Out of the Shadows (A Harry Potter Fan Fiction)

Chapter 10- Crucio (Ava)

"This isn't a game," Bellatrix whispered, "You are going to tell me where Harry Potter is. You are going to tell me any information that you have on his activities and his whereabouts."

I took a shaky breath and squared my shoulders, "Harry didn't tell anyone where he went or what he was planning to do. Wherever he went, he went alone. Absolutely no one knows where Harry has gone. Not even his closest of friends."

Bellatrix stared at me in silence for a moment, her eyes narrowing.

"Perhaps you need a bit of loosening up, and then you'll tell us where he is."

I gulped, my eyes darting to Draco's face, but he was staring at the floor with no expression.

Bellatrix pointed her wand at me and whispered one word.

"Crucio."

And then I screamed, screamed as loudly as I had ever screamed before because the pain was excruciating. My whole body was writhing and I couldn't stop it. I couldn't think as my bones shook and twisted and I vomited my previous meal onto the floor beside me. My brain wouldn't focus on any one thought, and all I wished was for the pain to end.

* * *

The pain eventually faded- a welcome relief as my body stilled and I whimpered quietly.

"Well," Bellatrix licked her lips, "Perhaps we'll have to try another day. You've experienced the curse once, and you won't want to experience it again. I'm sure during our next chat you'll tell us what you know."

I didn't have the energy to reply, and simply waited for two Death Eaters to carry me back down to my cell. They threw me to the floor without a second thought and laughed at my whimper, slamming the door shut and immersing me in darkness once again.

There was nothing much that I could do apart from close my eyes and pray that sleep would come. My prayers were answered.

Several hours later, I heard the noise of a door creaking open slightly, and I opened my eyes slowly. Only a dim light came through the door, and I realised as I shifted my position that it was night time.

Somebody was walking down the stairs slowly and quietly, and it was only when they muttered something and their wand lit up their face that I recognised Draco.

I gulped nervously, pressing my back against the wall of the cell. The door of the cell opened slowly, and Draco slipped in.

"Come to mock me?" I asked, but then my eyes adjusted and I saw that he was holding a plate of food and a tiny phial filled with a coloured liquid.

"Well, now you've really been sent to poison me," I muttered bitterly, and Draco looked away from me almost guiltily.

"It's actually a potion to help soothe the pain. I thought maybe you would need it."

I just stared at him in silence, unsure of what to say. I reached out for the plate of food reluctantly and picked up a piece of bread.

"Have you ever experienced the Cruciatus curse before?" I asked suddenly, taking Draco by surprise. His eyes seemed to darken for a moment, and then he nodded.

"My father has used it on me twice. It was the most painful thing I have ever experienced."

I glanced over at him and leant forwards, "Then tell me, Draco. Tell me how... how you could just stand there and watch me suffer like that. Was there nothing that you could do?" My voice was thick with tears.

"Ava..." Draco seemed to falter, "In a war like this, I cannot risk my life by speaking against the Dark Lord's wishes."

I stared at him, my eyes narrowed, "You're a coward. Did you know that? You never fight for what's right for the greater good- only for what is right for yourself."

Draco's face seemed to twist into an unpleasant expression, and he straightened up, turning back towards the cell door. Just before he was about to step through, he turned to look at me intensely, "I lied. The Cruciatus curse was not the most painful thing I have ever experienced- the most painful thing was seeing your face after I betrayed you on the roof of the Astronomy Tower."

My breath hitched in my throat and my eyes widened. He didn't let me say anything as he shut the door behind him and made his way up the stairs in silence.

I stared after him until he was long gone, and then I glanced at the phial of potion that Draco had left behind. I picked it up without a second thought, quickly gulping it down and closing my eyes as I waited for the aching in my bones to subside.

Strangely, the potion did nothing for the peculiar ache in my heart.