For the purpose of this story, some of the character's personalities will be changed, such as Amycus Carrow and Rodolphus.
"Got 'er! I've got 'er 'ere!" Scabior's triumphant voice rang out in the gloomy dining room, where the two Malfoy men stood.
Draco was staring into the depths of the empty fireplace and wishing he was anywhere but there. He didn't even bother to look up; he was used to Scabior wandering around the house like he owned it. The man revolted him in many ways, and one of the only things he and his father had in common was their opinion of the head Snatcher.
In fact many people liked to wander about the house, criticising the furnishings and giving their general unwanted opinions about everything. It never felt like their house anymore; it was never quiet. Having the Manor be Death Eater headquarters was meant to be a great honour, but secretly Draco wondered if it really was. He could never admit this to anybody, of course.
"Bring the captive over," his father said in a highly bored tone. "Oh… a girl? How lovely." Sarcasm dripped from his voice. "Stand here over there." He heard footsteps moving closer towards him, and stiffened immediately. Lucius banged his goblet down on the table next to Draco and moved away without having acknowledged him. Draco gave a short, quiet sigh of relief. He still didn't turn; he couldn't bear it when a new captive was brought to the house and dealt with. They rarely stayed long, and if they did, they were locked in the cellar and generally ignored.
"This one hardly looks like a threat, does she?" Lucius addressed Scabior with clear disdain. "Just a young girl… Hold on a moment." Draco's head jerked up as he recognised the change in his father's tone. "She looks familiar-"
Draco turned around and at once his heart stopped. Cassie Hannett was stood in his house, with a split lip, blood running from a cut down her cheek and a defeated expression on her face. He couldn't say he was entirely surprised to see her, what with all the plans they had made, but at the same time, he had hoped, perhaps, that she might have evaded capture…
His eyes slid across to look at Scabior. He was holding her arm far too tightly, and kept glancing down at her in an extremely inappropriate way; the look in his eyes was too obvious to be denied. Remembering that Cassie was a few months older than him and that Scabior was well into his thirties made anger rise up within him.
'Disgusting old pervert,' Draco thought, knowing that his face would betray his anger should Scabior notice him hidden in the shadows. But then again, what would that make him, after what happened at the beginning of sixth year…?
"There's no need to keep staring at the girl, Scabior, I think we all know it's her." Lucius was trying to embarrass the Snatcher, but a man with so little morals could never be embarrassed by being called out. The lust radiating from him was sickening, and Scabior shrugged off Lucius' attempt.
"Well, what reward am I getting, then, Mr Malfoy?" Scabior demanded. The use of his surname was only because he wanted money, Draco noted. Scabior was never normally so polite. On one occasion he'd called Lucius a 'pompous, up-'imself arsehole' and couldn't sit down for a week after the latter had aimed a silent, well-placed hex at him as he'd turned to leave.
"I shall see," Lucius replied coldly. "Are you absolutely certain it's her? Give me her wand so I can check it against the information that we have. That old wandmaker in the cellar can tell us the properties."
Draco was pleased to see Scabior looking slightly nervous at his words. "Urm, well… the thing is Mr Malfoy, is that, uh-"
"I haven't got all day," Lucius interrupted, giving Scabior an extremely disdainful glance. Draco's father was an expert in disdainful and cold glances that usually made people feel smaller, lesser even. It rarely worked on Scabior, unfortunately, such was the level of the man's cockiness. "Did you forget to take it from her?"
"No, no," Scabior said with an audible gulp. "It's in the forest," he finished abruptly, as if that would lessen the blow.
"In the forest?" Lucius repeated with a mutinous expression.
"It's snapped in 'alf though," Scabior provided helpfully. "I snapped it so she couldn't use it, and then I just threw it away, 'cos I thought it wasn't needed anymore."
Lucius closed his eyes for a brief second and massaged his temples. When he opened them again, his gaze was so fearsome that Draco was glad he was not on the receiving end of it.
