A/U-DISCLAIMER~ Well obviously I don't own Harry Potter otherwise I'd be in Milan right now blowing all my earnings on impractical shoes. Please R&R and enjoy!
Anaesthetic
The attic, located at the highest point in Snape Manor, was also the quietest spot in the house. From here, the only sound that could be heard was the whisper of the wind, the soft patter of rain fall, and the occasional sigh from one of the portraits, left behind and abandoned from the brightly lit hallways and parlor rooms they used to call their home. Many dark and mysterious heirloom can be found here, but for Lavinia, the beauty that the attic held was its silence. Here, she was able to find a small shred of peace. It was the attic where Lavinia felt safest, and where she went to get away.
It was also where He found her.
The first time, He startled her. She had been sitting on an old sofa, legs stretched out, thoughts far away. He gazed at her several minutes before she finally noticed his presence.
She didn't flinch, yell, or even move when she finally did notice Him. Instead, she met his gaze, her dark brown eyes tunneling into His never-ending and omnipresent black ones.
A moment passed.
Then two.
Finally, Lavinia spoke. Her voice, soft, feminine, and lower then one would guess for her age, vibrated against the walls.
"Is there something you want?"
The question hung in the air several seconds before it was called to rest by His answer.
"No."
Then, in a swift movement, His black cloak billowing out from behind him, He was gone, retreating back down the stairs.
Lavinia had not noticed that she had been holding her breath until he had left.
Several more moments passed before Lavinia allowed herself to slip back in to her thoughts.
The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs where what brought Lavinia out of her private state of consciousness. This time, Lavinia felt no anxiety or fear whatsoever.
The figure paused just outside the attic doorway and waited permission before entering.
"Come in Sebastian, I was hoping you would come up"
Sebastian walked into the attic and met his sister's hypnotic gaze with his own piercing, sapphire blue eyes.
"I was worried about you. You didn't come down for dinner. He wasn't at dinner either. I started thinking…." Sebastian's voice trailed off. There was no need to finish his sentence, everything had been stated before.
Lavinia gave him a look that neither comforted nor frightened Sebastian. She beckoned him to sit beside her on the ancient sofa.
"I brought you something." Sebastian gently grabbed Lavinia's hand and placed a dried lophophora williamssi slice in her palm. Cupping her hand around it, Sebastian whispered the same four words he said to her every time he brought her one of the buttons from his collection.
"Have a safe trip"
Lavinia smiled at his back as Sebastian left her to be alone again with her thoughts. Wasting no time at all, Lavinia examined the button before taking a large bite out of it.
Not the traditional way to ingest it but it would work for her purposes.
Lavinia laid back against the sofa, closed her eyes, and fell into a world that was all too familiar for her.
…
Hours later, Lavinia woke up to find herself curled up in the fetal position on the floor of His bedroom. Her arms were covered in thick scratches, some of them still bleeding, and her long brown hair had managed to come out of its bun. Her clothes were still on, but this observation did not necessary mean much to her.
Lavinia slowly rose from the floor and fully expected her body to fight back. She was surprised when, after she stood up, that she felt more refreshed and rested than she had in a long time. It was as if, some deep down animalistic sense, had found the one place in the house (besides the attic) where she truly could get some relief.
Ironic that this oasis would be in the middle of His sanctuary. Oh, the irony of it all.
Lavinia had not been aware that she was being watched until she heard Him clear His throat.
Lavinia turned around slowly, not wanted to look at Him until absolutely necessary.
"Lavinia" He whispered, the accent in his voice quivering with fury and an emotion that she could not entirely place.
Lavinia faced Him, and flicked a piece of her hair out of her face. She didn't waste time with her first words to Him.
Her voice calm, her words carefully chosen.
"Why am I here? What has happened to me?"
He looked at her, His face betraying no signs of inward thought. His mouth opened, and he spoke words that Lavinia would have given her soul not to hear.
"Child, you came here. You brought this on yourself".
It was several minutes before Lavinia realized that the strange noise she was hearing was the sound of her own screams.
He walked over to her, grabbed her arm and yanked her to the other side of the room. Pushing her against the wall, He used his other free hand to cover her coral red mouth.
"Calm yourself down Child. Do you want Her to hear you?" When this method did nothing to sooth the wails coming from under His fingers, He resorted to using the back of his hand against her lily white cheek.
Lavinia's cries quieted down to a whimper, and after a few more beats, drifted off into an uncomfortable silence.
When He was certain that she would remain her composure, He removed his hand from her mouth. Blood ran down the side of her face where he had struck her. A simple charm healed the wound, but He did nothing about the blood. Instead, He guided her to one of the several lounge chairs in the room, and pushed her down into it.
"Lavinia." Her name twisted out of His mouth, slithering down and around the room until the sound of His voice reached her ears. Instinctively, she recoiled from the sound, drawing her knees up to her chest in a protective fashion.
"Lavinia". This time, there was no arguing the pure, unadulterated hatred in His voice. Whatever compassion He may have felt for her had been replaced with revulsion, disgust, and regret.
Lavinia looked Him in the eye at the second coming of her name. She couldn't hold His gaze for more than a couple of seconds. Lavinia looked down at the floor, and wondered where Sebastian was at this moment. She considered asking Him, but thought better of it.
"Child, there is no excuse for what you have done. There is no redemption for the curse you have brought to this house. The pure horror of what you have unleashed…." a pause, while He tried to gain some small fragment of composure. He cleared his throat and continued. "…..can never be taken back. If I had my way, you would be dead." Here, He paused again, and looked to see if His words had any effect. He did not detect any feeling from the girl.
He walked slowly and methodically to the other side of the room, opened the door that lead to the dressing room, and returned to Lavinia's side with a box.
The box that He held in His hand quivered and shook and seemed to move of its own accord.
Lavinia's eyes grew wide and she began to comprehend what was about to happen to her. She rose to her feet, but He was quicker, and several seconds later she found her hands and legs bound, and her torso chained to the chair.
"Please, don't!" Lavinia meant to whisper this request, but instead, it came out as a painful cry. "Please, have mercy on me! I can fix everything! I can right the wrongs. I can and will do what needs to be done to fix everything, but please, please don't do this!" A single tear escaped from Lavinia's eye and fell down towards the floor.
Her pleads fell on deft ears, and He did not acknowledge her cries as he slowly opened the box.
The Boggart, confused by the presence of two people in the room, had trouble gaining a legitimate shape. For several seconds it settled on the form of red hair dripping with blood, before shifting again into the shape of a white mask. The mask exploded as the Boggart sensed the fear seeping out of the female entity in the corner of the room. The Boggart moved closer to the girl and with each step it took, its newly grown white blond hair grew longer and longer. The Boggart stopped in front of Lavinia, and smiled so wide that the sides of his face came dangerously close to ripping.
As He stepped out of the room, Lavinia stared into the face of Lucius Malfoy and screamed.