It's been over two months, but I finally have another chapter! Please enjoy!
George Weasley groaned. He tried to open his eyes, but only one opened properly. The right eyelid was so puffy that he couldn't see at all. He groaned, and tasted blood in his mouth. His nose also ached.
'Where am I?' George thought, looking around with his one good eye. For a moment, he wasn't even sure where he was. All he could see were boxes; a wall of boxes around him. A small moan to the right of him alerted him to the fact that he wasn't alone.
"Fred!" He turned to look at him, but of course, couldn't see him. "Merlin's beard, where are we?"
"In our storeroom." Fred peered at his face. "What the hell happened to you? Your nose is bleeding and your eye's black."
"I have no idea. Why are we walled in in our own storeroom?"
With some effort, the pair got up. There was a sense of doom that George couldn't shake, but even so, his priority was to get out of their makeshift prison. He scratched his head, wincing as pain shot through him.
"Where's Cassie?" Fred asked suddenly.
"I don't know," George said, fighting the urge to groan, so great was the pain in his face. "Fuck."
"I'll shift these boxes, you don't look in a fit state to do anything." Fred felt about for his wand, then extracted it and began Levitating the boxes one by one. When there was a sufficient space for them to leave the room, Fred moved towards the door and opened it. It wasn't locked.
"Something weird's gone on here, Fred," George said, the feeling of impending doom growing stronger as he reached for his wand, and found it in the exact same place. "And where is Cassie?"
They stepped out into the shop. It was dark and completely empty. George remembered shutting up the shop, but after that was vague and a bit hazy. Lighting the shop non-verbally with his wand, Fred glanced around. George did too, not knowing what to expect.
"Cassie?" George shouted, not caring that it was dark outside and potentially late. "Cass?"
Fred joined in, whilst looking around to check that everything was in order downstairs. George sprinted upstairs, turning the light on in the kitchen and praying that she'd be sat there. No Cassie.
He flung open the door to his bedroom, then Fred's bedroom and poked his head uncertainly around the bathroom door. No one. There was no one there.
"Oh God, Fred." He hurtled towards the top of the stairs, but Fred had already come up to join him. His face showed the terror that George was feeling.
"She's not here?"
George shook his head mutely.
"Bloody hell. You don't think-"
The terrifying man was in George's mind. It was a thought too terrible to contemplate, and yet-
"There's something going on outside," Fred said suddenly, looking behind him. Silently, the pair crept down the stairs and had a look through their front door. Several of their neighbours were gathered outside, pointing to the roof of their house: all looked terrified or wary.
"Should we join them?" George whispered, but the choice was taken away from them once one of the men outside noticed the twins and called out to them.
Fred cautiously approached the door and opened it. The man was their neighbour in the shop opposite them, a portly man in his fifties who enjoyed the sound of his own voice.
"What are you two still doing inside? Come, quickly! Haven't you seen what's above your shop?"
Hurrying out with Fred with a sick feeling of dread in his stomach, George looked up and nearly fainted at the sight of the Dark Mark. His neighbours hadn't been looking at their roof after all; it was what floated above it that was terrifying them so much.
"We're just waiting for the Ministry to arrive!" their neighbour's anxious-looking wife informed them, wrapping her arms around herself. "Has anyone been killed inside?"
"No, but my girlfriend Cassie has disappeared!" George replied, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach as the meaning of his words sank in. His vision was beginning to blur at the edges and all the voices around him took on a different, strange tone.
"George, mate, are you alright? Can I get some help here, please?" He could hear his brother's loud voice as he slowly collapsed to the ground, partly grateful that his senses seemed to be fading…
~~~(O.O)~~~
Draco quickly looked away as his aunt Apparated into their drawing room. The woman even looked terrifying, with her huge, emotionless brown eyes and hard facial features. There was nothing remotely soft or sweet about Bellatrix, not even when she was dealing with the relatives she professed to love. If it wasn't so scary, Draco would laugh aloud at her attempts at kindness and family bonding.
