Possession

representation of him brought to life through her power. This was the real Dark Lord and he had seen her. She gulped but nodded to herself. She had no choice but to obey. If she disobeyed she had no idea of the consequence but they wouldn't be good. Somehow the Dark Lord would make her pay even though she was tied to Harry who he had more than a passing interest in but through his actions she knew, somehow, that he was no longer interested in killing him. He wouldn't have set the little serpent there if he wanted Harry dead and Voldemort had proved quite clearly that he could go where he wanted and kill who he wanted without fear of retribution. He was immortal and not even Dumbledore could help them. Only Harry could. === Ginny shivered. The forest was still around her but it was a place no human should frequent. It wasn't evil as much as it was dark. Only beings that were born here should live here. Around her there was the constant drip of water. It wasn't raining but it was cold enough that the water was condensing on the leaves and dripping from the trees, coating everything with a slippery sheen of water and making even the air she was breathing damp. She wasn't sure where she was going but she knew she'd reach her destination soon. The Dark Lord's words were still echoing through her mind and she was compelled to obey. Ginny stumbled over a rotting log and as her vision dropped she saw it in the distance a dull light held by a robed figure. She nodded as she rose, brushing her hair back and pulling her Hogwarts robes closer around her. That was the person she was meant to find. She began walking towards them with a new purpose. "You!" She couldn't help the exclamation of surprise once she was close enough. She knew who it was. Ron had told her all about him. He was the man who had betrayed Harry's parents to the Dark Lord. He was the man Sirius Black would sell his soul to catch. Peter Petrigrew Wormtail. "Oh... so it's you," he said to her without much enthusiasm. She decided not to answer that. He looked at her carefully, squinting through rheumy eyes. "You'll learn soon enough that this is not a game child." He held out his silver hand. "Come... He doesn't like to be kept waiting." Ginny reached out and took the man's hand and found it surprisingly warm. All that silver should be cold but it was as if it was flesh. She nodded to him, still not speaking. She hadn't come to talk to him and while for one instant she had been tempted to run back to the castle she knew she couldn't do that. This was the only way she was going to see the Dark Lord and this was possibly the only way she had to save Harry. There was a blur and the forest disappeared and for a moment she was everywhere that was nowhere and then there was cold stonewalls around her and she recognised the room. It was the same throne room she had been in earlier that day but this time there was only three people in it herself, Wormtail and the Dark Lord and the blood that had stained the floor earlier was now crusted on the stones with a mottled pattern. It smelt sweet and while she knew of the events that had caused it to be there, they no longer seemed to affect her. She was, after all, dealing with a Dark Lord and shouldn't be surprised by the extent of any torture he bestowed on his captives although she was slightly curious as to why he was torturing Muggles. Wormtail bowed deeply to his Master and backed away. He couldn't leave until Voldemort gave him permission but he was eager to be out of sight. Ginny just stood there aware that her every movement was being assessed by blood red eyes. Not many people were allowed to see the Dark Lord alone, no matter who they were, the risk was too great, no matter how powerless they may profess to be. Voldemort hadn't attained his power by taking unnecessary risks. "Relax child." Ginny started but strangely his rich voice surrounded him and she did feel her body relax. "I know what you have done." Ginny nodded. There was no use in denying it. "You're not strong enough alone." She hung her head. "I can help you but you must help me." She looked up, her eyes wide. "You can help me?" She asked in a small voice. "You must help me," he said again, steepling his fingers. As his robes fell back from his arms she could see vivid red scratch marks running along his forearms. For a moment the insane urge to run passed through her but she quickly quashed it. The Dark Lord could use more magic than she could dream about and use it in ways not even Dumbledore could conceive. "I will help you," she murmured quietly, looking back down at the floor. He examined her closely and then nodded. "Who hurt him?" Ginny felt the tears gathering in her eyes and she reached up and dashed them from her face, feeling the rough fabric of her robes scrape against her face. "I don't know..." she managed to croak. "I can't... I can't get through to him." The Dark Lord just looked at her before he nodded. He wasn't happy with her response, she could tell, but he was satisfied that she was telling the truth. "If you knew, would you have acted?" She cocked her head at him... That wasn't anything she had been expecting. "I'm not sure. If... If I knew what to do, I would have but for the pain they caused him, I don't know that I could inflict an appropriate punishment." "Hehahaha!" Voldemort laughed. The girl was as deliciously pure as he had imagined and he could hardly wait to see her actions when she was truly angry. "I can help you there," he said softly, watching as she nodded. "What do you want me to do?" "You are not strong enough to awaken him alone. Your bond is to him alone, mine is not. Harry is bonded to me and I am tied to him so I may wake him." "So why haven't you?" It didn't matter that she was speaking with potentially the most powerful wizard in centuries, one who wouldn't hesitate to kill her and wouldn't think anything of it, she felt her anger rising and couldn't keep it out of her voice or eyes. The Dark Lord was not intimidated and her anger was merely evidence of the lengths she was now bound to go to defend his destined mate a true Gryffindor. "It was not time." He reached into his robes and brought forth a knife. The hilt glittered with emeralds and rubies and the blade was wavy like the body of a snake. With a cold glance at her he brought the tip down on his forearm, dragging it along to leave a trail of blood that welled thickly and then ran down to his hand. He laid the knife aside and brought forth another vial, letting the blood run down his long fingers and drip into the container. It splashed heavily, clinging to the sides but slowly the vial filled. The Dark Lord muttered a few words and the wound vanished and a seal appeared on the vial. With a sudden movement he rose and strode towards her, stopping only a pace away and reaching out with his free hand to cup her face in a vice like grip. With a firm motion he pulled her head around to face him, forcing her to meet his gaze. "You will take this to him and you will mix it with his blood, then you will call me." There was no room for negotiation in his tone as he pressed the vial into her hand. Ginny meet his gaze, not flinching at the sudden menace she could feel. "It will wake him?" "Only if I am there to perform the final part of the spell," he replied coldly. "I will call you," she acceded meekly. Voldemort held her gaze for a moment longer, assessing something only he could see deep in her soul. "Wormtail," he snapped, releasing her and turning away. "Take her back." With a swirl of his robes the Dark Lord disappeared, leaving her alone with the traitor.