Hello :) I'm supposed to be working on a different story, but this wouldn't leave me alone so...
Enjoy. I own nothing.
Captured
Harry had warned them...
"The Order is sure Voldemort will target you, whether to torture you to try and find out where I am, or because he thinks by holding you hostage I'd come and try to rescue you."
He warned them this could happen...
It was the some time ago, and Vernon was arguing with Dedalus Diggle about Hestia again.
"I'm telling you! Something's gone wrong! She should have returned ages ago." Diggle insisted worriedly, Vernon rolling his eyes and growling back at him.
"I don't care about her! It's my family that's in danger here! You're the ones who are supposed to be protecting us! Don't make up excuses for her failure."
Dudley had tuned them out, staring dully at the photo on the table, in which a witch was dancing in the snow, the white flakes spiralling around her. There was no television; they had taken his phone and he had no contact with the outside world.
"Those muggle devices won't work here." They had told him, "There's too much magic in the air."
Vernon had snorted in disgust at that.
Anyway, back to the point. Vernon was arguing, and Diggle was arguing right back at him. Dudley was doing an impression of a vegetable on the sofa, and Petunia was looking around, wildly, paranoid.
Hestia was at work – at the Ministry.
The argument was quickly cut short by a loud crack coming from the kitchen. Diggle looked relieved, "Thank God." He murmured, and called out "Hestia?"
There was no reply. Another crack followed the first, and Diggle paled. She would never bring back someone else. He drew his wand, and shot a warning glance at the Dursleys, who were now huddled together in worry at his reaction.
A cloaked figure entered the room, his face obscured by a mask. Diggle shouted "Stupefy!" but the Death Eater quickly blocked the attack. Another Death Eater arrived behind the first.
"Expelliarmus!" Diggle's wand flew out of his hand.
"We need the family alive." Her voice was high pitched, "but as for him." She pointed her wand at Diggle, who had lunged for his fallen wand...
"Avada Kedavra!"
A flash of green light lit up the room for a second, and the life left Diggle's eyes. His body slumped to the floor instantly, the female Death Eater letting out a shriek of excitement. The Death Eaters advanced on the Dursleys, who shrank, terrified into a corner, Dudley clutching at his mother like a lifeline.
The woman laughed shrilly, and pointed her wand at them, but the other death eater stopped her. "Bellatrix." He said, warningly, "We need them alive." The woman laughed again,
"I never said I was going to kill them." She said, but lowered her wand. "You're coming with us." She told the Dursleys, who had no voice with which to protest.
And now, who knows how much later, they crouched in the darkness of a cellar, fearful for their lives. They were provided with little sustenance, and so far had hardly been acknowledged.
The door opened silently, the crack of light drawing all their eyes. A death eater entered the room, and the Dursleys all tried to make themselves as small as possible. Something told them this was not a courtesy call.
The death eater approached them, their wand raised. From above them, a cold, high voice called down.
"Hurry!"
The death eater started in fear and raised his wand. "Relashio." The bonds that were holding them snapped, but the death eater did not lower his wand. "Move." He said, urgently, and the Dursleys staggered to their feet, fear sparkling in their eyes. They climbed the stairs out of the cellar, the death eater in their wake.
They entered a large room, in which a tall... no it couldn't be a man, there was no human in him... a tall figure, with paper white skin and red eyes stood before them, looking down upon their terrified faces.
"And how can you be sure?" His voice was high and cold, and without compassion. Dudley was under the impression he was being taunted by those red, pitiless slits. He shrank back.
"This is the family of Harry Potter." The death eater stammered, "My lord, I captured them myself. They were under the protection of the Fidilius Charm, but after the ministry fell, we tortured the location out of-"
The figure raised a hand. "You have done well." He said, "Lord Voldemort rewards good progress." The servant bowed deeply.
"My Lord, thank you. You are most kind." He bowed again and backed from the room.
Vernon watched him incredulously, how could he swear allegiance to this monster?
Then Lord Voldemort turned on them.
