Memory Of A Dear Place

22. The Huxleys

April, 1996

~\~ Bella Huxley ~\~

As I brush through my hair I hear a soft knock on the door. 

''Yes...'' I answer.

''Almost ready?'' I hear Draco's voice say behind me. 

His parents and the Huxleys will be coming home soon. 

We've been training all kinds of stuff this past weekend. Occlumency, some Dark Arts and Draco especially prepared me how to act around them. We've thought it al through. 

He didn't fuck me this weekend, which made me very insecure. His dick was hard almost 24/7, I didn't understand why he wanted to control himself so badly. Was it me? Was it him? I was too scared to ask, too scared to know his answer. 

Draco appears behind me and I lock eyes with him through the mirror. He grabs the brush out of my hand hand starts brushing through my hair. 

''Why are you so relaxed?'' I ask him whilst I feel sick because I'm so nervous. 

''I'm used to this Bella... If you stick to the plan everything will be fine'' he huffs. 

I sigh. 

''Hey...'' he whispers as he turns me around and places my brush on the table next to me. 

He places his cold hands on my cheeks. We share a moment of silence as we look into each others eyes. He's wearing his gorgeous black suit. 

''Lets go over it one more time...'' he huffs as he walks over to his bed and sits down on the edge. 

''They will arrive around 1 p.m. and we welcome them together...'' I say. 

I put on my black sweater over my tank top. 

''You will do all the talking if they have questions...'' 

I put on my shoes.

''They will then probably ask me some questions and ask me to perform something to prove myself... You will tell them I can perform the Cruciatus Curse on an animal...'' I sigh, dreading the moment I actually have to hurt an animal. 

I sit down next to Draco. 

''After that you present the idea that I can be used as a spy at Hogwarts, since everybody thinks I'm still Bella Diggory...'' I finish. 

''And...?'' Draco asks me

''Only speak when spoken to...'' I huff. 

''That's going to be a difficult one for you'' he laughs. I can't manage to laugh with him. 


''What's going to happen if this works?'' I ask him doubtfully. 


''Haven't thought that out yet... Let's just try and get this over with first'' he says as he softly squeezes the back of my neck. It sends a shiver down my spine. 

''How did you get yourself to use the Cruciatus Curse on me...'' I ask him directly. 

''Bella...'' he says as I can see the hurt appear in his eyes thinking back about that moment. 

''Please tell me...'' I beg him.

''Shut off all of your emotions and imagine it using the person you hate the most...'' he says lowly. 

''Who did you think of?'' I ask him. 

''My father...'' he almost whispers as he shakes the thought out of his head, putting the walls back up he just broke down opening up to me. Emotionless Draco Malfoy appears in front of me again. 

He stands up from his bed and grabs my hand. 

''Let's go, Bella Huxley...'' he says as we leave his room.

~\~

I stand right beside Draco as his parents enter the front door, followed by the Huxleys. I hold my breath. 

I never understood my appearance. My parents and Cedric have brown hair and a nicely tanned skin. I always had my platinum blonde hair and usually was very pale. I'm still getting used to the fact they're not my actual parents. I don't think I ever will or want to get used to it. 

The Huxleys both have the same blonde hair as I do. Amaris has also has long hair, which she's wearing in some kind of braid and it looks very frizzy. Theodores hair is pretty long, It's all combed back and kept into place with gel. The color in their eyes looks like it has faded away. 

You could say they're pretty underneath their rotten teeth and hollow faces. Their skin is even paler than mine. They sure do look like they have spend a long time in Azkaban... They bring this weird tension with them. Like all of the happiness is taking out of you right then and there. It's honestly terrifying. 

I lock eyes with Amaris and a big evil smirk appears on her face. I feel very uncomfortable and scared. Not knowing what will come. 

She slowly walks up to me and stops right in front of me. She looks me up and down, and then walks a circle around me to check every inch of my body. 

I can't let my fear take over right now. I have to shut down all of my emotions. I have to. 

She then stops right in front of me again. 

''Here she is Theodore... Our daughter in flesh and blood...'' she says with her high voice. 

She then grabs a bunch of my hair and takes a deep smell. I try not to move and an uncomfortable feeling arises as she does this. 

''DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER AMARIS!!'' Theodore yells as his voice echos through the hallway. I hear Narcissa gasp. The tension only grows bigger and bigger. 

Amaris then drops my hair and turns around towards Theodore with questioning eyes. 

''She might not be clean yet Amaris...'' he then says lowly as he grabs her hand and pulls her towards him. 

''She is Mr. and Mrs Huxley... I made sure of it.'' Draco says without any emotion taking over. 

''Let's get to the sitting room shall we? I'll have our house elf prepare some food'' Narcissa says with a forced smile on her face as she leads us to the sitting room. 

