DISCLAIMER: All the characters you see here that are in any of the Harry Potter books belong to JK Rowling and I am not her. I am simply taking them out to play.
Author's Note: Here's chapter 27, hope you enjoy! Please let me know what you think by submitting a review!
Chapter 27: The End of Her World
It was the last day before going back to Hogwarts. The bright January sun was dancing across the hard wood floor of the rather large bed room delightfully. Mallory awoke with a peaceful feeling. She sighed contentedly and then smiled. She'd be going home the next day. Yes. After spending time with her family for the previous two weeks she could hardly wait to get back to Hogwarts, where she truly felt at home. She climbed out of bed and, after throwing on her bath robe and slippers, she sleepily walked down to the kitchen. For the first time she could ever remember her father looked up from his paper as she entered. He threw her a nasty smirk and there was a devious glint in his eyes. She knew he was still angry with her. He hadn't looked at her in the two days since she'd returned from St. Mungo's; not that he generally looked at her anyway.
She frowned at the look on his face without realizing it.
"This should get that look off your face," he grunted before folding the paper and tossing it at her. She caught it deftly but did not look down. This was an incredibly odd action and she wondered for a moment if the man before her really was her father.
He stood from the table and walked out of the kitchen without another glance in her direction. An ominous feeling filled Mallory to the very core of her being and she felt herself shudder.
She looked down very slowly at the paper in her hands. Her eyes widened in shock as she read the headline then stared at the picture before her.
"No," she whispered. Her heart rate quickened and her vision swam with tears. "No," she repeated shaking her head and pulling her hand to her mouth as tears began cascading down her cheeks.
There was a strange sensation in her stomach and she barely made it to the rubbish bin before retching. The Daily Prophet lay on the floor by her feet. There on the front page was a picture of a very familiar house. A house Mallory had been to over the Christmas Break -a house that she used to spend all of her time at as a child. And there above the house was what looked like a green cloud. But it wasn't a regular cloud. It was a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth – "the Dark Mark" as some had taken to calling it.
The headline was replaying in Mallory's mind. "Two more ministry workers found dead in their home."
It was the Hart house captured in the picture and they were dead.
After the contents of her stomach were emptied Mallory collapsed on the floor in heap and began sobbing. He was dead. How could he be dead? She had just seen him four days before. He couldn't be dead. But there was no mistaking that house. It was his house – right?
She grabbed the paper and began reading – tears pouring down her cheeks – she had to know.
"Father and son, Ministry workers Phillip Leroy Hart and Eagar Leroy Hart, were found dead in their home in the early hours of this morning. Their deaths mark numbers twelve and thirteen in a series of ministry officials' deaths. Found dead with them were Phillip's wife and Eagar's mother Helen Wymore Hart, and Phillip's daughter and Eagar's sister Emily Rebecca Hart.
Phillip Hart was an Unspeakable working in the Department of Mysteries before his untimely demise. Eagar Hart worked in the Department of Magical Games and Sports only just starting in June after graduating from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Emily Hart was in her sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Sources have informed us that both were very bright children. Eagar graduated with the fifth highest marks and eighth highest N.E.W.T. scores. Emily was also top of her class and did very well on her O.W.L.'s.
Ministry Officials are doing everything they can to put a stop to these killings.
The picture above was taken at the scene of the crime. Familiar to those who have been following this spree of murders, you will notice what people have begun to name "the dark mark" hovering in the sky above the Hart manor. No one has yet to discover what this mark means. However, it is certain the group of wizards behind the murders is leaving the mark as their signature. Let us hope the ministry can bring them to justice before anymore innocent blood is spilled."
Mallory hadn't actually read the article. She read the beginning and stopped before sobbing uncontrollably again. Her heart felt as though someone had a vice grip on it and was squeezing tightly. Her throat was beginning to close up – her lungs burned. Her head was spinning madly. How could he be gone? This wasn't fair. She wanted desperately for someone to tell her it wasn't true. But there was no one home. No one knew how she felt – no one.
Well maybe someone.
Mallory got to her feet and as quickly as she could ran upstairs blindly. She ran into almost everything on the way her tears clouding her vision and her heart beating painfully in her chest; a cruel reminder that she was alive and he wasn't. Once in her room she threw on some warm robes and after taking a few calming breaths disapparated.
When she arrived at the Black Manor bitter cold air filled her already burning lungs and caused her to cry out in anguish. She nearly fell to the sidewalk from the pain. There on the porch – sitting in the snow – a dark haired boy looked up at her with hollow eyes. Ignoring the pain in her lungs she hurried over to him. He stood as she drew near but before he could say anything she pulled him into a hug. She sobbed into his robes – clutching to him for dear life. He was the only person who'd understand how she felt. After a long moment he hugged her back. He clung to her just as tightly as she clung to him. It was another moment before she felt him shake and then he began to cry as well. It felt better to her to know that she wasn't alone in her pain. She wasn't the only person who'd lost the one they loved. Mallory wasn't sure how long they stood out in the snow crying. After what felt like an eternity Sirius pulled away from her.