"Let us see just how much Harry Potter values family." His high voice drawled. "If he is weak enough to come, he will fall." He fingered his wand, eyeing it apprehensively. "I will talk again with Ollivander." He said to himself, and then pointed the wand at Dudley. "What do you know about Potter's whereabouts?" he asked him, but Dudley just looked at him, speechlessly shaking his head.
Voldemort's eyes narrowed even more than usual.
"Crucio!"
Dudley screamed and fell to the floor, twitching in agony, his limbs flying out in all directions. His eyes rolling back in his head, his chest heaving, tears streaming down his face.
Petunia dropped to her knees next to her son, her mouth open in horror. "Stop it!" she shrieked, her pale face wet with tears, "please!"
Voldemort just smirked. "Tell me where Potter is. Now!" He hissed, lifting his wand off Dudley, who fell, shuddering to the floor. Petunia grasped his hand, murmuring at him soothingly, wiping sweat from his forehead.
Vernon stood there trembling, his eyes wide and fearful, looking down at his tortured son crumpled and sobbing at his feet. "W-why should we know?" he answered Voldemort, his voice quiet and scared, "h-he doesn't tell us anything. W-we h-haven't seen him since the s-summer."
Voldemort's eyes narrowed. "Then you'd better hope he comes for you soon..." he hissed, and Vernon frowned in confusion, how would he even know where we were? But he was too petrified to voice his confusion, instead nodding silently, his eyes still on Dudley.
"Lucius!" Voldemort called, and a thin, bedraggled looking man bowed his way forwards, his blonde hair straggly, his face unshaven. "Y-yes, My Lord?" He stammered.
"Put them with the others." Voldemort's cold voice commanded, and Lucius nodded, "Wormtail!" Lucius commanded, and a short, fat man with a silver hand stepped forwards. "Put them with the others." He said, and Wormtail stepped forwards, grabbing their arms, and waving his wand at Dudley.
"Mobilicorpus." He said, and Dudley floated into the air before them, making their way into a different dungeon.
Dudley whimpered as he was tossed into the dungeon, his pale face still stained with sweat. The man, Wormtail, waved his wand at them again, and their hands were tied behind their backs. Wormtail left them again in the darkness, the door clanging to a close behind them.
"Hello?" a small, dreamy voice called out. "Who are you?" Petunia squeaked and tried to move away from the voice. Another one called out from the darkness, croaky and weak.
"Do not panic." He said, "We are like you, prisoners."
Vernon tried to sound less fearful than he felt. "Where are we? What's going on? Are you tied up too?"
"Here." Came the dreamy voice from next to him, pressing something small and sharp into his hand. Vernon cried out and flinched back. "No" she said calmly, "use it to break the bonds. It is a nail Ollivander found." Vernon found himself nodding into the darkness, and began to pick at his bonds.
"Where are we?" he asked again.
"We are in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor." The wheezy voice told them. "I am Mister Ollivander, the wand maker, and this is Luna Lovegood, the daughter of Xenophilius Lovegood, the writer of the Quibbler, and Dean Thomas, a student at Hogwarts. We also have Griphook here with us, one of the Gringotts' goblins."
Dudley squeaked at the last piece of information, and struggled against his bonds.
Vernon also flinched at the sound of a goblin, but decided it wasn't really the time to cause trouble, if they were all prisoners. "Vernon Dursley." He grunted. "And my wife and son, Petunia and Dudley."
A new voice, which must have belonged to Dean spoke out. "Dursley, as in Harry Potter's relatives?" he asked, and Ollivander choked slightly. "Are you alright?" Luna asked him, and an affirmative came out of the darkness.
Vernon broke free of his bonds and stretched himself out, pressing the nail into Petunia's hand next to him.
Eventually, they were all free of their bonds, but still trapped in the inescapable dungeon. "Now what?" Dudley asked quietly, drawing his knees up to his chin. Luna answered him.
"Now we wait," she said sadly, "until we're rescued or killed." She added matter-of-factly, and the Dursleys flinched.
