Envy and Manipulations: Rewrite 36

by rrabbit

Sixteen year old Ginny Weasley has her first summer job at the Folk Hills Country Club, the most prestigious high society club in the wizarding world. When Draco Malfoy comes home from his summer internship at the Ministry of Magic things get complicated, dark, and twisted. Rewrite.

14. Chapter 14

"Oh! Holy crow! That was fantastic!" Myrtle screeches as I put the Fiend Fyre curse out with a smirk on my sweating face. "Do it again!"

"I think I need to take a break," I say honestly as I take a few steps back. It's so hot in the chamber right now and I wipe my forehead off with the back of my hand. "That was crazy, yeah?" I say with a huge grin on my face as I look at the scorch marks on the stone wall.

"Oh, yeah!" she says as she dances around me. Her toes barely touch the ground as she flits.

I can't believe it actually worked this time. It's taken days for me to get that stupid thing to even sputter out some fire, but now it comes out as a full blast. It's not fully mastered yet. I know I have to keep practicing, but it just feels really good to get this far with it.

"How wonderful!" Myrtle screeches as I drop to my knees by Draco's folder.

I need to start copying it down in my own notebook. I know he's going to want it back and I can't keep on hiding from him. He will find me sooner or later.

"So, back to the subject," she says as she sits across from me. I pull out a pen and start copying down the words. "When you give a blow job, why do guys like it so much? I mean, can't they just stand in front of a fan and call it a day?" she asks and I glance at her.

"What are you talking about?"

"Blow jobs," she says and I raise a brow. "You know," she holds her hand out like she was holding a boy's thing and she starts blowing on it like it was a whistle. "Why would that feel good to them?"

"You don't actually blow," I tell her with a frown on my face as I start writing down all of the words I see in Draco's folder, copying it word for word in the notebook he had given me. "You just kind of... suck... like a lollipop or something," I finish uncomfortably as I scratch my neck.

"Then why is it called that?" Myrtle asks as she hovers beside me, giving me the chills.

"I don't know," I tell her with a shrug.

"Why don't they call it a suck job if there is no blowing involved?"

She sounds legitimately angry about it and I find a little amusement in the situation as I smirk to myself. "I don't know the answer to that," I tell her honestly.

"Hmf," she says as she sits back and crosses her arms. "Do you do that with that blond fellow?"

"His name is Draco," I tell her as I write a few more things down with a scrape of my pen.

"Draco," she says the name like she was tasting it. I don't know why she's acting like she didn't know his name. She talks about him all the damn time. "Do you give Draco a suckjob? And don't lie!" She yells as she points a finger at me. "You promised to tell me the truth!"

My cheeks flush.

"Sometimes," I say honestly.

"Isn't that gross? I mean..." I glance at her as she makes a disgusted face. "I mean it's their… thing," she says like it was something foul and she makes a motion to her own private spot.

"I don't mind," I tell her, feeling dirty talking about it out loud. "It doesn't really bother me and I like that I can make him feel good," I admit in a little whisper. "I actually like doing it."

It turns me on for some reason and I don't think I'd ever say that to anyone else besides Draco. I guess it is easy to admit things to her because she's dead and of no real importance in the world now.

That was a mean thought. I shake it off and mentally scold myself for it.

"But you don't get anything out of it," she says as I try to scribble down every French word and every symbol in Draco's papers.

"He does it back," I tell her in frustration.

"He gives you a suckjob?"

"Well, obviously not. I don't have a penis."

She giggles and I glare at her as she hides her laugh behind her hand. "You said penis."

"That's what it's called," I say flatly and she grins.

"It just sounds funny," she says with another giggle and I shake my head. "What does he do then?" she asks and I feel really uncomfortable as I sit back on my knees.

"He does..." I trail off and frown, trying to figure out the right word to use that won't make me feel dirty. "He does it back," I finish lamely and she cocks her head to the side. "I mean, think of a blow job and what you do to a guy... and then imagine it with a girl instead," I say and she crinkles her nose. "It's like that."

"Does it feel good?"

"Yeah... in a weird way," I say honestly and she raises her brows. "It feels kind of odd at first... but it feels really good in the end."

For some reason I think of the first time Draco did that to me. Out on the lake, sitting on that bolted down table under the night time sky. I can see him looking up at me from between my thighs and smiling… and then his blond hair turns black and suddenly it's Tom staring up at me from between my legs… only this time he doesn't have my arousal on his lips… he has my blood.

I shake my head violently.

What in the hell is wrong with me?

"When you have sex," she says as she scoots so close that she's touching me. It feels like ice but I'm thankful for the distraction because my thoughts just went to an awful place. "Does it ever go into the wrong hole?"

"What?" I ask sharply and she blinks.

"They're right beside each other," she points out. "What if it accidentally goes into the wrong hole? Has that ever happened?"

"No," I say in disgust. "I would kill him if that ever 'accidentally' happened."

"Why?"

"Because that would hurt."

"Some people think it's sexy," she says and I give her a look.

"Who thinks it's sexy?"

She shrugs her shoulders. "I've heard lots of girls talking about that kind of sex over the years," she says as she puts her chin in her hand. "Keeps them from getting pregnant."

Charming.

"Do you think Draco is sexy?" she asks and it makes me think of Draco with his shirt off.

I pull on the collar of my undershirt a bit, feeling hot all over again.

"Yes, he's very sexy," I admit as I think of the way he looks when he's on top of me with his cheeks flushed and his hair a mess and that little smirk on his face.

I shift uncomfortably and try to shake the thought away.

"I think he's sexy too," she says with a girlish giggle. "I wouldn't mind if he was my boyfriend. You are so lucky and he looks like he's so good at shagging. Is he good at shagging?"

"Yes," I answer in a small voice, trying not to think about how good he actually is.

"Thought so," she says with a nod of her head. "I wish I could have sex. I would like to have sex with Draco all the time."

I snort at the thought.

"Right," I say as I turn away again so I can finish copying.

"What are you doing?" she asks, leaning over my shoulder to see the notebook.

I've been down here for hours, but she just now noticed I was doing something other than answering her gross sex questions.

"Making a copy of this."

"Why are you doing that?"

"Because."

"Why are you doing it that way?"

"What way?" I ask sharply because she's annoying.

"That long way," she says. "Don't you have your wand with you?"

I glance at her and hold it up. Obviously I have my wand. She just saw me use it.

"Then why don't you just use magic to copy it?"

"I don't know how to do that," I admit and she grins smugly.

"I do. The copy doesn't last that long so you'll have to go over it with your pen, but it's better than taking all this time doing it." She floats in front of me and I tilt my head back to see her properly. "You just swish your wand this way," she says, making a motion with her hand to show me. "And then you press the page you want to copy and then you swish again," she moves her hand and her black Hogwarts' robe moves with her. "And then you touch the empty page you want it copied on and then you say how long you want it copied for."

"Can't I say forever?" I ask with a frown and she shakes her head.

"I said it only lasts for a couple weeks."

"Oh," I say and then I watch her as she shows me the rest of the spell. "Thanks," I say as I copy the first page successfully. "Why didn't I know this?"

"I think it's because teachers didn't want students to cheat on their tests or something," she says with a little shrug. "That's why."

"Well, it's awesome. Thanks for telling me," I tell her and she smiles a large smile that shows every crooked tooth.

"See," she says smugly as she hovers around me, her horn rimmed glasses sliding down her nose. "I know lots of valuable things."

"Good for you," I say, concentrating on copying the pages so I can pack up and go over them in my room.

"I have another question."

"Go for it," I say as I bite my lip and turn the page. I pause for a moment as all the french words start moving around and jumbling and twisting about the page.

"Are you going to have Draco's baby?"

"What?" I snap as I look up from the jumbling words so I can glower at her. "Why would you ask something like that?"

She shrugs her ghostly shoulders. "I hear things."

"Who said anything like that?" I ask sharply and she laughs.

"Oh, you look so angry right now. Your face is turning the color of a beet!"

I stand up. "Who said something like that?" I demand to know as I remember Blaise saying something very similar to that in Draco's dorm room.

"You are being awfully defensive," she counters with a bushy eyebrow raised and I clench my fist around my wand.

"Was it a girl or boy?"

"Ah, twenty questions!" she says as she sits down on the ground with her legs crossed and her chin in her hands.

Why is she so annoying?

"I love this game! Alright, it was a girl."

Girl?

"Was it Pansy?" I ask and she shakes her head. "Daphne?"

"I don't know who that is," she says and I frown.

"She's blonde," I say as I touch my own hair. "She kind of looks like a barbie doll."

"Oh! Her," she says and I raise my brows. "No, it wasn't her."

"Was it someone in the grade above me?" I ask tiredly and she shakes her head. "Will you just tell me?"

"That's not how you play."

"I don't want to play this stupid game, just tell me who it was!"

"Don't yell at me, missy!" she hisses as she stands up, hovering two feet above the ground.

"Tell me what you know!" I yell back in frustration. "I have more important things to do than hang out with a dead girl all day!"

She looks surprised and hurt by that and then she disappears.

Now I feel bad. I look around me, calling out her name a few times before realizing that she's not hiding close by. She actually left me in the chamber... alone.

I shake off the chilling feeling in my heart as I get back on my knees to finish copying Draco's papers. When I look back at my notebook, the words are no longer jumping around the page.. I can read it all now. I look down in amazement and I put some hair behind my ears as my eyes scan the copied page.

It's all in English.

The notebook translated it for me.

Thank you, Draco.

I hear a noise and I jump, looking around me once more in the darkness of the chamber. It sounded like something metallic fell in the distance. I hold perfectly still and I hold my breath as I glance around, finally stopping on the statue of Salazar Slytherin.

I'm going to ruin you, little Ginny. I clench my eyes shut when I hear Tom's voice and I try to will it away. I'm going to ruin you completely.

The voice stops and I go back to copying the papers... and then I hear it again. I look up and swallow hard.

Hush.

I stare right at the spot where Tom Riddle tried to kill me when I was eleven and then I am suddenly all too aware of being alone.

Call for mummy.

I hear another strange noise so I quickly gather up all of my things and stuff them in my bag.

No thank you, big scary room.

I practically run out of the chamber and when I reach the bathroom, Myrtle is sitting on top of one of the sinks, crying her ghostly eyes out.

I ignore her and run past, heading straight to my room so I can get under my covers and feel safe.

When I finally get there, the dorm room is empty except for one person.

Pansy is sitting on my bed. Her hair is now shorter and more severe, a razor sharp bob by her jaw line.

"What are you doing?"

She raises her brows as she looks me over and then she crosses her legs.

"Where have you been?" she asks with her head tilted. "I've been waiting for you."

"Just around," I say as I shrug, not wanting to give too much away because I know she'd side with Draco over me any day of the week. "Why were you waiting for me?"

"You smell like fire."

I don't even bother to respond to that.

"Come," she says as she pats my bed. "Sit."

I look around again before nodding my head and walking towards her. I take a seat on my bed and watch her from the corner of my eyes as she takes out a white box from behind her.

"What is this about?" I ask nervously, figuring Draco probably sent her.

"Your outfit," she says as she unties the blue ribbon that holds it together. "For Mrs. Malfoy's Halloween dinner."

She takes off the lid. Inside the box I see the top of a fancy looking dress.

"It's not a normal Halloween party, where people dress up as stupid things," she says as she stands and pulls a pale gold dress out to show it to me. It's a long gown that falls all the way to the floor. The bodice is made from a firmer material and it has a pattern on it that looks like some sort of crystallized ivy. It's connected to two little sleeves that are transparent and soft looking like a butterfly's wing that droops off the shoulders.

"It's like an old-fashioned wizard formal," she explains. "Women are held to a strict standard, of course. The men can do whatever the hell they want," she says with an eye roll and then she looks at me. "What do you think?"

"About what?" I ask stupidly and she narrows her eyes.

"About the dress," she says as she shakes it at me.

"It's pretty," I say as I stand up and touch the skirt. "It's a little much," I admit and she laughs.

"Please, you haven't seen mine yet," she says like I was silly. She's not scolding me, or glaring, or doing anything mean... I'm kind of thrown off guard by it. "This is tame. Mrs. Malfoy is keeping you sweet and simple." She pushes it at me. "Try it on then. I have to see if it needs any changes."

"Right now?" I ask as I send a look to my bag. I still need to copy some of those pages before Draco hunts me down.

"Yes, right now," she says.

I hesitate a moment before going to the bathroom and trying it on to please her so she'll leave me alone. I realize the top part is a corset and I make a face at it as I unlace the back so I can step into the garment with ease. The material seems expensive and there are pearls tracing some of the stitching along the top. It's really pretty and when I stare at myself in the mirror I can't get over how sugary I look. It's like I'm an iced dessert waiting to be eaten alive.

"Come on out," Pansy says and I sigh loudly before opening the door. "I like it," she says, giving me a surveying look as she pulls me into the room. She stands me in front of another full bodied mirror and throws my hair over one shoulder.

I stare at my reflection as she stands behind and starts tying up the corset ribbons.

"Did Mrs. Malfoy buy me this dress?" I ask, remembering Circe Avery and her long talk with me about how he was going to be taking care of me from now on. "Or…"

"Or." she confirms without having to say it and I nod my head, feeling dirty. "He seems to be pretty insistent on buying things for you from now on… but Mrs. Malfoy picked it out. She knows what would look good on you."

"What is the theme?" I ask to get my mind off of it as I put my hand on my stomach and suck in because she's tying it so tight.

"No one knows until they're actually there. It's always a good time, though," she says thoughtfully as she pulls particularly tight and I wince as I arch my back. "Or that's what I was always told. This is the first year I'll be allowed to go."

"Why?"

"Because I was introduced into society this year," she says seriously. "I can do a lot of things I couldn't do before."

"I've never been introduced," I say softly as I fiddle with a ribbon on the dress and try not to pass out. I think she's crushing my rib cage, all my organs feel like they're pushed together.

"Well, you are a special case." She eyes me for a few moments and she pulls on the ribbons again with a violent jerk that takes the air right out of my lungs. "Draco has been in a very dark mood lately," she says as she watches me with narrowed eyes when she's finished tying off the corset. "Do you have any idea why?"

"No," I whisper, lying through my teeth and feeling guilty as hell. "No, I don't." I take a step forward and put my hand on the mirror. "This is really tight," I admit as I try to find a comfortable way to stand. "Can you loosen it a little?"

She goes back to my bed again and pulls out another white box. I watch her with wary eyes as she walks back carrying two high heeled slippers the same golden cream color. She puts them down and I step into them without having to be told. They place me up higher and make the dress lay perfectly right above the ground.

"You really are beautiful, Ginny," she says seriously. "You look perfect in this dress."

"Thanks," I say uncomfortably, wincing in pain.

"Draco will like it," she says. I look away and roll my eyes. "Ginny," she says harshly and when I look at her, she's giving me the usual Pansy glare that I am so used to getting. "When you piss Draco off, it has a trickle down effect on all of us."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I say uncomfortably as I put my hand on my stomach again, trying to loosen the corset. She walks in front of me, standing far too close for comfort and blocking my view of the mirror.

"Of course you don't," she says sarcastically. "You have no idea what you do to him. You just go along your merry way with total disregard to everyone's feelings."

"That's not true," I say with a frown as I take in a short breath.

"You act like you're better than everyone else just because your family was a part of the Order of the Phoenix and your old boyfriend is supposed to be the savior of the wizarding world. You have no idea what pain is or what sacrifice is, but you act like the world is ending when one thing happens that you don't like. I have never met a more selfish person."

I step away from her before she kills me with her sharp tongue and I level her with a glare. "You have no idea how I feel," I tell her and she sneers. "I'm not selfish. My whole family is locked up, I have no friends I can trust, and my boyfriend is a liar! How does being upset about any of that make me selfish?"

"Please," she says, batting away my rant like it was nothing. "Everyone is so obsessed with Ginny Weasley right now. If you think Draco is just going to let you carry on the way you have been, then you are in for a very harsh wake up call."

"Draco doesn't own me," I say stiffly, feeling utterly ridiculous to be having this fight in this terribly formal dress. "No matter what he thinks."

"Keep thinking that," she says sarcastically and I shake my head. "You're just like him, you know," she snaps. "You want everyone to do what you want and when you don't get your way, you get upset and make everyone pay for it."

"I'm not like Draco," I reply sharply and she shakes her head.

"Yes, you are," she says as she eyes me. "If you want something… if someone is mean to you… if you want to go somewhere… The first person you ask is Draco and he takes care of it for you… but you don't appreciate it at all. You don't care about the things that you ruin. You're just like him. Maybe that's why everyone likes you so damn much."

