Yours Forever, Ginny.

Virginia was calmly walking to her Advanced Potion's class when an arm grabbed her and pulled her roughly into a classroom. She stood up indignantly ready to abuse the hell out of her attacker but shrank back when she saw who it was. She berated herself inside. Why did she let him get to her like this?

"H-Harry ... g-go away, don't TOUCH ME!" she ended with a yell. He gripped her elbows tightly, trying to make her calm down.

"Ginny- Virginia, please ... you have to listen to me, please, I'm so sorry about what happened Gin, please you have to believe me, it wasn't my fault! I was under imperious!" he shouted the last bit just as she stopped screaming at him to let go. She'd heard everything he had just said.

"Imperious? The imperious curse Harry? Is that the best you could come up with? You've been able to fight that curse for years, what kind of a fool do you take me for?" she hissed, the anger gradually building up inside her.

"I'm not some little nobody you can play around with anymore Harry Potter, I'm not scared little Ginny, Ginny who would never hurt a fly, Ginny who was always in the shadows, Ginny, WHO WORSHIPPED YOUR UNWORTHY ARSE!" she finished with a deranged yell. She rushed at him, her claws out and slapped him in the face. Hard. He yowled in agony, falling to the ground.

"Don't you EVER TOUCH ME AGAIN YOU BASTARD!" she screamed before turning to the door, only to be greeted by the sight of a certain blonde Slytherin clutching his wand in a fighting stance, but with a rather confused expression on his face.

"Yes Draco Malfoy, I am a woman, and I can take care of myself!" she said rather sarcastically before brushing past him and continuing on her way to class.

************

Harry had found his way to the headmaster's office shortly after the incident with Virginia. After entering through the stone gargoyle, he knocked softly on the office door and waited for a reply.

"Come in," Dumbledore said. Harry opened the door and walked in, giving his headmaster a troubled smile. Dumbledore gestured for him to sit.

"What can I do for you today Mr. Potter?" he asked, putting down his quill. Harry took a deep breath as if he was trying to find the right words and place to start.

"It's, well ... Professor ... it's Virginia Weasley," at this, Dumbledore nodded knowingly.

"I had a feeling it might have something to do with her. Tell me Harry, what is troubling you about Miss Weasley?" his voice was kind, but Harry still fidgeted nervously.

"I-she, she's just changed so much ... and ... I'm scared that, she's going to fall so far into ... into the dark side, that we're never going to get her back," Harry's eyes finally connected with Dumbledore's.

"Harry. It is not my place to talk about other students in this school with anyone, but let me tell you this. Virginia is an extremely clever, and smart girl. The three of you; yourself, Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger do not give her enough credit for her worth. I think it would do to trust her and understand that she's been through a lot of horrors in her young life ... yes Mr. Potter, maybe even more then you, and one day ... one day she will have to choose."

Harry looked down at his hands, wringing them thoughtfully. It was a few moments before he spoke again.

"And ... and do you think she'll choose the right side?" he asked nervously. Dumbledore gave him a grim smile.

"Only time will tell Mr. Potter. Only time will tell."

************

Friday night and the dilemma of what Virginia was going to wear to the ball was still up in the air. The other three girls, being so well off, already had ball-gowns with them, so they had decided to take Virginia down to Hogsmeade tomorrow to visit the robe shop. Even then, Virginia thought miserably, she'd never be able to find the perfect dress at the perfect price, in time. Sure, her father had gotten a great promotion, but it was nowhere near the Lestrange, Zabini, Parkinson or Malfoy fortunes for example. She sighed, as the four of them got ready for bed. A tapping at the window near Virginia's bed caused her to turn around and see a semi-familiar eagle owl waiting patiently there with a large package clutched in its talons. She opened the window, her friends watching her with curiosity, and took the package from the owl, which ruffled its feathers aristocratically and swiftly took flight. Virginia smiled; only one person could have an owl that acted like that. She glanced down at the packaged to see her name scrawled in Draco's elegant hand.

"Well? Who's it for!" Pansy exclaimed excitedly.

