"What's it going to be, Ginny? You have a chance to rule under the greatest wizard of all time, here. Don't just through it away," Draco reasoned with the fiery Gryffindor.
"Dumbledore would never ask anyone to serve under him!" Ginny shouted. Every Death Eater closed in quickly.
"What did you say, Weasley?" Lucius Malfoy questioned.
"I said, Dumbledore would never ask anyone to serve under him," Ginny said in quieter tones. Lucius raised his hand, but Draco stepped in.
"Father, I don't think that's a good idea. Master wants her unharmed. Besides, this is never going to turn her. Just let me talk to her, and maybe I can get her to change her mind," Draco whispered so Ginny couldn't hear.
"Fine," Lucius bit out before stalking away.
Draco turned to face Ginny as the rest of the Death Eaters followed Lucius. He went behind the post, and loosened her ropes. Ginny's heart jumped. I knew he'd release me! I knew this was all fake! I knew he loved me!
"Sit!" he barked, wrapping an arm around her waist, so she wouldn't escape. Ginny reluctantly obeyed. Her hopes died as Draco retied the ropes tightly below her ribs. He returned from around the post, and sat next to her. "Ginny," he started, "I really wish you would reconsider. Who would you rather be with? Harry or me?" He watched as Ginny turned away.
"This isn't about who I'd rather be with, Malfoy," she whispered. "You lied to me! I can't trust you. I never really could, but I did. Look where it's gotten me! I'm tied to a pole in the middle of the Forbidden Forest with my heart ripped out when I should be back at Hogwarts, safe, with the man I love. Now, I ask myself, do I really want to be tied to a pole my entire life? Do I want to have to obey the one thing I've been trying to escape since I was eleven just so I can watch you be with Pansy? Do I want to be reminded everyday of how much I believed you had changed, how much I believed that you cared, that you loved me? The answer is final, Draco. No. I'd rather die with the memories I have. I want to die knowing that just once in my life, I had something that was all my own. I didn't have it handed down to me, and I didn't have to share. If only for a moment, you were mine. I know now, that if I don't survive, I atleast got to feel complete in that one second of looking in your eyes. I loved you, Draco. If that makes me pathetic, so be it, but I did. Maybe I thought you'd saved me. Maybe I thought that it would take a true Slytherin to defeat one. I honestly don't know, but you held my hand. Can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me none of this term was real?" she gazed at him, wanting to hear denial from his lips.
"No, I meant it when I said you looked gorgeous tonight, but if you ever repeat that, I'll rip your brother's heart out, understand?" Draco rose to his feet.
Ginny held back a sob, and growled out the only thing she could say. "Like you could get my brother's heart."
"Oh, actually, I could, Virginia. In fact, we predicted that you would decline our offer-"
"What did you do?!" Ginny interrupted.
"Well, we're giving you a little incentive. Bring them out, Baddock!"
Ginny watched as Malcolm Baddock levitated both an unconscious Ron and Hermione out of the shadows. She shrieked when she saw the state they were in. It was obvious they'd put up quite a fight. "You BASTARD, Malfoy! I will never-"
"You have two minutes to decided, Ginny. Either your loved ones' lives or your own."
***
It was Draco’s turn to hold Harry back. He saw the fire in hero’s eye as he watched his two best friends floating before him.
“Lemme go, Malfoy!” Harry growled. “He’s got Ron and Hermione!”
“And he’s got Ginny! But you said it yourself; we can’t just go barging in there! It’s not just you and me. They’re involved now, too. Hell, it may not even be Ron and Hermione. They could be Polyjuiced to look like them. They just need Ginny, and if we don’t think of something fast, they’ll have her.”
“What are we waiting for?!” Harry inquired, angrily.
“Good answer. Let’s go.”
***
“This has nothing to do with them, Malfoy! Let them go!” Ginny pleaded.
“Only if you consent to becoming a Death Eater,” Draco replied, calmly.
“Draco, Draco,” Voldemort said, coming to his side. “She doesn’t have to do anything. She only has one minute to decide. We might want to tempt her, but what good will it do. She’s dead now, anyway.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that, Voldie, dearest,” the real Draco Malfoy cut in. Voldemort turned around to see the blond Slytherin with a glaring Harry Potter at his side.