"Are you being so sharp with me because of Blaise?" I ask boldly and her glare becomes almost deadly.

"What does Zabini have anything to do with this?"

"I don't like Blaise. I don't want him, so you can stop being so hateful to me."

"You think this is about Blaise?" she hisses at me and I stand my ground with a hand on my hip. "I don't care who he wants to fuck, Ginny. This is so much bigger than petty little things like that. All you have to do is sit there and look pretty, but you're making it so fucking hard on everybody. Why can't you just do as you're told? You don't even have to do anything hard! You just have to do what Draco tells you and he barely ever gives you any orders. If you could walk in someone else's shoes for just one second I think you would stop being so goddamn difficult."

"I..." I start but she cuts me off before I can even finish.

"You have nothing to worry about," she says as she puts a hand on her slender hip. "You are going to be okay. Draco is going to make sure everything goes perfectly for you because he cares and he wants to make you happy. No one cares if I'm happy or not," she says hatefully. "Nobody cares how this is all going to turn out for me."

"I..."

"Apologize to Draco," she cuts me off again. "Tell him you're sorry and offer him some amazing make up sex because I am tired of being so stressed out all the time. Do whatever you have to do to make him happy again because if you keep on messing with him like you have been you are going to be sorry," she says, inches away from my face before she backs up. Her eyes skip down my body before settling on my eyes again. "The dress looks good. Don't get it dirty."

Then she leaves the room and I just stare after her like an idiot.

I realize a moment too late that I can't get the dress off by myself and after twenty or so minutes of trying to untie it by myself like an idiot, Luna finally walks into the room.

Thank God.

"Luna," I say in relief as she walks straight towards her bed. She puts her bag down and doesn't even look at me as I approach her. "Can you help me?" I ask as I turn around and hold up my hair to show her the laces. "I can't get this damn thing off by myself."

She doesn't say anything but when I feel her fingers untying the back of the dress I sigh in relief.

"Thanks," I whisper as the bodice loosens, giving me more space to breathe. "I thought I might pass out."

"You told Draco, didn't you?" she says flatly and I furrow my brows.

"Told Draco what?" I ask

"About Theo. About the secret I told you," she says and once the corset is completely loosened I turn around to face her. "That's why he was sent for re-education. I saw the way he looked at Malfoy before they pulled him out," she says with her eyes watering. "You told him after I specifically told you not to."

I shake my head. "I didn't tell Draco," I say honestly.

"Then how did he know?" she asks. "And Zabini was smiling at him… Why would they all be so angry with him that they would let that happen?"

"I..." I knew it would be best to lie, but I didn't want to. Not to Luna. Not when I didn't have anyone else. "I did tell Zabini," I say and her eyes inflame with anger as I put my hand out to explain myself. "I thought he should know. Someone was using his likeness. That's not good and what Theo did to you was wrong..." That was my lame excuse but she didn't buy it. "I didn't… I didn't know they would do that," I admit, still feeling terrible about it. "I didn't think that would happen."

"I'm going to sleep now," she says as she climbs into her bed. "Night," she says flatly before tugging all of the bed curtains tightly closed.

I frown and then go to my own bed, hating my life and everyone in it.

After a long pause, I take off the dress and carefully place it back in the box with the beautiful heeled slippers. I look at it for a little while longer before putting the lid on and pushing it under my bed. Out of sight. Out of mind. I tug on the large jumper my mother made me after slipping on a more comfortable bra and I take out my wand, placing it behind my ear as I pull out my notebook. I start reading the translated words on the page as I huddle under the covers and try to pretend like my world isn't crumbling.

It all starts with a list.

A list of ingredients to make a potion I've never heard of before...

Even in English it's all complicated and the words are... long and hard to get through. It's like reading an educational text on something difficult and I feel my eyes drooping shut in sleepiness before I even reach the fourth page. I set it to the side after a while, promising myself to work through it during the light of day and I lay back against my pillows with a tired sigh.

I close my eyes for a moment and then turn on my side.

I wake to Ivy singing a rather loud and annoying rap song as she curls her hair in the mirror. I rub my eyes and sit up, glaring at her back before sending a shy look to Luna's bed. The curtains are still closed…. I glance at the clock… It's almost ten at night.

"Ginny?" I look up at Astoria as she dives under her bed. "Have you seen my slippers? The fuzzy pink ones?"

I shake my head and yawn against my hand as I lie back down with my arm thrown over my eyes.

"What are you going to be for Halloween?" I hear Ivy ask, but it's not directed at me so I don't even bother to look up.

"I don't know. I was thinking something funny," Astoria answers. "Like a person from history or something, but like a sexy zombie."

Sexy Zombie?

"You could be a Zombie Wendy Wendella," Ivy says.

"Who's that?" Astoria asks with pursed lips and I roll my eyes as I turn my back on them.

"She was like a famous witch or something a hundred or so years ago. I think she invented the Imperius curse."

"Oh," Astoria sighs. "I was thinking of something more recent... something everyone would know."

"You could be a Zombie Dumbledore," Ivy says with a cruel laugh and I sit up to glare at her. "That would be funny. You could have a really long white beard."

"I'm not sure if I could make that sexy," Astoria replies as my ears burn. "But that would be funny."

"That's not funny," I tell them and then they both look at me. "That's not funny at all."

Why are there tears in my eyes? Maybe because Dumbledore was the last strong hold against Voldemort and he's gone. Maybe because McGonagall isn't here to ease me through my nightmares… maybe because my family is lost and I have no friends…. And the Dark Lord wants to be bonded with me and Draco Malfoy wants to use me… and there's a golden dress under my bed right now that Tom Riddle bought because there is no one here to stop him anymore.

I lie back down, turning my back on them and clenching my eyes shut because the emotion embarrasses me.

There's a heavy pause and then I feel the mattress sink down beside me.

"Do you want to come with us tonight?"

I look over my shoulder to glare at Ivy. What is she even doing?

I glance at Astoria as she watches us from in front of a mirror.

"Where are you going?"

"To a party," Astoria whispers as she comes over and glances at Luna's bed. "It's like a slumber party theme." she says, opening her robe to show me a very revealing pajama set… the shorts super short and the top cut super low and lined with lace.

"I convinced Greg to buy us a lot of alcohol when we went to Hogsmeade," Ivy says, smirking as she looks at Astoria. "So we are going to have plenty. He didn't even make me pay him back."

I don't say anything to that and then they share another look. Astoria licks her full lips and then leans forward. "They aren't going to be there, you know. Our sisters… Draco…. It's just going to be our grade."

"They don't know about it," Ivy nods her head like she was trying to convince me. "You'd be able to relax. Millicent won't even be there."

"Yeah," Astoria says gently. "We won't tell them anything either."

I look between them… unsure. I'm suspicious of their kindness and I look away. I've been burned by girls trying to befriend me before but… I glance at Luna's bed. Maybe it wouldn't be so terrible.

"Why?" I ask and they look confused. "Why even invite me?"

"Well," Ivy exhales slowly. "You just look so sad, don't you?"

I don't say anything to that.

"The three of us will be coven sisters very soon, Ginny," Astoria says like I would know what that means as she sits down by Ivy on my bed. "One day we will share and know everything about each other."

"Will we?" I ask flatly.

"I know we started off rocky," Ivy says like she didn't completely tear me down this summer. "But you are attached to the Dark Lord himself and if not him than Draco Malfoy. Do you see the future you will have, Ginny? I know my sister and Daphne…." She glances at Astoria. "They are all about him, aren't they? All about his vision." She rolls her eyes. "How about we live outside of their lines for a night."

I look down at my covers and start picking at the top.

"I'm really tired, Ginny," Ivy admits, for once looking like a normal girl caught up in something awful and bigger than herself. "I know you're tired too."

Maybe she is sad. I know she liked Nott. I know they had something going on behind Luna's back and even though that pisses me off… I know she must be upset about what happened to him too. I glance at Astoria, but she's not looking at me. She's gazing out the window and then she glances at me with a sad little smile.

"I am really tired," I whisper, brushing away a stray tear. There is silence between the three of us and then I sigh loudly. "Where is it?"

"There's the old potions classroom that no one uses anymore and we charm it so no one can hear us," Ivy answers, sitting up straight like she was proud of that fact. "We've already used it twice with no issues."

I nod my head but then I come to my senses and think better of it. I need to keep a low profile. According to Draco and the Dark Lord, I have little room for error. I don't want to push it.

"I shouldn't go," I admit, sitting back against my headboard. "It's not a good idea."

"When has that ever stopped you?" Ivy says with a sly little smile. "Come on, Weasley. We know you could use a drink."

"We hear you crying," Astoria says, reaching out like she wanted to touch me before thinking better of it and letting her hand rest by my leg. "Every night."

"I don't cry every night," I whisper, embarrassed that they notice.

"Right," Ivy says, rolling her eyes again.

"I'd cry if I were you too," Astoria whispers, looking around like she thought someone would hear her. "Let's just go have fun and pretend like the world isn't on fire for once."

I look into her eyes, so much different from Daphne's….

"Okay," I nod my head. I guess I could use the distraction and what could it hurt? "I can just wear pajamas?"

"Well…" Astoria looks down at the clothes I fell asleep in. "I mean… something sexy."

"Sexy?" I whisper.

"You have something sexy," Ivy says as she goes over to my trunk. "I know you do."

"What are you doing?"

"Oh please," she says as she opens my trunk and starts sorting through my things. "I was there when Pansy bought them for you. She was really pushing you to sleep with Malfoy, wasn't she?"

I swallow hard and then she realizes she said something she maybe shouldn't have.

"I mean…" she glances at me. "I mean, she did buy you a lot of stuff for him to enjoy, didn't she?"

"Pansy has always been weird about Draco," Astoria says, giving me a strange look. "Daphne doesn't like him half as much as Pansy does. To be honest, I don't think Daphne likes him at all. He's so mean all the time and he says the most terrible things…"

"Pansy just knows Draco is easier to manage when he gets what he wants so she is always making sure that happens for him."

The way she said that makes me feel gross.

"It's actually pretty annoying," Ivy says honestly. "I think Malfoy is a fucking lunatic and so is my sister." She glances at me before looking down again. "Don't… Don't tell him I said that, will you?"

"I won't," I whisper, narrowing my eyes because I know Draco did something to her over the summer. Something terrible that no one will tell me.

She finds the white slip with the little blue flowers and smirks as she throws it at me.

"Here."

"I can't wear this," I say… Not only would I feel uncomfortable in it… but I'm sure Draco would not be happy. "It's not… I have real pajamas I can wear."

"I have a robe, if that helps," Ivy says, going to her bed to find it for me. "Just live a little, would you? Malfoy isn't going to be there breathing down your neck and I'm not like Pansy. I don't give a shit about what Malfoy wants."

I hesitate.

"Draco would kill me if he knew I wore this out," I admit out loud, not able to really look at them. "I can't…"

I can't what? Risk it? Admit that my controlling boyfriend sometimes scares me and he is already mad at me?

I don't like the look they are giving me now. It's sympathy and I hate it.

"You're right," Astoria says, taking the slip from me and putting it back in my trunk after giving Ivy a little look. "You can just wear what you want. You don't have to do what we say."

I nod my head and then I get up. I watch Ivy put on a little see through teddy thing with a black bra underneath and I raise my eyebrows.

"Will there be boys there?" I ask carefully, not really sure why they are getting all dolled up.

"Of course," Astoria says as she goes back to doing her makeup.

I go to my trunk. I only have one matching set of pajamas. It's a pair of shorts and a matching pj top that buttons up the front. They are navy blue and have little golden snitches on them…. I got them last Christmas from Hermione and it came with a matching sleep mask… I glance at Astoria and Ivy as they sexy themselves up and I put the pajamas on quickly as they go heavy with the eye liner and blush.

"Get your cloak," Ivy says as she takes out her thick winter cloak to throw over her shoulder. "It's easier to sneak around in all black."

I take mine out and eye the dark mark embroidered on the chest before putting it on and clasping it at my throat. I slip on my old leather boots and follow them down the stairs, trying to stay as quiet as possible to not alert anyone.

Helen Macnair joins us in the common room. A slightly plump girl, she also did not get the memo of it being sexy because she was wearing a zip up fleece onsie that looks like a blue narwhal with a shining golden horn. A handful of other pureblooded girls met up with us by the fireplace. All of them in varying states of dress and covered in black cloaks. Most of them were from well off society but a couple of them… like me and Ava Winters were just regular witches from regular families.

We put up our hoods and Ivy leads the charge as we sneak out of the common room and slink down the halls. Our wands are out and we are ready to scatter if we run into Filch and his damned cat. Down in the dungeons is the old potions room. Slughorn moved up to the second floor because he didn't like how damp the air is down here and I can't say I blame him. The potions room makes my lungs feel full and I throw back my hood once we're inside. The boys are already here. They had pushed back the tables but kept most of the chairs and there were bottles of all kinds of alcohol set up on the teachers desk.

I know most of the boys from my grade, of course. Most of them are Slytherin and a few are Ravenclaws… maybe one or two from the other houses but they definitely outnumber us. I send a nervous look around and then I widen my eyes a bit when I see Goyle.

"I thought you said only our grade," I whisper as I step beside Astoria.

I have the urge to hide behind her but that's ridiculous.

One of the boys…a tall one named Brutus Burke… takes out his wand to lock and silence the door. He looks at me and seems surprised before whispering to one of his mates making them all look at me as well. Another boy takes out an old gramophone from the closet to play music as the others close the curtains and light the candles.

"Well, he did buy all the alcohol," Astoria says, giving Goyle a little wave.

The big moron waves back but then he looks at me and slightly narrows his beady eyes.

"He'll tell Draco," I whisper in a slight panic when I remember how Draco had called him out so viciously this summer.

There is no way he would risk getting on his bad side again.

Why am I so worried? It's not like Draco will actually do anything to me but be all pissy… and what would he be mad about anyways? That I'm doing something without him? Without asking him first? The more I think about it, the angrier I get that I'm even thinking of it in the first place and I walk over to the alcohol bottles, grabbing the firewhisky and pouring myself a shot.

"Here," I look up in surprise at that Brutus Burke guy as he takes the bottle from my hand. "Let me do that for you."

"I can do it myself," I say, snatching it back from him and pouring myself a generous amount.

"We are just so surprised to see you here, Ginny," he says like he knew me and not just as a passing acquaintance in his classes from last year. "What a treat."

"Would you like one, Ginny?" I turn to another boy who comes up on the other side. He has auburn hair and is another Slytherin boy my age. Pollux Avery, probably related to that awful Circe Avery woman in some capacity.

He offers me a pill from a circle tin and I make a face.

"Both of you can go away from me," I say, downing the shot and pouring myself another one.

I take it quickly.

"Can you pour me one too?" I glance at Astoria as she slides up beside me, pushing Avery out of the way. I nod and pour her one, grateful that the two Slytherin bastards are walking away from me. I hand it to her with a tight smile. "Cheers."

I clank my glass against hers and we take the shot at the same time.

"Why do I feel like everyone is staring at me," I say, refusing to turn around to see.

"Because they are," Astoria says. "You're pretty famous now, you know." I glance at her but say nothing else. "Romilda Vane told everyone that you are promised to the Dark Lord so people are naturally pleased to see you around."

Naturally.

I make a face at that. It was my fault for even saying anything but I don't like how excited a lot of the people seem to be as they look at me. Once upon a time people used to be excited like that when they found out Harry Potter was so close to my family… I would much prefer that over them being so impressed with the idea of being close to that genocidal maniac.

"You know," she swallows hard and steps closer to me. "When I hung out with Draco those couple times." I bristle at the idea of them pretending to date and she notices, putting her hand on my arm and giving me a little smile. "All he did was talk about you."

"I doubt that," I whisper as I pour myself another drink.

"He's completely obsessed with you, you know." I roll my eyes. "What does that feel like?" she asks with a wistful sigh. "To be loved like that?"

"Obsession is not love," I say, downing the other shot and feeling warm.

"I think Draco would disagree."

"I think Draco disagrees with a lot of things." She doesn't say anything and I glance at her again. "It's suffocating sometimes," I admit, unclasping my cloak because the shots are starting to hit me hard and I'm getting hot. "He consumes me."

Why did I say that? It sounded so stupid and weird… but it was true. Sometimes I felt like Draco's attention would swallow me whole.

"Yeah," she whispers, giving me a troubled look. "Anyways, let's not talk about it. My fault for bringing it up."

I nod my head and walk away from her, taking the bottle of firewhisky with me as I take off my cloak and throw it over a nearby chair.

