Year Four, Part Eight
"It appears the boy is hiding in their headquarters," the Dark Lord said, hands curling around the arms of his chair.
Ginny half expected to see wisps of smoke rising from the places where his skin touched the wood.
"I have not been able to ascertain-"
"Of course you haven't, Lucius," came the hissed reply, cutting Lucius off mid-sentence and making him look to the floor. "You seem to be growing more incompetent by the day. If you continue to do so, I will no longer have any reason to keep you around."
"My lord! I have-"
"I do not care how many of our associates you have placed in the Ministry," the Dark Lord interrupted again. "I do not care which laws you have passed. I have told you, Lucius. I want Potter. Another time, I would praise you for your successes. Another time, I would thank you for your work. But I have told you that Potter is the priority for now. All the more so since your other attempts to gain me the prophecy have failed so spectacularly."
"My lord, as soon as the Ministry find Potter, I will know! We will be able to capture him before-"
"Dumbledore is not a fool. With the Ministry searching for him, hiding Potter anywhere other than their extremely protected Headquarters would be a foolish move. Potter is there. And between the Fidelius and the other enchantments, we cannot reach him."
Ginny kept her sigh internal, forcing the sadness which tried to show itself to remain hidden.
She had been beyond exuberant, when word of Harry's expulsion had reached them a few hours previously.
Finally, her information about the DA had come in useful. Not only that, but Dumbledore had been forced to flee Hogwarts as well, leaving it in Umbridge's care.
With Lucius having such prestige in the Ministry and such a strong connection to Fudge, that meant that Hogwarts was basically in the Dark Lord's control.
Her happiness had been short-lived, however, with the Dark Lord soon discovering that Harry was practically beyond their reach.
"You will go to Greyback," the Dark Lord ordered. "And you will give him every assistance he requires. If he succeeds, we may still be able to use this against the boy."
"I will, my lord."
"I grow tired of failures, Lucius. Do not give me reason to punish you. Go. Now."
Lucius left, somehow managing to not run.
"Tell me," the Dark Lord said as the door closed behind Lucius, his attention on Ginny. "You had mentioned sending a letter to Potter. Are you certain this would be enough to have him turn himself in?"
"I am, my lord. Especially once we have Lupin."
Slowly, the Dark Lord nodded, one pale hand rising to rest against his chin.
"It is possible that you may be able to send him a letter. The Fidelius will not prevent one who knows the secret from doing so. However, they may have set enchantments to prevent owls from finding it."
"Our school lists came there," she offered. "And I know that my-my parents sent letters to my brother in Romania."
"You have said so," he said, "But that is not enough. It is possible to alter the enchantments to allow specific owls to pass. They may have done so. Nevertheless, once Lupin is in our custody, you will send the letter."
"I will."
He stretched out his hand, long, thin fingers brushing against her forehead.
"I am blessed," he whispered, "to have someone as dedicated as you in my service. Bellatrix reports that you are growing more powerful, that you are learning to fight as I expect those bearing my mark should."
Her heart thumped loudly, butterflies flapping around in her chest as she nodded.
"Continue your training. Bellatrix assures me that you will be great. I believe her. I believe that you may one day hold my confidence more than any other. Prove me right."
"I-I will, my lord," she whispered, her voice trembling with proud joy. "I will. Thank you."
"Are you certain of this, Albus?"
Albus nodded wearily, wishing that he could be certain of more.
Knowing that Voldemort had made Horcruxes was all well and good, but there was only so much he could do without knowing numbers of them or even which objects precisely had been perverted and turned to soul-containers.
Oh, he had leads, memories which gave just enough information for him to begin theorizing. He knew enough to safely assume the identities of some of the Horcruxes. He knew that Horace was the key, that the true memory would give him that last, vital piece of information.
Three, seven, ten, or thirteen. It must have been one of those. Voldemort was many things, but he was no fool. Were he planning on making multiple Horcruxes, he would have been careful enough to align them with at least one of the most powerful magical numbers.
