So I am so sorry we haven't updated in a while. We actually have nearly 20 more chapters written, we are just utterly shit at uploading them and life gets in the way of remembering to do these things sometimes. Though we're looking to change that, promise.
Anyway, please read, enjoy and please do leave a review if you have a moment.
Bella
Bellatrix left her bedroom that morning determined to break Ginny Weasley. It had been a full week since Ginny had entered her dungeons and still she could not get a single piece of information from her. She was determined to break the girl, to get her to mutter even a single sentence that could help her lord, though it was a task that was proving difficult. The grip on her wand tightened as she heard someone walk up behind her, getting ready to tell them to leave her alone when she felt a familiar hand on her hip.
"Morning, Ma Belle." Rodolphus purred, smirking as Bellatrix predictably rolled her eyes at him. "I thought you were spending the day with Delphi?"
"She's with her father." Bellatrix snapped, stopping to look at her husband. "I'm surprised you're not with your brat right now, that's a 24 hour obsession of yours."
"Very funny." Rodolphus said before gesturing to the dungeon doors with a playful grin "I thought I'd come help you instead, like old times."
"You ruin my toys," Bellatrix growled.
"I have no interest in ginger blood traitors, Bellatrix."
"No?" Bella raised an eyebrow as she spoke sarcastically "You just like half-blood freaks?"
Rodolphus sighed, reaching out and brushing a stray strand of hair behind his wife's ear "Come on, Bella." He leaned closer to her, pressing a kiss to her forehead "I only care about you, I only really want you." Rodolphus sighed as Bellatrix let him wrap his arms around her waist, pulling her closer as he gently kissed her lips for a moment. "We've had this conversation . . . We both see the benefits . . . But for now, I just want to help you. Let me?" a mischievous glint appeared in Rod's eyes Let me help you torture her to the point of near insanity, to make her scream until she begs you to stop." The man smirked as he could feel the anticipation radiating off of his wife as he leant closely to her ear, whispering softly. "Let's paint the walls with her blood, Ma Belle."
"Mmm . . ." Bella murmured, reaching up to wrap her arms around her husband's shoulders "I have tried, Roddy," She pouted "She won't listen to me. She screams but she won't talk. She won't listen to my threats."
"Maybe we should try together." Rodolphus suggested, kissing his wife for a few moments before pulling away with a cold smirk "Then if that doesn't work . . . we show her what happens to people who don't do what they're told. I'm sure Nymphie could teach her a few things."
"Ha!" Bellatrix barked "Nymphadora? She's—"
"A shadow of the woman that Ginny Weasley once knew." Rodolphus said, laughing as he could see the grin of anticipation of what was to come spreading across his wife's features.
"Go get Nymphie." Bellatrix giggled, reaching to kiss her husband firmly for a moment before darting through the dungeon door.
Ginny Weasley barely looked up from her place in the corner of the dungeon. She was barely recognisable from when she first arrived at the Manor. Her vivid red hair was matted and unkempt from the amount of times she'd been pulled up or across the dirty floor of the dungeon, her robes covered in the dirt mixed with her own blood from various cuts and bruises that now littered her body. Though her bright brown eyes were still lit with defiance, anger and determination as she watched the dark witch slowly descend the stairs towards her.
"Oh, Weasel." Bella giggled. "You certainly look like you've seen better days."
Ginny barely moved, truth be told she was sure she had broken a rib or two and was struggling to breathe let alone talk.
"Not in a talkative mood today, hmm?" Bella asked, raising an eyebrow at the girl as she thoughtfully pointed her wand at her "Never mind, you do know how to stop it, girl . . . Crucio."
Ginny Weasley instantly gritted her teeth, digging her nails deep into the palm of her hands as she tried not to give the woman before her the satisfaction of her screams. It was a plight that did not last anywhere near as long as she would have hoped though, for soon the sounds of her pain echoed the blood stained dungeon.
"Bellatrix." Rodolphus called out from the top of the stairs, pushing Nymphadora a few paces ahead of him, something that automatically made Bellatrix stop in her attempts to torture the shivering girl on the floor further.
"Managed to get her here then." Bellatrix smirked.
"I am more than capable of coming here myself," Dora said, her eyes settling on Ginny as she breathed "What have you done to her?"
