herumtreiber

Title: The Lord Appellant 29/37
Chapter: First steps
Author:herumtreiber
Genre: Slash, romance, adventure, dark!fic
Pairing: Draco/Blaise, one sided Harry/Draco
Rating: R
Warnings for the fic and chapter: It's a dark fic, rape is mentioned several times. Dementors appear and not for show. Character death (not Harry, Draco or Blaise). Evil!Ron, powerful Hermione, Pansy and Bellatrix. Sympathetic to Slytherins.
Epilogue compliant? No
Chapter length: ~3,281 words
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or related characters. Nor do I make any money from writing these stories.
Summary: After the events of HBP, the Minister of Magic wants to finish the Malfoys but Draco uses a Wizengamot procedure to fight back. Veelas and Siddhe appear in the story as Draco uses political means to contest the pureblood's allegiance to Voldemort.
Notes: I wrote this before DH was published, so please no picayune comments about canon.

Table of contents

28. Enter Ginny

Ginny's day had been hellish. Heck, no! Ginny's entire year had been awful!

All that year, she felt a sickly feeling emanating from her, glimpses of bodies pressed against her, which were not erotic at all, but menacing and dark. Her mind felt wispy, as if there were slips of thoughts she could hold onto to unravel the rest. But they never stayed; the snippets left and kept her wondering what had caused this. She could have withstood this onslaught easier with the support of her friends, but this never came. As always, Ron was obsessed with gaining more dominance over Harry, this time using her as a weapon. Harry was on a war by himself, stalking Malfoy endlessly, Hermione too wrapped up in her books to note the real world.

This left Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan, and she didn't trust them at all. They sneered smugly at her whenever she walked by, as if knowing something – something wicked and scandalous – about her. They tried to touch her repeatedly and only her untiring vigilance gave her warning to leave the place before the slimy duo could get their paws on her.

She hardly slept most nights, but there were horrible instances, where she should have gotten a good rest, but hadn't. She'd wake up with an enormous headache, with bruises and cuts. What was more unsettling was that she felt sore inside. At such moments she sought the company of an unlikely friend and ally: Daphne Greengrass.

The petite Slytherin had a quick mind, a fierce loyalty to her friends and lots of patience. She was the only one who could listen to Ginny and really hear her, not the bride of the Boy Who Lived, a sister, a helpless friend, something to pounce on.

On such sore days, Ginny made it to the Gardens, after having tweaked her seat at the Gryffindor Table so Daphne could see. Presently she arrived, and taking Ginny's condition at a glance drew her wand and swished and flicked it, uttering healing spells, among them, contraceptive ones. Daphne had her doubts about Ginny's episodes, but thought it prudent not to use that argument just yet and just cast the spell to protect her.

After Ginny was restored and Daphne had carefully asked what had happened, Daphne chastised her and asked her to go tell a responsible adult about these episodes. Ginny replied bitterly that no one cared; they only wanted her as the girlfriend of the Boy Who Lived. No one in her family cared for her, except the Twins, and even they had left her alone.

Daphne managed to get her out of that funk by pointing out her Slytherin qualities of stealth, cunning, patience. Ginny replied, bemusedly, "Actually the Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin at first! I was outraged to be in the house of Draco Malfoy and begged the Hat to put me in Gryffindor. Finally I threatened the Hat with a Destitching spell from hell if it didn't comply."

Daphne continued, "Well, quite Slytherin of you! I wish you'd go to one of the teachers. If you do I won't raise the issue again, promise."

Ginny knew that Daphne scrupulously fulfilled her promises, so she answered, "Ok, Daphne, I'll tell of this to Professor Dumbledore and follow his advice, Ok."

Daphne felt a gnawing dismay. Ginny was suffering, in her opinion, needlessly. She was too beholden to the Gryffindor pack mentality and could not conceive of evil in her own friends. She'd tell Dumbledore, who was the most inept Headmaster the school had ever had. Who knows what inane ideas the man would spout to shut Ginny up?

Daphne's doubts were confirmed when she next met Ginny. Outwardly she still looked like the Gryffindor lioness, but her eyes were deadened. Daphne sighed, and asked, "What did the old coot say, Ginny?"