It was a long time until anything happened. Every now and then, someone would come downstairs and take one or more of them to be tortured. The screams caused everyone to wince, but eventually they got used to it. They would just pray that it wasn't them they were coming to get, and when they returned, they'd break their bonds, and the others would sooth them with calming words.
One day... or was it night? You could never tell... but the voices upstairs were loud and excited, sending shivers of fear through everyone huddled miserably in the dungeon.
They could hear Bellatrix's shrill joy as she shouted something, loud arguing from above. There were unknown voices shouting from above as well, and their hearts all sank in pity for the poor people now trapped with them.
The door flew open, and in the dim light, you could barely see two figures stumbling in, and they all winced as a loud scream echoed down into the dungeons from above.
"HERMIONE!" one of the figures shouted, fighting against their captors, "HERMIONE!"
Luna sat up straight at this, a gasp escaping her lips.
A more familiar voice spoke up, and the Dursleys found themselves both hopeful and horrified.
"We need a plan, stop yelling – we need to get these ropes off – "
Then Luna spoke softly through the darkness, "Harry? Ron? Is that you?"
They heard as Luna rose to her feet, stumbling slightly through the darkness, "Harry? Ron?"
"Luna?" Harry's voice came through the darkness, questioningly. Ollivander groaned. They had captured him. Their best hope was locked in a cellar with them. Now what? Had all their chances at winning just been destroyed?
"Yes, it's me! Oh no, I didn't want you to be caught!"
"Luna, can you help us get these ropes off?"
"Harry?" Dudley said quietly, and Harry's eyes widened, "Dudley?" he asked incredulously, "what are you doing here? I thought you were in hiding!"
Petunia answered him, "They tortured our location out of Hestia." She said quietly, and Harry groaned.
"I should have thought of that. Is Uncle Vernon here too?"
"They killed them both." Vernon said in reply, "Hestia and Diggle." Harry found himself nodding, and another scream came from above, Ron struggling.
"HERMIONE! HERMIONE!"
"The ropes, Luna!" Harry insisted, and Luna nodded.
"Yes, there's an old nail we use to break anything... Dudley? Do you have it?"
Dudley replied in the affirmative and held out the nail in the darkness, feeling Luna take it.
"You'll need to stay still." She said, working on his bonds.
Bellatrix's voice filtered down from above. "I'm going to ask you again! Where did you get this sword? Where?"
"Sword?" Dudley asked, frowning. Why would they need swords if they had wands?
Hermione's voice, pain filled and hoarse replied "We found it – we found it – PLEASE!" And everyone shuddered as another scream cut through the air. They heard struggling as Ron began to fight his bonds again.
"Ron, please stay still!" They heard Luna whisper. "I can't see what I'm doing – "
"My pocket!" Ron's voice came through the darkness, "In my pocket, there's a Deluminator, and it's full of light!"
Dudley piped up "what's a Deluminator?" but his question was answered for him as the room was suddenly flooded with light, and they all winced as it burned into their irises. Dudley squinted, until his eyes adjusted, finally seeing Harry and Ron – a lanky ginger kid he'd seen before at the station. They looked terrible, their clothes hanging off them, their faces streaked with dirt, their hair matted from their time on the run.
"Oh, that's so much easier, thanks Ron." Luna muttered, and Dudley got his first good look at her. Her dirty blonde hair was unbrushed and knotted, her eyes bloodshot with huge bags underneath them. She was pale and thin, her previously well fitting clothes hanging off her. Dudley's eyes reached his parents' figures. They had both lost weight – Vernon more than Petunia, and their hair was matted. They both had bags under their eyes, and looked pale and fearful.
Dean was barely conscious as he slumped in the corner, his eyes closed, with heavy bags underneath them, his clothes hanging off him, his face streaked with grime. Ollivander looked very frail and weak, his white hair thin, his face lined with weariness. His eyes were open, but there was no life in them. He had been in there the longest. Griphook the goblin looked very unpleasant, was he thin? Dudley didn't know, as he had never seen a goblin before, but he was barely conscious, and his face was covered in welts.
