Chapter Twelve

The mansion was beautiful. It was unlike any place she'd been before and it was certainly an improvement on Grimmauld Place which was a dump in comparison. She didn't know who owned the place but couldn't imagine how it mattered. The Dark Lord and his Death Eaters no doubt lived or stayed here for the most part.

The room she was in now was sumptuously decorated. The walls were a pale green and the floor was made of stone and had a fluffy white rug in the centre. At the far end sat a marble fireplace that roared with life. A gilt mirror hung above it, in which she could clearly see her reflection. A black leather lounge set sat against the wall, portraits of blonde haired, pale skinned people hanging on the wall behind it.

Thalia stepped towards the large, square window that was surrounded by opaque white curtains. She was on the second floor and the window didn't open. The security was just like at Grimmauld Place. Once inside it was hard to get out. From the window, she could see the garden, the fountain in the centre was visible as were the unmissable albino peacocks that roamed around.

"Time to go, little girl."

Thalia turned at the voice, startled as she didn't hear him come in. A tall man with a pale and twisted face had stepped into the room. He wore a long, black robe that swept along the ground. His hard grey eyes bore into hers, making her look away quickly but she gave him a nod to show she understood.

She approached and treaded around him, leaving the room and went downstairs, fully aware that he was following. They walked down a long, dim corridor, turning off to enter the drawing room. The purple walls stood out vividly against the paintings and portraits that lined the walls. Thalia wondered how many generations it went back.

In the centre a long and stylish silver table took up most of the room. Many people sat around it in the high backed matching chairs, all of them swathed in black robes that hit the wooden floor. Thalia stopped in the doorway and held her breath as slight panic set in, glancing sideways as the man remained with her.

But no attention was paid to either of them. The meeting continued as though they weren't there. At the far end Thalia saw a pale man with no nose and slitted eyes that glowed red. The breath she'd been holding was released and her shoulders slumped. Near the fireplace at the other end, she saw her father who was already looking her way.

After being reunited with him, they had apparated straight here and she'd been immediately placed in the room upstairs. It had been a couple days. This was the first time she'd been out or seen anyone. It had really surprised her. She expected her father to follow her into the room and lock the door but he hadn't. He'd just turned and left. The absence of a punishment did make her think one was close by though. It had to be.

Almost another ten minutes passed before the meeting seemed to end. Fenrir lifted a finger and gestured for her to come over. A few people from the meeting piled out of the room without a word, while others stared at her and watched as she walked by. It was unnerving to say the least. At reaching her father, she stopped in front of him and waited, not daring to look up and met his eyes.

Fenrir moved in closer, his scent filling her senses. With his forefinger and thumb, he lifted her head by her chin, forcing her to look at him. Thalia's eyes widened a little. Fenrir's expression was calm and his touch was almost gentle. It only made her feel worse. This was going to be bad when it reached its end.

"So this is the thing you wanted back?"

The high pitched voice made Thalia freeze. It was cold and inhuman.

Fenrir turned to face the person who had spoken. "Yes, my lord," he said, in the politest voice Thalia had ever heard.

A gasp flew from her mouth as her legs were kicked out from under her and a hand twisted in her hair to pull her head back. A warm, breathy chuckle hovered above her ear, gently tickling the lobe.

"Bow to your lord," hissed the cold, female voice.

The hands released pushing her so she fell forwards on her hands. The small group that had remained behind after the meeting laughed, clearly amused. Thalia felt her cheeks burn with slight embarrassment but she said nothing, waiting to see where this was going. She moved back to her knees, wiping her hands on the front of her robes.

With a quick glance behind her she noticed the woman who forced her to bow and whispered in her ear was Bellatrix Lestrange. Part of her wasn't surprised. A tall figure soon came into view, disrupting her train of thought. The black robes swished along the ground fluidly like water. Thalia's breathing turned irregular as glanced up for the briefest of moments.

