Annnddddddd here is thirty-three! I was excited to write this one, though it has varying point of views; it does a lot now, really, but I figure it makes things more interesting that way. Yeah, Carina killing a guy isn't too far fetched, so I suppose what happens next isn't either, really. Anyway, here it is for your viewing, and I hope you like it, despite how nuts it may get. Don't forget to review!
Narcissa Malfoy straightened, smoothing out her dress as she did so. They had just finished checking over the new prisoners, two of which were definitely Granger and Weasley, and one of which was probably Potter. However, they were not completely sure, and so they had not called upon the Dark Lord yet, lest they be wrong.
"That's all of them, then?" she inquired.
"No, ma'am," said a Snatcher, and she noted the absence of their leader. Had he run off? The man shoved forward someone, and when the person staggered into the light and cast a glare back at him, Narcissa could feel the shock hit her.
Her younger cousin, Sirius's daughter, Carina Black was here. Her clothing was dirty, dark hair a mess, and there was dried blood stained around her mouth and down the front of her shirt; had one of them dared to strike the new Lady Black in such a way?
"What happened to her?"
"She killed Scabior, ma'am." The Snatcher waved his arms. "He had his hands all over the mudblood and she just leapt straight forward and killed 'im!"
"With what, her bare hands?" snapped Bellatrix, obviously out of patience. "She's got no wand, you fool!"
"She didn't need one! She just leapt straight forward, turned into some wolf, and bloody well tore 'is throat out!"
The other men loudly voiced their agreements as well with things such as, "A bloody devil, she is!", "One minute she was there, and the next she wasn't!", and "She's mad!"
Her sister turned to stare at their cousin, a wicked smirk appearing on her lips, while Narcissa could only watch. It was well known that those in the Black family possessed a certain madness within them, and while it seemed as though Bellatrix had inherited most of it, Carina had gotten her fair share as well, for she did not look the least bit upset about his death, and had the audacity to bare blood stained teeth at the man and the woman who killed her father.
"A wolf?" Bellatrix circled the girl, cackling. "How...fitting." She stopped abruptly. "You said she did it for the mudblood?"
"Call her that again," came a quiet voice.
Bellatrix's head whipped around, and Narcissa was, for a moment, struck with the resemblance between the two—or, rather, what would have been a resemblance if her sister were still in her younger years.
"What was that, cousin?" Wand drawn, the woman advanced. "Mudblood? That's what she is. Scum, useless, not even worthy to be a slave or lick the muck from my boots—" And then, Bellatrix seized Granger by the chin, causing the Weasley boy to spring forward; Carina did not move. "—aren't you, girl?"
"Let go of her." The words were delivered icily, but being a mother and not to mention very perceptive, Narcissa could see the trembling hands, the small curl of the lip, the eyebrows twitching irritatedly, the muscle working in the jaw...this was not good.
"And what? You'll make me?"
The teen strode forward, ducking aside from the Snatchers who attempted to grab her, and lunged straight for Bellatrix; it was a rash move, for she got herself blasted back onto the floor hard.
"Carina!" shouted Granger, panicked. "Are you—"
"—I'm fine." Carina pulled herself up onto her knees, sharp gray eyes never once leaving her cousin. And then, in an incredibly surprising and rather bold move, she shifted into the dark furred wolf the men had been shouting about, muzzle covered in dried blood.
The wolf took Bellatrix by surprise, but only just enough to ram her to the ground; she was on her feet again in seconds and pointed her wand between its eyes, yelling furiously, "Crucio!"
There was a drawn out whine from the wolf, which sunk to its front paws and buried its head between them, twisting it this way and that, eyes clamped shut; Narcissa blinked, and then it was her younger cousin kneeling there, fingers curled into the rug and quivering from head to toe. Carina seemed to be grinding her teeth hard, but a whimper escaped her, and as the intensity of the pain wore on, she growled lowly, shaking her head this way and that, eyes squinching even more tightly shut then before.
She was vaguely aware of Granger and Potter shouting for Bellatrix to stop, and Weasley might have put his own knut in, but she ignored it. Right now, her eyes were all for the daughter of Sirius Black, whose legs had given out from under her and caused her to fall to her stomach, propped up by her forearms, fists clenched so hard they were a very pale white.
