Ellie rushed out to the drawing room, and her face dropped with horror. Held by a Snatcher stood Ron and Hermione, who glanced at Ellie fearfully. On the other side, Bellatrix held a disfigured boy who Ellie immediately recognized to be Harry. Her father was amongst Lucius and Narcissa, his serious expression having returned to his once desperate face.

Ellie and Hermione locked eyes, and a sorrow expression plastered itself on the Hufflepuff's face. She clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palms. She held her gaze with Hermione, in which the Gryffindor's eyes flickered to Ellie's hands and silently warned her not to try anything.

"Ah, Ellie. Lovely for you to join us," Bellatrix greeted with a maniacal smirk.

Ellie didn't say anything as she continued to stare at Harry's face, distracted by the prominent swelling. One eye was completely shut, while his other green eye stared at her hopefully.

Bellatrix took notice of Ellie's stare and immediately turned to her, a smirk creeping upon her face.

"Familiar, isn't he?" she barked. "Tell me, and you better not lie, is this... Harry Potter? You two are very good friends, no?"

Ellie approached the boy closer, who was kneeling as Bellatrix yanked his head backwards.

"We're no longer friends. Stopped talking after what happened at the Ministry a couple years back," Ellie lied as she examined her friend. "Couldn't be him. Last I remember, he wasn't all that... horrifying."

Bellatrix sighed harshly. "You're no help," she barked before turning to Draco.

"Well?" she pursued to the blonde.

"I can't be sure," Draco said quickly, avoiding eye contact with either of them.

"Draco. Look closely, son," Lucius commanded as he gripped the back of his neck firmly. He spoke quietly, though his words were heard by those around him. "If we are the ones to hand Potter over to the Dark Lord... everything would be forgiven. All would be as it was, you understand?"

A man spoke up from behind him, and Ellie immediately recognized him to be the Snatcher that they had nearly encountered that one night many months ago. Ellie gritted her teeth as her eyes grew dark with rage.

"Now, we won't be forgetting who actually caught him, I hope, Mr. Malfoy."

"You dare talk to me like that in my own house?" Lucius roared, his voice echoing off the high ceilings.

"Lucius," Narcissa pleaded, immediately rushing over to him, pulling him backwards.

Ellie stared in horror as the events unfolded. She couldn't keep her eyes to herself, as she kept searching for Hermione's signal to help, hoping she would nod in approval.

"Don't be shy, sweetie. Come over," Bellatrix ordered, taking Draco's hand to kneel in front of Harry. "Now, if this isn't who we think it is, Draco, and we call him, he'll kill us all. We need to be absolutely sure."

"What's wrong with his face?" Draco questioned as Harry's open eye stared at him.

"Yes, what is wrong with his face?" Bellatrix asked out loud.

"He came to us like that," the Snatcher responded. "Something he picked up in the forest, I reckon."

"Or ran into a Stinging Jinx," Bellatrix whispered as she turned to Hermione. "Was it you, dearie?"

She approached Hermione slowly, in which Ellie fought back every urge not to hex her.

"Give me her wand. We'll see what her last spell was. Ah. Got you," Bellatrix demanded.

Bellatrix stopped abruptly in her tracks as her eyes focused on the object in one of the Snatcher's hand: the Sword of Gryffindor.

"What is that? Where'd you get that from?" she whispered.

"It was in her bag when we searched her. Reckon it's mine now," the Snatcher smiled triumphantly.

Bellatrix immediately hexed the man, bringing the sword flying back into her hand. She began to hex the other Snatchers, roping their necks with various spells.

"Go! Get out!" Bellatrix demanded as the men gasped for air on the floor.

"Cissy, put the boys in the cellar," Bellatrix demanded as Harry and Ron were dragged away by Narcissa. "I want to have a little conversation with this one, girl-to-girl."

Ellie immediately tried to rush over to her girlfriend, but Draco pulled her arm back harshly, gripping it to warn her of the consequences.

In an inconspicuous manner, Draco leaned over to her ear and muttered, "Don't try anything. She'll only suffer more if you do."

Ellie shrugged away Draco's hand and gritted her teeth as the hatred for Bellatrix only grew. Once again, she clenched her fists to draw blood from her palms.

By now, Bellatrix had pushed Hermione onto her back, hovering over her as the Gryffindor laid feebly on the floor. Ellie winced as her hand flew to her pocket, gripping the handle of her wand through the fabric. Draco huffed in response in attempt to warn her, eyeing her action with his peripheral vision.

Ellie started to breathe heavier, her heart racing as Hermione was sprawled out on her back. The feeling of rage intensified with every passing second, yet Ellie watched helplessly as Bellatrix's curls covered Hermione's expression.

"That sword is meant to be in my vault at Gringotts. How did you get it?" Bellatrix whispered, her face mere inches from the Gryffindor's.

Hermione started to cry, whimpering in pain as she was pressed down harder into the cool floor.

"What are you doing to her?" Ellie demanded, and Bellatrix looked up momentarily.

"Shut it, Evans," Bellatrix barked before turning her attention back to Hermione.

Tears started to well in Ellie's eyes as she watched her girlfriend writhe in pain. Her breathing heaved with an intense pace as her eyes frantically searched for a way to help.

"What else did you and your friends take from my vault?!" Bellatrix shouted into Hermione's ears.

