𖥸 TW 𖥸
Aelys
My eyes fluttered open and I groaned softly as I felt my head throbbing in pain. I try to bring my hands to my aching temples but I froze as I notice I am tied up to a chair. I attempted to move my legs without success. My throat tightened and I felt my eyes water. What the fuck was happening ?
"Ah, Miss Parkinson, I see you're finally awake."
My head snapped to the left and I winced at the sharp pain the sudden movement brought. My vision was blurry and I blinked to chase the tears away, letting one slide down my cheek. My brown eyes widened when they fell on Dumbledore, standing near a wooden door, his hands behind his back. I swallowed the lump in my throat and tilted my chin up, trying to show no fear.
"Professor." I spat. "Why am I here ? Oh, and it's Miss Riddle, not Parkinson."
He cleared his throat and pushed back his glasses on his nose. He moved closer to me and smiled, making me shudder. This man was creepy.
"Of course, pardon me."
"Why am I here ?" I repeated a little louder.
"We have a few questions for you. You have nothing to worry about, all you have to do is answer us and we will let you leave."
My eyes narrowed and I scoffed. As if I were going to say anything to any of them. Besides, there was no one else than the both of us in this room. My heart sank when I finally took notice of my wedding dress. I was still wearing it and it was covered in dirt and ripped in a few places.
"Miss Riddle." He cleared his throat again, visibly uncomfortable with my last name. "Do you know anything about Tom Riddle's plans or Miss Granger's murder ?"
I rolled my eyes and laughed in disbelief, shaking my head. Did he really think I would talk ?
"Even if I did, what makes you think I'll tell you ?" I raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
He sighed and took out his wand. I tensed, bracing myself for any curse he was about to cast on me. But it never came. He flicked it and a chair appeared next to him, right in front of me. I frowned and watched him sit down, putting his wand back in the pocket of his robe. His blue eyes fell on my left forearm, intensely looking at my dark mark.
"I know you had no choice but to take the mark, my child. You don't have to fear Tom Riddle and his Death Eaters anymore. You can tell me anything, I promise you will be safe."
I scoffed and rolled my eyes again. Lies. Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix didn't give two shits about any of us. All that mattered for them was Harry Fucking Potter. The fact he didn't think I had wanted the mark was a huge clue. No one knew anything about us, Purebloods.
The only reason the pureblood families had choose to follow the Dark Lord in the first place was because the magic society was fucked up by the Order and mudbloods. But they also weren't stupid. Every pureblood family knew Lord Voldemort had more powers than the Order and Harry Potter. I had already said it, but there was only one ending to this war and it wasn't with Potter winning. Only a fool would believe a child that didn't even know powerful spells could defeat a fucking powerful dark wizard. Following the Dark Lord meant we would live.
"Aelys." He spoke again, his voice exaggeratedly sweet. "We know they forced you to marry his son. We can help you. You'll be free from this life, from all this pain."
I looked away from him, focusing my gaze on the wooden door, jaw clenching and nails digging into the armrest of the chair I was tied to. They thought they knew everything. They knew nothing. I wasn't buying his act of kindness for one second. All he wanted was for me to answer, then, they would send me to Azkaban. After all, I had the mark.
"I beg you, Aelys, tell me everything you know." He put his hand on my knee and I froze.
My head snapped back to him and I glared at him, gritting my teeth.
"Take your hand off me. Now." I growled.
He cleared his throat but did as I asked, slowly interlocking his fingers on his lap. He opened his mouth but before he could say a word, the door flew open, banging loudly on the wall. We both looked over to see who had entered the room and I tensed at the sight of a very angry Ronald Weasley, wand tight in his hand, blue eyes full of murderlust and fixated on me.
"Did she talk ?" He snarled.
Dumbledore muttered a 'no' and I feared for a second Weasley was going to break his wand since his grip on it was increasing. He took a step forward and Dumbledore stood up, eyebrows furrowed and a hand raised in an attempt to stop the ginger boy.
"Mr Weasley." He said in a low voice full of warning.
But he ignored him and pushed past him, pointing his wand at me. I tilted my chin up, smirked devilishly and raised an eyebrow, silently taunting him to do it. It was stupid considering Mattheo and I hadn't been able to start my training yet but I was not going to show any weakness to them. He growled and pushed the tip of his wand on my throat, slightly pressing into my skin. Not enough to draw blood but enough to hurt. I remained emotionless, eyes burning with hatred and defiance, waiting for him to actually do it. He didn't have the guts. He was a coward.
"You know who killed 'Mione." He snarled. "I know it. Tell me who it was."
I didn't say a word, my smirk still curling my lips which only angered him more.
"Fucking tell me you bitch !" He yelled.
I didn't flinch, eyes still locked with his. He pressed his wand deeper in my throat but when he saw I still didn't have a reaction, he growled in frustration and stepped back. I tilted my head slightly and watched him, clearly amused by his cowardry. That was exactly why they could never win this war.
Dumbledore started to move toward me, mouth opening but he didn't get the chance to speak as Weasley shouted 'crucio', wand aimed at me. My whole body tensed and I started to convulse on the chair, jaw clenched so tight my teeth were hurting but I forbade any sound to escape my lips. I closed my eyes so they couldn't see them roll back from the pain and dug my nails harder in the armrest of the chair, feeling them breaking under the pressure, blood slowly dripping from my fingertips.
I barely heard Dumbledore yelling at the boy to stop before the cruciatus curse stopped and my body fell limp in the chair, then a loud thump resonated in the room. I quickly regained composure, opening my eyes again to see Dumbledore had been thrown across the room and was visibly unconscious in a corner. Weasley had stunned him. No one could stop him to torture me.
