Friendless » Fred Weasley

clxxix. the cell in malfoy manor

Tori wasn't alone in the cellar of Malfoy Manor. Or at least, that's where she assumed she was. But she wasn't alone, and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Luna Lovegood was captured due to her father upsetting the Death Eaters a while after Christmas. Mr. Ollivander had been there for a little over a year. Dean Thomas and a goblin named Griphook were there before Tori arrived too.

At first, they were all concerned about why each other was in there. Dean was captured by Snatchers and turned in after being on the run from Azkaban. The goblin Griphook had refused to see any wizard as his master. And Voldemort wanted information from Ollivander. Luna was pulled off the Hogwarts Express on its way back to Hogwarts. Tori told them how she had contact with Harry once.

Some days they sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Some days they would reflect on life before the war. Those days usually ended with Tori wanting to punch something.

At night, the cell was cold. Tori would curl up in a corner of the cell, hoping she would be able to stop herself from shivering. Luna often sang to herself in the darkness, her voice filling the quiet cell with an oddly calming melody. She claimed it would get rid of some kind of creature. Tori didn't mind, she would just lay there and listen until she dozed off.

Some days Tori wouldn't move. She would just lay against the cell wall, her eyes shut tightly. She would take off her engagement ring, pressing it to her lips. She was nearly positive the only thing keeping her sane during this time was the thought of Fred.

She wondered what he was doing. Was he mad at her? He had every right to be. She had dropped his wand before coming into contact with the Death Eaters, so he didn't need to go get a new one. Was George mad at her? Probably.

What about Lee? He was probably mad at her too. She imagined him reading her name on the radio. Yeah, he was probably mad. Alicia and Angelina were probably mad too.

At least they could all be mad together.

Tori feared the idea of Bellatrix going after Fred and George. It was one of the things that haunted her at night. She couldn't help but flinch every time she heard Bellatrix laugh ring throughout the house. Tori often asked Luna to keep ahold of her ring when she could hear Pettigrew come down the stairs. Luna did so gladly, always taking it was a sad smile.

Tori had been brought up for several more interrogations from Bellatrix, who was beginning to get angry with the lack of Tori's knowledge. Tori could tell Bellatrix knew she had taken the wrong person, but there was nothing to do about it now. She couldn't exactly just drop Tori off and say sorry.

Tori had practically given up all hope of escaping. The cell was apparently "magic proof" as Ollivander explained it. They couldn't Apparate in or out. Tori had stopped counting the days after a while. There was barely any light down in the cell anyway, so hours could feel like months at a time. She wasn't sure how much time had passed until one day in February Luna mentioned it was her birthday.

She hummed to herself the birthday tune and had a weak smile upon her face. Dean and Tori glanced at each other, forcing their own smiles, and wished her a happy birthday.

Tori thought about a lot of things in that cell. She thought about her friends and even her family. She thought about her Nana, who she hadn't spoken to much. She thought about her sister, what was she doing at Hogwarts? She thought about her brother. Even her parents.

Then she thought about herself.

She had lived a pretty good life. Sure, there were rough patches. She wondered if she would have changed anything. Probably the denial that Fred liked her. Probably the part where she had been so oblivious.

Sometimes she would try and relive her memories. She imagined them all over again, trying to understand the feeling she had felt before. Sometimes it worked. She'd be filled with a sense of happiness, but then she had to open her eyes and realize she was still in that cell.

Tori even would remember the people she met. Even those she had very little interactions with. Hazel Doe, the Hufflepuff girl she had been friends with in her fourth year; Emma, the first year Ravenclaw. She must have been starting her third year? Most likely not, with everything going on.

And sometimes, Tori would just cry. She would hide her face in her hands and silently sob. The cell was clearly taking a toll on everyone inside. It was a shock they hadn't gone insane.

Mr. Ollivander would mumble to himself, sometimes about wands and who they were sold to. Dean would sit closest to the door, trying to hear anything he could. He was the one who kept track of the days the most. He would announce the days whenever he could get a chance.

"It's January twenty-first."

"It's February fourteenth."

"It's February Twenty-Eighth."

Tori very rarely saw Griphook, he hid well.

Pettigrew would come down a few times throughout the day, Tori was never sure why. He would appear, apparently counting them all. Sometimes he would bring them down food, only to scamper up the stairs as they would attack him.

Tori was miserable. She knew there was no way they were getting out of this. She dared not to say anything because she could see Luna and Dean still had hope. Tori didn't have the heart to crush it.

Until one day in what she could assume was early March, Tori heard a loud sound from upstairs and a voice that sounded a lot like Hermione Granger's.

happy halloween!
what are you going as?
i'm going as myself as a gryffindor student!