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Playing With Fire
By Black Rapture
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At this point, they all stood against the other,
The Dark Couple have been revealed all together,
The Good Three was left in shock,
The Dark Two was there to mock,
So begin the fight of a real emotional pain,
One will leave dead, the other paralyzed and the other insane.
The choice of who will be tough,
In a twisted way, the physical pain should be harsh enough.
- Le Gin Séduisant Diabolique
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Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters, places, and objects belong to Warner Brothers and her majesty J.K. Rowling, Queen of All Literature. (King, of course, being J.R.R. Tolkien! Oh yeah, long live Middle-Earth!)
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Chapter Ten - Of Falling Cherubs
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Harry looked up as Hedwig flew into the great hall, parchment dangling from her leg. She has flown of suddenly a few days previous and he wondered who's letter could have been so important. He untied it from her leg, gave her some bacon, and unrolled the parchment.
" Oh my God. "
" What? " Ron asked, mouth full of eggs.
" Common room. Now. " Harry said, taking a last piece of toast and hurrying out the doors. Ron and Hermione followed.
When they reached the common room, all three of them sat on the couch, Ron and Hermione looking anxiously at Harry.
" Ginny's not at the Patil's. " he announced.
" What d'you mean? Where the hell else could she be? " Ron demanded.
" She's been kidnapped. "
" By who? " Hermione shrieked.
" Malfoy. " Harry sneered.
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" God, what bunch of prats. " Draco snickered as he draped a piece of black silk over his crystal ball. Virginia had been surprised to discover that Draco had exceptional divination skills. They had just been watching the scene unfold in the Gryffindor common room.
" It was almost to easy. " Virginia agreed.
" So I suppose we should expect them in a day or two. " Lucius said.
" You suppose correctly. " Virginia replied, " And the gits won't tell anyone where they've gone either - they'll just run off. "
" All the easier to kill them without distractions. " Draco commented.
" Lunch anyone? " Lucius asked.
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Harry, Ron, and Hermione - still as predictable as ever - were standing on the front steps of Malfoy Manor.
" Something is off here. " Hermione whispered, " It has to be! There were no wards or anything! WE got up here way to easily. It could be a trap. "
" We have to save Ginny. " Harry hissed back. Hermione nodded and took out her want.
" Alohomora. " she flicked her wand and they heard the heavy bolt unlock. They pushed the door open slowly and entered the foyer of the grandest house they had even seen.
" Bloody hell. " Ron swore, " Look at this place! " Hermione whispered another spell on her ears to make her hearing sharper and moved towards a menacing oak door next to the library.
" I hear sobbing. " she explained, unlocking the door and opening it slowly.
The stairwell was pitch black and Harry took the lead, whispering ' Lumos ' so he could see.
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" I swear they could not be bigger ponces. " Draco snorted. He and Lucius were waiting in a silenced side room that connected to the dungeon Virginia was in, fake sobbing.
" It is quite remarkable. How the boy managed to defeat Voldemort so many times is a wonder. "
" It's more than a wonder - it's a bloody miracle. "
They heard the door to Virginia's pitch-black room open and leaned closer to the door to hear the conversation.
" I need more light. " Harry said. There were two more ' Lumos ' spells cast and the room was alight, they door slamming and locking magically behind them. Virginia sat in a black leather chair by the wall, smiling wickedly. No tears could be seen on her face as she sat in a floor-length, wine colored evening dress.
" Welcome. I knew you'd come for me. " her blood red lips curled up into a demented smirk, " I always was your weak point. "
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at her strangely, not fully comprehending what was happening. Virginia rolled her eyes and stood, opening the door to her left, revealing Draco and Lucius. They stepped into the room and eyes the trio gleefully.
" So nice of you to pay us a visit. " Lucius greeted, " Virginia was getting quite homesick. "
" What the hell is going on? " Harry burst out, completely confused.
" I suppose we could skip the formalities. " Virginia shrugged, " We're going to torture, maim, and kill you. " Hermione's eyes went wide, Harry gaped, and Ron looked as though he still didn't understand what was going on.
" I suppose I'll take Ron. " she decided, " Draco, you can have Harry and Lucius, have fun with Hermione. " She waved her wand and suddenly their hands were chained behind their backs. Draco and Lucius grabbed Harry and Hermione, and went to seperate rooms.
" Ginny, what's going on?! Why are you doing this? "
" Maybe I'm sick of all of you. Tired of being poor, tired of you lot constantly breathing over my shoulder. It's payback time. "
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Professor McGonagall paced in front of Dumbledore's desk.
" I can't believe it. " she looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
" Tell me exactly what happened Minerva. "
" They found them at the edge of the forbidden forest this morning. All bound and gagged. "
" But you said only one was dead. "
" Mr. Weasley. It was the death curse. "
" And the others? "
" Miss Granger's mind has been damaged beyond repair. St. Mungo's came earlier and took her. "
" And Harry? "
" His legs have been crippled too badly. There's no chance of him ever walking again. "
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" A toast. " Voldemort rose from his seat at the head of the dinner table. He, Lucius, Narcissa, Draco, and Virginia were seated in the Malfoy's lavish dining room. " To Virginia, for choosing the path she was destined for. " Glasses were raised and wine was replenished.
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