a n c h o r

f o u r

Alexandra looked around her and noticed a place that was very familiar to her. She was standing in Malfoy Manor, held against her will as she watched Death Eaters apparate into the room one by one, all returning from the Burrow. One Death Eater in particular caught her eye.

"Dad," she whispered to herself, not being able to believe what she saw. She suddenly yelped in pain as she was kneed in the back.

"Shut it," the Death Eater warned, her curly black hair falling in Alexandra's face. It didn't take long for Alexandra to realize she was being held by Bellatrix Lestrange.

"After all these years," a low voice rang, immediately creating a dead silence. Slowly, Voldemort revealed himself as he retreated from the shadows and entered the main hall. "We are finally reunited."

Alexandra struggled to escape once again, but that only made the man laugh.

"I will not make the same mistakes I did fifty years ago," he told her, using his wand rather than his hand to caress her cheek. He new now not to touch her. "Love is weakness."

"You'll never understand love," Alexandra spat. "The only love you've ever known was manipulated; all a lie. You're a fool to think I ever truly loved you." 

"The boy you've loved since you were a child becomes ill at the thought of loving you," Voldemort smirked, remembering the single memory he plucked out of her mind all those years ago, but also remembering the false memories she planted in his. "It's a shame you've resorted to Harry Potter. It's almost as if you've done it to spite me."

"Harry will come for me, and he'll kill you," Alexandra assured, causing everyone around her to laugh. "You say love is weakness, but it's the most powerful thing in the world."

Voldemort slightly raised his hand, completely silencing the room in a second. "Get the boy."

"Draco!" Bellatrix sang, throwing Alexandra to the ground as she danced into a surrounding room. Alex took a deep breath, knowing she couldn't show even the slightest bit of happiness around him. She kept her stare on the horrible man who stood in front of her, refusing to look elsewhere as loud footsteps told her Draco entered the room.

"You will come to realize that love and betrayal are very similar sensations," Voldemort smirked, taking a step back as Bellatrix dragged Draco in front of him. "Show her."

"Go on, Draco," Bellatrix encouraged. There was a hesitation, and it made Alexandra nervous.

"Please," she begged him. To everyone else it sounded like she was begging for him to stand down, but only the two of them knew she was begging for the opposite. She wanted him to hurt her, for his sake.

"Crucio," he said quietly, sending Alexandra to the ground screaming. She had only heard of the unbearable pain this curse caused, and it was even worse than she'd imagined.

"Enough," Voldemort interrupted. The room fell silent once again other than Alexandra trying to catch her breath. She lied still, staring off at an empty wall as tears silently flowed down her face. Draco looked at her, falling apart inside but not being able to show it. He kept a straight face, trying to steady his breath himself as he waited for further instruction. "You are dismissed."

Quickly, Draco turned and headed straight towards his room, stopping halfway up the staircase when her screams echoed throughout the manor once more. When he made it to his bedroom, he shut the door and put his hands over his ears in an attempt to block out her screams, but that was a sound he'd never be able to get out of his head. He paced back and forth, letting out a scream himself as he fell back onto his bed and began to cry. He tried to warn her, but he failed. He couldn't protect her, and now she's in more danger than ever.

After what felt like hours of torture, Alexandra was quite literally thrown into the dungeon underneath the manor.

"Ebony wood with a unicorn hair core. Eleven and three quarter inches," Ollivander smiled, greeting the girl who wasn't exactly excited to see him or hear about her wand that she foolishly dropped prior to being captured. "I've heard many things about you in my time, Miss River. Things that led up to this moment. Many from before you were even born. You've been given a gift. It's a shame you've been kept in the dark all these years. I suppose things could've turned out differently for all of us if you knew what you were truly capable of all those years ago."

"You know nothing about me," Alexandra glared. "I'm here because of decisions I made after learning the extent of my capabilities, not before."

"You're foolish."

"I'd be foolish to put my trust in a man that's killed thousands of innocent people," she fought. "I'm here because this is where I choose to be. Running won't save the people I love."

Ollivander stayed quiet, walking back to the corner he was previously sitting in. She watched him for a few moments as he closed his eyes and easily fell asleep, as if he's been here for a while and is actually comfortable. Alexandra, on the other hand, couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. It didn't help when she heard footsteps growing increasingly louder as someone got closer and closer to the dungeon. Knowing she couldn't hide, she simply cowered into a corner and hoped for the best.

"Alexandra?" She heard a soft voice say, causing her to let out the breath she had been holding in.

"Draco," she smiled, running to the gate where he stood. He wondered how she could smile after the pain he just caused her only hours ago. He looked down at his hands where he held a blanket his mum charmed to blend in with it's surroundings. He refused to look at Alexandra as he handed the blanket to her through the metal bars of the gate. She grabbed it, confused for a moment, but eventually realizing what it was.

"So you don't get cold," he told her, saying nothing else as he walked away.

"Did she take it?" Narcissa asked her son as he entered his bedroom. He nodded, sitting next to his mother as she pulled him close to her. She knew he has been struggling, and it was becoming evidently worse in the hours since Alexandra arrived. "She'll be alright, darling. She's very strong."

"He's stronger."