AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Hey y'all! I'm back with a new chapter again.
As always, I thank so much all who have bothered in reading this little ficcie and moreover if they took the time to review! I'm over 300 now! I can't believe it! And to think that I hesitated when I first posted chapter one, because I thought it was going to be a mere failure...
Well, there's no Christmas Carol cover for this chappie, but who knows? Maybe next Christmas... (Though I intend to finish this ficcie before that happens...) For all those who wonder how much is left of this story, I would probably say about... six chapters or so... yep.
By the way, about chapter 13... you weren't supposed to fully understand what Ginny's problem was, so don't worry! There's much more on that subject later on.
So here it is, hope you like it: chapter 14! (can u believe that? 14 chapters already?)
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 XIV: WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING...
Ginny woke up to the pleasant feeling of silk sheets to her skin and a ray of light that peeked between the heavy, black velvet curtains and hit her right onto her left eye.
At first, she was feeling so sleepy that she limited to roll over, grumbling and hugging a soft pillow that was found to her right.
Then she blinked twice, squinted her eyes and stretched across the luxuriously large bed, to finally open her eyes.
She furrowed her brow as she stared at the canopy that decorated the top of the bed. It was dark blue, with fine patterns embroidered with silver thread. Smooth, white veils hanged from its ends and they were drawn and tied with silver ropes in one of the sides.
Then it hit her.
Ginny gasped so loud it echoed in the room, as she straightened up and gazed at the surroundings.
"Where am I?" she muttered to herself, her stomach rumbling with distress.
Then she noticed something else that drew her attention as she stared in awe at her clothes.
"Holy !" she gasped, as she touched the exquisite night gown that had replaced her filthy, grey uniform. It was a light blue satin dress, covering from her bare shoulders to her knees. Silver laces secured the top of it to her shoulders and the laces matched the delicate design that was embroidered on the gown.
"What the hell is this supposed to mean!" she wondered, jumping out of the bed. "Where am I!" she added, staring in all directions.
As her toes touched the mushy black carpet, she realised there was a light blue robe hanging from a chair and a pair of light blue slippers, both matching her night gown. She quickly put them on and explored the room she was in.
"It has to be a dream," she told herself. "That's it!" she convinced herself. "I mean, how else could you explain this... this... situation!" she blurted out, stopping before a mirror, mystified by what she saw.
Her reflection showed a pale girl, with tangled red hair and an unbelieving look on her face. Then she fixed her eyes on her gown again... She looked so... delicate.
"Yep, it's most definitely a dream..." she reassured, making her way towards the huge oak tree doors, that had a golden handle resembling a swan in the middle.
Ginny chuckled at her vivid imagination and opened the doors that revealed a dimly lit hallway, where the light from the windows was just beginning to enter.
She looked at both sides of the corridor, proving there was no one there, except for scary, black marble gargoyles that seemed to warn her not to carry on.
The red-head couldn't care less, and stepped into the corridor confidently, still under the conviction that she was submerged in a dream.
Suddenly, a strong breeze from the front hit her body, tangling around her legs and up her spine, before leaving the corridor in complete stillness again. Ginny shivered with the cold and secured her robe, walking towards one of the two directions.
"Wow," she thought. "That felt so real..."
She only managed to walk some twenty steps when a loud thud was heard behind her.
Ginny turned around in shock, noticing that the sound was caused by a pair of doors that had flung open, pushed by a plump, middle aged woman, wearing a neat apron over a burdeaux, long sleeved dress.
"Oh!" The blonde haired woman cried mirthfully, running in her direction.
Ginny stood there in stupor, her eyes wide open, as if she was a kid who was just caught stealing a cookie from the kitchen.
"The young mistress is up, I see!" she added, grabbing her by the arm. "Come, come! We have to get yourself ready..." she exclaimed, as she took her with short, but amazingly fast steps through the corridors.
