a/n- ;)
Word Count: 4024
Apparently, Hermione felt the need to turn my hair long and bright pink in order to make me unrecognisable to the Snatchers.
Sadly, it didn't work, but my eyes were now a beautiful pale blue rather than their usual colour as all of us prisoners were dragged through the gates of Malfoy Manor. I didn't want to look up at the looming palace my boyfriend called his house, but the way it seemed to draw in shadows with its cold beauty made it hard for me to put my eyes anywhere else.
"We're here to see He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!" rasped Greyback, pushing Harry and me forward roughly by the scruff of our shirt collars toward the double front door.
"Who are you?" asked a woman's cold voice from the door. A voice I recognised.
"You know me!" the werewolf answered, resentment evident in his gruff tone. "Fenrir Greyback! We've caught the Potters!"
He shoved us closer to her even more, putting our faces under the light and forcing the other prisoners behind us to shuffle out of the way.
"I know this one's swollen, ma'am, and she's got her hair and stuff changed, but it's them!" Scabior piped up from off to my right. What I wouldn't give to hex him free of that annoying, nasally voice of his. "If you look a bit closer, you'll see 'is scar. And the girls face 'as 'ardly changed."
The door of the mansion moved to the side to reveal the woman hiding behind it. Narcissa Malfoy looked back at me, just as regal and coldly beautiful as I remembered seeing her with her grey eyes reminding me all too much of someone I desperately hoped wasn't in that house. Platinum blonde hair hung over her shoulders and contrasted evenly with her jet black dress robes. Her eyes widened almost imperceptibly when they focused on my face, but she quickly turned and focused on Harry with a scrutinising glance.
"Bring them in," she said finally, turning into the house with us being pushed to follow. Leading us down the hall she said, "My son, Draco, is home for his Easter holidays. If these really are Harry and Y/n Potter, he will know."
I felt my breath hitch in my throat. God, I wanted to see him, but not like this. No matter how much everyone else didn't want to believe it, he had a good heart, and in this situation, it could be his downfall.
The drawing room she brought us to was dazzling in comparison to the darkness of the night sky outside where we'd been before and was so large that the paintings on the opposite side of the room were blurry to me even with my glasses on. Two figures stood from their chairs as we were shoved into the room behind Narcissa.
"What is this?" said the drawling, cruelly familiar voice of Lucius Malfoy. I could only force myself to stare at the dark wood floor and pray the second figure wasn't who I thought it was.
"They say they've got the Potters," said Narcissa. "Draco, come here."
I was almost having trouble breathing now, and I couldn't help looking up. The second my eyes met the silvery glimmer of his, I had to choke back a sob. His jaw slackened and his eyes widened, showing too many emotions for me to identify, but quickly hid any form of recognition under the prising eyes of his family. Still, his eyes never left me as he walked closer to me and my brother.
"Well, boy?" rasped Greyback, forcing me and Harry forward again. The collar of my shirt was beginning to dig into my neck uncomfortably, and I had to refrain from gasping for air whenever he moved me. My eyes flicked up at Draco who seemed to be having an internal war raging, but he seemed to be looking as far away from Fenrir Greyback as possible. Instead, he was focused on the werewolf's grip on my collar and seemed to be trying to burn a hole through his hand.
"Well, Draco?" said Lucius Malfoy, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. However, the hand was not there for comfort, I could see his fingers digging into Draco's shoulder as a threat.
"I can't be sure," he answered dully.
"But look at him carefully, look! Come closer!" Lucius exclaimed excitedly. "Draco, if we're the ones to hand the Potters over to the Dark Lord, everything will be forgiven."
Lucius approached both me and Harry to look closer at our faces. His eyes lingered longer on me, narrowing at my differently coloured hair and eyes.
"What happened to him?" he said referring to Harry's puffy features,
"That wasn't us."
Draco looked at me once both his parents' focuses were elsewhere. His eyes were asking pleadingly a silent question. 'Why are you here?'