Seven, Albus thought, would have proved a strong temptation for him. Its symbolism of completion and of a wizard asserting his will upon the natural world would have been most appealing to Voldemort, not to mention the way it was most often used in rituals of a darker and more violent nature.
But then again, the number three had even more powerful connections to the dark arts. Ten was almost as bad, and thirteen…
Well, Albus shuddered just thinking of it. Surely Voldemort would not have been so afraid as to tear off thirteen pieces of his soul.
Though if he had, it would explain just how his soul was fragile enough to split off accidentally.
"Unfortunately, I am. But I cannot be certain of more, not unless my investigation bears fruit."
Alastor growled under his breath, his good hand curling into a tight fist.
Outside, the wind blew harshly, making the walls of the hut shake and shudder.
Neither Albus nor Alastor paid them any mind. They knew that the charms would at least hold the bedraggled hut together.
Albus had set this place up during the last period of hostilities; it was nothing more than a small shack with no furniture other than the few chairs within. Located as it was in the middle of a swampy area in the Scottish wetlands, it was unlikely to be found.
And even if it was, no-one would pay it a second glance.
It had become necessary, over twenty years previously, to have a place where Albus could meet with possible enemies without giving away the secrets of their headquarters.
It was Unplottable, of course, and protected with every Charm and enchantment Albus could put into place with the exception of the Fidelius.
He could have met Alastor in Headquarters, of course. But it was infinitely preferable for Albus to avoid Harry, at least until such time as he could safely speak with the boy.
Frankly, Albus had no idea when that would come.
"What else do you need to investigate?"
"I," he said, "must continue investigating the people who knew Voldemort when he was young. But I have a task for you."
"Of course you do," Alastor grumbled, rubbing at his solitary functional knee. "What is it?"
"We need the true, unvarnished memory from Horace. Something was said then, something which could change everything. We need it, Alastor."
Alastor's face hardened, the scarred and ruined features twisting into a fearsome expression.
"I'll get it. But on the condition that you keep me in the loop. You can't do this alone, Albus. You need help. And you need the help of someone you can trust to keep this quiet."
"Of course. You will be with me every step of the way."
The deep purple jet of a bone-breaker hurtled toward her, crashing into her hastily cast Shield Charm. The shield fell, of course, with a small pop and a series of cascading lights.
She was already in motion, spinning around and splitting the air as she Apparated, reappearing ten feet behind Bellatrix with her wand flashing.
'Stupefy!' she thought, waving her wand again the instant the spell had shot from its tip. 'Expelliarmus! Stupefy!'
Her second non-verbal stunner failed, releasing a pale pink jet that vanished before it was even half-way to Bellatrix.
She spun again while Bellatrix deflected her spells and returned fire, Apparating back to her original location with another Disarmer flying from her wand as soon as she had arrived.
"Reducto!" She cried, "Impedimenta! Stupefy!"
Cackling loudly, Bellatrix waved her wand.
A spherical disturbance in the air appeared before her, far more opaque than the usual Shield Charm.
The spells collided with shield, throwing up multi-coloured sparks.
It seemed to grow, bulging out where the spells had hit even as it pulsed oddly.
With no warning, the shield spat her spells back at her, vanishing as it did so.
Ginny dived, landing in a roll and jumping to her feet as soon as she could.
A deep blue jet of light missed her face by less than an inch, the heat of it causing her skin to instantly blister.
Ignoring the pain in her cheek as much as she could, she snapped her wand, yelling: "Diffindo!"
The spell shot true, flying right over Bellatrix's outstretched arm to smash into her shoulder.
For all that it must have hurt, Bellatrix didn't falter. Her face twisted into a grimace as blood splattered, her wand shooting into a strange and complex manoeuvre.
Instinctively, Ginny cast a Shield Charm, but the spell was not aimed at her.
The earth around her shuddered, rocks and muddy dirt forming into enormous hands that seized her arms and legs with iron grips.
She stood there stupidly for a moment, her wand falling from suddenly useless fingers as the hands around her tightened.
