A/N: Re-uploaded for your enjoyment! Please review.
As I learnt rather quickly, Mr Bryce took me in out of pity, for a dirty little child on the streets. And that he was growing old, tiring, and the gardens were getting a bit too hard to handle for his old bones. He refused to give up on he manor; despite being suspected of murdering it's previous inhabitants by everyone in the town. I admired his dedication to his job, and the passion in which he viewed the garden. I learnt quickly beneath him, and helped him with the gardens for near two years.
I never went in the manor, though. It was the first, and about the only rule I had. Don't go in the manor. Ever. One of which I was grateful for, remembering all too well the nightmares I'd had following the deaths of the Riddle family in that very hall.
I lay awake, the night before my eleventh birthday, staring out my window at the aforementioned house. Watching a particular window, a golden glow flickering within. I didn't think that it was normal, and I was about to get up to alert Mr Bryce when he banged at my door, before opening it a crack.
"Get dressed there's a light –"
"In the manor. I can see it." I slipped out from under my patched covers – hardly luxurious, but better than a few pieces of newspaper – and changed into clothes before heading downstairs, to meet Mr Bryce, who was lighting a lantern. I grabbed the key hanging on a nail beside the door and my coat before we headed out into the night. As we came to the kitchen door, I shivered slightly, handing the key to Mr Bryce. The manor was giving me the chills, giving off an uneasy feeling. Even though we were probably just going to have to kick some kids out of the manor, I felt scared.
After a moment, we stepped into the dark, cobwebbed, kitchen with all it's unused, and out-dated implements. I stared around with a morbid interest in the house I was forbidden from entering. Mr Bryce led us through an archway in the far wall to the stairs, ignoring the dark corridors on the way. I pulled my coat tighter about myself, looking up the stairs towards the room with the flickering firelight highlighting the frame. Slowly we crept up them, hesitating every time one of them creaked, until we were hovering outside the door to the family room. I audaciously leaned forward, peeking through the semi-open door into the room. The light was coming from the fireplace, and placed before it was a high-backed chair.
Inside were two men, one seated in the chair, the other scurrying about, apparently doing his bidding. The snatches of conversation I heard added to that theory.
"Yes Master… but the boy… not only the boy, Master?"
"Not only the boy, Wormtail." The man who appeared to be in charge, whom the other – Wormtail – had called master, had a high voice, I noticed.
"But how… killed his family…"
"Nagini tells me that the old muggle and the …"
I was still trying to figure out their conversation when Mr Bryce pulled me back, pushing me into the shadows to the left of the door. I opened my mouth to protest and froze as a short, rat-faced man opened the door and gestured Mr Bryce in. Only then did I see the snake lazily making its way into the room. It was huge, I thought, even by snake standards. It was a deep emerald green, and at least as tall as me in length.
"And the girl?"
"I – I cannot see her, Master." The short man stuttered, peering nervously around the landing. The snake turned from the door, turned towards me. It curled around my legs and up my body, and I shuddered, stifling a scream. It came to rest loosely around my chest with its' head resting on my shoulder. I cringed away from its forked tongue that flickered near my face. The man found my face, eyes following the snake around my body.
"Come inside. You do not wish to displease my Master." He smiled cruelly, but his eyes were emotionless, flat. Slowly, I walked forward, out of the shadows, into the room. The snake left me for the man in the chair, and a whimper escaped my lips as the last of its tail flickered across my sneakers.
"Step aside Wormtail, so I can give our guests a proper greeting."
The ratty man – Wormtail – did as he was bid. I eyed him uneasily, unable to see the man that sat in the chair near the fire. From the chair, there was a slight movement, as something long and thin rose from behind the chairs' back.
"Avada Kedavra!"
I saw a flash of bright green light, temporarily blinding me. When the light cleared from my vision, Mr Bryce was on the ground. I ran to him, grabbing his shoulder.
"Mr Bryce? Mr Bryce?" I called, shaking him. He didn't move. His body flopped slightly underneath my hand, and I recoiled. He was dead. My head started spinning alarmingly, and I hit the ground nearby him, unconscious.
When I awoke, I was tied to a chair. A comfortable chair, but I suppose that didn't really matter at the moment, because I was still bound to a chair, comfortable or not. And when I opened my eyes, I found I was blindfolded.
'This just gets better and better!' I thought, semi-hysterically. My breathing picked up as I wondered what was going to happen to me. They killed Mr Bryce, were they going to kill me too? Why wasn't I already dead then?
Who were these people?
"She is awake, Wormtail." The man with the high voice, said. He spoke to me, and I felt his cold words cut through me like knives. "What is your name?"
I kept my mouth stubbornly shut. I wasn't going to tell these murderers anything. They were going to kill me or they weren't, playing along wasn't going to help my case any.
"Crucio!"
I screamed as pain exploded through my whole body. It was the worst pain I'd ever felt, as my whole body went hot, then cold, and my skin crawled against the pain. I shut my mouth, biting into my lip, trying to bear it. I was barely aware when blood rushed through my mouth, coating my tongue. Tears were soaking my blindfold, and I let a small whimper escape, refusing to scream again.
And as soon as it began, it stopped.
"What is your name, girl? We do not play around."
I hesitated for a moment, swallowing the blood. "Sophie." I finally whispered. The pain began again, and I screamed as it started. It didn't last as long this time, and I sobbed when it ended, as my body trembled.
"You are lying to me, girl. That is not a good idea. What is your name?"
"Amy." I told them reluctantly, recoiling as far back into my chair as I could.
"Your last name?"
I kept quiet for a moment, but opened my mouth before they started the pain again, however they did that. "Potter." I whispered. There was silence following this, and I sat still, hoping that this wasn't cause for the torture. "Does she lie, Master?" Wormtail asked quietly, breaking the silence.
"No, she doesn't."
"But Harry Potter never had a sister." He said. "Master, the night you killed the Potters there were only three people in the house. There was not a girl-child."
"We don't know that for sure. Perhaps you were wrong in your information, Wormtail. You were the one who told me that little Harry was an only child." He returned his attention to me again. "How old are you?"
"Ten, mister." I didn't dare raise my voice above a whisper. I was remembering the nightmares I had on the streets, of the tortures here. I never realised how true they were.
"And when do you turn eleven?"
"It's my birthday tomorrow."
"You think the letter will come for her, Master?" Wormtail asked after another moment of silence.
"Yes, Wormtail. I think it will. However, if it doesn't then Nagini can have her. I doubt the old man would be much of an enjoyable meal." There was another silence. "Take her to a spare room."
"Yes, Master."
I was unbound from the chair and led away from the fire, being pushed through a door. As I was fumbling with the blindfold, I heard the lock click behind me.