Rosebud woke that morning to Sergillius Lestrange sitting on her bed. Horrified, she curled up beneath the blankets and scooted away from him. "You needn't be afraid of me, girl," he leered at her. "I didn't hurt you before, did I?"
Fear plain on her face, she curled up in a tighter ball, wishing he would go away. She was beginning to feel sick again, and wasn't at all sure what Sarge was up to. He caught her by the wrist and pulled her up so that she was sitting up against his chest. She closed her eyes, cringing within herself.
"Would you...change your mind?" he whispered in her ear, his hands on her waist. "Then you could stay here. I wouldn't mind that at all." He moved his hand further up her body and pulled her against him tightly, his face inches from hers.
Rosebud knew what Sergillius was suggesting, and was disgusted and horrified at the thought. She shuddered, feeling his cold hands on her body through her thin nightgown. She licked her lips and whispered, "No. I cannot betray my family." Unable to hold back her nausea, she threw up all over Sergillius.
He shoved her away in horror, cleaning off his robe. She lay on the bed, laughing slightly. "I'm sorry," she said. "I was trying not to." Glaring at her in fury, he grabbed her by the wrists.
"You horrid Mudblood," he hissed at her, watching fear come quickly back into her eyes.
Rosebud closed her eyes, afraid to look at Sergillius. She felt the bed sink, and looked up to see him kneeling over her. He looked directly into her eyes, and she saw his wild excitement. Terrified, she could not move until she felt him move to lie on top of her. Her scream of terror rattled the portraits on the walls: "Nooooooo!"
She fought him as hard as she could, kicking him quite hard a few times. He had a hard time holding her down. "Please," she begged him as tears streamed down her face. "Don't do this!"
Suddenly, the door flew open and Serena stormed in. "Get off of her!" shouted the woman at her husband. He didn't reply, but continued what he was doing. "Relashio!" Serena shouted, her wand pointed at Sergillius. He was thrown off the bed onto the floor and Serena stormed across the room to stand over him.
Rosebud tugged her nightgown down to cover her body, wrapping her arms around herself as she listened to Serena scream at Sergillius. "She's a Mudblood, Sergillius! Your mother would be furious! Don't you dare make excuses for your actions! You know that the little Gryff would never promise to stay away from Thaddeus. You know what our only course of action is now. Get out of here this instant."
Sergillius stood and left the room, a look of pure hatred on his face. Serena turned to Rosebud, who was curled up on the bed in fear. "Get dressed," Serena snapped at her. "And hurry up. We haven't got all the time in the world, you know." Serena opened the door to the room and added, "Come on out when you're ready. I will be waiting outside for you."
Rosebud nodded, and got out of bed as Serena shut the door. Dressing quickly, Rosebud glanced into the tiny mirror and saw herself, pale and trembling. "Oh," she snapped at herself. "You don't look very Gryffindor at the moment."
"No," agreed the picture of the Malfoys behind her. "To look like a Gryffindor, you must either have red hair and freckles, or black hair and a lightning-shaped scar." They burst out laughing.
"True," Rosebud said. She turned around and grinned at the picture before stepping out of the room.
Serena caught her by the arm and shoved her ahead of her down the hall. "Move," she hissed between her teeth. Rosebud hurried before Serena, not wanting to be cursed. Finally, Serena told Rosebud to stop, and stood in front of the door, whispering the password to the room. The door slid open, revealing Sergillius, who was waiting for them.
Rosebud hung back, but Serena cast a Propulsion Jinx on her and she hurried into the room. "I won't let him do that to you," Serena said caustically. "Now sit in that chair."
Quickly, Rosebud sat in the chair that Serena indicated. Sergillius was still frowning at her, and Rosebud asked, "What—what do you want now?"
"Your Auror friends are coming for you," Sergillius said coldly. "So it is time for your end." Fear hit Rosebud hard, but she kept looking at the two sitting on either side of her.
"Seven forms of the Cruciatus," Serena said, her eyes sparking with excitement.
