Into A Deeper Darkness

Into A Deeper Darkness

Chapter Two: Seek For Me The Light

~

Now it seems I'm fading

All my dreams are not worth saving

I've done my share of waiting

And I've still got nowhere else to go.

~

The room was shadowed and musty. What little light in the room there was seemed to be slowly being eaten away at by the dead silence. There was thick, dirty dark green carpet covering the floor and the walls were old, worn stone. Water slowly dripped from the numerous pipes forming a maze across the ceiling, where several of the old stone tiles were cracked, broken, or missing.

There was one piece of furniture in the room. An old, high-backed oak chair sat in the exact center, a thin, raveling faded green cushion sitting on the hard seat. It hardly did anything for comfort, and it gave the distinct impression of being unwashed and mite-infested.

A thin, pale man was seated in this chair. Despite his dank surroundings, he had a distinct air of arrogance. He was sprawled out in the chair, looking comfortable although he probably wasn't. Thin, spidery hands were folded gentlemanly in his lap, and an expression of complete indifference was set on his handsome, chiseled features. A heavy, dark bruise over his eye marred his otherwise perfect skin. Dark eyes flickered around, peering into the darkness. His thick, black curly hair was matted and unwashed, but the young man didn't seem to care.

The suffocating silence was broken by the large, heavy metal door banging open.

The young man turned his head slightly, eyes shifting to see who had invaded his solitude in such a loud and rude way.

"Charles Rosan!" the figure in the doorway spat, pointing his wand directly at the man's heart.

"You called?" Rosan snickered faintly, squinting to try and see who the figure was. The figure strode out of the light, coming to stand in front of Rosan. Another man entered the room, and the door clicked shut behind him.

Rosan found himself at the mercy of two furious, bespectacled green eyes. He couldn't help himself, and he began to laugh.

"Harry Potter! This is a pleasant surprise," he mocked, his eyes lighting up with malicious amusement. Harry's anger only deepened, and his hand tightened around his wand. This movement didn't seem to faze Rosan in the least.

"Believe me, it's not," Harry said through gritted teeth. He was about to speak again, when a soft, lilted voice cut through the tension.

"Charles Rosan, you are charged with association with He-who-must-not-be-named, and the murder and rape of several Muggle women in London. You are also charged with the assault and involvement in the accidental disabling of Auror Virginia Mary Weasley. These charges are given to you by the Ministry of Magic, the Order of The Phoenix, and announced by Auror Seamus Alec Finnigan." Seamus said in a monotone voice, officially announcing to Rosan what his crimes were.

Harry swung around to glare at the sandy-haired Irishman, his lips pressed into a thin line. His glare just seemed to bounce off of Seamus, who shrugged.

"I had to get the official stuff over with, Harry. You know that," he said in a soft voice, attempting to calm his partner down.

"Fine. Now it's my turn." he replied, and swung back around to face Rosan. His blood boiled at the arrogant expression on his face. He took several steps forward, leaning down and putting his face level with Charles's.

"What did you do to Ginny?" He demanded, narrowing his eyes. His skin was flushed red in fury, and his shoulders were tight. A small smile crossed Rosan's face at the Auror's complete and total anger.

"Ginny? I don't remember a Ginny," he said lightly, looking amused as Harry froze in surprise, then, sputtering in his anger, tried to say something.

"I do, however," Rosan continued, interrupting whatever garbled sentence Harry had been attempting to piece together, "remember a pretty little whore. Was she yours? Oh, dear. I'm dreadfully sorry." He said, looking contrite.

Before he realized it, Harry's fist was flying towards Rosan's face. Both men blinked in surprise when it stopped, and Harry turned to look over his shoulder to see Seamus tightly gripping his upper arm, keeping him from finishing his blow.

"Harry, I realize you're upset. I understand, I really do. But you have to calm down." Seamus said firmly, pulling Harry away from Rosan's chair.

"How could you understand? You have no idea," Harry spat, spinning to face Seamus, his eyes burning with fury. As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he shouldn't have said them.

Seamus's expression melted from firm and disciplinarian-like to hurt. He just stared at Harry for a moment, before his pale eyebrows drew down over his eyes and anger begin to seep into his expression.

