"Well?"
"I-I can't be sure." Draco stutters.
Lucius walks over gripping the back of Draco's neck harshly and pushing his head forward, "Draco. Look closely, son. If we are the ones to hand Potter over to the Dark Lord everything would be forgiven. All would be as it was, you understand?"
Alex groans as the snatcher gets a tighter lock on her now blonde hair, "Now, we won't be forgetting who actually caught him, I hope, Mr. Malfoy."
"You dare to talk to me like that in my own house?"
"D'you mind, man?" Ale groans struggling in the man's grip, "Can't feel my bloody brain."
"Don't be shy, sweetie," Bellatrix says grabbing Draco and pulling him closer, "Come over. Now, if this isn't who we think it is, Draco, and we call him, he'll kill us all. We need to be absolutely sure."
"What's wrong with his face?" Draco questions.
"Yes, what is wrong with his face?"
The Snatcher shrugs, "He came to us like that. Something he picked up in the forest, I reckon."
Bellatrix raises a brow as she walks towards the other three friends, "Or ran into a Stinging Jinx. Was it you, dearie? Give me her wand. We'll see what her last spell was," Hermione's face pales and the old witch begins to laugh, "Ah. Got you."
"What is that?" She stops in her tracks looking at the sword in the man's hand who is holding onto Alex, "Where'd you get that from?"
"It was in her bag when we searched her. Reckon it's mine now."
Bellatrix knocks the man back making Alex fall to the floor, she hits the Snatchers back grabbing the sword and wrapping a snake like rope around the one man's throat, "Go! Get out!"
They run out screaming and yelling at the crazy woman, "Cissy, put the boys in the cellar. I want to have a little conversation with this one, girl-to-girl."
Bellatrix pushes the boys away and Narcissa drags them to the cellar, Lucius gets a firm grip on Alex as the girl tries to get to Hermione, "Don't touch her! Don't touch her, you bitch!"
"That sword is meant to be in my vault at Gringotts. How did you get it? What else did you and your friends take from my vault?"
"I didn't take anything. Please. I didn't take anything."
"I don't believe it." Bellatrix begins to carve into Hermione's arm making the girl scream in pain.
Alex thrashes against the grip on her, "Stop! It was me, she didn't do anything! I took your stupid sword!"
Bellatrix stops instantly her eyes snapping up to Alex who is panting heavily, "What?"
"I said I took your stupid sword, what are you, deaf?"
Bellatrix gestures for her to come closer, Lucius pushers her forward harshly making her stumble until she reaches Bellatrix. She moves Alex's hair from her face gripping her jaw harshly, "Ah, my cousin's daughter, can't get enough, is it?"
"I would've won that fight, and you know it." She says through gritted teeth, "There's obviously a reason you weren't put into Gryffindor, coward."
Pushing the girl to the floor she points her wand at her, "Crucio!"
Gritting her teeth and closing her eyes Alex doesn't allow any sound to come from her as she shakes uncontrollably, "Crucio! Crucio! Crucio!" She yells stopping just before the girl's body will fully give out, giving her a few seconds to recover before doing it again.
Giving in to the pain a scream ripples through the air making even Narcissa turn her head away from the scene, "How did you get it!"
Alex swallows the blood in her mouth as she breaths heavily, "Get what?"
"Crucio!"
"Ahh!"
"Bring me the Goblin!" Bellatrix yells as she grabs Alex harshly by the hair.
Her eyes catch sight of the scared tissue on the girl's hand, grabbing it she smirks at the writing, "Sirius Black is a murderer?"
Kneeling on the girls arm to keep it in place she begins to carve into her forearm making her wriggle with all the strength she has left. "I know all of your fears, Alexandra, you can't hide from me."
Leaving the broken girl on the floor as she gazes at the words imprinted on her arm, the crazy haired witch approaches the Goblin, "I'm only going to ask you once more, goblin. Think very, very carefully before you answer."
"I don't know."
"You don't know? Why weren't you doing your job? Who got into my vault? Who stole it? Who stole it? Well?"
"When I was last in your vault," The Goblin, Griphook, says slowly, "The sword was there."
"Oh, well then, perhaps it just walked out on its own then."
"Perhaps," Alex says weakly, "It got sick of your shit." Lucius harshly kicks her making her wince.
"There is no place safer than Gringotts."
"Liar!" Bellatrix roars cutting his cheek with the knife.
"Consider yourself lucky, goblin. The same won't be said for this one."
"Expelliarmus!" Ron yells disarming her just as she was about to approach Alex again.
Harry follows after sending a spell to Lucius, "Stupefy."
"Stop!"
They all look over to see Bellatrix holing up Hermione with a knife to her throat, "Drop your wands. I said, drop them!"
Ron looks down at Alex who nods her head slowly as she attempts to get up, "Pick them up, Draco, now. Well, well, well, look what we have here. It's Harry Potter. He's all bright and shiny and new again, just in time for the Dark Lord. Call him."
Draco looks down at Alex who is already looking at him, she shakes her head and he quickly looks away as his father steps forward. "Call him!" Lucius steps in front of Draco and raises a hand above his mark.
A squeaking sound fills the air, looking up they find Dobby sat on the chandelier, as if in slow motion the thing drops, Bellatrix pushes Hermione forward and she runs towards the others.
Harry runs to Draco getting the wands from him, "Stupefy!
Ron grabs Alex wrapping his arms around her, she collapses to the floor making him place an arm under her knees to carry her.
"Stupid elf!" The group stand at the end of the room looking back at her, "You could've killed me."
"Dobby never meant to kill! Dobby only meant to maim or seriously injure."
Narcissa waves her wand but with a click of his finger it appears in Dobby's hand allowing him to throw it aside, "How dare you take a witch's wand? How dare you defy your masters?"
"Dobby has no master. Dobby is a free elf. And Dobby has come to save Harry Potter and his friends."
They all grab a hold of the elf Apparating out of the house to a beach somewhere. Ron lands in the sand, his arms still tightly wrapped around a barely conscious Alex.
"Hermione," Harry says softly helping her sit up, "You're all right. We're safe. We're all safe."
"Harry Potter." Dobby says weakly. Harry runs over to Dobby while Luna runs over to help Hermione up.
Pushing the blonde strands from Alex's face Ron shakes her gently seeing her eye start to close, "L-Lex? Hey, stay awake, okay?"
He cups her cheek rubbing his thumb back and forth as she smiles lazily up at him, "I'm sorry, Ron, I'm-"
"You have nothing to be sorry for, you hear me? I'm sorry, I was an idiot, and so stupid."
"Yeah, you were."
He chuckles swiping a tear from her cheek, "Lex? Lex! Hermione, help!"
Hearing footsteps behind him he finds Bill and Fleur running towards them, "Bill! Bill, please, help! Please."
He gets to his feet holding Alex as close as he possibly can, "Help her, please."
Bill nods taking the girl and looking to his wife, Fleur nods gesturing for him to go back to the house as Ron goes back over to Harry, "I want to bury him," Harry says, "Properly, with no magic."
After burying Dobby and sitting in the living room tapping his foot up and down impatiently Bill and Fleur finally come back, "I she-?"
Harry doesn't even get to finish his sentence as Ron has took off upstairs leaving the others.
Practically throwing himself to her side he grips her hand tightly placing a kiss on the back of it as he pushes the hair from her face, "Please, be okay, Lex, please."
"If you like Piña Caldas..."