A/N: Anything from the Harry Potter Series is owned to J.K. Rowling. Anything you see that you recognize from the books, are most likely hers. I do not own any of it. This fanfiction is actually based on a dream I had. Nothing too rude in the reviews if you dislike this story, please. Well, here it is!
Coldness, that's all I can feel. No, I don't even feel coldness. This feeling is indescribable. Just then the Cruciatus curse was used on me once again. I didn't even scream this time; I just lay there withering in pain. It was like I was numb now, frozen yet not even feeling the cold, just the pain from being in that state. This is the price I've had to pay for about seventeen years or for as long as I could remember. The pain has lessoned since the first time they used that curse on me and sadly for that I am grateful. It hurts less and less each day. No, it's not because the spell gets weaker but because I get stronger. Perhaps it's just a façade that I'm getting strong, perhaps I'm truly getting weaker, almost on the bridge of death. That bridge would be heaven to me, just one more step and I'm almost dead, if I can just talk my way onto that bridge some how… But they always know my motives and for some reason they keep me alive still. I don't know the day; they never tell me when I ask. The only reason I know how old I am is from a slice of cake I get on the day of my birthday each year. I've gotten seventeen slices of cake. That slice of cake was heaven compared to what I usually got fed in this dark cold dungeon cell. Every day the routine was the same, wake up, get dragged to a room where I would be schooled and after that I would be thrown into the library to do research, to learn. I thought it was silly that they would let me learn so much but it soon became my life source. I needed to learn, it was the only thing to occupy my thoughts at night except the waiting anticipation for death. After that they would teach me some more whether it be history or just plain spells. It varied from day to day but mostly it was of the Dark Arts. Why they taught me all these things, I had no clue. After that they would throw me into the cell where Death Eaters could come down to have a little fun, but with spells only. They weren't allowed inside my cell for reasons unknown or if they were then they didn't dare approach.
Things have changed since last month though, only the usual three came down now to put up with me. I never saw Voldemort till last month either, it was quite strange. Usually he would be the one to check up on me and make sure I'm learning all the things I should or else he would gladly punish me. They let me have my wand back but they weren't completely stupid. They made sure that I can only use the wand during classes; it was useless at other times. I did try escaping in my early years but it was always pointless, I was outnumbered. But one day those three stopped coming and it made me wonder. Still, my wand was useless but perhaps a house elf would help me now there was no one around to catch them. I grudgingly stood up, my knees feeling like they were going to buckle, and forcefully walked over to the cold cell door.
"Hello," I called lamely. If I wanted to get out of here, I had to try harder than that. I remembered a house elf once serving the Death Eaters down here, what was its name? It seems so unimportant at the time, why couldn't I have clued in earlier to remember the name! Creacha? Kreacha? Kreacher! It was Kreacher!
"Kreacher" I yelled as loud as my voice would allow me to. Then I heard a pop, making me jump slightly. Following that, there was a cranky voice,
"Who are you to call me?" the house elf asked with an impatient tone.
I replied back, "I need you to get me out of here, I – er – your master told me to tell you that."
"Did he now?" Kreacher asked again. I had to lie; it was the only way to get out. I could already tell that the house elf wasn't going to cooperate when he said, "Then let me take you to him," then apparated away with me. Crap, what have I gotten myself into now? Who knows what Death Eater this house elf belongs to and where I will end up? Perhaps I can use the sudden surprise as a distraction, but that was unlikely as a spell was shot at me, throwing me up against a wall in chains. Stupid, intolerable little house elf! I took this moment to quickly survey my surroundings. I was in a room which looked as if it could be the dining room. There were about five or so people there sitting and standing up, wands pointed at me. The closest person to me was a boy who looks to be around my age. He had untidy black hair with green eyes which were accompanied by a pair of round seeing glasses. He was the one that spoke first to me,
"Who are you?" He said with such anger, I was curious as to why he could be so mad.
"Why? Does it matter? If you'll just let me be on my way, I'll be out of your hands," I said as I took a step forward, daring them. I was a little bit nervous but that was just how I was taught by my father, to never give too much information away and always have a shield on your mind to keep from prying legimens.
"The only place you'll be going is Azkaban!" A different boy spoke up this time. He was to the right of the one that spoke first, but a little further back. He had untidy, bright red hair which I now noticed some of the other figures in the room had. Not many though, but I could tell that they were related.
So, I decided to continue the interesting conversation since they seemed to be waiting for a reply, "And why would I be going there Mr. –?" I was trying to get some information out of them; maybe they would let something slip.
"Well, because you're a Death Eater!" He seemed to almost instantly blurt out in obvious form.
