Bwahahahaha!! I hope you didn't all think she'd get rescued this chapter… Nope, I like drawing the pain out a looonng time.
Canon Defender – Thanks for the more detailed explanation. Now that I know, I'd have to disagree that Sonora is a 'Mary Sue'. But that's just my humble opinion. Lol.
Mademoiselle Morte – Hee hee. I have plans for Draco. Lots of plans. Well, ok, maybe just a few plans, but they're good plans! Or are they bad….
Shahrezad1 – The Malfoys are into it up to their necks. But what will happen…. Heh heh heh.
Anne Boney – Wow! I'm… well… Wow!! I'm overwhelmed, I really am. I'll drop you an email in more detail, but in the mean time… Thank you!
Carpathia – You thought that was a cliffhanger. *evil snicker* I got some more…
Once again, a BIG thank you to everyone who reviewed!
Chapter 20
Sonora stumbled, hard, as the tug at her stomach ended and they reached their destination. She hadn't been holding her cane when Lucius Malfoy had grabbed her, and the impact made her weak leg buckle. She collapsed painfully onto a hard stone floor.
Lucius loomed over her, a sneer twisting his cold face. "Ah, yes, that trifling little injury you sustained after mistreating my son." His face was cold and hard and satisfied. "You should have known not to meddle with a Malfoy."
Sonora gasped a little, getting her breath back as she gathered herself from her sprawled prone position. "What do you want?" she choked. She was frightened, even more so than when she'd been attacked so many months ago.
Lucius gave an ominous chuckle. "You shall see," he smirked, reaching down to grasp her arm and drag her painfully to her feet. "But at the moment, there is someone who wants to see you."
Sonora was literally dragged behind him, as her leg would not hold her at the pace he set. She was yanked through a dark stone corridor that twisted its way past numerous tiny rooms that were frighteningly like cells, with doors and barred windows. She caught glimpses of prone figures, huddled in corners or lying still and motionless against a wall as she tried to keep from falling.
And then Lucius came to a closed wooden door at the end of the hallway, and paused long enough to yank it open. Sonora stared into the dark room. She did not want to go in there, she realized as her heart began to pound. She didn't, at all. There was something terrible and terrifying in that room, and she was afraid if he made her go in she would die. He smiled down at her, teeth gleaming white. "In you go," he said and unceremoniously shoved her through the doorway.
Sonora could not stay upright as she was propelled into the room, and fell into a unceremonious heap. Behind her, the door slammed shut. Her heart pounded and for a long moment, she cowered on the floor.
Around her, the dark seemed to press in on her like a physical presence. She could hear her ragged breathing echoing around the walls. It was all she could do to lift her head and stared up into the darkness.
Across the room, she saw two points of red. As she stared, trembling in fear, slowly the room began to lighten, and a face appeared around those red points. A face, and then a body, sitting in a tall, carved chair. She looked wildly about the room, as black, hooded figures began to appear, standing still and silent along the walls.
"V-Voldemort…" slipped from her lips in a shaky voice. The man in the chair with the red eyes smiled, a slow, cruel thing to see.
"Very good," he said, voice a low purr that was sickeningly appealing. Not like Severus' low, rich tones that sent a warm rush through her body; this voice was mesmerizing and horrifying at the same time. "I've been waiting for you, Sonora Stone."
Sonora didn't move. There were figures in black all around the room. Death Eaters. She had no wand, no cane. She had no hope of getting away. All that was left for her was to try and live through this.
"Wh-why?" she managed to ask.
Voldemort's frightening eyes gleamed brighter in the dim room. "You always were an intelligent child," he nearly crooned. "So very clever. Tell me, why do you think I had you brought to me?"
Her potion. She knew that was it, and yet some perverse part of her, hidden deep within and grown stronger on Severus' caring, refused to name it. "I d-don't know," she said in a whisper.
His eyes narrowed to slits. "Don't you? I think you do," he said, voice enticingly frightening. "You have a potion I want, my lovely Sonora. A potion that I have been waiting quite a while for you to complete." One thin eyebrow slid up as his mouth curved. "You certainly took your time on this one."
"How…" Sonora stammered.
Voldemort chuckled. "I am the Dark Lord. Did you think that I would not be keeping a close eye on someone such as yourself, someone who had created potions that would rival even my own Potion Master's?" He laughed again, the sound cruel and piecing. The Death Eaters were motionless against the walls. "Oh, yes, I've been watching you. And waiting. I finally decided you needed… encouragement, and arranged to have you return to England."
A light came on for Sonora. "In Pakistan… the two muggles…" she realized, voice barely audible.
Voldemort smiled. "Yes. Mine." His long, thin, white fingers moved restlessly against the chair arm. "And now you have been at Hogwarts for nearly four months. With plenty of resources and time to complete your potion. Aided," his eyebrow slid upward, "by the son of one of my most trusted Death Eaters."
Sonora began to tremble anew. Draco? Had he said something… done something, that had resulted in her being here? Voldemort smiled again, cruelly. "The time has come," he said, voice becoming smooth and enticing. "Give me the recipe for the potion, and I will let you live. Deny me," he paused, and then lifted one hand.
From behind his chair, something stirred in the dark. A long, sinuous form slipped forward to pause at the Dark Lord's feet. Sonora stared in horror at the immense coils of the snake.
"I see you understand," Voldemort said, pleasure lurking in his voice. "I think perhaps I will give you a bit of time to, shall we say, make your decision?" He nodded his head, and two of the figures in black came away from the wall and toward Sonora. She instinctively tried to scramble back away from them, not wanting those frightening figures to touch her, but she was hampered by her weak leg, and began to sob as she was hauled roughly to her feet.
