Chapter 20

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The vast majority of dialogue in the next chapter is completely canon (as in, I had the book next to me and was copying the words. Which I do not own. At all.) This is for the sake of having a complete story, and to help those who have not read the book understand what is going on. If you have read the chapter Malfoy Manor, in the seventh book, feel free to skip that part of the chapter, as you will understand what is going on. I copied from the book to keep this fanfiction as true to the book as possible, and because Jack is hearing and seeing the exact events that transpired in the book, it makes sense to include those events as they appear in canon.

The next breakfast was easily the most awkward moment of my life. Draco was glowering at his father the entire time, saying nothing. Narcissa seemed out of sorts as well, as if she suspected something happened. I was quiet as well, playing my part. I went to the music room after that, idly running my fingers over the harp strings. Draco came in after a while, placing his hands on my shoulders.

"Are you alright?"

I shrugged.

"That bastard…" muttered Draco. "How dare him. You're my wife, and his queen." He began pacing around the room, bristling and cursing. I stopped playing the harp and went over to him, wrapping my arms around him. He quieted down and led me to the couch, stroking my hair. "It'll be alright, Jack. We'll live at Windhithe, you won't have to be around him."

"I know." I sighed, leaning my head against his chest. We sat like that for a while. I even managed to fake a few tears, for authenticity's sake. He just held me tight, not saying anything. I only hoped he wouldn't do anything drastic against his father.

There was a commotion coming from downstairs. Draco immediately jumped up, confusion on his face. "What is that?" Before I could say a word, he was out the door. I had no choice but to follow.

Narcissa was in the drawing room with several others, three of which were captives. One had a horrifically swollen face. I stood cautiously behind Draco as the men brought the captives forward. Lucius stood from his seat in front of the fireplace. "What is this?"

Narcissa's voice echoed through the drawing room. "They say they've got Potter." She turned to her son. "Draco, come here." He left my side, his movements stiff, walking over to the prisoners.

One of the captors, a ragged, wolfish-looking man, turned to Draco. "Well, boy?"

Draco didn't respond, simply observing the face in front of him. Lucius put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Well, Draco? Is it? Is it Harry Potter?"

"I can't- I can't be sure," he murmured, averting his eyes from both Harry and the wolfish man. Lucius practically dragged him forward. His gaze shifted from Draco to the captive. So did mine. Draco had an expression on his face I couldn't place; it wasn't the reverent fear of when he was in the presence of the Dark Lord, or the confusion of when he was working on unknown homework material. He was confused and scared and seemed to be in a bit of a moral predicament. This was the first time I'd seen that.

"But look at him carefully, look! Come closer!" His grip on his son was iron, his voice fanatic. "Draco, if we are the ones who hand Potter over to the Dark Lord, everything will be forgiv-"

The wolfish man whose name I did not know stepped forward. "Now we won't be forgetting who actually caught him, I hope, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Of course not, of course not!" Lucius waved him off, impatient. He peered down at the prisoner. "What did you do to him? How did he get into this state?"

"That wasn't us."

"Looks more like a Stinging Jinx to me," said Lucius, staring intently. "There's something there. IT could be a scar, stretched tight…" He motioned to Draco. "Draco, come here, look properly! What do you think?"

"I don't know," he said, abruptly turning around to stand by the fireplace with Narcissa and I. He put one arm protectively around me. Narcissa stepped forward.

"We had better be certain," she said, "Completely sure that it is Potter, before we summon the Dark Lord… They say this is his," she examined the blackthorn wand in her hand, "but it does not resemble Ollivander's description… If we are mistaken, if we call the Dark Lord for nothing… Remember what he did to Rowle and Dolohov?"

"What about the Mudblood, then?" growled the wolfish man. Narcissa nodded.

"Wait. Yes- yes, she was in Madam Malkin's with Potter! I saw her picture in the Prophet! Look, Draco, isn't it the Granger girl?"

I could feel him shrugging next to me. "I… maybe… yeah."

