This is my first fanfic, so I apologize if it's complete rubbish...Also, I'm trying my hand at a Hunger Games (first person/present tense) style. I hope you all enjoy this! And please review, I'd really appreciate any feedback! Second chapter will be coming soon :)

I wake slowly, the pain in my head rising to a dull, aching throb. As I blink the fog of sleep from my eyes I become aware that I am in near-complete darkness. I am sitting on my knees on a cold, firm floor. My arms are resting at an odd height – my hands level with my face. Then I realize that my wrists are chained to the wall. A rush of panic shoots through my chest, and I gasp as I remember why I am here.

The War. The Dark Lord. The Malfoys.

I am a prisoner at the Malfoy Manor; a prisoner of the Second War. I am in their cellar, which has clearly been emptied for use as a dungeon. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I notice a faint light coming from a distance – away to my left. I turn and see a short flight of about ten or fifteen steps leading up to a door. The door is completely solid, save for a very small window covered in several iron bars. It is through this window that the light is coming. For a moment, I struggle with the heavy chains wrapped generously around my wrists, before coming to my senses and realizing it is futile.

As the seconds pass, I remember things. Important things. I remember how I was captured, and how I was brought to the Malfoy Manor. But as I close my eyes and think back, I cannot remember how I came here, to this cellar – this dungeon.

The pain in my head eventually fades, and I force myself to come to grips with my situation. I am, as the Death Eaters say it, a Mudblood. I am a Mudblood in a house full of Death Eaters. I know full well that my future here is not a happy one. I feel a hot anger rising in my chest when I recall that Draco Malfoy is also in this house. I remember catching a brief glimpse of him standing to the side in the courtyard when I was first brought here – however long ago that was. I remember the look on his face. It had been one of obvious disgust as he silently watched me, the filty Mudblood, being dragged off into his home as prisoner. My stomach churns as I relive that moment. Draco and I had never been anywhere near friends at Hogwarts – he took every opportunity to humiliate me. But worst of all, he had been there the night Dumbledore had been killed. He had lead the Death Eaters into the school that night, and even pointed his own wand at our Headmaster's chest. Despite all of this, despite the loathing I feel towards him, it still irks me that he just stood by and watched as I was brought into his home.

The minutes pass, but get lost in the darkness of my mind and feel more like hours dragging on as I kneel by the wall, the cold chains pressing uncomfortably into my skin. A good amount of time must have passed, for I jerk awake, unaware that I had dozed off.

I see that the door at the top of the stairs has opened, and light floods the dark room. Blinking, trying to adjust my eyes to the sudden brightness, I watch three dark shapes descend. The sound of their expensive shoes hitting the stone steps echoes off the walls.

By the time they reach me, my vision is somewhat cleared and I can see who's come. Lucius and Draco Malfoy, and Bellatrix Lestrange. My heart starts to race, and I feel a wave of panic rushing over me. Lucius steps toward me, resting lazily on his cane. Draco stands silent and stiff behind him, his face void of expression.

"Well, Miss Granger, our little Mudblood…" Lucius speaks, his lip curling into a malicious grin. "We welcome you to our home. I trust you have enjoyed your stay so far? We prepared this room specially for filthy creatures such as yourself…"

Bellatrix cackles in her maddeningly harsh voice.

I hold my chin up and clench my jaw, staring straight into Lucius' eyes without blinking. I refuse to show them any sign of submission. Submission reveals weakness, and my weakness will only feed their bloodlust.

"Now, we have some questions for you…Bella?" Lucius nodds to his sister-in-law, who swaggers forward, her tattered robes rustling with each step. She uses her wand to tuck a strand of her wild hair behind her ear.

She bends down close to me, and I can see the madness in her glinting eyes. I am terrified, and silently pray that I can hide it well enough.

"So, love, where are your friends?" Bellatrix says in a sickly-sweet tone. I do not answer, and several seconds pass.

"Come now, Mudblood, we have little patience for this…" Lucius hisses quietly.

"If you do not answer me, then I will give you some incentive to loosen your tongue. Tell us where your friends are!" Bella shrieks. I still do not answer. I flick my gaze over to Draco for just a moment, and I see him staring intently down at me, his eyes narrowed. He looks furious, but the dark circles under his eyes give him a strange appearance that haunts me. He sees me watching him and quickly looks away.