Then she was slammed down into the ground with incredible force, a terrible pain coursing through her as her arms and legs broke.
She bit down on her instinctive wail, determined not to show her weakness.
'Fuck, fuck, bloody fucking fuck!'
"Excellent," Bella laughed, walking over to her. "That was wonderful. You're improving."
Ginny groaned, a high-pitched, almost whistling sound escaping her.
"You almost had me there. Most people would have faltered, even just for a second. You'd have been able to take me completely, if I had."
Ginny groaned again, forcing herself not to scream.
'Show her that you can take it. You can take it.'
"Well?" Bellatrix huffed, her expression shifting to one of disappointment. "I'm complimenting you! Aren't you grateful?"
"Thank you," Ginny hissed, her teeth grinding up against each other as the agony tore her mind to shreds. "I am."
Bellatrix smiled again.
"You must be in terrible pain," she said, kneeling down and waving her wand. The earthen arms vanished, the oppressive pain lessening somewhat in their absence. "You want me to heal you, don't you?"
"Y-yes."
"Beg me," Bellatrix whispered, her smile turning feral and cruel. "You know I like it when you beg. I'm making you stronger, you should give me something in return. Beg me, love."
"Please, please, it hurts, please Bella, please. Stop it, heal me. Please."
Tears streamed down her face, agony and shame burning in her.
And strangely enough, a hint of desire too.
Bellatrix kissed her gently on the forehead as she began to wave her wand over Ginny's arms, sending a strange sensation through her as if she was being rubbed by a boiling hot ice cube.
Slowly, the pain in her arms vanished, and Bellatrix moved on to her legs, rubbing her wand along them while muttering softly.
"All better now?"
Ginny nodded, flexing her arm experimentally.
"Yeah. Thanks."
"My pleasure," Bellatrix whispered, trailing a finger across Ginny's belly and sending shivers down her spine. "You really are improving magnificently."
"I haven't even beat you once yet," Ginny snorted, grabbing her wand and pushing herself to her feet.
"No. But you will, eventually. Already, you are beginning to pose a challenge. Not much of one, true, but compared to when we first started? You're far better than you were. Why, I doubt any student at Hogwarts would prove a challenge to you now."
"They probably wouldn't."
Bellatrix rose, laughter in her eyes.
"It's a pity we won't be facing Hogwarts students. You need to get better. Anyone you face in true battle will be better than you. You need to practice the Killing Curse until you can cast it without thought. It gives you an edge."
"I can't exactly use that in a duel with you," Ginny grumbled.
"No. But you can when we're fighting Aurors or Dumbledore's people. And that will give you an edge. Come, another round before lunch."
Rubbing the dirt off of her wand, Ginny nodded, walking a few feet away.
"We begin on three. One, two-"
Just before Bellatrix reached three, a series of loud cracks sounded, interrupting her and making them both spin around to the source of the noise.
Just beyond the invisible barrier holding out those without the Dark Mark, a group of five men had arrived, one of them holding someone over their shoulder in a fireman's carry.
The person at the front of the group walked forward, pulling back his sleeve and raising his arm.
A moment later, the group surged through the barrier, hurrying towards the manor house.
"Fenrir and his animals," Bellatrix said, starting to jog in their direction, "With Lucius leading them. They must have got the wolf."
Ginny stopped dead in her tracks, excitement thrumming in her.
'If we've got Lupin, it'll definitely work! It will! And everyone will know it was because of me!'
Grinning, she began to run after Bellatrix.
Ginny stared at the prisoner, the smile on her face feeling forced.
His arms were bound above his head, the chains snaking around his wrists and pulling him tightly against the wall, his legs dangling a few inches from the floor.
Both his arms seemed to be broken, a shard of pale bone piercing the skin just above his left elbow. Naked, the cuts and burns on his chest and face seemed to glow in the gloom.
He was still shaking, the after-effects of the Dark Lord's interrogations still sending tremors through him, even though they'd given him close to an hour's break.
The Dark Lord had kept him for several hours though, dragging out every bit of information the wolf had on the Order and their plans.
