CHAPTER 1 Kidnapped
Ginny didn't know what hit her.
For the past several weeks, Draco Malfoy had made his presence known, popping up in corridors when she was alone, watching her during meal times, and finally, during the last week of her 6th year, joining her for her nightly prefect's watches. He fell into step beside her as she pushed open doors and deducted points from misbehaving students.
He never said anything, not even when she demanded to know what in the bloody hell he was doing; he just watched her from underneath heavy eyelids, and that unnerved her.
"What are you doing?" she asked in surprise on the first night.
"Walking," was his short answer.
She was taken back at his voice, realizing that he had rarely spoken directly to her before. He had always flung his insults at the Trio, never at her. "Did you need something?" she pressed, her curiosity getting the best of her.
Her glared at her, not in a cruel way, but in a way that signaled the end of the conversation.
The next night she asked again, but this time he said nothing at all, and she suddenly felt vulnerable beside him. He was at least eight inches taller than her, and although he gave the appearance of being thin, one sideways glance at his arms told her otherwise.
The third night she snapped, "Would you mind telling me why you're stalking me?"
Again, he didn't answer, so Ginny gave up asking.
On the last night of her watch, the day before she left Hogwarts for the summer, he looked at her and said, "You're in danger. Your whole family's in danger."
Ginny turned to stare at him. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me," he muttered.
"And why should I believe you?"
"I think I would know."
"So, you stalk me for a week, and then you expect me to believe you? Let me guess, we should all come hide at your place?" she snorted.
Draco stared at her with his ice colored eyes for a moment. "Are you forgetting who my father is?"
"No. I'm remembering. That's why I'm not believing you."
He sighed loudly. "Why would I lie to you?"
"Why not?" she demanded. "I have no reason to trust you."
"Have I ever lied to you?"
"Have you ever spoke to me before?"
"I'm trying to help you."
"I'm sorry, but why in the bloody hell would you want to help me? You've never been anything but a pain in the arse!"
Draco took a deep breath, and in the dim light of the hall, Ginny could see two identical dark pink splotches appearing on his cheeks. "Didn't you ever wonder who sent you all those flowers? Valentine's presents? The Christmas presents?"
Ginny stared at him. Of course she had wondered. The large, unsigned bouquets, the chocolates, the necklace she was currently wearing, the fancy quills and expensive inks, the black velvet winter cloak she absolutely loved. She had several guesses for secret admirers, but he was not one of them. "I don't believe you. Why would you send me girfts?"
Draco opened his mouth to speak and then stopped and shook his head. "Just listen to me. You need to get away from here, out of England. Go on a holiday this summer."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Did you suddenly forget that I'm a Weasley? I have a big family and we're poor, remember? We can't just take a holiday whenever we feel like it!" She shoved the set of enchanted classroom keys into his hands. "I'm going to bed. You can finish this up."
She turned on her heel and stomped away from him, her mind reeling.
From behind her, she heard him softly say, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" she snapped, whirling around.
"For this. Imperio."
The world suddenly changed. It was like being in a dream; a dream where she knew that she was dreaming, but couldn't wake up.
"I'm sorry," Draco told her again, stepping in front of her. "I'm just trying to keep you safe."
Deep inside, she wanted to scream, to hit him, to kill him if she could, but she just stood there, frozen, staring at him.
"Listen," he said, rubbing his temples with his thumbs. "Go back to your dorm, do all the things you normally do, and tomorrow, before the train gets to the Platform, you come find me."
Ginny felt her body turn and begin to walk off.
"I'm sorry," he called again.
Ginny went back into the Gryffindor Tower, and when Hermione called to her, she walked to the table, smiled at the trio, and sat down, just like she always did. Ginny felt like a very tiny person was fighting inside of her. It was so small, it was almost unnoticeable, but it was there. The real Ginny was screaming and crying and no one was noticing. In fact, she barely even noticed.
She talked to them just like she always did, played a game of Exploding Snap with Hermione, laughed as Harry and her brother chased the younger students out of the good chairs by the fire for the last time, and then went to bed, just like she always did.
She fell asleep easily, and dreamed about nothing.
The next morning was hustle and bustle, with trunks being magicked out of the Houses and animals being given back to the owner, students searching for their one missing item, it was only when Ginny dashed down to the Great Hall to grab some fruit for breakfast and caught a glimpse of Draco that the real Ginny was able to surface for a moment.
"No!" she heard herself screaming inside her head. "Fight this! Don't let him do this to you!"
Draco looked at her, his face vacant and expressionless, but his cold eyes betraying him. He nodded at her ever so slightly, and the curse took over again.
