Chapter 9
Draco popped open the button and smoothed back the cloth. His gaze raked over her bare skin, eyes dark.
"No 'because,' little Ginny. You're mine."
Draco ran a lazy finger up from her waist to her bra, tracing the lacy garment slowly. Ginny shivered. Unbridled desire shone in his eyes and she couldn't look at him and still keep her composure. She stifled another pitiful gasp and turned her head to the side. Not happening. This is not happening.
"What are you thinking about, little traitor? Don't think I can't see right through you and your pitiful little attempt to escape. Look at me."
He slipped a head behind her neck and pulled her toward him. Ginny fought him for a hesitant second, but decided against it. She did not feel like she could fight and win from such a fragile position.
Draco stared at her eyes for a long moment, the brandy pools showing him fear and barely concealed loathing. The girl obviously needed to learn some control. He lifted her head from the mattress steadily, ignoring her half-hearted struggle. Her shirt slid from her shoulders as he sat her on the edge of the bed and she crossed her arms over her stomach reflexively.
Ginny realized that with her arms curled around her stomach she probably looked completely pathetic. She dropped them and looked Draco directly in the eye, daring him to touch her. They stayed like that for a long moment, staring into the unsearchable depths of one another.
Draco pounced first, throwing Ginny down to her back again. His hands were in her hair, on her back, tracing her bra, following the curve of her neck up to tangle again in her hair. He kissed her with unbidden ferocity, forcing her mouth open and thoroughly exploring it. When Ginny gasped this time, it was for air. Draco pulled away just as suddenly and Ginny licked her bruised lower lip.
"If I ever catch you mocking my mother or breaking my rules again, traitor, you'll wish all I wanted to do was play a game." His eyes wandered over her shivering, exposed skin meaningfully.
He stalked out of the room, leaving a very confused Ginny lying on the bed. She sat there for a moment in wonder. What had just happened? That kiss had felt like the beginning of the end…and then it was the end.
She sat up so suddenly that she saw stars and struggled to yank her shirt back on. Fumbling with the buttons she cast it aside and went to her closet in search of pajamas. She slipped on a pair of blue satin pajamas and crawled into her bed, still shaken with adrenaline and alive with shock. It was hours before she succumbed to sleep.
--
When Ginny awoke the next morning, the house elf was once again pulling open the draperies and letting warm sunlight spill into the room. Ginny gave the little creature her breakfast order and walked over the nearest window, leaning against the sun-warmed glass. Her encounter last night had slipped into the realm of bad dreams by now, and she left it to rest. There was no use dwelling on it; the event only furthered her need to get out of this damn house and away from the Malfoys and their sodding pretension.
The elf arrived with breakfast and a note for Ginny from Mrs. Malfoy. Ginny thanked the creature, who looked abashedly at her before he disappeared. Apprehensively, Ginny opened the note as she sat down to eat.
Miss Weasley,
I regret to inform you that your tutelage under me shall be postponed until tomorrow. In lieu of your lessons, please visit the Malfoy library. I have selected works pertaining to etiquette, decorum, and social protocol for your edification. I shall expect a basic mastery of them in the due course of the week.
N. Malfoy
Ginny, whose hopes were raised by the first sentence, sighed when they came crashing down by the last one. Edification indeed! The last thing Ginny wanted to do was learn how to act around a bunch of Death Eaters. She thoughtfully munched on a buttery croissant. A visit to the library also meant that she'd have to wander around the manor for a bit, which could lead into a run in with the last person she felt like seeing at the moment, even if she carefully followed Narcissa's enclosed instructions. Maybe she could request the house elf deliver the books to her room.
--
"If the wedding is in one month's time, when do you suppose the Dark Lord will declare me his heir?"
Draco spread jam on his croissant, his eyes on the morning edition of The Daily Prophet. Lucius had already finished his breakfast and was flipping through the post disinterestedly.
"Soon, I hope. He grows weaker daily, and if he loses power entirely before we are ready, our difficulties will grow exponentially."
Draco nodded as he turned the page.
"There's an article in here about the supposed instability at Gringotts. Have you read it? The recent crisis at the Ministry of Magic and current state of affairs is causing economic panic."
Lucius smiled.
"I don't need to read it. A few whispers here, a subtle hint there, a few choice withdrawals from large investments…power is not all in Unforgivable curses, my son."
Draco raised an eyebrow and grinned at his father.
"Oh, I know that intimately well. So everything will be in place when the Dark Lord chooses me?"
"Yes, provided he chooses you soon and has no other stipulations."
Draco looked up at his father.
"Other stipulations?"
Lucius carefully studied a letter, avoiding his son's querying look.
