Chapter 13: Betrayal and the Elf

Ginny woke up with a slight start and grimaced. She had such a pounding headache that she felt like her head would rip apart. Remembering she had aspirin in the washroom, Ginny carefully slipped the covers back and hurriedly tiptoed to the washroom.

Luckily, Harry didn't wake and she shut the door of the washroom, flicking on the light, which seemed as bright as the sun. She winced and began to dig through her cosmetics bag for her aspirin. Muggle medication was more practical for Ginny as Potions had been her weakest subject and the last time she had brewed a remedy for a headache, she'd ended up with a severe fever and ugly boils all over her face.

Tears brimmed in her eyes with the pain and frustration with her migraine. Finally, she found it the little bottle and hurriedly removed the lid and practically slammed it down. Ginny took out two pills and popped them in her mouth. She then turned on the faucet, cupped water in her hands and drank.

Feeling even worse after taking the medicine, she bowed her head and stared into the sink.

She groaned, feeling like she was going to vomit. Perhaps sleep would help…

Ginny turned around and felt her entire body go icy cold. Standing before her with the door shut was a woman dressed in a long black cloak.

"You…" Ginny whispered in disbelief, terrified.

The woman smiled and pointed a knife at Ginny, who stood there helplessly. She couldn't find it within herself to call for Harry, so she just stood there like a sitting duck.

The woman took a few steps forward and then everything happened in seconds. She violently grabbed her arm, dug the knife into the skin and slashed it. The woman than took the knife to her wrist and pressed it's razor sharp blade in. Blood streamed onto her wrist like a flood. Ginny felt herself become lightheaded. The stranger then dropped the knife and smirked as she pulled out her wand from her cloak pocket.

"Harry!" Ginny screamed hoarsely. But he didn't come. Had she… no! She refused to believe it.

"He can't hear you," The woman laughed coldly. "Stupefy!"

Ginny's legs gave out and she felt to the ground,

Her whole body ached. The pounding in her head had stopped, but her entire right arm was oddly wet and cold. Slowly, though it pained her, she opened her eyes, gasping.

Most of her shirt was covered in blood. Her wrist was cut but not as badly as she had thought. The knife had slit open an artery. However the blood had stained the wound, the skin around it and her entire right palm. Her arm's cut wasn't deep either, yet it was a long cut and blood had stained her entire upper arm.

She looked around, feeling dizzy and rather sick. The ground around her was dotted with blood here and there. She was lying helplessly on a stone cold floor, in an empty room, with neither windows or doors. The room didn't seem large however it was horribly dark, moist and very cold.

Ginny shivered, and slowly became aware of the state of her health. Her breathing was ragged, her heart pounded against her chest, her arms and legs were covered in various bruises and scrapes and her pajama pants were torn in various places.

She wanted to scream for help, for Harry, but she could barely force a whisper from her throat, which was dry and tasted of more blood. She shut her eyes, trying to conserve her energy.

Ginny's eyes shot open again when she heard movement in the darker area of the room. She strained to see who was there, but saw no one. Closing her eyes again with the plan of seeming unconscious, she waited.

The footsteps were slow, and the owner of them seemed to be dragging their feet. Suddenly, a soft voice floated through the room.

"Wake up, stranger," the voice whispered.

Ginny wasn't sure what to do, so she kept her eyes shut. She then felt a shaking hand on her shoulder and she helplessly winced in pain. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

Another woman was here. She had long raven hair with dark brown eyes. Her hair was tattered, slightly damp and fell to her waist. She was staring

at Ginny worriedly and her eyes shone with a strange emotion that Ginny could not make out. The stranger wore a long, ripped and patched red skirt with a white cloth shirt with arms like bells. Over top, she wore a brown leather vest, that buckled just below her breasts. She wore old brown shoes and was rather thin.

"Are you all right?" She asked Ginny quietly.

Ginny licked her cracked lips and shook her head. "M… My arm," Ginny stuttered in a whisper, forcing the words from her mouth.

The woman sat down slowly and Ginny caught a glimpse of her ears- an elf. She swallowed, wondering what on earth an elf was doing here.

