Hey guys!!! sorry I'm late, but hopefully it'll be worth it. You see, if you're wondering where the main characters are, you should be patient and follow Marietta's story first. lots of love.
Enjoy
It was the early hours of the day. The streets were void of people. She crept into a dark alley, knowing the house she was looking for was at the end of it and sure enough, there it was. The "Greengrass mansion". It was a big white house with windows that were concealed from the inside with thick curtains. She knocked on the silver gate at the entrance. Almost instantly, a little house elf opened the gate.
-What can Letty do for you Miss?
-Uhm... Hi. I'm a friend of Daphne's, Marietta. I need to see her, please.
-Please come in Miss. Letty will call Miss Daphne right away.
The little house elf left to call Daphne. She didn't know Daphne very well; Sometimes they studied together in the library. She was a Slytherin, but unlike most of them, she was actually decent and Marietta knew; if somebody could help her find Rabastan Lestrange's address, it would be a Slytherin.
-Marietta? What are you doing here?
Daphne came down the stairs, wearing gorgeous long robes that made her hazel eyes prominent on her porcelain face. She really was beautiful. Thinking of the hideous pustules on her face, Marietta felt a surge of jealousy towards her, but quickly vanished it; she had more important matters at hand.
-Daphne! I'm really sorry to bother you. I know it's not the best time, given all that's happening at Hogwarts right now, but I need help.
So she told Daphne the whole story.
-"So let me get this straight, you need Rabastan Lestrange's address... from me?" Daphne asked incredulously.
-I know it's weird, but pure blooded families have so many connections and I thought maybe you could help me out.
Daphne looked hesitant for a few minutes.
-Please Daphne...
-Alright, I'm going to check my father's office, but I make no promises.
-That's more than enough!
She sat in the living room for what felt like hours, but it was only 20 minutes till Daphne returned.
-So?
-So, I didn't find any address for Rabastan Lestrange.
Marietta disappointedly got up to leave.
-But I did find the address of Rudophus Lestrange's mansion. I'm not sure he'll be there.
-Oh that's perfect! Daphne, I don't know how to thank you!
-"Don't let anyone know about our meeting, that's how." said Daphne.
-Of course! I'll never forget this. Thank you.
She left the Greengrass mansion. It was barely two hours later that the news of the Dark Lord's defeat was everywhere. If "You Know Who" was gone, it meant that the ministry was safe. It meant that maybe, she didn't have to use the address after all. So she left the Leaky Cauldron again to go to the ministry.
It was crazy inside the Ministry of Magic. Photos of Harry Potter, "The Boy Who Lived" and Kingsley Shacklebolt, the new minister, were all over the place. Memos and copies of the Daily Prophet were flying across the rooms. Everybody was in a rush. She made her way to the Aurors' department, where was unfortunately, the centre of the chaos. Aurors were running back and forth, in and out of the rooms. She finally caught the attention of one of them and confidently declared:
-"I want to report a crime."
-" Ahmm... alright; why don't you report it to McRogers over there? I'm a bit busy here." Said the auror. He then rushed away.
Marietta edged closer to the man behind a desk who was writing 3 memos at the same time.
-Mr McRogers?
-Yes.
The man was too busy to look up.
-"I want to report a crime. Some death eaters kidnapped my family." Marietta said urgently.
-Look, many families have been kidnapped or lost for all sorts of reasons in the past year but we really have bigger issues at hand. Collins!Team 13 needs backup, hurry!
He started giving random orders to different people. Marietta tried desperately to catch his attention.
-Right, but don't you know my mother? Christine Edgecombe, from the Department of magical transportations. They captured her and my younger sister because my dad was a muggle born and...
-Look, you can leave their names and your address we'll owl you later, yeah? We are pretty busy at the time.
-I understand, but...
-Craig! Where are the folders regarding Azkaban cells?
-Sir, I really need...
-Craige! I need two support teams in Hogsmead, now! And maybe you could...
-"Listen To Me!" Marietta shrieked and for a moment a few aurors around stopped to stare at her.
-Mr McRogers, I've lost my only parent and I have nowhere to go. Isn't it the ministry's responsibility to find my family?
McRogers sighed deeply and finally focused his attention fully on her.
