Outstretching my arms, I froze, feeling a warmth beside me. Letting out a sigh of relief, it was just Theo. Turning over on my side, I let myself watch him sleep. Seeing him so content in his own mind makes me feel a little more at ease with my current situation.
My current situation.
A panic ensued within me. The room seemed to shrink with me being the center point of it. Something was itching at me to get out, I can't think straight.
I ignored Theo's arm aching to pull me closer to him. Throwing off the blanket, I made a b-line to the door, ignoring the calls from within the room. No one was in the common room, nor the hallways, nor the-
"Amalia, what's wrong?"
Mattheo pulled me to my feet from knocking me on my ass. He eyed me and suddenly I was aware that I was only in Theo's jumper that went up to my mid thigh, it's not like he hasn't seen me in much skimpier attire.
"I-I, no."
Collapsing into his arms, I wrapped myself around him, letting out a dry sob. I had no more tears in me, but I needed to cry. Mattheo slowly brought us to the ground, not retaining his grip around me.
We sat in a comfortable silence, just the two of us. A cold breeze ran over my bare legs, that's when I looked onto the night sky and it was still dark. It must have been at least three in the morning. Luckily, Prefects aren't patrolling at this late hour.
Loosening my hold on Mattheo, we let go to look at one another. His eyes were so calming, there was always a storm within them, yet he always pushed aside his feelings in search of finding what was happening with my feelings.
He tucked a loose piece of my scraggily hair behind my ear, waiting for me to talk.
"Did you know?"
I let out quietly.
"Know what Dove?"
His face didn't budge, as I rolled my eyes, he kept his soft expressions towards me. He would never not call me that no matter how many times I vocalized my dislike of the nickname.
"My grandfather."
Mattheo's eyes fluttered away from mine, as did his body. He kept one arm on me, slumping into the wall behind us.
"I know who he is yes, I'm sorry."
He bit his lip, turning his eyes towards me once more.
"He wants to kill me."
Dropping my head into my hands.
"Hey, hey, I won't let that happen, no one will."
His hand caressed my back as he scooted closer to me.
"How do you know this?"
"Theo told me, that's why him and his father want to protect me in any way they can."
I lifted my head back up to see Mattheo with a frown on his face. The lines in his forehead deep with confusion.
"Theo told you that?"
"Yeah."
My voice tinted with disbelief. I don't not trust what Theo told me, but now looking at Mattheo, I was starting to wonder if maybe something were not to be trusted about this.
Mattheo shook his head, flashing me a small smile before pulling me into a well needed hug from someone other than my boyfriend. My best friend.
"How are you?"
I asked. I could feel his smile against the top of my head.
"Fine, like always."
"I haven't spoken to you in a while and I am so sorry, it's just that-"
"Amalia, do not apologize, I understand how Theo can be, and as long as you are happy, that's all that matters to me."
Pulling my hand up to his mouth, placing a soft kiss upon my knuckles.
"Plus, there's this girl,"
My ears perked up, suddenly the slump I was in was out the window behind me.
"Oh! Do tell!"
Mattheo drew back from me, scared at my sudden outburst. He chuckled, pulling me back towards him with a tight squeeze.
"She's gorgeous, talented, brilliant really. When she laughs it sounds like a thousand lifetimes I wish to spend with her."
He took a breath in, imagining her I am guessing.
"She doesn't care of my background, in fact she thinks it has made me into the wonderful person that I am, if only she knew how many times I've broken my nose for being such a wonderful person."
We laughed at his small backhanded compliment to himself.
"I like to think I will be with her in every universe. She makes me feel as though we don't live in such a horrid world as we do. I can trust her, with everything."
Hearing Mattheo talk about her reminded me of Theo. I wonder if he ever talks this way about me to others. Because the way Mattheo describes his new found love is exactly how I feel about Theo. A rush of sadness hit me as I am not in the arms of the boy I love, don't get me wrong, I love Mattheo, but I love Theo.
"What's her name?"
"Hmm?"