I raised an eyebrow, looking at the rest of the occupants in the room. Then I stated clearly, "No, I'm not." It was then I noticed how dry my voice sounded and felt. I was quenched; you'd think they would have offered me something to drink by now!
"You claim that you are not a Death Eater then?" This man had long silver hair with a beard quite the same length and was by far older than the rest. Behind his half-moon glasses there were blue eyes that were different some how – they twinkled? Just then I felt someone trying to pry into my mind. I instantly remembered to use occlumency and put up my mind barrier. The man spoke again, "Not many people can keep others out of their mind. Let me introduce myself, my name is Albus Dumbledore. That young man right there is Harry Potter, beside him is Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, over there is Remus Lupin and Molly Weasley, beside me is Severus Snape. I'm afraid you are going to have to prove you're not a Death Eater though." I was surprised he just gave away everyone's name and I could also see the curiosity on other faces in the room.
I responded, holding back an eye roll, "I have no mark of a Death Eater."
"Perhaps you never received one." Albus Dumbledore continued. His name sounded familiar, it was on the tip of my tongue.
"How would I prove that I am not a Death Eater to you, and convince you to let me go?"
"Well, we will let you leave if you are not a Death Eater, but with a few questions first. Do you mind if we use a truth potion upon you?"
I grudgingly replied, "Fine, but may I take a seat somewhere first? Perhaps a living room of the sorts."
"Certainly you can dear, follow me," A red-headed woman, Molly Weasley replied before anyone else got the chance to. I smiled smug and followed the woman, 'accidentally' bumping into that Ronald Weasley boy on the way. Once we got into the living room I sat down on a couch, waiting for the potion to be brought to me. Everyone else from before crowded into the room and the man, Snape handed me a vile with a colourless liquid inside.
"Veritaserum?" Ah, knowledge was always good to have especially in these cases. Before anyone could answer me back, I chugged down the whole potion, waiting for someone to ask me a question. Of course, Albus Dumbledore spoke up again.
"What is my name?" He was obviously testing to see if it worked, and I couldn't resist telling the truth.
"Albus Dumbledore."
"Good. Now, what is your name and how did you come to be in this place?" Two questions, ugh. Hopefully they wouldn't notice when I told them my name.
"Rosalie Gaunt-Marvolo Riddle. I didn't really find this place, but a house elf – Kreacher brought me here."
"Why did you ask to be brought here?"
"Well, I recalled Kreacher's name from a Death Eater saying it before. I was locked in a cell so I couldn't really get out so I tried to call him and he came. He was a little cranky but I tricked him into bringing me here."
"Are you at all related to Tom Marvolo Riddle? If so, how are you related?"
"I am and he is my father."
"Do you know who Voldemort is and his beliefs?"
"I do."
"Do you in any way agree with them?" This question thing was getting a bit old, hopefully they would hurry up.
"Not at the moment." After a few more questions, there was a pregnant pause, which is when I was handed another vial. I hadn't remembered studying this one before in any text books. I looked up at the man that gave it to me, Snape, questionably. Before I got to ask, Dumbledore interrupted me again.
"Were you locked in a cell for all your life? What did you do?" I sighed, wishing the questions would decease soon.
"Yes, for as long as I could remember. Not many knew about me, just a select few Death Eaters and my father. The routine was basically the same every day …" Then I blurted out all about studying, eating, getting the curse used on me, and even bathroom breaks. This is when I took a moment to question the man, Snape, "What is in this vile? I've never seen it before."
He replied back, in a monotone voice, "It is a potion of my own creation. It reverses the effect of the Veritaserum potion." I looked at the vile and not wanting to answer anymore questions, drank it. Then that man spoke again, "We would like for you to open your mind up, if you in fact have nothing to hide." I was appalled that he would ask me to do that.
"My thoughts are my own, not yours. But, if you insist then I will open it up for a few seconds only. Is that adequate enough for you?" The man seemed a bit shocked that I would talk back to him, but seemed to ignore it for now.
"It is." I looked into his eyes as I opened my mind up. I could see memories being played throughout my head, then after a few seconds I closed it up again. "I'm surprised you're still alive. You seem like a Gryffindor, too brave." I saw some of the people in the room roll their eyes at that comment. Snape looked at the older man Dumbledore, probably sharing my memories with each other. Funny that he had to count on someone else to figure out what to do next. This made me laugh out loud but deep down, I had no clue why I was laughing. "Something you would like to share with the class that is so funny?" The man turned his attention back to me. I was surprised no one else had directed any comments to me yet; they all just stood there staring like moronic Muggles, that fact made me laugh a bit more.
"It doesn't matter anymore, the fact remains that I have proven myself to not be a Death Eater. So, you must keep your word and allow me to leave now," I stated with finality. This is when a new voice spoke, Molly Weasley her name was. She seemed to be caring person, something that would probably weaken her.
