Chapter Ten: Anguish Knows Nothing of Love
Jasna ran out into the Entrance Hall. It couldn't be him. He couldn't get on Hogwarts grounds that easily. She began to hyperventilate and wished she had a paper bag. She clutched onto the castle walls for support. She decided she needed fresh air. Then, she'd go to Dumbledore.
As she stepped outside, the smell of spring was in the air. She walked down the steps, still breathing
hard. That's when she saw it. The dark figure standing by a tree, watching
her. She stopped dead, her eyes were
wide. She turned to run, but the man
was quick as he yelled an incantation.
"Petrificus Totalus!" he cried and the girl went rigid. The cloaked man walked over to the girl,
picked her up, and ran towards the forest.
After that, things seemed to go pretty fast.
Professor McGonagall burst into Dumbledore's office.
"Minerva, if this is about that lecture about dying for the cause Professor
Hights gave, I told you, the students were only slightly disturbed!"
"This has nothing to do with Anthony Hights, Headmaster," McGonagall said.
"What is it then?"
"She's gone again," McGonagall answered him, "And this time, her friends say it
wasn't her fault in the slightest."
Harry, Ron and Hermione sat in the Gryffindor common room.
"She just ran out on us," Harry whispered, "I can't believe that's the
last I saw of her."
"He was watching her," Hermione muttered, "All through breakfast, he was
watching her!" she shivered at the thought.
"Where is she?" Ron sighed, "And how did her kidnapper get onto school grounds?"
"Hello, you three," Ginny said as she approached them, "I heard what
happened."
"Go away, Ginny," Ron muttered.
"I can't, I'm afraid. I've grown to like Jasna."
"Leave them alone, Ginny," Neville said, leading her away. Ginny nodded.
"Fine then," she said, "But I just want you to know I'm worried about her too."
"That's great, Gin," Ron said under his breath as she walked away. There was one thought plaguing the minds of all three of them
Was it Voldemort?
Jasna found herself in a dark room.
Her hands were chained to the wall, above her head and her feet were
tied together with rope. The door
opened and a tall, pale figure entered the room.
"Hello, daughter," he hissed, cruelly.
"You! You were at Hogwarts!"
"No, actually. Believe me, if I had
been, I would have taken Harry Potter, not you. But Wormtail, here, was foolish."
"I'm sorry, Master!" Wormtail cried.
"Yes, it sounds too easy, doesn't it? I've been trying to destroy Harry Potter for years. Why hadn't I just taken him out of Hogwarts before? Believe me, I've tried. It's not easy when that Dumbledore is watching him like a hawk. Do you know how difficult it is to get that boy alone? Or to lure him into capture? Wormtail has been watching you, desperately waiting for the chance, in his brand new invisibility cloak. And now, I have my dear daughter in my clutches again." Jasna spat at him.
"Go to hell!" she muttered.
"Jasna, I need you," Voldemort murmured, "Will you help me?"
"I wouldn't help you if my life depended on it!"
"Funny choice of words," Voldemort smiled, "Seeing as your life does depend on
it. You see, I need you as bait."
"Bait?"
"Yes, bait. I need you to bring me Harry Potter. Trust me, Jasna, I can give you all you ever dreamed of if you just bring me the Boy Who Lived. No harm will come to you or anyone else you care for if you just bring me that boy!"
Jasna did nothing but glare at him and look him in the eyes with disgust. She was being brave, just as Harry told her to be.
"Funny," Voldemort said, as he chuckled a frightful laugh, "Last we met,
you trembled before me. You shuttered
when I whispered in your ear. You
flinched when I stroked your hair. You
hated when I touched you. You hated
me."
"I still do hate you."
"GIVE ME HARRY POTTER!" Voldemort screamed at her, rattling her chains.
"BITE! ME!" She screamed back. Voldemort stepped away from her.
"You Americans and your pride. You are a foolish girl, did you know that?"
"And you are a sick and twisted bastard, did you know that?" Jasna returned.
"Cooperate, Jasna, spare yourself.
Give me Harry Potter."
"I'm not afraid of you anymore." Voldemort laughed.
"Is that so?"
"Yes, that's so. I don't even hate you
anymore."
"Really?" Voldemort sounded impressed.
"What I feel towards you is beyond any loathing anyone has ever felt."
"Then I suppose you have just proven your mother right," Voldemort grinned.
"What?" Jasna frowned.
"I paid her a visit a month or two ago.
I asked her to tell me one person that either didn't hate me or wasn't
afraid. Little did she know, a good
example would have been you."
"What?" Jasna said again.
"Unfortunately, I didn't need her much longer.
I needed to tie up some loose ends," Voldemort leaned in close to his
daughter. What he said next was in a
menacing whisper and made Jasna's blood boil with fury, "I killed your mother, Jasna. I
killed Mia Larden." Jasna screamed in rage, grief and frustration and began
calling Voldemort a parade of things, the next one worse than the last. When she had finished, Voldemort was still
grinning.
"Don't die the way your mother did, Jasna," Voldemort said, mockingly, "Don't turn into your weak mother. Give me Harry Potter and all will be well." It was Jasna's turn to lean in. She reached over as far as she could to her father.
"No." she spat. It was a simple syllable, but it held so much meaning. Voldemort sighed and shook his head.
"Why does this boy matter to you so much, Jasna?" Voldemort asked her, "Why do you think he's worth protecting?"
"I love him." Voldemort laughed. "I love him more than I have ever loved anyone other than my mother. And he loves me. He loves me more than you ever have or will."
"Love!" Voldemort spat the word out as if it was some vile-tasting food
he had just tasted. "Love is stupid.
