Chapter 5: Stagnation

Edenia's wand remained pointed ahead. Her own eyes were narrowed, then widened.
Widened when she suddenly realized what she was doing, widened when she suddenly realized she used an unforgivable curse, widened when she suddenly realized on whom. Bellatrix Lestrange growled and yelled up to her, shouting out threats and thunders of anger rained down on Edenia but she let go of the curse, finally. Ginny's eyes went towards to Malfoy at that moment, he seemed unbelieving. None of the Slytherins were joyful. All of them were quiet and shocked this time, like the Gryffindors and the others usually were when one from their houses was tortured. Then her gaze wandered over to Bellatrix who was still remaining on the floor, panting heavily with her eyes set onto the ceiling.

Edenia just stood there with her mouth gapped open. And everything went so fast in a flash, both her and Bellatrix's eyes met; eyes with the greatest amount of viciousness that was possible. The wish to kill formed in the dark witch's very aura. Edenia gasped and turned around, things started to proceed in slow motion, Bellatrix jumped up her feet, pushed Ginny away who fell down to the ground, aimed towards Edenia with a spell but the latter was faster and stormed up; Blaise stood ready to catch her but once again, she was faster and dashed out of the room. All the screaming, all the yelling out for her, it was all in a bubble of thoughts deep in her mind, all that was left was her instinct to survive.

"EDENIA!" She heard the insane voice calling out for her.
"EDENIA! YOU COME HERE RIGHT NOW!" it continued to yell. She dashed through several corridors, upstairs, sometimes downstairs, along other corridors and still yet, Bellatrix's voice was always close; hunting the girl and screaming until the castle seemed to shake.
" I'LL DESTROY YOU! COME OUT! YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME! YOU CAN'T HIDE FOR GOOD! I'LL FIND YOU!"

Edenia noticed Bellatrix must've been standing somewhere. She herself rested behind a thick column, panted heavily and looked around like a lost kitten, not knowing what to do, taking in the moment of peace and silence until she heard footsteps from the corridor ahead. Her eyes widened when she realized they came closer. Edenia sprang up and ran, ran as fast as she could but Bellatrix spotted her.
"STUPIFY!" She yelled and hit the girl who fell down and tried to crawl away but she couldn't. Paralyzed with fear, she backed against a wall as Bellatrix walked over to her slowly with a grin marking the facial features that were dimmed in the red fire of the torches which hung along the walls. She narrowed her eyes at the girl, circling around her with a firm grip on her wand, had to thought carefully, was not yet sure how to end Edenia, obviously wanting revenge to be served the cruelest of ways.

Suddenly, laughter broke out.

Bellatrix laughed insanely, she had to support herself on the wall to not fall down. The girl just stared at her in disbelief, not able to understand. Bellatrix lowered herself down to her student's level, stared deeply into her eyes and came closer with her face. Edenia's head pressed against the cold stone, Bellatrix's body warmth tickled her cold skin but that only intensified the feeling - and Edenia's goosebumps reached their climax when the dark witch spoke close to her lips, only inches away.

"I'll have you for this. You want to protect the blood-traitor? I'll have you watch when she dies…" and up she pulled her with a firm grip on her hair. Edenia screamed and tried to use a spell but Bellatrix ripped the wand away from her. This symbolized so much. Edenia has fallen far from grace, from the traditions of Slytherin; from a witch. Once more, she tried to rip herself free but all she could remember was some sharp pain and the pictures started to fade.

When Edenia woke up she hoped it was all just a dream. She wanted to protect her friend, yet this protection was going to cause her friend to die. This couldn't be the solution. Her bottom lip started to quiver and she turned her head to the left and right before she noticed she couldn't move. Her wrists were cuffed to the corner of a room. She looked around, noticing this looked like an office or something similar.

"Seems like you're awake." Cooed a voice that lingered somewhere Edenia didn't yet look. Bellatrix walked closer, the piece of dark wood rested in her hand as always. She crept around the girl before kneeling down to her level, forcing her chin up with the tip of her wand. Edenia remained quiet but that didn't stop her from noticing how scared she was. Bellatrix opened her mouth to say something but changed her mind, lunged out and slapped Edenia across the face so hard that it was audible throughout the whole room.

"How dare you…!" She growled and her hands laced into the girl's hair, a firm grip forcing her attention back. Edenia's yelped slightly, tears streamed down her face. She whimpered and tried to speak but she couldn't. Bellatrix's eyes narrowed even more at that but she let go of the girl only to slap her once more, Edenia's face, previously on the right turned to the left and didn't move, too big was the fear to get it again.