Gasping in horror, Rosebud whispered, "Seven?"
Sergillius nodded. "And then Avada." A smile slowly crossed his face.
Rosebud leaped from the chair, wanting to run away. Something caught her and threw her to the ground, making her gasp in pain. "Wh—how—?"
"This room is warded against any attempts to flee," Sergillius sighed. "But you, little Mudblood, I did not expect to try to escape."
"Who would willingly suffer torture?" Rosebud spat at him, sitting on the floor.
Serena laughed coldly. "His mother did." She stood, drawing her wand. "Shall we get this over with?"
Terror filled Rosebud as Sergillius stood next to Serena, drawing his wand. "You know the proper order?" he asked Serena to make sure. She nodded, and they turned toward Rosebud. "Crucio!" they shouted together.
A fire-heat filled her entire body, and an agony she had never known began inside her. Rosebud screamed out, unable to keep silent for very long. She heard the two laughing, but could only think of her pain. Feeling a relief, she took a deep breath, realizing that the first curse was over.
But suddenly—"Crucio!" they re-cast the Curse.
Rosebud began to scream again and wrapped her arms around herself as the Curse made her feel as if she were being torn apart. She writhed in pain, lying on the ground, sobbing as she thought of her family back home. Ethan will grow up without me, she thought, a scream tearing from her throat as they intensified the Curse.
"My family," she sobbed out loud. "My Thad, my Ethan." Sarge and Serena scowled at her.
"You will never see them again," Sergillius told her coldly, and Rosebud sobbed, trying to sit up.
She stared at their wands pointed at her. Rosebud was sobbing in agony, terrified that for herself and her child. No matter what, she promised herself, you will not tell them that you are with child.
"Crucio!" Rosebud screamed as she felt the pressure on her body. Feeling her bones begin to give, she screamed, "Thad-y! Thad-y, will you come help me?" As she screamed, her mind struggled to get above the pain so that she could reach Thad through the Channel ©. "I can't reach him," she screamed as her bones began to snap under the pressure of the Curse.
She collapsed to the floor again: her broken body refusing to hold her up. "Of course you can't," said Serena sweetly. "The whole house is warded against anything that the Riddles could have taught you. Ingenious little brats, are they not?"
Rosebud wasn't listening to her torturers, though, and continued screaming even though she wasn't being cursed at the moment. "I'd never imagine her to carry on that loud," Sergillius said, raising his wand again. They sent the fourth Cruciatus together: "Crucio!"
Feeling a heavy pressure on her chest, Rosebud weakly put her hands up, screaming and sobbing in pain and terror. She was dying: they were trying to suffocate her. As she struggled to draw air into her lungs, her screaming died down, for it was more important that she breathe. Her body continued to twitch as they held the Curse on her.
Sergillius was smiling and Serena was laughing when they finished that form of the Curse. "That one is one of my favourites," Serena said happily and Sergillius nodded.
"We're not done yet," he said, and they cast it the fifth time.
Rosebud writhed in agony on the floor, screaming in pain. "Please," she begged the Lestranges, sobbing, "please stop!"
Sergillius scowled at her coldly and intensified his Curse, making her blood heat up and boil in her veins. She felt the heat radiate through her body and wailed in agony. "Ahhhhhhh!" she cried desperately. "Please! Oh, my family! Mummy, Daddy—my friends! Oh, James, Vi! Thad, Ethan—oh, ahhhhhhh!"
Her prolonged screams infuriated her torturers, and they prepared to send the sixth Curse. "Thad," she sobbed, lying on the floor. "They're going to kill me. Please help me." She screamed again before they could begin the torture, the pain of the previous Curses getting to her.
Sergillius moved to Curse her, but Serena cried, "The wards just went down!"
"Help me," he snapped at her. "We will finish her if it costs us everything."
"Can't," sobbed Rosebud, closing her eyes in agony. She lay there, every once in a while screaming.
Serena tilted her head and looked at the little mess on the floor. "Pity to disturb her," she said. "She seems so peaceful lying there."
