Sweet Bondage

Chapter 2: Persuasions

Ginny opened her eyes and resisted the urge to close it again. She was still not used to waking up without seeing her canopied bed at the Gryffindor's Head Girl's room. She couldn't believe it'd been two months since she had graduated from Hogwarts, two months since she took that last train ride taking her away from all that was familiar and comforting. Soon, come September, which was only a few days away, she would be starting her healer training. Yay?

When she got off the Hogwart's Express at King's Cross station, her family was waiting to welcome her; it was quite a turn-out too. Even Harry and Hermione were there, holding hands and clearly in love. Ron, Ron was there to see Luna. How that pairing came about was still a mystery to Ginny to this day. Between Luna's preoccupation with Crumple Horned Snorkacks and butterbeer caps, and Ron's calling her a certifiable head case, Cupid has proved once again its possession of a warped sense of humor.

Despite the noise her family had made that day, Ginny couldn't help but feel that they were keeping something from her; they were so guarded and intense, and seemed to want to rally around her like battle guards. She had not completely believed their denial when she pointed out their weird behavior but she was too wrapped up in her own personal concerns to push the issue. Whatever it was they were anxious about would have to take a backseat to her own worries.

So now here she was, two months later, about to start a new life involving a profitable career, and she was about as enthusiastic with the prospect as she would be watching a flobberworm mate. She wasn't quite sure where this apathy originated and she didn't know how to get out of it. She only hoped it would not linger for too long and affect her training drastically.

Ginny started her morning toilette and finished it hurriedly. It was getting late; she had promised Colin she'd meet with him at the Leaky Cauldron at 10 for a 'meeting' and it was already 9. She hated being late no matter how Colin told her it was all right.

The two months after graduation had been quite an experience for Ginny. After her initial reticence, Colin had finally convinced her to continue posing for him, and to her surprise, she enjoyed herself immensely. She trusted Colin implicitly, despite what she had found out at the Hogwarts Express. Well, there's also the fact that Colin never took a shot of her face that he hadn't expressly asked permission for. He was content with various poses that threw into prominence anything that he was currently being commissioned to shoot; some of the time he just took pictures of her as a lark. He seemed to be quite fascinated with everything else about her body and not just her face. 'Course, that might have something to do with the threat of death via extremely, excruciatingly painful means if he messed up and prints something clearly identifiable. And that was nothing compared to what her six brothers and Harry Potter would do to him should they find out he had seen their sister in all her glory. The prospect was enough to give any man, straight or gay, pause.

Colin had come to her two days after saying goodbye at King's Cross to tell her he had gotten the job at Witch Weekly. Then he had begged her to model for him. On his knees. In the Burrow's kitchen. It took a lot of convincing on her part to keep her brothers from trouncing Colin. They had completely misinterpreted the whole on-his-knees-begging thing and were itching to wring his neck. Even her declaration that Colin was gay didn't dissuade them; her vaunted Weasley temper did, however, and a good thing too. They knew only too well how formidable she could be once she got worked up. Her brother's overblown reaction was what actually egged her on to say yes to Colin, something that she hasn't regretted doing. Colin would always show her the pictures he'd chosen before handing them in to the magazine, another roundabout way of asking permission on his part. To her knowledge, the only pictures that ever made it on print with her face on it were the ones Colin used for his Muggle commissions. She had readily said yes to him when he asked to use some of the muggle pictures he took of her, figuring that since there was no way she would ever venture into the Muggle world for any length of time anyway, it couldn't hurt one bit. Anything to help out a friend was the way she saw it.

She never expected that she'd be earning so well for her modeling too. She had been pleasantly surprised when Colin handed her her fees and insisted she take it; according to him, it was actually pretty low for the usual going rate for models, but since she had only started, Witch Weekly figured they'd discuss about salary increase later on. Her eyes had nearly bugged out when she saw the galleons in the bag. That was nothing compared to her reaction when Colin gave her her 'professional fee' for those Muggle magazines. Who knew Muggles had that kind of money to throw around? According to Colin, many advertisers had chosen her to endorse their products, whatever that meant, and were not hesitant in paying. In short order, she had more money than she knew what to do with, and she couldn't even tell her family. All of her earnings were sitting in her new Gringotts vault Colin had opened for her, slowly earning interest as it was barely touched, and her account in the bank of London was nothing to scoff at as well. She really didn't need to work on another career, but since her modeling was a well guarded secret, she had to have an acceptable, reputable job for her parents to approve of. Thus, the healer program at St. Mungo's.

