Trivial Pursuit

Chapter 2- Captured

"Dad! Dad! Where are you going! I'm your daughter. Don't you remember me?" She was racing after the silhouette in the distance. He wouldn't stop, wouldn't notice his daughter's frantic yells.

Then the shadow turned to face the frantic girl, but shadows still concealed his face. "I have no daughter!" He raised a knife above his head. Peering at it, she realized that it wasn't a knife, but a wand. Her wand.

...Julia awoke with a cry that came out as a croak through her parched and aching throat.. As she slowly regained consciousness, and her shallow pulse made blood race through her overheated body, she realized every inch of her throbbed with pain. She groaned and suddenly stopped- where was she? This wasn't the blue covered canopy bed she was accustomed to waking up in. Instead, she was lying on an ornate, flowered Victorian style sofa that would have been elegant, had she not been tied to it. The room she was in was dark, with no windows or candles, and only one mahogany door as an exit; from the door alone, it became clear to her that the owner was rich and devoid of taste. With the exception of the sofa she was laying on, the furniture was old and dark, covered with curls and flowers and a great deal of pink, which grated on her dizzy mind. What was this place? Why was she here? The last thing she remembered was going to the Groove, dancing with that man, and then drinking that...oh. Suddenly she started. Was that a rape drug that he had put in that drink? Had she been raped? Who would want to rape her anyway? Her musings were interrupted by the sound of the heavy door being opened.

"I s- see you're awake," came an uneasy voice. "Would you l- like a d-drink?" The voice went off into a peal of laughter that was meant to be sinister but only succeeded in sounding asthmatic. As soon as he spoke, Julia had recognized that voice, that speech impediment. She tried to speak, to scream, so the vile man who had kidnapped her would get out of her life and into hell. It was then that she first realized that she had been put under a full body-bind. She began to sweat. What had she gotten herself into? She should never have gone through Ron's bag and found the damned password to the secret passage into Hogsmeade. All because of that, she found herself tied up in some disgustingly decorated room in God-knows-what-shire, with a fat, stuttering, ugly man laughing at her madly in the corner. Damn, she thought. Damn it all to Hell.

A shadow fell across Julia's stricken face, as the corpulent villain leaned over her. "Hello, th- there," he said in a tone that would have been amicable...had she not known he was a perverted rapist with a taste for young blood. "Let me introduce m- myself. My n- name is Peter P- Pettigrew, but of course you won't remember that." The question Why? must have been apparent on her face as he laughed. "Curious, aren't you? I'll t- tell you why. I have had the F- Fidelius Charm p- performed on me by my generous and wonderful Master. You d- don't know what that is, d- do you? Tsk tsk. Hogwarts is g- getting lax. The Fidelius hides m- me from my enemies. Only my S- Secret Keeper knows wh- where I am and who I am, as does my M- Master, because he performed the ch- charm. It was his s- second gift to me, the f- first being this." He extended his right arm toward the frightened girl on the sofa, and, all of a sudden, it changed. It went from having a normal skin color to having a light metallic sheen to it. What was more, he then moved it, as if it were as flexible and alive. Julia shrank back in fear and disgust- the sight was gruesome. "B- Beautiful, isn't it," he said, obviously mistaking her look of repulsion for one of admiration. "Too bad I have to k- keep it under a concealment ch- charm when I go out- I wouldn't do it if it were my own ch- choice, but my L- Lord insists. So, I s- suppose I should tell you w- why you are here. You w- will give me your w- wand, which, incidentally, is m- mine as well, and then you will d- die. Doesn't that sound like a plan?" The man rubbed his hands in unabashed glee. There was a sound at the door, and the man looked up. What's his name? thought Julia. I can't remember his name. "Ah, here's L- Lucius with the dinner," said the man. "C- Come in!"

The door swung open again, and Julia heard the sound of a swishing cloak and the click-click of boots on linoleum. A tall blond man stepped into her range of view. He had very long hair, almost white, and carried a cane with a snake's head at the top. Even from the back, he looked intimidating. Beside him, short and trembling, was a house-elf clad in black, carrying a basket of food so large that it looked like it was slowly pulverizing the poor thing's bones. "Piddy, put that down on the table and get it ready for us," roared the man in a deep baritone. He turned to the short man, who was ringing his hands nervously, and his voice softened to a dangerous whisper. "Wormtail. You said you had a present for me. Where is it? Or better, she?"

"R- Right behind you, M- Malfoy." Lucius turned, his cape swirling, and looked down upon Julia. They inspected each other carefully. He had gray eyes, noticed Julia. And that name...Malfoy. Wasn't that the Slytherin fifth year everyone hated? So this was some relation of his. Lucius stood six feet tall, and had a sinister sneer plastered on his face. He was clearly wearing many layers, all of which were decorated discreetly with snakes. Cobras and basilisks curled up the fur that was thrown around his neck and crawled onto the velvet vest just visible beneath the robes. Very fitting, she thought sardonically. He looks like a snake himself. An albino snake.

