Dragon's Fire

A few weeks passed as Potter and Weasley healed. Ginny boxed Ron's ears for being brave and scolded Potter loudly. I sadly did not witness either event, but I am sure she would have made me proud.

On one of the Hogsmead trips, I had left Ginny to her friends and gone off on my own. I went to the jeweler's store. It was the only store I trusted to handle these matters with discretion. The ring I commissioned Edmond to build was a one-karat sapphire. There were smaller amethysts, rubies and emeralds to complement the sapphire. The band was silver, for I greatly detested gold. I intended to marry this stunning woman in silver. I'd secretly believed that Slytherin colors suited Ginny far better than Gryffindor's red or gold. I needed practice first, and a woman's opinion of the ring I'd bought. This necessity brought me to Pansy, yet again. She sat in the Common Room, discussing something with Blaise. I sat in front of the fire, contemplating possible reactions I'd get when I told her. She was, after all, my best friend and her opinion mattered greatly. I looked away from the flames and met Pansy's eyes over Blaise's head. She gave a slight nod and I rose to go to my room. I closed the door behind me. I was soon joined by Pansy, who gave me a big smile.

"Thank you for rescuing me. How you put up with that idiot, I'll never know."

"Back off, woman. He is one of my friends, thank you very much."

"Fuck you very much. His being your friend doesn't detract from the fact that being an asshole is his full-time job."

"If he's so unpleasant, why do you talk to him?" I asked.

"Because I'm too nice to hurt his feelings." I laughed heartily at this. At the look on her face, I hastily turned to coughing.

"Frog in you throat, Draco darling?"

"Yes. Her name is Pansy."

"Don't be rude."

"Don't be insulting," I shot back.

"It's my nature."

"Says the one who's 'too nice to hurt Blaise's feelings'," I retorted.

"Shut up."

"Never."

"What did you need to see me for?" she asked, huffing out a breath.

"This," I said, and pulled out the ring.

"Aw, you shouldn't have."

"I didn't. Not for you, anyway."

"Oh, you're mean," she said, frowning.

"I do need your opinion, though. You know I value your input," I said sweetly.

"Oh, alright then. The cut is exquisite. Though, I am curious as to why you didn't choose a diamond as the main setting," she ventured.

"Diamonds are cold, empty, and shallow. They are clear and therefore have no depth to speak of. Once you're past the surface, you're past it all. I don't want Ginny's ring, a ring she'll wear for the rest of her life, to say that about her. Her ring should signify passion and warmth. It should be unique. It should represent everything that her existence embodies. Ginny's ring should complement her personality, not crush it," I said.

"You've put a lot of thought into this," she remarked.

"Yes, I have. It's the only one of its kind. Edmond was paid handsomely for his considerable trouble," I replied.

"You really love her, don't you?" she asked. Her face softened, and I was reminded again why I loved her.

"I love Ginny with my heart and soul. She and I are two halves of one whole. Together, we make a complete circle."

"Aw, you are so cute," she said in a baby voice.

"Don't get weepy on me," I said.

"I'm not," she retorted. I took the ring and its box from her and carried it to my dresser, replacing it in the top shelf. I walked with Pansy to the door and we exited the Common Room together.

"I hope Ginny doesn't find out," I told Pansy in a low voice.

"As secretive as you are, she'll never guess. But you do sort of wear your heart on your face, Draco dear. You'll need to be calm when you tell her," Pansy advised me.

"I will be, luv." She beamed at me.

"I'll say good night now," she said.

"Good night. Wish me luck," I called.

"Bonne chance," she called over her shoulder as she sauntered away. I turned to walk toward Gryffindor Tower, but thought better of it. I needed practice, so I headed back to my dorm to do just that.

Once inside my room with the door magically sealed, I took out the tiny black box and held it up in the dim light. I walked to the mirror that rested above my bathroom sink and held out the ring to my reflection.

"Ginny, will you marry me?" I asked myself. I looked to the mirror for an answer, but only my reflection glanced nervously back at me. After about an hour of this, I didn't think I could get any more prepared than I was, so I walked out of my dorm, through the Common Room and up the stairs toward the Great Hall. Then I turned toward the direction of Gryffindor Tower. I took one step, something hit the back of my head and the floor rose up to meet me.

