Stupid, idiot Weasel! she raved in her mind as her feet carried her to the island edge. As much as she tried, she couldn't bring herself to run faster, the hurt from so many years ago still paining her.
But as much as she tried to deny it, to deny him, she couldn't take the chance that Weasley's death could offset everything she hoped to accomplish. And that was enough for her.
She came to an abrupt stop, her mind still rebelling against her, telling her He's not worth it and You know you want to see him die all the while her -- what she thought to be long lost -- conscience told her levelly that she couldn't just let him be disintegrated to a pile of bones.
But now that I think of it, it wouldn't be too bad to see Weasley as a pile of bones, she mused. He certainly deserves it.
"Oh hell," she swore, giving up her musings and trudged into the water. Slowly she waded her way towards the small vessel only yards away. Hopefully Potter will have more sense that his mindless partner, she thought as she squinted at the man on the side of the boat who seemed to stuck in place.
She deftly pulled out her wand, knowing fully that the Island charms that protected it excluded her and other Death Eaters and mumbled a small spell to take off some of the pressure the Sewecids were sure to be exerting on the man. Not that she cured. No, not at all.
As she neared Weasley and the plants, she cast another spell, this time to repel the Sewecids away from her and to keep them away. She couldn't be of much help she was as careless as Weasley and got herself caught as well. Then where would they be?
"Managed to get yourself in a bind, Weasel?" she said quietly with a smirk as soon as she was in hearing distance.
"You?" Weasley managed to curl his lips in distaste even as the pain was reflected in his eyes. "You're our guide?" he asked in part disbelief and part disgust.
"That's right Weasel-Man," she said smugly, taking in the fix that he was in but making no move to help.
Weasley's eyes bulged at the insult and his face reddened as he sputtered.
She raised a hand to stop the blubbering. "Save it. Now do you want me to help or not?" She was met with cold defiance. She raised an eyebrow. "Well?" she demanded.
It delighted her to see Weasley twist and squirm as he fought with his desire to be free and to get away from the acid that was rapidly eating away at his clothing and the thought of being beholden her.
"I don't have all night Weasley and if you don't know, we've got a tight schedule to uphold."
Weasley glared. "Fine," he spat. "Anything to get away from you faster."
"Hey, what's going on down there?" Harry called down, his voice soft but so soft that they couldn't hear him.
"Potter, so good of you to join us. Be a dear and stay where you are. One fool is enough to deal with," she called up, satisfied when she heard no further movements above her. At least one of them has enough sense to stay still.
She paused, trying to think up the spell that released the Sewecids from their prey. She'd never really had the chance to use the spell -- not really a need to -- and wasn't sure if the one she had in mind was the right one.
"Let's see," she muttered to herself. "Was it liberare or premere?"
"What's taking you so long?" Weasley hissed, trying to move as far away from his clothes while he was still wearing them as possible. The burning sensation was getting a bit too intense for his comfort. "Hurry up!"
She glared at him. "I could leave you like this. The Sewecids are unforgiving plants -- they'll reduce you to nothing. Do you really want to end up like that?" She snorted. "God knows you deserve to die."
"I was 14!" Ron protested, a hint of desperation seeping into his voice.
"So was I!" she snared. "Premere!"
Ron squawked as he felt the vines tightening their hold on him. "Hey!"
She watched with rapt fascination. She had waited years for this moment and she was going to enjoy it while it lasted. Ronald Weasley, squirming under her, held between life and death and she with the power to decide which direction he will go -- it was something she had dreamed about.
You know it can't last, her internal voice told her. She chose to ignore it. You can't ignore me forever, you know. You've tried and you know you've never been able to do it.
If she could, she would have to herself to shut up, but she refused to acknowledge that it even existed.
Let him go. He's no good to you if he's hurt. You'll have a useless man to worry about -- do you really want to carry his sorry ass around when you have a mission to do?
Damn. She really hated when it was right. Weasley would only hinder them during the mission. At this point, it was complicated enough without her trying to muddle things up even more.