Thankfully, Bellatrix only acknowledged Lucius. She kicked moodily at a chair beside the fireplace, a beautiful gift to the family given by George II himself, then stared defiantly at Lucius as though daring him to reprimand her. He did no such thing, though Draco saw his eyes flicker towards his pride and joy of the drawing room.
"Where's Cissy?" Every word his aunt spoke was always carefully said, right down to the tone. She could bring hope to one of her victims, a pipe dream that she might spare them, then send it crashing down to the depths of fear and despondence and wretchedness. The words she spoke to Lucius held a slight warning, even though it was a simple enough question. Tell me what I wish to hear, I am not in the mood to be trifled with.
"I don't know. She's not here at the moment." Lucius replied without a trace of fear, but he didn't look happy. There was a mutual lack of respect between the siblings-in-law, much like the mutual hatred between Lucius and Scabior.
Bellatrix sighed loudly, resembling a young, stroppy child more than a grown woman. "When will she be back?" she demanded.
"She should be back soon."
"Excellent. In that case, I'll wait here for her then!"
She wasn't capable of standing still for more than a few moments. Pacing the room impatiently, her hideous high heeled boots squeaked unpleasantly on the wooden floor, causing Draco and Lucius to wince involuntarily. He could see his father eyeing the floor as if checking for scratches or any marks.
"I think Severus should be here shortly. He told me he would be calling this evening. Any new captives?"
~~~(O.O)~~~
It was her. Bellatrix Lestrange.
Despite being locked up in their basement, Cassie felt a stirring of fear deep within her. She prayed that neither Draco nor his awful father would inform Bellatrix of her presence within their cellar. Knowing what she did about Voldemort's most loyal and insane follower, Cassie would be dragged upstairs and put through Merlin knows what before she could utter the word 'mad'.
~~~(O.O)~~~
"No, there's been no recent captures," Lucius lied smoothly, no aspect of his expression or body language giving him away. "Those Snatchers are becoming less and less efficient. I blame Scabior's leadership." That was his way of getting his least favourite person back.
"I shall have to deal with the next one who dares cross my path," Bellatrix cackled. Lucius smiled coldly in response. Draco wished more than ever that he could disappear into the ground.
"Ah. Draco." It wasn't a greeting. Feeling slightly nauseous, he forced himself to meet his aunt's dark eyes. She stared at her nephew, openly hostile and mocking.
"Still too cowardly to perform the Dark Lord's bidding, then? Hiding out in Mummy and Daddy's house? You've no backbone," Bellatrix jeered, taking ominous steps towards him. He had to fight not to back away. "You're a disgrace to the name of Black-"
"Don't talk to Draco like that in our own house!" Lucius snapped. "And for your information, he's a Malfoy, not a Black. Thankfully he inherited my name." He wasn't scared of her, not one bit. Draco wished he wasn't either.
"How dare you?" Bellatrix began, eyes wide and terrifying, but thankfully her tirade was cut short by the quiet Pop of Narcissa Apparating into the Manor.
"Cissy! Finally! I was waiting for you!" She ran forwards and whispered in Narcissa's ear. Draco's mother gave him a warm smile but did not even bother to glance at Lucius. Within seconds, the two sisters had Apparated out of the Manor.
Lucius sighed. Draco knew it wasn't just a relieved sigh.
"You may let the girl out of the cellar now. Then, you can make yourself useful and find the Daily Prophet, the one with the picture of the girl in. Bring it to me so I can compare the photograph and the girl downstairs. Though I am very sure that it is her."
~~~(O.O)~~~
Downstairs, Cassie couldn't really hear the snippets of quiet conversation. She was fairly certain that Bellatrix had gone, but there was still an element of doubt. Listening to the footsteps coming down the stairs, she silently prayed that it was Draco and not any of the hideous members of his family.
She breathed out a quiet sigh of relief when it was indeed Draco, looking paler and more withdrawn than ever.
"Is she gone?" Cassie asked desperately, as he unlocked the door and came towards her. Draco didn't say anything as he grabbed her arm none too gently, but he nodded reassuringly as he led her towards the door.
Draco left her standing in front of Lucius and disappeared. Up in the drawing room, it wasn't much lighter or warmer, and the atmosphere was far more uncomfortable. Being left alone with Lucius for far longer than she wanted to be proved very awkward; she had no idea where to look. He was tall, cold and very intimidating.
