AN: This chapter is a lot of back story but it is still pretty interesting to read. It's a little long but that couldn't be helped because this chapter helps set up for the rest of the story.
Chapter 1
3 years ago
Draco was once again stuck between a rock and a hard place. Voldemort had charged him to capture Ginevra Weasley. It was to be his first real mission since he had been inducted into the ranks of the Death Eaters four years ago. In order to prove his loyalty up to that point to Voldemort he was a spy in the Order like his mentor Snape had done. Snape was more than willing to give up his position as a spy when he was promoted to second in command after Voldemort.
The reason that Voldemort wanted Ginny was that he believed that she could be a pivotal player in the war. Her strength would have been more than enough to have revived his spirit from the journal and if Potter had not interfered she would have regained her strength in just a few hours. For her strength, blood purity, and innocence she would also be his perfect bride when the time came to have a queen by his side.
Voldemort was sure that with her at his side that they could not lose. Her strength would tip the scale in their favor and her tie to the other Order members and her developing beauty was also a bonus. Another bonus, as he lewdly suggested, was that with her family's apparent fertility he should have a dozen or so sons in no time.
The plan was to get her when her guard was down and to keep her at Malfoy Manor until the time was for Voldemort to "persuade" her to marry him and join the ranks of the Death Eaters. Draco didn't know what Voldemort planned to do to persuade her but he knew that it wouldn't be pretty. While at the Manor, he was to prepare her for her upcoming nuptials and her role as Voldemort's queen. If he failed to prepare her or fail to protect her in anyway the consequences would be dire.
Draco had found it hard not to flinch when he heard the Dark Lord's plan. The Dark Lord had once been a good looking man but after his resurrection he looked more like a snake than a human being. But as the obedient servant to the Dark Lord that he had been raised to be, he acquiesced to his master's commands.
After his meeting he walked outside of the throne room and made his way to the Apparition point in the Fortress. When he got there he was thankful to have the quiet to think about the plan. There were several problems that Draco could find with the plan. The first was that his loyalty was to the Order and not to Voldemort. The second was that the Order, especially Molly and Arthur Weasley as well as the rest of the Weasley clan, would never go for it; they would never risk a member's life, especially since she was so young and in such a dangerous situation.
The third was Ginny herself would be terrified of the idea of being Voldemort's captive and future bride but she would do it anyway out of stubborn Gryffindor pride. She would see the chance to maybe take down the Death Eaters as a noble mission regardless of what happened to her. And the last problem with the plan was that Draco didn't have the heart to go though with it. He was falling in love with Ginny.
He had always admired Ginny's spirit and her fiery temper even from the first time he had met her when his father had slipped Tom Riddle's diary in with her second-hand books. It wasn't until his fifth year that he really noticed her again. Yes, of course, he had bullied her but he was more on auto pilot at that point. He knew it was expected of him to make her life hell.
Her hitting him with her bat boogey hex in Umbridge's office was probably one of the best things that she could have done for him. Her fire for her convictions and her love for her friends touched the empty part of him that had been building up for years.
Draco had started to question his father's views on blood purity during his fifth year at school when it became apparent the he would soon have to join his father's side in servitude to Voldemort. He had once thought that his father was brilliant for following Voldemort during his first reign but he now realized that this time around his father was just a glorified prisoner to a madman who still held on to the ideals of an inexperienced and bitter young man.
Draco knew that if his father were to try to get away, that the Dark Lord would kill his whole family and even though his father was a murderer once upon a time he loved his family too much to endanger them. So to keep his family and himself safe he went along with Voldemort and did as he was told.
Draco didn't know when he wised up but he couldn't bear the idea of being the Dark Lord's lap dog. The thought of serving Voldemort and killing innocent witches, wizards and muggles made his blood boil with anger. Although he hated to admit it, he could name dozens of muggle born or half blood witches and wizards who were just as good as or better than many of the pure blood witches and wizards he had known, including himself.