Ginny took one last look in her mirror, grabbed her emerald jumper and donned it quickly before heading to the kitchens for some breakfast. Most of her brothers had already left, leaving only her mother puttering around in the kitchen.

"Morning, Mum," she greeted her mother airily, then dropped a kiss on her forehead.

"Morning, Ginny. Sit. You're up late today," Molly Weasley responded as she scooped out eggs on her only daughter's plate, then added bacon and toast. "Eat. You're too thin as it is."

"Yes, Mum." Molly was forever complaining about Ginny's slim frame. No matter how much she fed her, she couldn't seem to gain a single pound. And it got worse when she had had her growth spurt. She had despaired of ever having her daughter look healthy, a.k.a. plump.

Ginny hurried through her meal. She loved her mother's cooking and any other time would have loved to linger, but since she was cutting it close with her meeting with Colin, there was no time for her to relish the simple but delicious meal. Swiping the last of the eggs in her plate, she washed it down with the glass of orange juice her mother always keep on hand for her. She knew she preferred it over pumpkin juice.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Molly asked as she watched her daughter gather up her dishes and dump them in the sink.

"I have to meet Colin in less than ten minutes. I couldn't believe I overslept. I hate being late; now I'm probably going to have indigestion, as well," Ginny answered in a rush, before bending down to kiss her Mum goodbye on the cheek.

"Aren't you even going to brush your teeth?"

Ginny stilled halfway through kissing her mother and flushed. "Right."

Molly shook her head as Ginny dashed around and back to the sink to do just that. In no time at all she was finished, kissed her Mum and ready to disapparate.

"Oh, wait, Gin," Molly called before she could disappear. "Don't forget to pick up your robes for your healer training. Mrs. Johnson assured me she'll have it ready by now."

"Okay, Mum," she said before disappearing with a loud 'pop'.

She appeared in the middle of a bustling Diagon Alley and hurriedly walked towards the designated meeting place, weaving around other witches and wizards with grace borne of being a Chaser and having six older brothers to avoid and evade. She was unmindful of the appreciative glances being thrown her way by wizards of varying ages, her long, lithe legs carrying her to her destination quickly. Colin had chosen the newly opened restaurant Platters for their meeting. Ginny had been apprehensive at first since the restaurant was located very near the entrance to Knockturn Alley, but she had to admit to herself that the food there was exceptional. Reservations were hard to come by and only those with the galleons to spare can afford to dine in such a place.

She spotted Colin right away and motioned to him as the maitre d' met her at the door. She obviously passed his scrutiny since he quietly led her over to where Colin was sitting, and left just as quietly. Ginny gracefully settled on her chair and opened her menu. While her breakfast was substantial at the Burrow, she could never say no to Platters' breakfast menus and desserts.

"Sorry I'm late, Colin. Slept in." She turned to the waiter that had appeared by her side and gave her order.

Colin waved away her apology and continued with his cup of tea. "You're just in time. I'm surprised Mrs. Weasley didn't make you eat at home."

Ginny smiled sheepishly. "She did. I just can't say no to Platters' kippers and treacle fudge; I'm addicted."

Colin smiled knowingly. He knew that, of course. Even back at Hogwarts, Ginny was like a human suction machine, eating about as much as her brother, perhaps more, and never gaining an extra ounce for her effort.

"That doesn't mean you have to eat as though you haven't been acquainted with food for weeks. That's not very lady like of you."

Ginny grinned at her best friend. "You're just jealous that I can eat whatever I like." She leaned back on her chair and looked at him smugly. "Anyway, what was so important that you just had to meet with me," she asked, honestly perplexed at her friend's urgency. Colin always took care of the business end of their relationship; it had always been understood that all that would be required of her was her cooperation. That arrangement had worked very well in the past and Ginny couldn't understand what prompted this apparent change now, months after the fact. It wasn't that she had no head for negotiations or transactions of a business nature; it was that she didn't want to.

Colin gently replaced his teacup on the table. Dabbing his lips carefully with a towel to hide the grin that was blossoming on his lips, he cleared his throat. "About that. You remember that shoot we had over at Dover, the one I told you I would try to sell to an American publication?"

Ginny didn't acknowledge that she remembered, just raised her eyebrows at his delaying tactics. Inwardly though, she heaved a sigh of relief that her earlier apprehensions were unfounded. Colin cleared his throat again. "Anyway, I was ready to ship them off when an acquaintance at Elle saw them. And guess what?" Still no response from Ginny. Colin decided to forge ahead. "They want you! Well, at least, they want your pictures. Mr. Moore asked me to pin you down for a series of fashion shoots for their fall season. Isn't that great?"

