She was running. Her feet moving so fast it was a miracle that she did not fall over. She desperately wanted to look behind her to see if they were still gaining on her, but she knew if she done that she would immediately be at a huge disadvantage. Something up ahead in the darkness caught her attention but there was nothing that could be done. A distraction would without a doubt, be a casualty. A bright red light appeared only a couple of inches from her and she realised with a start that they were catching up.
Felicity ran further into the darkness, her blonde hair barely noticeable in the dead of night. There wasn't a single sound except running footsteps, but there were too many to know exactly how many people were there. Another shadow appeared up ahead but this time directly in front of her, a human shadow. In a single second, she changed her course, running to what had been her left. More jets of multicoloured light from wands, narrowly missing her. In fact, a piece of her blonde waves fell to the ground.
Her muscles were getting weak though. Partially from running and from fatigue. Her stomach rumbling in hunger and her throat desperate for liquid to coat it. She blinked and forced these thoughts from her head, trying to remember as much as she could about basic survival. However, this would be useless anyway because magic wasn't considered. Despite this, it was the only option she had. There was a wall up ahead, the height undecipherable due to her surroundings. Quickly, she looked side to side in case she could get around it, but it seemed to stretch on to the end.
Where even was she?
She licked her lips in a futile attempt to introduce some moisture into the parched skin before eyeing up the wall that was gradually approaching her. She couldn't go straight ahead, nor could she go to the side. And there was no way she was turning back to face everyone chasing after her. There only was one thing she could do, climb the wall. Fear bubbled away inside of her and in a couple of her steps she checked the grips of her shoes, sighing with relief that they were working. With the last ounce of adrenaline that she had coursing through her veins, she sped up and began scaling the wall.
She refused to look down, or to look up. She had no idea how high the wall was but it was clearly built for climbing as there were crevices in the bricks. A few metres up and she still couldn't see the top, but she couldn't go down. Her hands were covered in numerous small cuts and she's sure her palms were covered in both dried and fresh blood. Her muscles were tired though, and despite wanting to push on, she couldn't do that for much longer. Felicity found herself slowing down in her movements as her body ached from exertion. After what seemed like hours, which it might have been, she finally caved and looked down. All she saw was a bright red light heading for her and soon she was falling. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, accepting defeat. Waiting on the impact of her body hitting the ground.
Felicity awoke with a start.
Sweat was pouring down her face and she as shivering so much she was practically vibrating. Her heart was beating so quickly and so furiously she could almost feel every movement the muscle that kept her alive made. Her skin had turned chalk-white and her throat was burning. She had been screaming. At first, she assumed she'd just had a vision, but this wasn't the case as she noted the symptoms were nothing alike. It took her a few minutes to calm down and she went to reach up to wipe her face of sweat. Something stopped her from doing so however, and she frowned deeply.
Suddenly, the memories came back to her. How she had been sketching on top of the hill that overlooked her village. When she first realised that she wasn't alone. When she felt that first touch from a stranger. To fighting them off, and finally to having a cloth placed over her mouth that was covered in toxic fumes. It was only now that Felicity looked around the room that she was in and a feeling of déjà vu hit her full-force. She'd been here before, but when she didn't know. Maybe it had been in a dream of some sorts that she couldn't remember.
Everything was very dark, but despite this the decoration was spectacular. Pillars against the walls carved with terrifying precision. Floors made from an expensive wood and polished to perfection- she could see her reflection in them. Windows at least six-feet tall with stained glass inlaid. Forest green banners with a silver snake in the centre on the walls. Numerous paintings of people who had either lived here, were very respected people, or possibly both. A lot had stark white hair which only seemed to blend in with their snowy complexion.
Where was she? It was now Felicity remembered something stopped her from drying her still sweat covered face and her eyes trailed down before bulging at the shackles on her wrist. She vaguely remembered a way her dad had told her that let a person's limbs to become free, but the knowledge just wasn't coming. She let her eyes trail the long chain before landing to their beginning at the wall. In total, there was about seven feet of metal keeping her in place. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, knowing that she was clearly someone's prisoner. And she had a fair guess to whose prisoner she was.