As she was being dragged back through the doorway again, hanging limply against the two Death Eaters grasps, Voldemort's voice echoed softly through the darkening room and lingered in Sonora's ears. "Pleasant dreams, my dear."
Moments later, Sonora was shoved unceremoniously into one of the little cells she had passed before, to crumple in a heap on the cold stone floor. The door swung shut with a harsh clang, and she was left to cower in the dark and cry.
Severus paced silently, feeling the rage begin to build. "Why didn't Potter warn Sonora?" he said, voice growing colder as his anger built. "He saw it, and didn't say a word!"
Dumbledore shook his head. They were in the Headmaster's office: himself, Draco, Professor McGonnagal and Dumbledore. "Severus, there was no time. And the dream was… confusing."
"He could have prevented this!" Severus roared, feeling something unexpectedly snap inside of him. He whirled to glare at the old man sitting quietly. "Potter acts like the hero whenever he can; why the devil didn't he now?!"
Professor McGonnagal had drawn herself up in her seat, lips narrow and pinched as if she were about to say something he would most likely hate. Dumbledore opened his mouth, and was then stopped by a knock at the door.
The Headmaster's eyes gleamed briefly. "Come in, Harry," he called. Severus whirled to glare with all the intensity he could muster as the black-haired teen entered on quiet feet.
"You wanted to see me, Professor Dumbledore?" Potter said in a politely frozen voice. Severus clenched his fists. He wanted to rip the boy from limb to limb, release some of this rage and fear that was inside of him.
Dumbledore nodded seriously. "Harry, I need you to tell us your dream again," he said. "There may be details that mean something to either Professor Snape or Mr. Malfoy."
Potter's head swung around to look at Draco, and his eyes narrowed to slits of green. He looked back at Dumbledore, ready to say something, but was stopped by a soft shake of the old man's head. "Trust me, Harry," he said gently.
Potter was silent for a long moment as he stared at first the headmaster, and then at Draco, who sat with a stony face. The two locked eyes as silence fell. It was finally more than Severus could take.
"Dammit, boy," he hissed, stepped forward. "Her LIFE is in danger right now! Stop your childish antics and tell me!"
The green gaze flicked to him for a moment, and Severus was briefly disconcerted. When was the last time he had tried to look into this boy? Never, he realized. There was an age and a depth lurking below the surface of those eyes that had certainly never been present in the despised father. Perhaps Potter wasn't quite the little celebrity he seemed…
"I was in a long dark hallway," Harry said quietly, staring at Severus. "It was stone. All I could see was the space right around me. There were screams and moans… kind of floating out in the dark."
Severus' fists clenched. This would not help him. Potter's gaze flicked back to Draco, and then to Dumbledore. "I heard Professor Stone's voice, she was talking to someone. I couldn't hear what she was saying, but she was scared. Really scared. And then she started to cry, and I heard this loud clanging sound." He paused. "Then Voldemort laughed," he said in a deadened voice. "My head began to hurt and I woke up."
Severus turned away abruptly and paced to the far end of the office to stare at the wall. There was nothing that would help him in the dream. Nothing he could even fault the boy for not revealing to Sonora.
"Malfoy Manor," a voice broke the silence. Severus jerked back around to stare at Draco. Everyone else in the room turned to look at the blonde boy. Draco was looking at the ground.
"Explain, Mr. Malfoy," Severus said curtly, struggling to keep himself in check and under control.
Draco gave a brief shake of his head, before lifting it to look at Severus. "There are these catacombs under the Manor… they go out toward the river," he said, face still and voice soft. "Long stone hallways, with cells. Father doesn't know I found them." He shot a glance at Potter, who was standing and studying him with cold eyes. "The doors make a loud clang when you shut them."
Severus turned compulsively toward Dumbledore, ready to storm out the door. The old man held up a hand. "I have an idea," the old man said quietly.
Sonora crawled to the corner of her cell and huddled in the dark. She wiped at the tears still on her face. What was she going to do?
She tried to be brave and think through the possibilities. She could give Voldemort what he wanted, the recipe for her potion. That would mean Professor Dumbledore would no longer have an advantage in the looming war, and mostly likely mean that her work would get twisted and used in terrible ways. Sonora thought of some of the ingredients in the potion, and shuddered at the ways they could be misused.
She could refuse to hand over the recipe. She began to tremble as she forced herself to think of that possibility. Voldemort would probably torture her and then feed her to his pet snake. Sonora couldn't think of a worse way to die, alone and terrified and in the bowels of a snake.
But what other options did she have? No wand, no cane, no friends to help her… it was quite literally, 'do or die'.
She sat in the dark and tried to be brave.
Severus paced nervously as they waited for Potter to return to the office. Draco was simply sitting, staring at the floor. He had already drawn maps of the Manor catacombs, the only part of Malfoy Manor Severus was not familiar with. Before today, he would not have known they existed. His lips twisted. Apparently he wasn't as securely in the Dark Lord's confidence as he had thought.
The office door opened again and Potter walked in, carrying his infamous invisibility cloak. Severus scowled at the sight of it. No wonder the boy had gotten away with so much. No wonder the father had.
Potter walked up to Draco and looked him in the eye. "Bring it back," he said, voice stern.
Draco raised one eyebrow, a hint of his old swagger coming back. "Afraid I'll mess up your toy, Potty?" he drawled. There was a mutter from McGonnagal in the corner, and Draco's face smoothed over. "I can do this," he said, taking the cloak from Harry.
Potter's face was dead serious. "You better," he said, before turning away to stand near Professor McGonnagal.
Severus nodded at Draco, a bit harshly still. "Let's get going," he said, voice tight. Dumbledore handed him the portkey, a rather inconspicuous pebble, and Draco swung the cloak over his shoulders, disappearing from view. Severus felt the boy grasp the sleeve of his robe a moment before the portkey activated and the office disappeared.