A/N This is actually my first new story since about June so hopefully it'll make up for the fact that I have not updated anything in what seems to be forever. Actually I just wrote it in less than fifteen minutes, so excuse any mistakes; it will not happen again, I hope. ^_^ Anyway, if you're reading this, please go read some of my other stories, review them, I really would appreciate it. Thanks, and hope you like this.
Smothering shadows pressed down on me as I ran, ran from pain and pleasure; ran from hatred and love; dark and light; good and evil; right and wrong; but mostly, I ran from my Home. Home had been a safe haven ever since I was born, a place I could go when times got tough, or when I just needed to be alone; a place that, no matter what, would always be there to welcome me. And my mother; she was the only person I could talk to whenever I needed her, no matter the time or situation.
But all that had changed when my father died a year ago. As one of the most experience and loved dentists at the office, his death created a major downfall for the company, and business decreased until the company eventually had to shut down because the other workers just couldn't support it without him. After it shut down, my mother also lost her job because she had been my father's assistant, and after she lost her job, my family suddenly couldn't support itself.
Mother didn't want to do it, and she delayed it for months, but eventually, we got to a point where we would go bankrupt if she didn't do something, so she married a kind-looking guy named Harley who would be able to support us. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, looks can be deceiving, and while my mother was away at work, Harley would do things I will not repeat, but I will say he did beat me more than once, and he swore that if I ever told my mother he would kill us both. So I kept my mouth shut, and it went on like that for four months, each day dreading nine AM, when my mother would leave, and he would start on me once again.
Finally, one day, after a particularly harsh day with him, and ending up with reddened eyes and an angry purple bruise on my cheek, my mother finally asked what had been happening while she was at work. Glad of the opportunity, I told her everything. However, when I'd finished, her reaction was nothing like I'd ever expected.
"Honey, I really don't believe he would do that to you," she said gently with a small, false smile. "I know you hate him, but this is too far. Don't pretend he did this just so..."
"I'm not pretending!" I protested shrilly. "He really does hurt me every time you leave home, why can't you just believe me? If you could just see how bad this... this... man is, you wouldn't be so keen to defend him like this."
Fury bubbled up in my chest as she shook her head slowly, the fake grin still there. "I just can't believe he would do this," she assured me gently, reaching over to brush a tray hair out of my face.
I knocked her arm aside as I abruptly stood, glared at her, and growled, "I thought you, of all people, would believe me." Whipping around, i stormed out of the room and to the front door, where I paused, turned, and added, "I'm getting sick of being ignored! Go ignore him for a change!" With that, I slammed the door behind me as I stepped out into the warm, summer evening air. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, tried to clear my mind of what I was leaving, and started across the yard determinedly, not sure where I was going, what I was going to do, or even who I was anymore. Stopping at the edge of the road, I gazed across at the dense woods that seemed to beckon me into their depths, even though I'd been warned... warned of a great danger that lives there. But I didn't think of her warnings as I plunged into the woods without hesitation.
However, as I went deeper into the trees, I began to remember my mother saying something about her warnings of dangerous things. But that was something she had told me when I was younger, probably to scare me into staying on our side of the street; now I was sixteen, able to defend myself, and it also helped that I was able to use magic.
As I forced my way through some thick brambles, the thought of magic sent a pang of longing through me as the carefully hidden memories of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry exploded throughout my mind: of my classes, professors, the amazing magical creatures, but most of all the adventures I went on with my best friends. I felt a tear in the corner of my eye and quickly brushed it away as I continued on under the quickly gathering darkness of nighttime. As I thought about what I was leaving behind, and what I could never go back to, I felt a faint stirring of regret; however, there was no time for regret. What's done is done, I thought to myself. Trying to ignore the rising loss, I quickened my pace until I was running as fast as my legs would take me, the faintly cold wind stinging as it hit my face and bare arms, sending chills scurrying through my body. I ran for what seemed to be hours, eventually getting so distracted from trying to forget, I didn't notice the trees thinning and the soft grass turning to a rocky path that led out of the woods.