So against her better judgment to let Weasley rot, she point her wand at the pitiful lump floating in the shallow water and cast the spell, but not without a telltale grimace on her face.
Weasley sighed in relief when he finally felt the plants start to loosen. For a moment he thought he was doomed, the past coming up to bite him. Soon as they were relaxed enough for him to slip out, he did, moving away from the plants as far as possible, eyeing them as if they would mysteriously come back to hurt him.
Weasley cowering in fear, she savored, knowing that these little things were all she will get. She cleared her throat. "All's clear, Potter. You can come down now."
Potter steadily shuffled down the ladder, landing in the water with small splash. He gave an odd look to Ron, who was pushed up against the side of the boat. "What the hell happened down here?" Potter demanded, turning around to face their guide.
"Bloody hell," he swore when he saw her face.
"Nice to see you too Potter," she greeted. "Weasley here just got tangled with a patch of Sewecids."
"I'm surprised you didn't let him die," Potter commented, moving towards Weasley and prying him away from the boat.
"Yeah, well so am I." She turned away, moving slowly towards the coast. You don't know how close I was to it. "Come on; we're wasting valuable time."
Weasley and Potter reluctantly followed her, the three of them walking in silence. When they reached the beach, she muttered a quick spell to dry their clothing off.
"I thought you couldn't practice magic on this island," Weasley whispered to Potter, his voice not as quiet as he thought it was.
"That doesn't include the people who work here," she answered tersely, turning her head to glare at the man. What an ignorant fool!
Her hatred of Ronald Weasley was deeply rooted within her. What he had done, she could not forgive -- never in a thousand years if she lived that long. Never, she vowed.
FLASHBACK
"An excellent remedy for the more stubborn forms of acne, bubotuber pus. Should stop students from resorting to desperate measures to rid themselves of pimples," Professor Spout lectured.
"I wish I had known about that before," Eloise muttered under her breath, squeezing her bubotuber with vengeance. She looked up, her eyes darting around the room to see if any one was staring at her.
"Like poor Eloise Midgen," said Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff, in a hushed voice. "She tried to curse hers off."
Eloise reddened. It was hard enough to deal with it when they were speaking about her behind her back, but couldn't they wait until she wasn't in the room?! Tears tickled her eyes as she furiously tried to blink them away before anyone noticed.
It had been stupid; she knew it. But when you were plagued with taunts and teases, day in and day out, you would resort to anything to get rid of the stupid pimples.
She looked up at the Gryffindors, seeking one out in particular. Ron Weasley with his flaming red hair and peppered freckles. She sighed. Ron, she thought, her eyes glazing over slightly as she stared at the Gryffindor. If he didn't care, then she would be happy.
But she froze at the sight that greeted him. Ron was discreetly point at her to his friends and...laughing at her! Her face twisted in disbelief, all hope draining from her as she paled. He was laughing at her!
END FLASHBACK
It wasn't just the laughing -- she could have forgiven that. Boys would be boys, right? They were supposed to be so insensitive and besides, he could have forgotten that she was a Hufflepuff as well.
But later, when Alicia Spinnet had been talking to her friend Angelina as they passed her unwittingly in the hall, that had been what broke the camel's back.
FLASHBACK
"I can't believe you're going to the ball with Fred!" Alicia interjected.
Angelina shrugged. "Why not? He's kinda cute."
"Yes, but did you hear what his brother said last night?"
"Last night?"
Alicia nodded.
"Which brother?"
"The little one, Ron."
Eloise looked up at the mention of Ron as she did whenever anyone ever mentioned him. She looked up and down the hall, seeing nobody but them walking in it. She quietly moved up, not so much to alert the two girls to her presence but enough so that she could hear everything clearly.
Angelina shook her head, leaning closer as if to share a secret. "What?"
"He and Harry were talking about how they better get a move on finding dates to the ball and Ron said something about how they 'don't want to end up with a pair of trolls'." Alicia shook her head at the stupidity of boys sometimes.
"A pair?"
"You know, Ron and Harry," Alicia explained.
