As the Estoileons returned back to Malfoy Manor with Snape, the older man's tracks stopped just as they reached the gates. He spun around and meet their confused gazes, "We have a company who are waiting for your return. A word of caution, I urge you both to be on your best behaviours," he said to them both.
"What are we? Five?" Aine replies sarcastically and Snape gave her an eye roll.
"You will do your best to heed my advice if you do not wish to be hurt. I will give you my word and try to protect both of you," Snape replied, his promise of protecting them came as a shock to Aine and Aion as they never thought they would hear him say that. "Though if you were to remain ignorant about your attitude, it would not be my problem if you get yourself killed."
"Killed?" Aion repeated, he thought he may have heard his words wrongly. Nevertheless, Snape reminded him to keep his place and dignity. If it was the only thing left for the Estoileons, it would be their grace.
They proceeded on through the long pathway towards the manor's door, passing by the well-kept garden. The day was coming to an end and the skies were already rumbling, it had been raining a fair bit these days and ever since the two siblings arrived at the Malfoy household, thunderstorms came nearly every night.
When the door swung open as they approached, Aine and Aion were greeted by a whole group of masked beings who eyed the two through the hollow sockets of their different masks. Startled by the shocking sight, both Aine and Aion could only reach for each other's hand, giving their intertwined hands a squeeze while they reach for their wands on their other free hand.
A scoff escaped from someone and their attention settled on one man— He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named, Lord Voldemort.
Voldemort stood in the middle of his armed forces, he gave them both a sinister smile. His snake-like eyes trailed down to their hands before snarling at them, his facade dropping. "It's good to see you both again, Aine..." he greeted, arms spread across as if wanting a hug from them. "Aion..." he added with a much colder tone when he spoke the young lad's name, not bothering to hide his distaste.
Realizing that neither of them had moved and was frozen in their spots, Voldemort made his way to them instead. He gave Aine an awkward hug, holding onto her neck as she stiffens up. The girl held her breath, not moving an inch as she kept her trembling in control. She wanted to scream, to yell, to tear this man— Monster in front of her apart but she could only do so in her mind. She simply gripped Aion's hand tighter and avoided Voldemort's eye contact.
"It's about time we have a proper chat, dear child," he whispers into Aine's ears, causing the girl to close her eyes slowly. She endured every urge to kill him. "Such a pity to learn what happened to your father. You must be truly devastated..." he said, subtly ridiculing her.
Who do you think is the cause of my devastation? Aine said in her mind, fluttering her eyes open as her golden pupils swirled with rage.
Voldemort pulls away and studies the girl's emotionless expression, "But I'm sure you must be pleased to know that the fake father of yours is finally ridded! He deserves it, does he not?" he cranks his neck back to his horde of Deatheaters who agreed, cheering along as if viewing their master as a saint for what he had ordered Cal to do.
Aine felt her blood boil, she clutched onto her wand tightly, feeling her nails dig into her palms. She was so utterly humiliated and provoked but she kept her cool. If she were to do anything, Aion would be the first victim to fall into the hands of the Dark Lord. She caught Draco's gaze from the corner of her eyes, his brows furrowed together, feeling both angered and insulted.
The Malfoy son and mother's faces were completely drained of colour, fading even a lighter shade than they once were. Their skin was nearly white as a ghost, perplexed by the sudden company of the army of Deatheaters led by the Dark Lord. They had all stormed into their home as if it belonged to them rather than their family.
Ever since Lucius Malfoy, the head of the family was captured by the Order of the Phoenix in the battle in the Ministry of Magic, the Malfoy family had lost all of their reputations and had since fallen from their honour. They could only obey the Dark Lord and do as they were told or like the fate of the rest of those who defy him, face Death.
"May I know, what is the meaning of this..?" Aion finally spoke in his sister's stead, trying to keep a polite composure.
The chortles died down and Bellatrix Lestrange immediately hissed at the young man's attitude, displeased that he had interrupted their joy and fun. She even looked like she was about to jump at the boy if her master had not interfered with a hand held up for her to remain calm. At once, Bellatrix bows her head down to her master's instructions though she did manage to sneak a glare in the Estoileons direction.
"It is a welcome," Voldemort replies shortly.