Of course, she couldn't jump to conclusions because that has never led her somewhere. Right now, acceptance was her only option. It was only now that a specific vision she'd had made its way back into her mind, and she was soon pulled under once again.
She looked around in shock, her head aching ever so slightly from whatever it was that was used to knock her unconscious. It appeared that she was in a cell but it wasn't dirty- it was surprisingly clean. This confused her and she got up from the floor she was lying on and wandered around a little trying to figure out what had happened. She had just taken a walk in the park and she just remembers seeing a strange colour of light out the corner of her eye but she didn't have time to see where it had come from before her vision was clouded with darkness.
There wasn't anything in the room at all- not even a window so she could try to figure out her whereabouts. Strangely though, she wasn't scared even though it looked as though she had been kidnapped. She'd had a strange feeling for a few days so was this the reason why? It certainly seemed plausible considering her current circumstances. She jumped a little when the door opened slightly and nerves kicked in at a creature. She'd never seen one of these before she wasn't sure whether she should be afraid of it or not.
"The mistress wants you, follow."
It was certainly a male voice so at least she now knew something about this thing. She still didn't want to follow but he clicked his long fingers (if they could even be called fingers) and she found herself indeed following. It was like she was being commanded to do something, a bit like there was something stuck inside of her forcing her to do things. She didn't know what it was though and now she was beginning to get scared. She was led into a very grand room decorated mostly with a deep forest green and a blinding shade of silver. The décor of the place looked to be a gothic/Victorian style and from the size of the room she was in it was obvious she was in a mansion.
Felicity stopped in her footsteps and stayed still on the spot despite her now wanting to run. She wanted out of here right now. No matter how much thought she put into it she still couldn't move from her position. The creature had clearly done something to her for her to not be in control of her own body. The large double doors which were designed with so much care swung open and a woman stormed in followed by three other people- two male and one female. She appeared to be in her forties possibly and her wild curly black locks looked like they hadn't been brushed in a very long time. Skin as white as snow but held numerous scars which looked to have come from battle. Lips such a deep red it looked like blood and eyes so wild Felicity would have thought they belonged to a wild animal of some kind.
"So, this is the girl, eh?"
The creature nodded to the woman in question and two of the four other people grabbed one arm each and just like that she could move again. She started to squirm and attempted to get an angle in which she could get in a powerful kick but it just wasn't happening. Reluctantly she stopped in her movements and glared at the crazy woman and what seemed equally crazy man who were looking at her with sadistic smiles on their faces. She heard a very creepy laugh but she wasn't entirely sure where it was coming from considering she was more focused on what was going on and not on the sounds around her.
"You've done well Zant, your services are not needed currently."
So that was the creatures name. She stared as it leaned over in a very comical bow before disappearing with another loud crack. She jumped a little in shock which caused the four people she was with to cackle at her shock. The female who was holding her spoke just loud enough so the people could hear what she was saying;
"Looks like someone has never seen a house elf before."
Felicity's gaze glanced around the room still trying to figure out what was happening. They clearly wanted her for something but for what? All she did know was that the other people in the room were witches and wizards. Now she stiffened in fright because that meant there was no way she could defend herself no matter what- she wasn't magic. Her fear was growing now to the point she could feel her heart thumping against her ribcage and her breathing was getting a little ragged. Despite this she managed to ask;
"Who are you? What do you want with me?"
The crazy woman stepped forward whilst chuckling deeply in her throat until she was only a few centimetres from the blonde woman's face. Her lips pulled into a large smirk showing off her teeth ever so slightly. She lifted her hand a little and gently caressed her cheek which caused Felicity to jump back and she had to resist the urge to spit on her face because she knew then she would be in serious trouble. She didn't want to get into any more trouble than she was currently.