The red-head couldn't put two pieces of this puzzle together.
"Ready for what?" she finally uttered.
"Why, to meet young Master Gray of course, why else?" she replied matter-of-factly, as if it was the most obvious thing.
"Master Gray?" she asked, furrowing her brow.
"Prince Dylan Vega Gray the First, your highness," she added, absentmindedly.
"Highness?" she snorted aloud, which didn't seem to amuse the woman the least bit.
"This is such a funny dream..." she thought, grinning. "Highness..."
They were walking so fast that one of the laces of her night gown, tangled around her feet and brought her stumbling to the floor, with loud moans.
The woman gasped so loud Ginny totally forgot her pain and begun looking in all directions, in the hope to find the object of such agony.
"Your Highness!" the woman yelled, kneeling beside her and inspecting her knees.
The red-head instantly flushed with the contact of the woman's fingers on her skin.
"Are you alright?" she asked. "Oh my God, let me see, does this hurt?" she asked pressing a spot in her knees. Ginny shook her head quickly "Or this?" she added. "And this? What about this?"
Ginny kept shaking her head, awkwardly.
"I'm fine, really!" she finally yelled.
The woman sighed, clenching her heart and helped the red-head to her feet again.
"Thank Goodness," she uttered. "Let's hurry up then, shall we?"
Ginny nodded and walked with the woman, but she realised that, in truth, her knees did hurt a little... Maybe even more than just a little, actually...
"How can this be?" she thought. "Dreams aren't supposed to hurt you and that fall definitely pained me..." she added, sobbing her left shoulder. "Then !" she thought.
"Oh my God..." she hissed, her face resembling a desperate expression.
"You said something?" the woman inquired.
"Oh my God!" she yelled louder.
"What is it, madam? Are you alright?" the woman asked with concern.
"Where am I?" Ginny asked, looking at the woman straight into her eyes.
"At Schattenburg, the Prince's castle, of course," she replied.
"Who are you?"
"Me?" the woman asked as if it was the most weird question to ask. "I'm Ellen Higgins, milady. I will be your servant at the castle, so if your highness needs anything, just anything at all -"
"Wait!" Ginny interrupted, to Mrs. Higgins annoyance. "There must be a mistake," she uttered, letting go of Ellen's arm.
"I beg your pardon?" the woman asked, furrowing her brow.
"I'm no 'highness', Mrs. Higgins -" she begun.
"Oh, please do call me Ellie, your highness!" Mrs. Higgins mirthfully corrected.
"No!" Ginny yelled, to Ellie's surprise. "You don't understand," she added in a softer tone. "I'm not royalty of any sort, I can assure you that," she retorted. "I'm plain Ginevra Molly Weasley, former servant of Morkdrage School of Dark Arts for Boys," she briefly explained.
Ellie remained in an inquisitive silence, until she finally answered.
"That, my darling," she begun to explain. "is who you were," she added. "Now, you are Ginevra Deneb Weasley, Prince Dylan Vega Gray's fiancée and future Darkness Queen".
"What!" Ginny scowled so loud that Ellie backed up a little. "His fiancée?" Ellie nodded. "Darkness Queen, me?"
Ellie simply smiled.
"Oh, no! You don't have an idea of the cataclysmic mistake you're making. You see, I'm a servant, alright? And - and - a good witch! Yes! No dark feelings whatsoever," she begun stuttering. "And - Yes! I don't even know the prince! I've barely even heard from him, being who I am. I don't - I don't really know him at all, actually!" she blurted out.
"Oh, but you will!" Ellie replied, happily. Then, upon noticing the red-head's distressed face, that was immediately covered by her hands that seemed to be squeezing it, she added. "Oh, deary, Master Gray is such a charming young man, I'm sure you'll fancy him," she said, winking an eye.
Ginny noticed the suggestive tone of those last words and honestly couldn't find it more ridiculous.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Ginny hissed. "And I'm not marrying anyone, alright? I was planning to marry someday, yes, but surely out of love, not some secret engagement of some sort!"
