AN: This one has some violence in it. You've been warned.
Chapter 6
Ginny sat on her knees lost in thought for what seemed for hours before Draco came and knelt beside her and gathered her into his arms. Her mind was spinning. She was mad, scared, and felt so lost.
Me. He wants to make me his queen. Why me? So what if I happen to be a pureblood? As if blood status even means anything anyway, well to normal people it means nothing. Aren't there wacko purebreds on his side that would love to be his Queen? I am against every thing he stands for. Why would he want me?
I'll just go with Luna into hiding. He'll never find me. I'll be safe there with Luna and if I'm there I could always go back to the Order and be with my family. But if I go he'll kill Draco's mother. I don't know her but she is Draco's mother and Draco would do anything to save my mother…
Torn between her feelings she moved further into her friend's embrace and let her tears flow.
If I stay I'd be eventually forced into a loveless marriage with a monster…and if we lost the war I would never be able to escape. I would be a prisoner forever. A prisoner married to the most evil man in the world…
Ginny raised her teary brown eyes to look into the conflicted steel grey eyes of her best friend as her mind continued to race.
If I leave, Voldemort might torture or kill him along with his mother. I'd rather die than know that I caused him pain or even that I was the one that caused his death. He wouldn't let me get hurt. He promised to protect me but I'd be protected by the wards if I went with Luna. I could go with her and be safe as a glorified babysitter… unless we lost and then I'd end up with Voldemort anyway. And if he found the half-blood children in the hideout…he'd have them tortured and killed.
If I stayed I could possibly have some sway with Voldemort when it came to executions…I could plead on the behalf of my loved ones. If I was his wife I could ask him to be merciful for my sake. I wonder if that would work. I'd give up my freedom and my chance to marry for love if I could spare even one of my friends or family. They do say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I really have no choice…I have to stay.
Ginny laid her head on Draco's shoulder as her tears subsided. She held on to him loving the way that her body fit so perfectly in his arms as if they were made for each other. I could never leave Draco for so long anyway…I love him.
After a few more moments, Ginny broke the embrace and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as she said with a sniffle, "I'll stay."
Draco met her eyes and asked, "are you sure you want to do this? I'll take you back to the Order right now if you ask me to."
Ginny gave a weak smile to her friend. "Draco, if I go it would only cause more pain then if I just stay. He'll kill your mother and maybe even you if you fail your mission. And if I did leave and he sent people after me he could find the children and I just can't take that risk."
Draco sighed, whether it was relief or disappointment he wasn't sure, as he got to his feet and helped Ginny to hers. He steered her back to sit next to him on the bed and they sat in silence for a few seconds before Draco spoke again.
"This isn't going to be easy, Gin."
With a small nod Ginny smiled and said, "I'll be alright as long as you are."
Sighing again Draco shook his head and said, "That's something we have to talk about as well. I figure that the best way to bring you to Malfoy Manor would be to have you unconscious again and to have you awake in the dungeon."
At Ginny's inquiring look he continued, "Yes, Malfoy Manor has a dungeon. One half of it is the potion portion and the other is for what dungeons have always been used for. You would wake up in the dungeon and I would come down, probably with a few death eaters, and they will congratulate me for bringing you in by betraying you and the Order."
Ginny gave him an understanding look and added, "So from that point on I would see you as the enemy again and act as if you betrayed me."
Draco nodded as he continued, "It would have to be convincing or both of us are screwed. If they thought that we were friends they would reassign you to someone else and I would be punished and wouldn't be allowed anywhere near you. The Dark Lord is a highly jealous man and he doesn't want others to get too close to you. That's why he thought I was perfect for this job. He knows that our families hate each other so he assumed that I wouldn't get too close to you while I was there as a spy. He's been planning this from the very beginning."
Ginny frowned as she listened to what Draco had to say. Draco sighed again as he continued, "I'm going to have to be like I used to be around you. I'll have to pretend to despise you and my mission. Sometimes I may even have to be cruel."