Aion scrutinises his expression, making Voldemort smirk at him. He went on, "Now that the both of you are here without any disturbances—" he paused, taking a glimpse of Aine's stoic look. She knew that 'disturbances' meant their father and she could only stay as still as possible, or else the tears were going to fall again. If there was one thing Aine would not have wanted, it was for them to see her cry, to crumble into their play. It was only going to fuel their excitement even more if she did.
"I wish to ask you both if you knew the whereabouts of your mother," Voldemort said.
"We do not know," Aine refuted on behalf of her brother. Though they may have a clue as to why she went away after reading the note she left behind, in the chest where the invisibility cloak was hidden.
Voldemort faces Aion who squinted at him, "I know you don't, Aine. Though your brother may beg to differ."
"We don't know where mother went," Aion responded as matter-of-factly. "Even if we did, why should we tell you?" he snapped at the Dark Lord who simpered. Aine clenched her brother's hand, giving it a small shake, she prayed that he would just keep his opinions to himself.
Still looking ahead and not giving one blink at Voldemort, Aine spoke in her mind to her brother.
Aion, please— Please do not do this.
She didn't want him hurt.
However, her brother only continued to glare at Voldemort.
"Sassy like the sister," the Dark Lord commented, amused. He reaches for Aion's face and held him by the chin, jerking it towards his face. "I'm not asking, boy. I'm demanding you to tell me where Aris is."
"We. Haven't. Got. A. Clue," Aine seethes out.
"Well, if I can't find Aris... I wonder what should I do to get her to come out from this little game of Hide-and-Seek?" Voldemort questioned, his icy eyes lit up as if an idea struck him. "Perhaps! I should kill her son!" he grips Aion's skin and the young man's eyes twitched, feeling the claws sinking in.
Aine's breath hitched and without hesitation, she steps in front of her brother and pointed her wand at Voldemort swiftly, cutting his touch on her brother. Her speed alarmed the rest of his army as they had all pointed their wands in the direction of the two Estoileons. There were flames in her golden eyes as she bore into Voldemort's. The first time she had made eye contact with the monster. "Don't you dare touch him!" she growls, giving up on the idea to remain calm. Not Aion, she tells herself. If they so much so lay a finger on him, she would attack.
Voldemort's eyes widened for a second before he burst out laughing, "Now, now. Don't be so hasty, Aine dear~" he jested.
The girl remained in her stance, she wasn't going to back down now especially when she had his goons pointing their wands at her. He sighed loudly, his expression souring. "Sheath your damn wands," he commanded them and they followed his orders, putting down their weapons.
Voldemort circles around them both like a snake wrapping around its prey. "I assume you would have learnt your lesson for stepping in my way, Aine. Looks like nothing's changed. What a pity..." he frowns.
With a snap of his finger, four shadows loomed behind Aine and Aion. They separated the siblings from each other, their intertwined hands snatched apart as Cal held Aine tightly, chuckling to himself while she tries to break free. Aion, on the other hand, was forced to go on his knees as the Deatheater behind him had held stomped on his back, pressing him to the ground. The two struggled, grunting and breathing heavily when a set of chains was secured on their wrists. It prevented them from doing magic and simultaneously, inflicted pain when they tried to force magic out of themselves.
Aion lets out a shriek, feeling the burning sensation crawl down his neck and into his lungs. His face went red and he panted when he stopped the flow of magic. He could only shoot daggers at Voldemort, planning several ways to unalive the man in his head.
Aine too, buckled to her knees and dropped to the ground under Cal's commands. With every breath she took, she could feel the shackles burning into her wrist. Her fingers stretched out, wanting to escape the metal chains around them but it was futile. "Aion..." she muttered, shaking her head, her eyes glossed with tears. Her brother listened, fearing that if he continued pushing Voldemort's buttons, their lives will be at risk.
From the side, Draco took a step forward but his mother grabbed hold of him, preventing him from acting recklessly. She placed a firm hand on his shoulders but he could feel her shaking. He could only stare at Aine and Aion without doing anything and he felt useless. If only there was something he could do but it felt like the events were replaying again, giving him a sense of deja-vu.
"It seems that neither of you has the intention to devote yourselves to me," Voldemort started, pacing about as Nagini joins him, slithering to his side. He stops and looks down at the two kneeling children and smirks. "Very well... If I can't have your loyalty, I'll have your fear until you can pledge it to me," he said delightedly. He nudges his chin away, signalling his underlings to get the two out of his sight.
