Lily and Kendra had gone to study in the library ("Studying on Boxing Day?!" Sirius had yelped incredulously, looking at the two girls as if they were mad when they told them) and Mel had gone out to the lake with Sirius and Peter.

Chloe was all alone as she strolled carefree through one of the many corridors in Hogwarts, making her way slowly to the kitchens for some quality eating time.

She was thinking about Peter. Something was different about him nowadays. His speech was guarded and clipped, and he was never really paying attention to anything going on around him. It was as if he was possessed! She gave an exasperated sigh as she remembered the conversation she had been trying to have with him yesterday in Transfiguration, 'trying' being the key word.

He had 'mhmm'ed and 'uh-huh'ed as she tried to talk to him and ask him what the matter was, why he had been acting so weirdly recently.

And so her guard was down and she didn't see the stunner sent her way by a dark haired Slytherin girl who had been lurking in the corners. As her body crumpled up she didn't even realize what had just happened to her.

She woke in a dingy, dimly lit room that smelled of decay. Judging by the armchairs and staircases, this was a common room. In fact it was the Slytherin common room, she realized with horror, only beginning to comprehend the danger she was now facing.

"So the princess awakes," came a smug voice from an armchair next to her position on the stone floor. She twisted her neck uncomfortably to see who it was, to see a wickedly pretty black haired girl, obviously Slytherin as she was wearing their badge proudly on her robes.

She tried to speak, finding her throat dry with dawning terror, "What am I doing here?"

The girl smirked, "Good question, bitch. You are here because it has come to our attention that you are a filthy blood traitor and do not deserve to live." She spat at Chloe's feet, shifting comfortably in her armchair.

"E-excuse me?" Chloe said, only now fully understanding the complete gravity of her situation.

"I suppose you are too dim-witted to understand me," the girl taunted nastily, digging at her mental defences cruelly.

"Let me go!" Chloe pleaded, "You'll get money, lots of money! I promise!"

The girl laughed, "You think we want money? Don't you think we have enough money as it is? Or hasn't your blood traitor friend told you anything about our noble family name?"

It all clicked into place in Chloe's head. Of course! This girl was Bellatrix Black, Sirius' cousin!

And do not deserve to live…

God, were they going to kill her?

The others would realize she was gone! They would find her! Wouldn't they?

"Our motto, Toujours pur, is self explanatory. It means 'always pure' in Latin, but of course you'd be too stupid to know that," Bellatrix continued, gloating in her triumph.

"They'll find me!" Chloe said bravely, calling on her Gryffindor courage to hide the fear she felt inside, "They'll find me and my boyfriend will save me! And so will Sirius!" she said, emphasizing his name goadingly, "And so will Lily, and Kendra, and Mel, and James, and Remus!"

"Enough!" Bellatrix screamed, Chloe's taunts obviously hitting home, "Nobody will find you here, and in the unlikely chance that they do, they will be too late! Crucio!"

Chloe screamed in pain. The torture curse Bellatrix had used on her was one of the three unforgivable curses - she could get sent to Azkaban if she was caught doing this. God, it hurt. But she had to be strong. Strong for Peter. Strong for her parents, and strong for herself. But it hurt…

It hurt so damn much!

Why did the girl not stop it! Couldn't Bellatrix see she had had enough?

"I'm sorry," she grated out between screams. The words seemed to calm Bellatrix down somewhat, as she lifted the curse.

"Good girl," Bellatrix said approvingly, patting her on the head, satisfied. Chloe recoiled at her cool touch.

"Get away from me!" she shrieked hysterically, crawling away from her tormentor, "I hate you! You're mad! You're mad and you're evil!"

Bellatrix tutted, "Dear girl, I thought you had more sense. You are at my mercy now. If begged, I may be merciful. But if you anger me…" she let the sentence trail off as an unspoken threat.

Chloe's sobs quieted somewhat. She was curled up in a ball, leaning away from Bellatrix in terror.

"That's right," Bellatrix said, musing, "You'd make a nice pet, darling."

Chloe shuddered, leaning back from Bellatrix even further.

