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A Better World by Strawberry Shortcake
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A Better World

Strawberry Shortcake

Part Three of Three of A Better World

The Innocent Paramour

By: Strawberry Shortcake

Ginny didn't know how long she had remained a prisoner in Cho's dungeon. It felt like years, but time seemed to have eluded her leaving only worthless estimations. For all she knew it could still be the day she was captured on, one very prolonged day from hell.

Did she hear some one laughing?

No it was just a figment of her imagination.

The only person she had seen since she was captured was Cho. Once in a while she thought she heard someone crying, but that person was her.

How did she come to this point?

Sitting up a little Ginny began to braid her hair. It was a small thing that gave her a little comfort. During these times a little comfort was better than none.

Her stomach growled again reminding her that she couldn't quite remember the last time she ate, but she pushed that thought aside.

Dollies didn't need to eat.

Letting out a deep sigh she heard some one crying again. Chiding herself she remembered that she could only ever hear herself weeping. She tried to concentrate on stopping the sobs, but they did not cease, they only seemed to grow louder.

Ginny tried to cover her ears from the noise, but nothing helped. They increased in volume , and then there was the explosion. An eardrum shattering shriek.

Ginny looked up to see the doorway open and Cho lying on the floor. Dread began to consume her as she scuttled to the back of the cage. Then, an angel spoke to her.

"Ginny?"

_______

Draco stood in the doorway of a room he never knew about and watched Ginny slowly scuttle about an iron cage. Cho lay on the floor sobbing, but this moment wasn't about her.

"Ginny?" He cautiously asked walking forward. The woman he loved looked at him and relief washed across her face. She slowly got to her feet and reached a hand through the bars, but fell short of touching him.

"Am I going to heaven now?" She asked in a dreamy tone, similar yet still different from the one Luna Lovegood used to use. Her eyes were glazed over and she seemed to be wavering on her feet.

"No, you're going some place even better, home," With a wave of his wand the cage opened making Ginny jump and look at Cho. As Draco entered the cage her eyes darted back and forth like a trapped animal.

"Ginny I am not going to hurt you," He held out a hand to her as his heart broke with her distrust. She was a completely different person. Reluctantly she grabbed on to his hand and walked forward a few steps watching him with suspicious eyes.

What happened to Ginny?

It was then that he noticed the deformity on her chest.

"What happened here?" He asked placing his palm on the concave part of the dress top. She flinched at the simple contact and drew her hand back. Walking out of the cage she kneeled down where Cho lay.

"A bad bad woman hurt dolly," Ginny mumbled braiding Cho's tresses. "The raven hurt dolly and dolly's baby," A single tear drop rolled down her face clearing the grime in it's path. Leaning against the cage Ginny began to sob into her hands.

Draco's breath caught in his throat at the mention of the baby. Their baby. Walking over he kneeled down so he was at her level.

"Love," He said turning her towards him. "What happened to the baby?" In the deepest vaults of his mind he knew what happened to the baby. He just didn't want to admit it to himself. He wanted to keep the possibility alive.

"The raven took it away," Ginny said in a sad sing song voice. She lifted her head to face Draco and her eyes grew wide. " She is all around you," Ginny said as if realizing it for the first time. Reaching up she began plucking at the air.

"Right here and here. Naughty boy, the raven is laughing at you. Why? Why won't you push her away? Why won't you let her go?" Ginny dropped her arms to her sides before reaching forward and picking up his hand.

Looking at the platinum ring she let out a little hiss.

"You walk in worlds the others can't begin to imagine, yet you tie your self down with the decay of dead baby fish," Dropping his hand she began whimpering until Draco pulled her into an embrace.

"The king acts all noble, but today is not his birthday," Ginny said looking up at Draco and waving her finger at him as if he were a bad child.

"Ginny let's go upstairs and tuck you into bed," Draco suggested slightly tugging on Ginny's arm. She mindlessly followed him with out speaking. Up flights of stairs and down hallways, but she didn't say a word.

Finally they reached a guest room deep in the heart of the house. Somewhere that no one could find her. Where they could never take her from him again.

Whispering terms of endearment he eased the dress over her head. While he fished around for a night gown he curse all deities and their lack of intervention. The love of his life, his one and only, the strongest woman he ever met, was now broke. Gone. A shell of what she used to be.

"Ginny love, would you like a green night dress or a blue one?" Draco asked showing her both of the long silk night gowns.

"Everyone is going to a party, but I didn't get an invitation," Ginny said in a daze of sorts not even acknowledging the question at all.

"What party are you talking about?" He slowly eased the green silk over her figure as to not startle her.

"Do you know what I miss? Pixies," Ginny slowly turned in a circle and held her hands up in the air.

"Now come on Gin, be a good girl, tell me about the party," Ginny stopped spinning and looked towards him with a manic smile.

"The stars will align, and smile down on us," Draco grasped her hand and pulled her gently towards the bed.

"It is time for you to go to sleep love, but I will be here in the morning. Do you understand?" Ginny nodded her head and slowly crawled onto the bed and laid down. Draco cast a quick cleansing spell on her and one for a dreamless sleep before drawing the curtains around the bed.

