Clockwise Circles

AlwaysPadfoot

AN: For the Long Haul Comp. Also this is the last really intense chapter for a while so yay.

The End of the Beginning

"We should celebrate," he said, rolling his shoulder with a very slight wince.

I shook my head, dropping my forehead against my knees, "Please, I'm sorry."

"Get up," he demanded. Scared he might finally get angry about what I did, I hurriedly got to my feet and Daniel nodded to the chair behind me, "Sit."

I sat down and Daniel crossed the room and used his wand to unlock the cabinet where Dad kept his Firewhiskey. When he returned, he picked up the knife and placed a bottle and two glasses on the table beside each other. I swallowed; this was never going to be a celebration.

Daniel pushed a drink towards me and I simply stared at it, not touching it.

"Drink."

"No thank you," I responded quietly.

"I'm going to put this nicely," he said, "You'll drink when I say or I'll do something that will really fuck with your head."

I decided whatever it was wasn't worth it so I picked up the glass and did as I was told. We sat in complete silence except for the clink of glass every time Dan poured another drink. After number six, we drained our glasses in unison and he smirked, "Done this before?"

"I am a sixth year," I answered simply.

"Of course," he scoffed, "Because you're the life and soul of every party."

"I was," I retorted, "But then an egotistical pyschopath rolled back into my life and fucked everything up."

All of a sudden Daniel had the knife and he dug it into the space between my hand and the empty glass. My gaze snapped up to his smug look, and I quickly withdrew my hand. He snorted with laughter and stood up, but even I saw the flicker of anger behind his eyes. He wanted to get out of here before he looked like he was weak. Daniel played the calm, proud card and couldn't keep it up. All I could do was smirk into my lap as the door shut behind me.

I wasn't going to attempt to get up because after six drinks I, A, my head was spinning slightly, and B, I kind of needed the loo. Previous to today a second door would appear alongside the main door, giving us access to the bathroom for half an hour. The door wasn't due for another two hours according to the clock on the mantlepiece so I would have to wait and sober up a little.

The weirder Daniel got, the more I wanted to get Jack out of here so working on the runes were a must, but only when I could concentrate.

I think it was safe to say that now was not the time.

Over the next two weeks I perfected the rune circle and added the carvings that Dad hadn't managed to do. Jack watched my every move like he was trying to learn what I was doing, yet he never asked a question, he just watched and kept out of the way.

Once I'd finished that last runes, I sat on the floor with the book, my plans and the abandoned knife from the side room. I may have completed the circle but I had to learn how to activate it. It wouldn't take as long as everything else had, but even so it was complex. I had to learn the words and figure out exactly what needed to be done to activate the circle correctly so it definitely bypassed the wards that were up around the house.

"You're finished," Jack observed, "But we can't leave yet, can we?"

I shook my head, "I'm working on it Jack, I really am."

Suddenly there was the noise of the key in the lock, I quickly scooped up the book and plans and slotted them onto the shelf. My hand reached to pick up the knife, but it was too late to hide it so I hid it behind my back instead.

When Daniel stood in the doorway, I tried to look as innocent as possible, but it was hard to do that with a knife behind your back. Luckily he didn't seem to notice straight away, "Morning kids."

Neither of us replied, after three weeks being here I knew better than to respond to such simple greetings and Jack, Jack just didn't speak that much anymore to anyone. As Daniel moved into the room, I turned with him, trying to think of someway to get rid of the knife without him finding out. So far my mind was bringing up blanks and every so often Jack would shoot me a nervous look, which I wished he'd stop doing because it would give me away eventually.

"You seem anxious Hannah, care to tell me what's the matter?"

"Oh I seem anxious do I?" I retorted sarcastically, "One can only wonder why."

Daniel smirked and came closer to me. His eyes searched mine before he grabbed my arm and twisted it round so quickly that I dropped the knife, gasping in pain.

"Hannah," Jack called out, starting towards us until he came face to face with Daniel's wand.

"Stupefy," he sneered, before bringing his attention back to me, "Did you think you might be able to actually kill me this time Hannah?"

"No, look, I swear I just found it a few seconds ago," I stammered. He twisted my arm just that little bit further and I yelled out, pushing myself up onto my tiptoes to balance the pain out. Daniel leant closer to me, his face barely a few centimetres from mine.

"You're a liar," he replied, nails digging into my skin.

"I'm not," I said. He pushed me backwards, my back slamming into the shelves, knocking the wind out of me. I leant forward, trying to catch my breath whilst I was stood still, but before I could Daniel had the knife at my throat.

"I will always win Hannah," he muttered, as the cold steel blade rested against my throat, "You can keep trying and trying, but you're not leaving until I've broken you down piece by piece."

He moved the knife down, cutting through the top two buttons of my shirt and bringing the tip of the knife to my collarbone. For a brief moment, I thought he might do what I did to him a fortnight ago, but he didn't. Instead he drew the knife across my chest just under my collarbones and I screamed out in pain. I knew it wasn't deep enough to cause serious damage, but it hurt so much. Blood trickled downwards under my shirt causing the cotton to stick to it, but a sucked in a few pained breaths to control myself.