"But you have no where to go! You must stay here to heal; I mean, look at yourself! You must be starving," she said with sincere caring. It made me a bit confused to why she was offering this to a stranger, a stranger which is Voldemort's daughter. I imagined they would have thrown me out on the road a while ago. I couldn't say no to this figure, after all, she told nothing but the truth.
"If you insist," I started to say but she interrupted by dragging me into the dinning room we were previously in. I now noticed that it was piled with food and plates. She directed me to an empty seat that was to the right of the head of the table. She sat down there while I hesitantly piled food upon my plate, her watching me the whole time. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley." I assumed she was married for the wedding ring upon her finger and of course the fact she had children. Everyone else re-entered the room and sat down. Beside me was the man they called Lupin, across from me was Harry. I looked into Lupin's mind and saw that he was a werewolf. He really needed to guard his mind better. It was insanely quite at the table so I decided to interrupt after swallowing down a whole glass of pumpkin juice. But before I got to do that, the other girl Hermione started a conversation by saying,
"I can't wait until we get to finish our last year at Hogwarts in two weeks time." The two boys that were beside her nodded their head. Before anyone could respond, I did.
"Hogwarts? I've heard of that school," I replied already knowing what I was trying to talk myself into. She seemed eager to talk about it.
"Yes, it was created by the four founders –"I could tell she was about to go into a speech as if reciting from a book. I decided to intervene before she got that far.
"Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar , I already know that useless information. They didn't let me rot away in the cell without making me learn almost everything they could think of." The table seemed to quite down again. I rolled my eyes at their silence. "So, you're going into your last year?" I saw some people looking on with curiosity but Hermione nodded her head slowly. Before anyone even got to approve the decision I answered, "Perfect, so when do we leave?" This caused a bit of an uproar at the table. Apparently some didn't seem it fit that I would be allowed into that school mainly the man named Severus Snape. Dumbledore raised a hand up at the other head of the table causing everyone to quite down. I wondered if he was the one married to Molly Weasley, but it was doubtful.
"I think that is a great idea, as long as you know information that will help you succeed in the seventh year," Dumbledore said over the table.
"Try me," I replied back with determination. After that he started to ask me useless questions on potions, transfiguration, charms, and the like. Most of the people seated at the table seemed to be stunned in silence. I broke this silence yet again, "I think that earns me the Head girl title, don't you think?" Instantly, Hermione spoke up,
"That's my title and I earned it for having the highest marks in my classes."
"Well, maybe we should both get tested to see who should get the position." I smirked, knowing that she probably wouldn't pass up the opportunity to 'school' the dark lord's daughter. I didn't know why I was striving to become Head Girl, mostly the reason to be away from the hustle of the common rooms. I did know a lot about Hogwarts, I was taught. The only thing I didn't know about was where most things were located figuring I have never been there before. Dumbledore started to speak,
"Miss Granger, Miss Riddle, may I talk to you both in the hall?"
Standing up I responding, "Actually, I wish to speak to Hermione alone for a moment in the sitting room." He seemed to contemplate this answer for a few moments before briskly nodding his head. I looked over to Hermione and she stood up willingly, but the two boys flanked her side.
"Obviously all those years of school have been wasted on you two. Would you like me to define the word 'alone' and then use it in a sentence for you?" Seriously, how stupid could some people get? They started to remind me about what I have heard of Muggles. "But if you must come then you must, not that you will be able to comprehend our conversation." I left the room, heading to where I remembered the sitting room was. I sat down on a couch and took this moment to look down at myself. I was still in the worn out robes I was in, and dirty from the cell. After this I had to wash up, I did look like death. Not moments later the trio entered the room and sat down in varies places. Hermione sat down next to me; I turned to her putting on a sad, desperate face. Another thing I was taught by Voldemort, my father himself was how to manipulate the people around you. I wasn't extremely good at that thought. "Hermione, please, I really wish to learn at Hogwarts. But, I don't think I can face all those people in the common room. For whatever house I should be sorted in. If I'm head girl, I will do good to honor that title with all the responsibilities that come with it. But, a room to my own would be heaven to me. Please, just think about it at least?" I let a tear trickle down my face and I waited for her reply.
"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to let someone else take the position. As long as they treat it with the respect it needs."
"Of course, thank you Hermione!" I jumped up and hugged her, and then I quickly took her hand and dragged her back into the dining room. Dumbledore clearly knew what had happened for he had a slight frown upon his face. "Hermione relinquished the position to me; I believe it is official now." I began to felt light-headed. I forgot to eat within the hustle and bustle of things. Voices started to fade; black spots began to appear at the corner of my eyes. Everything went blurry and then there was nothing. All I could see was black, I had fainted.
