His eyes skimmed down her body as her dress slid up.

"Let's start off the evening right," Ludo crowed. "With a Weasley."

The audience screamed, and Ginny thrashed.

"Not that Weasley!" Ludo teased. The crowd cackled. "Not that Weasley, either!" They hissed. "Let's start off with one of those other gingers."

He gestured to the other side of the stage, and George was dragged out, hands stuck together behind his back. He had a black eye and a limp. It seemed that the Healers were only called for the girls. Or maybe the damage was done today.

Ludo Bagman laughed and beckoned George to his side, but Hermione could see he was grey. He knew the Weasley twins. Even if they had their disagreements, he knew them.

The guard who favored Hermione inched closer to her. The two who stood watching the first bidding were joined by two more. Only three guards on them and one was focused on her, one focused on Pansy.

Hermione straightened her spine like Pansy had, watching as his eyes darkened. Ludo read George Weasley's catalog.

"Twenty-years-old. Pure-blood. So, if anyone is looking for a blood traitor to play with..."

Ludo chuckled and the crowd hissed.

Her guard knelt down, pretending to tie his shoe. She checked with Pansy, seeing her pale-faced guard trailing fingers across her collarbone while she licked her lips. He started peeling down her shoulder strap.

"Fine muscle mass, as you can see on your parchments. If you need another house elf, this might be your lucky day."

Fingers on her ankle, and she was reminded of Dolohov. The guard slid his hand up her calf, pushing her knees further apart. She bit her lip like Pansy, and heard Ginny struggling next to her, realizing what was happening to her.

"Let's start the bidding at 2,000 Galleons."

She leaned her face down towards him, and he had his eyes on her lips when she reeled her head back and slammed her forehead into his.

He yelled and her head spun. She heard a crash from Pansy's direction, and a splintering from her right where Ginny sat.

She tried to open her eyes but her skull ached. A splintering from somewhere else, a scrambling. Grunting and yelling.

The distracted guards cursing and running away from the curtains.

She opened her eyes and made out several bodies, thrashing on the ground. Ginny had thrown herself, breaking her chair. The pieces of wood her hands stuck to were firm in her fists, beating against the dark-featured guard.

She blinked slowly and looked over to find Pansy raising a splintered chair back, and impaling her guard in the stomach with a silent scream. Penelope Clearwater had most of her chair still put together, and swung it at the head of a running guard, knocking him back and climbing on top of him, slamming the wood against him.

"Some kind of... commotion. Nothing to worry about—"

All fifty girls had just figured out how to get out of their chairs. And there were only seven guards. The sound of breaking wood and splintering chair legs was everywhere.