I couldn't bring myself to even look up, I felt so weak and pathetic. I couldn't even keep standing when he let go of me, although that didn't really last long because Daniel quickly grabbed my hair and pulled me towards the desk chair. He pushed me into it and then turned his back like he was contemplating on what to do. Suddenly his wand was in his hand but to my surprise he didn't turn to me.

Instead he pointed it at Jack, "Crucio."

Jack suddenly snapped awake, his body twitching in pain as he began yelling out loud in pain.

"No, stop it!" I cried out, getting to my feet, "Please, Daniel, stop it."

He didn't relent and when I ran to him he kicked out so hard that he winded me for the second time that night. Crippled, I fell down in pain, holding my stomach.

"Please," I gasped, "Just stop."

Jack screamed and Daniel smirked slightly, "I want to hear you beg for it."

"I am," I yelled over my younger brothers cries of pain, "Please, Daniel, stop it. He's only a kid. Please, I'm begging you."

I literally threw myself at him and he held me back, too engrossed in torturing Jack.

"Daniel please just stop," I said, tears running down my cheeks, "I'll do anything."

"Thats more like it," he muttered, lifting the curse and pushing me away, "Crucio."

I dropped to the floor in pain, the curse burning through my body forcing me to dig my nails into the palms of my hand and scream aloud. It was only momentary though because soon enough he lifted the curse and I was left trying to catch my breath on the floor.

"Hannah, Hannah, are you okay?" Jack called.

"I'm fine, just stay out the way," I replied breathlessly.

"Yes Jack, leave the talking to the grown ups now," Daniel interrupted.

"This just proves couldn't stay calm. You wanted stay all scary and creepy calm, but now you're pissed off. You've been bottling up for two weeks." I stopped, pushing myself up into a sitting position, "Face it, Danny, you are just as weak as I am."

His fists clenched at his side and he stayed quiet for a long second before he turned back to me and kicked out. I felt my nose crunch under the force of his kick and I fell back with a yelp of surprise, my face throbbing with pain.

"Oh I'm far from weak," Daniel answered, crouching down at my side, "But look at you all thin and weedy and injured."

I opened my mouth, breathing heavily and squinting through the pain. There was blood trickling down my face and onto the wooden floor. Daniel brought his hand to my nose and pressed down. I screamed and flailed my hands to try and persuade him to stop it.

"Please," I begged, hearing Jack crying in the background, "Just stop."

"Good idea," he snarled, "Get up."

Daniel dragged me to my feet and towards the door. Pushing me through, he pointed his wand at the door behind so it slammed and locked before he grabbed my upper arm and directed me upstairs.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Upstairs," he replied, "Your room, or more recently so mine."

He hurried me along the landing and into the end room. When we stepped inside, I froze, looking around the room that was once mine. It was exactly the same but it felt so wrong, like it was so much more that was different. It felt wrong.

My gaze slid to my desk where several photos were stuck up around the edges of my mirror. I almost quirked a smile when I saw them, but it probably would have hurt. They were all from Hogwarts, mainly me, Susan and the boys. I missed Susan. She was going to worry, but as soon as Jack and I were out of here, I was going straight back to Hogwarts. Hogwarts was the safest place in the world as long as Daniel couldn't get in and as soon as I explained what happened, Dumbledore would never let him in.

Dan grabbed my ear and turned me to face him, "Are you still under the delusion that you're getting out of here?"

I nodded, "I told my friends I'd tell them if I was leaving. I've been gone three weeks and they haven't heard a word. It's Christmas soon. Someone is going to notice."

"Do you know what I'm going to do if one of your little friends appears here?" He asked.

"It's the parents you have to worry about," I countered.

"You didn't let me answer," Daniel interrupted, I fell silent waiting for his answer, "Firstly, I'd just like to say that no one can get into the house without a password for the Floo or certain access through the wards. Even if your friends did turn up, they wouldn't be able to get in and I'll be there to see exactly who they are."

"What use is that? If they can't get in, they'll just leave," I said.

"Once I've seen them, I'm going to find them and bring them back here, just so I can have the pleasure of watching you when I kill them,' he whispered.

Something twitched deep inside of me and I lashed out, catching his jaw with my fist and knocking him backwards. Whilst he was stunned I continued to hit out at him, punching and kicking until he eventually overpowered me. Sooner than I thought, I found myself pinned to the floor in the centre of the room in more pain than I had been just a few seconds ago.

"I hate you," I sneered, "You're completely fucking mad."

Daniel wasn't really listening, he just seemed to be staring aimlessly at me. His fingers gripping my arms painfully as he held me down and I squirmed under his pressure, attempting to slip out of his grasp.

"Stay still," he commanded yet his voice was distant. I frowned slightly, Daniel seemed distracted so maybe this was my chance to try and reason with him.

"Is there nothing that can fix this, Daniel?" I whispered, "Is there no way I can make this better?"

