Parties were not my definition of fun, wearing an overzealous dress, to impress the masses, dancing around like a buffoon while getting drunk on wine and champagne, watching men and women torture muggles. I suppose that wouldn't be the definition of an ordinary party though, to the death eaters crawling down below me, however, this was more than pleasing. Their definition of fun relied on how much agony they could inflict on a person before they died, and even though the screams often echoed through the mansion, I took no pleasure in listening to them.
Every so often parties would be held in this mansion, the Slytherin name had a lot of baggage, and Tom being the bastard that he was, utilized that to his every advantage. Along with the pureblood bearing, we were known to be very wealthy, and I could not deny that Salazar had assured the coffers were full before his death. I never liked death eaters, and I never would, the same could go for my father, but when driven back into a corner, sometimes all one can do is surrender. After losing his wife and my mother to those bastards, I knew the thought of losing me too would break his heart. Yet there wasn't a single thing I could do. Well, that's not entirely true, I had tried to do something once, but my plan had a few loose screws, that's all I had to say.
I sighed, rereading the page I was stuck on for the millionth time, my mind couldn't think straight at the moment, it never could, not when I knew more than a dozen bloodthirsty killers were violating my house. It always put me on edge, and no matter how I tried to distract myself, my thoughts still wandered back to the past. I threw my book across the bed in frustration only to look up as the door creaked open slightly, Severus standing in the doorway holding a glass of wine in one hand. He raised a brow, his eyes trailing to the open book awkwardly resting on its side, more than a few pages probably bent.
"What?" I barked sending him a nasty glare. A scream echoed through the mansion's walls, and I thinned my lips averting my eyes. Sev took a step into my room shutting the door behind him as he recast the incantation and strode to the windowsill, peering out into the distance before glancing back towards me.
"Your father asked me to check up on you," he whispered his complexion growing solemn.
"He doesn't have to," I mumbled resting my head on the backboard staring at the man's chest. Even tonight, he was wearing his black robes, I had rarely seen him without them, except for that one night when my father had invited Severus for dinner. A very awkward experience that we all agreed never to speak of again. "What are they doing down there?" I asked clutching the edge of my dress.
"You're free to go have a look," he answered bringing the edge of the glass to his lips, but before he could take a sip, he stopped lowering the glass, taking a good look at the crimson liquid. "I would not recommend it."
"Did you partake?"
"Yes," he answered bluntly, the very sound of my question gnawing on his patience. He took a seat in one of the armchairs overlooking the balcony, and with the curtains drawn back, the moonlight beamed down on his pale face.
"Is that why you came here?" I asked sliding off the edge of my bed. It was rare for Severus to make an appearance, ever since our unfortunate accident, he made it one of his personal goals to interact with me at most once a month. I had a feeling tonight, was less about me, he looked weary, his eyes dozing in and out of reality as his hues darkened recalling memories of past days.
"Perhaps." He set the glass of wine of the table, and I strode over to the empty armchair across from his taking a seat, slipping one leg over the other. I slid the wineglass over to my side and firmly took hold of it lifting the glass to my lips. "I would not," he said dully, his eyes taking a quick peek at me. The smell of blood wafted through my nostrils, and I quickly pulled the glass away, setting it back on the coffee table, staring at it with mild disgust.
The room grew eerily silent, and I dipped my head, my curls cascading down the side of my face as I hid my troubled expression. "You could have said something sooner," I grumbled.
"I did," he said slowly, his silky voice laced with venom, and yet I could feel the bitterness was not directed at me. I looked back to the glass, my stomach aching from the thought alone, that was just disgusting. I tilted my head to the side, staring at Sev, his eyes fixated on the moon, until he averted his eyes, his gaze falling on me.
"You should go back," I said. "People will wonder where you've been." He nodded but did not attempt to get up. "Se-" The ground trembled, and I let out a small gasp, my nails digging into the armrest of the chair. I stood up quickly, as the ground shook once more, and using the back of the chair for support I drew my wand. Severus reciprocated my actions. The door to my bedroom flew off its hinges sliding along the length of the floor, but before Sev could raise his wand, I blasted the death eater sending him toppling back over the railing.
Striding towards the door, Sev dramatically flicked his wand through the air, killing the next death eater foolish enough to step into his line of sight. I followed after him quietly, making sure to stay at least a full meter behind him. Finally, he came to a stop and glanced back at me. "Go back to your room." I shook my head glaring at him defiantly, but when he pointed his wand at me, I did not expect him to fire a spell. Sadly, I was proven wrong as I was knocked back, sliding against the marble tiles. He did not just do that. I was wearing a dress too, so that was extremely rude of him. I grabbed onto the railing helping myself up to my feet, staring at where Sev last stood with a frown.
