Darkness Takes Light

Chapter 2

Ginny listened to the drip-drip of the old pipes and could have sworn she had heard something moving about. After two days Oz had finally started to sleep. Mostly he had just dozed and it was slightly unnerving. She squinted through the darkness to see him better. He was hugging himself tightly and was obviously very distressed. He was murmuring slightly to himself and she desperately wanted to help him.

Suddenly she felt cold. She drew in a hard breath and felt the all too familiar cold washing over her. A fog washed over her and her eyes rolled back in her head.

She looked around her. "Where am I?" she whispered.

"Why don't you take a guess, dear Ginny?" a voice said from behind her.

She spun around and almost fainted in shock. "Tom?"

"Who else?"

"Leave me alone!"

She had meant for her voice to be strong and forceful but all that came out was a little squeak. He laughed an insane laugh.

"Poor, poor Ginny. There's no need to be afraid. I won't hurt you. Yet."

Her stomach lurched. Oh God. Oh God.

He pointed her wand at her and whispered something. She felt pain in every part of her body but was too scared to scream.

There was no hope.

She was as good as dead.

Ginny's eyes snapped open. She looked around wildly and took a deep breath. She looked over to Oz. He was crouched over and seemed to be still in his memory. But that was impossible.

The Dementors were gone for today.

Oz jolted. She looked at him in shock. He was shaking violently and his face was pale and drawn. She had never seen anyone so badly affected by the Dementors, not even Harry. Harry had screamed and clutched his scar. Oz hadn't let out a sound. His lips were still set in a thin line and he was sweating. She paused to regain her breath and then moved over to him.

She started to shake him. Nothing happened. She got more worried and started to shake him more violently.

"Oz," she pleaded. "Oz, please wake up."

His eyes snapped open and he looked at her. She immediately wrapped her arms around him and tried to comfort him. After a few minutes she pulled back. There were tears in his eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine. What was that?"

"A Dementor. Voldemort uses them to torture us. They suck the happiness out of you and leave you with only your darkest memories. If you are around them for a long time they make you insane. If they get close enough they can suck out your soul by kissing you."

He shuddered.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

He looked at her for a minute. "Honestly, No, but I'll be okay once I gather my bearings."

She cuddled up beside him. He looked at her, concerned.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. You just scared me. Plus, you know, the despair and pain."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"I was in the Chamber of Secrets." He was silent.

"What about you?"

"You don't want to know."

"Tell me anyway."

"It will scare you."

"I'm scared already."

He took a deep breath. "When I was just 2 years older than you, I met Willow. The next two years were both the scariest and best years of my life. I saw so many things that what I saw today was just a merging of all those horrors. I saw Vampire-Willow, Angelus, Spike, and Willow in a coma and every single demon I ever faced all together. I just basically got a feeling of complete and utter pain and suffering. I wanted it to stop so badly........."

He kept on talking, but he was talking to himself. She cuddled closer to him and when he finally stopped talking, he reached over and absently stroked her hair.

They had reached a point where they were instantly comfortable with each other.

*

Over the next week or so, Ginny and Oz talked freely. They talked openly in a way that they never had before. Oz, because he was an observer by nature and Ginny, because she had always been overshadowed by her brothers. They got to know each other well.

Ginny had never seen anyone so badly affected by the Dementors. Every day they came around and Oz would react worse every time. She knew that he could control himself but his mind was another matter.

The door banged open and both Ginny and Oz jumped back in surprise.

Four or five Death Eaters entered and surveyed the room around them. The front Death Eater began to speak and Ginny instantly recognised the silky voice of Lucius Malfoy. He pulled off his mask and the others followed suit.

He looked at her and she shrank back into Oz. She could feel his body tensing and hear his breathing. He pulled her slightly behind him but she could still see them. He stood up and immediately assumed a defensive stance.

Malfoy didn't notice. He smirked at Ginny.

"It's time for you to come with us."

She whimpered slightly.

"Don't worry my dear. It won't be for a while."

He gave her a looked that scared her to the depths of her soul.

"Our master has given us some permission to have some fun first."

He smirked again and reached for her. She felt numb. He was just about to grab her when Oz's hand shot out of nowhere and grabbed his wrist. He tried to pull back but Oz was too strong.