Ginny replied, "He just explained some things to me. Told me I had to stand tall and be counted, which was dramatic taking into account the state of his hand. He gives off an impression of great sorrow and retribution taking place."

Afterwards they didn't talk about Ginny consulting responsible adults, because Daphne had promised. She just continued to help Ginny over the rough spots, until the night the Death Eaters invaded Hogwarts and Dumbledore was killed.

Among the emotional turmoil, Ginny didn't stop to think of Daphne. When she did, she found out she had already left Hogwarts. Soon thereafter Harry left her for good, with the pretext of not wanting to attract attention to her. As if it mattered! Although she had to admit that the kisses were sometimes warm, they were never tingly, or more passionate. Surely she'd find someone who kissed like an angel.

Ron started watching her as if she had betrayed him utterly. That is to say, he looked at her the way he normally looked at everyone. Ginny was no longer the path to gain greater dominion over Harry, so she was discarded.

Just recently, she had a repetition of the incident where she got hurt. This one seemed to have left her sorer. She used all the spells she'd heard Daphne use, and the soreness diminished, but it remained. She thought about going to the Aurors and give testimony, but then she imagined the faces of her parents and brothers when she came back. They'd be so disappointed, like they'd been for so long.

But today, today was hell on Earth. She started by getting up, taking breakfast and going to the market to get some goods. She winced as she walked, because the tenderness remained. Then she noticed people directing sly glances at her, while apparently reading the Daily Prophet. She caught snippets of conversation that were frankly disturbing: "The Prophet says rape, but I think she wanted it, she looks like a slut;" "She took two at once, she's a keeper!" "I believe the rape is a fake, she knew it and wanted it since the start!"

Making her way home from the market without buying anything, she noticed that her mother had taken refuge in her room. She saw her lying there, obviously in the midst of a seizure of some kind, repeating "Ron, don't go!" "Ginny, get Ginny safe!" She saw that her mother had been reading the Prophet and took the newspaper and read it.

The untruthful paper had the exclusive all right, all about Ron's plans to discredit Malfoy and Harry. His bringing up his buddies and finally getting Kissed, but then she read about the rapes, and finally collected all the threads: they had repeatedly raped her and obliviated her.

Unthinking, she made her way to her bedroom. This was too much; this was entirely way too fucking much for life to throw up at her. She wished Daphne were still alive; she wished she herself were dead.

With a practiced wand flip she had her sleeping pills out, and silently thanking the Twins she muttered a spell she had overheard them discussing, to multiply pharmaceutical items. She soon had a veritable shelf of bottles, and swallowed as many pills as she could. She only hoped the journey would be short.

The next day, Pansy duly showed up at 3:00. Talking to the Healer in charge, she discovered that they had made it so that Ginny was in deep sleep. Apparently she had been suffering acute sleep deprivation. She'd continue in that state for three days.

Nosing around, she found out that Mr. Weasley, the Twins and Bill had come to get Mrs. Weasley. The elder Weasley had been intent on dissociating the family from Ginny, she wanted to disown her! To hear him mutter, Ginny had performed a shameful act, inviting all kinds of calamities into the family, when she was the victim! The Twins had been browbeaten into toeing the paternal line, and they took away Ginny's mother without asking to see Ginny.

Pansy fumed and wished she were a dragon and allowed to let loose next to those Weasleys. Obviously it was quite advantageous to be a close personal friend of Draco Malfoy; one was privy to much information. Also this was the hospital generally used in these cases by the purebloods, when they were rape victims.

Time seemed to stand still, it moved like a hurricane. Ginny was serenely in the midst of it all, when she sensed a presence nearby. She turned and beheld Draco Malfoy approaching. She made no move to defend herself.

Draco drawled lazily, "What's the matter, Weasley? Too tired to hex me?"

Ginny sighed to herself, "It figures that he'd be a git, even in a hallucination."

Draco replied, "This is no pipe dream, Weasley. You look overwhelmed, Merlin knows, I would feel completely overwhelmed too. Just remember that there are people that support you, even who you least suspect."

Ginny asked, "Why?"