Torn apart from each other, Aine and Aion exchanged panic looks, not knowing what was going to be done to them. Their imaginations went wild and they could only wonder what hells were going to be brought down to them, and what had they done to deserve to be treated like this.
"DON'T HURT HER!" Aion managed to yell out through the pain, wanting to get to his sister but as he was being held back by magical chains and two burly men, he could only watch as his attempts go to waste.
"Aion!" his sister calls out to him, furious at the world of darkness mocking them as they went different directions. "No—! I said... Let me go! Let me go this instance!" she screamed at Cal, yanking her arms from the chains as she hits his back. Yet, the man did not budge, he merely snickered at her weakness. "You— Son of a—!"
The older sibling was dragged upstairs while Aine had been carried down to the cellar before being flung across the filthy, wet, cold ground. Her long skirt was already soiled from the ground but she couldn't care less about it. She heard the gates screeching to a close before a barrier was cast over them for extra protection. Whether it was done to keep her caged up well or to prevent a nasty breakout, she could only guess that it was the former.
Cal grabs onto the metal bars of the gate, he admires the wrath on her face: her jaw was clenched tightly and she was shaking so hard from rage. He gave her a wink and a little taunting wave, "See you soon, darling~" he bids, turning around. Then he stops and looks over his shoulders at her, still glowering in his direction. "Try not to die before we have some fun, alright?"
Once she was finally alone, Aine pushes herself to stand up. She looks around the cell, there wasn't a single candle lit up in here and the only source of light was from the tiny opening up on the wall. The floors and walls were slimy and damped and even though it was Spring, she could still feel the coldness seeping out from the cracks. The room was massive with arched ceilings and columns holding the structure.
She could hear her breathing echoing throughout the large room, feeling overwhelmed, afraid and angry, Aine recoiled back to the wall where the tiny peal of light shone in and shrunk away to the ground. She felt the tears trickling down and she sniffles, pulling her knees to her chest but she couldn't hug it for comfort since her hands were restrained by the shackles behind.
It was dark and cold, reminding Aine of things she didn't want to remember, mostly consisting of her nightmares and demons that preyed on her mind. She tried to keep a strong front, gulping down on her hoarse throat as the coldness dried her lungs. She was shivering but there was no warmth, not even from the little light.
She was all alone, without her father, without her brother, without her friends, without her wand, without her magic and without any hope.
Slowly, but surely, it was driving her insane. The only thing she could cling to was not just her consciousness, it was the crackling flames within her desiring revenge. However, there was no telling what was going to happen from now on.
Perhaps, it was meant to be... She thought to herself, starting to feel the effects of her overthinking mind again. Aine always hated how quickly her mind could adjust, one moment she could be confident to plot her revenge and the next, she would be crumbling from the weights of the 'what ifs'.
A dry scoff escaped her lips, thinking how fickle her mind was.
Though it was hard to differentiate what time of the day it was now, assuming it should probably be nightfall. It was just the beginning of a long and dreadful spring, full of nothing but absolute darkness and hatred.
It felt like hours when the girl was thrown into the underground cell and for all she could recall, she was trying her best to stay calm and remind herself of her true purpose and motive. Once she gets out of this dungeon, she was going to make them suffer before their deaths...
For now, it seems the only thing she could do was not only pray but survive whatever the hell they were going to do to her. Afterwards, she can start to think about how to make them all pay.
~~~
Upstairs in the drawing room, the Deatheaters had taken their place with their master sitting in the middle at the end of the long ornate table. Closest to him, on one side sat Snape, Narcissa and Draco while Bellatrix and Cal sat opposite them. "Have they been settled in well in their respective rooms?" Voldemort asked his two followers.
Bellatrix grins through her stained teeth, "Yes, my lord!" she replied enthusiastically. "Unfortunately, the brother needed to be given a sleeping draught to knock him out as he was being uncooperative. When he wakes, we shall perform the initiation."
"Good," Voldemort said, clasping his hands as he brought his face towards it. "What about the girl?"
"As you have commanded, my lord. She will remain in the cellar until you wish otherwise," Cal responded with a smirk.
