Rating:
R
House:
Schnoogle
Characters:
Draco Malfoy Ginny Weasley Harry Potter James Potter
Genres:
Romance Mystery
Era:
Multiple Eras
Stats:
Published: 10/21/2001
Updated: 10/02/2002
Words: 143,884
Chapters: 17
Hits: 70,312

All You Need Is Love

MochaButterfly

Story Summary:
Ginny and Draco wake up one morning to find themselves in a totally different world. The year is 1607, Draco is Prince of Wales, Ginny Princess of England, and they're Muggles. Everything's different, but the worst thing is they're . . . engaged.

All You Need is Love 14

Posted:
07/20/2002
Hits:
2,556

Chapter Fourteen

The Dumbwaiter

At first, Draco thought the barn was empty. He was glad for it too, so no one would stop him. Until he remembered he was unsure how to saddle a horse.

How hard can it be? he asked silently, trying to reassure himself. It had to be very hard, though, if he didn't even know where the saddles were kept in the first place.

"Your Majesty?"

Draco managed not to leap in surprise, and instead gritted his teeth. He turned and saw the very same dirty girl who had helped him only days before.

"I - I didn't expect anyone to come out here," the girl said quickly, noticing his body tense from extreme irritation. "I thought the palace was sealed - off by the guards-"

"It is," Draco said shortly. "Go get Jack ready to ride for me, will you?"

She swallowed thickly, fidgeting but not making any attempt to do his bidding. Clearly troubled by what she should do, she told him softly, "Her Majesty Lavinia has sent orders to everyone not to let any royal member off the castle grounds -"

"She's not the Queen anymore," Draco snapped. His tone was harsher than he intended, and the young girl flinched. Quieting down a bit, he went on. "Or haven't you heard? Ginny's queen now. I'm the king. I overrule whatever Lavinia says."

She started to curtsy a bit clumsily. "Yes, Your Majesty, but -"

He interrupted her for a third time, loosing what little patience he had. "Just do it!" he ordered loudly.

The girl gasped and jumped at his abrupt anger, then nodded quickly. In a moment she'd spun on her heel and disappeared into one of the stalls at the end of the stable.

Draco felt a little pang of guilt as she scurried away. It wasn't really her fault that Laviniawas such a pain in the arse - she'd just been relaying the orders she'd been given. Besides, she didn't deserve to be ordered around. The poor girl was so thin she looked as though a slight breeze would blow her away.

He then scowled at himself. I'm going soft, he realized, noticing the sympathy he was feeling. That was just the way it worked; he opened his heart to one person, and dozens of others rushed to get in.

It was all Ginny's fault. If she hadn't managed to squeeze her way into his soul and plant herself there, like an annoying smudge on a shiny new broomstick, then nothing would be wrong. Well, actually, a lot would still be wrong, but at least Draco would still have control over his emotions. At the moment he wanted to rip Tom's lungs out at the very mere thought of him doing something to hurt her. Every time he pictured what Harry had described (Tom carrying a white bundle over his shoulder) it caused his heart to race and his mind to focus on only one thing: bringing Ginny back to the safety of the castle. No matter how hard Draco tried to tell himself otherwise, this clearly was a sign he cared for her. She'd ruined everything he had stood for and represented, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.

The stable girl came back a few minutes later carrying a saddle that seemed to weigh twice as much as she did. She struggled to carry it, and Draco - damn his soft heart - rushed to help her. She gave him a tiny smile of thanks, and led them to Jack's stall.

"Show me how to do this," Draco told her, referring to saddling a horse.

He began to regret his request when the girl began to saddle Jack much slower than if she weren't demonstrating. She even explained about the rein and bit. All in all, it probably took five minutes, but every minute counted for something and each one wasted brought Ginny that much closer to her death.

Finally the task was done. Draco glanced at the girl one final time while she fondly stroked Jack's neck. She really was rather skinny, and what with the threadbare clothing and no shoes she was wearing, she had to be cold.

Cursing himself, Draco dug into his pockets to produce a handful of coins he carried around. Even in this world he had to have money in his pocket. Making a grunting noise to get her attention, he gestured for her to hold out her hand. Her mouth dropped open as she obeyed, watching with eyes the size of Galleons as he dropped all the money he had into her palm.

"Your - Your Majesty, I cannot -" she began sputtering.

"Just buy yourself some shoes," he said gruffly, avoiding her stare. "Don't tell anyone I gave it to you."

She nodded, swallowing thickly, and grasped her fingers around the coins.

"Well? Are you going to move out of my way?" Draco demanded.

She quickly moved to the side, but he could feel her smiling at him as he mounted onto the saddle with minimal struggle. He hoped he was finally getting the hang of getting on and off horses. However, it would be a very useless skill, as he had no desire to return to his world and take horse riding lessons.

Draco dug his heels into Jack's flanks and the horse cantered out of the barn, back into the frigid December air. Night was falling rapidly - it seemed Draco had a tendency to try and save Ginny whenever it was going to be dark shortly. It was a habit he would have to grow out of, he knew. Or even better, a habit that he would never like to form.

Now that he had a horse and could leave the castle, he wasn't sure where to head. Tom could've gone anywhere, and easily covered his tracks. Still, Draco decided to go back to the one door that wasn't guarded, hoping to find some sort of path Tom might have used when escaping.

Just to Draco's good luck, he found hoof prints in the snow, at the edge of the forest near the stairway outlet to the secret door. He followed the path with his eyes, and found it went deep into the woods.

So far, it seemed like a good plan to just follow it and see where it got him.

