I'm laying on Draco's comfortable dorm bed while he sits between my legs with his back to me. He's reading from a large text about blood magic and he won't tell me why he was reading it. He shushes me every time I ask, so I've officially given up and I've been content with rubbing his back and shoulders for the past half hour.

I like being close to him. He makes me feel safe.

It's been two days since the whole world turned on its side and he's been my only source of comfort in this scary and unstable situation. I scoot even closer to him with my feet on either side of his body as I think about how sweet he has been to me. I wrap my arms around his chest and I sigh when I feel his heartbeat against my hand. I love him so much. With that girlish thought, I lay my head on his shoulder blade and listen to his breathing.

"Why did you stop?" he questions in a deep voice as he turns the page. "That felt good."

I kiss the back of his neck and sit up straight, running my hands along his arms and up to his shoulders where I start to massage his muscles again. He puts his hand on my bare ankle and squeezes every once and a while until my hands start aching. With a sigh, lay back against his pillows and prop my hands up behind my head.

I'm too nervous about my family and about my future to be comfortable... so I just stare at the ceiling with Draco cradled between my legs.

A place where I find him most welcome, actually.

He's wearing an old blue t-shirt from some summer quidditch team he was on and I use my free hand to trace the yellow letters printed on his back. M... A... L... F… O...

"Do you want to talk about anything?" he asks gently as he taps his fingers against my foot. I trace the Y with my pointer finger before pulling away. "You seem restless."

Of course I am.

"Are they ever going to let us send out owls?" I ask softly, running my fingers down his spine gently because I love touching him.

It makes him arch his back and I smile before he settles down again to answer me.

"No," he says like he knew for sure. "All letters are going to be read before being sent out to the appropriate channels."

"What?" I hiss as I sit up straight. Draco scratches the back of his neck, not even bothering to look away from that stupid book.

"They told me during my evaluation," he says as he turns a page. "Everything is censored now," he says with a sigh. "So I would suggest not even bothering to send out that letter you have stuffed in your bag." I open my mouth to snap about that, but he continues speaking. "Getting mad about it won't change anything. Save your breath."

I make a face as I glance at my bag that's thrown on his writing desk. I had written a letter to my parents yesterday, telling them everything about what's been happening at the school and wanting to know if they were okay. I just couldn't find an owl to send it out. When I went to the owlery, the doors were locked and the owls were gone... That's when I ran into Neville.

I glance at the uniform hanging on the back of the bathroom door as Draco's hand goes back to squeezing my ankle. He got a new one after his evaluation. I haven't seen it on him yet, but it looks ominous. It's all black. Black shoes, black pants, black shirt, black tie, black jacket. Everything looks so dark and tailored…. more military. That thought makes me shudder and I glare at the silver buttons on the jacket because they have small dark mark symbols etched into them.

"What will the girl's uniform look like?" I ask, ignoring the owl comment because Draco doesn't answer my questions in any satisfying way.

"I don't know," he says and then he cracks his neck with his hand on his chin.

He told me that his uniform would be different from the majority of the student body because he was Head Boy. The prefects would be the same as well... That's about all he told me about the evaluations. He said that they went as he expected and that I didn't have to worry about anything.

All I worry about now is how he never tells me bloody anything. I just feel so incredibly lost right now.

"Babe," I start as I rub his back again. He's been so short with me today and I don't want him to blow off another one of my questions. "Can I ask you something?"

"You can ask me anything," he says gently as he squeezes my foot.

"Will you actually answer this time?" I ask as I wrap my arms around his torso. After a few moments, he sighs heavily and he closes the book. I'm thankful when he puts it on the nightstand and he finally turns his body towards mine, giving me his full attention so I'm not left staring at the back of his head.

"I've been distracted today," he says as he hooks his hands under my knees and he jerks quickly. I gasp as he pulls me down the bed. He settles his hips in between my legs and he brushes some hair away from my face as he rests on top of me. "I'm sorry," he adds. "What did you want to ask me?"

I bite my lip as I look over his face. His handsome, perfect face. "I talked to Neville today," I say and his jaw tightens. I ignore it. "He said that they were going to move his parents from St. Mungo's and place them in a camp somewhere. They're doing that to all mental health patients at the hospital. Is that true?"

"When did you find the time to talk to him?" he asks levelly.

I narrow my eyes. He only said that because he's suspicious as to how I got away from my baby-sitters without being noticed.

"I'm sorry," he says once he notices my hateful glare. "Ask what you wanted," he adds, but I can tell he's not happy about it.

"Could you..." I lick my lips and bring my hand up to rub his arm, gently pushing my fingers under his sleeve to feel his strong muscles. "I mean, Neville said that for his evaluation they decided to send him away for re-education... What does that mean?"

"I honestly don't know," he says. "I would tell you if I did," he adds and I nod my head, believing him.

"Could you help him leave?" I whisper and he furrows his brows. "I mean, through that opening in your common room. He's worried about what they're going to do to him and he wants to help his parents before they move them to that camp. His Grandmother is too old to do anything."

Draco stares at me and doesn't say anything for a long time.

I remember my talk with Neville and how worried he was as Draco mulls over my request.

I was trying to send out that letter to my parents and I was outside of the owlery, cussing and trying to open up the door.

"Fucking open," I hissed. I put the letter I intended to send my parents in between my teeth as I used both hands to pull on the large handle with all my might. "Damn," I snapped because it was starting to hurt my arms. I let go of the handle and I glared.

I didn't understand why it wasn't opening for me. The owerly was always open to students at all times during the day and night. It just didn't make sense to me at the time.

I took out my wand and attempted to unlock it, but of course that didn't work either. I tried pulling the large metal handle again, only to end up cussing some more and kicking it with my foot. No owls have been coming to breakfast because of the evaluations and I had thought they were all waiting in here, but the damn thing wouldn't let me in.

Did it ever actually have a door?

"Why won't you open?" I said to it with a frown on my face, not being as well informed as Draco on the owl censorship.

"It's locked," someone said from behind me and I jumped with my hand on my heart. I turned to see Neville standing there with a solemn look on his boyish face.

"Obviously," I retorted bitterly as I glared at the door again. "But why is it locked? I have a letter I need to send."

"I don't know," he said gently. "I'm sure it's Umbridge's idea."

"Umbridge ," I said in disgust as I remembered that foul woman. It sent an immediate chill down my spine and I knew nothing good would come from her being anywhere near our school. "Is she here?"

"Yeah, she is," he said and then he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. It made me uneasy to see Neville so pale and shook up. "She was there for my evaluation," he said softly.

I had forgotten that his evaluation took place already, to be honest. The seventh year boys had their evaluations first and it made me think of Draco. I always think of Draco and I felt a bit guilty about it because Neville was obviously troubled.

"How did it go?" I asked softly. I took a step towards him just in case he needed a hug or something... but then I remembered the shock I got when Harry touched me, and I stepped back again.

He shrugs.

"What was it like?" I asked gently because he looked so tired and so worn out. "Was it horrible?" I asked nervously.

"It was uncomfortable," he admitted and then he furrowed his brow. "They ask if you'll swear your allegiance to the Dark Lord," he said, looking disgusted by it.

"What did you do?" I asked carefully. I could feel it then, that uncomfortable pool in the pit of my stomach that made my insides twist and hurt. I hated the feeling and I remember wishing that school was as carefree as it used to be in the past. It was brief- but there were a couple years where I was content.

"I said no," he replied with a shaky voice. "They gave me my papers," he said and then he gave me a troubled look. "I have to go for that 're-education' thing they were talking about."

"Did they say what that was all about?"

He shook his head.

"Does anyone know what that means? What do they do when they reeducate you?" I asked and he just shrugged.

No one knows anything and the people that do... like Draco... don't bother sharing their knowledge.

"I have no idea..." he trailed off and then he looked at me. "They're moving my parents."

"What?"

"They told me that my parents have become a burden on the St. Mungo's staff. Everyone in the mental health wing is getting transferred.".

"To where?" I questioned.

Neville has always been such a sweet and sometimes silly boy. I often forget what happened to his parents. Bellatrix Lestrange is free now, out in the world to ruin families and make more decent and hard working people go mad with her wand. I wanted to hug him then, but I held back because I didn't want to burn.

"I don't know. They said some sort of camp," he said and then his eyes snapped to mine. "I'm afraid they will kill them."

He let that hang in the air and I stared at him for a long time before he spoke again.

"I have to leave before they send me away," he said narrowly. "I have to get to my parents... to my grandmother... and make sure they're all safe."

"I know a way you can leave," I whispered as I thought of Draco.

I looked down the stairs and saw Pansy there, she was probably looking for me and I sighed tiredly.

He looked puzzled by my comment. "What?"

I took a step closer to him and I gripped his forearm to show how serious I was. Burning be damned.

"I know how to help," I told him quietly so no one would hear. "I'll keep you informed," I said before running off to Pansy before she saw me with Neville and questioned me.

I shake out of the memory and I look back at Draco. Why hasn't he said anything?

"Draco?" I say as I bring my hand up to his face, running my knuckles over his cheek. "Will you help?"

He's silent again for another long moment but when he finally answers, it makes my heart stop.

"No."

Perhaps I heard wrong.

"What?" I ask gently. I blink a few times as he sits up on his knees to climb off the bed.

"I said no," he says as he goes over to his desk and starts removing his watch.

I'm a little stunned and I get on my knees so I can get a better look at him.

"Why not?"

"Because I said so," he says sharply.

I suppose he is actually saying no to me and I narrow my eyes.

"That's not a good enough answer. Why not help him? They might kill his parents and who knows what they're going to do during that re-education thing."

"I owe nothing to Neville Longbottom, Ginny. What has he ever done for me?" he asks as he turns around and crosses his arms.

I'm a little baffled, to be honest and his words make me feel so disgusted.

"What?" I ask in disbelief. "What do you mean 'what has he done for me?'" I stand from the bed to confront him. I had put on that black silk slip I had never worn before because I wanted to make him happy… but now I feel stupid wearing it for him. He doesn't deserve it right now. "They might kill his parents."

"Don't be thick," he says and I raise my brows at the way he's speaking to me. "They won't kill his parents. You're all being so bloody dramatic about this whole thing."

"Of course we're being dramatic," I say with narrowed eyes. "It's the Dark Lord, Draco. He'll perform genocide on a whole race if he wants."

"Haven't I done enough for you?" he asks and I retract like he had hit me as he levels me with a glare. "I helped Potter and his stupid friends escape the castle for you. They would have my head if they knew I took any part in that."

"This isn't about doing anything for me," I say and he raises one eyebrow. "This is about doing what's right."

"I only do things that benefit me, Ginny," he says coldly and I open and close my mouth a few times before snapping it shut.

I don't know what to say to that.

"Now," he says, thinking he's won. "I am tired and I would like to go to bed."

I give him a hateful look as he goes to put out the lights and I stomp towards the writing desk to retrieve my bag. I'm not sleeping with him tonight. I take out my blue cotton dress and throw it over my head to cover the sexy thing I wore for him.

"What are you doing?" he asks with a tired sigh.

I glare at him.

"I'm going to my room," I tell him hotly and he narrows his eyes as I slip on my shoes.

"Put the bag down," he says. "You aren't going anywhere."

"Well, I'm getting no benefit from staying here," I tell him, throwing it back in his face. "So I'm leaving."

I walk to the door, but he steps in front of me with a hard glare in his eyes.

"You are staying," he says and then he looks me over with a tilt of his head. "It's never good to go to bed angry," he adds a little more gently before his eyes harden once more. "And if you think for one damn moment that I'm going to let you walk around the castle with this underneath your clothes…" he trails off, leaving the threat hanging in the air as he works his hand under my dress to finger the lace hem of the short slip. "You aren't even wearing a bra, for fucks sake."

His eyes glaze over with lust at the thought and I push his hand away. He is crazy if he thinks I'm going to have sex with him right now.

"Move."

"No," he challenges. "Are you going to run away every time I say something you don't like?"

Jerk.

"Why won't you help Neville?" I ask seriously as I stare at his throat. "You are in the position to help. Why not do it?"

"If he leaves the castle, they will find him," he says seriously. He takes my hand and brings it up to his lips. I try to pull away, but he holds me firmly in place. "If he was selected for re-education, they would have put a tracker on him. He wouldn't have made it far and they would have killed him," he admits as he kisses my fingers. He will not let go when I try to yank it back and I make a face at him. "He's safer here. He's safer going through the re-education training and coming back to school. They won't kill his parents," he says gently as he moves his lips over my palm. "Killing the disabled is too much of a hateful PR move and the Dark Lord is trying to revamp his image."

"How do you know that?" I ask with a worried frown as he kisses my wrist.

"I know things, sweetheart," he whispers and then he pulls back from my hand. He licks his lips before bending down to kiss me. "And…" He pulls back and looks so seriously into my eyes. "Before they kill him…" he continues as I look up at him, troubled by what I see there now. "They would torture him until he confessed to how he left the castle and who helped him. Then they will torture me and kill my entire family. Do you want that, Ginny? Do you want me to die?"

I feel my heart skip a beat. Of course I don't want that.

"No," I whisper, feeling stupid.