Ginny nodded slowly as she took in all that Draco had to say. "And in return to your cruelty I will have to supply my own. Draco, I can pretend to hate you if I have to but is there going to be anytime that we will ever get to be ourselves around each other?"
Frowning Draco said, "I don't know, Gin. I doubt it."
Ginny matched Draco's frown as she asked, "So what exactly do you mean when you said 'prepare his bride'?"
"Basically, mother and I, well mostly mother, will teach you all that you need to know to get by in high society. The Dark Lord plans to have a form of government that is a monarchy. He will be king with you at his side and all of his loyal followers will be given the titles of Lords, Counts or Dukes. He wants things to be as they were in the old days where there were certain codes of behavior for the upper class."
Ginny groaned as she thought about what would be expected of her. Ginny was a girl who liked to wear muggle jeans and to rough house with her brothers. Even before the war Ginny rarely wore anything but jeans and a tee-shirt. In this role she was going to have to be a girly girl. "So basically, I'll be in a private finishing school preparing to become a fluffy girly girl and the perfect wife to a madman?"
Draco chuckled lightly at his friend and said, "I guess you could look it at that way."
The pair sat in silence for a few more minutes before Draco looked over to the clock on the wall. "It's getting a little late, Gin. We should probably get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a big day. We will finalize plans and then there's no turning back."
Draco stood and turned to face Ginny as he continued, "You can sleep in here; it used to be my mother's room. There should be something you can sleep in either in the dresser or the closet. Sweet dreams, Gin."
Before Draco turned to leave he bent down and kissed her cheek. All Ginny could muster after that was to softly say, "Goodnight," in return as he closed the door. Ginny touched her cheek lightly with her hand and smiled. If there wasn't a war going on I wonder if there could be something between us.
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The next morning both Ginny and Draco woke early. The sun had barely started to rise when Draco sent a house elf to show Ginny to the dining room so she wouldn't get lost. The chateau was, for lack of a better word, enormous. It was about three-fourths the size of Malfoy Manor. They shared a meal in a comfortable silence and after meal had been cleared they moved into one of the sitting rooms to work on their plans.
They sat next to each other on a comfy leather sofa and before they started working on any plans Draco took Ginny by the hand and looked her into the eye and asked, "Are you sure that this is what you want to do?"
Ginny smiled nervously but nodded. "I'll be alright. You're going to have to trust me to be ok because you're not going to be able to be this nice to me anymore."
Draco smiled back at her. "Ok then let's work out what's going to have to happen."
"What is going to be the story of how you "kidnapped" me?"
"I was thinking that before we left for the Manor we would stop off the war memorial at the Burrow. There I would knock you unconscious and take you to the Manor."
Ginny nodded, "That would be alright. But what if one of the Order members is there?"
Draco just grimly said, "I'll do what I have to do."
Ginny frowned but nodded. "What happens when I wake up in the dungeon?"
"You'll probably be down there for a little while by yourself. You can scream and make a fuss because that will be expected and then I'll come down with either some death eaters or just my mother and that's when you're really going to have to let me have it. Call me every name in the book and I'm going to be the prat that you remember from school."
Ginny nodded and asked, "What happens after I get out of the dungeon?"
Draco shrugged, "You'll fall into a routine of classes with me and mother and pretty much be restricted to the activities of a 'lady'."
"What are the activities of a 'lady'?"
Draco shrugged again and said, "Your guess is as good as mine."
Ginny sighed and asked, "So when do we have to go?"
"We can go whenever you want; as long as it's before tomorrow night."
Ginny stood and said, "Well since we have some time together we should use it. This is probably the last time that we will get to be ourselves around each other. So let's spend some time walking and talking around this huge place."