Sometime later, I awoke. I opened my eyes a tiny bit. The world swam and instantly I snapped my eyes shut again. I moved a hand to the back of my head. It came away dry, so I knew I wasn't bleeding. I didn't try to sit up as I mentally assessed my injuries, which were minimal, thank God. It seemed that I only had a minor headache and that my wrists and ankles were bound to something. At first I thought maybe Ginny had gotten adventurous, but then I remembered that I had never gotten to her room last night. Oh god, was it last night? How long had I been tied up this way? And wait, where was Ginny? Was she okay? Whoever had me, might have her tied up as well. There was only one person in the entire of my world that knew about Ginny and I, but I knew Pansy too well to believe that she'd betray my trust so easily. So, if Ginny were here, then Pansy was hurt as well. I sent up a silent prayer that both of my girls were safe and unharmed. I begged in silence that whatever god would hear me would keep them safe. I tried again to sit up, and this time the room only slid out of focus for a few seconds. I looked around the tiny dark room I was in, and nothing I saw reminded me of anywhere I'd been. My arms and legs were tied down to an old bed frame, which hadn't seen use since way before I was born. I didn't bother to check for my wand, because any smart kidnapper or Death Eater would have disarmed me as soon as I was tied up. I did notice that the restraints were made of ripped sheets and that I could probably tear them, if I tried hard enough. I jerked my body downward as I pulled with my wrists to break free. The cloth finally tore and my hands fell down to my sides. I leaned forward and untied my feet and stood. I surveyed the room again, this time looking for any useful thing that might be a weapon if necessary. I spotted broken chair bits and picked up what seemed to be the leg. Holding it much like one might hold a bat, I approached the room's single door. I turned the handle and found it was unlocked. Some kidnappers. I pulled at the handle and felt it give under my touch. I was almost blinded for a second by the burst of light that flooded my face. I looked out at an empty classroom. This classroom, too, was as unused as the storage room I had just vacated. The outer door opened and I was suddenly no longer alone.

"Well, Malfoy. We knew you'd break free sooner or later."

"Potter, Weasley. What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"Well, you see Malfoy," he spat my name like it was venomous, "I don't like the way you've been treating my sister," said Ron. Potter nodded vehemently in agreement.

"How do you know how I've been treating her? I haven't done anything to her." I didn't want to give anything away, in case they really had no idea about Ginny and me.

"We know you've been together for a while now. One of us has been following you for the past few months." Potter's words hit me square in the face, just like any big bad news always does.

"So? That proves nothing." There, that sounded reasonable. And my voice was even, which shocked me.

"We heard what you said last night to ol' Pug-faced Parkinson." Again, from Potter. Weasley was strangely silent.

"What did you hear me say that could possibly have offended you enough to do this?"

"You're having an affair with Parkinson."

"I am not. Pansy and I are friends."

"Bullshit! We heard you tell her that you hoped Ginny would never find out." Weasley just stood there, as Potter and I yelled at each other.

"I did say that, but it wasn't for the reasons that you think."

"Then tell me what it does mean, Malfoy." He said disgustedly.

"I cannot tell you that. Not until I get an answer from Ginny."

"An answer to what?" came a voice that was so familiar to me. Only one person had that voice. Ginny was in this room.

"A question that pertains to you and I, not to them." I tried to stay calm, to not think that Ginny was here, and she'd be judging everything I said against whatever Potter and Weasley had told her.

"What can you say to me in private that you can't say in front of my brother and Harry?" she asked calmly. Crap.

"Ginny, please. Please let me go into another room with you and we can discuss this." I didn't beg often, but it seemed that I begged her in one way or another a lot of the time.

"No, Draco. Whatever you have to say to me, you can say it to me in front of them or not at all." She was harsh and cold, not like the Ginny I knew. I took a deep breath.

"Very well. Ginny, I didn't want you to know that I had bought you a ring until after I had given it to you, after I had asked you to be mine. I wanted her to keep the secret to herself. She has been my only true friend for a very long time. I wanted her opinion on the ring and her advice on the best way to get you alone without raising alarm bells for you. In short, I asked her to be my friend. That's all. I swear to you." She quirked an eyebrow at me, as if confused. Then she blinked, and looked at me, as if noticing for the first time that I was standing in front of her.

"Draco, is all of that really the truth? Is that why my brother hit you over the head and brought you here?" she said at last.

"Yes." It was a lame answer, but it was all I had. After all, it I had told her the absolute truth, so why not confirm it?