He hummed.
"What's her name?"
He hesitated, pulling his arms from me.
"You promise you will not say a word?"
I nodded, who was I to tell, Astoria? Actually, that would be a bad idea. As much of a friend she is, she can not for the life of her keep her mouth shut.
"Ania Tortme."
One of my brows raised, causing Mattheo to laugh at the look that spread across my face.
"She's a distant relative of Draco, I know, not the best look, but she truly is amazing. I have always been so captivated by her, it's like I've known her my whole life."
I cringed at the sound of Draco's name, it was like nails on a chalk board.
"Tell me more."
And he did, for the rest of the night we spent on the cold floor talking about Ania. Turns out she went to Hogwarts for a mere semester during our second year before transferring to Beauxbaton under her mothers orders.
They met at the most recent trip to Hogsmede where the two reached for the last licorice wand and the rest is history. It wasn't until we saw Mrs. Norris from around the corner that we knew it was time to head back. That and the fact the sun was in the sky.
We chatted a bit more on our walk to the common room, where we were greeted by a sleeping Theo, surrounded by his friends. Letting go of Mattheo's arm, he gave me a nod to deal with him.
The slightest touch of my fingertips brushing against Theo made him jump from his sleep, searching around the room.
"Theo, Theo, hey, I'm right here."
He sighed into my hands that I placed on both of his cheeks.
"I went looking for you last night and when I found you, I saw you talking to Mattheo,"
I tensed up, unprepared for what he would say next.
"and I left."
My body relaxed as he kissed the palm of my hand, tiredly smiling up at me.
A small snicker came from the couch across, of course. Pucey and Draco were seated beside each other, looking as dead as ever.
"Just ignore them."
Theo mumbled to me, dragging me away from the couches.
"It is quiet funny, isn't it Draco."
Pucey laughed. I kept walking, I didn't care what either of them had to say.
"Oh yeah terribly funny, I wonder if Nott pulled it off yet."
That's when I stopped in my tracks.
What plan?
Theo's jaw clenched, trying his hardest to pull me away from the nonsense the boys behind us were talking about. I ignored him, marching to the two boys.
"Whatever it is you two are trying to do, it's not going to work."
I stated, crossing my arms on my chest. The two threw their hands up to show how they were "so scared".
"Wow Nott. I have to give it to you, you successfully accomplished the first part of the plan."
Theo suddenly appeared beside me, steam was practically shooting from his ears. There I was still confused on what the hell Pucey was talking about.
"Oh Amalia he didn't tell you? Well it turns out that Theo here-"
He was cut short from Theo drawing his wand to fire off any spell that came to his mind, until Draco beat him to it. Knocking him out in an instant. My hand flew to my wand when Draco dug his into my neck.
"Don't move."
Draco motioned me to sit. I gulped, not willing to show that I was terrified as to what was to come.
"So, as I was saying before your boyfriend wanted to interrupt."
My eyes fell to Theo who was knocked out cold on the floor beside us. Oh how I wanted to fall beside him, wake him up and have him hex these boys until they were nothing more than a name in a book
"Mr. Nott and his followers are looking for something."
Pucey stated, the hollows his eyes sat in deepened.
"What does that have to do with me?"
I questioned. The two shared a look prior to twisting their dry lips into a sinister smile. It frightened me, they frightened me.
"I assume you have learned who your grandfather is?"
My silence was more than enough for Adrian to continue.
"Well your grandfather used to yield that wand, they want it, he wants it."
Opening my mouth to say something, my words were caught at the tip of Draco's wand. I had nothing to say, Voldemort wants the wand. Adrian's head dipped in satisfaction.
"That doesn't make sense, Theo loves me, he was protecting me from my grandfather!"
"Theo was forced to love you, you idiot girl!"
Adrian slammed his hands on the table, his entire body shaking profusely. My body jolted back on instinct.
"Think about it, he never wanted you then out of nowhere pledged his love for you. Telling you that you were his girlfriend, telling you he loves you, not letting anyone touch or get near you, it all happened in a blink of an eye wouldn't you say?"
