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A FLAME IN THE DARK by Dearg-Due
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A FLAME IN THE DARK

Dearg-Due

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Ahem, ahem! Just sing along!
"On the twelfth day of Christmas, my author brought to me, twelve horses prancing, eleven snakes are sissing, ten Mr. Blanchards, nine Crabbes and Goyles, eight sexy Dracos, seven hags are squealing, six Ginny Weasleys, Five Dorky spieees, four stupid Blaise, three good friends, two Dylan Grays, and a brand new, wicked chappieee!"


LOL! Thank you, thank you... Maybe someday I can make a living out of my covers, lol. Just kidding... I simply thought since Christmas is so near, I would do something special in the beginning of this chappie... too bad for those who have never heard the original song ("Twelve Days of Christmas", preferably from Burl Ives), they surely must be thinking I'm out of my mind right now... Maybe just a little


About those PSU exams I've been telling you about, to anyone it may concern... Good news! I'm in! I scored enough to get into any university, so I'm very happy right now... Oh yes I am... It wasn't BRILLIANT, but it was good enough... All this only because once again you were so good to me... Thanks to all of my faithful reviewers! Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter or any of JK Rowling's amazing characters. However the plot and the new characters are all mine.

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Chapter XIII: HATING TO LOVE, OR LOVING TO HATE?

"Idiot!" a strong voice scolded. "Imbecile!"

The vassal remained in thoughtful silence, sobbing uncontrollably.

"My lord," he begun. "It wasn't my fault," he paused to sniff. "I-"

"What!" the infuriated master interrupted. "What exactly is your half-ass excuse now, huh? The weather conditions didn't suit you, is that it!"

"Master Gray!" the subject cried. "It was him again! It was Draco Malfoy who boycotted my plan!"

"Again?" he scornfully inquired.

"Yes..." he assured.

"And how is that?"

"I was ready to take her to the station, I swear it! I had earned the permission to take her, I had my suit on and all, I tied the -"

"And!" he interrupted. "Your point is?" he asked, after which Wihler begun stuttering. "Quit that, you brainless idiot, and tell me what happened!" he scowled

"Well I- Sir- You see, I was in the barns when he appeared and -"

"Oh, what does it matter," the master uttered, defeatedly. "You just don't have her..." he added.

"No, it was him who took her!"

"What!" he scowled. "How could you ? How did you !" The prince groaned with anger and then, as if he had suddenly remembered something, he calmed down. "So they must be out of Morkdrage's grounds..." he said to himself.

"They most certainly are, my Lord!" the vassal mirthfully replied.

"Excellent..." he whispered. "Be gone, Wihler..." he calmly commanded. "I shall need you here shortly..." he added.

"What? Then you're not going to kill me?" he asked with glee.

"Not for now," he sentenced. "But I wouldn't be too careless if I were you..." he threatened.

"Of course not, Master Gray! I shall meet you there in no time!" he responded.

"Tomorrow, Wihler..." he solemnly told his vassal. "I think I might go out for a walk tonight..." he whispered.

"Good, Master! It shall do you well to have some fresh air, I think," he told him. "Oh! But look at the time, I must be gone at once!" he announced. "I'll meet you in the morning, Master Gray!" he added, and resumed the conversation.

In the room, a reflective prince was left meditating, a smirk slowly forming in his lips.

"If you want something done right..." he whispered. "Do it yourself."

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"Dra- Dra," Ginny was so shocked, that she couldn't believe her eyes. Was it possible? Was it true?

"Yeah, it's me, who did you expect?" he simply answered, slowing down so that they could hear each other better.

"But I- I thought that- Wasn't Chad going to-" Her mind couldn't think straight with all the stuff that was going through her head.

"Take you to the station?" the blonde interrupted. "Oh yes, he was. My good, old pal was ready to go out this morning. God, I had never seen someone so excited about doing a task as boring as that one..."

