AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Hey! It's me again with a new chappie... The last one wasn't exactly a cliffie but I bet it might have left more than one of you wanting more... Thanks again to my wonderful reviewers... Shame that the review thing was under reparations precisely during the days it was uploaded but, oh well... As long as you had the chance to read it, I can wait for the reviews on this chapter...
As you might have noticed, so far I've just tried to set the scene. This chapter begins to develop the conflicts, although some may not be too evident... just check it out...
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 III: WHEN THERE'S NO WAY OUT...
"No, you idiot! It must be someone pure, can't you see?" came a hoarse voice in an irritated tone. It belonged to a young man about twenty years of age. His confident, authoritative voice demanded obedience, while instilling fear at the same time.
"Yes, your highness, sorry, your highness, whatever you say, my Lord," apologised a small, shaky voice.
"Don't be sorry, you dolt! Just find her!" he commanded harshly. He needed not to shout to sound imposing, for his manly, appealing voice already had the power to command, like an innate gift.
"But your highness, if I may ask -", inquired the fearful brat, with a weird accent, that didn't please his superior...
"No, you may not, Wihler..." interrupted the Master, eclipsing the young boy with a perfectly polished British pronunciation.
"Right, but... your royalness, please! Why bother with this girl when you could have any witch in the kingdom, just pick one!" urged his subordinate.
"Didn't I tell you before? I want her to be pure! To be chaste! It must be the one and none other, or else the prophecy shall never be complete!" he scolded, partially losing his patience.
"And how -"
"Do you know how difficult it is to find a respectable, virtuous woman nowadays, anyway? Merlin Wihler!, you really are a worthless, ignorant stout after all, aren't you?" the man suggested matter-of-factly. "Cursed be the day I swore to have you as my councillor..."
"Yes, your highness, I know... I'm really sorry... that must have been a horrible mistake, no doubt. A good for nothing fool, that's who I am... but..." he paused, catching his Master's attention, who now remained in an inquisitive silence to hear his incompetent's servant's whining again. "Where will I find her?! I've spent like a whole month here, and still nothing, your Excellency!" he cried desperate.
"That is not my bloody problem, you brainless git!" he answered roughly. "Haven't I taught you anything? You know the marks, you know the signs! Do I have to do absolutely everything for you?" the man added bitterly.
"But your highness! She could be anywhere!" the tremulous voice pleaded.
"Then we don't have much time to lose, have we?" replied the strong man in a mean, sardonic tone.
"Yes, Master, but -" the frightened sneak hesitated timidly.
"Will you stop whining and shut that bloody mouth, you worthless piece of scum! Can't you see you've been wasting your time, and mine, when you should be out searching for her, for pity's sake! Now go and keep your lazy, adipose ass out of my sight until you do!" he threatened vibrantly.
"And -" continued the submissive vassal.
"Did I make myself clear?" the intimidating voice sentenced.
"Yes, your highness, but -"
"I thought so too... You are dismissed, Wihler. I've got important matters to attend now..." he stated.
"My Lord? My Lord!" he called, but the overpowering man had already ended the conversation.
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It was only six thirty in the morning and the girls were already busy preparing breakfast for the teachers and students. Every other week, their section, which was split in two divisions (gamma and omega), would be in charge of the breakfast, and that was Ginny's group turn (omega). They would have to clean their assigned rooms later. All in all, it had been a boring week for the servants at Morkdrage. Besides the constant torture to which they were subdued, the girls had nothing much to talk about.
"Did you hear?" Vicky inquired in a low voice to Ginny, who was stirring a huge pan filled with eggs. The red-head shook her head, furrowing her brow. "You know... about section B"
"You mean the other girls who arrived with us that night?".
Section A, the one that Ginny and her friends belonged to, was the one that was destined to the domestic duties of the school, but she remembered a group conformed of about ten other girls that she had never seen again, since the day they arrived. Vicky nodded while she skilfully flipped a pancake in the air.
"What about them?" she asked, furrowing her brow.
"I heard they are locked up in the left wing", the girl told her in a whisper.
