Velamentum

A dark shroud consumed Ginny, hiding her surroundings. Even her strong will would not allow her to penetrate the dismal blackness. Hushed whispers filled the air around her. Deprived of sight as she was, Ginny's imagination ran wild, transforming the obviously human conversations to the slithers and hisses of demonic beasts preparing to lunge. Only a small part of her remained rational in this nightmare. She clung desperately to this shred of sanity, urging the hellish experience to end as quickly as possible. Ginny was in a full body bind, unable to even twitch a muscle. A spell had taken away her vision more effectively than any blindfold ever could. She was trapped; helpless... and hopeless.

With every bit of reasoning she had at her disposal, Ginny again reviewed the events leading to her capture. The assignment had appeared so simple. There was to be minimal risk, but everything had gone horribly wrong. She shuddered internally as she remembered.

With barely discernable whooshes, a swarm of wizards Apparated onto the site. For a moment, a shocked silence cloaked the night air. Then, people started screaming. A bright flash of red burst from the tip of an intruder's wand, starting a maelstrom of fire and ash. Flames enveloped the product of all their hard work.

Dismayed and frightened, Ginny helplessly watched the chaos around her. A loud blast made her ears ring. Turning, she gasped when she saw what had caused the explosion. The altar had imploded into thousands of minuscule pieces. Now the spell could never be completed. Dark figures ran haphazardly around her, but Ginny didn't attack at the risk of hurting someone who was on her side. If only she could find Harry! Then they could escape together. She wouldn't leave him here.

"Expelliarmus!" a masculine voice shouted out, and Ginny's wand flew from her hand. She started to run, but to no avail. "Petrificus Totalus!" the same voice cried out, and Ginny fell to the ground, stiff as a board. A figure approached her. She had just enough time to see a cloaked man before he muttered, "Caeco Admodum." Then, all she saw was darkness.

A strong hand clamped onto her frozen one, and she was pulled upright. A familiar squeezing sensation surrounded Ginny, and with a panic, she realized she was Disapparating with her captor. When the pressure finally released its hold on her, Ginny heard surprised whispers blossoming all around her.

Ginny was unsure how long she remained in captivity that way, paralyzed and blinded. Logically, she thought it might have been about an hour. But every second seemed to drag on, stretching the wait to an infinitely long period of time.

Finally, the whispers around her ceased. It seemed as though her captors had come to a decision. Footsteps made their way toward Ginny as she fearfully awaited her fate. A spell was muttered by an unfamiliar voice, and suddenly, her vision returned to her. She blinked her eyes furiously, glad of this small movement that was allowed her. The first thing she saw was a tall, cloaked figure standing before her. His hood was drawn so low around his head that it was impossible to distinguish anything of his face. Next, her eyes flitted around to take in the rest of her surroundings. She was in a large room that lacked furniture and decoration. There were five other people standing in various places, all cloaked and hooded.

The man standing closest to her pointed his wand at her. "Get up," he commanded. "And don't even think of trying to escape." With a start, Ginny realized that she could once again move. The spell must have been lifted from her while she was looking around. She got up slowly and carefully, stretching her sore muscles and keeping a wary eye on the wand pointed on her. There were no windows around her, and only one door. It would be futile to try to get away. For now, Ginny would have to comply with these wizards' wishes.

The man jerked his head, gesturing for her to walk in front of him. Ginny did, and the remaining occupants of the room formed a semi-circle around the two, wands pointed firmly at Ginny. She shuddered delicately. One of the cloaked figures flicked his wand, and the solid wooden door opened soundlessly. Ginny glanced at the man behind her for direction. "Go on," he said shortly.

Three of the people exited the room before her. Following them, she stepped out of the room, only to find herself in another, furnished, room. There was an ornately carved coffee table, with plush armchairs surrounding it. Sitting in one of these was a man. "Welcome, Miss Weasley," Lucius Malfoy greeted, "to the home of the Velamentum."

Ginny gave a start at seeing him, sitting there so casually, but she tried to maintain her cool. She wouldn't look like a fool in front of this man. "You're supposed to be in Azkaban," she accused coldly.

"Yes, well, clearly I am not," he replied, sarcasm oozing from his voice. "Don't tell anyone," he added, winking conspiratorially.