"Me either," he whispers, looking at my lips. "Do you understand now?"

I reluctantly nod my head.

"Good. Now…will you stay?" he asks as he takes the bag off of my shoulder like he already knew the answer. "Cuddle?" he suggests trying to win me over with a sly smirk.

I never know what to believe when I talk to him. He just jumbles things around in my mind and when he kisses me or touches me in any way... forget it… but maybe he is right. If Neville left and they caught him… they would find a way to figure out how he left and Draco would be in danger.

I can't have that.

"You're telling the truth?" I ask as I think of how broken Neville looked outside of the owlery.

"Always," he says and it's a lie, but I don't press it because I want to believe him.

"Why didn't you just say that first?" I scoff. "Instead of having me go through this whole fight."

"I thought it would be obvious," he says and that makes me feel stupid again so I look away. "Come here," he says as he pulls my dress over my head. "Let's go to bed."

I stand in my spot for a while, just staring at him as he puts my bag and dress back on his writing desk.

"Ginny," he says softly as he takes a step closer to me and he runs his hand up my side. "Come to bed," he says gently. "Listen to me."

I stare at him for a while until he bends down and places a soft kiss at the corner of my mouth.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" I press and he sighs as he pulls back, squeezing my arm.

I can tell he's trying to hide his annoyance.

"What can we do right now?" he asks with a sharp brow raised. "If he leaves, they find him and kill him. Then they will come after me. Simple as that. I don't know how to make that any clearer to you."

Draco's passageway was my only game plan and now I'm stuck with nothing. I'll have to talk to Neville tomorrow, perhaps we could figure this all out together. I wish Hermione was here… she would know what to do.

"Gin," he snaps and I look at him.

I hold my ground for a few more stubborn moments before he shoots me a look.

Fine.

I shake my head, but follow him to the bed anyways. I slip out of my shoes and crawl under the covers when he pulls them back for me. He snuffs out the lights and rests beside me, but I'm still slightly confused and angry with him so I turn away. He rolls over after a few moments and puts his hand on my hip as I try to think of a way to help Neville…. But my thoughts overlap… they bundle together and become a mess because I can't figure it out and I don't know what to do.

I bring a hand up to my forehead and I try to smooth out my worry as I massage my temple.

Draco grabs my hand.

"Do you want a sleeping potion to help you relax?" he asks as he brings my hand down and intertwines it with his own. I don't say anything and he sits up. "I'll get you one anyways," he says as he reaches under his bed to pull out his leather potions kit. He taps my shoulder. I sit up and turn towards him as he hands me a small glass vial full of a blue cloudy looking potion. "Drink the whole thing," he orders as I uncork it.

I've been so nervous with worry that I've barely slept. Maybe this is a good thing. If I get a good night's sleep I might be able to think straight and figure some things out. I look at him before bringing the potion up to my lips. I take it down in one big gulp. It has a fruity aftertaste and I crinkle my nose as I hand it back to him. He takes the vial and puts it back in the case, snapping it shut with a flick of his fingers before tucking it back under his bed.

I instantly feel drowsy and I lay back against the pillows.

"This works well," I say groggily as I close my eyes. I'm already at ease and ready for sleep. "Come here," I whisper as I pull his body towards mine. I want to cuddle up against him and fall asleep. He's always so warm. "I want to touch you," I whisper, feeling almost drunk as I tuck myself against him and I kiss his shoulder.

"You can touch me anytime," he says and I laugh because I can practically feel his smirk.

I place my hand at the hem of his shirt and move up until it's resting on the smooth skin of his stomach. He inhales deeply but I ignore it as I start to drift off with his warm body against mine.

Sleeping isn't as peaceful as I had hoped it would be.

I fall into a fitful sleep with horrid dreams about snakes and chambers and blood.

The Chamber of Secrets has always been a place in my nightmares and I was right back at the center of it again. Lying on the ground like I did when I was eleven and staring up at Tom as the Basilisk slithered around us. It smells damp and it feels cold... and so close to being real that I can feel my heart skipping a few beats.

"Blood is important," Tom says. He walks around me with his handsome face set in a pleased smirk as he drains the life out of me. "Blood is the most important thing in our world. Did you know that?"

I don't answer. I can't. I just look away from him and try not to let the headache take me over.

The basilisk moves past us and I clench my eyes shut quickly. Looking at it made it real, and when it was real, it made me scream.

"I've always felt dirty," Tom pulls me back to the conversation with his beautifully deep voice.

He said that softly, like he didn't want me to hear it. I glance at him again through the haze of tears that are threatening to fall as he traces the veins on his pale wrist. He glances at me and then he quickly kneels by my side, running his fingers over my temple and cheek, tracing the thin blue lines down my neck like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

His fingers are like ice and they make me shiver.

"Your blood is so clean," he whispers like a madman as he bends down and puts his face against my neck. He inhales and I let a sob escape. "I could drink your blood like wine," he adds darkly and I try to pull away from him, but I'm too weak.

I'm always too weak and he is always so strong.

"Stop," I manage to choke out. I don't know what I want him to stop, really. I just want him to go away.

"I will never stop," he says levelly as he sits back on his knees. "It's not in my nature. You would do well to remember that."

Another quiet sob escapes my throat. He moves until he's hovering above me with his black eyes taking me in.

"You're a powerful witch," he says, eyeing me again. "Look at you, just eleven years old and your force is strong enough to bring me back from the nothingness. I think I chose you well," he says. He takes my hand and starts tracing the blue veins webbing under my skin. "And your blood…" he whispers gently as he brings my hand up to his lips like he was going to kiss me there.

His mouth felt cold. I tried to pull away, but he jerked me back and I whimpered.

"It's curse breaking blood. Did you know that? You're special, little one," he says before moving his lips to my wrist, speaking against my skin softly. " My little Ginny." His breath felt like a chilly winter wind and I just wanted to die. "You're different and I have you all to myself," he says gently before sinking his teeth into the tender flesh of my wrist. "All mine ."

I yell out and arch my back. His bite isn't as cold as the rest of him is. In fact, the pain burns hot and I try to get away but he holds me firmly down with his knee on my stomach. My heart beat is racing so fast I think I might pass out and I start calling for my mum like a child. Whimpering and crying and begging for my mother to come and save me from all of this.

It was an empty prayer. I knew that. My mother couldn't reach me here in the Chamber. No one could.

I keep calling for her anyways and it makes him laugh.

"Call for Mummy, Ginevra," he grins. It was such a wonderful and terrible sight. "That's right. Keep yelling. See if she comes."

He smiles darkly against my wrist before biting down again and sucking more blood. When he finally pulls back, he inhales deeply like it was his first breath ever and then he looks right at me. My blood is dribbling down his chin… he looks like a damn vampire as he licks his lips. His coloring gradually changes as he stares down at me with one of his dark eyebrows quirked in amusement. His skin turns less waxy and more human. He was less like a ghost and more like a man. Even his cheeks are a little bit flushed, giving him a handsome… almost healthy… glow.

When he smiles, he has my blood coating his teeth.

"Do you think Mummy can hear you down here?" he questions, breathless and excited. "Do you think anyone cares? Mummy! " he mocks me, yelling so loud it echoes off the chamber walls. "Mummy , help me!" He gives me a fake pout. "I don't think she's coming."

I clench my eyes shut. I will not listen to him anymore. I'll play dead and maybe he will leave me alone.

"Ginevra," he barks. I turn my head to get away from him. I can't do it anymore. I just can't. "Look at me," he commands in a seductive whisper. "Look at me now. Open your eyes and look at me." I stubbornly shake my head and then I feel him move, shifting so he is hovering over me, caging me underneath him with his hands on either side of my body. "Let me see," he coaxes and I can feel his cold dead breath on my face. "Let me in. Look at me. Open your eyes and let me see."

I finally obey when I feel his icy hand on my face and then he levels me with a mean glare… a cruel smile playing at the corner of his lips like he had won some kind of battle I knew nothing about. His fingers tighten painfully around my chin so I can't get away as his eyes look so deeply into my own. I've never felt so much hate or malice before… It radiated off of him and spilled over me like a blanket. It was chilling and heavy… It took my breath away. Then his face suddenly loses all the playfulness that had been there…A cold mask slips over his features and his eyes go dead…. all that dark joy is gone and he looks like a truly wicked monster.

I can't bear to look anymore.

When he speaks again his voice is a deep dark prison.

"Ginevra," he says to get my attention.

I inhale a deep breath, trying to be brave as I open my eyes to face the most evil thing I've ever seen wrapped up in the most pleasing package… because Tom Riddle was beautiful… and Tom Riddle was pure malice. He looks over my face as he tilts his head and then he focuses on my lips.

"Scream for me."

He bites down on my neck and I can't help the deep and intense scream that breaks from me, echoing off the walls and vibrating my ear drums.

The giant snake hisses somewhere in the distance, but I don't care.

I would do anything to look into the snake's eyes to get away from him.

Tom quickly clamps his ice cold hand over my mouth and glares down at me with onyx eyes when he pulls back.

"No one can hear you," he says in a menacing hiss, his breath now warm on my face. He was turning more real. More tangible. A nightmare come to life. "No one knows where you are. No one cares where you are. I'm going to ruin you, little Ginny. I'm going to ruin you completely. Oh, and you will love it."

He flicks a glance down my body and then he looks me in the eyes before bending down and licking the side of my face.

"It's a shame you aren't older," he whispers with a frown like he was truly disappointed. "My teenage body is very excited by blood and I would dearly love to sate it. Alas," he whispers. "I will have to wait." I didn't know what he meant so I just cried. "But for now, my young little friend," he sighs as he removes his hand and leans towards me. "You sleep," he says before planting a harsh kiss against my trembling lips.

It left blood on me.

My blood.

It was my first kiss… and it was with him .

This all felt so real... the feelings... the smells... the coldness in Tom's hands... The pain...

I bolt upright.

It takes me a moment to get adjusted to the darkness but I know where I am now. Draco's room. His bed. I sigh in relief and sit back, putting my hand over my eyes. It was just a dream... It can't hurt me. Tom Riddle can never hurt me again. Harry Potter made sure of that. I'm sweating now so I push my bangs from my eyes as I try to calm myself down. I do have a headache. A really terrible, piercing headache and I bring my hand up to my temples as I try to rub it out.

Eventually the pain dies to a minor ache and I reach for Draco in the darkness, but he's not on his side of the bed. Still shook up from the dream, I grab my wand from the nightstand to flick the candles to life around me as I try to catch my breath.

I find Draco sitting in the chair by his writing desk, looking right at me with darkened eyes.

When we make eye contact, he raises an eyebrow.

"Bad dream?" he asks as he stands from the chair.

Was he just sitting there in the dark, staring at me as I slept?

That's so weird.

I nod my head and pull the covers further up my chest as he starts walking towards me. I notice he has his wand in his hand.

"What were you doing up?" I ask in a voice thick with sleep as he crawls into bed beside me.

"I couldn't sleep," he says as he turns off the lights and plucks the wand from my hand. He puts it by his on the nightstand and then pulls me towards him. "Go back to sleep," he says, adding a kiss to the top of my head.

"Why were you sitting in the dark?" I ask with a yawn... but the sleeping potion overtakes me again before I get an answer and the last thing I feel before drifting off to sleep is Draco gently caressing my arm.

I go right back to where my dream left off, only this time I was more lucid and outside of my little body. I was standing off to the side, by the large statue of a snake as Tom walked around my smaller form, taunting and teasing and hurting.

I gasp when I feel someone grip my hair tightly and I almost yell out until I hear Draco's voice.

"He's envious of you," he says as he jerks my head to the side so he can suck on my neck.

"He's killing me," I whisper. I watch Tom hover over my eleven year old body as Draco and I stand in the shadows. He still has my blood dripping from his mouth and he knows how much he's scaring me. That's why he's doing it.

Tom thrived on fear.

Scream for me.

"Dark magic lingers, little Ginny," Tom says as Draco reaches in between my legs, hiking up the black silk slip I wore just to please him. It has already pleased him twice already and I suspect it will again. "And you had enough even before I came into the picture."

"That's not true," I whisper. Draco works his fingers against my body as my little girl self cries on the damp stones.

"Is it not?" Draco asks against my neck. The basilisk slithers behind us and I try to wake myself up because this dream is going to hell fast. I try to turn around, but he holds me firmly against him, with my back against his chest.

"No," I say as I shake my head.

Draco jerks my head back by my hair until I'm looking at him. His silver eyes look dark. This is the most vivid dream I've ever had...

It feels real.

I'm thinking real thoughts.

I'm feeling real pain.

I hate this.

"No?" he says gently and then he bends down to kiss me viciously with his teeth biting my lower lip so painfully hard.

"That hurts," I whisper when he pulls back to breathe and I hitch my breath when his fingers slip inside me.

This feels way too real.

"I'm going to make you scream for me too, Ginny," he whispers darkly against my ear.

I try to pull his hand away and cross my legs so he can't touch my anymore. I look towards Tom. He's still circling my body, saying terrible things.

"You're ready," Draco whispers against my ear. "Get on your knees."

"No, I..." I trail off. This is the worst time possible to have a sex dream.

