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It was a regular day in Puddlemere. The town was bustling with people doing early Christmas shopping and chatting with friends and relatives.
There were several popping noises and suddenly three people appeared out of thin air: two men and a woman. Nobody seemed to notice them as they surveyed the area and marched purposely out of the main town, despite the fact that they were dressed differently to everyone else; wearing long robes and flowing capes instead of heavy coats and fluffy hats. They continued on for several minutes until they found what they had been looking for.
The woman led the way. She held herself with a strict grace and had an air of arrogance and majesty around her. Her hair was as black as coal, curled and styled elegantly. Her eyes were heavily lidded, a dark, shining silver colour and framed by black eyelashes. She wore a black dress, with a tight corset and long, billowing sleeves. For some peculiar reason, in her hand, she held a stick.
The next man followed closely behind the woman. He was tall and well-built with large muscles. His dark brown hair was cropped short and his eyes were as black as the night's sky. He had a look of disgust on his face and he whispered something about 'filthy muggles' to the woman.
The final man was even taller than the first although he was thinner and younger. He had dark wavy hair that fell into his narrowed eyes. His mouth was upturned into a scowl. Like the first two people, he carried a stick in his hand.
Eventually, they seemed to find what they had been looking for. They came to an abrupt halt outside a medium sized semi-detached house with a well-kept garden.
Without warning, the woman pushed the younger man forwards. He cried out with surprise and bounced back before hitting the ground, as though repelled by an unseen force. He yelped with pain; his arm had been burned.
"What was that for, Bellatrix?" He asked angrily, pointing the stick at the wound and muttering something under his breath. Somehow his injury had been healed. It was like magic.
"To test their enchantments, Crouch, I would have thought that that was obvious even to you, boy", she retorted sharply. She raised her stick and pointed it towards the house. She began to say some strange words.
Amazingly, the air around the building shimmered and settled, forming a sort of protective bubble around the house. Bellatrix hissed with excitement.
"Don't just stand there, Rodolphus! Do something useful!" She snapped at the older man. He hastened to mimic her movements. Gradually, the bubble began to fade until it flickered out of existence.
"Excellent" Bellatrix smirked, her silver eyes glittering with anticipation. "Come on!"
They swanned up the short gravel driveway and stopped at the black door. Bellatrix pulled out her stick –was it a wand? - and pointed it at the lock.
"Alohomora" She chanted. The door swung open and the three of them stepped boldly into the house, Crouch locking the door behind them.
"Is there anybody home?" Bellatrix called in a mocking voice. There was a sound of shuffling from behind a door down a short corridor. Bellatrix's grin widened and they slowly made their way towards the source of the noise.
"Oh dear, I do hope that we haven't woken up the lickle baby!" She said sarcastically.
"Good one, Bella!" Rodolphus chuckled.
They reached the door but before they could open it, it exploded, and they were blasted backwards into a wall.
"Leave, Lestrange, your so called 'master' has been conquered. It's only a matter of time before you will be imprisoned in Azkaban. There's a cell awaiting." A strong male voice warned. A tall, handsome man stood in the doorway. He had short dark hair and sky blue eyes that were full of hatred as he looked at the trio in front of him.
They scrambled to their feet and whipped their wands out.
"We'll see about that, Longbottom. Is Alice dear home?" Bellatrix taunted.
A second figure stood beside the man in the doorway. This time it was a woman. She was petite, with short, stylish black hair and narrowed blue eyes.
"And what about the baby, Neville, isn't it?" Rodolphus enquired.
"I think that you'll find that that is none of your business!" Alice said in a harsh, protective voice.
"We've got a lively one here!" Crouch laughed mirthlessly.
"I wonder how long it will take them to crack?" Bellatrix pondered.
"I don't know what you're on about, Bellatrix. I think you'll find that the Order are on their way." Longbottom informed.
"We better get to the point then," Bellatrix decided, "Where is the Dark Lord?"
Alice gave a short laugh.
"Gone!" She exclaimed with glee, "Little Harry took care of that!" Despite her delighted tones, it was clear to her husband Frank that Alice was putting on a brave face. Her heart was hammering in her chest at the thought of their anti-apparition wards and the three highly skilled Death Eaters before her. Internally, she was still distraught by the death of her best friend, Lily Potter and her husband James. Her only saving grace was that her son Neville was safe with Frank's mother Augusta.
"Enough of this bullshit!" Rodolphus said angrily, "We know that you have the answers. Now where is the Dark Lord?"
"We've already told you, he is gone, probably dead!" Frank replied furiously, his face turning red with supressed rage and his grip tightening on his wand.
"We shall see about that", Crouch muttered.
"The Cruciatus curse ought to loosen their tongues. Who would like to go first? Eeenie, meenie, minie-mo, no I shall pick…" Bellatrix sang cruelly, relishing in their fear and pausing for a dramatic effect .
"Alice", she decided. She raised her wand and pointed it directly at the young woman.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Frank shouted. Bellatrix calmly stepped aside and the beam of light sailed past her.
"Have it your way", Bellatrix smirked.
All five of them began to duel. Alice took on Bellatrix and Frank duelled Crouch and Rodolphus. The two battles were intense. No one was holding back and each of the duellers used every scrap of talent, instinct and magic that they possessed.
