Like Them
A Harry Potter fiction
By JadedofMara
I hate innocence.
I hate knowing that the crime I am imprisoned for was committed by another, one who remains free and unpunished.
I hate knowing that the crime I am imprisoned for is not the crime I committed.
I hate this knowledge that keeps me sane.
I hate Peter, and the maniacal gleam in his eyes. I see it every day reflected in the face of my cousin.
I hate the flash of the Dark Mark branded on his arm I still see in my dreams, as he blows the street apart.
I hate Remus' eyes, staring at me like I've torn his heart out and presented it to Voldemort on a silver platter. And I hate his happy eyes, from Halloween morning, when he helped me dress Harry his little deer costume.
Is it possible for those eyes to be only twenty four hours apart? Yes.
I hate Remus for not coming. The Maurauders had a plan for breaking out of Azkaban in three days. It's been a year.
I hate James. His body was still warm. I'll never forgive him for that.
I hate Harry, for being alive.
I hate Hagrid, for following Dumbledore's orders.
I hate Lily, for being too kind to 'burden' Dumbledore with their Secret.
I hate Dumbledore, for not forcing the issue.
I hate Fudge and his lime green bowler and his yearly prison inspections. I hate his Daily Prophet, and the crossword.
I hate Crouch and his self-righteous platitudes. His only son is three cells down, in the C block.
I hate my cousin Bellatrix, in the cell next to mine. We are imprisoned alphabetically. The family that plays together stays together. Well isn't that fantastic.
I hate the inmates of this hell. I hate them for their shouts, for their cries of agony, for the way they are not even quiet in their sleep.
I hate them because I want to be them; unashamed to scream, to weep, to call out for their mothers.
I want to be free.
Like them.