I tried to convey my apologies through my eyes, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't hide my fear behind anything other than a blank expression.
"Draco, come here, look properly! What do you think?"
He stumbled forward, now barely half a foot away from my face. I could clearly see the fear in his eyes.
"I don't know," he answered simply, walking back toward the fireplace where his mother stood watching. I could already feel his absence.
"We had better be certain, Lucius," Narciss called to her husband from the fireplace, but her eyes lingered on me. What is it with these people and staring? "Completely sure that it is the Potters before we summon the Dark Lord."
"What about the Mudblood, then?" growled Greyback, gesturing to Hermione who seemed to be fighting back scared tears.
"Wait," said Narcissa sharply. "Yes— yes, she was in Madam Malkin's with Potter! I saw her picture in the Prophet! Look, Draco, isn't it the Granger girl?"
His eyes widened. "I don't think so. She looked different."
I almost laughed in relief. However, this relief was short-lived.
"Then this is the Weasley boy," shouted Lucius, ignoring Draco's response. "Draco, look at him isn't it Arthur Weasley's son, what's his name—"
"I don't know, I don't think so," Draco said again. But before he could protest further, a door opened behind us. A woman spoke, making my blood run cold.
"What is this? What's happened, Cissy?"
Draco glanced down at my trembling hands and made a move to step closer to me, but I shook my head quickly and almost imperceptibly. Narcissa looked at me, then at Draco, then her sister.
"Potter and his friends! Caught at last! I was about to call him," said Lucius, lifting his left arm and pulling up his sleeve to hover his right forefinger over the Dark Mark that contrasted with his sickly pale skin.
"STOP!" shrieked Bellatrix. "Do not touch it, we shall all perish if the Dark Lord comes now!"
Her beady eyes landed on the sword of Gryffindor, and in response, took it upon herself to curse all of the Snatchers at once, causing them to collapse where they stood. All except Fenrir Greyback who she had forced to his knees and tied by the neck. The ruby-encrusted sword was now being brandished in Bellatrix's pale, thin fingers.
"Where did you find this sword?" she asked, holding it up in his face. "Snape sent it to my vault in Gringotts!"
"It was in their tent," Greyback gasped, trying to pull at the snakelike ropes cinching around his neck. "Release me, I say!"
Bellatrix waved her wand and the ropes released themselves as the werewolf was pulled to his feet. However, even though he was freed, he seemed far too wary to approach her and decided on prowling behind a nearby armchair.
"Draco, move this scum outside," said Bellatrix, gesturing toward the unconscious Snatchers on the floor around her. "If you haven't got the guts to finish them, then leave them in the courtyard for me."
"Don't you dare speak to Draco like—" said Narcissa furiously. I was there with her, but I was more focused on the fact that their house had a courtyard. What kind of house is big enough—
"Be quiet!" Bellatrix shrieked in response to her sister. "The situation is graver than you can possibly imagine, Cissy! We have a very serious problem!"
She simply stood there, looking from all of us prisoners and back to the sword of Gryffindor she held in her grip. She looked slightly more deranged than usual as her eyes kept going in and out of focus and she muttered to herself.
"If it is indeed Potter, he must not be harmed," she mumbled. "But if he finds out... I must... I must know..."
She turned sharply to her sister again.
"The prisoners must be placed in the cellar, while I think what to do!"
"This is my house, Bella, you don't give orders in my—"
"Do it! You have no idea what danger we are in!" Bellatrix screamed, and I couldn't hide the fact that I flinched backwards. Harry's shoulder brushed mine in what I thought to be a comforting gesture, but we could hardly move in our current positions. Bellatrix looked back at us and the floor and everything in the room. She looked frighteningly mad, and a stream of fire issued from her wand, burning a small hole in the carpet below her.
She hesitated for a moment before addressing the werewolf. "Take the prisoners to the cellar."
He moved forward almost at once to grab us, but Bellatrix held up a hand.