Carina Black's shoulders rolled, and it was clear as any she was trying not to writhe in agony as she let out a low moan; Bellatrix finally dropped the curse, and the girl collapsed, breathing raggedly.
"Lock them away," commanded Bellatrix, scowling down at their cousin. Her eyes suddenly gleamed. "Leave the mudblood here."
"NO!" shouted Weasley, surging forward. He was rewarded a slap to the face for his efforts and fell silent, the coward.
Carina was drug to her feet by Greyback, and when her eyes fluttered open and they caught sight of the Mudblood girl being held back by a Snatcher, they filled with panic and she struggled against the werewolf.
"Take me, you bloody slag!" she screamed, kicking and squirming weakly; it was no use, of course. Narcissa could see her limbs involuntarily twitch with the after effects of the cruciatus, and her strength was no match for the beast that was Fenrir Greyback. Bellatrix's eyes lit alight with fury. "You hear me? Take me!"
"Blood traitor comes after mudblood in my book," hissed Bellatrix, leaning forward to slap her. "Especially when they've shamed the family. Take them to the dungeon, now!"
And as Greyback drug the three away after being promised the mudblood Granger, Narcissa turned away and focused on her son, the only one she was willing to risk her life for to protect; it would do no good to feel sympathy for Carina Black.
This was war.
And she had chosen the wrong side.
~~~xxx~~~
Carina, Harry, and Ron were all tied together back to back and thrown into the cellar, and when the door slammed shut and Greyback went upstairs, the girl was trembling and could feel Ron doing so as well. They could hear faint—or in Carina's case, not so faint—talking upstairs, accusing.
Bellatrix was left alone with Hermione, and just the thought made her sick.
She'd thought that there might be a chance Bellatrix would take her instead, but she was wrong. Instead, her insane older cousin had chosen the person Carina was in love with, and all because of her blood; her outburst had not helped any, either.
"Harry?" came a familiar voice from the darkness. It was light and maybe a bit hoarse, but if she did not recognize the voice, she would definitely recognize the smell—honeysuckle and cherries. "Is that you?"
"Luna?" called Harry. "Is that you?"
"Yes. But if you're here, that means…"
"There's a pocketknife in my back pocket," said Carina suddenly, roughly. "Get it and use it."
There was no answer, but moments later—after a few mistaken grabs at Ron's ear and Harry's arm—the knife Dumbledore gave her was pulled from her back pocket, and Luna set to work on the ropes.
Idiots forgot to search me, except for a wand.
Carina listened closely upstairs, hearing Bellatrix's fury, but then...then there was a scream, and her muscles jerked involuntarily when Ron began yelling right in her ear. That, and she was still feeling a bit shaky from the cruciatus. But that scream….it was Hermione's.
When the ropes snapped free, Carina all but threw herself at the door when the next scream echoed down; Luna was still sawing the others free from their restraints.
She rattled the bars of the cell violently, her head spinning.
No no no no, this can't be happening, no….
Another agonized scream, and, "We didn't take it, we didn't take anything, it's only a copy—"
"LIES! CRUCIO!"
Carina tipped her head back and let out an anguished howl, rattling the bars again. They would not budge, and she could hear her heart pounding loudly in her ears, only vaguely aware of Ron yelling some more, pounding against the wall…
Not Hermione not Hermione no no no take me take me—
Another scream, and the raven haired girl howled again, bellowing up the stairs, "COME TAKE ME, LET HER GO, YOU BLOODY MONSTERS! TAKE ME!"
More denials from above, more of Bellatrix shouting furiously, and Carina could feel her legs spasm and nearly give out, but she gripped the bars tightly to hold herself upright and shook them again, feeling panic rise up within her.
No no no no let her go let her go stop make it stop make it make it stop stop stop no STOP!
"HERMIONE!" she slammed against the door, feeling her panic begin to overwhelm her as another, more drawn out and terrible scream hit her. She felt as though she were going to vomit, and very nearly did. "HERMIONE! NO, LET HER GO, COME AND GET ME, I'M WHO YOU WANT!"
The screaming didn't stop, and she lost all sense of everything in that moment.