Gripping the reins in his rapidly-freezing fingers, trying to burrow his neck deeper into his doublet collar, he nudged Jack once more into a flat out gallop, hoping the ride wouldn't be too long.

* * *

Consciousness came slowly to Ginny, and the first time it did, her vision wasn't clear. She had the sensation she was bobbing up and down, almost jerkily, and wondered what on earth could be happening to her.

It took her quite a few moments to realize she was on a running horse, sitting up, with both legs on one side, and leaning back against someone's firm and warm chest. Not fully realizing or remembering what had caused her to be here, she let her eyelids fall back closed, feeling a false sense of security.

When she awoke again, she grasped what was going on and blinked the drowsiness from her eyes quickly. She rubbed her face, thought a moment on her last memory, and hurriedly sat up.

The room she was in was dim, there being no candles, and only darkness penetrated the windows. She was able to see clearly enough, though, because her eyes adjusted easily.

She was on a large bed, but it had no bedcovers - it was a plain mattress. Up against one wall was a large wardrobe. Opposite that was a rather unattractive boarded-up spot in the stone wall, as if someone incredibly strong had punched a hole through it and had yet to fix it. Its appearance didn't bother Ginny at all because she was far too worried about where she was and how she would ever get out.

She pushed herself to the side of the bed, glanced down at herself, and found she was still wearing her ridiculously fluffy wedding dress. The corset still pinched her waist irritably.

Trying to clear her head from the aftermath of the potion, she stood and took a few steps around the large empty, room. Vertigo bothered her only for a moment, and she hoped that meant that whatever ingredient had been in the potion Maria gave her had lost its effect.

Maria! Ginny thought suddenly. It had been her maid the entire time! She had been thinking herself into migraines trying to figure out who on earth would help Tom commit such heinous crimes, and Maria had never crossed her mind. Not once. Not even remotely.

The one person she figured she could trust in this world had been stabbing her in the back the entire time. And now she was here, in this room, and - Ginny tried the door - locked in; imprisoned. Tom had her just where he could use her and she had no hopes of escape.

There were only two windows in the room, both high up, at least a foot above Ginny's head. She clambered onto the bed to see outside, but the only thing in her field of view was dark blue sky. When the wind blew, a few bare branches would wave and scratch against the glass.

Well, so she was high up. It didn't mean she couldn't somehow break the window and jump down . . . and break both my legs and be writhing helpless in the cold, she added vulnerably. Even if she did manage to find something to smash the glass, she would have trouble climbing up to the ledge.

The windows were definitely an option she could cross off her list.

Hopping off her bed, managing to keep from stumbling over her skirt, she returned to the door and tried it again. The knob was locked firmly no matter how hard she tried to twist it. At that moment she wanted her wand more than anything in the world.

The knob was an option she could cross off as well. She placed her palms on the heavy wood of the door and pushed, just to see how strong and sturdy it was. It was like rock. It didn't budge at all.

Frustration and fear filled her throat, and she let out a short scream. Balling her hands into fists, she pounded on the wood, hearing the thuds soften and quiet in the depth of the door.

Why wasn't anything going right? She was either going to be a pawn in a wicked scheme of Tom Riddle's, or she was going to be killed. Here. Away from her family - in an entirely different planet, where the one person who even showed caring for her being the one she'd despised her whole life: Draco Malfoy. Why was it happening to her?

She hadn't done anything to deserve this. Despite the fact she knew she couldn't best her older brothers because they had done anything and everything that could be considered an honor at Hogwarts, she had tried her hardest at schoolwork, and done well enough. She hadn't been made prefect or Head Girl, and she hadn't made her house Quidditch team, and she wasn't wildly popular by any means. But she'd had a few good friends and she was perfectly content. She hadn't intentionally hurt anyone, even those few Slytherins who still enjoyed making fun of her for being a Weasley. She'd done everything as she should have, and still she was in the worst situation imaginable.

And there was no hope at all of getting out. It would almost be best if Tom killed her.

Ginny moved away from the door and fell down onto the bed, burying her face into the mattress and letting go the flow of tears she'd held back for the past three weeks. It almost helped ventilate the pain and sorrow she felt - almost.

She had been crying so hard she didn't hear the door open. She felt a breeze of cool air and felt as if someone was in the room, and sat up hastily. Tom had stepped in carrying a candle and its holder, with Maria behind him. Contrary to the expression that had been on her face when she'd left Ginny with the potion, she now looked positively thrilled. Her dark eyes sparkled with a malevolent light, and the corners of her mouth were curled into an arrogant sneer.

How could she have changed so suddenly?

Ginny felt like she had no energy left. She sat limply and stared at them both, waiting for them to say something. The door gaped open behind Maria, but Ginny made no move to run past them. It would be useless.

Maria obviously thought she might try to bolt, so she shut the door in a hurry when she noticed it was still ajar.

"What's this about?" Ginny asked tonelessly. "If you're to kill me, then just get it over with."

"I'm not going to kill you," Tom answered instantly. He, too, looked pleased and had what resembled a grin on his face. "If I were to kill you, I would've had Maria do it ages ago."

Ginny's eyes flicked to Maria, who was still in her maid uniform. Somehow, she seemed larger now, dangerous . . . even the uniform did nothing to hide the fact.

Tom, too, was looking at Maria. "Leave," he snapped at her.

She nodded, casting one last hard glance on Ginny, and left the room.

"I've brought you here because you need to help me," said Tom once the door was shut firmly. He placed the candle beside the wardrobe, and then crossed the room and sat beside her on the bed. The mattress sunk lower with his added weight, causing Ginny to slide a bit closer to him. Placing her hands down, she moved away, not liking the feel of his body so near her. "You and Draco both," he added smoothly.