"But then, that's the Weasley boy!" shouted Lucius. I jumped at his voice. "It's them, Potter's friends- Draco, look at him, isn't it Arthur Weasley's son, what's his name-?"

"Yeah," Draco replied feebly, "It could be."

Suddenly, the secret door in the drawing room slammed open, and Bellatrix Lestrange sauntered out. "What is this? What's happened, Cissy?" She stopped before the prisoners, staring at Hermione. "But surely," she said quietly, "This is the Mudblood girl? This is Granger?"

"Yes, yes, it's Granger!" cried Lucius. "And beside her, we think, Potter! Potter and his friends, caught at last!"

"Potter?" shrieked Bellatrix. "Are you sure? Well then, the Dark Lord must be informed at once!" She dragged back her left sleeve, when Lucius interrupted.

"I was about to call him!" said Lucius, his hand reaching out to cover Bellatrix's mark. "I shall summon him, Bella, Potter has been brought to my house, and it is therefore upon my authority-"

"Your authority!" she sneered, attempting to wrench her hand from his grasp. "You lost your authority when you lost your wand, Lucius! How dare you! Take your hands off me!"

"This is nothing to do with you, you did not capture the boy-"

"Begging your pardon, Mr. Malfoy," interjected the wolfish man, "but it's us that caught Potter, and it's us that'll be claiming the gold-"

"Gold!" laughed Bellatrix, still in Lucius's grasp. "Take your gold, filthy scavenger, what do I want with gold? I seek only the honor of his- of-" She stopped, staring at something I could not see. Lucius, thinking he had won, ripped up his sleeve and was reaching for his own mark. "STOP!" shrieked Bellatrix. "Do not touch it, we shall all perish if the Dark Lord comes now!" She strode towards the group of Snatchers. "What is that?" I leaned forward, trying to see what it was Bellatrix was looking at. In one of the snatcher's hands was a sword, glimmering with red stones in the moonlight. The snatcher shrugged.

"Sword."

"Give it to me."

"It's not yorn, missus, it's mine, I reckon I found it." Bellatrix whipped out her wand, stunning all of the snatchers in quick succession.

"What d'you think you're playing at, woman?" one of them cried.

"Where did you get this sword?" she asked the wolfish man, the only one who wasn't stunned, pulling his wand from him.

"How dare you?" he snarled. "Release me, woman!"

"Where did you find this sword?" she repeated. "Snape sent it to my vault in Gringotts!"

"It was in their tent," rasped the man. "Release me, I say!" With a wave of Bellatrix's wand, the man was free.

"Draco, move this scum outside," said Bellatrix, indicating to the unconscious men. "If you haven't got the guts to finish them, then leave them in the courtyard for me." I felt Draco bristle beside me.

"Don't you dare speak to Draco like-" started Narcissa, but Bellatrix screamed,

"Be quiet! The situation is graver than you can possibly imagine, Cissy! We have a very serious problem!" She gazed at the sword in her hand. "If it is indeed Potter, he must not be harmed," she muttered. "The Dark Lord wishes to dispose of Potter himself… but if he finds out… I must… I must know…" She turned back to her sister. "The prisoners must be placed in the cellar, while I think of what to do!"

"This is my house, Bella, you don't give orders in my-"

"Do it! You have no idea the danger we are in!" shrieked Bellatrix. Narcissa hesitated before addressing the wolfish man.

"Take these prisoners to the cellar, Greyback." So that was his name. I should have guessed. I had heard of Fenrir Greyback.

"Wait," said Bellatrix. "All except… except for the Mudblood." At that point, the ginger boy started screaming.

"No!" he shouted. "You can have me, keep me!" Bellatrix slapped him, hard.

"If she dies under questioning, I'll take you next," she said. "Blood traitor is next to Mudblood in my book. Take them downstairs, Grekback, and make sure they are secure, but do nothing more to them- yet." She then wheeled on me, madness glinting in her eyes. "Now, Princess, would you like to watch?"

