Fifteen years ago

Antonin stood next to Walden, the Dark Lord gazing down on them from his chair on the dais. More Death Eaters were gathered behind them, waiting in ominous silence.

Tony spoke quickly. "My Lord, I don't know how it happened. I'm quite sure that the girl was securely bound. I–"

The Dark Lord raised a silencing hand. His voice was soft, but with a steely undertone. "Do you take me for a fool, Antonin?"

Tony swallowed hard. "I...no, of course not, my Lord. I-"

"You let the child go. No, do not deny it. I know you did." He gestured toward Walden. "I have read it in his mind. He is not quite as capable an Occlumens as you are."

"Traitors!" Bellatrix shouted from somewhere behind them.

The Dark Lord smiled thinly. "Such a bizarre weakness. You have witnessed so many men being tortured in my name, you have created most of the instruments employed to torture them, and yet this child suffers one session with Travers and you feel the urge to release her." He cocked his head slightly, as if trying to find a new angle of perspective. "Of course, weakness will not be tolerated. You do not realise what you have cost us. That child was a valuable hostage. She would have given us an advantage over the Order that cannot now be regained."

"My Lord, I-" Tony began again.

"You shall speak when commanded!" The Dark Lord's eyes flashed in sudden anger. He turned to someone behind Antonin. "Rabastan, please commence punishment while I decide what to do with these worms."

Tony closed his eyes, bracing himself for the oncoming pain. He heard his fellow Death Eater cast the curse. "Crucio!"

Nothing happened.

Then he felt Walden fall to his knees beside him, grunting in pain.

Tony's eyes flew open. He turned to his brother, staring in horror. Facing the Dark Lord once more, he spoke with urgency. "My Lord, it was me. I let the girl go. It was my idea! Walden had nothing to do with it. He didn't even know!" He glanced to his left as his brother started to writhe and scream. "My Lord, I beg you-" He fell to his knees. "I will find her. I will track her down and bring her back. I'll…I'll use Greyback." The very idea of asking any favour of the mad wolf – not to mention the possibility that he might indeed find the poor girl – was almost enough to make him choke on his own words, but he couldn't bear to see his brother being tortured. It was Tony's fault that Walden was here, that he had to endure such pain. Of course, the Dark Lord knew that very well. "Please, I-"

"We both know that that's not going to happen. Dumbledore will have her securely locked away. There is no retrieving her now. Not even our furry…ally could manage that." He paused, looking thoughtful.

Walden's agonizing cries were getting weaker. If he was kept under the curse much longer, there could be permanent damage. Tony opened his mouth to plead again, but the Dark Lord cut him off with a brisk wave of his hand. Tony closed his eyes, unbidden tears streaming down his face, and waited.

At last, the Dark Lord commanded Lestrange to stop. Tony scrambled back to his feet, wanting to make sure that his brother was alright. He was abruptly thrown into the air and soon found himself hanging upside down, Walden out of his line of sight. He could hear him whimper, though.

The Dark Lord spoke again. "Augustus. This piece of information that you brought to my attention earlier… Are you quite certain of its reliability?"

Rookwood answered, his voice tinged with apprehension. "Great Lord, it comes from a very reliable source. I think we can safely hold it true."

The Dark Lord gave an approving nod. "Very good." He turned to someone else. "Bellatrix, Rodolphus, Rabastan, you will find this place tonight and proceed as discussed. You will take these two with you and make sure that they…participate."

Bellatrix let out a wild cackle. Her husband answered quietly. "As you command, my Lord, so shall it be done."

The Dark Lord turned his daunting gaze to Antonin. He looked even more terrifying from Tony's vantage point. "I expect a positive outcome to this little sortie. Anything else will mean harm to your brother. You are too valuable to be disposed of, but he is expendable at this point."

Antonin nodded vigorously. "As you command, my Lord. I won't fail."

"Do not disappoint," the Dark Lord said in a threatening voice. He gestured briefly and Antonin fell to the ground, hitting it hard.

They were standing in the shadows, across the street from a plain-looking brick house. It was freezing cold. Antonin blew some warm air into his cupped hands. "So… What are we doing here, exactly?" he asked, glancing at Walden. His brother hadn't said a word since he'd been tortured that morning. His mouth was set in a grim line.

Bellatrix glared at Tony menacingly. "Keep your mouth shut, maggot!"