Ginny lifted her eyebrows, and couldn't help but be slightly interested enough to ask, "Is he here? Did you bring him here too?"

"No," Tom replied, and the flicker of hope died in Ginny's chest. "But he will be here shortly. I was sure to leave plenty of clues for him to follow."

Ginny felt guilty for wanting Draco beside her, for wanting him to be put at jeopardy with her, but she couldn't help it. Praying that Draco was indeed coming, she went ahead and demanded, "Where are we?"

"Another castle," Tom said simply. "It's not very far from the one you've been living in. But Muggles can't see it."

At the familiar word Ginny's heart leaped ever so slightly. "Muggles?" she repeated. "We're - I'm magical?"

"Of course," he told her, looking almost angry with her for not thinking such before. "Even I can't take the magic from you and Mr. Malfoy's bodies. I just made sure you did not have your wands in this world with you."

"But . . ." Ginny trailed off, unsure of how to word her thoughts. If she was magical, then why hadn't Lavinia's eyebrows vanished when Ginny became furious with her? Why hadn't her dress caught fire? Why hadn't the little signs - the signs that she grew up with before she bought her wand when she was younger that proved she was indeed a witch - occurred at all? "Why hasn't anything happened?" she finished weakly, hoping that Tom would understand what she meant and explain.

He did. Smiling almost serenely, he said, "I can control some of your magic. I've always been nearby, Ginny, when you were never aware. Especially when you were with your mother. I knew you were hostile towards her. I made sure that your magic spurred by anger was kept under control."

Ginny bit her lower lip, disappointed. Well, what did it matter? She had no wand - there was no way she could do big magic to save herself anyway. Still, it gave her the creeps to think that Tom had always been watching her.

"Why don't you just tell me," Ginny began, "why you brought Draco and me here. I think it's rather unfair to keep us here without us knowing."

"Who said anything about being fair?" Tom said. "There is no fair. There is only what I do. You can't change anything, and fate can't change anything. Only I can. Here, in my world, you belong to me."

It was almost as if Ginny were washed with a sudden wave of being eleven years old again, and writing in her perfect diary and talking to perfect Tom. He had owned her then, she had belonged to him, and she hadn't even known it. Now she did, and there still wasn't anything in her- or anyone else's - control that she could do. It seemed worse knowing she was older and was more capable of handling herself, and that she just couldn't possibly do such a thing. It felt like a snake was writhing in her insides, to the point where she felt she needed to vomit.

The feeling of nausea passed, and Ginny forced herself to meet Tom's eyes again. He was smiling knowingly at her, playing with her mind and trying to get her to believe he could see inside her skull and read what she was thinking. She tried not to fall for it.

"Just tell me why we're here," she said in a hoarse whisper.

"Well, this makes for a wonderful story," Tom said, standing up and turning to face her. "It's one of my rather brilliant moves, I believe, much like the diary you were fortunate enough to find in your first year."

"This has nothing to do with the diary," Ginny spat, only hoping what she was saying was truthful.

"Not directly," Tom said delicately. "It is a similar concept.

"When I was rising to power," he began, staring blankly at a spot above her and out the window, "during Harry Potter's fifth year, I knew there was a strong chance I could be reduced to what I had been for years. As it is apparent, Ginny, I have no desire to return to that state of . . . of weakness. So, to avoid such happenings, I developed one of the most complex things in wizarding history - the most complex, rather. No one has done it, and no one probably ever will again. No one is powerful enough."

"What is it?" Ginny interrupted, impatient.

Tom ignored her. "It took me a good two years to fully complete it. I was lucky to finish it before Harry Potter finished me in reality. Of course, when I'd created it, I hadn't even perceived I would die. I just suspected I'd loose use of my body for a short while.

"Either way, this world I've created serves the purpose. It took me quite a few months to decide who I would use as my players in my Game, as I like to call it."

Game? Ginny thought faintly. This is a game to him?

"I decided on you, Ginny, because I've controlled you before," he said matter-of-factly, the chill in his voice running through Ginny's body like ice. "Once you've been controlled, it is very simple to be so again. You were an easy choice.

"But where power is concerned, you have none. In the wizarding world, no one fears you or respects you. Your name is even very rarely known. So I needed someone else, someone who could aid you and help you - or rather, us - on our way to have power over everyone in the world."

So far, he was making absolutely zero sense. Ginny almost cut in, but decided he sounded nowhere near done, and let him finish.

"Then, one day, it came to me. The Solution had been right under my nose. One of my faithful and useful followers had a son who attended Hogwarts and was graduating soon. He had yet to be initiated as a Death Eater, but had plans on doing so on his twentieth birthday.

"I told no one of the creation of my world, of course, and my Death Eater did not need to know I was going to be using his son. I am used to getting what I want, Ginny, without having permission." Ginny thought he was stating the obvious, but didn't reply. "So now I had my players, and my world was well along being created. I just managed to finish it before that June night in 1998 when Harry Potter escaped my clutches one final time, taking my life. It was fortunate I had completed it, because now, it is my only key to regain my power."

There was a long stretch of silence, and Tom went on staring out the window. Now Ginny was even more puzzled. He hadn't explained anything that made any sense whatsoever.

"I don't understand," she said bluntly.

He fixed his gaze on her, his expression unreadable. He looked far away, deep in his thoughts.

"How did you make this world? How could you put us here?" she fired quickly. She almost liked him when he was angry, because at least he wouldn't keep staring at her in that weird way, like he was looking through her.