"Don't think," he says as he pulls the slip over my head. He throws it on the ground and starts pushing me down until I'm on my hands and knees. "Just feel what I'm going to do to you."

I close my eyes to get away from the image before me and I hold my breath as Draco lowers my knickers.

Tom starts telling me a story, about a serpent and a queen and a curse and a boat as Draco puts his hand on my neck and positions himself behind me.

"… ...The king, thinking his new Queen was a dark witch, snapped her wand and banished her to the sea….."

Draco kisses my shoulder, pulling me away from it as he touches my breast with his right hand.

"…. On the seventh day, thirsty and hungry, the youngest sister was near death when the Dark wizard found her and disguised himself as a serpent once more. Appearing on her small boat…."

Tom carries on telling that horrid story and I try to block him out…. making a gasping noise when Draco pushes into me, his right hand gripping my hip.

Dark magic lingers….

Hush.

Draco pounds into me from behind and I don't want to watch anymore of the bad dream, so I rest on my forearms and put my head down so I can focus on the way Draco feels inside of me. He's ruthless in his movements and it's almost painful. It feels good, but it's almost too intense… It's too hard for me.

I don't think I like it.

The noises aren't pleasant either.

Draco's body smacking against my own is playing against Tom's silky voice in the background. The snake hisses somewhere to the left and I clench my jaw. It's not sexy and it's making me feel dirty in the worst way.

"When the seventh moon is in the second house... " Tom says as he twirls my hair around one of his long pale fingers. I try to block his voice out again and I close my eyes when Draco's hand grips a little more tightly around the back of my neck.

"You don't love him, do you?" I hear Draco ask me in a breathless voice as he drills into me with both hands moving to encircle my waist, pulling my body back on his with each movement of his hips.

"Who?" I whisper as the friction starts to build in between my legs.

He twists his hand in my hair again and pulls my head up. I open my eyes. "Him," he says as he sucks on my ear when I get up on my hands.

I look at Tom as he kneels over my smaller body. I clench my eyes shut as I shake my head.

This is a fucked up dream.

This is even worse than the corpse dinner or the bloody hands nightmare I always have. This one feels too real and Draco is being so rough with me.

"I. can't. hear. you." he says, punctuating each word by a hard thrust.

"I don't love him," I whisper. I feel my legs shaking as his hand loosens in my hair. "No one has ever loved him."

"You love me?" Draco asks against my ear.

I don't say anything... I can't say anything. It all feels too real and too much. I make a whimpering noise in the back of my throat when he bites down on my shoulder.

"That hurts," I whimper.

He doesn't let up… he just bites down a little harder and I feel my eyes well up.

"Please, Draco. It hurts."

He grips my hips so hard it burns me and I cry out.

"Draco," I say again, and he must have heard me this time, because he loosens his grip and he kisses my shoulder softly like he was apologizing. "Thank you," I whisper in relief as he puts his hand on my back, running his fingers up my spine as I rest back on my forearms. "Thank you."

"Come here," he whispers as he slips out of me and he maneuvers me until I'm on my back, laying against the cold stone floor. He settles back inside of me as he puts his hand up to rest by the side of my head. He sighs gently and starts rolling his hips. "I love the way you feel," he says with a smile and I bring my hand up, cupping his cheek. "You love me?" he asks again and I nod my head, feeling tears leak from the corner of my eyes.

He kisses them away.

"I love you," I tell him gently and he smiles before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close.

"Then scream for me."

I see the large beast approaching us, slithering along the chamber floor and when I see its golden yellow eyes staring at me from above… I really do scream.

Then everything goes black.

I wake early.

My body is sore and I rub my eyes as I sit up. It's still dark outside and I glance at Draco as he slumbers beside me with his arm thrown over his face.

What a weird, terrible dream.

I stumble out of bed and head towards the bathroom, noticing the uncomfortable ache between my legs. It was just a dream, right? Perhaps my body is feeling its side effects. I take a quick shower because I feel odd and as I'm washing my body, I notice the red marks on my shoulder. Upon closer inspection I find that they're bite marks and I furrow my brows as I look down at my hips. There are bruises already forming from Draco's fingers.

Oh. Damn.

I guess that part wasn't a dream and I feel weird with it as I shampoo my hair with an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach.

Scream for me.

All the things that were said... Did he see what I was seeing? Was he having the same dream as me? Was he really being that rough with me? That's stupid... that's impossible. There is no way that Draco had been stuck with me in the chamber with a young Dark Lord.

What the hell?

We did have sex, apparently. I was just dreaming during it. I wonder if Draco noticed... I touch the bite mark on my shoulder and hiss. I can't believe that didn't wake me up. It really hurts! What was he thinking biting me that hard?

God, what if I said something embarrassing?

What if I did something embarrassing?

Do people have sleep sex like some people sleep walk?

Fuck me.

After getting clean, I step out of his small shower and use one of his white towels to dry off. I wrap it around my body and leave the bathroom with my hair hanging past my shoulders, dripping water down my body. It's chilly in the morning and I shiver a bit as I close the door behind me. The sun is just now starting to shine and I squint my eyes against it as I walk over to the writing desk. Birds chirp with their morning call outside of the window as I pull out some clean clothes from my bag.

As I'm pulling out a shirt, a book falls out and lands on the floor with a thump.

It's that children's book I had taken from Daphne's house. I eye it for a few moments and then I pick it up.

Why did I want this?

I think of the story I read in Dr. Carroll's office... That horrid children's story with the creepy illustrations... the same story Tom was telling me in my fucked up dream…

Oh, right.

With purpose, I sit down and start flicking through it, trying to find that story.

The Tale of the Serpent and the Queen.

I furrow my brows when I find the title page and I start scanning it for one line in particular. I hear Draco rustle behind me as I flip through the pages, but I ignore him.

"What are you doing up so early?" I hear him ask in a voice thick with sleep.

"Couldn't sleep," I answer with a shrug as I turn the page.

I hear him walk towards the bathroom.

"How long have you been awake?" Draco asks with a yawn when he comes back out. He walks towards me, moving wet hair over my shoulder when he gets close enough. "You smell nice," he adds as he bends down and kisses my neck.

I wince because it's so close to the bite mark.

"I haven't been awake that long," I admit as I lean back in the chair, liking the feel of his warm hands on my arms in the cold morning chill.

"Oh," he says and then he pauses for a moment. "Oh, babe ," he says in sympathy like he felt sorry for me. I glance at him in question as he bends down and kisses the angry looking bite mark on my shoulder. "I didn't realize I was being so rough with you last night."

"It's okay," I whisper and then I sigh as I bring my hand up to his cheek. "I was dreaming when we were... you know," I say with a blush as he kisses my shoulder like his lips could heal it. "It was weird... I never really woke up. I was still stuck in a dream."

"Hopefully a good dream," he says with a smirk against my skin. "Judging by the way you were moaning my name, I suppose that is the truth."

"I wasn't moaning your name," I scoff. He puts his hands on either side of me on the writing desk as he presses his lips against the top of my head.

"Of course you were," he says as he brings his knuckles up to run down my bare arm.

He's being very loving today.

"What else would you be moaning about?" he asks and I can practically feel him smile as I go back to the book. "Aren't we a little old for fairy tales, Gin?" he asks when he notices what's in front of me.

"Did you say this to me once?" I ask as I find the line. It's the same one Tom had said to me in my dream.

He leans down so his cheek is placed against my own and his eyes quickly scan the page.

"When the seventh moon is in the second house..." he trails off. "Probably," he answers with a shrug. "Why?"

"It's just... Why did you say that?" I ask.

"It's a saying," he says, like I was stupid. "It means everything is aligning perfectly."

"Really?" I ask as his clever fingers start to work their way to the knot in the towel I'm wearing. "I've never heard it before."

"There's probably a lot you haven't heard," he says as he removes the towel. I try to cover myself, but he pushes my hands away and forces me to stand up. He kicks the chair out of the way and before I get a chance to respond, he bends me over.

"What are you doing?" I ask even though I know perfectly well what he's doing.

"I don't know what it is," he says as he runs his fingers down my back. "But everything about you has been turning me on lately," he says and I face forward with my chin resting on my forearms as I wait for another ride.

I glance down at the book as Draco starts to caress me and kiss my back… asking me if I'm ready to take it again. I nod my head and tell him yes as I look down at that sentence.

When the seventh moon is the second house, a powerful union between the two families will set the world on fire…

When Draco enters me again, I crunch up the page in my hand so tightly that it rips.


XXXXXXX

I hold my arm and bend my elbow as I try not to cry. The ugly old woman puts a cotton ball on my wound after removing the syringe and she walks off with a vial of my blood. Why do they need that? Where is she taking it?

Why? Why? Why?

All I have are questions and it's starting to piss me off.

"Miss Ginevra Molly Weasley," Dolores Umbridge reads out my name slowly like she was tasting it. I sink further down into my chair and let the cotton ball fall to the ground. "Are you ready for your evaluation?" she asks sharply as she looks up from her papers.

I nervously nod my head. Umbridge, that Izador Rookwood character, Snape, and Lucius Malfoy are all sitting across from me with matching looks of indifference on their faces as I try not to break down and cry right in front of them. I'm so nervous and the fact that Umbridge is currently holding my wand does not make me feel any better.

"Why did you take my blood?" I ask in a whisper and she gives me a fake smile.

"To test it, of course," she says sweetly. "Now, let's see here..." She goes back to the paper in front of her and props it up to see better. "Age Sixteen. School year... sixth." Umbridge says with her fuzzy pink cardigan looking ridiculous next to the three men in black who are part of the new ' Department of Education' .

I flick a glance to my boyfriend's father, but he's steadily reading a piece of paper in front of him with a pair of glasses perched on the bridge of his sharp nose. I start playing with the bracelet his son gave me, trying to find some peace.

"Well, it looks like you have been doing fairly well in academics," she says as she flicks her eyes to the paper in front of her. "Steady O's in most of your classes."

"She's fifth in her year," that Rookwood fellow points out and when his dark eyes find mine, I nervously look away.

"Indeed, and she's been on her house Quidditch team for two years." Umbridge says as she turns to another page. " Weasley ," she says the name like she was pondering its meaning. "Daughter of Arthur Weasley, currently in Azkaban for participating in a fight against our empire with the traitorous Order of the Phoenix."

I sit up straight when I hear that... Azkaban? My father is in Azkaban?

"And Molly Weasley," she says as she tsks her tongue. "Also in Azkaban for resisting questioning when officials were sent to her home. They had to break in to get her out. Completely uncooperative, she was."

"My home?" I say weakly and they all look up from their papers to stare at me. "But, how?"

They couldn't have gotten past our wards.

"Nevermind that," Umbridge says as I bring a hand up so I can chew on my nails. "We are not accepting questions at this time."

That freaking piece of paper!

Draco said he gave it back... That's the only way they could have gotten my mother...Unless she let them in... but that doesn't make any sense. Umbridge said they had to break in. I pull my fingers from my mouth and start scratching my nails down my thighs so hard I think I might break through the denim.

"Sister to Charles Weasley, currently in Azkaban for treason. William Weasley, currently in Azkaban for treason. Fred Weasley and George Weasley, currently on a watch list for traitorous activity... at large," she adds, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Percy Weasley, arrested and in Azkaban for aiding the rebels in the fight at the Ministry of Magic. And lastly, Ronald Weasley, currently on the run with public enemy number one and wanted for treason against the state."

That's my entire family.

I can't even swallow that information properly.

I find my hands shaking and I look at Mr. Malfoy again. He's looking at me now, his silver eyes cold and unfeeling. I feel like I've been punched in the gut. Treason? Charlie and Bill… Percy…. My parents… I start breathing a little harder and I try to calm myself down… I try to be optimistic. At least they aren't dead... that's a good thing to know.

They are alive. Fred and George are free… Ron is still out there with Harry and Hermione.

There is hope.

Any news is better than no news, right?

No, not fucking right, but what else do I have to go off of?

"Tell me, Miss Weasley," Umbridge says in her sugary sweet voice as she folds her pudgy hands over the table. "Are you to be trusted?"

I don't say anything. I just swallow the lump in my throat and stare down at my hands. Be brave, Ginny . I can do this. I can sit here and take this and live another day for my family. I can do this.

"The Weasley's are a very old pureblooded line," Izador Rookwood says in his deep voice. "They're a powerful clan."

"Her mother was a Prewett," Lucius Malfoy adds, speaking like he was bored by the whole thing. "Another pure line."

"Obviously full of blood traitors on both sides," Umbridge says as she motions to the folder in front of her and then to me. "I suggest we send her to Azkaban with the rest of her family and enroll her in the re-education program."

That doesn't sound good at all and I snap my eyes to hers in a panic. I start scratching again, using the pain to distract myself from my very real feelings of dread.

Mr. Malfoy sighs as he takes off his glasses and folds them in his breast pocket.

"I don't think that will be necessary," he says and the others glance at him. "It would be a shame to waste her mind when there are only so many pure lines left. I also don't think he would appreciate that decision taken so lightly."

Waste her mind?

What does that mean and who is he?

"Agreed," Rookwood says as his dark eyes take me in again.

