Part IV: Revolution

Chapter XIII: In Which Tampons Save the Day

According to her mother, she was too ill to go back to Hogwarts. "Your health is more important," she said on the day that Carina was supposed to go with Draco back to the castle. They sat by the fire while Carina poked at her dinner of fish with a turnip salad. "Besides, you don't really need a formal education. I'll be able to teach you everything you will need to know."

But she had hardly seen her mother after that. The only person she really saw was Swetty and whoever would pop into her dreams only for them to disappear from her memory in the morning. That last one had a girl with red hair yelling at her for failing to show up and come through for her friends. Carina felt guilty for whatever it was she had done.

She filled her unending boredom with books from the Malfoy library. Most of them were dull, chronicling certain parts of wizarding history. Much of it had to do with attempts to control Muggles and have Wizards be the ruling class, but were overruled by Blood Traitors. She read them because she did not have many options, but whenever she had requested something that was more up her alley, whether it be fiction or potions, she was told by Swetty that they were not on the approved curriculum.

It was the middle of January when she had the familiar sensation. She groaned loudly as she rushed into her bathroom. She grabbed the box of tampons from under the sink and opened the box. As she pulled one out, a bit of parchment stuck out against the white wrappings. With a frown, she pulled it out. Normally there would be instructions and a warning for some Muggle ailment if proper sanitation wasn't taken, but this was not something that should be in there.

Her period instantly forgotten, she unrolled the piece of parchment and stared up at the top. Dear Corinna, it said in neat but hasty handwriting. On the opposite corner was the date 20 December 1997.

The almost familiar pounding in her head was back as she sat on the floor of the bathroom, with her back against the side of the tub. The edge dug into her back, but she paid it no mind. The only thing that had her focus was the words on the page. It was clearly her handwriting, but she had no recollection of writing anything recently.

I really don't know what to say in this. All I know about the Imperius Curse comes from Defense classes. There are ways to fight it. Harry was proof of that our fourth year, but I was never able to do it.

Carina's heart was pounding, and the blood seemed to rush to her head all at once. It made her lightheaded and she had to close her eyes for a moment to wait for it to pass. Once it seemed like she wasn't going to pass out, she kept reading.

The Imperius Curse makes you think that there isn't anything wrong. It puts you in a state of bliss and you are at the mercy of the caster. If you are being Imperiused right now, I know for a fact that Bellatrix is behind it. It would either be that or death, so if you aren't actually me, Corinna, then it was probably the latter. Or you really need a tampon and somehow stumbled upon my box. I thought this was a clever spot to hide it. I'll have to thank Lavender the next time I see her, if I'm lucky to see anyone ever again.

Carina had to reread the first few lines in order to even begin to understand what was going on. Whoever wrote this was rambling on about nothing, it seemed. Who was this Corinna person and why did she think she was going to be under her mother's Imperius Curse?

Sorry, I'm rambling.

Carina wanted to smack whoever wrote this. They needed to get to the bloody point.

From what I understand, the only way to break through the Imperius Curse is to understand that you are under it and then have the mental capacity to break through. Well, either that, or the caster dies. As much as I loathe the woman, I know my mother is damn good at Dark Magic and I wouldn't be so lucky as for her to actually perish.

"What?" Carina hissed and she had to reread that last sentence. Whoever wrote this was her sibling. She was an only child. Surely she would know if she had siblings.

You probably don't even think you are under the Imperius Curse, but you are. The only thing I am not certain about is how to get through to someone who is. It's basically just recognizing you are under it and then having to break through for yourself. I doubt I will be able to do that for us in a letter.

Us? Us? Carina closed her eyes and rested her head back until her neck hurt. It was better than the pain in her head at the moment. So this was written by her, but why did she put her name as Corinna? And, again, she did not remember writing a letter.

And why would she think her own mother would put her under the Imperius Curse? Somehow that seemed to be the most farfetched of all.

Instead, I think writing about things that are very important to us might help. Maybe it will trigger something in that mind of ours to help you realize that you are under that bitch's control.