"So, what happened to him?" Ginny hurried to ask, still dumbfounded, her eyes wide open.

"Well, I- Let's just say that he suddenly felt the itchy need to take a nap," Draco answered, smirking.

"You knocked him out!" she yelled, horrified at the thought.

Ginny suddenly became aware that her arms were still tightly wrapped around Draco's chest and she brusquely removed them, crossing them in front of her.

"I didn't want to say it under such terms, but now that you did, well yes, you could say so".

The blonde kept replying with such confidence that it begun to drive the red-head crazy. How couldn't he feel the least bit guilty?

"Why would you do something like that?" she inquired.

"Well, because I-" he paused, to turn around and face the red-head, after which he tenderly took her hand into his, making Ginny stare at that union as if it was mud that had just touched her hands. "Well, I think that I discovered that I-"

"Let me guess... Loved me?" she asked, with a cynical smile on her face.

Draco nodded, his eyes filled with mirth.

The next moment, Ginny's hand ran across the blonde's cheek with a slap that would've made the most infuriated woman jealous and her loving expression faded to one of extreme hatred.

"You are such an animal, Malfoy," she muttered, in a determined tone, as the blonde stroked his reddened cheek with a hurt look in his face.

"Hey, what happened with the 'Dra-'" he softly begun.

"Jesus, Draco! Who do you think you are? How do you even have the face to come across me again? Do you think I'm falling for your tricks again, well here's a bit of news for you: I'm not!" she barked at him.

"Hey!" Draco proceeded, regaining his confidence under the conviction that his explanation would clear everything up. "It's not like that, it's not like that at all," he added.

"The hell it's not like that!" she scowled back.

"But Ginny, luv-"

"Don't you 'Ginny luv' me, you bastard!" she scolded with fire burning in her eyes. "I'm not taking anymore bullshit from you!"

"It's not like that, Ginny, let me explain..."

"There's nothing to explain, Malfoy, now put me down!" she commanded, her forefinger pointing towards the floor.

Strangely enough, those last words made the blonde sneer.

"Is that what you really want?" he inquired, fully stopping the horse's steady pace.

"As a matter of fact, yes, I do," Ginny replied, her head as high as ever.

"Well then, I won't be the one to stop you," Draco announced, gracefully getting off the horse.

"Good," she uttered, as he skilfully lifted her from the horse and, much to her complains, put her down on firm ground.

The red-head straightened her uniform and gave Draco a last side glare before striding off in no particular direction, but making sure that he wouldn't notice that, but rather thought that she knew exactly where she was going.

Surprisingly, not ten seconds had she walked when she felt the horse's hoofs walking right next to her.

"So, where exactly are you planning to go now?" asked Draco, from above the horse.

"That is none of your business," she gruffly replied, without bothering to look at him.

"You're right, it's not," he answered. "Why should I care about the dozens of Death Eaters who will be out looking for you when they soon discover you didn't even make it to the station," he suggested, ironically.

"No, they won't, why would they care?" Ginny defiantly clarified.

"Well, let me see..." begun Draco, stroking his chin. "Firstly, magic labour hand is running a little scarce nowadays. Secondly, at Morkdrage the bored Death Eaters are plenty and lastly, it wouldn't bother any of them to get their hands in such fine piece of arse."

Ginny pretended not to listen and simply glared at him with contempt.

"What did you expect? To make a heroically triumphal 'Sound of Music'-ish escape?" he chortled.

"Well, maybe I will," she hissed, stopping to stare at him straight into his silvery, determined eyes, which matched with his fixed smirk.

"You know you won't," he confidently stated.

"Shut up," she unenthusiastically commanded, resuming her journey.

"Admit it, Gin, you need me," he insisted, closing her way with the horse, after which she glared and grimaced at him.

"No, I don't," she replied, dodging the obstacle.

"All you have to do is ask and I will take you with me". Draco offered her a hand as he said this, but it was roughly shrugged away by the red-head.

