Captured By A Dragon

Chapter Fifteen: An Enemy Unsuspected

"I can't wait to go out there and help him just torture her. I hate waiting in here like a child."

Two girls were sitting in the kitchen, slowly eating Chocolate Frogs and watching the clouds from inside the window. One of them was tall, had long, dark brown hair, and intense green eyes. The other had short, dirty blonde hair and, at the time, her eyes were narrowed in disgust. She picked up a Chocolate Frog card and looked at it revoltingly.

"Another Dumbledore," she muttered, ripping it to pieces and throwing it in the trash. "They just can't seem to get enough of that bloke now, can they?"

The brunette girl did not say anything, and after while the other just shrugged. She decided she'd rather change the subject than go on.

"Ever since I decided to help Lucius with this my whole life has changed. I lost all my friends and more importantly, I lost Draco..."

"Is this why you're getting back at Ginny?" the brunette (Blanc was her name) asked, her eyes unfocused. She seemed to be very out of it. Something was definitely wrong with her, but the other couldn't figure out what it was.

"I suppose so. I lost everything just to kill her and I guess now's the time to get my revenge. What are you doing here anyway?"

Blanc looked at the other for a long awhile, apparently lost in thought. What was she doing there? She tried to think as hard as she could, but nothing whatsoever came to mind. It was like her chalkboard kept being erased over and over until she just gave up. Blanc closed her eyes and inhaled.

"I can't remember."

&&&&&&&&&&

Draco couldn't believe he was actually hiding in a broom closet. In addition to that, he was attempting to escape Hogwarts and go back to the Manor. It was pretty obvious what had happened to Ginny.

His father took her.

Millions of reasons kept floating around in Draco's mind, but he just couldn't assume that Lucius had just taken her because of their relationship; how would he even know about their relationship in the first place? Draco peeked out of the broom closet door and suddenly saw Harry Potter, slowly pacing and occasionally stopping to glance to his left and right. Draco shut the door in haste and swore under his breath.

Why on earth did Potter have to be standing right in Draco's vicinity when he had to get to Ginny quickly without anybody noticing? He considered not breathing for as long as possible so Potter wouldn't hear him and come investigating, but he was lucky enough to hear Potter's footsteps go by without opening the door.

Draco counted to twenty before cracking the door open to look around and Potter was gone. He opened the door to its fullest extent and lugged his trunk out of it. Suddenly he realized what he should've done in the first place.

"Locomotor trunk," he whispered, and the trunk lifted up into the air and Draco led it out of the entrance doors, walking rather quickly.

Draco crossed the lawns soundlessly, running as fast as he could to get to Hogsmeade. He could not risk being seen by anyone through a window, and especially not by a teacher.

Finally Draco arrived at Hogsmeade and looked around. He thought for a moment and cursed himself for being so stupid. How was he supposed to get to the Manor?

He looked around for some sort of help, and remembered that his Nimbus 2001 was in his trunk. He put his trunk to the ground and hurriedly opened it up. Draco found his broom, took it out, closed the trunk, and tried to think of how to lighten it. As Draco racked his brain for solutions, he finally thought of something.

"Resilio," he said, pointing his wand at his trunk. Suddenly, the trunk started shrinking rapidly, and was soon the size of a ring box. Draco picked it up and put it in his pocket, praising Professor Snape for teaching him that spell early.

He put his leg around on his broom and kicked off from the ground, the wind flying in his hair. He didn't know how long it would take to get to the Manor, but all he was thinking about was finding Ginny and holding her in his arms.

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Ginny lay on her bed, her face sore as well as her arms and her stomach. Her left eye was swollen up and wouldn't open properly, and her brain was working at a very slow pace. She felt completely miserable as she cuddled up closer to the silk sheets and clutched her pillow. The grandfather clock from the family room suddenly struck.

It was midnight.

Nothing was heard in the Manor, which was normal as usual, but something was very scary about it and Ginny's room was pitch-black. The wind outside blew loudly against Ginny's window and she closed her eyes and thought about... Draco. Hadn't he noticed that she was gone?

Ginny doubted if anyone noticed she was gone, including the fact that people rarely noticed her whether she was passing through the corridors or talking with her friends in the Great Hall. No, excuse me, her ex-friends.

'Remember that,' Ginny thought to herself. Those good-for-nothing girls got her into this... yes, that was it... it's all their fault...

Suddenly, making Ginny snap up from her bed, footsteps started coming down the hall.

&&&&&&&&&&

"Hello?" Draco whispered into the family room, which was now very dark. The moonlight was peeping into the room, making it look like a dungeon. Draco sighed as no one answered and silently closed the door.

