Chapter Four:
Lord Voldemort's Men
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JKR, who was kind enough to leave lots of missing moments in DH for people like me to attempt to fill in.
Standing in the doorway were two large men, menacingly clad in black robes. Something about the men indicated, even to the Dursleys, that these were not friendly figures. This was confirmed when Hestia Jones, who was normally so calm and collected, screamed and hastily drew her wand.
Unfortunately for her, the larger of the two men, apparently the leader, acted before she had a chance.
"STUPEFY!" he yelled, and with a burst of red light Hestia's body crumpled to the floor. All three of the Dursleys turned their heads to Dedalus, who was quivering on the other side of the room, wandless.
"Amazing what one can accomplish with Veritaserum and the Cruciatus curse, even on house elves, eh Diggle? AvadaKe-"
"NO SELWYN!" roared the man's companion, knocking his wand from his hand. "Think of what valuable information about the Order's activities the Dark Lord can extract from him! STUPEFY!"
There was another flash of brilliant red light, and Dedalus, the Dursleys' last real hope for protection from these aggressors, collapsed limply to the ground.
Petunia reacted with animal instincts, grabbing Dudley by the shoulder and attempting to drag her son, who appeared to be frozen with shock and fear, out of the room toward the staircase. However, his weight far exceeded hers, and before they had made it more than two paces the Death Eaters acted again, each pointing their wands at the retreating pair and shouting, "Incarcerous!"
Petunia and Dudley too fell to the ground, conscious but tightly bound in thick ropes.
Vernon started toward his wife and son, but the larger visitor ordered him to stop. Mr. Dursley, who was glad to remain mobile and intended to keep it that way, obliged.
Wasting no time on pleasant introductions, ("How very rude," thought Petunia), the duo's leader spoke coldly.
"Where is the boy?"
"What boy?" said Vernon, apparently hoping the man had stumbled upon the wrong house, "The only boy here is my Duddykins, and he can't possibly be.."
"Not your fat, disgusting muggle offspring, Dursley. The Dark Lord has no use for him other than as a potential feast for that damn werewolf, Greyback. I am speaking of your dear, dear nephew."
"I have no bloody idea where that blasted boy is, nor do I care to find out."
"You are lying to me, filthy muggle! I am a member of one of the purest wizarding families in history. Your lies are akin to spitting on the Lestrange family tree! Crucio!"
Mr. Dursley flopped to the ground, screaming, his body racked with a pain ten times worse than any he had ever experience, or even imagined.
"VERNON!" sobbed Petunia frantically, "STOP IT!"
"As you wish," said Lestrange calmly.
Vernon Dursley stopped writhing, although all the blood seemed to have drained from his face and he clearly lacked the ability to pull himself back to a standing position.
"I ask you again, muggle. WHERE IS POTTER?"
Vernon whimpered, sniffled, and whispered, "I don't know, damn it. With any luck, the bloody boy is already dead and this nonsense can end."
Anger filled the Death Eater's face.
"Liar. Stupid filthy muggle, thinking himself worthy to fool Rodolphus Lestrange! Crucio!"
Vernon thought he might die. Truth be told, at this particular moment in time, he figured that may be the best possible outcome. He felt as if a million white hot knives were piercing every inch of his body. He thought his head would explode from the pain. He thought he could not possibly take another second. And then everything went black, and he gratefully slipped into nothingness.
"Damn muggle," muttered Lestrange, and his companion nodded agreement.
"Is he dead?" Selwyn asked. Lestrange walked over to Vernon and examined him briefly.
"No, just unconscious."
The man raised his wand. "Avada-"
"NO!" shrieked Rodolphus, "Selwyn, you imbecile, the Dark Lord wants them alive when we finished interrogating them! How the hell will we use them to bait Potter if they are all dead?"
Petunia was crying, but it was Dudley who was sobbing the loudest, his grotesquely obese body wracked with hysterical tears. Never in his life had he been so afraid, not even when Dementors had appeared out of nowhere and attacked him and Harry. At least then Harry had been there, wand in hand, to protect him. Now there was no one. Dudley looked to the door hopefully, as if expecting Harry to come running in, wand raised, and save him again. But no help came.
Selwyn, apparently eager to redeem himself in the eyes of his companion, crossed the room and untied Dudley Dursley.
"Where is your cousin, filthy boy?"
"I don't know- when we left Privet Drive, he stayed behind. Someone was supposed to come for him later, and I don't know where he was going from there- Please, NO!"
But the rage of his interrogator was mounting.
"ALL LIES! Crucio!"
Dudley began to writhe and scream, experiencing the same white hot pain that his father had suffered moments before.
