Title: Luna Soleil
Author: Samantha Riddle aka Slytherish
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Oh, and it has some Order of the Phoenix Spoilers.
Summary: Ginny Weasley is captured by Death Eaters after an attack on the Ministry. What does Lord Voldemort want from her, and what does it have to do with that cold night in her first year at Hogwarts School? What happens when Ginny falls in love, and can't decide between her family and the one she loves so dearly?
Notes: A special thank you to my beta-reader, Samantha for reading and editing this story.
**
Chapter Six: And The Moon Lives In The Night
Hours later, while Draco stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom, he could not understand why Weasley's voice kept going thorugh his head. It echoed into every corner in his brain, where he desperately tried to hide from the truth. How someone so small and unworthy of being taken seriously could get to him like this, he didn't know. It scared him almost, as he had never thought about what someone had said so deeply before now. Why was it that those words had been so deeply engraved into his head?
"What's the matter Malfoy you can dish out insults but you can't take them?"
That wasn't entirely true. He had taken Potter and his friends' insults plenty of times without a second thought. Except for that one time when Harry had said something about his mother... and then Draco had ended up a ferret boucing down the hallway. Ginny had used Draco's mother against him too, and that Draco concluded, was where his sensitivities lied.
Weasley now knew this, and Draco couldn't understand why that bothered him so much. She had something against him, something that could make her life better, and his miserable. That wasn't the way it was supposed to be at all. Draco was her babysitter, and therefore he was supposed to have the upper hand. This wasn't right.
Desperate for some sleep before the morning came, Draco rolled over and closed his eyes. They snapped back open seconds later as a sound from downstairs met his ears. He sat up abruptly, straining to hear. It sounded as if the front door had opened and closed. Whispered voices that were barely audiable hurried down a hallway below him. Draco scrambled out of bed.
Grabbing his black robes from the chair by his desk, he threw them on roughly and moved towards the door, opening it a crack and looking down the hallway. It was dark, and completely empty. Cautiously, Draco slipped out into the hallway and started down towards the stairs. Halfway down them, Draco could hear the voices more clearly, but he couldn't see them. Throwing caution into the winds he went all the way down the stairs.
In the little light of the hallway, Draco could make out his father. He was leaning over something that was against the wall, muttering lightly. Underneith him, against the wall as well, was the voice of a women that Draco knew was oddly filmilar. His eyes widened in shock as Lucius moved back and Bellatrix Lestrange was visable, quickly pulling down her shirt.
Draco's eyes darted to his mother's bedroom. The door was shut, so apparently she was sound asleep, not knowing what her husband was doing. Draco felt anger rise up into his chest, and he faught with himself not to lunge at his father.
Bellatrix tugged Lucius playfully, and they practically fell into an empty room. One of them shut the door, and Draco could near no more. Draco sat there on the stairs watching the door for a long time. He thought he heard the occasional sound from the room but he couldn't bring himself to care. His new found information was ripping at his heart. If Narcissa ever found out that Lucius was screwing around with her sister...
Unable to take it anymore, Draco rose to his feet and crept down the hallway to his mother's bedroom. He pushed the door open quietly and entered, careful to shut the door just as quietly as he opened it. He looked over at his mother who was as he expected, sleeping soundly. Draco walked over to the bed and sat at the edge watching his beauitful mother sleep.
Draco didn't know what it was that brought Narcissa to love Lucius. He wasn't sure if she had been entirely sobor when she had said she'd marry him. The fact of the matter was, Narcissa only put up with the Death Eaters because of Lucius. She believed that most of the things they were doing was right, but she didn't want to get involved. If she knew Lucius wasn't faithful then she'd leave and Draco would go with her, and never have to deal with Lord Voldemort again...
His arm stung with pain. Unconciously Draco moved his hand up to touch it. He would have to deal with Lord Voldemort again. There was a rule when it came to being a Death Eater: life service or death. Narcissa had gotten her son involved to save Lucius, and it had all been done in vain. Draco was forever doomed to be a Death Eater.
More boiling hate erupted in his heart, and Draco had to take several breaths to control it. Lucius had messed everything up. Draco would one day get revenge. That much he was positive of. Lucius would pay for breaking Narcissa's heart, even if Draco's dear mother didn't know about it yet.