"Not even close to happening".

"Merlin! Do you hate me so much you would prefer any other Death Eater's hands before mine?" he inquired.

"I would prefer any other human being before you," she hissed.

"Even a muggle?" Draco suggested.

"Even a muggle".

"Even a mudblood or a squib?"

"Yeah, " she chortled. "Even one of those".

"Even Zabini?"

Ginny sighed upon the memory that bastard, but decided to follow the game.

"Yep, even him".

"Even if I told you I love you?"

"Even if you-" The words Draco had just said, hit her head. "What?" she inquired. "What did you just say?"

"Look, Gin, I know it's hard to believe," he begun, jumping off of the horse. ",but it was all a misunderstanding, really."

"Misunderstanding my ass," she blurted out, as she overcame his previous statement.

"And a very good one, for that matter," he dared to say, making her chuckle somberly as he held her shoulders, moving to stand in front of her. "Gin, look, I'm sorry if what you heard back in the forest made you feel upset, but -"

"Upset?" What ever calm that was previously achieved, had now vanished. "It made me feel like shit!" she scowled, shrugging off. "I've never felt so stupid, so foolish, so used in my entire - bloody - life!"

"Ginny, I understand why you feel like that," he chased her across the prairie as he said this. ",but you are being completely unfair there, you see... You would know if you wouldn't have ran away like that".

"Well, I obviously wouldn't have done it if you hadn't said..." The harshness in her eyes was replaced by a sorrowful expression. "That thing you said... in that way you did it".

"The only reason why I laughed that way and said those words was because of how ridiculous they sound to me," Draco explained.

"Yeah, right," she snorted.

"Honest!" he yelled and sighed, after which a reflective silence filled the prairie. "C'mon! You know you still love me," he suggested and Ginny sniggered.

"No, I don't," she untruthfully replied, not having the courage to look into his eyes.

"Yes you do," he insisted.

"What ever would give you such an idea?" she inquired, daringly.

The blonde smirked as if he was waiting for her to ask such a question.

"You kept the brooch..." he confidently answered, staring at the fine piece of jewellery, that was immediately covered by Ginny's hand.

"Shit! Why didn't I take it off back at the school, how foolish of me!" Ginny told herself, as she bit her tongue in remorse.

"That has nothing to do with anything..." Ginny poorly uttered.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!" she replied. "I just, you know, thought I might be able to sell it somewhere, that's all," she lied.

"You care, don't you?"

"No, I don't".

"Liar..." he teasingly reproached.

"Look who's talking!" she blurted out, shooting daggers at him.

"I've told you before I'm not a liar, you know that. When have I ever lied to you?"

"This one makes up for all your supposed previous honesty, I'm afraid," she answered.

"You should've heard what I said right after that, what I said about you, how I put Zabini in his place, and let them all know that I cared for you".

"Jeez," she begun, her voice filled with irony. "But unfortunately there's no proof of any of that, or those wonderful feelings you preach about, is there?"

"Are you kidding?" he inquired, furrowing his brow.

"There just aren't!" she reassured.

"Then why am I here? Isn't it prove enough for you?"

A brief pause took place while the red-head avidly searched for an answer, avoiding his eyes.

"Well I don't know!" she finally replied. "You could've -"

"Got expelled from school? Yes. Lost the half of my inheritance for that matter? No doubt! Isolated myself from my whole world? Completely!" he interrupted, as he felt that his patience was just about to be over.

Meanwhile, Ginny stared at his eyes with some new light and what seemed to be an unbreakable glare, magically softened, as the sun behind them begun to set.

"Look Ginevra, I'm not taking anymore of this crap, I'm risking too much for you here, so the least -"

Draco's speech was abruptly interrupted as his mouth became completely pursed with Ginny's lips, that kissed him with such anxiety and passion that Draco stumbled, and nearly fell to the ground when she threw her arms around him.

He immediately responded by embracing her waist and pulling her closer, thus deepening the kiss.