Draco chimed in, sneering from above me.
This wasn't real. They're lying. They had to be. Theo wouldn't do the things he would if he didn't truly love me.
"Oh, Amalia, dear Amalia,"
"this isn't about a boy using you, even though it wouldn't be the first time."
Draco taunted, his voice dripping with disdain.
"It's about what you can give us. Specifically, the location of the Elder Wand."
My eyes widened in shock, the weight of the revelation crashing over me.
"You're mad. I don't know anything about the Elder Wand."
"Don't play dumb with us, princess. Your grandfather is Grindelwald. You must know something."
Draco pressed the wand harder against my temple, sending a sharp pain through my head.
"I don't know anything about it. Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you, plus, my grandfather wants to kill me."
Tears blurred my vision as I struggled to keep my composure. They sat in silence, watching me, a sickening realization dawned on me.
I had been nothing more than a pawn in their cruel game, manipulated into a relationship with Theo to extract information. The disheartening truth left me feeling betrayed and broken.
"You're going to help us find the Elder Wand, one way or another. And if you don't cooperate, well, let's just say we'll beat Grindelwald to it."
Draco leaned in, his cold breath brushing against my ear. The world around me blurred, a surreal nightmare unfolding before my eyes. Grabbing a fist full of my hair, a sudden whirlwind surrounded us. My lungs seemed to crush against the weight of the world around me, I'm going to throw up, it only lasted for a second before I was on the cold floor.
This place is so familiar.
Peering around the dark wooden structures that decorated the large room around me, my eyes shot to the painting above the fireplace. I was in the Malfoy manor. Within a matter of seconds, Pucey appeared with a lifeless Theo in his arms. Throwing him to the floor, I quickly shuffled towards him.
"Theo, Theo, wake up."
Brushing his hair out of his face, he gave a weak moan, forcing his eyes open. Pucey laughed beside me, kneeling to my ear.
"After all he's done, you still choose him, pathetic."
The fear that I had inside me, was set aside for a moment, just a moment, just for a moment so I could look into his water colored eyes of defeat.
"Is it true?"
My voice cracked. He didn't answer.
"Is it true!?"
Theo fell silent and for the first time, I saw him break. His lip quivered, reaching up to hold my face. I want to pull away, I don't want to be in love with a boy who only saw me as a way of getting his leader to the top. But I didn't. How could I. After everything we've been through, it wasn't for nothing.
The nights where we held each other and just said nothing. When we would fall asleep against one another in Astronomy and still have the highest grades in the class. How he would leave mid way through quidditch practice to take me on a ride around the castle to spy on our professors and what they did in their studies. Drinking too much butterbeer together instead of going to his Muggle Studies and throwing up on the side of Hog's Head.
Theo's hand dug into the back of my head, urging me to see into his. My eyes grew at his vulnerability with me. The only time I ever used legilimency was without his consent, now, with everything happening, he will let me. Although it was the kindest gesture, I thought back on how he changed his memory for me when I did use it.
"I never changed my memory."
He croaked out, still coming to consciousness from the spell he had been blindsided with.
"W-what?"
"I never-"
Crack
Theo was out once more from a swift side kick to the head from Adrian. Reaching to grab his bloody face, I am forcefully thrown to the wall on the opposite side of the room, my back slamming against the hard wall.
I groaned in pain, holding the back of my head.
"Grab their wands, throw him in the cellar, bring her to him."
The pain no longer had a hold on me, the feeling that I experienced the night of Cedric's death, sunk deep inside of me.
"No, no, no."
Thrashing in Draco's arms, I elbowed, spit, clawed, did everything I could to get out of his hands. Sadly, his grip was no match for me. We stood outside two large black doors.
"Shut the fuck up."
He cussed lowly into my ear, forcing me to stay still.
"Bring the girl in."
My movements came to a halt. There's that voice, that voice in my dream. The voice is behind that door, that door is the only thing between me and my future.
