Chapter 4. Xenia Verdi.
The stone vault never ended – it extended sharply upward, as thought they were at the bottom of a well, with a winding staircase to lead them out. Oddly for a dungeon, it was too dry here; something akin to sand rustled beneath their feet. Well, it least it wasn't the Devil's Snare…
She followed after the stranger, without hearing the sound of footsteps or the rustling of retreating Snare, or any other noises of the dungeon. Because she was still there, down two twists of stairs, at the dead end of the long corridor, with the now weeping Lily.
Xenia walked, stepping carefully and gripping her wand. When they stopped at the foot of the stairs, too tall for them to see the top, the girl raised her weapon, still unsure of what she should do.
"Don't do anything stupid," the kidnapper snapped, still invisible, although Xenia sensed the movement of air and even heard his breathing as they started up the steep stairs. "Even if you knock me out right now, you won't make it out of here: my elves are everywhere.
The girl smirked, sweeping her hair out of her eyes: someone did not have to work hard to read thoughts. Their opponent was astute, indeed. Yet, he had done one misstep, and now Xenia was mentally linked to Lily. Like she and James once were. It worked once, and she hoped that it would help this time around, although she was still in the dark as to their destination and purpose.
"Why are you hiding all the time?" Xenia managed another flight of stairs and asked herself how deeply under the ground were they: the staircase was long, yet they were still surrounded by stone walls, and not earth, despite the lengthy ascent already. And where are they?
"I would not want to reveal myself, it would give away the game," the invisible man replied, almost cheerfully. "Although…"
"And what game are you playing?"
"Oh, that's a good question," he chuckled without stopping. "It is rather hard to explain, and the setting is not fitting for that."
"The setting was of your own choosing," Xenia reminded him, beginning to tire of the long ascent. She now understood why this man had preferred to Apparate to their cell.
"Well, you have almost changed it. Careful now, don't bump your head."
She wanted to laugh at such concern for her well-being: as if this man had not held her and Lily prisoners in a stone cell deep below the surface. And poor Lily was still there.
She bent her head to fit through the doorway, low and uneven, as though hewn indifferently. They entered a small room, again without windows, with a low ceiling. Several torches burned on the walls.
"Where are we?"
"Unfortunately, I cannot give you the answer," the man's politeness almost made Xenia forget that she was his prisoner. But the feeling was fleeting, for as soon as they came in she was surrounded by three house elves with markedly unfriendly demeanors. "Go on in, I'll be right there…"
The elves nudged Xenia forward, and she noticed another door before her just as one of the elves touched it with one long finger. Beyond was what looked like a vacant room: a small space with one shuttered window. A tattered, dusty rug covered the floor; two chairs and a table were pushed against the wall, out of the way. The entire space by the opposite wall was taken up by rows of twine-bound sacks.
Xenia glanced at the elves who were watching her closely, then took a step toward the sacks. The house elves remained put. Then the girl crossed the room more surely and approached the opposite wall.
"Don't touch."
She started and turned around, to see for the first time the visage of the man who had kidnapped them. It was definitely him, since she could not help but recognize his voice.
He was half a head taller than her, with dark-blonde hair almost covering his ears. His eyes, plum-colored and slightly slanted, did not reflect light. A slightly pointed chin and turned-up nose. Xenia looked at him with a feeling that the man's face was literally composed of bits and pieces: the separate features did not seem to fit together into a cohesive structure, as though each one was part of another face. A strange bloke, whom she had definitely never seen before.
"Why did you decide to show yourself to me now?" Xenia folded her arms, aware that she was being taken in. This was definitely not the man's real face. This was something worth thinking about.
"Because you are leaving me," the man smiled, waving to the house elf, who hurried toward the sacks. A couple of snaps of those elongated fingers – and the sacks vanished, leaving behind the strange smell: dust and smoke.
"Why do you want Lily?" Xenia was eager to learn something, anything about her friend's fate – she was almost certain that whatever lay in store for her was much easier than what awaited Lily, if only because Xenia was not originally the object of abduction.
"She is the trump card in this game," the young man – he looked about twenty five, although, Xenia supposed, that might be false as well – leaned against the wall, appearing quite at his leisure; as though he was waiting for something or someone.
"Game?"
"Well, you could call it something else, but that would not change the essence," he shrugged his slim shoulders. "Don't fret, however: when the time comes, she too will leave this place."