Completely void of all sense of direction, I pulled to a stop, my breath coming in short, harsh gasps, and I bent over, trying to inflate my tired lungs. When I recovered, I glanced around, wondering where I was, but not wishing to be back at home. Yeah, right. It's not my home anymore. I shivered, but not from the cold. I slowly started walking down the path, hoping to find a decent place to spend the night. I glanced up and noticed the moon was high overhead, casting a silvery light down to shimmer through the thin branches overhead and making it easier to see where I was going, but still not knowing where in the world I was. I knew magic was real, and that made a strange thought come to my mind. I could be anywhere in the world, I thought incredulously. I could have walked through a portal or something, and ended up on some remote island for all I know. "Hopefully not," I muttered to myself.
"Hopefully not, what?"
I froze as the voice resounded from the shadows not a yard to my left. Turning slowly, I scanned the woods, searching for the source, and could just make out a figure standing there, watching me. It was a male, that much I could see, with piercing gray-blue eyes that seemed to glow and blonde hair that seemed out of place. My heart quickening, I realized that was a figure I knew all too well...
"Draco Malfoy." I didn't ask, just knew.
Draco Malfoy stepped out into the watery moonlight and shot me a lopsided grin, his eyes flashing mischievously. "Very good," he said haughtily. "Now, I want you to tell me, what you are doing here." He stepped forwards until his face was barely a foot from mine. "And you're going to tell me now." I realized at that moment, with a shock, how much Malfoy had changed since I last saw him at the end of the school year. He was almost a head taller than me, he seemed more confident with himself, and he seemed almost... kinder. I know it sounds strange, but it's true. Two months ago, he would have called me Mudblood and shot me into next week for being on his property, if that's where I was; today, though, for some reason, he was actually asking me why I was there and basically inviting me a way out of it. What had caused such a change? If this was even the same Malfoy I had met at Hogwarts two months previously.
I realized he was still waiting for an answer, so I quickly blurted, "I'm not sure why I'm here, or even where here is," and lowered my eyes and waited for his stinging remark. It never came.
Instead, when I looked up at him, he had an amused and... self-satisfied?... grin on his face, which caught me completely off guard. "Of course you wouldn't," he remarked smartly. "It's my own spell, no one can go through it purposely; lucky you didn't know it was there and still tried to pass; it would have fried your brains." Malfoy grinned, a sincere yet haughty grin that rendered me speechless until he snapped, "What are you standing there for? Come on, we need to get you out of the cold."
"Um..." I stared at him with disbelief clear on my face and managed to say, "It's not cold..." but broke off when I realized I was shivering violently and chills were scurrying through me. I nodded hastily and started to follow him, but almost instantly my knees gave out from overexertion and cold, and I collapsed. Malfoy turned back and glared, and I felt heat rising to my face that he should see such weakness in my, and I quickly tried to stand, but no sooner had I collapsed again when an arm wound around my waist and hoisted me up, drawing me against him so I could walk. My first reaction was to pull away, but I ignored it, instead leaning heavily on him, with a bit of disgust but not much, and allowed him to lead me down the path. As we broke completely out of the woods, I gasped as a huge manor came into view.
"My home," Draco explained. "Come on."
A/N I hope this was ok, and I'd like to know if I should continue it. I got the idea out of the blue, and thought I'd share. Please review, let me know your thoughts, should I continue, stuff like that, and thanks a ton for reading!
2/1/13 Update: Ok guys, so as it turns out, I'm done with the next chapter; there's just one problem. It was on my flashdrive, which was, as I believe, taken by someone at my school and thus I have to rewrite the entire chapter. I'm SOOO sorry guys, I can't even remember what it was about and I feel bad that didn't update sooner. T_T I promise I'll make it up!