"But nobody ever goes there," Ginny pointed out. "I mean, there are no rooms, or dormitories in use in that area, I believe..."
"I know! However...", she leaned closer to whisper to Ginny, after checking Mrs. Draggery was out of sight. The red-head's eyes gaped open while her face turned pale as she listened to her friend in awe.
"No!" she cried, horrified.
"Yes!" Vicky replied.
"They wouldn't!" Vicky looked at her, understandingly. "Those bloody bastards..."
"I know, right... it shocked the hell out of me when I first heard about it too... And that's not all. They say there are secret passages through which the students and teachers can get there at all times... even at the same time perhaps", Vicky suggested.
"Bloody hell..." exclaimed Ginny, facing realisations. "It makes sense though, this school is filled with hidden doors", she thought. "My brothers, they used to know them all while they were at school and used them to dodge the nasty teachers, or slip away to Hogsmeade..." she added nostalgic, a wry smile appearing on her face upon remembering her family... "Those naughty, troublesome boneheads..." she chuckled "They would always give Mom a hell of a headache..."
"Sounds like they sure did", she agreed leaving the pancake over a tall pile that she had already cooked and pouring some dough in the pan again. "Merlin, Ginny! And we thought we were unfortunate living over here..." she observed.
"Should we say we're 'lucky' then?" she suggested teasingly while she placed the scrambled-eggs in a silver bowl.
"As lucky as one could possibly be, girlfriend," Vicky answered, after which they both broke into a choked laughter that was rapidly held by Bekka's warning shush, meaning that the fat lady was near.
It was almost a week since the make-up incident, and Bekka seemed just fine.
She still had some trademarks from the blows that Filch delivered her, yet her features were so delicate that the new hairstyle made her seem like an African princess, only with pierced ears, from which silver hoops and earrings hanged.
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Ginny looked around the room, remembering their last encounter. There she was again, in the bastard's dormitory, picking his dirty clothes from the floor. Yes, ever since they first met, Draco had decided to change his habits and leave his room as untidy as he possibly could. Of course something like that was expected…
She could only imagine the satisfaction glowing on his face every time he dropped his dirty underwear on every corner of the room, expecting her to lean down and pick them all up. How humiliating it was to pick up that prick's socks, wife-beaters and boxers, although Ginny was surprised to note that none of his clothes were ever stinky as she would've expected.
"That bloody Malfoy must've been pretty clean after all," she thought...
Guessing by the wet towel that she always found over the floor, he probably had a shower every morning too. Those clothes... sure they didn't exactly smell like roses, but it was a mixture of a neutral deodorant, a cool perfume and an essence of his own, she supposed... a mixture of cinnamon and black coffee perhaps...
"But what the hell are you thinking, Ginny? The girl thought, uneasy. "They were a Malfoy's! As filthy and pestilent as a smell could possibly be" Ginny convinced herself, throwing a bundle of black socks violently into her cleaning cart, and proceeding to arrange the bed.
It was a king size, oak tree bed with dark green velvet covers and black silk sheets... It looked so luxurious compared to Ginny's iron bunk-bed with the stiff straw mattress, that she couldn't help wanting to lay down... just for a second... only to remember what it felt like to rest over a soft surface again.
She was merely lost in these thoughts when, before she knew it, she was already laying, eyes closed, over the inviting canopy bed.
She sighed heavily, the feeling was ecstatic; she didn't remember being so comfortable in her whole life. The sensation made her shiver, and soon she was fast asleep.
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The bell rang and the students rushed out of their classrooms. Many of them had free periods, including Draco, and most of the lads hurried to the common room, where they gathered to chat about the latest events...
"You comin' Malfoy?!" yelled Blaise upon noticing that the blonde was passing by the rowdy room.
However, this time Draco was not in the mood for stupid pranks and silly jokes, so he just made a gesture with the hand and proceeded to make his way towards his dormitory.
"Fine..." Blaise added and joined the conversation.
When Draco arrived, he slammed the door behind him and started complaining aloud.