I find a good spot to sit and I take swigs from the bottle, finding it not burning nearly as much now that I have a few shots in me. No one really talks to me much and my head starts to buzz as I walk over to the window and slightly pull back one of the thick curtains to peek outside. The moon is high and something large ripples through the lake in the distance.

Remember who waits for you.

I clench my eyes shut. I don't want to remember him and I try not to. I push all thoughts of Tom Riddle away as I take another swig from the bottle and try to forget about everything in the world.

"...Ginny?"

I look over at Ivy. She's staring at me and most of the people in the room are too. How long has she been standing there talking to me?

"What?"

"Do you want to play?"

"What game?" I ask carefully as she takes my hand and helps me stand up.

When did I sit down?

The room spins a bit and I lean to the side.

"Flip, sip, or strip," she says, smiling at me as she pulls me into a circle.

I stand by Asotira and Helen Macnair in her ridiculous onesie… Greg Goyle is beside her and he keeps touching her so I guess the alcohol got him more than just an invite to the sixth year party. One of the boys explains the game as he uses a wand to set the perimeter and bind us all to the rules. I nervously watch the light from his wand encircle us and I panic a moment, wondering if I should step out. Only half the kids are playing… It wouldn't be weird for me to…

"Pay attention, Ginny," Astoria says, elbowing me in the side.

Right.

"Alright," Brutus Burke says, taking a shining golden galleon from his pocket. He looks right at me. He has brown eyes and they look nearly black. Almost like Tom Riddle's used to be. "You flip a coin. The person beside you has to guess head or tails. You get three chances to get it right for the coin to be passed to you. If you get it wrong you have to answer one truth. If you guess the second flip wrong… you have to take a shot of vodka. If you get the third guess wrong… you have to take off a piece of clothing before the game moves on."

I look down. I'm only wearing four things.

Tall Brutus Burke, the Slytherin boy with long dark hair and freckles hands me a golden galleon.

"How about you start," he says with a little smile.

Why is he smiling at me like that?

I nod my head and take the coin.

I turn to Astoria and I flip the coin in the air. She calls heads as it lands in my hand and I turn it over. It's tails. I look around and then back at her.

"What did Draco do to Ivy over the summer?" I ask and I feel a glare that I am sure is Ivy's on the side of my face.

"Uh," she turns away for a moment. "He…"

"Don't you have to tell the truth?" I ask, looking around.

A few kids nod.

"Well. He made her cry," she says quickly. "Flip it again."

I frown. That didn't tell me much. I flip the coin in the air and she calls tails again. This time it's correct so I hand her the coin. A few kids had to tell the truth to embarrassing questions like how much they masturbate and how old they were when they had their first kiss. Ivy had to take a shot and Helen had to remove her onesie. She was left in her tank top and boy short knickers that are bright pink. Goyle seems to like it and he looks at her like a salivating dog.

When it's my turn, Helen flips the coin in the air and I call heads. It's tails and she thinks on it a moment before smiling at me.

"What is the Dark Lord like?"

They all look at me then and I realize they all know who I am to him and that I have had the displeasure of being around him before.

"He's frightening," I admit as I remember Delsia and the unicorn.

It gets really quiet for a moment before Helen nods her head and flips the coin again. I call heads… It's tails.

Someone hands me a shot of vodka and I take it quickly, shuddering as it goes down.

She flips it again. I say heads… It's tails.

I look down at my clothes.

"Do…" The drink hits me hard and I blink. "Do my boots count?"

"Yes," Goyle says quickly and I give him a look. He's all red faced and sweaty but he looks upset now.

I shrug and take off the boots as Helen hands me the coin.

Astoria guesses right on the first flip so I pass it to her. When it comes back around to me, I find myself very warm and happy. I laugh a few times at things not all that funny and when I guess tails… it's actually bloody heads.

"Have you ever gone skinny dipping?"

I snort. "No." I glance over at the window… at the big lake… "But that does sound nice right about now," I admit because alcohol always makes me feel so hot.

"I agree."

I look up at Brutus Burke to find him smirking at me. He's down to his boxers now, his skinny body pale in the candle light.

I guess wrong again and have to take another shot… then I guess wrong again and I look down at my shirt.

"I think we should stop playing," I hear Goyle say as I decide if I want to take off my top or my bottoms. "Ivy," I hear him hiss. "Come on."

I start unbuttoning my shirt.

"Oh, no," Astoria puts her hand on my arm. "That's enough."

"Isn't it the rules?" I ask, drunk and sweaty. I unbutton the whole thing and then I slink it off. I look down. I honestly forgot what bra I was wearing. Oh, it's the sports bra. Good save. "It's just like a swimsuit," I say, not understanding why people look so panicked all of a sudden. "We should go swimming."

I stand up and take off my pajama bottoms. My knickers are black too… but they are the lacy sexy ones Draco's gold card bought for me. I really need to do laundry.

"What did you put in her drink?" I hear Astoria ask someone, but I'm not listening because I put on my boots and go to get my cloak.

"Nothing," Ivy hisses. "She's still just a bloody lightweight."

"Who wants to come with me?" I ask, ignoring them and wanting to have fun. "I'll race you."

"Fuck," I hear someone say as I run out of the room.

I'm laughing. Why am I so happy? Maybe I should drink without Draco around more often. I run down the side stairs and through the courtyard. There are people behind me…but I don't stop until I reach the edge of the lake and I see that it's that tall Slytherin bloke and Ivy who is out of breath and hunched over.

"Let's go inside, Weasley," she says in between painful breaths. I take off my cloak and let it fall on the ground. "Get you something to sober up."

"No," I say, turning around and pulling the bra over my head, feeling that thrill of doing something stupid and dangerous.

I hear a groan but before I can get in the water, someone runs past me and jumps in. It's that Brutus Burke and he flicks the hair out of his face when he resurfaces.

"It's fucking cold," he says as I cross my arms over my breasts.

"Ginny," I hear Astoria say breathlessly as she puts the cloak over my shoulders. "We need to go inside."

A few other kids pass us. Helen Macnair is completely naked and she jumps in with a loud splash and giggle. A couple more boys and two of the girls go in as well, splashing and playing. It looks like fun, so I slink the cloak off of me. I leave my knickers on just because I'm not that far gone and I only lower my arms when I'm deep enough in the water that I'm sure no one can see. I swim around with a smile on my face, making sure to stay where I can touch as I close my eyes and just enjoy it for a moment. I haven't felt this carefree in such a long while.

"Bloody hell," I hear a breathless whisper and I look over to find Astoria, Ivy, and Goyle all staring at us from the rocky shore line. "Fuck."

Goyle backs up and runs his hands over his head. I dip under to get my hair wet and when I reemerge, he's gone.

I shrug it off and go back to swimming, laughing when Helen splashes water right in my face. Her breasts are really large, but she doesn't even try to cover herself as she stands up in the water and then she dives back in. I ignore Ivy when she tries to get me to come out and after a while she leaves with Astoria… They nearly run back into the castle.

"Ginny," I look at Helen. She has brown frizzy hair and a gap between her front teeth. "Are you really promised to the Dark Lord?"

I don't like thinking about it. Not when I'm feeling this good.

"I'm not promised to anyone," I say, trying to sound stronger. "I can do whatever I want," I lie.

"Can you?" I feel a hand on my back and turn quickly to see tall Brutus Burke. "That's not what it looks like to me."

"Well, you can't see very well, then."

"No?"

"No." I swim away from him. Too hell with boys.

I swim a little further out and when I realize I can't touch, I panic a little and dog paddle back towards the shallows, screaming when I feel something grab my leg.

Fearing the worst, I stand up straight and cover my breasts, only to see that Burke guy come up laughing like he had done something terribly funny.

"I thought you were a mermaid," I say, slumping down on my knees. "Or that giant squid."

"I am neither of those things," he jokes, slicking back his hair again. "I heard you and Malfoy broke up."

"Yes," I say with a shrug.

For some reason I can't move right away. My head is spinning. My entire torso is out of the water and my bare back is facing the castle. I try to keep my breasts covered but it is starting to get chilly and I am shivering.

"Is the Dark Lord a jealous man too?" he asks curiously, coming closer. "Or are you allowed to do as you please?"

"I'm not going to do anything with you, if that's what you're getting at."

"Of course not," he smiles. He is not at all handsome but he is confident which does something to his overall attractiveness. "We hardly know each other…. But that doesn't mean we can't be friends."

"Ginny, get out of the fucking water."

I look over my shoulder and see Pansy standing there by her sister. She's wearing her pajamas with a silk headband holding back her hair.

I roll my eyes and turn away.

"Get out and you," she looks at Burke. "Back the fuck away. You know better."

Part of me wants to fight her on it because she's not my boss… but I am cold and uncomfortable now. I keep my arms crossed and walk towards her as she wraps the cloak around my shoulders. My jaw is chattering and my body is shaking.

"You are so lucky they got me and not Draco," she hisses as I pull on my pajama shorts and button up the top Ivy hands me. "He is under so much stress right now and you just want to add to it, don't you? What did I just fucking say to you? Do you want him to lose his fucking mind?"

I don't look at anyone as she grabs my arm and practically drags me back into the castle with my sports bra in her right hand.

"I should march you right to his room and tell him what you've been doing," she says like she was trying to scare me. "Let him handle it."

"He's not my fucking dad, Pansy," I say, jerking my arm from her grip. "He's not going to spank me for sneaking out."

She grabs me and pushes me up against one of the walls. I gasp at the violence of it and look at her in surprise.

"Stop it," she says harshly. "Stop being so goddamn stupid. Yeah, Draco is a dick and he can make everyone's life hell but the Dark Lord is even worse and you know he's watching. You know, Ginny! You are putting my sister in danger anytime you step out of line around her."

"She was the one that invited—-"

"And you are the one who took off all your clothes in front of boys who will one day be presented to the Dark Lord and he will look in their minds and see you…. and will he like what he sees? Who will he blame? Not you, right? You do nothing wrong. You never do anything wrong, right? You're just some innocent little lamb who gets away with everything. No. It will be the people who gave you the drinks. The people who brought you to the party. What do you think happens to them, Ginny? Use your goddamn head!"

"Pansy, leave her alone."

"Shut up, Ivy," she says, glaring at her sister. "You can sleep off this stupid fucking night but I am telling Draco what you did and he can deal with it how ever he wants because guess what, Ginny? You do have to answer to him. And trust me- Draco is a lot better than the Dark Lord. Either way you are going to regret the stupid decisions you made tonight."

I don't say anything to that. I can't so I just let her pull me along.

When we get to my room, she throws me on the bed.

"You two are not to do this shit again–"

"We just thought she could use a night—"

"I don't care what you thought," Pansy says, making Astoria snap her mouth shut as I lie back and throw my arm over my eyes. "Do you have any idea what would have happened if Draco was the one Goyle went to? He's going to be pissed but I'll leave your names out of it…"

"You don't have to tell him," I say groggily. "He's not the king of the world."

"Shut up, Ginny."

"He's not my daddy," I say with a smirk. "He's yours."

I can feel her glaring, but I don't care. I turn on my side and get under the covers. I take off my knickers and shorts because they are still wet with lake water and then I pass out.

---

XXX

The bell rings as I leave the common room and the halls are crowded with students hurrying to their first class. I keep my head down and try to just blend in to keep out of trouble and to avoid a certain someone who I am sure is looking for me. I'm so hung over right now and I could use that nice little potion Draco gave me once over the summer but I know he would never give it to me now.

I look up once when I turn a corner and I see Draco with a few of his guy friends walking down the opposite side of the hall. My heart drops. He's eating an apple and smirking at something Zabini is saying to him and then his eyes find mine. I panic. I tuck my head down and watch my feet as I make a sharp right turn down a different corridor that is going away from the class I was headed towards.

This hall is just as crowded and I have to push through all the first and second years as I try to figure out a roundabout way to get to my class so I can avoid Draco.

I feel like a giant among all the younger students and I smile uncomfortably at one of them when they step on my toe.

I think I have a back way figured out when I feel a hand gripping my arm from behind. The little first years back away as I turn around and glance up at Draco with dread pooling in my stomach. I knew this confrontation was going to come at some point. I just really wish it wasn't so soon. I haven't had the proper time to come up with something to say and I gasp when he yanks me and starts dragging me.

"Let me go," I say as I try to pull his hand off my upper arm.

"You don't get to tell me what to do," he says flatly as I try to elbow him.

"Let go."

"Stop talking."

He's being too rough and the younger students part in front of us, looking at me and Draco with wide eyed wonder like we were mythological beings traipsing down the hallway and putting on a show. I guess it is a show. A what not to do when in a relationship with a toxic fucking person show.

"Where are you taking me?"

A little girl with blond hair isn't watching where she's walking and she slams right into Draco's strong chest. All of her papers go flying to the ground as she stumbles back and then she looks up at us with frightened eyes. Draco yanks on my arm again when I try to bend down to help her.

"Are you-"

"Move," Draco says, cutting me off from asking if the poor thing is okay.

The girl nods her head feverishly before gathering all of her papers and running off like a bat out of hell.

I glare at Draco as he starts pulling me again. "You don't have to be so mean to everyone," I tell him harshly and he spares me an icy glance before looking forward again.

"You have yet to see me be mean," he says flatly and I swallow hard. "But I can show you, if you like."

I don't say anything else. I even toy with the idea of kicking him in the leg and making a run for it but I look over my shoulder when I hear footsteps behind us and see Zabini and Crabbe following. Blaise winks when he sees me looking at him and I sigh in defeat, knowing I wouldn't make it that far if I decided to escape anyways.

"Watch the hall," I hear Draco order his gang members as he pulls back a large tapestry of a medieval maiden.

He ushers me into the deep alcove it hides and then he pushes me against the stone wall.

He steps back for a moment and I feel my heart quicken when he goes for his wand. I clench my eyes shut but I hear him mutter a lighting spell instead of a curse.

"Open your eyes."

He's putting his wand back in his holder when I open them and the torches around us fire to life. The warm glow of the flames dance across his face making him look like a devil.

An angry devil that is very upset with me at the moment, to be exact.

"Draco..." I trail off as he places his hand by my head, caging me against the wall.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice?"

"Notice what?" I ask and then I jump when he smacks his hand against the wall beside my head.

"That was a real bitch move you pulled on me," he says hatefully and I swallow hard. Draco has never looked at me so coldly. Was this supposed to be my harsh wake up call? "Fucking me just to get to my notes," he says and I look at his throat. "Look at me," he hisses. "If you are going to do sneaky things like that then you better be able to look me in the fucking eyes."

My eyes water. I can't believe he's talking to me this way... but I knew he could be cruel. I knew he was hateful for as long as I've known him. I just couldn't believe he was talking this way to me.

"I have to get to class," I tell him as I try to slide away, but he grabs my arm and pulls me back.

"You're going to be late, I'm afraid," he says as he grips so tight I'm sure there's going to be a bruise.

I inhale a shaky breath and blink back tears as I look away from him.

"Are you crying?" he hisses and I shake my head. "Why are you crying? How did you expect me to react? We had sex and then you just left like it wasn't a big deal. You stole from me," he says and his fist clenches against the wall. "If they ended up in the wrong hands – I would be dead. Is that what you want? Do you want me dead? This isn't some goddamn game, Ginny. This is life and death and don't you dare fucking cry and make me look like the bad guy."

"I..." My voice fails me so I stop talking.

He stares at me for a long time before hitting his hand against the wall again, making me shrink away from him. There's a long pause before he speaks again, his voice coming out in a harsh whisper.

"You act like I don't have feelings. Now you're crying and I look like the fucking villain when you are just as to blame as I am. You mess with my head all of the damn time but you don't see me fucking crying about it."

"Stop cussing at me," I say as I blink back more annoying tears. Good gods, my head is pounding.

He clenches his jaw and pinches the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

"Give them back," he says tightly with his eyes shut. I don't move. I can't. He opens his eyes and lets his hand drop, leveling me with a deadly glare. "Give them back. Now."

"I..." I can't say anything else and it's frustrating.

"Now!" he barks sharply and my hands are shaking uncontrollably as I angle my bag so I can open it.

I fumble with the zipper and try to grab his folder as quickly as possible so he'll stop looking at me so coldly…. So he'll let me leave and stop scaring me. I'm so nervous and my hands aren't working like I want them to. I end up fumbling all of my belongings and dropping a few things on the ground. They clatter against the stone floor and the sound echoes off the wall because Draco is being so stoically quiet all of a sudden.

"I-I was going to give it back," I tell him as I try to steady my hands so I can actually grab his folder. "I wasn't going to keep it."