~~~xxx~~~
Luna could hardly believe this haggard, bloody, tormented mess of a girl could be her best friend, said girl of which was currently completely hysterical and ramming herself uselessly against the cell door, screaming up the stairs for all she was worth.
But it was. And Carina Black was not doing well, if her massive panic attack was anything to go by; she had always told her friend that she loved Hermione Granger, and now, they were seeing just how much under these terrible circumstances.
"Ron, calm down," said Harry sharply, grabbing the boy by the arm. The redhead stopped uselessly pounding the wall, and his attention was directed to Carina. "We have to get her off there...Dean, can you give us a hand?"
"Sure," came the quiet reply from the dark skinned boy, who followed them to where the girl stood, and each grabbed an appendage—legs for Dean, waist for Harry, and Ron was attempting to pry her fingers from the bars.
However, their plan failed when they only succeeded in lifting her body from the floor, and the tugs they gave did nothing, for her grip was like iron and she had even bitten Ron on the arm.
"Come on, try again!" Harry was desperate now. He knew that they needed Carina, and Luna was positive he hated seeing her like this.
And so they tried again, and again, and again, until finally, a blast of accidental magic caused by her distress threw the boys back in different directions.
"Bloody hell!" cursed Ron hoarsely, rubbing his head. He had been crying somewhat before. "Luna, can't you help?"
"I can try," responded Luna, before making her way to the raven haired girl's side and wrapping a hand around her wrist. Gently, she whispered, "Carina, you have to let go."
The crazed girl rammed the bars again, and her knees buckled, but she held herself upright stubbornly. It almost made Luna want to cry, seeing her like this, for she hated to see Carina in any sort of pain; still, however, she steeled herself to do what she was supposed to.
"Carina, this isn't helping Hermione. I know she's being hurt, but right now, we need to think of a way out. Let go."
The grip on the bars loosened, but another scream made Carina snarl loudly and throw herself forward again. Except, this time, in her path was Luna, and she would have seriously injured the blonde had she not snapped back into her senses, if only enough to grab Luna by the shoulders and yank her into her arms just before she hit the bars.
To be quite honest, Luna felt the slightest bit relieved; she had been hoping that tactic would work, that Carina was not so far gone that she would hurt her. She allowed herself to be pulled to the ground and landed on top of her friend, in her lap, and she could feel the nose brush her neck. When another round of what was happening upstairs hit Carina she jerked and there was a sharp intake of breath, but she did not otherwise move aside from holding Luna tighter and letting out a strangled half howl, half sob. All Luna could do was rub circles on her back, pulling her closer.
They sat there for a good few minutes, she knew, but the blonde did not mind. Carina had not been in the right state if mind to properly converse, anyway.
Finally, finally, the screaming ceased as abruptly as it had started, and only then did Carina speak.
"I missed you," she murmured, and the other girl could tell by the roughness of her voice that her throat was most likely raw by now; fingers wound into the fabric of her shirt . "Merlin, I missed you so much."
"I missed you as well." Luna smiled faintly and merely curled into her friend's embrace. "It's rather dreary here, you see, and you're a lot more fun."
Carina's breathing had finally slowed, and though Luna could still feel her heart pounding fast. The other witch let out a dark chuckle. "Dreary as in torture. I know what my family does to people."
Though she had only been imprisoned for a couple months at most, Luna knew that better than anyone. She had heard things upstairs, and she herself had been subject to a cruciatus or two if only to serve as their amusement before she had been locked away here in this cell. They had left her alone since then, except to bring food occasionally, though still not nearly enough.
"You're right." There was another intake of breath, and then it was slowly released; Luna could feel Carina's arms tense and then spasm once, before tensing again.
She had been under the cruciatus as well, it seemed, and though Luna noticed the blood on her in the dim light that Ron's deluminator had provided, she decided that she would not say anything, not now. She would ask later, though she could take a decent guess at why there was blood in the first place, especially around her mouth.
"I'll kill them," there was a low growl. "For you and Hermione."
And for my dad, was obviously included in there, but that was left unspoken because Luna understood. Bellatrix was the first on Carina's hit-list, especially, she knew. Bellatrix, and then Voldemort, and Lucius, and so on. The Lestrange was only at the top because she had done terrible things to those closest to her, whereas Voldemort...he had not. Not yet, anyway.