"Oh, he might want you to ensure the succession, for one."
Draco choked on his croissant.
"Draco, you've gotten crumbs all over that shirt. Do be more carful" Narcissa said as she sailed in, resplendent in emerald green. "I'm off to Diagon Alley. Don't worry, darling," she said in response to her husband's expression, "the Weasley girl is occupied."
She kissed her husband's cheek and apparated with a pop as Draco managed to swallow his breakfast.
"You can't possibly mean what I think you mean."
"Well, Draco, there is always the possibility that he will insist—"
"Merlin, this is bloody insane. So you think I'm going to kidnap the Weasley girl, marry her, perform some dark ancient spell on her, and then impregnate her in a month's time? Fucking ridiculous."
Draco stood up and stalked to the fireplace, leaning his head on the mantle. Lucius put down the stack of correspondence and looked at his son.
"I'm only trying to prepare you for the worst. The Dark Lord did not mention an heir, so chances are that the Sang Primoris will be sufficient. If that is the case, we may be able to move forward with our plans in six weeks' time."
Draco sighed and returned to the table, absentmindedly brushing the crumbs from his shirtfront.
"We'll be able to move forward if idiots like Goyle stop bumbling around. I almost lost her twice to his incompetence. She knows about the mudblood now, too."
"I trust you were severe with him."
"A Cruciatus and a few choice others. I took his wand as well—she had it hidden in her hair."
"In her hair?"
"She's been a bit more trouble than I anticipated. A house elf found it when they were preparing her for bed. I assume Goyle didn't report it missing because he didn't feel like receiving an Avada in the middle of a party. Of course when I found out that he had hidden that piece of information from me I wasn't too pleased."
"And Miss Weasley—she has no recollection of the evening?"
"I let her keep her memories just until they brought out the mudblood. If I have to not only marry her but also live with her, I didn't want her witnessing that."
Lucius nodded gravely.
"I didn't want to witness it myself."
Draco nodded and stood.
"The sooner we get those brutes under control the better. I did tell her that if she runs from me again, Granger will suffer."
"How did she respond?"
"Well enough. Of course, I told her a few other things too." Draco smirked. "I think she'll be a good little girl for awhile."
"Fine, but make sure you control yourself, Draco. Just so long as she's still able to fulfill the demands of the Sang in a few short weeks, she's yours."
Draco laughed derisively.
"Oh, she knows."
--
Ginny stalked through the halls of the Manor, cursing the architects and the house elves in the same breath. The stupid creatures wouldn't come when she called, leaving her to find her own way to the library. The mazes of oak paneled corridor were confusing, and here and there were staircases, some large and grand and others just half a story. Some of the doors were built to match the paneling, and Ginny was certain that she'd missed one at some point during her trek.
Her new shoes tapped softly on the hard floor as she cursed and backtracked after coming up on a dead end. Surely the library would be somewhere pretentious, probably near the front door, not tucked away in a random corner. Why did three people need such a ridiculously large house?
The wall next to her slid open with a low rumble and Ginny shrieked. A small house elf dressed in a nearly shredded hand towel trotted off, ignoring her completely.
"Hey! Excuse me!"
The elf kept moving and she wondered if the stupid beings had selective hearing.
"You there! I need to find the library. Mrs. Malfoy requested it."
At the mention of her mistress's name, the elf turned around and stared up at Ginny with wide eyes. Maybe the selective hearing idea wasn't far off.
"Miss'll follow Roosy."
Ginny followed the elf back through the hall and up a short staircase, then down another corridor and another large staircase. At the bottom Ginny recognized the foyer she had crossed in her very first escape attempt out the front door, and she longingly gazed at the door. It was flanked by full-length paned windows, and she could see the drive and gardens beyond.
"Ahem."
The elf's cough pulled Ginny's reticent attention back to her task, and she followed her into the library, a brighter room than Ginny remembered, with shelves and stacks of books everywhere. On a small table by the door lay a pile of six tomes with her name resting on top. Groaning, Ginny pulled the first volume from the stack and turned to the elf, only to find that the little creature had vanished. There was no way she could get all the way back to her room alone, so she was going to have to read here. She found a comfortable chair near the window and opened Lady Squigglemerry's Rules of Etiquette. Two pages in, her mind began to wander and she gazed around the room. With all of the spell books and other interesting things she was bound to find, Ginny decided that wiling yet another day away with manners would be a travesty. She could come back to Lady Squigglemerry later.
