“With Ginny Weasley, you are lost,” Voldemort said. “You are nothing. You are weak, Draco. Isn’t that so?”

All of Draco’s fears and weaknesses came rushing back to him. The inner voice whispering that ?his father had not loved him because he was unlovable, and now that his mother was dead, no-one could ever love him again. That no woman would ever choose him for himself alone but only for his family’s money, that no-one would ever want him as their friend without his family’s influence. If his advantages of breeding and background were stripped away from him, he would be nothing. So how could he have exposed this nothing, this worthless man he really was, to Ginny Weasley? No wonder she had left him. No wonder she had chosen Harry Potter instead.

But he still had this pride, and there was only one way to salvage it. He could reclaim his power over the woman who had seen his weakness.

“Take her, Draco,” Voldemort whispered in his ear. “Use her for your pleasure, and for our purposes. Strip her of the power she provides. Balance the scales between you. Because otherwise, you will be nothing at all.”

New! Epilogue is up! Yes, I know, the story has been "complete" for a couple of years, but this ending has been partially written for a long time and it ties up some loose ends.

Winner of the Most Humorous, Best Banter, and Best Dialogue awards in the DG Forum's Summer 2017 Fic Exchange.