"Oh, right!" Angelina fell silent. "Well, I don't see why you're making such a fuss over this. Sounds like typical male behavior." She shrugged.
"Yes," Alicia argued. "But you didn't hear what he said next. Besides, even if they are male doesn't excuse them."
She nodded at her friend's pronouncement. "So what did he say next?"
Eloise inched closer, her curiosity piqued as well. Did he say something about her? Did Ron want to go to the ball with her? she thought hopefully.
"He said," Alicia paused dramatically. "He said he would rather go alone than with Eloise Midgen!"
Angelina gasped and it was all Eloise could do to not as well. She froze in her spot, but luckily so did the two of them.
"He didn't."
"He did. And what's worse is that he said her nose is off-center!"
"I can't believe him!"
"I know," Alicia answered. "Poor Eloise... I can't believe someone could be so insensitive. Everybody in Hogwarts knows what she's been going through."
Eloise's eyes flashed with anger. How dare they! Her earlier hurt forgotten for the moment as she heard the girls' pity. She didn't need nor want it.
"Hmm." Angelina made some sympathetic noises. "What about Hermione during all this? You know how she is with Ron...?"
Alicia smirk. "Left in a huff. Right after Ron told her that he would go with the best looking girl that would have him even though she was horrible."
Angelina eyes' widened. "He said that?" she asked in disbelief, the two of them picking up their walk again.
Alicia nodded.
"No wonder she was acting so frigid to him at breakfast."
But by that time Eloise was no longer listening. She didn't move from her spot, even after Angelina and Alicia disappeared from view. Instead, she stood there, her eyes rimmed with tears and her heart broken in two.
"A troll?" she said to herself after who knows many minutes. "I'm a troll?"
"Well I wouldn't say troll. That nose can be easily fixed you know."
She spun around at the new voice, shocked that someone else had heard her and had caught her in this vulnerable moment.
The boy she saw surprised her. There, only a few feet away from her was Draco Malfoy.
"Cat got your tongue, Midgen?"
Catching herself before she had a chance to say something rash, she told herself to calm down. "What do you want?" No matter how she tried, she couldn't help the bitterness in her voice.
Malfoy held up his hands. "I just wanted to say I heard what happened."
She glared at the smaller boy. "So? You want to gloat?"
Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "No, but I do want to say he's not worth it."
Her confusion must have shown because Malfoy took the last few steps until he was only inches away. His hand brushed her cheek. "The Weasel doesn't deserve this."
Eloise glanced down at the hand that wipes away a tear on her cheek and raised hers to brush at the place where Draco's had touched her. She looked up and looked into Draco's grey, stormy eyes and something in her clicked. "Thank you," she said with a smile that was quickly turning into a smirk.
"Anytime." With that Draco turned away and slowly strolled away, leaving Eloise alone once again.
He was right, she realized. Weasley wasn't worth the trouble. But, she also thought. I can't forgive him for what he said. He may not be worth it, but I will never forgive him."
END FLASHBACK
And she never did. Her hate and animosity for Weasley just grew. Year after year, she would spend loathing him and devising ways to take him down a peg or two, preferable make him fall off the damn ladder.
Come to think of it, I did, she realized a genuine smile.
"What? What is it?" Potter questioned, seeing the giddy smile on their guide's face.
Eloise's face hardened. "Nothing," she denied, her voice cold. "I assume you have invisibility cloaks?"
They nodded briefly.
She gave them a self-depreciating smile. "Good." She nodded towards the inside of the island. "I don't know if you've been informed or not, but this island can not detect the use of an invisibility cloak. There are a few creatures however that can see through it, but for the most part, they are not nocturnal."
"That's a relief," Ron whispered.
"Let's keep the commentary to ourselves," she ordered. "And put those cloaks on. Because of your little stunt, Weasley, we are off in a our schedule and we have only a minute or so until the next round of guards come passing through here. It's going to be hard to guide you through this place when I can't see what you're getting into, but that's how it's going to have to be. If they just see me, they wouldn't think anything of it as I have had a tendency to prowl around at night, making sure that everything is fine."
