The orange sun rose over the roof-tops of the shabby, dirty houses. A bird in a nearby tree sang an uncharacteristically mournful song. It bespoke sorrow and anguish, pain and rage. A chilly wind whistled through the cracks of the dingy, rundown house of Eileen and Tobias Snape.
Eileen stretched carefully to avoid waking her husband. She lay still for a few moments listening to the wind crying it's bittersweet lament throughout the house. Their nesting place, their bed, was sparsely covered. A single, thread-bare comforter offered little warmth during the current fall weather.
Rolling over gently, the dark-haired wife contentedly watched her husband. Six months of wedded bliss. Not one argument or menacing glare. In the back of her mind, Eileen knew that this would never last. She mentally shoved those horrid thoughts away and turned her gaze to Tobias. She admired the lines of his body, so apparent under the comforter. Tobias Snape looked every inch a god. Dark hair and eyes, a chisled face, and a tall, slim body. He appeared...perfect.
As desirous thoughts sailed through Eileen's mind, a wave of nausea hit her. It felt like a ton of bricks were pressing her stomach upward through her throat. Forgetting about not waking Tobias up, Eileen jumped off the bed and raced into the bathroom. The closest object in the bathroom was the tub. That was where Eileen rid herself of last night's meal.
Three days this has been going on. I couldn't be? I...I must be...pregnant. Womanly instinicts told her that she had to be with child. It was the only explanation. Heavy footsteps interrupted Eileen and her thoughts. She turned the tap and rinsed away the evidence of her pregnacy. Crawling to the sink, the young woman hauled herself up, grabbed a toothbrush and toothpaste, beginning her morning ritual.
Tobias stepped into the bathroom. His hair was tousled and a frown marred his face. Saying nothing, he proceeded to use to loo. "When will breakfast be ready?" The voice that issued from Tobias's scowling mouth was deep like the pits of Hell.
"In about ten minutes, love," Eileen smiled forcefully; she was still a mite queasy.
Tobias grunted incoherently and stumbled out of the room, using the rotting doorframe for support. Eileen surveyed her surroundings. The mirror above the sink was cracked down the middle, distorting her features. The sink and tub were rusting badly. Rotting floorboards groaned and creaked beneath her feet.
I'm going to have to tell my husband that I'm having his baby. And that I'm a witch and the baby will have magical capabilities. Oh, dear.
The young woman shook her head and hurried into the kitchen. Bustling around, it was soon alive with the smells of bacon, eggs, and toast. Serving Tobias and herself, Eileen sat down. The still-sleepy man devoured his food while Eileen ate a piece of dry toast.
"Why aren't you eating?" Tobias grumbled.
Eileen Snape knew that it was now or never. Half of her was elated to be bringing a new life into the world. Yet, the other half worried about Tobias and his reaction...to it all. As her husband looked at her, Eileen was wringing her hands underneath the table.
"I've got to tell you something, Tobias..." Eileen hesitated.
"Well, what is it, Eileen?" The man asked.
Eileen drew a breath and said, "I'm pregnant."
Tobias glanced at her for a moment. Then he spoke, "You are?"
Eileen nodded, if not a little fearfully.
"That's...WONDERFUL!"
Leaping up, Tobias ran around the table, picked Eileen up, and swung her around. It made the mother-to-be nauseous, but she held it back. He began to rain kisses down all over her face.
After his tender assault, Eileen was set gently on the floor. Tobias reached out tentatively and placed both hands on Eileen's stomach. "How far?"
"I'm not sure, Tobias," Eileen breathed. She had expected him to be hesitant. A baby meant money, something they were currently out of. I want this bliss to last forever. His hands on my stomach, his eyes looking at me with such...love? Was it love? Or just adoration? Or happiness that he was to be a father? Tell him.
Eileen glanced up into Tobias's dark eyes. The woman hoped and prayed that he would understand her and except her. "Love, I have something else to tell you. Stay there, I'll be right back."
Eileen rushed into their bedroom and retrieved her wand out of a lose floorboard. When she returned to the kitchen, Tobias was, surprisingly, waiting patiently for his little wife.
"I'm a witch," said Eileen without preamble.