"I… no, thank you, Bellatrix." My voice sounded quiet and weak. I was shaking. "I… I think I'll go to my room. Summon me if something happens."

"Of course, your highness," she sneered. I squeezed Draco's arm, then started up the stairs, looking over my shoulder periodically. I knew she thought I was weak. But I needed to get away. Bellatrix's madness had never been more terrifying.

When I got to my room, I closed my eyes and murmured, "Animafactus." Immediately, I shrunk down to a little fox. I snuck around the manor. There were screams coming from the drawing room. I assumed it was the muggle-born girl at the hands of Bellatrix. Luckily, all of the attention was focused there. I peered around the room, sneaking under the couches. No one noticed me. Bellatrix had the girl pinned, and was using her knife- the very knife I had given her for Christmas- to carve into the girl's arm. My tail swished back and forth, and I almost growled. I remained silent, though, sneaking around the edges of the room, until I was out of sight.

It was more difficult to sneak into the secret room. There was a small barred window in the door, from which I could hear conversation. "What are we going to do? We can't leave Hermione alone with her!" Trying to make as little noise as possible, I dug my sharp black claws into the wood, climbing the door. The bars were just wide enough for me to squeeze my tiny head through, if I wiggled it a little. When I heard a familiar, high voice call his name, I wiggled faster, trying to get through. I plopped though the window, landing on the other side with a soft thud. They didn't even look at me. I heard Luna call out again.

"Harry?" A small light darted towards us. I shrank into the corner, still hidden.

"Luna?" Harry breathed. Cautiously, I stood up behind them on my human feet, trying not to make a sound. The screams from upstairs, however caused them to turn around. I waved shyly.

"Hello." Both of them gaped at me.

"Who the hell are you-" began the redhead, Ron, but he stopped as a fresh wave of screams came from upstairs. "We have to do something."

"There's no way out of here, we've tried everything," said an elderly-sounding voice from the back of the dungeon. "It's enchanted." He nodded to me. "Though there seems to be a way in. Hello, Princess." There was another young man in the cellar, though he said nothing.

Luna her head and smiled weakly. "Hello, Jack." I rushed forward to hug her.

"I'm sorry I took this long, I really am. But I'm here to help, I'll do all I can."

"I knew you would come," she muttered into my ear. I let her go, collecting myself. "I didn't know you were an animagus."

"It's a very recent development," I shrugged, looking around. "Well. Hello. I'm Jessica. Call me Jack. The lost princess I'm sure you learned about in History of Magic. I've been found, and it's a very long story, but I am here to help in any way I can." I shook hands with both Ron and Harry, and then turned back to Luna. "So, enchanted with no way out?"

"It seems that way, yes." She turned to Harry, who pulled what seemed to be a shard of glass from his sock. "You're bleeding, Harry. That's a curious thing to keep in your sock."

He ignored her, staring into the broken little mirror. "Help us," he whispered. I frowned. He was either mad or that little shard was enchanted. There were footsteps and I immediately scurried into a corner, curling my tail around myself. A short man with a rat-like face opened the door, pointing his wand at them.

Ron approached him, snarling, "Let her go."

"Get back," the other man replied, pointing his wand at him. He turned to the short figure who hadn't spoken yet. "You. Goblin. Come with me." Silently, the goblin stepped forward through the door, which clanged shut behind them. As soon as they were out of sight, there was a small whooshing sound, and a house elf tumbled onto the floor. Harry turned to him in disbelief.

"Dobby?" The little creature grinned. I delicately sniffed him. He seemed friendly enough. Harry stepped forward. "What are you doing here?"

"Dobby's come to rescue Harry Potter, of course! Dobby will always be there for Harry Potter." I changed back into a human, folding my arms. I liked him.

"So you're saying that you can apparate in and out of this room?" asked Harry. "Could you take us with you?"

Dobby shrugged, as if the answer was obvious. "Of course, sir. I'm an elf."

"Works for me," said Ron. I nodded as well.