As they donned their cloaks, Eloise spared no time in waiting for them to finish. "Just walk where I walk and don't touch anything and you'll be fine, understood?"
They fell into an uneasy silence, but at least the two of them quiet gave her time to think. Did she want to screw the two of them over? As much as she hated Weasley, she respected Potter. And after years of being at Draco's side had taught her insight that no one else could. It would too much of a blow if Potter was to die or get capture and she knew if that happened, Draco could never forgive her and that would be worst of all.
But her burning need to hurt Weasley wouldn't, couldn't go away. Years of hating him, to the point of loathing him couldn't be forgotten so easily.
She had taken her hate and she had warped it to something unrecognizable. She had let her hate consume her. She plotted Weasley's eventual downfall, devised ways of hurting him that were not right. If she had been thinking clearly, she would have realized she had fallen into an unhealthy obsession.
Even after Draco Malfoy had told he was not worth it, she continued to hate Weasley. It was that hate that kept her going through school, through the taunts about her 'off-center' nose, her acne, her stupidity about her trying to curse her acne off. That and Draco Malfoy himself.
After Weasley, she realized what a mistake it had been to like Weasley in the first place. After the incidents, she couldn't even remember why she had liked him in the first place. In her mind, Draco was a much better crush. Smarter, cuter, richer, everything that Weasley was not.
She would hear the gibes he would get from Draco and she would wonder, why didn't I realize that? His family was too overridden, infested with too many children that they didn't know what to do with. They were poor, they were useless. Why they even bother with Muggles was beyond her -- even though Hermione was a good friend of hers.
At first she had considered Hermione to be a rival; a blind man and his dog could have seen the feelings she obviously felt for Weasley, but after hearing what he had said about her, she remember feeling that Hermione was welcome to such rubbish. She sure as hell didn't want anything to do with him.
But when they started going out openly, she couldn't help but hope that their relationship would fail. She couldn't bare anything that caused Weasley happiness and Hermione did. Then she would feel horrible afterwards. It was a lot easier to hope that the boy who spurn you died than it is to hurt a friend's feelings. And while she didn't have too many friends, Hermione had been a true friend, one that had stuck out for her, even when she had gone through her awkward puberty. When no one was there for her, Hermione had been. If for that much, she owed her.
Draco Malfoy had left her alone the rest of fourth year but in fifth, something happened. She didn't know what or why, but thanked the Gods everyday that it did happen. He approach her tentatively at first, easing into the role of 'friend'. As enamored as she was with him, she had been absolutely thrilled to be spending time with Draco.
It was during fifth year that she noticed a new changes in his demeanor as well. He had become more distracted, his thoughts seemingly on something other than that potion Snape had assigned or the three feet on common Muggle folk-creatures. But if you were to just see him, you would never notice it. He was still the same Malfoy, still insulting Potter and Weasley, making fun of Hermione, but his jeers lacked the passion and the fire it once had. They were taken the same way, but she could feel differences. He didn't care anymore and that bothered her.
As time went on, her hate for Weasley grew. She would find new ways to hate him -- hate he way he treated women, hate the way he would laugh at somebody less than he was, hate how he would jokingly make fun of people without regard for their feelings. She refused to see the good points in him, as far as she was concerned, he had no good points.
She moved away from her friends, the few she had as well and moved closer to Draco. He understood her hate and helped her develop it, to work through it through. He helped her to understand it and help her to understand herself. And in doing so, he help her become more than just Eloise Midgen, that silly girl who tried to curse her acne off in the fourth year.
When he wasn't with his cronies, he could be found where ever she was. It was that simple. It even gotten to the point that people started thinking that they were going out, much to Pansy's chagrin.
Eloise quirked a smile at that, remembering how it exhilarating it had been to have people think you are Draco Malfoy's girlfriend. Not that there was an ounce of truth in it though. Despite her advances, Draco remained steadfast that their relationship would never be anything but platonic. Much to her disappointment but she respected his decision. It was for the best anyway. Draco was more like a brother than a lover.