It would be foolish to attempt to follow him again, so I stomped back to my room throwing the balcony door wide open, stepping out into the crisp midnight air. I took a deep breath staring at the massive oak tree looming away from the balcony's railing. Backing into my bedroom I made a running start, pressing my palms against the handrail, I threw myself over the edge securing myself onto the closest branch. With a crack, I was sent tumbling down amongst the other branches and groaned managing to grab another one instead; thankfully this one hadn't broken. I landed rather sloppily and stared at the hem of my dress, small cuts and tears catching my attention. Damn it, I liked this dress, sure it was a plain short white dress, but it was comfortable.
I ran a hand through my hair trying to tame the loose curls that had been thrown around during the fall. It was already hard enough to take care of them as it was, why did the world have to make it even harder? I'm pretty sure I was cursed, I inherited silky hair from my parents, but somehow, my hair always seemed to curl on its own, whether or not I wished for it to do so, I tried straightening my hair once, and it did absolutely nothing, same for magical shampoo. I was snapped out of my idle thoughts as I felt the aftershock of an explosion, fire bursting out of the windows above.
"My room," I breathed. I had my sketchbook and violin in there. Those monsters! I hugged the wall, running along the side of the mansion, my breaths small and rapid. Before I could round the corner, however, another figure emerged, and I gasped slamming into the person. I caught myself on the wall and looked up letting out a small sigh. "Dad, what's going?"
He tossed his long black hair over his shoulders and sneered. Apparently, he wasn't going to tell me. "Where's Severus?" And there it was, the infamous counter question.
"I don't know," I hummed in slight annoyance taking a step back. His hands were bloody, and I stared at my father, tilting my head to the side.
"A mutiny has occurred," he stated simply, rubbing his knuckles together, the dry blood crisping before falling into the grass patches. I assumed he was the one to start the mutiny, and I assumed correctly when he shot me a knowing glare. "Assumptions will get you killed one day."
"It's not an assumption if it's true," I countered.
"But it was an assumption before it was proven true," he argued. I narrowed my eyes and him and huffed. There was no winning against him. I threw my hands up in the air, and he shot his finger in the direction of the forest. "Go."
"What, no! I am not leaving you here," I spat grabbing the sleeve of his tunic.
"Rynne," he scowled, his brows furrowing. His eyes softened, and he slid his hand down to my arm squeezing it gently. "I need to make sure my daughter is safe, can you do that for me?" Ugh, how was I supposed to say no when he was using that tone.
"What about Sev?" I asked quickly.
"No need to worry about him," he assured pushing me along. "He'll find you, now go," he commanded. I nodded slowly and ran towards the woods, dancing in and out of the trees' vision. Glancing over my shoulder, I spotted five death eaters following me. Running past a pale looking tree, I ripped off a red strip from the bark, taking a sharp right. Amongst the trees sat an old and abandoned well, I leaped over the edge gripping the rope with all my might, sliding down into the well, my hands burning against the cord. I landed with a small thud, the cold stone tiles chilling my feet. I should have slipped on some flats at the very least, guess I got caught up in the moment.
The well connected to an underground passageway leading approximately 2 kilometers away from the forest, into a small ditch surrounded by cornfields. However, hearing the voices above, I had a feeling they would quickly catch on to this not so secret passageway. I ran down the tunnel looking over my shoulder at every interval I could making sure not to trip on any cracks. I bit my bottom lip as the small stone pebbles dug into my flesh. Voices echoed through the tunnel, and I bit back a scowl, thankfully I glanced over my shoulder just in time to deflect an incoming spell. It hit the ceiling, and to my luck, the roof of the tunnel collapsed blocking off the death eaters.
Having watched enough horror movies, my legs did not stop, and then the blockade burst into pieces, a surge of fiery flames engulfed the tunnel. "Shit, shit, shit," I murmured, feeling the heat beat against my back. I closed my eyes concentrating and then with crackle apparated. I glanced up met by more trees and sighed leaning against the bark of a nearby tree, engraved with the initial T plus R. I shuddered and glanced around, through the canopy of the trees, the sky was a deep midnight blue, I would assume it to be the early hours of morning and sighed looking down at my wand. Today was my 22nd birthday, what a day to be alive.
