Author's note: Happy New Year, peoples! (for those of you in a place where
it is the first) I'm finally getting on with the story. I'm just tired of
working on the Raspberries. *shrugs*
Discalimer: O.o. I hate these things. I don't own what JKR does, you know the drill.
Kendra found herself flying through swirling air very fast, still in someone's tight grip. She felt sick and wondered what would happen to her. She was also in shock at what had happened to Eloise? Would she go like her? Kendra had a nasty feeling that she just might. Help me, oh help me, please, Kendra though frantically. Suddenly the spinning ceased. Kendra found herself in a large wooden shack-like structure. She was surrounded by Death Eaters.
I should give them numbers, Kendra thought to amuse herself. Death Eaters 1 through whatever. Kendra found that thought funny. A smile hovered around her mouth.
Death Eater number 5 glared at Kendra. "And what are you smirking at, girl?"
Kendra, still kind of under the body-bind, was unable to talk. A Death Eater lifted that curse. "Now, girl, talk. What were you smirking at? You think this is funny, do you? Do you?" The one holding Kendra in a death grip shook her, hard, while another pulled her curly ponytail. Kendra gave the slightest wince of pain.
"My lord, she has arrived," one of the Death Eaters called. This one had a high, squeaky voice. He was short and fat. Peter Pettigrew? He resembled the person Harry had described from last year. He was the one who had murdered Cedric Diggory on Voldemort's orders. Oh, boy, am I screwed or what?
Suddenly, Wormtail's words sunk in. Voldemort was very near. Kendra felt as if her body temperature had dropped 10 degrees. She wondered why she was a target, being related to a Death Eater and all. Kendra felt ashamed of her uncle Davus Nott. Uncle Davus, how could you do this to me? Why? Why?
"Kendra, Master will be coming soon. He would like to see you and speak to you," one of the Death Eaters taunted. "Do you want to see him?"
"No comment," Kendra said. She knew very well that the Death Eaters knew the true answer.
The Death Eater who had asked the query slapped Kendra's left cheek hard. Kendra winced as her cheek burned painfully. "Tie her up," the Death Eater ordered. "Apparently she won't cooperate with us." Two Death Eaters grabbed an arm each. Kendra struggled to get free of their grasp. They dragged Kendra over to a pole in the middle of the room. The tall Death Eaters raised Kendra's arms high against the pole and held them there. A third Death Eater strode over and conjured up rope and knots, tying the brunette to the pole.
It was a very uncomfortable position for Kendra. She struggled to move but found that she could not. She was absolutely vertical, with her arms raised as high as they could go.
"Should I gag her?" one of the Death Eaters asked.
"Don't bother," another said. "This place is deserted. The closest house is two miles away. No one will hear if she screams. Besides, it will be funny"
'Oh, wow, that's just great.' Kendra thought, flabbergasted that anyone would feel a twisted sort of pleasure out of the pain of another.
A couple of minutes later, a tall, skeletally thin, cloaked figure came into Kendra's view. There was a chilly air around the man. He sauntered right in front of Kendra. She felt so cold that goose bumps popped onto her arms, even under the heavy, baggy sweatshirt. "Why hello, Kendra Eades," the figure said tauntingly from under his cloak and hood. "Are you afraid of me, girl?"
"Of course I'm not afraid of you," Kendra lied bravely, as her voice quivered.
"There's no need to be afraid of me if you're on my side. Why, I'm quite pleasant to those who are on my side. My loyal followers also get a little bit of my power. They love me. It's those foolish enough not to join me who are in a bit of trouble," Voldemort said tantalizingly. Kendra felt sick. "If you're on my side, there's no need to be afraid."
"Well, guess what?" Kendra said. "I'm not on your side."
"I know that," Voldemort said. "But I bet I could persuade you. I know that your uncle Davus Nott happens to be a Death Eater. He can be foolish, without a doubt, but he is faithful at times. You're related him, so you're well suited to joining me.
"Well, Voldemort, just because I'm related to him doesn't mean I'm like him. Plus, just out of curiousity, why is it me you're after? Why not my cousin, or my older sister or brother, or someone else? I'm just curious."
"Your cousin, Antonia, will probably join me, being the daughter of a Death Eater and all. Nott has a lot of power in his house, as you probably know. Tina Nott knows there is only power, not good and evil, not right and wrong. You know, even I used to believe in good and bad, when I was little. Then, before I was your age, I realized how wrong I happened to be. There is no good and bad. Just power. As for your older sister and brother, they're Muggles. Don't you remember? You're a Mudblood. You and your siblings are magical, but your parents aren't.. Which is such a shame, they'll have to go. We can't have Muggles around."