"Oh, but, your highness, you will love him, no doubt," Ellie replied, removing a lock of red hair from Ginny's face.
"What makes you so confident about it?" Ginny inquired, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.
Ellie sighed deeply and rolled her eyes.
"Let's just say I have a hunch, is all," she replied.
"And what is this Deneb business about? My name is Ginevra Molly, MO-LLY!" she scowled. "I mean, Christ! Is that even a name?"
"Now it is, I'm sure," Ellie answered, smiling. "Now come, come!" she added, resuming their walk. "We have to get you cleaned for your formal presentation".
"No, wait!" Ginny blurted out. "Mrs. Higgins I-"
"Ellie," the woman corrected, "Please do call me Ellie".
"Ellie," the red-head repeated. "You see, I really don't belong here, it must be a mistake".
"Oh, but I'm afraid there's no mistake, milady; you do belong here, I'm sure".
"But why ? I mean, how did I even get here?" Ginny asked, beginning to lose her mind.
Ellie grinned understandingly and held Ginny's face in her palm.
"All shall be explained to you in the right time, your highness," Ellie replied. "I'm not the one to reveal the truth about your presence in this castle".
"But I want to go home!" she inherently blurted out.
"And where would that be, exactly, your highness?" Ellie asked, tenderly.
The question caught Ginny unaware. Home? Where was that really? She knew what used to be home... The Burrow. But now... There was obviously no one there, and the house was probably gone too. Morkdrage?... Sure it wasn't exactly a cosy home as the one she found in the burrow, but there were the persons most dearest to her. Vicky... Bekka... Draco? Whatever happened to him anyway?
Her eyes begun to fill with tears upon these memories.
"There, there," Ellie begun, placing a soothing arm around her shoulders. "Everything is going to be alright, your highness, you'll see..." she added, then turned to face a certain door. "Oh! Here we are, please come in, your highness," she asked, opening the door for her.
Ginny limited to follow, not knowing exactly what to expect.
When she entered, the red-head noticed that the air inside that room contrasted deeply with that from the corridors. It was hot and dense, and there was a thick mist that surrounded them.
"Where are we?" she asked, furrowing her brow.
"In the bathroom, of course," Ellie replied, making her way towards a spot in the middle of the room.
It was then that Ginny saw the huge silver bathtub that laid over a mushy dark blue carpet. Next to it was a table full of soaps, towels, perfumes, shampoos and other body lotions, that smelled of rose petals and peaches.
"Wow," Ginny uttered in awe, as Ellie dropped what seemed to be bath salts and spread a handful of pink rose petals over the water's surface.
Then, the woman pulled her right sleeve up to her elbow and sank her arm down the bathtub. Some seconds later, she took it out and poured some cold water from a vase that was lying on the floor. She introduced her hand again and then took it out, looking at the red-head, satisfied.
"Well," she begun. "I think it's ready," she added. Noticing that Ginny merely stood there, looking at her, she hurried to her side and took her by the hand. "Come on, young mistress, we don't have much time left!" she exclaimed, grabbing the hem of Ginny's night gown delicately.
At this, however, Ginny reacted, and shrugged off. Ellie looked at her a little offended at her roughness.
"I - I think I can do it myself, thank you," Ginny explained. "If you don't mind, of course," she softly added.
"Oh, not at all, your highness!" the woman replied. "Do as you wish. I'll be setting the fire in the dressing room, just let me know if you need anything," she added, striding off and disappearing behind a door at her right.
When she was left completely alone, Ginny begun to undress shyly, until she was wearing nothing but a curious look on her face.
She glanced at her body; it was full of scars and bruises that made her remember her past experiences yet again. The fieldtrip, jumping from the carriage, running through the forest and... Galloping with Draco through the green prairies.