"Hi," he said quietly while looking down at her.
"Hi," she replied as she wiped her nose and eyes. She looked down at the snow and stepped away from him. Her ankle twisted and pain shot through her leg causing her to almost fall when Sirius' strong hand caught her. They stared at each other for a long moment.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled breaking their contact.
"Don't be," he said immediately, "I'm glad you came here. Thanks."
"You're the only one who knows how I feel."
He frowned slightly, "About Eagar?"
She nodded, "The same way you feel about Emily."
"Felt," he corrected and she saw his eyes darken. "I can't believe she's gone." He sat back down on the front steps that were behind him. Mallory gingerly sat next to him.
"Me either," she mumbled. They both stared straight ahead at snow covered field before them. Mallory's heart was beating painfully in her chest. She willed it to stop so she could be with Eagar but it continued to pound despite her.
"How'd you find out?" Sirius asked quietly.
"My dad gave me the paper before he left for work," she answered bitterly.
"My mum did the same," he replied.
"What are you doing here?" She asked when the thought occurred to her.
"What?" He seemed slightly taken aback.
"Lupin told me you were staying with Potter," said Mallory, "you shouldn't be here."
"How did you know I would be here then? If you knew I shouldn't be?"
"I didn't," she answered. "I just thought about you and the manor came to my mind so that's where I came. I didn't know for sure if you would be here or not."
Sirius sighed and ran his fingers through his dark hair which fell neatly back into place as though he had not touched it, "My mum sent me an owl," he answered. "She actually asked me to come home."
"She asked?" Mallory's eyebrows rose into her hair.
"I know," said Sirius, "I was more shocked than you are." She waited for Sirius to continue but he didn't so she continued her questioning of him.
"But why-?"
"-did I come?" he interrupted her.
She nodded.
"If your mother sent you an owl and asked politely for you to return home just for the night wouldn't you have?" Mallory considered this question for a moment as Sirius continued, "My mother has never asked me to do anything in my life," he said, "I had to agree to see what was so important." He paused and drew a shaky breath, "and now I know."
"What do you mean?" Mallory asked.
"She had to have known about the attack on the Harts."
Mallory's brow furrowed, "You really think she knew?"
"Well maybe she just knew there would be an attack on some pureblooded family that was known to be against the Dark Lord and so she wanted to make sure I was safe. Though if that's true then it means she actually cares about me and I'm not sure she's capable of such feelings."
Mallory's throat had constricted and she hadn't been listening to him, "They weren't known to be against him," she whispered.
"Of course they were," Sirius answered dismissively, "why else would he have killed them?"
Guilt poured heavily upon Mallory and tears sprung to her eyes. "He may have had other reasons," she thought about her father and the look on his face when he promised to teach her a lesson about disobeying him. Was it possible that her father had the Harts killed? Was it because of the night they were caught? Could all of this be her fault?
A sob escaped her lips and she buried her face in her knees as she cried. No, it was not her fault. Her father had nothing to do with this. It was just a co-incidence. She kept telling herself that it was not her fault until she could get a hold of herself. It wasn't like her to break like this. She was strong. But her heart had never felt cleaved in two like this before. Finally she sat back up and looked over at Sirius.
He was studying her intently.
"What?" she asked. "I know I look like hell." She ran her hand absentmindedly through her messy hair.
"Remus said you were in St. Mungo's a few days ago."
"How did he find that out?"
"His dad saw you there."
"Oh," she mumbled, "I forgot he's a healer," she added more to herself.
"I guess they did a good job then?"
"Yeah," she replied, "although I'm a bit frozen right now."
"Do you want to come inside?" He stood and held his hands out to help her up.
"Are you sure you want a Slytherin in your house?" She tried to keep the bitterness out of her tone but she knew it was there.
"My house is always full of Slytherins," he answered, "I doubt one more could hurt anything."
"Thanks," she responded wryly.
"Besides, you're the only one who's been to see me so far today. You can't be all bad," he continued.
"I came more for myself than for you," she admitted.
"I figured as much," she put her hands in his and he helped her inside.
It was a lot warmer inside than outside in the snow and Malloy felt herself thawing. She took off her winter cloak and he placed it on an unattractive cloak rack that looked to be made out of troll legs.
"Come on," he said taking her hand and leading her around the house. Ordinarily she would've hexed him for touching her but nothing about this visit was ordinary so she let him lead her without comment. The place wasn't ornately decorated but it had a certain amount of class. She took notice of all the serpent fixtures everywhere and remembered what he said about his house being full of Slytherins. It reminded her of Bellatrix's parents' manor only smaller.
"Where's Regulus?" She asked when they ended the tour in the formal sitting room.
"He went with my dad to work," Sirius answered as he sat on the couch. He pulled her down next to him. It seemed he needed physical contact now and she found herself wanting the same.
"Is your mum here?"
