouldn't understand either way….

"Zokori," the hooded man said sharply, a smirk touching his thin lips. "Bind her to the chair," he ordered as he studied the letter more closely. "It seems that Mistress Riddle here has touched upon our plot, Zokori, though only in its less malignant form, for once the Dark Lord arrives, I will have control of this Empire when I have defeated him. He has become… soft," the man's smirk grew wider at this remark. "And, I have two children ready made for me to mould and shape."

"Master, what is Zokori to be doings with the boy?"

The man waved his hand airily, chuckling slightly. "Oh, don't bother with him," he said indifferently. "I don't think a little boy is going to ruin our plans, my loyal servant."

Ginny awoke with a groan; her neck ached, and her wrists felt like they were burning. She tried moving her hands, but was alarmed to find that they were bound together tightly, and that the bindings were causing the burning sensation around her wrists; then she remembered, her eyes adjusting to the darkness, that she had been Stupified by a mysterious man, for what reasons she couldn't be certain but she had a feeling that that letter she found on her dressing table a few weeks back had something to do with it, and perhaps the man was the anonymous author of the letter. "Leo," she called out quietly, seeing his small figure still asleep under his bed covers.

"Filthy Weasley is shutting up!" came a thin, and eerie voice from the shadows; but this shadow was creeping toward her quickly, and she felt a scream building up into her throat as it wrapped a hand around her neck. "Zokori is putting deafening charms on the boy, and you is being quiet!"

Ginny pressed down the urge to shriek in terror as the thing, she presumed was a House Elf, moved away from her, slinking back into the shadows and muttering to itself. Where was Tom when she needed him the most? Of course, he didn't know this, but it seemed that irony was playing a leading role in this part of her life at the moment, and it was beginning to annoy her; all she had wanted was to be with Harry, then she was snatched away and he was killed, then she had to settle for making sure her children remained safe, and now she couldn't even do that anymore; it was all Tom's fault, he ruined people's lives, and she was no exception. But, dammit, she actually needed him to be Harry now; she needed him to be the one who rescued her from the man, and his monster. Although… there had to be a way she could save herself, and Leo at the same time.

Then it came to her; Leo had a wand, just one that could do a limited amount of spells, nothing fancy, and it was in his chest of drawers. But, how could she get to it? Though there wasn't enough time to think anymore as the door burst open, revealing the robed man in the moonlight, his face obscured by the lowered hood.

"It seems the Dark Lord has run into a few troubles with some remaining rebels," the man sneered. "Unfortunate; unfortunate because I wish to kill him, and you wish for him to kill me." The man sat down in an armchair by the covered fire grate, and summoned his servant to his side. "Fetch some drinks, Zokori. I feel we will be waiting for some time for the Dark Lord to arrive." The House Elf left the bedroom quickly, wanting to see to his Master's request as fastidiously as possible. "Now," he began, as if he were starting a most delightful conversation. "Don't you think it would be fitting if I were to reveal to the Dark Lord what his little wifey has been doing behind his back?"

"You don't know anything about me," she hissed angrily.

"Oh, I do, my Lady," he said in a quiet voice, one that was very sinister indeed, yet it seemed familiar somehow. "I know a great many things about your backstabbing; sneaking around, for what I am not entirely clear on just yet, and managing to dupe him simply by spreading your legs; I'll tell you it isn't as easy as it looks trying to fool the Dark Lord. Of course, being a man, I am at a disadvantage now, aren't I?"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" she said shrilly, becoming very worried if this man told Tom all her secrets; but he didn't know anything about the Contract, which he had made clear. If he were to know about it, he would reveal to Tom what she was planning to do with it; it wouldn't take a genius to figure out why she was searching for it.

"Ah… a 'contract'," the man whispered, causing her to stare open-mouthed at the cloaked figure. "And what does this contract contain? A magically binding Contract, is it?"

"Get out of my head, you bastard!" she shrieked, straining roughly against the bonds, causing her open wounds to tear again, and more blood to spill over the ropes and her fingers. "Who are you, anyway? What have I done to be treated like this? I'm not the one who goes around killing people!" She snarled angrily as she found there was no point in trying to break free of the tight ropes; Ginny usually wasn't one to give up in such situations, but this time she knew she needed to wait, and plan; bide her time, and wait for the opportune moment. And, if she were patient enough it would come sooner than expected. All she had to do was endure this mysterious figure.

"Oh, you haven't done anything," he replied simply, his cold voice taking on a well-known sarcasm. "It is merely down to the fact that you will cause His downfall; he will become angry at seeing you this way, his anger will blind him and I'll effectively kill him. Then I will kill you, perhaps I will spare your children's lives; your daughter is quite charming for a baby-."

"What have you done with my baby?!" she shouted, pulling the hardest against the ropes, and almost tearing them in her rage; it wasn't until the man's pale hand connected with her cheek that she stopped struggling and sat still, unable to nurse her sore cheek.