I stop moving when I feel his hand over mine, stilling them from shaking. His hand is really warm and it doesn't really go with his cold disposition. I snap my eyes to his as he looks me over and then he pushes my hands away. I let them fall to my sides as he grabs my bag and steps back. I watch with glassy eyes as he sorts through my bag and when he finds his folder, he takes it out and puts it in his school satchel.

My bag gets dropped on the floor and I cross my arms again, trying to make myself as small as possible.

"Why did you take it?" he asks as he closes his satchel, snapping it shut and locking it with a twist of a golden latch.

I don't say anything. I can't.

He sighs and then looks at me once everything is settled.

"Did you show anyone?" he asks sharply.

"Of course not," I whisper as I look at the ground. "I wouldn't do that to you."

"Did you read any of it?" he says with a brow raised.

"It's in french," I point out as I tuck hair behind my ear nervously. "I can't read french."

"You're a witch, Ginny, not an idiot," he says and my cheeks burn again. "You could find a way to translate it." He adds like he didn't believe me.

"I only read the first few pages," I admit. I have the rest copied down in my notebook, but he doesn't need to know that. "It was just a list of ingredients and directions on how to brew a potion of some sort. That's as far as I got."

"Do you know what that potion was?" he asks curiously.

I shake my head.

"I will give you some very critical advice," he says as he looks into my eyes. "I already told you that Rookwood will be calling you to his office within the next couple of days. He's going to make you sign a contract of some sort to keep you under control. It's become well known among his followers what will happen to you once you graduate. It's basically a public relations move for them to bar you from embarrassing him, but I don't know what they'll throw in there. Try not to sign it if you can hold off. Read the fine print. The Dark Lord isn't known for his respectable business practices."

"Okay," I say as I process his words.

"And if he offers you some tea, do not take it," he says seriously and I frown.

"Why?" I question. It's not like I would drink Rookwood's tea, but still. "Would he put something in it?"

"Probably not," he says as he looks down at me. "But I know someone who has been. If you look up that potion you've been reading the directions to, I'm sure you'll figure out its purpose. So, in short. Do not drink the damn tea."

"I won't," I mutter and I look down at his chest because I don't want to look into his eyes any longer.

If I look at him too long I always come up with a reason to forgive him.

I shake my head angrily at how weak I am and I lick my lips. Why hasn't he stepped back yet? "Class," is all I say as I try to push away from the wall, but his quick hands come out and he pushes me back again.

When I glance up again, he's staring at me. His silver eyes are reflecting the flame of the torches.

"I try very hard to understand you," he says as he looks over my face, running along my lips and then my cheeks. "You change your mind all the damn time. I never know how you're going to feel about me on any given day. It's exhausting and I can't keep up."

I can't either.

"I don't know what to do with myself half the time," I admit in a small voice as I curl my body a bit more. "I never know what to believe."

He sighs loudly and then he takes a step closer to me, propping his hand up against the wall beside my head again. This time it's not in a threatening manner and I let my body relax a bit more as I stare at his shoes. I can feel him staring at me, so I look away and tuck some hair behind my ear just willing him to go away and leave me alone so I can have a good cry about it.

He puts his fingers under my chin and attempts to tilt my chin up.

"How do you feel about me today?" he asks when I muster up the courage to look at him. He studies my face with his silver eyes darkened. "Hm?" he asks with a tilted head as he stares at my lips. "Do you love me today?"

"I don't know," I admit and he smiles a little bit.

"Of course you don't," he says as he lets his hand drop. "You never know anything."

"Are we done here?" I ask as I look at the tapestry.

"Oh, we are not done," he says sharply.

"I need to get to class."

"You really piss me off, do you know that?" he hisses with his brows raised. "Sometimes I feel like you are so frustrating just to mess with me, just to piss off," he says as he takes a step closer to me, pressing his hips into mine. "Sometimes I think you're just playing with me. Trying to manipulate me with your tears and your sad 'I'm so innocent' eyes. Trying to make me feel bad and get off track. Is that what you're doing?" he asks angrily, pushing into me a bit more and glaring. "Are you doing this to me on purpose?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I say as I try to move away from him, but he blocks me and holds me against the wall, against him. "Why don't you just read my mind and find out?" I hiss at him. "You have no boundaries anyways."

"I've respected your boundaries," he says coldly. "But if you think otherwise, why do I even bother?"

"Just let me go to class," I tell him heatedly. "You have your precious folder. I've given you my blood. I haven't told any of your secrets. You don't have to keep pretending anymore. Now leave me alone."

"No," he says seriously as he tilts his head to catch my eyes again. "I'm not going to do what you want anymore."

"You never do what I want," I tell him hatefully. "Case in point," I tell him as I push at his chest, but he refuses to back up.

He grabs my wrists and forces me to look at him. "It doesn't matter what you want," he bites out slowly and it hurts to hear him say it, but I glare anyway. "Kiss me," he says as he looks at my lips again.

I scoff. "That's not happening."

He narrows his eyes and licks his lower lip."Kiss me," he says as he yanks my wrists so they're pinned at my sides.

I'm giving him a free pass to leave me alone. If he never wanted me in the first place and he was only dating me for my blood I will willingly give it to him if he'll just stop lying to me. It's pathetic to love someone who's only pretending to love you.

"No," I say as I shake my head and try to turn away from him again. He grabs my chin and I use my newly free hand to push him away.

He ignores it, the brute.

"Ginny," he says as he looks deeply into my eyes as he holds me in place. "I order you to kiss me," he says. "As your Head of House," he adds as his eyes darken.

Something over takes me and, just like in Rookwood's office, I hand over all my free will. I instantly tilt my chin up and place a kiss against his lips because I can't do anything else. I go to pull back, but he grabs the back of my head and holds me firmly against him. He pushes his tongue against mine and like any mindless slave, I respond with vigor.

His hands come up and he starts unbuttoning my jacket and then my shirt.

"You want to take off your clothes in front of all the sixth year boys, Ginny?" he whispers darkly in my ear and I pale… I was hoping no one told him that. "You think you're allowed to do that?"

"I didn't take off my clothes," I whisper.

He pulls back to glare at me.

"Don't you fucking lie to me." He opens my shirt.

When he pushes his knee in between my legs, I welcome the friction and press against it as I arch my chest into him, letting my hands wrap around his neck. He kisses me again and I kiss him back with just as much passion. A part of me wants him to use his strength and pick me up so he can take me right against this wall but another part just wants to run away from him. He slips his arms around my waist to pull me closer as I practically dry hump his leg. I even moan a little as embarrassing as that is and when he pulls back, his smile is cruel.

"Show me what you showed them."

"I didn't–

"Yes, you did," he says darkly. "Now show me."

I open my shirt a bit more and pull down my bra. I'm not even sure if I'm doing it because he ordered me to because of the bond or just because of the way his voice is sounding. The air is cold and it makes bumps rise on my skin as he looks down at me.

"No one saw anything," I whisper to his throat, his thigh still pressed against my sex.

"You better hope not," he says, bringing his hand up to cup my breast. He kisses me again. "I had better never hear that you did anything like that again. Do you understand me? You are going to be in trouble if I do. You are not going to be getting drunk when I'm not around and you definitely won't be stripping for other blokes."

"I wasn't stripping–"

He silences me with a kiss. When he pulls back he still looks mad at me and I fight to catch my breath.

"Yes, you fucking did and you knew it was wrong." He inhales an angry breath. "Stop making such stupid goddamn decisions, Ginny. You know the things you do piss me off." He bends down. "Kiss me again."

I shake my head and he gives me an unpleasant smile.

"Ginny. You are going to kiss me." He presses his leg firmer against me. "As your Head of House…" I kiss him before he can even get the demand out.

I thread my fingers through his hair and press into him one last time before the demand shakes off of me. I level him with a horrible glare as I wipe off my mouth with the back of my hand. I push his leg away and start to right my clothes.

I can't believe he made me do that.

"Remember that," he says seriously before pushing off the wall. "I could do a whole lot more than make you snog me and show me things that are mine to look at anyways. You know that, right?" he asks, his eyes flicking down my body. "You know that you're mine to look at. What's under your clothes isn't for anyone else so I better not hear you doing anything like that again."

I hesitate a moment before nodding my head.

He leaves me and I don't move for a few moments, trying to catch my breath as I button up my shirt. Once I know he's gone and I'm safe, I feel unbelievable anger at myself and at Draco. I get down on my knees and start picking up all the papers I had dropped. I stuff them in my bag without much care and then I hike the bag over my shoulder.

I'm fifteen minutes late when I make it to my Dark Arts class and Carrow gives me a hateful look as I slide into my seat.

"Why are you late?" the troll of a woman asks as I take out my text.

"I overslept," I lie as I push my bangs out of my eyes.

"You overslept?" she says sharply and my cheeks burn as every girl in the class looks at me. "Well, because you don't feel the need to be on time, perhaps you can help me demonstrate our next lesson."

I furrow my brows and slouch my shoulders a bit.

"Come to the front of the class," she says, motioning to me with her hand.

Damn.

I send a nervous look around me before grabbing my wand and walking slowly towards the front of the class with all the sixth year pureblooded girls watching me. "Now, as I was saying before I was interrupted," she says, sending me an irritated look. "You will all master the cruciatus curse before the end of this year."

What?

"No one here will go into their last year not knowing how to perform the three unforgivables. As you know, once you graduate, all boys will be required to join the army and commit to three years of service before being released. You lot," she says motioning around the room. "Will be allowed to join the army, of course, but it's not a requirement. In fact, Our Great Lord would prefer to keep the young ladies of the country at home to carry out the war effort on our soil. The reason you need to know such curses is because we will be left when the men leave the country to broaden our empire. The women at home will have to know how to defend our livelihoods as well. Just in case."

I can see the disgust and disagreement on a lot of the girls' faces and Carrow seems annoyed.

"It's part of the curriculum. You must learn it," she says. "Weasley, stand over there," she says, pointing to a random spot in front of her. "I am going to demonstrate how a proper curse should be delivered. I want you all to watch me closely. Pay particular attention to the way my wrist flicks up at the end."

"Wait," I say quickly when she lifts her wand. "You can't do that curse on me," I say sharply and the old bitch raises an eyebrow.

"This is a lesson for being late to my class. I'm afraid I can put this curse on you. It's clearly stated in the new student handbook that you all have. This is not Dumbledore's school anymore," she says and I narrow my eyes. "We're making real witches and wizards here."

"No," I say because there is no way in Hades I'm allowing this to happen.

My morning has been bad enough as it is.

"Now. Miss Weasley. I know you think you're very special but we were told not to go easy on you. Just stand there."

"No, wait."

She ignores me and throws the curse… I quickly lift my wand.

I don't even know what spell I shouted, but it made the spell she was throwing at me bounce off and hit her right in the chest.

She instantly falls to the ground and starts screaming and crying and begging and I put my hand over my mouth as the other people in the class all turn to stare at me. I grab my bag and run out of the room, still hearing her screams as I race down the hall. I don't know where I'm running to. I just keep running, trying not to think about how much trouble I'm going to be in.

I close my eyes and shake my head as I stop and lean against one of the large stone walls. I couldn't just let her use that curse on me, right? Will I ever be allowed back in that class? What will happen now?

I bring my hand up to my head and cover my eyes. Why can't anything ever be easy?

I stand there until I hear my name being said over the loud speaker... summing me to Snape's office. I walk slowly, like I am headed towards my death because that's exactly how it feels. When I get there, Snape is sitting behind his desk with a grim look on his face and Carrow is standing beside him with a bag of ice on her neck.

She glares daggers at me.

"There, there she is!" she says, jabbing a pudgy finger at me as I take a seat. "I want her punished and then sent to Azkaban for re-education."

"Let's not be dramatic," Snape says slowly as he looks at me. "How did Miss Weasley come to curse you again?"

"I was having a demonstration for my class," she says through clenched teeth as I wring my hands together. "She lifted her wand and did it back."

"The Crucio curse?" he asks in a slow drawl and Carrow nods her head. "The same curse you were going to demonstrate?" She nods her head again. "The same curse your students need to know by the end of the year?"

"Yes, yes," she says impatiently and he narrows his eyes.

"Well, it seems as though Miss Weasley has mastered such a curse, wouldn't you say?" he says as he looks back at me with a raised brow. "I can hardly send her away for getting ahead in her education. Lunch detention with Professor Sprout this afternoon I think will be fair," he says.

Carrow is not happy. She starts snapping and yelling… pointing a finger at me.

"You may go, Miss Weasley," Snape dismisses me with a shoo of his hand and I take my bag and practically run out.

I can still hear Carrow yelling as I scurry down the hallway.

I keep my head down and don't talk to anyone during my next class and then I serve my lunch detention with Sprout in the greenhouse. She's a mess. She keeps on mumbling to herself about evil and staying in for the children as she cuts off leaves from purple potted plants that lined her window sill.

I think she might be going mad and I can't even blame her.

When dinner rolls around, I decide my best course of action is to eat in the Great Hall where there are more witnesses in case Carrow decides to retaliate against me.

When I get there, I look around before spotting Dean Thomas. He's sitting by himself at the half-blood table and I send a look to Draco and his friends before walking towards him with purposeful steps.

He looks surprised when I sit down and even more surprised when I start loading my plate with food.

"Ginny?" he whispers, sending a little look over to the pureblooded table. "What are you doing?"

"Eating dinner," I tell him and then I give him a tight lipped smile. "You don't mind, do you?"

"No, ah. No, I guess not," he says as he goes back to his corn. I send a look to the teacher table and quickly look away when I see Carrow staring at me with her eyes narrowed into slits. "It's just that..."

"What?" I snap and he shakes his head.

"Never mind," he mutters. He doesn't say anything for a while and then he puts down his spoon. "It's just, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be sitting by me."

"Why not?" I ask, my feelings hurt. Everyone hates me right now. I don't think I could take it if Dean did as well.

"Because," he says and then his eyes flick towards the pureblooded table. "It's just that I don't want any trouble, alright?"

"What do you mean?" I ask stupidly. "I won't cause you any trouble, Dean. I just don't want to sit by myself. Everyone is so angry with me right now..."

"It's not me, Ginny," he says with a long sigh. "It's just..." he looks at Draco's group again and I frown. "I just don't want to have to deal with the drama you bring."

Ouch.

"We're friends," I say softly, hurt by his words as I try to understand them. "I don't like the drama I bring either," I admit.

"We're not friends. According to your boyfriend you don't have guy friends," he says flatly.

"What do you mean?"

"That's what he told me, that day that we were talking in the courtyard. He cornered me later with his whole little gang. He let me know in not so many words that I wasn't allowed to talk to you like that again. I tried to tell him that you and I were just friends, but he didn't believe it and that's when he told me you're not allowed to be 'just friends' with blokes."

"That is ridiculous," I hiss and he nods his head.

"I know it is, but I didn't argue with it. He seemed really serious about it and I just don't have it in me to fight. I have my own problems," he says as he stands up. He sends a look to the end of the table, where the re-educated students are slowly eating their dinner, staring out into space, seeing and hearing nothing. Seamus, Dean's best friend, is among them and I feel guilty all over again. "I'm sorry, Gin. But I can't sit with you right now."

He walks off and I'm left alone... again... like always.

Some Gryffindor he is.

I look at the pureblood table and catch Draco looking right at me. He takes a drink from his glass and raises an eyebrow.

I look away.

Some Gryffindor I am.

I stab at my food with my head in my hand and I exhale slowly. I'm so sick of being alone. Someone sits across from me, but I don't even bother to look up because I know exactly who it is. I could recognize that fragrance anywhere because Daphne always sprays it on in the mornings and then another quick spray in the afternoon. It smells like something sugary and sweet.

"Hey there, Gin," she says as she starts loading up her golden plate and I glance at her without bothering to smile. "How are you today?"

I shrug. "How are you?" I ask because I've become rather good at boring conversation.

"I heard that you cursed Professor Carrow this morning," she says and I slightly narrow my eyes as I kill a pea with my fork. "With an unforgivable."

"She was going to curse me with it," I defend myself.

"I know. I heard you didn't even get in trouble for it," she says with a perfect grin and I shake my head.

"Snape said that I had properly demonstrated the curse, so I had learned something... I don't know," I shake my head and shrug again.

"That's good," she says and I look at her as she takes a sip from her glass. "So, are you going to come to practice tomorrow?" she asks softly, like she thought I would bite her head off if she questioned me a certain way. "We all miss you, you know."