"I don't understand, Harry Potter? Did you just tell me that I have no idea?" Seamus demanded, still looking slightly stunned. Harry felt bad, but he was on a rampage. Seamus was keeping him from forcing the information about Ginny from Rosan, therefore Seamus was an enemy.

"Yes, I did. You didn't support me in fifth year, and you don't now. You're not worth the trouble of being my partner," he said, and Seamus's expression flickered again. This time, however, the hurt was gone. Now Seamus was just angry.

"What the hell was I supposed to believe in fifth year? Besides the fact that was eleven years ago, and is not even relevant right now! You are a self-righteous, hypocritical little prick! I don't understand? My wife is dead. My wife, my lover, my best friend. She's dead, and I can't fucking change that. Ginny is not dead, she is not your wife, she's not your lover, you don't even know if she loves you. And she's only been blinded. I don't understand? I understand better than you think, and, actually, I understand better than you. And it's not my fault your little fantasy girl fell out a window and blinded herself. So stop taking it out on me that you no longer have a perfect vision to wanker to!" Seamus roared, and Harry was completely taken aback. The air crackled with anger, and the two men were so involved with each other that they missed Rosan's low, throaty laugh.

"Something happened to Ginny and I have to find out! It wasn't her fault what happened to her, where as Lavender wasn't paying attention and did something stupid. There's a difference," Harry said in a low voice, not realizing what a low shot that was until the words had left his mouth.

Seamus tensed, all the color rushing from his face.

"Alright, Potter, you can be like that. Go on your hunt, but you're going alone," Seamus said in a low voice, turning and storming towards the door.

"And you can find yourself another partner," he added, before turning his back on Harry, staring at the dank wall and waiting for him to finish. Angry or not, it was poor judgment to leave Harry in the room with Rosan alone. He didn't know whether it was worse for Harry's sake...or Rosan's.

Harry turned back to Rosan, who was looking incredibly amused.

"Now, let's go back. What did you do to Ginny?" Harry hissed, and Rosan just blinked at him, still looking insufferably amused.

"I told you, Potter, that I don't know who this Ginny is. Besides, I don't really want to talk to you. If you really want to find out more, then you'll have to send someone else in to talk to me." Rosan snickered, and Harry's eye twitched.

"Why should I do that?" he demanded, and Rosan laughed.

"Because, if you want to know what happened to your lovely Virginia Weasley, you should consider it," Rosan taunted.

"Then you do know what happened!" Harry shouted, and Rosan shifted in his chair, grabbing the arms and leaning backwards so the chair balanced on two legs.

"I don't want to talk to you," Rosan said childishly, turning his face away from Harry. Anger began to build up inside Harry again, and he threw his arms up in the air in frustration.

"Fine, you arrogant bastard, you get what you want. I'll send someone else in to talk to you." Harry snarled, then turned and stalked towards the door. Seamus stepped in front of him, opened the door, and walked out.

Harry yelped in surprise as the door banged into him, caught completely off guard by Seamus's total rudeness and unacknowledgement.

"Any on-duty Auror is to go in there and interrogate the prisoner and find out any information they can!" Harry roared as he slammed the door behind him and stormed off down the hallway.

He failed to see who the only Auror on duty was, and would be haunted by that mistake for many years to come.

~~

Tightly gripping her wand in her right hand, Hannah Abbott slowly pushed open the heavy metal door to Charles Rosan's current holding place. Since Harry was senior Auror on duty, Hannah had no choice but to do what he said or face losing her job. She was cautious--she was convinced it was not a wise order, but was not rebellious enough to disobey Harry.

Light flooded the small room as she opened the door, and she slipped inside, shutting the door behind her. There was a single chair in the room, and the man sitting in it turned to look at her.

His eyes lit up at the sight of her. Hannah was a small, dainty woman with long legs, bright blue eyes, and short, feathery blonde hair. She had a light dusting of freckles across her nose, and her cheeks were flushed with nervousness.

Rosan immediately sensed her unease, and a wicked grin crossed his face as he swiveled in the chair to face her, hanging his legs casually over the arm of the chair.