Something wet hit the side of her neck, but she did not comment on that either, and from the corner of her eye she could see Harry nod in thanks to her, and she inclined her head back ever so slightly.
She did not need to be thanked for helping Carina Black, who she would travel to the ends of the world for. She did not need to be asked to help the girl she had bonded so closely with, closer than even with Ginny at times. It was her job, her duty, and Carina felt the same, she knew. If it were her being tortured up there and not Hermione—Luna was not being arrogant as she thought this, for it was a fact—she knew that Carina would have done the exact same thing she had before.
If it were Carina up there instead of either...well, she was strong, and if hearing her anguished howls and seeing her tears made Luna's heart clench, it would surely break upon hearing her agonized screams as she was tortured over and over again until her mind snapped.
"I know," Luna whispered, and there was a pause from her friend.
"Luna," she said quietly, so nearly inaudibly that the younger girl had almost not heard.
"Yes?"
Carina pulled back slightly, and gray eyes roved over Luna's face. "I…" She swallowed hard, brows drawing into an angry line for a moment, before they eased. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you."
"It's alright. If you could have, you would have. I handled myself well, I think, and I had Ginny and Neville."
She knew Carina would have protected her, but she also knew that there were more important things at stake, like defeating the Dark Lord once and for all, and if that was what her friend's quest was about, then so be it. Carina had trusted her to look after herself that day they parted at the wedding, and she had as best as she could while also looking after others and reforming Dumbledore's Army.
"Luna?" The question came again.
"Yes?"
The raven haired girl pulled back even more, and trembling hands were placed on Luna's cheeks.
Luna did not move away, and she gazed into the watery gray eyes of her friend, before she felt her head being tilted down, lips press to her forehead, and then another forehead upon her own.
"Thank you," murmured Carina breathlessly, hoarsely, against her skin. "Thank you so much."
Luna could feel her lips quirk upward slightly at that, and she crossed her eyes slightly; Carina had closed her own and then opened them again, staring directly at her, into her soul, it seemed.
"Luna."
"Yes?" The blonde would have tilted her head, but instead settled for pushing her own gently against Carina's.
"I love you."
"I know." And she did. She could see it in Carina's face, see it in her actions and the smiles she gave; this girl was the sister she had always wished of having, the best friend she would ever have besides one Ginny Weasley. But this was different. Special. They drew strength from the other, despite being as opposite as night and day, moon and sun. And still, she could think of no one, not even Ginny or Neville, who she had a bond so strong with. "As I, you."
They could not say another word before a crack sounded, and Luna suddenly found herself sitting on the floor behind Carina, who was crouching with her lips curled up and teeth bared at the source of the noise.
It was Dobby.
"Harry Potter!" he cried. "Wheezy, Carina Black!" His eyes were wide. "What is you doing here?"
They could hear footsteps fall on the stairs, and Luna realized that Griphook had been taken upstairs ages ago, having already been spoken to by Harry and Ron, and that someone was coming down now.
"No time, Dobby," said Harry quickly. "Listen, can you get apparate four people out of here, somewhere safe, like...like…"
"Shell Cottage, on the outskirts of Tinworth," intervened Ron swiftly. At Harry's puzzled look, he explained,"Bill and Fleur's place."
"Alright." Harry nodded along without missing a beat, turning to the house elf as Carina stood, pulling Luna to her feet. "Can you get them them there and come back for Carina, Ron, Hermione and me?"
"Of course, Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby exclaimed, before he turned serious and held out his hands. "Hold on."
Dean and Ollivander carefully ambled over, Griphook—who had returned a bit ago, it seemed—close behind. All eyes turned to Luna.
She did not want to leave Carina in this place. She did not want to leave any of her friends in this place.
But she had to, and so she would.
She reached forward to embrace Carina, and as she did so, she whispered one last message, "Be brave."
Luna stepped back a moment later, and she grabbed Ollivander's hand. The last thing she saw was Harry and Ron slipping onto different corners of the door as the footsteps grew closer, and a wolf slinking into the shadows, before they disappeared with a crack.