Decree No.29 (O.C) Fred Weasley/ Draco Malfoy

The Attack

It was a pain unlike anything she had ever endured before. Her whole body felt like she had experienced one hundred lightning strikes simultaneously. She couldn't see, as her eyes were glued shut to cope with the torture. If she opened them, she knew what she'd see, and the fear of knowing it was all true was almost too much to bear. Through her closed eyelids, she observed flickering light, which partnered in her mind with the rushing motion her body was experiencing. She was lying down flat on an object, and she was being pushed down a long corridor. Having come out of a deep sleep, she was slowly waking up, and the more she came out of her dream-like state, the more reality hit her. She was in a hospital.

"Do you think she's going to be okay, doctor?" asked a male voice from above worriedly as she let out a shriek of pain.

"I'm not sure," said an older female voice. She could feel the back of a palm resting on her forehead, but the contact only worsened the pain, and the woman snatched back her hand in retaliation for her winces. "I'm afraid it's one of the worst cases I have ever seen. Was she like this when you found her?"

"Yes...we got there just in time, although the perpetrators got away," the male voice again informed. "We were lucky a muggle raised the alarm; otherwise, we may have found her too late."

Muggle? Muggle? Was the agony finally driving her mind crazy, or did she just not hear them properly? The background noise faded away as another door slammed open in front of her, and she was pushed through it. When the environment around her fell quiet, she was pulled to a halt, and for the first time in what felt like forever, she lay absolutely still. Her head spun round at this sudden stop but steadied after one or two minutes. The people left around her were now much calmer, talking in whispers instead of hushed tones. After a while, something soft and fluffy was placed on her forehead.

"Does she have a name?" asked the older female voice, assumed to be the Doctor. She was the one who had put the towel on her forehead.

"Yes, well, I looked in this tiny bag-looking thing, and the name on this bit of plastic says her name is Miss Jessica Clarke," said the male voice. Jessica could feel him leaning over her to the Doctor to pass her whatever he had in his hands.

"And is she a...?" The Doctor whispered as if not to alert anyone else in the room.

"Yes, a muggle," the man whispered back, "but I've had strict instructions to keep her here. The orders came from above, you see. If we're right about who attacked her, then she'll need to answer a few questions before we obliviate."

Although in pieces, her mind was able to pick up that 'obliviate' did not sound like a normal operation, to which she figured she might currently be in this hospital. Again though, the man called her a muggle. Was this some sort of police term that she wouldn't know about? Assuming that this man was a policeman, of course. He sounded like one. The man had said she had been attacked, which explained the pain, but she had no memory of ever being attacked. The last thing she remembered was walking into Auntie Bethan's house like she did every Friday...

"Well, I hope they give her some time to feel better!" muttered the doctor, "although when have the Ministry ever been sympathetic."

The Ministry? Did that mean the Government was involved? Jessica was unsettled as she felt the control of her feet come back to her. She could successfully wiggle a toe, but not without it causing her pain. It felt like a long needle had been poked through it.

"Actually..." the man whispered, leaning close to Jessica's legs as the doctor held them down to stop the twitching, "I'm not talking about the Ministry. My orders, as some would say, come from...elsewhere. He would rather the Ministry not know about this as well, so please keep staff knowledge of this to a minimum."