A twig cracked in the distance, and I gasped ducking behind a tree when a flash of red light exploded against the tree I had dipped behind. I closed my eyes, bark flying in every direction, and mustering up my courage fled to the next tree, throwing a spell back at the death eater. How had he known I would have apparated here or was the death eater waiting for me all along. Questions flooded my mind, but first things first, I should probably kill the person trying to kill me. Yeah, probably a good idea me, good thinking. I dove from behind my cover aiming my wand at the thicket. "Bombarda Maxima!"
The trees weren't thick enough to block the impact, and the death eater was caught in the massive explosion, blasting the upper halves of the trees further back into the thicket. That may have been an overkill, but I wasn't staying to find out, that was for sure. I emerged from the edge of the woods, climbing the hill when I was met with hundreds of tents sloppily lined up, chatter filling my ears. In the distance, I spotted a stadium, and my jaw dropped slightly, tonight was the world cup, huh no joke. A lot of chanting went on for the winning team, Bulgaria, good for them. I walked with confident strides, my face indifferent as I observed my surroundings. I grabbed a cloak sitting on the back of a camping chair and took a sharp turn throwing it over my shoulders.
I pulled the hood over my head and made way for the stadium, knowing I would blend in better with at least a few dozen people swarming around me. Screams echoed in the distance, and I glanced over my shoulder eyeing the cloud of smoke rising from a tent not too far off. I sped up pushing past people and escalating the stairs leading up to the stadium. This was the quidditch world cup; I'm sure they have a broom or two just lying around somewhere. A man shoved me out of the way, and I groaned throwing my leg out. He tripped over my foot and gasped falling down the flight of stairs until he slammed onto the landing, his back hitting the baluster as he came to a full stop. I flourished my cloak and scoffed resuming my climb.
I may look cute and fluffy, but I won't deny I'm still a snake at heart, plus that man was rude, he pushed me for like no reason whatsoever. To be honest, I did not think the death eaters would make such an effort to come chasing after me all the way out here but taking a peek outside the stadium I grimaced at the sight of the dark mark looming above the campgrounds. A hand landed on my shoulder, and I gasped, whipping around, my wand at the ready. Before I could even utter a spell, Sev had my wrist pinned to the wall and a hand over my mouth.
"Don't sneak up on me," I spat, leaning forward to bite his hand. He quickly pulled away, wiping his hand against the side of his cloak, his eyes darkening as he looked down at me.
"Don't try to hex me," he spat back. Well, he was the one who snuck up on me, what was I supposed to do if it had ended up not being him, stand there like an idiot? I didn't bother arguing because it wouldn't get us anywhere and once he let go of my wrist, and I lowered my hand, I reached behind my neck and unhooked the locket, holding it out to Sev. No words were shared as he hastily took hold of the locket storing it within his robes.
"Let's go," he grunted taking the lead.
"Wait, I was gonna make a spectacular escape using a broom," I whined.
"And get shot out of the sky, brilliant plan," he hummed sarcastically, grabbing my arm roughly and pulling me to his side. The floor trembled, the aftershock of yet another explosion, and I thinned my lips as the crowd began to panic, rushing towards the stairwell. Sev quickly turned around and led me the other away, he stood in front of me, shoving people aside. The cons of moving against traffic. We took a different staircase, one completely barren.
"I'm pretty sure people avoided this stairwell for a reason," I whispered tugging at Sev's sleeve. He ignored me and tugged back, forcing me to take a few steps down the stairs. His eyes landed on my feet, and he rose a questioning brow.
"You have no shoes..." he trailed off, his voice laced with annoyance.
"Blame yourself," I grumbled.
"You little-" A flash of white light illuminated the stairwell, and Sev let go of my arm shoving me aside as the spell collided with his chest. He was jerked away with momentum, and tumbled down the stairwell, his body lying on the ground motionless. I gasped taking a step down the flight of stairs, but a man cleared his throat, and I let out a shaky breath, turning around to be met with the man's masked face. His panicked body gestures told me that he had not meant to hit the Dark Lord's favorite potion's master.
With his wand pointed towards me, the death eater rushed down the flight of stairs inspecting Sev's body, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. So he was just unconscious, okay, it would make this a lot easier. "You, up against the railing," he ordered. I let out a small puff of air and rose my wand, aiming it at him. To my surprise, the man then pointed his wand at Sev, and I frowned. What was he playing at?
"Jump, or he gets it." Did everyone assume I was just head over heels for the man?
"That's ridiculous," I scoffed. "You wouldn't have the balls," I chuckled. Every death eater knew Severus, and the fact that he hadn't killed Sev yet, meant that he had nothing to do with this mutiny, so I had my father to thank for that at least. His position, for the time being, was secured. Except for this man, if he got away and told Tom that Sev was with me, his position would undoubtedly be compromised. The man was on edge, and I let out a small chuckle disarming him. I was disarmed in turn and looked up, shit there were two of them. I didn't even hear the other one.