"Dark Magic," Tom said quietly. "Months and years of difficult, complex, mind-boggling Dark Magic that no one but I, as Lord Voldemort, could do. When I had created an entire atmosphere, an entire place where someone could live and not know the difference between it and the real world, I added my players. My pieces. Which would include you, Draco, myself . . . and Maria."

"Maria?" Ginny had almost forgotten about her. "She's magical, as well?"

Tom gave a short laugh, and his eyes focused a bit more on her. "No, she is not real. I created her specifically. Everyone else in this world - besides Harry Potter - was made by chance. Maria, however, served a purpose. She would aid me, without knowing anything about me, to help me get you. She still thinks you a queen, in fact."

Ginny's head was swimming, and it caused a headache to even begin to sort out what he was saying. "So . . . why is she helping you? Because you're controlling her?"

"No, she is doing this voluntarily," he said with a twisted smile. "She loathes the sight of you, Ginny

But . . . why? Maria had seemed to love her, as much as a servant was allowed to love their charge. Why had she acted so differently than she felt?

"Maria thinks this world is her world, and that there is no other," he said.

"When making this world," he added, "I made an entire universe that seems like reality to those who live in it. The people who actually do live in it and think it is all that there is . . . they were just created by random. Do you follow me?"

Ginny stared, trying to figure things out. Her brain was still heavy from the potion she had drunk. Still she attempted to sort what he was saying. "Is it sort of like if you want a certain color, and you want blue, it doesn't matter if the blue is royal or light or denim as long as it's the color blue?"

Tom nodded slowly. "Almost.I see the connection you are trying to make. By making this place, I used my magic to create two kings, a queen, and a young princess. How they turned out was not my doing. Their personalities, their features . . . complete chance."

Ginny thought she understood. It wasn't rational, but it made sense in a way.

"As for Harry Potter, I added him into this world only to make it . . . difficult," Tom went on. "I remember very well how much you adored him in your first year. I knew that if he hated you, it would make everything harder. I didn't want you to become too comfortable in your role as royalty."

Ginny snorted in disbelief. Even without Harry her role wouldn't have been close to easy.

"So I had my own world that was completely made by magic, and I had those who I wanted to put in the world, and not know how they came to be here. The moment Potter killed me, my spirit left the real world and came here. Into my former human body, the body of Tom Riddle. I spent the summer and fall months building my magical abilities, becoming as powerful as I was as Lord Voldemort in the real world."

He paused and stared at Ginny, forcing her to look directly at him. "I am the only one in this world who can do magic, Ginny," he said softly, and reached into his trouser pocket. A moment later he removed his wand.

Ginny gaped almost hungrily at it. Parts of her itched to jump on Tom and wrestle him to the ground and take it from him, but she knew she would loose. And if she did win it, then what? She didn't know any possible spell that could take her out of this world. She was stuck.

"Even though I was dead in your world," said Tom, continuing his story, "I was alive here. It was only a matter of time before you and Draco would come and join me."

Ginny hurried to interrupt. "But what about the time before we came here? Who was in our place? When we came here, people knew us as the Princess and Prince, but if this world had been going on before we even arrived, then how -"

"Another magic feat I was able to accomplish," Tom answered with a tiny smile. "When I had finally managed to become powerful with magic once more, I was able, on the date I desired to do so, bring you here from within this universe."

"Yes, that's all very well, but you still haven't answered my question," Ginny told him snappishly.

Tom didn't react to her annoyed tone, but he did reply to her question. "Since everyone here is my work, my creation, I can control their minds and how they think and what they remember. I had them go to sleep one night, your parents thinking they had no children, everyone in the palace thinking they only had a King and Queen to look after, and then had them wake up with an entire memory of you and who you are and what you were like. The same thing applied with Mr. Malfoy. It wasn't easy; I'll admit that to you, Ginny. No one but someone very powerful could have done it. And in this case, I happen to be the only one who fits that title."

"So you just put false thoughts into people's minds?" Ginny demanded. Actually, she was rather impressed. Her brothers Fred and George had always been looking for ways to magically place Potions facts into their brains so they'd know it on their exams, but they - or anyone else, for that matter - had never been able to do such. From what Ginny had heard, it was impossible.

But Tom had basically done it.

Still, she had to ask, "If you can control everyone here, then why were you so afraid that I would do magic in front of Lavinia? If I had, couldn't you just have erased her memory?"

"Of course I could have, but changing how one thinks and what one remembers takes time. I do not have time to waste," Tom added a bit dramatically. "It was much easier just to make sure she didn't witness any magic."

"And you don't reveal to Maria what you really are?" Ginny pressed. "You don't let her witness your magic, either?"

Tom grinned dryly. "She shall find out soon enough. I know she will. But it's working well so far without her knowing anything, so I'm satisfied."

Ginny frowned at him, but let him continue.

"The day after I brought you and Draco here, I was trying to devise some sort of way I could get into the castle without having to be a servant. Then news spread quickly that you were sick, and it was the perfect excuse to get in the castle with you." Tom looked incredibly pleased with something, perhaps himself.

"You made people believe they'd heard of you and that you were a world-famous doctor?" pressed Ginny.

"Yes. And of course if they thought they knew me, and thought they'd heard all about me, then the King and Queen were very eager to let me in to the castle and remain, even after I'd cured you," he said.

Ginny nodded, but she still had a million other things she wanted to ask. It was becoming clearer, though not everything was evident yet. "Why this time period?" she settled on saying first.

