Low voices murmured just around the corner, and you let your wand light extinguish, plunging you into darkness. Creeping forward, you took care to step as carefully as you could without being able to see the ground beneath you. Your tow knocked something metal, and you held your breath at the quiet, but still extremely audible, clank the unknown object made. The voices stopped immediately, listening for you.
“Who’s there?!”
Your heart fluttered at the sound of the voice, almost bursting with joy, and you flung yourself around the corner to see not only Harry, but Draco as well.
“Kris!” Draco looked close to tears as you came to his side, your hands shaking as you grasped at the snake that shackled him where he sat. But his freedom seemed to be the furthest thing from his mind in that moment. If he could have taken you up in his arms, you were sure he would have. He leaned forward and kissed you, and the warmth of his lips spread to yours, and then spread further all the way to your toes. He brought you back to life after days of being trapped, feeling it all fade away. With that one kiss, you were sure that it wasn’t over. Not yet.
“Kris, you need to get us out of here. Where’s Kelly?” Harry urged.
“I-I I don’t know. She’s here! I think. They kept her from me.” You stuttered, your hands still fumbling with the charm. You picked up the wand and pointed, but your shaking fingers stopped you. You looked up to Draco, unsure.
“Just do it.” He coaxed, then faced his head away, bracing himself. You pointed the wand, trying desperately to hold it steady. Breathe, you thought. You exhaled deeply, letting your mind clear, and then—
“Reducto!”
“GAHHHH!” Draco cried out in pain. The snake split in half, both sides of it engulfed in a red flame until it fizzled out, disappearing completely. The skin around his wrists pulsed, red and raw from the burn. But he was free, and the burn was only minor. He shook his hands out, relieved, and finally he could put his arms around you again.
“A little help?” Harry asked.
“I’m sorry Harry.” You hastily met him, performing the same task and wincing at the pain on Harry’s face as the snake burned his flesh.
“No…” he said, standing up and rubbing one of his wrists. Then he looked up at you with sad eyes. “No, Kris. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry that I led them to you.”
“You didn’t mean to, Harry. I don’t blame you!”
“I blame myself. And Draco blames me.”
“He does not!” you said, looking to him for back up. Draco stood next to you, but he didn’t say a word. He just shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Draco?” you asked. He shook his head once, a signal that this wasn’t the time. Before you could insist that he help you put Harry’s mind at ease, a loud bang sounded from up the stairs, followed by a cascade of light. The door was open. Draco grasped the wand, taking it from you and moving in front of you protectively. Thundering footsteps sounded and then Charlie was the first person at the bottom of the steps.
“EXPELLIARMUS!” Draco shouted immediately, on high alert. Her wand flew up and away from her before she even lifted it. She gasped in surprise, but looked unthreatened as five men barreled into the tiny dungeon and surrounded them. Draco pointed his wand at each of them, rapidly switching off and trying to keep his eye on each one but it was impossible. You clutched the back of his shirt in terror, looking for a way out. Harry seemed to be doing the same, but the guards were already closing in on them.
“Time’s up, Kris.” Charlie whispered, and you saw the extreme pleasure she was experiencing just imagining your demise. Your body locked up in fear. Your eyes darted to where you had rushed to help Draco, and there on the ground was the dagger. You stared at it, urging hard, harder than you ever urged for anything before, for it to move. It flopped over. Your breathing quickened as the seconds slowly dragged by. The tip of the dagger lifted upward and it lazily stood upright. You felt the anger course through your body, and in that one moment it sat up at attention, then shot up like a rocket. But it didn’t come to you, or Harry, or even Draco. It shot upward, then lodged its sharp bladed into the nearest man’s thick throat. You gasped, covering your mouth at seeing the blood pour out. The man grasped at the side of his neck, his feet moving as if not under his own control. He fell toward Charlie, who jumped out of the way and allowed him to tackle down another guard. He fell, his wand leaving his hand and sliding toward Harry. And from there, it all went to hell.
