Disclaimer: JK Rowling A/N: I’m sorry this took me so long to get out. I guess it was because I was both lazy and busy at the same time 8>P. In other words, when I had time to write I didn’t make good use of my time. But I finally got this typed, so here’s chapter ten.   Chapter Ten Nowhere To Run

 

Harry flew a good distance behind Draco on his own broom, deep in thought. He kept replaying the previous scene with Ginny in his head. What was wrong with him? As if helping Lucius Malfoy wasn’t enough, he’d stood by and watched as they took her away. He could’ve done something – anything – to stop them.

    When he’d first heard that the bus Ginny was on had crashed into the ocean and there were no survivors, he’d felt terrible. He couldn’t bring himself to visit the Weasleys, but he could only imagine their despair. He had been angry and upset and he wasn’t even related to her.

    But then he’d heard that she was still alive. So he’d gone straight to the Burrow, slightly guilty that he hadn’t been with them when they’d been mourning Ginny’s “death.” They had all turned to Harry for help, since he worked for the Ministry as an Auror. Harry would never forget the look on Mrs. Weasley’s face when she took one of his hands in between hers and stared him directly in the eye.

    “Find her, Harry,” she had said somberly, her face a pasty white, but her eyes determined. “Do anything you can to bring my baby back to me.”

    How could Harry have said no? Deep inside, he felt that he wouldn’t be able to bring her back to her family, considering she’d just go right back to Azkaban as soon as the Ministry got a hold of her. He’d just jumped to the conclusion immediately that she was running from her guilt as soon as he’d heard she’d survived the bus crash.

    But why had he? His godfather, Sirius Black, whose name had been cleared the year Harry had graduated, had been innocent and had run from the Ministry. For some reason, he thought it was different, considering that Sirius had been in jail for twelve years and knew what it was like.

    Now, Harry cursed himself inside his head. When Sirius first escaped, I thought he was guilty. And he turned out to be innocent. I didn’t even know him very well and I assumed he deserved to be in Azkaban.

    But I know Ginny. And I should’ve known that she was innocent the whole time.

    He’d just been so desperate to help the Weasleys, who’d always been kind and helped him when he was younger, that he’d convinced himself that Ginny was guilty. Maybe subconsciously he’d thought it would be too painful to watch the Ministry put Ginny behind bars, and thought maybe if she was guilty then it would make it easier.

    Not to mention that she was with Draco Malfoy. That was what worried him the most. He wasn’t sure why – just because Draco was a terrible person didn’t exactly mean he’d hurt Ginny. But somehow he just didn’t feel comfortable with the fact that she was running with him. It didn’t feel right. It was what scared him most about Ginny being on the run.

    So he’d been incredibly stupid. He hadn’t really thought it out. He’d just reacted, and Lucius Malfoy was the only person who he thought could help him.

    I was afraid for Ginny because she was with Malfoy, so I go and form an alliance with his father? Oh, that makes sense, doesn’t it? God, I’m a prat.

    Harry frowned deeply and put more speed on his Firebolt. The sooner he got Ginny out of Lucius’s grasp, the better he’d feel.

*** 

Ginny was obviously walking too slowly for the men holding on to her. She stood between two of them, each holding on to her upper arm. They were constantly yanking her forward, or lifting her a few inches off the ground and dropping her back between them so that she wouldn’t fall behind. Ginny put up no resistance – she allowed them to drag her wherever they wanted.

    I’ve got to escape, she thought desperately. I’m not going to let Lucius Malfoy take me back to his house and torture me. I’d rather live my life on the run than return with him.

    She found herself wishing Draco was near her. The longing didn’t surprise her. She felt safe around Draco, despite how he treated her, and felt that maybe if he was nearby it would make things easier. Draco wouldn’t stand by and let Lucius hurt her.

    At least, I don’t think he would.

    It was pitch dark out. The thick leaves overhead blocked the night sky. Ginny was having trouble seeing which direction they were going, and was slightly afraid that her toe would catch under a log and she’d sprawl flat on her face. While she was having this fear, the exact thing happened – only it happened to the person walking in front of her.

    Lucius suddenly cried out and fell forward, dropping onto his hands and knees.