"Guess what? I'll never join you, I'll never help you," Kendra shouted.
"Circle up," Voldemort commanded. The Death Eaters formed a circle around him and Kendra. "I see we have a reluctant Nott here. I see our own Davus Nott isn't here, of course. I sent him off on a Muggle-torture mission."
"I'm not a Nott, I'm an Eades!" Kendra yelled. "I may be related to a Nott, but I consider myself an Eades!" Oh, my gosh, those poor Muggles, Kendra thought sadly. Then she realized that she would probably be treated the same way, or worse, and her heart sank even lower. Would she ever see the uncle she was so ashamed of having again? Or her benevolent family or friends?
* * * * * * *
Harry and Ron and the rest of the boys were still wondering what was going on. Snape entered the room. "Come on, boys, we've got to leave. Now. We're going to join the group which went yesterday."
All the boys immediately go up to follow Snape. "Ow, my scar is hurting me again," Harry whispered to Ron.
Terry Boot and Logan Svackinetowicz ran to catch up with Harry and Ron. "What do you suppose is going on? This isn't how my brother described this trip," Terry said.
"No idea," Harry lied. He only liked talking about Voldemort with Ron, Hermione, and now Kendra. Hermione and Kendra. They were in Merlin Haunted House. Harry hoped they were all right.
"Ugh. My girlfriend Mandy is in there," said Logan. "She'd better be okay."
"Rebecca and Eloise Midgen are in there too. We could also ask Rebecca," Terry said. Despite Becky being in Slytherin, she had managed to make herself popular in other houses, though many Slytherins considered her a traitor.
"Rebecca's such a flirt," Ron commented. Terry and Logan laughed. "We know. We've both gone out with her," Logan said.
"She's gone out with half the boys in our year, hasn't she?" Harry asked.
"She went out with all the guy Slytherins in our year," said Terry. "And Dean in your dorm, 3 Ravenclaws, 2 Hufflepuffs, and some older guys."
"She's awfully pretty," Ron said.
"She's not too skinny either. I like girls with a little bit of meat on them," Logan added.
Harry sighed inwardly. This guy talk about girls wasn't distracting him a bit. His scar was also hurting more than it was before.
"Harry, what do you think of Rebecca Fawcett?" Ron asked.
"She's all right, I guess," Harry said. She was pretty, but not in Cho Chang's league. Harry also didn't like that she was a total flirt, not to mention a Slytherin. He preferred to be friends with a girl first before going out with her. Secretly, Harry liked Kendra almost as much as Cho. She wasn't that pretty, but she had a very attractive personality. He didn't want to ask her out though, for fear of ruining the friendship he and Kendra had.
"Hey look, there's some of the girls!" the Ravenclaw Chuck Moon called. Most of the boys, except for Harry and Ron, laughed. Hermione's and Kendra's group was still missing. The girls from Allison Mitton through Lisa Turpin were there though.
"Where's Mandy?" Logan mused. "I guess I'll have to ask Lisa." He went over to Lisa, Terry behind him.
"Has Hermione's group come out?" Harry asked Parvati Patil.
"No. But they were screaming a lot," Parvati answered. "Looking for Hermione and Kendra Eades?"
"Yeah," said Harry. "I hope they're okay."
"Me too. Especially since Lavender's in there, and some of my other friends," Parvati answered."
"Hi Harry, hi Ron," Emmy Monet said, coming over to Parvati. "Parvati, I saw a cute hairstyle in a magazine, and I want to know how you think it will look on me."
"Okay," Parvati said. "Bye guys." She and Emmy went over to a group of girls.
"Everyone, please be quiet," Professor McGonagall called. "I have an announcement to make about the group who went into Merlin Haunted House today." Silence fell over the thirty students.
"They were attacked while they were in the haunted house. This trip is over now. We're going back to Hogwarts. This just isn't safe for any of you to stay here. The group will come in shortly. I have even worse news for all of you." Professor McGonagall's voice cracked. "It is about two students in the group."
"Uh oh, this sounds really bad," Ron whispered to Harry. Harry had a strange sense of foreboding."
"Two girls in the group were attacked with curses. One of the two is dead, the other is missing."
A furor of whispering erupted in the room, mostly about the fact that someone was dead.
"Someone died?"
"Oh my God, who is it?"
"I hope it isn't my girlfriend."
"I hope it isn't my best friend."