Harry ducked as a spell shot toward him, picking up the wand at his feet. He and Draco both rattled off spells in all directions. You covered your head as the green and red spells hit the walls around you, breaking off stone pieces and spraying dust every which way. You saw the farthest guard point his wand directly to Harry just as his back was turned, his focus turned to a particular large and nasty looking man that was using the wall by the staircase as a shield. You shot forward, and again time slowed as the spell left the man’s wand, green light made to kill coming toward him. In that moment, you could only do one thing, and you didn’t even think as you threw yourself in between Harry and the spell. You closed your eyes, your arms clasping around him tightly, and you were glad you could not see the spell coming. You kept your eyes closed, preparing yourself, your breath held in your lungs. But it didn’t come.
“Kris…” Harry whispered, you peeked through your eyelids and saw what both he and Draco were staring at, mouths agape in astonishment. The room was lit blue, and the shield, Kelly’s shield, was around you. You looked around for her hastily.
“It’s you.” Draco said, staring at you. You looked down at yourself. It was you. The light started at your chest, bright, almost too bright to look at. Then it shone outward, enveloping you, Harry, and Draco.
A slow clap echoed throughout the quiet dungeon. Draco and Harry both lifted their wands as Thomas Ellington stepped out from the staircase to join everyone in the room. He looked amused, taking in the scene and his fallen guards. Charlie stood, frozen in fear at the sight of him. He reached into his front suit jacket pocket. You saw Harry’s fingers tighten around his wand and held out a hand to his shoulder, signaling him to stop.
“Well, isn’t this interesting.” Thomas said, examining his wand in his hands, not even looking at the three prisoners, still protected by the mysterious blue shield.
“I-I am sorry, Thomas. I tried! These… These fools—“ Charlie failed to find the words to explain.
“I’m sorry, too. I’m very sorry, Charlie.” He said. Her eyes widened, and before she had enough breath to speak he raised his wand at her.
“AVADA KEDAVRA!”
Her scream was cut short, her body tensing as the spell hit her and then crumbling to the floor. The three guards that remained stood fearfully, unsure if they were next.
“Such a shame. She was a wonderful follower.” He mused.
“Where’s Kelly?!” Draco ordered, bringing him out of his thoughts.
“She’s fine, don’t worry.”
“Bring us to her.”
“Draco Malfoy. You’ve grown a backbone, haven’t you? Must have been from that time spent in Azkaban—”
“What the fuck are you talking about? I was never—“
“Was it two or three years ago? I can’t remember, really. My cousin, he served time in Azkaban you see. He mentioned to me when I visited that he saw you there. Said it was rather odd, seeing you. Said you only stayed for a few hours, too. That’s unheard of, you know.”
“Stop fucking around, Ellington!” Harry interjected tersely, but it was too late. He shot a worried glance in your direction, but you didn’t see him. You were watching Draco.
“You never told me you were in Azkaban?” you asked, thrown by this knew information.
“Not now, Kris.” He said, teeth gritted. You quieted, agreeing that it wasn’t the time, but you couldn’t help your mind racing. You glanced questioningly at Harry, but he averted his eyes, putting his attention back on Thomas. To your horror, you saw the shield flicker feebly and then give out. The three of you stood, surrounded and unprotected.
“Please!” you shouted, seeing the guards with their wands pointed at you. “Please. Just bring me to my daughter! P-Please...”
“Alright, alright. Let’s just calm down, everyone.” Thomas gestured for his men to stand down. They lowered their wands hesitantly. “I assure you she’s perfectly fine, but I see how my word isn’t enough for a concerned mother.”
He lifted his wand and crouched down, touching the tip of it to the stone floor. White light sparked from the end of his wand, and he dragged it, tracing glowing images onto the floor in front of him. First a square, then a triangle inside of that, then a circle inside of that. Then, putting his tip in the center of the circle, a red light ignited in the middle and followed the lines he had drawn slowly, until the entire square had change color and then the ground shook. The stone beneath the image seemed to morph before their eyes, like wooden panels were seeping up from the surface. A wooden door appeared, except the circle that was drawn was metal, now a handle to pull the door open with. Thomas grasped the handle and pulled it upward, revealing a second staircase that led even farther below the old house.
“After you?” He held his hand out politely.