Ginny blinked in shock. She couldn't think of a response. Lucius Malfoy acting... well, not friendly, but not exactly unfriendly either. What was going on? And what was that word he had mentioned? Velamentum. It was an unfamiliar term. What was he playing at?

"Miss Weasley?" a voice interrupted her thinking. She focused on Lucius. His eyes were glittering with amusement. "So sorry to intrude, but you have been staring blankly at me for quite a long time. I'm sure that you have something clever to say to me. A biting insult, or an oath to see me locked behind bars perhaps?"

Ginny flushed, feeling idiotic. She wasn't coming off as the cool, collected girl she had wanted to be. "I won't tell you anything," she blurted out.

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

Ginny berated herself. She was acting like the moron Malfoy clearly thought she was. Taking a cleansing breath, she tried again. "You're not going to get any information out of me. I won't tell you anything about Harry or the Order." She jutted her chin out stubbornly, hoping to exude an air of confidence. Inside, she was quaking. Who knew what the Death Eaters would do to her? She didn't think much of her chances for survival. But she would not betray her friends. Of that she was certain.

"Ahh," Lucius said, understanding filling his cold eyes. "You think you are here to be interrogated, yes? Well, I assure you, that is not the case at all."

"I'm surprised you left Azkaban," Ginny said suddenly, voicing an inner thought aloud.

"What?" Lucius snapped, bewildered once more. This Weasley girl was switching trains of thought so quickly, it was hard to keep up. It would be so much easier to peer inside her mind... but no. She would doubtlessly feel his presence and become even more wary. He needed her cooperation.

"Azkaban," Ginny repeated clearly. "Why did you escape?"

Lucius sneered. "Well I'm sure that compared to your hovel of a home, Azkaban must seem like a paradise, but I am used to much higher standards than damp, dirty cells."

Instead of quivering with righteous anger as he had presumed she would, Ginny just gave a vicious smile. "That's not what I meant," she bit back. "I was just saying, Azkaban must have been nice and safe. After the fiasco at the Ministry, your master can't be too pleased with you."

She felt a vindictive pleasure when his eye twitched and his scowl became more pronounced. "Oh, struck a nerve, did I? Yes, I bet you had to face a lot of... unpleasantness when you returned to him," Ginny continued victoriously.

"Foolish girl!" Lucius hissed. His neutral mask was gone, his face livid with anger. "Don't speak of things you know nothing about!" Ginny just glared at him. He took a deep breath and managed to regain control of his emotions. "And as to your question, The Dark Lord believes that I am still imprisoned."

Ginny snorted disbelievingly. "That is just ridiculous. I know you think I'm stupid, but even you can't think I'm that thick."

Lucius looked at her quizzically. "I'm not quite sure I understand what you're implying."

"How can Voldemort be oblivious to your location when you're carrying out a mission for him?" Ginny asked angrily. She couldn't understand why Malfoy was telling her such a weak lie.

Lucius smirked. "And who said this has anything to do with the Dark Lord?"

Ginny just stared at him, once again stunned into silence. She finally gathered her thoughts enough to reply. "Are you trying to tell me that this whole kidnapping thing isn't an order from Voldemort?"

"That is precisely what I'm telling you. Do you remember when I told you your current location?" Lucius questioned.

"The home of the Velamentum," Ginny echoed Lucius's words. "I've never heard of it."

"No, well, you wouldn't. We're quite secretive about it."

"We?" Ginny asked suspiciously.

"The Velamentum is an order," Lucius explained. "Quite like your beloved Order of the Phoenix, actually."

"Yeah, right," Ginny said sarcastically. "Except it kidnaps people and is full of Death Eaters, right?"

"We may not be what you call noble, but our goals are quite similar."

"Oh, really. And what is your goal?"

"To destroy the Dark Lord."

Ginny's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed. "I don't believe you," she said flatly.

Lucius inclined his head, conceding that her suspicions were rational. "You may not believe it from me, but perhaps you'll believe it from someone else." He looked over Ginny's shoulder. She followed his line of vision. He was looking at one of the cloaked figures. Ginny had almost forgotten their existence during her heated exchange with Malfoy.

Lucius beckoned with one hand, and the figure strode past Ginny to stand at Lucius's side. He nodded, and the figure lowered her hood. The woman, underneath the hood, had short black hair and delicate features. But it was impossible for Ginny to not recognize her. "Tonks," she breathed, and then the world went black.