Chapter 12
Sira's hands clung to Lucius' shirt as he opened the front door of her house. She was weak in his arms, weak from all she had just endured, and the tears still rolled down her cheeks. Her mind was racing from one thing to another, dazing her, making her unaware and unable to sort out what had just happened. All she knew for sure was that she was at her house, that Lucius was holding her, and that she was just tortured by Voldemort for punishment for her wishing to leave the Death Eaters. Other than that, she wasn't certain.
She didn't know if what Sirius had said to her was true, she didn't know if what he had done to her was reality. It was unbelievable, he would never say anything like that to her and yet, it felt so real. Confusion filled her eyes as Lucius led her up the staircase. Sirius would never say anything like that to her, he would never be that angry at her, and he would never act that way. He would never do any of that, but why did it hurt so bad? Was it because most of his words held truth? She had a feeling that this' why his words cut her like a knife.
As Lucius opened the door to her parents' old bedroom, her mind suddenly became clear. Her eyes filled with her coming realization. Someone had told the Dark Lord that she wanted to leave; only two people know that she wanted it, and one of them would never tell. Anger flared in her chest, glowing in her eyes. Lucius was the one who tattled, Lucius had caused her to be punished. He was completely responsible for everything that had happened to her.
With a snarl, she tore her body away from his, her rage causing her body to become rigid. He gave her a startled look, his eyes astonished as she glared at him. "You did this to me," she snarled and he flinched, shocked with her sudden change in behavior. She rushed towards him and slapped his face as hard as she could. "You caused me to lose the Dark Lord's favor!" she barked as her hands grasped his throat, clenching hard, wanting to feel the life leave his body as he suffocated. Her eyes burned with her wrath as her hands wrapped around his neck tighter.
The next thing she knew, she was on the floor, her hands no longer around his throat and he was gazing at her, wand drawn and at the ready. "Sira, listen to me," he drawled, trying to calm her down. A snarl escaped her chest as she stared at him fiercely. Her hand slowly reached for the knife at her hip, watching Lucius' face carefully, never breaking away from his gaze.
She lunged at him, jumping to her feet and throwing herself at him. The knife slashed through the air, causing him to duck but he was too slow. The blade ran across his check, opening the skin and making blood well up on the site. Anger filled his eyes and he lunged at her, his hands reaching for the blade. "Give me the knife!" he ordered, failing at his first attempt.
"No!" she barked, trying to avoid him and yet still strike him. She rushed towards him again, but he was expecting it this time. His hand grasped her wrist, twisting her arm as he glared into her eyes menacingly. Rapidly, he flipped around, moving under her arm, and forced it behind her back, causing her to gasp. He wrenched her arm and shoved her against the wall, his body pinning her there. She struggled, trying to break free, but she couldn't and he already had the knife out of her hand, casting it aside quickly.
"Sira," he whispered into her ear as he leaned harder against her as she continued to fight his grip, "you have to listen to me. You need to know something." She stopped her struggling as her eyes grew wide. Was he actually going to apologize? "Will you let me tell you?"
"Yes, Lucius," she said softly and he turned her around. His eyes were no longer angry and he moved away from her a bit, his hand gripping her shoulders tightly as they pinned her against the wall. Her rage slowly drained out of her as she looked into his eyes.
"Sira," he breathed, his eyes turning serious but still holding warmth, "I am truly sorry for telling the Dark Lord that you were planning to leave. I thought that it would actually assist your leave and it did, didn't it? You now have to be with the Snatchers, farther from our Lord but yet still loyal. Only, that was the only thing that I planned to have happen after I told him. I didn't mean for you to be tortured, I didn't mean for him to mock you, and I didn't mean for him to strip you of your rank. I'm sorry, Sira. It's my fault that you received what you did." Tears rimmed her eyes as her torture entered her mind again, causing her body to tremble. "Are you okay?" he asked, sounding a bit concerned about her sudden shaking.
"No," she exhaled as a sob rattled in her chest, causing her to fall into him. Her tears rolled down her face as she rested her head on his chest, just wanting the closeness. He led her slowly to her bed and sat down with her on the edge, his arms tightening around her. Her body quaked with her returning agony. Sirius' words filled her head, ringing in her ears as her heart sank in her chest. Even if they weren't really spoken, they still hurt.
"Sira," a muffled voice called as footsteps came up the staircase. She didn't notice but Lucius did, his eyes watching the door, waiting for it to open with fear in his heart. "Sira," the voice said again, coming closer to the room. The door opened slowly a few seconds later and Cal stepped into the room, looking shocked at first but then just furious. Her ice-blue eyes found Lucius instantly and bored into his, showing so much irritation towards him. "Don't you think you've caused enough damage?" she asked in a growl.
He released Sira from his arms and laid her down gently, trying not to upset her anymore. He stood, staring at Cal the world time and walked out of the room, knowing that he shouldn't fight or argue with her. When he left the room, Cal went to her friend. Sira looked as if she was trying to fall asleep but couldn't. "Don't worry, Sira," Cal whispered to her as Sira gazed at her dully. "Scabior's on his way home. He should be here soon." Sira gave her a small nod as she closed her eyes, trying to force away her pain.
The front door of the house closed with a slam as Scabior raced to the staircase. His face was full of concern as his pace continued to quicken, fueled by his fear. He had been with the Snatchers until he had received a Patronus from Cal saying that something horrible had happened to Sira and then he left them, not caring about anyone else or anything other than her. He feared the worst, but he didn't even know what the worst was.
