Forsaken

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own anything.

Note: This is the revised for OotP version of a story I started a long time ago, got no reviews for and couldn't remember where I was going in the first place. But, a week ago, while I was looking for some plastic sleeves for my HSC notes, I discovered the plan.

Chapter 1: Genesis

I sat with my friend Blaise in a corner of the room. We were surrounded by children from about five to eighteen. Every single one of us was the son or daughter of a Death Eater. When you're a Death Eater, you're a liability, so, to make you less of a liability, they take at least one family member, lock them up and torture them to make you behave. I'm one of them. It's not so bad here, at least, it wasn't last year, but every now and then, you're taken out of the room and given the cruciatus. I'm lucky, it only happened to me twice last year. But I guess to some people, twice in one summer break is a lot. The trouble is, we just got here today after school. And I know that what happens to me today isn't going to be pretty. My dad, stupid fellow that he is, managed to let Potter, POTTER of all people, outsmart him and wound up in Azkaban. The problem is, Voldemort, against his better wishes, relies too much on my father to leave him to rot there forever. I know that my father is going to get out, and when he gets out, I'm not going to like it.

For most of us, this is our second time here. It's only me and a couple a few years older than me that have been here more than that. I don't remember coming here the first time, I was only a baby. I don't know what mum thought about it when she was here before me. The adults are kept in a different room. Some wives, husbands, brothers and sisters. There aren't as many of them as there are of us. Makes you wonder when these people had time to have all these children.

The door opens. It's a Death Eater with his/her mask up. It must be my time.

"Avery," he calls. Not me.

Timothy Avery gets up from where he's been sitting with his friends. He's only seven, one of the youngest here. He's been called seven times already. Poor kid. Makes you wonder what awful parents he's got. Or maybe the Dark Lord just doesn't like him or them. Are they awful in the way that they just can't help but screw up? Or awful in that they don't give a damn about him? I can't see the Death Eater's face as he leaves, but I know he is smirking at me, telling me that I'm going to have to wait, and when I'm least expecting it, I'm going to get called.

"Draco," Blaise says to me.

"Yeah?" I reply.

"Do you think we'll ever get out of this hell hole?"

"At the end of summer, yeah," I said. "I feel sorry for the adults. Although they do get time out and we don't."

"It's partially their fault that they're in this. It's not our fault."

I stopped paying attention to Blaise, instead studying the dirt beneath my fingernails. I was preoccupied, to tell you the truth.

"The stupidity of fathers, and we have to suffer for it," Blaise said, catching my attention as he finished his rant.

"Scissors, paper, rock?" I suggested. Yes, I know, boring muggle game. But they do confiscate wands and anything they wouldn't let you bring into Buckingham Palace. Actually, everything except clothes. Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle and I have yet to sink so far as to play something so degrading as 'Chinkle Winkle'. There isn't that much you can do here.

He shrugged and we played it silently for a few minutes. Crabbe and Goyle decided to join in for a while. Their problem is they're too stupid to comprehend the subtleties of the nature of playing the game softly. One of the main benefits of playing quietly is that particularly annoying people like Terrence Higgs won't start throwing socks at you. I hope he gets them confiscated. I think he's mainly held a grudge against me because I got to be Slytherin seeker and kicked him out of the position. Is it my fault that I'm a better seeker than he is? Although, no one else would agree with me. I don't know why Flint put up with me; oh yeah, it's because dad bought him a broom. Actually, he even bought Higgs a broom... not that he could use it for anything. I screwed his Quidditch career.

A/N:
For those of you who don't know (that would be 99.99999 of you) what Chinkle Winkle is. It's this game which can be modified but consists of a short clapping game where you sing 'I'm thinking, you're thinking. Can we do the same? 1, 2, 3, it's the Chinkle Winkle game.' Basically, you have three things each or three actions and you each pick one and see if you can get the same one. I got it off a Hi-5 episode I watched once upon a time. Speaking of Hi-5, is anyone else disappointed that the long-awaited series six of Hi-5 is actually carefully disguised re-runs with a new theme song? I know, I know, we're not supposed to be old enough to remember.