Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
21: Knock, Knock, Knock...
When she looked back at that eventful night, Carrie Winters always wondered why she hadn't screamed when a wizard had broken into her house and dragged her out from her hiding place behind the sofa, why she hadn't shouted for help at the top of her lungs when he had marched her out of the front door and down the driveway, why she hadn't struggled when they came to a halt upon the pavement, hadn't screamed for Mr. and Mrs. Lupin to come and rescue her as she and Mr. Goyle disapparated with a soft pop.
Shock was a funny thing, she later supposed, it did nasty things to your insides and made your legs go weak. And it made you sluggish, indeed it was not until she found herself stumbling across the threshold of the Goyles' house that she realised that she had lost a slipper.
It made you cry, too. Sob, bawl and whimper until your captive couldn't stand it any longer.
"Be quiet!" Mr. Goyle had demanded as he slammed the door shut behind them, but Carrie could not seem to help herself. Finally free from her kidnapper's grasp, her trembling legs gave way and she fell to her knees upon the hallway rug, hunching her shoulders and screwing her eyes closed. Through her shuddering sobs she was vaguely aware of pounding footsteps upon the staircase in front of her and, once they had come to an abrupt halt, a female voice hissed:
"What's going on?"
Gritting her teeth in an attempt to stop her crying, Carrie opened her eyes and looked up to see a woman stood halfway down the staircase. She was a small, thin, rather feeble looking woman dressed in a dark satin dressing gown, mousy brown hair tied in a messy knot at the back of her head.
At the sight of the muggle child sat hunched at the bottom of the stairs, Mrs. Goyle's beady eyes widened in surprise.
"Who on earth is that?" she exclaimed, one long fingered hand coming to cover her mouth in shock.
"She lives next door to them." Mr. Goyle informed her darkly, and Carrie found herself being pulled to her feet by one arm. "She saw me."
Mrs. Goyle visibly paled and she took a few small steps forward, brow creasing worriedly.
"Oh dear...oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..."
"Oh do be quiet, woman!" Mr. Goyle snapped furiously, and he released Carrie again so that he could pull himself free of the big black coat. "It's not going to be a problem."
"Not a problem?" Mrs. Goyle squeaked as she reached the bottom of the stairs, barely grasping hold of the coat that was flung into her arms. As her husband marched off down the hallway towards the kitchen, dragging Carrie after him, she stared after them in disbelief. "Not a problem? You kidnap a muggle girl under the Deputy Head of Aurors' nose and...and it's not a problem...?"
"Shut up and come over here." Mr. Goyle demanded, coming to a halt halfway down the hallway and glancing around as if he wasn't entirely sure what to do with his hostage. "They're all tucked up in bed asleep, aren't they? We'll fix the girl and have her back there before anybody notices she's gone. I said come here! What are you, deaf?"
As Mrs. Goyle scurried up the hallway towards them, Carrie felt hot, terrified tears burning her eyes again at the thought of the Goyles "fixing" her...
What did it mean?
Did she even want to know?
Her heart was hammering furiously in her chest as Mr. Goyle snapped:
"Well, what are you waiting for? Get your wand, woman!"
As Mrs. Goyle fumbled to extract her magic wand from the pocket of her dressing gown, Carrie couldn't help herself, a loud sob escaped her lips and she made to collapse to the floor again, eyes screwed shut in terror.
"Please...please don't h...hurt me!" she begged, choking on salty tears as she felt Mr. Goyle grasp hold of her by both shoulders, holding her upright. "P...please...I...I want...I just want to...to go home!"
"Shh!" Mr. Goyle snapped, reaching to clamp a firm hand over the girl's mouth, positively glowering at his wife. "Just get on with it!"
Carrie dared open her eyes a crack to see Mrs. Goyle raising her wand uncertainly.
"I...I don't know...what do you want me to do...?"
"Modify her memory, of course!"
"M...me..?"
"Yes, you! Who else?"
Mrs. Goyle looked rather like a deer caught in headlights. As Carrie stared back at her, she was pretty sure she looked just the same.
"I...I'm not sure...I mean...what if I do it wrong?"