Draco's parents take place on a sofa, the Huxleys take place on another one and I take place on the last sofa next to Draco. He's keeping me at an awkward distance. 

''So tell us Draco... How did you manage to accomplish this task in one weekend whilst your father needs weeks!'' He hisses, giving a death stare to Lucius. 

Lucius just smiles awkwardly, hating the fact his son took away his task like that. 

''Let's just say I have my own special ways of handling things Mr. Huxley...'' Draco smirks at him, crossing one leg over the other, taking a sip of his drink. 

I'm surprised by his confidence. If only they knew 'his way' was making me lie in front of them. 

''I see...'' Theodore smirks back, thinking he knows exactly what Draco means. 

''Bella?'' Theodore asks me.

I look up to him. His eyes are dark and crazy. 

''Have you learned from your mistakes?'' He asks me. 

Now it's my moment to speak. We expected for Draco to most of the talking.... I take a deep breath in. If they catch me lying right now it's over. 

''I've always felt an outsider at home with the Diggorys. I knew I was different. I knew I was better. But I didn't quite know in what way...'' I say

''Draco showed and told me everything this weekend. He showed me beauty of the dark arts and told me about our Dark Lord. He told me about the importance of blood purity and about the danger muggles and muggle borns bring with them...'' I continue. 

''Muggle borns?!'' he spits, like I insulted him. Amaris looks surprised as well. 

I feel Draco tense up beside me and see him looking at me through the corner of his eye. 

''I'm sorry father... Mudbloods...'' I say, feeling the guilt grow inside of me. I feel sick calling him father. I hate it. But Draco said told me it would help with gaining their trust. 

''Mhm... Continue.'' he huffs.

Draco was right. Calling him father was the right move. His eyes showed a short moment of weakness, just when I called him father. 

''I admire the Dark Lord. I admire his cause. I admire his power...'' I say with the most belief as I can. 

''I would be honored to serve him. I would be honored if you fully accept me as your daughter...'' I finish. 

Normal parents would hold you in a tight embrace right as this moment. But Amaris and Theodore are just staring at me. They're trying to read me. Trying to feel if I'm lying.

I would do the same. I guess it's kind of weird for a person to make up their mind in just one weekend, after being tortured for weeks.  

I haven't looked at Draco this whole time. He would distract me from hiding my emotions. 

Amaris scoffs. 

''HOW DARE THEY!!!!!'' she yells as her high pitched voice bursts into my ears. 

Draco's parents gasp, not knowing what's coming and Draco tenses up again as I quickly look at him in fear. 

''HOW DARE THEY TAKE AWAY MY BABY AND PUT THEM IN A FILTHY MUGGLE FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!'' She screams, voice echoing through the house. . 

We're all silently watching her. I'm just really relieved she believes me. 

Meanwhile Dobby came in, placing some snacks on the coffee table. He then carefully locks eyes with me and Draco and then makes his way out again.

''We need to kill those filthy Diggorys Theodore...'' she says silently as she jumps up from the sofa. 

I want open my mouth to scream no but Draco tightly grabs the back of my neck to make me contain myself. I look at him in despair.  

''Mrs. Huxley if I may...'' Draco interrupts her.

''Draco!'' Lucius yells at Draco for interrupting her tantrum and stands up from the couch ready to correct him. 

''Leave him Lucius! Let the boy speak. He has been more than useful to us...!'' Amaris says. 

Lucius quietly goes back to his seat. 

''I personally would let the parents and brother live. For now at least. You don't know when you might need them Mrs Huxley...'' he says calmly.

A big smile appears on her face. She walks over to Draco. 

''Smart boy.....'' she whispers as she looks down on him and strokes his cheeks. Then she looks at me. 

I swallow carefully as she locks her crazy green eyes with me. 

''You have a long way to go... And if you dare to turn on us... You would wish you were dead.'' she says looking straight into my eyes. I swallow again. 

She then slaps me with a flat hand, straight on my cheek. As I fill my cheek burning, I try not to move my hand towards it. I just lock eyes with her again. 

''I won't disappoint you mother...'' I answer. She almost melts after I call her mother. I can see her eyes soften for a milli second. 

It's their weakness. Their baby has been stolen from them, their whole parent hood has been stolen from them. For me to finally be here, embracing them as my parents, it's their soft spot. 

''I want to see what you're capable of.... Don't you Theodore?!?!'' She smirks with her crazy eyes.

Right as Draco expected. 

''She can perform the Cruciatus Curse on an animal for you Mrs. Huxley'' Draco suggests, just as we discussed. 

''An animal?!'' She yells and she and Theodore start to laugh like Draco told them the best joke of all times. 

We both stare at her. 

''Bring in the muggle Theodore...'' she hisses at him.

Oh fuck no. No. No. No. This is not at all what I signed up for. I swallow and look at Draco hoping he can talk them out of this. His eyes panic as well. 