It took him a few years to trust her with his plan, with what he had been working on for years now. He finally told her the truth in the summer of seventh year, right after he had shown her the dark mark that graced his arm. At first she had been a bit revolted, but her disgust quickly turned to admiration as she realized that Draco's plans weren't exactly halfcocked. They could actually work.
Ever since that moment, she knew that her place was with him. She joined him in their cause with Draco paving the road for her as Draco's father Lucius had once done for his son. She eventually became a Death Eater but she didn't mind. If it reached the desired end, then she was satisfied.
It was times like that that she wondered why she wasn't placed in Slytherin than Hufflepuff. If you ask me, I would have made a very good Slytherin.
"No don't touch that!" Eloise snapped as she saw a floating hand reach towards a tree branch to move it out of his way. The hand instantly recoiled, inches away from touch it. "That's a Imatu Tree. Its exterior is highly poisonous and extremely lethal." She carefully moved around it. "Don't touch anything. Don't step on anything. Don't do anything. Just follow my lead. I'm sure you'll stay relatively unharmed if you do as I do." She turned around to face them. "Understood?"
They didn't respond but for a moment two floating heads appeared out of thin air and nodded their ascent. Satisfied, Eloise turned back and resumed her walk.
A couple minutes into the walk, they had twisted and turned on the paths Eloise were leading them through. Abruptly she froze. Her eyes scanned the pathway as a hand motioned for the two of them to be quiet and to stay hidden.
Almost as if summoned, a pair of guards appeared around a bend, talking animatedly about a Quidditch game one had seen. But when they saw Eloise, they stiffened and stopped talking. She watched them with hooded eyes, daring them to do something, anything that she could admonish for as they walked past the three of them, giving Eloise a curt ma'am.
As soon as they were past, they started breathing once again. Harry hadn't even been aware that he had been holding his breath in the first place.
It was an interesting development. Eloise Midgen, the girl they had made fun of in Hogwarts, who later become a very prominent Death Eater and Draco Malfoy's right hand woman was their guide. It was almost as mind boggling as Draco Malfoy as the Grey Dragon. Harry shook his head, mainly for his benefit as no one would be able to see him. Who would have thought?
"Hurry up," she whispered under her breath, resuming her stride and moving more quickly.
"We would if we knew where we are going," Ron snapped peevishly.
"If you knew where you are going, you wouldn't need me, would you?" Eloise snapped right back.
Ron reddened furiously and open his mouth to retort. Harry took the moment interject. "Let's keep it down, okay? It won't do us any good if we get caught." For a brief moment, he wished they wasn't under the invisibility cloak so he could gauge his friend's expression. He glanced over to Eloise, her face a mask. She knows it. But what she knows doesn't mean she agrees. It was just too much. Forget it, he tried to tell himself but his common sense told him Eloise was not to be trusted. The old Eloise maybe, but the new? He tried to push it away, pushing ahead.
Ron fumed under the invisibility cloak. No matter how much he understood Harry, he still didn't like being scolded like a little child. And it was her fault in the first place! It always seemed like Eloise was out to get him, even back when they were Hogwarts. Why, he had never understood. It wasn't as if I had slighted her.
They continued their trek in silence, the two men glancing around occasionally to look at a particular plant that looked odd or a moment in the corner of their eyes. They had no time to speculate, but they each had questions in their eyes -- even if no one else could see them. Eloise didn't as so much twitch throughout the whole walk.
As they neared the dour Manor, Harry's breathing quickened. This is it, Harry thought. Malos Manor, the place where Dennis died. Even though it had been three years ago, Dennis Creevey's death still hit him hard. He had only been 20 years at the time. There had been no reason why Dennis was unmasked and captured. No reason at all.
We'll be more lucky this time, Harry vowed. Getting a prisoner out of Malos Island successfully was just what they needed and God knows he wasn't going to let another die in this dismal place.
Eloise led them to a side door to the Manor. She glanced around, making sure the coast is clear before opening the door. She peeked inside and when she was satisfied that no one was around, she moved inside, holding the door for the two of them.
