A/N: Apologies for the late update…challenges and life, among other things, got in the way…but this story is still alive, so let's proceed…
Chapter XXIII: A Tango With Death
Avery slowly opened his eyes, and cast around a bleary gaze. He felt the rough ground beneath him, and beside him, it was presumably Nott, still lying unconscious and awkward. His neck painfully turned, as his head looked towards the dim streak of light coming through the bars in the door.
Bars? Then he grasped the situation - they were in a prison cell. Suddenly becoming much more alert and aware, a frightful thought went through his mind: someone had seen him and Nott in Knockturn Alley. At least, that's what he could find himself remembering, going there with his companion to look for dragon scales for some potion that was being mixed…
A dull headache was beginning to form in the base of his skull. He closed his eyes, and rubbed his face with both hands. Another unpleasant thought crossed his mind, as he imagined Bellatrix's reaction, when she came around to see them. No doubt, she already knew, he smiled bitterly.
"Nott," Avery whispered quietly, nudging the other man's body.
No response. "Nott!" he tried a little louder. This time, the person in question issued an indistinct grunt. "Wake up!"
Nott yawned widely. "Wuzzgoinon?" he inquired sleepily.
"We're trapped," Avery whispered urgently. "Look at me, you idiot!"
His counterpart sat up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes and focused in the dim light towards Avery. "What do you mean we're trapped?"
"Look around," came the snappish reply.
That he did, and finally the comprehension dawned on his face. "How did we end up here?"
"Search me," Avery rejoined.
Nott stood silent for a few moments. "What do you remember?" he asked.
Avery cast his eyes to the floor, attempting to recall his most recent memories. "Not very much," he answered quietly, "Knockturn Alley comes to mind, along with some potion ingredient we were looking for…and then we were attacked by someone…"
"Is that all you have?" Nott pressed him. "Nothing else?"
"No," Avery shook his head. "And you? Do you remember anything?"
"Strangely, the same as you - I can't think of anyone asking us to look for a potion ingredient in Knockturn Alley."
"Then what were we doing there, trying to buy one. What for?" Avery's voice revealed the edgy feeling that had taken a hold of him.
"I don't know," Nott snapped on his own turn, and glanced at the door. There was no guard on the outside, but still, the light came in from somewhere.
"Could it be the Ministry that caught us?" Avery ventured a guess.
Nott looked contemplative. "Possibly, but I think we would remember being brought here to begin with, and I have no such memories."
"Neither do I."
"Then someone captured us…could it be Harry Potter, or any of his cronies?"
Avery's eyes widened at the proposition. "Wait, we did have one meeting with his - ahh, the name escapes me - uncle, or father, I don't recall…maybe he lost trust in us."
"We've barely made their acquaintance, so there isn't much of a trust on either side," Nott pointed out.
"Do you think they wiped out our memories?" Avery's voice betrayed uncertainty.
"It's possible," Nott was contemplative. "Although, I don't know what valuable information we could hold for them…"
"Think about it, you fool!" Avery snapped at him all of the sudden. "We know where Lestrange is!"
"We do, but what good is that if we're trapped here?" his companion replied indifferently. "In case you haven't noticed, this seems to be the place where we started."
Avery opened his mouth to reply, but thought better of it, and fell silent. Instead, he looked around at the dreary walls, and something seemed to jog his memory. "This is Bella's manor."
"Well, now we're on the same page," Nott answered him dryly.
"Shut it, will you?" Avery admonished him. "This isn't a time to be smart…"
"You would know," Nott told him, "let's take it seriously and think of a way out of here…"
"Already ahead of you," Avery rejoined quietly.
"What, you have it already figured?" Nott inquired disbelievingly.
"No, you fool," the other snapped. "Quit being a git, and start thinking."
However, their contemplative time was not meant to last long. A few minutes later, two shadows appeared in the corridor, accompanied by heavy footsteps and silent chatter.
"Those two are dead for sure," one gruff voice was saying.
