Traitoress

The Dark Lord twirled his wand between his fingers, watching sparks trail out of it and narrowed his red eyes. Only then did he appear to notice the many masked figures surrounding him, and he smiled and stood up.

"My Death Eaters...all of you are here at last to witness the branding of a new member of our...family," he spoke softly but there was no trouble hearing his words.

"This young person has been a follower for many years, since their first...eventful year at Hogwarts, and is already proving to be a useful tool in our fight against the Ministry. They have decided now to 'disappear' and join our cause properly."

One Death Eater slipped off her mask and nudged the blond boy in front of her. When he turned to glare at her, she simply gave him a confused look, and he shrugged impatiently at his mother, wishing she would leave him alone.

Voldemort stepped into the middle of the circle of Death Eaters and his cold smile made each person shiver as he looked around them. Then he stretched out an arm to a female figure and she stepped forwards. A few Death Eaters looked at each other, but stayed silent. No one argued with the Dark Lord.

Draco frowned at the strange female. He was the only one not wearing a mask, and his pale face stood out in the gloomy surrounding of the Manor's ballroom. She noticed his surprised stare and he saw through the eyes of her hood a brown eye wink at him.

"Take off the mask," Voldemort said, and every single person in the room had their eyes fixed on the new-comer as she slowly pulled back her hood. Red curls flew free and framed a beautiful face with soft brown eyes and carefully applied make-up.

Draco stared at her uncomprehendingly for a moment, then his breath caught in his throat. The same name was tumbling from the lips of the other Death Eaters in disbelief as he spoke it out loud. "Ginny Weasley?"

- - - -

Fred Weasley woke up in the Burrow, with early morning sunlight breaking through the window. He groaned once, and heard George doing the same thing in the twin bed next to him.

They turned to grin at each other, before looking at their room. What was once a messy experiment area had been filled with boxes for their shop, but then it had had Ginny's stuff everywhere. Since Fleur and Bill had taken her room whilst they settled into Shell Cottage, Ginny had moved in with her brothers, and across every available surface there had been her make-up, clothes and other accessories, but now the surfaces were clear and her things were gone.

Curiosity aroused, the twins climbed out of their beds and left the room, trying to figure out where Ginny had gone with her stuff.

"Mum!" they chorused as they got into the kitchen. "Have you seen Ginny?"

The kitchen was cluttered, as always, the clock showing the time in the corner almost hidden entirely from view. The twins knocked various items to the floor as they crossed the room to the counter and sat down.

"What's that, dears?" Mrs Weasley replied. "Hmm...no I haven't..."

George touched the space where his ear had once been. "All of her things have gone and we can't find her."

"Yeah," Fred added. "We can't find any trace of us. We put a tracker in her coat the other day and we can't trace it. It's like she's - "

"ARTHUR!" Mrs Weasley screamed. "WHERE'S GINNY?"

- - - -

The Death Eaters recognised Ginny almost immediately and they began murmuring among themselves, eventually pulling off their hoods to mutter to their neighbour. Lucius, Snape, Bellatrix and eventually the rest began to show their faces.

Lord Voldemort hissed in displeasure and they became silent. "Ginny Weasley has been feeding me information on Potter for six years now. She has been a most faithful servant to the Dark Lord, more faithful than any of you, I daresay."

Lucius Malfoy stepped forward and bowed, before saying, "With all due respect, my Lord, she's a blood traitor and a Weasley brat to boot."

"She is no traitor to her wizard blood," Voldemort hissed and Lucius retreated back into his place in the circle, head bowed. Bellatrix, however was not so satisfied.

"My Lord, she fought against us in the Ministry, and again in Hogwarts in July," Bellatrix struggled to keep the tone of annoyance from seeping into her voice.

"She did not fight against you in the Ministry," Voldemort's fury was barely audible. "Under my orders did she injure herself so she could not fight against us without causing the others to suspect. And in July she was forced to fight for her life against you." Most of the Death Eaters accepted Voldemort's explanation. However, the Malfoys and Bellatrix did not look convinced. A look of understanding suddenly crossed Snape's face, however, and he gave a rare smile at Ginny.

Ginny saw their looks of disbelief and stepped towards them. "Do you believe that the Dark Lord would allow me to stand among you as I am if I was not one of you? How is it you can accept Snape, Dumbledore's most trusted advisor, but not me?"

Lucius and Narcissa's faces cleared and they accepted the Dark Lord's statement. Bellatrix and Draco, however, continued to look unhappy. But the Dark Lord showed no interest in them, as he held his wand lightly in his hands and beckoned Ginny to kneel at his feet. With a flick of his wand, her sleeve tore and bared the inside of her forearm. He looked around the room at his followers, a triumphant smile on his face as he grabbed her wrist with lightning speed and held his wand above it, only a few centimetres from her arm.

"Ginny Weasley..." he breathed and touched his wand to her skin. A harsh crack sounded through the room and a black cloud sprouted from the tip of Voldemort's wand, and spread across the room, obscuring everyone's vision.

Everyone waited for the cry of pain that came with acquiring a Dark Mark, but nothing was heard. Only Draco heard the small whimper that escaped Ginny's lips but even he only half-believed he had heard it.