"If that's true, then where's the ring, Malfoy?" Weasley finally spoke up, only to tear me down in front of Ginny. I searched my pockets, feeling for a lump of any size. I came up with pocket lint and a few galleons, but no ring.

"I don't know. What did you do with it?" I got nasty, as was my right.

"Neither of us found a ring on you. So either you're lying about having a ring, or about who you're giving it to," Potter concluded. Ginny's confusion gave way to the saddest look I've ever seen cross her face. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and all I wanted to do at that moment was to run to her side. But I stayed where I was, figuring that would only hurt me. It killed me to just stand there, knowing that I couldn't help her.

"What I would I gain by lying to you?" I asked.

"I don't know; I'm not a Malfoy, so I don't know how scum thinks." This from Potter, who looked at me like I was a bug under his foot. One that he wanted to squash very, very badly.

"While that's a brilliant conclusion, you didn't actually answer my question, Potter."

"I don't know what you gain by lying to us. What do you think, Ron?" he asked, never moving his eyes off my face. I think he expected me to squirm under that gaze, but I was made of sterner stuff. I'd had a lot of practice hiding my emotions under my not-so-gentle father's tutelage.

"I think he thinks that it will get him out of a beating." Weasley's face darkened to a deep, unhealthy shade of red. I presume it was because he was mad at me, but I wasn't for sure.

"I agree. Now, what do you have to say to that, Malfoy?"

"Potter, I can feel your disdain from here. I know that nothing I say will convince either of you that I'm telling the truth, short of maybe a Veritaserum potion. I refuse to repeat what I've been saying since you first walked in here. I'm innocent and there's no way to prove that without magic." Weasley and Potter exchanged a look. That look wasn't entirely friendly.

"Well, Malfoy, you're in luck. We happen to have some of that very potion with us," Weasley said. Their faces split into smiles, not unlike the ones I'd seen on Death Eaters' faces just before they tortured someone. I felt my first real twinge of fear. Potter and Weasley each pulled out a vial of clear liquid.

"And these are not just any Veritaserum potions. They've been amped up by Hermione. These make you tell the absolute, embarrassing truth, whether you want to, or not. They'll even work if you've been placed under a confundus jinx or any other kind of curse." Potter smiled that evil little smile again, and this time it was aimed directly at me. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up under that smile. Potter came toward me, vial held outstretched in his hand. I had an urge to slink back against the wall behind me, but I stood my ground, feebly. He finally reached me, stopping short about a foot away from me. He held out the vial and I leaned forward to retrieve it. I closed my fist around it and pulled it back toward myself. I opened my hand, and in it lay a tiny vial that looked so harmless, so safe. I pulled the stopped out and drained the contents down my throat. It tasted surprisingly good and I started to think that maybe I'd be okay.

"Have you dated Pansy Parkinson?" Okay, maybe not so good.

"Yes. I have. But that was four years ago. What does that have to do with now?" I said.

"Plenty. Now, have you ever admitted to loving Pansy Parkinson, whether in confidence or in front of people?" Potter asked.

"Yes. I do love her, but not in the way you're accusing me of."

"I'll determine that. Have you ever slept with Pansy Parkinson?"

"My, you are direct, Potter."

"Answer the question, Malfoy."

"Yes, I slept with her. Once. We decided that it just wasn't good enough chemistry to keep us together, so we remained friends instead."

"You see, Ginny. He admits to having sex with her." Potter had the audacity to sound thoroughly appalled. Like he hadn't done worse to Ginny.

"I know they had sex once. He told me that. I knew he wasn't a virgin when we started dating, Harry. You haven't revealed anything that he hasn't already said to me." She sounded bored. That was a good sign. She might still believe me, yet. I kept my feeling of triumph off my face.

"But her! It's- it's- just-"

"Revolting," Ron finished for him.

"Yes."

"And who have you slept with, Potter?"

"I'm not the one under scrutiny here, Malfoy. Don't you worry about my sex life."

"But I know who it is, Potter. Shall I tell them your little secret?" I did smile then, a cruel smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't had sex with anyone since Cho and I broke up last year."

"Liar. It was the same day that you turned me into a Weasley look-alike. I was in the bathroom. I heard you. She came in, with a blindfold on. Would you like me to continue?" His arrogant face paled, and I saw something close to fear in his eyes. I knew that Granger and Weasley were together. I also knew that she and Potter had slept together on the side, more than once.