Ginny could not appreciate Colin's excitement since she had no idea what - or who - Elle was. She tried to recall what she knew about what Colin was talking about but came up blank. Then her eyes suddenly lit up.

Finally, Colin thought as he saw Ginny's face light up in excitement, then he realized she was excited about the food about to be delivered to their table. Typical. All he could do was shake his head.

"You really must control this propensity you have for eating too much, Gin," he advised as he watched her attack the food set in front of her.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ginny answered in between bites, waving her hands at Colin as though to tell him to continue with what he was saying.

Colin sighed. "Anyway, the shoot starts in a week. Everything's been taken care of; all you have to do is show up."

Ginny daintily wiped her lips with her napkin. "You do know I start healer training soon, don't you? Right after my birthday?"

Colin dismissed that reminder disinterestedly. "We'll work around your schedule. It's a good thing you're a witch, traveling to and fro should be a breeze." He took out a folder from his briefcase and handed it to her. "One last thing: I need you to sign on the dotted line. You can read that while you're eating. I went over that myself and everything there's in order."

"What is it?" Ginny asked curiously, barely giving the papers in the folder a glance.

Colin rolled his eyes. "Your contract, of course. Honestly, one could wonder how you graduated at the top of our class."

Ginny just grinned at the exasperated man in front of her. It took a lot to rile Colin Creevey and she delighted in the fact in that he never failed to show her that she could get to him even without trying. "You know you love me," she purred seductively, batting her eyelashes at him, feeling safe in doing so since such wiles was lost on him. She didn't notice that several other wizards may not have the same response, missing the hisses of appreciation and utensils finding purchase on the floor as soon as she flashed her come hither look. Colin didn't.

It took a lot out of Colin to keep from laughing out loud as Ginny continued making faces at him. Poor bastards, they had no chance at all where this witch was concerned. Struggling to maintain a cool and collected face, he tried to assert control over the audacious witch.

"All right, all right, stop that already before you make me lose my breakfast. Honestly, there's just no talking to you."

Ginny pouted and fluttered her lashes even more. Colin couldn't help it, he had to laugh. Reaching across the table, he caught Ginny's face in both his hands and kissed her on the lips, a smirk forming on his lips as he heard several groans and growls from the male patron of the restaurant. Wizards are so predictable, he thought wickedly, as he released Ginny and went back to his seat. The witch was grinning at him unrepentantly.

"Sign it already, we don't have all day you know," he said, once again pushing the papers to her. He handed her a quill and watched bemusedly as she complied, not even bothering to read the documents, once again reminding him of the trust that Ginny had in him and the fact that she couldn't care less about the money that she would be earning with this job. He doubted she even knew how much money she already had in her vaults at Gringotts or at the bank in Muggle London. Somehow, he knew that even if she did, it wouldn't have mattered to her. Suffice it to say, Ginny Weasley was already a very rich woman, and with this new project, she need never worry about her future. She was no Draco Malfoy, not by a long shot, but let's just say that a few more gigs like this one, and she was more than halfway there already. No mean feat for a witch of barely 18.

With a flourish, Ginny finished signing the documents and handed them back to Colin. It wasn't that she didn't understand the intricacies of contract signing, she just had complete faith that Colin would never screw her over. The money involved wasn't even all that important; she knew what she was getting was more than she'd ever have need of so never really bothered to find out how she was doing financially. She was doing this because she knew Colin needed her and she would do anything for him.

"All right then," she said as soon as Colin had put away the documents. "What else have you got for me today?"

"Now we wait for the others to show up," Colin answered nonchalantly, gesturing for a fresh pot of tea to a nearby waiter.

"Others?" asked Ginny, bewildered. "What others?"

"Your birthday's coming up and the girls and myself thought what better way to celebrate it than to go clubbing. Don't worry," he said hurriedly when he saw the look of hesitation cross her face, "I already asked your mother and she said it's all right. You're turning 18, you know, it's about time you live a little, loosen up."

Ginny was still reluctant. "You know I'm not much of a drinker, Colin, and I've never understood the fascination with clubbing. I won't be much fun to have around."

Colin was saved from responding with the arrival of four bubbling girls - Allyson Moore, Kimberly Richards, Dana Shaw and Tara Martins. The new arrivals swooped down on them and occupied the rest of the vacant chairs around the table.

"Have you been here long?" asked Dana as she surveyed the empty plate of Ginny's and the pot of tea on Colin's.