"If I were to place you in a world of Muggles," said Tom silkily, "then I did not want it to be in the twentieth century. I wanted something ancient, something primitive, where Muggles didn't have any motorized vehicles or electricity . . . I also wanted to place you in a role of supreme power. This date in history seemed best for what I wanted to achieve."

Ginny nodded once again, and glanced down at the floor. It was then she realized he hadn't told her the most important thing of all - why he had chosen her and Draco to come back with him. When she asked him this, his eyes took on that glazed look once more, and he spoke lazily.

"I am dead, Ginny. In the time, and the world, that I need to be in, I am dead. I need a body to use, and carry out my plans that I never had the chance to finish. I still need to kill Harry Potter, and I have yet to rule everything. And being dead, I can't do this without help."

"And you expect me to help you?" Ginny scoffed.

"You don't have a choice," Tom said nastily, sneering. "My power surpasses beyond anything you can imagine."

His voice was so cold it was like swallowing ice. Ginny tried not to shiver.

"I no longer have a body in the future," said Tom, continuing his explanation. "I have no spirit or existence of any sort. But here I do. Here, I am almost human. And I have brought you here specifically to help me have an existence during the time I need it - nearly four hundred years from now.

"I will put my soul, my life into your body, Ginny," Tom said chillingly. "When I controlled you with my diary, I used your strength to help form my own body. But since I am dead, that will not work this time. Now, in order to survive in the future, I shall use you. In a way, you will be dying. With my soul within your body, Virginia Weasley will no longer exist, but I will. And much like I had done on my rise to power, I will use magic to transform myself - or rather, your body - into a fearsome creature, one that all wizards, witches, Mudbloods, and Muggles will fear. I'll be Lord Voldemort once again."

Ginny just barely managed to ask in a trembling voice, "Why me?"

Tom shrugged nonchalantly. "I have already told you this. I've controlled you before. The moment my soul enters your body, your soul - that has already been weakened by me six years ago - will vanish, much like a flame being blown out. Anyone else, any other person who I had not yet conquered, would struggle to live for at least another year. I would be sharing their body with them, and I chose not to do so. You are the best choice, and with help from young Mr. Malfoy, you will definitely serve the right purpose for what I am going to do."

Ginny blinked, thinking for a moment that it was the after-effects of the potion blurring her vision, but finding it was tears. Aghast that she would cry in front of Tom, she hurried to wipe them off with the back of her hand. "How will Draco help?" she asked quietly, staring down at her lap and avoiding his gaze.

"He has more power than you, Ginny," Tom said, in almost a whisper. "People cringe when they hear the name Malfoy, do they not? His father is respected by all of my most faithful followers, and the only reason I did not choose to bring Lucius here was because I knew that Draco has far more will, far more energy do to what I wish."

"But how could he help?" Ginny repeated weakly.

"You are nothing extraordinary," Tom said, almost spitting the words as though it was something to be ashamed of. "By myself, with your mediocre powers in my possession, I would not accomplish anything. Draco will help me become just as great as I was when I lived as Lord Voldemort."

"Draco won't do that," Ginny said, using slight force, though not entirely believing what she was saying. "He's not like his father."

"He will help me," Tom said silkily, "if he believes it's what you want."

Ginny snapped her head up to stare at him, and he smiled coldly.

"He's fallen in love with you, can't you see?" Tom whispered. "He will do what I ask of him, if he believes it's you who's asking him. By the time he realizes what is happening, it will be too late. I will be able to continue becoming powerful without his help, and kill him."

Ginny's heart thumped unpleasantly. She began to wish feverishly that she hadn't demanded to know the explanation of why she had been pulled out of her world to come here. The truth was a million times worse than the wondering had been.

She took a minute to try and swallow around the large lump in her throat, preparing to ask him dozens more questions, but he headed towards the door.

"I will send Maria in," he said, his hand on the handle, "but remember, she doesn't know anything."

With a final smirk over his shoulder, he strode from the room, leaving Ginny with her sinking heart and depressed thoughts.

Before she could think much on the matter, Maria hurried in, closing the door. There was a click of the lock from the outside, and Maria, satisfied, walked over and stood before Ginny, much like Tom had been earlier.

"Hello, Your Majesty," Maria drawled.

How could Ginny have ever not noticed how dark her eyes were? Like Professor Snape's, only . . . eviler. Cold, depthless, malicious . . . like perfectly round slabs of icy black rock.

"I suppose you are wondering about a lot of things right now," Maria said with a sickening scowl. "Perhaps why I am working with your doctor to have you killed?"

Ginny instantly assumed the only reason Maria was actually going along with Tom's plan was because she thought they would only murder Ginny. She was hopelessly mistaken, and Ginny would bet ten Galleons that once everything had been done, Maria would be killed.

"He's no doctor," Ginny argued dully, knowing it was no use. "He's a wizard."

"He is brilliant," Maria said smoothly, misunderstanding what Ginny meant by wizard. "I am surprised he kept you alive this long. I would have let you die with that sickness, personally. But this way works, as well. I am going to thoroughly enjoy watching you die."

Ginny was not frightened the least by these threats, knowing a fate far worse was coming to her. She would be the death of Draco, and it would be her body that would wreak havoc once again on the wizarding world. What would her family say? Would they think it was really her?

Still, she was slightly confused as to why Maria had acted so kindly to her before when she'd really wanted to slit her throat in her sleep. So she asked tonelessly, "Why do you hate me?"

Maria threw her head back and laughed, a laugh higher and just as cold as Tom's. She met Ginny's eyes once again and replied, "Hate is not a strong enough word, Ginny. There is no word in the language I can use that would begin to describe my feelings towards you."

