The Girl By The Lake

Chapter 11: The Shift

Penny smiled and took his hand. It froze every bone in her body.

"What shall I call you?" He asked.

"Penny...Penny Black."

"Black?" Voldemort sneered. "Are you the daughter of that traitorous Regulus Black?"

"No my Lord, thankfully not. Sirius is my father." Penny realized that wasn't any better. The Death Eaters hated Sirius just as much as Regulus. "I, too, am embarrassed about it, but let's just hope that the traitor gene skips a generation."

"Yes... let's hope," Voldemort didn't seem very happy over this. "Follow me, I wish to speak to you in a more private setting. Draco, Lucius, come along."

The four of them followed Voldemort into a, somehow, darker room. This one was decorated with skulls and had portraits of members of the Malfoy family covering the walls, all of which were asleep. At least they were, until Voldemort slammed the door with a flick of his wand.

"Sit," he said, conjuring a chair out of nothing. Penny sat, then realized she was the only one who was. Everyone else was standing. All the paintings were now staring at her. They thought they were being discreet, but Penny knew all eyes were on her. They, just like her, were waiting to hear if Voldemort would yell or praise Penny. The thought pursued her.

"What is your relationship with Harry Potter?" Voldemort asked her, stroking his wand.

"He is- was my boyfriend. He was my boyfriend."

"And why do you want him dead?"

Penny thought on this. She would need to come up with a good excuse. She couldn't say that she was upset because he killed Sirius. As far as Voldemort knew, she hated Sirius and thought he was a disgrace. So Penny blurted her next thought.

"He killed my best friend."

Voldemort raised his eyebrows at that. "Did he now?"

"Yes, my closest friend. He set him...on f-fire," Penny lied.

"Who? Who did Harry Potter set on fire?"

"Jack," Penny whispered.

"Interesting. So I assume you're looking for revenge?" Voldemort smirked.

"Yes sir, revenge. I want him to pay for what he's done."

Voldemort stared at her. He seemed to be thinking over something. Maybe thinking if she was telling the truth or not. He leaned back, then walked toward a cabinet. He opened it took out a vile. Then he offered it to her. The paintings began to whisper to each other and Draco took a small step back.

"I need to know if I can trust you, Black," Voldemort said. Penny reached out and took the vile from his hand.

"Veritaserum," Penny gasped.

"Drink it, unless, of course, you are lying."

Veritaserum- more commonly known as truth potion. Penny narrowed her eyes. She filled with rage. She was about to die. She knew it. But she couldn't not take the Veritaserum. She guzzled down the whole vile without breaking eye contact with the snake who gave it to her. "I have nothing to hide," Penny said before the potion took full effect. It burned her insides. It felt uncomfortable and she wanted, more than anything, for it to stop.

"What is your name?" Voldemort hissed.

"Penny Elizabeth Black," she blurted before she could stop herself. That was true. She wasn't a Montgomery, she was a Black. She smiled and sat up straighter in her chair, feeling more confident.

"Why do you want to be a Death Eater?"

"For my dad," the words escaped her. 'For her dad'? What did she mean by that? Lucius laughed at her answer.

"Will you be loyal to me?"

"Yes," Penny replied. Which was true- she would be loyal to them. At least for the next two months.

"What are you hiding?" Lucius butted in. Penny pursed her lips. Daring not to answer him.

"Lucius, I am conducting the interview," Voldemort said, angrily. Penny focused on not answering. She tried not to think about the question but that just made her think about it more. The potion bubbled in her stomach. It didn't like that she was holding in her answer. Voldemort realized she was trying not to speak and repeated Lucius' question. That didn't help. Penny could here her heart pounding in her head. She was going to be caught! The longer she held in her answer and fought the potion, the more it hurt. Now she stifled a scream and the truth. She realized she was now holding her breath as well. She couldn't breathe. If she could just take in a breath. But, that would open her mouth and the words would fall out. She shook her head. She could not hold it in. No matter how much she resisted, the words pushed on her lips.

"I LOVE HARRY!" Penny slammed her hands to her mouth. She didn't mean to yell it. Her words rang throughout the house. The paintings all gasped. Penny was so scared she began to shake. She had to put her hands on her knees to stop them, but that opened her mouth and she said more. "We're planning to trick you and I'm going to save him!" Penny blurted. Lucius laughed again.

Penny felt the Veritaserum begin to wear off. 'Thank Merlin!' she thought. Then she realized what she said. Voldemort was going to kill her. He knew their plan! He couldn't trust her! But, he didn't do anything. He didn't seem mad at all. He just smiled and beckoned to someone outside. They opened the door and in walked Luna! She was bound and gagged but she didn't fight at all. She had a bruise across her face and blood on her chin and in her hair.

"LUNA!" Penny gasped. She sprang from her chair and tried to run toward Luna but a force pushed her back, slamming her back into her chair and sliding it across the room, ramming into the wall. One of the portraits fell down and ripped when it hit the floor. All other paintings cried in outrage. Penny tried to get back up, but found that her arms were bound behind her.

"NO! LUNA!" Penny fought her restraints and screamed in frustration. "I'm so sorry!"

"I knew you couldn't be trusted from the beginning. You were so close to Potter. So I took Miss Lovegood as motivation. I won't waste you. You can still help us even if your loyalties are with Potter. Luna will stay here until you bring us Harry," Voldemort explained.

"NO!" Penny cried.

"You have one day," Voldemort said.

"NO! NO DRACO AND I MADE A VOW! I HAVE TWO MONTHS!" Penny thrashed.

"You made a vow with Draco for two months, yes. But, Luna and I have made a vow as well you see." Voldemort said. Penny glanced over at Luna. Her face was wet but she looked composed. "We made a vow that Luna must touch Harry within the week. And how is she supposed to make physical contact with him if she is stuck here and Harry is not?"

"NO! BUT- BUT WON'T PEOPLE NOTICE? DUMBLEDORE WILL KNOW A STUDENT IS MISSING!" Penny felt like she got him with that one. Now he had to let Luna leave.

"Don't worry, Dolohov will be taking a Polyjuice potion to appear as Luna." Then, a second Luna entered the room. This Luna, however, wasn't beat up, bruised, bloody, and bound.

"No..." They had this all thought out. They knew they wouldn't be trusting Penny from the start. It was a trap. There was no escape. They won. Penny hung her head. She stopped fighting her restraints. The fight was lost. Her wrists were raw and her shoulders ached.