"I'm not even good at it, Daphne," I tell her with a sigh. "I only did it because I wanted to leave the castle and do... I don't know," I shrug because I don't even remember why I thought it was a good idea in the first place. "I'm probably the worst cheer-leader there is."

"That's not true," she says. "I think you do very well."

I laugh. "You're obviously lying."

She laughs too because she knows how bad I am. "Well, at least you look really good in the uniform," she says with twinkling eyes and I smile a little at her. "Lovegood is coming to the practices," she says as she nods to the other table. Luna is sitting by Romilda Vane who is talking her ear off. When did they become friends? I frown, feeling betrayed. "I would really love for you to come. You know you're my best friend on the team," she says, like she actually missed my company and I give her a look. "All the other girls are so tiresome."

"Are you going to give me a speech about going back to Draco too?" I ask with a sigh as I remember my last talk with Pansy. "Should I just hop into bed with him to make your life easier too?" I ask sharply and she furrows her perfect eyebrows together.

"I mean—- a blow job probably wouldn't hurt."

I glare at her and she laughs.

"I'm just kidding. I can't tell you to do anything. I know Draco can be… well… you know…" she says with a sigh. "I don't envy you for having his attention but I don't pity you either. Draco can be amazing."

"I bet."

"I think you're being too hard on him... but you know, I know he doesn't make it easy," she looks at me with a shrug of her shoulder. "Let's not talk about it. Let's talk about something else. Are you excited for Halloween? Pansy showed me your dress. I think you're going to look like a princess." She puts her bag on the table and starts opening it. "Would you like to see my scrapbook?" she asks, talking so fast I can't get a word in edgewise. "I just started it for this year. All my photos are done."

"Okay," I say and she pulls out a very pink and bedazzled square book from her bag. I raise my eyebrows when I see it and she smiles wide when she hands it to me.

"I've been making them since I was a third year," she explains as I open up the first page. There's a picture of Daphne and her prize winning smile with some sort of crown on her head.

"I won Miss Cherry Field at the beginning of the summer," she says as she taps the picture with her perfectly polished fingernail. "Before we started hanging out," she explains as I turn the page. There are beautiful glossy photos set on purple paper with little sayings and journals of the events written beside them in smooth handwriting.

There's a photo of Daphne dancing in some kind of sparkling green number. She twirls and spins across the stage as a spotlight shines on her. There's another of her in a yellow dress talking into a microphone. Her hair is teased and curled and her make-up looks professionally done as she winks at the invisible audience and laughs at something off to the left. The last photo on the page is her being crowned Miss Cherry Field. She doesn't look very surprised, to be honest, and the other girls in the background look positively livid.

"It's very intense, you understand," she says as I take a closer look at the page. "You aren't there to make friends."

"So, you didn't get Miss Congeniality, I take it?"

"That's not even a category," she answers and I laugh a little before turning the page.

The next few pages have a lot of random photos of people at parties. There's one of Daphne and Pansy taking shots. There's one of Blaise blowing smoke at the camera in a very crowded room. There's another one of Draco and another guy sitting down on two chairs, having a serious discussion over a chess game and whiskey.

I find a picture of me being very drunk looking, dancing with Pansy at a house party. I know exactly when it was taken… at Draco's summer house at Yellow Springs. Before he pulled me away and scolded me for dancing.

"I look like a sweating mess in this photo," I say with my nose wrinkling and she snorts as she leans across the table to see.

"You were pretty drunk," she says and I nod my head before turning the page again.

A million photos from her 'coming out' dominated a good chunk of the book. A section was dedicated to her finding a dress and getting ready with all of her sisters around her, trying to help. There are a lot of close ups of her hair and makeup…. More of her and her father and her plastic looking mother at Malfoy Manor. These photos are beautiful and I suspect they're professionally done.

"I thought you looked really pretty," I tell her as I tap a picture of her coming down the Malfoy stairs with feathers in her hair. "I loved your dress that night."

"Thank you," she says. "You looked pretty too. I don't think I got a photo of you that night," she says with a frown and I shrug it off.

Then I get into the back to school cheer-leading photos. I'm in more of these. There's a picture of me and Daphne, me and Luna, me and... Draco.

I stare at that one for a few moments longer than the others.

We look like a couple from some teenage book about school love. That stupid cheer-leading uniform is really short and my hair is perfectly curled thanks to Daphne. I'm looking up at him so adoringly... it's almost sick actually, the way I'm looking at him. My eyes scan Draco as he smirks down at me. I really like the way he looks in that Quidditch uniform.

We actually look good together.

We look like we fit.

"I think you and Draco would make beautiful babies," she says and my eyes snap to hers.

"What?" I say flatly and she smiles.

"Not now of course, but look," she says as she points to the photo of me and Draco. "Can't you just see how cute those kids would be?"

I look down at the picture again and then I glance up to the pureblood table where Draco is eating his dinner. With a heavy sigh I have to admit that yes, those kids would be adorable.

Not that I'm in any rush.

---

XXX

"You know the drill. Take a seat, Miss Weasley," Rookwood says.

I step inside of his office and go to take my usual seat as I look him over. Rookwood looks odd. He seems sick, actually. His eyes are drooping and bloodshot and his cheeks are hollow.

"I would have called you in sooner, but I've been feeling under the weather lately," he says and I nod.

He looks like hell, to be honest. His skin looks almost yellow in places.

"You will be attending the Malfoy Halloween Dinner, yes?" he says as he sits down and opens up a drawer from his desk.

He coughs and it sounds like it came from somewhere deep in his chest.

"Do I have a choice?" I ask with a brow raised and he gives me an unpleasant smile.

"No," he says. "I can't say that you do, but it is always nice to be polite about it, is it not?" he says as I slump back in the seat and cross my arms. "Now, you will be required to wear this," he says as he walks around the desk and he shows me a silver ring. I make a face as he hands it to me. "All the students leaving the castle will be wearing a similar device. We'll be able to track you if you decide to... take a field trip off grounds, shall we say," he says. "They will make sure you're wearing it before you leave the castle tomorrow night. Do not be caught without or the consequences will be dire."

"Understood," I say with a head nod as he takes a seat behind his desk.

He sorts through some papers. "Now, as you are aware, I called you in much earlier than scheduled."

"Yes," I say as I hold the silver ring up to the light to get a better look. It's just a regular silver band... nothing fancy or pretty about it.

"There is something I need for you to sign," he says as he sets a large stack of papers on top of the desk.

My eyes snap to him. A contract. Like Draco said.

"What is it?" I ask carefully as I lean forward and flip through some of the pages. The print is impossibly small and it's written in symbols instead of English. I don't understand any of it and there are so many pages... it's like an inch thick.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself about," he says, flipping the stack to the last page. He hands me a quill dipped in blue ink. "Just sign on the line."

"I'm not signing without knowing what it is," I tell him flatly and he narrows his eyes.

"You do recall what the Dark Lord said last time he was in this chamber, don't you?" he says sharply as he rolls his wand against the desk. "I am allowed to use curses to get you to do as you are told. I am highly skilled in those creative curses, I'll have you know."

"You can't use any curse to get me to sign a contract like this," I tell him. I heard that once in class and I'm hoping that I was listening correctly during the lecture. "Any binding magical contract can't be obtained under the influence of any curse. It would make the contract void, wouldn't it?" I ask uncertainty and he eyes inflame.

I guess I heard right. Thank Merlin I paid attention that day.

"Sign the damn paper," he hisses. "You do not want me to involve the Dark Lord again."

I don't think he wants that either, honestly.

"Tell me what these symbols mean," I tell him as I tap the contract again, feeling braver the longer he stalls. That means there's something pulling him back from cursing me.

He narrows his eyes as he looks at me and then he takes out a letter from a drawer in his desk and lays it on top of the contract. "Did you write this lovely piece of poetry?" he asks and I reach out to see what he's talking about.

It's the letter I had Umbrdige send out.

"Bold statement," he says and I slouch in my seat again. "One that the Dark Lord would not appreciate, I'm afraid. You are lucky I intercepted this," he says with a frown. "If you wanted to die, I am sure He would be more than happy to oblige you. I know he needs your blood, but he could take away your mind and soul, make you nothing but a vegetable. You'd be like sleeping beauty forever locked away in a castle. Hearing nothing, seeing nothing, feeling nothing... but still of use. You are only as valuable as your blood and you have no leverage to level demands at anyone," he says. "You should consider yourself lucky you have been allowed to live as you have. He has been more than generous and your insolence will not stand any longer."

I clench my jaw. I don't think I've been insolent.

"Now, sign the on the line, please," he says seriously, handing me the quill once more. I don't take it. "You want the Dark Lord to release your family or you'll kill yourself? How about this for an ultimatum, if you don't do as you are told, then your whole family dies." My heart stops and I look at him with wide eyes. This was a move I didn't expect. I know I should have seen it coming when dealing with Death Eaters but I guess I'm just a moron. "I am well aware that you have a great deal of family members. We could keep this going for a very long time if you chose to be so disobedient and disrespectful in the future. It would serve you well to keep that in mind."

I take the quill with shaking hands. Just thinking of one of my family members being hurt or killed scares me to death and I pull the contract towards me, trying hard to read the symbols even though I know I'll never know what they mean.

"Sir," I hear an elf squeak and I jump when it appears beside Rookwood with a tea cup and saucer in its bony hands. "Your tea."

"Set it down," Rookwood says dismissively to the trembling elf and I stare at the little creature. His eyes are a light periwinkle blue- such a strange color. When it pops away, Rookwood pulls the tea towards him and picks up a spoon to stir it. "They never mix it just right, those elves," he says with a head shake as he works the spoon around. "Would you like some?" he asks, offering his cup to me. "I could have them bring more if you'd like."

Don't drink the tea.

"No," I shake my head and cross my legs uncomfortably. "Thanks, though."

Why did I say thanks? I hate him.

I don't move and his dark eyes look into mine as he raises the cup to his lips. "Sign, Miss Weasley. I have important matters I must get back to."

I feel like I'm going to be signing my whole life over in this contract and I bite my lip hard as I put the quill to the paper.

Rookwood coughs.

I look up in surprise as he lifts his hand to his mouth. "Carry on," he says in a rough voice.

"Are you alright?" I ask because he's wheezing a bit now.

He nods his head and pulls a handkerchief from his pocket. He places it to his mouth and starts hacking as he leans forward. I stand up and take a step closer to the desk as I furrow my brows.

Is he choking on tea?

"Do you need me to get someone?" I ask, unsure of what to do as I shift my eyes around the office, looking for something to help.

When he pulls back the handkerchief, I can see the splashes of red on the fabric. He looks at me… his lips are nearly as pale as his skin. He coughs again and I take a step back. His shoulders start rising and falling and his hands are shaking as he reaches out for his wand. His hand falls limp before he can get it and the wand rolls off the side of the desk, clattering to the ground.

I cover my mouth and take another step back as he tries to stand up. He's looking at me pleadingly like I would be able to help and he reaches his left hand out towards me. I take another step back and when he opens his mouth to say something, blood dribbles out and rolls down his chin.

Oh, my God.

He's too weak to stand and he slumps back in his chair. After another moment of coughing and wheezing, he lays his head forehead down on the desk and his whole body relaxes in an odd heap. I lick my lips nervously and I look around again. I don't know why. It's not like anyone else is here.

I look back at Rookwood.

"Hello?" I say stupidly as I take a cautious step towards him. He's not moving now and it doesn't even look like he's breathing anymore.

I feel a chill go down my spine at what that implies and I try to be brave as I walk around the desk.

"Mr. Rookwood?" I say as I poke his shoulder. He doesn't move, his head just lolls to the side before falling back into place. "Should I call someone?" I whisper knowing full well that's what I should do but being too in shock to do it.

If he's dead... will people blame me? Would they hurt my family as punishment?

This is all Draco's doing!

"Mr. Rookwood?" I say a little more firmly as I push his shoulder. His body slumps out of the chair and falls to the ground with a thump. I cover my mouth when I see his face. His eyes are open and he's staring unblinkingly forward. "Hell no," I whisper as I back up.

I run into the bookshelf and jump when a book slams to the ground beside me. The loud noise doesn't disturb him at all... he is most definitely dead.

I have to get as far away from him as possible. I have no desire to be around a dead body and I head for the door, but I stop in my tracks as I look back at that thick contract still laying open on the desk. I scan the room again before running towards it and picking it up. I hold it against my chest as I run out of the room and the first person I see walking down the hallway is Snape in all his black and moody glory.

"Excuse me, Headmaster," I say as I run towards him, stuffing the contract in my bag so he won't see it.

He raises his hateful eyebrows, but doesn't stop walking, practically forcing me to chase him.

"Wait," I tell him as his robe swishes behind him. "I think Rookwood might be dead."

He stops and I nearly run into his back. "What did you say, Miss Weasley?" he asks, slightly turning his head so he can see me.

"I was in Rookwood's office and he drank some tea... then he started coughing and then he just kind of fell over and I think he may be dead."

He eyes me for a moment before tightening his eyes. "You are sure of this?" he asks as he takes out his wand and heads straight for Rookwood's office.

"Uh, yeah," I say because how could someone not be sure of something like that?

I follow him the whole way and when he opens the door to go in, I hang out in the hallway. I watch him walk towards the man lying on the ground and then he checks his pulse. He does a few spells with his wand that make his brows furrow in an annoyance.

"You said he drank tea before this happened?" he says and I nod my head when his sharp eyes look towards mine. He picks up the tea cup and sniffs it before setting it down. "Did he have the tea already or was it brought to him?" he asks.

"Brought to him by a house-elf," I call from the doorway because there is no way in hell I'm going back in there.

"What elf?" he asks sternly as he walks around the desk towards the fireplace. "Do you recall?"

I shake my head. "I don't know... It had blue eyes though. I thought that was strange," I say and he nods his head as he picks up some floo powder. "So, he is dead, right?" I say and he gives me a look like I was stupid.

"I believe Mr. Rookwood has been poisoned. I must make a call. I want you to wait in the hallway and do not move until you are told to do so."

"Okay," I say weakly.

I wait there like I was told and when Snape comes back out he's flanked by two Aurors. I have to give a statement and two interviews.

I don't get released until well after six.

Seeing his dead body get lifted and taken from the castle makes me think of the other dead body I had seen. When Delsia was killed at Folk Hills, her head cut off and her life drained from her.

I feel sick.

I spend the rest of the day in bed, under the covers, staring at the wall. I don't think I can cry for a person like Izador Rookwood, but death just makes me feel terrible and I can't stop thinking about Delsia. Does her family know what happened to her? What did they do with her body after they dragged her from that room?

These are demented and sad thoughts, but I can't help but think about them.

I watch as the sun sets outside of my barred window and the moon rises in the sky. My other roommates make their way into the room later in the night and I hear them talking and chattering among themselves, mostly gossiping about Rookwood and how he died. When they notice me lying there, silence falls over them.

Then they start talking and giggling about something else and I close my eyes, pulling a pillow against my chest and cradling it to me like I was a child. I clench my eyes shut when someone turns on the radio and I sigh loudly, hoping sleep will take me soon so I don't have to think.

After a while they all stop talking again and I curl a bit around the pillow when I hear Draco's voice.

"Turn off the music," his deep voice says and I try to pretend to be asleep as someone clicks off the radio, leaving the room in a deadly silence. "Leave," he says next and I tense as I hear everyone's footsteps carry them from the room.

I don't want to deal with him right now. I don't want to fight with him. When he closes the door, I curl a bit more and refuse to open my eyes as his footsteps carry him closer to my bed.

The mattress sinks down when he takes a seat beside me and I can hear him untying his shoes. I still don't acknowledge him and when I hear the metal of his watch hit my night stand I swallow hard.

"Are you okay?" he asks and his voice sounds really deep right now. Really deep and really scratchy but I don't bother to answer him.

He unbuckles his belt and I can feel the bed wrestle around as he takes it off, pulling it through each belt loop.

"I didn't want it to happen in front of you," he says and I hear the belt join his watch on the nightstand. "Bad timing, I guess," he says softly then he turns off the lights.

In the darkness, I open my eyes and stare at the moon again. It's higher in the sky now.

"I know you're awake," he says flatly as he lies down beside me. The mattress sinks more and I straighten out my legs so I don't roll towards him. "You're just not answering me," he says as he folds himself behind me, putting his arm over my middle and pulling me against him. "You're being annoying," he adds a kiss under my ear and I shy away from him.

"Draco," I start so he knows I'm serious. "I don't want to start a fight with you. I don't want to talk about anything. I just want to be alone right now."

"I've let you have plenty of alone time," he says against my ear, his breath warm against my skin.