"That bloody Blanchard..." he uttered between gritted teeth. "He'll pay for this, I swear!"
The teacher had given him two hours of detention again for correcting him during lessons.
"It isn't my bleedin' fault that I know more about potions than he could ever," He added, tossing his bag on an armchair roughly. "After all, he -", a grey protuberance over his bed caught his eye and, already guessing who it was, he smirked, while he came closer to his bed.
"Well, well," he uttered, "what have we here…"
Ginny must've been really exhausted, because the red-head couldn't bother less about Draco's loud complains and kept sleeping like a baby.
"If it isn't the red-headed spitfire looking for a little action," he added, taking off his black jacket and throwing it indifferently over the couch
He laid next to her, in the opposite side of the bed, with his body in her direction and his left arm holding his head, while he finally stared at her.
If she wasn't a bloody Weasley and despite the dreadful clothes, Draco could swear that she was a fallen angel, missing only the wings... But of course he wasn't even close to acknowledge these impressions.
He watched the steady movement of her chest breathing in and out, absorbed by the girls peaceful countenance and slowly stretched his free arm reaching in direction to her flaming hair, which's bun had fallen apart, just to know how it felt between his fingers. Then he suddenly snapped out of it, amazed at his own thoughts, and stopped just a couple of inches away from her face, changing his tender look to the cold, arrogant one that he always wore.
"You comfortable, Weasel?" he hissed to her ear, making her shake a little.
Ginny rubbed her eyes nonchalantly and, opening them slowly, she distinguished the blurry image of the blonde, with an evil grin shining on his face. She blinked a couple of times to make sure it wasn't another nightmare of hers and when she opened her eyes good-for-nothing Draco was still there, rolling his eyes despectively.
"Bloody hell!" she yelled as she stood up abruptly and straightened her uniform. Her heart almost skipped a beat. "Damn it, Ginny! How could you fall asleep for such a long time!", she thought. "Stupid Ginny, stupid, stupid, stupid..." She mentally repeated herself, not knowing what to reply to him.
"Enjoying your stay at my humble abode, aren't you?" said the confident blonde in a sarcastic tone.
Ginny fell deeply aroused upon listening to his words, and proceeded to change her colours from a ghostly pale to a newly discovered shade of purple.
"No! Please! There's nothing to be embarrassed about," Draco offered, sullenly. "Just make yourself at home, Weaselette, don't let me disturb you," he added cynically, walking towards his desk. "Alohomora", he mumbled, opening the lock of one of his cupboards that revealed a well-provided mini-bar.
"I... was- it... it was an accident", Ginny begun to stutter slowly, while Draco poured some scotch whiskey in a crystal glass with three ice-cubes in it.
"Oh, I know..." he replied understandingly, still using his cynical tone. "I really do know".
He offered the glass to the red-head with a gesture of his hand. Ginny shook her head, thinking that she was actually in desperate need of a drink, but couldn't take it from that blasted prick. Who knows? Maybe it was poisoned...
"Cheers", said Draco, slightly leaning his head and raising his glass to Ginny, vanishing her suspicion promptly as he drank its content in a single gulp. What did he have in mind?
"So?" wondered Ginny.
"So what?" Draco inquired, putting the bottle away and locking the cupboard back again.
"What are you planning to do about this?" Ginny asked looking to the black carpet below his feet. That was exactly the way she was feeling right then... crushed under Draco's feet.
Draco furrowed his brow.
"I haven't actually decided yet... You might as well be on your way to Dunklerdrache though, you know that, don't you?" he suggested bitterly. "Wouldn't those pillocks have a feast with you?" he chuckled. "Ah, yes... I bet they would..." he added focusing his eyes on her creamy, skinny legs.
Ginny not only felt embarrassed but also infuriated about Draco's approach, but as much as she wanted to spit at him, she contained her anger for her own sake. She knew what the consequences of her actions could be and had to be very careful in order to save her miserable skin.