"Then why were you so nice to me?" Ginny said shrilly.

Maria's face hardened, and she looked remarkably like a wrinkly old bulldog. Ginny had always thought she was pleasantly plump, but now found her repulsive. "What an idiotic question, you stupid girl. You would have run off and complained to Mummy and dear Daddy about how I was not treating you like a Princess. And I would have been fired in a snap of the fingers.

"I shall tell you this, Ginny - if it were not for the knowledge that someday I would get revenge on you, I would not have stuck around. From the moment you were old enough to talk, you were calling me names, sometimes ordering the cook not to serve me food because I had not hung your dress up properly and caused a few miniscule folds in the silk. I hated it. I only stayed with you because . . ." She trailed off, getting a misty look in her cold eyes, before snapping her eyelids quickly as though realizing she was saying too much. "Well, the point is not why I stayed," she hurriedly said, though Ginny quite disagreed, she thought that was entirely the point, "but what you had me do. You only got worse and worse as you grew older. Finally, I could not stand it.

"It was then I met Tom. He, too, wanted revenge on you, and we formed an incredible plan that will not fail. We will blame your murder on Draco Malfoy. It will be perfect. I can finally do what I have longed to do for so many years."

Maria finished, smiling proudly. Then it faded, noticing the bored look on Ginny's face. Nothing Maria said could affect her. Nothing she said mattered.

"And just to tell you," Maria added in a low, icy tone, "I killed Lily Potter."

The comment was so unexpected Ginny felt her blank expression change into that of interest, and Maria, seeing she had caught her attention, went on.

"It was not Lavinia. I lied and told you, and for some entirely odd reason, you believed me. I thought you knew your mother. She may be incredibly snobby, much like you, but she would never kill anyone. It was I who brought Lily along with me in the forest, and managed, while she was not paying attention, to shoot her full of arrows. It took her very long to die, and she was crying because of the death of her baby, not because she was dying . . . that is the pathetic way Lily's been, always thinking of others before her self . . . But finally she did die, and I was glad. I was glad she was gone."

Ginny, who had gone very white and very numb, gripped a handful of her wedding skirt. Of all the things . . . she had not thought she would hear this. She had figured she'd taken all the surprises she could in one day . . . hell, she'd gotten married not seven hours ago . . . but now she was being told that Maria had murdered Harry's mother.

"However, everyone does believe it was Lavinia who killed her," Maria said. "I was sure to use arrows that the castle guards used. No one suspected me. Just like no one will suspect that I have killed you."

Ginny felt white-hot rage suddenly shoot through her, and she wanted nothing more than to dig her nails deep into the soft, wrinkly flesh of Maria's neck. Before she did anything of the sort, she demanded bitterly through gritted teeth, "Why'd you kill her? Did you hate her, too?"

"I simply loathed perfect Lily!" Maria shouted, her loud voice causing Ginny to jump. "She took everything that ever meant something to me! When I was so sure I was going to be hired as the Queen's personal handmaid, Lily ends up taking the position! When all she had ever done was be a lowly scullery maid, while I had run the chores around the entire castle! And then she married James and had a son and had the perfect family . . . and then, the King chooses her over me! He must have gotten tired of me, and decided that Lily would be more of a challenge, but she did not even want him . . ."

Maria stopped suddenly, once again giving the impression she'd said too much.

Ginny raised her eyebrows, wondering if maybe she'd been mistaken about her parents all along - maybe her father was the one to scorn at, not her mother. It disturbed her to think that he was the type who slept around with his servants.

"Anyway, none of that matters," said Maria with a shiver. "In a few minutes you will be dead, and I will be free of you."

Then she stood abruptly and went to the door, knocking on it. She threw one final glare and scowl back at Ginny before Tom opened the door and let her out. If Ginny had had the energy, she might've tried to escape, but as it was she was feeling like a limp noodle. Seconds later, she was alone and once again locked inside the room.

She sat and stared at the wall trying to go over everything she had learned. After a few minutes her eyelids drooped heavily, threatening to send her into a deep sleep. But she couldn't allow herself to fall asleep; she needed to be awake and somewhat alert. No matter what happened, Tom wasn't invading her body without her giving a good struggle.

Though, she tried to remind herself, she would have more strength if she did sleep . . .

She stood up and began pacing, blinking furiously and trying to think. There were still so many things that needed to be answered . . . like why was Dumbledore here? Ginny was beginning to suspect that maybe Tom didn't know of him. He hadn't explained anything about him. Maybe Ginny should've gone to him when she had first had the chance.

Well, it was too late now. If he was there to help them, the only hope she had right now was that he would come and save her. Still, that prayer didn't reassure her very much.

And what was going on in the future? Was everyone noticing her absence? How would Tom explain her being gone for nearly three weeks?

I can't sit here and wonder, Ginny told herself resolutely, trying to shake off her fatigue. She would have to do something. What use was it to her to pace and think about things she couldn't answer?

She glanced around the room, once again thinking about her options. Window - too far up. Door - too heavy and locked. Walls - too solid to break through, and nothing with which to attempt it. But then there was that boarded up part . . . why was it boarded, anyway?

Ginny stepped up to it, wrapping her fingers around the edge of one of the wood boards. The boards weren't very big - about as long as her arms, and only a bit wider - but they were nailed firmly to the wall. One board was crossed over the rest of them, making it even more difficult.

Ginny frowned. If it was so heavily nailed down, then it had to be hiding something important, didn't it?

