"Remember your training, Y/n. Do you need a refresher?"

"No, my Lord."

My hands shook as I pushed my emotions into them. I focused all of my attention onto the man on the floor, curled up in a ball, begging weakly.

"Dalton, do you know what you did?" I said harshly, my voice rising.

"Just like that, Y/n. Remember how he hurt you."

"Do you know what you did?" I yelled.

"Yes!" he cried, putting his hands in front of his face.

"What did you do?" My voice was angry and at this point I was struggling to hold the emotion in my hands instead of just making Dalton hurt.

"I tried to kill you and Malfoy!"

"How?" It wasn't a question; I knew how he tried to kill me. I couldn't think, I was so angry.

"By trying to use the Killing Curse while you two were walking!"

"Pathetic," I hissed, malice practically dripping from my tone.

"W—What are you going to do to me?" he whined, voice shaking.

"Remember your training," Voldemort whispered. "Why are you angry? What did he do to hurt you?"

I let go of my anger, but not in the healthy way. It flowed through my hands and suddenly, Dalton was writhing like a worm on the ground, crying and shrieking.

"Further, Y/n. Give him the pain he deserves."

An ear-splitting scream echoed through the dungeon as a last shot of pain filled Dalton's body.

I let go of my control over him and stumbled, realising how much energy that took. He was completely still. His stomach wasn't moving; he wasn't breathing.

"You were successful. Dalton is dead."

"I—what?"

~~~

"My Lord, do you mind if I visit my two siblings? I haven't seen them in a while."

"Fine, go. Leave your father alone. Be back before nightfall."

"Yes, my Lord."

I walked away from his chambers then started running to the dungeons. I entered speedily and raced to my father's cell.

"Dad," I said quietly. He weakly groaned in response. It's a wonder he's still alive, considering how badly the Dark Lord treats the prisoners. If I hadn't been here to bring then bits of my meals, they might not have made it.

I put a bit of anger into my hand and pointed it at the lock on the cell. It quickly busted and I entered, wrapping my dad's arm around my shoulder. I grabbed my wand with my free hand and Apparated.

I flinched at the sudden change it settings. The sun was out and bright, shining highly over the grass and house. The rumbling in my stomach stopped after a minute but that didn't seem to be the case for my dad. He collapsed onto the bright green grass, immediately puking.

I helped him up, and got a good look at him. His once bright brown hair was now a light shade of grey, and there were large bald spots of his head. The bags under his eyes were dark purple and his face was covered in dirt and wrinkles. I was at least half a foot taller than him now, and his clothes were stained and wrinkled.

I walked with him up to the door and knocked.

Aunt Emilia opened it after a few seconds, and a loud gasp escaped her mouth as she saw my father.

"Wyatt!" she said, grabbing hold of his arms and walking him into the house. "Y/n, can you go into the kitchen and start making something filling? While it's cooking can you go into my closet and find some of Evan's old clothes, they should fit your dad."

I nodded and entered the kitchen, grabbing ingredients from the pantry and whipping up spaghetti and meatballs quickly. I grabbed a glass of ice water and handed it to Emilia, who was holding a pack of first aid items, like bandages and gauze. She was checking my dad for injuries. Dad started eating his spaghetti while I went to get him new clothes.

A movie was playing loudly and I heard giggling coming from my siblings. I almost started crying, but I remembered that my dad needed help and hurried to get him the clothes.

"Your dad luckily doesn't have many injuries. Can you run a bath for him? He definitely needs one," Emilia said calmly. "Put the fresh clothes on the sink counter and he can change into them when he's done."

I nodded, doing as told.

After almost an hour, my dad was done. He looked a lot healthier already, he just needed a good night's sleep.

The loud movie stopped, and I heard Matthew and Kya's laughter grow louder as they ran down the hall.

"Aunt Emilia—IS THAT DADDY?" screamed Kya, running into his arms immediately.

I looked at Kya and Matthew. They had both grown so much. Matthew was now ten, and his brown hair was short and cropped. Kya was eight, and she was still a ball of joy. Her blonde hair was cut at her shoulders.

"Hey, squirt!" Dad said happily, smiling so widely I truly though he might break his face.

"Dad!" Matthew cried, squeezing him tightly in a hug.

Kya started jumping up and down. "Where were you? Why were you gone for so long? Was it scary?" she asked excitedly, simply curious.

Dad chuckled. "I, uh. I went to do something for Y/n. It was super scary. I almost died."

That wasn't a lie.

"But I'm back now!"

"Yay!" Matthew and Kya yelled happily.

Dad turned to Aunt Emilia. "What happened to the house?"

Emilia hesitated, unsure of how to respond. "When you left, the bills stopped getting paid, and you were evicted, even though neither you nor your kids were living there. The three of us," she paused, gesturing to herself and my siblings, "went to the house and packed up all of the stuff. Most of it's in the garage now."

Dad sighed. "I don't know why I wasn't expecting that."

"It's okay, Dad! We can get a new house!" Kya said happily.

I smiled. "I missed you, you little goofball."

Kya turned to me. "Y/n!" she yelled, racing over to give me a hug. Matthew did the same.

"Did you miss me?" Matthew said excitedly.

"Of course I did!"

We were all so happy. It was almost enough to keep me distracted from this morning.

I looked at my dad. "Hey, guys?" I said to the rest of my family. "Can I talk to Dad alone?"

"Sure! We'll go into the backyard," Emilia said as my siblings raced each other to the door.

Once they were out the door, I sat down next to my dad.

"What's up, Y/n?"

I immediately started crying. I told him everything; about my power, about the Dark Lord, about Draco, about the fact that I killed someone this morning—

"Y/n."

I looked up at him, tears rolling down my cheeks as I tried to control my breathing.

"Yeah?"

"You are the strongest person I know. This is hard, but if anyone can survive it, it's you. You don't have much of a choice in this situation, you're just doing what you need to do to survive. You're going to be okay. Someday, you'll be able to come live with me and Matthew and Kya again. Until then, continue to be strong for me, and for your siblings. We love you so, so much, Y/n."

~~~

I quietly entered the manor, hoping to get up to my room before anyone noticed me.

I was mistaken, however.

A harsh, angry voice sounded from the dining table.

"I thought I told you to leave your dad in his cell."

I cursed under my breath. Voldemort knew.

Suddenly, he was standing in front of me. I felt small, and cowered below him. Instead of speaking, he grabbed my arm and dragged me into the dungeons, roughly throwing me into my dad's old cell.

"You directly disobeyed me, you selfish little brat! You will take your father's place in this cell until I need you."