Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Also, this story, and many of the OC characters, were created by sketchywolf, so I can't take credit for them. Anyway, enjoy the story!
Chapter One: 12 Grimmauld Place, London 1981
Laura Artemis Scamender placed her son, Andrew, in a dumbwaiter. Andrew, only a year and half, was very confused and frightened. He had a death grip on his mother's arm as she settled him inside the confined space.
"Andrew," She said, pulling one arm out of his grasp. "Sweetheart, I need to stay here."
"No," Andrew said, his eyes tearing up. He didn't like the dark, he was always afraid that something scary would come out and grab him.
Outside the house, the sound of people screaming interrupted their conversation. Andrew, now even more scared, started to cry. Laura glanced back at the doors, worry etched on her face. The Death Eaters were getting closer.
"Andrew - I need you to listen to me," Laura said in her no-nonsense voice. Andrew looked up at his mom, eyes still teary. "I need you to be quiet. No matter what happens - you can't make a sound. Do you understand?"
He nodded his head, and Laura let out a sigh of relief. She brought Andrew in for a hug, the last one she'd ever give him in this life, and then kissed him on the head.
"I love you." She stated, untangling his hands from her and closing the dumbwaiter door part way. She wanted him to be safe, not suffocated.
Turning, she drew her wand and faced the doors of her house. She could no longer hear any screaming, and took this for a sign that any wizard who had refused to join the Death Eaters had been killed. Taking a stance, she prepared herself for the worst.
In a moment, the doors burst open, revealing Bellatrix Lestrange leading a hoard of Death Eaters. Bellatrix grinned savagely when she saw Laura, and sauntered into the house like she owned it.
"Why, hello there Lauri!" She said as if the two of them were best friends. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Laura, instead of responding, pointed her wand at Bellatrix threateningly.
"Get out." She stated. Bellatrix put a hand to her chest in mock surprise, and looked back at the others.
"Can you believe this?" She asked them, pointing at Laura. "So rude! And I was going to offer you a position!"
"I would never have accepted," Laura said, taking a step forward. Bellatrix shook her head, tutting.
"Oh, well…" Bellatrix drew her wand slowly, her eyes glinting. "At least I can that I tried to bring her around," Turning around abruptly, Bellatrix pointed her wand at Laura and casually saying, "Sectumsempra."
In a flash, Laura's body started bleeding as slashes from an invisible weapon cut her over and over again. Screaming out in pain every time another mark appeared, Laura's legs buckled, and she came to her knees. But she was still alive, and still had her wand in her hand.
"Poor dear," Bellatrix said cheerily, skipping over so that she was face to face with Laura. "Do you want me to make the pain stop?"
"Cruciatus!" Laura spat back, letting her hate spill into the spell. With a shriek, Bellatrix fell to the ground, writhing in pain as the unforgivable curse did it's job. With a smirk, Laura turned to face the other Death Eaters, all of which were standing outside her doors, looking confused.
Laura raised her wand again, and pointed it at the nearest Death Eater - when a flash of green light hit her. The moment it hit her, Laura Scemander was instantly killed, and the Cruciatus spell lost its power.
"Lady Bellatrix," the Death Eater who had cast the spell, said, hurrying over to the dark witch. He pulled Bellatrix up into a sitting position. "Are you all right?"
"Is she dead?" Bellatrix asked, panting. She didn't think Laura could cast a Cruciatus spell. Voldemort had been right, she would have been a wonderful Death Eater.
"Yes," The Death Eater said, glancing over at Laura. "I used the Killing Curse on her, there's no way she could have survived."
"Idiot!" Bellatrix exclaimed, slapping his arms away. "If I had tortured her enough, she might have joined our ranks. But now...she is useless to us."
"I am sorry…" The Death Eater said, bowing his head. Bellatrix gave him a withering look before she turned to address the others.
"Take note of this!" She shouted, so they could all hear her. "You are not to kill anyone I am torturing - without my consent. Is that clear?"
The Death Eaters all nodded, fearful of saying otherwise. Bellatrix nodded, and stole a glance back at Laura. The woman lay there, dead and bleeding on the floor. If Sirius Black ever saw what happened to his wife...well, lets just say Bellatrix was glad Black was in an inescapable prison.
"Come," She said, heading for the doors. "The Longbottoms are next on our list. Maybe I can actually have some fun with them."
With that, Bellatrix and the Death Eaters left. They had not checked the house for anyone else, and why would they? Laura and Sirius had kept Andrew's birth a secret. No one except a few close friends knew he even existed.
But he did indeed exist, and when the Death Eaters had left, he slowly opened the dumbwaiter door. His mother had said to be quiet, and had told him to stay put. Well, he wasn't technically making any sounds, and he wasn't moving from his spot. He was just opening the door.
"Momma?" He asked, seeing no one but his mother on the ground. She didn't respond, and Andrew felt a spike of fear. Why didn't she answer him? Climbing out of the dumbwaiter, he made his way shakily over to his mother. He put his little hands on her shoulders and tried to wake her up. "Momma! Momma!"
She still didn't answer him, and Andrew began to grow frantic. Why didn't she wake up. Crawling around to her other side, he looked at her face to see if she was awake -
And he saw her eyes blue eyes wide open, and a large, red slash mark crossing her face. Blood was oozing from her wound, and Andrew could only stare in horror at his mother. Her blond hair was stained red with her blood, and her eyes had un-shed tears lingering in them.
Andrew's tears started up again, and he started shaking her harder than ever, calling out her name over and over again.