The door creaked open, however I didn't move, my feet felt as though they were permanently mounted to floor beneath me. A small shove from Draco pushed me through the doors, and there he was. It's him.
Voldemort's crimson eyes bore into mine, sending a chill down my spine. The air was thick with an oppressive silence as the Dark Lord gestured for me to stand before him. The room was filled with an air of malevolence, heightened by the presence of his followers. Draco, his parents, my mother, and Snape.
"Amalia,"
Voldemort's voice echoed with an unsettling calmness.
"I believe you have information that could be of great value to me."
"I don't know anything about the Elder Wand. I swear."
I trembled under his gaze, my mind a whirlwind of fear and confusion.
"We shall see about that."
Voldemort's snake-like smile betrayed no emotion.
A sinking feeling settled in my stomach as I was surrounded by a circle of dark wizards and witches. My mother's eyes, once filled with warmth, now avoided mine, a silent acknowledgment of the precarious situation we found ourselves in.
"How is it, that the only blood relative of Grindelwald left, has no idea the whereabouts of the wand? Anyone want to take a guess?"
A woman with black untamed curls threw her hand in the air, eager to answer the question Voldemort bestowed upon his followers. On closer inspection that woman was none other than Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Ah, Bella,"
She smiled widely at him, her rotting teeth were barely visible in the dark room.
"My lord, she is protecting him, since he isn't able to touch her, she believes he is a good man."
Bellatrix cackled, making my ears ring.
"No, he wants to kill me."
Everyone fell silent, even Bellatrix's face fell. Just for a moment no one moved, until the entire room erupted with laughter. I looked around to see my mother, the Malfoy's, and Snape shift uncomfortably in their seats.
"He wants to kill ye so the dark lord won't go after any of you! He did it with your entire family my dear."
Bellatrix softened her voice at the end. I knew nothing, now more than ever. He was killing us for the sake of us. A pit, far more bigger than the entire Malfoy manor sat low in my stomach. At this point, I wish I were dead.
Frustration flickered in Voldemort's eyes, but he remained composed.
"Bellatrix, Lucius, Narcissa, Draco, take her to the parlor. Perhaps a change of setting will loosen her tongue."
As the group led me away, the atmosphere grew even more oppressive. Draco's eyes cold and distant, unlike his parents. I was ushered into the parlor, a room that seemed to exude an aura of suffering.
Bellatrix's maniacal grin sent shivers down my spine as she brandished her wand. Lucius and Narcissa stood by her side, their faces impassive masks. Narcissa and Lucius formed a grip on my arms, forcing me to stand firm against the onslaught that awaited.
Bellatrix's eyes narrowed, and her wand traced a wicked pattern in the air.
"Crucio!"
The curse struck again, a relentless assault that left me gasping for air. The pain was unfathomable, a relentless tide that threatened to drown me. I could feel my strength waning, but my resolve remained unbroken.
"I don't know! I don't know anything about the Elder Wand!"
Through gritted teeth, I spat,
"Very well, my dear. Let's try something a bit more persuasive."
Bellatrix's eyes glinted with madness, and she seemed to take perverse pleasure in my defiance.
Her wand flicked, and a silver light illuminated the room. The Imperius Curse ensnared my mind, a suffocating fog that clouded my thoughts. I fought against its grip, my mind a battlefield where my will clashed with the dark magic that sought to break me.
"Tell us, Amalia. Tell us where it is,"
Bellatrix cooed, her voice a sinister lullaby.
The pain of the Imperius Curse mingled with the lingering echoes of the Cruciatus, creating a cacophony of suffering that threatened to unravel my sanity. But still, I resisted.
"Stop this,"
Draco's voice wavered, the words barely audible above the echoes of my anguish. Bellatrix's wand lowered, and for a moment, it seemed like he might intervene on my behalf. For a fleeting moment, I thought I saw a change in him, a glimpse of the boy I had known, buried beneath the madness
But hope proved a cruel illusion as Draco's features contorted with a wicked resolve. In a sudden and jarring turn of events, he raised his wand, his eyes devoid of the compassion I had foolishly hoped to find. Narcissa, his mother, stood nearby, her face a mask of sorrow and restraint as tears welled in her eyes.
