Ron ran to the door of the Burrow and threw it open, expecting to see Ginny transported outside somehow. Instead, there stood a bruised, frail, and completely broken Draco.
"Where's Ginny?" Both boys spoke at the same time, and then their faces grew confused. Harry suddenly appeared at Ron's side along with all other human inhabitants of the Burrow.
"She disappeared as soon as she put your present on, Malfoy," Harry said. Confusion turned to dread on Draco's weary face, and he was just about to speak when the pain in his beaten body numbed enough to let him pass out.
Everyone stood silent, only now registering the condition Draco was in. Finally, Mrs. Weasley's maternal instinct took over and she levitated Draco to the couch, simultaneously transfiguring it into a bed. Draco groaned in his unconscious state as one of the many sore spots on the back of his head pressed uncomfortably against a pillow. His eyes opened weakly at the pain and he was lucid just long enough to murmur the words, "my father…Ginny …necklace must…rtkey"
Mrs. and Mr. Weasley, the closest two, had leaned in close trying to hear his words, but they only managed to distinguish those few incoherent words.
"Key, what key?" Ron said, confused.
"Key… key…" Mr. Weasley murmured, trying to piece together the words. Suddenly Hermione (of course) spoke up.
"Portkey! The necklace must have been a portkey, and it took Ginny to…" She trailed off and her eyes widened in fear.
"His father." Ron's words were leaden and full of dread. Then he sharply looked at the unconscious boy on the bed.
"I knew it!" he roared. "He's been using her this whole time to gain her trust, and now he's handed her over to the death eaters! His arm still has the Dark Mark! Look!" He lifted up Draco's left sleeve and revealed… more scars.
"Ron, you know those all disappeared when Voldemort died. Draco isn't a death eater. Besides, why would he show up here all bruised up and tired asking for Ginny if he knew where she was?" Hermione's logic was enough to cool Ron down jut a little, but he still wanted desperately to blame everything on Draco.
"Good cover?" he suggested weakly.
Mrs. Weasley, bustling around healing Draco by this pint, started shooing them back to give her room to move around. With everyone watching and waiting for Draco to awake, Mrs. Weasley set about stripping off his robes, leaving him in his boxers. At this point, Hermione's eyes were shielded by a jealous Ron's hand.
"Really, mum. Shouldn't you warn us before pulling something like that? No one here really has any desire to see Malfoy in his knickers," Fred or George said jokingly.
"Then you can all leave. Go on, shoo!" Mrs. Weasley adopted an incredibly Pomfrey-like demeanor.
"Are all healers like that?" Harry wondered aloud as everyone was forced from the room by Mrs. Weasley brandishing her wand.
Ginny was surrounded by darkness, unable to make out her surroundings. She tried to open her eyes, but they were already opened. So she shut then, trying to breach the never-ending darkness. The Void rushed at her closed lids, scattering her mind to the winds with unfathomable color that was simultaneously light and dark. This place sucked out all of her security and happiness, replacing it with an urgent desperation. She laid for some time on the cold rough floor, then paced for a long while, using the walls for guidance and feeling for a way out. She tried to find her wand next, but that search turned up useless as well.
Those hours passed slowly and painfully. The whole time she felt as if thousands of dementors were swirling around her, sucking every joy out of her and lending more and more strength to the Void with every passing second.
There was a sudden invasion of light. It wasn't very bright, but it was enough to make Ginny's blackened eyes wince in pain and relief. The relief, however, vanished as soon as she saw the reason for this light. A door had materialized on a previously blank wall, and in its frame stood Lucius Malfoy, holding the necklace Draco had sent her. Ginny, who was sitting on the floor against the far wall, stood slowly and warily watched Malfoy as he took three long strides towards her and placed his hand on the wall next to her head. His face was inches from her own, and Ginny consciously moved back, closing the small gap between her body and the wall, and adding that precious inch to the space between her face and Malfoy's.
He leaned forwards even more, closing the new distance between them and placing his forehead against Ginny's, smirking into her wide green eyes. She looked up at him fearfully as he triumphantly placed a smacking kiss on her cheek. With all of his willpower, Malfoy forced himself to push away from the wall and away from Ginny, but didn't take a step backwards. He moved his other hand, the one holding the necklace, up her body from waist to neck in a gentle, almost loving caress. Ginny recoiled at his touch and Malfoy slapped her hard across the face. Tears formed in her eyes as a red mark bloomed across her cheek. Lucius Malfoy leaned in again, clasping the jewelry around her neck while he breathed in her fear. He held this postition - his body pressed into hers, hands at the back of her neck, head bent down and nose buried in her hair - for undeterminable minutes, Ginny too scared to move. Then he turned on his heel and left Ginny alone with her tears.
Hey, guys! How you likee so far? Good! Just a warning, it is about to become WAAAAAY darker. The rating will not go up, but it will deal with more depression and angst and some stuff that will VERY obviously give the story away. Plus ÜBER dementia on Lucius' part. Ah, btdubbs, can anyone think of anything else to call Lucius that is kinda disrespectful and that makes it obvious how loathed and despised he is? (In this story at least. I have read some excellent nice Lucius stories).