"So you're telling me," Lucius began in a voice of barely disguised anger, "that you left her wand in the same place that you kidnapped her?"
A look of dawning comprehension appeared on Scabior's face. "Well, I mean… it is snapped in 'alf?" he repeated.
"Even worse than leaving it intact, you incompetent fool!" Lucius roared, causing Cassie to jolt severely. "I wonder what the authorities will have to say about that. You should have brought it with you. At last, I might be able to rid myself and the rest of the inner circle of you, once the Dark Lord hears how ignorant you've been once again."
"Not as ignorant as Amycus and Alecto," Scabior said, completely unconcerned by this spew of criticism. "They were meant to be with us, and they're not 'ere yet."
"If you want your reward," Lucius said, eying him hard, "then I suggest you go and find the wand-"
"If ya don't cough up now, then this one's coming back to my tent with me," Scabior said hotly, seizing Cassie by her hair. Draco could hardly bear to watch, especially as it was her. Oh, Cassie…
"Unhand her!" Lucius snarled; Draco had never heard his father snarl in such a vicious manner before, and certainly not over a captive. "The Dark Lord specifically requested her to be brought here, so she will stay."
Lucius fumbled about inside his long, heavy robes and extracted a small sack of money, which he threw at Scabior. He caught it one-handed, grinning.
"Take it and leave my house this instant!" Lucius commanded.
"Only if I get to visit this lovely young lady," Scabior insisted, stroking her hair. Cassie looked disgusted and tried to dodge his clawing hand.
Lucius looked revolted too, but evidently realised the Snatcher wouldn't give up easily.
"I'm sure you'll see her when you intrude on a regular basis," Lucius said, glancing sideways at Cassie. Draco sighed, wishing his father would outright tell the Snatcher to stay away. "Now get out."
With a crack, Scabior Disapparated; the atmosphere immediately felt lighter and cleaner. Lucius turned around to inspect Cassie, who didn't look much happier even now her kidnapper had vanished.
"What's your name, girl?" Lucius asked quietly. Cassie looked even more frightened then, though it was obvious she was trying not to show it. "Don't lie to me, I have my ways of finding out and you will doubtlessly not enjoy them."
If she was under the impression that he was going to go easy on her, then that delusion was quickly dashed.
"Cassie," she almost whispered.
Lucius stared at her coldly for a second, then sneered. He turned to Draco.
"Draco," Lucius said in his most commanding voice, and Cassie looked shocked as her eyes darted across the room to rest on him. "Seeing as your mother isn't home yet, you can take Cassie-"he sniffed at her name, "-to be cleaned up. Then you can show her to the cellar after I have secured Mr Ollivander."
Draco felt a bit sick, like he always did when Ollivander's name was brought up. The thought of the kindly, eccentric old man who had sold him his wand when he was just eleven being trapped in an old cellar for a year was hugely upsetting. He most certainly did not want to lead Cassie down there and leave her by herself.
"Why the cellar?" Draco found himself asking. It wasn't like he should care, really. Cassie was very much sided with Harry, and probably openly so, knowing her. She could be very opinionated at Hogwarts, and fiery too.
Lucius' answer was brisk as he turned away from the pair, clearly done with them now. "She'll be safer down there once your Aunt Bellatrix turns up," he said over his shoulder.
Was there any care or concern in his voice? It didn't sound like there was, but Lucius had never been bothered by any captive before. He could bury his head in the sand quite easily, or was he so heartless that he could look each terrified person in the eye and not give a damn? He was far too hard to read.
Draco looked at Cassie, but found himself unwilling to meet her eye. All of her fire, that fire that could be seen so clearly at Hogwarts and had made her so appealing, had been put out.
~~~(O.O)~~~
Scabior came across Amycus and Alecto purely by chance, in the tavern. They were sat eating their evening meal as he walked in, grinning from ear to ear and ready to spend his newly earnt money. It was not a happy reunion.
