Updated as of 12/29/2013

Year Six: Ready, Set, CRUCIO!

She had read it in the Daily Prophet; no one had even cared to send her a letter. Could she blame them though? The news was terrible, Lily felt her heart drop before her knees buckled and she collapsed to the floor. Two days had already past but she only knew now. And she had to read it. Did Mary know? Did Dorcas or Marlene? What of Emmeline? Surely one of them would've thought to write her?

Sitting on the floor with her back against the table leg, Lily read the same few lines of the Prophet again.

"Connor Manor was left in ruins and it is believed that the daughter of John and Aurora Connors was kidnapped along with two housemaids to whom are believed to have been in the home that night. Cara, the daughter of John and Aurora, was expected to enter her sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with her Gryffindor family."

Lily skipped the rest of the article as the words were already memorized in her mind. She ran her fingers over the moving picture of Cara and James Potter cheering after a Quidditch win last year. The picture had been given to the press by the Potter family; jealousy built in Lily. He had known about Cara's disappearance and hadn't even thought to write her of it; but of course he wrote her three times that Summer to ask her on a date.

"What are you doing on the floor Lily?" Lily's Aunt Lenora said walking in from the living room.

"That's what freaks do, Aunt Lenny, just ignore her," Petunia rolled her eyes trailing behind Lenny.

"Oh shut it, Petunia. What's the matter, dear?"

Lily shook her head and handed Lenny the Prophet. It took Lenora a few moments to understand what she was reading.

"Cara? Is that the girl you had over a few weeks ago?" Lenny said surprised.

Lily nodded and Lenny took Lily's hands repeatedly whispering, "It will be okay, Lily, darling."

Petunia getting very annoyed with not knowing what was going on snatched the Prophet off of Lenny's lap.

"Moving pictures in a paper," Petunia snarled before setting in to read, "Death eaters took her? Aren't they bad guys? What would they want with a child?"

Lily shrugged, "I don't know. No one even told me. I had to read it!"

"Oh Lily, I'm sure with all that was going on no one had time. The family was probably too upset to write any of her friends," Lenny said petting Lily's auburn hair.

"But they knew. Well, I know Potter definitely knew. But no one told me," Lily whispered confused.

"They are probably spending time with their families. People get scared when these things happen, darling," Lenny frowned.

Lily nodded and stood pulling away from Lenny, "I'll be in the attic."

"You shouldn't be alone when you're so upset," Lenora reached for her niece.

"No Aunt Lenny, I need to sort out my thoughts right now. I'll tell you when I need company. Besides I have to finish packing for school," Lily mumbled before sprinting off.

It was so dark and the draft chilled her to the bone. Even with her eyes wide open, Cara could barely see a thing. They fed her little every few hours. She lost track of time and could only count meals. Was it a day? Two? A week? Surely no more than a week, she only fell asleep once since she'd been taken, and it could only have been for a moment before she startled awake.

She stopped crying out. No one heard her. She sat crumpled in a ball with her hands tied behind her as she let hot tears flow off her face on to the hard floor. Her hair stuck to her face. Every so often, her stomach would lurch and her small meal would come back up. She cried for her parents. She thought of her friends.

"Please," she whispered for the millionth time, "please let me go."

No one came to her but she could hear screaming from above her. They had taken someone else; surely someone from her own house. Both Miss Addison and Mrs. McGee were on duty the night of her kidnapping. She hoped for their safety, and she hoped the screaming from above would stop.

Hours had passed before the screaming stopped. Cara barely noticed as they echoed in her ears. She was sorting through her memories when her darkness was pierced with a dim light that seemed so bright to Cara. A door had been opened.

"I'm telling you she won't know anything," an older woman muttered.

"Her parents have been rumored to have it. And if we can find one hallow, we can surely find the wand," a man barked.

"But would they have told a young girl?" the woman said bending down to tighten Cara's hand bindings with her wand.

"I don't know, but the Dark Lord wants it badly. We need her to know," the man grabbed Cara by the hair and dragged her out of the room.

She whimpered but didn't resist. She felt too weak from starvation.

They set her in the center of the room and pulled out their wands. They had their death eater masks covering their faces, the man pulled out his wand and pointed it at Cara.

"Where is the cloak of invisibility?" he said urgently in a deep threatening voice.

"I don't know," Cara whispered.

"Crucio!" he yelled and Cara screamed as her body thrashed about on the ground.

"Where is the elder wand?" he said in the same voice.

"Please," she whimpered, "I don't know!"

"Crucio!"

"I don't know! I don't know! Please, I don't know!" Cara cried after he released her from her torture.

"Where is the Stone?" he said bending down to her face as she rolled about the floor in pain.

She cried not wanting to repeat the only words that came to mind, "I don't know."

Cara didn't even hear him mutter the incantation before her body seized once again and the searing pain spread throughout her. Her ears rung and her blood was like fire. She knew she was screaming but the ringing blocked out her own voice. It seemed like days in that state, but she opened her eyes to find the man peering over her just as he had been before the incantation.

"We know of your family's cloak. It's been passed from generation to generation. It's one of the Deathly Hallows. Tell us where it is," the man said hardly.

The Deathly Hallows, a story for children; and they believed that rubbish. There was no such thing as a killer wand or an enchanted stone or a cloak that worked perfectly for years and y- except for James' cloak. It was his father's wasn't it. No, it was impossible.

"Where is it?" he repeated.

"I, I don't know," Cara panicked.

The woman came closer to the two and reached for Cara's face. She pulled it towards her own and examined it, "She tells lies."

"No, please, I really don't-!"

Her body seized again and again and again for every time she didn't answer. She stopped whispering apologies and laid there quietly between tortures. She forgot what they were asking and could only hear the ringing permanently. Before she knew it, the man had her by the hair again and tossed down the steps back in to her dark room. She hit her head hard off the floor unable to protect herself due to her bindings. She slept in that position but woke up the following day to be asked more questions. Every day she stayed silent between tortures; and every night her head hit the stone floor of 'her' room so hard, she fell asleep instantly. She lost track of time completely, sometimes forgot her name, and eventually stopped screaming when she was being tortured. The pain was bearable and the ringing in her ears was constant.