She tugged on the top wooden piece, yanking as hard as she could. It moved only slightly. She pulled again. It moved a bit more.

It took her nearly two minutes to pry the top board off, and all she had to show for it were four more boards, and three splinters in her fingertips. Still, she felt proud that she'd been able to yank it out, and started on another.

Several times she stopped her work because she thought she heard footsteps coming towards her door. She knew the next time Tom or Maria came they would be there to perform the "murder".

Once Ginny had gotten an edge board off, she saw it was covering a hole in the wall, only it wasn't one somebody had punched. It was square or rectangular - she could tell by the corners that were visible. Hope swelling within her, she continued.

Another three minutes . . . the third board came off, and only two remained. Inside, the hole was black and she couldn't see anything. She would need to pry the rest off and grab the candle to see what was inside.

About five minutes went by, and finally, Ginny wrenched the final board off. She dropped it to the floor, squinting in the bad light at her hands. They were bleeding - she could feel it - and there were many splinters. Still, she had done what she'd wanted, and was now facing a rectangle in the wall that resembled some sort of compartment.

Ginny retrieved the candleholder and candle that Tom had placed by the wardrobe and hurried back. She stuck the candle into the void and lit up the hole. It took Ginny a second to realize what it was.

It was a dumbwaiter. There was a pulley and rope near the front, and Ginny took the candle out and leaned a hand to grab one of the ropes. Glancing down, she couldn't see anything but endless black. Glancing up, she saw solid rock. She must be on the top floor of the castle.

Beginning to feel some excitement, she set the down candle on the floor beside her and began to pull the rope along. It creaked and groaned; it had evidently not been used in some time, and it seemed to be protesting against being used again.

A few seconds later, Ginny brought the shelf and lined it directly with the ledge of the opening, the pulley the only thing separating the two. She released the rope, and it didn't fall - she'd had to pull on the ropes quite strongly for it to move.

She stood back, and looked around the room once more. The dumbwaiter was her only chance of escape. Tom had boarded it up, and hopefully he wasn't planning on Ginny prying the wood off and using it. Parts of her thought Tom wouldn't be daft enough to overlook such a thing; that if he hadn't wanted her to use it, he would've magically put the boards there so they couldn't be removed at all. But either way, getting out of the room was better than sitting and waiting, and she had to at least try. When she thought about how she'd just flushed the chance away to go and see Dumbledore, she made up her mind; she wasn't going to pass another opportunity for help just because she suspected Tom had something to do with it.

The dumbwaiter was wide enough for her to get in, but only just. Ginny knew instantly she would have to loose the layers of her fluffy wedding dress.

Quickly, she sat on the bed and pulled her flat, square-toed shoes off. That done she stood and tried to reach back and undo her bodice. It took her five tries to finally reach the buttons, and when she did, she found it was at such an awkward position she couldn't unbutton them. Frustrated, knowing that precious time was slipping away from her, Ginny resorted to something she wished she didn't have to do - she tore at the bodice so it would rip apart by the buttons. It took several tugs, but at last she was able to pull it away, revealing her corset.

With some sadness Ginny let her ruined bodice drop to the ground, then, pushing it from her mind as well, began on the skirt. This was easier - there was only one clasp and the frilly skirt slid down to the floor. Underneath it was her hoop skirt, which was also easy to remove. The hoop had really been the only thing holding her back, but she thought it would be easier to move around if she took off her petticoat, and it would be much more comfortable to get rid of her corset.

The petticoat had an elastic waist and was off in a flash; however, the corset was something far more difficult. Maria had always put it on and taken it off for her. There were far too many laces to do by herself, but she found that once she untied the bottom, the ties slid right through their holes and the corset came away.

At last she could breathe.

She was left with her cotton, lace-trimmed white smock and her thick white stockings, which were held up above her knees with annoying garters. Ginny thought it best to keep them on - it was cold in the castle, and they kept her somewhat warm.

After she shoved her shoes back on, the blood from her scraped fingers staining the white satin, she returned to the dumbwaiter. She lowered the shelf a bit so she could climb through the opening and step on to it. She had to hoist herself up - the ledge was about waist-height - but she managed, and within minutes she was seated on the dumbwaiter's shelf, gripping the ropes tightly to keep it from crashing down with her weight.

Ginny threw one last glance at the door and listened. Silence. She would leave now or never.

Taking a deep breath, she began to pull along the ropes. The shelf squeaked and groaned, moving slowly, but it seemed to be able to hold her effortlessly enough. Soon, what light there had been in her room became smaller, and the tiny chute she was in was just about pitch dark.

She wasn't sure where she was going. Half of her was praying the shelf wouldn't give out and have her fall to her death, and the other half was that she wouldn't stop in a room where Tom and Maria were staying.

She found that not all the openings to rooms were open - the rest had shutters, and they were closed. Ginny wasn't paying enough attention and almost passed by the first room she came across. It took her a moment to realize shutters were blocking out the light.

Pausing, she held the ropes and listened. No sounds were coming from within the room. Was it safe to peek out?

Well, she was going to anyway. She pushed the shutters open, and they did so simply. The room was empty of anyone, and it appeared to be some sort of room that hadn't been used in a while. The furniture was covered with ghostly white sheets, giving an eerie feel to it.

"This is my stop," Ginny muttered, happy to have found the first room to be vacant so she could get off the creaky dumbwaiter.

It was a struggle getting off, trying to get past the ropes and hold them at the same time so that the shelf wouldn't fall with her still half on it, but she managed. She fell ungracefully to the floor in a heap, but it didn't matter - she was feeling just about as happy as she ever had in this world. She'd escaped her locked room, she was still alive after the shimmy down the dumbwaiter chute, and she just might be able to leave the castle in time to meet Draco along the way back and warn him.

