1995. 9. 10

5:15 p.m. Shrieking Shack

Emma stood by the damaged fence outside the Shrieking Shack with her arms crossed, nervous. Would he show up? What would happen when he found out? Most importantly, what would her father think? Her head jerked to the right upon hearing the snap of a twig. No one emerged from the forest, however. Were they here already? Were they watching her? Continuing to stare into the woods, Emma waiting to see if she could spot one of them in the shadows, but she saw nothing.

Was Snape going to be here? Emma had not seen nor spoken to him since yesterday. What would he think of all of this? Another twig snapped, making Emma's head jerk towards the woods once more. This time a cloaked figured appeared, walking towards her. "Well, where is he?" The hooded man asked.

"I don't know. I said five."

"How do we know she's not lying? What if she told Dumbledore? What if she warned the boy, so that he wouldn't come?"

"You better not be lying to us, you little half-breed. You know what happens to liars, don't you?"

Emma felt her chest tighten. What would they do to her? Torture? Kill? She could hardly stand to think about it. Since they were out of Hogwarts, she could apparate, right? Well, she could if she knew how. Emma had side-along apparated with her father, but that was only once. She had never tried to apparate by herself, even though she had read of how to do it.

"Draco says he never saw you talk to Potter. How do we know that you even told him to meet you here in the first place?"

Remaining silent, she shifted her gaze from Lucius Malfoy to the forest, where Bellatrix and Percy's voices had emerged. Impatiently, Bellatrix stepped forward from the forest, pointing her wand at Emma. "You will speak when spoken to! Answer the question... Crucio!" A jet of light shot from Bellatrix's wand straight to Emma's chest. She flew backwards, writhing in pain on the ground from the effects of the curse. Like a madman, Bellatrix skipped towards Emma's body, "Did you tell Potter to meet you here? Answer the question! Crucio!"

Emma screamed, feeling as if every bone in her body was breaking and every organ was about to explode. Hoping if she answered the pain would stop, she shouted, "No... No!" The curse stopped momentarily, giving Emma a chance to catch her breath. "Why are you trying to protect, Potter?" "Is it because your daddy loves him more than you? You don't want to upset daddy?" Even though the effects of the curse left her feeling exhausted, Emma could feel her blood boiling as Bellatrix spoke ill of her relationship with her father. "Why didn't you bring Potter here, hm? We could have taken care of him for you. Then, it could have just been you and daddy."

Bellatrix was right. Emma had wanted to turn Harry into Voldemort, so that her father would focus less on him and more on her. However, she could not pull herself to do it. If her father found out that she had turned Harry into Voldemort, he would surely hate her, as would her uncle Remus, Dumbledore, and Moody.

"Bellatrix." Lucius nodded at her, then he and Percy apparated. Where did they go? Why did Lucius nod at Bellatrix? Emma felt her heart begin to accelerate. What was about to happen? Should she try to apparate too? Or would Bellatrix just kill her if she tried. Was she going to be given a second chance? Emma's mind was racing along with her heart beat as she stared up at the woman who held her life in her hands.

"The Dark Lord does not take kindly to disappoint me. Did you know that? Now that you have proved yourself lack of usefullness, do you know what the Dark Lord has in store for you?" Emma shook her head no. Bellatrix smirked, pointing her wand at Emma once more. "Avada Kerdava." A jet of green light flashed, and that was the last light that Emma would ever see again.