"The Tale of a Broken Man"
By: PsychoHaired
Disclaimer: Blame J.K…
A/N- Finally spring break… yeah right! Listen, sorry for the lack of updates recently. I have about 10 school days left until finals and the teachers just hit us with a bunch of projects and homework… it's been awful. I only have one day left of spring break and I FINALLY have time to write this down. I never even went to the beach; I was so busy doing the stupid projects! My teachers don't have a soul… Nevertheless… I refuse to abandon this fic and I WILL finish it! Due to my situation right now, I find that weekly updates will be quite impossible but I will try to get a chapter in less than three weeks all right? Also, I hope that when summer gets here I can have more free time and hopefully finish this. So, here's the newest chapter and although it is short, I still hope that you all enjoy it :)
Chapter 21:
Severus walked slowly towards Hogwarts Castle, sopping wet, shivering from the cold and white as a ghost. The letter was clutched between his long, trembling pale fingers as he slowly made his way through the main entrance. Many students looked at him oddly as he passed, tracking mud and water behind him. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, was yelling somewhere to his right, but Severus didn't seem to notice, nor care. Thunder clapped somewhere off in the distance as he climbed down the stairs that lead to the Slytherin Common Room. He felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and turned around.
"Severus, I am so sorry about your mother" Professor Slughorn muttered grimly. "I've just spoken to your foster parents" he paused and breathed heavily. "Eileen was an excellent student… I was very fond of her"
Severus looked at him.
"I wish to pay her my last respects"
He nodded and continued on his way, trembling, numb.
-o-
Noon approached slowly as Severus sat on the edge of his four-poster, he had not slept that night, he had not cried, the moment he'd finished reading that letter, a vast hollowness had set within him…
His roommates knew, they shot him pitying looks and never spoke a word to him. Regulus had shown up sometime around twilight and sat with him in silence for hours until the sun had come up, just as silently as he'd come in, he disappeared.
Severus looked at the clock; it was time. He pulled out the letter from his coat pocket and waited. A few moments later he felt a jerk from behind his navel and felt himself spinning into the void, a blur of colours speeding by.
He landed flat on his back a few minutes later in a desolate and cold place. He got up slowly, looking around.
"Severus" a familiar voice whispered.
He turned around and came face to face with a very big-bellied Janice.
"It's alright" she whispered, "It's ok…" she coddled him.
Severus trembled.
"Come on, the ceremony will begin shortly" Janice led him with her hand on his shoulder to a small congregation of people. Some familiar, others complete strangers to him.
The sky was overcast; a low rumbling could be heard in the distance. Severus approached the casket; it was deep mahogany, closed. He shuddered involuntarily as he placed a cold hand on the smooth surface. 'Why'd you give up mum?', he thought 'Why'd you leave me alone?'. His hands shook as he walked back with Janice.
Severus felt a hand on his shoulder once more; he looked up to meet the gaze of Headmaster Dumbledore. He stared into his deep azure eyes in desperation 'I should be dead, not her' 'She gave you a chance!' Severus looked at him in confusion… Dumbledore stared back in an odd sort of peace. He breathed in deeply, shakily and looked away. A short bald priest began to give the eulogy as Severus listened half-heartedly; lost in a train of thought.
He thought about when he was younger; when neither he nor his father knew what he really was, they all lived happily. He remembered when his mother told him he was different, how his father began to drink heavily after that. He remembered how drunk he'd used to get, how he'd beat up his mother. He remembered wondering why she didn't fight back. He remembered defending her and getting beat up for it. He remembered living with his grandparents for a few years until they died of old age. He remembered how terrified he would be whenever his mum screamed. He remembered the night one of them committed murder, when the judge gave his sentence, when he said goodbye. He saw the casket being lowered into the ground; he saw the dirt filling up the grave, he saw with blurry vision, his throat burning, warm tears threatening to pour out… He said goodbye in a drowned whisper, he said goodbye one last time…
To Be Continued...
A/N- Again sorry for lateness AND shortness... hope you still liked it? Please Review