Five days had passed since Eleanor awoke in her old bedroom at Malfoy Manor. She'd spoken to no one besides Lucius when he delivered her two meals a day. Unbeknownst to Eleanor, right before the scheduled delivery of her nightly dry biscuit and chicken, Lucius paced at the bottom of the staircase and eyed her room nervously. He was hanging on by a thread. He wasn't sure who was being tortured more by Eleanor's being there, Eleanor or himself. Perhaps that was what was intended.

"Oh come now, Lucius. She can't be that ferocious, can she?" Bellatrix laughed loudly, appearing seemingly out of nowhere.

"Of course not. I'm just making her wait a while to eat. Keep her begging for it." Lucius covered, though he was white as a sheet. Bellatrix continued laughing.

"I'd love the chance to smack that little bitch into shape." Bellatrix sighed. "You seem to be doing a piss poor job at it."

"Bella," the scolding voice of their leader appeared from around the corner, "you know it's Lucius' job to interact with her. Nothing will break her down quite like facing the man who betrayed her family and having no interaction outside of him. I'm sure she'll be ready to cooperate very soon, isn't that right Lucius?"

Lucius tried to hide his nerves, though he knew it was pointless to do so. "I'm not sure she is one to cooperate quickly." He admitted. "She is showing a rather rebellious side."

"Tell me, has she tried to run?"

"No, my Lord." Lucius answered.

"Has she attempted to physically harm you in any way?"

"N-no."

"What is she usually doing when you enter?" Voldemort asked with a questioning tilt of his head.

"Well, she just seems … bored?" Lucius tried to supply, hoping not to explain that she was actually acting out quite cruelly. If he had to tell his master and his sister-in-law that he was feeling offended by what his son's girlfriend was saying to him, extreme humiliation would be the happiest outcome he could hope for.

Voldemort was quiet for a while, his eyes never leaving Lucius before finally deciding. "I think I'd like to meet her."

Eleanor was left to her own devices most of the time. Her room held all that it did from two years ago. The same clothes that she had decided not to take with her to Hogwarts, and although they were old and she had outgrown them a bit, at least she was able to change when her clothes began to feel dirty against her skin. She'd found an old toothbrush, and toothpaste that took great effort to squeeze out of the tube, but left her feeling fresh in a pinch. Her old deodorant bottle had lost a bit of its original scent, but warded off smells just the same. She was even able to shower with her half used bottles of body wash and shampoo, though her towels were rather musty. She'd found some old novels, crossword puzzles, and notepads in her bedside table. All in all, it could have been a more uncomfortable kidnapping experience. Though she was rather hungry. She was only given a bowl of oatmeal in the morning, and a stale biscuit and some dry chicken in the evening. Her joy came from knowing it would always be Lucius who would deliver the food. He'd delivered her last 10 meals, and she spent the hours in between each delivery thinking of another cruel thing to say to him. She wasn't sure if she was letting her previously tamed animosity get to her head, or if he looked more defeated each time he entered her room. It was becoming a bit of a game for her, to spend all day or all night practicing what to next say to Lucius. It kept her mind sharp, and it kept her adrenaline pumping. She didn't yet have time to feel any real fear or dread. She was ignoring those weaker emotions for as long as she could.

However, fear overtook her entire body when her door opened for dinner and Lucius wasn't alone. Beside him stood the man - more monster than man - responsible for the downfall of the world. Eleanor's mind began racing at how to best handle this confrontation. She kept her face emotionless.

"You don't seem surprised to see me." Voldemort noted. "Not the reaction I usually receive."

"Would you like to step out and we could try again?" Eleanor asked. She hoped he wouldn't kill her. She couldn't think of reasons why he would if he'd kept her this long. She hoped that being quick on her feet would keep his brain engaged in conversation and not on reasons she shouldn't go home. She didn't expect him to let out a laugh the way that he did. She didn't feel victorious when she heard it, the sound sent shivers down her spine.

"Lucius, you didn't tell me she was funny."

"He thinks I'm a riot, don't you Lucius?" Eleanor directed to Lucius with a raised brow.

"Well, hopefully you'll be just as entertaining to me." Voldemort said. "Shall we sit?" He gestured to the two leather arm chairs in front of the fireplace. Eleanor's heart was racing as she took her seat, but worked hard to appear as casual as possible. She had to repeat to herself constantly that she wasn't afraid. She had to make it true. She'd gotten good at torturing Lucius with her words, but she knew his deepest regrets and biggest insecurities, and she knew he couldn't kill her. She'd have to be careful in this conversation. She wanted Voldemort to know that she was a force to be reckoned with without seeming like a threat.