"Now, my little Gryffindor pet," Bellatrix said, "You will tell me all you know about everything I ask you," she ordered imperiously, sitting up a little.

"Has Peter ever mentioned me to you?"

Chloe started in surprise, and then shook her head. She felt like a total coward. Why couldn't she be strong, like Lily or Sirius?

"Are you absolutely sure?"

She was about to shake her head again, when a memory stirred from somewhere within her mind. She remembered the Room of Requirement. She remembered confronting Peter about his behaviour. She remembered his response. She remembered him stunning her and modifying her memory so she wouldn't tell anyone. She felt sick. So Peter probably knew about this! And then a more startling thought hit her; would he torture her too? Would he kill her?

She retched and vomited the contents of her stomach onto the floor in front of her, some of it dripping down her front. She could taste the sick in every breath she took.

Bellatrix started, but simply pulled her wand out and vanished the sick from the floor.

Chloe felt a strange sensation in her mind - a probing tendril. She realized with horror that Bellatrix was using Leglimency on her to make sure she was telling the truth.

She felt her memories whizzing by, and Bellatrix viewing every one of them. Eleven year old Chloe sailing on one of the little boats to the castle of Hogwarts, Fourth year Chloe with her first and only boyfriend before Peter, getting dumped because she was too scared to kiss him. Kissing Peter, his tongue probing hers, exploring the caverns of her mouth. Peter in the Room of Requirement, yelling.

""I'm a Death Eater! I'm getting the Dark Mark this summer! When I don't see your group I'm hanging out with Avery, Mulciber and Snape! Are you happy now?!"

She felt Bellatrix leaving her mind, angry. She heard the older girl say, "Crucio!"

Once more her world sank into pain. Her flesh was on fire, but when she looked down at herself she saw no flames.

Then, suddenly, the pain stopped.

xXoXx

Peter felt left out. Sirius and Mel were having a very heated make-out session and he felt like the third wheel. He decided to find Chloe and see what she was up to.

He happened to glance down at his watch, and started when he saw that Chloe's hand was not resting at "Hogwarts," but was pointing towards "Mortal peril."

He sprinted towards the castle. There was no time to alert Sirius and Mel from where they were entwined on the other side of the lake. He ran all the way to Gryffindor tower, where he pulled out the Marauders Map.

He gasped. According to the Map, and the Map never lied, Chloe was in the Slytherin common room with Bellatrix Black!

From the Gryffindor tower he ran all the way to where he knew the Slytherin common room was, and banged on the door in fury. What did that girl think she was doing?

He heard a loud screaming noise coming from inside. Crap! What if it was Chloe? What if she was hurt? He would never forgive himself if he had let them hurt her!

Abruptly the screaming stopped as Bellatrix seemed to realize that someone was outside.

"Rodolphus, is that you?" she called softly, opening the door to the common room slightly. Peter seized his chance and pounced, surprising her with his wand pointing straight at her chest.

"What do you think you're doing?" he hissed dangerously, waving his wand in her face menacingly.

Her reaction was unexpected. She smirked, "Oh Peter, we were just having a little bit of fun…"

"A little bit of fun?! You promised you wouldn't hurt any of them! You said this was just between us!"

Bellatrix stiffened, "Lighten up Pete! Rodolphus promised that, actually, and he was the one that arranged this whole affair!"

"Rodolphus? Wha- What?" Peter stammered, now very unsure of himself.

"Because you haven't been very faithful, have you?" Bellatrix sneered derisively, looking at Peter evenly.

He paled, "I didn't mean- She doesn't remember it!"

"She does now."

"But she shouldn't!" he protested, "I modified her memory!"

"Leglimency undoes memory charms," she said triumphantly, "So now she knows what you are."

"But she'll think I'm the one responsible for this!"

Bellatrix smiled, "Exactly."

"What are you going to do to her?" Peter asked frantically, wishing she would move from her spot in the doorframe so that he could get through to Chloe.

"That would be telling."

He raised his wand, "What are you going to do to her?" he hissed menacingly, stepping forward slightly.