    This caused the other dozen men, including Ginny’s bodyguards, to halt behind him.

    Ginny tried to suppress a giggle. Draco Malfoy does not fall, she thought with amusement, but Lucius Malfoy does.

    “Help me up, you idiots!” Lucius commanded, sounding annoyed and slightly embarrassed.

    About half of the men rushed to his side. This included the guy holding Ginny’s right arm.

    The other relaxed his grip slightly, as if unsure to let go of her, too, and help or to just stay put.

    This is my chance, Ginny thought. And she tore her arm from the man’s grasp. Spinning on her heels, she turned and bolted in the direction they had come.

    “FOOLS!” Lucius Malfoy screamed.

    Ginny ran as fast as she’d ever run in her life. She jumped over rocks and small bushes and dodged trees. She could hear the footsteps of pursuers behind her, lumbering not too far behind. Her breath started to come out louder and in gasps as she pushed herself to go even faster.

    Please don’t let me fall, she prayed silently. They’ll catch me if I do . . . please don’t let me trip . . .

    She had no idea where she was going. For all she knew she could be going deeper and deeper into the woods, away from civilization. And the one thing she needed at the moment was a busy, crowded place.

    It’s the middle of the night, she thought. Nothing will be busy.

    Still, a building to hide in would be pretty useful right about then.

    She could hear their voices, but the pounding of her feet and her quick breathing blocked out the words they were saying. Branches whipped at her face, tore at her jumpsuit, scratched her skin, but she ignored it and kept running as fast as she could.

    I don’t know how long I can keep this up, she thought desperately. She couldn’t sprint forever. Already she was starting to get tired and slowing a little and she’d only been going for less than a minute.

    She’d need to hide. No, that won’t work, she told herself quickly. They’ll be looking everywhere for me! Lucius won’t give up until I’m found. If I stop and hide in these woods I’ll be caught for sure.

    Ginny’s hard, raspy breathing turned into short, frantic sobs. What was she thinking, trying to get away? She couldn’t do it . . . there were so many of them, only one of her . . . and Draco wasn’t there to help her.

    But she kept going. I managed to keep away from the Ministry for a few days, didn’t I? I can run away from them again.

    She tried to ignore the fact that she hadn’t exactly been by herself those few days.

    Here I go again, acting all helpless. I don’t need Draco to help me with everything. I can do some things myself.

    Suddenly, her foot caught on something and she toppled over instantly, falling so quickly that by the time she had her hands out to soften her fall she had already hit the ground. Fortunately, there were leaves that covered the ground, and it cushioned it somewhat, but she still got the breath knocked out of her. For a moment she lay still, trying to stop panting. Then she sucked in her breath and held it, her heart pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears. She struggled to listen to what was going on around her.

    Yes, they were definitely still nearby. She could hear them rushing through the trees and crunching over the leaves as they ran, desperate to find her. They were talking to each other, telling one another where to go. When she lifted her head, she saw the light from their wands through the trees. Soon they would come to where she was laying and they’d see her. But if she jumped up and ran, then they’d spot her, too.

    She let out her breath loudly, and continued to inhale and exhale noisily. Her palms were flat on the ground, ready to push her back up into a standing position when she needed to. The problem was she didn’t know what to do.

    Frightened tears ran down her cheeks, and her nose was running. Oh, God, what am I going to do now? Should I just wait to be found? They’re only seconds away . . .

    She looked around quickly for a place to hide, only until they passed by and she could turn and run in the other direction. Their voices rang louder in her ears, along with her pounding heart and hoarse crying, and she just reacted. She rolled under a long, narrow bush about a meter away and pressed herself flat against the ground. The thick, tiny leaves and scraping twigs kept her covered enough so that they wouldn’t notice her. Unless someone decided to look down and see her leg sticking out . . .

    Her nose inches from the dirt, she tried to control her sobbing. Calm down, Ginny, she instructed as smoothly as she could. It’ll be all right.

    It barely helped.

    And then the men were running past the bush, their tones loud and their boots falling heavily on the ground. The wandlight lit up a good distance, and she was terrified they would happen to see her without even having to look down. Ginny held her breath once again and squeezed her eyes shut, gripping two handfuls of dirt, getting it up her fingernails and not even noticing, and gritting her teeth, trying to keep herself from letting out whimpers. Please just keep going, she prayed. Just go.

