Capítulo 5: Free-range prison
After lunch the next day, she dropped doing the dishes and sneaked into the corridor to talk to Albus. She hoped he would be alert enough to talk to her. He heard her coming and when he saw her face, he made a grimace that was probably meant as a smile.
"I was afraid I had been hallucinating. But you really are here. Is Scorpius here as well? Or did they just kill him?"
Rose cringed at the matter-of-fact way he asked that. "He is here, but he is not in a cell. At first, I thought they actually believed that he had not betrayed them, but now I am afraid they are messing with his mind. I don't know if it is Imperius or Confunding, but they are doing something. He was really dazed and out of it all of yesterday, and he refuses to believe you are here, even when I told him straight to his face. I am worried for him."
"Yeah, that sound like Confunding. A Dark version of it. He won't believe much of what you say. We need to get him away from here before it becomes permanent. But why haven't they done the same to you?"
"I don't know. Maybe this is how they want to punish me. Having to watch the two of you being beaten or losing your mind. But what happened to you? How long have you been here?"
"I honestly don't know. Several days probably. You mean no one has missed me yet?" Albus tried to raise himself up from the dirty mattress he was laying on but gave up with a grimace of pain. His chained legs did not make it easier.
"I don't really know. They didn't mention anything to me anyway. I suspect that no one is going to miss me or Scorpius for a few more days at least. And I have no idea if I was able to write a warning or not. How did they get you?"
"They got me on the way to visit you. I told my mother I was going, but I didn't tell you. Maybe I should have, so you would have worried when I didn't come. It was on Sunday. What day is it today?"
"Sunday? Today is Tuesday. It must have been last Sunday then. You've been here for over a week, and no one has missed you? They must have sent some sort of message to make our family think you have gone somewhere."
"A week? Yes, that can be it. I honestly lost count. The first days were mostly pain, but even these people seemed to grow bored of it eventually. The Cruciatus Curse is absolutely as bad as everyone said it would be. I hope I never have to endure that one again. But some of them seem to think that a physical beating is more fun. How long have you been here? I thought I recognised your cooking yesterday, which made me more certain your sudden appearance wasn't just a dream. How many days was it before they allowed you to do that?"
"We've only been here two days. They wanted me to cook for them right away. None of them are very good cooks apparently. But they control what ingredients I am getting, and they make you taste the food first to prevent me from poisoning them. But it could be worse. Cooking is at least a good distraction from the horror that surrounds us."
"And it is a good way to make sure I am getting something to eat, which is a definite improvement." Albus said with something that looked like a smile on his face.
"How can you be so cheerful? You have been captured and beaten and threatened to be killed."
"I'm past the point of being scared, I think. Right now, just seeing a friendly face is a welcome relief. I figured it can't get much worse for me, but that is no reason to despair. Don't get me wrong, I am terrified. But there is not much I can do about it, and by now this is about as good as it gets. At the moment, I am not being beaten, I am not dead, and I am even fed. I'll take any positives I can get."
Rose almost started crying, but she supposed it made sense. It was normal human psychology to always make the best of the situation. In a way, she was doing the same.
"You sound like you know what is wrong with Scorpius. You said it could become permanent. How long would that take?"
"That would depend on how strong their charm is. It sounded like you almost reached into him last night, which means he is not completely lost yet. It may take several weeks before he is completely gone, but it is impossible to say. It will take more than a few days, certainly. And there may be some permanent damage even if he can recover somewhat. But I don't really know, it was just one part of the training we got last time, and that is mostly things I have been trying to forget. I'm sorry. Do you have a plan for getting out of here? Because I am at a loss."
"Not a complete plan, no. My hope is that they will let their guard down a little, but the chances of that are small. There is a Dark Mark barrier around this place, mostly for my benefit. And I don't have a wand."
"Scorpius has a wand though, doesn't he? Obviously, I don't have one."
"Yes, I think he still has his wand, but I can't trust him to do any part of this with me." That was a very painful thought, but she had to be practical.
"No, probably not. But he might not miss his wand either." Albus pointed out.
Rose smiled. She hadn't thought about that, but it might be an option. But there was still the problem of the barrier. She doubted Scorpius would open that for her. She didn't think it was possible for him to do that.
"Would you be able to open the barrier without a wand?" she asked Albus.
"I don't know. I would probably be able to pass it, but I have no idea if that means I can take you with me. And I honestly don't think I am in any condition to go anywhere."
"Do you have any idea of where in the world we are?"
"No. I was knocked out and beaten, then I woke up here. It could be anywhere."
"I need to go. I don't want to arouse too much suspicion. I will try to get in here later."
"It was nice talking to you, even if it means that you are captured too. Please be careful."