"Because you deserve it. After all those incidents, you need to find some people you can rely on and also be a pillar for them." "As to why me personally? Your brother asked me to avenge you, and I devised plans. But in my mind's eye, they were not enough, never enough. I kept picturing the fierce and gruesome way you looked at me when defending Potter and hexing me in the train, seeing those features become dead and blank is too much for me. Hence my support, for what it's worth."

"We meet in a time without place and a place without time. I tell you this: the fate of Voldemort may depend more on you and your actions than on me and my actions or Harry's."

Ginny woke up, disoriented; she muttered a Tempus spell and found out that it was 5:19 pm. She looked toward the chair with the pensieve and just as she was about to watch it, a dainty owl flew in. Ginny talked to the owl and told her she was sorry she didn't have owl treats, maybe they'd have some at the Owlery?

She found herself explaining things, as if the owl could understand her. Judging from her warm, intelligent eyes, she swore she could. Finally, she spoke of her vision, and how she would try to become used to the idea of working alongside Malfoy. If the owl shuddered minutely, Ginny didn't notice it.

Ginny took the vial and pour it into the Pensieve, and entered the memory. She saw Draco's conversation with Pansy. Soon, however, the memory ended and was replaced by another of a pair of teenagers on a dare, looking for the Weasley slippers at the Burrow. After successfully containing her chuckles at the retreating pair, she remembered what the Twins had commented at that time, and the sense of irony, of inevitability was so great that she was overpowered. She guffawed and slid to the floor and laughed her head off.

Pansy was worried. Ginny had only watched the pensieve, there was nothing there to unhinge her, right? Or maybe the emotional reaction the people talked about had started. At any rate, she changed back to her human form. Ginny noticed Pansy and said, "Sorry to startle you, but that Pensieve memory was just so funny!" Pansy thought privately that Ginny had surely lost it.

Ginny continued, "That memory of you and Draco outside the burrow, with him climbing the bloated vine, coming out with the shoes and stumbling. That's rich, but what really takes the prize is the fact that when we first heard the noise, we who were inside the Burrow, Fred commented to George that it sounded, "Like a squeak from the amazing bouncing ferret."

Pansy chortled gleefully, and soon had to sit down. She added, "just please let me know when you tell him. I want to be present, to see his face."

Pansy continued, "Here is the vault key. I don't know how long they will keep you here, or what your plans are about the future. I'm sorry, but I'd say your family is quite unstable for you right now. You can rent a department, live in a hotel, or come live with us. By us I mean Draco's court, with the addition of Harry and Hermione. We live in Malfoy Manor. If you want more information, we are plotting the utter demise of Voldemort, or as Draco calls him, the Dark Twit. I was told to get hold of a Healer when you woke up; they have important news to discuss. I'd like to stay, if it is Ok with you."

Ginny said, "By all means do, and if it's not too much trouble, could Malfoy be here too. I've a feeling I'll need him."

Pansy said, "I'll tell him." She took out a cellular phone, dialled the private number, got Draco and told him, nay ordered him, to show up. After she'd put away the phone, she answered an astounded Ginny's questions. Sure, batteries were unreliable in the Wizarding World, except for those of a special company, those batteries could be used to power small appliances in the Wizarding and Muggle world, and of course Malfoy was the main investor. So they were assured their supply of phones, which worked when even Magical means could not penetrate, as some Death Eaters had cause to regret.

Presently, Draco arrived. He greeted Pansy warmly and then approached Ginny, he grabbed her hands and said, "I'm sorry for what you suffered. Words cannot express my outrage. I will tell you: don't get mad, get even. For now, let the cold hand of revenge provide you some support. Eventually your revenge will be done, new people will stand around you, and a newer, better stage of your life will unfold, for I promise you this, Ginevra Weasley: Life is not over with you, not by a long shot; nor is she always as dim as she has appeared lately. You'll learn to take it in stride."

Ten minutes later Mrs. Sweeney opened the door. She said, "Good afternoon, Lord Malfoy and Miss Parkinson, and Miss Weasley. It is good that you do not receive this news alone."

