Vendetta

2 - HARRY LEARNS WHAT HAPPENED

Harry was becoming concerned. Where was Ginny? She had never been late for Quidditch practice; in fact, she was usually there before he himself was. He asked if anyone had seen her; everyone shook their heads. Fortunately enough qualified people had shown up that he could replace her, at least as Chaser. But he was unsure how much good he would do as Seeker if he was worrying about her, so he disqualified himself, simply acting as Captain and made one of the others act as Seeker.

As the game wore on, he was becoming more and more concerned. No, call it by its right name--he was worried. Worried sick. What could have happened to her? If it hadn't been for the game and the necessity of his presence, if only as Captain, he would have chucked it all and went looking for her. He could only hope he would see her again, whole and healthy--and when he did, that she would have a satisfactory explanation for missing their long-scheduled practice.

After a time he couldn't concentrate on the game; he was too busy picturing a thousand things happening to her, each worse than the last. He had never wished so much for a Quidditch game to be over in his life! Just then, Neville Longbottom came running onto the pitch, making a beeline for Harry upon spotting him sitting on the sidelines, seemingly immersed in his own thoughts and not watching the game at all, as he usually did if he didn't play.

"Harry! Harry!" he called out, skidding to a stop in front of the object of his search.

"What is it, Neville?" Harry was both grateful and annoyed for being jolted out of his thoughts of Ginny.

"Ginny's been kidnapped!"

"What? What are you talking about? When?" he demanded.

"She was on her way here; I was coming to watch the game and saw her approaching around a quarter past three--then saw two blokes Apparate in not far from where she was. I hid where they couldn't see me and watched them; it looked like one of them did something to render her unconscious, then tied her up with ropes. Finally he seemed to murmur something under his breath, then stuff something in his pocket. Lastly, he picked her up and the three of them Disapparated out. That was when I thought I'd better come here and tell you."

For a moment Harry's eyes closed in pain at the thought of Ginny's being gone, then he forced it aside and faced Neville squarely. "Did you see what they looked like?"

"One looked tall and thin--and blond; the other was heavy-set with lank brown hair. That was all I could see from the distance between them and me."

That was when Harry's pain was replaced with anger. Malfoy! He should have known he was behind Gin's disappearance. But who was his accomplice? Sounded a lot like his lowlife cousin Dudley ... but how could that be? How could they possibly have met? Could Draco have actually gone to Privet Drive and run into him somehow? It was the only explanation that made any sense.

But if Draco and Dudley had kidnapped Ginny, where could they have taken her? It was a cinch that Draco had to be the brains of the outfit; it seemed that all Dudley's limited brain power was confined to the mechanics of eating, bullying and moving his whale-like body around. All at once Harry knew what he had to do. He visibly pulled himself together and got to his feet.

"Nev, tell whoever comes down first where I've gone. I've got to go look for Ginny. There's no time to lose. Let me know how the game went when I get back." He added in his mind, And I'll be back with Ginny--or else I'm not coming back!

Harry grabbed his Firebolt, then mounted it and took off, moving so fast that he was only a red-gold streak, having only a vague hunch of where his beloved might have been taken, but deciding to follow up on said hunch nonetheless. He pushed the broom as fast as it would go, on the way developing a murderous anger at Malfoy which only seemed to grow in intensity with every passing moment.

The damn bloody bastard! This had to be his idea--and Dudley would naturally be both nasty and stupid (not to mention horny) enough to go along with it, especially if Draco had promised him he could have a go at Ginny if he helped him kidnap her. If he managed to get his hands on them, he swore with every ounce of hatred in him that he would kill them--and what's more, enjoy doing it ... and be damned to the consequences! They deserved whatever they got for going after Ginny like this. I'm coming, luv, he told the image in his heart's eye. I hope and pray you're all right. If you're not, I'll take it out of both Malfoy's and Dudley's stinking hides for both of us!

* * * * *

A half hour later, Ron and Hermione sought out Neville to find out what had happened. They had been too far away to have heard what he said to Harry; all they could be sure of was that Harry had been worried sick about Ginny at first, then after Neville had told him whatever it was, his worry had been replaced with murderous anger--then he had mounted his broom and kicked off into the air, accelerating so fast that he seemed little more than a red-gold blur. He hadn't even taken off his Quidditch robes! Only something serious involving Ginny could have made Harry act like that, and they were determined to find out what.

Upon reaching him, they demanded an explanation for both Harry's actions and Ginny's disappearance; Neville repeated the story he had given Harry. It could only have been Malfoy behind it, from the description--but who had the other been? Harry had once described his whale-like, nasty, bullying cousin; they could have sworn it sounded like him--but how could Draco possibly have met him? All they could think of was Draco's having gone there, disguised as a Muggle and offering him something he couldn't refuse ... perhaps even a go at Ginny, if only to get revenge on Harry.

