Luna, or the Lethifold?

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money being made, JK is our hero, etc.

A/N: This is based off of Frank Stockton's short story "The Lady, or the Tiger?" You needn't have read that story to understand this one, though. The basic idea for this story is all thanks to Stockton, so consider that an extra disclaimer.

Luna, or the Lethifold?

By Islander

"I think we're surrounded, Ginny," Draco whispered.

"What?" Ginny whipped her head about fearfully. They were halfway across the Hogwarts grounds, hiding in the courtyard by the covered bridge. It was nighttime, and they had made sure to cast Disillusionment charms on each other--how, then, could the Death Eaters know they were here?

"I don't think they've seen us, though," Draco replied, his voice barely edging above the tinkling fountain. He lifted his head slowly above the stone rim surrounding it, his gray eyes gradually filling with moonlight. "Damn!" he swore. "I wish the clouds would come back. Death Eaters all over Hogwarts, the Dark Lord himself in the headmaster's office, all the students dead or captured, and here we are trying to escape when the damned moon decides to come out and ruin everything!"

"We're lucky we were in Hagrid's hut when they stormed the castle," Ginny said, managing a smile in spite of herself. Hagrid had been on a mission for the Order all year, so she and Draco had been using his hut as a fail-proof secret kissing spot where none of the other students would even think of looking. It was much safer than a broom closet or (heaven forbid!) the Astronomy Tower, both of which were favorite locales of Hogwarts' substantial snogging population. "Remember what you did to my ear last time we were there?"

"Shit, woman!" Draco hissed. "We're walking through a minefield of Death Eaters, and all you can think about is what I did to your ear??" Ginny nodded and grinned. "Why the hell did I ever fall in love with you?"

"These things just sort of happen," Ginny said, which was very true. It was strange how fate worked. All her fifth year they had volleyed insults at each other, fiercer and fiercer each go-round. Then one day they had seen Professor McGonagall coming towards them, so to avoid her they carried their argument outside and eventually ended up in Hagrid's hut. Well, they had spent so long trying to outdo each other with insults that nothing they said could shock each other. So Draco had given in to temptation and shocked her by shutting her up with his lips. It was a really violent sort of kiss, with Draco's mouth working furiously against hers while she responded with bruising vigor.

Ginny licked her lips at the memory. Who would have ever thought that all their arguing was just pent-up sexual tension? Okay, so in retrospect it seemed pretty obvious, but nobody else would have suspected it.

"Hello, Ginny?" Draco waved a hand in front of her chocolate eyes. "Where are you?"

"In Hagrid's hut," Ginny replied, "remembering our first kiss."

Draco snorted and glared at here. "Still? When are you going to realize that our lives are in danger? I--I've heard awful things, about new dark creatures they've been harnessing, new ways they've invented to torture us. We not only have to get past these freaks, but their pets as well!"

"Hey!" Ginny said indignantly, giving him a little slap on the wrist. "Don't go dressing me down again, I know what's at stake! I'm remembering that kiss for a reason--it's gonna by my focus, see. It's gonna get us past the Death Eaters alive so that we can relive it again with a million kisses like just it."

Draco's glare melted into a brooding longing. "Think we'll get through this, then? We've still got a quarter-mile to go before we reach the gate."

"Course we will," Ginny said, snuggling up next to him. "We've got our focus, remember: each other."

"And a million kisses..." Draco groaned as she nuzzled into his neck. "Oh Merlin... stop it, witch! I'm about to lose my mind!" And he poked her gently in the side, just enough so that she'd squirm away without letting out a yelp.

"You ready, then?" Ginny said, moving towards the covered bridge ahead of them.

"No, just one more thing," Draco said quickly as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back into him. "I... I need to say something."

"Hmm?" Ginny said as she sunk into his chest, the back of her head tickling his neck.

"I... well, I didn't think I was ready to say this, but now that death seems such a real possibility now, I don't think I can hold off any longer. I, well... I love you."

Ginny grinned hugely and turned around to give him a kiss firmly on the lips. "And I love you, Draco. Now let's get going."