Rose turned away from him, so he wouldn't see her tears. She didn't want to dampen his apparently recovered high spirit.
Lestrange was waiting for her when she got back to the kitchen. She wondered how long he had been there. He probably guessed where she had been. He just looked at her with that annoying smirk. She wanted to wipe the smile off his face. And she wanted to get away from his gaze.
"I know what you were doing." Lestrange said. "And I don't care if you go and talk to the traitor. In fact, I don't care much what you do. As you know, there is no way out of here. So, within these walls, you are free to go anywhere. If you don't want to cook for us anymore, just say so and we can arrange something else. But we may be back to tasteless porridge."
"Thank you." Rose said reluctantly. "How nice to have a free-range prison this time." She added with a sarcastic tone. She instantly regretted that last comment.
"Would you rather be in chains in your room, like last time? We can arrange that." Lestrange replied coldly, giving her a smack on the head.
"No." Rose said quickly. Please, anything but that, she thought. Luckily, she managed to not say that last out loud.
"I thought not. So, I would mind my tone, if I were you."
Rose looked down. She really should be more careful. These were dangerous people.
"Your husband came down and wondered where you were." Lestrange said. He looked at her with a weird almost calculating stare. Was he testing her on something?
"I doubt that very much." Rose replied, coldly. "As he doesn't seem to be able to think a single independent thought at the moment." Lestrange did not respond to that comment.
"What have you done to him? If you wanted to destroy him, why not just beat him up, like you did with Albus?"
"We don't beat up pure-bloods, even if they are traitors." Lestrange answered shortly. "Besides, your husband can still have another role to play, other than just as leverage." She didn't like the sound of that.
"He will be fine in a few days, when his mind has adjusted. Depending on how strong the mind is, how long he tries to fight it, he might be a bit dazed for a while. But don't worry. His love for you will probably not change. Just his motivations and allegiances."
"So, why not do the same with me then?" Rose asked, though she didn't really want to give him that idea.
"Because you're not worth the trouble." Lestrange replied with a sneer. "You are already bonded to one of us, and there is no way for you to leave this place without your husband. Besides, I think watching him gradually fall into the abyss will be worse for you than having your own mind dazed." He said the last part with an evil grin.
Bonded? Did he think she and Scorpius were still Bonded with the Unbreakable Vow? Well, if so, she was not about to inform him otherwise.
Rose clenched her fists. "Sooner or later, we will be missed. You can't keep hiding forever."
"You may be missed eventually, but remember, we are all still in Azkaban, as far as your family knows. There is no reason for them to worry. You could have just decided to take a trip together. In fact, we left a note in the house informing your family you did just that. You just forgot to send it."
That might assuage her mother for a week or so, but she would eventually start to worry. But it might be weeks before her mother started a proper search, and she wouldn't know what to search for. Rose didn't have weeks. Scorpius wouldn't be able to hold out that long.
"Now, please, your husband has news for you. You should go see him." Lestrange said with the same evil grin.
Scorpius had news? What had they made him think now? She went upstairs with some trepidation.
Scorpius waited for her when she came upstairs. He smiled. But there was no real love in the smile. Now that she looked properly, it was obvious. It was eerie, seeing him smile like that.
"Rose! There you are. Come, you have to hear this," he said as he grabbed her hand and dragged her along. He stopped in front of Crabbe. She did not like his smile either.
"Please," Scorpius said, smiling at Crabbe. "Please tell my wife the same you told me. She will be relieved to hear it."
"Of course," Crabbe said, with a victorious smile in her direction. "As I've just told Malfoy here, we have no plans to take over the Ministry or even hurt anyone at the moment. We just want to be left alone. We've learned from our mistakes now."
"See," Scorpius looks towards Rose, a big smile on his face. "We won't hurt anyone this time. It will be a lot better"
Oh no. This would be just believable enough that even if Scorpius were still subconsciously fighting the mind control, he would believe it. But she couldn't call Crabbe's bluff. Not yet anyway.
"That is good news. I think enough people have been hurt by this situation as it is." She smiled at Scorpius, but she felt panic rise inside her. Maybe she could get Scorpius to come and see Albus for himself? That may be enough of a shock to get him out of this haze.
She tried that after dinner. She asked Scorpius to help her do the dishes, and he came down to the kitchen with her. But anytime she mentioned going into the corridor, or mentioned Albus at all, it was as if he didn't hear her. She eventually stopped trying, afraid that if she pushed him too hard, he would fall further down the abyss.
That night, she cried herself to sleep again. It was a long time since she had felt so helpless. Somehow, this felt worse than last time. She felt so alone. Last time they had all been in it together, now it all came down to her. What was she going to do?
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