"If you lay one hand on her, I will kill you before you can take a breath," he threatened.

His spoke softly and calmly but there was anger laced underneath. Lucius felt fear creep into him. He struggled but Oz held him tighter. He tried to pull his hand back but Oz put pressure on it and a horrible crack was heard in the dungeon followed by a scream of pain.

Oz let go of Malfoy's hand and he took a step back. His broken hand fell to his side and he pulled out his wand.

Oz pulled Ginny further behind him just before he was thrown to the ground by an invisible force. He crouched over in agony but then got to his feet. He had just stood up when he was hit again. Every time he stood up he was hit again. He still didn't make a sound.

The other Death Eaters reached Ginny and grabbed her. She screamed as hard as she could but they covered her mouth. Oz desperately tried to get up but she signalled for him not to. She didn't want him to be in even more pain. She would be okay. He got the message but still tried to get up. Malfoy hit him again and he fell down.

The Death Eaters pulled Ginny out of the room.

*****

Malfoy hit Oz with every spell he knew. He used every curse he had ever heard of and smiled in satisfaction as he saw the spots of blood appear on Oz's shirt. His hands were covered in deep welts and blood trickled down from his head.

Lucius was started to get worried. He was getting tired but Oz still had the same angry look in his eyes and he still stayed silent. Lucius wished his master was still here but he had gone with the girl to face the Potter boy.

Suddenly he grinned.

He had an idea.

He called for the Death Eater behind the now closed door. The man came hurrying.

"Fetch me a Dementor, Crabbe." He nodded a left to get one. He came back after a few minutes with a hooded creature behind him. Malfoy hit Oz with another few blasts and then quickly exited. He told the Dementor to stay with him until he had gotten enough rest to continue cursing him. He ordered the creature not to kiss him.

***

Oz felt only darkness and cold. He could still feel the agony of the beatings and now the Dementor was here. His eyes rolled back into his head and he tried to move back.

He couldn't move.

The cold engulfed him and he closed his eyes tightly.

Flashes of visions, things seen, people dying.

A girl fights alone, lost and angry.

A vampire drains a victim and lets their body drop to the floor, grinning maniacally.

Zombies smash through the windows into the room.

Willow's eyes go black, her chanting increases in volume as she sits in the hospital bed.

Faith grins evilly and kicks the vampire in its face.

Smoke fills the hall and the three girls scream as the fire and smoke obscure their vision. They struggle to escape.

Buffy stakes the vampire and bursts into tears.

Angelus slaps Giles across the face.

Cordelia screams in terror.

Vampire Willow grins seductively

Tara looks at him in terror.

Voices are heard. Screams erupt in the night.

"Oz, don't you love me?"

"Oz, don't you love me?"

"Love me?"

Willow and Xander make out furiously on the makeshift bed.

Riley pushes the men away from the table.

Spike punches Buffy in the face.

New things. Unfamiliar things. Things he has never seen before.

Buffy jumps off the tower.

Willow chants beside the grave.

Buffy rises.

Spike and Buffy, together.

Giles comes back.

Willow casts the forgetting spell.

Singing.

Dancing.

Fire.

Pain.

Despair.

Death.

The screams get louder. The pain increases. It never ends.

Oz heard a voice in the back of his head. "Let me in," it growled

Oz fought against it.

Please let me in. I'll stop the pain. You know me. I'm a part of you. Let me in.

Oz let the wolf in. His eyes glowed yellow but his body remained the same.

The wolf did not have thoughts and memories.

The Dementor couldn't do anything.

Oz was gone from his body. He watched as his body fought the blows and ice-cold shudders.

****

Ginny looked around the moor in awe. Harry and Voldemort were facing off, blasting curses at each other. The Ministry of Magic wizards were battling the Death Eaters. The only two not fighting were the ones holding her. She felt the sun shining on her face and looked up.

The sun.

She never thought she would see that again. Oz can't see the sun, she thought sadly. I hope he's okay

She was distracted by a bolt of lightning flying past her and hitting one of the Death Eaters holding her. She pulled her arm away from him as another bolt hit the other Death Eater.

She was thrown to the ground along with everyone else when an explosion rocked the ground. She looked up to see Harry standing at the top of a small hill while Voldemort lay dead at his feet. She smiled wearily. It was going to be all right.

