See the prologue for the disclaimer.
Afraid of the Dark
Written by LJP
Chapter 4
The present...
Ginny sucked in a deep breath as Voldemort moved his wand closer to her arm. Goyle had screamed, and so had Crabbe. Krum and Zabini even made some noise when the hot blood touched their skin. She had no doubt it would be painful. The only thing that worried her was *how* painful.
She bit the inside of her cheek as the end of his wand descended to her forearm. The pain became apparent even before the tip touched her skin. She bit down on her lip even harder. Part of her wanted to look away from where the wand slowly drew the Dark Mark — a skull with a serpent slithering out of its mouth — on her skin. But she couldn’t. Her eyes were drawn to her own forearm as the Mark began to take shape. It formed slowly, the skin rising up and reddening in the familiar pattern. She was hypnotized from the energy, the dark energy, that was emitting from the burn.
Pain flashed through her arm, traveling up her shoulder and down her chest, tightening, gripping, holding, unbearable. Yet, she didn’t make a sound. She didn’t scream.
Draco watched the youngest Weasley curiously. She hadn’t cried out when the Mark was placed on her skin as he had expected her to. Crabbe and Goyle had screamed like infants, and even Krum whimpered like a hurt dog. But she wasn’t making so much as a cry. There weren’t even tears filling up her eyes. She simply stood there, unmoving, staring at her arm.
For just a moment, right after the Mark had been completed and it was still glowing softly, Draco imagined he was gazing at an angel. She was beautiful, and perfect...
Voldemort caught Draco staring at Ginny. The Dark Mark on her arm sizzled for a split-second, sparked, and then faded to a dull gray, leaving just the faint tracing of it visible on her skin. Normally, he would allow Ginny to return to her place among her fellow Death Eaters, but this time, he felt like experimenting.
"Mr. Malfoy, I do believe it is your turn." He hissed.
Draco shifted his gaze to the Dark Lord. As he took a step forward, lowering his hood, Ginny began to back away. Voldemort’s evil whisper stopped her. "No. Virginia my dear, please stay." The phrase sounded odd coming from such an evil being, but it halted her in her tracks. In only a few moments, Draco was standing beside her.
Ginny snuck a glance at him. The moonlight shone on his pale skin in a way that made him look ghostlike. His blond hair, which he had let grow out a little over the past years, was slicked back as usual, though a few strands had broken free, falling down to cover his eyes. His robes and cloak were all black. The molded to his body, and she noticed the muscles ribbed underneath them. She held her breath.
"Severus."
This time, Lucius barged forward, completely ignoring the warning glance from his master. "My lord," He began, not even taking the time to lower his eyes. "I thought you had agreed that I was to initiate my son."
"Do you dare question my authority?"
Malfoy sputtered. "Uh...no my lord. I just thought —"
Voldemort turned his wand toward him. "Crucio."
Lucius fell to the ground in agony. His body twisted and writhed in involuntary shudders of pain. His leg twitched, and his mouth opened, spit drooling down his chin. Ginny watched on in horror. She had, of course, learned all about the Unforgivables, but she had never witnessed one. Draco, on the other hand, watched the ordeal stoically.
Finally, Voldemort lowered his wand. Lucius’ body twitched one last time before leaving his lay there, almost lifeless. The Dark Lord seemed satisfied he had learned his lesson. He looked to Draco and Ginny. "Severus." He commanded again.
Snape joined his two students in the center of the circle. "Draco Invisus Malfoy, have you come here of your own free will?"
"I have."
He repeated the same series of questions that had been asked of Ginny. It culminated to Voldemort placing the Dark Mark, also, on Draco’s right forearm. His father did not regain consciousness throughout the entire procedure, and Draco almost felt bad that he had not witnessed it. Lucius had been preparing him his entire life for this day. He had been stupid enough to get punished by Voldemort, and he missed it all.
When it was over, and the Dark Mark was in place on Draco’s pale skin, Voldemort turned Ginny and Draco outward to look out over all those gathered. "My trusted servants, my loyal followers, this evening we brought together six more to join us. I am preparing, even now, for something big; something no one else had ever dared attempt before. It is with these six, particularly these two — my dear, dear children —" He paused briefly to look down, almost paternally, at Draco and Ginny. "— that we will be victorious."
A murmur of consent and appreciation clouded over the clearing.
Draco shot a glance sideways at Ginny. She was looking straight ahead, her gaze fixed at some unrecognizable point on the tree line. Her lips were pursed, her breathing even.
"It is done." The Dark Lord’s last words before he disappeared into a glow of green light echoed through the tree, leaving a faint whisper which touched each being in its way with a slight bite of pain.
Those assembled repeated the phrase without thinking about it. "It is done."
Ginny looked at Draco for only a second, her bright blue eyes no longer held the same sparkle as before. Her eyes met Draco’s, his piercing gray eyes chilling her right down to the soul. Holding his gaze, she reached up to touch the pendant on her necklace.
Then, she disappeared.
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Draco and Ginny belong to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, Scholastic, Warner Bros and various other corporations. They are being used here without permission and/or affiliation with the above. None of the authors listed here make any profit from these stories.