Ginny sighed at the thought, but soon remembered their last encounter and grumbled with disgust. He had been such an asshole...
Attempting to push those thoughts away, the red-head stepped towards the bathtub and slid a foot inside it.
The contact of warm water to her sore feet felt blissfully wonderful and her whole body shivered with excitement.
Ginny slowly dropped herself into the tub and when she was completely underwater, except for her head, she sighed deeply with relief. The red-head felt like a seventeen century princess...
"What is this all about anyway?" she reflected, intoxicated by the exquisite scent that surround her. "I know it just must be a mistake, for sure," she told herself, determinedly. "I hope everything will be clarified when I speak to this Dylan Gray person," she added. "He'll know I'm no queen of darkness material..." she sniggered. "For now, I just might enjoy the prince's accommodations for a while," she thought, inhaling deeply. "It's not every day that you get to be treated like a true princess".
After that, Ginny was hoping she would be allowed to leave and, who knows? Maybe she could find some place where the Death Eaters wouldn't find her or something. By the treat she was receiving in this castle, she didn't think they would be too hostile when she planned to leave.
"And Draco?" Ginny sighed.
He had been such an insensitive blockhead last night...
"Well, if he wants me back, then he'll have to find me and beg me on his knees for my forgiveness," she hissed.
He had gone way too out of the line...
"But what am I doing?" she wondered. "I'm taking like the most luxurious bath ever, and ruining all the vibe with unpleasant thoughts," she added, deciding to try her best to focus only on her bath.
She soon spotted a white sponge in the table and, grabbing what seemed to be soap, she begun scrubbing her body avidly, massaging her tense muscles. Then she sank her head into the tub to wet her hair, that had stiffened with the dust and dirt from the horse ride. She applied a pink lotion over her head and scrubbed hard.
When she finished, she faced one of her first challenges: rinsing her hair.
Merlin! How was she supposed to rinse her hair in the tub's water that was all mixed with soap already. After giving it a thought, she decided there was nothing she could do but ask for help.
"What was the woman's name again? Erin? Or was it Mellie?" she wondered. "Damn it! I'm such a hard head with names!" she regretted.
"Mrs. Hitchkins!" she yelled, knowing the name didn't sound right. Despite that, Ellie arrived a second later, carrying a towel in her hands.
"Yes, dear?" she asked, completely unperturbed about the fact that Ginny was naked in the water, which made the red-head feel a lot more relieved.
"How do I ? Or how can I ?" Giny begun, touching her shampooed hair.
"Oh!" Ellie exclaimed. "Allow me to handle that, your highness," she added, striding to her side, and lifting a vase of water from the floor, before standing behind her. "Now close your eyes," she instructed and poured the warm water over her head.
Ellie then introduced her small hands into her head and begun massaging and scrubbing to remove the shampoo residues. Ginny surrendered to the woman's help and then onwards decided to allow Ellie to help her.
"Why can't I be spoiled for one time?" she told herself.
When she was finished, she stepped out of the tub, discovering with amazement that her skin was as soft and smooth as it had ever been.
"Wow!" she exclaimed, sliding a hand down her once scarred arm.
"They're the finest healing bath salts in the Kingdom, your highness," Ellie explained. "Brought directly from France for your majesty," she added, wrapping a towel around her body and motioning Ginny to follow her to the continuous room; the "dressing room".
There, she was relieved to find a warm fireplace, and a number of closets at the sides.
"Well now, let's see..." begun Ellie, opening a closet. "This one? no, no, no, too pale..." she added, staring at her. "Perhaps the red - or maybe the - oh, I know! This one!" she cried, taking a dashing indigo coloured strapless dress, with fine flowers embroidered in silver near the cleavage and the hem of the long dress. "The Master will love it, I'm sure..."
Ginny couldn't believe how beautiful it was; not even in her wildest dreams had she ever thought she would get to wear such fine garments.
