After my hysterical laughter died down, I looked at Nibbles feeling sick again and my tears glued themselves to my cheeks. I had a burning desire to get into the room behind our backs and retrieve my family moonstone.

"Should we...break in de old fashioned way?" I shrugged my shoulders and she looked at me with a puzzled look. Her spindly nose was dug into my cloak trying to cuddle, and her little fingers were wrapped around my forearm. She stared up at me with huge, skeptical eyes.

I pushed onto my bare knees gently coaxing her off and rotated to face the wooden and metal doorway, which was held up by the arched brickwork around it. The entry way was ancient and the bricks supporting the door were covered in moss and moisture. I picked up a loose stone from the floor below us that had a mildly jagged edge to it, and Nibbles watched, huddled next to me as I scraped it tenderly along the mortar of the brick directly adjacent to the lock. It dug a bright mark into the deep slate gray of the mortar.

"Dis could work," I commented as I scraped again and again, digging deeper into the mortar. It was hours later when I had dug a solid crevice around the brick in question.

I sat back on my butt and wiped at my brow, now freezing from the sweat forming in the icy temperatures of the dungeons.

"Nibbles is worried the master will notice," Nibbles murmured from beside me as she analyzed my efforts to chip away at the brick's stability.

I pushed the brick back and forth in it's now unstable foundation, and it suddenly looked flush as usual, popping in and out precariously. I only needed to work on it for a few more hours before I could break in. I took a moment to pick up dirt from the floor in my fingers and scrubbed it along the mortar to conceal the fresh brightness of the scratching. "Look. Even if 'e comes, 'e won't know. And if 'e does come, you'd better disappear right away. 'E can't know you 'ave assisted me."

She nodded helplessly, looking extremely queasy about the instructions.

I decided to stop there for the time being, and slumped against the bars of the nearest cage. It was relieving to be far away from the rotting corpses of the resistance, but I could still smell their decomposition from where I was. My eyes twitched as I struggled to sleep with Nibbles curled up in my lap.

Visions began to swim before my eyes. I was running towards a large castle with towers in the distance. My feet pounded against an enormous brick bridge with arching pillars stretching below into a gorge. I ran, my hands outstretched as rage filled me in unprecedented volumes and my intense yelling echoed around me in the dream. I was a rocket of blue, fiery flames. A man that looked serpentine had just murdered someone very important to me - they fell like a discarded toy to the ground next to him. He had red, glowing eyes that lasered in on my movement. I was wiping out Death Eaters left and right with the expanding flames, scalding them into deep fried versions of themselves before they finally fell to the ground as charred remains.

My screaming blended into reality as I sat up in the dungeons once again, shouting helplessly in real life as I transitioned from dreaming to awake. Nibbles was no where to be seen, however her orbs of light on the ceilings remained, casting dim assistance.

Instead of her comforting companionship I was instead greeted by Draco, who was leaning on the arched opening of the tunnel that led to where I was slumped against one of the jail cells. He watched my wailing gradually cease as tears rolled down from my eyes and I panted at him.

He was wearing a navy blue suit that formed against his athletic body perfectly. He looked skyward clearly amused, "You never fail to put on a show, Madeleine. I'm shocked you made it this far across the basement without passing out." He twirled his wand around his fingers, his blue eyes looked black in the dim lighting that Nibbles had supplied. He had no care in the world for what I now knew or had evidently witnessed.

I tugged my knees directly against my body and shut my eyes, shoving my face down into them. I didn't want to see him or acknowledge him. I sat there, shaking uselessly, until I felt his wand poke against my skull ruthlessly, "Get up," he demanded.

I rotated my face upwards so that the tip of the wand would rest directly between my eyes, glowering at his positively lethal profile, "Just kill me. Leave me to rot wit' de rest of your victims." My eyes bored into his grey ones as he stared at me with a hollow look.

He smirked slightly, his lip pulling towards the side in hilarity, "You're not that crushed, Madeleine. You'll get over it. You're attendance is required tonight so you've been given a free pass this time." He reached out and snatched the thin shimmery blue cloak of my hood and we disapparated back into the shared bedroom.

I collapsed onto the dark wooden floor unenthusiastically, hoping without rationale to die at random. I tugged the hood over my dirty face and laid there, pretending I had passed away from the trip through time and reality.

His foot collided with my ribs in a critical blow and I rolled aside, crying from the impact, "You will bathe and dress right now. I'm not in the mood for your nonsense tonight." He said it curtly and mercilessly. I pushed myself to a stand and teetered on the spot like a seesaw. I was starved and traumatized and barely existing. It took everything in me to look at him.

I wandered wordlessly to the bathroom, dragging myself along the wall where it was possible to do so. He'd left all of the potted plants in the room to my shock, and I had to sway around them as I made my way.

Once I'd shut the door I drew warm water with lifeless eyes, wondering when Nibbles had left me in the dungeons and where she was now. The bath was incredibly inviting and I laid in the tub with my eyes shut for far too long. Finally when my entire body was complaining through the form of wrinkled fingers I forced myself to a stand as bubbles clung to my skin.

In the mirror I looked back into my darkened golden eyes while I toweled off. The bags below them were substantial and I appeared mortified. I was still gorgeous in my own right, but clearly broken. I gave myself one final glance of reassurance before opening the door again to the dragon that resided in the bedroom.

He was leaning against the four-post bed, eyeing his military watch with great concentration. He was perfectly refined, accomplished even in his tight navy suit and dark blue bow. Bright, straight hair fell over his face in his downward stare. It was entirely unfair that he was a murdering coward and could still pull off such an impeccable appearance.

I sniveled my nose at him in disgust as I made my way to my armoire. I paused with my arms hanging on the opened door, "What do you want me to wear?" I asked the question knowing he had a predisposed opinion and would enforce it anyway.