Mr. Goyle gave an impatient snort.
"You won't." he told her, grip upon Carrie tightening, making the girl jump. "Not if you know what's good for you, at least."
Carrie gritted her teeth against a muffled whimper, only for a voice from upstairs to call:
"Daddy? What's going on down there?"
"GO BACK TO BED, AMANDA!" Mr. Goyle bellowed, and Carrie screwed her eyes shut again at his shouting. "Nosy little child." the wizard grumbled, head dipping to whisper into Carrie's ear. "We all know what happens to nosy little children, don't we, muggle? We know what happens when they stick their noses into other peoples' business, don't we?"
"I'm not sure this is a very good idea, Titus." Mrs. Goyle complained forlornly. "If it were to go wrong...think how much trouble we would be in! What if I...if I wipe her memory completely blank? What if she forgets who she is? Or who they are? They'll notice, you know..."
"You best do it right then, hadn't you? Now hurry up, we don't have much time! If we don't get her back soon her parents might notice she's gone!"
"I don't think I can do it!" At the sound of Mrs. Goyle's feeble voice rising to a shrill shout, Carrie once again dared to open her eyes. The witch was stood, one hand clutching worriedly at her hair, other hand's hold upon her wand limp. "I got turned down by the Obliviators for a reason, you know!"
"Well I'm not a member of the bloody Obliviator squad either!" her husband cried, and Carrie felt his hands trembling with fury upon her shoulder. "What do you want me to do about it? We don't have a bloody choice!"
"You could do it." Mrs. Goyle suggested, half whispering as if she was not at all keen to have her idea heard, and Carrie didn't blame her for quite suddenly the child felt the wizard give her a firm shove sideways, she stumbled into the wall and looked up just in time to see Mr. Goyle advance on his wife, reaching to draw his own wand and pointing it directly at the witch's face.
"If I say you should do it then you'll do it!" he thundered, as his wife backed off until her back collided with the bannister. At that precise moment there came a distant crashing sound from upstairs and Mr. Goyle paused in his threatening to screech:
"TOBIAS! AMANDA! GO TO SLEEP!"
Carrie found herself edging away from him towards the kitchen door, thinking wildly of making a run for the back door, but finding her feet much too heavy to truly cooperate. Besides, even if she made it out into the garden...what then? Surely there was no escape.
What was to become of her?
The noise upstairs seemingly disturbing his train of thought, Mr. Goyle strode back over and reached to grab hold of the muggle by the shoulders, turning her to face the witch whose grip upon her wand had tightened in a frighteningly resolute manner.
"Let's just get it over and done with." he said, and she drew in a deep, calming breath, raising her wand.
Carrie's next breath was less than calm to say the least.
"No..." she whispered, horror-stricken as she watched Mrs. Goyle clear her throat purposefully.
"Right..." the witch mumbled, straightening up and taking a few more calming breaths. "Right, I'll just...I'll just..."
"Just do it!" Mr. Goyle demanded, and Carrie clenched her teeth against a scream as Mrs. Goyle drew back her wand, ready to strike...
Only to give a startled jump, narrowly avoiding throwing her wand up into the air at the sound of somebody knocking on the front door.
Knock, knock, knock...
As Mrs. Goyle spun around to look at the door, Mr. Goyle swore under his breath, pulling Carrie back a few steps towards the back door.
"Who..." Mrs. Goyle began, only for her husband to demand:
"Ignore it! Quickly..."
Knock, knock, knock...
Flustered, Mrs. Goyle turned back to face their captive, drawing in yet another deep breath.
"Right..." she mumbled again, and Carrie flinched in anticipation of her raised wand...
Knock, knock...BANG!
Carrie failed to suppress a small shriek as the front door was blasted straight off it's hinges in a huge puff of smoke, falling flat to the ground with a crash that seemed to make the entire hallway shake.
Mrs. Goyle spun around yet again and backed off until she was stood at her husband's side. Heart racing in her chest, Carrie was just about making out a dark shape through the smoke as it began to clear, when a familiar voice greeted pleasantly:
"Good evening..."