"Pay attention," growled Sergillius, and the two snapped, "Crucio!"
Rosebud's screams rose again, echoing through the room. She felt as if she were drowning, for her mind did not understand what was really happening to her. Rosebud clawed at her throat, then at the floor, making Sarge and Serena laugh harshly. The poor girl sobbed and screamed, but she wasn't sure why she was doing so.
She looked up at the two in pure terror. What was her Thad doing there? Did he agree with them? Did he want her to hurt? Rosebud sobbed at the thought. Not Thad. He said he loved me. He really did. But he hates me now.
"Thad," she sobbed, stretching her broken hand out toward the man, "just kill me."
"One more Crucio," Sergillius told her softly. "One more, and then Avada. Serena?"
"With pleasure," she said proudly.
Rosebud didn't hear them cast the Curse the last time: she was buried in her pain and feelings of betrayal. Her screams continued, her vision darkening around the edges. Blood ran from everywhere, under her fingernails and out of her ears until she was lying in a pool of her own blood. "Thad, I loved you," she sobbed, barely audible. "And—Ethan. Love him—please."
People poured into the room as Serena stepped forward. "Avada Ke—"
Everyone was gathered at the Riddle Mansion when the Aurors arrived there. Harry looked around at the people Ginny had called to aide them and frowned. "Ginny, most of these are ex-Death Eaters!"
"Yeah," said Megan Sage Malfoy sarcastically. "Pay attention to the 'ex' part of that, Potter. It's our redeeming quality."
Guinevere Rillian Greenbox, Megan's friend, laughed. "We expect the wards at Lestrange Manor to be extremist wards," she said easily. "Therefore, Estella needed her pureblooded friends to assist her. Of course, we would never pass up an opportunity to break wards, or to curse someone legally."
Harry scowled at them, and Traccidia Malfoy laughed at him. "Quit screwing around, Potter. We've got a Mudblood to save."
The looks on half the faces in the room were hysterical to behold, but no one laughed. Generally, even ex-Death Eaters still strongly dislike Mudbloods. Estella indeed had a strong influence over her friends.
"All right," Harry said finally, "but they're your responsibility, Ginny."
"Haven't we always been?" Brianna Weasley asked Harry. "Go splinch yourself."
Her twin laughed, but Fred frowned at her. "Brie, that's not nice," he said as the Aurors frowned at them and left. "They're our friends."
She laughed. "I'm no Hufflepuff, Fred, dear," she replied, "but for your sake—." She sighed.
Estella quickly explained to her audience what groups they would be going in and what wards they would be focusing on. The children were staying with Arianna and her younger siblings at the Riddle Mansion, which had had its protections enhanced for the occasion.
The groups left together, using Side-along Apparition. Saelia and Ashley stayed behind with Arianna and the children, being too pregnant to go along with their family.
Once at the Lestrange Manor, the groups went to different points around the Mansion and began to work on bringing down the wards. Ginny's team was struggling with one of them, but when Ginny gave the binding word, the ward spat not only curses, but also debris at her instead of collapsing. Ginny managed to dodge the curses, but she received a piece of brick in her arm. "Ow!" she gasped, and Samantha asked, "Are you all right?"
Ginny nodded, and Tom, whose team was close by, called, "Ginny, I think some of the binding wards are in Parseltongue. The older wards would be, but not the newer ones. My dear cousin must have had a hand in these."
"Or a tongue," quipped George Weasley, making the others around laugh. Ginny's team took up the ward again, and when Ginny pronounced the word in Parseltongue, the ward crumbled. "Well, that helps," Ginny said, removing the piece of brick from her arm and slowing the bleeding to begin healing.
A moment later, Tom called to her again. "Silvanus' team has both apparition wards down. Titus is taking Thad's team in: he and Bethany are going in with the Aurors." Ginny nodded.
Thad was silent as he entered the Mansion, James and Dirk on one side of him, and Bethany and Brenda on the other. All were watching carefully, wands drawn. "Where do you suppose they have her?" Brenda asked. "I'm certain they're not in the same place as before: that's where we are now."