"We're going to kill her," a silky voice behind him said, "And we're going to make you watch it."

He spun around hastily and saw Rodolphus standing behind him, his wand out, "Expelliarmus," the taller boy said easily, catching Peter's wand with a skilled grip.

"Oh Rodolphus!" Bellatrix gushed, breaking into a smile upon seeing his familiar figure, "She's inside."

The boy nodded, "Let's go," he said curtly, herding Bellatrix and Peter into the common room with his wand.

"Hello again, poppet," Bellatrix called to Chloe, "Sit up, you have visitors."

"One in particular I think you will want to see right now," came Rodolphus' voice, laced with malice.

She looked up. A Slytherin boy was standing next to Bellatrix and- Peter?

Peter. The Death Eater. She felt numb. This was probably all his idea to scare her into not telling anyone else what he was. But she had to tell them! They were all in danger with Peter around!

She saw his familiar features, but they looked different. Now that she knew the truth she couldn't see him as her handsome boyfriend, she only saw him as the traitorous Death Eater that he was. She could see his once-adorable blonde hair and his once-beautiful blue eyes but she did not find them appealing anymore.

She was disgusted with what he had become, and what he was allowing them to do to her. She looked at him with cowed eyes, the fear easily visible in her face and posture.

"Chloe," he said, panicking, "It's not what it looks like!"

She narrowed her eyes at him, unable to speak.

"I- I didn't know about this!"

"And you think that makes this all okay?!" she screamed angrily, needing to let out the emotions flooding her mind, "Damn it Peter! Damn it all! You're a Death Eater! You're a Death Eater and you think it matters that you didn't tell them to bloody torture me?! Hell, Peter, you call yourself a Gryffindor? You're a coward, a bloody coward!"

"Shut up!" he yelled, his chest heaving, "You don't know a damn thing!"

"And you think you do?" she interrupted, eyes flashing furiously.

"Quiet, you blood traitorous slut," Rodolphus said calmly, turning his wand on her, "Crucio!"

And once again her world dissolved into pain.

xXoXx

"I only came out because Mary told me you were threatening to sleep here," Lily said stubbornly, her arms crossed over her chest, "I mean, honestly! Taking advantage of a second year and making her pass on messages is below most people, but obviously not you!"

"I'm sorry, okay?" Severus said honestly, "I was hurt and embarrassed and- I'm sorry."

"The thing is, Severus, that some things can't be mended by just saying sorry," she said impatiently, "Now if that's all, I'll go back to my common room."

"No Lily! We don't have time for this! Chloe's in trouble!" he burst out frantically, grabbing her arm in an effort to stop her leaving.

She looked at him then, properly, "What?!"

"We don't have time!" he said, "Get your friends from Gryffindor and get Potter to show you whatever their secret way of getting into our common room is! She's in there and they're planning to kill her!"

Lily stared white-faced at him, "But what about you?" she asked finally, looking confused.

"They can't know I helped you," he said, hardly believing he was doing this, "And don't tell those idiotic friends of yours either!"

And with that he turned around and walked off down the corridor, not giving her the chance to try and change his mind.

She ran into the Gryffindor common room, only pausing to tell the Fat Lady the password.

"James!" she yelled quickly, "Sirius?"

There was no reply.

She sighed with impatience and ran up the stairs to the boys' dormitory, taking the stairs two at a time.

"James! Sirius! Remus! Peter!" she yelled, banging on the door to their dormitory. Barely pausing, she opened the door and raced inside.

The mess was incredible. Clothes were strewn over the floor and James, Sirius and Remus were lying on their respective beds, talking. They looked up in surprise when they saw her.

"Lily?" Remus said, "What's up?"

"Chloe's in trouble!" she said quickly, panting, "She's in the Slytherin common room! How do we get in there?"

Luckily the boys realized how serious she was and James sat up and began rummaging through his trunk, while Sirius and Remus stood up and led her out of the room, James close behind them carrying a translucent cloth and a piece of parchment.

"Don't ask," Sirius said, seeing her look. He whispered into the parchment, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."