Chapter Text
The ceiling is pretty. That’s the first lucid thought Ginny has tonight. It’s ornate in that “generational wealth” kind of way. Inlays and carved patterns that probably took ages to create, even with magic. All for a ceiling that most wouldn’t take note of. What a waste of galleons she thinks, and then she remembers who she is talking about. The Malfoy family probably hasn’t thought about the cost of anything in centuries. Her musings were cut short however; “You’ve done well, my pet. Narcissa will escort you to your cell,” Voldemort ran a pale finger down her cheek, then briefly onto her now deflated abdomen. “We will have to see this part of you full with my child again. You wear your misery well, Ginevra. I miss it already.”
Narcissa came forward and helped her to a sitting position on the altar she had just given birth on. It’s situated on a dais at the front of the grand ballroom. The drawing room, where court for the Dark Lord is usually held, was deemed inadequate for tonight’s entertainment. In another world Ginny might’ve felt special to be considered too good for merely the drawing room . “Grab ahold of my hand, we mustn’t linger. I don’t know if the Dark Lord is willing to perform the cruciatus curse on a woman who’s just given birth, and I don’t intend to find out.” Narcissa led her by the arm out of the ballroom, down towards the dungeons. They’ve been her home for the past 13 months, and it is the only place she feels safe anymore. Voldemort never visits her there, and if she is in her cell then she is not being beaten, raped, or humiliated. Her cell is her sanctuary. Her home.
13 months prior
Harry is dead. His broken body lay at Voldemort’s feet, ribbons of blood and flesh cut across him in so many places that it’s difficult to tell where one ends and another begins. It wasn’t enough for the Dark Lord to use avada kedavra , but when that didn’t succeed in killing the boy who lived , he flung curse after hex after jinx at him. Harry was dead long before Voldemort was finished cursing his body.
“Capture the blood traitors, we can find a use for them. Kill the rest,” Voldemort conjured a throne for himself to sit upon, using Harry’s body as a footrest. There are so few fighters in the resistance left, my Death Eaters will make quick work of them, he thinks.
Ginny fled the grounds, heading to the Forbidden Forest to try to reach the boundary for apparition. She wasn’t old enough to apparate but hopefully someone from the Order would show up and side-along her to safety. As she neared the edge of the forest, she was yanked backwards and fell hard onto the grassy earth. “Well well, if it isn’t a filthy blood traitor Weasley . You will make a fine token for the Dark Lord,” Corban Yaxley tightened his grip on her hair, holding her steady in order to immobilize her for transport. “ Petrificus totalus! Wingardium leviosa! ” Ginny felt helpless panic crawl through her as Yaxley guided her to the makeshift prison erected in the courtyard. She would rather die beside her halfblood & muggleborn friends than be taken prisoner. Death would at least grant her a semblance of safety. Having no outlet for her panic and no way to channel it, she spiraled into unconsciousness.
It was dark and cold when Ginny awoke. She was free of her body binding curse, and in some sort of cellar. Moldy earthen stones covered the floor, ceiling, and walls; it was a short ceiling, not tall enough for a human to stand up in. There’s a heavy wooden door, reinforced with iron bands across it in three places. “We think we’re in a cold storage cellar used by the manor’s house elves,” Padma Patil said. “Lavender and Luna were awake when we were brought here, and they said it was nearing dusk at that time. We’ve probably been in this place for 3 or 4 hours.”
“Which ‘manor’ are we in?” Ginny asked.
“The Malfoy Manor of course. I saw the peacocks when we were brought in. They’re quite lovely in the setting sun. Their white feathers looked like they were painted a nice shade of pink.” Luna’s voice rang out from the opposite side of the room, as calm and unhurried as ever.
“I saw a portrait that looked like Lucius Malfoy in the foyer we came in through. It’s Malfoy Manor,” Lavender Brown said in a shaky voice. She was sitting across the room next to Luna and Cho. All of them were in a sitting position, as the options with such a low ceiling were to sit or to lay down. “The guards that brought us here were trying to guess what the Dark Lord would do with us. I don’t think they knew anything for sure, it sounded like they were having fun dreaming up more violent ways to torture us as a means to one up each other.”
“Who’s all here with us? Are any of my brothers here?” Ginny sat up and looked around, trying to see in the near pitch black room.
“They must be keeping the boys in a separate room, it’s just girls in this one. Luna, Lavender, and Cho are here with us,” Padma stated. “I think I saw one of your brothers being tackled by MacNair when I was fleeing. The hair looked Weasley-orange anyways.”
“Parvati isn’t here?” Ginny knew that she must not be, else she’d be sitting here next to Padma. The question needed asking though.
“No, she isn’t. I….I didn’t let her be captured.” At this, Padma looked away, not in shame but in sorrow. “I only wish I could have joined her, but I was stunned before I could.”