"Explain!" Bella yelled sharply and the girl flinched at the sudden volume. Her eyes glanced up carefully and she cleared her throat, trying to speak.
"You…you wanted me to torture her…I couldn't…" She whimpered and tears rolled down her cheek. "I couldn't…she's my friend…" She coughed slightly and tried to calm down but it was to no use, the tears kept streaming down and she hated the fact that they did.

"She's a blood-traitor! And for something like that you've gone so low that you used the curse on ME!" Another slap hit Edenia; blood flew from her bottom lip. She cried bitterly but Bellatrix wasn't going to end this here.

"Ohh…all the things I want to do to you! I can't decide which of them to do first…what do you think? Hmm? Look at me! LOOK AT ME I SAID! What…shall I do first? Torture you until you're barely alive and then let you see how I kill your little friend? Or maybe…No! No! Hah! I know better…You'll kill her. Oh you will! You kill her in order to stay alive! We will see how humble you are! We will see how much grace is left in you, if there was any to begin with! We will see what you choose! We will see if her life means more to you than your own! WE WILL SEE!" And she jumped up, unlocked the girl and tried to pull Edenia along but the latter used all her force to remain where she was, scared of that plan.

"No! NO PLEASE! Don't…don't do this! I…I made a mistake! I understand! Just, please!" Edenia shouted out through tears. "I'll do anything! Everything you want!"

And Bellatrix stopped, a smirk started to grow on her red painted lips.

"Everything I want?" She purred and grinned, circling around her student daringly.

"Yes…" Defeat marked her very voice when Edenia said this. Her eyes lowered softly and she sniffled a little once more before she dared to look into her tormentor's black eyes. Bellatrix grinned and bit her bottom lip, came yet a little closer, looked into Edenia's eyes while she grabbed the girl's hands and led her backwards to the red silky couch. Insecurity started to grow on the younger one's face and it became worse than that.

"What happens in here stays in here. Everything." Spoke the dark witch, the last condition to their forced agreement.

Nobody saw Edenia the next day. She didn't sit at the Slytherin's table in the Great Hall and not a soul caught a glimpse of her in their common room. She did not realize that the Gryffindors were dueling against a couple of Slytherins – Blaise among them, as they tried to find out where the girl was, believed they knew exactly where. People said she caught a cold but when they have heard of what happened in Bellatrix Lestrange's lesson, everyone was quite sure that Edenia was dead; murdered. But she wasn't. She was alive, barely.

"Is she still in there?" Asked Draco, his eyes glanced over towards the girl's dormitory. Pansy Parkinson nodded and sat down right next to him, handing over some enchanted cooling-bag for Blaise's eye that turned blue from the previous fight. Edenia would've loved to be around at this time, he was oddly quiet ever since.

"Would love to know what happened." Mumbled Goyle and Crabbe nodded. Blaise just huffed but winced when the movement of muscles hurt him, much to Goyle's amusement.

"Bellatrix tortured her, for sure" Said Pansy and shrugged while adding. "Deserved it. She made a complete fool of your aunt, Draco! In front of class. She can consider herself lucky to live. Didn't take Bellatrix to be the kind to take nicely to such things if you ask me…I'd never dare disobey her."

"Edenia changed…" Responded Draco, his concentrated gaze turned away from the girl's dormitory finally before he continued. "Ever since…Dumbledore's death." He added.

"She and Dumbledore got along, huh?" Asked Pansy and rolled her eyes. "That old madman."

"He's dead, Pansy." Informed Draco with a tone of coldness that surprised the others a bit, at least Blaise turned his eyes on his comrade but didn't comment.

"Besides…she got along with everyone. Always" Said Draco only to hear Crabbe chiming in.
"Yeah, she always walked away from us when we teased Potter and them filths. Always scolded us that being a great Slytherin don't mean being a great git…" he huffed and crossed his arms, seemingly reliving the situation of discomfort.

"She's not a true Slytherin!" Hissed Pansy suddenly. "No true Slytherin behaves like that. Do you see anyone else behaving like this, aside from her? I don't!"

"The sorting hat has never been wrong, though…" said Goyle. Nobody responded.

"Gha…can't wait until she comes out of there again" Growled Blaise after a moment of silence. "I got this for her!" He pointed to the oddly colored skin around his eye; a mixture of blue and red was clearly visible. Draco glanced around only to let his eyes rest on the girl's dormitory again before he got up to leave the common room; vanished off to sleep.

Edenia was seen the next day in class. Muggle-Studies were obligatory for all students now. She was early and sat somewhere far off in the distance, not saying a word to a soul, not even Ginny or any other Gryffindor. Blaise and Draco walked on over to Edenia once they spotted her, didn't say a word at first but that changed quickly.