-It is. And finding lost people is really a priority, but there are still local battles going on; There's so much to do at the moment and so many similar cases to yours to go through. Just write down your address. I promise we'll look for them, first chance, huh?
Marietta furiously scribbled down her address and left. After that she waited for days, but there was no news on her family and she knew, she really had to look herself.
She left leaky cauldron at dawn, pulled her hood down and apparated outside of the wards of what she knew to be the Lestrange Mansion. The Mansion resembled a castle, with tall walls an iron gate and an actual fortress at the far corner of the yard. She looked through the gate and observed the yard; It was magnificent. Dozens of pine trees lined the bright green lawn; In the centre, was a golden fountain, adorned with various colours of gemstones. "The flower beds were a riot of May colour and even on close inspection they were weedfree." The garden was a masterpiece. The majestic mansion was unlikely to be a death eater's. She had expected it to be a gloomy, deserted rubble, anything but this... she would give anything to live here.
She was so mesmerised by the mansion that she forgot the whole purpose of going there in the first place. She didn't hear the footsteps behind her and soon a rough hand covered her mouth, blocking her scream. She was hit with a stunning spell and the world went black...
Marietta eventually came around. She felt so cold, her teeth were chattering. Looking around, her vision was still blurry and unfocused in semi darkness, but she could tell, gone were the imperial sights of the garden. She was in a dark, damp cellar. She made to stand up, but soon she realised that her right foot was chained to the wall. Terrified she screamed:
-"Hello? Hello? Where am I? Who are you people? Hello?"
The door opened suddenly, revealing a man who seemed to be in his mid thirties; Tall and built, he had a black beard and long black hair that reached his neck. He was quite an attractive man, save for the scowl, prominent on his features.
-What's all this noise? Oh... look who's up and about, our little thief. Need a bit more experience then that to rob the ancient house of Lestrange.
-"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Marietta asked, her voice shaking making her fear obvious.
-I, my dear, want nothing to do with you. You, are the one, lurking around our residence.
-I... I'm... I'm here to see Rabastan Lestrange.
The man looked taken aback by her straight answer, but only for a moment.
-"And why, may I ask, would you want to see him my beauty?" He asked in a smooth voice.
-He stole my family!
-Did he now?
-Yes! He did. He and a bunch of other criminals like you, attacked my house because my dad is a muggle born, though he left us years ago! I'm here to get my family back.
The man looked at her oddly for a second, then reached for his wand. Marietta coward in the corner at the sight of it, but to her amazement the man unlocked the chain and put the wand back in his robes.
-"Anthony!" He called out. A second later, a bald man with leather robes appeared at the door. The mysterious man walked to Anthony and whispered a few words to him, then he left the cellar.
-"Stand up." Anthony ordered.
-W-what?
-I said stand up!
She was too scared to argue, so she silently followed Anthony out of the cellar. He lead her up the stairs. They seemed to be in a wooden house that looked unlike the mansion she had seen before.
-"The Masters are on the run, they left their old house and since you were there, sneaking around, they took the liberty of taking you along." Anthony explained. Marietta wondered why he bothered explaining these to her.
-...you'll be staying in a room; You don't leave, you don't make a sound, you don't wander. I'll bring you some food and this evening, you'll be joining the masters for dinner. Clear?
- I- I think so.
-You better.
They reached a door on the third landing. He ordered her in. It was a plain room with a bed and a desk and a window; comfortable enough.
-Don't forget what I told you. If you try to escape, be sure you'll be dead before you reach the door.
With that, he shut the door behind him. Marietta sat on the bed. Scared and confused, she waited.
In the evening, Anthony came back and lead her wordlessly to a dining room.
-Wait here until the masters arrive.
-Who are they?
-No questions!
She sat alone at the table for 15 minutes until two men entered the dining room, one being the same man she first met in the cellar.
-"So this is the girl, brother?" Asked the new man.
-Oh, indeed. I found her quite daring, so maybe she'll be of use.
-"What's your name girl?" The new man asked harshly.
-"M-Marietta." She mumbled.
-Is it true that you went to the Lestrange mansion looking for your family?
She nodded.
-"Interesting... Rabastan, I say she'd be of great use to our purpose." Rudolphos Lestrange said to his brother, a triumphant smirk on his face.