When he didn't say anything I decided to continue, "We could go back to Hogwarts, pretend you had nothing to do with it. I won't say anything."

Suddenly his eyes focused back on me and a smirk spread across his face. He sat back, shifting all his weight to my stomach and plonking his feet on my forearms to keep me pinned down. To my surprise he leant forward, twisting a short piece of my hair around his finger as he contemplated my words.

"Stay," he warned, "Do not move."

I froze in place as he got up and went into my bathroom. Whilst he was out of sight, I looked down at myself. Still in the uniform I'd arrived home in, I felt almost like I was wasting away. My tights had laddered, my shirt stained with blood and now missing two buttons. My jumper was discarded somewhere downstairs and I was now using my tie as a substitute belt, since I'd lost so much weight that my skirt was barely staying up. Giving some of my food up to Jack wasn't exactly having the best effect on me.

I dropped my head to the soft carpet underneath me, too tired to hold it up any longer. My whole body was throbbing in the pain of one too many punches and kicks, but I desperately tried to push past it because I was trying to stay strong for the return of my brother.

My whole body twitched in fear as Daniel reentered the room with a steaming bowl of water. Ice cold dread slipped down the length of my spine, but I internally breathed a sigh of relief when he placed it beside me instead of doing the various things that were going through my head. He sat beside it and gestured for me to sit up.

In the mood he was in, I would have regretted not doing as I was told so I sat up and let my gaze fall downwards.

"Ah, no you don't," Daniel said, placing a finger under my chin and tilting my head up, "Don't you dare."

I kept my glare level with his gaze as he reached into the bowl and pulled out a flannel, lifting it up to my face. The water was uncomfortably hot as he wiped away the blood from my face, his other hand resting above my knee and pressing down every time he leant up to my face. Every moment when he touched my face, my whole body tensed in pain from my injured nose.

Of course he wasn't healing it. Why would I think he would? Daniel clearly only wanted to cause as much pain as possible and by cleaning the blood off my face he was hurting me more than just leaving it.

I felt a tear slip down my cheek despite all restraint and I had to suck in a shaky breath to try and stop from completely losing it.

"Hey, you can cry if you want," he whispered. Just the way he said it, like he cared, made my whole body shake and a sob escaped me. I completely broke down and he pulled me towards him.

Cries wracked through me as I buried my head against his chest. He put one arm around me holding me tightly, his other hand gripping my thigh as he rested his face against the top of my head.

"Why?" I croaked in between didn't answer, but I felt his facial expression change into a smirk.

I wished the situation could be different. Oh how I wished this could be so different. I wished that he was truly comforting me and for any other reason than him just getting a thrill out of knowing he was the cause of my tears.

I don't know how long we stayed like that because without even realising it I woke up downstairs with Jack sleeping against me, not knowing how I even got there or what had happened.

I felt sick with fear.

I was scared that I'd let myself fall asleep with him holding me just that little bit too tight. I was scared and wanted to leave right now.

I shook Jack lightly, "We're leaving. Now."

He stared at me in shock, "Right now?"

"Yes, because I'm scared and if it doesn't work now," I paused to take a breath, "If it doesn't work now, it never will. Get into the side room."

Jack immediately scrambled to his feet and hurried into the side room. I got to my feet with a wince and grabbed the book from the shelf. I needed the words and I had an idea on what to do to activate the runes, but I wasn't exactly sure how to –

My eyes fell to the desk where the knife from before had been dug into the desk. Without knowing it, Daniel's sardonic gesture had become the exactly item I needed to get Jack and I out of here. I almost ran at the desk and went to grab for the knife. When I grabbed it, I yelled in pain, swearing angrily.

"Are you okay?" Jack called.

"I'm fine," I retorted. Daniel had cursed the knife, but I needed it to activate the runes. I pulled down the sleeve of my shirt and yanked it from the wood of the desk. As soon as I was inside the side room, I dropped it to the floor and warned Jack not to touch it.

Flicking through the book, I opened it to the page I needed and read through the words I needed to say.

"Okay, Jack, the knife has been cursed so when I do this it's going to hurt so try to ignore what's happening to me," I said.

"Can I not do it instead?" He offered.

"No," I replied, "Thank you but no."

"He's hurt you so much," Jack argued, "Can't you just let me protect you."

I smiled and kissed the top of his head without saying a word, guiding him back from the door. He scowled, but didn't argue back. After a deep breath I turned to the book and regrettably rolled back my sleeves. I knew the knife needed skin contact so this was going to hurt. I stood near the activation runes and began the spell, letting my magic swirl around me.

Half way through the spell I picked up the knife, gripping it tightly and trying not to yell out mid spell. I forced out the remaining words as I used the tip to slice into my other hand. Finishing the spell, I slammed my bleeding hand down on the activation runes with a scream and dropped the knife with a clatter.

Over the noise I made, I heard Jack yelled out my name and there was a whooshing sound as a breeze swept around the room. Something snapped my limbs out and with one last scream I collapsed to the floor and the room was no more.