"Oi, I don' wanna be in their place," another very similar tone answered.
Avery's ears cropped up, as he heard the two guards approaching. "What do they mean, we're dead?" he mouthed at Nott.
Wide eyed, Nott could not respond. Fear had suddenly seeped into his countenance, and he looked around frantically, as if vainly seeking an escape. "Take a wild guess," he barely managed, focusing back onto Avery.
The guards stopped at the door, and one of them inserted a heavy key in the lock. It turned noisily, and the oaken door swung creakily on it hinges.
"Oi, you two," the bigger, rather trollish-looking guard called. "Yer s'posed to come wit' us!"
"There has to be a mistake!" Nott said loudly. "We're innocent."
"No!" the second guard replied forcefully. "The Mistress specifically said you twos losers. Now come on!"
Shaking, Nott rose to his feet. Avery followed, visibly calm, but his insides were churning with worry…
"What does she want?" he asked the second guard, while following Nott through the entrance.
"Story is, yeh were seen with `Arry Potter the other night. I ain't know nothin about it," the guard answered dimly.
"Harry Potter?" Avery was confused. "The other night?"
"'s what they say," the guard shrugged.
Avery caught up to Nott. "They say we were with Harry Potter two night ago. Do you remember anything?"
"What?"
"I asked if you remembered anything about meeting Potter?"
"We've never even seen the kid," Nott answered hurriedly. "Why?"
"That's why we're here," Avery told him.
"What!"
"We're going to have to answer to Lestrange about something we did not do."
"Shut it, up there," the same gruff voice thundered a short distance behind them.
Nott closed his mouth, and gave Avery a meaningful look. The other only nodded in desperation, and cast his eyes to the ground.
**
The familiar tall wooden doors loomed in front of them. Cast in shadow from the curtain, drawn against the hallway window, they were ominous, foretelling of the painful end that awaited them, once the hinges creaked open…
No sooner had they approached the doors, and they did part of their own accord.
"Mistress," the two guards called loudly, and bowed simultaneously. "The prisoners!"
Knowing their lives were practically over, Avery and Nott still tried to grapple in the effort to appease their ruler; so, they collapsed to their knees and bowed, as low as possible.
"Thank you," Bella's tone was a chilling calm. "You may retreat."
Not waiting to be invited twice, the guards rose to their feet, and hastily left, closing the doors behind them.
The two unfortunate souls were still sprawled on the ground, staring at the painstakingly shined floor. Both were on edge about what awaited them next…
"Rise," she commanded them.
Nott glanced surreptitiously at Avery, and waited until he took the lead. That Avery did, standing up as slowly as he could.
From the corner of his eyes, Avery caught the light from the last rays of the sunset coming through the window. They landed on Bellatrix's pale face, making her seem even more deranged and crazy than usual…
Regardless of that observation, he knew the rule very well - so his eyes remained fixed on the ground until he was given permission to look up.
"Avery," Bella began slowly, eyeing her objective with a cold stare; Avery only looked back calmly, feeling strangely unafraid of the horrendous woman standing in front of him.
"My mistress," he acknowledged her.
"What shall I do with you?" Lestrange went on, asking rhetorically. "You have been a faithful servant of both myself and Voldemort."
"Thank you, Mistress," he bowed once again humbly.
"Yet, I hear of you fraternizing with our common enemy, along with Nott," she continued, slightly more sternly this time.
Wisely, Avery and Nott remained quiet.
"I will give you precisely five minutes to provide me with a legitimate reason as to why you were seen with Harry Potter and Remus Lupin two nights ago. If, at the end of those five minutes I am not convinced, you will pay with your lives. Do I make myself understood?"
"Yes, Mistress," Nott replied immediately, and Avery followed suit immediately after.
"Fine, then. Talk," Lestrange commanded them with a wave of her hand.
Avery glanced sideways at Nott, and the latter returned the look with an uneasy one of his own.
He took a deep breath. "We were kidnapped."
"Kidnapped?" Bella repeated skeptically.