"No... I..."

"Is there more?"

"Well, I don't exactly know how to put it. I don't know if it even matters, but... well, I can't imagine loving anyone but you. If I couldn't be with you, I'd rather die. There's really no other way to say it, so there it is."

"Then why'd you say it at all, Draco?!" Ginny hissed at him. "We're gonna survive this, and you'll be mine forever. Got that? Promise me we're going to get through!"

Draco smiled sadly and shook his head. "I can't do that," he said simply. "C'mon, no use dwelling over it. Let's get this over with."

And they ran quietly towards the bridge. For a minute the moon fell behind a cloud, and they got halfway across the rickety bridge without incident.

That's where their luck ended. A moment later the moon came out again, and a Death Eater at the other end saw them. The alarm was raised, and Draco and Ginny were captured--just like that. Slap, bang, and a bunch of Stunners from all over, and the lovers were on the ground, knocked out cold.

**********

Draco woke up an indeterminable amount of hours later in one of the dungeons. It required a moment for him to take stock of his surroundings, which was hard to do through a smashing headache and what felt like a sprained ankle. He had been stripped of everything--his wand, his cloak, even his clothes. He lay on the cold floor naked, his pale body covered in a latticework of small cuts and thin stripes of blood, and his gaze turned directly upward into a pair of slitted red eyes.

"My Lord!" The address of respect came automatically, even though Draco no longer considered Voldemort to be his superior. He had stopped wanting to be a loyal Death Eater the moment he kissed Ginny for the firs time. Even so, the words escaped from his mouth before he could stop them.

"Master Malfoy," Voldemort whispered, his voice like an icicle--smooth, cold, and sharp. "I confess I do not know what to do with you. I once thought you would be loyal to me, an obedient servant, just like your father. Though perhaps you could have been more--after all, you are a good deal smarter than Lucius."

"I am loyal, my Lord," Draco lied through his teeth. "I've only ever wanted to serve you." Meanwhile, he ran over every scenario he could think of, trying to figure out which was the best to keep him alive long enough so that he could find and rescue Ginny. If it wasn't for her, he didn't mind if Voldemort tortured him to death. But since that wasn't the case, he had to keep alive just long enough to get her to safety. "Just give me a chance, and I'll prove it."

"No, Draco," Voldemort cut him off. "You're not loyal to me, I can see that now. You were only loyal to yourself--you would only do what best benefited your own health and happiness."

"Pardon me, my Lord, but that's not true--"

"Of course it's not!" Voldemort sneered at him. "Not anymore. No, your loyalties have changed. Not towards the Dark, nor towards the Light, but towards a person--a girl. This... blood traitor, Weasley. Don't think I haven't caught wind of the rumors that have been so rampant in this school."

Draco's felt his entire chest constrict as he heard the name of his secret lover. "My Lord..." he whispered, not knowing what else to say. It was true, he'd do anything for Ginny. He was loyal to her, and her alone.

"You want to see her, I suspect?" Voldemort grinned evilly and twirled his wand idly in his fingers. "You want to see your true love one last time?" His face twisted hideously at the word "love", as if it was some foul poison in his mouth.

"I... My Lord..."

"Of course you do."

He couldn't be up to anything good, that much Draco knew already. Voldemort had some sort of evil scheme behind this. He watched as the Dark Lord swept coldly towards the door of the dungeon, then beckoned for Draco to follow.

"But Lord, my clothes--" Draco sputtered, unwilling to leave the room. He felt positively naked without his clothes--literally.

"You won't be needing them," Voldemort cut him off. "Now follow me."

Draco gulped and did as he was told. Taking limping steps on account of his ankle, he headed for the door. Then they stepped out into the hall, where Draco tried to ignore the frigid draft that bit at his bare skin. It was impossible to ignore, however, because it seemed to go deeper than that. The iciness descended straight into his chest as he tried and failed to forget just what Voldemort could do to him and Ginny.

Minutes later they reached a circular room, dimly lit and a bit dusty, but surprisingly clean and dry. Across from the entrance were two doors, both made of unassuming, solid oak. They looked so dull that Draco figured they merely led to storage closets or some other such boring place.