"Black or blue. Something dark. Just match me," he said vaguely, as he pressed on the buttons on his wrist. He didn't seem to care that I was even alive after being exposed to the horrific graveyard in the basement.

I tugged at a cobalt dress that had long sleeves and a trailing skirt. It would be appropriate in any setting and I would surely not be chastened for the choice. I dragged it behind me towards the bathroom as he commented, "You know you can change in front of me, it's nothing I haven't seen before."

I turned, clutching my towel and glared at him, "Fuck you". I spat the words viciously before shutting the bathroom door again. From the room beyond he laughed in ridicule.

Once I was changed and had brushed out my long hair, I sighed heavily and went back into the bedroom. He was in the same position and his bright blue eyes drifted upwards to take me in. He nodded in approval at my appearance.

"It's going to be a long night and you will say nothing unless addressed directly," he curtly instructed as I narrowed my eyes at him. He moved towards me and his open palm connected with my neck, his fingers squeezing threateningly into my jugular. His breath was on my lips as he spoke, "I will not tolerate any absurdity from you tonight, Madeleine, and neither will the dark lord."

I sunk in his grasp, barely able to hold myself up from the sudden realization that I was about to meet Voldemort himself. His eyes searched my desperate and frightened face with practiced judgement. He sneered at me without pity, nodding his head mockingly, "Yes, that's right. He's here and you're going to behave."

I swallowed deeply and nodded. His hand slipped to my wrist and he was dragging me out the door and into the hallway. As we made our way down the double-sided main stairwell to the first floor, I began to feel separated entirely from my body. My ability to stay sentient and present in my reality was slipping away from me after everything I had been through in the past two months. We stopped abruptly before a large set of double doors and I had an inexplainable sense of Deja Vu.

He twirled me by tugging at my wrist again and I faced him lifelessly. My eyelids hung low and I knew I appeared deadpan. My personality had erased itself on the journey down the stairs in a defensive measure. His face was inches from mine as he leaned close to me and looked deep into my eyes, searching for anything.

It was an aggravatingly long pause before he looked away seemingly satisfied, and shoved the door open compelling me inwards by his grip. We were in the massive dining hall that I'd found much earlier in the year. The fire in the monstrously tall hearth was lit, crackling gleefully to the right. A ridiculously long dining table made out of dark wood stretched across the rectangular room and it was jammed to the brim save for two seats reserved for Draco and I on the closest corner.

He pulled my chair out and I obediently sat. He dropped next to me and straightened his spine, looking down at the wood. I had caught a glimpse of the man seated at the head of the table down the way briefly in our rapid shuffle to our seats, and he was the exact same serpentine man from my nightmare in the dungeons. I stared at the wood as well, trying not to panic from the impossible coincidence. My hands were fidgeting in my lap with the texture of my dress.

"Draco, how kind of you to join us this evening with your... lovely wife," A creepy voice slithered down the table from the man. The Death Eaters around the room laughed maniacally, one female with long messy curls sounded perfectly insane. I was fidgeting so hard with the fabric of my clothing that it must've been obvious because I felt Draco's large, warm hand clamp down on mine, holding them tightly to still the motion.

Lucius was across from me burning holes into my forehead with his ferocious bright eyes. It occurred to me that it was the first time we'd both been in the same room together. To his left, Narcissa was matching Draco and I by staring down at the table. To my right at the other end of the table head was a man I could not place with long black hair and a dull expression on his face.

"Severus, would you be so kind as to continue with your report?" The snake-like man commanded in a milky voice. I could feel his horrible red eyes watching my face from the other side of the room as the man next to me at the other table head began to speak.

He sounded bored and drew his words out particularly slowly as though picking each word carefully, "My Lord, we have razed three...new resistance camps, followed by..." his eyes slid to Draco and then hung onto my face, "Draco's success in eliminating the mudblood, which Potter was quite dependent on."

More rapturous and wicked laughing penetrated the air. Hands slapped at the table. I noticed that the Malfoy's weren't making a single move to participate in the cheering, almost like they were hoping that if they stayed perfectly still and quiet they might not be noticed in the room. My heart was beating dangerously fast. I felt extremely nauseated and light headed. My fingers squirmed below Draco's hand, which was now squeezing down, trying to indicate that I should stop.

"Some progress, my friends, but not nearly at the pace which we require," Voldemort said in a strange tone, "Harry Potter must die by my hand, and he must be brought to me very soon, or else, an example must be made." Eyes darted down to Draco and I.

"My Lord," Lucius lightly quipped in a begging tone, sounding anxious, "We will not fail you."

There was a sound as Voldemort pushed out of his chair followed by a rapid fluttering of robes as he appeared next to Lucius. The room was eerily silent and I panted quietly, trying to steady my rising panic. My vision was waning and going black with little sparks. Draco's hand shoved into mine lacing our fingers. He squeezed at my hand now, seemingly aware of how afflicted I was.

"I understand that Draco has been sidetracked by the reappearance of his wife. What a shame it would be to see the end of such an esteemed, pure bloodline, Lucius. But that would be my price, you know," Voldemort was whispering it in Lucius' ear, leaning over his chair. My eyes foolishly lifted from the crawling feeling that was running down my spine.

The dark lord had both gnarly hands wrapped around Lucius' shoulders, who was looking entirely ill. Voldemort was drilling his molten eyes into my face, looking amused. His freakishly long mouth was curled up into a razor thin smile that stretched much too far up his gray face.

Draco's other hand reached over and he rubbed at my skin affectionately, but it was too late. My entire body was trembling like an earthquake and I lost my vision, feeling my body twirl out of my chair. I lost consciousness before my head hit the floor, and slipped away into oblivion, as the Death Eater's laughter echoed around in my head.