Disclaimer: I own nothing but Snow!!!!!
Chapter 20: Hell
It was daylight now. The sun was burning high in the sky, heating the cold wind that tore through Snow's hair. She blinked as she looked over the familiar yard. The grass, now overgrown, was wet with dew. Nothing looked the same.
The windows in the old house were shattered from kids throwing rocks through them. There were spiderwebs in the corners of the porch, and the swing had been broken in two, laying on the floor.
Snow felt a chill spread through her body, but she kept walking up the path.
The door was closed and locked when she approached it. Taking a step back, Snow slammed her foot into the door and it burst open. The impact echoed through the dark, empty house. Dust and cobwebs were the only thing she could see.
However, as Snow took a step into the house, she caught sight of the hallway. There pictures lining the walls of herself. Baby pictures clashed with pictures of a teen-age girl with long black hair.
She traced her fingers over the glass surface and the dust was cleared away. There were no pictures of her parents.
As she continued down the hallway, she poked her head in random doorways, remembering exactly the way they were. She could see her parents sitting in the living room, reading, talking, being happy. Snow remembered the exact day they moved in. She knew the day she started school, and the day her father told her of a great power.
He told her she would become powerful too. He was porbably dead by now. What a great power...
Snow rolled her eyes and walked out the back door to see the lake. It was green and the banks were over grown with weeds.
"Still feels like that day. Wish it was..." Snow walked down the slope of the hill, feeling an odd tingling sensation in her chest. She was being watched. Her lips curled into a sneer. She wasn't planning on doing this now. But, if Lucius wanted it to be this way, then she couldn't argue.
Snow turned on her heel just in time to see the wicked, pale face of Lucius Malfoy. "Hello, love." Just as he spoke, he raised his hand and slammed the back of it across her face. Snow fell to the wet ground a moment later, unconcious.
Snow sat up and looked around her surroundings. She was in her old house. The sun was high in the sky now and the clock on the wall in front of her struck four times. Her eyes blurred for a second until her vision cleared. The room was dim.
Snow tried to reach up and wipe the hair from her eyes, but her wrist was caught halfway by a chain wrapped around her thin arm. In disbelief, she tugged a few times with both arms and sat up straight. Her legs sprawled before her were also chained down.
With a ragged breath, Snow looked all around her. She was in her parents bedroom.
But where was Lucius?
As long as he wasn't here, Snow decided that she would try to get help the only way she could. "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!"
Her throat ached to scream, but she continued until she had no more energy. Only ten minutes had passed since she woke up. More than half of that time was spent screaming. "PLEASE!"
"Of course no one can here me. I'm in the middle of no where, with a lunatic...and away from the one place I was safe. Why do I always screw up?" She lifted her leg as high as it would go and kicked the bed post. With a moan and a creak, the bed gave way and the mattress collapsed to the ground. Dust flew up in a cloud around the girl and she sneezed in return.
But, the mattress had broken the bed railing, snapping them in to. Snow sat up and lifted her lips in a smile. The chains slipped off the bed railing easily and she was able to reach her legs. These were harder to free. The chains were cutting into her flesh and with each twist she moved them, they were wounded further. Finally, by taking off her shoes and allowing the metal to cut into her ankle, she was freed.
The chains at her wrist dangled on the ground as she put her shoes on. She still didn't have the key to the cuffs, but she now had her wand, which had been laying on the ground near the closet. "Alohomora!" She spoke, but the cuffs merely ratteled and stayed put. "Damnit." Snow slipped her wand in her back pocket and poked her head out of the doorway.
There was no one there. The house was quiet. With every step Snow took toward the door, a loose floorboard would creak angrily and echo in the hallways.
Each time, she would squeeze her eyes shut and listen for any movement. None answered back to her, and she continued out the door.
Once she was on the porch, Snow let out a sigh of relief. However, it was too quick. From beside her, Lucius was waiting, a sneer on his face. "Did you actually think it would be that easy?"