Xenia did not know what to say to this: this man fascinated and frightened her at the same time.
"What did Malfoy do to you?"
She touched a nerve: the man's strange eyes flashed; he straightened, staring at the girl. He seemed to be pondering how much to say and how much to hold back.
"He took the woman I loved from me."
Xenia stared, a bit startled: a woman?
"Lily?"
The kidnapper relaxed once again; a smirk flitted across his face.
"You are not interested in learning your own fate, are you, Xenia Potter?"
"I am about to know it, am I not?" Xenia was not about to betray her fear or anxiety to this man.
"Of course," the man glanced at his wrist watch: the dark bracelet reflected candle light. "Unfortunately, not everyone in this world is punctual…"
Xenia did not reply, turning away: she was feeling faint. This was normal, known to happen, as she was well aware. There, down below, she had made her choice with hardly a second thought.
She was a healer, her calling helping people. She knew almost everything about the upsides and downsides of mental techniques; she knew all there was to know about mental links capable of saving lives and ending them.
Yet, could she have done differently?! She did not have time to consider and weigh her decision; she did what she had to do to give Lily a chance at being rescued. And if the mental link would help with that, then it would be worth everything…
"You are pale. Would you like to have some tea before your departure?"
Xenia grinned, almost ready to laugh. No tea would help her, because every time she felt Lily, read her mind, her strength would wane a little. And, more horribly, not only hers…
Forgive me, my darling…
It was as though she went back in time, standing before Grandfather's deathbed, seeing his calm face framed by grey hair. Hearing him speak to her in a soft voice of duty, of the prophecy, of her gift. Of her strength. Of how difficult it would be for her, for she was called to save others, not herself. He trusted that, when faced with a choice, she would always think first of others, then of herself. And she always strove to do that, never wavering. Yet now, knowing that she had done what she had to do, Xenia still agonized over the question: had she done the right thing? After all, this time she risked not herself or, rather, not only herself…
She bit her lip, forcing herself to believe that she had been right. Perhaps everything would resolve soon without resorting to the link. What if, right now, in a couple of minutes, James and Scorpius would burst in the room, and everything would be over. She wanted so badly to believe that…
She started when her kidnapper spoke again:
"I have to leave you for a spell; I think I'd better greet the visitor myself…"
Xenia wanted to ask who was the visitor, but she stopped herself: she would know soon enough…
The man nodded at the house elves and left out the door, which almost blended with the wall.
Why didn't he reveal himself earlier, knowing as he did that they did not know him? Or would not recognize…
Xenia reached out to Lily for a few seconds: she was in the dark, poor thing. She feared. And she loved.
Xenia hoped fervently that this love that burnt so brightly in Lily's heart would keep her from despair. Because otherwise, this could never end well…
The girl walked over to the closed window, thinking of her husband. Where is he? He must be searching high and low for them. It's good that Malfoy is with him… Her cousin is good at keeping a cool head. Although in this case Xenia could allow for any possibility, because Lily, by teaching Scorpius to love, also made him vulnerable. Just like Rose made Theo vulnerable…
Theo, that's who could help her. He could help her keep up her strength. And maintain the link when her strength ran out. He, stronger than her at mental techniques, could lighten the load that Xenia had taken upon herself. If only she could get out and ask Theo for help!
The girl hugged herself, looking down at the floor, covered by the strange grey sand, crunching under her feet.
She so badly wanted to believe that James and Scorpius would find them. Malfoy did not have many enemies capable of something like this. They have to find them. Perhaps right this minute they are approaching…
Thinking thus was easier than giving in to helplessness or panic, and Xenia tried to believe it, tried to reassure herself with that thought. Help is near, and her decision to link herself to Lily mentally will not matter…
She wanted to believe it so badly that her spirits soared momentarily when the door opened behind her. Xenia was ready to turn around and see her husband and her cousin.
She stepped back at the sight of the young man before her. She knew him, although it had been a while since she saw him last. She remembered those eyes, full of boundless pain, and terror, and fear, and entreaty. She remembered them, as though it had been yesterday, because she had to treat the consequences of what Scorpius had done.
She did not even need to close her eyes to see, as though in reality, the room at Hogwarts, its stone floor stained with blood. It seemed filled with pain; Xenia felt it as she and Theo were kneeling to try to give at least some relief to the boy with plea and terror in his eyes and the girl who staunchly refused to acknowledge her pain.
Before Xenia stood Fritz Zabini.