"Let me go! Now! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Isabella shouts, fighting against the hands that were holding her. She couldn't see where they were dragging her to but she knew that it couldn't have been good. "Let me go! Now!"
"Shut up you," a gruff male voice says before he mutters, "silencio" which effectively silences all of Isabella's shouts. Heart thundering in her chest, she continues to fight against the hands that hold her, feeling bruises already beginning to form on her arms where they were holding her. "Ready?" There's a murmur of agreement from the other members of their party and suddenly Isabella feels a pull in her navel and the familiar feeling of being forced through a tube during side along apparition. When her feet once again hit the ground, she sways and has to choke down the bile that had risen in her mouth.
"Boss, she looks like she's gonna be sick" another male voice, this one with a higher pitch to his voice, comments.
"She'll be fine. Let's get 'er inside before the crazy bitch comes out and hexes us." Isabella's heartbeat was all she could hear at this point as they dragged her forward. She could tell they were now on a gravel plot of land but other than that truly had no bearing of where she was. When she had been called to the Headmaster's Office, this was not what she expected. She had expected to be put under the Cruciartus curse again but this was something completely different, even more terrifying than the curse.
Crack. "May Lelay ask yours names sirs? My masters and mistresses are asking." A house elf squeaks out, the fear evident in her voice.
"Here to deliver the whelp that Bellatrix asked for." Isabella's entire body freezes up. They had brought her to see Bellatrix? She'd been requested by Bellatrix, one of the craziest members of the Dark Lord's ranks (and that was saying something). With this news, Isabella starts to fight even harder, twisting her body and biting down on the arm of one of her captors. The man shrieks and drops her bicep, presumably clutching his wound.
"The bitch bit me!"
The rest of the gang laughs, "she's a feisty one."
"Well, teach 'er a lesson then!" The boss orders. A second later, the man reaches back and slaps Isabella across the face, causing blood to spurt forth from her mouth and her head to spin.
"Misters, you can comes with Lelay. My masters and mistresses are waiting." Lelay squeaks out. She snaps her fingers and Isabella hears an old metal gate creak open. The men grab Isabella again and lift her, carrying her forward. She kicks her feet helplessly, silently screaming into the void. Her eyes were stinging with tears and her cheek was burning with the sting of the slap. A minute later, the group stops. "Misters, this is my master Lucius Malfoy and my mistress Nacrissa Malfoy and my mistresses Bellatrix Lestrange and-"
"Shut up elf!" Bellatrix shrieks and Isabella hears Lelay squeak in pain as she's kicked across the gravel.
"Bella, I wish you wouldn't treat them so. They are after all my property, not yours sister." Nacrissa's voice is smooth, almost bored. "Why is the girl bloody and blindfolded? Uncover her eyes. Please." The blindfold is ripped off of her head and Isabella has to blink quickly to adjust to the sunlight all around her. In front of her, standing on the steps to a grand mansion are four of the most influential people in the current world; Lucius Malfoy, looking as posh and superior as ever, Narcissa Malfoy, standing with a straight back and a blank face, Bellatrix Lestrange, her wild black curls cascading down her back and her usual unhinged glint in her eyes, and Draco Malfoy, his trademark smirk on his alabaster face, all look down on her from their steps.
"The girl bit me ma'am, I had to teach 'er a lesson." The high pitched man explains, showing where Isabella had bit down.
Nacrissa rolls her eyes, "we asked you to fetch her. Not to kidnap her."
"Miss Bellatrix said we could use whatever means we wanted Miss."
"That's Mrs, thank you. You can let her go now." The men drop Isabella's arms and she stands there, trembling, "I'm assuming you have her wand?" Narcissa holds out her hand, silver rings glittering in the sunlight. The boss of the group steps forward and puts Isabella's larch wood wand is placed in Nacrissa's outstretched hand. Isabella's heart breaks a little at the reality of the situation. Here she was, standing, wandless, in front of four of the Dark Lord's most trusted and ruthless followers for no reason that she could see. Nacrissa examines the wand, looking it over with a calculating eye. "Unicorn hair I presume?" Isabella simply nods, knowing that she was silenced still and it would be worthless to try to speak. "You can speak girl, you have nothing to fear. Yet."
"We had to silence 'er ma'am. She kep' screamin' and the like."
"Well unsilence her. She's our guest, not a prisoner." The man grumbles but pulls out his wand and mutters the counter spell. Instantly, Isabella feels her vocal chords warm back to body temperature and breathes a tiny sigh of relief. "Welcome to Malfoy Manor, Miss Green. It's a pleasure to have you. I apologize for your rough handling up to this point. Lelay, heal Miss Green." The small house elf, who had been standing to the side nursing her scraped up elbows, scurries over to stand in front of Isabella.
"Lelay will heal you misses Green." With a snap of the elf's fingers, Isabella feels the stinging on her cheek go away and the blood clear from her mouth.