Surprisingly, he really didn't harbor any bad feelings towards muggles. He pitied the fact that they were without the gift of magic, but they were still human beings. He didn't see how killing or torturing a muggle who was defenseless was a noble cause. He also didn't see why there should be punishment to a witch or wizard just because they married someone of another blood class. As a child he was taught that his Aunt Andromeda was a fool to marry a muggle born wizard and he was taught to hate her for it. Because of his parents strict view on properness and blood purity he never got the chance to meet his only first cousin Nymphadora until he was in his late teens. As he got older he learned a very important lesson: You can't choose who you love. All that matters is love and to love with your whole heart.
During his fifth year he had approached Dumbledore and told him that he wanted nothing to do with Voldemort and from that moment on he had been a double agent. It was hard to lie right to his parent's faces but luckily he was skilled in Legilimency and Occlumency and could block his thoughts better than even Snape; who had taught him. Right before Dumbledore's untimely death Draco had been welcomed into the ranks of the Order of the Phoenix, reluctantly by most.
Draco Apparated to the ruins of the once grand castle and school known as Hogwarts. After Dumbledore's sudden death the school was left abandoned. Without the protection that Dumbledore could provide to the students, the students and professors scattered to the wind in order to find a place that they could consider safe. A few months after the death of Dumbledore, McGonagall tried to reopen the school to disastrous results. Voldemort led a team of Death Eaters onto the school and anyone who refused to join his side was hit with the killing curse
The teachers and the students that had been foolish enough to return were easily outnumbered. In the biggest slaughter to date, three hundred twenty four students and teachers were mowed down one after one by the most dreaded of all spells that came under the guise of a bright green light. Only seventeen students were left alive to later be inducted into the ranks of the Death Eaters. Half bloods and Muggle born students weren't even given a second thought as they were slaughtered right after the Death Eaters learned of their blood status.
Power mad and antsy for more blood the Death Eaters moved on to attack another pillar of strength for the Order, The Burrow. Dozens of Death Eaters swarmed the magical home, and like the cowards that they were, burned the house to the ground. They were discouraged, however, to find no bodies in the ashes. A few brave souls snuck to the ruins of the Burrow and under the shield of night cleaned up the area and turned the land that used to house the large and very magical home into the official cemetery for the fallen of the War.
After a few minutes of contemplation, Draco Apparated home to Malfoy Manor to inform his parents of the plan and how they were supposed to help; Lucius was mainly just to set up more wards around the massive estate while Narcissa was to help him teach Ginny etiquette. The days ticked by as preparations were made on the Manor.
Voldemort expected him to have Ginny at Malfoy Manor before the first of July and the closer July got the more pressure was starting to build for Draco. He had still not informed any member of the Order of the newest development on the side of the Death Eaters. The Death Eaters, however, had been informed of the new developments and many were displeased. Many Death Eaters found it hard to swallow that their lord was going to ally himself with a blood traitor and make her his Queen. Bellatrix was especially livid at the idea; everyone knew that she was madly, with an emphasis on the word mad, in love with Voldemort.
As the end of June approached the preparations at the Manor had finished. The room that was to be Ginny's new home for a while, also known as the lilac room, had been redecorated and Narcissa had even gone to the liberty of buying the soon-to-be new "houseguest" a whole new wardrobe. Her room was next to his room in the east wing of the manor, which under any other circumstances would have been the perfect room for her as it had the best view of the lake and his mother's lavish rose garden.
The next Order meeting was set for June 28 and it was then that he would meet with heads of the Order and give his monthly report. Oh, Joy.
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Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. Please review with your thoughts and opinions but be constructive when you do so. This is still a work in progress so I could really use some feedback. There is still much more to come. The next chapter is already written it just needs the bugs worked out. The next chapter is also a lot of back story but I promise that the back story part will be over soon. I just didn't want it all in one chapter because it was getting a little lengthy.