"Don't interrupt again," the man hissed. "I will take your children, and raise them as my own; I shall need heirs for when I take over this ready-made Empire…" he said in a slow and steady voice, so sure of how his plan would turn out. "I shall have to thank the Dark Lord for that before I murder him. For becoming stupidly besotted for a pathetic excuse of a girl, for providing me with an Empire, and for easily forgetting his hatred for 'love'." The man laughed a cold laugh, his head falling to his chest as he chuckled. "And, to top it off, there is no Potter to come and rescue his former girlfriend; and that's all thanks to your husband."

"You will never take my children!" she whispered furiously, a complete and utter look of terrible loathing in her eyes. "Tom's followers would never join you!" Ginny hoped not anyway, but they were Slytherins, and it really wasn't in their nature to be loyal to a dead person, they found it hard enough to be loyal to a live person. She couldn't even comprehend why they had stayed so long with Tom in the first place; he was always torturing them, and even killing them sometimes. But, she supposed it was more out of fear that they stayed.

"It is, my Lady," the man said in a low voice. "The only attachment that keeps the Death Eaters connected with Lord Voldemort is because they fear his wrath, if they were to leave they would be tracked down, hunted, and tortured for being a deserter. Like the muggles in the World Wars," he stood up straight, his frame becoming authorative and even more domineering. "Although, some are truly attached to him, they do not stay out of fear, they stay because they want a share of his power, but they won't get it. I, on the other hand, will."

"And why is that?" she spat.

The hood drooped, telling her that he was looking down at her; she could just feel the sneer coming from him as spoke. "Because," he whispered dangerously, "nobody knows I exist. I've been forgotten…." The man cocked his head to the side suddenly, as if wondering about something. "Hmm, you know, I think I'll kill you first. I'll make the Dark Lord watch and his biggest fear, oh yes he fears, will become realised; he'll die a humiliating death, humiliating because he'll realise that loving you was a pitiful path to choose. Though, of course, none of this affects you really, because you don't love him, in fact, you hate his very being."

"That's not true," she said angrily, determined not to be found out, even though it seemed that she was going to die anyway.

"Ah, you are right." Ginny glared questionably up at him; what did he mean? "You don't loathe him as much as you once did… but you don't love him either." She remained silent now, not wanting to give him the satisfaction at hearing her scared ramblings. "Now, tell me about this 'contract', perhaps I can kill a few more Weasley's. I assume it has something to do with your half-wit brother?" She stayed quiet. "If you don't tell me, I can simply extract the information from your mind very painfully-."

"I won't tell you anything until you tell me where my daughter is!" she said defiantly.

"It is of no use to you," the man said arrogantly. "You won't need it where you're going."

" Why did you take her? Why not take me?" she said sadly.

"I'm sure the Dark Lord has put a Locator Charm on you, and it wouldn't do for my plan to be foiled by making one pointless mistake," the man explained generously, and Ginny was rather surprised by this. "And, of course, I would have taken your son, but I thought it would be more interesting to take the baby right out from under your noses. This made him leave, to find his daughter, leaving you completely exposed, and vulnerable; the Dark Lord's weakness…."

Just then, the loud, and harsh sound of a House Elf Apparating echoed throughout the bedroom. "Master!" it was that creepy House Elf again, and Ginny could see his ugly features fully; he was frightened about something. Perhaps Tom had arrived after all. "Master! The House Elves is being wild! Master must come quick!" OK, maybe not Tom, but perhaps this would provide her with a distraction all the same. "They is throwing bottles at me when I am getting Master's drink, they is having knives!"

"Where are they?" the man said frustrated.

"They is storming the whole house!" he replied, turning around to the door and pressing his large ear to the door, listening to see if any were outside causing complete mayhem and havoc. "There is being hundreds of them, Master must stop them! I will show Master where they is being last."

The man gave an infuriated growl, slamming his hands on the chest of drawers in anger. "You stay right where you are, if you move, I will kill your son," he threatened callously, and he left the room with his House Elf, she heard the lock on the door click from the outside. It was all right, she didn't need to get outside the room; all she needed was to get that wand that was so neatly tucked in the middle drawer of Leo's chest of drawers.

Just then, as she was about to stand up, she heard the shrieks, and shrill laughter of the House Elves; she tried to suppress a laugh, but failed miserably as she stood awkwardly due to her arms firmly pressed against the chair. If she could just move her arms up slightly, the chair would drop; she did just that, but the chair didn't budge. Instead, she resolved that she would have to free herself this way.