They knew what kind of temper Harry had once it was aroused, and it was most easily aroused these days by any threat to Ginny, either emotional or physical; they had to stop him if they could before he did something which would land him in even more serious trouble than ever before. Upon reaching the adjoining locker rooms, they each ducked into them to retrieve their brooms, then took off literally like blue streaks just as Harry had, hoping every step of the way that they could catch up to him in time to prevent him from putting his head in a noose.

They could understand his being upset, not to mention his desire for revenge, but neither Draco nor Dudley was worth a lifetime stint in Azkaban ... much less serving time in a Muggle prison for murder. Their brooms weren't as fast as Harry's, naturally, but they pushed them for everything they had, going on Hermione's hunch that Harry had headed straight for Malfoy Manor, convinced that he must be holding Ginny captive there, at the same time hoping against hope that Ginny would both come out safe and sound and Harry keep his freedom.

If he insisted on venging himself on the two perpetrators, of course, they would help him do it--but in a manner which would leave them alive, just thoroughly punished within an inch of their near-worthless lives.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, at Malfoy Manor, Draco had sealed the door of the spare room, temporarily imprisoning himself, Dudley and Ginny in it. At the moment, Draco was having his fun with her while Dudley watched, becoming more and more aroused with every passing moment, wishing so much that it was himself that he could almost literally taste it.

If his worthless cousin hadn't already taken her, it would serve him right ... because once he and Draco were through with him, she would think he had and act accordingly because of Draco's administering both the love potion and planting the illusion in her mind that the one doing all the sexy things to her was Harry, the one she loved. By this time, even Dudley had surmised that Draco could not have done the things he'd done without being a wizard--but this one seemed at least tolerable, even considering his threat to destroy him if he went against him in any way.

He looked at his watch in between bouts of wanking off, noting that it was roughly six o'clock; Draco had been going at it for at least the last hour and a half, literally doing everything sexual he could think of, everything he had ever wanted to do to a girl, however kinky. But with his temper, Dudley hesitated to interrupt him. Just the same, if Draco didn't let him in on the fun soon, he would have to take a chance. He couldn't stand just watching for much longer ... he wanted to be doing! Just the same, if Harry ever learned of this, he would surely go ballistic and come after them with both barrels--to put it mildly!

Just when Dudley was sure he couldn't stand it any longer, Draco finally got off Ginny and beckoned to Dudley before gesturing to the still-trussed-up and naked girl. "She's yours, mate. Enjoy her." Dudley couldn't move fast enough; within moments he had replaced Draco and began to indulge his own fantasies.

* * * * *

However, by this time Harry, by now seething with righteous, albeit murderous, anger, was nearing Malfoy Manor--and heading straight to where he knew Draco's room was, prepared to counter any charm or enchantment Malfoy might have placed on his area of the house to prevent intruders. Harry's determination was such that he would not allow anything to stop him, whatever he had to do.

As he neared the sliding glass doors which faced a large balcony, he saw the tall, thin figure that he recognised as Draco emerge from the room. "Well, so you finally got here, Potter. Well, it's too late. I've already had my way with your sweet little bed-bunny, and your cousin is in there right now, taking his pleasure with her."

Harry didn't think he could ever have thought such hateful, murderous thoughts as he was doing now. "You ... effing bloody bastard--this was your idea! Dudley wouldn't have had the brains to come up with it! I swear, you've reached a new low, even for you!"

"Guess what else, Potter. I've put an illusion in her mind that it's you doing these things to her. She'll never accept you sexually now, not after what we've done ... so if you've not had brains enough to take her by now, it's best that you accept the fact that you never will!"

"You know, I'd come here all ready to take you both apart, but now I realise that neither of you are worth either life in Azkaban or time in a Muggle prison. Just the same, don't think you're going to get away with this, Malfoy--not you nor my scumbag cousin!"

"Oh, really? We'll see about that. My father ..." Malfoy began.

"Bugger your father! I've got money and connections that neither of you has any inkling of--and you may be assured that I'll sue you for every Knut you've got! I'll also instigate proceedings for felonious sexual assault against Dudley ... and you'd better warn him that if I ever lay eyes upon his fat, ugly face again, I will kill him, my uncle and aunt be damned! I vow this with every ounce of blood in my body!"

"You're too soft to enjoy killing or inflicting pain, Potter," Draco scoffed.

"Then you better hope that I never get closer to enjoying killing or inflicting pain than I am right now!"

By this time, even Draco realised that Harry was serious about what he intended to do to avenge Ginny, so he knew he'd better take steps to minimise the damage to either his or his family's reputation if this became widely known. As for Dursley, he deserved whatever he got, either from Harry or the penal system for being stupid enough not to have seen through him at the start, allowing himself to be sucked into this criminal act.