That was the fourth room he had looked into and no one was there. He was beginning to feel like a fool searching through his own home, and more importantly, he was very suspicious as to where his father was.

Draco then heard someone very quietly sniff to the door at his left. His eyes slowly made its way to the doorknob and he opened the door to its fullest extent.

This room was darker than any others, so Draco took out his wand.

"Lumos," he muttered. He was surprised to see that it was his very own room, how could he have forgotten? Draco looked around, the light of his wand flying everywhere.

Draco then heard a small moan escape from the bed. He immediately pointed his wand at it, and couldn't believe whom he saw.

"Ginny?" he said, and the figure turned its head so that Draco saw its face.

"Draco!" Ginny exclaimed, and she practically jumped out of the bed and dashed straight to him. Draco dropped his wand and took her in his arms tightly, stroking her read hair. He almost thought a tear had sprung out of his eye, but he quickly wiped it away so Ginny wouldn't see.

"I thought I would never see you again," she murmured into his chest, and... she started to cry very quietly. Draco took her head so that they were looking at each other and he kissed several of the tears that were running down her pink cheeks. He then saw her swollen eyes and looked down at her arms; they were bruised in many different places and she even had a large cut by her elbow.

Draco cursed in rage.

"What did he do to you?" he asked, picking up her limp arm and examining it. Fear was stirring in Ginny's eyes and she started to cry again, this time much harder than before. She put her head in her hands and just pitifully sobbed. Draco felt so sorry for her, how could he have let this happen? He once again took Ginny in his arms and rubbed her back tenderly as he kissed her flaming red hair.

"I'm here now, Ginny," he told her softly. "That's why I came. To take you back to Hogwarts."

Ginny looked up at him with watery eyes, looking confused.

"How did you find me?"

Draco swallowed and took her hand.

"That's not important," he said. "We just have to get out of here before my father finds us..."

Ginny nodded and, tiptoeing, they both left the room and went into the hall, Draco in the lead.

The first thing Draco noticed about the hall was that it seemed darker than when he went into Ginny's room. The moonlight had faded away, leaving a dull-cast shadow on their skins.

"How did you get here?" Ginny whispered, but Draco hushed her by putting his finger on his mouth to show her not to talk.

Ginny nodded again and they kept going down the hall.

Ahead was the entrance hall, and soon the two of them would be flying back to Hogwarts on Draco's broomstick...

There was a sudden loud crack! behind them and they both whipped around to see...

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A house elf. It looked female with small ears and a small, tiny little nose, and it was wearing a tablecloth.

"Who are you?" Ginny asked loudly, forgetting that she was supposed to be escaping.

Before the house elf could say a word, Draco stepped in front and the house elf started to tremble.

"Get back to your work," he ordered it. "Now."

"Yes, master," the little house elf said in a trembling sort of squeak. It curtsied and then hurriedly dashed off, not looking back. Draco sighed and looked at Ginny in what seemed to be relief and started moving on, grabbing Ginny's hand.

"Who was that?" she said.

"Kora. She's the little baby house elf, no one bothers talking to her," Draco answered. The Manor was getting darker as the moon settled behind several dark clouds. Draco turned right and Ginny followed, and they found that they were at the entrance, two giant mahogany doors standing right in front of them.

Draco reached for the doorknob.

"Leaving, are you?" said a cold voice to their left. The two of them gasped and dread crept into their veins as their eyes met with another pair.

Lucius stood there in the shadows, a strip of moonlight showing only his face. He smirked nastily and played with his leather gloves. His eyes trailed from Draco to Ginny and he admired the bruises he had left before slowly advancing.

Draco did not say a word, or move, for that matter. He was frozen to the ground; he didn't dare move a step forward or back, not even to the side.

"I don't suppose you care to think about what you're doing, Draco," Lucius muttered. He started walking further towards them, and Draco shifted in front of Ginny to hide her from his father's view.

"Don't associate with filth like her," said Lucius, noticing Draco's movement. His voice had reached something of a whisper. "Become a Death Eater like your dear old dad."

"Never," he said coldly. "I'd rather die than follow in your footsteps."

Lucius gave him a very long glare before speaking again.

"You're pathetic," he said, his mouth barely opening. He then regained his composure and a smile arose from his pale face. "Let's pretend that you somehow end up married and happily ever after, shall we?"

Ginny squeezed Draco's hand.

"Then what?" said Lucius. "Do you really want to live your life being a househusband? Do you really want to waste everything I've ever given you, everything this family has ever worked for? Do you want that, Draco? A meaningless life, only accompanied by a poor, nagging wife and bratty children to annoyingly hang onto your ankles?"