"Please, just go to your room," I tell him softly so I don't provoke his temper.

"You act like you're the only one that's allowed to be angry," he says sharply as his hand tightens around my forearm. "I don't know what your problem is. What do you want me to do?"

"I don't want you to do anything," I tell him.

"Then why are you treating me this way?"

I pause a moment and then I look at him over my shoulder as he sits up and turns on the light. "What way?" I ask sharply and he glares.

"Avoiding me, ignoring me, doing things that you know will make me mad."

I clench my jaw and shake my head. I didn't want to fight. I am so tired of fighting. "You are not the most important person in the world," I tell him sharply as I cross my arms across my chest, over the covers. "I just saw someone die, thank you. And unfortunately, it hasn't been the first time this year. Sorry if not everything is about you," I tell him and he glares.

He doesn't say anything and I clench my jaw.

"Why did you start dating me in the first place? You're using me, Draco. You got what you wanted. I'll give you my blood if you'll just leave me alone," I say as all my thoughts boil to the top.

He doesn't say anything for a few moments and then he sneers. "Is that why you're so pissed off at me?"

"I don't want to have to pretend my way through such a messed up relationship, Draco," I tell him as I sit up as well, holding my arms behind me to support my upper body. "I really believed you loved me."

"Why do you think I don't now?" he asks and I roll my eyes.

"You're using me to get what you want," I tell him. "You charmed me into falling in love with you to keep me around and you only started dating me because the Dark Lord needed my blood. You didn't want me," I tell him as I put my hand on my chest. "Do you realize how bad that realization hurts?"

"I like that you think you can tell me how I feel and what my motivations are," he says coldly. "Instead of just fucking asking me."

"You'll just lie to me," I tell him and he narrows his eyes.

"How am I supposed to do anything with that?" he snaps as he grabs a section of his hair and pulls until it sticks up. "I can't even tell you anything because you have your own preconceived notions about it."

"I'm confused all the time," I admit to him. "I'm scared all the time. I don't know what's going on and I constantly feel stupid. My best friend right now is a ghost. A perverted ghost who is crap at conversation but she's the only thing in this stupid castle who I can relate to right now."

I inhale deeply as he studies my face.

"Every time you do something or say something, I have to analyze it and decide what it means, or what it means for me and then there's this underlying concern..." I trail off because I don't know how to say this and my throat feels tight. "See, just you sitting here," I tell him as I sit up and motion towards him. "I don't know why you're here. I can't help but think that you're going to try to make me forgive you just so... I don't know," I say as I let my hands fall to the cover. "I don't know what your plans are with me and everyone is always talking in riddles. I can't stand it anymore."

I stop talking because I can't get my point across the way I want to. I fall back against the pillows in a weak heap and throw my arm over my eyes.

"I'm so tired," I admit in a whisper, hoping he'll just leave.

I feel his hand on my hand, slowly running his fingers up my bare arm. "I told you a while ago that I could have had you any time I wanted," he says and I uncover my eyes to look at him as he runs his hand towards my shoulder. "I could claim you if I wanted."

"You also said you weren't going to until you found out about my blood."

"I didn't say that," he says as he lies beside me again. "I hate your brother," he says as he puts his hand under my shirt, running his warm fingers across my stomach as he hovers over me. "I hated him so much," he says with a sneer. "I could have killed him. I hated him so much."

"I get it," I tell him flatly because Ron is still my brother.

"I was blinded by my hatred," he says as he runs his nose along my cheek. "I never saw you. I didn't want to yet. I figured once we were older I might take it seriously because if I claimed you I'd have to do it completely and I know how I am. I know I'm overbearing and I can't let things go and how would that look? I'd have to put in an official blood promise claim and take you into my house when you turned sixteen against the wishes of your family. I didn't think that would be fair to either one of us. Not when we were so young. You were living your life and so was I. I knew you had boyfriends and you were having fun. I wasn't stupid… but I knew you would never…" He stops himself. "I think I always just assumed you'd wait for me because that's what you were supposed to do and you did, Ginny. You waited for me."

He leans down and kisses me.

"Maybe you knew it too— deep down," he whispers as he pulls back. "Maybe that's why it never went so far with those other guys because you knew you were supposed to be with me. I didn't want to see you because that meant I'd have to make decisions I didn't think I was ready to make. You were just a young little redheaded blur in my peripheral vision that I was determined to ignore until you came of age…. but when the Dark Lord started speaking your name, I started thinking about you," he says seriously. "And it wasn't because of your blood or anything like that. I didn't know what he wanted at first. It just sparked my interest that your name was being whispered among the Death Eaters that had been around for ages. A girl that was promised to me already. Someone I knew I was going to be with one day when I finally took the time to look. Someone who was supposed to have my children and carry my last name once I was ready for it."

What is this feeling I have right now? His last sentence did something to me… maybe it was panic? That was something so heavy, but he didn't seem to even notice.

"When Zabini told me there was a new pretty girl working at Folk Hills, I went to see," he says and I glance at him as a smile tugs the corner of his lips as he looks down at me. "I must have been blind. I didn't realize how good looking you were," he says as he runs his fingers over my nose. "I knew you were pretty," he says, looking over my face. "But I had only really seen you up close when we played against each other in Quidditch and you always had your goggles on. I made a point not to seek you out because I thought if I did… well… that would be the end of it for me, wouldn't it? I couldn't go back and I didn't think I was ready. It wasn't going to be easy but there wasn't any other way."

He turns away for a moment and I look at his profile, my eyes dancing over the sharp outline of his nose and lips.

"When I finally realized who you were… when I finally let myself see you… I was elated," he says. "I knew you were mine already, I just had to make you realize it too and everything was just falling into place so well. You have been perfect for me," he says as he kisses my cheek. "I'm attracted to you. I want you all the time and you have everything that I need to do what I want to do. I love you, Ginny. Life usually doesn't work out this way. We are so lucky."

Right. How perfectly things always work out for Draco.

"I love you," he repeats as he looks into my eyes. "I never say those words and I'm saying them to you because I mean it. I don't know what else to say or do to make you believe that. The fact that I'm even here right now, talking to you, should make a point. I could have claimed you on your sixteenth birthday and made you drop out of school. I could have kept you locked up in my home and did what our ancestors should have done before it all went to hell. I'm the last of the Malfoy line, Ginny, and the heir to House Black now that there are no male relatives that carry that name. By the old laws we could have started our family right away and no one would have been able to stop me… but I didn't do that. You came to me on your birthday, remember? You knew. You've always known."

That nervous feeling is back. Why does he keep talking about having kids?

"And if there was no Dark Lord?" I whisper, a brow raised. "If there was no war and my blood wasn't special… what then?"

"Then I would have waited," he says, his voice now taking a sharper edge because he is becoming annoyed. "But this story would have still ended the same. Do you not see that?"

I don't know what to say... I don't know anything. I turn on my side and he folds around me again, kissing my temple and holding his lips there as he pulls me almost too tightly against him.

"I have a temper, Ginny," he says softly. "I can't help it when I get mad. I'm trying to be better but it's hard for me and you don't make it easy."

I don't say anything to that either, I just turn more away from him.

"Don't," he says. "Don't turn your back on me. Stop doing this to me."

He kisses my temple again and grips my hand that I have up by my face.

"Tell me that you love me too," he says against my ear. "I want to hear you say it. Stop ignoring me." His voice sounds different... it sounds desperate almost. "Stop ignoring me," he says sharply as he pushes me to my back so I have to face him."What do you want?" he asks softly against my skin as he places a harsh kiss against my jaw. "I'll give you anything you want."

"I don't want anything," I lie. There was so much that I wanted. So much, but I just can't say it. Not right now when Draco is looking at me like that. "I don't want you to ever order me to do anything ever again," I admit softly and he nods his head like he understands. "Don't take away my free will, Draco. Let me choose you on my own."

He nods again.

I bring my hand up to his face and run my fingers over his cheek. I sigh and then I lean up to kiss him, letting myself linger there as my hand moves down to rest on his neck.

When I pull back, he smiles a little and I turn back on my side.

"Look," he says and he turns his body and opens one of the drawers of my shared nightstand. I tuck my hand under my pillow. "I want to show you something," he says as he turns towards me again.

He lays a group of pens and pencils beside me and I stare at them with my eyebrows pressed together as he puts his palm over them and whispers a spell. The pens and pencils magically stand straight and start constructing a little building with one red grading pen balancing perfectly on the top like a lightning rod.

"What is this?" I ask as he lays behind me again with his arm over my side so he's spooned against me.

"My plan," he says as I stare at his writing utensil building held up by magic. "I know you've been reading the notes from my folder," he says gently as his breath ruffles my hair. "I'll explain it to you in simple terms," he says seriously as he flicks one of the pencils out and it clatters to the ground. "Rookwood," he explains.

He does it again to the right side and the building starts to sway. "Whitewater," he whispers and it makes me think of that Death Eater they found dead at the beginning of the school year.

Then he does it again to the blue pen, and then the yellow pencil and then the green gel pen that Astoria uses for her potions homework. He keeps flicking them to the floor, one by one, until all that's left is the red grading pen and a chewed up pencil that's holding it up.

"This is the Dark Lord," he says as he touches the red pen at the top. He puts his finger against the chewed pencil and pushes it, sending both of them to the ground.

They roll under my bed and I sit up to watch them disappear under the frame.

I get his little demonstration. I know what he wants to do after seeing Rookwood die. I know he's serious about it.

"Why?" I ask when I turn to look at him.

He seems confused by my question and he sits up.

"Why do you want to do that?" I ask, motion to the floor.

"What do you mean why?" he asks sharply. "Why do you even have to question it?"

"Do you believe that purebloods are better than muggle borns?" I ask with a frown and he raises an eyebrow.

"I think purebloods are more powerful, yes."

"Why do you want to kill the Dark Lord?" I question again as I put my hand on my cheek. "Do you not believe what he does?"

"This is what I know, Ginny," he says as he leans closer to me and he puts his hand over mine as it rests on my face. He brings it down to my lap and stares at our fingers together. "I know that the Dark Lord is a mad man," he says as he holds my hand and then he glances at me. "I know that the older generation that follows him have warped ideas on how a society should run and I know that the Dark Lord, the champion of purebloods, is not a pureblood at all. I refuse to take orders or believe in someone who has dirty blood running through their veins."

"Dirty blood..." I repeat slowly.

What a terrible thing to say.

"The Dark Lord cares nothing of government or law. He has a one track mind to get what he wants and his main goal is to live forever. No one should live forever, Ginny," he says seriously. "He's insane and he's killing perfectly good wizards and witches to achieve that end. He doesn't want to improve pureblood society. He's just using that as a ploy to get powerful and rich people to believe in him. He's a great wizard, but all he does is worry about the fantasies of children and I won't let anyone take you away from me either."

"And if he's dead, what will you do?" I ask softly and he leans in further, placing a gentle kiss against my lips.

"I will do everything," he says. "And you will be by my side when I do it."

I eye him for a moment, unsure of what to even make of that.

"I want to show you something," I tell him as I lean over the bed to grab the contract I had stuffed there.

My shirt rides up from the stretch and Draco tickles my side. I snort and then glare at him over my shoulder, pulling down my shirt as he smiles at me.

"Rookwood wanted me to sign this," I tell him as I pull it out and place the heavy batch of papers on his lap. "I can't read it," I tell him with a frown and he flips through it with his brow furrowed.

"I can't either," he admits. "This is a very old language."

"Why are there so many pages?" I ask and he shrugs.

"Can I keep this?" he asks as his sharp eyes scan the page. "I can translate later."

"Do you promise to tell me what it says," I ask him and he looks at me.

"I will," he tells me, leaning over to kiss me. "I promise." He puts the contract on the side table. "I know that there's a lot going on in your head right now," he says as he rests his forehead against mine. "Let's just sleep," he says as he kisses me again. "I'm tired too," he admits and I nod my head.

He turns off the lights again and when he lays back, I rest beside him and turn against his body, resting my head on his shoulder. He wraps his arm around me and I feel him kiss the top of my head as he lifts his wand and closes the bed curtains.

"What about my roommates?" I ask softly in the complete darkness and he squeezes his hand around my arm.

"It's a large castle. They can find somewhere else to sleep."

"That's not fair," I say with a frown as I try to imagine how I would act if I was kicked out of my own room for the night.

"Life isn't fair," he counters and I tilt my head up to his.

"Am I a part of that building?" I ask as I put my hand on his chest.

"What?" he questions around a yawn as I pull up the covers a bit more.

"That pen thing you showed me," I say as I place a kiss on his chest. Sometimes I can't help it. "Am I one of those that gets to be flicked to the floor?"

"Perhaps you're the foundation," he says as he scoots down and turns so we're face to face. "Thankfully I don't have to kill you."

Right. Comforting.

Thanks.

After a while, I fall into a fitful sleep. I wake to his knee between my legs and I sigh softly as he crawls on top of me and kisses my neck. I'm halfway between sleep and waking when he slides into me with his lips against my ear, telling me that I was his and that I would belong to him forever.

I was so out of it that I think I might have actually agreed and I know I said yes when he hit a spot on my body that makes me lose all rational thought.

It went like that for a while, with him on top of me, and me feeling each amazing sensation, half lost in a dream. My bed isn't as solid as his, and it starts squeaking when his thrusts get more violent so I hold onto the headboard and try not to make much noise as he kisses me and grips me and tells me horribly possessive things that shouldn't turn me on, but they do because I love him and I want him to want me so much. I think a part of me wants to be possessed by him as backwards as that is.

I come out of my daze when he starts biting me so I bite his shoulder in retaliation. I sink my teeth into his flesh and he hisses in pain, cursing under his breath. The pain must have turned him on more because he pulls back and looks down at me with darkened eyes before gripping me a little tighter. He switches positions so he can go harder and I grab one of his arms so he wouldn't send me flying off the bed in his need.

Unfortunately, I was fully awake when he told me he would kill anyone he thought I loved more than him.

I should have been more worried about that particular admission than I was.

"I don't love anyone more than you," I whisper tiredly when we're finished and I run my fingers through his damp hair as he rests against my chest.

"Let's keep it that way," he mutters and I close my eyes as I try to find sleep again.

It doesn't come easily.

In fact, right before dawn breaks, it's me waking up Draco with my hand reaching under the covers in my need. He's not the only one who can initiate sex and I tell myself that as I kiss his neck and grip him under the sheets. He wakes instantly and rubs sleep from his eyes as I straddle his waist and lean down with my hair falling over him like a curtain.

"Do you love anyone more than me?" I ask in a voice thick with sleep and he cracks his silver eyes open with his hands on my hips.

He shakes his head.

"No," he says simply before grabbing my hair and fisting it in his hands so he can jerk me down for a kiss. "I don't love anyone but you."

"Let's keep it that way," I mock him and he smiles against my lips before I start moving against him.

Draco laughs a bit as he lifts my night shirt over my head and he throws it on the ground. The morning air is cold and it makes goosebumps rise on my skin, but I ignore it as Draco leans up and places a kiss at the center of my chest. I hold him there for a second before pushing him down and moving like he taught me. Going up and down for him and back and forth for me. He smiles up at me, looking so fucking handsome in the morning light.

"Beautiful girl," he whispers with his hands on my hips.

I remember he likes it when I lean back so I do just that, resting my hands on his thighs to steady myself as I move on top of him. I look at him to see him watching our bodies joined together as he sucks in his lower lip before looking up at me and smiling. He brings his hand up to help me along and the feeling is so intense that I find myself biting my lower lip a little too hard.

"Are you ready?" he asks, his voice a sexy whisper. "To be full of me again?"

I nod my head, moving up to put my hands on his chest because I prefer it this way.

"Just keep moving like that," he says gently, his strong hands encircling my waist. "That's it."

He cums first. I can tell by the face he makes and the way he pushes his hips up into mine. The feeling of him finishing inside of me does something to me too so I start moving faster as he clenches his hands around my waist and I'm almost... there… until someone opens the door.

I scream a bit in surprise when I see Zabini.

"Oh, hello," he says with a smirk in his voice. Draco pushes me off and covers me quickly with the blanket as my face turns so red I feel like I might melt. "I'm interrupting someone's sexy time," he says with a laugh in his voice.

"What do you want?" Draco asks and I bury my head in the pillow to cover my embarrassment. I even pull the blanket over my head to hide more.

"I was sent to find you," he says as Draco moves about the bed, no doubt getting dressed. I'm too ashamed to lift my head to see for myself. "Snape wants to speak to you. I suspect it's about Rookwood."

"Saw that one coming," Draco sighs and stands from the bed, leaving me cold.