It was the same man she'd seen earlier with the pale skin and glowing red eyes. "Nagini…"

A faint frown appeared between Thalia's brows. The name uttered had no meaning to her. But it was soon answered when a hissing noise sounded through the room, making everyone silent. Thalia's eyes widened to an impossible size as an enormous snake slithered in, hissing at a few people as it came forward. It crawled up the man's body, encircling and twisting around until its head was beside his.

"Do you know who I am?"

Thalia nodded but said nothing.

"Then who am I?" he pressed.

"You're… you're V- Vo- Vold-"

Laughter cut her off and she hung her head in humiliation. Her cheeks burned bright red. Even Voldemort laughed along with his followers. "It seems even after your time with the Order, you can't say my name. Interesting."

"If you say so," Thalia muttered under her breath.

A smack echoed the room as Bellatrix struck her across the head. "Whelp!" she shouted. "You will apologise!"

"Calm yourself, Bellatrix," said Voldemort in a calm voice. "It seems she doesn't think it's so interesting. What were they teaching you there?"

"N-nothing," whispered Thalia.

"Nothing? Really?" question Voldemort. "I find that hard to believe. You will tell me everything I want to know, won't you?"

"Like what?" asked Thalia. She could hear her voice shaking but did her best to ignore it.

"Where is the location of their headquarters?"

Thalia shook her head. "I don't know," she answered with a shrug.

"Liar," breathed Voldemort.

"Even if I wanted to tell you, I can't," said Thalia firmly. "They have a secret keeper which prevents it."

"Hmm…" the dark lord hummed. "The others said the same. Perhaps they were telling the truth after all… but I guess the torture wasn't a complete waste."

As Thalia thought through his words, she soon realised he was talking about the three members his followers had kidnapped earlier. Thalia subtly glanced around. They had to be somewhere in this house, well, unless they had another location. The thought alone made her feel strangely cold.

"Would you like to join them?"

Thalia gave no response but the decision was made for her. Two Death Eaters grabbed her arms and hauled to her to her feet. Thalia glanced to where her father had been standing but he was no longer there. He was gone. A feeling of disappointment filled her but she pushed it down as she was taken through a trap door. The dark flight of stairs led to a metal gate which opened with the flick of a wand. She was shoved inside and the gate magically locked behind them.

Instantly, Thalia searched the pockets of her robes for her wand but came up empty. Somewhere along the way, someone had taken it but she didn't know who. The cell she stood in was cold. The walls and floor were both made of stone as were the columns that surrounded her. There was barely any light, most of it coming from a single torch in the corner which three bodies huddled around, drops of blood leading straight to them.

Only one of them had moved at all from the disturbance. "Thalia?"

It was Bill. She walked forwards a little, curious, wanting a better look at him and the twins that sat hunched over in the corner together. Bill looked good despite being attacked. His hair remained in his trademark ponytail and the scratches on his already marked face were minimal but the large gash down his shoulder didn't go unnoticed.

"Are you alright?" she asked after seeing the wound.

"I'll be fine," said Bill, dismissing his injury. "It's George I'm worried about. He lost an ear."

"What?" asked Thalia, alarmed.

"Bellatrix's idea of a hilarious joke," said Bill bitterly. "Fred's fine but he won't be if George dies."

"Judging from what… he said you've been tortured?"

"Yes," said Bill, knowing who she referred to. "Although Voldemort didn't do the torturing himself. He let his followers do it."

"What did you tell them?"

"Nothing," said Bill firmly. "I hope you did the same."

"He only asked me where the headquarters were," said Thalia, shrugging. "But I won't say anything."

"Good," Bill muttered under his breath before turning back to his brothers.

Thalia mirrored his movements and approached the twins. George was leaning against the wall with Fred dangled over him, a hand rubbing his back. Even from where she stood Thalia could see the blood from George's ear dripping onto the stone floor. The drops leading to them were dry but the small puddle wasn't. It was still wet and shined in the firelight above.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" asked Thalia quietly.

"I've done all I can for now," replied Bill, sighing. "I managed to slow the bleeding but it was dark magic that Bellatrix used. It needs constant attention or he'll bleed out but it won't matter in a few hours anyway."

"Why?" asked Thalia quickly.