Malfoy had obviously completed his inspection of her and found her wanting. "My dear, you are very ugly. Not worth the effort of undressing." He spoke strangely, almost without opening his mouth, which made him even more foreboding. He whirled once again to face her stout captor. "She is not worth the trouble. Kill her."

"Of course, s- sir," He was plainly afraid. "B- But, may I k- keep her wand?"

"You know the rules, Wormtail. All of her belongings must be destroyed with her. See to it after we eat."

"Yes, of course, M- Malfoy."

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The goons finished their meal within minutes, the chunky man because he could gobble quite well, and Malfoy because he seemed to have a way with a knife and fork. Rising, Malfoy went to the door and looked out. "Piddy!" he called. "Come clear the table." The poor trembling creature obeyed him and, with a snap of a finger, cleared the remains of the recent meal, before running quickly out of the room. Malfoy looked as if he too was about to exit, but he turned at the last minute. "Dispose of the girl. The Master will be very angry if you do not. You may take her if you wish, but finish before sundown. I will check back to ensure of your success. Don't fail

"Yes, of c- course, sir," stuttered the man. As the door closed behind him, he turned back to Julia with a feral grin. "I will r- release you from the Petrificus T- Totalus if you promise n- not to move off that s- sofa on pain of d- death." He pointed his wand straight at her, and whispered. "Finite Incantatem." Julia sagged onto the couch in relief. The curse was truly painful. "Now, I have an offer to m- make you. Do you want to k- keep your l- life?"

"Preferably." Julia had never been known for caution in difficult situations. "I mean, yes, yes of course!"

To her surprise, the man was laughing. "Very nice. I l- like my women with some s- spice." He leered at her with predatory delight.

"Urgh, go away," she said, repulsed.

"Surely you don't mean that?" crooned the man. "Yes, I think I'll screw you. It'll be nice to have some real new flesh. The bloody messes I get when Lucius is finished with them are not appetizing."

"Bloody?" Julia felt queasy. "Erm, excuse me, sir, but may I use the bathroom? I feel like I'm going to-" She gagged.

"Fine, you m- may rise once to g- go take care of p- personal business. My L- Lord won't want the precious R- Riddle House to be d- dirtied by strangers." He slipped the ropes off her body, purposefully brushing her breasts as he did so. She squirmed away from his slimy touch. "The l- loo is...I'll escort you."

"Ekk, that's really fine. I can find my own way."

"No, I n- need to make sure my p- pretty dove doesn't f- fly away," cooed the man. "Come this w- way." He led her out the little door, which she noticed, despite the dust, was carved intricately, into a dim hall with floral wall print. Across from them was another door, very similar to the one she had just opened, but set much deeper into the wall. He gestured to it vaguely. "That's it. Go on. I'll lock it after you."

"Er, thanks..." With a hearty tug, the entrance was revealed to lead into a small marble room with gold basins for water. As Julia stepped inside, she heard the door swing closed, and the click of a key in the lock. She almost laughed. A key? A first year could open the door if it was locked with a key! She took her wand from its holder beneath her school skirt and pointed it to the door and whispered, "Alohomora". Nothing happened. Well, then, at least the man wasn't as stupid as she had thought. "Cataracta Abria." Still nothing. Oh shit. She was in trouble. Julia turned around to find her options, and she spotted something that made her laugh. An open window. Her captor, who had put an unbreakable locking spell on her door, had been careless enough to leave the room's window wide open. So wide, in fact, that she could probably crawl out of it with no problem. She looked out of it, and her heart dropped. She was at least five stories above ground.

Just then, her captor called through the door. "You f- finished in there?"

"No!" she yelled. "Give me a minute."

"Oh, j- just hurry up. And don't r- ruin the Master's p- precious gold s- sinks."

"Oh, I won't touch them," she called sweetly. Julia certainly meant it. She was going to get out of there as soon as possible. She went to the window at once, and, taking a deep breath, perched herself on the sill. Pointing her wand to herself, Julia uttered the first charm she learned. "Wingardium Leviosa." She hovered about five inches above the sill, still in her crouched position. She felt weightless- it was delightful. Pushing against the sides of the window with her arms, she launched herself into the air. It was like riding a broom, except so much better. Delighted, Julia turned a somersault in the air, and then, recalling herself to the mission at hand, she pushed herself slowly down toward the ground with her wand. Unfortunately, the spell wouldn't allow her closer than ten feet to the ground. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the fall, and once again turned her wand on herself. "Finite Incantatem." She fell, and realized with a start that she had not landed on grass or soil, but on a mass of live skin and flesh.

"Well, well," said a nasty voice. "What do we have here?"