NO MORE A PRETENDER~ {The Lestrange Daughter #3}

𝟒. Burrow

TRIGGER WARNING; Contains violence directly involving the characters. Not terribly graphic but please take care if you are sensitive to such things.

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Valentine was the first to volunteer to go to the Burrow, or the Weasley's hovel as she had called it. When she had, the expectant look Narcissa gave Lucius said it all and the way he looked down at his hands was nothing less than pitiful. William immediately volunteered to go as well. Valentine just rolled her eyes and grumbled under her breath about how needlessly overprotective they were all being.

Bellatrix and Rodolphus quickly elected themselves to go after Lupin's and Kingsley's homes respectively and when Rabastan asked to be sent to the Burrow as well, Voldemort sent him along with his brother.

Everything happened so quickly that Valentine's friends barely had a second to express their concerns and fuss over her before she was disapparating away with the others and reappearing in the dark field around the Weasley homestead.

It was herself, William and a hand full of other lower-ranked Death Eaters all raring to go. Valentine recognised the nose on one man and knew instantly he must have been a Parkinson.

Another two men appeared with a man and two women dressed casually and looking horrified. The men had been the ones standing by the doorway when she returned from London.

One was quite short and stumpy with dark hair and eyes, the other not much taller but with fair features and lips so thin that we're practically imperceivable.

"Meet our new friends!" The shorter of the two grinned. "Scooped them up from the Department of Defence. Figure they'll come in handy bringing down the barrier sooner."

"They better be." Said the other man, his wand trained on the three Ministry workers. "Now, get to it."

"What are you going to do with us when we do?" One woman asked, swallowing a lump in her throat.

"If you don't get moving, you won't live long enough to find out." The man shoved her forwards towards the barrier. "Now, get working!"

The three Ministry workers shared a hopeless look. It cooperated with them or die. Of course, cooperating didn't necessarily ensure their lives either. Valentine turned away from them to stare out across the field instead.

The tall, misshapen house was a fair bit away, towering up above the swampland. Valentine could see a large white tent set up just outside it. It was lit brightly and there were people milling about, the sound of music and laughter clear on the warm summer breeze. Her stomach clenched. There could have easily been three dozen people in there. Three dozen people who could all get seriously injured or worse.

A party? What the fuck? Is now really the time for this? What the hell are they thinking!

She knew Harry would still have to be there. After they had so much trouble getting him there in the first place, they weren't likely to move him until they had too.

"Come on, hurry up!" The thin-lipped Death Eater hurried the Ministry workers along. "I'm getting bored here."

"Well, I'm sorry that you're bored but this isn't exactly easy work!" The woman who had spoken before snapped at him.

"Lisa, no." The other woman hissed, grabbing her arm.

"Watch your mouth whore!" The man lifted a hand to strike her, shooting forward.

Valentine stuck out a well-timed leg and he flipped on to the ground with a heavy thud, spurred onwards by his own momentum.

"You little bi-!"