D A M I E N
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Mal's POV
I grunted as we landed roughly after being apparated.
"What do you want Elliot?" I stood up and pried myself away from him. I glanced around me to take in my surroundings, the walls were wooden, there was a small stove and fridge, this is a cabin, this must be where he lives.
"Why so cold Malorie? You know I hate attitudes." He said curtly and I was reminded of how my 'attitude' had made him act and hurt me eight years ago.
"Just tell me why you brought me here."
"Well..." He headed over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of rum. Of course. "You're not a child anymore Malorie." Yeah, trauma makes you grow up pretty fast. "So I'm here to make you an offer." He offered me a glass with rum and ice and I gave him a disgusting shake of the head before he shrugged and downed it.
"Whatever it is, no." I leaned on the wall with my arms crossed over my chest.
"Listen!" He slammed his empty glass on the old wooden table, cracking the table. I flinched as I recalled the feeling of his hand hitting me. "Listen." He sighed and took off his jacket, showing that the alcohol was causing him to heat up. "You will join me in serving the dark lord as a death eater."
Something about the way he said it so seriously and father-like made me have the reaction I knew he would hate the most.
I bursted out laughing.
As I saw the confused look on his face, I hugged my stomach from how hard I was laughing. He waited impatiently with a deadpan look on his face and I finally managed to pull myself together.
"Oh, you're serious?" I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Very serious." He responded genuinely.
"And if I refuse this 'offer'?" I challenged.
"Well... people you care about would suffer." A lump immediately formed in my throat at his words.
"Liar. You had them all in your grasps today. If you could kill them, you would have. You know Harry won't ever cooperate if any of us are dead. So you can't hurt us." He gripped the edge of the table in fury at how right my conclusion was.
"Maybe not. Maybe I can't hurt any of your friends. But..." He exited into a small room and I felt my heart quicken. Not Draco. Please tell me it's not Draco. How does he even know about Draco? I looked away when I heard him enter the room, unable to look at him due to fear of who he was about to bring out. "I can still hurt something you care about." What? I turned around and rushed over when I saw Damien inside a cage.
Panic rose inside me. "Leave him alone. He's done nothing to you."
"Incorrect. He's serving me as leverage. Either join me, or he suffers." He threatened with absolutely no remorse.
"I..." I ran my hands through my hair in frustration.
What the hell am I supposed to do now?! I can't join him. But he also can't hurt Damien. I reached into my back pocket for my wand when he smiled and shook his head.
"I have your wand. Don't even bother." I saw my wand sticking out of his back pocket. "Don't even try it Malorie." He opened the cage and took Damien in his hands, making Damien start hooting frighteningly.
He's scared. My poor baby.
"I'm here Damien. I'm here." I tried to reach over and stroke him but Elliot pulled him back. "I can't join you. I just can't. You know that." I tried to reason with him.
"Too bad. Then I guess you know he has to suffer."
"No. Don't—" I tried to stop him to no avail.
"Crucio!"
I never knew an owl could make such a pained sound. My eyes started filling with tears at the excruciatingly painful sound he made, and even more when his glossy eyes looked over at me helplessly. I took Damien and pushed Elliot out of my way.
"Stop it! Stop it! Let him go!" Elliot let his pain continue for a couple seconds before he finally stopped the curse. I stroked Damien softly as I repeatedly tried to comfort him even though I had no plan to get out of this yet.
"Ready to join now, Malorie?" He asked as I heard the ice clink in his glass, a demonstration of him pouring himself another bowl.
"Don't you understand?!" I looked up at him with tears running down my cheeks at the feeling of my weak Damien in my hands. "I can't join you. I can't become a death eater. I'm only sixteen."
"That's a fine age to get started." He shrugged.
"No. I can't. I... I'm scared of him. He killed Harry's parents. He killed Cedric. I can't join you. I won't." I still refused, biting back the tears that threatened to fall down my cheeks.
"Cedric? Who's that?"
"He was... a really good friend of mine. He was with Harry in the Triwizard tournament."
"Oh, that other kid who was in the way? Yes. The dark lord killed him."
What the hell? He was...
I gasped. "You were there. You were one of the death eaters. You watched Cedric get killed." The realization hit me.
"No. I didn't. He was already dead when I got there." He poured himself another glass.
How can you say it so casually?!
"My answer is still no. You were my father once, a long time ago. Don't you feel absolutely any care for me at all anymore?" I watched him as he brought his glass to his lips and hesitated before bringing it down and turning around to face me. He took a couple moments to think about what I said before replying.
"I was never the fatherly type." He said simply, twirling the liquor around in his glass. "Here." He reached into his back pocket and handed me my wand. I took it from him warily. "Use it well, there's more coming." He warned me but refused to look at my eyes.
"Thank you." I was about to leave when I stopped myself, "You know you can change right, you can leave? You don't have to serve him."
"Malorie leave before I change my mind." He warned me but I didn't listen. You were once my father. You were once good, weren't you?
"You still have some good in you, you must. Even if it's very small. You can stop serving him."
"No! I can't! Damn it Malorie! This was always your problem, you don't listen. I warned you." I watched him down the rum and start walking towards me menacingly and began the spell to apparate.
"Avada Ked..." I heard him trail off as I apparated and landed roughly in the Gryffindor common room. I looked down at my hands and started sobbing when I saw Damien's cold, limp body in my hands.
I'm so sorry. It's my fault he killed you baby. I'm so sorry. I should've listened and left when he told me to. I'm so sorry.