Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor any of the characters... except Audra.
Four months had passed since Audra's forced servitude had begun. For the most part, Audra had played her part well as the meek slave. For the Death Eaters, she kept up the charade of the broken, demoralized mudblood who flinched at the sight of a wand, lest she wanted a painful reminder of its power. In private with Voldemort, however, she dropped the act and instead played the part of the determined and faithful follower. As she had explained, it would have been an insult to His intelligence if she played Him for the same fool as His followers.
Voldemort had grown used to her presence, allowing her to remain in the same room as Him except for private meetings. For those, she was dismissed, during which time she would attempt to explore the house before a Death Eater discovered her and punished her. The grumblings of Voldemort's followers at her existence had begun to become silenced, though they would punish her for breathing too loudly at any chance they got. However, as Amber predicted, Voldemort was incredibly protective of His property, and would severely punish anyone He caught hurting His pet. Although she hated the need for protection, she did so enjoy smirking from behind her protector's back.
On full moon nights Audra would be released from her cell early to make dinner. After preparing everything so that He could function without her, Audra would go to Voldemort and request leave for the night. After Voldemort would grant her request, He would remove her shackles and allow Audra to exit the house to run free in the woods. His only request was that she didn't attack any human unless she intended to kill; a request she willingly followed, though she stayed far from humans. At the crack of dawn, Voldemort would open the back door, where a white wolf would be patiently waiting to be let inside. Upon walking in the house, Audra would willingly shift to human form and shackle herself before returning to her cell. It was only her obedience and willingness to return to slavery that kept Voldemort from keeping her locked up; every time Audra was waiting for the door reinforced the fact that she could be trusted.
Like every full moon before, Audra let herself out of her cell before five and made her way to the kitchen. Like clockwork she moved through the kitchen, cooking and cleaning all the while humming to herself. She prepared a pot roast, which could be left in the oven until dinner was ready to be served. Quickly, she jotted down a list of instructions on what to finish with the roast, and then headed up stairs to Voldemort's study.
Standing outside the door, she knocked quietly and waited for a reply. "Enter," a chilly voice called from the other side. Silently, Audra obeyed. "Ah, mudblood, glad to see you've finally made it," Voldemort acknowledged her as she quickly kneeled in front of Him.
"Master, I request leave for the night," Audra said from one knee. Normally, she would look up at Him when saying this, but she had noticed another Death Eater in the room when she walked in; another Death Eater equals meek slave.
Voldemort thought a long moment before replying. "Not tonight, mudblood. Not tonight."
Meek slave or not, Audra lifted her head to look at her master. "Master, it's a full moon tonight –"
"A fact I am well aware of," Voldemort cut her off. "I have been following the lunar charts just as shrewdly as you have. Follow me," He instructed as He stood and swept past Audra. Curious and slightly taken aback, Audra did as she was told, walking out between the Dark Lord and the Death Eater.
As if rewinding her first trip to His study, Voldemort led the way from the study, down two flights of stairs, and into the basement where Audra's cell was. However, instead of taking a sharp right, the direction of her prison, He turned left and stopped in front of an open door on the right. Standing to one side, Voldemort allowed Audra to walk in first and survey the scene.
It was another cell, but it was much larger than Audra's personal one. This one was about twenty by ten and was made of the same heavy rock. There were lit torches on the walls in each of the four corners, which casted light over the entire surface of cold gray stone. Off in an opposite corner, there was a low fire with a small caldron suspended over it. The caldron was emitting a thick dark green smoke that smelled of rotten eggs. On the wall tangent to the caldron there was a table with frightening looking instruments, which Audra was certain she would get to know sometime this evening. The most unsettling feature of the room, by far, was the tangled heap of heavy chains and cuffs that were the center point of the floor.
Audra walked a couple paces into the room, and then stood aside to let the unknown man and the Dark Lord past. Although she had a slight idea what He intended to do, she didn't want to say it aloud.