Ginny took Draco's hand and helped him to his feet and together they walked hand-in-hand throughout the whole château enjoying each others company. As the sun set the two friends put their plan into motion and before anytime had passed at all Draco had once again knocked his best friend unconscious.
---
When Ginny awoke she was on a cold floor. As she stood up she noticed that her wrists were shackled and the chains that attached to them were secured on the wall. Ginny tested the length of the shackles and found that she could only move about 6 feet in any direction. To her right she could see out of the bars of the cell she was in and also to the stairs that led upstairs to what she assumed was the main floor.
After a few minutes of getting herself prepared for what was about to come she started screaming for help and rattling her chains in a futile attempt to escape. She screamed and cried for help for hours before she heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.
"Let me out of here you Death Eater scum!"
As she let out that last cry it almost died in her throat as Draco and his father came into the light. Ginny never admitted it to anyone but she was terrified of Lucius. He had almost caused her death when she was only eleven and she had been intimidated by him ever since. Anger took over her fear as she thought that it was all of Lucius' doing that Draco was even in this mess. If he hadn't been such a mindless idiot bent on a pureblood kick he would be on the side of the Order.
Ginny glared at both of them as they entered the cell. "You both are spineless cowards! And you," she glared daggers at Draco, "betraying bastard! We trusted you! You were my friend!"
Draco and Lucius shared a scarily similar sinister chuckle that made Ginny shiver in fear internally as Lucius congratulated his son, "Draco I'm proud of you son. Do you see the hurt and pathetic look on her face? She honestly thought you were her little friend."
Draco chuckled again, "As if I would honestly befriend a pitiful creature such as her. Father, you should have seen how easy she fell into the Dark Lord's plan. She's such a simple little thing. All I had to do was to say a few kind words to her and she thought that we were the best of friends."
Ginny charged at him as if she was going to attack him but was stopped by the shackles. "You bloody bastard! I hate you!"
While she charged at them the necklace that Draco had given Ginny came un-tucked from her shirt. When Draco saw it he snatched it from her neck breaking the chain in the process. "Only a lowly Weasley like you would have been impressed by such a little piece of nothing like this."
Ginny was unprepared to lose her necklace that she adored and never took off and couldn't stop the hurt from going to her eyes along with the tears that also gathered.
Lucius smiled at his son's actions and said, "I still don't know what the Dark Lord sees in this little creature. She's a disgusting muggle-loving Weasley." His eyes scanned over her body and landed again on her face. "Well I guess she isn't that hard on the eyes."
He stepped closer and grabbed her chin in his hand and forced her to look him in the eyes. Ginny was pissed. She hated anyone to grab her chin like that; it made her feel so inferior to the person. Ginny didn't hesitate and moved her head and bit Lucius' hand…hard. Lucius let loose a grunt as he yanked his hand back and then backhanded her hard across the face with his other hand.
Ginny saw stars as she hit her knees from the shock and the now blinding headache that she had. Her head was kind of fuzzy but she could have sworn she heard Draco come to her defense…well he yelled at Lucius for hitting the Dark Lord's property but the concern for her as she feel to her knees was evident in his eyes. As she was kneeling the fuzziness in her head turned to darkness as she slumped over unconscious.
When Draco saw his father backhand Ginny he saw red. He had to tone down his rage or he would have thrown his father into a wall. Draco was now at 6'0 and his father was at 5'9. Draco knew that he could easily take out his father and had to stop himself from doing just that. Instead he yelled at his father.
"Father, are you deranged?! I'm under the charge to protect her and to get her ready to marry the Dark Lord. I'm to report to him daily on her progress and I doubt he would like to hear that his future bride was black and blue due to your hand!"
Lucius looked at Draco, shocked that his son was yelling at him and also shocked at his own behavior. All he could do was stare at his son.
"Father if I were you I'd get some of your things and go to Nex Domus. I would hate to let it slip to the Dark Lord what happened here today."