"You can chuck the cloaks now," she told them, speak in a normal tone of voice. "There's no one here beside us and the guards and they're all outside."
When they refused and Eloise didn't see a body or two materialize in front of her, she placed her hands on her hips and glared at where she thought they were standing. "Don't trust me?" she growled. "I'll have you know, this has been my post for over five years! I'm the one who makes the damn schedules here and when I say there's no one here, there's no one here!"
I doubt that, Harry thought out loud. Some things just didn't add up. For example, if there was no one in the Manor besides them, why did Eloise peek inside before going in? He asked her that.
She bristled at the audacity of his question. "Because," she bit out through her clenched teeth, "you can never be too careful with these types of things. While I'm almost positive most of the Death Eaters are in Singapore right now having a ball, I can't be positive that all of them have left. A few might just prefer to play with the prisoners below more."
It confirmed Harry's belief that they shouldn't take off the invisibility cloaks just yet. If there was even a minuscule chance that they could be spotted, they couldn't take the chance.
Harry walked up to Eloise quietly, trying not to be heard. She was standing still, her body tense as she stared straight ahead. "We can't take that chance," Harry spoke directly.
Eloise rolled her eyes. "Fine."
Swerving as something brush him, Harry turned to see nothing. "Harry's right, Midgen," Ron's voice came next to him. "Besides, it's better to be safe than sorry."
"Have it your way, Weasley," Eloise dismissed. "Come on, the dungeons are this way." She pointed to the left. "They're in the basement, the lowest floor. It minimizes the screams that way," she said casually.
Both Harry and Ron individually started at the matter of fact way she just said that. How could she be so cold-hearted? Harry wondered, thinking of quiet, unobtrusive girl he had known back at Hogwarts. Sure, he wasn't that well acquainted with her, but he had known she had been one of Hermione's friends. That was of course before she started her friendship with Malfoy. After that, Eloise had started avoiding them.
Harry's eyes widened as he realized he had been left behind while he had been woolgathering. He sprinted until he had finally caught up to her at the closed door at the end of the hall.
When Eloise threw open the wooden door, Harry peered in to see a darkened stairway. Ominous, he commented. I hope that not trying to tell me something...
"Harry?"
He heard a shuffle next to him. "Ron?" Harry reach out and caught a hold of what he guessed was Ron's arm.
"This doesn't feel right."
The quiet, too calm voice was a dead giveaway. Ron was freaking.
"Don't worry. We'll be fine," he tried to soothe, hoping he sounded believable. He heard some deep breaths being let in and drawn out. "Breath, that's a good idea."
"You two done?" Eloise interrupted, impatiently.
That pretty much broke their conversation and the three of them made their way down the stairs. Eloise had whipped out her wand and lit the way for them using wand light.
It wasn't the dark that got on Harry's nerves -- he had gotten over his fear of the dark years ages ago. It was the moans and groans, the occasional scream and yell that raise his hackles.
The hairs on the back of his neck raised as another piercing moan can out of no where causing them all to still.
"My God..." Ron breathed in horror. "Just what the hell are you guys doing down here?"
Eloise's stiffened, her face hard and her eyes shuttered. "You don't want to know," she answered and resumed walking.
It infuriated and annoyed the hell out of Harry, hearing the screams of pain, walking down there, knowing that they were undetectable but at the same time, powerless to do anything to help his people. They were the countless witches and wizards that have been captured because they were on his side and he couldn't do anything to help them. That above all else, made him the most upset. And the fact that the only reason why they were attempting this rescue in the first place, wasn't for their sake, but for Draco Malfoy's sake. That also annoyed him no end.
They made it down the stairs with no more major interruptions. At the bottom, Harry could see a long row of cells on both sides and the way lit up by torches in between the doors to the cells.
As they made their way down the way, Harry refused to look into the small peepholes near the top of the metal doors. He couldn't put himself through that. To see them -- even if they couldn't see him -- would be too much. He couldn't -- wouldn't -- put himself in that position.