"Oh Gin ... that is the most ... beautiful thing I've ever seen in my entire life ..." Blaise whispered, almost afraid to make too much noise in such a glorious moment. It took a moment for Virginia to realize that her cheeks had grown hot and her breathing seemed to be slightly irregular.

"I-I've never worn something so ... so ... expensive," she finished lamely. The other girls burst into giggles, breaking the trance that the four of them had fallen into. Aleña took Virginia's hand.

"But you deserve it Gin. Don't hold back from yourself, you should believe that you deserve everything," she said, smiling at her friend. As Virginia's heartbeat steadied, she looked out of the window towards the clear black sky, and watched as the moon sparkled in all its glory.

"We'd better get some sleep girls. Tomorrow is a big day for us all. We have a ball to get ready for."

************

Draco smiled softly as Argent flew back through his open window and tucked himself under Draco's arm. The bird was extremely beautiful and had a fierce loyalty to him that would have made him a good Slytherin had he been human. Draco reached into his bedside draw and plucked a few owl treats he kept hidden, feeding them to his bird. Argent hooted softly and nipped Draco's arm with affection before flying back out of the window and up to the Owlery.

"Going to bed Draco? I was going to blow out my candle now," his friend Caleb asked him, yawning. Draco nodded.

"Yeah, I will in a minute," Draco replied absentmindedly. Caleb propped himself up slightly onto his elbows and peered out at his dorm mate.

"I'm coming on Saturday night, did Lucius tell you?" he asked.

"No, but I figured your family would be invited, have you got a date?" Draco asked him. Caleb shook his head but smiled confidently.

"Nah, but Aleña's going, so I've got my work cut out for me for the evenin', don't you worry about me my friend," he replied with a smirk that could rival Draco's. Draco in turn, regarded the slightly younger boy with scrutiny. He was without a doubt a good-looking boy. Tall, lean, quite muscular - similar to Draco actually. He had brown hair with blonde streaks in it and strangely deep almost midnight-blue eyes. Over the years, and especially after Vince and Greg had left for Durmstrang, Caleb had opened up to become more like Draco everyday. It was almost unnerving sometimes, but Draco shrugged it off as hero-worship. He was a good person to get along with and shared his spirit for mischief and mayhem.

"You sure do my boy, you sure do."

******************

The next day seem to fly by for the girls as they spent it making themselves perfect - lounging in the Prefect bathrooms (Pansy was a prefect) with the Spa tap on, and relaxing magic salts in it. Blaise said this made their skin flush enticingly when exhilarated. Aleña had given them all magical manicures and pedicures, with colours to match their outfits for the evening; Virginia in light gold, Pansy in emerald, Blaise in soft lavender and herself in periwinkle blue. Virginia had discovered some wonderful hair care potion in France that allowed you to have complete control over your hair for the whole night by just thinking about what you wanted it to do. They each applied generous amounts of this, and washed it out as instructed, like conditioner.

After Pansy had whizzed around the room with her exemplary make-up spell skills, the girls each thought their hair into a style. After they had all finished dressing, they came to stand in the middle of their room, admiring each other's outfits.

Pansy had left her hair in its usual unruly-but-under-control state, with strict instructions to stay as it was, even in the wind. The only difference about it was the elegant butterfly comb arranged artfully at the back top of her head, with a few strands tucked under it, almost in a half up, half down style. The thin layer of black eyeliner accentuated her eyes, and the dark green eye shadow on her lids made them seem greener then they ever had. Her lips had been coated in a soft pink color - she had wanted to wear red originally, but had decided she looked too much like a Christmas tree. She wore a long satin emerald gown that had a tight bodice covered by transparent black lace, which also tied up the front. The sleeves came up just off the shoulder right down to her elbows before billowing out in a medieval style - all made of the transparent, yet patterned black lace. The bodice pulled in tight at her slim waist before flaring out and trailing almost along the ground, covering her simple black stilettos with the beautiful green skirt. She looked the very picture of Slytherin with a simple silver necklace that carried a serpent pendant and matching earrings to accompany.