"However," he continued, walking towards her, "we could always work out a way to avoid that, could we?" he suggested with a smirk, while he examined her by revolving around the red-head and stopping behind her, closing up his body against hers. Ginny didn't move and furrowed her brow.
"What do you mean?" questioned a sceptic Ginny Weasley, innocently, glaring at him over the shoulder and remembering her horrible nightmare.
"I don't know... you tell me, what have you to offer this poor..." he begun, moving her red hair off her right ear and smelling its soft scent "...naughty, little boy..." whispered Draco to her ear, meaningfully, making the red-head shiver and realise what the blonde's intentions really were.
She spun around to look at him sharply.
"You are a really sick bastard, Malfoy..." replied Ginny in a calmed, pitiful tone, shaking her head while she glared at his determined silvery eyes.
"Sick?" questioned Draco, furrowing his brow. "And why is that, if I may I ask?" he inquired the confused red-head, who looked away, evidently pissed off. "Oh! I see… You thought I would- Merlin, Weasley, you are so damn conceited! Aren't you?" he asked without receiving an answer. "You're no bloody beauty queen any more, you know that? I mean just look at you, for Merlin's sake... All pale, skinny and dirty... Not exactly a beauty paragon, if you ask me".
Noticing the girl was closing her eyes to fight the tears, he came closer to her.
"Aww... don't feel bad, weasel..." he said grabbing her chin with his hand and lifting it slowly.
She rapidly released of his grasp with a sudden movement of her face.
"It's just that," he paused, "I'm not really into your type, red-head, I'm sorry... Better luck with your next catch", he lied disdainfully, winking an eye at her before walking back to his desk again. "Damn you girls..." he continued, "always relating everything to sex..."
He unlocked a drawer to take out a golden, calligraphic quill, with his family's crest on the lid, in dashing emeralds.
"And they say we're the bloody perverts", he said sitting on his swivel chair. "Pathetic".
"Who do you think you're fooling, you bleedin' liar?" Ginny scolded at him in fury, while he signed his detention papers.
"Looks like someone's on a mood today," he replied without even looking, while he put the quill back in the drawer, casting a spell on its lock.
"And why do you bloody lock everything up, for Merlin's sake?! Are you psychotic or something?".
"Who, me? Nah..." he answered casually. "One can never be too careful nowadays, that's all," he explained, snottily. "Especially with you slimy maggots marauding in the castle and sneaking into one's room out of the blue," he added, glancing at her. "By the way, when did you say you were planning to leave?"
Ginny looked at him, disconcerted.
"I'd love to extend this... interesting conversation, but I really have work to do, Weasley, so if you don't mind..." he paused, showing her the way to the door with his left hand, without even lifting his eyes from the yellow parchment.
Ginny thought for a while and furiously made her way to the door. When she reached the door frame she stopped on her tracks and turned around.
"What if I do mind?" came Ginny in a determined tone, walking towards his desk, menacingly.
"I beg your pardon?" he questioned, staring back up at her and raising an eyebrow, inquisitively.
"If I am to be sent to Dunklerdrache," she begun, "there're a couple of things I want you to know before I'm gone."
Draco crossed his fingers in front of his face, focusing on the spirited red-head.
"This ought to be interesting," he uttered, sarcastically, at no one in particular. "Go ahead, Weasel," he added, laying back. "Enlighten me".
"You... are the most arrogant, selfish, conceited prat I've ever come up with, and believe me, I've met a lot," she spat at him with fury.
"No, really?" Draco interrupted. "That statement is bound to deprive me from sleeping, red-head" he sentenced, rolling his eyes contemptuously, as she hit him with a penetrating glare. "C'mon, Weasley," he added, "give me a break".
"You," she continued, completely ignoring his words, "have slaughtered some of my most beloved ones, you cold-hearted, spoiled bastard!", she added, fighting the tears of hate that peeked through her eyes.
"And you, young lady, have a very dirty mouth for someone that small," he mocked. "But I like it," he added with a smirk.
"You, bloody murderer, are responsible for a great deal of the pain and suffering I hold inside and I despise you for that reason," she said between gritted teeth, squinting her eyes.