I look at Snape pleadingly.

He was a member of the Order. Is he really so evil?

"Miss Weasley," Snape says in his derisive voice, his dark eyes narrowed. "Do you know where Harry Potter is?" he asks and I shake my head. I honestly don't, so it's not a lie. "Do you know how he left the castle?"

I shake my head again and look at my lap.

I have that golden compact in my pocket. I've taken to carrying it with me at all times, but right about now I wish it was safely tucked away in my trunk because it starts vibrating. I panic and look at them with wide eyes as it buzzes loudly, echoing off the high ceiling. Izador Rookwood raises a dark eyebrow.

"Do you need to get that?" he asks.

Hermione is calling me. Hermione, or my brother, or Harry. Oh my God, if these people knew. I quickly shake my head and pull it out of my pocket so I can turn it off. It slips from my grip and lands against the hard floor in front me. It's still vibrating and my cheeks feel so hot I fear I might catch on fire. I get up to get it, but Mr. Malfoy summons it with his wand. I watch in fear as he plucks it from the air and turns it off as I slump back in the seat. A silence falls over the room as he twirls it in his hands, eyeing it coldly before he glances at me.

"Did Draco give you this?" he asks, tilting his head. "Yes," he nods his head before I can answer and he glances at the others before he stands up. He walks around the table and moves towards me, his midnight robes swishing around him as he moves. "I do believe this is Narcissa's." He hands it back to me and looks into my eyes. I gulp at the coldness I see there. "Keep it turned off for the rest of the evaluation, Miss Weasley."

I nod my head and stuff it back in my pocket, looking away because I don't like looking at him.

Why did he lie?

Umbridge has a distasteful look on her face and she makes a ' uh huh' sound before writing something down on the sheet in front of her. Mr. Malfoy adjusts his dark robes and goes back to his chair behind the large table.

"Do you have that under control?" Snape asks coldly and I nod my head again. "Good, now, as I was saying, do you have any information pertaining to the whereabouts and possible plans of Harry Potter? We know how closely affiliated your family is with him."

"I don't know anything," I say in a mousy voice. I wish I was brave. I wish I was powerful and strong but I'm not so I just sound ridiculous and weak.

No one says anything for a while and I focus on the lump in my pocket. I hope they were able to leave me a message. I want to know how they are...

Then I feel it, softly at first and then more pronounced. It's the tingling feeling that Draco told me to watch out for when someone was digging in my mind. I throw up the best shield I can and then I start thinking of a random memory to throw them off. If they knew that I had a compact that the three most wanted people in England used to communicate with me, I would probably be dead despite what Mr. Malfoy said.

The first memory that comes to my mind is the fight Draco and I had gotten into with Ron and Harry in the hallway before dinner. Where curses were thrown and names were called and I ended up leaving with Draco, angry with Ron for his accusation of loyalty.

The presence leaves, and I snap my head up to the people at the table. They all still look passively annoyed, but Rookwood. His dark eyes look pleased and when I make eye contact with him, he smiles a little.

"I vote that she stays and takes the test," he says seriously. "We need more pureblooded girls and her line is quite unblemished despite the blood traitor activity of her family. She is still young and can be persuaded otherwise, I am sure."

"Good?" Umbridge seethes. She never really liked me and I'm sure she wants me out. "Her whole family is a pack of blood traitors and so is she."

"She is hardly a blood traitor," Lucius Malfoy says with an eye roll. "In fact, I know she's the opposite. She has been staying at my Manor for a majority of the summer. My wife has taken her under her wing, shall we say."

Snape snaps his eyes to Mr. Malfoy, but doesn't say anything. He was in on the Order meetings at the Burrow. He knows that is a lie.

Why is he lying again?

Snape looks at me, narrowing his eyes. "Miss Weasley, are you loyal to our Lord?" he asks, leveling me with cold glare.

I swallow the lump in my throat, unable to answer either way even though my mind is yelling at me to say no, to stand up and to declare my allegiance with Harry and the Order... but I'm not nearly as brave as I would like to pretend.

"Umm..."

That's all I say. I'm an idiot. I really am.

"She has already attempted to aid the Dark Lord her first year here," Lucius Malfoy breaks the silence as he holds up a page from the folder. I furrow my brows as they all turn to that page.

The Chamber of Secrets, page five apparently.

"She is with my son and we all know where my allegiance falls. He has done his due diligence in the matter, as you know," Mr. Malfoy says, looking at Rookwood. "Of course, I know you understand my meaning," he adds as he closes his folder and pushes it forward like dating Draco solved all the problems in the world. "She stays."

"She didn't answer the question," Umbridge says with a vicious snarl on her fat face. She glares at me. "Are you loyal to the Dark Lord? Do you renounce your family and your blood traitor ways for the betterment of our nation and the longevity of our empire!"

I might faint.

"Do you!?"

"I..."

I was going to say no... but someone cut me off before I could.

"I think we're missing one key set of information here," Rookwood says as he pulls out a yellow piece of paper from his folder.

Crisis avoided, hopefully.

He hands it to Mr. Malfoy, who reads it and then he passes it to Snape who glances at it dismissively before handing it to Umbridge. She grabs it with her pudgy fingers and holds onto it in a death grip. It appears she's the only one surprised by what it says and I crane my neck, trying to see it for myself. What could possibly be on that paper? Umbridge's cheeks turn pink as her beady eyes run furiously back and forth over the page.

When she's finished reading it, she's gripping the paper so hard it tears.

There's a very long and very awkward amount of silence, and then all four of them look at me.

"Well, that settles it then," Umbridge says bitterly. "Odette!" She calls and the old woman with a hunched back comes into the room, wearing a purple cloak that shimmers oddly in the candle light. She was the one who took my blood at the beginning and I slide away from her. "Please take Miss Weasley to Classroom A for the test and have her fitted for a new uniform."

The old woman nods and walks towards me but now I need to know what was on that yellow sheet of paper.

"Wait–" Is all I get out as I'm pulled from my seat by that old bat who is suspiciously strong. "Wait, what did that paper say?"

"What do you think, Severus?" Umbrdige asks coldly and Snape eyes me for a few moments before nodding his head.

"It seems, Miss Weasley, that one of the prefects from your grade… a Miss Felicia Hart," I nod my head. I know her. She's a quiet muggle born girl in my house that rarely says two words. "Has failed her evaluation."

Failed?

How could she possibly fail? She is first in our year?

"And considering your academic achievements, I would say it is quite prudent to offer you the post," he says. I'm confused. Is that what was on that paper? I bring my hand up to my mouth to bite my nails, but Mr. Malfoy raises his eyebrows at it, so I quickly put my hand down. "But, you will have to complete your testing first to make sure."

I don't say anything. I don't move and I barely breath until that old woman named Odette starts tugging on me again.

"Follow me, poppet," she says as she pulls me out of my seat. I look at the table of people once more. I really don't know what to say and when my eyes slide to that Rookwood fellow, he raises his eyebrows and smiles.

I don't like him. I don't like anything about him. Slimy git.

I follow Odette to another room, my feet following step by step as I stare at her back… She is so ugly. Like what muggles think witches actually look like…With a hunchback, hooked nose, and warts, she looks like a damn halloween costume. Some kind of old hag who would lure children into a gingerbread house to eat them.

Like she knew I was thinking of her, she looks at me and smiles a crooked smile. Her teeth are spaced too far apart and yellow. It is very unpleasant and I try not to make a face at it.

Gross.

When we get to the classroom, about fifteen other girls from my grade are already seated, looking nervous and shaken.

I see Luna towards the back. I give her a sad smile before Odette pushes my shoulder and I stumble.

Jesus.

What a pushy bitch.

"Take a seat," she says and I glare at her. "We'll start your test in a moment."

I get stuck sitting at one of the desks in the front and I try not to shake… I try not to let myself get so overwhelmed with all the changes and things that are happening… but I can't help it. I can't help but think of my family. None of them are safe. Not one of them… and I try to imagine my mother in Azkaban… that hell hole of a prison that makes you feel nothing but sadness and despair. She didn't deserve to be there… None of them did. My Dad? Percy? Bill? Charlie? God… Charlie . With his kind smile and warm eyes….

How could this happen to them?

"Pay attention, Miss Weasley!" Odette says as she slams down an anti cheating quill on my desk on top of a blank sheet of parchment. "This is important."

I glare at her as she hands me my wand and I tuck it back in my pocket.

"What a fine showing of purebloods."

I look up.

An old woman comes out from a door at the back of the classroom. She's wearing plaid black and green dress robes with a thick leather belt around her waist. She's incredibly tall, taller than Draco and any man I have ever seen besides Hagrid. She goes up to Flitwick's little podium and kicks it to the side with a smirk. Her face is long and unforgiving, covered in wrinkles that tell of her advanced age… Her hair is white and pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck and her make-up is severe.

She looks a little frightening, honestly.

"What beauties you all are," she says as she looks around the room before focusing on me. "I see the future within each and every one of you."

She introduces herself as Circe Avery, the new head of the Department of Health and Witches Services.

"This year you all will be taught where the place of the pureblooded woman falls within the hierarchy of our Great Lord's new regime. In this transitional period we will need smart and capable witches who are clever, and smart, and loyal to our cause. Our men are fighting for our place in the world– but this world can not be without pureblooded girls doing their part at home. You must always give your everything and our Great Lord holds education above all else."

She keeps flicking her pale eyes at me and it makes me uncomfortable.

"Now, you will have two hours to complete this part of your written exam. Any witch who scores lower than the accepted minimum will be required to take an extra hour of course study during the week. We want you all to live up to your full potential. As the pureblooded witches of our empire- the future lies on your shoulders and our Great Lord has let it be known that education of magical girls is to be on the forefront of his agenda going forward."

She lifts her wand to the clock.

"You shall begin." She shoots a charm that makes it glow. "Now."

I twist in my seat and try to spot Luna, but I can't seem to get her attention. She's too busy scribbling something down with her quill to look up. I glare at her before facing the front of the room again and glancing down at the desk. A charms question pops up on the blank sheet of paper and I look at Odette who is still standing beside me like a creep before picking up the quill and writing down the answer.

I have no idea what would happen if someone scored badly on this test. Extra study time doesn't sound horrible but I'm sure there's more to it than that.

I know I don't want that re-education crap.

I'm almost glad for Draco's insistence on editing my work and making me study because I was able to get through a lot of the questions without much trouble. It takes me the entire two hours to finish, but I actually feel pretty confident. It wasn't so bad. After the clock beeps to signal the end of the exam, the stern looking woman summons all of our papers to her and then ushers us into Classroom B which is actually the old Transfiguration room to do the wand portion of the test. There are older witches waiting for us, lining the walls with their wands out all dressed in the same black uniform.

"You will be matched up with a partner to show you talents," Circe Avery says, motioning to the older witches against the wall. "Miss Weasley," she calls me out and I look at her in surprise. "You shall take your wand portion with me."

I swallow hard and nod my head as I walk over to her.

Her pale eyes skip over my face and then she smiles.

I put my bag down and take out my wand, standing by the window when she tells me to. She asks me to do a few basic spells. I complete them easily. She asks me to do a few more complicated ones. I do them as well. Then she asks me to do a few charms… a few transfigurations… and a few defensive spells.

"Wonderful," she says, writing something down with her quill on a black clipboard. "Now. Point your wand to that dark haired girl and stun her."

"What?" I ask, glancing at her and then back to Romilda Vane who is trying to turn a bird into a bowl. "She's not even paying attention."

"You will do as you're told."

"That's not fair," I say, lowering my wand and looking at her. "I'm not going to do that to her when she's not looking."

"Well, let us have her look, then." She raises her wand and shoots a curse to the bird Romilda was trying to transfigure, making it freeze and fall off the table. "You there, what is your name?"

"Romilda Vane," she answers uncomfortably.

"Ah, Miss Vane." She smiles as she crosses her arms. "Come here."

Romilda walks towards us, looking nervous and I guess I look the same because we share a little concerned look.

"Now, stand right there so Miss Weasley can demonstrate her hexes."

"What ?" We both say at the same time as Circe Avery summons Romilda's wand right out of her hand.

"It is important that I see this, of course," she says, looking down at me and giving me a sympathetic look. "It's on your evaluation specifically, after all."

"I'm not going to hex an unarmed person," I mumble, feeling nervous and uncomfortable.

"Oh, is that the issue?" she asks, her voice deep and unpleasant. She throws Romilda her wand. Romilda drops it. The others in the room have stopped their tests to watch. "Now. Let's see what you can do."

"I'm not going to–"

Romilda throws a curse at me. I deflect it and then narrow my eyes.

"Really?" I hiss in annoyance.

"I'm not failing this," Romilda says, throwing another curse my way.

I shield it and then send one right back to her. It hits her in the shoulder and her arm goes limp. She tries to throw something else at me but I deflect it and take a step towards her. I don't want to do this. I've been in class with Romilda since I was eleven and I know she is not a good dueler. I don't want to hurt her so I focus on disarming her instead.

When that doesn't work, I start throwing ridiculous spells at her. I braid her hair. I tie her shoes together. I make her dance. She fails at blocking and she fails at hitting me with anything… but Circe Avery is not amused and she steps in front of me, snatching my wand and glaring down.