His own clothes hung off his thinner, weaker body, and he felt like he hadn't slept in weeks. He raised his eyes to Harry who was looking at him thoughtfully. He opened his mouth to speak, but Bellatrix's voice interrupted him from above.
"You're lying, filthy Mudblood, and I know it! You have been inside my vault at Gringotts! Tell the truth, tell the truth!"
Another long, drawn out scream caused Dudley to wince, and he saw the pain in Harry and Ron's expressions, Ron looking desperate, "HERMIONE!"
Bellatrix's shrill voice echoed again "What else did you take? What else have you got? Tell me the truth or, I swear, I shall run you through with this knife!" Dudley gulped at the threat, and saw the panic in Harry's expression as Luna finally broke the bonds.
For some reason, Ron was spinning round in circles, his expression intense and fixed. Dudley frowned at Luna in confusion, who was looking sympathetically at Ron, realising he was trying to disapperate without a wand.
"There's no way out, Ron. The cellar is completely escape-proof. I tried, at first. Mr. Ollivander has been here for a long time, he's tried everything. Dudley tried brute force, but the door won't budge."
The screaming continued, and Ron looked frantic, horrified, like he was the one being tortured. His face was damp with tears as he looked desperately at the door.
"What else did you take, what else? ANSWER ME! CRUCIO!" Dudley winced, remembering the effects of the curse, and he bowed his head sadly.
Ron was now openly sobbing, pounding his fists against the walls, and Harry was fiddling with something around his neck. Dudley looked up when he heard Harry yelling at something shiny in his hand.
"Help us! We're in the cellar of Malfoy Manor, help us!" Dudley couldn't remember ever seeing his cousin so scared. Not when he was chasing him around when they were little, when they were beating him up. Not when he had been locked in his cupboard for weeks without any food. Dudley's gaze turned pitying as he looked sadly at his desperate cousin, his green eyes wide and looking everywhere for a way out.
Hermione's screams grew louder, and Ron's shouts did too, "HERMIONE! HERMIONE!" But Dudley wasn't sure she'd be able to hear him over her own screams.
"How did you get into my vault?" Bellatrix sounded madder than usual. "Did that dirty little goblin in the cellar help you?"
Hermione's tear-filled voice joined in "We only met him tonight! We've never been inside your vault... It isn't the real sword! It's a copy, just a copy!"
Dudley frowned, was she lying? Was it possible to lie in that situation?
"A copy? Oh, a likely story!"
Another voice joined with Bellatrix, and Dudley recognised it vaguely as Lucius Malfoy. "But we can find out easily! Draco, fetch the goblin, he can tell us whether the sword is real or not!"
Dudley saw Harry run over to Griphook, lying on the floor, his face covered in welts, his eyes sad, and whispered something in his ear, just as footsteps sounded outside.
An unfamiliar voice came from outside the cellar, but Dudley saw Harry's eyes narrow slightly at the sound of it.
"Stand back. Line up against the back wall. Don't try anything, or I'll kill you!" Dudley squeaked and backed up quickly until his back was against the wall, his legs trembling. The lock turned, and the lights went out, leaving Dudley blinking blindly into the darkness.
A young adult walked in, his pale face determined, and he grabbed the goblin, dragging him out again.
As soon as the door had closed, the lights flew back into the air, and Dudley jumped at the sight of a new, small creature in their midst. Ron's face filled with relief.
"DOB-!" Harry hit Ron to shut him up, and he looked terrified as they all listened for any sign that he'd been heard. There was none.
The poor creature looked petrified as he trembled from head to toe, and spoke in a quivering voice "Harry Potter." Dudley's eyebrows rose at his squeaky voice. "Dobby has come to rescue you." Dudley exhaled in relief, his body shaking as he looked at their rescuer. Thank God. They were finally getting out of there.
