AN: another on that took me a while to write, although I am quite confident that the quality of this chapter is better than they have been of recent! please leave a review, I need something to smile about...Enjoyyy!
The morning was dark and it was raining heavily, but it wasn't like she knew about the weather, there was no window in her cell, she couldn't hear a thing either, the cell was that deep in Azkaban. A girl sat huddled over a few slices of bread, hungrily. The bread was dry and stale, yet it was the only food she was ever given. She ate slowly, not wanting to use up the days food in one go. She was not shocked when the door was forced open, she faced the opposite wall, bracing herself, expecting to be manhandled like she used to be when she was first imprisoned.
"Ebony" A man called her name
She turned around, twisting her neck so that her head was at an angle. Ebony stood slowly and examined the man standing before her, he was smiling, she reached out to his face and ran her hands across his jaw line then let them follow his cheek bones and then they followed the line of his nose. Her eyes examined his face, settling first on his lips and then on his eyes, grey and piercing.
"Lucius" She muttered, more to herself than the man standing before her.
He pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms tightly around her.
"I told you, I would get you out of here" he said "Now, we'll do something about those prison robes, I have your favourite dress with me"
Lucius handed over her favourite long, cotton dress, it was full of colour, unlike her prison robes, Ebony held it to her cheek, lovingly before changing into it, it no longer fit right,she had lost a lot of weight and the dress hung awkwardly from her shoulders. Lucius wrapped an arm around her shoulder, protectively as they walked to the outskirts of Azkaban
"We cannot go straight home" He said "The press will be waiting for us, and with Kingsley back in power, well he wants to talk to you" Ebony nodded and with that they apparated to the ministry.
Aurors were sent to take them to the ministers office and keep reporters at bay, Kingsley sat in his chair at his desk, he beamed at the pair as they walked into his office
"Miss DiSilva" He said, still smiling "It's so nice to have you back, please sit"
Ebony sat in the chair opposite Kingsley and Lucius laid a hand on her shoulder, lovingly.
"Some people think you are not ready right now, for the truth, I on the other hand think you deserve to know, it is your right" Kingsley said
Ebony just nodded and Lucius squeezed her shoulder, she reached across her body and grabbed his hand, not letting go until the minister had finished telling her about how Jasper had planned the whole thing, she was unsure of how to react, so she just didn't react, she just nodded. Back in the atrium of the ministry, they were greeted by bright camera flashes, Lucius held Ebony close to him as she shielded her eyes from the bright lights, Lucius lead her through the crowd of reporters, pushing them aside so that they could pass. They apparated back to Malfoy manor, upon arriving, Ebony let go of Lucius' hand and slowly walked around Malfoy manor, occasionally running her hands over pieces of furniture, all the while Lucius followed her. She paused at a full length mirror, seeing herself for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, she ran a hand across her stomach and sighed
"I do not look like me, this is all wrong, I hate it" she said, glaring at her new, thin reflection. Lucius walked over to her and put his arms around her
"it will only take a short while of you eating normally and you will look the same as you ever did" he said reassuringly
Ebony nodded and walked out of the room
"I need to shower" She said, Lucius was left standing there, alone and worried.
The water poured down fast and cold, Ebony stood beneath it, completely still letting the icy coolness cascade over her body. Her eyes were closed, she did not want to look at herself. She reached out blindly to grab the shampoo, then lathered it into her hair her fingers snagged in the tangled mess of her hair, she tried pulling some of the knots apart, but it was useless, she groaned in frustration and banged a fist against the shower wall, she stepped out of the shower, with her eyes still closed, she did not want to see it at all. She wrapped a towel around her before she dared open her eyes. She walked to the mirror above the sink and examined her hair, dead and damaged it looked as if it were just one huge knot, she examined her face and ran a hand over her cheek bones and tears came to her eyes
"You are not me" She said forcefully to the reflection staring back at her, she threw her towel to the floor
"Not me" she repeated "You are not me, this isn't my body" Her jaw clenched as she hunched herself over the sink glaring at her reflection and the reflection glared back. The more she looked at herself the more Ebony hated what she saw, it just didn't look like her, in her reflection she saw a monster. Her hand edged slowly and mechanically across the sinks edge until it found the metal contraption it was looking for, her hand tightened around Lucius' straight razor, and she opened it slowly, almost admiring it, she pressed her fingertip to it's edge and smiled as a drop of blood appeared and fell into the sink. Determined to be rid of the monster she saw in the mirror, Ebony took the razor to her wrist, once to kill it, twice to be sure and then a third time out of madness, she sat herself on the floor, razor still in her hand. She carved into her stomach and legs and gurgled in delight as she felt the monster slipping away.
Lucius had waited, tensely, he had heard the shower stop running, but he had not heard or seen Ebony since, he walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door
"Ebony" he said "Are you alright?"
his answer was a small, crazed giggle and that worried him, he pushed the door open and was greeted by an awful sight, Ebony sitting on the floor, cut open all over the place, a puddle of blood forming around her. Lucius rushed to her side and pulled out his wand, he muttered a few words, trying to stop the bleeding and then he called for Mink.
"I want you to bring a healer here" He said "Then I want you to go to Draco, he is with his mother, tell him it'd be best if he stayed with her for a while"
The house elf nodded and bowed to her master and quickly apparated away, Lucius was not kept waiting long, just a few minutes after she had left Mink returned with a healer, she bowed another farewell as she apparated to Draco.
The healer bent down next to Ebony and examined the cuts
"You did well stopping the bleeding, " He said, "She's going to be fine"
The healer opened his medical case and took out a potion, which he applied to the deepest of the cuts.
"I assume she did this to herself" The healer said matter of factly
Lucius nodded
"Any idea why?"
"Azkaban, she was released today"
A solemn look came across the healers face
"The damage from these cuts are not permanent, " He said "But there may be some permanent damage, maybe it'd be best if she were to be in hospital?"
"No" Lucius said
"Are you sure you can cope? This may just be the surface of it all"
"We will cope fine" Lucius said
"In that case, there is nothing more I can do, make sure she rests, and keep an eye on her"
With that the healer left and Lucius carried Ebony to her bed.
"Why did you do it?" He asked her quietly
"There was a monster in the mirror, where I should have been" she replied just as quietly.
Lucius spent the rest of the day covering every mirror within his home and putting protective enchantments over the cupboards containing sharp objects, he left Ebony to rest like the healer had said. Lucius sat in his study, thinking, planning. He hadn't done so well helping to plan his first wedding, he wasn't going to be a hindrance for this one too. He was mulling over the question of venue when the door opened, Ebony stood in the doorway in a loose white dress.
"Are you angry with me?" She asked
"No, of course I'm not" He said "Come over here, we have a lot of things to discuss"
Ebony walked to Lucius and he pulled her onto his knee
"So, the wedding" Lucius started "What do you want?"
"Something small" Ebony said after much thought "After all, I have no one to invite"
"Just you and me then?"
Ebony nodded
"How do you feel about Hawaii?" Lucius asked
"I've never been"
"Would you like to go?"
Ebony thought some more
"Yes" She said
Ebony did not sleep that night, she tried to, but every time she closed her eyes her mind filled with the horrors she had witnessed in Azkaban, instead she spent the night tossing and turning and walking around the bedroom while Lucius slept on, she finally settled in the arm chair where she was alone with her thoughts and her thoughts weren't very happy, no matter what she tried to think about she was brought back to thinking the same dark thoughts and feeling the same dark feelings as she had in Azkaban.