“So glad you could make it, Draco. I was wondering when Pansy would crack. I knew Lucius couldn’t be trusted with assigning Pansy, but I’m glad he did now,” Voldemort smirked as best as he could. He turned to a wide-eyed Ginny, and screamed,”Stupefy!”
“No!” Draco yelled, running forward, trying to tackle Voldemort, but instead, plowing right through him. Draco fell to the ground, listening to the sound of the half-being’s cackling.
“You think it’s that easy, don’t you Malfoy? No, no, you may be unaware, but it is now midnight. I've turned into an image, so you can't touch me. But pretty soon, Ginny will make me whole again. You’re too late. ”
“What do you mean?” Draco asked, inching closer to Ginny.
“Oh, you don’t know, do you? Well, Virginia Weasley has always been a threat, as much as Harry Potter. Even as much of a threat as you,” he paused; letting his words sink in, “Yes, Draco, that’s why your father was so careful that you never mixed with the Weasley clan. You see, long, long ago, even before my time, it was said by Cecile Trelawney that two would meet. These two would be very special. One would be the epitome of goodness. She would be the seventh child of the third son, and have the fire of the sun captured in her hair. The other would be the son of Malfoy and Black, the one in control. He’d be the deciding point, either melting to her touch or freezing her fire over. Should these two meet on good terms, then darkness would fade forever, but should they fight, darkness would spread.”
“Naturally, we couldn’t let our empire fall to pieces, so I ordered Lucius to turn you. I never knew Lucius was as useless a Pettigrew, but that’s a Malfoy for you. He did everything he could, but it wasn’t enough. We knew this was a risk, so we also tainted the little Weasel. Your father slipped her my diary. Tonight is the sixth anniversary of the first time I possessed her. The prophecy stated that if the couple should declare their love by midnight, I’d be vanquished. You know, it’s not fun to have everyone after you. First Potter, now this,” Voldemort sighed, then continued, “So we decided to make Ginny a Death Eater. What better way to ensure that my rein survives? Of course, we knew she wouldn’t agree if she thought you would save her. We used Polyjuice as a result. Now, when she awakens, she'll think that you'll never love her. I'll convince her to sacrifice a part of herself to help turn me into my former self, and we will rule together. We have no further use of you, so you and Potter will be killed. A little dramatic, but I think it worked out fabulously, don’t you?”
Draco merely snorted.
“I thought as much. You young people have no appreciation for great ideas. Blaise!” Voldemort beckoned Zabini forward.
“Yes, master,” Blaise came forth from the shadows.
“Do you have any last words for Mr. Malfoy before he and Mr. Potter are gone for good?”
Draco had made his way to Ginny, not caring what Blaise had to say. He propped her head up against his shoulder, and breathed in her scent. “I love you,” he whispered. “Whatever they tell you when you wake-up, don’t believe it. Listen to me, Gin. From the moment I saw you before your first year, I loved you. I never knew how to tell you because you were infatuated with my enemy. If I could, I’d go back and tell you then and there that I loved you. Maybe it would’ve made a difference. I don’t know, but I do know that this short time I’ve had with you has been the best of my life.”
“-You’re pathetic, and I’ll never know why I ever respected you.” Draco caught the end of Blaise’s speech. Pretty soon, Harry was being tossed down beside him. Draco had forgotten the boy-hero had even been there.
“You’ve been awfully quiet, Potter,” Draco stated as if it were normal to be stuck in a forest, surrounded by Death Eaters. “Have any of your brilliant ideas?”
“Dumbledore is going to get us out of this.”
Draco snorted again. He was very aware of the questionable looks they were receiving from their audience. “How can you be so sure?” he asked so only Harry could hear.
Harry glanced up to the heavens. Draco followed his gaze, seeing crimson against the black sky. It blurred above so quickly, that he was sure he’d imagined it. It wasn’t until something gold was flying at his face that he finally realized it had been Fawkes. Catching it with his Seeker skills, he noted that it was a time-turner. Quickly, he gave Harry a questioning look. Harry nodded, and Draco threw it over both of their heads. He glanced painfully at Ginny. It killed him to leave her, but she needed to stay were she was. He kissed her lightly on the cheek, not knowing when he'd see her again.
Parchment landed in his lap. Two turns should do the trick.
Death Eaters ran forward, realizing what was going on, but they were too late. Harry turned the hourglass twice, and he and Draco disappeared.
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