"NOOOOO!" shrieked Petunia. "YOU WILL NOT HARM MY SON!"
And then something amazing happened. Selwyn froze momentarily, and was then blasted ten feet backwards, where he landed and did not stir.
Rodolphus, momentarily distracted by the sudden unexplainable incapacitation of his partner, was jumped from behind by Vernon Dursley, who had regained consciousness and managed to gather enough adrenaline-fueled strength to attack.
Vernon was not himself a small man, and his surprise tackle pulled Lestrange to the ground. Mr. Dursley took advantage of his opponent's shock at this turn of events to seize his wand, and begin beating him frantically over the head with it. After a few blows, the wand broke in half. Vernon, his energy apparently strengthened by the animalistic desire to protect his family the best way he knew how, grabbed Lestrange around the neck and began to hammer his head against the ground.
"NO…ONE…HURTS…DUDLEY!" he grunted as he pounded. Soon, Lestrange had been knocked out by the force of Vernon's blows.
Petunia, with an air of forced calm about her that was very unexpected given the situation, began issuing instructions.
"Dudley dear, if you can manage, please go and retrieve Selwyn's wand before he wakes up. Vernon, please untie me and help me try to wake Hestia and Dedalus."
Both men obeyed the woman's wishes, although Dudley was shaking and crying as he did so.
After a bit of prodding, the unconscious pair began to stir, but it was Hestia who awoke first.
She looked around, noting with joy and shock that all of her charges were alive. Even more surprising though, was that their two attackers both appeared defeated! With some effort, she managed to pull herself to her feet and investigate, wand clutched tightly in her hand.
Lying nearby was a face she recognized as one of the Lestrange brothers, who had yet again broken out of Azkaban with You-Know-Who's takeover of the Ministry. She noted that his wand was snapped in half, his face bloody, and his nose apparently broken.
"Muggle fighting," she thought to herself. "So crude, but it does appear to do the job." She couldn't help but wonder though, how the Dursleys had managed to beat two blood thirsty death eaters with magic on their side.
She walked a little further to the other body, that of a man she did not recognize. Hestia bent down to examine him, noting that this man had appeared to sustain no visible injuries like those of his friend, and his wand was still in his hand.
Hestia gasped. "What happened to this one?" she called to the Dursleys, all of whom were crying and clinging to each other. Seeing as Vernon had been semiconscious and Dudley tortured when the incident occurred, Petunia knew the answer fell to her, even though she lacked any real explanation.
"Well," she started, "he was hurting Dudley, and I…I yelled for him to stop, and then…well…he just sort of flew backwards."
"Oh, dear Petunia, you are truly Lily's sister!" Hestia exclaimed excitedly.
Petunia, unsure whether this was an insult or compliment, and even more unsure how this obvious statement was relevant to the conversation, looked back at Hestia with confusion all over her face.
"You stunned him, Petunia! You did magic to protect Dudley, and judging by this man's current state, strong magic at that!"
Petunia was more confused than ever. She, plain, ordinary, "muggle," Petunia, had done magic? Impossible!
But the look in Hestia's eyes and the lack of alternative explanation convinced Petunia that Hestia was indeed telling the truth.
Her husband and son stared at her with disbelief, but seeing as her sudden burst of power had likely saved all three of their lives, they made no comment. Petunia said nothing either, apparently struggling to come to terms with the fact she had harnessed a force she had tried to ignore since her sister had met that wretched boy from Spinner's End all those years before.
Hestia returned to the group and helped Dedalus to his feet. He was older than she, and clearly the stunning spell (and likely the shock of hearing about the destruction of his home) had affected him more than her.
"Well, I suppose we'll have to find someplace else to hide before these two wake up and send for their cronies." Hestia said. With a wave of her wand, Lestrange and Selwyn were bound with ropes much like the ones that had encased their would-be victims just minutes before.
Ordinarily, Mr. Dursley would have complained about the lack of notice to their departure and the fact that they clearly would not have adequate time to pack, not to mention that the only way out of here was to disafflicate (or whatever the hell it was) again, which he was not keen on doing, especially given the general feeling of unwellness that settled post-torture. However, sensing the immediate danger to his family, he chose to keep quiet. The five joined hands, spun on the spot, and disappeared.
A/N: Anyone remember reading an interview from Jo quite a while ago where she had revealed that someone would do magic late in life in Deathly Hallows? Well, seeing as this never made the final cut of the book I decided to add it back in. As Hestia says, Petunia is Lily's sister, so it is unsurprising that there is a hint of magical blood running through her veins, which she inadvertently employs in a frantic attempt to save her beloved son. Please review- lack of reviews for this story is making me sad (many thanks to those who have reviewed!).