But now it was time for the rest of them to have a turn.
A flash of white lit up the room for an instant, the whirring sound of Rookwood's camera mingling with Lupin's pathetic whimpers.
It seemed to give him some strength though. He tugged at his manacles, the chain above his head jingling as he tried to pull it free.
The silver bracelets grated against his wrists, tearing off bits of skin and making him howl.
Bellatrix tutted, reaching out and seizing his chin, forcing him to look up at where his hands were bound.
His eyes darted skittishly around, widening for an instant when they settled on Ginny before moving again.
"You see this, wolf?" Bellatrix hissed, nails biting into his chin. "They're silver. And the more you squirm, the tighter they'll get."
Her expression didn't change an ounce as she pulled her leg back and kicked, her boot hitting him hard enough between the legs that his entire body raised up.
Joyous laughter filled the air from the Death Eaters behind them, quickly turning into sounds of disgust as Lupin vomited.
The camera flashed again, lighting up Bellatrix's sneer as she waved her wand and vanished Lupin's mess.
"I don't like that," Bellatrix said, sounding like a teacher talking to a child. "You'll have to learn to stop that. Ginny. Now, pet."
Ginny started, her wand almost falling from slick fingers.
This was nothing like Hermione's parents had been. Lupin had been punished already, had been tortured for hours. They needed to get a few more pictures, true, but they didn't need to hurt him so badly, did they?
Lupin had been kind to her, once. He'd tried to talk to her, tried to comfort her after Harry had killed Tom. He'd tried to comfort her for the wrong thing, but he'd been kind, anyway. He'd seemed like he cared.
"Now, pet."
Slowly, she raised her wand, feeling the burning gazes of the Death Eaters behind her.
'If I want their respect, I need to show them I deserve it. He chose the wrong side, and he should suffer for it.'
"Crucio!"
He began to shake like a leaf in the wind, shrieking out hoarse cries of agony.
'Show them that you enjoy this. That's what they need to see.'
She made herself laugh, the noise sounding shrill and false at first.
But, as she watched him squirm and wail, she suddenly realized just how much power she had over him.
'I can do anything to him. I could-I could kill him, transfigure him into a worm, make him beg me to kill him. I could do anything!'
She could do anything. She had the power to do anything, to not have to worry about someone else hurting her or forcing her to do as they wished.
"Enough."
She bit down on her giggles, twitching her wand and ending the curse.
Lupin still shook, of course, dying screams tearing out of his throat, mixing with his half-choked pleas to form an oddly entrancing song.
The camera flashed again, turning Lupin's tears into glittering diamonds on his cheeks.
"Good girl," Bellatrix whispered, giving her a bright grin before turning her attention back to Lupin.
"Unfortunately," Bellatrix said, "we don't have too much time to play. So we're just going to have fun while we can."
Lupin looked down at her, his body shaking.
"I told you everything," he said, his voice sounding like a crystal that was going to shatter at any moment. "E-everything. Please, there's no need-"
A chorus of jeering cries interrupted him, with Dolohov waving his wand and hitting Lupin with someone that smashed him into the wall a few times.
"This isn't for information," Bellatrix said softly, "We trust that our lord got what he needed, else he would have told us what to ask about."
"So why?" Lupin asked, his voice teary. "If you want to kill me, just kill me already!"
Everyone laughed at that, the camera going off once more.
"We have our reasons. Now, look at this."
Bellatrix pulled the knife from its little holster on her belt, raising it up so it was right in front of Lupin's eyes.
"Silver, of course. Cursed, too, but only for long-term effects. You won't need to worry about those."
Lupin began to weep piteously, the manacles biting into his skin as he shook in his binds.
Chuckling, Bellatrix tossed the knife to Ginny.
Ginny nearly fumbled it, the blade slicing her thumb open as she just managed to catch it.
"This was your idea in the first place," she whispered, her eyes flicking almost imperceptibly to the Death Eaters behind them. "Why don't you show us what you're made of?"