First, I want to write about Dora Tonks. She is our cousin and she came to us during a Hogsmeade trip in our fifth year telling us about a family we did not know about. Her mother, Andromeda, is Bellatrix's sister, but she is the complete opposite. She is always happy to see us and was a mother in a way we've never known. She is probably worried sick when we didn't arrive home after the end of term. That's what I really feel guilty about this whole thing. She is already missing Uncle Ted since he is Muggle-born and had to run off to avoid registering as such and stressed that Dora is pregnant with a mostly-absent husband.

The Tonkses took us in when we had no one else. A day doesn't go by where I wish Andromeda and Ted were our parents instead of the lot we got. But they treated us like a daughter, so that will have to be enough.

A tear trailed down Carina's cheek as flashes of a woman who looked like her mother but with brown hair and kinder eyes came to mind. She was accompanied by a woman with bright pink hair and a man with sandy hair. They were all smiling at Carina.

There's also your best friend, Terry Boot. You tried dating in your fourth year, which was just a disaster. It was mostly our fault since we were going through some things, but in the end he's gay and we were better off as friends. He has always been there to hear you out. He was the first you purposefully told about your real parents, and he met it with terrible jokes and reassurances that he did not care who your mother was as long as you did not end up like her. Which, I'd like to think we are better than her. We do have the track record to prove it.

A ghost of a smile graced Carina's lips as she thought about the playful boy who sat across from her in the library. They were supposed to do work, but were easily distracted by each other's antics.

You also have a host of other friends. There's Neville who somehow went from the meek little boy to the brave young man ever since he joined Dumbledore's Army. Bellatrix tortured Neville's parents into insanity, but he never looked at you differently. He has a big heart, even if he has been reckless as of late. He was the one who planned all the fireworks and various Portable Biomes before the end of term. He worked alongside Ginny and Luna. Ginny can be just as mischievous. She gave us the Extendable Ears that has helped you overhear useful information. Luna is surprisingly the sane one in the group, if you ask me. She is always there to add a bit of Ravenclaw to our rampant Gryffindor-ness. Plus, she is very entertaining when she starts going off about Deerlings or Arachnimorphs or whatever.

She saw herself hunched over a table in an abandoned classroom. The windows outside were complete dark with the only light coming from the torches along the walls. She sat across from Neville and Luna, who would occasionally give each other glances and hold hands under the table. They probably suspect that her and Ginny didn't know, but the looks they gave each other said otherwise.

There are so many other influential people in your life like Seamus and Lavender and Remus, but I do not know how much time I have to write out everything. But I should mention Ron and Hermione. The unsuspecting but unsurprising pair that just need to kiss and get it over with. Ron is fun to get under his skin with comments about Quidditch or people he hates. Hermione is much too clever. I think she knew I had feelings for Harry before we started dating. I think she was the one who pushed him to ask me to Slughorn's party, but she won't confirm or deny doing such a thing.

Then there's Harry. Of course you would end up falling for Harry Potter, you absolute knob! And he somehow has feelings for you. He saw you at your worst moments when you had to sit through Barty Crouch Jr. recount his life and tell you that things that still haunt your nightmares. You sat with him when he lost his godfather and then lost his mentor. You were supposed to go with him, but you were pulled away from him. As much as I think it was for the best you ended up being left behind, I still miss him every single day.

She sat in the chairs in the Gryffindor Common Room, in front of a roaring fire. Ron and Hermione were sitting across from her, giving each other glances that the other did see before turning back to their work. But, more importantly, was Harry, as she leaned against his shoulder. She looked up at him and he gave her one of his usual shy smiles. Thinking Ron and Hermione weren't paying attention, he stole a kiss. It was chaste and perfect as she all but melted into him.

Something in her mind broke. She did not know how long she sat on the bathroom floor. Her backside had gone numb long before she came to. The headache pounded in her head as she looked about the room as if for the first time. The only thing she was fully aware of was the fact that she had bled through her knickers.

After cleaning herself up, she moved back into the bedroom that was now a prison. She reread the letter, her eyes lingering in the last line.

I hope this helps you. At the very least, it helped me to write it.

Love, Corinna

"My name is Corinna Crouch," she said softly out loud as she collapsed onto the bed. "My name is Corinna Crouch." She closed her eyes as the image of Harry seemed to be burned onto the back of her eyelids. "My name is Corinna Crouch and I am completely fucked."

