Draco Malfoy waited.
He sat on the expensive silk lounge in his lounge, muscles tense; jaw clenched. He would make his move tonight. Tonight. That was supposed to be a comforting thought, but instead it filled him with unease and anxiety. What would he do if his father came home from the meeting early? If his father caught him in the act of rescuing the girl that Voldemort wanted so much? He tried to steel himself against doubt and just get the job done without any thoughts of 'what-if'. It was too terrible to think about.
Draco Malfoy waited.
He would save her tonight and escape to Hogwarts. Surely, Albus Dumbledore would help them? It was true that he was a Malfoy: nothing would change that. Yet, Dumbledore was the forgiving type of man one couldn't help admiring. All in all, Draco didn't care for his father or Voldemort at all. He just wanted the poor girl to be safe and happy again. He never thought about this type of pain before, the pain inflicted by the Death Eaters. Lucius thought his son would be one of them, too: he would be in for a shock when he came home tomorrow morning to find them gone.
Draco Malfoy waited.
Currently, he was not over concerned with the fear of the task at hand. It was how he was feeling right now. Right this minute, Lucius was down in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor torturing her. Lucius was convinced that if he hurt her enough, she would bend to his wishes and join with his master. That would stop tonight; meanwhile, Draco had to listen to her blood-curdling shrieks and screams, trademark of Lucius's use of the Cruciatus curse.
Draco Malfoy waited.
He heard the pain in her voice. Heard the despair, the sadness and the self-pity. He felt helpless, and no one made a Malfoy feel helpless without paying for it. He wondered if his cousin, the one person he loved in the world, thought that he would join Voldemort and side with those who were torturing her. His stomach twisted horribly when he thought of that. No! She loved him back, and would never think such a thing. His cousin must expect him to save her.
Draco Malfoy waited.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Aurora Malfoy was not waiting: far from it, in fact. The pain beat around her skull like a thousand hammers inside her head, constantly pounding. They beat at her again and again and again, never stopping, never lifting. Her mouth was open in an eternal scream, but she had not lost her voice in all the weeks she had been captive here. Aurora would never, ever join the scum her uncle was part of. 'Voldemort' was a dirty word where she came from: whereas in the normal world, it was simply feared.
Aurora had been locked up here for three weeks now. Every day she was put under the cruciatus curse. Of course, being only a fifteen-year-old girl and not a strong one at that, it was not meant to prepare her for Death. She was subjected to the curse so that she would become weak and bend to the Dark Lord's wishes. By that, it meant she would have to join the Death Eaters.
Lucius had started thinking it was great fun, torturing her; until he started thinking that she would not turn. It had been ages now, and still he had not broken her resolve. She was strong-willed, but one can only stand so much. While some brave witches and wizards grit their teeth and decided to bear the pain, so as not to give any satisfaction to the Death Eaters, Aurora was different. She cared not for any pride or dignity at this point, and she found the only true way of expressing her pain was to scream it out so damn loudly, even Lucius grew tiresome.
Her room was dark. There was not one trace of light in her confining space, which was so small and inhumane it could hardly be called a cell anymore. There was no bed, no food and no water.
Water. That was the one thing that made her groan. As her whole family knew, she was not a pure blood. She wasn't even a half-blood, although she wasn't a muggle-born. In truth, Aurora was half Fey. This means she was only half human. Her mother was Morganna Malfoy, Lucius's sister. Morganna was not evil like her brother, although she possessed several traits that distinguished her as a Malfoy. Where she was cunning, she was also thoughtful. Whenever she was wicked, she came across with more of a child-like naughtiness rather than pure evilness like Lucius. Morganna was never cruel, and refused to join Voldemort when her father told her to.
Morganna married a sprite. Well, not really. She married the High King of the Water Sprites and Sea Nymphs, Poseidon XII, and became Queen. She had a daughter and called her Aurora. The King had no last name to carry on, so she kept the title Malfoy. However, the King had a conversation with Morganna when Aurora was born, concerning her title and role in life.
FLASHY!!!!!!!!!!!! When Aurora was just born.
Morganna had sat upon the underwater throne that was hers as Queen of the Water Sprites and all those others who dwelled under the sea. To her husband she was just Morganna, but to her subjects she was called "Queen Morgan le Fay", as she was the first witch to marry a Fey King. Some of the sprites that grew up familiar with the tale of Camelot thought it was a fitting title for such a woman. Like the notorious Morgan from the Arthurian legend, she too was powerful; although Morganna was not quite as evil.
It was quite a shock for her to suddenly have to live underwater. In order for this to work out, Morganna had to be initiated as part of the water sprite community using magic known only to those water dwellers. Now, it felt normal for her to live in water. The gentle waves sung songs to her and the beauty under the sea made her feel sometimes like she was dreaming.
Cradled in her arms was the little form of a baby girl, Aurora. She looked human. The main physical difference between water sprites and humans was that water sprites had flawless pale blue skin. They all had dark blue eyes and their hair was usually blue or green too. They also had an obvious aura around them too: the bluer they were, the more powerful. However, if they were to get out of water one couldn't see the aura at all. Aurora had a wonderful, sparkling blue aura.
The High King Poseidon XII, her beloved husband, entered the blue room. He smiled sadly as he looked at his daughter, the Princess. She truly was a princess in this place. Her middle name was Artemisia, after the goddess of the Moon and the Hunt. The moon controlled the tides, and was very important to the water people. Poseidon sighed and cleared his throat. He loved his wife and daughter so very much - this was not going to be easy.
"Morganna, love, I need to discuss something with you."
The Queen bit her lip anxiously. She had been waiting for an opportunity like this. "Yes, Poseidon. I need to talk with you also. It is very important."
The King looked surprised. Did she know already? "Well, my Queen, you go first."
Morganna frowned with her gaze downcast. She felt a lump in her throat that was hard to speak around. There were horrible butterflies in her stomach. One way or another, this was important.
"Well, as much as I love it here, I don't think it's safe for me and Aurora to live here in the Palace any more."
There was a brief period of stunned silence. Then, to Morganna's surprise, the King nodded sadly and sat down heavily. He gazed wearily over to his wife and grimaced.
"This has to do with You-Know-Who, hasn't it, Morganna?"
She cocked her head to one side thoughtfully. "Well, yes and no. He has a lot to do with it, but there are other things as well."
"Such as?"
"Well, look at the Princess. Aurora may possess many Water Sprite powers, but she looks human. I can already feel that she is a proper witch. She may benefit by learning both of her magicks. Also, more importantly, my brother Lucius knows we're here. He is in league with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and has sent a letter telling me how he wants to harness Aurora's power. His master wants Aurora to serve him, and thinks he can turn the whole Water Sprite community to join his side. We cannot let this happen."
Poseidon looked grave as he took the child from Morganna gently. Aurora gurgled happily as she was passed into her father's arms. He tutted softly.
"This is what I came to speak with you about. Some of our sources have told me that you are both under threat. The Death Eaters have killed many people, and I have heard a prophecy concerning our Princess. She must grow up away from this danger."
Morganna nodded sadly. "Than it shall be as you say. Mark my words, Lucius will never take my child."
End FLASHY!!!!!!!!!!! Back to the present.
Well, it had happened. Aurora had been caught. Morganna was murdered by Lucius Malfoy, her own brother, as her daughter watched on helplessly. There was no way out. Aurora was as good as dead.