"Draco... please help her," Ellie cried out silently, but Draco only shook his head solemnly. "No, no, no... please..."

"I didn't take anything. Please," Hermione pleaded through her tears, her voice cracking at every word. "I didn't take anything."

Ellie tried to gulp down the sickening feeling in her stomach, but she couldn't take her eyes off the events unfolding.

"I don't believe it," Bellatrix called maniacally as she moved herself to hover over Hermione's arm.

Hermione shrieked loudly, her entire body trembling under the pain. Her cry pierced Ellie's ears, and she couldn't take it anymore.

"Please! Stop it... Don't hurt her!" Ellie begged as she ran towards the two. "Please... take me instead."

With one hand, Bellatrix waved her wand at Ellie, causing her to suspend a couple feet off the ground, a rope continuously choking her. Ellie grasped the rope desperately, attempting to claw it away as it closed in on her throat.

Hermione continued to scream painfully as her arms and feet struggled to free herself, her shrill cry crushing Ellie's heart.

"Please..." Ellie coughed as she felt her lungs closing in. "Stop..."

Any more words would cut off Ellie's airway completely, but Ellie couldn't help but plead for Hermione's safety.

"The ring... It's not... working... Why..." Ellie choked out as rivers of tears erupted from the corners of the eyes.

Ellie locked eyes with her father who stood perfectly still, completely forgetting he still stood there. He seemed to have an almost sorrow expression as his eyes flickered to Hermione's hand, recognizing his ring. He glanced back at his daughter and shook his head slowly.

Ellie broke his gaze and refocused her attention on her girlfriend, who now stopped moving, Bellatrix having stepped away. On Hermione's arm, the words, Mudblood, were carved into her skin, drawing blood at the wound. Tears slid down her nose as the lovers locked eyes. The mere sight of Hermione's state only brought another wave of tears down Ellie's cheeks.

"Darling... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." Ellie apologized through strained words. The rope only tightened, and Ellie's fingers wrapped around it more desperately in attempt to keep it from choking her.

Ellie dove in and out of consciousness as Bellatrix questioned a goblin, asking about the sword. The edges of Ellie's eyes started to turn black as she fought every urge to stay awake.

Suddenly, she heard Ron and Harry's voice emerge from behind her, and blasts of spells were fired between the boys and the Malfoy's. Draco only performed defensive spells, backing away from the fight. Ellie noticed her father cowering out of the room, silently stepping out of the chaos.

"Stop!" a voice yelled.

Ellie struggled to open her eyes, and she looked down to see Bellatrix holding Hermione captive, a dagger pressed against her neck.

"Drop your wands," Bellatrix smiled manipulatively. "I said, drop them!"

The boys dropped their wands in defeat as their eyes flickered to Ellie's state, her body still suspended in the air, a rope tightening around her throat with every passing second.

"Pick them up, Draco, now," Bellatrix ordered, in which the boy scrambled to gather them.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here. It's Harry Potter. He's all bright and shiny and new again, just in time for the Dark Lord," Bellatrix observed as Harry's swollen face returned back to normal.

"Call him."

The room was silent as Draco had a fearful expression on her face. For a split second, his grey eyes caught Ellie's, and the Hufflepuff only shook her head.

"Call him!" Bellatrix repeated.

Lucius stepped forward, yanking the sleeve of his blazer up to reveal his Dark Mark, readying it for use. Just as he was about to summon him, a squeaking noise came from above.

The entirety of the room looked upwards to see Dobby seated on the chandelier, turning its screw.

The chandelier dropped suddenly, falling on Bellatrix as Hermione barely managed to break free from her grasp. Harry immediately moved to Draco, ripping the wands from his hands. He threw the other wand to Ron as he stunned Lucius.

Ron quickly waved his wand in Ellie's direction, freeing her from the ropes, causing her to fall to the floor as she gasped for air. Ellie struggled to get on her feet as the rest of her friends assembled in front of the fireplace. Her body urged her to fall unconscious, but Ellie used every bit of her strength to weakly keep her vision from spinning.

"Stupid elf! You could've killed me!" Bellatrix said as she recovered from the broken shards of glass.

"Dobby never mean to kill. Dobby only meant to maim or seriously injure."

Ellie started to crawl towards the group, the broken glass cutting into the fabric over her knees, eventually ripping through it to pierce her skin. The ropes left a burn on her neck, causing Ellie to wince with every turn of her head. Hermione weakly held her hand out to her girlfriend as a gesture for her to hurry.

Narcissa withdrew her wand but was instantly disarmed by Dobby.

"How dare you take a witch's wand?" Bellatrix yelled. "How dare you defy your masters?"

Ellie was now nearing the group slowly she winced with every step, her chest heaving with wheezing breaths as her surroundings spun around her.

"Dobby has no master. Dobby is a free elf. And Dobby has come to save Harry Potter and his friends."

"Ellie! Come on!" Ron pleaded as Hermione lunged forward in attempt to reach Ellie's hand.

Bellatrix swiftly threw her knife in their direction, its sharp blades spiraling towards the group. At the same time, Ellie and Hermione's fingertips were just inches away, nearly touching. Hermione reached forward, but was unable to move any further. Tears welled in Ellie's eyes once more as she came into realization. She knew the outcome.

"Go," Ellie whispered with pleading eyes.

The group Apparated their way out of Malfoy Manor.

Ellie did not escape in time.