Feedback: [email protected]
Disclaimer: I own nothing! J.K. Rowling owns it all! We only pay her homage…and royalties.
Author's Note: My friend Rin wrote a sister story to go with this one. It's titled "Witness" and if you're interested in reading it, you can go to his page here.
She looks beautiful, radient, regal. She steps out of the carrage, taking the hand of a cloaked figure in black.
The Dark Lady, they call her. She was loved, reveared. They adored her, the pure blooded ones…the ones that weren't in Azkaban or dead.
I watch as she lifts her head to look up where I'm standing. Even from here I see her smile. She steps forward and into the building, always followed by two cloaked figures in black.
"Why is she here?" I hear Oliver's voice ask irritably behind me. I turn. He's standing there, arms folded.
"It must be time again." I answer softly.
"Why do you go?" His voice was urgent; desperate for an answer he could understand. "Why do you help? She should go insane, slowly and painfully. It's penance, Percy, consequence for her decisions."
"Then what is mine, Oliver?" I ask. I can't give him the answers he wants. He doesn't understand. None alive who know me do. But they don't call me traitor, not to my face. Rather they think of me as a victim. I hear her footsteps on the stairs and turn my attention back to him. "She's here, love."
Oliver shook his head. "I'll be in the bedroom." He turns on his heels and leaves without another word. Brushing myself off, I cross the room and open the door before she can knock. She smiles again, entering the flat. As agreed upon, her bodyguards stay outside the door.
Closing the door, I turn and look at her as she scans the flat. Dressed in her trademark black, it perfectly complemented her pale skin and fiery red hair. To the world she may be Lady Voldemort, by to me, she was still my Ginny. "Where's my brother-in-law?" She asks, glancing around the large room.
"Please don't tease, Ginny."
She blushes, having the good grace to look chastened. My sign that the Darkness does not hold complete sway over her yet. That somewhere my baby sister is still alive and aware. "I apologize Percy." She says, reminding me for a moment of the little Ginny from happier times. "But he's so much fun to tease."
"What can I do for you?" I choose my words carefully. As much as I love seeing her, I know she is not here for a social call. Everything she does now has a purpose. Likewise, I cannot just ask her what she wants. It is no longer proper for someone in her position. And I have always been proper, no matter the reason.
"She needs you again, Percy." She tells me. All humor has left her face, replaced with worry, another expression rarely seen on the Dark Lady's face these days. Only shown to two. And I am fortunate enough to be one of those two. I sigh, nodding. I don't even ask. By now, it is routine. And it is growing more frequent. "We have things in the carrage. You must come now." She insists.
I nod, following her out the door. Oliver knows where I go and he knows I will tell him everything when I return. I follow her down the halls and to the outside. I do not like her bodyguards and she knows this. Which is why she requires them to sit up front with the driver.
Once inside the cool interior of the carrage, I wait until we are underway
before I speak.
"At the risk of sounding rude, the spells are getting more frequent."
She nods silently.
"Has he ever thought of committing her?" She suddenly looks tired and older than her years. I know what the war and the years after have taken from everyone, especially her.
"He refuses that." She shakes her head, a grimace on her face. We sit in silence; the carriage's rhythmic rocking lulling me into relaxing.
I tense the moment the tall manor house comes into view. I hate this place,
I hate every time I have to come here and spend hours in its depressing hallways.
It is easy to understand why someone would go mad here.
The carriage stops and the door opens, letting in sunlight. Ginny gets out first
and I follow, glancing at the manor house and suppressing a shudder. There is
nothing happy about this place. I follow Ginny up the path to the massive entrance
way.
To my surprise, instead of the usual house elves welcoming us, it's the master
of the house himself. The Dark Lord's new second in command. He and I never
really got along. In fact, it was an entire dislike between both our families.
However at this moment, he looked less the evil minion and more concerned husband.
He bows slightly as Ginny passes him and nods once to me. With him, I knew I
could be less formal. With him I only had to worry about what he would take
offense to.
"Why are you down here?" I asked. We usually met him in the main room,
with her. He looks frustrated as we climb the stairs.
"She threw me out!" He exclaimed, and for a moment, our positions, who we were, what we did, all melted away for one common goal. Her sole welfare. "Today she decided she's in the Gryffindor Common room and I couldn't be there as I am not apparently a Gryffindor." He finished, scowling.
I snickered quiely, noticing Ginny hiding a smile. His face suddenly grows serious as he looks at me.
"She's talking of going to Hogsmeade this weekend. " He says softly. He looks towards the door at the end of the hall. "She's to meet up with them there."
We say nothing. Their names were never mentioned anymore. There was no need. The Golden Trio, as everyone called them, were no more. The Boy Who Lived, lived no longer, our own flesh and blood now resided in Azkaban, and the final member now resided in a lone room, holding onto a very thin strip of reality.
We stop at the door, none of us really wanting to go in.
"Draco, with all due respect, you will have to think upon have her institutionalized soon. These spells are growing more frequent." Ginny tells him.
The man before me shakes his head once, hard. "My Lady, I will not. I am sorry if this displeases you, however, I gave her my word. And I will not go back on it."
If there was every anything I could say favorable about the man before me, it was that he was not without honor. He understood the risk both women took to join their loves. And although Ginny reaps the benefits of her betrayal, his own wife was not so lucky. He understood the risk she took and accepted it, in turn giving his word that she would never be away for his side. Bittersweet in it's tragic irony.
I watch as he unlocks the door and opens it, letting us in. "Do you wish to join us?" Ginny asks him, picking up a robe and sliding it on.
He shakes his head. "I will see her after you leave."
I slide on my own robe and take a deep breath. All I want is to go home and bury myself in Oliver's strong embrace, forgetting everything outside our little world. But I can't. I owe this to her. I too made a promise. One I also intend to keep.
Entering the large room, I immediately spot her. She is sitting in a chair
at the far end of the room, staring out the open window. She is wearing a white
gown. Staring at her, I suddenly feel Ginny's small hand slip into mine, drawing
strength from me as I do her. Together we take another step into the room.
"Hermione, look who I snuck in!" Ginny calls out, her voice reverting
back to the schoolgirl she used to be. I swallow hard, trying to get rid of
the sudden lump in my throat.
Hermione turns from the window, her brown eyes shining as she sees me. "Percy!" She calls out, standing up. I blink back tears, reaching up under the pretence of adjusting my glasses.
"Ginny owled and said you wished to see me?" I ask cautiously.
Hermione rushes up, giving me a big hug. "Oh, I know you're busy at the Ministry, but can't you take time out of your busy schedule to have tea with an old friend and your darling baby sister?" She teases.
I sigh heavily, as if trying to determine which was more important. To think there was a time when that decision would have been difficult to make. "I suppose an hour or two wouldn't hurt," I concede.
She smiles, rushing over to the couch, Ginny and I following. Ginny flops down next to her, as I take the chair across from the women. Hermione sighs, smiling as she pours tea and hands us cups. "I told Ginny earlier I hardly have anyone to talk with anymore. Harry and Ron are always out with those girls…"
I grimace and Ginny laughs. I often wondered how she could do that.
"You know those two." She tells Hermione. "If it isn't Quiddich
or girls you can't get then to do anything. So, you want to hear all the new
gossip I found out from Lavender?"
I settle back in the chair, drinking my tea and watching the two women talk
like schoolgirls.
My two dark women…both of which I made promises to on different occasions. That I would watch over them and that all they needed to do was to call and I would be there for them.
And be there I shall.