"I hope it's Granger." This came from Draco Malfoy. Harry turned and shot him an extremely nasty look as hatred surged through his very soul. Draco smirked at Harry, and Harry felt his blood boil with rage.
"I don't believe it? Who died?" Ron whispered frantically.
"If they'd waited until tomorrow, it would have been me probably," Harry whispered grimly. Ron blanched.
"Oh, Harry, please don't talk like that," Ron moaned. "You don't suppose it's Hermione or Kendra, do you?"
Harry's stomach flip-flopped. 'That is the way Voldemort seems to think. The best way to get to me is through my friends.'
"Quiet, everyone," McGonagall said. "I have to tell you who the two are. Eloise Midgen was hit with the Cruciatus Curse. Then she was murdered with the Killing Curse."
Everyone gasped. More whispers erupted.
"Eloise? Eloise? She died?" Oh my gosh, I feel so bad now. I was so mean to her," Callie Roberts moaned. She burst into tears. Emmy and Parvati each draped an arm over one of Callie's shoulders. "Eloise, I'm sorry," Callie cried. She wasn't the only one. A lot of students in the year were voicing their guilt about taunting Eloise. The exception was, of course, a lot of the Slytherins.
"My gosh, I was mean to her a lot too. Remember the Yule Ball, Harry? Last year? I said that I'd rather go alone than with, say, Eloise. Just because she had skin and weight problems."
"It isn't like she was the only teen in the world with skin problems, either," Harry muttered back. "Or weight problems. Look at my cousin Dudley. He makes Eloise look absolutely scrawny."
"And the missing student," McGonagall continued, clearing her throat, "is Kendra Eades. Let's all hope that she will come out of this alive and not corrupted by You-Know-Who." Harry assumed that meant that she neither joined the dark side nor was under the Imperious Curse.
"I knew it," Ron moaned. "I had a feeling it was either her or Hermione."
"Me too," Harry agreed. "I hope she'll be all right." The two got silent and listened to everyone else's reactions.
"Oh, my gosh. I like, hope Kendra doesn't like, die."
"Do you suppose she'll go over to the Dark side?"
* * * * * * *
Meanwhile, Kendra was still alive and tied up. "Kendra, are you going to join me?" Voldemort asked.
"Never!" Kendra shouted.
"Then you leave me no choice." Voldemort pulled out his wand and said the incantation for one of the Unforgivables
Discalimer: O.o. I hate these things. I don't own what JKR does, you know the drill.
Kendra found herself flying through swirling air very fast, still in someone's tight grip. She felt sick and wondered what would happen to her. She was also in shock at what had happened to Eloise? Would she go like her? Kendra had a nasty feeling that she just might. Help me, oh help me, please, Kendra though frantically. Suddenly the spinning ceased. Kendra found herself in a large wooden shack-like structure. She was surrounded by Death Eaters.
I should give them numbers, Kendra thought to amuse herself. Death Eaters 1 through whatever. Kendra found that thought funny. A smile hovered around her mouth.
Death Eater number 5 glared at Kendra. "And what are you smirking at, girl?"
Kendra, still kind of under the body-bind, was unable to talk. A Death Eater lifted that curse. "Now, girl, talk. What were you smirking at? You think this is funny, do you? Do you?" The one holding Kendra in a death grip shook her, hard, while another pulled her curly ponytail. Kendra gave the slightest wince of pain.
"My lord, she has arrived," one of the Death Eaters called. This one had a high, squeaky voice. He was short and fat. Peter Pettigrew? He resembled the person Harry had described from last year. He was the one who had murdered Cedric Diggory on Voldemort's orders. Oh, boy, am I screwed or what?
Suddenly, Wormtail's words sunk in. Voldemort was very near. Kendra felt as if her body temperature had dropped 10 degrees. She wondered why she was a target, being related to a Death Eater and all. Kendra felt ashamed of her uncle Davus Nott. Uncle Davus, how could you do this to me? Why? Why?
"Kendra, Master will be coming soon. He would like to see you and speak to you," one of the Death Eaters taunted. "Do you want to see him?"
"No comment," Kendra said. She knew very well that the Death Eaters knew the true answer.
The Death Eater who had asked the query slapped Kendra's left cheek hard. Kendra winced as her cheek burned painfully. "Tie her up," the Death Eater ordered. "Apparently she won't cooperate with us." Two Death Eaters grabbed an arm each. Kendra struggled to get free of their grasp. They dragged Kendra over to a pole in the middle of the room. The tall Death Eaters raised Kendra's arms high against the pole and held them there. A third Death Eater strode over and conjured up rope and knots, tying the brunette to the pole.