I poke a little hole through my covers to glance at the clock. It's almost six in the morning.

"Put on your game face," I hear Zabini say as Draco gets ready.

Did he see everything?

I feel someone touch my shoulder and I clench my eyes shut when he pulls back the covers. "I have to go," Draco says in a tired voice and I nod my head, my face still on fire. "I'll make it up to you when I get back," he whispers as he bends down to kiss my cheek. "See you later, babe."

I turn at the last second and catch his lips. He stays there a bit longer as I bring my hand up to tangle in his hair.

"Can you please swipe his memories," I whisper into his lips and he smirks.

I don't even care that swiping someone's memories is morally gray ground. Zabini does not need that image in his head.

"I'll do my best," he says, running his nose along my cheek. "Be good."

I nod my head and listen to his footsteps as they leave.

Then I hear a whistle and I look over my mountain of covers to see Zabini leaning against the doorway, eyeing me like a predator with his arms crossed.

"My Weasley," he says with another whistle. "That was a gorgeous display," he says with a smile before turning his heels and shutting the door behind him.

I slink down into the bed once more and try to wish away the embarrassment.

It doesn't work.

---

XXXX

"Just putting the finishing touches on now." Mrs. Malfoy smiles at me as she puts the pearls around my neck. "So lovely," she whispers to herself as she puts pearl hair clip-thingy-ma-bobs in my hair.

I put my hand on my stomach as I look down at the dress. Mrs. Malfoy never fails to amaze me. She can make me look so beautiful and it seems to be so effortless with her.

I wonder if Draco will think I look pretty.

I haven't had much time to see him since the morning he left my bedroom. We had to appear "broken up" still because Umbridge and Snape are still watching and I'm being followed. I never see who it is, but I can feel them and Draco must know something is up as well because he hasn't tried to come to my bedroom. He says that things are getting very serious right now and that I'm under a magnifying glass. He didn't even walk me out of the castle when we had to meet Mrs. Malfoy at the gates. I was stuck walking with Pansy who was glaring at Zabini too seriously to care about me… and Zabini was watching my every movement closely like a creep and I figured he was picturing me naked.

I do not think Draco managed to erase his memories but I'm too embarrassed to bring it up again.

It's a thought that makes me insanely uncomfortable.

"Well, that won't do," she says and I glance at her as she frowns at me.

"What is it?" I ask as I look around me, trying to find the flaw that would make her face look so displeased.

"That bracelet," she says as she shakes her head and grabs my wrist. "It doesn't go with the soft aesthetic that we're trying to achieve with your outfit tonight."

"Oh," I blink a few times and then look away. How can I tell her that I can't take it off? That I married her son without even knowing it because I'm an idiot.

Wait, does she know all of that?

She puts her hand on her chin as she eyes me over and then she shakes her head. "No, no it must go."

"I can't..."

I shut my mouth when she twists it with her fingers and it comes off. I stare at my bare wrist in amazement as she carefully places the bracelet on the table as my mouth stays slightly ajar.

"Much better..." she says as she dusts off her hands on her leather dress and then she looks at me with raised brows. "Oh, my dear, why do you look so surprised?"

"How did you..." I cough and try to cover my surprise. "How did you get that off?" I ask, trying to sound off handed as I look at the mirror and fluff my hair. I look stupid. All my hair is up, but I'm trying to keep up the appearance of nonchalance.

"There's a trick to it," she says as she looks into the mirror beside me to correct her jewelry. "I wore the damn thing for more than fifteen years. One learns a thing or two after time. Now, let's go down stairs. Come on, ladies," she says, smiling at all the young women in the room.

I don't move for a while until Daphne comes towards me and grabs my arm. "Come on, Ginny. Don't lag behind. You'll look like a weirdo."

"Right," I say. I can't believe she just took that bracelet off like that! I'll never have to put it back on now. I frown as I think of Draco... of course, a part of me wants to always wear it.

The inside of the Manor is covered in spiderwebs… They are pulled over the stair railings, covering the chandeliers, and stretched along the side tables. It looks like a spider's den in here and it reminds me of Ron… of his fear of spiders and how he would absolutely hate the decor… but thinking of Ron makes me sad. It worries me and I try not to let it get to me too much.

Painted pale hands stick out from the walls and hold lanterns that burn in a strange red flame. They move sometimes and it's really freaky, honestly. I find myself holding onto Daphne a little tighter than I probably should.

"Mrs. Malfoy really does a wonderful job, doesn't she?" she says when she sees me take it all in.

I nod my head.

There are pumpkins everywhere… They are gathered in the corners of each room in neutral colors of white, sage green and very pale orange. Piled on top of each other like they were just put there by mistake. The dining hall is more of the same… the spider webs… the pale hands… The mounds and mounds of pumpkins….

All of the dinner guests are already seated at the very long table that's decorated all in black… I gulp when I see it. All the men stand up when we enter the room and I suppose that is some kind of gentlemen society thing so I try not ignore how weird it makes me feel….It is all very formal and everyone is wearing their wizarding best in all shades of black and grays and even a few plums and midnight blues. I glance at my own pale gold dress and I send Daphne a panicked look as everyone turns to stare at us.

This dress is like a lit match in a dark room and I blush as I feel everyone's eyes on me.

"Why am I the only one wearing a light color?" I hiss as we walk towards the table.

"You're the only one that hasn't been introduced into society yet," she says as she smiles at an older gentleman who has a pretty impressive white mustache. "You're wearing a different color than the norm so the men will know you can't be courted… though… I'm sure they already know that anyway. It's just a tradition. You should feel lucky," she whispers with a grin. "I was never allowed to come to these things before I was introduced."

"I don't feel very lucky," I mutter as I look at the pale hands that break out from the table holding plates, goblets, and lit candles that burn in an odd black flame.

There are cards on each plate that have people's names so they know where they sit. When I pass Draco, I give him a nervous smile before walking along the table, trying to find my name on one of the damn plates. An orchestra is playing in the back of the room, filling the hall with creepy music that makes me feel cold and when I finally find my name, I can't help but make a face. I'm at the other end of the table… away from everyone I know and surrounded by a bunch of old people. Like grandparent old… like they probably didn't remember to put their teeth in old…

I look at a rather rough looking wizard nearby and realize he actually did.

I carefully take my seat and take my card off of the plate. I send a nervous glance around me and spot Circe Avery sitting by a man who looks very similar to her. They must be related. She whispers in his ear and then they both look at me. I'm definitely not in the kid section. I nervously fold my napkin over my lap and stare down until Draco's Grandfather nudges my arm.

"How are you doing this evening, Miss Weasley?" He asks as he wheels himself beside me with his nurse standing over him, tucking the napkin on his lap.

"Fine," I mumble as I look at the chair at the head of the table, the chair I'm sitting right next to. No one is sitting on either head of the table and I worry my lip between my teeth as I imagine the Dark Lord sitting there, eating roast and vegetables with the rest of us.

"He never comes to these," Draco's Grandfather says and I flick a quick glance to him in surprise. "You have no need to be so worried."

"I'm not worried," I whisper as I look at the ceiling. Hanging white jack o'lanterns are leering at me from above, flicking their lights in a frightening way.

"You're sweating," he points out. He leans over and puts his old hand on my arm. I look down at it. His veins stick up like mountains on his flesh and his skin seems so thin. "Can you imagine the Dark Lord in formal dress, chit chatting with the rest of us?" He laughs loudly as I put my hand on my lap so he's no longer touching me. "He has never come to these dinners. Never has…. Never will."

"That's good," I say gently and he smiles at me.

I wish I was sitting by Draco.

"I'm sure he wishes the same," his grandfather says and I snap him a look before the lights all go out.

"What's going on?" I ask but I receive no answer

I can't see anything and I start breathing heavily as things start whispering in my ear, hissing and spitting and saying demented things. I might scream and I reach for Draco's Grandfather just to have something to hold onto, but I can feel nothing in the darkness. Suddenly a pumpkin appears in front of me, its carved out face demented looking and smiling a wicked smile as the candle inside illuminates the small area around it. Spiders crawl out from its mouth and I shrink away from the sight… trying not to shake.

No one else is talking. No one is moving. The music has completely stopped. I can't see anything but the glowing pumpkin…. and then I hear a screech in the distance and I feel a panic attack coming on as I grip the arm rests of the chair so tightly that one of the fake nails Narcissa put on me pops off.

I hear the galloping before I see the horse and more candles flame to life show a headless horseman coming right towards me. I want to get up and run, but I can't move. I can feel tears leak out of the corners of my eyes and I crack my eyes open to see the headless man on his horse right in front of me. He has a sword and when he sticks it through the pumpkin– I really do scream.

The lights come back on and everyone is laughing and clapping as Mrs. Malfoy stands up and smiles.

"Wonderful display, Cissa," Some older woman wearing a large bird hat says as everyone cheers.

I had no idea this macabre show was part of the act and I quickly wipe my eyes as Draco's Grandfather nudges my arm again.

"Quite scary, right?" he says with wiggled brows and I give him a fake smile as I try to get rid of any evidence of my overreaction. "Halloween is always a great deal of fun at the Malfoy house."

I look around at all the smiling faces who are clinking their glasses together and laughing as another stray tear leaks from the corner of my eye. It seems like everyone was in on the joke but me and I look down the table to see what the other people in my age group are doing. Pansy is laughing at Daphne who's grinning with a hand over her heart. Cho is reenacting a scene to Millicent who is sitting by a smirking Zabini and Draco... Draco is looking at me.

He looks apologetic as I wipe that tear away and I go back to looking at my plate.

When the clapping and cheers die down, one person is left clapping slowly... loudly… and we all look to the doorway.

Abraxas lied when he said that the Dark Lord never came to dinner parties, because there he is. He's standing right in the doorway, clapping his long fingered hands together and looking around the room with a cruel little smirk on his face. Bellatrix Lestrange and Severus Snape are flanked on either side of him and I shake as his dark eyes dance across the room.

"What a lovely bit of magic, Narcissa," he says smoothly as he lets his hands fall to his sides. He's wearing a three piece crimson suit with a midnight cloak draped around his shoulders. He looks so put together and stately. "Really frightening. Although, I really don't believe the headless horsemen would be screaming so loudly considering he doesn't have a head," he says as he smiles a sinister smile and everyone laughs nervously. "Please," he says as he looks around. "Don't stop this dinner on my account," he says. Then, like they all realized who was in the room, they get out of their chairs and drop to one knee on the floor. Even the old people I am sitting by creak out of their seats to kneel… Even Mrs. Malfoy in that tight leather dress….

Everyone but me and Abraxas Malfoy... but he's in a wheelchair so I don't really think that counts.

"You know, it's kind of sad," he says as he walks into the room, his shoes tapping against the floor. He walks along the other side of the table as I stay frozen to my spot. "Everyone in this room got an invitation to this... inspiring party... everyone but Severus Snape." He stops and sends the Headmaster a curious look. "Isn't that right, Severus?" He asks as he puts his hands behind his back and continues his walk.

This is a large table. We may be in for a long night.

I look at the doorway where Headmaster Snape is standing like a tall, dark pillar. He nods his head sharply and the Dark Lord smiles again. It's an expression that doesn't look right on his face but, Merlin, was he more handsome now than I ever remember him being.

"Why is that?" he asks and then he pretends to be thoughtful as he makes it down to the end of the table where the younger kids are still on bended knee. "Oh, that's right. You see, Severus Snape is a half-blood. Filthy muggle blood runs through his veins… but he has renounced his muggle father to join our cause. But there is tradition to follow in high blooded society, isn't that right? Tradition, standards..."

He picks up a silver fork and throws it on the table. It clatters against a serving dish and the noise sounds like a stampede.

"Money, blood, pomp, and circumstance," his voice is loud and it echoes off the large walls. When he gets to the end of the table, he places his pale hands on the empty chair and looks around at all the terrified people.

Why do they all look so afraid? Isn't this what they all wanted? Isn't this who they all want to rule the world?

"And he was one of my only loyal Death Eaters to follow me on this night to complete a very tedious task," he says seriously. "You are all well aware how potent the magical forces are on all Hallows Eve," he says as he taps his fingers against the wood. "And I find it strange that a half-blood was one of the only men in my inner most trusted circle to not call in sick," he adds, his voice rising so high it hurts my ears. A snake slithers into the room and I hold my breath as it heads towards the table.

"I remained loyal," Bellatrix says like an eager dog and he sighs as he stands up straight again. "I remained most loyal, My Lord."

"Yes, and there was the lovely Bellatrix Lestrange," he says sarcastically as he motions to her. "Still loyal, albeit mentally disturbed, but loyal nonetheless," he adds as he starts walking around the table again. He is on my side now and I inhale a few deep breaths. Bellatrix makes a face at the description of her, but doesn't say anything as he continues. "It's about priorities."

"We're sorry, My Lord!" some old man in a top hat starts to plead, but the Dark Lord shoots him a hateful look.

"I'm not finished talking," he says, his voice dripping in disdain and it sends a shiver down my spine. The snake slithers under the table and I shake when I feel its body run against my legs.

This feels like a nightmare.

"I accomplished a lot without you tonight," he says as he looks around. I feel like I'm witnessing a whole bunch of children getting scolded by their abusive father. "It makes me question why I even have you in the first place."

"My Lord." Another woman tries to interject but he takes out his wand and blasts her across the room.

I gasp and clench my eyes shut.

"But, I didn't come here to scold you," he says with another fake smile. I would snort if I wasn't so scared because scolding is exactly what it feels like. "You'll find I'm in a forgiving mood. A good mood, one could say," he adds and I open my eyes to find he has moved again. "I've found something I've been looking for for quite some time."

What does that mean?

"I'm feeling quite festive now... no thanks to you," he adds spitefully and when he gets to my chair, he pauses right behind it.

I look at my lap and try to calm my breathing… but when he puts his hands on my bare shoulders, my whole entire body tenses.

"You are not kneeling," he says as he bends down and his breath is like a winter chill that rattles my bones.

I don't say anything.

"Your companion can't feel his legs," he says and I glance at Abraxas Malfoy from the corner of my eyes. He has his head down and his arms folded on his lap. "What's your excuse?"

In a perfect world, I imagine I would have said something along the lines of I don't kneel to anyone let alone a murderous tyrant like you... but the world is not perfect and instead I just kind of make an odd whining noise that gets caught in my throat and makes me sound like a strangled cat.

He laughs.

Bellatrix laughs with him. It's a shrill sound that hurts my ears and when Tom runs his fingers up my neck, I shiver all over.

"Feeling entitled already, my darling?" he asks. I clench my eyes shut as his long fingers run down my arms and up to my hands that I have white knuckles over the arm rests. "I suppose I can forgive you this one time," he whispers into my ear, his breath against my skin. "It must be hard to kneel in such a beautiful gown."

He fingers one of the crystal ivy's on the bodice before standing up straight.

"Let's get back to this party," he says. When he moves away, my entire body slumps back in relief. "You can stop kneeling now," he says with a dismissive wave of his hand as he takes a seat at the head of the table, right by me. "I wouldn't want any of you to ruin such fine attire that you've adored yourself with." He grabs the bottle of wine and pours himself a glass as everyone climbs back into their seats. The snake slithers along my legs again as he motions to the two Death Eaters by the door. "Please, loyal followers, take a seat," he smirks at me. "I think you'll find yourself at home."

Snape takes a seat at the opposite head of the table and Bellatrix takes the empty seat where the woman was blasted. She's still passed out against the wall and I stare at my plate as I try to calm my heart and block my mind.

Tom starts laughing and when everyone looks at him, he raises his glass. "To the half blood prince sitting at a pureblood table," he says towards Snape who raises his glass. Everyone else raises their glasses as well…albeit a little more reluctantly.

I don't until I feel eyes on me and without looking up, I grab my glass with shaking hands and raise it up.

Conversation dies flat after that as people clank their silverware and eat in awkward silence. I don't even bother to pretend. I put my glass down and stare at my plate as the snake slithers around the table. This is similar to that nightmare…. Tom at the head of the table, a large snake moving around us as a table full of corpses dine.

I start breathing a little heavier when I realize what happens next.

"You're not eating anything," Tom says to me and I jump at the sound of his voice addressing me directly.

I swallow the odd lump in my throat. "I'm not very hungry," I whisper.

"Me either." He pushes his plate away. "Let us talk," he says like it was a private conversation, but I know everyone is listening... Everyone is watching…. "How was it to watch Izador Rookwood die?"

I gulp again and feel sweat on my brow.

