In His Shadow (A Harry Potter Fan Fiction)

Chapter 55- The Choice

A/N-

Hello everyone! I'm sorry it's been a long wait, I'm often very busy around Christmas. Anyway, I hope you had a good Christmas and happy new year to you all.

This is the penultimate chapter of In His Shadow, but don't worry, I promise there will be another one.

Enjoy! :)

Chapter 55

 I fell backwards into Bellatrix with a gasp. She laughed and whispered into my ear,

“You didn’t expect that, did you?”

I looked up at Lord Voldemort in shock,

“You want me to… bring my own brother to you? Are you insane?”

He stared at me in silence. I shook my head,

“I wouldn’t dare do that! I won’t do anything you ask me.”

Voldemort’s expression turned bitter,

“There will be consequences if you don’t complete the job you have been asked to do.”

He waved his wand, and a misty screen appeared between us. It distorted his face slightly as he hissed,

“If you don’t do this mission, those you care about will suffer!”

The misty screen changed into a vision. I watched it as a figure appeared in the centre of it. It was Fred standing still with his wand in his hand. A second later, a green jet of light hit him and he fell to the ground, lifeless.

I screamed and ran forwards with such force that Bellatrix let go of me. I thrust my hand into the misty screen and it slowly dissolved.

I stared at Lord Voldemort through my tears and whispered,

“Don’t you dare touch Fred.”

 He smiled again,

“If you do what I’ve asked.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, and the image of Fred’s body falling to the ground made me begin to shake with fear.

I heard Voldemort sigh,

“We’ll keep you in a cell downstairs until you can make your mind up.”

Bellatrix grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room, her wand pointed at my throat again.

She whispered things into my ear and cackled before dragging me down to the dungeons.

*                    *                    *

I pressed my hand against the cold cell wall to calm myself. My thoughts were whizzing round in circles in my head and making me feel sick. I kept getting flashing images in my head. One minute I was seeing Harry’s cold, lifeless body, the next I was watching as Fred fell to the ground. I knew it was unfair to decide on something like that.

I jumped a little bit when I noticed Lord Voldemort was standing on the other side of the cell bars. He seemed to think he had given me enough time to make the choice, but even if I had been in that cell for the rest of my life, that choice wouldn’t have been any easier to make.

In the dark and murky room, he still looked powerful. How could someone so evil look so powerful?

He gave me a hard, cold stare,

“Have you made your choice?”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath,

“I will do as you have asked. I’ll bring Harry to you.”

Voldemort smiled,

“Remember what will happen if you don’t.”

I whispered,

“I don’t think I could ever forget.”

*                    *                    *

Draco was standing by the door with a woman who I assumed was his mother. He didn’t look at me as Bellatrix guided me towards him. I’d been freed from the cell the moment I agreed to do the mission. I was to live at Malfoy Manor for the summer holidays.

Draco still didn’t look at me as he muttered,

“I have to blindfold you before we leave so you don’t know where we are.”

I didn’t move as he pulled a black piece of cloth over my eyes. At first he tightened it harshly, but only for a moment. His hands were gentle as he tied the knot and turned me around towards the door.

After a few mumbled words with Bellatrix, he guided me out of the building. It was completely silent outside. It appeared the Death Eaters’ place to meet up was completely deserted.

Draco’s mother took hold of my arm and cleared her throat,

“Now we’re going to Apparate. Hold on tightly.”

Before I could nod my head, a sick dizzy feeling washed over me, and I fell to the ground. It reminded me of when I first Apparated. That had been when I first met Harry.

I flinched at the sound of his name in my head. Draco pulled my blindfold off, but didn’t help me up. I wanted to look him in the eye and ask him why he had betrayed me to Lord Voldemort, but somehow, I was too scared. I had more to care about than that. An argument with Draco wasn’t what I needed at that moment.

Tears filled my eyes and I looked at the ground. I wanted to look anything but weak in front of Draco’s mother. I wondered if all the other Death Eaters knew my mission before I did. Or had it been a complete surprise to them? Would they betray their own family as well? They probably would. Death Eaters did everything that Lord Voldemort asked them to do.

I gulped nervously. That meant I was just like them. I was the same as the Death Eaters.

After a moment of silence, I felt a hand brush my cheek, and I looked up. Draco’s mother had gone inside, but Draco was standing in front of me with a calm expression on his face. I leant towards him, and he wrapped his arms around me as I cried. He didn’t say anything, which I was glad about. Draco had a problem of talking before he thought about what he was saying. If he said anything to me then, I might have walked away.

We stood like that for a while. I knew it was time to go in when Draco pulled away slightly and squeezed my hand. I wiped the tears on my face away and walked towards my new home, Malfoy Manor.