The Flower and the Badger

Chapter 10

Tonks definitely wasn't looking forward to the conversation she would be having with Remus and Sirius, who knew how they would react to Anna being taken. The truth of it was, Tonks didn't even know if they knew about Anna being taken. In the time since she had been taken, Cedric had awoken from his coma. He had demanded to know where she was, but no one had the heart to tell him, mainly because they all knew that he would try to save her, and he needed to rest a few more days, he had just woken up from a coma after all.

"Why can't you tell them?" She asked Kingsley. "Or Moody? Why does it have to be me? Need I remind you that Sirius is probably pissed off at me because I'm carrying his lover's baby?"

"The baby is exactly why they won't hurt you." Kingsley said. "They would probably try and curse Moody or I. Besides, we're working on trying to find Anna, and launch a rescue mission." Kingsley patted Tonks on the shoulder. "Don't worry, how bad could it possibly be?"

Just like Tonks had predicted, Sirius and Remus were outraged; Sirius looked like he wanted to strangle Tonks, and if it wasn't for Remus holding his arm, he very well might have tried.

"Why the hell was she on a mission in the first place?" Sirius demanded, his voice a low growl, his wand clenched tightly in his hand. "She's just a kid!"

Tonks sighed softly. "We were raiding a group of Death Eaters, Zamperini was among them."

Remus' eyes widened. "She was?"

"Yeah, but they were expecting us, it was a trap. I haven't told Cedric yet, I figured that I should probably wait until after he was out of St. Mungo's. How's he recovering anyways?"

"Quickly, he should be out tomorrow or the day after."

"Anyways, Zamperini took Anna. We don't know where she took her, but Kingsley and Moody are working on that as we speak."

Sirius growled again. "When I find that Zamperini bitch-"

"Easy..." Remus murmured soothingly. He looked back at Tonks. "Thank you, for telling us."

"Of course." Tonks disapparated, and Remus hugged Sirius tightly. "She'll be okay." He whispered.

"We have to find her." Sirius' voice cracked. "We have to find her, Moony, who knows what kinds of things they're doing to her!"

"Ssh..." Remus murmured as he rubbed his lover's back. 'Hang on, Anna', he thought to himself as he tried to soothe the now sobbing Sirius. 'Just hang on, we'll find you'.

Time seemed to pass incredibly slowly for Anna. She remained in the cage, a leather bound collar around her neck. She had lost track of the days; she didn't know what day it was, what month, nothing. She knew that she had been here for some time, Bellatrix had bragged about how Dumbledore was dead. The news hit Anna like a truck; Dumbledore was dead? What would happen now? What would the Order do? And Harry...Anna knew how close her twin had been to the headmaster, his death had to have hit him really hard. She wished that she could be with her brother, to comfort him, but she would be lucky if she even survived the week. She looked up as Draco approached, a bowl of food in his hands. The pain was clear in his eyes; he wanted to help her, but was also scared of the retribution that would follow. Anna couldn't really blame him, if she were in his position, she didn't know what she would do.

"I hate this." Draco whispered as he slid the bowl into her cage. "I hate how they mock you on a daily basis, how much they insult you."

Anna was treated exactly like a dog, she was given dog food in a bowl that said 'Fido', when they took her out to use the bathroom, they attached a leash to her collar and brought her outdoors, making her do her business there. Luckily it was normally Draco tasked with this job, and he would bring her to a private section of the yard and turn away while she did her business. Whenever Voldemort would gather his followers together for a meeting, Anna would have to sit on her haunches beside him, and he would occasionally pat her on the head.

"Listen..." Draco continued to keep his voice low. "I have news. Diggory woke up, he's out of the hospital now, made a full recovery, the lucky bastard. I contacted him, the Order is going to launch a rescue mission."

Cedric was awake? He was coming to save her?

"I'll try to help as much as I can-"

"Draco?" Bellatrix's voice interrupted them. "What are you doing?"

