The silence left behind in Harry's absence was deafening.

Ron stood frozen at the door to Harry's room, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The sheets were rumpled, a single streak of blood staining the pillow.

"Harry…" Hermione's voice trembled, her eyes darting across the room. She grabbed at the pillow, her fingers brushing the small cut of red. Her throat tightened. He fought.

But it hadn't been enough.

"HOW?" Moody bellowed, slamming his staff against the floor in frustration. "The wards should have held! They should have"

"They knew," Kingsley interrupted, his face grim. "Bellatrix knew how to get in." His golden eyes darkened. "She's been here before."

Tonks's hair had turned a sickly, pale blonde. "They took him." Her voice cracked. "They actually took him."

Ron clenched his fists, his ears ringing with the same thought over and over again We failed him.

"We need to find him." His voice was deadly quiet. "Now."

Moody's magical eye spun wildly. "They won't kill him outright."

Ron snapped his head toward him. "And how do you know that?" His stomach twisted with rage and fear.

Moody's expression was grim. "Because Bellatrix wants him alive."

Hermione's blood ran cold. "For what?"

Moody's scarred face tightened. "For the same reason she took the Longbottoms."

A chilling silence settled over the room.

Then

"We need to move," Kingsley ordered. "We don't have much time."

Harry's head throbbed as he struggled to lift himself from the cold stone floor. His wrists were bound tightly behind his back, the ropes enchanted they burned like fire each time he twisted against them.

The room was dark, damp, and reeking of old magic.

He knew where he was.

Neville's parents had been tortured here.

And now it was his turn.

A sudden, sharp kick to his ribs sent him crashing back down.

"Still got some fight in you, Potter?" Rodolphus sneered, his boot digging into Harry's side.

Harry gritted his teeth, refusing to let out a sound.

Bellatrix laughed, circling him like a vulture. "Oh, darling, you don't have to pretend with us." She crouched beside him, running a sharp fingernail along his cheek.

Harry jerked away, but Rabastan seized his hair, forcing him to look at her.

Bellatrix's eyes glowed with anticipation. "I wonder…" She tilted her head. "How long did dear Alice and Frank last before they lost their minds?"

Harry felt sick.

"Maybe we should find out, hm?" Her grin widened as she raised her wand.

"CRUCIO!"

Agony exploded through Harry's body.

His muscles seized, his nerves burned, and his screams were ripped from his throat before he could stop them.

The pain was beyond anything he'd felt before worse than Voldemort's Cruciatus, worse than anything Bellatrix had done to him at the Department of Mysteries.

Because she wasn't holding back.

Because she didn't want answers.

She just wanted to break him.

The curse lifted for only a moment before

"CRUCIO!"

His back arched violently against the stone floor.

White-hot pain burned through every inch of him, his mind fraying at the edges as his vision blurred with red and black spots.

He had to hold on.

He had to

The pain vanished, and Harry collapsed, his body shaking uncontrollably.

Bellatrix leaned in close, her breath hot against his ear. "Oh, we're just getting started, darling."

She stood, twirling her wand between her fingers. "Let's see how long it takes before you start begging."

Harry squeezed his eyes shut, his chest heaving.

He wouldn't.

He wouldn't.

Bellatrix raised her wand again.

And the screaming began anew.