thanks Claire.
Happy New Years Everyone!!! All the best for 2011!
I wont be able to post for the next couple of days. Im goign camping!!!!
See youse when I get back.

Note: this post is darker than the others I have posted.

* * *
She felt a hand on her shoulder, it began to shake her. Ellouise opened her eyes, her mother stood looking down at her, a finger pressed to her lips. There was someone outside their tent, and it wasn’t father. Ellouise’s eyes flashed in horror as she realised what must have been going on. Andrea handed Ellouise her wand and kissed her daughter on the forehead, stroking her cheek she held her own wand up to Ellouise and cast the disillusionment charm. Ellouise blended away, like a chameleon, almost invisible but still very solid. She didn’t want to leave her parents behind. Following her mothers’ lead Ellouise left the tent, trying to be as silent as possible and trying not to leave any obvious footprints in her wake. There was a sharp pain in her chest as she saw her mother surrender her wand and join her father Spencer. They knelt in the dirt, their hands on their heads, staring straight into the eyes of the death eater in front of them. He was short, had thick black hair and wore a death eaters mask. His laugh was deep and husky, it had a cruel edge to it. Ellouise felt the goose bumps rise on her skin. “Well if it isn’t the spectacular Spencer Browne!” exclaimed the man, his voice booming. He looked my mother up and down, “And this must be?... Mrs Browne?” he questioned. Neither Spencer nor Andrea moved. One of the other death eaters that had been examining the contents of the tent sidled up to him and whispered something in his ear. “I see,” said the man his expression serious. Ellouise slowly began to move back, taking slow calculated steps. “Come now Balthazar, there’s no need to hide your face”, came Spencer’s voice. He sounded calm and collected. Ellouise turned to look at the death eater, he had stopped in his tracks. “Oh you’re quite right,” replied Balthazar. Ellouise braced herself trying hard not to let her rapidly beating heart give her away. Balthazar waved his wand before him and his mask melted away into thin air like wisps of smoke. Ellouise wished he had left it on. His small black eyes were hard, cold and soulless. Balthazar had a ragged scar across his left cheek and had bad acne spots. Really he was quite unfortunate looking. “Well aren’t you going to introduce us?” he asked gesturing to Andrea. He held out his hand waiting for Andrea to place hers in his. She didn’t, instead she looked to Spencer, frown lines appearing on his forehead. “Andrea, meet Balthazar, he worked for the Ministry, Department of International Magical Cooperation.” Balthazar smiled, exposing unusually razor sharp pointed teeth.
“Now enough with the pleasantries”, said Balthazar circling them like prey.
“I believe you have a daughter, do you not?” he asked, still circling them.
“We did”, replied Spencer, his facial expression unmoving, “Her name was Ellouise... we were separated just a few months after the war broke out. We haven’t been able to find her since”, he said sadly. Ellouise thought his performance was quite believable, but Balthazar chuckled to himself then applauded him. The sharp loud claps coming from his hands echoed in the dark valley. Ellouise could feel the blood drain from her face, again she took another couple of steps back, trying to stay within earshot.
“Bravo”, said Balthazar, the other two death eaters joined in with the clapping, though less enthusiastically.
“You know, you almost had me fooled”, began Balthazar, “but I know you all too well. Spencer Browne, one of the Ministries finest Auror’s would never lose his only child.” His cold dark eyes flashed malevolently. Slowly he held up his hand, his fingers clasped around something, something invisible.
“Look what we found!” he exclaimed excitedly. The death eater that approached him earlier giggled merrily, almost as if Christmas had come early, this surprised Ellouise. She hadn’t heard of many female death eaters. But she had heard of Bellatrix Lestrange, the mad cousin of Sirius Black.
“A long, black hair,” said Balthazar in response to Spencer and Andrea’s confused expressions. Balthazar walked between them, “See the thing that bothers me, is that I haven’t met her yet”, he said almost cheerfully, flashing his teeth again. He looked around expectantly, “Is she here?” he asked bluntly, his grin slipping from his face slightly.
“No, she’s not”, replied Andrea just as bluntly. The atmosphere was so thick with hatred that you could have cut it with a knife.
“Bella dearest”, said Balthazar warmly as he gestured over the death eater. Ellouise could feel her heart racing. It was Bellatrix Lestrange. “Yes?” she replied in an irritatingly girly voice. “The Polyjuice potion”, said Balthazar smiling at her as she withdrew a small vial of gluggy liquid that looked like thick brown mud from an inner pocket of her robe. Uncorking it, she took the hair from Balthazar’s hand and dropped it into the potion. It hissed threateningly and turned a vibrant shade of teal. Bellatrix giggled and downed the vial in one gulp. Ellouise’s stomach began to squirm uncomfortably. What was happening? Why was Bellatrix becoming her? She felt a shiver creep down her spine as she watched Bellatrix morph into a spitting image of herelf. Ellouise clasped a hand to her mouth to stop herself from yelling out.
“My my... pretty little thing isn’t she”, said Balthazar as Bellatrix danced around him.
Spencer looked annoyed, though of course he knew that Ellouise was safe, for the time being.
Just then Balthazar did something neither of them expected him to do. He had grabbed the Bellatrix-Ellouise by the wrist and kissed her passionately, his hand in the small of her back. Ellouise cringed, Spencer muttered angrily under his breath as he and Andrea looked away in disgust. Bellatrix pulled away and giggled madly, skipping around them in circles.
“Like I said, pretty little thing”, gloated Balthazar as he approached Spencer.
“Oooohhh show him what will happen to his real daughter if he doesn’t comply!” screeched Bellatrix, her shrill voice emanating from the Ellouise look-alike. Balthazar grinned broadly, his eyes darting from Spencer, to Andrea and back to Bellatrix.
“What a fabulous idea!” he said as he held his wand in front of him. Suddenly Balthazar flicked his wand in Bellatix’s direction, “Crucio!” he called as he did so.
Ellouise could feel the colour drain from her skin as she watched a version of herself writhe of the ground before her parents. Andrea had tears streaking down her cheek. Just the thought of any harm befalling her daughter caused her immense pain. Spencer’s nostrils flared as he inhaled and exhaled more deeply, his eyes furrowed in anger, his brows narrowed and his forehead creased. Bellatrix heaved herself up from the ground, laughing shrilly as she did so, Ellouise thought to herself, she really must be mad.
“What do you want from us?” asked Spencer as silence fell around them.
“Oh don’t you worry, we’ll have plenty of time to discuss that,” replied Balthazar as Bellatrix and the un-named death eater conjured shackles around their wrists and ankles, covered their faces with calico bags. They also retrieved their wands from the ground and handed them to Balthazar who shoved them into one of his pockets. Balthazar placed a hand on Spencer and Andrea’s shoulders and after a brief moment the three of them disapparated, Bellatrix and the other death eater following soon after. They were gone, and Ellouise was left alone, left to her own thoughts.
* * *

Ellouise woke with a start, it was dark, there was a candle flickering orange light across the walls of her bedroom. She could feel the sweat streaking down her face, the damp covers clinging to her skin. Ellouise blinked. Her eyes began to focus, she was alone... with him.