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Chapter Nine

Still frozen, I hit the ground hard. From what I could see I was in a massive room but it was very dark. I heard voices all around me. I faced death twice, am I facing it for the third time? And then suddenly, I was unfrozen and dragged up into a standing position. We were in a dark ballroom and many people dressed in black were standing around me with mixed expressions. I tried not to make eye contact, because then I would begin crying of fear. I couldn't let them see me as weak. The Death Eater from the Department of Mysteries was evilly smiling widely at me from across the room. "Bradley Willis," the man next to me announced to the room.  He was the one who brought me here. There were murmurs of conversation around me. "Have a seat," he said pushing me down into a chair and casting a spell to cause the arms and legs of the chair to secure me. Glaring up at him, I refused to crack. He simply smirked. As I stared at him, there was something familiar about him. Yet I knew that I have never seen this man in my life.

Others crowded around me. A tall woman with a stern face and a man with long white blonde hair both wore exhausted expressions. A scared looking boy with grey eyes stood next to them. The Malfoy's. I remember seeing them in the Beckingham's pictures. The boy looked at me in confusion but looked away, he must be Draco. This must be the Death Eater's Headquarters. "About time," came a woman's dark voice. From behind me I heard footsteps until the woman with wild black hair stood in front of me.

"She was with Potter and the others," the man said. "As we expected." He paced around. "Heard you slipped away with them after the wedding." There was nothing for me to say. I kept my eyes focused straight forward. If they were looking for information they weren't going to get any out of me, no matter what they did. "Do you know who I am?" he said stopping in front of me with amusement in his light eyes.

"You've already asked me that," I responded in a cool tone without making eye contact. That's how he outed me to the entire meeting, by asking me his name. He scoffed by a smirk formed on his face.

"Zacharias," he stated. Why did that ring a bell? "Zacharias Reid." My eyes made contact with him in a split second. Kent's father. The one who escaped Azkaban. The one Kent has been hiding from. No wonder he looked familiar. The resemblance was obvious apart from the dark expression. Amusement spread on his face. He knew about the two of us. How did he even know I had a relationship with Kent? "Hear from my son lately?" I shook my head rapidly. Has he already gotten to Kent?

"Where is he?" I snapped darkly.

"I'm just as clueless as you then," he replied. "I found out a great deal of information on him though. Rumors travel around fast." He looked at me knowingly. "We've been searching and we will find him, just as we found you."

"Technically you didn't find me," I responded bitterly. "More like sheer luck."

"Well luck seems to be in our favor lately then doesn't it?" he shot back quickly. Bellatrix cackled from behind him.

"What do we do with her Reid?" Bellatrix asked stepping forward and getting closer to me. Her wicked eyes were glowing as she got even closer. She twirled her wand around a piece of my hair. I pretended as if I wasn't bothered yet just being in this room sent chills up my spine. Never in my life would I have pictured myself facing Bellatrix Lestrange. My heart was beating quickly and it was impossible for me to remain calm. Now would be a great time for some flames! Yet of course, with my luck, as much as I tried to concentrate it was impossible.

"I'm sure she has lots of information for us," she added darkly.

"We wait until the others get back," Zacharias responded. "For now we'll put her in the cellar. Pettigrew!" A short and squat man quickly rushed into the room in fear. "Bring her to the cellar. We have a special cell for you," he added looking at me. It was clear he meant it was charmed to keep me from using my fiery abilities. I looked up at him dryly. How could this be the father of Kent? Apart from their appearance, they were nothing alike. This man was pure evil. I prayed he never found Kent.

My wand had been taken from me upon arrival. Pettigrew led me down the steps with a wand pointed at my back. "Keep moving!" he commanded in a bitter tone. We kept walking down the dark steps and the temperature dropped. We passed several different cells. What kind of messed up people have prison cells in their cellar? When we reached the end of the hall there was an open one. "Get in!" Stepping into the cell he slammed the door and locked it from behind me.

All hope was gone. By the looks of it, there was no escaping. I was trapped in the middle of someone's basement and had no chance of getting out without a wand. Thinking of it, I had no idea where I even was! If I managed to leave the house there could be miles of land. Tears burned but I would not let them fall. People have gone through worse. I knew what I was getting myself into when I signed up, but never did I imagine this. My heart was pounding and I felt a headache coming on. They were going to torture me. They knew I was with Harry, Ron, and Hermione so therefore I had information they needed. Originally they seemed to want to find me due to my ability to create fire, but now I was even more valuable to them. A tear began to fall but I pushed it away. No, no tears from me today.