Blaise had straightened her normally curly raven hair so that it hung extremely long with layers all over the place. The ends had refused to straighten out fully but left her with a beautiful effect as they curled slightly at the bottom. Her green eyes looked smoldering and even more black amidst her heavy dark eyeliner and brightened slightly by the soft lavender eyeshadow sparkled with silver on top. Glistening mauve covered her full lips and complimented her olive complexion. She looked like an elegant gypsy with her one-shouldered gown in shimmering violet. The dress was fitted but hung down and fell around her body almost like semi-loose elastic. The silver that glistened off made her seem even more entrancing and was complimented with the violet and silver jewelry dangling from her ears. There was no need for a necklace, the dress said enough. Underneath, she was wearing heels that matched Pansy's exactly except for the color - they had bought them together. Blaise's were in silver.

Aleña looked absolutely enchanting. Her straight mahogany hair had been pulled bac (with the exception of the straight tendrils that framed the front) and locked with a sparkling blue ... something - it was so bright it was hard to tell what it was! It could very well have been bindable fairy dust. The tied up hair cascaded down her back in soft ringlets, the up style accentuating her high cheekbones and sleek face. Her periwinkle blue dress complimented her bright eyes, which looked like the ocean with the blue eyeliner and frosty eyeshadow she had chosen to wear. Aleña had charmed her lips to look a soft indigo - warm, so it wouldn't look like she was frostbitten. The dress had simple spaghetti straps leading into a looser cow-neck styled top that narrowed into her tiny waist, clung around her hips and fell softly to the ground. The dress was almost see-though, but had velvet embroidered flowers and stems on it in the same blue, with a simple silk periwinkle slip underneath it. Her neck, wrists and ears were incased in the simple but extremely expensive diamonds her parents had bought her as a going away gift to Hogwarts. The shoes she was wearing were also in the same blue, but were slightly lower then Pansy's and Blaise's, and were strappy, like Virginia's. She was wearing long gloves in the same material and color as the top layer of her dress, and so, her skin was visible underneath.

At that moment, there was a knock on their door, and Caleb entered without waiting for an answer. He gave a low whistle.

"My, you ladies look fantastic, but it's time to start heading out, the Malfoy's don't like to be kept waiting," he said with sneer on his face. He held out his arm to Aleña who rolled her eyes but took it anyway. They moved to the steps of the common room and walked down them with Virginia coming last. As she walked down the stairs, all eyes seemed to be drowning in her beauty. But she was only aware of one pair of eyes, and those were Draco's. His mouth was hanging open slightly in a very un-Malfoy manner and he appeared to be holding his breath quite tightly.

Virginia had done her blood-red hair up in an elegant French twist, with curly tendrils fluttering out here and there, especially in front to frame her delicate face. She wore very little make-up; a touch of brown eyeliner and a sweep of gold lip-color, her hair contrasted sharply against her fair skin but made her look absolutely stunning. Pansy had applied a pink-red blush lightly to her cheekbones which were even more defined then Aleña's, giving her the sultry look of a model. The champagne dress seemed to fit her figure like a glove. It encircled her snugly around the top into just under the hips in a typical 80's style where it flared out just slightly, and fell to the ground. It felt like silk from the surface, but was made of thicker type of satin so it was extremely comfortable and didn't leave her feeling too cold. Her hand trailed lightly on the railing as she made her way down to Draco, who wasn't looking too bad himself in expensive looking formal black robes over a fitted tuxedo. In his hand he held a single white rose. He took her gloved hand and kissed it softly before closing it around the roses stem. Draco reached into the inner pocket of his tux jacket and took out a rectangular black box. Opening it, Virginia gasped. Inside was a matching set of diamond earrings and necklace in the shape of a teardrop hung on thin, almost invisible white-gold bands and catches. He took them out of the box, and handing the box to Caleb, he put the dangles through the tiny holes in her lower ears and then gently put the necklace around her neck, which fit as a choker. The diamond hung from the base of her throat. Unaware that she had been holding her own breath, she breathed out shakily, staring into the swirling pools of gray that were Draco's beautiful eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered. The rest of the Slytherins had looked on in awe, and the room had become utterly silent. As usual, Caleb, always the mood-breaker gleefully sang out; "Alright boys and girls, let's get this party on the road!" Draco shot him a disgruntled look but found it hard to be angry when he was on the arm of such a beautiful woman.

