Chapter 10 (Ava)
I had lost all concept of time due to the lack of light in the cell, and hours felt like days as I lay curled up on the cold, damp floor.
Draco didn't bring my food down for me again- I instead got a Death Eater who liked to watch me eat and laugh at my pathetic weakness. I had tried to sleep as much as I could, but I no longer felt tired- not when I was barely moving for the whole day. I could still hear screams coming from upstairs, and every time the screams ended I felt a shiver run down my spine and my blood turn cold.
I wondered where my wand was being kept, or if they had disposed of it all together. I had grown so used to keeping it on me at all times that I felt vulnerable without it. I had no way of protecting myself.
The wooden door at the top of the stairs opened wide, and a bright beam of light shone down into my cell like a spotlight. I shrunk away from the light and tried to listen to the footsteps to see who it was. They seemed too fast to be the usual Death Eater who gave me food, and it was only when I heard a familiar cackle that I realised who it was.
The door of the cell was thrown open, and Bellatrix dance into the light.
"Enjoying your stay here? You were a bit feisty to begin with, but you seem to have quietened down a bit." She snickered.
"I'm not a fan of cold, dark places," I muttered darkly.
"Excellent! You'll be making a trip out of the cell today, just to have a few words with me and some of the others of the Dark Lord's followers. Don't bother fighting when I try and drag you up those stairs." She giggled, grabbing onto my arm with her sharp nails and pulling me across the floor. I quickly pulled myself up onto my feet with what little energy I had and tripped up the stairs after Bellatrix as she laughed to herself.
The light of the room above my cell felt almost blinding compared to the usual dark room that I had been staying in, and I had to blink several times before my eyes finally adjusted on a group of three or four Death Eaters standing in a circle around me. Bellatrix threw me to the floor, and I scrambled up quickly, trying to see who was in the room with me. I didn't recognise any of three of them, but Draco's mother caught my attention. She had aged a lot in the past year, and her face was twisted in hatred as she looked at me. I looked away from her quickly, and turned to face Bellatrix with a new-found confidence.
And then she turned over her shoulder, "Draco, dearie! Are you coming in?"
I felt a shuffle of footsteps and gulped anxiously when I spotted his pale face appear by the door. I felt hatred rise up in my chest but I tried to control it. I didn't want any of these Death Eaters to be able to read my emotions.
Draco stood between his mother and aunt, and didn't look at me at all. I was surprised- I had half-expected him to look at me with the same expression as his mother.
"We have a few questions for you, Ava." Bellatrix spoke quietly, a smile on her face exposing her yellow teeth, "You can make things easy and just answer them straight away, no fuss. How does that sound?"
When I didn't respond, she stepped forwards, "Where is Harry Potter?"
"I don't know," The answer was out of my mouth before I even had time to think. Bellatrix's smile vanished.
"You don't need to lie to us. You can trust us."
To my surprise, I laughed, "Trust you? You're Death Eaters. You're on the other side in this war."
"Our sides are closer than you think, sweetie," Bellatrix hissed, "So tell me- where is your brother?"
"I told you," I shook my head, "I don't know. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."
"This isn't a game," Bellatrix whispered, "You are going to tell me where Harry Potter is. You are going to tell me any information that you have on his activities and his whereabouts."
I took a shaky breath and squared my shoulders, "Harry didn't tell anyone where he went or what he was planning to do. Wherever he went, he went alone. Absolutely no one knows where Harry has gone. Not even his closest of friends."
Bellatrix stared at me in silence for a moment, her eyes narrowing.
"Perhaps you need a bit of loosening up, and then you'll tell us where he is."
I gulped, my eyes darting to Draco's face, but he was staring at the floor with no expression.
Bellatrix pointed her wand at me and whispered one word.
"Crucio."
And then I screamed, screamed as loudly as I had ever screamed before because the pain was excruciating. My whole body was writhing and I couldn't stop it. I couldn't think as my bones shook and twisted and I vomited my previous meal onto the floor beside me. My brain wouldn't focus on any one thought, and all I wished was for the pain to end.
* * *
The pain eventually faded- a welcome relief as my body stilled and I whimpered quietly.
"Well," Bellatrix licked her lips, "Perhaps we'll have to try another day. You've experienced the curse once, and you won't want to experience it again. I'm sure during our next chat you'll tell us what you know."
I didn't have the energy to reply, and simply waited for two Death Eaters to carry me back down to my cell. They threw me to the floor without a second thought and laughed at my whimper, slamming the door shut and immersing me in darkness once again.
There was nothing much that I could do apart from close my eyes and pray that sleep would come. My prayers were answered.
Several hours later, I heard the noise of a door creaking open slightly, and I opened my eyes slowly. Only a dim light came through the door, and I realised as I shifted my position that it was night time.
Somebody was walking down the stairs slowly and quietly, and it was only when they muttered something and their wand lit up their face that I recognised Draco.
I gulped nervously, pressing my back against the wall of the cell. The door of the cell opened slowly, and Draco slipped in.
"Come to mock me?" I asked, but then my eyes adjusted and I saw that he was holding a plate of food and a tiny phial filled with a coloured liquid.
"Well, now you've really been sent to poison me," I muttered bitterly, and Draco looked away from me almost guiltily.
"It's actually a potion to help soothe the pain. I thought maybe you would need it."
I just stared at him in silence, unsure of what to say. I reached out for the plate of food reluctantly and picked up a piece of bread.
"Have you ever experienced the Cruciatus curse before?" I asked suddenly, taking Draco by surprise. His eyes seemed to darken for a moment, and then he nodded.
"My father has used it on me twice. It was the most painful thing I have ever experienced."
I glanced over at him and leant forwards, "Then tell me, Draco. Tell me how... how you could just stand there and watch me suffer like that. Was there nothing that you could do?" My voice was thick with tears.
"Ava..." Draco seemed to falter, "In a war like this, I cannot risk my life by speaking against the Dark Lord's wishes."
I stared at him, my eyes narrowed, "You're a coward. Did you know that? You never fight for what's right for the greater good- only for what is right for yourself."
Draco's face seemed to twist into an unpleasant expression, and he straightened up, turning back towards the cell door. Just before he was about to step through, he turned to look at me intensely, "I lied. The Cruciatus curse was not the most painful thing I have ever experienced- the most painful thing was seeing your face after I betrayed you on the roof of the Astronomy Tower."
My breath hitched in my throat and my eyes widened. He didn't let me say anything as he shut the door behind him and made his way up the stairs in silence.
I stared after him until he was long gone, and then I glanced at the phial of potion that Draco had left behind. I picked it up without a second thought, quickly gulping it down and closing my eyes as I waited for the aching in my bones to subside.
Strangely, the potion did nothing for the peculiar ache in my heart.