DOORWAYS || MARAUDERS ERA

ϟ48: ANOTHER SUMMER WITH THE POTTERS (PART I)ϟ

"Is there a nail around, Mr Ollivander? I could try and untie the ropes around our hands."

Luna and Ollivander, the wandmaker, were sitting in the cellar of Malfoy Manor, trying to salvage some part of the measly food they were given by the Death Eaters. They hadn't even untied the ropes on their hands, so eating was quite a difficult task.

"There, my dear," Ollivander said in his tired, weak voice. It was clear he had been cruciated many times.

Luna squinted in the semi darkness and walked slowly towards Ollivander. Her hands were tied together and she struggled to find her way in the dim cellar. Once she reached Ollivander, she crouched next to him, patting the ground for the nail until she felt a sharp object grazing her palms. Curling her fingers around the nail, she twisted her palms inward, enough to make the sharp edge of the nail cut against the ropes.

It was a long, tedious job. Her curled fingers had grown numb in the cold and her neck was aching terribly. Poor Ollivander could only watch—he did not have the energy to walk up to her and offer help.

"Lovegood! Ollivander!" a voice suddenly yelled, and Luna dropped the nail to the ground hastily, backing away to the corner and pressing her sore back against the wall.

"Stand away from the door!" the voice demanded, banging his hand against the door and making a rattling sound. After a few seconds he banged the door open, stomping into the cellar and holding his wand straight at them.

"Here," he snarled, shoving two plates towards them, carefully pointing his wand at them. "And Lovegood, your father better watch it! The next time he offers his stupid erumpent horn in exchange for you..."

Luna's face flashed with momentary fear, and the Death Eater went out of the cellar, carefully locking the door as he went.

Luna sighed, and relaxed her posture. She didn't really want to move from her position, but she had to give Ollivander some food. Ignoring her exhaustion, she walked towards the plates and picked them up cautiously, finding it difficult to balance them in her palms since her wrists were tied together.

"Here you go, Mr Ollivander," Luna said, giving Ollivander the plate of food. "Do you want me to help you?"

"No, my dear," he replied tiredly. "Thank you... Thank you for accompanying me, even though I regret you find yourself in the same predicament as mine."

Not particularly hungry, Luna fingered the piece of bread on her plate. "Does You-Know-Who come here often?" she asked Ollivander. His face went stark white.

"Not anymore," he answered, his voice strained. "Not since I told him I didn't know anything about the connection between his wand and Harry Potter's..."

His eyes shone with guilt, as though he had done something bad. But Luna didn't blame him—Voldemort must have tortured Ollivander a lot for him to succumb to Voldemort's curses and answer his questions.

"I fear I may have ruined Harry Potter's chances of surviving..." Ollivander whispered regretfully, closing his eyes tightly.

"Do not worry, Mr Ollivander," Luna said kindly. "Harry is one of my friends. I know for a fact that he would never blame you for whatever you told You-Know-Who. He would understand."

Ollivander's guilt ebbed away, but only slightly. "Thank you, Luna... I do not know how I would have survived this place without you." He looked at her with kindness and gratefulness. "The world needs more people who believe in man's goodness, which is indeed a flame that cannot be extinguished."