"The Great Lord is always watching, Miss Weasley," she says as I look up at her. "Do not insult him. Do it correctly or I will turn my wand on you as an example."

I gulp loudly and then take my wand back with a shaky hand.

I look at Romilda with her stupid looking braids and sour looking face.

"Now," Avery says. "Sting her."

I throw the curse and it hits Romilda in the chest. She yells out in pain.

"Burn her."

I hesitate a second before sending the curse to her arm. It singes her skin and makes her scream.

"Take away her strength."

I throw a weakening hex at her but my heart isn't in it… I was hoping she would shield herself but she's too slow and it hits her. Her whole body slumps and she starts breathing heavier.

"Confuse her."

My next hex hits her in the head and she blinks, dropping her wand.

"Where am I?" she asks, looking around and then looking at her hands like she has never seen them before.

"Get her wand."

I summon her wand to me and catch it with my left hand.

" Finish her," she whispers and I give her a troubled look. "Hurl her against the wall."

I shake my head.

"Do it."

"No," I say, putting my wand down.

"Fine." She takes out her own wand and flings the curse at Romilda that sends her flying against the wall, her body hitting it with a sickening crunch that makes everyone flinch. "Will one of you please take this poor soul to the hospital wing?" she says in a pleasant voice before she rounds on me and takes Romilda's wand from my hand. "Good work, Miss Weasley," she says, writing something down on her clipboard before telling me to wait in the hallway.

The first girl to come out is Ivy and we share a look before she comes over and slumps against the wall beside me. We don't speak to one another and the hall is silent as each girl comes out one by one. The last to leave is Luna and she is all teary eyed and upset. I ask her if she is okay but Odette and that Circe Avery woman step out before she can answer.

"Now, you have each been sorted into a coven room," Circe Avery says, looking around with her creepy pale eyes. "When I call your name please step forward. Coven Room Black ," she says. "Astoria Greengrass, Ivy Parkinson, Helen Macnair, Luna Lovegood, and Ginevra Weasley."

I step forward with the others.

"These are to be your new roommates for the duration of the school year," she says, looking at me for some reason. She sorts the other girls. There are two other coven rooms. Coven Room Green and Coven Room Silver. "Now, Coven Black, follow me to be fitted for your new uniforms."

I follow her with the rest of my new roommates and I hang back to take Luna's arm.

"Are you okay?" I ask as she wipes tears away.

"I'm fine," she whispers. "At least we get to be together," she says, giving me a hopeful smile.

"Yeah," I nod my head but then I remember the awfulness. "They told me that most of my family was in Azkaban," I say as I try to blink back tears as well. Seeing her be all emotional seems to be giving me a free pass to feel it as well. "Do you think they're going to hurt them?" I question in a small voice as I look at the back of Circe Avery and that ugly old Odette woman.

Who are these old ladies, anyways?

"I don't know," she says. "My father is there too, for printing negative things about the new regime. But Theo says... "

"Ginevra Weasley." My name is called again and I snap my eyes towards Odette as she stops in front of what I assume is Classroom C. "Please come in for your measurements."

I nod my head and squeeze Luna's arm before walking towards that horrid woman and going inside.

There is a team of witches dressed in gray robes standing at the center of the room. I give them a tight smile as Odette instructs me to go to them and stand on the podium in front of a large mirror.

"You are quite lovely," Circe Avery says as she takes a seat that's right in front of the podium to watch me as the women in gray come forward with magic ribbons controlled by flicks of their wands. Creepy old hag Odette takes out a camera and takes a picture of me. I frown and turn away from her. "I knew your grandmother," she says, crossing her legs like a man would and sitting back with her dress robes open to reveal the black pantsuit underneath.. I spare her a glance. "Winnie Prewett. We were coven sisters, you know. I see her in you… you have her coloring."

I hold up my arms when one of the gray robed witches instructs me to so she can wrap a ribbon around my bust and waist.

"I was there for the birth of all three of her children…" Circe Avery continues, watching me with those weird pale eyes. "...and the death of two of them."

She smiles an awful smile and I feel my heart sinking.

"You know, I can't pinpoint the exact moment Winnie and Hugo turned against our Great Lord. But little good it did them in the end. Fortune lost. Sons dead. Name no longer carries in our world… and I hear their precious Molly now rots in Azkaban ," she says, smoothing down her pant leg. "Such a shame to see the ruin of such a proud family."

Her pale eyes stare at me like she was daring me to say something. I'm too shook up to do much of anything but stare right back at her. She looks at me for a long time and I have to look away from it. After a while she sighs loudly and I glance at her from the corner of my eyes.

"Our Great Lord was a handsome man in his youth," she says, eyeing me again as the women pull off my shirt- leaving me in the lacy green bra Pansy had bought me with Draco's money once upon a time. She raises her eyebrows at it before smirking. I cross my arms quickly and welcome the black button down shirt they hand me. God, how fucking weird and uncomfortable this is turning out to be. "Charming. Fearsome. Smarter and stronger than all others…. But I'm told you know all about that."

I turn away from her- refusing to engage.

"He is not so different with his return. Smarter maybe now than before… and more powerful. Yes. He is and will be much more powerful. Can you imagine what that will look like? When he was already the most powerful being in our world?"

"Not so powerful," I whisper, thinking of Harry. "If a baby could stop him."

The gray witches stop what they're doing to look at me. I realize it was a stupid thing to say, but I try to pretend to be unbothered by their reaction. I thought she'd be mad- but she just smiles at me.

"Things happen for a reason," she says simply. "It takes time," she adds. "Things must fall where they may. The stars must align…All that rot. "

I shake my head and take my jeans off, grabbing the compact and my wand so I don't lose them before quickly putting on the tights and A line skirt that they hand me. Circe Avery and that Odette hag watch me dress the entire time and it's so unnerving and uncomfortable… and so very inappropriate. I zip up the skirt and smooth down the crinkles, gasping when Circe Avery lifts her wand and tucks in my shirt with a spell. I spare her a glare before putting on the tie and the black jumper.

"You'll get five of these," one of the gray robed women says. "Five of each piece of the uniform," she clarifies and I nod my head. "We will deliver them to your room tomorrow."

Odette goes over to a cabinet along the wall as I stuff my compact and wand into a side pocket of the skirt. She comes over to me with a pair of patent leather heels. They are of a modest height… only about an inch and they have a t strap along the top. I slip them on without question and then I glance at the mirror I had been avoiding.

I look like a traitor in this outfit, my face pale and drawn.

I feel like this is the outfit I'm meant to die in.

It's depressing thinking that way but I can't help it.

There are silver studs along the shoulders of the jumper with the Dark Mark etched into them and as I look at myself in the mirror, I almost start crying.

Odette lifts her camera and takes another picture of me.

"Your uniform might change a little bit if you make prefect after we review your test," Odette says, her voice just as ugly as her face as she lifts her camera and takes another photo. I blink at the flash and turn away from her. Circe Avery stands and walks up the podium to get near and I resist the urge to leave… to just grab my stuff and high tail it out of the room. "You'll get a jacket if you qualify."

"Okay," is all I say. I look at myself in the mirror again with that tall amazon of a woman behind me, watching my reflection with a curious tilt of her head.

I want to run away, but with my whole family in prison... where is there to run to?

I should have fucking gone with Harry.

Circe Avery puts a cobalt blue band around my upper arm and I give it an odd look as she secures it with magic.

"What is that?" I ask with a dry throat.

"Blood status band," she says and I glare at it.

Blood status band , like the blood status ribbons we had to wear at Folk Hills... as blue as our blood.

I feel like I'm going to be sick.

"Now," she says as she fills out some form on her clipboard. I stare at myself in the mirror, fingering the silver buttons on my shoulders. "Here is information regarding your new dorm room," she says and I take it from her because what else can I do? I look it over dismissively, not really seeing anything as I focus on this stupid uniform that makes me feel so disgusting. "You'll move in by the end of the night."

I feel dirty in it.

I want to take it off.

I want to burn it.

"It looks like your parents' Gringotts account has been frozen and turned over to the state," Odette says, flipping through a few pages on the clipboard after that Avery woman hands it to her.

"What?" I whisper, catching the pale eyes looking at me from the mirror.

Odette hands her the camera.

"You're going to have to be a part of our work study program to afford your uniform and schooling," Odette says. "Mrs. Umbridge is the head of the girls' wing," she adds. "You'll work under her in a building outside of the castle during your down time. I'll have Carrie show you the building after this…"

"We'll also have to put a tracker on your ankle because you'll be outside of the castle," Circe Avery says, taking my hair and putting it over my shoulders. "Turn around."

A tracker? Like Neville? What if I find a way to leave or to save my parents? They'll always be able to find me! I want to rip away from her long, creepy fingers, but I can't find it in me to move right away. I turn around and face her, staring at my feet.

"But..." I trail off. Hogwarts never had tuition and this uniform can't cost this much. I have my own money... I can save myself from this. "Wait, what?" I say as I pull on the sweater uncomfortably. I don't want to be under that woman in any odd building off the grounds. She hates me! "What does work study mean?"

"It means," Circe Avery says as she flicks her cold eyes to mine. She tilts my chin up with her long, cold fingers and then lifts the camera to take a picture of my face. "That you'll have to work so you can stay in school. We're building an empire and the Dark Lord must stimulate the economy. The information will be sent to you later, once your classes are scheduled. I'm sure it won't be forever," she says with a little smirk like she knew something I did not.

"Wait," I say as I shake my head, turning away when she lifts the camera like she wanted to take another photo. "Wait, I have money," I say. "How much will it cost?"

"I told you that your parents' account is frozen—"

"I have my own account," I tell Odette sharply, glaring at her. "That's not frozen, is it?" I ask in a panic and she furrows her brows at me.

"Only traitors to the nation..."

"So I have my money. I can pay for this. I don't need to be sent with Umbridge or anywhere off the grounds. I can pay this," I say as I jump off the podium and I take her quill. I start writing my account number down on the paper. "I can afford this," I say with my hands shaking as I write out every number carefully. "I have money," I admit again.

"Well," Odette says sharply as she takes the form away from me. "We shall see."

"You're dismissed," Circe Avery says lightly as she walks back to that chair by the podium with the camera on her lap.

Is she going to watch everyone get dressed?

I gather my clothes and fold them up in my arms with my shoes before leaving the room. Luna gets called in on my way out. A part of me wants to wait for her… but a part of me feels gross and dirty and I just want to get this uniform off and take a shower. I look down at the paper that the woman handed me…. My new dorm room is in Gryffindor tower but it's on the right side where the boys dorms are. I make a face at that and start walking.

Where am I going?

I have no bloody idea but I keep walking and walking and walking until I find myself alone in an empty corridor headed towards Draco's room. I start thinking about what happened… The awful people that now run our school and Lucius Malfoy who lied for me twice. Twice …. I stop short and dig into my pocket to pull out the compact.

Maybe they left a message for me.

I look around quickly before leaning against the wall and opening it up.

I see Hermione's frozen face covered in ash. I hesitate a second and look over my shoulder again before tapping the mirror.

It instantly comes to life.

"Ginny," the recording is breathless and she looks like she's on the verge of tears. "We went to The Burrow, but it had been torn down. We have no idea what happened to your parents..." I sigh sadly when I realize I know more than they do. "Everything is gone," she says and I feel my eyes welling up with tears as I think of my childhood home. "It looks like it's been burnt to the ground. I can't tell you what happened or how the Death Eaters got past your wards, but I thought you should know. Ginny, have Draco help you leave the castle. You must-"

Someone snaps the compact shut from behind me. I gasp in surprise and turn around to find Draco glaring down at me.

"If anyone else heard that, you would be dead," he says coldly. He takes the compact away and places it in his pocket. "Use your head, Ginny," he says when I finally face him. "This place is crawling with loyalists now."

When he sees my tear stained face he furrows his brows.

"How did it go?" he asks as I lean against the wall and I put my hand on my forehead. "You're sad?" he points out as he eyes me. "It is a little intense."

"My home is gone," I say in a sad whisper. "Did you hear what Hermione said? She said it was burned to the ground. My whole family is in Azkaban right now," I say with a sob.

"Why didn't they make you a prefect?" he snaps as he looks over my uniform.

"They said I had to take the test first," I admit in a whisper and then I can't help it… I lunge forward to hug him. "But I don't understand. Felicia is first in our year. How could she fail her evaluation?"

"She's a mudblood," Draco says like it was a known thing and not some awful slur. "She wasn't going to pass anyways."

I shoot him a look as I pull back with my hands on his chest. "Why do you say things like that?" I ask and he raises an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Why do you say words like mudblood?"

He doesn't answer, he just stares at me and I notice that he's wearing his new uniform as well, with a leather strap across his chest that holds his wand. He looks so official... so intimidating. The only color on him is the blue armband declaring his blood status.

"Let's go to my room," he says as he runs the back of his hand down my cheek.

"No, I..." I trail off and take a step back.

"You what?" he asks flatly as his sharp eyes take me in.

My lower lip starts to tremble.