    Slowly, so slowly Ginny could barely stand it, their voices faded. They didn’t go away altogether, but they seemed to be far enough away for her to lift her head, open her eyes and relax her grip.

    The light was gone. She was drenched in darkness once more.

    She let out a relieved sob, and let her head drop back to the ground.

    I want to go home. I don’t want to run anymore. She wasn’t sure if she could handle another chase.

    All she wanted to do was lay there forever, fall asleep and never wake up. Or perhaps wake up and find it was all a bad dream, that she wasn’t a convicted felon and she wasn’t going to be tortured by Lucius Malfoy. That she’d never had to fight her way to stay free with Draco, and that she’d never allowed herself to become so attached to him.

    The one thing she didn’t want to be a dream was kissing him.

    She closed her eyes, her wet cheek against the dry dirt, and remembered the feel of his lips on hers. In the back of her mind she knew she should be getting up and running away, not fantasizing about some kiss.

    Some totally amazing kiss, she added.

    No matter what she tried to tell herself, she really wanted Draco back with her. He gave her a sense of security she’d never really felt with anyone else, not even her brothers. Maybe because there was always the possibility that Draco would suddenly kiss her while he was rescuing her, while her brothers would probably just manage to get revenge by putting ink in her tea for getting into such trouble in which she needed to be saved from.

    All right, Ginny, time to get up, she ordered.

    She somehow managed to get out from under the bush without getting her jumpsuit too torn up, or her hair too tangled, and pushed herself to her feet. Her legs were wobbly, and every other part of her ached with exhaustion. But she still had to run – quickly – out of the woods before she was found.

    Wiping the dirt off her cheek, she glanced in the direction the men had gone. She could see some light through the thick trees, and she could hear their muffled voices, but they seemed a good distance away. It was now or never.

    Taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly. Then she turned and started to half-jog, half-run and tried to forget all that had happened to her.

*** 

“Which building is it?” Harry called, pulling his broom up next to Draco’s in the air.

    “What?” Draco asked lazily, not bothering to turn his head.

    “Where they’re taking Ginny. What building in London is it?”

    That caused Draco to look at him, his steel eyes unfathomable. “I don’t know. You work for the Ministry – don’t you?”

    Harry glowered. “There are a lot of buildings the Ministry use. How the hell am I supposed to know which one?”

    Draco stopped and hovered in the air, causing Harry to stop as well. “Great. Wonderful. So we don’t even know where she is. Why didn’t you wait until we got to London to tell me this?” he demanded sarcastically.

    “So what are we going to do?”

    Draco sighed irritably. “We’ve only been flying for about a half hour. We’ll have to turn around and find my father again and follow him from the air. That’s all we can do.”

    Harry bit his lower lip and nodded. “All right.”

    They turned and started to fly in the direction they had come.

*** 

After a few minutes of trying to run, Ginny started to stumble through the woods. She wasn’t sure how she managed to keep going, but somehow she found the strength to keep going. She began to think of people running through the desert, without water, the sun beating down on their backs, and then they finally collapse. That was exactly how she felt, only there was no sun, no sand, and if she really wanted water she could get it.

    And then, she saw the trees were starting to get thin out. She increased her speed slightly, rubbing her face in her hands in attempt to keep her alert.

    She finally came out of the woods.

    Stumbling a little, she came to the edge of an empty parking lot. It was a grocery store and it was closed, obviously, considering it was still the middle of the night. No traffic went by, and everything was deathly quiet.

    Ginny was about to sit down on the curb when she suddenly heard a loud snapping noise behind her. She whipped her head around back at the woods, and caught the dark form of somebody just in time. They had accidentally stepped on a twig.

    Lucius and his men had been following her the whole time! Peering closer, she could see the bulky outlines of the others trying to hide behind trees. Her breath caught in her throat, and she started to take small steps backwards, terrified. They’re going to get me . . . they’ll kill me, Lucius’ll be mad that I tried to run again . . .

