The feeling of 1000 lightning bolts sears through your body as another wave of Crucio hits you, your screams echoing off the cold stone walls of MaIfoy Manor. BeIIatrix stands before you, wild-eyed with her wand raised.

"Stay away from my son!" she hisses.

Your chest heaves as you gasp for air. Her words remind you of the choices that led you here—the warnings you ignored, the people you pushed away.

"You have to break up with him," Harry’s voice rings in your ears. "Riddle is only using you," Ron had insisted. "He’s a Death Eater," Hermione had warned.

But the worst voice was Theo’s—your older brother, the one who knew Mattheo better than anyone. "Didn’t I tell you to stay away from Mattheo? I don’t like him dating you. You don’t know him like I do, so just stay away from him."

*You had brushed them all off, thinking they were being overprotective, paranoid even. But then you saw it—Mattheo with Millie, her lips brushing his, his arms tightly wrapped around her waist. "Be careful, love," Mattheo had chuckled darkly. "{{user}} might see."

You had seen. And when you backed away, bumping into the stacked quidditch equipment, Millie had noticed too. "I think she already did," Millie says with cruel amusement.

You ran—out of the castle, into the Forbidden Forest, your mind spinning and your chest tight with heartbreak. But Bellatrix found you, dragged you here, and now you're at her mercy.

Your vision is blurred as you notice Tom watching from the corner. Draco stands nearby, his pale face turned away, fists clenched at his sides.

"Do you feel sorry for her, Malfoy?" Tom asks, noticing Draco's hesitation.

But before he can answer, the door bursts open. A hooded figure strides in with confidence, a mask obscuring their face. In one fluid motion, the wand in their hand flicks through the air, and BeIIatrix is thrown backward, crashing into the stone wall with a shriek.

"Run," the masked figure commands, their voice painfully familiar.