"What are you doing?" he snaps and I bring my hand up to wipe away tears.

"My parents," is all I get out and he sighs loudly before pulling me to him and tucking me against his chest.

"It's alright," he says gently, slightly swaying us. The silver buttons on his jacket press into my ear and it hurts.

"No, it's not. It's probably my fault! I should have found that stupid password. And... and they said I'd have to be a part of a stupid work study program. I don't want to be under Umbridge and they kept taking pictures of me….."

"They took pictures of you?" he says, pulling back to look at me. His face looks serious, angry. "Why?"

"I have no idea," I say, a sob stuck in my throat. "They just kept taking photos of me while I was getting fitted for this uniform… And that old lady watched me get dressed and kept talking about you-know-who and my family…. And they said I would have to work for Umbridge in the building outside of the castle…."

"That's foolish." he says and I glare at him through my tears.

"My parents are in Azkaban and he took whatever small amount was in their Gringotts account!" I scream and he flinches before looking around the hallway to make sure others aren't listening.

"I'll pay for it," he scoffs at me like it was so obvious. "Why are you letting this bother you? You know I wouldn't let you do that stupid work study thing."

"I gave them my account number," I say with my lower lip trembling. "I told them I would pay for it."

"Don't be stupid," he says and I start sobbing. "I have the means to handle this for you. There is no reason for you to use your own money- which I doubt will be enough to cover tuition anyways. Ginny." He waits for me to look up at him. "All you have to do is tell me about this kind of shit and I will handle it. Have a little faith in me."

I nod my head even though my stomach is twisting in knots.

"Your father was there," I say, swallowing the lump in my throat and trying not to cry so hard. "He lied for me. He said that you gave me the compact when it started ringing during my evaluation. He told them I have been staying at your Manor most of the summer."

Draco doesn't say anything.

"Why did he do that?"

"Why wouldn't he?" he asks harshly, like he was upset I would even bring it up. "My father isn't stupid, Ginny. He knows how deep I am. Our loyalty is to family first." He pulls back and grabs my chin, forcing me to look at him. "Family first, yeah?"

"Yeah," I whisper.

He kisses me but I can't help the emotion that breaks through. I start sobbing pathetically when it all hits me at once.

"Don't cry," he whispers, kissing the side of my face. "I know how you must feel right now," he says against my hair as I pull him to me, gripping the back of his jacket. I hope everyone is okay. I hope they're being treated well and I clench my eyes shut, letting more tears fall because I know that's probably not happening. "Let me take care of things," he says in a whisper. "As long as you're with me, things will be okay," he says. "I told you this, Gin. Don't be silly."

Silly?

Really?

"Ginny?" he says pulling back. He takes my face into his hands and searches my teary eyes. "You know that, right?"

I know I look horrid. There's snot dripping from my nose and over my lips, but I don't care. I don't care at all and I clench my eyes shut, letting more painful tears fall.

"Gin," he says as he reaches into his pocket and he pulls out a handkerchief. He hands it to me and I step back so I can wipe off my face. "You believe me?" he asks. "That you're fine as long as you're mine?"

"Yeah..." I whisper in a hoarse voice because I don't know what else to say.

"I can't hear you," he says gently, putting his hand on my arm.

I look at his uniform jacket, with the silver buttons. The dark mark is there, mocking me.

"Yes," I say, glancing up at him and letting one more tear slip. "Yes, I believe you."

"Good," he says, giving me a pleased smile. "Come."

He takes my hand and starts leading me towards his room.

"Draco," I say as we walk. "Could you help my parents?"

I'm tired of hearing people tell me Draco's a man of influence. I would really like him to live up to that right now.

"I can't do much right now, babe," he says when we reach his room. He unlocks the door and holds it open for me. "I don't want you to think about it," he says as he walks me towards his bed. "There's nothing we can do right now."

"But Draco..." I start crying again.

I feel like an idiot. A useless idiot, but I don't know what else to do… All I can do right now is cry and whine and hope someone else fixes it because I have no idea what the hell to do with myself.

"Lie down," he orders as he starts unbuttoning his jacket. "Do as I say," he says sharply when I don't listen right away.

I slip off my shoes and crawl into the bed as my head starts to hurt from crying so hard. Draco puts his jacket over the back of his chair and I watch as he unbuttons his cuffs and rolls up his sleeves.

"You never have to worry," he says as he looks down at me. He removes his tie and unbuttons the first few buttons of his dress shirt. "Just do as I say. Always do what I say and things will turn out fine. I've got you, Ginny."

He crawls into the bed beside me and puts his hand on my hip.

"You have got to trust me."

I look into his eyes. He seems so serious.

"I shouldn't have stayed here," I say in a little whisper as I clench my eyes shut. "I should have gone with my brother and Harry."

Draco removes his hand from my hip and when I open my eyes again I find his face flat and emotionless. He pushes me on my back and then he gets between my legs, forcing my knees apart so quickly it makes me gasp.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to make you feel better."

"I don't think–"

"You're done thinking," he says sharply as he yanks the tights and knickers from my body. He throws them over his shoulder. "I don't want to hear another word out of you unless you are saying my name." He pushes my skirt up to my waist. "Take off your top."

I don't even hesitate. Not when his voice sounds like that. I do what he says and pull the jumper over my head.

"That too," he says. I nod as I take off my tie and unbutton the dress shirt, pushing each black button through the hole as fast as my shaking fingers will allow.

His eyes darken when he sees the emerald bra I'm wearing and he tilts his head as I slink out of the dress shirt. I toss it to the side and look up at him helplessly. He doesn't even need to say what else he's thinking. His stare does it well enough. I arch my back to unhook the bra. I let the straps slide down my arms and then I throw it over the side of the bed so he can see me.

"You want to leave me, then?" he asks flatly, glaring down at me. "You think you'd be better off with them? Is that what you think?"

"No," I whisper, feeling bad that I said it.

"Then what did you mean, exactly?"

"I don't know," I admit, bringing my arms up to cross over my chest, but he stops me with his hand on my wrist. "I'm just upset," I admit as more tears threaten to fall. "I'm sorry."

"It's not anyone else's job to take care of you so never say that shit to me again," he says, his head tilted down. I look back up at him, feeling helpless again and frightened of the future. "That's my job. Everything is going to be fine," he says as he unzips my skirt, his voice so deep and beautiful. I can't help but want him. "I'm taking care of it, Ginny. I'm going to take care of you. I'm always going to take care of you because you're mine." His eyes darken again as I lift my hips so he can slide the skirt down my legs. "Like I'm going to take care of you right now."

"What–"

He pushes my legs apart roughly and then dips his head between my thighs. I gasp at the force of it and my breath catches at how determined his mouth is. I hold onto the pillow under my head and try not to completely drown when the thoughts get to be too much for me, but it's easy to forget when his mouth moves against me the way that it is. Why is he so good at this? He's actually being a little rough with it… rougher then he's been before and he does something to that good spot in the front. It's like he's sucking on me there and his tongue is moving at the same time and it kind of hurts so I lift hips into his face but he just wraps his arms around the underside of my legs to hold me in place.

"It's too much," I say, grabbing his hair to pull him up. "It's too hard."

He pops his head up and glares at me.

"What did I tell you?" He licks his lower lip slowly. "Not one more fucking word out of you unless you are saying my name."

A shiver goes through me at his tone and he dips back down to finish what he started. His mouth is insistent and his tongue is so sinful with his hands wrapped around my legs, making it impossible to shut against him. I keep my hand fisted in his hair and every time he goes too rough, I pull, but that doesn't seem to deter him. When my body starts to build to that amazing feeling, I press my hips into his face for another reason and then he pulls back to use his fingers, staring down at me with hooded eyes.

The orgasm comes quickly and I grab his hand, wanting him to stop because it was too much, but he doesn't remove his fingers from my body. He keeps them inside as I press my legs closed and let out a strangled sob.

"Beautiful girl," he whispers before removing his hand and sitting back on his knees to unbuckle his belt. "My beautiful girl."

He pushes his pants down just enough and then he slides into me. I inhale a sharp breath and grab his clothed shoulders. He slams into me and then leans down to kiss a stray tear that escapes the corner of my eye. It feels so inappropriate to be doing this right now…I know I should be curled in a ball and crying over my life… but he makes me feel so good and I love being so close to him. I love feeling him inside of me and on top of me… I love his lips and his fingers and his body pressed into mine. At least I'm not alone. At least I have him… and he's going to take care of things. He told me so. He reassured me. As long as I love him…. As long as I'm with him… things will be fine. As long as I listen to him and do what he says. As long as I am compliant things are going to be okay.

Okay.

It doesn't take much for my body to release again and I arch my back, pressing my naked chest into his fully clothed one as I whimper his name, trying not to make any loud noises as I clench around him. He smiles down at me before pushing my legs up and finishing deep inside my body in the way that he likes. He falls against me and I hold him there, my arms around his neck so he won't move just yet. He tries to pull back after a moment, but I wrap my legs around his.

"Let me up, Gin," he whispers into my neck, adding a gentle kiss.

I shake my head and hold him even tighter.

"I'm not going anywhere," he says gently, pulling up slightly to look in my face. "But my arms are starting to hurt and I don't want to crush you."

"I don't care if you crush me," I whisper and he smirks before managing to disentangle himself from my embrace. He falls beside me and kisses me sweetly. "None of this feels real," I admit, trying not to cry again. "It feels like a bad dream."

He doesn't say anything, he just watches my face and I hide a whimper as I lay on my back and throw an arm over my eyes. My head hurts. My eyes hurt. My lungs hurt. My heart hurts.

"Come here," he whispers as he pulls me to him.

I rest against his chest for a while, staring off at nothing at all as I tap my fingers against his chest and then slide them between the buttons of his shirt to feel his soft cotton undershirt. After a while of just laying still, Draco kisses the top of my head.

"I have some work to do," he says. "You stay here."

He stands from the bed. I watch him as he tucks in his shirt and buckles his belt. He goes over to his writing desk and I turn on my side to watch him, tucking my hands under my cheek as he takes out a quill and a fresh sheet of parchment.

"What are you doing?" I whisper.

"Writing a letter to my father," he says, not turning around. "I'm hoping to catch him before he leaves the castle."

"Draco," I say, and he looks at me over his shoulder, his eyes dancing over my naked body that I don't even bother to hide. "I didn't mean it," I say. "I'm glad I stayed here with you. I love you."

"I know," he says gently, winking at me before turning back to his parchment and quill.

I watch his back, loving his broad shoulders and the way the back of his neck looks. I sigh and then close my eyes with a mild headache from crying so much as I lay back against the pillow. At some point I feel Draco kiss my cheek and he runs his hand up my naked thigh before pulling his blanket over me. I welcome the warmth. I must have fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes again, the sun had moved and was now streaming in through the window as it hung low over the distant hillside.

Draco sits down beside me and he touches my hip.

"It's time for dinner," he says gently, his fingers dancing up my bare arm. "Are you hungry?"

"I guess," I say with a little pout as I try to hide a yawn behind my hand. "Are you?"

"I already ate," he says with a sinful smirk. I laugh at his joke and welcome the kiss he leans down to give me. "Do you want to stay here?" He asks, pulling back only slightly. "I can bring you food if you want to stay in bed."

I shake my head and sit up, pulling the blanket with me to cover my naked chest.

"I should go," I whisper with another yawn against my hand.

I can't just hide in his room.

He nods and he sits back on the chair by his writing desk, turning so he's facing the bed. I get up and start gathering my clothes, putting on my bra and knickers as he watches me with his chin in his hand, his thumb running over his lower lip in a thoughtful way. I can feel his eyes on me as he watches me struggle into the tights and button up the new black dress shirt.

He smiles every time I glance at him and I try not to blush as I put on my tie and zip up my skirt.

"How long was I out?" I ask, tucking in my shirt and grabbing the jumper.

"Not long," He admits, crossing his legs as he sits back. "A little over an hour." I slip on the new heels that are stiff and not broken in yet. "Come here, beautiful," he whispers. I walk over to him and let him pull me down to his lap. "Look at me."

I turn my head to look into his eyes. He looks over my face before sighing and pressing a kiss to my lips.

"I know this all seems overwhelming but you are going to be fine," he says, pulling back and giving me a serious look as he puts hair over my shoulder. "I need you to be diligent and keep your mind blocked from here on out. You know those colorful little boxes in the back of your mind?" he asks. I know he's seen them when he gives me Occlumency lessons but he never has asked what's inside. "I need you to stuff some things in there. Can you do that for me? There are going to be more people coming in and there will be more changes… I need you to be solid."

I nod my head, taking his hand that he has on my lap so I can play with his long fingers.

"We can't control what's happened," he says, leaning forward and kissing my cheek. "But we can control what we do with ourselves. I know you are going to want to fight back at some point but I want you to be smart." He grabs my chin and tilts my face towards his, leveling me with a look like he wanted to get his point across. "Don't do anything to call attention to yourself and watch what you say. Your family is already in Azkaban but they are safer there than they would be out fighting right now. I know that is hard to believe but it's true. At least you know where they are now, right?"

I reluctantly nod my head, searching his eyes because he seems so very serious.

