Note: Post War!AU
He'd made a decision, and it was the wrong one.
Thorfinn splashed his ashen face with water. It was the clearest he'd seen of his reflection since his sentencing. He blinked the water away from his eyes, staring at his reflection in the mirror.
His cheeks were sunken, bags were under his eyes. Damn, they even took away from those; the blue was really attractive according to the ladies.
Merlin, it's been too long since he'd felt the warm touch of a woman.
The blond shook his head. He had to focus on the task here. Cleanliness was next to resembling good behaviour in the Ministry's eyes, and he had to appear as such if this program was going to work.
He'd killed men, women, and children alike. Blood was on his hands. He'd shown no remorse for that fact either. Yet the one time he made a mistake and the brats got away, he's treated as if he'd not spent years doing work for the Dark Lord. It was a slap in the face for Thorfinn, a betrayal by a powerful man whose hatred was built on a betrayal.
He was practically given to the Aurors with a scar from his eye to his jaw. The bastard called it mercy. Getting the dark mark and being crucio'd didn't compare to being hung out to dry by his allies.
Thorfinn supposed he could be grateful for His mistake. The Dark Lord never showed anyone mercy, not even Bellatrix. He liked to show his followers how ruthless and serious he was about the cause; perhaps he wasn't the focus after the slip-up, not when there has been some disturbance going on in the Dark Lord's mind.
Nevertheless, the Dark Lord left something for Thorfinn to remember him by giving him the nasty scar. Thorfinn traced his finger over it with a sombre expression.
He hadn't spent too much time in the devilish prison after the Dark Lord's fall because of the population's depletion thanks to the madman. Pureblood lines were dying, and half-breeds were becoming a necessity. Can't procreate strong genes when the majority of the necessary gene was stuck behind bars, can they? Twisted reasoning for a twisted situation it would seem.
Thus creating the 'Redemption Theory', a program for prisoners of lesser chargers (or more sanity in Thorfinn's case) to redeem themselves and restore order to society. The blonde didn't give a damn; it was giving him a chance to get back out and fix the mistake of joining the Dark Lord in the first place.
Then again, he didn't have much of a choice in the beginning because it was life or death, literally.
He'd made a decision, and it was the better one.
As agreed by the Ministry, Thorfinn wouldn't have possession of a wand for three years. Anything he needed would have to be the Muggle way or by his appointed adviser that would stay with him in those three years. He would have to prove his worth to the rest of the wizarding world. Reading between the lines, he knew that it required him to find some willing witch and bed her.
It made him snort at the thought that his adviser would be watching. He wasn't much for peepers, despite his former 'employer'.
He had to find a job, attend a weekly meeting with the other inmates that were released into the program, and maintain a monthly report of good behaviour. One toe out of line, and it was back to the dingy, dark prison.
There was no way in hell Thorfinn was going back there.
He looked in the mirror, seeing the sorrow and death hidden behind his blue orbs. He'd be a fool to believe that someone like him would be welcomed back into society with open arms. Fortunately, he just didn't care what people thought of him.
It was what he thought of himself.
He thought of his mother, the woman he'd lost so young that drove him into the darkness. She'd be disappointed in his actions against the wizarding community. Her opinion mattered. Her memory is what was keeping him going.
Thorfinn gripped the sink, looking down briefly and then meeting his reflection back in the mirror. He would do this for himself. He would do this for her. He would do this for the sake of bringing the Rowle name out of the mud that the Dark Lord buried it in.
A/N: Written for The Houses Competition and HSWW (Challenges and Assignments)
(THC) House: Gryffindor; Year/Position: Year 3 Stand-In; Category: Drabble; Prompt: A sad moment/emotion/occasion, [Theme] Reflection
(HSWW) Assignment #9 Transfiguration Task 2: write about someone trying to fix their past mistake or failure
Word Count: 742