"Come here, mistress," Ellie told her. "We'll need to fit you in a corset to get this dress through you.
"A corset?" she asked, but Ellie didn't seem to pay any attention and begun fitting her into a white corset. Ginny moaned each time she tightened the laces and even thought she might not be able to breathe at all.
"There," Ellie exclaimed, tying a knot.
"By the way, er... Ellie," Ginny begun. "Where are my clothes?" she inquired.
"You mean those filthy, old garments you were wearing when you were brought here?" Ellie asked.
"Yes, those," she gruffly answered. "But there was a certain..." Was it wise to tell her about the brooch? "Thing! Pinned to it," she added.
Ellie looked puzzled, and furrowed her brow,
"Thing, milady? Like what?"
"You mean you didn't find anything... special?" Ginny asked, disheartedly, her semblance turning sad.
"I'm afraid not, your highness, I think I would've noticed," Ellie replied.
"Oh," Ginny sadly uttered, feeling like crying upon the loss of such precious object. Suddenly a thought hit her. What if Ellie wasn't magical? "Ellie?"
"Yes, dear?" the woman sweetly replied, straightening Ginny's gown.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, your majesty, what is it?" she said leaving what she was doing to pay full attention to the red-head.
"Are you magic?" Giny asked. "I mean, are you a witch?" she corrected.
Ellie smiled warmly.
"Yes, I am, your highness," she replied proudly. "Or at least I used to be one," she added, nostalgically. "You know how servants are not allowed to use wands or anything," she explained.
"I see..." Ginny replied, feeling sad both because of Ellie's condition, with which she could totally relate to, and due to the fact that she now knew that her beloved brooch had gone, probably forever.
However, a number of petticoats and beauty secrets later, Ginny was standing in front of the mirror, admiring the reflection.
At first, she thought that strapless dress would do nothing for her lack of attributes in the front, but it seemed that all those torturer undergarments had definitely paid off.
Her arms had been covered with long, velvet gloves that matched the dress and a smooth cape covered her back.
Then, her face... It looked like porcelain again, she didn't remember feeling it as soft before, and her hair, it had been transformed from a crop of mushy hair to a sleek mane of flaming red hair that fell down to her mid-back.
"You look absolutely stunning, child!" Ellie observed, standing on her tips behind her. "Now just one final touch," she added, searching in a small ebony box and returning with a pair of sparkling diamond earrings and a matching necklace.
Ellie sighed , evidently satisfied with her work.
"You're ready!"
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Draco didn't remember seeing Ginny as beautiful before. She was wearing a short, strapless, red dress, that matched her lips, which were nice and moist. She had a generous cleavage that didn't leave much to the imagination and her dress stuck to her body, accentuating her curves. Her hair was wild and messy, falling carelessly over her bare shoulders.
Draco was lying on the bed, with only a pair of boxers on and his hands behind his head, staring at her fixedly.
She approached him, swaying her hips seductively and smirking, until she reached the end of the bed. She left her red high heels there and proceeded to crawl up the smooth surface, as if she were a lioness waylaying her pray, without unlocking her eyes from the blonde's.
The red-head sat on his lap, which made the already short dress, raise a couple of inches, which allowed Draco to get a glimpse of her black, lace knickers.
The blonde saw her smirk provocatively and snigger upon noticing the effect that she had caused between his legs, but he didn't dare move.
The red-head, instead, fiercely kissed him on the lips, urgently, yet passionately and the blonde took his hands to her bottom, which he grabbed strongly, pulling her closer. The red-head moaned at this and begun to rub her hips rhythmically against his boxers to incite him.
Ginny suddenly broke the kiss, separating her face a couple of inches from his, but still sneering.
Draco stared at her feisty, chocolate eyes in awe. He had never seen them so bright, her pupil so dilated, burning with raw desire.
Without previous notice, the red-head licked his cheek, her tongue fully open. This caught Draco unaware, and he grimaced.
