Little Memories

Gregory Goyle arrived before lunchtime and Charlotte immediately whisked him away to her temporary room within the house. Draco had watched their first encounter in a month or two from afar. He watched as Charlotte broke down in the foyer, since no one else had been allowed to know of Gregory’s arrival so they could have some privacy. Gregory looked shaken and teary as well, surprising Draco. He had always seen the eldest Goyle far from crying, and almost thought him incapable of it.

After a few moments of standing the in foyer, talking quietly amongst themselves, Charlotte had pulled him from the room, stepping past the place that Draco had been hiding without a second look. She didn’t even need to ask Gregory to follow, because he did automatically. Draco heard the door close and the tell-tale ‘snap’ of a lock and knew that either of them didn’t want to be bothered. He crept over to the door, as to make sure that neither Goyle sibling would be aware of his eavesdropping. He pressed his ear tentatively to the wood of the door.

“Why did they leave?” He heard Charlotte ask her brother, her voice low so that no one could hear. Draco could also hear the raw emotion in her voice, the hurt that she felt from being abandoned by her parents.

“I think they felt like they had to. Things are getting more and more dangerous,” Gregory replied.

“Well…of course things are getting dangerous,” Charlotte snapped and the room went silent. “The fucking cowards just left you and me to fend for ourselves when we haven’t even gotten out of Hogwarts yet.” There was a heavy sigh and Draco couldn’t tell if came from Gregory or Charlotte.

‘They left me in control of the castle, until they get back,” the calm voice of Gregory filled the room, “and we have full access to our account at Gringott’s should we need it.”

“Well, that makes everything so much better, doesn’t it?” Came the sarcastic quip from the clearly angry girl. Silence filled the room for a moment and Draco contemplated stepping away from the door, yet didn’t for fear of missing something Charlotte could say to Gregory about him. “I’m so glad they felt the need to run away.” There was a pause. “Do they even fucking know what this is going to mean for their children? We’re going to be looked down for this and our reputation in society will surely be affected.” Draco could only imagine the look on Gregory’s face, but knew that Charlotte had every right to be angry.

“It’ll all work out, Charlie,” Draco heard Gregory almost pleading with his sister, “we’re going to be okay.” There was a loud sniffle in the room, letting Draco know that someone was crying.

“He’s going to take it out on us, Gregory,” Charlotte breathed and Draco knew that she was the one crying, “Their disobedience to him is going to mean we get treated poorly…when we’re the one’s who stayed.” There was a strangled sob and another sniffle. “He’s going to want you to join him…but I’m going to try and do everything I can to divert his wishes.”

“We could always…just, you know, get away,” Gregory stumbled over his words slightly, being wary of what he said in the same house the Dark Lord was staying at.

“That would make us no better than our parents,” Charlotte quickly replied. “They got me into this mess. I didn’t have a choice. You deserve better than being a Death Eater.”

“What if I do become one?” There was a long pause in the room and Draco knew that Charlotte was probably giving Gregory a very clear look. “You just got back from Azkaban, Charlie, and you’re still very weak and frail. I can tell by just looking at you.” He drew in a deep breath. “I don’t want him taking advantage of you just because you don’t want this lifestyle for me.” Charlotte didn’t say a word to this and Draco contemplated pulling away from the door again.

“Fine…but…I’ll do all the murdering, alright?” An almost audible wince rang through the room, most likely from Gregory. “You shouldn’t have to deal with that.” The conversation died off and the room stayed silent for a few minutes. Draco bit his bottom lip and nearly pulled away from the door when Gregory spoke again.

“Have you been given any new tasks?” He asked hesitantly, probably not wanting to know what his baby sister had to do. There was a long silence following his question. “So…have you?”

“Yes,” Charlotte replied simply. There was a sound down the hallway followed by footsteps and Draco panicked a bit, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping by the door because he knew that his Aunt would do most anything to make Charlotte hate him even more, merely because she didn’t like her.

“Well…what do you have to do?” Her brother asked curiously and Draco could heard the footsteps grow closer.

“I have to…” Draco pulled away before hearing the sentence fully, darting into his room as quickly as he possibly could. He shut the door behind him and let out a breath of air as he heard the footsteps pass the room. He wished he could have heard what Charlotte was supposed to do next, but knew that he wouldn’t be able to let her know he was aware of it. Maybe it was for the best that he didn’t hear what she had to do.

“Charlotte…I want you to show me how you did it,” the Dark Lord hissed as they stood in the dining hall of the Malfoy Manor. The dinner had been cleared away and they had made the table vanish into thin air to make room for what was about to happen. A few of the closer followers of Lord Voldemort had been called to the Manor for dinner and were implored to see how the young girl could achieve such a feat.