It was all so deliciously suffocating, that Ginny had to force herself to part for a second, so they could both catch their breath.

"Oh Draco," she uttered. "I'm so sorry, baby," she added, caressing his cheek that was still a little sore from the slap. "I missed you so," she added.

"I thought I had lost you," he whispered, covering her hand.

"You know you never have," she replied, kissing his hand tenderly.

"Let's get out of here," Draco whispered.

The red-head briefly nodded, without unlocking her eyes from his.

Draco admired one last second the glow that the sunset reflected in her angelical face and kissed her in the forehead. Then he looked aside and, putting two fingers in his mouth, he hooted loudly, after which a neighing was heard and soon enough, the horse, that had been happily grassing while the conversation took place, was back.

"After you," Draco offered his hand for her to mount the horse.

"How chivalrous of you," she replied, sneering coquettishly as she mounted.

Draco skilfully mounted after her, positioning his body in the rear.

"You sure you want to do this?" he whispered in her ear.

"More than I ever thought I would be," she replied, grinning.

"Heah!" he yelled, spurring the horse, that once again begun running at full speed.

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They rode all afternoon, sometimes taking the most difficult paths, in order to avoid being found by the Death Eaters, who begun searching for them shortly after the carriage was found abandoned in the middle of the road.

When it was too dark to tell things apart, they decided to make a halt and spend the night in a conveniently located cave, in the middle of the forest.

Soon enough, they were sitting in front of a cosy fire at the exit of the cave, the two of them hugged together and lost in the monotony of the flames.

"You know what?" Draco finally inquired, breaking the silence. "Remember when we were children, and they would make us draw where we thought we would be in ten years?"

Ginny chuckled upon the memory.

"Yes, why?"

"This is the last place I would've imagined myself to be," he replied.

The red-head remained in inquisitive silence.

"But it turned out to be much more exciting than what I drew," he added.

"And what was that?"

"Make a guess..." he incited.

"Let me see..." she closed her eyes for a second to picture the image of a cute, little ten years old Draco with a crayon in his right hand. "I'm guessing you drew yourself in an Armani suit, always your favourite, and... Lots of money," she added as Draco smirked. "And I'm guessing you probably drew yourself in a fancy car, next to an insipid, but oh-so-gorgeously-blonde bimbo".

Draco chuckled at this and covered his eyes with one hand in shame.

"So, how was I?" she asked, triumphant.

"I must admit you were very accurate there," he assured. "But I hate to say that you got that last bit wrong, though," the blonde stated, pausing for a minute as he lost himself in the fire's flames. "I drew myself alone, standing in the middle of all that fancy facade, of course, but ultimately alone," he confessed, his voice sounding grave upon the memory. "I mean, yes, I had friends and, sorry luv, yes, I did prefer them blondes, but, although I knew I could have any girl I wanted..."

Ginny rolled her eyes as he said this.

"...I didn't think I could learn to love any of them back," he explained. "Hence, as old fashioned as it may seem, I decided I would never marry".

"Hmph... That's a strange thing for someone who values his blood so much," Ginny commented.

"Who said I wasn't planning to have children?" he jokingly replied, after which the red-head pushed him away and they both submerged in a delicious laughter, that ended with Draco kissing her on the forehead.

"I really thought you were going to let me go today," she said.

"Well, I did consider it for a moment," he teased.

"Hey!" she reproached, hitting him in the arm, which only made him grin and chuckle. "And what ever changed your mind after that, if I may ask?"

His expression suddenly changed to one of seriousness and, after a while, he replied.

"I was scared..."

"Draco Malfoy scared?" Ginny inquired, furrowing her brow. "Of what?"

"The idea of losing you was the most terrifying thought that ever crossed my mind." Ginny grimaced, unbelieving, as he said this. "Honest."

"Well, aren't you the sweetest thing?" she observed, grabbing his chin and brushing her nose against his'.