He climbed the stairs two at a time, his hands trembling a little with his stress. Quickly, once he reached the top of the stairs, he turned and headed to the bedroom, just knowing she would be there. his hand pushed the door open slowly to see Sira lying in the bed, looking like she was fast asleep, and Cal sat in a chair at her bedside, finally looking at him after a second or two. Cal stood, her eyes serious, and walked towards him. Once out in the hall with him, she closed the door.
"What 'appened?" Scabior asked rapidly, a little confused but all in all worried. Cal shook her head, almost as if she didn't believe that any of this was actually happening.
"She was punished for wanting to leave the Death Eaters, Scabior," she stated, trying to remove her emotions from her voice. "She was stripped of her rank, mocked, tortured, and is being forced to become a Snatcher. He didn't use the Cruciatus Curse much on her; he was in her mind, forcing her to see horrible images. He broke her, making her scream most of the time and shake on the floor, causing her to beg for it to end. It was awful to witness and, even worse, was that I knew that I couldn't do anything." She hesitated, taking in a long breath. "There was nothing that I could do for her and I just wanted you to know that I did care about her and I wanted to help her. So, I came here because Lucius was ordered to bring her here. She was in bad shape and I knew she would want to rest but probably couldn't. When I found her, she was crying and Lucius was holding her in his arms."
Anger flared in his chest, making him want to snarl with his agitation and his disgust. Everything he ever did to make sure that she wouldn't fall back into Lucius' arms had failed as if he had done nothing. She had told him that she wouldn't go back to him and she did, she fell back to him. He turned away from Cal, furious with himself for not doing more and irritated with Sira for not knowing better. His hand slammed against the walls, making Cal jump a little as she watched him, and the sound filled the house for a brief second. He rested his forearm against the wall and then rested his forehead against it, thinking about what to do and what to say.
He didn't know, and that angered him further. He loved that girl dearly but sometimes he couldn't stand the things she put him through. She did whatever she wanted at times, never caring about what would happen to anyone else but herself and expecting that someone would be there for her to fix her mistakes. He was irritated with her for being so careless, she should've known better for what happened with Sirius. Sirius had been there for her and then he was gone and she finally had to see what would happen to her when no one was there to help her. Now, he treated her like Sirius did and look what she had gotten herself into.
He took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind a little.
Cal's gaze was still on him, watching him carefully as he calmed down gradually. He stayed there against the wall as he thought everything through. Was he truly mad at her? Was he really furious at her for what she did under the conditions it was in? The answer to both of these questions was no, he wasn't. She was under a lot of stress and she really didn't do anything. She was only in Lucius' arms, no more, no less. He sighed and he moved away from the wall, looking to Cal.
There was fear and concern in her eyes, a look that he had never before seen in them. "I need to be with 'er," he whispered, his voice low and tired like he had to be with her. Cal stepped in his path, making him halt before he was able to open the door.
"You're not seeing her if you're angry," Cal said flatly, her tone dead serious. He sighed and rubbed his face with his hands, looking down at the floor before returning his attention to her.
"I'm not angry," he breathed, "not anymore." Cal stepped away and he pushed the door open, completely focused on the girl in the bed. The door closed gently behind him and he treaded softly over to the bed, through the dark room and the shadows cast by the world outside the windows. His eyes focused on her form, still seeming asleep. She didn't move. She didn't stir. When he reached the bed, he pulled back the covers a little and sat on the edge as he started to unlace his boots. He took them off and then slid his jacket off of his shoulders before he laid himself down in beside her, looking into her stressed face.
She looked awful, like she couldn't stop thinking, like she couldn't stop remembering. He pulled her close to him and she moved even nearer as if she wanted the comfort of his arms, like it was the only thing she ever needed. "Scabior," she exhaled as her eyes finally shut all of the way. His arms squeezed her a bit tighter and he realized something. She had her flaws but she was still a good person, she still loved him and nothing could change that. She loved him for who he was, not who he could be. She wouldn't change him.
She raised her head a little and looked into his eyes; hers were bursting with her pain. "It was so horrible," she panted, barely able to say the words like they choked her. "I-." He hushed her; she didn't need to think about what had happened. He hated to see her in so much pain.
"You don't 'ave to talk 'bout it, beautiful," he whispered to hear as his fingers weaved into her hair. "I already know what 'appened." She rested her head on his shoulder, still looking up at him, and she let out a sigh. She just wished that the pain would stop and her mind would clear of the images and words of her torture. Her mind seemed to have unfogged a little since Scabior had come.
"Can you do something for me?" she asked in a whisper, finally breaking a long silence. His blue-grey eyes looked at her, filled with warmth and passion.
"I'd do anything for you," he said sweetly, his voice low and rich. Her body cuddled up to his, moving even nearer as her hands rested on his chest. They started to unbutton his shirt slowly, carefully undoing each button before sliding the shirt off of his shoulders. He pulled it off the rest of the way and tossed it aside. Her check rested right over his heart and she listened to it beat, comforted by the sound and the feel of his skin.
"Tell me that you love me," she stated slowly as she closed her eyes because a new wave of tears threatened to roll down her face. He hand his hands threw her dark-brown hair as he continued to watch her face. She was combatting her agony and she only needed his reassurance to get her through.
"I love you, Sira," he breathed into her ear as he pressed his body against hers to try to stop the starting trembles that quaked her body every so often. "I will always love you. You're so wonderful and beautiful and I would never change anything 'bout you." Her tears silently fell from her eyes, rolling down her face and onto his bare chest. As he continued to whisper the words of his love, sleep started to tug at her. Her pain faded and her body went numb. She could only feel the warmth of his body, his arms holding her close, and the rise and fall of his chest with each breath. The beating of his heart was a lullaby, causing her to relax and welcome the peacefulness of sleep. After a while, it finally took her away.