"I'll be blunt. There were physical signs of multiple rapes, occurring over a period of more than a year. Furthermore, and it pains me to say this, there was a Sexually Transmitted disease, left unchecked, the disease grew and damaged the uterine walls. It was an illness that has been conquered in the Wizarding World and if a knowledgeable person had diagnosed it, it could have been treated. However, the damage cannot be undone. You won't be able to carry a baby, Ginny."

Ginny sobbed and hugged Pansy, who was on her left side; on her right side, Draco held a fierce grip on her shoulder and muttered darkly, "Don't let them win, Ginny! You have so much to give. Your strength is like that of stones, easy to overlook, yet they build cathedrals or castles. Keep your mind on the mantra: we will make them pay!"

Mrs. Sweeney continued, "You endured a lot of sleep deprivation. I'm afraid it was because of the nature and strength of the multiple obliviates used on you. I want you to sleep 12 hours daily for six months."

"The obliviates present another problem. So long as they remain active, your mind will be skittish, sensing there is a part that keeps to itself apart from the whole. If untreated this could lead to dementia. There is an easily learned spell to release the obliviates, but when you use it, you will get all the psychological weight at once. So I advise to use it only until you feel comfortable with the environment and the company. I propose to teach the spell to Lord Malfoy and Miss Parkinson, they in turn can use it on you when the time's right or teach it to someone else."

"You may or may not know, but we also admitted your mother with you. She is suffering from acute depression, and is in danger of taking her own life. Miss Parkinson was kind enough to provide us with information about her husband and sons. We contacted them and they arrived the next day."

"However, Mr. Weasley's viewpoint was completely against you, in a bigoted and prejudiced way. I'm afraid you must expect no succor from that side. Your father prevailed upon his sons to tread his self-serving views. They took your mother, but did not visit with you."

"I'm sorry, Miss Weasley. Hardly am I a bearer of such awful news; but I believe in honesty. I also fervently hope that the worst is behind you and you may find peace and solace. You are free to go. I would urge you to schedule biweekly therapy sessions."

Mrs. Sweeney taught them the spell and left, they were alone. Ginny looked so forlorn and bereft, that Draco got near her, put a hand under her chin and raised it, and said, "Come on, Ginny! Where is the redheaded menace? Where is the hellion that challenged me and taunted me during school?" "This is no fun at all and I want my money back and I am not going to tell you what you want to hear!"

Ginny replied, "What is it that I want to hear?"

Draco tssked, "Got your attention, didn't it? I gather you want to learn how to be an Animagus!"

That got a fraction of Ginny's enthusiasm, "That's great, I want to know what I will be, and I'm sure about you, Malfoy, you'll either be a wyvern or a snake!"

Then Draco calmed down and got down to the nitty-gritty: "Let's get down to business, dear Ginny. I said that you would be avenged, and I meant it. Hear this: Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan sit in Azkaban warmly in a cell. They're probably allowed treats from home. To their stupid families, they are kind of heroes, because they did the "man thing." They probably dream that their parents move enough influence to let them go free and who knows, maybe someday they will. What they don't know is that there are plans afoot as we speak to teach them a lesson. On 4 nights a month, with no discernible pattern, they will be kidnapped and transported, they will be given polyjuice potion and they will be the whores of the party. They have Charms that prevent them from seeking help."

"How say you to this revenge, Miss Ginevra Weasley?"

For the first time in a long time, Ginny's wolfish grin appeared. "I think it's grand, Draco."

Draco prodded, "If you have any ideas, creative or otherwise, we're all open ears!"

Ginny beamed. She said, "I have an idea. Let them be not polyjuiced, but themselves. Some people will recognize them and word of the activities will reach their families."

Draco shuddered, recognizing a fellow revenge-connoisseur

Draco added, "That leaves us the Daily Prophet to deal with. I specifically asked them not to print who the victims were, as they were covered by the statute of secrecy protecting minors." "But they went and did it anyway, probably to taunt Harry and me."

Draco said, "I will ask for an injunction stopping printing of the Prophet until the issue has been settled. They'll lose millions per day. When they are finally ready to cave in, I'll ask that Rita Skeeter be fired and never hired by the newspaper."

30. New friendships