Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 107: Scars
"Susan, it's me, To-...!" She gasped when she saw the state that Susan was in.
The girl was sitting on the bed, without a single piece of clothing on her body, and there were visible bruises on her legs and arms.
Tonks did not need much to guess what happened here and felt a tremendous fury invading her body.
She was well aware of how evil the Demon Lord was, but this still managed to shock her.
"You can't be here," Susan told her. "No one can be here… Harry told me. He will punish me…"
"No one is going to punish you." Tonks walked closer to the girl.
Luckily, she had been paying attention when Voldemort took the collar from Hermione and knew exactly what to do.
Tonks didn't want to waste one more second and aimed her wand at the young girl.
There was no point in explaining anything, as Susan was currently under the effects of a powerful compulsion. She first needed to free the girl before asking any questions.
"Ahhhh!" Susan began screaming and grasping at her neck.
"Tsk!" Tonks clenched her teeth and did her best to avoid losing her focus. She knew this was a normal reaction, as Hermione had done the same.
There was something in that collar that induced intense pain when someone attempted to remove it...just one more reason to hate the monster who created them.
"Come on…" Tonks saw the collar appear in view, and a few seconds later, it made a clicking noise as it fell from Susan's neck.
The girl stopped screaming and collapsed onto the bed.
Tonks hurried to check on her. Unfortunately, she didn't have any more healing potions to give her. "Susan… can you hear me?"
"Urgg…" Susan groaned and opened her eyes again. This time, there was clear emotion in them. "T-Tonks?..."
"Yes, it's me." Tonks tried to show her a reassuring smile. "Everything is going to be okay. I'm getting you out of this place."
Susan looked down at herself and gasped loudly as she tried to cover her nakedness using her hands. "Please, don't look at me…"
Tonks used her wand to conjure a simple tunic and handed it to Susan. "Here, you can use this for the time being."
Tears were falling from the girl's face as she placed the tunic over her bruised body. "Aunt Amelia… is she really… I remember…"
"Shhh. It's not your fault. We know what happened." Tonks's eyes were constantly scanning over the bedroom.
Hermione had told them everything she could about the current Azkaban. That's how she knew that this was the main bedroom used by Harry himself. And it was not a place where they could stay for long.
"Susan, I know you have been through a lot. But right now, we must leave this place. It's too dangerous."
"Have you killed Harry already?" Susan asked.
Tonks could tell there was something wrong in her eyes. It wasn't just anger...there was something more profound in there. "Not yet… I don't think so. But we will very soon. We have brought a large arm—"
"You won't find him… he is not here," Susan interrupted her.
"What do you mean? Where is he?" Tonks looked surprised. Harry should have known they were preparing to invade Azkaban. How could he not be here? Was he hiding from them? "What about Luna? Is she in Azkaban?"
"She is with him, I think." Susan avoided making direct eye contact with her.
"Okay." Tonks was getting increasingly worried about the mental state of this girl. "I'm going to get you out of here." She could then send a message to her companions and inform them about Harry's absence.
"Wait!" Susan reacted. "Do you have some parchment?"
"Parchment? What for?" Tonks looked confused.
"I found out some important things that you must know. I will write them down."
"You can do that later. This place is filled with demons, so w—"
"No!" Susan exclaimed. "It must be now… before I forget."
Tonks sighed. "Fine, but you have to be quick." Luckily, she was always carrying her small enchanted book used for communication. A small quill was attached to it for quick use.
She handed it to the young girl, and this one got to writing immediately.
Tonks had no choice but to wait patiently for two or three minutes as Susan continued to write several pages at a fast pace.
The girl did not need to stop even for a second to think, meaning that everything she wanted to say must have already been at the front of her mind.
Once she was done, Susan stood from the bed and walked to Tonks, handing her the small book.
Tonks was about to suggest that they begin fleeing immediately, but some of the writing caught her attention.
As Susan said, there was a lot of information in here... from Harry's habits, his arsenal of spells, his secret treasury in the basement, weak points for some of the demons, and much more.
But what shocked Tonks the most was the detailed location of a secret hideout. North of London, in the countryside, Harry had a wooden cabin in the middle of a dense forest.
"Susan… this is amazing, with this… wait…" There was something else at the end. "A magical circle in London?" Tonks gasped when she saw this.
The Demon Lord had plans to sacrifice the entire metropolis with the use of a massive magical circle.
"Hold on… don't tell me that this is the reason for his absence." Tonks felt her blood running cold.
What if Harry had planned all of this?. What if he used the day when all their forces were concentrated in Azkaban to carry on his plans?.
"Susan, what…" Tonks turned around but could not find the red-haired girl.
"Susan? Where are y-…" It was then that Tonks caught a side glimpse of Susan Bones, just as she jumped out of the window.
"Noooo!" Tonks screamed and rushed as fast as her legs allowed her to move.
It was too late. By the time she poked her body outside, Susan was already hitting the sharp rocks at the base of the prison and falling into the ocean.
From the moment her collar was removed, Susan had already made up her mind that she no longer wanted to live in this world.
After sharing all the important information she had acquired, the girl did not hesitate before jumping out.
During her last seconds of life, Susan smiled… she was finally free from the nightmare.