The Protectors

Chapter 13

When the spell wore off hours later Analise found herself in some type of holding
cell, complete with bars and a toilet. Her head was pounding as she tried to
remember where she was. She reached to begin searching her robes for her wand
but her hand came in contact with the satin of her pajamas instead and then it hit
her. Shit. No wand. I was captured. That man must have been one of the
Deatheaters. Remus will realize I’m missing and come to look for me, she thought
as that knowledge comforted her a little.

The door to the room opened and a pale man with platinum hair walked in. He had
an air of superiority and class to him but also a cold, calculating face. She instantly
felt her tension go up.

He stopped in front of the caged cell and gazed lasciviously at her, making her feel
very vulnerable. I’m not about to let this asshole intimidate me, she thought as she
lifted her gaze to meet his manipulative blue eyes defiantly.

Blue eyes, she thought as something clicked in her mind. She’d never seen the man
in the cafe’s true appearance. The polyjuice hadn’t worn off before he escaped,
but she recognized those eyes.

“You’re the man that I trapped earlier.” She said angrily.

Analise noticed that he looked a little taken aback by her statement but he quickly
composed himself.

“Very good. By the way, thanks for the tip.” He said silkily.

“Excuse me?” She said hotly.

“About never underestimating you. It certainly made you easier to obtain.” He
answered in a nauseatingly pleasant tone.

She walked closer to the bars and spit in his face.

“Fuck off.” She retaliated.

Malfoy wiped the saliva out of his face tumultuously then proceeded to her cell
door, pointed his wand and unlocked it. He stalked toward her, his infuriation
evident, and grabbed her arms in a vise grip, that was sure to cause bruising,
before shoving her savagely back on the bed.

“I wouldn’t recommend trying a stunt like that again, my dear.” He said as he
sneered at the fear in her eyes.

“Really?” She questioned as she looked him square in the eyes insolently and
brought her foot up swiftly to kick him in the groin. She jumped off the bed and
ran toward the open cell door, which he had carelessly left open. She had just
gotten to it when it slammed shut. Analise turned to face Malfoy, who was still
doubled over in pain but had his wand pointed directly at her.

“Let me out.” She demanded.

“No.” He answered.

“Either let me out or I’ll continue kicking your ass.” She said rebelliously.

“I’d like to see...” He started, before she delivered a swift kick to his head that
had him seeing stars.

“Ok, that’s it. I’m done playing nice with you, miserable wench.” He screamed in
anger. He pointed his wand and cried “Crucio.” And gleefully watched her fall in
pain to the floor. “Stupefy!” He said and she fell backwards as darkness
encompassed her.

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Remus and Snape were huddled together over the Finding Fire impatiently waiting
as it searched for Analise. They were lucky the Deatheaters didn’t know about one
of Dumbledore’s most brilliant ideas; the fire that locates lost items. It had been
most useful in tracking people, but also things like missing wands or gold.

“It’s never taken this long before!” Remus said with a touch of agitation.

“He must have taken her somewhere far away.” Snape said in a surprisingly calming
voice.

Finally the fire focused on Analise’s form and Remus felt panic rise in his throat as
he immediately noticed she was not moving. It appeared she was locked in some
kind of prison room.

“He’s killed her! Look she’s not moving. The bastard killed her.” Remus said in a
frenzy.

“Lupin, dammit! You have to calm down. You can’t afford to get emotional about a
task. Now look at her, she’s breathing. She’s not dead.” Snape reasoned. “They
won’t kill her for awhile. She’s in possession of information they need. We’ll get
there before they have a chance to kill her. Don’t worry. We’ve never lost anyone
yet.”

“You’re right. Sorry.” Remus said as he regrouped. “Show me the location of this
home.” He spoke firmly to the flickering fire.

Slowly, Analise’s collapsed body faded away and was replaced with the view of a
large estate all in red brick. That will make it easier to spot from the air, Remus
thought. Snape and Lupin searched the scene for any kind of visual clues that
would help them.

“There!” Severus said suddenly pointing to a plant. “That’s root of wormswood. It
only grows in....they’re in France.”

“Great job! We’ll Apparate to France and then fly above to find the house. Let’s
go get our brooms.” Remus said with slight relief. They had found her and that
was a good part of the battle.

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Analise woke the next morning jerkily and extremely groggy. She soon had her
answer to the jerky waking when she saw Malfoy standing over her. She sat up
quickly and backed away in disgust. Lucius’ face is not the first one I want to see
in the morning, she thought and couldn’t help but think wistfully of Remus.

“Good morning, Shimmer. Are we feeling a little more cooperative today?” He
asked cheekily.

“Umm, didn’t I already tell you to fuck off? Because I could have sworn I did. But
if I didn’t, hey Malfoy, fuck off!” She retorted sassily.

“Don’t test me you retched no good urchin. Unless you want worse treatment than
last night.” He said disdainfully.

That did make Analise stop and remember the pain, which subdued her. There
really is no describing the agony of the Cruciatus curse.

“What do you want with me?” She said trying to sound complacent.

“The journal.” He said matter-of-factly.

“What journal?” She inquired in what she hoped sounded like puzzlement.

“The journal your aunt left you.” He said impatiently.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t seen any journals at home.” She
said innocently. That’s the truth. I haven’t seen anything laying around, she
thought.

“Stupid girl. Are you telling me you don’t even know? Oh that’s rich!” He cackled
insanely.

“What are you talking about?” She prickled at him.

“Are you telling me you’ve been looking for a book?” He continued to laugh and
gasped for breath as tried to continue.

“What do you think a journal is?” She asked with slight confusion.

Malfoy managed to get a hold of himself and stared at her sinisterly. “The journal
is in your possession and in the room at this very moment.” He said stanchly.