Chapter 4

"Under Your Own Spell"

My mind slipped from my grasp like glossy silk, like sand trickling between the crevices in one's fingers as my body went numb. I lost control of everything; as my breath quickened with trembles and shudders in every exhale; and every inhale sent a piercing pleasant sting to the core of my being. I couldn't move, think, or execute anything properly.

The man whispering shameless lust into my ear was so close I could feel it with every last part of my existence…

Oh, the feeling of his heated breathing misting over my flesh like steam onto a mirror- and the radiating natural glow of his own warmth seeping into my cheek the closer he neared me… It made me go numb.

Slowly, I registered what he'd said.

"Oh, and thanks for the chocolate…" My eyes closed effortlessly in ecstasy…

"It was delicious."

A brief thought of restraint crossed my mind at some point through this encounter, but it had been so irrelevant at the time I'd ignored it completely.

Am I…?

Have I been stunned? Put under the imperius curse? Or… Some kind of spell? Of course I had… But… It's okay… It feels nice…

The man who had done this to me was Barty Crouch Jr… And what he had done was not something I'd ever had to face. Every particle, every inch, every part of my being was at war with itself. It felt so immoral, but oh so perfectly pleasant.

In my numb state, I was shocked the moment he suddenly lunged forward like a ravenous animal and attacked me, lips trailing down my neck in a fiery path of burning passion.

This was what I had needed to snap back into reality… and realize what horrible things where being done to me.

As if awakening from a dream, my senses flooded back into my ears as if I were being submerged within waters of reality. It was then that the panic truly struck, adrenaline was released like bullets through my veins and defensive mechanisms to protect myself came into immediate execution.

I got over my shock of being attacked within a few moments, and in an instantaneous motion I forcefully pushed him off of me with as much strength as a small slender girl such as myself could muster. Sure, my strength couldn't do much- but my wand could; and I drew it out with a flash of lightning quick movement, not hesitating to bring it close to his face as a protective barrier between him and myself.

My hand was quivering as I held my wand, and I watched with wide frightened eyes as his expression changed. The look on his face now was what I could only describe as a burning passionate combination of both righteous fury and satisfaction.

The hint of a smirk was on his lips, and he licked them continuously as I stood boldly. It gave me the impression that he was trying to savor the flavor of my flesh…

The thought made a chilling shiver run down my spine.

I had been like a mouse toying with a mouse trap for the prize within; and just as I had reached forth with my tiny little mouse claws the trap had snapped shut- only for me to realize then what had been my mistake… And I had been broken out of my trance to find myself doomed.

"What's the matter, sweetheart? Aren't you having fun?" He teased playfully, and a tremor began to rise from my body until I was shaking violently with confusion and anger.

He slithered up behind me in an instant before my stiff body could react, and he whispered into my ear once more…

"I know you want me."

My mind slipped again, and I almost lost it once more- before I dove after it and retrieved it again, turning on Barty with flames of anger burning within my eyes.

"And who are you to tell me what I want? Who do you think you are, putting a spell over me and assuming I "want you" without any proof that that is true?!"

A wicked smirk crossed his features as I let my rage course freely into my words; and it only made me angrier to see him snickering.

I wanted to say more, but I was interrupted by him, as he dove headfirst and grabbed my wand, casting it to the side and approaching until he was uncomfortably close to my face.

"Oh, but I do… And my simple obvious proof is that I didn't put a single spell on you in the first place… Despite these lies you've deluded yourself with, your love is mine. Mine, for the taking… And the only spell your under is the one you've put upon yourself."

He watched in absolute delighted elation as my face melted into an expression of horror.

He'd… Not put a spell on me? I'd never, ever, been so terrified in my life... My body gave way and my eyes blurred with tears, to the point where Barty's face became nothing but a haze. I was terrified, not of Barty now…

But of myself.

Every inch of my body screamed to get away, and my instinct to flee finally won over the dominant instinct I withheld to fight. Before I knew it, I had ducked under Barty's arms and fled towards the only safe haven I knew to be truly secure.

I needed to know what was happening inside of me. The fact that Barty had not cast a spell over me… That it was entirely me that had felt numb, blissful emotions in reaction to an evil man's affections…

I was fully and entirely convinced I was going insane. I could only be crazy to enjoy any kind of physical affection someone such as Barty Crouch Jr. offered, right?