"I was sent in to finish the interrogation," Hannah said briskly, ignoring the unnerving, hungry look in the Death Eater's dark eyes.

"Oh, good. I like you much better than that Potter," he commented in a low voice, causing Hannah to give him an odd look.

"Perhaps I'll come back later," she said sternly, then turned to the door again.

"Oh, don't, love. I could use some company," Rosan whispered, and shivers danced down Hannah's spine. She quickened her pace, and reached out to the door handle when she was yanked backwards.

Her wand was knocked out of her hand as she felt herself being slammed against the wall. Her vision swam for a moment, and when it cleared she found herself looking into the face of Charles Rosan. One hand rested on her stomach, the other on her throat.

"If you cooperate and don't scream, I won't kill you," Rosan snarled, tightening his grip on her throat. Hannah gasped, and her left hand madly flailed for the door handle.

"Why should I believe you?" Hannah whispered, glaring at him. Rosan laughed again, a hungry grin twisting his handsome features.

"Because I need you. All the others weren't witches, and I had to kill Virginia. No, I won't kill you if you keep silent, because you're more valuable than you know," Rosan spoke softly again, an odd tenderness crossing his face and clashing oddly with the predatory expression already etched on his features. He brushed several stray blonde hairs out of Hannah's face, and then, pressing hard with the hand on her stomach, he leaned forward and pressed a forceful, bruising kiss on her lips. Hannah gasped again, and began to squirm harder. Rosan's grip on her stomach and throat became painful, and she halted.

"Remember what I said, love, and you'll live." He taunted, tracing circles on her stomach with his fingers.

"My name is Hannah Abbott...I'm twenty six years old. I graduated from Hogwarts in 1998 and was a prefect of Hufflepuff house..." Hannah said firmly, staring hard into Rosan's eyes. He looked slightly taken aback, then another horrid smile played on his lips.

"You're trying to make yourself a person to me, aren't you? Nice, clever try, Hannah Abbott. But it's not going to work, and I wouldn't keep trying it." He advised, and on a second thought, continued to talk, "I would also atleast pretend to enjoy this, Hannah Abbott," he laughed, and captured her lips in his again.

The hand that had been on her throat snaked up behind her head, holding her face in place. The hand on her stomach slowly traced circles lower, until it came to the clasp of her pants. Wasting no time, Rosan undid the clasp. He broke the forceful kiss and swiftly pulled Hannah's pants down, then planted soft, tempting kisses up her legs. His spidery hands quickly found the waistband to Hannah's underwear, and in moments, that was gone as well.

Hannah quietly whimpered, biting back a violent sob. She covered her face with her hands, her entire body trembling. Her body started as she felt his cold, thin finger brush up against her, and she couldn't stay silent anymore.

"What do you want with me? What do you want me to do?" she sobbed, looking down at the Death Eater on his knees before her on the floor.

Rosan gave her an odd half smile, and replied,

"Dul breithnich agus breith mo leanbh, cailin," He spoke smoothly, and winked up at her. His hands quickly stroking and tickling, he grew tired of only that. He wanted...he needed more of this pretty girl.

He grabbed her waist and pulled her down on top of him, possessively wrapping his legs around hers to keep her from fighting back. He grabbed her face with both hands and thrust his tongue into her mouth, moaning faintly at her warmth.

Continuing to kiss her, his hands quickly unbuttoned her shirt and grabbed at her soft, warm skin. He couldn't get enough of her warmth. He was always cold...so cold. Suddenly, Rosan rolled over, forcing Hannah onto her back on the filthy green carpet.

"Take my pants off," he ordered, his hands hungrily running over her chest, stomach and sides. His only reply was a choked sob.

"Now, girl," he breathed, and this time she obeyed. Her hands were small and soft. And warm. His blood pounded hot in his ears, and he was fighting hard to keep silent as she roughly yanked off his heavy black pants, then his under shorts.

Unable to contain himself any longer, Rosan braced his hands against the ground and forced himself into Hannah Abbott.

Hannah let out a pain filled gasp, and sobbed even harder, but that only thrilled Rosan even more. His breathing was laboured and he clenched his eyes shut, settling into a quick and violent rhythm.

