Brave [2]

Chapter 69

Bellatrix grabs Harry by the hair, knocking him onto his knees as she points her wand at him, turning to Draco impatiently. Dean and Griphook were already taken down to the cellar, and I'm at least glad they'll be with Luna and Ollivander. "Well?"

Draco purses his lips, hesitating, stealing a quick glance at me. I keep my expression impassive, and it's a moment before he softly says, "I can't be sure."

Aunt Bella rolls her eyes. "Cassia, dearie. You check."

I know very well that it's Harry, but all I do is crouch in front of him before roughly grabbing his chin, staring at his face, his pleading eyes, before standing and kicking him boredly with a scoff. "Does it look like I stared at Potter's face enough to examine it? It was bad enough being in his company for all those years, and he's ugly as ever anyway, if it really is him."

Ron starts shouting in fury, attempting to wrench out of the Snatcher's grip. "YOU BETRAYED US, BLACK! I'M GONNA–"

Another one of my knifes skim his ear, landing with a heavy thunk into the wall behind him, shutting him up instantly. Bella starts clapping her hands with glee, jumping up and down as maniacal laughs escape her lips. I eye Ron slowly, dangerously. "I'd be wary, blood-traitor. Next time it'll be your head."

Lucius sees his chance, stepping forward, hand on the back of Draco's neck. "Look closely, son. If we are the ones who hand Potter to the Dark Lord... everything would be forgiven, all will be as it was, understood?"

"Now we won't be forgetting who actually caught him, I hope... Mr Malfoy," Scabior pipes up, and I send a dirty look in his direction.

"You dare to talk to me like that in my own house?!" Lucius roars, but Narcissa lowly hisses his name, clearly trying to remind him to calm down. We're in the presence of 'traitors', after all, and there's still the debate on what to do with Harry.

"Goddamn, Scabior, you repel me." I stick my tongue out in disgust. "Going through the trouble of handing Potter over to me – if it really is him – I should've just killed you. Take that as your reward."

Bella sneers at him, then beckons to Draco, clearly believing me when I say I barely paid attention to Harry's looks but now putting the pressure all on Draco. He can't flat-out say no because if he was to be found lying then there'd be consequences, but he can't say yes because he's on our side. It's a position I'd hate to be in.

"Don't be shy, sweetie, come over!" Draco crouches in front of Harry. "Now, if this isn't who we think it is, Draco... and we call him... he'll kill us all. We need to be absolutely sure!"

Draco stares uncomfortably, then mumbles, "What's wrong with his face?"

"Yes," Bellatrix looks at Scabior with a dirty look. "What is wrong with his face?"

"We captured him like that. Something he picked up in the forest, I reckon."

"Or ran into a Stinging Jinx," Bellatrix says softly, stepping forward towards Hermione. "Was it you, dear?" Then holding her hand out to the Snatcher. "Give me her wand. Let's see what your last spell was." She checks, Draco drawing back slowly, standing beside me. Our fingers brush together as Bellatrix laughs. "Got you."

Then it turns into a gasp. At first I'm confused, wondering what happened, but then I catch sight of the Sword of Gryffindor in a Snatcher's hand. I forgot about that. Crap. "What's that? Where did you get that from?"

Her voice is a breathy whisper, but even I can hear the threat behind it, and I'm realising the problem now. I wasn't careful. Bellatrix thinks that Sword is in her vault at Gringotts, and it's not. The real one is in this room.