"We've got nothing to replenish his blood with," answered Bill, meeting her eye. "We've been here for two days now and he's lost quite a bit of blood. I estimate we've maybe got another day but that would be stretching it."

Thalia looked away and back down at George. She frowned faintly at Bill's almost calm tone of voice. When she looked back up to his face, she shook her head slowly. "What are you saying?" she asked slowly. "You want me to go out there and what, beg or something?"

Bill sighed again and his features tensed as though he were in pain. "I know I have no right to ask but we're not important to anyone out there but you are," said Bill firmly. "Fenrir has been looking for you and now he's got you back, he leaves you in here. Why? If you go to him and apologise he might take you back and you can ask him for a favour."

"Are you kidding me?" shrieked Thalia. "The only thing I'll be getting is a beating whether I apologise or not."

"Why is Fenrir not beating you now then?" asked Bill quickly.

"I don't know," said Thalia, shrugging. "Maybe he's lost interest."

"Maybe he's waiting for you to turn desperate," suggested Bill. "The Order don't know where we are so no help is coming and George doesn't have that kind of time. He doesn't have the strength for a fight either and I'm not going to risk it. There's only you."

"I don't want to…" whined Thalia, moving away from them.

"I know and I'm sorry for asking you to do this but there's no other option. Please, Thalia."

Thalia stopped where she was and looked at Bill again. From the look on his face and his pleads, she almost couldn't bear it. A heavy sigh escaped her and she nodded slowly before walking to the gate and bashing on it as hard as she could.

"Hey!" she shouted. "Someone get down here!"

Shuffling was heard from upstairs and soon the trap door was opened. Thalia squinted through the light and saw a tall figure standing at the top of the stairs. She couldn't tell who it was, only that it must have been a Death Eater from the black robes.

"What you yelling about?" demanded the Death Eater in a rough voice.

"I want to see my father!" she called out, hoping others upstairs had heard it too.

"He'll get to you, sweetheart."

"Get Fenrir here and tell him his daughter wants to see him now!"

"Crucio!"

The unforgivable curse hit Thalia in the chest and she fell backwards, hitting the stone floor before writhing with the uncontrollable pain the curse caused. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes while cries of pain escaped her mouth. In only seconds it was over but had felt like minutes. Cold laughter came from the trap door entrance.

"Remember your place, little girl."

The trap door closed, cutting off the light and Thalia realised it was the same Death Eater who had collected her from the room upstairs. In seconds, a figure leaned over her and after blinking out the rest of the tears, she saw it was Bill. An expression of concern coated his features and he helped her back to her feet.

"Are you alright?" he whispered, checking her for any major damage.

"I'm fine," she said, stepping away.

"Well, thanks for trying," said Bill, looking defeated.

"I'm sure father will come and get me," said Thalia, trying to sound as hopeful as she could. "I wish I could say what he does in situations like these but I don't as I've never been in one."

"It's okay," said Bill quickly.

"Bill!" yelled Fred.

Both of them looked to the corner at the other side of the room. George was now slumped against the wall rather than leaning. His eyes were closed and his mouth open. Bill rushed over and moved Fred aside, getting in close to his younger sibling. Thalia stepped closer in curiosity as she watched Bill hold George's head between his hands and muttered incantations. When he finished he stood up and wiped the blood off his hands onto his jeans.

"What did you just do?" asked Thalia, still looking at Bill.

"Wandless magic is possible," said Bill, meeting her eye. "That's why George doesn't have long. Doing this with a wand would only be a little better. We need someone who knows how to handle injuries caused by dark magic and I'm not an expert. What I'm able to do without a wand only helps a little."

With nothing left to say, Thalia watched as the three Weasley's sat together in the corner, Bill watching over the two younger ones. Feeling out of place, she stepped away and walked towards the only boarded up window. She frowned faintly as she wondered why there was a boarded up window in a cell. She looked it over, hoping for a crack in it to see anything but there was nothing. It was completely sealed.

After a few moments, everything remained the same and Thalia moved to sit on the floor. Her eyes darted between the three Order members and the metal gate at the other end, hoping it would soon open and she could have a chance at helping.