Ginny scooped up an apple, an orange, and a handful of pecans and headed back to her dorm, just like she always did at the end of every school year.
On the Hogwarts Express, Ginny left the trio alone and sat with her friends, just like always. Deep inside, she had the vague, uncomfortable feeling that her body was on auto pilot. When they spoke to her she replied, appearing interested in their conversations, and no one suspected a thing. The real Ginny was screaming with fear and desperation.
As if a switch inside of her had been flipped, just before the train reached the platform, Ginny involuntarily stood to her feet and went to find Draco. She found him alone, waiting for her in a tiny compartment that only seated two.
He didn't speak, just motioned for her to sit down.
She had no further instructions, so she sat stiffly, waiting. She could feel the train rumble to a stop, and still Draco made no move. He sat with his head slightly bowed, and his eyes locked on the window.
My family, the real Ginny was screaming, he's taking me away. Oh gods, what is he going to do to me?
Finally Draco stood to his feet and cleared his throat. "I have our luggage." He wrapped one arm around her waist, and there was a slight jolt and noisy pop as they apparated.
It wasn't until he took the curse off of her that Ginny fully understood what was going on. The past 24 hours were a hazy dream in which she could recollect very little. She vaguely recalled the evening before and the train ride home. Her clearest memory was still fuzzy, but she could remember Draco using silencing and locking charms on the room she was now in. Draco was sitting on the edge of the great bed, rubbing his head.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her knees buckling under the sudden weight and ability to support herself.
"I just want to keep you safe," Draco muttered, as if talking to himself and standing up.
As Ginny's senses came back to her, fear welled up in her chest. She shoved past him and yanked on the handle of the door. It didn't open. "What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" she screamed.
Draco stepped back and raised his hands. "I'm trying to help, okay? I'm trying to keep you alive!"
"By putting me under the controlling curse? By kidnapping me?" The volume of her screams made her own ears ache.
"I'm going to let you calm down," he told him, stepping away from her and towards a door she hadn't noticed. "This is for your own good."
"No! You can't do this to me!" Tears she didn't want him to see were streaming down her cheeks and she could do nothing to stop them. "Please, I won't tell, I swear!"
He shook his head, his face unreadable. "You can't go. You'll die."
"I'm going to die here, aren't I?" she sobbed.
He stepped through the door and was gone.
Ginny braced herself against the wall, trembling with rage and fear and fright. What was he going to do to her? How was she going to get out? As she rocked against the wall, wiping away tears, there was a small pop and then a shaky house elf stood before her.
"Miss?" she said apprehensively, "I is Sully. Master sends me here to help you."
Ginny stared down at the little elf. It wasn't fair to take it out on the elf; she was obviously scared already. "I don't need help," Ginny said finally. "I just need to get out of here."
"How about yous get a bath?" Sully suggested. "A warm long bath is nice."
Ginny slowly sunk down the wall until she was sitting on the carpet. She wasn't sure if she should scream in fear or laugh with the absurdity of it all. She didn't know if she would have more success in trying to escape now, or waiting and calculating a plan. "I don't want a bath. But thank you."
"Very well," Sully bowed. "I's be bring your dinner shortly miss, and if you needs me before then, you just pull this rope." She motioned to a long dark green cord hanging near the large bed, and then apparated away.
Ginny scrambled to her feet and again tried the door behind her. If refused to open. She moved to the door Draco had exited and yanked on it, beat it, and kicked it, but it stayed shut. The third door opened into a large closet, and the fourth into a large, windowless bathroom. She went to the large window in the room that overlooked a garden, and found that it too was sealed and unbreakable. She threw herself on the bed in frustration and began to cry freely.
The house elf brought her a dinner tray with a large piece of broiled fish, potatoes, steamed vegetables, a thick slab of bread, and a crystal dish containing strawberries and cream. She poked at the food listlessly, her eyes painfully swollen with her tears.
She attempted to swallow a fork full of the meat, and found herself gagging on it. Instead she drank all the wine in her goblet and asked for two refills before exhaustion won and she fell into a fitful sleep.
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This is my dark fic & its going to contain nothing but angst. Draco is a very, very dark person in this one, just to warn you. There will be no happy ending at all, and some of you may not approve of the choices he makes and the things he does. Unlike Dark Days & its sequel, there is no redemption here.
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On a lighter note, Vinofaerie & I have created a LiveJournal community for Draco & Ginny. It's a 100 word drabble community, so come on over & check it out. It can be found at Http://www.livejournal.com/users/ginny_draco100
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