A/N: Hello everybody! Happy Holidays and all that jazz! I absolutely love Christmas, just saying! Anyways, this is just something I've been thinking about for a little while now. Not quite sure where I want it to go, but I'm sure I'll figure all the details out as I go along. Reviews are much appreciated! Oh, and if anybody notices something like a mistake or whatever, please let me know and I'll see what I can do to change it.
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it. I do, however, own my characters Rhea and Viola, and – as far as I know – this particular plotline.
Where We Begin
Chapter One: Losing.
It's only been a year since the war; a year since my world, and the worlds of millions of other innocent witches, wizards, and muggles, were flipped upside down; a year since I watched the broken body of our saviour collapse onto the ground in a flash of green. I still remember the sounds of screaming when we saw it happen. I remember the way he laughed at the horror struck faces of the friends and families of Harry Potter as we stared, helplessly, at his lifeless body. In that moment, we were so powerless. There was nothing we could do, nothing to be done. Our side had already lost so many. Sure, we all still fought. We fought for the memory of all that was good in the world; we fought for Harry, and all of the other dead. But his forces still overpowered us.
It's been a year. Yet still I have nightmares. I'm haunted by the faces of the deceased; the screams of those in pain; the high pitched laugh of a "man" seemingly possessed by the devil himself.
It's been a year...
•••
"Rhea, darling, it's time to get up," I felt a hand shake my shoulder gently in an attempt to wake me. I slowly opened my eyes and squinted from the light that leaked into the 'room' from a tiny window behind me. An old woman, around the age of 50 or so, knelt at my side. She had a kind face and warm, green eyes, with her salt and pepper hair tied back in a messy bun.
I gave her a small smile, "Thank you, Viola." My eyes scanned the 'room' around me – or, rather, the cell, since us servants don't exactly have rooms – looking for the other girls who worked in the manor. All of the cots were made and only one pair of clean clothing sat in a pile on the floor. I realized that the others must have already gotten ready and were working on the laundry and dishes. "What time is it?" I asked, sleepily. I must've slept a little later than I thought.
"It's only 7:30. The Masters just finished their breakfast. Given the circumstances, we were told to wake up earlier."
Given the circumstances? I instantly remembered what day it was.
"Has it really been a month already, Viola? It feels like it was only a week ago since helast checked in. Can't that assholeever take a break?"
"He won't be here for long. It's only for a couple days."
"A couple of days where we have to cater to his every whim and deal with him torturing us every chance he gets!"
"If you don't quiet down someone might hear you and then we'll both be tortured for sure! It's one thing for you to put yourself in harm's way constantly, what with all of your brilliant escape ideas and the likes, but it's definitely another if you get the rest of us punished for your loud mouth."
I knew she was right, but I didn't want to believe her. I glanced away and stared at the wall on my left.
I heard the kind woman sigh before she spoke again, "I took it upon myself to let you sleep a little later. I figured you would be tired, after last night."
My eyebrows scrunched together as I tried to recall the nightmare I had last night. It was same as all the others, but that didn't make it any less horrible and terrifying.
Viola gave me a sympathetic look, "You were tossing and turning all night. Talking in your sleep." Her concern was tangible in her eyes. She was, really, the only one here who cared about my wellbeing. I mean, besides a few other servants, and Draco. But he didn't count, since he wasn't supposed to think of me in any other way except for a disgusting disease.
I shrugged my shoulders, trying to make it seem like these dreams didn't bother me that much. Truth be told, though, they bothered me a great deal. And Viola saw through my nonchalant demeanour, not even missing a beat. I didn't even know why I tried to lie to her anymore. No one could pull the wool over her eyes.
She sighed again, before standing up and passing me the pile of clothes that had been sitting on the floor, "Its fine if you don't want to talk about it now. But, if you ever need someone to listen, I'm here, alright?"
I nodded, accepting the bundle before she turned away. As Viola was about to leave the cell, she called over her shoulder, "Oh, and by the way, the Master – " I stifled a laugh at the ridiculous tone in her voice as she said the word, " – wants to see you once your all ready. I know what you're thinking, and I would highly advise against pissing him off today. He's already not in a very good mood, if you hear me."
I nodded my understanding, before rolling my eyes at her retreating form. In my opinion, she could worry way too much about the little things sometimes. Our 'Master', as he liked to call himself, was none other than Lucious Malfoy. The slimy git ended up worming his way, somehow, back into the Dark Lord's tightly knitted circle, and had earned some new 'mudblood' slaves. My hatred grew for him daily. The funny thing was, however, that his son and I seemed to grow closer than I ever thought possible.
Draco was one of the only sane people actually living in the Malfoy Manor, if you asked me. Us slaves, well, you couldn't really call what we're did here living. When you think of the phrase, you don't really imagine being held against your will in a creepy old mansion where you did an evil assholes work every day for zero payment as a punishment because your blood wasn't good enough to be anything close to your original impression. Anyways, Draco was someone I could talk to. I'm not saying that we're besties or anything even remotely close to that. All I'm saying is that, under the circumstances, we got along pretty well. I'm sure if the situation was different; we would've still hated each other's guts, but as it was... Draco wasn't all that bad.
I told him mostly everything that happened to me while I was there. Including my nightmares. Draco understood better than anyone, I think, because we were both plagued by the same memories of the same people. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw their faces. Lupin, Collin, Moody, Fred, Tonks, Dumbledore, Sirius, Cedric, Harry... Especially him.
The dream I had last night was the same as all the others. I was getting so tired of waking up in the middle of the night bawling my eyes out and screaming until my throat was raw. The bags under my eyes, the dizziness, and the sickly color of my skin were just a few of the symptoms due to my lack of sleep that Draco had started to take notice of. He was genuinely worried for me – which was one emotion I never thought he would ever be able to feel; worry and concern for the wellbeing of others. I usually just shrugged off his comments on this particular matter, of course, but that doesn't change the fact that he noticed.
I continued to dwell on my unfortunate situation as I changed into my usual attire and made my way through a secret passage connected to the dungeon that led to the kitchens.
It could be worse, I thought to myself, I could be rotting away in a coffin six feet under like so many others who fought in the war. The thought made my stomach clench and I quickly forced myself to think of something different.
By the time I reached the kitchen –where I found the rest of the slaves washing dishes from the Master's breakfast, cleaning the kitchen, and preparing the food for the next meal – I had lost the whatever appetite I previously had . I was greeted with a few friendly good mornings and a couple of pitying smiles as I entered the room.
"Huh, good news must travel fast," I muttered to myself quietly.
I walked across the kitchen swiftly and headed straight for another door that would lead me down a path hidden behind the walls of the building and directly into the sitting room on the other side of the manor. I closed my eyes and gently sucked in a deep breath through my nose. This was going to be a long day.
I promise that the chapters will eventually get longer. I just haven't had a lot of time to work on anything with my finals coming up and all that. Pretty please review! :]