"Begin to question them tomorrow. I want answers to Aris's whereabouts. Do what you have to do to get it out of them. I'm certain they know where she went, those foolish children and their sealed mouths..." Voldemort instructed, clicking his tongue with distaste. "You have my word to punish them with torture if they refuse to be of assistance."
"As you wish, my lord~" Cal replied, bobbing his head. He taps his fingers excitedly on his knees, he was going to have so much fun.
Voldemort turned to Snape who remained emotionless, his lips curled slightly at his loyal counsel. "You seem to not like my ways, Severus," he commented, bringing Snape's attention to him. "What do you perhaps suggest me do instead?"
Snape took a pause before he began, "You misunderstand me, my lord. I merely have some qualms about attempting torture on the Estoileons. If you were to break them completely, they might never recover."
"It's not as if our master would allow them to live after getting what he wants, might as well drain them full before slaughtering them—" a Deatheater sitting two seats beside Draco added nonchalantly. His name was Gibbon.
Voldemort glared at him and his affiliate immediately stops yapping. He lowered his head, "Apologies, my lord."
"I did not ask for your opinion, Gibbon. You do well to remember that or I shall have your tongue removed," his master reminded sternly. "I may speak of those children as I wish, you will not."
"I understand... My lord..."
"Now! Where were we again?" the Dark Lord recalled, meeting Snape's apathetic look. "Right! We spoke about them not being able to recover after their punishments, hm?"
"That is correct, my lord. If we overdo ourselves with the series of tortures to get the answers from them, they might never recover... They may even lose their sanities like Frank and Alice Longbottom," Snape remarked, casting a quick gaze to Bellatrix who looked proud when he spoke of her victims.
Voldemort let out a loud guffaw, his laughter sending chills down Draco's spine and the boy could only grip his kneecaps. His knuckles whiten up as he holds himself together. He felt so sickened to the core and simply wish to leave right this instance. To Aine, Aion, and if given the choice, he would even want to leave his home with his mother, away from all these cruel monsters.
"Don't worry about that, Severus," the snake-like man reassures. "If they are broken, all the better! I can then piece them back together and mould them to my liking, wouldn't that be a fine idea?"
However, Snape was not amazed nor was he amused. He swore to protect both Aine and Aion under the last will of their father that he had found and kept. Though he had kept a straight face, the Dark Lord had managed to see through him from how low his lips had curled down.
The master of the Deatheaters exhaled loudly, his serpent-like eyes still falling on his most trusted ally. Snape had a point about their well-being but so was his plan to remould them into the soldiers he wanted. Aion was the least of his concerns, for now, since he only kept him to know more about these years he had with Aris along with keeping Aine in her place. He meant to keep him as leverage in case she decides to act imprudently.
And then there was another person whom he could use to sway the stubborn girl. His eyes drifted over to Draco Malfoy who was glaring at the table, boring a hole through it in his mind. Voldemort snickers to himself, besides Aion who Aine had held dear, the Malfoy boy was also another. He knew of their rather special bond and how they had both harboured romantic feelings for the other.
He will have his chance to prove his allegiance... Voldemort said in his mind, having the perfect scheme for Draco to verify his loyalty. It was always something that was at the back of his thoughts ever since Lucius, his right-hand man had failed his mission to retrieve the prophecy of Harry Potter. The boy will have his time for punishment in time to come...
Then there was Aine. Sweet and dangerous Aine... If her mother refused to come out from the shadows even after the lives of her precious son and daughter are endangered, Aine would be the next thing he will set his eyes on. She was the daughter of a powerful witch who wielded deific magic, who was to say that some of those godly powers wouldn't be passed down to her? If he could get Aine to his side, maybe the odds of this war will already be in their favour.
And Aine wasn't just Aris's daughter after all.
After deliberating, he finally got his answer. "Very well, Severus... If you fear for their lives being threatened, I shall give you the authority to heal them so that they might live. They are ultimately pawns I wish to have in my conquest. So do as you please."
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Happy Christmas everyone! I hope everyone is spending Christmas well with their loved ones! And if you're celebrating alone, I also hope that you may find some joy in it too! ^^
Cheers to the remaining days of 2022 and here's to a better year~
Sending love to all of you out there!
- Zeneria