She had slept through the afternoon, completely exhausted. She woke around eight to the smell of dinner, but it made her feel like she was going to puke. She ignored the silver dome as she went into the bathroom to do her business and then slept for the rest of the night.

Corinna woke to Bellatrix hovering over her. She knew something like this was going to happen, but she was hoping to have some more time to mentally prepare for the woman to come in like she owned the place. It did not help that there was still a dull ache pounding on the back of her head.

The look Bellatrix gave might have been concern for the uninitiated. Certainly Carina would have thought it was concern, but there was nothing behind those grey eyes but hunger. What she was hungry for, Corinna could only guess.

"Are you feeling alright?" she asked in a sickeningly sweet voice. It took everything within Corinna not to wince at the noise. "Swetty said you slept through dinner and you never sleep in this late."

Corinna blinked at Bellatrix, trying to keep her face neutral. Nothing was supposed to upset her, after all. "I was just very tired," she said. "I haven't been sleeping well lately."

Bellatrix placed a hand on Corinna's forehead and she closed her eyes to hide the glare she wanted to give. Well, she really wanted to push the woman away, but she couldn't do that either. "I'll have Swetty bring you some soup. That always helps you feel better. I was hoping to start your lessons today, but they can wait."

"I'm sorry," said Corinna and it took her a second to muster up saying, "Mum."

"I am disappointed," she said honestly as she stood up from the bed. "I was hoping you would be doing better by now."

Corinna's heart pounded and she expected Bellatrix to Imperio her again. She had put the letter back in her tampon box, so she was good for the week, but she wasn't sure what she should do if she needed to trigger Corinna back over the next month.

"I'll see you tomorrow, sweet one," said Bellatrix as she stood up from the bed and patted Corinna's knee. She left quickly, locking the door by magic behind her.

Corinna swore loudly as she flopped back onto her bed. After getting ready for the day, Swetty came back with a bowl of soup and some bread to go along with it. There was also a small pot of tea with a matching teacup and saucer to go along with it. As they thought she was under the Imperius Curse, she wasn't worried about them slipping Veritaserum into her food or drink. She remembered everything from being under the Imperius Curse. Bellatrix interrogated her about Harry, but she gave nothing away. It caused her a splitting headache and she promptly passed out after, but that was a common occurrence, it seemed. She said she did not know where Harry was or this supposed mission Dumbledore gave him. That was probably what triggered the headache. The first answer wasn't a lie, but the second...

Still, she inspected the soup, pouring a little bit off into a vial and using a common poison detector that Slughorn taught them towards the end of the term, it came up negative. Same with the tea. She was mostly thankful for the tea not being poisoned. She did not want a caffeine headache on top of the tension headache.

As she sat on the chair staring at the fire, she realized she needed a plan. She already wasted nearly a month of being under the Imperius. It hurt to think about how worried her family was, and now she had to reconcile with the fact that her friends were now going to be worried when she didn't show back up for the spring term. She wished she could get a message to at least Aunt Andromeda and Dora to tell them that she was still alive, but without her wand or owl, she did not have many options. The only person who might have helped her, Malfoy, was probably already back in school, brooding while he watched his friends and fellow Death Eaters torture students for fun.

After eating part of the soup, she called Swetty back to take care of the dishes, but asked him for another pot of tea. She felt bad ordering him around without a single please or thank you, but it was how Bellatrix would have wanted her to do it. Once the tea was delivered and Swetty popped back out of the bedroom, she took inventory of what she had. She still had all of her basic potion kit. If need be, she could get real creative with what she brewed. But, for now, she needed to stay under the radar. There was no way she could take on an entire house of Death Eaters. Even if she had her wand, it was neigh impossible.

All her schoolbooks were still there, including Snape's copy of Advanced Potion-Making. Feeling much like Harry all of last year, she read through the book. It would help her brew better potions, but there were a few spells she could try. There was one that was specifically nonverbal. She wondered if she practiced it enough if she could do it without a wand. The only time she had managed to do wandless magic was when she did accidental magic as a child. She had barely managed nonverbal magic, and only on spells she had been doing since she was eleven or twelve.