"I do," Draco spat.

Lucius chuckled a bit before deciding to pull his wand out.

"So be it."

Draco nervously fumbled around his pockets before he realized he had left his wand on the floor in his room when he found Ginny. He swallowed as Lucius laughed pitilessly.

"Maybe after this you would've wished you listened to me, my boy," Lucius told him, and he arched his wand.

"Avada Kedavra!" he shouted. Draco took Ginny and they fell to the floor, barely dodging the spell that went whizzing by them, hitting a large vase that exploded into dust.

Lucius sighed in exasperation. "Get up, Draco," he said.

Draco swallowed again and slowly started to get to his feet. "Don't move," he whispered to Ginny, and she reluctantly remained on the wooden floor, her teeth chattering and her heart racing.

Draco looked at Lucius and tension hung like fog in the air. Father and son stood across from one another, seeing the other's mangled death in their minds, both trying to think of what to do next.

As quick as a flash, Draco turned around and took off at a run down the hall.

Lucius' eyes widened and his temple throbbed dangerously. "COME BACK HERE!" he bellowed, and he started to run after him.

Draco was sprinting as fast as he could down the hall, almost running into a small house elf on the way.

"Oof!" yelled the house elf as it fell inside a doorway.

Draco just kept going. He had this planned out, but he was not sure if it would work... oh, please let it work...

At the end of the hall he turned right and at the end of this hall was the kitchen. He dashed to the counter and hid himself behind it, tucking his legs in and saying a silent prayer.

After about three seconds, Draco heard a loud screech against the kitchen tile as his father's boots skidded to a halt. Footsteps echoed off the white marble, sounding as if they were very near.

"I know you're in here," Lucius called out. "I have the girl, and she will die if you do not."

Draco stayed where he was and ever so slowly peeked over the counter. Lucius was pulling Ginny's hair and dragging her along like a helpless puppet as she struggled to get free. Luckily, while his father was looking the other way, Draco silently pulled a long, sharp carving knife out of the drawer. He hid it behind his back and stood up.

"Over here," he murmured, and Lucius whipped around. He grinned evilly at his son and started walking towards him, leaving Ginny sitting on the floor. Shaking, she looked up at Draco, eyes filled with tears, not knowing whether to make a move or stay put.

"Why hello, Draco," Lucius replied. A kind of manic glint was in his eye, and Draco's head was pounding at the thought of what he was about to do...

Draco took a few steps forward and him and Lucius were now about two inches apart. Lucius raised his wand...

"Avada Ke-"

"NO!" cried Ginny out of nowhere.

Lucius turned to look at her for a fraction of a second and Draco reacted in an instant. He took out the carving knife and plunged it into his father's stomach.

Ginny screamed loudly.

"Go to hell, father," Draco muttered, their noses almost touching. Lucius stared at him with glassy gray eyes and looked down, his hands grazing the knife in his abdomen. Draco watched in slow motion as he fell to his knees and then collapsed onto the floor, completely limp.

There was absolute silence in the air. Both Ginny and Draco watched Lucius' body involuntarily twitch until he was completely still, and not but the sun could feel what they were feeling at that exact moment.

Ginny steadily got up off the floor, feeling as if she could faint at any second. Her entire body was numb; she felt like she had been paralyzed from the neck down. She walked to Draco's side and put her hand on his arm as lightly as she could, trying not to surprise him.

"Is... is he dead?" she said slowly.

Draco was in shock. His breath was shaky, his jaw was hanging, and the tears in his eyes began to fall. It was almost like a dream; how could he have been in it? How could it have been real?

"I - I just killed my own father," he said quietly. He turned to Ginny.

Neither of them said a word as they embraced tightly. Ginny stroked Draco's back comfortingly and Draco put his head atop of hers, trying not to cry. He was a Malfoy, Goddamnit. And he had never remotely loved his father... so what was this feeling? For an eternity they stood there, holding onto each other, waiting. For what, they didn't know. An answer, maybe. What was going to happen? When was it going to?

After what seemed like an hour, their connection was broken when two people came scurrying into the kitchen, both of them gasping as they saw Lucius, dead on the floor, lying in a large puddle of blood. They both looked at Draco and Ginny, their eyes wide.

Ginny turned around and gasped, putting her hands to her mouth.

"You?" Draco said as he saw Blanc du Gris standing there, looking stunned. She covered her mouth and shook her head frantically. The other girl, however, eyed the two of them resentfully. And when Ginny's tear-filled eyes focused a bit more, she saw horrible reality standing right in front of her.

"Heidi?"