"Draco, no,"
She pleaded, her voice strained with a mix of desperation and sadness.
A cold smile played on Draco's lips, and without uttering a word, he unleashed a series of spells upon me. The dark magic seared through my defenses, each curse a dagger that carved into my already battered soul. Pain enveloped me once more, an unrelenting storm that threatened to extinguish the flicker of resistance within me.
"Why, Draco?" My voice quivered, a desperate plea for an answer that may never come.
"It's the only way. You have to talk, Amalia. You have to tell them."
He turned away, avoiding my gaze, mumbling.
"I've told you, Draco, I don't know anything! I can't give them what I don't have."
I spat blood onto the cold floor, defiance burning in my eyes.
A hand wrapped itself around my hair, forcing my head back to stare into the soulless eyes that dug deep within my soul.
"One, more chance, ONE MORE! WHERE IS THE ELDER WAND!"
"I don't know, please, I don't know."
Bellatrix threw my head forward, allowing it to collide against the awning. I had just no noticed that Lucius and Narcissa were no longer holding me up, in there place were to ropes, digging into my wrist with every thrash and move I made. Crimson covered every part of my body, the ropes were practically touching my bones from the amount of curses I had forced myself to endure.
I dropped my head, trying to find my balance even though my body could not withhold my own weight. With each stumble the ropes dug deeper, my feet slipped against the blood that had trailed from my wrists, creating an ever lasting pool under me.
Fog filled my mind, the black room was slowly becoming brighter with every passing second.
That's a lot of blood.
The brightness of the room seemed to calm me, put me at ease, it was so warm. The constraints on my wrists didn't feel as tight, it was letting me go, oh it felt really nice after all of that. Smiling to myself, I let my eyes close against the warmth of the light.
"Amalia!"
A distant scream could be heard, ringing through the manor, it was faint but loud enough for me to hear. It was Theo. He was screaming my name, it wasn't screams of forced pain, it was screams of internal pain. Theo's voice curdled in agony, his voice cracking, though he never stopped.
The warmth I felt was no longer present and the ropes were still as tight as they were before, if not tighter.
"Theo,"
I whimpered, stumbling once more to try and balance on my own two feet.
"AMALIA!"
"Draco! Go shut that boy up! He's lucky the dark lord has left or else he'd kill him the instant he heard a word."
Bellatrix ordered Draco, who sped off into the distance.
"No, please don't-"
The ropes vanished from my arms, leaving me to crumble atop of the mess my wrists had made. I didn't dare look at them, even if I wanted to, I had no strength to. A weight landed heavily on me. Bellatrix was only an inch away from my face, her ravishing smile would hold a permanent place in my head.
"I can't kill you, but I can hurt you, even worse than those bloody curses."
A stinging pain emerged from my right arm. My arm jolted from the knife that carved it's way into my skin. Bellatrix held my arm and head down, slicing in different lines from different angles.
I screamed, I screamed so loud,I couldn't bare the pain, the dagger must have been cursed as this was far worse than the cruciatious curse. Burning and itching erupted within all of my blood vessels, wanting to dig it's way out. Either I had went deaf from the wild sounds that crawled their way out of me, or I no longer had a voice.
The dullness of the dagger only made things worse, she was carving up my entire body. Turning me into mince meat. I can't die like this, not now, not ever. My chest seizured, finding rhythm between my screams, nothing could save me now, no one could. No one knows where I am. No one knows where Theo is.
A single tear burned deeper than the blade. Rolling down my cheek it symbolized my loss. The loss of everything in my life. The loss of Cedric. The loss of friendships. The loss of the man I love. The loss of my parents. All because I couldn't put up a fight. I gave up, on everyone, no matter how much or how little they had done for me, I still didn't fight through anything. Here I was now, dying with nothing to me anymore. No one.