Professor Dumbledore had opened up the Floo network in the Slytherin common room set for a certain time and only for five minutes so that the six of them could travel to the manor without rousing any rumours around the school grounds. Draco glanced at his watch. 8:00pm. He walked into the fireplace that was devoid of any fire at that current moment and grabbed some powder from the cup that Dumbledore had also graced them with. With Virginia tucked inside his arm he threw down the powder, emitting shrieks from the bystanders as glorious green flames exploded and yelled; 'Malfoy Manor!' before the two of them disappeared from view.

They arrived in the most magnificent marble fireplace Virginia had set her eyes upon. When they emerged, the many people that were already there hushed and stared in awe at the beautiful couple that began walking through the crowd. It was a fiery sun mixed with the pale, cold moon and together, they were breathtaking. The rest of their group arrived shortly after but everyone's eyes were fixated on the only child of Lucius Malfoy and the mysterious red-headed beauty he had brought into their midst. Lucius himself stopped the conversation he had been having with Raphael Lestrange - uncle and guardian to Aleña when the silence had fallen over his guests. He looked up to see his son walking towards him.

"Draco, I'm glad to see that you have arrived on time. Won't you introduce me to your friend?" Lucius said, his eyes glinting as they settled in Virginia. She refused to be intimidated and held her head high.

"Father, please meet my date, Virginia. Virginia this is my father, Lucius Malfoy," Draco said formally. Lucius took Virginia's hand in a similar manner to how Draco had earlier, and kissed it. This time though, Virginia was glad to have her hand back.

"And what, may I ask my dear, is your last name?" Lucius asked calculatingly. Draco immediately intervened.

"Tut tut Father, remember what I asked you. I shall tell you at the end of the evening," he said, smirking slightly. His father seemed more intrigued then perturbed and so, agreed.

"All right, now what has happened to this party? I demand that you all start dancing and enjoy yourselves," Lucius said, raising his voice so that the whole room could hear. Immediately the music started back up and the noise of many chattering people and dancers carried throughout the room. Lucius was staring at Virginia again as if trying to place her.

"Virginia, won't you accompany me for a moment? I would like you to meet my wife," he asked her, offering his arm. Boldly, and without a second glance at Draco, she took his father's arm and he led her over to where Narcissa was standing, watching. Draco looked after them, and deciding that she should be all right for the moment, walked over to where the rest of his Slytherin friends were standing.

"Malfoy, explain to me why you just left my best friend with your father ... alone?" Aleña said accusingly.

"Lestrange," Draco said, lazily imitating her voice, "you should give Virginia more credit then you do, she can handle Lucius, and anyway, I have my eye on them and will be stealing her away shortly," he said flashing her a grin. Aleña grumbled, rolling her eyes before Caleb whisked her off, rather reluctantly on her part, to the dance floor.

Meanwhile, Lucius was making introductions. They had approached a stunningly beautiful blonde woman who Virginia assumed was Draco's mother. She had been right too, thou she was obviously in her late thirties, the woman had beautiful clear, unwrinkled skin and Virginia seemed to get swept up in her features. Suddenly she caught the glint that flashed in her eyes, and she knew that this woman was not all that she seemed.

"Narcissa, I'd like you to meet Draco's new ... friend, Virginia. Virginia, this is Draco's mother, Narcissa Malfoy." Narcissa was dangling a half empty champagne glass in one hand and placed the other on Virginia's shoulder. It had a calming effect on her, much like the one Draco had.

"How lovely to meet you Virginia, Draco has certainly done very well, I must say, you must be the most beautiful girl he's ever brought home to us," she said, smiling at the red-head genuinely. Virginia was stunned, this wasn't at all how she'd remembered or been described Narcissa Malfoy before.

"Thank you Mrs. Malfoy, and I have to say, you have a beautiful home, did you decorate yourself?" she asked politely. Narcissa laughed.

"Oh you must call me Narcissa darling, and no, I didn't decorate it myself, Lucius and I hired an Interior Designer," she told her. Virginia nodded and was just about to comment when Draco suddenly appeared at her side again.

