The silence in the chamber was thick with tension, except for the occasional cackle from the fires lighting up the room. Two figures stayed in a half-kneeling position, heads bowed low towards the front of the room. One hand on the cold stone floor, the other resting on their knee; both arms were trembling slightly but unseen by the figure seated in front of them as their long black sleeves covered their arms like the rest of their attire covered their bodies. The mission had not turned out well. The mudblood's parents had been alerted after all, against the Dark Lord's instructions. They did not understand why the Dark Lord had ordered them to capture a mudblood child, nor the instructions to abduct the girl un-noticed when it had been easier to simply kill the muggle parents. But they knew better than to question the Dark Lord, and better yet, disappoint him. It now depended on whether Malfoy would succeed in bringing back the girl.
"POP!" The tense silence was first broken by the distinctive sound of apparating, before being completely diminished by crazed barking. A fourth figure had appeared in the room. With a swish of blond hair and black cloth, he too fell onto the ground into a kneeling position immediately. The girl landed on the cold wet floor and began stirring in the hold Malfoy had her in, uncomfortable by her new surroundings.
"My Lord, I've brought the child."
As if acknowledging the statement, the young girl gave a weak groan as she regained consciousness and shook her small head. Her brown eyes cleared and widened in surprise as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings. As a child, she did not know how to mask her emotions. Fear evident in her darting eyes, her breaths became short, ragged breaths, until her eyes landed on something familiar - the puppy held under the arm of the man holding her too.
"Ash!" She burst out, her short arms reaching out to the puppy. "Ash!" her fingertips brushed the soft hair of the dog that visibly calmed down. Looking intently at his owner, he seemed to be checking for her well-being. Satisfied, it became completely silent and the chamber's original peace was restored with a single voice ringing out in the cold chamber.
"Bring her to me."
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Maia walked purposefully down a hallway with a pile of neatly folded silk blankets of rich green with silver linings in her arms. She was thinking about the games she would play with Young Master Malfoy that day when barking sounds interrupted her train of thought. Her feet came to a stop on the carpeted floor as she frowned. There should not have been any dogs in the Malfoy Manor; it wasn't common for wizards to keep dogs. Her senses pin-pointed the source - behind a heavy door left ajar was the underground storage chamber. Strange, hardly anyone go in there, much less a dog. Either way, it would not do for a stray dog to be in the respected house of the Malfoys, thus she eased the door open quietly and padded down the dark stairway.
As she approached the landing, the barking lessened. Maia stopped in her tracks with her hand on the cold stone wall. The dog must have noticed her on-coming presence; she had to be more careful. She strained her ears in an attempt to pick up on where the animal might be; the barking was very much softer now, but clearer as she walked on. She gingerly stepped into the badly lit underground chamber, minding to make her entrance as silent as possible. The place was cluttered with boxes, shelves stuffed with books and objects, not to mention, thick stone pillars that extended all the way up to the high ceiling. The dim lighting did not make her way around easier, she was even more careful to manoeuvre her way around the objects. The barking had completely stopped by then. She was just about to walk around another shelf that was completely occupied by books when she heard a chilling voice, slicing through the silence of the chamber.
"Bring her to me."
She froze. Immediately, she knew she was not supposed to be where she was. And she had already been discovered for her mistake. She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her jaws tight, awaiting for whoever it was to bring her forward. No one came; instead she heard a cry that sounded like it came from a child in pain, echoing loudly throughout the chamber. Maia's eyes shot open in surprise. A child was definitely the last thing she was expecting in a situation like that.
Maia had very strong maternal instincts, which was why her job as a nanny was so perfect for her. And when she heard a child's cry, she could not bring herself to leave, although every other instinct in her was screaming the exact opposite. She did not know what she could for the child, but she knew she could not turn around and forget about it. Instead, she removed two books from the shelf in front of her and peeped through the gap created.
Two dark figures are couched on the floor, heads bowed towards a throne-like chair. A bald young man sat on the throne, arms spread out wide on the arm rest. His face was pale and expressionless. His eyes were fixated on the figures in front of him. Maia saw her master, pulling a small bushy-haired girl roughly by her hand to the front of the chair. That young girl could not have been more than three years old, Maia couldn't think of any reason for such a child to be doing in a place like that. She winced when she witnessed her master pushed her forward to the floor as he himself crouched down gracefully to the same position the other two figures were in. The girl had let out another cry of pain as she hit the floor.
The young man stood up, walked up towards the child lying on the ground…… and turned around. Maia's eyes widened in horror as her mouth opened in a silent scream. There was another face was on the back of his head! It was white, with the features slightly distorted. The eyes were narrow; slits replaced his nose and his lips were thin. The girl herself was horrified beyond words and simply laid on the floor, rooted by her fear.
"So this is the girl then," That chilling voice rang out again. "After three years of searching, we finally meet."
Maia shuddered despite herself. The man towered over the girl as the white face fixed his eyes upon her. The thin lips barely moved as he spoke.
"She is the Key to the power the Dark Lord knows not.
Born as the Dark reign ends, the winds will find her.
She will be hidden amongst the blood despised.
Both sides will seek her and she shall be truly found.
She will be His Key to the power the Dark Lord knows not."
The man took a step backward (towards the girl), a slight triumphant smirk playing on the barely existent lips. A small puppy ran out from the arms of her master to place itself between its owner and the man, growling threateningly. The girl launched herself forward to embrace that brave pup and buried her face in its fur in her own effort to distance them from the man. At the same time, he was pushed backwards forcefully (or forwards for the man) by seemingly nothing. Maia was confused by what she saw. The surprise of what had happened was evident on the white face. He looked down at the girl in wonder and amazement.
"An elemental?" he said breathlessly. The child only whimpered in response.
"The power the Dark Lord knows not," he let out a disbelieving laugh. "Indeed! A wind elemental!"
He laughed again, this time loud and clear, over the deep growling of the dog.
"Both sides will seek her and she shall be truly found. Yes, she was found truly by the Dark Lord!"
He announced loudly as he held his hands out. "Remember, my followers. Power goes to those who seek it," He looked back down at the cowering child, his eyes glinting eerily.
"And those too weak to seek it shall perish."
Maia had a sick feeling deep in the pit of her stomach as she watched the pure evil that was standing in the chamber. The child still remained in a foetal position on the floor, hugging the puppy tightly. She looked up exactly as the white face stared down at her.
"And you are the Key to the power that I've yet to know. My key to the power itself, Hermione Granger. "
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