She just made a mental note to try it out on Swetty the next time he came to bring her food or do housekeeping.

Unfortunately, now that she was aware of what Bellatrix was telling her to do, she was not only very, very angry but she was terrified as well. It honestly made her sick as to what could have easily transpired over dinner on Christmas Eve. Although she was concerned about what did happen with her brain essentially exploding, she was grateful that happened over what almost was.

It would mean she would have to be very careful. One wrong move and she would be under the Imperius Curse again, or even killed when Bellatrix realized it wasn't worth trying to salvage Corinna for her legacy.

That evening, after failing to complete the nonverbal spell listed in Snape's book on Swetty, she decided that she wasn't going to waste the however long she was going to be trapped there until she managed to get her wand back. She looked over the syllabi for her various classes. Even if she never saw Hogwarts again or complete her dream of becoming a healer, she would at least make sure to keep up with her studies. The only classes she ignored were Dark Arts and Muggle Studies. She decided to focus on the Defense side of things, what would be expected her to know if she wanted the NEWTs credit.

It certainly helped curb her utter boredom. She was thankful that Bellatrix's visits were few and far between, with her only companionship for days on end being Swetty, and all he would do was bring her food and clean up after her. In between mealtimes and when she dismissed him from housekeeping duties, she would sit against the door with the Extendable Ear in place. She would focus on her studies while keeping an ear out for any sort of conversation. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to overhear. She would occasionally hear Death Eaters complaining about something utterly mundane, which was the last thing she would have expected, but it was mostly Lucius and Narcissa talking about upkeep with the manor or how things were with their son.

She was torn on what to consider Draco Malfoy at this point. He's always been Malfoy to her, ever since he arrived at Hogwarts thinking he was a hotshot. But he has recently shown his human side to Corinna, even being concerned about her when he realized that something was wrong over Christmas Eve. She felt that 'Draco' was too personal while 'Malfoy' was too impersonal.

For now, she decided to shelve that dilemma while she studied the theory on the Gouging Spell. It might be useful to use to get out of the manor if she ever got her wand back, plus Flitwick hinted that many of the spells they would be covering for the spring term were going to be on the NEWT practical. Which she would only be able to do if she, again, got out of this place.

As the weeks ticked by, she thought she was going to die before anything happened.

Bellatrix visited her, but the times were infrequent and always when Corinna was in some sort of vulnerable position. It was as if she knew when Corinna was taking a bath or when she was still asleep. This time, she was in the middle of changing and was only in her undergarments when Bellatrix strolled in. She quickly snatched up the blanket off her bed, but Bellatrix dismissed Corinna's attempt at modesty with a laugh. "It's nothing I haven't seen before," she reminded as she pulled the blanket from Corinna's grasp. "I did watch over you while our house-elf changed your nappies."

"Of course," said Corinna, resisting the urge to cross her arms over her chest. Instead, she snagged up the jumper she was changing into and slid it over her head. "What do I owe the pleasure?" she asked, sticking her tongue out at Bellatrix as her face was covered by the fabric.

Bellatrix, in an attempt to be motherly, stepped up next to Corinna and tugged the jumper down, so she had to quickly screw her face into a neutral expression. "I wanted to let you know that I got word from the Ministry of a couple of Mudblood deaths."

"Oh," said Corinna as blood rushed to her ears. "What would I care about that? Mudbloods deserve to die, don't they, Mum?" Even though she had mentally prepared herself to say the slur, she still felt extremely guilty for it.

"Of course, dear, of course," Bellatrix purred as she looked over at Corinna's choice of skirt and then quickly went to her wardrobe to find something better. "I thought you should know as one of them is family. Not that he would have been seen as such."

No! Corinna thought desperately as she struggled to keep the fear off her face. Anybody but him. Anybody…

"Yes, that worthless Mudblood my sister married was caught by a couple of Snatchers who were trying to bring him in for a bounty. What was his name again? Tanner? Trent?"

"Ted," Corinna whispered, her tongue instantly going dry. "Ted Tonks."

"That's right," said Bellatrix, and she gave a humorless laugh. "One less thing to worry about. It's as if our family tree is trimming itself. Soon we will only have the desirable. The perfect. The untainted."