She tried to forget the fact that even if this happened, she still wouldn't have a way home, and she would be stuck in a world where Tom would be constantly after her.

* * *

The hoof prints in the snow led right to a dark castle, right off the woods. Draco looked up at it, the outline just about invisible against the black sky, and smirked. How perfectly wonderful.

Draco was almost able to smoothly swing his leg over the saddle and jump off Jack, if his foot hadn't gotten caught in the stirrup and sent him crashing to the ground. He bit back a loud curse, afraid someone might hear, and glanced up at his foot still hanging in the stirrup, Jack tossing his head and snorting as if to mock him.

"Yeah, laugh it up," Draco said under his breath, getting to his feet and feeling secretly thankful that he hadn't twisted his ankle or wounded it horribly.

He left Jack at the bottom of the stairs, hoping he wouldn't run away, and went up to the front door. It was heavy and wooden, like much of the doors were in the world. Yet to his surprise, it was open.

Draco stood before the threshold, debating whether he should bring Jack with him. It would be easier to ride in on a horse and maybe, perhaps, trample over Tom before he could manage to shout deadly curses . . . no, Draco though, realizing how absurd it was. He didn't want to put Jack in harms way, because despite the idiot animal having laughed at him when he'd fallen, he'd developed a fondness for him.

So Draco went in alone, closing the door carefully behind him. He had entered a huge foyer, much bigger than the one he had at Malfoy Manor back home . . . it even rivaled the one at Ginny's palace. Still, it was dark, cold, and empty, void of any furniture or signs of life.

Draco found himself hurrying across it.

He had no idea where to head first. For all he knew, he could end up turning a corner and smack right into Tom. He had no desire to do this; he was pretty sure that Riddle would kill him on sight. Or would he?

Maybe, Draco realized, Riddle left those hoof prints in the snow purposely for me to follow.

Well, obviously. Tom wouldn't have been as stupid and forgetful as to erase evidence like that, if he hadn't wanted anyone to know.

Draco went on, shaking his head and murmuring to himself.

He walked around for nearly ten minutes, blank corridor after blank corridor, hearing and seeing nothing. Every so often he'd look into a room, but he knew that if he didn't hear any voices from within, it was empty.

Just when he was about to stop and scream out his arrival to the entire castle, he rounded a corner and did find himself being attacked. However, it wasn't by Tom. It was Ginny.

She pounded his chest once or twice with her fists before she noticed it was him. Furious, Draco gripped her wrists tightly in both of his hands, and said angrily, "Calm down, Weasley, it's only me."

Her pale face broke out into a relieved smile. "Good," she said breathlessly, but her happy look soon faded.

Draco didn't pay attention. He released her wrists and glanced down at her. "What are you doing in your knickers?" he asked, his head suddenly filled with thoughts of Tom.

"It's just a smock," Ginny said absently, but didn't elaborate. It looked more like a loose nightdress, if you asked Draco. "Come on, Draco, we've got to leave before Tom notices I'm gone. He's been expecting you -"

She took his hand and started to lead him down the corridor, back the way he came.

"I figured he was," Draco told her. "Hasn't he noticed you're gone already? How did you get away from him?"

"It's a long story, Draco, and I promise I'll tell you as soon as we're away from here," Ginny said quickly, turning another corner. "Is this the way out?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "I lost track of where I was."

Ginny threw him an irritated glance over her shoulder. "Great." Then she added, "Did you come on a horse?"

"No, I flew on a broomstick," Draco sniggered.

She turned her head again and opened her mouth to say something, but didn't get the chance. She stopped walking and stared over Draco's shoulder, her lips drooping with disappointment and her eyes darkening. Draco knew who it was without even having to turn; but he did, and sure enough, Tom stood at the end of the corridor. With Ginny's maid Maria.

"How good of you to come, Draco," Tom said coolly, a wand grasped in his hand. "But I'm afraid we don't need you at the moment."

Ginny's grip on Draco's hand tightened, and she took a step closer to him involuntarily. Draco had to admit he was feeling something very rare; fear.

"Stupefy," Tom hissed, wand pointed at Draco's chest.

He had no time to react. In an instant his mind went blank, his vision faded, and he was unconscious before he hit the floor.


Author notes: Another cliffhanger, and once again, a chapter void of any D/G action. But at least you now know what’s going on, for the most part.

If you want an update on the story, or just plain don’t understand what Tom was talking about, email me. I’ll try to answer your questions. Or you can always join the Yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fires...ochabutterfly/.

Special thanks to Tiafor beta’ing, Elaine for helping with dialogue, and Amy for reading it over and making sure it made sense.

And thanks to the reviewers:

Wuwu108, AVK, josephine69, amy, ShinigamiBlack Yuy, Baal extremely evil, hopelesslydevoted2HP, pepsibabe2, mistyblue383, vicci, DracoandGinny, Shadow Dragon, dragongirlG, flormorada, Unregistered, Gemma, ElfinKat, unregistered, Zoe, Gibson girl, chocagirl23, Giova, Mel*Star, Divine, Silverstria, Guinevere II, Frangelicah, lilgreenmonster, AriannaMaeve, Gin The Gemini, Lily Vance, Unregistered (HoboVelez), DracoDomina, Kay Elle Turner, Prue1912, IrishGypsy,§ämäѱhä, Matrices, Clairvoyant Snake, Padfoot’s Girl, and Heather22.

Expect individual thanks next chapter!