"What are you doing?" he snorted.
But she simply smirked back and licked again from his chin to his nose.
"No offence, but you do know how unsexy that is, luv, don't you?" he snarled, wiping the saliva from his cheek with his fist.
The red-head smirked again and took her mouth to the top of his head, where she grazed at his hair and roughly pulled it back with her teeth.
"Ahhh!" Draco growled, opening her eyes to see two bright brown eyes, belonging to none other than his faithful steed. "You!" he scolded, pushing him away abruptly.
He stood up and spit to the floor.
"Yugh!" he exclaimed, grimacing. "I kissed a horse," he added, wiping his mouth.
The horse neighed loudly, as if he was enjoying the situation.
"Yeah," Draco uttered. "Go ahead and laugh while you can, you stupid beast," he added, with which the horse turned so that his arse faced the blonde. "Right..."
Then he remembered.
"Ginny," he uttered, thinking about their last brawl.
God, he was so pissed at her!
"Shoving me off, that little tease," he hissed. "Who does she think she is?" he added, glaring at the entrance of the cave. "Commanding me to sleep outside when it was me who found this cave on first place!" he added. "Oh, but she'll see," he said, striding off into the cave. "She'll see who's in charge..."
The blonde begun looking in all directions.
"Ginevra!" he yelled, hoarsely. "You come here and face me like a woman!" he yelled, with no reply in response. "There's no point in hiding, you know you have to face me sometime or another," he added.
His face suddenly changed from a hard one, to that of worry and confusion.
"Gi -" he begun, in a weary voice. "Nevra?"
But nothing was heard, but his own echo.
"She's gone!" he yelled. "How could she ? Why did she ?" Draco begun thinking, desperately and then grumbled aloud.
He ran out of the cave in search for a clue that would lead him to the solution of this enigma; maybe a footprint or a garment...
Nothing.
"Why did she leave!" he growled. "Where did she go!" he added, his face reddening with impotence.
Had he been too harsh on her last night? Draco grunted at the thought.
"No, she wouldn't have left," he told himself. "If she would've wanted to do that to get me pissed, then she would've done it right in the moment when I would be more aware of it," he added. "Plus, she would've taken the horse," he thought. "Then what!"
A thousand thoughts rushed through his mind. Maybe she was found by the Death Eaters and taken back?
"No, no, no... They would've taken me back with them too".
What if an animal ate her while she was sleeping?
The thought send chills up his spine, and his eyes widened.
"No," he told himself. "As morbid as it may sound, there would be signs of the slaughter in the cave," he thought. "Or foot prints for that matter," he added.
The blonde grumbled so loud its echo bounced back from the cave.
Then he took one hand to his forehead and the other to the right pocket of his coat.
At this, he grimaced upon discovering there was something inside his right pocket. He quickly took it out.
It was a crumpled, blank piece of parchment.
"What the -?" He thought for a while and then remembered; he had put it there some weeks ago when an owl had dropped it in his room. Draco had believed it was a stupid prank from his school mates back then, but now...
He stared at the blank paper for a moment and then slid a finger on top of its yellowish surface. It wasn't smooth, as it should've been. Draco could feel the irregularities with his fingertips and, all of a sudden, he felt pretty sure of what it was.
The blonde took his wand from his pocket, his eyes still on the paper.
"Aspicio Effluo," he mumbled, pointing his wand towards the parchment.
Not three seconds had passed when the paper begun shining very brightly and black letters begun to form. It was a very elegant hand-writing, probably belonging to someone both rich and important, Draco thought.
At the end of the parchment, Draco recognised a peculiar stamp that resembled a lyre and the initials DVG in gold. He remembered seeing it somewhere else, but couldn't quite figure out where it had been.