"Well what a pretty little girl, I believe your lovely aunt Hestia knows who I am. Such a pity, a truly lovely face yet keeping something. Let me educate you sweetheart. This is Kyra, that is Yaxley, this is my husband Rodolphus, and I am Bellatrix. As to what I want with you, you have something of mine I believe, a choker. Now, where is it?"
Kyra and Yaxley both tightened their grips on her so there was no way she was escaping. What was she talking about? What is so important about a choker? After all, it is only a piece of jewellery and not anything special. She shook her head and spoke for the first proper time since she had woken up;
"I don't know anything; I don't have a choker. I never have had one nor do I know where one is."
A cold hand slapped her hard across the face causing her head to knock to the side.
"Don't lie!"
"I'm not lying! I don't know anything!"
Tears started falling from her eyes at quite a hard rate as her fear grew more. She wasn't sure who it was but someone grabbed the back of her hair so she couldn't move her head and was forced to look in to Bellatrix's furious face. Suddenly her expression twisted into a sickly sweet one and the other three laughed merrily because they clearly knew what she was going to do. She pulled what could only be her wand from her midnight black robe and pointed it directly at Felicity's chest.
"Let me tell you girl, I don't appreciate liars. I gave you a chance to tell me where my choker is and you won't tell me even though you clearly have it. I gave it to my sister, but that Potter managed to get a hold of it and you know him- therefore you must know something. Such a shame, really."
Felicity cried even harder now but she didn't have much time to react before Bellatrix looked at her husband and nodded. He stepped forward and aimed his wand towards the petite woman, both saying one word;
"Crucio!"
Just like that, agonising pain tore through her. It was like every single bone was being broken, twisted, and rearranged. Also, as if her guts were being ripped out of her. She screamed, so loudly that it could probably be heard from a mile away. All she wanted was to be in her house with Dudley and nowhere else but it was obvious she was taken here to be torchered into giving information that she did not possess.
She came out of the weird state she always was whenever she had a vision, her breathing quickening as realisation finally dawned on her. Oh no. Harry had warned her multiple times previously not to fully trust visions because if the other person knows about them then they can easily manipulate someone. She was a pawn, a stupid piece in Kyra's twisted game for either glory or revenge. How had she not remembered this vision beforehand? That way she wouldn't have always trusted them. It was obvious now that the one she'd had where she had been snatched in Regent's Park had solely been a ruse. The final piece of the trap that would have Felicity running unguarded into Kyra's territory.
What was the deal with something as simple as a choker anyway? After all, they were only pieces of jewellery. There must be something about it, something everyone was missing. Her head was beginning to hurt from all the thoughts running through her mind, her mind getting foggy. No matter what, it just wasn't clearing up. Whether it had been seconds or minutes she wasn't sure, but after what seemed like an eternity, this was no longer the case. Bellatrix was in that vision, but she was dead. Had been dead for years at that. Killed my Ginny's mum.
Realisation dawned on her once again as the pieces of the puzzle finally joined together. There was no other way everything made sense. Kyra knew about the link for a very long time, and she had been planting the visions accordingly to get Felicity in a weak spot. Once she had, she had then wiped some of them until now which was why the first one she had now made its reappearance. In that one, she had been in a cell but the décor was very like the room she was in right now which meant only one thing, she was essentially trapped in her own visions.
She'd literally woken up from a nightmare into another nightmare. Except this nightmare was reality.
A kicking sensation inside of her snapped her out of her thoughts once again and now fear began to build up even more. Her baby. Had they done anything to her whilst she was unconscious? Frantically she checked the parts of her body she could reach and see for any bruising or injuries in general. That was until she realised that was probably useless considering there were most likely spells to cover up tracks like this. At least her baby seemed to be ok, as long as her daughter is safe that is all that matters.
