Beth rolled onto her back and looked up at the men, the older, crouched above her with an eyebrow raised. The younger didn't even look down.

'So you're Yaxley's problem, well, aren't you just the stereotypical Mudblood! Don't you think Garrow? That scared little expression and these second hand robes that even a blood traitor wouldn't be seen dead in.' he spoke with a deep voice, a voice that made Beth's stomach sink. Blood traitor? Beth didn't understand what was happening or what they were talking about.

'Come on, Lestrange, don't play with the thing.' The man named Garrow whined, pulling out his wand and pointing at Beth half-heartedly. 'Don't know why we had to sort this out today, Yaxley sure needs to know who is really in charge!'

Beth let out a shaking gasp, she understood now, these men were here because of Yaxley. This was all some trap, some detour for these men, a way for Yaxley to get rid of her. And not just in his employment, but get rid of someone that he, and Garrow and Lestrange, were so against because she didn't belong to a pure blood family. Was Lucius involved? Could Beth really have thought that someone like Lucius would not agree with the traditional values that his family, and many others, stood by? God, she was so stupid. Lucius was just playing games with her. Beth, feeling the hope drain from her body, sank back against the floor. The cold marble bit into her skin through the worn fabric of her robes.

'Well, isn't this too easy?' Lestrange pulled Beth half up by her arm and slammed her into the wall, her head bouncing off, and her knees giving out under her. Her hair fell in front of her face so she couldn't see as Garrow came at her from behind Lestrange. He grabbed her robes and tugged her up on to her feet. He pushed her body into the wall and forced her to look up at the ceiling by pressing his wand hard underneath her chin. The wand slid down to the base of her neck, a sharp pain shot up her throat every time she breathed in.

'I would ask if you'd like to say anything before you become nothing – less than nothing. But you don't deserve to have anything to say. You don't deserve to even be alive!' Garrow laughed and Lestrange sniggered behind him.

Beth closed her eyes and waited, she could feel sweat forming between her shoulders, she could hear her pulse drumming in her ears, and she could smell the damp breath coming out in rasps from Garrow's mouth. He was excited, he wanted to kill her without a second thought. Whereas Lestrange wanted to play with her, the look in his eyes when he had laughed seemed to say that he never wanted this game to end. These people were crazy, how could anyone respect people that not only did these horrible things, but enjoyed them.

The wand at her throat, pressed harder and Beth readied herself for the spell that would end her life forever. Lucius came to the surface of her thoughts, his steady blue-eyed gaze, the thin pale hands, and the kiss on the floor in the darkness. There it would stay, with her, in the darkness. Lucius didn't belong in the shadows, he needed to thrive in the light. And all she had was a life in the shadows.

'Goodbye, Mudblood!' Lestrange whispered close to her ear. 'Do it!'

The words Beth had only heard about flew out into the air, but Beth felt nothing – no pain or fear. She felt the wand fall from her throat and wondered if she was leaving her body and moving on. But she could hear people around her, a scuffle, grunts and groans.

Beth opened her eyes, in front of her, Garrow sat motionless against the opposite wall. Or she assumed it was Garrow. He had the same dark cloak on and his wand was the same, but his face was a lot younger now. His skin smooth and brown and his hair a curling black. His eyes, now dark brown, were open in a never-ending stare. His wand was limp in his hand and his chest was still. Garrow was dead. If the spell hadn't killed her then it had killed Garrow, and if Garrow hadn't spoken it then who did.

Beth pulled her eyes away from the dead body and focused on the grunting shapes that were pushing and shoving each other. Lestrange's hand was being held away from the writhing bodies by a pale thin-fingered hand. Lucius' hand! Beth gasped, as the men's faces fell into the glare of one of the green lights.

Lestrange had Lucius by his neck, the veins in his neck straining, his breath coming out in rasps. The hand that wasn't keeping Lestrange's wand at bay, pulled at the scarred man's robes, desperately trying to throw him to the floor. Lestrange kicked at Lucius' knee but with an elegant step, Lucius caught Lestrange's leg and the older man fell down hard onto his knee. Lestrange cried out in pain. Lucius took the opportunity to pull back from the other man's grip, a hand print red on his neck, and pulled out his ebony wand with one smooth manoeuvre.

'Don't mess…with Ministry affairs, Lestrange. Aren't…you in…enough trouble as it is?' Lucius spoke between ragged breaths, his wand rested between Lestrange's eyes.

Lestrange smiled, his teeth glinted in the light. 'Lucius, Lucius, Lucius, I didn't think that you would protect the Ministry's standards. Whatever would your mother and father say?' His leg twitched, his knee shaking under him, his smile faltered.

'My mother and father would say that I shouldn't listen to crazy Lestrange's and that at all costs the Ministry needs to be unaware of my involvement with the cause. They would say do whatever is necessary to remain in a status of power and influence.' Lucius had caught his breath and now it was he who smiled down at his victim.

Lestrange blinked, a smile fighting through the grimace of pain. 'We was only doing what Yaxley suggested. Not that we thought it was worth the risk of exposure, but you see we don't want to upset one of our key inside associates, do we?' Lestrange raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders in a 'what can you do?' way. His eyes met Lucius' and the two men stared at each other, one with a smile merging into an angry grimace, and the other with a malicious grin.

'No. But I will handle Yaxley. My family is much respected, by all people. He will listen to me. Now if you don't mind, take your possessions,' Lucius pointed at Garrow, 'and get to my office. You can explain to Yaxley why I was forced to act so impulsively. He can clean up this mess, it's his own fault. You were lucky no one was around. I'll be with you both after I've cast a memory charm.'

'As you wish Malfoy.' Lestrange hissed. 'Can't say this won't create a ruckus with…some people though.'

With another grin and a sarcastic bow, Lestrange stood up, and limping a little he cast a spell over Garrow's corpse and the body rose and followed him down the dark corridor. It looked as if a dementor was hovering behind Lestrange. Soon the pair were far enough away that they were only shadows in the distance, a door could be faintly heard opening and closing and then all was silent.

Beth let out a slow breath, her body trembled, her vision blurred and she started to fall forwards. With one stride Lucius caught Beth in his arms, her body limp in his embrace.