"No."

"No, wait. I want to know who you've slept with. You told me that you wanted to remain pure until you were married to me," Ginny said, speaking up.

"Uh, Gin, it's not what it sounds like. It was a moment of weakness. It didn't mean anything. I was thinking of you the whole time, I swear." I laughed out loud then, unable to hold it together.

"Shut up!" he yelled at me.

"How dare you say that to me?! You were thinking of me, while having sex with another woman behind my back? Who have you been sleeping with, Harry?" Now Ginny was fed up with him. It was too good to be true.

"No one. He's lying!"

"You gave him Hermione's Veritaserum! He can't lie!"

"Would you like me to tell you, Ginny? I know the answer," I said.

"Yes. Who is it that he's been sleeping with?"

"Don't you say a word!" Potter screamed at me and pulled out his wand, pointing it at me. On closer inspection, it was actually my wand that he wielded.

"Or what? You'll crucio me with my own wand?"

"Don't touch him! I want to know. And since you won't tell me, I'll have to rely on the only one who can. Tell me, Draco." Ginny walked over to us, stepping between my wand, in Potter's crazed hand, and me. She turned to face me, her brown eyes full of confusion and sadness.

"Hermione Granger," I whispered to her. As much as I dislike Ron in that moment, it seemed wrong to try to hurt him when he hadn't actually done anything to me, yet. Her face filled with shock, then disbelief.

"I swear it's the truth, Ginny. I can't lie, not to you. I never could." I willed her to believe me.

"Is that true, Harry? Is it Hermione?" Ginny asked, so outraged that she didn't care about hurting her brother's feelings.

"Of course not. I would never do that to Ron. He's my best mate. Do you honestly think I'd hurt him like that?" Potter even managed to sound indignant. He was a better actor than I.

"No, I didn't. But now, I'm not sure who's telling me the truth anymore." She sounded tired, and I couldn't blame her.

"Did you tell Pansy Parkinson a secret concerning Ginny?" Potter was getting desperate now. Never a good sign.

"Yes, I did. I told her not to tell anyone about Ginny's and my relationship. I didn't want anyone to hurt her to get to me, or to look at her any differently than they did before we were together."

"Do you love Pansy Parkinson?"

"Yes, but--"

"Are you keeping a secret about her from everyone else?"

"Yes, but it's not what you--"

"There. See, Ginny. He's lying to you. He loves her, he's just admitted it. And he's hiding a secret about her. That proves what we've been trying to tell you all day." Potter sounded convinced that he'd found the guilty party and Ginny looked like maybe he was right. I knew a sudden defeat in my chest, as she raised those big brown eyes at me, asking me with her eyes if it was true.

"Ginny, I--" I began, but she put up a hand to stop me.

"How could you, Draco? After everything I told you, everything we shared. After everything we've had, how could you betray me like that?" Her voice held tears that her eyes had yet to show.

"I trusted you. I gave you my heart, because I thought I was getting yours in return. But now I see that you've lied. Just what was all of this? What was I to you? Answer me, damn it!"

"You were love. You were everything. You still are everything. I haven't done what they're saying I've done."

"I think it's time you stopped lying to me. You've just said everything. The words fell out of your mouth. You kept a secret from me about her, and then you said you loved her. This thing that we had, is over. I never want to see your face again. You can keep whatever you have of mine that's in your room. I never want to see any of it again. Don't talk to me, don't owl me, don't chase me. Just go to hell." Her eyes finally brimmed with tears, two of them spilling down her cheeks, creating wet paths down her face. I felt the compulsion to comfort her, but knew that my touch was the last thing she wanted. A sudden loss overcame me, a wave of sorrow unlike any I had ever felt before, crushed me under its weight. My own need to cry threatened to overtake me, but I shoved it down. I looked down into her eyes, so lost, so hurt and felt ashamed, guilty, dirty even. She turned on her heel and walked out of the room, sobbing as she cut a path to the door. I dropped to my knees and put my face in my hands. Potter stood over me, along with Weasley, who'd moved closer during the fight. I looked up and Weasley looked over at Potter in glee. I sat back on my heels, still on my knees. All the fight in me was gone, and I'd do whatever they wanted me to do. I resigned myself to my fate, when they just walked out of the room and left me on the hard, stone floor.