A Wonderful Story - A Minalbus/MMAD story

Chapter 16: Albus

It was that Muggle day, All Saints' Day. Minerva, Malcolm and Hannah went to visit Robert Jr. and Robert Sr.'s graves. I stayed at home with Daniel, Theo, Thea and Mia. 

Suddenly, I heard some noise. I turned around, but saw nothing. I knew that someone was here, in my house. 

Daniel looked at me worriedly. 

"Take your brother and sisters and wait upstairs. Lock the door and stay there until I call you, okay?" I said and he nodded before heading upstairs. 

Out of nowhere, I heard someone yell 'Crucio!' and pain shot through my body, as if someone had thrown me several knives at once. I tried not to cry out in pain to not worry my kids, but the pain was too strong. I tried to fire a few curses, but missed the person. The cruciatus curse continued to be fired on me and I couldn't fight the pain away. I tried to send a Patronus to Minerva, but I couldn't concentrate nor think about a happy memory when pain was shooting through my whole body, like knives slashing my skin. The person didn't seem to have any pity as he/she continued to fire the curse at me.

Eventually, everything went black.

Daniel's POV:

I heard my father's screams and took my brother and sisters' hand before taking them to my parents' bedroom's chimney. 

We arrived in our little cottage in the mountains. There was snow everywhere around. I closed the chimney to ensure that no one would come. My parents knew that we were to hide here if anything happened and could Apparate. 

Mia was scared. Thea and Theo too, even though they couldn't stop running around the house. 

"Elly," I whispered and my House Elf appeared in front of me. 

"Master has called Elly?"

"Yes. I need your help with the twins." When I saw the panicked look on his face, I begged him. "Please. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important, Elly. I know how they are like. Even my mother had to put her professor-look on with them.

Elly helped me to put them to bed. I then sat down on the couch and waited, unable to fall asleep. 

Around 1 a.m., there was a knock on the door. Elly opened it and Poppy came in. She sighed in relief when she saw me.

"Daniel! Thank Merlin! Are you okay?" she asked me in a worried tone, despite the relief that could be seen on her face. 

"Yes, except the fact that I couldn't sleep."

"Isn't your mother with you?" she asked. 

"No, why?"

"She's gone missing, Daniel. Your father is at St. Mungo's, but you should stay here until we find your mother. I'll stay with you. Filius, Rolanda, Pomona and Elphias will come by as soon as they can, okay? I'll have to be at Hogwarts."

"Me too! Please, Aunt Poppy, let me at least go back to Hogwarts!"

"If you want to, sure, but you'll have to be careful. Whoever hurt your father has something against the whole Dumbledore family, not just you."

"Will Uncle Malcolm, Aunt Ariana and Uncle Aberforth come by?" I asked.

"Maybe. I don't know, Daniel."

"The twins are— I can't even find the right word. They keep running around the house. Mia is worried, I am too. I called Elly, my House Elf to help me with them, but he's living a nightmare too. I miss mum and how she could just yell at them to stop."

"I know."

"She didn't come back from the cemetery?"

"No. Malcolm said that she left for sure and that she arrived safely because she sent him a Patronus."

"So— Something happened to her at home?"

"That's what we think, yes."

"Do you know who it is?"

"Your uncle has his suspicions. If you ask him, I'm sure he'll be glad to share them with you. Now, Daniel, I'll give you a Dreamless Potion and you're going to bed, okay? I'll stay in the guest room."

"Okay. Good night, Aunt Poppy!"

"Good night, Daniel."

She gave me the potion and I went to bed. I fell asleep and, thanks to Poppy's potion, didn't have nightmares at all.

Minerva's POV:

I bid goodbye to Malcolm, Hannah and went back home. 

When I opened the door, the house was upside down. Things were lying on the floor, the drawers had been opened as if someone had been looking for something. I made my way through the house slowly and cautiously, afraid of stepping on something sharp or for someone to hear me. Slowly, I started to panic. Where were Albus and the kids? Were they okay? Suddenly, I forgot of staying silent.
"Albus? Daniel? Theo? Thea? Mia?" I called out. No answers. I entered the living room and found Albus lying on the floor. I rushed next to him, searching for a pulse. It was weak, but it was there. I heard someone yell something and everything went dark.

I woke up in a dark place. I couldn't see anything. Someone entered the room and I heard a sound of a metallic door closing. A cellar. I was in a cellar. 

"Awake?" The person asked before yelling "Crucio!"

I fell to the ground while someone else stepped behind me and started touching me. I tried to push him away, but the Cruciatus Curse was too strong and painful. I felt the person behind me take my clothes away and then everything went in a blur.

I woke up again and felt sore. I could feel that they had been using the Cruciatus Curse on me even when I was asleep. I was naked. I sat up against one of the cellar's cold walls and transformed into a cat. Thankful to the fact that cats could see in the dark and that I hadn't eaten since I had arrived, I walked through the bars and started to go upstairs. It was a huge house. Maybe a Muggle villa. My body was aching, but the determination kept me walking. I had to escape. One of the living room's windows was open but before that, I grabbed a curtain and then jumped on the window before jumping on the other side, landing in the garden. I walked out of the garden and on a path. There was a forest a little bit further so I walked there and once I was hidden, I transformed back into my human form and snapped my fingers, transfiguring the curtain into some emerald robes. It wasn't as good as what I would have done with my wand, but I would have to wait and ask Albus who was there. If he's alive, I thought. No. He is alive. He has to. 

I looked around and transfigured a leaf into some panties so that I would be more comfortable and a forgotten napkin became a bra whilst sticks became shoes. I walked to a nearby village and asked for a hospital. Even though I wanted to get back to my husband and kids as fast as possible, I knew that I had to get healed first and what better place to hide from wizards than a Muggle hospital?