Lupin barely moved when the knife bit into him, slicing off his right ear.
The camera flashed again, but Ginny paid it no mind. It had been going off every few minutes for the last few hours, or however long it actually was that they'd been playing with him. She'd completely lost track of time, as her horror of what she'd been doing changed into honest enjoyment.
At some point, she'd started laughing, an insane cackle that hadn't stopped for a while.
By now, she was covered in blood, even having to wipe it from her eyes every so often.
She still didn't look as bad as Lupin did, though. The missing ear made him look oddly lopsided, but the hundreds of cuts, burns, and patches of torn-off skin across his chest, arms, and legs made him look worse.
Bellatrix walked up, giving Ginny a quick kiss before reaching out and seizing Lupin's chin again.
Again, the camera flashed, throwing his face into sharp relief.
Besides for his ear, Ginny hadn't touched Lupin's face.
She'd wanted him to remain eminently recognizable, for there not to be even a second's doubt in the pictures.
"I think he's had enough for today," Bellatrix said, releasing his head. "Tomorrow, we'll have a busy day."
Lupin suddenly coughed, bloody spittle dripping out of his mouth.
He shook his head, coughing, until he could focus on Ginny.
"I-I pity you," he whispered, his voice mushy and sounding like there was something in his throat.
"Pity? I think there's only one person here deserving of pity."
He ignored her totally, just continuing to stare, a strange, rattling noise leaving him.
After a moment, Ginny realized he was laughing.
"You had everything. Your family-I've seen them, they grieve for Percy. But they grieve for you as well. They loved you-"
Another coughing fit caught him, one of the cuts in his chest opening up again from his violent shook.
Everyone behind her was utterly silent.
'They want to see how I react.'
"They loved you," he continued, barely above a whisper. "They'd have died for you. And you abandoned them for these people...any of them would kill you in an instant if they thought-if they thought Voldemort wanted them to."
There was a hushed gasp as he said the Dark Lord's name, Bellatrix's face twisting into a brutal snarl.
Still, none of them interrupted him.
"You think they care? Y-you think they love you? They don't. You l-left the people who actually cared-"
"They didn't care," Ginny said suddenly, her wand rising again. "And if the Dark Lord wanted me dead, I'd gladly end it myself."
Her blood began to boil, fury making a red haze appear before her eyes.
"I left those blood-traitors for people who know the truth. I did it, I chose it all! I chose power over weakness, I chose strength!"
Rage gripped her, twisting her voice into a high-pitched hiss.
"And don't you ever say his name again, you disgusting, pathetic, half-blood animal! CRUCIO!"
Lupin's entire body went stiff, the veins in his neck standing out as he threw his head back and roared, his flailing arms pulling the manacles tighter around them until thick streams of blood poured down them.
Cackling, Ginny took a step forward, a scream building in her throat.
"HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT? FUCK YOU!"
"Enough."
Bellatrix's quiet voice seemed to wash right over her, the calmly spoken word meaning nothing.
She stared into Lupin's wide eyes, revelling in his agony.
"YOU MEAN NOTHING! I HAVE THE POWER, NOT YOU!"
Fingers tightened around her shoulder, long nails slicing into her skin.
"I said enough!"
Bellatrix's hiss acted like a bucket of ice water, shocking her.
With a last, wild laugh, she ended the curse.
"You are intoxicating," Bellatrix whispered. "But enough for today. You need to send that letter tomorrow, and we'll have plenty of time to play with him once we've got Potter."
A sharp, rapping noise sounded, making Harry pause in the act of pulling up his pants and turn around.
It was early, the sun just starting to shine through the window, but he'd already been up for hours.
The last few nights had been terrible, ever since he'd been expelled from Hogwarts and forced to flee to Grimmauld Place.
He'd been having nightmares, terrible dreams of Voldemort and Ginny killing his friends and their families, while he was forced to watch and while Umbridge and Fudge laughed.
Inevitably, one of the dreams would wake him, and sleep would evade him for the rest of the night.