It was a very uncomfortable position for Kendra. She struggled to move but found that she could not. She was absolutely vertical, with her arms raised as high as they could go.
"Should I gag her?" one of the Death Eaters asked.
"Don't bother," another said. "This place is deserted. The closest house is two miles away. No one will hear if she screams. Besides, it will be funny"
'Oh, wow, that's just great.' Kendra thought, flabbergasted that anyone would feel a twisted sort of pleasure out of the pain of another.
A couple of minutes later, a tall, skeletally thin, cloaked figure came into Kendra's view. There was a chilly air around the man. He sauntered right in front of Kendra. She felt so cold that goose bumps popped onto her arms, even under the heavy, baggy sweatshirt. "Why hello, Kendra Eades," the figure said tauntingly from under his cloak and hood. "Are you afraid of me, girl?"
"Of course I'm not afraid of you," Kendra lied bravely, as her voice quivered.
"There's no need to be afraid of me if you're on my side. Why, I'm quite pleasant to those who are on my side. My loyal followers also get a little bit of my power. They love me. It's those foolish enough not to join me who are in a bit of trouble," Voldemort said tantalizingly. Kendra felt sick. "If you're on my side, there's no need to be afraid."
"Well, guess what?" Kendra said. "I'm not on your side."
"I know that," Voldemort said. "But I bet I could persuade you. I know that your uncle Davus Nott happens to be a Death Eater. He can be foolish, without a doubt, but he is faithful at times. You're related him, so you're well suited to joining me.
"Well, Voldemort, just because I'm related to him doesn't mean I'm like him. Plus, just out of curiousity, why is it me you're after? Why not my cousin, or my older sister or brother, or someone else? I'm just curious."
"Your cousin, Antonia, will probably join me, being the daughter of a Death Eater and all. Nott has a lot of power in his house, as you probably know. Tina Nott knows there is only power, not good and evil, not right and wrong. You know, even I used to believe in good and bad, when I was little. Then, before I was your age, I realized how wrong I happened to be. There is no good and bad. Just power. As for your older sister and brother, they're Muggles. Don't you remember? You're a Mudblood. You and your siblings are magical, but your parents aren't.. Which is such a shame, they'll have to go. We can't have Muggles around."
"Guess what? I'll never join you, I'll never help you," Kendra shouted.
"Circle up," Voldemort commanded. The Death Eaters formed a circle around him and Kendra. "I see we have a reluctant Nott here. I see our own Davus Nott isn't here, of course. I sent him off on a Muggle-torture mission."
"I'm not a Nott, I'm an Eades!" Kendra yelled. "I may be related to a Nott, but I consider myself an Eades!" Oh, my gosh, those poor Muggles, Kendra thought sadly. Then she realized that she would probably be treated the same way, or worse, and her heart sank even lower. Would she ever see the uncle she was so ashamed of having again? Or her benevolent family or friends?
* * * * * * *
Harry and Ron and the rest of the boys were still wondering what was going on. Snape entered the room. "Come on, boys, we've got to leave. Now. We're going to join the group which went yesterday."
All the boys immediately go up to follow Snape. "Ow, my scar is hurting me again," Harry whispered to Ron.
Terry Boot and Logan Svackinetowicz ran to catch up with Harry and Ron. "What do you suppose is going on? This isn't how my brother described this trip," Terry said.
"No idea," Harry lied. He only liked talking about Voldemort with Ron, Hermione, and now Kendra. Hermione and Kendra. They were in Merlin Haunted House. Harry hoped they were all right.
"Ugh. My girlfriend Mandy is in there," said Logan. "She'd better be okay."
"Rebecca and Eloise Midgen are in there too. We could also ask Rebecca," Terry said. Despite Becky being in Slytherin, she had managed to make herself popular in other houses, though many Slytherins considered her a traitor.
"Rebecca's such a flirt," Ron commented. Terry and Logan laughed. "We know. We've both gone out with her," Logan said.
"She's gone out with half the boys in our year, hasn't she?" Harry asked.
"She went out with all the guy Slytherins in our year," said Terry. "And Dean in your dorm, 3 Ravenclaws, 2 Hufflepuffs, and some older guys."
"She's awfully pretty," Ron said.
"She's not too skinny either. I like girls with a little bit of meat on them," Logan added.
Harry sighed inwardly. This guy talk about girls wasn't distracting him a bit. His scar was also hurting more than it was before.