"Mother, Father, might I steal my date away for a dance?" he asked, looking at his parents expectantly. Lucius nodded and Draco whisked her away. Encircled in Draco's arms, Virginia felt safe. She'd been wary of Lucius Malfoy but had calmed a great deal after meeting his wife.

"You're mother's wonderful," she told Draco. He smiled down at her.

"I know. How she ever chose to be married to my dad is a complete and utter mystery to me," he whispered into her ear. Virginia shivered at his hot breath on her flushed skin. (She was exhilarated!)

"I'm glad she did ... because I got you," she said quietly. He pulled her to him tighter and they snuggled into each other's arms as a slow song began to play. Across, they could see Caleb still hogging Aleña on the dance floor, Pansy, chatting to one of Draco's Swedish cousins (AN; I've always though he might have a bit of Swedish in him - look at those features!) on his mother's side and Blaise, dancing with Aleña's older brother, Antoine.

Lucius watched the pair thoughtfully.

"Where have we seen her before Narcissa?" he asked his wife who looked in the direction her husband had pointed out.

"Are you surely that slow Lucius? I figured it out when I first saw her," Narcissa said, arching an eyebrow at her husband. He narrowed his eyes slightly and scowled back at her.

"Well? Who is she?" he demanded. Narcissa shook her head.

"Remember Lucius, Draco asked you not to judge. By knowing who she is, you will immediately judge her, I think you should get to know who she is first ... I quite like her already," Narcissa said, smiling at her husband. With that, Lucius walked over to where his son was dancing and asked to cut in. If Draco was worried about this, he hid it very well. Lucius placed a hand around Virginia's waist and took one of hers with his other whilst Draco walked off.

"Are you going to tell me who my son has been spending his time with, or am I going to have to play 20 questions?" Lucius asked Virginia amusedly.

"Tut tut Mr. Malfoy," mimicking the way Draco had spoken to him earlier, "I do believe that Draco will tell you by the end of the night. Is your curiosity that unsatisfied that you find the need to know this very moment?" she asked silkily. Lucius looked surprised at her wit. Normally, Draco dated rich airheads who wouldn't know Arithmancy from Astronomy. This was a positive improvement.

"Very well then, but if I am to call you Virginia, then you must call me Lucius. Tell me, what is it that draws you to my son? Disregarding his looks, as I'm sure that was a plentiful factor ... why is it that you want to be with him? I can tell that this is not some fling." Virginia seemed to ponder this for a moment, as if wondering whether he was serious or not.

"Money," she said, smirking. Lucius laughed at that.

"Come Virginia, there is a depth here that goes below skin-deep. I can see it. Tell me, none will be lost if you do," he encouraged her. Virginia considered him again and decided she would play his game.

"His eyes. There is a certain ... a certain darkness there that is incomprehensible; something that I aspire to ... something that lures's me in. Something I can relate to," she ground out, looking him straight in the eye. It was that moment that Lucius saw why his son had asked him to see first and not judge. He looked into her mocha pools and saw the erupting darkness that threatened to overturn her. It was that moment, the first of Lucius' life, that he truly felt afraid. But it was only for a moment, as her eyes seemed to return to normal almost immediately. The song had ended and Lucius rather reluctantly let go of her, kissing her hand softly again, and thanking her for the dance, before walking off to converse with some of his business associates.

"What did you say?" Draco asked her urgently as he appeared at her side. Virginia looked up at him in surprise.

"Not a lot ... he asked me what I saw in you and I told him," she replied, watching as his eyes trailed confusedly after his father.

"Why?" she asked almost tentatively.

"Because I've never, ever seen him act like that in my entire life." Just as the words had left his mouth there was a huge crackle of thunder and the lights flickered heavily. A few people screamed and hunched together. Suddenly the lights went off completely, and through the darkness, Draco could see his father's silver eyes flashing angrily. A red glow started to appear from the huge French doors leading into the ballroom where the party was situated. The glow eventually became a dark, hooded figure, a whirl of darkness surrounding it and there was no doubt who this figure might be.

As almost everyone at the party that night was a follower of the Dark Lord, they lowered their heads respectfully. The figure breathed in slowly and coldness swept over the room that had previously been warmed by the fire in the hearth.

"Lucius," Voldemort hissed.