"Horrible, I imagine," he answers as he takes a drink from his glass. When he sets it down he leans more towards me and puts his chin in his hand with his elbow on the table. "You know, I always saw poison as a very cowardly way to kill someone," he says, his voice deep and dark. "If you want someone dead, you should be able to look them in the eyes and do it yourself. Don't you agree?"

I don't say anything.

"You know, statistically speaking, women are more likely to kill with potions and poisons than men. Do you know why that is?"

I shake my head and then glance at him.

Does he think I killed Rookwood?

"Because women are crafty in their hatred... but men can be stupid in their acceptance of such hate."

I don't know what any of this means, but when the snake hisses at something I feel my hands starting to scratch the top of my thighs. The room seems to be closing in on me and I start breathing with unsteady breaths.

Panic attack.

This is a terrible, terrible time to have one of those. I clench my eyes shut and try to do the breathing exercises Dr. Carroll taught me but I can't seem to focus very well.

"I didn't poison Rookwood," I mutter when I finally find the courage to look at him again.

He smiles like my sweating, breathing, nervous tick display was nothing to him.

"Of course not, little one," he says and I close my eyes, hating his pet names and everything about tonight. "You're made of sugar and cinnamon, are you not?"

I keep my mouth shut, afraid of saying the wrong thing. He takes my hand and I snap my eyes open as he places it on top of the table. He holds my wrist with his left hand and traces the veins with his right.

"I have another inquiry," he says in a smooth voice, his pale fingers dancing up my arm as I stare at my plate. "How was it to torture Alecto Carrow?" he asks. "I suspect that was quite a show." I glance his way and find him studying my face, his expression serious and dark. "I have eyes and ears everywhere, Ginevra." He turns my hand and holds it, his thumb running over my knuckles. "Do not think for one second that you are ever free of my influence."

"Okay," is all I say like some moron and I hate myself for it.

I look down at Draco hoping for some comfort. He's not watching me. He's focused on his drink, his face blank and unreadable. My head turns quickly when I feel cool lips pressed to my fingers and I look back at Tom with a surprised little gasp. He smirks against my knuckles, his red eyes flicking to the end of the table before he puts my hand gently back down on the table cloth.

"Would you like to see what I found tonight?" he asks as he reaches into the breast pocket of his jacket and he pulls out three wands.

I take the opportunity to hide my hand under the table so he can't touch me again. He places them on his empty plate and I look at them with my heart hammering against my rib cage so hard I fear it might crack wide open.

Three wands.

I know them all.

One is fourteen inches, willow with a unicorn hair core. Full of teeth marks and discoloration from spilled potions. The second is a little shorter, a lighter wood made with dragon heartstring. Perfectly polished and sanded to keep it in shape….. and the final wand makes my mouth run dry.

Eleven inches, made of rare Holly wood with a core of a phoenix feather. Well used and full of power.

Ron... Hermione... Harry...

"I..." I stand up and the chair seems to screech across the floor. "I..." I say again before making a mad dash for the door.

I barely make it to the hallway before a full on attack hits me. I lean against the wall and put my hands on my knees as I try to catch my breath. I feel like I'm suffocating... I feel like I might die.

"Ginny?" I know Pansy's voice, but I just can't get my breathing under control. "Are you having an asthma attack?"

"No..." I inhale and exhale quickly. "I..." I try to get it under control but I just can't. "Panic..." I try to explain as I put my hand on my chest. "Can't breathe..."

She doesn't say anything for a few moments and then she opens up her small clutch."Here, take this," she says as she pushes some pills into my hands.

"What... is... it?" I ask with every inhale and I glance at her, my eyes just catch the bodice of her dress. It's a grayish purple with a silky material bunched up to look like flowers all over her chest.

"Blaise had it with him," she says. "It will calm you down. You know you'll have to go back in there. He never comes to these things," she whispers like it was a secret. "I think his appearance has shocked everyone."

I take the pills from her and stare at them for a few moments before pushing them in my mouth. I swallow them and it kind of hurts because my throat is so dry.

"Ginny, you can't just run out of the room like that," she says worriedly. "Not when he's here. Hopefully he doesn't curse you or anything." I actually start wheezing at the thought and she puts her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Of course he isn't going to curse you."

"I need..." She leans in closer to hear me as I wheeze like an old person. "I need... a healer..." I tell her because I feel like I'm dying and she furrows her brows.

I actually need my mum. I want my mum but if I think about her anymore I will start crying and never stop.

"Here," she says as she gets down on her knees in front of me so her face is right by mine. She grabs my hands and forces me to look at her. "Everything is okay," she says sharply. "You are okay. Just calm down. Just breathe," she says as she exhales slowly to show me and her breath ruffles my bangs. "Breathe," she repeats. "Nothing bad is going to happen. It's alright."

I try to mimic her and eventually I do catch my breath. I close my eyes as my heart evens out and that feeling of extreme panic and dread slowly leaves me.

"Thanks," I whisper, gripping her hands before letting them drop as I stand straight. "I can't believe I did that," I whisper as I bring my hand up to my forehead.

"It's alright," she says as she stands in front of me and she starts fixing my hair and jewelry. "Let me give you some advice when dealing with the Dark Lord. All you need to say is Yes, My Lord, or No, My Lord. If he asks you something that is not an easy yes or no question, just say I do not know, My Lord. Don't look him directly in the eye and whatever you do, don't mention the resistance."

"Those wands," I say as I step away from her fiddling with me. "They belong to my brother... and Harry and Hermione," I say and then I look at her very seriously. "Did he kill them?" I let myself whisper.

I sigh in relief when she shakes her head. "That would probably be a national holiday," she snorts as she crosses her arms, but I don't find it funny. "I think he's getting closer, though. There must have been a fight or something... That might be why he's so angry. We better get back," she says as she takes my hand. "We can't be too long. They may think we're conspiring."

"Right," is all I say before allowing myself to walk back into the room.

Everyone is right where I left them and I take shy steps towards my seat as the Dark Lord watches my progression into the hall with a dark brow raised in thought.

I sit down and put my napkin back over my lap as my body starts to tingle.

"Better?" he asks coolly.

I don't answer right away and the silence is heavy. I flick a glance at Circe Avery and then Abraxas Malfoy who are both looking slightly away… like something was said that made everyone uncomfortable and I suspect something happened while I was away.

"Yes," I whisper, not willing to say My Lord. "I'm…" I lick my dry lips, annoyed with myself for what I'm about to say. "I'm sorry."

There's a pause before he smirks.

"How good of you to apologize," he says like he knew it disgusted me, his tone teasing and almost mean sounding. "You are so polite."

He doesn't say anything else to me. He turns to the old man to his side and starts talking about something important happening in Russia. I don't understand it so I tune it out as my mind becomes fuzzy and odd. I blink a few times as everything around me becomes illuminated in a nice golden haze. I touch the edge of the table and the fabric of the cloth feels like heaven so I dance my fingers along it with a little smile turning my face. When my fingertips touch the silver of my fork, I nearly gasp at the sensation. The walls seem to be spinning, moving in a delightful dance as the orchestra plays in the background. I can see the notes of music dancing in the air... purple, green, and blue floating above me in a wild dance.

I laugh at it.

Everything looks distorted now, like I was at a wild tea party with magical guests. I look across the table at one of the old men and the top hat he's wearing seems to be elongated, traveling all the way to the ceiling. I cover my mouth as I laugh and then I glance at Abraxas Malfoy. He has the head of a tiger and I widen my eyes as he cheers his wine glass towards me.

Wine.

I look in front of me. My wine glass is full and shining like a diamond.

I grab it and take a drink.

It's the most electrifying taste.

I look down and see a hand…. Peeking under the jacket is a shining cufflink at their wrist and I reach forward, touching the hand and running my fingers over the long, pale fingers as I take another gulp of wine. I feel it spill out of my mouth a bit. It dribbles down my chin and I laugh again. It feels so wonderful and I bite my lower lip as I push the jacket up to look at the cufflink that sparkles like a distant star. I like the fabric of the jacket too… the treads throughout seem to sing to me and I run my hand up the strong arm it covers. I keep going up until I get to a shoulder, then a neck…. and then I feel hair, but something grips my wrist to pull me away from getting any further.

No matter.

I hear a hissing noise and I tilt my head as the kaleidoscope of colors beats and pulses in front of my eyes.

I see a snake. A rather large snake and I smile at it. I swear it smiled back.

I place my wine glass down on the table and pull my hand out of the tight grip. I reach a hand out towards the creature so I can pet it. I smirk as I run my fingers along its head, my skin vibrating at the sensation as I feel each scale. I run my hand down the snake's green and black neck... its yellow eyes sparkle like the sun and I smile again as the snake tilts its head more into my hand.

"Who gave the teenage girl drugs?" I hear Tom say and I blink a few times before focusing on him in that head chair.

There's a sinister light about him... He's surrounded by blacks and grays and I frown at that as his handsome face looks over mine.

"I did, My Lord," I hear Pansy's nervous as hell voice in my mind cloud. "I gave it to her to calm her down. I didn't realize exactly what it was," she hisses and I glance down the table. It seems insanely long and everyone looks troubled as she glares at Zabini.

Beautiful Blaise Zabini.

"My Lord," I say and then I snort because it sounds so funny. Tom's face snaps to mine and I smile at him. The red in his eyes seems to spin like storm clouds and I bite the corner of my lip. "My handsome lord."

He raises an eyebrow. Well. He is handsome now. I guess that's part of the evil trick he likes to play.

"Look at the spectacle you've created," he says and I know it's an insult, but I just feel too good to care. I go back to the snake again and smile when it lays its head along my arm rest. "Nagini likes you," I hear him say and I blink before looking at him again. "You are lucky. She usually hates women."

His voice is so nice when I'm not afraid of him.

"She feels like cotton candy," I say. He tilts his head and looks at me like I was a simpleton but I don't care.

I turn more towards the snake and bring both of my hands up to feel her.

I remember the chamber and Myrtle.

I know how to speak snake!

I hiss out a few words I had heard my ghost friend say and the snake pulls it head back and looks at me.

"You just told her to open," Tom says and I look at him again as his red eyes flick across my face like he was trying to read my mind.

I don't even care. He can have it all.

"Where did you learn that?"

"From a ghost," I admit as I put my head in my hand. "Myrtle. You killed her, you know," I say and I hear some people grumbling at me, but I ignore them as I lean closer to Tom. I halfway get out of my seat to lean over the table and I reach out to touch his cufflink again. "Why did you do that?"

He pauses for a second as he looks me over and then he leans forward as well. His face is right by mine and I can feel his breath on my skin. He's so close that I think he might try to kiss me. I wonder what that would feel like… "You should learn now, my little drugged up princess…." He grabs my wrist to stop me from playing with his cufflink again. He looks so young now… so incredibly young that I almost want to run my fingers along his face to make sure he's not wearing a skin suit. "That I do things because I want to do them and I really detest it when people question me for my actions."

I frown and sit back.

"You are awfully serious," I tell him as I yank my hand away and a cruel smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth.

"Enough of this then," he says as he leans back and takes out his wand. "Even though I love the ramblings of an intoxicated girl, I've had enough," he says and then he points his wand at me. "Goodnight, Ginevra."

He hits me with a spell and I slump against my plate.

I fall into a deep sleep.

When I dream, I dream of blood.

There's a whole pool full of it and people are diving in and out without a care in the world.

I'm sure that's a health hazard.

Draco walks up to me in a pair of board shorts and he hands me a glass of lemonade. His black rimmed sunglasses shine like a mirror and I smile at my reflection. He's covered in blood, head to toe, and he smiles at me with a boyish grin.

"You should take a dip," he says as he nods to the pool of blood. "It feels good."

"I can't swim," I tell him as he pulls me up. I'm wearing a swimsuit. Some frilly white thing with polka dots and silver chains.

"I'll teach you," he says as he drags me towards the pool where people are swimming and having fun with beach balls and snorkels. "I can do anything."

"Who's blood is it?" I ask when we get to the edge.

There's a woman in a sun hat reading a book with her feet cooling in the pool and she smiles at a group of children who are playing a game in the shallow end.

Draco looks at me and takes off his glasses, his silver eyes are rimmed in red.

"Yours," he says before pushing me in.

I wake with a start and inhale sharply.

"...I didn't come here just for this lovely party, of course," I hear the Dark Lord say as I blink a few times. My head feels heavy and full of lead. I can't seem to lift it and I crack my eyes open, watching Tom as he taps his fingers against the heavenly table. "I would like to see Minerva," he says and I try to get up. I try to wake my body to follow my mind. I know that name and I need to see her for myself. "Bring her to me."

Shuffling occurs and I blink a few times, trying to get out of my daze. "Minerva," I say slowly and then I get shushed.

I finally find the strength to sit up and I rub my forehead as some people from the table get up and leave the room.

There's a fork stuck to my forearm and I pluck it off then I wipe away some drool from the corner of my mouth.

How humiliating.

"I went to school with Minerva McGonagall," Tom says as he stands up. "A muggle lover if there ever was one," he adds, glancing at me. "And we all know how I feel about those kinds of people."

I bring my hand up to my neck and blink a few times before looking down the table, down at Draco. He's looking straight ahead of him with his jaw tight and his brows raised.

A second later the doors burst open and two men come in dragging a battered and thin looking Minerva McGonagall. I blink rapidly, trying to shake off the pill Pansy had given me. I don't feel wildly high anymore but I do feel like I have the worst hangover of my life.

None of this seems real and when the men throw my old teacher on top of the table, I wince and scoot my chair back.

"Minerva, old classmate," Tom says with a smirk as he circles the table again. The others are watching the woman at the center of the table with dead eyes, like they were trying to place themselves away from the situation… but why? This is their Lord. This is his world. They helped him do this. "You have been no help to me what-so-ever," he says as McGonagall tries to get up, but she ends up slumping against the table. Her head lands in a bowl of stuffing. Through the haze of drugs I feel my heart breaking for her. This is not okay. "You didn't tell me where Dumbledore was. You didn't tell me what Potter was doing. You don't tell me anything of value. Last night I had to ask myself... Why are you still alive?"

What?

"I believe it's because I keep thinking you'll eventually have some kind of use," he says as he stops by Narcissa Malfoy's chair and he taps his wand against his lips. "But tonight, when I was this close to killing Harry Potter," he says as he lifts his forefinger and thumb. "I realized you have been no help at all. In fact, you have given false information time and time again. But your lies are in vain. I know what Potter is doing and where he's going next. I know what you've been doing and I will kill everything and everyone you hold dear."

"My Lord, if I may-" A man in a black lacy shirt starts, but he gets cut off rather quickly.

"You may not," Tom snaps hatefully.

He lifts his wand to McGonagall, hissing a spell that grabs her ankle and lifts her in the air. She stays suspended there, hanging upside down with her finger tips grazing the table. The sight is so disturbing. I don't know what to do but I know I have to do something.

"I will kill you now," he says and I shake my head. No, this isn't right. "I will make sure everyone in your little resistance club knows of your death and I will let them know that you screamed," he says cruelly. "My loyal followers, take note," he adds. "This is what happens to people I deem worthless," he says before shooting another curse right at her chest.

She starts screaming and I can't take it anymore. For a flash of a second I remember every kind thing McGonagall has ever done for me. How she helped me when I got my first period. How she was there after the chamber and for every nightmare afterwards. How she saw me flying one afternoon and encouraged me to try out for the Quidditch team. How she always made me feel smart and seen and important.

I look at the three wands still lying on the plate by me and I grab one. Everyone is too busy staring at the tortured teacher to notice me and I stand up, shouting a curse and making all eyes turn to me. A bird made of fire shoots out of the wand and heads straight towards the very angry looking Dark Lord. I try to hold the curse longer than I ever could when I practiced in the chamber and I watch with fear gripping my heart as the Phoenix flies right towards Tom. He dodges it at the last moment and a second later he's behind me with his wand at my throat.

"What were you thinking?" he hisses in my ear before gripping my arm with an ice cold hand and hitting me with another curse that makes me pass out instantly.

When I dream, I dream of blood.

Swimming in a whole ocean of it without a care in the world and when I finally wake, I find myself lying on an expensive rug in front of a rather large and ornate fireplace. I sit up when I hear a cough behind me and I snap my head towards the noise.

Sitting in a leather armchair with a book on his lap is the Dark Lord, staring right at me with a dark brow raised.

"Good morning," he says flatly as he lays the book on the arm of the chair. He stands up, towering over me as I cower on the floor like a scared little rabbit. "I believe it's time for you and I to have a talk, wouldn't you say?"

I gulp as my heart hammers against my chest.

This isn't good.

This isn't good at all.