"They're in the Dark Room," said one of the pictures on the wall, and Harry, who'd just apparated in with several other Aurors, recognized Rabastan Lestrange.
"Where's that?" James asked him.
The portrait shrugged. "Picture-Bella told me that's where they were," he said. "I don't know where it is: it's a fairly new room those two added. She was in Bethany's old room last night."
Dirk nodded at the portrait, and just then, a House-elf apparated in. Thad turned quickly and said, "Where are they keeping the girl?"
"Uh, Masters," squeaked the elf, "it is not easy to find. Racey must apparates the Masters there."
Thad nodded, and said, "Then you must come back for the others." He and a few others gathered around the House-elf and disapparated with him.
They found themselves in a dimly lit hall that was very cold. "In there," said the elf, pointing to a door. "But Racey must not go in."
"Very well," Thad said. "Go back for the others, then."
Bethany and James shared a look, and Dirk and Brenda grinned, knowing that that house-elf was the very same one that Thad had put under the Imperius earlier. Thad turned to the door, studying it carefully. "Warded as well," he said. "Probably curses on the inside. Be very careful when the ward crumbles."
Thad, Bethany, and Dirk began to work on the ward, when suddenly, they heard Rosebud sob, "Thad, just kill me." Thad became very pale upon hearing that, desperately hoping that she wasn't in as bad condition as she sounded.
"One more Crucio," said a soft though terrible voice. "One more, and then Avada."
The ward around the door crumbled, and suddenly, they were busy blocking curses sent at them from inside the room. Rosebud's anguished screams were echoing through the hall, and Bethany was struggling to keep herself together, knowing that if she lost her composure, Thad probably would as well.
"Thad, I loved you," Thad heard as if Rosebud were whispering in his ear. "And—Ethan. Love him—please." He dashed forward into the room, James, Bethany, and Scorpius (who'd just come in with another group by the house elf) right behind him.
Without glancing at the intruders, Serena stepped forward and pointed her wand at the bloodied mess on the floor. "Avada Ke—"
"Sectumsempra," Thad snarled in Parseltongue, not realizing he'd slipped into it. He slashed his wand downward, a look of cold malice in his eyes.
Bethany looked sideways at Thad in shock, then turned to intercept her father, joining James and Scorpius in the fight to subdue him. Serena screamed and fell to the ground, blood running from her deep wound. Sergillius was stunned a moment later, and Bethany ran to Thad, who was kneeling by Rosebud's broken body.
"Rosebud," whispered Thad. She didn't even look at him, but when he reached out his hand to her, she screamed in terror. Bethany pulled Thad's hand back, then quickly put up a Sleeping Ward over the poor girl. Ginny appeared behind them with Bellatrix, and everyone became quiet except Bethany, who took Thad's hand and reached through the ward she'd created to touch Rosebud.
Bethany shuddered, realizing that she had no idea where she was touching Rosebud, there was so much blood and her figure was so misshapen. They disapparated, and appeared at St. Mungo's. The healers immediately took Rosebud up to the fourth floor to get her stabilized. Bethany stayed to support Thad, who was acting lost. She helped him fill out the papers and answer the healers' questions to the best of their abilities.
Thad followed Bethany silently when they were told that they wouldn't be allowed to see Rosebud until the next day, when they took the Sleeping Ward off. Bethany and Thad went back to the first floor of St. Mungo's: they were shocked to find reporters there, waiting to interview them.
"How is she?" one of them called to Thad.
"Bethany Lestrange, was Bellatrix involved in the torture?" another asked, grabbing Bethany's sleeve.
"What will happen if Rosebud is pronounced insane?"
"Will you—?"
Furious at the reporters, Bethany drew her wand, standing at her full height. Without hesitation, she cursed the one who asked about Bellatrix and the one that she'd cut off. "No comment!" she snapped at them. "Get out of our way!"