    Without warning, she came to the curb. Since she’d been walking backwards, she hadn’t seen it and she missed the step, loosing her balance. She fell hard on to her bottom in the parking lot, biting her lip in attempt to keep from crying out.

    “Get her!” Lucius’s voice suddenly shrieked.

    They all came out from their pathetic hiding places, advancing on her. Without having time to think, Ginny jumped to her feet and started running. She sprinted, using whatever energy she had left in her, and headed towards the grocery store.

    She screwed up her face, waiting for them to start shooting curses at her. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw them still standing at the edge of the lot, pulling out their wands.

    She didn’t stop.

    “No!” Lucius screamed. “No magic! I don’t want you to damage her! She’s only a girl – you can just grab her! Put your wands away and run after her, you idiots!”

    Ginny felt slightly relieved. Now all she had to do was manage to outrun them. Yeah, that’ll be easy, being exhausted and all.

    They had longer legs than her and were quickly advancing on her. Ginny reached the sliding glass doors of the grocery store and pushed on them. They didn’t budge. Of course, they were locked.

    She tried pounding on it with her fists, but that would get her nowhere. And the half dozen men were seconds away from grabbing her and handing her back to Lucius.

    I won’t let them get me, she vowed, too scared to even cry. I’ll die trying to escape.

    She looked around frantically for a weapon. There was nothing . . . nothing . . . they were going to get her –

    Her eyes rested on a line of metal shopping carts an arm’s length away. Bingo, she thought, grabbing the handlebars of the first one. Then, she swung it around to face the bulky men running towards her.

    With all her might she shoved the shopping cart towards the mob of them. They’re not too bright, are they? They should spread out if they hope to catch me.

    Since they were only feet away, the cart didn’t have very far to travel. It hit the first few of them, slowing them down. But it wouldn’t stop them.

    Her heart in her throat, Ginny hurriedly grabbed another shopping cart. This time she turned towards the glass doors of the store. Without letting go of it, she rammed it into the doors. The glass shattered. She rammed it one more time just to be sure and then pushed the cart to the side, out of her way.

    She started to step through the doorway when someone grabbed the back of her jumpsuit.

    She let out a loud shriek and twisted around, fighting to get free. Her foot slid on a piece of glass, and, for what seemed like the fiftieth time that night, fell on her back on the ground. The good thing of this accident was that whoever had grabbed her lost their grip. The bad thing was she landed on a bed of glass.

    Fortunately, it didn’t feel as if anything had pierced her too badly. Using her feet, she pushed herself along the ground away from the doorway. They were all hurrying to get in, and two of them couldn’t fit in at the same time. That gave her time to get away from the doorway.

    When she was a good distance away, she scrambled to her feet. She hurried down an aisle, glad that it was dark inside. For a moment, she paused, reaching behind to feel her back. Her jumpsuit was cut in many places, and she could feel a couple of slashes on her skin, but nothing too terrible. All the glass had fallen out and that was good, but blood dribbled out of her wounds down her back.

    Fix it later. You’ve got to find a way out of here and loose these baboons.

    She could hear the pounding of boots on the tile, and could hear Lucuis’s voice commanding them where to go. Ginny hurriedly looked for a place to go, another exit in which she could leave. But she saw nothing in the dim light – only the shelves of food that surrounded her.

    Fear, panic, and hysteria were beginning to mix, and she wasn’t sure if she could handle it. She bit her lip to keep from screaming, so hard she felt blood drip off her chin. She hadn’t even felt the pain. Her whole body was numb. Even her mind was having trouble functioning.

    She somehow starting walking towards the end of the aisle, her ears perked up to listen for the sound of approaching footsteps. So far they were still searching the area to her right, about two aisles away if she was hearing correctly.

    Think, she commanded herself, trying to get her brain working again. Figure something out, Ginny. You can’t stand here!

    She leaned her back against the shelf and closed her eyes. Tears leaked from the closed lids, and she couldn’t think of anything else. Her mind went blank, and she felt nothing, thought of nothing.

    She slid down to the floor, bringing her knees up to her chin. She hugged her legs for comfort, but none came.

    Then one thought flashed across her mind.

    I wish Draco were here.

*** 

“Do you see that?” Harry asked suddenly.