A brief exploration of the library didn't yield much, although it was clear that the Malfoy's collection of Dark Arts works was extensive and well over half of the library would have been categorized as restricted if not banned outright at Hogwarts. Ginny eyed a book on hexes thoughtfully and sighed. It would be really satisfying to hit Malfoy with a nasty hex. Bat bogeys came to mind, but with no wand such a pursuit was worthless.
She wandered further into the library and found a desk with a very old parchment spread out across it. She bumped into a corner of the ancient paper and it crumbled like a moth's wing. Curious, Ginny studied the paper and found that it was all in ancient runes. She deciphered a few words here and there—power was repeated many times—but runes had never been her favorite subject. Ginny once again found herself wishing for Hermoine's intellect and she felt a pang for her dear friend suffering from who-knows-what at the hand of you-know-who.
"I've got to get us out of here." She whispered fiercely.
A scroll at the edge of the table caught her eye, full of small notes in a clean, aristocratic hand. Ginny seized the paper and began to read. Apparently, the runes gave directions to a spell that would provide a strange and mighty power to the one who performed it.
Ginny scanned the scroll quickly. It was clear that the father and son—and probably the wife—were involved in a complicated scheme. The Dark Lord was involved, unsurprisingly, but there were no details except that it seemed to center on this power-giving spell.
She blanched as she read the spell's requirements. That was why she was here, why she was being forced into a wedding, and probably why Draco had left her so quickly last night. Ginny's pulse pounded in her ears and she felt chilled. They were using her as a means to an end, and she was nothing but a tiny pawn in a play for power. Tears pricked at her eyes. They were planning on taking her last shred of herself and openly stealing her hopes for the future and there was nothing she could do other than run.
Numbly, Ginny walked out of the library and to the front door. Hesitantly she grasped the heavy brass handle and pulled open the door. Sunlight streamed in around her and she stared blankly at the path in front of her.
Malfoy would catch her in minutes. And Hermione…he'd hurt Hermione.
What would Hermione do? Ginny took a breath and shut the door. Hermione would go back to the library. Resolved to find a way out of this awful mess and keep her sanity, Ginny crossed the foyer and entered the library.
"Enjoying the view from the front door, were we?" drawled Draco, sitting opposite the doorway. Ginny felt her temperature rise at the sight of him. The memory of last night combined with the audacity of his plan was enough to make her blood boil, but the way he looked at her with an odd blend of arrogance and possession sent her over the top.
"Yes I was, Malfoy. If you'll excuse me, I need to study."
"Oh really?" he inquired, standing.
"Yes. Didn't your mother tell you?" she snapped, "it is ever so important that the fucking Malfoys eat with the right fork."
Draco raised an eyebrow.
"I hardly think that type of language can be called respectful."
"I don't give a damn, Malfoy." Ginny was heady with temper. A small voice in the back of her head warned her that she might regret this later, but the pent up anger and frustration from the previous night were effectively shutting it up. "In fact, I don't give a damn for any of your stupid rules or lessons. Take them with you to hell for all I care!"
Draco was at her throat in an instant. Grabbing her shoulder, he pushed her down into an armchair and towered over her.
"I told you that you were mine and I meant it. I can know where you are and what you are doing whenever I choose. I told you that I wanted you to be obedient and respectful, and that I always get what I want."
Ginny lifted her chin and shot daggers into his silver eyes.
"That explains why you're such a bastard, Malfoy. You're thoroughly spoilt."
Draco rolled his eyes contemptuously.
"I promise you, there are no bastards among the Malfoy line."
"Oh really? I would have thought otherwise, given the number of sluts!" Ginny pushed the chair back and stood up as tall as she could, annoyed that the top of her head just reached his chin. Draco steered her toward a tall shelf of books, pinning her to it with one strong arm.
"You're going to regret that." His voice was icy but his eyes smoldered. Ginny felt her courage deflating and grasped for straws.
"Maybe. But you're never going to forget that I said it, and you can't kill me, Malfoy. Hell, you can't even rape me!"
He grabbed her head and held it in both hands, his fingers tangling painfully in her hair.
"Oh really? And why is that?"
Ginny froze as she realized her mistake. Now was probably not a good time to let him know that she knew about his little plot.
"You…you…you don't have it in you." She finished lamely.
Draco paused and eyed her curiously for a moment, then released her.
"I see."
Ginny watched him nervously. Was he seriously letting her go?
"Get back to work. You're going to be a 'fucking Malfoy' in a short time and you better learn to act like one." He turned to go, leaving an incredulous Ginny staring in his wake.
"Oh," he paused at the door, smirking wickedly, "and once you finish with my mother's lessons do come see me. I've got another I want you to learn."
--
A/N: See? No mean cliffs like last time. Just an itty-bitty one for fun.
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