Suddenly, I see Lucius raise his cane, and I feel it strike across my face. Stars explode in my vision and I cry out, pressing myself back against the wall, desperately wishing my wrists were free and I had my wand; I wonder what they have done with it…

Lucius stands over me, his firey blue eyes flashing with fury, and he slips his wand from the head of his cane.

"Perhaps this will help you find your voice..." His wand points down at me, and the tips of my fingers grow cold as I realize what's coming.

"Crucio!"

My screams tear through the silent cellar. The pain is overwhelming. It feels as if my blood is full of shards of glass; every inch of me is in agony. Hardly in control of my own body, I desperately tug at the chains in the wall as I writhe on the cold floor, desperate to escape the pain. A minute later, it stops. I still feel the twingeing pain under my skin, but the immediate curse has lifted. Whimpering, I look up. Lucius is smiling cruelly down at me, and Bellatrix is hopping from one foot to the other, clapping her hands and shrieking with laughter. I feel a cold sweat prickling on my hair line.

Draco stands, still as ever, in the background, and not for one second does he look my way. Why isn't he doing something – anything - to stop this?

"Now, where is Potter?" Lucius asks in mock-patience. I look back up at him defiantly. Once again I do not speak. With my silence I refuse. Again he speaks the curse, and my body and voice scream out in protest. Digging my fingers into the wall, I focus every ounce of my concentration on not begging or pleading. That is the last thing I want to do at this point, as much as I feel the urge, and it is one of the few things over which I still hold some means of control. After a few moments, Lucius lifts the curse. He opens his mouth to question me once more, but Bellatrix leaps forward eagerly and shrieks,

"Crucio!"

My body twists unnaturally and my cries rip through the thin air. A minute passes, yet Bellatrix is not lifting the curse. I feel myself losing control. The pain is so horrible, all I can think about is wishing it would end. Suddenly I am sobbing,

"Please! Draco – Pleeaaaase!"

As soon as the words leave my mouth, the curse stops. I look up through my tears, shaking uncontrollably. At first I don't realize what I have said, but one look at the expressions on my captors' faces reminds me. I myself am horrified that I cried out for help – especially to Draco. Perhaps it is because he is the one person in this room whom I know has some ounce of humanity left in his heart – however small it may be.

Draco looks utterly shocked as he stares down at me, a furious crease darkening his pale brow.

I hear Lucius laughing, and he reaches down and grabs a fistful of my hair. I shriek as he twists it, forcing my face up to meet his.

"You think Draco is going to help you?" he laughs again. "It would appear you are not as bright as we have all heard!" he looks back at Draco, who manages a sneer – though I can't help noticing his heart is not fully in it. Lucius turns once again to look at me. He grabs my face, squeezing my jaw between his thumb and forefingers. He turns my face in both directions, then he says,

"It's a shame, really…such a pretty face wasted on your foul, repulsive blood…"

Furious, and sick of the insults, I gather the saliva in my mouth and with all the force I can muster, I spit in his face. The initial shock is satisfying to witness.

But immediately, his expression darkens to fury. He draws back his hand and strikes me across my face. The force of it burns, and my eyes fill once more with hot tears. He strikes me again, then again…he is reaching back to hit me yet another time, when Draco speaks up. The sound of his voice seems so surreal in this place, as if the idea that he's playing a part in this nightmare refuses to compute in my mind…as if part of me cannot believe it…

"Perhaps…perhaps we should leave her for now." All eyes, including mine, have turned on him. I can feel the anger seeping from Lucius, and his annoyance at being interrupted is quite tangible.

"She clearly isn't going to tell us anything; maybe she just needs time alone..in the dark..to…loosen her tongue." Draco seems uncertain of himself, but I feel a rush of gratitude when Lucius releases my hair and steps away from me.

"Perhaps you are right. Let's leave her here for another day or so…maybe then she will be ready to speak to us." Lucius says in his smooth, icey voice. Then without another word, they all turn and ascend the stairs. Just before the door closes, I see a brief flicker of light. A weight lifts from my wrists, and they fall to my lap, no longer chained. I am too grateful to try to wonder who or why, and I start rubbing the warmth back into my fingers.