Thoughts flickered chaotically through my mind like minnows, and I was in such disarray that I felt I'd lost control of every aspect I'd owned upon myself. I didn't know what was becoming of me, and I didn't know why or where these feelings where coming from.

All that I knew, was that it had all started with Barty Crouch Jr.

"That's right…" I breathed, after reaching my beloved pool of water under the brushy undergrowth of trees.

"It's all his fault. This has nothing to do with me… He's a liar, right? A Death Eater. This is what he does for a living, he's toying with you…"

And as I sat; going mad with confusion and anger eating away at my thoughts- I was completely unaware of another presence near where I sat. His gaze lingered from where he crouched like the predator he was in the plant life, growls eliciting from his fanged lips as his patience lessoned with every second. My pursuer knew what he wanted, and he'd wanted it for far too long.

At first, I thought it had been Barty Crouch Jr. who had struck me. But…

No, there was no way he had the capability to hit me with such force that I sailed across the grounds before my frail body was halted with a sickening crunch by the abrupt surface of a boulder. There was no way slender Barty Crouch Jr. could inflict such intense physical pain with only his sheer strength, and there was no way he could cause such extreme intimidation with the utter appearance of masculinity alone.

No, it was not Barty Crouch Jr who had attacked me at that moment.

There in front of me, like the grim reaper closing in to claim a victim's passing soul, was Fenrir Greyback. His eyes glistened with terrible bloodthirsty malice, the small black pupils inhuman in the way they resembled the full moon. I was too stunned to speak or protest, and I was only somewhat aware of a sharp pain throbbing at the base of my skull, while the rest of my body ached with the strain of such agony.

His voice was like the beast he resembled- a wolf. But it was not the noble kind of beast you often thought of when imaging the species; the canine that posed in front of the moon with great honor in the way it called into the night with grace and glory.

No, Fenrir was vicious, savage, and cruel.

With an eerie chill passing through my aching body, Fenrir reared back and called into the sky with all his hellish brutality, the moon rising in the distance.

Only then did I realize what a fool I was, staying out in the open for the entire day until night had fallen… Being ignorant to the danger the night could bring. Especially, when it was the night on which all werewolves of the world would release their inner beast.

Now, my hiding from Barty would cost me much worse.

Fenrir had approached me, teeth bared and jaw opening and closing hungrily; preparing to strike. I was far to injured to defend myself, and even so I reached for my wand and cast forth the only spell that came to mind.

"Stupefy!" I cried, a spark of light shooting forth from my wand. Fenrir's own wand had flashed into sight and he blocked the attack with disheartening ease.

He laughed once more, and continued his advancement towards my hurt form.

"Ah, for so long… SO LONG I have not had the satisfaction of stealing away the humanity of a child…"

I struggled against every restraint my body had put upon me, and I cried out continuously in rage of such circumstances as I watched my predator closing in at last.

I was no fool, and I knew what happened to those who were bitten by a werewolf. The bite of a werewolf is like an infectious disease; and the victim themselves will be forced into the same exact wrathful beast themselves.

Furthermore, I knew Fenrir in particular regarded it as a mission to seek out children and inflict them with the curse of a werewolf. I was to be contaminated with lycanthropy. How had I been so stupid?

Draco had been right after all… and I should have considered his proposal further to realize the obviousness in front of me. I had had the information; and the facts. I had only failed to connect it to myself.

Greyback would often purposefully dwell in nearby proximity with his victims before a full moon… And it made sense now why he had waited until now; why he had kept quiet only to reveal his master plan at this very moment.

"Ah, yes… I have not had the joy of biting a human in so long, child. And it is truly an honor to be in your position… To receive a gift such as lycanthropy. You are to fight for me now, and assist in my task to quell all wizards from this world."

I began to cry; but not in a way that it was noticeable. In fact, I didn't utter a word; not a sound, as small pearly tears slipped down my cheeks in trifling waterfalls. I closed my eyes as my doom was apparent, and I awaited the pain that was to come. I was certain that the turning from human to werewolf was not going to be a pleasant experience, and I had in fact heard how particularly agonizing it was.

I had seen the transformation of Remus Lupin into his werewolf state; and it had obviously been painful. But was I… a small, fragile girl fit for taking such torture?