Quickly Draco reached into the cage and grabbed a fistful of Anna's hair. "Just reminding the filth of how much of a dog she really is."

"Good boy, come along now."

Draco released Anna, following his aunt out of the room. Anna curled up into a ball, tucking her knees into her chest. She wasn't sure how much longer she could go on like this.

Two weeks after that, the Order launched their rescue mission. The team consisted of Molly, Cedric, Remus, Sirius, Kingsley and Moody. Harry had wanted to come, but both Molly and Sirius insisted that he stay behind, Sirius was already worried about Anna, he couldn't be worrying about Harry as well.

The team apparated just outside Malfoy Manor, almost as soon as they entered, two Death Eaters attacked, but Cedric made quick work of them. They entered the front hall, and he gasped when he saw the cage, a small ball curled up inside of it. "Anna..." He whispered, seemingly frozen in place, as was Remus. Sirius, however, sprung into action, dashing over to the cage and breaking the lock. Anna whimpered quietly, thinking that it was Bellatrix or someone like that.

"It's okay." Sirius whispered as he pulled her into his arms. "It's alright, it's just me."

"S-Sirius..." Anna's voice was hoarse from lack of use. She gripped his shirt tightly as though to make sure that it was really him and not some dream that she was having.

"Sirius." Molly said urgently. "We need to go, they'll have heard the ruckus that we made."

Sirius nodded and everyone apparated back to Grimmauld Place. Sirius brought Anna up to her room, having her sit on the bed while he gently removed the collar from around her neck. A large, dark bruise could be seen on her neck where the collar had been.

"I'll get you a salve that we can put on that." Sirius said softly, and Anna nodded her head.

A few moments after Sirius left, Cedric knocked on the door before slowly walking into the room. "How are you feeling?" He asked quietly, and Anna shrugged her shoulders. "I'm alright." She replied hoarsely. She patted the bed, and Cedric carefully sat down next to her. "I was so worried about you." He murmured. "We all were. We were searching, but had no idea where to even really look. Then Draco sent me an owl. The message was hidden of course, so it took me some time to actually figure out what he was telling me. But once I did, we got a group together to get you out of there." Cedric wrapped his arms around the silent girl, pressing a kiss to her head. "While Sirius is getting that salve ready, why don't we get you cleaned up?"

Anna nodded, letting Cedric pick her up and carry her into the bathroom. He set her down on the toilet seat while the tub filled up, adding some bubble bath that smelled like lavender. Cedric helped Anna strip her clothes off before gently lowering her into the bathtub. He grabbed a hairbrush, gently working his way through the knots and tangles. He hummed softly while wetting her hair down, using a strawberry shampoo and working it into her scalp before rinsing it out and doing the same with a conditioner. After that, he grabbed a bar of soap and washed her body before helping her to step out of the tub, patting her dry with a soft, white towel before slipping a Hufflepuff robe onto her shoulders.

"I've been staying here." He explained as he tied the sash before lifting her up once more. "I sleep better in your room, it smells like you." He carried her back into the bedroom, where there was a jar of light blue paste, as well as a plate of food. Cedric placed her on the bed before grabbing the jar of paste and unscrewing the lid. The scent of apples and cinnamon filled the room. Cedric scooped some of the paste onto his fingers, gently rubbing it onto Anna's neck, trying not to press too hard on the bruising.

"Do you want to eat?" He asked as he tucked her hair behind her ears. Anna shook her head, right now the only thing that she wanted to do was sleep. Cedric seemed to understand this, and he helped her to get underneath the blankets.

"Stay." Anna whispered, and Cedric smiled softly. "Of course I will." He replied, kissing her forehead before getting under the blankets with her. Cedric held Anna close, rubbing her arm, looking down at her, watching as her eyes slowly closed and she slipped into a peaceful, dreamless sleep. "I'll stay right here." Cedric whispered, he was going to make sure that no one laid a single finger on his love ever again.