"Bring him in then," my father said, his voice harsh. I opened my eyes and blinked a couple of times, and a splitting pain radiated through my head. I was unaware of how long I had been here or what was done to me.
I looked up, my neck aching from slumping over in the chair and saw a tall man standing before my father. He bowed his head and turned to open the room's double doors.
Two Death Eaters I knew only as Selwyn and Travers entered dragging with them a man with fluffy blond, shoulder-length hair. He was struggling against them looking panicked.
"Well, well, well," my father jeered as the two Death Eaters threw the man on the floor at my father's feet. "Xenophilius Lovegood, I believe you have some information for me?"
I swallowed, thinking hard - Lovegood? I knew that name.
The man named Xenophilius did not look up from the floor but started to sob quietly. I glanced at my father who was watching him, his head tilted to the side as though appraising the poor man.
Selwyn kicked Xenophilius hard in the side and he yelped in pain.
"Mr Megera is a busy man," he said, sneering down at Xenophilius, "Tell him what you told us!"
"My Luna," muttered Xenophilius.
"What?" My father snapped.
"You took my Luna," Xenophilius said louder still looking at the floor.
Luna Lovegood - I remembered the blonde Ravenclaw student from Hogwarts and realised this must be her father.
My father chuckled as he crouched down in front of Xenophilius. "Tell me where Harry Potter is," he hissed at him.
"Where is Luna?" Xenophilius cried.
Suddenly, a terrible scream came from somewhere in the house. It was a scream of agony and it cut right through me. I watched Selwyn and Travers look towards the door as though expecting the owner of the scream to be standing in the doorway.
"I'm asking the questions," my father said softly, apparently oblivious to the ongoing scream. "I'm only going to ask you one more time, Xenophilius. Tell me where Potter is or you'll never see your daughter again."
If Xenophilius happened to know where Harry was my father would be one of the last people I would want to have this information.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted my father's wand lying on the large stone desk next to me.
"Answer him!" Selwyn snarled, kicking Xenophilius in the side again causing him to fall over and cry out in pain.
"Well, let me ask you this," my father said, standing up and looking down at the man with a look of disgust on his face. "Do you have a death wish?"
Selwyn laughed and aimed his wand at Xenophilius, who shrank back with his hands over his head.
"I saw him - the Potter boy and his friends." Xenophilius cried.
"That we know - where did they go?" My father asked impatiently.
"He doesn't know anything of use, Max, let's get it over with!" Travers said harshly.
"No! Please!" Xenophilius cried as my father sniggered evilly.
I rose from the chair and approached the desk, my gaze never leaving the unfolding scene. Fortunately, no one noticed as I discreetly reached out and adjusted the wand, shifting it into place.
"Imperio," I muttered as softly as I could, feeling the magic flow from my mind, down my arm to the wand pointing at my father's back. I knew the curse wouldn't last long in my weakened state but, if I could just keep Xenophilius alive…
Just send him to Azkaban I thought, confident that neither Selwyn nor Travers could dispute this. In Azkaban, Xenophilius might have a chance of surviving while I searched for Luna—though I had no clue where she might be.
"Avad-"
"No!" I heard my father loudly interrupting Selwyn. "The Dark Lord may want to question him further. Take him to Azkaban."
"But Max - " Selwyn spluttered.
"Now!" My father roared and Selwyn and Travers scrambled to pull up Xenophilius and drag him out of the room.
I took my hand off the wand as my father turned around and shook his head slightly as though to dislodge a fly that had landed on his face.
"Oh, you're awake," he said, his hazel eyes landing on me, a slightly vacant look in them that the curse had left.
He blinked a few times and began to walk towards me and my body tensed automatically.
Surely he didn't realise I had cursed him?
"Stop or she dies!" A voice yelled from somewhere in the house.
My father stopped in his tracks turning his head to look at the door and turned back to me.
"Was that Bellatrix?" He asked me frowning and I shrugged not caring who it was.
"Come with me," he ordered and I obeyed knowing it was better to do so.
My father and I reached the drawing room and I followed him inside after he had opened the double doors.
"-The Dark Lord will be coming, Harry Potter! Your death approaches!" Bellatrix leered.
My eyes grew wide and my heart skipped a beat as I took in the scene before me.
Bellatrix had Hermione in her grasp, a knife at her throat, as Harry and Ron looked on in terror.