"How are you finding your accommodations?"

"I have fond memories in this room, but you didn't come here to ask about my bedroom, did you?" Eleanor retorted, feeling silly to be engaging in small talk and knowing it was pointless to do so.

"Am I taking up too much of your time?" Voldemort seemed offended by her request. Eleanor took a beat and decided to see how far she could push him.

"It's up to your discretion, of course. But I do have a crossword I've nearly finished. I'd like to hang it with the others." She gestured to the wall behind her that had a line of completed puzzles stuck to it.

"Careful. I think if not for your name, you'd have been killed a long time ago." Voldemort sneered.

Against her better judgement, Eleanor snapped out. "Didn't do my parents any good."

"No, it didn't." He agreed. "Did you ever get the chance to meet your paternal grandparents?"

Eleanor was silent for a moment to gain her bearings in this new topic of conversation. "Only when I was very young. They passed when I was about 5 or 6."

"You remind me very much of your paternal grandmother. She was a force to be reckoned with, she always had something clever to say, she was intelligent."

"I'm flattered by your comparison, but it is all coincidental. I don't have her blood."

"And she'll be rolling in her grave at that knowledge."

"Well you know better than anyone that being a Pureblood isn't the sole prerequisite for being intelligent." Eleanor saw a click of realization in his eyes as he realized she knew his secret. Eleanor suspected that his reaction would have been more explosive had Lucius not still been standing in the room.

"How loyal are you to Harry Potter?" Another subject change, Eleanor was struggling to keep up.

"That depends on your definition of loyalty."

"Do you answer to him?" Voldemort amended.

"I don't answer to anybody." Eleanor clarified. "I hold him in high regard."

"Would you protect him above anyone else?"

Eleanor thought for a few moments. She wouldn't betray Harry, she knew this, but she was starting to get a glimpse of why she might be stuck in Malfoy Manor, she thought if she got enough information then she might be able to deduce the plan.

"There are people I'd protect before him." Eleanor answered stiffly. Her stomach knotted a million different ways when he showed his yellow, sharpened teeth in the most sinister smile.

"Excellent."

"We found it!" Harry gasped as he tumbled out of the Floo. Remus startled from his spot on the couch while Draco looked up from his crossword. "The real locket. We've got it." Ron appeared out of the fireplace first, then Hermione, and Sirius brought up the rear.

"We don't know how to destroy it yet, we're going out back to try it now." Ron continued. "Got any pent up anger you want to get out on this piece of junk, Malfoy?"

"Loads." Draco pushed up from his spot to join them.

"Wait, let's think about this for a moment." Remus stopped them. "Do you think he can feel it? When one of them is destroyed?" The teenagers looked at each other and shrugged. "Is it smart to risk it? With Eleanor still being held captive, presumably in his presence? If he feels a piece of himself die while she's there, who do you think he's going to take it out on?"

The gusto was immediately taken out of the room, but they all nodded in agreement. "On to the next, I guess." Harry muttered, defeated. "I don't even know where to start this time."

"Maybe start with getting some sleep. It's been a long few days. Your mind will work better after a few hours rest." Remus suggested. "Draco, you too. Molly will be awake in a while and she'll keep watch out for Eleanor."

The next three days were tortuous for everyone in Cordarri castle. They couldn't destroy the Horcrux they had in front of them, though they'd quickly discovered it made whoever wore it extremely irritable, and therefore locked it in a safe that someone had to have eyes on at all times. They could only wait for Eleanor to return, hoping she would and avoiding thinking the worst. Draco took it the hardest, which was unsurprising.

"We're waiting for her like she's going to come back from a fucking vacation." He muttered often. Hermione once swore she heard him promise to kill everyone in the house if Eleanor was dead. She could've made it up, but it sounded like a threat he'd make.

The only thing that stopped everyone in that grand house from complaining about how terrible their situation was, was the knowledge that Eleanor was probably dealing with worse.

For four days Eleanor had been forced to listen to and repeat an extensively detailed description of a handheld mirror. Voldemort watched her as she wrote it down, drew a picture based on the description and repeated it over and over. Any time she stumbled on a word, any time she misspoke or misremembered, she was hit with a Cruciatus Curse. She never once screamed, holding steadfast to her vow to Lucius Malfoy that he would never hear it from her. But her body became weaker and weaker with each span of torture. Those days were not as pleasant as her first five, if they could have been called pleasant in the first place.

