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76.

Fred decided to bring Sophia downstairs into the living room, surprising the Order considerably. They had the idea that Sophia would be too scared to even leave Fred and George's room, but they were proved wrong when they saw her pass the kitchen with Fred close behind with his hands on her shoulders. He sat her down on the sofa and crouched down in front of her, clutching the vial that held the dreaded memory. It had formed into a similar silvery liquid that the Pensieve held, seeming so innocent yet holding such pain.

"I'll just be in the next room okay?" Fred reassured and offered her a comforting smile. Sophia didn't smile back but nodded, still coming to terms with how she was feeling. The memory was still there but it was dulled, as if she was seeing and hearing it from the next room. And she had Muffliato charm cast over her.

Fred patted her knee and pushed himself into a standing position, looking over his shoulder as he made his way towards the kitchen. He saw Sophia staring mindlessly down at her hands, blinking occasionally with parted lips. If he hadn't known what had happened, he would think she was under some sort of trance.

Entering the kitchen made heads whip around to stare expectantly at Fred, making him feel slightly anxious and self conscious. Remus was sending him some sort of grimace as if he wished he had somehow failed to get the memory, but the man's face fell as Fred brought the vial up for everyone to see. Dumbledore, who still stood beside his stone Pensieve, raised his eyebrows in the slightest and glanced at the rest of the Order who looked relieved to have the memory in their clutches.

"Shall we then?" Dumbledore suggested and the Order members stood from the kitchen table, gathering around the Pensieve with glances to each other. "There can only be three people at a time and the memory is for one time only. So, who shall look?"

"I don't think I could watch..." Molly admitted before hurrying back to the kitchen counter, beginning to clean dishes as a form of therapy.

"I don't think I could either," George added with a wince and stepped back to allow a better view of the last candidates.

"I'm curious," Mad-Eye grumbled. "But I suppose I'm not desperate."

Arthur, Albus, Fred, Remus, Tonks and Kingsley were the last present members. They looked to each other, already deciding who should be the ones to look. But no one wanted to be the one to volunteer, leaving three of the members to step away with lingering gazes and sitting back down at the kitchen table. The memory was poured into the silvery basin, mixing its contents with the liquid and images began to appear beneath the surface.

The Order then watched as Albus, Fred and Remus plunged their faces simultaneously into the basin and went rigid as they stared into Sophia's mind.

---

Fred felt himself fall through the air before softly landing on his feet in a room he didn't recognise. To his right he saw Dumbledore and on his left was Remus, who both stared ahead without turning to exchange looks. Fred took the time to take in his surroundings, noticing he was in what could only be described a spacious living room. The wallpaper was a depressing dark green that was accompanied by a sleek black skirting, matching the tall ceiling that had a lavish chandelier hanging from the middle of it. An unlit fireplace sat at the far end of the room with two dark green armchairs and one sofa in front of it. There were three doors in the room, two settled on either side of the fireplace and the other sat behind where Fred, Dumbledore and Remus stood.

Fred finally decided to notice the four people who stood in front of him and his two accompanies. There was Lucius and Draco Malfoy standing in their expensive looking robes and suits, the two looking identically worn out. They both had heavy bags under their eyes and lined faces, looking older than they actually were. Lucius was the worst with his scruffy jaw and dishevelled blonde hair, while Draco looked to be forcing himself to stand up straight and appear unaffected by what was happening in front of him.

The next person was a woman who Fred could pinpoint exactly by the sight of her frizzy and unkept black hair. She wore a mixture of black and dark purple robes, spotting a corset-style dress suffocating her thin form. Looking as evil as ever, Bellatrix Lestrange stood with her crooked wand pointing out in front of her with her usual wicked smile on her sunken face.

"I'll ask you again Loopy Lupin-" Bellatrix cooed with a sweet tone. "-where. is. the. map?"

It brought Fred's attention to the last person in the room. This person was on the floor in a fetal position, a puddle that was close to being black with its gruesome red colour gathering around them. The ball whimpered and sniffled, raising its head in the slightest to stare back at the woman who beamed at her with her blackened teeth. Fred had to take a quivering step back when he saw Sophia's face, noticing that Remus did the same beside him. Dumbledore stood in his place like a statue, barely moving from the stance of his hands being clasped together and his head slightly bowed to look over the top of his half-moon shaped spectacles. The man's usually kind smile was gone completely, leaving an old man with unreadable clear blue eyes.

"I don't have it..." Sophia's surprisingly strong voice rang out through the room. Her tone didn't match her appearance as it was bloodied and looked to have been torn to shreds with a vicious sword. Her hair was cut roughly again and hadn't yet been fixed up by Molly Weasley yet, making her appear lop-sided and unkept like how she did when she arrived at the Burrow. Sophia's eyes flickered the Draco and Lucius Malfoy who stood to the side timidly before turning back to Bellatrix who's eyes had narrowed down at her.

"I know that you stupid girl," the woman seethed, jaw clenching with a mad look in her eyes. "Tell me where it is! I know you know where it is!"

Sophia stayed silent this time and shrunk her eyes back behind her arm that once shielded her face. Bellatrix lowered her wand with a loud dramatic sigh and looked to where Lucius and Draco stood. Lucius lowered his head in attempts to avoid confrontation but Draco was brave enough to look his Auntie in the eye.

"Draco. Come here darling," Bellatrix's somewhat civilized voice called him over. He looked like he was struggling to make his legs obediently move and thankfully succeeded, stepping with long strides towards the woman and standing next to her. All smugness and sense of bratty attitude was gone from Draco's demeanor and was replaced by the stench of dread and fear. Bellatrix ignored this and placed a blackened-nail hand on his shoulder, caressing it while staring down at Sophia's shaking figure.