In that instant, time seemed to stand still. A cloud blocked the sun, causing the kitchen to grow dark and ominous. A gust of wind emerging through one of the wall's cracks whipped Eileen's hair around her face. Tobias's chest was rising and falling rapidly. It was as if he had come out of a trance. Tobias narrowed his eyes and choked out, "Prove it."
Pausing slightly, the young wife pointed her wand at the kitchen table. Oh Merlin, help me. The table magically turned into a vase full of orange roses. Eileen's mind was racing. She tried so hard to convince herself that Tobias would understand, her husband would still love her. Doubts turned into dread, dread turned into fear. Should I fear him?
Tobias sneered at Eileen, "Witches don't turn tables into roses. It's all an allusion. You are not witch."
Growing more nervous by the minute, Eileen debated laughing the whole thing off and continuing her lying. But, she knew this could not be. Tobias had to know. "I AM a witch, dear. You must believe me. And this baby, will be a witch or wizard. Please understand." Eileen flicked her wand at the stove behind her and it turned on. Eileen could see the emotions raging within Tobias. Much anger, a little fear, and a lot of...hatred.
Conflicting emotions with Eileen caused her to tremble with fear. She had never seen her husband angry and something inside her said, "He's angry. He hates you." Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut.
The little wife had the urge to touch her husband, to know if he hated her. She had to know. Warily, Eileen stepped closer to Tobias. "Don't touch me, you demon bitch! " Tobias roared.
I believe our wedded bliss just ended.
Advancing toward his wife, the angry father-to-be knocked the wand out of Eileen's hand, sending it skittering to the other side of the room. Eileen scurried backward, trying to get away from her enraged husband. He kept advancing at her until Eileen was halted by the stove. He towered over the frightened mother, eyes glowing with the wrath of Voldemort himself. Eileen lost her balance in the process of unsuccessfully evading Tobias.
Eileen reacher her hand back to steady herself. A yelp of pain escaped her lips. Tobias smirked evilly, "Demon scum should burn."
He snatched Eileen's arm and shoved her already burnt hand back onto the stove. Eileen could feel the skin on her hand slowly melting. It sizzled and cracked, the smell wafting into the air. The smell of sweat and skin and perhaps, fear.
Eileen Snape's screams of agony ripped through the air like shockwaves. She suddenly swung her other hand at Tobias and nailed him in the face. He reeled and landed on the table. Taking her hand off of the stove, Eileen watched as her flesh pulled away from the bones and finished melting on the...torture device.
Tears rolled down her chin and dropped onto her upturned wand hand. It was still unbearably hot; the tears caused steam to rise up upon contact.
A menacing laugh issued from the other side of the room. This pissed Eileen off. Never before had he acted like this or treated her this way. She wasn't about to put up with it. He endangered my child, the bastard.
The young woman flew at her husband punching, kicking, and biting. Tobias gave a cry of fury and began his assault. This time, it wasn't kisses.
The pain throbbed and ached, sending pulses of pain to every inch of her body. Each hit got heavier and more violent. Hell would have been a safer place. Tobias had turned into a raging bull, bent on killing, on making her suffer.
The beating lasted for many more minutes. Eileen couldn't defend herself against her much stronger mate. Without the wand that lay in the corner, she was virtually defenseless.
After poor Eileen had sank to the floor, Tobias stopped and stormed out of the house. But, not before sending curses and insults at his wife. Minutes passed though it seemed like days in which Eileen lay on the floor in anguish. Cuts and bruises covered her arms, face, neck, chest, and back. Blood darkened her clothes, the floor. A great amount was splattered across the cabinets and stove. The smell of sizzled skin was more prominent than before.
Why? He just...mutated into a fiendish monster. Wailing in anguish, Eileen racked her brain for the slightest indication that Tobias could have done something so...harrowing to her. A fleer covered the tortured young woman's face as she recalled her once-happy existence. It had only been hours before and now she was left to wallow in bereavement.
The cuts and bruises would heal, but the emotional injuries would remain eternally implanted into Eileen's heart. Sobbing, Eileen crawled painfully and slowly to the kitchen window. She gazed through her blackened eyes at the outside world. The bird from earlier continued to sing it's lamentable song. I wonder if that bird knows what exactly it is singing about. For the rest of the morning, Eileen ignored her pain and anguish, and listened to the unwanted tribute to her life's melting point.