"I'm worried about your wrist," The elf said softly, gazing at it with her round eyes. Her voice was flowing, almost entrancing, like a Veela.

"Who are you?" Ginny asked painfully, staring up at her.

The elf's eyes slowly shifted to her and Ginny shrunk under her strange gaze.

"Kyra" The elf responded quietly. "Do not ask anymore questions… conserve your energy, human. I must help with what I can"

Ginny wondered what she meant and watched her carefully. For a moment, she had actually forgotten her pain. The elf stared at her cut, and clenched her hands into fists. Seconds later, she forced them flat, and revealed two small silver orbs.

Ginny's eyes widened in shock, as she watched elf work. She moved one of the orbs over her wrist, and let it float down over the cut. There was a tingling sensation and the wound began nothing more than a scratch. The other orb moved to the one on her upper arm, and shortened its length to twice as short compared to what it used to be.

Ginny instantly felt the relief and she slowly sat up, feeling much better. The elf fell back onto her bottom, and sighed, looking extremely weary.

"Forgive me." Kyra sighed wearily, her gaze in her lap. "I am too weak to do more"

Ginny pondered over what had just happened. She had seen elves in books before, heard of them, but never met one. She knew little about them and had never bothered to find out more. She knew that elves were twice as strong compared to humans. Their magic was deeper, more mysterious. It came from deep within them and was too powerful for a wand. Therefore, they used their palms to draw up the magic, which was apparently exhausting.

"Why are you here?" Ginny asked quietly.

Kyra looked up, her hair framing her rather pale face. "I was captured after I… trespassed on Death Eater territory." She told her uneasily, her eyes were filled with a haunting look and Ginny felt the sorrow and anger that radiated from her.

Ginny looked around the empty room again, wanting answers as to what was going on.

"How long was I unconscious?" Ginny asked quietly, wishing she had a glass of water.

Kyra shrugged. "I've been in here so long that time has been washed from my grasp."

Her eyes suddenly floated to a spot on the wall and remained there. Ginny was vaguely reminded of Luna Lovegood.

"How have you stayed alive so long, then?" Ginny asked her uneasily.

Slowly but surely, Kyra's gaze left the wall and focused back on Ginny.

"They feed me once at night. Usually stale bread and a small cup of warm water… its torture." Kyra seemed reluctantly to speak. Her tone was bitter and her mind seemed elsewhere.

"So how exactly did you come to be here?" Ginny asked, wanting to press her answers.

The elf suddenly looked irritated.

"So many questions," She snapped in a hiss. "I must conserve my energy."

With that, she stood, wavering on her feet and walked back into the darkness. Sighing, Ginny lay back down and shut her eyes, willing herself not to cry.

What would Harry think when he woke up? What would he do when he saw her blood on the ground? Or did she hurt Harry too?

'No,' Ginny thought firmly. 'She couldn't have…'

Horrible images and thoughts flashed through her mind before she managed to drift away into a deep sleep, knowing that in a few hours time, Harry, if he was alive, would wake to find her blood staining the bathroom floor.

Ginny woke up again to the screeching sound of stone sliding on stone. She sat up quickly and watched as a loaf of bread was placed on the ground, along with a pitcher of water.

The elf named Kyra walked over to it and sat before it. Ginny followed suit and sat next to her. Kyra broke the bread into two pieces and handed one to Ginny without looking at her.

Ginny hungrily took a bite of her half, though she didn't really care that it was stale. Ginny was grateful for food; her stomach growled audibly and gnawed at her sides. Ginny was only halfway done though Kyra had already finished and had drained half the pitcher of water. She slid the remaining half of the water towards Ginny and stood.

Ginny drank greedily and felt the warm liquid ease the pain in her throat slightly. She sighed in relief and finished the rest of the water. Ginny returned to where she had slept last night with her bread, but did not sit down.

She spotted Kyra sitting with her back to the wall. Ginny moved towards her and sat down, wanting answers more than ever.

"Do you know where we are?" Ginny asked hopefully, watching her.

Kyra turned her head, eyes full of anger. Ginny felt slightly intimidated by Kyra, but tried to hide it.