Voldemort had told her of her grandmother's mirror. It was a Cordarri heirloom that was vastly important to him. She needed to find it, somewhere in the expanse of Cordarri Castle, and she needed to return it to him. It seemed a simple enough task. She was forbidden to speak of the mirror to anyone, no one was to see it once she had it, and no one was to follow her when she returned it. Her prize was immunity for her and for Draco.

Eleanor knew that this mirror was a horcrux. She knew now that her parents had hidden it, would've given it to Dumbledore had they known what exact magic it was and that he was hunting them down to destroy them. She knew now that Voldemort gaining control of her assets was less about the amount of money her family had, as she'd once believed, and more about the fact that Eleanor owned a piece of his soul that he had no control over. Eleanor's parents knew this too, and knew the Malfoys would have access to it should Voldemort rise again. And because they knew that, they encouraged Eleanor to not let anyone into their home.

But Eleanor played dumb, she kept her head empty and followed along with Voldemort. He warned her that until this mirror was found Draco would be on the top of the Ministry's Undesirable list, and if he was ever seen, he would be given the dementors kiss. Once she returned the mirror, both Draco and her would regain their rooms in Malfoy Manor. They wouldn't have to be involved in anything anymore, they could wait out the death of Harry Potter and then take their place in post-war society. She agreed to this deal. She agreed that by December, the mirror would be in his possession.

She'd played by the rules during her time at the Manor, and she was ready to go home.

"Before you go and begin your search," Voldemort said, his cold hand on the back of her neck. "I have one final...motivation for you."

Eleanor tried to slow her heart as they approached what she knew to be the door to the basement. She'd kept her cool for nine days, she'd been charming, funny, convincing, and adaptable. She needed to keep it together in these final minutes.

Down in the dark basement, she saw three bodies huddled by the door. A goblin that she did not recognize, Ollivander - looking worse for the wear - and Luna Lovegood. A lump caught in Eleanor's throat.

"Do you see how much we respect you? That could've been you. It will be you, should you disappoint me." Voldemort squeezed the back of her neck. "And, unfortunately, should you fail. You'll be alone in the basement. Their decaying will be the only indication of time passing, no more Lucius Malfoy to amuse yourself with by mincing words. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Eleanor nodded. He closed the door swiftly, Eleanor unable to communicate any promise to them with her eyes, though she desperately tried, she desperately wanted to.

"Good." Voldemort released her neck and pushed her away from him. "Now, to show you that I don't make empty threats…" He took a step back and pointed his wand lazily at her. "Crucio."

Eleanor had told Lucius on her first day that she wouldn't scream or beg, and that promise was the only thought on her mind when the curse hit her. That, and the pain. It felt like her body was on fire, like each pore on her skin was exploding simultaneously. Her bones ached, she fell to the floor in only seconds. Her breathing was ragged and she wanted to let a scream rip through her, but she refused, only a stifled grunt escaped her. But that didn't stop the humiliation of writhing on the floor at the will of another.

And it didn't end. Not quickly like the ones she'd received during their little memory game. This was prolonged. Eleanor's vision began getting spotty, but she would not faint. She wouldn't be given any sort of relief.

"Scream." She heard Voldemort demand, she was vaguely aware of Lucius now joining to watch. Eleanor bit so hard on her cheek that she tasted blood, and yet she refused. "Scream, and you can go home." He promised. She didn't. She hoped to pretend she couldn't hear him, and perhaps he'd give up.

It felt like hours that she layed on that floor, being stabbed by thousands of knives over and over again. She knew logically it can't be hours, but time was beginning to suspend. Bile was rising in her throat, her oatmeal from that morning threatening to make a reappearance when it stopped. In times past, the pain stopped immediately after the curse did, but due to the prolonged nature of this attack, her body was left in tremors.

"Your stubbornness and your pride will either do well to serve me, or be the reason you're killed by me. Those are the only two options." Voldemort informed. Her wand dropped on the ground next to her. "Go." He ordered.

She grabbed her lifeline in her hands and apparated to her own living room, never once being able to stand up off the floor.

Quick Note: This was a quicker turnaround than I've done in awhile! I hope you all enjoyed this latest installment and some mysteries that have been hanging over Eleanor and our heads are beginning to be answered. I wonder if anyone saw it coming? Or if anyone caught the way I kept Eleanor and Draco connected even in this chapter they spent apart? Please tell me your thoughts and I'll hopefully have the next one out for you soon!