"But daddy! Bella has a kitty!" the little girl whined. Her dirty blond hair shimmered in the light, a sharp contrast from her sharp blue eyes.

The man in front of the girl, towering over her with his dark eyes and white hair. "Verity, what the Blacks give their daughters is none of my concern. And you can be sure that if Bellatrix has a kitten, she won't for much longer."

Verity frowned and pouted, her pink lips pursing and trembling. "But daddy!" she whined again. "I want one."

"No Verity."

"I want one," she whined again. "I want one, I want one, I want one! I. Want One!"

With that, Verity threw herself on the ground and began to shriek, flailing about and letting her tiny doll-like limbs smack against the hard floor. Her father sighed and picked her up, cradling her in his arms.

"Alright Verity. I will get you a cat. What colour?"

The little girl smiled, her pearly white teeth gleaming. "Pink!"

"Verity, get out of the bathroom," a harsh voice rang from behind the door.

Verity rolled her shining blue eyes and went back to applying her lip gloss. Perfect, she thought, capping the gloss and placing it back in her makeup drawer. Locking it so that the idiots she called dorm mates couldn't steal from her stash, she took one last look in the mirror and smiled. Her blue eyes were lined masterfully and her lashes were superb.

As long as the list of people I despise, and as black as my soul, Verity thought, smirking. Her lips were a shiny pink and the blush on her cheeks gave her a flushed appearance. Flicking her blond mane over her shoulder, Verity twisted the door knob and opened the bathroom door, sneering at the girl standing there.

"I'm sorry, Patty," she said sweetly, staring at the girl in front of her with disgust, "but some girls don't like to look like trolls on a daily basis."

Patty growled, clenching her jaw and grinding her teeth. "Well it certainly takes you a long time to make yourself look presentable."

"Oh, Patty," Verity said condescendingly. "You can't rush the enhancement of perfection. And I am perfect."

With a small smirk at the dark haired girl in front of her, Verity flicked her hair over her shoulder again, prancing away.

Boys were staring as she walked down the corridor. Her skirt barely covered her arse and the too-tight blouse she had on gave everyone a very good view of her ample cleavage. Verity's kitten heels clacked as she sashayed down the corridor, her book bag bouncing off the hip of her newest boy toy, Rabastan. No, Verity certainly didn't carry her own things. But the image was gorgeous enough to send those boys into a panicked frenzy, one even loudly complaining about the amount of cold showers he had already had that week.

Even some of the girls looked pleasantly impressed, though most just seemed envious. Verity continued her walk down the corridor, enjoying the attention as she turned into the Great Hall. Making her way to the Slytherin table, Verity groaned as she saw her brother glare at her. The prick's going to chew me out, isn't her? she groaned inwardly. Sure enough, as she neared the other Slytherins, the boy grabbed her arm and forced her to sit down.

"What the bloody hell, Verity?" he hissed, not even bothering to contain his fury. "It's already bad enough that your reputation makes the rest of the Malfoys look less than admirable, but now you're shacking up with Rabastan Lestrange?"

Verity shrugged and popped a small piece of lettuce in her mouth. "I'm not hooking up with the dweeb," she said quietly, glancing over her shoulder to see Rabastan still standing close with her book bag like the little puppy he was. "I'm just having a little fun. He's not bad to look at and he's loaded." She paused for a moment before her face broke out into a devilish smile. "Do you think he's hung?"

Her brother looked at her with disgust. "Merlin's beard, Verity. I don't even like rumours about you saying stuff like that. Could you refrain from asking me such disturbing questions?"

"Fine," Verity said, shrugging. "But I don't want to hear anything more from you, Lucius. What, or whom, I do, is none of your concern."

Lucius's face, which was calm and collected before, flushed and his eyes sparked dangerously. "The Dark Lord won't like this, Verity," he said darkly. "You were made to marry Crouch before you messed that up."

Verity rolled her eyes. "Honestly I'm glad that's over. He had a small pecker."

"Merlin, Verity. Shut it, would you? I'd really rather not go into detail of my sister's personal sex life."

Verity shrugged. "Fine, then don't ask me about it again."

"I won't. But just remember that father wants you married within a month of graduation. Solidifying ties with another high class family could not only get you in the Dark Lord's good books, but the entire family." Lucius paused long enough to glare at Rabastan over Verity's shoulder. "The Lestranges aren't that high up on the Dark Lord's list of cronies. Why don't you see if Rosier's free next weekend. Maybe then you can get your claws in him."

Verity sighed and stood up, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "Been there, done that," she said, her eyelids drooping gracefully to cover most of brilliant blue eyes. "I'm going to try Rabastan, since you obviously disapprove."

Much to her content, Lucius did disapprove and ground his teeth together. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he said dangerously before Verity walked off, Rabastan in tow.

I sat up straight, gasping for breath. The images swam before me, clearer than day. A girl, named Verity. A boy, named… Lucius? And another named… Rabastan. I swung my legs over the side of the cot I was lying on and leaned forward, putting my head down and grasping my face with my palms, my elbows digging into my thighs.

"The anti-hallucinations still aren't working, I see," a cold voice infiltrated the harsh silence around me and I snapped my head up to see Doctor Lionel outside the cell door. "Are any of the pills affecting you?" he asked, scribbling something down on his clipboard.

I shook my head slowly. "None. Well… I constantly feel drowsy, but nothing else."

The doctor nodded. "Very well. I will see you soon."

With that he left and silence returned. I looked around my white prison, flashes of the hallucinations dancing about my vision once and a while. It had been five years since I first heard that voice. Verity's voice. Two since I first saw her face. And even though my Doctor Lionel and his associates tried their best to convince me she wasn't real, there was something about her…

I sighed and lay back down on the cot, grabbing the blanket that lay forgotten by my feet and wrapping it around myself, though I knew the thin material would do nothing against the shivers. Those came from inside me. As I closed my eyes and attempted to go back to sleep, a feeling of guilt gnawed at my heart.

I had promised Mum and Kennedy that I was going to try and be better. That I would be out of this Institute soon. But as I closed my hand around the pills underneath my pillow, I knew that I had failed miserably at that. Yet I knew it was what I had to do. My hallucinations weren't just hallucinations, and I was going to prove it.