"How could I possibly miss the sight of these sparkling eyes of yours, glowing with the flaming fire?" Draco uttered, gazing at her tenderly as he spoke. "Though I must admit that the observational skills of those beautiful eyes leave much space for improvement, hun".

"What do you mean?" she asked, parting a little farther, but with her smile still on place.

"You believed it was Wihler all the time until my hood fell down."

"Well, you were under a cape and hood, weren't you?" she simply explained.

Draco rolled his eyes.

"Did you honestly think that Chad had these incredibly toned abs?" he inquired, pointing towards his chest. "Or this muscular back?" he added, straightening up.

"Well, for your information, Mr-ever-so-strong-and-sturdy macho," Ginny replied, poking him on the chest. "I wasn't exactly feeling him up back in the horse".

"Oh, it didn't quite seem like that to me..." he observed, smirking.

"Oh yeah?" she defied.

"In those moments when you were about-to-wet-your-pants frightened, I felt some pretty intrepid hands putting pressure on me," Draco commented, giving her a snobbish glare.

"I wasn't scared!" she blurted out.

"Sure you weren't!" he yelled. "And allow me to quote here: Hey! What are you doing! Stop it or you will get us both killed!'" he begun, imitating a girly voice.

Ginny couldn't avoid laughing about it; it was a hilarious imitation.

"Are you always this arrogant, Draco?" she chortled.

"Only when I'm around you," he flirtatiously answered, in a hoarse voice.

"Ha- ha." she chortled. "By the way, where did you ever learn to horseback ride like that? Really! It was amazing!"

"Well, my mother got me into these classes one summer, despite my Dad's opinion," he explained, noticing that Ginny had just shivered.

"What was that?" she asked, as Draco offered her his coat. "Thank you," she added, wrapping it around her shoulders.

"He thought it was a girl thing," he snorted. "Plus, a horse is not exactly from our world, right? You know how he hated anything that had to do with muggles..."

"Don't you?" she hurried to ask.

"Well, yes, but I must admit it was a wickedly entertaining hobby," he explained, his eyes filling with glee. "For a muggle, of course," he soon corrected. "Anyway," he added, clearing his throat. "My mother insisted that I should learn how to do it, so she kept it as a secret. She used to say that knowing how to ride a horse was very classy and elegant".

"Not mentioning hot," she blabbed out, staring at him with feverish eyes.

"You think that?" he asked, smirking.

"I mean..." she begun, closing the distance between their faces. "Moreover when we're speaking about the incarnation of prince charming in shining armour here," she added, grabbing him by the collar. "Except for the armour of course."

"You finally admit that, huh?" he said, as he softly caressed her neck.

"You know I always thought that," she replied. ", but don't you dare think it means something, Mr. big shot; to win this maiden's heart you'll need more than good looks and charm, I'm afraid..."

"Oh, then may I properly ask for your permission to court you?" he gallantly asked, kissing her neck.

"Let the games begin," the red-head replied, wrapping her arms around his neck, after which the blonde could not resist any longer and, thus, planted a deep kiss on her mouth, that made Ginny sigh with relief.

Then he pushed her to the floor and begun to trace a path of hungry kisses on her neck, down to the cleavage of her dress.

Ginny, meanwhile, tangled her fingers in his head and closed her eyes, immerse in the pleasure that the blonde's touch was instilling on her. Draco's lips then travelled back to her mouth, where Ginny took a nip at his lower lip, making him groan and introduce her to the exquisite exploration of his tongue.

As he did this, he imperceptibly begun to pull her dress's zipper, minding not to rush over anything, as much as he desired her. He gently laid a hand over her bare waist and, while he still found himself lost in her mouth, his hand begun to slowly find its way up to one of her slightly small, but round and firm breasts, which he expertly caressed, not pressing too much, or too little, just... perfect, as if he knew exactly how she needed to be touched. What less could be expected of the ultimate Slytherin sex God?