Bellatrix giggled, turning back to her prey "What haven't I done to her?" the woman walked over to her victim, leaning down and grabbing her hair to force her to look up into her own dark eyes "You just won't listen, will you Weasel?"
"Stupid girl." Rodolphus sighed, pushing Nymphadora closer as he walked over to his wife.
"Y—You told me she was dead already." Dora looked to her Aunt, a strange mixture of fear, anger and relief on her pale features.
"I tell you a lot of things Nymphie." Bella sighed, brushing the girls comment away as if she was talking about the weather "I told you the last Weasel was dead when he wasn't—well, not until your mother got to him."
"Weasley." Dora narrowed her eyes at the woman, her hair tinging ever so slightly red at the roots. "His name is Bill Weasley."
"Was." Rodolphus corrected, smirking as Nymphadora glared at him. "Maybe you could get Miss Weasley to talk, hmm Nymphie?"
Dora remained silent, looking to her friend on the floor. She didn't realise as Bellatrix rolled her eyes and motioned for her husband to go over to her, not until she was suddenly thrown against the wall with one of his rough hands grasped around her neck, the other deceivingly gently laid on her hip.
"Come on Nymphie." Rodolphus whispered in the girl's ear, just loud enough for the rest of the room to hear. She couldn't help but squirm under him, her eyes screwing shut. "Be a good girl and get your friend to talk. You know you don't want to anger me—nor Bella."
"Get. Off. Me." Dora spat, barely surprised as the hand around her neck lifted to slap her hard and fast around the face. She instantly knew that there would be another bruise for her to heal. She was soon whirled around the man to face the girl on the floor, Rod's arm hooked uncomfortably tightly around her waist as he pressed her into him.
"Come on, Nymphadora." Bellatrix sighed "You know better than this, no? . . . Fine." Bellatrix yawned, pointing her wand at the witch on the floor again. "Crucio."
Nymphadora couldn't help but struggle against the man's arms, desperate to get to her friend as he pulled her closer to himself, resting his head on her shoulder despite her protests. Ginny's screams were unbearable, piercing the room as Bellatrix grinned in great satisfaction.
"Stop it!" Dora cried. "Stop it now!"
"What?" Bellatrix released the spell, looking to her niece before she stormed over to her "It's your fault she's here Nymphie, is it not?" She smirked knowingly "No, you and your mother don't foul me . . . Though, you could have stopped her, couldn't you? You are after all a trained Auror, Order Member, Death Eater—though I try to train you—"
"You call that training!?"
"Crucio!" Bellatrix hissed, watching the girl squirm against her husband in pain as she dug her wand into her gut "Insolent! My point is that I am sure you could have overtaken your mother, who has been playing housewife then glorified baby sitter for more than three decades! Or are you simply that pathetic now? Unable to stop even your own friend being brought here? — Or—Are you finally starting to listen, Nymphie? Are you finally starting to do as you're told?"
Nymphadora gasped as the curse was finally lifted, unable to help herself in collapsing against Rodolphus as he pulled her to her feet again with his usual cold chuckle making her sick to her stomach. She feebly tried to pull away to no avail. "Sh—She can't." Dora panted, wincing at the residual pain of Bella's curse.
"She can't?" Bella raised an eyebrow "What do you mean, she can't?"
"She's half dead for starters." Nymphadora said, trying to pull away from Rodolphus for a moment before she gave up. "She'll be dead before she can tell you anything."
Bellatrix frowned, turning her head slightly to look at the heap of the girl on the floor. She giggled, unable to help but agree that she had let herself run a little too freely with the torture of the Weasley girl. "And?"
"And," Nymphadora huffed "the O—Order used fidelius charms for most houses. If she's not the secret keeper for locations she can't tell you."
"Is that so?" Bellatrix spoke sarcastically.
"Yes!" Dora hissed back "She's the last person they would use as a secret keeper!"
"But if someone has been told a location and then the secret keeper dies, they all become secret keepers, don't they Nymphie?" Rodolphus purred in her ear, causing her to shiver again.
"Yes," she spoke through gritted teeth.
"That's how you sullied Grimmauld Place, isn't it?" Bellatrix hissed, digging her wand into the woman's neck "Who's to say little Weasley here doesn't know of any others? Who's to say Bill wasn't a secret keeper?"