"But how did you-" Hermione screamed, and Harry's expression turned from relief to serious. "You can disapperate out of this cellar?" Dudley didn't care what the strange word meant as Dobby nodded – it was obviously a good thing. "And you can take humans with you?" Dudley tensed in hope as Dobby nodded once more, a small grin cracking out on the boy's face.
"Can you take... 6 at a time?" Harry asked, counting. Dobby nodded again.
"First, take Mr. Ollivander, the Dursleys, Luna and Dean to... to..."
Ron spoke up "Bill and Fleur's. Shell cottage on the outskirts of Tinworth."
Harry nodded in agreement. "Then I want you to come back. Can you do that?"
"Of course Harry Potter." The little creature squeaked, and walked over to Mr. Ollivander, gasping his hand, and the Dursleys frowned in confusion as he held his other hand out.
Harry looked at them, "hold on to him." He said desperately, and the Dursleys all grabbed onto the small creature, but Luna and Dean didn't move.
Luna spoke in a whisper, her voice determined. "Harry, we want to help you!" she insisted, and Dudley looked worried, could they get out of there now?
"We can't leave you!" said Dean.
Harry shook his head, "Go, both of you! We'll see you at Bill and Fleur's!" Dudley looked at Luna and Dean desperately, who were looking at Harry, who was clutching his forehead in pain.
"Harry?" Dudley asked tentatively. "Are you-?"
Harry's head snapped up "Go!" He cried, "Go! We'll follow, just go!" And finally Dean and Luna stepped forwards, grabbing onto Dobby, who twisted, and Dudley felt pressure on all sides, like he was being sucked through something that was too small to fit through, and he couldn't breathe and he couldn't see, it was all dark, and he was going to die...
Then it stopped. Dudley reeled away from Dobby, who disapperated again, collapsing on the floor and retching slightly, breathing in lungfuls of sweet, sweet oxygen. Coughing, he straightened up and looked around. There was a cottage just a short distance away, and a man and a woman (was it a woman? Dudley had never seen anyone so beautiful) were rushing towards them, the man sporting deep scars across his face.
"What happened?" the man (Bill?) called out, "Mr. Ollivander! Luna! I'm sorry..." he said to the rest of them, whose names he didn't know,
Vernon spoke quickly, "Vernon, Dudley and Petunia Dursley, Dean Thomas." He said, pointing to them all in turn.
Bill continued, nodding "what's going on? Why are you here? What happened?"
Luna spoke "we were in the dungeons at Malfoy Manor" – Bill winced – "and Harry, Ron and Hermione turned up." – "Oh no!" groaned Bill – "they're coming after us; Dobby has just gone to get them. Hermione was being tortured, and they had to go get her and Griphook and then they were going to come here."
Fleur stepped forwards, "come inside, you've all been through a lot. She gripped Luna's shoulder. "Your father will be very pleased to know you're alive." She told her, and Luna smiled a little.
"I think we should wait for the others." She said, glancing out at the sea. "They should be coming soon."
As she spoke, a crack echoed around them, and they saw a few figures appear a distance from the cottage. Dudley sighed in relief as he counted five of them – Dobby, Griphook, Ron, Hermione and Harry... they were safe.
"DOBBY!" Dudley's breath froze in his chest at the sound of Harry's yell, and started forwards,
"Dobby – no – HELP!" Harry's shout was directed towards them, and Dudley started to run as Dobby fell sideways into the grass. Dudley cursed as he approached Harry, slowing to a stop, seeing the red stain spreading across Dobby's chest, and Harry's desperate pleading of "Don't die."
As Dudley looked down at the small body of the elf, he couldn't help but feel their victory lessen. They had escaped, and would live to see the sky again, but, as Harry knelt before him, cradling the tiny body, he felt this would not be the last casualty, and that nowhere was safe anymore.
What would they do now? Where would they go?
Dudley knew they would have to just wait and see what happened. But for now, he bowed his head as they all stood around, mourning the high price for their freedom.
The End
This is just a one-shot :) thought i'd let you know that.
What do you think? I love Reviews! :))
Oreal