"Wait," she said sharply, then looked me directly in the eye. "All except... except for the girls. The Dark Lord said not to kill her, he never said anything about having a little fun with her."
I heard Draco start to protest from his spot by the fireplace, but I shot him a quick look to shut him up. His mother grabbed his hand, unnoticed by Bellatrix or the others. She knows.
"No!" Ron shouted, struggling against his restraints when Greyback began to pull him away from his spot beside Hermione. "You can have me, keep me!"
Bellatrix hit him across the face; the blow echoed through the large room.
"If she dies under questioning, I'll take you next," she said coldly.
Harry looked about to say something, and even with his swollen features, I could see his blood boiling, but I shot him too a look that told him to keep quiet.
"Well, well, well," Bellatrix started once the boys had been dragged away. She turned and looked at Draco before saying, "Hold this one, we'll start with the Mudblood."
"No," I said, shaking my head violently. "No, take me, please."
"Quiet," Draco hissed in my ear as he pulled me in front of him by my wrists. But when he slipped his hand into mine and laced our fingers together, I felt ever so slightly more at ease, until Bellatrix pulled a silver knife from under her ropes and cut Hermione free of her bonds only to drag her by her hair into the middle of the room. She threw her onto her back on the floor and leaned over her body.
"I'm going to ask you a few questions," she asked in a mock cheerful voice. "And you're going to answer them with what I want to hear. Got it? Good. Now, where did you get that sword?"
"We-we found it. In the forest," she answered honestly, trying not to show her fear, but her voice wavered nonetheless. Bellatrix smiled an evil, cruel sneer that made my blood chill.
"I said you'd answer with what I wanted to hear," she said. "That's not what I wanted to hear."
Bellatrix straddled my best friend, drew her short, silver dagger, and dug it into the flesh of Hermione's left arm. Her body shook and spazzed as she let out a blood-curdling scream of anguish. I choked out a sob and turned my eyes away from her face that read nothing but pure pain, and I could faintly hear Ron's roars of her name from the cellar. The dark-haired lunatic continued carving something in the arm of my best friend, then she drew her wand and pointed it at Hermione's chest.
"The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue, don't you think?"
"No, stop!" I shouted, turning back to Bellatrix with tears in my rage-filled gaze. "Take me! Please!"
"Y/n—" Draco warned almost inaudibly, but he closed his mouth again when Bellatrix drew herself to her full height and looked at me with the same cold grin.
"Very brave for a Slytherin... and stupid. Bring her here, Draco, let's see how brave she really is."
I felt him stiffen behind me, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see his jaw clench.
"I thought he said she wasn't to be harmed," he protested dully, feigning indifference, but the terrified look in his eyes said otherwise.
"As I said before, I won't kill her, but he never said I couldn't have my fun," she answered waving her wand beside her head absentmindedly. "Maybe pretty Miss Potter can give us an answer, hm?"
"I don't see why that would be necessary, you already have— you already have the Mudblood," he said, sounding slightly more desperate now as he kept his tight hold on my hands. I turned my head to the side, making it look like I was scared to look at Bellatrix, but in reality, I just didn't want her to see my lips moving.
"It's okay," I muttered, almost completely silent, then said louder, "I won't be telling you a damn thing actually."
Bellatrix cackled, before pulling me out of Draco's grasp. The moment I felt his fingers slip from mine, my temporary burst of bravery faded, and my eyes widened in fear as Bellatrix pushed me to the ground in front of her.
"Since you seemed so keen on freeing your Mudblood friend of the Cruciatus Curse, why don't you take it instead?" said Bellatrix. I kept my eyes on the floor, but my rapid breathing could be heard echoing in the large room. "Crucio!"
No matter how familiar I might have been with that particular curse, no amount of torture could have prepared me for the pain of it. A cry built up in my throat, and I couldn't stop the scream that forced its way through my parted lips. I could faintly hear what I thought was Harry's voice calling for me from the cellar, but I could barely identify that it was him before another wave of pain washed over me and a scream tore through my throat again. It felt as if it would never stop, and felt as though hours had passed even if it had been barely a minute.