She went over to the drawers, turning around so she could grip the handle, and pulled the drawer open very gently so as not to make any loud noises, even though the House Elves were making enough noise to cause the roof to crumble in. Her fingers fumbled around for the wand, and she almost shrieked with happiness as her fingers touched the smooth and polished wood; now she had to make sure she had the right end. Looking over her shoulder was simple enough, and she positioned the wand pointing at the bindings, and muttered 'Severitus'. It was as if the spell hadn't worked, until a moment later, she felt her hands free from the rope, and the chair banged to the ground with a thud! And she stood up straight again, immediately rubbing her sore, and torn wrists, wincing as she touched the open wounds. Ginny presumed that the spell didn't happen straight away because she hadn't used magic in a long time; but, it felt good, it felt good using magic again…. She felt powerful with the wand in her hand, but she knew she couldn't do much with it; she sighed at this, and reminded herself that she couldn't just stand there wasting time.

She turned to the door, and said "Alohamora!" very quietly, and waited for the lock to click open; but it never came. Ginny was sure that it was nothing to do with the fact that she hadn't used magic in a long time because that spell was very simple, so it could only mean that the man had used a different, and possibly darker spell, which would require much more advanced magic than a simple Alohamora. But, the wand, she reminded herself again, was very limited in the amount of spells it could do.

"Finite Incantatem!" she whispered sharply, the wand pointing at Leo and removing the charm they had placed on him. "Leo," she said quietly, but loud enough to wake him up, and he whined softly. "Leo, you have to wake up, there's bad people in the house."

"Mummy," he whined again. "I tired…." He shut his eyes again and seemed to be fallen back to sleep, but Ginny wasn't going to allow it.

"Leo, you will wake up this instant," she said firmly. "Or you'll be in big trouble." She didn't feel bad, this was a matter of life and death and she wasn't going to die just because he was tired! "Do you want your father angry with you, Leo?"

"No!" he said loudly, sitting up quickly, and reaching out for Ginny to hold him.

"There are bad people here, Leo," she explained gently. "But, we'll be OK if you keep quiet. If you don't they'll kill me, do you understand? They'll hurt me very badly-."

"No, I make you safe, Mummy," he said in a determined manner. "No one hurt you."

Ginny smiled gently, and stroked his head. "We still need to get out of here, come on, darling." She took his hand, and helped him out of bed to lead him over to the window; it seemed to be the only way they could escape other than the door, which was locked, and they weren't that far up, there bones wouldn't be broken from that height though maybe only a few cuts and bruises. "We are going to jump out of the window, OK?" she said softly, trying to soothe him in case he began panicking, but he didn't seem to be scared at all. "I'll go first so that I can catch you, all right?"

He looked up at her and nodded, but then frowned slightly. "Where is Daddy?"

"The bad people made him go away," she whispered.

"But, why?"

"Because, the bad people want to hurt him, darling," she replied, bending down and stroking the side of his head gently. "You don't understand yet, but Daddy is a bad person too, that's why they want to hurt him… but you mustn't tell Daddy I said that, or he'll be angry at me; if we ever get away that is." Ginny stood up straight again, and used the wand to open the window, and it swung on its hinges. "I will call up to you, Leo, OK? When I call up to you, you must jump down, and not be afraid, do you understand?"

"I'm not afraid, Mummy," he said staunchly.

"You're a good boy," she said gently, stroking his face.

"Yes, and you're a naughty little bitch!" came a hard, and very, very angry voice, and she gasped as a hand gripped her bleeding wrist cruelly, wrenching her away from Leo, and slapped her callously across the face. She fell to the floor, unmoving. "You aren't going anywhere, you conniving, pathetic wench!"

Amalia Bradley: You'll have to wait until the next chapter to see if they find Elizabeth, or the chapter after that. I'm really evil….

PurpleRainbow: Tom didn't think of it, because he forgets the little things, and moves onto the bigger things, like he does in CoS; he calls Fawkes a mere 'songbird', but doesn't seem to think, or remember, that this animal can save Harry from death with it's tears. There are other examples; I just can't remember them from of the top of my head.

Graceful kitten: Is grateful for hug, and not receiving a slap. :D

SailorHecate: It was hard to write Ginny like this, and I didn't think I did it very well, but obviously I was wrong because you liked it.

Corpsexbride: And, again, "thank hell for house elves."

Darkness is me: Welcome to the SHIP, and I hope you enjoy the rest of my fic. And, if you haven't already, read 'Warfare', that's the prequel to this fic.

Crystalshard: They can be changed, if Ginny realises that they aren't dreams. But, I'm not saying if that particular one comes true. Though, we will be seeing more of an intolerant Tom again, because I enjoy writing him like that; really nasty, because I'm a bit evil to Ginny sometimes. )

Anyway, thanks to everyone for reviewing, and please review this one! Also, if you want updates on further chapter writing then go to my LJ, I'll be posting updates whenever I start writing the next chapter and I'll be posting a few cookies. And I really don't want to go through my entire Story Alert list again to update everyone on a new cookie. Anyways, Merry Christmas! Oh, and I called the chapter House Elves, because I didn't want to give too much away since the original title was going to be 'Intruders'.