"Tha-thank you." Isabella stutters out, giving the elf the best smile she could conjure in that moment. Lelay's face breaks out into a pleased grin and she practically skips away, her large ears flapping as she does so. Isabella looks back up at the Malfoy family and Bellatrix. "What am I doing here?"
"Typical Ravenclaw, straight to the point I see." Bellatrix says with a grin, practically bouncing up and down. "Tell her Cissy, before I do." Nacrissa's lips purse and she pockets Isabella's wand.
"Patience Bellatrix. Let's go into the house. Draco, pay the gentlemen." Lucius instructs his son, sneering down at the lesser men. Draco steps forward and produces a small bag from his pocket, handing it to the leader of the group of men. "Lelay, we'll take tea in the Green Tea Room." Lelay acknowledges her master and with a crack, disappears off to fetch the tea. Lucius offers his wife his arm and leads the way inside, Bellatrix following behind. Draco holds open the door and gestures for Isabella to walk through. She takes a deep breath and follows, knowing that if she tried to run it would be fruitless. She also guessed that there were disapparation barriers up since they had not apparated to the front steps of the manor. It also was not helpful that she had only turned 17 not two weeks ago and therefore was not the most skilled at disapparating. Stepping into the house, Isabella can't help but be caught off guard by how grand the foyer was. With tall ceilings and an ornate carpet covering most of the stone floor, it took her eyes a moment to adjust from the sunlight into the dimly lit room. Portraits of family members, now past, hung along the walls amid the other decorations. Everything glittered and gleamed and Isabella could tell that the Malfoy family had many house elves at their disposal, or they pushed the ones that they had to the breaking point to keep up with the needs of the household.
Isabella follows the Malfoys down the hallway, trying to memorize everything that she saw in case she got the opportunity to bolt. Draco follows behind her, not saying a word. After walking for a minute through the dark halls of Malfoy Manor, the small party walks into a lavish tea room. With walls of dark green, Isabella could instantly tell why it was called the Green Tea Room. Lucius and Nacrissa walk to a comfortable looking loveseat while Bellatrix begins to wander around, clearly unable to sit still. Draco walks over and sits himself in a large, high backed chair which matches the loveseat his parents had sat in. Two house elves can be seen, darting out of the room through a side exit, while a third quietly shuts the door after they all enter. Isabella walks into the space, unsure of what to do now.
"Please, sit." Nacrissa gestures to the empty chair beside Draco's. Isabella, still shaking with nerves and trying not to show her nervousness, walks over to the seat and slowly sits down, perching herself on the very edge of it. "How do you like your tea?"
"Uh, two sugars and cream please." Nacrissa nods and waves her hand over the tea. Instantly, the sugar and cream are poured into a cup which then floats to Isabella's hand. She accepts it gently and thanks Nacrissa, holding it on her lap. Lucius helps himself while Nacrissa prepares Draco's the same way she had Isabella's, floating the tea cup over to him. He accepts it and sips it, sitting back comfortably. "Bella, would you like tea?"
"Oh can we just get on with it already? I want to go play with my toy!" Isabella shudders at the implication Bellatrix's tone had.
"Enough Bellatrix." Lucius orders, his tone final. Bellatrix pouts, much like a toddler, and Isabella tries not to laugh slightly at the face she was making. "Narcissa, if you would dear."
Nacrissa smiles and sets her cup down, looking at Isabella. "As I said earlier, Miss Green, you are our guest here for the foreseeable future. You will be treated as an honored guest. After we are done conversing here, Lelay will show you to your quarters and then Draco will take you on a tour of the Manor and lay out the rules for you."
"Why am I here?"
"The Dark Lord has plans for you," Nacrissa says gently, an almost mothering tone to her voice. "But we'll have more on that later. All you need to know now is that you will stay here, safe, at the Manor. We simply ask that you follow our rules as they will be laid out for you. Now, I am more interested to know about you. You are a half blood, correct?"
"Ye-yes ma'am. Both my parents were magical but my mom was Muggle born. My father was from the Green family, they came over from America a few generations back." Nacrissa nods and picks her tea backup, sipping it daintily.
"And you attend Hogwarts, yes? You're a Ravenclaw." Lucius states, looking her robes up and down.
"Yes sir. My entire family has either been in Ravenclaw with the exception of my uncle, who was sorted into Slytherin."
"What is your favorite subject?" Nacrissa asks.
The entire conversation was throwing Isabella through a loop. They were speaking as though they hadn't kidnapped her from school and had instead planned to meet up and have tea together. "Um, probably charms? It's one of my top-marked classes."
"Speaking of that, you have been ranked third in your class, have you not? How many O.W.L.s did you earn last year?" Nacrissa asks her, curious.
"I earned O's in Charms, Def-t the Dark Arts, and Potions as well as E's in Ancient Runes, Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, and Transfiguration. I received an Acceptable in Divination and History of Magic." Lucius nods and shares a secret look with Draco that Isabella doesn't understand. She tries not to shift too much but can't help but squirm slightly as Bellatrix was staring her down. "From my understanding, I only fell behind Draco and Hermione Granger." Bellatrix hisses at the mention of the young witch, her mood instantly shifting. "Bu-but I'm sure that was just a fluke.."