"Of course," said Corinna, finding it exceedingly difficult to keep her composure. She should have said something more to keep her cover, but it was all she could muster to keep herself upright.

"Here, try this one," said Bellatrix as if she hadn't just given news that made Corinna want to cry and scream and beg for it to not be true. Part of her held onto the idea that maybe Bellatrix was messing with her, that this was only a test to see if the Imperius Curse was still there. It was the only thing that kept Corinna going. "Draco's back for Easter, so I am sure you would like to go see him in the drawing room."

Corinna must have passed if Bellatrix was suggesting that she could leave the bedroom. She slipped the skirt on, but it barely went over her hips. It was one she had in her second year. She may not have grown in height, but she certainly had wider hips. "Perfect," Bellatrix purred as she ran a hand over Corinna's hair. "Come. Join us in the drawing room."

It was the first time Corinna was out of her room without the Imperius Curse. Everything looked familiar as she kept all her memories from Christmas Eve. They passed the Hand of Glory, which Corinna now remembered Malfoy used to see through the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. She looked around, trying to remember the layout of the manor in case she needed to make a quick escape.

The drawing room looked the same as it did for Christmas Eve, but there was no tree in the corner. The room felt oddly empty without it. Lucius and Draco were talking by the fire, and neither of them looked like they wanted to be interrupted.

"I was just telling Carina about the recent loss in our family," said Bellatrix, who laughed wildly as she shoved Corinna down next to Draco. "Do you think we should send my dear sister a sympathy card, Lucy?"

"Don't call me that," Lucius spat out as Corinna was finding it harder and harder to breathe. It was getting harder and harder to believe that she was lying to mess with her.

"And with a little wolfcub on the way," Bellatrix continued. Each word felt like a stab in the heart to Corinna. "He won't get to see his little bitty grandbaby transform for the first time. Isn't that just sad?"

"Let it go, Bellatrix," said Lucius coldly. "No one actually cares about your sister and her dead husband."

Corinna blinked rapidly to stop the tears from falling down her cheeks. Maybe she should break character. Maybe she'll be lucky, and they will just kill her. Then she wouldn't feel like this any longer. She won't feel like her world was crumbling down around her and every nerve on her body was going to explode. The loss gripped her mind and heart like a vise.

"I'm going to go look for Cissy," said Bellatrix as she let a hand graze over Corinna's shoulder. "We ought to mourn together as a family, don't you think?"

She cackled again as she left the room and it was all Corinna could do to keep herself from succumbing to grief.

"Woman's fucking mental," said Draco, crossing her arms over his chest. "I thought we didn't talk about Andromeda and her family."

"Watch your language, Draco," said Lucius, almost looking bored. "And careful what you say. There are spies everywhere." He glared over at Corinna.

Draco just huffed in annoyance and turned to face the fire. Lucius turned back to reading his book and Corinna stared at the wall behind him, willing herself to keep calm even if all she wanted to do was breakdown.

Uncle Ted was dead. There was no way either Draco or Lucius would keep up Bellatrix's charade like this. Corinna was never going to see the closest thing to a father she had ever loved again. She had lost both men she had once considered her father in one night, but one lied to her for her entire life and the other one was a Death Eater and one of the most loyal at that. At the time, she missed her old life more than she missed either of those men. But, with Uncle Ted, she had someone she could look up to. She wanted to be a healer because of him. He gave her comforting words when she was concerned about Harry or scared about the uncertain future ahead of them. He was more of a father to her these last two years than the man she had considered a father was for thirteen.

He was killed for something that did not even matter. Blood purity was a joke. He was just as much a wizard as Lucius Malfoy. In fact, he was a better wizard. He used his talents to heal people. The world is worse off without Ted Tonks in it, not just Corinna's and Dora's and Aunt Andromeda's. He wouldn't get to see his grandchild or see what life will be like once this war was over.

Part of Corinna held onto the idea that maybe he was still alive. Maybe they had the wrong information. He could still be out there somewhere, hiding out until it was safe for Muggle-borns to come out. Corinna knew it was a childish fantasy, but it helped her keep his chin up and blinked the tears back. Just the idea of possibly seeing him again made her want to keep fighting even if it seemed like the easier option was to get killed.