A tremendous weight was upon me at once, and the weight I assumed was the mass of Fenrir as he lunged forward in attempts to sink his teeth into my flesh. I gasped, prepared for that bite to come, but-

It never did.

There was a flash of light, and the weight I had felt upon me was thrown to the side by a massive source of energy. Still pained by the injuries I'd received from being stricken, I could only watch with indistinct vision as another person joined the struggle. There was Fenrir, with his wolf like stature, dueling another thin figure that was also swaying about with boundless treacherous elegance in his or her step.

Soon enough, as my eyes focused once more and I gained control of my senses, I writhed around in my position to try and identify my rescuer. Before I knew it, I had stood up and dizzily approached the two duelers like a drunk, seeking to determine answers to my questions.

The moment I was noticed by both duelists, Fenrir leapt towards me again with a vicious sneer, jaw parting to reveal wolf-like canines, but once again he was rebounded by his opponent in the other direction. I felt a sudden protective arm around my waist- and I instinctively shifted my gaze upward to view my guardian.

My head started pounding again with pain the moment I saw his face, as the reality of the idea of this particular person saving me sent my brain reeling into confusion. Confusion that my damaged brain could not handle, mind you- and I collapsed into his arms.

I collapsed weakly into the arms of Barty Crouch Jr, whose firm grip on me supported my weak body while his other free arm fought furiously against his werewolf foe. Fenrir was in a beasty rage, and it was no surprise that a duel between two Death Eaters got very dirty, very fast.

Fenrir was sending curses Barty's way like constant bolts of lightning, and it took Barty a great strenuous effort to dodge and block these attacks while preoccupied with holding me.

But eventually, I found I was right to hold the dangerous potential of intelligence over the potential of brute strength, and Barty's cleverness earned him the victory. He knew far more about magic than Fenrir, and soon enough Fenrir's crippled, stunned, defeated form lay brutally wounded on the grassy terrain as Barty finally turned his attention to me, whispering incantations that I'd never heard of before.

The only thing I could properly register physically was of course the tingling sensation of Barty's supporting arm, and then… There was the feeling of pain ebbing away from my head.

My blinded, strained agony was slowly leaving me, and even though I was not entirely healed, the overwhelmingly unbearable aspect of the injuries were no longer present. I could now convert my focus to Barty.

But even as I stared at him in wonder through clear eyes, I couldn't think of anything to say to him.

This madman had saved my life. Yes, the madman with the rose, the third of the suspicious three, and the one who'd needed a cure from the dementors.

He captivated me in that moment, and I was transfixed with his very existence… His physical, emotional, and mental presence was dreamlike. He was magnetizing…

That feeling, the tingling of his arm coiled around my waist never left me as I focused entirely on him for that moment to observe him in a new light. A different perspective of mesmerized surrealism; and an enticing fascination with the absence of the fear, dislike, and distaste I had held for him once before.

There was no changing who he was, and there was no denying what he was either. He was an unrelenting, impure, cruel, Death Eater. I had accepted that, along with the fact that he was unpredictably dangerous. Yes, Barty Crouch Jr was manipulative, clever… and…

"You're far too good looking for your own good, you know that?"

He'd managed to regain a regular breathing pattern by then, and he grinned with a snicker at my remark, thin lips stretching while his eyes clouded with mischief.

He then pressed a firm, rough kiss to my lips, all the while bringing his other hand to my head as leverage to push my lips steadier against his own.

I let myself melt again under the pressure of his touch, however this time I did so willingly, with full knowledge of what I was getting into. I submitted, gave in- and awarded him with what he wanted. While he was forceful and hungry, I gave him full control of my lips; until finally the bold urge to give back struck me. I felt his moist mouth stretch into a smile as I myself began pressing myself back against him.

"Knew you wanted it…"

A frisky grin crossed my own features at that statement, and I parted from slightly to shoot him a challenging look. His eyes widened excitedly, and his tongue flickered out of his mouth in its usual way before he dove forward again.

I felt numb almost instantly. Again…

And as we kissed with unwavering passion beneath the moonlight, I whispered to him with a smile-

"Who do you think you are, putting a spell over me and assuming I "want you"?"

His reply was seductive and playful, and he uttered the exact words I wanted to hear.

"The only spell your under is the one you've put upon yourself."