"Yes," Kyra retorted bitterly, pulling her knees closer to her body and smoothing out her torn skirt. "This… this place is a horrible manor, owned by the dark lord's most treasured followers."

"What's his-" Ginny began, but Kyra made a hissing sound like a cat.

"You don't understand. Dangers lurk everywhere you turn." Kyra practically jumped to her feet and crossed the room, her arms folded. She began to pace.

"My father warned me of the dangers when I left home… and I've ignored his cautions."

Ginny was thoroughly confused now. "But what do you mean? Why are you here? What have you done?"

Kyra did not respond at first, but then sighed. "I grow weary of this…"

"Please, Kyra… I have to know."

Kyra spun around in a whirl of black hair. "Why is that? Why must you know?"

Ginny felt a pang of guilt for prying, but pressed on. "We aren't going anywhere and explanations will make us better allies against these people."

Kyra seemed to be thinking it over, before she muttered something and slumped against the opposite wall. She looked at Ginny and nodded.

"Very well. But do not interrupt me."

Ginny was pleased to here this and was silent. Kyra was silent a few moments and then she began her story in a soft tone.

"Though I cannot reveal everything, I will fill you in as much as I can."

Ginny nodded, and so did Kyra.

"My city is a threat to the dark lord's plans and has been for the last decade. He wanted our race destroyed completely unless we joined his ranks. Of course, we refused. One night he came after us and raged war on my city. Most of the elves fled, but some stayed to fight- those that pledged their lives to save our king. I was one to stay. Diversions were set and the empire's walls were broken down. I was first to realize this was happening and I hurried inside, ready to die out of loyalty. I was captured and tortured for answers, mostly of which I have no answers to. I was thrown in a prison and lined up to die. However, I offered them false information, which they took out of stupidity. When they gloated through an empyreal fireplace with their master, I used that time to flee the city. There was one stop I had to make in a nearby Elven city. My mother lived here and I had to tell her what had happened. She gave me travelling supplies and I left to rage war on the Dark Lord. During my travels, I came across a secretive community; one of those dedicated to the downfall of the Dark Lord. I immediately pledged myself to them, giving them all the information on the latest attacks and rumours floating around the Elven cities."

Kyra paused and seemed to be carefully thinking over the rest of the story.

"Eventually, I accepted a task, where I was to deliver information to a certain wizard. However, I was caught by a follower and brought into questioning. I refused to tell them anything, so they began to torture me with spells. However, the elves have a talent that wizards cannot possess. This talent is to keep unwanted beings from one's mind. I fought for my life and my secrets, eventually winning. When I refused to give in, they brought me here."

Ginny stared at Kyra, not sure what to say at first. Finally, she said,

"I thought you said you were trespassing somewhere…."

Kyra bit her lip, and lay down on the cold ground, looking sleepy. "Yes. My task's route required me to cross through a certain forest. Unfortunately, the community had no idea that a Death Eater army was using that forest as a hideout."

"So where is your city?"

Kyra looked at her wryly. "That is something I cannot reveal. The Elves would sentence me to death for revealing our location to a human. It's against our laws."

Ginny sighed, her eyes itching with exhaustion. She lay down on the cold ground, and felt as if she'd never get out of here.

"Thank you" Ginny said quietly.

"For what?"

"For healing me, for telling me your story…"

There was a pause, and then Kyra said,

"My senses confuse me and cloud my mind. Are you the chosen one's wife?"

"You mean Harry Potter?"

"Yes" Kyra nodded.

For the first time, Ginny smiled and nodded. She was very proud to be able to finally say this, no matter how bad this was.

"Yes. I'm Ginny Potter"

Kyra said nothing for minutes. Ginny thought she might be jealous or trying to let it sink in or something.

"Kee am bi ta'iem yazu." Kyra said softly.

Ginny wanted to ask what it meant, but her exhaustion seemed to quickly pull her into a deep sleep.

Pronunciation:

Kyra: Keye-ra (Keye rhymes with high)

Kee: Key

Ta'iem: Ta-I-ye-m

Yazu: Yeah-zu