The sound of Eloise's boots striking the hard stone vibrated off the walls, echoing until the sounds disappeared only have new ones take their place. Harry listened to them intently: click click swish cli cli click click click swish cli cli click. Nice rhythm, he thought, determined to get his mind on something -- anything -- other than what have happened to the prisoners of Malos Manor.
They stopped at an inconspicuous metal door, just like all the other metal doors there, nothing special about it. Funny, Harry thought. You'd think that there would be something different about this cell -- holding the most entrenched informant we have...
With a wave of her wand, she had the door opened, the squeaking hinges making me wince. She walked into the cell confidently, her head held up high, but her eyes not really looking at anything in particular.
Harry pulled the invisibility cloak off, feeling that it was somehow wrong to be hiding under it even as they enter the sanctity of the cell. In the corner of his eye, he saw Ron do the same. They entered the cell together, both revealed and their bodies braced for anything to hit them.
What they saw gave them pause. Dimly Harry heard Ron gasp, but he was too stunned to do anything. The sight of the body, lying on his side, a pool of blood circling him was just the beginning. It was the dried blood, splattered on the cold, hard stone that caught his breath. It was that that spoke the most to him, mocking him and telling stories of past horrors.
Harry slowly made his way to the corner of the cell, with both Ron's and Eloise's eyes on his back. Crouching down, he reach out tentatively, almost afraid to touch the man.
He hadn't changed much in nine years, but if Harry was honest with himself, he didn't expect him to. Malfoy had been the one constant in his life, something that still haven't changed. He was still the antagonist, even unconscious, beaten to a pulp, Malfoy was still ending his sense into overdrive, his heart pumping furiously as his blood rushed in his ears. But something has changed hasn't it? he asked himself, as he touched the reddened blond hair. He is no longer only evil and I...I am no longer only good. "Draco..." Harry whispered, his voice full of sorrow and pity. At such a close proximity to the other man, he could see that Malfoy's black robes were soaked with blood, his usually pale face caked with blood.
He looked down to the hard floor, seeing long dried blood and looked back up at Malfoy, wondering what was wrong with the picture. Other than the dried blood, there doesn't seem to be anything else wrong with him. No unusual cuts or bruises one would expect on a torture victim. Sad as it may be it was true.
Harry looked up, his eyes questioning and his face clearly showing his bafflement.
"It's a spell," Eloise spoke up, her voice dry. "Heaven on Earth. It wasn't even supposed to be used for another month... Nasty little bugger -- heals you up, fills you up with so much good feelings that it just makes it absolutely unbearable to have it ripped from you later on. Draco said...Draco said..." her voice broke on the name. Harry could almost hear the tears in her words as she spoke. "Draco said..." She was more confident this time. "How could you expect to break a person, if they never understand what it was they were losing."
Ron's eyes were wide with disbelief, as they were for almost the entire time, from the moment they entered the cell until now, as he watches his best friend crouch and touch Malfoy. My God. My God. "How could you do this to one of your own?" he wondered in distaste. No one answered him, but no one needed to. He realized with dismay that it was the fact that it was one of their own that they had done this to him.
As much as he hated Malfoy, he couldn't but feel sickened that a person could do this to another person. He had seen many things in his day -- had seen many things while he was still in school -- but it still sickened him when he saw something new. It amazed him how humans -- be it Muggles or Wizards -- come up with so many different ways to hurt someone else. Heaven on Earth, he thought. How the hell do they come up with this stuff? The pain you can block out after a while, but fill a person with good feelings only to take it away again? It was inhumane! Just like Malfoy, he thought with a snarl. And because he was Malfoy, Ron couldn't help feel like the guy had deserved what he had gotten. It ashamed him to admit it, but he felt it was justified that Malfoy got a bit of what he had dished out in the past.
"How do we get him out of here?" Ron finally spoke up, disrupting the silence that had fallen on the three of them.
"I can't help you there, this is as far as I go," Eloise tossed out.
Harry whipped his head around. "How can you leave him like this?" he nearly growled, barely able to control himself. How could anyone leave him like this? If the blood was any indication of what had happened in that little cell, Malfoy would be in pretty horrible shape once he wakes up. He reached out again, this time laying a hand on a shoulder, the fabric under his fingers stiff. With a jolt he realized why it was so stiff and instantly recoiled.