Lucius nodded almost numbly as he moved past his son and out of the dungeon. As soon as Lucius was out of site Draco rushed to Ginny's side. Ginny by that point had slumped over on her side and was unconscious. Draco undid the shackles and picked her up bridal style. He made his was with her up to her chambers refusing the help of the many house elves that he encountered.
He laid her on the bed and checked her slowly bruising cheek. He pulled a chair next to the bed and held her hand and kissed the back of her hand. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes as he sat there and thought. I've failed her already. I promised her that no harm would come to her and on the very first day she ends up unconscious. Forgive me, Ginny. I won't fail you again.
---
Ginny's dreams were plagued by nightmares and all through the night she tossed and turned. She was startled awake by a small hand shaking her. She sat straight up in the bed and immediately wished that she hadn't. Her head was throbbing so bad that it made her feel sick to her stomach. She laid right back down and looked to her right to see a house elf staring at her with its big eyes. It appeared to be a female elf but she wasn't sure until the little creature started to speak.
"Miss, Miss Tilly was sent to get Miss up for breakfast."
Ginny groaned at the high pitched voice of the elf and remained lying in the bed.
"Miss, you must come with Tilly. Tilly is to get Miss ready for breakfast. If Tilly doesn't get Miss ready I will be punished and then have to punish myself."
Ginny looked at the little elf with sympathy and got out of the bed. Tilly snapped her fingers and Ginny was dressed in a light green summer dress and her headache was gone. As she looked at the mirror in the room, the bruise on her face, that she knew should have been there was gone and what replaced it was classily done make up. Her shoulder length curly hair, which she usually left down and wild, was tamed up into a fashionable bun.
She only had a few seconds to look at her changed appearance before Tilly took her by the hand and practically dragged her down the halls and down the stairs to the dining room. Tilly opened the door and ushered her in and Ginny stumbled in her heels while walking into the room earning a snicker from Draco and a disapproving look from his mother. After a quick glance the Draco's mother Ginny could see that all of Draco's looks weren't just from his father.
She stood next to the door unsure of what to do until Narcissa sharply said, "Come over here, sit down and eat before you breakfast gets cold. It's rude to stare and it's rude to make others wait to start their meal by your tardiness."
Ginny frowned and tried to keep her famous temper in check as she made her way to the chair next to Narcissa. She ungracefully plopped down in her seat. Narcissa grimaced at her lack of grace but continued to eat her meal in peace.
If Ginny didn't know what was going on she would have felt so confused. She was in Malfoy Manor having breakfast with Draco and his mother the day after his father gave her a black eye. "So is this a new form of torture then. Kidnap the enemy and then make them feel so uncomfortable and out of place that they die from it?"
Narcissa raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow as she looked at her young guest as she asked, "Were you not informed on why you are here?"
Ginny frowned as she said, "Oh, do you mean the fact that I was betrayed by a man who I thought was my best friend just so he could kidnap me to be a forced bride to the most evil man in the world? No, I was informed. Does that mean that I'm going to be the perfect little drone? I don't think so."
Ginny stood up from the table pushing away from the table hard as she ran from the room and to the front door. As she grabbed the handle she was sent flying back about four feet. She looked up from her back to see Draco's smug face above her.
"All of the exterior doors and windows will have that same effect on you Weaslette."
He grabbed her hand and not to gently got her back on her feet and dragged her back into the dining room. "There is no escape, Weasley. You better just get used to it here."
He took her to her chair where he pulled her chair out for her and waited for her to sit before he pushed the chair in again.
Narcissa gave Ginny an unimpressed look and said, "Now that you've gotten that out of your system you can eat something. From the way it looks I have my work cut out for me if the Dark Lord expects you to be a queen. We start your training after breakfast."
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And there is Chapter 6. I hope it wasn't too rough for you all to read. The next chapter starts on Ginny's training to be a lady and some more forbidden actions between Draco and Ginny. Trust me when I say that the chapters are only going to get better as they go