Shadow Claw: The Life Story - The Final Chapter

Ch. 9 - Malfoy Manor

Shadow's POV

There was snarling coming from downstairs.

I was still kneeling.

I got up slowly, my legs aching severely. I peered down the staircase, only to flick back behind the door as a Ministry Death Eater shot a spell at me. I drew my wand and jabbed it in his direction, but I got hit with a reddish-green hex and I fell to the floor with a large THUMP. "Shadow!!" Jenny's voice cried, but then it went silent and I fell into utter darkness.

There were cries and snarls, but in my unconscious state, I thought I glimpsed Shade and Hawthorne getting away, the kittens in their arms. James was screaming, I heard it through deaf ears, and Jenny was calling out my name, blubbering through her tears.

Jenny's POV

It had been hours.

"Where are you taking us- where are we?" I whimpered, curling into myself, my eyes blindfolded. The surface below me was cold and smooth, and with a shocking realization - the smell of it, the faint sight of it, the taste in my mouth - I had myself believing it was Malfoy Manor. I choked back a sob as my blindfold was removed, the light in the greenish-tinged hall like a serpent's touch upon my face.

I spotted Shadow and James laying against the wall not too far away, their heads bowed and their hands tied to stakes above them, but my head was spun gently by soft, cold fingers, away from my friends. "Jenny." My breath hitched. Draco had grown up, it seemed, for his hair was combed back and his robes were more handsome than ever; his eyes glittered in the tainted light, and though he helped me up, I could not help but think of the time he would have killed Dumbledore, the time that he insulted Harry, and all those other times that I told myself I hated him.

His hands slipped around my waist almost naturally, but I steadied myself and pushed him away lightly. "Hogwarts- shouldn't you b-be at school?" I staggered out my words. He shook his head and ran a hand through my hair, bringing me to his chest, which I did not go against, more out of fear that he might feel compelled to hit me like Lucius probably would. "Slytherins get a month more of summer term. Snape's new rule." His voice seemed to carry throughout the carved, serpentine hall.

There was a crude slap all of a sudden, and I gripped Draco tighter, watching as James and Shadow were kicked around. They did not relent to the question that Bellatrix Lestrange was screeching at them in her excruciatingly annoying, high-pitched voice. "STO-" Draco covered my mouth, and though I bit down, he did not remove it and gave my waist a hard squeeze.

"I managed to convince her you're on our side because of the Mark. Don't blow your cover." He whisper-hissed. He dropped his hand and I clutched his chest, tears rolling down my face. "I promised them next time it would be me, not them." I croaked.

Shadow was beaten badly in her Claw form, her wings torn, her claws ripped out, her fur crusted with blood and tufts of it torn away, her tail cut up and her muzzle slightly open with one of her canines snapped. But she had not broken. James was screaming out, the Dark Mark on his arm twisting through his body like a harbinger of pain. It curled around his shoulders and over his chest, and yet when it settled back at his forearm, he collapsed, and said nothing. It had left bruises in its path, like a sadistic line of torture.

Bellatrix had defeated herself. She had tortured my two friends many, many years ago in that blasted attic, and so they were immune to her advances.

Lestrange rounded on me, "Where is he?!" I stumbled back, but Draco held me tightly, his arms fastened to my waist. "I-I don't know- what- who?" I cried, clinging to Draco as if he were my life-source, which, essentially, he was.

"HARRY POTTER!!" She almost squealed. I tightened my grasp if that was even possible - my fingers ached profusely - "I-I do-don't know! H-he left- and- and the Mi-" There was a deafening snarl suddenly that echoed from every banister in the room. Shadow staggered to her feet, "Don't. Say. Anything." She hissed at me, but I was not as strong as Shadow, and perhaps even Draco could not save me now.

"That's enough." Draco snapped. I was surprised at his boldness. Bellatrix Lestrange paused, pouted, and then sashayed away with her wand dangling in her fingertips. "Itty baby Jenny with her love of life, bitty Draco." She called, taunting, but then disappeared through a threshold behind us, cackling a high laugh.

I ran to Shadow, breaking Draco's grasp. "Shadow- James-" She gave me a low growl, turning away with a hefty sigh. I crouched at James' side, and then watched as Shadow collapsed and shifted with the last ounce of energy she had. James curled up, hugging himself and rocking slowly, murmuring different names of everybody we knew. "Sirius... Otto... Molly... Remus... Millie...-" He carried on, weeping almost silently, except for the hiccups.

Shadow rolled onto her back and groaned, "Where's Shade? My kittens?" She rasped out. I held James to my chest, gazing at her whilst glimpsing Draco standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. "They went back to the Clan, Shadow, relax-"

"RELAX!?" She exclaimed in disbelief, standing painfully and jabbing a finger at me, "You don't have the audacity to speak to me like that-"

"In fact, she does." Draco spoke up, still appearing awkward.

"Shut it, you worthless fucking moron!" Shadow stormed (limped aggressively) over to him, clutching her wounded leg in agony.

Draco stood up for himself, "If it weren't for me, Jenny would be dead-"

"Stop fighting!" I berated them weakly, still clutching James, who had fallen silent completely, tears dribbling down his young features. "It'll do us no good."

"Oh, because you've done so much good already, haven't you?" Shadow snarled, but then her face turned paler than snow and she fainted. Blood stained her leg, and her hands were coated with it. Draco swore loudly, "We need to get her to my room, she's losing blood. Come on!"