Charlotte stood in front of the row of Death Eaters that had gathered, in front of the Dark Lord, who was sneering at the girl’s back. She glanced over to her brother and met his eyes for a moment, unsure if he had been made aware of her killing of a Dementor. He merely stared back, masking his emotions well, just like his mother had taught him to do. Charlotte’s eyes then glanced to Draco, meeting his curious and worried eyes for a moment before staring ahead, at the Dementor that had been summoned into the room. She watched it for a moment, noticing the drop in temperature, but nothing else.

“Well then…” The Dark Lord started expectantly from behind her, causing her to glance over her shoulder at him. She then turned and looked back at the Dementor, her brow furrowing as she drew in a deep breath of air, her lungs aching slightly with the action. The air in the room suddenly crackled with energy and electricity and the sound of the gasping Dementor filled the air. It raised it’s bony and bandaged hands to it’s throat, retching and gurgling as it tried to breathe. Gasps suddenly filled the room, not from the Dementor, but from a few of the Death Eaters who watched on in sick fascination.

Charlotte felt a power bubbling in her and she cut her eyes at it, the sound of bones crunching and wheezing filled the air as the Dementor began to shake, hovering in one spot. The room was nearly still and not one of the spectators moved from their spot. Lord Voldemort, however, had a sick, pleased smile twisting his thin lips as he watched on. The Dementor continued to struggle for air as Charlotte kept her gaze fixed on it before there was a crunch, then a satisfying squelch, and the Dementor dropped to the ground with a hollow thud.

The room remained completely still and silent as the tension and energy that had built up dissipated as quickly as it came. Draco glanced from the Dementor back to Charlotte in awe of what he had just seen. The Dark Lord then stepped to Charlotte and placed a gently hand on her shoulder, causing her to break her stare at the Dementor and looked over her shoulder at the snake-like man beside her.

“Bravo, my darling,” he said with a sickening smile, “bravo. That was a beautiful display of exactly why I spared you. You don’t talk back, you don’t hesitate, and you don’t fail.” He took her chin in his hand as he looked over her features. She kept her face stolid as she stared up at him, knowing that she was expected to be emotionless. He hummed lightly under his breath and pulled away from her. “Yes, you will be quite useful to me.” The was a pause as the room remained quiet, too shocked to come up with anything to say. “Word is, your brother has joined you. Is this correct?”

“Yes,” she replied, not taking her eyes off the man once, “he is here.” His eyes twinkled as he glanced at the eldest Goyle, the smirk never leaving his lips.

“Perfect,” the word rolled venomously off his tongue as he turned his eyes back to Charlotte. “It’s a shame…what your mother and father have done with you brilliant children. I wonder, who will be your parents now that they are gone?” Charlotte didn’t say a word, she merely stared up at him until he turned to Gregory.

“Gregory, I would very much like to speak with you. Now, if you do not mind,” Lord Voldemort said cordially and all Gregory could do was nod and follow after the man. Charlotte watched sadly as they left, knowing what this meant for her brother. He would be a Death Eater within a matter of minutes no doubt. The room slowly began to disperse, a few Death Eaters looking at Charlotte with intrigue, a few with fear and disgust.

Charlotte heard a tell-tale growl in her ear then a warm body being pressed flush against her back. She grit her teeth and shut her eyes almost instantly, knowing she couldn’t--or shouldn’t--cause a scene. Hot breath flashed against the side of her neck as large, thick hands wrapped around her shoulders. Her eyes opened and she looked over at the spot she had last seen Draco, seeing him standing there with a look to kill on his face. His face was tinged with red and his hands were clenched into fists at his sides.

“Don’t worry, Charlotte,” she heard the gruff, growl of a voice in her ear and knew exactly who it was, “I can be your daddy now.” She felt his grimy nails sliding beneath the collar of her robe, across the tender skin of her collar bone, before diving alone the scar down the middle of her chest. Her skin was crawling and her stomach was twisting uneasily. She closed her eyes and pursed her lips together, thinking of all the nasty things that she could do to Fenrir Greyback to get him to leave her alone.

“Greyback, you’d do well to keep your hands to yourself in public,” Draco hissed as he stood in front of Charlotte and the notorious werewolf. Charlotte’s eyes snapped open as Fenrir slowly removed his hand from her skin, yet kept them tightly on her shoulders. “Haven’t you ever been told not to touch what isn’t yours?”

“No…but it’s an intriguing concept,” he growled as he pressed closer to Charlotte’s back. She took in a deep breath and went completely still, all emotion leaving her face.

“Perhaps, Greyback,” Charlotte let out a sigh a relief as she heard the smooth voice of Lucius Malfoy speak from beside his son, “you’d rather deal with me. Or was it not enough witnessing what the girl you are so clearly assaulting can do without a wand?” Greyback’s hands slid away from Charlotte and she gave an appreciative nod to Lucius before speeding around the two of them, torn between taking a scalding hot bath to rid herself of the grime that contaminated Fenrir Greyback’s hands or walking around the grounds of the Manor until Lord Voldemort’s business with her brother had been finished.