"I want you to finish up here," Bellatrix whispered into his ear. Lucius looked up from the floor towards his son with worry-filled eyes and was tempted to step forward, but decided to stay quiet as Bellatrix was not to be messed with at a time like this. "You know the spells Draco. The Dark Lord will be ever so grateful if you get it out of her."

Draco's hand twitched by his side and he shakily reached into his suit to bring out his sleek black wand. A smirk grew on Bellatrix's face when the tip of Draco's wand pointed down at Sophia, his thumb fidgeting frantically over the handle. The boy was biting his lip hard enough to draw blood as his heart shook at the sight of the hopeless girl on the floor. He wasn't evil enough for this.

"Do it!" Bellatrix yelled into his ear, making him jump in surprise and fear. He felt his Father's stare on his side and shut his eyes, imaging the things that infuriated him the most. It was the only way for the spell to work like Bellatrix wanted. He thought of being seen as young and inferior. He thought of being overshadowed by the people he hated most.

"Crucio!"

The screams that erupted through the room were enough to make Fred want to pull himself out of the memory altogether. They were piercing and struck his very bones, rattling them as if they had nerves and emotions inside of them. He felt tears prickle his eyes as Sophia barely moved yet quivered in her place with screams coming from her mouth. Remus nearly fell to the floor in hysterics as he watched her endure the worst pain she would ever feel in her life. Tears had started to fall down both their faces when Draco lowered his wand and Bellatrix's cackle echoed after the end of Sophia's cries.

"Try the other one now!" she cheered like a maniac. She looked as if she was about to start skipping in circles around Draco in glee. "The one I taught you Draco! Remember, you can't say it out loud!"

Draco now looked even more reluctant to raise his wand again. He glanced over at his Father for some sort of guidance but only found him staring down at the floor with his eyes clenched shut. Draco felt alone and found no comfort from his auntie in this situation. He stared at the girl who laid out flat with her eyes now on the ceiling, panting frantically as the pain and burning sensation lingered within her muscles. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and fell into her scalp, but she didn't sob or change her expression from its blank one. She refused to give Bellatrix anymore satisfaction that she could help.

"Draco..." Bellatrix's voice lowered to a whisper again and slithered into his ear like a snake. He resisted the urge to shiver and shakily raised his wand but not with any more confidence than before. "Do I have to alert The Dark Lord about this?"

"N-No," Draco spoke for the first time but appeared to straighten himself out and point his wand much more strongly. With one last quiver, a wordless purple spark shot from his wand and headed straight for Sophia. Fred almost stepped forward in an attempt to stop it but remembered that it would be useless, forcing him to watch the spark flow into Sophia's head through her left ear.

The spark disappeared and the room was settled into silence. Lucius had looked up to turn his attention to the girl who was oddly quiet in the middle of the room, only to watch her eyes widen considerably and her mouth gape open. Her back arched and her feet scuffed against the floor as if she was trying to shuffle away from something, but she stayed in the same place as a choking sound started to erupt from her throat. Her arms stayed pinned down to the floor on either side of her as she convulsed ferociously, blood beginning to leak from the corners of her mouth and from one of her nostrils. Draco forced himself to look away towards his feet with a face that clearly showed internal pain, but Bellatrix watched in fascination with a growing smile on her face.

Fred was starting to feel physically sick as Sophia continued to squirm on the floor, tears streaming down his cheeks continuously. A heavy rock was sitting in his stomach and he couldn't swallow the sobs that were working their way up his throat. He could never have imagined what had caused Sophia to be the way she was but he would have never even seen in this in his nightmares. It looked like she was about to explode from within and it pained him indescribably to watch. He was a second away from calling out to anyone who was listening to pull him out from this horror, but was stopped when the door behind him opened.

Lord Voldemort entered the room with Nagini slithering quietly next to his feet. Draco, Bellatrix and Lucius whipped around quickly and were shocked to see The Dark Lord arrive on such short notice. Draco bowed his head in pure terror and backed away towards his Father, who shakily looked to the floor in what he thought, was a suitable bow. Bellatrix didn't move from her place and stood tall with a small bow of her head, her master walking closer with his black robe flowing behind him.

"My Lord..." Bellatrix greeted with the deepest of admiration.

"Has she spoken yet?" his high pitched voice sounded as if it was pained and escaping him, but it certainly wasn't. He looked from his most loyal follower to the girl that continued to arch and convulse in the puddle of her own blood.

"No my Lord," Bellatrix shook her head and glanced down at the giant snake that flicked its tongue at her when it noticed her eyes. "But Draco performed the spell you graced us with. She will then, hopefully, tell us what we need to know."

"No," his voice rang again now with a sense of bitterness.

"My Lord?..." Bellatrix trailed off with a puzzled expression, suddenly now doubting her once confident and fool-proof plans.

"If she has not spoken yet, she never will," Voldemort then forced what could be taken as a sneer hidden by a vicious smile. "It's quite admirable, I must say. Three months is certainly an achievement. No, we will make an example out of her. A warning if you will."

"Of course My Lord," Bellatrix nodded.

"Continue this for two more days," Voldemort gestured his pale hand towards the girl who had now gone limp on the floor with her eyes trained on the ceiling above her. "We will then set her free."

"My Lord... may I volunteer to do this task?" Lucius' quivering voice made Voldemort's head turn to him with an inquisitive stare.

"How... thoughtful of you Lucius," his voice sent shivers down both of the Malfoys' spines. "But I would like Draco, to perform this task. He will then take her to where she will be found."

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