''A muggle? She's not ready for a muggle yet Mr. and Mrs. Huxley...'' he tries to convince them. 

''Oh shut up Draco! If she's my daughter she's ready!!'' she laughs. 

Meanwhile Theodore carries in a man, his hands are tied together and he has a gag rope in his mouth. He's moaning out of fear as Theodore kneels him right in front of me. 

''Show us something fun Bella...'' Theodore laughs. 

I swallow. This is the last thing I have to do to fully gain their trust. After this Draco will take me back to Hogwarts and everything will be good again. I can't afford to hesitate right now. 

Get your shit together Bella. Do it. Do it. DO IT!!!!!!!!

I imagine it being Pansy and think about all the pain she's put me through all of my live. Stealing every friend, stealing every slightly romantic relationship from me. I feel my blood boiling.

''Crucio!'' I say as I flick my wand at the man, who drops on the ground and starts moaning out of pain. 

I try not to close my eyes. I try to act like I'm not torturing myself looking at this. This is the worst thing I have ever done. I didn't even want to be doing this to Pansy if I had the chance. 

I stop after about 30 seconds, thinking it must be enough. 

''Again Bella again!!!!!!'' Amaris yells and laughs, dancing around the room. Theodore as a amused and proud grin on his face. 

I breathe in. 

''Crucio!'' I say again, hiding the fear, guilt and pain in my voice. 

Draco is standing right beside me and his parents are just watching the man screaming on the ground. 

''Now finish him Bella!!'' Theodore yells. 

I lock eyes with Draco. He told me about the killing curse, but didn't want to teach me because he didn't want me to use it.

''I don't know how father...'' I whisper

''What?! Speak up Bella!!'' He spits at me. 

''I don't know how father!!!!!!'' I yell at him, shocked by my own tone of voice. 

And as soon as I know it I hear him say ''AVADA KADAVRA!!'' and see how the man slowly stops moving, his last scream echoing through the house. I breathe in. 

''You didn't teach her the killing curse Draco?!'' he says with a mad and disappointed tone in his voice. 

''We didn't get to that yet Mr. Huxley... If she's allowed to go back to Hogwarts with me I will teach her everything she needs to know sir...'' Draco then just flaps out. 

There's a moment of silence. The Huxleys are staring at us. 

''H-... Hogwarts?'' Amaris asks with disgust in her voice. 

I can see Draco's parents holding their breath. You can't read these people. You never know what their next move is going to be. 

''She could stick to her old identity at Hogwarts, we could use her as a spy. I believe she's pretty close to Harry Potter too... I make sure I have full control of her'' he continues. 

This is the last option we have to convince them. 

''Harry Potter...?'' Theodore whispers with his lunatic voice.

''I like that idea Draco...'' Amaris smirks. 

''What do you think Theodore?!'' Amaris asks him. 

''Well she can't come with us due to our busy schedule... And the Dark Lord will be pleased to hear our daughter will be spying for him...'' he says. 

A weight falls off my shoulders. We did it. We fucking did it.

''That's settled then...'' Draco says calmly. I can see him hiding his excitement. 

Amaris and Theodore walk towards me. Amaris strokes my chin. 

''Our girl is back where she belongs Theodore....'' she says as her eyes are glistening. 

They then walk towards Draco. 

''Draco we will let the Dark Lord know about your success here. I'm sure he will be giving you the Dark Mark soon...'' Theodore says as he pats his shoulder. 

I shiver at the thought of Draco receiving a Dark Mark... I don't want him to go down that path...

Then they turn towards Lucius and Narcissa. 

''Lucius, Narcissa. We will see you soon'' Theodore says as he and Amaris apparate away. 

I want to jump into Draco's arms. I want to kiss him. But I have to contain myself a little bit longer as his parents are still standing in front of us. 

Lucius walks towards him. 

''You played with fire son...'' he says strictly, grabbing the back of his neck. 

Draco tenses up from his touch, and his eyes turn scared and dark. 

''But you managed to not disappoint me this time...'' he says as he heads off towards his office. 

Narcissa walks over to me and hugs me into a tight embrace. Then she holds my shoulders and strokes my cheek. 

''Such a brave girl...'' she whispers. 

What does she mean?

Then she looks over to Draco and she nods at him. He nods back. 

''Bella you will be needing to go back to Hogwarts first. You can't tell them anything. Draco will be joining you tonight.'' Narcissa  says as she hands me the portkey back to Hogwarts. 

I look at Draco. He looks sad, almost. 

I just smile at him as he locks eyes with me, since I can't hug him right now. 

He smirks back. 

''You go now Bella...'' Narcissa whispers. 

As I use the portkey nausea hits me and I land right in front of the big wooden doors. 

Something is telling me this is not the end. It's only just the beginning... 

~\~

Lucius & Narcissa Malfoy

Theodore and Amaris Huxley