I looked over at the ginger boy, my face emotionless. I could feel the metallic taste of blood in my mouth and sweat falling on my face but I was pretty sure it was also mixed with blood caused by the cruciatus. I could feel the cuts all over my body and my stomach tightened at the thought of my completely ruined wedding dress. What was supposed to be the best day of my life had turned to be the worst.
Weasley grabbed my chin harshly and I bit my tongue to refrain myself from wincing in pain. My gaze hardened as I met his angered one.
"Tell me who killed Hermione !" He shouted again.
I spat the blood in my mouth in his face as a reply and he angrily wiped it off with his hand before slapping me. My head snapped to the side due to the force of his slap but again, no sound escaped my lips. I looked at him again and waited to see what he was going to do. I had to admit, I had misjudged him. He wasn't the coward I thought he was.
My lack of answer enraged him even more and he stepped back again, lifting his wand. He pointed it at my arm and shouted 'diffindo'. I bit hard on my lip to stop the scream of pain that was threatening to escape and I felt the blood running down my chin as my lip was now cut. I now had a large cut on my forearm and blood was dripping down on the floor. He moved his wand toward my shoulder and casted the spell again, slicing my skin but luckily, not too much, otherwise he would have cut my arm off.
This bastard moved his wand again to my other shoulder and muttered the spell another time, voice shaking with hatred.
¤
My head was hung down in exhaustion and my eyes kept fluttering, trying hard to stay open. Blood was dripping down my skin from the cuts all over my body and I didn't have any force left in me. I was limp on the chair and I was begging for Theo to find me but I knew it was unlikely. They had probably casted charms to hide this place. No one was coming for me.
I heard vaguely Dumbledore's voice and I felt slight relief flooding through me. Maybe, just maybe, he was going to stop Weasley from torturing me any longer. I felt the restrains on my wrists and ankles disappearing, then I was lifted in someone's arms. I tried hard to open my eyes and to fight back but I was too weak.
My vision was blurry and I couldn't see who was carrying me. I heard their voice muttering something and the feeling of traveling by floo powder washed over me. The person started to walk and I shivered as I felt cold air hit my soaked blood skin. I was freezing, bleeding and practically unconscious.
A wave of warmth suddenly engulfed me and I felt the person put me down on a cold floor. My eyes closed again but I still heard the sound of a knock on a door, then footsteps letting me know the person was leaving. The door creaked open and my heart started to beat faster, terrified as I didn't know who had opened it and where I was.
"Fuck, Aelys !"
Relief washed over me and I smiled faintly at the sound of his voice ringed in my ears. My Theo. His familiar scent engulfed me and his strong arms lifted me up. I leaned my head against his chest, feeling how he started to walk back inside of what I supposed was our dorm.
I felt the softness of a mattress meeting my aching body then his fingers brushing away my hair from my face.
"What have they done to you, my love ?" He growled.
I gathered all the strength I had left and opened my eyes, finally seeing his handsome face, filled with anger and worry.
"Theo." I whispered.
"I'm here, you're safe now, my love." He pressed a kiss on my forehead and leaned his on mine. "I looked everywhere for you. I couldn't find you..." He whispered, voice shaking.
I nodded weakly and he pulled back, taking out his wand. His other hand cupped my cheek and his thumb stroked my cheek tenderly. My vision was still slightly blurry but I could focus on his perfect chocolate brown eyes who held pure love.
"I'm going to heal you, alright ?" He said softly.
I nodded again weakly and he started to mutter healing spells to clean before closing my cuts. Meanwhile, his thumb was still caressing my cheek, distracting from the pain and the fear of the wand pointed at me.
Suddenly, I felt his other hand cupping the other side of my face and he smiled softly.
"All done, princess. You need to wash the blood away now. Do you want me to help you ?"
I nodded and he helped me to stand up. My body was still sore and I winced a little as we made our way toward the bathroom. He carefully undid the laces of my dress and I felt tears streaming down my cheeks. My dress. My beautiful dress was ruined. The fabric fell to the ground and my eyes never left it as I cried for a dress that meant so much to me.
"Hey, what's wrong, princess ?" He asked softly, hand gently caressing my arm.
"My dress." I muttered.
"We'll fix it, I promise."
I didn't answer and stepped out of the middle of the dress. I watched him start the shower as I stood in my matching red lingerie. My eyes caught my reflection in the mirror and tears fell harder on my cheeks. I no longer had cuts and wounds, but I still had blood everywhere and looked terrible.
"Come on, sweetie." He spoke softly, offering me his hand.
He was still fully dressed and I wanted to tell him he was going to get his clothes wet but I knew he didn't care. One thing about Theo was that he always prioritized my well-being over his.
I took a step forward and reached for his hand but a sharp pain in my lower stomach made me groan out in pain and stop moving. My hands moved to hold my stomach and another wave of pain hit me, causing me to groan again. I felt something warm running down my thighs and I frowned.
My gaze lowered to my body and I froze at the sight of blood dripping down my thighs. My eyes widened and my lips parted in shock. Waves of pain hit me again, blood still running down my thighs and I couldn't tear my eyes away from it. I heard Theo's voice but it came out muffled and I didn't understand a single word escaping his lips. My body started to shake while my hand tightened on my stomach, desperately trying to ease the pain while the blood still hadn't stopped.
The distant sound of doors creaking open and slamming shut came to my ears but I barely registered it. I was too shaken up to notice that Theo had run out of the dorm, probably to seek help.