"What is going on here?" My father asked authority pouring from his words and pulling me by the wrist into the drawing room.
"Nothing that concerns you," My uncle replied bitterly from beside me. My father raised his eyebrows but did not look at him. He walked over to Harry, grabbing his chin and forcing Harry to look up at him, his eyes lingering on Harry's forehead. "I disagree, Lucius," he said silkily, "This certainly looks like something that concerns me."
"We have this under control Max," Bellatrix snapped, as Draco hurried towards his mother, catching my eye as he went past me. He looked panicked.
My father turned to face Bellatrix, his eyebrows still raised. "Do you?" The corner of his mouth twitched up and Bellatrix looked enraged.
"Yes," she snapped again and her eyes flicked to her sister "Cissy, I think we ought to tie these little heroes up again, while Greyback takes care of Miss Mudblood. I am sure the Dark Lord will not begrudge you the girl, Greyback, after what you have done tonight."
She turned to Uncle Lucius dragging Hermione with her. "Call him," she shrieked excitedly.
My uncle took a step forward pushing back his sleeve and raised his other hand. Panic started to overtake my body and before I knew what I was doing I grabbed his wrist to stop him touching the mark.
"You dare-" He yelled before using his free hand to slap me hard across the face, "-in my own house you dare to defy me?"
"Enough!" shrieked Bellatrix as she wrapped her arms around Hermione as if to hug her, pulled up her sleeve and touched her forefinger to the Dark Mark.
Fuck.
I glared at my uncle as a peculiar grinding noise came from above and I looked upwards in time to see the crystal chandelier tremble; then, with a creak and an sinister jingling, it began to fall.
My vision was obscured as I threw up my arms to block my face as the shards of crystal flew in all directions. I heard someone scream and someone yell "Stupefy!' and a smashing sound.
I stood up straight to see Aunt Cissy dragging Draco out of the way of further harm; his face cut up and Bellatrix sprang to her feet, I followed her gaze to see my aunt had directed her wand at the door
"Dobby!" she screamed. "You! You dropped the chandelier –?"
I watched the elf trot into the room, hardly believing what was happening right in front of my eyes.
"You must not hurt Harry Potter," he squeaked.
"Kill him, Cissy!" shrieked Bellatrix, but Aunt Cissy's wand flew out of her hand as Dobby summoned it across the room.
"Ron, catch – and GO!" Harry suddenly yelled, throwing a wand at him.
Blood dripped into my eye from a cut on my head and by the time I had wiped it away and looked up, Harry had seized Dobby's hand and he spun on the spot to Disapparate.
Voldemort's rage was dreadful.
As soon as he appeared, Bellatrix fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face as she pleaded for forgiveness. Voldemort looked down at her expressionless as he subjected her to the Cruciatus Curse.
He didn't stop there. He pinned my uncle and aunt to the wall above the fireplace with a swipe of his wand and proceeded to torture Draco as they looked helplessly down.
Draco's screams cut through me like a knife and after Voldemort lifted the curse he lay on the floor, his breathing ragged and hardly moving. Voldemort turned his attention to my father as his great snake slithered behind him.
The snake wrapped itself around my father's legs and he took in a sharp intake of breath as Voldemort stared intently at my father's face. I knew he was using Occlumency to see what part my father and I had played in this.
"Max," Voldemort said after a beat, "Harry Potter was right within our grasp,"
My father bowed his head "I know, my Lord,"
"If I can't trust you Max then who can I trust?" Voldemort said quietly clicking his tongue like a disappointed parent.
"My Lord, let me fix my brother-in-law's mistakes," my father said hurriedly, his breathing elevated.
"No Max, you will accompany your daughter back to Hogwarts where Severus can deal with her. Then you will return to me." Voldemort turned around looking up at my uncle and aunt waving his wand casually and watching as they both fell hard on the ground.
"And as for the Malfoy family and you Bellatrix-" he added as he stepped over Draco who was still on the floor, "- you will not leave this house until I permit it, do you understand?" He pointed his wand at my uncle who nodded vigorously. Aunt Cissy stared at the floor, I knew she was eager to tend to Draco but knew remaining silent was the only way to get Voldemort out of the way.
Voldemort left without another word, the snake unravelling itself from my father and slithering behind him.