On the way back to the common room, Eliza couldn't think of anything but her mother. Ophelia was the daughter of Lillian Gaunt and her cousin, Tom Riddle Junior also known as Voldemort. That was the most disgusting information in her life and having his blood run through her veins was making her shudder.
Now, how was she going to tell that to Harry was a mystery. She was disgusted with herself and wanted to take a shower just to get it off her.
Eliza entered the common room in silence and stayed in the dormitory until she heard Hermione come up the stairs, a few hours later.
"Liz! Harry left with Dumbledore and um-we should patrol the corridors just in case." Hermione said, walking in and giving her a flask. "It's Felix Felicis. Harry gave it to us."
But Eliza shook her head and handed the flask back to her. For a moment she thought that maybe if she could stay hidden, everything else will move on and she wouldn't get involved. But Ginny entered next.
"We should go. The boys are downstairs and Luna is waiting for you Hermione." The ginger girl said, gibing a soft smile to Eliza.
The green eyed witch felt her heart cringe.
Being known for her skills im DADA, she walked around alone, Furvus supposedly protecting her. She went around for a while, maybe an hour, when shebheard noise up toqards the Astronomy Tower.
With slow wary steps, Eliza followed the noise. Her eyes widened when she saw Remus and Tonks fighting off two cloaked men while more were spreading around.
"Liz!"
She heard Remus yell but it was too late. She got hit straight in the chest by what felt like the cruciatus.
It hurt a lot but her mind was way too preoccupied to register how grave was the situation. Harry was nowhere in sight and Dumbledore was out. Eliza caught sight of a beastly man and glared. That was Fenrir Greyback and he was aiming at Neville, claws prepared to tear him apart.
He saw her too and grinned, showing his pointed teeth like a wild animal.
"What have we got here?" He snickered, taking one step towards her.
Bill Weasley saw Greyback approach Eliza and jumped in front of her. "Stupefy!" He screamed but Greyback easily blocked it.
"Liz, help you friends. We're fine here." Tonks said, barely missing a hit.
But a few minutes later and Eliza was still not sure what to do. Ginny was fighting only a few feet from her while Greyback attacked Bill and scratched him pretty badly. Eliza's eyes widened when she saw the Weasley brother fall unconscious. Greyback chuckled and turned towards Eliza.
"We're not done yet, little girl." He said tauntingly, taking a few steps towards her.
Eliza was staring at him with a blank expression. She glared at the Death Eater and pointed her wand at him. Unfortunately, a tall blond Death Eater started to throw curses all over and Eliza had to duck a few times, losing the sight of Greyback.
She was warily surveying the corridor when she felt someone behind her. He grabbed her by the neck and pushed her into the wall. Eliza hit the back of her head but couldn't even defend herself when Greyback his her with another hex. Eliza screamed loudly, drawing attention.
"Eliza!" Remus yelled, quite angry from what she could make out.
She had a very bad headache and her ears were ringing uncontrollably.
Someone helped her on her feet and led her away from Greyback.
"Eliza, are you alright?" She could barely make out Ron's voice. "Blimey, you're bleeding!" He was definitely more panicked than she was.
With one lazy sway of her hand, she threw the blond Death Eater aside so he could stop firing curses everywhere. But they were strong and capable.
"Ron, I'm fine. You go back and help the rest." Eliza urged, leaning against the wall in the Entrance Hall.
"Are you sure? You look horrible and can't even stand."
"Go." She repeated in what was a firmer tone. Ron nodded and left.
The noise was so loud that Eliza was surprised how the rest of the students couldn't hear it. The Death Eaters were not exactly subtle and she was sure the Dark Mark was enlightening the sky above Hogwarts.
Eliza was trying keep her balance, regaining some senses and moving past the blurry vision. She was fine compared to Bill and Neville.
Someone walked down the stairs and glanced around, noticing her standing there. Snape sighed and grabbed her harshly, dragging her along.
"Snape." She said, throwing him a venomous glare.
He was dragging her with him and Draco and it looked like he wasn't going to let her go easily.
"Don't squirm, Black. This is for your own safety." Snape retorted, sounding very angry yet at the same time melancholic.
"You're getting me to him. How is that safe?" She hissed before glaring at Draco's pale face. "You did this. You will pay later on, Draco."
"You don't know how dangerous he is. He threatened me and my family. You can't say no to him." Draco whispered, sounding more scared than Eliza.
"I'd better die than betray Hogwarts. When Dumbledore-"
"Dumbledore is dead." Snape said coldly before handing her to Draco. They were already out of the castle, going down towards Hagrid's Hut.
