The importance of Being Virginia

Chapter Nine



Draco blinked his eyes open, only dimly registering the sound of someone” inverate-ing; his companions. After a moment, he was cognizant enough to recognize that it was Tom who had woken them. He was sitting in a chair a few feet in front of them. Draco became aware of a tightness around his waist, looking down, he saw that his arms were bound at his sides. He looked over at the other boys, noticing that they were also bound and seemed to be making the same slow journey to alertness that he was. Draco's attention shifted to the door as he heard a muffled voice asking for permission to enter.

Tom told the other man to come in, not taking his eyes off them, or more specifically, Harry. The way that Tom was focusing all his attention on him was clearly unnerving Harry.

"Sir, we still haven't been able to locate her, we think..."

"There's no need to continue searching," Tom interrupted.

"But sir..."

"She will come to us. After all, we have in our possession her friend, her brother," he paused as his eyes settled on Harry, "and her lover."

The man nodded, and left quietly, as Tom stood fingering his wand and walking slowly toward Harry. "I have some questions to ask you. I'm sure you'll be cooperative.. Won't you?"

"I'll die before I tell you anything," Harry spat out, cliched little thing that he was.

"Oh, you'll die to be sure. There's no question of that. It only remains to be seen how painful your death will be." He looked at Harry thoughtfully for a moment, then pointed his wand at him. "Veritas."

Harry bit his lip, prepared to die before he revealed any secrets. He had fought off other curses, he would fight off this one.

"Have you had sex with Virginia?"

Harry was so shocked that he answered without resistance. He'd been expecting questions about the Order's plans or camp positions. "Yes."

They all held their breath as Tom's face went blank.

He walked back to his chair sitting down slowly, shock written clearly across his face. He hadn't really believed her. He'd been sure that she was just trying to upset him. "How many times?" His voice was soft as he looked into Harry's eyes.

"I don't know."

"You...you don't know?" You've been with her that many times?" He stood up and walked toward Harry, while her words ran through his head. There's no part of me that's untouched or untasted. He slammed his fist into Harry's face, and he felt satisfaction course through him, at the sight of the blood running from Harry's mouth. But the satisfaction soon turned to disgust. Physical violence was common and brutish. Those stupid muggles back at the orphanage had been that way. He'd sworn he would never sink to their level, and look at him. He'd let his anger control him. He took a deep breath, straightening. He wasn't like them. He was a wizard, and he would act like one. He raised his wand and delighted in the fear that flashed across Harry's face as he said, "Crucio."


Virginia apparated into her camp and was greeted with pandemonium. A woman with long black hair that Virginia vaguely recognized, caught sight of her and turned and yelled for Oliver. She started to ask the woman what was going on, but stopped as Oliver came out of a tent and rushing toward her.

"Are you okay? I'm so sorry he got in. Security should have been better and I..."

"Calm down," she interrupted, laughing. "I'm fine."

"Well I guess Draco's little impromptu rescue plan worked then. I didn't think it was the best idea, but it worked so I guess I can't complain. I suppose I can call off the circus," he said gesturing to the people rushing around them.

"What do you mean Draco's rescue mission?"

"Well I know Harry and your brother went with him, but it really was his idea. Where are they by the way?"

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down."Let me get this straight, Draco, Harry, and my brother, went to rescue me?"

"What? You mean you haven't seen them? Then where are they?"

Virginia let out a string of curses, stamping her foot. "Of all the stupid moronic things to do. What were they thinking? I can see Ron and Harry doing this, they think that they're unstoppable, but not Draco. I can't believe that he would just rush off by himself. Come on," she said gesturing for Oliver to follow her into the tent, "we have a rescue to plan."

Draco cringed as Tom preformed crucio on Harry for the third time. He would stop when it looked like Harry was on the edge, wait a few moments, and do it again. Draco knew that Harry wouldn't be able to survive much longer. He had to do something. Ron had started yelling right away and Tom had put a silencing spell on him. Now he was sitting silently, his rage and frustration clear on his face. Draco had been quiet in the hope that Tom would forget about him. Tom's single minded attention to Harry would grant him the chance that he needed. He was very powerful for his age and could do wandless magic quite easily. The problem was that wandless magic was pretty much uneffective against a wand. He couldn't do anything to Tom directly, but he could do something to himself. He closed his eyes, thinking how much he wanted his bindings to loosen. He'd thought briefly about trying to undo Ron's bindings, but had decided against it. This called for subtlety and patience, which were among the myriad of qualities that Ron did not posses. He felt the bonds start to loosen and his hands were free. He sat unmoving, waiting for his moment.

When a noise outside drew Tom's attention, Draco had his chance.

Virginia whipped her head around at the noise behind her, frowning at Oliver as he grimaced and removed his foot from the twig that he had snapped. She motioned him back a little, waiting to see if the tents occupants had heard the noise he'd made. She hadn't really wanted him to accompany her on this part of the plan, as he'd been behind a desk strategizing for the last couple of years and was a little rusty, but he was her boss and he'd wanted to come. She saw the shadowy outline of someone in the tent moving to the back. Well so much for catching them unawares, she thought with irritation. She motioned for Oliver to move to one side of the tent and she moved to the other, their wands at the ready. The person inside made a rip in the tent with their wand and Virginia had half a second to visually confirm that it was Tom before he had his wand pointed at Oliver. She yelled Stupefy at the same time as someone hit him from behind. Unfortunately for that person the force of Virginia's spell sent Tom flying back into them. Virginia rushed into the tent, Oliver not far behind her and felt relief flood through her at the sight of her brother. He was alive and looked relatively unharmed. Her relief faded as her gaze moved to Harry, who was unconscious, dark veins stood out around his eyes, against the unnatural paleness of his skin, he looked like he was barely alive. A groan drew her attention back to Tom and she smiled as she watched Oliver roll Tom's stupified body off of a very irritated, but unharmed Draco. "I was just about to break us out of here you know. There was no need for you to come fling bodies at me," Draco said grumpily as he got to his feet.