The only bright side about this whole situation was that there'd been nothing in the papers about his expulsion, or his escape from Hogwarts. Fudge, Sirius thought, wanted to hide his failure away.
At least there was no bounty in Harry's head.
The noise repeated itself.
Looking around wildly, Harry found its source; a scrawny brown owl with a large envelope tied to its leg was sitting on the window sill in the corner of the room, tapping its beak insistently against the glass.
His heart leapt at the sight; somehow, Hermione and Ron must have found a way to send a letter without Umbridge intercepting it.
McGonagall had already sent word to Sirius that the rest of his friends were okay, having received nothing but detention, but he was still more than incredibly eager to hear from them directly.
He strode over to the window, throwing it open and letting the owl in.
It hopped over to the desk and extended a leg, somehow giving off a regal air.
'What the hell did they send? This thing is enormous!'
The owl took off, swooping out of the window as Harry opened the envelope.
He turned it over, and a good few dozen glossy photographs fell out onto the desk along with a small piece of parchment that was covered in familiar handwriting.
Frowning, he picked up one of the photos and stopped, his heart thudding loudly as bile rose in his chest.
With a feeling like his blood had turned to ice, he flicked through the rest of them, his legs turning to jelly.
He picked the parchment up with trembling fingers, wondering if he was dreaming, if this was just another terrible nightmare.
As he read through it, his heart slowed down, a sense of cold determination coming over him.
He knew what he had to do.
"Harry?"
There was no answer.
Sighing, Sirius knocked again, rapping his knuckles against the old wood a few more times.
"Harry? You in there?"
Still no answer.
Sighing, Sirius pushed open the door to Harry's bedroom, immediately seeing that it was empty.
'Where the hell is he?'
He was about to close the door again, when something in the desk caught his eye.
There were dozens of photographs on the table, along with a small piece of parchment.
'What did he find now?'
He walked over and picked up one of them, idly wondering if Harry had found his way into the cellar.
When he looked at what the photograph showed, his legs gave out and dropped him to the floor with a shocked exclamation.
In the first photograph he'd picked up, he could see Remus, his mouth open with a soundless scream as Ginny Weasley dragged a gleaming dagger across his chest.
'No. No. No. No. No. No. No.'
Somehow, he found the strength to pull himself up, and picked up one of the other photos.
It also showed Moony, with Ginny jabbing the tip of her wand into his breast. From the way he was squirming, Sirius guessed she was burning him.
He leaned over, vomiting onto the floor.
Slowly, he straightened again, pulling the letter towards himself and ignoring the other photographs as much as he could.
"Harry," it said.
"We have Lupin, but you can save him. Enter the side street off Knockturn Alley, just past Borgin and Burke's, and keep walking until you see a sign advertising Mordred's Elixir. You will be met by one of us, and taken in Lupin's place.
We'll let him go if you come. If you don't, we'll play with him until he begs for death, and then we'll play with him some more.
Bellatrix says that we can keep him alive for at least a month. These pictures were all taken over the course of a few hours.
By the end of the month, I don't know if there'll be much left of him to kill.
If you come, we'll let him go. If you don't, we'll kill him eventually, once we get bored of him.
And we'll kill everyone else who you care about. I'll kill the rest of my family and your mudblood, we'll kill your roommates and their families, we'll kill anyone from Hogwarts who you have a cordial relationship with.
We'll kill everyone on your Quidditch team. We'll kill Oliver Wood, and Madam Hooch, and Madam Rosmerta. We'll kill Luna's father, and we'll even find a way to kill your muggles.
If you come, we promise to spare anyone who doesn't fight against us directly. If you don't come, everyone you care about will die, and it will all be because of you.
You have two hours. Come alone. Tell nobody. Don't let yourself be seen.
If you care for them at all, even a slight bit, you'll come.
Ginny Weasley."
Suddenly, the house seemed empty around him.
"Oh god," he muttered. "Oh, fucking hell."
He cleared his mind as he drew his wand, trying to force himself to remember something happy.
Dumbledore had to be told, even before he ran off to rescue Harry.