"Hey. We need to talk. Edenia? Look at me! We need to talk" Said Blaise suddenly. The girl raised her head and glanced at him and his colorful face, her mouth twitched slightly and she turned her face away again.

"It's not funny! And it's because of you! Because of your stupid friend!"
"I didn't know you'd fight for me, Zabini. Why, you could've told me…you know. Didn't have to hide your love and feelings…" She cheered and Crabbe started to laugh, Draco grinned slightly. Blaise, however, didn't seem amused at all.
"Keep making a fool of me…I'm sure Bellatrix would love to hear about that." He cooed and, fully aware, it hit a nerve on an instant. Edenia's joyous face was replaced by something they could distinguish as sheer panic.

"What did she do to ya?" Asked Crabbe from behind and Edenia tried to gulp but it was difficult and resulted in a slight cough. Blaise smirked, leaned in and purred into her ear.
"Whatever it was…I can be worse."

Alecto Carrow, their new Professor for the subject, walked inside with a wide grin on her, as Edenia found, sloppy face. She stood ready to teach but her attention went to the door when she saw it flinging open once more and darkness filled the room. Bellatrix Lestrange walked inside casually, throwing some strands of curly hair over her shoulder before she sat down close to the classroom's door – as usual. Draco's eyes skipped from his aunt towards to Edenia, wanting to see their reactions and he wasn't disappointed. Edenia's face turned paler than ever before, nostrils flared in the attempts to keep calm and her eyes looked around like a deer that tried to flee. But she did not.

"Why…is she here all the time? In each and every course?" She asked lowly and Draco responded quickly.
"Bella is observing all courses and hands over reports to him." He emphasized the latter, making it clear whom he was talking about. Edenia frowned and her attention went back to Alecto.

"We should all talk about Mudbloods and the filth they produce." Their professor started, showing her yellowish teeth as she smiled and walked around aimlessly. Bellatrix leaned back and listened carefully, trying to catch Edenia's attention here and then but it didn't work – the girl ignored her as much as possible. That was all her little student seemed to care about. Trying to avoid the dark haired witch, her mind repeating it over and over again, she didn't even listen to Alecto, only catching bits and pieces of propaganda.
"(…) They live in little homes in groups, rarely go to work; most of them can't do the simplest of things. They live on instincts and are dirty, like animals. (…)" and it continued. The words started to swirl in her head, all that was important was to get through with this and not pay any attention to Lestrange who didn't take her eyes off of her. She couldn't look at Bellatrix, she couldn't. Her heart started to beat faster and louder, she clawed on her thigh softly, tapped her feet up and down the floor nervously and the only thing that truly caught her attention was Neville's blood that flew across the room, Alecto leashed out on him on a comment that Edenia didn't hear. He was escorted outside by Ginny and Edenia noticed how Bellatrix's eyes followed the red haired girl but didn't do anything. It was the first time that something went wrong in a class and Edenia didn't fight.

The weeks went on and everyone's mood hit the utmost bottom. Edenia didn't speak to most people, withdrew herself but other than that, was the good girl that everyone expected her to be. Things started to change, Draco thought. Edenia didn't rebel against anything anymore nor did she participate in torturing a soul and also, something that Draco thought to be funny, she wasn't ever asked to torture anyone ever since that significant lesson with his aunt. He shrugged it off, thinking that was the case because Rodolphus came back after that and continued his lessons. His thoughts were interrupted once he spotted Edenia walking into the common room, aiming towards the girl's dormitory but was stopped.

"Hey. Come here for a second…"
"What do you want?" She asked, not yet walking there to him.
"I just want to talk."
Edenia sighed heavily but trotted over, sat down and waited expectantly.

"Well?"
"Look, Halloween is up tomorrow and I wondered if somebody asked you yet…?"
"Asked me what?"
"The…Death Eaters are having a Halloween Party. Over at Hogsmeade. All the Slytherins are invited. Would you like to go with me?"
She frowned. Death Eaters having a Halloween Party? It was way too absurd to laugh about it. She didn't even doubt it but couldn't help the snort of disapproval escaping her lips as she shook her head in disbelief.

"No thanks…"
"I thought I would ask you nicely before somebody else is going to force you." He explained with his eyes pointing ahead towards the door and crossed his arms. Edenia noticed he had a point. A very good point indeed as she remembered when Blaise walked on inside and aimed right towards her.

"Finally a soul gets to see you. You. Me. Halloween." He said and Edenia shook her head.
"Draco just asked me and I agreed." She informed and for a moment, Blaise and Draco had some sort of stare down that was interrupted when Pansy walked on inside, followed by Crabbe and Goyle and telling them off.

"We are asked to wear black clothes. No costumes." Said Draco and Edenia nodded. She could imagine what kind of party that was going to be.