Playing for Time

Chapter 4

As soon as Tonks and her captor re-appeared at a new location, he let go of her. She took two steps forward to regain her balance, then she turned to face him, prepared to speak.

Lucius Malfoy.

Naturally. He had not come upon her when she was alone, as she had been prepared for, and he had caught her totally off balance. The terrible realisation that he had literally walked over dead bodies to get to her made the scathing remark on her lips wither and die.

Tonks made an effort not to shy away from him. Instead she carefully studied him, not showing him how scared she actually felt. He looked as he usually did, not at all like a man who was on the run. His robes were in perfect order, not even a speck of dust at the hem, the cane that hid his wand in his hand. His hair hung down his back without a strand out of place, as immaculate as if he was about to take a leisurely stroll. He met her stare and smiled in grim satisfaction.

"So happy that you could join me, Nymphadora." Tonks winced as her name was transformed into an insult by his tone of voice. She might have disliked it all her life, but it wasn't supposed to be pronounced with such contempt. "It will be - interesting, to have you here as my guest."

Tonks firmly pushed back the panic that wanted to burst through. Instead she let the rage she felt show. "Diagon Alley, all those people. All those innocent people! How many did you kill?"

Lucius Malfoy shrugged. "They were of no concern. They served a purpose, that is all."

Obviously, he'd lose no sleep over the death and suffering of so many people and Tonks didn't say anything more. She wanted to scream at him, hurt him, for his indifference, but it was no use. Her heart bled when she thought about it, but she would gain nothing if she was to rant about it here. She studied her surroundings instead, making an effort to ignore Malfoy. She might be stuck in a hopeless situation, but she was not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her grovel.

They were standing in a vast gallery, stretching out before and behind them. Walls, floor and ceiling were all made of black stone, so polished that she could see a vague mirror reflection of herself in the walls. Though all black, the gallery was still not dark, as one side of it was almost entirely made of large windows, facing a landscape that looked vaguely Italian. This was not a real room. They were standing in a chimera, in Lucius's fantasy. Tonks supposed that she could be grateful that it wasn't the more depressing sight of a dank dungeon.

The room offered no escape possibilities. There was no telling where real windows and doors were located, or how large the room really was. For all she knew they could still be standing in plain view on Diagon Alley. She was also certain that they were nowhere near Malfoy Mansion. Tonks reluctantly looked back at Lucius again. He was watching her, obviously evaluating her appearance and evidently not liking it much. He stepped closer, and now Tonks did back away from him.

Lucius frowned and muttered an incantation. Tonks found herself sitting on a black stone bench, placed close to the wall. Dainty silver chains appeared out of nowhere, fastening themselves to the walls. They were long enough to give her room to sit or stand, but not to move around. She looked at the elegant silver cuffs that encircled her wrists, a patterns of serpents winding its way around them. Pretty, but the daintiness was just another illusion. Tonks had no doubt that she was bound by the strongest spells that Lucius could muster.

He stood close to her, tilting her face up so she was forced to look up at him. His hand, as usual in black gloves, held her face still while he scrutinised her.

"You are quite pretty in you own right, after all. If I can assume that this face is indeed your own?" The hand tightened it grip and Tonks made a small affirmative noise. Still holding her, he let his other hand run through her hair. Just this day it was short and curly, in a rather startling shade of purple.

"Your hair, though, Nymphadora. Always in these appalling colours." His eyes travelled over her body. "These clothes are a horror as well, even if I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised of this lack of taste. Well, it can all change. Transform your hair into its natural colour!"

"No!" Tonks said, fully expecting him to try to force her. But he let go of her and turned away, walking up to one of the windows and looked out on the scenery. He threw her a gaze over his shoulder, looking amused.

"Don't worry, half-blood, your time will come. We are just waiting for some company. As soon as we are all gathered here, you will probably wish that you were still waiting."

Tonks was left, if not alone, at least in peace with her thoughts. No one knew where she was, or with whom. If the explosion in Diagon Alley had had such horrible results as she thought, then all attention would be directed to the wounded and dead. She had no idea how long it would take to have her absence noted. Too long, she feared, as that would just be the start of any kind of rescuing mission.

What was the company Lucius had talked about? Not the Dark Lord himself, at least. You were brought to him, not the other way around. But other Death Eaters... The panic Tonks wanted to ignore reared its head again. Lucius was bad in himself, what he would do to her would be more than enough. The thought of several men doing the same made her almost sick from fear. But wait she must, she could not escape this.

The minutes dragged on, perhaps it was even hours. Tonks concentrated on her breathing, making an effort to keep it slow and steady. To pass the time she studied the man before her. She made herself admire his beauty, as if he had been a piece of art. She wondered how he could look so effortlessly elegant despite the fact that he was a wanted man.

When she had been in school, Lucius Malfoy had been the centre of many of her classmates' adoration. After You-Know-Who's fall, Lucius had renounced his evil ways, claiming that it was fear for his beautiful wife and darling son that had forced him into the dark wizard's service. It had been a very popular theme in the magazines teenage witches likes to read. It was so romantic, Tonks' friends claimed: the handsome wizard, devoted to his family, made to do unspeakable things out of fear.

There had been tear-wrenching interviews, illustrated with glamorous photographs. Many of those pictures had been pinned to the walls, the subject of teenage sighs. All lies, Tonks had known that then as she did now, but lies that were believed. Once she had got into a fight with a fellow Gryffindor girl who claimed that Lucius was misunderstood and that Tonks' declaration that he was evil stemmed from pure malice.

More time passed. Tonks grew tired of watching the immobile man by the window and leaned back. She thought of every muscle in her body, making them relax. It wasn't easy, but it was something she had learned when she had been in training to become an Auror. Rest when you can, preserve your energy until you need it.

Lucius suddenly moved and Tonks sat upright, once again tense. He moved toward her and she knew that the waiting was nearing its end. Whatever was to come, it was almost here and she tried to brace herself. Then a girl suddenly appeared in the room. She staggered and unlike Tonks she didn't regain her balance and fell. A large leather-bound book flew from her hands when she tried to break her fall with her arms. Tonks stood up and moved, forgetting the chains until they abruptly pulled her back. The girl on the floor looked up, and Tonks found herself staring into the brown eyes of Hermione Granger.