A/N: Special thanks to Smurfette39 for being an awesome beta.
The next morning, Harry and Hermione landed in the yard of Dave and Wendy Thomas. It really wasn't a hard place to find considering Blake had mentioned the place a few times during the course of the marriage.
The rubble in the area was thick and charred, leaving only bits and pieces of frame work in tact. Harry and Hermione circled the house's remains and while Harry commented on this and that, Hermione remained silent and seemed to be concentrating.
"Sickle for your thoughts?" Harry finally asked, noticing her far away look.
Hermione gave a small smile and a sigh, "Do you really think Blake was capable of this – I mean we obviously know he is violent, but enough to kill his own parents, set fire to the house... possibly have killed Matilda?"
Harry walked up behind her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders, "Honestly, I want to say no. But under the circumstances, how he treated you... I am going to say I think him to be highly capable of doing these things."
Hermione nodded, she tended to agree with him.
"The lady said Blake's parents were buried on the property and that she could see him from her house visiting the graves." Harry paused to look around and spotted a small yellow house about 40 yards away. "Let's find the graves and go from there."
Hermione nodded and started to walk towards Harry before she suddenly stopped, noticing something on the ground... shining. She bent down and dusted some of the dirt away, uncovering a small silver locket with the initials M.B..
"Harry, I think I've found something," she called out without taking her eyes off the locket.
Harry approached Hermione, looking the the small object in her hand. She held it out for him, "The initials say M.B."
"Matilda Bricksworth," he muttered, fingering the locket. He took his fingernails and pried the slightly rusty locket open, revealing a slightly faded picture of not only Matilda but Blake as well.
"He had to be more to her then a friend," Hermione whispered, rubbing her finger over the picture of the girl that looked a lot like her.
Harry didn't say anything but he noticed the resemblance between Matilda and Hermione and it made him sick to think this could have been her locket had she not got away. He quickly tucked the locket in his pocket and gently laced his fingers through hers. "Come on, let's start out search," he said in a somber voice, pulling her gently along with him.
Together they made their way through the long grass, tripping in small holes and avoiding snakes the entire way. The yard seemed to be relatively bare, save for the small cluster of trees in the far back corner, a small, rusted gate leading to the thick woods behind the property line and a small wooden shed in the opposite corner.
"This place is kind of creepy – gives off a feeling of loss."
Harry agreed and started to wonder if this entire adventure was such a good idea. What if they found Matilda's body? What if they found something else that they weren't even looking for – like more then one person. The thoughts made him uneasy and he hoped they wouldn't find anything at all.
They continued to trudge through the long, thick grass towards the small yellow house in hopes to spot the graves – why were they looking for them? He didn't know but somehow felt that they were part of the puzzle.
They eventually reached the porch of the old yellow house and climbed on. The woman had told them she still owned it but never went there. The house itself was in surprisingly good condition considering it's age. They suspected a protective spell had been placed to prevent any major damage.
"There," Harry said as he pointed to a spot a few yards away. Hermione stood next to him and spotted the tips of two grave stones sticking up only slightly higher then the grass.
"Guess he hasn't visited in a while, huh?" She asked and started towards the graves, leaving Harry standing on the porch a second longer then herself.
Hermione felt a bit of mourning for the couple although she had never met them. They were connected to her through Blake whether she liked it or not. She approached slowly, almost afraid of disturbing their peace and finally stopped at where she figured their bodies would lay.
"I can't believe Blake could have done this," she said while shaking her head. " I know he could but it's just hard to believe."
"Believe it sweetheart," a womans voice sounded, causing Hermione to jump back almost landing on top of Harry.
"Blake was an evil child... always destroying something," the voice said with a sigh.
Hermione looked to Harry, who could only shrug his shoulders.
"Right here dear," the voice said again, pulling Hermione's attention to Wendy's grave stone. A pale, ghostly figure floated above it.
"Mrs. T-Thomas?" Hermione asked. She wasn't scared of ghost, not after living at Hogwarts for seven years – she was just surprised.
"In the flesh – no, that's not right... In the mist," she said with a small laugh. "So what brings a young couple such as yourselves out here?" Wendy asked
"Well, umm, I was married to your son," Hermione said lamely, "and we heard rumor about a girl that turned up missing while he was with her – we just came to check things out a bit."
"Oh yes, Matilda," Wendy stated. "The girl is in pretty poor shape since Blake stopped coming around."
"Excuse me?" Harry asked, "Are you saying she is still alive?"
"She is dear.. back in those woods – but I don't give her much longer, she hasn't eaten properly in weeks and grass, moss and bugs are not what I would call a healthy, well balanced meal."
Hermione felt her legs grow weak, Matilda was still alive... but how?
Wendy was able to sense her question, "I knew Blake married you," Wendy stated. "He stopped by the grave a few years back and told me he had found a wife."
"And Matilda, Matilda looks a lot like you but Blake never wanted her for anything then a prisoner – made him feel powerful I suppose..."
"How has she survived?"
"Blake brought her food every week and a few jugs of water. She was a smart one and would store a jug away just in case."
"It doesn't make sense! Why didn't you go for help for her?"
Wendy let out a sigh, "I've tried, but I can't seem to leave the yard other then go to the woods. I've befriended Matilda and Blake said it would be alright for me to keep her company – so I do, but every time I've gone near the perimeter of the yard... I fade out."
Hermione let out a sigh, "Could you show us where she is?"
Wendy looked slightly worried, "Where is Blake anyway?"
"Don't know – I haven't seen him since I left him."
Wendy seemed to sense her feelings and didn't ask any further questions.
"I will take you to her, but please understand that Matilda isn't right in the head anymore."
"Meaning?" Harry asked.
"Meaning my son, the child I gave birth to is a monster. I don't know what went wrong, what gods I upset, but something happened to the boy and he was never quite right. He could act the part of nice kid when he needed to, but when there was no one around to impress or sway – he turned into a horrible person," she paused. "Matilda has been beaten, raped, starved to the point of being unconscious for years. She has had no one but Blake and me for company and she was fairly young when Blake had taken her... she doesn't trust anyone and I fear that when you go for her, she will back away and fight you."
Harry gave a small glance towards Hermione but quickly looked away before being noticed.
"I understand," Hermione stated. "But we need to try."
Wendy nodded, "Alright, I'll take you but beware, it's about 2 miles out and not easy to get to by foot... Blake always apparated but he has wards set that only allow him to do so."
"We are used to stuff like this.. we'll be alright." Harry stated
"Very well then, follow me." And with that, Wendy started a slow float towards the woods with Harry and Hermione right behind her.