"Harry, what do you think of Rebecca Fawcett?" Ron asked.
"She's all right, I guess," Harry said. She was pretty, but not in Cho Chang's league. Harry also didn't like that she was a total flirt, not to mention a Slytherin. He preferred to be friends with a girl first before going out with her. Secretly, Harry liked Kendra almost as much as Cho. She wasn't that pretty, but she had a very attractive personality. He didn't want to ask her out though, for fear of ruining the friendship he and Kendra had.
"Hey look, there's some of the girls!" the Ravenclaw Chuck Moon called. Most of the boys, except for Harry and Ron, laughed. Hermione's and Kendra's group was still missing. The girls from Allison Mitton through Lisa Turpin were there though.
"Where's Mandy?" Logan mused. "I guess I'll have to ask Lisa." He went over to Lisa, Terry behind him.
"Has Hermione's group come out?" Harry asked Parvati Patil.
"No. But they were screaming a lot," Parvati answered. "Looking for Hermione and Kendra Eades?"
"Yeah," said Harry. "I hope they're okay."
"Me too. Especially since Lavender's in there, and some of my other friends," Parvati answered."
"Hi Harry, hi Ron," Emmy Monet said, coming over to Parvati. "Parvati, I saw a cute hairstyle in a magazine, and I want to know how you think it will look on me."
"Okay," Parvati said. "Bye guys." She and Emmy went over to a group of girls.
"Everyone, please be quiet," Professor McGonagall called. "I have an announcement to make about the group who went into Merlin Haunted House today." Silence fell over the thirty students.
"They were attacked while they were in the haunted house. This trip is over now. We're going back to Hogwarts. This just isn't safe for any of you to stay here. The group will come in shortly. I have even worse news for all of you." Professor McGonagall's voice cracked. "It is about two students in the group."
"Uh oh, this sounds really bad," Ron whispered to Harry. Harry had a strange sense of foreboding."
"Two girls in the group were attacked with curses. One of the two is dead, the other is missing."
A furor of whispering erupted in the room, mostly about the fact that someone was dead.
"Someone died?"
"Oh my God, who is it?"
"I hope it isn't my girlfriend."
"I hope it isn't my best friend."
"I hope it's Granger." This came from Draco Malfoy. Harry turned and shot him an extremely nasty look as hatred surged through his very soul. Draco smirked at Harry, and Harry felt his blood boil with rage.
"I don't believe it? Who died?" Ron whispered frantically.
"If they'd waited until tomorrow, it would have been me probably," Harry whispered grimly. Ron blanched.
"Oh, Harry, please don't talk like that," Ron moaned. "You don't suppose it's Hermione or Kendra, do you?"
Harry's stomach flip-flopped. 'That is the way Voldemort seems to think. The best way to get to me is through my friends.'
"Quiet, everyone," McGonagall said. "I have to tell you who the two are. Eloise Midgen was hit with the Cruciatus Curse. Then she was murdered with the Killing Curse."
Everyone gasped. More whispers erupted.
"Eloise? Eloise? She died?" Oh my gosh, I feel so bad now. I was so mean to her," Callie Roberts moaned. She burst into tears. Emmy and Parvati each draped an arm over one of Callie's shoulders. "Eloise, I'm sorry," Callie cried. She wasn't the only one. A lot of students in the year were voicing their guilt about taunting Eloise. The exception was, of course, a lot of the Slytherins.
"My gosh, I was mean to her a lot too. Remember the Yule Ball, Harry? Last year? I said that I'd rather go alone than with, say, Eloise. Just because she had skin and weight problems."
"It isn't like she was the only teen in the world with skin problems, either," Harry muttered back. "Or weight problems. Look at my cousin Dudley. He makes Eloise look absolutely scrawny."
"And the missing student," McGonagall continued, clearing her throat, "is Kendra Eades. Let's all hope that she will come out of this alive and not corrupted by You-Know-Who." Harry assumed that meant that she neither joined the dark side nor was under the Imperious Curse.
"I knew it," Ron moaned. "I had a feeling it was either her or Hermione."
"Me too," Harry agreed. "I hope she'll be all right." The two got silent and listened to everyone else's reactions.
"Oh, my gosh. I like, hope Kendra doesn't like, die."
"Do you suppose she'll go over to the Dark side?"
* * * * * * *
Meanwhile, Kendra was still alive and tied up. "Kendra, are you going to join me?" Voldemort asked.
"Never!" Kendra shouted.
"Then you leave me no choice." Voldemort pulled out his wand and said the incantation for one of the Unforgivables