"Neither of us remembers the circumstances," Nott piped up, and the cold, black eyes snapped in his direction.
Bellatrix focused on Nott more than was natural. Beside him, Avery knew precisely what she was doing - reading his mind to find out if he was lying.
The seconds stretched to eternity, as he raptly focused on the Mistress' focused features. Finally, after a full minute of trying to locate a confirmation of her suspicions, Bella tore her eyes away. Avery knew that he was next in line for the minute investigation that could end with his life…
"Are you certain," Lestrange asked him quietly, "that you are not concealing any information from me?"
"P-positive," Avery stumbled over his words unwillingly, and Nott vigorously shook his head in assent.
He was a capable Occlumens, and with considerable effort, could prevent Bellatrix from entering his thoughts, but at the present, he was not in a position to resist.
The invasion of his mind was sudden and painful. His face contorted, and he collapsed to his knees, clutching his head in his hands. With each passing second, the pain grew exponentially, threatening to make his head explode from the pressure that was building within…
Memories of days past, from the reign of Voldemort, and even before that, rolled in his mind's eye; he thought he had forgotten those moments in time long ago. Even, he was astonished at the detail, with which his service under Voldemort presented itself…trying to forget that episode of his life, as much as possible, has been a generally successful venture in recent years…
As unexpectedly as it had began, the intrusion ended. Lestrange withdrew from his mind, and he could sense the strong feeling of fury and disappointment that she left with.
At last, he managed to look up, and shakily rise to his feet. Beside him, Nott observed the exchange, visibly intimidated by Bella's presence.
The maniacal matriarch of the organization narrowed her eyes dangerously, while still observing them silently.
"I believe you are lying," she said quietly.
Smartly, neither Avery, not Nott replied to her accusation.
"It was a meeting with that werewolf. You thought you could hide it from me?" That question was needless to say, rhetorical.
"Mistress - "Avery found the brave to start a new sentence, but that was all he could utter.
"Crucio!" Bella positively screeched, as she whipped her want at her unfortunate subordinate. "You dare counter me!"
Writhing in pain, Avery clenched his teeth, and tried to remain on his feet. However, he was quickly overwhelmed, and collapsed on the ground, crouched in the fetal position.
"As I was saying," Bellatrix infallibly regained her former suspicious, cold and calm air, "you two met Remus Lupin on one occasion, some time ago. Why?"
Her eyes snapped at Nott, and the wand twitched in her fingers. The other Death Eater swallowed audibly, and took a deep breath, trying to stall for an extra second of thought that could save both their lives…
"A lead," he stammered, "on the whereabouts of Harry Potter."
"A lead?" Bella repeated slowly, not taking her eyes off him. "Do tell, what kind of lead?"
"One that Avery and I were investigating," Nott replied quickly, attempting to the best of his ability to sound genuine, "that he was not abroad, and gathering a following, with which to overtake us."
On the floor, Avery had stopped squirming, but he had not the strength to stand up quite yet - as a result, he remained collapsed, propped on his forearms and breathing laboriously.
"Should I believe that story?" Lestrange questioned Nott snappishly. "Are you prepared to put your life on the line that you're speaking the truth?"
Nott gulped visibly. "Yes. Yes, I am."
He could feel his allegiance change. Even if what he had just told Lestrange was a complete and utter lie, he made a choice, right there and then - if working for the Light, and refusing to stand for the values Bellatrix Lestrange represented, meant that he would die, then so be it.
Beside him, Avery finally struggled to his feet, using him as a support to finally regain his full stature.
"Hurts, doesn't it?" Bella turned to him suddenly. "You do not disobey me."
Avery knew she was completely right in making that statement, but what amazed him even more was that he and Nott had not been dispatched yet, very much similarly to other unfortunate souls before them…
For the consecutive time that day, Nott and Avery shared an uneasy glance, while Bellatrix was turned away from them, her head down in contemplation.