"The Dark Lord wants her alive," the death eater above spoke. I backed up against the railing, and they both moved in on me, seeking to prevent me from doing anything foolish. I dodged at the last minute as one of the death eaters tried to grab me, I spun around him, taking hold of his shirt helping him over the railing. With only one death eater left, I pretended to lose my footing and tumbled down the flight of stairs covering my head, my body hit Sev's, and I groaned reaching into his robes pulling out his wand. I whipped around quickly disarming the remaining death eater and shrugged as I blasted him off the stairwell, a loud scream echoing as he plummeted to his death. The previous death eater had managed to catch himself on the railing down below and climbed back up the stairs with burning rage in his eyes. I didn't think twice before executing him and then lowered my wand slowly.
I sighed running a hand through my hair and scoffed hitting Sev's back gently. "Making me do all the work," I mumbled rolling him over. I left his side retrieving my wand as I patched up the cut on his forehead, wiping the blood away with my bare hand. "Please wake up," I whispered shaking him gently. "I really don't want to carry you, and I can barely lift fifty pounds, don't do this to me," I groaned shaking him harder. I didn't receive a single tic of movement and sighed dragging Sev against the railing, bringing him to a sitting position. I grabbed his hand, throwing his arm over my shoulder, and after what seemed like an eternity, I wrapped my hand around his waist, hoisting him up to his feet, his full weight resting against my body.
"Fuck you're heavy," I panted taking one step at a time, making sure to readjust his weight every few steps so I wouldn't lose my balance. This was definitely not ideal, I didn't want to lift his body, however, if another death eater joined the party, I would first have to drop the spell, and by that time, it could already be too late. Emerging from the stadium, I coughed due to the smoky air, a thin layer of ash settling above us. I looked around unsure where to go, the fire had spread everywhere and screams echoed in every direction. I decided to head north, or at least what I thought was north, and just stick with it.
"Now would be a good time to wake up," I huffed. After dragging his ass for a solid ten minutes, I felt like jello, I tripped on a plank of wood, and my legs gave out. I slammed against the ground relieved for a slight second as fresh air cycled through my lungs. I didn't have much time to enjoy it as a death eater loomed over me, and I grimaced, reaching for my wand just a few inches away. I let out a sharp cry of pain as the man stepped on my hand, his heel twisting back and forth against my flesh.
"Crucio," he spoke lazily. I bit back a scream and squirmed shutting my eyes, my body twitching against my will. I gasped as another wave of pain shot through me, earning a small whimper, my nails digging into the dirt. "The Dark Lord will be pleased," the man nodded to himself. On the third wave I let out a sharp gasp of pain, and finally screamed feeling a thousand needles piercing my flesh all at once. The man took a step back, my wand twirling between his fingers, I hadn't even seen him retrieve it.
"No rule said I could not have my fun before delivering you," he smiled sadistically, sheathing his wand. "And seeing as that poor slob failed to stop you, I shall take responsibility." He thought I did this to Severus, I parted my lips but quickly closed them. Severus would have whipped my ass in a split second had we actually dueled. I glanced back at his limp body and sighed, I was about to reach my limit, but the man looked intent on dragging this out, so I obliged rising to my feet.
"Come at me," he barked beckoning me forward. Oh, what the hell, that was totally unfair, he was a fucking giant compared to me, even if I did land a punch, I doubt it would do very much. Even so, I wasn't in a position to defy, so I charged at the man, hitting his chest as hard as I could, his face a bit too high for me to reach. He didn't flinch, and I took a step back fear washing over me. He set a hand on my shoulder pulling me forward, his fist digging into my stomach. I gagged, unable to find the will to breathe, I dropped to my knees and gasped for air, clutching onto my stomach tightly. I didn't get time to rest as the man's foot connected with my jaw, sending me back into the dry grass. I rolled to my side coughing, blood oozing out of my nose.
"Sectumsempra!" I glanced up looking at Sev, his face consumed by fury, good about time he got up. I dragged myself up to my knees, leaning forward on my hands, watching droplets of blood dripping from the tip of my nose. I wiped the blood away holding my nose groaning in pain. My whole body ached, and I stared at the pair of black combat boots before me. "Can you stand?" I nodded slowly and with his help rose to my feet, even though I said yes, my legs gave out, and my head hit his chest. I closed my eyes, my senses drowning into nothingness, and then darkness washed over me.
And that's chapter one, I hope you enjoyed!