Prolog: Shadows
Disclaimer: None of the Harry Potter elements or characters belong to me. Chances are there will be a few other things that don't belong to me. Everything else does. Thanks!
The crackling old brick fireplace casts shadows around the small room, allowing the young man who was chained to the bed to study his surroundings. The walls were a dark maroon color, clashing painfully with the filthy, bright green carpet. A tattered, light blue armchair sat in the corner, and a dirty apricot-colored dresser was pushed against the opposite wall. An old, broken mirror hung on the wall above his head. He was lying on a bumpy, uncomfortable bed, his hands tied to either side of the head board, which seemed to be made of some sort of dark wood. His smooth, bare chest had a strange dark bruise between his ribs. He couldn't remember taking his robes off, but he silently thanked Merlin that he was only half nude. Whoever had left him like this had left his pants securely fastened. His socks and shoes, however, were also missing, and he had a splitting headache. His shoulder length black hair clung to his sweaty forehead. The room was humid and stifling. He pulls at his wrists and pushes against the bed with his bare feet, trying to get up. Panic rises in his chest as the ropes refuse to budge.
"Hello?" he croaks out, his voice low and rough. "Is someone there?"
He jerks harder at the ropes, squirming now, trying to find a weak spot. Where the bloody hell was his wand?
"That won't do you any good. The ropes are magically binding." A soft female voice informs him as she enters the room. The woman's long, straight auburn hair fell gracefully around her shoulders, making her bright green eyes stand out and complimenting the sharp lines of her face. Cordelia had always been more elegant that her, and suddenly he missed her with a passion.
"Lily?" he breathes in confusion, yanking at the ropes one last time.
"Hello, Severus." She smiles, tossing his wand and clothes onto the chair before sitting down at the foot of the bed.