"Right, Dobby, I want you to take Luna, Mr. Ollivander, and… Jack… over to-"

"Shell cottage is on the outskirts of Tinworth. Trust me," interrupted Ron. I stepped forward and shook my head.

"I don't think you quite understand. I'm not a captive here. I have not been locked in a dungeon, I have not been through… whatever you two have been through…" I looked them over. They were thin and pale, and very tired looking. "And if you're not going to Shell Cottage, I have an inkling you're staying here. And if you're staying here, I and going to help. Is that clear?"

"I'm not going to put you into danger-"

"I am putting myself in danger, Mr. Potter," I cut him off. "And I met the Dark Lord this week, live and in person. This will be easy." Harry paused, then nodded. Luna smiled down at Dobby.

"Whenever you're ready, sir."

"Sir?" The elf seemed surprised. "I like her very much." He held onto both their hands. "Meet me at the top of the stairs in ten seconds." He apparated away.

The noise drew the rat-faced man again, who rushed to the door. "What was tha-" He was silenced when a ball of fur snaked around his ankles, tripping him as he fell down the stairs, cracking his head on them. I took his keys and opened the door, letting Ron and Harry out. We bolted to the top of the stairs, where Dobby was already waiting.

"Who gets his wand?"

I followed them to the drawing room, where Bellatrix was still with Hermione. "Consider yourself lucky, goblin," I heard her hiss. "The same won't be said for this one…"

"Like hell!" Ron jumped into the room and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" Harry and I followed him. We disarmed and stunned who we could.

Draco stared at me, his eyes wide. "Jack!" I turned to face him, leveling my wand with his confused gray eyes.

"Stupefy."

He was thrown back, and I whirled around when Hermione called, "Stop!" Bellatrix was holding her knife, the one I gave her, to Hermione's throat.

"Drop your wands." Everyone stood still. "I said drop them!" The room was filled with the wooden noise of wands being dropped. Reluctantly, I loosened my grip on mine, allowing the slim stick of blackthorn to clatter to the floor. "Draco, pick them up. Now." He looked up at me when he picked up mine. He looked confused, hurt. I looked down at him, emotionless and cold. "Well, well, well," breathed Bellatrix. "Look what we have here. It's Harry Potter." A wicked, mad grin spread across her face. "He's all bright and shiny and new. Just in time for the Dark Lord. Call him," she said to Draco. He shifted uneasily. "Call him!" she repeated. Lucius stepped forward instead, rolling up his sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark. Just as he was about to place his hand on the mark, a squeaking interrupted the moment.

The chandelier came crashing down, and chaos broke out. I shouldered Draco aside, snatching the wands from him. He was breathing heavily, face contorted with fear. "Sorry, love," I whispered in his ear before running towards the others. Bellatrix stood at the other end of the room.

"Stupid elf!" she shrieked. "You could've killed me!"

"Dobby never meant to kill. Dobby only meant to maim, or seriously injure." I smiled at that, despite the situation. Narcissa whipped out her wand, but Dobby disarmed her, snatching the wand out of the air as it flew towards him.

"How dare you take a witch's wand!" she shrieked. "How dare you defy your master!"

The little elf looked up at her. "Dobby has no master. Dobby is a free elf, and Dobby as come to save Harry Potter and his friends!" He grabbed us, and with a crack, we disapparated, just as Bellatrix threw her knife.

I knelt on the sand, letting go of Harry's arm. "Bloody hell, that was exciting," I muttered, standing and brushing myself off. No one responded. I heard Harry's voice. "Dobby, is this Shell Cottage?" he whispered. "Have we come to the right place? Dobby?" I looked around for the elf, and just as I saw him fall, Harry screamed, "DOBBY!" He began yelling and sobbing, holding the elf in his arm. The knife- the very knife I had presented to Bellatrix- was lodged in the elf's chest.

He was sobbing, just cradling the elf to him. I got the sense that they had been close. Ron led Hermione towards the house, though tears were falling from his eyes. I followed. I decided it would be tactful to keep quiet.