"No," he sighed, "She's out. Though I'm not sure where." A moment of silence lapsed between them and Mallory did not flinch or protest when Sirius put his arm around her shoulders. In fact, she found it oddly comforting. He reminded her of Eagar and she felt her heart squeeze painfully in her chest. It took all her strength not to cry out from the pain.
He couldn't be gone.
A dry sob escaped her lips and Sirius jumped slightly. He looked down at her with wide eyes as more tears began to form in them.
"Are you alright?"
Stupid question really. She shook her head as some more tears leaked out of her eyes. He wrapped both his arms around her in a comforting hug and she sobbed again into his robes.
"I'm sorry," she managed to choke out.
"Me too," he answered and pulled slightly away from her. She looked up into his eyes which were now red and puffy just like her own. He was staring at her intently and for some reason she was calmed.
Then without warning he leaned down and kissed her -hard. And she didn't protest but kissed him back. Her brain felt clogged and she didn't really care she was snogging Sirius Black. In fact, he really knew how to kiss. She reached up and ran her fingers through his soft hair. She barely noticed as he pushed her back onto the couch so she was lying down. The pain in her heart wasn't as bad when she was kissing him. For in that moment, though her brain knew it wasn't possible, she could fool her heart into believing he was Eagar. It didn't hurt as much and she wanted it to stay like that no matter what she had to do.
Then suddenly the doorbell rang and Sirius broke abruptly away from her. He started to sit up when Mallory saw her hand, as though it were someone else's grab a fist full of his robes and pull him back. She didn't want to feel pain anymore. She wanted to be snogged senseless. Sirius didn't protest and their kissing continued. Not for very long though because the doorbell rang again and he pulled away to sit all of the way up. He looked at her for a moment, then to the direction of the door, and then back to Mallory. "I'll be right back," he told her before getting off the couch and leaving the room.
She groaned but got up and followed him from the sitting room into the foyer. He opened the door and Mallory gasped - on the front porch stood James Potter and Remus Lupin.
"Hey mate," James said awkwardly before spotting Mallory.
"Er-" Sirius flattened his hair. James looked from Sirius to Mallory in rapid succession. Mallory knew she looked like a mess. She hadn't even brushed her hair yet that morning. She looked at Remus who was frowning.
"Can we come in?" James asked as a fierce wind blew some snow into the foyer.
"Yeah," Sirius replied and opened the door the rest of the way. James and Remus stepped inside. Sirius looked quickly around outside before closing the door with a snap.
"Where's Peter?"
"His mum wouldn't let him come," said James quickly before turning to Mallory. "What are you doing here?"
"It's obvious what they were doing," said Remus, "my question is why?"
James and Sirius both frowned at Remus. Mallory could tell by the look of hurt on Remus' face he knew exactly what they had been doing – he always was the one to pick up on small details. Of course why he was reacting like this was beyond her and at the moment she could not have cared less. Sirius was the only one who knew how she felt. He was the only one who really understood and she would take and escape from the awful pain dwelling in her in any way that she could. Maybe she would regret it in the long run but at the moment she did not care what Remus knew or did not know about what she did with Sirius Black.
"What does it look like we were doing?" Sirius asked while folding his arms across his chest in a defiant gesture.
Remus glanced at Mallory before looking back at Sirius. "Do you really want me to answer that?"
"Yes," Sirius growled.
"We didn't come here to fight with you," James interjected quickly. "We came to see how you're doing."
"It's apparent he has all the comfort he needs, James," said Remus, this time glaring at Mallory.
For some reason his glare made her heart squeeze painfully again. He was her friend and she had never meant to hurt him. The realization that she thought of him as a friend was overpowered by the additional pain she now felt at hurting him. She covered her face in her hands and sank along the wall until she felt her butt hit the floor with her knees pulled to her chest. Her body shook as she sobbed loudly. This was the worst pain she'd ever endured – losing Eagar. Nothing her father could ever do to her physically hurt as much as this. She willed her heart to just stop beating. It would be so much better if she could just die along with him. She didn't want to live if it meant living in this pain without him.
As pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her and she flung her own arms around Sirius' neck and sobbed into his shoulder. He understood.
Eagar couldn't be gone, he just couldn't. It wasn't possible, but she knew it was true.
"I'm sorry," she heard Remus' voice near her. She opened her blurry eyes to find him kneeling next to her. There was sorrow in his eyes. She pulled away from Sirius to look at Remus.
"It's not your fault," she choked out while wiping fiercely at her tears.
"I shouldn't have said what I did. You both lost someone you -" he cleared his throat, "I should have known that you'd find comfort in each other. I'm sorry." She could see tears beginning to form in his eyes but he was trying to fight them back.
She nodded then reached over to pull him into a hug. "You don't have to be strong for me," she whispered, "it's ok to cry."
And with those words Remus Lupin dissolved into tears. Mallory looked up to see Sirius and James in a tight brotherly hug as well. James was facing her and he had tears in his eyes as well.
It wasn't until that moment that Mallory realized maybe he wasn't as bad of a person as she thought he was. Maybe he was a good friend once you got to know him. Maybe.
PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK BY SUBMITTING A REVIEW!