From next to the entrance Draco heard a ragged cry. He spun around and saw Ginny, chained to the wall by the wrists. Her dress was tattered and hung in strings, just like her brilliant red hair. A bruise grew on one of her eyes, and a gash dripped blood down her left leg. Though she was rather a sorry sight, Draco had still never seen an image that made his heart race more than it did now.

"GINNY!" Draco cried. His heart swelled with hope at the very sight of his girlfriend. He tried to run to her, but Voldemort froze him with a wave of his wand.

"No, Draco," he said, a hint of a laugh creeping into his silky voice. "You are not to touch her. In fact, this is the last time you will ever see her."

~~~~~

Ginny's heart broke with those words, though she already knew them to be true. But what made her soul shatter a second time was the look of pure despair in Draco's eyes when he realized the same thing. She only wanted to hold Draco one more time, to tell him she loved him. But--chained and Silenced--she couldn't.

"You see, Draco, you are loyal only to the Weasley girl," Voldemort said smoothly. "We need to destroy that loyalty if you are to join me."

"No..." Draco moaned. "Please, my Lord, I beg you, don't kill her..."

"Who said anything about killing her?" Voldemort said. "Of course, once this meeting is over, I'll take her over to my servants, so that she may... serve them, which I'm sure she'll do adequately. Who knows how soon she'll die from all that serving? A day, a month, a year?" Voldemort grinned, but it was so full of malice and so devoid of joy that it looked more like a skeleton's grimace.

"As for you, Draco, I have only now decided what is to be done with you. Do you deserve a second chance? And if I give it to you, will you remain loyal?"

"Anything, my Lord, just don't hurt--"

"Silence." Voldemort didn't raise his voice above a conversational level, but Draco immediately stopped speaking and huddled on the floor, his knees drawn up to his chest to cover his nakedness. "I am going to give you a second chance."

Draco looked up at Voldemort, his eyes alight with a sudden hope. "You will, my Lord?" Ginny could read his eyes so well. Already she could see him planning a way to use this second chance to his advantage, so that he might try to save her. He was a Slytherin, after all, and Ginny had never been more grateful for this than she was now. But oh, it wouldn't work! Try as he might, nobody could scheme better than Voldemort!

"I will, Draco," Voldemort answered, his smile twisting in one corner of his mouth. "See those two doors? One holds a lady, a prisoner of war. If you walk through her door, she shall become your wife, and you two shall serve me forever. She is, of course, Pureblood."

Draco's face fell as he realized the implications that Ginny had known for the past few hours now. If he married that prisoner of war, it would separate him and Ginny more completely than anything else besides death itself. His arms shook as he whispered, "And--and the other door?"

"A Lethifold," Voldemort answered him. "A shadow creature, lethal and efficient. The only way it can be repelled is with a Patronus, but you appear to be without a wand. Naturally, I have one to protect myself and the girl, but you shall not have that luxury. If you open its door, it will kill you."

"My Lord..." Draco sagged to the floor, his pale, bare legs stretching across the stone. "What do you want to me do?"

"Choose," Voldemort said. "This shall be your second chance. If you choose rightly, you shall live with your trophy wife at my service forever. If you choose wrongly, you shall stand no chance against the deadly beast, which will most certainly eat you alive." He grabbed Draco by the shoulder and jerked him up. The blond Slytherin stumbled to his feet, his chest heaving in-out, in-out as his eyes dilated frantically at the two doors.

A trail of tears ran from Ginny's eyes and fell to the hard stone floor beneath her. She knew which door held the Lethifold. And she knew which witch lay behind the other--she had seen two masked Death Eaters drag her in earlier. It was Luna Lovegood behind that door, stripped of her clothes and very shaken, but awaiting her fate with the unfazed patience that only Luna possessed.

So which would it be? Draco turned around and met Ginny's gaze. It only took a second to exchange everything their eyes told each other. Draco saw that Ginny knew, and she saw that he knew she knew. Now he was waiting for her to make the choice, and all she saw in his eyes was complete trust.