    Draco could see the woods up ahead, and was too busy concentrating on it to listen to Harry or look where he was pointing.

    “Isn’t that them?” said Harry a little louder, annoyed at being ignored.

    He looked down. It was an empty parking lot with a store – except near the store the lot wasn’t so empty. There were about half a dozen people trying to get in through the doorway. They were only flying a bit higher than the building, so Draco could see that the doors had once been glass and were smashed in.

    Harry was right. It was them. Draco could see his father, standing behind everyone who was trying to get in, his arms waving frantically.

    Draco hovered above the scene, trying to figure out what was going on. As the men clad in black finally managed to file in, followed by Lucius, Draco began to slowly smile.

    It’s Ginny, he realized. She got away from them. All on her own. And they’re trying to get her back.

    Draco shared his idea with Harry, who quickly became concerned.

    “Then we have to go in there and stop them,” Harry said. “Come on, they’ll probably listen to you better, Malfoy –”

    “No,” Draco said sharply, holding his hand out to stop Harry from diving down. “We don’t want them to know that we’re here. Come on, we’ll go in through the back and see if we can find Ginny before them.”

    A minute later, they landed behind the grocery store. Draco searched the length and found an employee entrance. “Alohomora,” he hissed, and the door sprung open.

    Harry started to rush by Draco to get in, but he grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. “Don’t let them see you,” Draco snapped warningly. “If you do then my father will kill you. Do you understand? Look for Ginny and then bring her right back out here and fly her home right away. If I get to her first, come back out here in five minutes. We’ll have to have found her by then. If my broom is gone, then you leave, too.”

    “What if they get her first?” Harry demanded.

    “Meet me here anyway. We’ll figure out a plan to get her back then. Got it?”

    Harry nodded. Draco released his shoulder and allowed him to go in first. Then he followed him in. He watched Harry turn to the right, away from where Lucius’s men were searching, and disappear down the furthest aisle.

    Draco’s eyes quickly adjusted to the dimness of the store. He decided to pick the aisle next to the last one where everyone else was searching. That way he would find her before they did. From their conversations he could hear, they obviously hadn’t found her yet.

    Draco looked down the aisle and saw nothing. He quickly looked in the next one.

    And saw a small form curled on the floor, back against the shelves. It was Ginny.

    Draco reached her in three strides. She was hugging her knees to her chest, her face down and her wild hair spreading over her shoulders. She hadn’t heard or seen him approach.

    “Ginny,” he whispered urgently, his voice hard. “Come on, Ginny, stand up.”

    He leaned over and grabbed her upper arm as she slowly raised her head to him. As he pulled her to her feet, her eyes stayed on his face. They looked slightly amazed to see him, but her features reflected how hopeless she felt, how broken up she was. Draco felt all his hard feelings wash away as he looked at her, and she stared back. He held both her arms, her body only inches from his.

    Carefully, she reached a hand up to touch him. Her fingertips brushed his cheek.

    “Draco.” It wasn’t much more than a sigh.

    And then their lips were pressed together, and what space that had been between them disappeared. She tasted coppery, like blood, but Draco didn’t care. She didn’t seem to mind, either, because she kissed him hard. She clung to him like he was her lifesaver in the ocean of turmoil she’d been drowning in for the past few months. Draco felt in a way he was comforting her, something he’d wanted to do ever since he’d saved her from Kyle. She needed him – for the first time in his life, someone needed him – and he was happy to give himself to her.

    They kissed for what seemed like hours, but it had to have been less than a minute. The danger they were in melted from their minds and all that seemed to matter was them.

    When Ginny finally pulled her mouth away, she still kept her arms around his neck, keeping herself plastered against him. He didn’t loosen his grip on her waist – in fact, he tightened it.

     And then she was smiling. It was very faint, but it was there nonetheless. Her dark eyes showed how relieved she was to see him, but he still saw how terrified she was.

    “Don’t ever leave me again,” she ordered. And he could see, even in the pale light, the adorable blush that spread across her cheeks and neck.

 

A/N: Yes, yet ANOTHER cliffie. Because we all know that just because Draco’s there doesn’t mean they’ll be able to get out easily, though I wish it were all that simple.

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