Footsteps caught her attention. Felicity held her breath and listened intently to try and figure out how many people there were. She only detected one set of them, one person. They gradually got louder until the large doors opened before a woman walked in, closing them behind her and waving her wand. The figure was tall, and they reached up to remove the hood of their cloak which had been covering their face. The first thing Felicity saw was a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties or possibly early thirties. Hair a midnight black with numerous intricate braids woven throughout the strands, reaching her hips. Dark purple lips that parted as a voice broke the silence;
"Well hello there, dear cousin. It sure is nice to meet you after twenty-two years."
Kyra Hendricks.
---
A weird feeling had been in Dudley's gut the whole day. It was one of the rare days where he was required to be in office and to be in meetings. It's not that he disliked his job, he loved it, but he absolutely hated doing things when everything around him was falling to pieces. He felt lonely. There have been multiple times throughout his life where he felt the emotion- or thought he felt the emotion. Memories of when he was a child and his friends were all busy and couldn't spend the day with him. Flashbacks of him being left alone at home to entertain himself. When the old Mrs Figg from a couple of streets away was tasked with babysitting him and Harry to make sure they were alright but really talked about her cats constantly.
All those times he thought he knew what loneliness was, but now he knew that wasn't the case. In the past two weeks in which his wife had gone into hiding, a piece of him seemed to go with her. And that piece wasn't their unborn daughter. Ever since he'd just seemed to go on autopilot, never focusing on anything yet somehow managing to do what needed to be done. Harry and Ginny kept in daily contact with him to give him some form of company, but even they knew they weren't helping.
At some point, he had gotten through his meeting although he couldn't remember a single word that had been exchanged. Only that he had shaken hands with the other man and his wife which told him he'd made a deal of some sorts. He just hoped it wasn't a bad deal he'd made. Dudley closed his eyes and attempted to force the feeling away that he's become so accustomed to as of late, but it just wasn't happening. People were noticing the change in him, his employees especially. He was snipper with them, not as laid back. He had them working harder, and he wasn't tolerating practical jokes. Luckily, no one questioned him, assuming he was just going through something.
Things didn't change when he got home. In fact, the feeling intensified when he walked into his house. He had refused to call the building home because to him, he wasn't home without Felicity. He missed her witty yet loving personality so much. There was quite simply a noticeable void everywhere he went, following him around like a black cloud on a rainy day. He sat down on the couch and his eyes trailed to something he'd been looking at daily, almost like the answers would hit him one day. He picked up the small glass sphere and that same haunting voice rung through his ears.
What did this prophecy mean? Why was it situated around him?
If there was one thing in the world that Dudley despised, unanswered questions would be in the top three places. It had been months now yet they were still nowhere close to even getting a lead. The only thing they had was a name and something about a choker. It was such a random object, too random in a messed-up situation to be just a fashion accessory. A ringing broke the silence and he got up to answer, assuming it was something to do with work. However, a familiar mixed accent with worry laced through it almost made Dudley freeze.
Felicity's parents, asking him if he had heard anything from her. At hearing those words, his heart stopped and within seconds he replied with no, hung up, and crumpled to the floor in hysterics. Suddenly feelings he'd been harbouring away since everything started to kick off appeared and he was basically choking on his sobs. It was roughly ten minutes later that he finally managed to stop and he grabbed the phone again and dialled Harry's number. The first couple of times it rung out, but he was determined to get an answer. He'd been told already that Felicity disappeared yesterday afternoon which meant time was ticking. Time was something he did not have. Eventually, Harry answered the phone but he didn't get a chance to reply before Dudley was sobbing once more, not being able to get the words out.
Harry simply stated that he would be over as soon as he possibly could to talk things over, but there was no need for that. There only was one thing that could have happened, and Dudley was kicking himself over not noticing the warning signs before now. Felicity hadn't just wandered off or went to a friend for the night, she'd been taken. Whoever had taken her had to be someone who worked under Kyra's orders. They'd all fallen into her trap and the woman was probably laughing maniacally with her accomplices at this very moment.