Snow jumped with a gasp, but quickly regained her sense. "Yes, I did. I don't expect much from someone like you."
"And I wouldn't expect you to." She narrowed her eyes and took a step back, wincing as the pain in her ankles increased. "You were unconscious for almost two days. It was so hard to wait for you to wake up..." His words sent a flicker of hate to erupt in her belly. Of all the low things he could sink to, he decided to rape her in her sleep?
Snow reached behind her and wipped out her wand. "I hate you. Do you think I'm going to think any more of you after all of this? You killed my MOTHER! You nearly killed me! You're so disgusting that Satan himself gets the basis of his ideas from YOU!" Lucius reached up and clutched the ears on either side of his head. He shook his head violently and whispered for her to shut up.
"NO, I won't shut up!"
"SHUT UP!" He shouted, bounding toward her with his arms outstretched. Snow widened her eyes and turned to run. She held the chains along with her wand, in her hands tightly and bounded down the hill to the lake. If she could make it across, she could hide in the woods on the other side. She could never lose him at this rate.
"You can't hide from me, my love!" Lucius yelled, maniacally as he chased her. Snow didn't glance back for one second. She raced toward the one place she could remember most. A small section of the land stretched out past the water, high enough to dive off of. But, with all the weeds and straw, it was difficult for her to find it.
With a deep breath, Snow picked a spot, ran to the ledge and dove off. The impact from hitting the water made her gasp. She sucked in a mouthful of water as a result. Her lungs ached but she swam to the surface as hard as she could and once she was there, Snow made no attempt to glance back to see if Lucius followed.
A second splash behind her answered her questioning mind. She coughed violently and kicked her way through the freezing water. While her mind told her to run, a second opinion demanded that she stayed to fight. She knew she could kill him; every fiber of her existance was based on his death as of now. But she couldn't face him knowing there was a 50/50 chance that he'd kill her instead.
However, before she could come to a decision, a hand wrapped around her ankle from behind. Snow screamed as she was drug under water.
Her foot kicked the hand away and in a matter of seconds, the girl was back at the surface, fighting her way toward the shore. It was only a matter of 20 feet that came between her and drowning.
Her arms were aching and weak. Her swimming slowed and she could hear Lucius gaining on her. Snow looked up at the shore as her eyelids slid half-way shut. Standing on the sand was Remus. He was just standing there, watching her as she fought for her life.
No. He was her life and that was why she was trying to get there. She would be safe once there, she was always safe as long as Remus held her.
With a deep breath, Snow picked her arms up and she swam faster, kicking harder and pushing herself further. Remus still stood on the shore, but was now holding on hand out to her. She was so close, only a foot away. And then she took his hand and he helped her onto the shore. Her soaked shoes gathered sand and Snow turned to stretch her wand toward the advancing Lucius.
As he trudged up the shallow water, Snow could hear him take in each loud, gasping breath. Her own matched his and for nearly five minutes, they stood ten feet apart in the same position. Then, with a sigh, Lucius raised his arms up in defeat.
"You've won this battle."
"What battle?..." Snow took a deep breath and shook away the black that wanted to consume her mind. "This is the end."
"You won't kill me."
"Oh? What makes you so sure?"
Lucius snickered and turned around where his back was to the girl now. "Turn around." She demanded through clenched teeth.
"Are you willing to find me?" Without waiting for an answer, Lucius dove into the water, causing the water to become rippled with waves. Snow gasped for a breath, it ached her lungs that were nearly filled with water. Tears stung her eyes and she collapsed on her knees in the sand. Her wand was still held tightly in her fingers, waiting for him to surface.
Nothing came. Not even his dead, drowned body came floating to the surface. Snow knew he wouldn't let himself die so easily.
AN- How's that chapter? Sorry for the lack of updates. If you're wondering where I'm going...stay tuned for the next chapters...The end is near! whipes sweat off foreheadThank you for your enthusiasm toward this story!!! Thanks to all my reviews!