“We insist.” Draco said hoarsely, his wand pointed straight in between his eyes. Thomas laughed but still obliged, stepping inside and lighting the tip of his wand to guide his way. Before disappearing completely he glance back at you. "If you wouldn't mind lending those wands to my associates?" And immediately, Harry and Draco were stripped of their wands.
“Should we?” you asked hesitantly. Harry looked around at the guards still surrounding them. The one closest nudged him in the back to move.
“I’d say so.”
So, the three of you followed. Draco went first, stopping halfway down the staircase to offer you a hand. You stepped down carefully. This staircase was much more rickety, clearly a lot older than even the house. A dankness surrounded you, water resting on the floor of the tiny, dark tunnel you found yourself in. Harry climbed down after you, and the three of you followed Thomas with the trail of guards behind you.
“I could literally kill him right now.” Draco whispered, glaring angrily toward Thomas, who walked a good ten feet ahead of them.
“I know. But we need Kelly first.” You said quietly. You weren’t sure how long this tunnel was, or where it took you, but you just grasped Draco’s arm a little tighter and trudged on. The silence pressed in on you, except for the sloshing of water at your feet, and you found your mind wandering back to what Thomas had said.
“Draco, you never told me you were in Azkaban.”
“I wasn’t.” Draco said stiffly. Immediately, you knew he was lying.
“Then why would he say that?”
“I don’t know. How am I to know what that twisted fuck thinks? Maybe he’s trying to get a rise out of you.” He finished impatiently. Your eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“Why would he think that would get a rise out of me?” you noticed the gap between the three of you and Thomas closing. He was listening to your conversation.
“Kris, I… I don’t know, okay?” Draco clearly was uncomfortable and at a loss for words. You looked back at Harry in disbelief, but then you froze. He was fidgeting, his face strained as he watched you fearfully. Your mind buzzed, until finally it clicked. Thomas did want to get a rise out of you. And it worked.
“You would have known if he was in Azkaban...” You whispered, stopping in the middle of the tunnel. The entire line stopped, even Thomas, though he didn’t turn around. He just stared ahead patiently, giving you your privacy. Not that you much cared.
“Kris, not now.” Harry said.
“You knew where he was. And you didn’t say anything to me?”
“Kris, it’s more than that—“ Draco began, stepping in between you and Harry.
“What? How can you defend him! Why are you so calm about all of this?! How could you—“ Suddenly, your stomach tied in knots. The two of them stood before you, Harry looking like his worst nightmare was taking place before his very eyes and Draco looking on, as if none of this was news to him. Which meant it wasn’t news to him, you realized. “What the fuck is going on? Tell me, both of you. NOW!” There was a rumble around you. The water rippled at your feet, and dirt was shaken off the ceiling and floated down onto you, polluting the air.
“Kris, calm down.” Harry said urgently.
“I won’t until you talk!” Your temper was raging now. A very large chunk of rock fell from the ceiling dangerously close to Harry, splashing dirty water onto his pants.
“Jesus, Kris. Okay! Draco was arrested, and I told my guys that I wanted to be first to know if he was ever brought in.”
“Harry—“ Draco tried to stop him but you shot him a withering gaze that caused them both to recoil.
“I got him out, but there was a condition.” Harry continued hastily.
“Which was?”
“That he stayed away from you.”
In an instant, you didn’t even recognize Harry anymore. The man you thought you loved at one point, the man you considered marrying, who stood before you at that moment risking his life for you and your daughter, who had always been there for you; it was as if none of that mattered now. That one lie undid all of it. You couldn’t breathe as you looked between the two of them.
“You knew where I was? The whole time?” you cried, your eyes shining with tears as you turned on Draco. He too began to tear up, but he didn’t have any words. No words would be right. You felt your heart shattering into a million pieces inside of your chest. The two people in the world that you trusted so completely both lied to you. You could yell and scream, and bring this tunnel down in a massive earthquake, and put every one of your lives to an end. But then what would happen to Kelly? You slowly turned your back on the pair of them, and instead walked up to where Thomas stood patiently waiting.
“Bring me to her.” You said, your voice barely audible as you held back your tears.
“As you wish.” You walked side by side with Thomas, deeper and deeper through the darkness until, at last, a dim light appeared at the end of the tunnel.