Thick Smoke

Blood

Ever since Eliza was brought to the manor, she had been locked in a room and no matter how much she tried to leave, she couldn't. She hadn't seen Voldemort after that first meeting and she wasn't particularly keen on seeing him again.

It's been almost three weeks since she has been living with the Malfoys and even though Narcissa was a kind companion, Eliza was like a bird locked in a very tight cage. Another problem was Bellatrix Lestrange who was also living with her sister- a presence Eliza hated with every fiber of her body.

The Malfoy Manor was decorated through and through, with dimly lit corridors that Eliza couldn't fully explore. Eliza's room was close to Draco's from what Mrs. Malfoy told her but didn't come check on her once. Mrs. Malfoy told Eliza only what Voldemort found important for her to know, which was pretty much nothing.

Eliza was kept under strict attention and she swore house elves were checking on her regularly.

Death Eaters were coming and leaving according to their needs. Just as Eliza imagined, Lucius Malfoy was released with the others from Azkaban and he was ready to do anything just to be kept alive.

Every morning, a house elf would come into Eliza's room and find her on the bed in what looked like a trance. Every morning the elf would place the breakfast on the table in her room and leave swiftly. However, one special morning, the house elf entered without a tray and asked Eliza to follow her downstairs, into the dining room. Bellatrix was not there, Eliza checked that first.

"How do you feel, Eliza?" Malfoy asked from his seat at the end of the table.

The house elf pulled the empty seat from across the table, having Eliza sit at the other end. She was uncomfortable and glanced at Draco every so often but he avoided her gaze.

"You don't have to look so wary. No one will harm you in any way." He added, sipping from his morning tea.

Once the plate of food was placed in front of her, Eliza scanned it closely before she leaned back, "Why am I here?"

"For breakfast, of course. I thought you might want to get out of your room for a change." He said cordially, like everything was normal and she was a willing guest.

"Then why don't you let me go, for a change?" She retorted ironically.

"You are needed here."

She rolled her eyes, "I am most definitely not needed anywhere but home. Voldemort's plans don't include me and even if they do, I don't care." She got up and pushed the plate aside, "Put me in a cell or whatever you want but don't act like I want to be here."

The older blond glared at her but didn't say anything while his son hid his smirk behind the glass of pumpkin juice.

Surprisingly enough, at lunch Lucius did take her out in the garden for a change.

"I never intended to have Ophelia endangered. I treasured our friendship unlike her." He started, his chin raised so he could look down at the world from his gigantic ego.

"Strange. I thought you were always by your Dark Lord's side and only vowed to protect her because she was his daughter." She retorted, not being used to hear Lucius talk about her mother yet, "She trusted you and you betrayed her in your hunger for power."

He raised an eyebrow and stopped, plunging his walking stick right in front of her, almost into her foot.

"If I were to betray her I would have been dead by now. I protected her."

Eliza stared at him for a moment before she asked, "From what? Sirius Black? James Potter? Her father? If you treasured her then how did they find out where she was? How did you find out exactly?"