Voldemort shut the door before beginning. "Four months ago, the first full moon you experienced here, I realized that keeping a werewolf here was dangerous. But as you pointed out the next day, I couldn't just release you and yet I had no intention of killing you," He said, looking at Audra. She continued to look at the floor, not wanting to meet His gaze. "Since that night, Snape here," He motioned to the other man in the room, "has been working to develop a potion that would keep a werewolf in the human mind during a forced phase. Tonight, is the first night we try such potion." Voldemort lifted her chin up so that she was looking straight at Him. "And you're the guinea pig," He smiled.
"So you plan to chain me down, wait until I phase, then force a potion down my throat?" Audra asked.
Voldemort let go of Audra's chin before He backhanded her. "You aren't allowed to ask questions," He sneered.
Audra raised her hand to the spot He struck. "My apologizes, Master," she whispered.
Voldemort surveyed the girl before turning His back on her and walking to the other end of the room. "Since you go through this monthly, and I do not, you obviously know more about forced phases than I do," He stated peering into the caldron. "If we have any chance of making this work tonight, then I need to know what to expect. What happens when you normally change?" He asked turning to look at Audra.
"Master, on most nights that I know I'll be changing, I morph into wolf form, so that the shift to dire wolf goes easier. After that, I just continue on my way, giving in to my animal mind and allowing the phase to happen," she shrugged. "It's easier for me if I don't fight it, it just feels natural."
The Dark Lord had watched her body language the entire time she spoke; a habit He learned that had helped immensely in seizing power. The entire time she spoke, Audra showed no signs that she was lying. She had simply stated what He had asked, not making anything up along the way. "Snape," He said turning to face the other man, "how will you administer the potion?"
The greasy-haired man stepped forward from the back wall when he was addressed. "My Lord, there would be faster results if I injected it into the bloodstream," he said, sneering at the slave. "We should see affects within moments after the injection. From there, I can adjust the amount or the concentration as I see fit."
"Good, go ahead and get everything ready then," He instructed, walking back towards Audra. Snape had bowed upon receiving instructions and went to work at the table. Voldemort walked right up to Audra, once again taking her chin and lifting her gaze. "Now listen, Audra," He said in a whisper only she could hear, "We need to make this go as well as possible. I need you to not skew the results with whatever control you personally have. Let go completely – allow the potion to bring you back. Do you understand?" Audra nodded, but Voldemort noticed something else in her eyes – a hint of fear. "It is imperative that we make this work."
"Master, this isn't going to work," Audra confessed. "I don't want to do this." Voldemort could hear the fear in her voice.
"Do you want to be a Death Eater?"
Audra stayed silent, but continued to look at her master with pleading eyes. Sighing, Voldemort let go of her chin and began taking off her wrist shackles. After removing those, He kneeled, placing a hand on her thigh as He did. The contact made Audra flinch, and Voldemort quickly removed His hand and took of her ankle shackles. "When do you phase? What causes it?" He asked standing up.
"Honestly, Master, I don't know. I can assume, however, that contact with the moon helps, since I seem to phase sooner when I'm outside," Audra said rubbing her wrists.
Nodding, Voldemort pointed His wand at the wall opposite the door. A small curtain, which Audra hadn't noticed before, parted revealing a small ground-level window. Light from the fading sun poured in through the small window, casting a thin line of sunset upon the pile of chains. "Go ahead and shift mudblood," He instructed, turning His back on her and walking towards Snape.
Knowing that she had no say in the matter, Audra sighed and shifted into her wolf form. For the past four months, this was the form Audra used to escape her reality. The practical reason was that she had more fur as a wolf, and that cell got pretty cold during those long hours she was locked up. She kept her hair long for more than just a fashion statement; her coat thickness was directly correlated to her human hair length. Although she hated having the long hair, the warm coat paid off on cold nights.
As convenient as the warmth was, it wasn't the only reason Audra was a wolf more often than not. Voldemort and His cronies had done a wonderful job destroying Audra's human image. They chained her, tortured her both mentally and physically, and humiliated her. In their eyes she was no better than a stray that they took pity on, though there wasn't much pity to go around. For Voldemort, Audra kept a strong poker face, not letting Him know that He was succeeding at breaking her.