Letting out a sigh Draco went to the fire place and flooed to St. Mungos. The hospital was especially sanitary and healers were bustling back and forth.

Draco walked up to the front desk where the receptionist bowed her head in honor of his position.

"Mr. Malfoy, what can I do for you this evening?" She asked in a weak wavering tone.

"I need to speak to your head healer in the psychiatric ward," Draco replied trying to keep his voice low so prying ears didn't hear.

"Of course, right away sir. Healer Boot will be down in a few moments," The brunet receptionist slowly waved her wand over a sheet of parchment which sprang to life and flew out of the room.

Draco made his way to a dragon hide upholstered couch and looked at the other people in the waiting room. An elderly man with vivid pink eyes stood pacing slowly back and forth. A young woman held a sobbing little girl on her lap. Three witches sat towards the back of the room merrily chatting as their magic knitting needles produced miniature clothes. A red headed teenager just stood there in shock as a healer walked away from him.

What were their stories?

Why were they here?

"Mr. Malfoy?" Terry Boot, a Ravenclaw the same year as Draco was nervously wringing his hands as he waited for Draco's acknowledgement.

"Healer Boot, I have a very critical problem that would need to be dealt with the utmost discreteness. If you accept and leak any word of what you see to anyone, I will kill you and your family. You can be assured that what I need you for is not illegal and you may possibly be able to save someone's life," Draco said all of this with out looking up, and then as an after thought said. "Of course you will be paid large sums of money."

Terry looked around as if expecting someone to burst out laughing, but everyone else just continued with their business not even taking notice of the two men.

"Can I have any more information before I accept?" Terry didn't like the job he did. He didn't like the way the war turned out. Now he was just a slave to death eaters. He wasn't able to help people the way he wanted to.

"I have a torture victim who is in desperate need of physical and psychological attention, that is all I can tell you. Will you help?" Draco knew Terry was the best healer in England. If he rejected Draco would have to look in different countries.

Letting out a sigh terry nodded his head. Draco held out his hand which contained a silver pendant of a heart. A portkey.

"Ready?" Draco asked as soon as Terry confirmed they were confronted with the familiar tugging of the naval.

1 Year Later

"Miss Edith speaks out of turn. She's a bad example, and will have no cakes today. Shhhh," Ginny slowly poured imaginary tea into the delicate porcelain cups around the table.

"There is absolutely no chance of her ever coming back out of her mind. I think the death of her child made her regress into her mind to a juvenile state where she didn't have to deal with these issues," Terry carefully said each word as he and Draco watched Ginny Weasley flounce around a table crowded by porcelain dolls.

At first he had thought it to be some sick joke. He thought Draco were trying to make her into his mistress of sorts. Then he found out how much the other man loved her.

"Thank you Terry, thank you for everything," Draco shook Terry's hand placing a purse of gold into it.

"Gin," He called out to the petite redhead. "Would you like to come with me to see Healer Boot to the door?" Ginny eagerly nodded her head and skipped over. Looking back over her shoulder she began to yell at the dolls.

"You see, Miss Edith? If you'd been good you could watch with the rest." Letting out a hollow giggle she clasped onto Draco's hand and followed him to the main gate.

Terry shook Draco's hand again an then leaned over and kissed Ginny's forehead.

"Oh Healer Boot," the woman chided in her innocent voice. " The raspberry's all ripe but the music box doesn't want to sing!"

"You need to let the raspberry sing," He replied before turning away and disappearing with a pop.

"She's going to be all new again. And we will paint the town. Me and my little music box," Ginny slowly started to swing hers and Draco's combined hands.

"How about we go play with the rave today?" Draco suggested putting his hand in the small of her back and leading her back to the manor.

"Draco do you love my insides even the parts you can't see?" Ginny asked twirling in a small circle in a mock dance.

"I love every part of you Ginny," Draco planted a kiss on the top of her head as he said it. As they walked into the manor Ginny began to hum the tune of an old English tune.

"Do you remember the song mummy used to sing me? Pretty," She continued to hum the tune and skip around the entrance hall

Suddenly she stopped all together and sat on the floor.

"What happened?" Draco asked kneeling before her and holding her head in his hands.

"That was the end of the song," She answered back with a childish innocence.

"Oh, no, my pet. This is just the beginning," Draco said with a smirk pulling her into a passionate embrace. All the while Cho sat watching them, encased in her magical bonds, there to watch for the rest of her life. Silent tears ran down the oriental woman's face marring her glacial beauty. She wasn't sure what was worse, watching him kiss her, or watching her kiss him back.

Dread soon began to occupy her every nerve ending as Draco broke away and reached for his wand. He had that mad glint in his eye and this time, this time he might actually do some real damage. Like she had done to Ginny.

"This is just the beginning," Draco repeated advancing toward Cho with his wand in his hand and Ginny giggling madly on the cold marble floor.

"Good bye Raven!" She cooed, "Good bye and good night."

The End

AN- Not sure that I like the end, but this is the fourth rewrite and well, frankly I think it is time to put this story to rest.