Servitium| Theodore Nott

Chapter Twenty-Five

When Ivory landed in Dumbledore's office she left Harry behind and mustered the strength to guide herself to the Hospital Wing. The pain inflicted on her by the cruel hand of the Cruciatus Curse along with the beatings she had received was becoming more unbearable now that the adrenaline had subsided, and she knew that Madam Pomfrey's expertise surpassed her own healing abilities with a wand.  

"Oh Ivory!" Hermione was at her side the second she realised that Ivory had arrived. "Are you alright? What happened to you?" she asked and Ivory pursed her lips, she couldn't see very clearly as her left eye was still swollen shut but she spotted Pomfrey bringing over some potions.

"Voldemort happened Hermione, and I have been dragged into his web," she answered plainly. "Now if you'll excuse me I want to be alone for now, I've got a very sore back and I need some rest."

"Talk later?" Hermione offered and Ivory nodded as she left returning to Ron and Ginny.

Ivory sighed as the kind eyes of Madam Pomfrey met hers, she had yet to apologise to the healer for her outburst after Christmas but it was obvious that was long forgotten as she registered the concern and compassion Pomfrey was exhibiting. Without a word, the matronly healer guided Ivory to a comfortable bed, her touch gentle and reassuring. Ivory surrendered herself to the warmth of the hospital bed, knowing that she was in capable hands.

Madam Pomfrey's skilled hands moved with precision, examining Ivory's injuries and tending to each wound with care. As the pain gradually subsided,  she allowed herself the time to think, although the events hadn't fully sunk in, and she didn't want to think, partly because she didn't know  how she was feeling, she was numb yet somehow in agony, and thinking about it was cutting into her insides like a shard of glass.

Anastasia had lived every moment fully and passionately and now Ivory would have to live the rest of hers without her mother. It was unbearable, unthinkable. It was cruel and it was at the least, a little bit of Ivory's fault, she could blame Harry, blame Neville, but the truth was it wasn't any of their faults, it was hers, it was her family, it was her fate.

"Ivory? Ivory?" a voice called pulling her out of her thoughts, standing before her was her brother Soren and beside him was Theodore Nott, looking every bit as worried as Soren was.

"Soren!" she cried out. He looked relieved to see her, but that relief was going to be short lived.

"Ivory, what happened to you, they say you went to the Ministry." Soren looked utterly confused as did Theodore, and she realised that Theodore didn't know the extent to which her dealings with Voldemort ran, and she would have to explain that it went further than just being a Death Eater or a loyal follower.

"I did, after the History of Magic exam yesterday, Lucius came to get me...the Dark Lord requested me for a task," Ivory explained, Theodore's face immediately darkened.

"What kind of task? What is wrong with him? Can't he see you're just a teenager, why would he send you on a suicide mission look at the state of you!" Theodore's words cut through Ivory like a sharp blade, though she knew he didn't mean any harm. She couldn't help  but flinch at the harsh reality of her situation. In an attempt to offer some comfort, Theodore poured her a glass of water and handed it to her. 

"I don't know the full extent of it but there was a prophecy about him and Harry Potter and he wanted it for himself but couldn't show himself to the Ministry, he wanted me to retrieve it for him by using a really old spell to replicate the prophecy and destroy the original because if you aren't mentioned in the prophecy you cannot touch it-"

"Your powers, you could bypass the rules of the prophecy using your powers, that's why he chose you," Soren said in realisation and Theodore frowned.

"What powers?" Theodore asked and Ivory sighed deeply.