Her husband gave them both a sharp glance. "Will you be quiet?" He looked back to the house. There was light coming from the only visible window on the ground floor. "Bella, Stan, you get in first. I'll follow. You two," he went on, indicating Tony and Walden, "you stand watch outside until we tell you to come in. Let's go."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't we wait for whoever's in there to go to bed?"

Rodolphus let out an annoyed sigh. "It doesn't matter. They won't expect us. We will have the element of surprise and they'll be outnumbered besides. Let's go," he said again, more forcefully.

The five Death Eaters crossed the road, keeping to the shadows. Bellatrix walked ahead and did not break stride when she came to the front door, blasting it open with a nonchalant flick of her wand. Tony and Walden waited outside, as instructed. Shouts came from inside, accompanied by flashes of light. He heard a woman scream.

Of course; the Dark Lord was getting back at him in the worst possible way. Tony felt sick. Focus, damn you! If you screw this up, Walden is as good as dead. Glancing at his brother, he noticed how uncommonly pale he looked.

The house was suddenly quiet. Rodolphus called from inside. "Get in."

Taking a deep breath, Tony went in, Walden on his heels. He almost walked into Molly.

He would have recognised that hair anywhere. She was stuck in mid-air, arms hanging stiffly at her sides, her back to him. For a moment, he could only stand there, gaping. No. Not this. Anything but this.

Bellatrix shook him out of his stupor. "Move, you filthy rat! Get in!" She pushed him further inside the house.

On the other side of the room, two flame-haired men, obviously twins, had been bound to a chair. Fabian and Gideon Prewett. They were staring angrily at Rodolphus, who stood watching them, leaning nonchalantly against a dining table. Bellatrix's husband looked thoroughly bored. Beside him, Rabastan had his wand pointed at Molly.

Then the other men spotted Antonin and Walden. Their angry expressions turned to shock. Tony couldn't meet their eyes. He couldn't look at Molly, either. He couldn't… "I can't. Don't make me do this," he murmured with a pleading look in Rodolphus's direction. "Please."

Bellatrix gave a maniacal laugh. "Idiot! Did you think it would be easy? Did you really believe that you could try to deceive the Great Lord and not suffer for it?" She snorted. "You naive Mudblood. You don't deserve this opportunity. You should have been executed, traitors." She leered at Walden. "I can't wait to get to work on your dear brother. Torturing him will be quite pleasant. I will kill him as you watch, vermin, and then it will be your turn."

Rodolphus cut in before she could ramble on. "Do you question the will of the Great Lord, my wife?" She gave him an outraged glare, opening her mouth to retort. He didn't let her. "He is too valuable, fool woman. He will be punished in accordance to the Great Lord's will and no more." His wife's gaze should have set him afire. He ignored her, returning his attention to Antonin. "Here's the deal. Either you kill one each," he pointed at Fabian and Gideon, "or Bella and I kill the three of them, and we'll make it as painful as we can," he said flatly. "If you do as you're told, the woman goes free. It's quite simple, really." He looked at Tony and Walden expectantly.

"I…" Tony started. He gulped down some air. "Will you really let Molly go, alive and unscathed?" Had they known beforehand that he knew her, or was this simply an unlucky coincidence? The first option, almost certainly. The Dark Lord couldn't kill him, so he was using emotional torture to keep him in line. Killing Walden outright wasn't subtle enough and, whatever the Dark Lord claimed, Tony's brother had been, and could still be, useful to their cause. "I want your word on it, Rod. Yours, not hers," he added, cocking his head toward Bellatrix. She made a rude gesture at him.

Rodolphus nodded. "You have my word. No harm will come to her. I will make sure of it."

Tony closed his eyes. Memories came rushing by. Countless dinners at the Burrow. Playing with the kids, teaching them how to use the small brooms he'd gotten them for Christmas. Molly laughing so hard at his silly jokes that tears leaked out of her eyes.

Tony opened his eyes to look at her. She was staring at him, crying, silently pleading him. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He turned to Walden, who looked ready to faint. The message passed between them without either of them having to speak. What else could they do? They had saved some random teenage girl they didn't know, and now they had to pay for it – an unfair price: a life for the price of two.

Swallowing hard, they raised their wands in unison, arms shaking, and pointed them at the Prewett twins.

The room flashed green.