The red-head was giving in to his exploration, thinking that her problems had finally been overcome but, unfortunately, she was wrong...

"Uh!" a shockingly loud whimper escaped her mouth, as she crawled from beneath his lover and covered her body, protectively, holding her knees against her chest. The red-head was shivering violently as she looked at Draco with sorry eyes.

Unfortunately, the blonde wasn't quite in the mood to take her problems, once again...

"What was that about?" he asked, with boredom, rather than concern.

"Look, honey, I'm- I'm sorry," she sadly excused herself.

"You always are, aren't you?" he muttered, beneath his breath, unable to look her into her eyes.

"Huh?" she simply inquired.

"I can't take this any longer," he sentenced.

"What do you mean?" Ginny innocently asked.

"What do I mean?" he repeated. "What do I mean!" he insisted. "God, Ginny!"

"What!"

"Why do you keep doing this? Why do you torture me like this? Why, God damn it, why!" he asked, as he stood up.

"Look, I told you I was sorry, I just can't avoid -"

"What! What the hell is wrong with you, huh? Are you a - a - a hermaphrodite or something?" he asked, holding his head between his palms.

"Merlin, no!" she scowled, beginning to feel angry at him.

"Then what - is - wrong with you?" he inquired, staring at her straight into her scornful eyes.

"Draco, I just can't do it," she explained.

"Then why do you incite me? Why do you torture me so?"

"Because I want you, God damn it! I really do!" she cried, desperately.

"But?" he asked.

"But I just..." she begun, staring into his silver depths, then sighing and looking down. "Can't".

"Oh, really?" he inquired, walking around her. "Is that so?" he added, kneeling behind her. "And why - is - that, if I may ask?" he hissed.

"You would never believe me..."

"I don't believe you already," he snorted. ", so it would make no bloody difference, would it!" he scowled, making Ginny close her eyes with sadness.

Upon noticing this, Draco tried to soften his tone.

"Didn't you always say that we should trust in one another, that we should always tell each other the truth? Then why can't you just tell me!" he scowled. "Are you afraid?"

Ginny nodded silently and the blonde sighed, taking her small hands into his, understandingly.

"Look, luv," he tenderly begun. "I'm not gonna hurt you, alright? I promise I will do this as softly as I have ever done it and that I will care for your emotions all the way".

The red-head gazed at him absent-mindedly as he said this, and her eyes begun filling with tears. Upon seeing this, Draco softly caressed her cheek.

"There, there," he uttered. "I know you might've heard that I was a rough guy and," he paused. ", well, maybe I was, but that's because I never cared for any other woman, the way I care about you," he explained.

"Draco, it's not you..." she replied. "It's -" she paused to think for a word.

"Let me guess, you?" he sarcastically, commented, rolling his eyes, but she just glared at him and pretended not to listen.

"I- I've never done this before," she confessed, tears running down her cheeks.

"Oh, Gin," he whispered, embracing her tenderly upon finally thinking he understood the problem at hand.

After a while, he parted, still holding her hands.

"As I said, Gin, I promise I won't hurt you, alright?" he said, clenching her chin in his hands. "I know this may hurt just a little because it's your first time, but-"

"No!" she interrupted. "It's not like that..." she explained, looking away. "I'm not afraid of you, or having sex," she added.

"Then what is it?"

"It hurts..." she uttered, closing her eyes with the memory.

"Oh, Ginny, I know -"

"No!" she reproached. "You don't," she added. "It doesn't hurt in here," she said, laying an open hand over her chest. "Or down there," she added, staring down. She sniffed two times before looking at him in the eyes again. "It hurts in here..." she cried, placing her right hand on the side of her head.

"What?" he incredulously inquired, letting go of her hand.

"It's as if fire was burning inside my head, and there's this light -"

"Please don't tell me it's the light in the end of the tunnel!" he ironically intervened.

Ginny sighed.