"I have to get my kicks somehow," she replied drily. Suddenly they both smiled and crushed themselves against each other in a hard jarring of torsos ,their grips almost painful, an action too desperate and real to be categorized as a simple hug. It was a physical reassurance that they both were there together, each one safe to the other. "Promise me no more ill-advised and unplanned rescue missions," she said into his shoulder.

"As long as you promise not to get kidnapped," he answered, smiling into her hair. He pulled back a little so that they were face to face, his expression turned serious. "I..I was scared I wouldn't get you back."

"So was I," she said softly.

"Virginia I..,"

"Sorry to interrupt," Oliver interrupted," but we are in enemy camp, and we don't know how long our distraction will last."

The two broke apart almost violently; they'd been in their own little world, and reality came rushing in like a cold wind.

"What distraction?"

"I tell you later Draco, we need to get Harry and Ron out of here." She turned troubled eyes toward Harry, who was still unconscious, as she undid Ron's bindings. She had released him and was helping him to his feet, when suddenly her head snapped up and she looked him in the face for the first time since entering the tent. "Why aren't you talking?"

Ron pointed to his mouth then pointed angrily at Tom.

Virginia's face drained of color. "He didn't...he didn't cut out.."

"No he didn't cut out his tongue," Draco interrupted as Ron's eye's bulged. " It's merely a silencing charm." He leaned down, rifling through Tom's pocket until he found his wand. "I know I'm going to regret this...Finite Incantum," he said pointing his wand at Ron's mouth.

Ron shot an irritated look at Draco, before turning to Virginia and wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. "I was so worried when I heard you were missing." He drew back, tugging gently on her hair, an anxious look on his face.

She smiled at the gesture. It was something that he'd used to do when she was little, and wasn't feeling well.

"He didn't..hurt you, did he?"

"No he didn't hurt me." She smiled motioning to her body. "I'm still in one piece."

"That's not what I..." Ron started, but stopped at a moan from Harry.

They all turned quickly toward him, watching as his eyes fluttered open. Ron reached forward to lay a hand on his shoulder and Harry flinched away, letting out a sound that was something between a moan and a whimper. Ron's face settled into angry determined lines as he turned toward Tom, who was still stupified on the floor. Virginia quickly grabbed a hold of his arm. "Don't Ron. I know you're angry, so am I, but we have to get out of here. Harry needs to be treated."

Ron took a deep breath and nodded his head and they turned to help Harry up. Virginia and Oliver talked to him soothingly while Ron lifted him into his arms. He still flinched and his eyes were slightly wild, but their voices seemed to having a calming effect on him.

Virginia turned to Draco, who was looking out of the tent flap. "Draco I need you to get my broom, it's just a few feet outside the tent, in the woods."

"You flew?"

"No. I brought it with me incase one of you wasn't able to apparate. Looks like it's a good thing I did," she said looking at Harry.

Draco quickly went to get her broom. As he handed it to her he asked," Who's going to fly Harry back?"

She hid a smile. That was the first time she'd heard Draco call Harry by his first name. She wondered if maybe this experience would make them closer. Or at least make them less antagonistic toward each other. "Well you and I are about the same size as Harry so it would be harder for us to carry him. It will have to be either Ron or Oliver."

Ron who'd been looking worriedly down at Harry, who was still cradled in his arms, looked up at her. "I'll take him."

She nodded her head smiling. The depth of her brothers friendship with Harry always amazed her. "Alright, let's go."

"What about him," Draco asked looking down at Tom.

She looked down at him, the conflict clear in her eyes. They needed to get back to the camp to safety, and to get Harry medical treatment. On the other hand, she couldn't just leave Tom there. She had a chance to put him away, and get him out of her life. After all, he'd performed an unforgivable on Harry, which was an automatic life sentence in Azkaban. He was also Voldemort's tactician, the information he had could win the war for them. "We have to take him with us."

"How? We only have one broom," Oliver stated.

"Then we'll just have to find another one. I'm sure that in a camp this size there has to be at least one."

"There's no need to go sneaking around the camp Virginia," Draco said, rifling through his pocket. He pulled out something about three inches long and pointing at it said, "Finite Incantum."

She smiled when she saw that it was his broom.

"I shrunk it and brought it with me, just incase we might need it when we... rescued you." He rolled his eyes when he said 'rescued'. He was slightly embarrassed that he'd come to rescue her and she'd ended up rescuing him.

"Alright, we'd better get out of here while we can. Oliver you take Tom and fly with Ron back to the camp. Make sure to make the signal so our people know it's time to fall back."

"Our people? Fall back? How many people did you bring?" Ron asked.

"Only about twenty, but their all casting multiplying charms and confundus left and right, so it seems like there are a couple hundred. That's why no one is bothering us. They think we have them surrounded."

"That's a good distraction," Draco said raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, but it won't last for long, they'll probably figure it out soon, so we really need to leave." She turned to look at Tom as Oliver picked him up and threw him over Draco's broom, taking no care to make him comfortable. She watched him with cold eyes as he lay there helpless, and unmoving. She had him in her power now, and she intended to take advantage of it.