Her human form made her feel weak and pathetic; it was her wolf self that she was learning to love. A strong, noble beast, the wolf had a history of being feared by man, though there is nothing truly fearful about the creature. The wolf was naturally an aggressive creature, but only when it had to be. Wolves almost always seek the company of fellow wolves, and live their entire lives completely devoted to the pack. Fiercely loyal, wolves would fight to the death for those it protected; a trait Audra personally loved about herself. Changing from man to beast, Audra left behind the weak pathetic human she was becoming and became a strong, confident beast. By changing forms for sleep, she reminded herself that she was better than what she was becoming, and her time would come some day.
Now a full grown wolf with fur the color of snow, Audra tenderly walked to the chains and sniffed them. The cold, metallic scent filled her nose and she recoiled, taking a couple paces back as she flattened her ears back. She wanted to whimper, a canine's natural response to showing fear; but that would be weakness, something she couldn't be now.
Voldemort had heard Audra's nails on the stone floor, and turned now to face the wolf. "You're wondering how exactly we're going to bind you." The wolf looked at Him while He spoke, and immediately attempted to make herself smaller upon hearing His words. Her shoulders were hunched, she had her ears pressed flat, and her tail was tucked under her. I have never seen her afraid… including when she first came here He thought as He surveyed the wolf. "When you become a dire wolf, the chains will act of their own accord and snap into place. You should be fairly stationary once your bound; giving us enough safety to be in the same room. Course, we won't be here when you shift," the Dark Lord supplied as an afterthought. "We'll probably be eating dinner when that's happening.
"And to make sure you don't attempt to run off," He added, waving His wand at the heap of metal. Instantly, they sprang to life, the majority of them just spread around the floor, forming an open circle right in the middle. However, there was one chain that snaked its way across the floor to Audra. Every instinct Audra had was telling her to run, yet she couldn't as a large metal collar fastened itself around her neck. Tension tugged at the collar as the chain connected to it began to shrink, lessening the space between where Audra currently struggled to where the other end was connected to the floor. Horrified, Audra tried to pull back on the chain, an act which not only proved futile but also caused Voldemort to laugh at her struggle. No matter how hard she pulled back, the leashed pulled her tighter and closer, dragging her across the floor. Eventually the chain slackened, allowing Audra only three feet of length from connection point to collar. Acting out of instinct rather than reason, Audra furiously pulled back at the chain, throwing all her weight backwards in an effort to break the links. Voldemort continued to laugh at the show, knowing full well that nothing she did could change it. Giving up, Audra dejectedly laid down on her stomach. Still chuckling, Voldemort strode to where Audra lay and scratched her behind the ears. "Good dog," He snickered. "We'll be back in a couple hours. Hopefully you'll have shifted by then." He motioned for Snape to join Him, and then strode out the door with the apothecary in tow.
Finally alone, Audra let out a long whimper. This isn't good, this isn't going to work! she thought frantically. She knew that this experiment might kill her or them depending on how badly it went. Knowing that she had very little time left, Audra forced herself relax enough to meditate. This proved to be almost impossible; every nerve in her body was frayed beyond all belief. It took several long minutes of intense concentration before Audra could even begin to meditate. Closing her eyes, she reopened them in the luscious forests of Costa Rica. God damn, this is hot she remarked as the hot humid air pushed down upon her winter coat. The forest, sensing an intruder, went silent; not a single creature was within Audra's sight. Knowing that there was no way to tell her friends to meet her here, Audra scratched a message out in the dirt. Experiment – not good was all she had time to write with her paw.
Not wanting to take chances, Audra returned to the plane of reality. Opening her eyes towards the cold stone room, panic once again swept over Audra like a tidal wave. Stop worrying! You're just going to make yourself sick! she scolded herself. Slowly and methodically, she evened her breathing and slowed her heart rate. Eventually she was comfortable enough to close eyes and slip into a dream-less trance.