Harry Potter and the War of Souls

Chapter 22

The Captivating Host

Bellatrix LeStrange seemed as delighted to see Harry Potter trapped in her dungeon as he had felt the first time he caught the golden snitch. She was smiling with a sort of excitement that made him nervous. If she was that happy, he was in a lot of trouble. He cast a curse at her but she didn't even flinch. It wasn't much of an attempt by him anyway. He was still so weak from the fight with the Inferi and the Erupto spell, he could barely stand on both feet.

"This is my special dungeon," she said warmly, letting her fingers brush against the iron bars. "Rodolphus made it just for me as a wedding present. Spells only go one direction in here. So wave that thing all you'd like. It won't hurt me." She withdrew her own wand and, pointing at Harry, said, "Accio wand."

Despite his attempts to hold onto it, Harry's wand flew from his hand and into hers. She took the wand and placed it on a stool that would have been just out of his reach from inside the dungeon. "I may have charms in here to protect myself, but it's still better that I hold onto this for you," she said.

"Can't you play fair?" Harry asked. "Even Voldemort gave me a fair duel."

Bella's eyes widened at Harry's words. "Never let me hear you say His name again," she yelled, then added, "Crucio!"

Harry fell to the floor and heard his screams echoing throughout the dungeon. His blood was on fire inside him and for several long moments, he willed himself to die rather than continue on. When she finally released the spell, he had no strength to stand again, nor could he see the point of it. But Bella's hate for him was not going to be placated so quickly.

He felt himself going unconscious, but heard her yell, "Enervate!" Against his attempt to sleep and shut everything out, his eyes opened and he drew himself up to a sitting position.

"I knew the Dark Lord had a portkey made for my dungeon," Bella said. "But it's been so many years I'd rather forgotten about it. He'll be so happy to learn it's brought you here."

Harry looked at her with a blank expression on his face. That would be it then. He'd be held here until Voldemort came to kill him. "It doesn't matter," he said. "I'm not afraid to die."

"Who says you'll die? Perhaps you'll come to your senses and accept His offer." She folded her arms and stared at him. "He's never made that offer to anyone before, not even to me, His most trusted servant."

"I thought Snape was His most trusted servant."

Bella laughed. "Snape serves his own interests first. Had he not killed Dumbledore, the Dark Lord would have killed him."

Harry didn't flinch. "At least Snape hasn't failed Him as often as you have."

He knew she'd punish him for that comment, but he didn't care. It was worth it to have seen the fury in her eyes. She raised her wand and slashed it in the air. He felt a slap against his cheek that knocked his face to one side, but her hand was shaking now.

"I will deliver you at His feet," she finally said. "Then all will be well."

"And if I do join Him I'll be your master too," Harry added. "So better be nice to me."

He was surprised to see a smile spread across her face. "Sorry. This is as nice as I get." She waved her wand and he immediately began to gasp as he felt the air being sucked from his lungs. She was suffocating him, here in a room full of air.

He felt dizzy and began to go limp. She must have done something else then because as soon as he was allowed to breathe again his body was thrown against the wall. Chains wrapped themselves around each of his hands, sealing him to the wall. As he saw Bella raising her wand at him again, he steeled himself for whatever she had coming next.

"I'd love to continue, ickle baby," she said, returning to her baby voice. "But there is someone who would love to play with you and I want you to have some life left. He will be so excited!" She darkened the few lights that were in the dungeon, leaving the room pitch black, then went back up the stairs.

Harry wasn't sure how long she left him there. He drifted in and out of consciousness, getting hints of restless sleep, but for as tired as he was every time he woke up, he wondered if he'd ever really been asleep at all.

He had just closed his eyes again when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He heard a familiar voice say, "Lumos," and the room gained light. It wasn't much, but Harry's eyes had become so adjusted to the darkness they hurt him and he instinctively squinted. He didn't need to see who had entered the room. He already knew.

"Always knew it'd end like this for you and me, Potter," Draco Malfoy drawled. "Any last words before I finish you off?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "Do it and face your master's anger. I'm sure He's told you that He wants to be the one to kill me."

Draco's eyes flickered. Whether he had been serious in his threat to Harry or not, it was clear that he was in no mood to toy with Voldemort's anger. As Harry's eyes gradually adjusted, he was able to see Draco better.

The past several months had not been good to him. His eyes were sunken and void of life. His skin was even more pale than usual, and his hair, which appeared to have been uncut for months, was uneven and untidy.

"I've planned this for some time," Draco said. "But the funny thing is, no spell seemed to be satisfying enough for me. The flick of a wand doesn't communicate my feelings well enough." He made a motion with his wand and the door to the cell where Harry sat opened. Draco got very near to Harry and smiled in his face. "Remember all those times you thought you'd bested me? This is for those." He drew his fist back and fired it into Harry's jaw.