"You just have to go along with it for the time being. There's bravery in that," he says, like he knew it would be distasteful to me. He brings his hand up to cup my cheek. "You have to do this for me, Ginny. Don't talk back. Don't do anything rash. Don't promise to help every depressed looking person wanting a way out of here. Don't do anything that will make people suspicious because they are already watching you and they are already watching me. You have to play the long game."

He waits for me to nod my head again before he kisses me.

I let him deepen it and then I put my head on his shoulder, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt.

"If you want to vent- you need to talk to me. If you're frustrated- take it out on me. If something happens- you come to me first. If you have questions- ask me. There will be more things coming out soon… more changes that I'm sure you won't like…but you need to just keep your head on straight and let me worry about everything else," he says gently. "Trust me and we can get through this."

"Okay," I whisper because he sounds so sure and confident.

There's a pause. It was almost like he thought I would fight him on it but I'm too tired right now.

"Good," He taps his fingers against my knee.

I stand up and watch him unroll his sleeves. He buttons his shirt and puts on his tie. He puts on that jacket and then he looks at me, holding out his hand as he puts his wand back in that leather holder across his chest. He looks so damn good in such a hateful outfit.

I take his hand and let him lead us to the Great Hall.

Dinner is a depressing affair.

Everyone is wearing their new uniforms and there is no joy as the Dark Mark looms over us. The food- penne pasta with a red sauce- is eaten mostly in silence and Draco keeps his hand on my thigh through most of it as I try not to look up. When we're finished he walks me to my dorm and he comes inside without hesitation. He comments on the coziness of Gryffindor tower before Accioing my trunk from my old room. When it gets down the stairs he helps me bring it up to my new dorm where my roommates are already unpacked and lounging on their claimed beds.

They seem to stop what they're doing to look at us, but I don't even bother greeting them as he puts my trunk down by the only empty bed left in the room. They leave after he shoots them a look. Helen Macnair and Luna follow suit and I sigh tiredly before walking over to the window and crossing my arms.

There are bars on the windows.

It worries me and I try not to cry again as I look out at the sky.

It's impossibly sunny considering this is one of the worst days of my life and the sun lays low… ready to slip into darkness- the world settling into the bright and golden light before dusk.

"It was a lovely day," Draco pulls the thought from my mind as he walks up behind me and places his hand on the window frame, caging me against it.

I see my reflection in the glass, behind the bars with Draco's lips against my hair. I let a few more tears slip as he kisses my temple and runs his free hand up my side.

"I'll call on you later," he says as he squeezes my hip. "Stay here with your new roommates for the night and be a good girl," he says gently and I nod my head because there's no point in saying anything else. "Try not to worry," he whispers. He tilts my chin towards his and I look at him over my shoulder, my face tilted up to see him. He places a gentle kiss against my lips before pulling back. "Who do you love?"

"I love you," I answer softly and he stares at me for a few moments before he smirks, running his thumb over my lips.

He kisses me one last time before he walks off.

Once he leaves, I realize a moment too late that he took the golden compact with him.


XXXXX

Things had changed at Hogwarts completely.

When Rookwood said that there would be no houses dividing the students of Hogwarts, that had been a lie. Now we're divided by gender and blood status. We no longer have co-ed dorms. Instead, all the pureblooded girls are placed in the tower and the boys are down in the Slytherin dungeons. Half blood girls are in the Hufflepuff dorms and half blood boys are in Ravenclaw... Muggle borns... They're in an odd building by the forbidden forest that was built just to house them.

I have no idea what it looks like on the inside, but I hear that it's disgusting there.

I wouldn't know, though. I don't have any classes with muggle borns or half bloods. I have no idea what classes they're taking or what they're learning about. I wonder what their parents think. How trusting are they to let their children go to this strange magical school with no reassurances and now… and now… do they even know what's going on?

It makes me sad to think of it and everything makes me sad so I have to choose my poison wisely or I fear one day I will never wake up from my depression.

I'm sitting in our Magical Genetics class next to Astoria Greengrass. She's taken to being my shadow now more than ever but I guess I don't mind it so much. She doesn't act as ditzy as Daphne… She's actually quite shy and soft spoken but I find she's kind of an idiot. She never really pays attention to the professors and she always messes up our potions when we're partners because she doesn't read the directions correctly.

It's maddening, honestly.

If anyone needs a bossy boyfriend editing their school work and making sure they are doing their best in class- It's Astoria Greengrass.

That's another thing, all the classes have been changed to darker subjects. Boys and girls are separated. We only see them at meal times and the odd overlap in the hallways. A midwifery and domestic arts classes have been added to each girl's class schedule. We learn about childbirth and sewing and cooking… mostly things that have to do with house work and having babies which isn't terrible in itself… but none of the boys are required to take it which I think is kind of disgusting.

"Now," Carrow, one of the newly appointed professors, points his wand at the chalkboard where a DNA strand is drawn with yellow chalk. "Magic is not something you can just take," he says as he points to a significant strand highlighted in green. "It's in our DNA. Some stronger than others," he adds as he looks around the room.

I put my chin in my hand and try to pay attention.

We're learning about the female witches' anatomy and genetic make up and how certain curses and potions can affect the magical balance within. I'm trying to pay attention because I've heard rumors that the Carrows use unforgivables as punishments for wayward students. It seems so improbable, but in this new world, I would not doubt it anymore.

"You can't change the magic in a person's DNA, but you can manipulate it," he says as he walks around the classroom to make sure people are taking notes. I quickly put my quill to paper when he passes.

"Magic is a recessive gene," he says as he taps Astoria's desk with his pudgy fingers. "Like blue eyes and red hair…" He glances at me and I look away quickly. "That is why we must keep the blood lines pure. The more pure the blood line, the stronger the magic in the DNA," he says, pointing to the strand on the board once more. "But different curses can manipulate it. For instance, the Spinarious Curse will snap the spinal cord and paralyze its victim beyond magical repair, but the Magic within the body needs to be balanced. So, while that wizard or witch may be confined to a wheelchair or walking charms..."

Draco's grandfather...

"...other magical senses will be heightened. As is the case with all curses besides the three unforgivables. Many magical people who have fallen victim to that curse are very successful in mind reading and wandless magic. That is why it is a curse rarely used. The magic actually has some benefits. But you must remember that all magic has a balance."

I write all that down as I think of Draco and his family.

"Blood curses run even deeper," he says and I write that down as well as he walks about the room again. "It can take generations to manifest itself in a person. In 831 a wizard by the name of Alfred Duddley cursed the Corvus family line so that every first son born would parish by the time he reached eleven. It took three hundred years for the magic to balance itself out. In 1143 the curse was broken by a descendant of the Corvus family: Edmund the Heretic."

A few girls gasp at the name. We all know him from history. He was called the Heretic because he roused a group of witches and wizards to go through small towns and burn churches throughout Europe. They would do it on Sunday mornings... when the whole congregation was still inside.

He killed thousands of muggles…

Carrow walks by Luna's desk and he looks down at her notes.

He makes a face and snaps the paper away from her. Showing her doodle of a horse to the whole class. "This is not note taking," he says hatefully and Luna blushes red. "I don't recall talking about ways to draw a fucking horse," he says and I cover my mouth with my hand because I have never heard a professor cuss in a classroom.

He glares at Luna.

"Go to the office," he says coldly and she nods her head quickly before gathering all of her things and running out of the room.

God, I hope she's okay.

"Now, back on track," he says as he tears up the picture and throws it in the rubbish bin. "Where was I... Oh, right..." He starts walking again, like he didn't just cuss in front of all of us and send one of his students running. "We all know him, of course. He went on to become one of the greatest Dark Wizards of all time, second only to our Great Lord."

I try not to roll my eyes. I'm trying to be good like Draco said and not bring attention to myself.

"The curse from centuries ago came around full circle in Edmund the Heretic, making him a very powerful wizard. Even his blood had special magical components that he used in many groundbreaking potions..."

The speaker beeps and Carrow falls silent as a voice echoes over the loudspeaker.

It's not Snape... it's a woman.

"Will all pureblooded girls age sixteen and older please report to the Great Hall. Thank you."

It beeps again and we all look at each other.

That's everyone in this freaking class and Carrow sighs.

"We'll continue this next time," he says as we all start gathering our things.

When we get to the hallway, Ivy flanks herself beside me with Astoria on the other side. They're like boring more bitchy versions of their older sisters and I sigh as they start talking to each other... around me, of course.

"What do you think they want?" I ask once we walk into the Great Hall after Astoria gets done telling Ivy about what she wants for her birthday.

They should be a little more worried about this... but I find that they're never worried about anything. Their family isn't in danger of being executed. Their boyfriends don't follow their every move…. and they actually like these new uniforms.

It makes me want to jump off a cliff.

The Great Hall is full of pureblooded girls and when I spot Daphne and Pansy, I ditch their little sisters and speed walk over to them.

"Hey Gin," Daphne grins at me.

I don't think I've smiled in a week and I frown as I look around the hall. There aren't many of us. The half blooded students out number us greatly and for some reason that makes me feel better… like there are more people out there who wouldn't want this kind of life.

"Why are you always looking so depressed?" she asks as she hugs me.

I push her back.

"Daphne, shut up," Pansy snaps.

Before she can say anything else, that Circe Avery woman stands on the stage and puts her wand to her neck so it will echo over the hall. Umbridge is on the stage to her right and Alecto Carrow is to her left. It's like some kind of wicked nightmare seeing the three of them together.

"Ladies, I know you're all wondering why you're here."

"Oh, very much, indeed," Daphne says with a smile.

She gets glared at, but it doesn't seem to bother her.

"You have all been excelling in your classes for which we are all so proud," she says as she looks around the hall. I glance at Pansy, but she's watching the woman closely with her eyes narrowed slightly. "Your education is of the top most priority in our new world and you all should know by now the importance the pureblooded woman holds within our society," she says and I look at my shoes when her cold eyes flick to mine. "Our modern world has allowed us to stray from our true purpose. We have become distracted and told the lie of what roles witches and wizards play to one another. We will correct this. We will bring back the old ways and live as we were always meant to live. Proud. Unyielding. Powerful. We have our Great Lord to thank for bringing this back to us and ushering us forward to seize our rightful place in this world."

She starts pacing back and forth in front of us.

"The pureblooded woman is the most important part of our society. Our Great Lord truly believes that. Without pureblooded girls, there would be no pureblooded boys to fight for our cause. Without pureblooded girls– the great ties of magic within our world would be lost. You are the glue that holds our society together and you will guide us forward into this new perfect world that waits for us."

I swallow hard and clench my jaw tight.

"You all have a very important role to fulfill as the future mother's of our nation," she says as stops pacing to stand tall right at the center of the stage. "The Dark Lord has made it known that he expects great unions from all the major houses." I don't know what that means but it's just another thing to add to the long list of bullshit I have to worry about. "And as an added bonus, the families of such unions will receive money, honors, and tax breaks for every child born. A whole new generation of loyal followers will come from these marriages and you, as the pureblooded wife and mother… are expected to hold that honor with a deep reverence."

No one is talking anymore. We just listen to her in shocked dismay.

"Now, you are all so young," she sighs as she looks around. "But we are a dying race and soon you will be called upon to do your duty to our world."

"Will they be arranged?" Someone blurts out. I look over in surprise at Hannah Abbot, her frizzy blonde hair wild around her face.

"Yes–"

The woman doesn't finish that sentence because the hall erupts with voices from every unhappy girl in the room.

"I have a boyfriend!" someone ends up shouting from the back.

"It does not matter," She yells over the crowd. "This is His will. You will be chosen on intelligence and genetics that fit each profile to perfection," she says and I furrow my brows. What could that even mean? "There aren't many of us purebloods left, we must make sure that the lines stay clean and mutation free."

Ew.

"Now, you will form three single file lines in front of the tables over here," she says, motioning to the tables where three young women are sitting. "You'll be handed a folder full of your potential suitors and you can choose to meet the ones whom you see fit."

More roars from the crowd.

Draco has influence, right? He might be in my folder and obviously I could just choose him until this all blows over.

If it ever does.

I hope to God Harry comes through for us all.

If not it seems like we all will just be broodmare housewives to whoever the Dark Lord assigns.

"You will notice," she says, looking out over the crowd. "That most of the suitors in your folders are older and already graduated from their respective magical schools." There are more murmurs. "The men of our new Empire will not be allowed to wed until after their military service is complete… with a few exceptions of more prominent houses who have younger heirs… You, as the first generation of witches benefiting from this new marriage law, have the great opportunity to wed already established, loyal wizards as soon as you come of age. How lucky you are. How wonderful."

No one seems to agree with her and the hall has suddenly gone silent again.

"The Dark Lord is not heartless," she says and I actually let out a laugh. Pansy shoots me a look but I ignore it. "He knows the fantasies of young girls are important so he will make it easier for everyone. You have the choice over who you pick. If you have not chosen a proper suitor by your nineteenth birthday, you will have one chosen for you, but rest assured you will have many promising prospects."

After another short speech on the importance of blood status, we divide into three lines. Since my last name is at the end of the alphabet, I'm in the third line by Romilda Vane, who has jumped straight into this whole pureblood crap ever since she got that blue armband.

