Chapter 5

Karen watched helplessly as Death Eaters formed a half moon circle around her. She couldn't stop shaking and couldn't figure out if it was because of the cold or her undeniable fear. What had she done to deserve torture? She hadn't disobeyed him in any way, so why was this happening?

When it finally started, she realized that the time she had fallen off her broom stick and broken her ribs was now not the worst pain she ever felt. Bruises appeared all over her arms and legs as she thrashed in pain. It didn't hurt as much if she stayed still, but it seemed impossible. The pain was unbearable.

The worst part of it was that the curses didn't stay the same. They used different curses, different ways of inflicting pain on her. Voldemort wouldn't allow them to harm her too much, because this after all, was just a small lesson.

Finally, when she was covered in bruises and cuts and was saturated in her own blood, they stopped. When she saw the blood beside her she panicked. Of course Voldemort wasn't going to let her die. A Death Eater forced several potions into her mouth. They were Strength potions as well as Blood Replenishers.

The Death Eater let her fall back to the floor. She could just barely make out Voldemort speaking to Bellatrix. Whatever it was, she obviously wasn't happy about it. She tried to sit up, but found it difficult. Bellatrix walked over to her and kneeled down so that she was eye-to-eye with her.

"Listen kid, I'm not doing this because I care, I'm doing this because I have to."

Karen looked at her, confused.

"You have to stay somewhere. It's not like you can go back to Hogwarts." She said nastily, as though talking to herself. "So you have to stay with me. Now get up! I'm not going to carry you everywhere."

Karen was still utterly bewildered. What was she talking about? What did she mean stay with her? But she didn't have much time to think about it because Bellatrix yanked her to her feet. She pulled out an old Port-Key that looked like it had been used frequently. She muttered something and Karen felt that same pull again.

Things were going way too fast for her. She followed the Death Eater toward an ominous-looking house. It wasn't particularly large. It just looked old. Very old. She followed her inside. Torches lit themselves with a wave of Bellatrix's wand. It was clean on the inside, despite the crumbling look on the outside.

Bellatrix led her up a flight of stairs then along a corridor before stopping in front of a door which she was unlocking. She turned the knob then pushed Karen inside.

"Don't try anything, missy! This room is surrounded in charms. There's no way you're getting out. There's a Lou in that room over there," she indicated to a door off to the side. "Stay out of trouble!"

With that she slammed the door shut, leaving Karen alone in darkness.

Karen looked around. The only light was coming from a solitary window that was covered with maroon sheet. In the corner was a small bed. The sheets were ruffled, so the bed had been used before. There was a chair and what looked like the remains of one in the room as well, but other than that, the room was pretty bare.

She walked over to an empty corner and sat down, pulling her knees to her chest. How had she ended up here? One moment she was at the cemetery, then before long she was being tortured for what seemed hours, then suddenly she was here. Nothing made sense. Why did Voldemort want her as a Death Eater so bad?

The only thing she knew for sure was that she needed to get out of there. And soon. If she stayed here, Bellatrix would eventually come back to get her. And what would that mean? More pain? More humiliation?

She stood up and walked to the door. She tried turning the knob, but it was locked. She ran to the bathroom door and opened it. No way out through there. She walked across to the other side of the room where the maroon sheet covered the window. She pushed it aside and looked out. Her heart skipped a beat. It was a long drop.

There was no other way out, but it was locked as well. There was only one thing she could do. Break it.

A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to write another chapter! I have been really busy lately. Driver's Ed, Finals, all that fun stuff. But I couldn't stay away from writing for too long! This was a really bad chapter though, and I apologize, but it is probably one of the slowest parts in the story. But I'm still in a writing mood, so I'll try to have chapter 6 up within a few days. Thanks for reading it, please review!

Disclaimer: All characters, places, ideas, etc. belong to JK Rowling. I do not own any of it. Yada yada, we've heard this a million times.