𝕄𝕠𝕣𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝔽𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕤? [ʙᴏᴏᴋ 1]

࿔ Danica ࿔

Danica lays flat on her back on a cold stone floor, slowly she comes round having been forced unconscious by a curse.

Her head pounds as she tilts it up. Her eyes flick around a dark, dingy room as it swims in her vision, blurring and making her nauseous.

Groaning, she lays back down, her body shivering against the cold. All she has on is her underwear and Regulus' shirt. She shakily pulls it around herself tighter in the hopes it will trap the last remaining heat from her body.

Why can't this end? Why can't she just... die?

No! Don't give up, not for Regulus. He would never give up like that.

She hears a scrape then a click as a latch is unlocked. Her heartbeat races as she raises her head to look, the room spinning, making her drop her head back onto the floor again.

There's the sound of metal grinding along stone as a barred door opens.

"Up," a snappy male voice demands.

Danica doesn't move. She can't move.

"UP!" The voice is loud and harsh.

She shakes her head and tries to tell them that she can't get up but her voice doesn't work.

Next, there's searing pain as a curse is thrown at her.

Danica cries out and curls in a ball as the white-hot torture rips through her body.

"Up," they command.

She moves her arms this time, not wanting to feel that again, and she slowly pushes them underneath her. She feels heavier than normal, all her muscles tight and bones aching. Her arms quiver she collapses, unable to do it.

Another curse is sent her way and she screams into the floor, her mouth open and grime on her lips.

As the pain subsides enough, she twists her head round to face the torturer. Before she can say anything though, a woman dressed in black from head to toe appears behind the man.

"Enough!" She shrieks. "I wanted her for myself! Did I not tell you that!?"

The man bows like a coward and mumbles, "sorry ma'am," then takes his leave.

Regaining her control, the woman steps into the cell.

"Girl- filthy, mudblood," she sneers, "do you know who I am?"

She studies her face. Something about her is familiar: blue eyes and black hair, thin frame and high cheekbones.

Danica hazards a guess: "Regulus' mum?" She says high pitched and with a shaking voice.

Walburga Black's lip curls.

"Just listen to the way you talk, girl: common- mudblood- unworthy-" she spits the words out easily having said them hundreds of times.

"That's you," Danica hisses, "you're the unworthy one. You're a coward!"

Walburga stares at her, hatred flickering behind her eyes. They may be the same colour as Regulus' but they are completely different: they are piercing blue rather than the colour of the ocean; they are harsh rather than kind; they are so alike and yet so unlike the eyes she has gazed at so many times before.

Walburga's lip curls again revealing pointed white teeth.

"Be very careful of your words, girl," she growls.

Danica gulps as Walburga raises her wand.

"Please- no-" she whimpers.

"Begging this to end are you?" She sneers and points her wand at Danica.