It didn’t take them long to work out. Harry Potter: The Undesirable. Hermione Granger: The Mudblood. Ron Weasley: The Blood Traitor. They were just starting on Dean Thomas when Bellatrix came in the room. I felt myself slip into the purple walls.

“What’s this? What’s happened, Cissy?” She walked around them slowly. I was keeping an eye on all of them. I was sure they had no wands so I cast a protection spell on them. But Bellatrix was getting so close to Hermione, too close. “This is the Mudblood girl? This is Granger?” It felt as though her words were directed at me.

“Yes, yes, it’s Granger!” cried Lucius “Potter and his friends caught at last!”

“POTTER?” The shriek that resounded from her was deafening. “Are you sure? The Dark Lord must be informed!” I don’t know why but her voice had a way of curdling your blood more than anything else. As though you had active resistance against her.

They grabbed at each other all wanting to be the first, all wanting to be the one to tell him of Potter. My head spun in so many directions. He had said only to contact him for Potter, but I didn’t have a way to get the others out they would kill them, I had to think fast, they wanted gold, I’d give it to them in exchange for the prisoners but...but... but I didn’t need to wait long.

“STOP!” Bellatrix was screaming again. I’d never seen her this bad, this ferocious.

“What-is-that?” I turned to see what Bellatrix was talking about. It was a sword with rubies and runes. Any student would recognise it as the sword of Godric Gryffindor. I started to panic and I could see Bellatrix was panicking too, although not for the same reason. I knew there was a sword in her vault and that it was a fake. I had helped put it there. I knew there were other things in her vault too, though I had no idea what. All four of these prisoners were Gryffindors and I knew that the sword could have presented itself to any of them. I felt as though I had gone mute. Why was Bellatrix scared? What was she hiding? I couldn’t take my eyes off Hermione, I felt that if I did my protection charm would break.

Suddenly there were red lights flying all around us Bellatrix was getting angry. “STUPIFY!” “STUPIFY!” we’re lucky it wasn’t anything heavier. In that moment I managed to slip a small stone into Hermione’s pocket and get back to my place without anybody realising. I knew as much as many, how painful Bellatrix’s curses were, even if you were protected and I had to protect my friend.

“The prisoners must be placed in the cellar, while I think what to do” By this time she was positively out of breath.

“This is my house, Bella, you don’t give orders in my-” Narcissa though was cut short

“DO IT! You have no idea the danger we are in”. Bellatrix was mad. Something had triggered her.

Draco was ordered to take Harry, Ron and Dean down to the cellar. Hermione was to stay up with the girls. I found it really hard to protect her when Ron was screaming from the cellar “HERMIONE! HERMIONE!”

Finally, the words came out her mouth “it’s a copy” did Hermione know that a copy had been made or was she just trying to save herself?

Draco then went to fetch the goblin Griphook from the cellar “Is this the sword from my vault?” her voice was slow and panting. She lay the sword in his hands and watched as he turned it over.

There was a loud crack from the cellar, almost like someone apparating, but that’s impossible. You can’t apparate in that cellar. It’s protected. “Wormtail! Check the cellar!”

After a few minutes “No, it is a fake” replied the goblin. I was relieved beyond measure. I reckon Hermione was too.