It all happened so quickly. One moment I was standing with my back to Draco, regretting the few words I had managed to let out, the next I was being horrendously tortured by no other than Bellatrix Lestrange herself. The mere sound of her taunting cackle made the part of me that was still conscious feel as if though I would never be truly free of the evil that seemed to be surrounding me. I had tried to stay away from Draco and his family of Death Eaters, but seemed to always be drawn back into the darkness. There was no escaping this... torment.
"Call on him!", I heard Bellatrix cry out somewhere amongst the ringing in my ears. It seemed to grow louder and louder and the sharp pain was everywhere. It felt like someone had stabbed me everywhere they could, and each access wound seemed to burn more than the other. In that moment, I wanted to die. I even wished for it. I wished for the pain to end and the suffering to stop. To be free of this evil. My mind was traveling back and forth between vivid thoughts of my beloved best friends and the boy I had learned to tolerate. I saw their smiles, looking down at me, telling me it was okay. That I was free to go. Draco's blue eyes were etched inside my skull, as was the sound of Neville's laugh and the way Luna would encourage me to be the best version of myself. I was just about to say my goodbyes, when I heard another voice in the room.
"I-I-I don't...". I recognised the voice immediately as that of Draco's. He seemed tongue tied; scared, and could barely get out a full sentence out of his pretty mouth. Bellatrix was walking slowly behind him, a malicious looking grin on her face. I didn't anticipate for him to do anything, much less speak up against his villainous aunt. And I was right at that, because as he struggled to make sense of his words, Bellatrix had already managed to call on the rest of the Death Eaters, including Draco's parents who stood frozen beside him.
He just stared at me, or more like right through me, seemingly wanting to sink through the ground. The pain was as sharp as it had always been, but I had the chance at finally breathing somewhat normally, in the time that they were speaking. As the Death Eaters all circled around my body that was on full display, I felt how my whole being began to grow colder and colder, sucking the tiny traces of life that was still there, out of me. The scenes that had flashed in front of my eyes, had suddenly stopped, but the sense that this was the end for me; was still hanging over my head.
"The Dark Lord will be expecting YOU to go through with it", Lucius whispered in a tedious yet paltry voice, while also putting a gentle hand on his sons shoulder as he stepped out of the shadows. I knew that Lucius had a power over Draco that Draco just couldn't ignore, and that so long as his father remained a tried and true follower of the Dark Lord — his choices would also remain limited. However, his fear didn't go unnoticed, and I knew that Lucius was testing his son in the same way that Voldemort did him. The tiniest sign of doubt, would mean the absolute worst for both Draco and his parents.
"Of course", commented Narcissa, taking her sons hand and squeezing it gently. Draco didn't notice this however, as he was too preoccupied with staring into my eyes, which I replied to by smiling. I guess I was hoping that he would finally stick up to his parents and walk over to the right side of history. I knew he was scared, terrified even, but I prayed to anyone who might've listened, that he wouldn't go through with it. I knew he wasn't the person he had lead everyone else to believe, in fact I knew he was much more than who they made him out to be.
"But first: let me play with her a bit more!", chuckled Bellatrix once more, making me wish harder for my own death.
The pain that would come next, was unlike anything I had ever had to endure before. Even worse than the curses she had put on me, just a few minutes previous. The sound of her malevolent yet somehow alluring voice, made the hairs on my back, arms and legs stand and my heart sink even heavier in my chest.
"CRUCIO!".
The curse hit me right in the chest, but seemed to affect the my whole being, as the pain grew even more intense. I had somewhat learned how take control over it, not letting the pain stop me from fighting against whoever cast it on me in the first place. Yet, the pain that was jolted into the entirety of my body, seemed to infect me unlike any other curse. The time I had spent in the forest, fighting and running from Scabior and Greyback, wasn't going to help me now. I was exclusively in dire need of saving. I realised, that if I was to ever escape this hell hole of a place, I wouldn't be able to do it all on my own.
Suddenly, the ringing in my ears seemed to grow more and more potent, and I could no longer make out what was happening around me. Instead, my focus turned to the voice appearing in my head.
"Bellatrix, have I not instructed you to let our esteemed guest be until such a moment that I am ready to meet her myself?". The voice sounded close to that of a snake's, appearing sinister yet entrancing. It filled my head and made me question my own sanity more than ever. I recognised the voice immediately, as I had heard it in my dreams before.
"Yes, my Lord – I was just on my way to–". Bellatrix voice had turned from malicious and confident to scared and diffident, and was quickly cut off again by the enthralled voice of the Dark Lord.
"–I want the girl alive. I wish to be there myself when she dies".
Draco, who had turned his attention to the floor beneath his feet, possibly as a way to distance himself from what was happening around him, now turned back again to look me in the eyes. I was still on the cold floor, terrified and praying for a quick death, but knowing full well that my fate was the opposite of that. Draco's eyes seemed to glisten as they filled up with tears, tears I wished I could move close enough to wipe away myself. But that wasn't happening.
"And Draco, my boy. You know what you must do. Give me no reason to doubt your loyalty. I am not known for giving second chances, yet you are still alive. Next time, I won't be so forgiving". Voldemort's voice seemed to slowly fade away, leaving everyone in the room quiet for a few seconds, before turning their attention to the blond haired boy in the middle of the room.
"D-rrr-raco", I managed to let out, my head full of disbelief and despondency, before passing out from the pain.
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(1) 𝐍𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐄 | d. m
Fantasy(Previously named 'Marked for death') When I was seventeen, I learned what love truly meant. Love is waking up in the morning for your first thought to be of that one person. Love is that feeling in your stomach that you get whenever he or she looks...