"What the fuckin' 'ell 'appened to you two?" Scabior demanded, the grin sliding from his face. The pair looked up in shock. Amycus grinned.
"Awright, Scab?" Amycus greeted him cheerily, before digging back into his carvery.
"No I'm bleedin' well not alright!" Scabior hissed. "You two fools left me to deal with 'er all by myself!"
"Isn't that what you wanted all along?" Alecto said smoothly, before also returning to her meal. The greedy pig. "I can tell you want her all for yourself." Amycus stopped chewing and looked up. "That's Rodolphus, Lucius, you and my poor fool of a brother now, ain't that right, Am?" She chuckled and looked down as Amycus stared at her, an expression of betrayal written across his face.
"Gorgeous, ain't she, Am?" Scabior said, grinning at him. Poor, dumb Amycus was never going to be any competition for him. Wickedly handsome Rodolphus, however… He was another story. And much as Scabior would never admit it, Lucius was classically handsome, more so than he was. He could be another obstacle in his way.
Amycus didn't smile back. He hadn't realised that Scabior, a man he considered his friend, was thinking about Cassie just as much as him. That evening had been almost perfect, he mused. Cassie was just stunning. He'd tried to persuade Alecto to go to the Manor, but to no avail; his sister thought that the Malfoy's were being particularly unwelcoming and unfriendly recently. Amycus couldn't tell the difference, but wisely kept quiet.
"Didn't know Lucius was after her," Scabior said, surprised. Hadn't Lucius just tried to tell him off because of the way he was looking at her? He bristled with indignation. It was not the aristocrat's job to tell him off just for eyeing up a lovely young lady. Then he mulled over how Lucius had behaved towards him. "Come to think of it, 'e did seem terribly cross at the way I was looking at 'er and all. Per'aps he does fancy 'er after all."
The thought of competing against him didn't worry him. The Snatcher loved the thrill, the competition and the chase. And he was going to chase very hard after this one.
Scabior strolled over to the bar, feeling better than he had done in a long time. "One pint, please, mate."
~~~(O.O)~~~
"I wonder if the little slut's been caught yet."
Bellatrix made a derisive noise, but said nothing, causing a sigh to escape from the lips of Rodolphus. He was half-sitting, half-lying across a chair in their front room, a dark and gloomy Victorian-styled room; it was almost as if the décor hadn't been changed for 120 years. And Rodolphus was beginning to feel as old as the furniture scattered carelessly around the room.
"When should we pay the Malfoy's a little visit and take a look?" he pressed on, determined to get a proper answer from her. Finally, his wife turned to look at him, although the contempt written across her face almost took him aback slightly.
"I'm heading to the Manor to meet Cissy," Bellatrix replied in a rude tone. "I don't know when we'll be going. Probably whenever the next meeting is." She glanced impatiently at the grandfather clock in a dark and dusty corner of the room. There was little to no interest in her husband, who was sprawled across the chair, showing off his tall, lean frame. Rodolphus usually had quite the effect on women, but these days, Bellatrix appeared to be completely immune.
"I'll be back before midnight," Bellatrix suddenly informed him, and with a loud POP, she Disapparated, leaving her husband feeling mistrustful and disappointed.
~~~(O.O)~~~
It hadn't felt right when he'd put Cassie down in the cellar along with Ollivander. Draco hadn't even wanted to say anything to her; he'd merely led her in silence down the stone steps, opened the door and gave her a gentle push. Then, without saying anything still, he locked the door and walked away without a backwards glance. What could he say to her? An apology would sound weak and insincere. Draco could hardly help her escape; he'd be dead quicker than he could say 'Cassandra'.
He trudged back up the stairs to rejoin his father.
"She's secured down there?" Draco nodded. "Good. You may let her out after your aunt has left."
As if on cue, Bellatrix's signature loud POP echoed round the hall.
~~~(O.O)~~~
Miles away, two people were stirring, two people who had no idea how much their lives had changed…