Harry's head shot back and he felt blood trickling down his chin. Draco laughed at that then stood. He began kicking Harry in the side, taking increased pleasure in every grunt that came from Harry's mouth.

When he exhausted himself from the kicking, he stepped back to the boundaries of the cell and pulled out his wand, unleashing another Crucio on Harry. The last thing Harry remembered thinking was that at least it wasn't as bad as what Bellatrix could do. Yet he was so much weaker now than he had been and he knew he wouldn't last much longer.

Draco released the spell, then knelt again by Harry's side. "So how's Ginny? I always knew you two'd get together. You could never do better than a Weasley."

"I broke it off with her months ago," Harry said, forcing himself to look Draco in the eyes. "She wasn't worth it." He saw a flinch in Draco's expression then without intending to, pushed into his mind. For a brief second he saw a memory of Draco staring at Ginny from across the courtyard. She was walking with him, Harry, and Draco was furious. He liked her and hated himself for not being able to control his feelings about her.

"What are you doing?" Draco said, rearing back. He kicked Harry again who was sure this time he heard something in his chest crack. He tried to gasp but tasted blood in his mouth.

"You think you're hurting now? Well there's something I've been waiting for months to try on you. You like that cutting spell on me, don't you? Tried it twice now but I survived it both times. I don't think you should expect the same results."

Although Draco seemed to want him to respond, Harry said nothing. He didn't even have strength to manage the words.

Draco raised his arm back then began to bring it toward Harry, yelling, "Sectum-"

"Draco, stop!" a woman said, hurrying down the stairs. "We can't risk killing him."
Harry raised his head and saw Narcissa Malfoy running into his cell to grab her son's arm. Behind her, Bella rounded the corner.

"Let him go, sister," Bella said. "The Dark Lord will be pleased to hear the news."

"Draco will not interfere with His plans," Narcissa insisted. "Now go upstairs. We are leaving immediately."

Draco walked back to Harry and grabbed at his robes. This time, however, his head turned as if he suspected something. He knelt down and reached into Harry's pockets. He first pulled out the spare gillyweed, then threw it to the ground, muttering, "disgusting." Then he reached in again and found the wand Harry had long ago stuffed inside and forgotten about.

"What is this?" Narcissa asked. She grabbed the wand from Draco, then Bella grabbed the wand from her.

"A spare wand?" Bella said. "I never heard of such a thing."

"You never know when it could come in handy," Harry said softly.

Draco reared back to cast another spell on Harry, but Narcissa said, "No. Draco, go upstairs. I don't want the Dark Lord to know we were ever here. If He is displeased-"

"You frighten too easily," Bella said. "Go then. I can finish dealing with Potter before we hand him over."

Draco sneered at Harry before he finally obeyed his mother and ran up the stairs with Narcissa following closely behind.

"They are too afraid of the Dark Lord," Bella told Harry. "All He wants is to be rid of you. I believe He'd thank the person who had the courage to do it."

Harry looked up at her. Even if he wanted to, there was nothing he could do to fight her. He said nothing and gave her no sign of fear as she circled him like a vulture preparing to land.

"I'll do it with your own wand," she said. "What a fitting end for Harry Potter. To be killed by that which he most hoped could protect him. Know this in your final moments, that you have died in a most cowardly way, alone and completely helpless against your enemies." She aimed her wand directly at his scar, then said, "Avada Kedarva."

But the green light which shot from her wand didn't go toward Harry at all, but backfired onto her. In the dark dungeon, the whole room momentarily glowed green. With a brief gasp of shock, Harry watched as Bellatrix LeStrange fell to the floor. She was dead.

With her death, the chains around his wrists automatically released him. He slumped completely to the ground, almost unable to put two thoughts together. He sat there for only a few moments, however, before he realized he didn't have any time to spare. Draco and his mother or anyone else could come back.

It was only as he began to crawl forward that he found out how injured he was. He couldn't stand and he was sure Draco must have broken several ribs or maybe something worse. He made it as far as the border of the cell, then whispered, "Accio wand."

His wand, which was still on the stool at the far end of the room, flew to his hand. He looked back into the cell. The cup which had brought him here in the first place was still rolled into the corner where it had landed before. He briefly wondered why nobody had picked it up. Was it possible even Bella did not understand the cup's significance? Did she really think it was only a simple portkey? "Accio cup," he said, and he tucked the cup into his robes.

Holding onto the cell bars, he released them only long enough to focus on where he wanted to go. He felt himself getting crushed as though passing through an extra-tight tunnel, then the pressure cleared and he fell onto the floor of what he hoped was The Three Broomsticks.

"What's this?" Madam Rosmerta said, running over to him. "Harry Potter?"

"Can you get me to Hogwarts?" Harry whispered, then passed out.