Love is foolish. Love is
futile. Love has no point. There is something you must understand. There is no such thing as love. It is merely an infatuation. Don't fall into love's trap. It makes you weak. Like your mother."
"DON'T YOU DARE INSULT HER THAT WAY!" Jasna screamed "DON'T TALK ABOUT MY
MOTHER LIKE THAT!"
"Give me Harry Potter," Voldemort demanded again.
"Not in your life." Voldemort sighed.
"Then we will have to do this the hard way. Don't complain to me about it, I tried to make you agree like a civilized person." Jasna stared in horror as she saw Voldemort take out his wand.
"Crucio!"
She was not on school grounds this time. They had searched everywhere and told the authorities Jasna had been kidnapped.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were on their way to transfiguration as they past a few gossiping first years.
"I heard she ran away," one of them whispered, "And I heard it's not the first time."
"I heard she was kicked out," another said, the only girl in the group, "She'd been kicked out of her last school too."
"I've heard she's been kidnapped!" the second boy whispered dramatically, "And they want some information out of her. Something about Harry Potter!" there was silence as the other two contemplated this, then laughed.
"Harry Potter? Where'd you hear
that?"
"I heard it from the Slytherins of course!" the second boy said proudly, "A few
fifth and fourth year Slytherins."
"It wasn't that Malfoy bloke, was it?" said the only girl, "Because I heard he
starts rumors."
"He's reliable when it comes to this sort of thing, you can…"
"Come on, Harry," Hermione urged, pulling him by the arm.
"Yeah, you don't want to listen to those stupid first years," Ron nodded. Harry let out a deep sigh and continued walking with them to Transfiguration.
"What if Malfoy's right?" he asked them, "What if she was taken because
of me?"
"Relax, Harry," Ron said, "She's OK."
"Yeah, Ron's right. Hurry up, we'll be
late."
Jasna's head was drooping. Her ponytail had come loose and the loose strands were plastered against her damp face. Her vision was blurred from the blood and pain and she was sure the impairment was permanent. She let out a deep sigh and saw one of her strands of hair. She frowned.
"White," she whispered, seeing the dull color, "Stupid stress. I'm fifteen! I'm just fifteen! Oh God, help me!" she began to cry.
"There, there, my dear," Voldemort whispered icily as he entered the room. Jasna looked up at him with her tear-streaked face and burning eyes. She said nothing and soon looked away. Voldemort smiled.
"You will help me, whether you're willing to or not," he hissed. Jasna prepared herself for another round of suffering as she watched her father, her very own father, pull out his wand. She twisted and writhed as she felt every muscle in her body boil in anguish. Such anguish she had never known and it smothered her as its ice-cold fist clutched her still-beating heart and slowly, painfully, squeezed the essence of life out of her body.
Jasna no longer wished to go on living. And yet, she held on. She held on for one person alone. She would never agree to her father's terrible plan. She had to protect him.
As people sat at their tables that evening, gossiping about the missing Gryffindor girl, Dumbledore rose. All heads in the hall turned to him, all eyes were locked on him, attentively awaiting his words.
"I stand here before you now, to ask a favor of you." He paused as he looked around the room. "I ask that you all say a prayer tonight. To whoever may be listening, say a prayer for young Jasna Larden. Pray she has strength. Pray she has courage. Pray her suffering is soon to end. I will not lie to you. The missing student that should be in our midst tonight is in grave danger. I fear she will not conquer without support. Give her our support. Thank you," Dumbledore sat down.
For the rest of the night, the Great Hall was strangely quiet. There were still whispers, though.
"It must be bad if Dumbledore said that," they'd say. Harry, Ron and Hermione tried to block out the rumors and accusations and ate their meal in silence. Those three youths knew that the others in the hall could not begin to comprehend the torture that Jasna must have been enduring at that very moment.
Jasna's body was failing her. Voldemort had come up with a new plan. It was a back up plan, incase Jasna refused to cooperate.
He walked into the room and saw her beaten, bloody body, hanging in her bounds, barely alive.
"Dear daughter," he whispered, "You could have been great. You could have been my heir. But instead, you chose love over power, an
insane choice. You are nothing but a
lovesick imbecile. It is time you met
your true destiny."
And then there came the pain. The agony
that rose above her like a towering, merciless beast, milking her heart of the
valued life energy. It's terrible eyes
bored into the depths of her soul, burning her on the inside. It's teeth ripped at her flesh, the venom
seeping into her blood. Its cry was the
pounding of blood in her ears, rendering her deaf to anything else. It's claws tore at the fiber of her being as
it hissed threatening words into her ear. It slowly drover her insane with it's hissing.
**He's as good as dead and so are you. Give up.**
No.
**I can leave you if you give up. I will go away. You will be in a blissful state of mind. You won't have to think anymore, you won't have to worry, you won't have to struggle to breathe. You won't have to breathe at all. You won't have to feel my endless torture. Give up.**
I will never give in to Lord Voldemort.
**Then he is right, you are a foolish girl. Your precious Harry is dying. Slowly, but he is dying, just as you are dying. You can't save him by enduring me. Why do you keep going? Why don't you give up?**
Because I love him.
**Love means nothing.**
Not to you. You are a monster. You know nothing but to cause torture.
**Love means nothing. Give up.**
No.
**He doesn't love you, Jasna.**
Yes he does.
**He pities you. He feels sorry for the daughter of Lord Voldemort. He pities the wretch that has to tolerate what you tolerate. The poor thing's mother, the only thing she lived for is dead and he felt sorry. He lied to you. He doesn't love you. There is no such thing as love.**
YOU LIE!
**I speak the truth. The truth hurts, doesn't it?**
Liar. You do not know love.
**And neither do you. Neither does he.**
I… I don't know what to do…