What would my father think? He sacrificed everything to keep me safe and I blew it. I prayed they saw how shocked he was and wouldn't think he was in on me going to the Ministry. I couldn't risk anyone else getting hurt. And I only hoped he didn't do anything stupid like try to save me, because then he would be killed as well. Yet I know he would try to save me, if he finds out where I am that is. I can't have that. And then there was Kent. I never even got to say goodbye to him. Telling him I was simply going camping has become one of my biggest regrets. It's been months since I have seen him. My heart ached. And now it was likely I would never see him again. Another tear fell and this time I let it. My father, Kent, and all of my friends were in danger and I was trapped in here unable to help them. At least I knew Kent was safe. If they haven't found him now it was likely they never would. "Bradley?" a voice whispered interrupting my thoughts. "I-Is that you?"

I jumped at the sudden voice and turned around. Looking across the hall there was another cell. I could barely see in the dim lighting but the voice was familiar. Making my way over to the front I peered through the cells to get a better look. The man was sitting on the ground in a tired position yet attempting to pull himself up. His hair was dark and very uncut. Staring closer I couldn't believe it. "Uncle Hayward!" I gasped in disbelief. As if this day could get any more shocking. "I can't believe-"

"Bradley...why are you here?" he gasped in a sickly voice.

"I was with Harry Potter at the Ministry. They caught onto me when...well...," I didn't know how to tell him about the flames without making it seem as if it was his fault.

"Harry Potter?" he repeated. His voice sounded ill. He wasn't being kept very well. We were right all along, the Death Eaters took him.

"Yes," I answered quickly. At the moment I wanted to ask him a thousand questions. I haven't seen him in months yet here we were facing the worst possible situation.

"You need to get out of here Bradley," he said. "However you can."

"I don't know how," I responded frustrated. It wasn't so easy. If it was, why didn't he do it? Hayward was a genius. If anyone could find a way to escape it would be him. Now I felt even more hopeless.

"You're bright you can find a way," Uncle Hayward said. "And your father...is he alright?"

"Somewhat," I replied honestly. It was hard for me to say what I had to say next.  "He joined the Death Eaters to keep me safe. I ruined it for him." Hayward's face fell in horror. The two of us sat in silence for a moment. "Why are you here exactly?"

"I'm sure you guessed. They took me from my lab. Said they needed stronger potions and threatened to kill me if I didn't comply," he said in a hopeless tone. "I should have let them kill me."

Sliding down the wall into a sitting position, I didn't like the sound of that. He was ill and unkept. At this rate, what were my chances? Loud footsteps came our way. "Forgot about you," snapped the dark voice of Zacharias Reid as he stopped in front of Hayward's cell. "We need your work now." He opened the cell and roughly pulled Hayward out of it. I wanted to scream for him to be gentle, but what was the use? Zacharias would likely hurt him even more.

Pettigrew was standing there with his wand at the ready. "And take him to a different cell when you get back. Don't want any planning going on behind our backs," Zacharias demanded at Pettigrew who nodded quickly. Kent's father turned to face me with a smug grin. "Enjoy your stay while you can."

Hours passed, or so it seemed. I had no clue what month it even was. My guess was either late September or early October. But who knows? The real question was how much time did I have left. At the sound of footsteps my heartbeat quickened. Someone was coming. Once again it was Zacharias and he came to a stop in front of me. "A week," he stated. Although confused I didn't look at him. "You have a week to join our side." I couldn't keep myself from shaking my head. Did they really think I would suddenly turn to their side? Hardly. "Just as your father did," he added coldly. "With your ability you could be useful to us. Join or die." My only options. "And you'll start by sharing what Harry Potter is up to." I rolled my eyes. "Either way we'll get it out you even if we have to kill you after."

"Kill me then. You're not getting anything from me," I replied hopeless.

"Really?" he repeated in an arrogant tone. "We have your Uncle brewing us the strongest Veritaserum possible. He's being monitored of course, making sure he does it correctly. It takes a week to brew. Whether you chose to join us or die is completely up to you, but do know we will be getting the information we need." He turned on his heel and left the room. I wanted to burst into tears. Although I didn't know much, I couldn't tell them anything I knew! There had to be a way to prevent me from giving away Harry, Ron, and Hermione. But how?