With a cry of relief, Rosan fell limp on top of Hannah, a satisfied smile painted across his face.

"Oh, thank you, Hannah Abbott," he said mockingly, his eyes alight again with cruel humor. "You've done me a great service, and will continue to do so for some time," he said in a secretive tone.

"But I'm quite afraid I must leave you now." he finished, and swiftly redressed himself. Then he darted over to the other side of the room, grabbed Hannah's abandoned wand, and blew the heavy door open. He dashed out of it, letting it slam shut behind him and leaving Hannah alone, curled in a ball, in the damp air and faint light of his former prison.

~~

Molly Weasley sat in an uncomfortable, obnoxiously colored chair in Saint Mungo's waiting silently by her daughter's side. Her face was pale and her eyes were puffy and red from crying. Her graying red hair was pulled into a frizzy, haphazard bun, and unfinished knitting sat in her lap.

Ginny was stretched across the bed, her hair still a shiny, straight waterfall and her face still painted with makeup. She no longer wore the slinky black dress, but a loose, pale blue and yellow plaid hospital gown, and the dark blue blanket was pulled up to her chin. She also had a bandage wrapped around her head, and a brace on her left hand.

Molly stared off into space, her hands twitching nervously in her lap. She was terrified she'd loose her only daughter, but not to death. Ginny was such an independent person and she'd had everything she'd wanted...Molly did not know what her daughter's reaction would be when she was told she'd never see again.

There was a soft knock at the door, and Molly turned to see who it was.

Hermione Granger poked her dark curly head into the room, looking pale and distraught.

"Oh, Mrs. Weasley, I just heard." she stammered, coming into the room. She came to stand by the tired and worried woman, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You've been here for hours. Why don't you go and get some sleep? I'll keep watch," Hermione suggested, her eyes full of concern. Mrs. Weasley looked at Hermione for another moment, then burst into tears, flinging herself on the young woman. Her knitting clattered to the floor.

Hermione was surprised, but quickly fell into comforting Mrs. Weasley. She wasn't forced to do it for long, however, because Molly leapt to her feet when Ginny stirred in her hospital bed.

"Harry? Seamus?" Ginny muttered softly, opening her eyes and looking around. It was an odd sight to see Ginny's eyes so dead. They were always full of life and humor, but now they were empty and haunting.

"You're okay, dear, you're safe," Mrs. Weasley spoke first, sniffling loudly.

"Where am I? Why is it so dark, mum? Mum...what's going on?" Hermione bit her lower lip to keep from crying herself. Ginny sounded so lost and confused.

"Gin, you're in Saint Mungo's. You fell out a window back in London. You'll be okay, though..." Molly began, but Ginny cut her off.

"Don't lie to me! You know I always know when you're lying to me! Tell me the truth, mum. The truth." Ginny demanded, shakily pulling herself into a sitting position. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her lips set in a thin, confused line.

"Ginny..."

"What is going on, mum," Ginny spat, her left hand trembling violently at having weight placed on it. Molly stammered incoherently, bursting into tears again.

Distraught, Hermione looked from Ginny to Molly, then shifted her gaze back to Ginny. Sympathy and annoyance was building up in her stomach, and suddenly the words burst from her mouth. She would not let Molly lie to Ginny. She deserved the truth.

"Ginny, you can't see."

"I figured that out," Ginny said softly, her voice laced with faint sarcasm. Hermione winced. She knew that it wasn't directed towards her, but the anger was stinging.

"When will the spell wear off? I need to get back to work," Ginny was continuing to speak, her voice matter of fact and hopeful. Hermione sniffed softly, tears trickling down her cheeks.

"Ginny...Gin, it's not going to wear off..." Hermione said softly, and Ginny froze. Her eyebrows furrowed, and her mouth twisted into a surprised frown.

"What?" She demanded, and almost to accent her surprise, her left arm finally gave out and she collapsed back onto the bed. Then she rolled over so her back was facing Molly and Hermione, and covered her head with her arms.

Molly wailed softly, hastily wiping her tears away. She crossed the floor to the bed, and wrapped Ginny into a hug.

"My little Ginny, it will be okay," Molly soothed, stroking Ginny's straightened hair.