"Stupefy!" Frank yelled. The beam of light hit Rodolphus directly on the chest and he fell to the ground, frozen.
Alice heard the thud as someone hit the floor and without thinking, she whipped around to see who it was.
That was the biggest mistakes she would ever make.
Bellatrix took advantage of her opponent's distraction and screamed, "CRUCIO!"
The spell hit Alice in the middle of her back. Pain replaced the blood in her veins and she was consumed by a world of agony and torture.
She hit the floor and screamed so hard that her vocal chords almost ripped in two. The sound broke Frank's heart and he nearly collapsed when he saw her writhing in agony. His eyes widened and a single tear fell from his eye. His expression hardened. No one could hurt his wife. For both the first and last time in his life, the dreaded words left Frank Longbottom's mouth.
"Avada Kedavra!" He bellowed, his rage taking over. A blinding flash of emerald green light streaked towards Bellatrix. She ducked and it hit the wall, causing it to collapse. The ceiling caved in slightly, causing the air to fill with dust and debris. Alice went limp as Bellatrix lifted the curse. She curled into a ball and moaned softly. Her startling blue eyes were filled with tears as she met her husband's gaze.
"I'll ask again, Longbottom, but I warn you that my patience is running out; where is the Dark Lord?" Crouch threatened.
"He's gone!" Frank shouted, "Don't you understand? Nobody knows where he is!" He raised his wand and yelled, "Stupefy!"
"Manners, Longbottom", Crouch tutted. "Expelliarmus!" Frank jumped aside, but the red flash hit a mirror behind him and bounced back, hitting him on the elbow. He gave a yelp of pain and he watched in growing horror as his wand flew out of his grasp and landed by the door. Where was the Order?
"We want answers!" Bellatrix shrieked, her frustration evident. "Crucio!"
"Nooo!" Alice cried as Frank shouted out in pain. He collapsed to the ground three feet from his wife and screamed loudly. "Stop!" Alice wept. She reached for her wand but Crouch saw her intentions and snapped it in half.
Eleven inches, solid oak, unyielding, a unicorn tail core. It had been her loyal support from the age of eleven and he had just broken it right in front of her.
"Where is the Dark Lord?" Bellatrix hissed.
"WE DON'T KNOW!" Alice screamed.
"Crucio!" Crouch exclaimed, his features alight with excitement. For the second time, Alice's blood-curdling screams filled the room. White-hot knives pierced her skin and the pain was so intense that it was hot and cold at the same time. The pain took over. She couldn't breathe. She tried to fill her mind with thoughts of Frank, Neville, her friends and family but gradually their faces became hazy and their features began to resemble the Death Eaters who were torturing her.
Bellatrix had lifted the spell off Frank. He was gasping for breath, tears flowing freely down his face from a combination of the pain and the heartache of hearing his wife scream.
"Where is the Dark Lord, Longbottom? We both know that you know. Your wife is already beginning to crack and we wouldn't want that, would we?" Bellatrix whispered, leaning in close so that he could hear her above the screams.
"I'VE TOLD YOU, HE'S GONE! WE DON'T KNOW WHERE HE IS!" Frank yelled at the top of his voice, his voice wavering. He couldn't lose Alice.
"Crucio!"
Frank's screams joined Alice's in a sick and twisted symphony. The Lestrange's eyes' were shining with excitement and Bellatrix gave a short cackle of laughter.
Images flashed before Frank's eyes. He saw Alice on their wedding day, in a long flowing white dress, laughing. Then she was with Lily, their stomach swollen, comparing baby bumps and joking about cravings. He pictured Alice, in a hospital bed looking tired and dishevelled but the happiest person in the world at the same time. She was holding a baby boy. He kissed her, he kissed his son playfully. They laughed.
He remembered his last words exchanged with Marlene McKinnon before she was blown up, Gideon and Fabian Prewett before the Death Eaters got them, Lily and James Potter, before Voldemort killed them, Sirius Black before he revealed his true colours and was imprisoned.
He saw the corpses. The dead bodies of muggles and beings of magic alike. Green lights flashed across his eyes. Howls of loss and screams of pain tortured his ears. He didn't even realise it was his own screams.
The pain stopped.
"Where is the Dark Lord?" A distant voice asked. He didn't know what to say. Who was talking? What were they on about?
The pain returned, but this time it wasn't as bad. It seemed to be fading away every second. He wished that the screaming would stop. He tried to think about something else, but what else was there to think about?
He struggled to think of something, but his mind was a jumbled mess. Why wouldn't the screaming stop?
"I'll ask again, Longbottom. You don't want dear Alice to lose her sanity now, would you?"
Who was this Longbottom that the voice was going on about. What was an Alice? A person? An animal? A plant? It was a funny word.
The pain flared up again. The voice was saying something else, but Frank couldn't hear nor understand even if he wanted to. It was as though he was underwater. The sounds were muffled. The screaming wouldn't.
"Sss…ssst….ssstoppp", Frank mumbled. He wanted the screaming to stop. He liked that word: stop. It was what he wanted the screaming to do. But it wouldn't. It never would. It would plague his ears until the day he would die.