"You don't believe me?" she asked, disappointment in her eyes.

"I mean, Ginevra! How could anyone possibly believe that, for Christ's sake? I can take virgins, psychotics and sexually frustrated women, but fires and lights? I mean, how realistic does that sound to you?"

"See you wouldn't believe me?" she sadly reproached.

Draco remained in reflective silence, pacing from one side to another, with his forefinger over his lips, until he finally stopped and pierced her with an icy look.

"You wanna know what I believe in?" he inquired. "I believe you're making it all up!" he yelled. "Yes, I believe you think you're so god damn perfect, that I'm not even good enough for you, 'cause I'm not Potter, am I right?"

"Draco, its'-"

"But you do need someone to stay by your side anyway, don't you? A woman has her needs..."

"Stop it!"

"So you use me, forgetting about my feelings, as well as everybody else!"

"No, Draco. Stop it! I don't want to hear any more of this," she yelled, deeply hurt by his words.

"Aww... you don't? Well, I'm so sorry to disturb your perfect ears, your royal highness, but you'll have to listen to me anyway!" he blurted out.

"No I won't!" she scowled, standing firm and wiping her cheeks. "I'm going to sleep," she uttered, heading towards the inside of the cave, after throwing Draco's coat to his feet.

"Fine!" he yelled.

"Alone!" she added, threateningly.

"Fine!" he repeated.

"Fine!" she scolded, ending the conversation.

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In the night, a dark figure appeared into the rock cave where Ginny was pleasantly sleeping.

His black robes were undeniably made out of the finest silk a human being could possibly buy and, despite how detached it was from his body, one could tell he looked as fine underneath of the fabric, than he did from above.

His ebony hair was as black as his robes, reaching a little lower than his wide shoulders in a wavy cascade, that partially concealed his eyes sometimes.

As he walked, the air was flooded by a bizarre density and coldness, as if every drop of water vapour in the air had suddenly frozen. At the end of the cave, a red-head shivered, and haze escaped from her mouth, as her body became aware of the temperature drop.

He walked with swift, but amazingly confident steps, through the thick mist that now surrounded him and when the tall man stood before her, he smirked upon finally verifying how beautiful his divinely betrothed one was.

He leaned down and gently lifted her up with uncommon strength, as if she was as light as a feather, yet making it seem as if he was lifting the finest piece of china on Earth, with such delicacy and gentleness, it didn't seem real.

The warmth of his chest contrasted deeply with the unusually cold temperature that surrounded them, so the sleeping red-head inherently embraced his neck and the overpowering man shifted her weight to secure her.

His smoky, icy-blue eyes scanned her face as if she was the most precious creature on the Universe and he tenderly kissed the top of her head, inhaling the sweet sense of her scarlet hair.

"At last, Ginevra," he whispered in a throaty, hoarse voice. "You're mine..." he added with a smirk and disappeared with her.

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AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Woo hoo! There you go! Things are BOUND to get hot from now on, aren't they? I finally gave you a glimpse of my beloved villain there and you shall hear A LOT from him in the following chapters as well, oh yes you shall.

God, that was a long chapter! The longest ever, actually.

So that's it for now, I wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! and a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Now, if you're wondering what would I like from you for Christmas, that's dead easy... A REVIEW! (Though I know you already knew that), so please drop a line, it means a lot to me, thank you!

Special thanks to chappie 12's REVIEWERS: **Momentyne** **monagy3** **MrsDanielRadcliffe** **xlostx0652** **KJ Bridgerton** **essence** **hunnee** **HarryHermioneFan16** **Tears_ofthe_Phoenix** **bubbleyum** **Olivia Weasley** **Mooshy** **Tomlove01** **pink_tomate** **emvee** **div** **crackedribs** **Peanut** **Dj Mandy B** **Mrs_Felton** **~Lady_of_the_Horses~** **sorrowful_sinister418** **chocolatefroggie** and many faithful **Anonymous**.


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