Hermione cleared her throat, and Molly looked up. A man was standing in the doorway of the hospital room.

He was dapper looking, with a neat dark brown beard and short dark hair. He wore dark grey robes, and carried a scroll in his hands. He had a pleasant, lined face.

"Good evening, this is the room of Miss Weasley, I presume?" He asked in a voice with a faint Scottish accent. Hermione nodded. A small smile crossed the man's face.

"Excellent. My name is Robert Hareford, from the Ministry of Magic, Auror Management Division."

Molly immediately straightened, wiping her cheeks again and hurriedly attempting to smooth down her hair.

"Oh, it's a pleasure Mr. Hareford," she said politely, and Hermione nodded in agreement. The older man smiled again.

"I'm afraid I can't stay very long, but I have a message for Miss Weasley from the Ministry," he continued, and Molly looked annoyed.

"Can't it be given to her another time? She's just woken up," Molly said, her polite tone beginning to sound strained. Hermione sent her a warning glance.

Mr. Hareford looked sympathetic, but shook his head.

"I'm dearly sorry, but it must be delivered now. That was my instruction."

"Alright, then," Hermione answered, before Mrs. Weasley could say anything impolite. Ginny hadn't moved at all, just remained curled into a ball.

"Miss Weasley, the Ministry is distressed to hear of your accident,"

Ginny suddenly sat up, swinging around to look in the direction that Mr. Hareford's voice was coming from, and she cut him off.

"It wasn't an accident! I got pushed out of the window!"

Robert's eyes were kind and his expression was beginning to become strained. It was clear to Hermione that this man knew full well what had happened but that he had no power to change what the "official" view on the incident was.

"I know, love," he said softly. Ginny's frown deepened.

"...And regrets to inform you, Virginia Mary Weasley, that you are dismissed from the Aurory with compensation for your injury. It is sorry that it has to let you go, but there is very little you can achieve for it in your current, and sadly, permanent state. Signed, Marius Vajean." Robert finished reading, glancing at Ginny. Her once warm, laughter filled brown eyes stared unblinkingly in the older man's general direction.

"They're...letting me go?" Ginny asked faintly. Robert didn't say anything, only nodded to Hermione, whose hand had clamped down hard on Mrs. Weasley's shoulder to keep her from saying anything rash to Mr. Hareford.

"Thank you, sir," Hermione said faintly, and Mr. Hareford nodded again.

"

My greatest condolences, young lady," Robert said kindly, then turned and walked out of the room.

Mrs. Weasley promptly rushed to the bed and hugged Ginny again. Ginny merely continued to stare in the direction where Robert had been. Hermione could see, although she was stunned, the beginnings of anger were etched across her features.

Molly straightened and turned to look at Hermione. One of her hands was nervously wringing at the bed sheet on Ginny's bed.

"Maybe you should go for a while, and come back later, Hermione," Molly said, her voice trembling. Hermione slowly nodded, then turned and left the room to wait outside with the others who had come to see about Ginny.

~~

Still in the last throes of his fury, Harry paced around the waiting room in Saint Mungo's, mumbling incoherently under his breath. The other witches and wizards in the room were beginning to shift around in their seats in annoyance. Harry's mumbling was nearly bearable, but added to the continuous thud of his heavy, military boots on the floor he was quite obnoxious.

As he continued his pacing, he caught the tale ends of a discussion between two young wizards to cast a silencing charm on him, but it didn't connect in his still anger-impaired brain.

Hermione hurried out into the waiting room, her dark curls swirling around her head as she swept past him. Harry stopped muttering and stopped pacing, and pointedly ignored the ripple of relief that passed through the room and addressed Hermione.

"Hermione? How is she?" he asked anxiously.

"How do you think she is, Harry? She's extremely upset right now, as am I. I will talk to you later," she sent him a dark glare, and pushed open the doors and stepped outside of the hospital.

Harry was stunned for a moment, then realized that she'd probably heard about what he'd said to Seamus. His brow furrowed in annoyance; Seamus had been being an obstruction. To find out what had happened to Ginny, he didn't need an obstruction.

Scowling, Harry turned and walked determinedly down the hallway where Ginny's room was.