The letter read as follows:
"Since you've proved to be such an incompetent nimwit as to lose the valuable mirror which I gave you to establish a safe connection, you left me no other choice than to send word to you by owl, a most vane and unsafe method. I trust that you did reckon the fact that it was written in invisible ink; it would honestly prove you an absolute idiot if you weren't able to decipher something as basic as that..."
He chortled at the sarcastic tone of the letter.
"... Due to your excessive lack of wits, I've seen myself in the obligation to give you a little hand in this most simple task I've stupidly trusted on you. She works in the room of some bloke named Draco Malfoy..."
Draco grimaced at the mention of his name.
"...you should know him from one of your classes and, if you don't, you shall find him. When you do, you shall immediately issue a change of rooms and that will leave you in a most convenient position to seize my lady and bring her to me at once..."
The blonde's eyes were gaping at the piece of paper, that seemed so perturbing as revealing.
"...Unfortunately, I cannot help you in this task, as it is impossible to apparate in Morkdrage's grounds, thanks to an ancient charm cast many centuries ago. However, if you at least manage to take her out of this perimeter, you should contact me and I could take her from there, as long as it's dusk. Do not, I repeat, do not even attempt to make her disapparate with you; I don't want her lost in some alternate dimension, mind you..."
"Ginny!" Draco yelled.
"...In the hope that you shall get this message safely and for once do as you were told,
DVG
PS: Should you find the mirror, be sure to contact me at once, so that I may know that this message was delivered safe."
"What!" The blonde was hectic. "I don't believe this!" he added, a thousand thoughts rushing through his mind. "So it was Wihler! That mindless son of bitch was conspiring to kidnap Ginny, wasn't he?"
He now understood the extreme willingness of Wihler to change rooms with him, when he had asked him to. He also realised why he was always sitting there so nervously, as if he was analysing every single person that passed by. Finally, he became aware of the reason why he was the first to run after Ginny at the fieldtrip and the most eager one to take her to the station when she had to leave.
Draco growled aloud.
"How couldn't I see it!" he scowled, holding his head in his hands and pacing from one side to another. "But !" he suddenly stopped. "Who was the author of the letter?" he thought, desperately.
"DVG"
Those were sure to be the initials, but who's? Who could possibly want to kidnap Ginny and to which ends?
"Someone wealthy and important, someone wealthy and important," he kept repeating himself. "Damn it! Where have I seen those initials before!"
:Flashback:
"His full identity has not yet been confirmed but he is known by the name of Dylan Vega Gray, the new prince of darkness..."
:End of Flashback:
The words rushed through his head as he finally begun to disentangle the mystery.
"But why the hell would someone like the Prince of Darkness want Ginny?" he said, clenching his chin in his fingers. "What business could he possibly have with her? I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know her!" he scowled. "'My lady', though... That sounds pretty personal, I'd say..."
Draco grumbled loud.
"He kidnapped her, the bastard!" he growled. "Oh, but this won't stay like this, no! No one steals Draco Malfoy's girl, no one!" he added, heading towards the place were the horse was grassing, without paying much attention to Draco's speech.
Draco untied the horse's reigns off the tree and mounted him in one gracious jump.
"C'mon now, horse!" he yelled. "To Schattenburg!" he added and spurred the horse that bucked wildly and soon broke into a swift gallop.
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Ginny didn't remember what it was like to wear heels. Granted they were the most beautiful pair of slippers she had ever worn; they were silver, they had diamonds... and she was dreading them.
"Are we there yet?" the red-head inquired, impatiently.
"Almost, your highness, almost," Ellie answered, hurrying past a corner.
Ginny sighed with boredom. What did she know about this bloke again?
:Flashback:
"Did you guys hear?" The girls shook their heads, dumbfounded. "You know, about He Who Must Not Be Named being overthrown by the new, sexiest Dark Prince? Oh my God! He's such a heartthrob, with his wavy, ebony hair reaching lower than his shoulders" she mimicked "and his icy-blue eyes penetrating you with that side-glare..." she sighed, clenching her chest with her fist. "Soo sinfully, perfect!".