Nymphadora flinched, unable to deny that Bellatrix's logic was sound for once. "Sh—She'll still be useless to you dead."
Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at the girl for a few moments before she motioned for Rodolphus to let go of her. "Heal her then, Nymphadora. I need her moved anyway and she can't very well be moved in that state—don't worry," Bella added as she looked to the injured girl "I'll soon have you back for playtime."
Dora hesitated for a moment before she rushed over to the girl, wincing as Ginny flinched in pain at the slightest touch, yelling out as she quickly fixed her broken ribs. "Shh," Dora murmured "it's okay, I'm sorry." Dora bit her lip as she tried to concentrate, healing on physical wounds and marks though struggling to lift the dark curses from the girl with much ease. Barely five minutes had passed when she felt Rodolphus heave her to her feet again.
"You said I could heal her!" Dora protested.
"You can finish later." Bella rolled her eyes before smirking cruelly, Rodolphus soon let go of Nymphadora to lean down and pull Ginny Weasley to her feet despite her gasps of pain. "Little Weaselbee will be joining you in the prisoner's ward."
"W—What?" Dora stuttered.
"You heard me." Bellatrix sighed before looking to her husband "I told The Dark Lord I would meet him and Delphini, you can handle these two, can't you?"
Rodolphus nodded "Will you be gone long?"
Bellatrix rolled her eyes, looking to Nymphadora for a split second before she turned and nodded, walking ahead up the dungeon stairs "Don't wait up." And with that, she was gone.
"Come on, you two." Rodolphus growled, motioning for Dora to go ahead of him as he pulled Ginny up the stairs, clearly the girl had decided that staying silent right now was the better option.
The trio barely talked on their way up to the prisoner's wing, Rodolphus pulled poor Ginny along as Nymphadora managed to fall to his other side so she could at least keep an eye on the girl. Her stomach lurched at the thought of his hand on the girl, stopping herself from pulling him away on instinct. It wasn't until Rodolphus dragged Ginny through the wards to the wing that anyone spoke.
"Weasley?" Draco Malfoy stopped in the corridor, disgust on his features that Nymphadora rarely saw nowadays "Haven't you got your own hovel to go hide in?"
"You can talk, Malfoy!" Ginny yelled on instinct, anger suddenly bursting out of her on the target she knew couldn't hurt her "Your head being permanently stuck up your ass at school never got you anywhere, did it!?"
Nymphadora could do nothing but stare in shock as Rodolphus surged a curse through the girl to shut her up, though the commotion had already left the rest of the wing to come out to see what was going on. Narcissa walked over to her son, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop him from retaliating, Andromeda opened her bedroom door, though she stayed still in the doorway as she tried to prevent little Teddy Lupin from running out to see, holding Elara in her arms protectively.
"Mumma?" Elara asked with a trembling lip, unsure of the girl writhing on the floor. Dora tried to walk over to Andromeda to take the children, though was quickly stopped as Ginny was thrown to the floor and Rodolphus stormed ahead of her. He took the little girl in his arms.
"Take the girl into one of the spare rooms, Nymphadora." Rodolphus said, not looking at her as he took their daughter in his arms and walked to her room. "I'll meet you in your room when you're done trying to help her."
Dora swallowed hard before she walked over to Ginny, gently helping her off the floor and wrapping her arm around her shoulders to support her. She glared as Andromeda shooed Teddy back into her room and came towards her daughter.
"I don't need your help." Dora hissed, helping Ginny to one of the empty rooms near her own (at least this way she could keep a better eye on her—not that that would do her any good).
"You do." Andromeda said, following them into the room, drawing her wand as she laid Ginny on the bed. "Let me help, Dora. Please . . . I'll heal her and then I'll go, okay?"
Dora narrowed her eyes at the witch, she had still barely spoken to her since they had brought Ginny back. She nodded stiffly, letting Andromeda lean over and try to undo some of Bellatrix's darker curses currently coursing through poor Ginny Weasley's body.
"I'm fine." Ginny growled, though gasped in pain as at least one curse was lifted.
"You're not fine . . ." Dora sighed, sitting on the other side of the girl's bed as she refused to look at her mother "Did you tell them anything?"
"No." Ginny shook her head, glancing cautiously at Andromeda for a moment before she shut her eyes.
