A/N - This chapter has been improved, and thanks to my lovely BETA ohlookamockingjay that has helped me improve this chapter.
Chapter 2
Luna sat in the corner of the dungeon. Her legs were drawn close to her chest and she hugged herself to keep warm. It was very cold in the dungeon, and her lips had begun to turn blue and her fingers were numb. None of house elves dared to give her a blanket, but she understood. If they gave her a blanket, they'd get in trouble.
She shut her eyes and leaned her head against the wall. She wondered how long she had been here. It may have been two weeks or more, she wasn't sure. She was no longer able to breathe the fresh air or run around freely in the garden, or even see the sunlight. She couldn't do it anymore, and maybe she never would. She was trapped with no way out, and no one would help her to escape.
Escape?
She almost chuckled. Of course no one would help her to escape. She had been captured by the enemy, and now she was their prisoner. Merlin only knew how long they would let her live.
She closed her eyes tightly to hold back tears. She was tired. She was tired physically and mentally.
They tortured her till she couldn't feel pain. They had beaten her mercilessly. Every night, one of the Death Eaters would come down along with Bellatrix and torture her when she refused to give them information. Hexes and jinxes hit her every night. If they weren't satisfied, Bellatrix would torture her with her bare hands. Slap her and kick her. Every inch of her body had felt it. They enjoyed it, and they enjoyed it even more when she was bleeding and lost her consciousness.
Sometimes she hoped one of them would shout 'Avada Kedavra' instead of 'Crucio'. Her body couldn't take it anymore. Her ribs were broken, two of her fingers were broken, her left leg was sprained, her face was covered in bruises, her hair covered with blood. She could still smell some fresh blood from her forehead. She was surprised that she even lasted this long.
It was probably because of Narcissa. Sometimes, she'd sneak in in the middle of the night to heal her. Why was she helping her? She asked her once. "Because you are no older than my son" was what she had said to her. After that, they never spoke again. She came, she healed her, and gave her a warm smile before leaving. She wondered why Draco didn't inherit her gentle nature.
Suddenly the door opened. It was Wormtail, the man who resembled a rat. He grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet.
"Bellatrix wants you upstairs," he informed her. She grimaced. What was she going to do? Torture her again probably, or maybe kill her. Those damned people enjoyed seeing people being tortured.
Once they were upstairs, Wormtail pushed her roughly. She fell hard on the floor. She winced as she felt the pain shoot up her left leg. She looked up. There were a lot of Death Eaters there, sitting comfortably in their seats. Voldemort was there too, probably to witness her death. She was ready to die anyways.
"Poor girl," Bellatrix said in a mocking voice. She walked around and twirling her wand. "Don't you know how stupid you are?" she scoffed. Some of the Death Eaters chuckled. Her gaze turned to the Dark Lord. He sat there quietly.
She tried to stand, but failed when Bellatrix kicked her right in the stomach. She screamed in agony. "What do you think you're doing?" she snapped harshly. Then she flicked her wand and shouted, "Crucio!" Luna screamed for mercy. But the more she screamed the more Bellatrix tortured her, relishing it.
Fresh blood flowed from her mouth. Her body had been destroyed. Her vision began to blur, Bellatrix's voice getting further and further away. She closed her eyes. This was the end. She had made it clear that she wouldn't shed a bit of information about Harry Potter, and she knew the consequences. Now she was ready. She closed her eyes tightly. She didn't see anything but the darkness.
"Luna."
She heard her mother's voice. How she missed her mother.
"My Luna," her mother called again. She saw a woman with blond hair and a face that looked just like her. She wore a white dress, her hair loose and lovely. Pandora Lovegood still looked as beautiful as the last time she saw her. Her mother smiled with affection.
"Mum?" her voice was hoarse. She tried to hold back her tears. She didn't want to look weak in front of her mother. "Mum, is that you?"
Pandora cocked her head, it was a habit of hers. "Of course it's me, sweetheart," she replied.
"I'm scared," Luna said.
"Don't be, sweetheart," Pandora said. Her face became serious. "Fight them back."
Tears streamed down her pale cheeks, "I can't. I'm alone. Please, help me," she begged her mother.
"You can and you're not alone. I am always with you, my Luna. I'm always here. I will always protect you," Pandora told her daughter.
"But you didn't protect me this time!" Luna yelled. She looked at her mother, she wanted to hug her and find comfort in her arms, like when she was little. But she was also hurt and confused. The rest of her body was stiff. She can't even move her fingers. "Why didn't you come before? They beat me, and hurt me…"
Pandora smiled weakly, "That's why I'm here."
"What do you mean?" Luna demanded.
"You're stronger than you think. You can do what others can't" Pandora said softly. "You don't need a wand. Magic has been in your hands since the moment you were born, sweetheart." She walked slowly towards her and took her hands in hers. "Try it."
