Chapter Twenty One

A/N: Thank you to Slytherin66 for reviewing the last chapter.

Gabrielle awoke to a pounding head and a bruised and aching body. She had never felt such pain in all her life, the flame in her muscles stoked by every small movement. With so much pain to fight through, it took the girl a moment to place its source. And then she remembered.

It had all been so lovely, so perfect. Fleur's wedding, the day she had dreamed of since childhood, had been exactly how she imagined, the flowers, the music, the dozens of smiling faces. And somehow, in the space of a few small minutes, it had all fallen to pieces. The flowers were crushed underfoot, the music drowned out by the screaming guests. Gabrielle had managed to catch a glimpse of her sister's face, crumped with horror, before she was lifted from her feet and everything went black.

The sound of dripping water drew the young girl's attention back to the present and she took in her surroundings as best she could without moving her aching neck. It was dark, wherever she was, making it difficult to make out any distinguishing factors, but there was nothing about the place that made it seem even vaguely present. All she knew was that it was cold and damp and likely miles away from home.

"Oh, Fleur." Gabrielle sighed, as she had done a thousand times before. Fleur had always felt like safety to her, the one person she could always trust to protect her. She could be one mile away or a hundred thousand miles, it would have the same effect. Fleur could not help her.

"Who's there?" came a voice from the corner of the room, and Gabrielle scrambled to her knees, biting her lip fiercely to stop herself from crying out. She needed to be ready to defend herself. However, the figure emerging from the shadows was clearly not a Death Eater. She was a girl with wild white-blonde hair, scarcely younger than Fleur.

"Oh, you're awake." the girl continued, her voice light and musical. There was something about her that seemed comforting, even if she had been found in a Death Eater's dungeon. "My name's Luna."

"I'm Gabrielle." the younger answered, remembering her mother's endless lectures on manners throughout her childhood. It was a strange thing to think about, having been kidnapped by the enemy in a war, but if this Luna was the only company she had, it was better to start on the right foot. She could not bear to be left alone, or to find herself faced with another enemy.

"You're glowing." Luna pointed out and Gabrielle blinked, unused to people speaking so directly to her. She looked down at her hands, seeing a faint silvery tinge to them.

"It's just ze moonlight." the little girl protested. Then a secret, one she did not tell to many; most people did not understand, and many who did were less than kind about it. "My grandmother was a Veela. Mostly I am just a normal girl, but when I am upset, my blood shows through a little more."

"That's interesting." Luna commented kindly, her expression unchanged. Gabrielle had never seen such a muted reaction to her family history; numerous lectures on the purity of bloodline, of species, but no one had ever continued to look at her in exactly the same way. "How did you get here?"

The younger girl took a deep breath, unsure she was ready to tell the story. It had only been an hour ago- or a day, or two days, she did not know for how long she had remained unconscious- but it felt like a lifetime ago. "I was at my sister's wedding, at ze Burrow, ze Weasleys' home. Ze Death Eaters, zey attacked us. Zey took me away. I don't remember anything else."

This time, the girl's expression changed, to one of conflicting shock and sadness. 'But she must have known.' Gabrielle thought, suddenly recalling her face. 'She was at the wedding. She wore a yellow dress and danced around while everyone stared at her. They thought she was mad.'

"And you don't remember anything else?" Luna clarified. When Gabrielle shook her head, the sadness became all the more prominent.

"Did zey take you at ze wedding as well?" the younger blonde asked, trying to divert the attention from herself. Luna's gaze, however harmless, was too intense to be comfortable.

"No, I was on my way home from school. The Death Eaters attacked the train." Luna responded, a little more sadness seeping into her voice. It could not be easy for her to speak about either. 'She must miss her family just as much as I miss mine. Merlin knows how long she has been trapped here.'

Gabrielle was about to offer some words of comfort, to do the same for Luna as she had at least attempted to do for her, but a few words caught her attention. Her throat grew dry, the water from it threatening to escape her eyes.

"You said zat you were on your way 'ome from school?" Gabrielle questioned, her voice a little too desperate. "Why would you be coming 'ome from school? You were at ze wedding, you couldn't 'ave gone to school so fast."

Luna did not even need to answer; the momentary pause she gave was enough for the tears to begin to fall.

"Non!" Gabrielle protested, quiet at first but growing louder each and every time. "Non! Non! Non!"

"Quiet!" Luna exclaimed, her eyes flitting to the ceiling. "Gabrielle, you have to be quiet or they'll hear you!"

"How could I 'ave been 'ere so long?!" the girl cried out, as Luna reached out to wrap her arms around her. Whether it was a truly comforting gesture or simply to muffle her cries so they would not be audible outside the dungeon, the young girl did not know, but she did not care. It did not matter. Nothing mattered.

"Something must have happened to your memory." Luna tried to explain. "There are creatures that can take away memories with the snap of their fingers, you know. Maybe one of those came along. They like the damp, so it could have been."

Gabrielle cut off Luna's rambling explanations with a tearful sentence, punctuated by a desperate sob. "Zey are not coming for us, are zey? Months 'ave passed since ze wedding and zey 'ave not found us yet. Zey are never going to find us."

"Don't worry, of course they will." Luna assured her, but there was no confidence in her voice, only hope. It was possible to survive on hope, Gabrielle reminded herself, but how long for? 'Not long enough.' she told herself bitterly. 'If they have spent so long trying to find us without succeeding, then they'll give up. They'll stop looking. They'll never find us. I'll spend the rest of my life alone.'

A screeching sound came from the edge of the room, as a rusty-hinged door was pulled open. Gabrielle clung more firmly to Luna, the only protection she had, but the girl was already cowering backwards. 'What don't I remember?' Gabrielle wondered briefly, but tried to dismiss the thought. Whatever she had forgotten, she realised, as a silver-handed man approached the pair, she was sure to find out soon.

A/N: Sorry for the depressing chapter, but life with the Death Eaters wouldn't have been sweetness and light. This chapter takes place in late December, about four and a half months after the wedding. More on the memory loss next chapter, but for now, please review!