"Get out." Dora barely looked at her mother. "She's good enough for now, I can heal her."
"Dora, I'm not going to hurt her, I want to help."
"Ha! You help? Fat chance." Dora narrowed her eyes "I don't like what you think is 'helping', so get out now."
Andromeda took one glance at her daughter before she sighed "I'll go get Teddy his lunch."
Dora watched Andromeda leave, waiting for her to shut the door before she relaxed slightly, truth be told she didn't even like the idea of Andromeda around her son right now but she knew she had no choice. The woman shook her head before she accio'd an old pain killing potion, it was one she had kept just in case from after Elara was born though she knew the least she could do was give this to the girl laid on the bed before her.
"A—Are you okay?" Dora asked, shaking her head even as she asked it, handing the potion bottle to Ginny. "Stupid question, drink this." Ginny eyed the bottle suspiciously "Ginny, I swear it's just pain killing potion."
Ginny hesitated for a moment before she took the bottle, taking a swig and instantly groaning in relief. She placed the bottle on the side, staring at her hands in her lap for a moment before she looked to Nymphadora "Why did you let them take me here?"
"I didn't!" Dora automatically protested, biting her lip and soundproofing the room before she went on "Ginny, you have to believe me, I didn't lead them to you on purpose. I—I've just been going insane a—and I had to talk to you—to anyone—I suppose a part of me still thought I could figure a way to get us out b—but I can't. I can't take my children from here. T—They killed Remus when we tried when we got here nearly four years ago a—and there's no way I could take Elara—" Dora burst in to tears, unable to help herself "I—I'm sorry Ginny, I don't want you here. I—I'll do all I can to get you out, I swear."
"Tonks . . ." Ginny hesitated for a moment before she reached out and hugged the woman she had once considered like an older sister to her, letting her cry for a few minutes before Nymphadora seemed to almost calm herself, pulling away and apologising. "I—It's okay . . . It was your mother's fault. Not yours."
"She thinks just because they forced me to take this bloody mark I need to act like one of them." Dora spat, wiping tears away.
"Tonks . . ." Ginny couldn't help herself as she looked curiously at the girl, "I—Remus . . . I'm sorry, they said he was dead but . . . we didn't want to believe it . . . but—sorry, but that little girl called you mum . . . Remus died four years ago."
Dora had to stop herself falling into renewed tears "That's my daughter . . . Elara Lestrange." She winced as Ginny couldn't help but let out an audible gasp, her eyes widening "I didn't want to, of course . . . He made me keep her—but I do love her, just as much as Teddy—b-but— . . . This place, Ginny—I won't let anyone hurt you like that, you understand?"
Ginny nodded slightly, though still gobsmacked by the revelation "Tonks . . . I'm sorry . . . I—. . . I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything." Dora shook her head. "Just promise me you'll stay away from the male Death Eaters as much as you can—that you'll yell for me if you need me. I don't care if they hurt me, I won't let anyone near you if I can help it. But they shouldn't . . . Bellatrix went mad when she found out Rodolphus was . . . not because he was hurting me—because he was 'cheating' on her in her eyes I suppose—though from what Narcissa and Mum have told me there may be other reasons. They're—They're all banned from doing that of their own accord now . . . Bella doesn't like her 'toys' being interfered with."
"But Rodolphus said . . ."
"She doesn't care about him." Dora couldn't help but scoff as she smiled sadly at the girl, long lost in her defeat of the subject "Though he won't touch you, won't touch anyone but me . . . I cause too much trouble for her as it is, apparently." She shrugged, absent mindedly running her wand down Ginny's side to relieve the residual pain of the last Cruciatus she had suffered. "I—"
"Nymphie!" Rodolphus' voice called out from the corridor, causing Dora to shudder.
"I—I need to go." Dora said hurriedly, leaning down and hugging Ginny gently before she backed away from her, stilling her protests "I'll be fine." She forced a smile. "I—I'll be back when I can, okay?"
"Okay . . ." Ginny hesitantly replied, watching her friend force a smile at her before she left her to herself. She tried to ignore the muffled growl of Rodolphus Lestrange through the wall, followed by a slamming of what he assumed to be Nymphadora's room. She shut her eyes, determined to find a way to help both herself and her friend, though for now, the events of the past week caught up with her as she was pulled under into a deep sleep.