"I wouldn't go there now, if I were you, Potter," a soft, mocking voice said. Harry jerked around and saw, of all people, Draco Malfoy leaning lazily against one of the whitewashed walls of the hospital.

"Oh, really? And why would you say that, Malfoy?" Harry spat, using the man's name as an insult. Draco's grey eyes lit up with amusement.

"Down, Potter. There is no reason not to play nice," Draco drawled, pushing off the wall and standing up straight.

"Didn't you hear Granger? Ginny's upset right now, mainly with you." Draco said offhandedly, looking uninterested. But he was straining, watching every expression that crossed Potter's face. He was weaving his tale of deceit to drive them all apart and leave Ginny susceptible to any who would try and befriend her. It would be too simple once Weasley left the hospital; Draco knew it in his bones that Harry couldn't easily accept Ginny for how she would be, and once he had pointed it out to her, Ginny would see the awkwardness and babying oozing from every word Potter would say to her.

"Why do you think? You couldn't save her, Potter. You weren't her knight in shining armor after all. She's disappointed, to say the least. And then, you go and do what you did to Seamus..."

Harry's eyes widened and he immediately snapped back at Draco.

"How do you know what I did to Seamus?" He demanded, and Draco chuckled softly.

"I have my connections, Potter. Take my advice--I've always been better with women than you--and don't bother her right now if you ever want a chance of scoring with her again," Draco said dismissively, and grinning at Potter, he jerked his head towards the door. And, as Mrs. Weasley hurried out the hall towards the restroom, he slipped into Ginny's room.

A moment later, Draco leaned his head out, the mocking smile still painted on his lips.

"I'd check on your Aurors, if I were you," he said vaguely, then disappeared back into the hospital room, the door clicking shut behind him.

~~

Seamus rushed down the hallway towards the sound of the explosion. Explosions were commonplace in the magical world, numerous wherever there were children and incompetent wizards, so he hadn't taken much note of it at first. Then, at some nagging feeling in the back of his mind, Seamus began to reanalyze it. To his horror, he realized it had come from the room where Rosan was being kept.

Now he was pelting down the hallway as fast as he could, praying that it wasn't what he thought it was.

He skidded to a stop, his heart jumping to his throat when he saw the large hole in the door. Rosan had escaped, or, at the very least had a brawl with the Aurors who had been sent in to finish the interrogation.

Seamus carefully stepped towards the door, sticking his head inside to look before he barreled inside.

"Sweet Jesus," he breathed, and the sight that met him caused him to gag violently.

Hannah Abbot was in a crumpled heap on the floor, naked, bruised, and bleeding from areas that women normally shouldn't bleed from. Not that kind of bleeding, at least.

Fighting against the urge to vomit, Seamus slowly crossed the disgusting carpet to come and stand by her.

Hannah was diminished looking, curled in on herself, tear stains marring her pretty face. Seamus's hand instinctively went to the charm around his neck and images of Lavender flashed before his eyes. Was this how she had ended, too?

The thought was too much to bear, so he banished it from his mind.

Seamus bent down and gently touched her face. Hannah's eyes flew open, and she let out an ear-splitting shriek. Seamus winced, placing a finger to his mouth. Hannah stared at him for a moment, then flung herself onto him, sobbing violently.

"Shhh, hey, love," Seamus spoke comfortingly. Renewed anger at Harry washed over him; he had unwittingly forced this girl to face a rapist Death Eater alone because he was too childish to control his anger and fear.

"You're okay now, Hannah, love," Seamus said in a soothing voice, carefully pulling Hannah into his arms and lifting her up.

Quickly, he pulled his cloak off his shoulders and wrapped it around her before he stepped into the hallway.

Then he shouted for help, and once Hannah was in capable hands, he set off after Harry. He would know what he had done, and Seamus would make sure he didn't forgive himself for it.

~~

A/N: That's all for this chapter; sorry it took so long, but high school really sucks. The next chapter will be out soon--it includes Seamus's first confrontation with Harry, Rosan's return to Voldemort, Draco's talk with Ginny, and Ginny's disastrous attempts to return to a normal life. Thanks!