She collapsed onto the ground as the stress and weakness overtook her.

*****

Ginny could hear voices around her and struggled to open her eyes. She saw the blurred outlines of her family. She lifted up her head to see around her and realised that she was at home, in her own bed.

Her mother let out a cry of happiness.

"Oh thank God. You're all right. Oh, my baby! My precious child!"

She started to sob in Arthur's arms. He too was crying and as she looked around, so was everyone else. Harry and Hermione were there too, and they were crying. Dumbledore was sitting in one of the squashy chairs and smiled warmly at her. She tried to smile back, to be polite, but she couldn't.

She looked at them. "Hi," she whispered in a small, hoarse voice. Ron reached out and took her hand. "We thought we had lost you, Gin. We couldn't find you anywhere and then we did and you were so pale and..." His voice cracked.

She squeezed his hand with all her strength but she found that she had none.

Dumbledore spoke from the chair. "I believe that Ginny should get something to eat. She looks extremely pale."

He smiled at her again and extended his hand, which held a bag of sweets.

"Lemon sherbet?"

"I had some toffees," she whispered.

*

Molly Weasley emptied the food into the bin and sighed sadly. Ginny had been given a plate of food but had only nibbled at it. Food seemed to be something she had almost forgotten. She had tried, obviously but after a while had given up and weakly asked for a glass of water. She drank the water slowly and cautiously, almost as if she felt guilty for drinking it. After she had finished the glass, she had fallen fast asleep again.

Molly tried to push back the tears but she couldn't. She let out a sob and put her hand to her mouth. Bill came into the kitchen from the living room and gave her a hug. She leaned against her eldest son and cried.

She couldn't get the picture out of her head; her sweet little baby, lying in a bed, pale and starving. Her hair was limp and her face was dirty almost beyond recognition. Her eyes were dull and she seemed lifeless. Whatever the Bastards had done to her, they had stolen her spirit in the process.

She stood there and hugged Bill for what felt like hours. Then the rest of the family came in and the all shared a tight, family hug. Not one person wasn't crying.

*****

"I need you to answer some things for me, Ginny." Ginny looked up in horror at the old man in front of her. No, no, no, please no. I'm not ready yet. He looked at her sadly.

"I know you don't want to tell me yet but I must know."

"I'm not ready," she whispered tearfully. The Weasleys looked at Ginny. Even the mention of the place seemed to terrify her. But they knew that she had to get it out of her system. She hadn't even cried properly yet.

"You'll feel better if you do."

"You don't understand."

"Then help me to understand."

"I can't!" she shouted

"Yes you can. You're strong enough."

She took a deep breath and looked him directly in the eyes. "I can tell you some things but there are things that I want to keep to myself."

He nodded. "Could you answer some questions for me?"

She nodded slightly, calming herself down.

"Where were you?"

"I'm not sure where. It was like a prison. I was put in a cell."

"What did they do to you?"

She looked down. "They left me there for weeks on end. Professor Snape brought me food but then he was relocated after only a week and a half. Every day the Dementors would come by and wait outside our cells for a few minutes. Every day they stayed longer."

"What about the Death Eaters? Did they ever hurt you?"

She swallowed down a sob. "One tried to but he was stopped. The man who stopped him was killed."

"Did you see who the Death Eater was?"

"Malfoy."

There was a stunned silence. Arthur stood up suddenly.

"I'll kill him."

"He's not around. He was in the cells the last time I saw him. Torturing."

Her voice broke on the last word but she managed to keep it together. Dumbledore changed the subject.

"You say Severus fed you at the beginning but how did you survive for the next two weeks."

"Bag of toffees and a bottle of water," she managed.

Dumbledore knew that there was nothing else he could get out of her. "Thank you Ginny, you have been very brave in the last month and you have helped us greatly. Get yourself some rest now. Do you think you can sleep without the potion anymore?"

She frowned slightly and finally nodded. He smiled warmly. "Good girl. We are all very proud of you."

She didn't smile back, but the tears brimming in her eyes spilled over. "I'd like to be alone for a while," she told the occupants of the room. They nodded mutely and left.

Ginny curled up in the bed and sobbed her heart out. She cried for Oz and she cried for the world. She felt completely alone. She cried herself to sleep.