The crowd of reporters parted, and Bethany escorted Thad straight to the apparition point. Taking his hand, she Side-along apparated him back to the Lestrange Mansion.
Ginny was beside Serena, healing her, and Bellatrix was frowning in disapproval. Bethany wondered what her grandmother thought about the whole issue: she knew that Bellatrix was desperate to stay free from Azkaban. Reyallalie, Ginny's friend from school, was being tightly held by two Aurors, and Brianna and Samantha were trying to convince them to let her go.
"What happened?" Bethany asked the twins.
"Oh," spat Brianna, "Reya asked Estella if—if Rosebud looked as bad as the Longbottoms did—you know, when they had their little torture session. Not exactly the nicest thing to say."
Thad frowned. "Definitely not," he said decisively, looking at his mother's friend, "but let her go. She didn't do anything." The instant the Aurors released her, she disapparated.
Bethany looked questioningly at her grandmother, and Bellatrix nodded at her. "Worse," she told Bethany. "We didn't use the Blood-letting Cruciatus on them. It...leaves a mess."
The Aurors had already taken Sergillius away, and Serena was just waking. She tried to sit up—and found five Aurors standing over her, wands pointed at her. She scowled at them as they made her stand and escorted her away.
"So, exactly what did they do?" Harry directed the question at Bellatrix. "Did you witness anything that they did to her? Did you ever speak with her before—?"
"Potter," said Bellatrix coldly, "if you want an answer, let your victim speak." He blinked in surprise, and she continued, "She was at dinner with us last night: she...carved a little decoration into our table. I spoke her to in her room afterward, and she told me all that they had done to her, both at her home and here so far. The girl had been Cursed already, and had narrowly escaped Avada twice at her home. Here, she'd been subjected to more curses because she made Serena furious."
Bellatrix grinned in amusement. "I healed her from the curses she'd already taken, and explained to her that the two of them intended to torture her quite thoroughly."
Ron stared. "You healed a—a—"
"Ron, shut up," said Ginny, and Bellatrix laughed at them.
"The word is 'Mudblood,'" she informed him haughtily. "And, yes, I did. The effects of the Cruciatus compound, and she had a better chance of survival if she didn't have pain to begin with."
"So what all did they do to her in here?" asked Teddy, his hair black and curly at the moment.
Bellatrix looked over at the place where Rosebud had been lying. "They used the seven forms of the Cruciatus on her," she sighed. "Every single one of them twice, because of Sergillius and Serena. They intended to kill her, but were a little interrupted."
An apparition sounded, and Bethany turned to see Thad gone. She disapparated after him quickly. Bellatrix frowned at the Aurors. "Now get out of my home," she hissed. "Estella, I wish to speak with you."
Ginny nodded as the others gathered and began to leave. Bellatrix was furious, and Ginny could tell, thankful that Bellatrix was so good at hiding what she felt. When it was quiet in the room, Bellatrix fumed, "Do they always have to believe that I never do anything good? Such good little children they are, so upright. Never do anything wrong: Perfect Potter and his Aurors. Oh, yes. It makes me want to Curse them."
"I suggest that you don't," Ginny said, laughing. "And we've discussed this before, but I completely understand. Even when he does Unforgivables, he's forgiven. And they're not perfect, either, but they're Gryffindor wicked, not Slytherin wicked."
Bellatrix sighed and nodded. "Can I help it that the Dark Lord took it upon himself to make fun of Cissy and me in front of the other Death Eaters because of Andromeda? Can I? Or that my mutt-cousin just happened to be the boy's godfather? Does Potter have to remember every little thing that's happened because of war?"
"I understand," Ginny answered softly. "He has things he'll never forget, Trixie: he watched Sirius die. Ron will never forget your torture of Hermione. There are things that are never forgotten, even though we avoided Azkaban."
Bellatrix agreed hesitantly. "All that is left to do here is to put the wards back in place," she told Ginny, flicking her wand and cleaning up the blood on the floor. "I want a loophole for you, me, Bethany, and her family, but no one else."
Ginny nodded. "Let's go get started."