I had no time to react. Two seconds later, I was in the dungeon. It was worse than my dreams. The very air seemed cold with cruelty. Though I couldn't see their faces, I could see the evil eyes glittering maliciously underneath their hoods.

"Will she do?" Draco asked.

"Do you know her? Is she defenseless?"

Draco grinned evilly. "I know her. She's a squib."

Cruel laughter reverberated around me. Fear gripped my guts and my knees began to go weak. I had never fainted before, but I guessed that was about to change.

Rough hands gripped my arms and threw me against a wall.

"Well, do it, dear Draco," sneered the Death Eaters.

My brother's grin had faded a bit, but he kept it up, for appearance's sake. "Arvada Kedevra!" he cried. A flash of green light erupted out of his wand and came streaming towards me. I screamed and ducked. The light was blinding, and I couldn't see anything. My knees gave in. I collapsed on the floor, my face towards the wall.

There was some amused laughter and scattered applause. "Well done," one sneered. "Now take care of the body! You know where to put it!"

I could almost feel my brother's grimace as he clutched my arm and apparated again. There was a rush of air, and then all was still. I tried to slow my breathing, to keep Draco under the illusion that he had killed me.

Trembling slightly, Draco pushed me over some sort of edge. It took all my self restraint to keep myself from screaming. Lucky for me, I fell on something soft. I heard a loud crack, and knew he was gone. Opening my eyes, I did scream. I had fallen on a dead man's chest. I struggled to my feet and looked around. I was sitting in a pit of dead people! Their empty eyes bore holes through my body. I looked desperately around the pit, looking for some way out.

I spotted some vines growing out of the earthy wall on the other side of the pit. Trying to ignore the way my bare feet felt on the corpses, I made my way over and started to climb. It wasn't a tall pit, and I got out without much trouble. But I still needed time to recover from my brush with … and against death.

Suddenly, a brilliant thought occurred to me. I was FREE! I jumped in the air, danced around the trees (the pit was in the middle of a woods, by the way) and ran in any direction that pleased me. A smile erupted across my face, I could feel it. Such joy, as I had never experienced it, flooded my body.

A bird chirped cheerfully in a tree next to me.

"Hello, bird," I said gleefully, "How are you today? How nice … and me? Oh, I'm just fine, thank you …"

It suddenly occurred to me that I was carrying on a one-sided conversation with a bird. In my current mood, it only made me laugh. I doubled over and rolled on the moss that coated the forest floor. I lay spread eagle and caught my breath. It was at that moment I realized how tired and sore I really was. My eyes closed and I felt myself drifting off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep …

When I woke, reality hit me. My stomach rumbled loudly like the thunder overhead. Lightning flashed. I jumped to my feet. I had been asleep a long time. Day had turned to night, and the once clear skies now frothed and bubbled in a violent storm. The rain fell like hail. Desperately, I began to search for cover.
After a half hour of being more scared than I could ever remember, and getting soaked to the bone, I finally found a cave. My stomach growled even louder.

"You hungry?" asked a voice.

I jumped. "Who's there?"

"I'm Leon. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah …"

"Here," a basket was shoved at me through the darkness, "eat your fill."

I reached my hand in suspiciously, and pulled out a blackberry. I fingered it for a moment, sniffed it, inspected it.

"I didn't do anything to them," Leon said, "They're perfectly fine."

My stomach got the better of me, and I popped the berry into my mouth. It was a bit bitter, but I didn't care. One by one, berries went in, and little by little, the ache in my belly grew smaller and smaller. After a while, I was full. I grinned a little, realizing that was probably the best meal I'd ever eaten.

Leon chuckled. "See, that wasn't so bad was it?"

I grew suddenly suspicious. "How do you know? I can't see a thing, so how on earth do you know …"

"I can see in the dark," Leon said quickly. "Let's just leave it at that."

"Why?"

"Because," Leon said, then, changing the subject, "Who are you?"

I thought for a moment before answering. "My first name's Cassandra. I won't tell you my last name, not until I know you a little better."

"Fair enough," Leon said, "So, what brings you to my cave?"

"Shelter from the storm," I replied simply.

"Ah," he said, realizing the stupidity of his question. "Well, what brings you to the woods?"

"My brother."

"You had a fight?"

"Something like that. He came here to … get rid of me."

"Ouch! You're loved."

"You have no idea."

"Give me one."

"I have a new idea," I said sarcastically, "Let's talk about you. Why are you here?"

"I live here," Leon said indignantly.

"Why?"

"Because I'm cursed, that's why."

"Who cursed you?"

"Now you're getting personal."

"No more than you did. Come on, who cursed you?"

"Long story."

"Fine, how are you cursed?"

There was a flash of lightning, but that three-second flash revealed more than I could have imagined. I gasped and jumped back.

"This is how I'm cursed," Leon said.

Suddenly, I didn't feel very safe in the cave. Suddenly, I wished I was back in my closet. Because suddenly, I'd seen the face of a creature that was anything but human.