Ethereal ✭Fred Weasley✭

94.

Sophia was pulled through the dark interior of the Malfoy manor by the man who she had worked out to being a Snatcher. Bellatrix stayed ahead of her with her slow saunter and the click of her heeled boots against the wooden floor. They came into the barren living room where Sophia experienced the worst portion of her life, yet kept composed. She half expected to see puddles of her blood still on the floor, but it was completely spotless as if it had never happened. When they entered the living room, the sound of Bellatrix's loud shoes made the three sitting figures stand from the black, leather sofa.

"Look who came back to play!" Bellatrix threw her arms out to present Sophia. Narcissa, Lucius and Draco Malfoy looked to the girl with unresponsive expressions. If the Snatcher next to her wasn't holding her jumper in his fist, she would have allowed her skin to shiver and physically straighten her posture in attempt to show that she wasn't intimidated. The sight of Lestrange was enough of a bowling ball to settle heavily in her stomach, and the combination of Malfoy and his Father was the next huge weight. Even though it was only Draco who had made the worst impression, his Father had been present during her time in the manor.

"S-Shall I call the Dark Lord?" Lucius stammered and cleared his throat timidly. It wasn't hard to see that Lucius had degraded since the last time she saw him. His face had more lines than ever and his grey eyes were sunken in with his beard still scruffy.

"Did you take her wand?" Bellatrix demanded and the Snatcher held out the brown wand to her. Lucius lowered his regardless of his unanswered question, leaving the woman to take the wand between her forefinger and thumb as if it had come straight from the trash, eyeing the tip before narrowing her eyes at the handle. Sophia stopped herself from recoiling as Bellatrix snapped her head up to look at her with now no sign of a grin.

"This isn't your wand," she noted with suspicion. "Where is your wand? Search her!"

The Snatcher immediately started searching in Sophia's jumper pockets. His grubby hands took advantage of the opportunity and didn't hesitate to squeeze all portions of her skin with a smug look. Trying to appear unfazed, Bellatrix watched her intently for any sign of falter from embarrassment or humiliation. Getting to Sophia's back pockets of her jeans, she couldn't stop the yelp leaving her throat as the man unnecessarily groped her backside.

"Nothing," the man announced and stood up straight with a wide smirk.

"Hm", Bellatrix humped. "Wormtail!"

The staircase that leads down and out out of the living room echoed with quick light footsteps coming from below. Peter Pettigrew appeared in all his hunched over glory and chattering teeth as he stepped into the room, avoiding eye contact with Bellatrix. The Malfoys stood stiffly near the sofa in silence and Sophia stayed emotionless beside the Snatcher. Peter looked up momentarily and noticed the new face in the room but looked down before it was noticeable.

"Y-Yes ma'am?" he stammered with his hands up in their imitation of a rat's.

"Take Lumpy Lupin down to the cellar," she pointed a pointy black finger at Sophia, her tone demanding and now disinterested.

"Y-Yes ma'am," Peter nodded and shuffled across the floor towards Sophia. Keeping his head low, he curled his dirty fingers around her bicep and started to pull her towards the staircase. Sophia glanced up at the Malfoys' while on her pursuit and met eyes with Draco first.

He didn't wear a scowl like he did when he saw her at the Weasley shop. He in fact was displaying a pitiful look and Sophia almost thought he was about to say something. When he stayed silent, Sophia moved her gaze to the tall woman beside him. She hadn't ever met the only female in the Malfoy family during her time at the manor, but she didn't feel the same aurora she felt when seeing Lucius and Draco. Narissa stood tall and slim with long black hair, sinking into the decor as if she was poster. From the brief glance, Sophia noticed how much she looked like her Son not only with their facial features but with their facial expressions as well. She looked guilty and ready to step forward, only to have Sophia disappear behind the wall that followed the staircase down into the cellar.