⫶⫶⫶ ᴇ ᴅ ᴇ ʟ y ɴ ⫶⫶⫶
― Edelyn Aurélia Black learned
from a young age that h e r o e s
aren't always the ones who win.
They're the ones who fight. And
so, Edelyn fights, until the green
lying dormant beh...
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HER LUNGS LONGED FOR AIR as she laid on the floor, the weight of Bellatrix pinning her down, elbow pressed against her chest. A black cloth was tied around her head, covering her eyes and seemingly amplifying every touch, smell, and sound. Her right thigh twitched in nerves and she felt ashamed by the tears of fear that brimmed her eyes. Was it bravery or pure recklessness that had brought her here, defenceless in the hands of Death Eaters? Was it the daring lioness that had sprung, or the loyal badger that had emerged from the safety of its sett?
"Listen, you piece of filth." Edelyn winced as Bellatrix jabbed the tip of her wand into her side, just missing her bottom rib. "Where's Potter?"
Edelyn gritted her teeth and clenched her hands into fists, fingernails digging into palms; perhaps it was both, like two figures sitting on her shoulders, one in red and one in yellow. "Don't let her speak to you like that! Fight back!" the former spoke in a low growl. "Don't turn your back on your friends," the latter hummed softly. "Stay strong." With the advice of both, she narrowed her eyes behind the black cloth and spat, "Like I'd ever tell you."
The effect of her words was instant, and the next thing she registered was the familiar excruciating pain of the Cruciatus Curse. Her skin was pierced with white-hot knives, bones snapped and crushed into powder, muscles ripped and torn. Bellatrix simply watched her, a slight curl to her lips as she twitched and writhed, screams echoing down the halls of the Manor.
"I'm going to ask you again, and this time, you're going to answer me," Bellatrix hissed, ramming her in the chest and making her cough. "Or—" She ran a fingernail down Edelyn's cheek. "I'm going to make you scream so loud your scum of a father will hear from the dead."
Edelyn's knuckles turned white. "Don't you dare talk about Sirius."
Bellatrix quirked an eyebrow. "Crucio!"
Draco Malfoy, who stood pale-faced between his parents, felt his knees buckle as her screams of anguish pierced his ears; he felt nauseous and his head began to spin.
"Don't make me ask you again, girl!" Bellatrix shouted, patience wearing thin.
Edelyn gasped for air. Oxygen, oxygen, oxygen, her lungs chanted. "I — I — I don't know," she panted in between shallow breaths, only satisfying her lungs a short while before she was pulled again into a world of pain.
"You're lying. Tell the truth, now!"
"I — don't — know."
"And I don't believe you. Crucio!"
Though her eyes were closed behind a veil of black, spots of white light began to flash in Edelyn's vision. Her raw throat burned and a metallic taste invaded her tongue.
"S...S-Stop." Her voice was but a croak. "I — I honestly — I don't know."
Bellatrix didn't seem to care, however, for she simply sneered and performed the spell once more, relishing in the way Edelyn's body squirmed beneath her.