Draco gently moved his hand to his mother's face and fixed a lock of her long blonde hair out of her face. She stirred, her eyes flickering open. Draco looked down into the icy blue eyes of his mother and smiled slightly. She smiled too, She moved her hand to stroke Draco's face lovingly.
"What are you doing down here Draco?" She asked quietly, "Its late."
"I had to see you," Draco explained just as quiet. Narcissa had an expression on her face that said she didn't believe that, but she didn't press it. Draco was forever grateful.
"I miss you during the day," Narcissa told him sincerely, "Its so quiet and lonley here."
"I'm sorry mother. I wish I could be here more often." Draco replied.
"There is no need to be sorry. Its my fault in the end. I wish I hadn't gotten you involved Draco. I really wish it. I wanted you to have a normal life. I wanted you to fall in love and be happy... something I never could do properly."
Draco's eyes narrowed. What was his mother talking about? Did she know about Lucius and Bellatrix? If she did she didn't say anything else about it. She leaned up and kissed Draco's forehead and shooed him off back to bed. Draco did so without question. As he moved past the door Bellatrix and Lucius disappeared into, he glared it at. Lucius would pay indeed.
**
And he spend the whole next morning thinking about how he would do it. He wasn't paying any attention when Nott told him to pick up Weasley and bring her to Lord Voldemort that afternoon. He didn't even answer Bellatrix when she explained he would have to stand in the back and watch Ginny and Voldemort's meeting. Draco didn't bother making fun of Ginny when he picked her up, and ignored her when she followed him out the door staring at him curiously.
Draco did wake up when Ginny spoke for the first time since they left the room while they were waiting outside Voldemort's chamber for another meeting to finish. He hadn't expected Ginny to say anything, especially what she did say.
"Malfoy... are you alright?"
His gey eyes snapped onto her in an instant. Did Weasley just ask him how he was feeling? He felt slightly faint, and at the same time very amused. Had she really missed his taunts and insults? Did she not like being ignored or something? He couldn't figure it out. In the short time his mind was on Weasley and not his parents, he heard what she had told him the day before echo through his head yet again. He glared in annoyance. Ginny looked taken aback.
"I was just...." Ginny tried to explain.
"No, just shut up."
"Well if that's what I'm going to get for daring to care!" Ginny exclaimed. Draco shook his head.
"Don't care," He said darkly.
"What do you mean 'don't care'?" Ginny demanded, he eyes flaring.
"I mean what I said," Draco drawled, "Don't care. Don't dare to care Weasley."
She fell silent, apparently thinking hard. Draco ignored her and turned to the door, waiting for the other meeting to be over. His thoughts went back to how to make his father pay. They didn't stay there though, for a few minutes later Weasley spoke again.
"What if I dare Malfoy?"
"No one will care about you in return," Draco told her sharply.
"Why not? Whats wrong with caring?" Ginny pressed, an odd patient look on her face.
"Because it gets you no where," Draco snapped, "No one ever cares in return. You get hurt, abused... used. It just doesn't work." For a brief second he thought of his father and his betrayal to Draco's mother. It must of shown on his face, for Ginny was even more presistant a minute later.
"Did that happen to you Draco? Is that why your so horrible?"
"Weasley, shut up!" Draco snarled.
"No," Ginny told him firmly.
"Excuse me?" Draco asked lightly.
"I said no," Ginny repeated.
They stared at one another for a few minutes. Draco was furious she wouldn't leave it alone, and Ginny was giving him a look of determination. She wanted to know about him, and Draco wasn't going to let her. It was none of her business. Finally Draco smirked.
"For someone who said no to shutting up, you sure shut up."
"Bug off Malfoy," Ginny snapped, but her heart wasn't into it like the day before.
Before either could say another word the door finally opened and several Death Eaters exited, two of them half carrying one in particular. Draco could tell that he had been tortured. They watched them go down the hall, and then Draco roughly grabbed Ginny and dragged her into the room. Draco let her go and turned away shutting the door. Then, as if he really had paid attention earlier, he backed up into the shadows to watch.
"Miss Weasley... how have you been fairing since we last talked?" Voldemort coldly said.
Draco felt his hair stand up on the back of his neck. Ginny didn't answer him, and silently Draco wished she would do everything Voldemort asked of her, just so he wouldn't have to hear anyone being tortured. He felt bad for Ginny... almost.