"I'm sure it was" Nacrissa reassures in her motherly fashion, giving the young girl a smile which Isabella was sure she would have found comforting any other time. Staring down into her tea cup, Isabella refuses to let her tears fall any more. "Well, I think that this has been a lovely start but unfortunately, Lucius and I must excuse ourselves to attend a meeting." The couple rises from their seats and Nacrissa takes Lucius's arm, giving the young girl a smile. "We will see you at dinner, Lelay will help you with whatever you need." The couple starts away but Isabella stands and calls after them.
"When will I get my wand back?" Isabella's voice trembles as she asks the question, her bottom lip trembling ever so slightly. "I.. I just mean, if I'm your 'honored guest' as you said.."
Bellatrix's cackle causes Isabella to fall silent again and she saunters over, her hips swaying as she does. "Just because my sister offers you a fancy room and a place at our dinner table, does not mean that you will be allowed magic, half breed."
"Watch your tongue Bellatrix." Lucius warns, his tone deadly. He turns his head slightly to look at Isabella more directly, "unfortunately, you will have to earn your wand back. But that will happen in time. Do not fret. Until then, Lelay will help you with whatever you may need." With that, the patriarch leads his wife out of the room and they disappear down the hall.
"I'll be playing with my toy!" Bellatrix gives another cackle and practically skips out of the room, her wand drawn already. Draco stands from his seat and sets his tea cup down on the tea tray, snapping his fingers. Immediately, two house elves emerge from the hidden door and come to take the tray away. Isabella quickly sets her's down, clasping her hands in front of herself, trying not to fiddle.
Draco turns to her and gives her a tense smile, "Lelay will take you to your room. I will come and get you about an hour before dinner to take you on a tour. Feel free to rest and get acquainted. I believe my mother has already had your clothes moved in as well as provided you with some clothes."
"O-okay. Thank you?" Without another word, Draco saunters from the room and turns down the opposite way of his aunt. Lelay rushes forward from the small house elf door and bows in front of her.
"Hello missus! Lelay will take you to your room now if missus would please follow Lelay!"
"Okay, lead the way," with that Lelay sets off out the door, practically running to make sure that Isabella's pace was an easy one. Her large wings flap against her skull and her hands ring her tea towel. Clearly the elf was nervous about being left in charge of Isabella. Once out in the hall, Isabella makes sure to mark in her mental map where everything was. They pass by multiple portraits and head up the stairs into the west wing. Eventually, they make it to a door which Lelay jumps to open, grasping the silver door handle tightly and using her body weight to pull it down. She bows Isabella through the door and trots in after her. Cautiously, Isabella walks through and gasps slightly.
The walls of the room are a lilac color, with a light grey trim. There was an ornate vanity set up between two doors which Isabella assumed led to a closet and a bathroom, though she did not yet know which one was which. There was a large balcony which overlooked gardens. Two large bookshelves occupied much of the space in the room, both against the wall immediately to her right and the corner between one of the side doors and the door to the balcony. The bookshelves were filled to the brim with all kinds of books, magical and non magical. Her fingers were practically itching to get her hands on them, to see if any of them held any information on how to get out of the situation she currently found herself in.
"Is Missus liking the room? Lelay made it special just for missus!" Lelay's voice quivers with nerves, her hands ringing her spotless tea towel nervously.
"It's quite beautiful." It's probably the most beautiful prison any one has ever had, Isabella thinks to herself but doesn't say it aloud for fear of causing the poor house elf to burst into tears. Lelay smiles up at her, her yellow teeth taking up the majority of her wrinkled face, and Isabella can't help but to return a smile, though it was less genuine than Lelay's was.
"Lelay will leave Missus now. If missus is in need of Lelay, missus just needs to say Lelay's name and Lelay will come, yes Lelay will." Lelay heads towards the door, bowing as she goes, "Lelay is hoping Missus will be happy with lelay."
"O-of course I'll be happy with you, Lelay. You're wonderful." Lelay's large eyes welled up with tears and she began to sob, thanking Isabella over and over again while exiting. Isabella walks to the corner of the ornate bed and perches herself on the edge, her entire body feeling drained even though it was only early afternoon. She felt like she'd been run over by the Knight Bus. Repeatedly. Her head was pounding, she couldn't stop shaking, and she was fairly certain that within the next ten minutes, she was going to vomit. She couldn't stop asking herself what the Dark Lord could possibly want with her. She was a good student, she followed the rules during a normal school year, she hadn't outrightly rebelled against the Carrows and Snape unless it came to casting the Cruciartus on her classmates or those younger, and she was a half blood. Sure, her parents were over in America under the protection of M.A.C.U.S.A. but she hadn't spoken to them in nearly a year and was instead living with her aunt who was a pureblood like her father. By all accounts, Isabella thinks to herself, I should be safe!
But then why was she there?