Eloise glared at Harry, furious at him for suggesting that it was easy for her to leave Draco like that. "I can't exactly do anything. I would if I could, but I can't. Don't you think I would have tried to rescue him before this? I would have if it weren't for you and that stupid old man of yours. And now you ask me how I can leave him like this?" She stalked over to the crouching man and leaning in real close. "Let me tell you how. Because I know Draco would want me here. Like or not, this place is the most fortified Death Eater encampment. You're people have never left this place alive or have you forgotten little Dennis Creevey?" she sneered.
She didn't even know what hit her. Harry was up so fast, had grabbed onto her robe and thrusted her against the hard wall before she came back to herself.
"Don't you ever talk about Dennis like that!" Harry blazed, his voice hard as steel.
Eloise shoved Harry's arms away, her face sneering. She calmed a bit, breathing deeply a few times. "Draco would want me here, wouldn't want me to endanger myself," she said softly. "I'm one of the few that he trusts who works here. He'll need me and I can't do anything if I leave." She gave the two of them a pointed look. "You do understand that, don't you?" her voice held a slight incredulous tone, almost as if she was surprised to hear that they don't understand.
Neither Ron or Harry answered and Eloise continued talking. "Take him and get the hell out of here. Please tell me you weren't asleep when we made our trek here," she asked rhetorically. "You should know your way back and --"
"Well, well. Isn't this nice and cozy?" a male voice interrupted behind them.
They swerved around to see a procession of Death Eaters with their wands out and ready, dressed in their usual black crowding the entrance.
Eloise's face twisted in shock as she had her wand out and pointed at the man. It was all so clear all of a sudden. "You!"
The leader of the group grinned smugly. "A traitor, the Boy Who Lived and his little partner, all for the price of one. Can it get any better than this?" he laughed.
Ron and Harry glanced at each other, both holding their wands ready, but they both knew they were trapped. Harry glared at the man who was looking at them menacingly and...with a hint of gratification. It was that more than anything that made him feel as if there was no hope. Harry gave Malfoy's unmoving body a worried look. How can I save him now?
A/N: This chapter took a lot faster than I thought it would. Less than two weeks -- that's good for me! Draco made an appearance in this chapter as I said he would, but alas, he's still unconcious. He'll wake up in the next chapter though.
I had been worried about Midgen coming across as a Mary Sue, so much that I researched all the requirements for one and I can safely say, she may be a little Mary Sueish, but she isn't. My beta reader also assured me she wasn't, so I'll defer to her wisdom. But you tell me, is she too Mary Sueish? It's funny really, one of the things I had tried not to do with this story was not put in a Mary Sue and here I am with a girl who is...a little suspicious.
I bet you all thought it was Pansy. Personally, I would have liked to cast role as Pansy. It would have work well, I think, but Kara convinced me not to.
Tionne: Glad you liked it! Especially the Dumbledore Draco part. I was a bit worried about that. And giggling is the right word. You're from Finland? I have a pen pal from Espoo. Is that anywhere near you?
SoulSister: Betcha you never thought it was her!
Kara: You responded! Great! Have you figured out why it was repeated yet?
ailsinjinn: Thanks! Hope this satisfies.
Enid: Thank you so so much! It wasn't that bad of a cliffhanger was it?
WildfireFriendship: And closer!
To I'm Not in Love readers (can you believe I actually got more reviews on that story? I can't...):
Blonde Ditz: Thanks! I was so excited to see you had reviewed. I really didn't think I would get any more!
Spirit and Essence: :) :) :) How do you like Gregon?
evilbunny: I love BBMak too! Everyone of their songs, I see a story. I've been thinking of doing on Ghost of Me and You.
Jay: Mucho gracias!
chrisseee667: So glad you liked it!
And lastly, thanks to Red Dragons Order for her help. She's a great betareader! And thanks to Kara for her insight. Until next time!