At first he ignored her, tapping his long snake-headed cane impatiently against his leg, and then the floor. Then he turned to her.
"What's your blood status?" Lucius asked softly. It would have been almost preferable if he'd snapped, snarled or shouted at her; the soft, gentle tone was terrifying.
"Half blood," Cassie said, unable to keep the tremble out of her voice. The Malfoy's were well-known for their prejudice, and in their eyes, being Half-blood was hardly better than being a Muggleborn. As she dared to glance at the elder Malfoy, she caught the sneer across his face and felt a wave of revulsion towards him.
"Hardly better than a Mudblood or a Blood Traitor." Lucius muttered almost word-for-word what she had thought, more to himself than to her. He turned away from her completely as if disgusted to be in her presence. Cassie was having difficulty breathing, and her heart was pounding faster than it had done that day when Scabior Apparated into her kitchen.
The echo of footsteps coming into the drawing room made both Cassie and Lucius glance in Draco's direction. In his hands was a newspaper, which he was unfolding and opening up as he walked in. With his face carefully free of emotion, Draco handed the paper to his father, glanced quickly at Cassie and then just as swiftly down at his feet. Lucius, with a self-satisfied expression, held up the picture for her to see.
Cassie suppressed a gasp. It was a picture of her in the bakery with George. She couldn't remember it being taken at all, but the worst thing of all was that it was an incredibly clear photo. There was no doubt about whether or not it was really Cassie.
"Yes…" Lucius said lazily with a smug smile, holding the picture next to her. "Definitely her. The Dark Lord will be delighted…" He suddenly glared at her, his grey eyes narrowed, and looked so fierce that for a second she found she couldn't look away, so great was her horror. Eventually, she dropped her gaze to the floor until she could sense that he had turned away completely; only then could she look up.
The Malfoy men were discussing something in low tones. Draco, though pale, was being fairly insistent on whatever it was he was arguing. Lucius had his back to her, so she couldn't see his expression. It hardly mattered. A few moments later, Lucius turned back to her and addressed her directly.
"You can count yourself lucky. Thanks to my son, you will not be stuck in the basement for the duration of your stay." He made it sound like she was enjoying a holiday. "I have agreed that you will enjoy certain freedoms here – within reason, of course – in exchange for something. What that something is, I haven't quite decided yet."
Cassie eyed him suspiciously. It all sounded promising, speaking of 'certain freedoms', but what price would she have to pay for enjoying a little bit of freedom?
"I have an idea." Lucius spoke after a few moments of contemplation. "You may as well make yourself useful here while you're living in our house, eating our food-"
'Oh yes, because that was my choice,' Cassie thought, staring at the man. 'I'd far rather be here than back in our flat.' Even in times of extreme terror, she couldn't quite help the sarcasm that was as natural to her as breathing.
"-You can do some of our cleaning. We no longer employ a house elf, and, as you'll soon appreciate, the house is extremely large and dusty. It is too much work for us to do, what with the three of us being busy with other activities these days." A smirk curled around his lips. "You can begin by cleaning the kitchen, it's in a vile state. You will do it without magic, of course. That way I'll feel much better about allowing you to stay here."
He turned to his son. "Draco, you meanwhile can go and fix up the fourth bedroom on the second floor. Make sure you remove anything that could be used as a weapon, and place the necessary jinxes so our little guest cannot escape at night. In fact, while you're doing that, she can begin cleaning, then you can show her to her room and she can begin again tomorrow."
Draco made to leave and Lucius was turning away when Cassie spoke.
"Urm, excuse me…" Cassie's voice naturally trailed off as Lucius fixed her with yet another cold stare. "Where can I find the kitchen?"
"Draco, show her to the kitchen on your way upstairs," Lucius said, now looking disinterested in both teenagers. "Now, I don't want to be bothered for a while. I'm expecting a guest this evening-"
A tiny yet audible Pop interrupted his sentence. Wondering if Voldemort himself had turned up, Cassie looked up into the unreadable black eyes of her former Potions teacher, Severus Snape.