Luna frowned. "What if I fail? I've never tried it before."
Pandora shook her head slowly, "No, you will not fail if you are confident and believe in yourself," she said wisely.
Luna smiled a little, "I am confident... and believe in myself," she told herself.
"That's my Luna," Pandora said with a big smile. "Now go and fight them back. The darkness will never win against the light. "
"You're going again?" She began to panic. She had just met her mother for the first time in years, and now she was going to leave her alone again. "No, I won't let you," she tried to grab her hand, but her hands was still stiff.
"I never left you. As long as you love me, I will always be with you. I love you, Luna, my Luna," Pandora said softly.
She opened her eyes.
She was still there, lying helpless. Bellatrix stood towering above her, ready to kill her. Luna was scared. What if she didn't have magic in her hands?
I want you to be confident and believe in yourself, her mother's voice filled her head.
Bellatrix began to waved her wand. Luna reached out with her hand, muttering under her breath, "Expelliarmus!" Bellatrix's wand was flung across the room. All the light chatter in the room had stopped. Luna could hear Narcissa gasp in horror. All eyes were on her, especially the eyes of Voldemort. He watched with enthusiasm and curiosity. Honestly, she was surprised at herself as well. She didn't know that she had magic in her hands before.
She glanced at Bellatrix. Her face was red in rage. She was angry at her, she guessed. "How dare you humiliate me!" She screamed.
Before Bellatrix could swing her leg to kick her, Luna muttered quietly, "Stupefy!" Bellatrix stumbled back before collapsing on the ground, unconscious. A group of death eaters hurriedly picked her up and hauled her to a different room.
Voldemort rose from his seat and approached her.
"Incredible!" he exclaimed in satisfaction. He helped her to her feet. "You should have told me that you are a powerful witch," he grinned at her. She shivered. He looked more frightening when he grinned.
"Do you mind if I test you, my dear?" he asked. "Of course you don't," he answered himself.
The Dark Lord took a step back. He stood just a few meters away. What the hell did he want to do now? Suddenly he bowed. She froze. He just took her to a duel? She, Luna Lovegood duel with the Dark Lord? Only Harry Potter and Dumbledore were able to duel him.
Without registering what she was doing, Luna bowed as well. Suddenly a red light shot out of his wand. She panicked and dodged it. Voldemort started to throw an endless string of hexes and jinxes at her. She dodged them all before coming to her senses. Magic! I'm supposed to use magic! She lifted up her hand slightly.
"Protego!"
She'd conjured up a thin dome around her. The spells started to ricochet off the shield and hit the walls around her. Voldemort looked impressed. Her heart was pounding. She had never done any of this before.
She looked around. She couldn't keep the shield charm up forever.
She saw huge cabinet to the wall a couple meters from him, by the long table where the Death Eaters sat.
Perfect.
She pointed her hand at the cabinet and murmured, "Confringo!" There was a big explosion that made the people in the room run and save themselves. Voldemort spun around. His attention was on the cabinet that had been destroyed. While he was off guard, she took opportunity to attack him. "Stupefy!" The red lights shot out of her wand and hit him.
She'd done it.
The Death Eaters gathered around to their Lord and helped him to his feet. Luna just stood there, waiting for what he would do to her. He watched her carefully.
"Well done, Miss Lovegood," he praised, then his dark eyes turned to Narcissa. "Narcissa, if you would bring our guest upstairs to her room," he said. Since when did she become their guest?
"Yes, my Lord," Narcissa said quietly. She turned to Luna and smiled gently. She had tried her best not to cry or shout at Bellatrix to stop torturing Luna. It hurt her to see a girl as young as Luna being tortured physically. She didn't deserve that. Her motherly instincts came out; the desire to protect Luna was so big, as big as she wanted to protect Draco.
The Dark Lord nodded, "Very well, then." He muttered. "I will be gone for a while. I have some matters to attend to." He walked out, but stopped abruptly, and turned around.
"And Narcissa," he said.
Narcissa looked down nervously. "Yes, my Lord?"
"Bring the best healer. I want to see my guest better when I return," he muttered.
"I will, my Lord," Narcissa nodded, she had already planned to anyways. With that, the Dark Lord left.
With the spectacle over, she heaved a sigh of relief. While the Death Eaters left, she took Luna upstairs to clean her. She was very fragile. She almost cried when she helped her release her sweater and jeans. Her body was covered with bruises.
Narcissa narrowed her eyes. The Dark Lord had a plan. He was going use Luna's ability. He was going to use her against Harry Potter. Narcissa was sure of it.
She promised herself to protect Luna. She would do whatever she could to get her son and Luna out of the darkness. They deserved better than this.