"Who do you think will be in your folder?" she asks in excitement as she curls on her toes. "Oh, I hope I get someone good... someone famous!" she says with a squeal and I glare at her. "Of course, Draco is probably number one on your list. If they allow that kind of thing," she adds as she twirls a dark curl around her finger thoughtfully. "I'm sure that's a union that most people would like to see, despite the blood traitor status of your family."

"Shut up," I snap and she looks at me in surprise. "What about Harry?" I hiss. I feel like I should remind her that she had a hopeless crush on him last year. "He is still out there, still fighting for our freedom."

"Not my freedom," she says as she taps her armband. "Besides. Potter is a half-blood, anyways." I glare at her and I hope it burns. Maybe I should practice my hexes on her again. "We have more freedom now in our rightful place than what we ever had before, Ginny. You know that."

"Rightful place?" I hiss and she nods her head.

Then it hits me, why a girl like Romilda would like this... Why she would accept it when she was just as much a Gryffindor as I am... It made her feel special... It made her feel good to be on the top of the blood ladder when she had never been up there for anything else.

"What about Liza?" I whisper. Liza was her best friend in our house... A muggle born girl who had always stayed by her side.

"What about her?" she asks and I make a face.

"Do you know how she is or what she's doing in that weird building by the forest?" I ask as our line moves forward. "I thought she was your best mate."

"Well... I can't help it if my magic is more powerful than hers," she says, obviously learning that from our class with Carrow. "We have to accept our different roles in society, Ginny, or the whole thing will crumble."

"You're not more powerful than she is. You can't even do a proper heating charm," I seethe. All my anger and resentment is pouring out of me now. All towards Romilda Vane because she's here and she's weak with her wand and it's easy. I realize I'm no better than anyone in this room, but I don't care. I take out my wand and tap it against my thigh. "You're stupid and fickle," I say through clenched teeth. "And an incompetent witch if there ever was one and you deserve to be in that muggle born building by the forest!"

I shouted that last part and everything went silent as everyone stopped what they were doing to look at me. Romilda's face nearly turned purple in embarrassment and when I found Pansy's eyes, she was giving me a proud look, like she was pleased by what I had said. I was too pissed off to care and when I realized we were by the table, I stepped ahead of Romilda and looked at the mousey woman who had her jaw slightly open in surprise as she stared at me.

"My name is Weasley," I tell her hotly as the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end because I know everyone is staring at me. "Give me my damn folder."

Someone laughs. It sounds like Daphne and I ignore it as the girl looks down and skims her sheet of paper

"Weasley," she repeats in a small voice. "Weasley… Weasley... Oh, it looks like you don't have a folder."

Thank God . I nearly sigh in relief until she keeps on talking.

"It looks like you are a special request," she says, looking over the paper with bug-like eyes.

"What?" I state dryly as I put my palms flat on the table, my wand digging painfully into my hand.

"Yes, a special request. It says I'm to send you to Mr. Rookwood's office."

"What?" I say again because I can't say anything else. "What does 'special request' mean?"

"It means," she says uncomfortably. I can hear girls giggling behind me as they look through their folders and I narrow my eyes. "That someone put in a special request to have you."

To have me?

"Who did?' I question harshly and she flinches.

"You have to meet with Mr. Rookwood," she says. "His office is on the third floor by the head master's suite."

I'm too angry to bother with anyone else and I stomp all the way to his office, ignoring everything around me. When I get to the third floor- I pound on the door. It opens a few moments later.

"Who requested me?" I ask before I even sit down and Rookwood raises his eyebrows as he looks me over.

"Please, Miss Weasley," he says, standing by the fireplace with his hands behind his back. "Take a seat."

I clench my jaw and walk towards the chair, letting my bag thump to the floor.

"Well?" I say. I'm tired. Tired and pissed and over it all. "Who is it?"

"I'm sorry," he says as he takes a seat behind his desk and he puts his hands on the table. "Let's try this again. You are a student," he says motioning to me. "And I'm the authoritative adult in this situation. Let's show a little more respect, shall we?"

I swallow hard and nod my head, trying to remember what Draco had told me. Rookwood is a Death Eater, after all. I don't want to do something that would get me in trouble... or anyone else that I love. I need to get it together. I need to play this better. I need to get out of my own head and start being smart about things. I put my wand in my pocket and inhale a deep breath to calm my temper.

"Good," he says pleasantly as he folds his hands together on the desk. "Now, you and I have to talk."

"Okay," I say uncomfortably as I pull the jumper sleeves over my hands and I cross my arms.

"The blood sample we took from you for your evaluation possessed very potent magical capabilities," he says. "It was quite a find," he adds.

I don't say anything. I just stare at him as he stares at me.

It gets weird so I look away.

"Now, let's talk about your marriage contract," he says and my heart jumps to my throat. Marriage? "You, Miss Weasley, are one very lucky witch."

"What?" I whisper, my anger and courage are gone as I uncross my arms.

He pulls a piece of parchment from the suitcase by his chair and he looks it over with his sharp eyes as my stomach ties itself in knots.

"You will never want for anything," he says as his eyes scan the paper. "All that will be required from you will be a monthly blood donation and the eventual development of pureblooded offspring."

Offspring?

"You will not have a demanding Head of House," he says, like that mattered to me. "You are allowed to finish your schooling and when you turn seventeen you shall receive a weekly allowance from your benefactor's estate." I lean forward a bit. I think I'm going to lose my lunch if he keeps talking. My right hand is twitching and I try to stop it by clamping it down on my lap. "After you graduate, the bonding ritual will be completed and you will then be moved to a secluded estate in Wales where you will be cared for and well protected."

Bonding ritual….

Well protected...

Secluded...

What in the hell is going on?

"Your free time will be used as you see fit and the only duties involving your husband will be in the marital bed." I stare at him. I don't even blink as this weird numb feeling washes over me. He pauses before continuing. "There will be no other requirements of you."

I swallow hard. He actually said marital bed …He can't mean… He can not possibly mean what I think he means.

"Now, I know you are a young girl and most young girls have a certain romanticized idea pertaining to marriage and bonding. I will let you know that your benefactor does not expect you to love him, nor does he expect you to have any kind of relationship outside of what is required of you. But he does expect your loyalty and he does demand your respect. He will be your Head of House and he will require your total obedience in all matters. He is a very busy, very important, and very powerful wizard. He cannot be troubled with the fantasies or dramas of a little girl."

There is a heavy pause. His words play over in my mind and I can't seem to breathe very well all of a sudden. I loosen my tie and sit back.. Suddenly my clothes feel too tight and my skin feels too hot.

"But," I lick my dry lips, trying to make sense of this all as I try not to completely lose it. "But the woman in the Great Hall said we could choose our suitor. She said we had choices..." I blink back tears. "She said that."

"Yours is a special circumstance," he says and then his eyes soften for a millisecond when he realizes I'm going to start crying. So he's not totally heartless but that doesn't mean anything for me if he's not going to help. "Many witches would kill to be in your shoes," he adds as my eyes become blurry with tears."You have no idea how lucky you are."

"Who is it?" I ask in a broken little girl voice.

"That's classified information," he says with a dark brow raised. "Information that will be revealed to you upon your graduation. It is safer for everyone if no one knows for the time being."

Maybe it is Draco... Maybe in some twist of fate he was able to work this out. He does have a lot of money. He could buy this special request ridiculousness. If this is his idea of a joke, I'm going to kill him.

"Is he..." I try to think of a good way to word this. "Is he like... is he around my age?" I sound so impossibly young and it's disgusting to me, but perhaps it will soften Rookwood up a bit.

Rookwood eyes me for a few long moments before glancing down at his papers like he didn't want to look at me anymore.

"Your benefactor is very old," he says and my heart drops again. Very old? How old is very old? My stomach twists painfully and I lean forward slightly. "But do not let that bother you," he says as I start sniffing because I'm crying and my breathing is getting heavier again. I put my head down and clench my eyes shut, trying to get myself under control. "I believe you will be surprised by what you find waiting for you on your wedding night." He eyes me for a moment, watching the few tears trail down my cheeks when I manage to look up again. "You will soon be the envy of all, Miss Weasley," he whispers wistfully like this wasn't the worst damn thing to ever happen to me. "You will see how beneficial this is for you in time."

"I have a boyfriend," I say quickly in a last ditch attempt to stop all of this craziness.

"Lucius Malfoy's boy?" I nod uncomfortably. "Well, I don't foresee that being an issue going forward, but I would suggest ending your attachment with him sooner rather than later. That would make it easier on you, I believe," he says like it was unimportant and I start seeing black little dots in front of my eyes. Why is that? Jesus, am I going to pass out? He pauses for a second and then he looks at me head on like he wanted to convey how serious his next point is going to be. "This particular man will not tolerate that kind of folly going forward. I think it's important for you to know that now."

I might have a panic attack. I dig into my bag to take out my anxiety pills. I take two of them as Rookwood eyes me. He gives me a critical look before taking out a quill and marking a note down on a piece of paper.

"Can I say no?" I ask in a shaky voice.

He looks me square in the eyes. Another point needs to be made, apparently.

"You can not say no to this man," he says seriously, tapping his finger against the paper. The way he said that scared me. The look in his eyes… I start breathing heavier, my chest heaving uncomfortably. I look down at the floor to get away from it all. "Look at me, Miss Weasley." I reluctantly follow his order. I don't like looking at him. He has a slimy, evil look about him and I hate everything that is coming out of his mouth. "You will not say no to this man. You can not. Not ever. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"

Something feels so wrong now. I don't know if it's the way he's looking at me or the odd way my heart is beating… but that fear is back. That dread. That doom. He waits for me so I nod my head to let him know I understand but the panic washes over me and I just can't seem to give him what he wants.

He watches me, his eyes calculating and curious but I ignore him. I clench my eyes shut and inhale a deep breath through my nose.

A man I can never say no to. Not ever? What in the actual fuck?

"I would suggest focusing on your class work and keeping a relatively low profile," he says gently as I curl my hands around my thighs. "A positive , low profile," he adds. "Trust me on this," he says darkly. "You do not want to disappoint this person so keep your grades up and your head down because he will be checking in on your progress from time to time. I want to be able to give him good news," he says, tapping the paper again. "Do you understand?" I nod. What else can I do? "You may go now," he says lightly and I just sit for a few moments, staring at him like an idiot.

"Do you have any other questions?" he asks because I haven't moved yet and I shake my head. "Okay, well. Goodbye then, Miss Weasley."

"Yeah," I say as I pick up my bag and start walking towards the door. Slowly… and in a weird kind of daze.

"Oh, and Ginevra," he says when I reach the door and I look over my shoulder reluctantly.

"Yes?"

What more could there be?

"The monthly blood donations will start in two weeks."

"It's not really a donation if I don't have a choice, is it?" I mutter but before he can answer, I leave.

I walk straight towards Draco's room so I can talk to him. My right hand is shaking again and my breath is coming out in short gasps of panic. I try not to let it show. I try to keep it together and I even manage a few tight smiles to passing classmates… but inside I am losing my mind. I have to leave this fucking castle. I need to leave right now.

I say his password and find him at his writing desk, composing a letter.

"I have to leave," I say as I drop my bag and tug on my hair. "I have to leave Hogwarts."

"What are you talking about?" he says with a sigh, never once looking up from his writing.

"All the pureblooded girls had to go to the Great Hall to get information on suitors," I say, staring at his back because he won't fucking turn around. "And I didn't get a folder. They told me that I was a special request and they sent me to Rookwood's office."

I inhale deeply. He keeps writing.

"He told me that I have to marry this random person I don't even know when I graduate," I say breathlessly because I'm panicking again and talking way too fast. "He wouldn't tell me who it was. He says it's classified information, but he's old and powerful and I have to give him babies and blood and he actually said something about duties in the marital bed! They expect me to sleep with this creepy random old man! A man I am never ever allowed to say no to!"

"That's not going to happen," Draco scoffs.

I stomp over to him and grab his damn quill. He gives me an irritated look and snatches it right back.

"He said it would," I say in exasperation, almost on the verge of tears again. "He said it didn't matter if I wanted it or not. That it didn't matter if I had a boyfriend. I would have to do it!"

"Stop shouting at me," he snaps as he goes back to his letter. I grip his shoulder and push him so he'll be forced to look at me.

He narrows his eyes in annoyance.

"This is serious, Draco!" I yell as I stomp my foot. "I don't want to marry an old Death Eater!"

"You won't be marrying anyone," he says as he carefully sets his quill on the table and he stands up so he's towering over me.

"But, he said-"

"I don't give a fuck what he said," he snaps and I raise my brows at his tone. "You aren't marrying anyone else. You can't marry anyone because you're already married."

I snap my mouth shut.

"What?"

I'm positive I heard that wrong.

"You can't get married when you graduate," he says a little more gently as he brings a hand up to brush hair away from my face. "It's impossible for you to be bonded to anyone else because you're already bonded... You're already married to me ."

I stare at him for an insanely long amount of time.

"Uh, what?" is all I manage to say.

Uh, what.

That pretty much sums up my whole fucking year so far.