Why me? she cried to herself. Fuck, why do I have to do this?

Luna, or the Lethifold? Those were her two choices.

What had Draco said right before his capture? "I can't imagine loving anyone but you. If I couldn't be with you, I'd rather die." Was that still true? Had he yet lost hope? Could he possibly bear being with Luna until he rescued Ginny?

He's not going to rescue me! Ginny told herself sternly. Voldemort's made sure of that! Whether Draco's lost hope or not, I have. He's never going to rescue me, however hard he tries. Isn't it, then, my duty to make sure he dies, just as he wished?

But she couldn't bear to sentence him to death! It would break her soul in half to see the shadow descend silently upon her lover. The silent beast--the Living Shroud, some called it--would cover Draco completely, then consume him whole. When the shadow lifted, Draco would be gone, and no mark would be left on the floor to signify his past presence. To see him there, then gone, just like that, would be unbearable.

Perhaps he could save her. Perhaps Draco would be lucky enough to find a way past Voldemort's machinations. Then he'd rescue her from her place amongst Voldemort's servants.

The thought suddenly sent her heart cold. Just now it sunk in what Voldemort's minions would do to her. They were going to defile her, make her worthless. Could Draco ever love her after that? Even if he could, she still wouldn't deserve him. She could never give herself to Draco in such a humiliating condition.

And if she chose Luna... The batty Ravenclaw would walk calmly through the doorway and up to Draco, and they would meet. Ginny would not be able to bear seeing their first naked embrace, however chaste it could possibly be. To see her lover in the arms of another woman would kill her. Draco was hers, and she wouldn't let anyone take him away from her! Not even Luna Lovegood, who she had rather liked these past few years. Besides, Draco said himself that he couldn't imagine loving anyone but Ginny.

But what if he's wrong? Ginny questioned herself. I'm his true love, but what if someone can have more than one true love? Over time, could Draco grow to love Luna as much as he loved me...more than he loved me, even...? It would torture him at first, but in the end he would thank me for saving his life.

And if she was wrong? If she was forcing him to live with a woman he couldn't love after all...?

"Choose, Draco..." hissed Voldemort. But Draco didn't move--he was still waiting for Ginny to give him a sign.

Luna, or the Lethifold?

Fuck, why did this choice have to come to me? She meant to moan these broken words, but the Silencing charm kept them locked in her burning throat. Neither choice leads to the right path! Did Voldemort set this up on purpose, knowing that I couldn't bear it?

"Draco..." Voldemort's voice grew more menacing.

She had to choose.

Luna, or the Lethifold?

Tears soaked Ginny's cheeks to the point of being raw. She made her choice. Still looking at Draco, she gave one nod--so slight that Voldemort didn't see--one single nod towards one single door.

With no doubt in his eyes, Draco headed for that door, a pale vision in Ginny's tearing gaze. His hand closed smoothly around the round doorknob, and he opened it. She closed her eyes to block out what she knew would be an unbearable sight.

But which did she choose--

Luna, or the Lethifold?

A/N: This is my first Draco/Ginny fic. I actually hate the ship. I also hate Draco/Hermione and Draco/Harry, though I confess I've read a small handful of fics in each ship that I've enjoyed. So why did I write this fic as Draco/Ginny? It served the story, really; most people write a story to serve the ship, but I try not to go that way. It's not like I was a huge Pomfrey/Harry shipper before I wrote "Not Much to Look At" or a huge fan of the ship I wrote for "About the Father of Ginny's Baby"--it's just that, when the idea comes, it comes, and I have to just follow along. The idea came for this story, and I've never imagined any other ship in Draco/Ginny's place.

This upcoming semester is going to be a really busy one--I have college applications, scholarship applications, a graduation project involving a product and a 7-minute speech, and a piano concerto competition. I'll likely lay off both fanfiction AND original writing for that time, except for stuff that'll serve the work I have listed above. But all this will be out of the way come the end of January, so expect me back soon after that!

Oh, and please review. Thanks!

Islander