Servitium| Theodore Nott

Chapter Twenty-Three

TW- Physical abuse

Lucius was still holding Ivory's hand, she roughly wiped her tears with her free hands before glaring at Neville, she couldn't believe that Neville had sentenced her mother to death over some silly little misconceptions, had Ivory ever given Neville a reason to distrust her? No. She had never spoken out of turn to him, never laughed at his unluckiness even when others did, and always told him how proud his parents would be of him, but Neville had dismissed everything he'd ever known about Ivory once he found out who her family was.

"To me, Potter," Lucius repeated hand outstretched, just then black shapes began to emerge out of thin air, eyes glinting through silver masks, wands lit pointing it at the group Ivory was standing opposite from.

"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked instead earning laughs from several of the Death Eaters and she was sure her father was amongst them, she then recognised his form wand pointed at Ron's chest, her heart twisted.

"The Dark Lord always knows!" Ivory heard the unmistakeable voice of Bellatrix Lestrange, the only female Death Eater of the Dark Lord, the only female tattooed with the Dark Mark.

"Always," Lucius agreed, his voice soft, Ivory looked down at her hand in his wanting him to let go, but she supposed he wouldn't, perhaps he thought she might run off, or worse, join the opposing team. "Now, give me the prophecy, Potter."

"I want to know where Sirius is!" Harry repeated, exasperated.

"I want to know where Sirius is," Bellatrix mimicked Harry's voice, she turned back, reaching her hand out to Ivory. "I'm sorry they did that to you my darling, they didn't care, but we do, we'll take care of you. These people would have your mother dead, but chin up girly, you'll be a legend and smite these very people down." Bellatrix went on. Ivory didn't take her hand instead she shook her head wondering if the Dark Lord did really always know, and had already come to know of her failure and killed her mother because of it.

"You've got him," Harry said, still adamant. "He's here. I know he is."

"The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo." Bellatrix mocked him some more adopting a baby voice.

Someone in Harry's gang must have went for their wand because the bespectacled boy then said, "Don't do anything, not yet."

Bellatrix cackled madly as if Harry had said the funniest thing she'd ever heard, Ivory kept her eyes locked on her best Godmother. "You hear him? You hear him? Giving instructions to other children as though he thinks of fighting us!"

"Oh you don't know Potter as I do, Bellatrix he has a great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord understands this about him. Now give me the prophecy, Potter," Lucius said more impatiently this time.

"I know Sirius is here, I know you've got him!" this caused her father to laugh, his cold chuckle making a chill spread across the room.

"It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams Potter, now give me the prophecy or we start using wands." Lucius' soft voice was unsettling Ivory, it was the kind of voice that guaranteed a hurricane was about to follow should patience run out.

"Go on then." Harry raised his wand to his chest and the others followed.

"Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt." Ivory frowned through her silent tears, she had never known the man to have such patience.

"Yeah, right!" Harry said in disbelief but Ivory could detect the slightest trace of panic in his voice, Ivory had always thought Harry was a bit stupid, well stupid enough to put the students of Hogwarts in danger every year, but now she was certain that Harry Potter was nuts, did he really think a few measly D.A. lessons would be enough to go against people who had dabbled in the Dark Arts since children, and knew spells that his brain couldn't even comprehend. "I give you this prophecy, is it? And you'll just let us skip off home, will you?"