Registering what he said, Eliza felt a sudden coldness engulf her body. Just like Ophelia and Lillian, it was time for Eliza to meet those evil icy eyes of Lord Voldemort.
Somewhere along the way, Harry screamed after Snape. She was sure he called Snape a coward which hit a nerve. Eliza squirmed again but the greasy haired teacher handed her to Draco.
"I will take care of this. You take her to the Dark Lord safely." He told the blond, who just nodded without questioning his professor.
She only got the chance to meet Harry's eyes for a second before Draco dragged her away, into the forest. He was pulling her along but his grip wasn't tight, like Snape's has been; actually, now that she could properly think, Draco was horrified.
"What did you do?" She asked, lowering her voice to a whisper so the blond Death Eater that was with them won't hear.
Draco looked to the side before he pulled her closer to him, "Snape killed Dumbledore. That was my task but I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill him." He continued, quite disappointed, "I could only disarm him but nothing more." He finished, sighing heavily before grabbing a hand through his hair.
"You are not a murderer, Draco. You are not fit to become a Death Eater."
"I'm not weak." He stated firmly, assuring himself more than anyone else.
A loud scream sent a chill down her spine as rustles came from behind her. They turned towards the noise, Draco's wand prepared to stupefy whoever was there; it was Snape. He walked past Eliza, grabbing her wrist on the way.
"He wants to see you." He started, his eyes so dark that Eliza was curious what exactly happened between him and Harry.
"I don't want to see him." She hissed.
He glanced at her for a minute before pushing her to walk in front of him, "You don't have a choice."
"What happened to Harry? Did you kill him too?" Her ironic tone didn't seem to piss off Snape at all; it actually looked like he couldn't be bothered anymore with her antics.
He didn't respond and silently Apparated in a place she didn't know but could already predict from her Christmas discussion with Remus.
"The Malfoy Manor." She muttered, getting pulled towards what seemed to be a widely proportioned room
Being herself, she couldn't help but let her eyes scan the surroundings. The room had a handsome, ornate marble mantelpiece with a gilded mirror which has an intricately scrolled frame on top. It was amazing how beautiful it looked yet how the ones residing in it had no idea how to find a better use for it; and no persistence or bravery to stand their ground, for that matter.
Standing in silence at the table were people that would have pissed her off if it wasn't for their leader, rising and taking a few steps forward. When Eliza met his eyes, she had a quick flashback of the man in her dreams, raising his wand and pointing it at her before muttering the deadly curse. She swallowed in fear before Snape let her alone in front of him. Even Draco moved aside.
Standing in front of him, his suspiciously tall figure hovering over her was intimidating.
"We finally meet," He started, taking one step towards her before continuing, "Family shall never be separated, especially not one like ours."
She couldn't help but scoff at those fake words, "That is quite an irony seeing as you killed your daughter."
Eliza couldn't look him in the eye, mostly because those blue empty eyes had haunted her dreams for so long and seeing them for real was terrifying.
"She betrayed me. She betrayed her family and ran away." He didn't sound displeased, though; if anything, he was staring at her with an air of elegance and anticipation like a snake watching his prey before launching an attack.
"Then I am a bastard created from two Gryffindors. I should die as soon as possible, isn't that right?" She spoke, almost whispered because she didn't want the whole room to know or hear the slight tremble in her voice.
Voldemort chuckled and leaned in, forcing Eliza to raise her gaze and meet her nightmare, "Your existence wasn't a burden; on the contrary, it was a blessing. Ophelia didn't betray me when she got pregnant or when she became soft for a certain Black, no, what she did was far worse. Ophelia died because she ran away from her responsibilities."
Eliza's eyes widened gradually yet she couldn't find a retort to what Voldemort said.
"I'm not my mother. I won't offer you my loyalty or commitment. You can die for all I care," She hissed, her face looking like a pissed off cat.
Voldemort's hand twitched but still, his face seemed pleased with her reactions.
"My Lord, we should discuss more important matters right now. The Ministry will get involved as soon as the news of Dumbledore's death will reach them. I'm sure Eliza will understand you more after she will rest in her room." Snape interfered.
The two stared at each other in silence before Voldemort smiled slyly and nodded.
"Of course." He turned around, swaying his robe before getting back to his seat.
Mrs. Malfoy was the woman version of Lucius and the nicer version of Bellatrix. She was also far kinder than Eliza ever expected, her sole reason in life being the protection of her son and family.
As soon as they left Voldemort's sight, the young witch leaned against the nearest wall and sighed in relief. Facing the Dark Lord was not what she imagined.
She noticed Draco staring at her with worry and realized that her hands and legs were trembling in fear and she was still bleeding. Reality was so much worse than her dreams.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