"Not long," Colin replied, winking at Ginny. None of their friends knew of Ginny's 'career', both of them agreeing that it would be asking too much on their part to keep that little fact a secret from her family should the question ever be asked of them.

"So," Allyson said, clasping her hands on the table eagerly. "All set then?" She looked eagerly at Colin. "It's a go on Friday?"

"I don't know guys," Ginny said apprehensively.

"Gin girl, it's gonna be fun, trust us," Kimberly implored, giving her puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah, Gin," Tara asserted, while going over the menu. "We'll make sure you won't forget that night for as long as you live."

"That's just what I'm worried about," Ginny declared. "I trust the lot of you about as far as I can throw you. I don't want to be scarred for life with what you evil people have planned for me."

"Don't you trust us, Gin?" Colin said, putting on a hurt expression on his face. "We'd never do anything to hurt you. Right, girls?"

Four voices assented quickly, too quickly to be of any comfort to Ginny. She just knew she'd regret going with them but she also knew she really had no choice in the matter.

"All right, but I warn you, the minute I get the sense that you're up to something, I'm out of there before you can even say Merlin. Understood?" She gave each of her friends a glare worthy of Mrs. Weasley, only backing down as soon as she got their nervous acquiescence. "Now, where were you planning on taking me, anyway?"

"The Snake Pit."

Ginny's head snapped to Colin, her eyes wide. There was no way -

"Don't look at me like that, I didn't decide on the place, they did," Colin said defensively, wagging his finger at her and pointing to the four other people on their table.

"There's really no other choice, Gin, it's the hottest spot to be. It's the place to see and be seen," Kimberly said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Yes," Dana added excitedly. "Can you just imagine if we happen to see him there that night? I'll just die."

"You die far too frequently, Dana, that surely can't be good for your health," Ginny said flatly. Inwardly, she shivered.

Him, of course, meant the owner of Snake Pit, Draco Malfoy. Malfoy had opened the club right after graduation, surprising everyone when he had ventured out on his own, preferring to earn his way instead of going into the family business. Of course, there was no saying no to Lucius Malfoy; so despite being the owner and operator of a profitable club, he was also his father's right hand man and CEO in training. It really was no surprise when Snake Pit became the premier place to be in only a few months, earning notoriety not only because of the patrons, who were the elite of the wizarding world, the crème de la crème so to speak, but also because of its owner. Admittedly, with his fair coloring and icy grey eyes, Draco Malfoy had become the most desirable bachelor in the wizarding world (after Harry Potter, of course), and most witches, and an equal number of wizards, could be seen fighting for his attention. His being very elusive and preference for Pansy Parkinson's company only added to his allure.

And Ginny was supposed to risk spending her birthday in his club? No way!

She shook her head firmly. "No, there's no way in hell I'm stepping one foot into that den of - of - I can't even find the word to describe that place! I am not spending my birthday in that place!"

"Come on Ginny, let it go. Hogwarts was a long time ago, and the war has long been fought and won. Isn't it about time you got over this hatred you have for Malfoy?" Tara looked at her curiously.

If only I do hate him, my life would be simpler, she thought. Shaking her head, she turned to Tara. "I don't hate him," she said. That's true, she thought privately, I'm in love with the prat. "But it doesn't mean that I'd want to spend any amount of time in a place owned by him where the likelihood of me seeing his gitness is highly probable."

"Why not?" demanded Kimberly. "Give one very valid reason and we'll think of backing down on this. And that whole our-families- are-enemies-therefore-we-are-too doesn't count."

Ginny was trapped and she knew it. There really was no reason, short of telling them she was hopelessly in love with the prat, an answer that was better left unsaid. Come to think of it, they might even insist she go if they knew.

"Why do I have to suffer on the night of my birthday? Isn't it supposed to be an enjoyable time for me?" she whined.

Dana grinned. "But you will enjoy it, Ginny, we promise you that. Have we ever let you down before?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and smirked. "You don't really want me to answer that, do you? 'Coz I don't think we have enough time from now 'til Friday if I have to enumerate the times when you have let me down."

All she received were four identical grins that were unrepentant.

Oh, bugger. "Fine," she relented. "We'll go to that - place. But you don't do anything I don't like or I swear to Merlin I'd hex you so good you'll be picking pieces of yourselves from here to Scotland. Got that?" She didn't quite hear their response, she was too busy trying to avoid suffocation as all four hugged her at the same time, with Colin looking on, grinning like a Cheshire cat. She knew she would be in for it and couldn't wait for Friday to get it over with already. If she had known how that night would end, and the events that would follow, she might not have been so hasty in her wish.