"You do realize," she faced them once again, "that when you do develop a lead, or go off to investigate one, you are obligated to transfer the knowledge of your intents to me as soon as possible!"
Her tone had picked up once more. "One of my goals is to capture and kill Harry Potter for good, and for that I need the spells that the Order of Merlin protected for such a long time. Surrounded by incompetence, I have not been able to capture those spells, whatever designs I try!"
Avery and Nott, as obedient as they could be, still did not say a word.
"You two will be punished, most severely," she seemed to speaking more to herself than the two other occupants of the room. "As for my ultimate goal, it may be time to adopt more aggressive means to take what I want."
Standing rapt with attention, the unfortunate duo anticipated what punishment she had in store for them.
"You may go for now," she told them dismissively. "I shall deal with you later on."
The doors swung open as loudly as before, and Bellatrix turned her back towards them, walking deeper in her chamber, evidently occupying herself with another session of deep, maniacal thinking…
Avery and Nott did not wait to be asked twice to remove themselves from her realm. Hastening their leave, they nearly ran from the chamber, and did not speak a word to one another for another ten minutes of rapid walking in the opposite direction.
"What do you reckon?" Nott finally asked, when they had slowed down and calmed slightly.
"About what?" Avery inquired
"About her," Nott nearly whispered, "what she will do to us, if she ever finds out we're in cahoots with the Order."
"I don't think her reactions are completely rational," Avery observed objectively. "It is as if she is becoming mad with the transfixion of what she is trying to achieve. I can see it - she will be more and more senile as time goes on."
"To me, she seemed completely focused," Nott was unconvinced. "She intruded both our minds, so she must know what she's searching for."
"Evidently, something happened, that we were part of, but do not remember. We may have had false memories implanted in the place of our real ones, and it is common knowledge that for false memories to work, the real ones must be taken out."
"So you think that is what happened?" Nott asked, surprised. "Could it be the reason we were in that dungeon for two days, apparently?"
"It might be," Avery agreed. "I cannot be fully sure yet. What I do know we need to do, is contact Remus Lupin as soon as possible."
"Who's this Remus Lupin?" a voice behind them called, startling them both.
"I'm sorry?" Avery said out of habit, and turned around. Standing there, was a meek colleague of theirs, with the expression of a sneak and spy written all over his face.
"Nobody, you need to be concerned about," Nott told him easily, beating Avery to the point, "only a new recruit we're discussing."
"Then why is it you need to contact him so urgently?" the pesky intruder inquired avidly.
"We think he would be a good match," Nott said forcefully, hinting at every word that he required they be left alone.
"So - " the newcomer made another attempt to ask a response, but Avery's patience had already expired.
"Perfectus Totalus," he said quietly, and the meek Death Eater's body snapped tight and keeled over.
"Timely of you," Nott complimented, as they went on their way without a look back.
"Right," Avery dismissed him. "Now, how do we contact him without being detected?"
"She saw our first meeting with him. I am thinking we met a second time, and that may be the reason we have false memories in our minds."
"We can always sort that part out later," Avery was beginning to show his impatience. "Right now, we need to find a way to contact Potter."
"Wait a minute," Nott attempted to restrain him, "have you even thought about what you would say? I think we need to wait until he contacts us."
"And how do you propose that will happen?" his comrade replied "You know how closely this place is watched. They check all incoming and outgoing communications."
"Don't you know anything about concealment charms?" Nott chastised him. "If anything arrives for either of us, it will be altered in some way to avoid the contents of it being detected."
Avery smiled bitterly. "And what exactly makes you so sure that that will be the scenario?"
"And what would you suggest?" Nott challenged him.
The taller Death Eater opened his mouth to make a comment, but nothing came out. He knew Nott was right - the only way to have clandestine communications, was to hide in plain sight.
"Fine, you made your point," he conceded.
"We're agreed then."
For now, there was nothing more they could do. Narrowly escaping with their skins, Nott and Avery knew any frivolities on their part could be very well paid with their lives. The best policy for the moment was to wait.
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