"Stop," a strong, cold voice called over Bellatrix's maniacal laughter. Her grin slid from her face as she turned to look at Draco, who had stepped forward with a pained expression. "She's had enough."
"And why do you say that exactly?" Bellatrix asked in a dangerously calm tone. "Your defence of her is becoming a habit, Draco. You don't want me to get the wrong idea, do you?"
"Does it look like she's going to break? She'd rather die than admit anything to, and you can't kill her."
His voice was dull, but I could hear every slight crack in it telling me just how much he was hurting. And it was my fault.
"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean she's enjoying this," said Bellatrix, lip curling. "I'm going to ask you again! Where did you get this sword? Where?"
"We found it— we found it!" I croaked, trying to turn myself away from the wand she had pointed at me still. I could feel my fingertips tingling, and even through my bleary vision, I could see the faint black wisps licking my palms. What would happen if she found out about what I can do?
Bellatrix ignored my answer.
"What else did you take, what else? Answer me! CRUCIO!"
Once again, my screams echoed off the walls of the vast drawing-room.
"How did you get into my vault?" she shrieked, brandishing her knife at me again. She dragged the tip of it across the scar I'd gotten from her over a year ago. At the Burrow, where evidently, she had wiped my memory. I could feel blood sliding down my cheek from the same spot. "Did that dirty little goblin in the cellar help you?"
"We only met him tonight!" I choked. "We've never been in your damn vault! It isn't a real sword, it's a copy!"
"A copy?" she screeched. "Oh, a likely story!"
"But we can find out easily," said Lucius Malfoy from somewhere off to the side. Their voices were beginning to become fuzzy. "Draco, fetch the goblin, he can tell us whether the sword is real or not!" I could feel his eyes on me before he turned on his heels and walked where Ron and Harry had disappeared earlier and was back within less than a minute with a goblin in his grasp. When he brought Griphook to his aunt, he moved to grab me from my spot on the floor, but Bellatrix stopped him.
"Leave her," she snapped, forcing the sword into the goblin's long-fingered hands. He examined it for a moment, glancing down the blade and back up to the hilt a few times over. I could hardly force my eyelids to stay open, but I knew I'd likely be in more danger if I passed out. The only moving on my body was my fingers, which were twitching with the effort of holding my abilities at bay.
"Well?" said Bellatrix to Griphook. "Is it the true sword?"
"No," Griphook answered, and if I'd had the energy, I would have laughed with relief. "It is a fake."
"Are you sure?" Bellatrix panted. "Quite sure?"
"Yes," said the goblin, and I could practically feel Bellatrix's tension ease.
"Good," she said, and with a lazy flick of her wand, carved a deep gash into the goblin's face, and he dropped with a yell at her feet. She kicked him aside. "And now we call the Dark Lord!"
She pushed back her sleeve and touched her forefinger to the writhing Dark Mark on her wrist.
"And I think," said Bellatrix, far closer to me than before. Her voice sounded, to me, like it was underwater, "we can have a bit more fun with you, my dear. The Dark Lord will be so happy to see you. Crucio!"
I could see her draw her wand again, and suddenly, I was wide awake.
Inky black waves flowed from my hands, blocking her curse and causing an expression of surprise to ripple over her sunken features before morphing back to one of madness.
"Ickle Potter wants to show us her magic trick now!" she shrieked with maniacal laughter, but backing up from me at the same time.
I had a feeling this burst of energy was only temporary, so I figured I'd use it while I could.
"What did you mean last year? About me being the more important one?" I demanded as I pulled myself from the floor, holding my hands up in front of me menacingly. Once again, her eyes widened in shock.
"How did— I thought—" she spluttered. I smirked darkly.
"Yeah, I remembered. Now answer me," I said sternly.
She cackled.