It was at this point that Hermione and Ron neared the spot. As far as they could tell, Malfoy and Harry seemed to simply be talking, so the latter must have realised the futility of committing such a criminal act as murder, even if the potential recipient of same deserved it. Just the same, they had never heard such hatred and contempt in Harry's voice as they did now ... and they were truly thankful they were not Dudley Dursley, because they sensed that he would not be long for this world if Harry ever got him alone long enough.

"All right, Malfoy, hand over my sister now, you damnable bloody bastard!" Ron demanded angrily, pointing his wand threateningly at the white-blond Slytherin.

"Weasel King ... so you're here too, are you? What will you do if I don't?" Malfoy taunted.

"I'll do what Harry's too good to do!" Ron shot back.

By this time Harry had noticed his friends' presence. "No, Ron. He's not worth it. Neither of them are worth it. Besides, the damage has already been done. All we can do is repair it as best we can."

"What do you mean, 'the damage has already been done'?" Ron almost spat.

"They've already ... raped Ginny. And what's more, they've planted a suggestion in her mind that I ... did it, so if she blames anyone, it'll be me."

"Rubbish! You could never do anything like that," Hermione declared, her first contribution to the conversation.

"That's beside the point. Ginny is going to think I did ... and I frankly doubt that anything I say is going to change her mind on that score," Harry returned morosely. "And who could blame her, after what I've put her through?"

"You don't know what she's thinking right now, mate. No sense conclusion-jumping until she's out of here and we can get help for her," Ron tried to soothe his friend.

"Help for her body, maybe. What about her heart and mind? In that sense, will she ever be the same again, after what Draco and my ... cousin have done? Will there even be a point to punishing them if we end up not being able to help her?"

"Harry, don't talk like that. Of course we can help her!" Hermione shot back. "There's got to be a way! Which reminds me ..." She turned to Malfoy, holding her wand out threateningly. "Hand over my friend now, scumbag, or I hex you into the middle of the next century!"

Draco seemed to take no notice of Hermione's threatening tone, simply turned around and headed for the sliding glass door, as calm as a glass of milk. "If you'll give me a moment, I'll see if Dudley's through yet. If he is, you can have her back."

Draco went through the door; the three outside bobbed up and down in the air on their brooms as they waited. Inside, he noted that Dudley was lying half across Ginny, exhausted yet smiling. It took virtually every ounce of strength Draco possessed to move him off her, even with his wand, and when he did, Dudley grumbled sleepily and reached for Ginny, not wanting to leave her. Draco couldn't blame him, but there were people waiting for her and if he didn't get a move on, they'd likely come in and fetch her bodily, going through both him and Dudley if necessary. He curtly instructed Dudley to dress and get ready to leave, for he was taking him back home.

Draco only knew about undressing girls, not dressing them, so after releasing her, he simply wrapped her in a blanket and carried her out, deciding to put one more dig into Harry by handing her to him. He blushed furiously upon realising she was naked under the blanket. He had had many erotic dreams about such in the course of their romance and they had always left him painfully aroused, but he had never actually seen her that way, nor had he ever gone beyond some tentative caresses, usually consisting of tracing her body through her clothing during their snogging sessions, even as much as he wanted to.

And after this trauma, would she ever want him to touch her again? Especially if she thought he'd already had his way with her? Surely she would know better than to think he would ever assault her as she had been today, but how could he ever be sure, especially if she went through a phase where she was unwilling to even see him, much less talk to him about what had happened?

Just the same, he'd better enjoy holding her while he could; there could come a point where she wouldn't want him near her, much less touching her, after what had happened. Tears misted Harry's eyes as he buried his face in her fragrant hair.

Gin, I'm so sorry this has happened to you ... so sorry that I was unable to prevent it ...but I swear to you on my life, I will see that both Draco and my cousin pay dearly for what they've done to you! I also intend to do everything in my power to make you realize that it was not I who did such horrendous things to you. I would sooner hurt myself than you, sweet Ginny ...

"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione asked when she noted his actions.

"Ginny ... she's ..." He was unable to speak further before once again burying his burning face in his beloved's hair, pressing her tightly to him and fighting back tears of both anger and despair.

"She ... has ... no clothes on?" she accurately guessed. She moved to glare at Draco. "Bring us her clothes now, you lowlife bastard, or I'll go fetch them myself and hex anyone who gets in my way, including you and your partner in crime!"

"One moment," he returned calmly, going back inside and returning shortly afterward, his arms full of Ginny's clothes, including her Quidditch robes. Hermione snatched them away from him and turned to leave, never at any time detecting even a trace of regret or remorse on Draco's part for what he and Dudley had done to Ginny and hating them all the more for it--particularly for what it was surely going to do to Harry in the process of Ginny's healing. And just wait until her parents (and other five brothers) found out what had happened!

"Come on, Harry, Ron. We have better things to do than to continue to waste our time here." Her voice was laced with more hatred and contempt than either of her companions had ever imagined her capable of. But they didn't argue with her, simply turned away and left Malfoy Manor and its hateful residents behind.