The door crashed open and the three of them looked behind. It took Corinna a few seconds for her brain to catch up to what she was seeing. She saw a couple of what she assumed were Death Eaters dragging a group of chained prisoners. Her heart sank when she instantly recognized Dean Thomas and Hermione Granger among them. There was a goblin who looked like almost every other goblin in Gringotts. There were two other prisoners among them. One had vivid red hair—Weasley hair. But, much like the black haired one he was attached to, his face was swollen to the point that he did not even look human anymore.

"What is this?" demanded Draco as Narcissa stepped away from the crowd and looked over the prisoners. She had a brilliant smile on her face.

"They say they've got Potter," said Narcissa and a lump the size of a grapefruit formed in Corinna's throat. "Draco, come here."

Draco woodenly walked over to the prisoners just as the biggest and meanest one adjusted the group so that the man with black hair was in direct lighting from the chandelier above. Corinna instantly recognized him from the end of last year. He was the man who gave Bill the scars on his face and penchant for extremely rare steaks. Fenrir Greyback. "Well, boy?" he demanded.

Corinna squinted at the man, but from this distance and the swelling, there was no way she could tell from the fireplace, and she dared not move any closer. She was supposed to be an obedient servant, after all.

"Well, Draco?" said Lucius from behind Corinna. "Is it? Is it Harry Potter?"

"I can't—I can't be sure," said Draco. He seemed to be paying more attention to the Death Eater hovering over them than the prisoner he was supposed to be studying.

"But look at him carefully! Look! Come closer!" Lucius looked as if Christmas had finally arrived to the manor three months later. "Draco, if we are the ones who hand Potter over to the Dark Lord, everything will be forgiv—"

"Now, we won't be forgetting who actually caught him, I hope, Mr. Malfoy?" sneered Greyback.

"Of course not, of course not!" Corinna squeaked when Lucius's hand gripped her upper arm tightly and she was dragged closer to the prisoners. "Maybe his old bitch will be able to identify him." Before she could do or say anything, Lucius shoved Corinna's face into the prisoner's, her scalp burning from how tightly he was gripping her hair.

But even with his face swollen and bright pink from the Stinging Jinx—no doubt Hermione's doing—Corinna could see it was Harry. Her heart seemed to skip a beat as she looked at the familiar green eyes, nearly swollen shut from the jinx. There seemed to be a silent plea on his face.

"There's something there," Lucius whispered, bringing Corinna back to reality. "It could be the scar, stretched tight. Is it, Carina?"

He pulled Corinna's hair again, making her eyes water. "N-no," she choked out. "I don't—I don't know."

"Useless," said Lucius and he shoved Corinna to the ground. She felt Harry squirm, and she glared at him to stop it. She easily sat up, trying to be somewhat dignified about it, but that was hard to manage with such a tight skirt. "Draco, have a closer look."

Draco looked as if he would rather eat his own foot. He stepped forward at his father's beckoning, but did not seem to give Harry any more of his time. "I don't know," he said, and then quickly went to join Narcissa by the fireplace.

"We had better be certain, Lucius," said Narcissa coldly. "Completely sure that it is Potter, before we summon the Dark Lord…They say this is his—" She inspected a wand in her hand that was clearly not Harry's, "—but it does not resemble Ollivander's description…If we are mistaken, if we call the Dark Lord here for nothing…Remember what he did to Rowle and Dolohov?"

"What about the Mudblood, then?" growled Greyback. He had the prisoner's swivel, Harry nearly falling over in the process. Now Hermione stood front and center, looking deathly pale in the light.

"Wait," said Narcissa sharply. "Yes—yes, she was in Madam Malkin's with Potter! I saw her picture in the Prophet! Look, Draco, isn't it the Granger girl?"

"I…maybe…yeah."

"But then, that's the Weasley boy!" shouted Lucius, strutting down to face the red head. "It's them, Potter's friends—Draco, look at him, isn't it Arthur Weasley's son, what's his name—?"

"Yeah, it could be."

Corinna made eye contact with Hermione. Her eyes seemed to convey exactly what Corinna was thinking: they were all dead.