Once and for All

Chapter 23

         "You're one of them," Harry said, dread clenching his stomach as Whiffler's outstretched wand and dropped sleeve revealed the tattoo of a snake eating a head. "This whole time."
"Took you that long to figure out, huh?" He mused. "I thought you would've known for sure at the game."
"You weren't there to stop Bluffer," Hermione accused, as if finally realizing it. "You were enforcing it. You were making sure Bluffer finished the job, and when he didn't you went after him. Your job gave you the perfect cover."
"Yes," Whiffler agreed. "You really are the brightest witch of your age, aren't you?"
      Hermione stiffened under his strange smile, and Ron immediately bristled, grabbing her shoulder protectively.
"You've done your research," she admitted.
Suddenly it made sense to Harry why Whiffler reminded him so much of Mad-Eye. "You knew I trusted Mad Eye," Harry realized aloud, "That's why you acted like him-so I'd trust you."
"It was a risky gamble, but Barty Crouch Jr. was an old friend of mine," Whiffler explained, his face returning to the uncannily similar wooden expression of Mad-Eye's. "He didn't explain it to me, but when I heard the news I realized that you like to put your trust with similar people. You trusted Sirius, who was a convicted murder, and Lupin, a werewolf. You even trusted Mad Eye." He stepped closer to Harry, who instinctively moved in front of Ginny. "You trust people instinctively when you see that you share a common enemy-quite common for most people, if you think about it."
     "Why go through all the trouble, though?" Ron spoke up angrily. "Can't imagine your mate Bluffer was happy with this."
     "Bluffer is no 'mate' of mine. He works for me and owes a debt that he failed to pay off."
      "You're the boss Draco mentioned," Neville finally spoke up. Harry was surprised to see anger in his face and not the usual fear. He had changed a great deal since the Carrows. "Why do you want us?"
       "I didn't want all of you," he replied, eyeing Ginny in a way that made Harry's stomach twist in disgust. "Just one."
       So their theory had been right after all. "You're not taking her," Harry said angrily.
       "Actually, I am," Whiffler said, pointing his wand. Suddenly Harry was thrust to the side by an unseen force, and Ginny shot towards him, her feet no longer touching the ground as she hovered in front of him. The others were slammed against the wall, but Harry's only focus was on Ginny as he struggled to break free.
     "You'll pay for this, git," she said in a low, dangerous voice, managing to spit on his boots.
      He didn't reply as his eyes glinted with a disturbing hunger for knowledge, and suddenly with a crack he disapperated with Ginny.
                               *****
     Ginny's POV
Ginny found herself in an old building full of cobwebs and antiques. A dusty mirror hung to her right, and the door was behind Whiffler-of course. The git thought he was so invincible. It almost annoyed her enough to forget her fear. Almost.
But she was sure not to show it.
"Bit dramatic, don't you think?" She asked in a calm voice, continuing to inspect the room for anything she could use. The old flowerpot might hurt if she threw it at him, but it was behind him right next to the door. The mirror was too heavy to throw, and looked like it wouldn't come down from the wall easily. The only chance she thought she might have was the plushy chair in the corner, with the rectangular wooden legs. Maybe with her enough force, she could pick it up and shove it against him, but that wouldn't keep him for long. If only she had her wand...
"Are you afraid to look at me?" Whiffler asked, meeting her eyes. What a prat, thinking she was too scared to meet his eyes. Even though this would have been a good cover, Ginny stared right back at him. No matter what, she would not show submission.
"No. Sadly for you, this room is a lot more interesting than your performance. If I were you, I'd skip to the part of what exactly your plan is."
He laughed, shaking his head. "And I'm going to give it to you now, huh? Just lay it out at your feet? No, that would be too easy." He stepped forward, lowering his voice as he got closer to Ginny than she would have liked. "You're a tough cookie to crack. You kept playing at that game even after your life was on the line. But I like to try new things."
Ginny worked hard to withhold her shudder of disgust. "Well, whatever you're planning, get on with it. We haven't got all day."
"I'm going to ask you nicely first," he said slowly, reaching up to grab her chin and forcing her to look at him. "Where is it?"
Out of all the questions she had expected, this was not one of them. "What?" She snapped, drawing her head back out of his grasp. "Where's what?"
"My weapon," he growled impatiently. "That night, when you disrupted my plan, it disappeared. None of the Unspeakables know where it is either. So it must have been you."
Ginny shook her head. "No. I don't have it- I had nothing to do with that."
His eye searched her, and she realized with a start that, despite being blind, his other eye still moved slightly with the other one. He caught her disgusted look, and grinned creepily as he pointed to his eye. "Like this?"
"Hardly." She tried to keep an even tone, but it was hard. Eye stuff grossed her out.
"It was part of my initiation to become a servant of the Dark Lord. Everyone had to fight and kill something, whether it was a human in a duel, a mere muggle, or some strange creature. I had to go against a werewolf."
"I'm guessing you lost?" Ginny assumed, unsure of where this story was headed.
"No. This is nothing compared to what I did to him." He traces her jaw with his wand, and she cringed before she could think better. "I may not be lucky in the beginning, but in the end I always get what I want, girl." His voice lowered to a whisper. "And I'll do anything to win."
Then, before she had time to react, he stepped back and yelled, "Crucio."
And the excruciating pain began.