"Are you done yet?" he barged in.
"Who doesn't, anyway? I bet no one has ever loved you for what you are, only maybe for your supposed 'power and wealth', of course," she added, cunningly. "I guess you're right after all, Malfoy... money does buy almost everything, even friends..."
Draco smirked.
"But I'll tell you something you don't know," she uttered. "You think you're all smart and almighty... but the truth is that you've never really achieved anything, you've never actually done anything worth telling!" she reproached, "Everything you are, everything you've ever possessed has been given to you and, for that reason, you take everything for granted, even life itself, 'cause you have never earned anything on your own!" Hissed Ginny, making Draco's impeccable smirk disappear, as he looked down to his desk. "Yes Draco, you are complete and utterly worthless. As far as I can see, you're not even worth another bloody minute of my time, so goodbye Malfoy...I hope you do rot in hell".
The blonde breathed heavily.
"So long, Weasley, see you there," he replied while Ginny moved towards the door.
"You wish," she mumbled, slamming the door with rage on her way out.
For some strange reason, Draco wasn't angry or mad... What a poor reply he had managed to work out in contrast to the red-head's sharp, eloquent words... Yet, in some way, he really couldn't think of anything else to say.
Her speech still echoed in his mind... "No one has ever loved you for what you are", she had dared to yell at him. It wasn't the first time someone confronted him harshly... What made it different this time?
"What is it about this girl?", he wondered, looking through the window. Then he focused his hateful eyes where the girl had been standing. "It's not true! Any of it!" he kept repeating himself. "What do I care? she doesn't know me...", he convinced himself, breathing rapidly and shaking his head in every direction. "No one does..." he added and looked down.
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Three uneventful days went by and Ginny hadn't received any invitation to join the Dunklerdrache, experimental, guinea pigs crew. Apparently Draco had daunted and decided not to tell Ginny off. She thought it must've been due to the fact that he found so much delight and pleasure in humiliating her. What was the fun of letting her go? That would almost seem like a victory on her behalf, as it would prove that she had infuriated him so much, that he just had to get rid of her. On the other hand, Vicky had covered Ginny's afternoon duties, so Mrs. Draggery didn't realise she was missing for almost two hours.
"Boy! It felt so good to say those words to that despicable prat!" Ginny kept repeating herself with a grin on her face. Ginny had noticed his hesitation and prided herself for instilling such a feeling on that bloody, smart-arse bastard, and daring to speak her mind at last. It had worked as an awesome anger-management therapy after all... Ginny felt a lot more relieved now that she had given reins to her feelings.
After that day however, and in spite of the blonde's wishes, the red-head had issued an exchange of dormitories with Justine, who was more than happy to be able to help the misfortuned Ginny. In that way, she made sure that she would never see Draco again, this time for good. Therefore, the following days were very peaceful... Indeed, Justine's rooms were much tidier, if you could use such a word to describe a Death Eater's living space, of course...
She walked by the corridor with her cleaning cart, tilted with smelly clothes. Most students weren't really big on hygiene, Ginny supposed. She entered the last of the rooms, pushing the door with her right foot as she entered facing backwards, pulling the cart.
"Missing me already, red-head?" he heard a familiarly presumptuous voice from the bathroom door. Ginny gasped and turned around in alarm, gaping her chocolate-brown eyes. There he was, holding defiantly to the door frame wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, and an evil smirk on his face...
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AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Yay! Done with the third chapter... Sorry if I left anyone hanging... I didn't mean to... Ok, well maybe I did P lol. Just make sure you R & R... comments, opinions, questions, suggestions, appreciations, they're all welcome... I just want to know if people are actually reading my story and if they are, whether they like it.
Thanks to my REVIEWERS from last chapter: **Mrs Felton**, **Momentyne**, **Olivia Weasley**, **Kris**, **Adrial**, **DDDDD**, **draco li'l hottie**, **monagy3**, **HPFan1**, **lilmisspotterluver**, **Dawn Matthews**, **the dark lord** and the always present **Anonymous** lol...
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