:End of Flashback:
"Alright, so he's extremely powerful and... Pretty good looking, I'm guessing," she told herself, feeling a little intimidated by the thought. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to meet him right away after all. What would she say anyway? "Er... your royalness, I'm not the person you're looking for, I'm sorry, good luck next time, bye!" and gracefully smile, glancing away?
But she was already on her way to meet him.
No! She wanted, she needed more time!
"What time is it?" she casually asked.
"It's nine o'clock in the morning, your highness," Ellie answered, absentmindedly.
"Great!" she thought. "It's dead early!"
"Er... Isn't it a little early, the prince might be sleeping..." Ginny suggested, in the hope that she would be granted some more time before they met.
Ellie sniggered, as if it was the most foolish suggestion ever.
"It's never early for young Master Gray, milady," she replied, grinning.
"Oh," she answered, finding Ellie's reply rather odd.
After a while, and a number of staircases later, not only was she feeling extremely uncomfortable, but she was also finding it tough to see, as the castle was only lit by a few torches.
They were going up a wide staircase, the red-head absorbed in the castles' eccentric decoration, when she tripped and stumbled, but managed to keep her balance and avoid what would've otherwise been quite a nasty fall.
"Shit!" she cried aloud, catching Ellie's attention, who looked at her with gaped eyes. "Sorry," she excused herself, feeling quite distressed. "What ever happened to the light anyway?" Ginny inquired, feeling back in the seventeen century again.
"Master Gray doesn't like it," Ellie simply replied.
Ginny furrowed her brow.
"And why is that?" she asked.
"Oh, we're here!" Ellie mirthfully announced, standing in front of two heavy, oak tree doors, with golden handles.
She pushed them aside and hurried inside. Ginny shivered as she saw her disappear into the dark room.
"Your highness Lady Ginevra is here, Master Gray!" Ginny heard her say.
Ellie strode back to her side and gestured Ginny to come in.
Extremely uneasily, Ginny trespassed the threshold, with short, unconfident steps. It was so dark inside, she could hardly tell anything apart.
"Master Gray is waiting for you, dearie, good luck!" Ellie announced and closed the doors behind her with a loud thud.
Ginny could hear her heart thudding beneath her ribs, thumping vigorously like a drum and her hands became sweaty with anticipation, despite how cold the room seemed to be. The air was dense and there was what seemed to be haze coming from all directions.
Giving a couple of shy steps, that contrasted with the clean sound that her heels made over the smooth surface, she stopped.
"I can't believe I let myself be talked into this," Ginny thought as she stared in all directions, trying to spot the prince.
Unable to do so, Ginny sighed.
"Greetings, my lady..." she heard a throaty, husky voice whisper in her ear, sending wild shivers up her spine.
Ginny felt as if her heart had skipped a beat when she abruptly turned around and felt a cool breath caressing her bare neck...
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AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Okay, that must've been the most evil cliffie ever... I know... But hey! It is also the longest chapter ever! I was supposed to cut it and no! I posted it all, so don't hate me! I promise I'll try to update as soon as I possibly can. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
That is, if you review, of course. Otherwise, I would understand that you don't want the next part of this story, do you? Then REVIEW! And tell me what you thought about it! Anything! A scene! A character! A line! I love it all!
By the way, the title of this chapter corresponds to a movie, which I haven't even seen, but just so that you know...
Thanks SO VERY MUCH to last chapter's REVIEWERS, you have my love: **faeriedust** **mish** **Momentyne** **MrsDanielRadcliffe** **Kirara** **Elven-Princess** **div** **ChildOfDarkness** **Eri** **hunnee** **monagy3** **chocolatefroggie** **xlostx0652** **Tomlove01** **pink_tomate** **Peanut** **Tina** **Dracoismyluvr** **dirtyh@rriet** **Feltonbabe** and the **Anonymous**
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