"I don't think you're in any place to be making demands," she said, grinning lazily. I tilted my head to the side, keeping my smirk.
"Oh, really? I think I am, actually."
"We'll see. Greyback, take care of the Mudblood," Bellatrix said sweetly, and my blood ran cold. I could already feel my temporary spurt of energy draining.
"No—"
"NOOOO!"
Ron Weasley had burst into the drawing room; Bellatrix looked shocked once again, and the moment she turned her wand on him, I dropped to the floor.
"Expelliarmus!" Ron roared, pointing a wand at Bellatrix, and hers flew into the air to be caught by my brother. Lucius, Narcissa, Draco, and Greyback turned to look at the pair, three of the four raising their wands in defence.
"Stupefy!" Harry yelled, sending Lucius Malfoy flying into the (sadly) unlit hearth. Jets of light flew from Narcissa's, Draco's, and Greyback's wands. Just as I saw through my partially closed eyes that Harry was diving for cover behind a sofa, I felt rough hands pull me from the floor by my hair, and something sharp was placed against the exposed skin of my neck.
"Stop or she dies!" Bellatrix screamed, her face right beside my ear, and her silver knife digging uncomfortably into my throat.
"Drop your wands," she hissed. "Drop them!"
I wanted to shake my head, to try and convey the fact that she couldn't kill me for fear of facing far worse consequences, but I couldn't move without the knife dragging across my oesophagus. "I said drop them!" she screeched, and the knife dug deeper into my throat to the point of blood dripping down onto the collar of my shirt.
"All right!" Harry shouted in response. I let out an involuntary whimper as Harry dropped the wand he was holding and Ron dropped his.
"Good!" she leered. "Draco, pick them up! The Dark Lord is coming, Harry Potter! Your deaths approach!"
At the last word, there was a peculiar grinding noise from above. I couldn't look up with the knife still against my throat, but everyone else glanced toward the ceiling just in time to see the crystal chandelier tremble, and with a crack, it began to fall. Bellatrix screamed and threw me to the ground as she ran out from underneath it, and I thought I would be crushed under the full weight of it. I closed my eyes, unable to move, and waited for the pain, but it never came.
Instead, I felt arms wrap around my torso, pulling me just out of the way, and shielding me from the shards of glass flying through the air. My eyes met steel grey when I looked up in awe. Draco had pulled me from underneath the chandelier and took the brunt of the injuries. His face and hands were covered in blood and yet he still asked, "Are you okay?"
I merely nodded. I saw Harry come near to us, taking advantage of the chaos. Harry grabbed the three wands from Draco's hand, and oddly enough, the blonde didn't fight. He almost handed the wands to my brother, and although rather begrudgingly, didn't try to get them back. I felt tears prick the corners of my eyes, and despite having been tortured for what felt like hours and the still dangerous situation we were still in, I felt an immeasurable amount of joy at his progress.
"I love you," I said in a hoarse whisper. His sparkling eyes stared down at me and widened in surprise before he crashed his lips onto mine in response. The last thing I saw was his smile before Harry dragged me from the wreckage.
"Dobby!" Narcissa screamed, more in surprise than anger, looking toward the doorway of the drawing room. Sure enough, Dobby the house-elf had trotted into the room, his shaking finger pointing directly at his old mistress.
"You must not hurt Harry Potter," he squeaked. There was a crack, and Narcissa's wand too flew into the air, landing on the opposite side of the room.
"How dare you take a witch's wand?" Bellatrix bawled. "How dare you defy your masters?"
"Dobby has no master!" squeaked the elf. "Dobby is a free elf!"
I heard Harry give a quiet cry of pain before throwing one of the wands in his hand to Ron. "Ron, GO!"
Ron had Hermione under one arm, and the goblin, Griphook, under the other before turning on the spot and disapparating. Harry hoisted me up, then grabbed Dobby's hand. There was a silver streak of light in front of us, and I felt Harry turn to disapparate just as I lost consciousness.